Title Success After (2 Chron 1:1-5)
Contents
Columbus, who discovered the Americas, was a great explorer and navigator. He did not set out on an expedition for gold or his own glory. His motive for setting sail was his faith in God.
In his book Prophecies, he said: “I pray to the merciful Lord for my passion. He has given me intellectual power and inspiration for this mission: the knowledge of navigation, astronomy, geography, arithmetic, etc., the art of reading spherical maps and placing cities, rivers, mountains and ports in their proper places. The Lord urges my heart to go from here to India. The gospel must be witnessed to many continents in a short time. He moved my heart to sail.” How precious is your confession? It's definitely not something anyone can say.
***However, unfortunately, Columbus later lost his life as an evangelist. After a successful voyage, as his honor rose, he valued gold and his glory more than God. He and his men extorted the labor of many Taino Indians for gold. He also sold many Indians into slavery. So today, historians do not recognize Columbus as a believer, but record him as a great adventurer, conqueror and exploiter.
At first, Columbus sought the glory of God, but after success, he was engrossed in his success and forsakes his heart for God. There are often such people in the world. But God is looking for people who do not change and live for God's glory.
**As always, the same interest of the people is success. Success is the hot topic of this era./ No one wants to fail. Everyone dreams of success and wishes them well. Success is also important to those who believe in Jesus. You have to be successful to become an influential person. You must be successful to leave a mark on your name.
But there is something more important than success. It is your relationship with God. In today's text, a man who remembered God appears when he succeeded. David's son Solomon. ***Through Solomon appearing in today's text, you can discover three things after success.
1. I realized that it was the grace of God.
Solomon was the third king of Israel after David. It is said that after ascending the throne, the throne was strengthened. This indicates that Solomon took full power and began to lead the country according to his will. Solomon became the supreme ruler of the country.
***But the Bible makes it clear why. Verse 1: “The throne of Solomon son of David was established, and the LORD his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.” To make him great means that God has exalted him. 1) The king with God, that is a very honorable title. David also made victory wherever he went because God was with him. Joseph also prospered wherever God was with him. 2) God's presence was the secret to success. 3) Solomon achieved success by the grace of God. God promised the Davidic family prosperity through the Davidic Covenant, and that promise was fulfilled through Solomon.
That's right. All our success and prosperity are the result of God's presence.
1) It is not the result of one's own efforts or bloody tears of struggle. 2) Not because he served God well. 3) No one can achieve success without God's grace.
4) Dear everyone! Are you living a successful life because you are with God? Do you remember and thank God for His grace?
2. I remembered God.
Solomon remembered God. **3 “Solomon went with all the congregation to the high place of Gibeon, for there was the tent of meeting of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had built in the wilderness.” Solomon gathered all the leaders of Israel to the high place of Gibeon. Why did they gather to the high places of Gibeon instead of to Jerusalem? At that time, there was the tabernacle of God in the high place of Gibeon. This is because the Ark of the Covenant had been moved to the place that David had prepared before in Jerusalem, but the bronze altar, altar, and various utensils for offering sacrifices to God were still in Gibeon. At that time, the temple had not been built yet, so there was no special place to offer sacrifices. So Solomon went to the high place in Gibeon, where Moses built the tabernacle of meeting and the bronze altar. I knew who the real king of Israel was.
**Dear friends! Remembering God is very important in life.
We need to remember God, especially when we are intoxicated with success.
***Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:10, “But it is by the grace of God that I am what I am, and your grace that was given to me was not in vain. ” he confessed. That's right. 1) A wise person is one who knows the reasons for success and prosperity given to them.
2) Just as Solomon remembered God after his success and set an example of faith, I hope that we too can show all the grace God has given us in front of people.
3. We worshiped God.
***Verse 6 reveals what on earth Solomon went to Gibeon to do with the congregation. “Solomon came to the bronze altar before the LORD, before the tent of meeting, and offered a burnt offering on it of a thousand sacrifices.” It is said. That is, when offering burnt offerings, a thousand sacrifices were offered. In other words, this does not mean that burnt offerings were offered a thousand times, but that a thousand sacrifices were offered to God as burnt offerings.
*** If you look closely at this spectacle: First of all, burnt offerings cannot be offered anywhere, and must be burned on the altar. So, I went to the high place of Gibeon, where the bronze altar built by Bezarel is on purpose.
However, the altar of Bezarel was made of bronze, measuring 2.3 meters long, 2.3 meters wide, and 1.4 meters high.
And Solomon made a sacrifice as king. Therefore, it can be assumed that the sacrifice was at least a cow. It would have been impossible for the king to offer sacrifices with pigeons offered by the poor. When it comes to burning cattle, an altar of this size would only be able to burn about one cow at a time. And because of the nature of the burnt offerings, it is also customary to burn one sacrifice at a time.
***Then how long will it take to burn one cow at a time? It would have taken more than 30 minutes. It will be difficult for more than 50 animals to burn even if it is run for 30 minutes or a day and night. Based on this calculation, 1000 animals would have required at least 20 days and nights to burn. Of course, it is not exact, but it can be estimated that it took about a month. In the end, it can be seen that the main figures of the country representing the king and all the people set aside everything and devoted themselves to this ritual for about a month.
***Originally, one sacrifice is sufficient for one burnt offering. But Solomon offered a thousand. As I said, this is not just giving a thousandfold in an offering envelope. The king himself, together with the representatives of all the people, cannot leave the site of the sacrificial rite, and offers the sacrificial offering with his best on the spot for about a month.
***Let's think from God's point of view. Never before has God been treated like this. Since then, no one has ever offered or even thought of offering a thousand sacrifices in a single sacrifice.
This is worship at its best. Treating God the best and serving God first. It means giving your best to God.
***Solomon expressed his greatest gratitude by offering a great sacrifice. It was a sacrifice of voluntary joy, not stinginess or compulsion. ***Today's successful people are accustomed to being praised by people with a toast with joy. I like. Enjoy. But Solomon worshiped and glorified God. Giving glory to God is more important than success.
We should be worshipers who give the highest respect and love to the Most High and Precious God. ***From 2pm today, the new school hymn festival is held at Hwaeun Church. 4 It is a festival of praise offered by the church in unity. There is only one God who will be glorified in today's praise festival. It's not about glorifying people. It shouldn't be a singing contest. It doesn't have to be a show to be seen by people. We should only give praise with the heart of glorifying God.
***Dear friends, Solomon is the person who pays well for one worship service.
Isn't that like Solomon? How many people have lived unhappily even after becoming kings? 1) However, Solomon is a king who came to hear the word of kings from all over the world and did not spare much praise. 2) He is a king who possesses everything that is second to none in wealth, talent, wisdom, military might, and knowledge. 3) All of this was possible because God was with us. 4) It would be correct to say that God was moved.
***You don't know how important our worship today is. 1) The place of worship is a blessed place to meet God. 2) The time of worship is a beautiful time that God wants to bless you. 3) Fill your hearts with abundant gratitude.
Conclusion ***Before success in life, I hope that you will remember God's grace and become successful in worship. ***So, I hope you can bring great joy to God.