The Value of Diligence 
 

Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 11:1-10.

Memory Verse: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." (Luke 6:38).

INTRODUCTION: Taking up the cross was always spoken of by Christ as the test of discipleship. On three different occasions (Matt. 10:38, 16:24, Luke 14:27) we find the words repeated, "If any man will come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me." While the Lord was still on His way to the cross, this expression--taking up the cross--was the most appropriate to indicate that conformity to Him to which the disciple is called.
  But now that He has been crucified, the Holy Spirit gives another expression, to which our entire conformity to Christ is still more powerfully set forth--the believing disciple is himself crucified with Christ. The cross is the chief mark of the Christian as of Christ; the crucified Christ and the crucified Christian belong to each other. One of the chief elements of likeness to Christ consists in being crucified with Him. Whoever wishes to be like Him must seek to understand the secret of fellowship with His cross.
  At first sight the Christian who seeks conformity to Jesus is afraid of this truth; he shrinks from the painful suffering and death with which the thought of the cross is connected. As his spiritual discernment becomes clearer, however, this word becomes all his hope and joy, and he glories in the cross, because it makes him a partner in a death and victory that has already been accomplished, and in which the deliverance from the powers of the flesh and of the world has been secured to him . . . (written by Andrew Murray)
(Taken from Thomas Nelson, Inc., Heritage of Great Evangelical Teaching; Featuring the best of Martin Luther, John Wesley, Dwight L. Moody, C.H. Spurgeon and others [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1996.)

LESSON QUESTIONS:

1. What can we expect to happen when we give liberally? Eccl. 11:1; Gal. 6:9; Mal. 3:10; Prov. 3:9,10; 11:25; Phil. 4:14-19; Luke 6:38; Ps. 20:1-4; 41:1; Isa. 58:10.

2. What does the preacher say about giving a full serving (portion) to those who need it, especially while we have it to give? Eccl. 11:2; Neh. 8:10; 1 Sam. 25:10,11; Prov. 22:9; 28:27; 2 Cor. 9:7; 2 Sam. 17:27-29; 1 Sam. 25:18-20; Deut. 14:27-29.

3. Why should we be as faithful in giving as the clouds are to pour down their rain, and to be a blessing in the place we're in, just like the tree that falls to the ground is to those around it? Eccl. 11:3; Ps. 112:9; Prov. 25:21,22; Matt. 24:45-51; Luke 19:17; Job 31:16-22.

4. What would happen if a farmer stopped sowing seed every time he saw a cloud in the sky, or stopped reaping the harvest every time a wind stirred? Eccl. 11:4; Ps. 127:2; Phil. 4:6; Prov. 28:1; 22:13.

5. Should a man wihhold his giving because he can't see or understand the specific way God will bless him? Eccl. 11:5; Mal. 3:8-12; Prov. 11:24.

6. Why should a man be consistently diligent in all his labors? Eccl. 11:6; Prov. 10:4; 22:29; 12:24; 27:23-27; 31:13-27.

7. Why is it important for people to be diligent in life while their health and strength are still good? Eccl. 11:7,8; 12:1-7; Lam. 3:27; Job 8:9; 9:25; 14:2; Ps. 89:47.

8. Why is it good for the young to enjoy their youth, and to also be diligent about their manner of life? Eccl. 11:9,10; Deut. 14:24-26; Ps. 119:9; Titus 2:6,7; 1 Tim. 4:7,8; 1 Pet. 5:5; Rom. 6:12-14; Matt. 6:19-24.