Keeping our Promises

Intro

There is a famous parable of Jesus that a lot of you have probably heard before and it goes like this.

Matthew 7:24-27 NLT 24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

And this illustration really is timeless isn’t it? We understand the importance of a solid foundation; That nothing can remain standing if its foundation is weak.

The application here as that in our lives we will have to make a decision on what to build on, either God’s word, or our own wisdom, and if we don’t choose correctly it could mean the downfall of whatever it is we are trying to build.

When the wind, rain, and storms come they will erode the foundation and given enough time, that erosion will lead to collapse.

We are seeing it everywhere today aren’t we. The erosion of...

our institutions

govt.

education

Churches

our character

The way we treat each other

integrity

our values

right and wrong

what is moste important

meaning and purpose

All of these things are ultimately built on a foundation of their own, and that is the family.

You have heard me say it before that the family is the first institution created and ordained by God. Everything else in creation was meant to be built around and upon the family.

Think about it, it is in the family that we were meant to learn how to be productive members of society. The family is where first learned things like...

Conflict resolution

Manners

Dealing with our emotions

discipline

boundaries

modeling healthy relationships

learning what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

But if the foundation of the family is eroding, then inevidablly so will everything else that is built upon it.

And I don’t think anybody sets out to have their family fall apart, but the truth is, they are falling apart, at an alarming rate.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way, but like any structure, it has to be built on a strong foundation. And fortunately for us, God has provided the blueprints for that foundation in his Word.

So today we are starting a new 5 part series titled Downfall: Lessons from the Book of 1 Kings. Now I realize that the book of 1 Kings may seem like an odd place to do a 5 part series out of because it is primarily a historical record rather than a Gospel narrative or book of instruction.

But what makes it a great place to guide us through this series is that it is full of both good as well as bad examples of leaders who either led their poeple to their downfall, or through their actions prevented one.

The principles we will be discussing throughout this series will have very practical applications for us as we relate them to the way in which we lead our families.

Power in the Text

So to start things off this week with the first message of this series I want to give just a quick background of 1 Kings and really 2 Kings as well.

Initially 1 book, later split into 2.

Starts with passing of the throne from David to Solomon.

After Solomon the kingdom is split in 2; Israel (Samaria, north) and Judah (Jerusalem, south)

I and 2 Kings chronicles all of the kings of both kingdoms from Solomon on, around 20 kings each.

All northern Kings were wicked and evil and the south had 8 out of the 20 that were good. This is where we see the rise of the prophets of God.

They continue to warn God’s people of coming judgement if they don’t turn from their sin and honor God and his word once again. Eventually their time runs out and God brings judgment against them in the form of exile; North (Assyria), South (Babylon).

That is your Bible 101 rundown on 1 and 2 Kings.

For this particular message I want to turn to 1 Kings 1. Now before I read, you need to know what is happening in our text.

It all started with a promise. When Solomon was born, David made an oath and swore to Solomon’s mother Bathsheba and on oath to God that Solomon would be the next King.

However, toward the end of David’s life, as he grew older and became ill there was a coup attempt by one of his other sons named Adonijah. He sought to make himself King over his brother Solomon.

1 Kings 1:11-13 NLT 11 Then Nathan went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, and asked her, “Haven’t you heard that Haggith’s son, Adonijah, has made himself king, and our lord David doesn’t even know about it? 12 If you want to save your own life and the life of your son Solomon, follow my advice. 13 Go at once to King David and say to him, ‘My lord the king, didn’t you make a vow and say to me, “Your son Solomon will surely be the next king and will sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’

David in his old age, knowing that his time on earth was coming to an end responded to her concerns by saying...

1 Kings 1:28-30 NLT 28 King David responded, “Call Bathsheba!” So she came back in and stood before the king. 29 And the king repeated his vow: “As surely as the LORD lives, who has rescued me from every danger, 30 your son Solomon will be the next king and will sit on my throne this very day, just as I vowed to you before the LORD, the God of Israel.”

David, facing a very difficult situation knew that as King, and as a father mind you, he had an obligation to keep his word. That as a leader one of the most important things he would ever do is keep his promises, especially in light of all the promises that God had ever made and kept to him.

In fact you can see him reflecting on that fact here...

1 Kings 2:1-4 NLT As the time of King David’s death approached, he gave this charge to his son Solomon: 2 “I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. 3 Observe the requirements of the LORD your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. 4 If you do this, then the LORD will keep the promise he made to me. He told me, ‘If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’

David knew the risk in not following God’s word. He understood that if Solomon were to be successful as the king of Israel, he would need to keep his relationship with God intact and on the right course.

David challenges his son to “walk in obedience to him [the LORD], and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses” (v. 3). This exhortation will prove to be key in understanding the reasoning for Solomon’s success and the success of the kings who will follow.

The ability for a king of Israel —and consequently the nation itself—to find favor in God’s sight was contingent upon the king leading from God’s law.

In Israel the king or governement was never the source or creator of law but rather under it, for the old covenant law was imposed on king and people alike.

God’s promise is conditional on whether or not Solomon’s successors watched how they live.

And you know Solomon heeded his father’s words. The Bible says that like David, Solomon loved God and his word. So much so that when God came to him in a dream and offered him anything he wanted, Solomon asked simply for wisdom.

God was so please with him that he granted his request plus wealth and fame unlike any other King who had come before him.

Big Idea

However, over time for one reason or another Solomon’s focus and priorities shifted. He went from keeping his promise and following God’s law to committing idolotry and sacrificing to other gods.

He ended up marrying 700 wives and having 300 concubines who the Bible says turned his heart away from the Lord.

Solomon did not keep his word.

As a result of Solomon being unwilling to keep his promises, his legacy was the fracturing and eventual downfall of the kingdom that his father David had built. After Solomon, never again would Israel remain whole.

If we are to lead our families the way God intends, we must be willing to fulfill our promises.

Why it Matters

Like David and Solomon, we have to choose whether we are going to keep our word and our promises to our families.

We must take seriously the promises we have made. So many times, our good intentions will keep us from thinking clearly about our promises and what must come with them.

When we fail to keep a promise, it says to the other person that we don’t value him or her. We have elected to place something else ahead of our commitment. This can result in an erosion of trust in our relationships.

One of the biggest responsibilities that the family has today is to raise the next generation of disciples, but we struggle to do that because we have a weak credibility because we dont’ keep our word.

We have an integrity problem today. And this starts at the top. We have leaders who don’t know how to keep their word. They make promises they can’t keep and do things they said they never would.

So it is no surprise that those they are leading would do the same things. But if we aren’t careful, a lack of integrity will lead to a lack of trust, and without trust, we are leading our families to their downfall.

Application/Closing

So what do we do about it? How do we prevent, like Solomon, leading our “kingdom” toward their downfall?

Fight for the truth

First you have to know it, then you have to stand up for it.

The truth is rarely convenient and it usually stings a little. But our families need to see that as followers of Jesus, no matter how unpopular it may be, we stand on the truth of Gods word and not popular opinion.

If they don’t see us standing for the truth, then why would they?

Choose the right thing over the easy thing

Doing the right thing is rarely the easy thing. Don’t allow expediency and convenience to lull you into thinking that it isn’t worth the effort and time to do the right thing.

Recognize that being honest in the little things increases the chances we will be honest in the big things.

If you find that it is easy to break small promises, then eventually breaking the big ones won’t matter much either.

Integrity, honesty, and keeping our promises is essential to building trust in our families, and that trust makes for a strong foundation.

Then when the storms of life come, we will find that our families can survive them. We can prevent their downfall, but it will require us to keep our word.