- 3 months ago
- #mlcc
- #church
- #churchonline
Please enjoy this message delivered by Pastor Mark Hudson.
✉️ Check In: https://medicallake.church/checkin
🔗 Next Steps: https://medicallake.church/next-steps
#mlcc #church #churchonline
✉️ Check In: https://medicallake.church/checkin
🔗 Next Steps: https://medicallake.church/next-steps
#mlcc #church #churchonline
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00Pastor William Sangster was, in his younger days,
00:02was out with a bunch of his friends.
00:06And they were traveling.
00:07They weren't doing anything wrong.
00:08They just were guys spending their money.
00:10And he ran out of money.
00:12So his friend said, hey, just write your dad.
00:15He'll wire you some money.
00:17And then we can continue on doing and enjoying the time,
00:19our vacation that we're doing together.
00:21So he wires his dad.
00:24And his dad, thinking this would be a great opportunity
00:27to teach him the value of money,
00:28tells him, son, I'm not sending you any money.
00:33Well, Sangster's companions thought, well, that's really strange.
00:35I mean, what's wrong with your dad?
00:37Why wouldn't he send you any money?
00:39And Sangster said this, I don't know.
00:44I'll wait till I get home, and he'll tell me himself.
00:48In other words, he didn't understand why his father
00:50wasn't going to send him money.
00:51But he knew who his father was.
00:53And he knew the character of his father,
00:55that his father loved him.
00:56And there must have been a very good reason
00:57why he didn't send money.
00:58I'll ask him when I get home.
01:01We should have that kind of attitude
01:03towards our heavenly father.
01:05See, life holds many unanswered questions for us.
01:10But we know that God is sovereign
01:12and that he's working out everything to our good.
01:18We were told by Isaiah,
01:19for as the heavens are higher than the earth,
01:21so are my ways higher than your ways,
01:23God says, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
01:25That's why we often cannot comprehend
01:27all that he is doing in our life.
01:29He is sovereign, and everything is under his control.
01:32But we don't understand the things that come our way.
01:35Life happens.
01:36Bonnie Rick said this.
01:40It's difficult for us to understand God's eternal purpose
01:43and everything that we see happening around us.
01:46But we can know this.
01:48Everything that happens on this earth is under his control.
01:52Everything.
01:53And sometimes, every once in a while,
01:56he lets us see a little portion of that plan,
01:59allows us to understand some of his thinking,
02:01but often we don't understand.
02:04But we must rest.
02:06Our hearts, our souls must rest
02:08in the fact that God is sovereign,
02:11and what he brings our way is for our good,
02:14always for our good.
02:15What he gifts us is always for our good and his glory.
02:22Solomon wants us to understand
02:23in the rest of the chapter five
02:24that we want to look in Ecclesiastes,
02:26that in his sovereignty,
02:29God has provided all we need
02:32to experience the well-lived life.
02:36In other words, in his goodness towards us,
02:38not only just to the creation by giving son
02:40and the seasons,
02:42but to his children,
02:43and those who are born again by faith in Jesus Christ,
02:46his love for us is unending.
02:49His goodness towards us never ceases.
02:52And he provides everything we need
02:55to experience a well-lived life.
02:57So it doesn't lie on God
02:59for us to experience a well-lived life.
03:00It relies on us to appropriate
03:03everything he has given us
03:05to live a well-lived life.
03:07He has provided.
03:09He has provided what we need,
03:11but there are things that get in the way
03:12of a well-lived life.
03:14Hindrances that come.
03:15He has provided,
03:16but we bring these things in
03:18and then they separate us
03:19from living a well-lived life.
03:21And Solomon wants to talk about
03:22those things today.
03:25He's using three negative examples.
03:28That is of corrupt government,
03:31love of wealth,
03:33and discontentment
03:34with the state of one's existence
03:36as negative examples
03:38of the positive teaching
03:40of what a well-lived life looks like.
03:42So he gives us three negatives
03:43and obviously the opposite
03:44of the negative
03:45is what a well-lived life
03:46should look like.
03:47These three things get in the way.
03:49That's what he wants
03:50to talk about today.
03:51Look at verses eight and nine.
03:53He introduces us
03:53to the first thing
03:54that gets in the way
03:55of a well-lived life.
03:58If you see in a province
04:00the oppression of the poor
04:03and the violation
04:05of justice and righteousness
04:07do not be amazed
04:09at the matter
04:10for the high official
04:12is watched by a higher
04:14and there are yet higher ones
04:16over them.
04:17But this is gain for a land
04:20in every way.
04:21What is that?
04:22A king committed
04:24to cultivated fields.
04:26And I know there's
04:26some different versions
04:28that have different translations.
04:29I think the ESV probably brings out
04:31the best idea
04:32in the negative
04:33of corrupted government officials
04:35and the positiveness
04:36of a godly government.
04:39So the first thing
04:40that gets in the way
04:41of a well-lived life
04:42is corruption in politics.
04:45You know, I actually think
04:46those should always go together
04:47in the same sentence,
04:48don't you?
04:50Corrupted politicians.
04:51I mean, that's a good adjective
04:52for politicians today.
04:54It's no different in our day
04:55than it was in Solomon's day.
04:58Human beings have not changed.
04:59And with the multiple levels
05:02of government,
05:03corruption is inevitable.
05:04It's inevitable.
05:06All these different layers,
05:07all these different bureaucracies,
05:09and if you've ever lived in Europe,
05:11I mean, lived not just
05:12in a military concern,
05:12but lived in Europe on,
05:14especially in Germany,
05:14I can speak of Germany.
05:16The bureaucrats in their office
05:18are kings and queens
05:19of their office.
05:21If they don't give the permission,
05:23nothing happens.
05:25And that is their realm.
05:26And boy, don't this bureaucrat over here
05:29come over and tell this one
05:30what to do
05:30because this is my kingdom.
05:32Bureaucracy.
05:34All these different
05:35multiple levels of government,
05:36it's no wonder
05:37that corruption is inevitable.
05:39Michael Eaton said this,
05:41the frustration
05:41of oppressive bureaucracy
05:43with its endless delays
05:45and excuses,
05:47while the poor cannot afford
05:48to wait,
05:49and injustice is lost
05:50between the tiers
05:51of the hierarchy.
05:52So here we have
05:54all of these multiple levels
05:56of bureaucracy
05:56that just gets corrupted
05:57one after the other
05:58all the way up to the top,
06:00and it becomes a violation.
06:04That word violation,
06:05now I know some,
06:06NASB says denial,
06:09King James says violent,
06:10perverting.
06:11This violation
06:13has the idea of a robbery.
06:15So what's being robbed?
06:16Justice is being robbed,
06:18and righteousness is being robbed.
06:21A just cause,
06:22in other words,
06:22the poor are being oppressed,
06:24and the leaders
06:24and those over them
06:25are oppressing them.
06:26That's injustice.
06:28And we see also
06:29that righteousness,
06:30doing the right thing,
06:31right living,
06:32right way of thinking,
06:33that's foreign in the land.
06:35It's being robbed
06:36of the citizens of the land.
06:39It's a perversion
06:40of justice and righteousness.
06:42These are injustices
06:44on a regional level.
06:45Did you notice
06:45that it says a province?
06:47Didn't say Jerusalem.
06:48That would be the center
06:49of the government of Israel.
06:50These are in the provinces,
06:52so the central government
06:53is in Jerusalem
06:54where the king is at,
06:55but all the provinces
06:56then should be answering
06:58to the king.
06:58But what happens
06:59is that all of these levels
07:00of bureaucracy,
07:00they begin acting
07:01like the king themselves.
07:05So these are injustices
07:07on a regional level
07:08among those further away
07:09from the central authority.
07:10If you think about us,
07:12our central authority
07:12is in actually the Constitution,
07:14but the government
07:15is in Washington, D.C.
07:17Now we get on the regional level,
07:19we get to state level,
07:20we get to county level,
07:21we get to city level.
07:22That's what he's talking about
07:23in the provinces.
07:26He exhorts us
07:28not to be amazed
07:29at corrupt politicians.
07:33He doesn't state
07:34that that's a good thing.
07:36He just says
07:36don't be amazed at it.
07:38He didn't say,
07:39oh, that's,
07:39just go ahead
07:40and accept it.
07:41No, he's not talking about that.
07:42He's stating a fact
07:43under the sun,
07:44corrupt politicians
07:45are in every government.
07:47Every government.
07:49And the corrupt higher officials
07:51are exhorting money
07:52out of the lower officials
07:54who are exhorting money
07:55out of the poor
07:55who don't have any money.
07:57And justice is not given
07:58to the poor.
08:01Bureaucrats always look out
08:03for each other
08:04as the poor or oppressed.
08:07Now, they're taking advantage
08:09of those underneath them,
08:10but they're still
08:11looking out for them
08:12because someone
08:12underneath them
08:13tries to come along.
08:14They'll protect them.
08:15Bureaucrats always
08:16protect themselves.
08:18Think FBI.
08:21Enough said.
08:24We should not be shocked
08:25at the corruption
08:26in government.
08:27People are fallen creatures.
08:30Every government
08:31is going to have
08:31a level of corruption in it.
08:33We understand that.
08:35An anonymous
08:35U.S. government official
08:36said the accomplice
08:38to the crime of corruption
08:39is frequently
08:40our own indifference.
08:43He's not saying
08:43it's a good thing.
08:44He's saying don't be amazed
08:45when you see corruption
08:46in government.
08:48It doesn't mean
08:48that we should be silent
08:49about it.
08:50It doesn't mean
08:50we should just ignore it
08:51and be indifferent about it.
08:52It's a reality
08:53under the sun
08:54in governments.
08:56Our job is to speak out
08:57against these injustices
08:58and say these are wrong.
09:00This is not according
09:01to what God has designed.
09:04Dietrich Bonhoeffer said,
09:05silence in the face
09:06of evil
09:07is evil itself.
09:09God will not
09:10hold us guiltless.
09:11Not to speak
09:12is to speak.
09:13Not to act
09:14is to act.
09:15He's not saying
09:16don't do anything about it.
09:17He's simply stating
09:18the way that it is.
09:20See, our founding fathers
09:22understood the depravity
09:23of human beings
09:23and established
09:24at least in our system
09:25of government
09:26checks and balances
09:27that are supposed
09:27to check these corruptions
09:29that are there.
09:30That's how it was designed.
09:32It was a brilliant design.
09:33Not everything was perfect,
09:34but it was a brilliant design
09:35to corrupt,
09:36to curb the corruption
09:37of fallen human beings.
09:40So the first hindrance
09:42to a well-lived life
09:43is a corrupt government.
09:44You say,
09:44well,
09:46all governments are corrupt.
09:47You just said that.
09:47Yeah, that's right.
09:48So what should we do about that?
09:49That is the truth.
09:50We should speak up about it.
09:51That's one thing we can do.
09:53But what do we do
09:53about corrupt governments?
09:54They hinder a well-lived life.
09:57Ronald Reagan said it well.
09:59In this present crisis,
10:00government is not the solution
10:01to our problem.
10:02Government is the problem.
10:05And then later on,
10:06he said this.
10:06The most terrifying words
10:08in the English language are,
10:09I am from the government
10:10and I'm here to help.
10:12So what do we do?
10:13Do we just throw off government?
10:15That's not what he's advocating.
10:16What do we do?
10:18Thomas Paine,
10:18who wrote Common Sense,
10:20said government,
10:21even at its best state,
10:22is but a necessary evil.
10:24In its worst state,
10:25an intolerable one.
10:27Well, that kind of thing
10:27is we just throw off all government?
10:28No, that's not the answer.
10:30Corruption in government
10:31is going to happen.
10:33But what do we do with that?
10:34We speak out against it
10:35as the first thing.
10:36But what else do we do with that?
10:38See, because when the head,
10:39when the head of the government
10:41is corrupt,
10:42the body becomes corrupt as well.
10:44When the head of the government
10:45allows corruption
10:46within the top ranks
10:48of the government,
10:48it filters down
10:49to all level of the governments.
10:51We are seeing the results
10:52of that today.
10:55Isaiah talked about it
10:56in his day.
10:56Why will you still be struck down?
11:00Why will you continue to rebel?
11:02The whole head is sick.
11:03In other words,
11:04the government from the king on down
11:06is sick,
11:07and the whole heart faint,
11:08and the result of that
11:09is it affects all of the citizens
11:11of the land as well.
11:13From the sole of the foot,
11:14even to the head,
11:15there is no soundness in it,
11:17but bruises and sores
11:18and raw wounds.
11:20They are not pressed out
11:21or bound up
11:22or softened with oil.
11:23Your country lies desolate.
11:25When the head is corrupt,
11:26it filters down to the body,
11:28and when the body is corrupt,
11:29the whole nation suffers.
11:32The country lies desolate.
11:34Your cities are burned with fire.
11:35In your very presence,
11:36foreigners devour your land.
11:37It is desolate
11:38as overthrown by foreigners.
11:41So the answer, first of all,
11:43to a corrupt government
11:44is a godly government.
11:47So in our system,
11:48we get to vote for people.
11:49So we vote for people
11:50who have a biblical worldview
11:52to put them in place
11:53to have godly leadership.
11:54That's the first thing
11:55we can do.
11:56It's the first thing
11:57we can do
11:58is we have godly leadership.
12:00The second thing
12:00is we have to understand,
12:02even though we realize
12:04there will be corruption
12:05in government
12:05because human beings
12:06are fallen,
12:06we must understand
12:08God has given us governance.
12:12It is a way to make sure
12:14that citizens,
12:14that people are well taken care of.
12:17Government is ordained by God.
12:20The concept of government,
12:21not any form of government
12:22I'm talking about,
12:23the concept of government
12:24is ordained by God.
12:25It is better for humanity
12:27to live under a government
12:28in that sense,
12:29a godly government,
12:30of course is the best,
12:31than to live in anarchy.
12:34Government was given
12:34for the well-being of people.
12:37So we have to understand,
12:37we just don't throw off government.
12:39We have to understand
12:40God has ordained government,
12:42and we want a godly government,
12:43yes,
12:43but he has ordained God,
12:44so we don't throw off government.
12:46To live a well-lived life,
12:47we have to understand.
12:49God has ordained government
12:51for our well-being.
12:54Romans 13 talks about
12:55some of the role of government.
12:56I want you to see this.
12:57For rulers are not a terror
12:58to good conduct,
12:59the rulers are the governing authorities,
13:01but to bad.
13:02Would you have no fear
13:03of one who is an authority?
13:05Then do what is good,
13:06and you will receive his approval.
13:08For he,
13:09that is the governing authorities,
13:11he is God's servant
13:12for your good.
13:13That is the responsibility
13:15of governments,
13:16is to serve the well-being
13:18of the people
13:18of whom they are governing.
13:20That's the purpose of government,
13:21is for our good.
13:23But if you do wrong,
13:24be afraid,
13:25for he does not bear
13:26the sword in vain,
13:27for he is the servant of God.
13:28Same phrase again,
13:29servant of God.
13:31God has ordained government
13:32as a concept.
13:35An avenger who carries out
13:37God's wrath on the wrongdoer.
13:40James Madison said
13:41in Federalist Papers 51,
13:42if men were angels,
13:43no government would be necessary.
13:45The problem is,
13:45we're not angels.
13:47We're fallen people.
13:48We need good government,
13:50and godly government
13:51is what we're looking for.
13:53See,
13:54a godly king
13:55is the best defense
13:56against governmental corruption.
13:59When the head is sound,
14:00the body will be sound.
14:05A godly leader,
14:07or a godly king,
14:08or a godly government
14:09is a government
14:09who understands
14:10its role before God
14:11as they submit themselves
14:13to God's rules
14:14and God's laws
14:15and God's leadership
14:16and God's authority
14:18and place themselves
14:19under there
14:19for the well-being
14:20of the people
14:20that they are covering.
14:23That's the purpose.
14:26A king concerned
14:26about the well-being
14:27of his citizens
14:28in a vibrant economy
14:29is a great gain
14:30for a nation.
14:30That's why it says
14:31a king who looks
14:32over cultivated fields.
14:34Remember,
14:34this is an agricultural society.
14:36A cultivated field
14:37means crops,
14:38crops that can be sold,
14:40wealth,
14:40be able to trade
14:41and barter
14:42and get things.
14:43So a cultivated field
14:44speaks about economic prosperity.
14:46And a king
14:47who's concerned
14:48about his people
14:49is a good king,
14:51a godly king.
14:53God has assigned
14:54a role to government
14:55that when exercised
14:57correctly,
14:58God is honored
14:59and the citizens
15:00have the opportunity
15:01to live a well-lived life.
15:02When government ignores
15:06its God's given role
15:07and abuses its citizens,
15:09there remains
15:09the understanding
15:10that government
15:11is better than anarchy.
15:12So we don't just
15:13throw off government.
15:14Government is better
15:15than anarchy.
15:17But citizens
15:17have a more difficult time
15:18experiencing
15:19the well-lived life
15:20in a corrupt government.
15:23Now,
15:24Solomon next
15:25wants to systematically
15:26destroy all of the myths
15:27that people have
15:28about wealth.
15:29He wants to just
15:29take them one down,
15:30one by one.
15:31Things like wealth
15:32brings satisfaction.
15:34Money solves every problem.
15:36Wealth brings peace of mind.
15:39Wealth provides security.
15:40He wants to tear these
15:41all down in the next section.
15:43Look at Proverbs 11, 28.
15:45Whoever trusts
15:45in his riches will fall,
15:48but the righteous
15:48will flourish
15:49like a green leaf.
15:50He wants to tear down
15:51all the myths about wealth
15:52here in this next section.
15:53Look at verses 10 through 17.
15:56He who loves money
15:58will not be satisfied
16:00with money
16:01nor he who loves wealth
16:02with his income.
16:04This also is vanity.
16:06You would say,
16:06well, how come they say money
16:07and how come they say wealth?
16:07Wealth is considered
16:08cattle and land,
16:10property.
16:11Money is money.
16:12Okay?
16:12Difference between the two.
16:14When goods increase,
16:16they increase
16:17who eat them.
16:18And what advantage
16:19has their owner
16:20but to see them
16:21with his eyes?
16:22He only gets to see
16:23the things he owns.
16:24Can't even use all of them.
16:26Sweet is the sleep
16:28of a laborer,
16:29whether he eats
16:30little or much,
16:31but the full stomach
16:32of the rich
16:32will not let him sleep.
16:34There is a greediest evil,
16:36that's above the ordinary one,
16:38that I have seen
16:39under the sun.
16:40Riches were kept
16:41by their owner
16:41to his hurt
16:42and those riches
16:44were lost
16:45in a bad venture,
16:46a bad business deal.
16:47And he is a father
16:48of a son
16:49but he has nothing
16:50in his hand.
16:51He has no inheritance
16:52to give his son now.
16:53So as this man
16:54came from his mother's womb,
16:56he shall go again,
16:58naked as he came,
16:59and shall take nothing
17:00for his toil
17:01that he may carry away
17:03in his hand.
17:04This also is a grievous evil.
17:07Just as he came,
17:08so shall he go.
17:11And what gain
17:12is there to him
17:13who toils for the wind?
17:16Moreover,
17:16all his days
17:17he eats in darkness,
17:19in much vexation,
17:21and sickness,
17:23and anger.
17:25So the second thing
17:26he wants to talk about
17:27is this misunderstanding
17:28of money,
17:30of wealth.
17:32And that is,
17:33should one love wealth
17:34and place it above all things
17:36or should one put wealth
17:37in its proper perspective,
17:39put God at the center
17:40of all things
17:40and live accordingly?
17:42He wants us
17:42to deal with this.
17:44He wants us
17:44to understand this.
17:46See,
17:46the pursuit of wealth
17:47is very seductive
17:49and it comes
17:50extremely slowly
17:51and many people
17:53get tangled
17:54in its allurement.
17:56It starts off
17:57with somebody
17:58at work talking about
17:59something they just bought.
18:01Let's pick a boat
18:02because I could care less
18:03about boats.
18:04No temptation to me.
18:05Boat.
18:06Just bought a boat.
18:08And you're sitting there
18:08thinking,
18:09boy, you know,
18:10I think I'd like
18:11to buy a boat too.
18:12You never thought of it
18:13really before then,
18:14but your friend has one.
18:15Now you want to have one.
18:17It's seductive.
18:18I mean,
18:19isn't there a commercial,
18:20let me put it this way,
18:22is there any commercial
18:22that isn't trying
18:23to sell you something?
18:26It may be an attitude
18:27they're trying to sell,
18:28that's true,
18:29but normally it's a product
18:30because they're convincing you,
18:32you will be a better person
18:33if you own this product.
18:35You'll be a better person.
18:38Wealth.
18:39It really is seductive.
18:44An anonymous person wrote,
18:45men make counterfeit money
18:47and in many cases,
18:49money makes counterfeit men
18:50because when you strive
18:53after wealth,
18:54when you love wealth,
18:55you abandon everything
18:56that's vital for a life
18:58lived well under the sun
18:59and that is relationships
19:00with other people
19:02and God at the center
19:03of your life.
19:06A third grade teacher
19:07asked her class
19:07to solve a math problem.
19:09Suppose you had 99 cents,
19:11your friend had $99.
19:13what would be the difference?
19:17So one little girl replied,
19:18the dismal point.
19:22The dismal point.
19:28People actually believe
19:31life is dismal without money
19:33and so their whole life
19:35is fixated on acquiring
19:37more wealth,
19:38which is power and prestige.
19:41And what happens is now
19:44a person wastes their life
19:47when it is spent
19:48in the pursuit
19:48of more money.
19:50It becomes a waste.
19:51You lose everything
19:53what God intended
19:53for a well-lived life
19:54under the sun
19:55because you love money
19:57more than him,
19:57you love money more
19:58than the people around you,
19:59you forget about those people
20:01and all you're concerned about
20:02was more wealth.
20:04John D. Rockefeller,
20:06one of the wealthiest men
20:07in his time,
20:07was asked,
20:08how much money is enough?
20:09Remember,
20:10he's the wealthiest man
20:10in his time.
20:12How much money is enough?
20:13He said,
20:13ah, just a little more.
20:15Just a little more.
20:17In fact,
20:17after he died,
20:18somebody wanted to find out
20:19exactly how much money
20:20he left behind.
20:20I mean,
20:21what was his assets?
20:21How much did he actually have?
20:23So he went to,
20:23this man went to one of his aides,
20:25his top aides,
20:26and said,
20:26well, hey,
20:26how much money
20:28did Rockefeller leave behind?
20:30And the aide said,
20:31all of it.
20:34All of it.
20:35He didn't take anything with him.
20:36Martin Luther said,
20:40God permits the very riches
20:41in which people trust
20:43to bring about the ruin
20:44of those who own them.
20:46When you love wealth,
20:47this is what happens.
20:49You are consumed by wealth.
20:51It eats you up
20:52and it ruins your life.
20:55I mean,
20:55think of Howard Hughes.
20:57The guy was a billionaire.
20:59I mean,
20:59he did some great things
21:00before he kind of went,
21:01I mean,
21:02isolated himself.
21:04I mean,
21:04he created this airplane.
21:05He did all this wonderful other stuff,
21:07made movies and things like that.
21:08Didn't find any satisfaction in that.
21:10So he secluded himself.
21:11When he died,
21:11he had like under 100 pounds.
21:13His fingernails had grown so long,
21:14they looked like talons of a bird.
21:17He was miserable.
21:18He had isolated himself.
21:20He spent time watching movies
21:21with no one around him.
21:23Wealth brought him no happiness.
21:26Proverbs 23,
21:27read this,
21:28do not toil to acquire wealth.
21:29Be discerning enough to desist.
21:31In other words,
21:32he's not talking about
21:33just making money to pay bills.
21:34That's not what we're talking about.
21:35We have to do that.
21:36That is our responsibility.
21:38We have to pay our mortgage.
21:39We have to buy food.
21:40We have to pay for our electricity.
21:41We use other people's electricity.
21:42We got to pay for it.
21:43That's not what we're talking about.
21:44We're talking about a person
21:45who loves wealth
21:46to the extent
21:47that he's willing to throw
21:48everything else out the window
21:49simply to get wealth.
21:50He said,
21:51desist from that attitude.
21:54When your eyes light on it,
21:55it is gone.
21:56For suddenly it's brow swings,
21:57flying like an eagle toward heaven.
21:59I mean,
22:00think about the life
22:01of how many lottery winners
22:03that went south
22:04after they won the lottery.
22:06They thought,
22:07oh man,
22:08I'm millions,
22:09hundreds of millions of dollars.
22:10My life is set now.
22:12And guess what?
22:12All of the relatives
22:13come out of the woodworks.
22:15All of their friends
22:16that they haven't talked to
22:17in 10 years
22:18call them up for a loan.
22:19It increases those who eat them
22:22is what Solomon said.
22:24These people want to consume
22:25your wealth
22:26that you just got
22:27in winning the lottery.
22:28Proverbs 19 says,
22:34wealth brings many new friends.
22:35That's right.
22:36Ask lottery winners.
22:39And how many lottery winners'
22:40lives were destroyed
22:41for winning that money?
22:45All the rich man can do
22:46is just look at his assets.
22:49He can't really,
22:50you can't use
22:51but one car at a time.
22:53You can only wear
22:54one suit at a time.
22:55So the rest of the cars
22:56are in his garage.
22:57Oh yeah, it'd be great
22:58to have 15 cars.
22:59You can only drive one.
23:00And he looks at the rest of them.
23:02It's kind of like
23:03Andy talked about
23:03in his sermon,
23:04Scrooge McDuck
23:05when his big vault
23:06of gold coins
23:07and all he does
23:08is swims in his gold coins.
23:09He just looks at them.
23:10That's all he does.
23:13Jesus talked about
23:14a guy like that
23:15in Luke 12.
23:17And I will say to my soul,
23:18this man is speaking
23:18so it's an indirect conversation
23:20from Jesus.
23:20I will say to my soul,
23:21soul, you have ample goods
23:23laid up for many years.
23:24Relax, eat, drink,
23:25and be merry.
23:28Jesus said,
23:28didn't you know that night
23:29God's going to say,
23:29you fool,
23:30your life is required tonight.
23:33The rich person
23:34is so concerned
23:35about losing his wealth.
23:37He doesn't eat his fill.
23:39The poor person
23:39sometimes doesn't have
23:40enough to eat
23:40but he eats his fill
23:42but he still can't sleep at night.
23:44He's still miserable at night.
23:45He can't sleep.
23:46As a matter of fact,
23:48the sleep of industrious labor
23:49whether he eats little
23:51or eats much
23:52is sweet, peaceful sleep.
23:54Why?
23:55Because he has placed himself
23:56underneath the authority of God.
23:57He loves God above wealth.
23:59He's content
24:00where God has put him at
24:01and he's living out his life.
24:06How well do you sleep?
24:09I'm not talking about
24:10if you have some sort of ailment,
24:12some sort of sickness
24:13and it's waking you up
24:13and that's not what I'm talking about.
24:14I'm talking about
24:15how well does your soul
24:16sleep at night?
24:19When you lay down
24:20on your pillow,
24:21are you full of anxious thoughts?
24:22Are you full of,
24:23if you have wealth,
24:24someone taking your wealth?
24:26Are you thinking about
24:27making more wealth?
24:28Where are you going to spend
24:29your next vacation?
24:30Is your soul at rest?
24:32Is your soul at peace?
24:35How is your sleep?
24:38See, God wants us to work hard,
24:40to rest in him
24:42and trust that he knows
24:43what's our best.
24:45That's the attitude
24:46he wants us to have.
24:48Psalm 127 says,
24:49it is vain that you rise up early
24:51and go late to rest,
24:53eating the bread of anxious toil.
24:55In other words,
24:56you're getting up early
24:57to rush to work,
24:58you're staying up late
24:59to work more
25:00so you can just get more money
25:01because then you'll be satisfied.
25:04That's not going to do it.
25:05For he gives
25:07to his beloved sleep,
25:09those who have centered
25:10their life on him.
25:13Then he talks about
25:14this serious,
25:15this morbid,
25:16this evil that's hurtful wound,
25:18that's not an ordinary evil.
25:20He's talking about a man
25:20who has made lots of money
25:22and then on a bad business adventure
25:24loses it all,
25:25has nothing to give his child.
25:27There's an inheritance.
25:29That's a grievous evil
25:30is what he said.
25:31For the wisdom literature says
25:32in Proverbs 13,
25:34a good man leaves an inheritance
25:35to his children's children,
25:38but the sinner's wealth
25:39is laid up for the righteous.
25:41This guy doesn't even have
25:41any money to give to his children
25:43because he's wasted it all
25:45on a bad business venture.
25:48And he will leave this world
25:51just as he came into this world,
25:53naked and with empty hands.
25:58So what good is all the wealth?
26:01That you ruined your life
26:02trying to acquire,
26:04Solomon says,
26:06when it could go
26:06in one bad business venture,
26:08be completely gone
26:09and you would have nothing left.
26:11Why have you spent
26:12all of these many hours there
26:14instead of living
26:15the well-lived life
26:16that I've given to you?
26:19Why?
26:19It makes good,
26:20it's a good question.
26:21Alexander the Great
26:22conquered the known world
26:24of his day,
26:24died in his early 30s.
26:26He said upon his deathbed,
26:28when I am placed in my coffin,
26:31place me in my coffin
26:32with my hands turned up
26:34and my palms open.
26:37And the people around him said,
26:39well, why would you want to do that?
26:40He says,
26:40because I want everyone
26:41to understand
26:42that I'm taking nothing with me.
26:47Conquer the known world.
26:50Job had this attitude
26:52and he said,
26:53naked I came
26:54from my mother's womb
26:55and naked shall I return.
26:57The Lord gave
26:58and the Lord has taken away.
26:59The God is sovereign.
27:01Blessed be the name
27:02of the Lord.
27:03He's given me wealth
27:04and he's taken it away.
27:05I'm content
27:06with whatever God
27:07is giving me
27:07because I trust him
27:09and his sovereignty
27:11to take care of me.
27:14Paul told Timothy,
27:16but godliness
27:16with contentment
27:17is great gain
27:18for he brought nothing
27:19into the world
27:20and we cannot take
27:21anything out of the world.
27:23But if we have food
27:24and clothing
27:24with these
27:25we will be content.
27:26But those who desire
27:27to be rich
27:28fall into temptation,
27:29into a snare,
27:30into many senseless
27:31and harmful desires
27:32that plunge people
27:33into ruin and destruction.
27:35And this guy
27:36ends up eating
27:37by himself
27:39in vexation
27:41and in anger
27:42and in joylessness.
27:45He has nothing.
27:46It's the disposition
27:46of a miserable person.
27:48That's who he is
27:48when he dies.
27:50He's lonely.
27:51He's joyless
27:52and he's angry
27:52all the time.
27:55J.H. Jowett
27:56said this,
27:57the real measure
27:58of our wealth
27:58is how much
27:59we'd be worth
28:00if we lost
28:01all our money.
28:02Think about that
28:03for a second.
28:05How much would you
28:06be worth
28:06if you lost
28:06all your money?
28:07In other words,
28:07where's the real worth
28:09in this world?
28:10Is it in wealth
28:11or is it somewhere else?
28:15The second hindrance
28:16to well-lived life
28:17is the love
28:18of wealth,
28:19the love
28:19of money.
28:21And the answer
28:22to the problem
28:22of the love
28:23of wealth
28:23is to be content
28:25in the state
28:26that God has placed
28:27you in right now.
28:28Next week,
28:29it may be different.
28:30You may have more,
28:30you may have less.
28:32But are we content
28:33with where we are
28:34right now?
28:35Am I content?
28:37Do I trust
28:38his sovereignty
28:38to know what is best
28:39for me?
28:41Since we can take
28:42nothing with us
28:43but our good name,
28:44how shall we live
28:45or how shall we deal
28:46then with material wealth?
28:47He wants us to understand
28:48this in verses 18 through 20.
28:50Look,
28:50how do we deal
28:51with wealth then?
28:53Behold,
28:53what I have seen
28:54to be good
28:55and fitting
28:56is to eat
28:58and drink
28:58and find enjoyment
29:00in all the toil
29:01with which one toils
29:02under the sun,
29:04the few days
29:05of the life
29:05that God has given him.
29:07For this is his lot,
29:08this is his portion,
29:09this is his inheritance.
29:12Everyone also
29:13to whom God
29:13has given wealth.
29:14Again,
29:15wealth is not the problem.
29:16It's the love of wealth
29:17is the problem.
29:18God gives wealth
29:19to people
29:19and possessions
29:22and power
29:22to enjoy them
29:23and to accept
29:24his lot
29:25and rejoice
29:26in his toil.
29:28This is the gift of God.
29:29Notice we're coming up.
29:30These are the gifts of God.
29:31God gives this.
29:32God gives this.
29:33For he will not much
29:35remember the days
29:36of his life
29:36because God
29:37keeps him occupied
29:39with joy
29:40in his heart.
29:41He's not like the guy
29:42that sits in the darkness
29:43and vexation
29:44and anger
29:45and joylessness.
29:46Here's a person
29:46who's full of joy
29:47because he understands
29:48God is for me
29:50and not against me.
29:53In verses 18 through 20,
29:54God is mentioned
29:55four times.
29:56In verses 10 through 17,
29:57not once.
29:58He wants us
29:59to shift our attention.
30:00He wants us
30:01to understand
30:01life under the sun
30:02is for a curing wealth,
30:04but wealth
30:05is a gift of God.
30:06If you get it,
30:06great.
30:07If you don't,
30:08great.
30:09God knows
30:10who is sovereign
30:10what we need
30:11and when we need it.
30:12He understands that.
30:15When we understand
30:16that life and wealth
30:18are gifts of God,
30:19we will not abuse
30:20earthly things.
30:22We're just stewards of them.
30:24We will be content
30:25with what he gives us,
30:26knowing that he has
30:27our best interests in mind.
30:28He gives for his glory
30:29and our good.
30:32Solomon wants us
30:32to make the best of life
30:34and enjoy all the good things
30:35God gives us.
30:36You notice the text says
30:37God gives, God gives,
30:38what God has given him.
30:40God gives to us
30:41what he knows we need
30:43for his glory
30:45and for our good.
30:48Ron Hinson wrote this.
30:49Ever think you had a bad day?
30:51Sure.
30:52I think we've all done.
30:53Well, he says think again.
30:55On April 12, 1976,
30:58Ronald Wayne,
30:59one of the three co-founders
31:00of Apple Computers,
31:02sold his 10% share
31:03in the company
31:04for $800.
31:05He was given
31:07an extra $1,500
31:08if he would not
31:09take any other interest
31:10in anything in Apple
31:11in the future
31:12to give away
31:13his future rights.
31:15Today, Apple Computers
31:16are most valuable,
31:17one of the most valuable
31:18companies in the world,
31:19worth $600 billion.
31:23His 10% would make
31:25$60 billion.
31:28That's got to hurt.
31:29Can you imagine
31:32giving up your share
31:33of $600 billion company?
31:37Ron says this.
31:38Yet millions of people
31:39do something far worse
31:41every single day.
31:42They do this
31:43by selling their soul
31:44for whatever seems
31:45most important to them
31:46in the moment.
31:47Instead of looking
31:48at their life
31:49as an opportunity
31:50to make a long-term investment
31:51in the things
31:52that please God,
31:53they sell their soul
31:54for cheap thrills
31:55and instant satisfaction
31:57for pennies on the dollar.
31:59He says we do it
32:00all the time.
32:02We sell this life
32:03so short
32:04that God has given to us.
32:06He's ordained for us
32:07a well-lived life
32:08but we let things
32:09get in the way.
32:10Our misunderstanding
32:11of government,
32:12our desire
32:13to make more money
32:14and then not to be content
32:16with what we have.
32:18It just gets in our way.
32:21An on-one author wrote,
32:23the great purpose of life
32:24is to spend it
32:25on something
32:26that will outlast it.
32:28That's more than that.
32:29It's bigger than us.
32:33Solomon does not want us
32:34to ignore life's troubles
32:35by burying our head
32:36in the sand
32:37but to put them
32:38into perspective
32:39with God at the center.
32:41We don't just bury
32:42our head in the sand
32:42and say,
32:42oh, woe is me.
32:44No, God is at the center.
32:45He gives good gifts
32:46to his children.
32:50Having abundant wealth
32:51without the power
32:52to enjoy it
32:53is useless,
32:53Solomon says.
32:54No one can find
32:56enjoyment in life
32:57unless God gives him
32:58the ability to do so.
33:00It is a gift of God.
33:01God gives us this gift.
33:03How are we handling
33:04the gift that he has given us?
33:06It is a gift
33:06of the well-lived life.
33:08Are we letting hindrances
33:09get in the way
33:10of the well-lived life?
33:12Solomon says,
33:12don't do that.
33:14Don't do that.
33:15See, work is our calling
33:17and the reward for work
33:18done for the glory of God
33:19is our portion,
33:20is our inheritance,
33:21is our lot.
33:22It's our contentment.
33:24I work hard
33:25and whatever God gives me,
33:26he gives me.
33:26He knows what I need.
33:27I trust him.
33:31I'm often glad
33:32that I'm not super wealthy.
33:33I'm afraid
33:34I would abuse it too.
33:35In fact,
33:35the writer of Proverbs
33:36said this,
33:37two things I ask of you,
33:39deny them not to me
33:40before I die.
33:41Remove far from me
33:42falsehood and lying.
33:44Give me neither poverty
33:45nor riches.
33:46Feed me with the food
33:47that is needful for me.
33:48I'm content
33:49with what you give me
33:50lest I be full
33:52and deny you
33:53and say,
33:53who is the Lord?
33:54Or lest I be poor
33:55and steal
33:56and purvey the name
33:57of my God.
33:58Be content
33:58with what you have.
34:00Whatever state,
34:01and we're all
34:01at different states.
34:02We're all at different
34:03levels of income.
34:05Whatever state
34:06we are right now,
34:07be content.
34:08It may change,
34:09it may not change.
34:13The labor itself
34:14and the fruits of the labor
34:15are both gifts from God.
34:16In 1 Timothy,
34:17we read this,
34:17as for the rich
34:18in this present age,
34:19charge them not to be haughty
34:21nor to set their hopes
34:22on the uncertainty
34:23of riches,
34:24but on God.
34:25Make sure they have
34:25a God-centered life
34:26who richly provides us
34:28with everything to enjoy.
34:30And he can set us free
34:31from the slavery
34:32to the desire of wealth.
34:34He can set us free
34:35from that.
34:36Cecil Rhodes,
34:37the Rhodes Scholar,
34:38it was named after him,
34:40Rhodes Scholar,
34:42he said shortly
34:42before his death,
34:44I found much in Africa,
34:45diamonds, gold,
34:47and land are mine,
34:48but now I must leave
34:50them all behind.
34:51Not a thing I've gained
34:52can be taken with me.
34:54I have not sought
34:55eternal treasures,
34:56therefore I actually
34:57have nothing at all.
34:58I don't think he was a believer,
35:00not that I'm aware of,
35:01but at the end,
35:01he realized,
35:02I really have nothing.
35:04I'm leaving it all.
35:06What really is going to be
35:07my legacy when I go?
35:10Psalm 49 says this,
35:11Be not afraid
35:12when a man becomes rich,
35:13when the glory
35:14of his house increases,
35:16for when he dies,
35:17he will carry nothing away.
35:19His glory,
35:20that is his wealth,
35:21will not go down
35:22after him.
35:24You're not going
35:25to see this picture.
35:29It's not going to happen.
35:31You cannot take it with you.
35:34So how do we handle
35:35wealth now?
35:36Be content.
35:37If God has given you wealth,
35:39praise God.
35:39If God has given you poverty,
35:42praise God.
35:43God knows what we need,
35:45where we're at.
35:46You're not going
35:46to take it with you.
35:48It's not going to happen.
35:51The healthiest attitude
35:52is to take each day
35:53as it comes
35:54and to use it to serve
35:56and honor the Lord.
35:58So the third hindrance
35:59to a well-lived life
36:00is a life that's self-directed.
36:03In other words,
36:04I want my own way.
36:05I want to do it my way.
36:07I don't want to put God
36:07at the center
36:08and let God control my life.
36:09and be submissive to Him.
36:11I want to direct my own life.
36:13The answer is
36:14submission to the authority
36:15and sovereignty of God
36:16and to enjoy life
36:18as a gift from God.
36:21Alan McGinnis wrote,
36:22I used to keep thinking
36:24that I would be happy
36:24when I got one more degree
36:26or when I got a particular job
36:29or when I got financial security.
36:31But every time I reached a goal,
36:32I was so disappointed.
36:34The victory was so empty.
36:35Finally,
36:36finally,
36:38I realized
36:38that I will never hit
36:40some plateau of happiness
36:41in this world.
36:42In fact,
36:42I won't ever have a day
36:44of unmitigated happiness
36:45because happiness
36:46seems to come
36:47in bits and pieces.
36:49I never have a day,
36:50though,
36:51when God does not offer me
36:52moments of reward
36:54and fulfillment
36:55and happiness.
36:56And my task
36:57is to savor those
36:58as they come.
37:00Are we content?
37:01Are we content
37:02with the state
37:02that God has placed us in?
37:05Jonathan Swift
37:06in the 17th century
37:06said this,
37:07May you live
37:08all the days
37:09of your life.
37:11I want you to think
37:12about that for a second.
37:13May you live
37:15all the days
37:16of your life.
37:18Solomon wants us
37:18to live
37:19a well-lived life,
37:20which is a gift
37:21from God.
37:23And to make sure
37:23there are certain things
37:24don't get in the way
37:25of this,
37:25he has graciously
37:26given us this gift
37:27to enjoy,
37:29to live.
37:29but things
37:31get in the way.
37:32And Solomon said,
37:32don't let it happen.
37:34God wants you
37:34to live a well-lived life.
37:36He grants to us
37:37the concept
37:38of working hard
37:39and being content
37:40with where I'm at
37:41and understand
37:43that he is sovereign
37:44and he has
37:45my best interests
37:46and mine.
37:46Let's pray.
37:47Father,
37:47we thank you.
37:49I pray this morning
37:50it is so easy
37:51for us to get distracted.
37:54Like the
37:54King Lemuel
37:56wrote in Proverbs,
37:57he said,
37:57don't give me riches
37:58or don't give me poverty
37:59because riches
38:00he may be content
38:02in himself
38:02and deny you
38:04or if he's poor
38:04he may steal.
38:06Father,
38:06I just pray
38:07it is so tempting
38:09when we're in
38:11one of these states
38:12to disregard
38:13your sovereignty
38:14and forget
38:15that you are a father
38:16who cares.
38:16You love us
38:18and oh how you love us
38:20and you want
38:21our best interests
38:22and you know
38:23what is good
38:24and right for us.
38:25So whatever state
38:26we're in,
38:27we accept it
38:27as a gift
38:28from your hand.
38:30Whether we're wealthy,
38:31whether we're middle income,
38:33whether we're poor,
38:34we accept it
38:34as a state
38:35from your hand.
38:35When we work hard,
38:37whatever you give us,
38:38you give us
38:38and we're content
38:40because we want
38:42this well-lived life
38:43and we don't want
38:44anything to hinder it.
38:46We pray in Jesus' name.
38:47Amen.
Recommended
1:23:09
|
Up next
40:46
40:47
39:38
35:22
34:39
31:35
34:55
38:16
32:57
31:43
33:06
42:37
37:05
38:04
41:47
41:49
42:38
36:21
31:04
34:22
Be the first to comment