We are going to turn to the Old Testament, the first book of Kings chapter 3 and we shall read from verse 1. First Kings chapter 3 and reading from verse 1. And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord until those days. Solomon loved the Lord. Walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. A thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. In Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee. And thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O Lord my God, Thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father, and I am but a little child. I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people, which thou hast chosen, a great people that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad, For who is able to judge this, thy so great a people? And did this speech please the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing? God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither hast thou asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment. Behold, I have done according to thy words. Lo, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart, so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked both riches and honour, so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all the days of thy life. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.' And Solomon awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings. and offered peace offerings and made a feast to all his servants. We'll end at verse 15 and we know that the Lord will bless to us this reading from his own inspired and infallible word. Before we turn to the preaching of God's word, shall we bow briefly in prayer to beseech the Lord's blessing. O God, our gracious Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the word of the living God. We praise Thee that this word shall never pass away, though, Lord, we ask that as we turn to it that Thou would teach us out of Thy truth. Lord, that this word may be more and more a lamp unto our feet and a light to our path. We ask, Lord, that as we study thy truth this morning, that our hearts will be inspired and drawn closer to thyself. Lord, that we will be obedient, that we might know the blessing of the Lord upon us. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of every heart be acceptable in thy sight, because we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. This morning we want to consider for a brief period Solomon's choice as we have it here in 1 Kings 3 verses 1-15. We have Solomon's choice and my what a noble and fine choice he made. If you turn back to 2 Samuel 12 verse 24 You will find there that it was said of Solomon that the Lord loved him. That is a beautiful phrase. The Lord loved him. The Lord loved Solomon even as a child. Before he could come to understand between right and wrong, the Lord loved Solomon. What a splendid thought that is. even for us today, to know that the Lord loves us. Before we could understand, yea, even before we were born, yea, He had loved us in Christ before the foundation of the world. What a blessing! What a glorious thought! Just to read of one person here, the Lord loved him. And it is fitting that it is now stated here in chapter 3 of 1 Kings, that Solomon loved the Lord. And that's a wonderful thing. To know that God loves you, but then to be able to say out of a heart experience that you love the Lord, that's even more tremendous. John tells us in his epistle that we love him because he first loved us. And today, because we love the Lord, we don't bring any glory to ourselves. We don't seek any honor because we have made the choice to serve him. But we give God all the praise. We give God all the honor because he loved us when we weren't able to love anything or anybody. So we praise him this morning that he loved us. And now it's said of Solomon, in verse 3 of this chapter, it is so fittingly stated that Solomon loved the Lord. Oh, I wonder, do you love the Lord this morning? The Lord loves you. There's no doubt about it. He loved the world of sinners lost and ruined by the fall. Salvation, through the highest cost, He offers free to all. Oh, t'was love, t'was wondrous love, the love of God to me. brought my Saviour from above to die and kill me." What tremendous love! And now Solomon says he loves the Lord. Oh, may there be bubbling over in our souls this morning a great wail of praise because we love the Lord. And may we be able to say, I love the Lord because He heard my voice and my supplications, delivered me from my sin, and rescued me from the very jaws of hell. Praise God, we love him this morning. And surely the love of God should awaken in every heart a desire to love him. And surely, as we study Solomon today, I trust that the Lord will inspire us to a greater love, because I want at the very commencement to warn concerning Solomon Solomon's life could be described as a day. He had a very bright sunrise in life. The morning of Solomon's life was a very blessed one, one that we should all seek to experience. But alas, when we come to the noontide of Solomon's life, it's a sultry one. It is beginning to darken and the clouds are beginning to hover over Solomon's life as he begins to transgress the commandment of God. And the evening time of Solomon's life was a life of disgrace and shame because of his sin and backsliding and going away from the Lord and disobeying the very Word of God. Here is a young man setting out on the journey of life. A young king calls himself just a child among so many people. And he starts out so bright in life. And God asks that he may have a choice. God asks him what he would desire that God would give him. And he makes a very wonderful and wise choice. And I would say to every young person here this morning, And you're, as it were, beginning on life's journey. The Lord alone knows the length of your days. May you ask, as Solomon did, for wisdom. May you ask that the Lord would give you a wise and understanding and hearing heart, so that you might have discernment, to discern between right and wrong, good and evil, and to understand what the will of the Lord is. that you may go forth to do the will of the Lord and be able, with wisdom and discernment from above, to exercise judgment according as God would have you do. Surely there is no better thing that we could ask for today in the Lord's house. And as we worship the very God of heaven, the Saviour of our souls, to plead and pray that God would give to us a wise and discerning heart. And if you've got a Bible with a margin, you'll find in the margin that it says a hearing heart. It's a hearing heart. May you have a hearing heart. Hearing the voice of God in every line. Directing, guiding and protecting your footsteps as you journey the pathway of life. We find here that In Solomon's case, this blessing came to him after he had been in meditation for some considerable time contemplating the Lord and spending time in offering sacrifices to God. He had spent time in Gibeon with the Lord at the altar of sacrifice, where he recognized that of himself he was hopeless and helpless, weak, And he was there contemplating the Lord. And it was in such a time of blessing that God appeared to him. God appeared to him in a dream and spoke to him and gave him this choice. And I believe that the time of blessing will come as we take time to contemplate the Lord. As we take time from the things of the world, no matter how busy, and my, there is no one more busy than a king or a president of the country. The calls and demands of people and nation and world are at his hand. But here was Solomon taking time to go to Gibeon, there to that place and to be at the altar of sacrifice and to offer up sacrifices to God and to prepare his heart for great things that God had in store for him. And my, it's good that we can come to this altar of sacrifice here this morning in the house of God. Take time to come to God's house, that we might all not only meet with each other and have fellowship, but to meet with the God of heaven around his blessed and sacred word, that we might hear his voice and have hearing hearts to listen to the voice of God. And whatsoever At the wedding of Cain of Galilee, the disciples came to the mother of Christ, Mary, his earthly mother, and they said to her, we've run out of wine. We're in a fix now. What are we going to do? She just said, whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. So as we come to the house of the Lord this morning, we come to hear his voice and whatsoever he saith unto us, let us do it. Yes, Solomon had a deep sense of his own weakness and unworthiness. And after this time of preparation and dedication of his life to God, God comes to him and gives him this offer. We notice it is a divine offer. God said, Ask what I shall give thee. Verse 5. Ask what I shall give thee. Verse 5. Let us pause and think who it is that makes such an offer. It's a divine offer. It's God. This I. Ask what I shall give thee. It's the great I Am that's talking. The One who is neither beginning nor ending. I Am, I Am. The God who filleth all eternity. It's the mighty God. The Creator and the Possessor of all things. whose name is holy and whose nature is love, that is speaking to Solomon and saying, Ask what I shall give thee. My, when we consider such a mighty and such a high God who inhabited eternity and filled eternity, all its space and time and heaven itself, My, the heavens cannot contain him! The earth cannot contain him! God is too great to be contained in bounds! And yet it is this God who comes personally to Solomon, and he says to a little creature like Solomon, a worm of the dust just like you and I, and he says, Ask what I shall give thee. What a tremendous offer! It's a divine offer. Oh my, we think of the abounding generosity of the offer of God. What shall I give thee? Only one chance like this is needed to enrich any soul and to pour into any soul the wealth of the riches of the divine mercy and of the riches of heaven that are at our disposal. Only one offer is needed to enrich your heart, to enrich your life. And yet God comes so often and He offers it. He repeats that offer again and again to us. Because in Christ we have all the blessings of heaven at our disposal. in the Lord Jesus Christ, Romans 8.32, I think it is, where the Bible says, God that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? My, what generosity there is in God's offer to us today. Young person and older person, God is saying to us this morning, ask what I shall give thee. And as God is making this offer to us, let us be wise in our reply. Let our answer be one of real thought, guided to make the right reply. Yes, how great are the unsearchable riches of God. In the Lord Jesus Christ, we have all that we need for life. We have all that we need for eternity. Yea, even without asking, God knows what we are in need of. And the Bible says He is able to give exceedingly abundantly above anything that we could ask or think. We could never ask too much. We will never impoverish God by His giving. Let us come, as this offer is made to us today, sinners, weak and helpless though we are, feeling the weakness of the flesh, feeling the dreariness of life's journey, feeling that of ourselves we are nothing. Let us come to the One who offers us a divine offer, asking what I shall give thee. Let us ask wisely. Now we want to look at this wise choice. Verse 9. Give thy servant an understanding heart. We have the divine offer. God makes that offer. It's a superabounding offer. It's the God that filleth eternity, who is the creator of the ends of the earth and the redeemer of our souls, who makes such an offer. It's an offer that is sufficient to enrich us for time and for eternity, to meet every need. Let's consider the wise choice of Solomon. Gave thy servant an understanding heart. An understanding heart, verse nine. That he may be able to judge the people, that I may discern between good and bad, for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? In verse 10, the speech pleased the Lord. that Solomon had asked this thing. Now, what are we asking for this morning? Does the thing we ask for please the Lord? Is it according to His will? Or are we asking something for selfish purposes and aims that we may consume it upon the lusts of our flesh? It was not enough that Solomon should have had the opportunity of choosing, but he must make up his mind and speak forth his heart and make his request. And we must do that today as well. God is giving us the offer, but God has also given us with the offer the capacity to make that choice, to choose a good gift, to choose that from the Lord, which would be a blessing in our own lives and a blessing to others. every gospel hearer, every hearer this morning of God's Word as the opportunity of making such a choice. But how few like Solomon seek to have a hearing heart. It was a wise choice because it covered all his needs. If you look at verses 7 and 8. Now, O Lord my God, thou Thou hast made thy servant king instead of David thy father, and I am but a little child. I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people, which thou hast chosen a great people that cannot be numbered or counted for multitude. Give thy servant an understanding heart that he may judge wisely." It covered all his need. It covered everything. He made this request and surely this was the very need of his heart. And this choice that Solomon made was a choice that pleased the Lord. And if we choose wisely this morning and please the Lord in our choice, then the choice will please God and cover all our need. Cover all our need. If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, which giveth you all men liberally, and of greed of not, and it shall be given him. Christ has made unto us wisdom, sanctification, and honour, and everything that is needed. And in choosing Him, and in choosing their portion of our inheritance in Christ, we choose that which covers all our needs. Because the Lord Jesus Christ said, I will supply all I need according to my riches in glory by Christ Jesus. He daily loaded us with benefits. Oh, how goodness is thy mercy and thy bounty that thou hast laid up for those who love thee. Oh, it's pressed down and running over. And it covers all our need. If we make a wise choice this morning, then it will cover every need. And this pleased the Lord, if you read verse 10, pleased the Lord, because what he asked was not for himself or a selfish advantage. It was not for his own sake alone that he might have pleasure in it himself. But it was for the honor of the Lord and the good of the people over whom God had made him king. And we always ask amiss when we would consume anything upon our own pleasures and our own lusts. Are not our prayers often hindered and choked with the cares and anxieties of self-interest? We want something for the wrong reasons. We want something for the wrong purposes and the wrong ends. I remember an evangelist telling us about a mission he conducted in a certain district back in Ulster. And this dear lady was attending the meetings every night. And she would come to the prayer meeting and she would pray and pray her heart out. She was praying for her husband who was not saved. Her husband, unfortunately, was not kind to her. He was very unkind to her. And she was praying that the Lord would save her husband and change his life. She kept on praying and nothing happened. And eventually the evangelist thought he would go and ask her concerning her husband. And he said to her, Why have you been praying every night for your husband? Why do you want him saved? And she said, Well, he would be much easier to live with if he was saved. The evangelist said, Look, ma'am, I don't want to be unkind to you. But that's the very reason why your prayer is not answered. You're asking for the wrong reason, for the wrong purpose. If you're not asking for the glory of God and the salvation of a sinner, then God will not hear your prayer. And very often we ask God for things for the wrong reasons, with a wrong motive, for our own selfish interest and anxiety, that it might be consumed upon the lusts of our flesh. And if we make a choice this morning that pleases the Lord, something that is going to bring glory and honor to His name, and is going to bring honor to the kingdom of Christ on this earth, then I believe that will not only please the Lord, but it will cover all our needs, and our prayers will not be hindered, and God will grant it. And I want us to notice also the abundant answer. that was given to this request. Look at verse 12. We have here this abundant answer. Behold, I have done according to thy works. And, lo, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart, so that there was none like unto thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. Verse 11. God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment. Behold, I have done according as thou hast requested." Wonderful reply. What an abundant answer. He got what he asked in this answer. I have given thee a wise and understanding heart, verse 12. God alone can work such a gift in us. This is the work of the Lord to give us a wise and understanding heart. We ought to pray that God would give us discernment, that we might discern aright in the work of the Lord and in the things of God. When we are faced with great decisions in life, choices have got to be made that we will choose according to the wisdom God has given us in His Word. We'll ask for a hearing heart to hear His voice, an understanding heart to understand His will, and an obedient heart to put into practice what God says to us through His Word. That's the way to success. That's the way of blessing. This is the way of joy and peace in Christ. Any other way would be a way of suffering God's second best. It would be a way of losing out in the riches of the blessing of God. In the abundant answer that God gave, Solomon got what he asked because he asked aright. His heart was prepared as he sought the Lord previously had given him. He was in a state of hearing God's Word. How often we come into the presence of the Lord. Perhaps we rush into God's house sometimes or into the presence of the Lord. Our hearts are not prepared to hear his word. It hasn't been that preparation that is needed. How often we fail to receive the blessing of the Lord because of the unpreparedness of our own hearts. I believe the heart that is seeking God, the heart that is keen to know God's will, the heart that once God's best, we'll never be disappointed. May we seek to prepare ourselves as Solomon did, and when God gives us the choice, we'll make a wise choice, and we'll experience that abundant answer, and we'll get exactly what we asked. Oh, may this be fulfilled in you as a believer today. Let there be an abundant answer to your prayer, and the request that you have made to God in this church this morning, to His glory. May indeed be granted you. Ask and ye shall receive, saith the Lord Jesus. Seek and ye shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth. And everyone that knocketh, it is open to them. And thank God, he will withhold nothing that is good from his people. In the abundant answer that God gave, Solomon had only got what he asked for. He got more than he asked. I have given thee also that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honour." Why was this? Why did God do this? I believe we have the key to all this in Matthew chapter 6 verse 33. Jesus taught his disciples and preaching that sermon on the mount he said to his disciples, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And all these things shall be added unto you. That's the key to it. And if we have got this golden key to unlock the treasures of heaven, the wisdom and the knowledge that comes from above, my, we have got the greatest treasure in our hand if we simply seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. If we are seeking other things and they are our priority above the will of God and the things of God, then we will oftentimes be in a state of confusion. We will be in a cloudy, hazy, mazy state, not able to discern one way from another. But as we seek first the kingdom of God, Christ is enthroned upon our hearts. He is reigning there. He's in the throne room, he's in the seat of authority, he's guiding, he's holding the reins of our life. Now, there'll be nothing kept back from us but that which is for our good. Yes, he got more than he asked for. He sought first the kingdom and all these other things were added to him. They were added in such plentitude that Solomon exceeded it, as with all the kings that were before him. he was the richest and wisest king. Yes, he exceeded all who were before him. And surely such treasures are open to us this morning. There, if we'll just take the key, seek first the kingdom of God, then we'll be able to avail ourselves of the riches that are found in Jesus Christ. And he that hath Christ as saviour hath wisdom, because Christ is wisdom. He that hath Christ as Saviour has all that he needs, because in Christ every need is met. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, saith the Lord Jesus, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you of my Father which is in heaven. It will be granted. Lord, give me a hearing heart today. Lord, give me an understanding heart. Help me to understand what the mind and will of the Lord is. No matter what it is in connection with your family, your children, your work, your employment, your future, your church connection, whatever it may be, ask God that he may give you this hearing heart. But remember, once you hear that voice, obey the voice. Step out on the Word of God, on the command of God, and do His will. May the will of God be done in all our lives, that we might glorify Him. Ask what I will, and I shall give it thee. That's the promise. Brother and sister in Christ this morning, we come to the God of heaven and creation. He's a great and mighty God. But he's made himself known to us in Jesus Christ, came down to where we are, took our place, humbled himself. And he's saying to us today in this very house, as he stands here in all his risen power, ask what I shall give thee and it shall be done unto thee. And on save manner, women, the same offer has been given to you. Ask what I shall give thee. Oh, seek his salvation. Ask Him to give you life eternal, life more abundant than Jesus, to give you satisfaction through faith in Christ. Believer, ask what the Lord would give you this morning. Make a wise choice. Seek His will. Ask that which glorifies Him. Don't ask selfishly or out of a heart full of anxiety because of maybe your circumstances, but ask. seek first the kingdom and his righteousness and all other things shall be added to you. May the Lord bless you richly out of the abundance of his grace and glory today and throughout this week for Jesus' sake. Amen.