Worship Reminder, Part 1

Turn with me in your Bible, if you would, to the book of Ecclesiastes, the book of Ecclesiastes. And we're gonna look at the fifth chapter this evening.

That's where we are. And we have been looking at Solomon's view on life. Ecclesiastes is his journal. That talks to us about his journeys all throughout his life. And he had spent the first four chapters talking to us about the meaninglessness of life.

The futility of life. How empty life is under the sun. And so he has gone into great detail describing those things to us. But when you come to chapter five, the tone of the preacher changes. He's gonna act like a preacher, because that's what he is. That's what Koheleth means, Ecclesiastes. He's a preacher. So as a preacher, he's going to exhort us, because that's what preachers do. They move us on to maturity. They challenge us to understand the truth behind all that God is saying. And so therefore, he begins with an exhortation.

This is the first time he does it. And what he's gonna do is gonna give us worship reminders, because he's gonna go from that which is meaningless to that which is meaningful. And Solomon was a big worshiper of God. And he wants us to understand what true worship really entails. And the remarkable thing about Solomon is that he says it in very simple terms. He says it in very basic terms. He's very clear. He's very concise. He doesn't give a lot of mumbo jumbo when it comes to what worship is. It's very particular.

And he puts it in the simplest forms so you and I can understand it. And how he states it is probably different than most of us ever realize. And he's gonna say some things that maybe you've never heard before, or say some things that you've heard before, but make them reminders for you concerning worship. Worship. Worship is extremely important in the life of the believer. In 1963, A.W. Tozer went home to be with the Lord. In 1962, a year before that, he wanted to make sure that before he died, he preached a series of sermons on worship.

And so in 1962, he embarked on this journey to make sure that his church, Avenue Road Church in Toronto, Canada, understood what true worship was all about. And in that book, he states that worship acceptable to God is the missing crown jewel in evangelical Christianity. And he entitled the series, Worship the Chief End of Man. So he preached those sermons in 62. He died in 63. And 20 years later, they put those sermons together in the form of a book. And that book is entitled, Whatever Happened to Worship.

And so this book was published 25 years after the sermons were preached. And as you read through the book, you begin to understand Tozer's view of what the Bible says concerning worship.

And he makes one magnificent statement that's extremely convicting. And this is what he says. No worship is wholly pleasing to God until there is nothing in me displeasing to God. That's just a magnificent statement. I don't think anybody's ever said it as well as he did. So let me reiterate it for you.

No worship is wholly pleasing to God until there is nothing in me displeasing to God. So many times there are things in our lives that are extremely displeasing to God. And yet we show up on Sunday expecting to worship God, expecting to honor God when there are so many things in our lives that are dishonoring to God. I think of the Psalms and what the Psalm has said in Psalm 26, verse number eight. Oh Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells. I wonder how many Christians today can actually make that statement.

He goes on to say in chapter 27 of Psalms, verse number four, one thing I have asked from the Lord that I shall seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in his temple. I wonder how many of us could ever say that. In fact, the Psalmist would go on to say in Psalm 84, verse number 10, and I love this one. Better, better is one day in your courts than a thousand places elsewhere. I know most people can't say that one. Better is one day in your courts than a thousand other places ever.

But unfortunately, we look for ways to be anywhere other than the court of God, anywhere other than the house of God. We call it the church. Solomon calls it the house of God. It really encompasses the presence of God because the Psalmist says in Psalm 122, verse number one, that God inhabits the praises of his people.

Now we know that going to church doesn't make you a Christian. We all know that. We understand that. But we also know that going home doesn't make you married either. But if you don't go home, your marriage is gonna suffer. And if you go home with an agenda that's a selfish agenda, your marriage is gonna suffer. Just like if you don't go to church, your relationship with the Lord suffers. And if you go to church with a selfish agenda, your relationship with the Lord also will suffer. We realize that the church, the gathering of God's people on the Lord's day is a priority of the Christian.

It's very important. It's not something that you just kind of bypass or do when you have nothing else to do. Because I've said this statement before and I'm gonna stick with it until the day I die. And that statement is simply this, that whatever you choose to do on the Lord's day, other than worship the Lord, becomes the Lord you worship. I'm gonna stick with that statement to the day I die. Whatever you choose to do on the Lord's day, other than worship the Lord, that then becomes the Lord you now are worshiping.

Years ago, we had a guy in a church who would tend to miss church a lot. So one day I asked him, I said, where are you on Sundays? He goes, well, I go to car shows on Sundays. I said, you go to car shows? He goes, yeah. They have them on Sunday mornings. I said, you'd rather be in a car show than at church? He goes, well, I wouldn't put it that way. I said, but that's what you model. You model you'd rather be in a car show than at church. But you seem to miss church a lot. And it seems to me that that's gonna hinder your relationship with the Lord and with the people of God to some degree by forsaking the assembling of yourself together with the people of God.

Well, he didn't see it that way. And a few weeks later, he decided to choose another church, which probably he didn't go to either because he was always going to car shows. But whatever you choose to do on the Lord's day, other than worship the Lord, is the Lord now you worship. That becomes your God. And unfortunately, the God is you because you're doing things that are self-pleasing to you. It's all about me. Kurt Gephardt, in a book called Fool's Gold, was a series of messages put together by different men concerning this discerning truth in the age of error.

He says some very insightful things about people and church and the consumer mentality. He says, consumerism is me-ism at its core, calling us to exalt ourselves as the arbiter of all our affairs. Daily, we are encouraged to choose everything from our clothing to our coffee in keeping with our personal desires. Preference is given ultimate priority. As a result, we begin to believe the myth that life is all about us and what we want. Perhaps that is what makes shopping such a solace. When things are tough and trials come, we enter the marketplace and become credit card kings for an afternoon.

And when this attitude spills over into what we look for in church, we have a serious problem on our hands. Instead of shopping for a church that fits our criteria, our desire as God's servants should be to find a ministry that meets God's standards. The question should not be, are my expectations met? But rather, are God's expectations met? In spite of the market-driven culture around us, we should work hard to root out the self-centered perspective that American materialism breeds. Ultimately, we must each ask ourselves as we come to God's house, what weighs more heavily on our hearts?

His expectations for sacrificial service and worship or our own expectations for personal fulfillment? He goes on to say, it must be remembered that God is the rightful focus of our corporate worship, not the Christian. And God has certain expectations. He expects us to faithfully participate at church. He expects us to bring a premeditated offering of praise to Him. He expects us to be zealous and passionate for Him. He expects us to be cheerfully committed to His purposes. He expects us to eagerly anticipate the teaching of His word.

And He expects us to prepare our bodies and minds to enter into the King's court. And that last statement is very important. He expects us to prepare our bodies and our minds to enter the King's court. And that's where Solomon begins. That's exactly what Solomon says in Ecclesiastes five, verse number one.

Let me read to you what he says in those first seven verses. Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools. For they do not know they are doing evil. Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth. Therefore, let your words be few. For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words. When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it.

For He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Do not let your speech cause you to sin. And do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands? For in many dreams and in many words, there is emptiness. Rather, fear God. Solomon is going to give us six principles. Six. And in those six principles, as they are stated very clearly and concisely, he brings worship down to its bare minimum.

Just so we can understand it. Just so that we can get it. So let me give you principle number one. Principle number one is simply this.

Be responsible. Be responsible. He says, as you go to the house of God, guard your steps. In other words, before you ever enter the house of the Lord, before you ever enter into the assembly of God's people, before you get here, guard your steps. He begins with the preparation of worship. He wants you to be responsible before you ever come, before you ever arrive. It's a sentinel term. It's a word that says, be vigilant, watch out, be alert, be cautious, watch over your steps. Make sure your walk is right before you enter the house of God.

Now we know, as Paul says in the book of Acts, that God does not dwell in temple made with hands. Excuse me, we understand that. But there's something unique about the Lord's day in gathering with the Lord's people to assemble for worship. It's like when the Bible says you're to pray without ceasing.

That means you're to always be in the spirit and attitude of prayer. But he also says in Matthew chapter six that when you pray, enter into your closet in secret. And when you pray, the Lord who sees you in secret will reward you openly. In other words, there is a secret special location where you gather together to commune with God on an individual basis when it comes to prayer. It doesn't mean you don't pray without ceasing, you do. But there's a special moment where you gather together you, your thoughts, with the Lord, and you commune with him.

That's a special aspect of it. Same with worship. God is seeking true worshipers, those who worship him in spirit and in truth. In fact, during the tribulation, before our Lord returns, in the book of Revelation, there's an angel that flies around in midheaven and preaches these words. It preaches the eternal gospel. And this is the eternal gospel. Revelation 14, verse number six, and I saw another angel flying in midheaven having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.

If you had one opportunity to preach to every tribe, every nation, every tongue, every people, what would you say? Here's what the angel says. Fear God, give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of water. That is the eternal gospel. Fear God. Give God glory. You're not gonna give him glory unless you fear him. And the only way you're gonna worship him is if you fear him and give him glory. So fear God, give him glory, and worship him, because God seeks true worshipers, those who truly wanna honor and glorify his precious name above themselves.

So Solomon says, as you gather together to go into the presence of God, now remember, in the Old Testament, the temple was a place where God's glory would dwell and the Shekinah would come down and it would be a symbol of God being pleased with the worship of the nation of Israel. Yes, it's true that they were to worship privately in their homes, but there was a special occasion where they would gather together as a people of God and worship God. Same is true for us today. We gather together on the Lord's day to gather to worship and praise his glorious name, because God inhabits the praises of his people.

God is present everywhere, but there's a special presence of God in the house of God with the people of God when they give glory to God. There's something unique about that time of worship unlike any other time on the planet. That's why it's so important. So Solomon says, I want you to be responsible. In other words, I want you to guard your steps as you're going to the house of God. It's almost as if it's a warning. In fact, it would be good for us to have a sign on the outside of our church that flashes warning, warning, warning, and underneath the flashing sign it says, guard your steps before you enter the assembly of the righteous.

That'd be a good thing to do. Because let's just take Sunday for example. How did you watch your steps on your way to the house of the Lord? There are so many things that happen in our homes before church. Some of us fight before we get here. We argue and bicker and bellyache. Some of us can't hardly get the kids fed without there being turmoil in the house. And our minds are not prepared to worship the true and living God. Because so many things have distracted us on the way here. Their minds really aren't prepared.

Our steps are not in order. Our heart is not fixed upon the Lord. Because of all the different things that happen to take place in my life. When you come on Sunday morning, your frame of mind is important. And there are so many things that happen in our own personal lives that just completely turn us upside down before we ever get here. And Solomon says, I just want to warn you before you ever get here, you got to watch out. He says something similar in the book of Proverbs. In the book of Proverbs, the fourth chapter, Proverbs chapter four, excuse me, yeah, Proverbs chapter four.

In Proverbs chapter four, he says this, verse 23. Guard your heart or be vigilant about your heart or watch out for your heart or be cautious about your heart. He says, guard it diligently. For out of your heart flow all the springs of life. He says something very similar in Ecclesiastes five, guard your steps, guard your walk, watch out how you live as you go to the house of God. Why? Because you're entering a very risky zone. This is a risk zone. This is a dangerous zone or it's a delightful zone.

It's dangerous if you're living in sin. It's delightful if you're not, but you're entering a zone where God is about to speak. He's gonna speak to you through his word. And therefore that's a very risky place to be. It's a very dangerous place to be for those of you who do not wanna obey what God says.

For those who do wanna obey what God says, it's a very delightful zone to be in. That's why Solomon says, guard your steps as you go to the house of God. Why? Because you're about to enter something, you're about to enter with someone, you're about to enter the presence of the living God. He's gonna speak to you through his word. And therefore, if you're not ready to receive what he has or not willing to obey what he says, it becomes a very dangerous place to be. Back in Proverbs chapter four, Solomon would go on to say these words.

Watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put devious speech far from you. How are you gonna guard your heart? Put those things away from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet. Same thing he says in Ecclesiastes five. Guard your steps. Watch out for the path of your feet and that all your ways may be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left.

Turn your foot from evil. That's exactly what he's saying in the book of Ecclesiastes. Guard your steps. Watch where you're going. Look straight ahead. Don't look to the left, don't look to the right. Don't turn to the left, don't turn to the right. Keep your feet from evil. Keep your tongue from deceit. Watch over your heart with all diligence because from it flow all the issues of life. So now he says, guard your steps. Same thing. Watch how you walk. Walk very carefully. Walk extremely biblically.

Walk in a way that honors and glorifies the Lord because you're about to enter the presence of God. Know what the sad thing is? Is that when you come to church on Sunday and you walk through those doors, you walk through those doors the same way you walk through the doors at the mall. You walk through those doors the same way you walk through the door of your house. You walk through those doors the same way you walk through the doors of your school or your place of employment. You walk through the doors and say, here I am.

How's everybody doing? We don't guard our steps when we come to the house of the Lord. You're coming here for one reason. You're only coming here for one reason, only one. And it's not to sing. And it's not to give your money. It's not even to pray. You're coming here for only one reason. And if you come for any other reason than the one reason you're to be here, you're gonna be miserable. And that is you came to do one thing. And that is to listen.

That's it. You've come to listen. That's what he says. He says, guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen.

You're here to listen. Why? Because God is speaking. God has something for you to hear. You don't go to church so your spouse listens. You don't go to church so your children listen or the person you're having conflict with listens. You're going to church because you're coming to listen.

God has a word directly for you, specifically for you. God has a word that addresses your name on it because God is going to speak to you through his word. Listen, do you understand that the most important thing you will ever do in life is listen to God? And the place you do that's a church. Now, unfortunately in churches today, we have all kinds of preachers who do everything but preach the word of God. They think it's their job to entertain you. So you come because you want to be entertained. We come to church because we want to meet a new friend.

That's not why you go to church. You don't go to church to meet friends. I hope you have friends at church, but that's not why you come. You don't go to church to find a date. You don't go to church to find a new business partner. You go to church for one reason, to listen.

Solomon's so basic, so clear, so concise. He is so simple. You draw near for one reason. You want to hear what God has for you today. That's why you're here. And my job is to make sure that I accurately articulate the word of the Lord. And then you know what I do? I just step back and I'm done. That's it. I don't want to mess it up between what God is telling me to do and his word to telling you. But after God speaks to you through his word, after the word of God has been expounded, after the word of God has been interpreted, after the word of God has been proclaimed, I just step back and let the spirit of God do what the spirit of God does.

I can't manipulate it. I can't change it. I can't alter it. I just say, Lord, use your word in the lives of your people to accomplish your purposes. So Solomon says, be responsible. Before you ever get to the house of God, guard your steps. So I thought to myself, what does that look like? What does that look like? So that when you walk through the doors on Sunday, you don't walk through the doors as if you just walked into the mall or to your favorite store or your favorite restaurant. Seriously, when you come this week, make sure that when you walk through the doors, you walk through them differently than you did when you went to the mall this past week or you went to your neighbor's house this past week, because those doors don't lead to the place where God speaks.

Those doors do. And therefore, you must draw near to listen. What does God say? So how do I guard my steps? I thought about it for a little bit this afternoon. I thought, you know, you come, number one, with a repentant life, a repentant life.

Bible says in Psalm 66, verse number 18, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Isaiah 59, the Lord said, behold, the Lord's hand is not short that it cannot save, nor is his ear so dull that it cannot hear, but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. On your way to the house of the Lord, on your way to church, on your way to enter the presence of the living God, do you have a repentant heart, a repentant life, a life that has come to ask for God to forgive you of your sins?

Because when you enter, if you haven't, you will not hear what God has to say. God speaks to those whose hearts are soft, tender, supple, like sponges, a broken and contrite heart our Lord does not despise. Proverbs 28, 13, he who conceals a transgression shall not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes his sin shall find mercy. Solomon says, guard your steps. Come with a repentant life. Number two, you gotta come with the robes of righteousness.

Isaiah 61, Isaiah 61, verse number 10, says, I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, my soul will exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with jewels. So many people come to church and they don't get anything out of it because they've never been clothed with the robes of righteousness. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

God clothes us with that garment of God, that robe of righteousness, because of his saving work in our lives. Next time you go to church with somebody and say, well, yeah, it was okay, I didn't get anything out of that. Ask them if they come to worship the Lord in holy attire. Psalm 96 says that when you come to worship the Lord, you worship him in holy attire. What is that? Does that mean you gotta wear a shirt and tie to go to church? No, no, my mom believed that though. My mom used to always say, hey, listen, if you're gonna go meet the king, you better dress like a child of the king, right?

That's what she always used to say. So my mom and dad, they dressed like a band box, coming out of a band box on Sunday morning. They were more dressed to go to church than they ever were at a funeral or a wedding. But today, we get really dressed up for funerals and weddings, but we dress down when we go to church. But that's not the holy attire that God's speaking about. The holy attire is the robe of righteousness that God clothes you with. Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Make sure you come with a repentant life.

Make sure you come with the robes of righteousness. Make sure you come with a reverent spirit, a reverent spirit. Solomon would say that at the end of verse seven of Ecclesiastes five, when he said, fear God, fear God. God would say through the pen of Isaiah the prophet, Isaiah 66, to this man, when I looked at him, it was broken and of a contrite heart who trembles at my word. Isaiah 8, 13, such a beautiful verse. Isaiah chapter eight, verse number 13. It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy.

And he shall be your fear, he shall be your dread. And then, and only then, will he become your sanctuary. Then and only then will he become your place of refuge and protection. If you fear him and you dread him. So Solomon says, guard your steps, watch your life, your walk, be vigilant. When you come, come with a repentant life. Come with the robes of righteousness. Come with a reverent spirit. Come with ready ears, ready ears, wanting to hear all that God has to say. Way back in the book of Deuteronomy, the prophet Moses said these words, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.

This is according to all that you asked of the Lord your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly saying, let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God.

Let me not see his great fire anymore or I will die. The Lord said to me, they have spoken well. I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, Moses, and I will put my words in his mouth. He shall speak to them all that I command them. It shall come about that whoever will not listen to my words, which he shall speak in my name, I myself will require of him. Of course, in Matthew 17, the Lord spoke from heaven on the night of transfiguration and said, this is my beloved son, listen to him.

For he was the prophet from among the Jewish people that God would raise up who would speak God's words in God's name. You come with ready ears. You come, number four, number five, with receptive hearts. Hearts, receptive hearts. James says it this way in James chapter one. He says, this you know, my beloved brethren, but everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. For the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God, therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness in humility, receive the word implanted, which is able to save your soul.

You come with a receptive heart. That means you put aside all wickedness, all malice, all evil, because you come with a heart filled with wanting to hear and listen and do all that God says.

Guard your steps. Come with a repentant life. Come with the robes of God. Come with a reverent spirit. Come with ready ears, a receptive heart. Come with a rejoicing spirit. Psalm 22. Psalm 22, verse 22. The psalmist said these words. I will tell of your name to my brethren. In the midst of the assembly, I will praise you. You who fear the Lord, praise him. All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him and stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel. You come with a rejoicing heart. Enter his gates with praise.

Enter his presence with thanksgiving. A repentant life, robes of righteousness, reverent spirit, ready ears, receptive heart, a rejoicing spirit. You come with right relationships. Matthew chapter five, the Lord says these words. Therefore, if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there, remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother.

And then come and present your offering. Then come. Make sure your relationships come with reconciled relationships. Don't come with unreconciled ones. Why? Because the next thing you know, you begin to eat and drink in an unworthy manner when you partake at the Lord's table. Because you're not right with your fellow brother or sister in Christ. Maybe you come and you're at odds with your spouse before you get here. Get it right. Reconcile. Guard your steps as you go to the house of God. Come with reconciled relationships.

And lastly, come with a response. A responsive soul. Come saying yes before you ever hear the question. Isaiah six. Isaiah said, here am I, Lord. Send me. You want to guard your steps as you go to the house of God. Go in saying, yes, Lord. Someone will say, yes to what? I don't know, whatever he says. The answer is yes. Forgive your brother, yes. Love your spouse, yes. Be patient, yes. Honor the brotherhood, yes. Fear God, yes. Share the gospel, yes. Lord, whatever it is, it's yes. That's a responsive soul.

See? Those are just a few things that help you guard your steps as you go to the house of God. Solomon says, be responsible. Don't be irresponsible when it comes to worship. Be responsible when it comes to worship. Why? Because this is the most important place you will ever be and you will be doing the most important thing you will ever do this side of eternity because you're going to listen to the voice of God. I can't stress that enough. I can't emphasize that enough. You're not coming to get a political narrative You're not coming to get a political narrative on the fires in Southern California.

You don't come for that reason. You don't come to be told a lot of stories that make you laugh. You don't come because you want to be entertained by the preacher and the way he speaks. You don't come even to behold the beauty of the facility. I'm glad our facility is as plain and as vanilla as it can possibly be because there are no distractions. We don't want you to be distracted. We want you to be focused because what's around you is irrelevant. What's being said as the word of God is opened and read is what's important because that's where you understand God's truth, what he wants you to know.

So principle number one, when it comes to worship reminders, be responsible. Principle number two, we have six of them.

We will not finish in this evening, of course. Be ready. Be ready. Why? Because you need to be ready to draw near to God and to listen to all that he says. You gotta be ready for that. That's why you're here. Solomon says it this way, remember, draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools for they do not know they are doing evil. What's a fool? A fool is one within the context and if you read the book of Proverbs, which of course Solomon did write, is one who talks all the time.

Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta. They never shut up. They're always talking. Oh, by the way, just for a point of interest, whenever you're talking, you are not listening. Think about that. Whenever you're talking, you are not listening. I'm not against people saying amen. I'm not, I mean, I don't care if people say amen or don't say amen, but sometimes we can say so many amens and so much talking in the audience that we don't listen to what's being said. But you gotta remember that whenever you talk, you are not listening.

So Solomon says, let your words be few because you haven't come to talk to God. You've come to listen to God. Now, do we pray? Yes. Do we sing? Yes. Do we celebrate God? Yes. We do those things, but that's not the main reason we gather. We gather together that we might all listen to what God has for us on the Lord's day. He says, don't be foolish. A fool is one who makes a vow but never keeps his vow. He sees worship as ritualistic, meaningless, thoughtless, and therefore, he does not understand or does not want to understand what God has to say.

For the fool has said in his heart, Psalm 14, no to God. Just no to God. Not only does he not know God, he says just no to God because he doesn't want to listen to what God has to say. That's the fool. Habakkuk 2.20 says, the Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth be silent. In Zephaniah 1.7, it says, be silent before the Lord. In Zechariah 2.13, it says, be silent all flesh before the Lord. You see, listening is your greatest participation in the service on Sunday mornings. Listening. Let me tell you something.

Worship is work. Staying focused. Someone said to me the other week, this past Sunday, he said, you know, I need to sit down front because if I sit in the back, I'm watching everybody's head move. I'm watching every husband look at his wife and wife look at her husband and snarl at him.

I'm looking at every father or mother trying to discipline their kid. I can't focus. I got to sit down front. Because there's so many things that happen around me that I can't stay truly focused. My thoughts begin to wander. My mind begins to wander with all kinds of various thoughts. If I want to listen, this person said, I need to sit where there are no distractions around me so I can stay focused on what is being said. Interesting. And there's so much in the scriptures about learning to listen.

I think so many times we forget that that's why we come. I bet you if you were to ask 100 people why they go to church, 100 people would never say, I go to listen.

Try it. Ask the people that didn't come tonight. Ask them, why are you here today? Why are you here? Why did you come to worship the Lord today? See how they respond. I bet you none of them say, I've come to listen.

I've come to hear what God has to say. I've come to receive my marching orders from the Lord. I've come to realize that my God is in heaven and I am on the earth. He's got so much to say to me. I wanna hear what he has to say. Well, my friends, that's the only reason you're here. If you come for any other reason, you've missed worship. Singing is part of it. That's why the majority of our service is centered on what? Preaching, opening the word of God. Why do we say, turn with me in your Bible too?

Because that's what we're gonna do. We're gonna read what God has said. We're gonna explain what God has said. Because that's what church is all about. Listening to the words of the Lord. But see, that was always Israel's problem. You can go back to the book of Isaiah and the Lord says three times, have you not heard? Have you not heard? Did you not hear? As if he had to yell it from the heavens. Have you not heard that the Lord, the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth, he never grows weary, he never gets tired.

He's always there. Did you not listen when you went to the assembly of the righteous? What were you doing? And then in Psalm 81, which I think is just so, so convicting. The psalmist said these words in verse eight, hear all my people and I will admonish you. Oh Israel, if you would listen to me, let there be no strange God among you, nor shall you worship any foreign God. I the Lord am your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, I will fill it. But my people did not listen to my voice.

And Israel did not obey me. So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart to walk in their own devices. Oh that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways. I would quickly subdue their enemies. I would turn and turn my hand against their adversaries. Those who hate the Lord would pretend obedience to him. And their time of punishment would be forever. But I would feed you with the finest of wheat and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you. But you didn't listen.

How often God says, I wanna do so much for you, you're just not listening. You're not listening. I have your whole life mapped out. I have your whole marriage taken care of. I have all your children taken care of. Just listen to what I have to say. But so many times we come to church with all kinds of alternative motives. And we leave thinking I wasted an hour and a half of my day when I could have been elsewhere. Simply because I didn't guard my steps on the way to the house of God. Because I didn't come to draw near, to listen.

Instead, I was foolish. I offered up a sacrifice of fools. And therefore, I did not receive anything from the Lord. The Lord said in the great Shema, which means to hear, hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one. And you should love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind. You should love him. Are you listening? For God is speaking. Psalm 73, the psalmist said these words in verse number one.

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling. My steps had almost slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant. As I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death, and their body is fat. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like mankind. Therefore, pride is their necklace. The garment of violence covers them. Their eye bulges from fatness. The imaginations of their heart run riots. They mock and wickedly speak of oppression.

They speak from on high. They have set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue parades through the earth. Therefore, as people return to this place, and waters of abundance are drunk by them, they say, how does God know? And is their knowledge with the most high? Behold, these are the wicked, and always at ease. They have increased in wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure, and washed my hands in innocence. For I have been stricken all day long, and chastened every morning. If I had said I will speak thus, behold, I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

The psalmist says, look, I am perplexed. I am confounded. I have no idea why the wicked flourish like they do. I have no idea why my life is miserable, and their life is great. Why they seem to mock God, and have no consequences, and I just can't get away with a thing. Verse 16, when I ponder to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight. Then the next verse. Until. Until I came into the sanctuary of God. Until I came to the house of God. Until I came into the presence of the Lord. Then I perceived their end.

In modern day translation, until I went to church, when I got to church, I heard what God said. And I realized where they were going. I realized their end. I know my end, but I realized their end. I got a proper perception on all that was happening around me. I was able to get a perspective that would keep me grounded in the truth. I was able to understand things as I never understood them before, simply because I went into the presence of God, drew near, and listened. That's it. See how simple Solomon is?

Remember, Solomon was the wisest man on the face of the earth. He could speak so far above us, so way beyond us, but under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. When he begins to write his journal, he says, I'm gonna give you just some worship reminders that are so basic, so clear, so easy for you to understand, so easy for you to do, that all you have to do is follow. So he says, be responsible. Guard your steps as you go to the house of God. Watch out. Why? Because you're going there, listen, not to catch up on your sleep, which by the way, some of you are doing right now.

Not to rest. Not to draw near and make friends. Although making friends at church is a good place to make them. That's not why you come. You draw near to listen.

That's why he goes on and says, he says, and I think this is so good, he says, do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought, because we can very easily do that. He says, let your words be few at the end of verse number two.

Have you ever noticed that sometimes we just can't stop talking, and yet when we come, we come for one reason, to draw near to our Lord, to hear what he has to say. I would hope that you'll go home tonight, you'll meditate upon this, and when you wake up Sunday morning, hopefully bright and early, that you will be in the process of guarding your steps when you go to the house of the Lord. And when you walk through those doors on Sunday morning, you walk through saying, I am all ears. I am one big, massive ear.

And my ears are elephant ears. I am here to hear everything that God is going to say. Shh, don't talk to me. I wanna hear what God has to say. When God is done speaking, we can carry on a great conversation. But in the meantime, I'm here to listen.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight. I realize, Lord, that your word is powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, and you have designed Solomon to be the great communicator of truth, as you had Paul and Peter and James and Isaiah and Jeremiah, Abraham and Moses. You chose those men to write your truth. And Lord, so many times we let the world influence our way of thinking instead of you. And we ask your forgiveness for that, because that's not what we want to do down deep. We truly want to follow the Lord.

In fact, I believe that the reason people are here tonight is because that's what they want to do. Why else would they be here? They want to hear what the word of the Lord has to say, and they want to obey. And I pray, Lord, that you would guide us in that direction, that we might truly be obedient to your word. Until that day when you come to take us home to be with you, and you are going to do that soon, may we be found faithful in our worship of the King. In Jesus' name, amen.