Latest / Chapel at Southern Seminary and Boyce College / Willy Rice | 1 Kings 14:21-28

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Willy Rice | 1 Kings 14:21-28 · Chapel at Southern Seminary and Boyce College

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Well, thank you very much, Dr. Mohler,
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for those kind words, a very gracious
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introduction. It is an extraordinary
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honor to be here. I'm humbled to be
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here. I'm humbled to be here in this
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office, but I'm also full of great
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gratitude for what I see here, a room
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full of next generation leaders, a
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seminary, an institution that is
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faithful to the mission of God and to
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the truth of God. And I find my heart
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just being overwhelmed with gratitude as
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I have been here over the last several
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hours. Um I am uh only a few years
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younger than your president, which means
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simply I have watched his leadership and
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ministry most of my ministry as a local
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church pastor. I was a young pastor when
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he became the president of this seminary
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and I watched from afar and prayed and
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uh admired him. But I have watched this
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institution reclaimed for theological
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health. I have watched God's blessing
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upon it. And uh as we have both, I
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suppose, aged together in different
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places and walked our path of ministry
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these decades, him now more than three
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decades. As the leader of this
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institution, I find myself praising God
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for what is happening here and for the
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future of this institution. This is the
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mother seminary of the Southern Baptist
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Convention. the Southern Baptist
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Theological Seminary. It is unimaginable
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to think about the Southern Baptist
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Convention without thinking about this
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seminary and to think about its
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faithfulness again to the truth and to
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the mission of God. Well, I'm deeply
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grateful and I'm grateful for you here
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representing the next generation of
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leaders who will go into all walks of
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life to serve the Lord and to advance
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his kingdom. And uh I invite you to take
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your Bible and turn with me to the Old
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Testament today to the book of First
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Kings to a story from Jewish history,
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the kings of Israel. And we learn from
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them uh so many lessons of course. Um
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and I invite your attention to First
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Kings 14. I want to read verse 21 in a
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moment down through verse 28. As you're
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turning there, I'm thinking of a a sign
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I once saw. I was traveling. I think it
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was in Turkey or Greece, right in there
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around the Mediterranean. Uh, one of
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those tours that sometimes pastors do.
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And we came to an area that was
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something like a tourist area slashflea
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market. They had like boos and little
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tables set up where they were selling
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hats and shirts and all the kinds of
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things to American tourists. And there
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was a sign nailed to a tree. A sign
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nailed to a tree that I loved. It caught
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my attention. And the sign read this
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genuine
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fake watches.
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That was the sign which I loved. I
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laughed for 15 minutes. Genuine fake
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watches.
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Because if you're going to buy a fake
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watch, you want to know it's a genuine
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fake watch. You don't There's nothing
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worse than buying a fake watch only to
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find that it was not genuine. It was a
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fake fake watch. I don't know if they
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had a certain committee that inspected
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the fake watches to make sure they were
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genuine. Part of the ambiance maybe of
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visiting some city like New York and
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when you buy a watch out of a person's
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duffel bag
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is, you know, you pay $50 for a Rolex.
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It's a lot of fun. You give it to a
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present or you wear it maybe and um you
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want to know it's a genuine fake watch
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though. that it's a genuine fake Rolex
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and it'll last for five or six weeks
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until it loses time or turns your skin a
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certain color and you throw it away. But
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I thought of the irony of those words,
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the inconsistency of those words, the
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nonsensical nature of those words. I
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thought there are a lot of genuine fakes
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in life. There are a lot of genuine
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fakes in the kingdom of God. One an
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alterable spiritual truth is this.
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Wherever God is working, the devil is
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also working. And you know that the
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devil creates nothing. Our spiritual foe
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has no power to create out of nothing.
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God is the creator. But Satan is the
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great imitator. He's the great
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counterfeitter. He takes what God has
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made and shaped and caused and he
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creates deception often by means of
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imitation. Wherever God is working, the
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devil is working. If God is working in a
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church, the devil is working as well. of
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God is working in your life, the devil
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is also hard at work. When God is
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working in a movement, the devil is also
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working to counterfeit, to imitate that
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movement. In Acts 8, when Peter and John
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demonstrated the great power of the Holy
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Spirit in Samaria, there was Simon the
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magician lurking in the shadows, wanting
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to buy with silver that power which he
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saw displayed in the apostles lives.
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There is God working, and there is
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lurking in the shadows also the work of
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the devil. As you begin a new semester,
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in reality, the very reason you're at
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this institution is you are beginning a
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new chapter in your life. You are
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pursuing the vocation for which God has
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called you, stepping into a new and
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important season in your life. You are
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by very nature of this place in a season
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of preparation. The question I want you
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to consider is this. Will you settle for
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something that is a genuine fake? Or
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will you pursue with all of your heart
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that which is authentic and real and
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genuine? There's a story from the kings
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of the Old Testament. A story from
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Riaboam, the fourth of Judah's kings,
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the son of Solomon that I call your
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attention to this morning. First Kings
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14. And I want to read from verse 21
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down through the 28th verse. This is the
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word of the Lord. Now, Riaboam,
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Solomon's son, reigned in Judah. Riaboam
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was 41 years old when he became king. He
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reigned 17 years in Jerusalem, the city
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where the Lord had chosen from all the
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tribes of Israel to put his name.
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Riaboam's mother's name was Neymar the
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Ammonite. Judah did what was evil in the
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Lord's sight. They provoked him to
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jealous anger more than all their
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ancestors had done with the sins they
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committed. They also built for
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themselves high places, sacred pillars,
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and a sheer upoles on every high hill
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and under every green tree. There were
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even male cult prostitutes in the land.
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They imitated all the detestable
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practices of the nations the Lord had
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dispossessed before the Israelites. In
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the fifth year of King Riaboam, King
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Shishak of Egypt went to war against
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Jerusalem. He seized the treasuries of
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the Lord's temple and the treasuries of
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the royal palace. He took everything. He
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took all the gold shields that Solomon
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had made. King Riaboam made bronze
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shields to replace them and committed
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them into the care of the captains of
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the guards who protected the entrance to
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the king's palace. And whenever the king
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entered the Lord's temple, the guards
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would carry the shields. Then they would
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take them back to the armory.
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Living God, I pray today as we consider
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this ancient story and we search for the
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spiritual truth that we might apply to
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our lives that you would give us a
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hunger for that which is real and
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authentic,
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not a cheap substitute,
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not a genuine fake.
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deliver us from that which has affected
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so many in religious communities in the
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past and even in our own Christian
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circles of going through the motions
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with a superficial spirituality designed
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to impress others even while we
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deceive ourselves
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and pretend that something is there that
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is not. Give us we pray your power, your
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blessing and your favor in Jesus name.
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Amen.
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The kings of Israel are important to
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study. There are six books in the Bible
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devoted to their history and they
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provide lessons of success and failure.
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They provide instruction for us and how
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we might obey God. And they give insight
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into spiritual truths that guide us
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still. They are given as all scripture
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is for our instruction, our correction,
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our reproof, our training. Behind every
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crown, there is a character. Behind
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every throne, there is a testimony.
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Behind every sovereign, there is story.
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Each king is a story. And history is not
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just his story. In many ways, it's our
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story as well. We learn about wise
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choices. We learn about foolish ones,
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about pride and humility, lessons of
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leadership and lessons of failure. We
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learn from those who trust in God and
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those who forget God and the
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consequences that comes from that. I
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remind you that the decisions we make
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determine the destiny that we will have.
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And there was a king named Riaboam whose
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example serves as a lesson to all of
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those who are entering the next chapter
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of their life. All of those who are
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aspiring to leadership and influence.
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And again, as we consider a new
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semester, as we consider a new chapter
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in your life, we think about Riaboam in
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a time of transition in the nation of
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Judah. You know, of course, that Riaboam
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is the fourth king. He is the grandson
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of David, the son of Solomon. There is
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Saul, David, Solomon, and then the baton
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is passed to Riaboam. The interesting
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thing about transitions is they are a
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time of great opportunity. Often they
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are accompanied with great excitement.
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They're also a time of great
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vulnerability. So as you transition into
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new chapters in your life, there is both
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opportunity and vulnerability. And as
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you are preparing to receive the mantels
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of leadership that you will receive in
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the variety of fields that you will
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pursue, you must now determine the
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choices that will determine the
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trajectory of your life and ministry.
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Riaboam's story of course is well known
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to the people in the seminary some
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thousand years or so before the time of
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Christ. The Jewish people flourished in
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the land we know as Israel. It was a
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land that had been promised to their
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ancestors. And now in the fullness of
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time under Solomon, they had begun to
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prosper in ways that their ancestors
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could only have dreamed of. Solomon's
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time was marked by incredible splendor,
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incredible wealth, incredible power, by
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peace. He is said to have been among the
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wisest men who ever lived and estimates
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of his wealth place him among the
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wealthiest men who have ever walked
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among the planet. First Kings 10 tells
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the story about the queen of Sheba, an
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ancient kingdom, perhaps southern Arabia
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or modern-day Ethiopia. She visited
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Solomon. She came to engage in trade,
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but not just trade but to take a full
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measure of the great man herself. She
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had questions about science, philosophy,
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and so forth. And the Bible records that
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Solomon answered them all. So much so
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that she was amazed. The Bible describes
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a kingdom where kings and merchants and
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governors from all over the Arabian
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world would come and trade. 25 tons of
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gold flowed into the kingdom every year.
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so much gold that according to first
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kings chapter 10 and verse 17, Solomon
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made 200 large shields of gold. Each of
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them contained 15 pounds of gold.
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Someone can run the math on that. There
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were 300 smaller shields of gold with
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four pounds of gold in each of those.
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Now, a shield of gold is not designed
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for battle. It's designed for beauty to
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demonstrate wealth and opulence and
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power. It's a symbol. It's a sign. And
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of course, whenever Solomon would bring
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them out, perhaps on days of great pomp
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and circumstance, it would demonstrate
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the blessing and the favor of God that
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had fallen upon the land. But upon
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Solomon's death, as you know, things
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began to change. Even before his death,
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tribalism and rivalry had begun to
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affect the land. Solomon himself had
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drifted spiritually and morally, and one
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of his servants, Jeroboam, had fled to
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Egypt, waiting for a time when he might
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usurp the monarchy and perhaps establish
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his own kingdom. Somewhere around 900
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years before the time of Christ, Solomon
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dies and his son Riaboam becomes the
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next king. Many of you are familiar with
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the controversy that ensued. Leadership
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is about choices. And the higher the
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leadership, the harder the choices.
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Riaboam faced a leadership choice almost
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immediately, one that would define his
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reign. And tragically so. When Riaboam
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became king, there was a controversy.
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And the controversy was over taxes.
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Nothing much has changed. The people
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wanted a break. Solomon had pursued
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great projects of building and expansion
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and it had come at a cost. And
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apparently by the time Solomon's reign
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transitions to Riaboam, there was some
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economic hardship. So much so that the
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people saw this transition in leadership
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as an opportunity to appeal for relief.
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They came to Riaboam and asked for a tax
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cut.
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The Riaboam had to make a choice. To
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give the people relief from the burden
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and the conscripted labor or just to
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pursue full steam ahead the policies
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that were in place. So leadership is
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about choices and to make good choices
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usually need to bring in counselors. So
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Rioam brought in two sets of counselors.
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Many of you remember the story. The
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first set of counselors were those who
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were older. They were the counselors who
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had advised his father. They were the
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men who had been helping to steer the
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government for some number of years. The
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older men were familiar with the
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machines of government and they advised
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Riaboam
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to listen to the people. They advised
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him to speak kindly to them. In fact, in
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chapter 12 and verse 7, it says
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specifically,
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be a servant to the people. If you serve
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them, they advised,
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they will serve you. Riaboam thought
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about it and brought in a second group
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of counselors. Now, the second group of
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counselors,
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these were his boys. These were the guys
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he was in fraternity with. These were
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the guys he played football with. They
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were ambitious young men. And they must
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have seen the transition in power as an
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opportunity to pursue their own
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ambition. This was an opportunity for
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them to make their mark as well. And
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their advice was exactly the opposite of
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the older counselors. They advised
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Riaboam to come across as large and in
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charge. They advised him to boast that
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he was tougher than his father ever was.
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That if they thought his father was
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tough, they had not seen anything yet.
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They were to learn his discipline would
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be harsher still. Riaboam, as you know,
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listened to the council of his
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colleagues, the younger men. announced
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in chapter 12 12 and verse1 14. My
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father made your yoke heavy. I will add
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to your yoke. My father disciplined you
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with whips. I will discipline you with
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barbed whips. The next verse says
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ominously, the king did not listen
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to the people. The consequences were
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disastrous. Once the king's decision
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became known, the 10 tribes to the north
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rebelled. Jeroboam who had worked for
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Solomon before. He had fled to Egypt,
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led the rebellion of the northern
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tribes. Riaboam tried to quell the
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rebellion, but it was unsuccessful. In
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fact, he barely escaped assassination
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with his own life. And thus, somewhere
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around 930 or so BC, the kingdom of
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Israel, the United Tribes, split into
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the northern tribes of Israel and the
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southern kingdom of Judah. And it is at
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this moment that a dream dies. The dream
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of a united, blessed and righteous
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people who would serve as a prophetic
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witness to the nations dies. Now this
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doesn't surprise God and his plan is
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sovereign. But there is a sense in which
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the dream, the aspiration that Abraham
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and Moses and David had had and so many
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had worked for would come to an end. The
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Jewish people would be divided. The
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desult the results were disastrous. The
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northern kingdom built their own altars
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of worship, forever sealing their
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rebellion against the house of David in
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the Jewish temple. Not one of their
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kings, as you know, will ever be
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praised. The northern kingdom will last
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oh about 200 years. But like a deer that
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has been shot and runs for a while, its
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fate was sealed. and they will fall to
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Assyria and the 10 tribes will disappear
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into a fog of history. The southern
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kingdom remain loyal to the Davidic
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dynasty. They will worship in Jerusalem
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but they will never again be a united
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kingdom. And yet in some ways
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that tragedy
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enormous
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can be traced back to one fatal
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decision. In some sense it's never one
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decision. But sometimes there are
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decisions so significant and so critical
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that the ramifications of them last for
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centuries.
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And I want to remind you that you never
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know what day you're going to make a
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decision that may affect the decades of
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your life. Your children and children
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that are unborn.
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Riaboam will reign for 17 years, but the
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kingdom never regains its lost power. In
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time, they are invaded by the Egyptians.
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They have to pay heavy tolls to get the
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Egyptians to leave. The Egyptians will
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take the massive gold shields that
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Solomon had made. To replace them, Riabo
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makes bronze shields, an inferior
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substitute, probably to carry on the
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impression of greatness and grandeur.
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Bronze can be shined to look as
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brilliant as gold. And most people are
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probably fooled.
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Most people don't notice the difference
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when it glitters in the sun.
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But bronze isn't gold.
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The gold was gone. And despite the
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counterfeit grandeur of Riaboam,
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he had traded gold for bronze and the
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dream of David for something weak and
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inferior.
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And so I just stand before you at the
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cusp of new chapters
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to beg you not to settle for the genuine
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fake,
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not to be content in your life or your
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ministry or your vocation or your work
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or your family. to trot out shields of
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bronze that may impress the crowds
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but that are far inferior to what God
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would have for you. Lessons that can be
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learned from Riaboam. I'd like to share
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a couple quickly. One, when you are
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faced with great choices, and I think I
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said it a moment ago, leadership is
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about choices. The higher the
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leadership, you heard me say it, the
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harder the choices.
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Choose wisely. Number one, choose
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wisdom. Choose wisdom. Wisdom is knowing
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the right thing to do. Solomon,
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Riaboam's father, had compiled an
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extensive book known as the book of
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proverbs of pathy observational
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realities about people, relationships,
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choices, and God. He put this book
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together and he actually tells us the
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purpose to pass along wisdom
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for his son. Repeatedly he addresses the
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proverbs to his son. The first verses of
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the book, verse 8, listen my son to your
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father's instruction. Do not neglect or
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reject your mother's teaching. 45 times
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in the book of Proverbs, he refers to my
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son, my son. Now in a general sense, I
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am sure that Solomon is addressing
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future generations of leaders like the
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people in this room and he's speaking my
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son in a general sense. But I think he
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must have also imagined that he would at
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least be speaking specifically to his
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own son who would one day become king. I
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don't know all about Riaboam or what
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went into him becoming king, but surely
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Solomon must have wanted them prepared
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to take the throne. But when the time
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came to choose wisdom, Riaboam made the
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wrong choice almost immediately.
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Wisdom, as you know, is not a collection
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of facts.
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It is not an aggregation of knowledge.
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It is knowing what to do in a given
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moment. Wisdom, simply put, can be this,
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making the right choices when you stand
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at the fork in the road. I've known
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people with great knowledge who lacked
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wisdom. I've known people who never had
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the opportunity to learn. as you learn
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in this great institution and yet they
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were simple people but they had great
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wisdom. The Bible tells us the fear of
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God is the beginning of wisdom. All of
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which is to say pursue knowledge but
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pursue wisdom. What is the right thing
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to do? When Riaboam became the king he
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listened to the advice of his counselors
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instead of wise counselors who had
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worked with his father. He became a
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companion of fools.
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The companion of fools will suffer harm.
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One of the most important decisions you
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will make is who you will listen to.
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I tell our young people, "Show me your
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friends. I will show you your future.
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Show me who you're listening to, who
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you're reading, who you're watching,
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who you're hanging with, and I will show
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you where you are headed." If you want
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to be wise, you must listen to those who
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have gone before you. Honor your father
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and mother. The Bible says with good
22:34
reason. Listen to those who have taught
22:36
you and poured life into you. Do not
22:39
forget what you have been told. Riaboam
22:42
said, "What would my friends do?"
22:44
Instead of asking, "What would the Lord
22:46
have me to do?" Choose wisdom and be
22:50
careful with what is trendy and popular.
22:54
Riaboam chose a contemporary approach.
22:57
He chose what his friends thought wise.
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Riaboam's contemporaries may have been
23:02
in step with the times, but they were
23:05
out of step with the truth. It's not
23:08
that old people are always right and
23:09
young people are always wrong. I'm not
23:11
saying that. But I am saying there is a
23:14
great wealth in experience. The wise
23:17
person listens. He benefits from those
23:21
who have wisdom and who have walked the
23:24
paths that they now trod. You can learn
23:27
a lot by experience. But I will tell you
23:29
this, experience is a costly teacher.
23:33
It will cost you your most important
23:35
commodity, time.
23:38
The cheat code, if you want to call it
23:39
that, is to listen to those who have
23:42
walked the paths before you, who have
23:44
gone down the roads and can tell you,
23:47
"This is what you will face. This is
23:49
what you will see." In a critical moment
23:52
in Riaboam's life, he rejected the
23:54
wisdom of the elders
23:57
and he embraced the wisdom of his
23:59
contemporaries.
24:00
Choose wisdom. Number two, choose
24:02
humility. Choose humility. When faced
24:05
with a choice between pride and
24:08
humility, it is almost always right to
24:11
humble yourself.
24:13
God resists the proud.
24:17
Some translations, he opposes the proud.
24:20
That's a frightening thing. By the way,
24:23
when God sees pride,
24:26
self-sufficiency, arrogance, when he
24:28
sees pride,
24:30
he opposes it. Now, let me help you with
24:33
something. You don't want God opposing
24:35
you.
24:36
It's not going to go well.
24:39
He gives grace to the humble. Does
24:41
anyone here need grace? Of course we do.
24:44
We need great grace. Who gets grace?
24:46
Those who are humble.
24:48
Humility, as you know, is not self-pity
24:51
or self-degradation. It's acknowledging
24:53
the important of God and others. It is
24:56
acknowledging that there are things I do
24:59
not know
25:00
and things I cannot see. It is
25:03
acknowledging that I cannot control
25:05
everything. It is understanding that I
25:08
am not the big deal. God is.
25:12
God's not interested in building your
25:14
platform. He's looking for people who
25:16
will build a platform for his glory.
25:19
Humility is honoring God and knowing he
25:24
is the one who deserves all glory.
25:25
Riaboam made a big deal of himself. He
25:29
boasted, did he not, of his strength and
25:32
his greatness when the truth is he had
25:34
never accomplished anything close to his
25:36
father. Compare that if you want to with
25:39
how Solomon acted as a young man when
25:41
God came to him and gave him a choice
25:44
and a divine encounter. I will do
25:46
anything for you. What is it you want me
25:48
to do for you? Now, I'm not saying God
25:51
gives us exactly that same proposition.
25:53
He loves most of us. He loves all of us
25:55
much too much to give us anything that
25:58
we ask.
25:59
But in a sense, he asks us that. What is
26:03
it you want me to give you? What do you
26:06
really want and need in your life? And
26:08
what did Solomon do as a young man?
26:12
I need wisdom.
26:14
That's humility.
26:16
In other words, as a young leader, he
26:18
said, "I don't know everything I need to
26:21
know.
26:23
I don't understand everything I need to
26:25
understand."
26:27
So, don't worry about the money and the
26:29
glory and all of that. if I could just
26:32
gain wisdom and the Bible tells us God
26:36
was pleased with that
26:39
why are you here
26:42
it must not simply be for some kind of
26:44
certification that is a value I suppose
26:48
in a way it's a very great value some
26:51
validation there there's a reason for
26:52
that but I pray that the greatest reason
26:55
you are in this room and on this
26:56
seminary and on this campus is God I
26:59
need wisdom wisdom. I can't imagine you
27:01
would be here if you weren't saying
27:03
that. So, I want you to lean into that.
27:05
That's my encouragement to you at the
27:06
beginning of a new semester. Just remind
27:09
yourself,
27:10
I don't know everything I need to know.
27:13
I haven't learned everything I need to
27:15
learn. I don't know everything I need to
27:17
know to do the next thing that God has
27:20
in the next chapter of my life. So, oh
27:23
God, give me wisdom. Riaboam did not
27:27
pray for that. Everyone knows about the
27:29
sinking of the Titanic in 1912. I
27:32
suppose it is not only one of the
27:34
greatest stories that has been told. It
27:36
is probably the most common sermon
27:38
illustration that preachers have ever
27:40
used. Everyone knows about the pride,
27:42
the arrogance, the avarice, and how the
27:44
ship that couldn't sink was in fact
27:46
sunk. But it was interesting to me that
27:48
as familiar as we are all with the
27:50
story, a new documentary a few years ago
27:52
told a different story. It was the story
27:54
of a submarine
27:57
in 2023 that imploded and it imploded on
28:01
a trip to see the Titanic. It tells a
28:05
story of a brilliant and successful CEO,
28:07
a brilliant man named Stockton Rush, the
28:10
head of Ocean Gate. He helped develop a
28:13
technology and dreamed of transporting
28:15
wealthy tourists to see the wreckage of
28:18
Titanic for themselves. And he took
28:20
several trips. And yet his staff and
28:22
scientists warned him that he was
28:24
cutting corners that he was ignoring
28:28
some of the the engineering flaws in his
28:31
design. But he would not hear it. He did
28:34
not believe he could make such a
28:35
mistake. He became focused to the point
28:38
of obsession over the great shipwreck
28:40
and he forgot the lessons of the
28:43
shipwreck. And on 2000 in 2023 on the
28:46
submarine with tourists on board, it
28:49
imploded and killed them all. And the
28:51
name of the submarine, Titan.
28:55
Titan. We do not learn.
28:59
That's
29:01
the course of human history. We ignore
29:03
the lessons right in front of us. Choose
29:06
humility. CS Lewis said, "Pride is a
29:08
spiritual cancer. It eats up the
29:10
possibility of love, contentment, or
29:12
even common sense. Choose wisdom, choose
29:16
humility, choose service. Did you see
29:19
what the older counselor said to him? I
29:22
find this fascinating for those of you
29:24
who aspire to be leaders. What a
29:26
leadership
29:28
lesson this is. First Kings 12:7, "If
29:31
you will be a servant to this people and
29:34
serve them," he said this to the king,
29:37
if you will respond by speaking kind
29:39
words to them,
29:41
they will be your servants forever. Is
29:44
that not a leadership lesson? If you
29:46
would use this opportunity for
29:48
leadership to serve the people,
29:52
they will serve you.
29:54
Isn't that what our Lord taught us? we
29:56
have not come to be served but to serve.
29:59
That the first rule of leadership is to
30:01
serve others. He could have listened and
30:02
served but he ignored and he demanded
30:04
that people serve him and instead of
30:06
serving others he saw leadership as an
30:08
opportunity to use others. If you want
30:11
to lead people win their hearts. That is
30:13
what my pastor Bill Anderson told me
30:14
when at 20 years old too soon too soon.
30:17
20 years old I took my first church as a
30:19
pastor 50 people in Dora Alabama and I
30:23
asked Dr. Anderson, what's one final
30:25
lesson you want to give me? He said, win
30:27
their hearts.
30:29
And I said, what does that mean? He
30:30
said, love them. And he gave me some
30:33
ways to do that. Demonstrate that you
30:36
love those people. And if you love them,
30:40
they will follow you. You can lead them.
30:43
Serve them. Lastly, I would simply say
30:45
this.
30:47
Choose God. It was said of Riaboam. He
30:50
did what was evil because he did not
30:52
determine in his heart to seek the Lord.
30:57
Ultimately, Riaboam's
30:59
tragedy is that he did not seek God. He
31:04
was arrogant.
31:06
He was
31:08
insolent. He ignored the advice, the
31:12
wisdom of others. He did not seek the
31:14
Lord. There's no evidence in his life
31:16
that he sought God. Look at his father,
31:18
David and Solomon. for all their flaws.
31:20
They sought the Lord throughout their
31:21
life at different times. Every time
31:23
David was confronted, and he did fail
31:25
multiple times, but when he was
31:27
confronted, you'll notice he always
31:29
repented. He listened. He could humble
31:31
himself and be corrected. Not so Riable.
31:36
Shields of bronze are shields of gold.
31:39
You can trot them out and you can
31:41
impress the crowds.
31:43
But shields of gold,
31:46
only God can produce those. God's
31:49
blessing, God's favor. I want you to
31:52
have the real thing in your life.
31:55
I want you to be authentic.
31:57
I want you to have God's power and his
31:59
favor and his blessing on your marriage,
32:01
on your life, on your vocation, and on
32:03
your work. So, I beg you, do not take
32:07
the shortcut. Do not simply
32:10
trot out what glitters so that the
32:13
crowds will be impressed and the people
32:15
will be odd. It won't last very long. It
32:18
won't last very long. Oh, they'll be
32:21
impressed. It doesn't matter. You know
32:23
what matters? That you have God's
32:24
blessing and grace upon your life. So,
32:27
at the beginning of this semester,
32:29
choose wisdom,
32:31
choose humility, choose service. Who
32:34
will you serve? And choose God. And may
32:38
his grace and blessing rest upon you and
32:40
give you shields of gold in your life
32:44
and in your work
32:48
for his glory. Living God, I do pray
32:50
this. I pray for these young people who
32:54
represent unimaginable potential,
32:57
unimaginable giftedness. You will call
33:00
them into all walks of life
33:04
and uh into your work in leading your
33:06
churches.
33:08
There are those assembled here who will
33:11
preach sermons and write books and build
33:13
businesses.
33:15
And God, how we need them, how your
33:17
kingdom needs them, how this nation
33:19
needs them, how your churches need them.
33:22
Lord, we pray that you will use them.
33:25
that you will call them, that you will
33:27
fill them with your Holy Spirit, that
33:29
they will be grounded upon your truth,
33:32
that the lessons they learn here will
33:33
guide them, ground them all the days of
33:36
their life. Father, I pray that you
33:38
would give us a hunger for that which is
33:41
more than shiny
33:44
and contemporary.
33:46
Give us a hunger for that which is
33:48
grounded and true and lasting and of
33:50
real value.
33:53
Lord, may it be so in our lives. May it
33:55
be so in our work for your great glory.
33:58
We pray this in the name of our Lord
34:00
Jesus. Amen.