Sion Baptist Church: Sunday September 6th 2020
Offering & Prayer:
Words of Welcome:
Last week 15 of us gathered here, physically, for the first time in more than five months. We took the opportunity to rededicate ourselves to the Lord and to his service. If you were not here I encourage you to listen to that service on our website. Last week we were aware that some could not be here…and will not be able to join us, perhaps for some time. Last week some of us returned to work. Last week some of our children returned to school. This week we remember Patricia’s birthday…
Last week, after many months Susan and I returned to Towneley Park. It was so good to enveloped in every kind of green, to hear again the uninterrupted chorus of woodland birds and to meet unfazed, friendly squirrels along our path. Either side of one path there were fields of wild flowers of every colour. The sight literally stopped us in our tracks…I supposed this might be a glimpse of heaven. Not so (seemingly) for one young man who walked through the very same space, head down, ear-phones dangling, and glued to the mobile device in his hand…oblivious to his surroundings. And then there were the runners…and then, as the sun got warmer, there were the talkers, the loud-speakers every word of whose conversations we could hear long before we saw them! And then the barking dogs. It was definitely time to go home!
Now, before you accuse me of being a pompous prig, I know the park will attract all-sorts; for some a place to converse, a social space, for others it is an obstacle-course or an athletic field, a place to exercise a beloved pet. But as my Cockney missus would say, “It was GBH of the ear ‘ole!” There was a lot of noise.
It made me think about God. It made me think particularly about how we worship Him…the kind of noise we make…and how it might sound in the ears of the Lord…at our Sunday services or our prayer meetings. Now, again, don’t get me wrong, I love it when we gather to pray together. We should do it more often. After all, we are gathering in the Presence of Almighty God, and that is the greatest privilege. But (when we do) oh how soon we start to spoil it with our ridiculous praying, our constant asking for ourselves. The more words we use the more likely we are to get what we want…we think. Because we can’t stand the silence…a silence that feels like loneliness…and so we continue to tell God (and anyone else who might be there!) everything (blow-by-blow) that has happened in the day – as if the Lord didn’t already know where you’d been, what you’d said and to whom! And then we preach a sermon with our prayers! We tell God what to do, and seem satisfied with ourselves. I wonder what He thinks…
We’re always talking, filling a space that (like the field) is already beautiful if only we took the time…just to sit and look…and yes, to listen. Aren’t we supposed to keep asking, seeking, and knocking? Yes, but Jesus tells us to do this when our wills are aligned with His. How can we know what His will for us might be unless we listen to His words? Sometimes, of course, life is not beautiful. It’s not a walk through the woods. But, even when it is hard, even when chaos is all around, the Lord commands us to cease and desist, to be still…to be quiet enough…long enough…to hear God’s voice over the cacophony of different sounds…and know that He is God…
Bible Reading:
Psalm 46: God the Refuge of His People.
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah…
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah…
8 Come; behold the works of the Lord, Who has wrought desolations in the earth. 9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire.
10 “Cease striving (Be Still) and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”11 The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
A Prayer of Thanksgiving: (From Victor)
Dear ABBA, LOVING FATHER, you are so, so good! How we long to meet with you; how confident we are that you love us and that you hear our prayers…Lord we are assured that our prayers are heard…by the prayers you have answered in the past, and we must have faith that you hear us. DEAR LORD and master we pray now in your presence and in your house, and tell you what is on our hearts and minds we lift these things up to you now….We have faith that you hear us even as we pray silently in our heads, we have faith that you’re with us all the time day and night, and that you SON died that horrific death for us all. So we can come and talk with you 24/7… We thank you LORD for leaving your holy spirit here on your planet earth so as to give us strength to do all you ask of us. ABBA father we want to thank you for all you are and for all the wonderful things you give us your children. Amen
Bible Reading:
51 Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. 2 Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few. 3 For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words.4 When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! 5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God. (Ecclesiastes 5: 1-7)
Message: Guard Your Steps…
Solomon built and dedicated an impressive Temple to the glory of God and to represent the Presence of God with His people. It was the place where they walked with, and knew, God… in a (kind of) new Eden (decorations were plants, trees and fruit)…the place where (animal) sacrifices were offered and where the Word of God was heard and explained…Zion…a place where God chose to dwell and encounter in a special way…
But there was a problem. Worshippers had become (so) casual and superficial in their attitudes. There was little or no reverence for the Lord. There was no fear of God! They drew near to the Lord with their mouths…they honoured Him with their lips but their hearts were far from Him; their worship was “made up” only of men’s rules (Isaiah 29:13).
It was a devastating assessment of His people and of what they were offering the Lord…as worship; and this is why Koheleth begins his sermon: Guard you steps as you go…to the house of the Lord and draw near to listen than to offer the sacrifice of fools…think about why you are here, why you come here…is it out of custom, because that’s how we’ve always done things…to be entertained…to get what you want…to feel good and to sing happy songs? How do you come?
Isn’t it incredible how much people revere sportsmen and celebrities? People will bow down or “take a knee” for just about anything or anyone…but never for the LORD! Even our worship becomes “all about me” and what I like or what I get out of it…
You may remember last week and how we sang Matt Redmond’s song, The Heart of Worship. That song was composed because that worship group had become all about entertainment. They needed to say sorry to the Lord for what they had turned worship into. They needed to guard their steps even before they crossed the threshold of the building; to be still and come before God with reverence and, if that meant they stopped singing their songs for a season…then so be it! They needed to hear God say to them, “Enough!” Be still and know that I am God! They needed to pause and consider (Selah!) – To listen…
My wife and I had words this morning but as usual I didn’t get the chance to use many of mine! I think that’s how it must be for God!
Even the most beautiful, spine-tingling songs became a grating noise in the ears of the Lord… God is not fooled by you or by your offerings.
21 “I hate, I reject your festivals, nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. 23 “Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. (Amos 5)
If we don’t listen to Him how can we expect the Lord to listen to us…to bless us…to answer our prayers? Come expecting to hear God speak or leave (yet again) untouched…unchanged.
After all… the Lord is looking at your heart. He can see beneath the mask…
Tiptoe into the presence of God…draw near…deliberately…proceed with caution. 2 Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few. When Moses encountered God in a burning bush he took off his shoes – it was holy ground. The destination and definition of worship is to meet God. So, come humbly…
And if you have to speak weigh your words carefully. When you sing that hymn, sing it listening to the words. Be careful. 4 When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! 5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake.
Words may not mean much to us, but they mean a lot to God. In God's eyes, a promise is a promise. Your baptism…the dedication of your child…your marriage vows…the vows you took as a deacon…your ordination. You vowed it, you keep it. Empty words…ridiculous prayers…make enough of those and you’ll find God’s hand will be against you…
In the NT era the people of God become the Temple, so that wherever the people of God (Christ) gathered there was (is) the church – the place of refuge, where God resides (in the midst) and where a river of living water flows. We are reminded of Jesus’ encounter about worship with the Samaritan woman at the well and the truth he shared with her…that it no longer mattered where God was worshipped (on this mountain or that mountain) but how…in spirit and in truth.
Of course it’s good to be back in this building – but Zion (Sion) is special only to the extent that it is dedicated to the worship of God, to the glory of God. We no longer sacrifice animals – but our bodies (Romans 12); we offer a sacrifice of praise; we offer our substance, and our thanks for the great (once-for-all) sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Last week, next week or this, it’s not about me, it’s all about You, Jesus…
MFR (05-09-20)
The Lord’s Prayer and the Grace: