The Great Trade: Faith for Despair

1. Hossanna - Paul Baloche 2. What A Day That Will Be - Bart Millard 3. Majesty - GVB. When I Survey The Wondrous Cross- By: Isaac Watts.Hosanna - Selah. Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus - Bart Millard

1. Hossanna - Paul Baloche 2. What A Day That Will Be - Bart Millard

3. Majesty - GVB

Prelude . When I Survey The Wondrous Cross- By: Isaac Watts Communion .Hosanna - Selah Benediction . Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus - Bart Millard

Call To Worship Scripture

Matthew 21:9–11 ESV

And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Sermon Scripture

1 Kings 8:26–30 ESV

Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father. “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

A Wise & Joyful Life Lesson & A Better King

Faith for Despair

When reading the account of Solomon one begins with great hope. The son of David and Bathsheba, Solomon rises to his fathers position and begins his rule heading the counsel of his father David:

1 Kings 2:1–4 ESV

When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

1 Kings 2:1

1 Kings 3:3

1 Kings 3:3–9 ESV

Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes 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 a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in 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, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in 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?”

As for the early years of King Solomon we know that he,

loved the Lord

Walked in the statutes of David his father

Asked from God not things for self, but understanding to discern what is right

Each of these three things pleased God, including his seeking of wisdom or discernment of what was right:

1 Kings 3:10

1 Kings 3:10–14 ESV

It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, “Because you have 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 honor, 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.”

I would have you note than it was none of the previous three things that lead to Solomons downfall, though they each make the downfall all the more tragic.

It is right to love God, it was right for Solomon to head the counsel of his father and to ask for understanding and discernment was noble and pleased God.

I have heard it said, be cautious asking for understanding, look at what happened to Solomon. Friends, it was not godly understanding that was Solomons downfall. It was not wisdom to discern right from wrong, but rather the will to act upon it.

Godliness is the ability to know what is right and discern it from what is wrong. It is a careful observance of the laws of God. This is what Solomon asked for and it was right. But we are told from scripture that godliness is a means of great gain only when it is married with contentment. As a matter of fact when godliness or the observance of the laws of God is purpose for earthly gain, that is when the mind displays it’s depravity and that is what happened with Solomon.

The wisdom of God married with contentment in God is a great river of peace within ones self. However the wisdom of God married with discontentment in God is where despair takes over and haunts ones soul.

I spend time here because, I want you to seek out godliness. I want you to be discerning, and to pray for God to grant you His wisdom. I want you to see and know that as the blessing that it is. But I also want you to be aware that to obtain such wisdom and then seek another is the pathway to despair and depression.

Today however I want to focus on Solomons triumph, and the positive of his rule. Solomon, Israels third reigning King, was a King who new great success. The insight to his success is perhaps most clearly seen in his completion of the temples and his prayer to God. I highlight this so that you may see, that the most joyful state of Solomons life, the man of who there has never been another wiser, was before the throne of God in humble adoration.

It is here that Solomon prays a legnthy prayer, not of repetition but of depth in gratitude and regard for God.

Praise

Solomon begins as each prayer ought to begin, by giving glory to God. In this he addresses God as,

Lord (of Israel)

A God in covenant (with them)

The best of beings (“There is no God like thee”)

Recalls the faithfulness of God

It is a powerful, humble and joyous prayer and petition. Listen:

1 Kings 8:26–30 ESV

1 Kings 8:26-

Grace & Favour

And what is the grace and favor that Solomon ask? It is that the word’s that God had spoken would be confirmed. To be before God, to truly be before him, is not to be so wrapped up in ourselves that we cannot hear the words that He has spoken, but is rather to be so wrapped up in the goodness of who He is that we long for nothing but the completion of what He has spoken. In seeking such favor as the fufilled word of God, Solomon also petitions the forgiving nature of God, that his ear would not be turned away, but ready to hear and recieve the repentance of His people.

From this point

Application (Benediction)

After petitoning God on behalf of the people and their sin, Solomon concludes with a benediction:

1 Kings 8:54-

1 Kings 8:54–61 ESV

Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other. Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

This is of the most joyful moments that we see with King Solomon and it is in the very next chapter that we read God’s response to his prayer.

1 Kings 9:3–9 ESV

And the Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, by putting my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And this house will become a heap of ruins. Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore the Lord has brought all this disaster on them.’ ”

1 Kings 9:3-

Summary:

Love God

Walk in the Statutes of God

Seek God for discernment for right and wrong

Serve God as Lord

Remember your covenant relationship with God

Remember that their is no one & no thing greater than God

Remember the faithfulness of God

Petition God for His Word to be accomplished & His will to be done

Repent of your transgressions

Know joy, meaning, & purpose in life

This is what we learn from an obedient Solomon. This is what we learn from the wisest man (non-diety) to ever walk the face of the earth.

A Wise King, A Reputation & A Queen

Solomon in this was a good King, he was a successful King. The wisdom and success of Solomon was all founded in God. When you think of Solomon you have to think, highly successful king.

Solomons reputation grew so great that even other royalty would come to test him and witness his wisdom. In first Kings 10:1 we see this:

1 Kings 10:1 ESV

Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions.

Now the queen came to impress. She came with a rather large entourage as well as gifts. When she arrives she approaches Solomon and tells him all that is on her mind.

The result:

1 Kings 10:3–10 ESV

And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her. And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

1 Kings 10:3-

This is the success of Solomon in the Lord, though in a chapter he will turn away from the Lord. The point is, when one discusses a great earthly King, Solomon at the very least is in the running.

However I would invite you now to fast forward. Fast forward to the time of Christ. The Davidic covenant yet to be fulfilled. Yet the line of David has miracuously given birth to a man named Jesus born of the Holy Spirit. Jesus has clamed to be the Messiah, the fufillment to the Davidic covenant. However some scribes and pharisees are in doubt of this and they approach Jesus and ask for Him to give them a sign. He refuses because of their disbelief and speaks of the only sign being the sign of Jonah (the resurrection from the dead) and then he says this:

Matthew 12:42 ESV

The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

What is that? The queen of the South came to hear the wisdom that God had given Solomon. She came to see what God was doing in Solomon. And now that one who is greater than Solomon, the one who gave wisdom to Solomon is before the Scribes and Pharisees, they come not to believe but to trap.

As we remember Jesus riding in on Palm Sunday, our minds must be turned to who He is. He is the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant, He is the King who is greater than Solomon.

Matthew 21:11 ESV

And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Matthew 21:1–11 ESV

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Matthew 21:9–11 ESV

Matthew 21:

How is Jesus greater?

His Kingdom will never pass away and His temple is not made with Human hands:

Acts 7:48 ESV

Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

Acts 7:48–49 ESV

Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, “ ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?

Acts 17:24 ESV

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,

2 Corinthians 6:16 ESV

What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

1 John 3:1 ESV

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 Jo

Benediction:

Friends I want you to consider what you have heard this morning.

Solomons Joy

God’s Warning

The Queens Seeking

The Pharisees & Scribes hypocritical disbelief

The fulfillment of Jesus

The choosing of You

When I put all of this together, when I hear of the great things that God has done I begin with this:

What is my seeking? Do I seek in belief or in disbelief?

What is my joy? Is it found in Christ or being sought elswehere?

Then if I want to leave you with something church it would be this:

First: Seek God for wisdom, for understanding in how to govern His affairs for you. Remember: The wisdom of God married with contentment in God is a great river of peace within ones self. However the wisdom of God married with discontentment in God is where despair takes over and haunts ones soul.

Second:The greatest joy that one can ever find in this world is before the throne of God who is not of this world. Therefore: