Financial Advice? - [Ecclesiastes 5-8-20]

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ based on

the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, ìBut we did not yield in subjection to them for

even an hour ,î so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered -down words to make you simply feel good, this show isnít for

you.

By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial.

Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as weíre called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and

glory of her King.

Hereís our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Well, we live in a day where pastors are supposed to be experts on everything.

Some people think pastors should be experts on parenting, marriage, dating,

work, relationships, school, education,

diet, medicine.

Iím supposed to be the expert in everything.

Well, today, Iíll take that as a challenge and Iíd like to give you some financial advice.

Please turn your Bibles to Ecclesiastes chapter 5.

We need wisdom in this world and this is called wisdom literature.

The book of Ecclesiastes helps us see the world rightly and Solomon now

approaches the topic of money and finances.

We want to think about it not as a fool would think, but as a wise person.

So Iím going to give you three pieces of financial advice today for free and theyíre all going

to be in the form of, sounds funny, doesnít it?

Number one, the love of money is vanity, so donít love money.

Thereís my first command.

Number two, money is fleeting, so donít love money.

Thatís the second command.

And number three, instead of pursuing money, pursue the Lord Jesus Christ by faith.

Thatís really what Ecclesiastes is going to amount to.

Money is vain, money is fleeting and thereís something more important than money, so

pursue Him.

If I could summarize it in a few verses in Hebrews, hereís what

Ecclesiastes is essentially telling us, ìLooking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our

faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is

seated at the right hand of the throne of God .î.

And weíre going to see, wisdom is going to tell us in Ecclesiastes 5 and 6 not to pursue money.

Money is a tool, money is not bad or good, itís what our hearts do with it and in a

sin -cursed world itís easy to want to, to use my parentsí language, to glom onto money

and to almost make an idol out of money and of course we donít want to do that because we want to reserve our worship for our

triune God.

So today, instead of pursuing money, I want you, dear Christian, to enjoy the gifts that God

has given you, both large, salvation, forgiveness, adoption, justification, future

glorification and small, a simple meal with your friend, spouse,

loved one or child.

And thatís what weíre going to look at in the book of Ecclesiastes because James is right when he says,

ìEvery good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of

lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be kind of first fruits of His

creatures .î.

Now when you come to the book of Ecclesiastes, many say itís a pessimistic book, itís only pessimism,

itís life under the sun, itís chasing the wind and others say, well thereís some optimism

in there as well and I think that second view is the right one, while life on earth is difficult,

trial -filled, Adamís sin really did affect each one of us and creation,

there are little moments that we can have, sometimes many moments we can have of joy and satisfaction and

pleasure as we see things from the gift, from the gift giver, the Lord

Jesus Christ.

So I donít take this book as only down, depressing and full of

vexation, although when I get to parts like this in chapter 5 where thereís a little light that comes out, when the

sun finally comes out, it makes me pretty happy in the midst of all this gloom.

Leland Ryken said, ìEcclesiastes is an attack on the hedonistic

materialistic society .î Ecclesiastes, Ryken said, ìexposes the mad

quest to find satisfaction in knowledge, wealth, pleasure, work

and sex .î.

And so today weíre going to look at Ecclesiastes 5 verses 8 through chapter 6

verse 9.

Itís all together, thinking rightly about money, eternal life.

Bob Dylan said this, ìMoney doesnít talk, it swears .î.

But thatís only in the hand of a fool.

So we want to think wisely, right?

Everyone here I know, in light of who they are in Christ, they want to do right when it comes

to money.

We all understand when Jesus said, ìSeek first the kingdom of God and His ,î what?

ÌRighteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble .î.

So last week, remember we saw chapter 5 verses 1 through 7.

In this oppressed world, in this world full of vexation, weíve got a lot of questions.

Why God?

Why did this bad thing happen?

Why did that tragedy happen?

And so when you come to church to worship, to put it in modern day parlance, you ought to

come to listen and not to ask God a thousand questions.

God, why?

God, why?

God, why?

Remember Job?

I think maybe over 20 times God, he asked God, ìWhy ?î.

And every single time God didnít answer him with a ìWhy ?î answer, He answered him with a ìWho ?î answer.

This is who I am.

You can trust me.

You can trust the Lord with all your heart, and you can lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge me and Iíll make your paths straight .î.

And so when you come to worship, instead of putting God in the box, in the jury,

in the bar of justice rather, think, ìYou know, I should listen.

I should be humble.

Iím not the creator.

Iím a creature.

Iím not holy.

Iím sinful .î.

And so he says in chapter 5 verse 1, remember, guard your steps when you go to the house of God,

that holy place, that place that you have to have a sacrifice to get into.

ÌTo draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that theyíre doing

evil .î.

We probably could summarize Ecclesiastes 5 verses 1 to 7 this way.

Romans 9, God says, ìWhat will you say to me then?

Why does he still find fault for who can resist his will?

But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?

What will what is molded say to its molder, ìWhy have you made me like this

?î.

Has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for

dishonorable use ?î.

So weíre moving through Ecclesiastes, and thereís a lot of oppression in chapter 4.

Chapter 5, letís make sure we have the right posture before God, a humble posture, and now we come to

verses 8 and 9, which is kind of a transition, and then weíll get to the money section in verses 10 and

following.

By the way, if youíre new here to Bethlehem Bible Church, we just preach the Bible verse by verse, chapter by

chapter, with just a few exceptions.

And so next week weíll be in chapter 6, and the following week, chapter 7, et cetera.

And so we want to just know what God says.

We want to know everything that He says, and not hide behind what we think are good verses or exclude bad verses.

And I have to tell you this up front, Iím not preaching this sermon

about money to get you to give more.

I know churches that will have normally the offering before the sermon, but for special sermons on

money, we take the offering afterward.

How ridiculous.

This church has never had a problem with giving your good givers, but we want to think wisely about money.

So my goal is for you to look at money rightly, and instead of pursuing money,

fame, power, everything else, that you pursue the Lord Jesus by faith.

The two transition verses are found in 8 and 9.

If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not

be amazed at the matter.

I mean, when you look around and you see issues in government, and you see the White House and the

Senate and the Congress and the local government and the select men and all these people that you see, you go, thereís

oppression there too.

Thereís oppression in chapter 4 in the marketplace, thereís oppression on the road, thereís oppression in the

courthouse, thereís oppression in government too.

Donít be shocked.

Donít ever turn on Fox, MSN, whatever you turn on and go, ìWow, thatís

shocking, thereís government corruption .î

I didnít expect to laugh on that, but Iíll take it.

Weíll laugh as much as we can in the book of Ecclesiastes.

And what Ecclesiastes does, which is so good, it makes us live in the real world.

Letís assess things rightly.

Letís not put a filter on there.

Letís take a look at ourselves in the real mirror of Godís Word and put the society up to its Word as well.

He goes on to say in verse 8, ìFor the high official is watched by a higher, and yet there are higher ones over them.

But this is gain for land in every way, a king committed to cultivated fields .î Thereís some

ways to look at those verses and how theyíre translated.

They could either be positively translated like, ìYou know what, at least there are people over

other officials, so they canít get away with the whole lot .î.

Thatís the positive way to look at it.

And I think ESV tries to lend itself to that.

But probably more often than not, the negative is seen here, that the king is not part of the

solution, heís part of the problem.

Either way, thereís a pressure and we ought not to be shocked that corruption is in high places.

ÌFor ultimately, by the way, do not these words then resonate with you in a more wonderful way when you think

about government corruption?

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his

name shall be called ìWonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince

of Peace .î.

Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.

ÌOn the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and uphold it with justice and

righteousness from this time forth and forevermore .î.

I think maybe what heís doing is before he gets into the talk of money and how it

flies away so fast fleetingly, he might be talking a little bit about government

corruption because guess who also takes your money?

The government does.

I think maybe thatís what heís doing so we move to our three pieces of financial advice.

Truths from the Bible, so theyíre not necessarily advice, you need to really latch on to these and believe it.

Number one, the love of money is vanity.

Verses 10, 11, and 12.

Everyone here needs to process that if I love money, itís vanity.

Is that the way you think?

I was at the pizza place the other day getting a couple of sandwiches and I walked in, itís kind of hot, pizza ovens and

everything, typical New England people yelling at each other, thatís when theyíre friendly, and

I just like it, Iím embracing it, I am you.

And so I said, ìMike, I ordered a couple of sandwiches, are they ready yet ?î.

Just trying to be polite.

And she, the lady behind the counter, looked over at the guy making pizzas in the big oven, and I donít even know what

elicited this, but she looked over at the guy and she screamed, ìMoneyís the root of all evil

!î.

And I said, ìExcuse me maíam, itís the love of money is the root of all evil .î.

And then without missing a beat she goes, ìThe love of money is the root of all evil !î.

And I thought, if only our congregation learned that quickly.

Hereís what Solomonís going to do, and heís wise, heís rich, he knows.

Thereís no satisfaction in money no matter how much money you have.

Itís not going to satisfy you.

You are made for eternal things, right?

Have we already seen that in Ecclesiastes?

God has set what in your heart?

Filthy lucre?

Money?

No, He set eternity in your heart.

So only the eternal one will satisfy.

Only the eternal God will satisfy you.

And so what does He say?

Verse 10, ìHe who loves money will not be

satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income, this too is

vanity .î.

I love this.

The Lord knows what weíre prone to do.

He knows what weíre prone to want.

And for His glory we shouldnít love money, we shouldnít make it an idol.

There are commands about idolatry, there are commands about loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and itís hard to love two

things 50 -50.

And so for our good, for your good, you ought not to love money.

This really helps when you take assessment in your own life and ask questions like this, ìAm I greedy?

Am I content?

Do I always want more?

Am I always scheming for more ?î ìHe who loves money will not be satisfied with money .î.

Kim and I are watching a show about how, who are the men who built America and

one was Vanderbilt and you just get all the power and the railroads and everything else and youíre not

satisfied with some of the railways in the East Coast but you have to have the Midwest and you have to have the West

Coast as well.

When they asked John D. Rockefeller, one of the richest men in the world, ìHow much money was enough ?î.

And he said, ìJust a little more .î No wonder we have all kinds of

sicknesses in this world.

One coined this, ìAffluenza .î We are so wanting more.

We have a relationship with money thatís out of whack.

Remember the shoe closet of Imeldo Marcos, the wife of former president of the Philippine

Islands, 15 mink coats, no big deal, 508 gowns,

888 handbags.

Iíve met some ladies like that.

For me itís not handbags, itís jackets.

And she had 1 ,060 pairs of shoes.

No wonder people write, ìGreed knows no boundaries .î.

If everythingís vanity, chapter 1, then the love of money has to be

vanity.

It has to be fleeting.

People are loving money.

Theyíre head over heels in money.

Just take romance language and instead of applying it to another person, you can just apply it to money.

I donít want to be that.

I know you donít want to be that.

Having a love affair with money.

Wisdom says, ìNo, donít do that .î.

Wisdom says, ìRiches canít ultimately satisfy you .î.

Jesus said, ìNo one can serve two masters.

Heíll either hate the one, love the other, or hold to the one and despise the other .î.

You canít serve God and money.

Listen to Godís advice through Paul to Timothy.

ÌBut those who want to get rich fall into temptation and the snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into

ruin and destruction.

For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil.

And some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many a pang

.î.

Some of you are old enough to remember Dallas Cowboys winning the Super Bowl in 1972.

They asked Dwayne Thomas, I think he was a running back, ìHow does it feel to win the big one ?î.

And Thomas said with great wisdom, ìIf itís such a big game, why do they play another one again next year

?î.

And do you know if you love money, this money is going to demand things from you.

Look at verse 11, ìRiches require more than money from you.

When goods increase, they increase who eat them.

And what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes ?î.

When you have a lot of money, guess what you also have?

Tax accountants, gardeners, chefs, lawyers,

did I mention lawyers?

Brokers, maids, alarm systems.

Youíre going to have a lot of money dependents.

It doesnít even have to be negative.

If I stated it negatively, Iíd state it this way, if you have a lot of money, thereíll be a lot of leeches around.

You can just see people walking into MMA rings or wrestling rings,

especially like boxers and stuff and theyíve got all their entourage paying for all

those, make more, spend more, got to keep up that standard of living.

And it can even keep you up at night, verse 12.

This is another good reason why we ought not to love money.

ÌSweet is sleep of a laborer.

Youíre blue collar, you go to work, you work hard, you sleep, whether he eats little or much.

But the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep .î Whatís my Bitcoin doing?

Whatís my 401k doing?

What about my investments?

Is that broker going to try to swindle me?

And the list goes on and on.

It disturbs your peace.

ÌSomeone in the crowd said to Jesus, ìTell my brother to divide the inheritance with me .î But Jesus said to him,

ìMan, who made me a judge or arbiter over you ?î And he said to them, ìTake care.

Be on your guard against all covetousness.

For oneís life does not consist in the abundance of what?

Possessions

.î Sleep is fleeting for those that love money.

Well, the second piece of financial advice I want to give you is not just the love of money is vanity, so donít love money, but

money in general is fleeting.

Donít idolize money because itís gone.

And itís gone two ways.

On earth itís fleeting, and one day youíll die and itís gone.

Thatís both in this section here in verses 13 through 17.

P .S. the stock market will be at zero when Jesus returns.

Heads up.

If itís not at zero at that point, it will be when he is on earth.

Moneyís fleeting, just even on earth.

Look, verse 13, ìThereís a grievous evil that Iíve seen under the sun.

Riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, to his own harm.

And those riches ,î verse 14, ìwere lost in a bad venture .î And heís a father of a son, he has nothing in his

hand.

When youíve got a lot of money, youíre hoarding them and maybe youíve got a bad investment, moneyís lost.

Maybe youíve got a son that doesnít know what to do, he canít put it in the right kind of stocks.

And so the writer is making sure.

Donít love something thatís going to be gone one day.

The great disappearing act of money.

Proverbs 23, Solomon said, ìWhen you set your eyes on it, itís gone.

For wealth certainly makes itself wings .î I mean itís here and it flies

away.

I read about Albert Lowery who in 1980 wrote a book called ìHow You Can Be Financially Independent by Investing

in Real Estate .î Best seller, 1980.

In one year, he makes so much money, his net worth according to Money

Magazine is 30 million and heís called a real estate wizard.

Any guesses to what might be happening here?

By 1985, his business collapsed and he

in 1987 files chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code.

Itís all going to be gone, sooner or later, so why worship something thatís fleeting?

Verse 15, ìNot just on earth, but eventually, what do you take with you when you die?

And he came from his motherís womb ,î verse 15, ìhe shall go again, naked as he came, and

shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand .î

Of course we use money as a tool.

Of course we have to work so we have money to buy things.

Iím not saying itís bad to have money, but the love of money and idolizing of money and the covetousness

of money, itís all wrong for lots of reasons.

I remember last year, Iíve been out of the hospital now for just a little over a year, but I remember there, sitting there in

Leominster thinking, ìOkay, I could be dying, what do I own and what could I take with me ?î Well, I had some

hospital socks, you know the kind with the little thing on the bottom so you donít slip, I had a pair of those.

I had a gown and I had an iPhone, that was it.

Scott Farrer brought me a cord so I could plug it in, thatís all Iíve got.

And I couldnít take any of those with me either, nothing.

So why do we put all our time, focus and energy into something thatís going to be gone?

Luther said, ìAs I forsake my riches when I die, so I forsake them while Iím living

.î Itís just good to have a gut check for all of us, weíre so prone, we should just say to the

Lord whoís already justified us anyway and forgiven us and adopted us, ìLord, I struggle with

money, please forgive me.

Reorient my heart, Lord, because I donít want to be that person, I donít want to be the covetous one.

I see it in others and donít like it and therefore, if I donít like it in them, I donít like it in me either.

Because Iím supposed to align myself to you and say, ìWith all your heart, soul, mind and strength .î Are we

talking about different components, spiritual, soul, body?

Heís not saying any of that, heís just saying, ìWith all you are, you worship the Lord .î

Proverbs 23, ìDonít wear yourself out to get rich .î

Proverbs 28, ìA miser is in a hurry to get rich and does not know his loss is sure to come .î Isnít that good

wisdom for us all?

Verse 16, he goes on, ìThis is a grievous evil .î You know what the literal is?

Itís sickening evil.

This is a sickening evil.

ÌJust as he came, so shall he go.

And what gain is there to him who toils for the wind

?î Does Psalm 49 resonate with you?

ÌWhen he dies, he will carry nothing away.

His glory will not descend after him .î 1 Timothy chapter 6, ìBut godliness actually is a means

of great gain when accompanied by contentment.

For we have brought nothing into this world, so we cannot take out anything either .î

Think of Job.

Job, a wealthy man, both with his children and the wealth that he had financially and itís gone.

And what does Job say?

ÌThe Lord gives, the Lord takes away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord .î Heís focused on the Lord.

And did you know, riches can even make you miserable, verse 17?

ÌMoreover, all his days he eats in darkness and much vexation and sickness and anger

.î This is drama to the max.

All this stuff thatís going through his mind because heís thinking about money, money,

money.

Money causes a lot of problems.

Ulcers, sickness, vexation.

Itís funny, these days we donít have real money anymore, right?

You donít have actually cash or coins hardly.

But when people use cash and coins, remember children what cash and coins are?

Whatever happened to piggy banks and teaching children to save with their money?

I found an old study at the University of Louisville did, that 13 of coins and

42 of paper money carry disease -producing organisms.

And that one survey, the Harperís Index, said that 97 of all paper money

in U .S. circulation contains traces of cocaine.

Apple Pay, here we come.

Rockefeller, ìI made millions, they brought me no happiness .î Vanderbilt, ìThe care of $200 million

is enough to kill anyone .î John Astor, ìIím the most miserable man on earth .î Henry

Ford, ìI was happier when I was a mechanic .î Andrew Carnegie, ìMillionaires seldom

smile .î

Good words from Solomon.

This section is summarized by Randy Alcorn and hereís what he says, ìThe more you have, the more you want.

The more you have, the less youíre satisfied.

The more you have, the more people will come after it.

The more you have, the more you realize it does no good.

The more you have, the more you worry about it.

The more you have, the more you can hurt yourself by holding on to it.

And the more you have, the more you have to lose.

And the more you have, the more youíll leave behind .î Youíre like, ìI donít have any idea what you just said.

You said it too fast .î Let me translate it.

ÌLove of money is fleeting.

There should be one in our hearts .î You say, ìWell, you told me what not to do.

Could you tell me what to do ?î Letís take a look at the third piece of advice.

ÌOne, the love of money is vanity.

Two, money is fleeting.

Number three, since thereís something more important than money, pursue Him.

Pursue God and His gifts, both large and small .î Instead of pursuing

money, why donít you just enjoy God?

Thatís the point here.

Instead of pursuing money, why donít you enjoy God?

I did not say donít go to work because if you donít work, you should not what?

If youíre able to eat.

Workingís good.

But in terms of loving money, itís never good.

And by the way, poor people can love money.

Rich people can love money.

And by the way, according to the Old Testament standards, every person in this room, if you live in a place with a

roof and a place where you can turn a knob and fresh water comes out, you are rich.

Everyone here, according to the Bible, is rich.

So we all can struggle with money.

So what do we do?

Well, hereís what Solomonís going to do.

Heís going to say, ìSo instead of pursuing something that gives no satisfaction, why

donít you pursue by faith?

Someone will give you satisfaction, not just eternally, not just spiritually, but

also on this earth .î Verse 18 through 20.

ÌBehold, pay attention, look up.

Behold, what I have seen to be good and beautiful or fitting .î Whatís

good and beautiful, Solomon?

I mean, in a world full of oppression, rivalry, loneliness, greed, backstabbing,

vexation, fall, death, what is good and beautiful?

ÌItís good and beautiful to eat and to drink and find enjoyment in all the

toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him,

for this is his lot.

Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them and to accept

his lot and rejoice in his toil, this is the gift of God.

For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied

with the joy of his heart .î Did you notice the earlier verses?

Not much talk about God.

Not a lot of Elohim, God the sovereign creator.

Not a lot of, you know, letís walk by faith, by sight.

Not by faith, but by sight.

No, we donít want to walk by, we want to walk by faith, not by sight.

What do you see here?

God, verse 18.

God, verse 19 times 2.

God, verse 20.

ÌInstead of pursuing wealth, enjoy Godís daily gifts .î Thatís the point.

Now before I unpack these verses, I just want you to know verses 1 through 9

of Ecclesiastes chapter 6 is essentially the same thing

as Ecclesiastes 5, 10 through 17.

Itís like weíve got something in the center here thatís the most important and in a literary fashion, this

center part, verses 18 through 20 is the most important.

So itís almost like we have a mirror, we have a repetition of

these ideas just in reverse order in verses 1 through 9 of chapter 6.

You say, ìWhat do you mean by that, pastor ?î Let me just walk you through those verses and youíre going to hear exactly what weíve heard

earlier.

Verse 1 of chapter 6, ìThereís an evil that I have seen under the sun and it lies heavy on mankind.

A man to whom God gives wealth, possessions and honor so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires.

Yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them.

This is vanity.

It is a grievous evil.

If a man fathers a hundred children, think about what Jewish people thought about children back in those days, and lives

many years so that the days of his years are many.

But his soul is not satisfied with lifeís good things and he also has no burial.

I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.

For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered.

Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest

rather than he.

Even though he should live double Methuselah, even though he should live a thousand years twice over,

yet enjoy no good, does not all go to the one place?

Canít you hear the echo of what weíve already read ?î.

And then he says, ìJust like it starts off with no satisfaction in verse 10 of chapter 5, here it ends with no

satisfaction.

All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetiteís not satisfied.

For what advantage has the wise man over the fool?

And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living?

Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite.

This is also vanity and striving after wind

.î Now sometimes we like figures of speech here at the church and we like to say what they are.

There are metonyms and there are onomatopoetic things.

There are, what are some other fun figures of speech?

Similes and all these other things.

Thereís a way to read literature and thereís something called a chiasm.

Who knows what a chiasm is?

Itís for the letter, Steve knows and thatís it.

Thereís a couple other, Bob Dunn knows too.

Itís for the letter that looks like X in English, which is a chi, C -H.

And anyway, itís just a chiasm is basically called this.

When you see language thatís similar on both sides, youíre coming toward the center for the

main point.

Whatís the center of this whole section?

If you donít want to know what a chiasm is, I know sometimes, I think probably Bob Dunn would be this kind of guy.

If he learned what a chiasm was, it would probably provoke him to raise his hand to praise the Lord more than anything else.

Chiasm.

Right, Bob?

Would that be true?

Okay, are we still friends?

But for the rest of you, you go, ìI donít care what a chiasm is .î Okay, you donít need to know what a chiasm is.

The main point that heís after is in the middle of the chi and thatís verses 18 through

20.

So the reason why I read verses 1 through 9 of chapter 6, because I wanted you to see in very similar fashion,

it mirrors what has already been said in chapter 5, verses 10 through 17.

And so youíve got a mirror, youíve got a mirror, thereís something in the center.

Whatís in the center?

The most important part.

And we go back to that, verses 18 through 20.

ÌIn a life full of toil, death, disease, covetousness, how do we as

Christians live ?î Whatís the center of this section?

And itís found in verses 18 through 20.

And what do you see for refrains?

ÌGod has given himî, verse 18.

ÌGod has given wealthî, verse 19.

ÌThis is the gift of Godî, verse 19.

ÌGod keeps him occupied with joyî, verse 20.

Hereís the key with money.

You want wisdom on money?

Hereís what you do.

You think everything I have, not just my wife, not just my children, not just my house, not just my health,

whatever I have, everything I have including money is from God.

And if you see money as a gift from God, everything in your life will

line up properly when it comes to this topic.

Wisdom says instead of trusting God for my future, well, Iím going to trust the Lord and walk by

faith.

Instead of me pining after more and more and more, oh, I have other priorities.

Itís like Pastor Steve was talking about people that work, work, work and work to the exclusion of their family and

children.

Yes, they have to go to work, but thereís a time where enough is enough.

And so what Solomon is saying, if you have God and just a little, you can enjoy Him.

This is chapter 2.

You can enjoy little things with God because you can rest in the finished work

of Christ Jesus.

Remember Ecclesiastes 2, ìThereís nothing better for a man than to eat and to drink and to tell himself that his labor is

good.

This also I have seen is from the hand of God .î.

And you go, ìOh, itís beautiful to eat and drink and be merry and to be satisfied with a

little gift because we say, ìThank you, God .î Thatís why we pray before we eat

this food, ìGod, thank you .î.

I think sometimes people are thinking the life of the Christian in a fallen world has to be one of

despair and vexation and anger and confronting.

Thereís probably righteous anger and other things that are out there that we could talk about another time.

But did you know in a world where politicians oppress you and thereís loneliness and thereís striving after

wind, you could have some joy?

Wouldnít you like a little joy in life?

Wouldnít you like to have the fruit of the Spirit as love and joy?

Deuteronomy 14, God says, ìAnd you may spend the money for whatever your heart

desires, for oxen, sheep, wine or strong drink, whatever your heart desires.

And there you shall eat it in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household

.î Godís giving you money, you want to be a good steward, you have to pay the bills, when you have a little bit left over, buy

whatever you want, God tells Israel.

And just recognize that itís from God.

Everything is from God.

I did this before and I can probably get away with doing it again now since itís been a couple of months.

I want you to think about lunch right now.

Normally pastors donít want to do that.

I gave a book to Mike Bartlett and I said, ìHereís my new book.

Iíll give it to you because thereís privileges of sitting in the front row, but you just canít read this book while Iím preaching.

So, so far youíre doing a good job .î The other thing youíre not supposed to tell the congregation is, ìLetís think about

food.

What are you eating?

Can you smell it?

Can you taste it?

Can you wait to go get there, that nice meal with the family, all your children are sitting around

?î God wants you to enjoy that.

Because guess what?

You donít have to work to get yourself into heaven.

If you had to work to get to heaven, well, thereís no time to sit around and have joy.

Letís get back to work.

Can you imagine the poor people that knock on your doors and say, ìYou know what?

Iíd like you to believe in this false gospel.

How do I get to heaven ?î Work, work, work, work.

We work for money to use it as a tool, but we never work for our salvation because Jesus said, ìItís finished .î

So since itís finished, you donít have to work for your salvation.

What do you have to do with your salvation?

Out of gratitude, obey.

Thatís true.

And out of gratitude, enjoy it.

Enjoy your life.

You have taste buds.

Since Iím naming names, I think, so far, Bob and now Mike, I might as well say something about Caitlin.

What if God just gave you only one thing to eat the rest of your life, and it was

bamboo?

What if youíre like a panda?

Thatís all you get the entire life, bamboo.

We would go, ìThank you, God, for bamboo, because at least weíre alive .î But think about the salty and the

sweet and the sour.

Think about what Godís given your palate and how you can smell food.

Thatís just a tiny, tiny reflection of Godís given you everything in Christ Jesus.

Every spiritual blessing is yours in Christ Jesus.

And so weíre to think to ourselves, ìWe should enjoy ourselves .î Because there will be a time when thereís a trial,

when thereís a death, and thereís other things that are going on, and weíre not in the joyful mood.

Thatís certainly true.

But when thereís time for joy, we are to say, ìGod, itís from your hand .î.

And later weíll see in Ecclesiastes that even the difficult days are from Godís hand.

God intends His children

have joy.

Verse 19, ìEveryone also to whom God has given wealth, everything you own, those golf clubs

God gave you, essentially, through means, possessions, power to enjoy

them, even the ability to enjoy and to accept His lot and rejoice in His toll, this is the

gift of God.

Î Because with Job and Job 22, when you delight in the Almighty, then you delight in His gifts.

And I want you to see the connection.

God and His gifts.

God is a giving God.

God is a good God.

God is a generous God.

You ask Him for wisdom, He gives you wisdom.

You ask Him for enjoyment, He gives you enjoyment.

And God gives and gives and gives.

He gives unbelievers common grace.

He gives us special grace.

And what Solomon is trying to do is to say, ìRecognize who gives you the gift,

both great and small.

Life is hard, but God gives .î.

This song resonates in my heart with this passage.

ÌRiches I heed not, nor manís empty praise.

Thou, my inheritance, now and always.

Thou and thou only, first in my heart.

High King of heaven, my treasure thou art

.î.

Because you could see exactly what Heís doing there.

ÌRiches I heed not .î.

Riches arenít my inheritance now and always.

Riches arenít my thing thatís first in my heart.

Verse 20, ìHe will not much remember the days of His life, because God

keeps Him occupied with joy in His heart .î.

One of the good things about getting old is my memoryís bad.

I donít know if thatís good or not, but here itís good in the sense that I forget things that

Iíve done, bad things, sinful things.

Iíve hurt people.

I forget how people have done sinful things and hurt me and I donít even remember them anymore.

So you just think, ìOkay, something about time .î.

And now God keeps people occupied with the joy of their hearts.

Deuteronomy, it says, ìYou shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in everything to which you put your hand together with your

household, because the Lord your God has blessed you .î.

Dear Christian, the Lord has blessed you.

The Lordís blessed you.

If youíre a Christian, you have the greatest blessings, so you get to enjoy the lesser blessings.

If you think the God of the universe chose me, He sent the Son to die for me and to redeem me in forgiveness of sins, the

Spirit, as we saw in communion last week, seals me to the day of redemption.

I can have joy.

No wonder Paul can say to the church at Philippi while heís in jail in Rome, ìRejoice always ,î and

again I say, ìRejoice .î.

Celebration of life and joy as good gifts from God.

The gift of God.

I said this a couple of months ago and Iíll say it again.

I hope you say, ìIf your spouse is living, my spouse is a gift from God .î.

And I hope you treat him or her that way.

I hope if your spouse isnít alive, you say, ìMy spouse was a gift from God .î.

I hope you say, ìMy children are a gift from God.

My taste buds are a gift from God.

My salvation is a gift from God .î.

And you just work through.

I donít know if itís a revival song or not, but it really helps.

Count your blessings.

Name them one by one, right?

Itís a sin to be greedy.

Itís a sin not to be content.

Itís a sin to complain.

Itís a sin to love money.

And what God enjoys is to have his children enjoy.

I know I said this a couple of months ago, but boy, to be a parent and to have a child whoís almost old enough to eat an

ice cream cone from Dairy Queen is the best.

And now as a grandpa to be, Haleyís due in a couple of weeks now.

If they say, ìThe baby boyís not to have ice cream until theyíre four months old .î Well, Grandpa says two months.

And I want to give that joy.

And you see the smile and you think, ìI love to give my children good gifts.

Hereís a gift .î.

And somehow weíve created a God who only gives good gifts through transactions.

So letís stop living a transactional life before God.

God loves me when I obey, and he does it when I disobey.

No, he loves you in Christ all the time.

And when you disobey, chasteningís sure to come.

But that is out of love as well.

We have two ways of life.

Thatís what wisdom is saying.

Even in Proverbs, youíve got two ways to go.

Pursue wealth, fame, fortune, or pursue faith,

walking humbly before our God.

How do we live on this earth?

Psalm 4, ìGod, youíve put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and new wine abound

.î And so as good as the things on earth are, I still have gladness in my heart,

because I have contentment found in Christ Jesus, because I see them as gifts from God.

Do you know, Christian, youíll never be content unless you pursue Christ by faith.

Itís built into the system.

Built in obsolescence.

Built in wrong.

You worship money, youíre going to feel bad.

So when you feel bad, look at yourself and say, ìSelf -diagnostic, whatís coming up on the dashboard?

I see the red light.

Oh, Iíve been pursuing, Iíve been worshiping.

Iíve been coming at this the wrong way.

So, Father, please forgive me.

Iíll accept your chastening .î And now, Colossians 3, should be my hope.

ÌIf then youíve been raised with Christ, seek the things that are on Wall Street,

above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand, power,

authority, majesty, dominion, rule.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the

earth.

Every Christian, this is true of you, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in

God.

When Christ, who is your life, dear Christian, appears, then you will also appear with Him

in glory, and thereís no money in heaven,

and youíll be satisfied.

Enjoying life as a gift from God .î You can do that, Christian, because Jesus has rescued you from this

meaningless, futile life.

Remember 1 Peter, ìFor you know ,î sometimes we forget it, so he says, ìFor you know, that it was not

with perishable things, such as silver and gold, that you were redeemed from the empty way of life, handed

down to you from your forefathers.

But you, dear Christian, were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb

without blemish or defect .î You want meaningful life?

Itís found in Christ Jesus.

Remember Jesus, He fed the people the bread,

and His detractors mouthed off a little bit to Jesus.

Doctrine 101, donít mouth off to Jesus.

You think youíre big, Jesus, because you feed 5 ,000 men, and then a bunch of children and women too, up to 10 ,000

people, you fed them bread for one day.

Ha!

Moses fed people in the wilderness for 14 ,700 days, if my calculations

are right.

Jesus, Iím not that thrilled.

John 6, ìJesus said to them, ìI am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me shall not hunger.

Whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

But I said that to you who have seen me and yet do not believe.

All the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me Iíll never cast out.

For Iíve come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me.

And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose none of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

This is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him

should have eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day

.î Youíre talking about a food that perishes.

Iím talking about the spiritual food that nourishes and gives satisfaction unto

eternity.

So, dear Christian, letís use money as a tool.

Letís not make it an object of worship.

And when we get an inkling to pursue money, letís ask the Lord to change that inkling and that pursuit

into seeking first Godís kingdom.

Thatís the way we go about it.

And then we respond, enjoying Godís gift like Mary did in her great

song of praise, ìMy soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

.î So, dear dads, if you go have a meal somewhere else at home,

before you eat, would you just bow your head and pray, ìGod, thank you for all these gifts.

My spouse, my children, my home, all these things, we recognize theyíre from your good hand.

And if these are abundant, and they are, how much more abundant are the riches found in Christ Jesus.

Thank you, O my Father, for giving us your Son .î Letís pray.

Thank you, Father, for this day.

You certainly give and give and give.

And I think about the Lord Jesus.

With Jesus, you, Father, send the Spirit.

Itís amazing what we have been given.

We do want to rejoice.

We do want to be people that donít love money.

Would you help us?

Would you grant us repentance?

Would you give us the right attitude?

May we be like the psalmist who says, ìTo God my exceeding joy .î And we pray this in

Jesusí name.

Amen.

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West

Boylston.

Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible -teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life -transforming power of

Godís Word through verse -by -verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us.

Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6.

Weíre right on Route 110 in West Boylston.

You can check us out online at bbcchurch .org or by

phone at 508 -835 -3400.