Finishing Well - 7/30/2023 Sunday Sermon

Finishing Well - 7/30/2023 Sunday Sermon

Here are Danny's notes from today's sermon:

We have now come to the second half of the book of Ecclesiastes. We will find that even though Solomon covers some of the same territory he did in the first 6 chapters, there is a dramatic shift in emphasis in the last 6 chapters.

One way to gauge the difference in tone between chapters 1-6 and 7-12 is to see the change in occurrences of key words:

The Hebrew words for ‘wisdom’ and ‘better’ occur more times in chapter 7 than any other chapter in the Old Testament. It’s fitting that Ecclesiastes is in the section of the Old Testament called the Wisdom Literature!

Read Ecclesiastes 7:1-14. Wise people aim to finish well - V. 1

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor (grace) is better than silver or gold. - Proverbs 22:1

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. - Psalm 116:15

It is better to mourn and think than mock and dismiss - V. 2-4

It is better to be rebuked by godly people than be praised by fools V. 5-6

The people that mock your godly advisors won’t be the one that experiences the built-in consequences of your sins – you will. And if you ever really turn to God you will be thankful for people that tell you what you need to hear!

It Is better to think about where you are going than where you came from - V. 7-8

Some of us come from awful backgrounds – but that doesn’t define us – where we are going defines every true believer!

It is better to serve God in the present than to live in the past - V. 9-10

People that are stuck in the past foolishly miss present opportunities to serve God. Their idealization of the past can turn into idolatry. Their backward focus is unwise and discourages those God is using in the present.

It is better to be protected through wise choices than rely on money - V. 11-12

Solomon here reminds us that trusting God and making godly decisions is an even more important protection for God’s children than money.

It is better to live and lead with a God-given limp than to resent God - V. 13-14

When we can’t understand what God is doing we need to remember that God makes everything beautiful in His time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). To get us ready for eternity in this sin-saturated world, God uses “days of adversity.”

After his wrestling match with God in Genesis 32, Jacob’s name was changed to Israel and his most faithful service for God followed, and he finished well. But he walked with that limp God gave him for the rest of his life.

We can respond to our adversity in one of two ways – resent God for letting it come into our lives and foolishly live in despair; or we can trust God, lead with a limp and wisely finish well.