SERIES: Ecclesiastes
TEXT: Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:8
MESSAGE: “Everyday Joy”

Is your life marked by “joy?” 

“According to the Bible, joy is not an accessory to the Christian life, a perk for shiny saints who can turn their frowns upside down. Rather, joy is tenacious. It fights. It grips the promises of God and won’t let go. And joy is not a mere good mood; it is ballast in our boats, an anchor in our storms, an immovable rock to stand on when the waves of life threaten to flatten us. Far from being a peripheral subtheme in Scripture, joy is the heartbeat of God.” — Matt Smethurst

• “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people…” Luke 2:10
• “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” John 16:24
• “I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.” 2 John 12
• “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight.” Jer. 15:16

“The surest mark of a Christian is not faith, or even love, but joy.” — Samuel Moor Shoemaker

“Joy needs no pretences to enhance it; but how it can survive in face of death and the frustrations of the world is a secret which only the next chapter will begin to unfold.” — Derek Kidner

In today’s text, we will study our need for joy in all of life. So, here is what we learn — (1. What gets in 2. Why it matters 3. Where it leads)

1. What gets in (v. 11:7-10)

“Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. 8 So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity. 9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.”

“Despite what our culture tells you, real joy is not found in listening to yourself; it’s found in listening intently to God.” — Matt Smethurst

“…Qohelet’s advice is to start early on this pathway of joyful existence before God, in the sure knowledge that life will only ever become more challenging as time passes…” — Iain Provan

2. Why it matters (v. 12:1-5)

“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 3 in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, 4 and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low—”

3. Where it leads (v. 12:5-8)

“…they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets—6 before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8 Vanity[b] of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.”

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” — 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

TAKEAWAYS: How can we live with everyday joy? Let’s ask two questions…

(I) Have you settled for happiness over joy?

“Happiness is caused by things that happen around me, and circumstances will mar it; but joy flows right on through trouble; joy flows on through the day; joy flows in the night as well as in the day; joy flows through persecution and opposition. It is an unceasing fountain bubbling up in the heart; a secret spring the world can’t see and doesn’t know anything about. The Lord gives his people perpetual joy when they walk in obedience to him.” — D.L. Moody

(II) Have you anchored yourself in personal feelings over God’s promises?

“Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.” — Leon Bloy

“…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” — Hebrews 12:1b-2