Sermon Tone Analysis

I was thinking of giving you a summary of the short film

Will we continue to offer to the Lord Strange Fire?

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.

The Sacrifice of Fools

Watch Your Mouth

True Worship

Reverence

The first thing we will look at today is another important juxtaposition the Preacher makes comparing listening and the sacrifice of fools.

The second point of observation is clearly keeping an eye on what it is that we say…watching our mouths.

Finally, we will see how the true worship of Christ and His words brought life and life more abundant to His people.

Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world deceive us into bringing to the living God the sacrifice of fools and strange fire, it is the compassion of our Lord Jesus who will transform us into His likeness leading us to approaching God with true reverence in meaningful worship.

I.

The Sacrifice of Fools

- Advice for those of us who go to church.

A. So we have spent time seeing the meaninglessness of mammon worship, but now we turn to the worship of God which is the most meaningful thing of all.

But even that can become meaningless.

How do you say?

In our culture today which put a high emphasis on worshipping the right God, but what the preacher wants us to see is that we do worship the right God but, in the wrong way.

This is the essense of the 2nd commandment.

B. Its not just important that that we worship, but it is also important how we worship.

C. See the seriousness of this.

A better more literal rendering of verse 1. “Watch your step when you enter the house of God.

It is better to lister then to offer the sacrifice of fools, who sin without even a thought.”

D. Dr. Ian Provan - Worshippers should take care when they enter the temple to remember that God must be the focal point of worship, not the self, and that the Word of God should take priority, not the words of the worshipper.

E. So here comes Solomon telling us the first step in worshipping.

Watch your step.

The sense of this is… there is a right way and a wrong way to approach God.

So what is the right way? Number 1. Listen up.

Yeah…Listen up.

The house of God is the place where we come to hear the Word of God.

The author is assuming that when we go to the house of God there will be something for us to hear.

It is the Word of God.

F. Quick aside.

Every commentator I have looked at all say it is the Word of God.

When we go to the house of God we are to hear the Word of God.

Not cultural musings, ideologies from successful entrepenures, good advice from the wisdom of the world, concepts from the New York times best sellers, rationalistic thought experiments of the brilliant, and the advancements and discoveries of the intelligent that unfortunately come from pulpits all across the country.

My friend who lived in Georgia could not find a Bible preaching church after years of searching.

G.

This is why here at CBC we read the word, we sing the word, we pray the word, we teach the word and we preach the word.

H.

So when we come to the house of the Lord...Are we ready to listen to the voice of God?

Is my heart open to spiritual instruction?

Are my ears attentive to the message I will hear from the Bible?

Are we ready to listen to the voice of God?

Is my heart open to spiritual instruction?

Are my ears attentive to the message I will hear from the Bible?

I.

The trouble is, it is hard for us to listen.

So many other voices and noises clamor for our attention.

Even when we enter for worship, the noise of the surrounding culture is still ringing in our ears.

The World is a loud place.

It is easy to let our thoughts wander, but hard for us to hear the voice of God.

Like mindless zombies, sometimes we go through the motions of worship without ever getting our minds engaged.

Ryken, P. G. (2010).

Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p.

121).

Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

J.

It is not just a little better for us to listen to the Word of God but totally better.

The Preacher uses harsh language to condemn people who fail to pay attention.

Instead of offering God a sacrifice of praise, they offer him “the sacrifice of fools.”

Ryken, P. G. (2010).

Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p.

121).

Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

It is not just a little better for us to listen to the Word of God but totally better.

The Preacher uses harsh language to condemn people who fail to pay attention.

Instead of offering God a sacrifice of praise, they offer him “the sacrifice of fools.”

K. What is Solomon saying… these are those who perform the rituals of worship without any deliberate intention to bring the whole self before God in an attitude of reverence and awe.

The sacrifice of fools is carelessness in observing worship.

Whatever sacrifices they offer are insincere.

Such hypocrisy is not just foolish, it is also evil.

The worship of the hypocrite is sin according to Solomon.

Ryken, P. G. (2010).

Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p.

121).

Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

L. Understand that whenever we go to worship, we enter the presence of a Holy God who has gathered his holy people to come into His presence to hear his Holy Word.

Do we take this for granted?

If we take this for granted, not listening to what God says, not approaching Him correctly, then the Bible says that we are guilty of great evil.

Whatever sacrifices they offer are insincere.

Such hypocrisy is not just foolish, it is also evil.

The worship of the hypocrite is sin.

M.

This explains why some people have been struck dead on the doorstep of God’s house—like Nadab and Abihu, who did not watch their step and offered unholy fire, or Ananias and Sapphira, who did not watch their step who lied to God about their sacrifice how much they had put in the offering plate.

Sacrifice of fools.

Each of these dreadful acts of judgment took place at the beginning of a new era of worship, showing for all time how zealous God is for proper worship.

Ryken, P. G. (2010).

Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p.

121).

Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Ryken, P. G. (2010).

Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p.

121).

Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Understand that whenever we go to worship, we enter the presence of a holy God who has gathered his holy people to hear his Holy Word.

If we take this for granted, not listening to what God says, then the Bible says that we are guilty of great evil, for we have despised the gospel of the cross and the empty tomb.

Ryken, P. G. (2010).

Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p.

121).

Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

N. When we consider the holiness of God and compare it with our own unholy worship, it is a wonder that any of us is still alive.

The many times we worship the Lord with only half of our heart.

The many times we were thinking about something else when the Word of God was being read.

The many times our hearts were dwelling on the things of the world while the name of Jesus was being glorified in congregational singing.