Worship Reminder, Part 2

We are looking at the first seven verses in the book of Ecclesiastes, the fifth chapter. Looking at what we've entitled Worship Reminders. It's always good to be reminded as to what the Bible says concerning our lives, and what needs to happen in our lives.

The Bible says that God seeks true worshippers, those who worship Him in spirit and in truth. Solomon knows that. He knows that, so he says, on your way to the house of God, guard your steps. Watch your life. Watch over the inner man. Watch over everything you do, and everything you say, and every place you go. Because if you're not prepared to enter the house of the Lord, getting here is not going to prepare you. So therefore, guard your steps. Be responsible to understand what you ought to be doing before you ever arrive.

Very important. And because we worship God in spirit and in truth, we worship Him from the inside out. In Philippians chapter 3, verse number 3, Paul gives us the clearest definition of a Christian in the Scriptures. When he says that we are the marked ones, we are the ones called out by God. We are the ones who worship God in spirit, take no confidence in the flesh. And we are the ones who glory in Christ Jesus. But a true Christian is marked by his worship. He worships God in spirit. Well, that would require that you have at least a clean heart.

Psalmist says in Psalm 24, these words, Psalm 24, verse number 3, Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully. In other words, the person who ascends the hill of the Lord, the presence of God, must have clean hands and a pure heart. There's a certain cleanliness about your preparation that allows you to be ready to receive all that God has for you. The Bible says in Psalm 66, verse number 18, that if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

So there must be a cleansing of the heart. That's why David said in Psalm 51, verse number 10, Create in me a clean heart, O God. He wanted to be washed thoroughly from his iniquities because he wanted to hear from the Lord Himself. So Solomon says guard your heart, and if you're going to do that, you're going to have to have a clean heart. You're going to also have to have a contrite heart, a broken and contrite heart. Psalmist says in Psalm 51, verse number 17, God does not despise. Over in Psalm 34, verse number 18, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Isaiah 57, verse number 15, For thus says the high and exalted one who lives forever, whose name is Holy, I dwell in a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit, in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. So the psalmist is very clear about the kind of heart we are to have. It's to be a clean heart. It's to be a contrite heart, a broken heart, a crushed heart, a humble heart. So when Solomon says, Guard your steps on your way to the house of God, because you're going to worship Him in spirit, from the inside out, that means on the inside, things must be right with the Lord.

He also says, You must have a clear heart. Psalm 86, verse 11, says, Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your path. Unite my heart to fear your name, and I will give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and will glorify your name forever. A clear heart is an undistracted heart. A clear heart has no division. And so David says, Unite my heart to fear your name. In other words, may it be free from distractions, free from any kind of divisions, free from anything that would keep me focused on you, because I want to be able to hear when you speak.

I want to be able to see you through your word. And so I must have a clear heart, a contrite heart, a clean heart. The psalmist also says that there must be a connected heart. The psalmist says in Psalm 16, verse number 8, I have set the Lord continually before me. Psalm 57, verse number 11, he says, or excuse me, verse number 7 of Psalm 57, My heart is steadfast, O God. My heart is fixed. My heart is connected. My heart is established. In other words, if my heart is disconnected, that is, it's connected to something else, it has to be fixed on one person.

If my heart is fixed on another person, other than the Lord, I have a disconnected heart, because it's connected to something else, or someone else. That was Israel's problem way back in the book of Ezekiel. When the Lord says these words in Ezekiel chapter 33, He says in Ezekiel 33, verse number 31, He says, They come to you as people come and sit before you as my people and hear your words. But Ezekiel, they do not do them. For they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain.

In other words, they have a disconnected heart. They have a divided allegiance. Their heart's not fixed upon me. Their heart's not steadfast on me. He says, verse 32, Behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument. For they hear your words, but they do not practice them. So when it comes to pass, as surely it will, then they will know that a prophet has been in their midst. Oh, they speak very highly of you, Ezekiel. They love to say that when he speaks, it's like a sensual song.

It's so smooth. It's so good. But they hear your words, but they do not practice them because there's a divided allegiance. They are disconnected from me. And the psalmist says, my heart's connected to God. It's clear before God. It's clean before God because it's broken and contrite because of God. And so you realize that Solomon understands worship to some degree when he says, there's a preparation here. Guard your steps as you go to the house of God. I love what Charles Spurgeon says about preparation.

He says these words. He says, there should be some preparation of the heart in coming to the worship of God. Consider who he is in whose name we gather, and surely we cannot rush together without thought. Consider whom we profess to worship, and we shall not hurry into his presence as men run to a fire. Moses, the man of God, was warned to put off his shoes from his feet when God only revealed himself in a bush. How should we prepare ourselves when we come to him who reveals himself in Christ Jesus, his dear son.

There should be no stumbling into the place of worship half asleep. No roaming here as if it were no more than going to a playhouse. We cannot expect to profit much if we bring with us a swarm of idle thoughts and a heart crammed with vanity. If we are full of folly, we may shut out the truth of God from our minds. Spurgeon knew. He understood. Every true child of God knows that there's something that happens before you come. And it's not just around guarding, protecting, being vigilant, being alert as to how you approach the place where God's going to speak.

So important. But I can't help but think that there's so much frivolity in our worship. And to realize that we have such a consumer mentality. I read to you last week a chapter or part of a chapter from a book called Fool's Gold where Kurt Gebhard wrote about Christian consumerism. He says, consumerism in the Christian is professed in three distinct categories. Number one is self-focused egotism.

The other is self-styled pragmatism. And the third is self-absorbed individualism. And he begins to describe how people with a consumer mentality enter into the place of worship. He says, self-focused egotism displaces God from his throne in the church. For the egotistical consumer, the orientation is no longer God but self. The consumer asks, what do I get out of this? Are my expectations met? What's in it for me? In his heart, self-pleasure is exalted and God is dethroned. Divine approval is exchanged for what pleases the consumer.

This self-focused self-exaltation is at the heart of Christian consumerism which is why it denigrates God. Consumerism puts God below the base level of our preferences and renders his purposes subservient to our desires. Consumerism prioritizes our opinions above the God of the universe and dramatically reverses right priorities. He says, how is self-focused egotism evidenced in the contemporary church? The consumer in the church looks for what he will get from church rather than what he can give to God.

He makes comments like, I will get inspiration and encouragement. I will get knowledge and instruction. I will get a boost to last me through the week. I will get a blessing. I will get a new friend. By focusing on his own felt needs, the Christian consumer misses the whole point of worship. In other words, he misses God. At its root, Christian consumerism is the old-fashioned sin of idolatry because it brings false worship, self-worship, into the house of God. As a result, our services are often celebrations of ourselves more than they are of God.

Never before, not even in the medieval church, have Christians been so obsessed with themselves. Self-esteem, self-confidence, self-this, self-that, have replaced talk of God's attributes. Ironically, it has created the opposite of its intention. Without the knowledge of God, in whose image we have been created, and the grace which has made us the children of God, narcissism, self-love, quickly evolves into Great Depression. But he says there's self-styled pragmatism. It's an attitude that seeks to serve God on its own terms and in its own wisdom.

Self-styled believers serve God as they see fit. They are not motivated by God's glory, nor do they feel compelled to honor His commands. Their Christian practice is according to their own preconceived notions, rather than the objective parameters of Scripture. Self-styled pragmatism often maintains the outward appearance of godliness, unlike self-focused egotism. It is not overtly self-seeking. Instead, the pragmatist seeks to be involved as long as the involvement is according to his terms and for his own glory.

He hits it spot on. He describes the church. He describes the mentality of people who come to church, and then he talks about self-absorbed individualism. This is the attitude that demands independence and seeks to be left alone. The self-absorbed Christian is a solo lobo, lone wolf, a lone ranger, a maverick. As much as possible, the authority of the church is disregarded. Accountability is avoided, and personal participation is sidestepped. While he might be a regular attendee, he shies away from any formal connection or commitment to the ministry of the church.

Whatever happened to worship? I thought about this this past week, and I thought, where would worship first be mentioned in the Bible?

I think that whenever something is mentioned first in the Bible, it speaks volumes as to its character.

It speaks volumes as to the message God wants to convey to us. So, if someone was to ask you, where would I find the first mention of worship in the Bible, would you be able to tell them?

Because the first place it's mentioned speaks volumes as to the character and nature of what worship is all about.

And believe it or not, it's in one of the most familiar passages in the Old Testament. In fact, when I get you to turn there with me, you'll say, oh yeah, I remember that. So turn with me to Genesis chapter 22.

This is the first mention of the word worship in the Bible. Now remember, Genesis 22 is a long long time before Exodus chapter 20, which gives us the Ten Commandments about how we are to worship no other gods. That we are to make God the priority of our lives. So way before the Ten Commandments are ever given, Abraham understands the character of true worship. So it says in verse 1 of chapter 22, it now came about after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, and he said, here I am.

He said, take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you. Now stop right there. You know what a burnt offering is, right? A burnt offering is when you offer the entire animal and the whole animal is consumed. Why? Because a burnt offering is a symbol of my total surrender and total commitment to God. That's a burnt offering. It's different than the meal offering. The burnt offering is about total surrender.

So Abraham knows that he's going to offer up everything to God. So it says in verse number 3, so Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his young men with him and Isaac, his son, and he split wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes, saw the place from a distance, Abraham said to his young men, stay here with the donkey and I and the lad will go over there and we will, what's the next word?

Worship. And we turn to you. The first time the word worship is mentioned in the Bible is Genesis chapter 22.

Now you understand Romans 12, wouldn't you? Because Paul said, I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God which is your only logical reason of worship. Why? Because in Genesis chapter 22 Abraham is to take his beloved son, the son of promise, up on a mountain called Moriah and there he is to offer him as a sacrifice, as a burnt offering to the Lord. Hebrews 11 tells us that somehow Abraham believed in a resurrection although he had never seen a resurrection.

He believed that somehow God would raise his son from the dead because he was the son of promise. But he went up, and you know the story, he tied his son down and put the wood down and was about to slay his son and the angel of the Lord stopped him. And the angel of the Lord said to him, now I know that you fear me. Because you can't worship God without fearing God. See? See, Abraham was willing to offer all of his dreams, all of his hopes, all of his desires to God. Because worship always involves sacrifice.

Always. If you don't sacrifice when you worship, you did not worship according to what the Bible says.

There has to be a sacrifice. When you come, ask yourself, what are you sacrificing to be here? What are you sacrificing when you get here? Some people have to drive a long, long way to church. Distance is a sacrifice. Others will come and they will give a sacrifice of praise because their lives are in shambles. But when they get here, they offer up a sacrifice of praise that's pleasing to the Lord because they want to give glory to his name even though their lives are in shambles. Others will come and they will give the first fruit of their increase.

And they will give sacrificially. Why? Because they know that that's what constitutes true worship. When the offering plate is passed, if you're not giving sacrificially, you're not worshiping God at that point of the service. Are you giving sacrificially to the Lord? Very important. So many things. I had breakfast with Gil and Martha Saldana last week. And Gil made a comment about a pastor from Orange County that he used to go and listen to, which I thought was really, really inspiring. He says, if your job interferes with your church, change jobs, not churches.

I like that. He could preach in my church. If your job interferes with your church, change jobs, don't change churches. You got the wrong job. Because nothing should interfere with your church life, your ministry life, your worship life. Because that's the highest priority. To worship God in spirit and in truth. And gathering together to worship him speaks volumes in terms of your commitment to the Lord. And so you go back and you realize that worship is not about sacrifice, but in this self-consumed day and age in which we live, where we have this consumer mentality, it's all about me-ism, we're not coming to sacrifice anything, we want everybody to sacrifice for us so we receive something.

But worship is all about giving, giving away, giving praise away, giving my time away, giving my talents away, giving my treasures away, giving all that I have, just giving it away, giving it to the Lord. Abraham, he understood what it meant to be a living sacrifice. Right? If he had slayed Isaac, Isaac would have been a dead sacrifice. But Abraham would have been a living sacrifice. Because he was willing to sacrifice everything. The problem with a living sacrifice is that you can crawl off the altar.

Right? While you're still breathing. And a lot of times we do that. But that's why what Solomon says is so very, very important in Ecclesiastes 5. Because he's going to talk about the commitments you make and the willingness to stick with those commitments. That's why what he says is a worship reminder. And although they are unique to Solomon, they are profound when it comes to understanding what it means to worship the true and living God. And it begins by saying, guard your steps. Be responsible.

Don't be irresponsible on your way to the house of the Lord. Be responsible. Watch over your steps. Be alert. Be vigilant. Guard your walk with the Lord. Why? Because number two, you've got to be ready.

Be ready for what? To draw near and listen. That's verse number two. The latter half of verse number one.

You draw near to listen. I love what Solomon says in Proverbs chapter one. He says in chapter one, verse number 33, He who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil. He who listens to me is going to live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil. In chapter eight, verse number 34, he says these words, Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts. For he who finds me, finds life and obtains favor from the Lord.

Then again, chapter 16, chapter 16, verse number 20, He who gives attention to the word will find good and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord. He who pays attention, he who listens up will find good. And then he says in chapter 19, verse number 20, Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days. Verse 27, cease listening, my son, to discipline, and you will stray from the words of knowledge. And then over in chapter 28, verse number 9, and this is just a smattering of verses in the book of Proverbs, excuse me, chapter 28, verse number 9, He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination.

He who turns his ear away from listening to the law of God, even his prayer is an abomination to the Lord. That's why it's so important. So Solomon says, as he writes now in Ecclesiastes, having written to his son in the book of Proverbs, he says, Listen up! You're drawing near to listen.

You're drawing near to hear what God has for you. So make sure you're ready to do what it requires. Listen intently. Listen quietly. Listen diligently. Listen observantly. Listen quickly. Listen reverently. But make sure you listen.

But, if you're not responsible, on your way in, you won't be ready when you arrive. So make sure you're responsible. So you'll be ready. That's the review from last week. Point number three.

So good. Verse two. 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. In other words, he says, you know what? You talk too much. Talk way too much. And do not be hasty in bringing up a matter to God. Because when you're talking, you're not listening. So here's the point. Be responsible. Be ready. Number three.

Be reluctant. Be reluctant to speak. Be reluctant to have imaginary thoughts. Be reluctant to daydream. Be reluctant. Why? Because, you know what? When you come, it's so easy to think about the grocery list for this afternoon. It's so easy to think about what happened yesterday. It's so easy to daydream. Isn't it? We get our mind off of the things of the Lord. And we sit there and begin to think, okay, so tomorrow is Monday and I got to make sure that, oh, what am I doing tomorrow? Oh, I forgot. Oh, so let me write this down.

So I begin to write these things down. I begin to think about Monday and then Tuesday and what's going to happen next week with the kids at school and what am I going to do about my job interview this week? And all of a sudden, I begin to daydream about all the things that need to be happening. Or, I reflect back what took place on Saturday or the last week. Or I begin to think about my finances and how overwhelming they are. Do I have enough money to do this? Or do I have enough money to do that?

And all of a sudden, I begin to daydream. Someone says, you know, when you come to the house of the Lord, be reluctant to do that. Why? It doesn't help you in the listening process. Not at all. In fact, it distracts from what you need to hear the Lord say to you. He says, look, you need to relax. You need to be calm. Don't be hasty to bring up a matter to God. Because God's going to speak. Let Him speak. Make sure you're ready to listen.

That's why I like what the psalmist says in Psalm 46, verse number 10. You know what it says. It says, cease striving to know that I am God. Right? Cease striving. Don't be anxious. Know that I am God. But earlier in Psalm 46, he says this. Verse 1, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change and the mountains slip into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at a swelling pride.

Why? Because God's our refuge. He's our strength. No matter what's happening around me, I have a refuge and a protector in God. But so many times, we can't stop striving because we are so worried about what's going to happen to me tomorrow or what happened to me yesterday. When the psalmist says God is my very present help in trouble. It says in verse 7, the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. He concludes that way. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold.

In other words, God is in control of everything. So when you come, don't be too quick to bring up a matter in God's presence. God knows. Why? Because He says what? God is in heaven and you are on the earth. That's not a description of distance. It's about the almighty power of God. God is in heaven. He sees everything. He knows everything. He sees the invisible. He hears the inaudible. Because He is God. There is no need to bring up a matter in the presence of God too hastily. Because He knows. He understands.

He sees. You are there to listen. You are there to hear. Because if you bring up a matter too hastily, you are not going to hear what God has to say. That's why He makes it very clear when He says don't be too hasty to be impulsive in thought. He says for the dream comes through much effort in the voice of a fool through many words. The dreaming there is daydreaming. Thinking about the imaginary instead of the reality. And God is a reality. That's why He says God is in the heavens and you are not.

You are on earth. He is infinite. You are finite. He is everywhere. You are located in one place. But God knows it all. So be reluctant to bring up a matter in the presence of God. Be reluctant to live an imaginary life. Be reluctant to speak. Why? Because you are there for one purpose. To listen.

So be responsible. Number two, be ready. Number three, be reluctant. Number four, be resolved. Be resolved to fulfill all your commitments. All your promises. All your vows. That's what He says in verses 4 and 5. When you make a vow to God do not be late in paying it for He takes no delight in fools. That's a harsh statement. You make a commitment to God fulfill it. Because if you delay you're a fool. But He says this. Pay what you vow. It's better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.

So He says be resolved to fulfill your word. Be a man and woman of your word. You make a vow, keep the vow. You make a promise, keep the promise. Why? God takes vows very seriously. Because God takes you at your word seriously. He wants you to be a man and woman of your word. So think about it this way. You make a vow to God. You make a promise to God. How many times do we have a young couple sit up here and they come for a baby dedication. And they come during our prayer time on Sunday morning. And they come up here with their child because what do they want to do?

They want to be like Hannah. And they want to be able to dedicate their son, their daughter to the Lord. God graciously gave them this gift and they want to give the daughter or son back to the Lord. And they're making a commitment. They're making a vow. They're making a promise. We're going to raise our child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We are here before the Lord to say Lord this child is yours. We are grateful that you gave us this child. Now Lord we give this child back to you.

Because we want you to have your way your will with our child. Because we're going to do all we can to raise them in the ways of God. But Lord this is your son. This is your daughter. We give them to you. It's a dedication. It's a promise. It's a vow. And you make it to God. Do you renege on that vow? Do you take that child back? That's very important. How about marriage vows? We get married in a church, right? And we make vows to one another. Listen, nothing certifies your integrity more than your marriage vow.

Right? In our book, God's Hope for Your Home, we have a whole section on the value of vows. Why? Because God takes your word very seriously. And you stand at the altar and you stand before people and you make a vow to God before the people. And the vow is for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, I am yours. And God says if you make a vow, keep the vow.

Don't renege on the vow. Don't break the vow. Because vows certify your integrity. Vows will challenge your spirituality. Why? As soon as you make a vow to God, especially in marriage, what happens? Satan does all he can to divide the relationship. And therefore, your spirituality is challenged more so than ever before once you make that vow. Vows are that which clarify your responsibility. This is my vow to you as my husband. This is my vow to you as my wife. Before God, here's my promise to you.

I will love you. I will care for you. I will nurture you. I will be to you what God wants me to be to you. That's my vow to you. That's my vow to God. God says, when you make a vow, pay it.

When you make a vow, you better not delay in paying the vow or you are a fool. God's serious about this stuff. But see, we don't take it seriously. We say, well, yeah. I know what I said, but did you mean what you said? Because you see, God takes you at your word. He made a promise. It's a vow. Remember Jonah? Jonah made a vow. God had called him to be a prophet. He made a vow that he would be God's spokesperson. That he would proclaim the message of God. God says, great.

I'm going to hold you to your word, Jonah. You're going to Nineveh. Jonah said, no I'm not. I'm not going to Nineveh. So he went 2,000 miles in the other direction. That was his journey. Nineveh was 500 miles to his right. Tarshish was 2,000 miles to his left. In Jonah chapter 1 it says, and Jonah paid the fare. Why? Because when you run away from God, you pay the fare. When you run with God, God pays the fare. And Jonah ran away and paid the fare. And got in all kinds of problems. You know the story of Jonah.

But when he was in the belly of the fish, do you remember what Jonah said? Because what Jonah says is extremely important. He says, while I was fainting away, I remembered the Lord. And my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. Those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness. He says, that's me. That's me. But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving. And he says this, listen carefully. That which I have vowed I will pay. And up from the belly of the fish, on the sand of the dry land.

Why? Because he remembered his vow. He'd broken his vow. There was no blessing for Jonah in the belly of a fish. Ever been in the belly of a fish? I never have been. I don't care to be. But I don't plan to break my vows to the Lord either. But Jonah said, I'm going to pay my vows. I'm going to keep my word as a prophet. I'm going to do what you said. Therefore, when you read in Ecclesiastes 5, what Solomon says, he says, when you make a vow to God, don't be late in paying it. Pay what you vow. It's better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.

So make sure when you come, you're responsible. That's where it begins. You're fully responsible to guard your steps. So when you get here, you're ready. You're ready to listen.

Because the last thing you want to do is be hasty in words so you know you're ready to listen when you're reluctant in what you say. Then you need to be resolved in paying your vows, following through on your commitment. How many people in our church for the last two weeks made a vow to the Lord to remain pure in their relationships? On Sunday. Only to leave on Monday and compromise that vow. I don't know. But when you make a vow to the Lord, you need to pay it. And not delay it. Because God takes vows very seriously.

Let your yea be yea. Let your nay be nay. May your word be your bond. May it be true to your character. Because when God speaks, He speaks truth. And He expects those who worship Him to speak truth. And live truth. Because He wants you to model Him in His life. So be responsible, number one.

Be ready, number two. Be reluctant, number three. Be resolved, number four. And be restraint, number five. Be restraint against any sin. He says in verse six, 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? Then He says, For in many dreams and in many words, there is emptiness. Be restrained. Or be restrained from any sin, but especially the sin of not keeping your word.

I was young when I dedicated my child to the Lord. But now I'm older. I didn't mean what I said. I know that under duress, I said some things, made some promises. But I wasn't in my right mind. I wasn't thinking properly. I was coerced to go to church that day. I know what I said, but why should God hold back judgment from you? If you're going to sin in that way, by breaking your word, by sinning with your lips, why would God hold judgment back from you? But He says, lastly, Be reverent. He concludes with, Fear God.

Be reverent. You see, if you're reverent, you're not going to be hasty with your words. If you really revere God, you're going to listen to what He has to say. If you really revere Him, you will be afraid to break a vow. Knowing that judgment is coming. Knowing that God will deal with you in His way. How He does that, I have no idea. But it comes down to one simple statement. Fear God. Be reverent. Revere the King. Bow before Him. Understand the implications. Don't play games with God. That's the point.

We come to church and play games. We come to church to have fun. We come to church to make friends. We come to church to do all kinds of things. But we don't come to church to fear God. Stand in reverence of His Holy Name. It's so important. We make promises to God and we have no plans to ever fulfill them. And that's because we don't fear Him. Because if you knew God, and all of His majestic apparel, and all of the sovereign grace of His life, and all the mercy and compassion of who He is, you would never go back on a word you made to Him.

And a commitment you made to the Lord. Because you fear Him. You stand in awe of Him. Solomon would say in Proverbs 23, verse number 17, live in the fear of God always. Always. He says in Proverbs 28, verse number 14, blessed is the man who fears always. Blessed is the man who fears always. He says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. I love Psalm 89. Psalm 89, verse number 6. It says these words, For who in the skies is comparable to the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord?

A God greatly feared in the counsel of the Holy Ones. And awesome above all those who are around Him. That's our God. There is no one you can compare to Him. And among the Holy Ones He is feared immensely. And then over in Psalm 96, we read this last week. Psalm 96, verse number 9, worship the Lord in holy attire and tremble before Him all the earth. All the earth. It's the Lord God of Israel that shall be your fear and He shall be your dread, Isaiah 8, 13. Solomon sums it up so well. Be reverent.

When you come, you revere the Holy One of Israel. He is speaking to you through His Word. Listen intently to all that He says. In 2 Chronicles chapter 36, which by the way is the last chapter of the last book of the Hebrew Bible. Not in ours. Ours is Malachi. But in theirs it's 2 Chronicles 36. Because their Jewish Bible ends with the destruction of the Temple on the Temple Mount. And that's why there is such mourning and weeping at the Wailing Wall or the Western Wall or the Waiting Wall, however you want to describe it.

By those Jews. And the Bible says in 2 Chronicles 36 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king. He reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord, His God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah, the prophet who spoke for the Lord. So Jeremiah along with Zedekiah were under the realm of Zedekiah. Jeremiah would be the prophet. Daniel was taken first, Ezekiel was taken second, and Jeremiah was taken third of the prophets that went into Babylonian captivity.

But he was unwilling to listen. Zedekiah was the king to the words of the Lord. He did not fear the Lord. He did not revere the Lord. He was unwilling to listen to truth. He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God, but he stiffened his neck, hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and people were very unfaithful following all the abominations of the nations. They defiled the house of the Lord which He had sanctified in Jerusalem.

Verse 15 The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. So God would continue to send a message through priests, through prophets. Somehow Israel would listen to what God had to say. But they stiffened their necks and hardened their hearts and refused to hear the words of the Lord. Verse 16 But they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, scoffed at His prophets. The wrath of the Lord arose against His people until there was no remedy.

What an indictment against the nation. They scoffed at the messengers. They despised the prophets. They just did not want to listen to the words of the Lord. It cost them greatly. And it would be Solomon who said these words in Proverbs 29 verse number 1 A man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy. That's exactly what happened in Israel. So years before that Solomon was right. When you hear the word of the Lord and you stiffen your neck against it, you harden your heart against it, you're going to be broken.

It's going to be beyond remedy. It's going to be devastating for you. So that's why Solomon says, be prepared. Be responsible. You're going to hear God speak through His word. Guard your steps. Watch over your heart. Make sure your life is clean and pure before Him. You're coming to hear God speak. Be responsible. So when you get there, you are ready to draw near to Him and listen.

And make sure you are reluctant in bringing anything up to God. Why? Because you must be resolved in fulfilling every commitment you made with God. Restrain yourself from speaking things that would not be true and bring a reproach upon your life. The way you do that is to be reverent. Fear God. And that's how Solomon will end the book of Ecclesiastes. Because that is the sum end of man. Fear God and to keep His commandments. That's his conclusion. That's his summation of life. That's how he concludes his journal.

When it's all said and done, all the things I pursued and all the things I did and all the places I went and all the money I had and all the women I had and all the things I was able to accomplish. You know what? It doesn't make a difference because everything comes down to one thing. Just fearing God. And how do you know you fear God? You keep His commandments. You listen to what He says and you follow through. Worship reminders. May they always be a reminder to us. So when we come and gather together on the Lord's day, we are ready to receive all that God has for us for the glory of His name.

Let's pray. Father, we thank You, Lord, for tonight. The opportunity You give us to spend a brief moment in Your Word. We are grateful. We are grateful, Lord, because You speak so clearly. You make it so obvious. You want to make sure that we understand completely which is required of us. It's not like You're asking us to jump through all these hoops to do this and to do that. You're just asking us to come and revere Your name by listening and obeying. And my prayer for all of us, Lord, is that would be our attitude.

That we would truly, truly come with hearts broken and contrite. Supple and soft and ready to receive the Word of God that we might live and honor Your name. Lord, we know people that go to church and don't listen.

We know people who go to church and stiffen their neck, harden their hearts. And the warning is that they'll be broken beyond a remedy. And they don't even know it. Worse, they don't even care. But You do. So You send them messengers. You send them prophets and preachers and teachers to continually give them the truth that maybe at some way, at some time, what they hear will prick their conscience, cause them to fall on their face before You, repent of their sins, and follow You. We pray that that would happen, Lord, for the glory of Your name and for the purposes of Your kingdom.

We thank You in Jesus' name. Amen.