Learning From Fathers

Intro

Happy Father’s Day. Take time to reflect on your dad. If you didn’t know your father, reflect on father figures. Praise God for those who have gone before us. Solomon needed to learn from his father, David.

Main Idea: Learn your father’s lesson

Solomon built the temple for the Lord to dwell and for sacrifices. We will see God give his approval and instructions on what’s next.

2 Chronicles 7:11-22

This passage is broken into 3 sections:

Section #1: God’s acceptance of the temple

Exp. God is good with Solomon using the temple for sacrifice. House of sacrifice. Verse 12. His eyes and ears will be attentive. Verse 15. Fiercely attentive to what happens there. Verse 16. House is chosen and consecrated. Set apart. His name will be there forever. Eyes and heart. Ezra is writing this. Focusing on the temple because he’s a priest. God’s name is attached to it forever.

Ill. Nike and basketball: Jordan.

God’s acceptance of the temple does not go without warning.

Section #2: Charge to Solomon

Exp. Solomon built the temple and is king. Verse 17-18. Here’s the lesson of your father, walk like David: repentance. He was obedient. Then God will establish. Learn the lesson.

App. Good fathers? Look and imitate. Bad fathers? Learn the lesson, and then find someone to look to.

Section #3: Warning to Israel

Exp. Charge to Solomon turns to warning for the nation. Verses 19-20. If you turn away from me, you will see my wrath. He’ll even get rid of the temple. What do we see? The temple was a place, but he cared for obedience. But then everyone would know: Verse 21-22.

Ill. See people outside and make up stories about them. God is saying that people will know!

What is the response? Verses 13-14.

Imperative #1: Humble yourself

Exp. Before the temple and worship, they must humble themselves. Lay down own desires and follow God’s. With this beautiful temple, God did not call for more construction, but humble hearts. Humility is appropriately seeing yourself in relation to God.

App. Humility is not: thinking less of yourself. Not: Ignoring your needs. Humility is: rooted in Christ.

Christ - Jesus displayed his humility on the cross, and he shares this with us.

App. Create a posture of humility.

Listen to the struggles of those around you.

Guard from self-righteousness.

Guard from self-loathing.

Imperative #2: Pray and Seek God’s Face

Exp. Intercede with the father. Presenting our requests, confessing sin, or just giving adoration to God. We ought to be a praying people. This is difficult for us. Prayer is intentional time to speak and commune with God. Prayer is an act of humility. Saying I’m dependent on God. God wasn’t for the idea of having a temple while having people who didn’t pray.

Christ - Jesus prayed to the father and taught us how. He would break away and find places to be with the father. Not in the temple. Tore the curtain so we could commune confidently.

App. Create a rhythm of prayer.

Pray with weight, not length.

True prayer is measured by weight, not by length. A single groan before God may have more fullness of prayer in it than a fine oration of great length.

Charles Spurgeon

Pray for more than requests.

Pray with honesty, not with churchy slang.

Imperative #3: Turn away from sin

Exp. God does not want a temple while his people are unrepentant. God desires for sin to be eliminated from us. These compile. We maybe aren’t turning from sin because we aren’t praying which means we may not be humble. God is not interested in your actions while sin reigns in your life.

App. Repent. Repentance is the ending of sin, turning away from it, and turning to God.

Ill. Christian going for a walk. I can’t control the cars, but I can help him navigate where he stands. Sinful nature is going to be there. We must be intentional about walking toward God and away from sin.

App. How do we do this?

Confession

Accountability

Eliminate sin

Christ - Jesus took our sin on himself. Jesus positioned himself so that sin would fall on his shoulders.

Conclusion

God’s response: I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. For the Israelites, this was literal. For us, he’s speaking of eternal things. God’s eyes, ears, and heart are all mentioned in this passage. He is a listening and attentive Father. We should humble ourselves, pray and seek him, and turn away from sin. Learn from our heavenly Father.