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
3. Solomon mentions 2 of several ways in which we can err in making decisions:
A. Haste
1. Jumping the gun
2. Decisions based upon Consumerism: consumerism caters to the wants and "felt needs" of people.
(1) The Christian life is not about YOU; it is about God;this is a major hurdle; it’s not about what you want, it is about what God wants; we can almost subdivide Christians into those who believe this and those who do not.
(2) I see Christians making important decisions all the time without prayer, without looking at things from God’s perspective.
3. Haste is also unusually feeling oriented.
(1) you marry on the basis of puppy love, you’ll live a dog’s life
(2) if you want to be reckless, play a board game; no way to live life
B. Vacillation (4-7)
1. Fickleness, unfaithfulness, hot and cold, flakiness.
2. My observation: people who are fickle do not WANT to stable; they do not want to follow through, UNLESS GOD CONVICTS THEM..(the exception)
3. But God’s Word is clear: keep you commitments and vows
(1) What were vows?
(2) What is the principle here?
4. How can a fickle, hot and cold, off and on, leave others holding the bag person change?
(1) deep conviction of the Holy Spirit & trust in the HS to help do what we cannot do in our selves
(2) learn to Count the cost beforehand (man who remodeled house)
(3) resist making commitments until you are ready to follow through -- lots of good ideas, but at the wrong time.
(4) learn to separated your convictions from your preferences
(5) learn to honor your mistakes
(6) stand in AWE of God (7) -- this is the biggest issue of all; most people, even believers, live life as though they were the pilots of their own ship. It’s not YOUR ship; life is a STEWARDSHIP
MAIN IDEA: Many Christians live lives of contempt for God and they don’t even know it.
III. Nurture Discontent Instead of Enjoying Life (8-20)
1. The concept that God WANTS you to enjoy your life may be new to you, but He does, very much; God has given to us all things to enjoy, and if we do not enjoy life, we are rejecting the gift God gave us.
2. Discontent keeps us from enjoying life. What are some ways we nurture discontent?
3. We nurture discontent through idealism (8-9)
(1) frustrated expectations.
(2) missionaries to the third world, like Boone, are always AMAZED at how happy those horribly impoverished people are¡K.and how unhappy we westerners are.
(3) marriage "klinkers" are often caused by frustrated (unrealistic) expectations
(4) dissatisfaction at work, in the community, at church, or among friends is often caused by some unwritten rules that a person embraces.
4. We nurture discontent by the pursuit of things (10-12)
(1) rather than bring contentment, materialism carries discontent.
(2) the more we have, the more we want. We are looking for happiness in things, and, when we get things, we are only temporarily happy, craving our next fix.
(3) Why are so many people trapped in ravenous spending? Because life is HARD and DISAPPOINTING, and materialism offers hope and comfort.
(4) Through a driving force to work (13-17)
5. How can we avoid the trap of discontent?
(1) enjoy the processes of life themselves (18)
enjoy what you can about work; make simple things, like eating and drinking more than necessity, but a pleasure
(2) accept you lot in life (19); it is not wrong to aim to improve it, but be content with it in the meantime
(3) contemplate the deeper issues of life in limited doses, but spend much time enjoying the gladness of life
(4) The OT culture placed a high premium on joy; as a matter of fact, there is a reason that almost all the great comedians were Jewish, from the Marx Brothers to the Three Stooges to Jerry Lewis, Sid Caesar, Jimmy Durante, Danny Kaye, Eddie Cantor and on and on.BEING GLAD is a spiritual, theological issue.
(5) NT, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice."
(6) Paul urges Timothy in I Timothy 6:17, to, "Command those to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment."
MAIN IDEA: Many Christians live lives of contempt for God and they don’t even know it.
Conclusion
1. Respecting and glorifying God is not just about Sundays, but pertains to all of life.
2. Obtaining Bible and doctrinal knowledge glorifies God.
3. Being dependable, stable, and keeping our word glorifies God
4. And enjoying life and laughing and experiencing legitimate pleasure glorifies God.
5. So, like a football team after a huddle, let’s go out there this week and live life to God’s glory!
