Despair Part 2

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

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

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

• 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.

monotonous.

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

monotonous.

Under the Sun =
Living life without the
perspective that there
is a God.

monotonous.
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.

monotonous.
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

monotonous.

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.

wisdom is limited.
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

wisdom is limited.

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.

short.

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?”

short.

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

short.

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

short.

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

Reflection
Are my life choices honoring to my
Creator?

Reflection
Creator?

Where am I really seeking significance?

Reflection
Creator?


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

Reflection
Creator?


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

Am I running away from God - or
towards Him?

Despair Part 2

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Despair Part 2