“That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”
Ecclesiastes is a puzzle to many people, because it has so many negative things in it that seem to take away from a positive, joyous life. That is because they misunderstand the reason for the book in the first place. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon relates that he had tried everything, pleasure, wine, work, etc. and it all proved futile. In the final analysis he wrote in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.” These two verses make the whole book understandable. There is nothing on this earth that can bring the satisfaction to our lives that a relationship with God can bring. This is true of our text as well. In a sense there really is nothing new under the sun. For example, history repeats itself frequently. The settings are different, fashions are different, communication is different, but we human beings keep making the same mistakes over and over. I think the book of Judges gives us an example of that. After Joshua and his generation died, Israel went into a spiritual spiral. Repeatedly throughout the book, Israel made the same mistakes. Today, it seems that people think paganism is a new thing. It’s almost as if people think that “anything goes” is a new concept, dreamed up only by this “enlightened' generation. If you will read world history, you will see that it is just like Judges: We keep making the same mistakes over and over again. We keep thinking that immorality is “freedom” and morality depends on what an individual wants it to be. The closing words of Judges describes our own situation: “Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” It is true that “there is nothing new under the sun,” if you remember that this pertains to the things of the earth. But the Bible also deals with that which is new, that does not just have to do altogether with worldly matters, but with our relationship with God. 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 explains what I mean: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. 18. And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. 19. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” Jesus makes all things new in the life of the Christian, and gives him or her, a new purpose in life. Romans 6:4 relates to us that “we also should walk in newness of life.” The day is coming when all things will be made new: “And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new…” The Bible promises a new heaven and a new earth. In Ecclesiastes 1:9, Solomon wrote of the tired materialistic life that he was living. It is still true that in the matters of earth there is “nothing new under the sun.” Newness comes only in that which is eternal. It is in Christ that we have newness in our lives. Otherwise, life just goes on monotonously from day to day, and we try to find “newness” in that which is not, and cannot be new. God wants to do a new thing in the lives of every person on this earth. In fact, He sent His Son, Jesus, to give every person that newness. But most people choose the monotony of the world, and never learn what real newness is. I hope that this is not true of your life. If it is, Jesus is available to you. If you have given your life to Jesus, rejoice and enjoy the new life that God has given you. Bro. Joe
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“Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?”
Jesus was traveling from Judea to Galilee, and we are informed in 4:4: “And He must needs go through Samaria.” In other words, Jesus had to go through Samaria. In His infinite mind, Jesus knew that He had an appointment with a sinful woman there, and that a whole town needed Him. Jesus met the woman at Jacob's Well, where she had come to draw water and talked with her. She was a sinful woman who had been married five times and was living with a man out of wedlock at that time. Jesus told this sinful woman that He was/is the Messiah. That’s when she went into the town and told the town’s people about Jesus, and they went out to meet Him and accepted His message as well. (You can read the whole story in John 4.) This is an incident in the New Testament where Jesus changed a desperate woman’s life, and the lives of the people in the town in which she lived. How was she changed? First, before Jesus came into her life the woman was friendless. Women usually went to the well to get water together, but she was there by herself. Since she was a sinful woman, the other women in town wouldn’t have anything to do with her. I like to think that after she told the people about Jesus, she found a new acceptance in that town. The Bible doesn’t follow up on her life, but I believe that she was a changed woman after that encounter with Jesus, and because of Jesus she found a new acceptance among her neighbors. At least they listened to her when she told them about Jesus, and they went out to meet Him and also accepted Him as Messiah. Most importantly, the woman was, no doubt, able to accept herself because of her changed life. Jesus knew this woman’s predicament, and He acted to change her life. After Jesus came to town, the woman had a new fellowship with her neighbors. This is a beautiful picture of Jesus’ acceptance of sinners. Jesus promised that He would accept all who came to Him in faith. This woman was not too sinful to be saved, nor is anyone else if they will just come to Jesus in faith. Second, before Jesus came into her life, the woman was hopeless. Not only was she an outcast in her own community, she was lost in sin, which was reflected in her lifestyle. I imagine to the people who knew her, this woman was hopeless. I think that she probably thought she was hopeless too, and she was until she encountered Jesus at the well. She was given a new lease on life that was filled with the hope of Jesus. We need to understand that no one is really hopeless where Jesus is concerned, and if they have an encounter with Jesus they will be filled with hope. Jesus came to bring hope into a seemingly hopeless world. All over the world, people are accepting Jesus as Savior. Many of them are accepting His hope in spite of the threats on their lives. There is nothing greater than the hope that we have in Jesus. This woman shows us that people can be saved and enter into the hope of Jesus, regardless of what they have done in the past. To get a clearer picture of what I have written, I would like for you to read the fourth chapter of John’s gospel. It might be that there is something in your life that an encounter with Jesus can help you with and give you a renewed hope. It can also help us see that the people we know who seem hopelessly lost can encounter Jesus as well. Like the woman in the text, it might be that we could lead someone to an encounter with Jesus. Read this chapter and think about your own life. Bro. Joe “No man puts a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up takes from the garment, and the rent (tear) is made worse. 17. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles, else the bottles break, and the wine runs out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.”
2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things have become new." The point that Jesus made about old and new cloth and old and new wine, was that the old and new do not mix. Jesus was telling the Pharisees that He came to bring a new day and that His disciples were part of the new day. Let me explain: Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament law and the Old Testament sacrificial system. The kingdom of God would now be centered in the person of Jesus Christ, and it was through faith in Him that people could be forgiven and cleansed. Jesus’ death and resurrection ushered in a new covenant. Hebrews 8:13 explains it this way: “In speaking of a new covenant, He makes the first one obsolete and what is growing old is ready to vanish away.” ESV Jesus brought in a new day and to offer new life. Paul explained it 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away and all things have become new.” When we invite Jesus into our lives by faith, we are saved and given new life. When we .truly confess our sins and receive Jesus’ forgiveness, no one has to tell us that we have new life. This is impossible to explain; it has to be experienced. New life in Christ is not something that we brag about, nor does it make us spiritual elitists. It makes us what Paul called “ambassadors for Christ.” He explained this in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20: “And all things are of God, Who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19. To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ stead, be reconciled to God.” We are living in the “new day” that Jesus came to give, and we are “new people” saved by grace through faith in Christ. Let’s share Him with the world…. Bro. Joe “That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”
In Ecclesiastes, Solomon related that he had tried everything, pleasure, wine, work, etc. and it all proved futile. In the final analysis he wrote in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.” These two verses make the whole book understandable. There is nothing on this earth that can bring the satisfaction to our lives that a relationship with God can bring. This is true of our text as well. In a sense, there is nothing new under the sun. For example, history repeats itself frequently. The settings are different, fashions are different, communication is different, but we human beings keep making the same mistakes over and over again. It is true that “there is nothing new under the sun,” if you remember that this pertains to the things of the earth. But the Bible also deals with that which is new, that does not just have to do with worldly matters, but with our relationship with God. 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 explains what I mean: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. 18. And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. 19. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” Jesus makes all things new in the life of the Christian, and gives him or her, a new purpose in life. Romans 6:4 reminds us that “we also should walk in newness of life.” Newness comes only in that which is eternal. It is in Christ that we have newness in our lives. God sent His Son, Jesus, to give every person that newness. But most people choose the monotony of the world, and never learn what real newness is. I hope that this is not true of your life. If it is, Jesus is available to you. If you have, rejoice and enjoy the new life that God has given you. Bro. Joe |
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