From a sermon series on 1 Kings by See Huang Lim, a missionary at IBF.
Today’s sermon is about taking on big new challenges. Today’s Scripture is about David’s advice to his son Solomon as Solomon takes on a huge new responsibility: becoming the next king of Israel. May David’s words be useful to us in our own challenges today. We will only a short passage in 1 Kings 2, only the first 4 verses.
[Read 1 Kings 2:1-4]
Background
We don’t know how old Solomon was when he became king of Israel. How many people here are 30 years old or younger? Please raise your hand. Some scholars suggest that Solomon was probably close to your age, in his 20s. An ancient Jewish historian called Josephus speculated that Solomon might have been as young as 14 years old!
Well, whether he was 20 or 40 or 60, it was a big task. As king, Solomon had to handle politics, economy, and foreign relations. He was also the nation’s spiritual leader, responsible for leading Israel’s people to obey God and live holy lives. On top of that, Solomon was son of the greatest king in Israel’s history. Could he ever live up to his father’s legacy? Could he rise up to an incredible challenge like this?
Friends, how about you? Probably none of us will have the chance to be Prime Minister of Japan. But we all face big challenges at some point in our lives. It could be a challenge where you don’t feel qualified. Or you feel afraid to try something new. Or maybe you are not afraid but you’re not sure you will do well.
For my own life in Japan, I certainly feel young and inexperienced. Not just as a young preacher, but also in my own profession as an English teacher. For example, while I’m not afraid of preaching, sometimes I am nervous about teaching. Most of my English students in Japan are adults, but I also teach a few children’s classes. While I have had really fun days with my children, there were also days when I dreaded going to class. You see, I am the youngest child in my family and never interacted much with children until last year. You may find this funny. How can a grown man be afraid of children?
How about you? Is there a challenge you are facing? I hope the words of David to his son at the end of his long, eventful life will encourage you.
Be strong
The first thing David said to his son was “Be strong!”
You might think, “Oh, it’s so easy for you to say.” Yes, saying is easier than doing. Let me encourage you that “being strong” for a Christian means “finding strength in God.” We can find an example of this in the book of Joshua, chapter 1. In Joshua 1, before Moses died, he said to the next leader of Israel something similar to David’s words. Let us turn to Joshua chapter 1. Let’s read verses 1 to 9.
[Read Joshua 1:1-9]
God told Joshua “be strong and courageous,” not just once but 3 times. Why? God knew how weak and scared Israel was at that time when they had to enter new territory and fight strong enemies.
Sometimes, God places us in challenges where we feel helpless or afraid. When God tells us to be strong, it is not about us mustering our own strength. It is about depending on God’s strength. In Joshua 1 verse 9, God says, “the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” In other words, God will take care of you. Instead of looking only at the challenge, or only at your ability, look at God’s mighty power and His love for you.
When David said, “Be strong!” these were not empty words. He spoke from experience. Many times in David’s life, he overcame problems because God enabled him. When David was a boy, he even defeated a warrior giant through God’s power. That’s why he says in the songs he composed, like Psalm 28, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.”
God does not always take away our problems in life. But He promises to enable us to face and overcome them.
A few weeks ago, a church elder from my church in Malaysia travelled to America, and he transited in Narita Airport. Colin was on his way to visit his younger sister, who has battled Stage 4 cancer for the past 4 years. Every time he meets her, he doesn’t know if he will see her again. I went to Narita to meet him for breakfast. He said that his sister has aged so much because of the cancer treatments. And because of the medicine, she cannot eat much and is very weak. She has prayed for healing for many years. Why didn’t God heal her? Colin said, of course God can heal. He doesn’t know why God doesn’t heal her, but he knows that his sister can face each day because God gives her that power.
Furthermore, Colin’s sister does not fear death because she is confident that Christ Jesus has overcome Death itself. That is what I call a very strong person. Of course, Colin’s sister has many hard days. But her relatives and friends are moved by her faith. Cancer has damaged her body, it has not completely robbed away her hope and joy in life.
The Bible is full of reminders to ask God for His strength. Paul says in Ephesians 6:10, “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.”
The prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 12:2, “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.”
So in our challenges today, let’s focus on what He can do, not what we cannot do. Let’s say, “God, I will not spend my time over-worrying. I’ll do what I can, and leave the rest in Your hands.”
Obey the Law
Next, David said to his son, “Obey God’s law.” David said that obeying God’s commands was the key to enjoying God’s promises and rewards. If Solomon wanted Israel to be a blessed and secure nation, he had to know and obey God’s law.
For us, the lesson is we must take God’s words seriously. Jesus said in Matthew 7:24-25, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”
Friends, do we care about God’s words? Do we spend time reading, hearing, or reminding ourselves of His words? If we want a truly blessed, full, and meaningful life, we must begin with reflecting on God’s words and letting Him change the way we live.
So that was David’s two words of advice to his son: “Be strong in God, and obey God’s words. Then you will prosper in all you do and wherever you go.”
Perfect obedience
Let me end by reflecting on this idea of obedience a bit more. You may be thinking, “Okay, if I obey God, God will prosper me. Yay!”
Well, unfortunately the Bible also says that we can never obey God fully or keep his law perfectly. James 2:10 says, For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. So, I’m sorry, my friends, but we have all already failed to obey God’s law.
You may ask, “What? Why does God give us standards that we can never keep? It’s like false advertising!” Here is the situation: While God is loving, He is also holy and righteous. And while we have a desire to be good people, we were also born with a sinful nature.
Recently, one of my adult students asked, “Why are religious people always fighting?” I said, it is true that many wars today are fought in places where people are religious. But people don’t only fight in the name of religion. Even in communist states like the USSR and China, which are supposed to be atheist, many people were killed by the government for the sake of human progress. After thinking about it, my student, a Japanese lady who is not Christian, replied: “We humans are all the same. Our hearts are bad, whether we have religion or not. We only cause death to each other and ourselves.”
That’s exactly what the Law of God reveals about us. Even the best of us have the tendency to hurt others and hurt God. Look at David himself, who was considered a man very close to God. During David’s lifetime, he committed adultery with a married woman and killed her husband. The Law of God is a mirror. It shows us that we have an ugly side that we cannot totally remove or hide, no matter how much plastic surgery or self-improvement we try. Trying to obey the law shows us eventually that we need God’s mercy.
That’s why, even hundreds of years before Jesus came, Old Testament prophets prophesied that God was going to help us with this sin problem. Ezekiel recorded in Ezekiel 36:26 a promise from God: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
These prophecies are fulfilled through Jesus. Jesus came to fix what my student called our “bad heart”. Through His death, Jesus earned forgiveness for us and put a new Spirit in our hearts.
Does following Jesus mean that we will no longer sin? No, we will still sin. While we are still living on this Earth, we will always have to struggle with sin. But if we allow Him, He will transform us gradually, day by day. And one day, God will transform us completely and transform this Earth into a renewed world without sin. For now, we depend on His Spirit.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you are facing a big challenge at work, in school, or in your struggle with sin, let’s depend on Him and obey Him. It begins with heart surgery. That means inviting God to change us from the inside.