Wealth and Honor Are Vapor | Ecclesiastes 5:8-20 | 07/12/26

All right. Well, for those of you who

don't know me, I'm Josh. I'm one of the

elders and pastors of this church. And

like I say every week, it's the great

gift and privilege of my life to get to

come here on Sunday mornings and open

God's word with you and convey what I

have received. Um this morning, we're

going to pick up where we left off in

the book of Ecclesiastes,

Old Testament book, Old Testament wisdom

book. For those of you who haven't been

here with us, um it's important to know

what this book is trying to do. The book

was written, the guy identifies himself

as Cohel, the king of Jerusalem. Most

people identify that with Solomon. And

Solomon has experienced everything that

life has to offer. And he's been running

a series of experiments. He's been

trying to answer the question, what

really matters?

Not just what matters. There's lots of

things that matter. He means he's asking

what really matters in an enduring way.

And the way the book begins is with the

conclusion that nothing nothing nothing

nothing really matters as far as he can

tell. All of it is uh and the

translations use different words but

it's the Hebrew word he missed just

beyond our grasp.

However, in light of this there are

things that do matter. Justice matters.

He said enjoying life matters. Last week

we saw that worshiping in truth in a way

that's uh honest matters.

But now he's going to go back to some of

these ultimate questions. You know, he's

like, "Does wealth really matter? If I

if I just get enough money, will I be at

peace?" He's like, "No, it doesn't

really matter." Well, what if I get

authority and influence and power over

things? What if as a king, I can

exercise dominion and have things the

way that I want? Is that going to

satisfy me ultimately? To which he said,

"No." But now he wants to come back and

examine the more modest claim. Okay,

maybe they don't ultimately matter, but

do they matter some?

Does it kind of matter?

A different and more simple way of

asking that is what can I do to make my

life better even if I can't make it

really matter? Maybe attaining power is

the answer. Maybe the right people

attaining power is the answer. Maybe

wealth and prosperity and success is the

answer. After all, having these things

is better than the opposite. Right?

Surely a good leader, however imperfect,

is desire to be desired more than a bad

leader? Surely a wealthy and successful

life is to be preferred over poverty,

right? Surely a higher wage and more

prestige is better than not having that.

Who would argue the opposite?

Well,

who in this room knows or remembers the

story of King Midas?

Anyone?

The great author Ovid in his book

Metamorphoses

describes this king, King Midas. And

King Midas, right place, right time,

shows kindness to the right stranger.

And one of the gods comes down and

basically offers to give him a, you

know, grant him one wish. Anything you

could possibly want.

And Midas being granted this request

says, "I want everything I touch to turn

to gold." He loved wealth. He wanted to

be rich. Let everything I touch turn to

gold. He believed that unlimited wealth

would answer the discontentment of his

heart.

And when the gift first comes, it seems

like the greatest blessing imaginable.

Everything he's touching is just

becoming mountains and mountains of

gold. He's watching himself physically

become the richest man who's ever lived

or will live.

And as he accumulates the gold in his

treasury at an unbelievable rate, he

finally goes to sit down to eat dinner

and the food turns to gold and the wine

turns to gold and he can't eat or drink

or consume anything. He's afraid to

touch anybody because everything that he

touches turns to gold.

Midas discovers.

So Midas there eventually becomes

tortured by the very gift he sought,

finding that it can't actually give him

what he was looking for. And he

discovered there an important truth that

our passage is going to talk about today

that having something is not the same

thing as being able to enjoy it.

Having something is not the same thing

as being able to enjoy it. Possession

does not equal pleasure. Power does not

equal peace. Getting what you ask for is

not the same thing as getting what you

want because what we truly want is

something that only God can give. So

that brings me to my main point from the

text today and it's this. Neither power

or wealth can satisfy.

Neither power or wealth can satisfy. So

look to God to empower your joy. Please

open your Bibles to Ecclesiastes chapter

Ecclesiastes 5 · chapter mention

5.

And let me just quickly remind us of the

context of the reading of our passage.

Cohelith has at this point in the book,

he he started the book looking at trying

to ask the question, what really

matters? And he ran a bunch of tests and

came to the conclusion none of this

stuff on earth really matters. It's it

would seem. But now he's been exploring,

well maybe if I can't detect what really

matters, maybe I can just discern what

does in fact matter. There are things

that matter. They just don't really

matter. And so for the last chapter and

a half, the question hasn't been whether

or not things are he, but whether one

thing is better than another. We saw a

few weeks ago that two were better than

one. A life with a close friend is

better than no friends at all. Better to

draw near to God in order to listen than

to offer the sacrifice of fools. Clearly

Solomon has established that some things

are better than other things, even if

they are not ultimate goods. And so now

he's going to bring that same question,

that same test to the matters of power

and wealth, governance and wealth. So

let's now humble our minds and open our

hearts. Ecclesiastes 5:es 8-20. Hear the

words of the living God.

If you see in a province the oppression

of the poor and the violation of justice

and righteousness, do not be amazed at

the matter. For the high official is

watched by a hire, and there are yet

higher ones over them. But this is gain

for a land in every way. A king

committed to cultivated fields. He who

loves money will not be satisfied with

money, nor he who loves wealth with his

income. This also is he. When goods

increase, they increase who eat them.

And what advantage has their owner but

to see them with his eyes? Sweet is the

sleep of a laborer, whether he eats

little or much. But the full stomach of

the rich will not let him sleep.

There is a grievous evil that I have

seen under the sun. Riches were kept by

their owner to their to his hurt, and

those riches were lost in a bad venture.

And he is father of a son, but he has

nothing in his hand. As he came from his

mother wombs, he shall go again. Naked

as he came, and he shall take nothing

for his toil that he may carry away in

his hand. This also is a grievous evil.

Just as he came, so shall he go. And

what gain is there to him who toils for

the wind?

Moreover, all his days he eats in

darkness, in much vexation, and sickness

and anger.

Behold,

what I have seen to be good and fitting

is to eat and drink and find enjoyment

in all the toil with which one toils

under the sun for the few days of his

life that God has given him. For this is

his lot. everyone also to whom God has

given wealth and possessions and power

to enjoy them and to accept his lot and

rejoice in his toil. This is the gift of

God for he will not much remember the

days of his life because God keeps him

occupied with joy in his heart. This is

the word of the Lord. God, would you

humble our hearts to receive these words

as truth that can change our souls in

Christ's name. Amen.

So, the title of my sermon today is the

power that really matters. The power

that really matters. My oldest son was

telling me this morning, I he always

sees my titles and I never tell you my

titles and I don't think my titles even

don't make it on the website, but I

spent a lot of time thinking about my

titles. Maybe I should tell you one of

these days.

The power that matters. We're going to

look at three things in this text. We're

going to look at the limitations of

power. We're going to look second at the

impetency of riches. And third, the

potency from God. The limitations of

power, the impotency of riches, and the

potency from God. So, let's talk about

the limitations of power first. Start.

Look down at verse eight.

The author starts by painting a portrait

of a government. If you see in a

province, in a city, in a region where

there is some sort of clearly delineated

ruler, some hierarchical structure of

authority placed over the people who

live there. If you look there and you

find three things, people taking

advantage of the poor, the rulers

violating justice, and the rulers living

in unrighteous ways, you should be

outraged.

Is that what it says?

He doesn't say get super mad. He says

when you see this, don't be surprised.

Now, I think it's important to think

about that for a minute.

in a rural place like Israel thousands

and thousands of years ago when everyone

found themselves in an agrarian society

and everyone had tons of incentive to

work together to care for each other to

you know they live with the ongoing

threat of just invaders and marauders

and people coming to take from them even

when people were dependent on their

neighbors and there were good kings for

long periods of time even in that

context

the wise Cohelith says governments just

inclined towards corruption

Don't be surprised when you see it.

Don't be amazed at the matter is the

word that the ESV uses. And he doesn't

say this like you're not supposed to do

anything about it or he doesn't say like

you have no other recourse and just

accept it. That's not the heart of this

at all. I think the point is, as we're

going to see in a moment, no matter who

is in charge,

no matter what kind of government you

set up, no matter how great the guy is

at the top, there's just always going to

be this gravitational tug within a

government towards corruption and

oppression and taking advantage of those

who can't stand up for themselves.

Don't kid yourself into thinking this

kind of thing if you just get the right

guy in office that this is going to

change everything.

Cohelith says governmental corruption is

so common when you see it don't be

surprised.

He says for the high official is watched

by a higher one and there are yet higher

ones over them.

When I first read that the first time

through with my super American eyes, I

was like, "Yeah, governmental oversight,

keeping watch and making sure like funny

business doesn't happen." And then I

started thinking more about what he's

actually saying.

Most scholars have pointed out that the

second half of this sentence is a

justification for the first half of the

sentence, implying that where you see

corruption in government, it's almost

always widespread.

If some people are able to enrich

themselves by manipulating the system,

there's almost always a wider net of

people involved, the people over them.

Coell says, ' Don't be amazed at this.

Now, why would we be amazed at that?

Think about it. Why would that surprise

you?

Probably because you don't expect it.

Probably because we might find it deeply

surprising and disturbing. Why would a

person be surprised by this? The answer

is almost certainly that you will find

it even when the king you believed in is

the one who begins to rule. That's why

you're surprised. You got what you

thought you wanted. And it turns out it

wasn't enough.

Even in ancient Israel, where there were

lots and lots of people who thought to

themselves, "If only we could get the

right king in power, then our problems

would go away. If only we could get the

bad guy out and the good guy in, then

there will no longer be oppression of

the poor and violations of justice.

And Solomon says that that just is not

the case.

At the same time, he is not completely

pessimistic or fatalistic about

government. He adds at the end in verse

9 that there is something better. There

is gain for a land in every way. In

verse 9, a king committed to cultivated

fields. a king who maybe he can't uproot

all the oppression and wickedness and

evil, but he is committed to the

fundamental concern of the people under

his care, namely that they're being fed.

He cares about that thing and he makes

it a priority in his government.

Even though he can't completely and

comprehensively uproot corruption in all

its form, that is fundamentally better

to have a person committed to

cultivating fields than a person who

isn't. It's good to grow up in a society

where there are rulers who are actually

devoted to addressing public needs and

trying to seek the good of the people

under their rule, even if imperfectly.

So, taking both parts of that sentence

together here, I think you see in verse

8, you went to some province where a guy

was in charge who you thought would be

really good and just as a ruler. And

when you went there, you found two

things. There was still officials taking

advantage of the system. And there was

also a king doing his best to try to

address the fundamental problems for the

good of his people.

That's what he found. So you add those

two things up and it produces one

critical lesson. Government is useful,

but government is not a savior.

Government has a purpose, but it is not

a perfect solution. It is always going

to be insufficient. It's always going to

incline toward corruption. There will

always be a perpetual and unending need

to keep careful watch over the people in

charge. And even when you do it as hard

as you possibly can, there's still going

to be people who are clever enough to

get away with stealing.

Now, this is not a comprehensive

political philosophy, okay? But there is

something helpful about this lesson.

Don't expect more from government than

God says it can give you. Does that make

sense?

Are there going to be good men and women

who come along who are actually trying

to solve basic problems for the sake of

our nation or our state or our city or

whatever? Of course there are. There are

going to be people who legitimately want

to do that. There are often good people

who run for office who care about those

things and you should vote according to

your conscience when you when they do.

But that being said, we should not look

at anyone and expect they're going to

usher us into heaven.

No one is going to deal with the problem

of sin in the human heart. It's just not

what government does. It's legislating

from the outside. Only Christ comes into

the inward part.

It will never purge the human heart of

sin and evil. So that's point one.

Authority or power is useful, but it has

its limits in terms of what it can

deliver by its very nature. So God's

saying, "The next time we get into a

national election, don't get swept up

into thinking either of these guys are

going to bring us to heaven on earth, no

matter how great they are."

Let's now transition from the

limitations of power to the impotency of

riches. Look down at verse 10.

He who loves money will not be satisfied

with money, nor he who loves wealth with

his income. This also is he

that says three wild things.

Really, really, really important things.

Thing one, money cannot

cannot satisfy you. Number two, no

income level will ever feel like it's

enough. And number three, looking to

wealth to make your life better is

grasping after wind. It's he

look at each of those briefly.

We already know, we've already been

told, we've already run the experiment

that wealth doesn't really matter. You

can't take it with you. It's not going

to last forever. It can get blah blah

blah. We know that. But does it matter?

Can it at least help your heart to be

satisfied with the brief years of your

passing life? Wealth in and of itself.

And Cohellet's answer here is no.

No.

Wealth by itself cannot give you

anything that will actually satisfy you.

Wealth by itself gives you something

like the king mightest touch. Look what

I have. But what you have is all you

get. Possessions. Possessing something

does not grant the ability to enjoy that

thing. Money wasn't meant to satisfy

you. This says in fact it cannot.

It might make enjoying other things

easier.

A fancy vacation to a tropical island

makes enjoying food and companionship

and bodily comfort easier in some ways,

but it can't take away the stress of

your life.

It can't heal the problems in your

relationships.

It can't make it easier for you to sleep

at night if you're living a life of

hurting people.

No amount of money can address those

problems. Money will not, this says,

satisfy you. Second, the person who

loves wealth will never be satisfied

with his income.

If you love, and again, this is talking

to the person who loves wealth. And

that's that's his way of saying the

purpose the person who sets their hope

on wealth, who thinks this is the thing.

If I just get enough of this, it's going

to satisfy me. He says, you're never

going to look at your paycheck

and go, "Yeah, that's enough. Finally,

I've reached the threshold of how much I

need to be okay."

If you're setting your hope on money,

you will never get to that point.

or to say that differently. These verses

are directed towards the person who Oh,

sorry, I already said that. So Solomon's

answer is no, it won't. No, it won't.

No, it won't. That's not what money is

designed to do. No matter what we tell

ourselves, money was not created to

satisfy. And money will never make you

feel as though you are ultimately

secure.

Listen to me.

We live in Silicon Valley.

We're surrounded by rich people. You

don't have to take my word for it. You

can just go ask them.

I've seen rich people stressed out of

their mind and I've seen rich people

perfectly at peace. I've seen poor

people stressed out of their mind and

poor people perfectly at peace. Do you

know what the lesson there is?

It's not money.

It's not money that gives that to you.

Peace.

And because these two things are the

case, because trying to use money to

make life better is he uh because trying

trying to use life makeleh sorry because

it can't satisfy you because it's never

enough. Trying to use it to actually

make life better is vapor. It's he

was not created for this purpose.

Now, Solomon's going to go on to

enumerate a bunch more reasons why we

should not think of wealth as the answer

to our problems. But before we go

through them, it's just worth noting to

ourselves

that

we tend to think as a society, I'm not

saying you, every individual in here,

but it just seems to me that we see a

problem in society and we think if we

just throw money at it, that'll fix it.

We just pour money, poor money, poor

money, poor money.

I have never met a person addicted to

drugs whose problem was fundamentally

that they just needed more money.

It sounds kind of silly and goofy to say

it like that, but it's important to hear

that and let it metriculate down into

how you perceive the world.

We as a Okay, don't make me regret

saying this, but we as a church don't

need more money.

I don't need money to do what I'm doing

right now. It's nice. It lets me focus

on it, but if I got fired tomorrow,

which God, don't fire me, okay?

It would do nothing to stop me from

doing what I [laughter] I'd have less

free time, be more trying to shoehorn it

into my schedule, work a full-time job,

and do this. But it doesn't cost. Do you

see what I'm saying? Money is a tool to

make things easier. It doesn't actually

give you anything in and of itself.

I walked away from my notes and now I

don't know where I am anymore. Okay.

It's just good to be clear-minded in how

we think about that. Back on track,

let's look at our text. Why are some

other reasons King Solomon looking to

wealth as the way to make life better is

foolish? Why is it he first? Verse 11.

When goods increase, those who eat them

increase. And what advantage has the

owner but to see them with his eyes?

When you hoard wealth and you get really

rich, you get more and more people

coming going like, "Can I have some of

your wealth?" I'll never forget there

was a guy who used to go to this church

named Jeff Glass. I don't know if who of

you remember him. Dan remembers him.

That was a long time ago. Kevin does. He

uh was the pilot for Larry Ellison,

who's the CEO of Oracle. And he shared

this thing one time with our former

pastor that he then in turn shared from

the pulpit. thought about it ever since.

Larry was telling this pilot, he was

like, "You know, when you meet a new

person, you see this someone wanting to

shake your hand and be your friend. When

I meet a new person, I see this

someone going, give to me."

He probably didn't know. He was sort of

subtly quoting scripture.

When goods increase, they increase who

eat them. When you hoard wealth, new

friends transform into people looking to

become dependent.

Second, hoarding wealth does no actual

good to you. What advantage do you have

other than to look at it? To open up

your bank account on your iPhone and

look at the number, stare at it, just

stares blankly back at you. Third, being

able to sleep with nothing is better

than being restless and anxious with a

full stomach. Verse 12 says, "Sweet is

the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats

little or much, but the full stomach of

the rich do not let him sleep." This

doesn't say why the rich guy can't

sleep. It doesn't say it's like

indigestion or something, but his

stomach won't let him sleep.

People have pointed out that anxiety and

fear may be the driver there. It's true.

The more you have, the more is required

of you to protect it. the easier it gets

to lose it, the harder it is to let

yourself forget about it and stop

thinking about it for a while. Fourth,

hoarding can lead to harming oneself. In

verse 13, he says there's this grievous

evil, this terrible thing that can

happen under the sun. Riches were kept

by their owner to their hurt.

You all know the story about Ebenezer

Scrooge, the guy who just was a miser

and could not figure out for the life of

them what all this money was for. Work,

work, work, safe, safe, safe, store,

store, store. And just he was miserable.

He hated himself and everybody else.

That is a grievous evil. This says

fifth, riches are hard to win and easy

to lose. Verse 14, through bad

investments. riches that says were lost

at a bad venture and the father ended up

with nothing to pass on to his son.

You know, I think about I I've I've said

it several times in this pulpit, but I

think about it all the time. When did

money ever say, "I will never leave you

or forsake you." It never promises us

that.

It sort of promises the opposite. I'm

going to leave. [laughter]

There's nothing you can do to keep me

forever no matter how hard you try.

Sixth, you can't take any of it with

you. They're ultimately he, but they're

also temporarily, temporally he. They're

like a mist that you can't really grasp

onto.

As this guy came from his mother's womb,

the text says he'll go again naked as he

came. He shall take nothing for his

toil. Nothing that he might carry away

in his hands. All of it's going to be

left behind.

Seventh, and finally, wealth and

influence together tend to isolate. They

create worry and stress and frustration.

verse 17. All his days, it says he eats

in darkness and much vexation and

sickness and anger. Those are all just

blanket statements about someone who's

relationally broken and whose soul is

sick and is frustrated with life.

This is the end of the person who treats

wealth as though it's going to be the

thing that makes your life better. You

end up like that.

Riches are a poor foundation.

They are a poor foundation to build upon

because they're so fickle, so prone to

cause problems, so easy to constantly

worry about, so easy to treat in a way

that leads to brokenness, and so easy to

keep from just flying away. Why would

you tell yourself, "If I just had enough

of this, then I'd be okay. Then life

would be better."

Wealth is impotent to make you happy. It

wasn't designed to satisfy. It's not

designed to make you feel as though you

have enough.

When you ask yourself the question, if I

could make my life better in one way

right now, if there's one thing I could

change about my life that I think would

generally improve my quality of life,

be honest with yourself.

Is there a part of your heart that

thinks money?

This book is like a cold bucket of ice

water to the face.

>> [laughter]

>> I've been saying it as we've gone

through, but it's for our good.

Cohelith says that's that ways lies

madness. And he says this from the

position of someone who's holding vast

amounts of wealth, who's holding vast

amounts of land, who has political

authority and sway where he lives in

Jerusalem. And he's applied his heart to

wisdom. And these are his conclusions.

Not only do they not really matter, they

also aren't the things that will

actually in and of themselves make your

life better.

And at this point, you might be thinking

to yourself, "Okay, Solomon, so you've

blown up the one of the fundamental

things we tell ourselves as a society.

What else do you have for us? Can you

give me something? How do I make life

better then?" Okay,

I'm glad you asked. The king says, let's

close by looking at the potency that

comes from God.

Behold, the king says, what I have seen

to be good and fitting, both good and

appropriate. What in what is good and

fitting is this, to eat and drink and

find enjoyment in all the toil of all

the work with which one toils under the

sun for the few days of his life that

God has given him for his lot. Okay.

Okay, so you're saying wealth and power

is not the answer. But then you seem to

it seem it's almost like he's saying

this stuff is the answer. Find enjoyment

in food and drink and work in the days

you've been given by God. Well, how do I

do that?

How do I do that, Solomon? How do I do

that and not end up just treating it

like I treated wealth?

Well, verse 19,

everyone also to whom God has given

wealth and possessions and the power to

enjoy them

and to accept his lot and rejoice in his

toil. This is the gift of God.

God gives us power to enjoy things.

Yes.

Verse 20. For the person who receives

this gift will not much remember the

days of his life because God kept him

occupied with joy in his heart.

The person who has been enabled by God

to enjoy his life and life's gifts isn't

fixated on certain past memories because

they're always enjoying the thing that

they're doing. God keeps him occupied

with joy in his heart. that that says

just before moving on from that it's

it's crazy to try to imagine a world

without any photographs.

None of you even the oldest among us are

not old enough to remember the world

without photographs.

We have this ability to I mean I don't

know if you've ever done this just like

scroll back all the way to the back of

your photo reel on your phone and just

like kind of wow it's like wow look at

my life there it is right before my

eyes.

It's pretty interesting. But imagine not

having that no ability to recall except

what you hold in your mind and what you

keep there and you constantly

contemplate.

For the person who receives this kind of

power from God, there's just this

constant influx of joy such that you

don't make a lot of those kinds of

memories.

If you are looking for joy in this

world, Solomon teaches us that you find

it only in the power that comes from

God.

God gives us power. He gives us potency

to enjoy these things. Solomon

understands that you can enjoy there are

ways to enjoy having money. You can

enjoy having possessions. You can enjoy

your work and your life circumstances

just not as ends in themselves. You can

learn to truly enjoy everything. You can

use everything to make your life better

when you've been granted the good and

fitting power that comes from God alone.

And so it's worth asking, what is that

power? How do we access it? How do we

encounter the ability to enjoy the world

by the power that God gives? And I think

that this passage gives us the answer

implicitly and the rest of scripture

gives us the answer explicitly.

First, what this teaches us implicitly,

you come into possession of this power

first and foremost,

first and foremost by repenting of

idolatry.

Repenting from idolatry.

You will never find this ability to

enjoy the world apart from God. Or to

say that differently, repentance means

forsaking all hope. in finding this kind

of satisfaction in created things in and

of themselves.

You know, it really dawned on me this

week and and I was talking to my wife

about it this morning just what

you know, one of the fundamental things

this book is doing, Ecclesiastes is

doing. It's not just trying to shock

you. It's trying to convince you to not

worship idols, to not set your hope on

things that can't really satisfy you.

The more you treat wealth as the way to

make your life better, the further away

you will get from ever enjoying your

wealth. The more you treat food or sex

or work as the thing in and of itself

that will make you like like your life

better, the more these things will crush

you, mind and body and soul.

The biblical word for treating things

like that is idolatry. treating a

created thing as though it were like a

god, as if it were capable of satisfying

the longings of your soul and saving you

from the brokenness of this world.

The first way we learn to access this

power is to stop looking for it in

places where God tells you it's never

ever going to be found.

The second way we learn to access this

power is by seeking it from God. If it

can only come from him and it's only

found in him, what other thing can we do

but lift up our gaze to the things of

heaven to look to God to ask God to give

us the ability to enjoy the world. And

the first thing that happens when you

start doing that is you realize all of

your hope is dependent on his grace. He

never promised to give any of this to

any of us. It doesn't promise us this.

If God gives it, it's a huge blessing.

But we have all this sin and all these

reasons we don't deserve to be given

this kind of blessing. What are we going

to do? Well, thank the Lord. He sent his

only begotten son into the world to die

for our sins and to reconcile us to him

so that we can live in a life of a

fatherly affection as a child goes to

his father seeking the good gifts that

he promises us in this world.

The third thing that happens once you

repent from idolatry and you seek God

for your joy is that you begin to learn

and realize that all the created things

on this earth are his and they were

created by him for him. And not only

that, they are all in all of their

sublime goodness only a mirror

reflecting back the light which is his

holy goodness and love.

It would be really strange if I fell in

love with a picture of my wife and not

my wife herself. You would think that

was weird.

So it is with falling in love with the

things of the world. They're just

pictures illuminating for us the heart

of their maker, the goodness of the

giver of the gift. That's all it was

ever meant to do was to lead us up to

him so that we might be satisfied in his

goodness.

It's by gazing upward into these

glorious realities that we can look back

down at the things of earth and simply

enjoy them for what they are. By knowing

God, we no longer look to created things

to save us, heal us, or satisfy us. We

just receive them as a gift of God's

grace.

How do we come into the power to enjoy

the things of earth? We come into the

power. We come into this power through

communion with God and through knowledge

of the truth.

And it's with these two things in mind

that so many New Testament commands

start making perfect sense. 1

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

Thessalonians chapter 5 16 through 18.

Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.

Give thanks in all circumstances because

this is the will of God for you in

Christ Jesus. Well, gosh, how do I

rejoice always? Well, I have God, the

true source of all joy, the creator of

every good and perfect gift that comes

down from above.

I have infinite resources with God to

draw upon, to take joy in because he has

loved us and sent his son to reconcile

us forever.

How do I pray at all times? Well, I just

I live in a constant awareness that he's

right here with me. That he loves me and

is doing good to me and interceding for

me at the right hand of the father. That

the whole triune God is together working

together for my salvation and for all of

our salvation. How could I not live in

the constant awareness of him? And how

do I give thanks in all circumstances?

Well,

you know, he's doing good in everything.

He's taking that which man means for

evil and using it for good. He's working

in all circumstances to strengthen me

and purify my faith and make me stronger

so I can serve the next person. All of

that he is using. He's working through

all of it. Even the bad stuff.

Can I just tell you from the bottom of

my heart as someone who lives in this

reality that this is true?

If you seek the Lord with all your heart

and try to know him, he will change the

way you look at the world. And when he

changes the way you look at the world as

all things created by him and for him so

that we might know him, you learn to re

relate to everything in a way that leads

to life,

in a way that leads to perpetual joy.

If you repent from all your idols and

look to God for God's sake, he will heal

your anxieties and the worries of your

heart, and he will fill you with joy and

the ability to enjoy all good things for

all the days of your life.

If you keep your mind stayed on God, he

will keep you in perfect peace. If you

keep seeking your foundation and hope in

heaven, God will keep you occupied with

joy in your heart, and you will come in

the end face to face with him with far

more hope about what comes next than

memories about what lays behind.

Brothers and sisters,

children of the most high God,

do not fear, for it's the Father's good

pleasure to give you the kingdom.

He wants to give this.

If you will just forsake the lesser

promises of the smaller gods.

If you forsake the lesser promises of

the smaller gods and lift up your eyes

to the God who loves you, you will find

power for joy that lasts forever.

Neither power nor wealth can satisfy. So

look to God to empower your joy. Let's

pray.