The Good Life – Part 2
Ecclesiastes 6:10-12
August 8, 2021
This morning we come to what might be called “The Intermission”
I told you last week that the preacher
Was concluding his first major point of the book.
9 times in the first 6 chapters he uses the phrase “striving after wind”
One might sum up the first 6 chapters of this book
By calling it: THE FUTILE PURSUIT
There were actually 4 myths or pursuits that the preacher exposed.
THE FUTILITY OF KNOWLEDGE
• Knowledge can’t straighten what is crooked
• Knowledge can’t supply what is lacking
• All knowledge can do is expose your problem and thus increase your grief.
Knowledge is valuable because it drives us to Christ,
But knowledge as the source of fulfillment and satisfaction in life is a lie.
THE FUTILITY OF PLEASURE
• Certainly God created us with the capacity to experience pleasure and so pleasure in and of itself is also not wrong.
• However, pleasure as the source of fulfillment and satisfaction is also a lie.
If a man pursues pleasure and doesn’t get it, he ends up frustrated,
And if a man pursues pleasure and finds it, he ends up bored.
THE FUTILITY OF ACCOMPLISHMENT
• Men think if they can just work hard and accomplish great things then they will be satisfied, but the reality is that there is a prison there.
For one, once you enter that arena, there is no rest or someone else will overtake you.
And for another thing, the world has a tendency to quickly forget all your accomplishments as it is only interested in what you have done for me lately.
THE FUTILITY OF TREASURE
• Men think if they can just get all the stuff they want then they will be happy, but the preacher blew up that notion as well.
You can gather all your treasure, but:
• The corrupt will steal it
• Your friends will claim it
• Advertising will show it’s never enough
• Inflation will devalue it
• Worry will accompany it
• Death will cause you to leave it
Like the first 3 promises of the world,
treasure can’t bring lasting satisfaction or fulfilment either.
All of those things are “striving after wind”
Starting in chapter 7 we get the preacher’s second point.
We might call it: THE NOBLE PURSUIT
He is about to change his language considerably.
• We’re about to get commands and imperatives and even comparisons
where the preacher is about to start telling you where to walk and what to do.
BUT LODGED IN BETWEEN THOSE TWO THOUGHTS ARE 3 VERSES.
Ephesians 6:10-12 serves sort of a dual purpose.
• It CONCLUDES the warnings of listening to the world.
• It INTRODUCES the wisdom of listening to God.
And I don’t think you can overstate the significance of these 3 verses
As they relate to the book of Ecclesiastes.
They introduce for us the heart of the preachers’ message.
In fact, if someone wanted one small passage to sort of give them
The gist of what Ecclesiastes is all about, I would give them these 3 verses.
TO START us on our journey of studying them this morning, I’d simply ask you the same question that the preacher mentions here in the text.
“For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few years of his futile life?”
That’s a good question isn’t it.
Who knows what is good?
When we travel, my wife will routinely step out of her comfort zone in a way that never ceases to amaze me.
She’s obviously a very reserved person.
She’s not a big talker or a loud person.
She doesn’t like confrontation at all.
She doesn’t like to put people out; she’s very polite.
But when we travel and are in uncharted territory it is not uncommon for my wife to walk up to a complete stranger, so long as they are a local to the area, to ask them where is the best place to eat in town.
It amazes me every time she does it.
She’ll tell you it’s because she doesn’t want to pay for bad food. And I’m certainly ok with that!
But the point is when Carrie travels and she wants to eat good food, she asks herself the question: “Who knows what is good?”
And she has decided that the answer to that question is “One of the locals”.
Well that works for a restaurant, but what about life?
Who knows what is good?
• Who knows about the good life?
• Who knows what you should do with your life?
• Who knows what you should pursue?
If you are the young man that the preacher is obviously addressing
And you are about to go out on your own,
Who knows what you should pursue?
• Are you going to ask your high school counselor?
• Are you going to ask your parents?
• Are you going to ask your preacher?
• Are you going to ask social media?
THE WORLD is certainly ready to give you advice on the subject.
But as the preacher already showed us, much of THEIR ADVICE IS A LIE.
If they tell you to go out and pursue KNOWLEDGE,
• Then they aren’t telling you about the good life.
If they tell you to go out and pursue PLEASURE,
• Then they aren’t telling you about the good life.
If they tell you to go out and pursue ACCOMPLISHMENT,
• Then they aren’t telling you about the good life.
If they tell you to go out and pursue TREASURE,
• Then they aren’t telling you about the good life.
THE POINT is that the world has a plan (several of them to be exact)
For how to achieve the good life and they are all wrong.
But if you really want the good life then you must go to
The One who created life, He also has a plan.
AND IN THESE 3 VERSES
The preacher is going to lay out his compelling evidence
As to why you should seek God’s plan for your life
Over the world’s plan for your life.
The preacher will give you 3 compelling reasons
Why instead of seeking the world, you should seek the plan of God.
There are 3 points to be made here about God’s plan for life.
God’s plan is:
#1 A SOVEREIGN PLAN
Ecclesiastes 6:10a
The preacher begins with what may be
The most important reality regarding whose plan you should seek.
And that is that regardless of what the world advises,
Only one plan is actually sovereign.
“Whatever exists has already been named,”
Now this isn’t new information from the preacher.
We remember chapter 3.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven”
The preacher told us the same thing then.
Namely that there is a Sovereign who is in control over the course of life.
“Whatever exists has already been named”
That is to say that God has already foreordained life.
We remember reading
• Psalms 139 about how “all our days were ordained for us before any of them came into being”.
• Acts 17 about how God “appointed the length of our days and the boundary of our habitation”.
GOD IS SOVEREIGN OVER LIFE.
Our world typically falls in one of two camps regarding God’s sovereignty
And it’s not uncommon for them to vacillate between the two.
Sometimes they like to acknowledge the sovereign prerogative of God but at the same time give glary critiques of what a terrible job He is doing.
• They see the evil in the world, they see the pain, they see the suffering,
• And then use those tragedies to sort of pass judgment on the job that God is
doing with humanity.
• They either accuse Him of not being good, or of not being powerful.
But the acknowledge His sovereignty just enough
For them to able to assign Him the blame.
Or the world wants to deny God’s sovereignty altogether and to buy into this notion of chance and chaos and human autonomy.
And this is really where they are more often prone to land.
(Sadly even many who claim Christianity land here)
• They paint God as this almighty creator who made everything and sort of spun
the globe
• And is now just sitting back waiting and watching to see how it all turns out.
They actually think man is sovereign and that man is in control.
It’s all up to you.
You are the master of your destiny.
And you can believe all that nonsense if you want,
But I’m just going to tell you that
The Bible whole-heartedly disagrees with it.
You see it everywhere in Scripture, and here we see it in Ecclesiastes.
“Whatever exists has already been named,”
That is yet another verse that speaks of
A sovereign God with a sovereign plan over mankind.
God is at work.
His plan is being fulfilled.
That means that the course of history
Is going to travel down the track that God has laid.
So LET ME ASK YOU as you consult advice on the good life.
Do you think it wise to consult one who is not in control of the future, or to consult One who is in control of the future?
You’d be much wiser to seek the One who ordains where life is headed.
Let’s use a sports analogy here.
Let’s take a football player, say a wide receiver.
And the wide receiver’s dad is in the stands and he keeps yelling at his son,
• “Go deep!”
• “Son, you’ve got to go deep!”
• “Don’t mess around with blocking that cornerback, get past him and go deep!”
FIRST OFF: Is that the kind of advice the boy should listen to?
• Well, going deep is how you catch a bomb.
• Going deep is how you score a touchdown.
• Going deep sure seems like a good a plan for glory.
So there is a scenario where that is great advice.
But there’s a problem with that advice.
The dad isn’t calling the plays.
The coach is.
SO IT IS IN LIFE. There’s all kinds of advice you can get
And it is possible to see how it might work out perfectly,
But only One is calling the plays; only One is sovereign.
It is foolish to listen to anyone else’s plan.
AND THAT’S NOT ALL.
Look at what else the preacher says about God’s plan.
Not only is God sovereign over the direction of the plan,
But look at what else God’s plan takes into account:
“and it is known what man is”
God is under no illusion about the heart or nature or will of man.
Genesis 6:5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Even after the flood, and only Noah and his family survived, God still said:
Genesis 8:21 “The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.”
Even when Jesus came to this earth and men were hypocritically pretending to believe in Him, we read:
John 2:24-25 “But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”
God knows man.
God created man.
Go read Romans 3
It’s the famous, “There is none good, not even one…There is no fear of God before their eyes” passage.
God knows that man has a propensity for wickedness.
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL.
God also knows that man is incredibly weak.
That is to say that just because man wants something to happen,
That doesn’t mean man can make it happen.
(Just because the wide receiver went deep doesn’t mean he can catch the ball)
Jeremiah 13:23 “Can the Ethiopian change his skin Or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good Who are accustomed to doing evil.
I KNOW OUR WORLD CONTINUALLY PEDDLES THE NOTION THAT
If you apply yourself and work hard that you can accomplish anything.
And I suppose that’s true within reason.
• I mean, no amount of hard work is going to let you run a sub 2 minute mile.
• No amount of hard work is going to let you throw a 250mph fastball.
And certainly no amount of hard work is going to
Let you obtain the righteousness required to get into heaven.
These are the two major mistakes that man always factors into their plans
When the world gives you advice for how you should live your life
THEIR PLANS FAIL BECAUSE
• They are not in control of the future (God is)
• They way overestimate what man is capable of.
Man tends to think that man is good – Man tends to think that man is able.
And that simply isn’t true.
MAN IS NOT GOOD, he is corrupt
That means that he will never choose the best path on his own.
Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
Man just chooses badly.
That’s why temptation works so well.
AND even if man were to come to the realization that his choices are wrong and he needs a different path,
HE DOESN’T HAVE THE ABILITY ON HIS OWN TO CHANGE THAT PATH.
• The Ethiopian can’t change his skin
• The leopard can’t change his spots.
Romans 7:19 “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”
• Man isn’t in control of the future.
• Even if man was he wouldn’t choose the right thing.
• Even if he would choose the right thing, he couldn’t do the right thing.
That is the problem with every plan of man.
Man isn’t sovereign and man isn’t able.
Because humanity thinks more highly of man than they ought,
They tend to put too much burden on the back of man
For obtaining the good life.
But if we learned anything from the Old Covenant VS the New Covenant
It is that plans that depend upon the effort of man for success
Are doomed to failure.
Those plans never succeed.
Man isn’t sovereign and man isn’t able.
GOD HOWEVER HAS A PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE.
And God is sovereign
And God is well aware of what you are and aren’t capable of.
Not only that, but God’s plan is also:
#2 A SOLIDIFIED PLAN
Ecclesiastes 6:10b-11
“for he cannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is. For there are many words which increase futility. What this is the advantage to a man?”
If the first argument didn’t cause you to seek God’s plan over the world’s
Then this one should definitely push you in the right direction.
IT IS SIMPLY THIS.
Since God’s plan is sovereign,
We’re using His plan whether you want to or not.
Go back to that wide receiver.
You can stiffen your neck and rebel and ignore the coach and listen to your dad and “go deep” every play if you want to.
But why won’t that work?
Because the quarterback is handing the ball to the running back
And they are never going to throw it.
While it may feel like
You are blazing your own trail and following your own dreams,
It’s only going to end in failure
Because you aren’t calling the shots, God is.
AND THAT IS THE POINT BEING MADE HERE.
Now, there are several layers at play here.
ONE is the reality that MAN NEVER TRULY GRASPS the full plan of God.
• Have you ever heard the statement, “The Lord works in mysterious ways”?
• We don’t always understand why He does what He does.
• In fact we rarely understand.
• Why did God spare this person and not spare that person?
• Why did God allow this tragedy?
• Why didn’t God stop this from happening?
WE DON’T UNDERSTAND DO WE?
(that’s why our flesh doesn’t want to follow God’s plan)
It always requires faith.
And true wisdom, by the way,
• Is not that you understand why God does what He does.
• True wisdom is that you obey God even though you don’t understand.
The wise wide receiver may not understand why the coach doesn’t send him deep, but will continue to do the job the coach tells him to do because he trusts that the coach has the plan.
The foolish wide receiver is either going to break rank and go deep or he’s going to go to the sidelines and complain and argue with the coach.
And man tries to do that with God all the time.
• They argue with God.
• They complain to God.
• Or they even give God advice regarding what He should have done.
But the preacher already warned us about that too, didn’t he?
We saw that back in chapter 5 where the preacher told us:
Ecclesiastes 5:2 “Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.”
• You aren’t God.
• You don’t know what God knows.
• So keep your mouth shut.
There is this continual desire in man to understand
And then have input into the sovereign working of God.
But the preacher says, you “cannot dispute with him who is stronger”.
• All your words (arguments) will only end in futility.
• You aren’t going to change God’s eternal plan.
Romans 9:20 “On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?”
• Who ever heard of such a thing?
• Who ever heard of a pot arguing with the potter?
Or remember when Job took issue with God:
Job 38:1-2 “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, “Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge?”
It is the epitome of foolishness
To ignore or argue with the sovereign God of the universe.
(11) “For there are many words which increase futility. What then is the advantage to man?”
That is another way of saying that “Arguing with God won’t do any good.”
• You can bring your plan to God every day if you want.
• That wide receiver can draw plays and show them to his coach over and over.
• But it’s never going to change the fact that God is God and you are not.
AND I REALIZE THIS HITS PEOPLE SIDEWAYS TODAY,
But I can’t think of a more important point
To drive into a person’s brain in this backward world in which we live.
The sooner you figure out that God is God and you are not, the better off you’re going to be.
The sooner you figure out that God created you and you didn’t create God, the better off you’re going to be.
The sooner you figure out that one day you will answer to God but God will never answer to you, the better off you’re going to be.
God’s plan is not only sovereign, but it is solidified.
His plan is the plan that the world is going with.
END OF STORY.
So again, why would you choose any other plan?
Why would you seek any other advice?
God’s plan is a sovereign plan God’s plan is a solidified plan
God’s plan is a:
#3 A SUPERIOR PLAN
Ecclesiastes 6:12
And this is the good news.
GOD’S PLAN IS FOR YOUR GOOD.
Now, from a choice standpoint, this is actually insignificant.
• It wouldn’t matter if God’s plan was for your harm…
• It wouldn’t matter if God’s plan was for your demise…
• It wouldn’t matter if God’s plan was the worst plan ever…
(now none of those things are true, but if they were, it wouldn’t matter)
Why?
Because He is still God.
His plan is still sovereign
His plan is still solidified
So even if it was a bad plan, you still better follow it because He is God.
You have to get that through your head.
But the question of the sermon was this:
“For who know what is good for a man..?”
• We DIDN’T start by asking who is in charge.
• We DIDN’T start by asking who will win.
We asked who had the best plan for your life?
Who had the good plan for your life?
Was it the world, or was it God?
And the answer we find here is that it is only God and not the world.
First because His is is sovereign – Second because His is solidified
But also because His plan is superior, and let me show you why.
“For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few years of his futile life? He will spend them like a shadow. For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?”
Now here is where we come to the main point.
Here is the crowning thought.
“For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few years of his futile life?”
Care to answer that?
When you start contemplating the course of your life, who knows what is good?
And make sure you see again that your life is short.
• The preacher again mentions “the few years of his futile life”
• In fact, he expounds on that by saying, “He will spend them like a shadow”,
which is to say his life is short.
So with this very short life that you get here on earth,
“who knows what is good for a man..?”
YOUNG MAN, when you begin to approach your future and advice comes from every angle, who knows what the good life is?
• The media?
• The college recruiter?
• The military recruiter?
• Your parents?
• Your friends?
• Social media?
Who knows where to find the good life?
Who knows the path you should walk?
And I hope you understand the implication of the preacher: ONLY GOD.
BUT WHY?
Because God’s plan is about eternity not just this life.
“For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?”
Can anyone answer that for you?
• Can the media tell you what tomorrow holds?
• Can your parents?
• Can your friends?
• Can you teachers?
And that doesn’t mean they don’t have good intentions, but are they privy to your future?
• Do your parents know what tomorrow holds?
• Does your counselor know the state of America in 4 years?
• Does social media know if you are going to endure a life crisis later?
NO, only God.
There is only One who has a plan for your life
Who at the same time can see the entirety of your life.
That means that there is only One
Who could possibly lead you to the good life.
Others can try, but their insight is so limited.
And you can follow the advice of the world and make all sorts of plans,
BUT KNOW THIS.
• Those plans aren’t sovereign.
• Those plans aren’t solidified.
• Those plans can’t see the future.
The good life you seek cannot exist apart from
The plan of the sovereign God who created you
And who has mapped out the course of your life.
Listen again to that wonderful sermon Paul preached in Athens.
Acts 17:24-31 “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ “Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
• There is a God who created you.
• He appointed your times and the boundaries of your habitation.
• And He ordained the purpose of your life which was for you to seek Him.
That is the culminating point of the preacher after the first 6 chapters.
Why would you follow the advice of the world?
That is all “striving after wind”
You’d be better off to seek the will of the sovereign God
Whose plan cannot be changed
And who alone truly knows what is good for you.
NOW LET ME RETURN TO THE QUESTION.
“For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few years of his futile life?”
There is the ultimate and good plan of God for your life,
Namely that you believe in Jesus Christ.
John 6:28-29 “Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
The ultimate plan is for you to forsake the world and believe in Christ.
But here is what I want you to understand.
You cannot walk both plans at the same time.
• You cannot follow the plan of this world and the plan of God at the same time.
• You either seek Christ or you seek this world.
• And only one of those plans is actually for your good.
And I want to show you that again:
Matthew 19:16-22 “And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS; HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.”
Did you hear him?
• He is looking for good.
• He wants the plan that will ultimately land him with eternal life.
Afterall we can hardly call any plan that ends in hell a good plan.
So this man comes to Jesus for the plan.
And what did Jesus tell him?
Forsake all the plans the world has given you and follow Me.
• Were you pursuing knowledge, let it go and pursue Me.
• Were you pursuing pleasure, let it go and pursue Me.
• Were you pursuing accomplishment, let it go and pursue Me.
• Were you pursuing treasure, let it go and pursue Me.
Isn’t that exactly what the preacher has been saying in Ecclesiastes?
It’s the same sermon!
We have just concluded half of the book of Ecclesiastes.
It has been one main point.
• This world cannot satisfy you; God won’t let it – QUIT SEEKING IT
• Instead seek God who has a sovereign plan for your good and for eternity.
• To be consumed with this world and to forsake Christ is the ultimate foolishness.
It is the tragedy of that Rich Young Ruler
Who chose the promises of the world over the promises of Christ.
How fitting that the Scripture says that “he went away grieving”.
Shouldn’t he have been happy that he got to keep all his stuff?
I thought treasure equaled happiness.
THERE IS NO SATISFACTION THERE.
Friend…
Young man…
THIS WORLD IS LYING TO YOU!
• It bombards you with “The American Dream”
• It bombards you with advertising meant to cause your flesh to crave.
• It bombards you with false hopes and promises.
Forsake this world!
Run to Christ!
In Him is life!
Only God’s plan for you is A Sovereign Plan.
Only God’s plan for you is A Solidified Plan.
Only God’s plan for you is A Saving Plan.
All other plans end up in hell.
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
That is Ecclesiastes too!
• Quit walking that wide road just because everyone else does!
• Seek Christ.
Every other way ends up as “striving after wind”
1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
