"How to Find Contentment"

So, I'm thankful.

The sermon today. How to find contentment. The truck leaves. He asked he's won 12 to 18 and then I added a set of verses chapter 2 verses 4 to 11 so it is kind of a lengthy scripture reading. Here's King, Solomon died. The teacher have been King over Israel in Jerusalem. I applied my mind to examine and explore through wisdom. All that is done under heaven.

God has given people that the miserable task to keep them occupied. I've seen all the things that are done under the sun and I found everything to be futile. A Pursuit Of The Wind, what is crooked cannot be straightened? What is lacking? Cannot be counted, I said to myself, see I have amassed wisdom, far beyond, all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind is Thoroughly grass, wisdom and knowledge. I applied my mat mind to, no wisdom and knowledge Madness and Folly. I learned this too is a Pursuit Of The Wind. For with much wisdom is much sorrow. As I imagined creases grief increases and then chapter 29, large my works. I built houses for myself. I planted Vineyards for myself. I made Gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them. All kinds of fruit trees. I made Pines of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves and I had home, born slave also, I possessed flocks and herds larger than all, who preceded me in Jerusalem. Also, I collected for myself, silver and gold in The Treasure of kings. And provinces, I provided for myself, male and female singers in the pleasures of men. Many concubines, then I became grade and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem, my wisdom office. Goodbye me desired. I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure for my heart was pleased, because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. That's how I considered all my activities, which my side done and the labor, which I had exerted and behold, all was vanity and striving after wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

The teacher referred to, in our text. And at the beginning of chapter one is King Solomon. He is the author of Ecclesiastes. He refers to himself as a former king of Israel. In Jerusalem in our scripture, reading his wisdom with a tested from an early age. John MacArthur writes in the introduction to Ecclesiastes in this Study Bible or text, this morning is about the futility of wisdom and possessions what does it mean to be wise or content? Anyway, that is a question. I want to explore today, aren't there many claims to wisdom and prosperity? One man says follow me and you will be filled with all wisdom and prosperity or another author. May write read what I have to write and be filled with wisdom and prosperity. Or we can hear the Prosperity Gospel and think that material possessions will follow after we commit Our Lives to God. Yes, I'm a contradictory one, another one path to wisdom or Prosperity, contradicts the other path to wisdom and prosperity. And what is left, which is the true path to wisdom and prosperity in this day and age. We hear about many paths to how to achieve wisdom and prosperity. So knowledge and possessions can only take us so far. In matters of Christian belief, there is a leap of faith. Knowledge and prosperity will. As I said, take us so far, and we need knowledge to understand things, but in matters related to the Christian faith. We need more than intellect and knowledge. We can have all the knowledge and possessions in the world and still fall short of the glory of God. Solomon's main argument from her scripture this morning, is that wisdom and possessions as the essential of Life, do not equate with contentment Solomon was wise and had many possessions, but he was not content. So he says that pursuing wisdom and prosperity are like chasing the wind. It doesn't mean that we don't study to show ourselves approved. It just means it being wise, their owning things isn't the answer to the issue. We have is human about 10 years ago. There was a clink and for the story. About 10 years ago, there was a story in u.s. News & World Report, but some of the information in this story is probably just as relevant today. 10 years later as it was, then the story was about the so-called American Dream. I guess that would include owning your own home and having all the need your needs met for sure. But also having enough to do all the things you really want to do and have all the things you really want to have in. The story said that for Americans with household incomes of $25,000, whole said that these people believed, it would take $54,000 to fulfill the American dream in their lives. The same survey also showed that for those who make $100,000, they'd like to make about $192,000 in their version of the American dream. In other words, the American dream usually lies nearly twice. The distance of at least financially. You know, there was possibly no one wiser or wealthier as I said earlier than Solomon in his day but as stated many times wisdom and riches do not lead to True, contentment only, one thing can bring us true satisfaction and that is our commitment to Jesus. That is the only thing that can give us peace. Professional golfer, Paul azinger. I hope I'm pronouncing it right was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 33, and he had just won a PGA Championship and had Ten Tournament victories to his credit and erode. A genuine feeling of fear came over me, I could die from cancer. Then another reality, hit me even harder. I'm going to die eventually. Anyway, whether is from cancer or something else. It's just a question of when Everything I've accomplished in golf became meaningless to me. All I wanted to do was live and then you remember something that Larry Moody, who teaches a bible study on the torrid said to him Zane her, we're not in the land of the living. Going to the land of the dying. We're in the land of the dying, trying to get to the land of the living. Golfer Paul azinger recovered from chemotherapy and return to the PGA Tour. He's done well but that battle with cancer deepened his perspective. He wrote I've made a lot of money since I've been on the tour and I've won a lot of tournaments. But that happiness is always temporary. The only way you will ever have true. Contentment is in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I'm not saying that nothing ever bothers me and I don't have problems, but I feel like I've found the answer to the six foot hole at the end of this life. You know, it appears to me that the most content person to ever live must have been Jesus. That's a fairly easy and safe statement to make, is it not? That is not a very controversial statement, isn't? It's a pretty safe assumption on my part, I think, when I think, I think of Jesus. Now, I'm not saying that the life of Jesus was content that the happenings around him, we're always filled with contentment on the contrary. If you read the scriptures, you will find circumstances that would seem to breed the exact opposite of heuristic of being content. What I am asserting is that Jesus spirit,

and I want to make a different distinction between what is happening to us in life and our spirit, Because if we did find happiness, or being content on our circumstances, we will most certainly be quickly disappointed. If we Define our happiness, on our spirit, which ideally rises above circumstance, we can understand the ability to be content anywhere anytime. Easier said than done you would agree. Most likely will the temptation of some persons in America is that we let the happenings around us determine our level of Happiness. This is especially true of my generation and those that are followed me. We are quickly forgetting the hard times in American history. I'm afraid that my generation in that some of the younger people today have lost sight of the value of life, and the value of tough times. We have forgotten the stories surrounding the, Great Depression and World War II. Let me ask this. If everything was suddenly taken from your life, would you be content? If you lost your career, but you had priced, would you be content if the stock market crashed? And everything you saved for retirement was gone, but you had Christ, would you be content? If you had to make a choice Christ or the American dream, which would you pick rest assure these are questions for me to answer as well? You seem, I'm not so sure that price doesn't ask everything from us. It's a radical but certainly not a new idea. I think that possibly died. Use the circumstances to ascertain. What is really important in our lives? What do we have? When everything falls apart? When tragedy hit when everything in life that made sense is destroyed and left in shambles. What would be left? What is the foundation of our lives? In the end all material things with, ER, or passed away to Future, Generations, careers, come to an end saying phase into the night reputation, dwindles houses, age with every technique known to humankind. We have tried to outsmart the clock. We have tried to stop the clock that is ticking and the question this morning for me, and for you is, what will we have left? When they take away everything, external what will be there? When we are on our deathbed having lost all dignity and we become just another number to the world around us. What hope will we have priced? Was there on the cross? Everything that he had in this world, which might wasn't much from a material standpoint have been Stripped Away. Any reputation he had in the world have been totally diminished. The crown award was made of thorns. The friends he had fled the scene. People mocked him. They spit on him. They made fun of them. They laughed at him. He died alone. What did Jesus have left? Nothing. Not one thing on the contrary. Jesus had everything. Everything that can't be bought and so can we when we place our trust in him?

And I would invite those who would Unite with the church by transfer of membership or confession of Faith to come forward as we sing Our Hymn of invitation number 58. I gave my life for the