Solomon enabled for leadership

Now, very encouraging to see so many here. And you won't need to be a prophet to know we're gonna read in chapter three. First Kings chapter three and verse number one.

Now, I appreciate those who have volunteered to come and sit up front. The only negative about that is with the crowd here, that means you're gonna wait the longest to eat dinner. So there's a drawback, but we do appreciate you sitting up front.

Chapter three, verse number one, then 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 in the wall of Jerusalem round about. Only the people sacrificed in high places because there was no house built under the name of the Lord until those days. And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David, his father, only he sacrificed and burned incense in high places.

And the king went to giving into sacrifice there for that was the great high place, a thousand burn offerings that Solomon offer upon that altar. In giving in the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night and God said, ask what I shall give thee. And 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 an uprightness of heart with thee.

Now was kept for him this great kindness that was given him a son to sit on the throne as it is this day. And now, oh 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 to come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people, which thou has chosen a great people that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge the people that I may discern between good and bad for who is able to judge this thy so great a people.

And the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, because thou hast asked this thing and has not asked for thyself long life, neither has asked riches for thyself, nor has asked the life of thine enemies, but thou has 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, either after thee shall any arise like unto thee. I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honor, so that there not should be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou would walk in my ways to keep my statutes and commandments as my father David did walk, then I will lengthen my 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. Then came there two women that were harlots unto the king and stood before him.

One woman said, oh my Lord, I and this woman dwell in one house. I was delivered of a child with her in the house. And I, and it came to pass, the third day after that I was delivered that this woman was delivered also and we were together.

There was no stranger with us in the house save we two in the house. And this woman's child died in the night because she overlaid it. And she rose at midnight and took my son beside me while I handmaid slept and laid it in her bosom and lo, her dead child in my bosom.

When I arose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead. When I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son which I did bear. And the other woman said, nay, but the living is my son, the dead is thy son.

And this said, no, but the dead is thy son and the living is my son. Thus they spoke, spake before the king. Then said the king, the one saith, this is my son that liveth and my son is dead.

And the other saith, nay, but thy son is dead and my son is the living. And the king said, bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

And the king said, divide the living child in two and give half to the one and half to the other. Then spake the woman whose the living child was under the king. For her bowels yearned upon her son.

And she said, oh my Lord, give her the living child and no wise slay it. The other said, let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. The king answered and said, give her the living child and in no wise slay it.

She is the mother thereof. And all Israel heard of the judgment the king had judged. And they feared the king.

They saw the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment. Now God will bless the reading of his word. Perhaps this chapter or the chapter dealing with the visit of the Queen of Sheba are the best known in the life of Solomon.

So at least we're on somewhat more familiar ground in the chapter we have read today. But I hope as well with God's help to be able to bring some fresh things from this chapter and some things for you to consider. Now, a couple of comments were made in the interval.

They were good comments. And maybe just for the sake of clarifying, I should mention if you were here last night, you'll pardon the repetition. But we pointed out last night how in the many references to Solomon outside Kings and Chronicles, in other words, outside the historical accounts, the time the spirit of God refers to him, he uses his life and his background to draw lessons, to emphasize principles that are true for all time and are true for all believers.

And that is the basis upon which we come to an historical account of a man that lived 3,000 years ago in a totally different culture, in a totally different time, under totally different circumstances. And we have scriptural justification to lift out of this life lessons that we can apply to ourselves today. Now, in doing so, it should never violate, it should never violate New Testament teaching.

We just can't take what we want and make it say what we wanna say. But it should always have New Testament backing for the teaching and for the principles which are being underlined. So with that before us, then you'll understand why we are looking at Solomon, not just in a historical context, but looking at his life and lessons that we can learn from his life.

So with that said, I want you to consider first of all character traits, character traits that would spoil his life. We're gonna find them in chapter three at the very beginning. Character traits that would spoil his life.

I hope that as you're working on your fingers away that you're not texting each other, but making notes, okay? Or even texting your friends elsewhere. But okay, character traits that would spoil his life. We wanna look in verses four down to verse 15 at a choice, at a choice that shaped his life.

Choice as a young man. I'm not sure, it's difficult to be absolutely dogmatic. He may have been about 20 years of age here.

So that has great relevance for a lot of our young people. He may have been about 20 when we are in chapter three and he makes this monumental choice that is going to shape the rest of his life for God. So character traits that were going to spoil his life, choices that were going to shape his life, and then finally consecration that was stamped upon his life as we look at the end of the chapter.

So come with me then, first of all, to character traits that would spoil his life. There are two things that are introduced in the first three verses. And I'm gonna bring another one in that we'll come to later.

There were women, there was worship, and there was going to be wealth. The problem is that even though Solomon started out well, these three things are going to torpedo his life in the end. Women, worship, the high places that we read about here, and finally, wealth.

We see them all in verse, we see at least two of them here in the first three verses which we encounter. It's interesting that it never records, now I'm not saying it didn't happen, but it never records that Solomon married another Israelite. He's always marrying foreigners.

Here it's an Egyptian. It's obviously with a view to a political alliance to try to secure his kingdom. And it certainly would be very, very beneficial if you are in Israel to have an ally to your south in Egypt to protect your southern border so you wouldn't have to worry about all three sides of your little country being protected.

And so it was a politically expedient type of move. And later on, he's going to marry women from all of the heathen nations around. And it never mentions here, anywhere that he married a Jewish woman.

So that there was a weakness in Solomon. Now you may, and you could rightly challenge me and say there's nowhere that it forbids marrying an Egyptian. He speaks about not marrying a Moabite, not marrying an Ammonitess and so on.

Never speaks, but still he's moving outside for reasons other than what we would call scriptural. He's depending upon Pharaoh for security. And as a result, he's marrying this.

In fact, if you go through it, I think there are five different times it emphasizes he married an Egyptian, he married an Egyptian. You know what's significant about this? He marries an Egyptian at the beginning of his reign. And while he is married to an Egyptian, that same Egyptian nation is harboring the man who is going to revolt against him.

So Pharaoh's happy to give him a daughter, but also happy to harbor his enemies. And he's going to find out that Egypt is not such a friendly place in the end. So here we have this tremendous weakness that is evidenced at the very beginning of his reign.

Didn't torpedo things right away. In fact, as we're gonna see, his kingdom ascends and he's the man with the magic touch. Everything goes well.

But because he never dealt with this weakness towards women, it is going to be his undoing in the end. But not only women, but worship. Now, we read here that the people sacrificed in high places and that Solomon went to one of those high places to worship.

You'll have to understand the condition of things. David had brought the ark back to the city of Jerusalem, but the tabernacle itself hadn't been brought back there yet and the temple hadn't been built. And so the people had erected different high places, unscriptural.

They had erected different high places to worship God because there was no central focus of worship. That may have been okay for a while, but you see it established a pattern that when Solomon began compromising with his many heathen wives, those high places became places where idols were worshiped. So he had established the framework that could easily be used for something evil, something unscriptural.

And so we have the problem he had here with the high places and the places of worship. It appears that David really was closer to the mind of God that he wanted the ark in Jerusalem to worship in in Jerusalem. And the tabernacle really wasn't, itself wasn't removed from Gibeah until the days that was at Hezekiah that he brought back what was there.

But nevertheless, there's this problem with women. There's this problem with worship. And then there's going to be this problem with wealth that God had so blessed Solomon.

He accumulated, I mean, gold became the way you would have paper goods in your house. Solomon had, everything was in gold. The Midas touch of the first century of the first millennia BC, the man who could turn everything to gold and wealth was accumulated.

And as we'll see shortly, it seems as though it just went out of control after a while and living in luxury, living in ease, living in comfort, he begins to turn from God. So we have weaknesses. We have character traits that were in need of being dealt with.

If you see in yourself, if you see in yourself in your secret thoughts, in your quiet time, if you see in yourself tendencies a certain way, don't be kind to yourself and just excuse it. Well, we all have to have this. We all have to have that.

We all have to be allowed. No, no. Be ruthless with yourself.

Don't be ruthless on others. Be ruthless with yourself. Solomon should have dealt with these things early in his reign.

He should have recognized, you know, I've got a weakness towards women. I've got a weakness when it comes to where I worship. I've got a weakness when it comes to material things and the security that Pharaoh can give me and the security that wealth can give me.

And if I don't deal with these weaknesses, they will become tremendous liabilities in my life for God. Now, every one of us here, without exception, don't care who you are, how long you've been saved, how much you know of the scripture, how greatly you've been used. Every one of us, if we're honest, will recognize I've got a weakness.

Not I've got a weakness. I've got many weaknesses. There are areas that I cannot touch.

That's why we need to be very hesitant or merciful in our judgment of others. You see, there are things that you can do that I could never do. Because if I got involved in that, it would draw me away tremendously.

For example, you might have no trouble. I'm not saying you should do it, but you might have no trouble watching the Green Bay Packers play football on television or on a video or whatever. If I start watching a sporting event, I can go back and give you the batting averages, the names of everyone who played for the Phillies and their championship teams way back in the 50s.

I can tell you the Eagles lineup way back in the 60s when they won. I could be immersed in a moment's time. Doesn't take much.

Doesn't take much to suddenly bring back a flood of information that was stored years ago in my mind. So I just can't touch that. Can't touch it.

Some of you that were saved, I was saved when I was 21, so you'll understand. Some of you that were saved later in life, and you were used to listening to all of the world's music. You know, I can hear five words from a song that I heard 50 years ago.

I could begin singing the rest of it to you with no trouble. Doesn't take much. It's like a jack-in-the-box, right? You know, it just, all of a sudden, everything pops out.

Things I can't touch. Maybe you can, I can't. And then there maybe are things you can't touch that I can.

And so we need to be very careful when we become judgmental about what others do. There are things that are unscriptural, no question. There are things you and I have liberty for depending upon that which attracts us, that which could be a downfall.

But here were things that Solomon should have recognized from day one. Can't touch these things. I've got to judge them before God.

And ask for grace to overcome. So character traits that would spoil his life. Let me just talk to you about choice, the choices that shaped his life.

The choice that shaped his life. Can I tell you about a man who had an encounter with God? A man that had an encounter with God. He went to worship.

And when he went to worship, he got far more than he ever realized he was going to get. I have already stressed for you the value of character traits as far as being a Christian. The value of character as far as your life for God.

Could I also encourage every young believer here, become a worshiper. Become a worshiper. Because worship, I'm not saying that you should worship to get.

That would be wrong. But I will say this, that worshipers get far more than they ever give to God. When you give to God in worship, he will give back to you far more than you could ever begin to imagine.

And that includes our sisters, especially. In fact, I think our sisters do a better job in their devotional lives than brethren do. We're all concerned that we say the right thing and everybody thinks it sounds good and it all, you know, when we get up to worship.

But learning to worship daily on your knees before God. I mean, those of you who are parents, how would you feel if the only time your children spoke to you was when they wanted something? And all they did is came, well, you may say, that's all they do. They always come asking for something.

Yeah, that could be the case, okay? But you understand what I mean. If the only time your children ever communicated with you is when they wanted something. Daddy, give me.

Mommy, I want. I need. Please do this for me.

Please do that for me. If you think of it, that's what most of our prayer life is with God, isn't it? We're just asking all the time. Now, in a sense, asking is a form of worship because we're saying that he's sufficient.

He's able. He's great enough to do it. So there is a sense in which asking is worship, but how much more lovely, how much more pleasing to God when you just talk to him? Tell him what you think of him.

Tell him what you think of his son. Tell him what you think of his blessings. Tell him what you think of all he has done and all he has prepared.

Become a worshiper. Solomon went to worship and he received wealth. So become a worshiper in your private life with God.

So here's a man that has an encounter with God and probably, hard to be sure, there were at least documented four times he had encounters with God. Here it's in a dream. Another time it's in a vision and two other times, we just see that God spoke with him.

But this encounter with God led to an offer from God. It led to God speaking to Solomon and simply saying, ask what I shall give thee. Now be honest.

Everybody over 50, forget the question. You're too old. But those who are younger, if God gave you a blank check, that's what he gives Solomon.

God gave you a blank check. What would you fill in? Blank check, already signed, made out to you. You put in the amount.

Some would say, that all my children be saved. Wonderful. Maybe some would say, I'd like a wife and I'd like a house and I'd like a two-car garage and a home at the lake.

And sometime when you have time, look at the first words of the Lord Jesus in each gospel. First recorded words of the Lord Jesus. In Matthew, it's thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.

In Mark as the servant, it's repent ye and believe the gospel. In Luke as the perfect man, it's wish ye not that I must be about my father's business. What about the gospel of John? The gospel of John, his first words are what seek ye? So the offer to Solomon kind of could be paraphrased by what the Lord Jesus says to two men who were following him in John's gospel, what seek ye? You see, because when my life is done and when your life is done, what is going to be the bottom line of that life will be the summation of all the choices you have made.

That's what life is all about, choices. Here's a major choice this young man is faced with, a choice that's going to control his life, shape his life for God. But now just be honest, what choice would you make? You say, well, I'm not a king, I'm not a leader, I don't have to ask for wisdom.

No, maybe not. But if you had a choice, what would your choice be? Think of people in the word of God who had the opportunity of making choices. You remember that Elijah and Elisha as they walked that day when God was about to take Elijah home and Elijah says, Elisha, what shall I do unto thee? And he wanted a double portion of his spirit, right? And he wanted that.

We read about Barzillai in the previous chapter when he came across with David back when David was coming back to Jerusalem and David wanted to bring him back, what did you want? Well, just that my sons could come to be with you and so on. You remember also a wicked woman and her had said to her, what will you? And I'll give you the half of the kingdom and she said, the head of John the Baptist. Choices in life.

That choice that she made and that Herod ratified. You know how solemn it was? There's only one person in the Bible to whom the Lord refused to speak and it was Herod. Herod was desirous to see him of a long season.

He'd heard many things done by him, hoped to have seen some sign, some miracle done by him. Herod with his men of war said of it not. Jesus answered him not a word.

He had silenced God's messenger by cutting off his head. No more message from God for him. The only man in scripture I can find who was beyond salvation before he died, the Savior refused to speak.

A monumental choice that he made. But let me come back then to what we have here in the choice that Solomon made. What shall I give thee? A virtual blank check.

What was it that shaped, what was it that controlled the choice then that Solomon was going to make? Notice if you will in chapter number three, come down with me to verse just trying to find that after all. Verse number seven or rather begin in verse number six. First of all, he is conscious of the grace of God.

What God has done that he doesn't deserve. Thou has shown unto thy servant David, my father, great mercy and so on. And you've given him a son, the center of the throne as it is this day.

We don't deserve this. It's God's mercy, God's grace to us. So point number one that has left a tremendous imprint upon this man's heart and conscience as he is faced with making a choice.

The grace of God that has brought me where I am. Point number two, he speaks as well of the goodness of God to him. Verse number seven, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David, my father.

I am but a little child. I am thy servant in the midst of thy people. So he's conscious of the grace of God that has brought him where he is, the goodness of God that has blessed him where he is.

And now he thinks of the greatness of the responsibility and the potential. And as a result, his choice is made for God. You will be faced, you're faced every day with choices, but somewhere in your Christian experience, somewhere in your youth, and I'm using youth as used in the Greek writings, that means under 40.

Somewhere, that means middle age is up to 80, which is great. Somewhere in your youth, you are going to be faced with a make or break decision. Seriously, not trying to be dramatic, not trying to raise this to some crisis meeting, but you'll be faced with a make or break decision.

It could be about moving away from an assembly where there's no work. There's no work here and you're moving away and there's no assembly and I'll somehow manage. It may be an unsaved wife, an unsafe partner in life.

Maybe a job promotion that you know is going to mean, well, I'll have to let the assembly go for a few years. Maybe when I'm retired, I'll get back and I'll be more into it and so on. But somewhere in your life, there will come not just the day to day choices, but somewhere there is going to come the choice that will be the direction the rest of your life will take.

Remember the grace of God. Remember the goodness of God. Remember the greatness of the potential.

And like Solomon, choose wisely. It's interesting that concerning Solomon, we read, I didn't point it out. I should have pointed it out in chapter two.

David says, you're a wise man. Do according to your wisdom. So Solomon was already a wise man.

A wise man was wise enough to know he needed more wisdom. Only ignorant people think they know enough and don't need wisdom. But Solomon was wise enough to know that the wisdom he had was not enough wisdom for where God had brought him to.

Choose wisely when faced with a major choice in your life. It may not always come packaged with a nice heading. Major choice, choose wisely.

But it will come, one form or another. Remember what controlled his choice. Are you willing to allow, are you willing to allow God to make the choices in your life through his word? And so we have here then the greatness of his choice and all that followed with it.

You'll notice the affirmation then that God gives that God here then says in turn, I will give. Since you've asked that, I have given thee, verse 13, a wise and understanding heart. Verse 13, I have given you that which thou hast not asked for and in verse number 14 again, I will lengthen thy days.

God gives him all of these promises linked with it. He asked for wisdom. Let me just talk to, just a moment if I can again, bringing this back to assembly life.

Now, do you believe that God is able to give an assembly what it needs and what it asks for? How does 1 Corinthians chapter 12 end? Paul is writing to the Corinthians and he says, covet earnestly the best gifts, covet earnestly. Now that's not, he wasn't speaking individually that each Christian should covet the best gift for himself, speaking to the assembly. As an assembly, you should be desiring the very best gifts God can give the assembly.

And when Paul writes to the Philippian assembly, acknowledging their fellowship with him and their gift to him, he says, my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. So that means that an assembly could cry to God to provide leadership, to provide gospel preachers in the assembly, not men imported, but men in the assembly who can stand on the assembly platform and hurl the gospel week after week for the sake of seeing people saved. It doesn't mean he speaks every week, but that God raises up men within the assembly.

Every assembly, God intends every assembly to be self-sufficient. Now that doesn't mean we don't appreciate visiting men, men who are gifted in preaching, men who are gifted in teaching, but an assembly should be self-sufficient. And so you younger Christians, rather than complaining about the fact that there's no teaching in our assembly and there's no one in our assembly who can preach the gospel well, and there's no one in our assembly who does this or does that, why not begin praying about it? Why not begin asking God to provide this in the assembly? We long for this gift to be raised up in our assembly.

We need this in our assembly. That doesn't mean you're judging the other brethren in any way at all, but it doesn't mean that God is able to supply what's needed. He's given us a blank check relative to the needs of the assembly.

And he's looking for us to be exercised that God would provide it. Through his riches in glory in Christ Jesus to meet the need of a local testimony. But let me come, as time is moving quickly, to the consecration that stamped itself on his life.

So here's Solomon, okay? In verse number 15, he has received this wisdom from God, this tremendous gift that is going to help him. And he returns now to real life, comes back to Jerusalem. And so, of course, here he is, the wisest man in the world.

And you would think, okay, bring on the international crisis. Bring on the national crisis that I can handle. Let me handle all the economic issues of the country.

Let me take care of Asia Minor and all of its difficulties and all that's happening up there in that land. Let me... Where does this gift get used? Where is his gift first exercised? Two prostitutes, a dead baby and a living baby. You might say, wait a minute.

I mean, I got this tremendous gift just to decide between two prostitutes? I mean, these are people that, you know, most people would say, look, get out of here. We don't want you around. So what are we to learn from that? We are to learn from that, that gift from God is willing to be used in the very humblest of service.

He used the greatest gift that God could give him just to help a harlot, a prostitute, know that that illegitimate child was hers and not the other woman's. We would hardly think that deserving, that that worthy of the wisdom of this great man. But God said, Solomon, here's where you're gonna prove your wisdom at the very beginning.

Nothing too low, if I can use that expression, nothing too low for you to stoop to in using what I have given you. So the lesson, the lesson, never think that your ability for God somehow preclude you from serving in the humblest of ways. You may think you're a great teacher.

So if God gives you a Sunday school class of five and six year olds, it's not a waste of your gift. You may think you're a great gospel preacher, think that you're destined for great things. And maybe all you have to preach to is a group of teenagers on a Tuesday night at a young people's meeting.

And you spend half your time trying to get them to sit still before you can preach to them. No service that God calls you to is too menial if God has gifted you for that. So we have here then the event in which he displayed his wisdom.

And we have the essence of wisdom. Did you notice? Did you notice? Go back earlier in the chapter to verse number nine. You'll notice his request to the Lord is, give therefore thy servant an understanding heart.

Now, if you have a margin to your Bible, you know that the word for understanding means hearing. Hearing. The essence of wisdom is learning how to listen.

And if you don't think that is difficult for a triple A personality who has all the answers before the question is over with, I want to tell you, it's a feet and a half to learn to shut up and listen to people. But that's exactly what he's asking for. Teach me how to listen to people.

See, we think wisdom is what I say. But really, 50% of wisdom is learning how to listen to what people are saying to you. And so he's asking for an understanding, a hearing ear, a hearing heart, so that I can deal with this, thy so great a people.

And so what happens when he comes here in chapter three is, we see him listening. He doesn't say, look, why are you? He validates their concern. He treats them as being worthy of his time and his interest.

He validates their concern. He listens, he reflects back upon it. Those of you that take any courses in communication, you'll see it's so perfectly illustrated in how he deals with them, summarizing, reflecting, considering, and so on.

Tremendous to see how he deals with them here. The essence of his wisdom is he learns to listen. But notice the exhibition of his wisdom.

There is something very valuable to see here. Solomon is wise, but wisdom never despises the wisdom of a previous generation. What do I mean? Solomon was only a boy when likely with his father, David, he came back, crossed over the Brook Kidron, and Mephibosheth and Ziba came down to meet him.

Now, you know the story. Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son, had been brought to Jerusalem by David, given a place at the king's table. And when Absalom rebelled, he couldn't go.

His servant Ziba lied and said he wants to stay there. He thinks he's gonna get the kingdom back. I'm your man, David.

Here I am, Ziba. I'm your man. And now David has returned.

And Mephibosheth comes down. His beard had not been trimmed. His clothes not changed.

He obviously had been in mourning. And so when he meets David, David says, Mephibosheth, why weren't you not with me? And Mephibosheth says, thy servant Ziba lied, and so on. And so David is faced with a dilemma.

He's just given everything to Ziba. All of the property belonging to Mephibosheth. He gave that to Ziba back when he had fled.

And now he's faced with a dilemma. Here's Ziba saying he was right. Here's Mephibosheth saying he was right.

What does David say? David says, you and Ziba divide the land. Immediately, Mephibosheth says, let him take everything. Let him take everything.

All I care about is David. You're back. Aha, register in Solomon's mind, a way to discern reality.

And now he has two harlots. And his mind flashes back to what David did with Mephibosheth. Divide the child.

No, let her have it. And immediately he knows that's the woman. Wisdom never despises the wisdom of a previous generation.

Never despises the wisdom of others. It builds on it. That's exactly what Solomon does here.

And the effect of that is that the entire nation knew that God had raised this man up and they feared the king for they saw the wisdom that God had placed in him. The respect of the nation and the recognition that God had fitted him for this role. His gift used in a very humble way, but in a very effective way.

He would have thought this hardly warrants my gift. But little did he know that in the use of his gift in that way, God was going to establish that the whole nation would recognize that here was the man God had gifted. Here was the man that God had endowed with wisdom for all that lay ahead.

So with that, we'll have to just close. So let me just give you a few take home points. A crisis of choice will come to every life.

Choose wisely. Remember God's grace. Remember God's goodness.

Your strong point may well become your weakest point. Be quick to judge yourself, not others. Worship will lead to wealth.

And I don't mean material wealth. I mean spiritual wealth. Worship leads to wealth.

And that was marked here. And there is no service too lowly, no service too lowly for a God given gift to address. Now we'll have to end there.

We're going to take a 10 minute break after we close in prayer. And then we will resume again after that. So we speak to God in prayer.

Our father in the name of my son, we bow before thee. We thank thee again for the richness of thy word, both in precept and in principle and in illustration. We are reminded of the solemnity of choices that we face in life as believers.

And we pray that we may always choose conscious of the grace and goodness of God to us. We thank thee that thou wouldst give thy son all that he was worth and all that he meant to thee. He was yielded to a cross and to shame and to suffering that we might be blessed.

We thank thee for the much mores of God's ways with us. We thank thee for the exceeding riches of thy grace that where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. We thank thee we've been brought into a standing of grace.

And today we can boast in hope of the glory of God. What a position we have been brought into, what wealth, what blessing. We give thanks to thee for this.

Help thy people as they will continue to listen to thy word. It is certainly difficult to focus for this long a period of time. We trust that the messages will be interesting and helpful and a blessing to thy people.

Receive our thanks now again in the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.