God Is God, And I'm Not (Eccl. 5:1-20)

Good to see everyone. I think I changed that's why I don't think it says mike anymore. Like it says Mike, but it's good to be here. Good to see you this morning on this cold. March morning in it. It is it was cold. Then I'll take my ice cubes.

That's my kind of weather. That's right, I like it. But, you know, it always turns cold like this sometime in March about every year done. It just, it just gets really cold. I was late this morning because I couldn't find my glasses. I was walking out, door didn't have my glasses and then I look 10 minutes and couldn't find it. So I had to get a second pair. I think I left a year ago. I left a pair of here. So in case I ever forgot mine, so so that's good. But that's just a sign of getting old just what that is. The hell I remember before I went upstairs to take a shower. I had him. I said my going to take them upstairs or me, or I'ma leave them downstairs and I decided to do one of them, but I just don't know which one so, but it is good to be here today and we're going to continue in the Book of Ecclesiastes. So, if you would take your Bibles and turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 5, not remember, we are in a series searching for heaven on Earth. And we're talkin about finding meaning and purpose in life. This is about our I guess 5th or 6 sermon in this series. And so today, the title of this message. Is God is God and I'm not. And a little subtitle down there. I put is we need to beware of dog and cat Theology. And how many of you have ever heard of dog and cat theology. Well, I'll explain that in a moment. I was listening to what your preacher or the other week. And he made a statement that I thought was rather relevant in our culture today. He says, if possible to go to church today and hear very little about God. You can go to church today and hear very little about God, but he says, you can hear much about you. About me. And Church in some respects and not in every church. I'm not saying this, of course all, but quite a few church has become All About Us. We go to church and we hear sermons of five ways to have a happy marriage. We hear sermons on three ways to have better sex. You hear that in churches, six ways to handle depression, three ways to handle three truths about loneliness. Now, there are people to press the gas, does the bible address at? Yes, it does and loneliness. The rest is that as well, but it seems the music. And the programmes are not about worshiping God anymore. Ministering to people, but it's about what I like, and what I I desire. You see the church today. It seems is driven by consumerism. People go to church and they said, well, did I like the sermon today? Did the did the preacher tell enough jokes. Did he stick to the Bible? Was it practical to my life? Or what kind of music did they have? Do they have a children's choir? I want to know what they have for the Youth and people go to me exactly what they want in churches. Are now trying to meet the needs of people and they turn to gimmicks and entertainment to try to get people to come to church because they know people want what they want. Why? Because church is all about me. It's not about coming to worship a sovereign, God anymore. I started back in the 60s and 70s when we, when we had what is called, E self-help are or the air of self-esteem. We all want to make people feel good about themselves. So today, and some Churches entire worship services are planned around the thoughts, and concerns of the people sitting in the pews. Instead of all church leaders have turned to gimmicks and entertainment to try to, please people so worship. Sometimes it's about me, my desires, my lights. My preference is exactly what I want in Friendly Dollar Tree. When we do Church like that, well, that bring cat theology. Let me tell you what that is. This is dog, theology. A dog says, you can't me. You feed me to shelter me. You love. You must be God. Cat theology says, you feed me? Your me. You pet me. You, you love me, That's the cat. See, ology. Well, both of those theologies are wrong. They all just says, what you do all this for me. You must be God because you must love me. I must be doing something right for you to do all this for me and Kathy. I swear you do all this for me. I'm a key card. I must be God myself, but so much modern Christianity looks like those God is no longer The Sovereign King of the universe. He's just a life coach. He's my homeboy. He's the big cheese. He's the man upstairs. No, but some people do, he's just my buddy is who God is. It seems in the culture of the church. Today? We see God as a means to an end and not a hand in and of him self. So we use God to get what we really want. All of life revolves around the individual. And God's greatest joy. It's for me to be mad at you hear what I just said. I can say that in churches Across America and everyone would say Amen just about it. God's greatest joy is for me to be happy. Well, that's something that's called Prosperity theology or the Prosperity Gospel. Well, Vic is the video on my okay. I've got another video for your for your y'all to watch. They now before we play it. Let me tell you what this video is.

This is a video. Of one of the largest churches in America. They have 40, they have 40,000 people on every Sunday morning. Now, you may have read some of his books. You seen him on TV. His name is Joel Osteen. Now, he's on stage with his wife. In this video and Joel Osteen, doesn't say a word. She's the one that does the talking. And I want you to listen to what she says to 40,000 people in that Auditorium and no telling how many millions watching on TV. It's very sad. But the end of the video is very funny because someone has to taking this video and they did a parity and they paired it with a scene from the movie Billy Madison with Adam Sandler. And this is the funniest but it is very sad. What this woman says, but this is the state of the church today in our culture. What's this? Encourage everyone of us have realized. When we I mean, that's one way to look at it. We're doing it because it's the thing that gives him the greatest joy, this morning, you to know this morning, just do good for yourself. What you just said, is one of the most insanely idiotic things I've ever heard. At no point in your rambling incoherent response. Were you even close to anything? That could be considered a rational thought that everyone in this room is now Dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul. Now that's, that's what. This is Osteen said, did you hear everything? She said that God wants you to be happy and you're not worshiping God, because of God, you're doing it for yourself. Now, you look at that and say what I would never say that will. Hopefully you wouldn't. But, you know, sometimes what she said is exactly right. What she said many times. Is we come to church? And we're not coming because of God. We're coming because of our own kingdom. Remember Jonah. Jones said I'm a prophet of God and I Fear God. He said that to the sailors while he was running away from God what I'm saying is our confessional theology. What we say, we believe hopefully it'll be what she said, but what we say, we believe many times does not match up with are functional theology. What we do. And this is what Solomon attacks today. So, before we drop the hammer on mrs. Osteen, we need to look at our own Hearts today because it's easy for us to become consumer-driven and we fall into the Trap that church and life is all about me. It's all about my wants, and my desires. And if I come to your church, and you don't give me what I want. I'll just go to another church. It's just that simple. So the highest goal in life. This for me to be happy, healthy wealthy and satisfied with self. We won't be confident. We want to be self-reliant. I met a man, some years ago and I was working at Northtown. He was about forty single, and he said, when he was younger, he used to go to church, but he dropped out of church. And then when he turned the age about 33 or 34, he wanted a wife so bad. He decided that he would go to church and that he would meet a woman in church, a good woman. Nice woman, Christian lady and he would get married. Well, he said, he attended worship and he volunteered his time, he tied regularly. He volunteered he did all that and he said for four straight years. He said in God never gave me a wife. So you know what he did. He quit Church. You say this man didn't want God. He wanted what God could give him. That's what he wanted. And many top people come to church and we come not because we want to worship God, but we want to see what God if he'll bless me. And give me something. And other words, religion has become a means to use God for what we really want. Rather than to come and honor and glorify him because he's a sovereign God of this universe and only savior. This world will ever know we come for the wrong reason. Well, Philemon exposes this reasoning here in Ecclesiastes 5:1 give you three points today. And here's a here's what they going to be, is going to show us that religion or let's just say it like this religious ritual. Is absolutely vanity or meaningless. Without a proper fear and reverence for God. Number to, he's going to jump the money. He's going to say money is absolutely meaningless, unless we value God more than we value the money. If he's going to turn to the blessings that we receive and he's going to say our blessings, the blessings that God gives us. Is absolutely meaningless. Absolutely meaningless. The blessings are. Unless we show God gratitude and other words unless we realize we're these gifts and where these blessings come from because when you think they come from you and your gift and your time, when you think you have self-made, man because you make this amount of money or when you think you can come to church and bargain with God and bribe God and then go to church. And so you can get something out of him. Just this religious experience that you are trying to have. Simon says it is all useless and meaning this loot. Let's jump. Here's the number one, religion. Or religious ritual is Vanity. Not remember that word. Vanity means meaningless religion is meaningless without the fear of God not. Let's look at it and verses 1 through 3. Now watch out Solomon says, if he says walk prudently, when you go to the house of God and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools for they do not know that they do evil. Do not be rash with your mouth, and let your heart other anything and let not your heart other anything. Hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on Earth. Therefore, let your Words Be Few.

For a dream, comes through much activity. In other words, when you work hard, you're tired at night and when you're tired at night, you go to sleep. And then when you go to sleep, sometimes you have these wild dreams. You have these drinks and overheard you living in Fantasyland. In other words. And a fool voice is known by his many words. So here is fastnacht. He tells us in these three verses, there's three things that you better not do, when you come to church, number one is don't bargain with God. You cannot With God now. Says that, but look at it in verse 1, he says walk prudently when you go to the house of God and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools. What is the sacrifice of food? Well, it refers to we trying to manipulate God to get something we want or we're just going for formalism. I just come to church because it's the right thing to do and it performs the ritual in order to gain God's favor, when the heart the worshipper is really far from God. What did Jesus tell the Pharisees? You honor me with your lips? Your hearts are far from me. We can say the right word. What does Solomon say here about? Don't be rash with your mouth. Let not your heart other, anything hastily, let your Words Be Few. Be measured in what you say to God. Remember the Pharisees and all the old, a bill to stand up and pray and they had to pray for hours on end. Thinking that that was drawing them closer to God. I said that has nothing to do with how long you pray. I care about your heart. Where is your heart? So there's no faith or fear of God, accompany this ritual and fools believe the sacrifice will automatically cancel out their send. So that way, they don't have to repent. It's simply going through the motions, because this is what I ought to do religious form. Without spiritual substance, is what Solomon is talking about and that makes the Lord sick. It's kind of like the church at laodicea Hill, spew them out of his mouth because they're lukewarm with this makes the Lord sit here, but we do the same thing. We fall into a rut sometime and we just go. And Christianity. Are we do religious things. We we go to church. We go to Sunday school or make Haitian Bible school when we pray, but her heart is not in it, or heart is just not in. It is possible. Four people to go to church their whole life for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 years. Week after week. Every time the door is when decade after decade and their lives are never really changed a snowman. I went to church with and he was there every time the doors were open. Every time that church had a service that man was there, but yet he was mean to other people. He spoke harshly to his wife. He would tell off-colored jokes, and he was very indifferent and yelled and screamed, and shortened all the time. I mean this man was in church, his whole life, but his life never changed. You see this is what following is talkin about you go. You go to church and let your Words Be Few, but some people go to church and they are all busy about saying this saying this praying and praying that praying in public in all this work, but their heart is far from God. And Simon says this, here is not right. We fall into this rough, but we can also gain this mindset, that I are religious rituals things that we do. Will somehow gain God's favor? You ever done that? You ever come to church because you felt guilty about something, you think, maybe you'd make it better. Never started praying because something went wrong and and you pray in. And but before while everything was going. You say, we all do that. I think of September 911 and said after 9/11 for the first 3 weeks after church in America was brimming with people but about three weeks after that, they all faded. What you see when something something tragic happens like that. It drives people to church, but they won't stay because their heart's not in it, their heart is not in it and we can offer something to God like money or service or attendants. I'll pray more off, you know, I'll take my children to church more and we think that it will make God give us what we want. This is an attempt at manipulation. This is coming to church and trying to bargain with God. This is what Solomon is talking about friends. This is not the gospel. It is not authentic. Christianity heard one, Pastor say just because you go to church and worship. God does not mean that you're not a fool anyway. And he is exactly right. That's why. When we come to church. That's why preaching out to be the central component of the service music is wonderful. I love good music. It's good. I love to hear people pray, and we can all pray together a church out to do that. But the central thing in church ought to be preaching because we are here, mainly to listen to God and not to talk to him or sing back to him. But listen to him. Look what it says in verse 1, walked prudently when you go to the house and got draw near to do what to hear rather than give the sacrifice of fools. We come to church to hear from God. And you need a preacher who's going to preach the word of God so that he can preach the Living Word. So God can apply to your own heart. That's what you need. We don't need, God wants you to be happy. Do good for yourself. We don't need that in churches. And so God says the reason is because I'm in heaven on vs2 and you're on Earth. Not appear. He can see the big picture. We're down here on Earth. We can't see the forest for the trees, your notice in football. Sometimes the defensive or offensive coordinator. They're sitting high up in a box up top so they can see everything that's happening on 5th. You have a better vantage point from there. And God says I'm in heaven and you are on earth. And when the word is rightly breached, our God is speaking from heaven. And he speaking to us. So what do we do? We draw near to him and we listen to him. Anyting else is like a fantasy. That's why he said, he starts talking about dreams. You're living in a fantasy world. If it's anything private primary, other than that, so when we come to church, Solomon says the first thing, don't bargain with God. Just shut up and just listen. It's what Solomon is saying. Don't bargain with God, where he says something else not to do and many people have done this. He says, don't bribe God. You say, what do you mean by that? Look at Verses 4 and 5. When you make a vow to God. When you make God, a promise that I'm going to do something. When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it for. He has no pleasure in fools. Pay, what you have bound now. Watch what? He says the first five. It's better not to vow than the valley and not pay. So what is he saying here? Well, vows were pledges worshippers with Nate to God as part of an offering or sacrificial sacrifice process. The vial was made so that God might answer a specific request. Now, the, the worshipper could offer God sacrifices, maybe an animal, he could offer God money or property in exchange for God. Meeting his request. In other words. I'll do this. You'll do this for me. Do you remember Hannah in the Bible in the Old Testament? Remember what she told? God, she said God, if you'll just let me have a child in Temple serving you. That's exactly what she did. She had a child named Samuel and she took him to the temple. Well, even today you're in a crisis. People will make vows and Promises to God. God, if you'll come through for me. I'll do this for you. I'll start going to church. I'll read my Bible more. I promise you. I will pray more God. If you will take this cancer away from me. I will serve you the rest of my life. If you'll just please give me this job that I want so bad. Please send me this wife or husband that I want. And I will do this or I will do that. Please get my children out of this Jam. If you'll do that, I will walk more closely with you. What's the danger in doing that? The danger is this. God holds his end of the bargain up, but we don't hold hours up. We don't go to church anymore. We don't read our Bibles more. We don't pray more. We don't carry our children to church. He answers our prayer. He does his part but then it's just hard for us to do our part. You want to hold on to that thing that you had promised all the sudden. It looks so costly. After God has answered your prayer. I remember reading a book sometime ago. I think it's when I was in seminary and the title of it was I told me so. And it was the author talked about self-deception. And one of the ways he says that we deceive ourselves is through procrastination. We say we're going to do something but we don't do it immediately. If he talked about setting in a church service one day and his church was doing some type of mission work and they wanted some money and he didn't have his checkbook. So he wrote himself a little note on the mission card to bring a check to church next Sunday. Well, he didn't see that card in his Bible against about a year later when he turn to that same passages of scripture and there was that little car, he just forgot to do it. He said I was going to go home and write a check and I just forgot to do it. We have good intentions. We have good intentions, but we get caught up in the moment of fousey, a Zamora crisis and all of a sudden we make a rash vow to God, that we're going to do this and then we don't do it. You ever heard a sermon and it convicted your heart. You said Lord. I need to confess that right now. Lord. I need to get rid of that out of my, I need to take this heading to send out of my life and you go home with full intention of getting right with God. And what happens? You just don't you just forget and you start doing something else. You never follow through. What does Solomon say? He says it's better to never make a vow than to make one and not do it. You ever you ever tried to bribe. You ever said God. If you don't get me out of this mess, I will fill in the blank. He followed through, but you didn't. It's better not to vow than to Val and not pay it. So, in verse 7, this is what Solomon says. He says for in the multitude of dreams, that many words. There's also vanity but fear God, so we need to have a healthy fear of God, and one of the examples of breaking a vow in our culture is marriage. How many people get married, and they don't see it as a vial. They see it as a contract. So your contract, you can break. If I don't like the way she does this, or I don't like the way he does that, I'll just get out and I'll go somewhere else, you know, breaking a vow. So don't come to church and bargain with God. Don't come to church and try to bribe God. This ain't we see don't come to church and belittle. God. Look what it says in verse 8. Says, if you see the oppression of the poor in the violent perversion of Justice, will do we see that in our land today. Of course, we do. We all see that now watch what he says. And righteousness in a province. Do not Marvel at the matter. Don't think it's unusual. Don't don't save yourself. There's just so much. Injustice in this world. Politics is corrupt. The courts are corrupt. The whole nation is corrupt. These politicians are don't say that. Don't blame God, don't blame the government. You see, many people, see Injustice and corruption in our society. Just take the war in Ukraine, did not offer. You see the images on TV. It's just terrible. What those people are going through and we say, what this world, something is wrong with this world. This world is corrupt. And if God was really who he said he was, he wouldn't allow that to happen.

If God is all loving, he would do something about it. Oh, he can't do something about it. But then that means he's not all-powerful. Maybe God is all-powerful, but he won't do anything about it because he don't really love it. Or maybe he is all loving but he can't do anything about it because he's not all-powerful. You see when we start criticizing and complaining what we're doing is criticizing and complaining against himself in. This is what Solomon is saying. We complain we're blaming and criticizing God. We questioned his love, we questioned his sovereignty, we questioned even if he cares and other words, we make people and situations big and we make God small. What did we learn a couple less? There's a Time For Peace. And a time for what war, it's going to happen. That mean that it's good. That mean that it's right. It's not good. And it's not right? But it is going to happen. You see the government problem. Is the same as mine in yours? Is human. That's the problem. You see God ordained government, you go to Romans 13 and read about that. He says y'all to pray for your leaders. He says you ought to obey your leaders. He ordained it, but the problem is it's a Human Institution. And humans are sinners. We are all sinners. And he said, don't Marvel at it. You have centers working with Sinners. So, what do you have when you have centers working with Sinners? You have a bunch of Sinners. I was a sinner before I got married. I married a sinner, all the sudden to centers a living in the same house. We have two children. Guess what? Both of them were sinners. Now, we have four people living in the same house we go. Buy groceries were saying as we come to church with Santa, we play ball with Sinners, we go to work and work with Sinners. No wonder the world is, we're all surrounded by Sinners, don't Marvel at that. He says, when you see Injustice, understand, it's a Human Institution in. This is what's going to happen. But when we complain and criticize or what we're doing is weed, weed the little guy with a God, you don't care. You're not able to do anything. And that's not true at all. Don't blame God. Don't bribe. God, don't belittle God and don't bargain with God. We think, if we do that, we'll go. What we want. I thought Church sign the other day will move on to the next point. This is what it said. I just this listen to what it says and how wrong this is. It's a god-blessed America. Because America bless God. I just think about that. What it say it. God Bless America, why did God bless us? But we bless God. In other words, do what God wants bless him, then he'll do what you want. And you'll be happy friend. That's nothing. But I Dollar Tree or sorcery. That is not the gospel. When we come to church. We ought to have a reverent fear, and respect and being all of the almighty, God and make our church, and our services and all our life. All about God and not about me, why? Because God is God. And I'm not that's why number 2

Religion is Vanity or is meaningless.

money is Vanity or meaningless without value in God. Now he's going to jump. Come on. Now sometimes our temptation is to think that a little more money would solve our problem or prevent it all together and solemn is going to give us five reasons here. And there they are of why that is faulty thinking. In other words. What Solomon is saying you better value God more than you do money. You better value to give her more than you do the gift. And this is what Salman is going to tell us, so let's look at it quickly. So let's just see what money will do. And I'll preface this with the more you have. Number one, the more you have, the more you won't look what Solomon says in verse Christian. He says, he who loves silver. Will not be satisfied with silver. Know he who loves abundance with increase. This also is Vanity or meaningless. He says, the person. He loved silver won't be satisfied friends. If you think the wealthy people of this world are not trying to accumulate more than something is wrong. John D. Rockefeller at one time as most he was the richest man in the world. And someone asked him how much money is enough and he said just a little bit more. Always want just a little bit more, just understand. If you going to buy you money above God, the more you have, the more you want, which will lead to Greed. Number to Solomon said something else. He says, the more you have, the more you spend, look at it in verse 11. He says when Goods increase they increase who eat them. So what prophet have the owner to see if him weather at here's what he saying. What he saying is this expensive rise to meet available income. It's almost impossible for the American average. American to put, we can't put the brakes on the cost of living. What do you think about this inflation? We're going through. Now you go to the grocery store and you pay way more than you ought to see if you can even find it. Most time you can t find it on the Shelf you go to the Gas Pump and paying for $5 a gal. Who knows how high to go six, seven, eight dollars a gallon. It says they tell you. Well, if it's too hot for you, just go buy electric car where they start at 60 thousand, so who can afford to go buy an electric car. And I only know why you want electric car where you going to do, when the power goes out, need to charge it. What what's going to happen? So when a salary raise comes over, sudden up goes the lifestyle and up, goes the expense. This is what One, Pastor said. He said, when a man's possession, increase, it seems that a corresponding increase in the number of parasites who will live off him. What he was talking about, was Lawyers consultant employees. Relatives family members. I don't know. Some of you like sports. You remember a guy who used to play. He was quarterback at the University of Miami and play for the Cleveland Browns. Bernie Kosar. Bernie Kosar had a long NFL career and he was worth multiple millions of dollars 10 to 20 millions of dollars when he retired from the NFL not too many years ago. He filed for bankruptcy. He lost it all. If someone ask him what, how did it happen? He said there was just so many people. He says, one day. I got my cell phone, my bill out that listen to this. He says I was paying the cell phone bill for 111 people other than myself. He was paying for all his family members, friends who made didn't have enough money. It would just going out of his account and he wouldn't even keeping up with it. He was paying 111 cell phone, bill, every month. You see the more you have, the more you have to spend number three. The more you have, the more you worry, look at it in verse 12. The sleep of a laboring man is sweet. If you go to work and you work hard and you made your money, it is very sweet that matter if he's little or much, but the abundance of the rich will not permit him to what to sleep. Rich people have a hard time sleeping. Why does the word you don't lose it? The word that they going to lose all their money. Remember Rockefeller talk about while ago, he was a billionaire, the age of 53. He became so worried about his money that he was going to lose it. That he lived off milk and crackers for 3 years. He was afraid to eat meat or anything cuz he prayed may have a heart attack. And he thought he might die and lose all that within later in life. He started giving his money away to Charities and all all of a sudden his help change and he lived to be 98.

You see, he was out to worry himself to death if money is not worth your health to worry about but Simon says I'm telling you if you have a lot you're not going to sleep. Well number for The more you have, the more you can lose look at it in verse 14, but those riches Paris through misfortune. The more stuff you have, the more chance you have. I'm losing it. And it's the same way with money. You may put it into some investment and it may go awry and you've lost it all. You can just lose it, just like that. So the more you have the more you lose and then lastly, the more you have. The more you leave and I'll look at it in verses 15 and 16. And he came from his mother's womb naked, shall he return? To go as he came and he shall take nothing from his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. Naked. You came into this world. How you going to leave it the same way? You're not going to carry anything with it. You see. There's a rich man died, one time. And there's a bunch of people in that Community didn't know how much he was worth, but they knew he worth a lot and they had an Auctioneer coming on an auction off. This man's place and somebody yelled out to the auctioneer before it started. How much did he leave? They wanted to know the amount? How much did he leave? You at the office near say say that, that's all of it. Didn't give him out. He left it all. He can't take it with you. He left all of it. Now, the more you accumulate in your lifetime. The more you going to leave for others is anything wrong with that leaving your family, an inheritance, of course not. We all want to leave our children, something to leave our spouse something in case we were to die, but the great irony in this is we spent a Lifetime Building Wealth and then in the end, we just hand it over to someone else and we don't know who we going to give it to we've already talked about that. So what are we saying here? What we're saying? RIT religious ritual. Is meaningless without a healthy fear and reverence for God we're saying money is meaningless without value. In God. We have to put the most value on God, not on our money. We worship The Giver, not the gift, number 3 and will close. Blessings are vanity or are meaningless without gratitude to God. Look at it in verses 18 and 19. Here's what I have seen. It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor which he toils under the sun all the days of his life with God gives him for. It is his Heritage and watch this as forever man to whom God has given riches and wealth and giving him power to eat of it to receive his Heritage and to rejoice in his labor. This is the gift of God. Now. What is Solomon saying, here? He is saying your ability to earn money is a gift from God or earning money. Is a gift from God friends there. No self-made, men or women in the world. You're not I don't care what your worth. You're not self. I had a guy introduced me to a man, one time from Texas. He said this is so and so he's a self-made millionaire. Nothing. Will God help it? If he self made. No one is a self-made millionaire. Every person who has earned money has done. So because of the abilities and talents that God has given him. That's why you've earned your money now, so I'll know when does it say we shouldn't be interested in earning money or having money or living? Well, we just need to remember that it is God who gives us the ability to earn money and to prosper and we ought to show our gratitude to him and be thankful for that. That's what swallow is saying in this should be our attitude all the time. So earning money as a gift to God and enjoying money is also a gift from God, and that's what the Bible says here. Have you have you do you ever stop? And thank God for the joy. You share. With friends and family with the money that you have earned. It makes it possible for you to go out for a nice meal or maybe take a nice summer vacation. We work and sweat, and, and work for what we have. But we forget that it all comes from God. There's nothing wrong with hard work, but there's something wrong with anxiety about work and its results. Just be thankful, be thankful that you can work and earn money and then be thankful for the fruit of that labor. This is what Solomon is saying if we would just Faithfully open our hands and thank God for the ability to work and thank God for the grace to enjoy. Both the work and the fruit of our labor. We would be more blessed than anyone putting him. First in our work and in the enjoyment of the rewards is the key. So what is Solomon? Tell us today is simply this Religion is meaningless without fear and for God Friends Church and life is not all about me. It's about God. And when we come to church, let us not bargain with God. Let us not bribe God. We can't do that and let us not belittle God, because if we do in the end we'll end up blaming God for what we do. Not get and what we experience in life. We have to come to church with a reverence for God and we come and worship him not for ourselves as the video said but we do it for God. Money is meaningless without Value, Inn. God value God above your money and your blessings are meaningless without thanking God because when we have blessings and we don't think God, we stayed our self. This is what I have done and it's not it's because of his gifts that he has given us. Why should we feel that way? Because God is God and I'm not there, then let's pray. Father. We thank you and praise you. Love you today. Lord for this very important message today. Lord, I pray for that one. That may be here today, but when they look at their own spiritual life, Did they may say that? You know, I've been coming to church a long time.

But nothing has really changed.

I haven't really been transformed. I have listened to the word of God year after year. I've done Bible studies and I've done all other sorts. I've gone to conferences. But nothing has changed. Or I pray that person would examine their heart. Are they sincerely worshipping God? Is God, it is their life about God? Or is it about themselves when they wake up every morning?

Are they going to serve the kingdom of God or do they serve their own kingdom? Lord help us never to come to church and a laxidasical perfunctory laborious routine that I'm just doing it because this is what I supposed to. Supposed to do, Lord help us. Not to bargain with you not to bribe. You not to belittle you, but help us when we come into this house to worship you, because you are The Sovereign God of this universe and the savior of this world. Lord, give us an understanding of the money that we have Lord help us not to Value money above above you. And even the blessings that we receive Lord help us to be thankful people in the show gratitude, because all good and perfect gifts come from. You forcing Christ name, I do pray. Amen. All right. Well, thank you for being here today. I made it through these new glasses.