Humility in Words & Worship

We have been learning to look above the sun for the last several weeks, and we have been digging

! We have been digging through this series on the book of Ecclesiastes. Listen, before we go any further, I want to introduce, I'm sorry, dismiss the children, kindergarten through second grade.

There's a little bit of a ring back here, if you wouldn't mind turning me maybe down just a smidge, at least in these monitors up here.

Listen, so kids, kindergarten through second grade, you are dismissed to Children's Church. If you'd like to head to the back, you can do that now.

And before we go any further, can we stop and pray for our nation, for the nation of Israel, for the conflict happening in the Middle East, which, of course, our president just announced this weekend.

So, if you wouldn't mind going to Lord in prayer, I'm going to lead us in a special prayer. I appreciate Joe Bill Brock, our deacon, leading us in that earlier, and I'd like to dedicate one prayer to that this morning.

So, if you wouldn't mind bowing your heads with me at this time.

Father in heaven, conflict is a real part of our world. We look forward to the day when all strivings will cease.

We look forward to the day when we'll beat our swords and weapons into plowshares.

The Prince of Peace will rule.

But until that day, we live in a broken world full of conflict.

There's a historic conflict which began,

we read about it in the old, pages of the Old Testament,

between the Muslim people, the Jewish people.

We pray for peace to come to that region.

We pray for the peace of your people.

We pray for safety for those who are fighting on the other side of the world.

We pray for those who are making decisions that they would be guided by wisdom from on high.

We always pray for a peaceful resolution to conflict.

Sometimes history has shown us that war is necessary.

But we ask that you would reign over it, and in your timing,

you would cause a peaceful resolution to come.

We pray for protection for the men and women who are serving in that part of the world.

We ask your spirit to build a hedge of protection around them.

We ask that we would be faithful to lift them up in prayer,

to do whatever we can on the home front,

to support and pray for you to rule over that situation.

Thank you for the hope we have in you, God,

and that no matter what happens,

whether things seem under control or out of control,

we know that you're always in control.

It's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Have you ever carried on a conversation with someone

and you felt like they weren't really listening to you?

They were just waiting for you to take a breath

so they could have their turn to talk?

Or have you been the person who was waiting for your turn to talk

and not really listening?

Look, we probably all find ourselves on both sides of that coin,

but the reality is sometimes we're only half listening

and we're just waiting to get a word in edgewise.

You can always tell when somebody's not really dialed in to what you're saying.

They might be nodding along with you.

Maybe they're even smiling,

but their mind is thinking about what they're going to say next.

If we're honest with ourselves,

sometimes our prayers look a lot like that.

We do far more talking and not nearly enough listening.

What would it look like to have a one-sided conversation with God

where he's the one doing the talking?

Let's think through that as we study in Ecclesiastes chapter 5.

Ecclesiastes 5 · chapter mention

So if you would take the Word of God with you,

and if you don't have a copy, look on with somebody.

Some of the verses we'll have up on the screen,

but some of them I'd love for you to grab a copy of the Word of God in front of you

or look on with somebody.

Or if you want to pull up the Bible app on your device, that's fine too.

But we're in Ecclesiastes chapter 5

Ecclesiastes 5 · chapter mention

as we're making our way through this fascinating book

in our series called Catching Smoke, Living Life Under the Sun.

We read a lot of typology in Ecclesiastes as he says,

chasing after the wind or trying to catch smoke in your hand,

something that just seems like a fool's errand.

You're never really going to be able to achieve that.

Nobody can catch smoke in your hand.

Nobody can catch the wind.

So how do we live this life under the sun?

Sometimes it feels like that.

We're trying to do something that we really can't ever figure out a way to do.

So when we're in chapter 5,

the teacher, which we've identified as Solomon, the author of this book,

says that as we come before God,

how we come before Him matters almost just as much as that we come before Him,

the manner in which we approach Him.

So let's look in verse 1 of Ecclesiastes 5.

As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut.

Well, that sets a precedent right there.

If we could all just do that,

would we enter into the presence of God

and keep our ears open and our mouth shut?

Would we come together?

If we keep our ears open and our mouth shut,

we'd all be a whole lot better off.

That doesn't mean you can't say good morning to somebody.

That doesn't mean you can't engage in fellowship or lift up your voice in praise to God.

But sometimes we're way too quick to close our ears and open our mouths,

and the teacher is teaching us,

let's try it a different way.

As you come into the house of God,

keep your ears open and your mouth shut.

Then he goes on to say,

it's evil to make mindless offerings to God.

What is he saying?

It's evil to make mindless offerings to God.

That means don't be so quick

to offer the sacrifice of praise to God

if your heart is not in it.

God despises when we praise him from our mouth,

from our lips,

and not our hearts.

It's not praise to him.

It's just noise.

It would be far better

to not sing the songs of praise

that the church is lifting up

if your heart is not in it.

I've talked to Jared about this,

and he hasn't done it yet

because it's going to weird some people out, okay?

But one of these times,

we might try a deal where we say,

listen, you don't have to stand.

Everybody doesn't have to stand and sing.

If you'd like to stand, you stand.

But if you're not really in the heart space

to stand and sing right now,

let's all remain seated.

And if at some point,

the Spirit moves you to stand up

and lift your praise from a standing position,

that's fine.

If you'd like to join in and sing,

that's fine.

If you'd like to just sit there,

and pray,

and reorient your heart

back to listening to the Holy Spirit,

maybe that's a good thing to do in this moment.

We might try that one of these times

and just see how that goes.

I've attended services like that before,

and it really moved me

because sometimes,

when we all just stand

and do something together,

it's like, man,

if your heart's right, great.

If it's not, tough luck,

because this is what we're all doing right now.

And it almost enables this false sacrifice of praise before God.

Solomon is teaching us,

it's evil to make mindless offerings to God.

Just do it just to do it.

Just because everybody else is doing it,

it feels like you should.

That's a mindless offering to God.

Then he goes on and says,

don't make rash promises,

and don't be hasty in bringing matters before God.

You sense a theme here?

Make rash and hasty promises?

Like, God, I swear,

if you just do this for me,

then I'll do this for you.

Now, these things should come from the heart,

not bargaining with God

or making a desperate, rash, or hasty promise.

He says, don't be hasty in bringing matters before God.

Be intentional.

Pray through it.

Get your heart right first,

and then pray through it.

Settle yourself.

Be quiet.

Sit before God.

He says, be still,

and remember and know that I am God.

After all, God is in heaven.

You are here on earth,

so let your words be few.

If you read through Solomon's other famous writings

in the Old Testament,

specifically the Proverbs,

how many times does he warn us

and give us advice that we should be quiet

and let our words be few?

But what do we do?

We mouth off.

We like to talk.

We love to get our opinion out there.

And now we can get our opinion out there

like never before

through the miracle of the internet.

Everybody can know what we're thinking.

Everybody can know what we have to say

about a certain thing.

I'm not sure the world is better off

with all of us having a voice

in that way.

You don't have to earn it anymore.

You don't have to earn the platform.

You can just go out there

and broadcast it to the world.

We don't always do that responsibly.

We don't always do that from a place of wisdom.

Solomon says,

let your words be few.

When God gives you something to say,

say it.

Otherwise, be quiet.

We all need to take that advice to heart,

especially in 2026.

Then verse three,

too much activity

gives you restless dreams.

Too many words

make you a fool.

So he's using a comparison here,

an illustration.

You go and you have a,

you live a crazy life

and you're out there

doing all kinds of things.

You're that

are maybe out of the ordinary.

Then your dreams

might be a little crazier.

You go and eat a bunch of Mexican food

at Hefe's the night before.

You might have some crazy dreams.

I don't know what it is,

but sometimes we find ourselves

with funny dreams

after we've done something

along those lines.

Then he says,

just like that,

too many words

make you a fool.

So he's using an illustration here.

When you talk too much,

the foolishness that's inside you

has a far better chance

of coming out.

Guess what?

We're all a fool.

We all have foolishness in us.

Not one of us is exempt

from foolishness.

I know we try to present ourselves

that we are wisdom, wisdom, wisdom

all the time,

but the reality is

foolishness is in there.

And it's only by God's Holy Spirit

that it doesn't come out.

So let the Spirit prompt you

when to talk,

not your flesh.

When your flesh does the prompting,

foolishness is the result.

So Solomon is giving us

the same warning

in different ways

in the first three verses.

Then he says,

verse 4,

when you make a promise to God,

don't delay

in following through,

for God takes no pleasure

in fools.

When you make a promise to God,

this goes back to,

don't be hasty

in bringing matters before God.

Don't make mindless offerings to God.

Be very intentional

and very sober

when you're dealing

with Almighty God,

the creator of the universe,

the creator of you,

the king of all kings,

the lord of all lords.

Respect him

in your dealings with him.

Now he's family.

He is the father.

If you're a child of God,

you've made him

your choice.

You've offered yourself

as a living sacrifice to God.

Then he is your father.

But he's your father.

And you don't just treat him

like somebody else

that you would approach casually

and not respect

the awesome power

that God has.

So you come to him

not with fear

of what he might do to you,

but out of respect

for who he is

and what he has done.

And then it says

when you make a promise to God,

follow through with it

and don't sit around and wait.

You know how many times

I've heard people say,

I'm going to get saved

saved.

And if you're not sure

about what that

church kind of language means,

it means placing your faith

in Jesus

to forgive your sins,

make you his child,

that he's the only way

to be right with God.

There's nothing you can do.

So we call that

getting saved.

Saved from the punishment

for our sins.

Saved from

a life without God.

Saved from all of this

apart from God.

And now you get to have

a relationship with God.

So becoming God's child.

So if you do this,

how many times

I've heard somebody say,

yeah,

I want to be God's child,

but I'm not sure

about getting baptized.

And they'll delay for years.

And if that's your story,

I'm not shaking a finger at you

or judging you

or painting you

in a negative light.

I thank God

because I've talked to people

who've been years

not being baptized.

Then they said,

you know what?

It's time.

Enough is enough.

I'm going to go get baptized.

And I'm thankful

for the work God did

in your heart

to bring you

to that place.

But if you're holding off,

then take that

into consideration.

Jesus set the example

for us

and he showed us

how important baptism is

in the life

of a Jesus follower.

He says,

if you're going to be

a follower of Jesus,

this is what you do.

We see that supported

with the Ethiopian eunuch

and Philip.

There was a man

who was steeped

in religious knowledge

and tradition

and he had a high role

in that

and he knew the scriptures

and he comes

to the evangelist,

Jesus follower Philip

and he says,

I want to follow Jesus.

What should I do?

And Philip said,

you got to get baptized, man.

This shows

that you're serious about it.

This shows

that this is the life

you're chosen.

You are following

the example of Jesus.

This is what you do.

This is one example

of making a promise

to God

that says,

I will follow you

but then delaying

actually following him.

It's not that

that's the only way

to follow Jesus.

There are many ways

that you would follow Jesus

in your life

but that is an important one

and that's what Jesus

did himself

and then said

for us to do

and it's part

of the mission

that he gave

to his followers

is go out,

make disciples,

baptize them,

teach them

what I've commanded you.

So this is one example

of making a promise

to God

and then delaying

in following it through.

So if that's you,

then don't delay

any longer.

sit with God,

get alone with God

and say,

God,

I've been delaying

too long.

Give me the courage,

give me the grace

to follow your example

in baptism.

That's one way.

What are other ways

that maybe you've made

a promise to God

and you've been delaying

in following through on it?

keep all the promises

you make to him.

Verse five,

it is better to say nothing

than to make a promise

and then not keep it.

Verse six,

don't let your mouth

make you sin

and don't defend yourself

by telling the temple messenger

that the promise you made

was a mistake.

Then you go back on it.

Well,

I wasn't really serious

about it.

I probably said that

before I thought it through.

Whatever the promise was,

then we start hedging

on it a little bit.

We start backing up.

We start backtracking.

I'm not sure I really

thought that one through.

Meanwhile,

God says,

oh yes,

you did.

That was the right promise

to make.

That was the right decision

that you made

and now fear

is getting in the way.

Now uncertainty

is getting in the way.

Now reliance on yourself

and not being sure

that yourself

can handle it.

Remember,

forgetting the fact

that God is there

to give you the strength.

God is there

to help you see this through

and by his power

and not yours,

this decision

will come

to fruition.

what you promised

God can make reality

but you can't start backtracking.

So this is a powerful lesson

that Solomon is teaching us.

He says,

that would make God

backtracking,

going back and saying

the promise I made

was a mistake.

He said,

that would make God angry

and he might wipe out

everything you have achieved.

There are consequences

consequences

when we go back

on our word

with God.

Does that mean

God expects perfection

from us every time?

Of course not.

He knows we're weak

and he shows us grace.

And remember,

Solomon

was living in this time

before Jesus came,

before he gave his life

as the sacrifice

for our sins.

But there is a lesson here

that you and I

as the followers of Jesus,

and I'm taking most of you

at your word

that you have chosen

to be a follower of Jesus.

Some of you may not be

in that boat right now

and that's okay.

We're just glad you're here.

We'd love to talk to you

about what it means

and how to become

a follower of Jesus.

So you come talk to me

after the service,

grab Jared,

grab any of our deacons,

just about anybody here

and say,

I would love to become

a follower of Jesus

and we'll get you

on the right path.

We'll take you to the scriptures

and show you how to do that.

But as the followers of Jesus,

this is a powerful lesson

that we need to learn.

We need to take our promises

to God seriously.

We need to take the decisions

we make before God seriously.

Don't rush into them.

Don't be hasty.

Say, man,

I'm in financial trouble

so I need God

to pour out the windows of,

you know,

the blessings

from the windows of heaven

and enrich my life

because I'm hurting right now.

So God,

whatever you want from me,

I'll do it, okay?

Just hook me up

with $100,000.

We'll be okay.

Now that is a hasty,

irresponsible promise

to make before God.

It would be far better

to not make that kind of promise

and just say,

God,

my heart is open to you.

You know the needs that I have.

You know the situation I'm in

that humanly speaking

looks difficult

or maybe even impossible.

God,

please work

and show me

what I need to do.

This is what decisions

or promises

from the heart

looks like.

So there's a couple

of truths here

I want to share with you.

First off,

God is not impressed

by performance,

but he is honored

by our listening.

So taking our cue

from what Solomon

is teaching us

in these first seven verses,

God is not impressed

by performance,

but he is honored

by our listening.

So listen.

So listen.

Listen to God.

Listen to God's voice.

God's voice can come to us

in surprising ways sometimes.

Most often it comes

from the Holy Spirit of God.

It comes from Scripture,

from this book right here.

We live in an age

where we can carry this book

around with us everywhere.

If you've got this phone with you,

then you can have the Bible

with you everywhere you go.

But I encourage you

to have one of these two.

It's important.

I like this one

because it's got wide margins

and you can write in it.

But whatever works for you,

get God's word

and get in it.

And then let the Holy Spirit

enlighten you

to what you're reading.

It's called illumination,

shining a light

on what you're reading.

Because anybody

can pick up this book

and they can come up

with all the wrong ideas

about what it's saying.

And a lot of people do that.

That's why you'll go on YouTube.

Little rabbit trail here.

If you get your theology

from YouTube,

it's a very dangerous place

to get it.

Not everyone who's on YouTube

is doing it wrong,

but a whole lot of them are.

So get your theology

first and foremost

from the Holy Spirit of God,

but then secondly,

from the tried and true doctrine

that's been passed down

from faith to faith,

from generation to generation,

from true Jesus followers

whose fruit backs up

what they're saying.

I don't care.

Talk is cheap.

Hey, verse 7.

Look with me.

Ecclesiastes 5, 7.

Talk is cheap

like daydreams

and other useless activities

like scrolling YouTube

to figure out what you believe.

Fear God instead.

Solomon was before his time, man.

No, I think human nature

just hasn't changed that much.

If they didn't have YouTube,

then they had something else.

Talk is cheap,

but I want to see

what kind of fruit

your life bears out

with all the talk that you do.

Some of these people

that will get on there

and come up with these wild ideas

that are so different

than anything you've heard before

about God or anything else,

oftentimes,

usually,

the fruit of their life

does not back up

what they're saying.

Say,

that's interesting

what you're talking about.

All the conspiracy theories

or, you know,

whatever,

new illumination,

new truth.

Say, you know,

I'm not really going to give you

the time of day

because I don't see

the fruit of the Holy Spirit

in your life.

That's often

the first litmus test

that we can put

against things

that we see online.

Far often,

instead of talking so much,

we need to stop

and listen

to what God

might be teaching us.

So,

content creators

or whatever other kind

of performers

are out there,

I want to see

how much you're listening

to God

and what He's doing

through you that way,

not by what you perform.

But let's bring it home

to Henrietta

and First Baptist Church.

God is not impressed

by how many weeks

in a row

you've been sitting

in the pew

on Sunday.

I am.

I think it's great

when you're here.

I hate it

when you're not,

even though sometimes,

you know,

I get four Sundays a year.

I've never taken

all four Sundays a year

that I'm not here.

But we all have times

when we're out of town

or we're sick

or something like that.

Somebody got baptized

in another church recently

and some of our people

were up there.

I think that was

really, really cool.

So, I understand

why you can't be here

sometimes.

But it impresses me

when you're here.

That's great.

I love it.

You know why that is?

Because man looks

on the outward appearance

but God looks

on the what?

Yeah, y'all know.

God looks on the heart.

So, he's honored

when we listen to him

from our hearts

far more

than when we perform

for him.

So, you might have been

teaching your Sunday school

class for a long time

and I'm so thankful

you're doing that.

And there's a lot of kids

who are thankful

you're doing that

and parents probably

who are even more thankful

that you're doing that.

But far more

than your performance

for God,

he's impressed

by how much

you're listening to him

as you prepare

to teach that class.

As you prepare

to handle those children.

Same thing

in the school teachers.

Same thing

with our administration.

Same thing

with you

and your workplace.

God's not so impressed

with how you perform

as to the heart

motivations behind it.

The heart motivations

only change

by listening

to the Holy Spirit

of God.

You and I

are not wired

to do things

for God

from the heart.

We're wired

to perform.

So, we have to let

the Holy Spirit

change our wiring.

Change our internal

whatever you call it.

Dits and dashes

and zeros

and numbers.

DNA.

There you go.

That was a terrible

explanation of DNA.

We got there eventually.

God literally

has to change

our DNA.

You know what it's called?

It's called regeneration.

He changes the way

we're made up.

Say,

well, that's just

who I am.

God made me this way.

God wants to make you new.

God wants to remake you.

We have to listen

to His Holy Spirit.

Listening is better

than offering

the sacrifice of fools.

The teacher's not

anti-worship.

He's not even

anti-performance

if the performance

comes

from a place

of the heart.

I saw teenagers

up here

practicing this morning

and then they got up here

and sang.

They performed

and they performed

beautifully.

And I know

that many of them

and I hope all of them

were singing

from their heart.

I've seen Jessica

in the way she

pours herself

into these

performances.

I know she's doing it

from the heart

because otherwise

she would have quit

a long time ago.

And I'm so grateful

when our hearts

then produce

a performance

on God's behalf.

When you go out

and perform

a good work

for someone,

let it come

from a time

of listening

to God

and His Spirit.

Not from this

need to perform

or need to impress

or need to scratch

your itch

or make you feel

better about yourself.

The motivation

from the heart

is the key.

Habakkuk.

We don't go to Habakkuk

very often, do we?

Well, here's one.

The Lord is in His

holy temple.

Let all the earth

be,

what's that?

Silent

before Him.

This is a consistent

theme throughout Scripture.

Let's be silent

before God.

Let's let Him

speak to us

before we hurry up

and get busy

and get loud

before Him.

Then in Isaiah

Isaiah 30 · chapter mention

chapter 30,

that's supposed

to say 30,

not 3.

In quietness

and confidence

is your strength.

In quietness

and confidence

is your strength.

Not in loudness,

confidence

in who?

One person

said God.

Confidence

in who,

church?

God.

Confidence

in God,

not yourself.

Paul understood

this.

He said,

I don't have

any confidence

in my own flesh.

I could,

and he even

made the point,

if anybody

could have

confidence

in themselves

and what they

could achieve

on their own,

it would be me.

Trust me.

It's not,

Paul was teaching

us,

he said,

it's not that

I couldn't achieve

anything on my own.

He said,

don't get this idea

that I chose ministry

because I wasn't

good at anything else.

He said,

that's not what it was.

I chose to follow Jesus

and give my life

to him

because God

changed me,

not because it was

my best option

in life

as a career.

He said,

I have the ability

to be confident

in myself,

but I've learned

that that's not

going to get me

anywhere.

Meaningful.

So I've learned

that when I'm weak,

then God

is strong in me,

through me.

So,

in quietness

and confidence

in the Lord,

that's where you

find your strength.

So if you're not

always feeling strong,

if you're not always

on top of your game,

by the way,

when you are

feeling strong,

often that's an illusion.

When you do think

you're on top

of your game,

just wait

until you turn

the corner

and life hits you again.

So regardless

of whether you're up

or whether you're down,

in quietness

and confidence

in Christ,

that's where

your strength

is found.

So here's our takeaway.

Attention

honors God

more than activity.

Attention

to God

honors God

more than activity.

How many of you

your kids

like your attention?

Anybody?

Slip your hand up

if your kids

like your attention.

I'm noticing

a theme.

It's the younger kids.

Once they hit

teenage years,

they don't want

your attention anymore,

right?

That's how it is.

So think of us

as little kids.

We want God's attention,

right?

You know what

the crazy thing is?

You know what

God wants from us?

Our attention.

How many of you

parents want

your kids' attention?

Anybody?

How many of you

would love

for your teenagers

to give you

attention again?

Yeah.

God craves

our attention

more than anything

because if our minds

are fixed on him,

he can teach us.

He can help us.

He can guide us.

He can change us.

We've got to give him

our attention

far more

than our activity.

Sometimes we're so busy

working for God,

we forget to actually

talk to him.

We forget to actually

listen to him.

Number two,

peace comes.

This thing's bouncing

all over the place.

Here we go.

Peace comes from

trusting God,

not managing him.

How many of you

are guilty?

Don't raise your hand

right now.

How many of you

are guilty

of managing God?

I'll raise mine

because I have done that.

I have tried

to manage God.

as long as I do

this and this

and this,

God will be satisfied

and I can go

about my life.

We're managing him

like he's a difficult

parent

or a difficult client.

We're managing him.

Got to keep God satisfied.

Got to keep God okay

so he doesn't

complicate my life.

Peace comes

from trusting God.

Not managing him.

Turning over the keys.

This is a theme

that Solomon

is teaching us

in Ecclesiastes 5.

It moves from

our words

to our posture.

Our heart posture.

It says,

when you make a promise

to God,

don't delay.

You fear God.

The issue

is not commitment

on our part.

It's giving up control.

We don't make vows

to God

because God

needs reassurance.

He doesn't need

to be managed

by us.

That's not the purpose

behind making promises

to God

or decisions

before God.

It's not that God

needs to be reassured

that we love him

and it's all going

to be okay.

It's the opposite.

We need to be reminded

that he loves us

and he's going to

help it be okay

if we stay in tune

with him.

We make these vows

and promises

often,

unfortunately,

because we want leverage.

we bargain,

we negotiate,

we promise

future obedience

in exchange

for present blessings

or relief.

How silly is that?

How pointless is that?

So Ecclesiastes,

Solomon,

the teacher,

invites us

into something better,

a faith

that rests

instead of manages.

A reverence

before God

that releases

the illusion

of needing

to be in control

and a humility

that lets God

be God.

Jesus

tells a story

about this.

Would you turn

to Luke chapter 18?

Luke 18 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 18.

Luke 18 · chapter mention

We'll be done

in just a moment

but before we're done

I want to share

this with you.

Now keep a finger

in Luke 18

because we're

going to go there

and then go back

to Micah

Micah 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6.

Go back

a few pages,

Mark,

Matthew

and then keep

going back.

You see Malachi,

you see some

of these minor prophets,

Zechariah,

Haggai,

then go back

to Micah.

Micah chapter 6

Micah 6:6

verse 6.

Keep a finger

in Luke 18,

we're going to be

there in just a second.

Micah 6

Micah 6:6

verse 6.

What can we bring

to the Lord?

Should we bring

him burnt offerings?

Should we bow

before God

the Most High

with offerings

of yearling calves?

Should we offer

him thousands

of rams

and tens

of thousands

of rivers

of olive oil?

Should we sacrifice

our firstborn children

to pay for our sins?

What does he want?

What does he want

from us?

Does he want

all our money?

Does he want

our bank accounts?

Does he want

our times?

Does he want

our volunteering

in the church?

Does he want

us to sit up

there on the deck

and struggle

with that system

up there

trying to make

everything sound

good and the slides

and all that stuff?

Does he want

us to get up

and sing in front

of the choir

even though we

don't like being

in front of people?

What does he want

from us?

It's kind of the point.

Ooh, I like it.

Good job, Bo.

Bo jumped in there

and said our heart.

That's good.

Okay, let's see

what he says.

Verse 8.

To do what is right,

to love mercy,

to walk humbly

with your God.

Fear the Lord

if you are wise.

To do what is right,

to walk humbly,

to love mercy,

to walk humbly

with your God.

That is a heart posture.

You cannot accomplish

those things.

Without giving him

your heart.

So what he wants

from you

is your heart.

It's your desires.

It's your motivations.

It's the why.

He wants the why.

Now go to Luke 18.

Hopefully you've

got a finger there.

If not,

you've got to hurry

and turn there

because we're already there.

Luke 18, verse 9.

Luke 18:9

Here we go.

Then Jesus told

this story to some

who had great confidence

in their own righteousness.

There's nobody

in this room

that has great confidence

in your own righteousness.

Right?

Again,

don't raise your hand.

Just look in your own heart.

These were the Pharisees.

They scorned everyone else.

So he teaches them

something through this story.

He says,

two men went into

the temple to pray.

One was a Pharisee.

The other was

a despised tax collector.

Boy,

you couldn't get

more despised

or lower

in that society

than tax collector.

Everybody hated that guy.

He was working on behalf

of the Romans.

He was the scourge

of their existence.

He was the one

who was the physical

manifestation

of everything

they hated about Rome,

collecting taxes

that they thought

were unfair

and shouldn't have

to be paid.

So this guy

is the despised

tax collector.

The other is at the

opposite end

of the social spectrum.

You couldn't get

more respected

and revered

than a Pharisee.

She got two guys

going into the temple

to pray.

The Pharisee stood

by himself

and prayed this prayer.

I thank you, God.

That's my fancy voice.

That I am not

like these other people.

And I imagine

he's kind of

cocking his head

over that way

like this tax collector

guy over here.

Cheaters,

sinners,

adulterers.

I'm certainly

not like that

tax collector.

He literally

calls the guy out

during his prayer.

He thought

that one

was getting

through to God.

I think that was

bouncing on the roof.

It wasn't going

up to heaven.

I fast twice a week.

I give you,

oh God,

a tenth of my income.

And I imagine

he went on and on

and Jesus had the mercy

to not give us

the whole prayer here.

But the tax collector

stood at a distance.

He dared not even

lift his eyes

to heaven.

He didn't feel worthy.

To lift his eyes

up to heaven

as he prayed.

Instead,

he beat his chest

in sorrow.

Now,

I don't think

he's doing

like gorilla style.

Okay?

Back then,

different culture,

right?

But what we can

take away from this

is he was sorrowful.

He felt terrible.

He felt unworthy.

Felt like he was wrong

and he was a sinner.

And he says,

oh God,

be merciful to me,

a sinner.

That was it.

It's the extent

of his prayer.

God,

please just show me mercy.

I'm a sinner.

I've done terrible things.

Please show me mercy.

Jesus says,

I tell you,

this sinner,

not the Pharisee,

returned home

justified before God.

What does he mean

by justified?

Made right.

He was made right

before God.

The guy who was

the sinner,

not the quote,

quote,

righteous man.

For those who

exalt themselves

will be humbled.

And those who

humble themselves

will be exalted.

Can I repeat that

to you, church?

If you exalt yourself,

God will humble you.

If you humble yourself,

then God can exalt you.

If I exalt myself,

God has humbled me.

When I've humbled myself,

God's often chosen

to exalt me.

He does that for all of us.

I know that's the testimony

that many of you share.

You know the greatest example

of this?

Jesus humbled himself.

Took on the form

of a servant.

Was made in the likeness

of men.

Common,

lowly,

sinful men.

And at the right time,

God

lifted him up

and set him

on the right hand

of the throne of God.

And he says,

someday,

every knee

of all those sinful men

and women,

every knee will bow

and every tongue

will confess

that Jesus,

the one who humbled himself,

he is Lord over all.

He set the example

and he says,

this is the rule

in my kingdom.

You humble yourself

and then I can exalt you.

So,

this is where we're finishing.

Peace begins

where self-importance ends.

Peace begins

where self-importance ends.

You can't keep up

appearances enough.

You're not good enough

to be flawless.

And if you want people

to be drawn to you

because of how important you are

or how righteous you are

or how good you are,

you're not good enough.

You are flawed.

You'll never keep up

the illusion long enough.

You can't.

God says,

I can make you

truly righteous.

I can make it

not an illusion.

I can make it real.

But you gotta humble yourself.

You gotta turn to me

from your heart.

You gotta listen

to my voice

and my spirit

and let me change you

from the inside.

I wanna share a quote

with you

by Blaise Pascal.

He said,

all of humanity's problems,

this was back

in the 1600s,

by the way.

There was another guy

who was before his time.

He said,

all of humanity's problems

stem from man's inability

to sit quietly

in a room alone.

Now,

I don't know about

all of humanity's problems,

but I think he understood

that this was a problem

even back then.

We have a hard time

sitting quietly

in a room alone.

And I think

our modern day adaptation

of that

is alone

without the outside world

available

at our fingertips.

Alone without this.

How many times

do I find myself

with a moment's

peace and quiet

and what do I do?

I pull this out immediately.

Gotta check what's going on.

Gotta check my emails.

Check the social medias.

Check whatever's going on.

Gotta be informed.

Gotta stay up on everything.

And this can be a blessing.

It can be a blessing

to be informed,

to know what's going on.

But we've lost the ability

to sit quietly alone.

You know what happens

to the follower of Christ

when you sit quietly alone?

God has space

to speak to you.

He's got your attention now.

He can cut through

because there's nothing else

competing for his voice.

So how do we become

a listening church?

First, we gotta slow down.

Then we gotta quiet down.

Then we've gotta open up.

What do we mean by this?

We gotta slow our bodies.

Physically,

you might need to slow down.

You might be doing too much.

Your schedule might be too full.

If you never have any time

to sit quietly,

you're too busy.

So you may need

to physically slow down.

Two,

you need to quiet your mind.

That's a discipline.

It takes practice.

It takes years.

Truly,

I'm in the middle

of practicing that.

I'll let you know

when I've finally gotten there.

But I'm working on it

and you need to work on it with me.

We all need to work

on quieting our minds.

And then thirdly,

we need to open our hearts.

Open our hearts.

Open our minds.

God might be ready

to change our mind

on something.

Romans 12,

we say it like every other Sunday.

God is changing

the way we think.

So slow the body.

Quiet the mind.

Open the heart.

Peace begins

where self-importance ends.

That progression

is exactly right.

It's got to start

with our body.

Then it goes to our mind.

And then our hearts

become open.

And the Holy Spirit

can speak to us.

This is how we live

under the sun.

What makes us different

from anybody else?

The same sun shines down

on all of us.

So how can our lives

be different?

How can they be

more peaceful?

More full of joy?

More full of hope?

More able to bless others?

How can we

as the people of God

be any different?

It's by slowing the body,

quieting the mind,

open the heart.

Lift our eyes

toward heaven

above the sun.

And that's how we do it.

That's what we've been

saying every week.

Let's say it again, church.

Ready?

How do we live

under the sun?

We look above the sun.

Let's pray.

God, that's what we want

you to do right now

as we lift our eyes

to you.

We can't be distracted

by anything else

under this sun

and everything is competing

to distract us.

So I pray that we would

quiet our minds,

that we would slow down,

that we would sit still,

that we would learn

how to sit quietly

and listen to you

instead of just

constantly running

or constantly doing

or constantly performing

or constantly talking,

that we would learn

to sit quietly

and listen.

Make us a listening church,

listening families.

Relationships are saved

or restored

because often

listening comes back.

Communications is important,

but listening is even

more important.

As the music begins to play,

would you listen right now?

God, we open our hearts to you.

We open our ears to you.

You speak to us right now, Lord.

In our words,

in our worship,

we want to honor you.

In our hearts,

we turn to you.

We lift our eyes above the sun

to the sun of God.

Amen.