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The Bible Breakdown
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The Bible Breakdown
Ecclesiastes 04: Ouch! Don't Chase the Wind
Is the relentless pursuit of success leaving you unfulfilled? In our latest episode, "Chasing the Wind," we uncover the profound wisdom of Ecclesiastes, chapter 4, where Solomon addresses the often-overlooked consequences of our worldly ambitions. From the heart-wrenching reality of oppression to the isolating nature of envy-driven pursuits, we explore Solomon's stark observations on the emptiness that accompanies wealth and power. More importantly, we delve into his powerful message on the significance of relationships and community, underscoring that "two are better than one" and emphasizing the strength of a "triple-braided cord." Solomon's teachings remind us that true contentment lies not in our accomplishments but in cherishing the connections we have and valuing a life grounded in God.
As we transition to "Life Well Lived Through Faith," we open with a prayer of gratitude, laying the groundwork for our discussion on true success and contentment. Reflecting on Ecclesiastes 12:13, we emphasize that our worth is not measured by our achievements but by our identity in God and our adherence to His commands. Solomon's ultimate conclusion—fearing God and obeying His commands—leads us to the essence of a life well-lived. We invite you to join us on this spiritual journey, encouraging you to seek a deeper connection with God and find fulfillment in His presence. This episode promises to challenge your priorities and inspire you to embrace a life imbued with divine purpose.
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The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Well, hello everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, ecclesiastes, chapter 4, and today's title is Ouch, don't Chase the Wind. Ouch, he's going to get up into our business today. He's going to say some stuff that hurts, and I think it hurts because it's true. So we're going to get into all that in just a moment. But if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share and subscribe to YouTube channel and to the podcast. Make sure you're leaving us a five-star review on the podcast it really does help. And also, as always, make sure you're going to the Bible Breakdown discussion on Facebook. The more we dig, the more we find they're doing an amazing job putting out those posts every day. And you can go to wwwthebiblebreakdowncom and you can see all that information of the daily podcast actually stored on that website. We're slowly building just a commentary of all the books of the Bible there. Well, if you have your Bible speaking of that, you want to open up with me to Ecclesiastes, chapter four. Remember, the overall theme of this is the key to a life well-lived is a life full of God, and that's the goal of all of this. And so Solomon is slowly pecking away at all the different things that we try to build our life on and he keeps calling them meaningless, like chasing after the wind You're not going to catch it. And he said that's what we build our lives on are things that ultimately don't really matter, and what he's going to continue to paint the picture and build the case for is ultimately a life well-lived, is a life full of God. And so he's going to continue to double down on that today and he's going to kind of touch some sore spots here a little bit. And so let's dive into this. And I'm curious in the comments down below in the YouTube video, I'm curious, what kind of catches you a little bit today? So if you're ready, let's jump in. Curious, what kind of catches you a little bit today? So if you're ready, let's jump in.
Speaker 1:Ecclesiastes, chapter 4, verse 1, says this again I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power and their victims are helpless. So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living, but most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born, for they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun. Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this too is meaningless, like chasing the wind Ouch Fools fold their idle hands, leading them to ruin. And yet better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.
Speaker 1:I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. This is the case of a man who is all alone, without child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now? It is all so meaningless and depressing.
Speaker 1:Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help, but if someone falls alone, they are in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm, but how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back to back and conquer. Three are even better, and a triple braided cord is not easily broken. It is better to be poor but wise youth than old and a foolish king who refuses all advice. Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. He might even become king, though he has been in prison. But then everyone rushes to the side of yet another youth who replaces him. Endless crowds stand around him, but then another generation grows up and rejects him too. So it is all meaningless like chasing the wind.
Speaker 1:Basically, that last part is talking about how people try so hard to gain notoriety, to gain political power, and all of this only to realize that eventually you become the villain that you are fighting against because a younger person comes up and takes your power away. So he's saying none of that matters. Well, the verse that really caught me was verse four, because he says this. In verse four he says Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors". This too is meaningless, and I don't know about you, but I know a lot of people and I've been guilty of this myself that we can work so hard to buy things we don't need to impress people we don't like with money we don't have. And we all do it because we want to keep up with the Joneses, we want to be one step ahead, we want to do better than our parents. We say all these wonderful things, we want to set up a better foundation for our kids, we have all these wonderful things, but how many times do we continue because we envy our neighbors instead of being satisfied with what we have?
Speaker 1:I heard someone say one time that the happiest people in the room are those who are content, and the most content people in the room are the ones who need nothing else. They just they're satisfied. They realize that what they have is enough. Would I like to have more? Sure, do I need more? No, I'm satisfied with what I have.
Speaker 1:Jesus even talked about how, if you have food and you have clothes, you're good, he said, because he was talking about. Why worry about what am I going to eat? What am I going to wear? Your heavenly father will help take care of you. You seek the kingdom of heaven and God will add all these things to you. But we don't really talk about that that much anymore, do we? We talk about how God wants you blessed. He wants you to have that brand new car. He wants you to have that brand new house. Here's the thing God wants you blessed. He doesn always want us spoiled, because if we're spoiled, we begin to forget where it comes from.
Speaker 1:I've known people who were passionate followers of God and they were wealthy, but when you talk to them, they had no illusion about where everything came from and they were actually very humble in who's all of it belonged to. They saw themselves as stewards and those people that were wealthy and were like that man, that's awesome. I've also known wealthy people who were miserable because they forgot where it came from. But you know what else I've seen? I have seen people who didn't have much at all and they were miserable because they were envious. And I've known people who didn't have much and were the most joyful people in the room because their contentment was not in what they had but in who they had. They had their family and, most importantly, they had the Lord. And so it has.
Speaker 1:Really, if you really think about it, our joy and contentment has very little to do with what we succeed in life. It has a whole lot to do with whose we are in life. So I want to challenge you today why do you do what you do? Why do you work so hard? I'm not saying you should work any less, I'm just saying we have to be so very careful that we're doing it for the right reasons. We have to make sure that if we are working so hard and we're trying so hard, we have to be running toward the things of God, not running away from our insecurities and our fears. It all has to do with whether you're running toward it or if you're running from something. Why do you do what you do? Are you doing it for the Lord? Are you doing it because it's the desire of your heart to do the best you can with what he has given you, or are you doing it out of envy? Be so very careful, because the preacher, solomon, tells us it's meaningless, like chasing the wind.
Speaker 1:Let's pray together, god. Thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, for your challenge in our heart today to challenge us, lord, to seek you above everything else. Lord, it challenges us because it challenges me. I, god, want to be content in all things. I want to know that, lord, success is not about what we achieve. It's about who we become and realize whose we are. I pray that will go deep in our hearts today. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen, amen. What God's Word says in Ecclesiastes 12, verse 13,. Here now is my final conclusion Fear God and obey His commands. In other words, a life well lived is a life full of God. In other words, a life well lived is a life full of God. I pray that you find a life well lived because you find a life with more of God every single day. I love you. No-transcript.
