It's been 2000 years since
the glorious light of the cross
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illuminated a world veiled
in darkness and confusion about
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the character of God. And
still today the greatest need of
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mankind is a revelation of God's
love as revealed in the life of
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Christ. Amazing Facts presents
the Everlasting Gospel with
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Pastor Doug Batchelor coming
to you each week from Sacramento
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Central Church in sunny
California. Discover hidden
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treasures in God's word today.
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The message today is titled
Solomon Part III - The Zenith of
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the Kingdom. Now you've heard
the word zenith before. You may
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not all know what it means. It's
talking about when the sun or
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the moon of some object reaches
the highest point in its arch
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before it starts back down again
and you know typically in the
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summer 12 o'clock noon the
sun is at its zenith. From that
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point on it goes down. During
the year soon we're going to be
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at winter solstice around the
21st of December is the shortest
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day of the year. In the southern
hemisphere it would be the
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zenith, the longest day of
the year. We live of course in
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opposite. So there was a time in
the history of Israel when they
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experienced the highest point of
fulfillment of God's promises,
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the zenith of their experience.
It was during the time we're
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going to consider today.
Now Pastor Mike will enjoy this.
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I want to talk about Queen
Victoria. Maybe you have heard
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about the Victorian era of
England. You know there was a
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time in the English empire when
they reached maximum influence,
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power around the world.
You've probably all heard the
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expression, the sun never
sets on the British Empire.
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Well that's not necessarily true
now but it certainly was during
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that time. Victoria was
the longest reigning monarch in
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England, 63 years, one
queen. At some point she or her
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grandchildren were married
in some way to virtually every
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monarch in Europe as quite an
extended family. But her empire
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included, of course, the
United Kingdom of Great Britain,
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Ireland. She was the empress of
India. Her reign was the longest
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known of any monarch in
the British Empire. It included
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Australia, and Canada and
all these British common wealths
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around the world. The navy was
everywhere. The empire had great
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influence before these different
countries began to clamor for
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their independence. She was also
a very religious woman. So she
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believed in high morals and
obeying the law. Many historians
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believe that during that time
of Victoria, they call it the
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Victorian era, that England
reached the zenith of her power
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and influence. After she passed,
it began to decline. That's
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something like what happened
with Israel during the reign of
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Solomon. Now do you ever talk
about the good old days? How
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many of you reminisce? You have
these nostalgic hallucinations
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about the good ole days.
And in many cases they are
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hallucinations. You think boy
those were the good ole days but
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if I'd asked you back then
you'd think now you're kidding.
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But you know sometimes there
are points in history where we
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really did have the good ole
days. We really were living in
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golden opportunities. Sometimes
we don't know when those times
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are. But the time of Solomon
that we're talking about today
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was the time of the good ole
days. Turn in your Bibles with
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me to Deuteronomy 28. I don't
know how much of this passage
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I'll be able to read but I want
to read some of it. The last
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book of Moses, Deuteronomy,
last chapters of Moses' book.
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Deuteronomy was the closing
sermon of Moses. When he's done
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with Deuteronomy he climbs a
mountain and he dies. So it's
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his last sermon that you're
reading. He promises all these
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blessings on the children
of Israel that are conditional.
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Deuteronomy 28 verse 1:
Now it will come to pass if you
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diligently obey the voice
of the Lord your God to observe
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carefully all these commandments
that I command you today, that
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the Lord your God will set you
on high above all the nations
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of the earth, and all of these
blessings will come upon you and
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overtake you because you obey
the voice of the Lord your God.
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Notice. Blessed shall you be in
the city and blessed shall you
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be in the country. Blessed shall
be the fruit of your body, the
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produce of your ground,
the increase of your herds, the
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increase of your cattle,
the offspring of your flocks.
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Blessed will be your basket and
your kneading bowl. Blessed you
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will be when you come in
and blessed you will be when you
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go out. The Lord will cause your
enemies who rise against to be
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defeated before your face. They
will come out against you one
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was and they'll flee seven ways.
They'll scatter. The Lord will
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command the blessing on you in
the storehouse and whatever you
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set your hand to he will bless
you in the land where the Lord
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your God is giving you. The Lord
will establish you as a holy
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people to himself just as he has
sworn to you, IF you keep the
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commandments of the Lord your
God and walk in his ways. Then
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all people of the earth shall
see that you are called by the
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name of the Lord and they will
be afraid of you. And the Lord
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will grant you plenty of goods
and the fruit of your body and
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the increase of your livestock
and the produce of your ground
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in the land that the Lord
your God swore to your fathers.
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The Lord will open to you his
good treasure of the heavens to
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give the rain to your land in
its season and to bless all the
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work of your hand. You shall
lend to many nations and you
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will not borrow. And the Lord
will make you the head and not
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the tail. You shall be above
only and not beneath IF you heed
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the commandments of the Lord
your God which I command you
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this day and are careful to
observe them. So you shall not
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turn aside from any of the words
that I command you this day to
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the right hand or to the left
to go after other gods to serve
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them. All right. That's the
longest thing I'm going to read
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today, I think. What I just read
was the pinnacle, the zenith,
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the epitome of the blessings
God wanted to give Israel.
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That's pretty optimistic. How
many of you would like to have
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all this happen to you? Blessed
when you go out, blessed when
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you come in, blessed when you
sit down, blessed when you rise
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up, blessed in the family,
blessed in the field, blessed,
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blessed, blessed, blessed,
blessed, blessed, blessed.
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You're rich, you're the top
you're successful, your healthy,
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and your family. This actually
happened to Israel for a brief
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time during all of their history
there was one time you could
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point to when Israel experienced
all of these blessings. It was
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following the time of David
where they had won all these
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victories. He was close to the
Lord. The people were obeying
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God, they were building up the
temple of God. During this time
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they reached the zenith of the
kingdom. Now why am I telling
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you this. Doug. Sorry Pastor
Doug, how do you apply these
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things to our lives today. It's
still true. What God did for
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Israel during the time of
Solomon's golden era he does for
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his people now. So I want you
to take a deep breath, sit up
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and pay attention because he
wants to bless you, but those
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blessings are conditional
on obeying God. There are
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conditions to receiving these
things. Now turn with me in your
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Bibles and we'll consider a
lot of verses that deal with the
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story of Solomon and his
blessings. First of all a little
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history we've got to review.
You remember God said that he
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was going to use Solomon to
build the house of the Lord.
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Back before David died God had
made a promise to David. He said
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I'm going to bless your house.
God said to David I'm going to
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bless your house, meaning your
family and through your seed the
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Messiah will come. And David
said to God, you're going to
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bless my house, I want to bless
your house. You know they had a
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a TV program out called Trading
Spaces. I've only seen a couple
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parts of a couple episodes where
people actually trade houses
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with someone else and they
redecorate each other's houses.
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That's a pretty scary thought
but it's almost like that's what
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happens here with David.
God says David because you've
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trusted me and you've humbled
yourself and you're obeying me,
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I'm going to bless your house.
Through your descendants the
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Messiah will come. And David
says, Oh Lord, I want to build
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up your house. You're going
to build up my house, I want to
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build up your house. It actually
says that in II Samuel 7:25:
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Now O Lord God, the word that
you have spoken concerning your
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servant concerning his house,
establish it forever as you have
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said. And David was so thankful
that God said I'm going to build
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up your house and the
Messiah will come through your
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descendants, and David said Lord
I want to build up your house.
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The ark has been in a tent now
for hundreds of years. It's not
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fair. All these nations that
I've conquered around me their
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gods that I've overthrown,
they've got these massive
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temples and here the God of gods
is living under a tent. So he
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had it in his heart to build up
the temple of the Lord. But God
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said to David, you're not going
to do it because you've been a
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bloody man, you've been a man of
war. It's going to be a man of
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peace. Now in our last message
about Solomon we talked about
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the wisdom of Solomon. Solomon
said in Proverbs chapter 9 verse
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Wisdom has built her house.
The wisest way that wisdom can
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build up the house is to build
up the church of God. Wisdom has
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built her house. She has hewn
out seven pillars. Solomon was
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the son of David who built up
the house of the Lord. Jesus is
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the Son of David who built up
the house of the Lord. What was
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Jesus' occupation? He was
a carpenter. What did he do?
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He built up the house of the
Lord. Christ came to build the
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church. You and I are the church
that Jesus built. I want to
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review a couple of verses. I
Chronicles 17 verses 11-13 and
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towards the end there it says,
God had told David, I will set
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up your seed who is after
who will be of your sons. I will
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establish his kingdom. He
will build me a house and I will
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will establish his throne
forever. Who is the son of David
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that built the house of the
Lord? Solomon literally built up
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the temple but is there another
Son of David that was to build
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up the house of the Lord? That's
Jesus. This is one of those
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examples in the Bible of a dual
prophecy. You can also read our
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memory verse that we had that
was read. I Chronicles 22:9:
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Behold a son will be born to you
who will be a man of rest. Was
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Jesus an man of peace? And
I'll give him rest from all his
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enemies round about for his
name will be Solomon. All right,
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quick. I've got to ask
you a question to wake you up.
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How many people in the Bible
were named by God before they
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were born? Let's count them.
Isaac, I checked this morning.
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I don't have them all yet, but
I know Isaac. John the Baptist.
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The angel named him. Jesus, you
will call his name Jesus. Before
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he was born he was named. Don't
even buy a baby book of names.
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I've picked the name, God said.
Right? Solomon. Not Sampson.
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Huh? Cyrus. His mother and
father weren't told that he
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would be named, but you're right
his name was mentioned but it
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doesn't say an angel appeared to
his parents and told them what
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to call him. So there's not that
many. We could fit them on one
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hand anyway. You might come
up with others later. E-mail me.
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Solomon is one of the few in
the Bible who is divinely named.
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So that's important. And by the
way all those who are divinely
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named are types of Christ. Isaac
and John the Baptist, of course,
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Jesus. Solomon, a type of Christ
It says you'll call his name
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Solomon and I'll give him peace.
The name Solomon is similar to
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the word Shalom and it means
peace. And I'll give him peace
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and quietness to Israel in his
days. He will build a house for
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my name. He shall be my son and
I will be his father and I will
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establish the throne of his
kingdom forever. Now who's that
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talking about? Jesus is the Son
of God who built the house who
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was named by God. So very
important. Now there's another
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aspect. He's chosen to build up
the house of the Lord. You can
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also read I Chronicles 28
verse 4, notice: I Chronicles 28
00:13:38.45\00:13:42.55
verse 4, David is speaking.
However the Lord God of Israel
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chose me above all the house of
my father to be king over Israel
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forever and of all my sons, for
the Lord has given me many sons,
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he has chosen my son Solomon to
sit on the throne of the kingdom
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of the Lord over Israel. Now
he said to me, it is your son
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Solomon who will build a
house to my name and my courts.
00:14:03.15\00:14:07.21
I have chosen him to be my son
and I will be his Father. Then
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it goes on, Consider now for
the Lord has chosen you, David's
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telling Solomon, Consider now
the Lord has chosen you to build
00:14:16.48\00:14:21.34
a house for the sanctuary. Be
strong and do it. So don't miss
00:14:21.38\00:14:26.67
this important point. The zenith
of glory for the people of God
00:14:26.71\00:14:31.81
was while they were building
up the house of God. Don't miss
00:14:31.85\00:14:36.92
this point. It's still
true today. God's people are
00:14:36.95\00:14:40.59
never more blessed, they're
never closer to the Lord than
00:14:40.63\00:14:43.98
when they're engaged in building
up the house of the Lord.
00:14:44.01\00:14:47.50
There's a story in the book of
Hosea. They had come back from
00:14:47.54\00:14:50.58
the Babylonian captivity, the
temple had been destroyed but
00:14:50.61\00:14:53.62
they were starting to
rebuild it but the people got so
00:14:53.65\00:14:56.42
preoccupied with building
up their own houses that they
00:14:56.46\00:14:59.16
forgot about the house of the
Lord. And everything was going
00:14:59.20\00:15:02.13
wrong. And God said, you're
putting your money in pockets
00:15:02.17\00:15:05.51
with holes and your wineskins
are ripping and the crops are
00:15:05.55\00:15:09.12
not coming in and you've
got locusts and grasshoppers and
00:15:09.15\00:15:11.75
plagues. He said you're
wondering what's going wrong?
00:15:11.79\00:15:14.71
Why are we cursed? And
God said I'll tell you and I'm
00:15:14.75\00:15:17.60
paraphrasing what he says here
in Hosea. All of you are running
00:15:17.64\00:15:21.80
to your own houses and my house
is in ruins. He said if you make
00:15:21.84\00:15:25.56
building up the house of God
a priority, I will build up your
00:15:25.60\00:15:29.93
house. God will bless us if the
house of God remains a priority.
00:15:29.97\00:15:33.69
Now you think, Pastor Doug, this
is just an offering appeal. I'm
00:15:33.73\00:15:37.42
talking about spiritually
building up the house of God.
00:15:37.45\00:15:41.27
I'm talking about putting God
and his work and evangelism as
00:15:41.31\00:15:44.90
a priority. He will bless your
house. It's like what he said to
00:15:44.94\00:15:48.50
David. God said, David I want
to bless you. David said, No
00:15:48.53\00:15:51.03
Lord, I want to bless
your house. We're going to help
00:15:51.06\00:15:52.41
bless each other. And so the
more you make it a priority to
00:15:52.45\00:15:55.39
seek first the kingdom of God,
the more God will bless you.
00:15:55.43\00:15:58.63
God wants you to be a channel
of blessing to the world and the
00:15:58.67\00:16:01.84
more your hand is open and
giving to God, your time and
00:16:01.87\00:16:05.88
your means and your service for
the cause of God for evangelism
00:16:05.92\00:16:09.45
for mission work, the more he'll
bless your house. I just find
00:16:09.49\00:16:13.53
that's true in the Bible. Where
did the plans come from for the
00:16:13.56\00:16:17.47
temple? Solomon was a genius and
that's where the plans came from
00:16:17.50\00:16:21.38
right? Master architect.
No. They were divine plans.
00:16:21.41\00:16:27.38
Look here. I Chronicles 28 verse
11 and 12. Then David gave his
00:16:27.42\00:16:34.43
son Solomon the plans for
the vestibule, its house, its
00:16:34.46\00:16:38.34
treasuries, its upper chambers,
its inner chambers and the place
00:16:38.38\00:16:42.27
of the mercy seat and the
plans for all that he had by the
00:16:42.30\00:16:46.74
Spirit. Who gave David the
plans that he gave Solomon, the
00:16:46.78\00:16:51.15
blue prints? They came from God.
You read in I Chronicles 28:19,
00:16:51.19\00:16:57.44
I'm giving you a lot of verses.
Just go to verse 19 of that
00:16:57.47\00:16:59.90
same chapter. All this,
said David, the Lord made me
00:16:59.93\00:17:05.11
understand in writing by
his hand upon me all the work of
00:17:05.15\00:17:09.33
these plans. They were
given divinely. The design for
00:17:09.37\00:17:13.20
Solomon's temple, he did
not concoct that, he did not
00:17:13.23\00:17:16.99
manufacture it. Who gave Noah
the plans for the ark? God did.
00:17:17.03\00:17:22.16
Who gave Moses the plans for the
first temple? God did. So the
00:17:22.20\00:17:27.12
plans for building up the temple
of God come from God. Now does
00:17:27.15\00:17:31.53
God still have a temple in the
world today? Has he given us a
00:17:31.57\00:17:34.94
design, a pattern, a plan in the
Bible as to how we can build up
00:17:34.98\00:17:39.40
the church? Your body is the
temple of the Holy Spirit. Does
00:17:39.43\00:17:42.89
he have guidelines in the Bible
about how we can take care of
00:17:42.92\00:17:46.77
our bodies? Some simple rules?
Weimar's got it summarized in
00:17:46.81\00:17:50.64
the New Start acronym, just all
the natural things. But there's
00:17:50.67\00:17:54.87
a plan in the Bible for building
up the temple of God, both
00:17:54.90\00:17:58.88
physically and spiritually.
And so those are given by God.
00:17:58.92\00:18:03.74
Revelation 21:16, no wait
a second. I Kings 6 verse 20,
00:18:03.77\00:18:08.52
notice this: The inner sanctuary
was 20 cubits long, 20 cubits
00:18:08.56\00:18:16.04
wide and 20 cubits high and
he overlaid it with pure gold.
00:18:16.08\00:18:23.88
And then as you go through the
rest of those verses there it
00:18:23.91\00:18:26.06
says pure, pure gold, gold,
gold gold, overlaid with gold.
00:18:26.10\00:18:31.23
Solomon had tons and tons of
gold. Twenty, twenty, twenty.
00:18:31.27\00:18:35.94
Twenty wide, twenty high,
twenty long. What's that make?
00:18:35.97\00:18:40.65
If you've got something that's
equal geometrically, length,
00:18:40.69\00:18:45.30
breadth and width, it's a cube.
It's a square. Isn't that right?
00:18:45.34\00:18:49.61
The Holy of Holies was that way.
Now you go to Revelation 21.
00:18:49.65\00:18:53.61
This is interesting. And the
city was laid out in a square.
00:18:53.65\00:18:57.97
It's length as great as
it's breadth and he measured the
00:18:58.01\00:19:02.26
length of it with a reed, 12,000
furlongs, it's length, breadth
00:19:02.30\00:19:07.32
and height are equal. Now how
often have you seen pictures of
00:19:07.35\00:19:12.34
the New Jerusalem, artist's
concept, typically it's you
00:19:12.37\00:19:16.46
know maybe 375 miles wide and
long but certainly not 375 miles
00:19:16.50\00:19:21.34
high. But you know this is what
the Bible says. I've talked to
00:19:21.38\00:19:26.19
several scholars and they
say if you really want to go by
00:19:26.22\00:19:28.98
what the language says...
Dr. Leslie Harding, he said
00:19:29.01\00:19:32.67
you can't escape that it
says it's a giant cube, that it
00:19:32.70\00:19:37.67
cannot be overturned. It's a
perfect sacred cube is the city
00:19:37.70\00:19:42.69
of God. Now the Egyptians,
they used to make these massive
00:19:42.72\00:19:47.19
triangles as a sign of their
deities. It's called pyramids.
00:19:47.23\00:19:52.93
God doesn't go by that design.
His is a cube. It's a perfect
00:19:52.97\00:19:57.19
square. And that's what the Holy
of Holies was and that's what
00:19:57.23\00:20:01.56
it says about the New Jerusalem.
So just another interesting tie
00:20:01.59\00:20:06.05
over and the plans for both come
from God, right? Not only were
00:20:06.09\00:20:10.52
the plans holy, the construction
process was to be holy.
00:20:10.55\00:20:15.43
I thought it was interesting.
I Kings chapter 6 verse 1: And
00:20:15.47\00:20:20.32
it came to pass in the
480th year after the children of
00:20:20.35\00:20:26.09
Israel had come out of the land
of Egypt, in the fourth year of
00:20:26.13\00:20:29.28
Solomon's reign over Israel,
he couldn't get the temple built
00:20:29.32\00:20:32.57
right away, they had to get
organized. Four years into his
00:20:32.61\00:20:36.41
reign they began construction
in the month of Ziv which is
00:20:36.45\00:20:40.03
the second month, he began
to build the house of the Lord.
00:20:40.06\00:20:44.16
Now one of the scholars has kind
of done the homework for us.
00:20:44.20\00:20:48.37
Listen. Forty years Israel
was in the wilderness, 17 years
00:20:48.41\00:20:54.06
under Joshua, 299 years under
the judges, 80 years under Eli
00:20:54.09\00:20:59.41
Samuel and Saul, 40 years under
David to which you add the four
00:20:59.44\00:21:04.76
years of Solomon, that makes 480
years. From the time they left
00:21:04.80\00:21:09.39
Egypt and they became a nation
until they got their national
00:21:09.43\00:21:12.82
identity, the temple, you
realize until they had their own
00:21:12.85\00:21:16.17
temple they really couldn't say
we're now in the Promised Land.
00:21:16.21\00:21:19.11
Because as long as they had
the Ark under curtains it's like
00:21:19.14\00:21:22.75
we're still wandering. When the
temple foundation stone was laid
00:21:22.78\00:21:26.36
was a pivotal time in the
history of God's people and I'm
00:21:26.39\00:21:29.81
going to say more about that
in just a minute. How do you get
00:21:29.84\00:21:34.11
480? 40 x 12. Those are two
numbers that are very important.
00:21:34.14\00:21:38.40
What does 12 represent? It
represents the church. Twelve
00:21:38.43\00:21:42.62
apostles, 12 judges in the Old
Testament, 12 tribes in the Old
00:21:42.66\00:21:46.05
Testament. You've got the
12 gates in the New Jerusalem,
00:21:46.08\00:21:48.76
that's the church. Twelve
foundations for the church.
00:21:48.80\00:21:51.41
Twelve thousand furlongs, the
church. Woman in Revelation 12,
00:21:51.45\00:21:55.43
12 stars above her head, that's
the church. Forty represents a
00:21:55.46\00:21:59.87
generation for God's people. So
it's 12 x 40 they finally begin
00:21:59.91\00:22:04.81
the construction and it's seven
years in construction. I'll talk
00:22:04.84\00:22:09.71
about that in just a moment.
The construction was holy.
00:22:09.74\00:22:12.72
The timing was perfect with God.
Everything's perfect with God.
00:22:12.76\00:22:17.03
I Kings 6 verse 7, notice how
they built it: And the temple
00:22:17.07\00:22:21.28
when it was being built was
built with stones furnished from
00:22:21.32\00:22:26.08
the quarry so that no hammer
or chisel or any iron tool was
00:22:26.12\00:22:30.81
heard in the temple while it was
being built. Here's this massive
00:22:30.85\00:22:35.08
platform that they built. Stone
pavement. They're going to build
00:22:35.11\00:22:38.82
up the temple on it. You've got
thousands of workers. You read
00:22:38.85\00:22:42.03
the book of Chronicles and it
tells you about the work force
00:22:42.06\00:22:46.28
that Solomon had. Thousands of
workers. I remember when we did
00:22:46.32\00:22:49.71
Net New York in New York City.
Right across the street they
00:22:49.74\00:22:53.87
were doing construction and they
were blasting with dynamite,
00:22:53.91\00:22:57.30
right there in the middle of New
York City they were dynamiting
00:22:57.34\00:23:01.33
into the rock to build a new
sky scraper. They had these big
00:23:01.37\00:23:04.93
metal screens over the dynamite
when it blew up. Then they had
00:23:04.96\00:23:09.18
these big bulldozers with jack
hammers on them was what they
00:23:09.22\00:23:12.38
were. And the building we were
in across the street was just
00:23:12.42\00:23:15.60
shaking. We were so glad they
stopped construction before we
00:23:15.63\00:23:18.35
went live every night, but
all during the day it was just
00:23:18.38\00:23:21.63
shaking. It was very loud.
There were probably only 20 guys
00:23:21.67\00:23:25.93
across the street. Imaging
1000 guys over there quiet like
00:23:25.96\00:23:30.15
little ants and all you can hear
is the low grind of the stones
00:23:30.19\00:23:34.38
as they're being put into
position and the muffled tones
00:23:34.41\00:23:37.08
of the foremen as they say over
here, over there. There was a
00:23:37.12\00:23:41.27
sacredness about the house of
God. Should we still have that
00:23:41.30\00:23:45.64
sacredness about the house
today. They say you get all the
00:23:45.68\00:23:48.97
noise done out there but when
you come into this holy place
00:23:49.01\00:23:52.23
These plans come from God, this
is a building to God's glory and
00:23:52.27\00:23:56.91
because they honored that God
honored them as you'll see as we
00:23:56.95\00:24:01.56
go on. A little bit
of interesting history.
00:24:01.59\00:24:03.77
The temple stones came from this
quarry and some of the stones
00:24:03.81\00:24:10.27
in the temple of Solomon were
24, 25 feet long by 5 feet wide.
00:24:10.30\00:24:16.73
They were massive stones.
And you know right now we don't
00:24:16.76\00:24:19.92
partly have any combination
of equipment that can move those
00:24:19.96\00:24:23.47
things. I suppose we do.
But just big, big stones and we
00:24:23.51\00:24:26.95
think how do they cut them, how
did they move them? Hundreds of
00:24:26.99\00:24:30.15
them. They were bigger than the
stones in the pyramids just to
00:24:30.18\00:24:33.65
give you some comparative
idea that were used in Solomon's
00:24:33.69\00:24:38.10
temple. Last year in September
they found the quarry and it's
00:24:38.13\00:24:43.48
about three miles away from
the temple. It's about 80 meters
00:24:43.52\00:24:47.62
higher than the temple. So what
they did is they were able to
00:24:47.66\00:24:51.73
cut the stones out of this
quarry and they compared the
00:24:51.76\00:24:54.27
stone. I don't know. They've
got some science they used.
00:24:54.31\00:24:57.06
The stone that's in this quarry,
and by the way, they were
00:24:57.10\00:24:59.83
building an orthodox Jewish
neighborhood, and as they began
00:24:59.86\00:25:02.42
to excavate they ran into this
old quarry and they had to stop
00:25:02.45\00:25:05.49
the excavation. They found
they still had some stones that
00:25:05.53\00:25:08.33
haven't been moved yet. There
was no other quarry in Israel
00:25:08.37\00:25:11.35
with stones this big and
they call it the queen of stone.
00:25:11.38\00:25:14.75
Different stone in Israel has
different quality to withstand
00:25:14.78\00:25:18.60
cracks. You know sometimes the
stones have little fissures but
00:25:18.64\00:25:22.61
to get one big stone, one solid
stone, 50 feet across with no
00:25:22.64\00:25:26.58
cracks or fissures in it, very
hard to find a place like that.
00:25:26.63\00:25:29.77
Well this place provided with
what the Muslims still call the
00:25:29.80\00:25:33.46
queen of stone. And they've
matched the stone here with the
00:25:33.50\00:25:37.06
very base stones that were in
Solomon's temple and King Herod,
00:25:37.09\00:25:40.61
Herod the Great, who built the
temple that Jesus preached in,
00:25:40.64\00:25:43.75
he went back and got more stone
here. So this mountain used to
00:25:43.79\00:25:46.53
be much bigger and they quarried
all these stones out of it. They
00:25:46.56\00:25:49.27
were able to roll them downhill,
how much easier, roll them
00:25:49.30\00:25:53.83
downhill to the mountain where
they were building the temple
00:25:53.87\00:25:58.35
of Solomon. I just thought you'd
enjoy that amazing fact. Seven
00:25:58.39\00:26:02.56
years in the building process.
By the way, that struck me as
00:26:02.59\00:26:07.52
interesting. Jesus also built
a house didn't he? How long did
00:26:07.55\00:26:11.91
it take Jesus to build the
New Testament church. Now we're
00:26:11.95\00:26:15.55
talking today about Solomon's
Old Testament temple. Christ has
00:26:15.58\00:26:18.72
a New Testament temple. How
long did it take to build that?
00:26:18.75\00:26:23.30
How long did Jesus preach? Three
and a half years. And then how
00:26:23.34\00:26:27.86
much longer did he have
the apostles preach to just the
00:26:27.89\00:26:31.29
Jews? Three and a half years.
Three and a half and three and
00:26:31.33\00:26:33.73
a half is how much? Seven years.
And then when Stephen was stoned
00:26:33.77\00:26:38.05
the gospel then went to the
gentiles. Isn't that interesting
00:26:38.08\00:26:43.37
Seven years again preparing.
Now while I'm talking about the
00:26:43.41\00:26:48.63
construction of Solomon's temple
I can't rush past this important
00:26:48.67\00:26:51.52
point. The corner stone. We
talked about when they laid the
00:26:51.55\00:26:56.15
stones and how they built
it. There are a number of verses
00:26:56.18\00:27:00.44
in the Bible. For instance,
Jesus refers to this. Mark 12
00:27:00.48\00:27:05.32
verses 10 and 11. Have you not
read in the scripture the stone
00:27:05.36\00:27:09.85
that the builders rejected has
become the head of the corner.
00:27:09.88\00:27:13.89
This was the Lord's doing
and it's marvelous in our eyes.
00:27:13.93\00:27:18.16
Jesus is quoting from Psalm
1:18 Now we're not sure whether
00:27:18.19\00:27:22.02
Psalm 1:18 was written by David
or Solomon but there was this
00:27:22.06\00:27:25.96
experience, it's not in the
Bible but it's in history that
00:27:26.00\00:27:29.16
you need to understand. Matter
of fact, I'm going to read this
00:27:29.19\00:27:33.04
to you from the book Desire of
Ages, p. 597. You've all heard
00:27:33.08\00:27:36.52
about the cornerstone. We've got
to understand how important this
00:27:36.55\00:27:40.76
cornerstone is. In quoting the
prophecy of the rejected stone
00:27:40.80\00:27:44.28
Christ referred to an actual
occurrence in the history of
00:27:44.31\00:27:47.72
ancient Israel. The incident was
connected with the building of
00:27:47.76\00:27:51.20
the first temple, Solomon's
temple. While it had a special
00:27:51.23\00:27:54.29
application to the time of
Christ for his coming and it
00:27:54.33\00:27:57.32
should have been applied with
special force to the Jews it was
00:27:57.36\00:28:01.33
also a lesson for us. When the
temple of Solomon was erected
00:28:01.37\00:28:05.27
the immense stones for the walls
and the foundation were entirely
00:28:05.31\00:28:09.22
prepared and cut at the quarry.
Afterward they were brought to
00:28:09.26\00:28:12.71
the place of the building.
Not an instrument was to be used
00:28:12.74\00:28:16.45
upon them. The workmen only had
to place them in position. For
00:28:16.49\00:28:20.90
use in the foundation one stone
of unusual size and a peculiar
00:28:20.93\00:28:24.79
shape had been brought but the
workmen could find no place for
00:28:24.83\00:28:29.62
it. Now on top of Mount Moriah,
Mount Zion, it's a rock knob.
00:28:29.66\00:28:33.27
A rock knoll there. Matter of
fact, you go to the Dome of the
00:28:33.31\00:28:36.55
Rock, you ever heard of that?
Built on top of this big rock
00:28:36.58\00:28:39.79
where Abraham offered
Isaac. It's a stone cap on that
00:28:39.82\00:28:42.62
mountain. They cut into the
actual mountain and prepared a
00:28:42.66\00:28:47.13
place in the stone cap where the
temple corner would sit and it
00:28:47.17\00:28:50.56
absorb the weight. They didn't
want to put in loose dirt and
00:28:50.60\00:28:53.37
stone on top of the dirt and
then have the temple get out of
00:28:53.41\00:28:56.41
kilter. They founded the temple
right on the rock. Got the
00:28:56.44\00:28:59.74
picture? Problem is where they
cut into Mount Moriah it wasn't
00:28:59.78\00:29:03.05
necessarily a level spot.
So part of this odd cornerstone
00:29:03.08\00:29:06.56
had to match up with the
mountain top and it also had
00:29:06.59\00:29:10.00
to be square at the top because
the main cornerstone... How many
00:29:10.04\00:29:13.99
of you have done masonry
before? Men? Maybe ladies, I'm
00:29:14.02\00:29:17.61
sorry. Well you do brick work
and if you want your walls to be
00:29:17.65\00:29:20.75
straight you start with a corner
stone and if that corner stone
00:29:20.79\00:29:23.86
is off the farther you go
away from the corner stone the
00:29:23.89\00:29:27.49
farther off it gets. And so
you've got to have that corner
00:29:27.53\00:29:32.86
stone plumb, square, precise,
right on, because from it all
00:29:32.90\00:29:38.16
the other dimensions to out just
like that picture there. It sets
00:29:38.20\00:29:41.93
the standard for everything else
afterwards. It had to be perfect
00:29:41.96\00:29:45.66
So they're building this
building and they're looking
00:29:45.69\00:29:49.52
around for the cornerstone.
And the workmen early on, the
00:29:49.56\00:29:52.74
people at the quarry,
they didn't have e-mail, walkie
00:29:52.78\00:29:55.89
talkies, they sent over the
cornerstone knowing they needed
00:29:55.93\00:29:59.12
it, but it looked kind of odd.
And they dropped it right in the
00:29:59.16\00:30:02.62
middle of the work area thinking
they'd figure out this was the
00:30:02.65\00:30:05.52
cornerstone. But they didn't
expect it to look that way. We
00:30:05.56\00:30:08.17
don't know what happened but
for whatever reason they were
00:30:08.20\00:30:10.74
looking for something different.
So they kept tripping over this
00:30:10.78\00:30:14.97
thing, bumping into it, knocking
things into it and they kept
00:30:15.01\00:30:19.43
thinking why did they drop this
piece of a stone here, this big
00:30:19.46\00:30:23.91
strange stone. Eventually they
got upset and they rolled it off
00:30:23.95\00:30:28.05
into the Kidron Valley to get it
out of the way. Well they than
00:30:28.09\00:30:32.16
began to try all the other
stones that were coming as the
00:30:32.19\00:30:34.53
cornerstone and they weren't
fitting, they weren't matching.
00:30:34.56\00:30:37.27
Some of them they sort of
fit but then as they'd work on
00:30:37.31\00:30:39.95
they'd say that stone is not
plumb, everything is out of line
00:30:39.99\00:30:42.72
it's wrong. Or they'd put some
other stones on it and it would
00:30:42.76\00:30:46.91
crack under the weight. Long
this stone remained a rejected
00:30:46.95\00:30:51.03
stone but when the builders came
to the laying of the cornerstone
00:30:51.07\00:30:54.56
they searched for a long time to
find a stone of sufficient size
00:30:54.59\00:30:58.57
and strength and proper shape
to take the particular place and
00:30:58.60\00:31:02.34
to bear the great weight that
would rest upon it. Should they
00:31:02.38\00:31:06.47
make an unwise choice for this
important place the safety of
00:31:06.51\00:31:10.37
the entire building would be in
danger. They must find a stone
00:31:10.40\00:31:14.23
capable of resisting the
influence of the sun or frost
00:31:14.26\00:31:17.62
and tempest. Several stones at
different times had been chosen
00:31:17.66\00:31:21.65
but under the pressure
of immense weight they had
00:31:21.68\00:31:24.35
crumbled to pieces. Others could
not bear the test of sudden
00:31:24.39\00:31:28.48
atmospheric changes, but at
last attention was called to the
00:31:28.51\00:31:32.67
stone so long rejected. It had
been exposed to the air, the sun
00:31:32.71\00:31:36.84
and storm without
revealing the slightest crack.
00:31:36.87\00:31:39.58
The builders examined the stone.
It had born every test but one.
00:31:39.62\00:31:43.09
If it could bear the test of
severe pressure they decided to
00:31:43.13\00:31:46.95
accept it for the cornerstone.
A trial was made, the stone was
00:31:46.98\00:31:50.77
accepted, brought to its
assigned position and found to
00:31:50.80\00:31:54.40
be an exact fit. In prophetic
vision, Isaiah was shown that
00:31:54.44\00:31:58.01
this stone was a symbol of
Christ. Now there are about
00:31:58.04\00:32:01.58
seven times in the Bible, a
couple in the Old Testament,
00:32:01.62\00:32:05.09
six I think in the New Testament
that talk about the cornerstone.
00:32:05.13\00:32:09.46
Jesus is the cornerstone who
was rejected by his own people.
00:32:09.49\00:32:13.33
If you try and build your house
with anything but the right
00:32:13.36\00:32:17.13
cornerstone it's
going to be out of line.
00:32:17.17\00:32:18.95
It will not
withstand the pressure,
00:32:18.98\00:32:21.01
it will not be able to
survive the storms that are
00:32:21.04\00:32:23.96
going to come of the radical
changes in temperature. And so
00:32:24.00\00:32:27.55
all of these lessons were
implied and put into this one
00:32:27.59\00:32:31.44
powerful teaching about
having the right cornerstone.
00:32:31.48\00:32:35.26
In connection with this I Peter
2 verse 4: Coming to him as a
00:32:35.30\00:32:40.54
living stone. I mean who wants
to give their heart to a stone?
00:32:40.57\00:32:45.78
Jesus is the living stone.
Rejected indeed by men but
00:32:45.81\00:32:49.66
chosen by God as precious. You
also as living stones are built
00:32:49.70\00:32:53.78
up a spiritual house, a
holy priesthood, to offer up
00:32:53.81\00:32:58.11
spiritual sacrifices acceptable
to God through Jesus Christ.
00:32:58.15\00:33:02.38
Therefore it is also contained
in scripture, Behold I lay in
00:33:02.41\00:33:06.57
Zion a chief cornerstone, elect,
precious. He who believes in him
00:33:06.61\00:33:11.29
will by no means be put to
shame. You can trust putting
00:33:11.32\00:33:15.36
everything, all you weight,
on Jesus. Heard about they used
00:33:15.40\00:33:19.35
to do these barn storming
airplane rides where you could
00:33:19.38\00:33:22.13
go to the fair and you get in
the airplane and the guy would
00:33:22.16\00:33:25.00
take you for a ride over the
fair and land you. They called
00:33:25.03\00:33:28.36
them barnstormers. Mom and
Dad and the kids tried to talk
00:33:28.40\00:33:31.66
grandma into going for one of
these rides in these new fangled
00:33:31.70\00:33:34.43
airplanes and she really
didn't want to do that. But they
00:33:34.46\00:33:38.00
persisted. So she climbed in the
back and the pilot he took her
00:33:38.04\00:33:40.93
around and showed her all the
sites and he landed. She got out
00:33:40.97\00:33:44.46
and looked a little indignant.
They said grandma did you enjoy
00:33:44.50\00:33:48.56
the ride. She said not really.
I never put my full weight down.
00:33:48.60\00:33:52.63
Can you put your full weight
down on Jesus. That's what it
00:33:52.66\00:33:59.62
means. Can you trust that you're
going to rest all of your house
00:33:59.66\00:34:02.43
on him and you don't have
to worry about being ashamed.
00:34:02.46\00:34:06.58
The stone that the builders
rejected, I'm finishing here in
00:34:06.62\00:34:10.42
I Peter chapter 2. The stone
that the builders rejected has
00:34:10.46\00:34:14.14
become the chief cornerstone,
and a stone of stumbling, a rock
00:34:14.18\00:34:18.07
of offense. They stumbled being
disobedient to the word to which
00:34:18.11\00:34:21.97
they were also pointed. In
the Bible, you got to understand
00:34:22.00\00:34:24.82
this teaching. The Bible talks
about on whomsoever the stone
00:34:24.85\00:34:27.64
falls it will grind him to
powder, but whoever falls on
00:34:27.67\00:34:31.21
the stone will be broken.
They will be broken hearted and
00:34:31.24\00:34:34.95
they're saved. You don't
want the stone falling on you.
00:34:34.98\00:34:38.14
In Daniel chapter 2 all the
kingdoms of the world represent
00:34:38.17\00:34:41.98
that image of all the different
metals, but a stone cut out
00:34:42.01\00:34:45.75
of a mountain without hands and
maybe even Daniel looked at that
00:34:45.79\00:34:51.57
quarry. Probably did that we
just showed you a picture of.
00:34:51.60\00:34:55.03
Because Daniel had lived after
the time of Solomon and they
00:34:55.07\00:34:58.22
knew that there was a stone
cut out of the mountain but
00:34:58.25\00:35:02.56
without man's hands and it
destroys this image because the
00:35:02.59\00:35:07.25
stone falls on it. You must
fall on the stone. It's like
00:35:07.29\00:35:10.89
after Peter denied Jesus he
went out and he wept bitterly.
00:35:10.92\00:35:14.45
The book Desire of Ages tells us
Peter went back to the Garden of
00:35:14.49\00:35:17.61
Gethsemane and he fell down
and he cried on the stone still
00:35:17.64\00:35:20.73
moist with the blood and sweat
of Jesus. He fell on the Stone
00:35:20.76\00:35:24.08
and he was broken. You see what
I'm talking about. This is that
00:35:24.12\00:35:27.35
cornerstone. You want to be
on it. You don't want it on you.
00:35:27.39\00:35:31.63
You got that? That's not too
deep is it? It's your foundation
00:35:31.67\00:35:35.88
So as we're talking about
Solomon building the temple of
00:35:35.91\00:35:38.78
the Lord, this temple is
a symbol of Christ's body.
00:35:38.81\00:35:44.37
John chapter 2 verse 19:
Jesus answered and said to them,
00:35:44.41\00:35:49.54
Destroy this temple and in
three days I will raise it up.
00:35:49.57\00:35:54.05
Then the Jews thinking he
was talking about the temple of
00:35:54.09\00:35:58.50
Herod there, the last temple,
they said it's taken us 46 years
00:35:58.54\00:36:01.86
to build this temple. You're
going to raise it up in three
00:36:01.89\00:36:05.14
days? But he was speaking of the
temple of his body. Even when he
00:36:05.18\00:36:10.17
hung on the cross they threw
this in his teeth. They said you
00:36:10.21\00:36:13.75
who'd destroy the temple
and raise it up in three days if
00:36:13.78\00:36:16.86
you're the Messiah come down.
They understood what he'd said
00:36:16.90\00:36:20.76
about that. Mark 14:58 when he
was accused, they could only get
00:36:20.79\00:36:24.55
two witnesses to agree. You
know the only thing that the two
00:36:24.58\00:36:28.93
witnesses agreed to when Jesus
was condemned. What was it?
00:36:28.96\00:36:33.24
We heard him say I will destroy
this temple made with hands and
00:36:33.28\00:36:38.42
in three days I will
build another one without hands.
00:36:38.45\00:36:42.22
Are you part of that
temple Jesus made without hands?
00:36:42.25\00:36:46.73
A sacred temple with sacred
plans. I hope you are. Again
00:36:46.77\00:36:52.73
in I Corinthians 3:16: Know
ye not that ye are the temple of
00:36:52.76\00:36:57.73
God and that the Spirit of
God dwells in you. If any man
00:36:57.76\00:37:02.66
defiles the temple of God, him
shall God destroy for the temple
00:37:02.70\00:37:06.37
of God is holy which temple
you are. So while we're talking
00:37:06.41\00:37:10.22
about Solomon building this holy
temple with the holy plans is
00:37:10.25\00:37:13.25
that a story from 2000 years ago
or are we talking about what's
00:37:13.28\00:37:16.25
happening today? You and I
are the temple of God today.
00:37:16.28\00:37:20.32
Ephesians 2:19: Now therefore
you are no more strangers and
00:37:20.35\00:37:24.20
foreigners but fellow citizens
with the saints and of the
00:37:24.24\00:37:27.65
household of God and you're
built on the foundation of the
00:37:27.68\00:37:31.68
apostles and prophets, Jesus
Christ himself being the chief
00:37:31.72\00:37:35.94
cornerstone. What is the Bible
called? Isn't it the rock? Isn't
00:37:35.97\00:37:40.39
Christ the rock? He that hears
these words of mine and does
00:37:40.43\00:37:45.09
them is like a wise man who
builds on the rock. That's the
00:37:45.12\00:37:49.71
rock of his word. Christ is the
word that we build upon. In whom
00:37:49.75\00:37:54.34
all the building fitly framed
together, it fits, it grows into
00:37:54.37\00:37:58.49
a holy temple in the Lord in
whom you are builded together
00:37:58.53\00:38:02.45
for a holy habitation of God
through the Spirit. Then when
00:38:02.49\00:38:06.25
Solomon got done with the
building, after seven years,
00:38:06.29\00:38:09.98
and I'll tell you boy this was
some building. Gold, gold, gold
00:38:10.02\00:38:14.29
everywhere there was gold. He
dedicated the temple. They had a
00:38:14.32\00:38:17.67
special dedication prayer. They
activated it. They mobilized it.
00:38:17.70\00:38:21.02
Everybody got in position and
they did it right. He built a
00:38:21.05\00:38:24.60
bronze platform, he did
not use plywood. Just for this
00:38:24.63\00:38:30.64
inauguration he had a bronze
platform. Picture when a whole
00:38:30.68\00:38:34.50
nation gathers together. They
didn't have television or PA.
00:38:34.54\00:38:37.79
Everybody in Israel and there
were probably more citizens in
00:38:37.83\00:38:40.75
Israel during the inauguration
of the temple than any other
00:38:40.78\00:38:44.10
time in their history because it
was the time of their greatest
00:38:44.13\00:38:47.42
blessing. They all came to
Jerusalem. There was a sea of
00:38:47.45\00:38:51.08
humanity that gathered around
Jerusalem for the inauguration
00:38:51.12\00:38:55.19
of the temple. Solomon didn't
have a PA system. The only thing
00:38:55.23\00:38:59.27
he had was his voice. So
they built a platform up above
00:38:59.30\00:39:01.93
everyone's head so they
could all see him kneel. I think
00:39:01.97\00:39:05.16
that's interesting. He wanted
them to see him kneel and to
00:39:05.19\00:39:08.47
pray and they could hear
his prayer and to dedicate the
00:39:08.50\00:39:11.71
temple of the Lord. There are
some passages in the Bible that
00:39:11.75\00:39:18.05
are really important and I hope
it doesn't bother you that I say
00:39:18.09\00:39:24.36
that. All the Bible is
inspired but there are some real
00:39:24.39\00:39:27.87
mountaintops in the Bible
of very pertinent, important,
00:39:27.90\00:39:32.68
powerful, pivotal, lot of
P's in there, utterances. Daniel
00:39:32.72\00:39:36.61
chapter 9 the prayer of Daniel.
Of course you have the Lord's
00:39:36.64\00:39:40.39
prayer. The dedication prayer
of Solomon, I don't think I've
00:39:40.42\00:39:44.00
got time to read it all to you.
I hope you'll go home and read
00:39:44.04\00:39:47.59
it. It outlines the history
of God's people and all the
00:39:47.62\00:39:51.08
promises and how we're to relate
to the Lord and how we can ask
00:39:51.12\00:39:54.72
for forgiveness and everything
he says in his prayer happens
00:39:54.75\00:39:58.54
to Israel. He even in
his prayer talks about
00:39:58.58\00:40:01.20
and Lord if your people are
00:40:01.23\00:40:02.26
carried away because of their
unfaithfulness to a foreign land
00:40:02.29\00:40:05.32
if they pray towards this place
hear in heaven and answer their
00:40:05.35\00:40:08.73
prayer. That's exactly why
Daniel prayed towards the temple
00:40:08.76\00:40:11.90
in Jerusalem when he was in
his upper room, because of the
00:40:11.93\00:40:15.62
prayer of Solomon. And did God
answer his prayer? And he says
00:40:15.65\00:40:19.31
if your people are unfaithful
and you withhold the rain
00:40:19.34\00:40:22.27
because of their unfaithfulness,
if they pray towards this place
00:40:22.31\00:40:25.73
please hear in heaven and answer
their prayer. Well did God send
00:40:25.77\00:40:29.16
a famine because of their
unfaithfulness? Several times,
00:40:29.19\00:40:32.52
especially during the time
of Elijah. And so you can see in
00:40:32.55\00:40:36.31
his prayer he, under inspiration
this is when Solomon was still
00:40:36.35\00:40:40.16
really close to the Lord, he's
outlined what's going to happen
00:40:40.19\00:40:43.74
in the history of God's people.
And everything you see in the
00:40:43.77\00:40:46.65
prayer of Solomon you're going
to find also applies to the
00:40:46.68\00:40:50.14
church today. We sometimes
get carried away because of our
00:40:50.17\00:40:53.75
unfaithfulness. But we can
repent and turn to the Lord and
00:40:53.78\00:40:57.68
he has mercy on us and he hears
our prayer again. So they have
00:40:57.71\00:41:01.58
this special dedication
prayer and at the conclusion,
00:41:01.61\00:41:05.78
II Chronicles 6. Read all of
II Chronicles. Matter of fact
00:41:05.82\00:41:09.39
the prayers are a little bit
different between II Chronicles.
00:41:09.43\00:41:12.49
I'm sure it was a long prayer
and they just added different
00:41:12.52\00:41:15.43
parts to it, or recorded
different parts. II Chronicles
00:41:15.47\00:41:18.31
6:1-42. You can also read about
it in I Kings. I just want to
00:41:18.35\00:41:25.89
read the last few verses here
at the end of Solomon's prayer.
00:41:25.93\00:41:33.44
Now my God I pray let your
eyes be open and your ears be
00:41:33.47\00:41:38.06
attentive to the prayer made in
this place. Now arise, O Lord,
00:41:38.10\00:41:42.20
to your resting place, you and
the ark of your strength. Let
00:41:42.23\00:41:45.94
your priests O God be clothed
with salvation. Let your saints
00:41:45.98\00:41:51.07
rejoice in goodness. Now you go
to chapter 7, next chapter, read
00:41:51.10\00:41:56.16
verse 1. When Solomon had
finished praying, after this
00:41:56.19\00:42:01.26
dedication prayer, fire came
down from heaven. All right,
00:42:01.30\00:42:05.64
another test. How many times
in the Bible does fire come down
00:42:05.68\00:42:10.29
from heaven? I don't know. I'm
asking you. Let's count together
00:42:10.32\00:42:15.06
Abel's offering. Remember God
accepted Abel's offering. That
00:42:15.10\00:42:18.71
means God probably brought fire
down miraculously, but he didn't
00:42:18.75\00:42:23.28
do it for Cain. You've got when
fire came down for Gideon in his
00:42:23.32\00:42:27.22
vision. When they activated the
earthly temple in the time of
00:42:27.26\00:42:31.49
Moses, the first tabernacle.
Elijah, fire came down three
00:42:31.53\00:42:35.16
times with Elijah, not only on
Mount Carmel but Elijah prayed
00:42:35.20\00:42:38.80
twice and fire came down
and burnt up soldiers, right?
00:42:38.83\00:42:45.35
I think there are six times
in the Old Testament and the
00:42:45.39\00:42:51.84
seventh time fire comes down is
Pentecost. Tongues of fire sent
00:42:51.88\00:42:58.01
from heaven, right? Isn't that
interesting. God sent fire down
00:42:58.04\00:43:02.61
on the temple in Solomon's day
and he still sends fire down on
00:43:02.64\00:43:07.18
his spiritual temple. So I
didn't even finish reading it.
00:43:07.21\00:43:11.80
When Solomon got done praying
fire came down from heaven and
00:43:11.83\00:43:16.08
consumed the burnt offering and
the sacrifices. And the glory of
00:43:16.11\00:43:20.33
the Lord filled the temple.
Oh would that the Lord would do
00:43:20.36\00:43:24.28
that again. And the priests
could not enter the house of the
00:43:24.31\00:43:27.67
Lord because the glory of the
Lord had filled the Lord's house
00:43:27.71\00:43:31.28
Can you imagine what it would
be like. We're all out there
00:43:31.32\00:43:34.82
standing outside Central Church.
We can't come in. Why? Too much
00:43:34.86\00:43:38.81
glory. You stay out here for
a while till it eases up and we
00:43:38.84\00:43:42.12
can go back in. Can you imagine
that? Wouldn't that be nice to
00:43:42.15\00:43:45.26
have that kind of problem? Did
you go to church today? Yeah.
00:43:45.30\00:43:49.65
Did you go in? Why not? Too much
glory in church. This is what
00:43:49.68\00:43:54.00
happened. The priests couldn't
even go in. When all the
00:43:54.03\00:43:59.02
children of Israel saw how
the fire came down, now I'm
00:43:59.06\00:44:03.98
emphasizing this because in the
dedication prayer in I Kings it
00:44:04.02\00:44:06.99
doesn't mention this and I
wonder why. I wouldn't leave
00:44:07.02\00:44:09.40
this part out. I'd leave out the
whole prayer and don't forget
00:44:09.44\00:44:11.37
this. Fire coming down
miraculously from heaven.
00:44:11.40\00:44:15.71
You know one reason God did
that. The fire on the altar was
00:44:15.75\00:44:19.55
called holy fire and for the
remainder of the history of the
00:44:19.58\00:44:23.57
temple of Solomon they always
used that fire initially kindled
00:44:23.60\00:44:27.52
by God to light the lamp, to
light everything. They always
00:44:27.55\00:44:31.40
kept it going they never let the
fire go out in the temple of God
00:44:31.44\00:44:34.98
It was called the holy fire.
That's why, was it, Nadab and
00:44:35.01\00:44:37.65
Abihu were slain. They decided
to kindle fire from the campfire
00:44:37.69\00:44:41.39
to go into the altar and God
said you're not supposed to use
00:44:41.42\00:44:45.09
common fire. It is a
sacred fire. You know churches
00:44:45.12\00:44:48.86
sometimes do that today. They
say we're going to manufacture,
00:44:48.90\00:44:51.23
we're going to impersonate
the Holy Spirit. And if we don't
00:44:51.26\00:44:53.52
have the Holy Spirit, we'll just
turn the volume up and pretend
00:44:53.56\00:44:56.79
it's the Holy Spirit. You know
what I'm talking about. A lot of
00:44:56.82\00:44:59.46
things we do in the church to
try and imitate, counterfeit the
00:44:59.49\00:45:03.05
Holy Spirit. It's common fire.
We want the fire from God, not
00:45:03.08\00:45:06.42
manmade fire. We do a lot
of things to try and create the
00:45:06.45\00:45:09.72
illusion that we've got the Holy
Spirit. Manmade fire. We want
00:45:09.76\00:45:15.14
the fire that God brings down.
Oh wait. How did they get that
00:45:15.17\00:45:19.28
fire? They were obeying the Lord
building up the temple of the
00:45:19.32\00:45:22.86
Lord the way God said according
to God's plan with a reverence
00:45:22.89\00:45:26.40
and when they did their
part God did his part didn't he?
00:45:26.43\00:45:31.79
Has he changed? Will he still
baptize his people with the Holy
00:45:31.83\00:45:36.23
Spirit if we follow the things
we just read about there in
00:45:36.26\00:45:42.01
Deuteronomy and I Kings and
II Chronicles. The fire of God
00:45:42.04\00:45:47.41
came down, Pentecost. I'll tell
you boy that was some church
00:45:47.45\00:45:51.82
service. They offered thousands
of burnt offerings on the altar.
00:45:51.85\00:45:56.01
And the people rejoiced and God
was with them and God blessed
00:45:56.04\00:46:00.13
them and this is all happening
before the Queen of Sheba even
00:46:00.17\00:46:04.49
shows up. This is the first
10 years of Solomon's 40-year
00:46:04.52\00:46:08.77
reign. They were at the zenith
of their glory. Now just to give
00:46:08.81\00:46:12.63
you some idea, have you heard
about the wealth of Solomon?
00:46:12.66\00:46:15.83
I mean, you just read some
of these things. For instance,
00:46:15.86\00:46:19.33
II Chronicles, and that's
our next segment, the wealth of
00:46:19.37\00:46:24.05
Solomon. II Chronicles 8:18:
And Hiram sent him ships by
00:46:24.09\00:46:28.30
the hand of his servants and
servants who knew the sea and
00:46:28.33\00:46:32.09
they went with the servants
of Solomon to Ophir and they
00:46:32.13\00:46:37.13
acquired 450 talents of
gold from there; 450 talents, a
00:46:37.17\00:46:42.10
talent was somewhere between
56 and 75 pounds. I was looking
00:46:42.14\00:46:45.93
at Alaska gold nuggets, the
biggest gold nuggets that they
00:46:45.97\00:46:50.55
found in Alaska. They weren't
as much as a talent, well no I
00:46:50.59\00:46:54.42
guess some of were bigger than
a talent. But can you imagine
00:46:54.46\00:47:00.62
coming back from one mining
expedition annually 450 talents.
00:47:00.65\00:47:06.60
Four hundred and fifty times
50 pounds of gold. That's like
00:47:06.63\00:47:12.40
Fort Knox every year; maybe not
but it's still a lot. And they
00:47:12.43\00:47:16.44
brought it to King Solomon. You
know people have been looking
00:47:16.47\00:47:19.80
for the lost mines of King
Solomon because of these verses
00:47:19.84\00:47:23.11
here. They said boy they had a
lot of gold there. Notice this.
00:47:23.15\00:47:27.55
II Chronicles 9:13: The weight
of gold that came to Solomon
00:47:27.59\00:47:32.60
yearly was 666 talents of gold.
Wait a second does that number
00:47:32.63\00:47:38.83
sound familiar? Is that an
accident? Do you think it might
00:47:38.87\00:47:44.26
be interesting that at the
zenith of Israel's history the
00:47:44.30\00:47:49.52
number 666 shows up. Was
it talking about the heavenly
00:47:49.55\00:47:54.16
kingdom or earthly kingdom.
So here at the zenith of the
00:47:54.20\00:47:58.41
earthly kingdom, the earthly
Jerusalem, you've got this
00:47:58.44\00:48:04.55
number 666 talents of gold,
earthly gold. When we think
00:48:04.58\00:48:10.62
about the new Jerusalem, we're
thinking about a different kind
00:48:10.66\00:48:13.80
of gold. And so it's almost like
it's the number from man. It's
00:48:13.83\00:48:16.94
the number of the world's
kingdom that it is comparing.
00:48:16.97\00:48:20.79
So the king made silver and gold
as common in Jerusalem as stones
00:48:20.83\00:48:26.87
And it goes on. You ought
to read about it when it talks
00:48:26.90\00:48:30.79
about the wealth of Solomon.
You know he's surrounded. He's
00:48:30.83\00:48:34.65
got these seven steps, I think,
that led up to his throne and he
00:48:34.69\00:48:40.13
had this throne of ivory
overlaid with gold and he had
00:48:40.16\00:48:43.41
six golden lions on one side and
six golden lions on the other.
00:48:43.45\00:48:46.57
I don't want to say too much
because next time we're talking
00:48:46.61\00:48:49.23
about the Queen of Sheba and
we're going to get into that.
00:48:49.27\00:48:52.69
But just fabulous wealth. Even
Jesus referring to the greatest
00:48:52.73\00:48:57.22
glory of Israel's history, he
refers to Solomon. Matthew 6:28:
00:48:57.26\00:49:01.72
Jesus said, why do you worry
about clothing? Consider the
00:49:01.75\00:49:05.92
lilies of the field how they
grow. They don't toil or spin,
00:49:05.95\00:49:10.09
yet I say to you that even
Solomon... You know they're
00:49:10.12\00:49:14.76
trying to figure out what the
new president and his wife are
00:49:14.80\00:49:18.38
going to wear for the
inauguration and all of the
00:49:18.41\00:49:20.78
designers are fighting among
themselves to be able to make
00:49:20.82\00:49:23.20
the dress for Mrs.
Obama and because _
00:49:23.23\00:49:28.21
those are going to be some
threads, I'll tell you, and
00:49:28.25\00:49:32.18
whatever she wears they put
in the Smithsonian, whatever she
00:49:32.22\00:49:35.90
wears to the inaugural ball.
Can you imagine the tailors who
00:49:35.94\00:49:40.52
worked for Solomon? You can't
think of any French name that is
00:49:40.55\00:49:45.56
good enough to make clothes for
Solomon. And so Jesus said but
00:49:45.60\00:49:49.76
even Solomon in all of his glory
was not arrayed like the flowers
00:49:49.80\00:49:53.52
of the field. So he said you
should seek first God's kingdom.
00:49:53.56\00:49:58.37
Now when it describes Solomon in
his glory I want you to notice
00:49:58.41\00:50:03.19
it talks about the power of
Solomon, right? The riches of
00:50:03.22\00:50:06.95
Solomon, doesn't it? Does
it talk about the wisdom of
00:50:06.98\00:50:10.73
Solomon? The strength of
Solomon, the honor of Solomon,
00:50:10.77\00:50:14.44
the glory of Solomon and
the seventh is the blessing.
00:50:14.47\00:50:18.07
Now with that in mind turn to
Revelation chapter 5 verse 12:
00:50:18.11\00:50:24.77
I'm almost done. What do they
sing around the throne of God
00:50:24.80\00:50:32.38
to the Son of David, Jesus?
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
00:50:32.42\00:50:41.41
to receive power, riches, wisdom
strength, honor, glory and
00:50:41.44\00:50:48.85
number seven the blessing
of rest, right? The very things
00:50:48.88\00:50:54.74
that you read about during the
zenith of Israel, the time of
00:50:54.77\00:50:59.76
Solomon, it extols his wisdom,
his riches, his power, his glory
00:50:59.79\00:51:04.06
All these things it's really
an echo of Christ's kingdom in
00:51:04.09\00:51:08.16
heaven, of the new kingdom
that you can be a part of now.
00:51:08.20\00:51:11.92
You know, with the economy bad
right now people are searching
00:51:11.96\00:51:15.65
on the internet. They are
wanting to know, where is the
00:51:15.68\00:51:19.02
safest place in the world
to live that will have the best
00:51:19.06\00:51:22.37
economy and be safe
from terrorism and violence.
00:51:22.40\00:51:26.01
It's interesting. I heard about
this couple years ago; I may
00:51:26.05\00:51:28.70
have told you this already. Paul
Harvey mentioned this couple and
00:51:28.74\00:51:32.64
they wanted to know the best
place in the world to retire.
00:51:32.67\00:51:35.42
They wanted to find a place in
the world where there would be
00:51:35.45\00:51:39.09
peace, a good economy, nice
climate and they searched and
00:51:39.12\00:51:42.74
they searched and they finally
came up with this place. They
00:51:42.78\00:51:46.40
moved to this island. They said
we've got it made. We're safe
00:51:46.43\00:51:50.31
now, we can retire in peace on
this island. You know where they
00:51:50.34\00:51:54.19
moved? The Falkland Islands
a week before the Falkland war
00:51:54.22\00:52:02.24
broke out. So where can you go
in this world. If you can live
00:52:02.27\00:52:07.49
during sometime in history,
it would be pretty nice if you
00:52:07.53\00:52:12.68
could live in Israel during the
time of Solomon and the temple.
00:52:12.72\00:52:16.04
Wouldn't you like to have seen
that temple? It was one of the
00:52:16.07\00:52:18.86
wonders of the world. The only
reason it's not listed as one of
00:52:18.90\00:52:21.64
the ancient wonders of the world
is the guy who made that list
00:52:21.68\00:52:25.56
the Greek historian Herodotus,
he never went there. Actually
00:52:25.60\00:52:28.96
he went before it was even built
but it would have been one of
00:52:29.00\00:52:33.72
the wonders of the ancient world
Well you can live in a better
00:52:33.76\00:52:38.80
time than that. You can live
in not Solomon the son of David,
00:52:38.84\00:52:43.77
you can live in Jesus the Son of
David's kingdom and be part of
00:52:43.81\00:52:48.29
all that glory and all of that
peace. And that's my closing
00:52:48.32\00:52:52.84
thought is during the zenith
of God's kingdom God had said to
00:52:52.87\00:52:56.28
David, your son will be a man
of peace. That's why he gave him
00:52:56.32\00:53:00.36
the name Shalom or Solomon.
Listen to what it says. Israel
00:53:00.40\00:53:04.37
had peace. I Kings 4:25, this is
a wonderful verse. I Kings 4:25:
00:53:04.41\00:53:10.65
And he had peace on every
side all around him. You know
00:53:10.68\00:53:17.22
sometimes you get peace a little
bit here but you've got problems
00:53:17.26\00:53:19.48
over here and sometimes your
family's doing okay but there
00:53:19.51\00:53:22.69
are problems at work. To say
you've got peace on every side
00:53:22.72\00:53:26.27
that's pretty nice if you can
say that. I mean, how often is
00:53:26.31\00:53:30.05
everything going well in your
life. He had peace on every side
00:53:30.09\00:53:34.20
all around him. And Judah,
the southern kingdom and Israel
00:53:34.23\00:53:38.27
in the north dwelt safely, each
man under his vine and under his
00:53:38.31\00:53:43.62
fig tree. From Dan in the north
as far as Beersheba in the south
00:53:43.66\00:53:48.94
all the days of the Solomon.
The main thing it's telling us
00:53:48.97\00:53:52.81
is when they were doing what
God said, he kept his promise.
00:53:52.84\00:53:58.69
He blessed them. Has God changed
Have the conditions changed?
00:53:58.72\00:54:03.26
If we surrender to the Lord and
if we trust the Son of David,
00:54:03.29\00:54:07.85
our Solomon, Jesus, can he still
bless us? He can bless us with
00:54:07.89\00:54:12.00
the greatest blessings. I'm not
preaching prosperity preaching.
00:54:12.04\00:54:16.33
You should have 666 talents
of gold. That would kind of make
00:54:16.36\00:54:19.95
you nervous anyway to have that
number, right? You'd probably
00:54:19.99\00:54:23.74
take that number but it's just
kind of a weird number. That's
00:54:23.77\00:54:26.96
not what I'm talking about. I'm
talking about just to have those
00:54:26.99\00:54:30.18
blessings of peace. Because
when you've got Jesus, no matter
00:54:30.22\00:54:32.74
what's happening in the world
around you, you've got your own
00:54:32.77\00:54:36.03
little temple. You've got your
own little sanctuary. You can be
00:54:36.06\00:54:39.33
blessed. You can sleep through
a storm. You've got that peace
00:54:39.37\00:54:42.69
that passes understanding and
that's something he's promising
00:54:42.73\00:54:46.02
all of us right
now, that perfect peace.
00:54:46.05\00:54:49.05
Well you've just done it friends
I hope you took a good look
00:54:49.09\00:54:53.27
We went to the top of the
mountain today. We're at the
00:54:53.30\00:54:57.24
zenith of what God did during
the time of Solomon. You look
00:54:57.28\00:55:00.19
at the history of Israel.
It never goes back there again.
00:55:00.22\00:55:03.06
Until Jesus comes. Then we go
back to that place of that great
00:55:03.10\00:55:07.74
glory that he experienced during
that time. All of the promises
00:55:07.78\00:55:12.00
that God made to Israel were
fulfilled during this generation
00:55:12.03\00:55:16.06
Take a good look, because
God kept his word and he hasn't
00:55:16.09\00:55:19.89
changed. He'll do it today.
Would you like that kind of
00:55:19.93\00:55:23.70
peace? Let's pray.
Loving Father in heaven, Lord,
00:55:23.73\00:55:29.79
as we consider this story
in the Bible we can see your
00:55:29.83\00:55:34.11
faithfulness. You fulfilled
everything you promised to
00:55:34.14\00:55:38.35
Abraham in blessing his children
and establishing them in the
00:55:38.39\00:55:41.88
Promised Land and giving them
victory over their enemies and
00:55:41.92\00:55:45.65
opening up the windows of heaven
and Lord we know that the peace
00:55:45.68\00:55:49.38
that you gave them back
then is still available today.
00:55:49.41\00:55:53.32
Help us to pattern our lives
after this time in Israel's
00:55:53.35\00:55:57.24
history. Help us as a church,
your people, to be wholly
00:55:57.27\00:56:01.09
committed to you, to trust you,
to seek first your kingdom and
00:56:01.13\00:56:04.17
your righteousness. To work for
the building up of your temple
00:56:04.21\00:56:07.76
knowing that then you'll respond
by sending your glory, by
00:56:07.80\00:56:11.56
letting the fire come down
in our lives. Fill us with your
00:56:11.59\00:56:15.28
Spirit, Lord. Bless every person
in our homes and help us, Lord,
00:56:15.32\00:56:19.35
to make sure that we are
building all that we do on that
00:56:19.38\00:56:23.27
tried and true
cornerstone of Jesus Christ.
00:56:23.30\00:56:26.04
In his name we ask. Amen.
00:56:26.07\00:56:28.57
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Thank you for joining us for
this broadcast. If you've missed
00:57:28.20\00:57:31.54
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