That evening I cleaned and oiled my weapons and made sure everything was in good working order.”
–Lou Bradshaw (Blue)
“Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.”
–Revelation 3:2 (NKJV)
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What do you expect from life? What do you see happening in life? Is it what you expected? Solomon in verse 11 of Ecclesiastes 9 shows us five negatives.
“I have observed something else in this world of ours. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise are often poor, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being at the right place at the right time.” (NLT)
An opportunity doesn’t always guarantee success. I’ve seen people with great talents use them for the wrong purposes, or they do not take time to develop them properly and for the right reasons. Two things are seen: the sovereignty of God and the simpleness and sometimes laziness of man. Man may be given wonderful talents, but they are used incorrectly. Elvis and Jerry Lee come immediately to mind. Walter C. Kaiser states, “Believers are to be rebuked for rejecting God’s worldly gifts and refusing to use them in a proper way.” To be given a gift by God and using it in a wrong manner may be worse than the man given a “gift” and hiding it.
Most of you will not remember Jackie Jensen. He was a premier hitter in the late 1950s and destined for stardom. He led the league in RBIs twice, but eventually left the game because he could not overcome his fear of flying. Another man destined for greatness in baseball was Herb Score. His career was shortened by a line-drive in the face from the bat of Gil McDougald. One never knows.
Strength is impressive, but what is it that made you strong? Steroids? The wise counsel is never popular, rarely obeyed, and seldom remembered. Human rulers will always outshout wise counselors, and fools prefer the former. I look around at the world today and I see what is called “woke.” It is really part of the postmodern agenda of deconstruction–make up your own truth; it is all relative. In the church I see what could be called “Accommodating Theology.” It’s your opinion about God that counts, not what the Bible says.
Read the rest of chapter 9–it states what I just paraphrased. Verse 12, “For a man also does not know his time: like fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, so the sons of men are snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them.” (NKJV) With evil all around are you ready to handle it? What are you doing to prepare yourself for the times in which you live? Are you a prepper or one who trusts in the Lord? Preparedness is good, but faith is better.
So how do you live your life? How do you survive the times? “In the divine plan of things, the race belongs to the one who runs in the strength of God. Strength, wisdom, speed, discernment, and learning are only valuable in so far as they are ordered by God.” (Kaiser) Therefore, use your gifts and talents wisely–as unto the Lord. Remember the words of Paul when he wrote the church at Corinth.
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
–1 Corinthians 15:57-58 (NKJV)
————————————
What do you expect from life? What do you see happening in life? Is it what you expected? Solomon in verse 11 of Ecclesiastes 9 shows us five negatives.
“I have observed something else in this world of ours. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise are often poor, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being at the right place at the right time.” (NLT)
An opportunity doesn’t always guarantee success. I’ve seen people with great talents use them for the wrong purposes, or they do not take time to develop them properly and for the right reasons. Two things are seen: the sovereignty of God and the simpleness and sometimes laziness of man. Man may be given wonderful talents, but they are used incorrectly. Elvis and Jerry Lee come immediately to mind. Walter C. Kaiser states, “Believers are to be rebuked for rejecting God’s worldly gifts and refusing to use them in a proper way.” To be given a gift by God and using it in a wrong manner may be worse than the man given a “gift” and hiding it.
Most of you will not remember Jackie Jensen. He was a premier hitter in the late 1950s and destined for stardom. He led the league in RBIs twice, but eventually left the game because he could not overcome his fear of flying. Another man destined for greatness in baseball was Herb Score. His career was shortened by a line-drive in the face from the bat of Gil McDougald. One never knows.
Strength is impressive, but what is it that made you strong? Steroids? The wise counsel is never popular, rarely obeyed, and seldom remembered. Human rulers will always outshout wise counselors, and fools prefer the former. I look around at the world today and I see what is called “woke.” It is really part of the postmodern agenda of deconstruction–make up your own truth; it is all relative. In the church I see what could be called “Accommodating Theology.” It’s your opinion about God that counts, not what the Bible says.
Read the rest of chapter 9–it states what I just paraphrased. Verse 12, “For a man also does not know his time: like fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, so the sons of men are snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them.” (NKJV) With evil all around are you ready to handle it? What are you doing to prepare yourself for the times in which you live? Are you a prepper or one who trusts in the Lord? Preparedness is good, but faith is better.
So how do you live your life? How do you survive the times? “In the divine plan of things, the race belongs to the one who runs in the strength of God. Strength, wisdom, speed, discernment, and learning are only valuable in so far as they are ordered by God.” (Kaiser) Therefore, use your gifts and talents wisely–as unto the Lord. Remember the words of Paul when he wrote the church at Corinth.
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
–1 Corinthians 15:57-58 (NKJV)