Ecclesiastes 7:15-29

1. Ecclesiastes March 7 - May 23 Week nine “ words of wisdom part ii”

2. Ecclesiastes 7: 15 - 29 “ words of wisdom part ii” Statistics from “UnChristian” Nearly 9/10 outsiders (87 %) said the term judgmental accurately describes present day Christianity. More than half (53%) of young Christians between the ages of 16 to 29 said the label judgmental accurately describes Christianity

3. Ecclesiastes 7: 15 - 29 “ words of wisdom part ii” 85% of people outside of the church surveyed concluded that present-day Christianity is hypocritical. 47% of young churchgoers believed that Christians are hypocrites. Any one who says one thing and seems do another is subjected to that label.

4. Ecclesiastes 7: 15 - 29 “ words of wisdom part ii” In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.

5. Ecclesiastes 7: 15 - 29 “ words of wisdom part ii” 16 Do not be overrighteous, either be overwise— why destroy yourself? 17 Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool— why die before your time?

6. Ecclesiastes 7: 15 - 29 “ words of wisdom part ii” 9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.‘

7. Ecclesiastes 7: 15 - 29 “ words of wisdom part ii” 13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

8. Ecclesiastes 7: 15 - 29 “ words of wisdom part ii” 18 It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.

9. Ecclesiastes 7: 15 - 29 “ words of wisdom part ii” 19 Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city.

10. Ecclesiastes 7: 15 - 29 “ words of wisdom part ii” 20 There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. 21 Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you- 22 for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.

11. Ecclesiastes 7: 15 - 29 “ words of wisdom part ii” 23 All this I tested by wisdom and I said, "I am determined to be wise"—but this was beyond me. 24 Whatever wisdom may be, it is far off and most profound— who can discover it?

12. Ecclesiastes 7: 15 - 29 “ words of wisdom part ii” 25 So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly. 26 I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare.

13. Ecclesiastes 7: 15 - 29 “ words of wisdom part ii” 27 "Look," says the Teacher, "this is what I have discovered: "Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things- 28 while I was still searching but not finding— I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all. 29 This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes."

14. Ecclesiastes 7: 15 - 29 “ words of wisdom part ii” 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

15. Ecclesiastes 7: 15 - 29 “ words of wisdom part ii” 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

16. Ecclesiastes 7: 15 - 29 “ words of wisdom part ii”