We welcome you to Stone's Hill today!

A typical Stone's Hill service has:

* music (so feel free to sing out);

* some announcements (things that are upcoming that you can be a part of);

* a message out of the Bible (God speaks to us through his Word);

* and an opportunity for you to respond to the message (either immediately in the case of a decision that needs to be made OR in the future as you live out the message in your daily life.)

So relax and enjoy your morning! We're so glad you are here!

Message Text: Ecclesiastes 4:1-8
Introduction
One of richest men ever to live on the planet is reaching the end of his life. He wrote a personal journal of inspired advice for his son, Rehoboam, and for the rest of the world to consider. Turn with me to the Book of Ecclesiastes. Today in our study, we arrive at what Old Testament scholars call the middle part of his journal; chapters 4 through 10 are considered the middle section. You may notice that it sounds very much like Solomon’s Book of Proverbs, with short paragraphs that cover a lot of territory (Steven Davey). This section is a survival guide to avoiding the pitfalls and dead ends as you navigate the rough water in life. If the first part of his journal dealt with finding meaning under the sun, these next chapters could be entitled, ‘surviving evil under the sun’. Solomon begins by very realistically describing the world around him, a world that hasn’t changed much in 3,000 years.
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Proposition
We are in Ecclesiastes 4 today, where Solomon pulls back the curtain on FOUR DIFFERENT LIFE SCENES and describes them for us. We could also call these SCENES - FOUR SOCIAL BEHAVIORS that promote loneliness and isolation. These SCENES or BEHAVIORS can be so extreme that it causes one to question – “Is life worth the living?” A repeated concept helps provide the contrast. “This is better than that.” Two scenarios: which is better? The ultimate contrast: Pre-Christ vrs. PostChrist – which is way Better. “This is better than that.”
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Outline
Heartless Oppression: Being on the Wrong Side of Earthly Power (vrs. 1-3)
Oppression - which leads to Heartbreak
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Envious Rivalry: Keeping up with the Kardashians (v. 4)
Competition - which leads to Envy
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Arrogant Laziness: Resigning from the Rat Race (v. 5)
Distraction - which leads to Laziness
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Blind Ambition: Imitating Ebenezer Scrooge (vrs. 7-8)
Compulsion - which leads to Greed
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Nested Proverb (v. 6)
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Application
These four scenes describe four possibilities of listening to the wrong voice and following the wrong advice.
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Some pursue power, but then misuse it. Has God entrusted power to you? How are you using it?
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Others work hard but the hidden motive in their heart is to be applauded or get an edge past their competition. What is your agenda?
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Others decide to just get by; they fold their hands in self-centered arrogance and demand to be served rather than serve. Are you serving or being served?
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And others never take a breath. They never stop churning away and counting their coins or their trophies or their toys, and they never seem to notice that everyone has slipped away and left them in their self-absorbed world all alone. Is this you?
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Invitation
If this world is all there is, you’ll build a… pleasure-based life, where you seek pleasure and beauty OR a cause-based life against injustice where you try to correct societies wrongs OR a work-based life, where you achieve, succeed, and accomplish.
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Solomon went down all these paths. What happened? He says, “I hate everything.” These causes are not big enough. What happens when your body won’t yield pleasure anymore or your job tanks or you have no one you can trust with your wealth, or your cause gets sabotaged by some other agenda?
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We crave the pleasure of God over our lives and to have that we need to receive His Son, Jesus. Jesus did not fold his hands in idleness. Neither did he envy people who had more possessions than he did, which included almost everyone. He simply worked hard in the calling that his Father had given him—the calling to seek and to save lost sinners. As he worked, Jesus trusted his Father to provide for his daily needs; he was content with the basic things in life. Now Jesus invites us to live the same way—the better way that we see in Ecclesiastes. Work hard, but be content with what you have. Find your satisfaction in the goodness of God… The truth is that he is all we need. “Life is worth the living just because He lives.”
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Turn your life over to Him today.