Brother Bushebi and Kenya Friends

 

SERMON: HONOR THE LORD
Determine to honor the Lord
A practical first step in honoring the Lord must include a decision: The Lord is worthy of worship, praise and honor. The young King Solomon published his decision to honor the Lord through a specific action in a letter to Hiram, king of Tyre: "I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the Lord my God" (1 Kings 5:5). Here perhaps "Name" speaks of the personal God who has revealed himself and demonstrated his character to Israel.


___As you might remember, Hiram had assisted King David by providing materials and workmen to build David's royal palace (2 Samuel 5:11). The decision by Solomon, however, to build the temple and the concomitant enhancement of the relationship between the two countries were not based on the political expediency of developing close ties between neighbors along major land and sea trade routes.
___Instead, Solomon's actions flowed from the foundation of a relationship and promise recounted in 1 Kings 5:5 and recorded in its entirety in the Davidic covenant of 2 Samuel 7:5-17. God had promised to establish the house and kingdom of David, and his son--Solomon--would "build a house for my Name" (2 Samuel 7:13).


___Understand how to honor the Lord
___Even as the decision to honor God had been made, remember that massive stones and imported timbers in and of themselves will never bring honor to the Lord as he intends and deserves. Indeed, two matters central to Solomon's actions also will be critical for us as we determine the direction of our honor for the Lord.
___First, God did not need a house to honor him. Solomon confessed the inadequacy of this grand construction project in his prayer of dedication for the temple: "But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!" (1 Kings 8:27). Even in Solomon's own assessment, his actions were admirable, but not adequate.
___Second, the honor God deserves flows from and is directed by a heart devoted and obedient to the Lord. In 1 Kings 6:12-13, the Lord reminded Solomon of his covenant responsibilities--an obvious opportunity to honor God: "If you follow my decrees, ... keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promises I gave to David your father. And I will live among the Israelites." - Only two centuries later, the Israelites had fallen down the slippery slope of a shallow, legalistic religion. In Isaiah 29:13, the prophet records God's indictment of the people because they "come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men."
___Christians today face the same crisis of authenticity. Our challenge is to remember that a heart thriving in a personal relationship with our magnificent Savior will produce actions honoring God--but that order cannot be reversed. Common sense tells us sweet, fresh water naturally flows from a spring. Just because you've found water, however, doesn't mean there is a spring--it might be a cesspool!


___Act to honor God
As honoring God requires a decision to do so and appropriate direction to take, so it must result in a determination to act. In the midst of a thriving personal relationship with the Lord, Solomon acted on his desire to honor God. 1 Kings 6:14-38 offers a concise summary of the seven-year building project Solomon undertook to complete the temple, and 7:13-50 details the furnishings crafted to serve in the active worship of God in the temple.
___ (1 Kings 7:51). These treasures included the booty and tribute collected by his father, King David (see 2 Samuel 8:9-12), all items that had been dedicated to the Lord and now were presented at his temple.
___The wise king demonstrated a generous spirit in his actions. In his inspired writings, he also challenges us to do likewise. Proverbs 3:9 reminds us, "Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops." Surely giving joyfully and sacrificially is one first step in our acts to honor God, a step that will be accompanied by many more--to the glory of God!


INTERCESSION: Prayers continue to flock our Father's Throne for His will, and direction in all we do in His africa mission/ ministry. The harvest is large but workers are few. We do pray for more laborers and co-workers with our Lord. We also have started special prayers for the coming two National Conferences Women and Youth , together with the Orphan kids who will be closing soon for the long vacation of December 2011. The number of Orphans in our country is increasing daily. We pray the Love of God meets these kids in Jesus name.
You are always on our hearts and in our daily prayers

Much Blessing and love to you forever in Jesus mighty name!
Brother Bushebi and Kenya Friends.