Rev. David Holwick ZB
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
August 13, 2017
Ecclesiastes 11:7-10
GRAB THE GUSTO
I. No one wants a boring life.
A. In our culture, one product brings excitement: beer.
1) 1970s Schlitz commercial - "Grab all the gusto you can get!"
Unfortunately, Schlitz soon lost its own gusto.
They changed the recipe for the beer, using cheap corn syrup
to replace some of the malted barley and adding a silica
gel to prevent the product from forming a haze,
The new formula resulted in a beer that lost much of its
flavor and also spoiled more quickly,
The company was soon bought out. [1]
2) We all want excitement and fulfillment.
a) No one wants a boring life. We want to be happy.
b) And that's not a bad thing. But how do we get it?
B. There is another dimension in life to consider - God.
1) God wants you to have abundant joy - within boundaries.
2) He designed us and knows what makes us tick.
3) If you know him, you will discover your purpose in life.
II. Life is to be enjoyed.
A. Enjoy your days under the sun.
1) There is pleasure in feeling the sun on your face.
a) Friday night, I was wondering if our Peach Festival
would have any sun at all... rain and outdoor
festivals don't mix.
b) But we can always find a way to enjoy ourselves.
2) The ancient Romans called it "Carpe diem" - seize the day.
3) We should praise God for the goodness of life.
A Jewish teacher in the third century commented,
"Man will have to give account for all that he saw
and did not enjoy." [2]
B. Enjoy all your days, even when you have had a lot of them.
1) Verse 8 is thinking of an old person who has had many
experiences.
a) Every day has the potential to give us joy.
b) Don't take any of them for granted.
2) There will also be plenty of dark days.
a) As we age, those are the days that become our focus.
1> Getting old is tough.
b) Do good days and bad days just cancel each other out?
1> If life is just a big wash, a step back for every
step forward, what would be the purpose of it?
2> As Solomon says, that would be meaningless.
3> But this is true only when you leave God out of
the picture.
3) Get the most out of life while you can.
a) It takes drive and effort.
I have been jogging this summer to get in shape for
a backpacking trip after we see the eclipse.
I have my eyes set on a 3-day, 35-mile hike over a
mountain range called the Cirque of the Towers.
Celeste just rolls her eyes at me.
I have to do it while I can - how much longer will
my body hold out?
I am long past my prime, but it won't get any easier.
b) I have things I want to do, places I want to see.
1> All of us need these goals.
C. Enjoy life when you are young.
1) Young people have fewer responsibilities and cares.
a) Their future is full of possibilities.
b) They can dream of making a difference.
c) But they can also feel a lot of pressure and anxiety
at what is expected of them.
d) Many troubles are out there, but put your focus on joy.
2) Our culture worships youth.
a) (How many times have you heard the saying, "Youth is
wasted on the young"?)
b) Even those who aren't young have a mental image of
themselves that way.
c) How should a young person approach life?
III. Follow your heart.
A. Your perception and feelings matter.
1) Our heart and eyes are not infallible, but they are what
we have to go on.
2) God usually speaks to us through our feelings and insights.
a) This is much more common than voices or thunderbolts.
b) Your dreams about life might be sent from God himself.
B. Imagine big things, do big things.
1) It is good to dream about what life can be.
a) This weekend I met with a young couple who are getting
married next summer.
b) They are excited about it, and know it will bring
many challenges to them.
c) They want a successful marriage and to make a mark
on the world.
2) With God, all things are possible.
a) Don't limit yourself.
IV. Our hearts and eyes can be deceived.
A. Not everything we desire is good for us.
1) John warns of the lust of the eyes, and how we desire
the things we see, even if it is harmful.
1 John 2:16 says,
"For everything in the world -- the lust of the flesh, the
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life -- comes not
from the Father but from the world."
a) Think about some of the people you once dated, or
financial decisions you made.
b) It seemed good at the time, but it blew up in your face.
c) What we think is good for us is often warped by our
greed and lust and selfishness.
2) This is why the Bible warns young people in 2 Timothy 2:22:
"Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness,
faith, love and peace."
B. Our choices matter.
1) We can do whatever we want, but in the end we will answer
to God.
2) You have to rejoice responsibly.
In 2010, Ted Williams was a homeless man living on the
streets of Columbus, Ohio.
But one chance encounter and a YouTube video gone viral
launched Williams into overnight superstardom.
He had an emotional reunion with his mother and even
found work doing a voice-over gig for a Kraft
commercial.
It was a very exciting time for him. Life was good again.
But going from homeless to Hollywood is no easy transition.
After a fiery altercation with his daughter, Williams
admitted he had started drinking again.
TV personality Dr. Phil encouraged Ted to check into
rehab after only one week of fame.
But less than two weeks after beginning treatment for
drug and alcohol dependency, Williams left the center.
A short time later, he went back in.
A job with a basketball team and the offer of a free
house were rescinded.
Radio host Mel Robbins commented, "Ted Williams may have
a golden voice, but he's also got a rap sheet, a
drug addiction, nine children he abandoned and a
mother he has been estranged from for 20 years.
Does everyone deserve a second chance, sure.
But don't kid yourself -- you can't overcome a lifetime
of bad decisions and mental health issues with a few
morning show appearances."
#63003
3) This advice is good for non-viral folks like us.
Wise lifestyle choices matter a lot.
The positive approach to life must rest on more than
cheerfulness, or courage, or even morality.
We must remember our Creator, as Ecclesiastes 12:1 says.
C. Always assess your desires with what God has revealed to us.
1) The Bible gives us much guidance on how we should live.
2) It is also a good idea to get confirmation from believers
you respect.
V. Focus on your God.
A. Positive attitude requires negative pruning.
1) Verse 10 tells us to banish anxiety.
a) In other words, don't worry about stuff.
Nando Parrado was a passenger on a plane that crashed in
the Andes mountains.
It was an infamous episode of survival as they waited
72 days to be rescued.
Over and over again Nando would tell himself, "I am
already dead, I am already dead."
That mantra allowed him to vanquish the fear that gripped
him.
It perhaps also explains why, when given a miraculous
second chance at life, he has lived ever since with
gusto.
Mr. Parrado, is one of the 16 survivors of the crash of an
Uruguayan plane in the Andes Mountains in October 1972.
It was portrayed in the movie "Alive."
His mother and younger sister were among those who died
there in the Andes.
His sister succumbed to injuries and cold as he held her
in his arms.
It was Nando who, with a single companion, trekked through
the harsh mountains with virtually no supplies or
protection.
But finally they were able to guide rescuers back to the
crash site to save his friends and teammates.
Since that deliverance, Mr. Parrado has been a race car
driver, television host, motivational speaker, business
entrepreneur and author.
But no matter what he does, he says, his actions are guided
by the lessons he learned and the conversations about
life, death, God and faith that took place during
his struggle to survive.
"We were lucky, extremely lucky," he said.
"We didn't have any food, clothes or water, and they
weren't searching for us.
So how could we survive?
I lost everything, my family, friends and future, but
I was resurrected.
I came back to life from the grave."
After the ordeal, Parrado became a successful businessman,
but a financial crisis hit Uruguay and Argentina in 2001.
Many businesses failed.
Mr. Parrado's friends and partners were frantic, losing
sleep over their finances.
But he was completely calm.
He said, "Those endless nights in the Andes were terribly,
terribly, terribly cold, and so we burned all the money
we had.
I can tell you that a $1 bill burns in the same amount of
time as a $100 bill."
#33261
b) If you have troubles - and we all do - the Bible tells
us to cast them on God, because he cares for us.
2) Verse 10 also tells us to cast off the troubles of our body.
a) Eliminate things that damage you physically.
1> Do you smoke? You should quit.
2> Do you drink too much? Some Christians do, and
pay for it.
3> Maybe you eat to bring a sense of comfort.
A> You should find your contentment elsewhere.
b) But no matter how well you treat yourself, you will
eventually fall apart.
1> If you are like Charles Brady, there might be
procedures they can do to you to put you back
together, at least for a time.
2> Our bodies wear down, our enthusiasm wanes.
3> But God is still God, and he will always love us.
B. What is motivating you right now?
1) Youth and vitality are not enough. You need God.
=========================================================================
SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
1. Wikipedia: “Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company,” <link>.
2. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Ecclesiastes (vol. 5) by J. Stafford
Wright (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 1991), p. 1191.
#33261 “He Was Already Dead, So He Lives With Gusto,” by Larry Rohter,
America Online News, September 30, 2006.
#63003 “You Don't Overcome Addiction Easily,” by David Holwick, adapted
from "'Golden Voice' Ted Williams Ditches Rehab," by Rebecca
Macatee on America Online, Jan. 24, 2011; and "Cavs Take Back
Job Offer from Ted Williams, Homeless Superstar Turned Fameball
Flameout," by Vince Grzegorek at www.clevescene.com, May 9,
2011. Other sources were also used.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
=========================================================================
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
Created with the Freeware Edition of HelpNDoc: Easily create HTML Help documents