“Embracing Change To Experience Life!”
Ecclesiastes 5:1–7
[Hebrews, Qoheleth]
… draws a very sharp distinction
between those who
• WORSHIP God on their own
terms and
• WORSHIP God on His terms.
Psalm 14:1….
“The fool says in his heart,
‘There is no God.’
They are corrupt, their
deeds are vile; there is
no one who does good.”
(NIV)
is someone who says in his heart
that there is no God and who then
lives his life in a way that is
consistent with that belief.
is much more than just
what we do here together
on Sunday morning.
How To Be WISE
In Our
WORSHIP?
Ecclesiastes 5:1b….
“… Go [draw] near to listen
[hear] rather than to offer
[give] the sacrifice of fools,
who [for they] do not know
that they do wrong [evil].”
(NIV)
The “fool” comes to TALK,
the “wise” comes to LISTEN.
GUARD OUR STEPS
(walk prudently)
… go to the house of God
to WORSHIP, to GO (draw)
NEAR TO HEAR GOD.
The word “Qoheleth”
conveys the idea of….
1) “listening carefully”
2) “obeying what we hear”
Hebrews 13:15….
“Through Jesus, therefore,
let us continually offer to
God a sacrifice of praise
– the fruit of lips that
confess his name.”
(NIV)
How many of us in our prayer time,
heed the words of the Psalmist in
Psalm 46:10?
“Be still, and know
that I am God.”
(NIV)
Ecclesiastes 5:2a….
“Do not be quick with your
mouth, do not be hasty in
your heart to utter anything
[hastily] before God...”
(NIV)
…. makes hasty judgments,
…is HUMBLE!
Our spiritual maturity
actually increases
when we make a
HUMBLE and SOBER
judgment of our own
shortcomings.
Romans 12:3….
“For by the grace given me I say
to every one of you: Do not think
of yourself more highly than
you ought, but rather think of
yourself with sober judgment,
in accordance with the measure
of faith God has given you.”
(NIV)
Ecclesiastes 5:3….
“As a dream comes when
there are many cares
[activity], so the speech
of a fool when there
are many words.”
(NIV)
The “fool” often BOASTS,
the “wise” often OBEYS.
reference to “dreams”
here seems to be referring
to foolish
dreaming
or day-dreaming.
was thinking of those who make
radical resolutions
in order to try and show other
people how spiritual and pious
they are.
Matthew 26:33-35….
“Peter replied, ‘Even if all
fall away on account of you,
I never will.’ ‘I tell you the
truth,’ Jesus answered,
‘this very night, before the
rooster crows, you will
disown me three times.’ …
Matthew 26:33-35….
…. But Peter declared,
‘Even if I have to die with
you, I will never disown you.’
And all the others disciples
said the same.”
(NIV)
Peter ends up
before the morning comes and all
the other disciples flee and hide.
If we really want
to show that we love God,
ACTIONS are much more
important than our words.
John 14:21….
“Whoever has my
commands and
OBEYS [keeps] them,
he is the one who
loves me ….” (NIV)
The way that we demonstrate we
really love God is not with our talk.
The real proof of our love for Him is
whether we are WILLING TO ACT
on what
we discover as we hear Him.
Ecclesiastes 5:4-6….
“ (v.4) When you make a vow to
God, do not delay in fulfilling
[pay] it; He has no pleasure in
fools. Fulfill [pay what you]
your vow. (v.5) It is better not
to vow than to make a vow
and not fulfill [pay] it. …
Ecclesiastes 5:4-6….
…. (v.6) Do not let your mouth
lead you into [cause your flesh
to] sin. And do not protest
to [nor say before] the
[temple] messenger of [God],
“My vow was a mistake”
[that it was an error]. …
Ecclesiastes 5:4-6….
…. Why should God be angry
at what you say [your excuse]
and destroy the work
of your hands?”
(NIV)
here simply says that…
The “fools” DOES
NOT
FULFILL his VOWS.
The “wise” man often
keeps His WORD.
Temple vows were a common
part of
Old Testament WORSHIP.
…. often involved the
promise to dedicate
something to God in return
for God granting a request
made in prayer.
Many times when these kinds of
vows are made and God answers the
prayer, the person who made the
vow fails to fulfill his promise.
Ecclesiastes 5:7….
“Much dreaming [For in
the multitude of dreams]
and many words are
meaningless. Therefore
stand in awe of God.”
(NIV)
The “fool”
FOCUSES ON SELF;
the “wise” man
FEARS GOD.
being careful with our words.
Reflects
what is in our
heart!
Luke 6:45….
“The good man brings good
things out of the good stored
up in his heart, and the evil
man brings evil things out of
the evil stored up in his heart.
For out of the overflow of his
heart his mouth speaks.”
(NIV)
The WISE MAN fears God!
He will be so overwhelmed with
the greatness of God that
WORDS will be inadequate to
express
his awe and wonder.
But the “fool” will be so
FOCUSED ON HIMSELF
that his mouth will run over with
excessive words.
He won’t be able to stop talking
about himself and all that is
important to him.
We as a culture have tried
to conform God to who we
want Him to be, rather than
who He really is.
My goal … is to feed you a
steady diet of God’s Word every
week so that Jesus can reveal
Himself to you as He really is.
Sometimes that may not be what
you want
to hear, but rather what
you need to hear!
My job is not to meet your
needs, BUT to TEACH
you about the God
of the Bible…
the ONLY ONE that can meet
those needs.
In your WORSHIP….
Is your focus on yourself
and your desires?
Are you focused on
God and what He
wants?
The WISE
MAN….
The WISE
MAN….
Let’s pray!