The Circle of Life
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
October 25, 2024 (D-Now)
You’ve probably noticed by now that we’re basing our Disciple Now weekend this year around the book of Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes is not a book you hear quoted from very often
So it’s possible that you’ve never heard of it or read it.
But I want you to know that the message of the book
Is one of the most important messages you’ll ever hear in your life.
“Ecclesiastes” is a Latin word that means “Preacher”
Now the preacher referred to here did not write the book of Ecclesiastes.
• Someone else listened to countless sermons from the preacher
• And wrote this book which sort of summarized the message of the preacher.
• We’ll talk about that more tomorrow afternoon.
But if you’ve ever heard a sermon or maybe a podcast
Or some other informational message
And you were so moved by it or maybe entertained by it
That you couldn’t wait to pass it on to someone else
Then you understand what’s going on here.
The book of Ecclesiastes is a book that was written by an old man to a young man to get him to listen to this profound message by the preacher.
AND WE MIGHT WONDER:
What did the preacher say that was so amazing that the old man wanted to make sure the young man heard it?
All you have to do is look at the first two verses of the book.
“The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
That is the message.
EVERYTHING IS VANITY!
EVERYTHING IS FUTILE!
EVERYTHING IS POINTLESS!
That is what the old man wants the young man to know.
• Everything that this world says is so important…
• Everything that this world tells you to pursue…
• Everything that social media tells you to obtain to be important…
• Everything that advertising says will make you happy…
IS VANITY OF VANITIES
He says it’s like “Chasing After The Wind”
Why would the old man pass that message along to the young man?
Why would he give him such a pessimistic message?
TO KEEP HIM FROM WASTING HIS LIFE
CHASING WHAT WILL NOT SATISFY
AND WHAT WILL ONLY BRING HIM JUDGMENT.
AND I CAN’T STRESS ENOUGH
How relevant such a message is for our culture today.
We live in a nation that wastes everything.
• We waste food…
• We waste time…
• We waste money…
• We often waste relationships…
Sometimes this is done out of laziness or apathy,
But most of the time it is done out of misdirection.
We run after and pursue the wrong things.
• Kids waste their supper because they want the treat…
• We waste time when we engage in non-profitable engagements…
• We waste money buying what we don’t need…
• We waste relationships when we throw away one because another looks
better…
But our world is filled with people
Who don’t just waste and afternoon, or a paycheck,
But who literally waste their entire lives.
The Bible says that after this life every human
Will spend eternity either in heaven enjoying fellowship with God
Or in hell suffering the wrath of God.
And what we do with this life determines where we spend our eternity.
And what could be worse than to totally waste our opportunity?
In 100 million years to look back at the 70 or 80 years we had here
And wish we had not wasted our life.
THAT IS THE CONCERN OF THE OLD MAN
WHO WROTE DOWN THE WORDS OF THE PREACHER.
I can’t think of a more important message for a teenager to hear.
So this weekend, listen to an old man, tell you about a preacher
Who gave some of the best wisdom I have ever heard.
If you will, not only will it change the direction of your life,
But it will also change the destination of your eternity.
(2) “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
It is no doubt the redundant cry of the book.
• Over 20 times the book contains the word “vanity” or “vanities”
• 11 times we read the word “futility”
• 9 times we read the phrase “striving after wind”
The Hebrew word translated “vanity” here is HEBEL (hev-el)
It means “vapor” or “breath”
And the preacher uses it 30 times in the book
As his best descriptive word about life on this planet.
The preacher says that “All is vanity.”
• Everything here is a vapor.
• Everything here is a mirage, an illusion.
If you spend your life
Chasing the things this world says are important
Then at the end you will be left with a handful of smoke.
It’s like spending your life “chasing after wind”.
DON’T WASTE YOUR LIFE.
In 1965 that great theologian Mick Jagger wrote his masterpiece to sum up this life; and he sang, “I just can’t get no satisfaction.”
And that is the message of the preacher too.
This life does not offer what truly satisfies.
• How much money will finally satisfy?
• How many cars will finally make you happy?
• How many super bowls do you need to win?
• How much land do you need to own?
• What is that one purchase that will finally satisfy the craving of you heart?
• What earthly relationship has finally given you everlasting contentment?
• What award finally left you feeling like all the work was worth it?
You know the answer: NOTHING
Do you know why?
BECAUSE GOD HAS FIXED IT TO MAKE SURE
THAT YOU NEVER FIND SATISFACTION WITH THIS LIFE.
To best understand the book of Ecclesiastes
ONE MUST FIRST TURN TO THE BEGINNING OF THE BIBLE.
TURN TO: GENESIS 3:17-19
• If you’ll remember, God created man in a paradise of a garden.
• He gave man everything he could ever ask for or desire.
• But when that man sinned against God we found that God, from that day forward, would refuse to allow this world to ever satisfy man again.
WE CALL IT THE CURSE
If man was going to get any benefit from this earth,
It would be only by sheer force, labor, and determination.
• This world would not easily yield up satisfaction and fulfillment.
• This world would fight him.
AND THAT HAS BEEN SO TRUE.
But not only did God curse this world, He also CONDEMNED it.
• In Genesis 6 God flooded it.
• Next time God will burn it.
2 Peter 3:7 “But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”
That is the Bible also says:
TURN TO: 1 John 2:15-17
How foolish would it be to waste your life
Obtaining that which cannot satisfy and that will not last?
WE’LL LET THE PREACHER ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
These first 11 verses which we look at this morning
We have basically THE SUMMARY of the author.
If he were to summarize for you the message of the Preacher,
It would be found in these first 11 verses.
And it all centers around this question:
(3) “What advantage does man have in all his work which he does under the sun?”
The word “advantage” there is YITH-RONE in the Hebrew.
It is a word only used in the book of Ecclesiastes
And it is used in this book 10 times.
Sometimes translated “advantage”
Sometimes translated “profit”
Sometimes translated “excel”
It is the foundational question of life.
• What are you really gaining for all your labor?
• What are you really gaining from all your effort?
• You get up in the morning…
• You go to school and someday work…
• You come home from work, you clean the house…
• You cook a meal…
• You mow the grass…
What are you gaining in all of that?
WHAT ADVANTAGE is there to all the work you do in this life?
Well the eye-opening answer to the question is actually stated in verse 2.
“Vanity of vanities,” Says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
• It’s breath!
• It’s vapor!
• It’s smoke!
The Preacher says there is NO ADVANTAGE; there is NO PROFIT.
WHY DOES HE SAY THAT?
Because he sees that we are all stuck in this giant hamster wheel that no one really ever gets out of. (The Circle of Life)
Look at verses 4-11.
(4) “A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever.”
I’ve been reading a book called “The Empire Of The Summer Moon”
• It’s all about the Comanche Nation.
• It’s really interesting because their battles happened all over right here where
we live.
Do you understand that?
• There was a time when the Comanche was virtually unchallenged.
• This was his land and he did whatever he wanted here.
If you go to the theme park in Arlington
• You’ll see the “Six Flags over Texas”
• And remember that there was a time when the land where you sit today
• Was Spain, or France, or Mexico, or just Texas, or the Confederacy, or the
United States.
There was a person who lived on your land before you lived there.
There will be a person who lives on your land after you are gone.
All that work you put into it, someday it will be for someone else.
Psalms 49:10-12 “For he sees that even wise men die; The stupid and the senseless alike perish And leave their wealth to others. Their inner thought is that their houses are forever And their dwelling places to all generations; They have called their lands after their own names. But man in his pomp will not endure; He is like the beasts that perish.”
Do you see the foolishness in making that the purpose of your life?
(5-7) “Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again. Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns. All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again.”
Do you see the futile circle of creation?
It just keeps going on and nothing ever changes.
• The sun never gets to quit rising…
• The rivers never get to quit flowing…
• The wind never gets to quit blowing…
• Their job is never finished.
They are the old “Dunkin Donuts” guy
Saying, “Time to make the donuts”
IT NEVER ENDS AND NEVER RESTS.
(8a) “All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it.”
That is to say that LIFE IS EXHAUSTING.
Man can’t even express how exhausting.
There is a CERTAIN DISCONTENTMENT that goes along with it.
(8b)“The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing.”
• You may reach a time where circumstances force you to be content without
seeing or hearing,
• But no one ever reaches a point where they just say, “Well, I am satisfied. I
don’t need to see anything else.”
The simple point is that there is a “Never Enough” mentality
That permeates our thinking and our world.
Humanity is always searching for more.
And the problem is that in their search,
They never find what they are looking for.
THEY JUST CAN’T GET NO SATISFACTION.
(9-11) “That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new”? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us. There is no remembrance of earlier things; And also of the later things which will occur, There will be for them no remembrance Among those who will come later still.”
What a passage!
It pictures a man who is ON A QUEST
To find that new thing that will finally satisfy his life.
And we think about the industrial revolution that occurred here,
And all the inventions that were supposed to make life so much better.
And the question is, “Did they?”
Think about all the innovation and technology and advances…
Now I know, there have been some good inventions.
• I like indoor plumbing…
• I like air conditioning…
• Automatic windshield wipers are great…
But think about it, has any of it brought fulfillment to life?
Has any of those things caused you to say,
“Well now I don’t need or want anything else.”
NO, NOT AT ALL.
And many of the advancements one could argue have only made things worse.
Many of these new technologies are only destroying society, not satisfying it.
AND THAT IS THE PREACHER’S POINT.
You have man on this massive quest to find satisfaction in this life, BUT HE CAN’T. There is no satisfaction.
It’s all just one big circle.
You are on a hamster wheel.
• And there are people who are just running and running and running;
• Turning that wheel nonstop, until one day they die,
• They fall out of the wheel,
• And without missing a beat another hamster jumps right in and takes over.
And someone might approach that hamster and say,
“Hey, come over here to the edge of the cage for a second.”
But that hamster yells, “Can’t, gotta keep this wheel moving!”
Can you see, that is life?
• What is your hamster wheel?
• What is it that you are seeking and pursuing?
• What is it that will finally bring you satisfaction?
YOU’LL NEVER FIND IT IN THIS WORLD.
“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
You were not created to find satisfaction here.
• This world is cursed.
• This world is fallen.
• This world is passing away.
And what a tragedy to spend this whole life
Seeking what you will never find.
So that at the end you can show God your shell collection…
Do you see it?
Do you understand?
How FRUSTRATED and ANGRY people become
Because they work their whole lives for that which doesn’t satisfy.
I’ve seen it and you’ve seen it.
• That retirement party for the man or woman who gave 50 years to the
company. (a store bought cake and a cheap watch)
• That graduated senior who wants to come back to the glory.
If your life is wrapped up in that,
What a lonely and frustrating thing you have to look forward to.
And that goes for everything.
What award is ever enough?
What recognition will ever make all the hours truly worth it?
One of the saddest things I’ve seen recently is:
Tom Brady in the broadcasting booth
(He’s terrible, but he’s a forgotten has been without it)
THIS WORLD IS NEVER SATISFIED
• Cook the meal, they’ll be hungry in a few hours.
• Clean the floor, they’ll mess it right up again.
• Wash the clothes, the hamper will be full in 2 days.
• Mow the grass, it will be uneven in the morning.
• Prepare the baseball field and the t-ballers will absolutely tear it to pieces!
I’m not saying you shouldn’t serve or work or volunteer.
But the point is that in all your labor this life
Will never produce for you the satisfaction you long for.
AND if you are bent on running this race for some piece of earthly satisfaction then you are going to end up gravely disappointed.
And that is the message of the preacher.
That is the message this old man wants you young men to know.
• It’s all futile! It’s all vanity! It doesn’t last!
• This world will forget you and move on without you.
• Don’t waste your life seeking that which cannot satisfy and doesn’t last.
WELL WHAT SHOULD I PURSUE?
THERE IS ONE who called you to forsake this life.
• One who told fishermen to start fishing for men.
• One who told an adulteress to be a true worshiper.
• One who told a tax collector to leave his wealth and find true life.
• One who tells you to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him.
There is life available.
True, fulfilling, satisfying, abundant, eternal life…
John 1:1-4 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.”
When Jesus stepped into this world “life” came with Him.
And the promises of Jesus are extremely clear.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
John 4:13-14 “Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
John 6:35 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”
John 7:37-38 “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'”
John 8:12 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
It was the continual cry.
Life; true life; fulfilling life; satisfying life; eternal life;
Is NOT found in this world,
IT IS ONLY FOUND IN CHRIST.
That is what I want to show you this weekend.
This world is lying to you!
It is offering up all kinds of shiny prizes that promise to satisfy.
But it won’t.
• It’s all a mirage.
• It’s all a vapor.
• It won’t last.
BUT JESUS WILL
He will satisfy and He will save.
Chase Him, don’t chase the wind.
