MAY 24, 2026

The Journey Through Ecclesiastes

Week 10: The End of the Matter

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It is not the events past or present that make us feel the way we do but our interpretation of those events.

In conclusion: Listen – Learn – Love – Live – vv. 9- 12

Wisdom – Skilled at life

Definition – choosing the right goals and the right path to those goals.

Way of wisdom   

Content – v. 9 (Listen)

·       Taught – to impart knowledge

·       Weighed – to reflect deeply

·       Explored – researched

·       Arranged – put in systematic order

Compelling – v. 10 (Learn)

·       Delightful - emotionally joyful

·       Accurate - Straightness, honesty

Cattle prods and embedded nails – v. 11 (Love)

·       Stimulus to Biblical living              

·       Secured principles to build upon

Concern – stop learning and start living – v. 12 (Live)

      Be a lifelong listener, learner and lover but most of all a liver. Be a liver!

In conclusion: Fear God and Follow His path – v. 13

Fear God

Definition of fear - Failure to have control

Definition of fear in the Bible - Proverbs 1:7

Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Stage	Meaning	Scripture
Terror	Intense overwhelming fear of God’s wrath	Hebrews 10:31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Dread	The sense that God is dangerous to the unrepentant sinner.	Isaiah 8:13 - “It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread.
Trembling	The soul shaken by God’s holiness and one’s own sinfulness.	Psalm 119:120 My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments.
Astonishment	Shocked wonder before God’s greatness and works	Luke 9:43 And they were all astonished at the greatness of God.
Awe	Emotion inspired by overwhelming greatness.	Psalm 33:8 - Let the whole earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
Reverence	Respect honoring God as holy and glorious.	Hebrews 12:28 - Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe…
Submission	Yielding the will to God’s sovereign authority.	Isaiah 6:5 - Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Armies…Here I am. Send me. (8)
Devotion	Fervent loving dedication and loyal.	Deuteronomy 10:12 - “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you except to fear the LORD your God by walking in all his ways, to love him, and to worship the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul?
Trust	Resting in solid confidence on the character, ability, strength, and truth of God.	Proverbs 3:5–8 (NLT) 5Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. 7Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil. 8Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.
Worship	Extravagant reverence and adoration.	Revelation 14:7 - He spoke with a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

Progression of fearing God.

Terror » dread » trembling » astonishment » awe » reverence » devotion » trust » worship.

Fear God

Consumed with the knowledge of my personal insufficiency in the presence of God Almighty.

Worship is where fearing God leads to.

The only thing you have control over is how you view your life and who will run it.

Worship God’s Faithfulness

Deuteronomy 7:9

God has never broken a promise.

He will never leave you alone even in a crisis.

We can worship His faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22–23

God always has a fresh supply of mercy and grace.

We can worship His faithfulness.

When we say God is faithful, it means He is believable.

When we say God is faithful, it means that He is reliable.

When we say God is faithful, it means that He is trustworthy.

When we say God is faithful, it means that He is true.

Worship God’s Holiness

God gave Isaiah a glimpse of His holy presence.

Isaiah 6:1–8

Atmosphere

Glory of God shook the doorways.

Smoke is associated with the presence of God and serves as concealing part of His glory from human eyes.

He saw himself - ruined

Redeemed – touched by a coal

He saw the need

Who will I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.

Worship God who is Majestic

You can’t exaggerate when you are speaking about God!

The glory of God is used in the Bible as an adjective, a noun, and a verb.

God is glorious (adjective), reveals his glory (noun), and is to be glorified (verb).

He has us in His hands—we do not have Him in our hands.

To Fear God is to understand and to lay down all of the vulnerability of being completely out of control into the hands of the Almighty God who is in complete control who chooses to bring you into a life of immeasurable joy and incomprehensible love.

When we fear God like that.

Follow His path

God demands 100% of you.

Life is a process of either revealing or removing the “props” which rob God of His glory and our good.

Obedience to God without Fearing God leads to legalism.

Focus first on fearing God – and then following His path becomes a moot point!

In conclusion: The horizontal life leads to a downward spiral. – v.14

The holiness of God demands judgement.

There is no good ending for anyone living only the horizontal life.

C S Lewis - “If you read history, you will discover that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. They all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’; aim at earth and you get neither.”

Contentment:

Believing in the providence of God

I have learned a new approach

that allows me to have a self-sufficient peace

in spite of circumstances or outside conditions.