“Finding Contentment”
(based on the devotions of Selwyn Hughes: “Every Day Light”)
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Ecclesiastes 5:1-6:12
Introduction: One of the things people are searching for in life is “contentment.” People want to be content. They want to feel like their life is complete. They search for this contentment in many ways: money, relationships, possessions, status. Most people seek to have contentment in their lives through the things of the world. In Ecclesiastes, chapter 1, we saw how King Solomon had all of this: he had money, relationships, possessions, and status. Yet, in the midst of having everything he could have from the world, his conclusion was that it was all meaningless.
For those of us who don’t have it all, and will probably never have it all, we need to learn from Solomon’s wisdom. We need to believe that Solomon is telling it to us straight when he says that the things of this world cannot bring us contentment. This morning we look at chapters 5 & 6 of the book of Ecclesiastes, as we try to learn from Solomon about what brings us contentment.
I. Watch Your Step-(Ecclesiastes 5:1-20; Proverbs 10:19; Matt. 6:24)
a. Guard your steps- Solomon starts chapter 5 with a strong declaration,
saying: “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen…” There are many people who come to church with a far too casual approach. Church is somewhere to be, or something to do on a Sunday morning. Church is where I’m supposed to be as a believer, so I go.
The truth is, the way we go to the house of God is what will determine what we receive at God’s house. When we make our way to church, we need to be spiritually alert. When we come to church, we need to give our energy over to hearing what God has to say to us. When we come to church we need to expect that God will be there to encounter us, and challenge us, and guide us with wisdom.
How are you at listening when you come to church? I don’t mean just hearing the words that are said. I mean listening with your heart. Meaning, that what is said, and what is sung, and what is prayed begins to affect you and change you. Do you really let church change you each week?
EX. A number of years ago, at a Worship Committee meeting, it was suggested that during the time of communion we had the accompanist play music. Why? People were concerned that the silence would cause the congregation to get bored or lose interest. That is why we play music at the offering time as well. However, the silence should be welcomed, because there is too few times in our lives where we ever stop and really LISTEN to God. The noise crowds God out.
b. Stand in awe- The truth is, the more we talk, and the less we listen, the
more likely we will be to fall into sin. As Proverbs 10:19 tells us, “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” This is because when we talk a lot, we tend to say things we don’t mean, and make promises we cannot keep.
It is true that people will often try to make “deals” with God, especially in difficult or emotional times. Then when things calm down and are back to normal, the promise is conveniently forgotten. People like to rationalize it by saying that they didn’t really mean it, or they just got caught up in the moment. A vow made to God ought to be treated seriously. When we make a vow, we should not do it impulsively, but with careful consideration and much prayer.
Solomon’s advice on this is quite simple, as he tells us in 5:5-6, “It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. 6 Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, ‘My vow was a mistake.’ Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands?” We live in a day and age where commitments are not as important as they once were. It is nothing anymore for people to say they are going to do something, and then not follow through. OR, they volunteer and then after a short time decide they want to do something else.
As Solomon says in verse 7: “Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.” If we were in awe of God, we would understand that as Christians, our words reflect on God. When we speak without good intention, our words and our example becomes meaningless.
c. Money- In our society it is those who have money who tend to be the
most influential. The rich are usually the ones who make it more difficult for the poor. Because the rich tend to be the ones in politics, it is the rich who create great challenges in society by all the bureaucracy. Solomon is not a fan at all of bureaucracy.
Solomon wants us to see how the rich oppress the poor. Even more, Solomon wants us to understand that money is not the way to be satisfied. As he says in verse 10: “Whoever loves money, never has enough…” While having money is not a sin, the love of money that is. Even though your money may increase, your satisfaction in life will not increase.
Solomon is telling us that wealthy people find it difficult to sleep because they are worried about their investments. They find it difficult to trust others because they are afraid people will try to take their money. Or as someone once said: “More money, more worry; more worry, less sleep.”
More important than having a great amount of money is what we do with our money. This is called “stewardship.” If we surrender the money we have to God, then money can be seen as a ‘trust’—a trust that is owned by God. We are the trustees of this money that God has given to us. God is the owner. We then use this money we have been given with gratitude.
There is much more satisfaction in living in a way that makes a difference with our money!
d. Gold or God?- In verse 13-17 Solomon tells us of another ‘grievous’
evil that he has seen: “hoarded wealth,” or wealth that is lost by bad investments and bad choices. This is evil because the money is wasted instead of using it for the poor who need it, or for their children who could inherit it. Solomon wants us to understand that God is not happy when we misuse our money. This goes back to the fact that God is the owner of our money, and we are just the trustees.
There was a practice long ago where the ancients would put their wealth in their tombs alongside their bodies when they died. They did this thinking that they could keep their money with them in the afterlife. Oh how money can control us and overwhelm us. So many people choose gold over God. But remember Jesus’ very telling words to us in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” We cannot let money control our heart. We cannot let ourselves think that money will bring contentment.
e. Gladness- Solomon closes chapter 5 by challenging us to keep
ourselves occupied with gladness. In part it is a summary of the first five chapters, as he tells us to not believe in the thinking that happiness lies in the possession of material things. He tells us to keep ourselves from making money a priority. While it is needed, money shouldn’t be one of our priorities. Instead, Solomon tells us to find pleasure in the simple things of life.
Next, Solomon reminds us to find a way to enjoy our work. While work will not meet the deep needs of our souls, work is an important part of life, and therefore the more we enjoy it, the better off we will be in life. You can feel good about yourself after a good, long, hard day of work, knowing that you accomplished something with your life, and gave glory to God through your efforts.
Solomon closes the chapter with these words in verse 20: “They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.” This is a beautiful phrase from Solomon, as he tells us that the condition of our heart can be gladness. Nothing in this world can compare to a heart that is occupied with gladness.
II. The Source of Contentment- (Ecclesiastes 6:1-12)
a. What prevents us from finding contentment?- Seeing that Solomon
has gone on and on about how meaningless everything is, and how nothing in this world can bring us contentment, he now turns his attention to what prevents us from finding contentment.
Solomon talks about how God actually has designed it so that the things of this world don’t give us contentment. Why would God do this? Is God just an ogre who doesn’t want us to enjoy life? If you know God, then you know that this is in no way true. It isn’t about God keeping us from enjoying the things of this world, as much as it is the general design of our creation. God has created us so that we are to have a relationship with God. This is at the core of our being. God gives us the ability to derive pleasure from things and from other relationships, but the things themselves do not give the pleasure.
What I mean is that because all meaning comes from God, the pleasure we experience also comes from God. That is why God doesn’t want us to look to the things for contentment, but to God. If money gave us contentment, then why would we need God? If possessions gave us contentment, we would forget about God.
b. How our relationship with God fits in- This then takes us to
understanding how our relationship with God fits into the whole of life. Since God is our creator, there is a deep need for us to be connected to God, the source of life. This relationship with God is foundational. The reason why so many people feel lost in life is because they are disconnected from the source.
We have many relationships in life that include friends and family. These relationships are good, but they are not where our life is to be found. They help to make our life blessed, but they are not the source of life. Loving our neighbor is the second commandment, not the first. The first commandment is to love God with ‘all your heart, and soul, and mind, and strength.’ Solomon tells us that it is meaningless to treat our other relationships as the source of our lives.
Solomon then asks an interesting question in verse 6: “Even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?” Why would you want to live a thousand years on this earth. There is so much toil, and frustration, and heartache. God has designed for us a time on this earth, and then eternity with Him! Having that relationship with God puts this life into perspective, and prepares us for eternity.
c. Finding your identity- To find your identity is not easy to do. Some
are blessed by the fact that they can discover who they are early on in life. but many people struggle with this throughout their lifetime. As verse 7 says, “Everyone’s toil is for their mouth, yet their appetite is never satisfied.” Nothing brings satisfaction to a life where God is absent. You have heard of the term Type-A personality. Type-A personalities are the people who are obsessed with their work and they see the whole of their identity in their work. But we are in trouble if we can only feel good about ourselves based on our accomplishments.
In verse 7, the Hebrew word for ‘appetite’ is the word ‘nephesh,’ which can also be translated as soul. What Solomon is saying is that the soul can never be satisfied with anything less than God, and we cannot find our identity apart from God. If you don’t know God, it doesn’t matter if you are wise, or are a fool, you will end up in the same place.
If the soul could speak, it might say something like this: “I’m so hungry…so thirsty…why won’t someone give me what I really long for?” Maybe it is because people don’t know what they really long for—GOD. Too many Christians try to make their souls work with things rather than with God. When we get more satisfaction out of the things of this world than we do from God Himself, then we are in serious spiritual danger, and we will find that nothing will satisfy us.
d. Don’t argue with God- Let me read for you again Ecclesiastes 6:10,
“Whatever exists has already been named, and what humanity is has been known; no one can contend with someone who is stronger.”
Solomon is trying to help us understand something that we tend to forget: when it comes down to it, the issue is always God, not us. What do we make of God? How does He fit into our lives? Until we come up with the right answers to these questions, no matter what we have in our life, we will not be content!
Solomon is telling us that God is sovereign, and the sooner we recognize this and accept it, the better. Even though it can seem like God is not in control, God does have ultimate control. God’s overall plan will be achieved. God is bigger than we are, and wiser than we are, and more powerful than we are. As C. S. Lewis says in his book The Problem with Pain: “To argue with God is to argue with the very power that makes it possible to argue at all.”
How different life is when we come to grips with the fact that God is sovereign, and that we are His subjects. We need to understand that God is the Potter and we are the clay. God is consistent and we are inconsistent. Arguing against God’s divine purposes will only waste time and cause us more unrest. It is better to trust the Almighty since He already knows what He is doing.
e. Your destiny- If you think about your life, you are just a heartbeat
away from eternity. Now that may be a pessimistic way of looking at things, but life really is fragile. If God were to cause our hearts to stop beating, we would die. So why is it that we think we can go against the Almighty God? That would be as effective as trying to break up the Rock of Gibraltar with a peashooter. Life functions best when we accept the destiny God has for us.
What I am mentioning should be a simple matter of fact. Who God is, is truth. God is stronger and more reliable than anything we might put our trust in.
Solomon closes up the chapter with the message that we don’t know our future. Therefore, if we are wise, we will get to know the One who knows the future. Knowing God means we come in touch with the One who can really meet our soul’s deepest needs. Contentment does not lie in having a large bank balance, or status, or material possessions, or earthly success. Only God can give us the power to enjoy life.
Conclusion: If you were to analyze your life, what is it that you desire the most? This will tell you where you are trying to find contentment. It is best to be honest with yourself: Where does God fit in your life? Is God of first importance? Do you believe that God is the owner of your money and your possessions and that you are just a steward of them? You see, unless you give yourself over to God, and build a deep, meaningful relationship with God, you will forever struggle to be content with your life. You will forever struggle with the identity of who you really are. Your relationship with God really is the key. As Jesus told us in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Once you are right with God, seeking God first, God will give you contentment, and all the other things will fall into place. Thanks be to God! Amen.
(based on the devotions of Selwyn Hughes: “Every Day Light”)
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Ecclesiastes 5:1-6:12
Introduction: One of the things people are searching for in life is “contentment.” People want to be content. They want to feel like their life is complete. They search for this contentment in many ways: money, relationships, possessions, status. Most people seek to have contentment in their lives through the things of the world. In Ecclesiastes, chapter 1, we saw how King Solomon had all of this: he had money, relationships, possessions, and status. Yet, in the midst of having everything he could have from the world, his conclusion was that it was all meaningless.
For those of us who don’t have it all, and will probably never have it all, we need to learn from Solomon’s wisdom. We need to believe that Solomon is telling it to us straight when he says that the things of this world cannot bring us contentment. This morning we look at chapters 5 & 6 of the book of Ecclesiastes, as we try to learn from Solomon about what brings us contentment.
I. Watch Your Step-(Ecclesiastes 5:1-20; Proverbs 10:19; Matt. 6:24)
a. Guard your steps- Solomon starts chapter 5 with a strong declaration,
saying: “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen…” There are many people who come to church with a far too casual approach. Church is somewhere to be, or something to do on a Sunday morning. Church is where I’m supposed to be as a believer, so I go.
The truth is, the way we go to the house of God is what will determine what we receive at God’s house. When we make our way to church, we need to be spiritually alert. When we come to church, we need to give our energy over to hearing what God has to say to us. When we come to church we need to expect that God will be there to encounter us, and challenge us, and guide us with wisdom.
How are you at listening when you come to church? I don’t mean just hearing the words that are said. I mean listening with your heart. Meaning, that what is said, and what is sung, and what is prayed begins to affect you and change you. Do you really let church change you each week?
EX. A number of years ago, at a Worship Committee meeting, it was suggested that during the time of communion we had the accompanist play music. Why? People were concerned that the silence would cause the congregation to get bored or lose interest. That is why we play music at the offering time as well. However, the silence should be welcomed, because there is too few times in our lives where we ever stop and really LISTEN to God. The noise crowds God out.
b. Stand in awe- The truth is, the more we talk, and the less we listen, the
more likely we will be to fall into sin. As Proverbs 10:19 tells us, “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” This is because when we talk a lot, we tend to say things we don’t mean, and make promises we cannot keep.
It is true that people will often try to make “deals” with God, especially in difficult or emotional times. Then when things calm down and are back to normal, the promise is conveniently forgotten. People like to rationalize it by saying that they didn’t really mean it, or they just got caught up in the moment. A vow made to God ought to be treated seriously. When we make a vow, we should not do it impulsively, but with careful consideration and much prayer.
Solomon’s advice on this is quite simple, as he tells us in 5:5-6, “It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. 6 Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, ‘My vow was a mistake.’ Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands?” We live in a day and age where commitments are not as important as they once were. It is nothing anymore for people to say they are going to do something, and then not follow through. OR, they volunteer and then after a short time decide they want to do something else.
As Solomon says in verse 7: “Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.” If we were in awe of God, we would understand that as Christians, our words reflect on God. When we speak without good intention, our words and our example becomes meaningless.
c. Money- In our society it is those who have money who tend to be the
most influential. The rich are usually the ones who make it more difficult for the poor. Because the rich tend to be the ones in politics, it is the rich who create great challenges in society by all the bureaucracy. Solomon is not a fan at all of bureaucracy.
Solomon wants us to see how the rich oppress the poor. Even more, Solomon wants us to understand that money is not the way to be satisfied. As he says in verse 10: “Whoever loves money, never has enough…” While having money is not a sin, the love of money that is. Even though your money may increase, your satisfaction in life will not increase.
Solomon is telling us that wealthy people find it difficult to sleep because they are worried about their investments. They find it difficult to trust others because they are afraid people will try to take their money. Or as someone once said: “More money, more worry; more worry, less sleep.”
More important than having a great amount of money is what we do with our money. This is called “stewardship.” If we surrender the money we have to God, then money can be seen as a ‘trust’—a trust that is owned by God. We are the trustees of this money that God has given to us. God is the owner. We then use this money we have been given with gratitude.
There is much more satisfaction in living in a way that makes a difference with our money!
d. Gold or God?- In verse 13-17 Solomon tells us of another ‘grievous’
evil that he has seen: “hoarded wealth,” or wealth that is lost by bad investments and bad choices. This is evil because the money is wasted instead of using it for the poor who need it, or for their children who could inherit it. Solomon wants us to understand that God is not happy when we misuse our money. This goes back to the fact that God is the owner of our money, and we are just the trustees.
There was a practice long ago where the ancients would put their wealth in their tombs alongside their bodies when they died. They did this thinking that they could keep their money with them in the afterlife. Oh how money can control us and overwhelm us. So many people choose gold over God. But remember Jesus’ very telling words to us in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” We cannot let money control our heart. We cannot let ourselves think that money will bring contentment.
e. Gladness- Solomon closes chapter 5 by challenging us to keep
ourselves occupied with gladness. In part it is a summary of the first five chapters, as he tells us to not believe in the thinking that happiness lies in the possession of material things. He tells us to keep ourselves from making money a priority. While it is needed, money shouldn’t be one of our priorities. Instead, Solomon tells us to find pleasure in the simple things of life.
Next, Solomon reminds us to find a way to enjoy our work. While work will not meet the deep needs of our souls, work is an important part of life, and therefore the more we enjoy it, the better off we will be in life. You can feel good about yourself after a good, long, hard day of work, knowing that you accomplished something with your life, and gave glory to God through your efforts.
Solomon closes the chapter with these words in verse 20: “They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.” This is a beautiful phrase from Solomon, as he tells us that the condition of our heart can be gladness. Nothing in this world can compare to a heart that is occupied with gladness.
II. The Source of Contentment- (Ecclesiastes 6:1-12)
a. What prevents us from finding contentment?- Seeing that Solomon
has gone on and on about how meaningless everything is, and how nothing in this world can bring us contentment, he now turns his attention to what prevents us from finding contentment.
Solomon talks about how God actually has designed it so that the things of this world don’t give us contentment. Why would God do this? Is God just an ogre who doesn’t want us to enjoy life? If you know God, then you know that this is in no way true. It isn’t about God keeping us from enjoying the things of this world, as much as it is the general design of our creation. God has created us so that we are to have a relationship with God. This is at the core of our being. God gives us the ability to derive pleasure from things and from other relationships, but the things themselves do not give the pleasure.
What I mean is that because all meaning comes from God, the pleasure we experience also comes from God. That is why God doesn’t want us to look to the things for contentment, but to God. If money gave us contentment, then why would we need God? If possessions gave us contentment, we would forget about God.
b. How our relationship with God fits in- This then takes us to
understanding how our relationship with God fits into the whole of life. Since God is our creator, there is a deep need for us to be connected to God, the source of life. This relationship with God is foundational. The reason why so many people feel lost in life is because they are disconnected from the source.
We have many relationships in life that include friends and family. These relationships are good, but they are not where our life is to be found. They help to make our life blessed, but they are not the source of life. Loving our neighbor is the second commandment, not the first. The first commandment is to love God with ‘all your heart, and soul, and mind, and strength.’ Solomon tells us that it is meaningless to treat our other relationships as the source of our lives.
Solomon then asks an interesting question in verse 6: “Even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?” Why would you want to live a thousand years on this earth. There is so much toil, and frustration, and heartache. God has designed for us a time on this earth, and then eternity with Him! Having that relationship with God puts this life into perspective, and prepares us for eternity.
c. Finding your identity- To find your identity is not easy to do. Some
are blessed by the fact that they can discover who they are early on in life. but many people struggle with this throughout their lifetime. As verse 7 says, “Everyone’s toil is for their mouth, yet their appetite is never satisfied.” Nothing brings satisfaction to a life where God is absent. You have heard of the term Type-A personality. Type-A personalities are the people who are obsessed with their work and they see the whole of their identity in their work. But we are in trouble if we can only feel good about ourselves based on our accomplishments.
In verse 7, the Hebrew word for ‘appetite’ is the word ‘nephesh,’ which can also be translated as soul. What Solomon is saying is that the soul can never be satisfied with anything less than God, and we cannot find our identity apart from God. If you don’t know God, it doesn’t matter if you are wise, or are a fool, you will end up in the same place.
If the soul could speak, it might say something like this: “I’m so hungry…so thirsty…why won’t someone give me what I really long for?” Maybe it is because people don’t know what they really long for—GOD. Too many Christians try to make their souls work with things rather than with God. When we get more satisfaction out of the things of this world than we do from God Himself, then we are in serious spiritual danger, and we will find that nothing will satisfy us.
d. Don’t argue with God- Let me read for you again Ecclesiastes 6:10,
“Whatever exists has already been named, and what humanity is has been known; no one can contend with someone who is stronger.”
Solomon is trying to help us understand something that we tend to forget: when it comes down to it, the issue is always God, not us. What do we make of God? How does He fit into our lives? Until we come up with the right answers to these questions, no matter what we have in our life, we will not be content!
Solomon is telling us that God is sovereign, and the sooner we recognize this and accept it, the better. Even though it can seem like God is not in control, God does have ultimate control. God’s overall plan will be achieved. God is bigger than we are, and wiser than we are, and more powerful than we are. As C. S. Lewis says in his book The Problem with Pain: “To argue with God is to argue with the very power that makes it possible to argue at all.”
How different life is when we come to grips with the fact that God is sovereign, and that we are His subjects. We need to understand that God is the Potter and we are the clay. God is consistent and we are inconsistent. Arguing against God’s divine purposes will only waste time and cause us more unrest. It is better to trust the Almighty since He already knows what He is doing.
e. Your destiny- If you think about your life, you are just a heartbeat
away from eternity. Now that may be a pessimistic way of looking at things, but life really is fragile. If God were to cause our hearts to stop beating, we would die. So why is it that we think we can go against the Almighty God? That would be as effective as trying to break up the Rock of Gibraltar with a peashooter. Life functions best when we accept the destiny God has for us.
What I am mentioning should be a simple matter of fact. Who God is, is truth. God is stronger and more reliable than anything we might put our trust in.
Solomon closes up the chapter with the message that we don’t know our future. Therefore, if we are wise, we will get to know the One who knows the future. Knowing God means we come in touch with the One who can really meet our soul’s deepest needs. Contentment does not lie in having a large bank balance, or status, or material possessions, or earthly success. Only God can give us the power to enjoy life.
Conclusion: If you were to analyze your life, what is it that you desire the most? This will tell you where you are trying to find contentment. It is best to be honest with yourself: Where does God fit in your life? Is God of first importance? Do you believe that God is the owner of your money and your possessions and that you are just a steward of them? You see, unless you give yourself over to God, and build a deep, meaningful relationship with God, you will forever struggle to be content with your life. You will forever struggle with the identity of who you really are. Your relationship with God really is the key. As Jesus told us in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Once you are right with God, seeking God first, God will give you contentment, and all the other things will fall into place. Thanks be to God! Amen.
posted by Logan's Blog at 2:51 PM
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