Let's go to 1st Kings Chapter 3 together, and as you turn there,
maybe you're already there. The last verse of chapter 2
reminds us. That in chapter three we are
following the dramatic events of how the Kingdom of Israel was
secured under the control of Solomon, and those events that
led to the security of the Kingdom detailed how Solomon.
Removed 4 particular individuals who were direct threats and
rebels against the cause of God. And it was really an
illustration for us to see how, as individual believers in
Christ, we also have the call to neutralize sinful attitudes and
mindsets if you and I want to enjoy and guard the peace that
the Lord promises us. And that fundamental truth for
practical holiness will now be built upon with the lessons of
this new chapter. Chapter 3 is going to be a
window for us to see how Solomon now will advance the Kingdom
after he has dealt with the obstacles to his Kingdom.
This is a bright new day for the nation of Israel.
Especially with the promise that was given to David concerning
his son, how under his leadership there would be
unusual prosperity and unusual serenity.
And with this in view, we eagerly await to see how Solomon
will usher in this reality. And so we read the first few
verses of chapter 3 together. Verse one reads Solomon made a
marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt.
He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of
David until he had finished building his own house and the
House of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.
The people were sacrificing at the high places, however,
because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord,
Solomon loved the Lord walking in the statues of David, his
father. Only he sacrificed and made
offerings at the high places, and the king went to Gibeon to
sacrifice there, for that was the great high place.
Solomon used to offer 1000 burnt offerings on that altar.
Lord, help us see your glory. Help us hear your voice.
Help us be transformed and conformed to the image of your
son. Help us know the joy and the
peace that comes from loving your law.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
The Kingdom was secured in the hand of Solomon.
What is about to happen? All the possibilities are
endless, all the pathway to peace is now clear and verse one
is pretty anti climactic, isn't it?
Because the first thing that you and I read about Solomon's
decisions early in his reign is that he makes a marriage
alliance with Pharaoh, King of Egypt.
Question for you tonight, students of the Old Testament.
Is this a good thing or a bad? Thing Bad.
Good. You know your Old Testament
well. There are various reasons why
this decision that Solomon made was a grave mistake.
This is a disobedient act. This is prohibited by God.
And there is one other subjective reason why this is
wrong. Why would Solomon need to make a
political alliance with Pharaoh? What was Solomon promised by
God? What was promised to David
concerning Solomon? What was going to be something
that this government was to enjoy peace, not just
internally, but peace with what the surrounding nations.
Solomon did not need to do this, but he does it.
He does it anyway, and it makes you wonder why he would do this.
Why would he make this decision? And you get the feeling that
Solomon himself knew that he was going against the will of God by
pursuing this. What's the impression that you
get from how you read verse one that would give you that kind of
a clue? Solomon made a marriage alliance
with Pharaoh, King of Egypt. He took Pharaoh's daughter and
brought her into the city of David.
What's the next word? Until until he had finished
building his own house in the House of the Lord and the wall
around Jerusalem. Bad decision, but we still have
Solomon here with somewhat of a sensitive conscience for now.
For now, when it comes to 1st Kings Chapter 9.
And you could turn there to see what I mean.
Solomon chooses to do something with Pharaoh's daughter.
That's quite insightful. And 1st Kings 9 verse 24.
What does it mean? That he brought her into the
city of David until he had finished building what he needed
to build? It says here first Kings 924.
But Pharaoh's daughter went up from the city of David to her
own house that Solomon had built for her.
Then he built the Milo. So Solomon completes the
building of the House of the Lord, he completes the different
edifices that he needed to complete, and from there he
removes the daughter of Pharaoh to a distant place.
The reason I believe he does this is because he understands
that in marrying Pharaoh who was not just a foreigner, the
problem is not that she was a foreigner.
She was an idol worshipper. She was a Pagan he did not want.
Her immediate presence to be a defiling thing.
Once the holy things of God were established, He understood that
having her in close proximity was a problem, and so he even
premeditately right. He thought about this before I
will marry her. And when it comes to doing what
God called me to do and establishing and centralizing a
place of worship, I will now remove her.
I will remove her. And so he knew that there was
something wrong with this even before, and he might have
excused this marriage as a political alliance, but he
understood that down deep inside this was a violation to the
wisdom of God. And Solomon will show us down
the road that how once a soft and delicate conscience can
become hard and unfeeling. Something that might have
bothered you at one point may not bother you at all later on.
And I'm sure that Solomon had more reasons.
To justify why he did this, Was his father the best example to
him and how to marry a woman? No, not only the David had many
wives, he married a foreigner. Absalom's mom, according to
Second Samuel 3 three, was a foreigner.
And who is seeing all of this? Who understands the history of
his own father? Solomon surely?
And although David told Solomon near the end of his life.
Follow, cling, walk in the statutes in the ways of the
Lord. It's very difficult to convey
conviction, even godly conviction, true conviction upon
somebody when you yourself are not even convinced of that same
conviction. It holds no authority, It has no
grip. Ultimately, it has very little
influence. And this is what we're seeing
here. If David had just repented.
If he had. In exhorting him to walk in the
ways of God also said, listen, I I made a mistake in how I viewed
woman. I made a mistake and how I
viewed God's design for marriage.
Perhaps Solomon would have been influence for the better.
But there is no such thing recorded in the Word of God,
just a general exhortation walk in the ways of God.
And what is he? What does he?
Do the first thing he does is he marries an idol worshiper.
He justifies it. He knows it's wrong.
There's tension. He comes up with a plan to
excuse it, but it will prove to be the beginning of many more
mistakes in this area. As you know, it doesn't end
there. Look at verse 2.
Now the people were sacrificing at the high places, however,
because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord.
And then you read in verse three that Solomon loved the Lord
except that he also worshipped. At the high places.
Worship at the high places, good or bad.
Tell me why we know that marrying Pharaoh's daughter is
wrong. Tell me why worshipping at the
high places is wrong. This is how this is how the
false gods were worshipped. There was a sense in which the
higher you were, geographically speaking, the closer you were to
these deities. And so they would.
Put these stations where you would worship God and that you
would try to have a closer link to him in such a way not only
that it is directly denied by God himself.
He commanded against this very practice, And if you want to see
that, you have to go to the law itself.
In Deuteronomy 1213 and 14 and Deuteronomy 1213 and 14, the
Lord says that you shall not worship, you shall not sacrifice
at the place that you choose. But at the place that the Lord
will choose, that is where you will worship.
And we discovered that that place was early on the
Tabernacle. It would later on be the temple
itself. But when you read this, you see
that the people worship at the high places.
And the explanation for this kind of worship is here found in
verse 2, because no house had yet been built for the name of
the Lord. In other words, there wasn't a
localized official House of worship at this point in
Israel's history. There were two places that the
furnishings of the House of God were placed.
What was the 1st place anybody remember?
There was one place that most of the furnishings of the
Tabernacle were, and there was another place where one specific
article was placed. You find it later on in the same
chapter. The one place is Gibeon, the one
place is Gibeon where you had the altar and.
Everything else pretty much. And there was the ark of the
covenant that David brought to where Jerusalem.
He brought to the city of David. And so things are kind of
scattered and this was a way to justify the worship at high
places. And it seems as though the
author is excusing what they're doing until you come to verse 3
and you read about Solomon who loved the Lord.
And then he says here he walked. He was walking in the statute of
David, his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at
the high places. So Solomon is criticized for
this. He's criticized.
So then when you come back to verse two, you have to
understand, well, if Solomon is criticized and clearly it can't
be justified. Clearly here we have something
of a. Of a mystery of how is it that
you have the people that are worshiping at high places and it
seems to be excused, and then Solomon does it, but he's not
excused. Well, my conviction is that the
people are not excused if Solomon is condemned, and so are
the people if Solomon is in the wrong, and so are the people.
And it could be that Solomon as the king LED that example and so
the blame was put on him. And it could also mean that.
Although Solomon was commissioned to build the House
of God, perhaps he was not as urgent as he needed to be to
build the House of God. Yes, he does it very soon, but
perhaps this is an indication that he should have been much
more urgent and commencing that project and because of somewhat
of a delay, it gave room for the people to sacrifice at the high
places it's a thought to consider.
One thing that is clear though is that Solomon.
Solomon is in the wrong in the way he worships here.
But we're told he loved the Lord.
Solomon loved the Lord, only he worship and sacrifice at the
high places. How do we make sense of this?
We can't deny he loved the Lord, but based on the evidence
presented, it was not a wholehearted love.
It was a rudimentary commitment, but it was not a complete and
consuming one. And we all know what Solomon's
final spiritual state will be like in First Kings.
But many people don't know how it all began.
You know where Solomon's fall begins, right here.
First Kings Chapter 3. There are, there are already
cracks at the foundation of his faith.
Solomon here. Yes, he he has this love for
God, but he's not very careful with the law of God.
Here's what I want to tell you tonight.
The person who is not careful with the word of God today will
not be prepared for the temptations that await him
tomorrow. He's not careful.
He he is not wholeheartedly walking.
He loves the Lord, but there are certain things in his life that
he is permitting. Is it possible for a person to
have affection for the Lord and still allow compromise in their
lives? And perhaps you know somebody,
perhaps you even said this. You know that person loves God,
but they're doing these things that seem to contradict that,
love that. Devotion, that conviction.
And you can almost imagine what Solomon is thinking when he made
these decisions. OK, yes, I'm marrying Pharaoh's
daughter. But once it comes to the point
where you know, we get serious with this thing, then I'll
remove her and she won't be a problem.
She'll be, you know, out of sight, out of mind.
I know we're not supposed to worship at the high places, but
it's just for now. It's just for now.
Once we have the temple set up, we'll we'll we'll not see these
high places anymore. They'll become vacant.
They'll collect cobwebs. Is that what happens in First
Kings? Do the high places go away, or
then they become a perpetual problem for generations to come?
They do. When you find yourself having an
inner dialogue like that with clear sins, understand that this
is the language of compromise. When you begin to put terms and
conditions for blatant disobedience, or I'll only go
this far and I'll only stay here that long, and then I'll walk
away and then I'll stop and then I'll do right.
That is a set up for potential devastation for your life.
So when you hear those thoughts and you have that kind of
conversation with yourself, understand and remember Solomon
and we see here what happens next.
And the king went to Gibeon in verse 4 to sacrifice there, for
that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer 1000 burnt
offerings on that altar. 1000 a thousand of them.
And I know look what happens at Gibeon.
The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said,
Ask what I shall give? You you can't disassociate this
manifestation and this exciting opportunity that God grants to
Solomon. And the sacrifices that he made
leading up to it. Solomon makes this great display
and demonstration of devotion to the Lord.
And clearly it moves the Lord in a way to visit Solomon in this
manner and to invite him into this very awesome opportunity.
Why is that important for us to know?
It's it's a lesson to show us that God considers your devotion
to Him. He considers your sacrifice to
Him. He considers what you give him
what you don't give him. And it would be unfair for me to
say that just because we're all children of God by faith, that
we all experience God's blessings in the same way.
That's just. It would be equally unfair and
not right for me to say that your devotional life doesn't
impact. How God may manifest himself,
use you, do things in and through you.
God really does look and consider how we draw nearer to
him, what we do for Him. He he, he understands that, He
calculates that and it moves him.
So this is an exciting thing. This is not a condemning thing.
This is a picture of many pictures that God is a personal
being. And how we communicate our love
to him, namely through what he demands of us, really can
determine how we experience him. And this is where we kind of
feel tension, right? Because we just learned that
solemn made questionable decisions, very questionable
decisions. And yet God still chooses to not
only manifest himself, but say, ask what I shall give you.
How does that make sense? How does somebody who we just
read here make these very, very concerning decisions get an
opportunity like that? Well, all I can say is that
though Solomon had made questionable decisions at this
time, at this point in this moment, he's desperate.
He's desperate, and he is humbling himself.
And God in his grace is willing to consider how Solomon is
unloading his heart and will respond accordingly.
Because as you're going to find out, Solomon himself will even
admit, I don't know what I'm doing here.
I don't know what I'm doing here.
So at the same time there is an aspect.
Of God's grace here that he can even meet us.
He can, He can communicate to us, He can visit us when we're
not all together there. Another example that comes to
mind is Jacob. Jacob is on the run.
Jacob just finished deceiving his father, deceiving his
brother, and who shows up while Jacob has his head on a pillow,
which was really a stone God. God.
And the Lord now comes to Solomon and he makes this
incredible statement. Ask ask what I shall give you.
Not only is this an invitation, it's a test.
It's a test. This test is going to reveal
what's in Solomon's heart. What you desire reveals a lot
about you. What you long for says a lot
about who you are. What you pray for determines a
lot about your inner man as well, not what you pray for in a
public meeting. A lot of people have mastered
how to pray right in public meetings.
They know the right things to say what you pray for when
you're alone. How you relate to prayer when
you run to prayer says in large part a lot about our heart
posture towards God. If the Lord were to ask you
tonight, as you lay your head on your pillow and there's a
special visitation for Him, and he says, ask what I shall give
you, What would you answer with what comes to mind right now,
right now? Dollar signs ask what I shall
give you, and Solomon here is going to answer that.
And with that in mind, look at verse 10 quickly, because
whatever Solomon asked for, it brought about this result.
Verse 10, It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.
It pleased the Lord. It moved God.
It satisfied God that Solomon presented a certain request.
And if you and I desire to please God, then we will
consider not only what Solomon asked for, but the manner in
which he asked it. There are components here,
ingredients here that make this prayer so powerful as a model of
how we can know a fragrance and a fruitfulness in our communion
with God that can assure us his heart being pleased.
You know, Paul prayed an amazing prayer to the Colossians.
It was one of the first prayers that I memorized as a Christian.
It's in Colossians 19 to 10. You don't have to turn down
unless you want to. But this is what he says.
And so, from the day we have heard, we have not ceased to
pray for you. Asking that you may be filled
with all spiritual wisdom and knowledge in verse 10 so as to
walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.
Check this out. Fully pleasing to him, He didn't
just say pleasing to him, fully pleasing to him, the NS BS Nasb
says, Pleasing him in all respects.
That's what Paul was asking for. The Colossian.
Church, I'm praying that you would be completely in all
respects from head to toe and all your engagements, all your
activities, all your plans, all your relationships, that it
would ultimately please God. You know a lot of professing
Christians want to please God. At the bare minimum please God
just enough that you don't get in trouble with him.
That's not the kind of thing that Paul is asking for that you
would be fully pleasing to him. That's the heartbeat of a spirit
filled Christian Lord, I want, I don't want there to be 1 sliver
of my life that would grieve the Holy Spirit.
Not one. The way I talk, what I allow
hear, what I allow hear. What I do with this, what I do
with this, what I do with this. I don't want there to be 1 area
of my life that's not pleasing to.
I want to be fully pleasing to you.
And so if that's our desire, then let's consider Solomon's
prayer. Let's consider some of the
ingredients that made this pleasing to God.
Yes, it was ultimately what he asked for, but I'm sure there
are many things about how we asked.
So let's read this and I don't want you to point things out.
Look at verse 6 And Solomon said, you have shown great and
steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he
walked before you in faithfulness and righteousness
and an uprightness of heart toward you.
And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and
have given him a son to sit on his throne this day.
And now, oh Lord, my God, you have made your servant king, and
place of David my father, although I am but a little
child. I do not know how to go out or
come in. And your servant is in the midst
of your people, whom you have chosen a great people too many
to be numbered or counted for multitude.
Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern
your people, that I may discern between good and evil.
For who is able to govern this? Your great people.
It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.
I love that. Please the Lord.
Well, what stands out to you from these verses?
Yes, He's starting with Thanksgiving, my brother.
You got it? Yes.
You know what's fascinating? The Lord said, ask what I shall
give you. What does he didn't do?
Well, Lord, I want this and I want that.
Does he do that immediately or does he pause?
And yet that is actually point number one.
I have three that come to mind. 3.
Clear. Concrete.
The first thing that he does is he acknowledges God's
faithfulness and authorship. He acknowledges God's
faithfulness and authorship. Notice the attribution here of
God's steadfast love. Solomon said, You have shown
great love. You have shown great love,
sorry, great and steadfast love to your servant David, my
father. And then he goes on to say what
the second part you have kept for him, this great and
steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne
and say you have, you have, you have.
Given, given, given, Lord, you're the reason why my father
was successful. You're the reason why he was
able to do what he was able to do as a king.
And so this is David here, this is Solomon here rather looking
to the Lord and identifying his mercies and crowning him with
praise because of it. And that is a that is a factor
in our communication to God and with God, or commune with God.
That is, that can't be forgotten.
Worship, worship. Prayer is not merely
petitioning. There's praise in it.
There's looking to the Lord and lifting your heart to Him and
saying Lord, this is who you are.
Not because God forgot and he needs your lesson, but it's an
expression of adoration and it blesses him and it puts things
into perspective for you. Thanksgiving is not optional and
how we relate to the Lord, it's actually commanded.
Thanksgiving is commanded. In fact, the Psalmist says in
Psalm 100 verse 4, enter his gates with Thanksgiving, I mean
enter his gates. Meaning your introduction in a
sense should be in the front part of your mind.
You should not even consider it as a as a last thing, as a
forgotten thing, but as a primary factor of how you relate
to the Lord, thanking him, thanking him.
Paul told Timothy in First Timothy 2 this.
Every time I look at this scripture, it always convicts me
because Paul's telling Timothy how to run a church and one of
the first things that he tells him to do is have a prayer
meeting. What kind of priority do you
think prayer meetings have in many churches today?
First Timothy 21, I want you to see this.
He gives different categories of what a prayer meeting, a public
prayer meeting should include. And he says here, I urge you, I
urge you, this is urgent. He didn't say at the end of the
letter. Oh, you know what, Timothy?
I forgot? If you have time at the Sunday
service, throw in a couple prayers.
That's not what he says. He says here.
First of all, first of all, first of all, I urge that
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and what
Thanksgivings, Thanksgivings, a church together collectively
should know how to. With one voice, thank God we
thank you, Lord, We worship you, Lord, we acknowledge you, Lord,
We ascribe to you all, exaltation, all honor.
You're the one who's done all this and this person's life and
our church's life and my life. So Thanksgiving is included in
that. And then look what he says in
verse three of the same chapter. First Timothy 2-3.
Why is 1 motivation to give Thanksgiving?
Among many reasons, this is good, for it is what it is
pleasing in the sight of God. It pleases to see his children,
his servants, his redeemed, thanking him.
If we want to please God, if we have a personal relation to the
law, I want to please him. You please the people you love.
I want to please him. Lord, if me giving you thanks
pleases you, then so be it. I will thank you.
And Solomon models that, not just by thanking him for what
he's done in David's life. But acknowledging him what he's
done in his own life? Look at verse 7.
And now first kings three. And now, Lord my God, you have
made your servant. You have made your servant king
and place of David my father. You promoted me.
What did his brother ad? And I just said?
Now I will exalt myself and be king, right?
That's not what this man says, he says.
You made me king. And so I recognize that the
promotion that I enjoy today is a direct result of your goodness
to me. I do not deserve this.
And you know, Isaiah tells us that there are three things that
the Lord considers when he looks favorably upon a person.
It's very common passage of scripture in Isaiah 66 verse
two. What does Isaiah say by the
Spirit that the Lord does when He looks upon somebody?
What does He look for before He looks upon them?
There's three things. Anybody remember it says you're
he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word,
trembles at my word. But he says contrite in spirit.
You know what that Hebrew word contrite is?
It's the same word used to describe somebody who is lame in
their feet, somebody who is paralyzed, somebody who is
crippled and can't walk. That's the same word yours used
to say contrite in spirit. So what Isaiah is saying is the
Lord looks upon one who is humble and lame in spirit, in
other words, disabled and capable, admitting their
inability to do anything and achieve anything.
When a person confesses that they are in such a place, that
is where God looks and sees and considers and is ready to move
favorably. I'm paralyzed.
I'm paralyzed in the innermost part of who I am to perform
anything of value, anything of fruit, anything effective.
I can't, in the same way that a person who is crippled can walk.
I can't do what you've called me to do.
And what's so fascinating about Solomon's posture here is
because he already has the throne.
It's been given to him. And not only that, he's even
been told very nice things about his ability and he didn't even
consider it. You know, Solomon was commended
in a certain way. He was praised in a certain way
by probably the most important person on earth that he can
receive any commendation from his father.
His father said something to him right before he died and it
didn't get to Solomon's head. What did he tell his son Solomon
when he instructed him to remove those rebels that pose a threat
to his Kingdom? If you don't remember, go there.
And first kings. And look here in chapter 2 and
verse 9. This is David speaking to his
son Now. Therefore do not hold him
guiltless. And this is what he says to his
son. For you are what?
For you are a wise man. You're a wise man, Solomon.
That's a compliment. If you get that from a man after
God's heart, if you get that from King David.
I'm a wise man. I am a wise man.
Is that what Solomon says to God?
What does he say to God? He says.
Although I am but a little child, I don't know how to go
out or come in. He did.
He didn't take that. Too far into consideration.
He knew who he he was. He knew that he was incompetent.
He he was lacking experience that he was immature to an
extent to lead this great people.
So it comes before the Lord. Lord, it doesn't matter what
kind of authority I have here on earth.
The position, the ability that I I have access to doesn't matter.
Even what my father I said. God, God, you need to bless me.
I need your touch on my life. I need your enablement.
I need your favor. I need your grace.
And this is what God is moved by.
This is what God sees. A man so aware of his neediness,
I will move in your life. I will answer.
This pleases me when you acknowledge the reality of your
inadequacy. So it's more than just
passionate, pleasing and persistent prayer not being
known unless we believe God is the author.
Of all the blessings that we enjoy #2, it's admitting your
needed neediness. Not just acknowledging His
faithfulness and His goodness, but admitting your neediness
over and over and over, in all things at all times.
This is who God looks to, the one who is lame in spirit, the
one who doesn't get puffed up by what they've done with their
hands, how they arise somewhere, what even people say about him.
It doesn't matter. I can't preach this.
If you don't help me, I can't go up there and say anything of
worth until you help me. Despite the encouragement,
despite what people say, Lord, if your hand is not upon me,
then I'm like a little kid running around with a crown.
I have no idea what I'm doing. I need your help and that moves
God. I wonder if you parents pray
like that with the babies that God has given you.
Lord, you need to help me here. I wonder if you businessmen pray
like that. Or maybe you figured it all out,
right, because you're so smart. I wonder if you counselors feel
like that before you enter into a room with somebody who has a
case that perhaps you have seen and dealt with before.
But still, this is a person with unique qualities and unique
circumstances. Lord, if you don't help me, I
need you. I need you.
That's what moves God's heart to
come to the aid of a man. But we see something else here.
It's a third thing. Tell me if you can see it.
Verse 8 and 9. The first kings three.
And your servant is in the midst of your.
People whom you have chosen a great people too many to be
numbered or counted for multitude.
Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern
your people that I made discern between good and evil.
For who is able to govern this? Your great people.
The first thing is that he acknowledged God's faithfulness
and authorship. He he gave him thanks.
The second thing is he he's admitting his neediness and that
he can't do this without God. And there's a third and last
thing, based on the 2 verses that we just read, what is it
that stands out to? Yes, brother.
Yes, yes, absolutely.
Well, you're you're you're nudging.
You're nudging us into that last part.
Your people. Your people.
Your Sir. Yes.
There's no. Room for any other deities.
No room for any other God. Yes, that's right.
So he's acknowledging God as God.
He's ignoring himself as a servant.
But in let me give you a hint, in asking for a certain ability,
what is his motive? There's a responsibility, yes.
He's asking for wisdom. He's not asking for riches.
And yes, absolutely he's asking for the right thing.
It's one thing, though, to ask for the right thing.
It's another thing to ask for the right thing with the right
motive. James tells us that you ask, but
you don't have because what in what you're asking for.
You're desiring to satisfy your own passions.
I can ask for the right thing and not get the answer, because
in asking the right thing, I have the wrong desire and goal
behind it. Solomon here is not just asking
for wisdom. It's something that we should
all seek. But Solomon is asking it for a
certain reason, and the reason is twofold.
Our brother alluded to it. Your people.
This isn't my people. These are your people, God.
And I feel the tremendous weight of that responsibility, Because
if they're your people, then what I do to your people
ultimately determines much more beyond my own life.
Your people, they belong to you. It's your glory.
I need your help. Enable me for the sake of your
people and ultimately your name. So the third thing is asking
God's gifts with the right motives.
Not just the right things, the right motives.
And if I look to the Lord and I ask him for things that are even
prescribed in the word of God, things that I have access to,
that I also have to examine my own heart and say, Why am I
doing this? Why am I asking the Lord to
empower me in a certain way? Why am I asking the Lord to open
opportunities? Why am I asking the Lord to
provide me this or that? Because as James said, you can
ask and not receive. And one of the reasons why you
don't receive is because there are fleshly passions that are
buried underneath that you are ultimately trying to quench.
And God sees our hearts above all things.
Do I want to be known as successful?
Do I want to be seen as a spiritual celebrity?
Do I want to, through this answer in prayer, obtain
respect, power, Authority? You know Paul in First
Corinthians 14. He gave instructions to that
church. A very gifted church gifted in
the supernatural. He gave him practical
instructions of how 2 certain gifts should be operated in the
local congregation. The gift of tongues.
The gift of prophecy. However, I can't.
Tongues talk about tongues, please.
And I go into tongues. I want you to see a principle in
those few verses to see something as a principle for how
we seek the law for certain things.
My pauses in the context of the local assembly.
If you're to seek after anything, seek after which Gift.
Prophecy, do you know? The motive?
Why? Why does Paul want the church,
who are very excited about the gifts?
Why does he say I need you? If you want to?
I want to channel your your passionate desire for these
things, these manifestations of the Spirit.
I want you to pursue this particular gift because this is
the result of that gift, if it's operated rightly in an order.
Anybody know why? Very good.
And if you don't know it, turn with me there.
First Corinthians 14. Let's look at verse 3 to verse 5
and you will see Paul's repeated ambition in wanting the church
to be equipped by the Spirit in this way.
And it tells me something about God's heart.
If I am to be gifted, if I am to be empowered by him for what
reason? Well, let's look at it together.
Look at, let's look at verse 3 and verse five with that context
in mind, he says in First Corinthians 14, verse 3.
On the other hand, the one who prophecies speaks to people for
their up building and encouragement and consolation.
Keep up building in mind. Look at verse 4.
The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one
who prophecies does what builds up the church #2 Now I want you
all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophecy.
The one who prophecies is greater than the one who speaks
in tongues. Unless someone interprets so
that the church would what? Maybe what built up three times
in three in three verses, Paul says.
The reason why I want you to pursue this gift in the context
of the assembling of the Saints is so that you would build up
your brothers and sisters that they would be.
Strengthened, if the Holy Spirit is to gift you in a certain way
that they would be blessed, that they would be stirred towards
the Lord, that they may be edified.
And I looked at that, and I thought, when I read this to
myself, I said, Lord, as I'm seeking, because I, Lord, I do
want to serve you. I I, I, I know you've called me
to be present with other believers continually, but not
just present actively present. You've called me to serve my
brothers and sisters in some capacity.
So, Lord, do whatever you need to do me so that I can What?
Fill in the blank I can. What?
Then? That's where we have to pause
and say, why? Why am I asking the Lord to
furnish me? Why am I asking Lord to deposit
something in me? What am I asking for the Lord A
spotlight or for strength For my fellow brother, sister in
Christ? Not spotlight for me, strength
for them. I believe that's what moves
God's heart, that when he sees that your desire is.
As Solomon said, Lord, for the sake of your people, not so that
I can be known and praised as the wisest man.
He didn't even entertain that idea of being known as the
wisest man. Lord, for your people, I want
them to see Christ in me. I want them to love Christ more
because of me. You know, a person who truly
wants to be used by God will also ask God, Lord, let me
disappear as much as possible. Empower me as much as you can.
Empower me with, but help me be cloaked behind Christ.
As much as you can. I don't want to be seen.
I don't want to be. I don't want to be sought after.
I don't want to be called upon in any way.
I just want to be an extension of Your Grace.
I've tasted and seen how good it is to know you, and I want other
people to know you and whatever you need to do in me for them to
know, you let. It be done.
Let it be done. I'm persuaded that this is what
pleases God when we ask him. Acknowledge his faithfulness,
acknowledge his authorship. Admit your neediness and ask.
Yes, ask for those gifts, but ask with the right posture of
heart. Surely these are ingredients
that we can find throughout the word of God that please the
Lord. Notice one thing before we move
on. It was God who said to him, ask
what I shall give you, and then Solomon prayed.
It was Matthew Henry who said something quite insightful about
this truth. God is the one who presented the
invitation 1st and then that moves Solomon to pray.
And what he said is that the word of God excites prayer in
our lives. If you want to be more excited
about prayer, we'll look at the promises of God for those who do
pray. Because we look at this and we
see that this is an isolated incidence, right.
Ask what I shall give you. Almost like a genie that comes
up to you and says whatever you want, I'll give you.
Do you really believe that the Lord was going to give something
outside of the parameters of His will to Solomon?
No. You have the same promises
asking you shall receive seeking you shall find knock and the
door will be answered. Ask what do you know about God?
What do you know about what God has done in his word?
What do you know about what God is like?
How he honors the prayers of men?
What do you know about that that should cause you to say I need
to pray, I must pray. How can I forfeit the blessings
of prayer? Job tells us that it is the
wicked who say what prophet do men have in praying.
That's how the wicked thing. Wicked people don't see the
prophet and praying if. You don't believe it?
Read Job 21, Not making it up. And so the Word of God asks what
I shall give you. It ignites something in the
heart. It pulls on our hearts to come
toward him in the place of prayer.
If it was true for Solomon in this one moment, how much more
true with the full revelation of God's Word that we have?
I hope that you have a relationship with the word of
God in such a way that sometimes when you read it, you burst out
in praise. You know, there are moments
where I read just in my I'm not preparing A sermon anything.
I'm just reading. And when I read the word, I find
myself saying this from time to time.
I'm not being dishonest in saying that.
I say it all the time, but I find myself sometimes saying
things and reading the scripture where I'm there, quiet, alone
and I go, wow, wow, just stunned and amazed by God's word.
Stunned and amazed, reminded of something that I've highlighted
till I went to the next page. And yet I forgot it and here I
am because I'm reading through it again.
How did I forget this? Wow, because of this, but also
wow. Wow.
Lord, you're amazing me capture our affection again.
And so we see here that he says give your servant, therefore an
understanding mind. We read in chronicles that he
asked for wisdom in particular, and look at verse 11.
And God said to him, because you've asked this, and have not
asked for yourself long life or riches, or the life of your
enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to
discern what is right. Behold, I now do according to
your word. Behold, I give you a wise and
discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you,
and none like you shall arise after.
You I give you also what you have not asked.
Both riches and honors, so that no other king shall compare with
you all your days. And if you will walk in my ways,
keeping my statutes and my commandments as your father
David walked, then I will lengthen your days.
What does the Lord do? He gives even more than what he
asked for. You know that the Lord can do
that, right? He asked for one thing.
And He goes beyond the description of your prayer,
beyond your request, because that's just who he is.
He's good. And look what Solomon does in
First Kings 315 And Solomon awoke and behold it was a dream.
Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the
covenant of the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace
offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.
Where was Solomon before when he sacrificed 1000 offerings?
He was in Gibeon. God visits him and makes himself
known to him. And then Solomon is moved to not
go to Gibeon again, but to go to Jerusalem.
Why would you go to Jerusalem? What was that Jerusalem?
The ark of the Covenant. The ark of the covenant is that
Jerusalem symbolizing God's presence.
And it could be that Solomon was so moved by God's mercy and
grace and granting him his request, promising him that he
would be with him, that he didn't want to just be at Gibeon
where he can offer something. He wanted to be near God
himself. As close as he could.
And what God offered for men to be close to him was the Ark of
the Covenant, though he might have been limited even in that
it was as close as he could get. Which tells me something so
wonderful about what happens, What should happen when the Lord
dispenses something of himself should cause us to want to be
closer to Him. That's what Solomon shows us
here. If Solomon is already operating
in wisdom, it's showing right here that when God chose himself
to be pure. Good and perfect as he is, and
you get to taste that all. Let it draw you closer to him.
Let it bring you closer to him. Let it want you to be nearer to
him. And Solomon here, doing what he
should do in His worship, coming to the Ark, and loving him as
close as he can, will be tested in the same chapter to see if
this wisdom for the sake of God's people will really work.
Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this
Bible study and we pray that the wisdom through your Word would
have been engraved, would have been knitted in our hearts and
our minds. We ask, Lord, that we would give
you the worship that you deserve because of your goodness, that
through Solomon's example we would be motivated to come near
to you and say, Lord, thank you for being so good to me.
Thank you for leading me and providing for me.
Thank you. That where I am today is because
of you. And so, Lord, we just ask that
you would receive this fragrant offering, the sacrifice of
Praise Lord, for those who might be struggling in the area of
prayer. May they remember that it is as
simple as what we see here, just acknowledging you admitting our
need and asking with the right hearts.
Give us the right heart so that we can know all the answers that
you can give a man. And Lord, for the sake of your
glory and the good of others, help us be all that we can be in
Christ. Well, we see that these times
are dark and they are just shakings and birth pains,
reminding us that your return is nigh.
So help us make the most of this time.
Help us utilize the gifts that you have given us to make much
of your name. Lord, help us remove any
compromise, any little thing that we are justifying that we
have said to ourselves. It's just for now, and I won't
go too far. Like Solomon, help us see that
you've given us him as an example.
With how these small things that we tolerate can become big
things that were very difficult to remove.
And so, Lord, even if there's anything in our hearts, even
now, things that we're enjoying, things that we're allowing,
things that we're entertaining, that we know goes against your
word, but we have been at peace with it because of our
justification. Lord, let it die tonight.
Let it just lay you. Just lay it at your feet and ask
that you give us the power to put our foot on its neck and say
no more. I want to live consecrated and
wholly committed to the cause of God.
So that we want to love you, but not like Solomon.
That at this point we want to love you with all of our hearts,
all of our soul, all of our strength, all of our might.
You can help us do this. We will run in the way of your
commandments when you enlarge in our hearts in Jesus name.
Amen. Amen.
Saints, let's stand and worship the Lord.
Let's stand and worship the Lord.