DIVINE ELEVATION – POSITIONED FOR PURPOSE

Week 3: Purposeful Elevation

During this study, we will be doing a ‘deep dive’ into a scriptural passage. It is strongly encouraged that you study the passage and entire chapter ahead of the study. Also be prepared with your research tools, for example Google or your study Bible, as you will need to reference it during the study. Spend time answering and discussing each question with the intention to gain sufficient understanding to help your own private Bible study as you further explore these topics.

Study Chapters: Ecclesiastes 1-12
Because Ecclesiastes develops an argument across the whole book, read it as one unfolding conversation rather than as isolated sayings. Give particular attention to:
The limits of achievement: Ecclesiastes 1:12–18; 2:1–11
Work, ambition and comparison: Ecclesiastes 2:17–26; 4:4–8
God’s sovereignty and timing: Ecclesiastes 3:1–15
Wisdom in an unpredictable world: Ecclesiastes 7:8–14, 19–25; 8:1–8
Living faithfully amid uncertainty: Ecclesiastes 9:7–12; 11:1–6
Purpose and our ultimate accountability to God: Ecclesiastes 12:1, 9–14
Ecclesiastes is an important conclusion to our study of Divine Elevation because it confronts the assumption that going higher automatically gives life greater meaning. A person can achieve more, possess more, know more and become more influential, yet still discover that none of these things can carry the weight of ultimate purpose.

Pilot text

Ecclesiastes 3:9-14

“9 What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? 10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. 12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, 13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.
14 I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.”

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
“13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.
14 For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.”

Introduction:

In week 3, Ecclesiastes brings us to the question: What happens when we actually get what we were pursuing?
Solomon explores achievement, pleasure, possessions, influence, knowledge and work on a scale few people could ever experience. Yet again and again he encounters the same uncomfortable reality: none of them, by themselves, can give life ultimate meaning. This is enormously important in a month about elevation.
It is possible to climb the ladder and discover that the ladder was never purpose. It is possible to win the promotion, build the business, gain recognition, accumulate wealth, achieve the qualification, grow the ministry or reach a long-awaited milestone and still ask: “Is this it?”
Ecclesiastes is not telling us that achievement is evil or that life is pointless. It is exposing the limitation of trying to make temporary things provide eternal meaning. God has placed eternity in our hearts. That means there is a God-shaped dimension to human purpose that success cannot satisfy. Divine Elevation therefore cannot simply mean God taking us higher. It must mean God bringing us into greater alignment with the purpose for which He created us.

Discussion Point

• Where do we see Christ? Ecclesiastes exposes a profound human problem. We possess an appetite for eternity, yet we live in a world where everything we build, possess and accomplish is temporary. Human achievement cannot resolve that tension. Christ can.
  Further reading: John 1:1–4; John 6:35; John 10:10; Colossians 1:15–17; Colossians 3:1–4 and Philippians 3:7–11.
  Jesus does not merely improve temporary life. He brings eternal life. Everything Ecclesiastes discovers cannot ultimately satisfy us finds its answer in relationship with Him. Paul demonstrates this dramatically in Philippians 3. He had status, pedigree, achievement and religious distinction, yet considered them secondary compared with knowing Christ. His identity and purpose were no longer anchored in what he had achieved but in Whom he had found.
• Where do we see salvation? Ecclesiastes repeatedly confronts us with limitations that human effort cannot overcome. Wisdom cannot prevent death. Wealth cannot secure eternity. Achievement cannot permanently preserve significance. Human beings cannot control time or guarantee outcomes. This creates a powerful backdrop for salvation.
  Further reading: Romans 5:12–21; Romans 8:18–25; 1 Corinthians 15:50–58; Ephesians 1:3–10 and 1 Peter 1:3–5.
  The gospel announces that Christ has resolved precisely the problem Ecclesiastes exposes. Through His death and resurrection, the final enemy is defeated and humanity is offered a hope that extends beyond everything temporary. Salvation therefore gives our present lives eternal perspective. Our work matters, our relationships matter and our choices matter, but none of these must become our saviour.
• Where do we see ourselves? Ecclesiastes asks us to examine not just what we are pursuing, but why. A person can pursue a genuinely good thing for the wrong reason. Career advancement can become a search for identity. Financial security can become dependence upon wealth. Ministry growth can become a search for significance. Even wisdom can become a means of feeling superior or in control.
  Further reading: Matthew 6:19–34; Luke 12:15–21; Philippians 4:11–13; 1 Timothy 6:6–10, 17–19 and James 4:13–15
  Divine Elevation frees us from having to extract our identity from the position God gives us. If our identity is secure in Christ, we can receive promotion without worshipping it, endure delay without being destroyed by it, possess resources without being possessed by them, and serve faithfully even when nobody applauds.

Closing thoughts:

• Ecclesiastes brings Divine Elevation to a powerful conclusion because it asks what happens after we obtain the things we thought would fulfil us. Achievement, wealth, pleasure, knowledge and influence all have value in their proper place, but none can bear the weight of ultimate purpose. God has placed eternity in the human heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and temporary success cannot satisfy an eternal longing.
  Here we see our need for Christ. Jesus offers what achievement cannot: life that is abundant and eternal (John 10:10). Paul understood this when he placed his considerable accomplishments beneath the surpassing value of knowing Christ (Philippians 3:7–11). Christ therefore changes the meaning of elevation. Our highest position is not a title, platform or social status. It is life in Him.
  We also see salvation. Ecclesiastes confronts the limits of human control, particularly the reality of death. The gospel answers with resurrection. In Christ, death does not have the final word (1 Corinthians 15:54–58). Our labour, choices and faithfulness can therefore be lived within an eternal story.
  Where are we? Perhaps still climbing. Perhaps celebrating achievement. Perhaps disappointed because an expected elevation has not happened. Or perhaps discovering that something once desperately desired has not brought the fulfilment expected.
  Ecclesiastes invites us to redefine the destination.
  God may elevate our position, enlarge our influence and increase our resources. But these are instruments, not identity. The purpose of Divine Elevation is not simply to make our lives bigger. It is to bring our lives more completely into His purpose.
  ————–
  Here is an invitation for you:
  At the end of this month, bring your definition of elevation before God.
  Bring the ambitions that still matter deeply. Bring the achievements already gained. Bring the doors that have not opened. Bring the timetable that has not unfolded as expected.
  Then ask a deeper question:
  “Lord, what does Your purpose look like for my life?”
  If God gives greater influence, use it for His glory.
  If He gives greater resources, steward them for His purposes.
  If He changes the timetable, trust His wisdom.
  If He redirects the ambition, follow Him.
  And if the place He has prepared looks different from the place imagined, remember:
  Divine Elevation is not ultimately about arriving above others. It is about being positioned by God for His purpose.

Application Questions (use scriptures to support your position):

• A Christian executive finally reaches a senior position she has pursued for many years. Her income, influence and professional reputation have increased substantially, yet after the initial excitement she feels unexpectedly empty and begins wondering why achieving the goal has not produced the fulfilment she expected. How would Ecclesiastes help her understand what she is experiencing, and how might Divine Elevation redefine what she does with her new position?
• A couple increasingly compare their lives with friends who appear to have larger homes, better careers, more impressive holidays and greater financial security. Although their own needs are met, comparison is producing dissatisfaction and pressure to make financial and career decisions primarily to “catch up.” How should Ecclesiastes 4:4–8, Matthew 6:19–34 and 1 Timothy 6:6–10 reshape their understanding of progress and elevation?
• A gifted believer has served faithfully in church for years but repeatedly watches younger or newer people receive opportunities and recognition she had hoped would eventually come to her. She is beginning to question whether her service has mattered and whether God has overlooked her. How might Ecclesiastes, together with Colossians 3:23–24 and 1 Corinthians 15:58, help her distinguish between visible recognition and fulfilled purpose?