TITLE: The Father Knows Best TEXT: Ecclesiastes 12 THEME: The God who created us knows what is best for us.

Sometimes we refuse to accept the obvious because it is not what we want to hear.

If the God of the Bible is true it seems obvious that we need to listen to Him and allow him to lead us in our lives.

I. The Premise: Secularist/Atheists are better suited to direct and influence society because we are rational and objective.

A. They believe they have accepted the cold hard reality of life.

It is far more likely that we will simply build a thick, protective wall of fantasy around us, constructed of hobbies, games, sports, fashion, or romance as a barrier against truths we would rather not face.

I. The Premise: Secularist/Atheists are better suited to direct and influence society because we are rational and objective. A. They believe they have accepted the cold hard reality of life. B. They believe they are more equipped to direct mankind through the use of science, psychology and reasoning..

I. The Premise: Secularist/Atheists are better suited to direct and influence society because we are rational and objective. A. They believe they have accepted the cold hard reality of life. B. They believe they are more equipped to direct mankind through the use of science, psychology and reasoning. C. Psychology is the priesthood of secularism.

Three Issues psychology cannot address It cannot determine if something is good or bad.

Three Issues psychology cannot address It cannot determine if something is good or bad. Where does self-esteem come from?

Three Issues psychology cannot address It cannot determine if something is good or bad. Where does self-esteem come from? We are spiritual beings and Psychology cannot speak to that issue.

“Values Clarification” Carl R. Rogers Toward a Modern Approach to Values: The Valuing Process in the Mature Person, Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 1964, Vol. 68, No. 2, pp

Carl Rogers

William Coulson

Abraham Maslow

Carl Rodgers “I started this d… thing and look where it is talking us. I don’t where it is taking us. I don’t know where it is taking me.” Regarding the Self Esteem Movement

We can be vulnerable to false and destructive teaching. People who tout themselves as experts are just as prone to be wrong as any of us are.

II. The Problem: The premise that secularists are more capable of addressing the issues of mankind has some problems.

We must depend on the educated elites to know anything- they control knowledge

II. The Problem: The premise that secularists are more capable of addressing the issues of mankind has some problems. We must depend on the educated elites to know anything- they control knowledge We all know so little- Everyone is a layman outside their area of expertise

II. The Problem: The premise that secularists are more capable of addressing the issues of mankind has some problems. We must depend on the educated elites to know anything- they control knowledge We all know so little- Everyone is a layman outside their area of expertise They are not objective when it comes to God, morals or the supernatural.

II. The Problem: The premise that secularists are more capable of addressing the issues of mankind has some problems. We must depend on the educated elites to know anything- they control knowledge We all know so little- Everyone is a layman outside their area of expertise They are not objective when it comes to God, morals or the supernatural. Experts are frequently wrong- God is never wrong

I Corinthians 1:18-25 “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”

I Corinthians 1:18-25 “21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”

I Cor. 2:14 “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”

I Corinthians 3:19 “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”

Romans 1:21-23 “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.”

III. The Biblical Response: Only God knows all things and obeying Him is the beginning of knowledge.

A. We must know God before we can find wisdom.

III. The Biblical Response: Only God knows all things and obeying Him is the beginning of knowledge. A. We must know God before we can find wisdom. – Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”- man is not the starting point.

III. The Biblical Response: Only God knows all things and obeying Him is the beginning of knowledge. A. We must know God before we can find wisdom. – Psalm 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

III. The Biblical Response: Only God knows all things and obeying Him is the beginning of knowledge. A. We must know God before we can find wisdom. – Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

III. The Biblical Response: Only God knows all things and obeying Him is the beginning of knowledge. A. We must know God before we can find wisdom. God loves us and wants our best- to the point of sacrificing himself for us.

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

III. The Biblical Response: Only God knows all things and obeying Him is the beginning of knowledge. We must know God before we can find wisdom. God loves us and wants our best- to the point of sacrificing himself for us. Because he created us he knows what is best for us

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14 “Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. 10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd. 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.”

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14 “13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil”.

If we want the best in life then we want his best for us. We find it in His manual to understand Him and our purpose in life.

1913 Liberty Head Nickel

We possess a treasure of far greater value than the 1913 Liberty Head nickel. And it's not shoved away in the bottom of a closet; we walk around with it every day. It's the mystery of "Christ in you, the hope of glory."