Approaching God With Wisdom

Approaching God in Wisdom Ecclesiastes 5 November 7, 2021 The Big Idea: WHEN YOU COME BEFORE THE LORD TO WORSHIP HIM: [Or, Things to Remember When You Are in a Spiritual Desert] 1. With Care and Intention, Point Your Life in the Direction of the Lord. [Psalm 27:4; Psalm 84:1-2, 10-12] 2. Listen for Him. Stop talking and Listen. [Deuteronomy 6:3-6] 3. When You Pray, Speak Simply, Carefully, and Honestly. [Matthew 6:5-6] 4. Be Humble, Remembering Whose Presence You’re In. [Isaiah 6:1-7] 5. Don’t Make Promises You’re Not Ready to Keep and Keep the Ones You’ve Made. [James 5:12] § When we make promises, don’t deny having made them and don’t delay in keeping them. 6. Fear God. § Take the Lord seriously. [Matthew 10:28] § Don’t cower in terror, which is driven by guilt, but stand in awe of God, which is driven by His mercy, forgiveness, and His acceptance of me in Christ. After 4 chapters on the futility of our earthly experiences, Solomon looks beyond the sun and focuses on God and our worship of Him. Worship offers us a much needed break in our routines where we corporately and individually come the Lord’s presence to hear from Him and make appropriate responses to His Word. “Many go to church. Few go to worship.” James P. Gills “It takes two to speak the truth. One to speak and another to listen.” Henry David Thoreau Ecclesiastes 5 (ESV) 5 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. 3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words. 4 When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. 5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear. “Find the things that stir your affections for Christ and saturate your life with them. Find the things that rob your affections for Christ and stay away from them.” Matt Chandler