Title: What Can I Give You?
Contents
(1 Kings 3:4-15) “In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night in a dream, and God said, Ask what I will give you” (verse 5).
A missionary who came back to Korea after a long period of missionary work said in his retirement farewell sermon, "There is no country in the world that prays as much as Korea. On the other hand, there is no country in the world where prayers are not answered as much as Korea."
Another said, "When American church members gather, they do missionary work, and when Taiwanese members gather, they sing, but when Korean church members gather, they pray a lot."
In fact, there is no people like us who wake up early in the morning and cry out for blessings, there is no nation like us who stay up all night crying for the fulfillment of their wishes, and those who pray for blessings with long-term fasting and vows like us. There will be few in this world.
Since the early morning prayers of a certain large church gather tens of thousands of people in 1, 2, or 3 parts, there are often cases where people come from abroad on purpose. There are so many all-night prayers, late-night prayers, vows prayers, dawn prayers, breakfast prayers, luncheon prayers, dinner prayers, fasting prayers, and fasting prayers.
But how many answers are you getting and how much are you fulfilling your prayer vows? Today, we want to use the story of Solomon in 1 Kings 3 as a model for our faith.
1. Solomon immediately established a relationship with God.
'To whom' you pray is more important than 'how' you pray. Even if it is difficult, it is not easy to refuse a request from someone close and close. That is why God said in Proverbs 8:17, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.” In Romans 8:28, the apostle Paul said, “We know that those who love God, All things work together for good to those who are the called.”
Verse 3 says that Solomon loved the Lord and did according to the laws of his father David. Solomon had a right relationship with God before he prayed to God. It was not a relationship between a master and a servant, a relationship between a king and a servant, but a relationship between parents and children.
What kind of relationship do we have now? We must become 'one who loves God'. To love God means to keep and obey God's Word. To love God means to attend Sunday worship well. To love God means to fulfill the duties of the saints, such as tithing and evangelism.
When we usually do this, God will immediately answer our prayers in times of need.
Those who have a good relationship with God also have a good relationship with the Lord's servant. Because you cannot draw near to God unless you draw near to your servant.
2. Solomon admitted that he received a lot of great grace from God.
An attitude of giving thanks without forgetting the grace you have already received before asking God for something bigger and more important is the basic attitude to receive answers to your prayers.
If a childish son confronts his parents and asks what their parents have done for him, he will receive nothing and will only be rebuked. You will be very upset, saying, "It is because of who has been eating, wearing, writing, learning and growing up until now, this guy is so immature."
So is God. It is grace that I have lived so far, and I am grateful that I did not come out crippled. It is God's total grace to believe in Jesus and live as a child of God. When we ask people, “I live because of whom?”, “I live because of inspiration” and “I live because of my children”, but we believers should answer, “I live because of the Lord.”
And Solomon said in verse 6, “Your servant David my father walked with you before you in faithfulness, justice, and uprightness of heart, so you showed me great favor, and you prepared this great grace for me. You have given me a son to sit on my throne as it is today."
In other words, he acknowledged that his accession to the throne was not due to his own efforts but entirely by God's great grace, and he prayed for what he needed and asked for what he needed.
Therefore, before asking for more grace, we should look back on the grace we have already received and give thanks. This is the way to receive answers.
3. Solomon's request was right in God's heart.
There is a story called 'Three Wishes' in the English fairy tale. A dwarf living in the forest was passing by a house, and he met an elderly couple and said they would grant them whatever they wished, if they said three things. The old man, who looked down on the dwarf, said without a second thought, "I want a big sausage," and as soon as he had a big loaf of sausage in his hand.
The grandmother was very upset that the first wish had come true, and said, "If you like sausages that much, stick it on your nose and go," and the big chunk of sausage ended up sticking to the tip of your nose.
So, the third and last wish could not be fulfilled, and I had no choice but to say a wish to remove the lump of sausage from the tip of my nose. The old couple had got nothing but one nose-stained sausage.
If God comes to us now and says, “Tell me what your wish is,” what kind of request can we really make of God? It can be to live long, it can be to enjoy wealth and honor, and it can be to enjoy honor and power.
But all of these have problems. Being ill and living for a long time without money is a big insult among swearing.
①Solomon did not seek for himself alone.
② We did not seek only visible material things.
③ We did not seek only physical pleasure.
④ He did not even try to maintain the government.
As a king in charge of only one country, he sought the wisdom to judge the people properly and lead them with virtue, and this was pleasing to God. As we pray according to God's heart, God has given us wisdom, wealth, wealth, honor, and honor.
So are we. Neglecting prayer is also a problem, but there is no answer to prayers that demand according to one's own desires and beg for only one's will to be fulfilled.
James 4:2-3 says, “You lust, and you do not get it, you murder, you envy, but you cannot get it; you fight and quarrel. It is a salvation.”
Also, why did the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 collapse? Is your prayer weak? Is the construction poor? Were there any flaws in the design? no. Because of pride.
Like Solomon, let us first seek God's wisdom. In Matthew 6:33 it says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
The first thing to seek is his kingdom and his righteousness. It is not about seeking his kingdom and his righteousness, and then after my lust. First seek his kingdom and his righteousness, and then mine will come naturally.
4. Solomon believed and asked for it.
At the end of the text, “I woke up and it was a dream,” but when this happens, we usually say, “It’s a dog’s dream after all,” and we are disappointed that it is not reality. Those who keep an eye on “how this dream will come true” are still a little better. When Solomon returned to Jerusalem from the high place of Gibeon, he stood in front of the ark of the covenant of the LORD, offered burnt offerings and mercury offerings, called all his servants, and made a great feast.
After just dreaming, I gave thanks to God and held a public feast for my servants as if it had already happened.
But Solomon didn't care and was sure that God would surely fulfill his prayer as he had shown him in his dream. I hope that this kind of faith will arise in many of our members.
James 1:6-7 says, “But ask in faith, and do not doubt at all. Those who doubt are like waves of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
Solomon's prayer
① It was a burnt offering. Among the burnt offerings, it was a thousand burnt offerings. Not just one or two, but a thousand animals and sacrifices. The fundamental spirit of worship is not 'reception' but 'dream'. 'Coming to receive' and 'going to give' are completely different.
During the American Civil War, when the Union Army was on the defensive, calling for the liberation of black wrath, when Union staff wanted to proclaim a prayer to President Lincoln, "God be on our side," Lincoln said we should pray "that we might be on God's side."
Also, giving is not from 'mine', but from 'already given'. Let us also make up our minds in the name of 1,000 burnt offerings, 500 burnt offerings, and 300 burnt offerings, and pray while offering the 'seo garden offering'.
② It is a humble prayer. Verse 9 says, “O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in the place of your father David, but your servant is a little child.” Even though he was a king, he humbled himself as a 'little child' and 'servant' before God.
③ It is wisdom. If you seek spiritual rather than material things, spiritual rather than physical, and invisible rather than visible, God will give you wisdom. 'Knowledge' is the worldly science acquired through school teachers, and 'wisdom' refers to the spiritual gifts obtained through the church-centered religious life. A person who is full of knowledge without a foundation of wisdom is not easy to be respected. Intellectuals say they are smart, and wise people say they have a lot of virtue.
④ It is a temple construction. Taiwan's famous waterfall painter Hwang Gun-byeok came to Hongik University to paint an oriental painting with a waterfall, but he did not paint the waterfall, only the trees, rocks, storks and clouds.
However, upon closer inspection, the beautiful waterfall had already been drawn in it. Even if you do not draw the waterfall directly and draw only the surrounding pictures, the waterfall has already been drawn.
As long as we are doing well in our basic religious life, the 'temple construction' has already been completed. I hope that all of us will have the same faith as Solomon. (1994. 1. 9)