A Greater than Solomon

We're going to turn back please to Matthew chapter 12 the gospel of Matthew plays in chapter 12 And we want to read the one verse after where our brother concluded on Jonah Matthew chapter 12, please and we're going to read at verse number 42 Matthew 12 and verse 42 the Queen of the South that's the Queen of Sheba of course the Queen of the South shall rise up in the judgments with this generation and Shall condemn it For she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and behold a greater than Solomon is here Now we trust that God will bless his word to each one I tried last night yesterday to conclude the conference with some thoughts with regards to the greatness of the kingdom of Solomon and what I would like to try and do today is maybe follow one but maybe more direct our thoughts to one who is greater than Solomon you'll perhaps remember yesterday. We thought about Solomon's birth and we thought about Solomon's boyhood and We thought about his brothers and we thought about some of the burdens that he had to face and that he had to deal with Well, I want to think of his beasts You notice that the first three kings of the nation were marked by being linked with animals So when we come to Solomon, of course, he's a man who's linked with horses. I think he had 40,000 stalls for horses You say how was he able to keep the peace all that time when David his father was a man of war? How was he able to keep peace? Because he had a massive army and because he had these great beasts of burden Great horses that were able to keep his soldiers and keep the kingdom Well, of course that takes us to the book of Revelation and we see the Lord Jesus Of course one day will come in great power What's he doing riding upon a white horse a greater than Solomon is here You say what about the other two Kings? Well, of course David he was marked by sheep He was well, you just have to go to Psalm 23 where we were Brother David took us there in Antioch last Lord's Day and you see that David is a man who is marked by Sheep, and of course when we come to Isaiah 53 where some of you were this morning What's it say of the Lord Jesus he was led as a sheep before her shearers is done a Greater than Solomon is here.

You say what about what about King Saul? Well, he's a man who's not marked by horses and he's not noted for being linked with sheep but he is linked with donkeys I think it's the the American one of the American writers who rather interestingly suggested that we find Saul linked with donkeys at the start of his Biographical account and he never really lost the link with being a bit of a donkey In fact when we were on holiday in France 20 or so years ago with an eight-year-old girl We were looking for all the brochures the first day that we got there To see where we were going to go and I was going through them and I said to my wife I said, oh this sounds interesting Spend a day with a donkey and she just looked up with me and she said well, what's new? Well We did spend a day with a donkey. I've never forgotten the name of the thing It was called Igor and we took our daughter out on it And as soon as we got out of the farm that the donkey wanted to go that side and it wanted to go that side and then they had grass down the side of the road where we were and it went down that way and we were supposed to Spend three hours with the thing and we just ended up we gave up after just less than an hour It was too much light hard work. Why it had a mind of its own.

That was Saul He just had a mind of his own and he never minded the mind of God But you'll remember the Lord Jesus when he comes into the into the into Jerusalem What's he doing is upon a colt the fall of an ass Our greater than Solomon is here I Thought about Solomon's brides It says that He married Pharaoh's daughter Now I just want to link in especially with what our brother John Kirkpatrick said yesterday I've never heard of the phrase that I made a note of it Evangelistic dating That was a new one on me But I shall take it home and I shall try it out on the brethren in Northern Ireland at some time But my dear young brother my dear young sister I do want to say this in all seriousness to support what our brother has said when you are looking for a perspective husband a perspective wife look for those who are saved and Also look for those who in local Assembly fellowship you do not need to go beyond the assemblies I tell you all you have to I think most of you should be able to get a wife or a husband Here fairly easily with all the young people that there are here And you know the fact that they're here tells me this they've got an interest in the things of God You see there are some young men and some young sisters and they might be in assembly fellowship But you'll never see them at a conference like this You'll not see them at all the meetings well Another thing about Solomon is it wasn't just content with that one When he went down to Egypt to bring her He had another 700 and he had another 300 concubines One dear brother over in the UK who slightly dyslexic. He was reading this in his local assembly I give me some ministry and he mentioned about the 700 wives and the 340 pines Well I'll tell you this It certainly gave him a prickly situation to be in listen Don't go playing the the crowd Well, I'll try this one and see how I get along with her. I'll try him and see how I get You pray about it It's too big a situation and too big a decision for you to go playing the various Make sure you spend time in the presence of God both of you Before you start courting, of course, there is a bride which is far greater than all these And the Bible says one day the Lord Jesus is going to present it or it's going to be presented to the Lord Jesus without spot without blemish or any such thing and You and I are part of that wonderful bride of Christ.

Oh What a privilege what an elevation what an honor What a salvation Our dear child of God come into the good of it. Our greater than Solomon is here You'll notice of course, we're thankful that Solomon ever picked up his pen We're thankful, of course that he ever picked up that quill and the parchment that our brother Tim brought us to yesterday And that he started writing and we're thankful that we have those three unique books We have the book of Proverbs and we have the book of Ecclesiastes and the book of Song of Solomon You say what are those three books about? Well, the book of Proverbs is really rules to guide And you can read it daily rules to guide and you can read it daily one chapter a day in the book of Proverbs Will help to keep the devil at bay Really? Well You say is there a New Testament equivalent to the book of Proverbs? I think our brother Murray took us there to the wonderful Sermon on the Mount And the Lord Jesus sits down with his disciples and he starts to teach them You go through the book of Proverbs and you go book bit through the Beatitudes and I tell you it'll sort out your attitude problem It'll sort out the differences that you have with one and another What about the book of Ecclesiastes? rules to guide regrets to grieve He's looking back over a wasted life Well, I tried this well, and I dabbled with that and I went in for a little bit of this I Wanted to try everything and I went into it 100% I went into it fully committed But there's nothing new under the Sun I just came out absolutely Empty rules to guide daily regrets to grieve yearly What about those years in your life and mine that the locusts have eaten Those times when we've allowed the locusts to come in and run away with seconds and minutes and hours and days and weeks and months and Years It's very sad reading when we come to the book of the Ecclesiastes and yet we're very very thankful indeed that When we come if I can read my own writing here when we come to the New Testament, we find that there can be restoration You remember a man called Peter. I Love it when we read of Peter that he went out and he wet bitterly It's good to weep it's good to weep did you ever weep In the presence of God Because there are things in your life that the Holy Spirit is revealed that should never have been there And you just come there's restoration with Christ You know, there's always restoration available for any child of God If there's restoration available with God Surely there must be restoration available amongst the people of God That's why when we go to Galatians 6, we're told you which a spirit shall restore such a one Considering thyself lest thou also be overtaken or it's great to see somebody Restored back to the fellowship of the assembly, but then we have song of Solomon rules to guide Regrets to grieve How about a romance to grow? daily Yearly Hourly, how are you with regards to your connections with the Lord Jesus? You see John tells us this that we love him because he first loved us.

Oh Because he loved us there should be No, there must be a response from us Heaven would toward him an embracing of him hourly in our lives. Oh the blessedness Of that romance That's to grow a deeper love for our beloved Lord Jesus Christ I Thought about something of his bounty as well Ah, what a kingdom what what what a kingdom it was the riches gold you read those opening chapters of First Kings and you read there of all the gold that was in the place It was just gold here and gold there and gold everywhere Oh What a bountiful kingdom it was and there was seven there was six steps up to his throne With a lion on each step right the way up to the throne and almost every day Solomon would go up that throne. He would climb up those six steps of pure gold But he never got to a seventh step There was only six He could never take the place of Christ With all the gold and all the riches and all the Navy and all the ships and all the things that I'm in sent to him and every He could only ever get to the sixth step.

Aren't you thankful dear child of God that there's one coming? Who's a greater than Solomon he will sit on the throne Solomon's kingdom just like a has you wear us You remember a has you wear us when you come to about I don't know verses 6 or 7 of chapter 1 It speaks about the the marble tiles There was red ones and there was blue ones. You see he was saying I'm Lord of heaven and earth And then there was black ones and there was white ones. He says I'm Lord of night and day and Then there were the hangings on the wall There was the green hanging.

He says, you know what? He says, uh, I'm just everlasting He says my kingdoms an everlasting kingdom and then there's a white one He says my kingdoms of your pure kingdom and then there's a blue one. This is my kingdom He says I'm just God of my kingdom Don't ever read through the book of Esther and think a has you where which was a nice sort of a chap He thought he was dear to himself But his was only 127 provinces It never got to 128 although he tried So laments was only a limited kingdom But when our Lord comes when he roars out of Zion according to jewel chapter 3 is will be a universal a Worldwide kingdom and he'll sit upon that throne and then the blessings will result What's it say of Solomon's kingdom in first Kings for it says he had dominion over all the region He had peace on all sides round about him and Judah and Israel Dwelt safely every man under his vine and under his victory When the right man is on the throne There'll be peace in your heart When the right man is on the throne There'll be peace in your nation When the right man is on the throne There will be peace for this world. Oh dear child of God There is a greater than Solomon And there is a greater than Solomon that's coming and he's coming very soon What a blessed thing it will be to hear that shout and that voice and the trumpet guard and to be forever with the Lord good to be linked with one who is indeed a Greater than Solomon may God bless his word on this conference for his honor and glory