APOSTOLIC ACTING OUT
STAY BUSY IN THE LORD
Scripture text – 1 Kings 11:1-4 – “1But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; 2Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. 3And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. 4For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.”
As we read through the book of 1 Kings starting with chapter 5, we see how Solomon was called by God to build a temple for God. Starting with 1 Kings 5:3-5 – “3Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the Lord his God for the wars which were about him on every side until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. 4But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurent. 5And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon my throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name.” So from there Solomon started building God a temple. As long as Solomon stayed busy for the Lord, he stayed close to the Lord. So in 1 Kings 5:1-12 – the Temple Materials were gathered together. 1 Kings 5:13-18 – the Temple Labourers were gathered together. 1 Kings 6:1 – “1And it came to pass in the four hundred and eighteenth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.” 1 Kings 6:38 – “38And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.” So in 1 Kings 6 the Temple is completed. In 1 Kings 7:1-12 there was the construction of Solomon’s house. In 1 Kings 7:13-51 the Temple is furnished. In 1 Kings 8:1-9 the Ark of the Covenant returns to the Temple of God. In 1 Kings 8:10-11 the Shechinah, or the actual glory of the Lord Himself, returns to the Temple. In 1 Kings 8:12-21 Solomon speaks or preaches a sermon. In 1 Kings 8:22-61 Solomon prays for the Temple and Israel. In 1 Kings 8:62-66 Israel rejoices for the Temple of God. In 1 Kings 9:1-9 the Lord answers Solomon’s prayer and reiterates the covenant He made with David that if he kept all of the commandments of the Lord like his father did, then the Lord would establish his kingdom in Israel forever. In 1 Kings 9:10-14 Solomon started selling cities in Israel. In 1 Kings 9:15-28 Solomon started enslaving the Canaanites. Notice when he had completed all of his work that is when his spiritual downfall started. In 1 Kings 10:1-25 Solomon started multiplying in wealth and 1 Kings 10:26-29 Solomon multiplied in horses, or as we know it today, they would be cars.
So now Solomon is at a point where he does not have to depend on God anymore because he has done enough for God and now he is reaping the benefits of having everything a man could ever want in this world: lots of money, lots of cars, a big, nice house, and lots of women. He is living it up. He is also the smartest, wisest, and most knowledgeable man in the world. So there is nothing going wrong in his life. God is also on his side until this point.
As we read at the beginning in 1 Kings 11:1-4, Solomon has now turned his back on God because his love for his wives was greater than his love for God. So it says in 1 Kings 11:9-10 – “9And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice. 10And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.”
So, just like that, God took the kingdom away from Solomon, even though it took a gradual process. All because Solomon had thought he had done enough for God. This is what we should learn from Solomon: Keep yourself busy in the Lord, because once you think that you have done enough for God that is when you will start to fall. Solomon thought he had done enough for God because he started reaping the benefits of God’s blessings, so he just sat back and took in the riches of the world. He proved Jesus right in Matthew 19:23-24 – “23Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
This just proves that while Solomon was serving, he was close to the Lord, and God was close to him. But when Solomon stopped serving God and just started being served, then he fell away from the Lord and the Lord rebuked him.
We should be like Jacob in Genesis 29:20 – “20And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.” Even though Jacob did not get Rachel the first seven years but Leah instead, he gladly served another seven years for a total of 14 years to finally win Rachel. It was because of his love for Rachel that drove him to serve for such a long time and it still seems like such a short time. This is the same type of love that we need to have for Jesus. You have to love Jesus before you can serve Him. Jesus says in Matthew 6:24 – “24No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
So we have to stay busy in the things that the Lord wants us to do, because as long as we are doing things that pertain to and glorify God, evil forces cannot touch us like it says in Psalm 125:3 –“3For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put for their hands in iniquity.” So as long as our hands are in righteous doings and not in iniquity, then the wicked cannot touch us.
1 Corinthians 15:58 – “58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” We should always be doing a work for God, whether it is witnessing to people you don’t know or pitching in around the church or just living day by day for the Lord, because it says in Colossians 3:17 – “17And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
So it doesn’t matter if you are building a Temple as Solomon did, or you are just doing something simple as brushing your teeth, if you do it in Jesus name, and you do it for Him in love, then you will automatically do your best at it because you are working for the best Boss you could ever have.
Another work that we can do for God is pray as it says in 1 Thessalonians 3:10 – “10Night and day, praying exceedingly that we might see your face…” And in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – “17Pray without ceasing.” If we are praying continually then the devil does not have time to interrupt our conversation with God.
Now we are not just talking about Spiritual work. It says in 1 Timothy 5:8 – “8But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” So God wants us to work to earn a living, and he compares the type of work that he likes us to do to an ant in Proverbs 6:6-11 – “6Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. 9How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? 10Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.”
So the Lord knows that if we work hard, especially for Him, then we don’t have to worry about wanting anything or being poverty stricken. That is why this country is so blessed, because our founding fathers worked so hard to base this country on God. America is a lot like Solomon. The U.S.A. started out building this country for God to dwell in. Once it finished building, with the 50th state being founded sometime in the 50s, not even twenty years later it stopped relying on God by taking prayer out of schools. Now I believe we are at the stage where we read at the beginning in 1 Kings 11:1-4, like in verse one where it says Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; America has loved and welcomed people from strange cultures, like Mexicans, Africans, Chinese, Japanese, German, Russian, all over the world; and it said in verse 2 that they were of the nations concerning which the Lord said, Ye shall not go into them, neither shall they come unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.
Guess from what countries and cultures these people are in America that are trying to get rid of the Ten Commandments in courts, In God We Trust off of U.S. currency, and bring in abortion and gay marriage? Their blood is not all American, because their culture gets offended with anything Christian. AMERICA cleaves unto these cultures with love. America embraces all cultures. America loves them so much that she is turning her back on God and following and giving in to these strange cultures.
I believe that God is about to get angry at America like He did with Solomon in 1 Kings 11:9-10. So us as a church need to stay focused on God and perform His duties so that we can be that one tribe that will reign with Jesus in the New Jerusalem like it says in 1 Kings 11:13 – “13Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom, but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.”
Another way to keep busy in the Lord is to study His spoken Word like it says in 2 Timothy 2:15 – “15Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Our greatest work that we can do for the Lord is to win souls to Him. The easiest way to do that is by following this scripture: 1 Peter 4:11 – “11If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
As we read through the book of 1 Kings starting with chapter 5, we see how Solomon was called by God to build a temple for God. Starting with 1 Kings 5:3-5 – “3Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the Lord his God for the wars which were about him on every side until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. 4But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurent. 5And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon my throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name.” So from there Solomon started building God a temple. As long as Solomon stayed busy for the Lord, he stayed close to the Lord. So in 1 Kings 5:1-12 – the Temple Materials were gathered together. 1 Kings 5:13-18 – the Temple Labourers were gathered together. 1 Kings 6:1 – “1And it came to pass in the four hundred and eighteenth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.” 1 Kings 6:38 – “38And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.” So in 1 Kings 6 the Temple is completed. In 1 Kings 7:1-12 there was the construction of Solomon’s house. In 1 Kings 7:13-51 the Temple is furnished. In 1 Kings 8:1-9 the Ark of the Covenant returns to the Temple of God. In 1 Kings 8:10-11 the Shechinah, or the actual glory of the Lord Himself, returns to the Temple. In 1 Kings 8:12-21 Solomon speaks or preaches a sermon. In 1 Kings 8:22-61 Solomon prays for the Temple and Israel. In 1 Kings 8:62-66 Israel rejoices for the Temple of God. In 1 Kings 9:1-9 the Lord answers Solomon’s prayer and reiterates the covenant He made with David that if he kept all of the commandments of the Lord like his father did, then the Lord would establish his kingdom in Israel forever. In 1 Kings 9:10-14 Solomon started selling cities in Israel. In 1 Kings 9:15-28 Solomon started enslaving the Canaanites. Notice when he had completed all of his work that is when his spiritual downfall started. In 1 Kings 10:1-25 Solomon started multiplying in wealth and 1 Kings 10:26-29 Solomon multiplied in horses, or as we know it today, they would be cars.
So now Solomon is at a point where he does not have to depend on God anymore because he has done enough for God and now he is reaping the benefits of having everything a man could ever want in this world: lots of money, lots of cars, a big, nice house, and lots of women. He is living it up. He is also the smartest, wisest, and most knowledgeable man in the world. So there is nothing going wrong in his life. God is also on his side until this point.
As we read at the beginning in 1 Kings 11:1-4, Solomon has now turned his back on God because his love for his wives was greater than his love for God. So it says in 1 Kings 11:9-10 – “9And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice. 10And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.”
So, just like that, God took the kingdom away from Solomon, even though it took a gradual process. All because Solomon had thought he had done enough for God. This is what we should learn from Solomon: Keep yourself busy in the Lord, because once you think that you have done enough for God that is when you will start to fall. Solomon thought he had done enough for God because he started reaping the benefits of God’s blessings, so he just sat back and took in the riches of the world. He proved Jesus right in Matthew 19:23-24 – “23Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
This just proves that while Solomon was serving, he was close to the Lord, and God was close to him. But when Solomon stopped serving God and just started being served, then he fell away from the Lord and the Lord rebuked him.
We should be like Jacob in Genesis 29:20 – “20And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.” Even though Jacob did not get Rachel the first seven years but Leah instead, he gladly served another seven years for a total of 14 years to finally win Rachel. It was because of his love for Rachel that drove him to serve for such a long time and it still seems like such a short time. This is the same type of love that we need to have for Jesus. You have to love Jesus before you can serve Him. Jesus says in Matthew 6:24 – “24No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
So we have to stay busy in the things that the Lord wants us to do, because as long as we are doing things that pertain to and glorify God, evil forces cannot touch us like it says in Psalm 125:3 –“3For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put for their hands in iniquity.” So as long as our hands are in righteous doings and not in iniquity, then the wicked cannot touch us.
1 Corinthians 15:58 – “58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” We should always be doing a work for God, whether it is witnessing to people you don’t know or pitching in around the church or just living day by day for the Lord, because it says in Colossians 3:17 – “17And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
So it doesn’t matter if you are building a Temple as Solomon did, or you are just doing something simple as brushing your teeth, if you do it in Jesus name, and you do it for Him in love, then you will automatically do your best at it because you are working for the best Boss you could ever have.
Another work that we can do for God is pray as it says in 1 Thessalonians 3:10 – “10Night and day, praying exceedingly that we might see your face…” And in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – “17Pray without ceasing.” If we are praying continually then the devil does not have time to interrupt our conversation with God.
Now we are not just talking about Spiritual work. It says in 1 Timothy 5:8 – “8But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” So God wants us to work to earn a living, and he compares the type of work that he likes us to do to an ant in Proverbs 6:6-11 – “6Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. 9How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? 10Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.”
So the Lord knows that if we work hard, especially for Him, then we don’t have to worry about wanting anything or being poverty stricken. That is why this country is so blessed, because our founding fathers worked so hard to base this country on God. America is a lot like Solomon. The U.S.A. started out building this country for God to dwell in. Once it finished building, with the 50th state being founded sometime in the 50s, not even twenty years later it stopped relying on God by taking prayer out of schools. Now I believe we are at the stage where we read at the beginning in 1 Kings 11:1-4, like in verse one where it says Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; America has loved and welcomed people from strange cultures, like Mexicans, Africans, Chinese, Japanese, German, Russian, all over the world; and it said in verse 2 that they were of the nations concerning which the Lord said, Ye shall not go into them, neither shall they come unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.
Guess from what countries and cultures these people are in America that are trying to get rid of the Ten Commandments in courts, In God We Trust off of U.S. currency, and bring in abortion and gay marriage? Their blood is not all American, because their culture gets offended with anything Christian. AMERICA cleaves unto these cultures with love. America embraces all cultures. America loves them so much that she is turning her back on God and following and giving in to these strange cultures.
I believe that God is about to get angry at America like He did with Solomon in 1 Kings 11:9-10. So us as a church need to stay focused on God and perform His duties so that we can be that one tribe that will reign with Jesus in the New Jerusalem like it says in 1 Kings 11:13 – “13Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom, but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.”
Another way to keep busy in the Lord is to study His spoken Word like it says in 2 Timothy 2:15 – “15Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Our greatest work that we can do for the Lord is to win souls to Him. The easiest way to do that is by following this scripture: 1 Peter 4:11 – “11If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
