Transcript Worship Like You Believe!

Worship Like You Believe!
Ecclesiastes 5:1-7
Worship
• Much of Ecclesiastes consists of
observations of life on the horizontal plane
• Today we’re going to take a little break and
look upward
Two Key Characteristics:
• They were brilliant on the basics
• And they “were simple in a complex world”
People Hunger For Simple
Answers:
• Especially in a world that focuses on the
complex, the oblique, the fuzzy, the
confusing, the ridiculous, the stupid, and the
non-essential.
• Perhaps we over complicate our worship.
• Its covered with a veneer of the ritualistic,
complicated ways of reaching God.
Worship
• The Bible is still in great demand because:
• It is both brilliant on the basics and,
• Simple in a complex world
Let’s Look At Hebrews 4:12-13
For the word of God is living and active and
sharper than a two-edged sword, and piercing
as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both
joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts
and intentions of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12-13
And there is no creature hidden from His sight,
but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes
of Him with whom we have to do.
God’s word is “living and active”
What God’s Word Does:
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It cuts through the superficial garbage
It cuts through our phony fogs
It cuts through lame excuses
It cuts through intricate rationalizations
It cuts through a calloused heart
It cuts through blind eyes
What God’s Word Does:
• It cuts to the core of any issue
• It punctures and penetrates as far as the
division of joints and marrow
God’s Word Also Judges:
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Literally it means “sift”
It sifts our thoughts
It sifts our intentions
It reveals the truth
It exposes our motives that prompt our
words and actions
Why It Works:
• What is it about God’s word that, when its
truths are declared and believed they work
regardless of:
• Culture
• Age
• Sex
• Maturity
Why It Works:
• Circumstance
• Era
• Location
Firstly:
• God’s word works because it is universal in
scope. No one is hidden. No creature can
hide from its truths. When an issue in our
lives is addressed, nothing is left
unexposed.
Secondly:
• God’s word works because it is limitless in
exposure.
• The word open in verse means uncovered.
• The term laid bare comes from the Greek
word trachea.
• What does trachea have to do with being
laid bare?
“Laid Bare”
God’s Word Goes For The
Jugular!
The Levite in charge of the sacrifice would put
his hand under the chin of the animal and pull
back. This would “lay bare” the throat. This
is a picture of what God’s word does to each of
us.
Question???
• Let’s hear some examples of how God’s
word works….
Let’s Hit It !!
Ecclesiastes 5:1-7
Let’s start with a quote from J.
Vernon McGee.
Read Ecclesiastes 5:1-7
Guard Your Steps!!
• The worship of God is the highest ministry
of the church and must come from devoted
hearts and yielded wills – Warren Wiersbe
What Are Our Sacrifices Today?
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Our bodies (Rom. 12:1-2)
People won for the Lord (Rom. 15:16
Money (Phil. 4:18)
Praise and good works (Heb. 13:15-16)
A broken heart (Psalm 51:17)
Our prayers of faith (Psalm 141:1-2)
Chuck Swindoll’s Airport
Illustration…
The pew zone is for learning, listening and
changing only – No Parking!
1st Seven Verses – Four
Commands:
• Command
• Reasons
• Draw near and listen
well…
• Because God is
communicating
• Be quiet and stay
calm…
• Because God hears the
inaudible and sees the
invisible
1st Seven Verses – Four
Commands:
• Command
• Reasons
• Make a commitment
and keep it…
• Because God believes
it and doesn’t forget it
• Don’t decide now and
deny later…
• Because God doesn’t
ignore our decisions
Trite Worship
Re-read verse 1…
Don’t offer up foolish words. Offerings
without obedient faith become “the sacrifice
of fools”. Only a fool thinks he or she can
deceive God.
Trite Worship
• How would Solomon’s life example have
lead his people into trite worship?
• We are blessed with a church that holds
God’s word in high esteem.
• God is speaking to us, we need to listen!
2nd Be Quiet And Stay Calm…
• If you were to go to the White House or
Buckingham Palace to speak to the
President or the Queen, wouldn’t you
prepare your words carefully and act
respectfully?
• Have a prepared heart because the mouth
speaks what the heart contains.
2nd Be Quiet And Stay Calm…
• In “Pilgrim’s Progress”, John Bunyan
wrote, “In prayer it is better to have a heart
without words, than words without a heart.”
• Additionally – we’re all vulnerable to
“verbal doodling.”
• It’s all too easy to lose our focus when
praying or listening to a sermon.
2nd Be Quiet And Stay Calm…
• Psalm 46:10 – “Cease striving and know
that I am God.”
• We can get so pre-occupied with the
pressures of life that we go through the
motions and miss God’s communications to
us.
Back To Solomon…
• Verse 2, “For God is in heaven and you are
on the earth; therefore let your words be
few.”
• Beloved – What does Solomon mean here?
It’s Perspective – Not Distance…
• He lives in the infinite.
• He hears the inaudible.
• He sees the invisible.
• That’s why we listen carefully.
• Read John White quote…
2nd Be Quiet And Stay Calm…
• We all come as fellow strugglers to hear
God’s basic and simple answers to life in all
its complexity.
• Yet if we’re not careful we drag into the
scene all the tumult and turmoil of our
problems.
• We don’t need to dump all that on our
worship….Be Still…
3rd Make A Commitment And
Keep It…
• These days a vow is little more than a
casual hope.
• Whether you pay back your mortgage.
• Or stay faithful in marriage.
• The idea of sticking to a vow is almost
unheard of (Oath of office maybe).
• God doesn’t see it that way...
You Vowed It – You Keep It!
• Brothers and Sisters what kind of vows do
we make?
Types Of Jewish Vows…
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The most notable was the Nazirite Vow.
One could make vow not to shave his hair.
Touch a dead body.
Or drink any intoxicating drink.
Types Of Jewish Vows…
• No one was required to make such a vow.
• One did so out of a sense of love and
gratitude towards God.
• One could voluntarily assume the
deprivation associated with being a
Nazirite.
Types Of Jewish Vows…
• If you violated the vow you could start your
time period over after you made suitable
offerings for cleansing.
• Who were some of the better known
Nazirites in the bible?
Samuel
Samson
John the Baptist
Types Of Jewish Vows…
• There were other types of vows in which objects,
lands, and persons could be dedicated to Yahweh
for various lengths of time.
• Again vows were purely voluntary.
• However once undertaken they were to be carried
through.
• Failure to do so was an act of sin (Deut. 23:21).
3rd Make A Commitment And
Keep It…
• God does not require vows from His people
to be accepted by Him today.
• But we can make a vow if felt led to do so.
• We live in times when certain authorities,
both religious and secular, feel it is their
calling to relieve us of any and all guilt –
Period!
3rd Make A Commitment And
Keep It…
• Now – there is false guilt, and that is not
healthy.
• What are some examples of false guilt?
• However, authentic guilt is healthy.
• It is the work of the Holy Spirit convicting
us.
• Conviction may be subtle or bold…
3rd Make A Commitment And
Keep It…
• What is a commitment without
accountability?
• When we commit to God and others it is
saying – “I will carry this out, painful and
difficult though it may be.
• Be careful about relieving all commitments
so you can be free, it’s dangerous and
unbiblical.
Remember Jonah?
What Made Jonah Change His
Mind?
• God said, “Go to Nineveh”, and suddenly
his political zeal outstripped his vow.
• We all know what happened – Jonah finally
obeyed God and one of mankind's greatest
revivals took place.
• Would some one read Jonah 2:2-9 for us?
• Please?
3rd Make A Commitment And
Keep It…
• Sometimes we have to go through painful
experiences to bring us back to our basic
commitments to God.
• God doesn’t forget!
4th Don’t Decide Now And Deny
Later…
• Let’s read verse 6.
• Don’t allow yourself to worm out of
something you once took seriously before
God.
Examples:
• You know what, that commitment I made
back then was a mistake.
• I made a mistake, I married the wrong
person.
• I shouldn’t have said that I’d rearrange my
priorities and spend more time with such
and such.
Examples:
• I didn’t think that one through. It was a
mistake to commit myself to that project
since it’s so time consuming and
exhausting.
• I made a mistake in saying I’d stay morally
pure. I mean God Knows I’m only human.
• I was pretty young back then. I’ll call it a
youthful mistake.
4th Don’t Decide Now And Deny
Later…
• God does not ignore or overlook our
decisions.
• Keep Short accounts.
• Keep your promise.
• Keep your vows.
4th Don’t Decide Now And Deny
Later…
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Read Verse 7.
Don’t live in a religious dream world.
Words are not the same as deeds.
Worship Him in spirit and in truth (John
4:24).
• Fear God – Or, take Him seriously.
• Read 3rd quote.
Take Him Seriously
Change Of Subject – Oppression
• Read verses 8-9.
• In a nut shell, the rich tend to take charge
and their power intimidates the poor.
• Oppression should not surprise us.
• Never-the-less government is better than
anarchy.