“Want A Blank Check? ...Check It Out!”
1Kings 3:3-15
3- Solomon loved the Lord and followed all the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of worship.
4- The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings.
5- That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”
6- Solomon replied, “You showed great and faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne.
7- “Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around.
8- And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted!
9- Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”
10- The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom.
11- So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing My people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies—
12- I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have!
13- And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life!
14- And if you follow Me and obey My decrees and My commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.”
15- Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, where he sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he invited all his officials to a great banquet. (NLT)
It’s a different kind of blank check the Lord will be giving us.... “I will give you what you asked for! And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! I will give you a long life.”
“What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!” v.5
WoW!
What a question and what an answer.
Asking God is our greatest Christian privilege but — we may as well admit — our greatest Christian failure. All of us need to learn to ask more and to ask better. But one of the reasons we don't ask better than we do, or any more than we do, is that we have questions about our asking itself. These questions cause us uncertainty. Then our uncertainty sometimes neutralizes us and we become hesitant about asking. I believe God isn’t just about asking what we need or giving us ‘things.' Those are no big deals to Him. What He wants to deal with is the state of our heart. Are we dependent on Him? or do we have all these other agendas or channels of provision and support? Our God does not exist to fulfill our every whim. As a matter of fact, if He gave us everything we ever wanted or thought we needed, we’d self-destruct. As we begin this newyear, what more important commitment could we make than to commit ourselves more to prayer and to asking? If we're going to have a breakthrough in our personal lives, impact our families, our nation, and our world in these critical days, the prayer of asking is where it begins. And asking begins with a blank check God is offering to each of us that is present this day. God is Offering us now A Blank Check. LET US ALL CHECK IT OUT! Are we qualified to receive such checks for this year? Then let’s check it out!
1- Check Your Devotion vv.3-5
"...showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David,"
*devotion is a state of being devoted based on our love to the Lord. The demonstration of devotion can be seen in giving, in offering. by living. See how Solomon’s devotion is; he carried it in his sleep, and God appeared to him in a dream! And when God asked him? He is ready for his answer. He cared less of himself. He cared for the building of the Temple and how to govern “God’s people” according to what he had observed his father King David does it. He had seen how God prospered David and God’s kingdom. King Solomon is going after the jugular of his devotion to God. The bulls-eye of his passion.
This topic we are discussing would enlighten us on how devotion works. It would be an inspiration for us to let us know how it successfully worked in the life of King Solomon. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4 NIV) He treasures our devotion that a relationship with Him would be above everything else. He wants us to come to Him with our thoughts, questions, and feelings. He wants to show us our hearts and reveal to us where our allegiances lie so that He can refine us and make us more like Him. That isn’t going to happen if He simply gives us everything that pops into our minds. Devotion would be of our paramount importance! Our devotion exposes us and lead us to our motivation.
2- Check Your Motivation v.6-8
*Motivation is when you provide someone with an incentive to do something; or to encourage.
“You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day...." v6
Illustration:
Anyone who has ever had a goal (like wanting to lose ten pounds or wanting to run a marathon) probably immediately realizes that simply having the desire to accomplish something is not enough.
Achieving such a goal requires the ability to persist through obstacles and endurance to keep going in spite of difficulties.
There are three major components to motivation: activation, persistence, and intensity.
Solomon got his motivation from his father himself. He had seen how God worked in the life of his father. Probably, he had heard the story of his father in Ziklag.... as David sat among the ruins of Ziklag and mutinous men spoke of stoning him, he had a choice. David could allow grief and bitterness to conquer him; he could sink into the black hole of depression and give up and quit. Or he could fight back. But before David could fight, he would have to get his strength and courage back. As David looked around him, he saw nothing but discouraged and downcast men. David had no one to encourage him, so he had only one recourse: He "encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” (1 Samuel 30:6KJV).
We cannot make God any bigger than He already is—you can't increase omnipotence—but you can magnify (or diminish) your perspective of God. Perspective has everything to do with whether you are encouraged or discouraged.
Refuse to magnify the devil. Refuse to magnify the present negative circumstance. Don't analyze your trouble with a magnifying glass—this exercise will lead to deeper discouragement.
Instead, magnify the Lord! Speak of His greatness, His power, His might. Talk about how big and powerful God is. “When you make God bigger, you make your trouble smaller." It's simple but true.
Solomon knew how to stay motivated. He had learned from his father. He knew that to start asking, he should stay motivated by praising and talking and remembering how great, faithful God is! He never change! He is the same yesterday, today and forever!
People of the Bible knew it. The Apostle Paul had written about it.... Imitate me as i imitate Christ... Our greatest Motivator. Action Man. Persistent Man. Intensified Man.
Our utmost motivation should be like that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Philippians 2:1-11
3- Check Your Reaction v.9
"So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
Reaction is an action or statement in response to a stimulus or other event. People first before his needs. Solomon's position was crucial and he knew that God alone can give him this wisdom, so that He might discern between right and wrong...
Understanding heart means He knows how to listen...
“God never gives you a dream that matches your budget,
He is not checking your bank account,
He is checking your FAITH.”
Finished: 1045pm12january2019saturday@doJpowerHouse!
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