The Whole Duty of Man

Clay Smith JFBC 

The Whole Duty of Man 

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14…a difficult book to preach. 

In the movie Castaway, the main character looks at his life and realizes that much of what he thought was important really wasn’t. 

Three Conclusions, for the book of Ecclesiastes, but also for life. 

 1. v 9-12 we need to hear God’s word. The book bounces around…a collection of sayings, assembled together by the author, Solomon, who was known for wisdom. We’ve learned that we live in a sinful world. Lots of vanity. We live in a fallen world. We learn about the gift of work. We’re taught about the fear of God. All this was Solomon’s intent. 

Enduring phrases come from the book of Ecclesiastes: there’s nothing new under the sun. Words of truth - Gods truth. God uses these words to prod us along. Some Old Testament verses may seem outdated, but they’re there to bind us all together. Gives us stability. Comforts the disturbed, and disturbs the comfortable. 

All truth is ultimately God’s truth. He’s the great Shepherd. This is the word of God, that carries us along by the Holy Spirit. Nothing is impossible with God. Show me a Bible that’s falling apart, and I’ll show you a life that’s not. 

Movie: The Book of Eli. We had no idea what we had until we lost it, talking about not having a Bible to read. All other books pale in comparison to the Bible. 

2. v 13 Fear God’s Name. We’ve lost a healthy sense of the fear of God, and have respect in Him. 

If God never tells you no, then you follow a false God. God does give us grace. In light of what God has done for me through Jesus, what is my response? A meaningful life is to fear the name of God. 

3. Obey God’s commandments. Matthew 7 - the man’s house remained when it was built on the rock. The truth will set you free. Until you learn the boundaries of obeying God’s word, you’ll never know how to be conformed to the image of Jesus, to be set free. 

What’s the Point - of the book of Ecclesiastes… 

…Life is brief, and God is eternal - so live for what lasts. Standing before God in judgment will be a real thing. We can stand before God in complete righteousness, because of what God has done for us through His son Jesus. 

JFBC’s two year goal: 500 baptisms. After 4-1/2 months they've baptised 167 so far. 

36 in Sunday School today. Lesson on Genesis 20. Groundbreaking on the new building will be this fall. 

Next Saturday: climb Kennesaw Mountain with Dan, Brian, Dan, etc. Gotta start planning out what to wear. 

Me: listening to podcasts is a waste of time, compared to reading books. The podcasters spend half their time chitchatting and joking around, trying to sound cool. All that crap would never make it into a book.