Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / 1 Kings 3 (Part 1) Bible Study (Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Transcript

1 Kings 3 (Part 1) Bible Study (Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

• 0:00
  Let's go to 1st Kings Chapter 3 together, and as you turn there,
• 0:05
  maybe you're already there. The last verse of chapter 2
• 0:08
  reminds us. That in chapter three we are
• 0:12
  following the dramatic events of how the Kingdom of Israel was
• 0:15
  secured under the control of Solomon, and those events that
• 0:21
  led to the security of the Kingdom detailed how Solomon.
• 0:27
  Removed 4 particular individuals who were direct threats and
• 0:31
  rebels against the cause of God. And it was really an
• 0:35
  illustration for us to see how, as individual believers in
• 0:38
  Christ, we also have the call to neutralize sinful attitudes and
• 0:46
  mindsets if you and I want to enjoy and guard the peace that
• 0:51
  the Lord promises us. And that fundamental truth for
• 0:57
  practical holiness will now be built upon with the lessons of
• 1:00
  this new chapter. Chapter 3 is going to be a
• 1:04
  window for us to see how Solomon now will advance the Kingdom
• 1:10
  after he has dealt with the obstacles to his Kingdom.
• 1:17
  This is a bright new day for the nation of Israel.
• 1:22
  Especially with the promise that was given to David concerning
• 1:25
  his son, how under his leadership there would be
• 1:28
  unusual prosperity and unusual serenity.
• 1:34
  And with this in view, we eagerly await to see how Solomon
• 1:37
  will usher in this reality. And so we read the first few
• 1:41
  verses of chapter 3 together. Verse one reads Solomon made a
• 1:48
  marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt.
• 1:51
  He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of
• 1:54
  David until he had finished building his own house and the
• 1:57
  House of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.
• 2:00
  The people were sacrificing at the high places, however,
• 2:04
  because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord,
• 2:09
  Solomon loved the Lord walking in the statues of David, his
• 2:13
  father. Only he sacrificed and made
• 2:17
  offerings at the high places, and the king went to Gibeon to
• 2:21
  sacrifice there, for that was the great high place.
• 2:26
  Solomon used to offer 1000 burnt offerings on that altar.
• 2:33
  Lord, help us see your glory. Help us hear your voice.
• 2:39
  Help us be transformed and conformed to the image of your
• 2:42
  son. Help us know the joy and the
• 2:45
  peace that comes from loving your law.
• 2:49
  In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
• 2:55
  The Kingdom was secured in the hand of Solomon.
• 2:58
  What is about to happen? All the possibilities are
• 3:02
  endless, all the pathway to peace is now clear and verse one
• 3:07
  is pretty anti climactic, isn't it?
• 3:11
  Because the first thing that you and I read about Solomon's
• 3:13
  decisions early in his reign is that he makes a marriage
• 3:17
  alliance with Pharaoh, King of Egypt.
• 3:21
  Question for you tonight, students of the Old Testament.
• 3:25
  Is this a good thing or a bad? Thing Bad.
• 3:28
  Good. You know your Old Testament
• 3:30
  well. There are various reasons why
• 3:33
  this decision that Solomon made was a grave mistake.
• 3:37
  This is a disobedient act. This is prohibited by God.
• 3:42
  And there is one other subjective reason why this is
• 3:46
  wrong. Why would Solomon need to make a
• 3:51
  political alliance with Pharaoh? What was Solomon promised by
• 3:57
  God? What was promised to David
• 4:01
  concerning Solomon? What was going to be something
• 4:06
  that this government was to enjoy peace, not just
• 4:12
  internally, but peace with what the surrounding nations.
• 4:17
  Solomon did not need to do this, but he does it.
• 4:24
  He does it anyway, and it makes you wonder why he would do this.
• 4:28
  Why would he make this decision? And you get the feeling that
• 4:34
  Solomon himself knew that he was going against the will of God by
• 4:39
  pursuing this. What's the impression that you
• 4:42
  get from how you read verse one that would give you that kind of
• 4:44
  a clue? Solomon made a marriage alliance
• 4:49
  with Pharaoh, King of Egypt. He took Pharaoh's daughter and
• 4:52
  brought her into the city of David.
• 4:53
  What's the next word? Until until he had finished
• 4:58
  building his own house in the House of the Lord and the wall
• 5:01
  around Jerusalem. Bad decision, but we still have
• 5:05
  Solomon here with somewhat of a sensitive conscience for now.
• 5:09
  For now, when it comes to 1st Kings Chapter 9.
• 5:14
  And you could turn there to see what I mean.
• 5:16
  Solomon chooses to do something with Pharaoh's daughter.
• 5:19
  That's quite insightful. And 1st Kings 9 verse 24.
• 5:25
  What does it mean? That he brought her into the
• 5:28
  city of David until he had finished building what he needed
• 5:31
  to build? It says here first Kings 924.
• 5:33
  But Pharaoh's daughter went up from the city of David to her
• 5:36
  own house that Solomon had built for her.
• 5:39
  Then he built the Milo. So Solomon completes the
• 5:43
  building of the House of the Lord, he completes the different
• 5:47
  edifices that he needed to complete, and from there he
• 5:49
  removes the daughter of Pharaoh to a distant place.
• 5:56
  The reason I believe he does this is because he understands
• 5:58
  that in marrying Pharaoh who was not just a foreigner, the
• 6:01
  problem is not that she was a foreigner.
• 6:03
  She was an idol worshipper. She was a Pagan he did not want.
• 6:09
  Her immediate presence to be a defiling thing.
• 6:12
  Once the holy things of God were established, He understood that
• 6:17
  having her in close proximity was a problem, and so he even
• 6:22
  premeditately right. He thought about this before I
• 6:25
  will marry her. And when it comes to doing what
• 6:28
  God called me to do and establishing and centralizing a
• 6:31
  place of worship, I will now remove her.
• 6:35
  I will remove her. And so he knew that there was
• 6:39
  something wrong with this even before, and he might have
• 6:42
  excused this marriage as a political alliance, but he
• 6:46
  understood that down deep inside this was a violation to the
• 6:50
  wisdom of God. And Solomon will show us down
• 6:54
  the road that how once a soft and delicate conscience can
• 6:57
  become hard and unfeeling. Something that might have
• 7:00
  bothered you at one point may not bother you at all later on.
• 7:04
  And I'm sure that Solomon had more reasons.
• 7:08
  To justify why he did this, Was his father the best example to
• 7:13
  him and how to marry a woman? No, not only the David had many
• 7:19
  wives, he married a foreigner. Absalom's mom, according to
• 7:22
  Second Samuel 3 three, was a foreigner.
• 7:27
  And who is seeing all of this? Who understands the history of
• 7:31
  his own father? Solomon surely?
• 7:34
  And although David told Solomon near the end of his life.
• 7:38
  Follow, cling, walk in the statutes in the ways of the
• 7:42
  Lord. It's very difficult to convey
• 7:45
  conviction, even godly conviction, true conviction upon
• 7:47
  somebody when you yourself are not even convinced of that same
• 7:50
  conviction. It holds no authority, It has no
• 7:55
  grip. Ultimately, it has very little
• 7:58
  influence. And this is what we're seeing
• 8:01
  here. If David had just repented.
• 8:05
  If he had. In exhorting him to walk in the
• 8:07
  ways of God also said, listen, I I made a mistake in how I viewed
• 8:12
  woman. I made a mistake and how I
• 8:14
  viewed God's design for marriage.
• 8:16
  Perhaps Solomon would have been influence for the better.
• 8:19
  But there is no such thing recorded in the Word of God,
• 8:21
  just a general exhortation walk in the ways of God.
• 8:26
  And what is he? What does he?
• 8:27
  Do the first thing he does is he marries an idol worshiper.
• 8:32
  He justifies it. He knows it's wrong.
• 8:34
  There's tension. He comes up with a plan to
• 8:36
  excuse it, but it will prove to be the beginning of many more
• 8:39
  mistakes in this area. As you know, it doesn't end
• 8:44
  there. Look at verse 2.
• 8:45
  Now the people were sacrificing at the high places, however,
• 8:51
  because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord.
• 8:55
  And then you read in verse three that Solomon loved the Lord
• 8:59
  except that he also worshipped. At the high places.
• 9:03
  Worship at the high places, good or bad.
• 9:07
  Tell me why we know that marrying Pharaoh's daughter is
• 9:12
  wrong. Tell me why worshipping at the
• 9:14
  high places is wrong. This is how this is how the
• 9:25
  false gods were worshipped. There was a sense in which the
• 9:29
  higher you were, geographically speaking, the closer you were to
• 9:32
  these deities. And so they would.
• 9:35
  Put these stations where you would worship God and that you
• 9:38
  would try to have a closer link to him in such a way not only
• 9:43
  that it is directly denied by God himself.
• 9:47
  He commanded against this very practice, And if you want to see
• 9:51
  that, you have to go to the law itself.
• 9:52
  In Deuteronomy 1213 and 14 and Deuteronomy 1213 and 14, the
• 9:56
  Lord says that you shall not worship, you shall not sacrifice
• 10:00
  at the place that you choose. But at the place that the Lord
• 10:05
  will choose, that is where you will worship.
• 10:09
  And we discovered that that place was early on the
• 10:12
  Tabernacle. It would later on be the temple
• 10:15
  itself. But when you read this, you see
• 10:18
  that the people worship at the high places.
• 10:21
  And the explanation for this kind of worship is here found in
• 10:24
  verse 2, because no house had yet been built for the name of
• 10:28
  the Lord. In other words, there wasn't a
• 10:31
  localized official House of worship at this point in
• 10:35
  Israel's history. There were two places that the
• 10:39
  furnishings of the House of God were placed.
• 10:42
  What was the 1st place anybody remember?
• 10:44
  There was one place that most of the furnishings of the
• 10:46
  Tabernacle were, and there was another place where one specific
• 10:49
  article was placed. You find it later on in the same
• 10:54
  chapter. The one place is Gibeon, the one
• 10:57
  place is Gibeon where you had the altar and.
• 10:59
  Everything else pretty much. And there was the ark of the
• 11:02
  covenant that David brought to where Jerusalem.
• 11:08
  He brought to the city of David. And so things are kind of
• 11:11
  scattered and this was a way to justify the worship at high
• 11:15
  places. And it seems as though the
• 11:19
  author is excusing what they're doing until you come to verse 3
• 11:23
  and you read about Solomon who loved the Lord.
• 11:26
  And then he says here he walked. He was walking in the statute of
• 11:29
  David, his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at
• 11:33
  the high places. So Solomon is criticized for
• 11:36
  this. He's criticized.
• 11:39
  So then when you come back to verse two, you have to
• 11:41
  understand, well, if Solomon is criticized and clearly it can't
• 11:43
  be justified. Clearly here we have something
• 11:47
  of a. Of a mystery of how is it that
• 11:51
  you have the people that are worshiping at high places and it
• 11:53
  seems to be excused, and then Solomon does it, but he's not
• 11:56
  excused. Well, my conviction is that the
• 11:58
  people are not excused if Solomon is condemned, and so are
• 12:02
  the people if Solomon is in the wrong, and so are the people.
• 12:05
  And it could be that Solomon as the king LED that example and so
• 12:10
  the blame was put on him. And it could also mean that.
• 12:15
  Although Solomon was commissioned to build the House
• 12:17
  of God, perhaps he was not as urgent as he needed to be to
• 12:21
  build the House of God. Yes, he does it very soon, but
• 12:25
  perhaps this is an indication that he should have been much
• 12:27
  more urgent and commencing that project and because of somewhat
• 12:32
  of a delay, it gave room for the people to sacrifice at the high
• 12:37
  places it's a thought to consider.
• 12:39
  One thing that is clear though is that Solomon.
• 12:42
  Solomon is in the wrong in the way he worships here.
• 12:46
  But we're told he loved the Lord.
• 12:49
  Solomon loved the Lord, only he worship and sacrifice at the
• 12:56
  high places. How do we make sense of this?
• 13:01
  We can't deny he loved the Lord, but based on the evidence
• 13:04
  presented, it was not a wholehearted love.
• 13:09
  It was a rudimentary commitment, but it was not a complete and
• 13:15
  consuming one. And we all know what Solomon's
• 13:21
  final spiritual state will be like in First Kings.
• 13:26
  But many people don't know how it all began.
• 13:30
  You know where Solomon's fall begins, right here.
• 13:34
  First Kings Chapter 3. There are, there are already
• 13:38
  cracks at the foundation of his faith.
• 13:43
  Solomon here. Yes, he he has this love for
• 13:46
  God, but he's not very careful with the law of God.
• 13:51
  Here's what I want to tell you tonight.
• 13:53
  The person who is not careful with the word of God today will
• 13:56
  not be prepared for the temptations that await him
• 13:59
  tomorrow. He's not careful.
• 14:06
  He he is not wholeheartedly walking.
• 14:09
  He loves the Lord, but there are certain things in his life that
• 14:12
  he is permitting. Is it possible for a person to
• 14:15
  have affection for the Lord and still allow compromise in their
• 14:18
  lives? And perhaps you know somebody,
• 14:24
  perhaps you even said this. You know that person loves God,
• 14:29
  but they're doing these things that seem to contradict that,
• 14:31
  love that. Devotion, that conviction.
• 14:35
  And you can almost imagine what Solomon is thinking when he made
• 14:38
  these decisions. OK, yes, I'm marrying Pharaoh's
• 14:42
  daughter. But once it comes to the point
• 14:45
  where you know, we get serious with this thing, then I'll
• 14:48
  remove her and she won't be a problem.
• 14:50
  She'll be, you know, out of sight, out of mind.
• 14:55
  I know we're not supposed to worship at the high places, but
• 14:57
  it's just for now. It's just for now.
• 15:00
  Once we have the temple set up, we'll we'll we'll not see these
• 15:03
  high places anymore. They'll become vacant.
• 15:05
  They'll collect cobwebs. Is that what happens in First
• 15:07
  Kings? Do the high places go away, or
• 15:09
  then they become a perpetual problem for generations to come?
• 15:13
  They do. When you find yourself having an
• 15:17
  inner dialogue like that with clear sins, understand that this
• 15:22
  is the language of compromise. When you begin to put terms and
• 15:27
  conditions for blatant disobedience, or I'll only go
• 15:32
  this far and I'll only stay here that long, and then I'll walk
• 15:36
  away and then I'll stop and then I'll do right.
• 15:41
  That is a set up for potential devastation for your life.
• 15:48
  So when you hear those thoughts and you have that kind of
• 15:51
  conversation with yourself, understand and remember Solomon
• 15:58
  and we see here what happens next.
• 16:02
  And the king went to Gibeon in verse 4 to sacrifice there, for
• 16:06
  that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer 1000 burnt
• 16:11
  offerings on that altar. 1000 a thousand of them.
• 16:17
  And I know look what happens at Gibeon.
• 16:20
  The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said,
• 16:24
  Ask what I shall give? You you can't disassociate this
• 16:31
  manifestation and this exciting opportunity that God grants to
• 16:35
  Solomon. And the sacrifices that he made
• 16:38
  leading up to it. Solomon makes this great display
• 16:43
  and demonstration of devotion to the Lord.
• 16:45
  And clearly it moves the Lord in a way to visit Solomon in this
• 16:51
  manner and to invite him into this very awesome opportunity.
• 16:58
  Why is that important for us to know?
• 17:00
  It's it's a lesson to show us that God considers your devotion
• 17:04
  to Him. He considers your sacrifice to
• 17:07
  Him. He considers what you give him
• 17:09
  what you don't give him. And it would be unfair for me to
• 17:13
  say that just because we're all children of God by faith, that
• 17:19
  we all experience God's blessings in the same way.
• 17:21
  That's just. It would be equally unfair and
• 17:26
  not right for me to say that your devotional life doesn't
• 17:32
  impact. How God may manifest himself,
• 17:35
  use you, do things in and through you.
• 17:39
  God really does look and consider how we draw nearer to
• 17:43
  him, what we do for Him. He he, he understands that, He
• 17:48
  calculates that and it moves him.
• 17:53
  So this is an exciting thing. This is not a condemning thing.
• 17:56
  This is a picture of many pictures that God is a personal
• 18:00
  being. And how we communicate our love
• 18:03
  to him, namely through what he demands of us, really can
• 18:06
  determine how we experience him. And this is where we kind of
• 18:09
  feel tension, right? Because we just learned that
• 18:13
  solemn made questionable decisions, very questionable
• 18:17
  decisions. And yet God still chooses to not
• 18:19
  only manifest himself, but say, ask what I shall give you.
• 18:24
  How does that make sense? How does somebody who we just
• 18:27
  read here make these very, very concerning decisions get an
• 18:31
  opportunity like that? Well, all I can say is that
• 18:35
  though Solomon had made questionable decisions at this
• 18:37
  time, at this point in this moment, he's desperate.
• 18:43
  He's desperate, and he is humbling himself.
• 18:48
  And God in his grace is willing to consider how Solomon is
• 18:52
  unloading his heart and will respond accordingly.
• 18:56
  Because as you're going to find out, Solomon himself will even
• 18:59
  admit, I don't know what I'm doing here.
• 19:01
  I don't know what I'm doing here.
• 19:04
  So at the same time there is an aspect.
• 19:06
  Of God's grace here that he can even meet us.
• 19:09
  He can, He can communicate to us, He can visit us when we're
• 19:13
  not all together there. Another example that comes to
• 19:16
  mind is Jacob. Jacob is on the run.
• 19:20
  Jacob just finished deceiving his father, deceiving his
• 19:22
  brother, and who shows up while Jacob has his head on a pillow,
• 19:28
  which was really a stone God. God.
• 19:34
  And the Lord now comes to Solomon and he makes this
• 19:37
  incredible statement. Ask ask what I shall give you.
• 19:46
  Not only is this an invitation, it's a test.
• 19:49
  It's a test. This test is going to reveal
• 19:51
  what's in Solomon's heart. What you desire reveals a lot
• 19:57
  about you. What you long for says a lot
• 20:02
  about who you are. What you pray for determines a
• 20:10
  lot about your inner man as well, not what you pray for in a
• 20:13
  public meeting. A lot of people have mastered
• 20:15
  how to pray right in public meetings.
• 20:18
  They know the right things to say what you pray for when
• 20:21
  you're alone. How you relate to prayer when
• 20:27
  you run to prayer says in large part a lot about our heart
• 20:31
  posture towards God. If the Lord were to ask you
• 20:36
  tonight, as you lay your head on your pillow and there's a
• 20:38
  special visitation for Him, and he says, ask what I shall give
• 20:41
  you, What would you answer with what comes to mind right now,
• 20:44
  right now? Dollar signs ask what I shall
• 20:53
  give you, and Solomon here is going to answer that.
• 20:59
  And with that in mind, look at verse 10 quickly, because
• 21:01
  whatever Solomon asked for, it brought about this result.
• 21:04
  Verse 10, It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.
• 21:09
  It pleased the Lord. It moved God.
• 21:13
  It satisfied God that Solomon presented a certain request.
• 21:20
  And if you and I desire to please God, then we will
• 21:23
  consider not only what Solomon asked for, but the manner in
• 21:27
  which he asked it. There are components here,
• 21:29
  ingredients here that make this prayer so powerful as a model of
• 21:34
  how we can know a fragrance and a fruitfulness in our communion
• 21:38
  with God that can assure us his heart being pleased.
• 21:45
  You know, Paul prayed an amazing prayer to the Colossians.
• 21:47
  It was one of the first prayers that I memorized as a Christian.
• 21:51
  It's in Colossians 19 to 10. You don't have to turn down
• 21:54
  unless you want to. But this is what he says.
• 21:55
  And so, from the day we have heard, we have not ceased to
• 21:58
  pray for you. Asking that you may be filled
• 22:01
  with all spiritual wisdom and knowledge in verse 10 so as to
• 22:05
  walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.
• 22:08
  Check this out. Fully pleasing to him, He didn't
• 22:14
  just say pleasing to him, fully pleasing to him, the NS BS Nasb
• 22:22
  says, Pleasing him in all respects.
• 22:28
  That's what Paul was asking for. The Colossian.
• 22:30
  Church, I'm praying that you would be completely in all
• 22:36
  respects from head to toe and all your engagements, all your
• 22:41
  activities, all your plans, all your relationships, that it
• 22:45
  would ultimately please God. You know a lot of professing
• 22:50
  Christians want to please God. At the bare minimum please God
• 22:54
  just enough that you don't get in trouble with him.
• 22:57
  That's not the kind of thing that Paul is asking for that you
• 22:59
  would be fully pleasing to him. That's the heartbeat of a spirit
• 23:06
  filled Christian Lord, I want, I don't want there to be 1 sliver
• 23:10
  of my life that would grieve the Holy Spirit.
• 23:12
  Not one. The way I talk, what I allow
• 23:16
  hear, what I allow hear. What I do with this, what I do
• 23:20
  with this, what I do with this. I don't want there to be 1 area
• 23:24
  of my life that's not pleasing to.
• 23:26
  I want to be fully pleasing to you.
• 23:30
  And so if that's our desire, then let's consider Solomon's
• 23:34
  prayer. Let's consider some of the
• 23:35
  ingredients that made this pleasing to God.
• 23:37
  Yes, it was ultimately what he asked for, but I'm sure there
• 23:40
  are many things about how we asked.
• 23:42
  So let's read this and I don't want you to point things out.
• 23:47
  Look at verse 6 And Solomon said, you have shown great and
• 23:51
  steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he
• 23:55
  walked before you in faithfulness and righteousness
• 23:58
  and an uprightness of heart toward you.
• 24:00
  And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and
• 24:03
  have given him a son to sit on his throne this day.
• 24:07
  And now, oh Lord, my God, you have made your servant king, and
• 24:10
  place of David my father, although I am but a little
• 24:13
  child. I do not know how to go out or
• 24:16
  come in. And your servant is in the midst
• 24:19
  of your people, whom you have chosen a great people too many
• 24:22
  to be numbered or counted for multitude.
• 24:25
  Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern
• 24:28
  your people, that I may discern between good and evil.
• 24:32
  For who is able to govern this? Your great people.
• 24:36
  It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.
• 24:39
  I love that. Please the Lord.
• 24:43
  Well, what stands out to you from these verses?
• 24:46
  Yes, He's starting with Thanksgiving, my brother.
• 24:54
  You got it? Yes.
• 24:56
  You know what's fascinating? The Lord said, ask what I shall
• 24:58
  give you. What does he didn't do?
• 24:59
  Well, Lord, I want this and I want that.
• 25:02
  Does he do that immediately or does he pause?
• 25:05
  And yet that is actually point number one.
• 25:07
  I have three that come to mind. 3.
• 25:09
  Clear. Concrete.
• 25:11
  The first thing that he does is he acknowledges God's
• 25:14
  faithfulness and authorship. He acknowledges God's
• 25:18
  faithfulness and authorship. Notice the attribution here of
• 25:22
  God's steadfast love. Solomon said, You have shown
• 25:25
  great love. You have shown great love,
• 25:28
  sorry, great and steadfast love to your servant David, my
• 25:30
  father. And then he goes on to say what
• 25:33
  the second part you have kept for him, this great and
• 25:35
  steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne
• 25:39
  and say you have, you have, you have.
• 25:41
  Given, given, given, Lord, you're the reason why my father
• 25:46
  was successful. You're the reason why he was
• 25:50
  able to do what he was able to do as a king.
• 25:53
  And so this is David here, this is Solomon here rather looking
• 25:56
  to the Lord and identifying his mercies and crowning him with
• 26:01
  praise because of it. And that is a that is a factor
• 26:06
  in our communication to God and with God, or commune with God.
• 26:10
  That is, that can't be forgotten.
• 26:11
  Worship, worship. Prayer is not merely
• 26:16
  petitioning. There's praise in it.
• 26:20
  There's looking to the Lord and lifting your heart to Him and
• 26:23
  saying Lord, this is who you are.
• 26:26
  Not because God forgot and he needs your lesson, but it's an
• 26:32
  expression of adoration and it blesses him and it puts things
• 26:38
  into perspective for you. Thanksgiving is not optional and
• 26:41
  how we relate to the Lord, it's actually commanded.
• 26:44
  Thanksgiving is commanded. In fact, the Psalmist says in
• 26:47
  Psalm 100 verse 4, enter his gates with Thanksgiving, I mean
• 26:51
  enter his gates. Meaning your introduction in a
• 26:53
  sense should be in the front part of your mind.
• 26:58
  You should not even consider it as a as a last thing, as a
• 27:01
  forgotten thing, but as a primary factor of how you relate
• 27:04
  to the Lord, thanking him, thanking him.
• 27:08
  Paul told Timothy in First Timothy 2 this.
• 27:11
  Every time I look at this scripture, it always convicts me
• 27:13
  because Paul's telling Timothy how to run a church and one of
• 27:17
  the first things that he tells him to do is have a prayer
• 27:18
  meeting. What kind of priority do you
• 27:21
  think prayer meetings have in many churches today?
• 27:25
  First Timothy 21, I want you to see this.
• 27:27
  He gives different categories of what a prayer meeting, a public
• 27:30
  prayer meeting should include. And he says here, I urge you, I
• 27:34
  urge you, this is urgent. He didn't say at the end of the
• 27:38
  letter. Oh, you know what, Timothy?
• 27:39
  I forgot? If you have time at the Sunday
• 27:42
  service, throw in a couple prayers.
• 27:44
  That's not what he says. He says here.
• 27:46
  First of all, first of all, first of all, I urge that
• 27:51
  supplications, prayers, intercessions, and what
• 27:57
  Thanksgivings, Thanksgivings, a church together collectively
• 28:04
  should know how to. With one voice, thank God we
• 28:08
  thank you, Lord, We worship you, Lord, we acknowledge you, Lord,
• 28:11
  We ascribe to you all, exaltation, all honor.
• 28:15
  You're the one who's done all this and this person's life and
• 28:18
  our church's life and my life. So Thanksgiving is included in
• 28:22
  that. And then look what he says in
• 28:23
  verse three of the same chapter. First Timothy 2-3.
• 28:26
  Why is 1 motivation to give Thanksgiving?
• 28:30
  Among many reasons, this is good, for it is what it is
• 28:34
  pleasing in the sight of God. It pleases to see his children,
• 28:41
  his servants, his redeemed, thanking him.
• 28:48
  If we want to please God, if we have a personal relation to the
• 28:50
  law, I want to please him. You please the people you love.
• 28:53
  I want to please him. Lord, if me giving you thanks
• 28:55
  pleases you, then so be it. I will thank you.
• 28:57
  And Solomon models that, not just by thanking him for what
• 28:59
  he's done in David's life. But acknowledging him what he's
• 29:02
  done in his own life? Look at verse 7.
• 29:05
  And now first kings three. And now, Lord my God, you have
• 29:09
  made your servant. You have made your servant king
• 29:12
  and place of David my father. You promoted me.
• 29:17
  What did his brother ad? And I just said?
• 29:20
  Now I will exalt myself and be king, right?
• 29:24
  That's not what this man says, he says.
• 29:26
  You made me king. And so I recognize that the
• 29:31
  promotion that I enjoy today is a direct result of your goodness
• 29:35
  to me. I do not deserve this.
• 29:40
  And you know, Isaiah tells us that there are three things that
• 29:43
  the Lord considers when he looks favorably upon a person.
• 29:47
  It's very common passage of scripture in Isaiah 66 verse
• 29:50
  two. What does Isaiah say by the
• 29:52
  Spirit that the Lord does when He looks upon somebody?
• 29:54
  What does He look for before He looks upon them?
• 29:57
  There's three things. Anybody remember it says you're
• 30:07
  he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word,
• 30:15
  trembles at my word. But he says contrite in spirit.
• 30:19
  You know what that Hebrew word contrite is?
• 30:22
  It's the same word used to describe somebody who is lame in
• 30:25
  their feet, somebody who is paralyzed, somebody who is
• 30:30
  crippled and can't walk. That's the same word yours used
• 30:32
  to say contrite in spirit. So what Isaiah is saying is the
• 30:35
  Lord looks upon one who is humble and lame in spirit, in
• 30:41
  other words, disabled and capable, admitting their
• 30:47
  inability to do anything and achieve anything.
• 30:52
  When a person confesses that they are in such a place, that
• 30:56
  is where God looks and sees and considers and is ready to move
• 30:59
  favorably. I'm paralyzed.
• 31:03
  I'm paralyzed in the innermost part of who I am to perform
• 31:06
  anything of value, anything of fruit, anything effective.
• 31:10
  I can't, in the same way that a person who is crippled can walk.
• 31:14
  I can't do what you've called me to do.
• 31:17
  And what's so fascinating about Solomon's posture here is
• 31:20
  because he already has the throne.
• 31:22
  It's been given to him. And not only that, he's even
• 31:25
  been told very nice things about his ability and he didn't even
• 31:29
  consider it. You know, Solomon was commended
• 31:32
  in a certain way. He was praised in a certain way
• 31:35
  by probably the most important person on earth that he can
• 31:38
  receive any commendation from his father.
• 31:41
  His father said something to him right before he died and it
• 31:44
  didn't get to Solomon's head. What did he tell his son Solomon
• 31:48
  when he instructed him to remove those rebels that pose a threat
• 31:52
  to his Kingdom? If you don't remember, go there.
• 31:57
  And first kings. And look here in chapter 2 and
• 32:10
  verse 9. This is David speaking to his
• 32:15
  son Now. Therefore do not hold him
• 32:17
  guiltless. And this is what he says to his
• 32:18
  son. For you are what?
• 32:21
  For you are a wise man. You're a wise man, Solomon.
• 32:28
  That's a compliment. If you get that from a man after
• 32:33
  God's heart, if you get that from King David.
• 32:37
  I'm a wise man. I am a wise man.
• 32:42
  Is that what Solomon says to God?
• 32:44
  What does he say to God? He says.
• 32:46
  Although I am but a little child, I don't know how to go
• 32:51
  out or come in. He did.
• 32:56
  He didn't take that. Too far into consideration.
• 33:00
  He knew who he he was. He knew that he was incompetent.
• 33:03
  He he was lacking experience that he was immature to an
• 33:06
  extent to lead this great people.
• 33:09
  So it comes before the Lord. Lord, it doesn't matter what
• 33:12
  kind of authority I have here on earth.
• 33:13
  The position, the ability that I I have access to doesn't matter.
• 33:17
  Even what my father I said. God, God, you need to bless me.
• 33:24
  I need your touch on my life. I need your enablement.
• 33:28
  I need your favor. I need your grace.
• 33:33
  And this is what God is moved by.
• 33:35
  This is what God sees. A man so aware of his neediness,
• 33:41
  I will move in your life. I will answer.
• 33:43
  This pleases me when you acknowledge the reality of your
• 33:47
  inadequacy. So it's more than just
• 33:51
  passionate, pleasing and persistent prayer not being
• 33:54
  known unless we believe God is the author.
• 33:57
  Of all the blessings that we enjoy #2, it's admitting your
• 34:02
  needed neediness. Not just acknowledging His
• 34:04
  faithfulness and His goodness, but admitting your neediness
• 34:06
  over and over and over, in all things at all times.
• 34:11
  This is who God looks to, the one who is lame in spirit, the
• 34:17
  one who doesn't get puffed up by what they've done with their
• 34:20
  hands, how they arise somewhere, what even people say about him.
• 34:23
  It doesn't matter. I can't preach this.
• 34:26
  If you don't help me, I can't go up there and say anything of
• 34:30
  worth until you help me. Despite the encouragement,
• 34:35
  despite what people say, Lord, if your hand is not upon me,
• 34:40
  then I'm like a little kid running around with a crown.
• 34:45
  I have no idea what I'm doing. I need your help and that moves
• 34:50
  God. I wonder if you parents pray
• 34:54
  like that with the babies that God has given you.
• 34:58
  Lord, you need to help me here. I wonder if you businessmen pray
• 35:03
  like that. Or maybe you figured it all out,
• 35:05
  right, because you're so smart. I wonder if you counselors feel
• 35:11
  like that before you enter into a room with somebody who has a
• 35:13
  case that perhaps you have seen and dealt with before.
• 35:15
  But still, this is a person with unique qualities and unique
• 35:19
  circumstances. Lord, if you don't help me, I
• 35:21
  need you. I need you.
• 35:23
  I need you. That's what moves God's heart to
• 35:28
  come to the aid of a man. But we see something else here.
• 35:32
  It's a third thing. Tell me if you can see it.
• 35:38
  Verse 8 and 9. The first kings three.
• 35:41
  And your servant is in the midst of your.
• 35:43
  People whom you have chosen a great people too many to be
• 35:46
  numbered or counted for multitude.
• 35:48
  Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern
• 35:52
  your people that I made discern between good and evil.
• 35:55
  For who is able to govern this? Your great people.
• 35:56
  The first thing is that he acknowledged God's faithfulness
• 35:59
  and authorship. He he gave him thanks.
• 36:01
  The second thing is he he's admitting his neediness and that
• 36:05
  he can't do this without God. And there's a third and last
• 36:07
  thing, based on the 2 verses that we just read, what is it
• 36:10
  that stands out to? Yes, brother.
• 36:16
  Yes, yes, absolutely.
• 36:29
  Well, you're you're you're nudging.
• 36:30
  You're nudging us into that last part.
• 36:34
  Your people. Your people.
• 36:37
  Your Sir. Yes.
• 36:38
  There's no. Room for any other deities.
• 36:40
  No room for any other God. Yes, that's right.
• 36:42
  So he's acknowledging God as God.
• 36:43
  He's ignoring himself as a servant.
• 36:45
  But in let me give you a hint, in asking for a certain ability,
• 36:50
  what is his motive? There's a responsibility, yes.
• 36:56
  He's asking for wisdom. He's not asking for riches.
• 37:00
  And yes, absolutely he's asking for the right thing.
• 37:03
  It's one thing, though, to ask for the right thing.
• 37:05
  It's another thing to ask for the right thing with the right
• 37:07
  motive. James tells us that you ask, but
• 37:11
  you don't have because what in what you're asking for.
• 37:15
  You're desiring to satisfy your own passions.
• 37:18
  I can ask for the right thing and not get the answer, because
• 37:21
  in asking the right thing, I have the wrong desire and goal
• 37:25
  behind it. Solomon here is not just asking
• 37:29
  for wisdom. It's something that we should
• 37:30
  all seek. But Solomon is asking it for a
• 37:32
  certain reason, and the reason is twofold.
• 37:35
  Our brother alluded to it. Your people.
• 37:37
  This isn't my people. These are your people, God.
• 37:40
  And I feel the tremendous weight of that responsibility, Because
• 37:43
  if they're your people, then what I do to your people
• 37:46
  ultimately determines much more beyond my own life.
• 37:49
  Your people, they belong to you. It's your glory.
• 37:53
  I need your help. Enable me for the sake of your
• 37:57
  people and ultimately your name. So the third thing is asking
• 38:04
  God's gifts with the right motives.
• 38:10
  Not just the right things, the right motives.
• 38:14
  And if I look to the Lord and I ask him for things that are even
• 38:18
  prescribed in the word of God, things that I have access to,
• 38:21
  that I also have to examine my own heart and say, Why am I
• 38:24
  doing this? Why am I asking the Lord to
• 38:27
  empower me in a certain way? Why am I asking the Lord to open
• 38:32
  opportunities? Why am I asking the Lord to
• 38:34
  provide me this or that? Because as James said, you can
• 38:39
  ask and not receive. And one of the reasons why you
• 38:42
  don't receive is because there are fleshly passions that are
• 38:46
  buried underneath that you are ultimately trying to quench.
• 38:50
  And God sees our hearts above all things.
• 38:54
  Do I want to be known as successful?
• 38:58
  Do I want to be seen as a spiritual celebrity?
• 39:01
  Do I want to, through this answer in prayer, obtain
• 39:04
  respect, power, Authority? You know Paul in First
• 39:11
  Corinthians 14. He gave instructions to that
• 39:13
  church. A very gifted church gifted in
• 39:15
  the supernatural. He gave him practical
• 39:17
  instructions of how 2 certain gifts should be operated in the
• 39:20
  local congregation. The gift of tongues.
• 39:23
  The gift of prophecy. However, I can't.
• 39:25
  Tongues talk about tongues, please.
• 39:27
  And I go into tongues. I want you to see a principle in
• 39:30
  those few verses to see something as a principle for how
• 39:34
  we seek the law for certain things.
• 39:36
  My pauses in the context of the local assembly.
• 39:39
  If you're to seek after anything, seek after which Gift.
• 39:44
  Prophecy, do you know? The motive?
• 39:46
  Why? Why does Paul want the church,
• 39:50
  who are very excited about the gifts?
• 39:54
  Why does he say I need you? If you want to?
• 39:56
  I want to channel your your passionate desire for these
• 40:00
  things, these manifestations of the Spirit.
• 40:01
  I want you to pursue this particular gift because this is
• 40:05
  the result of that gift, if it's operated rightly in an order.
• 40:09
  Anybody know why? Very good.
• 40:12
  And if you don't know it, turn with me there.
• 40:14
  First Corinthians 14. Let's look at verse 3 to verse 5
• 40:16
  and you will see Paul's repeated ambition in wanting the church
• 40:20
  to be equipped by the Spirit in this way.
• 40:23
  And it tells me something about God's heart.
• 40:26
  If I am to be gifted, if I am to be empowered by him for what
• 40:29
  reason? Well, let's look at it together.
• 40:32
  Look at, let's look at verse 3 and verse five with that context
• 40:35
  in mind, he says in First Corinthians 14, verse 3.
• 40:37
  On the other hand, the one who prophecies speaks to people for
• 40:42
  their up building and encouragement and consolation.
• 40:46
  Keep up building in mind. Look at verse 4.
• 40:49
  The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one
• 40:54
  who prophecies does what builds up the church #2 Now I want you
• 41:00
  all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophecy.
• 41:04
  The one who prophecies is greater than the one who speaks
• 41:07
  in tongues. Unless someone interprets so
• 41:10
  that the church would what? Maybe what built up three times
• 41:15
  in three in three verses, Paul says.
• 41:17
  The reason why I want you to pursue this gift in the context
• 41:20
  of the assembling of the Saints is so that you would build up
• 41:23
  your brothers and sisters that they would be.
• 41:28
  Strengthened, if the Holy Spirit is to gift you in a certain way
• 41:32
  that they would be blessed, that they would be stirred towards
• 41:36
  the Lord, that they may be edified.
• 41:41
  And I looked at that, and I thought, when I read this to
• 41:43
  myself, I said, Lord, as I'm seeking, because I, Lord, I do
• 41:48
  want to serve you. I I, I, I know you've called me
• 41:51
  to be present with other believers continually, but not
• 41:54
  just present actively present. You've called me to serve my
• 41:59
  brothers and sisters in some capacity.
• 42:01
  So, Lord, do whatever you need to do me so that I can What?
• 42:06
  Fill in the blank I can. What?
• 42:07
  Then? That's where we have to pause
• 42:08
  and say, why? Why am I asking the Lord to
• 42:10
  furnish me? Why am I asking Lord to deposit
• 42:13
  something in me? What am I asking for the Lord A
• 42:15
  spotlight or for strength For my fellow brother, sister in
• 42:24
  Christ? Not spotlight for me, strength
• 42:27
  for them. I believe that's what moves
• 42:30
  God's heart, that when he sees that your desire is.
• 42:35
  As Solomon said, Lord, for the sake of your people, not so that
• 42:38
  I can be known and praised as the wisest man.
• 42:40
  He didn't even entertain that idea of being known as the
• 42:43
  wisest man. Lord, for your people, I want
• 42:47
  them to see Christ in me. I want them to love Christ more
• 42:51
  because of me. You know, a person who truly
• 42:54
  wants to be used by God will also ask God, Lord, let me
• 42:56
  disappear as much as possible. Empower me as much as you can.
• 43:00
  Empower me with, but help me be cloaked behind Christ.
• 43:03
  As much as you can. I don't want to be seen.
• 43:06
  I don't want to be. I don't want to be sought after.
• 43:07
  I don't want to be called upon in any way.
• 43:09
  I just want to be an extension of Your Grace.
• 43:12
  I've tasted and seen how good it is to know you, and I want other
• 43:14
  people to know you and whatever you need to do in me for them to
• 43:17
  know, you let. It be done.
• 43:19
  Let it be done. I'm persuaded that this is what
• 43:23
  pleases God when we ask him. Acknowledge his faithfulness,
• 43:29
  acknowledge his authorship. Admit your neediness and ask.
• 43:33
  Yes, ask for those gifts, but ask with the right posture of
• 43:36
  heart. Surely these are ingredients
• 43:39
  that we can find throughout the word of God that please the
• 43:42
  Lord. Notice one thing before we move
• 43:46
  on. It was God who said to him, ask
• 43:50
  what I shall give you, and then Solomon prayed.
• 43:54
  It was Matthew Henry who said something quite insightful about
• 43:56
  this truth. God is the one who presented the
• 43:59
  invitation 1st and then that moves Solomon to pray.
• 44:02
  And what he said is that the word of God excites prayer in
• 44:07
  our lives. If you want to be more excited
• 44:12
  about prayer, we'll look at the promises of God for those who do
• 44:15
  pray. Because we look at this and we
• 44:16
  see that this is an isolated incidence, right.
• 44:18
  Ask what I shall give you. Almost like a genie that comes
• 44:21
  up to you and says whatever you want, I'll give you.
• 44:23
  Do you really believe that the Lord was going to give something
• 44:25
  outside of the parameters of His will to Solomon?
• 44:27
  No. You have the same promises
• 44:29
  asking you shall receive seeking you shall find knock and the
• 44:32
  door will be answered. Ask what do you know about God?
• 44:36
  What do you know about what God has done in his word?
• 44:38
  What do you know about what God is like?
• 44:40
  How he honors the prayers of men?
• 44:41
  What do you know about that that should cause you to say I need
• 44:45
  to pray, I must pray. How can I forfeit the blessings
• 44:48
  of prayer? Job tells us that it is the
• 44:51
  wicked who say what prophet do men have in praying.
• 44:55
  That's how the wicked thing. Wicked people don't see the
• 44:58
  prophet and praying if. You don't believe it?
• 45:02
  Read Job 21, Not making it up. And so the Word of God asks what
• 45:08
  I shall give you. It ignites something in the
• 45:10
  heart. It pulls on our hearts to come
• 45:14
  toward him in the place of prayer.
• 45:17
  If it was true for Solomon in this one moment, how much more
• 45:19
  true with the full revelation of God's Word that we have?
• 45:23
  I hope that you have a relationship with the word of
• 45:25
  God in such a way that sometimes when you read it, you burst out
• 45:27
  in praise. You know, there are moments
• 45:31
  where I read just in my I'm not preparing A sermon anything.
• 45:33
  I'm just reading. And when I read the word, I find
• 45:35
  myself saying this from time to time.
• 45:37
  I'm not being dishonest in saying that.
• 45:38
  I say it all the time, but I find myself sometimes saying
• 45:41
  things and reading the scripture where I'm there, quiet, alone
• 45:44
  and I go, wow, wow, just stunned and amazed by God's word.
• 45:53
  Stunned and amazed, reminded of something that I've highlighted
• 45:56
  till I went to the next page. And yet I forgot it and here I
• 45:59
  am because I'm reading through it again.
• 46:00
  How did I forget this? Wow, because of this, but also
• 46:02
  wow. Wow.
• 46:05
  Lord, you're amazing me capture our affection again.
• 46:11
  And so we see here that he says give your servant, therefore an
• 46:14
  understanding mind. We read in chronicles that he
• 46:17
  asked for wisdom in particular, and look at verse 11.
• 46:21
  And God said to him, because you've asked this, and have not
• 46:25
  asked for yourself long life or riches, or the life of your
• 46:28
  enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to
• 46:30
  discern what is right. Behold, I now do according to
• 46:34
  your word. Behold, I give you a wise and
• 46:38
  discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you,
• 46:43
  and none like you shall arise after.
• 46:46
  You I give you also what you have not asked.
• 46:50
  Both riches and honors, so that no other king shall compare with
• 46:53
  you all your days. And if you will walk in my ways,
• 46:58
  keeping my statutes and my commandments as your father
• 47:02
  David walked, then I will lengthen your days.
• 47:05
  What does the Lord do? He gives even more than what he
• 47:07
  asked for. You know that the Lord can do
• 47:09
  that, right? He asked for one thing.
• 47:11
  And He goes beyond the description of your prayer,
• 47:13
  beyond your request, because that's just who he is.
• 47:16
  He's good. And look what Solomon does in
• 47:19
  First Kings 315 And Solomon awoke and behold it was a dream.
• 47:23
  Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the
• 47:26
  covenant of the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace
• 47:29
  offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.
• 47:32
  Where was Solomon before when he sacrificed 1000 offerings?
• 47:36
  He was in Gibeon. God visits him and makes himself
• 47:39
  known to him. And then Solomon is moved to not
• 47:43
  go to Gibeon again, but to go to Jerusalem.
• 47:47
  Why would you go to Jerusalem? What was that Jerusalem?
• 47:51
  The ark of the Covenant. The ark of the covenant is that
• 47:55
  Jerusalem symbolizing God's presence.
• 48:01
  And it could be that Solomon was so moved by God's mercy and
• 48:04
  grace and granting him his request, promising him that he
• 48:07
  would be with him, that he didn't want to just be at Gibeon
• 48:12
  where he can offer something. He wanted to be near God
• 48:15
  himself. As close as he could.
• 48:17
  And what God offered for men to be close to him was the Ark of
• 48:21
  the Covenant, though he might have been limited even in that
• 48:23
  it was as close as he could get. Which tells me something so
• 48:25
  wonderful about what happens, What should happen when the Lord
• 48:29
  dispenses something of himself should cause us to want to be
• 48:32
  closer to Him. That's what Solomon shows us
• 48:36
  here. If Solomon is already operating
• 48:39
  in wisdom, it's showing right here that when God chose himself
• 48:44
  to be pure. Good and perfect as he is, and
• 48:49
  you get to taste that all. Let it draw you closer to him.
• 48:54
  Let it bring you closer to him. Let it want you to be nearer to
• 48:57
  him. And Solomon here, doing what he
• 49:03
  should do in His worship, coming to the Ark, and loving him as
• 49:06
  close as he can, will be tested in the same chapter to see if
• 49:11
  this wisdom for the sake of God's people will really work.
• 49:14
  Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this
• 49:18
  Bible study and we pray that the wisdom through your Word would
• 49:25
  have been engraved, would have been knitted in our hearts and
• 49:28
  our minds. We ask, Lord, that we would give
• 49:31
  you the worship that you deserve because of your goodness, that
• 49:34
  through Solomon's example we would be motivated to come near
• 49:37
  to you and say, Lord, thank you for being so good to me.
• 49:42
  Thank you for leading me and providing for me.
• 49:44
  Thank you. That where I am today is because
• 49:46
  of you. And so, Lord, we just ask that
• 49:48
  you would receive this fragrant offering, the sacrifice of
• 49:51
  Praise Lord, for those who might be struggling in the area of
• 49:55
  prayer. May they remember that it is as
• 49:58
  simple as what we see here, just acknowledging you admitting our
• 50:02
  need and asking with the right hearts.
• 50:04
  Give us the right heart so that we can know all the answers that
• 50:07
  you can give a man. And Lord, for the sake of your
• 50:10
  glory and the good of others, help us be all that we can be in
• 50:13
  Christ. Well, we see that these times
• 50:16
  are dark and they are just shakings and birth pains,
• 50:20
  reminding us that your return is nigh.
• 50:23
  So help us make the most of this time.
• 50:26
  Help us utilize the gifts that you have given us to make much
• 50:28
  of your name. Lord, help us remove any
• 50:31
  compromise, any little thing that we are justifying that we
• 50:34
  have said to ourselves. It's just for now, and I won't
• 50:37
  go too far. Like Solomon, help us see that
• 50:39
  you've given us him as an example.
• 50:41
  With how these small things that we tolerate can become big
• 50:44
  things that were very difficult to remove.
• 50:47
  And so, Lord, even if there's anything in our hearts, even
• 50:49
  now, things that we're enjoying, things that we're allowing,
• 50:52
  things that we're entertaining, that we know goes against your
• 50:56
  word, but we have been at peace with it because of our
• 51:00
  justification. Lord, let it die tonight.
• 51:02
  Let it just lay you. Just lay it at your feet and ask
• 51:05
  that you give us the power to put our foot on its neck and say
• 51:08
  no more. I want to live consecrated and
• 51:10
  wholly committed to the cause of God.
• 51:13
  So that we want to love you, but not like Solomon.
• 51:14
  That at this point we want to love you with all of our hearts,
• 51:17
  all of our soul, all of our strength, all of our might.
• 51:20
  You can help us do this. We will run in the way of your
• 51:23
  commandments when you enlarge in our hearts in Jesus name.
• 51:27
  Amen. Amen.
• 51:27
  Saints, let's stand and worship the Lord.
• 51:33
  Let's stand and worship the Lord.