Ecclesiastes 2024

And we'll be reading from Ecclesiastes chapter 5 verse 8 through to chapter 6 verse 12. If you see the poor oppressed in a district and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things. For 1 official is eyed by a higher 1, and over than both are others higher still. The increase from the land is taken by all. The king himself profits from the fields.

Whoever loves money never has enough. Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them? And what benefits are they to the owners, except to feast their eyes on them.

The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they little or much. But as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep. I have seen a grievous evil under the sun. Wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners or wealth lost through some misfortune so that when they have children, There is nothing left for them to inherit. Everyone comes naked from their mother's womb.

And as everyone comes, so they depart. They can take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. This too is a grievous evil. As everyone comes so they depart, and what do they gain since they toil for the wind? All their days they eat in darkness.

With great frustration, affliction, and anger. This is what I have observed to be good that it is appropriate for a person to eat to drink and find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life. God has given them for this is their lot. Moreover, when god gives someone wealth and possessions and the ability to enjoy them to accept their lot and be happy in their toil, This is a gift of god. They seldom reflect on the days of their life because god keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.

I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind. God gives some people wealth, possessions, and honor so that they lack nothing their heart's desire, but god does not grant them the ability to enjoy them. And strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil. A man may have a hundred children and live many years yet no matter how long he lives.

If he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. It comes without meaning. It departs in darkness. And in darkness, his name is shrouded. Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest.

Than does that man. Even if he lives a thousand years twice over, but fails to enjoy his prosperity, Do not all go to the same place. Everyone's toil is for their mouth. Yet their appetite is never satisfied. What advantage have the wise over fools?

What do the poor gain by knowing how to conduct themselves before others? Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Whatever exists has already been named and what humanity is has been known. No 1 can contend with someone who is stronger.

The more words, the less meaning. And how does that profit anyone? For who knows what is good for a person in life? During the few and meaningless days they pass through like a shadow. Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?

Pete? I was just talking beforehand, about, you know, understanding ecclesiastes And I think 1 of the reasons when when you read it, that it's quite funny, isn't it? In part? I mean, very powerfully sad in other parts. But quite funny is that all you really have to do, is to read that and then look at the world and then read that and look at the world and it's just what's going on.

So it's not that difficult once you understand how how to understand Ecclesiastes. Let me pray. Father help us now. As we look at this passage, there's so much stuff here that is so, where we're at as a as a country and as a people. So please speak to us.

Would you please give us the grace to hear and to respond in Jesus' name, our man. Thomas Moore was the chancellor of Henry the eighth and then of course he was executed by Henry the eighth if you know that story. But Thomas Moore invented the word utopia. Utopia. And utopia was supposed to be this perfect place, probably an island somewhere perfect place of social and and political and a political system.

Now Thomas Moore was a was a Catholic and he defined utopia in terms of understanding that there would be gods there, but utopia became a much more secularized thing and became something that the secularists, the people without god sort of took over as a replacement for heaven. So utopia is a sort of replacement of heaven but on earth without god. So it's heaven on earth without god. That's what utopia is. And there are all kinds if you go through history, all kinds of utopian dreams throughout the history of of the human race.

Ranging from, you know, communism to capitalism to materialism to educationalism, social Darwinism. You may have heard some of these things humanism and even religions, are are really about, trying to find a sort of, heaven on earth. And that's why there's a lot of fighting over land. If I had that land, we would find heaven and earth and all that sort of stuff. And all of that really traps people into believing that they can find heaven without god on earth.

And I suppose, the best hymn to a utopian dream is John Lennon's imagine. You know that song? It's a very moving song, isn't it? I must have heard it thousands of times in my lot. I learned the drums to that song.

I have a very you know, very partial to the song, but really investigate the words and you'll see what he's on about. Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try, no hell below us, above us only sky. So he's he's down under the sun exactly where Ecclesiastes is. Imagine there's no heaven. It's easy if you try.

No hell below us above us only sky. Imagine all the people living for today. Imagine there's no countries. It isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for.

No religion too. Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only 1 I hope someday you'll join us and the world will live as 1. Imagine no possessions. I wonder if you can.

No need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man. Imagine all the people start sharing, sorry, imagine all the people sharing all the world. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only 1. I hope someday you'll join us. And the world will live us 1.

It is many ways as a lovely song, and the tune is phenomenal. But it really is a hymn to the the utopian dream. That's what it's about. And therefore, the teacher Solomon of Ecclesiastes would say it's all about humans trying to find heaven under the sun above us is only sky. So we're trying to find heaven under the sun.

And because of that, The teacher of Ecclesiastes Solomon himself would say it's empty, it's meaningless, really nice, Magical sentimental sentimental words, but the reality, the harsh reality is, it's only imagine. It's only imagination. It's only a dream. Remove god, and all you've got is imagine. A dream.

And that m imagine and that dream, however nice it is doesn't change anything or anyone. I mean, John Lennon, who wrote that song. I mean, I have a very partial to John Lennon, so I hope I'm not so critical. But on that LP that imagine is written on, he also wrote a hate song to Paul McCartney called How do you sleep at night? The piano that Imagine was written on was sold for 2000000 dollars back in the nineties.

It's a white piano. John and Yoko. Again, I I have a lot of sort of sympathy for Johnny. I went to see Yoko's art exhibition, recently up in London. So John and Yoko, yeah, that they had a spending spree which only took a few minutes where they bought 80 fur coats.

So imagine no possession. I wonder if you can. But we're all a bit like that, don't we? And that and that's what people do under the sun. We try to replace above the sun, stuff, and experience with under the sun experiences.

We try it. We use the concepts of above the sun and apply them to under the sun. So we don't have a heaven, so we want a utopia. We try to have a heaven on earth. Or if you're really crew crewed, you have a bucket list that you're working through to to get all those experiences from this earth that you can before you die.

We don't have a savior so we imagine that there could be a brotherhood of man. We don't have a god or eternity, so we make a perfume and put it in a bottle and spray ourself with it from birth to death because we have an eternity. It's as if we have to earth everything in order sort of to buy that which is above the sun. And that's what Solomon the teacher has got to. He's got to money.

He's got to wealth. He's got to money and wealth as a substitute god. He's got to money and wealth as is this the place that you can buy your own personal utopia if you had enough money He's got to this subject of money because that's where a lot of our hopes and dreams are for a better utopian life. It's interesting that when, the pope at the time of of, of, Thomas Moore so it was so taken up with Thomas Moore's idea of utopia that he sent a bloke called Peter Martha, out to try and find Utopia. And Peter Marta went sailing around the world, trying to find an island called Utopia, but this is the strange thing.

He said if you find the island of utopia, I will give you a lot of gold. A lot of financial reward. Just think about that. If you found utopia, why do you need the money? But, you know, that's how it works.

So here's Solomon then. He's working his way through. He's writing his diary. He's tried all kinds of things. Last week, he tried formulistic religion and it didn't work.

Now it's money. Money, he's got in his eyes. And he's got 6 things to say, and we're gonna work through them as quick as I can. First of all, the love of money buys oppression Certainly not utopia. The love of money buys oppression, certainly not a utopia.

Look at verses 8 to 9. If you see the poor oppressed in a district and justice and rights denied do not be surprised at such things for 1 official is eyed by the higher 1 and and over them both by others at higher still, the increase from the land is taken by all the king himself prophets from the fields. Now we we looked at these verses when we were looking at the ladder in chapter 4. But you see this money can never buy utopia because it doesn't change the human heart. You could only have a utopia if the heart is changed.

But here, money is a full savior, you see. We're we're we're thinking it could buy a a utility. It can't. Voltaire, he wrote about utopia, and he said utopia is is paved with gold. But let's not let the poor go there.

They shouldn't be allowed to walk on the gold. So it's interesting. And solomon says Don't be surprised at such things. You know, greed is oppressive. Don't be surprised when it comes to money.

That's what happens. Corruption and power and, they're everywhere. They're all over the place. People get into influential places in the government. They'll establish laws and they'll establish rules that will always benefit themselves and put down poorer.

That's how it works. There are there's 1 employee over another employee eyeing up the other, eyeing up the other, there's too busy eyeing each other up and treading on each other that the poor are faintly forgotten. That's what happens. The rich gets richer, the poor gets poorer. Look at verse 9.

It's a very intriguing verse. This took me up this week. This wasn't slightly more difficult, but look at verse 9. The increase from the land is taken by all, the king himself profits from the fields. Now what's that talking about?

I think it's saying that when the land is used properly, whoever owns it, if the lands used propped it properly, which is to produce food, which will feed everyone including the poor. When the land is is is used properly. It's good for the whole country, even the poor. But if the king was just gonna make profit out of it, He'll leave the land to go fallow because he's invested in the land, leave it until everything goes up and becomes more expensive. And when land is right at its peak, he then sells the land and he's made a profit.

Now you tell me that doesn't happen. It's all over the place. The rich you're owning land and buildings, and there's people that are homeless and there are buildings that are empty and they own just go down the end of the road and you'll see the, what's it called? The odeon thi thing, it's been left there for years empty so that the investors can make more money when the price goes up and no 1 can use it. And that's what happens.

Leave the landfellow, no food, no gleaning, of the of the poor. They can't sort of take the the food that falls off the trees legally around them. No food produced the rich can afford the food, the poor car. That's what happens. Don't be surprised.

Don't be surprised. You can't get utopia you see this way. Alan De Boden, who's a very interesting writer, wrote a fan tastic book. I really recommend it called, status anxiety. He's a an English, a philosopher.

He died recently, and that book is outstanding. And, in it, he writes about the nineteenth century social Darwinism, which was a sort of trying to make a utopia. Listen to what it says. He hears summary of social Darwinism. Social Darwinists insist that the suffering and early death of the poor were beneficial to society as a whole and should therefore not be prevented by government interference.

The week were nature's mistakes and had to be allowed to perish before they could reproduce and thereby thereby contaminate the rest of the population. He goes on and he quotes 1 of the most famous social Darwinists and said, biology itself disagrees with the concept of charity. In other words, if you're old and frail or you've disabled in some way, no charity to you because biology is saying we should get rid of you. Money brings oppression. Money makes the rich people stamp on the poor.

Money. It's a crime. Share it fairly, but don't take a slice of my pie. Money. So they say.

It's the root of all evil today, but if you ask for a rise, it's no surprise. They're giving none away. So the writer doesn't pin his hopes on YouTube, you'd hope you're in in in money. That's the first point. Money doesn't buy a money buys oppression, not utopia.

Second point, love of money buys dissatisfaction. Not a personal, utopia. Look at verses 10 to 12. Whoever loves money never has enough money. Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.

This too is meaningless. As goods increase so do those who consume them? And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them? The sleep of the laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man perm permits him no sleep. Money, the love of money, by his dissatisfaction, not a personal utopia.

Let me ask you a question here. Give me an answer and nod. Bear with me. Is it true that if you become rich, you automatically become happy Can you answer me that? Is it true that if you become rich, you automatically become happy.

Who agrees with that statement? Who disagrees with that statement? No, you don't. You know it's not true, but you can't help believing it. And having a horrible hope.

We live and act as if that's true. Give me money. That's what I want. Give me money. If only I had a bit more money, I'd be happier.

We believe that. We don't believe it. But we believe in. Seneca, the Roman, bloke, said, money has never never yet made anyone rich. We don't believe that.

We put our hope in gold and not god. So we push and we strive, and we plan, and we struggle, and we dream. If we could have more, we could invest more. If we can invest more, we could enjoy more. Notice it's the love of money, verse 10, whoever loves money never has money enough.

Those who love money are never satisfied, you see. You never have money enough. You need more. It's like drinking salt water to quench your thirst, the more you drink, the more you have to drink. It's there's this insatiable desire once you go down the love of money, you may love money, but money doesn't love you.

That's the problem. Haven't you seen those people in the in those, slot machine places? Haven't you seen them? They're pouring in pound after pound after pound and doing the thing and or pressing the buttons and lights are flashing. Haven't you seen them?

And they just can't help putting and then even when the buzz, whistle goes off and a bucket of money falls into their Where does the bucket of money go back into the machine? They're always losers. They always want They win, but then they put their winnings back in. So thirsty for money, How much money does it take to be satisfied? Just a little bit more.

I think it was, DL Moody, an old American preacher, used the illustration, that I read some years ago. I think it was him. He's he talked about 2 servants in a Victorian household, and they were in the kitchen, and the servants were talking to each other. And 1 servant said, I just need 50 pounds. If I had 50 pounds in my life, everything would be perfect.

I just if I own it, but, you know, without that, gonna be tough. But 50 pounds, I've been over the moon, I'd be happy, I'd be able to do everything I want, pay off my bills, be able to marry, I'd have a perfect life 50 quid. He was telling this to the other servant. The master was down in the kitchen and heard and said, oh, I heard what you were saying. Here's 50 pounds.

Gave the servant 50 pounds. The master went away. What do you think the servant said as soon as the master went away? I wish I'd said a hundred. We're never satisfied.

Look at verse 11 as goods increase. So do those who consume them. Look at the rich. They have to have maids and gardeners and nannies and countants and bodyguards and, you know, all kinds of people around them. I was hearing about, what's her name?

Gwyneth Peltro who went to the Abba concert thing that's in London, which is phenomenal. But she went there and she had to be surrounded by bodyguard. She wanted to dance but there were all paid bodyguards around her dancing. You know? It's weird.

But you always have to have that. And so as goods increase so do those who consume them around you? So what real gain is there to the owner? Look at the second half of verse 11. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast their eyes on them?

They see the goods. They see the money, but everybody else is taking them. I read a biography, of, Jimmy Hendrix, a great guitarist, and how tragic his life was. And how unbelievably brilliant he was, but people surrounded him and just took off him so much. He hardly had any money.

Jimmy Hendrix. He went to number 1 when he came over to this country, and and you know, they sold millions of singles in those days. Millions, not like they do today, but millions He went to number 1 with Hey Joe. Yeah? He got 1 dollar for that, but everybody else was rich.

All around him. That's what happens. You just look at the world and you see this wisdom is there. Not only is there no gain for the owner of wealth, but riches are a liability. Look at verse 12.

You can't sleep when you've got riches. The anxiety that you have with your wealth, you have to have, you know, high walls and electric fences and security guards. You can't just sleep when I was in South Africa. The the rich places he went to, you had to go security guards and high fences and electric and people with guns out in your garden. That's what the rich had.

I think I'd rather live in the other place. It's extraordinary, and you can't sleep at night. Intigestion pills are your, you know, that's what you have to have. Give us an interject. Oh, I've got stomach aches, and where can I get those pills from?

The medicine for that. That's what happens when you're rich. You can never really relax in it. Jesus said, Don't store up treasures on earth. Why?

Because moth and rust and thieves can destroy it. You have to worry about that. You're worried about a moth. You're so rich you worry about a moth. Isn't that extraordinary?

A moth? Take my stuff. To be earthbound under the sun humanist means that decay, theft, and moth nibble daily at your fragile meaning of life. Money, money, money, must be funny in a rich man's world, money, money, money, always sunny in a rich man's world. No, it's not.

No, it's not. So money buys dissatisfaction, not personal, utopia third thing, The love of money buys great harm. Look at verses 13 and 14. I've seen that a grievous evil under the sun. Wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, or wealth lost through some misfortune.

So that when he has a son, there is nothing left for him. Now that phrase, grievous evil literally means sickening evil, sickening sort of madness. Here here here's what money's doing. It's making someone absolutely dizzy woo woo woozy. Sick.

They can't really stand up properly. It's a grievous evil under the sun, wealth hoarded. You see, what happens? Riches, And growing riches is like a balloon. You know, you put more breath in the bigger the balloon gets.

And the thinner the plastic, you know, gets as you blow into the balloon. And the more riches you get the more fragile, more vulnerable. You're so vulnerable. The balloon's so vulnerable the tiny little pinprick will blow the balloon apart. And the more riches you get, then it's scary.

And so what do you do? You have to hoard it. You have to protect it. Instead of it being your savior, you become its savior, and you put it away and you have schemes for hiding it, and you just keep it. Verse 13, I've seen a grievous evil under the sun, wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, hoarding resources that as we'll see in a minute, god has given you for for using for the benefit of others and to enjoy yourself No.

No. No. Now the rich hoarded. They've gotta get more. I mean, why do you need to be a billionaire?

Who needs to be that? And yet you have to be 1 and be a multi billionaire and hoard it and hoard it and hoard it and hoard it and you never enjoy it. And it's pathetic. You have bigger bonds but all your stuff is in the barns. You've never used it.

I don't care too much for money. Money can't buy me love. Money Bies great harm, not love, and not utopia. 4 thing. The love of money buys nothing of eternity.

Look at verses 15 to 17. Everyone comes naked from the mother's womb And as everyone comes, so they depart. They have nothing from their toil. They take nothing from their toil. That they had, they can carry in their hands.

This too is a grieve receivable. There's that word again. As everyone comes, so they depart, And what do they gain since they toil for the wind? All their day, all their days they eat in darkness, with great frustration, affliction, and anger. Naked you came into the world, naked you leave the world.

You didn't come down the birth canal, wherein the latest Nike trainers, did you? You didn't come out of your mom's womb holding a property portfolio. Naked in naked out unless you've invested in the Bank of heaven. That's the big thing. When you read of the next billionaire who dies, always remind yourself that now he's dead, you're richer than him.

I always do this. I can actually play guitar better than Jimmy Hendrix. Isn't that amazing? Unless, unless, of course, he's in heaven playing the heart. That's not a guitar.

I can dance better than Michael Jackson, even with a bad hip. Yeah. Actually, the bad hip helps. I'm richer than the billionaire, but guys. Isn't that extraordinary?

How much did he leave everything? Life is a sort of pilgrimage between 2 nakedness. This is hisness. Yeah. And money is that pathetic thing we tried to gain, but it has no power over death.

Look at verse 17. It's absolutely tragic. All his days, he eats in darkness with great frustration, affliction, and anger. I don't think Solomon's mocking and laughing at wealth so much as feeling it. He's feeling it.

What a way to sum up a wealthy man? Tolstoy, great storyteller. His book of short stories are fantastic. If you're not up to his big ones, He has a short story, that I read many years ago. It's 1 of my favorite stories.

It's called how much land does a man need. How much land does a man need? He introduces us to a very rich man, but there is a country that has this competition to make you even richer. If you go to the elders of this country, give all that you possess to the elders of the country. They will let you do this competition.

And the competition is this, if at the top of the mat, you go to the top of the mountain in this country and you see the sun rise, from that point to seeing the sunset, if you run down the mountain and run around all this fantastic land, All the land that you run around, if you can get to the top of the mountain by sunset is yours, and you will be rich indeed. Richer than all the money you've given. So the rich man decides to do it. He walks around how he's gonna run. He thinks if I get here by 12 o'clock, I'll be able to go further and get that what those wonderful orchards, I'm gonna be so rich, and then I'll be able to make it back.

The day comes. He's at the top of the mountain. Remember he's gotta get to the top of the mountain before the sun, sets. And he's allowed to start running when the sun rises. He's up the top of the mountain with his servant.

The sun rises, first flashes running. Down the hill, run run, run pacing himself, down, down, down, down, gets down the bottom of the hill in the valley running, gets easily to the place that he said. That if he got to by 12 o'clock, he's there by 11. It's fantastic. And so he's gonna go around the orchard and a little bit more.

And he's going how much land does a man need as he's running, pacing himself. I want a lot. I want a lot. I want a lot. It's gonna be rich indeed.

And he goes around. He comes back around the orchards. Now he's facing. He's coming back home, coming to the mountain. And now he feels the sun is setting quicker than he thought, and he's running, and he's getting out of breath much land does man need?

How much land does man need? I want a lot. I want a lot. He's running and running. He gets some bottom of the mountain.

And the sun's gone down. It's lost it all. And then someone he sees up the mountain or hears them shouting and He thinks they're laughing and he shouts out to them. At least I had a go in life. At least I did something.

Okay. I lost it all, but I had a go. And then he realizes they're not mocking him. It's the servant. They can still see the sun.

They're at the top of the mountain. So he's pushing and pushing and sweating and cutting himself, and he's getting to the top of the mountain, and he gets right up to the top of the mountain. And he sees this last ray of sun go down. How much land does a man need? The only trouble says talking, he had a massive heart attack and died.

The servant takes a shovel and digs a hole 6 foot by 2. And puts the man in it. And the question, how much land does a man need? And the answer, less if you're cremated. It's an extraordinary thing that riches by you nothing for eternity.

Fiftly, and I must hurry. Riches, these are real riches. He turns to real riches, and it's a wonderful little thing. There's a little taste of heaven on earth that certain people can have. Look at verses 18 and to 20.

This is what I have observed to be good. That it is appropriate for a person to eat drink and find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life god has given them. For this is their lot. Listen, Moreover, when god gives someone wealth and possession and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil. This is a gift of god.

They seldom reflect on days of their life. Because god keeps them occupied with gladness of heart. You see, the answer to greed and the love of money is not asceticism. It's not withdrawing into some kind of false poverty. It's not what Buddha did and just become another poor person.

It's not a violent demonstration against wealth. It's not giving away all your money. It's grateful, responsible enjoyment that god has given you what you've got. It's enjoying god and what he's given you and using those gifts for the glory of god. To have a above the sun experience or under the or above the sun experience, I'm sorry.

To have an under under the sun, attitude to money and to to live as if it's god, you have to go above the sun. You have to know god. It's a gift. It's a gift of god. It's not just that you were clever and earning.

Who gave your cleverness and job? All your money is a gift of god. Enjoy. Don't hoard. Enjoy.

Enjoy giving to other people as well. It's a gift of god. And when you know that, you know godliness with contentment as Paul says in 1 Timothy, you'll know that you can use money properly. It's knowing god it's knowing above the sun god in your life and living a satisfied life and you see that throughout the new testament. But the amazing thing is people don't wanna know god, and so you come to chapter 6.

And there's so much here. I'm wondering whether there's another sermon here. But there's so much here because in chapter 6, these are the people that try to live with money without god. If you know god, then god is your god, not gold. And when you know god is your god, you'll use gold properly.

That's what he's saying. It's wonderful. But in chapter 6, and this is my 6 point, life without God is a total not dystopia. It's not a utopia. Just have a look very quickly.

We'll have a whiz through these things. I have seen another evil under the sun and it weighs heavily on men. God gives a man wealth possession and honesty. God's given it so that he lacks nothing his heart desires. He's got what his heart desires but god does not enable him to enjoy them and a stranger enjoys them instead.

This is meaningless, a grievous evil. So he's not recognizing that god's put him in the position. God's given him this gift. He's living for in his utopia. He's got everything he desires, but he doesn't know god, and so he's unable to enjoy them.

There's an amazing scene in the last battle. C s Lewis's narnia series in the last in the last battle is last 1 where you've got these dwarfs, and I can't tell you the whole story now. I've run out of time, but you've got these dwarfs that are near heaven's gate really, near heaven's door, but they will not believe in Azland. And even though they're sitting, in this beautiful field full of flowers and food and delicious things, they've got them all, but they can't taste them. They taste the food and it tastes like donkey poo.

They drink the beautiful wine and it tastes like Donkey We. They think when Azlan comes and gives them this beautiful feast that he's mocking And that that the children are saying, what's going on? And he's saying, I'm giving them, blessing them, giving them food, and they eat into a pie, and they say, who me this donkey poo. They can't enjoy what they've got because they don't know Azland who's the god Jesus figure. Look at verses uh-uh 6 to 3 of uh-uh 3 to 6 of of chapter 6.

It talks about them not enjoying their prosperity. They can't enjoy the things around them. In fact, He says that it's it's better to be, to be someone who is stillborn than actually have 2000 years of prosperity, but you don't enjoy it. Stillborn is a dead person. You're better off dead.

Than having these gifts of god, but you just can't enjoy them. And there are so many people like this, aren't there? And then he ends. Look at verse, verse 7. Everyone toils for their mouth, yet their appetite is never satisfied, never satisfied.

It's the end of everything. They they thought Utopia was there, but without god, it's tasteless, it's donkey poo, It's donkey urine. It's horrible. They can't see God's blessing in it. They just see themselves as the persecuted people that cannot find utopia.

Okay. I need to finish. How do we land this? There's no utopia. There's no heaven on earth, but there is a new heaven and a new earth.

Let me read this, and I'll read it slowly. I won't read it all, but slowly. This is the last chapter in the book of the Bible. Revelation 22. Listen to this.

This is heaven. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life as clean as crystal flowing from the throne of god and of the lamb, as Jesus, down the middle of the great street of the city, On each side of the river stood the tree of life bearing 12 crops of fruit yielding its fruit every month, fresh fruit all the time. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse? The throne of god and of the land will be in the city.

And his servants will serve him, and they will see his face and in his, and his name will be on their foreheads. There'll be no more night They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun for the lord god will give them light and they will reign forever and ever verse 12. Look, I'm coming soon. My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I'm the alpha and the amiga, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

Bless to those who wash their robes. That they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city outside are the dogs and those who practice magic arts and the sexually immoral and the murderers and the idolatrous and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright morning star, and the spirit and the bride say come, and let the 1 who hears say come. Let the 1 who's who is thirsty come.

Let the 1 who wish wishes take the free gift of the rewater of life. And so it goes on. That's heaven. And if you understand heaven, and if god is in your heart, and you know that's where you're going, then you can even enjoy riches on this earth. These temporary gifts.

But if these riches are your god, you will not enjoy them. 1 last application. With that in mind, John Lennon's song, imagine, is terrifying. At least the first verses. It's terrifying.

Listen to it. Imagine there's no heaven. No. No heaven. Nothing bigger than the riches here.

And what can those witches do? We've just seen. What can they do? Can they bring a utopia? No.

Not even a utopia. Imagine there's no heaven, once there's no heaven, there's no god. No, I don't want to imagine. I know what Jesus said. The 1 who died and rose again, that there is a heaven, and there's a river of water of life, and there's fruit yielding its it's fruit trees yielding its fruit every month.

There is life and god and light and beauty. And satisfaction there. Imagine those who haven't, why would anyone do that when there is? It's easy if you try. No.

It's really hard that there's nothing better than the riches that I gain in this world and leave behind me naked into this world I come and naked into this world I go. Nothing more than that but between nakedness is there's a waste of time. No hell below us. No judgment. No god that's gonna say that there's wrong and there's right.

That makes everything right. Or nothing matters because there's no right and wrong. There's no judgment, no hell below us. We're living in a world where it doesn't matter an inch whether I help an old lady across the road or push her in front of the the bus. It doesn't matter.

There's no hell. It doesn't matter whether I rape you or I reward you. No hell below us. Imagine that. No, John.

Above us only sky. There's nothing but sky. No god. Imagine all the people living for today. I don't have to imagine that, John.

You did it. We've all done it. Living for today for the now because there's nothing bigger than the now. I don't know what the next second will bring. So I live for the now.

I live for my 84 coach now. Live for my 2000000 dollar piano now. I live for my New York flat now. I live for the now. I have to live for the now.

Cause I don't know when the bullet's gonna come John. I don't know when the bloke on the corner of my flat, he's going to shoot me dead. So I just live for them now just lived for the now, but the nows killed me if you know his story. Only Jesus is rich enough to come down into this world and bias heaven and bring us the promise of a new creation where there's this beauty where we're free where we will be more ourselves than ever before where we'll see god and the lord Jesus face to face, and we'll walk through the city of the new creation. That's our hope And when you know that hope, you can enjoy this world, and you can enjoy its riches.

Let's pray. As we're praying, let me read out these words. Here's a better song. Isaac Watts wrote these words hundreds of years ago, and he knew this truth. Let me read these as we pray and and use these to reflect on what we've just heard.

I was like, what's wrote these when I survey the wondrous cross on which the prince of glory died My richest gain, I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, lord, that I should boast, saving the death of Christ my god. All the vain things that charm me most. I sacrificed them to his blood. See from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down.

Did air such love and sorrow meet, or thorns composed so rich a crown? Were the whole realm of Nature Mine, that would be an offering far too small. Love so amazing, so divine demands my soul, my life, my all.