To all members of PaRD.

Grace and peace to you from CPK001. Tonight is the fifth series of the book of Ecclesiastes that we are studying at Church. I have been taking notes and I am going to try and portray what I heard at Church onto here.
When we think of the book of Ecclesiastes what do we think it is about? "Vanity of vanities/everything is meaningless". We shall look into this book and ask: What's the point of RELIGION?

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 ESV

Fear God

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. 3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words.

4 When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. 5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.

Matthew 6:1-18

Giving to the Needy

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Lord's Prayer

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Fasting

16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Introduction

Each week we've been reading about how the Teacher has been trying something new to invest in order to find meaning. What is the theme with every aspect so far? Vanity of vanities, everything is meaningless.

Let's now look at a Church setting. Does the gathering of God's people have meaning? Is there value in this?

Ecclesiastes 5:1

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.

In the Old Testament there was a focus on worship. The focus on worship was that there was a particular place to do worship and that was the Temple.

However that focus is over since Jesus died. Instead of there being a Temple for the place to worship God, the entire Earth is the Temple. You can now worship God anywhere. Instead of it being "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God", it is now "Guard your steps."

We no longer need to perform sacrifices because Jesus is the sacrifice.

When it talks about the sacrifice of fools it's simple - don't be a fool.

Matthew 6:1

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

Do not be seen, otherwise you will have no reward. Do not make it obvious that you are fasting or that you are making a large donation.

Ecclesiastes 5:2

Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.

This is a warning to not be hasty in speaking. Do not be foolish in speaking to God. Do NOT take God lightly.

When it says God is in heaven and you are on earth, God is above us vastly. We can have a relationship with the one true God.

The danger comes when you make God into a shopping list.

Ecclesiastes 5:3

For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words.

What this verse means is that when life gets busy then you can get disconnected from the real world. However, too many words can make you disconnected from God. This is the analogy.

Can you have a Religion without God? Many have tried. The focus becomes the doing and mouthing. Want an example? Sure.

Luke 18:11-12

11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

In this story who is the Main Event? The Pharisee is the Main Event. The Pharisee is god. The Pharisee is using God to feed his own ego. Does this sound like anyone you know?

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5

4 When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. 5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.

God himself warned the Israelite's about making a vow to God. Let's read it.

Deuteronomy 23:21-23

21 If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. 23 Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth.

Hence do not be hasty in speaking. It is a danger to use too many words.

Ecclesiastes 5:6

Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?

People have tried to use the following passage to discredit the Bible but let's look at it.

Judges 11:30-31, 34-35

Jephthah's Tragic Vow

30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31 then whatever[a] comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”

34 Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.”

Jephthah made a foolish vow to the LORD. Look at the outcome. He tried to use a vow to convince God to do what they wanted.

Here is a lesson to NOT manipulate God, the LORD is not a vending machine.

We are to approach God with awe and wonder.

Ecclesiastes 5:7

For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.

If you take God out of the picture then even Church becomes meaningless. Therefore you must fear God.

He is God and you are not.

There is a danger with making Religion all about you, you then make Religion into nothing.

Jesus himself has something to say about this.

Matthew 23:25-26

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

The Pharisees care nothing for the state of their heart, they only care for the state of being seen as clean on the outside.

The Pharisees wore a mask of Hypocrisy. They wore a mask on their face to have an advantage with their neighbours.

Isaiah 29:13

The Lord says:

“These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

Conclusion

Do not do what you do in order to be seen by others. Instead do your deeds in secret. Keep your words short and sweet, do not blabber on when you talk to God. Be careful when making vows to God because you must keep that vow. You will be judged if you do not uphold that vow. Yet making a vow is completely voluntary.

Finally, above all else -- fear God.

Next week we are taking a break from Ecclesiastes as the sermon will be on Proverbs.

However, next fortnight we will explore and ask: What's the point of WEALTH?