We turn for our scripture reading tonight to Proverbs 23. We'll read the whole of Proverbs 23. And thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee, and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties, for they are deceitful meat. Labor not to be rich. Cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings. They fly away as an eagle toward heaven. Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats. For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. Eat and drink saith he to thee, but his heart is not with thee. The more so which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words. Speak not in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of thy words. Remove not the old landmark And enter not into the fields of the fatherless, for their Redeemer is mighty. He shall plead their cause with thee. Apply thine heart unto instruction and thine ears to the words of knowledge. Withhold not correction from the child, for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod and shalt deliver his soul from hell. My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. Yea, my reins shall rejoice when thy lips speak right things. Let not thine heart envy sinners, but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. For surely there is an end, and thine expectation shall not be cut off. Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. Be not among winebibbers, among riotous eaters of flesh, for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old. Buy the truth and sell it not, also wisdom and instruction and understanding. The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice, and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that beareth thee shall rejoice. My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. For a whore is a deep ditch, and a strange woman is a narrow pit. She also lieth in we as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men, who hath woe, who hath sorrow, who hath contentions, who hath babbling, who hath wounds without cause, who hath redness of eyes. They that tarry long at the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick. They have beaten me, and I felt it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again." We read the Word of God that far tonight. The text for our sermon is verses 4 and 5. Labor not to be rich. Cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings, they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, prayer day It's not a day for us to discuss the subject of prayer generally, as sometimes our little children might think. A prayer day is a day in which we express our dependence upon God for the earthly, physical needs that he supplies. Many years ago our great-great-grandfathers determined that it would be wise and good for the church to gather in the springtime. for the farmers went out into the field to plant their crop. And the purpose was to gather to ask God's blessing upon the coming planting season, to pray that God would be pleased to supply needs in the coming year. Today, there are not many of us whose livelihood is directly tied to the earth. And yet all of us are dependent upon the earth. That is, we are all dependent upon the Lord's provision to us as He makes that provision through the earth. Whether our occupation is that of a farmer or it's a factory worker, an accountant, or a bricklayer, or a Christian school teacher, we all depend upon the Lord's provision through the earth. And it's fitting, therefore, that we gather on this day in the springtime and we receive instruction from the Word of God with respect to earthly things. In our text, The inspired man of God, Solomon, is teaching wisdom to his son, and particularly with respect to his work. This passage is significant account of the present circumstances that we find ourselves in in the midst of this world. We live in a wealthy society with a high standard of living and in this world There is a shameless pursuit of earthly things. Men and women of this world are unashamed to make known that this is their desire, this is why they work and why they labor. They want nicer homes and nicer vehicles, they want to pad their bank account and increase their retirement funds. They want the latest of technology and the nicest, most exotic of vacations. The world in which we live is in pell-nell pursuit of material things. The world is in the grip of earthly-mindedness and materialism. And there is a danger for us as The Church of Jesus Christ. The danger is that we are infected with that same mindset as the world. The danger is that we too have our hearts set upon this world. And the things of this world and our life revolves around the pursuit of things and more things and better things. There's a great danger for the Church of Christ that we be consumed with materialism and earthly mindedness. It's good for us, therefore, hear this Word of God to receive instruction with respect to our life in this world and the coming year before us as to how we are to work and how we are to view these earthly things. Call your attention to the text under the theme, Labor not to be rich. First, the meaning. Secondly, the reason. And then thirdly, the alternative. Our text is addressing the matter of the Christian's work in this world. Labor not to be rich. Labor. The text is referring to our work. And work is not something that is inherently bad or evil. or sinful. God is a God who works, always eternally working without any weariness. And in the beginning, when God placed Adam and Eve into the garden in paradise, God gave them work in perfection. They were to dress and to keep the garden into which God had placed them. That work was not inherently wrong or sinful. It was good. It was noble. And that remains the case even after the fall into sin. Sin has certainly affected work. The curse of God after the fall as it relates to work is that now man works by the sweat of his brow. Work now is That of toilsome labor. It's time-consuming and back-breaking and sweat-inducing. A man labors and toils to eke out a living in the midst of this world after the fall. Work is difficult. It's painful. It's toilsome. But work is not inherently wrong or sinful. Work is good. Work is noble. And God gives to each of us in our life here on this earth work to do. That work in different times of life may be different from when we're young to when we're old. That work may be different for each one of us in our own unique circumstances. There's the farmer in his field, and the factory worker behind his machine, the accountant at his desk, and the Christian school teacher in the classroom, and the mother in the home, and the child in school. We all have our different callings, but God calls us all to work. God is ordinarily pleased to provide us with our daily bread in the way of our working. The Word of God says, if a man does not work, he does not eat. Ordinarily, God is pleased to provide the earthly things that we stand in need of in the way of our working. There are certainly dangers that come with respect to work. On the one hand, there's the danger of laziness where we refuse to work hard as God gives us ability. On the other hand, there's making of work an idol and being a workaholic. The matter of our work is fraught with so many dangers and pitfalls, and yet work itself is good, and God calls each of us to work hard to the best of our ability. The text is not merely addressing the matter of work though. The passage is getting at what is at the heart of our work. What is it that motivates us and drives us as we work? And what must not motivate and drive us is riches. Labor not to be rich. We must be careful here and understand what the Word of God says so that we don't misunderstand what God is teaching us here. The Word of God is not saying that riches in themselves are inherently wrong or sinful. We must understand and distinguish between the matter of God giving riches in His providence, and on the other hand, our own motivation and our own desire and what drives us as we work. Riches in themselves are not inherently Wrong or sinful? Riches, according to the Bible's definition, are when we have more than what we need for one day. We think about riches and how to define riches. We think in our mind of someone that has billions and billions of dollars. That's someone who's rich. According to the Bible's definition of riches, it's when a person has more than what they need for that day. Poverty is when we don't have enough for that day and its needs. Riches is when we have beyond what we need for this day. God may be pleased to give to us riches. And that is not something that's inherently sinful. As 1 Timothy 6 verse 17 says, charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high-minded nor trust in uncertain riches but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. The word of God is not that for a person who's rich they must hear that those riches are wrong and sinful. The Word of God indicates there are temptations. They may be high-minded. They may trust in riches, but must trust in the living God. But God gives all these good gifts richly for the child of God to enjoy. God may be pleased in His good providence and good pleasure to make us rich. He may be pleased in the way of our working hard to provide us with an abundance. And the response of the child of God is not shame or a guilty feeling on account of that. But the proper response of the child of God is one of humility and of gratitude to God who has given us these good gifts. That means then that poverty is not something holier than riches. There are spiritual dangers that come with riches. We'll mention some of them later in the sermon tonight. But there are also spiritual dangers that come with poverty. The Bible says there's the danger to steal. To try and seek what we need in an unlawful way. There's a temptation not to trust in God. There's a temptation in poverty to have one's focus and one's life wholly upon earthly things. There's the temptation to greed and to jealousy. It's not more inherently holy to be poor than to be rich. There are spiritual dangers for both. God may be pleased. to give riches, and we receive them then with thanks. But what the Word of God is teaching us in our passage is that we're not to labor with that as our motivation, with that in our heart, and as what drives us in our work. In verse 5, the passage speaks of our eyes being set upon those things. The eye is the window to the soul. Sinfully, our eye might be set upon earthly things because that's where our heart is set. Those earthly things consume our thoughts. They consume our desires. So that's what's wholly in view and what consumes us as we go off to work. The passage is addressing The man who goes off to work and his thought is, I'm going to work hard because I want to be rich. I'm going to work hard because I want more money in my bank account. I'm going to work hard because I want a really nice, large, expensive home. I want to pile up a bunch of money in retirement accounts. I want the latest clothing and the latest technology. I'm going to work hard because I want to be able to travel extensively to all the most exotic locations. The Word of God is addressing the man who goes to work. with the mindset, I'm not trying to be one of the elite and the uber wealthy, but I want more than what I have. The Word of God is exposing the sin of materialism, of earthly mindedness, of pleasure madness. of making idols out of this world and the things of this world, of money and of pleasures. Labor not to be rich. And verse four further explains the sense of that when it says, cease from thine own wisdom. Our own wisdom is not the wisdom of God. It's the wisdom of man, which is a supposed wisdom, but is not wisdom at all. We labor with the motivation of the pursuit of more and the pursuit of riches. We're following our own supposed wisdom, which is not wisdom. That's folly. In our own mind and in our own thinking, We may be tempted to think that riches equals happiness and therefore I'm going to labor to pursue riches because riches equals happiness, satisfaction, joy, pleasure. But that's not wisdom, that's folly because riches do not equal happiness. They may present us with a kind of promise of that, but they cannot deliver on that. All one needs to do for proof of that is to look at this world and to see men and women who are tremendously wealthy, but depressed, discontented, miserable. The pursuit of more is an endless, unfulfilling pursuit. One always wants more, and more, and more, and one is never satisfied. We may, in our own supposed wisdom, think riches equals security. If I have more things, I'll be protected against any trouble that may come in the future. There's a nice buffer, a nice padding between me and any affliction that comes because I've got all this money heaped up and all of this money stocked away in retirement accounts. I can't be touched. I'm safe. But that's not wisdom, that's folly. Because riches do not equal security. In our own wisdom, we take our eye off God and our eye is on self. How often don't we, in our own life, in our own thinking, define happiness and security in terms of things. How much I have, or how much I don't have. That laboring to be rich can show itself in different ways. It's possible that a man works hard as the head of the home and the breadwinner, day and night, six days a week. But what drives him is money, is riches. He wants more. He may be unwilling to give charitably. Because his pursuit of riches makes him have a tight-fisted grip upon all that he has because he always wants more and more and he's not ready to relinquish that grip and to give generously. He's laboring to be rich. That pursuit of riches might show itself in a wife and a mother who's sending her husband out the door, pursue riches. There's a certain life I want to maintain. There are certain things I want to do. I want to be able to spend. I want all these nice new things. And you better go off to work and labor to be rich. It might show itself in a young person. whose sole focus after high school is to get a job that will make him or her rich, or to go off to college and pursue a certain degree because following in that field, he'll be wealthy. Is it possible that a young person does not pursue the ministry of the Word of God or the calling of a teacher in a good Christian school, because those are not wealthy careers, because the focus is on the pursuit of riches. Each one of us must examine ourselves in our own lives and in our own work. What is it that characterizes us as children of God? What's the nature of our work ethic? What is it that gets us out of bed in the morning? And laboring throughout the day? What drives husbands, fathers, breadwinners, those who go out and work for a living in the midst of the world? Why do you labor? What's in the heart of the mother, and the wife, and the home, and the care of the home, and the encouragement of a husband and a father in his work? Why is it that young people are going off to work? Why is it that you pursue the career path that you do? Are we laboring to be rich? God in His good providence gives us riches. Receive them with thanks and in humility. But labor not to be rich and cease from your own wisdom. What's the reason for that command of God? The passage addresses that specifically, but before we mention what the text says, understand that there are many things from the Word of God that could be said in answer to that question. Why is it that God tells us, don't labor to be rich? Pursuit of riches comes with consequences, serious consequences. The love of money, the Word of God says, is the rut of all evil. Think about the example of Lot, who loved riches and the things of this world. And what were the consequences for him and his family on account of his pursuit of this world? Think about what can happen to families Perhaps at the death of an aged parent or a grandparent. And how often, sadly, you have family members who are fighting with one another over the top of the casket for the inheritance and for money and possessions to the destruction of the family. How often aren't marriages torn apart and the explanation is in part arguing over money and the things of this world. Think of all the spiritual dangers that the Word of God speaks of with respect to riches. Though riches are not inherently wrong and sinful, they are an occasion for us easily to be tempted. The temptation is for us when we're wealthy, To trust in self. To forget about God. To think that we've acquired all these things in our own strength. To think that because we have all these things, we're secure. And we don't live in daily dependence upon God. There are the temptations to greed, and to jealousy, to pride. There are many spiritual dangers that come. with riches, which ought in themselves to be a caution to us, that we not labor to be rich. But though the Word of God in other places speaks of those things, that's not the specific reason that's given here. The specific reason is mentioned in verse 5 when it says, Will thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? The Word of God is saying there, the things of this world are vain and empty. In themselves, they are nothing. The nothingness of earthly things shows itself in that they cannot provide happiness, satisfaction, That's the great promise of riches and wealth. If you have all these things, you'll be happy, you'll be satisfied. But they cannot provide. There is not happiness and satisfaction in things and in riches. They're empty. They're nothing. The nothingness of riches shows itself in that they cannot provide us with security. That again is the great promise of riches. If you have all these things, you're secure. You can't be touched. Any problem that comes, you're safe. But riches cannot provide security either. They're nothing. Why would we work for nothing? Why would we toil from sunup to sundown six days a week for that which the Word of God says is nothing? Labor not to be rich. Don't set your eyes upon that which is not, which is nothing. It's vain and it's empty. And the explanation of that goes on in verse 5. For riches certainly make themselves wings, they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. To sum up what's being said there, the point of the Word of God is riches and earthly things are fleeting. They pass away. Riches are like a bird that hatches It grows in the nest and then flies away. Like an eagle soars way up into heaven and is gone. Riches are not lasting. They're not enduring. They're temporary. They're fleeting. They're like a bird that quickly flies away. That's true with respect to those things in the midst of earthly life. How quickly can't those things be taken away from us? We live presently in a time of great wealth and a high standard of living. But in an instant, that could change. It was not too many years ago that there was a recession in the economy. And there were those who lost wealth, and businesses failed, and there was want in poverty. And we ought not think that we're so secure that that can't happen to us again, that in a moment, God can ordain the circumstances so that we lose everything. Moth and rust corrupt. Thieves break through and steal, Jesus says. These things are temporary, they're fleeting. And then, even if we live all of our life with those things, at the end of life, they fly away and are gone. When we die, we won't take any of those things with us. When the Lord Jesus Christ returns, it'll all be burned up. all of the grand homes, all of the money in the bank account, all of the vehicles, and all the things that a man might set his heart upon and make an idol of in this world, they're gone. They perish. They fly away like an eagle to the heavens. Labor not to be rich, for the things of this earth are temporary and fleeting. Do not labor for that which is nothing, which is vain and empty. Do not labor for that which is fleeting and temporary and passing, that can quickly be taken away in this life, or will certainly be taken away in death. Labor not to be rich. Cease from your own wisdom. There is an alternative to the child of God and how he works. And though the text does not state that explicitly, that's certainly implied clearly, though the text sets before us the negative and warns against that. In so doing, it also implies what is the positive. For it to cease from our own wisdom, that means then that we need the wisdom of God. What is real wisdom? And that's the theme of the book of Proverbs. Proverbs is teaching us wisdom, true wisdom, the wisdom of God. And the wisdom of God is Jesus Christ. Christ is the wisdom of God. Jesus Christ governs the child of God with respect to his work. Jesus Christ informs the motivation of the child of God and His goal in His labor. Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God in that He works. And His work is wholly unique in that His working is redemptive and atoning. Christ came to this world and Christ worked. And His work was the work that His Father had set Him to do, which was the salvation of His people. And by the work of Jesus Christ, we are provided for that which is not temporary and fleeting, but we are given by God in His grace that which is lasting and eternal. We are born again with a heavenly birth from above which can never be taken away from us. We have the hope of life with God in glory. In an inheritance that is eternal and incorruptible and undefiled. And that fades not away. In Jesus Christ. We have happiness, true joy and satisfaction which cannot be found anywhere else in this world. What riches cannot supply, Jesus Christ alone provides. In Jesus Christ we have security, eternal security. What riches cannot supply, we have in Jesus Christ. The wisdom of God in Jesus Christ informs and guides our work therefore. We work not with the motivation to get earthly things and to be rich, but we work hard with a very different motivation and goal which is ultimately the glory of God. That's wisdom. Wisdom is to use the best means to accomplish the highest goal and end. And the highest goal and end for the Christian is glorify and praise God, so that the Christian works, he works hard, but always with his eye on the glory of God in Jesus Christ. Colossians 3 verse 23, And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. We seek to glorify God in our work by using the time, the energy, the gifts, and the abilities that He's entrusted to our care as best as we can so that God is praised in our work. We seek to glorify God in our work by seeking first His church and kingdom. That's Matthew 6 verse 33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. We labor with a kingdom mindset. We work hard. as fathers and heads of home and breadwinners, to provide for the needs of our families, very different from laboring to be rich, to provide for the needs of our families, to have something left over to give to the poor in the church of Jesus Christ, and to support all of the various causes of the kingdom of Christ. Whether that be in the training of men for the ministry, or the spread of the gospel in missions and evangelism, or in the training of children in our good Christian schools. Our work is directly tied to the kingdom. We labor with not ourselves in view, but the good of the neighbor in view. How can I labor to serve another? That gives meaning and purpose and value to the callings of every child of God. It's not just the minister who has a calling from God and a special labor. Every child of God. Down to the lowliest ditch-digger. That's an important place, calling in the kingdom of Jesus Christ to work hard. To glorify God. To serve the neighbor. To seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. We don't labor to be rich. Because we have a far greater and a far better motivation. We have a Christian work ethic. Because we seek in all of our work to glorify our God. We work hard, not as wage earners in the kingdom and the covenant of God so that we have to work to get with God. We work hard out of thankfulness for the treasures that are ours in Christ, for joy and security in Jesus Christ. We labor trusting in God. If He's given to us our greatest need, He supplied His own Son to die for us, will He not give to us those other, lesser, earthly things that we need? He certainly will. We don't trust in riches. We trust in the living God, our Father, who will care for us, His children. Knowing that then we can and we do live loosely with respect to the things of this earth. Our hearts then are not set upon this earth and the things of it which are fleeting. Our hearts are set on those things which are above. For our life is hid with Christ in God. Amen. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we're thankful for wisdom from on high, which is the wisdom of Jesus Christ and Thy glory as that's revealed in Him. We pray that Thou wilt apply that to our hearts. Give to us grace and strength that we might serve Thee in this life. We might labor diligently to the glory of Thy name. Father, keep us in Thy care in this night. Provide for our needs and strengthen us to work yet in the remainder of this work week. And bring us safely to Thy house of prayer on the coming Sabbath according to Thy will. Forgive our sins for Jesus' sake. Amen. Let's sing Psalter number 246. We pray that you were edified by the preaching of the gospel today. Please join us for worship if you are ever in the area. For more information about our church, beliefs, or worship times, please visit our website at prccrete.org.