Vapour and the Vine

11/01/2026 - Matt Robinson Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 and 12:8-13 Point 1: Vapour The word meaningless comes from the hebrew word “Heval” – which means “vapour” Everything under the sun… everything you can see… Solomon is saying that if we look around us and this is all that there is to life, it’s meaningless. Ecclesieastes is making the point that we can’t just look at everything under the sun for life’s purpose. All the work, goals, achievements, ambitions, what do they matter? When we make life about these things, life is meaningless. Vapour – Everything under the SUN is meaningless Solomon expands on this in Chapter 2 by listing all of his achievements. He’s reminding us that he knows what he’s talking about, he’s had it all: fame, wealth, luxury, romance, wisdom, power. Point 2: The Vine There is God and because there is a God, there is meaning. The world wasn’t an accident but was created and created with intention, reason and purpose. God is goodness, life. In Him we find fulfillment, purpose, joy and worth In other words, when we live for God, we live for meaning and as a result, what we do has meaning, life has meaning, all “these” things have purpose, defined by God. This God is Christ, all of the bible speaks of God, his character, traits leading to the peak of the story of all human history with Jesus hung on a cross for us. John 5:19 – Jesus lived in accordance to God’s will rather than His own We see this in the garden of Gethsemane in Mark 14:36 Jesus still: partied, worked, made friends, traveled, celebrated, studied, had hobbies, built things, helped people, told stories. He did all these things and they all had meaning because at the center, God’s will was His focus and that impacted and shaped all these other things. In John 15:1-4 Jesus instructs us to abide in Him, to be planted and rooted in Christ, attached to God and His will. Placing Jesus first and everything else under Him The Vine – Everything under the SON has meaning Point 3: P.R.A.Y – Peter Grieg P: Pause – “Be still and know I am God” Sit quietly, become entirely present R: Rejoice – Give thanks, acknowledge God for who He is and what He’s done A: Ask – For yourself, for others, for the big, for the small Y: Yield – Surrender yourself, invite God in, put His will first The goal of prayer isn’t to see more miracles but to become a miracle. It isn’t to see more prayers answered but to become an answer to someone prayer C.S.Lewis – “From the highest to the lowest, self exists to be abdicated and, by that abdication, becomes the more truly self, to be thereupon yet the more abdicated, and so forever” Meaning, our goal as Christian is to live in self-surrender of our own will, in order to seek His. This week, Ecclesiastes encourages us to reflect, is there anything we need to surrender to God? Do we need to realign our heart to place Him at the centre?