Fulfillment Found in a Fallen World

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14

October 08, 2023

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14

Outline

Two Reminders of Why We Should Pay Attention to Ecclesiastes:

  1. Solomon's Credentials
  2. The Source of the Message

Remember: Verse 12 is a warning about trying to find answers to things we cannot fully know or understand, since we are finite.

“I can promise you . . . no scope for your talents: only forgiveness for having perverted them. No atmosphere of inquiry, for I will bring you to the land not of questions but of answers, and you shall see the face of God." “‘Ah, but we must all interpret those beautiful words in our own way! For me there is no such thing as a final answer. The free wind of inquiry must always continue to blow through the mind, must it not?’… “‘Listen!’ said the white spirit. ‘Once you were a child. Once you knew what inquiry was for. There was a time when you asked questions because you wanted answers, and were glad when you had found them. Become that child again; even now.’ “‘Ah, but when I became a man, I put away childish things.’"

“No argument, no appeal will avail against this infinite elasticity. The encounter, already fruitless, ends with the gentle sophist’s remembering an appointment, making his apologies, and hurrying off to his discussion group in hell.” ___The “Seeker” in the Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis:

How do we find fulfillment in a fallen world? Verse 13 - Fear God and keep His Commandments

Apply the Word

Something I learned:

Something I want to know more about:

Something I should change:

What truth about the Gospel was/is highlighted by this passage: