We've been there 10,000 years Bright shining as the noonday sun We've no less days to sing God's praise was first begun. Amen. I know that's a new melody, but that's a nice melody for singing it. Alright, we'll dismiss the kids to go to their class now. If you are, let's see, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1, you can go with Mr. Schwartz to your class in the creche. And the rest of us can open our Bibles to 2 Chronicles, Chapter 28, 2 Chronicles chapter 28, though we read verses 1 through 10 in our text this morning, it's just verses 8 through 10, but 2 Chronicles chapter 28. King David, which is Solomon's father, he's known as the man that had a deep love for God. If you were to characterize David by one idea, it would be that this man had a Psalms that you read are precious because they speak about his love for God. In fact, the Bible says about David, as far as his heart for God, in Acts 13.22, he raised up unto them David to be their king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I found David, the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. What a tender heart David had. God could trust that heart of David to do and accomplish his purposes where King Saul had failed. But he raised up this man, David, to be a king of man after God's own heart. David, as a servant of God, was jealous to give God things of value. Remember the story where David was living in the wilderness and he said, I thirst. He thirsted for water from the spring in the well in Bethlehem. his mighty men broke through they brought that water to David and to Samuel 23 17 16 says that the three mighty men break through the hosts of the Philistines and Drew water out of the well Bethlehem that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David Nevertheless, he would not drink thereof but poured it out unto the Lord He said be it far from me Lord that I should do this is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives therefore he would not drink it and These things that these three mighty men. But it wasn't just that David wouldn't drink that water because the man had risked their lives to get it. It was priceless and it had been paid for by two greater prices, as it were. But David took that valuable water for which he thirsted. And the Bible says he poured it out unto the Lord, giving God something of immense value. Remember when David had numbered the people and God sent the curse upon the people and people were dying and the death angel was killing people. And David went to the threshing floor of Aaron and the angel The death angel was right there, and he's gonna offer us a sacrifice to God. And Aaron says, hey, take my oxen, take these instruments and make a sacrifice to God. And what does David say? He says, no, nay, but I will surely buy it of thee at a price. Neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 50 shekels of silver. David didn't want to give something to God of no value. He wanted to give something to God of immense value. And so you can understand at the end of David's life as he's looking at his palace, he's looking at the things that he has where he gets to dwell, and then he looks at the Ark of God. and the tent that it's in. And he's jealous, for God's sake, that God have a temple built for him. And it says in 2 Samuel 7, verses one and two, it came to pass when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies, that the king said unto Nathan, the prophet, see now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth with curtains. And so he's got a nice house, but he's looking at comparison to what God has as his earthly dwelling place. And it says in verse 12, or I'm sorry, verse two, then the king said to Nathan the prophet, to see now I dwell in this house, but then Nathan the prophet says to him, hey, go do all that's in thine heart. And then verse 12, it says, God said to David, and when the days be fulfilled, thou shall sleep with thy fathers, and I will set up thy seed after thee, that Solomon, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. Verse 13, and he shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children of men. And so God says to David, David, you're a man of war, and it says that in the text that we read this morning, but your son Solomon, is gonna build up this house to me, this temple. And so when we come to 2 Chronicles 28 8-10, our text this morning, it's David transferring that stewardship, even as we talked about stewardship this morning, that responsibility to his son Solomon. It's a sacred assembly, it's a solemn assembly, it's a solemn challenge given before God and the congregation, verse 8. He said, now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the congregation of the Lord, and in the audience of our God. He's going to give this solemn charge, but he's doing it not in private, but very much in public in a place that he's speaking in Solomon, but he's speaking in front of the congregation. That congregation is going to benefit from the words of David to Solomon, just like you and I benefit from it. It's kind of like going to a wedding or a graduation or ordination or a commissioning service, something like that. And you got the graduates perhaps sitting in the front or the person being ordained sitting in the front or the couple standing up before everybody getting married. And the pastor gives a charge to that couple, gives a charge to that individual, challenging them before all, right? But the benefit of those words to those individuals goes beyond just that couple or that person, to everybody that's sitting there. And that's the way it is for us this morning as we look at what takes place in this story. In a sense, it's like we're there, sitting in that same service or ceremony as King David stands before his son and challenges his son. And so we get to benefit from that. And so we're going to consider this morning what the challenge David gives to his son is and may God speak to our hearts and let's pray and ask him to bless his word this morning. Father, it's good for us to consider these words of King David to his son, King Solomon. Father, we pray that the Spirit of God gives ears to hear. Help us, our hearts to be tender to you today. Father, we pray that the Spirit of God would guide and direct in this service that you'd help me as I speak, help us as we listen. Father, we need your help. We need your presence this morning. We need your power in our ministry. We need the victory that you give. We need the grace that you give. We need hearts that are tender to you, quick to obey you, quick to yield to you, quick to serve you. And so, Father, use this challenge today to help us in our walk with you. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. You know, really, in all honesty, if you succeed in fulfilling the challenge that King David gives to King Solomon, you've succeeded. you get to end your life. If you kept this, just this passage of scripture, you get to end your life having succeeded in every aspect of your walk with God. And I think you'll see that as we go through this challenge this morning. So the first thing David said to Solomon, he said, now about your regard for God's law, about your regard for God's law. He's gonna speak to him about the commands of God and Solomon's regard for that. Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the book of Psalms. And each section of that psalm begins with a Hebrew letter of the alphabet. It's kind of a Hebrew alphabet psalm. And so say there's eight verses over, if it was the English alphabet, letter A, and then eight verses over letter B. right, in eight verses over letter C. But each verse of those 176 verses in that song, each verse contains a reference to the word of God. And tradition says that King David taught his son the alphabet with that song. Regardless of whether that's or not, that's true. King Solomon from his embassy would have been grounded in scriptures and in the law of God. That was such a part of his father's heart. And so his father, King David, challenges him to keep it, to keep it. Now, with regard to the law, keep it, he says, keep, and then you'll see, and he's gonna say and seek as well, but keep, then it says all the commandments of the Lord your God. without exception. Keep all the law, all the commandments. Psalm 197 says, the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testament of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Yeah, the law of the Lord is perfect. Is there anything lacking from God's law? Nothing. God's law is entire, it's complete, it's mature, it's finished, and it's exactly as God intended it. You know, when you're furnishing a home, you can do so by taste or budget. You know, if you like something, you can be at a shop, and if you can afford it, you can look at it and say, you know, I like that, I'd like to put that in my house, and you can take it home. Or you can be sitting in your house looking at something and say, you know, I really don't like that. And you can take whatever that is, and you can discard it if you want. But you know, when it comes to furnishing our life, it's not like that. It's taking the word of God as it stands, not according to taste, but according to God's what? God's law. There's often been times that man is rebelling against that. One such time, you might know the name Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson has something called the Jefferson Bible. And Wikipedia, speaking about that, says that this book was Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, commonly referred to as the Jefferson Bible. was a book constructed by Thomas Jefferson in the later years of his life by cutting and pasting with a razor and glue numerous sections from the New Testament as extractions of the doctrine of Jesus. Jefferson's condensed composition is especially notable for its exclusion of all miracles by Jesus and most mentions of the supernatural. including sections of the four Gospels which contain the resurrection and most other miracles and passages indicating that Jesus was divine. You know, Thomas Jefferson looked at the Word of God and he said, I don't like that, I like that. I don't like that, I like that. Based on that, he discarded much of God's commands. But isn't that the way a lot of churches are or a lot of even our society is becoming with regard to the Word of God? It's a pig in shoes. Solomon was told by King David, keep all of his commandments. God's word is perfect, it's marred when it's pulled apart. So keep it. But the second thing with regard to God's law that he said was seek it, seek it. He said, keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord your God. How can you follow God's word if you don't know it? Be difficult, wouldn't it? Be hard to say to somebody, you know what, you know, make your way to, we went to Carlisle on Wednesday, took Brother Webb down there to meet the next ministry that he was going to be in, Art Cunningham, who came up from Darwin, England. As we took him down there, it'd be a very difficult thing for me to find my way to Darwin without, in our case, having a sat-nav, a GPS, to take us there. Something to direct us, something to guide us. But how can we know that, the way to Carlisle, without looking at the map, looking at the GPS, looking at which way to go, and studying it, understanding it? Solomon keep God's law without seeking it. That time spent knowing and understanding God's word. There's many people that have tried to teach God's word without ever knowing it. Paul spoke to Timothy about men like that. In 1 Timothy 1.7, he said about some desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor whereof they affirm. Have you ever talked to somebody like that? They're in a religion, and there might be even a leader within that religion, but as you ask them about what they believe, they can't really pin them down on it. It's kind of nebulous. It's kind of out there. It's not fact. It's kind of just kind of made up as they go. These guys did that, understanding neither what they say nor of they affirm. But in Paul's instruction to Timothy, he said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2.15, Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. God wants us to be able to take this book and say, you know, this is what the word of God speaks about, divorce. It's what it speaks about, marriage. It's what it speaks about, you know, parenting. It's what it speaks about, work. It's what it speaks about, obedience to God and pleasing God in a right spirit, a right attitude, a right heart. This is what God says. And as for a church, this is what it says about a church, and church polity, and how a church is organized, and what a church purpose is. Study to show thyself approved unto God of workmen, that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. And we need to be constantly looking at this book. You know, church, I'm trying, I mentioned since the web evangelist to me, and I wanna encourage everybody, have an open Bible, if possible. Why? Because that's where it is. Seek it. in the word of God, and then not just keep it and seek it, Solomon, but then he also said to Solomon, pass it on, pass it on. Get it on to the next generation, that you may possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you forever. God's blessing was upon those that kept his word and sought his word. And for the sake of the blessing upon the land, King David challenged his son, Solomon, Solomon, stay in that point of blessing, keep God's word, seek God's word, so the blessing will continue. But how could Solomon pass that blessing on to the next generation if they weren't gonna keep God's word and seek God's word? What did he have to do? He had to say, you know what, to the next generation, keep God's word, seek God's word. That's where the blessing is. I mentioned, I've probably mentioned several times, but my grandparents, were dairy farmers out in Colorado. They didn't live right in Durango. They lived 20 miles outside of Durango, up in the plains. You had to drive through the mountains to get to the higher plains where they had their dairy farm. But as dairy farmers, I praise God, and I'd love to see a generation like this, but I mean, these are just church people. These aren't people that are on staff. These aren't people that are getting paid. These are just people that had a heart for God. And their generation can sit down as a family and have family altar. And I love listening to my aunt Bonnie and my dad and mother and uncle speak about those seasons of prayer, this time in God's word and how precious that was to them as a family. And then I've shared before, but all four of the kids went into full-time ministry. Why did God so bless a farming family with kids that had a real heart for God and desire to serve God? Because there was a priority in that family upon the word of God. I praise God. I grew up in a family like that. I can remember family devotions. And as a family, we get around the Bible, get around the word of God. In our family, what we're seeking to do and have done ever since the kids were very little is every night before the kids go to bed, I plan on never stopping this, God helping me. is that if it's not a church night, a Thursday night or a Sunday night, that we spend time in the Word of God or time reading a missionary about a missionary prayer request or reading a missionary biography and we pray together as a family. Why? Because that's where the blessing is. And that's what David is saying to Solomon, he's saying, Solomon, keep God's Word, seek God's Word, and pass it on. Pass it on, communicate it to the next generation so they can have God's blessing too. So that's the first thing, know God's Word. You know, as you think about that, how much time did you spend in this book this past week? Or how much time as a family did we spend in this book this past week? How much time in church did we spend this past week? And praise God again for the evangelistic needs. One of the blessings of that is we're sitting under the word of God day after day after day. And whether it's the gospel being preached or whatnot, it still benefits us and blesses us. Stay in God's word, Solomon. Then he says, secondly, after speaking about his regard for God's law, He says now about your relationship with God, about your relationship with God. He says, know him, verse nine. He says, and thou, Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy father. But wait a second, I mean, he just told him to know God's commands and to keep them, but that's different, isn't it? It wasn't enough for Solomon to know his Bible ABCs to be able to, somebody say, what does the word of God say about murder? And Solomon could quote all the scripture regarding it. It's more for Solomon than just having this understanding of in the beginning God created and all the practical truths of the word of God. It's more than that. It's about God desiring for Solomon to personally have a relationship with him. He needed that deep relationship. I already mentioned David was a man that was a man of God's own heart. David had a deep, sweet walk with the Lord. And David was, remember, what was David before God called him to be king? Kids? He was a shepherd. And he was a keen woodsman. Remember all those years he spent in the wilderness and running from King Saul, David was skilled in the woods and he used those ideas of the wilderness to express his love for God. It says in Psalm 42, one, as the heart paneth after the water brooks, so paneth my soul after thee, O God. David said, just like that deer that his sides are heaving, his tongue is drooping out of its mouth, and it's thirsting, and it needs that refreshing drink, and perhaps he's thinking in the wilderness that we've looked at before, that cave where he dwelt, where it's very desert and mountainous. A deer there that is dying of thirst, he said, just like that. As the deer panteth after the waterbrook, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. Question, did David have a desire for God? Yeah, I did. Psalm 63, one and two. Oh God, my God, early will I seek thee. My soul thirsteth for thee. My flesh longeth for thee. In a dry and thirsty land where no water is, to see thy power and thy glory, so as I've seen thee in the sanctuary. David had a passion to know God. My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is. Why? To see thy power and thy glory so as I've seen thee in the sanctuary. And now he says to Solomon, Solomon, know God. David, I think of all people I think of in scripture that had a deep relationship with God, on the top of the list would be David. Had a real heart for God and desire to know God. You know, how do you get to know someone? You ever think about that? He's saying to Solomon, Solomon, no, God, well, Solomon could say, okay, how do I do that? But how do you get to know somebody? This past week, or the last, actually, two weeks, really, we had the webs here. You know, and I knew the webs, I'd met them probably 10 years ago as an assistant pastor as they came to our ministry in Michigan, but I didn't know them that well. But you know, I can say now today that I know Barry and Cheryl Webb a lot better, and I actually know them pretty well in comparison with how I knew them two weeks ago. How did that happen? Well, you know, we spent a lot of time together. When they were here, it wasn't just at church. I mean, it was showing them around our area, taking them to different places. We spent a lot of hours every day with one another. Then this past week, for two nights, they didn't stay at the motel. They actually stayed with us. So they dwell with us and while we're doing that, I'm listening to their stories and they're listening to mine. And I mean, one night we were up till about 12, 15 or sometime after midnight, just sharing stories and just talking. You know, how do you get to know God? Well, it's just the same, isn't it? Isn't that how we get to know God? We spend a lot of time with God, that we take time sharing our hearts with him and he shares his heart with us through his word, that we dwell with him. I mean, the Lord says to abide in him, right? That there's thoughts during the day, I'm thinking about God and considering him and who he is. Do you know God? How much time do you spend with him this week? How much time do you spend in the word of God? How much time do you spend in prayer? Solomon said, or King David said to Solomon, Solomon, you gotta know God's commands, and to do that, you gotta be in the word of God to get there. And seek them, so study the word of God. And communicate them unto others, but Solomon's, it's more than that superficial, what could be superficial knowledge of God, it's about having a deep personal relationship with God, and keeping that relationship. And so he says, know him. But then he also says, serve him. Serving with a perfect heart. Then it goes on to say, for the Lord searcheth all hearts. Serving with a perfect heart. You know, an imperfect heart is something that God's aware of. God sees the inside, not just the outside. And God's aware of that. And David knew that sin breaks fellowship. David greatly sinned against God and mourned over it. We've got two Psalms, Psalm 32 and Psalm, is it 51, that David wrote as Psalms of remorse and Psalms of repentance and Psalms of restoration with God. But old David knew that sin breaks fellowship. Psalm 66, 18 says, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. It's not just if I sin, but it's if I sin and I harbor it. If I sin and I treasure it, if I sin and I hold on to it and I cherish it, if I regard iniquity in my heart, what? The Lord will not hear me. He just said that his son, King Solomon, no God but sin impacts him. And so he says, serve him with a perfect heart. You know, the Bible says in Matthew 6, 21, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. What we treasure, what we value, what we take as something of importance to us, that's our treasure. Where treasure is, there will your heart be also. That's where our heart is. The Crown Jews of Scotland. I don't know if you've ever seen them at the Edinburgh Castle. But as you read this story about the Crown Jews of Scotland, for years, they're hid away in a chest. And you can say this, only God knew where they were, right? Because God knew they were there and knew they were in that chest. But it came to the point where men didn't know. And Sir Walter Scott and others researched it and got the chest out. And it sounded hollow as they're breaking the lock off. And it wasn't until they opened it that they realized, yeah, the treasure was there, the crown jewels. But you know, who knew all along that that treasure was there was God. You know, God this morning knows in our hearts what's there. Men don't always know. Men can be deceived or fooled, or even we can be self-deceived. But God knows what's there in our heart. And God would have us to have a pure heart 1 Timothy 1.5 says, now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith and faith. What does God desire this morning, just like with Solomon? Solomon, serve him with a pure heart. You know, God wants us to serve him, but God wants us to serve him rightly related to him without anything breaking that fellowship with him. Serve him with a perfect heart and then serve him with a willing mind. With a willing mind. of the thoughts. Whose burden was it to build the temple originally? Solomon's? No. Who's David's? Have you ever, my parents had this idea about me that I would play the piano. My dad's a very accomplished pianist. He's very good, he's very skilled. But you know, it was never my thing. I took piano for 10 years, and I praise God it helped me, and the discipline was good, and I learned to read music, and I can read both clefs, and I play the trombone. That's what I play, but I don't really play the piano. I can blink things out. It's not my thing. Well, my dad's dream was to be a concert pianist. What if he would have put that dream on me and said, you know, son, someday you're gonna be a concert pianist. I'm carrying this burden of my dad wanting me to do something I can't do. It wasn't enough for King David to have this burden to build the temple. Who else had to be burdened about it? Solomon, right? And so he says to Solomon, serve him with a willing mind for the Lord to understand all the imagination of the thoughts. Does God force us to do what he knows we should do? He doesn't, does he? God doesn't come down and say, well, you know, I know this is best for your life, I know it's what I want you to do, but because you're not willing to do it, I'm gonna make you do it. What does God do? He gives us opportunity to decide by God's grace to do what he's called us to do. He doesn't force us to do it. Mark 8, 34. It says, and when he called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Whose choice is it to follow after God? You can answer out loud. I know this is morning service and we don't normally talk a lot, but whose choice? It's ours. It says, whosoever will, that's your choice. Let him deny himself, that's your choice. Take up his cross, that's your choice, and follow me. It's your choice, right? I mean, God doesn't stand over us over Barry and say, well, it's gotta be done, so you've gotta do it, and here you go. God allows us to enter into it and say, God, I'll do it. God, I surrender. God, that made it really tough for me. Barry Webb spoke about the fact that he was a wallflower. I would testify to the same thing. I shared some stories with them. You know, about my youth, I wouldn't go to the grocery store and buy deodorant when I needed it. You know, I wouldn't. I was that shy. But you know, God called me to preach by its grace, right? But I had to surrender to that. It was the hardest thing for me in high school to say to God, God, I'll do that, whatever you want me to do, even if it's preaching. That was not an easy thing. But you know, that's what God asked us to do, is to surrender. You look at William Carey, Hudson Taylor, George Whitfield, D.L. Moody, and David Livingston. You can list all these names of great men of God. How did they do it? They did it with a willing spirit. They said, okay, God, I'll do it. You know, it's like Isaiah in heaven hearing God say, whom shall I send? Who will go for us? And then he raises his hand and says, what, Lord, here am I, send me. Are you willing? If God chose you, You know, in this case, he's building a temple. It's not maybe something Solomon ever thought about, but I'm sure Solomon, in entering into the will of God, is gonna love very much doing what God's called him to do, but he had to submit to it. Have you submitted? Has there ever been a time in your life, and young person, I'll ask you this, because you're at this point in your life, has there ever been a time where you said to God, God, no matter what you want me to do with my life, no matter what it is, God, that's what I desire to do. God, no matter who you want me to marry, that's who I wanna marry. God, no matter who you want or where you want me to go in life, that's, God, where I wanna go. Have you said that? Have you surrendered? It has to be willing. God isn't gonna force anyone into his service, so there's great work to do, but you gotta be willing to do it. And then he says to Solomon, fear him, fear him. If thou seek him, he will be found of thee, but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever. That's sobering, isn't it? He said to Solomon, Solomon, know God, love God, know his commands, and be personally related to him with a willing heart. But Solomon, be warned, if you disobey God and you reject God, God will also reject you. Fear God, stand in the fear of God. God wants to bless, but those who reject his blessing choose his judgment. Isn't that true? God wants to save everybody. He's not willing. The Bible says that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But somebody that rejects the blessing of God's salvation accepts the judgment of God, right? Imagine in Edinburgh that we are having a huge flood. You know, the water level's rising, but there's a rich businessman, it's very wealthy, and he decides he's gonna do his best to save the city. And he builds all these flats up on the Pentland Hills, up above water level, and he invites everybody and says, look, I won't sell these, you can't buy these, you can't offer me anything for these, but I'll give them to you if you'll come and accept them, right? Now imagine some people didn't get saved, didn't get rescued from the flood. Why didn't they? Well, there might be people that didn't believe the flood was coming, right? They just don't believe it. You know, there's people like that today. Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world. He offers free salvation, but they don't believe it. They don't believe God's got a literal hell. And in fact, there's religious groups that say there is no hell. So they choose to believe that rather than believe the word of God. They reject it, they miss God's blessing. Or maybe somebody wouldn't want charity. If I live there, that's charity. I want to work for it. I want to earn it. You know, there's people in religions that say to God, God, I want to do all these things, and I want to please you by my works, and you'll accept me for my works. And God says, you can't afford it. You can't buy it. I offer this again. But they're trying to purchase it. There might be somebody that didn't like the businessman and refused to sell, right? They just don't like him. They don't like him. There's people like that, they hate God, they despise God, they reject God. Even though God offers His blessing, they receive damnation because they don't love God. Or there's people that like where they live, right? It might be somebody in Edinburgh and say, I don't wanna move, I like it here, but judgment's coming. And there's people like that in life. They've got their sin, they've got their things, and they reject God's blessing because they wanna keep those things. And those things lead to their damnation. But you know, could anybody blame that businessman for not helping them or not being willing to help them? No. You know, and nobody can stand before God and say to God, you know, why didn't you bless me? Because they didn't live their life in fear of God, like David's telling Solomon to. He's saying to Solomon, Solomon, fear God. Why? Because of consequences. You know, a young person, you might think, well, I'm just gonna do my own thing. I'm just gonna keep my sin. I'm just gonna harden my heart against God. I'm just gonna go this way, and that's fine. Well, it's not fine. And what you'll find is that God in his absolute authority will hold us accountable for everything that we have. And so are you seeking God today? You know, if you seek him, he'll be found of you, just like David said to Solomon. But beware, if you forsake God, you're forsaking the fountain of life and choosing his damnation. So David began with, now Solomon, about your regard for God's law. Know the commands, keep them, seek them, pass them on. Then he spoke to Solomon about his relationship with God and said to know him and to fear him. But then also David said to Solomon, now about your responsibilities towards God, about your responsibility towards God. And he begins with just reminding Solomon, look, remember, God chose you for this. He chose you. So listen carefully to what he's telling you. Verse 10, take heed now, listen now, for the Lord hath chosen thee to build a house for the sanctuary. You know, why? Well, God in his wisdom saw a young man that he desired to use. His father David had been a soldier and he had blood on his hands and God chose not to use him, but he chose Solomon. But in God's wisdom, God looked at Solomon and he saw a young person, a young man, a man that he could use. You know, as God looks at you, and no matter where we're at in life, whether we're adult or young person, you know what God sees somebody he could use? Is that true this morning? Does God have something, a ministry that he desires us to fill? Can each one of us serve God as effectively as somebody else with the gifts God's given to us, doing what God wants us to do? And the answer is yes. And the answer is as well that God does have a plan for you. Just like he did with all these saints in the past that God had plans for. You think of Moses. He was just a prince in Egypt. He was just a shepherd. But he became the leader of the children of Israel. In Exodus 3.10, God said, Who sent Moses? Answer? God. God heard Israel crying out and saying, God, we need deliverance. We need deliverance. We need deliverance. And God said, I'll send a deliverer. And he got Moses. Amos was just a farmer, a herdman. His story, Amos 7, 14, 15. Then answered Amos and said unto Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son, but I was a herdman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit. And the Lord took me as I followed the flock and the Lord said unto me, go prophesy unto my people Israel. He's just doing what God called him to do. He's a herdman. He's a gatherer of sycamore fruit. He's a farmer. And then God says, look, I want you to be a prophet. And God took him from that position, and he took him into his ministry. Remember the story of Elisha. Elisha is just plowing with the yoke of oxen, and Elijah comes along and says, you're the next prophet after me. What about the fisherman Peter, Matthew 16, 18? I say also unto thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Jesus is the one that said to Peter, Peter, follow me. And Peter left all and followed him. Why was Peter the fisherman became Peter the preacher? Because of God's will for his life. What about Esther the Jewess, Esther 414? For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall their enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place, but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed. And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Why is Esther in the king's house? Is it because she's beautiful? Is it because she's intelligent? And the answer to both of those actually would be no, but she's both. The answer to that, in truth, is God had brought Esther into the palace for such a time as this, just like Mordecai said. We read these stories, and I hope young people, you look at it and go, wow, look at what God did with that person's life. But think about this, wow, what can God do with your life? God's got a purpose, just like with Solomon. Solomon's purpose was, here in this case, he was the steward of the temple building. He was the one that was gonna have to get it done. But what does God have for you to do? Adults the same, what does God have for you to do? You know, any one of us can look at our life right now and say, you know what, God's got something for me to do this year, what is it? And then God would say to us, as King David said to King Solomon, remember that you can do what God has called you to do. as he says to be strong and do it. Be strong and do it. Did King Solomon lead this life so great a people? Yes, he could, but what did he need? He needed wisdom. Who's gonna give it to him? God, right? God provided it. You know, you might feel like I can't do it. You know what? You can do what God's called you to do no matter what it is. No matter how far out of your comfort zone it is, or how much beyond your abilities or finances it is, you can do it. I encourage the young people, pray about Christian college. Don't ever say, I can't go to Christian college because I can't afford it. Because why? Because God is, he owns a cattle on a thousand hills, a wealth in every mind. There's been many Christian young people that have gone to Christian college, that have seen God provide and meet every single need that they had. Why? Because God's the one that does that, if he wants you to go there, right? Why should we look at things and say, I can't do it? Solomon didn't have to look at the temple and say, I can't get it done, because he could do it by God's grace. I mean, when he did it, he was doing it for God's glory. I worked at the Wilds Christian camp, and at the Wilds, as we got to every meal, we would say the same verse before every meal, 1 Corinthians 10 31, whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. You know how we ought to do everything that we've got before us this week? We ought to do it to the best of our ability, to the glory of whom? God. Solomon, how should you build the temple? Solomon, do it to the best of your ability, do it to the glory of God. Be strong and do it. Again, as we look at our church, as we look at the stewardships that God's given to us, we ought not complain and say, I can't do it, I can't do it, I can't do it. Well, I mean, be honest enough and say, I can't do it, but by your grace, I can, right? That's the true answer. By God's grace, I can. and do it, be strong and do it. And so I'd love to have been there to see King David look at his son, King Solomon and say, you know, I've got this burden. I have so burdened to build the temple. I stockpiled everything. I wanted to build a temple for God, but God said I couldn't. But my son, you get to. And so he begins to challenge him and he says, look, know the law of God. Seek it, keep it, pass it on. You know, today, if you did this, if you just did these three things that Solomon was challenged by, you'd have a very successful life. Regard the law of God, consider it, understand it, know it, and do it. And then know God personally, love God, fear God. And then the third thing, what is it? Do your responsibility towards God. Get it done. Do something for God. Isn't that basic? I mean, I love basic things. Sometimes you're playing a sport and it's not going right, sometimes you just gotta get back to the basics. You know, it's pretty simple when you think about it, isn't it? Our service for God, just as it's been summarized by King David, know this word, know the God of this word, and do the will of God. Right? It's pretty simple. But if you do those things, you get to the end of your life and you go, man, this is living and I've done it. And that's, you know, what better words for a father to give his son in the last opportunity he has to challenge him before Solomon takes on that responsibility for the Lord and he passes on the baton of the kingship. And may God just come into our hearts today. So pray for the truth here and help us in our walk with the Lord. Let's pray and ask God to bless His word to our hearts. Father, we're thankful again for the word of God. this morning. Now, Father, it's entirely possible that some here this morning would have to confess before you that they didn't even crack their Bible this past week. They didn't listen to any scripture. They didn't read any scripture. They didn't meditate on any scripture. And, Father, for that individual, there'd have to be a repentance and say, Father, we've missed it. We've missed it. We're supposed to have a regard for God's law, and we disregarded it. And then, Father, to know you, And to consider this past week and think, you know, what time did I spend in prayer? What time did I spend in meditating and thinking about God and cultivating a relationship with God and understanding the mind of God? And Father, if we didn't do that, again, we'd have to repent and say, God, help me so that I can have your blessing, so I can have the fruitfulness of the blessing of obeying your word. And then certainly, Father, there's a work to be done. And Father, it's not about our lives, living our lives and letting day after day after day after day after day go by and not accomplishing anything for God. And so I pray, may the Spirit of God remind us that there is a task that you've called us to do and that we have to be strong and do it. You've chosen us for it. Father, just choosing us isn't enough. We've got to be willing. We've got to have that servant's heart that accepts the responsibility. But then by the grace of God, we've got to do it. And perhaps today, Father, as a young person, or an adult that has said to you, no, when you've said to them to do something, they've refused. And Father, in their hearts, they know that. I pray the Spirit of God to give them grace to repent of that and to get right in that area so that they can do what you've called them to do. And so Father, there's much practical truth. There's decisions that we need to make this morning with regard to what we've heard. So help us to do that. Blessed we sing a hymn of invitation. It's in Christ's name.