Wisdom From The Preacher

5-18-08 SS lesson Wisdom from the Preacher

Ecc 5:1-5

Ecclesiastes 5: 1-5

1. Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

2. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

3. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.

4. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

5. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay

V1 “Keep your foot when you go to the house of God”.

- Some hearts have pretended, or mistaken devotion

- there is a real devotion and a real reverence to God

- we must be united together as one man

- example: a married couple is one flesh (shall become one)

- ideal church body: “as in one mind and one accord”

- We should never assemble as 195 different people

- with:

- 195 attitudes

- 195 missions

- 195 ways of doing things

If one cries, we all should cry

- If one laughs, we all should laugh

- we can only accomplish this, if the Holy Ghost controls the agenda (act as one)

- Gen 11:6 “The people are one”.

- - I Cor 12:12 “As the body is one, and hath many members”.

- I John 5:7 “For there are 3 that bear record in heaven, the Father, The Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

- V8 “And there are 3 that bear witness in earth, the spirit and the water, and the blood: and these 3 agree in one”.

- At calvary, all three agreed (to allow the death to happen)

- Jesus yielded up his spirit

- blood flowed from his side

- water flowed from his side

by “One spirit are baptized into one body”I Cor 12:13

- “God hath made of one blood all” Acts 17:26

- Jesus said “I and my Father are one”. Jn 10:30

"Keep your foot when you go into the house of God"

- it is not just a place to lolligag (loose lips),

- or to enter without forethought/preparation

- it is not just a place for one to bump their gums

- Part of that preparation is too be more ready to listen (to hear), than to speak

- than to give the sacrifice of fools (the gift of gab)

Illustrate: two ladies in Southern Ohio

- beating their gums at a mile a minute

- when ministry started they ran off to pray

- when they returned to the sanctuary, they beat their gums faster than bats

- loud, obnoxious,

- demonstrating to others, what they were doing was important

- I had forewarned Sis Beavers (I am going to have me a good time)

- I feel a mischievous spirit coming on

- now its time for my sermon, I have well prepared, and am now ready

- I read my text, they ran out to pray

- I introduced my first point

- sure enough, like a timed alarm clock

they run back into the sanctuary, and get seated (they were in another room praying)

- and both noisily get into their clucking position

- the two bainy hens started clucking (“the sacrifice of fools”)

- it appeared that they were talking about everything but the kitchen sink

- Paul said “and being crafty, I caught you with guile”.

- I stopped dead in my tracks, and the talk was extremely loud

- gums bumping away, desperately trying to catch up on the latest happenings

- how sweet it was, to silently watch these unsuspecting

- in Ecclesiastes (Solomon) called them fools

- It took what seemed like 3 eternity minutes

- for them to even realize that I had totally stopped

- Did they really do themselves in, what a show indeed

- then suddenly it dawned on them both, things are way to quiet

their shoulders drooped in embarrassment,

- So I ended up instructing the two ladies to “join in on what was already going on, unless your conversation is more important than mine.”

- “For they don’t even consider that they are doing evil” V1

That’s what it means to be rash with one’s mouth.

- to watch our looks, our gestures, of not only irreverence towards God

- but of folly towards ourselves

- and of sin towards our brethren (can be either male or female)