Ecclesiastes 5:1-7
"You've Come to Church...Now What?"

Gospelcom Bible Gateway

"¹ Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.

²Do not be rash with your mouth,
        And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.
        For God is in heaven, and you on earth;
        Therefore let your words be few.
        ³For a dream comes through much activity,
        And a fool's voice is known by his many words

⁴When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it;
        For He has no pleasure in fools.
        Pay what you have vowed--
        ⁵Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.

⁶Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands? ⁷For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God."

INTRODUCTION:

A. "The words of the preacher the son of David, King of Jerusalem" Who is this?

B. What does Ecclesiastes mean? It is one who congregates or brings into the sanctuary

C. Solomon is congregating his thoughts on life under the sun.

D. What does "under the sun mean"? What was his conclusion?

E. In Chapter 5 Solomon starts on worship.

I. What is your approach to God?

A. Ceremonial approach (v1)

1. Why does Solomon call their worship "the sacrifice of fools"? Keeping the ceremonial law but not the moral law

2. Read Isaiah 1:1-14

3. Sacerdotalism - the belief that they clergy can convey grace to other people if they keep sacraments

4. Ceremony can be a veneer to cover up what is going on in the heart. (Gen 4 Cain and Abel bringing the fruit of the ground and the firstling of the flock. God respected one and not the other. What did God say to Cain?

B. Superficial Approach (v2-3)

1. Rash or hasty speech (v2)

2.. Much Speech (v3)

3. When you pray don't be like the heathen who think they will be heard for their many words

4. One of the marks of ancient pagan religion was repetition of the same thing.

5. Survey of church-goers

a. 19% are religiously committed

b. 22% are modestly religious

c. 29% are barely religious

C. Thoughtfully approach (v4-6)

1. Walk prudently ("watch your step" or come to church prepared)

2. How do you prepare yourself for church?

3. Why is this important? (v1)

4. We can worship God with our ears and not our heart.

5. What are the implications of this?

6. Read Nehemiah 8:1-6

¹ Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded Israel. ²So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. ³Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
⁴So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. ⁵And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. ⁶And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. Then all the people answered, "Amen, Amen!" while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

II. What is your affirmation to God? What is your commitment or vow to God?

A. Notice it ways, "When you make a vow" not if you will do it.

B. Read Dt 23, Lv 30

C. People make commitments in the "storm of life" but not in the "calms of life"

D. When we come to worship it is a time to make a choice or decision on what we hear... to either choose what God wants of us or to choose to not follow

E. Think of those commitments you have already made and how you are doing

1. What about the vow of following Christ in your life?

2. What about your marriage vows?

3. What about your commitment to serve in the church

4. Is there a "P. S." or "contingency clause" in your vows to God?

5. You might think that, "Great, I won't make any commitments." Then you fall back into a ceremonial approach.

III. What is your attitude toward God (v7)

A. What is church supposed to be all about?

1. The house of God

2. Vow to God

3. Fear God

B. Is the way you worship disconnected from the way you live?

C. What does "fear of the Lord' mean?

APPLICATION:

1. Examine yourself in the Lord and the way you approach Him, the way you affirm Him and your attitudes toward worship and God.

2. Be prepared to live "contra mundum" (against the world) in your walk of Christ.

3. Guard yourself against formality

4. Commit yourself to consistency

5. Let your relationship with God be your priority

MEMORY VERSE FOR THIS WEEK:

Ecclesiastes 5:2

Do not be rash with your mouth,
        And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.
        For God is in heaven, and you on earth;
        Therefore let your words be few.