Now let’s continue on with the next verse, verse 19.  “And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool?”  Well we’ve already covered that, he was a fool.  “…Yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun.  This is also vanity.”  Because it’s all fleeting and it all comes to nothing, and it comes to evil.  “Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.”  Now he’s going to put himself into depression.  “For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion.  This also is vanity and a great evil.”  In other words he’s saying, “Look, whoever inherits this didn’t even work for it.  So that all my labor I’m going to leave to him and I don’t know what he’s going to do with it.”  So he goes into a great depression.  “For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?  For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief, yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night.  This is also vanity” (vs. 19-23).  Just going along and letting everything go into depression, be upset and everything at night.

“There is nothing better for a man, than he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour.  This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.”  So he did get a little balance out of this.  But what he really went through to try and find the extremes at both ends in order to have the wisdom to understand that God’s way is the only way.  “For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?”  In other words no one can do more than I have done.  “For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner He giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that He may give to him that is good before God.”  In other words God is going to take from the wicked and give to the righteous.  And he also saw this and this is what we’re going to teach the people in the millennium.  You need to heap up the things which are good.  You need to enjoy the life that God has given you.  And you need to look to the spiritual things beyond and the whole meaning of the plan and purpose of God because God has a great purpose for you.  And we need to constantly keep this vision before the people, and constantly show them and teach them that only God’s way will succeed.  He said, “This also is vanity and vexation of spirit” (vs. 24-26).  That is if it isn’t handled rightly.

Now chapter 3, and verse 1.  This is another very important thing that we are going to be teaching during the millennium.  “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”  And we’re going to make sure that this is so.  That babies will learn while they’re babies.  As children are growing up they are going to learn that there is a time and there is a place for them as they prepare for adulthood.  They are not going to be thrown into adult situations while they are adolescents or teenagers.  They will grow in this.  They will be taught the proper way, a proper time.

Now notice verse 2.  “A time to be born, and a time to die…”  And that’s what we will teach.  We will say there is coming a time when your life is going to end and God’s judgment is going to be upon you for what you do between this time and the time that you come to the end of your life. Whether you die as a sinner or accursed or whether you die instantly and are instantly changed and brought into the Kingdom of God.

“…A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace” (vs. 2-8).  And we’ll be teaching them all during the millennium it is a time of peace.  We’re going to teach them the lessons of what happens with war.  And I hope God will have plenty of what I like to refer to as video tapes so when we have history lessons and we begin teaching about human nature, we are going to have to show them all the things that human nature has done down through history.  So there will be no doubt, there will be no way that they can say that they have not have had the object lessons of these things.  So they will know, so that they will understand.

“What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?”  What profit is it?  We’ll see that in just a minute.  “I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.  He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also He hath set the world in their heart…”  And what we want to do is to have not the world set into their heart, but we want the Kingdom of God to be set in their heart.  And we want the Spirit of God in their hearts.  And we will want the commandments of God and the laws of God written in their hearts and in their minds.  “…So that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end” (vs. 9-11).  Well then, in the millennium will be different.  They will know from the beginning to the end.  Can you imagine what kind of classes that Noah can teach us concerning how the world was before the flood?  Now that’s going to be something, isn’t it?  Can you imagine what David is going to teach us concerning how he was inspired with all the Psalms and all of the writings that he did and how he loved God and was a man after God’s heart?  That’s going to be something.  Just think of all those things.  Think of what it’s going to be like when the apostles teach.  Think of what it’s going to be like with Christ teaching.  And He’ll be teaching us and then we will be teaching the people.  Think what it’s going to be like when we’re able to see God the Father and then He teaches us.  Now that’s really going to be a time.  So this is something.  So there’s a time.

Now let’s continue on here, verse 12, “I know that there is no good in them [that is the evil and in the world], but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.”  And that’s what we’re going to teach: to do good in your life.  “And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.  I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever; nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him” (vs. 12-14).  And so one of the purposes that we’re going to show the people is how to live their lives so that it will produce happiness and contentment.  Not the dissatisfaction that Solomon went through, because he abandoned the wisdom that God gave him and just used his own natural wisdom, and he came out a frustrated, sinful old man.

Now let’s look at what we’re going to teach them.  Let’s look at an example from the Bible.  We’re going to teach them what true happiness really is.  That it’s not going to be from the abundance of the physical things around them, but it’s going to be with the relationship that they have with God.  And it’s going to be with how they love God and serve God.  So let’s look at what the Bible teaches us concerning true happiness, because you see without fulfilling your life in the right way and having true happiness, which might be really described as true contentment rather than just this bubbly effervesce and the vanity of human nature of everything is happiness, happiness, happiness, happiness, you see.  The true happiness that comes with satisfaction, that comes with God’s Spirit, that comes in the way that God wants us to have.  So let’s look at this now.

Number one:  As far as the key to true happiness is, you have to fear and love God.  That is the beginning real key.  You have to fear and love God.  Let’s look at Psalm 128:1.  And this is what we’ll be teaching the people.  You know today we have the pursuit of happiness, and how many people are totally miserable while they’re trying to pursue happiness because they’re going about it exactly in the same way that Solomon did, through their own human experience, you see.  No, it’s going to be different.  We’re going to teach them true happiness.

“Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in His ways.  For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee” (Psa. 128:1-2).  And then we’re going to teach them the happiness in marriage.  And there is the beginning of the true love between a husband and wife, which then becomes the foundation of loving God.

Now let’s come to Psalm 112:1.  “Praise ye the LORD.  Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in His commandments.”  And what is the first commandment of all?  The first commandment of all is “Hear O Israel, the LORD our God is one LORD.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”  And that is the source of true happiness.  That’s why so many people are unhappy today.  That’s why they’re living their lives in vanity and frustration of spirit as Solomon said.  They don’t understand it.  They are seeking the wrong thing.  They are doing the wrong thing.  They are not fearing God and loving Him and keeping His commandments, and that’s the first key to having the happiness which comes from God.

Now here, Proverbs 28:14, “Happy is the man that feareth always:…”  Now this fear is great awe toward God.  And that great awe then develops into the love of God.  “…But he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.”  And boy, that’s sure true.  Anyone who hardens his heart during the millennium, that’s it.  That is it, they will loose out on salvation.  No question about it.

Number two: Happy are you if you keep the law.  That’s what we have right here, that fears always.  Now that keeps the law.  You must keep the laws of God to be happy.  You cannot have true happiness because sin is the penalty for breaking the laws.  And if you are sinning you are miserable. You are rotten.  You are vexed.  Vanity and frustration of spirit.

Here, Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” And that was part of what we covered with the Feast of Tabernacles last year - to have the vision, to catch that vision.  And we’re always going to be holding out to the people in the millennium the truth of the vision of the reality of their lives and the purpose in life and what God is doing, and what God wants to do with them.  “…But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”  Why?  Because you know you’re doing the right thing and God is blessing you in it, and God gives you strength in it. And true contentment and happiness comes from that.  Now a person can have a totally negative and carnal attitude toward the laws and commandments of God because they don’t love God first.  And so these things become restrictive.  And in being restrictive they’re not happy because these things “God has forced upon us.”  Well, God hasn’t forced anything upon anyone.  You have to choose.  And so happy is he that keeps the law.  There it is right there.  Remember what was said of king Solomon and all of that was there.  “Happy are your men, happy are those that serve you”, and so forth.

Number three:  There’s another little thing that comes along with this.  And that is there is correction.  And that’s one of the main things we are going to be doing in the millennium.  We are going to be correcting, teaching. And part of the way that the correction will come, as we saw yesterday, your teacher will be behind you and say, “Here is the way, walk in it”, when you go to the left hand or you go to the right hand.

Now let’s go to Job 5:17.  Now Job really went through the trial here, and when he said this, or I think it was one of his friends brought this out to him.  Yes, this is Job speaking.  “Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth…” Now, if you don’t understand the correction that is coming, like Job didn’t for a long time, then you may be most miserable.  So that’s why when there is correction that is coming, that you need to ask God for the understanding of it.  Why is this coming?  Help me to learn, Oh God.  And likewise in the millennium we’re going to be teaching people.  We’re going to be correcting them, see.  “…Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: for He maketh sore, and bindeth up: He woundeth, and His hand make whole.  He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.”  Now that’s something, isn’t it?

Here let’s go to the book of Hebrews and let’s see in our day today we are going to have times and circumstances and people.  That we are going to have life, we’re going to have death, we’re going to have all kinds of circumstances confront us, and all of these things form some kind of correction that is coming from God.  Because God wants us to have the character that comes from Him.  And human nature being as it is, and God made us to have human nature, then we need the correction.  And we need the correction then, so that we can have faith in God.  And the best way to have the correction is this:  let the correction come from God’s Spirit to your conscience.  That’s the first and easiest way.  If you’re conscience pricks you and God’s Spirit is leading you to correct you, then make that repentance and change.  That’s the easiest correction.  The next easiest correction is you read the word of God, and let the word of God correct you where you find you’re not doing what you should.  Well then conform you’re behavior and you life to the words of God.  Let that correction be there for you.  Then it begins to get more difficult from there.  Then other people correct you.  See, if the first three don’t work then other people begin to correct you.  And if that doesn’t work then God brings circumstances to correct you.  Now in the case of Job it got down to the point that even all these circumstances didn’t correct him and so God had to correct him personally.

Now notice, let’s pick it up here Hebrews 12:1, and let’s just understand that this is going to be very much part of our lives as we go down in time unto the end.  “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…” (Heb.12:1-2).  Always be looking to Jesus.  Look at His life.  Look at His example.  Look at what He went through.  Look at what He took upon Himself so that we can be saved, so that we can also be partakers of the correction that comes from God through his Spirit, through His word, through other people and through circumstances in our lives.

Now notice, notice how Jesus looked at it.  “…Who for the joy that was set before Him…” Now you see He always kept His mind on God.  Always kept His focus on the purpose as to why He was here.  And the whole purpose of the creation of human kind.  So there was joy because He knew the end result that this was the best.  “…For the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.  For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.  Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin” (vs. 2-4).  No, none of us have.  So you see in this life, in order for us to teach the people in the millennium how to have true happiness and to bring the right and proper correction to them, we have to yield and be corrected now of God.  And there are a lot of things in our lives that need to be changed.  There are a lot of things that maybe even during this Feast of Tabernacles you can make up your mind and think, “Yes, I need to change this, I need to change that, I need to correct this.  I need to do that.”  And go before God in repentance and repent and accept the correction and go ahead with the plan of action to make it right.  God will bless you in it.  You haven’t striven against blood.  I have not anointed one person in all my ministry for striving against sin and they were wounded or bloodied because of it.

“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the LORD, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him” (vs. 5).  Now we’re going to have chastening that we’re going to do for the people of the millennium.  Correction that we’re going to do.  Now also through this we learn then mercy, we learn then love, we learn then understanding.  So we will let the correction be in that way.

Now notice verse 6.  “For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.”  And especially for us because we are going to be in the Church of the Firstborn, and we are going to be the kings and the priests in teaching and helping.  And so God wants to now, through the circumstances that we are going through, let those things teach us and correct us and lead us by His Holy Spirit.

Now notice verse 7, a promise.  “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not?”  And so we’re going to be happy with that correction.  I look back and I see all the things that I have gone through…

Now in verse 7 we read if you endure chastening, God deals with you as sons.  And so that’s what we’re going to teach the people then.  But also understand it today.  Whatever trial, whatever difficulty you are going through.  Whatever the circumstances are God is dealing with you as a son and He wants you in His Kingdom.  And a trial is not a sign of lack of faith.  A trial is something so you can build faith and receive the correction that comes from God.

Now notice, “…for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not?  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.”  In other words you’re a counterfeit.  “Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?”  And so this is a whole thing that we are going to go through and we will be teaching the people in the millennium.  “For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.” Now when we’re going through a trial, I have yet to see anyone go through a trial who is really, really happy while the trial is going on.  Happiness afterward, not during.  “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (vs. 7-11).  So part of the things that we need to learn which we’re also going to teach the people in the millennium is that this correction is for our good, for our benefit, that we can be partakers of the holiness of God.

Number four key to happiness is that in this life we have to suffer reproach. And that’s just all a part of it.  Here, 1 Peter 4:12, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you…” (1 Peter 4:12-14).  And so think of that.  We’re coming to a time when people will be speaking evil of us and reproaching us.  I’ve already lived through that.  I’m sure you’ve lived through that.  But remember, the spirit and glory of God rests upon you because it’s for Christ’s sake that it is done.  Now, during the millennium there won’t be very much reproach at all.  There will be quite a bit of correction.

Number five:  You are happy when you trust in God.  Let’s go all the way back to Psalm 32.  You are happy when you are trusting in God.  And of course we’ll be teaching them to trust in God, to trust in what we teach them, to trust in the things that come from God and every thing about it.  So in a sense they’re going to have to live by faith, but their faith will be a different kind of faith than ours today.  Our faith is we trust and believe and don’t see.  Their faith will be they trust and believe because they see.  So as the blessing was greater that Christ said to Thomas when He said, “Well, I won’t believe it until I see it.”  Christ said to him, “You are blessed because you’ve seen and believe, but blessed are those [meaning they are blessed even more] who have not seen but believe.”  So that’s going to be the difference in faith that they will have.  So they will have to trust in God, and trusting in God will be faith.

Psalm 32:1, it says, “Blessed [it means happy] is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed [or happy] is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile” (Psa. 32:1-2).

Now let’s come to Psalm 144:15 where that you are happy when you trust in God.  And of course in trusting in God, that means in His word, in His truth, in trusting God for your health, trusting God for your protection, trusting God in everything that you do, trusting God in belief with your prayers and how you live your life, trusting God to help open your mind to understand the word of God.

Now let’s pick it up here in Psalm 144:12.  Now this is going to be part of what will happen during the millennium.  “That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace: that our garners may be full affording all manner of store [of course that will be during the millennium, won’t it?]: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets: that our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets.  Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD” (Psa. 144:12-15).  And so that’s what we’re going to be teaching them.  How to have true happiness, and it begins with the fear and the love of God as we saw.

Now let’s go to Proverbs 16:20.  “He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and who so trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.”  Now, even when the trials and difficulties are coming, if you are trusting in God knowing that in the end good is going to come.  Now we have to experience that in our lives, which all of us have been going through.  We will have to help them experience it in their lives during the millennium so they will be able to trust in God.

Number six:  You are happy when you come to true wisdom.  Now Solomon understood that, but he went overboard and went on beyond into sin and foolishness while he was trying to retain his wisdom, and he skirted beyond the bounds.  And that’s why when he was old he became a fool.

Now let’s go to Proverbs 3:13, talking about wisdom.  And wisdom in this case is referred to in the feminine case because that’s how it is in the Hebrew.  It doesn’t mean that wisdom is a she, and wisdom is another sophia, or the goddess Sophia.  “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom…”  Now we might put there—who uses it properly.  “…And the man that getteth understanding.  For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold” (Prov. 3:13-14).  Why?  Because it leads to eternal life, that’s why.  And so even though there will be all the riches and all the wealth, and all the physical things around them throughout all the whole millennium, they are going to have to learn that these are the things which bring happiness.  And these are the things that lead to eternal life.

Now let’s continue on.  “She [wisdom] is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.”  Notice what it’s going to do.  “Length of days is in her right hand [and the final end of that is eternal life]; and in her left hand riches and honour [which everyone in the millennium will be able to have].  Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.  She is a tree of life [and they are going to be eating of the tree of life] to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her” Not throws her away.  That’s why Solomon became so unhappy and so discontented (vs. 15-18)..

Number seven:  Endurance.  Let’s go to James 5.  Now we have to endure to the end.  And trust me, when we endure to the end and the resurrection comes there’s going to be great happiness in that, you see.  Great happiness.

Let’s come here to James 5:7.  “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.”  If there are any words that are more true than that, that is for today, brethren we are closer to the coming of the Lord than when we wrote this, so this is prophetic.  “Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain” (James 5:7) Now that’s a type of the Holy Spirit.  And of course this applies to the millennium because this will be the latter rain.

“Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the LORD draweth nigh.  Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.  Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience [or endurance].  Behold, we count them happy which endure”  (vs. 8-11).  And so there is happiness in endurance when it is over, not during.  And endurance is that thing which then when you have trials and difficulties or corrections that come along to you, that you endure, that you grow, and remember what it says there, what Jesus said, “He who endures to the end, the same shall be saved.”  And that’s why we are happy if we have endurance.  Because we know that salvation is coming.

And then James writes about, “…You have heard of the patience of Job, and you’ve seen the end of the Lord [that is the end of what the Lord did with Job, not that the Lord ended]; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (vs. 11)  And so we have to have this endurance.

Number eight:  We have to give.  The keys to happiness number eight is we have to give. Let’s go to Acts 20.  Giving is what we are going to be doing all during the millennium.  We are going to give of our lives and time now.  We are going to give of our lives and time then.  We are going to be serving just as Jesus said.  We are going to serve.  The greatest among you, He said, is going to be your servant.  And of course Christ will be the greatest of all then, won’t He.  Yes, He will be.  And even God the Father beyond that, correct?  And what do they do?  They have given.  God the Father gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him may not perish but have everlasting life.  And God gave that with great happiness and joy, but it had to involve all the other things.  Don’t you think that was a trial for God?  Don’t you think that God had to endure while these things were going on, while Christ was here on the earth and all the things that He went through and suffered.  So you look at it from Christ’s perspective.  You look at it from His way.

Now let’s pick it up here in Acts 20:35.  “I have shewed you all things [Paul is saying], how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”  And so brethren, these eight keys of happiness we need to learn and apply to ourselves.  But we also need to understand that these are part of the things that we’re going to be teaching during the millennium, and it will have a greater effect because we have lived through these things, we have grown in these things, and we’ve come to the wisdom and the understanding of it. And we have learned the lesson of Solomon, that there is a time for every purpose under the heaven.  And now brethren, is the time to really learn these things and to know and to grow into grace and knowledge so we can be prepared to be the teachers as kings and priests, as Christ wants us to be in the millennium for that thousand years and then on into all eternity.