"Acceptable Worship" Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

Lord, we thank you that you are a God of love.

And your love isn't merely a sentimental kind of love,

! But a love that desires to see us enter into and walk in fullness.

And sometimes your love means that you have to expose some of our shortcomings, our sins, our bad habits,

the things that hold us back from walking fully and wholly as your children.

Lord, your love disciplines us.

And as we enter into this time of listening and learning this morning,

help us to have ears to hear.

Those kind of ears that don't just hear your word, but do your word, consider your word, take heart your word.

And Lord, we pray that by your Spirit's help, that we would walk in this fullness, walk in this obedience.

Lord, that you offer to us not an inferior vision of the human life, but the most superior vision.

We pray all this in Christ's mighty name. Amen.

The term virtue signaling was introduced, at least from my research,

into Western vocabulary about 10 years ago, during the U.S. elections.

Things got really intense with social media.

People started throwing barbs at one another, and this idea of virtue signaling became a thing.

It describes an act of openly showcasing one's awareness of important issues, the important issues,

especially political and social ones.

And we do this by showcasing our moral superiority with whatever issues are the right issues,

rather than taking meaningful action.

So it's no surprise, then, that virtue signaling remains still a very highly political and social practice online.

And we've observed this in Canada in the last few years.

We're condemning historical figures of our past,

or overlooking the flaws of past heroes becomes a thing.

Another example of virtue signaling is wearing a mask, or not wearing a mask.

Labeling people as Hitler.

Labeling people as Stalin.

It's a way that we can show that we are better than others without doing much.

Without having to get much skin in the game.

However, virtue signaling, if it's about 10 years old,

it's not just limited to politics and social issues.

It affects religion.

Moreover, it's not a recent phenomenon, but a very ancient one.

We refer to such religious virtue signaling, at least in a religious sense, as hypocrisy.

Something that is too close to home for religiously minded men and women.

We hear hypocrisy a lot, and either we've had experiences with hypocritical church leaders,

or hypocritical churchgoers, or we ourselves find ourselves in the position of being a hypocrite.

We know this term all too well, all too personally.

We continue on in Ecclesiastes chapter 5.

Ecclesiastes 5 · chapter mention

And here the sage has, up till now, spent a good amount of ink reflecting on the human experience.

Examining what it is to live as a human, being a man or woman, as one under the sun, in this mortal life.

In chapter 5, he switches a little bit, and he begins writing instructions to us.

All of which articulate what it means to properly worship the Lord, and to avoid hypocrisy.

And in doing so, he helps us to understand that true and godly worship, free of show and pomp,

is worshiping God with reverence, integrity, and a sincerity and honesty.

Notice that perfection isn't in that list.

I'll read that list again.

That we would worship God with reverence, integrity, and a sincerity and honesty.

One of the commentators I spent some time looking at this week, a guy named David Kidner, he's since passed away.

He spoke of this section, Ecclesiastes 5, verses 1-5, as a text written for,

Ecclesiastes 5:1–5

the well-meaning person who enjoys a good sing, and cheerfully attends church,

but who listens with half an ear, and never quite follows through on what they have promised to do for God.

In other words, the text reveals the outwardly pious person whose inner life remains untouched.

Friends, let us listen carefully to God's word this morning,

because I have a feeling that it's going to hit kind of close to home.

We are in the same boat together this morning.

Let's dig in.

Verse 1 of Ecclesiastes chapter 5.

Ecclesiastes 5 · chapter mention

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 what they are doing is evil.

To understand the depth of verse 1,

we need to recall two key stories from the Old Testament that verse 1 draws upon.

The first instance is from Exodus chapter 3.

Exodus 3 · chapter mention

It's a very, very famous scene, but if you're unfamiliar with it or forgotten about it,

it is a scene where Moses, he has fleed after killing an Egyptian,

even though he is one of the princes of Egypt.

He escapes into the desert,

and he gets married, and he is tending his father-in-law's flock.

And in doing so, he encounters the Lord for the first time as the Lord appears to him in a burning bush.

Exodus chapter 3, verses 5 and 6, it reads like this.

Exodus 3:5

Then he said, this is God speaking,

Do not come near.

Take your sandals off of your feet,

for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.

Verse 6,

And Moses said,

or sorry, and then God said,

I am the God of your father,

the God of Abraham,

the God of Isaac,

the God of Jacob.

And Moses hid his face,

for he was afraid to look at God.

In this scene,

again, a very famous scene,

a famous biblical story,

Moses cautiously approaches the Lord.

He does not approach the Lord as an equal.

In fact, he has no business being in the Lord's presence whatsoever.

He rightly removes his sandals,

rightly hides his face from the Lord.

His posture towards the Lord

is a cautious, reverent one.

It's connected to that first part of verse 1.

Guard your steps when you go to the house of the Lord.

The second scene is from 1 Samuel chapter 15.

1 Samuel 15 · chapter mention

Not as well known as Exodus 3,

but still a fairly well known section in scripture.

The background goes something like this.

King Saul, the first king of Israel,

he is doing right by the Lord,

but doing a lot of wrong by the Lord as well.

Now, he is told by the prophet Samuel

to go to war against the Amalekites.

We won't get into the reason why.

The Amalekites, by and large,

are a rotten people.

You can talk to me afterwards

why I'm saying that.

In scripture, they are described

as being a very evil people.

And Samuel says to Saul,

the words of the Lord,

that he is to put everything to the sword.

Everything.

He is to utterly wipe out the Amalekites,

even their livestock.

The victory is won.

Samuel goes to visit Saul.

And there's a very famous line,

I'm not going to read it,

but I will read a section of it shortly,

where Samuel says to Saul,

what is that bleeding I hear?

Because what he is hearing

is the bleeding of sheep.

Which is to say that King Saul

did not obey the words of the Lord.

He did not obey God

to put everything to the sword.

And he did not do that

because he wanted to keep the spoils for himself.

I'll read 1 Samuel chapter 15,

1 Samuel 15 · chapter mention

starting in verse 21,

verse 22 rather,

to verse 23.

And Samuel said,

Has the Lord as great delight

in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as in obeying the voice of the Lord?

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,

and to listen than the fat of rams.

For rebellion is a sin of divination,

and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because, Saul,

you have rejected the word of the Lord,

he has also rejected you from being king.

It is worth a read.

It is a heavy, heavy chapter.

But the point is,

Saul thinks,

I don't have to obey the words of the Lord

because I'm going to keep some of the spoils for myself,

but I'm going to sacrifice to God.

Surely he's going to delight in that.

I'm not listening to him all the way,

but I'm listening to him enough.

And Samuel comes at him

very hard for his disobedience.

King Saul believes

he only needs to appease God.

As if the Lord is

just

a divine being

with an appetite that needs

to be satisfied.

See, Saul here is less concerned

with listening to the Lord,

obeying the Lord,

and more focused on

his own glory,

his own prize,

his own bounty,

his own well-being.

God, for King Saul,

is an inconvenient reality

in his life.

So we have two examples

that the sage draws upon

for verse one.

Both are connected

to how one ought to

approach God reverently.

Moses,

his posture

is praised.

King Saul's rash

disobedience

is condemned.

And the sage here

emphasizes that

the Lord values

genuine reverence,

obedience,

loyalty,

and love

from the heart.

That one has

a desire

and affections

towards the Lord

rather than

a mere ritual

or religious

experience.

experience.

It's not that God

disregards sacrifice.

Rather,

sacrifice should be

an expression

of gratitude

and love.

A heart directed

towards the Lord,

that is what

he is after.

That is essential.

In fact,

offering sacrifice

to the Lord

with a heart

that is distant

from him

and that continually

fails to listen

is considered

an evil act.

we see this

at the end

of verse 1.

For they do not

know,

that is the fool

who sacrifices

with a heart

that is distant

from the Lord,

for they do not

know that they

are doing evil.

So what we are

seeing here

is that a heart

that does not

come to the Lord

with reverence

isn't an indifferent

act,

but an evil one.

Again,

I'll go back

to the beginning.

The Lord

is in his

kindness

and love

bringing us

through Ecclesiastes

not to pound us

into dust,

but to open up

our eyes

so that we may

see how we

have misstepped

and by his grace,

by his strength,

we can turn

towards him.

The key to all

of this,

of course,

is to listen.

Again,

we see this,

verse 1.

To draw near

to listen

is better

than to offer

a sacrifice.

To listen

and hear

in the scriptures

always implies

obedience.

James says,

do not be

hearers of the

word only

and so deceive

yourselves,

but be doers

of the word.

So listening

must be active.

Taking in

the word of God,

considering it

with reverence

and recognizing

that life and

death truly hang

in the balance.

Why?

Because the words

of God aren't

merely advice

or a series

of best practices,

but the very

foundation of

life itself.

The word of God

created the cosmos.

The opening

verses of the

Bible

describe God

speaking life

into existence.

He speaks it

into existence.

With Jesus

on the boat

in the Sea of

Galilee,

the wind and

the waves

are crashing in.

And he

merely speaks

and the wind

and the waves

are stilled.

And then finally

in the book

of Revelation,

at the end

of the age,

we will read

that Christ

will decisively

defeat all

of his foes

with the word

of his mouth.

The word of God

isn't,

again,

a nice

suggestion

or some

good advice

or even

a wonderful

proverb

verb or a

haiku

that you

need to

incorporate

into your

daily meditation.

It is life

itself.

After a difficult

teaching

that he is

the very bread

of life,

Jesus is

abandoned by the

crowds that had

been following him.

And as he

turned to his

disciples

to see if

they too

would abandon

him,

the apostle

Peter says

this,

this is from

John chapter 6

John 6 · chapter mention

and verse 67

and 68,

do you want

to go away

as well?

Simon Peter

answered him,

Lord,

to whom

shall we

go?

You have

the words

of eternal

life.

The point

is this,

God's words

are powerful

and ought not

to be casually

considered or

conveniently

dismissed

because God

himself ought

not to be

treated casually

or conveniently

dismissed.

Yes,

we must

approach the

Lord with

reverence

and honor

and awe.

We must

understand that

he is big

and we are

small.

And on one

hand,

the beauty

of the

Christian faith

is that we

can approach

the Lord

as a father

because Christ

is our

brother.

The church

is the bride

of Christ.

There's a lot

of familial,

intimate language

used in the

Bible to

connect us

relationally

with God.

But we must

remember that

God is the

Lord and

that Christ

is the

King and

he therefore

deserves our

reverence and

respect.

We're not an

every single

day, every

single morning

family,

devotions,

family.

We're trying

our best to

do it.

Do like 15

minutes of

Bible reading

and prayer.

And we have

wiggly kids so

sometimes they

need to, we

have this balance

board, they

need to sit on

the balance

board or they

need to be in

a weird position

because they're

kids, they

can't sit

still.

But sometimes

their posture

is very much

lackadaisical.

They're kind of

sprawled out.

You can see in

their face that

they're bored.

And often

we'll say,

listen, if King

Charles was here

this morning and

he was doing

family devotions

with us,

okay, in his

regalia, would

you be sprawled

out like this?

Like digging

breakfast out of

your teeth?

Or would you

sit up straight?

And of course

they sit up

straight because

they think,

well, if the

king was here,

I go, well,

listen, is God

bigger and

stronger and

greater and

more glorious

than the

king?

Of course.

Just goes to

show that,

yes, on one

hand, the

Lord is close.

He has made

himself close,

but let us

not embrace

this wonderful,

beautiful gift

and vision of

the closeness

of God at

the expense

of his

gloriousness,

that he

truly is the

king.

So we must

remember that

when we come

to worship,

whether we

feel his

presence or

not, he

is here.

We should

not enter

his presence

carelessly.

Having a

reverent

posture and

attitude towards

God is key.

the Lord

delights in

such reverent

worship because

it honors him,

because he is

the transcendent

Lord.

And in doing

so, we will

learn to

worship with

integrity.

And this

brings us to

our second

point, that

proper worship

is a worship

that is

integral, that

we ought to

worship God

with integrity.

Look with me

at verses 2 and

3.

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.

For a dream

comes with

much business,

and a fool's

voice with

many words.

The imperative

here is similar

to verse 1,

but it goes a

bit further.

The sage, he

is urging us

to see that the

Lord is

transcendent.

We are not.

He is in

heaven.

We are on

earth.

We are under

the sun.

He certainly

is not under

the sun.

And we have

touched this in

past weeks.

However, it's

worth revisiting

this idea of

God's transcendence

because often

we are forgetful

people.

So, really

briefly, God's

transcendence

reminds us that

he has attributes

that we do not

possess.

So, theologians,

they'll look at

God's attributes,

what makes God

God, and some

of them we

share with him.

We are made in

his image, so we

have the capacity

to love.

Not like God, but

still, we can

love, we can

show mercy.

Again, not like

God, but because

we are made in

his image, we

can extend

mercy.

But there are

other attributes

that we do not

share with God.

God.

We, unlike God,

do not, we

change.

God does not

change.

Nor does he

experience passions.

He knows

everything.

He sees

everything and is

present everywhere.

We do not.

We certainly do

not.

He transcends

both space and

time, and as we

discussed a couple

of weeks ago, we

are certainly bound

by time.

And we are

limited by our

location, by our

lot in life.

God is

different than

us.

This is what the

sage is getting

at when he says,

God is in

heaven, and you

are on the

earth.

Disregarding God's

transcendence means

treating him as

just another person

under the sun, and

certainly he is not.

In doing so, we

engage in a form of

atheism.

Again, this isn't

the modern kind of

atheism that relies

on a kind of

Darwinian evolution

to deny any

deity.

But a practical

atheism that

overlooks or

dismisses that God

is the highest

authority and

there rejects God's

ultimate justice.

It renders God

powerless.

Toothless.

He has no real

authority over our

lives because he is

not the final judge.

In fact, we are in

that circumstance.

So, it's not an

atheism that denies

God's deity, but

lessens his deity.

Twice in the

psalter, the

psalmist, he will

say that the

fool says in his

heart, there is no

God.

And what he is not

again describing is

this Darwinian, this

proto-Darwinian

atheist, but

somebody who is a

part of God's

covenant people,

that are part of the

people of God, that

are treating God as

a lesser deity and

putting themselves in

the ultimate place,

the ultimate throne.

In doing so, in

denying God's

transcendence, we

speak and act as if

God doesn't truly

exist.

But whether or not

we act or think that

God truly doesn't

exist, he does.

God is not, again,

limited like we are,

and therefore he is

not limited to whether

or not we believe in

him or functionally

believe in him.

Therefore, when we go

through the motions

when we come to

church, when we are

like what Derek

Kidner says, the

people that come to

church, that love a

good sing, but listen

with half an ear, such

words become empty

and foolish and as

unreal as the dreams

that we have.

Dreams are filled

with meaningless

events.

So too are the

words of a fool.

The Bible calls this

hypocrisy.

Empty words, half a

heart, a functional

type of atheism.

In Matthew 6, in

the Sermon on the

Mount, Jesus, he

gives three examples

of how religious

hypocrisy shows

itself.

When we do

charity, when we

pray, and when we

fast.

All these actions

become empty

displays aimed at

gaining the benefit

of being a

religious person, a

moral person, an

upright person,

without truly

committing to God

as a transcendent

one.

Instead, we end up

using the Lord's

gifts as tools for

our own benefit,

rather than serving

him with the things

that he's given us.

I'll give you an

example.

Just this past

week, I'm on a

group chat with

some guys.

One of the guys

shares a medical

situation.

Guys are saying,

yeah, we'll pray.

And I said, have my

prayers 100%.

Something like that.

It was just a quick

text.

I did not pray for

him.

It was like maybe

48 hours, and then

I met with some of the

guys a couple days

after, and I didn't

pray.

But I sent the

message there because

I wanted to be the

type of guy who says,

hey, I'll pray for

you.

I care.

Hey, I got your

back.

I'll pray for you.

And what I ended up

doing in this

situation is using

a religious

language that

should be

integral, that

should have

integrity to it,

as a means to

just puff out my

chest and to

show myself as a

morally upright

person.

Friends, pray for

your pastor.

Pray for yourselves,

because this is

something that's

very easy to fall

into.

And I'll just say

this.

I want to be

cautious here,

because what I am

not saying is that

in the pursuit of

being authentic and

genuine and having

a faith that is

full of good,

godly integrity,

what I don't want

to suggest is that

we don't obey the

Lord.

The Lord commands

us to pray for

people.

So what would be

wrong would be for

the next situation

to come out for

me to say,

my thoughts are

with you, or to

maybe even not

respond at all,

but rather instead

to say, I will

pray for you, in

fact I'm going to

pray right now, and

then pause whatever I'm

doing to pray.

pray.

As with verse 1,

the point isn't to

never make a

religious vow to

the Lord, or to

act religiously, but

to do so with

honesty and

integrity.

Again, verse 1,

what does it say?

To draw near to

listen is better than

to offer the

sacrifice of fools.

What God is saying

is don't sacrifice.

He's not saying,

listen, never

sacrifice to me.

He is saying,

don't bother

sacrificing to me if

your heart is not

there.

In the same way,

he is saying,

listen, make a

vow, but don't

bother making a

vow, taking an

oath, if you're

going to do so with

an empty heart, with

a heart that's

turned towards

everything else

except me.

We must resist

the tendency to

treat God as if

he exists only

within our heart,

as if we can

turn on the God

switch when we

need him, turn it

off when we are

going about life.

Instead, we need

to embrace the

reality that God

has always existed

and always exists,

that he sees all,

that he is involved

in all.

He is the creator

and we are his

creation and

therefore,

we conform to

him, not the

other way around.

Our agenda, our

desires, our

motivations regarding

life and

spirituality, it

must be subordinate

to who God is

and what he has

ordained.

God is not a tool

to make us look

better.

To worship God

with integrity is

to worship him on

his terms and not

ours.

And this challenges

this idea that

was really a very

popular thing a

generation ago.

where Christians,

well-meaning

Christians, would

say, I don't

have a religion,

I have a

relationship.

You cannot have

a personalized

Christianity.

Christianity is

very personal,

okay, it's very

personal, but it

cannot be

personalized, your

own version of it

that suits your

own needs at

times that you

feel like you are

able to be a

religious person.

And the reality

is this, you

cannot stay true

to both your

authentic self,

which may change

every few years,

and to the

authentic God who

was and is and

is to come.

The only way to

have an authentic

faith, a faith that

is full of integrity,

is to worship God

for who he is,

with hearts turned to

him, not based on

how we feel.

Yet, yet we do

not want to

worship the Lord

as robotic beings.

We can't force

ourselves to have

hearts turned

towards him.

We can't shut

off our emotions

and our feelings.

Sometimes we feel

crummy.

Sometimes we are

super distracted

with life.

We are whole

beings called to

worship with all

that God makes us,

and sometimes

parts of us are

turned away.

Therefore, we

must learn and

grow in our

worship with

sincerity and

honesty.

And this brings us

to our last

section.

Look with me at

verses 4 to 7.

When you vow a

vow to God, do

not delay paying

it, for he has

no pleasure in

fools.

That's a third

time fools have

been used in

this short

section.

Pay what you

vow.

Verse 5.

It is better

that you should

not vow than

you should vow

and not pay.

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?

For when dreams

increase and

words grow many,

there is vanity.

But God is the

one you must

fear.

the sage

continues to

build upon

verses 1 and

3 by

instructing us

to be sincere

in and honest

in our worship.

Verse 4 to 7

describes a

religious person

taking a vow to

make a sacrifice

or to bring an

offering at the

temple.

If only God

would grant

their prayer or

appear in the

or so that

they may appear

religiously

upright.

However, when

the time comes

for them to pay

what they have

promised or to

give what they

have guaranteed,

they plead

ignorance.

I didn't know

that it was

going to cost

that much.

Or they delay

payment.

Yeah, I will

pay, but next

week, next

month, next

year.

The sage is

describing a

person who takes

for granted

the mercy of

God, presuming

that God is

available to

meet their

needs first and

foremost.

Again, we see

a faithless

religion.

This is grievous

in God's eyes.

It is a cause

for his judgment,

not mercy to be

extended.

We see this in

verse 6.

Why should God

be angry at your

voice and destroy

the work of your

hands?

There are many

instances,

especially in the

gospels of

Jesus taking

the religiously

pomp, the

faithless

religious leaders

to task on

this very thing,

on this very

issue, that they

worship God

without sincerity

or honesty.

Many different

examples.

One of the

examples I'll

give this

morning is from

Acts chapter 5.

Acts 5 · chapter mention

And it's a

chilling section.

And it describes

exactly what we

are reading about.

But I'll give a

bit of a

background.

I won't actually

read it from

Acts chapter 5.

Acts 5 · chapter mention

It's a short

11, I think it's

11 or 12

verses.

It's after

Pentecost.

The church is

growing by huge

amounts of

numbers.

And the

disciples are

leading the

church with

bravery and

courage and

their spirit

filled.

It's an

incredible time

in the church's

history.

People are

bringing tithes

and gifts and

offerings to

the disciples,

to the

apostles, and

they are

distributing them

equally.

And then this

couple comes.

And by the

way, the

giving of

gifts, it's

voluntary.

People can

give what

they feel

led to in

their heart.

There is no

religious compulsion.

It is an

act of

thanksgiving.

And then this

couple comes

by.

Ananias and

Sapphira.

We know

nothing about

them, only

that they

had a good

amount of

money.

And that

they sold a

portion of

their estate

and they

brought it to

the disciples.

And they

came separately.

First,

Ananias, he

came, he

gave the

lot of

money and

he said,

this is

all of our

estate.

And Peter,

knowing by

the Holy Spirit

that they were

lying, that he

was lying, he

gave him a

chance and he

doubled down and

he was struck

down dead.

The same

thing happened

to his

wife,

Sapphira.

It is a

very chilling

story, especially

if we

consider that

the New

Testament is

all about

grace.

Judgment is

marbled all

throughout the

New Testament

as well.

But it

highlights for

us that

making public

vows and

not going

through with

them,

declaring to

God and

to the

people around

us that

we are so

morally upright

and that we

are religiously

astute.

When our

hearts are

turned away

from God,

when we are

bankrupt inside,

it is a

very grievous

thing to the

Lord.

It is

something that

he does not

take lightly.

But making

public vows is

quite uncommon

for us.

We certainly

make private

vows to the

Lord.

We expect

him to

deliver if

we do the

religious thing.

But God's

economy isn't a

pay-to-play

economy.

He doesn't

promise us

health and

strength,

well-formed

children or

children,

lots of

money, a

spouse, a

job, or

anything else

if we would

only spend

30 minutes

in the

morning with

him in

prayer.

If only we

would read

through our

Bibles once

a year,

straight through.

If only we

never missed a

Sunday.

If only we

made sure

that we

gave in

the tithing

basket at

the back of

the church.

If only we

would do all

the religious

things.

No, instead

God, he

wants, again,

our hearts

turned to

him so

that as we

worship, we

do so

sincerely and

honestly, knowing

that all good

gifts come from

him and that a

life of devotion

to the Lord

isn't this

inferior life, but

actually a

superior way to

live.

That with

sincere and

honest hearts, we

can come to

him and say,

listen, Lord, I

am trying my

best.

My heart is

divided.

Please help me.

I believe, but

help my unbelief.

faith.

It is a

religion that

is fueled by

faith.

See, the

faith that the

Lord values is

an honest and

sincere faith.

It is about

God's own

glory and not

our own.

And we

cannot use this

transcendent God

and this

beautiful faith

that he has

given us to

satisfy our

own often

selfish desires

as men and

women who live

under the sun.

So the big

question is,

what happens

when we are

constantly

tripping up?

When we are

constantly finding

ourselves with

insincere hearts,

with dishonest

motives, with

hearts that don't

really revere God,

when we aren't

that integral in

our faith?

What do we do?

do we do?

There's this

beautiful gift that

God has given

us.

And it's

something that we

practice every

Sunday and it's

something that you

ought to practice

every day, maybe

multiple times a

day.

It's called

repentance.

Okay?

And God

delights in it.

He delights in

it.

As I ask the

Lord for

forgiveness, for

using his

things to

bolster my

own kind of

moral superiority

this past week,

he doesn't say

to me,

well, too

bad, you

have slighted

me, now

my turn to

slight you.

He delights in

the repentance.

He delights in

us turning our

gaze back to

him.

But this is

our lot as

people living

under the sun.

We are

constantly bound

to live

inauthentically

in this

faith.

So the only

proper response

is the end of

verse 7.

Well, read all

of verse 7.

For when dreams

increase and

words grow many,

there is vanity.

But God is

the only one,

is the one you

must fear.

But God is the

one you must

fear.

What we are

truly after is

not a God

confined to

this life

under the sun,

but rather to

join him as we

transcend this

mortal life.

The problem is

we cannot

transcend this

mortal life.

Our hearts

genuinely desire

to be in the

presence of God

forever, but my

goodness, how do

we get there?

The promise of

the church is

that it should be

the very place

where the

separation between

heaven and earth

is at its

thinnest.

For as we

gather as God's

people, the

triune God

himself inhabits

our praises.

And this is an

act of his

kindness and

mercy, where he

condescends to

us.

We don't ascend to

him, for we

can't.

But he

condescends to

us, and he

inhabits our

praises.

This is why at

communion, every

single Sunday I

ask, is the

Father with us?

And you respond,

he is.

He is.

He is the

Son with us.

He is.

Is the Holy

Spirit here?

You respond, he

is.

We are affirming

a reality that is

just as real as

the coffee that you

will drink after the

service and the

hands that you

will shake.

And friends, this

is an act of God's

kindness and

goodness towards

us who are under

the sun, who

live a very

hypocritical faith.

what an

incredible gift,

and it's a gift

that came at

quite the cost.

For the price of

our entry into

the presence of

God is the very

precious blood that

Christ Jesus shed on

the pavement where

he was scourged, on

the cross that he

carried, and on

the dirt underneath

the cross where he

hung.

Nothing less,

nothing less

grants you access

to his presence.

not upping your

sincerity, although

it's very important,

not upping your

reverence, although

it's very important,

not trying to live

with more integrity,

very important.

That doesn't get you

entry into God's

presence.

But the spilled

blood of the Lamb is

the only thing.

You see, the idea

that we could use

God's gift to

benefit ourselves

is so foolish

on so many

levels,

because we are

trying to get

something that we

already have,

but in such a

way that is far

exceeding anything

that we could

somehow get by

by manipulating

God and his

faith that he

has given us.

We want

belonging.

Again, I'll use

myself as an

example.

I wanted

belonging to

be looked at in

a certain way,

but God has

already given me a

place in his

presence that I

belong to him

forever.

We want to seem

morally upright,

and yet constantly

we are riddled

with sin,

disobedience,

and yet,

because of

Christ and the

righteousness he

has given us,

we are as white

as snow in his

very presence.

Whatever we try

to do here on

earth to ascend

to heaven,

it will utterly

fail.

He has made a

way.

Let us not be

fools to try to

disregard what he

has already done

and climb some

ladder that only

goes so high.

So friends, let us

approach the Lord

in worship with

reverence,

integrity,

sincerity, and

honesty.

He deserves our

very best because he

is worthy of our

very best.

In Christ, the

triune God has

shown his love for

us while we were

still yet sinners.

What does he do?

He dies for us,

initiating our

salvation, descending

to us so that we

may ascend to him

through him.

Amen.

Heavenly Father, we

thank you for the

gift of salvation.

And Lord, we

confess and ask for

your forgiveness for

trying to find

salvation in our

own works, in our

own religious

strivings.

And in doing so,

we make a mockery of

what your son has

done on the cross

of Calvary.

And it is not an

indifferent thing to

you.

It is a grievous

thing to you.

And it is evil.

Lord, we ask for

your forgiveness.

Lord, help us to be

honest about who we

are.

Help us to have

eyes that open.

And as it says in

verse 1, that we

would be people that

listen well.

We can all listen

well.

We do not need to

have a remarkable

IQ to listen well.

We do not need to

come from a fantastic

family to listen

well.

By virtue of us

hearing what you

would have to say to

us this morning, we

can listen well if

you would but help

us.

So Lord, help us to

have ears to hear and

to be people that

don't just hear your

word and forget it,

but rather be doers

of your word.

And Lord, help us

more than all of

that to value and to

cherish and to hold

up and to esteem the

cross of Jesus Christ

above all.

We pray this in his

name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.