WEBVTT 00:01.516 --> 00:04.676 Welcome to the Valley Baptist Church sermon podcast. 00:04.676 --> 00:08.316 We're so glad you're here, and we hope this message inspires you, 00:08.316 --> 00:12.316 builds your faith, and moves you toward a deep relationship with God. 00:12.316 --> 00:15.396 Today, you'll find great insight into the Bible 00:15.396 --> 00:18.116 and learn how you can apply it straight to your life. 00:18.116 --> 00:20.776 So welcome and enjoy the message. 00:21.344 --> 00:26.184 If you have a Bible, please open it with me to Ecclesiastes chapter 5. 00:26.884 --> 00:32.584 Throughout Ecclesiastes, Solomon has been describing the emptiness of life without God. 00:32.724 --> 00:35.164 He calls it life under the sun. 00:35.284 --> 00:38.824 But occasionally, Solomon takes us above the sun. 00:39.367 --> 00:41.947 where he acknowledges God. 00:42.227 --> 00:44.987 And our pastor today does just that. 00:44.987 --> 00:50.007 As Solomon describes for us how we should approach God in worship. 00:50.187 --> 00:54.587 And essentially he says, be careful how you worship. 00:55.415 --> 01:00.475 Now, when most of us think about how we worship, we think about music style, 01:00.655 --> 01:05.055 and we think about singing, and how we express ourselves in worship. 01:05.235 --> 01:07.035 And the Bible has a lot to say about that. 01:07.035 --> 01:12.495 We know that we are to express our inward worship outwardly. 01:13.336 --> 01:17.716 And the most dominant expression of worship in the Bible is singing. 01:17.876 --> 01:19.576 We're commanded to sing. 01:20.276 --> 01:24.796 But singing's not the only expression we find in Scripture. 01:24.976 --> 01:31.736 We're also told from time to time to play instruments, to clap our hands, to shout, to raise our hands, 01:31.856 --> 01:35.056 to kneel on occasion, to fall prostrate before the Lord. 01:35.056 --> 01:39.196 And even we have descriptions of people dancing before the Lord. 01:40.606 --> 01:41.706 I don't have much rhythm. 01:42.186 --> 01:47.826 So for me, swaying is about as much, as far as I can go without embarrassing myself. 01:47.966 --> 01:48.565 All right? 01:48.566 --> 01:51.766 But we have these expressions of worship. 01:52.506 --> 01:54.526 All these different kinds. 01:54.626 --> 01:57.906 Now, some of you express yourselves in worship. 01:58.510 --> 02:01.070 And I'm thankful for you, but some of you simply don't. 02:01.650 --> 02:13.190 And for those of you who don't, you need to know that God actually has this desire for your soul to tell your face and your body that it's time to celebrate what God has done, right? 02:13.590 --> 02:22.710 How many of you would go to a football game for your favorite team and everyone's cheering and celebrating and you just be there just... 02:22.709 --> 02:26.329 standing, no movement, nothing coming out of your mouth. 02:26.609 --> 02:27.889 None of us would do that, right? 02:27.929 --> 02:29.388 No, I wouldn't. 02:29.389 --> 02:30.669 Scripture is clear. 02:30.789 --> 02:36.669 As Christians, we ought to express our worship in a way that's appropriate. 02:37.609 --> 02:40.469 But this morning's message is not about that, right? 02:40.469 --> 02:45.629 It's not about how we should be careful in outwardly expressing our worship to God. 02:45.749 --> 02:50.409 It's about how we should be careful to worship in a way that's actually worshiped. 02:51.278 --> 02:54.298 that we worship God in an appropriate manner. 02:54.398 --> 02:57.778 Now, in our culture, we've made worship all about us, right? 02:58.618 --> 03:02.258 When worship is supposed to be all about God, 03:02.378 --> 03:05.198 most people, when they worship, they think about their personal preferences. 03:05.398 --> 03:09.218 Well, my likes and my preferences, the things that make me happy, 03:09.318 --> 03:12.438 the style that I like, that's a very me focus. 03:13.418 --> 03:15.418 And worship's the opposite of a me focus. 03:15.618 --> 03:17.318 It's supposed to be a God focus. 03:17.958 --> 03:22.938 And so whenever you make a me focus, that's become the idolatry of self-worship. 03:24.033 --> 03:25.612 It's a problem. 03:25.613 --> 03:30.253 I ran across this quote from a book called Cat and Dog Theology. 03:30.953 --> 03:32.052 Get ready. 03:32.053 --> 03:37.833 It says, a dog says, you pet me, feed me, shelter me, and love me. 03:38.073 --> 03:39.313 You must be God. 03:39.773 --> 03:43.853 But a cat says, you pet me, feed me, shelter me, and love me. 03:44.133 --> 03:45.193 I must be God. 03:47.658 --> 03:50.618 Well, some of us are like the cat, right? 03:50.618 --> 03:54.198 We're tempted to turn all of God's blessings upon us 03:54.198 --> 03:55.598 into worship of ourselves, 03:55.598 --> 03:57.958 for it will be all about me and my preferences 03:57.958 --> 04:01.318 instead about Him and honoring Him. 04:01.318 --> 04:03.478 Now Solomon says in verse number one, he says, 04:03.478 --> 04:07.438 "'Walk prudently when you go to the house of God.'" 04:07.438 --> 04:08.638 Here's the first thing we see, 04:08.638 --> 04:12.458 worship involves worshiping with our church family. 04:13.578 --> 04:15.378 Together, with the house of God. 04:15.838 --> 04:19.578 Now, we know that worship is much more than coming to church. 04:19.898 --> 04:22.838 We're supposed to worship God all day, every day. 04:23.558 --> 04:28.958 Jesus told the woman who was at the well, the Samaritan woman, he said, it's not about the place of worship. 04:28.958 --> 04:36.178 He said, there's coming a day, and it now is, when true worshipers will worship in spirit and in truth. 04:36.629 --> 04:43.949 The greatest command in the Bible is that you and I would love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. 04:44.229 --> 04:47.329 So loving God is at the core of worship. 04:48.189 --> 04:52.309 And yet Jesus said as well, he said, if you love me, then what? 04:52.869 --> 04:53.748 You'll obey me. 04:53.749 --> 04:55.549 You will keep my commitment. 04:55.549 --> 04:58.049 So we know that worship is connected to love. 04:58.189 --> 05:00.949 It's connected to worship or connected to obedience. 05:01.089 --> 05:04.629 It's this lifestyle of praise. 05:05.215 --> 05:10.675 But that does not negate the fact that worship is also a corporate thing. 05:11.115 --> 05:14.095 It's not just private. It's not just an individual thing. 05:14.255 --> 05:16.075 It's a congregational thing. 05:16.395 --> 05:20.055 That has been God's design, His command from the very beginning. 05:20.615 --> 05:21.935 Now notice in verse number 1 it says, 05:21.935 --> 05:26.315 Walk prudently when you go to the house of God. 05:26.395 --> 05:29.875 The assumption is you are going to the house of God. 05:30.578 --> 05:36.418 Now, for the Israelites in the Old Testament, at first they went to the tabernacle. 05:36.418 --> 05:38.158 That was the place of worship. 05:38.598 --> 05:41.358 In Solomon's day, they went to the temple. 05:41.818 --> 05:44.738 And then in Jesus' day, they went to the synagogue. 05:45.258 --> 05:48.938 Now, in our day as Christians, we go to the church. 05:49.218 --> 05:53.478 Now, you may be saying, but pastor, the church isn't a building. 05:54.828 --> 05:56.288 You're right. That's good theology. 05:56.828 --> 05:59.168 But the church is a gathering of people. 05:59.328 --> 06:02.168 That's what the word ekklesia translated church means. 06:02.248 --> 06:05.248 The called out ones. Literally the gathered ones. 06:05.348 --> 06:06.207 And guess what? 06:06.208 --> 06:10.408 When people gather together, they do so in a location. 06:10.408 --> 06:12.408 Now, listen. 06:12.648 --> 06:19.628 I praise God for our broadcast ministry where thousands of people are able to join us online and by television. 06:20.168 --> 06:24.208 There are so many people that are physically unable to be with us here today. 06:24.208 --> 06:31.168 And so we praise God that you have a way to connect with us, even if it's through just a screen. 06:32.168 --> 06:42.088 But many of you have told me through the years, while we love that you have online ministry, it's just not the same as being in person. 06:42.854 --> 06:45.754 You know what? It's not. It really isn't. 06:46.614 --> 06:48.874 Jesus said it this way. He said, 06:48.874 --> 06:55.214 "'Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst.'" 06:55.214 --> 06:59.014 Now, as a Christian, I know Jesus is always with me, right? 06:59.394 --> 07:05.074 I have the presence of Jesus with me, whether I'm alone in my closet, wherever I am, Jesus is with me. 07:05.134 --> 07:09.614 So why does Jesus say here, "'When two or three are gathered, I'm there'"? 07:09.719 --> 07:18.959 What he's doing, I think, is he's letting us know there is something unique about the presence of God when Christians are gathered together in his name. 07:19.999 --> 07:22.079 Now, God is omnipresent. 07:22.259 --> 07:25.739 That's a fancy way of saying God is present everywhere. 07:26.239 --> 07:27.378 He's everywhere. 07:27.379 --> 07:31.119 The psalmist said, where can I go and escape from your presence? 07:31.119 --> 07:32.539 And the answer is nowhere. 07:34.255 --> 07:44.455 But while God is everywhere at once, He also manifests His presence uniquely, in a special way, in certain places at certain times. 07:44.995 --> 07:54.175 In the Old Testament, God manifested His presence in the temple, and even more so in the Holy of Holies within the temple. 07:54.539 --> 07:58.639 And as Christians, each one of us has been called the temple of the Holy Spirit. 07:58.859 --> 08:01.399 So we have the presence of God residing within us. 08:01.459 --> 08:04.759 But when we meet together, we gather together in his name. 08:04.759 --> 08:13.479 There's another level of experiencing God's manifested presence that we cannot experience when we're alone. 08:14.259 --> 08:20.499 So Solomon says, he says, walk prudently when you go to the house of God. 08:20.599 --> 08:23.739 Now, the word prudently means carefully. 08:24.931 --> 08:28.031 Literally, it means watch your steps. 08:28.131 --> 08:33.711 It's the picture of someone who's looking down at their feet as they walk, careful not to trip. 08:34.511 --> 08:38.611 If you were to go to Israel, you're going to make your way into Jerusalem. 08:38.771 --> 08:45.031 Unfortunately, you wouldn't be able to see the temple because it was destroyed in A.D. 70, but you would see the Temple Mount. 08:45.957 --> 08:53.117 And archaeologists have uncovered the steps going up to the Temple Mount that you can actually walk on today. 08:53.477 --> 08:55.657 Now, those steps are a little different than our steps. 08:55.657 --> 09:02.737 If some of you came up the balcony stairs, all those steps are the same size, 10, 12 inches or so. 09:03.537 --> 09:06.457 The Temple Mount steps are different sizes. 09:06.917 --> 09:10.937 Some of them are several small steps and then a big step and then some small steps. 09:11.017 --> 09:12.977 Now, why did they do that? 09:13.970 --> 09:20.790 They designed it that way so a person would be forced to walk prudently to the house of God. 09:21.090 --> 09:24.590 That a person couldn't just casually go to worship. 09:24.830 --> 09:26.990 They're on autopilot just going to worship. 09:26.990 --> 09:29.730 No, you had to walk carefully to meet God. 09:30.440 --> 09:36.200 Now, the word walk in the Bible is a metaphor for how we live. 09:36.200 --> 09:45.180 So Solomon is saying, as you approach God in worship, be careful how you approach him. 09:45.880 --> 09:47.240 Now, here's another principle. 09:47.540 --> 09:51.420 Worship involves preparing to encounter God. 09:51.960 --> 09:56.160 Walking prudently to the house of God means you're preparing to get there. 09:57.001 --> 10:03.121 Why does one Christian come to church and they always seem to encounter God, they leave transformed, 10:04.101 --> 10:09.661 while another person sits through church and sort of yawns through the whole service, they leave untouched? 10:10.901 --> 10:18.101 Well, there could be a number of factors at play, but I'm guessing the one came in expecting to encounter God and the other one didn't. 10:18.661 --> 10:24.901 Another way of saying that is the one person prepared their heart to meet God and the other person didn't. 10:25.688 --> 10:28.248 Now, this is important in our alone time with God. 10:28.328 --> 10:30.088 Each and every day we have this alone time. 10:30.448 --> 10:32.448 God says, be still and know that I'm a God. 10:32.508 --> 10:33.808 So we have this alone time. 10:34.268 --> 10:40.808 If you start that time by just opening the Bible and start reading, you're going to get something out of that. 10:41.428 --> 10:46.028 But not as much as if first you quiet your mind. 10:46.867 --> 10:48.446 and your spirit. 10:48.447 --> 10:50.287 You ask God to soften your heart, 10:50.407 --> 10:54.427 and you ask God to really speak to you through His Word. 10:54.427 --> 10:59.207 The person who does that is going to hear God speak to them personally 10:59.207 --> 11:00.867 through His Word. 11:01.287 --> 11:05.567 And the difference is that person is carefully approaching God, 11:05.627 --> 11:08.507 and the other one is approaching God a little bit apathetically. 11:09.687 --> 11:12.787 Now, it's the same way, I believe, when we come to church. 11:13.927 --> 11:16.009 Let me ask you, 11:16.010 --> 11:20.150 Do you have a Sunday morning routine that prepares your heart for worship? 11:21.370 --> 11:26.230 Or are you rushing around like you do every other morning, multitasking, 11:26.330 --> 11:29.510 trying to squeeze as much as you possibly can into your morning? 11:30.573 --> 11:33.693 And then because you're scrambling around 11:33.693 --> 11:36.653 with so much on your mind, maybe you end up late. 11:36.653 --> 11:37.773 And if you end up late here, 11:37.773 --> 11:40.653 you're gonna park off a long ways, right? 11:40.653 --> 11:42.073 And what happens if you're late 11:42.073 --> 11:43.613 and you have to park way out there? 11:43.613 --> 11:46.193 Well, you're stressed out because you're already late. 11:46.193 --> 11:47.973 Now you gotta drop off the kids 11:47.973 --> 11:49.173 and you come in late to the service. 11:49.173 --> 11:51.253 You're still trying to catch your breath. 11:51.253 --> 11:52.813 By the time I start preaching 11:52.813 --> 11:56.593 and it takes you 10 minutes to start hearing from God, 11:56.593 --> 11:59.433 if you ever do, it's a problem. 11:59.429 --> 12:02.549 You've not properly prepared to encounter God today. 12:02.829 --> 12:05.789 You've not expected it properly. 12:06.449 --> 12:07.689 So here's my advice. 12:09.209 --> 12:12.589 My advice is get up early. 12:12.849 --> 12:17.409 I know I'm talking to an 11 o'clock crowd, so maybe you're sleeping a little bit, but make it to life. 12:17.509 --> 12:18.509 Get up early. 12:18.589 --> 12:20.828 That would be my advice. 12:20.829 --> 12:22.989 I would not pick up your phone. 12:23.729 --> 12:25.449 Leave your phone down. 12:26.389 --> 12:29.789 I know that's like cardinal sin for some of you. 12:30.789 --> 12:32.189 Don't turn on the TV. 12:33.089 --> 12:35.829 Kids, don't start playing a video game. 12:37.029 --> 12:40.089 Prepare your heart to meet God. 12:40.189 --> 12:41.329 Little guy wants to know why. 12:41.809 --> 12:44.209 Prepare your heart to know God. 12:44.269 --> 12:46.088 I love that. 12:46.089 --> 12:47.893 Right? 12:47.894 --> 12:50.574 So you're ready, you're expecting it. 12:50.574 --> 12:52.594 Maybe you arrive early enough 12:52.594 --> 12:55.494 from your out of your own good heart and will, 12:55.494 --> 12:58.654 you do park outside a long ways off, 12:58.654 --> 13:00.754 leaving some good spots for guests. 13:00.754 --> 13:01.994 You can do that if you want. 13:01.994 --> 13:05.834 And then you walk prudently to the house of God. 13:05.834 --> 13:09.094 You walk carefully asking God to meet you, 13:09.094 --> 13:11.954 asking God to speak to you today, 13:11.954 --> 13:14.734 preparing your heart for worship. 13:15.147 --> 13:16.267 Now, here's another principle. 13:16.447 --> 13:21.207 Worship involves having a healthy fear of God. 13:23.127 --> 13:26.087 I don't think we talk about that enough these days. 13:26.892 --> 13:37.552 I think we see that in this word prudently, but it also comes from the totality of our passage today that you're going to see as we walk through these seven verses together. 13:37.552 --> 13:44.512 Solomon is saying in this passage, be careful how you approach God and be careful how you speak to God. 13:44.612 --> 13:47.572 And he ends verse 7 by saying, fear God. 13:49.488 --> 13:56.008 Very, very important that we have a healthy respect for God, a healthy fear of God. 13:56.068 --> 13:59.668 Now, I say healthy, not a terrifying fear. 13:59.788 --> 14:01.308 We're shaking our boots. 14:01.448 --> 14:05.508 We're terrified and afraid that God's going to zap us anytime we do something wrong. 14:05.508 --> 14:10.488 That's a misunderstanding of the relationship that God offers us through Jesus. 14:11.847 --> 14:17.587 Now, if you're not a Christian, you have every reason to have a terrifying fear of God. 14:18.127 --> 14:21.367 Because your life hangs on by a thread. 14:21.947 --> 14:25.087 And without Jesus, you're headed towards a Christless eternity. 14:25.447 --> 14:26.907 You're headed towards God's judgment. 14:27.107 --> 14:28.667 That should be a terrifying thing. 14:29.701 --> 14:35.841 But that's not the relationship that Christians are offered through Jesus Christ. 14:36.181 --> 14:43.181 For us, God is our Father, and He loves us like a son or a daughter. 14:43.601 --> 14:46.281 Hebrews chapter 4, verse number 16 says, 14:46.281 --> 14:55.841 "...let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." 14:55.840 --> 14:59.840 As Christians, we can approach God boldly. 14:59.920 --> 15:00.919 Why? 15:00.920 --> 15:03.560 Well, not based on our own goodness or our own righteousness, 15:03.760 --> 15:06.440 but based on the righteousness of Jesus. 15:06.600 --> 15:07.219 But why? 15:07.220 --> 15:08.940 Well, we come boldly, and we should. 15:09.880 --> 15:13.860 Because we come by grace, we dare not come irreverently, right? 15:14.840 --> 15:19.060 Flippantly, casually, you know, apathetically. 15:19.540 --> 15:23.260 As we come to worship, we must always remember who we're approaching. 15:23.420 --> 15:26.960 We're approaching Almighty God, the maker of the heavens and the earth, 15:27.020 --> 15:30.080 the one who flung the stars in space, carved out the oceans, 15:30.080 --> 15:34.740 shoved up the mountains, his majesty and power, demand fear and respect. 15:35.540 --> 15:37.980 Now, here is why that's so important. 15:39.260 --> 15:46.120 It is not until you properly learn to fear God that you will properly understand and experience His love. 15:47.040 --> 15:47.799 Did you know that? 15:47.800 --> 15:55.260 You can't really understand love and grace until you recognize God is holy and just. 15:55.780 --> 15:59.100 Now you're able to experience it at a whole other level. 16:00.160 --> 16:01.720 Verse number 1 again says, 16:01.720 --> 16:07.160 "...walk prudently when you go to the house of God and draw near to hear." 16:07.154 --> 16:13.274 rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know what that they do is evil. 16:13.274 --> 16:20.014 Here's what we learn. Worship involves not just talking to God, it involves hearing from God, 16:20.074 --> 16:25.774 right? Solomon says, walk prudently when you come to the house of God. Why? Because God's 16:25.774 --> 16:31.894 about to speak to you. He's about to speak to you. So draw near, he says, to hear. 16:32.990 --> 16:37.970 Now, when we think of worship, oftentimes we think about giving to God. 16:38.110 --> 16:39.410 And it's true. 16:39.590 --> 16:42.670 We give to God our praise when we worship. 16:42.790 --> 16:44.569 We give ourselves. 16:44.570 --> 16:47.530 But worship does not start with giving to God. 16:47.610 --> 16:49.770 It starts with receiving from God. 16:51.090 --> 16:53.810 See, worship is a responsive act. 16:54.640 --> 16:55.719 He initiates. 16:55.720 --> 16:58.520 We love Him because He first loved us. 16:58.780 --> 17:04.980 When we hear from God, when we encounter Him for who He really is, that's when worship begins. 17:06.080 --> 17:08.200 See, revelation, that's God's Word. 17:08.280 --> 17:12.020 When He reveals Himself to us, revelation always precedes worship. 17:12.983 --> 17:14.283 It always does. 17:14.283 --> 17:16.323 That's why it's so very important to me 17:16.323 --> 17:20.563 that the songs that we sing are rich in lyrics, 17:20.563 --> 17:22.923 that they present the truth of who God is 17:22.923 --> 17:26.163 and what God has done for us. 17:26.163 --> 17:27.303 Why? 17:27.303 --> 17:30.563 Because that prompts my heart to worship, right? 17:30.563 --> 17:35.403 And I know it prompts others to really, really worship. 17:35.403 --> 17:36.583 Now, most of the time when we think 17:36.583 --> 17:38.643 about our worship service and the worship, 17:38.643 --> 17:40.283 we think about singing. 17:40.473 --> 17:42.573 And certainly that is a big part of it. 17:42.573 --> 17:46.293 But did you know that the preaching of God's word is also worship? 17:47.013 --> 17:51.693 In worship, it's not just us communicating to God, it's Him communicating to us. 17:51.993 --> 17:54.573 Now, when we sing songs, God's our audience, right? 17:54.813 --> 17:58.533 I hope when you sing and you worship, you're not singing for the person next to you. 17:58.533 --> 18:00.033 You are singing for the Lord. 18:00.213 --> 18:01.473 It's an audience of one. 18:01.593 --> 18:03.453 We are singing to worship Him. 18:04.153 --> 18:09.473 But there's another sense in which we are the audience. 18:10.122 --> 18:11.982 God is speaking to us. 18:12.422 --> 18:15.342 He's moving in our minds, in our hearts. 18:15.642 --> 18:20.222 And as he touches us, we return worship. 18:21.062 --> 18:24.082 So Solomon says, he says, draw near to hear. 18:25.122 --> 18:28.222 But then he says, rather than give a sacrifice of fools. 18:29.697 --> 18:38.817 Why would some sacrifices, their offerings, gifts to God, why would some of them be the sacrifice of fools? 18:39.817 --> 18:45.977 Well, it's because some people, in their effort of worship, are just going through the motions. 18:47.157 --> 18:47.996 So here's our principle. 18:47.997 --> 18:50.377 Worship involves being genuine. 18:51.635 --> 18:53.555 God is not concerned with your tradition. 18:54.115 --> 18:56.775 He's not concerned with ritual and religion. 18:57.015 --> 19:00.395 God desires faith from us, love and obedience. 19:01.575 --> 19:05.575 So if you come to church every week on autopilot, you're just checked out. 19:05.655 --> 19:07.195 You're just going through the motions. 19:07.355 --> 19:09.615 You're just checking the box that week that you came to worship. 19:09.735 --> 19:11.394 That's not worship. 19:11.395 --> 19:14.195 I don't care if you sing and raise your hands in worship. 19:14.295 --> 19:16.715 You give the biggest offering our church has ever seen. 19:16.855 --> 19:20.195 If your heart's not in it, it's a sacrifice of fools. 19:20.835 --> 19:22.655 Proverbs 15, verse 8 says, 19:22.815 --> 19:27.875 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. 19:28.375 --> 19:32.875 You can't just give so many sacrifices to appease God. 19:32.875 --> 19:37.315 No, you've got to receive God's sacrifice, His Son Jesus. 19:38.243 --> 19:41.563 Derek Kidner, in his commentary on Ecclesiastes, 19:41.563 --> 19:44.923 he said that much of our worship is like verbally doodling. 19:45.983 --> 19:48.923 You ever been in a meeting or kids in class 19:48.923 --> 19:50.443 and you're just kind of doodling? 19:50.583 --> 19:52.443 You're not really paying careful attention 19:52.443 --> 19:53.563 on what you're doing. 19:53.623 --> 19:54.482 You're just kind of doodling 19:54.483 --> 19:56.483 as you're trying to pay attention to something else. 19:57.667 --> 20:03.527 Just like a doodler, sometimes we don't pay attention to what we're supposed to be doing, 20:03.947 --> 20:06.827 that all of our attention goes to the Lord. 20:06.907 --> 20:12.407 We're just kind of going through the motions, and God takes notice when we do that. 20:13.007 --> 20:14.307 Now, here's another thing that we see. 20:14.447 --> 20:18.367 Worship, it involves being slow to speak. 20:19.132 --> 20:22.112 We need to hear from God and we need to be slow to speak. 20:22.212 --> 20:23.791 Look at verse number two. 20:23.792 --> 20:24.071 It says, 20:24.072 --> 20:30.492 Do not be rash with your mouth and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God, quickly before God. 20:31.492 --> 20:34.032 For God is in heaven and you on earth. 20:34.652 --> 20:39.392 Therefore, let your words be few, for a dream comes through much activity. 20:39.392 --> 20:44.972 I think what he's saying is when you dream a lot at night, normally it's a result of being really busy during the day. 20:46.081 --> 20:49.841 And he says, and a fool's voice is known by his many words. 20:51.801 --> 20:56.621 The Bible has a lot to say about a person who speaks before they think. 20:57.721 --> 20:58.721 Ever been that person? 20:59.641 --> 21:01.121 Unfortunately, I've been that person. 21:01.859 --> 21:07.359 that it just comes out before we really think about what we're saying. It's not good. 21:08.219 --> 21:14.259 Now, in chapter 3 and chapter 4, Solomon was wrestling with some of the injustices of life, 21:14.359 --> 21:19.339 some of those who are oppressed, and perhaps that person is still on his mind, 21:19.339 --> 21:23.379 this person who's been on the receiving end of some unfairness in life. 21:24.387 --> 21:32.727 So I think maybe Solomon is warning that person, when you have all these emotions and you come into the house of God, be slow to speak. 21:33.907 --> 21:37.727 Maybe he's also saying, watch your tone. 21:39.407 --> 21:41.847 Your mom or dad ever tell you that? 21:42.167 --> 21:44.387 You better watch your tone, right? 21:45.367 --> 21:46.987 We need to watch our tone with God. 21:48.535 --> 21:55.835 Now, a couple weeks ago, I talked about how it's important as believers that we come to God honestly, 21:55.995 --> 21:57.775 that we're emotionally honest with God. 21:57.875 --> 21:59.695 He wants to hear from us in our time of need. 22:00.235 --> 22:07.195 I talked about how Hannah, she came to the Lord in prayer, in anguish, in weeping, in tears. 22:07.855 --> 22:09.975 Now, I also spoke about how... 22:10.253 --> 22:14.013 People of faith in Scripture ask God the question, why? 22:14.173 --> 22:16.513 They're suffering and they want to know why. 22:16.613 --> 22:19.433 And so it's okay to ask God why. 22:20.773 --> 22:21.913 But here's what's not okay. 22:23.253 --> 22:27.913 It's not okay to put God on the defense stand with accusations. 22:29.073 --> 22:32.053 The tone, the heart, the posture of our heart, it matters. 22:32.473 --> 22:37.293 When we ask God why, it should be out of a sense of faith and a desire of understanding. 22:37.473 --> 22:39.273 It's not an accusation of wrongdoing. 22:39.273 --> 22:40.206 It's not an accusation of wrongdoing. 22:40.207 --> 22:43.547 Some people get angry with God and they give God this verbal lashing. 22:43.667 --> 22:44.767 Listen, that's not okay. 22:45.767 --> 22:48.207 That could be dangerous for you to do. 22:48.467 --> 22:51.767 Don't treat God flippantly like that. 22:52.047 --> 22:57.107 Anytime a person is angry like that and doing that, they're not encountering God. 22:57.187 --> 23:00.147 Because when you encounter God, the result will not be anger. 23:00.147 --> 23:02.027 It will be worship. 23:03.787 --> 23:06.147 In Scripture, whenever people... 23:06.886 --> 23:09.046 came into the direct presence of God, 23:09.166 --> 23:15.646 the reaction was an overwhelming sense of awe and fear and silence. 23:16.526 --> 23:17.845 Did you know that? 23:17.846 --> 23:21.466 They would fall down before the Lord in worship, 23:22.026 --> 23:24.406 speechless in His presence. 23:25.904 --> 23:31.604 Solomon says in verse number two, he says, for God is in heaven and we are on earth. 23:31.644 --> 23:35.964 That's a statement about the greatness and the majesty of God. 23:35.964 --> 23:40.544 It's a reminder of who we are compared to who he is. 23:41.004 --> 23:45.864 Here's what we learn. Worship involves awe and wonder, doesn't it? 23:47.164 --> 23:49.784 Now, I want to balance this. 23:50.626 --> 23:53.866 Because worship also involves intimacy with God, doesn't it? 23:54.206 --> 23:55.366 We praise God for that. 23:55.406 --> 23:58.586 Because of Jesus, we're now friends of God. 23:59.246 --> 24:03.946 But be careful that you don't reduce God to merely friend status. 24:04.906 --> 24:06.106 God is a lot of things. 24:06.266 --> 24:09.746 And not one of those things should be the sole representation of who He is. 24:10.386 --> 24:11.446 God is loving, yes. 24:12.266 --> 24:13.406 God is also holy. 24:14.622 --> 24:21.982 To see God is only as a friend, as a loose side of all of who He is and all of His glory. 24:22.222 --> 24:25.422 God's not our homeboy. He's Almighty God. 24:26.266 --> 24:27.706 Let's treat him with some respect. 24:27.866 --> 24:33.246 And so as we worship, it's important that we hold on to all of these truths about God, 24:33.506 --> 24:35.986 the eminence of God, right, that he's near to us. 24:36.146 --> 24:37.326 He's here with us. 24:37.646 --> 24:38.905 He's close. 24:38.906 --> 24:40.126 He's with us right now. 24:40.326 --> 24:43.086 He offers an intimate relationship with you and I. 24:43.286 --> 24:46.286 But at the same time, he's also transcendent, isn't he? 24:46.646 --> 24:47.946 He's otherworldly. 24:48.777 --> 24:52.077 See, there's a sense in which we're like God because we've been made in His image. 24:52.717 --> 24:53.996 God is personal. 24:53.997 --> 24:55.356 We are personal. 24:55.357 --> 24:56.656 He can think. 24:56.657 --> 24:57.616 We can think. 24:57.617 --> 24:58.616 He creates. 24:58.617 --> 24:59.176 We create. 24:59.177 --> 25:00.196 He has emotion. 25:00.197 --> 25:01.477 We have emotion. 25:02.337 --> 25:04.577 Those are attributes that we can all relate to. 25:04.657 --> 25:04.836 Why? 25:04.837 --> 25:08.097 Because He gave us those attributes when He created us in His image. 25:09.263 --> 25:11.803 But God is more than all of that. 25:12.483 --> 25:13.783 He's also omnipresent. 25:13.923 --> 25:15.243 That means he's everywhere at once. 25:15.603 --> 25:16.802 He's omniscient. 25:16.803 --> 25:18.423 That means he knows everything. 25:19.103 --> 25:20.403 He's omnipotent. 25:20.703 --> 25:22.323 He has unlimited power. 25:23.943 --> 25:28.683 Guys, I can't even scratch the middle of my back without saying, Kelsey, can you help me here? 25:28.983 --> 25:29.822 Right? 25:29.823 --> 25:30.842 Why? 25:30.843 --> 25:32.533 I'm limited. 25:32.534 --> 25:36.014 In so many ways, we are limited creatures, 25:36.254 --> 25:39.494 fully dependent on God or for others. 25:39.654 --> 25:41.253 God is unlimited. 25:41.254 --> 25:43.013 He's infinite. 25:43.014 --> 25:45.954 And that means that we worship him with a sense of awe 25:45.954 --> 25:47.574 and wonder that we do our best, 25:47.814 --> 25:49.994 based on God's word, to stretch our minds, right? 25:49.994 --> 25:53.774 To fully comprehend and grasp the immeasurable love of God, 25:53.974 --> 25:56.494 the power of God, the eternality of God, 25:56.554 --> 25:58.094 that God is infinite. 25:58.314 --> 26:01.254 We take our minds as far as we possibly can go, 26:01.394 --> 26:02.434 and then we bow. 26:02.521 --> 26:11.361 in worship, in awe, in wonder, in the depths of our heart as we express to Him this worship. 26:12.521 --> 26:20.461 Jesus, I think, gave us a great model for how we are to worship when He told us how to pray. He 26:20.461 --> 26:28.501 said, here's how you pray, our Father who art in heaven. That's it. That's worship. 26:29.150 --> 26:31.610 Our Father, that's intimacy, right? 26:31.890 --> 26:37.010 Our Father, who art in heaven, that's awe and wonder. 26:37.010 --> 26:40.310 He says in verse number four. 26:40.945 --> 27:08.465 He says, 27:09.481 --> 27:11.801 Here's what we learned, the last thing. 27:11.801 --> 27:15.641 Worship involves keeping our commitments to God. 27:19.001 --> 27:21.881 When we make a commitment to the Lord, 27:23.201 --> 27:24.621 God takes it very serious. 27:25.861 --> 27:27.821 Sometimes in the middle of a crisis, 27:27.821 --> 27:29.161 we start bargaining with God. 27:29.161 --> 27:30.661 God, if you get me out of this, 27:30.661 --> 27:32.281 I'll never miss church again. 27:32.281 --> 27:33.841 If you get me out of this, 27:33.841 --> 27:36.681 I'll serve you the rest of my days. 27:38.202 --> 27:39.622 Do we keep it, that promise? 27:40.282 --> 27:41.602 Sometimes it's not in a crisis. 27:41.762 --> 27:43.662 Maybe it's a matter of conviction. 27:44.342 --> 27:47.942 So we make these commitments to the Lord, like, you know, I'm going to start serving. 27:48.062 --> 27:49.141 I'm going to start giving. 27:49.142 --> 27:50.822 I'm even going to start tithing. 27:50.962 --> 27:52.162 And then we break those commitments. 27:52.262 --> 27:55.982 We're so quick to make these commitments in the moment, 27:55.982 --> 27:58.462 and then when the moment passes, we forget about them. 27:59.442 --> 28:01.342 Solomon says, you may forget about it, God doesn't. 28:02.082 --> 28:04.602 You may not think that's really that big of a deal. 28:04.902 --> 28:07.262 It's a very big deal to God. 28:08.290 --> 28:10.070 Solomon says you may even make an excuse. 28:10.210 --> 28:12.590 You may tell the messenger of God that's probably a priest in the temple. 28:12.870 --> 28:15.010 You may say, hey, it was a mistake. 28:15.930 --> 28:16.970 And maybe it was. 28:17.730 --> 28:22.970 Maybe you should have kept your big mouth shut, but you opened it and made some vow to the Lord. 28:23.030 --> 28:24.129 You made a commitment. 28:24.130 --> 28:26.690 You make that commitment, God's going to hold you to it. 28:26.690 --> 28:29.610 The psalmist says we swear to our own hurt. 28:29.710 --> 28:33.270 That means we're bound by our word because we're Christ followers. 28:33.950 --> 28:35.290 We should be people of our word. 28:36.230 --> 28:37.390 Our word should be our bonds. 28:38.632 --> 28:40.267 No. 28:40.268 --> 28:49.328 With our building campaign that we had, we went to great lengths to let our church family know that the pledges that we were making that we were going to give were not vows. 28:50.128 --> 28:56.668 Instead, they were a way for you to plan your own finances and giving, and for us as a church family to plan to see what we could build. 28:57.368 --> 29:03.248 They were Lord-willing commitments, which leaves room for God to change plans as He leads. 29:03.248 --> 29:09.768 But I think for some people throughout the year, certainly when we've had these campaigns, they viewed it as a vow to the Lord. 29:11.538 --> 29:19.958 Karen Watson was a member of our church who moved to Iraq to be a missionary in 2003. 29:20.718 --> 29:22.678 The war was just breaking out in Iraq. 29:22.678 --> 29:30.598 It was the most dangerous place in the world, and she went right, as a single woman, to the most dangerous place in the world to share Christ with people. 29:31.458 --> 29:36.318 And a year later, she was gunned down, and she was murdered for her faith in Christ. 29:36.438 --> 29:38.138 She died as a martyr. 29:39.162 --> 29:46.942 When she was in our church, before God called her as a missionary and called her to leave Bakersfield, 29:46.942 --> 29:54.822 she had made a commitment to the Lord to tithe and to give above and beyond to build our kids' building that now all of us enjoy. 29:56.071 --> 30:01.731 Even though God changed her plans and called her to go and she quit her job, 30:01.811 --> 30:07.191 she moved across the world, every month our church received by mail her tithe 30:07.191 --> 30:11.131 and her offering to build that Kildge building that she never saw. 30:11.611 --> 30:15.011 Those checks continued from Iraq until the day she was murdered. 30:16.422 --> 30:18.201 Here's my point. 30:18.202 --> 30:23.122 If you feel like you've made a commitment to the Lord, it's very important that you keep it. 30:23.602 --> 30:24.722 It's a serious thing. 30:25.082 --> 30:30.442 That's why we should actually, he says, be slow to make these commitments before God. 30:30.802 --> 30:32.982 Now, that does not mean that we should never make commitments. 30:33.342 --> 30:36.802 Sometimes people say, well, I'm never going to make a commitment to the Lord then. 30:37.262 --> 30:39.622 No, it says when you make a vow. 30:39.722 --> 30:40.569 Okay? 30:40.570 --> 30:41.790 It doesn't say if you make a vow. 30:42.110 --> 30:44.570 God's assumption, you're going to make some commitments to me. 30:44.950 --> 30:46.030 And we do, don't we? 30:46.390 --> 30:49.070 We make vows when we get married. 30:50.105 --> 30:56.785 We make vows when we stand before our congregation and dedicate our babies to the Lord. 30:56.885 --> 30:57.985 Now, we don't call it a vow. 30:58.065 --> 31:01.605 We call it a dedication, which is a commitment of dedication. 31:02.385 --> 31:03.785 We make all kinds of vows. 31:03.845 --> 31:06.325 Vows to spend more time with God in prayer. 31:06.925 --> 31:09.225 Vows to start serving. 31:09.525 --> 31:10.725 Vows to stop drinking. 31:10.725 --> 31:13.425 Vows to stop viewing pornography. 31:13.605 --> 31:15.805 All kinds of vows. 31:17.105 --> 31:21.165 Sometimes we break those vows and think that God does not care. 31:21.365 --> 31:22.605 Do not fool yourself. 31:22.725 --> 31:24.084 God cares. 31:24.085 --> 31:25.705 It's very clear that He cares. 31:27.365 --> 31:33.045 Now, as we begin wrapping up, here's the problem with all of that. 31:36.405 --> 31:43.045 We're going to break some commitments to God, and we have broken commitments to God, haven't we? 31:44.780 --> 31:46.960 We say, God, I'm going to do this, and we didn't do it. 31:47.180 --> 31:49.860 God, I'm not going to do that, and we did it. 31:49.940 --> 31:53.099 It's called sin. 31:53.100 --> 31:56.020 The Bible says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 31:56.740 --> 32:00.220 Do you know, though, the best place for you to be right after you sin? 32:01.600 --> 32:02.940 It's the presence of God. 32:04.355 --> 32:09.235 As a Christian, the most important spiritual move that you'll ever make is what you're going to do right after you sin. 32:09.935 --> 32:11.074 What are you going to do? 32:11.075 --> 32:13.475 Are you going to brush it off like it's no big deal? 32:13.555 --> 32:14.755 Are you going to try to hide from God? 32:14.815 --> 32:16.435 Are you going to try to cover it up? 32:16.475 --> 32:18.515 Are you going to try to run from God? 32:18.515 --> 32:24.875 Or are you going to own it, confess it, turn from it, and worship the Lord? 32:26.410 --> 32:31.650 So easy to allow one sin to turn into many sins. 32:31.850 --> 32:35.590 Dad, allow one sin to turn into a lifestyle of sin. 32:35.630 --> 32:37.030 You get drunk on a Saturday night, 32:37.750 --> 32:41.130 and you think, well, I can't go to church Sunday morning. 32:41.190 --> 32:42.510 I was just drunk last night. 32:42.650 --> 32:43.529 I'd be a hypocrite. 32:43.530 --> 32:45.430 I don't want to be a hypocrite in the church. 32:46.650 --> 32:49.550 That would be like someone saying, man, I'm so sick. 32:49.610 --> 32:50.469 I can't go to the doctor. 32:50.470 --> 32:52.250 I got to get all better before I go to the doctor. 32:54.035 --> 32:55.475 That doesn't make sense. 32:56.215 --> 32:58.295 It's the sick who need a physician. 32:58.895 --> 33:03.115 It is those who are sinners who need the grace of God. 33:03.675 --> 33:09.395 So that means if you get drunk on a Saturday night, the best place for you to be is right here in church with us. 33:10.215 --> 33:13.295 You see, we serve a God of grace. 33:14.595 --> 33:20.995 If it were not for the grace of God, none of us would be worshiping God. 33:21.995 --> 33:24.864 None of us. 33:24.865 --> 33:29.125 And that's a problem because God created us to worship him. 33:30.105 --> 33:31.565 And you may wonder, why am I here? 33:31.785 --> 33:32.744 Why is all of this here? 33:32.745 --> 33:37.565 Have you ever had those deeper thoughts where you try to dig through the layers of just existing? 33:37.825 --> 33:38.885 And why do we exist? 33:39.005 --> 33:40.385 I'll tell you exactly why you exist. 33:40.565 --> 33:41.925 You exist for God. 33:43.025 --> 33:45.785 He made you because he wants you. 33:45.785 --> 33:47.205 We are all. 33:48.153 --> 33:54.933 Worshippers, by nature, we've got this deep longing to worship. Why? It's embedded in our DNA. 33:55.533 --> 34:01.653 It's coded into us. We are designed for this purpose. It is where the greatest satisfaction 34:01.653 --> 34:08.713 we find is when we worship. The problem is when we sin, we start worshiping other things. 34:10.057 --> 34:13.197 Our worship goes from God, and it goes to lesser things. 34:13.457 --> 34:14.096 And guess what? 34:14.097 --> 34:15.677 They bring lesser fulfillment. 34:16.897 --> 34:20.917 They do not bring lasting satisfaction like the eternal God does. 34:21.637 --> 34:25.597 We start worshiping the creation rather than the creator. 34:26.537 --> 34:29.517 We start worshiping God's gifts instead of God. 34:29.517 --> 34:32.457 We start worshiping ourselves instead of Him. 34:33.977 --> 34:37.717 But if you will come to the Lord in faith, 34:38.812 --> 34:42.092 with remorse over your sin, with repentance, 34:42.892 --> 34:47.352 and you cry out to Him for mercy and love and forgiveness, 34:47.552 --> 34:49.532 and you trust Jesus as your Savior, 34:50.152 --> 34:54.332 God will forgive you, and He'll heal you and restore you. 34:55.852 --> 35:02.552 And the other thing He'll allow is the greatest privilege in all the world, 35:03.172 --> 35:06.152 and that is to worship God with a clean heart. 35:07.735 --> 35:11.235 To come before Almighty God, who we approach cautiously 35:11.235 --> 35:14.175 because there's a sense of fear and awe and wonder 35:14.175 --> 35:18.295 that we can approach Him, and there's nearness, 35:18.295 --> 35:21.875 and there's intimacy, and there's love, 35:21.875 --> 35:24.675 and there's comfort, a blanket of love and grace. 35:24.675 --> 35:27.674 Why? 35:27.675 --> 35:29.635 Because Jesus died for our sins, 35:30.515 --> 35:31.775 and He rose again to life 35:31.775 --> 35:33.195 so that we could have that kind of life. 35:34.162 --> 35:41.742 That's the message of the Bible, that we have the privilege of worshiping Almighty God with a clean heart. 35:42.842 --> 35:46.082 Now let's bow together in an attitude of prayer, both here and at Olive Drive. 35:49.482 --> 35:54.742 The Christian comes boldly to the throne of grace, and maybe that's what you need to do as a Christian. 35:54.742 --> 35:56.862 You need to come before the throne of grace. 35:57.042 --> 36:02.022 There's been sin dominating your life, and you need to just pour it out to the Lord and come clean with Him. 36:02.102 --> 36:03.882 I want to encourage you to do that right now. 36:07.118 --> 36:11.118 But if you're listening in and you are not a Christian, you have not been a believer, 36:11.278 --> 36:13.538 but God's knocking on the door of your heart right now. 36:14.298 --> 36:15.338 He's opening your eyes. 36:15.458 --> 36:16.538 He's seeking you. 36:16.818 --> 36:18.158 He's pursuing you. 36:18.158 --> 36:27.338 If that's the case, you need to carefully and prudently approach Him. 36:28.078 --> 36:36.558 And what I mean by that is that you carefully and respectfully acknowledge your sin. 36:37.578 --> 36:45.038 That you acknowledge who He is and all of who He is and how you don't deserve His presence. 36:45.158 --> 36:46.798 You just acknowledge the facts. 36:49.538 --> 36:53.618 And then you place your trust in Jesus and you ask God for forgiveness. 36:55.198 --> 36:56.898 And here's what I know about God. 36:58.878 --> 37:01.758 God loves forgiving people. 37:03.238 --> 37:05.297 He loves it. 37:05.298 --> 37:06.538 It's His specialty. 37:06.538 --> 37:10.112 It's His specialty. 37:10.113 --> 37:16.953 The Bible says he does not desire that any should perish, but all should come to faith and repentance. 37:17.073 --> 37:20.493 So that means I know he has his deep love to forgive people. 37:20.493 --> 37:23.953 He stands not desiring to condemn. 37:25.273 --> 37:32.213 He stands with arms open wide, ready to embrace you in love and by grace. 37:33.513 --> 37:35.473 You've got to come to him on his terms. 37:37.993 --> 37:39.513 And that's through Jesus. 37:42.142 --> 37:46.242 In just a moment, we're going to stand after I pray, both here and at Olive Drive. 37:47.102 --> 37:50.462 We're going to have some pastors and other leaders here at the front of our worship services. 37:50.822 --> 37:53.302 We're just going to ask you as we stand, as we start singing, 37:53.582 --> 37:55.442 you just come and walk down one of these aisles. 37:56.122 --> 37:59.542 You walk down one of these staircases and you take one of these leaders by the hand and you say, 37:59.962 --> 38:01.182 I want to give my life to Jesus. 38:01.402 --> 38:02.841 I want to trust Him. 38:02.842 --> 38:04.121 I want to be forgiven. 38:04.122 --> 38:06.422 I want to be made clean before God's presence. 38:07.842 --> 38:09.442 These folks will know exactly how to help you. 38:09.502 --> 38:12.082 Maybe you say, well, I want to be baptized like others today. 38:12.202 --> 38:13.482 I want to join this church family. 38:14.122 --> 38:16.282 I want to just, maybe you just don't need to talk to anyone, 38:16.442 --> 38:19.522 but you want to use these steps as an altar. 38:19.642 --> 38:21.862 That is a meeting place between you and God. 38:23.242 --> 38:25.462 However God leads, please come in just a moment. 38:25.562 --> 38:26.021 Let's pray. 38:26.022 --> 38:30.142 Father, thank you, thank you, thank you 38:30.142 --> 38:34.022 for revealing yourself to us. 38:35.022 --> 38:36.462 Lord, in our sin, 38:38.453 --> 38:40.033 We are not deserving of that. 38:40.033 --> 38:43.773 You are not obligated to do that. 38:46.233 --> 38:50.913 But you choose to reveal yourself in a way 38:50.913 --> 38:53.393 that you're knowable through your son, Jesus. 38:54.433 --> 38:59.273 In a way that we get to encounter you by faith 38:59.273 --> 39:00.533 and by your spirit. 39:03.533 --> 39:07.053 Lord, would you do a work through your word 39:08.272 --> 39:13.272 Would you speak to people who have come to hear from you? 39:17.572 --> 39:19.692 Would you open their eyes 39:19.692 --> 39:22.832 that maybe are closed tightly in blindness? 39:22.832 --> 39:25.232 Would you soften their heart 39:25.232 --> 39:28.432 that has been hardened over time and through sin? 39:29.532 --> 39:31.712 And Lord, would you just do a great work? 39:31.712 --> 39:33.532 We love you, we give this time to you. 39:33.532 --> 39:35.932 We pray, Lord, that you would give people the courage 39:35.932 --> 39:37.892 it's gonna take to step out and come 39:38.444 --> 39:39.524 and to give their life to you. 39:39.704 --> 39:41.884 We pray in Jesus' name, amen. 40:04.027 --> 40:07.487 reach out to us by texting PODCAST to 88988. 40:07.487 --> 40:13.407 That's PODCAST to 88988 or connect with us on one of our social media platforms. 40:13.407 --> 40:19.107 You can also visit our website, valleybaptist.org, to find even more great resources. 40:19.107 --> 40:24.007 No matter where you are in your journey, know that we love you, we're praying for you, 40:24.007 --> 40:27.047 and we can't wait to see what God will do in your life.