TRUE JOY, THE WISE MAN + THE FOOL

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE

ECCLESIASTES 7:1-14

1A good name is better than a good ointment,

And the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.

2It is better to go to a house of mourning

Than to go to a house of feasting,

Because that is the end of every man,

And the living takes it to heart.

3Sorrow is better than laughter,

For when a face is sad a heart may be happy.

4The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,

While the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.

5It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man

Than for one to listen to the song of fools.

6For as the crackling of thorn bushes under a pot,

So is the laughter of the fool;

And this too is futility.

7For oppression makes a wise man mad,

And a bribe corrupts the heart.

8The end of a matter is better than its beginning;

Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.

9Do not be eager in your heart to be angry,

For anger resides in the bosom of fools.

10Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”

For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.

11Wisdom along with an inheritance is good

And an advantage to those who see the sun.

12For wisdom is protection just as money is protection,

But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.

13Consider the work of God,

For who is able to straighten what He has bent?

14In the day of prosperity be happy,

But in the day of adversity consider—

God has made the one as well as the other

So that man will not discover anything that will be after him.

OUTLINE

True ______________ is the natural outcome of ______________, ______________ and ______________ hope.

Definition of joy: A ______________ ______________ of ______________& ______________that arises out of a deep ______________& ______________ of a Sovereign Savior.

An invitation to authentic analysis 7:1
A fool’s harmful hope 7:2-4
A fool’s relational reality 7:5-6
A fool’s frustrating failure 7:7-10
The wise man’s wealth 7:11-12
The wise man’s way 7:13-14

To be human is to be ______________. Joy comes from an ______________ ______________ in the one who ______________ ______________.

“Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” ~ CS Lewis

QUESTIONS

Who has helped you see yourself most honestly? How have you responded to someone “holding the mirror” up to you with grace and kindness for your good? (v 1)
Where have you put hope in areas of your life that have disappointed you? What has that shown you about your hopes and desires? (v 2-4)
How have you been tempted to have your ego stroked by others? How have other Christians been able to help you grow in real joy through grief, pain and sorrow? (v 5-6)
How are you tempted to only deal with the symptoms of issues rather than try and understand the heart? (v 7-10)
In what ways have you been changing recently? (v 11-12)
How has your story of faith been shaped by unforeseen and unplanned events you never saw coming? How do you see those events now looking back? (v 13-14)