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Morning Worship Series  The Book of Ecclesiastes 
Ecclesiastes 4:13-16

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Review
Ecclesiastes 4:13-16
Pastor Tim Potter

Category: The Book of Ecclesiastes

 August 4, 2019

The Transient Nature of Power and Popularity.

Neither popularity nor position are permanent. Ecclesiastes
4:13-16 teaches us to avoid unrealistic expectations
regarding both.

"How Reeting and altogether temporary is popularity

according to men! What does it matter if a man ever has
royal power? In one case, the old king, although born to
the throne, becomes foolish, senile, unable to discern
that his days of ruling are over. In another situation, a
young but poor wise man may like Joseph rise from
prison to the throne. Such are the constant ups and
downs of life; For although the young man was
welcomed at Yrst, he too will no doubt share his
predecessor's fate. Those who come later will not be
pleased with him either." – Walter Kaiser

People are Yckle. Today's heroes are tomorrow's bums.

Rulers protect their thrones while people clamor for
revolution. When the unwise gain popularity, foolishness is
allowed because people love what they're used to.
Popularity and position come and go, and that never
changes. God's plan incorporates all of this. Hegel said, "We
learn from history simply that we do not learn from history."

The average legacy of an individual is about 1 generation.

Wiersbe said, "The moral of the story in our text is that
wealth and position are no guarantee of success, and
poverty and seeming failure are no barriers to achievement."
Anyone at any time in any state can rise or fall.

There is nothing wrong with wealth or good achievement.

Don't miss the opportunity to make the best of what God
has given you, while always living according to His Word.

Enjoying position and popularity alone without eternal

wisdom and the purpose of God is pointless.
Solomon continues to discuss the danger and grievous
futility of living life in isolation in the last section of
Ecclesiastes 4. God doesn't call individuals to be great for
Him by themselves (John 3:30). Especially in the church,
one person doesn't leave a legacy without others. In Christ,
we can do eternally great things together. Ronald Reagan
said, "There's no limit to the amount of good you can do if
you don't care who gets the credit."

Even like-minded local churches are not great individually

over any other church. (See 2 Corinthians 8-9 and 1
Thessalonians 2:11-12.) God's use of individual churches
will never be at the expense of their partnering
interdependently with other churches to exalt Christ
together and propagate His Gospel. We all help each other
to be spiritually great.

Wanting to do something great for our Savior is not wrong –

but if pursued at the expense of other biblical relationships,
a person will accomplish very little for Christ. Good
motivation must be checked by God-honoring methodology.

Investing in disciples who will continue to make disciples

and making Christ's last command our Yrst priority
(Matthew 28:19-20) are the great things that God has for us
to accomplish together. Self-promoting ideologies and
practices to gain popularity, notoriety, and position abound.
Anything done in the name of Christ aside from an organic
connection to his local church always proves problematic,
both in the life of the isolated individual and for the
successful function of the local church.

Anything done alone, even virtuous, won't last. Every created

thing has a brief existence and an end. Anything we
accomplish will probably be more short-lived than we are.
But anything we pursue for Christ together will be
remembered far longer than our individual selves.

The enduring legacy of the church is as inRuential as Christ

through us (Matthew 16:18). No one person should seek to
rise up and be noticed as great; Christ is the only one to be
exalted in His family. A life that touches other lives for Christ
is always worth remembering. With Christ and His church,
we can do eternally great things.

Application Points
If you have any measure of notoriety or position, enjoy it
while it lasts! Don't enjoy it alone. Make sure you share
with your local church in doing eternal things.
What are you truly living for?
Will you root out from your heart the destructive
thoughts that lead you to pursue selYsh and an
individualistic pathway in life, even in the context of the
local church? Examine your heart for envy of others or
bitterness. Is greed distracting you from biblical family
and living interdependently with your church family? Is
anything pulling you away from the orbit of your local
church? No living thing is stagnant. If you are not
growing closer, you are most likely slipping away from
God's eternal purpose for you.

Tools for Further Study

Cross References to Explore
Those who try to be great apart from God's people are
not successful. Consider the stories of Cain, Achan,
Demas, Alexander, Diotrophes, and Judas.
1 Thess 2:19-20 – Paul saw his signiYcance within the
family of God.

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