Hear the Conclusion!

"The conclusion, when all has been heard, is:  fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to  every person.  For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; NASBU)

The One Shepherd of Ecclesiastes

"The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd" (Ecclesiastes 12:11; NKJV)

Ecclesiastes portrays the emptiness and perplexity of life without a relationship with the true and living God.

Each person has eternity in his heart (3:11), and only Christ can provide ultimate satisfaction, joy, and wisdom.

Man’s highest good is found in the “one Shepherd” (12:11) who offers abundant life (John 10:9-10).

Read Ecclesiastes and see Jesus, the One Shepherd!

Life Under the Sun

Set Your Mind on Things Above

A choice…

We choose to direct our minds in a certain direction…

We choose to think about the will of Heaven while we are on the Earth.

Perspective

1.A way of regarding situations, facts, etc, and judging their relative importance

2.The proper or accurate point of view or the ability to see it; objectivity: try to get some perspective on your troubles (World English Dictionary) http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/perspective

Two Perspectives 

1.His – Isaiah 40:22

2.Ours - Ecclesiastes (29x)

Hidden in My Heart

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17; NKJV)

Song of Solomon

1.  Song of Solomon is a bold and positive endorsement by God of love in courtship and marriage, in all its physical and emotional beauty

Sex, created by God and pronounced good in Eden, is to be between a husband and a wife within the context of their God approved marriage as a holy means of celebrating love, experiencing pleasure, and producing children, protected by the commitment of marriage

2.  Love can be pure and chaste, steadfast and loyal, able to withstand the lures of riches and pomp and not be willing to sell itself to the highest bidder, able to see the beauty of true love from a humble person

3.  Natural appetites are not to be hated or feared or treated as base or low, but are to be kept within boundaries (1:2; 4:7, 12; 5:2; 6:9; 8:2

4.  Young people, marry someone you love (2:7; 3:5; 8:4

5.  Do not marry a man or a woman because you he or she has persuaded you that he or she “needs you” (6:8-9

6.  Young people, do not manipulate someone into marrying you (6:8-9

Sex is God’s gift to marriage and is to be enjoyed as a blessing from above (Genesis 2; Hebrews 13:

A husband and wife need not feel any guilt or shame as they engage in sex (

God approves of romantic love so long as it is grounded in commitment (

The beauty of a  person’s character will endure long after their physical beauty has passed away (1:2-3 her passion is based on his character

God longs for sex to be motivated by love and commitment, not lust (2:16; 6:3; 7:10

Young people, be a “wall” (8:8-10, 14)

Find someone like the shepherd boyfriend/the shulammite, tie your heart to that person and entwine your life to theirs in marriage, knowing this is a decision that God approves and sanctions (    

We must avoid the extremes of lust and asceticism as we learn to see sexuality as God sees it

Conclusion:  Read Song of Solomon remember that you are loved by God, and commit yourself to seeing courtship, marriage and the sexual relationship from His point of view!

Proverbs 31

And Jehovah God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him” (Genesis 2:18; ASV).

Men and women were made to be complementary parts of a remarkable whole.  Our ultimate nature and destiny are the same, and much we are to be in life is identical, but our roles here are different.  This difference has nothing to do with value or status, but with the way God in His great wisdom ordered the human family.

There is nothing so priceless and so beautiful as a woman of spiritual grace and loveliness:  “Who can find a virtuous wife?  For her worth is far above rubies” (Proverbs 31:10; NKJV).  The man achieves what he does from a position of leadership, the woman from a position of submission.  This submission arises from the very nature of creation, the woman created for the man and not man for the woman (see 1 Timothy 2:11-15; 1 Corinthians 11:8-9).  There is nothing degrading about God’s order!  The wife follows to serve her husband and the husband leads to serve his wife.  Both serve each other in order to serve the Lord Jesus:  “…submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21; ESV).  Everything is for the sake of others.

The secret of the worthy woman is revealed by in the “words of King Lemuel, the oracle which his mother taught him” (Proverbs 31:1; NASBU).  The worthy woman “fears the LORD” (Proverbs 31:30; NASBU).  That is why the “heart of her husband trusts in her” (Proverbs 31:11; NASBU).  That is why she does her husband “good and no evil all the days of her life” (Proverbs 31:12; NASBU).  The foundation of her love for him is not his handsome good looks or his charming personality, but her deep love for Christ before whom she has committed here faithful love to her husband.

“Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:  ‘Many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all” (Proverbs 31:28-29; NASBU).  Let all of us rise up and give glory to God for the Godly women that have blessed us along the way.  Follow the lead of these good women as they have followed the lead of the Chief Shepherd. 

Jason

         

Old Age and Gray Hair

"The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, If it is found in the way of righteousness." (Proverbs 16:31; NKJV)


"The glory of young men is their strength, And the splendor of old men is their gray head." (Proverbs 20:29; NKJV)