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Let death instruct you - part 1 Daniel Patz, Lead Pastor Grace Church, Sunday Worship Ecclesiastes 7:1-12 February 27th, 2011
INTRODUCTION Jonathan Edward’s Resolutions Strange? Ecclesiastes 7 speaks to the wisdom of Edward’s resolutions. Ecclesiastes is a book of wisdom. It is about wisdom that only the godly can have. It is a wisdom founded in the fear of the Lord. It is a wisdom that is not naïve of this vain world. It is a wisdom that finds joy in the midst of seeming confusion – joy at the end of a tether. It is a book that points us to the importance of: - Knowing Our Place and (we are a vapor with a Sovereign God) - Loving Our Place (with trust in God) 6:12 asks us – “What is the good we should do in this brief life of vapor?” It takes wisdom to discern how we should live and do good in this life and it is a wisdom that trusts God. But he gives three ways that are important to the wise in learning wisdom. He uses “better than” comparisons. 1. The wise let the reality of death instruct them (vv 1-4) 2. The wise let the reproof of others improve them (vv 5-6) 3. The wise let patient hope in God sustain them (vv 7-10) I want to look at the first this morning. THE WISE LET THE REALITY OF DEATH INSTRUCT THEM.
SUMMARY Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 ESV A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth. (2) It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. (3) Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. (4) The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. Explain This passage is saying that the reality of death – pondering your own future death and the death of those you know – is a much better teacher than birth. More is to be learned at the funeral than a wedding. More is to be learned from a wake than a party. The deathbed of a friend is a great instructor to the soul. He is not saying that it is good to die and not be alive. He is not saying that laughter is wrong or feasting…etc. He is saying that there is something better.
MAIN POINTS Why does death make a good instructor for the wise? How does death instruct us? How does it help us? Psalms 90:12 ESV So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. How does a heart of wisdom come from numbering our days? Let me suggest four ways: 1. It Humbles Us James 4:13-16 ESV Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"-- (14) yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. (15) Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." (16) As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. It reminds us of our frailty, dependence and neediness. Psalms 39:4-7 ESV "O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! (5) Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah (6) Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! (7) "And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. 2. It Awakens Us (Sobers us) 1 Thessalonians 5:5-10 ESV (5) For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. (6) So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. (7) For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. (8) But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. (9) For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, (10) who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 3. It Reveals Us It helps us look in the mirror and to the future. What am I living for? What would my funeral be like? What would they say about me? Where have I been investing? 4. It Focuses Us a. Focuses us regarding our soul preparation – where is our TRUST Hebrews 9:27 ESV And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, Am I trusting in Christ? Is He my security? b. Focuses us regarding our purpose in life Philippians 1:20-23 ESV (20) as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. (21) For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (22) If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. (23) I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. c. Focuses us regarding our relationships d. Focuses us regarding our view of possessions Psalms 39:4-7 ESV "O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! (5) Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah (6) Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! (7) "And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. e. Focuses us regarding our use of time Ephesians 5:14-16 ESV for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." (15) Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, (16) making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
CONCLUSION Edwards Are you ready? How will you take hold of the instruction that death gives us? |
