despair part 2

“Despair”

Lie #1 – The meaning of life can be found in the wisdom of the world.

Lie #2 – True fulfillment is found in fame, or the pursuit of significance.

Lie #3 – Happiness is found in material possessions.

Forgiveness

Consequence

Discipline

Punishment

Forgiveness

Forgiveness

Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.Romans 8:1

Forgiveness

For I will forgive their wickedness, and remember their sins no more.Hebrews 8:12

Forgiveness

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.Psalm 103:12

Consequences

Consequences

Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps whatever he sows.Galatians 6:7-8

Consequences

And you were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession . . .Ephesians 1:13,14

Consequences

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.John 10:27,28

Consequences

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”John 11:25

Judgement

Judgement

• Our salvation is secure in Christ.

• We still experience consequences for our sins, even though we’re forgiven.

• One day we’ll stand before Christ, and be rewarded for what we’ve done for Him.

Judgement

God is kind, but he is not soft.Romans 2:4

Judgement

He has set eternity in the hearts of men.Ecclesiastes 3:11

Reality #1 – Life is monotonous.


What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?Ecclesiastes 1:3


Under the Sun =

Living life without the

perspective that there

is a God.


Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.


What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new?” It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.Ecclesiastes 1:4-11


Solomon learned that

life without God is just

plain wearisome.

Reality #2 – Human wisdom is limited.

I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.


I thought to myself, “Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.Ecclesiastes 1:12-18



life without God makes

no sense.

Reality #3 – Money can’t buy happiness.


I thought in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. “Laughter,” I said, “is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?” I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly — my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives. I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.


I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well — the delights of the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me.


In all this my wisdom stayed with me. 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. 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 2:1-11


We are driven to believe that in some ways we are important. This inner drive is as intense as our need for water and oxygen.R.C. Sproul


We are built for significance. Our problem is not that we search for it, but that we search for it in all the wrong places.Joe Stowell


And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.Ecclesiastes 4:4


Both the workaholic and the alcoholic are doing the same thing. They’re running away from the reality, and liv-ing on substitutes. One day the bubble of illusion will burst. We only make life harder when we try to escape. Instead of running away from life, we should run to God and let Him make life worth living.Warren Wiersbe



life without God is empty.

Reality #4 – Life is short.


Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king’s successor do than what has already been done? I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both. Then I thought in my heart, “The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?”


I said in my heart, “This too is meaning-less.” For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die! Ecclesiastes 2:12-16


Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs.Ecclesiastes 5:15


. . . death is the destiny of every man . . .Ecclesiastes 7:2

Reflection

Are my life choices honoring to my Creator?

Reflection


Where am I really seeking significance?

Reflection



Is what I’m living for worth Christ dying for?

Reflection



Is what I’m living for worth Christ dying for?

Am I running away from God - or towards Him?

despair part 2

Spiritual

human wisdom

living life

meaning of life

eternal life

understanding of wisdom

judgement god

remembrance of men

hearts of men