Ministers of Loneliness

God comforts the downcast comfort me by the coming of Titus allows that what brought Paul out of his downcast episode it was in another verse.

It it was in another book. Read this.

It was in another euro you plan another church was in another gift of money wasn't listening to another sermon. I don't know about that, but it wasn't that either it was the arrival of another go.

Stephen was describing an experience that the apostle Paul had when he was he was blessed and encouraged by the arrival of Titus as Christians were called to fellowship, not isolation but loneliness is becoming a major problem in the church today people are surrounded but lonely. Well, King Solomon talked about this in the book of Ecclesiastes and we turn there again today here on wisdom for the heart Stephen baby returns to this wisdom filled diary where Solomon shares God's wisdom to prevent loneliness by focusing on community with others. This lesson is called ministers of loneliness. Researchers created an interesting scenario I read about recently were a group of people would circle in play game of catch with a small ball, young adults and older as well. The participants were told to try to keep the ball off the melody hit the ground.

However, one woman in that circle wasn't aware that all the other participants had been told to never pass the ball to her. So they began their game of catch the ball was tossed randomly from one person to another in the circle but never to her. She appeared patient first.

She laughed when the others laughed and smiled with the other smile, but as the game progressed and the ball never came away she eventually stop smiling.

She edged a little further into the circle to draw attention when it didn't work. She eventually, after several minutes, dropped her hands not wanting to play or even attempt to catch the ball after numerous scenarios like this and with the interviews afterward with the individually been left out. The researchers discovered that the ostracized person began to actually believe their lives not just during the game, but their entire lives were meaningless. They were unwanted they were, without purpose. Interesting how they discovered a quickly somewhat could go so deep so far down the author that I was reading that catalog to research want to apply the scenario to the reality of life. Our world is filled with people hungry for someone to throw them smile or a word nod someone that will remind them that they have been seen. Their lives are not meeting or without purpose no one study that I that I came across in in this particular genre.

Research recorded the average middle-aged person and older is in contact with the family member and/or friend, barely one time we sometimes not even that the lack of friendships relationship, family creates in a word, loneliness, and this is what many are now discovering to be nothing less than an endemic bringing with it a host of diseases and illnesses and issues couple years ago I clipped an article out of world magazine and stuck it in a file and came across it again where the prime minister of England was speaking in an interview and she said that loneliness is the sad reality of modern life, and it must be addressed following a study in the United Kingdom that paralleled North America as well.

Where loneliness was undeniably linked to heart disease, and a host of other illnesses and the prime minister announced this this is what struck my attention that she announced the creation of a new government position and post entitled the minister of loneliness that didn't mean his job was to be lonely. It meant that his ministry and his office would be commissioned to find ways to practically and realistically deal with this epidemic.

The problem is new by the in fact, before the fall of man.address it if you're old enough of the faith in you.

Remember all of the events that occurred in chapter 1 of the book of Genesis, God would create something and then he would summarize it by saying it was what good he'd create something that he would say it wasn't good.

It was good.

It was good long before sin entered that perfectly created garden of Eden in fact even before he would be fashioned into existence from one of Adam's ribs.makes this startling statement. It is not good that man should be alone. That's always struck me. Frankly, it's fascinated me well for starters because Adam had God alone. He was walking in the evening with God in some fashion or form of his glory. God said that Adam was alone that what God specifically meant was that it didn't have a counterpart companion wife and with that, then following that statement God custom design. Eve is the first living female and then brought her to Adam and then Adam's response, after you said shazam it's in the Hebrew Bible you know he he makes this fee God introduces the fellowship of marriage.

But he also states a principal for life beyond marriage.

Life was never intended by God to be lived in isolation, whether it's the intimate partnership of marriage or the fellowship of another believer or even the buddy system back and get on the field trip in third grade. Relationships are one of God's greatest gifts to combating this epidemic that is as old as man of loneliness, whether married or single, young or old. We were never meant to live life alone maybe here in need.

As we begin to introduce the subject of this kind of friendship discussed in our session today Dale Carnegie give some good advice. He famously said a generation ago that you can make more friends in in two months by showing interest in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people to become interested in you. The truth is the enemies never stopped since he isolated EE from her husband and the temptation to try to isolate a person from everyone else to pull you away and to bring you down to convince you to wait on someone else to take the initiative and throw you ball that could happen in marriage could happen in the working relationship.

It can happen in the family. We can certainly happen in the church. If you'll take your copy of Solomon's Journal were in chapter 4 were Solomon has just finished and Ecclesiastes describing the lonely life of a self absorbed, self-centered miser. We called him Ebenezer Scrooge because he just fit these alone. He is all about himself. He is racing along in his mad pursuit for just a little bit more. Let me just get a little more, or nevermind I'm alone and I don't want anybody don't need anybody and they don't need me but really wasn't the truth but he becomes the epitome of loneliness that we need to understand that this context really doesn't break that thought Solomon immediately begins to command relationships in the very next verse were in chapter 4, and now in verse nine were Solomon writes two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil birthday fall one will lift up his fellow but one of him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift them up again if to live together they keep warm.

But how can one keep warm alone and the man might prevail against one. He was alone to withstand him a threefold cord is not quickly broken. These happen to be one of the principles certainly for a marriage relationship.

You have the principle of provision and partnership and protection.

I preach this that way before. Good marriages and two people competing. It's two people cooperating in God's assignments that are unwrapped over the course of a lifetime of the reason most people including myself until digging a lot deeper here for this study assume that always talking about in marriage is primarily because of that phrase I read that if to live together they keep warm will get to the minute but Solomon is not just providing principles about marriage is providing principles about life in general about relationships, godly friendships and community and fellowship in general affected struck me.

After studying this passage that in a very real sense, every husband, every wife, every parent, every single person every widowed person, every young person every older person in the body of Christ has been appointed by our Lord to serve in his cabinet as ministers of loneliness. We address the epidemic. We happened to be the cure. Togetherness is God's solution to lonely and that's across the board. Just listen to the commands before we dive in to the New Testament church. They were told in the first century. Certainly for us today to rejoice, one with another. Romans 1215 to serve one another. Galatians 513 to forgive one another. Ephesians 432 to encourage one another. First Thessalonians 511 to offer hospitality to one another.

First Peter 49 or pray for one another. James 516 to carry one another's burdens. Galatians 62 analyst is longer. So what does this look like in shoe leather. What is this look like in in the workaday world and in the church and in the family.

What this look like where we live and rub shoulders with one another.

Will Solomon is going to provide for us in this paragraph. It will call for practical ways that this can happen will call them the benefits of godly relationship and the first was this assistance when assignments are tiring to verse nine, sort of impacted numbers of the time to are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. This is homespun rather obvious, it biases following up on his comments in the previous verses of the man who worked by himself, benefiting nobody caring for no one, and by the way, if you're with us. Our last session he enjoyed nothing Scrooge never lasts enjoys nothing Solomon by the way doesn't say here you can never work alone. He's just stating the obvious that another pair of hands, cut the load in the half buried it in 1/2 and double the output. Solomon promises here. You'll notice that when you do have another set of hands. You'll have a good reward that word for reward can be material blessing, but will be used later by Solomon in chapter 9 for spiritual blessing and you've probably discovered if you been around the assembly long enough to serve the Lord what it's like to join another group of people that tackle some task. Maybe you join the service trip and you gone overseas and onto the labor of all of the travel and then you arrive you and your teammates have undertaken very difficult word given swing and hammers in the sling and mortar maybe nailing shingles and it wasn't easy. But why is it at the end of every day you sit there absolutely happy, totally exhausted, but entirely fulfill where is that closeness how did that happen one offer anything said it well when he said that work is a sacrament of sweat, by which God reconciles us to one another is nothing like joining together for some task. Friend comes along and offers another set of hands. While that's far better than working alone. Let me give you another benefit of godly friendships. Solomon adds its encouragement when strength is failing encouragement when strength is failing. Notice verse 10 birthday fall one will lift up his fellow but woe to him who was alone when he falls and has not another to lift them up.

Solomon is describing here that moment when someone falls is imagining two companions walking along their traveling and one of them falls trips stumbles.

He's too hurt to get back up on his feet alone there's no button to push. I have fallen and need help right he's out there alone in, and Solomon says if he is alone. Woe to him but if he is with another. That's great news because I don't lift them up, that woe is a word that refers to someone in great peril.

This is a word that carries the connotation of danger. It's loaded with warning whenever we struggle or fall physically or even more broadly as Solomon implies in the verb whenever we fail or we stumble in life. We need someone who will not walk away with someone who will help us back up on our feet.

This is the apostle Paul writing to the believers in Galatia say look when you see somebody this trip.entangled in sin, you are spiritual go to standard point Adam don't run away, help them get back on his feet.

The same principle Solomon by the way, is a disorder casually suggesting that this is this kind of companionship is a good idea not to try it.

He's actually saying you're in danger without without this minister of loneliness comes and offers encouragement to those strength is failing after falling is another benefit number three godly relationships provide support when hope begins weakening the advice is the antidote to a Chuck Colson founder prison Fellowship, now the Lord called this dangerous virus of individualism which is infected. The right Christians to act as if all that matters is Jesus and me were Jesus and my family. Nevermind yours, and in doing so he writes miss the point altogether that Christianity was never intended to be solitary and in this virus is a new danger to pull away from the church in the believing fellowship is still as real today as it was in the apostles era. How do we know that we know that because the writer of Hebrews is scolding believers you've already made it a practice to pull away from the assembly did not meet to not serve Hebrews 10 Paul either reinforce humility in serving one another to the Corinthian church is that they were just random believers floating through life. They were actually gifted appointees as members of a physical body uses that analogy of being feet and hands and eyes and ears for screenings chapter 12 and he scolds them as well for saying no other believers and I quote I have no need of you. I don't need you, which is another way of saying you didn't need me. This is the apostle Paul describing an encounter in his own life when he admitted that the Corinthian church that he'd been depressed segmenting 76ers translated downcast that sounds a little more spiritual. He's in the thick of the fight is on the front lines.

The rights of these fighting afflictions without is experiencing fears with entities been brought this tendency, depression and discouragement when he says this God who comforts the downcast, comforted me, comforted us by the coming of Titus, I love that what brought Paul out of his downcast episode it was in another verse. It it was in another. Here's a book read this. It was in another yearly article plan another church was in another gift of money wasn't listening to another sermon. I don't know about that, but it wasn't that either it was the arrival of another believer, the arrival of reinforcements couldn't have happened to Paul without tighter showing up. Are you showing up in the lives of others. Someone where you serve, reinforce, assist, beloved New Testament Christianity isn't just about believing it's about belonging every thought about the fact that her world longs today for what the gospel offers and what the church is to demonstrate church is the antidote to isolation the local community of believers. It is described in the Bible as a family, a wedding party of body fellowship. Solomon wraps up this chapter and I want to take the next few lines very quickly because I don't want to spend another sermon just on this and I believe it ties in contextually to everything is describe the wraps it up by secreting this parable in the parable serves as an illustration of the danger of going it alone. Verse 13.

Better was a poor and wise youth and old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice I get this.

He's describing the king his become isolated on his throne wasn't about to listen anybody any longer, which is not a way of describing notice he says he he no longer knew how to take advice. This is another way of describing somebody you don't have anybody close enough to him to tell him the truth and I want to hear it, but he is isolated so he's reached the pinnacle of power only to be stranded their own lonely at the top was 14. This wise youth went from prison to the throne when his own kingdom. He had been born poor. This is a rags to riches parable. Here's a young man.

The context implies he's been in debtor's prison. But by his wisdom by his wits, his personality, his charisma is charm, he wins the approval of the masses and before you know it either poses at a lonely king, and he steps into the throne. Verse 15 I saw all the living move about under the sun.

Along with that view was to stand in the king's place now look what happened. There was no end of all the people all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him.

Surely this is vanity this writing of the wind.

In other words, the masses eventually got tired of the young guy to implication as he grew older and I got tired of him and hear somebody new. The masses eventually choose someone else and in the meantime, this king is like the other king in a long line of kings who become isolated and without friends and even though you'd think they're the places and all. It's a place of loneliness and isolation, as if Solomon is saying. In summary, all the world out there the crowd out there is going to be for call is nothing better than a friend who's faithful.

Perhaps you're thinking menorrhagia had faithful friend like that will let me encourage you again with the words of one author you challenge my thinking.

He wrote I went out to look for a friend and they were nowhere, I went looking for someone who needed a friend and they were everywhere. If I could summarize chapter 4. It would be simply don't give your priority possessions or power or prosperity, give your priority to people except your appointment by your divine prime minister. Your appointment to the cabinet position in the world as a minister of loneliness looking reaching, surveying, your church, other believers family taking every opportunity God brings you to reach a very lonely world around you and if you could describe our world, it would be that lonely and in ask the Lord to bring someone along your path. You look for them. You take the initiative and asked God to give you an opportunity to tell them that Jesus is the ultimate faithful friend because you belong to Jesus would be willing to be there for as well.

That's good advice today from God's word. You might be the one who's feeling lonely and perhaps the best next step.

You could take would be to search out someone who needs a friend and offer the companionship and fellowship of Jesus Christ. Today's lesson here on wisdom for the heart is called ministers of loneliness that comes from the book of Ecclesiastes in a series called surviving evil under the sun.

If you ever miss one of these broadcasts you can listen to Stephen's lessons in their entirety on our website. Wisdom online.org. Stephen has been teaching God's word for over 35 years in the entire collection of lessons is posted to that site, you can listen to each one, and you can read Stephen's manuscript we make those resources available to you free of charge. Once again, that's wisdom online.org wisdom for the heart is a ministry of wisdom international and you can find the wisdom international app for your phone or tablet in the iTunes Google play and Amazon stores just like the website be at is also available free of charge download that and take these resources wherever you go. I'm Scott Wiley and for Steven and all of us here. Thanks for listening.

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