We Must Come to God His Way

Transcript

GR 2127
We Must Come to God His Way
06/02/2019
Ecclesiastes 5:1-7
Gil Rugh

We’re studying the book of Ecclesiastes together, so if you turn in your Bibles to the book of Ecclesiastes, right about in the middle of your Bible. The Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, so right in the middle there, just before the prophecy of Isaiah, so those larger books Psalms and Isaiah, and then right about in the middle of those you have Ecclesiastes written by David’s son, Solomon, the wisest man on earth. The man used of the Spirit to write much of our scripture, much of the book of Proverbs, the book of Song of Solomon, and the book of Ecclesiastes. And Solomon is writing to instruct us on wisdom for living life in this fallen world. He calls it life under the sun, the physical life we live. Now the life under the sun on this earth is lived in the context of God’s judging curse going back to Genesis 3. And because of man’s sin God brought judgment, and the judgment involved that life now would be difficult for Adam and Eve and all of their descendants. Adam would toil and labor. It would be a difficult life. Eve would experience pain and difficulty in the bearing of children. And that would be passed off, and here we are thousands of years later. In that sense, we are still living out the consequences of the sin and the curse that that brought on the earth. Ecclesiastes is written not to discourage us, not to bring frustration but to give us wisdom. How do we live skillfully? How do we navigate through life, with its ups and downs, its difficult times, its good times and do it wisely, properly, and experience joy and pleasure, even though there is much pain and suffering.

We looked through chapter 4 and I just want to highlight chapter 4 with you because we didn’t get a chance to finish it. Just some points that review what’s in chapter 4, this is all we left out. Chapter 4, the first thing we noted was it can be a hard and oppressive life we have to live, and that was in the first three verses. And there’s oppression and often people being so oppressed and beat down have no one to comfort them. We see evidences of this as you watch the news of people in different parts of the world and the suffering. During Solomon’s time, there was slavery and there was the difficulty of life as well, those things haven’t changed, so it can be a hard and oppressive life we live.

Be careful we don’t get off track; one of the very fine commentators on Ecclesiastes that I’m using, for some reason diverted here to talk about the church has failed in its responsibility to help the oppressed, and on to talk about that. All that Solomon is talking about is the reality of life. There’s much oppression and difficulty and it hasn’t changed in the 3,000 years since Solomon wrote this. Now what the church’s responsibility is, if any, may be discussed, but it’s certainly not what Solomon is talking about, so we want to be careful to stay focused sharply on what Solomon is saying and he’s saying, it can be a hard and oppressive life we live. As king obviously, he wasn’t enduring the oppression like some of the slaves were that served him but the reality of it is, oppression and trial, and pain and difficulty can make life very difficult and hard.

Secondly, in verses 4 to 8 he talked about there’s to be a balance in our labor and in our rest. In all our labor, we’re to take time to enjoy the benefits. There are fruits of our labor, so in verse 6 for example he said, “One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor” and you enjoy it. As “striving after the wind” we noted is better as the whim of the wind, the desire of the wind, these are things out of our control. So we don’t want to miss the joy because we’re so taken up with the trials, and the labors or the difficulty. Take time to pause to rest, to enjoy the life that God has given us. He hasn’t taken all the joy away from life because of sin. Sin brought pain and suffering in the life under the sun, our physical life, but God did not take away all the joy and pleasures that God planned for man, so have a balance. That’s the picture in the “one hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor.” You just don’t want to get so absorbed in the struggles, the trials, and getting ahead, that you don’t stop to, as we would say, smell the roses. Enjoy what life has to offer as well.

Thirdly, a companion or companions can be a blessing and help in the trials of life, verses 9 to 12. That’s a reality. We express it; God’s put us together as a family of believers, friends, a companion. And he gave illustrations of how having someone with you can be a help in various situations. And we’ve all experienced that, and thankful, during a time of maybe a special difficulty or stress or trial someone came alongside or a couple of people and you, boy, they just helped me get through that time. But a reminder, companion or companions can be a great help in this world.

And then lastly, point four in verses 13 to 16. Wisdom is better than foolishness, but fame and popularity are temporary and out of our control. He talked about a foolish king who wasn’t open to learn anything. And then a young man came out of prison and with wisdom, he replaced that king. But you know what, with time the people that came, came not to like that wise king either so much, and so the chapter ended this too is vanity or a breath. Its brevity, it’s temporal and out of our control, that’s the point. Fame and popularity, wisdom, but sometimes you’re popular sometimes you’re not. Timothy was warned about that when he was told preach the word of God in season and out of season. You know things come and go. Why what’s -- what’s the difference? So these things are brief as our life is.

The contrast in Ecclesiastes, and this is where we’re coming in chapter 5, God is eternal, and everything He does will endure. We are temporal and everything we do is temporary, so that is what is going on in Ecclesiastes, so just a reminder of Chapter 4. But he has talked about God’s position, not in a prominent way, but in a constant reminder. Solomon is king of Israel, the nation God has chosen for Himself. He’s had special visions from God. He was the instrument God used to build the temple, which was the center of the nation Israel, the center of their worship, so God is behind everything that is going on. Come back to chapter 1 of Ecclesiastes. In chapter 1 beginning with verse 4, “a generation goes and a generation comes, the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets,” and so on. In these different aspects of creation, we are temporary. Solomon had said in verse 2 of chapter 1, “Vanity of vanities” or breath of breaths, breath of breaths! All is a breath. Everything for us is temporary and transitory under the sun. He’s talking about man under the sun as verse 3 says. It’s temporary and then he contrasts it with God’s creating work. You know what, when we die and some of our loved ones have… One of our members of our congregation went home to be with the Lord the past week, but the sun’s come up. The sun sets, the waters flow, the winds blow, all of that goes on, a reminder we’re temporary, but God and His work is permanent, so the work of God behind all of this.

You come down to the end of verse 13 of chapter 1, “It is a grievous task, which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.” You see God’s sovereignty, God’s control, the labor and the toil. This is what God has given to the sons of men, that means mankind. And they were all the descendants of Adam to be afflicted with it, it’s the result of the curse. In sin did my mother conceive me, and the sin of Adam passed down and we continue in the sin and the consequences. God’s given us a grievous task. Well, you recognize it’s the hand of God. God has not appointed that this life is all rest and enjoyment, it can be a life that is difficult and hard, and those times can vary, but God is in control. That repeated emphasis that he’ll go through. Come down in chapter 2 to the end of the chapter, the end of verse 24. “This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.” Verse 25, “who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?” Without God in your life and recognition of Him, and an honoring of Him, the enjoyment, the true satisfaction in a life that can be difficult is missing. For to a person who is good in His sight He has given wisdom and knowledge because wisdom and knowledge come from God. That’s the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. That recognition of who God is and that bowing before Him, but you understand all of this as chapter 2 ended, is temporary and out of our control.

Then chapter 3 opened up “there is an appointed time for everything,” “a time for every event.” God has appointed a time, He’s appointed the event for the time. So we are temporary and everything’s out of our control, but the eternal God has appointed the times and the events that will take place. Then he gave a list, “a time to give birth and a time to die, a time to plant and a time…” God is sovereignly at work. We come and go, we don’t control what was before us or what will come after us. We are temporary and we are not in control but God is, so we who have come to honor God, to fear God, live our lives with that. What you are going through today, at this time is what God has appointed for you, what God has appointed for me. How did this happen? I’d have had control if only that hadn’t happened, if only… Well, wait a minute, it’s not under our control but it is under God’s control, and we have noted Romans 8:28, “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him,” for the benefit and blessing. He’s in control of what happens to the unbeliever as well but a loving, heavenly Father’s not acting on their behalf because they don’t belong to Him. They are His enemies even though He welcomes them to come to Him if they will.

Then he goes on down to verse 10 of chapter 3, “I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men” and the life we are living today is the life God has given us for today. We get concerned what’s happening in our world, what’s happening in our country. What are we going to do? We’re going to live the life God has given us today, and things aren’t out of control. What are these people making these decisions, what are they thinking, they’re thinking like irrational unbelievers, but my God is very rational, and He’s sovereign, so I will live the life He’s given me today. Verse 11, “He has made everything appropriate,” beautiful in its time, a good verse for us to have committed to memory, He made everything beautiful in its time. Appropriate gives the idea, but this is what is right for me today. What confidence that gives, what joy that does bring. God has made everything beautiful in its time. He set eternity in our hearts but we can’t figure it out, we can’t discern it, but God is the eternal God. Verse 14, “I know that everything God does will remain forever.” Then note the end of verse 14, “for God has so worked that men should fear Him,” and that’s where we’re going in chapter 5. The verses we will look at will end on that note. Fear Him in chapter 5 verse 7. Give God the honor due Him, bow before Him, submit yourself to Him. First to the salvation He provides and then accepting His will as best and right for your life.

We looked at chapter 4, so we come to chapter 5, and really the first 4 chapters Solomon has been giving instruction, and telling us about life, because you know, knowing about life helps you to live life wisely. You know, if we used examples, what we tell our kids, life is not like that, life is not always going to be easy. You’re going to have to learn to do things you don’t like to do or don’t want to do but you have to do and that’s part of what Solomon’s telling us. Understand life can be hard, it can be oppressive, it can be crushing, but keep perspective. Our perspective is God’s in control. He’s appointed the time, the events, and at all times He wants us to keep a balance and enjoy life and what He is doing. But there’s a change when you come to chapter 5. He moves from just giving us instruction and telling us about life to giving us some sharp commands and so the first seven verses of chapter 5 take on an almost unique character where He bears down in a more forceful stern way to make the point.

We’re going to talk about God, our honoring Him, worshiping Him, and being sure we pay attention to what He says. It becomes key at the end of verse 2 of chapter 5, “For God is in heaven, you are on earth.” That’s been the reminder, we’re living under the sun. God is in heaven. We are temporary, He’s eternal, what we do is temporary, what He does is eternal. He’s the eternal God; He’s in heaven we’re on earth. At the end of verse 2, “let your words be few.” As we’ll see, we’ll look at another passage where one Hebrew translator translates it, shut up and listen to Me, is what God says. That’s what He’s going to draw our attention to now, a development and so it picks up in chapter 5. “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth; let your words be few.” A proper attitude toward God when you come to the house of God, as Solomon writes this. He was the one privileged to build the temple, which would be the focal point for the worship of God. God gave him special revelation relating to that as we have looked at earlier in our studies. But when you’re going to come to worship God, you ought to come prepared.

You guard your steps, in other words, you prepare yourself how you’re going to come. Guard your steps when you go to the house of God, where they would come to worship God. We come to worship Him as a congregation when we come together like this. We can worship God through the week but there is a time when we come into the presence of God and we do that carefully. You know, if you really recognize who God is… He is in heaven, we’re on earth. He is a God to be honored, to be feared, that’s why when we get down to the end of verse 7, the closing instruction in this section will be fear God. Give Him the respect, the honor, the worship, so guard your steps as you go to the house of God. We come to worship God thoughtfully, prepared, ready to hear what God says. You know worship is not about what we say to God but what God says to us. We want to be careful we don’t have the worship of fools. That’s what he’s cautioning us about in this section.

You know, just stop and think about it, how hard it is. We’re going to go worship the Lord today but Saturday gets filled with all kinds of things that distract us in variety of ways and may run late into the evening, and then didn’t get a good night’s sleep, and up in the morning and then it’s hectic. We’ve got to get going, get everybody ready, get out, get to church. Sit down and our minds going a hundred miles an hour about other things. What Solomon is saying is wise living is in your worship of God. You are careful, you are thoughtful, you’re prepared, you have minds prepared to listen to God. You know you come and say, boy, I can’t concentrate. That’s why this section gets rather stern. Guard your steps when you go to the house of God and you draw near to listen. I come to hear what God says. God has spoken. That’s what they did when they went to the temple; the priest had the law of God, the portions of the Old Testament like Moses’ first five books. They came to be taught that and learn it. They were expected to pay attention because you know what, they didn’t even have a copy to take home with them. They had to pay attention, concentrate, take it in. That’s why Deuteronomy 6 (remember?) says you bind it on your forehead, have it on your hand. It controls your thinking, it controls your action. It controls what you say, what you do. We come to hear what God says so you come prepared.

A number of passages talk about this. You’ll note the end of verse 1 before I take you to a couple of passages. When you go to the house of God draw near to listen rather than offer the sacrifice of fools. The fool is the one who does not have wisdom, who does not know how to live life skillfully and comes before God, not with knowledge, foolishly without wisdom. They do not know they are doing evil. Now this becomes a sensitive subject when you start telling people their worship is evil. It’s the worship of fools, when you don’t come God’s way with ears attentive to God. He considers that worship sin. We sometimes think, well, at least they go to church or at least they consider God and they have their own way of worship. God says that’s fools, that’s evil.

Come to a couple of passages in Proverbs, just two. Now just before Ecclesiastes is the book of Proverbs so turn back to Proverbs chapter 15, Proverbs chapter 15. Look at verse 8, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.” You note the sacrifice of the wicked, those Jews that brought that animal sacrifice, without the right heart, it was an abomination. That is a strong word. This is something God hated. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. You know what that means; it means every person wherever in the world, going through some kind of worship system that is not according to the word of God, is doing something God hates. I want to be careful, because our thinking sometimes gets colored. I mean, we have friends, they’re not believers and they go to a church, the Word’s not taught, but at least they’re going to church. And what? Doing something God hates. I mean, I didn’t write this, we come to hear what God says. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. Well, they have good intentions. This is what we’re talking about, you don’t come to tell God, you don’t come the way you’ve decided. We are those who listen to God, who do it according to what God says.

Come over to chapter 28 of Proverbs, Proverbs 28. Look at verse 4, ”Those who forsake the law…” (the law is what David and Solomon had as the Scriptures in their time, the first five books of Moses, for example) “…those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive with them.” Come down to verse 9, “He who turns away his ear away from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination,” not only his sacrifice but his prayer, because when you turn away from the word of God, verse 4, you praise the wicked. This is the problem. You know you get invited to Days of Prayer and we’re going to call the nation to prayer. First you have to call them to Jesus Christ, because Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and life no one comes to the Father but by Me. Then He wrote to Timothy and said there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Then we’re going to get together and say, everybody, whatever your beliefs, let’s go and pray. When God says he who turns his ear away from hearing the law, or the word of God, even his prayer is an abomination. We want to call you all to do something that is hateful to God. I say, we’ll wait, I don’t know if that sounds right. Well, we came to listen to what God says. What does He say? “He who turns his ear away from listening to the law,” which is the word of God, “even his prayer is an abomination.” They can’t… Who are you to come? As He tells through Isaiah, the people of Israel, in Isaiah chapter 1, your worship, stop it! It’s a sacrilege, it’s trampling on My courts, don’t bring your sacrifices anymore. You’re only acceptable when you come God’s way and you come to hear what He says. We come as a people. How can I honor Him when I won’t obey Him, when I reject what He says? Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father but by Me.” Well, our religion does it this way. And I’m sorry, but that will not get you to God. So come back to Ecclesiastes chapter 5.

What he is saying, when you’re going to come to worship God you come with your heart and mind prepared. It is an offense to God to come and not listen to what He says. “Draw near to listen rather than offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.” They say, oh, I’m worshiping God, we all worship God. I was riding to a funeral many years ago in the hearse and I was talking to the driver. Have you ever thought about going to heaven and that God says there is a way but only one way to heaven? Oh, he says, I think there are a lot of ways to heaven. In other words, I said, you’re telling me if I could take any street in Lincoln and go whatever direction I want and I would arrive at the cemetery. Well, no… Well, they don’t know they’re doing evil. They think they’re doing good but the problem is God hasn’t asked us to come and bring our ideas to Him. He’s told us to come and shut up and listen. “Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven, you are on earth; therefore let your words be few.” One commentator put it this way, “God is not a peer with whom to blabber and chatter.”
Now come back to Psalm 46 and I’ll tell you how this commentator translates it, Psalm 46, verse 10. “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” “Cease striving and know that I am God.” Here he translates it so we get the point. Shut up and listen to me. Now maybe shut up is not an expression we like to use but be quiet. You ever had somebody you just want to say, stop talking, just be quiet! You know, do I want to come before God like that? Well, I’ve got all these things on my mind and Lord, this is what I need and this is what I want You to do and this is about… and besides life is difficult and I don’t think it ought to be this way. Lord, you know what I’m going through. And we can bring our needs before God, He invites us to come but we come with the right attitude. The most important thing as I worship God is I come and hear what He has to say, you know, and I need to be careful. Well, I’m not that interested in it, I’ve heard it. In other words, God You’re boring me, I’ve already been through what You have to say, I don’t need to hear it again. We say, well, I don’t mean it that way. But I don’t know what people mean. Well, I already studied that part of the Bible I don’t think I need to do it again.

Well, as newborn babes long for the pure milk of the word that you might grow with respect to your salvation. I’m going to stop eating because I’ve eaten before. I’ve eaten some good meals before, I don’t need to do it again. I delight to do it again. In fact I’m going to do it when this sermon’s over, but somehow with the word of God we think I’ve had enough. You tell God, I’ve had enough, I’m just not interested, well, I don’t see how that pertains to me. Maybe that’s why we need to study it. God doesn’t say unimportant things, because He said it, that makes it important. He’s in heaven. Heaven and earth will pass away, My words won’t pass away. We’re brevity. The heavens and the earth under the heavens will go but God’s eternal and His word’s eternal, so come back to Ecclesiastes chapter 5. We are on earth, God is in heaven, let your words be few. Now sometimes we’re honest, we all go through… there are things that trouble us in life. I come to listen to God not to tell God.

Now Solomon writes Ecclesiastes, the example of living out what Solomon writes about would be the book of Job, so I have to take you back to the book of Job. I could have moved you there while we were… but Job, just before Psalms, so we were in Proverbs, before Proverbs is Psalms, before Psalms is Job. Come to the book of Job and Job is going through a period of life where life is oppressive. We’ve seen, he says, I wish I had never been born, I mean it’s unbearable, my pain is so great I can’t sleep at night, I can’t eat; it’s not life. So Job’s going through difficulties. Look at chapter 23 of Job verse 1. “Job replied, ‘Even today my complaint is rebellion; His hand is heavy despite my groaning.’” He does recognize for whatever reason, God has brought this into his life. But then know what he says, “’Oh that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat! I would present my case before Him, fill my mouth with arguments.’”

Solomon writes God is in heaven, listen, let your words be few. You know what Job’s saying, I need to go argue my case before God, He needs to hear what I have to say, this isn’t right it’s not fair. When he’s all done, verse 7, “There the upright would reason with Him; and I would be delivered forever from my Judge.” If I had a chance to present my case God would understand, so God needed Job to tell Him. Well, be careful what you wish for. Come over to Job 38 and if you haven’t read Job lately read it while we’re doing, not now, but as we go through our study of Ecclesiastes read through the book of Job because really you’ll see the teaching of Ecclesiastes, how Job is being an example of what is going on. So Job is saying if I could come into the presence of God and present my case, He’d see that what I’m going through is not fair. That’s not right and it is more than I can bear, and on we go but in Job 38 verse 1, “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, ‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?’” Who’s this blabbering idiot? Who’s this that’s talking when he should be listening? He darkens counsel by words without knowledge. He’s talking but he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, that’s what He’s saying.


You see where God is going with Job? You think, all the suffering of Job, God aren’t You a little understanding? This man has gone through… all 10 of his children died at one time, all his wealth wiped out. The devil has taken his health away so every breath causes him pain. He can’t eat food, he can’t lay down to sleep; every part of his body’s painful. There is never an acceptable excuse for challenging God, period. It’s humbling. Oh, you don’t know what I’m going through but better be careful to say God; You don’t know what You’re doing. This is not right, this is not fair, and if I could stand face to face with You and present my case, You would see things differently. Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Then Job says I’m insignificant, what could I reply to You? I won’t, I won’t say anything else, but God’s not satisfied that Job has yet got the point.

Then the LORD answered Job verse 3 out of the storm and said, “Gird up your loins like a man, I’ll ask you, you instruct Me.” This lessons not over, you don’t just get out because you say, I’m sorry, I won’t do it again. No, you haven’t gotten the point yet. “Will you really annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me that you may be justified?” What really is Job saying? What did we read back in chapter 23? Oh, if I could present my case before God, if I could tell Him and fill Him in on this. On what? You’re challenging God’s judgment, it was His hand, remember? Ecclesiastes 3, God ordains the time, He ordains the event. True the devil was bringing this in because God says, okay now you can do it, to Job, this is the time, yes and these are the events, you can do. First, you can’t, and then now you can do this, but you can’t take his life. God ordains the time He ordains the events. When Job is challenging God with his words, he’s really attempting to annul God’s judgment. Will you condemn Me that you may be justified? The Judge of all the earth has made a mistake. I don’t deserve this, this is not right.

Now we want to be careful because under pressure--and God understands He knows our framework is but dust. He’s not a mean God, He’s a loving God, but He’s not an indulging God like sometimes we become as parents when we indulge our children and it’s not for their good, and we fail to be as stern as we should be, which would be for their good. And God is not being mean to Job, but we must understand who God is. And Job was the most, righteous man on the face of the earth to begin with according to the testimony of God but he still had things to learn. And he’s learning and he’s growing so you go on and God continues to challenge him until you get to chapter 42 and Job finally collapses and says, “I know that You can do all things, and no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?” Now he himself is exercising the judgment that God has exercised. I’m the one that hides counsel. I mean, he asks himself that rhetorical question, “’Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear now, and I will speak; I will ask You and You instruct me.’”

That’s the way it needs to be. I may say, Lord, I don’t understand why You’ve brought this into my life, I don’t know why this is happening now, but I know You are sovereign and it’s Your purpose and it’s Your will for me. I have to turn to You for the grace to go through it. It doesn’t mean He’ll give me full understanding. God never explains to Job, why he had to suffer so much, why all of his children had to die in one catastrophe, why he had to become such an object of ridicule and scorn. Job doesn’t come to this opinion because, well, now You’ve explained it to me, and so Your explanation makes sense so now I accept it. No, no, no, that’s still got it turned around. When God makes it clear to me why He’s doing this then I’ll accept it. No, that’s what’s turned around, God doesn’t have to make it clear to Job. In fact He doesn’t. All He makes clear to Job is I’m in heaven, you’re on earth, I’m God and you’re not. And Job’s real peace and satisfaction will come in recognizing that. Finally coming to the place, I know no purpose of Yours can be thwarted, I come to learn from You, I come to grow. So we need to recognize this as we come back to Ecclesiastes. This is for skillful living.

You know even we as believers, we get casual. You stop and think how much time and attention do we give? How prepared did we come? Do we look at coming to worship as a serious time? I’ve got to be ready to focus my mind, concentrate and pay attention. If I haven’t learned it any other place, I have to learn it now, because I have to come to hear God and this is His word. It’s written for me, we come to study it together. It’s not a matter, well, I went, I stood up with the songs, I sang the words, I sat down. I listened (when my mind wasn’t wandering) to the sermon, I got up, I shook hands, I left. I worshiped today. No, we come, we prepared ourselves, we came, we guarded our steps, we came with ourselves prepared. My mind adjusted so that other things aren’t distracting me so I can concentrate. God speaks in His word. The most important thing going on is for me to listen to His word so that I might obey it.

Then you have verse 3 of Ecclesiastes chapter 5, “For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words.” We come to worship, to hear. We’ve got all kinds of ideas that are always coming up about worship and everybody ought to get the chance to talk and all this. We come to hear what God says, that’s worship. Its not that we sometimes divide the service, the song service is the worship time and then we do the sermon or the Bible study, but it’s all worship. The songs are what? Communicating with music the truth of what God has said, and then we study it in a sermon or a lesson to see what God has said. It’s all about listening to God. You listen to the beauty of the message conveyed in the songs and today they, you know, impress your heart and mind with… we think that truth is wonderful. Now we come and we say this is truth for me. So guard your steps, prepare yourself. Maybe it means adjusting my schedule so I get enough sleep.

We think, what’s real worship? I went back and looked at some of the worship things that God required of Israel. Oh, man that could have got wearisome. Offer this animal for this, you bring it this way, you kill it this way, you drain the blood this way, you take out the innards this way, you put this part here, you put… This was involved and it has to be done God’s way. And then the priest is going to instruct me out of the word and I’ve got to listen to this and pay attention because when I go back I have to conduct my life and the life of my family according to God’s word. “For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words.” In other words, we don’t come with other sources of material. We come to hear what God says. “The voice of a fool is through many words.” We don’t come, well, I’ve got a dream, I have something to share. I’ve got this. God has spoken, worship involves listening to Him.

Now verses 4 to 7 we take another step but you’ll note verse 7 ends the way verse 3 did and they both focus on a dream and the words. Verse 3, “the dream comes through much effort, the voice of a fool through many words.” Verse 7, “in many dreams and in many words, there is emptiness,” brevity. That word emptiness, hebel, vanity, but we note it’s a breath because all these other things are transitory. Man’s words don’t last, God’s word is eternal, so that’s what he is saying in verse 7. In many dreams and many words there is sound of a breath, brevity, temporalness. “Rather, fear God.” When you fear God, you listen to His words. Heaven and earth will pass away, My word will not pass away. You don’t add anything to it, you don’t take anything away from it, as revelation ends with, so he says in verse 4, “When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! It is better you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Do not let your speech cause you to sin, do not say in the presence of the messenger of God, it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands?” The worship of God and a relationship with God in which we worship Him is serious business.

This is a quote from Deuteronomy 23 on vows and they had instruction in vows. We would not practice vows in a general way and James warns against using vows, but the point that we would take from this is keep your word. I mean, you’re dealing with God. You don’t tell Him that you will do something and then change your mind or say it was a mistake. I’ll use an example that I’ve talked about before. It had to do when I was candidating for a church. Now this goes back years, good to use old illustrations because they’re not fresh enough to be questioned. I’m finishing, up my seminary work and I was contemplating looking for a church because I’d been eight years preparing for this formal way for ministry. I’d pastored for about three years in a country church. I said, “Lord, where would You have me?” I said “Lord I need to know, I can’t trust myself. I may be drawn to the largest church or the one that’ll pay me the best or other things. Lord, I want to be where You want me. I’m asking that You will direct me that where You want me will be the place that I get a 100 percent vote.” Now of course, probably in my pride I was thinking that’ll be easy because anybody will love me, but I was saying, “Oh Lord, I want to know where you want me.”

I will go the first place I get a 100 percent vote, so my Hebrew professor was pastoring a church and he was going to step down, and he wanted me to go candidate so I did. You know what? I didn’t get a 100 percent vote. My homiletics professor after that said there’s a church in Michigan. I don’t know a finer church in the country I could recommend you to. Be careful about being too particular. I know Dr. Bess had told him that I had said no because I didn’t get a 100 percent but I went up and candidated. We were getting ready to move from Indiana back to New Jersey because we had sold our trailer where we were living while I was in seminary. I went up and spoke at this church, had a great time, wonderful people, but I was scheduled to move and they couldn’t call their board together until a certain amount of time. So they said, “Just move your stuff up here into the parsonage because we’re all going to vote for you. Don’t take it all the way to New Jersey and then bring it all the way back.” But I said, “Well, I can’t do that. I’ll have to take it to New Jersey and then if the Lord makes clear I’m to come here I’ll move it back,“ and so we did. I get to New Jersey and I didn’t get a 100 percent vote, so I’m in New Jersey now and I’m looking for churches and I go to North Carolina and other places.

You know May’s gone by, June’s gone by, July’s gone by, my parents are putting the want ads for jobs out on the table. Thinking, you know we’re living on the money we sold our trailer for, all of the $2,500 dollars that we got and my parents were letting us live there for free and then I went up to Massachusetts to stay with Marilyn’s parents. You know, I get a call from Nebraska. You know I said, “Well,” said to Marilyn, “they want us to come out and candidate in Lincoln, Nebraska.” Get the map out. Where’s Nebraska, let alone Lincoln? So we found it and I said, “You know we can’t, can’t afford it, we’re running out of money, can’t afford to drive out there and drive back and then not go there so if they ask us to fly we’ll go and candidate.” So they asked us to fly so we came and candidated. We get back that Wednesday night. They voted, all 33 adults voted yes, a 100 percent, so I told Harold who called on the phone, “Yeah, we’ll come.” I mean, what can I say? I got a 100 percent.

The next Sunday I had lined up a church. I told them I can come and speak but I can’t candidate because I might have to wait and see what this church decides. So I went to speak and would you know this church, it was in New Jersey, forty minutes down the road from my parents, and I drive up and this big building, well taken care of, 350 people on Sunday mornings sitting there. And I’m preaching and afterwards they’d scheduled a meeting with the board and they meet and say, “We really would like to have you come back and candidate. We think you’re probably the man for our church.” So I said, “Well, I can’t do that. I just accepted a call to Nebraska.” Now I know what’s going on in their mind, we didn’t even know the Lord looked out for Nebraska but you know I said I can’t, I can’t do that. Well, they were very gracious and nice and they didn’t push but they said, “Would you consider maybe telling them that the Lord has been leading you differently.” And my parents of course… you know, New Jersey needs Bible teaching too, of course, but I said no and you know it never crossed my mind to change.


You know we are privileged to have a relationship with the living God. We ought to take it seriously. How privileged are we that He takes us seriously and is offended when we don’t do what we promise. In that sense, we know our word ought to be good as believers. My word to God ought to be good. There have been other occasions like that in my life and I believe the Lord lead. I’d say you make vows. I think it ought to be the characteristic of my life, Lord, this is what I will do. I committed in a certain way to what I would preach and do before I came here and that has bound me ever since, and all the other ideas that have come. Lord, I promise I would do this and this alone but would I ask the Lord to bless if He didn’t, what if people don’t come, what if people stop coming? Lord it’s in Your hands. You are in control, not me.

I’m responsible to be faithful to You so we come to God His way. The starting point as you’re aware is fearing God, placing our faith in His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus said no one comes to the Father but by Me. There’s one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Until you recognize your sin, turn from that sin and place your faith in Christ alone, you don’t belong to God. Once you do you belong to God and now you’re like a newborn babe that longs and intensely desires the word that you might grow, so be sure to prepare yourself when you come to God to be ready to listen. Not for a voice from heaven but open His word and let Him speak and be careful to pay close attention and then when you’ve heard what He says be ready to obey.

Let’s pray together: Thank you Lord for Your word, thank you for Your grace in making Yourself known, the wonders of creation. But Lord more than that, You have spoken, You have sent Your Son to bring the fullness of revelation to this sin cursed earth, to be the Savior that could redeem us. Lord, thank you for a word which is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, which pierces even to the innermost recesses of our inner being. Lord, may this word be precious to us. May we as we come into Your presence come prepared and ready to listen so the Spirit might implant Your word alive and powerful in our hearts and minds, we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.