WEBVTT 00:00:00.580 --> 00:00:03.379 All right. What's up, everybody? You guys are 00:00:03.379 --> 00:00:06.679 feeling good this morning? Yeah? Okay. Good. 00:00:06.820 --> 00:00:11.820 Good. Now, let me start with a little crowd involvement 00:00:11.820 --> 00:00:13.980 before we get into our message. And let me ask 00:00:13.980 --> 00:00:17.100 you a question. So, who in here would like just 00:00:17.100 --> 00:00:22.179 a little bit more of the good life? Oh, come 00:00:22.179 --> 00:00:23.859 on, guys. Don't worry. It's not a tricky question. 00:00:24.019 --> 00:00:25.760 You will not have to meet the pastor after the 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:28.250 sermon. It's just a simple question. Who wants 00:00:28.250 --> 00:00:32.109 to have a little bit more of the good life? Yeah, 00:00:32.310 --> 00:00:35.450 that's right. We all do. Yeah, that's what we 00:00:35.450 --> 00:00:39.049 are all chasing for. Everyone. Whether that's, 00:00:39.049 --> 00:00:41.729 you know, financial stability, financial freedom, 00:00:42.070 --> 00:00:45.570 the perfect family or successful career, whatever 00:00:45.570 --> 00:00:49.070 it is, most of us are working and praying for 00:00:49.070 --> 00:00:51.409 some version of the good life. I might not be 00:00:51.409 --> 00:00:54.670 the same for everyone, but most of us pray for 00:00:54.670 --> 00:00:57.539 a version of the good life. and personally if 00:00:57.539 --> 00:01:00.439 you ask me you know if i could live in a japanese 00:01:00.439 --> 00:01:03.780 village with internet connection and you know 00:01:03.780 --> 00:01:07.400 endless sunshine uh i would be i would be happy 00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:09.739 that would be the the little slice of heaven 00:01:09.739 --> 00:01:14.400 for me but here's the thing you know we are convinced 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:20.280 that more more money more stuff more status will 00:01:20.280 --> 00:01:25.120 bring contentment we believe that gain is the 00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:29.689 path to happiness. But what if that path leads 00:01:29.689 --> 00:01:33.150 to a dead end? What if all the striving leads 00:01:33.150 --> 00:01:35.989 not to satisfaction, but actually to emptiness? 00:01:36.890 --> 00:01:41.069 And as the Star Wars fans among you might know 00:01:41.069 --> 00:01:44.390 the famous words of Admiral Akbar, it's a trap, 00:01:44.569 --> 00:01:47.930 because it is a trap. And today we'll see that 00:01:47.930 --> 00:01:50.530 in Ecclesiastes chapter 5, we're going to read 00:01:50.530 --> 00:01:54.329 from verse 8 to 20, King Solomon, or the preacher, 00:01:55.019 --> 00:01:58.180 delivers a brutally honest challenge to his to 00:01:58.180 --> 00:02:01.519 this assumption and his radical conclusion at 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:06.420 the end is that gratitude not gain is the key 00:02:06.420 --> 00:02:10.419 to the good life now that's the liberating truth 00:02:10.419 --> 00:02:13.580 i pray that we will see today that wealth cannot 00:02:13.580 --> 00:02:18.639 give you true security or joy only god can do 00:02:18.639 --> 00:02:22.860 that and the good life is not found in getting 00:02:22.860 --> 00:02:26.620 more but is gratefully enjoying what God has 00:02:26.620 --> 00:02:30.680 already given you. And can we just admit how 00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:34.379 timely this all is? Between all the tariffs, 00:02:34.680 --> 00:02:39.759 all the instability in the US, economic uncertainty, 00:02:40.199 --> 00:02:44.400 and financial experts don't really know where 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:47.039 we are headed, how the world is looking, the 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:49.879 security that many people assume that we had 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:54.349 is kind of being exposed as an illusion. And 00:02:54.349 --> 00:02:58.370 if your heart is anxious right now, here it is. 00:02:59.030 --> 00:03:02.129 I don't have any predictions. I don't have any 00:03:02.129 --> 00:03:06.370 stock market predictions for you. But I do know 00:03:06.370 --> 00:03:09.569 a person who can help. And his name is Jesus. 00:03:11.349 --> 00:03:14.569 Now, as we open God's Word, we will see four 00:03:14.569 --> 00:03:18.750 truths that support this big idea. First, when 00:03:18.750 --> 00:03:22.669 justice is not enough. Second, the insatiable 00:03:22.669 --> 00:03:35.330 trap. Now let's begin with the very first one. 00:03:35.409 --> 00:03:38.129 And we'll start in verse 8, we'll read from the 00:03:38.129 --> 00:03:41.210 Bible. And just a little heads up, I will use 00:03:41.210 --> 00:03:44.550 NLT. It's a little, well maybe not a little, 00:03:44.629 --> 00:03:48.409 but more simple translation than the traditional 00:03:48.409 --> 00:03:51.979 ones like NIV or the New King James. But I like 00:03:51.979 --> 00:03:53.639 this and I wanted to bring this translation today 00:03:53.639 --> 00:03:56.699 because the main idea is what we are interested 00:03:56.699 --> 00:04:00.819 in here. If you want the more poetic or traditional 00:04:00.819 --> 00:04:03.159 version, you can read it at home later if you 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:06.580 wish to. But let's start in verse 8. So Ecclesiastes 00:04:06.580 --> 00:04:11.520 5 at verse 8, it says, Don't be surprised if 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:14.099 you see a poor person being oppressed by the 00:04:14.099 --> 00:04:18.240 powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:35.300 the land. So the preacher opens with a stark 00:04:35.300 --> 00:04:39.980 universal truth. Injustice and corruption are 00:04:39.980 --> 00:04:45.319 systematic and pervasive under the sun. You know, 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:49.470 he tells us, don't be surprised, guys. This is 00:04:49.470 --> 00:04:53.149 my news. This has been happening for thousands 00:04:53.149 --> 00:04:56.449 and thousands of years. And this is really a 00:04:56.449 --> 00:04:59.389 profound realism because it reveals the fundamental 00:04:59.389 --> 00:05:03.310 brokenness of human systems. And this sets the 00:05:03.310 --> 00:05:07.990 stage to why gain within such systems can never 00:05:07.990 --> 00:05:13.449 be truly satisfying or secure. Having more does 00:05:13.449 --> 00:05:17.430 not fix the deepest problems. And he describes 00:05:17.430 --> 00:05:20.589 a kind of a... hierarchical chain where every 00:05:20.589 --> 00:05:24.870 official is under orders from higher up. So this 00:05:24.870 --> 00:05:27.430 is not just about isolated acts that are happening 00:05:27.430 --> 00:05:29.949 in society, you know, here and there. It's a 00:05:29.949 --> 00:05:34.310 built -in flaw where power can be abused and 00:05:34.310 --> 00:05:37.430 will be abused. And you know, decisions, they 00:05:37.430 --> 00:05:40.410 will filter down, impacting the vulnerable at 00:05:40.410 --> 00:05:45.110 the end. Justice, which is so important and vital 00:05:45.110 --> 00:05:48.420 for the well -being of society, and communities 00:05:48.420 --> 00:05:52.939 it gets lost in red tape and bureaucracy i mean 00:05:52.939 --> 00:05:55.000 just think about it when you first time arrived 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:57.680 in hungary all the paperwork that you had to 00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:00.379 do all the stuff that you had to do to get your 00:06:00.379 --> 00:06:03.620 residency permit your visa whatever you know 00:06:03.620 --> 00:06:10.519 so besides that there's the other um how would 00:06:10.519 --> 00:06:13.379 i say sad reality which some of you are actually 00:06:13.379 --> 00:06:17.759 experiencing today you know healthcare Health 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:20.699 care is one of those things where insurance companies 00:06:20.699 --> 00:06:26.459 and health care providers, they just seem to 00:06:26.459 --> 00:06:31.120 take advantage of people's situation, their illnesses, 00:06:31.540 --> 00:06:36.500 their vulnerable position. And at the end of 00:06:36.500 --> 00:06:38.259 the day, when you get to a health care provider 00:06:38.259 --> 00:06:41.240 or an insurance company, you are just buried 00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:44.540 under paperwork, legal delays, and a system that 00:06:44.540 --> 00:06:48.290 seems designed to protect the powerful and not 00:06:48.290 --> 00:06:52.509 the vulnerable. And I think we have been all 00:06:52.509 --> 00:06:56.029 entangled and exhausted by this red tape where 00:06:56.029 --> 00:07:01.470 fairness becomes a casualty. It hurts and it's 00:07:01.470 --> 00:07:04.949 infuriating. And Solomon says, it's not just 00:07:04.949 --> 00:07:10.129 at the Kormányo block or at the Kennedy or wherever 00:07:10.129 --> 00:07:13.149 you go to do administration. This goes all the 00:07:13.149 --> 00:07:17.339 way to the top. Even the king makes the land 00:07:17.339 --> 00:07:20.800 for his own profit. The CEO, the guy who meant 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:24.759 to be the protector, actively exploits his people 00:07:24.759 --> 00:07:30.639 for personal gain. You can follow this pretty 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:34.680 actively in a lot of our politicians here in 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:36.860 Europe, on the right and the left, doesn't matter 00:07:36.860 --> 00:07:39.759 where they are. They get paid decent salaries, 00:07:39.980 --> 00:07:43.639 and yet by the end of their term in office, their 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:46.019 net worth increases by the hundreds of thousands 00:07:46.019 --> 00:07:49.740 of euros. That math does not really add up for 00:07:49.740 --> 00:07:52.339 me. That math does not really compute for me. 00:07:52.759 --> 00:07:57.040 Yes, it's a systematic problem. But Solomons 00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:00.139 is not just pointing fingers at the system. He 00:08:00.139 --> 00:08:04.220 is exposing the human heart behind these systems. 00:08:04.699 --> 00:08:09.420 Because when gain becomes the goal, personally 00:08:09.420 --> 00:08:13.740 or institutionally, it corrupts. everything the 00:08:13.740 --> 00:08:16.120 system is not broken because it's inefficient 00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:19.339 we have to remember that it's broken because 00:08:19.339 --> 00:08:25.920 we are broken so why would we expect climbing 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:30.420 higher in this ladder to lead to satisfaction 00:08:30.420 --> 00:08:34.879 you know this ancient observation that salomon 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:38.019 is making here many many thousand years ago powerfully 00:08:38.019 --> 00:08:42.429 resonates today because we see this pattern of 00:08:42.429 --> 00:08:45.509 exploitation for gain, you know, in corporate 00:08:45.509 --> 00:08:49.409 greed, political corruption, bureaucratic obstacles. 00:08:50.490 --> 00:08:53.750 We feel the weight of systematic brokenness, 00:08:53.830 --> 00:08:57.169 and it's easy to feel jaded by power misused 00:08:57.169 --> 00:09:02.389 for gain. So our hope is not in reforming broken 00:09:02.389 --> 00:09:06.529 systems, as many believe. You can try that, and 00:09:06.529 --> 00:09:09.169 many have tried that, with some success, but 00:09:09.169 --> 00:09:13.590 most of the times with failures. Our hope is 00:09:13.590 --> 00:09:17.889 aligning ourselves with the kingdom of God, where 00:09:17.889 --> 00:09:21.409 gratitude for his grace replaces the pursuit 00:09:21.409 --> 00:09:25.610 of gain as the driving force. Jesus told us all, 00:09:25.750 --> 00:09:29.110 seek my kingdom above all else, and all these 00:09:29.110 --> 00:09:32.690 things will be added unto you. The Lord said 00:09:32.690 --> 00:09:36.870 it, and I hope that it will happen here and in 00:09:36.870 --> 00:09:41.419 us as well. So, We've seen how broken systems 00:09:41.419 --> 00:09:46.299 can never really deliver true peace. But maybe 00:09:46.299 --> 00:09:49.899 you're thinking, okay, fine, the system is messed 00:09:49.899 --> 00:09:52.919 up, but if I just work hard and get my slice 00:09:52.919 --> 00:09:56.299 of the pie, you know, maybe that will bring me 00:09:56.299 --> 00:10:00.980 satisfaction. But Solomon would say, it's a trap, 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:06.559 which leads us to point two. So from verse 10 00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:11.559 to 12, he says, Those who love money will never 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:15.059 have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth 00:10:15.059 --> 00:10:19.220 brings true happiness. The more you have, the 00:10:19.220 --> 00:10:22.559 more people come to help you spend it. So what 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:25.340 good is wealth, except perhaps to watch it slip 00:10:25.340 --> 00:10:28.940 through your fingers? People who work hard sleep 00:10:28.940 --> 00:10:32.700 well, whether they eat little or much, but the 00:10:32.700 --> 00:10:38.570 rich seldom get a good night's sleep. Now, from 00:10:38.570 --> 00:10:42.149 broken systems, the preacher now turns to the 00:10:42.149 --> 00:10:47.330 illusion of personal wealth, money. And he starts 00:10:47.330 --> 00:10:51.649 with a hard truth. Those who love money will 00:10:51.649 --> 00:10:56.090 never have enough. Now this, he's not just making 00:10:56.090 --> 00:10:58.590 an observation, it's a diagnosis. He's making 00:10:58.590 --> 00:11:01.450 a diagnosis here. He says that this is an addiction. 00:11:01.950 --> 00:11:06.659 The more you get, the more you want. There is 00:11:06.659 --> 00:11:10.860 no finish line. And the pursuit of gain becomes 00:11:10.860 --> 00:11:13.960 an endless loop. You know, you get into the loop 00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:16.919 and you keep going and you keep going. As the 00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:18.460 little hamster, they get into the little wheel 00:11:18.460 --> 00:11:20.960 and it's so hard to get out without maybe broken 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:23.059 a limb or something. Although those guys know 00:11:23.059 --> 00:11:27.919 how to stop. Not like us. So Solomon calls it 00:11:27.919 --> 00:11:31.419 meaningless. Not because money is evil. That's 00:11:31.419 --> 00:11:34.519 important, guys. Not because being rich... having 00:11:34.519 --> 00:11:39.340 money, having wealth is evil, but because it 00:11:39.340 --> 00:11:42.100 can never give you what you are really after. 00:11:43.080 --> 00:11:46.940 It cannot produce gratitude. It cannot satisfy 00:11:46.940 --> 00:11:52.039 your soul. And then, after seeing all of this, 00:11:52.100 --> 00:11:55.500 he drops a paradox. He says, the more you have, 00:11:55.659 --> 00:11:59.299 and I think this is pretty funny, he says, the 00:11:59.299 --> 00:12:04.980 more people come to help you spend it. Now, wealth, 00:12:05.059 --> 00:12:08.059 you know, many times and often brings complications, 00:12:08.139 --> 00:12:11.860 not freedom. Bigger house, more maintenance, 00:12:12.139 --> 00:12:17.399 more taxes, more business, more stuff, more overhead, 00:12:17.500 --> 00:12:21.919 more stress. It feels like it's actually slipping 00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:25.279 through your fingers. You know, we tell ourselves 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:29.340 that if we gain more, if we make more money, 00:12:29.379 --> 00:12:32.600 if we become more rich, life will become more 00:12:32.600 --> 00:12:36.610 simple. right that's what people believe but 00:12:36.610 --> 00:12:40.990 often it does the opposite it creates new burdens 00:12:40.990 --> 00:12:47.509 and anxieties and you don't own your stuff your 00:12:47.509 --> 00:12:52.090 stuff starts owning you and then comes this zinger 00:12:52.090 --> 00:12:57.690 he says people who work hard sleep well but the 00:12:57.690 --> 00:13:01.470 rich seldom get a good night's sleep and you 00:13:01.470 --> 00:13:03.840 know we imagine that The wealthy are carefree 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:05.799 and comfortable. They go to bed. They don't have 00:13:05.799 --> 00:13:07.940 any care in the world. They don't have to work 00:13:07.940 --> 00:13:09.720 in their garden. They have a gardener. They don't 00:13:09.720 --> 00:13:11.600 have to prepare food. They have their own personal 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:15.820 chef and all of that. But Solomon flips the idea. 00:13:16.919 --> 00:13:19.659 He says that a person who labors, a person who 00:13:19.659 --> 00:13:23.879 is working and lives simply, can rest deeply. 00:13:24.360 --> 00:13:28.559 They can sleep like a baby. The one who is constantly 00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:31.860 managing wealth protecting it, growing it, you 00:13:31.860 --> 00:13:38.100 know, he loses sleep. Worry and restlessness 00:13:38.100 --> 00:13:43.899 are the price of gain. Now this passage really 00:13:43.899 --> 00:13:48.840 pushes us to examine our assumptions. Are you 00:13:48.840 --> 00:13:52.340 caught in the chase for the next thing? Are you 00:13:52.340 --> 00:13:54.840 convinced that just a little bit more will bring 00:13:54.840 --> 00:13:58.860 peace? Have you reached one financial milestone 00:13:58.860 --> 00:14:02.120 only to find yourself immediately reaching for 00:14:02.120 --> 00:14:06.600 another? That's the bucket with no bottom problem. 00:14:07.019 --> 00:14:12.259 You pour and pour, but it never feels full. And 00:14:12.259 --> 00:14:14.460 you know, Solomon is not condemning wealth. Again, 00:14:14.559 --> 00:14:18.419 I have to reiterate that. But the love of it. 00:14:19.299 --> 00:14:22.200 If your security depends on your account balance, 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:27.799 what happens when it shrinks? The more you center 00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:31.980 your life around gain, the more elusive peace 00:14:31.980 --> 00:14:36.159 becomes. And Jesus knew this well. He warned 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:41.139 you cannot serve both God and money. You know, 00:14:41.139 --> 00:14:43.740 he told the parable of the rich fool who built 00:14:43.740 --> 00:14:48.320 bigger barns but died before he could enjoy any 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:52.259 of it. And his mistake was not wealth, it was 00:14:52.259 --> 00:14:55.830 not money. He was trusting in gain instead of 00:14:55.830 --> 00:15:00.990 being rich toward God. So the gospel gives us 00:15:00.990 --> 00:15:05.070 a totally different version. Jesus, who was though 00:15:05.070 --> 00:15:09.210 rich, became poor so that we might become rich 00:15:09.210 --> 00:15:13.830 in him. And he does not offer worldly gain. He 00:15:13.830 --> 00:15:17.889 offers himself. And with him comes peace that 00:15:17.889 --> 00:15:23.220 no money can buy. Rest that no hustle. can give, 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:26.220 and joy that is not tied into your circumstances. 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:30.379 So your real treasure is not in your portfolio 00:15:30.379 --> 00:15:36.659 or in your bank account. It's in Christ. It's 00:15:36.659 --> 00:15:41.820 eternal. It's unshakable. And when your heart 00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:45.460 starts to shift from chasing gain to thanking 00:15:45.460 --> 00:15:49.740 God for his grace, the grip of greed loosens. 00:15:50.730 --> 00:15:56.710 And joy becomes possible. So, if you have been 00:15:56.710 --> 00:16:00.049 on the treadmill of more, you know, running hard, 00:16:00.190 --> 00:16:04.090 chasing peace through possessions, here's Solomon's 00:16:04.090 --> 00:16:09.389 advice. It's a trap. A well -decorated one, yes, 00:16:09.570 --> 00:16:14.330 but a trap all the same. And Solomon, he's not 00:16:14.330 --> 00:16:17.450 done yet. If chasing more is a trap, he says 00:16:17.450 --> 00:16:22.860 that hoarding it does not help either right what 00:16:22.860 --> 00:16:25.299 happens when you finally get the wealth that 00:16:25.299 --> 00:16:28.740 you were chasing what do you do with it store 00:16:28.740 --> 00:16:34.000 it save it build your security on it he's about 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:37.539 to show us that gain not only fails to satisfy 00:16:37.539 --> 00:16:41.840 it can actually hurt us even when we try to hold 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:45.960 on to it so check it out in verse 13 he says 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:50.740 There is another serious problem I have seen 00:16:50.740 --> 00:16:55.679 under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. 00:16:57.080 --> 00:17:00.340 So you may be able to resist the urge to spend 00:17:00.340 --> 00:17:04.440 it all, you know, but Solomon says even hoarding 00:17:04.440 --> 00:17:08.019 it can be harmful. So how? How can it become 00:17:08.019 --> 00:17:12.720 harmful? Well, first, it can rot your relationships. 00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:16.319 You know, when you're afraid of someone, might 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:20.680 want your money or your wealth or your possessions, 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:25.619 it becomes hard to trust people. And then also 00:17:25.619 --> 00:17:29.160 it can rot your wealth, sorry, your health. You 00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:32.039 know, always protecting what you have can really 00:17:32.039 --> 00:17:35.980 keep you in a low, great state of anxiety. And 00:17:35.980 --> 00:17:38.420 then it can rot your soul. You start to believe 00:17:38.420 --> 00:17:41.839 that your security is in what you've said rather 00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:46.029 than the one who saved you. And in verse 14, 00:17:46.089 --> 00:17:49.569 he continues. Money is put into risky investments 00:17:49.569 --> 00:17:53.509 that turn sour and everything is lost. In the 00:17:53.509 --> 00:17:56.450 end, there is nothing left to pass on to one's 00:17:56.450 --> 00:18:00.710 children. Now he's saying you can make all the 00:18:00.710 --> 00:18:05.410 right moves and still lose it. The market can 00:18:05.410 --> 00:18:09.750 crash. The company can go under. The house can 00:18:09.750 --> 00:18:14.529 catch a fire. There are no guarantees. And even 00:18:14.529 --> 00:18:18.670 if you manage to hold on to it until death, guess 00:18:18.670 --> 00:18:24.329 what? You still lose it. Verse 15 says, we all 00:18:24.329 --> 00:18:27.650 come to the end of our lives as naked and empty 00:18:27.650 --> 00:18:31.170 -handed as on the day we were born. We can't 00:18:31.170 --> 00:18:36.109 take our riches with us. So this verse, this 00:18:36.109 --> 00:18:39.210 is not just a funeral verse. That's a worldview 00:18:39.210 --> 00:18:43.769 check. You can't take it with you. So why live 00:18:43.769 --> 00:18:48.630 like you can? And in verse 16 he adds, and this 00:18:48.630 --> 00:18:53.349 too is a very serious problem. People leave this 00:18:53.349 --> 00:18:56.990 world no better off than when they came. All 00:18:56.990 --> 00:19:00.109 their hard work is for nothing, like working 00:19:00.109 --> 00:19:03.970 for the wind. So Solomon is saying, you did not 00:19:03.970 --> 00:19:08.329 just lose your stuff, you lost your life while 00:19:08.329 --> 00:19:11.660 working for it. You gave your best years, your 00:19:11.660 --> 00:19:15.200 mental and emotional energy, your sleep and sanity, 00:19:15.400 --> 00:19:19.339 and in the end, you have nothing to show for 00:19:19.339 --> 00:19:23.819 it. And here's the hunting conclusion in verse 00:19:23.819 --> 00:19:28.400 17. Throughout their lives, they live under a 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:36.099 cloud, frustrated, discouraged, and angry. So 00:19:36.099 --> 00:19:39.500 this is what a gain -based life looks like. gets 00:19:39.500 --> 00:19:44.480 you. A cloud of frustration, discouragement because 00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:48.940 it's never enough, anger because the math never 00:19:48.940 --> 00:19:52.500 adds up, and you worked and waited your whole 00:19:52.500 --> 00:19:55.400 life, but by the time you felt like you could 00:19:55.400 --> 00:19:58.859 enjoy and you could rest, the joy was already 00:19:58.859 --> 00:20:05.500 gone. So, what do we do with this? Well, whether 00:20:05.500 --> 00:20:08.579 you never had the wealth, whether you lost it, 00:20:08.990 --> 00:20:12.470 or even if you held on to it, Solomon says it 00:20:12.470 --> 00:20:14.789 still won't give you what you are looking for. 00:20:15.490 --> 00:20:20.470 The pursuit of more does not work. The protection 00:20:20.470 --> 00:20:24.750 of what you have does not work. The possessions 00:20:24.750 --> 00:20:28.769 of great wealth does not work. And if we are 00:20:28.769 --> 00:20:33.170 being honest, we know it. That's why we are so 00:20:33.170 --> 00:20:38.069 exhausted. That's why we wake up anxious. While 00:20:38.069 --> 00:20:41.789 we keep shifting jobs, houses, styles, and life 00:20:41.789 --> 00:20:44.670 goals, maybe even degrees, hoping to the next 00:20:44.670 --> 00:20:48.549 thing that we'll finally settle it. We're not 00:20:48.549 --> 00:20:52.049 just trying to find the good life. We're trying 00:20:52.049 --> 00:20:56.390 to find something we can trust. Something that 00:20:56.390 --> 00:21:00.970 will not slip through our fingers. So, here's 00:21:00.970 --> 00:21:04.630 the turning point. What if Solomon's goal is 00:21:04.630 --> 00:21:07.769 not to depress us, and I hope you are not depressed 00:21:07.769 --> 00:21:12.769 until this point, but to free us. What if his 00:21:12.769 --> 00:21:17.549 whole point is this? If gain is your goal, life 00:21:17.549 --> 00:21:21.490 will never be good. But if gratitude is your 00:21:21.490 --> 00:21:25.910 posture, life becomes a gift, which leads us 00:21:25.910 --> 00:21:30.609 to our final section. After all the hard truths 00:21:30.609 --> 00:21:33.950 and heartbreaks Solomon has uncovered, listen 00:21:33.950 --> 00:21:52.809 to where he lands in verse 18. He says, For this 00:21:52.809 --> 00:21:58.150 is their lot. In other words, enjoy what you've 00:21:58.150 --> 00:22:02.410 been given. Not what you are chasing, not what 00:22:02.410 --> 00:22:06.440 you are clinging to. Just receive what's in front 00:22:06.440 --> 00:22:11.819 of you as a gift. He goes on, Moreover, when 00:22:11.819 --> 00:22:14.599 God gives someone wealth and possessions and 00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:17.400 the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot 00:22:17.400 --> 00:22:21.039 and be happy in their toil, this is a gift of 00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:27.279 God. It's a gift. Gratitude, not gain, is the 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:31.960 key to the good life. And did you catch who gives 00:22:31.960 --> 00:22:38.180 it? God is not trying to take joy from you. He's 00:22:38.180 --> 00:22:41.240 trying to give it to you. But the only way to 00:22:41.240 --> 00:22:44.380 receive it is to stop grabbing for more and start 00:22:44.380 --> 00:22:48.319 recognizing what's already in your hands. And, 00:22:48.380 --> 00:22:51.440 you know, here's the irony. When life is all 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:56.359 about gain, you cannot enjoy it. But when life 00:22:56.359 --> 00:23:00.160 becomes about gratitude, even the smallest things 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:05.980 become joy. A meme. A moment with a friend. A 00:23:05.980 --> 00:23:09.500 quiet Saturday. The simplest satisfaction of 00:23:09.500 --> 00:23:14.420 a job well done. It all becomes sacred. Because 00:23:14.420 --> 00:23:18.319 it's all a gift. And the promise of this God 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:22.519 -centered enjoyment is this. God keeps such people 00:23:22.519 --> 00:23:25.940 so busy enjoying life that they take no time 00:23:25.940 --> 00:23:30.000 to brood over the past. And that is freedom. 00:23:30.299 --> 00:23:35.289 And that is rest. And that is joy. But don't 00:23:35.289 --> 00:23:38.450 misunderstand things here. It does not come to 00:23:38.450 --> 00:23:42.329 us free from struggle. Okay? I know we all love 00:23:42.329 --> 00:23:46.190 Psalm 23 and the truth that God is our good shepherd 00:23:46.190 --> 00:23:50.609 who walks us beside streams. But the vast majority 00:23:50.609 --> 00:23:53.789 of the metaphors found in the scriptures in this 00:23:53.789 --> 00:23:56.589 passage or in this chapter are ones of a battlefield, 00:23:56.910 --> 00:24:01.910 not of a paradise pasture. So... we would be 00:24:01.910 --> 00:24:04.210 naive to think that all of this enjoyment of 00:24:04.210 --> 00:24:07.750 life, here in this love story, set in a world 00:24:07.750 --> 00:24:11.150 that happened in a love story, but they are actually 00:24:11.150 --> 00:24:15.150 set in a world at war, and you think that this 00:24:15.150 --> 00:24:18.829 would come without fear or struggle. It won't. 00:24:20.210 --> 00:24:24.069 And so, let me say, delicately, because I know 00:24:24.069 --> 00:24:26.950 some of you are going through it in various ways 00:24:26.950 --> 00:24:30.200 right now, for some of you, your current lot 00:24:30.200 --> 00:24:35.200 in life is painful. And Scripture actually never 00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:38.500 asks you to ignore that pain. In fact, just the 00:24:38.500 --> 00:24:44.000 opposite. God invites you to lament your grief, 00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:48.720 your honesty, your tears. But lament is not the 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:53.799 end. Gratitude is. And not a fake forced smile, 00:24:54.019 --> 00:24:58.619 but a real gospel -rooted joy that says, Even 00:24:58.619 --> 00:25:04.039 here, even now, God is good. This too is a gift. 00:25:05.900 --> 00:25:10.000 James says, in James 1 -2, Consider it pure joy, 00:25:10.119 --> 00:25:12.339 my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials 00:25:12.339 --> 00:25:16.119 of many kinds. You know, there's no magic switch 00:25:16.119 --> 00:25:20.880 to move from a grumpy to grateful. But there 00:25:20.880 --> 00:25:25.700 is a Savior who makes that shift possible. So, 00:25:25.700 --> 00:25:30.200 yes. Pour out your heart. Pour out your heart 00:25:30.200 --> 00:25:34.599 for him. But don't just stop there. Pour it out 00:25:34.599 --> 00:25:39.059 to Jesus and let him pour in his peace and give 00:25:39.059 --> 00:25:42.660 you purpose. And when your faith is tested, your 00:25:42.660 --> 00:25:46.980 endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, 00:25:47.140 --> 00:25:50.859 for when your endurance is fully developed, you 00:25:50.859 --> 00:25:54.140 will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. 00:25:56.079 --> 00:26:00.160 So this is the promise of Christ, friends. He 00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:03.579 took on poverty and death so you could receive 00:26:03.579 --> 00:26:10.220 joy and life. And not someday. Today. This day. 00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:14.660 That's the good life, found not in gain, but 00:26:14.660 --> 00:26:19.000 in grace and gratitude. Jesus is the only one 00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:21.920 who perfectly embodied the life Solomon describes. 00:26:22.500 --> 00:26:25.940 He lived with joy. received each moment as a 00:26:25.940 --> 00:26:30.240 gift, and trusted his Father fully. He did not 00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:33.900 chase gain. He gave it up. He did not hoard. 00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:39.059 He emptied himself. He didn't cling. He surrendered 00:26:39.059 --> 00:26:44.539 in love. And he did it all for us. On the cross, 00:26:44.759 --> 00:26:48.359 Jesus took all our striving, hoarding, and empty 00:26:48.359 --> 00:26:53.190 pursuits and paid for them. Then he rose. to 00:26:53.190 --> 00:26:57.289 offer something far better, abundant life in 00:26:57.289 --> 00:27:02.089 Him. Not the life the world sells you, not a 00:27:02.089 --> 00:27:06.549 life built on status or stuff, but a life rooted 00:27:06.549 --> 00:27:09.849 in peace, joy, and the deep assurance that you 00:27:09.849 --> 00:27:14.569 are loved, forgiven, and held by a God who provides. 00:27:15.670 --> 00:27:20.289 That is the good life. So, let me leave you with 00:27:20.289 --> 00:27:25.210 this. If you're looking for joy, stop looking 00:27:25.210 --> 00:27:28.269 at your bank account. If you're looking for peace, 00:27:28.609 --> 00:27:32.630 stop refreshing ingotland .com. And if you're 00:27:32.630 --> 00:27:35.910 looking for meaning, stop measuring your productivity. 00:27:37.009 --> 00:27:40.869 Look instead to Jesus, the author and perfecter 00:27:40.869 --> 00:27:43.390 of your faith, and receive what's in front of 00:27:43.390 --> 00:27:49.089 you as a gift. Live with joy, not because what 00:27:49.089 --> 00:27:52.150 you have gained. but because you've been given 00:27:52.150 --> 00:27:59.890 everything in him. Let's pray for that. Heavenly 00:27:59.890 --> 00:28:04.269 Father, we thank you so much for all the gifts 00:28:04.269 --> 00:28:07.869 that we have in our lives. Thank you, Lord, because 00:28:07.869 --> 00:28:11.630 whatever we have, the things, the blessings, 00:28:11.849 --> 00:28:16.950 the opportunities, our health, everything that 00:28:16.950 --> 00:28:19.680 we have is truly a gift from you. We deserve 00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:23.480 nothing, Lord. But you give all of this because 00:28:23.480 --> 00:28:26.859 of your grace. And Jesus, we want to be grateful. 00:28:27.059 --> 00:28:28.880 We ask you, Holy Spirit, that you would help 00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:32.440 us to have more gratitude in our hearts. We ask 00:28:32.440 --> 00:28:34.180 you, Holy Spirit, that you would show us when 00:28:34.180 --> 00:28:37.140 we are ungrateful and when maybe we are grumpy. 00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:39.900 We ask you, Jesus, that you would help us to 00:28:39.900 --> 00:28:43.720 be grateful for every moment, for every gift, 00:28:43.799 --> 00:28:47.710 for every opportunity. You don't want to stand 00:28:47.710 --> 00:28:52.470 before you one day and when you tell us that 00:28:52.470 --> 00:28:56.890 you've given us all these things and we've been 00:28:56.890 --> 00:29:01.849 ungrateful. Instead, we want to be grateful and 00:29:01.849 --> 00:29:06.130 use what you have given us to help people, to 00:29:06.130 --> 00:29:09.890 advance your kingdom, and to live life with joy 00:29:09.890 --> 00:29:13.829 and peace. Lord, that is my prayer for this church 00:29:13.829 --> 00:29:16.910 and for my brothers and sisters. that you would 00:29:16.910 --> 00:29:21.009 help us to truly enjoy life to the fullest with 00:29:21.009 --> 00:29:23.349 the things that you have given us, and not to 00:29:23.349 --> 00:29:25.930 be anxious of trying to get more and have more, 00:29:26.109 --> 00:29:29.569 but to just enjoy the things that you've given 00:29:29.569 --> 00:29:33.049 us at this point already. So, Jesus, we want 00:29:33.049 --> 00:29:36.009 to cling on to your promise when you said that 00:29:36.009 --> 00:29:38.690 you have come to give us life, an abundant life 00:29:38.690 --> 00:29:41.809 in you. Thank you, Lord, that you have redeemed 00:29:41.809 --> 00:29:45.720 our bodies, our spirits, our souls. Even the 00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:48.380 things around us, this whole world, because of 00:29:48.380 --> 00:29:51.059 you, we can enjoy through you.