Ecclesiastes Chapter 2

Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes Chapter 2

How can I find true happiness and real contentment in my life?

‘Seek your happiness in the LORD and He will give you your heart’s desire.’ Psalm 37:4

1: I just want to enjoy myself, be happy, have a good laugh and enjoy a good time. V1-3

‘the few days of their lives v3. I will test you with pleasure, v1. Laughter I said was foolish.’ V2

‘I tried cheering myself with wine and embracing folly, v3. ie. Have a few drinks and act the fool , have a good laugh.

Question: Are you a pleasure seeker, putting up with work but living for the weekend? Where does it get you? What does it accomplish? Does it leave you empty and aching inside on Monday?

2: I have everything a man could ever want, more than anyone else and still I’m not really happy, not really contented and never ever satisfied. V4-11

‘I undertook great projects, I built houses for myself. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me, I amassed silver and gold for myself, I denied myself nothing my eyes desired, I refused my heart no pleasure. YET.

‘then I thought about all that I had done and how hard I had worked doing it, and I realise that it didn’t mean a thing.’ V11

Question: We have more than we’ve ever had, more than any previous generation, but has that made us any more contented or happy? NO! What will make us truly happy?

Question: Are we living selfishly, thinking of me and mine, living for me and mine? Have we lost that sense as Christian believers of ‘self-denial and self-sacrifice so that we can live wholeheartedly and selflessly for JESUS?

3: Because I can’t find any real contentment and happiness in my life, I find myself becoming frustrated, cynical and bitter. V12-23.

‘So, I hated life because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. V17

‘Nothing I had worked for and earned meant a thing to me, because I knew that I would have to leave it to my successor. You work and you worry your way through life and what do you have to show for it? Everything you do brings nothing but worry and heartache. Even, at night your mind can’t rest. It is all useless. V18-v22-23.

‘Jesus said, ‘I have come in order that you may have LIFE, life in all its fulness.’ John 10:10.

Question: So, who or what are you working for? Is there more to life than this? Is there more to life than working, getting, acquiring and then spending?

4: Tell me, where can I find the key to true happiness in this life? V24-26.

‘for without God, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the one who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness.’ V25-26.

Solomon is the Teacher. He is trying to teach us that he has – Done it all – had it all – accomplished it all – but that without GOD it means absolutely nothing. Happiness is a GIFT from GOD when we totally surrender self and put JESUS at the centre and core of our lives, not only as Saviour, but as the LORD over all.

Question: How happy are you? How happy are you as a Christian believer? What is GOD saying to you right now?