The Value of an Uncertain Future

Ecclesiastes 7:14; 8:7,16-17; 10:14

A.    It doesn’t take long around here to find a young adult who is facing a vast ocean of uncertainty ahead of them in their lives.

      B.    When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother, “What will I be? Will I be pretty? Will I be rich?” Here’s what she said to me, “Que sera, sera. Whatever will be will be. The future’s not ours to see. Que sera, sera. What will be will be.” (Jay Livingston and Ray Evans)

      C.    “The future’s not ours to see.” This is one of the main points of the book of Ecclesiastes.

       D.    Little children may think their parents know everything. But there are some things nobody knows. And the future is one of those things only God knows.

      E.    The wondering doesn’t stop when you get older. At my age I still wonder about the future.

             1.    Will I die soon or live to to a ripe old age?

             2.    Will my wife die and leave me alone, or will I die and leave her alone?

             3.    Will I get Alzheimer’s or some other kind of dementia?

             4.    Will I have to bury one of my children?

             5.    Will my children walk with the Lord?

       F.    But the title of this sermon is not The Uncertainty of the Future, but The Value of an Uncertain Future.

 II.    Ecclesiastes emphasizes the fact that mankind doesn’t know the future.

       A.    Ecclesiastes 7:14 “In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.”

             1.    It’s easier for a believer to see that God in the sweet blessings than to recognize God in the troubles.

             2.    So when things are hard, we must remember that God makes those happen as much as He does the pleasant things.

             3.    And also remember that you can never figure out what God is going to do next: It’s not going to be all great, exciting stuff. And it’s not going to be all hard, scary stuff.

       B.    Ecclesiastes 8:7 “For he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be?”

             1.    In the midst of a list of ways “man’s trouble lies heavy on him” (Eccl.8:7), the first on the list is the fact that man doesn’t know what is to be; he has no one to tell him what’s going to happen.

             2.    Life is a mystery. There are many unexpected twists and turns in the story.

       C.    Ecclesiastes 8:16–17 “When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one’s eyes see sleep, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.”

             1.    After much observation and consideration, the wisest man on earth came to the conclusion that people cannot find out the work God is doing on the earth.

             2.    People try desperately to figure it out, but cannot. Turn on the TV and click through some channels. You won’t have to go far to find people trying to predict the future:

                 a.    Weather forecasting

                 b.    Economic forecasting

                 c.     Sports forecasting

                 d.    The interpretation of Bible prophecy (much of which is just as futile as the first three)

             3.    Sometimes people even claim to know it with certainty, but their claims are false.

       D.    Ecclesiastes 10:14 “A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be after him?”

             1.    Fools waste a lot of time and effort in trying to figure out the future. And they talk at length about what they think is going to happen, but it’s all in vain.

             2.    Down through history many resources/efforts have been spent trying to determine the future.

             3.    They study the past to discern patterns in order to figure out the future. Or...

             4.    They engage in fortune-telling. Here are 41 common methods used for fortune telling:

                 a.    Alectromancy: by observation of a rooster pecking at grain

                 b.    Astrology: by the movements of celestial bodies.

                 c.     Astromancy: by the stars.

                 d.    Augury: by the flight of birds.

                 e.    Bazi or four pillars: by hour, day, month, and year of birth.

                 f.     Bibliomancy: by books; frequently, but not always, religious texts.

                g.    Cartomancy: by playing cards, tarot cards, or oracle cards.

                h.    Ceromancy: by patterns in melting or dripping wax.

                i.      Cheiromancy: by the shape of the hands and lines in the palms.

                j.     Chronomancy: by determination of lucky and unlucky days.

                k.    Clairvoyance: by spiritual vision or inner sight.

                l.      Cleromancy: by casting of lots, or casting bones or stones.

                m.     Cold reading: by using visual and aural clues.

                n.    Crystallomancy: by crystal ball also called crying.

                o.    Extispicy: by the entrails of animals.

                p.    Face Reading: by means of variations in face and head shape.

                q.    Feng shui: by earthen harmony.

                r.     Gastromancy: by stomach-based ventriloquism (historically).

                s.     Geomancy: by markings in the ground, sand, earth, or soil.

                t.     Haruspicy: by the livers of sacrificed animals.

                u.    Horary astrology: the astrology of the time the question was asked.

                v.    Hydromancy: by water.

                w.     I Ching divination: by yarrow stalks or coins and the I Ching.

                x.    Kau cim by means of numbered bamboo sticks shaken from a tube.

                y.    Lithomancy: by stones or gems.

                z.     Moleology: by the location, size, shape and color of moles on the body

                aa.    Necromancy: by the dead, or by spirits or souls of the dead.

                bb.   Numerology: by numbers.

                cc.     Oneiromancy: by dreams.

                dd.   Onomancy: by names.

                ee.   Palmistry or palm-reading: by lines and mounds on the hand.

                ff.     Paper fortune teller: origami used in fortune-telling games

                gg.    Pendulum reading: by the movements of a suspended object.

                hh.   Pyromancy: by gazing into fire.

                ii.     Rhabdomancy: divination by rods.

                jj.    Runecasting or Runic divination: by runes.

                kk.    Scrying: by looking at or into reflective objects.

                ll.     Ouija or spirit board: by planchette or talking board.

                mm.   Taromancy: by a form of cartomancy using tarot cards.

                nn.   Tasseography or tasseomancy: by tea leaves or coffee grounds.

                oo.   Another form of fortune-telling, sometimes called "reading" or "spiritual consultation", does not rely on specific devices or methods, but rather the practitioner gives the client advice and predictions which are said to have come from spirits or in visions.

                pp.   Fortune cookie: “You will succeed at everything you do.”

            5.    And that’s just in Europe and the Americas! “Man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.” “A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be after him?”

      E.    Ecclesiastes really wants us to know something. It says it loud and clear repeatedly: We can’t know what’s going to happen. “The future’s not ours to see.”

            1.    We all know this on some level. But it’s hard — yet very important — to accept.

III.     But it’s not enough to know that the future is uncertain. We need to know the value of an uncertain future.

      A.    God has ordained the future AND the uncertainty of the future. He has a purpose in our not knowing. It’s part of His good plan for us, part of the story He’s writing in our lives.

      B.    And it’s GOOD for us to be uncertain about the future. It is a constant reminder of who we are. It puts us in our place, reminding us that we are just creations of Another. It drives us to trust Him.

            1.    This isn’t our world, it is God’s world. This isn’t our story, it’s God’s.

            2.    We are the subjects, He alone is God. We are the children, He is the Parent.

                a.    Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

            3.    God knows the future. He has determined it. The future is in His hands. And to the person who has a reasonable view of the world, that is a relief.

            4.    Deep down in our sinful hearts we all long to be gods. We long to be able to control our lives and our world. We want to be the one who has it all together, who is the best, who knows everything, who can’t be defeated.

            5.    And one of the first characteristics of a Christian is the ability to recognize who He is and who we aren’t.

IV.    Of course there are some things we know about the future besides the fact that we don’t know it:

      A.    There’s a lot of things young people don’t know that they could know.

            1.    Every day you live you’re going to get older.

            2.    You’re not going to live like this forever.

            3.    Choices have consequences. You’re sowing seeds today that you will reap in the future.

      B.    But even beyond that, God is able to communicate about the future. And sometimes He does. There are many things He has told us about the future.

            1.    Hard things are going to happen to you. Things often won’t happen the way we think they should.

            2.    Jesus is coming again.

            3.    We’ll understand it better by-and-by.

            4.    He will not forsake any of His children. He will take care of them no matter what happens.

            5.    Everything that happens is for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Rom.8:28).

      C.    Movie: The Game (Rated R because of language)

            1.    A rich, successful, but very proud and hard man — played by Michael Douglas — is put through a series of trials which he thinks is an evil conspiracy against him but in reality is a carefully orchestrated effort by those who care about him to help him discover happiness.

            2.    And in the end he is changed, and very thankful for the whole thing.

            3.    Some people don’t like the movie because of the agony he goes through. But the agony was so necessary in order to bring about the change which was needed to make him a happy person! 

            4.    It reminds us that no matter how crazy and chaotic things seem to be in life, the good God has it all well-in-hand, and has a good purpose for it all.

V.    Conclusion

      A.    We’re not supposed to know the future. We need to focus on the things we ARE supposed to know.

      B.    Jesus wants us to worry about today, not about tomorrow. (Matthew 6:34)

      C.    He wants us to concern ourselves with being faithful in whatever situations we’re put into today.

      D.    You don’t know the plans He has for you. But HE knows the plans He has for you! And they are plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

      E.    You don’t have to be in charge! You don’t have to be in control! He’s in control, and He’s worthy of your trust.

      F.    Trust in God like a little child trusts his parent: many times the little one has no idea what’s going on. But it’s all OK because he/she knows that Mommy or Daddy know. As long as Mommy or Daddy are around things are OK. Our heavenly Daddy knows what’s going on and what to do.