The Pursuit of Pleasure
Sermon Notes
Introduction:
Today we’re continuing our teaching series called The Story, where we’re going through the biblical narrative from the very beginning in Genesis 1 to the last amen in Revelation 22, and today we’re studying the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes is one of my favorite books of the bible because it’s full of wisdom like Proverbs. Its primary focus is on helping us to understand the purpose of life, the meaning of life. Within the first 3 chapters the author’s wrestling with what the purpose of life is, and why humanity has this endless pursuit of pleasure that nothing ever seems to satisfy? Retired Quarterback Tom Brady wrestled with a similar question in 2005 during a 60 Minutes interview. Brady asked, “Why do I have all these Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me?...Maybe a lot of people would say this is it. I reached my goal, my dream, my life. But I think there’s gotta be more than this.” The 60 Minutes guy asked, “Well what’s the answer?” Brady’s response? “I wish I knew. I wish I knew.”
Ecclesiastes is a book that helps to answer that question. It helps to answer the questions of why we’re here, and why there’s nothing in this world that ever seems to satisfy us. So let’s turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 1 and check it out. If you open your bible to the middle, keep turning to the left, you’ll find Ecclesiastes. We’ll start in Ecclesiastes 1:1-3. The title of today’s message is The Pursuit of Pleasure, and here’s the big idea. The endless pursuit of pleasure, points to something greater...The endless pursuit of pleasure, points to something greater...
Context:
I’ll give you some context as we go, but for now just know there’s 2 questions today’s text will be answering. It’s why does the pursuit of pleasure fail us, and what’s the pursuit of pleasure pointing us to?...Why does it fail us, and what’s it pointing to. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
Ecclesiastes 1:1-3 states, “The words of the Teacher,, son of David, king in Jerusalem.” That’s Solomon. We’re talking about King Solomon here. He’s the teacher, the son of David, the king in Jerusalem, and here’s what we know about Solomon historically. We know he’s considered one of the wisest men in history 2nd to Jesus, and he shared some of his wisdom when he wrote over 3000 proverbs, over 1000 songs, and 3 books of the Bible including Ecclesiastes, which we’re studying now. We also know he’s considered one of the most powerful and wealthiest 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, so powerful, so wealthy, that people and kings would travel from all over the world just to sit at his feet to learn from him. We also know he had over 700 wives and 300 concubines, for the purpose of expanding his kingdom and for satisfying his sexual desires. If Solomon was still alive today, he’d be considered smarter than Stephen Hawking, more powerful than the president, wealthier than Elon Musk, and have more women surrounding him than all the Bachelor seasons combined...If you were watching a Dos Equis commercial, he’d be the most interesting man alive...If you were reading GQ, Forbes, or Men’s Health Magazines, he’d be the guy on the cover...Historically he was very well known for his wisdom, power, wealth, and women. He’s a guy who experienced a lot of life, and he writes Ecclesiastes to share some wisdom towards the end of his life. So as we continue reading, picture Solomon as a wise old man trying to teach us a few things towards the end of his life. Vs 1 says he’s a teacher, he’s like a wise old grandpa...trying 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.’” The word “futile” can also be translated as “vanity,” and Solomon uses this word over 37 times in Ecclesiastes. In the original Hebrew he uses the word ha-bel, which means vapor or mist. He’s saying our lives are like a vapor or mist that’s here one minute, but gone the next. So as Solomon’s reflecting on all his achievements in life. As he’s reflecting on all his wisdom, power, wealth, women, degrees, and successful projects of his professional career. He says it’s all a (S)...mist...It’s all a (S)...mist... Welcome to City Awakening where your life’s a (S)...mist...That isn’t a very welcoming, joyful thesis statement is it?...I mean most people are grinding it out in their careers hoping to achieve just a fraction of the things he’s achieved. Yet he’s telling us it’s all futile, it’s all vanity, it’s all a (S)...mist. It isn’t a very welcoming, joyful thesis statement, but it is an interesting one. It’s very interesting to hear a man of his stature, a man who’s achieved so much historically say it’s all futile. I mean why would he say that? Why would a man of his stature, a man who’s achieved so much historically, say it’s all futile?...He explains the reason he says that, as the text continues.
Again vs. 2, “Absolute futility. Everything is futile. 3 What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?” Solomon uses the phrase “under the sun” 26 times in Ecclesiastes, and it means life under the sun, life under heaven, life this side of eternity. It means the temporal mist of a life we’re living this side of eternity, and he’s asking what’s the point of pursuing pleasure in temporal things? What’s the point in pursuing pleasure in things that are just a mist?...Then he gives us a barrage of temporal mist-like things he’s tried finding pleasure in throughout his life, and one of those things was wisdom which he mentions in vs 16-17.
Vs. 16-17 states, “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...I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind.” Notice he said he applied his “mind” to know wisdom, meaning he strongly pursued gaining wisdom and knowledge. It was his prized possession, like a professor who gets insulted if you don’t call them Dr. Their education is their treasure and if you don’t acknowledge their treasure the get insulted. But Solomon had more degrees than anyone, and he’s saying it’s all a futile mist because you can’t take any of your degrees with you when you die. Your degrees have no eternal value when you die. They have some value now, but your degrees, GPA, graduating Summa Cum Laude doesn’t have any value when you die. Solomon’s saying he tried finding pleasure in gaining wisdom and knowledge, but he realized it’s all a futile mist in the end.
Ch. 2:1-11, “I said to myself, ‘Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.’ But it turned out to be futile.” When he says I will “test you with pleasure,” he’s talking about a hedonistic pursuit of pleasure, meaning he pursued whatever made him feel good. Our country’s full of people with a hedonistic pursuit of pleasure. It’s full of people trying to pursue whatever makes them feel good, whatever makes them happy. Our very own Declaration of Independence is about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...And notice that happiness is something you have to pursue. They’re like, “Life we’ll help you with. Liberty we’ll help you with. But happiness, good luck with that one! You have to pursue that one.” Yet this is exactly what so many of us are doing! We’re trying to pursue happiness! We’re trying to find happiness in so many temporal mist-like things, that only leave us feeling stressed out, burnt out, possibly even in tears after realizing there wasn’t a pot of gold at the end of our hedonistic rainbow...
Our pursuit of pleasure is a lot like pealing an onion. You peal layer, after layer, after layer only to find yourself in tears in the end. Some of you are like “If I could only have a spouse or a new spouse that treated me better, then I’d finally have pleasure in life...If I could only have children, or if my children would just listen, then I’d finally have pleasure in life...If I could only have a new job, a promotion, more money, a new house, a new car, a vacation, then I’d finally have pleasure in life.” It’s layer after layer, tear after tear only to leave you searching for pleasure in something else again...Solomon’s saying he used his resources to test himself, with whatever pleasures he wanted in life. He had so much wealth he treated the world like a buffet, sampling whatever pleasures were on the menu of life. We’re like, “I wish I had that luxury! I wish I had enough resources to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted.” But Solomon’s saying he had all that! He had enough resources to pursue whatever pleasures were on the menu of life. Yet after sampling it all he says, “It’s all futile! It’s all a mist, that’ll never satisfy you in the end.”
Vs. 3, “I explored with my mind the pull of wine...” So now he’s pursuing pleasure in wine. He’s pursuing pleasure in some Cabernet, some Pappy, some Crystal...or if you’re a strict Baptist it’s Crystal Lite...He’s pursuing pleasure in alcohol, but that didn’t satisfy him either.
Vs. 4, “So I increased my achievements. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. 5 I made gardens and parks for myself, and planted every kind of fruit tree in them. 6 I made pools for myself from which to irrigate a grove of flourishing trees.” That’s Solomon on an episode of MTV cribs!...If you notice he doesn’t have a house, he has houses! He doesn’t have a vineyard, he has vineyards! He doesn’t have a garden, a park, or a pool. He has gardens, parks, and pools. It’s all plural, not singular! He beats all the MTV crib episodes combined! In fact one of his homes was so massive, historians say it took over 14 yrs to complete. He also had infinity pools, which I’ll admit makes me a bit jealous. I always wanted an infinity pool with a waterfall, but instead I have an inflatable kiddy pool that leaks...Solomon had infinity pools that were so big, they irrigated his grove of flourishing trees. One scholar said, “Solomon had incredible real estate with massive palaces, private parks, and gardens. He had his own private zoo with exotic animals from around the world, and a ranch with 12,000 horses and 1,400 chariots imported from Egypt and Cilicia. He had a personal staff, some say as many as 30,000 servants committed solely to serving him. He had on demand front row access to performances by his favorite artists, his favorite comedians, and had unlimited sex fulfilling all his sexual fantasies with any of his 1,000 wives and concubines. He had rock star fame, the highest IQ, and the power to do just about anything he wanted. He was able to enjoy it all while sitting back, kicking his feet up, and relaxing in his huge throne decorated with ivory, gold, 14 hand carved lions, and 500 custom hammered gold shields.” Another scholar said he was so wealthy and famous, that he’d often throw parties with enough food to feed up to 15,000 people a night, and his parties would last for weeks. Solomon literally had it all! He had whatever money could buy, and he says this in vs 10.
Vs. 10, “All my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure.... 11 When I considered all I had accomplished and what I labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind.” Solomon literally had whatever he wanted, yet none of it provided him the pleasure he was pursuing. He says it’s all a futile pursuit of the wind. It’s such a great illustration because wind isn’t something you can grab and hold onto. So he’s saying our pursuit of pleasure is like that, it’s like pursuing the wind. You can try pursuing pleasure, but it isn’t something you can grab and hold onto. It’s like pursuing the wind. C.S. Lewis states, “All your life an unattainable ecstasy has hovered just beyond the grasp of your consciousness...All the things that have deeply possessed your soul have been but hints of it—tantalizing glimpses, promises never quite fulfilled, echoes that died away just as they caught your ear...” Lewis is saying even when we experience a glimpse of pleasure, it’ll be removed shortly after and we’ll be back searching for pleasure again. It’s a chasing after the wind. Yet every generation tries, every generation has their pursuits, chasing after all different kinds of mist-like things thinking it’ll l bring them pleasure. But it only leaves us feeling there’s still something missing in the end.
Jim Carey once said, “I wish everyone could get rich, famous, and have everything they ever dreamed of, so they can see it isn’t the answer.”
John Mayer once said, “I have friends? Check. Money? Check. A Microphone? Check. A Guitar? Check. I have messages waiting on me when I get home? Check. But something’s still missing, and I don’t know how to fix it. Something’s still missing, and I don’t know what it is.”
Tom Brady, Jim Carey, John Mayer, Johnny Depp, Amber Heard...C.S. Lewis, Solomon, and the list goes on...They’re all saying the same thing, which is that money bought them a lot of pleasures, but it couldn’t buy them lasting satisfaction. They’re all saying the pursuit of pleasure eventually fails. Why does it fail? Why does the pursuit of pleasure fail? The answer is because it can’t give you lasting satisfaction in life. There are certainly things that can give us temporary pleasure, but it’ll all eventually fail to give us lasting pleasure. As one scholar put it, “Solomon tried to find meaning by enjoying anything and everything apart from God, but he found it to be a meaningless waste of time. This just goes to prove that you can have a full fridge, full house, full closet, full bank account, full social life, full mind, full stomach, full liquor cabinet, full résumé, full bedroom, yet an empty soul.” Solomon had an empty soul...He enjoyed much of the pleasures life had to offer, yet he still had an empty soul...But what about your soul? How’s your soul?...How’s your soul?...Is it empty from all the mist-like things you’ve been pursuing, or is it full?...How’s your soul?...Solomon’s about to point us to the one thing, that filled his empty soul.
Vs. 24-25 states, “There is nothing better for a person than to eat, drink, and enjoy, his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand, 25 because who can eat and who can enjoy life apart from him?” That’s what the pursuit of pleasure is pointing us to, it’s pointing us to God. Solomon says apart from him, meaning apart from God, nobody can have lasting pleasures in life, and then he says this in ch 3:11.
Ch. 3:11, “He has put eternity in the hearts of humanity.” The Lord has put eternity in the hearts of humanity, meaning the solution to our endless pursuit of pleasure, is to pursue God. He’s saying our endless pursuit of pleasure is pointing us to the fact that only an eternal God, can quench the eternal thirst for pleasure that’s in our hearts. Only God is eternal, therefore only God can provide us with eternal pleasure. Solomon’s sitting at the end of the hedonistic pleasure rainbowsaying “All the wisdom, power, wealth, sex, fame, materials, mist-like things you’re working so hard for isn’t worth it! You’re struggling to climb the success mountain, but I’ve already climbed it. In fact I’m standing on it, and the view isn’t so great without the Lord.” He’s saying we need to pursue our pleasures in the Lord, because the pleasures of this world are nothing more than a (S)...mist...The solution to finding lasting pleasure in life, the solution to filling your empty soul, isn’t found in the temporal mist-like things you’re pursuing, it’s found in pursuing a deeper relationship with the eternal God who placed eternity in your heart. God preserved the book of Ecclesiastes for thousands of years so we can learn this wisdom from Solomon, stop pealing the pleasure onions that are leaving us in tears, and start pursuing eternal pleasures in the Lord.
The Big Idea:
The big idea is the endless pursuit of pleasure, points to something greater...The endless pursuit of pleasure, points to something greater, which is Jesus...When Jesus rose from the dead on the 3rd day he proved he’s the very God who placed eternity in our hearts, and he’s the very God who can satisfy the eternal thirst for pleasure that’s in our hearts. When he rose from the dead on the 3rd day he proved he really can give us eternal life, eternal joy, eternal pleasures beyond the grave. If you’re a skeptic, Jesus prompted your heart to come here today, because he wants you to have those eternal pleasures of eternal life with him. If you repent of your sins and believe he died for your sins on the cross, then you’ll get to enjoy those eternal pleasures of eternal life with him...If you’re already a believer, then hit the reset button on your life today and remind yourself that the mist-like things you’ve been pursuing, can’t ever bring you lasting pleasure like Jesus can. Hit the reset button, and start pursuing pleasure in Jesus again.
Communion
Communion is a great reminder to reset our hearts on Jesus again, because it’s a reminder of the good news of the gospel, which is that Jesus died for our sins on the cross so we can enjoy the eternal pleasures of eternal life with him...If you don’t believe he died for your sins on the cross, if you aren’t a follower of Jesus, then please refrain from taking communion so you don’t go through the motions of this. Instead use this time to reflect on today’s message, and consider asking Jesus to open your heart with the pleasures of his love today...Let’s go ahead and start passing the elements at this time, and as they’re being passed let’s take a few minutes to prep our hearts, and for those watching at home to prep their tables. Take a few minutes to pray asking Jesus to forgive your sins, and to fill your soul with the pleasures of his love again. Let’s pray...
On the night Jesus was betrayed he took some bread, gave thanks for it, broke it saying “This is my body which is to be broken for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. As often as you eat it, do so in remembrance of me, in remembrance of who I am and what I’ve done for you.” When supper ended he took the cup, blessed it, gave thanks for it, and said “This is a symbol of my blood which is to be shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. As often as you drink it, do so in remembrance of me, in remembrance of who I am and what I’ve done.” Let’s eat, drink, and worship Jesus for his eternal love, that can quench the eternal thirst in our hearts.