David,
in making his son Solomon the new king of Israel, told him to be obedient to God in all that he
did, and
God will bless him richly. David had conquered all the territories as a
fulfillment of the covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 17. He
also had
amassed a huge amount of resources for Solomon to fulfill the vision
God has
given to him. Solomon stepped into a near impossible task. He was young
and
inexperienced in governing the land. There were enemies to keep out, as
many
would want to take revenge for what David had done. The task was
overwhelming.
How did he manage in such a situation? To whom can he go? In learning
what
Solomon did, we can learn some simple principles of how we could also
accomplish the vision God gave to CBC. There are 3 things to note.
There is:
the Task, the Touch, and The Treasure. The Task. In 1
Kings 3:1, Solomon made an
alliance with Egypt in order to secure the southern corridor. To do
that, he
married Pharaoh’s daughter. With peace secured, he went ahead to build
three
strategic buildings. He was to build a home for himself, a house for
the Lord,
and the wall around Jerusalem. In
today’s context, the first structure to build is our own house. We can
have a
house but not a home. To build a home is to build our family. The
current
statistics of divorce in the West boggles the mind. There is no
difference
among believers and non believers. The trend has begun to affect our
nation as
well. Over the last ten years, the divorce statistics among the non
Malays in Malaysia has increased by 50%. The government is
concerned and so
is the church. CBC would want to be a family focused church. This would
take time
and perseverance. I would encourage married people to attend marriage
enrichment seminars or revisit premarital courses. As Christians, we
can and
must be better parents, better spouses and better children. The
second structure was to build the wall around Jerusalem. This was to keep out the enemy and any
undesirable
elements. This essential structure enabled the rest of the buildings to
be
built. So, the wall speaks of security and protection for its members
in its
most basic structure. In applying this principle to our shepherd groups
or cell
groups, the wall makes a safe place where our members receive their
basic care.
Many shepherd groups have lost this particular aspect of nurturing and
caring
of its members. We must rebuild our walls. Remember, the Bible has many
“one
another” passages – it is only by our love for one another that others
can
see/know Christ is in our midst. Unless this becomes a reality we might
be
found just playing games. The
third structure was building the house of the Lord. David could not
build
because the Lord said he was a man of war and his hands were stained
with
blood. Solomon was given the task. Building the house fulfilled the
vision God
gave to David, which now became a task for Solomon. David had such a
vision for
the Lord. He knew that the house of the Lord will unite God’s people
and rally
them to a common cause. David was the person who penned Psalm 133. From
that
Psalm, we know that God’s anointing will flow from the priesthood to
the rest
of the congregation and we can command blessings from the Lord. Wow!
What a
promise. Could this be the reason why we are not experiencing the
Lord’s
abundance? Are we still uneasy when we come together? It is time to put
aside
our own agenda and be aligned to the vision of the house. The Touch. If
Solomon was
overwhelmed, so are we as well. Solomon took time to be with God. He
went to a
high place called Gibeon. He offered a thousand sacrifices. In other
words, Solomon
did all he could to worship God and he did it with vigor. We read that
Solomon
walked with God. In the process of worshipping, God appeared to Solomon
in a
dream and gave him a blank cheque. God said: Ask
what you want.At this point, if
God posed the same question
to us, and we did not respond, this would be disobedience. The command
to obey
God is to ask because God told us to
ask. Solomon reminded God of His
promises to David and being young, he was unable to manage such a big
task.
Basically, Solomon pleaded to God for help. Solomon asked for
understanding,
wisdom and justice. God was pleased. Consenting to his requests, God
added all
the resources Solomon needed during his life time.Solomon touched God and God touched him. That
makes all the difference in our walk with God. Every one of us would
need the
touch of God and for that to happen, we must touch Him with our
sacrifices of
worship. Often we want to know God’s will for our lives so that we can
do His
will. Let me propose that we find out what is the will of God
and adjust
our lives to accomplish His will. If we do that, God will come to
us in a
dream and say: Ask! What shall I give you? The Treasure. Finally,
Solomon had
all that he asked for and more. He received riches, fame and honor
above all
the kings on earth. What is the use of all these riches if we don’t
live long
enough to enjoy the wealth? God gave Solomon long life. So, whatever
God blessed
Solomon, it was beyond his widest dreams. The story of Solomon and the
books
written by him are recorded for us in the Bible. His wisdom teachings
are one
of the best advices as compared to other ancient writers. Solomon was
not
perfect; later in life he strayed away from God. It reminds us that we
need to
depend on God at all times. The consequences of not doing so affects
not only
ourselves, but down the generations! So walk with God and be obedient
to Him,
and experience His abundant life!
Keep Winning for the Lord, Richard Toh
Senior Pastor of CBC
Fulfilling CBC’s Vision