Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, October 10. How can you discover true joy and contentment? Today's podcast offers soul satisfying answers to that question. Let's finish the series from the book of Ecclesiastes with simple guidelines for how to enjoy life. The 12th chapter of Ecclesiastes sort of sums it all up at the end. And he's talking about, as we've been through here, just highlighting some areas you remember we talked about in the second chapter. He talked about all the things he tried, indulging himself and achieving. Then he says, let us hear the conclusion of this whole matter. He's been through all of what seems to be good and right and what would satisfy and ended up not satisfying.
And he said, let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God, keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it be evil. Now, you know, if we are wise, we'll just take what he says in these last two verses and save ourselves a whole lot of trouble. Because you see, a lot of folks are going through the first 11 chapters in the first part of the 12th chapter, trying to find out what in life really satisfies them.
How do you enjoy life? And he says, man, I've done all of that. And he's done some things we couldn't do and haven't done, because he's been through it all.
He's tried it all. And his conclusion is, none of those things really satisfy the human heart. You don't really find enjoyment out of achieving everything, building all you want, having all the money, you want all the pleasures, all the people, all the relationships, all the things that gratify the flesh. He says, when you put it all together, he says, just all one big empty hole. He says, because in essence, the whole matter is wrapped up in relationship to God and obeying him, because that's the whole issue that's involved. Now, let me say this, I'm approaching this from a Christian point of view, because the first step is always to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and commit your life to him.
That's got to be the foundation. There is no fulfillment in life apart from that. But having done that, building on that foundation of your faith in him, the next step is to find out what is God's purpose for my life.
The second thing is this. And that is, commit yourself to live in the center of his will. Now, you won't always do it, but you need to come to some place in your life that you're going to make a commitment that when God shows me his purpose in my life, I'm committing myself to walk in his will.
There's something about settling that once and for all. I didn't say there's something about doing it for once and for all, but there's something about settling, that your purpose in life, whatever it is, God has shown you what that is, and your desire is to be committed to him and to walk in his will day by day. When you do that about a commitment to walk in his will, you're going to stumble and fall.
But I'll tell you something, when God hears you make that commitment to him, I believe God puts all of his supernatural effort together, which is no problem with him to help you to stay in the confines of his will for your life, once you make that commitment. The third thing, and that is to be open with other people. And you see, that's what God tried to teach those 11, those 12 apostles. He tried to teach them to be open with each other. And in the process of doing that, he came up with all kinds of things in their lives.
And they had a battle with that. And you see, what is the church but a community and a family and a body of Christ? A body of Christ, people who are joined together by what?
By the relationship to Jesus Christ. That's what put us together. Some of you are from Georgia, some of you are from Florida, you know, Arizona, California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Virginia, Ohio, Idaho, Nebraska, what do we have in common? We didn't come to the same place, didn't have the same parents. Some of us don't even speak the same language. You're not the same age, you don't look like anybody else. Fingerprints aren't like anybody else.
Intelligence is the same as anyone else. Everybody's different. God hasn't called you and someone else to do the very same thing. All of us are totally different. What brought us together? One thing, sometime in our life, we made a decision to accept the Son of God as our Savior and our lifestyle. And He put all of us together. Now, why did He put us together? He put us together to learn how to love one another.
That's why He put the body together. And in learning to love one another, what happens? Then we begin to support one another.
And so we have the strength of the support that comes in people loving each other. You never learn to enjoy life until you're willing to be open. Admit you're a sinner, not perfect, never will be, going to make mistakes, going to do your best, still going to fall and make failures in life that may be embarrassing sometimes, but you're on your way to fulfill God's purpose for your life.
Until you're able to accept yourself in that life, never enjoy life, because here's what you'll have to do. If you're not open, then you'll have to be covered. And if you're covered, here's how you stay covered. You have to be very sensitive to who's around you, who's listening to what you're saying. So I don't feel that way.
Yes, you do. If you're not open, you're keeping it all covered up. So somebody wants to get close, you say not too close.
Why? Because you're not too sure that you want them to know everything about your life. And nobody cares about knowing everything about your life. But you see, if you don't open up, and let folks see that you're human, because we all know you are, how can we get on the inside of you, and affirm you, and become a strength to you, and support you, and lift you up, pray for you, love you, care for you, if we don't know anything about you? And you see, sometimes the people who hurt the most are the ones who have the most difficult time opening their heart. And listen, you and I have to learn to be sensitive to those people who are not enjoying life.
Let me tell you something, I don't believe there's anybody alive who wouldn't like to, if they knew how to. So when you meet somebody that you think, well, here's a poor fellow, a gal, a his lady who's having a hard time, now listen, you have to decide one or two things. Are you too busy to get involved in their life?
Or do you want God to up your enjoyment by reaching out to somebody who's having a problem, and get involved in their life? You see, unless I'm willing to open my life up, and say to somebody, man, listen, I know what you feel, I've gone through the same thing. I've been just as frustrated as you have.
Been just as dead wrong as you are. Know all the failures, frustrations, the fears, things, I know exactly how you feel. You can tell me about it, and you don't have to feel threatened at all. You see, I don't believe Jesus Christ ever intends for us to be a threat to one another, so that we've got conflict. But he intends for us to be bumpers for each other. And that is to absorb each other's hurt. You say, aren't you talking about enjoying life? And then you're talking about hurt.
Right? Because you know, I know some folks who've been a blessing to me, who've helped absorb my hurts. And those people have been people who've enjoyed life. And let me tell you something, if you're not enjoying life, you can't be much help to somebody else who's not. Secondly, you won't be.
You know why? You say, I got enough problems of my own. I don't have time to get involved with you. What you really mean is, not that you don't have time, I just don't feel up to it.
That's really what you're saying. So you see, the healthier you and I are emotionally and spiritually, and the more open we are, the bigger blessing we're going to be to somebody else. And you see, I know that I can't pry anybody else's heart open. And God didn't say go pry somebody's life open. But what he wants us to do is to so love each other that the other person is motivated by love to open their heart, not for it to be pried open by curiosity and harshness on our part.
And I want to ask you, would you consider yourself open? I mean, you know, you're willing to let your hair down and just be somebody's friend and let somebody be your friend. If there's one thing God's people need above everything else in the world, it is not understanding more doctrine, though I believe you've got to know that.
But what they need above everything else is to learn how to love and to mingle with each other, not on this light, frothy level how you're doing. It's raining tonight. See you tomorrow. But listen, man, I've been thinking about you and praying for what you told me. I've been I've been really bringing that to God. And if I can do anything in the world to help you, I want to help you. And then listen, just don't tell folks that do something. But you can't enjoy life until you really get open.
You know, one of the best places to start with that is in your own home. Just open it up with your kids. Let them go ahead and find out that you're not perfect. They'll get over the shock. Soon as soon as they get over the shock, you know what happened? They'll just begin to grow and understand something about you. And you know what they'll be able to do? They'll be able to open their lives when they open themselves up.
They just go out in life better fitted to face the world than you and I were because nobody told us that when we were kids. Next thing. Expect the best. You say isn't that positive thinking?
Right. You know that if you expect the worst, you get it. Listen, if you're a salesman, if you get up on Monday morning, you say, Well, this is gonna be a tough week. I just had this feeling it's gonna be a bad week. I guarantee you, your sales will be down because you've decided they're gonna be down.
It's what we don't realize. Our body travels the route our mind prescribes. If you decide right now, tonight it's raining. It's messy outside. The traffic is going to be slow tomorrow morning. I'm probably gonna be late to work.
I'm gonna get fussed at and I'm gonna you know what I guarantee you tomorrow when you wake up, it'll take 10 times the energy to get up. If you said tonight it is making us what kind of way whether we have tomorrow tomorrow, I'm gonna get up excited. I'm gonna anticipate God's best. I'm gonna do my best. I'm gonna take one step further in the will of God for my life tomorrow. I'm gonna meet some interesting people and I'm gonna give honest eight hours day. I'm gonna do my best in school.
Tomorrow is gonna be a super day. Now you may say yeah, but if I said it wasn't work right because you see you're not convinced. And let me ask you, do you expect the best? Let me ask this about your children.
If you want to find out whether it works or not, you just check them out. If you expect your kids to rebel and you expect them to be dishonest and you expect all these negative things, I guarantee you, you will get what you expect because after a while they're gonna say, well, that's what they expect. I might as well do it.
They keep accusing me of it. But if you express towards your children a positive attitude that you expect the best from them, that you know they want the best from God in their life and they're gonna give their best, they may fumble and fall, but deep down inside they'll be motivated to give their best. Because is it not true that we do just about what is expected of us? You see, what I'm asking you is this. You want to enjoy life? Then let me ask you, are you expecting the best?
Listen, I'm gonna tell you how I feel. I expect the best from God. I expect to give my best. I expect his best. Why not?
You know what the other alternative is? Don't expect the best. Don't give my best.
Don't enjoy life. Listen, if it is determined by my attitude, why not think the best? Now, some of you may have a hard time with that, but all I'm gonna ask you is I challenge you to try it. You decide tonight before you go to bed how you're gonna get up. All right, next thing. Now, here's the thing I want you to get a hold of. Always be working towards some goal.
Let me say it by that. If it's not some big goal out here, always be working towards something you want. If it's something you want or something you want to accomplish. Listen, you show me somebody who's got everything.
Well, Solomon's a good example, who's got everything, does not need anything, does not want anything, and I'll show you somebody who's not enjoying life. There's something about always being amidst the challenge of achieving. And let me ask you this.
What is there that you are working toward in your life? I mean, let's put it this way. Let's just go ahead and say something material. Because you want something material does not mean that you're materialistic. Materialistic, you're materialistic when that becomes the obsession of your life.
Because you want something material does not mean you're materialistic. Everybody ought to want something. Now, I wouldn't begin to say, how many of you want something and tell us what it is, we'd be here the rest of the night. I'm sure you want something. But let's think about this.
Think about it. Is there something that you're working toward? Do you have some specific goal? Or is there something you'd like to have that you know, you have a secret desire that you're working towards?
Maybe you're putting a few pennies back here, a few dollars back there. And you know, when you get it, you know what you'll discover? It's not the greatest thing in the world. The greatest thing about it is the trip.
It was the trip. And for some people, the greatest thing about it is having the thing but for some folks, it's the trip getting there. I believe people who really enjoy life are always working towards something out there. And what I'm asking you is, what is that thing you work?
If you see if you have the idea, well, you know, I just don't want anything. I have sort of doubt that to begin with, but you ought to be able to decide and to look in your life and say, what is there out there that I'm working toward I'd like to have and I'm gonna work toward achieving that or reaching that everybody ought to have something that they're working to you see, what Solomon is saying is you ought to be able to enjoy the profits of your labors. Now let's say for example, you're a homemaker and you've got something in mind and you're putting it back a little bit here and saving there and and maybe it's a piece of furniture or maybe it's a piece of clothing or whatever it might be, but it's something you're working toward. You see, what is what it does it motivates you. Everybody needs to be motivated. Show me an unmotivated person, I'll show you somebody who's miserable.
Next. And then you and I'll try something new. If you're gonna enjoy life, you can't get the same old rut. On the Alaska highway, there's a sign said, choose your rut carefully, you'll be in it for the next 200 miles.
That's before it was paid. Now let me ask you something. When is the last time you really tried something new? Do you go to the same restaurants? Eat the same kind of food? You know, some folks, I don't care what restaurant they go in, they got to have the same thing.
They're afraid to try anything new. Now that's a simple thing. But it's so true. Listen, life gets boring. If you do the same thing all the time. Do you go home the same way every day, go to work the same way every every day?
Do you sort of wear and look the same way every day? You see, life ought to be ever expanding, and we ought to be doing something new. You see, one reason some folks don't have any friends is they're not willing to do anything new. They feel secure in their rut. But listen, the only thing about rut living is you know what a rut is?
A rut is a grave with both ends knocked up. So what you're doing is you're just living and dying at the same time. And God wants us to be alive. The next thing, reserve some time for yourself. Now that time ought to be first of all of God. Some time by yourself that you're just you all alone. Now you may have a large family, small family, you ought to have some time when nobody's around but just you. And then something that you like to do for yourself. Now I guess if there's one one of these things that I really have to work at, it's that one. And what I've discovered, if that's a problem with you, like it is with me, the best way to handle that is to get somebody to do something that you that likes to do the same thing you do and do it together.
And then one last thing. And that is, and I think this is probably the ultimate key and that is you have to keep a balance in your life. You got to give the Lord some time, then you've got to work, and then you have to play, and then you ought to build relationships in your life.
But you see, there has to be a balance. And we said, America's God oftentimes is its work. And we worship the work.
We work at our play, we play at our worship, when God wants us to live a balanced life. Now, let me tell you do one or two things, listen carefully, you can stick all those notes in your Bible in the drawer and say, Well, fine. Or you can take those three sermons, and you can take whatever you can use out of all now watch this carefully.
You can take whatever you can use, and you can use all of it out of all three of them. And you can put them on one sheet of paper or one card, and you can begin to work those things in your life, not all at one time, but one at a time. We've already decided what we're going to start with, we're going to start beginning tonight before you leave here, expressing gratitude towards someone. And then you who have courage are willing to decide the night before you go to bed, how you're going to wake up tomorrow morning. And maybe you want to commit yourself to somebody in your home this way, I'm going to wake up tomorrow morning. And you see, if you don't, by the time they get through laughing at you, you will have waken up joyfully, you see.
So you'll be helped by that. But you know, if you're sitting here tonight, and you're not a Christian, everything I've said is in vain until you acknowledge the fact that you're living with a load of sin. So heavy, it lasts for eternity, unless you ask the Lord Jesus Christ to come into your heart and forgive you of your sin. If you're sitting here as a believer, you've got a dirty conscience. You're not clean on the inside, not in the center of God's will. You know what his purpose for your life is, but you're uncommitted to walk in, you'll never find what we're talking about.
All these things we mentioned last week, if you violate those, you'll never find what we're talking about. You see, you know what God is saying to us, you want to enjoy life. The choice is up to you, not God.
He's made it possible. And we have to choose if we want to enjoy life, we want to waste it. Thank you for listening to How to Enjoy Life. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
