Sept. 17, 2023 - Beggars Can Be Choosers
Notes
Transcript
You get one wish - and I can grant that wish…WHATEVER it is...
What are you asking for?
Lots of money?
A superpower?
Peace on earth?
The heart of that guy or girl?
No doubt - we’ve all CONTEMPLATED - “hmmm what would I wish for?”
Today, we’re going to see this VERY question - asked of Solomon.
Hence the title of our sermon today -
“Beggars Can Be Choosers”
Let’s see how Solomon handles it!
At this point in time - David is now dead - and Solomon is established as King.
3 Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places.
4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.
5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.”
“Ask what I shall give you”...
“What do you want?”
Again - it’s a question we’ve all contemplated...
Solomon answers...
5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.”
6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day.
7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in.
8 And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude.
9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”
What does Solomon ask for?
He asks for - Wisdom… a discerning spirit
an Understanding mind
For what reason?
to govern the people of God.
NOW - How would God respond to this request?
9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”
10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.
11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right,
12 behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.
Wow - “ask and you shall receive”.
Solomon - Interestingly - SHOWS wisdom - in asking for Wisdom.
SLIDE: Life Under God: Pursue Wisdom
Life Under God
Life Under God
NOW - Did Solomon think of this on his own?
NO...
His dad - David - actually helped him in this endeavor...
1 Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight,
2 for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching.
3 When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,
So Solomon WROTE these words - and so we know here - that David was instructing him...
4 he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.
5 Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you.
7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.
8 Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.
9 She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”
David had said to Solomon - when Solomon was young - GET WISDOM...
Get Understanding!
And then we find the benefits of WISDOM in our lives…!
Wisdom will....
Keep us...
Guard us...
Exalt us...
Honor us...
And David wanted this for his son!
NOW - David wasn’t speaking about - ANY KIND of wisdom!
He was referring to a SPECIFIC KIND of = wisdom...
And so we need to know there’s a difference between - SEEKING human wisdom....and Godly wisdom!
let’s look at what the bible says about Human Wisdom first...
So first side we’ll look at is - HUMAN WISDOM
SLIDE:
The Plight of Human Wisdom
· Earthly wisdom is another way to say – human wisdom…
· …and there’s no better place to read about this type of wisdom than in the book of Ecclesiastes.
· Ecclesiastes tells us how man sees the world, sees God, and sees the factors of life from human wisdom’s viewpoint.
· It reveals the uselessness, and the frustration of false human wisdom.
16 I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.”
· So clearly Solomon is smarter than a 5th grader….the wisest of all.
17 And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.
· So what’s he saying here?
· He’s saying – ok, I have wisdom, and in order for me to understand what wisdom is, I’m going to study [FOOLISHNESS].
- He’s finding that human wisdom is useless, and so in order for him to possibly add value to human wisdom, he’s going to look at human folly or stupidity (the opposite side of human wisdom).
· And he’s doing this hoping that human wisdom will end up looking better.
· His conclusion: NEITHER human wisdom nor human folly means anything, with both like chasing the air.
· Solomon goes on trying human pleasure, happiness, empire building (portfolio building), authority, sex.
· He tried it all, and what was his conclusion?
11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
· This is the portrait of human wisdom – wisdom that comes from below.· How many people (NOWADAYS) do we hear claim to be [ignorant]?
· Not many….if any.
· Everyone has “the right” answer right?
o Sports Talk Radio
o Politicians
o CNN
o Fox News
· No one claims to be ignorant…..· So for the most part, everyone claims to be - - wise….
And in IGNORANCE - that claim is made.
Let’s go to the book of James and see a great depiction of - Human Wisdom...
14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.
15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
· It’s interesting to note that the 3 great enemies of all believers are the world, the flesh, and the devil.
· And these 3 enemies correspond to the 3 characteristics of False Wisdom mentioned here is verse 15.
· Earthly [the world]
· Natural [the flesh]
· Demonic [the devil]
· For wisdom to be earthly is to be limited to this present material world of time and space.
· It takes only man and man alone to accomplish its purposes….the purposes of HUMAN Wisdom
· …to maximize its full potential.
· God is not needed in the equation - OF HUMAN WISDOM
· Earthly wisdom is void of God.
· For wisdom to be unspiritual or natural, is to be blinded to the reality of life.
· Why do I say that?
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
· Unspiritual or Natural wisdom is blinded to reality
· WHY? - Because - Wisdom that is demonic is WISDOM that is rooted in Satan himself, working out his purposes.
· If you think about it, WHAT did Satan promise Eve in the garden if she would just disobey God…?
· He promised her wisdom….· …eat this and your eyes will be open and you’ll be [like God].
· So Satan knows man’s heart…
· AND - He knows the self-centered bent of our hearts…
· …and he exploits that!
3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.
13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
· Demonic wisdom is rooted in Satan himself, carrying out his purposes.
· Anger, bitterness, resentment, pride, slander, and on and on and on.
· The result of false wisdom is – EVIL.
AND SO David - Of course - was trying to GUIDE his son - in telling him - to - AVOID Human Wisdom … and to SEEK Godly Wisdom!
THE OTHER KIND of wisdom!
SLIDE:
The Profile of Godly Wisdom
Let’s go back to James to see this...
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
The first characteristic we see of Godly Wisdom is that it is PURE...
1 John tells us something about this...
3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
And so TRUE WISDOM - is pure…as Jesus is PURE...
There is a PURIFYING ASPECT of Christianity...where we as BELIEVERS - put ourselves on the clay WHEEL - and shape ourselves…to be MORE LIKE Jesus!!
if you think about the WATER we drink.
We have...
Tap water
Spring Water
Purified Water
And EVEN SO - I’m always wondering what’s actually in the water i drink.
Metals
Chemicals
OR - is it PURE!??
Godly wisdom is - PURE...
UNTAINTED with human wisdom...
THE PROBLEM IS - when WE try to use Godly wisdom - HOW EASY it can be for our “Godly Wisdom” to BE tainted by the human wisdom inside of us!
Back to James...
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
· Isn’t it interesting that even True Wisdom bears fruit, justifying itself before men that it is of the divine?
· You ask, what fruit?
· Many of these characteristics here we’ll find in the beatitudes.
1. Godly Wisdom is peaceable:
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
· Those who are truly wise don’t seek out conflict, or hide from opportunities to make peace.
· This verse says they “PURSUE” peace…and when is peace needed? ·
When there is no peace.
· This verse says [that] is when the truly wise will stand and be heard.·
True wisdom is pure, therefore peaceable.
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
2. Godly Wisdom is gentle:
24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,
25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,
In a sense - having a SOFT - approachable spirit
Well!!…when is gentleness NEEDED?
When CHAOS is present!
I think a lot of times we’re ALL ABOUT these things - WHEN THEY’RE NOT needed!
But the moment - it gets chaotic - stressful -
bring on the COMPLAINING...
bring on the attitudes
We need to be careful here!
That we would display the WISDOM of God in our gentleness!
if people wouldn NOT claim you to be a gentle person - something to think about!
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
3. Godly Wisdom is reasonable:
· What does this mean?
· Have you ever heard of an athlete being coachable?
· Someone who is willing to take instruction and yield to what’s being commanded without being stubborn.
(Coaching over the years - I’ve coached all different levels of “coachability”)
· This is similar to the first beatitude:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Someone who is poor in spirit - is going to be - MEEK -
I picture them as someone who is willing to - Pick up their feet in the River of God....
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
4. Godly Wisdom is full of mercy:· Back to the beatitudes:
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
· Being “full of mercy” is probably more than you think it is.
· It entails not only forgiving those who have wronged you,
· But also reaching out to those around you who are in need.
- And so it’s not just PASSIVE
- It also - INITIATES
And so - Godly Wisdom - initiates! Mercifully
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?
18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
· Are you full of mercy?
· Well it takes more than you saying you’re full of mercy.
· AND because it does, James then says that:
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
5. Godly Wisdom is full of good fruits:· Of course it is.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
· What happened the last time you didn’t eat for a while?
· …got hungry…then what?
· You ate
· What happened the last time you didn’t drink for a long time?
· …got thirsty…then what?
· You drank
· Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness?
You might - using Christian Cliche - say - YEP (shake your head)
BUT - we just walked through it!
When you REALLY were hungry - you ATE - You DID SOMETHING about your hunger
When you REALLY were thirsty - you DRANK - you DID SOMETHING about your thirst!
Are you HUNGRY for righteousness?
· If so, what have you done about it?
What do you do about it?
· Is bible study even on your radar?
· Is prayer even on your radar?
- Is stepping out even on your radar??
· If not, then you’re NOT hungry…you’re NOT thirsty.
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
6. Godly Wisdom is Unwavering:
· This word is only used here in the New Testament and literally means not to be divided.
· To be without: uncertainty, indecision, or doubtfulness
· Many people today know the name - JIM ELLIOT…
· Being attacked by Indians with spears…
· Knowing what was going to happen…
· DOESN’T fight back...
· And ALL of heaven looking down on this event…· At the THRUST of a spear…· Says “Yes!”…
· he’s real!!
· He’s not blown around by the wind…
He’s unwavering…
- Back to this verse on the screen
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
7. Godly Wisdom is without hypocrisy:
· Hypocrisy is one the sins that Jesus condemned most.
· 4 times - just in the Sermon on the Mount he mentions hypocrisy (Matt. 6:2, 5, 16, 7:5)
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.
28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
True - Godly wisdom is...
SLIDE:
Peaceable
Gentle
Reasonable
Full of Mercy and Good Fruits
Unwavering
Without Hypocrisy
(CHARACTERISTICS of Godly Wisdom)
THIS is what David called for Solomon to SEEK =
AND - this is what Solomon ASKED for from God!
NOW - we’ve talked several times in the past weeks about what FAITH is...
That PART of faith - is believing that God REWARDS those who seek Him!
Let’s see what happens in our text today...
11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right,
12 behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.
13 I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days.
14 And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”
See what happened?
Solomon asked for WISDOM - so he could lead the people of God (Israel) - in a God-honoring way...
And BECAUSE he didn’t ask for RICHES or HONOR…or a LONG LIFE...
God GIVES him WISDOM...
AND - blesses him beyond measure!!
BEYOND what he had asked for!
God was SO PLEASED with Solomon’s request...
that God REWARDED him with all of those OTHER things as well!!
And it goes back to what FAITH is!
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Think thru this...
God KNEW - based on Solomon’s request - that Solomon’s HEART could HANDLE the riches...
That his heart could HANDLE the HONOR...
God KNEW - based on Solomon’s request - that Riches and Honor were not - PREEMINENT in Solomon’s affections.
Solomon could have asked for ANYTHING - and asking for Wisdom showed God that his heart was prepared to receive blessing....
Without that blessing being viewed as - an idol!
I’ve said it before - Blessing comes on the other side of Obedience!
And it did here for Solomon.
To finish up - I want to look at an implication of his request of Wisdom...
So far we’ve seen this...
SLIDE:
Life Under God
Pursue Wisdom
And in PURSUING wisdom - (we ask for it…we PRAY for it)
And then we PRESS IN…to God
In His word - and by our actions...
And we see that God BLESSES those who SEEK Him...
NOW -
Let’s go back to Solomon’s request - and pull out an implication of it.
5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.”
6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day.
7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in.
8 And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude.
9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”
Ok - having read this - UNDERSTANDING the situation...
Here’s what’s implied in Solomon’s request - Something we can learn from!
SLIDE: Life Under God: Prioritize the Calling of God in My Life
Life Under God
Life Under God
Solomon embraced his limitations…right?
He KNEW he - was - in a sense - Unqualified...
He said - I don’t know HOW TO DO THIS...
Give me the Wisdom to do this HOW YOU WANT ME TO DO THIS God…!
Because - I Can’t Do it!
This PROVED that he had prioritized his calling - Under God.
Had he prioritized his...
retirement… he probably would have asked for - more money
longevity as a king… he probably would have asked for - all the people to LIKE him
Instead - he prioritized his calling - UNDER God - so that he could be most effectively serve the PEOPLE of God.
How about you?
Have you prioritized your calling?
Listen to what Jesus said to Peter - who was IN THE PROCESS of literally walking with Jesus...
23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
What was Peter doing?
Peter had set his mind on the things of - MAN!
He was displaying Human Wisdom!
- And we can see here - what that results in - when it comes to our CALLING under God...
Peter was - a HINDRANCE to Jesus and His plan!
By Peter NOT prioritizing his calling - and in this moment - proclaiming Human Wisdom...
He became a Hindrance to Christ!
NOW - we KNOW this to be true - because we have this conversation in the Bible...
But how many of us have literally had this same conversation with Jesus...
Where Jesus HAS looked at us - and said - Get behind me satan!
- “Get behind me - apathetic church goer”
- “Get behind me - you who are more concerned about your comforts than my mission”
- “Get behind me - you who’s joy is ROOTED in your bank account”
- “Get behind me - you who are asleep in the boat”
- “Get behind me - you who rest in your fear”
“You are a hindrance to Me”… says Jesus.
We must examine ourselves!
- Consider your calling...
- Prioritize your calling in this world!
SUMMARY
Life Under God
Pursue Wisdom
Prioritize God’s Calling in Your Life
Wisdom:
Peaceable
Gentle
Reasonable
Full of Mercy and Good Fruits
Unwavering
Without Hypocrisy