INTRO.- John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Regardless of where we are on the economical, social or spiritual scale of life God wants us to experience the better life, a full life. And some things are just better than others in this life.
ILL.- For example, I think that living in the Midwest is far better than living on either coast in the US. California is not for me, unless it would be northern CA. I’ve heard some good things about northern CA, but not much good about southern CA other than the good weather. And most of the eastern states and especially northeastern states are not for me. I visited Boston one time in 1989 and was not the least bit impressed.
As I was walking along the street some man was beating on a woman, whom I presumed to be his wife. They were cussing one another and carrying on. And some woman came to me, asking for money. She appeared to be drunk or drugged up. Both of these incidents happened in broad daylight. No telling what happens after dark in Boston.
I went to Boston to run the marathon and while there I went to church on Sunday morning. It was pouring rain that Sunday morning so I called a taxi to go to church. NEVER DID THAT BEFORE. I attended the 3rd Baptist Church of Boston because it was close by the hotel where I was staying. I quickly found out that it was not a Southern Baptist or a large church. It was an old church house in Boston, very large, ornate, but poorly attended. I doubt there were over 80 people that Sunday morning and the service seemed dead. The people were not friendly at all. And they were not impressed that a stranger (marathon runner, no less) from the Midwest would show up and worship with them.
Ah, there’s nothing like the Midwest for me. Born and raised here and I think I’ll stay. Some places and things are just better than others. We all probably have it better than we realize.
Phil. 4:11-13 “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
V. 11 KVJ “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”
IN WHATEVER STATE I AM, I AM CONTENT. Do you know what state that is? Some say Arkansas. Some say….
No matter what state in America we live, we can find a certain amount of physical or material contentment. It all depends on our focus. If we have the right focus we can make it, endure, and even be at peace.
Heb. 13:5 MSG “Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, "I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you." True contentment can only be found in the Lord. He is our security blanket in life and eternity. He is our only hope for a better life, here and now, there and then.
Eccl. 2:24 “A man can do nothing better than…. A person can do nothing better than what?
PROP.- Let’s consider three thoughts in this text. A person can do nothing better than:
1- Find satisfaction in life
2- Recognize good
3- Seek to please God
I. WE CAN DO NOTHING BETTER THAN FIND SATISFACTION IN LIFE
V. 24 “A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work.”
We can do nothing better than to eat and drink. Wow! This sounds good and somewhat contrary to what we’ve always heard. It is good and it is scriptural to enjoy what God has given us for food and drink.
ILL.- There was an old man whose family could no longer afford to take care of him. So the family decided that a nursing home for the aged would be appropriate.
Of course the old man rejected the idea at first, but soon he was convinced that it was the right thing to do. On his first day at the home, he spent most of his time lying in bed reflecting on life, feeling lonely. A while later, an orderly stopped by to see how the old man’s first day was going.
"How you doing today?" she said to the old man, "Ok,” the Old man replied with a nod.
In no time the two began talking up a storm. As the conversation began to drag on, the orderly was eyeing the room filled with fresh flowers, cards and balloons from friends and relatives. She noticed a bowl full of peanuts sitting on top of the table next to the bed, and help herself to a handful.
As the two continued to converse with each other, the orderly kept eating more helpings of the peanuts. She looked at her watch and noticed that nearly 2 hours had passed and said, "My goodness, the time has gone by quickly. I have to tend to other people here too." "That’s okay.", said the old man, "I feel so much better being able to talk to someone."
Looking into the bowl the orderly said, "I feel awful! I ate almost all of your peanuts!" The old man responded, "That’s okay. Ever since I got these false teeth all I could do was suck the chocolate off of them anyhow." The moral of the story is…..well, you name it! At least, that old man enjoyed his chocolate.
And who doesn’t enjoy chocolate? Most women do and probably most men. If you get it in the right candy bar it will do and Snicker is my favorite.
We can do nothing better than to eat and drink. What’s your favorite dinner meal? Favorite drink? Food is a favorite subject.
I Tim. 6:17 “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”
God has richly provided for us in life. Depending on the generation in which you were raised you may not have had a tremendous amount of food when you were young but most of us never starved. I have, however, heard of people living off beans and greens. We had better than that in my home, for which I am thankful. I probably wasn’t as thankful when I was a kid but I am now.
I Tim. 4:1-4 “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.”
Most food is good for us as long as we give thanks to God for it and ask His blessing on it. Some food may be better (and healthier) for us than others, but whatever we eat we should be thankful for it and give thanks.
ILL.- Dr. David Soper in GOD IS INESCAPABLE suggests that basically the difference between a prison and a monastery is just the difference between griping and gratitude. Imprisoned criminals spend every waking moment griping; self-imprisoned saints spend every waking moment offering thanks. Dr. Soper says that when a criminal becomes a saint, a prison may become a monastery; when a saint gives up gratitude, a monastery may become a prison.
Gratitude makes all the difference in life. Griping brings us down, displeases God and is a poor witness. Whereas gratitude lifts our spirits, praises God and draws people to God. A thankful person is a fantastic witness for Christ.
Be thankful for whatever food you have or whatever is set before you. Be it beans, greens, steak, tators, soup, salad or whatever. Be thankful and give thanks. Giving thanks will make it taste better and work better in your body!
Also, there is nothing better than finding satisfaction in your work. I realize that this may be hard for some people because they honestly don’t like what they do for a living.
Somehow we all must look at the positive side of what we do. There will always be both positives and negatives in our work, but we must zero in on the positives, be thankful and try to find some satisfaction in doing a good job.
ILL.- One lady wrote, "My boss would tell me every time I did something correct that it was ’perfect’. She always made sure I knew what was expected of her and always welcomed my opinions. She shared stories with me and kept our communication open. When I was offered another job without looking for it, she totally supported me, even though she said, ’Where am I going to find someone to replace you?’. After being with her only a short time, she bought me a little gift on my last day and thanked me for all the great work. What a great boss!"
Brothers and sisters, when you work for a great boss it makes all the difference in the world in your work and attitude.
Col. 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
We’re all serving the Lord, whatever we do for a living. Retired, tired or revived, we belong to Christ and we serve Him. When you have a great boss to work for you CAN find some satisfaction in your work.
II. WE CAN DO NOTHING BETTER THAN RECOGNIZE GOOD
ILL.- A father came home from a very rugged day at work and said to his wife, "I’ve had a bad day. Please! If you have any bad news tonight, keep it to yourself." To which she replied, "O.K. NO bad news. Now for the good news. Remember our four children? Well, three of them didn’t break an arm today."
We must somehow “see” the good stuff in our lives.
ILL.- Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1719. The book is a fictional autobiography of an English castaway who spends 28 years on a remote island, encountering savages, captives, and mutineers before being rescued.
Supposedly when Robinson Crusoe was wrecked on his lonely island, he drew up in two columns what he called the evil and the good, as follows:
- He was cast on a desolate island, but still alive—not drowned, as all his ship’s company were.
- He was divided from mankind and banished from human society, but he was not starving.
- He had no clothes, but he was in a hot climate where he didn’t need them.
- He was without means of defense, but he saw no wild beasts.
- He had no soul to speak to, but God had sent the ship so near to the shore that he could get of it all things necessary for his wants.
So he concluded that there was not any condition in the world so miserable but there was something positive to be thankful for.
We are often quite blessed and don’t even see it. We are either blind or else near-sighted.
V. 24-25 “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, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?”
Without Him (the Lord), who can eat or find any enjoyment or for that matter, find anything good in this life? Do you realize how good you have it and where it comes from?
ILL.- My mother was very good to me but I wasn’t always good to her. When I was a teenager I was something of a pain. AND YOU SAID WHAT? I have a three-year-older brother named Larry. And one day mother was having trouble with me over something and asked Larry to do something to me. But what he did wasn’t all that good.
He started slugging me (hitting me) on my shoulder, which I did not like. He was also bigger than me but I defended myself by busting him in the nose. And boy, did I hit a gusher! His nose bled easily and that stopped the fight right then and there. AND THANK GOD, WE HAVEN’T FOUGHT SINCE THAT TIME. We’ve exchanged a few words, but we haven’t fought any more. However, mother was good to me in spite of me testing her spirit.
Mom passed away on June 30, 2002, after living the last 10 months of her life in the National Healthcare in Joplin, MO.
She did something very special. She had a beneficiaries will on her house, which became my house the day she passed from this life. NOW WASN’T THAT SWEET AND GRACIOUS OF HER?
I had never owned a house in my life. She knew it and wanted me to have it even though I most certainly didn’t deserve it. Guess what? We don’t deserve any of the good blessings that we have from our gracious Heavenly Father! And the person who has the better life here and now is the person who recognizes where all their good comes from!
James 1:16-17 “Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
Every good gift is from above. If it’s good, it’s from God. I didn’t work for it. I didn’t create it. I didn’t buy it. I didn’t sweat for it. I didn’t bargain for it. It came from God. Therefore, He should get the credit and the thanks. It’s a smart person who recognizes that all his good stuff comes from the Lord and not his own hands.
III. WE CAN DO NOTHING BETTER THAN SEEK TO PLEASE GOD
Here’s the attitude that some people have toward God.
ILL.- I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please.”
Many people don’t want too much of God. Why not? I suppose some think that will make them too religious or too much of a Christian.
But I would say that this world has never seen anyone who was over Christianized…if there is such a word! We all could use a whole lot more fire when it comes to the Lord!
We recall that the church of Laodicea in Rev. 3:15-16 was neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm, and that’s why the Lord said he would spit them out of his mouth. And I know that sounds very bad.
I wonder if God were to give each of us a spiritual X-ray, MRI and Cat Scan, what would He find? Guess what? He doesn’t have a machine to do that. He doesn’t need a machine to do that. He can see right through us at any time and all the time. And He knows when we’re hot and when we’re not.
Instead of avoiding God or hiding from God, we need to draw near to God.
Heb. 10:22-23 “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
We’ve been washed in pure water, the waters of baptism and the blood of Christ. Therefore, we need to draw near to God. A man can do nothing better in life than to draw near to God and seek to please Him in all things.
V. 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.”
Wow! Did you hear those words? As we seek to please the Lord He will give us wisdom, knowledge and happiness. If that doesn’t crank you up or motivate you, what would? Could you a dose of wisdom, knowledge and happiness? I don’t know who couldn’t!
I Cor. 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
II Cor. 5:8-9 “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” Life is all about God! It’s all about honoring Him, pleasing Him and glorifying Him!
We’re here, on earth, in the church, and in the world, FOR HIM! And when we seek to please Him, we get blessed!
ILL.- David Brainerd was an American missionary to the Indians who died at the age of only twenty-nine. His diary reveals a young man intensely committed to God. Brainerd once said to Jonathan Edwards: “I do not go to heaven to be advanced but to give honor to God. It is no matter where I shall be stationed in heaven, whether I have a high seat or a low seat there. My heaven is to please God and glorify Him, and give all to Him, and to be wholly devoted to His glory.”
That’s it! That’s the attitude of faith that we all should have! Whether we’re here on earth or in heaven we’re here to please God; anyway, any time, any place.
There is nothing better in life than seeking to please God. Of course, for most of us, we won’t realize the truth of this until we leave this world.
CONCLUSION--------------------------------
Recently I read a prayer that an aging, Alzheimer patient prayed. "Lord, I don’t know who I am, I don’t know where I am, I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but Lord please help me!"
Brothers and sisters, there is nothing better in life than knowing the Lord, seeking the Lord, and trusting the Lord, no matter who you are and where you are! He is our only hope and help!
