WEBVTT 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:13.199 2 Chronicles. That's in the Old Testament, not 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:15.580 to be confused with 2 Corinthians in the New 00:00:15.580 --> 00:00:20.559 Testament. 2 Chronicles. We were actually there 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:26.160 last Sunday as well. 2 Chronicles chapter 1. 00:00:27.780 --> 00:00:30.719 We're going to be talking a little bit this morning 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:34.820 about King Solomon. Some of you may know of King 00:00:34.820 --> 00:00:42.719 Solomon. He was the son of King David. 2 Chronicles 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:45.640 chapter 1. We're going to read through the first 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:50.259 12 verses, and then we'll kind of talk about 00:00:50.259 --> 00:00:52.140 just the last few of those. But to get a little 00:00:52.140 --> 00:00:54.539 bit of the context, we're going to read through 00:00:54.539 --> 00:00:58.280 the first 12 verses. 2 Chronicles chapter 1, 00:00:58.420 --> 00:01:05.519 verse 1. Solomon, son of David, strengthened 00:01:05.519 --> 00:01:09.260 his whole on his kingdom. The Lord his God was 00:01:09.260 --> 00:01:12.819 with him and highly exalted him. Then Solomon 00:01:12.819 --> 00:01:16.819 spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands 00:01:16.819 --> 00:01:20.480 and of hundreds, to the judges and to every leader 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:24.859 in all Israel, the heads of the families. Solomon 00:01:24.859 --> 00:01:27.560 and the whole assembly with him went to the high 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:31.000 place that was in Gibeon because God's tent of 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:34.170 meeting. which the Lord's servant Moses had made 00:01:34.170 --> 00:01:37.989 in the wilderness, was there. Now David had brought 00:01:37.989 --> 00:01:41.810 the ark of God from Kiriath -Jerim to the place 00:01:41.810 --> 00:01:44.349 he had set up for it, because he had pitched 00:01:44.349 --> 00:01:48.090 a tent for it in Jerusalem. But he put the bronze 00:01:48.090 --> 00:01:51.629 altar, which Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, 00:01:51.810 --> 00:01:56.230 had made in front of the Lord's tabernacle. Solomon 00:01:56.230 --> 00:02:00.530 and the assembly inquired of him there. Solomon 00:02:00.530 --> 00:02:03.629 offered sacrifices there in the Lord's presence 00:02:03.629 --> 00:02:07.450 on the bronze altar at the tent of meeting. He 00:02:07.450 --> 00:02:12.169 offered 1 ,000 burnt offerings on it. That night 00:02:12.169 --> 00:02:15.449 God appeared to Solomon and said to him, Ask, 00:02:15.689 --> 00:02:19.629 what should I give you? And Solomon said to God, 00:02:19.909 --> 00:02:23.050 You have shown great and faithful love to my 00:02:23.050 --> 00:02:26.330 father David, and you have made me king in his 00:02:26.330 --> 00:02:30.300 place. Lord God, Let your promise to my father 00:02:30.300 --> 00:02:33.759 David now come true. For you have made me king 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:36.819 over a people as numerous as the dust of the 00:02:36.819 --> 00:02:40.879 earth. Now grant me wisdom and knowledge so that 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:44.960 I may lead these people. For who can judge this 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:49.680 great people of yours? God said to Solomon, Since 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:52.819 this was in your heart, and you have not requested 00:02:52.819 --> 00:02:56.580 riches, wealth, or glory, or for the life of 00:02:56.580 --> 00:02:59.319 those who hate you, And you have not even requested 00:02:59.319 --> 00:03:02.240 long life, but you have requested for yourself 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:05.560 wisdom and knowledge that you may judge my people 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:09.099 over whom I've made you king. Wisdom and knowledge 00:03:09.099 --> 00:03:12.879 are given to you. I will also give you riches, 00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:16.280 wealth, and glory, unlike what was given to the 00:03:16.280 --> 00:03:19.620 kings who were before you or will be given to 00:03:19.620 --> 00:03:23.419 those after you. Let's pray. God, we come to 00:03:23.419 --> 00:03:26.000 you this morning. We thank you for these words. 00:03:26.860 --> 00:03:29.659 I pray, God, that your Holy Spirit would be with 00:03:29.659 --> 00:03:32.280 us today, that you would free us from the distractions 00:03:32.280 --> 00:03:35.240 and the worries and the things of this world. 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:38.659 I pray, God, that you would help me to be focused 00:03:38.659 --> 00:03:40.900 on you, dear Lord, that you would help my mind 00:03:40.900 --> 00:03:43.659 and my heart to be right this morning, to preach 00:03:43.659 --> 00:03:45.780 and teach in a way that brings glory and honor 00:03:45.780 --> 00:03:49.039 to you, that you take any pride or any fear that's 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:51.840 within me, dear Lord, and that today when I open 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:54.919 my mouth, God, that you are the one who does 00:03:54.919 --> 00:03:57.530 the talking. God, you know where we are in life. 00:03:57.650 --> 00:04:00.069 You know what we need. And I pray, dear Lord, 00:04:00.189 --> 00:04:02.229 that your Holy Spirit would just minister to 00:04:02.229 --> 00:04:05.289 us today through your word in these next few 00:04:05.289 --> 00:04:09.150 minutes. And I ask these things in Jesus' name. 00:04:09.849 --> 00:04:14.250 Amen. Now, David had been a pretty good king 00:04:14.250 --> 00:04:17.529 for Israel. Saul was the king before David. And 00:04:17.529 --> 00:04:20.250 Saul, he didn't even really start off on too 00:04:20.250 --> 00:04:22.089 good of a note. He had a little bit of a run, 00:04:22.189 --> 00:04:26.779 but was not really a good king. was a good king, 00:04:26.939 --> 00:04:29.560 but even David was not without fault. He had 00:04:29.560 --> 00:04:33.579 some serious moral problems, some things that 00:04:33.579 --> 00:04:36.459 he did, some sins that he committed. But nonetheless, 00:04:36.699 --> 00:04:39.839 David was a godly man, and that's obvious to 00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:43.319 us when we read the Psalms. We kind of can see 00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:46.949 the heart of David in the Psalms. I'll give a 00:04:46.949 --> 00:04:49.269 plug to our Sunday school class that is going 00:04:49.269 --> 00:04:51.449 through the Psalms for the next few months. If 00:04:51.449 --> 00:04:53.910 you haven't spent much time in the Psalms, I 00:04:53.910 --> 00:04:56.350 would encourage you to read them. You may find 00:04:56.350 --> 00:04:58.470 that you can really connect with those Psalms. 00:04:58.470 --> 00:05:01.129 It's some beautiful things in there. It's some 00:05:01.129 --> 00:05:03.870 beautiful praises to the Lord. It's some beautiful 00:05:03.870 --> 00:05:06.990 prayers, some cries for hope in the Lord. We 00:05:06.990 --> 00:05:10.610 can certainly... relate to who David was and 00:05:10.610 --> 00:05:13.610 the way that he praised the Lord sometimes and 00:05:13.610 --> 00:05:16.730 even in his failures. And David was a pretty 00:05:16.730 --> 00:05:20.610 good king and David had desire to build a temple 00:05:20.610 --> 00:05:22.990 for the Lord. Now you may remember earlier in 00:05:22.990 --> 00:05:26.110 the Old Testament that as God's people were wandering 00:05:26.110 --> 00:05:28.529 through the wilderness that God had given instructions 00:05:28.529 --> 00:05:31.250 for the tabernacle. It was kind of like this 00:05:31.250 --> 00:05:33.189 big tent that they would set up and it was very 00:05:33.189 --> 00:05:36.459 specific. that they had to sit up and pick it 00:05:36.459 --> 00:05:39.000 up and take it along with them. And up to this 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:42.079 point, they were still using this tabernacle. 00:05:42.259 --> 00:05:46.199 And David desired to build a temple for the Lord, 00:05:46.259 --> 00:05:48.259 but God said, no, David, I'm not going to let 00:05:48.259 --> 00:05:50.519 you do that. It's going to be up to your son 00:05:50.519 --> 00:05:53.339 Solomon that's going to do that. And so when 00:05:53.339 --> 00:05:55.899 we see this chapter, when we first start out 00:05:55.899 --> 00:05:58.779 here in 2 Chronicles, we're kind of reminded 00:05:58.779 --> 00:06:01.540 that the old system is still in place, that the 00:06:01.540 --> 00:06:04.670 temple has not been built yet. And Solomon is 00:06:04.670 --> 00:06:08.250 just beginning to start to reign as the king 00:06:08.250 --> 00:06:11.829 of the people. And so they're all gathered up. 00:06:11.829 --> 00:06:14.230 They're offering these sacrifices to the Lord. 00:06:14.310 --> 00:06:19.589 And the Lord asked Solomon a simple question. 00:06:20.230 --> 00:06:26.569 He asked him, he said, look, what should I give 00:06:26.569 --> 00:06:30.660 you? Now this is a... This is a fun question 00:06:30.660 --> 00:06:33.259 for us to ponder and think about. If we could 00:06:33.259 --> 00:06:36.459 have anything in the world, if we could have 00:06:36.459 --> 00:06:40.279 anything that our heart desired, what would we 00:06:40.279 --> 00:06:44.980 ask for? And here God asked Solomon, what do 00:06:44.980 --> 00:06:48.319 you want? Now, I remember when I was a kid, one 00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:51.279 of my favorite movies, so much so, and you might 00:06:51.279 --> 00:06:54.079 have had kids that did this too, that I knew 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:57.240 every word of the movie. Like, I literally could 00:06:57.240 --> 00:06:59.759 tell you every word of the movie, sang every 00:06:59.759 --> 00:07:02.899 song from it, and that movie was Aladdin. It 00:07:02.899 --> 00:07:06.439 came out in 1992, I think. And some of you probably 00:07:06.439 --> 00:07:09.379 had kids or grandkids that remembered that movie, 00:07:09.459 --> 00:07:12.060 but I loved that movie. And for those of you 00:07:12.060 --> 00:07:15.100 who have not watched Aladdin, it's a Disney movie. 00:07:15.180 --> 00:07:19.720 I'll tell you what happens. Aladdin finds a lamp. 00:07:20.170 --> 00:07:23.670 And in this lamp is a genie. And when you rub 00:07:23.670 --> 00:07:26.250 the lamp, the genie comes out, and the genie 00:07:26.250 --> 00:07:29.189 will grant you three wishes. Now, even if you 00:07:29.189 --> 00:07:30.970 haven't seen Aladdin, you're probably familiar 00:07:30.970 --> 00:07:33.930 with that idea of a genie in the lamp and the 00:07:33.930 --> 00:07:36.449 wishes that they will grant you. And Aladdin 00:07:36.449 --> 00:07:38.750 made his three wishes, and the first was that 00:07:38.750 --> 00:07:41.269 he wished to become a prince. And then there 00:07:41.269 --> 00:07:43.129 was an occasion where he was drowning, and he 00:07:43.129 --> 00:07:45.730 wished to be saved. And then, ultimately, he 00:07:45.730 --> 00:07:50.069 became good friends with the genie, for the genie 00:07:50.069 --> 00:07:52.550 to be delivered from the lamp, that he would 00:07:52.550 --> 00:07:56.269 be free. And so the genie was freed from the 00:07:56.269 --> 00:08:00.170 lamp. And so this idea of having wishes, and 00:08:00.170 --> 00:08:02.470 sometimes we think things like that, and we think, 00:08:02.550 --> 00:08:05.449 boy, if I had three wishes, if I had one wish, 00:08:05.569 --> 00:08:09.329 what would that wish be? Now, God certainly is 00:08:09.329 --> 00:08:13.350 not a genie in a lamp. And sadly, sometimes perhaps 00:08:13.350 --> 00:08:18.149 we don't respect God enough to realize that. 00:08:18.620 --> 00:08:20.899 I think for some people in this world, and maybe 00:08:20.899 --> 00:08:24.199 even for some in this room sometimes, we stop 00:08:24.199 --> 00:08:27.899 viewing God as God, the creator of the heavens 00:08:27.899 --> 00:08:30.560 and the earth, who has created us, who we live 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:33.279 to serve and to follow him and to be obedient 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:36.940 to him. Sometimes I think people view God as 00:08:36.940 --> 00:08:40.620 nothing more than a genie in a lamp, as though 00:08:40.620 --> 00:08:43.899 God exists to serve us. Well, that's not what 00:08:43.899 --> 00:08:47.039 the Scripture says. God creates us, and we exist 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:50.639 to serve God. But for some people, God is just 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:54.340 the big guy in the sky who I call on when I want 00:08:54.340 --> 00:08:57.919 something. And God, here's what I want. And some 00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:00.659 people treat God in just that way. They don't 00:09:00.659 --> 00:09:03.620 praise God. They don't live in obedience to God. 00:09:04.039 --> 00:09:07.259 They don't serve God. They don't fear God. That's 00:09:07.259 --> 00:09:09.629 the problem. Fear of God is the beginning of 00:09:09.629 --> 00:09:12.450 wisdom. They don't fear God, and they just call 00:09:12.450 --> 00:09:15.870 on God, and they pray or whatever they do. God, 00:09:15.950 --> 00:09:18.789 I want this. Would you help me to get this money? 00:09:18.889 --> 00:09:21.169 Would you help me to win the lottery? Would you 00:09:21.169 --> 00:09:24.509 help me to become famous? And then people get 00:09:24.509 --> 00:09:27.610 angry at God because those are the types of prayers 00:09:27.610 --> 00:09:29.950 that they pray. Those are the types of things 00:09:29.950 --> 00:09:33.129 that they ask for, and maybe us too. We need 00:09:33.129 --> 00:09:35.970 to look at our own prayer life. What do our prayers 00:09:35.970 --> 00:09:38.529 look like? God, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme. 00:09:39.210 --> 00:09:41.669 Now, don't get me wrong. God wants us to come 00:09:41.669 --> 00:09:44.190 to him with our request. I don't think there's 00:09:44.190 --> 00:09:48.450 any evil in saying, God, meet my needs. God, 00:09:48.590 --> 00:09:52.389 if I need a new car or if I need some new clothes, 00:09:52.509 --> 00:09:54.610 if my clothes are wore out, my car's broke down, 00:09:54.750 --> 00:09:56.830 I don't think that it's evil for us to say, God, 00:09:56.929 --> 00:09:58.870 I'm in a bind. These are things that I need. 00:09:58.909 --> 00:10:01.429 God, I got to get to my work. I don't think it's 00:10:01.429 --> 00:10:03.850 wrong for us to pray for the things that we need. 00:10:05.070 --> 00:10:07.230 I don't think it's wrong for us to pray in that 00:10:07.230 --> 00:10:12.210 way. But oftentimes the things we pray for may 00:10:12.210 --> 00:10:14.870 not be needs at all. They may just be wants. 00:10:14.970 --> 00:10:18.529 They may just be desires. And so we want that 00:10:18.529 --> 00:10:21.750 fame. We want that fortune. We want that glory 00:10:21.750 --> 00:10:24.330 for ourselves. And these are the types of things 00:10:24.330 --> 00:10:27.730 that as humans that we may be tempted to request 00:10:27.730 --> 00:10:31.480 of God. And if those are our requests to God, 00:10:31.500 --> 00:10:33.440 if that's what our prayer looks like, God, give 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:35.500 me, give me, give me, then we're probably not 00:10:35.500 --> 00:10:38.320 really being blessed in that. Sometimes people 00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:40.320 get angry. God, why don't you do what I ask you 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:44.000 to? Well, the scripture says maybe you don't 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:46.580 receive because you've asked with a bad heart 00:10:46.580 --> 00:10:48.879 so that you can use it for yourself. That's what 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:52.659 James chapter 4 verse 3 tells us. And so our 00:10:52.659 --> 00:10:54.700 prayer life should never just be God give me. 00:10:55.320 --> 00:10:58.720 It should be prayers of praise. It should be... 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:02.559 Thanking God for who he is. Yeah, make our requests 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:05.059 made known to God, those things that we need. 00:11:05.980 --> 00:11:09.799 But too many times we don't really view God as 00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:13.440 God. And we need to first establish that God 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:17.100 is God. There needs to be fear there. There needs 00:11:17.100 --> 00:11:20.279 to be some respect there. There needs to be the 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:24.169 knowledge that we know. That God is not our genie 00:11:24.169 --> 00:11:26.590 in a lamp. He does not exist to serve us, but 00:11:26.590 --> 00:11:30.470 he has given his son Jesus Christ for us so that 00:11:30.470 --> 00:11:33.690 we can faithfully follow and serve him and live 00:11:33.690 --> 00:11:38.110 for him. Now Solomon here is kind of faced with 00:11:38.110 --> 00:11:41.909 that idea, if we can call it that, that here's 00:11:41.909 --> 00:11:45.470 what I'm asking you, Solomon. What do you want? 00:11:45.590 --> 00:11:48.490 If I can give you anything, what do you want? 00:11:49.080 --> 00:11:51.259 And maybe that's a good question for us to ponder 00:11:51.259 --> 00:11:54.220 today and maybe this week. What if God were to 00:11:54.220 --> 00:11:56.139 ask you that question? What if God were to come 00:11:56.139 --> 00:11:58.120 to you tonight in a dream and he were to say, 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:03.120 what do you want? What would your answer be? 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:05.720 Now, I know what your church answer would be. 00:12:05.799 --> 00:12:08.639 You would say good stuff. Oh, I want to love 00:12:08.639 --> 00:12:12.500 people better. But what's really in our heart? 00:12:12.990 --> 00:12:15.929 What really do we desire? What do we focus on? 00:12:16.029 --> 00:12:19.389 What gets most of our attention during the day? 00:12:19.490 --> 00:12:22.049 That's probably a good indication of where our 00:12:22.049 --> 00:12:25.110 heart really is, what our focus is really on. 00:12:25.909 --> 00:12:30.330 And Solomon here really gave a beautiful answer. 00:12:31.009 --> 00:12:32.909 Now, he could have asked for anything. He could 00:12:32.909 --> 00:12:35.870 have said, make me the most powerful king, make 00:12:35.870 --> 00:12:39.610 me the wealthiest king. Destroy my enemies. God 00:12:39.610 --> 00:12:41.990 help me to live forever. He could have asked 00:12:41.990 --> 00:12:44.750 for all of these types of things that maybe you 00:12:44.750 --> 00:12:49.870 and I would ask for. But Solomon, he at least 00:12:49.870 --> 00:12:52.429 had a little wisdom even before he got to be 00:12:52.429 --> 00:12:57.929 king. Because he asked for wisdom. We see that 00:12:57.929 --> 00:13:00.149 in the last few verses. God said, what do you 00:13:00.149 --> 00:13:03.350 want? And Solomon said, look, God, you have placed 00:13:03.350 --> 00:13:07.049 me in charge of all of these people. It's a lot 00:13:07.049 --> 00:13:10.110 of them. God, this job is way too hard for me. 00:13:10.230 --> 00:13:12.830 I don't know what to do. I don't know how to 00:13:12.830 --> 00:13:16.190 lead these people. So God, would you give me 00:13:16.190 --> 00:13:20.159 wisdom? Would you give me knowledge? That's what 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:23.279 we see in the scripture here in verse 10. Now 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:26.340 grant me wisdom and knowledge so that I may lead 00:13:26.340 --> 00:13:30.279 these people for who can judge this great people 00:13:30.279 --> 00:13:35.440 of yours. Now that's a good request. How many 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:37.519 of us would that be our request coming into the 00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:39.340 building today before this scripture? Would we 00:13:39.340 --> 00:13:41.039 have thought, yeah, that's what I want to ask 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:43.299 for. I want to ask for wisdom and knowledge. 00:13:43.399 --> 00:13:45.019 We would have probably thought of a lot of things 00:13:45.019 --> 00:13:48.600 to ask for. But even in asking for that, Solomon 00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:50.679 shows that he has some wisdom. He says, God, 00:13:50.860 --> 00:13:54.639 I cannot do anything without you. I need you. 00:13:54.659 --> 00:13:57.539 So God, give me the wisdom to lead these people. 00:13:58.279 --> 00:14:02.330 And this pleased the Lord. And we see this. In 00:14:02.330 --> 00:14:05.490 the Lord's response in the next verse. Verse 00:14:05.490 --> 00:14:09.830 11. God said to Solomon, Since this was in your 00:14:09.830 --> 00:14:13.509 heart, and you have not requested riches, wealth, 00:14:13.690 --> 00:14:16.950 or glory, or for the life of those who hate you, 00:14:17.090 --> 00:14:19.970 and you have not even requested long life, but 00:14:19.970 --> 00:14:23.009 you have requested for yourself wisdom and knowledge 00:14:23.009 --> 00:14:25.210 that you may judge my people whom I have made 00:14:25.210 --> 00:14:29.190 you king, wisdom and knowledge are given to you. 00:14:29.789 --> 00:14:32.649 Now, that was a good request. God heard that 00:14:32.649 --> 00:14:35.429 request, and that was a request from a good heart. 00:14:35.529 --> 00:14:38.610 God said, because this was in your heart, because 00:14:38.610 --> 00:14:41.610 your heart is in the right place, that I'm going 00:14:41.610 --> 00:14:45.809 to grant your request. I'm going to give you 00:14:45.809 --> 00:14:48.610 wisdom, and I'm going to give you knowledge. 00:14:48.950 --> 00:14:51.429 Now, there's a difference between those two things, 00:14:51.529 --> 00:14:54.830 wisdom and knowledge. Knowledge is good. Knowledge 00:14:54.830 --> 00:14:57.669 is good, but what do you do with that knowledge 00:14:57.669 --> 00:15:00.299 that makes the difference? You see, we can all 00:15:00.299 --> 00:15:02.620 have knowledge. There's a lot of people in the 00:15:02.620 --> 00:15:05.799 world who have knowledge of God, who have knowledge 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:09.299 of the Word of God, but they don't fear God. 00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:13.159 They don't live by the Word of God. There's a 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:15.500 lot of times in our life as Christians that we 00:15:15.500 --> 00:15:18.779 know what God calls us to. We have a knowledge 00:15:18.779 --> 00:15:21.740 of it, but that knowledge does not do us any 00:15:21.740 --> 00:15:25.500 good if we don't put it into practice. If what 00:15:25.500 --> 00:15:29.220 we know, if we don't do what is right with what 00:15:29.220 --> 00:15:32.840 we know, then it fails to become wisdom. I think 00:15:32.840 --> 00:15:35.700 that's kind of what wisdom is. When you do the 00:15:35.700 --> 00:15:38.100 right thing based on the knowledge that you have, 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:41.899 that is wisdom. And so there's a difference between 00:15:41.899 --> 00:15:43.960 knowledge and wisdom. There's a lot of people 00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:46.519 in this world who are knowledgeable, but they 00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:49.860 may not be wise. Here's a good example, a good 00:15:49.860 --> 00:15:54.350 definition between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge 00:15:54.350 --> 00:15:59.070 is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is 00:15:59.070 --> 00:16:01.870 knowing not to put it in a fruit salad. There's 00:16:01.870 --> 00:16:05.690 the difference right there. So we don't want 00:16:05.690 --> 00:16:08.830 to just be those who have knowledge. We want 00:16:08.830 --> 00:16:11.470 to be those who take that knowledge, who have 00:16:11.470 --> 00:16:14.250 the knowledge of the Word of God and the example 00:16:14.250 --> 00:16:17.490 of Jesus Christ, and we want to live that knowledge 00:16:17.490 --> 00:16:20.960 out. We want to be wise and listen to what it 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:23.779 says and do what it says. And that's exactly 00:16:23.779 --> 00:16:27.940 what Solomon is asking for here. He says, God, 00:16:28.120 --> 00:16:31.200 I want wisdom and I want knowledge. And God says, 00:16:31.340 --> 00:16:33.320 because your heart is right, because this is 00:16:33.320 --> 00:16:36.059 what's in your heart, Solomon, I'm going to give 00:16:36.059 --> 00:16:39.480 this to you. And look what follows that. Not 00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:41.600 only does he say he's going to give him wisdom 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:46.200 and knowledge in verse 12. He says, Wisdom and 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:49.120 knowledge are given to you. I will also give 00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:52.659 you riches, wealth, and glory, unlike what was 00:16:52.659 --> 00:16:55.379 given to the kings who were before you or who 00:16:55.379 --> 00:16:59.440 will be given to those after you. So isn't that 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:03.039 a beautiful thing? That Solomon didn't ask for 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:07.519 the riches and the wealth and the fame, but nonetheless 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:10.079 God was going to bless him with that anyway. 00:17:10.440 --> 00:17:13.000 Now there's something to be said for wisdom. 00:17:14.310 --> 00:17:18.230 Wisdom oftentimes may lead to better choices 00:17:18.230 --> 00:17:20.349 that may result in some of those things, just 00:17:20.349 --> 00:17:24.910 wisdom alone. And so Solomon's wisdom certainly 00:17:24.910 --> 00:17:28.250 was going to help him, and I think God blessed 00:17:28.250 --> 00:17:31.089 him abundantly above and beyond what his own 00:17:31.089 --> 00:17:34.990 wisdom would have gotten because his heart was 00:17:34.990 --> 00:17:37.529 right, because he asked for a good thing, because 00:17:37.529 --> 00:17:40.869 he asked for a right thing. Proverbs chapter 00:17:40.869 --> 00:17:45.769 4 verse 7 says this, Wisdom is supreme, so get 00:17:45.769 --> 00:17:49.750 wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding. 00:17:50.910 --> 00:17:54.250 James chapter 1 verse 5 says, Now if any of you 00:17:54.250 --> 00:17:57.049 lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to 00:17:57.049 --> 00:18:00.690 all generously and without criticizing, and it 00:18:00.690 --> 00:18:06.210 will be given to him. So what are we asking for 00:18:06.210 --> 00:18:10.829 in our life today? That question is before us 00:18:10.829 --> 00:18:15.130 too. What are our requests to God today? Are 00:18:15.130 --> 00:18:19.390 we asking God for the things of the world? Are 00:18:19.390 --> 00:18:22.029 we asking God for things that are for ourself? 00:18:23.410 --> 00:18:28.589 Or do we fear God and seek him and seek knowledge 00:18:28.589 --> 00:18:31.150 and seek wisdom to live by what his word says? 00:18:32.690 --> 00:18:35.450 Maybe our prayers are not heard or not answered 00:18:35.450 --> 00:18:38.640 because the things we request are not from a 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:41.920 good heart, but from an evil heart. And we need 00:18:41.920 --> 00:18:44.839 to follow the words of James, that if we would 00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:47.460 seek God and we would seek him and we would ask 00:18:47.460 --> 00:18:51.359 him for wisdom, then we would receive that wisdom. 00:18:52.259 --> 00:18:55.019 So maybe we need to check our prayer lives. We 00:18:55.019 --> 00:18:58.319 need to check what's most important to us. Maybe 00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:00.859 there's too much foolishness in our life today. 00:19:02.140 --> 00:19:06.000 Maybe we need that wisdom like Solomon had. Maybe 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:09.519 that needs to be where we start. God, help me 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:11.380 not just to have some knowledge, but help me 00:19:11.380 --> 00:19:15.279 to have wisdom, dear Lord, that I make good choices, 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:17.500 that I make the right decisions, that I live 00:19:17.500 --> 00:19:22.299 in obedience to you and in service to you. And 00:19:22.299 --> 00:19:24.700 the greatest example of God's wisdom throughout 00:19:24.700 --> 00:19:29.779 all of Scripture is Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians, 00:19:29.940 --> 00:19:33.480 Paul says, look, the cross is foolishness to 00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:36.609 those who are perishing. But it is God's power 00:19:36.609 --> 00:19:39.609 to those who are being saved. And then he goes 00:19:39.609 --> 00:19:42.509 on later to say in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 24, 00:19:42.769 --> 00:19:46.109 Yet those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, 00:19:46.410 --> 00:19:53.430 Christ is God's power and God's wisdom. If we 00:19:53.430 --> 00:19:55.930 want wisdom, it must start with Jesus Christ. 00:19:56.880 --> 00:19:59.680 If we want wisdom, we can't live by the ways 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:02.680 in the world and the things of the world. And 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:05.519 to many people in this world, this message of 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:08.519 wisdom and the cross of Jesus Christ seems like 00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:11.839 foolishness. And I hope it's not any here today. 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:14.539 I hope that it's not any listening online. But 00:20:14.539 --> 00:20:18.440 maybe for much of your life, you've thought that 00:20:18.440 --> 00:20:20.779 God's word has sounded like foolishness. But 00:20:20.779 --> 00:20:23.700 maybe today God is speaking to you and he's helping 00:20:23.700 --> 00:20:27.160 you to realize that Without Jesus Christ, we 00:20:27.160 --> 00:20:30.440 are helpless and we are hopeless. Now, we've 00:20:30.440 --> 00:20:33.599 all made foolish decisions in our life. We know 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:37.940 where our foolishness gets us. And our foolishness 00:20:37.940 --> 00:20:41.140 in this case is going to get us separation from 00:20:41.140 --> 00:20:45.059 God for all of eternity. But the wisdom in Jesus 00:20:45.059 --> 00:20:48.880 Christ will bring with it eternal life. It'll 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:51.779 bring with it forgiveness of sins. It'll bring 00:20:51.779 --> 00:20:55.440 with it peace and joy. Those are the things that 00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:58.059 accompany salvation through Jesus Christ. Those 00:20:58.059 --> 00:21:02.920 are the things that accompany wisdom. There is 00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:05.319 nothing that feels worse than making a foolish 00:21:05.319 --> 00:21:08.759 decision. But there is nothing that gives you 00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:11.839 more peace than knowing that you have acted wisely. 00:21:13.099 --> 00:21:15.099 That you have done the right thing. That you 00:21:15.099 --> 00:21:17.799 have followed the words of God and the instructions 00:21:17.799 --> 00:21:21.420 of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit. It 00:21:21.420 --> 00:21:24.240 is a beautiful thing when we live in accordance 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:30.119 to wisdom. So maybe today we would fall into 00:21:30.119 --> 00:21:33.980 the trap of, if we could have anything, asking 00:21:33.980 --> 00:21:37.019 for things of the world. But what would benefit 00:21:37.019 --> 00:21:40.440 us more than anything is the wisdom and knowledge 00:21:40.440 --> 00:21:44.279 that comes through Jesus Christ. So may we follow 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:47.960 the example of Solomon today to seek God first, 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:50.720 to know that we are nothing without him, that 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:52.920 we will not be successful in anything that we 00:21:52.920 --> 00:21:56.759 do without him, but that we need his wisdom in 00:21:56.759 --> 00:22:00.420 every aspect of our life. Let's pray. God, we 00:22:00.420 --> 00:22:03.019 come to you. We thank you for your good word. 00:22:03.180 --> 00:22:05.559 I pray, dear Lord, that you would help us to 00:22:05.559 --> 00:22:08.859 learn from the beautiful example we see of Solomon 00:22:08.859 --> 00:22:12.410 in your word today, God. that you want us to 00:22:12.410 --> 00:22:15.630 bring your request to you this morning. And God, 00:22:15.710 --> 00:22:18.529 sometimes we may be guilty of being selfish in 00:22:18.529 --> 00:22:22.049 our request, dear Lord. Sometimes we may be guilty 00:22:22.049 --> 00:22:26.150 of not treating you with the reverence that we 00:22:26.150 --> 00:22:29.089 should, dear Lord. But help us never to look 00:22:29.089 --> 00:22:31.910 at you, God, as just one who is there to grant 00:22:31.910 --> 00:22:35.470 our wishes, dear Lord. That is not who you are, 00:22:35.569 --> 00:22:38.339 God. So forgive us if we've ever fallen into 00:22:38.339 --> 00:22:40.799 that trap. I pray, God, that you would help us 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:45.400 to fear you, dear Lord, so that we could begin 00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:49.720 to see what wisdom really is, dear Lord. I pray, 00:22:49.779 --> 00:22:51.559 God, that you would just be with us today to 00:22:51.559 --> 00:22:54.279 check our lives, to check our hearts, to see 00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:55.920 if there's anything that shouldn't be there. 00:22:56.039 --> 00:22:58.500 And I pray that you would just work in our hearts 00:22:58.500 --> 00:23:01.720 and transform our hearts to make us be more like 00:23:01.720 --> 00:23:05.240 Solomon was, that our heart would request things 00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:07.799 that are, that are better than the things of 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:10.759 the world, dear Lord. So I pray, God, today we 00:23:10.759 --> 00:23:13.599 would seek wisdom. I pray for anyone who does 00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:17.839 not know Jesus Christ, that they would realize 00:23:17.839 --> 00:23:21.339 today they're living in foolishness. And I pray 00:23:21.339 --> 00:23:23.299 that you would help them to seek the wisdom that 00:23:23.299 --> 00:23:27.880 is Jesus Christ and only in Jesus Christ. That, 00:23:27.940 --> 00:23:30.380 God, the cross was necessary. It is not foolish. 00:23:30.920 --> 00:23:34.099 It is your power. It is our hope, dear Lord. 00:23:34.859 --> 00:23:37.180 To know that Jesus Christ gave his life on the 00:23:37.180 --> 00:23:40.440 cross and was crucified so that our sins could 00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:43.359 be forgiven. So God, I pray that if there are 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:46.559 any that do not know that wisdom today, that 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:48.480 they would experience that wisdom right now. 00:23:48.539 --> 00:23:50.319 That they would repent of their sins and ask 00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:52.480 Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior. That 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:55.460 they would make that decision to follow him today. 00:23:56.380 --> 00:23:59.299 And God, I pray that you would help us. Maybe 00:23:59.299 --> 00:24:02.539 we have some knowledge of your word. But maybe 00:24:02.539 --> 00:24:04.680 we have not been putting it into practice, dear 00:24:04.680 --> 00:24:08.220 Lord. Maybe even in knowledge we've acted foolishly. 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:12.079 But God, we don't want to be those who know and 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:15.039 are foolish. But we want to be those who know 00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:18.900 and are wise, dear Lord. So I pray that you would 00:24:18.900 --> 00:24:22.079 bless each one of us here today. That you would 00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:24.019 pour wisdom out on us. That you would let the 00:24:24.019 --> 00:24:26.559 Holy Spirit lead and guide us. That we would 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:29.740 be able to discern what is of you, dear Lord. 00:24:30.599 --> 00:24:32.880 that we would be able to follow what your commands 00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:36.460 are, that we would seek you in everything, dear 00:24:36.460 --> 00:24:38.400 Lord, that we would know that you are our strength 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:40.960 and you are our guidance. And just as that was 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:43.400 the only way Solomon was going to be successful, 00:24:43.660 --> 00:24:46.559 God, that is the only way that we will be successful 00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:50.559 today. So I pray, God, that you would pour wisdom 00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:53.640 out upon us, that you would help us to be a people 00:24:53.640 --> 00:24:56.539 who seek your wisdom in all we do. And I ask 00:24:56.539 --> 00:24:59.079 these things in Jesus' name. Amen.