The Search For Purpose
Today we’re starting a new teaching series on a book of the Bible called Ecclesiastes. It’s an 8 week teaching series we’re calling The Good Life. The reason we’re doing a series like this is because one of the things we’re focusing on this year is the topic of joy. We’re focusing on how we can bring much joy into our lives, relationships, the people in our city and world. The book of Ecclesiastes does a great job at addressing this deep search for joy inside every human heart. As the famous physicist and philosopher Blaise Pascal said, “All men seek happiness. However different the means they employ, they all strive towards this goal.” Ecclesiastes does a great job at exploring the different means we use to reach the joy goal that’s inside our hearts, so we can finally enjoy The Good Life.
Now Ecclesiastes begins with asking, “What’s the purpose or meaning of life? What’s the point of our existence?” It’s a great question because sometimes the repetitive daily grind feels pointless. Sometimes Mondays feel like a punch in the gut that sucks the wind out of our joy, as we face the repetitive daily grind of work, school, chores, eat, sleep, repeat. I mean what will tomorrow be like for you?...What will Monday be like for you?...For many of us the alarm will go off, and we’ll hit the snooze button several times wishing we could sleep in a little longer. But eventually we’ll get up, get some coffee, get some breakfast, finish getting ready, and rush to school or work. Then we’ll work all day, drink some more coffee, and head home to do more work paying bills, doing chores, homework, cooking dinner, only to eat, sleep, and repeat again...Some older retired people are like, “Yeah I remember those days. It’s nice to be retired...” But older retired people have their daily routines too! They have their daily routines filled with chores, places to be, and a different kind of work called physical therapy and doctor visits...My point is everybody has a Monday, a daily routine, a repetitive daily grind, and it sometimes sucks the wind out of our joy. It sometimes leaves us feeling like we’re living anything but The Good Life. Ecclesiastes begins with asking, “What’s the point of it all? What’s the point of this repetitive daily grind we’re living?” This is what we’re talking about today, so let’s turn to Ecclesiastes 1 and get into it. You’ll find Ecclesiastes in the middle of the Bible, and we’ll be in Ecclesiastes 1:1-18. Title of the message is The Search For Purpose, and the big idea of the message is all of life is vanity, if there is no eternity...All of life is vanity, if there is no eternity...I’ll give you some context as we go.
Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 states, “The words of the Teacher,, son of David, king in Jerusalem.” This tells us who the author is, who the teacher of Ecclesiastes is, and it’s King Solomon. He’s the teacher, the son of David, the king in Jerusalem, and here’s what we know historically about King Solomon. We know he’s considered one of the wisest men in history 2nd to Jesus, and he shared some of his wisdom with future generations when he wrote over 3000 proverbs and the book of Ecclesiastes. We also know he’s considered one of the wealthiest, most powerful kings in history. He was king over Israel for roughly 40 yrs, and his leadership provided Israel with a long season of peace and prosperity. In fact he was so wise, wealthy, and powerful, that people traveled from all over the world to learn from him. He also had over 700 wives and 300 to satisfy his sexual desires and expand his kingdom, which he’ll eventually mention was a mistake that pulled him away from the Lord. But if Solomon were still alive today, he’d be considered wiser than Einstein, wealthier than Elon Musk, more powerful than President Trump or Xi Jinping, and have more women than all the Bachelor seasons combined...If you were reading GQ or Men’s Health, he’d be the guy on the cover...Historically he was known for his wisdom, wealth, and power. He experienced a lot of life, made a lot of mistakes in life, and wrote Ecclesiastes towards the end of his life so others could learn from his mistakes. So as we read Ecclesiastes we need to picture him as a wise old teacher, like a wise old grandpa, who’s wanting to teach us a few things about life.
Again vs. 1, “The words of the Teacher,, son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 ‘Absolute futility,’ says the Teacher. ‘Absolute futility. Everything is futile.’” Notice Solomon repeatedly says everything is futility, and he uses the word futility over 37 times in Ecclesiastes. In the original Hebrew he uses the word ha-bel, which means futility, vanity, or vapor. So he’s repeatedly saying our lives are nothing more than a vapor or mist that’s here a little while and then vanishes. In his wise old age he’s reflecting on all his wisdom, wealth, power, successful life achievements, and he says it’s all a vapor or mist that doesn’t last. His point is a lot of us are building our lives on things that’ll never last or satisfy us. We’re trying to find joy in temporary things like wisdom, wealth, power, sex, success, possessions, and the list goes on. But none of it ever brings us the lasting satisfaction and joy we’re searching for. It’s all vanity, a vapor or mist that can satisfy us for a little while, but it’ll eventually disappear leaving us searching for satisfaction and joy again.
Again vs. 2, “‘Absolute futility,’ says the Teacher. ‘Absolute futility. Everything is futile. 3 What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?’” Solomon’s asking what’s the purpose of it all? What’s the point of working so hard in life, if it’s all just a vapor or mist?...What’s a person to gain from all their efforts and labors in this life under the sun?...Solomon uses this phrase under the sun 26 times in Ecclesiastes, and it means life under heaven. It means the temporary, vain, vapor, mist of a life we’re living this side of eternity, and he’s asking what’s the point of it all? If there’s no God, no eternity, no life after death, then what’s the point of working so hard in this life under the sun? His answer to that question is it’s all vanity, if there is no eternity. Everything we’re working so hard for in this life under the sun, it’s all vanity if there is no eternity, because we can’t take it with us to our graves. When Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple reached the end of his life, he said: “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter.” Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter, because you can’t do anything with it if you’re dead.
Vs. 4, “A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.” When he says a generation goes and a generation comes, he’s pointing out the short lifespan of every generation in human history. He’s pointing out the sad reality that within the short lifespan of every generation, most of us will leave very little impact on human history. Most of us will live, die, and only be remembered by a few people for about 3 generations. Everything we’re working so hard to achieve within our short lifespan, will only be remembered for about 3 generations. In fact there was a study done in 2022 that revealed only 4% of Americans could name their great-grandparents. The percentage was so low, that they didn’t even mention stats for how many could name their great-great-grandparents. The study revealed only 4% could remember the names of their great-grandparents, which is only the 4th generation in their family tree. So at best most of our lives and all the things we’re working so hard to achieve within our short lifespan, will only be remembered for about 3 generations. This is the sad reality Solomon wants us to realize when he says a generation goes and a generation comes. It’s the sad reality that all of life is vanity, if there is no eternity. Everything we’re working so hard for is a vapor or mist that’ll last for about 3 generations.
But if there’s an eternal God who created you, then it means your life and everything you do in life has eternal significance. It means your life has an eternal purpose and can make an eternal impact on people’s lives that’ll be felt not for 3 generations, but for all eternity! The trophy you win in sports, the degrees you get in college, the success you have in your career will all be forgotten within 3 generations, but the people you lead to faith in Jesus will be remembered for all eternity! Tim Keller States, “Right now counts forever! If God is everything to you, if everything you do during the day is connected to him, it means right now counts forever! If the baby is crying at 4:00 a.m., there are two ways to look at it. You can say, ‘This child is just the result of a collision of molecules. This child eventually will die, and no one will remember it. Nothing this child does or I’ll ever do will come to anything.’ Or you can say, ‘This child is created in the image of God. This child is an immortal soul. This child, if he or she turns to the Lord, will sit around the throne with me three billion years from now laughing, and casting our crowns before the Lord lost in wonder…When I clean my house, it isn’t because I have an electrochemical need in my brain for order. It’s because I’m made in the image of a God who brings order out of chaos. See if God is your everything, then you can find purpose in the ordinary...even in the smallest details of the humdrum of life.” What both Solomon and Keller are saying is all of life is vanity, if there is no eternity. They’re saying either nothing matters in life, or everything matters in life. If there is no eternity, then nothing you’re doing in life has any eternal significance. But if there is an eternity, then everything you’re doing in life has eternal significance, even the changing of diapers at 4 a.m.
Again vs. 4, “A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to the place where it rises. 6 Gusting to the south, turning to the north, turning, turning, goes the wind, and the wind returns in its cycles. 7 All the streams flow to the sea, yet the sea is never full...” Solomon gives us 3 examples from nature to help illustrate the daily cycle of every generation. He says every day the sun rises, the windblows, and the streams flow. They keep repeating the same cycle every day, just like we’ll repeat the same cycle of the repetitive daily grind tomorrow. You’ll do the dishes today, but guess what you’ll do tomorrow? It’s more dishes...You’ll do the laundry today, but guess what you’ll do tomorrow? It’s more laundry...You’ll do your chores, pay your bills, check your emails, and text messages today, but tomorrow it’s more chores, bills, emails, and text messages...We try to escape the exhaustion and unsatisfied boredom we feel from the repetitive daily grind by going to the gym, reading a book, watching tv, taking a day off, or taking a vacation. But the repetitive daily grind is still there when we get back and our souls never feel satisfied and full. When Solomon says the streams flow but are never full, he’s implying our souls are never satisfied and full, which he mentions next.
Vs. 8, “All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing, or the ear filled with hearing.” Notice he says the eye is not satisfied, meaning the human soul is never satisfied. He’s implying the human soul is never satisfied, until it finds its satisfaction in God. The truth is we’ll always want a bigger salary, a better house, a nicer car, our vacations to last longer, or something else we feel is missing in our lives, because we’re never satisfied. The Exalting Jesus Commentary states, “We keep waiting for a change in circumstances to make us happy, and we live our entire lives like that. You’re frustrated under the lack of freedom in your parent’s house as a child and think, ‘I can’t wait until I get my license and go to college, because then I’ll be free and happy.’ Then you get into college and think, ‘I can’t wait until I get out of all this boring studying and start doing a job I love.’ Then you graduate, take a job, and say, ‘If only I could get married, then I’ll be happy.’ Then you find someone, get married, and think, ‘If we could just have a family, then life would be complete.’ So you have kids and think, ‘If I could just get promoted to make more money to provide for my family.’ And the cycle never ends! You keep thinking, ‘If I can just get there, then everything will be different.’” But the problem is you never get there! Your soul will never get there, it’ll never be satisfied and full, if you’re seeking to fill it with other things more than God. Your soul will never be satisfied and full, untill you fill it each morning with God, and seek to live each day for the greater eternal purposes of God. If we don’t do that, we’ll just be another generation that comes and goes with an exhausted, unsatisfied soul.
Vs. 11, “There is no remembrance of those who came before; and of those who will come after, there will also be no remembrance by those who follow them. 12 I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my mind to examine and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied. 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind., 15 What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted. 16 I said to myself, ‘See, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped wisdom and knowledge.’ 17 I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind. 18 For with much wisdom is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases.” If you notice Solomon uses the phrase a pursuit of the wind twice here, and it means we’re chasing after the wind. We’re chasing things, pursuing things we can’t ever catch or keep forever. In the rest of Ecclesiastes Solomon’s goal is to expose our pointless pursuit of the wind, so we’ll turn to the greater pursuit of God. His goal is to point out that we really only have two options in life. We either believe God doesn’t exist and nothing has meaning, or we believe God exists and everything has meaning...We either believe God doesn’t exist, eternity doesn’t exist, and everything we’re doing in life doesn’t matter, it doesn’t have eternal significance...or we believe God exists, eternity exists, and everything we’re doing in life matters, it has eternal significance...Those are the two options we’re given, and Solomon explored both those options. In his wise old age he writes Ecclesiastes to expose the 1st option of the pointless pursuit of life without God, so we’ll turn to the 2nd option of the greater pursuit of life with God. As a dying billionaire once said, “I spent my whole life climbing the ladder of success, only to find it was leaning on the wrong wall.”
This is exactly what Solomon’s trying to prevent us from doing! He’s trying to prevent us from leaning on the wrong wall, from pursuing the wind! He isn’t trying to depress us or discourage us, he’s trying to point us to find greater satisfaction and purpose in God. He wants us to realize that this life under the sun isn’t the ceiling, it’s only the beginning. So we need to seek the greater eternal God if we want to enjoy a greater eternal life, and Jesus is that greater eternal God. Jesus is our greater eternal God who came to die for our sins on the cross, and then rose again on the 3rd day to prove his option is the only eternal option that exists. When we put our faith in him we get to enjoy The Good Life he wants for us now, and the even better eternal resurrected life in heaven with him later. Jesus said in Mark 8:36, “What does it profit someone to gain the whole world, but lose their soul?” The answer to that is nothing. If you gain the whole world but lose your soul, then you’ve gained nothing and lost everything. What we all need, what our souls need more than wisdom, wealth, or whatever else we’re chasing after in the wind, is Jesus. What our souls need is to pursue Jesus not just for salvation, but for our daily transformation, restoration, and satisfaction.
The big idea of the message is all of life is vanity, if there is no eternity...All of life is vanity, if there is no eternity...If this life is all there is, then it means even our best moments in life are nothing more than a vapor or mist that’ll eventually vanish in the wind. Jesus doesn’t want that for your life or my life, and he brought us here today to point us away from that vain life. He brought us here so we’d turn to him for The Good Life, and find hope in him for the even greater eternal resurrected life that’s coming. So put your faith in Jesus, and stop chasing the wind...Put your faith in Jesus, stop chasing the wind, and seek him for The Good Life instead of the vain life. Let’s wake up tomorrow seeking Jesus even in the repetitive daily grind, because with Jesus your life always has purpose and eternal significance, even in the repetitive daily grind...Let’s pray..