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Stronger Together (2017) Being the Church | Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Southern Hills Baptist Church June 25, 2017

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Stronger Together (2017) Being the Church | Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Southern Hills Baptist Church June 25, 2017 Stronger Together (2017) Being the Church | Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Southern Hills Baptist Church June 25, 2017 WELCOME Happy Sunday to you. I’m glad to be sharing time together in God’s Word. We will be in Ecclesiastes 4 this morning so please turn in that direction if you have your Bibles with you. If you don’t, there should be a copy of God’s Word in one of the seats near you. INTRODUCTION – The Story that “Brought Being the Church” Let me briefly remind you why we are in the study that we are in currently. Back in January we got a call that was both unexpected and a future blessing, when the pastor of the church we were renting space from called to inform us that their lease was not getting renewed as the business next door was expanding. The landlord had agreed to give that growing business the space that we rented from New Life. We were told that we would have to be out of the building within 3 months. Worry Amidst Uncertainty This of course caused some worry within the hearts of your pastors. 3 months isn’t much time to make such a massive transition where we would have to make big decisions. One of the things that worried us most was how all of this change, uncertainty, and transition would affect the church. What we didn’t want was to see people lose sight of what was really important and who we really are as a people. • Were we going to be homeless for a while? Yes. • Were we going to have more questions than answers? Yes. • Did any of our shifting situations change anything about who we are or who we have been called to be? Not in the slightest. So in the midst of our changing scenery and situation and amid all of the unanswered questions we wanted to stop and remember who Southern Hills is and what it means for us to be the church. We will never be defined by the building we meet in or the time our gathering is held. Rather, we are defined by the call and the mission that God has placed upon us. This call, this mission needs no building to be carried out, although it helps. What this call and mission needs is a people captivated by their God and committed His call. Being the Church So the last couple of months have been devoted to remembering this call and its blessing. God has given us the blessing of the church and placed you in the church for His glory and your joy. • We have seen this in the call for us to Learn God’s Word Together. We are to help each other go deeper in the knowledge of our God, deepening our joy and trust in Him along the way. • We also saw the blessing of the church in the call to share life together. We are there for one another to both rejoice and mourn. We are even here in the mundane to encourage and push one another in love. • The blessing of the church was also on display in the call for us to Go Out with the Gospel, as well as to Fight Sin, and even to Serve One Another. My Last Week in the Series – Stronger Together With all of this said, this week is my last week teaching in this series, as I will pick the Gospel of John back up in 2 weeks. So here is what I want to leave you with in our time remembering who Southern Hills is and what it means for us to be the church… We are Stronger Together. God made you to live in community, specifically a Gospel-Centered community, and you are at your best, your strongest, your most secure, when you are living in that kind of community. Ecclesiastes 4 – My Hope for Today We are going to take time to walk through a passage in just a moment from Ecclesiastes 4. This passage lays out the blessings of living in Gospel-Centered community. I want you to be reminded of how blessed you are to be a part of the church. I also want you to be reminded of how you need the church in your life, by God’s gracious design, to be at your best, to find your deepest joy, to be your most secure. Opening Prayer Before we go any further, let’s pause and ask God to bless the study of His Word. Dear Heavenly Father, It is you who changes hearts and lives. Your Word is one of the great tools you use. Would you use it this morning to open our eyes to another great tool you use to grow, to mature, to comfort, to encourage, to delight, to uphold us, the tool of the church. By your gracious design, we are stronger together. Help us to see this reality this morning and cling tightly to it for the rest of our lives. We pray these things in Jesus Name, Amen. CONTEXT Before we read our passage this morning, let me lay out some context. We are in the book of Ecclesiastes and it has been a few years since we have been there last so let me remind you of the backdrop. Solomon’s History Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon, the son of King David. Solomon was a fascinating man. He began his reign by faithfully pursuing God and leading the nation after the law of God. God graciously approached Solomon and asked him, “What would you like?” Solomon could have asked for anything… • Unending riches that he or his people would never want for anything • Mighty military strength that Israel would never have to fear an enemy again • A lifetime of power as King Or a million other things. Solomon could have literally asked for anything, yet what he asks for is wisdom. He doesn’t make this request so that he would be the smartest guy in any room he was in. We read he asked for wisdom that he might rule Israel in a way that pleased God. A surprising move on his part. A God-honoring request. God granted this request and this is why we commonly refer to Solomon as the wisest man who ever lived (apart from Jesus, of course). Benefiting from Solomon’s Wisdom We still benefit from his wisdom today. We will benefit from it in a moment in the book of Ecclesiastes, but the work Solomon is best known for is the book of Proverbs, a book that has had a far and lasting reach in our world. It is a book that is looked to for wisdom by even those who wouldn’t claim Christianity. Ecclesiastes Overview Much like Proverbs, Ecclesiastes is focused on passing wisdom to others. The wisdom Solomon wants to pass on in this work revolves around the purpose of life. Solomon was looking for a life that mattered, a life of meaning, a life that didn’t wind up in vanity or emptiness. In pursuit of this quest Solomon threw himself into a great number of the pleasures that the world offers… • Wealth • Possessions • Fame • Power • Sex • Work • And others What Solomon found is that apart from God there is no true meaning in life. All of it is empty when divorced from its Creator and Designer. Immediate Context In the passage we will consider this morning Solomon considers the matter of work and pursuing riches. What he discovers is that this pursuit often leaves you alone. He then speaks to the value of community and friendship, which is where our focus will be. OUR TEXT Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 [9] Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. [10] For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! [11] Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? [12] And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Isaiah 40:8 [8] The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. So this passage was not written about the church, but it does speak to the value of community, friendship, and fellowship. What Solomon describes should be at the heart of the church and relationships therein. Therefore the principles that Solomon writes of are incredibly relevant when speaking of the church. The value Solomon describes concerning friendship and community serves as a powerful reminder that we are Stronger Together. In this passage Solomon provides 4 reasons why we are Stronger Together. 1. TOGETHER WE ACCOMPLISH MORE (vs. 9) We are Stronger Together because Together We Accomplish More. We see this in verse 9… Ecclesiastes 4:9 [9] Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. The truth that Solomon puts out here for us is simple. 2 people can accomplish more together than 1 person off on his own. Habitat for Humanity Illustration I have had the opportunity to work on some Habitat for Humanity projects in the past. I am sure everyone here is familiar with Habitat for Humanity. It is a great charity that builds homes at very affordable rates for those who wouldn’t be able to afford to get into a home without this kind of help.
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