Thanks for grace in time of sorrow. All right, Ecclesiastes. We're
going to read three verses in chapter five, which serves as
a text per se. Verse 18, you'll find, is pretty
much recorded the same four or five different times. throughout
Ecclesiastes. I'm going to read this in Ecclesiastes
5, and then I want you to turn to the book of Genesis. Ecclesiastes
5, look at verse 18. Behold, that which I have seen,
it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy
the good of all his labor that he taketh under the sun all the
days of his which God giveth him, for it is his portion. And every man also, to whom God
hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat
thereof, to take his portion, to rejoice in his labor, this
is the gift of God. For he shall not much remember
the days of his life, because God answereth him in the joy
of his heart." Genesis chapter one. Quite a different message tonight.
After having announced it, our crowd increased. But I'm glad you're here. I hope
you'll get a blessing from it. Genesis chapter one. Read several
verses with me. Genesis one, look at verse three
and four. And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.
God saw the light that it was good, verse 10. And God called the dry land earth,
and gathering together the waters called the seas. And God saw
that it was good, verse 11 and 12. And God said, Let the earth
bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, the fruit tree yielding
fruit, after his kind whose seed is in itself upon the earth. And it was so. Earth brought
forth grass and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the
tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind.
And God saw that it was good, verse 16 through 18. And God
gave these lights, one to rule over the day and over the night,
the sun and the moon, and to divide the light from the darkness.
And God saw that it was good. I'm sorry, it was verse eighteen. God made the sun and moon and
saw that it was good, verse twenty-one. And God created whales and every
living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth
abundantly after their kind, every winged fowl after his kind. God saw that it was good, verse
twenty-two. God blessed them, saying, Be
fruitful, multiply, fill the waters in the sea. Let the fowl
multiply in the earth. Verse twenty-five. God made the
beast of the earth after his kind, cattle after their kind,
everything that creepeth on the earth after his kind. God saw
that it was good. Verse twenty-seven and eight.
So God created man in his own image. In the image of God created
he him. Male and female created he them. And God blessed them. And God
said unto them, Be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth,
subdue it, have dominion over the fish of the sea, the fowl
of the air, every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Verse
31, And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it
was very good, very good, very good. I looked that word good up. You
think you know what good means? Well, I looked it up. It means
beautiful. It means sweet. It means pleasant.
It means pleasurable. Pleasant, pleasurable. Look at
chapter 2, verses 8 and 9. And the Lord God planted a garden
eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
Verse 9. And out of the ground made the
Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, good
for food. tree of life also in midst of
the garden, a tree of knowledge of good and evil. Verse fifteen,
Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to
dress it and keep it. All right, verse twenty-one and
following. The Lord God caused a deep sleep
to fall upon Adam, and he slept. He took one of his ribs and closed
up the flesh instead thereof, and the rib which the Lord God
had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto Adam. And
Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because
she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his
father and his mother, and shall cleave, conjugate, unto his wife. And they shall be one flesh,
and they were both naked." the man and his wife, and were not
at all ashamed. Now turn to 1 Timothy with me. 1 Timothy. Well, I quote to you
a verse of Scripture in Romans 14. If you want to jot this one
down, Romans 14, Paul says, I am persuaded, I know, he says, and
am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean
of itself. Where did Paul get that? Do you
remember when the Lord said, It's not that which goeth into
the mouth that defileth the mouth? That's where he got that. He
said, I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that there
is nothing unclean of itself or vow of itself. Now, in 1 Timothy, do you remember
Peter's vision in Acts chapter 10? That should be fresh on your
mind. Do you remember when the Lord
gave him a dream and all manner of animal, four-footed beasts,
creeping things and fowl and so forth? And the Lord said,
Rise, Peter, kill and eat. Do you remember Peter said, No,
Lord, I've never eaten anything. You remember the Lord's answer
to him? Peter, he said, What God hath
cleansed, that call not thou unclean. First Timothy four, fourteen.
Look at verse fourteen. First Timothy four, oh, verse four, I'm sorry. First
Timothy four, verse four. Well, let's read verse three
with it. That's got to go. There's some that forbid the
Mary command abstain from meats which God had created to be received
with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth for
every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused if
it be received with thanksgiving. Sanctified by the word of God.
And prayer. So all that the Lord God made
is good. It is pleasant. And it is in
some way profitable to man, right? Oh, he wouldn't have made it.
He never made anything vile, unprofitable of itself, right? Right? OK. Now God handed down laws down
through the years. The first five books of the Bible
contain various laws, sundry laws. Every law that God handed
down to his people have two meanings, all right? They have a primary
meaning and a secondary meaning. The primary meaning of God's
law, primary purpose was a spiritual one, right? And what Paul said,
Rick, the law is what? Spiritual. Primary meaning of
the law of God, every law of God had a spiritual meaning to
it, OK? They that are ignorant of that
are ignorant of the law, correct? Secondly, the law had a practical
purpose, a practical purpose. All right, let me give you two
examples, two examples, everyday things in our life that the Lord
handed down laws concerning, OK, food, food, various food. Number one, the Lord said, remember
when he said, when he was calling various animals clean or unclean?
He said the clean animals were those that parted the hoof and
chewed the cut. You remember that? Those were
the animals that God ordained to be clean unto his people,
the Israelites. Kosher food. And that has a primary
meaning, a spiritual meaning, the reason God gave that. This
is a type of God's people. who are clean and righteous in
his eyes. There's a world full of animals. Some are clean. Some are unclean
by type. There's a world of people. Some
are clean. Some are unclean. Those that
part the hook and chew the cud are a type of God's people who
are clean and righteous before Him, who part with their sin
And chew on the gospel. What Matthew Henry said they
part with their sin and chewing on the gospel or they repent
and they believe the gospel. They repent and believe or. Thomas
Manton, I believe, was said that they rightly divide the word
of truth. And and believe it in their heart,
live upon it, chew upon it, feast on it, part the hoof to the cut. It's a type, a spiritual type,
it's the reason God gave it, all right? The primary meaning,
the primary meaning behind that law God gave concerning animals. Secondly, the secondary meaning
of that law that God handed down was a practical one, all right? The clean animals, those that
parted the hoof and chewed the cud, anybody that ever raised
cattle, you'll know this, cattle primarily, are animals that are
suitable to be eaten by man there's more suitable because of their
grazing characteristics because of their eating characteristics
and so forth whereas other animals chickens pigs will eat anything
right wild animals will eat anything cattle eat grass you can't force
them to eat garbage you can't do it right. Cowboy sword. Right, so God had a practical
meaning behind that. These animals, these clean animals,
were more suitable to eat because of their characteristics and
so forth. The unclean, the unclean, and
plus, I told you before, because we had, men had poor means of
food preparation and storage, of storing food and so forth,
the various different kinds, were unclean, were unsuitable.
All right? All right, that's food. God gave those two in a
primary and secondary meaning. Does that make sense to you?
All right, now let me give an example of one physical pleasure. Obviously, we can go into a lot
of things here. Physical pleasures, fleshly pleasures, and one thing
that our country, that most people are consumed with, it's always
seemed to be on the mind, so I'll deal with it. pleasure sexual
intercourse. OK. And automatically everybody when
I mention it. Why why why wouldn't we do that. You know say. God almighty made it. God almighty ordained it just
make you uncomfortable. It's a sin in us. reason we can't
talk about things like that, right? God Almighty created this
thing, this form of physical pleasure, and like I said, it
would deal with a lot of things. It won't deal with this, because
this is just what people are consumed with. A primary meaning
behind it. Why did God create that? It has
a spiritual purpose. The primary Purpose behind that
it's a tight one of the most glorious types of the union of
Christ and a believer to be seen anywhere in the group a Type
of the Lord God implanting his seed He be in the male we be
in the female he be in the bridegroom We be in the bride and he comes
to us. We fall in love We're joined
to him He implants his seed the incorruptible seed of his word
and it goes down in to us and our hearts and brings forth life,
newness of life. What could be a clearer picture
of regeneration? The new birth. That's what he
calls it, the new birth. And he's the husband who he makes
love to his wife, the bride. Nothing unclean in that at all.
That primary has a spiritual purpose, all right? There's a
practical purpose. To procreate, to multiply the
earth, right? And God made it pleasurable,
didn't it? Aren't you glad? Why did God make it pleasurable?
Because nobody would do it. Right? We laugh, but that's just
so. I'm not being silly. I'm not being cute or clever.
I'm just saying God made it very pleasurable, very enjoyable,
so people would do it. So Adam and Eve would do it.
Right? Adam and Eve had everything that their bodies could desire
in the garden. Right? And he made this an ultimate
pleasure. Is anything wrong with that?
Huh? Come on, smile now, you bunch
of prudes. Don't you dare call it unclean. It has a practical purpose. Now,
there's a clean way to do this and there's an unclean way. God said the clean way is between
two married people. Two married people, two become
one. Marriage, one man, one woman. What's that a type of? That's
the type of Christ and his bride, isn't it? We have eyes only for
him. One Lord, one husband. That's the clean way. There's
an unclean. Unclean. God says outside of
marriage, it's unclean. It's forbidden. And that is, there's also a spiritual
type in that, spiritual fornication. People go after other things,
go a-whoring, he called it. All through the scripture he
called it, people go a-whoring after other gods when they ought
to make love to me only. Right? Spiritual means. But practically, between unmarrieds,
disease becomes rampant. Right? It's killing off Africa. May kill off his country for
it's all over with. Love is missing. No commitment. Illegitimate children are spawned.
All manner of iniquity comes from it, right? Did the Lord
know what he was doing? There's clean and unclean in
it. All right. Now, are you in Ecclesiastes? Turn to Ecclesiastes. Down through the years. Down
through the years, man has so twisted the word of God the truth
of God because he's so ignorant of it. Man going about to establish
his own righteousness. Being full of self-righteousness. Misunderstanding misapplying
the law. In such a way that he has set
up the law as a standard to be accepted by God. Man has set
up the law to be a standard to be accepted, to reach and be
accepted by God. It was never meant as a standard
of acceptance before God. The Scripture says the law came
because of the transgression. That sin might appear to be sin,
right? It came to show us what sin was,
to drive us to cry. It also came to be somewhat of
a restraint upon sin. But the law, didn't Paul say,
the law is not made for a righteous man? Right, but for whoremongers
and adulterers and so forth. The righteous man has it written
in his heart. Well, man has created a merit
system by this law, and our Lord said in Mark 7, they frustrate
the commandment of God, frustrate the law of God to keep their
own traditions. They don't rightly understand
the law, so they interpret it for their own purposes, and then
they add their own rules to it, don't they? They interpret it
to mean what they think it means, and then they add some things
to it. So man, down through the years,
has denounced just about everything as sinful and forbidden. Isn't that what the Pharisees
did? And it's just gotten worse over the years. They've denounced
everything as just about as being sinful and forbidden, even well-meaning
people. Let's take the Puritans, for
example. Nobody in here has, well, nobody in here loves the
old Puritan writers any more than I do. As you see my library,
I still have their books all over my shelf. The old Puritans,
well-meaning as they were, they and many others have bound heavy
burdens on the people, standards upon people that God himself
does not require or expect of his people. In short, they have believed,
and this is commonly believed down through the years, because
man is flesh and God is spirit, they have pronounced everything
that has to do with the flesh as unclean. Right? Anything having to do with the
flesh is unclean. And the way to be more spiritual
is what? Totally renounce the flesh. Right? Renounce all fleshly pleasures
and enjoyment. That's asceticism, that's mysticism,
that's Hinduism, that's Buddhism, that's not Christianity, that's
not the truth of God's word, that's not what God says in his
word. When he talks about mortifying the members, Rick, he's not talking
about renouncing the flesh, he's talking about killing the desires
and the fleshly tendencies. He's talking about killing those
evil propensities that lie within us. Jesus Christ was a man. How do
I know that's true, what I just said? God became flesh. Huh? Is flesh sin? God became a man. All right? He had a body. He
ate, he drank. And much to the chagrin, is that
the word? of the anger and the wrath of
those teetotaling Pharisees. You know, he drank wine. Horrors. Liquor touched his lips, and
they called him a wino. He ate. It went to a feast of
all people, publicans and sinners, and ate big meal. He wasn't gluttonous now. They
said he was, just because he got got full at the table. He
wasn't gluttonous, though. They called him a glutton and
a wine-digger. Well, John came and he didn't do either one of
those, eating wild locusts and honey, and liquor didn't touch
his liver. They said, he's a devil, he's
full of a devil. Wisdom is justified of our children. Christ had a
body. He ate, he drank, anything and
everything, and with publicans and sinners. Doctors in law. He didn't marry. He didn't marry. But he came looking for his bride.
He's going to get married. Yeah, he is. He's going to get
married and he's going to consummate that union and there's going
to be an ecstasy like you've never had before. I'm not being. familiar here, I'm telling you
the way it is. When we are finally joined with
Christ in that spiritual and fleshly union, it's going to
be ecstasy that we've never had before. So what about this life? Well,
God came down and he sanctioned it, didn't he? He said it's OK. It's OK to use it. Huh? There's nothing evil about this
life. Huh? This planet, this world, the
things in it. I asked this question before. Can we use it? How are
we to use it? Can we enjoy it? Are we to enjoy
it? Look at Ecclesiastes 1. Look
at verse 1 with me. Ecclesiastes 1. Ecclesiastes 1. Let's read some
of this now. I'm going to read all of it.
Don't panic. Ecclesiastes 1. Can we use it? Are we to use it? Can we enjoy
it? Those questions are almost too ridiculous to answer, aren't
they? Well, we need to because this
judgment's gone way backward. And what he said in Isaiah 59,
man is just so ignorant. He's so confused. He doesn't
know what he can or can't use or if he's supposed to laugh
or cry or what. Ecclesiastes 1 verses 1 and 2,
the words of the preacher. Well, look at there, you've got
a capital P with preacher and a small k with king. The preacher, who happened to
be the king, that lends dignity to this office, doesn't it? The
preacher, the words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem,
vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, vanity of vanities,
All is vanity, and he says the same exact words in chapter 12,
verse 8. Vanity of vanities. Vanity of
vanities. All is vanity. Now, I sat down
and this preacher preached to me when I read this. And I realized
how much, how ignorant I am. Just how much I have to learn.
So much to learn. I used to misquote this verse.
Anybody else used to misquote? and say, all flesh is vanity.
I did. I used to say that. Got it all
mixed up. All flesh, vanity, vanity, all
flesh is vanity. Doesn't say that anywhere in
the Word of God. It doesn't say that. Vanity of vanity. And I used
to improperly define vanity. You know, Isaiah 45, 18, God
formed the earth and established it He created it not in vain. That's what he said. Isaiah 45,
18. God formed the earth. He established it. He created
it not in vain. I used to improperly define vanity. I used to define it this way.
Maybe you do even still. Useless. Worthless. I've said
it from the pulpit. That's not what it means. That
is not what it means. God never created anything in
vain. Worthless. Have we established
that fact? God said, don't you call anything
worthless I've created. Didn't he? Vanity. Vanity. God never created anything useless
or worthless. Everything he made, he said it's
good. It's good. Vanity, throughout the whole
book of Ecclesiastes, has the same meaning. Got your strongs?
Look it up. Don't take my word for it. Go home and see if these
things are so. Throughout Ecclesiastes, vanity means emptiness, transitory. Transitory means change, changes. It doesn't stay the same. Unsatisfactory. Now let's look at not simple
not worthless not of no value but of no real substance in. It won't last transit or it won't
fill you up. It's unsatisfactory doesn't satisfy. OK now let's look at it we don't
first three. What profit hath the man of all
his labor which he taketh unto the sun? What profit, what real
lasting substance of gain, true gain or fulfillment is there
in this life? It's temporal, you get a little
bit of it. It's temporal. It's not worthless. Is work worthless? No, it's not
worthless. God ordained it. What did he
do to Adam? He put Adam to work in the garden.
Not worthless, but there's no lasting fulfillment in it. Verse
4 through 8. One generation, and he goes on
to talk about various things. One generation passed away, another
generation comes. The earth abided forever. Sun
rises, sun goes down. It hastens to its place where
it arose. Wind, wind blows hard, goes toward the south, turns
about to the north, whirls about continually. The wind returns
again according to its All the rivers, boy, the rushing rapid
whitewater rivers running in the sea, the sea's not full.
Boy, they work hard, don't those rivers, running in the, let's
fill this ocean up. Come on, boys. All the rivers,
let's fill it up. It's not full, you can't fill
it. It won't overflow its boundaries, keep evaporating. Then they return
again, verse eight, all things are full of labor. And we can't
even go have time to talk about it. Man can't utter it. Eyes
not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
Verse thirteen, the preacher says, verse twelve, I, the preacher,
was king over Israel and Jerusalem. I gave my heart to seek and search
out my wisdom concerning all these things that are done under
heaven. This is a sore travail God has given to the sons of
men to be exercised their will. I have seen all the works that
are done under the sun, and behold, all is emptied. transitory, it
won't satisfy. And vexation of spirit, what
does that mean? It's troublesome to those who
are trying to find some satisfaction in it. It's troublesome to those
who latch on to it only to find it slip away. It's troublesome to those who
are trying to be fulfilled with it and can't be fulfilled, can't
get enough to fill them. The water of this world, they
keep getting thirsty. vexation of spirit. It's the
reason a man has a million dollars. It won't satisfy him. He's got
to have two. An athlete, you know, he's got to renegotiate
his contract. He's only making a mere forty million. He wants
fifty. I'll prove thee with mirth, therefore
enjoy pleasure. Behold, this is also empty, it's
transitory, it's unsatisfactory, it won't fill yet." Verse 3,
he said, Well, I sought in my heart to give myself unto wine.
He became a wine connoisseur. Wine connoisseur, verse 4, through
seven made me great works of building me houses. I plan to
be venue. I made me became a garden gardener became a farmer. He
planted maters and taters and beans and Kentucky Wonders and
what is it? What's can you like my casual? I like to take one and made me
garden. I made me pool. Got me a swimming
pool. Water there. The wood doesn't bring it forth.
The tree got me servants and made servant had service born
in my head. Great possession of great and
small. cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me.
Is he denouncing this as sinful and evil? No, he's not. Verse 8, I gathered
me also silver and gold, and that peculiar tree became an
art collector. Treasures of kings and of providence. I got me men
singers. I got me a little band going, a little bluegrass band.
Bought me the finest instrument money could buy. Bought me a
Martin D. 2045, whatever. $1,000,000 for it. Traveled sea and land
to find it, and found it finally, and played that thing. Musical
instruments of all sorts, all sorts. Verse 11, Then I looked
on all the works of my hands, my hands that wrought, and the
labor that I had labor to do, and looked around, and now I'll
be happy. I don't know, I'm still empty. It doesn't, it's, in that old
guitar got stolen, somebody's drunk sat on it, and his maters
wilted, got mildewed, his trees didn't bear, his frost didn't
kill his pears, just didn't satisfy, none of it satisfied him. All right, verse 12, he said,
well, I'm going to quit the farming and I'll become a psychologist.
I'll become a intellect, I'll get me a desk job. Verse 12,
turn myself to behold wisdom and madness and folly, and all
these things. Okay, I'm a sociologist, psychologist,
and he says, now wisdom, now I'm not, he says verse 13, I
saw that wisdom excelleth folly as far as life. It's good that
a man be wise and not be a fool. Good to be wise. Don't be over-wise
in many things. Don't think you know too much.
He said that in another place, didn't he? Now, verse 15, he
said, though, but in my heart, I said, in my heart, as it happens
to the fool, it happened to me. What's that? Pride. And he got
lifted up with pride. Became vain in his own deceits.
Thought he knew something. The more you know, doesn't the
same knowledge increase the sorrow? The more you know, the more you
realize you don't know how ignorant you are. More light you have
more darkness it encompasses, encounter. Well, verse seventeen,
so what does he say? I hated life. There's nothing wrong with this
life. Huh? There's nothing wrong. God created
it, didn't he? There's nothing wrong with it. Solomon said, I hated it. Because
the work that is wrought under the sun's grief is sun to man.
All is vanity and vexation of spirit. verse eighteen, and I
hated all my labor, which are taken under the sun, because
I should leave it under night. I had a son, a foolish son, and
he's going to get my inheritance. He's going to blow it all that
I've worked for, and he says that all the way through here.
I've got to leave this thing to that son of mine. He finally
comes to the conclusion, Rick, he said, don't do it, spend it.
Yeah, he does. You've seen that bumper sticker,
haven't you? I'm spending my kid's inheritance. You'd be wise to spend part of
it. He needs to earn it like you
did in a sense. All right, read on. He says,
verse 22, What hath man of all his labor and the vexation of
his heart, wherein he hath labored unto the sun, all his days of
sorrows and his travail of grief? Yea, his heart taketh not rest
in the night of his vanity. Oh, I hate life. Oh, but what's
the use of it all? Well, here's the use. Verse 24.
There's nothing better. It's not good for anything, but
that you should eat it and drink it and enjoy it while you can. This, I saw it was a hand from
the hand of God who can eat or who else can hasten here unto
more than I had more than anybody could. Read on and see, and he
says this same thing. He says the same thing. Look
over at chapter 3. Chapter 3, verse 13. He says
the same thing. In verse 13, he says, verse 12,
I know that there's no good in them, but for a man to rejoice,
to do good in his life, also that every man should eat and
drink and enjoy the good of all his labor. This is a gift of
God. Chapter 5. We read that in chapter 5, verse
18. That which I've seen is good
and comely for one to eat, to drink, good and comely. Right? Nancy, are you reading the same
thing? For one to eat and to drink, enjoy the good of all
his labor, he taketh unto the Son all the days of his life.
God gives it to him, it's his portion. God gives to every man
riches and wealth, and to some he withholds it from him. He
knows who to give it to. Chapter eight, look over chapter
eight, verse fifteen, David Solomon said, I commended or happiness,
he said, because a man hath no better thing under this sun than
to eat and to drink and to be merry. For that shall abide with
him of his labors, the days of his life, which God giveth him
under the sun. Chapter 9, chapter 9, verse 7. Chapter 9, verse 7. Go thy way,
eat thy bread with joy, drink thy wine with a merry heart.
God now accepteth thy works, let thy garments be always white.
Wash your clothes, take care of them, let your head like no
other, live joyfully. with the wife whom thou lovest
all the days of the life of this vanity which he hath given thee
under the sun, all the days of thy vanity." That's your portion
here of this world, anyway, and thy labor which thou takest under
the sun. All right, one more. Look over
at chapter eleven. You young people, are you listening?
Chapter eleven, look at verse nine, chapter eleven. Rejoice,
O young man. Are you listening? Rejoice, O
young man, in thy youth." Nothing wrong with being young, is there?
Is there anything evil or sinful about being young? A lot of temptations
to beware of, but he says, enjoy it while you can. You know, when
you're young, you want to be old. When you're old, you want
to be young again. It's vanity, isn't it? The old young man is
rejoicing. Now you let your heart cheer
you in the days of value. Be a boy, be a girl. Enjoy it.
Run, play. Walk in the ways of thine heart
and the sight of thine eye. But know this now, God will bring
you into judgment. Remember that. Fear God, we say. Now God tells us to use this
world, doesn't he? Is there any doubt, after reading
it five times, any doubt in anybody's mind that we are. God freely
gives us all these things to use and you'll have to. Five times, he said, eat, enjoy. What's the key? Look at back
to chapter two again. Let's run through these again. Chapter two, look at verse twenty-four.
Chapter two, verse twenty-four. He said there in the last line,
he said, I saw that this was from the hand of God. The hand
of God. Chapter 3, verse 13. Every man
should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor. It's
the gift of God. Chapter 5 again, verse 18. The last line of verse 18. Enjoy
this, all the days of your life here. God gave it to you. It's his portion. Look at chapter
8, verse 15. Chapter 8, verse 15. I commended
mirth, happiness and all. Man, no better to eat, drink
and all that. Last line says God gives it to him. Chapter
11, verse 9. Chapter 11, verse 9. Again, he
says, Rejoice, O young man, walk in the ways that God has given
you in the sight of thine eye. Know this now. God gave it to
you. God will bring you into judgment for you. To whom much
is given, much is required. What is required of us? What does God require of us?
Well, let me ask you this. Be turned into Deuteronomy chapter
eight. What do you require of your children? Now you are evil, Terry Kinsley,
you have four kids, you are evil by nature. If you being evil know how to
give good gifts unto your children, and this is what the scripture
says, how much more shall the heavenly father give good things
to them that ask him, right? He does not withhold good things
from his children. Has he withheld them from you?
You're rich and increase. Are you not? What does God require
of you? What do you require of your children?
Do you do you lay down? Now, listen to me now. Do you
lay down unreasonable, heavy, hard, strict burdens on them? And neither does God. What does God require of us?
What do you require of your children? You know their frame, don't you?
You don't expect too much of your children. Why? You know
their children. God doesn't expect too much from us, and this will
give you some peace now, because he knows we're flesh. He remembers
our frame, that we're but dust and ashes. This is the reason
he so easily forgives. He knows that which is flesh
is flesh. What does he require of us? To worship him. To thank him. In the beginning, he didn't
require much in the way of giving, Rick. Ten percent. That's not
much. That's not unreasonable. And
he did that for a spirit and a practical purpose. To oversee the work and so forth.
He didn't say, no, you have to give them 90 percent. You have
to do without. Huh? No. He requires worship. He requires thanks. What is it?
What is payment for all you do as parents to your children?
What is payment? A thanks every now and then? Love? You require
obedience, don't you? You're not going to kick them
out of the family when they don't, are you? Huh? Sure you're not. He says, Remember
the Lord, I got love, the Lord, I got serving, serve the Lord,
I got with that substance. Look at Deuteronomy eight, verse
ten. He says this in Deuteronomy eight, verse ten. When you have
eaten and are full. This kind of tells me that maybe
every now and then you can you can say grace after the meal. After you've eaten in full, then
give thanks or so superstitious and traditional. After you've
eaten and are full, then like a fellow, those religious fellows
asked Barnard one time, he dove into his food there in the restaurant.
I told you a hundred times, you'll like it again. Guarantee you,
you'll laugh, you'll laugh again. He was eating, he went in the
restaurant to eat and they all sat down and those super religious
started praying. Barnard started eating. And one
of them said, Brother Barnard, aren't you going to give thanks? How do you know I didn't? Huh? How do you know I didn't? I may be right, I may have been
given thanks right there when you so rudely interrupted me. He says this, when you have eaten
and are full and thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good
land which he hath given thee. Verse 13 and 14, when your herds
and your flocks multiply. God's given all this, Henry. And thy silver and thy gold.
Oh, you're not supposed to have any money. He says he makes rich. And thy
silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied.
Then thine heart be lifted up. Now, here's the one thing. This
is what you need to be aware of, he said. Don't forget the
Lord thy God. Verse eighteen, thou shalt remember
the Lord thy God, it is he that giveth thee power to get well.
Give him all the praise and the credit and the glory and the
thanks for it. Enjoy it, use it, don't abuse
it, but give him all the praise for it. Right? There's that word
covenant isn't it? May establish his covenant. All right, turn back to Ecclesiastes
and I'll wind this thing up. And Paul said to young Timothy,
he said, God giveth us richly all things to enjoy, didn't he? So he said in 1 Timothy, there's
no sin in anything. That shocks us to our self-righteous
boots, doesn't it? I mean, us, we're sitting under
the gospel of God's grace for so long, it still shocks us to
our self-righteous boots. Now, wait a minute. Now, there's
got to be something evil. No. Name something. Whiskey. Buddy, a fellow that was getting
his leg cut off back in the Civil War with an old rusty saw. He was sure glad there was Jack
Daniels around. That's all he had. Right? Marijuana. People suffering with
cancer. Glaucoma of the eyes. There's
one thing that gives certain relief for smoking marijuana. You know that? Why'd God create
it? Just to tempt us? God does not
tempt anybody. God didn't create anything unclean.
Huh? Is there anything unclean of
itself? Now, I'm not giving anybody a license to go out and smoke
marijuana. Huh? Am I? I'm just saying that God
does nothing unclean of itself. Let's get that out of our self-righteous
heads. It's the abuse of anything. Everything's to be received with
thank-giving. Drunkenness is a sin. I will say this about
young people about marijuana and things like that. There's
no way you can take that in moderation. It always inebriates you. It
always messes up the senses. It always renders one drunken,
no matter what, no matter what degree it's taken. It always,
and that's sin. The Lord called drunkenness sin. Silence. I'm telling you the
truth. Telling you the truth. Well. Forgetting God now is sin. Forgetting God and loving things
more than God. That's sin. Setting your heart
on things That is seeing that's the ultimate seeing around from
which all of the scenes come from unbelief. Unbelief. Ecclesiastes five. Look at this
again. Look at it again. Ecclesiastes
five verse nine. Ecclesiastes five verse nine. He says the prophet of the earth
is for all. The king himself is served by the field. I told
you God Christ himself came down and enjoyed this the goods of
this earth. And I started to quote to you
from 1 Timothy, where he said, "...Charge them that are rich
in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain
riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things
to enjoy." Ecclesiastes 7, turn over there, he said, "...If riches
increase, set not your heart on them." John says, "...Love
not the world, nor the things in the world." There's a difference
in using the world and as not abusing it and then being covetous
of it and loving it and setting your heart upon it. There's the
sin of it. Sin is not in the world, the
sin is man's abuse of it, right? He says love not the world, neither
the things of it. What does he mean by that? That you're not
supposed to enjoy the world? No, that's not what he's saying,
John. That's not what he's saying. He's saying don't set your heart
on it. Don't love it. Don't take it into your bosom.
That's coveted. What did he call idolatry? Covetousness. Covetousness is seeking the world
and the things of the world and setting your heart, your affection,
your desires, your pursuits, your life-long ambition on the
things of this world and not on God. He says that's idolatry. Covetousness. Wanting, wanting,
wanting, and not wanting God supremely. Look at this now. This is good. I read it this
morning. Verse 14. In the day of prosperity now
be joyful. Thank God for it. Enjoy it. Enjoy
it. But in the day of adversity,
you better consider this. God has set the one over against
the other to the end that man should find nothing after him.
That you might conclude, in other words, when you have it, enjoy
it. When it's gone, say, well, the Lord gave, the Lord take
it away. Right? To the end that you might see
it for what it really is. What is it? Vanity. There's no
lasting happiness in it. It won't last. It won't satisfy.
If you get the best of whatever it may be, it won't satisfy.
It won't last. Moths will corrupt it. Rust will
corrupt it. Thieves will break through and
steal it. He says, set not where your treasure is, that's where
your heart is also. It won't fulfill. He says, enjoy it for
what it is, the temporal pleasures. God gives it for us to enjoy.
God giveth us richly all things to enjoy. Enjoy it! I intend
to. If you don't want to, give me
what you've got, and I'll enjoy it. Huh? Yeah, enjoy it. But remember,
it won't last. Don't try to seek lasting joy
in it. Enjoy it for what it is. Don't
devote your life to it. Don't be distraught when you
lose it. Kind of like a child, you know, playing with a soap
bubble. It's beautiful and everything, and the child really latches
on to it. Blow that little soap bubble, and the child says, And
they go to chasing it, and it pops, and they start crying.
Well, an adult doesn't do that, do they? But I've seen soap bubbles,
and I go, wow, that's pretty. Look at that. It popped. It's a soap bubble. You know,
I admired it when it was going, oh, isn't that beautiful? Look
at all the colors in that. All the colors of this rainbow
spectrum in that. It popped. Let's just make another
one. Well, we're being childish. You
know, when we cry over spilled milk, right? It's just milk.
Well, then where can we, and I need to get to this, don't
I? Where are we going to find some lasting substance? Where
are we going to find something with some substance, something
that will last? Where are we going to find something
that will really satisfy? Huh? I could just read this one verse.
as in conclusion, and you'd rejoice. Look at Psalm 16. Where are we
going to find something lasting, lasting pleasure, true fulfillment,
huh? Hope, something to hope in with
some substance, the substance of things hoped for. Where are
we going to find lasting pleasure, true fulfillment? Look at Psalm
16, verse 11. Thou wilt show me the path of
life. In thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand there
are pleasures for evermore." What is it, the right hand of
God? John, what is it, the right hand of God? That's right. Colossians
3, he says this, "...set your affection on things above." not
on things on earth. I'll read it to you in Colossians
3, and I don't want to misquote it. He said, set your affection. Seek those things which are above,
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection,
your heart, your love, your mind, your pursuits, your desires on
things above, not on things on the earth. Provide for yourselves,
Christ said, bags which wax not old. Treasures, what's that?
One pearl. Not on things on the earth, set
your affection on things above, where Christ sits at the right
hand of God. Christ said, you thirsty? And you looking at a young Solomon
who did just about everything Solomon did, maybe not, didn't
have things to the degree he had them, but I had them. Some
of you did too. Didn't satisfy, did it? That
song, Hallelujah, I have found Him. whom my soul so long has
craved. Christ satisfies my longing. Through his blood I now am saved." The prodigal son feasting on
the husks around him. He finds real bread. Christ said,
You thirsty? Come, eat this bread. You'll never hunger again. You'll
never thirst again. Drink this water. If you're hungry,
eat this bread. It satisfies. It lasts. It lasts. It's fullness of joy. Don't labor for that bread. Didn't
he say that in Isaiah? Don't. Why do you labor for that
which is not bread? Really bread? Hmm? Labor to know him. Didn't he
say that? That is labor to enter into that rest. And I thought
about this, people, in conclusion. If we spent a fraction of the
time seeking Christ, to know Christ, that we do in trying to be happy, we would be happy just a fraction
of the time. That's the reason Paul could
say in prison, I'm happy, isn't it? I've found contentment. Only a man who's tasted and seen
that the Lord is gracious desires this bread. I know that. Those
who have tasted, eaten his body and drank his blood, they believe,
they come to... Peter said, to you who believe,
he is precious. Can't get enough of him. Soul
satisfaction. In Christ is what makes life
worth living. Isn't it? There wouldn't be anything
to live for in this life, because it's transitory. It's empty.
It doesn't fulfill. Right? There's some fulfillment
in these things when you see them in the light of Christ.
Huh? When you see things as being given to you in Christ, all things
freely given you by God's grace in Christ, and he loves you,
there's some happiness to be found. There's some real enjoyment
there. Christ is life. You know that old saying, variety
is the spice of life? Change the word. Christ is the
spice of life. He not only is life, but he is
the spice of this life. He is what makes this life enjoyable,
the things of this life. He's what gives it meaning and
pleasure. And realizing, realizing in Christ, realizing, and this
is the conclusion that Solomon gives, Ecclesiastes twelve, the
last A couple of verses. Turn there now. I would be remiss
if I didn't read Solomon's conclusion. Look at it with me, please. Ecclesiastes
12. Knowing that I'm here on purpose,
Christ put me here for a purpose and he's doing everything for
my good. My Lord created me for his pleasure to know him. He has given me all things to
enjoy. Doesn't that make life worth living? Quit being downcast. Let's not be down in the mouth
all the time, huh? We believe God put us here for
a purpose, huh? You think I sure wish He'd take
me? He will. Are you questioning God's wisdom?
Doesn't He know when it's best? He hath given me all things.
Someday He's going to come get me. He's going to come get me. I'm going to be with Him in joy
and pleasures evermore, and I'm going to enjoy life then, buddy.
You know what, Rick, we're going to eat and drink together. We'll
sit down at the table like you and I have so many times. It's
going to be a heap sight better than anyone we've ever seen.
We're going to eat and drink and fellowship and laugh. Laugh? Yeah, Psalm 126 says,
when the Lord had done great things, then our hearts were
filled with joy. Uninterrupted life. to enjoy
life to its fullest, to the fullness in Christ, the way life is meant
to be enjoyed. No sin. Solomon concludes, he says, let's
hear the conclusion of the whole matter, verse 13. Fear God. Worship God. Praise God. Thank
God. Fear God. Believe God. Trust Christ. Keep His commandments.
What is God's commandment? Believe His Son. Trust His believe
Christ, follow Christ, keep his commandments. What are his commandments?
To love one another. Right? Doesn't lay heavy burdens
on us, does it? Huh? Does it? Were you afraid
to agree? Oh, he said this is the whole
duty of man. God shall bring every work into judgment, whether
a secret thing, whether it be good, whether it be evil. Use
the world, don't abuse it. Enjoy it. Don't set your heart
on it. Give God all the praise for it. Free you up a little bit? I hope
so. You know the truth, it'll set
you free. It'll set you free. Why do you seek to be in bondage?
Bring yourself under that yoke of bondage wherewith Christ has
set us free, huh? And be brought back under beggarly
elements. I don't want that. God still
says, if you want to be under the law, go ahead, have at it.
I kind of like this freedom Christ has given. Happy is the man in
that thing which he allows. If you have liberty, have it
to yourself for the Lord. And use not your liberty as an
occasion to licentiousness or lascivity. Don't use your liberty
as occasion for sin. All right? Is that good advice?
I hope it's been a help to some of you. Stand with me. Our Lord, we thank you that you're
more merciful than we are. We're so glad that you're more
loving than we are. We're so glad that you're more
gracious than we are. We're so glad that you are more
forgiving than we are, more forbearing than we are. We're so glad that
you're more understanding than we are, that you're more compassionate
than we are. We're so glad, Lord, that you're
God and we are not. We're so glad because you're
God, because you're ever merciful and full of mercy and delight
to show mercy to weak, helpless, wretched, vile sinners that there
is a people which no man can number inhabiting heaven even
now, and even these vile sinners will get there because of the
blood and righteousness of Christ. We are so glad, Lord, so glad
that as a father pitieth his children.