Chasing earthly things

Ecclesiastes 1 (Ecc 1:1 KJV)
Chasing After Things That Are Empty
We see in this first verse of this first chapter that Solomon the son of David is the author. We know that Solomon was considered one of the wisest men to ever live. He doled out advice and counsel and wisdom to others. We see in Ecclesiastes which means “speaker, preacher” Solomon offering up advice to us in this verse regarding chasing after things of this earth and leaving God out of it.
I. Vanity
A. There was a song in the seventies entitled “Your So Vain.”
B. This song was written by a woman and told what she thought of a certain individual.
C. Basically she was saying that he was so wrapped up in himself that he was empty, shallow or vacant.
D. This is what Solomon is trying to get across to us here.
E. When he says vanity of vanities: He is extending the length to which the vanity is taken.
F. Just like Holy of Holies describes the most Holy of places in the Old Testament, Vanity of vanities leads us to see that all is vanity.
G. 3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? (Ecc 1:3 KJV)
H. Solomon asks how it benefits man to toil and chase things on this earth.
I. What are you chasing?
J. What are we chasing as a church?
K. Are we chasing numbers? Are we chasing programs?
L. Those are necessarily bad things.
M. As long as the numbers are to add to Heaven, and the programs further the cause of Christ in our lives.
N. What benefit is God’s work getting if we are chasing earthly success?
O. If we fill this building up, I would be The Church Builder. Churches would contact me to come speak to them.
P. I could maybe write a book about it.
Q. But if the building of this church is at the destruction of God’s true and righteous message, it is vain and empty.

II. We are Temporary
A. We are temporary on this earth.
B. Look at verse 4.
C. Generations come and generations go.
D. We leave all of this behind.
E. Everything we have chased all of our lives we leave behind.
F. The word generation means time duration dwelling place.
G. Take the old football field in Paris for instance.
H. A new shiny toy was built and the one that was built 50 something years ago has been abandoned.
I. When the old stadium was built the people probably thought it would endure forever.
J. If you drive by the old stadium there is metal falling off and the paint is starting to chip off.
K. Last year it was good enough. This year it is old and decrepit and useless.
L. There will be a time when we have moved on and someone else is here.
M. We have to make sure that what God establishes here he can use after we are gone.
N. When our vapor fades out, are going to be found chasing after empty things?

III. That next generation
A. What are we leaving for the next generation?
B. Are we leaving them with the necessary means to carry on God’s work?
C. Are we leaving them with the necessary teachings to carry on God’s work?
D. Are we leaving with them the example that they need to see what a Christian looks like?
E. We are responsible for who we are here with now, and for what legacy we leave the next generation to do God’s work.
F. We should always strive to leave God’s work in a better more advanced place than we found it.
G. Not for our glory but for the glory of God and for the next generation to advance the work from there.
How many vain and empty things have we been chasing? How much of those empty earthly things keep us from advancing the gospel message the way we should?