The Vanity Of The Pursuit Of Worldly Pleasure Ecclesiastes 1:1-2 Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 Titus 2:11-14 1 John 2:15-17 Luke 12:16-21 Matthew 6:25-34 Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 05.19.21

 

THE VANITY OF THE PURSUIT OF WOLDLY PLEASURE

BREAD

¹ “The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: ² ‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.’”  Ecclesiastes 1:1-2 (NIV)

 

¹⁰ I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.  My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.  ¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.  Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 (NIV)

 

¹¹ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.  Titus 2:11-14 (NIV)

 

¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.  1 John 2:15-17 (NIV)

 

¹⁶ And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’  ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’  ²¹ This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”  Luke 12:16-21 (NIV)

 

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?  ²⁸ And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV)

 

¹⁸ Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him--for this is his lot. ¹⁹ Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work--this is a gift of God. ²⁰ He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.  Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 (NIV)

 

BUTTER

“Our great desire is happiness, and our great folly is to think we can obtain it by the enjoyments of this world.  This makes men pursue pleasures, hoard up riches, and court honours and promotions because they believe these can make them truly happy.  But this is to seek the living among the dead.  They are leaky cisterns that cannot hold living water…We consider them a goal when they should only be used by us in our pilgrimage.  We expect much more of them than they can yield, and so the vanity is not so much in the object but in our affection for it.”  Ezekiel Hopkins

“Does my life and conduct correspond to my high calling as a Christian?  Am I actuated by the love of Christ instead of worldly ambition?  Do I prefer God’s honor to my own and justice to gain?  When I look to myself, I feel such a burden of sin that no other hope of salvation is left me but in the mercy of Christ alone.”  Gregory VII - Hildebrand

“Father, as we’re here today, please help us to rid our hearts and minds of the clutter that is within them.  Our thoughts are clouded by worldly matters- things that don’t matter.  Our hearts seek after things that don’t satisfy.  We run after the perishable and fail to seek the imperishable.  Forgive us, Father.  May Your Spirit remind us of Your Presence in all of our lives- all of the time.  Guide us.  Let our thoughts and words and attitudes be pleasing to You.  Let us imitate Christ.  Give us His mind and His attitude.  Strip us of our pride and self-sufficiency and may we be humble as Jesus showed  Humility.  In the Name of Jesus, Who humbled Himself to death, even death on the Cross, for us, we pray.”   Roger Killian

 

“The love of worldly possessions entangles the soul and keeps it from flying to God.”  Augustine

 

“The truth is, the world is much better in show than in substance. How vain is the world at the hour of death!  Nor can these earthly pleasures free us from our cares and crosses.  In Him alone can be found true rest and satisfaction.”   Ezekiel Hopkins

 

“Whatever God has made is good, but if it is considered the greatest good, it turns into vanity.  It is vain to expect happiness and contentment from the world whose crosses are greater than its comforts…Our Savior brands the rich man a fool when he stuffed his barns with corn at the neglect of his soul.  What folly it is to purchase a vain world at the loss of our precious souls!”    Ezekiel Hopkins

“How strange the world is!  It speaks evil of men because they will not do evil.  Yet it has always been so.  Those of whom the ‘world was not worthy’ mentioned in Hebrews 11 Hall of Fame, have been the people of whom the worldly have said, ‘He should not be allowed to live’.  The world’s verdict concerning Christians is of little value.”  C. H. Spurgeon

“When you have God for your portion, you have more than everything else put together. In Him every need is met, whether in life or in death. With God for your portion you are rich indeed, for He will supply your need, comfort your heart, relieve your grief, guide your steps, walk with you in the dark valley, and then take you home to enjoy Him as your portion forever.  ‘I have enough,’ said Esau; this is the best thing a worldly man can say, but Jacob replied in essence, ‘I have everything,’ which is a note too high for carnal minds.”   C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

HEART SAVOR

·         Christ is our sufficiency, Christ is our strength.

·         The things of this world are for our enjoyment they are not to be our gods.

·         Make God your portion and all else falls under that.  Instead of working with a cup full of rocks - every space not filled, work from a cup overflowing with living water.  It is the difference between being needy and having something to give.