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Chapter 5 - What really matters about Worship & Wealth. Ecclesiastes is Solomon's Journal: A Confession and Autobiography of his life without God - which is Foolishness. Class at Cross City Church, 1000 W Airport Fwy Euless, TX 76039 Ron Yamamoto, David Ingram
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Chapter 5 - What really matters about Worship & Wealth. Ecclesiastes is Solomon's Journal: A Confession and Autobiography of his life without God - which is Foolishness. Class at Cross City Church, 1000 W Airport Fwy Euless, TX 76039 Ron Yamamoto, David Ingram
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The main ideas from this information are: - The book of Ecclesiastes is one of the five books of wisdom in the Old Testament. - Solomon is questioning the meaning and purpose of life. - Without God, life is meaningless and empty. - The key to life is drawing closer to God and seeking His wisdom and love. - Worship that pleases God involves guarding our steps, offering the right sacrifices, and having the right attitude. - The sacrifices we can offer include ourselves, our ministry to others, and our financial giving. Summary: The book of Ecclesiastes explores the meaning and purpose of life. Solomon questions everything and realizes that life without God is empty. The key to a fulfilling life is drawing closer to God and seeking His wisdom and love. Worship that pleases God involves guarding our steps, offering ourselves, ministering to others, and giving financially. Let me start with a word of prayer and we'll begin. Okay, dear Lord, thank you again for this time to give it to study your Word, and we thank you for giving us a dialogue of a philosopher and of the wisest man who ever walked planet Earth next to Jesus Christ, and yet a man who's saying that everything is meaningless and empty and purposeless. And dear Lord, we thank you that he's honest before us and before the world, and so we realize that life that's centered not on God is meaningless and empty. So dear Lord, pray that you would bless our time together. We thank you that your Word, like you tell us in Hebrews 4.12, is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, divides to the soul and the spirit, joins in the marrow, to discerner of the motives and intents of the heart. And the heart is your target for us, and also is a target for Solomon as well. And as we studied the first four chapters of Ecclesiastes, we realized that the time chapter, chapter 3, is so important, where you tell us that you have made everything beautiful in your time, and you've placed eternity in the hearts of every man and every woman on planet Earth, and you've placed essentially, like it's also well said by so many great theologians, that you've placed a God-shaped vacuum in every heart, and only God can fill it. So dear Lord, we pray that you'd help us to open our hearts, open our minds to your Word with humility and with a heart of love, and pray these things to Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. So again, basically, Ecclesiastes is a book, was one of the original five books of wisdom, and the five books in the Old Testament of wisdom, you know, are Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Psalms, and Job. So those are the five books that we tend to glean the wisdom of God from in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, we have the book of James, which is in your—James is in your faith, so he's really straightforward, and we realize that the book of James is such an important thing, a book to tell us that, you know, faith without works is dead. And then we have 1 and 2 Peter, we also have the—besides James, and we also have 1 John, and these are the primary books of the New Testament of wisdom. But James is the key book in the New Testament. So we're going to be referring to James as we walk through Ecclesiastes. And probably one of the major issues that we deal with in regard to what Solomon is approaching life with is he's the ultimate cynic. He's questioning everything, and the question is, well, why? Why do I have to face all these issues of life, and I have done everything under the sun that's right, and yet I'm still not satisfied with life? So that's where he is, you know, right now, and basically he's walking us through the whole dilemma that we face in life. Life is full of mystery, and life is definitely an adventure. But you know, Paul has the answers, you know, he gives us in his epistles, and so we can jump over there if we get into problems, you know, because Paul is saying in Colossians 1, 27, he says, the secret mystery of life is Christ in us, the hope of glory. So without Christ, you know, there's no hope. So now we realize that God is setting us on course to draw us closer to him, and when we draw close to him, then what happens is we then draw closer to the Lord. And it's sort of a given. The giver of the wisdom, the giver of love, the giver of grace, is all from God to us. Like in 1 John 4, 19, it says, we love agape because God first agape'd us. So now we realize that the motivation of which we do, that's what God wants us to do, to pursue him in life, is a gift from God. So I'm giving you the answer ahead of time so we don't get all out of sorts, because the beginning of Ecclesiastes is just sort of depressing. And so we're going to be talking about this today in the search for our seeking relief from all the stuff of life. Why is there a life full of barnyard fertilizer? And life sort of stinks. But now what? Where do we go from here? And this is where we're beginning the process and progress of growing and learning from God's Word exactly how to look at life from a standpoint of what God is interested in doing. He's not giving us more information, more wisdom. He's interested in giving us the resources for transformation, changing our hearts. What Bernard of Clairvaux says, he says, he who seeks knowledge for the sake of knowledge, that's called curiosity. He who seeks knowledge for the sake of being known, that's called vanity or pride. He who seeks knowledge for the sake of greedily selling it, that's dishonorable. But he who seeks knowledge for the sake of building up and edifying others, that's called love. We see that God is setting us on course to learn how to love as he loves. And now that's the adventure of life. That's the key issue. So David is going to tell us what really, really matters in life in regards to particularly worship. You know, and so, David, let's hear it from you. Okay. So what actually, you know, Ron said, I'm going to tell you what now David's going to let God tell you through five words, what's really important, okay? I mean, it's all, I mean, ecclesiastics. So there are, see, David tells it, there he goes. All right. So anyway, tonight we're going to look at what really matters about worship and love. And so when you read this passage of scripture, you'll see a negative standpoint or a warning type of an approach. And so what I did is I took that and said, let's kind of slip it into a positive approach. And so let's see what, in essence, if God says, don't do this, then what should we do instead? Does that make sense? So that's how we're going to approach this tonight. So starting off with worship that pleases God, guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Now, I'm just going to stop there for just a second, because I thought it would be worthy of having a little bit of a conversation about why do you think you should guard your steps when you go to the house of God? I just think that we come with, you know, sets the ground for whether or not we're going to come to hear from God or whether or not we're there to do our own thing. I agree with that a hundred percent. Rick? It's his house. It's his house. Absolutely. So we need to respect him and honor him in his house. I like that. We may pull others, but when we come to God's house, we don't pull people. So it's no joke to come to worship. We need to make sure that we're coming for the right reasons. You know, there's a passage of scripture. I didn't look it up, but y'all know it. You remember when Paul starts talking about how you should approach the Lord's supper, right? And he said, there are those that are what, asleep, meaning they died, because what did they do? They took it unworthily. They took it unworthily. They didn't guard their steps, in other words. They didn't guard their steps. So guard your steps, I think it's a good warning. Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to draw near in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do, for they ignorantly do wrong. Do not be hasty to speak and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. God is in heaven and you're on earth. So let your words be few. I was reading this and I was thinking, wow, you know, let your words be few. For dreams result from much work and a fool's voice from many words. When you make a vow to God, don't delay fulfilling it because he does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow. Better that you do not vow than if you vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth bring guilt on you and do not say in the presence of the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands? For many dreams bring futility, so do many words, therefore, fear God. So what really matters about worship and worship that pleases God? Worship that pleases God includes, first of all, the right sacrifices, the right sacrifices. You see in that very first verse, it says, better to draw near in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do. But the right sacrifices and the right attitude would be what you should bring, right? So what are those sacrifices? Romans 12, 1 and 2. Who wants to start tonight? Gene, do you want to start? Romans 12, 1 and 2. Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable for God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. So the first sacrifice you want to bring is what? The sacrifice of what? Yourself. Yourself. Next one, Romans 15, 16. No? To be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest of the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Now Paul is referring to his ministry of Gentiles, and what was his objective when he went to minister to Gentiles? What was the number one objective? Draw them to Christ. Draw them to Christ to save them, right? So what kind of sacrifice does he consider that? His sacrifice of what? Spiritual fruit. Spiritual fruit. You know, I think if we were to bring a lost person to Christ, I don't think we can bring a better sacrifice to you. No. I mean, if we give of ourselves and invest ourselves in the life of another for the purpose of bringing him to God, that's a sacrifice that's worthy of worship, right? All right, third one here. Sacrifice Philippians 4, 18. Kat? That I have received everything in full, and I am pleased to apply, having received from the prophet Dido, what you have sent, a fragrant aroma and acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. So what's he talking about here? What kind of sacrifice is that? Sacrifice of what? Financial sacrifice. Financial, exactly. Money. Financial. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name. Bill. Bill. Good job, Bill. I give out gold stars. Okay. Gold star, Bill. All right. Gold star. By the way, what's interesting about that, if you study Philippians and you study what Paul is saying there, you know, he is referring to the Philippians and their sacrifice that they make, right? Another passage over in Corinthians, Paul talks to the Corinthians and says, hey, you guys made a commitment to make this sacrifice of a gift in Jerusalem church. He says, get on with it. Get on with it. And then he uses as an example the church of Macedonia, which was the poorest church in the neighborhood. It was the poorest church. The Macedonians said, man, we want in. We want to give. That's a sacrifice that's worthy of worship right there, where he let me in. I want to play. I want to worship God by giving up my resources to his kingdom. Okay. Money. Next one. Hebrews 13, 15 through 16. Joyce. So, sacrifice of praise and good deeds, good works, good deeds. We're on a good path here. Rick, let's look at Psalm 51, 17. All right. I'm electronic, so it'll take me a second to get there. Sacrifice of God is a broken spirit, a broken and contrived heart. You, God, will not despise. Famous passage of scripture, Psalm 51, when David cries out to God and says, have mercy on me. Oh, God, have mercy on me. So, a sacrifice of a what? Broken spirit, a broken and contrived heart. Yeah. Yeah. If you come into God's presence with a broken heart, understanding full well you don't deserve to be there to begin with, right? God honors that because you've humbly come into his presence saying, God, have mercy. Have mercy. That's the spirit of sacrifice that you want to have. And finally, Psalm 141, 1 through 2. Bill, why don't you go ahead since I know your name now. I call to you, come quickly to me. Hear me when I call to you. May my prayer be set before you like incense. May the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. That's the sacrifice of what? Prayers. Prayers and specifically prayers of faith. Prayers of faith. Ron alluded to James a while ago. One thing that James says about praying is what? You're going to pray, right? Yeah. Pray believing. Pray believing. That's the answer. Right. Or wisdom. That's right. Pray believing. So, worship that pleases God includes the right sacrifices. Now, here's the big one. Let's see what else it includes. 1 Samuel 15, 12 through 23. Claire, I left that for you because I knew you could handle the big passage. All right. It was told Samuel saying, Saul came to Carmel and before he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on down to Gilgal. Samuel came to Saul and Saul said to him, What are you of the Lord? I have carried out the command of the Lord. But Samuel said, What then is this bleeding of the sheep in my ears and the lowering of the oxen which I hear? Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God. But the rest we have utterly destroyed. Then Samuel said to Saul, Wait, and let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night. And he said to him, Speak. Samuel said, Is it not true? Though you were little in your own eyes, you were made to have the tribes of Israel. And the Lord anointed you king over Israel. And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated. Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but rushed upon the soil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord? Then Saul said to Samuel, I did obey the voice of the Lord and went on to the mission on which the Lord sent me, and have brought back Agag, the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took some of the spoil, sheep, and oxen, and the choices of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal. Samuel said, Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fast of flames. For rebellion is as the sin of condemnation, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you, being king. So, what does that say to you? Obedience is better than sacrifice. That's right, that's right. So it doesn't matter what sacrifices you bring, right? And you can be praising, you can be praying, you can be giving, you can be serving, right? You can do all of that. But it's so vague. And this is partial obedience. Yeah, oh yeah. And partial obedience is disobedience. That's right. Because he says, you know, well I did, I did, you know, I did this, and I did this, and I did this. But... But what he didn't do, right? If you know the whole story, and Susan you know the whole story. What he didn't do was what? He didn't destroy completely the Amalekites. He spared the king and allowed the people, it was their fault, to spare the livestock. He wasn't responsible for that. Yeah. No, God's instructions were wipe everything out. Nothing left. Man or beast. Wipe it all out. He didn't do it. Cost him his kingdom. Cost him his kingdom. Disobedience, guys, is the one that you need to be watching carefully. When you hear a word from God, and you know that you need to do something, you need to make something right, you need to change your attitude, you need to go correct something that you said. I mean, it could be all sorts of issues. Until you get that right, you're in a bad place. You're in a ba-jimmy. Much disobey sometimes. Okay. Give me an example. He said, I'll go here. I'll go there. I'll go here. He was disobeying. He was disobeying. He was disobeying. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you try to justify it. Always try to justify your disobedience. You always do. Right? You always do. Yeah. We compromise. I almost have a compromise. I don't really want the church to say something. Oh. I think that's a little bit different than a direct word. And you're just blatantly, like, the Lord said, wipe everything out. Right. He didn't wipe everything out. So it's black or white. It's not anything in the middle. Whereas, yes, it's better to be in person. But, you know, the Bible doesn't explicitly go, well, you should always go to church in person versus online. I mean, online didn't exist in the Bible. Right. I hear your point. I think it's an individual situation where God might have convicted you. He wants you to be at church. Right? And I convict you. Hey, you need to go. You need to go. So there you go. There you go. Yeah. There can be a fine line. You're kind of dabbling in legalism, you know, to some extent, what you were saying. People can be legalistic about some things. And that's not what we're talking about. What we're talking about, back to your point, is blatant disobedience, where you know what's right, you know what God said, you know what you should do, and you don't do it. And until you get that right, then your worship with sacrifices is meaningless to God. He has all against you. He has all against you. Yeah. Yeah, Gene. Listen to that gold star right there. Yeah. Yeah, look at that. You're right. Okay. Worship that pleases God includes the right sacrifices. Big deal includes obedience. Next, it includes seriousness in prayer. Seriousness in prayer. Do not be hasty to speak. Do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. You've got to be serious about what you're going to do. Serious in prayer. So to whom are we praying? God. And where is he located? On what? The throne. The throne. We are going before the almighty king of this universe. In Hebrews it says confidently approach or boldly approach what? The throne of grace. So that confidence and that boldness does not mean that you can flippantly go to the throne of grace. Right? No, if you're going to go to the throne, you need to go with the right reverence. So with the right reverence is the answer to that blank. With the right reverence. That's the first point or the second one? That's the first one. Okay. Hebrews 4.16. Now we'll read it. I've already said it out loud, haven't I? Therefore, let us volunteer with constant throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. So that's with the right what? Attitude. Attitude but confidence. With the right confidence. Here's the deal. Here's the deal. So anybody, you know, when you remember Esther, right? You remember when Mordecai said to Esther, you need to go to the king and say, and tell him to save your people. Open up some who you are. You're a Jew and say, hey, look, you know, Haman's plot is about to try to annihilate us and you need to come to our rescue. And Esther's response was, I can't. Why? Your name was Amanda? I remember that one. Yeah. Okay. Amanda. Why? She can't go to Chicago. She even says, if I walk into this courtyard without having been summonsed, she could be put to death. You can call for her in 30 days. You can call for her in 30 days. It's just kind of like he had moved on almost, hadn't he? But what she did say, the only way that I can go in, if I go in unsummoned, is if he does what? If he extends his scepter. Look at this man. He's on his throne. Guess what? He said his scepter's extended. He's saying, come on. Come on. Come on. Come with reverence. But he's saying, come on. That's what he's saying. Yeah. He's saying, come on. He wants to hear from his children. Exactly. But we shouldn't go in there just flippantly and say, hey, I need something. Exactly. Exactly. I kind of see it as, like, my, like, a flippant attitude. My relationship as a parent to my son when he was a teenager. Yeah. Like, that kind of attitude, it's not that. When he came to me as a child, it was more fear of punishment because he did something wrong. But now as an adult, he still has respect for me. But the way he approaches me now, you know, he has that confidence because he's not, you know, he doesn't have that crappy teenager attitude or that scared little child attitude. He's got that confidence because we have a different relationship now. But he still respects me because I'm his mom. Kat, that's a gold star right there. I wasn't. That was literally the whole experience. No, listen. Listen, we must not be on that. My father passed. OK. I got to tell you something about my dad. All right. Every time I called him on the phone, every time, his voice lights up, it lights up. I'm telling you, that's the father. When you go to the father with the right attitude and with the right heart, man, I can say it this way. His ears are attentive. Anything that I would say to my dad, I'm telling you, he was listening to every word. Not because he had to, but because he loved you. Because he loved me. Right. His ears are attentive and his arms are open wide. Yes. I had a special relationship with him. If you had been around us, you'd probably think we hated each other. But it was that kind of relationship where we hated each other, but we loved the heck out of each other. Yeah. I really respected that. Yeah. And now I'm as old as he used to be. There you go. He's not old anymore. I'm not old. He was a fantastic guy. I love him to death. I'm telling you. Yes. Couldn't ask for a better father. I can tell you that. And a mother. And a mother, too. Yeah. I had great parents. Go to him. He said, come on. He wants to hear from you. Go to him. But go to him with the right attitude. Go to him with confidence. With the right words. Not hasty. Hasty is excessive speed or insufficient consideration. Far too often, we don't take time to really think through what we're going to talk to him about. Right? We need to really think it through. Let his words speak to you. And then once you hear from him, go back to him and say, I got it. Help me to do it. All right? Man. With the right words. Not hasty. Not impulsive. Which means without forethought. And finally, let's look at Matthew 6, 7. What did Jesus say? Who hadn't read? Jimmy? So not what? Repetitive with repetition. He's not hard of hearing. You only have to say it once. Now, you can go back to him again and again. You know, waiting for his answer. You can certainly do that. But in one setting, don't just sit there and just paint over and over and over. No. Slate his feet. Well, Jesus. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. All right. Here's his prayer includes with the right reference, right? Confidence, right? Words with the right. What? Matthew 12, 34 to 37. Let's see. Who hasn't? He hasn't read yet. Chris. We're divided. People. People. So with the right what? Heart. With the right heart. The mouth speaks out of that which fills what? The heart. One of Ron's primary themes. It's all about the heart. All right. Worship to please God includes the right sacrifices. Includes obedience. Includes seriousness in prayer. Now, it includes keeping vows. Let's see what a vow is. Amanda, have you read yet? I don't remember. I didn't ask you. All right. Let's see. It's going to be 23, 21 through 23. Can you make a vow? So what is a vow? It includes keeping vows. Your what? Word. Say it again. Your word. Your word. Right. Promises and commitments. Your word. Promises and commitments to God. Now, we're having a discussion. When are many vows made and for what purpose? So this is kind of, it's time to explore just a minute. When do people make vows and why? At a wedding. At a wedding. That's a great one. A wedding vow. And why do they make a vow at a wedding? That means don't break them, right? Go ahead. Promises and commitments. Wedding vow. All right. What's another one? Foxhole. Foxhole. Okay, Susan. On the go start path, let me hear what you mean by that. I'm in deep trouble and I'm trying to bargain my way out of it with God by making a promise. If you get me out of this, I promise I will do that. All right. That's exactly the one I was looking for. Guys, we can all do this. I think there's another vow. I know a lot of people that will make a vow either to do or not do something that was done for them or, like, the way they were raised or the way a spouse treated them or. Okay. So now let's talk about a vow to God. Would that fit in with a vow to God? You're talking about just vows to each other. Okay. Yeah. I think if they ask a spouse, help me, God, to the end of their. Okay. Okay. And sometimes we make vows to the church. You know, like, you just finished having a building campaign. Yeah. And many took vows to participate in that. That's right. I think we all, we should always be positive. When we make a commitment for a building program or permissions, or for whatever, because you're not making the commitment to cross city. You're making the commitment to God in heaven and that's a completely different thing. To make a commitment to an institution. I mean, you could have a credit card and you intend to pay, but things happen and you don't pay your credit card. Then they can mess your credit up or come get whatever it is you bought. But when you make a commitment to God to give a certain amount that he's laid on your heart for 3 years, then it's a commitment to him. It's much more serious to break that vow when you make that kind of commitment to God. It sure is. To break that vow, what are we saying? We're in a vow, number 1. Number 2, perhaps we didn't have faith. Right? Oftentimes when you get led to do something of that nature, it's going to cause you to be stretched. Then what do you do when the stretch really hits and you're challenged with it? Right? I was just going to say, when people say, accept Christ, it's kind of like making a vow to say that, you know, we want to live a better life. Spiritually, with Christ and living your life to the fullest. Okay, I agree with that. You're saying, here I am, I'm yours. Now, when we say, here I am, I'm yours to God, are we? You know, we should be. So I'm saying all that to say, we've got to be careful with what we say and how we say it and when we say it. And that's what Solomon is saying here in Ecclesiastes. First of all, he says, don't make a vow with no intention of keeping it. That's lying to God. Second, he's saying, don't make a vow and delay keeping it, hoping that you can get out of it, calling it a mistake. That's still a lie, isn't it? Perspective. Does God require you to make a vow? No. No. No. What are the consequences of failing to keep your vows? Look at this now. 6B and following. Do not let your mouth bring guilt on you and do not say in the presence of the messenger of those in effect, why should God be angry with your words? Number one, it angers God. Number two, and destroy the work of your hands. The consequence could be the destruction of what you built, you worked for. And finally, for many dreams bring futility, so do many words. If your words are. If you don't have integrity in what you say. Right. Your words have no value. They're futile. That's what that means. And God's eyes are futile. Therefore, fear God. That's the way you need to approach God with all seriousness. Worship the greatest God includes the right sacrifices, obedience, seriousness and prayer and keeping vows. There's a brief couple of verses here that talks about government. If you see a person of the poor and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don't be astonished at the situation because one official protects another official and higher officials protect them. Sound familiar? The profit from the land is taken by all. Sound familiar? And the king is served by the field. Sound familiar? Some things never change. Solomon was actually looking at his own government. By the time he writes this, it's late in his life, he has got a hierarchy of government officials that is as huge as this nation's. I mean, it's a huge hierarchy of officials. There's no way that he can oversee all those officials and what they do. And he knows full well, and I'm going to call it what it is, there's corruption within the government. Okay. So what is government that pleases God? Let's look at it from a positive standpoint. And maybe this is something we need to be praying for for us. Okay. First of all, it does not oppress the poor. Does not oppress the poor. Secondly, it does not pervert justice. Thirdly, it doesn't have a system that's focused on protecting and benefiting officials versus serving the people being governed. I don't want to camp out here. We could. Suffice it to say, our government needs a lot of prayer. Right. And we know of governments throughout the world that are a lot worse than ours. My goodness. A lot worse. We've got it good compared to most of them. That's as bad as I am as good as you are. I'm as bad as you are as good as I am. There you go. Figure that one out. All right. Finally, we're going to look at financial perspectives that please God. The one who loves money is never satisfied with money, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This, too, is futile. When good things increase, the ones who consume them multiply. What, then, is the profit to the owner except to gaze at them with his eyes? The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep. There's a sickening tragedy I've seen of the son. Wealth kept by its owner to his harm. The wealth was lost in a bad venture, so when he followed his son, he was empty-handed. He came from his mother's womb as he came from his mother's womb, so he will return. He will go again. Naked as he came, he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands. This, too, is a sickening tragedy. Exactly as he comes, so he will go. What is the one gain who struggles for the win? What is more, he eats in darkness all his days with much sorrow, sickness, and anger. Here's what I've seen to be good. It is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward. God has also given riches and wealth to every man, and he has allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor. This is a gift of God, for he does not often consider the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart. First of all, perspective or principle number one, satisfaction in life is not found in money or wealth. It is found in what? It's an R word. Relationship with God. This is your first time with you, 610. Let's see. Someone had read. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and by it some longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many wounds. Okay. So what happens when you pursue money to achieve satisfaction? You lose your perspective. You lose your perspective. You pursue it with all you got, and when you do that, then it's the root of all sorts of evil that bring about all sorts of strain and grief. Discussion on that. Pretty sobering, isn't it? All right. Principle number two, money cannot solve every problem. Who is the one who can solve our problems? God is the one who can solve our problems. What often happens when there is a significant increase in wealth? You think that you can do it. Well, that's true. How about a new set of problems? More money, more problems. More money, more problems. It's amazing how can you imagine all the problems Jerry Jones faces? Not really. I'm just saying, you know, Bill Gates or Warren Buffett or Mark Cuban or Pickham. Right. The problems they face. One of the problems is people coming to him saying, I need help. I need help. Right. The more you have, the more you have to hand out towards you. Right. You know, somebody asked Rockefeller, how much money do you need? One more dollar. One more. Yeah. Just one more. Just one more. You're never satisfied. That's right. Money doesn't solve every problem. It creates more problems. Wealth does not result in, big word here, peace of mind. The opposite of that is peace with who? God. God results in peace of mind. Peace with God. So who sleeps better? The common laborer or the rich? And I want us to read the Living Bible version of that verse 12. The man who works hard sleeps well, whether he eats little or much, but the rich must worry and suffer insomnia. He has worked hard that day, he's so tired, he goes to bed. He knows he's going to get up tomorrow and go back to work and do it again. Right. The rich man, he's trying to find a way to go to sleep. Why? He's worried about what? His wife knocking on his door. Somebody knocking on his door, losing his investment. Is the market going to go down tonight? Is Russia going to invade somebody besides Ukraine? And if so, what's the ripple effect? Is the government going to make some type of wall tomorrow that's going to change my tax bracket? To the worst. Think about all that, you know. The guy with the wealth, very few guys that have wealth can go to sleep at night easily, you know. And you would think they could because they're content, perhaps. But only those that are content, you know. They have the right perspective. Jimmy. We're not talking about a person. God loves the cheerful giver. I think if you have wealth, instead of wealthy, you know. I read somewhere that if you make over $35,000 a year, you're in the 1% part of being wealthy. But if you were bad when you began, or you became rich, or equally bad when you are rich. Yeah, true. All right. I mean, but I don't see it. I don't see riches being an evil to the point that, you know. I don't see riches being evil if we give for the joy of giving. All right. If we're stewards of our money and we become where we can help others. Yeah. And do not put money as a priority, the love of money. Right. You know, because when we get to heaven, those are going to be rich people. They're going to be prostitutes. They're going to be murderers. They're going to be all people saved by grace. Yeah. We're all going to be on the same footing, same ground, right? That's right. It's not going to matter how much you made here, whether you were wealthy here or not. Yeah. I agree. I agree. It's all a matter of what you do with it and how you view it. Right? Yeah. And that's true of anything that you have. Not just wealth. It could also be a talent you have. You know, stuff like that. It's all true. You could go home and say, I always drove the same car 25 years. The very same. We need people to be givers of money if they have money. And be open to that situation where if we need, if somebody's in need and you see that need, and I've done this before. I've seen a need to say, God, I'm going to pay for his supper. You know, whereas on the flip side of that, it was you can get the money out of your bill program and just do that. And I'm not saying I'm rich, but I'm not saying I'm poor either. Sometimes you think that being rich is simple. It's not. The extent of the riches is the love of the money you get to the riches. Right. All right. I think I agree with them. I think a good example is being involved in the building program. The whole time, the whole 3 years. And we just, you know, it's just finished. Everyone that made a 3 year commitment now has finished. Is it over? Yeah. I'm still giving. I'm sorry. Yeah. Sure. They don't mind. Okay. What you're saying is the joy of being part of that and seeing the incredible thing. I mean, we saw things that just couldn't happen. What a result. Just incredible. Amazing. And then even our North Campus gave a million dollars. I mean, all this. And it felt so good to have been a part of it from the beginning to the end and seeing what God did when people are just faithful with a little. And I think that's one neat thing about being involved in tithing and giving and missions and all that stuff. Because even though you don't have much, I mean, I'm just a mechanic. I don't have much. But it's been really cool to be part of this and see what God did and enjoy coming here and seeing it done. Now there's some remodeling. I'm thinking, wow, look what God did with a little. God loves a cheerful giver. It's as simple as it can be. You see somebody and you know you're supposed to do that. Do that. Yeah. It makes you. There's no more joy than when you're able to do that. Absolutely. Somebody who really needs it. I agree. That's good. All right. So we're talking about peace of mind. Hard work results in sound sleep. Wealth results in worrying insomnia. Worry about how to keep it and how to make more. Wealth does not provide lasting security. Eternal security is realized by what? Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 is what? By grace through what? Faith in Jesus. Eternal security is realized by grace and faith in Jesus. Now, this point here about this next one says the miser hoards wealth to be secure, but ruins himself while doing it. And when I read that, you know who came to mind? Ebenezer Scrooge. Can you state that same line again? The what? The line? Okay. The blanks are the miser hoards wealth to be secure, but ruins himself while doing it. And ask the question how? And I came up with three answers. I want to see if y'all have any thoughts before I give you my answers. Think about Scrooge for a second. What did he do for himself relationally? He was a Scrooge. Nobody liked him. He ruined himself. Remember, even as he flashed back in his life, he had that relationship with that young lady who was going to be his wife. Right? He was more focused on working and acquiring than fostering. There you go. There you go. So, relationally, you ruin when you're a miser. How about socially? Right? Remember back in that scene, he goes outside and they come to him. It's Christmas time, Jimmy. It's a time to give. Right? Here comes the carolers with their hands out. What does he do? Bah humbug, right? Right? Ruins his life socially. Guess what else is missing in that? There's some random change. There's some dragons and some boxes and this ghost comes in. And he is basically bound up in what? I call it hell. Right? And this guy says, you don't change. You're going to be just like me. His life spiritually. Spiritually, relationally, socially. Exact opposite of what Jimmy just talked about a second ago. Right? So, miser hordes. The risk taker makes a bad investment to achieve security. And loses his wealth. Now, I don't know about you guys, but I know a lot of guys that have taken risks. And one, and also taken risks and fallen flat on their faces. Right? But why do they take the risk? Hoping they'll hit it big, right? Hoping they'll hit it big. Every time the guy goes into the little convenience store and shows out his $2 for a scratch off. Right? He ain't got two nickels to his name, right? He's going to give him two bucks to scratch off. And hope he's going to get $20 out of it. It's not a tax write off? Oh. They take that right off the top. Don't worry about that. Yeah. Oh my goodness. When you get home, you've already paid your tax. Yeah. That's exactly right. If you actually win one. Yeah, if you win one. Yeah. Yeah. But you see the point I'm making? It's that risk taker, they take bad risks. Because they're trying to hit home runs. Why? Because they're looking for security. And they ruin themselves by losing their wealth. And the result is, in verse 14, there's no estate for his son. In verse 17, there's a life of discouragement, defeat, sorrow, sickness, anger, and no joy. No joy. So whether wealthy or not, we all experience something. We have one thing in common. Death. And we take how much of the wealth of this world with us? None of the wealth of this world with us into eternity. So these are financial perspectives you need to keep in mind. The last one is labor. The good things in life, riches, and wealth are all gifts from God. Gifts from God. Labor provides the resources used to meet our physical needs. It also provides the resources by which we enjoy the blessings of life. Look at verse 18. Physical needs is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun. So eating, drinking, that's physical needs. Look at verse 19. God's also given riches and wealth to every man. He's got them to enjoy them. The blessings of life. Take as reward. Rejoice in the labor. The blessings of life. And finally, labor keeps us occupied with the present. This is a tricky verse. Verse 20. A bunch of different commentators had different perspectives, and the different translations translated it differently. So I landed on the New English Bible translation. We're going to look at it on your handout there. Ecclesiastes 520, New English Bible. He will not dwell over much upon the passing years, for God fills his time with joy of heart. So when you are doing the labor God has given you to do, all right, that's the key. Whatever that labor is, he's given you that labor to do. And you give yourself to what he's given you to do. And you're content with what he's given you to do. Labor keeps us occupied with the present blessings of God and not fretting about how long we're going to live. Finally, I put a little quote from Wiersbe in here I thought was pretty cool. If we focus more on the gifts than on the giver, we're guilty of idolatry. If we accept his gifts but complain about them, we're guilty of ingratitude. If we hoard his gifts and will not share them with others, we're guilty of indulgence. But if we yield to his will and use what he gives us for his glory, then we can enjoy life and be satisfied. That's the right perspective about finances. And that's what God wanted us to focus on tonight out of Ecclesiastes 5, the worship and the wealth that pleases God. Ron? This is starting to get interesting because now we're going to talk about the philosophical aspects of these truths from God's word. Because now we realize that what Solomon is doing is philosophizing about life, right? He has become a cynic. And a cynic is someone who questions everything in life. And of course, guess who's the big cynic? Right here. And I'm the oldest in here so I have the most cynical attitude. Oh, really? Well, you're not as much a cynic as I am. Not even close. But you see, a cynic is someone who's a complainer, a murmurer, a grumbler. There's a Greek word for that. It's called gargidzo, gargidzo, gargidzo, gargidzo. And when that continues continuum in life, what happens is it starts to rip you apart. You have a negative attitude toward things and a negative viewpoint on everything. And as a consequence, what happens is we start losing our perspective in life. And one of the, I like to quote, I like to quote atheists, okay? Because they are cynics, essentially. And one of the great cynics of life won the Nobel Prize in economics. And he's the first American to win the Nobel Prize in economics from the University of Chicago. His name is Robert Fogel. Robert Fogel is brilliant. He's Jewish in background. He's an atheist Jew. And he's the guy that taught through the University of Chicago the dispersion of your wealth. You know, to not bank on just Disney. To spread your wealth and have a multiplicity of investments. Now, he wrote a book called The Fourth Great Awakening. Sounds like a Bible book. But The Fourth Great Awakening he's discussed is the issues of wealth. And he's saying, and he was asked the question, what is it that makes a nation and a corporation successful financially? His answer was phenomenal. But he said it's not about money. It's not about economics. It's all about virtue. He listed 15 virtues in a row, top to bottom. The bottom was self-esteem or pride. The top of the list was teleology. Are you familiar with that word, teleology? The word telos. Telos is meaning, significance, purpose, and life. See, so now there are several books on the market that are tremendous big sellers. It's, you know, selling sellers. It's a search for significance. Search for meaning in life. See, why is the search for meaning so important? And this is to an atheist Jew. Now, this guy is, he has become a, I think he becomes a theist toward the end of his life. Now, I think he's home with the Lord because he really has a lot of good Judeo-Christian principles. And the Judeo-Christian principle and the way of life is that these are theists who believe in one God. And the thing is that they may call themselves atheists, but the nation, the people who are of Jewish background, who come to know the Lord, they're a great resource. Some of you have had the privilege of meeting some of them. But, you see, the point of what Robert Fogel is saying is that the virtue of life is telos. Telos, knowing why you're here. Why are we here? Now, this is the question that Solomon is opening the floodgates of. So, let's hear from you. Why do you think we're here? To know God. To join Him. Okay. Well, you've had, this is an A plus response, of course. But that's right from the last chapter of Ecclesiastes. To share God. To share in Jesus. To love God. Yes, A plus again. Any other responses here? You're going, you're getting A plus infinity already, so your starting point is pretty high. So, what are your thoughts, Rick? Okay, I'll say that. Okay, that's an A plus infinity right there. You see where we're headed with that? Because if you act as, if you're thinking cynically, you're thinking all the negative things. So, why not to do those things? But now what Solomon is doing is saying, because he's lacking all the things that are important to him. You see? See, because he gives a clue, Solomon does, in Ecclesiastes 3. He says in Ecclesiastes 3, God has made everything beautiful in its time. And he's placed eternity in the hearts of all men. So, like Pascal says, he says, God has placed a God-shaped vacuum in every heart. And only God can fill it. See, there's where Solomon's going with this. You know, there's a lot of negativity here in the book. But David gets an A plus too, because he's talking about the positive aspects of that. Because we could take on a negative view of life, typically. There's a lot of barnyard fertilizer going around here in the world. Okay? I mean, even in our government. As good as a government system as we have. We have heroes in our group here that have served for many years. Thank you for your service for 24 years. In the Navy, of all things. I was in the Air Force, and that was just, you know, we just sort of flew through there. So, it was really easy. But Navy is a grunt service. Marines, oh, my goodness. What you have to go through is amazing. I rode on a plane ride to San Diego with a Marine. And we talked about his service for five years. He wants to become a drill sergeant. But he was one of the nicest guys I've ever met. So, as a drill sergeant, I thought, I don't know. He would probably have a miserable time. But the neat thing about him is that he was really open. He was honest with his story. He served this nation with joy. And I thought, man, what a good guy. And I would pray, dear Lord, if he just asks a spiritually based question, it's a green light for me to share the Jesus story with him. And just as the pain was coming down from 30,000 feet, he asked me, are you Christian? And I said, yes. And I shared a little testimony. I said, and I asked him the question, if you die today, and God asks you the question, why God should let you into heaven, what would you say? And he didn't have a good answer. You know, all of you could answer that question for him. Hey, Martin, come on in. And so I shared, essentially, the Roman road with him. And the key passage in the Romans is Romans 10, 9, and 10, where it says, if you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and confess with your mouth that he's raised from the dead, you'll be saved. Because it's with your heart that you believe and are made perfect and right with God. It's with your mouth you confess and you're saved. And I asked him, does that make sense to you? And he said, yes. And I asked him, would you be willing to trust in Jesus Christ now? And he said, yes. So now, see, there's a miracle. Now you realize that we're light in a very dark, naive world. And the thing is, is that God wants us to sparkle. See, in the midst of all the barnyard fertilizers, see, we're sparklers. And what God permits Satan to do, he lets Satan mess with us, right? With more barnyard fertilizer. Now, why is that? See, because Romans 5, 3 says to be thankful in your suffering because suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance produces character. Character produces hope, which never disappoints because of the love, agape of God, that's bountifully poured into our hearts by the power of his Holy Spirit. You see where Solomon is pointing us to the place where he wants us to fill our hearts with more of Jesus. So what he's inviting us to do, like David just so well said, that we're both plagiarists of God's words, okay? And so we're just, our point is really from God's words. So if you have any negative thoughts about us, you can complain to God. That rascal Ron is not doing that right, okay? But you see, the good thing about us as Christians is we get to use God's word. We have the privilege. It's a privilege to share. It's a privilege to talk to my young marine friend. And I asked him if he had a Bible, and he said no. So I said, I'll send you some. So he just wrote back to me a few days ago and said, the Bible's cave. So now we want to get him started on the book of John, okay? So I'm going to send him some more materials. So you see what we get to do, it begins a wonderful relationship. And he's now an addition. He's an addition to the family of God. And that's the privilege that we have. So Solomon is opening the floodgates to challenge us to think in terms of the positive aspects of what God wants us to do with him. Like Micah 6-8 says, what does the Lord require of us? To live justly. To love with merciful kindness. And to, amen, A plus infinity and beyond. Because now we realize that where we're going with this, he wants us to bring as many people with us to heaven, you know, that we have the privilege of meeting. And every encounter that we have is a divine encounter, right? There are no accidents with God. Some of the meanest people that we know, okay, this rascal is never going to even see the door of heaven. But you see, the point is, is that God gives us a privilege of sharing more of Jesus. Okay? It's through Barnyard Fertilizer that this happens. But, you know, that's the, in medicine I get to meet really rascally people. But on the other hand, I get to meet really, really nice people. Right, Chris? Claire. You meet some really nice people, but on the other hand, there are some not so nice people. You know, but usually the not so nice person in medicine are called surgeons. It's not funny because I'm a surgeon. But, you know, there are stories and stories and stories about what happens in life. And a lot of rough things happen in life, don't they? We all have our stories. But in spite of the stories that we carry with us, God's saying, I have a solution. And the solution is me. Jesus. You know, it's love. You know, what is the greatest commandment of all? He says. Amen. Amen. Yeah, that's right. But that's from Leviticus. Okay. But that's Matthew 22, 36 through 40. But Jesus in the upper room says this. He says, a new commandment that I give you, that you do what? Amen. Amen. See, A plus to infinity and beyond. He says, we're taking a Buzz Lightyear tour of the study. You know, to infinity and beyond. But see, that has to be only with him. It can't be done on our own. Because we've all tried to do it on our own, right? All of us. We're all guilty. I'm the most guilty. Because I'm the oldest. I've tried. And it doesn't work. Yeah. Well, I do not have experience. No. But we can, together, we can share these stories. But you see what God wants us to do? He wants us to consider life at its worst. For the rawness of life. Life is not. This life is not the best. And the reason why God doesn't want us to like it here is because we don't belong here. And we belong up there, right? That's home. Right? See, and so those of us who are a little older, we realize, hmm. You know, this life is not really what it's made out to, what I thought it would be. Because there are lots and lots of things that draw us away from the kingdom thinking. So how does he want us to think? You know, like Proverbs. I'm a Proverbs guy. So Proverbs 23, 7, you know. Well, Proverbs 4, 23 says, As a man thinks in his heart. So is it 23, 7? Yeah. So basically what he wants us to do is think this way. If we think this way, then we know what that does. That's our IQ. Right? We all have, we've all been given by a gifted God an IQ. And all of us sitting here have a significant, a pretty good IQ. Okay? But the thing is, you go to school a lot of your life. And just think, what happens to that IQ? I've gone to school like, oh, my goodness, forever. And I can finally get out of school when I'm like 30 years old. Okay? Haven't earned this. Well, I have earned some money. Because when I was a resident at Parkland here, I got paid $600 a month for taxes. And $600 was pretty good back then. That was before you were born. That's when gas was like $0.25 a gallon, and you can buy a Coke for $0.10, and, you know, that kind of stuff. But now you can't do that. We came from California, gas there is like $5 a gallon. In Hawaii it's even more. So, you know, so we're living, you know, pretty well. Now, I mean, consider back when before you were born. But you see, I'm talking to medical students every day, and I'm asking them, what do they have to learn? And when they tell me what they're having to learn, I'm realizing that I don't think I would even get into medical school today. Because back then all we had to learn was, like, they're saying, you know, the kidney diseases now. And all we had to learn back then when I was going to medical school was the fact of how the kidney tubules work and what happened at each of the stages. Now, they have to memorize the actual biochemical reactions by which everything occurs. And it has to happen in that order, in a sequence, order, sequential order, or else the kidneys don't work. If one step is missing, you know, you have kidney failure. There are 87 steps in visual, in the vision. If one biochemical step is absent, you're blind. Isn't that interesting? So now I realize, hmm, I'm over my head with talking to the medical students. But, you know, they're going through the same things that we are. They're dealing with doubt. They're dealing with shame. They're dealing with, you know, the whole idea of failure. A lot of them, like, when I was in medical school, I thought I was going to fail just about every day of school. And we have failure to deal with as well. But see, the calling that we have, that God permits us to be called to, is the fact that we're called to be like him, not perfect. Now, when he says, like in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 48, he said, Be perfect because I, your God in heaven, am perfect. Now, that's a different perfection than here on Earth. Here on Earth, you have to be perfect at whatever our endeavor is. I have to be perfect as a surgeon or else I'm a second-class, you know, orthopedic surgeon, you know. And how many perfect orthopedic surgeons have you seen? Well, I'm not one because there aren't any. See, we're all fallible, every one of us. The good thing about life, as God has given to us, as Solomon is describing, is a reality. He wants us to check and make sure that we look at life as it really is, a life full of doubt, a life full of challenges, a life that's full of difficulties, so that we now can look at life in a way where God can only change it. You know, closing thought, Matthew 11, 28, 29. As David was talking, who do we go to when we're in trouble? God says, come to me, all you weary and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest and peace. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me because I'm gentle and humble of heart, and you'll find rest for your souls because my yoke is easy and my burden is light. The reason that God's yoke is easy is because he's giving his grace, he's giving his love, he's giving his wisdom. Now, one of the main things that we want to be reminded of is what is wisdom from God to us. And that's in James 3, 17. He says, the wisdom from above is, first of all, pure, peaceable, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, full of good fruit. God's love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentle self-control, impartial and sincere. All 17 qualities are ours the moment we choose to trust in Jesus Christ. How about that? He says, they're all yours, but what I want you to do is I want to challenge you to cultivate that into your life. See, an opportunity to do that which God says is impossible to do. God lets us be better every day. So Eleanor Roosevelt is right. She said, don't give up. Don't give up because the past is history, the future is a mystery, but today is a gift. That's why they call it the A plus infinity again. You see what happens is today is a gift from God for us to enjoy, but only with him. Can't do it without him. Solomon tried every way possible and it didn't work. But now he's saying, I want you to remember this. This is John 15 five. He says, I'm the vine, you're the branches. If you abide in me, I'm here to just remind you of stuff you already know now. You know, if you abide in me, my words abide in you shall bear much fruit, the fruit of the spirit, but without me, you can do nothing. Now in verse 77, he says, but if you abide in me, my words abide in you shall ask what you wish, and it'll be granted to you. Now we realize that this journey through Ecclesiastes is a journey that we're learning to do with the Lord. So let's close the prayer. The best is yet to come. It's going to get better. Chapter six next week. Dear Lord, thank you so much for this time. What really matters in life is really what matters is our worship of time with you. So dear Lord, help us to remember Romans 12, 1, 2, that you tell us to, I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercy of God that you present or offer yourself a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable, which is our reasonable service of worship. Help us to be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds that we may know and understand. Perfect, perfect will. By knowing your word, help us to learn it every day. Pray that you help us to journey through Ecclesiastes with an open heart and open mind, but a mind and heart that wants to know you, the power of your resurrection, the fellowship of your suffering, and the conformity to your death, burial, and resurrection. And pray these things through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, thank you so much. To be continued. Thank you.
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