20 Oct “The Emptiness Experiment | Part3 ‘God’s answer to occupational hazards’

Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 4-6

ANNOUNCEMENTS

TRUK OR TREAT: REGISTER TODAY! MORE TRUNKS NEEDED! October 26 for both campuses. from 1-4p. Sign up to register your Trunk. The more the merrier! Let’s make this fun for our community. This is a great outreach opportunity! Go to the Events page on the HUB to register for either campus.

LIFE GROUP LEADER MEETING: November 4 from 6-8:30p . Go to the Events page on the HUB to register.

DEEP END PODCAST: Tuesday nights at 7:00p.. Come out and be a part of the audience. You can get your free tickets HERE

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-deep-end-with-tim-hatch-season-3-acts-tickets-69301718305

CLASSES; Baptism class is every 4th Sunday of the Month. at 11:30 / Growth Track runs the first 3 Sundays every month at 11:30 – this is a one and done registrants only need to attend one session / Starting Point runs every 1st and 3rd Sunday at 11:30 – details and descriptions can be found on the registrations which are located under Events on the HUB.

PROVIDENCE RESCUE MISSION: We go out there as a team on the 4th Sunday of every month to minister, cook and serve. See Christ MacEwen (chris@waterschurch.org) if your group is interested in helping on a given Sunday.

Fasting and Prayer on Monday, October 21 for 24 hours. Praying and fasting for the Woonsocket Campus – contractors and building owners to move forward.  Winning this city is a spiritual battle and prayer is our greatest weapon.  Please refer to the flyer from this weeks bulletin.

THEME: LIFE WITHOUT GOD IS EMPTY.

Solomon deprived himself of no pleasure.  He got whatever he wanted.  Everyone loved him, God loved him.  Then, he realized life without God is empty. 

 

We discover life without God is empty in stages:

• When we are young we want friends, popularity, and to be accepted.  We will make compromises to get these things.
• In our 20’s, we are looking for romance.  We think we will find happiness when we find someone to love.
• In our 30’s & 40’s we sink ourselves into work.  We want to climb the corporate ladder and when we get to the top, we want career, status and success but we find this too is empty.

We spend 11 years of our lives at work.

 

Q. Where were you at each stage of your life as far as what you desired to be happy?  What compromises did you make to get what you thought you wanted or needed?

 

1. Work is GOOD and from GOD.

Genesis 2:15 (ESV)

We tend to think work is part of the curse, but it is not.  God told Adam and Eve to work the garden.

 

Ecclesiastes 2:24 (ESV)

Work is good. 

Q. Do you view your job as a curse and why? Do you like your work?

2.  Work is CURSED by SIN.

Frustrating work is the curse.

Genesis 3:17–19 (ESV)

Because Adam listened to the serpent and not God, we struggle.  Because of sin, we the work and make it something that it was never meant to be.  We take it as something we perform and allow it to become our identity. We put it in place of God.  We say things like: ’I will be happy when I get that position.’ We should not put our value and worth in our positions.

 

Q. Have you allowed your work to become your identity and how/why?  Has any position you have ever held made you truly happy?

A. The DISCONTENT Hazard.

Ecclesiastes 4:4 (ESV)

We may work just because we want a lifestyle that we envy.

We may have wanted to go to a particular college because our friends were going there.  We should pray and fast and ask God what we should do and where we should go.

B. The “DEDICATION” Hazard.

Ecclesiastes 4:7–8 (ESV)

We put our hopes and dreams in work and then we have no close friends.  We say, “what am I doing this for?”

C. The “DIFFERENCE MAKER“ Hazard.

Ecclesiastes 4:13–16 (NLT)

No matter who we are or how high we climb someone will come along and replace us and no one will remember us.

We cannot base our value on what we do, it is a trap.

D. The DISSATISFIED Hazard.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 (ESV); Ecclesiastes 6:7 (ESV); Ecclesiastes 6:9 (ESV)

We can get the six figure income and soon it is not enough. It is never enough. Ninety percent of Americans claim they live pay check to pay check and some are the ones making the 6 figures or more!

E. The DISASTER Hazard.

Ecclesiastes 5:14 (ESV); Ecclesiastes 6:2 (ESV)

We can work and climb the ladder and then life can go and pull the rug right out from under us.  Life without God will cause us to put stock in things that cannot do for us what God can do for us.

Q. After reading all of the above hazards, what hazard(s) do you identify with and why?

3. We need an ANSWER for the HAZARDS of WORK

Solomon’s Suggestion #1 Contentment.

Ecclesiastes 4:6 (ESV)

If we have a handful, we should be satisfied and thank God for that handful.

1 Timothy 6:6 (ESV)

Solomon’s Suggestion #2 Companionship.

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 (ESV)

This is why we say get into Life Groups and consistently come to your group and church.

Q. If you find it difficult to come to church/group on a regular basis, what are some of your obstacles?  Why is it so important that we make the time to come to church and group?

God’s ANSWER: “COME TO ME.”

Ecclesiastes 5:1 (ESV)

Before we go to work, God says ‘come to Me.’  He has programmed a day of worship into our weekly calendars. We go to the house of God before we go to work and are reminded of who He is.

A. LISTEN first, SPEAK second.

Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 (ESV)

Don’t come with your agenda, listen to Him first.  We come with our preordained idea of what we want God to do and he says ‘shh and listen.”

B. RECEIVE first, GIVE second.

Ecclesiastes 5:4–5 (ESV)

Don’t come to God and make your vows saying things like ‘God if you do this, I will…’

Q. Have you ever tried to make a deal with God?  How did that turn out?

C. JESUS first, REST at LAST.

Matthew 11:28–29 (ESV)

When we REST in the FINISHED WORK of JESUS – our WORK does not DEFINE us, and we are FREE to accomplish what God ASSIGNS us.