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Lesson 24 – Seeking God …Finding Happiness – Fear God and Keep His Commandments

Seeking Answers. A Study in Ecclesiastes. Lesson 24 – Seeking God …Finding Happiness – Fear God and Keep His Commandments Brian K. Davis February 22, 2012 . A Life Worth Living is a Life Lived with a Proper Perspective. Living life for the here and now – one has his reward.

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Lesson 24 – Seeking God …Finding Happiness – Fear God and Keep His Commandments

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  1. Seeking Answers A Study in Ecclesiastes Lesson 24 – Seeking God…Finding Happiness – Fear God and Keep His Commandments Brian K. Davis February 22, 2012

  2. A Life Worth Living is a Life Lived with a Proper Perspective Living life for the here and now – one has his reward We cannot find real satisfaction and joy apart from God We cannot fill the God-shaped void in life… …with anything other than God Himself Living life with an eternal view – one has a great reward

  3. Fear God - Fills the Emptiness in Man’s Life and Directs Him to Satisfaction and Joy • v13 – ‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:’ - the word ‘conclusion’ means literally ‘the sum of all’ • The Author’s Theme – “All is Vanity” is now underscored with “Fear God” • Fear God is to have respect, reverence, be in awe of or be in dread of • Consider Solomon as the Speaker: • Wealth, fortune and fame were his • King of the land – Power and prestige were his • Pleasure and comfort were his • God-given human wisdom was his • Respect from those listening to his sermon was his • Yet, his life’s balance sheet when summed was – “Fear God and Keep His Commandments”

  4. Life’s Balance Sheet 1) Man’s advantages 1:3; 2:11; 3:9; 5:16 2) The desire to learn all things 1:13; 2:23; 26; 3:10 3) Excessive wisdom 1:18; 2:15; 7:16 4) Pursuit of pleasure 2:1; 7:4; 8:15; 10:16 5) Mirth 2:2; 7:2-5 6) Increase of earthly possessions 2:4-9; 6:2; 5:11 7) Personal accomplishments 2:11, 17, 18, 20 8) Living only for tomorrow 3:22; 2:18; 6:12; 8:7; 10:14 9) Envy, rivalry 4:4 10) Laziness 4:5, 6; 10:18 11) Greed 4:8; 1:8; 5:10, 13; 8:13, 17 12) Hypocritical worship 5:1-6 13) Discontentment 6:2-3; 7:10, 11:9 14) Self righteousness 7:16-18 15) Sexualimmorality 7:26, 29 16) Lawlessness 8:3-4 17) Self-deceit 8:11; 9:3 18) Wicked oppression 8:12-13 19) Identity with evil 9:18; 10:1 20) Intellectual pride 10:10, 12-14 21) Self-reliance 11:1-6 22) Youth spent without God 12:1 Fear God MEANINGLESS

  5. Keep His Commandments – Gives Man Meaningful Work in Life Fear God • Fear God and Keep His Commandments are inseparable – Guard our Actions! • Ecclesiastes does not delineate the specifics of correct behavior, it does press hard toward the correct road – Life is a journey of Faith! • It motivates toward this conclusion by demonstrating the foolishness of searching in areas where God has not hidden the answers • Ecclesiastes proves the emptiness of life apart from God, but it also demands that one fill the void of his life with the activity of doing the will of God • Consider Psalm 19:7-11

  6. Life’s Reward is Determined By God • God will hold us accountable for our actions – whether they are good or evil • We should keep our heart’s pure! – Every secret thing will be judged – Why? Because… … God is the Creator (Cf. 12:1; 7: 13-14; 7:29; 8:15; 11:5; 12:7) the One worshiped (Cf. 5:1, 2, 4, 6, 7; 8:2) the One who permits man’s enjoyment (Cf. 9:7) the One who knows the end from the beginning (Cf. 3:11, 15) the One who has placed the desire to know in the heart of man (Cf. 3: 10) the One who supplies food, and water, and gives His approval of labors (Cf. 2:24; 3:13; 5: 18-20) the One whoworks that men will fear Him (Cf. 3:14) the One who is the final judge of all men (Cf. 3:17; 11:9; 12:14) the One who proves that man is different from beasts (Cf. 3:18) the One who blesses the godly (Cf. 7:18) the One who delivers the godly from sin (Cf. 7:26) the One who is the author of the words of life (Cf. 12:11)

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