READ
Ecclesiastes 2:17-23; 4:4-6 * Ecclesiastes 3:11 * Hebrews 4:9-10 Ephesians 6:7 * Zephaniah 3:17
* Colossians 3:23 *
REFLECT
We are currently in a series that’s asking the BIG questions: Why do we do what we do? Where do we nd real satisfaction and happiness? Luckily, we aren’t alone in asking those questions. God has granted Solomon the wisdom, and done all the prep work for us. Nothing is left uncovered. If we are having doubts about where we come from, or if we are unsure about the afterlife, then all we have is the here and now. That’s an extremely limiting physical reality. The only conclusion drawn is that life is essentially meaningless, a random happenstance in a cosmic void. Solomon cried foul on this kind of secular worldview and he shows us that there are three main constants we battle against when living under the Sun:
The Battle for social justice
If all you have is life under the sun, and this all there is, then these causes will ultimately fail. What seems right to you, can con ict with your next door neighbor’s own conviction. Tolerance for our country has become the need for the loudest voice rathar than the truth of cordial life together in the midst of different views. You’re inhabiting a world with no moral absolutes. HOWEVER, there is something that reverses injustice: common grace. Social Justice can’t exist without a divine Judge. We can rest in God’s sovereign judgement.
Battle for pleasure & success
If all you have is life under the sun, then perceived beauty or feelings are limited to a chemical reaction ring the synapses within our brain. There can be no objective beauty, yet all of us seek it. It becomes a burden and weight we carry if we have no meaning in life, and no God to submit to. This includes our work. Work is a gift from God to be enjoyed, but many of us lose sight of that and it becomes our sole identity. We de ne ourselves by our careers, our businesses, bank accounts, work relationships and o ces. It’s deeply embedded within our consciousness. Solomon shows us that work isn’t worth your worship, and that life is more than your work.
We’ve forgotten how to rest.
Solomon showed us there is an ugly truth in the reason why we can’t rest. We are constantly targeted by the marketplace, and the lie that “If I only have more stu , I’d be happy.” If work was just doing the best you could, then you wouldn’t overwork. Yet, Solomon also tells on the ipside of the coin underworking isn’t the answer either. That’s not the Sabbath, but instead laziness.
It’s about enjoying your work, and seeing that there is life above the sun.
TALK IT OVER
* After listening to the message, what did God point out to you (challenge, encourage, change your perspective, stir up questions, etc.)? * Work can become a salvation in the struggle to earn a life; it becomes your life. Knowing these things, why is it so difficult to overcome? * Which of these two constants (the battle for social justice, please, and success) can you identify with most? Why? * How have you experienced these constants failing you or those around you? * Why is it so hard for us to run to God instead of these constants? * Rest is definitely a discipline. Have you taken the time to rest lately? If so, how? * Sometimes, rest can become laziness. How can you assess your gifts and how you are serving in them to honor the Lord and ful ll God’s calling in your life today?
Check out this spiritual gifts survey (or have your Growth Group leader send this to you) to assess where your spiritual gifts are the strongest!
Spiritual Gifts Link below: https://drive.google.com/ le/d/0B-7MZH1spQB8ZlE4ZGpYaVZvQmc/view?usp=sharing
LIVE IT OUT
The Sabbath above the Sun
Enter God’s rest that He o ers you with peace, quietness, and tranquility. Hebrews 4:9-10 states, “There remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work just as God did from His.” It is one of His greatest gifts - rest.
God loves and accepts you. You do not have to work for your salvation. Jesus took your sins on Himself. He did all the work and sat down above the sun where the Bible tells us you are seated along beside Him. He o ers a life above the sun, and a down payment for the Glory that is to come!
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:
Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper * “A Life Well Lived” by Tommy Nelson * “Be Satisfied: Looking for the Answer of the Meaing of Life” by Warren Weirsbe