Good morning. Welcome to Mars Hill. My name is Mark. I’m one of the pastors here. That is our church planting network, Acts 29, that I wanted to highlight for you this morning. This is one of the most important aspects of our church. Some of you may not be aware of it, so I wanted to bring you up to speed on it. You got a blue card on the way in. It’s interesting. The United States of America, we are now the fourth largest mission field in the world. Three and a half thousand churches die and close every year in this country.

In addition to that, the average church is about 70 to 75 people a week. The last really significant church planting movement, the beginning of new churches, was about 30 years ago with two organizations called Vineyard and Calvary, actually, really good church planting organizations that did a good job. Since that time, however, there has been a great decline in church planting and there’s a need for a lot of churches. There are some good churches throughout the country, but there’s a need for many, many, many more.

God spoke to me as a student in college and told me to go into ministry and to plant churches. To plant this church. That’s why you’re here this morning. This is what God desired and to plant 1,000 churches in addition to this one. So, in the past few years, we have put together an organization called Acts 29 that, so far, has planted 70 churches in 7 or 8 different nations. Our goal is to plant an additional 15 this year in the U. S., at least 15, as well as an additional 15 to 20 overseas. So, this year, we will pass through the 100 mark in our organization. That’s not a denomination. It’s just a network of loosely affiliated churches. The way it works is this. Joel talks about young men dreaming dreams. Some men have dreams from God to begin a new work. They apply to us. Thousands will inquire. Hundreds will apply. Out of those who apply, we then run approximately 100 of them a year through an assessment process that we put together for theological instruction, and also, we do a number of assessment tools with one of the men who’s on staff at the Harvard Business School in the entrepreneurial leadership section. Those men that score the best, we then fund them for two to three years and we send them out to plant their church. So far, we have 100 percent success rate, which is phenomenal because nationally, the success rate is 20 percent; 80 percent of church planters fail. Ours, we shoot 100 percent so far. These are the number of churches, the number of nations that we are in.

Cuba’s one of the most interesting stories. We got a hookup through a guy who runs a cigar bar in the Bahamas. And so, he got us into Cuba. It’s a long, long story, but it’s a true story.

(Laughter)

I sit on the board for the organization that plants in India. My friend Arjuna has actually planted, I think it’s 89 churches in India. And he’s commissioning new buildings next month that you helped contribute $40,000.00 for last year. He trains 400 or 500 pastors a year. Runs an orphanage. A number of other things. Sum total, things are going very, very, very well. And our church is sort of a pioneer in this. The average church in the U.S. runs 75 people. The average Vineyard and Calvary, they’re two of the best, they run about an average of 150. Acts 29 churches, even though they’re three years old or less, are running an average of 300 at church. We’re four times the national average with the size of our churches. You, as a church, give ten percent of your tithes and offerings to help other churches. We believe, not only should people tithe to their church, but that churches should tithe as well and that’s largely how we do missions. This year, you’re helping fund a church in Tukwila. You’re helping fund a church in Everett. You’re helping fund a church in Bremerton. You’re helping fund a church in Hood River. Next year, you’ll be picking up two churches in San Diego, one in West Seattle as well. And things are going very, very well.

You can pray this week, we’ve got about – I don’t know what it is – 20, 25 men, something of that nature, plus some wives and team members, that are in Seattle for assessment and training here at Mars Hill. And you can pray for them and for their churches and for their works. You can also pray for Karen, who is a deacon on staff and works with me, and is organizing all of this and helping take care of these pastors.

Since some of you know about this, I just would encourage you to continue to pray. Since, for some of you, this is new information, we did put together a list of the 15 North American U.S. plants that we have and we’ll double that this year. And just would encourage you to be in prayer for them. You, as a church, are giving away $125,000.00 this year alone to help fund these churches and to get them started. And the way that it works is this. We give ten percent of our monies to help start these churches, and then they will turn around and give ten percent of their money away to fund other churches. And so, in that way, we believe that within ten years, we can plant 1,000 churches and we’ll go anywhere in the world that we find a good leader that can do that work. So, it’s a really exciting time. This is one of my great and deepest passions. I love this church. I plan on being the pastor here for the rest of my life. And it was a blessing of God that I could pursue this vision with you. And we know that there’s lots of other people that God has called as well to build churches, to pursue visions and dreams, and to do what it is that needs to be done for the Gospel in their time and place. So, I just would urge you to be in prayer for them.

Be in prayer for our conference this week and also, to just say thank you really. The fact that you guys are kicking in ten percent of your tithes and offerings as a church, is a very significant statement and we are one of those churches that help found this network. I’m actually the co-founder of this network and run and direct it, and your generosity is setting a precedent for a lot of other churches in this country. If you wanna know anymore about the network, you can just log onto a29.org and you can check out there what’s going on and be in prayer and see how things are going. So, that’s my pitch this morning. Not asking for money. You’ve already giving it away. Just wanted to let you know how it was spent.

So, I’ll pray. We’re in the Book of Ecclesiastes this morning and continue our study in this great Book.

Father God, thank you so much for a chance to gather together in this place, at this time, with these people, to study this text. Father, as always, it is our prayer that you would continue through the Scriptures to soften our hearts, to enlighten our minds, to motivate our will and to transform our days. God, we thank you so much that you have been so kind to us since the inception of this church. God, that you have given us dreams and visions. That we have been able to pursue them and your grace has been sufficient for the task. As we study today, we ask Lord God, that you would speak to us in a very practical way. That this would not remain for us just theology, but that, indeed, it would become for us biography. So, we ask that in Christ’s good name, Amen.

Today, we’re in Ecclesiastes 5:8-20. My favorite book of the Bible. And today we’re talking about you and your money. Yes. You’re so excited for me to get into your wallet. When we get into this issue of money, there is automatic resistance because, for some people, it is their God and you don’t wanna mess around with their God. Just go with me on this. Give me a little levity. I’ve had a hard week. My kid’s teething. I’m a little nutty.

(Laughter)

Just stick with me on this one. Part of the reason that money is such a controversial issue is because in our culture, there is this rigorous, cantankerous debate between the rich and the poor. This is, in part, how we got to parties, Democrat and Republican. Now, some people argue that rich people are rich because they’re smart and they work hard and poor people are poor because they’re dumb and they spend all their money on video games and fast food and lottery tickets and things like that. And so, there’s this debate between rich and poor. Some people are thinking, “No, actually, the rich are the evil, bad guys. They steal everybody’s money. And the poor, they’re virtuous. They’re Godly. They’re wonderful.” And so, the debate is between rich and poor and who gets the black hat and who gets the white hat? Who’s the good guy? Who’s the bad guy?

The Bible speaks, not of rich and poor, curiously enough. It speaks primarily of righteous and unrighteous. I want you to be very careful when we get into this issue of money to fall into the trap of trying to decide, “Well, is it good to be rich or good to be poor?” It’s not good to be rich or poor. It’s good to be righteous. And God makes you rich or poor. That’s his discretion and his decree. You see people in the Bible that are very wealthy and righteous, and you see people that are very poor and righteous. You also see people that are very rich and unrighteous, and people that are very poor and also, unrighteous. And so, the key is this. It’s not about rich and poor. The Bible’s not about rich and poor. For those of you who live in Seattle and are Indie rockers, and hate capitalism, and grow your own vegetables, and don’t shave, you will think that it’s about being poor. Being poor is good. Sometimes, being poor is just being lazy, right? And some people say, “Well, I’m just like Jesus.” No, you’re not. You’re just lazy.

(Laughter)

You know? You’re just lazy, that’s all. There’s nothing righteous about that. In the Bible, then, there’s four categories of people. Two are rich. Two are poor. Two are righteous. Two are unrighteous. There are the righteous rich. People who got rich ‘cause they love God, obey God, serve God and they, little by little, as Proverbs says, “made their money grow.” You can be righteous and rich. I know many people –well, a couple –

(Laughter)

− wish I knew more, who are righteous and rich. You can also, however, be rich, but unrighteous. You can steal. You can make money in unrighteous ways, right? You could sell drugs. You could invent pop-up ads for the internet. You could do something godless like that to make yourself rich.

(Laughter)

I hate those things, by the way. You could sing in a boy band. You could –

(Laughter)

− you could do something godless and still make a great deal of money. So, it’s really not about rich; it’s about righteous. And you could be poor and righteous. Jesus was poor and righteous. Homeless. Poor. Some of you, you are not gonna get a promotion at work and you’ll get a demotion or you’ll get laid off because you’re righteous. I have a cousin who has a sickly child that has been struggling with a brain tumor for many, many years. He’s eight years old and he’s in the process of dying. They’ve just been told that he is going to die. He’s not going to live. So, my cousin, who loves the Lord, took two weeks off of work and flew his family, including a nurse and his eight year old son, down to Disneyland because that’s his son’s dying wish is to go to Disneyland. Now, his company said, “You don’t have enough vacation time. If you take it, we will fire you.” If he gets fired and he’s poor, he’s still righteous. His poverty is because of his righteousness, that he took his dying son to Disneyland. And because of that, he could lose his job. There is such a thing as a righteous poverty. There is also such a thing as an unrighteous poverty. Lazy deadbeats who blow their money on stupid things. I grew up in the ghetto. I grew up in the hood. I tell you this all the time. I grew up behind a strip club next to the airport. Lovely neighborhood. Just – it’s like Precious Moments without any of the good stuff. Ummm.

(Laughter)

And I grew up in a neighborhood where lots of people were poor, but they were poor because they were lazy and because they made stupid choices. You could give people in my neighborhood a million dollars and you know what they’d have? New cars. Bling, bling, all this jewelry. They would blow it on lottery tickets. They would go to Vegas. Slurpees.

(Laughter)

They would find a way to blow a million dollars. And so, it’s not about being rich or poor; it’s about being righteous and unrighteous and righteousness really comes down to three questions. How do you get your money? How do you get it? In a healthy, good, godly, Biblical way or an unhealthy, godless, un-Biblical way? Then, how do you spend your money? Do you spend it on things that are wise investments and good uses or are you foolish? And then, thirdly, why? Why do you use money the way that you use it? How do you get it? How do you spend it? And what’s the condition of your heart that compels you toward those decisions? And it’s very, very curious to me that people still get hung up in this issue of rich and poor. It’s not about that. It’s about righteous and unrighteous. It’s interesting, too.

A little quick background on economies. There’s a book called The Experience Economy, a very interesting read. I’ll give you a background on the history of our economy because if you want to be righteous, you will need to decide, “Okay, how am I gonna make my money? How am I gonna spend my money?” But, the day that you live in is the most complicated economic period in the history of the world.

A couple of hundred years ago, the economy was driven by commodities, right? Most of us would have been farmers. If you wanted something, you’d have to grow it, or kill it, or chop it down. That’s how you got things. It transitioned from a commodities based economy to a goods economy. Now, let’s say, for example, I wanted a cup of coffee, I’d have to grow coffee beans. Grind the coffee beans. Boil the water. I gotta lot of work to do. Then, a goods economy came along to where someone else would grow the coffee beans and you buy them. Maybe even, they would grind them up for you. Rather than having to go chop down a tree, you could buy lumber. Rather than having to get a cow, you could go buy milk. It went from a commodities to a goods economy to a services economy to where, all of a sudden now, someone will do all the work for you. You don’t have to grow your own coffee beans. You don’t need to grind your own coffee. You can go to the restaurant. Somebody else made coffee. Somebody else delivered it to you and it services.

A lot of you work in the service industry. You’re baristas. You’re sales people. You don’t work with commodities. You’re not working with your hands all day, taking things out of the earth like ore or like trees. You’re not in the goods based economy. You’re not working in a saw mill, chopping things up or grinding coffee all day. Lots of you are working in a service based economy where you do things for people.

It went from a services economy to an information based economy, primarily with the advent of the printing press and then the second reformation, which was in the area of technology. With the internet, the amount of information on planet earth is doubling every two years. We’re in an information based economy. Some of you don’t deal with commodities. You don’t deal with goods. You don’t deal with services. You dispense information. You work in the tech industry. You’re a teacher. You’re a lawyer. You specialize in distribution of information.

The economy we live in now, though, is being dominated more and more by experiences. You and I spend lots of money. We don’t get a commodity. We don’t get a tree or a cow. We don’t get a good. We don’t get ground coffee beans or a cup of milk. We don’t get a service. Nobody comes over and rubs our back or mows our lawn. We don’t necessarily get an information distribution where we learn a new fact. We give a lot of our money to experiences. Go to concerts. Watch movies. Some of them are theme parks like Disneyland. You go there and you say, “What do you get?” You go to a concert. “What do you get?” You go to a movie. “What do you get?” For the first time in our economy, you don’t get something. What you take away is a memory, not a tangible good. Some of you make your money this way. You make your money by creating experiences for people, memories that live in their heart. And a few hundred years ago, that would have been a completely bizarre notion. “Okay, I gave you all this money. What do I get?” You get a memory.” “No, I wanna cow.”

(Laughter)

“I wanna cow. I want something I can touch.” And as this transition in economies works its way out, the way you get your money is more complicated than any time in the history of the world, and the way you spend your money is more complicated than any time in the history of the world. In a commodities based culture, there were less things to buy and there were less ways to spend your money. With all of these different economies that we have, there are an infinite number of ways that you can blow your money. And the deeper down the chain you go, the more it costs you. If you want to grow coffee beans, you could have a cup of coffee for a couple of cents. In a goods economy, if you want a cup of coffee, you can have it for a couple of nickels. In a service based economy, you go to a restaurant and you can get it for a buck. In an information based economy, they try to sell you on all their philanthropy and how they grow whole beans in some place and all the workers are really happy.

(Laughter)

In an experience based economy, you go to the coffee shop and you pay, not for the coffee, you pay for the experience. They have carpet, lighting, chairs. You get the smells. And all the people who are lonely, they sit around and don’t talk to each other.

(Laughter)

That’s weird.

(Laughter)

How much does it cost to get a good cup of coffee in a good coffee shop? I don’t know ‘cause I don’t drink coffee. I’m in rebellion.

(Laughter)

But, I’m told it’s a lot of money and what you’re buying is not just the cup of coffee. You’re buying the whole experience. And I would submit to you that many of you, the way you spend your money, and some of you, the way you earn your money, has a lot to do with the experiences surrounding it, which ratchets up the cost. I’m not saying it’s evil to drink coffee.

And you gotta think about it. The way you make money and the way you spend money is very, very complicated. Okay, the question then becomes is this. Are you going to be righteous or unrighteous with your money? How you get it and how you dispense it? Because the bottom line is this. The Bible teaches emphatically that all wealth, and money, and possessions belongs to God, and that he has given a portion to you, and you are not a consumer of it. You’re a steward of your money. You give it toward things that are important. You give it toward things that you value. Are you going to be righteous or unrighteous with your money? Today, three of those four categories that I told you about are what we’re going to deal with. We’re going to deal with the righteous rich, the unrighteous rich, and the righteous poor. We’re gonna deal with three types of people. And you’re gonna have to think through, “How am I going to work I this economy with the resources that God gives in such a way as to be a righteous person?” And some of you think, “Well, this doesn’t apply to me. I don’t have any money.” It may be because you’re unrighteous. Just something to pray about.

In this room, I don’t know what we’ve got this morning. We’ve been running anywhere from, I think last week we were down to 1,000. We’ve been up to 1,600 people in services in the last few months. Let’s say that today we have 1,000 people. The average worker in the Puget Sound earns about $50,000.00 a year. Let’s scale it back ‘cause we got college students and people that are just beginning their careers. Let’s assume that the average in this room is $30,000.00 a year. Let’s say there’s 1,000 adults in church today, both conservative numbers. How much money will pass through our hands this year, Mars Hill? Y’all went to public school. You’re like, “I don’t know.”

(Laughter)

It’s about $30 million, I think, ‘cause I went to public school too.

(Laughter)

I think it’s about $30 million. About $30 million bucks. Now, that’s a lot of money, right? That’s a lot of money and we are going to make decisions and that is going to reflect whether or not we are righteous people. How we get that money and spend it. $30 million dollars.

So, here we go. I’ll introduce you to some people. Ecclesiastes Chapter 5 says, “For one official is eyed by a higher one and over them are others higher still. The increase from the land is taken by all and the king himself profits from the fields.” What he’s saying is this. Politicians rip you off. Is that true? Yes, that’s true.

(Laughter)

You don’t even need to be a Christian to agree with my first point. That is totally true. Because what happens is somebody represents interest, they get voted into office, then they‘re compromised by those who gave money to their campaign. One day they will be out of office, back into the marketplace. So, while they’re in office, they’re using their position to help all of their allies and constituents increase more money so that they have a good job in the marketplace once they’re done with their public service.

Our traffic stinks. Okay, you don’t have to be a Christian to agree with that point either. Our traffic in this city is one of the worst in the nation. Alright, I have road rage before I even get in my car.

(Laughter)

I just – I hate driving in this city. And we have gridlock and congestion. We also have one of the highest tax bases in the United States of America. My property taxes are astronomical. Pays for schools that I don’t send my kids to. Sales tax. I just got the license tabs for my wife’s car. Almost $300.00 bucks for license tabs. I’ve looked in the Bible. I can’t find the word license tabs. I don’t know why I have to do this.

(Laughter)

One of the reasons why we can’t figure out traffic in this city, do you know how many different organizations are lobbying and fighting and arguing over transportation issues in Seattle? Four hundred organizations.

(Laughter)

It’s still a sick, sick, sick political economy. Every one of them has certain things that they want because it benefits them and their constituents and I’m not saying that they’re all good, all bad. I’m not saying that. All I’m saying is this. As soon as power is consolidated into a government, which it has to be to try to bring order among citizenry, which Romans 13 says needs to happen. The problem is that people who are sinners use their power and use the money to benefit themselves rather than everyone else. And what he says is this. If you’re looking for change in the world, if you’re looking at reformation, if you’re looking at things getting better, don’t put all your hope in government. Vote, get involved, be active, yes. But, until God changes human hearts, all you’re going to be doing is rotating sinners through seats of authority, and power, and influence. But, change doesn’t come until people meet God. And so, don’t be surprised when crooked people do crooked things.

A couple of other unrighteous rich guys. Verse 10. “Whoever loves money never has enough money. Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This, too, is meaningless.” The Bible doesn’t teach you that you shouldn’t have money, that you shouldn’t use money. It does teach you that you shouldn’t love money. Also, the New Testament, “That the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” If you love money, you will never make enough. That’s what he says. Most of you thought when you reached the income level that you’re at now, that you would be pretty happy. But, if you love money, you never have enough money because you look at the commodities and goods, services, information and experiences that are available to you, and you know if you had more money, you could acquire everything. From more stuff. To more information. To more experiences. You could hire more people to do more things. If you love money, if God is for you, money, you’ll never have enough. Never have enough.

This leads to personal bankruptcies, which are up, I think, 7.4 percent so far this year in our nation. Credit card debt, which I think the average American’s got over $10,000.00 on their credit card. Young, single women are the most likely to have credit card debt that is very high. If you love money, you never have enough and you’ll keep spending, even when you don’t have it. And even if you make more money, you’ll just ratchet up your spending. It’s a heart issue. It’s not a money issue. Money is like a gauge on the dash. It shows you how things are going, but it, in and of itself, is nothing more than an indication of what you love.

He goes on to talk about another unrighteous, but rich person. Verse 11. “A good – as goods increase, so do those who consume them and what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?” As soon as you get lots of money, are there more people that are trying to take it from you? Yes. First, there’s taxes. Then, there’s your attorney and your accountants. Then, there’s your personal bodyguard, and your fitness trainer, and your cook. And then, your high maintenance wife and her divorce attorney.

(Laughter)

Right? It is better to be a poor man with one of those sexy, coupon-clipping wives than it is, he is saying. And there is nothing sexier than a woman cutting coupons.

(Laughter)

Victoria’s Secret, they don’t know what they’re talking about. The secret is cutting coupons. That’s the secret.

(Laughter)

One of those high maintenance, Ginger, not Maryanne type of wives, who just takes you to the cleaners and gets you for all that you have. What he says is this. As soon as you get lots of money, if you are unrighteous, then what happens is everyone will come and try and take your money. All the way down to your deadbeat relatives. How many athletes, how many rock stars get rich? And it’s amazing because it’s not too long and they are flat broke, busted, poor. What happened? That’s the deal with Mike Tyson. I think Mike Tyson recently declared bankruptcy. Not sure he can spell it, but he declared it.

(Laughter)

And, you look at it and you go, “This guy is getting tens of millions of dollars per fight. What happened?” Well, everybody comes and takes it from him. Attorneys, accountants, taxes. All of a sudden, the whole entourage that you paid to take care of your life, your bodyguards, your housing, you’re broke. Unrighteous people. They tend to gravitate toward positions of power, he says, and take money from those who under them that they’re supposed to love and protect. In addition, people come around and feast on their wealth and God enables them to fill up other people’s pockets. And if you love money, you’re going to be unrighteous and no matter how hard you work, it’s all meaningless because even if you get the money, he says, you’re not gonna keep it because God knows and he’s keeping score. And he may let it go into your pocket, but he’s gonna let it come right back out.

There’s another guy here. He’s righteous, but he’s poor. Any blue collar brothers here today? Electricians? Plumbers? Any of you? Roofers? Mechanics? He’s talking about you guys. Verse 12. “The sleep of a laborer”, verse 12, “is sweet.” A laborer. That’s what he’s talking about. “Whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.” If you’re unrighteous and you’re rich, you can’t sleep because you’re up all night thinking about your investments. And your company. And your strategy. And your portfolio. And your lawsuit. And your competitors. And you’re all freaked out. But, the laborer, the guy who loves the Lord, works hard, punches his clock, does his job, if he’s righteous and loves the Lord, he sleeps well. The one thing money can’t buy you is a good night’s sleep. Because a good night’s sleep is tied to a clear conscience. And you can’t buy a clear conscience. You have to be righteous to have a clear conscience. And if you need a clear conscience to sleep, you can’t buy sleep. My dad was a righteous, poor laborer. That’s my dad. My dad was a drywaller. My mom and dad were married, I think, around 21. Had me around 21. I’m the oldest of five kids. My dad swung a hammer, hanging drywall for over 20 years until he finally, literally, his back broke. Any of you guys that have hung sheetrock, that is a brutal trade. My dad did that to feed our family and to take care of us kids. He did that for over 20 years. He’d come home and he’d lay on the floor at night because his back would be so messed up that he needed to just lay on the floor for a little while.

But, my dad was a righteous laborer. He got up early. He worked hard all day. He never stole from his company. He worked the hours that he billed for. He worked hard. My dad is one of the most honest, hardworking men I’ve ever met. He also was fairly poor. Five kids. We grew up in a pretty poor neighborhood and we didn’t have a lot of extras. Things were always very, very tight. But, he never spent more than he had. Never took anything out on credit. Paid cash for everything and he was righteous. He raised five kids and we’re all doing good by God’s grace. He’s happily married to my mom. They’re still very much in love and doing great. And what he’s saying is this. If your goal is riches and you love it, it’ll make you unrighteous. If your goal is righteousness, you may end up being somebody who swings a hammer. But, in the Scriptures, that also makes you a hero in the eyes of God. What the world needs is people who work their trade, honestly, hard and well.

How many of you would love an honest mechanic? Right? Even a sorta dishonest mechanic would be better than what you’ve got. How many of you would like someone who swings a hammer and does construction, when they come to do work on your home, they actually complete the job on time and only bill you what they promised it would cost? That’s what he’s talking about. Righteous laborers. They give a bid with a timeline. They do their work well. They finish it on time, and they bill what they said they would bill. And because of that, they’re never going to get that rich ‘cause they’re not ripping people off. But, they sleep well and night and they love the Lord. And they have something that the rich man who’s crooked never can purchase and that’s a clear conscious and a good night’s sleep.

I love my dad for that. I learned so much from my dad’s example. He’s a hard-working, honest, blue collar guy. His name is Joe. Just fits. Blue collar Joe. That’s my loving dad. And he says, “The issue is righteousness. That when he gets to Heaven, that guy will rule over tens of cities. That guy will be a son of God. That guy will teach the rest of us about worship because that guy swung his hammer for Christ. And he was honest and hardworking, and did it for the Lord.

I would say to you parents as well that have young kids that you’re trying to shape and mold. Your goal is not to get your kids to be valedictorian, to make a billion dollars and to be rich. Your goal is for your kids, to love Jesus and be righteous. And if that means that they love Jesus as a CEO, then praise to be God. If they love Jesus as the janitor at the CEO’s company, then praise be to God. Righteousness is the most important thing. The most important thing. Talked about the unrighteous rich. The righteous poor.

Now, he’s gonna talk about the righteous rich. Some of you will struggle with this because you’re poor. You don’t think there’s such a thing as a righteous rich person. Some of you struggle with this because you’re so bound up, possibly in socialism or leftist thinking in our peculiar city. That you think that the only thing that rich people are good for is taxes. There such a thing in the Bible as men and women who are rich and love God. Most certainly, there is. He talks about this beginning in verse 13. He talks about the unrighteous rich, and then he gets into the righteous rich at the end. A couple of more things on this unrighteous rich guy. Verse 13. “I’ve seen a grievous evil under the sun well ported to the harm of it’s owner.” Is it possible to get a lot of money and that money actually ruin your life? All of a sudden, you couldn’t afford a drug habit. Now, you can. You couldn’t afford all kinds of sin. Now, you can. You couldn’t afford to take time off of work and get in trouble. And now, you can.

The hording of the wealth. And that’s the issue here, too. Wealth isn’t for hording. Wealth is for sharing. People who are righteous, when they get money, they don’t horde it. They share it to help those in need. They fund ministries. They help widows and orphans and those in need. But, people who horde their money, it causes them much trouble. You and I are supposed to be stewards dispensing money. We’re not supposed to be gluttons hording it. And as we horde it, then, all of a sudden, we get ourselves in serious trouble. That’s why parents should start a college fund. They should put money in savings. They should tie up to God’s work. They should help those in need. They should, as they sort of move forward in their economic life, help other people, rather than just trading in the new car – the old car that they don’t need when they get their new car. They should give it to somebody. When they find somebody that doesn’t have enough money for their light bill, they should chip in and help ‘em out. That people that horde money love the money, obsess over the money, are consumed by the money, and it does them much harm. People that are good stewards, as the money comes to them, they invest it wisely. They spend it wisely. They share it widely. No problem at all.

Proverbs says that God gives a man wealth and possessions and he adds no trouble to it. If money comes from God, and it’s spent and invested with God, there’s no trouble to it at all. But, if not, there’s much trouble. He says, “Our wealth lost through some misfortune.” If your whole goal is to get rich, here’s the thing. There’s no guarantee. Can you think of an absolutely safe place to put your money? Stock market? Well, we just saw that. Real estate? Well, real estate ebbs and flows. Venture capital? High risk, high gain. So, where do you put your money? Throw it in a savings account. Well, that’s not tax exempt. You’re gonna get hit hard every year. There’s no safe place to put your money. Misfortune can befall you. So, what do you do? You use money, but you don’t love it. You appreciate what it can accomplish, but it’s not your God. Misfortune can and does come. Some of you have had money. Maybe for you, it was a lot. Maybe it’s not a lot, but for you, it was a lot and something happens. How many of you, as soon as you get ahead, you finally get a little money, your car blow up, right? And you gotta go to the doctor, you get sick? Something happens. Misfortune comes.

You see this all the time. Rock stars get rich and they think it’s gonna go forever, so they spend like there’s no tomorrow and then, all of a sudden, Vanilla Ice is out of a job.

(Laughter)

That’s the way that it goes. Misfortune comes. You see this with athletes. They get the big payday and they think it’s gonna go forever and then what? Injury. Misfortune comes. In addition, “So that when he has a son, there is nothing left for him.” If you love money and you’re unrighteous and you horde it, and you don’t share, then what happens is this. Misfortune comes and also, you won’t have anything to give your kids. It says in Proverbs that “Wealth and houses are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.” The key there is that parents want to be able to give wealth and real estate to their kids. But, if they’re unrighteous, they can’t. And you say, “But, you don’t understand. I have a good plan. I have a good investment portfolio. I have a good strategy.” And I’ll tell you this. There’s also a sovereign God in the equation and if you’re stealing from God and you’re misusing money, God will find a way to take it out of your pocket before it gets to your kids. And he will find a way to give it to those who love him. And I’m not teaching prosperity, theology, that if you love the Lord, you’ll all be rich. What I am teaching is poverty theology. If you don’t love the Lord, he will end up finding a way to empty out your wallet through misfortune. Through money grubbers who come around you and steal it. But, ultimately, if you’re unrighteous, unrighteous people will be attracted to you and they will take your money. That’s how it works.

He goes on to speak a few other things about unrighteous rich people. Verse 15, “Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb and, as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor. He can carry nothing in his hand. This, too, is a grievous evil. As a man comes, so he departs and what does he gain since he toils for the wind?” If you love money, if your goal is to get your stuff – and some of you have things in your mind. “I wanna house. I wanna boat.” Once you get your house and your boat, “I wanna another house, another boat. I want vacation. I wanna motorcycle. I wanna second car. I want an SUV. I wanna 60 inch flat screen TV. I want surround sound. I want, I want, I want I want.” If you’re a person that is perennially dissatisfied, loves money, is greedy and hordes it, one day you will get it and the next day, you will die. And he says, “Your whole life will be a wild goose chase and there’s no goose at the end.”

I told you this in Ecclesiastes, that he tells us to define life forward and live it backward. Namely, what is the point and then, we live in light of that. The point is not to get rich and get more stuff. The goal is to be righteous and enjoy your life. And if God enables you to be rich doing that, then praise be to God. If God enables you to be poor doing that, then praise be to God. When you and I die, the only things we will take with us into God’s kingdom are memories and friends. That’s all. And if we love our stuff more than God and the people that surround us, that which we devote ourselves to will not journey with us. Our TV. Our car. Our hot tub. Our boat. Our sports equipment. Our sound equipment. Our musical equipment. Our hobbies. Our kitchen gadgets. Our tools. Whatever it is you’re into. None of things are bad. None of those things are evil. None of those things are sinful. None of those things are wrong. But, none of those things make it into God’s kingdom with you. People and memories go with you. And as I’ve told you throughout Ecclesiastes, it’s important, then, to redefine wealth. When I say, “Are you wealthy?”, some of you will think, “No, I don’t have a lot of stuff.” If you have a lot of friends and you have a lot of memories, and by God’s grace, you have a lot of righteousness, you’re a very wealthy person. That’s his point. That’s his point.

He concludes with this on the unrighteous person, verse 17. “The unrighteous rich, all his days, he eats in darkness with great frustration, affliction and anger.” Unrighteous people, they don’t have memories. They don’t have friends. Why? They can’t trust anybody. They can’t trust anybody because they’re always wondering, “Why do you wanna be friends with me? Why do you wanna be close to me? Why do you wanna talk to me? Do you wanna steal from me? Do you wanna take my money? My stuff? Do you wanna use me? So, they eat alone. They eat frustrated and they eat angry because unrighteous people attract unrighteous people, and in sets a culture of distrust and mistrust, which leads to more loneliness and isolation. So, there you sit with all your stuff all by yourself.

Meanwhile, the righteous, poor laborer, he doesn’t eat by himself. He does like my dad did. Sits down at his rickety table with his wife and five kids. And at least he’s got friends and memories. And his life is wealthy, even though his wallet’s empty. And his conscious is clear and he sleeps really good. And he doesn’t worry about why people wanna be his friend and why people wanna get close to him because he knows it’s not for the money. He doesn’t have any. So, if his wife’s there, it’s because she wants to be with him. If his kids are there, it’s ‘cause they wanna be with him. If his friends are there, it’s just ‘cause they wanna be with him, not ‘cause they can get something from him. He doesn’t have much to give except for love and righteousness, and some good memories, and a few laughs.

I would just implore you as a church, don’t get caught in the trap of rich and poor. Get into the perspective of righteous and unrighteous. Righteous and unrighteous. He closes then, with a righteous rich guy. We’ve looked at the unrighteous rich guy in a multitude of angles. We’ve looked at the righteous poor laborer. Now, we’ll look at this affluent guy who is very, very rich. And there are wealthy me and women like Lydia, like Job, in your Bible. Like Joseph of Arimathea, the rich man in whom Jesus was laid his tomb. Here’s the righteous rich man. Verse 18, “Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink.” Don’t you love that? That keeps coming up.

(Laughter)

I love that so much. “I wanna be righteous. How do I be righteous?” Some people would say, “Well, fill in these blanks. And go to these groups. And do these things. And memorize these verses. And be righteous.” He says, “Eat and drink.” See, that’s a theology that works. That really works.

(Laughter)

I keep telling you. I’ll tell you again. Eating and drinking is part of your righteousness. It’s part of your worship. It’s part of your life. We have a God who is not just living up in the stratosphere talking about esoteric theology. We have a very practical God that tells you what to do with your money. What to do with your food. What to do with your drink. What to do with your pots and pans, and genitals because that’s where we tend to ruin our life.

(Laughter)

Right here on the dust of the earth. Seriously. We like to argue Calvinism or Arminianism all day and, really, it’s the pots and pans, and credit cards, and genitals, and the food in the refrigerator that creates all the big problems. That’s where we really shipwrecked our joy. And so, Solomon brings it down to a practical level. You wanna be righteous, start with your fridge. And start with our credit card. Start with your budget. Start with your diet. “Eat, drink.”

He goes on to tell us what else we should do. “I realize that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life that God gives him, for this is his lot.” Eat, drink, work your job. That’s what righteous people do. They eat, drink, and work their job. Why? Because they love the Lord and they accept their lot. I’m not talking about a fatalism, but there is this myth that you can be anything. You can do anything. Some of you were told that growing up in elementary school. Do you believe that? I can’t do anything. Look at me.

(Laughter)

I can’t do every – I can’t play in the NBA. I have a two inch vertical. I’m a short, white guy. I cannot play in the NBA.

(Laughter)

I cannot be a rock star because I sound like a chain smoker. I can’t.

(Laughter)

There’s a lot of things I can’t do. There’s a whole list of things I’ll never be able to do. Never. I can’t be a supermodel.

(Laughter)

I can’t. There’s a lot of things I can’t do. I need to accept my lot. I’m a short, hairy, white guy. That’s what I’ve got to work with. I need to accept that. I need to embrace that and serve the Lord.

(Laughter)

That’s what I need to do. You need to accept your life, and it’s so liberating. Some people are striving so hard to be what mom or dad wanted them to be. They’re not that. They’re just not that. I praise God for the parents that God has given me because what they told us kids was, “Be honest. Work hard. Do whatever it is that you’re good at and you like to do.” I got one brother. He is brilliant in business. He’s a businessman. I’ve got another brother, he’s a heating and air conditioning specialist. He works with his hands putting in ductwork in large, commercial buildings. He also has a ten second 1966 Chevy 2 race car. He is a total motorhead. He rebuilt his first car at like 13. I am – you don’t want me anywhere near a vehicle. I can’t do anything. He is amazing. He’s an amazing guy working with his hands. He’s a laborer. My other brother, brilliant business guy. You know what? I’m really glad that my mom and dad didn’t pressure me to be a mechanic. I would have taken a wrench to my head. That would have never worked for me. And I’m really glad that my mom and dad didn’t push on my brothers to be preachers because that’s not their thing. Accept your life. You say, “Well, this is who I am. I like working with my hands. I’m gonna be a laborer.” I like working with my mind. I’m gonna be a software engineer.” Great. Love Jesus. Work hard. Eat, drink, work your job. Great. Great.

It’s not about rich or poor. It’s not about class. It’s not about being upper class, middle class, lower class, no class. It’s about loving Jesus. Being righteous. Eating, drinking and working your job. So many Christians feel like they’re in junior varsity if they’re not in full time ministry. You’re all in full time ministry. You go out there and work for Jesus. And whatever your lot, accept that. Accept that. If you’re healthy, sick; rich, poor; smart, average; blue collar, white collar; accept your lot. And this is the beautiful thing of righteousness because what we find then is in our culture and in our economy, your value is tied to your position and your income. That’s why when people meet you they ask, “So, what do you do for a living?” They’re trying to put you in the food chain, find your slot. Plankton, alpha male, somewhere in the middle. You’re going to fit.

(Laughter)

In the kingdom of God, we don’t score that way. We score righteous and unrighteous. So, what we care about is, “Do you love Jesus? Do you walk with Jesus? Do you serve Jesus? When I hang out with you, do I see somebody who reminds me of Jesus? That’s how we score. That’s how we score. How many of you, really, if it came down to the place where you needed counsel, you needed wisdom, you needed teaching, it would have very little to do with someone’s socioeconomic background, who you would go to that information? It would have much more to do with the quality of their character and the content of their life. I mean, we serve a God who was what? A blue collar laborer. The first 90 percent of his life, he’s a carpenter. And if we play by the rules of our culture, we will get to the point where, even if Jesus was here, we wouldn’t go to him because he doesn’t have a degree. He doesn’t have a very good portfolio. He didn’t go to the right school. He’s just a carpenter. Doesn’t even own his own home. He’s in his early ‘30s and he doesn’t even have a wife. What a classic underachiever. It’s about righteousness and unrighteousness. Accepting your lot. Working your job. Eating your food. Drinking your drink. That is righteousness. Righteousness isn’t something that exists over here in your spiritual life, and then your life exists over here with your job, and your pots and your pans, and your credit card and your genitals. Your whole life belongs to God. Your whole life, live with God. That’s your practical righteousness.

He concludes with more on this richness and righteousness. Verse 19, “Moreover, when God gives any man” what? “Wealth and possessions.” Does God give some people lots of money? He does. He does. There are people that I know, some of the righteous, rich people that I know, they are the most astonished that they have as much money as they have. ‘Cause God gave it to ‘em because they’re good stewards. God knew they wouldn’t horde it and they don’t worship money. That they would be generous and kind. That they would steward it. That they would dispense it. That they would share it. That they would invest it in God’s kingdom purposes.

“God gives some people wealth and possessions and”, here’s thee key, “enables him to enjoy them.” Stiff – I keep telling you, this is one of the great themes of Ecclesiastes. Stuff and enjoyment of stuff are two different things. People think, “If I get more stuff, I’ll be more happy.” No, you won’t. Because in addition to the stuff, you also need to enjoy the stuff. It’s the difference, I’ve told you before, between a can of peaches and a can opener. You need both. You need stuff and God’s grace that enables you to enjoy it. You could have – I have a beautiful wife, but without God’s grace, I can’t enjoy her. I have three beautiful kids, one on the way. Just found out I got a daughter coming in October. I can’t enjoy her without God’s grace.

(Applause)

I have a great church, but I can’t enjoy you guys unless God enables me. I have the Scriptures, but I can’t enjoy them unless God enables me. I have friends, but I can’t enjoy them unless God enables me. I have a great job working at this church, but I can’t enjoy it unless God enables me. My life is filled with God’s provision, but unless God enables me, I can’t enjoy any of it. And people who don’t understand that, they think it’s going to be happiness by addition. More, more, more stuff. Different wife. Different husband. Different car. Different kids. Different house. Different income. Different place on the food chain. No. God enables you to enjoy your life. That’s why it’s so important to be righteous. To confess your sins. To read the Scriptures. To pray. To walk with the Lord. Because if you ignore those things and pursue your life of stuff and you neglect the Lord, you will get your stuff, but you won’t get your joy and satisfaction because you’ve neglected your righteousness. And you need both.

“Moreover”, verse 19, “when God gives any man wealth and possessions and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot” – “I swing a hammer.” “I write code.” “I play guitar.” “I am a mother” – “and be happy in his work. This is a gift of God.” You can’t buy that. You can’t buy happiness, and satisfaction, and joy. It’s a gift of God. “He seldom reflects on the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.” Here is God’s great gift. If you are righteous, you walk with the Lord. You love the Lord. You accept who you are. You accept the status and position and job that God has given to you, whatever that might be. You embrace that and say, “Well, this is what the Lord has for me.” God then enables you to enjoy it. And he keeps you so busy with your life that you don’t sit around worrying about it. Like some Indie rocker who’s just writing depressed, morose songs all day because they’re speculating on life, rather than enjoying it. Rather than some pop psychologist therapist who sits around and talks to people about why they’re so depressed. About how they feel. About how they live. Unlike some undergrad philosophy professor who ends up telling kids to connect within ourselves and think through their own despair and – rather than all of that, people who love God, accept what they’ve got and live it to the fullest, there so busy having a good time, they don’t worry about it.

The narcissistic, inward obsession, naval gazing, how am I doing? How do I feel? Ahhh, whatever. I’m gonna die, go to Heaven, see Jesus. In the meantime, I’m gonna clock my hours. Do my job. Grab stuff out of my fridge and worship God. Whatever. Pressure’s off. I don’t need to climb the evolutionary chart. I don’t need to be the king of kings and lord of lords. Maybe I just need to be the bank teller of bank tellers. Or the plumber of plumbers. Or the mom of moms. And whatever God gives me, I enjoy it. You should enjoy your life.

Some of you have been told a bad theology that says, “You should not enjoy your life and that will please the Lord.” No, it won’t. What pleases the Lord is that whatever he gives you, you live it and run it for all it’s worth. You run your life to the wheels come off and you see Jesus face to face. That’s righteousness. Righteous people don’t wait to live. They live every minute of every day. They suck life for all it’s worth. They maximize every opportunity. Joy and sorrow, sickness, health, wealth and poverty, they live and they accept their lot that’s from the hand of God.

And the way this all ties in with your wealth is very simply this. Wealth doesn’t buy you happiness. Wealth doesn’t buy you righteousness. Wealth doesn’t buy you salvation. But, wealth does indicate your God and that is connected to your righteousness. And that is the issue on which everything hinges – are you righteous or unrighteous? Jesus tells us that we can’t worship God and money. We have to have one God. He tells us, “That where our treasure is”, Matthew 6, “there our heart will be also.” What he’s saying is this. If you’re having a hard time, start in something real practical, like your budget and see who your God is. See who your God is. And if you have the wrong god, that would indicate that you’re living an unrighteous life and that would explain why you’re maybe unhappy or unable to accept your lot. Maybe why even the people, and opportunities, and experiences, and possessions that God affords you, you can’t really enjoy them. You may have the wrong god. You may be worshiping gifts, neglecting giver. It happens all the time.

Your money indicates your heart. The Bible tells you not to love your money. Love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. So, some people respond then the wrong way and they say, “Okay, then I’ll hate money.” No, if you hate money, you’re still obsessed by it. You’re still addicted to it. You’re still absorbed by it. You’re still consumed by it. It’s still your God. Loving and hating money still keeps money as your priority. Neither of those is a good solution. That’s why prosperity and poverty theologies are both wrong. People who say, “Give all your stuff away and be righteous” or people who say, “If you were righteous, you’d have more stuff”, they’re both wrong ‘cause the issue’s not the money. The issue is this. It’s God.

You shouldn’t love money. You shouldn’t hate money. You should love God. You should hate sin. And you should use money to promote worship of God and to combat practice of sin. You and I, we have this choice. If we love money, we will use people to get more money and we will use God to get more money. If we love God, we will use money to bless people and to serve God. The key is not to hate money. The key is not to love money. The key is to love God and use money to serve people. A college fund for your kids. Pay your bills. Fill up your fridge ‘cause you gotta eat and drink. To have your friends over. To help those in need. To contribute to God’s work on the earth. To perceive yourself as someone who loves God, uses money; not someone who loves money and uses God.

Some of you, this hits a point of conviction and you feel like, “Ahhh, yeah, I’m the person who – I pursue wealth with far more zeal than I do righteousness.” Or “I’m far more consumed with my stuff than I am with my Savior.” And this is a great opportunity for you to repent ‘cause the beautiful news is this. Jesus died for all your sins. He rose to forgive all your sins. He will give you a new heart. He’ll cleanse you from your unrighteousness and he’ll enable you, by grace, to begin reading his Word, and praying, and learning, and growing, so that you can become righteous with his righteousness. That’s the beauty of it.

For some of you, this should be a sermon of tremendous encouragement. You may feel bad ‘cause you don’t make as much money as you wish you’d make, but you realize that you’re still righteous and so, you are wealthy. And I pray that for some of you God would make you very, very wealthy, and that you would have the kind of heart that would be a good steward to dispense and share rather than horde. And many of you are young and starting your careers, and starting your families, and finishing up college, and right now, it doesn’t look like you’re going to be a very wealthy bunch. I promise you this. If we’re worth $30 million this year, as this church grows, as you grow, as you climb in your economic ability, what do you think this congregation of ours is going to be worth in a few years? Can you see $60 million a year? Can you see a $100 million a year? That’s where we’re going. And this is such an important issue because Jesus is telling us, “Stick to righteousness. Stick to righteousness. Love me. Walk with me. Trust me. Repent of sin. Enjoy the life I give ‘ya. Don’t use me. Don’t use people. Love me. Love people. Use money for me and people.”

I’ll pray. You can repent. Come forward for communion when you’re ready. We dunk bread into drink to remember Jesus’ body and blood shed for our sin. We leave you a little time to do business with God right there in your seat. Pray. Think it through. You could bring your offering up, if and when you are ready. For those of you that are not Christians, communion is not for you. Offering is not for you. You are our guests. Thanks for coming. We love ‘ya and, hopefully, this is beneficial to your thinking.

Father God, thanks for a chance to study your Word today. God, I pray that you would keep us out of the trap of trying to be rich and poor and that you would thrust us into the mission of being righteous or unrighteous and that we would see our lives in that way. And we would see our money as an indicator of where our heart truly is, and who our god truly is. Lord Jesus, I thank you that you have already put in the hands of those of us whom are assembled here today an amazing amount of resources, quite frankly, as well as an economy that affords us multiple ways to both earn and spend money. And God, so much of our life is wed with our finances and I thank you that you speak about these very practical things like money, and food, and drink, our debit card, and our refrigerator. Thank you that you are a God who comes down to that humble level to deal with us right where we live every single day. Jesus, I pray that you would give us all wisdom so that we would know how to use money, and not people, and how to love you, and not our stuff. And that we wouldn’t hate our stuff. We wouldn’t love our stuff. In fact, we would love you and we would use the stuff that we have to enjoy you and life in you with others. And it’s to that end we pray, Amen.