Respecting God With Your Very Life Series

Respecting God with Your Very Life

(Ecclesiastes 5)

Intro¡K.

1. There was a woman who went on a short term missions trip to Kenya, helping the missionaries there. Before she left, she stopped at a remote village where she attended a medical clinic. As the native women outside the clinic began to sing together, she found herself deeply moved by their beautiful singing. The harmonies and rhythms seemed worshipful indeed.

She was so moved she began to cry. Since she wanted to capture the moment in her memories, she turned to her bi-lingual friend and queried, "Could you please translate the words to that absolutely beautiful song?"

Her friend stared at her and respectfully replied, "If you boil the water, you won’t get dysentery."

2. Things are not always as they seem.

3. The same is true within Christendom; there are many folks who claim to be serious Christians, but they are merely superficial. They project a great image, but there is little substance.

4. God wants us to "stand in awe" of Him; yet many genuine believers disregard His will for their daily lives.

MAIN IDEA: Many Christians live lives of contempt for God and they don’t even know it.

TS--------„³ Solomon talks about three ways we can show contempt for God, ways that might seem harmless.

I. Maintain Spiritual Ignorance (1)

1. I disagree with Rick Warren on this point from his book, The Purpose Driven Life:

"The last thing many believers need today is to go to another Bible study. They already know far more than they are putting into practice. What they need are serving experiences in which they can exercise their spiritual muscles."

This is so false. Barna tells us that most Christians do not even understand the most basic doctrines. Only a minority of Christians have read through their Bibles even ONCE, and fewer still can do something as simple as state the 10 Commandments. Never in the history of our nation have Christians been more ignorant of the Bible and doctrine.

I cannot think of one person in our church who knows his Bible well and is not doing SOMETHING for the Lord. Yet I know many Christians who do not know their Bibles well and yet are not doing anything for the Lord.

Thirty of forty years ago, the problem of which Rick Warren speaks did occur more frequently than it does today, but even then it was the exception. Bible content and doctrine not only inform us, but the Holy Spirit uses the Bible and truth in general to MOTIVATE us.

2. How the Old Testament system was supposed to work: fathers of families taught & priests for more advanced teaching

(1) memorize, ready, and study the Torah

(2) Bible study was considered the most practical way to honor God

How the New Testament system is supposed to work: fathers when possible and teaching elders instruct

(3)Faithful Jews would go the Temple 3 times a year; from Moses until the Babylonian Captivity (about 1000 years) they had no Synagogues; during those 3 time a year journeys, they were to learn from priests and scholars who hung around the courts of the Temple (common people never entered a Temple building--that was for priests only; when people went to the Temple, it means to the couryard around the Temple.

This was the time to learn and ask questions (which is what Jesus did when He was 12, preparing for His Bar Mitzvah). That’s what Solomon means here in verse 1: Go to the Temple courts (God’s House)to LEARN.

3. Addressing spiritual ignorance in your life:

(1) read the Bible

(2) teachable attitude: come to Sunday School and church eager to learn

(3) be where solid teaching is taking place: not just any church

Article from Indianapolis Star:

An article appeared in the October 30, 2003 Indianapolis Star. They interviewed Alan Wolfe, author of One Nation After All. Wolfe, who is a liberal Jew, writes about America¡¦s diverse yet unified religious approaches; of evangelicals, the Indy Star summarizes and quotes Wolfe,

"Much of the music entertains. Sermons have remarkably little actual content, however dynamic the delivery. The Bible is cited, but rarely explored.¨

I think it is amazing that an unbeliever would come to the same conclusion that Bible-oriented evangelicals have arrived at. The Bible is cited but rarely explored: if there is anything the church needs, it is Bible and Doctrine.

(4) effort and thinking

MAIN IDEA: Many Christians live lives of contempt for God and they don’t even know it.

II. Make Poor Decisions That Cheapen God in Your Life (2-7)

1. Some believers rarely ask the question, "What does God want?" The concept that Jesus Christ is to be the director of ones life is foreign to many believers.

2. You have to study, you have to pray, you have to seek godly counsel, and you need to learn to cultivate a walk in the Spirit to know what it means to be led by the Spirit