PENTECOST 17 September 21-23, 2013 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 16:1-9 “LEARN MONEY MANAGEMENT FROM A DISHONEST UNBELIEVER?”

PENTECOST 17

September 21-23, 2013

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 16:1-9

“LEARN MONEY MANAGEMENT FROM A DISHONEST UNBELIEVER?”

1.     Yes! Learn urgency.

2.     Yes! Learn to invest long term.

Luke 16:1-9 (NIV 1984) “Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.' 3 "The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg-- 4 I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.' 5 "So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' 6 " 'Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied. "The manager told him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.' 7 "Then he asked the second, 'And how much do you owe?' " 'A thousand bushels of wheat,' he replied. "He told him, 'Take your bill and make it eight hundred.' 8 "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”

          So who do you turn to for money advice? Some of you will remember a memorable series of commercials from a financial company that ended with the phrase, “When EF Hutton talks, people listen.” Well, he’s not talking anymore. Today if you ask about money matters many people will point you to Dave Ramsey, Clark Howard, maybe Suzie Orman. How about a dishonest swindling unbeliever? Would you turn to him for money advice? “Yes, you should,” says the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s the one who used the dishonest swindling unbeliever as an example in what’s known as the Parable of the Shrewd Manager.

          A little background can help us. Our text comes from a section of Luke’s Gospel that has an interesting flow to it. If you want to look at the preceding chapters you can but I would summarize it this way. Privilege, cost, lost. First privilege. Jesus pointed out how the right to be a child of God, a believer, a member of His kingdom, someone who gets to enjoy the glory of heaven, is a privilege. It cannot be earned. It is not deserved. It comes as an invitation of grace from God Himself. Cost. Jesus next went on to explain that following Him, believing in Him means changes. Believers simply cannot live the same way and think the same way and value the same things as unbelievers. That’s the cost of following Christ. Lost. Then Jesus went on to tell a series of parables, two of which you heard about last week, that highlight the great joy the Lord and the angels have when sinners repent, when unbelievers become believers. Now Jesus didn’t tell these parable to teach Himself of the angels, but us, so we would value what He values. Right after that comes the parable that teaches us to do something about what Jesus values.

It’s known as the Parable of the Shrewd Manager. “Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.' 3 "The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg-- 4 I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'  This manager doesn’t sound shrewd at all. He’s a schnook. He sounds incompetent. He’s a waster. He’s a wimp. He’s proud with nothing to back it up. What can we learn from him?

          Urgency! Did you notice how when it became clear he was going to have to be accountable to his master he immediately set about doing something about it? That’s what Jesus wants us to have, urgency. He wants us to realize that time is running out for each one of us, time on earth that is. Sometimes we call that our time of grace. In one sense our life is our time to experience God’s grace and be brought to faith in Jesus as Savior. In another sense having been brought to faith our time on earth is the time to live as recipients of grace. We do that when we strive to obey God’s commands because we want to. We do that when we do what’s in God’s power to extend grace to other people. Our timed allotted to do that is limited. Are we urgent about it? Recently I saw part of an episode of a show many of you have watched for a while. It’s called “Minute to Win it.” That’s urgency. Clock ticking down. The contestants have a single minded focus on the task before them. Do you believe that people who die without faith in Jesus Christ die eternally? Actually it doesn’t matter if you believe that or not. It’s true. God says, “Whoever does not believe shall be condemned.” At last check 1.8 people die every second, that’s 108 a minute, 156,000 a day. No wonder Jesus wants us to be urgent!

          What does that have to do with money managing? The parable goes on. "So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' 6 " 'Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied. "The manager told him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.' 7 "Then he asked the second, 'And how much do you owe?' " 'A thousand bushels of wheat,' he replied. "He told him, 'Take your bill and make it eight hundred.' 8 "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.” OK, so the guy cooks the books, loses money for his master and gets commended. What gives here? What was good? It wasn’t being dishonest with the debts. It was being shrewd, wise about his future. The manager didn’t have  money of his own. He was using his masters. Then with the master’s money that was in his control the manager made friends for himself. He created good will so that when his time with his master ended he would have friends who would take care of him. He was thinking long term.

          Now Jesus brings the point home for us. “For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. Ooh, that hurts a little bit. Jesus is saying that the worldly unbelievers are better at being worldly unbelievers than believers are at living as believers. I don’t like to hear that. I know you don’t either. What should we do differently? “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” What we can learn from the dishonest swindling unbeliever is to invest long term. He took someone else’s money and used it to gain friends for the future. We can do the same. There is part of our sinful nature that does not like to hear God or anyone else talk about how we should use our money. Whether it’s a stock broker, financial planner, insurance agent, store salesman, (pastor?) we have this sneaking suspicion that they don’t really have our best interest in mind at all. They just want to separate us from our hard earned money. That’s not always true. It’s certainly not true of Jesus. He’s trying to help us use His money wisely. Yes, it’s His money. Just like the shrewd manager in Jesus’ parable we don’t really own anything. It’s all the Lord’s. He gives us each a certain amount and in His wisdom He lets us it how we want. We are to spend it on things we need for earthly life like food, shelter, clothing, medical needs and paying taxes. Here Jesus urges us to be shrewd and invest long term. Houses get destroyed by flood and fire. Cars, clothes, shoes wear out. None of them will last when the Lord returns and destroys this present world. But people will. They do last! Use money on earth to gain heavenly friends. How? You can’t buy anyone’s way into heaven. You can’t believe for them. You can tell them the Gospel message. You can financially support those who go in your place, like the early Christians did with Peter and Paul and Barnabas. The result is friends in heaven. Think of what it will be like when people come up to you and me and say “Thank you for telling me about Jesus!” Members of St. Jacobi you do that as you tell children about Jesus in our school, in our high schools, through our Synod mission work. Nathaniel congregation did that as they disbanded giving us a gift to make friends for heaven. MLC is building the Early Childhood Center so that more and more we have opportunities to gain heavenly friends.

          You know it as well as I. There are more things you can do with money than there is money to do things. You have to make choices. You have to prioritize. This isn’t really a dishonest swindling unbeliever that we are learning from. It’s Jesus. And when Jesus speaks, His people listen. “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” Amen.

September 7/8/9, 2013
Pentecost 16 sermon by Pastor Paul G. Eckert
Text - 2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15
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    I’m going to tell you about a man named Achan who got into some
real trouble.  He was with the Israelites when they entered the
promised land and captured Jericho.  But there he did some plundering
or stealing that God had forbidden.  Later he went with other soldiers
to capture another city that should have been a push-over.  But instead
Israel was defeated.  What Achan had done was the reason.
    When God gave the opportunity to confess, Achan kept quiet.  He
did not step forward and honestly say, “I am the one, the one who is
guilty.”  So the search kept narrowing down until Achan was identified
as the guilty sinner.  The consequences were terrible for him and his
family.  If they would have had a Father’s Day then, they would not
have felt at all like honoring him as a good father.
    Would you want to have something terrible happen to you and your
family if there is some sin you have covered up and finally God steps in
with judgment - if not sooner, then certainly on your last day?
    Achan would not acknowledge his sin and honestly say, “I am the
one who is guilty.”  Are we ready to say, “I am the one”?  With that
statement - “I AM THE ONE” - let’s move on from Achan to a well
known Old Testament person, King David, and then also to ourselves.
“I AM THE ONE!”
I    IT IS EASY TO SEE SIN IN OTHERS.  (12:1-6,9)
    1. King David heard a story. (9, 1-4)
        a) Like all people, David was a sinner, including a glaring sin in
his past referred to in these words in our text: “You struck down
Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own.
You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.” 
        b) Lust, adultery, murder - but David had no conscience about
this. So God sent a prophet to tell a story, a parable.
The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said,
“There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other
poor.  The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle,
but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had
bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It
shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms.  It
was like a daughter to him.  Now a traveler came to the rich man,
but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or
cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him.
Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and
prepared it for the one who had come to him.”
    2. David easily could see sin in others. (5-6)
David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan,
“As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to
die!  He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did
such a thing and had no pity.”
        a) Here David very correctly saw the wrong being done.
        b) The problem is that he saw sin in others, but not in himself.
    3. How about us?       
        a) Sin is all around us, even though newspapers don’t refer to it
as sin.  Its presence, the terrible things it does - there is no problem at
all in seeing that.  But do we fail to see sin in ourselves?
        b) Let’s face the fact that it is easy to see sin in others but not in
ourselves, like thinking a sermon applies to others but not to me.
    4. And what about condemning sin?
        a) We can’t fault King David for saying something was wrong. 
        b) And we certainly aren’t saying that we should not point out sin
and wrong and condemn what is sin and wrong.
        c) But the point is that it is easy to condemn sin in others and,
like David, not recognize - as has been said - that when we point a
finger at others there are three fingers pointing at ourselves.
II    WE NEED TO SEE IT IN OURSELVES.  (12:7a:11:26-27)
    1. The fact of sin being involved was clear.  (26-27)
When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she
mourned for him.  After the time of mourning was over, David
had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore
him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.
        a) Lusting and adultery happened.
        b) And then murder, when David deliberately put the husband
into a battle line that guaranteed the husband would be killed.   
    2. Now David was accused. (7a)
Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!”
        a) I am sure some people knew - but who would accuse the king?
        b) God would.  God knows all.  And He will accuse.
    3. What accusations could God bring against us?
        a) Let’s say we fault our children for cheating, but we cheat on
an expense account or on our income tax forms; - we get upset about
disobedience in our children, yet they see us disobey traffic and other
laws; - we tell our children to respect father and mother, but then they
don’t see father and mother treating each other with respect.
        b) The point here is not that cheating and so on should be
overlooked, but that we need to look at ourselves also.
    4. Listen to what Jesus said about this subject.
        a) In John 8 Jesus spoke to some people who were ready to stone
to death a woman caught in sin.  He said, “If any one of you is
without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
        b) Or listen to these words of Jesus in Matthew 7: “Why do you
look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no
attention to the plank in your own eye?”
        c) Here Jesus did not approve of sin.  But His point is that we,
like David, need to look at ourselves and see our own condemning sin.
III  THIS CALLS FOR REPENTANT HEARTS.  (12:13a,10,14-15)
    1. David penitently acknowledged his sin. (13a)
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
        a) Do you notice that this was not just recognizing he had made a
bad mistake, or being sorry he got caught and didn’t get away with it?
        b) No, he recognized that what he had done was sin, that little
word the world doesn’t use.  He had sinned against the Lord! 
    2. There would be consequences to his sin. (9-10,14-15)
“Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil
in his eyes?  You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword
and took his wife to be your own.  You killed him with the sword
of the Ammonites.  Now, therefore, the sword will never depart
from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of
Uriah the Hittite to be your own.”
        a) David’s confession could not undo what was done to people.
“But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the
LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”  After
Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s
wife had borne to David, and he became ill.
        b) Do you see here how sin can often involve, hurt the innocent?
    3. So there may be consequences for us.
        a) Uriah stayed dead; violence would continue; a son would die.  
        b) Young people and all of us, recognize that our stupid and
unthinking and sinful actions can bring consequences that will continue
for us and for others - like the party you go to and the things you do
there that you should not, and too late you realize that some results,
like Uriah being dead, or innocent parents hurt, can’t be changed.
    4. But let our repentance be sincere. (13a)
        a) Start out by recognizing that what God calls sin is sin.
        b) Then with David say, “I have sinned against the LORD.” 
        c) Do that truly recognizing, as God’s Word says, that the wages
of sin is death - not just physical, but an eternal separation from God.
IV  THEN PRAISE GOD FOR HIS FORGIVENESS.  (12:7a,13)
    1. David was forgiven. (13)
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin.  You are
not going to die.”
        a) David showed his true penitence in these words he wrote in
Psalm 51: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing
love; according to your great compassion blot out my
transgressions.  Wash away all  my iniquity and cleanse me from
my sin.  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always
before me.”
        b) Not because of David’s doing, but because of the Lord’s doing
- His mercy, His love, His compassion - David could then go on to
pray (as we shall sing after this sermon), “Create in me a clean heart,
O God. - Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your
Holy Spirit from me. -  Restore to me the joy of your salvation.”
    2. Yes, God brought good out of bad.
        a) David was not killed, as he deserved, but was forgiven, his sins
not held against Him.  The joy of salvation - what marvelous grace!
        b) And while David’s child died here - and that consequence we
leave in God’s wisdom, God had promised and planned another child
who was to come from David’s line, a descendant of David.  The
people referred to Him as the Son of David, remember?  This Son,
God’s own Son, would die too, not from His sickness, but because of
our sickness of sin.  Jesus took that, all of it, on Himself on the cross,
and with His innocence atoned for us the guilty.
    3. God still promises us His goodness.  (7a,13b)
        a) Yes, earthly consequences may come for breaking a law, like a
fine having to be paid. - “You are the man!”
        b) But where there is true repentance before God for sin, there is
no eternal consequence or “fine” or penalty.  Because of Jesus’ atoning
death for our sins we hear Him on the cross saying, “Father, forgive
them.”  What wonderful goodness!  We too, because of our Savior,
can hear what David heard: “The LORD has taken away your sin.”  
     4. Praise God for the joy of our salvation!
        a) I am sure that many fathers today will hear expressions of
thanks.  That’s good - and not just on Father’s Day.
        b) But don’t forget our Father in heaven.  For Him let every day
be a Father’s Day, a day to say thanks for the forgiveness of our sins of
which we have so many, sins which cannot condemn us anymore
because Jesus is our Savior.
        c) May the Holy Spirit by Word and Sacrament strengthen us
firmly in such saving and rejoicing faith.

    Let’s sum up now by going back to our sermon theme.  Who easily
sees sins in others?  “I AM THE ONE.”   Who needs to see sin in
himself or herself?  “I AM THE ONE.”    Who needs to have a
repentant heart?  “I AM THE ONE.”  And who should praise God
for His forgiveness?  “I AM THE ONE.”  Let’s all - out loud or to
ourselves - say that together right now: “I AM THE ONE.”  Amen. 

August 17-19, 2013 Text: Hebrews 12:1-3 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude “FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM!”

PENTECOST 13

August 17-19, 2013

Text: Hebrews 12:1-3

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

“FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM!”

1.     Jesus endured the cross.

2.     We fix our eyes on Him.

Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

          Motivation. It’s the why behind what people do. For instance some grown men who make it sound like the really enjoy lying on the couch watching movies or playing video games will push their bodies to the limit, work out for hours and allow other grown men to publicly berate and belittle them all for the chance to become an NFL football player. On the negative side the teen heroin addict is so motivated to get another fix that he will do the unthinkable and steal from his parents and grandparents and raid his friends parent’s medicine cabinet. Some motivations can be very powerful. Today in God’s Word the Holy Spirit gives a peek into the heart and mind of our Lord Jesus Christ. He lets us see some of the why behind what Jesus did.

          But let’s start with the what. We are told that Jesus “endured the cross, scorning its shame.” Here we are reminded of what Jesus did to become the author and perfecter of our faith. That’s another way of saying Jesus is the one who did it all from A to Z, from first to last. He’s the starter and finisher. He got no breaks. It was all on Him. But for Jesus that meant the cross. I think we’ve all heard as least somewhere the horrors of the means of execution called crucifixion. Jesus endured that on top of being roughed up by the Roman soldiers, scourged and pounded on the head with a crown of thorns. Hopefully we all know that the physical pain was the easy part and the most severe pain was being separated from God as He was punished for the sins of the world causing Him to cry in agony “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The writer to the Hebrews asks us to think of yet another aspect, the shame and disgrace. Maybe we think of the fact that those crucified were left naked, hanging on a cross near the entrance to the city for all who passed by to heckle and jeer. If only that were all there was to it. Jesus bore the shame of sin, all sin. You know the shame of your sins. You know how it feels when you are caught and your sins are laid out there for everybody to see. Jesus experienced the shame of everyone’s sins. He hung before God as the 13 year old boy who bludgeoned his grandma to death with a hatchet and hammer. He hung there as the Cleveland Creep who kidnapped and brutalized women. On the cross Jesus was the drug dealer, a liar, a murderer, a rapist, a molester. We could go on and on but let’s not. Jesus had all of that shame attached to Him and He scorned it. He said, “Bring it on!”

          Why did He do it? Why was the holy Son of God willing to do that? “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame.” For the joy set before Him. Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him. It gave Him joy. It made Him happy. Not enduring the pain. Not taking on the shame. Winning souls. You. Me. With Him forever. Jesus had you in mind when He was on that cross. You were so worth it to Him. The thought of having you in heaven gave Him such joy He scorned the shame.  So that Jim Guenther and the rest of Lois’ family could have comfort in the midst of  sorrow and know that death actually meant life, that gave Jesus such joy He scored the shame. That’s why He did it. That’s why the cross and its shame was worth it to Him. For the joy set before Him.

          Knowing why Jesus did what He did motivates us too. We respond to the joy of Jesus and we fix our eyes on Him. Just like God’s people in the past needed to. At the time the letter to the Hebrews was written some of the Jewish Christians were thinking of leaving Jesus and going back to Old Testament living just as if Jesus had never come. It was getting a little tough to live as a Christian back then. The Holy Spirit had the writer to the Hebrews remind them of all their heroes of faith in chapter 11, believers who had come before them and needed to keep the faith especially when things weren’t going so well. He wrote, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.”

          We fix our eyes on Jesus. A picture is being used of a runner in a race. The runners need to fix their eyes on the finish line. We fix our eyes on Jesus. The runner throws off everything that hinders. Imagine trying to run a race with winter boots on, or your winter coat. Some of you may know that at our church picnic I wore a winter parka into the dunk tank because the water was so cold. Then some naughty, naughty children legally and through blatant cheating dunked me again and again. That coat got so heavy. I had to take it off. It was hindering me from climbing out of the tank. What is there that hinders you, that takes your eyes off Jesus? Are there some earthly goals, career highlights, more important to you than Jesus? Throw them off. They are not worth it. Are your eyes fixed on things that won’t last? Hold them up next to Jesus, their glory fades. Fix your eyes on Jesus.

          Then there is the sin that so easily entangles. Another word picture. Ever try running with your shoelaces tied together? Doesn’t work so well, does it? We need to learn to look at sin that way, as something that is going to trip us up. The Devil has a nasty sneaky way of getting Christians to think that some sins aren’t so bad, they are little or normal. He wants to trip us up. And so when you as scared of some punishment or what someone will think of you he tempts you to lie. And you do. And that lie breeds more lies. It becomes a way of life for you. You are entangled in a web of lies. Your eyes are not on Jesus. Or maybe you play that little comparison game. You want someone else’s popularity, or their things or their spouse. You become discontent with your own. It eats at you. You think about it. Pretty soon you’re charging yourself into debt, you’re flirting, you’re tearing down another’s reputation, you’re cheating on your taxes, you have nothing to give to Jesus as a thankoffering. You are entangled. Your eyes are off Jesus. All of that started with a “little” sin. Throw it off.

          There is a better way. Fix your eyes on Jesus and run with perseverance the race marked out for you. Veteran parents will tell you that parenting is a marathon, not a sprint. You are in it for the long hall. So you don’t judge by the day or even by the year but by the final product. Veteran soldiers of the cross will tell you the same thing. Life as a Christian is a marathon, not a sprint.  It is in the tasks of daily living that your faith needs to show and that matters much more than the short lived firework display of the day you made your confirmation vows. As our other readings made clear following Christ will get you opposed. We need to fix our eyes on Jesus. “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Fix your eyes on Jesus. He endured opposition from sinful men. We will too. The Lord has not revealed the future of true Christianity in America to us. He hasn’t shown us what’s going to happen to people like us who hold to Bible truth no matter what. Do you think we will face opposition from sinful men when we continue to say there is salvation only through  Jesus, that sex is to be reserved for marriage, that gay marriage is not marriage and is abominable to God? I think so. Are going to grow weary and lose heart? Like the Hebrew Christians will be tempted to join churches where the going isn’t quite so tough? Not if we keep our eyes on Jesus who for the joy set before Him endured the cross.

          That was His motivation. Let’s have it be ours too. We have the right to be joyful now. Jesus lives. Jesus rules. But the best joy is certainly to come. We get to be with Jesus and finally understand just how special we are to Him. Don’t throw it away for a short term easier path. No matter what you are going through right now, whether your life of following Jesus is easy or hard, fix your eyes on Jesus. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross for you. Amen.

PENTECOST 11 August 3-5, 2013 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 2:18-26 “FROM MEANINGLESS TO MEANINGFUL”

PENTECOST 11

August 3-5, 2013

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 2:18-26

“FROM MEANINGLESS TO MEANINGFUL”

1.     Everything really is meaningless without Jesus.

2.     Everything becomes meaningful with Him.

Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:18-26 (NIV  1984) "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." 18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. 20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. 21 For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. 22 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless. 24 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? 26 To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

          Sometimes it’s nice to learn from other people’s mistakes. Sure, it’s true that often we learn best from our own mistakes but isn’t it nicer to learn to watch your speed by passing the other guy who’s stopped with flashing lights behind him? Isn’t it better for you to remember that snow driving is slow driving by seeing the other guy fishtail or spin out rather than yourself? Today we get a chance to learn from someone else’s mistakes. Actually we get to learn from a teacher. Not just any teacher but a man who calls himself the Teacher, the one God used to write the Bible book of Ecclesiastes. Many people believe this teacher to be King Solomon because of the way the Teacher identifies himself as the son of King David, a king himself, living in Jerusalem and having great wisdom and great wealth. What do we get to learn? How to avoid being meaningless.

          The Teacher had found life to be meaningless. "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."  That’s one of the main thoughts of this entire book. The Teacher then went on to describe how he had tried to find happiness, meaning in life by pursuing earthly wisdom and learning and when he learned it all. He was still feeling empty. Meaningless. Then he tried to find meaning by pursuing pleasure. First he tried neutral pleasures, laughter and entertainment, building projects and gardens and parks. He amassed great wealth and tried sinful pleasures of all kinds. He summed it up this way in chapter 2:10-11 “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. 11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”

In our text the Teacher contemplated something that takes up a good portion of our lives, working and acquiring things. “I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.” I guess that about sums it up. You work hard all your life. You save and take care of your things. You die and someone else gets your things. They may not value them like you do or take care of them. You can be frugal and save money and your heirs might waste it. That's  it. Life is meaningless.

Or it can be. We probably haven’t gone down all the roads to meaningless that the Teacher did but you can recognize the times we have been there. You know how when you make a purchase and you got a great deal and how good you felt? But that feeling doesn’t last. Kids, remember that toy you had to have for Christmas, or that video game you had to have? Still using it? Oh yeah and how about that work thing. If all there is to life is an endless cycle of working to pay bills and keep your head above water and stress about things all night, life is meaningless. Working hard and saving up and building things only to have the next generation ruin and waste it all is meaningless. The Teacher is right. Everything is meaningless.

Or should we say, he was half right. Everything can be meaningless. But it doesn’t have to be and should not be for people like us. What will make the difference? Jesus, Jesus, only Jesus. “A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?” Did you catch it? “Without him who can find enjoyment.” Without whom? The Savior God. The Lord. In Old Testament times the Teacher, or Solomon, simply knew their Savior as the LORD, the powerful God how saves and promised to send a Savior. We know that Savior is Jesus Christ. While everything really is meaningless without Jesus everything becomes meaningful with Him!

There is more to life than eat drink, work and die. There is eternal life. Life on earth can seem meaningless because it is messed up by sin. Our loving heavenly Father does not want us stuck in a sin filled world so when Adam and Eve messed it up by sinning and we continue to mess it up with our sins God stepped in with a new plan. Let this home go to pot and give us a new one. We generally call that heaven. We can’t get there on our own. We don’t belong there as sinners. We need to be cleansed of our sins so God planned and promised and fulfilled the sending of Jesus who lived for us and took our sins away and gives to every believer in Him the gift of eternal life in heaven. That’s coming but it changes now. Now everything for us believers is meaningful. Jesus said in John 10:10 “I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full.” Knowing Jesus is your Savior, that heaven is your home, that Hell is real and where those who don’t believe in Jesus condemn themselves to changes everything about this life and it becomes meaningful. Take eating. It is meaningful because I get to express my thanks to the Lord for providing. I can realize that He is strengthening me physically to do what I need to do to provide for my family and be a witness where I am at. Take work. With Jesus I see it as a mask for God to provide, something for me to do my best at because it’s for the Lord. I can look for opportunities to talk about Jesus. Just a couple of weeks ago I got that opportunity at the credit union service center just because my checking account says “Pastor Timothy Spaude.” How about your legacy? If God blesses you to have more than enough instead of fearing what you leave behind is meaningless you can make sure you entrust it to those who will use it to honor God by taking care of your family or funding Gospel work so people believe in Jesus and are saved instead of lost forever in Hell. With Jesus everything becomes meaningful.

          There’s an old Gospel Hymn that says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.” Try that sometime and see how everything is kept in perspective and meaningful with Jesus. That present you really wanted, that video game you had to have, that great bargain you got…hold it up next to Jesus. See how it shines next to Him and you’ll be able to enjoy it in a meaningful way. A temporary joy as a blessing from Jesus. The illness you have, that ongoing problem in life, the not enough money existence…hold it up next to Jesus and watch the sting of it grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

          When my folks were still stuck living here rather than in heaven poor Chris had to listen to some Timmy stories way too many times as they got older including this one. It’s the one where I was the last of the 8 urchins left at home. All the rest were in school. My mom was scrubbing the floor with one of those squeeze sponge mops in the old metal All bucket. She had paused and being the nice little boy that I was, I was going to help her. So I took the mop and promptly spilled the whole bucket all over the floor. My mom was exasperated. At which point I was reported to say, “Mama, that wouldn’t have happened if Jesus hadn’t let it.” Now we can talk about my theology there another time, but what’s a spilled bucket of wash water compared to your child expressing trust in Jesus? “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.” Everything’s meaningful with Him. Go and live life to the full. Amen.