WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.620 You would take those Bibles and open them to 00:00:04.620 --> 00:00:10.140 the Old Testament wisdom book of Ecclesiastes. 00:00:13.179 --> 00:00:16.019 As we continue in our sermon series through this 00:00:16.019 --> 00:00:19.500 wonderful and yet often neglected book, we are 00:00:19.500 --> 00:00:22.980 not neglecting it here at Fairview. We're just 00:00:22.980 --> 00:00:26.239 moving right along through it. Ecclesiastes chapter 00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:33.179 five focusing. on verses one through seven, and 00:00:33.179 --> 00:00:37.100 I would ask you to follow along with me, for 00:00:37.100 --> 00:00:46.159 this is God's word. Guard your steps when you 00:00:46.159 --> 00:00:49.920 go to the house of God. To draw near to listen 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:53.960 is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, 00:00:54.600 --> 00:00:57.600 for they do not know that they are doing evil. 00:00:58.119 --> 00:01:02.219 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart 00:01:02.219 --> 00:01:05.060 be hasty to utter a word before God, for God 00:01:05.060 --> 00:01:09.260 is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore, 00:01:09.340 --> 00:01:14.180 let your words be few, for a dream comes with 00:01:14.180 --> 00:01:17.920 much business and a fool's voice with many words. 00:01:18.920 --> 00:01:21.420 When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying 00:01:21.420 --> 00:01:25.700 it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what 00:01:25.700 --> 00:01:29.299 you vow. It is better that you should not vow 00:01:29.299 --> 00:01:33.700 than that you should vow and not pay. Let not 00:01:33.700 --> 00:01:37.500 your mouth lead you into sin. Do not say before 00:01:37.500 --> 00:01:40.760 the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should 00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:44.459 God be angry at your voice and destroy the work 00:01:44.459 --> 00:01:49.000 of your hands? For when dreams increase and words 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:53.500 grow many, there is vanity. But God is the one 00:01:53.500 --> 00:01:57.159 you must fear. Blessed are those who hear and 00:01:57.159 --> 00:02:02.780 keep what is written. Let us pray. Father, we 00:02:02.780 --> 00:02:05.780 bless you and we praise you and we thank you 00:02:05.780 --> 00:02:09.319 for your word. As we hear of a word that speaks 00:02:09.319 --> 00:02:12.300 of worship and as we hear of a word that speaks 00:02:12.300 --> 00:02:15.500 of listening, Lord, would you open up our ears, 00:02:16.340 --> 00:02:20.039 our minds and our hearts to know you and to live 00:02:20.039 --> 00:02:23.159 out your word. These things we ask in Christ's 00:02:23.159 --> 00:02:30.020 name, amen. We have noted it many times in our 00:02:30.020 --> 00:02:34.659 study of Ecclesiastes, how many times that Ecclesiastes 00:02:34.659 --> 00:02:39.080 seems to be referencing Genesis, and especially 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:43.319 the beginnings of Genesis. And we noted before 00:02:43.319 --> 00:02:48.620 the individual that we call Abel, of Cain and 00:02:48.620 --> 00:02:52.330 Abel. And we noticed how the word for Abel is 00:02:52.330 --> 00:02:55.650 actually the word that is found throughout all 00:02:55.650 --> 00:02:58.550 of Ecclesiastes, and it's actually the word Hevel. 00:02:59.169 --> 00:03:03.490 And we said how much that Abel fits that, because 00:03:03.490 --> 00:03:08.530 for a time Abel was there. And yet because Cain 00:03:08.530 --> 00:03:12.469 rose up and struck him down, then Abel was gone. 00:03:13.210 --> 00:03:18.500 And this is what the word Hevel, vanity, Shows 00:03:18.500 --> 00:03:22.439 us isn't it that it quite literally means a breath 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:25.780 of vapor a mist that is here and it is gone and 00:03:25.780 --> 00:03:29.560 so as Abel was there for a time then he was gone, 00:03:29.560 --> 00:03:33.300 but You'll notice before that happened. You'll 00:03:33.300 --> 00:03:38.300 remember that Cain and Abel were to offer sacrifices 00:03:38.300 --> 00:03:42.000 and So they come in Genesis chapter 4 to do that 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:46.219 very thing Abel brought a sacrifice of the firstborn 00:03:46.219 --> 00:03:49.949 of the flock and it was accepted by the Lord. 00:03:50.870 --> 00:03:53.909 Cain's sacrifice, though, was of the fruit of 00:03:53.909 --> 00:03:59.509 the ground and it was rejected. Was it the content 00:03:59.509 --> 00:04:05.289 of the gift that was rejected or was it the content 00:04:05.289 --> 00:04:08.689 of the heart? Well, we don't have to speculate. 00:04:09.370 --> 00:04:11.650 The book of Hebrews actually jumps in here to 00:04:11.650 --> 00:04:14.740 show us it was a heart issue. Hebrews 11 for 00:04:14.740 --> 00:04:18.180 by faith Abel offered the God a more acceptable 00:04:18.180 --> 00:04:22.100 sacrifice than Cain Through which he was commended 00:04:22.100 --> 00:04:26.319 as righteous God commending him by accepting 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:30.060 his gifts And so we see with Cain and Abel we 00:04:30.060 --> 00:04:35.180 see a very foolish sacrifice, don't we? Is that 00:04:35.180 --> 00:04:38.439 not also what we see in Ecclesiastes chapter 00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:44.040 5? It opens up speaking of this foolish sacrifice 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:47.839 and what it's really telling us is that we are 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:51.860 to come bringing the sacrifice of praise before 00:04:51.860 --> 00:04:55.379 the Lord our God and We should come with hearts 00:04:55.379 --> 00:04:58.560 that are ready to worship We should come with 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:02.300 prepared hearts into the very sanctuary of God 00:05:02.300 --> 00:05:07.540 to offer to God worship that is less than worshipful 00:05:07.709 --> 00:05:11.689 and less than prepared is sinful and it is foolish 00:05:11.689 --> 00:05:15.930 and we must repent of our lackadaisical, our 00:05:15.930 --> 00:05:21.129 casual way of worship. You'll also note here 00:05:21.129 --> 00:05:24.529 within this section that the emphasis on this 00:05:24.529 --> 00:05:29.129 passage is on listening. We must pay attention 00:05:29.129 --> 00:05:33.149 to the very word of God because we were made 00:05:33.149 --> 00:05:37.319 to worship and he tells us how. And so what we 00:05:37.319 --> 00:05:40.399 see within this passage are actually two things 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:45.100 here, two actions that are part of worship. He 00:05:45.100 --> 00:05:49.399 speaks of sacrificing, and the writer of Ecclesiastes 00:05:49.399 --> 00:05:53.160 speaks of vows. And so let's look at sacrifices 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:56.939 first. If you read the Old Testament, you do 00:05:56.939 --> 00:06:00.680 see many times that it speaks about sacrifices. 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:04.040 But sacrifices were never to be done casually. 00:06:04.960 --> 00:06:07.560 Sacrifices were never to be done by the Israelites 00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:10.579 without meaning, without purpose, without heart. 00:06:11.279 --> 00:06:15.319 Isaiah chapter 1 shows that God is sickened by 00:06:15.319 --> 00:06:19.279 Israel's sacrifices because they're done without 00:06:19.279 --> 00:06:22.399 hearts that love him. The book of Amos in chapter 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:26.199 5 says that God hates their sacrifices because 00:06:26.199 --> 00:06:29.939 they are the sacrifices of fools. Their foolishness 00:06:29.939 --> 00:06:34.939 is shown in that they don't listen. Sacrificing 00:06:34.939 --> 00:06:39.480 without listening is not what God wants. And 00:06:39.480 --> 00:06:42.040 throughout the scriptures we are reminded of 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:48.680 this. 1 Samuel 15 22 says to obey is better than 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:53.639 sacrifice. Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 4 shows 00:06:53.639 --> 00:06:57.060 us this incredible time of listening. Hear, O 00:06:57.060 --> 00:07:00.220 Israel, the Lord your God is one. It's as if 00:07:00.220 --> 00:07:04.000 God is saying, hear ye, hear ye, pay attention 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:08.279 to what I'm telling you. And certainly we remember 00:07:08.279 --> 00:07:12.160 Romans chapter 10 verse 17. Faith comes by what? 00:07:13.459 --> 00:07:17.220 By hearing and hearing by the word of Christ 00:07:17.220 --> 00:07:20.620 and therefore the believer The action the believer 00:07:20.620 --> 00:07:24.920 must have when we come into worship is to listen 00:07:24.920 --> 00:07:29.139 and to listen well. Because how does God speak 00:07:29.139 --> 00:07:33.600 to his people today? He speaks by his word, doesn't 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:38.579 he? And he does not give his word to be ignored. 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:42.139 The word of God must always be central in our 00:07:42.139 --> 00:07:44.860 worship. Therefore, we will never have a worship 00:07:44.860 --> 00:07:49.100 service without the reading of God's word. And 00:07:49.100 --> 00:07:52.540 this is not just true in kind of New Covenant, 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:56.220 New Testament worship. Actually, you can see 00:07:56.220 --> 00:07:59.339 this in Old Testament worship as well, that a 00:07:59.339 --> 00:08:02.439 priest would read from the Scriptures. Nehemiah 00:08:02.439 --> 00:08:05.079 shows us this very well. The priest would read 00:08:05.079 --> 00:08:07.620 from the Scriptures and there would be a time 00:08:07.620 --> 00:08:10.579 of silence. There would be a time for listening. 00:08:10.819 --> 00:08:14.139 It's just like Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 7 00:08:14.139 --> 00:08:18.310 has to say, there is a time to be silent. and 00:08:18.310 --> 00:08:23.149 there's a time to speak and we must really consider 00:08:23.149 --> 00:08:27.290 in whose presence we are when we come for worship 00:08:27.290 --> 00:08:30.050 because what this passage is doing here it's 00:08:30.050 --> 00:08:33.070 not talking about the decided pagan the hard 00:08:33.070 --> 00:08:35.610 -hearted person who doesn't want to have anything 00:08:35.610 --> 00:08:40.110 to do with God no this is speaking about worshipers 00:08:40.110 --> 00:08:43.710 those who desire to come into God's presence 00:08:43.710 --> 00:08:47.309 to lift up their voices and praise and to hear 00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:52.500 from Him, and yet to offer such praise without 00:08:52.500 --> 00:08:57.600 meaning, without heart, without new obedience, 00:08:58.200 --> 00:09:02.039 this is wrong. And so we must be mindful of who 00:09:02.039 --> 00:09:05.500 God is and who we are when we come into His house. 00:09:05.940 --> 00:09:09.200 This also speaks in verse two about our problem. 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:14.240 It's not just that we don't listen, but we talk 00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:18.100 too much, some of us more than others. But verse 00:09:18.100 --> 00:09:20.220 two puts us in our place, doesn't it? It says, 00:09:20.779 --> 00:09:24.320 be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:27.559 be hasty to utter a word before God for God is 00:09:27.559 --> 00:09:32.879 in heaven and you are on earth. This is a reminder 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:36.379 of who God is and who we are. We ought to have 00:09:36.379 --> 00:09:41.500 the spirit of David. This has actually already 00:09:41.500 --> 00:09:46.590 been referenced by Dalton. But Psalm 8, specifically 00:09:46.590 --> 00:09:49.649 verses 3 through 4 should remind us of who we 00:09:49.649 --> 00:09:53.409 are and who God is. For it says, when I look 00:09:53.409 --> 00:09:58.429 at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the 00:09:58.429 --> 00:10:01.190 moon and the stars which you have set in place, 00:10:01.230 --> 00:10:04.690 what is man that you're mindful of him? And what 00:10:04.690 --> 00:10:08.370 is the son of man that you care for him? Indeed, 00:10:08.409 --> 00:10:15.590 God is in heaven and we are on earth. And consider 00:10:15.590 --> 00:10:19.730 even the way that Jesus prays, our Father who 00:10:19.730 --> 00:10:25.309 art in heaven. When we come before God in worship, 00:10:25.529 --> 00:10:28.870 we are addressing the very one who resides in 00:10:28.870 --> 00:10:31.210 heaven and who created the heavens and the earth 00:10:31.210 --> 00:10:37.110 merely by speaking it into existence. And so 00:10:37.110 --> 00:10:41.490 let us respect God. Let us fear God, this text 00:10:41.490 --> 00:10:45.549 says in verse seven. On a day in which we should 00:10:45.549 --> 00:10:50.029 honor our mothers, and as we remember from the 00:10:50.029 --> 00:10:51.990 commandments that we ought to give to respect 00:10:51.990 --> 00:10:54.330 to our fathers and to our mothers and to all 00:10:54.330 --> 00:10:57.409 in positions of respect and honor, how much more 00:10:57.409 --> 00:11:02.710 honor and respect should we have of the eternal, 00:11:02.929 --> 00:11:08.370 almighty, and triune God? This shows us that 00:11:08.370 --> 00:11:11.779 our words are to be few. We are to be humbled 00:11:11.779 --> 00:11:15.480 by God's word and to listen to him. And then 00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:18.039 we get this kind of proverb in verse three, for 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:21.399 a dream comes with much business and a fool's 00:11:21.399 --> 00:11:24.759 voice with many words. What is this showing us 00:11:24.759 --> 00:11:27.059 here? But that there is, as there is kind of 00:11:27.059 --> 00:11:30.179 a correlation between the busy body and the nightmares 00:11:30.179 --> 00:11:32.440 they have, there's a correlation between the 00:11:32.440 --> 00:11:39.299 man who speaks too much and never listens. We 00:11:39.299 --> 00:11:43.980 must be people who listen, because as this text 00:11:43.980 --> 00:11:48.620 also shows us, to not listen is vanity. To not 00:11:48.620 --> 00:11:55.960 listen is evil. And so we must listen. Now, I 00:11:55.960 --> 00:11:58.659 know what you may be thinking here, as this is 00:11:58.659 --> 00:12:02.019 talking about sacrifices, we're not making sacrifices 00:12:02.019 --> 00:12:04.840 right here. We're not slaughtering lambs here 00:12:04.840 --> 00:12:07.840 in the sanctuary, are we? And so what kind of 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:14.519 sacrifices do we give? Hebrews chapter 12 28 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:18.100 through 29 says offer to God acceptable worship 00:12:18.100 --> 00:12:21.399 with reverence and awe for God is a consuming 00:12:21.399 --> 00:12:26.159 fire. We offer a sacrifice of worship and praise. 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:29.340 We worship the almighty, the eternal and the 00:12:29.340 --> 00:12:32.720 triune God. And when we do so, we should recognize 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:34.899 that we are in the very presence of holiness. 00:12:35.690 --> 00:12:39.610 Right? We are in the presence of holiness. We 00:12:39.610 --> 00:12:44.549 are like Moses Before the burning bush standing 00:12:44.549 --> 00:12:48.870 on holy ground This should characterize our worship 00:12:48.870 --> 00:12:51.750 this kind of this fear this all this reverence 00:12:51.750 --> 00:12:56.389 this respect of God and There is no place in 00:12:56.389 --> 00:13:01.370 the sanctuary for flippant casual worship We 00:13:01.370 --> 00:13:05.110 are to leave from this sanctuary today saying 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:10.100 To ourselves and to God. I gave my best in worship 00:13:10.100 --> 00:13:14.799 today. And so as you go home. And maybe you're 00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:19.419 having lunch with the family. Around the table. 00:13:20.059 --> 00:13:23.340 Talk about worship. Talk about the scripture, 00:13:23.340 --> 00:13:26.940 talk about the sermon. And think to yourself, 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:31.759 did I really give my best in worship today? Too 00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:36.340 many churches. Too many worship services are 00:13:36.340 --> 00:13:40.240 seeking to have the sort of worship that's all 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:44.700 about me, right? Too many churches are trying 00:13:44.700 --> 00:13:48.019 to entertain people. Too many people are trying 00:13:48.019 --> 00:13:51.960 to make their worship services about the people 00:13:51.960 --> 00:13:57.039 and not about God. We don't have to come up with 00:13:57.039 --> 00:14:00.019 creative means of worship because God tells us 00:14:00.019 --> 00:14:03.360 how he would like to be worshiped in his word. 00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:08.500 But maybe sometimes you leave the sanctuary and 00:14:08.500 --> 00:14:13.399 you say, I didn't really get a lot out of that. 00:14:14.500 --> 00:14:16.720 Friends, that's the wrong statement to make. 00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:21.899 Here's the right question to ask. What did I 00:14:21.899 --> 00:14:26.460 put into worship today? What did I put into worship 00:14:26.460 --> 00:14:30.379 today? Did you listen to the word? Is your Bible 00:14:30.379 --> 00:14:33.750 open? As you are able to read, are you tracking 00:14:33.750 --> 00:14:37.629 with what is being said here? Are you are you 00:14:37.629 --> 00:14:39.950 seeking to understand it and apply it to your 00:14:39.950 --> 00:14:43.649 life? Maybe the preacher isn't your favorite. 00:14:44.470 --> 00:14:48.570 Maybe I'm not, but look beyond the preacher to 00:14:48.570 --> 00:14:53.590 the very word of God. In order that you can say 00:14:53.590 --> 00:14:57.820 Lord, I really listened to you today. But also 00:14:57.820 --> 00:15:01.000 this text seems to speak of preparation for worship, 00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:04.580 doesn't it? There are some very simple and very 00:15:04.580 --> 00:15:07.799 good ways in which we prepare for worship, right? 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:11.840 And so are we going to bed at a good time in 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:14.080 order to be well rested for worship? This is 00:15:14.080 --> 00:15:16.220 a way in which we can say, I really gave my best 00:15:16.220 --> 00:15:19.200 in worship. As we like to say around our household 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:23.620 and as many of you do, church starts on Saturday 00:15:23.620 --> 00:15:27.389 night, doesn't it? So taking care of the things 00:15:27.389 --> 00:15:31.669 that you need to do beforehand on Saturday such 00:15:31.669 --> 00:15:34.309 that you can really give yourself to worship 00:15:34.309 --> 00:15:42.269 but also Are we coming in humility? Right are 00:15:42.269 --> 00:15:45.710 we coming in humility into the sanctuary to worship 00:15:45.710 --> 00:15:49.450 are we coming with repentant? Obedient hearts 00:15:49.450 --> 00:15:52.309 are we praying that God would help us to worship 00:15:52.309 --> 00:15:57.539 another way of preparation is Are we holding 00:15:57.539 --> 00:16:01.620 grudges when we come into worship? Or are we 00:16:01.620 --> 00:16:05.000 settling the score as it is before we come here? 00:16:05.559 --> 00:16:07.960 God's word, especially Matthew 5, tells us to 00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:11.000 do that. We are to make amends with people before 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:14.919 we come here. And so this is another manner of 00:16:14.919 --> 00:16:19.019 preparation for worship. This is how we can offer 00:16:19.019 --> 00:16:22.500 to God our sacrifice of praise. But you can also 00:16:22.500 --> 00:16:25.279 see, moving on, in verses four through seven, 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:27.960 the second thing that this is about. This has 00:16:27.960 --> 00:16:31.899 to do with vows, doesn't it? And as I led off 00:16:31.899 --> 00:16:37.519 sharing about a bad sacrifice with Cain, here 00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:40.620 let me show you a bad sacrifice from somebody 00:16:40.620 --> 00:16:43.460 that you may be familiar with, especially if 00:16:43.460 --> 00:16:45.379 you're in the Covenant Sunday School class. We 00:16:45.379 --> 00:16:49.639 studied judges recently. Do you remember Jephthah, 00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:53.580 right? Jephthah makes a bad vow, doesn't he? 00:16:53.639 --> 00:16:57.019 He's coming back from battle and he says, whatever 00:16:57.019 --> 00:16:59.919 comes out of my house to meet me when I return, 00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:04.619 I will offer as a burnt offering. Tragically, 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:09.440 who comes out the door? His daughter, right? 00:17:09.859 --> 00:17:13.660 His daughter comes through the door. And so notice 00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:17.579 what this is saying here. It's better to not 00:17:17.579 --> 00:17:22.279 vow than to vow and not pay. And as we see from 00:17:22.279 --> 00:17:25.880 some other locations, it's better not to vow 00:17:25.880 --> 00:17:30.380 than to make a foolish vow. Deuteronomy chapter 00:17:30.380 --> 00:17:35.500 23, 21 through 22 says, if you make a vow to 00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:38.579 the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling 00:17:38.579 --> 00:17:41.880 it. For the Lord your God will surely require 00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:46.099 it of you and you will be guilty of sin. But 00:17:46.099 --> 00:17:49.740 if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty 00:17:49.740 --> 00:17:55.559 of sin. Oh, would that Jephthah had read this 00:17:55.559 --> 00:17:59.299 portion, remembered this portion. But it's not 00:17:59.299 --> 00:18:02.460 only negative vows that we see in Scripture, 00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:06.019 we have wonderfully kept vows too. Do you remember 00:18:06.019 --> 00:18:10.299 Hannah? Hannah prayed, she vowed that if the 00:18:10.299 --> 00:18:12.619 Lord would open her womb, this is in 1 Samuel 00:18:12.619 --> 00:18:15.799 1, if the Lord would open her womb and give her 00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:18.720 a child, she would dedicate that child to the 00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:23.019 Lord's service. and she kept her vow. And so 00:18:23.019 --> 00:18:27.720 what this shows us that as breaking of vows is 00:18:27.720 --> 00:18:31.240 terribly sinful and making bad vows is sinful, 00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:37.980 keeping our vows brings glory to God. Now our 00:18:37.980 --> 00:18:40.779 vows may look a good deal different than what's 00:18:40.779 --> 00:18:43.019 talked about here in Ecclesiastes, but we still 00:18:43.019 --> 00:18:49.799 do make vows, right? We make marriage vows. baptism 00:18:49.799 --> 00:18:53.900 vows of our children, membership vows in the 00:18:53.900 --> 00:18:58.240 church, these are taken publicly around us, but 00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:02.339 also in the very presence of God. And so we must 00:19:02.339 --> 00:19:05.160 remember that when we take vows. Remember who 00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:10.359 is listening as you take vows, the holy triune 00:19:10.359 --> 00:19:13.859 God. And this God is always true to his word 00:19:13.859 --> 00:19:19.829 even when we are not. And so remember your vows 00:19:19.829 --> 00:19:23.009 today, friends. Remember your vows that you make 00:19:23.009 --> 00:19:26.589 to your spouse. Remember your membership vows 00:19:26.589 --> 00:19:30.430 and that you give glory to God husbands when 00:19:30.430 --> 00:19:35.029 you love your wives well. Remember your vows 00:19:35.029 --> 00:19:38.210 that you made to this church and know that when 00:19:38.210 --> 00:19:40.509 you keep them, when you support the work and 00:19:40.509 --> 00:19:43.710 the worship of this church, you are keeping your 00:19:43.710 --> 00:19:47.839 membership vows and bringing glory to God. And 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:52.259 so maybe this seems like a no -brainer, but be 00:19:52.259 --> 00:19:56.079 more like Hannah than Jephthah. Can we do that? 00:19:57.400 --> 00:20:04.519 Why? Verse six. Let not your mouth lead you into 00:20:04.519 --> 00:20:07.660 sin and do not say before the messenger that 00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:11.059 it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at 00:20:11.059 --> 00:20:14.599 your voice and destroy the work of your hands? 00:20:14.980 --> 00:20:20.319 Let not your mouth lead you into sin. This is 00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:22.619 one of the reasons that I think actually Solomon 00:20:22.619 --> 00:20:25.880 wrote this book because it sounds remarkably 00:20:25.880 --> 00:20:29.759 similar to some of the Proverbs. Proverbs 10 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:35.599 19 when words are many, transgression is not 00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:41.940 lacking. And yet sometimes we do maybe run our 00:20:41.940 --> 00:20:45.460 mouths a little bit. Sometimes we do say foolish 00:20:45.460 --> 00:20:49.700 things. Sometimes we take vows and we don't keep 00:20:49.700 --> 00:20:52.819 them. Sometimes we talk badly about one another. 00:20:53.099 --> 00:20:55.500 And sometimes people leave the church because 00:20:55.500 --> 00:20:57.400 of that. They say those hypocrites over there, 00:20:57.400 --> 00:20:59.400 they say one thing and they do the other thing. 00:21:00.220 --> 00:21:03.059 Friends, this should obviously tell us to keep 00:21:03.059 --> 00:21:06.740 our word. But doesn't this also show us that 00:21:06.740 --> 00:21:12.019 there is no perfect church under the sun? Yes. 00:21:12.250 --> 00:21:16.329 One of the vows that we take is that we are sinners, 00:21:16.809 --> 00:21:20.690 right? I don't know of any other place on the 00:21:20.690 --> 00:21:23.109 planet, I'm sure there is one, other than the 00:21:23.109 --> 00:21:25.809 local church, where in order to be a member you 00:21:25.809 --> 00:21:29.589 have to say, yeah, I'm a sinner. They don't ask 00:21:29.589 --> 00:21:32.029 you that when you go for membership at the gym, 00:21:32.549 --> 00:21:36.009 right? And so we recognize that, that this is 00:21:36.009 --> 00:21:40.789 an imperfect church, right? But isn't that how 00:21:40.789 --> 00:21:44.150 God has always operated, working with imperfect 00:21:44.150 --> 00:21:47.549 people? Do you remember the disciples? Nobody's 00:21:47.549 --> 00:21:51.369 first choice, right? And yet Jesus worked with 00:21:51.369 --> 00:21:55.170 them and he taught them and they were the ones 00:21:55.170 --> 00:21:59.410 who took the church out after his death and resurrection 00:21:59.410 --> 00:22:03.569 and his ascension and the church just exploded 00:22:03.569 --> 00:22:07.430 upon the scene. God has always worked with imperfect 00:22:07.430 --> 00:22:10.980 people. and he's sanctifying us along the way. 00:22:11.559 --> 00:22:16.940 And so today, maybe you need some encouragement 00:22:16.940 --> 00:22:20.240 with your vows. Maybe you need some encouragement 00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:24.059 with your worship. Notice how verse one and verse 00:22:24.059 --> 00:22:26.920 four are written. I'll read part of these again. 00:22:27.240 --> 00:22:31.180 Verse one, guard your steps when you go to the 00:22:31.180 --> 00:22:35.799 house of God. Verse 4, when you vow a vow to 00:22:35.799 --> 00:22:38.920 God. And I think that this is clearly seen in 00:22:38.920 --> 00:22:41.440 most translations. It's a good translation to 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:45.880 see the word when. Friends, the word is when, 00:22:46.299 --> 00:22:52.180 not if. And so perhaps today, you're struggling 00:22:52.180 --> 00:22:55.519 with that membership vow. Perhaps today, you're 00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:59.240 struggling to love your spouse well. You have 00:22:59.240 --> 00:23:04.700 another opportunity right here, right now. When 00:23:04.700 --> 00:23:10.579 you go, not if. And so yes, there's grace for 00:23:10.579 --> 00:23:15.700 the failure. And Lord willing, if Jesus continues 00:23:15.700 --> 00:23:19.000 to tarry, will we not be right here in the same 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:23.329 place again next week, again, when, not if? We 00:23:23.329 --> 00:23:26.250 need to be here in order to keep our vows, but 00:23:26.250 --> 00:23:30.069 God is refining us. He is creating, listening 00:23:30.069 --> 00:23:34.450 hearts. He's stirring up our joyful hearts, right? 00:23:34.849 --> 00:23:39.910 And so we keep worshiping. But how can we do 00:23:39.910 --> 00:23:44.349 it? How can we continue to worship? We must remember 00:23:44.349 --> 00:23:49.460 that God keeps his vows. God keeps his. promises. 00:23:49.740 --> 00:23:52.720 Think of some of the most remarkable promises 00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:56.680 in scripture. I really love from John six when 00:23:56.680 --> 00:24:00.519 Jesus says the father will lose nothing that 00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:04.500 he has given to the son or remember the promise 00:24:04.500 --> 00:24:09.359 of the spirit from Joel that comes alive. in 00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:12.079 Acts chapter two. Remember the promise of the 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:14.859 regenerated heart in the book of Jeremiah. God 00:24:14.859 --> 00:24:19.339 is faithful to all of these promises and that 00:24:19.339 --> 00:24:23.539 knowing that God keeps his promises should stir 00:24:23.539 --> 00:24:28.000 up worship and affection for him. In terms of 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:30.960 sacrifice, we give our sacrifice of praise because 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:35.710 Jesus sacrificed his life. and talk about listening, 00:24:35.890 --> 00:24:39.869 talk about an economy of words. Isaiah 53 shows 00:24:39.869 --> 00:24:43.529 us that Jesus was like a lamb led to the slaughter, 00:24:44.069 --> 00:24:49.329 but he opened not his mouth. He opened not his 00:24:49.329 --> 00:24:54.690 mouth, instead enduring all of the pain of the 00:24:54.690 --> 00:24:59.460 very wrath of God for you and for me. And it's 00:24:59.460 --> 00:25:01.480 through him that we have access to the Father. 00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:04.640 Verse two, if you look there again, and as I 00:25:04.640 --> 00:25:06.759 already said, it puts us in a place that God 00:25:06.759 --> 00:25:09.759 is in heaven and you are on earth. Isn't that 00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:12.740 though what Jesus does coming from heaven to 00:25:12.740 --> 00:25:20.079 earth in order to save us? Because of this, we 00:25:20.079 --> 00:25:24.000 have access to the Father. Hebrews chapter 10. 00:25:24.140 --> 00:25:27.220 Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence 00:25:27.220 --> 00:25:29.980 to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 00:25:30.460 --> 00:25:33.119 by the new and living way that he opened for 00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:35.420 us through the curtain, that is through his flesh, 00:25:35.700 --> 00:25:38.640 and since we have a great high priest over the 00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:42.380 house of God, let us approach with a true heart 00:25:42.380 --> 00:25:47.299 and full assurance of faith. You and I, we can 00:25:47.299 --> 00:25:52.720 be here because of Jesus and his sacrifice for 00:25:52.720 --> 00:25:57.420 us. In short, you worship because Jesus gave 00:25:57.420 --> 00:26:04.559 up his life for you. And so, as I conclude, when 00:26:04.559 --> 00:26:08.019 you're sluggish on Sunday mornings to get here 00:26:08.019 --> 00:26:10.700 and you would rather just continue to slumber, 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:15.220 listen to the very word of God. Be reminded what 00:26:15.220 --> 00:26:18.700 Jesus did for you. When you find it hard to keep 00:26:18.700 --> 00:26:22.079 your marriage vows after yet another argument, 00:26:22.460 --> 00:26:26.640 remember what Jesus did for you. When your family 00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:30.079 worship maybe isn't going as well as you had 00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:34.339 hoped later today, remember what Jesus did for 00:26:34.339 --> 00:26:38.019 you. Listen to the scriptures. Remember that 00:26:38.019 --> 00:26:42.880 Jesus is your sacrifice and that he is the yes 00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:47.170 and he is the amen. to all of the promises of 00:26:47.170 --> 00:26:49.029 God. Let us pray.