WEBVTT 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:05.179 Take your Bibles and open them to Ecclesiastes 00:00:05.179 --> 00:00:12.400 chapter 5 Beginning in verse 8 And we're going 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:16.260 to take this through about chapter 6 verse 9 00:00:16.260 --> 00:00:21.640 kind of a longer text today and Let me just by 00:00:21.640 --> 00:00:24.379 way of introduction while you turn there just 00:00:24.379 --> 00:00:27.320 Tell you something that you may know that at 00:00:27.320 --> 00:00:30.320 times Ecclesiastes can be a challenging read 00:00:31.339 --> 00:00:33.820 Especially as we get further into the book we 00:00:33.820 --> 00:00:37.600 see times where it's difficult to discern What 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:40.140 is the section of scripture? How do things go 00:00:40.140 --> 00:00:43.840 together? Ecclesiastes is going to start looking 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:46.939 a little bit like Proverbs and if you've ever 00:00:46.939 --> 00:00:50.960 tried to discern the sections the pericopes of 00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:53.979 Proverbs it can be a real challenge and the same 00:00:53.979 --> 00:00:57.420 thing exists within Ecclesiastes But there's 00:00:57.420 --> 00:01:02.500 also this that there are topics That Kohelet 00:01:02.500 --> 00:01:06.280 which is the name for teacher or preacher we 00:01:06.280 --> 00:01:09.140 believe to be Solomon there are things that he 00:01:09.140 --> 00:01:11.439 addresses within this book that are challenging 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:14.620 for us to read and That's going to be true within 00:01:14.620 --> 00:01:18.420 this text as well. But what is he doing? Solomon 00:01:18.420 --> 00:01:22.560 is giving you his his honest Observations of 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:26.799 life under the Sun and he doesn't hold back right 00:01:26.909 --> 00:01:29.769 And so when he addresses things that might make 00:01:29.769 --> 00:01:32.829 us feel uncomfortable, know that these are the 00:01:32.829 --> 00:01:36.390 things that he sees and they may be the things 00:01:36.390 --> 00:01:39.890 that you see as well. And so we need God's wisdom 00:01:39.890 --> 00:01:43.730 to help us understand these things. And so with 00:01:43.730 --> 00:01:47.170 all of that out of the way now, let's go to the 00:01:47.170 --> 00:01:51.650 text, Ecclesiastes chapter five, eight through 00:01:51.650 --> 00:01:58.450 six, verse nine. If you see in a province the 00:01:58.450 --> 00:02:02.209 oppression of the poor and the violation of justice 00:02:02.209 --> 00:02:06.170 and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter. 00:02:06.810 --> 00:02:09.490 For the high official is watched by a higher, 00:02:10.409 --> 00:02:13.650 and there are yet higher ones over them. But 00:02:13.650 --> 00:02:17.389 this is gained for a land in every way. A king 00:02:17.389 --> 00:02:20.990 committed to cultivated fields. He who loves 00:02:20.990 --> 00:02:24.449 money will not be satisfied with money. Nor he 00:02:24.449 --> 00:02:27.310 who loves wealth with his income. This also is 00:02:27.310 --> 00:02:31.169 vanity When goods increase they increase to eat 00:02:31.169 --> 00:02:34.509 them and what advantage has their owner but to 00:02:34.509 --> 00:02:38.870 see them with his eyes Sweet is the sleep of 00:02:38.870 --> 00:02:42.750 a laborer Whether he eats little or much, but 00:02:42.750 --> 00:02:45.069 the full stomach of the rich will not let him 00:02:45.069 --> 00:02:49.069 sleep There is a grievous evil that I've seen 00:02:49.069 --> 00:02:52.110 under the Sun riches were kept by their owner 00:02:52.110 --> 00:02:55.639 to his hurt And those riches were lost in a bad 00:02:55.639 --> 00:02:59.919 venture. And he is the father of a son, but is 00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:02.860 nothing in his hand. And as he came from his 00:03:02.860 --> 00:03:05.479 mother's womb, he shall go again naked as he 00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:09.240 came, and shall take nothing for his toil that 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:13.400 he may carry away in his hand. This also is a 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:17.419 grievous evil. Just as he came, so shall he go. 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:20.680 And what gain is there to him who toils for the 00:03:20.680 --> 00:03:25.789 wind? Moreover, All his days he eats in darkness, 00:03:26.389 --> 00:03:30.830 in much vexation and sickness and anger. Behold, 00:03:30.849 --> 00:03:33.110 what I have seen to be good and fitting is to 00:03:33.110 --> 00:03:36.849 eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil 00:03:36.849 --> 00:03:39.849 with which one toils under the sun the few days 00:03:39.849 --> 00:03:42.250 of his life that God has given him, for this 00:03:42.250 --> 00:03:45.789 is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given 00:03:45.789 --> 00:03:48.469 wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them 00:03:48.469 --> 00:03:51.349 and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil, 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:56.080 This is the gift of God, for he will not much 00:03:56.080 --> 00:03:59.280 remember the days of his life, because God keeps 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:03.840 him occupied with joy in his heart. There is 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:07.159 an evil that I've seen under the sun, and it 00:04:07.159 --> 00:04:10.780 lies heavy on mankind, a man to whom God gives 00:04:10.780 --> 00:04:14.259 wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks 00:04:14.259 --> 00:04:17.100 nothing of all that he desires, yet God does 00:04:17.100 --> 00:04:21.000 not give him power to enjoy them. but a stranger 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:24.860 enjoys them. This is vanity. It is a grievous 00:04:24.860 --> 00:04:28.259 evil. If a man fathers a hundred children and 00:04:28.259 --> 00:04:31.339 lives many years, so that the days of his years 00:04:31.339 --> 00:04:33.839 are many, but his soul is not satisfied with 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:36.800 life's good things, and he also has no burial, 00:04:37.079 --> 00:04:40.560 I say that a stillborn child is better off than 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:45.199 he. For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, 00:04:45.560 --> 00:04:48.040 and in darkness its name is covered. Moreover, 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:51.259 It has not seen the sun or known anything, yet 00:04:51.259 --> 00:04:55.620 it finds rest rather than he. Even though he 00:04:55.620 --> 00:04:57.860 should live a thousand years twice over, yet 00:04:57.860 --> 00:05:01.920 enjoy no good, do not all go to the one place? 00:05:03.100 --> 00:05:06.519 All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his 00:05:06.519 --> 00:05:09.800 appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:12.899 has the wise man over the fool? And what does 00:05:12.899 --> 00:05:15.839 the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:19.240 before the living? Better is the sight of the 00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:22.740 eyes than the wandering of the appetite This 00:05:22.740 --> 00:05:28.720 also is vanity and a striving after wind He who 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:34.180 has ears let him hear and let us pray Blessed 00:05:34.180 --> 00:05:39.019 Lord Who caused all of Holy Scripture to be written 00:05:39.019 --> 00:05:42.459 for our learning grant that we may in such a 00:05:42.459 --> 00:05:46.759 way learn and hear and mark and hide in our hearts 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:50.480 that we would inwardly digest your word. Father, 00:05:50.540 --> 00:05:53.759 as we come upon this challenging text, Lord, 00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:57.660 we ask that you would give us insight and encouragement 00:05:57.660 --> 00:06:01.500 and point our way to the one who is making all 00:06:01.500 --> 00:06:11.259 things new. We pray it in his name. Amen. Children. 00:06:12.779 --> 00:06:15.480 Do any of you get up on Saturday mornings and 00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:21.319 watch cartoons? I used to do that too. Saturday 00:06:21.319 --> 00:06:24.740 mornings, parents are sleeping in a little bit. 00:06:25.220 --> 00:06:27.160 Do you want to know the cartoon I used to watch 00:06:27.160 --> 00:06:33.040 a lot as a kid? DuckTales. Do you remember DuckTales? 00:06:33.240 --> 00:06:35.220 I'm not talking about the new one. I haven't 00:06:35.220 --> 00:06:39.620 seen that. I can't endorse it. But the old DuckTales, 00:06:39.740 --> 00:06:44.680 the one with Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Huey 00:06:44.680 --> 00:06:48.019 Dewey and Louie. Do you remember what I'm talking 00:06:48.019 --> 00:06:53.040 about? Yeah, it was a great cartoon. But you 00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:55.100 know what I remember the most about the main 00:06:55.100 --> 00:07:00.339 character Scrooge McDuck? He was really rich. 00:07:01.220 --> 00:07:04.959 He had a lot of money. Matter of fact, the enduring 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:08.399 image that I have of Scrooge McDuck, and Scrooge 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:12.500 obviously comes from That old movie, that old 00:07:12.500 --> 00:07:15.259 book, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. You 00:07:15.259 --> 00:07:18.300 remember that one? Ebeneezer Scrooge. But Scrooge 00:07:18.300 --> 00:07:23.160 in Duck Tales had so much money that he filled 00:07:23.160 --> 00:07:27.579 up like a barn. He had like a silo filled with 00:07:27.579 --> 00:07:30.720 gold coins. And you know what that character 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:34.600 used to love to do? He'd put on his bathing suit 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:37.800 and he would dive into the money and swim around. 00:07:37.860 --> 00:07:41.399 That's how much he loved money. that he loved 00:07:41.399 --> 00:07:46.000 to swim in it. Now the other thing that I remember 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:50.079 about that character is that he was rarely happy, 00:07:50.680 --> 00:07:55.560 right? That unless Scrooge was playing in his 00:07:55.560 --> 00:07:59.420 money or being handed a bag of gold, he always 00:07:59.420 --> 00:08:04.519 looked miserable. And so children, here's what 00:08:04.519 --> 00:08:08.879 I want you to hear today. Having a lot of money, 00:08:09.420 --> 00:08:15.019 Having a new bicycle, having the newest electronic 00:08:15.019 --> 00:08:19.259 device, maybe one day having this car that you've 00:08:19.259 --> 00:08:21.920 always dreamed of, maybe one day the house or 00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:24.860 the boat or whatever it is. These can be good 00:08:24.860 --> 00:08:28.279 things, but they will not ultimately make you 00:08:28.279 --> 00:08:32.519 satisfied. They will not ultimately make you 00:08:32.519 --> 00:08:37.440 happy. We need more than these things. And so 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:42.919 the lesson is this. that are you finding satisfaction, 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:49.139 happiness, blessedness in Christ? It's in Christ 00:08:49.139 --> 00:08:53.820 alone that you can truly be satisfied, right? 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:57.700 And so there's a few different ways that Solomon 00:08:57.700 --> 00:09:02.440 shows this to us in this text here. Four ways 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:09.950 to be specific. One, the love of money is a bad 00:09:09.950 --> 00:09:14.370 investment. Number two, the love of money is 00:09:14.370 --> 00:09:19.190 a foolish investment. Three, the love of money 00:09:19.190 --> 00:09:24.210 is a joyless investment. And four, the love of 00:09:24.210 --> 00:09:27.830 money is a fleeting investment. And so that's 00:09:27.830 --> 00:09:31.570 what we're looking at today. And ultimately we 00:09:31.570 --> 00:09:34.549 must learn that in order to be satisfied, we 00:09:34.549 --> 00:09:38.950 must know God through Christ. and then and only 00:09:38.950 --> 00:09:42.830 then we'll be able to enjoy what he gives to 00:09:42.830 --> 00:09:45.350 us. And so let's look at this first point. The 00:09:45.350 --> 00:09:48.570 love of money is a bad investment, particularly 00:09:48.570 --> 00:09:52.929 in verses eight through 11 there of chapter five. 00:09:53.330 --> 00:09:56.610 He says in effect, don't be surprised, don't 00:09:56.610 --> 00:10:00.590 be amazed at the oppression of the poor. And 00:10:00.590 --> 00:10:04.129 don't be amazed that there is injustice in this 00:10:04.129 --> 00:10:06.690 world. Don't be surprised that there's unrighteousness 00:10:06.690 --> 00:10:09.450 in this world. And then as he proceeds in verse 00:10:09.450 --> 00:10:12.309 10, don't be surprised that these things have 00:10:12.309 --> 00:10:15.450 to do with money. Don't be surprised when you 00:10:15.450 --> 00:10:18.049 see corruption or oppression and that it has 00:10:18.049 --> 00:10:22.210 to do with money. Because what does it say? He 00:10:22.210 --> 00:10:26.350 who loves money will not be satisfied with money. 00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:30.740 Nor he who loves wealth with his income. This 00:10:30.740 --> 00:10:35.500 also is vanity Right and so kind of what the 00:10:35.500 --> 00:10:42.440 problem is here is misplaced trust What are you 00:10:42.440 --> 00:10:46.259 trusting in? Are you trusting in your bank account? 00:10:46.899 --> 00:10:51.399 Are you are you trusting in your 401k? Are you 00:10:51.399 --> 00:10:55.529 trusting in your wealth? And as I say this is 00:10:55.529 --> 00:10:58.370 kind of misplaced trust We should also acknowledge 00:10:58.370 --> 00:11:01.909 here that what he's really getting at is the 00:11:01.909 --> 00:11:06.169 love of money, right? The love of money is the 00:11:06.169 --> 00:11:09.750 problem and you see this really really well Kind 00:11:09.750 --> 00:11:12.730 of the go -to text for this is first Timothy 00:11:12.730 --> 00:11:18.009 chapter 6 And I'll just read three verses of 00:11:18.009 --> 00:11:25.539 this first Timothy 6 verses 7 through 10 And 00:11:25.539 --> 00:11:27.720 this is one of the places that it would be good 00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:30.840 to just have a marker in your Bible as you think 00:11:30.840 --> 00:11:33.940 about wealth. It says, for we brought nothing 00:11:33.940 --> 00:11:37.440 into the world and we cannot take anything out 00:11:37.440 --> 00:11:40.820 of the world. But if we have food and clothing 00:11:40.820 --> 00:11:44.759 with these, we will be content. But those who 00:11:44.759 --> 00:11:48.740 desire to be rich fall into temptation, into 00:11:48.740 --> 00:11:52.639 a snare. into many senseless and harmful desires 00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:56.440 that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 00:11:57.080 --> 00:12:01.159 For the love of money is a root of all kinds 00:12:01.159 --> 00:12:05.460 of evil. It is through this craving that some 00:12:05.460 --> 00:12:08.100 have wandered away from the faith and pierced 00:12:08.100 --> 00:12:14.000 themselves with many pangs. Friends, the problem 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:20.230 is the love of money. You remember that Jesus 00:12:20.230 --> 00:12:24.129 and Matthew 22 sums up the law and what does 00:12:24.129 --> 00:12:28.409 he say to love there? he says to love God with 00:12:28.409 --> 00:12:31.809 everything you've got and Then he says you are 00:12:31.809 --> 00:12:34.350 to love your neighbor as yourself And so if you're 00:12:34.350 --> 00:12:36.610 loving God with everything you've got and if 00:12:36.610 --> 00:12:39.070 you are loving your neighbor You cannot possibly 00:12:39.070 --> 00:12:42.710 be giving all of your devoted love to money and 00:12:42.710 --> 00:12:46.149 so don't do it for you remember what Jesus says 00:12:46.279 --> 00:12:49.360 In Matthew 6, the Sermon on the Mount, you cannot 00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:55.659 serve two masters, can you? Friends, if money 00:12:55.659 --> 00:13:00.940 is your God, then God is not. If money is your 00:13:00.940 --> 00:13:09.139 God, then God is not. And it's at this point 00:13:09.139 --> 00:13:12.159 that there's usually some objections that are 00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:18.320 made. That those with money will say, Hey, it's 00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:21.960 not wrong to have money. It's okay, matter of 00:13:21.960 --> 00:13:26.159 fact. And that is true. But the other objection 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:28.440 might come from those who are doing without, 00:13:28.500 --> 00:13:30.899 and they might say, you don't know what it's 00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:34.299 like to do without. And both of those things 00:13:34.299 --> 00:13:37.200 may be true, but if we're jumping to the... to 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:39.840 the objections too quickly. If we are seeking 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:42.840 to defend our wealth or to defend our poverty, 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:46.379 we are missing the point of this passage. We 00:13:46.379 --> 00:13:51.500 are missing the point of this passage. I want 00:13:51.500 --> 00:13:55.720 you to really take this in here. And the way 00:13:55.720 --> 00:13:58.100 in which I want you to take it in is our second 00:13:58.100 --> 00:14:03.679 point to see that the love of money is a foolish 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:07.840 investment. Look at verse I think it's about 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:12.039 verse 13 and 14. There's a grievous evil that 00:14:12.039 --> 00:14:15.039 I've seen under the sun. Riches were kept by 00:14:15.039 --> 00:14:17.940 their owner to his hurt, and those riches were 00:14:17.940 --> 00:14:21.139 lost in a bad venture. This is talking then about 00:14:21.139 --> 00:14:27.100 the mismanagement of money, about corruption, 00:14:27.340 --> 00:14:32.000 about bad leaders, bad investors, skyrocketing 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:34.700 prices, all the things that we see that can happen 00:14:34.700 --> 00:14:43.220 with money. I wonder if you remember this particularly 00:14:43.220 --> 00:14:46.980 bad deal or maybe we should say lack of a deal. 00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:50.240 Since I've already referenced my childhood and 00:14:50.240 --> 00:14:53.799 watching cartoons, anybody remember going to 00:14:53.799 --> 00:14:58.100 Blockbuster Video in the 90s and early 2000s? 00:14:58.279 --> 00:15:01.179 Remember that? That's just what you did on Friday 00:15:01.179 --> 00:15:05.259 nights as a young man, kid even. You look forward 00:15:05.259 --> 00:15:09.559 to perusing the aisles. Finding a VHS tape that 00:15:09.559 --> 00:15:12.580 you could take home and you could watch and just 00:15:12.580 --> 00:15:15.779 there's so much nostalgia there Well, I wonder 00:15:15.779 --> 00:15:21.500 if you remember this that in the early 2000s 00:15:21.500 --> 00:15:24.860 I forget the year there was a small startup company 00:15:24.860 --> 00:15:27.759 It was kind of small that approached blockbuster 00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:32.399 video and said hey Would you buy our company 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:36.059 from us for the sum of 50 million dollars? Anybody 00:15:36.059 --> 00:15:39.480 remember? what the company was that asked Blockbuster 00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:45.240 to buy them? It was Netflix, right? In the heyday 00:15:45.240 --> 00:15:49.080 of Blockbuster, there were 9 ,000 stores. Do 00:15:49.080 --> 00:15:51.980 you know how many there are today? There's just 00:15:51.980 --> 00:15:55.159 one. And it's more of a tourist attraction in 00:15:55.159 --> 00:15:58.279 Oregon than a place that actually rents videos. 00:15:59.139 --> 00:16:02.399 But just think about that. Netflix approached 00:16:02.399 --> 00:16:08.429 them asking for $50 million. Blockbuster reportedly 00:16:08.429 --> 00:16:12.990 laughed them out of the room. Today, Netflix 00:16:12.990 --> 00:16:18.190 is worth about $360 billion, what might have 00:16:18.190 --> 00:16:21.730 been for Blockbuster. And so all of this is showing 00:16:21.730 --> 00:16:26.529 us here that yes, bad financial decisions can 00:16:26.529 --> 00:16:30.029 lead to significant problems and ruin, right? 00:16:30.929 --> 00:16:33.629 There's also this danger that the more that you 00:16:33.629 --> 00:16:37.519 have the more you have to lose. And verse 12 00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:40.340 kind of paints this picture of the more that 00:16:40.340 --> 00:16:43.980 you have, the more that you might be constantly 00:16:43.980 --> 00:16:46.700 worrying about it. The more that it might keep 00:16:46.700 --> 00:16:48.919 you up at night worrying what's going to happen 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:52.139 with all of your wealth, bad business deals, 00:16:52.580 --> 00:16:55.759 a stock market crash, corruption. Your wealth 00:16:55.759 --> 00:17:01.480 can be gone as quickly as it came. And so what's 00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:05.289 the answer then? Is it to cling tighter to our 00:17:05.289 --> 00:17:09.670 wealth? Is it to have better financial advisors? 00:17:11.930 --> 00:17:16.150 Is it to invest in AI? I'd love to know what 00:17:16.150 --> 00:17:18.630 Solomon would think about artificial intelligence. 00:17:20.289 --> 00:17:22.869 Knowledge begins with the fear of the Lord. But 00:17:22.869 --> 00:17:26.609 is the answer to cling tighter to our wealth? 00:17:26.829 --> 00:17:30.250 You know the answer to this. It's not to cling 00:17:30.250 --> 00:17:33.630 tighter to our wealth. No. You remember what 00:17:33.630 --> 00:17:36.750 Jesus said in Mark 8, what does it profit a man 00:17:36.750 --> 00:17:40.609 to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 00:17:40.789 --> 00:17:43.569 We are to cling tighter to the one who humbled 00:17:43.569 --> 00:17:47.829 himself becoming obedient even to the point of 00:17:47.829 --> 00:17:51.250 death on a cross. This should show us that we 00:17:51.250 --> 00:17:54.130 need to cling to Christ for what Christ offers 00:17:54.130 --> 00:17:58.329 to us will not go away. What Christ offers to 00:17:58.329 --> 00:18:01.970 us is eternal. And so friends, don't put all 00:18:01.970 --> 00:18:07.529 of your stock in stocks. Put it in the Lord Jesus 00:18:07.529 --> 00:18:13.309 Christ. Why? Because of point three. Wealth does 00:18:13.309 --> 00:18:18.950 not produce enjoyment. God does. To put all of 00:18:18.950 --> 00:18:22.589 our effort and all of ourselves into money is 00:18:22.589 --> 00:18:27.049 a joyless investment. And so look at verse 18. 00:18:27.529 --> 00:18:30.589 Behold, What I have seen to be good and fitting 00:18:30.589 --> 00:18:34.089 is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all 00:18:34.089 --> 00:18:38.390 the toil with which one toils under the sun the 00:18:38.390 --> 00:18:40.569 few days of his life that God has given him, 00:18:40.609 --> 00:18:44.490 for this is his lot. We are to find enjoyment 00:18:44.490 --> 00:18:48.509 in God and in what he gives us. God gives us 00:18:48.509 --> 00:18:53.099 the wealth. God gives us the possessions. And 00:18:53.099 --> 00:18:56.200 according to verse 19, he gives us the ability 00:18:56.200 --> 00:19:02.400 to enjoy those things. But friends, the sad observation 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:07.039 from Solomon is here that there are people who 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:12.740 have everything and yet enjoy nothing. And just 00:19:12.740 --> 00:19:15.720 in case you're wondering, can I trust Solomon 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:20.740 on this? Remember how wealthy Solomon was. For 00:19:20.740 --> 00:19:22.480 those who are in the fellowship Sunday school 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:25.440 class, you'll know that. We just covered it. 00:19:25.799 --> 00:19:28.400 Solomon was, during his time, perhaps the richest 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:32.099 man on the face of the earth, right? And so he's 00:19:32.099 --> 00:19:34.779 saying, listen, I've been there. I've done that. 00:19:35.059 --> 00:19:39.559 I've tried that. Wealth does not ultimately satisfy. 00:19:39.880 --> 00:19:42.799 Whatever it is. Maybe it's the bursting bank 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:45.200 account. Maybe it's the house or houses. Maybe 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:48.849 it's the cars. You name it. But without the ability 00:19:48.849 --> 00:19:54.670 to enjoy it, friends, what is the point? It's 00:19:54.670 --> 00:19:59.490 like, imagine having the most savory meal laid 00:19:59.490 --> 00:20:03.470 out before you, just your favorite food, but 00:20:03.470 --> 00:20:06.869 not having the taste buds to taste it. Imagine 00:20:06.869 --> 00:20:10.309 having the fastest car on the planet and not 00:20:10.309 --> 00:20:14.789 having the open road. If you can't enjoy what 00:20:14.789 --> 00:20:19.450 God gives, friends, what is the point? God gives 00:20:19.450 --> 00:20:21.809 his children good gifts to enjoy the fruit of 00:20:21.809 --> 00:20:25.089 their labor, but some are given wealth without 00:20:25.089 --> 00:20:27.369 the ability to enjoy it, and the text says that 00:20:27.369 --> 00:20:30.529 a stranger will enjoy it instead. And then he 00:20:30.529 --> 00:20:33.130 gives us some illustrations. Look in verses three 00:20:33.130 --> 00:20:40.089 through six of chapter six. Illustrations. He 00:20:40.089 --> 00:20:42.940 talks about this man. who lives for a very long 00:20:42.940 --> 00:20:46.779 time and has a hundred children, but yet he can't 00:20:46.779 --> 00:20:50.299 enjoy it. His soul is not satisfied. And from 00:20:50.299 --> 00:20:52.859 an ancient perspective, to have a quiver full 00:20:52.859 --> 00:20:57.380 of children would be seen as incredible blessing, 00:20:57.480 --> 00:21:01.539 right? But those 100 blessings for this man, 00:21:01.640 --> 00:21:04.519 for this illustration, those blessings are not 00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:08.799 enough for him because he lacks one more blessing, 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:13.609 the ability to enjoy it all. And so a life without 00:21:13.609 --> 00:21:18.869 joy is under the sun compared in kind of a difficult 00:21:18.869 --> 00:21:23.650 way compared to a stillborn child. Why would 00:21:23.650 --> 00:21:28.009 why would Solomon speak in this way? Because 00:21:28.009 --> 00:21:31.589 he's saying to us that a child who does not live. 00:21:31.960 --> 00:21:36.720 A child who is elect, a child of believers perhaps, 00:21:37.099 --> 00:21:40.640 this child has something that the rich man does 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:45.799 not have. Child has rest. Hear this from Zach 00:21:45.799 --> 00:21:50.119 S. Wine who says, for all of his wealth, he possesses 00:21:50.119 --> 00:21:54.039 no contentment. Restless and unfamiliar with 00:21:54.039 --> 00:21:58.200 true joy, the wealthy neighbor is impoverished. 00:21:58.440 --> 00:22:01.799 The stillborn child possesses the riches of rest 00:22:01.799 --> 00:22:05.019 and provision with God that the wealthy neighbor 00:22:05.019 --> 00:22:08.640 knows nothing of. And then the second illustration 00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:11.819 is here, if a man lives a thousand years twice 00:22:11.819 --> 00:22:16.700 and does not enjoy, what good were all of those 00:22:16.700 --> 00:22:20.559 years? This is all getting to discontentment. 00:22:21.160 --> 00:22:26.059 And friends, we only have so long to learn contentment. 00:22:26.359 --> 00:22:29.099 Because just like point number two shows us that 00:22:29.099 --> 00:22:34.160 wealth can go away, point number four shows us 00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:41.440 that we go away, right? That to put all of our 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:47.079 stock in wealth is unwise because there will 00:22:47.079 --> 00:22:50.079 be a day that we will not have it, not because 00:22:50.079 --> 00:22:54.440 it goes away, but because we do. Wealth can be 00:22:54.440 --> 00:22:58.339 a fleeting investment. Look at verse 15 of chapter 00:22:58.339 --> 00:23:03.660 five, and I read that part again. As he came 00:23:03.660 --> 00:23:06.960 from his mother's womb, he shall go again, naked 00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:10.460 as he came and shall take nothing for his toil 00:23:10.460 --> 00:23:17.440 that he may carry away in his hand. It's been 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:20.880 said by nearly everybody, right? You can't take 00:23:20.880 --> 00:23:24.000 it with you. It's been said there are no pockets 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:28.859 in a shroud, right? He's showing us here that 00:23:28.859 --> 00:23:32.940 we will all die. And so to put all of our investing 00:23:32.940 --> 00:23:37.200 into money and not the Lord is unwise because 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:41.380 you can't take it with you. And as you get to 00:23:41.380 --> 00:23:43.740 chapter six, verse six, maybe you see something 00:23:43.740 --> 00:23:46.079 that might trip us up a little bit. It says at 00:23:46.079 --> 00:23:48.859 the end of that verse, do not all go to the one 00:23:48.859 --> 00:23:53.349 place. This is the point where I might say is 00:23:53.349 --> 00:23:56.670 Solomon confused or is Solomon not understanding 00:23:56.670 --> 00:23:59.029 heaven and hell friends? He's not talking about 00:23:59.029 --> 00:24:01.950 heaven and hell here. He hasn't got there yet 00:24:01.950 --> 00:24:05.470 He's making observations under the Sun and his 00:24:05.470 --> 00:24:08.690 observation is this that yes, we will all die. 00:24:08.730 --> 00:24:12.829 We will all perish He's pondering life under 00:24:12.829 --> 00:24:16.910 the Sun and saying those who die alone unsatisfied 00:24:16.910 --> 00:24:20.799 lacking joy. There is no advantage to that To 00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:23.619 live in complete misery is the way of the fool. 00:24:23.940 --> 00:24:27.660 God has given us this life in order to enjoy 00:24:27.660 --> 00:24:32.339 his good gifts. And so are you enjoying what 00:24:32.339 --> 00:24:35.440 God has given to you? Are you thankful for what 00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:38.839 God has given to you? I would love to see some 00:24:38.839 --> 00:24:42.660 heads nodding here, right? But also understand 00:24:42.660 --> 00:24:45.740 this, Solomon's not talking about living your 00:24:45.740 --> 00:24:50.509 best life. Sometimes we think that he is. Years 00:24:50.509 --> 00:24:52.849 ago, I heard maybe the worst sermon that I have 00:24:52.849 --> 00:24:56.509 ever heard. I heard a preacher at one time title 00:24:56.509 --> 00:24:58.730 his sermon YOLO. Do you know what that means? 00:24:59.250 --> 00:25:02.269 You only live once. He titled the sermon YOLO. 00:25:02.329 --> 00:25:04.410 He'd read from the scriptures, closed the Bible, 00:25:04.450 --> 00:25:06.970 and never proceeded to talk about Jesus whatsoever, 00:25:07.470 --> 00:25:09.750 and just talked about living your best life. 00:25:10.069 --> 00:25:12.349 Friends, that's not what Solomon is getting at 00:25:12.349 --> 00:25:14.849 here. He is not urging you to live your best 00:25:14.849 --> 00:25:18.210 life. He is urging you to see where true joy 00:25:18.210 --> 00:25:22.089 is found. And friends, it's not found in your 00:25:22.089 --> 00:25:25.950 wealth. It is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:25:27.029 --> 00:25:30.950 And as you are in Christ, and I pray that all 00:25:30.950 --> 00:25:34.470 of us are, we then recognize there are good things 00:25:34.470 --> 00:25:37.450 we need to be doing with our wealth. We need 00:25:37.450 --> 00:25:40.990 to be tithing to the church. We need to be supporting 00:25:40.990 --> 00:25:45.670 mercy ministries. We need to be sending out missionaries 00:25:45.670 --> 00:25:49.289 to go all over the world to send out the gospel. 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:54.960 Right. These are good ways to use our money, 00:25:55.140 --> 00:25:59.700 helping the needy. Right. And using wealth for 00:25:59.700 --> 00:26:03.740 a godly means means loosening our grip on wealth 00:26:03.740 --> 00:26:06.619 because we realize and I hope that you do that 00:26:06.619 --> 00:26:09.759 it was never yours in the first place. It was 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:13.759 never yours in the first place. And so, yes, 00:26:13.759 --> 00:26:16.490 we should recognize from where it comes. We should 00:26:16.490 --> 00:26:20.130 also use wisdom and knowing how to give. But 00:26:20.130 --> 00:26:24.109 God has not given you wealth to hoard it. God 00:26:24.109 --> 00:26:26.650 has not given you wealth to keep it all to yourself. 00:26:26.869 --> 00:26:29.930 He's given it to you to take care of your family. 00:26:30.509 --> 00:26:34.210 He's given it to you to bless others, to bless 00:26:34.210 --> 00:26:38.029 Him. And He's given you wealth in order that 00:26:38.029 --> 00:26:43.250 you would learn to trust Him. And so what are 00:26:43.250 --> 00:26:46.460 you striving for? For whom are you striving? 00:26:46.559 --> 00:26:50.019 Are you striving simply for yourself? Or are 00:26:50.019 --> 00:26:54.200 you striving for God and his kingdom? As I begin 00:26:54.200 --> 00:26:57.299 to conclude, I want to remind you of a story 00:26:57.299 --> 00:27:00.099 from Scripture. You remember, I'm sure, because 00:27:00.099 --> 00:27:04.279 we covered it recently, the story of Jesus feeding 00:27:04.279 --> 00:27:07.980 the 5 ,000. And remember, feeding the 5 ,000 00:27:07.980 --> 00:27:10.759 men, there were also women and children there, 00:27:10.779 --> 00:27:14.529 so a whole host of people. Jesus feeds well the 00:27:14.529 --> 00:27:17.509 next day after he does that the crowd that he 00:27:17.509 --> 00:27:22.029 is fed made up of believers and unbelievers follow 00:27:22.029 --> 00:27:26.769 Jesus and Jesus says to them truly truly I say 00:27:26.769 --> 00:27:31.569 to you you are seeking me Not because you saw 00:27:31.569 --> 00:27:35.670 signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves 00:27:35.670 --> 00:27:39.039 Do not work for the food that perishes but for 00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:44.400 the food that endures to eternal life. Friends, 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:51.339 money, stuff, the next great meal, these are 00:27:51.339 --> 00:27:55.880 good things, but it all will pass. And so if 00:27:55.880 --> 00:27:59.940 you are chasing after wealth and wealth alone, 00:28:00.660 --> 00:28:04.259 you are chasing after the wind. To bow to wealth 00:28:04.259 --> 00:28:07.549 is to worship that which cannot save you. cannot 00:28:07.549 --> 00:28:12.430 provide eternity for you and may run dry before 00:28:12.430 --> 00:28:16.450 you die. And so Jesus promises a better way to 00:28:16.450 --> 00:28:21.609 bow not to money but to God. In Christ is where 00:28:21.609 --> 00:28:25.250 true satisfaction is. Money like that good meal 00:28:25.250 --> 00:28:28.349 might be good for a time, but without God you 00:28:28.349 --> 00:28:31.390 will not have the ability to enjoy it and you 00:28:31.390 --> 00:28:35.359 will be impoverished in the end. Instead, look 00:28:35.359 --> 00:28:38.259 to the one who sought you out. Look to the one 00:28:38.259 --> 00:28:41.539 who, speaking of joy, according to Hebrews 12, 00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:44.799 he is the author and the perfecter of your faith, 00:28:45.140 --> 00:28:48.099 who for the joy set before him endured the cross, 00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:51.440 despising the shame, and is seated at the right 00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:57.339 hand of God. Look to the one, speaking of satisfaction, 00:28:57.710 --> 00:29:01.250 whose life and death satisfied divine justice. 00:29:01.430 --> 00:29:05.069 Look to the one who atoned for your sins perfectly. 00:29:05.369 --> 00:29:08.269 And knowing what Jesus has done for us, should 00:29:08.269 --> 00:29:11.170 we not then pursue him with everything we've 00:29:11.170 --> 00:29:16.349 got? Of course we should. And doesn't Jesus promise 00:29:16.349 --> 00:29:19.329 us much better things than we could ever attain 00:29:19.329 --> 00:29:24.589 in this fallen world? And so friends, remember 00:29:24.589 --> 00:29:29.779 the introit from today's worship service. Seek 00:29:29.779 --> 00:29:34.599 first his kingdom and his righteousness, and 00:29:34.599 --> 00:29:38.920 all of these things will be added unto you. Let 00:29:38.920 --> 00:29:39.359 us pray.