Eccl 12:13 That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. NLT

What is Solomon’s conclusion? It is two-fold. Honor God and obey His Word. Or to put it in a negative command format: Don’t take God lightly and don’t forget His Word. Not long before his death, Moses recounted Israel’s history and said Israel got into trouble when they “lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.” (Deut 32.15) In Matthew 22, Jesus told a story of a king who bid many to the marriage of his son but many people ignored the call and “made light of it, and went their ways.” The king responded with wrath. The point that all of these were making is that we must take God seriously. That is everyone’s duty. Even those who choose to ignore and take Him lightly will only be able to do that temporarily. We will cover that idea more next time. “Keep His commandments,” is the second part. A little later in Matthew 22, Jesus put all the commandments into one concise statement: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.” What Solomon called the “conclusion of the whole matter” and the “whole duty of man,” Jesus called the “great commandment.” The strong emphasis makes this something we simply cannot ignore.

Ex 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments .

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

This principle is consistent through the Bible: when you love God, you will want to live in obedience to God’s desires. Discipleship is the process of learning God’s desires and then applying them to our daily living.

On Wednesday, May 16, 2012, professor/theologian, Dr. Bill Thrasher was interviewed on the radio show, Chris Fabry Live. Dr. Thrasher was speaking about finding the will of God and made a penetrating statement that caused the interviewer to stop Dr. Thrasher mid-sentence and ask him to repeat what he had just said. Dr. Thrasher said it again:

“God’s will is exactly what you would desire if you knew all the facts.”
That is the essence of Christian discipleship—pursuing the heart of God until you find the desires of God and then following the will of God. That may sound complicated, but Jesus had a way of reducing a complicated question into a simple, easy to memorize statement:

Matt 22:36-38
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.

When we love God and then demonstrate that love in our lifestyle, we have  honored the “first and great commandment.” Discipleship is an important part of the lifestyle of worship.

Eccl 12:13 All has been heard; the end of the matter is: Fear God [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is] and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man [the full, original purpose of his creation, the object of God's providence, the root of character, the foundation of all happiness, the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions under the sun] and the whole [duty] for every man. AMP

We are down to the last two verses of the Book of Ecclesiastes on which we will spend a few days. What a journey it has been with Solomon. We have been able to see the raw details of King Solomon, from his low, under-the-sun, humanistic observations, to his lofty peerings above the sun where he got a glimpse of God in His glory. Now, “all has been heard” and we come to his conclusion. First I will point out that he uses a Hebrew alliteration to sum his thoughts in these two verses. Four times he uses the same Hebrew word, “kol,” which is translated in English as, “whole, all, every.” In other words, not only is he presenting his all-inclusive summary, but he reuses the word “all” four times in presenting that conclusion. Repetition of a Hebrew word was used for the sake of emphasis (three-fold repetition was seen in Isaiah 6:3, Jer. 22:29, Ezek. 21:27) but the four-time use is unprecedented. Solomon emphasizes that it ALL comes down to this. The last two verses include: ALL has been heard; this is the WHOLE duty of man; ALL will be brought into judgment; ALL secret acts will be judged. Next time we will examine that all-inclusive conclusion in detail.

Our lifestyle of worship affects the way we discipline our lives. Some people are shallow Christians where they become Saint Sally on Sunday morning but Fornicating Frieda on Friday night. Discipleship is a form of the word discipline and refers to self-control or temperance. Rather than looking for instant gratification in everything we lust after, we learn to lean on the Lord’s help in controlling spiritually damaging desires.

You are more than an animal whose actions are driven by natural impulses or instincts, you are a special creation of God with a unique purpose:

1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

God created us as a dwelling place for Him, or as human vessels in which God is transported into every human experience. Because He dwells in us and we are not the sole tenants in this body, we do not really have own the right of control. That belongs to God:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Our lifestyle of worship leads us to desire to please the God who has bought us with His own blood and desires that we carry Him around with us in holiness.

Psalms 29:2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Rom 8:26-27
26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

During communion or intercessory prayer, we move so close to God that our own words and language seem to fail to express what we are feeling. It is then that the Spirit of God “searches our hearts” and makes the prayer with “groanings” : Rom 8:26 …unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. AMP

Paul also discussed this kind of “spirit praying” in 1 Corinthians 14. Amid his discussion on spiritual gifts that are used to edify the whole church, specifically prophecy and tongues and interpretation, he also deals with a more private form of worship—praying in tongues.

Praying in tongues occurs when that message in tongues is not interpreted to the whole church. This is the form of speaking in tongues that is not the “gift of tongues” but the “sign of tongues.” When people are initially filled with the Holy Ghost, they receive this sign, or evidence of being filled.
However, that is not the only time they will speak with tongues. It can and will occur again during prayer to God as a form of worship or communion to and with God, or as in intercession in praying for some unknown cause (or “mystery).

1 Cor 14:2 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.

Even the person praying in tongues does not know or understand what they are praying for:

1 Cor 14:14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.

This form of praying in tongues is not used by the one praying to arrest the attention of the whole church, but rather is spoken with God as the intended audience. He is to “keep silence,” or in other words, keep it between himself and God. This form of praying in tongues is generally used either during corporate worship or private prayer, and not while another person is speaking to the church. That was a problem that the Corinthian church had that Paul addressed in this passage.

1 Cor 14:28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

It is such an intimate place in prayer where the individual praying and worshiping at this level feels as if they have become one with the Lord. Being the deepest level of prayer, we may not reach this point with every prayer, but communion should be our ultimate goal.

Our soul needs this kind of prayer on a regular basis so we should “pray until we pray through” as often as we can. Prayer is regular part of our lifestyle of worship.

Eccl 12:12 But about going further [than the words given by one Shepherd], my son, be warned. Of making many books there is no end [so do not believe everything you read], and much study is a weariness of the flesh. AMP

This is good counsel for learners. Do you love reading and learning? I am a student and love getting into books and learning new things. However, may the reader beware! I had an experience as a high school senior and college freshman that floored me. I read something in a text book that was critical of the Bible and was not experienced enough to recognize bias in an author nor mature enough to handle criticism of what I believed. Not long after I began to realize that you cannot believe everything you read. Just because a person with academic credentials publishes a book does not mean his ideas are true. World view causes one to slant facts to make them conform to one’s preconceived ideas. Solomon told us to read and study carefully the words of the Shepherd, or in other words, the Word of God. But be cautious of other things. He learned through much study of many futile subjects that that is simply weariness of the flesh; or in other words, it was time wasted. To the student, be careful and prayerful about your course of study. To the avid reader, be selective of your choice of books. Education and entertainment have their place but if the source is a fountain of lies, why be troubled and wearied by that?

Prayer is not just us giving God instructions and information as we saw last time when we looked at supplication, but is a two-way conversation; it is communication. During prayer we can receive words from God as He speaks into our spirit words of guidance, comfort, and even conviction and rebuke concerning our sin. This is what Jesus meant about being His friend:

John 15:14-15
14 Ye are my friends , if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends ; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

He doesn’t just want to be a supplier of goodies, but also to make important things known unto us.

We are on a journey in life and we tend to vacillate from idea to idea. Some ideas are false notions and others are truth. During prayer, God can speak words of understanding and guidance into truth:

John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Eccl 12:11 The words of the wise are like prodding goads, and firmly fixed [in the mind] like nails are the collected sayings which are given [as proceeding] from one Shepherd.  [Ezek 37:24.] AMP

Solomon was a thorough researcher and teacher as we saw last time. He admitted that he carefully sought out the most appropriate words to clearly carry an intended message and word picture to his audience. Those carefully chosen words were like “goads.” That is an interesting comparison because a goad is a sharp stick used to prod reluctant and misguided cattle forward. Through my study of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, I have certainly had the words to poke in the back many times as if they were saying, “Hey thick-head—go this way!” Solomon was a master assembler/collector of words and sayings that could nail you right where you needed it, and continue to need it. Solomon reveals in this verse the true Author and source of inspiration for the wisdom he imparted—one Shepherd. The Amplified version correctly capitalizes Shepherd to note the reference is to God. Perhaps at the end of Solomon’s roller coaster journey of life, he was reflecting back to the day when He first became king and prayed to God, diligently asking for wisdom and then God appeared to him and granted that prayer.

The last time we discussed how prayer fits into the subject of worship. I mentioned that Gary Erickson divided prayer into three types: supplication, communication, and communion. Supplication is possibly the most common definition, or at least the definition most commonly thought of when we discuss prayer. Supplication means “petition” and describes the process of asking for provision for our necessities. When you make a request to God, you are involved in supplication.

Supplication is a very basic form of prayer and when neglected, results in unanswered prayers.

James 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

Jesus taught us to think of God as the supplier of our supplications when He instructed to ask:

Matthew 7:7-8
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Although the Bible is filled with promises of all sorts, God instructs us to connect those promises to specific needs through faith in prayer by asking.

Eccl 12:9-10
9 In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs. 10 The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly. NASU

Solomon the preacher, was something like a photographer or painter. He wrote about what he saw. The images he presented in Ecclesiastes were simply portraits of events as he saw them. That is why we refer to this book as his journal. Like his dad David, Solomon was also a prolific writer. His method of research is revealed here. This is good for all preachers to note. He “gave good heed” or “pondered.” That means to sift through. He sought out, sifted through, and studied many resources. Good preaching and teaching requires in-depth, time-consuming, and diligent research and the responsibility is not to be taken lightly or handled “off-the-cuff.” He “set in order” or arranged, made straight, the ideas and correctly used acceptable and delightful words. It was not slimy, oozy-goozy mush either. He spoke the truth! Do not be afraid to speak the truth in love. While a modern, pluralistic society fiercely resists claims of absolute truths calling it bigotry, that does not mean that such absolute truths are not absolutely true and in fact governing our lives and our universe. We can ignore and reject truth but cannot do anything against truth. Solomon said he sought to speak truth with delightful words. Be delightful but be true.