God’s House

 July 3, 2022

This morning’s sermon was from Ecclesiastes 5 and entitled, “How to Go to God’s House.” Here’s most of the text:

“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.”

—Ecclesiastes 5:1-2, 4-5, 7 

The pastor said just three things, with commentary on each. “When you come to the house of God,” he said,

1. LISTEN first. The most important thing that happens when we come to the house of God is not the fellowship or the music, but hearing what God has to say to us. Sadly, too often when we come to church, we are as it says here, “hasty in our hearts to utter anything before God.” We complain about the music, criticize the pastor, compare the decor to that church we visited last vacation. Even if we say nothing, such an attitude betrays a heart in need of repentance and grace. 

Do I come to hear what God has to say, or am I too busy with my own thoughts and judgments to listen?

2. SPEAK second. After listening, it’s time to respond with repentance, change, and commitment. But don’t be so hasty we make promises we have little intention of keeping. How often do we feel conviction, decide to do differently, but soon revert back to our old ways? Listening to God speaking requires that we respond by speaking back to him our faith and devotion.

3. FEAR GOD always. When I come into the house of God, I must come reverently. God is inviting me into his space—that’s amazing! It isn’t about me and my experience; it’s all about God’s revelation of himself to us. We wouldn’t even be able to come were it not for Jesus having opened the way through his death and resurrection. What an awesome privilege we have! 

I’ve noticed since the pandemic the anemic return of people to church here in America. We got used to watching from home, and many have not returned even though for most of us, it is as safe as we’ve always been. At the same time, my Cuban brothers and sisters are packing the churches wall to wall. What’s the difference? They have a desperation born of the deprivation they’ve been experiencing. We were inconvenienced; they were devastated. They are hungry for God, not satisfied with being spectators. They learned to listen,  are now speaking and acting in faith, fearing God more than man. On this eve of our independence, may God bring us to the same place here.