Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / The Vanity of Wealth(Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:9)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

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The Vanity of Wealth(Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:9)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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  Take your Bibles and open them to Ecclesiastes
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  chapter 5 Beginning in verse 8 And we're going
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  to take this through about chapter 6 verse 9
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  kind of a longer text today and Let me just by
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  way of introduction while you turn there just
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  Tell you something that you may know that at
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  times Ecclesiastes can be a challenging read
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  Especially as we get further into the book we
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  see times where it's difficult to discern What
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  is the section of scripture? How do things go
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  together? Ecclesiastes is going to start looking
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  a little bit like Proverbs and if you've ever
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  tried to discern the sections the pericopes of
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  Proverbs it can be a real challenge and the same
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  thing exists within Ecclesiastes But there's
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  also this that there are topics That Kohelet
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  which is the name for teacher or preacher we
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  believe to be Solomon there are things that he
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  addresses within this book that are challenging
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  for us to read and That's going to be true within
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  this text as well. But what is he doing? Solomon
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  is giving you his his honest Observations of
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  life under the Sun and he doesn't hold back right
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  And so when he addresses things that might make
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  us feel uncomfortable, know that these are the
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  things that he sees and they may be the things
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  that you see as well. And so we need God's wisdom
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  to help us understand these things. And so with
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  all of that out of the way now, let's go to the
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  text, Ecclesiastes chapter five, eight through
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  six, verse nine. If you see in a province the
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  oppression of the poor and the violation of justice
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  and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter.
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  For the high official is watched by a higher,
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  and there are yet higher ones over them. But
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  this is gained for a land in every way. A king
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  committed to cultivated fields. He who loves
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  money will not be satisfied with money. Nor he
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  who loves wealth with his income. This also is
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  vanity When goods increase they increase to eat
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  them and what advantage has their owner but to
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  see them with his eyes Sweet is the sleep of
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  a laborer Whether he eats little or much, but
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  the full stomach of the rich will not let him
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  sleep There is a grievous evil that I've seen
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  under the Sun riches were kept by their owner
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  to his hurt And those riches were lost in a bad
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  venture. And he is the father of a son, but is
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  nothing in his hand. And as he came from his
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  mother's womb, he shall go again naked as he
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  came, and shall take nothing for his toil that
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  he may carry away in his hand. This also is a
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  grievous evil. Just as he came, so shall he go.
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  And what gain is there to him who toils for the
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  wind? Moreover, All his days he eats in darkness,
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  in much vexation and sickness and anger. Behold,
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  what I have seen to be good and fitting is to
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  eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil
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  with which one toils under the sun the few days
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  of his life that God has given him, for this
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  is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given
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  wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them
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  and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil,
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  This is the gift of God, for he will not much
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  remember the days of his life, because God keeps
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  him occupied with joy in his heart. There is
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  an evil that I've seen under the sun, and it
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  lies heavy on mankind, a man to whom God gives
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  wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks
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  nothing of all that he desires, yet God does
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  not give him power to enjoy them. but a stranger
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  enjoys them. This is vanity. It is a grievous
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  evil. If a man fathers a hundred children and
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  lives many years, so that the days of his years
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  are many, but his soul is not satisfied with
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  life's good things, and he also has no burial,
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  I say that a stillborn child is better off than
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  he. For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness,
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  and in darkness its name is covered. Moreover,
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  It has not seen the sun or known anything, yet
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  it finds rest rather than he. Even though he
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  should live a thousand years twice over, yet
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  enjoy no good, do not all go to the one place?
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  All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his
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  appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage
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  has the wise man over the fool? And what does
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  the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself
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  before the living? Better is the sight of the
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  eyes than the wandering of the appetite This
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  also is vanity and a striving after wind He who
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  has ears let him hear and let us pray Blessed
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  Lord Who caused all of Holy Scripture to be written
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  for our learning grant that we may in such a
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  way learn and hear and mark and hide in our hearts
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  that we would inwardly digest your word. Father,
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  as we come upon this challenging text, Lord,
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  we ask that you would give us insight and encouragement
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  and point our way to the one who is making all
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  things new. We pray it in his name. Amen. Children.
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  Do any of you get up on Saturday mornings and
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  watch cartoons? I used to do that too. Saturday
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  mornings, parents are sleeping in a little bit.
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  Do you want to know the cartoon I used to watch
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  a lot as a kid? DuckTales. Do you remember DuckTales?
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  I'm not talking about the new one. I haven't
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  seen that. I can't endorse it. But the old DuckTales,
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  the one with Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Huey
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  Dewey and Louie. Do you remember what I'm talking
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  about? Yeah, it was a great cartoon. But you
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  know what I remember the most about the main
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  character Scrooge McDuck? He was really rich.
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  He had a lot of money. Matter of fact, the enduring
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  image that I have of Scrooge McDuck, and Scrooge
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  obviously comes from That old movie, that old
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  book, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. You
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  remember that one? Ebeneezer Scrooge. But Scrooge
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  in Duck Tales had so much money that he filled
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  up like a barn. He had like a silo filled with
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  gold coins. And you know what that character
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  used to love to do? He'd put on his bathing suit
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  and he would dive into the money and swim around.
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  That's how much he loved money. that he loved
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  to swim in it. Now the other thing that I remember
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  about that character is that he was rarely happy,
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  right? That unless Scrooge was playing in his
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  money or being handed a bag of gold, he always
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  looked miserable. And so children, here's what
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  I want you to hear today. Having a lot of money,
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  Having a new bicycle, having the newest electronic
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  device, maybe one day having this car that you've
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  always dreamed of, maybe one day the house or
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  the boat or whatever it is. These can be good
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  things, but they will not ultimately make you
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  satisfied. They will not ultimately make you
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  happy. We need more than these things. And so
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  the lesson is this. that are you finding satisfaction,
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  happiness, blessedness in Christ? It's in Christ
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  alone that you can truly be satisfied, right?
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  And so there's a few different ways that Solomon
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  shows this to us in this text here. Four ways
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  to be specific. One, the love of money is a bad
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  investment. Number two, the love of money is
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  a foolish investment. Three, the love of money
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  is a joyless investment. And four, the love of
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  money is a fleeting investment. And so that's
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  what we're looking at today. And ultimately we
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  must learn that in order to be satisfied, we
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  must know God through Christ. and then and only
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  then we'll be able to enjoy what he gives to
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  us. And so let's look at this first point. The
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  love of money is a bad investment, particularly
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  in verses eight through 11 there of chapter five.
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  He says in effect, don't be surprised, don't
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  be amazed at the oppression of the poor. And
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  don't be amazed that there is injustice in this
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  world. Don't be surprised that there's unrighteousness
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  in this world. And then as he proceeds in verse
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  10, don't be surprised that these things have
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  to do with money. Don't be surprised when you
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  see corruption or oppression and that it has
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  to do with money. Because what does it say? He
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  who loves money will not be satisfied with money.
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  Nor he who loves wealth with his income. This
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  also is vanity Right and so kind of what the
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  problem is here is misplaced trust What are you
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  trusting in? Are you trusting in your bank account?
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  Are you are you trusting in your 401k? Are you
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  trusting in your wealth? And as I say this is
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  kind of misplaced trust We should also acknowledge
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  here that what he's really getting at is the
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  love of money, right? The love of money is the
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  problem and you see this really really well Kind
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  of the go -to text for this is first Timothy
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  chapter 6 And I'll just read three verses of
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  this first Timothy 6 verses 7 through 10 And
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  this is one of the places that it would be good
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  to just have a marker in your Bible as you think
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  about wealth. It says, for we brought nothing
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  into the world and we cannot take anything out
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  of the world. But if we have food and clothing
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  with these, we will be content. But those who
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  desire to be rich fall into temptation, into
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  a snare. into many senseless and harmful desires
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  that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
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  For the love of money is a root of all kinds
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  of evil. It is through this craving that some
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  have wandered away from the faith and pierced
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  themselves with many pangs. Friends, the problem
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  is the love of money. You remember that Jesus
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  and Matthew 22 sums up the law and what does
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  he say to love there? he says to love God with
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  everything you've got and Then he says you are
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  to love your neighbor as yourself And so if you're
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  loving God with everything you've got and if
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  you are loving your neighbor You cannot possibly
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  be giving all of your devoted love to money and
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  so don't do it for you remember what Jesus says
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  In Matthew 6, the Sermon on the Mount, you cannot
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  serve two masters, can you? Friends, if money
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  is your God, then God is not. If money is your
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  God, then God is not. And it's at this point
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  that there's usually some objections that are
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  made. That those with money will say, Hey, it's
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  not wrong to have money. It's okay, matter of
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  fact. And that is true. But the other objection
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  might come from those who are doing without,
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  and they might say, you don't know what it's
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  like to do without. And both of those things
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  may be true, but if we're jumping to the... to
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  the objections too quickly. If we are seeking
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  to defend our wealth or to defend our poverty,
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  we are missing the point of this passage. We
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  are missing the point of this passage. I want
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  you to really take this in here. And the way
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  in which I want you to take it in is our second
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  point to see that the love of money is a foolish
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  investment. Look at verse I think it's about
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  verse 13 and 14. There's a grievous evil that
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  I've seen under the sun. Riches were kept by
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  their owner to his hurt, and those riches were
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  lost in a bad venture. This is talking then about
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  the mismanagement of money, about corruption,
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  about bad leaders, bad investors, skyrocketing
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  prices, all the things that we see that can happen
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  with money. I wonder if you remember this particularly
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  bad deal or maybe we should say lack of a deal.
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  Since I've already referenced my childhood and
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  watching cartoons, anybody remember going to
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  Blockbuster Video in the 90s and early 2000s?
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  Remember that? That's just what you did on Friday
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  nights as a young man, kid even. You look forward
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  to perusing the aisles. Finding a VHS tape that
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  you could take home and you could watch and just
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  there's so much nostalgia there Well, I wonder
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  if you remember this that in the early 2000s
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  I forget the year there was a small startup company
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  It was kind of small that approached blockbuster
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  video and said hey Would you buy our company
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  from us for the sum of 50 million dollars? Anybody
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  remember? what the company was that asked Blockbuster
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  to buy them? It was Netflix, right? In the heyday
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  of Blockbuster, there were 9 ,000 stores. Do
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  you know how many there are today? There's just
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  one. And it's more of a tourist attraction in
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  Oregon than a place that actually rents videos.
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  But just think about that. Netflix approached
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  them asking for $50 million. Blockbuster reportedly
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  laughed them out of the room. Today, Netflix
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  is worth about $360 billion, what might have
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  been for Blockbuster. And so all of this is showing
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  us here that yes, bad financial decisions can
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  lead to significant problems and ruin, right?
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  There's also this danger that the more that you
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  have the more you have to lose. And verse 12
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  kind of paints this picture of the more that
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  you have, the more that you might be constantly
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  worrying about it. The more that it might keep
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  you up at night worrying what's going to happen
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  with all of your wealth, bad business deals,
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  a stock market crash, corruption. Your wealth
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  can be gone as quickly as it came. And so what's
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  the answer then? Is it to cling tighter to our
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  wealth? Is it to have better financial advisors?
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  Is it to invest in AI? I'd love to know what
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  Solomon would think about artificial intelligence.
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  Knowledge begins with the fear of the Lord. But
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  is the answer to cling tighter to our wealth?
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  You know the answer to this. It's not to cling
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  tighter to our wealth. No. You remember what
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  Jesus said in Mark 8, what does it profit a man
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  to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
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  We are to cling tighter to the one who humbled
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  himself becoming obedient even to the point of
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  death on a cross. This should show us that we
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  need to cling to Christ for what Christ offers
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  to us will not go away. What Christ offers to
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  us is eternal. And so friends, don't put all
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  of your stock in stocks. Put it in the Lord Jesus
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  Christ. Why? Because of point three. Wealth does
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  not produce enjoyment. God does. To put all of
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  our effort and all of ourselves into money is
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  a joyless investment. And so look at verse 18.
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  Behold, What I have seen to be good and fitting
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  is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all
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  the toil with which one toils under the sun the
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  few days of his life that God has given him,
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  for this is his lot. We are to find enjoyment
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  in God and in what he gives us. God gives us
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  the wealth. God gives us the possessions. And
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  according to verse 19, he gives us the ability
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  to enjoy those things. But friends, the sad observation
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  from Solomon is here that there are people who
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  have everything and yet enjoy nothing. And just
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  in case you're wondering, can I trust Solomon
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  on this? Remember how wealthy Solomon was. For
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  those who are in the fellowship Sunday school
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  class, you'll know that. We just covered it.
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  Solomon was, during his time, perhaps the richest
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  man on the face of the earth, right? And so he's
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  saying, listen, I've been there. I've done that.
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  I've tried that. Wealth does not ultimately satisfy.
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  Whatever it is. Maybe it's the bursting bank
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  account. Maybe it's the house or houses. Maybe
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  it's the cars. You name it. But without the ability
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  to enjoy it, friends, what is the point? It's
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  like, imagine having the most savory meal laid
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  out before you, just your favorite food, but
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  not having the taste buds to taste it. Imagine
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  having the fastest car on the planet and not
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  having the open road. If you can't enjoy what
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  God gives, friends, what is the point? God gives
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  his children good gifts to enjoy the fruit of
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  their labor, but some are given wealth without
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  the ability to enjoy it, and the text says that
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  a stranger will enjoy it instead. And then he
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  gives us some illustrations. Look in verses three
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  through six of chapter six. Illustrations. He
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  talks about this man. who lives for a very long
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  time and has a hundred children, but yet he can't
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  enjoy it. His soul is not satisfied. And from
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  an ancient perspective, to have a quiver full
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  of children would be seen as incredible blessing,
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  right? But those 100 blessings for this man,
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  for this illustration, those blessings are not
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  enough for him because he lacks one more blessing,
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  the ability to enjoy it all. And so a life without
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  joy is under the sun compared in kind of a difficult
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  way compared to a stillborn child. Why would
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  why would Solomon speak in this way? Because
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  he's saying to us that a child who does not live.
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  A child who is elect, a child of believers perhaps,
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  this child has something that the rich man does
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  not have. Child has rest. Hear this from Zach
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  S. Wine who says, for all of his wealth, he possesses
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  no contentment. Restless and unfamiliar with
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  true joy, the wealthy neighbor is impoverished.
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  The stillborn child possesses the riches of rest
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  and provision with God that the wealthy neighbor
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  knows nothing of. And then the second illustration
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  is here, if a man lives a thousand years twice
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  and does not enjoy, what good were all of those
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  years? This is all getting to discontentment.
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  And friends, we only have so long to learn contentment.
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  Because just like point number two shows us that
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  wealth can go away, point number four shows us
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  that we go away, right? That to put all of our
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  stock in wealth is unwise because there will
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  be a day that we will not have it, not because
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  it goes away, but because we do. Wealth can be
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  a fleeting investment. Look at verse 15 of chapter
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  five, and I read that part again. As he came
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  from his mother's womb, he shall go again, naked
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  as he came and shall take nothing for his toil
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  that he may carry away in his hand. It's been
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  said by nearly everybody, right? You can't take
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  it with you. It's been said there are no pockets
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  in a shroud, right? He's showing us here that
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  we will all die. And so to put all of our investing
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  into money and not the Lord is unwise because
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  you can't take it with you. And as you get to
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  chapter six, verse six, maybe you see something
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  that might trip us up a little bit. It says at
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  the end of that verse, do not all go to the one
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  place. This is the point where I might say is
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  Solomon confused or is Solomon not understanding
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  heaven and hell friends? He's not talking about
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  heaven and hell here. He hasn't got there yet
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  He's making observations under the Sun and his
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  observation is this that yes, we will all die.
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  We will all perish He's pondering life under
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  the Sun and saying those who die alone unsatisfied
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  lacking joy. There is no advantage to that To
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  live in complete misery is the way of the fool.
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  God has given us this life in order to enjoy
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  his good gifts. And so are you enjoying what
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  God has given to you? Are you thankful for what
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  God has given to you? I would love to see some
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  heads nodding here, right? But also understand
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  this, Solomon's not talking about living your
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  best life. Sometimes we think that he is. Years
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  ago, I heard maybe the worst sermon that I have
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  ever heard. I heard a preacher at one time title
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  his sermon YOLO. Do you know what that means?
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  You only live once. He titled the sermon YOLO.
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  He'd read from the scriptures, closed the Bible,
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  and never proceeded to talk about Jesus whatsoever,
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  and just talked about living your best life.
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  Friends, that's not what Solomon is getting at
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  here. He is not urging you to live your best
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  life. He is urging you to see where true joy
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  is found. And friends, it's not found in your
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  wealth. It is found in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  And as you are in Christ, and I pray that all
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  of us are, we then recognize there are good things
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  we need to be doing with our wealth. We need
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  to be tithing to the church. We need to be supporting
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  mercy ministries. We need to be sending out missionaries
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  to go all over the world to send out the gospel.
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  Right. These are good ways to use our money,
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  helping the needy. Right. And using wealth for
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  a godly means means loosening our grip on wealth
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  because we realize and I hope that you do that
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  it was never yours in the first place. It was
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  never yours in the first place. And so, yes,
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  we should recognize from where it comes. We should
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  also use wisdom and knowing how to give. But
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  God has not given you wealth to hoard it. God
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  has not given you wealth to keep it all to yourself.
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  He's given it to you to take care of your family.
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  He's given it to you to bless others, to bless
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  Him. And He's given you wealth in order that
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  you would learn to trust Him. And so what are
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  you striving for? For whom are you striving?
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  Are you striving simply for yourself? Or are
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  you striving for God and his kingdom? As I begin
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  to conclude, I want to remind you of a story
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  from Scripture. You remember, I'm sure, because
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  we covered it recently, the story of Jesus feeding
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  the 5 ,000. And remember, feeding the 5 ,000
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  men, there were also women and children there,
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  so a whole host of people. Jesus feeds well the
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  next day after he does that the crowd that he
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  is fed made up of believers and unbelievers follow
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  Jesus and Jesus says to them truly truly I say
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  to you you are seeking me Not because you saw
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  signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves
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  Do not work for the food that perishes but for
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  the food that endures to eternal life. Friends,
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  money, stuff, the next great meal, these are
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  good things, but it all will pass. And so if
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  you are chasing after wealth and wealth alone,
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  you are chasing after the wind. To bow to wealth
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  is to worship that which cannot save you. cannot
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  provide eternity for you and may run dry before
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  you die. And so Jesus promises a better way to
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  bow not to money but to God. In Christ is where
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  true satisfaction is. Money like that good meal
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  might be good for a time, but without God you
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  will not have the ability to enjoy it and you
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  will be impoverished in the end. Instead, look
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  to the one who sought you out. Look to the one
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  who, speaking of joy, according to Hebrews 12,
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  he is the author and the perfecter of your faith,
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  who for the joy set before him endured the cross,
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  despising the shame, and is seated at the right
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  hand of God. Look to the one, speaking of satisfaction,
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  whose life and death satisfied divine justice.
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  Look to the one who atoned for your sins perfectly.
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  And knowing what Jesus has done for us, should
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  we not then pursue him with everything we've
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  got? Of course we should. And doesn't Jesus promise
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  us much better things than we could ever attain
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  in this fallen world? And so friends, remember
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  the introit from today's worship service. Seek
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  first his kingdom and his righteousness, and
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  all of these things will be added unto you. Let
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  us pray.