Ecc Sermon Week 7

Intro/Welcome

Welcome to One Hope Church

My name is Justin, one of the Pastors here

Good to be with you.

Opening Illustration

I remember playing a lot of video games growing up.

There were kind of a new thing back then.

Imagine you had every gaming system you could imagine: PS5, Xbox X-series, Nintendo Switch, virtual reality system with access to any and every game.

But you had no power cords to run them.

What good are all those systems…if there is no ability to enjoy them?

This is what wealth is without God.

Wealth without the ability to enjoy it is meaningless — it is Hevel

This is what Ecc will teach us today.

Solomon was the one of the Wealthiest men to ever live.

We read weeks ago that

Ecclesiastes 2:9–11 (CSB)

9 So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; my wisdom also remained with me. 10 All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles. 11 When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

Wealth without God is worthless

but with poverty with God is priceless

This doesn’t mean Wealth is bad or good — as we’ll see

nor does it mean poverty is bad or good.

Imagine you could actually enjoy your days, whatever your work is.

whatever your circumstances are.

That you were not concerned at all with your day to day life becuase you were so occupied by the joy in your heart.

Is this possible? Let’s see what Ecclesiastics says.

We’ll be in Ecc 5:8-6:9 today

You can go there in your Bibles.

Let me pray

Pray

pray for godliness with contentment and great gain.

pray that we would be givers.

The Folly of Wealth

In Ancient Israel there was no one greater than Solomon

No one brought more prestige and riches to Jerusalem than he.

What wisdom does Solomon have for us?

In this text we have a number of observations by Solomon that are just as relevant today as they were almost 3000 years ago.

Why?

B/c there is nothing new under the sun.

Humans have changed very little since his day.

Some Observations on the pursuit of Wealth

Ecclesiastes 5:8–9 (CSB)

8 If you see oppression 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. 9 The profit from the land is taken by all; the king is served by the field.

The first thing he says is don’t be astonished at injustice.

We saw this a few weeks ago.

Those in power depicted here, as is often the case, are concerned mostly with their own well being.

This is what v9. means.

Ecclesiastes 5:9 NIV

9 The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.

There is profit in the cultivation of the land, but ultimately it is those in power (the King) that prospers.

In other words, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

But what is the source of this injustice?

Profit!

In fact in Ecc 10:19 Solomon simply says this

Ecclesiastes 10:19 CSB

19 A feast is prepared for laughter, and wine makes life happy, and money is the answer for everything.

In other words, do you want to know why things are the way they are?

follow the money trail.

Paul writing to Timothy 1000 years later put it this way:

1 Timothy 6:10 (CSB)

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Where does all injustice ultimately originate?

follow the money trail.

Who’s getting rich by the exploitation of others?

This is the heart of fallen man.

This is the danger of the pursuit of wealth — the love of money.

it was the same in Solomon’s day as it is in ours

the Bible tells the truth

The Idol of Wealth

Why? — Because of what wealth represents.

Or as an Idol what it promises us.

Security, power, comfort, freedom, self-worth, self-esteem, self-value — ultimately happiness

But it doesn’t.

JD Rockefeller who is arguably the richest man in the history of the world

equivalent to about $423 Billion dollars

Jeff Bezos — 186 billion

Elon Musk — 147 billion

bill gates — 127.7 billion

Mark Zuckerberg 114.7billion

“I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness.” JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER

study of those who make over 75K

“I was happier when doing a mechanic’s job.” HENRY FORD

Jesus on money

So powerful is the idol of wealth that Jesus specifically addresses it in the sermon on the mount.

Matthew 6:24 (CSB)

24 “No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Jesus said this to save us

because wealth without God is worthless

Look at what Solomon says next.

Wealth never satisfies

Ecclesiastes 5:10 (CSB)

10 The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.

There is never enough

JD Rockefeller — how much money is enough? just a little more.

King Solomon — Ecclesiastes 2:11 (CSB)

11 When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

It is futile (5:10) — hevel, empty, meaningless

Edward Bernays

Wealth produces more Consumers

Furthermore — the more money you have the more people who show up to consume it.

Ecclesiastes 5:11 (CSB)

11 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?

You come it some money

and all of a sudden you have more friends than you remember

distant cousins all of a sudden getting in contact with you.

“when you get back on your feet again, everybody wants to be your long lost friend” — Eric Clapton, lonely stranger

Wealth produces More Anxiety

Not only that but more wealth brings more anxiety

Ecclesiastes 5:12 (CSB)

12 The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep.

it leads to sleepless nights.

American businessman and philanthropist. — #9 on the wealthiest figures in the modern period.

“The care of $200 million is enough to kill anyone. There is no pleasure in it.” W. H. VANDERBILT

Ironically enough he died only 9 years after he had inherited 100 million dollars from his father, he doubled it in those 9 years.

Solomon says here the hard worker gets has good sleep whether he has much or little.

So here we begin to see that wealth isn’t all it promises to be.

Maybe some of you have experienced that in what you own.

sooner or later if you are not careful.

the things you own end up owning you.

Wealth is not reliable

But Solomon goes on

Wealth can’t be trusted.

Ecclesiastes 5:13–14 (CSB)

13 There is a sickening tragedy I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm. 14 That wealth was lost in a bad venture, so when he fathered a son, he was empty-handed.

Your wealth can dissipate in an instant

Perhaps some of you have experienced that.

A bad investment

A chance gamble

and what you had is gone.

You have nothing left to leave to your kids.

Solomon calls this a ‘sickening tragedy’

Wealth can’t go with you

Finally, he says… you can’t take it with you.

Ecclesiastes 5:15–16 (CSB)

15 As he came from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came; he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands. 16 This too is a sickening tragedy: exactly as he comes, so he will go...

JDR — After he died someone asked his accountant,“How much money did John D. leave?”

The reply was classic: “He left … all of it.”

Paul, again in writing to Timothy says the same thing:

1 Timothy 6:7 (CSB)

7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out.

Solomon’s Conclusion

Ecclesiastes 5:16–17 (CSB)

16 ... What does the one gain who struggles for the wind?

17 What is more, he eats in darkness all his days, with much frustration, sickness, and anger.

What gain is there? — nothing

there is no gain under the sun

Actually there is a loss, he says.

he eats in darkness — he’s alone — like Scrooge

he has much frustration, anxiety

he is sick often

and worst of all he is bitter and angry towards others.

Is this how you want to end up?

The American Dream

here’s the problem.

You and I are all caught up in this

We live in the wealthiest nation in the world.

driven by our unconcious desires to have more.

it is the American Dream.

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness

The Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776

We believed we could find this in wealth — Prosperity

And we have prospered — there has been a cost no doubt

if you earn more than $34K a year you are in the richest 1% of the world.

Let me ask you: America

Are we really experiencing life?

Are we really free?

Are we really happy?

Warren Weirsbe: ...what good is it for me to add years to my life if I don’t add life to my years?

Wealth without God

the Problem is, Solomon says, that we have left God out of the equation.

and here is the result:

Ecclesiastes 6:1–2 (CSB)

1 Here is a tragedy I have observed under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity:

2 God gives a person riches, wealth, and honor so that he lacks nothing of all he desires for himself, BUT God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a sickening tragedy.

This is the vanity, the emptiness, the futility, the hevel of a life lived without God

the pursuit of wealth without God

it’s having every gaming system with now power cords.

it’s hevel.

it’s having every car you could want with no gas.

Solomon Elaborates.

Ecclesiastes 6:3–6 (CSB)

3 A man may father a hundred children and live many years. No matter how long he lives, if he is not satisfied by good things and does not even have a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4 For he comes in futility and he goes in darkness, and his name is shrouded in darkness. 5 Though a stillborn child does not see the sun and is not conscious, it has more rest than he. 6 And if a person lives a thousand years twice, but does not experience happiness, do not both go to the same place?

He says a father may have a hundred children and long life — a sign of blessing, honor and prosperity

but with out the ability to enjoy it — it would have better to have been not born at all.

Furthermore, better to have died before being born than to live 2000 years without happiness.

Pretty strong statement.

Solomon’s Conclusion

Ecclesiastes 6:7–9 (CSB)

7 All of a person’s labor is for his stomach, yet the appetite is never satisfied.

8 What advantage then does the wise person have over the fool? What advantage is there for the poor person who knows how to conduct himself before others?

9 Better what the eyes see than wandering desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Two proverbs and two questions.

1st — What advantage is there to wisdom?

What advantage of being poor?

only this:

better to see reality than to be driven by desire.

Better to see what?

wealth without God is worthless

Transition — Structure Note

Now this text is structured in what is called a chaism

which basically means what is in the middle of the text is most important.

like a pyramid

both sides support the main point.

So now, what is the main point?

Let’s look at Ecc 5:18-20

The Gift and the Giver (Ecc 5:18-20)

Ecclesiastes 5:18 (CSB)

18 Here is what I have 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.

First, where is what is good

It is appropriate (beautiful, Ecc 3:11) to enjoy the simple thing sin life

food, drink and enjoyment of work.

to enjoy them the few days of life that God has given

this is our reward — our profit — lit. our share of the booty

Ecclesiastes 5:19–20 (CSB)

19 Furthermore, everyone to whom God has given riches and wealth, he has also allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor. This is a gift of God, 20 for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

It is GOD who gives riches and wealth

And it is GOD who gives the ability to enjoy them.

to take this reward — their portion of the booty

to enjoy our work.

This is all the Gift of God

to so be occupied with the joy in your heart that you do not think much of the worries of this world.

Doesn’t that sound nice?

How do we get that?

Notice it is a gift,

and if a gift then it cannot be earned

Therefore it is grace to us.

Receiving the Gift of Grace

So then how do we receive this gift?

First, you have to come to the conclusion that you don’t already have it.

unfortunately this may take some of us our entire lives.

Second, having acknowledged your need God in your life, you follow Solomon’s advice

to get right with God, to fear and revere him and follow him. (Ecc 12:13)

This will lead you to Christ

OT - Gods grace in the sacrificial system

But for us it is Christ

who was rich, became poor that you might become rich in him.

2 Corinthians 8:9 (CSB)

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.

This is the key — realizing our own poverty and then receiving the wealth we have in Christ.

This is the Gospel — Christ dying for our sins

for our idol worship

for trusting in money rather than God

He forgives us in Christ

what made us miserable?

our own selfish desires — self seeking

Ephesians 2:6–7 (CSB)

6 He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 2:9 (CSB)

9 But as it is written, What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived— God has prepared these things for those who love him.

but not in this life — in the next.

if we could see what God Has fir us we would not hesitate to live as

Hebrews 10:34 ESV

For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.

The Treasure Principle

Having experienced the treasure that is Christ

now we can live differently

According to what Randy Alcorn calls in his book “The Treasure Principle”

I want you to read this book b/c I think it can change everything about how you view wealth.

Here is what he says

you can’t take anything with you, but you can send it on ahead.

Meaning, that we can’t take any of our material wealth with us, but we can use it for kingdom purposes.

We can use it to bless others and hopefully lead them into the kingdom of Christ.

This is what Jesus said when he taught “seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness” and everything will be taken care of.

We can invest our money in heavenly endeavors

in Kingdom work.

Later we will pray for the members of our church going to Albania next week.

They have invested in the Kingdom of God

Their time, talent and treasure.

It is but one way we can do this.

Joy comes from investing in God’s Kingdom, rather than our own

C. T. Studd who was a British missionary to China in the 19th Century said,

“Only one life, ’twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.”

if we invest in eternal things we will reap the joys for eternity.

They way that we can enjoy the things of this life

Is by putting God at the center of everything.

Investing in God’s purposes will bring joy.

Application

So where are you?

What are you investing in?

Are you enjoying the days of your life?

Are you occupied by the worry of your heart or the joy of your heart?

What needs to change?

1. Find time this week

to reassess the wealth God has given you.

and how you are investing it

have you asked him what to do with it?

If your brave enough share this with your community group.

What if we were close enough to share what we make and what God has called us to do with His money?

2. Read the Treasure Principle:

I’ve got 4 copies up here

Come and say Hi and grab one

but you have to read it — then pass it on.

3. Invest in the Kingdom.

I’ll end with this quote:

Warren Weirsbe:

If we focus more on the gifts than on the Giver, we are guilty of idolatry.

If we accept His gifts, but complain about them, we are guilty of ingratitude.

If we hoard His gifts and will not share them with others, we are 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.

Let’s Pray