Clear the Stage
Ecclesiastes Chapter 5 & 6
Pastor Quentin Beard
July 17, 2024

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July 17th & 21st


Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. A dream comes when there are many cares, and many words mark the speech of a fool. When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.

—Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 NIV


1. Hear God – “I will open my ears more than my mouth.”

Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

—1 Samuel 15:22 NIV

Do not let your mouth lead you into sin.

—Ecclesiastes 4:6 NIV


2. Fear God – “My reverence for God will impact how I live.”

Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore, fear God.

—Ecclesiastes 4:7 NIV

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

—Proverbs 9:10 NIV

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The fear of God is central to the acquisition of wisdom…. In this sense, fear is a positive quality and something to be pursued in the life of the believer. —William Mounce

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3. Trust God – “I will find my satisfaction in God, not in things of this world.

Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase,
so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them? The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much, but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep. I have seen a grievous evil under the sun wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when they have children there is nothing left for them to inherit. Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. This too is a grievous evil. As everyone comes, so they depart, and what do they gain, since they toil for the wind? All their days they eat in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger. This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. 19 Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.

—Ecclesiastes 5:10-19 NIV

I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind: God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them, and strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.

—Ecclesiastes 6:1-2 NIV

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.

—1 Timothy 6:6-7 NIV


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Next Steps:
1. Today, I give my life to Jesus for the first time.
2. I will open my ears more than my mouth.
3. My reverence for God will impact the way I live (Wisdom).
4. I will find my satisfaction in God, not in the things of this world.