Remaining standing then, as we turn once again to Ecclesiastes chapter five, you'll notice that we've read from the gospels, from Paul, and now back to Ecclesiastes as we see the unity of the scripture in this matter of our possessions and money. Solomon is moving forward in the book of Ecclesiastes to come to grips with some of these answers to the questions which he has asked. And you see that here in this passage, as we look at Ecclesiastes 5, 10 to 20, this is the wisdom of God. He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income. This also is vanity. 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 unto the son. Riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is a father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. As he came from his mother's womb, he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take away 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 and much vexation and sickness and anger. Behold, what have I 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 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. Thus far, the reading of God's word. Please be seated. Turning over the worship page as usual, you'll notice that I have a lot of scripture references here because there's no way you're going to keep up with all of them or remember all of them toward the end of the message. So I put them down for you to refer to later. Meanwhile, listen, as we talk about this passage under the title, the money machine, let's pray. Lord, again, thank you for giving us life. Give us also godliness in Jesus name. Amen. Continue my custom of referring to popular wisdom through popular songs. This is another old one for you. This is from James Taylor. It's called The Money Machine. You probably don't remember it. Let me refresh your memory. When I was just a child, he says, my life was oh so simple. And the ways of the great world seemed strange and funny. Then when I was a young man, I learned of that machine. It turns out all those bales of precious money. And then he goes on. It takes a strong hit from the money machine. Sitting on top, on top of the world, strong hit from the money machine sitting on top of the world. Money, money, money, money, money. He goes on to say, a little bit tedious, that's the point. Similar to this idea of the vanity of our possessions, the vanity of this life as we continue to think that we would be delivered from our troubles if we just had enough money. And if Solomon had a chance to test that one out, he surely did. Solomon was very rich. It's difficult to comprehend or even to measure how rich he was. He had so many riches that gold was all that mattered, and silver was kind of like dirt in the streets. It was not very valuable at all, and it's difficult to comprehend how rich he might be. It might be said, as we've seen earlier, it was as if he had his own Disney World. He had all these possessions, all these buildings, all this wealth. It's difficult in these days of multi-trillion dollar debt to consider how much money is really worth. Let's think about, let's say, a million dollars. Suppose you were to say, well, I'm going to spend $1,000 a day and see how much fun I can have. If I can spend $1,000 a day, and I think you probably would be able to, I'm sure your mind is turning right now, oh, wouldn't that be great? It would be all that I would need. And so let's say you spend $1,000 a day. How long would that money last? About three years. Wow, that's a pretty long time. That must be a lot of money. Well, how about a billion dollars? That's nothing. A billion dollars here, a billion dollars there, as one man once said, and pretty soon we're going to get into some real money. Well, a billion dollars, you go and spend $1,000 a day, it will take you 3,000 years to spend it. And I don't think you can do that. This is the reality of the kind of wealth that Solomon had. He could throw money around. And as we've already seen, Solomon did a few tests in his life to see whether wealth made any difference. And as we come to the second part of Ecclesiastes, we find that he learned some lessons. Remember that at the beginning, there are questions. Toward the middle, the answers begin to come. The book looks a lot like the book of Proverbs, of which Solomon wrote many of those proverbs. And it's really reflective of returning to the wisdom of his youth, as he will later on tell us to remember our creator in the days of our youth. So he begins to think, what did I know once about possessions? What did I warn my son about? And now I'm older and not that much wiser until I remember my creator in the days of my age. The love of money, he points out here, is vanity. And we shall see that only the kingdom of Christ provides eternal riches. We've talked about many of these things that are vanity, right? We've talked about life, and wisdom, and pleasure, and work, and justice, and happiness, and worship. We talked about why work for what does not last. And this is pretty close to an answer to that particular question. He gives really the same conclusion back in chapter 2. Our vanity of work results in the vanity of anything we get from our work. As we see, some of these answers, as we've seen all along, come to fruition as Solomon now sobered by his experience, now says, in verse 10, he who loves money will not be satisfied with money. I want you to notice, too, that he is reflecting what the apostle Paul later says about the love of money. Notice that it does not say in the Bible, as often misquoted, money is the root of all evil. That's oversimplified. It's simply misquoted. It says the love of money, Paul says, is the root of all kinds of evil. And that, of course, is exactly right. And this is what he says here. It's not as though money is the problem. It's our hearts that are the problem. And he who loves money will not be satisfied with money. Let us begin to see that wealth is both addictive and unsatisfactory. You've all heard of John Rockefeller. It turns out he was probably a Christian. and a very wealthy man. He says, I've made many millions. And he says something similar to what Solomon says. They have brought me no happiness. I would barter them all for the days I sat on an office stool in Cleveland and counted myself rich on three dollars a week. If you could imagine that. But at the end of his life, he was broken in health. He had to be guarded in his life and he had to carry around an armed guard with him in case somebody would kidnap him or demand a ransom or try to take some of his money. His money ultimately did not bring him happiness as he reflects Solomon's opinion also. Now the second thing he says is that when goods increase they increase who eat them. Verse 11. They increase who eat them. Wealth attracts human leeches. You know what a leech is? If you go, I don't know, Amazon River, and you walk around for a while, you come out of the river, and on your legs are these really nasty, slimy things that are drinking your blood, and they're called leeches, and you've got to try to get those off, unless they give you infections or whatever else they might give you. Well, our money, if we have a lot of it, suddenly we have friends we didn't know we had. There you are, a long-lost relative. I didn't know that you were my third cousin once removed. Oh, yes, I am. I've come to show up because I need college expenses for my children. Why come to me, you ask? Well, you've got lots of money. Of course, Solomon supported an entire industry of those who depended upon him, and so he knew very well what he was talking about when he says, when goods increase, they increase who eat them. It used to be just you and your college apartment. And now you've got a family and children. If you have a lot of money, all your family suddenly shows up out of nowhere. Anybody who's rich knows this. John Jacob Astor left to his descendants $5 million. Seems a little bit slim, though he lived back in the 1920s, I think it was. But he was ill many times in his life, and he was beset by melancholy, a feeling that Is that all there is, my friend? And finally, this very wealthy man said, I am the most miserable man on earth. Strange, huh? You wanted to trade places with him, maybe? You think it would be wonderful to have been John Rockefeller? Wealth does not satisfy other people, depend upon it and upon us. Where is the happiness? we might say for ourselves. And then in verse 11 also it says, what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Now this is kind of an interesting way to put it. If you have enough stuff, there's not much you can do with it all except look at it. Famous Ebenezer Scrooge, right? Just piling up his money. And what did he have to do but count it? He just wanted to know how much he had. He couldn't spend it. He just delighted in it. And of course, as the story goes, Dickens tells the story, you know, how happy was Ebenezer Scrooge? He was pretty miserable. Notice he's just staring at his money or his possessions. Henry Ford was a famous automobile manufacturer. He said, I'm not so impressed with money. He says, work is the only pleasure I have now. It is only work that keeps me alive and makes life worth living. I was happier. when I was doing just a mechanic's job, which is kind of interesting. If you could just work on the assembly line or you could own the assembly line, which would you take? He says, I'd rather just work because all this money doesn't seem to do me a whole lot of good. The more you have, the less you need what you have, you might argue, and the less you're satisfied with what you have. My dad was one who studied economics in college, and he has Quoted to me many times this economic principle, and just hold your hats for just a minute for a long word or two. There's a law of decreasing marginal utility. I know you're kind of wavering, wondering what in the world you're talking about. Take it apart, decreasing marginal utility. What's utility? Usefulness. If you get one more thing, that isn't as valuable as the thing you already have if you already have one. I used to use the illustration for myself about needing a comb. I don't need a comb so much any longer. But when I needed a comb, I really needed a comb, and I would have paid a dollar maybe, let's say, for a comb. But suppose someone were to say, I'll give you another comb, and this one is also going to cost you a dollar, and you'd say, I don't think so, I already have a comb. I would probably use a spare, perhaps, and leave it in my drawer at home, but its utility is decreasing. The more I have, the less I need any one additional thing. I'll give you, I think, a more flamboyant example. Some of you may remember Jay Leno. He was the host at a night show for who knows how many years, and he got a lot of money. Now he doesn't have a tonight show. He has Jay Leno's garage. Jay Leno loves to collect cars. Oh, you should see it. This whole show about what car is he going to drive for the next hour. And what car is he going to chauffeur his friends around in tomorrow? And you think, well, how many cars can you actually use? I don't know if I've ever seen somebody drive more than one car at once. I don't think that works. You just drive one car. You have two cars, well, it's kind of fun to have two cars, kind of a spare, but it's technically not as valuable as the one you really need because you teenagers all know what it's like when you have your first car. Oh, I got wheels. I can go where I want. I can do what I want now. And then eventually you get a little older and you say, well, you know, one car is nice. Let me try another one. And you get another car and perhaps another car. You might get carried away and then you realize, what do I need with all these cars anyway? I once knew a guy who was into lawn service and whenever he went into Lowe's, he would look at a lawnmower and every time he went to Lowe's, he would come back with a new one. Hey, this is better than the one I had. But how many lawnmowers can you use? Decreasing usefulness, depending on how many you have, that's the economic principle, the law of decreasing marginal utility. Now you can remember that, right? After all, it's just only an addiction. We have a money machine that's cranking out all kinds of goods. We have manufacturers that are cranking out all kinds of cars and lawnmowers and what else? And what advantage is there? After a while, all you can do is look at them. And so you watch the show, Jay Leno, right? You say, wow, look at all those cars, and your eyes glaze over. There's only so much you can gain of pleasure, the more things that you have. And that's what he's saying in verse 11. Wealth does not give peace or rest, he says in verse 12. 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. Now you probably know that already. Remember those days we used to work really hard out in the field or the farm or the factory or at home or whatever it is and when you get to sleep, boy, that's a deep sleep. I used to mow lawns for eight hours a day when I was in college and I could pretty much eat what I want and sleep whenever I wanted because I was tired. I think I made about six dollars an hour or so. And yet it didn't really matter because I slept well. And this is what he's saying here. Sweet is the sleep of a laborer whether he eats little or much. On the other hand, the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep. You've heard of Vanderbilt, famous wealthy man who had $200 million. And he says $200 million is too great a load for my brain or back to bear. It's enough to kill anyone. There is no pleasure in it. Do you see the common theme? No matter how much you have, in a sense, the more you have, the worse it gets, the less you sleep, the more there is to worry about it. Andrew Carnegie, the multimillionaire, said, millionaires seldom smile, as if he knew what he were talking about. You're too weighed down by the weight of all that money, the full stomach of the rich, will not let him sleep. And then the love of wealth also causes a person to hoard things, even to the point of causing suffering to himself. Look at verse 13. There's a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun. Riches were kept by their owner to his hurt. Another quote from another famous man, Ben Franklin. Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one. That's what an idol does, right? You seek satisfaction in worshiping this thing, and it drains you. It causes you to have less peace, less joy. It doesn't seem to make any sense. If it satisfies one want, Franklin goes on to say, it doubles and triples the want another way. And he quotes the wise man saying, better is little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure and trouble therewith," signed Solomon, of course. The point is, this is something that wise men have learned over the years. Now, if it's one thing to say that having things is vanity, also losing things is vanity, and you see that in the second place, losing money is vanity. And this begins as a theme in verse 14. And those riches were lost in a bad venture. You'd think that if you were wealthy enough, you'd figure out how never to be poor again. You'd think if you had so much extra, then you'd never go hungry again. And yet, riches fly away. You remember the old picture of a wallet and a little dollar bill flying away? It leaves so quickly, you think, well, if I had a million or a billion dollars, those wouldn't fly away so easily. Well, think again. In 1923, there were tycoons, several tycoons, who controlled more wealth than there was in the entire United States Treasury. In 1950, 27 years later, let's see what happened to some of those tycoons. Charles Schwab, you've heard of him, the investment company, the president of the largest independence deal company. The last five years of his life, he borrowed money to live. and he died penniless. What happened to all that money? Well, lost in a bad venture is what Solomon says. The great wheat speculator, I've never heard of him, Arthur Cutton, died overseas insolvent, and we could go on. Many examples exist. All these people learned how to make money, but not one of them learned how to live in contentment under the providence of God. Wealth is certain to disappear. some time or other. If you manage to have wealth, I will use the term loosely, good luck, because it's not going to give you any satisfaction. And if you find any satisfaction in the wealth, you're not going to keep your wealth. And if you happen to keep your wealth, the entire time that you live, you'll die without anything anyway, rich or poor. And this is what he says in verse 15. As he came from his mother's womb, he shall go again naked as he came and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. Does that sound familiar? You took, you brought nothing into this world and you shall take nothing out of this world. Everything disappears at death and you might have been the wealthiest man that ever lived like Solomon, not a stitch, not a stitch at the end. So you're born naked. Those of you who have given birth recently have seen that personally. And the nurse catches your baby and gives your baby that first possession of his or her life, a little blanket. And so the first thing you get is a little blanket to wrap up your nakedness in. And then you begin to collect a bunch of other things. Young parents know sometimes babies have more stuff than you do. And then after a while, You have more stuff and more stuff, but then there comes a time when you have less stuff and less stuff and less stuff. My parents have hardly anything left. I took a carload of stuff the last time I saw them, and I don't know if they have enough to fill a minivan with their possessions right now. It's almost entirely gone. Well, they have satisfaction of the Lord. I'm thankful for that. what point was there in collecting it all if you give it all away or it's taken from you or you have nothing at the end, you come in naked, you go out naked, okay, so you're in a shroud or your final dress suit and you're laid in the coffin and you rot away and so do your clothes. You've got nothing left. It seems almost as if you were never there. Vanity, vanity, Solomon would want us to say. Have you come to despair yet? Have you given up yet? Or are you still clinging to your flashy little trinkets? There's a terrible teaching going around in Christian circles that's called the health and wealth gospel. It's still going around. And you know what it's all about. The preachers, who are typically very wealthy because the first thing they tell you to do is give a bunch of money to them, And then you will be wealthy the way I am. And it's a little bit like a pyramid scheme, I guess. Or something in which they say, well, you pray to God that you can be as wealthy as I am and we'll all be wealthy together. That sounds like a scam to me. It doesn't seem right. And it certainly is not what the Bible is talking about. And we'll see that soon enough. Health and wealth. Does God want you to be healthy and wealthy in this life? Not necessarily. Proverbs later on will say, give me just enough. If I have not enough, I might complain against God. If I have too much, I might forget about God. And either way, I'm bitter against God or I'm neglecting God. And what ought I to be doing? I ought to be worshiping God and living off of that which he gives me and being content with that. No wonder Paul says the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Our hearts are the problem. Now, I'm not saying It's not good to have some things and to enjoy what you have. We'll see that in just a minute. God does give us good gifts for a time. We're not saying that we should all become monks and give away our possessions. Jesus does say that to a rich young ruler just to test him, but typically we have enough and we're not told to give it all away. We're told to use it and give some away as Paul says to Timothy. The solution is right in front of us, and it's right in front of Solomon, interestingly enough. And we'll just briefly look at this third solution, the solution in wisdom, in which we find Solomon, Jesus, and Paul all agreeing. Behold, what have I seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil in which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him. Notice that here in this paragraph, verses 18 through 20, we have a repeated phrase. God has given him days. God has given him wealth. God has given him contentment. And God gives him joy. These are the things that God gives us. Notice they are not really directly connected with the possessions themselves. God has given us spiritual graces by which We can enjoy what we have, but not hold on to them too tightly. It's been said that a Christian ought to keep a hold upon what he has with a loose grip. Do you know what I mean by that? We sometimes say, easy come, easy go, and we don't mean that fatalistically. We mean that there are things that will come and there are things that will go, and we shouldn't be dependent upon them ultimately. That same John Rockefeller said it this way, the poorest man I know is the man who has nothing but money. And there is Scrooge again, you know, without love, without purpose in his life. Well, Solomon came to know that too. He says this in verses 16 and following. This is also a grievous evil, just as he came, so shall he go. And what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? And when he lives, he eats in darkness and in vexation, sickness and anger. Therefore, you need spiritual wisdom. spiritual gifts to be able to enjoy what God gives you. Notice, I do not think he's being an Epicurean. Translation, he's not living for what he has. But he does live with what he has. He takes what he has and he accepts them, notice, as a gift from God while he is under the sun. While he lives, he serves God. He thanks God. He pleases God. He works for God. This is exactly what Solomon is saying, and it is so similar to what Jesus said. Do not be anxious about your life. We read it in verse 25 of Matthew 6. I tell you, he refers to Solomon, even Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed like one of these flowers. We say, I'm not a flower. You're more important than a flower. So God will give you, well, something equivalent. He will clothe you in what you need. He clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow's thrown into the oven. Will he not much more clothe you? And then he says to us, Oh, you have little faith. That's our problem. Our problem is not a little money. Our problem is little faith. And that's what he says here. Therefore, do not be anxious. Do not worry. Oh, aren't you worried? Of course you are. You're worried about all kinds of stuff. What is going to happen tomorrow? What is going to happen after this election, whoever it is? What will our world be like? What will our country be like? Are we looking for a prosperous future? You're probably not. You're wondering how we're going to manage, who knows, with the state that the world is in, right? Do not be anxious, and this is to people who are living in the shadow of the Roman Empire, which was soon to persecute all kinds of believers, right? The Father in heaven knows you need these things. How then will you get them by seeking after them the way the Gentiles do? No, it says seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow. He also says a verse that I have to admit I once wondered about. It says sufficient for the day is its own trouble or each day has enough trouble of its own. That seems a bit meager. Sort of, doesn't it? I mean, you know, that doesn't seem that victorious of a Christian life. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Well, it's really a comfort. First, it says we will have trouble. Acknowledge that fact. Jesus knows it, and he tells us there will be trouble in this world, but only one day at a time. Haven't you fallen into bed some days and go, boy, I'm glad that day is over. That was a really testing day. And then you wake up the next day wondering what it's going to be like, and it's going to be different one way or another, better or worse, sufficient to the day is the trouble thereof. Trouble is real and true, and it comes throughout our lives. But the question is, what about heaven? Trouble is on earth, but Jesus Christ is raised from the dead in heaven. If all we have is this life, We are truly, of all men, most miserable, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15. If we're only on earth, we may as well follow the beer commercial, gather and grab all the gusto you can get, because you only go around once in life, so you may as well enjoy it. Grab it and take it and use it. The Bible says, well, if God gives you something, yes, give thanks to God. That's what he says here. God has given you wealth and possessions to enjoy. Even the catechism says our main purpose, our chief end, is to glorify God and to enjoy, hmm, well, Him forever. When we enjoy things that God has given us, we're really enjoying His gifts, and then we give thanks to Him. If we worship the things, we give thanks to ourselves, or we cling to those possessions unduly. Seek first for the eternal kingdom, Jesus is saying. Someday you will have no trouble at all. Christ comes to fulfill your desires and longings of our hearts. He alone has the wisdom of the kingdom. He alone experienced the nakedness of going into the tomb and the nakedness of exposure to the wrath of God in the equivalent of eternity so that we might be delivered from outer darkness. Therefore, the Lord gives us light and life and gladness one day at a time in this age And an eternal day at a time, a forever day, forever. We are all heading for that great day of glory because Christ has already entered into his rest, accomplished his work, and has inherited the riches of grace to give to us. We should be joyful in the Lord. Let not someone tell you that Calvinists are supposed to be grumpy, and dour and sour. We are supposed to be joyful, sober-minded, yes. We're not going to get carried away, but we are still going to praise God in this life for what we have. Well, I gave you all these verses so you can look them up later. I'll just pick out a few of them to show you the culmination of the wisdom of Christ in the Apostle Paul. Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation. It's exactly what Solomon says. As for those rich in this present age, tell them not to be haughty or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. That's almost a direct quote from this passage. It's really interesting. Those who have a lot, let them be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share. If you have a lot, it doesn't mean you use it all for yourself. You do need some of it, but then be rich and be ready, rather generous, and be ready to share. We have treasures on earth and in heaven. The heavenly treasures are what counts and they are what lasts. We do not need a prosperity gospel. We already have the prosperity we need in this life. I'd like 2 Corinthians 6 to pick out one more. We are, he says as apostles, through glory and dishonor, regarded as imposters, we are known yet regarded as unknown, dying yet we live on, beaten and not yet killed, making many rich, having nothing, and yet possessing everything. Think about that one for a few years, maybe for eternity. We are making many rich in the gospel. The prosperity gospel says we want to give you some money. The true gospel says we want to give you grace. We make many rich in grace and then the apostles have nothing as you know they have nothing as they died upon crosses themselves so often and yet they possessed everything. We through Christ's poverty become rich. We are different in many ways and we are rich in different ways. All of you are rich already right now no matter how much you have or do not have. because God is rich in mercy. God will supply every need of yours in Christ Jesus. In the ages to come, he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace toward you in Christ Jesus. To make known the riches of his glory and the riches for the Gentiles, he wonders, oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his ways. His knowledge passed finding out. The wealth that we have is not mere earthly wealth. Can you imagine that Paul meant Jesus Christ became poor so that you could have fancy cars? Christ became poor that we might become rich in his wonderful grace. And you think this means holding on to the trinkets of this world? The few flashy baubles you might hold on to is the most important thing that you own, maybe? And yet what is the most important thing you own? The riches of his grace. The glorious inheritance of the saints reserved in heaven for you. Here's a brief poem to end with. Money will buy. What will money buy and not buy? Money will buy a bed, but not sleep. Books, but not brains. Food, but not appetite. Finery, but not beauty. A house, but not a home. Medicine, but not health. Luxuries, but not culture. Amusement, but not happiness. A crucifix, but not a savior. A church pew, but not heaven. But we have heaven. We have glory. We have hope in this life and the next. So, simple applications. Stop worrying. Stop complaining. Start enjoying God and his riches of grace, his wisdom, through Christ. And then all these other things will be added unto you with contentment, shall we pray. Lord, we are delighted to hear the good news again, but we are chagrined to know that we have not heard it enough. We pray that you will continue to help us to hear your grace, to respond to it in love and in satisfaction in you, in Jesus' name. Amen.