HCBC Sunday School -- August 11, 2013 "Friends" Class
Unit 2 -- Is It Worth the Effort? (Eccl. 1:1 - 12:14)
Can I Keep on Going? (Ecclesiastes 7:1 - 8:17)
What can I do when problems around me seem too tough to change?
• Explore godly wisdom and commit to embrace it as the norm for our lives.
1) Accept Godly Wisdom (7:11-14)
a. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. ~ Joshua 24:15
b. Conventional wisdom vs. godly wisdom
c. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. ~ Proverbs 4:7
d. Wisdom springs from a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
e. POINT: Wisdom can preserve your very life:
i. It can steer you into a lifestyle that pleases God.
ii. It can help you navigate through life's adversities.
iii. It can help you avoid making disastrous decisions.
2) Avoid Foolish Extremes (7:15-18)
a. Biblical wisdom consistently exalts righteous behavior over wicked and foolish behavior, e.g., Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. ~ Prov. 14:34
b. Biblical wisdom frequently warns against the dangers of extreme behavior, whether grounded in religious extremism or in sinful ideas, e.g., Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth. ~ Proverbs 19:2
c. POINT: A person guided by godly wisdom avoids extreme behavior and orients his or her life toward God.
3) Know God Is in Control (8:10-12, 16-17)
a. When caught in the middle of a crisis, it's then that remembering God's sovereignty and goodness can help us continue to walk in faith.
b. We as finite human beings cannot completely understand the infinite God's ways. Rather than despair, trust in God's control of time and eternity.
c. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, ~ Hebrews 12:1