How Quickly We Turn Aside — David Wilkerson

This message is one of the Times Square porpet series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing to World Challenge, P .O. Box 260, Lindale, Texas 75771 or calling 214 -963 -8626.

None of these messages are copyrighted and you are welcome to make copies for free distribution to your friends.

Solomon’s Prosperity and the Glory of Jerusalem

I want to take you to Jerusalem years ago, under King Solomon. Now, Jerusalem at the time was a very prosperous city. In fact, it was one of the most prosperous cities in the world at the time. The gold was so numerous that silver was not even treated as anything but stones.

He made silver stones in Jerusalem at the time. Gold was proliferating everywhere. There was a mighty zoo in Jerusalem at the time because the ships of Tarsus, Solomon was bringing in peacocks and apes and all kinds of serpents and he had a great zoo.

In fact, when he pulled out of his palace, he had 1 ,400 chariots at his disposal. He had 12 ,000 charioteers. He had an army of plumes and helmeted soldiers in gold and crimson. It was incredible. In fact, the Queen of Sheba saw the way he lived and the luxury and the way he went to church in his chariots.

It took a breath away, the scripture says. It was quite a scene to see him go through all the parks that he had built and the fountains and the gardens and the orchards, summer homes, winter homes. This man was the richest man on the face of the earth.

He'd been king of Israel for quite a time and now he's in his later years and he's on his way to church. He's on his way to his house of worship and I see him pulling out in his entourage. The President of the United States doesn't travel in one limousine.

There's usually five or six and they've got bodyguards. Can you imagine how the King of Solomon traveled? The Bible said that his throne was of ivory covered with gold. He had 12 lions, six on each side, out of ivory covered with gold.

He had six stairs, golden stairs that led to his throne. This man traveled in style. He's going to church on this particular Sabbath. Can you picture that chariot? All gold and gilded black. Speeds from these great horses out of Egypt that he imported.

In fact, he imported so many horses he sent them over to the kings of the Hittites and Amorites. He had caravans going constantly bringing back these horses. He had 12 ,000 stars for his horses. And 1 ,400 chariots at his disposal.

Can you imagine the entourage? Tell me when he went to church, at least 12 chariots. With his bodyguards at his head of state. And you can be sure, just like the President of the United States, they warn before they go to church so the people are aware and the bodyguards are in place.

And what a sight it was as he comes out of his great palace and he gets into the cage. And they go down through the streets of Jerusalem opposite the palace and they pick up Pharaoh's daughter. And she gets in the chariot and they're going to church and she's got a smirk on her face this Sabbath.

She's got a grin on her face. She's going to church with King Solomon. You see him pick up this Pharaoh's daughter and head off for church. What a sight it must be. They head toward the temple. But you know, this Sabbath the temple is quiet.

There are no priests out there to represent. There are no people, no crowds. There are no sacrifices. There was a time in one week when he built this temple to Jehovah. He sacrificed 22 ,000 oxen and 120 ,000 sheep in one week.

But there are no sacrifices on this Sabbath and there are no word priests waiting and there are no hundreds of trumpeteers announcing that the King is giving honor to the Lord. In fact, his chariot pulls up to the temple and he's not even looking.

He turns left east to a mountain, the mountain of disgrace. And I see Pharaoh's daughter with that smirk on her face because she has won her day. She has won her day. Solomon I don't think even turns to look at the temple he built.

He's not going to the temple of Jehovah. Where's this man going? And I see on his face now in my mind a blank expression. This man is wasted. He's got wrinkles on his face. Solomon is a wasted man because he had all of these wives and concubines.

He's a man of sensuality. He's lost the touch of God. He turns left and goes east, the scripture says, of the temple. East. And he goes on the mountain, the mountain of disgrace. And a huge boulevard opens before him.

And the streets are full of people in all their thrallery. The temple of God lays vacant there. Now up and down these streets are the shrines of the idols Solomon has built. Solomon, this avenue and the crowds are falling into all of these temples.

There's the temple of Shemos. There's the temple to the God of the Syrianites. There's the temple of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Hittites. Up and down Embassy Road. And the crowds are there. And they're hailing the king as he comes.

The king isn't looking. There's a blank expression on his face. It's the most incredible sight in all the Bible, that Sabbath, probably. It's one of the most incredible sights a man can think of. This man that was so touched of God, this man that was so anointed, that we still read his words in this book.

And the Bible said, Holy man of old, as anointed in the Holy Spirit wrote this book. And that man was anointed because we still read his words. This man had been visited by God in dreams and visions. This way, this time in his life, anointed man.

He's not going to the temple of God. He is pulling in to the temple of Baal. And suddenly the temple is blessed. The people are spilling out in the streets. Because Israel followed him into worship of idolatry.

This king now is an idolater. Look at him as he walks in and all of the orange robe priests of Baal, the god of Egypt. Look at them as the trumpet sounds. And they are about to roast pigs and mice on the altar.

Unclean animals. Surely your king is not going to go into that temple. And you see the queen of Egypt get out. And she takes the hand of Solomon. And down the aisle of the temple they go. The man of God is sitting there while the trumpets blow.

And those orange robe priests begin to chant to their God. The man of God sitting in the front seat. Next Sabbath he'll be in another chariot with another one of his wives at another idol temple. What's happened that this man so quickly turned away from God.

And becomes an idolater. One of the great idolaters of all time. The scripture said his wives turned away his heart. For it came about when Solomon was old. His wives turned his heart away unto other gods.

And his heart was not wholly devoted to them. His God is the heart of David his father had bred. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians. And after Milton the detestable idol of the Amorites.

He went after the detestable idol of the Amorites. And you look at that man there. These two sacrificing unclean animals. That a Jew would not even consider looking at. Let alone sacrificing. And just one generation.

This man who had dedicated the great temple to Jehovah. He once had kneeled humbly before the Lord. On a platform that he constructed in front of the temple. And he had stretched out his hands to Jehovah.

And this man of God had prayed this prayer. Oh Lord. Whatsoever prayer is made by any man. Or by all the people of Israel. Each man knowing to pray to his own heart. And when he spreads out his hands toward this house.

Through thou in heaven. Thou dwelling place and forgive. All whose hearts thou knowest. For thou alone Jehovah. This know the heart of all the sons of men. That they may fear thee all the days that they live.

This same man at one time had commanded Israel. Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the Lord your God. To walk in his statues. Keep his commandments as at this day. Now what's happened to this man.

That in such a short time his heart has turned away. God said he turned aside. But now the Lord was angry with Solomon. Because his heart was turned away. His heart was turned away from the Lord. The God of Israel who had appeared to him twice.

His wives, the scripture said, turned his heart away. Now this man's story is so important to us today. Because so many are turning away from the Lord. A lot of people not in this church tonight that were here a year ago.

They're gone. Their hearts have been turned away. I want to know what happened to Solomon. I want to know the steps that lead to idolatry. I want to know how a godly man, so afraid of their Holy Ghost.

Called of God to build this great temple. Ends up a man absolutely vain and lost. I want to know. I've heard people say, Solomon went to heaven. Solomon never did go to heaven. Solomon went to hell. Solomon was damned.

He was lost. List three things that happened to this man that are warnings to us. First of all, Solomon lost the fear of God. Solomon lost the fear of God. There was not a wiser man other than Christ ever born on this earth.

Solomon’s Loss of the Fear of God

And God gave Solomon wisdom. Understanding exceedingly much. And wiseness of heart. He was wiser than all men. And he spoke 3 ,000 prophets. His sons were 3 ,003. And all the kings of the earth came to hear his wisdom.

In fact, Solomon himself said the fear of the Lord is the beginning of our wisdom. Out of his own lips. The fear of the Lord. And it was when he was walking in the fear of God that he penned these awesome words.

The strange woman. Her feet go down to death. Her steps lay holding her. He said this. Why should you embrace the bosom of a farmer? You will be held with the cords of your own sin. And you will die for lack of instruction.

He also warned of the smooth tongue of the adulteress. The strange woman. Lest she trap you with her beauty and her eyelids. It will cost you the substance of your house. You will groan in your latter days.

You will end up groaning in your final days. Out of his own mouth. This man answers. The reason why he turned aside. The Bible said he chose to reject and throw off and drown the fear of God that the Lord had planted in his heart.

Listen to him. Listen, God. I made my words known unto you. This is the first chapter of Proverbs. Just listen to it. I made my words known to you. Speaking to Solomon too. You sat at my, on my counsel.

You hated my knowledge. You did not choose the fear of the Lord. You despised my reproof. Therefore you eat the fruit of going your own way. You eat the fruit of your own way because you have chosen not to fear me anymore.

It was Solomon who wrote. The fear of God is to hide evil. That's his message from Proverbs 8 .13. Solomon said the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life to depart from the snares of death. And incredibly he wrote this.

By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. By the fear of the Lord men quit their evil. Be thou in the fear of the Lord all your days. Be in the fear of the Lord all day long all your days. Proverbs 23 .17.

Solomon deliberately put the fear of God right out of his mind. He chose instead the riches, the pleasures and the lust of his day. Solomon loved many strange women. Understand. How does he do when he's in the embrace of one of these strange women?

Was there never a time that these words come back onto him? This strange woman, her pearls lace, hold her breath. At the end she will grow. Did it never occur to him all that he had preached? How is it that an evangelist can preach holiness and turn right around and embrace a prostitute?

How is it that so many people can come to the house of God and worship and praise his name? They're right out and committed adultery. Fornicate. You see, there's something happened in this man's heart.

And it's been the history of God's people from the very beginning. God's people have always been inclined to idolatry and lust, the scripture says. People want to play. Rather than to pray and to hold on and retain the fear of God in their hearts.

There's something in the flesh that rises up to want to pray. Especially when you're in a relaxing mood. It's easy at night when you have the fear of God and you're in church and you hear the prophetic word.

It's easy to walk in the statues of the Lord. It's something else the next day when the sun is shining and the flesh begins to rise up inside. It took only 40 days for the children of Israel to shake off the fear of God.

Do you remember God appeared to them and they saw that? There was thunder and lightning. In fact, the Bible says the ground began to rumble. They trembled. And Moses said to the people, Don't be afraid.

For God is come in order to test you. In order that the fear of Him may remain in you so that you may not sin. Moses said, You are experiencing the fear of God. For a reason. This awesome display of the power of God.

This lightning, thunder, this piercing trumpet sounds you hear. This is God putting His fear in your heart that you may not sin against Him. Can you hear and receive it today for yourself? That the fear of Him may remain with you so that you may not sin.

Brother, sister, the one great hindrance we have, the one great barrack against sin in our life is the fear of God. I have that in my life every waking hour. I have that dread and fear of God. I love Him as a heavenly Father.

But I know He is a righteous God. I have that fear in me right now as I preach. I have that fear that I dare not say anything that would ease sin. Ease the conscience of sin in your heart. And appease you and make you feel good in your sin.

You can go somewhere else and find that. You won't find it in this church. May God in the battle of 70 others. Just before this had come down from the mountain. And they had seen an awesome sight. They went up in the mountain with Moses and they saw the God of Israel.

And under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire. And it was clear as the sky itself. Yet God did not stretch out His hand against them. And they beheld God and they ate and drank in His presence.

Now that's something. 70 elders. And they dabbed a bottle. And Aaron. I don't know who spread the tape. I don't know if the angels spread it or not. But there's an awesome sight. There is some kind of an appearance.

There's a theophany of some kind. And there's a sapphire. Suddenly a bright sapphire path. And God appears. And they eat in the presence of God. And the scripture says God didn't stretch out His hands and kill them.

You say if I ever saw God and ate in His presence. That would put such a fear in me. The rest of my life I would never have said. Well that awesome experience lasted 40 days for Aaron. They dabbed a bottle in those elders.

It lasted 40 days. That awesome sight of thunder and lightning. And God piercing His divine trumpet lasted 40 days. All Israel had pledged faithfulness to the Lord when that fear was upon them. And all the people answered together and said.

Oh all that the Lord has spoken. We will do. We will do. That's when the thunder and lightning was there. And Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. I want you to go to Exodus 32 please.

The Golden Calf and Israel’s Rapid Turning Aside

Exodus 32. 40 days. How quickly we turn aside. How soon will you turn aside. We'll have you turn aside. Exodus 32. Reading verse 1. I'm going to read 9 verses. And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount.

The people gathered themselves together unto Aaron. And said unto him. Up break us guards which shall break before us. Now this is just 40 days later. Aaron had just eaten in the presence of God. And sinned and saw a false Torah case.

Isn't this something. He said unto them. Up break us guards which shall break before us. As for this Moses. The man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt. We want to know what has become of him.

And Aaron said unto them. Break off the golden ear rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, your daughters and bring them to me. The people break off the golden ear rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.

And he received them at their hand and he fastened them with a graving to it. And verse 5. And when Aaron saw it he brought it all to be fair. And Aaron made proclamation and said. Tomorrow is a feast of the Lord.

They rose up early in the morning. And offered bread offering and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and to drink. And they rose up to what? They rose up to play. The Lord said to Moses.

Go and get you done. For thy people which you brought out of the land of Egypt would correct themselves. What have they done? They have turned aside quickly out of the way. They have made them a molten calf.

They have worshipped it and sacrificed there too. And said these be the gods of Israel which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. The Lord said to Moses. I have seen this people and behold it is a stiff necked people.

How? They have quickly turned aside. The psalmist said. It is because they lost the fear of God. And I am reading from Psalms 106 .13. They quickly forgot his works. They waited not for his cancel. They lusted exceedingly in the wilderness.

And then Paul goes on to say. Now these things are written for our example to the intent that we should not lust after evil things. As they are so lusted in the wilderness. Now look at me please. How is it that a man or woman.

How is it that a Christian. How is it that Solomon jettisoned the fear of God. How is it that we drown out the fear of God in our lives. It is because we turn to something else. Israel got weary of the straight and narrow way.

They got weary of the call of holiness. Of the fearful warnings and judgment. They wanted to pray. They wanted to dance. They wanted to fornicate. Some of them had roving eyes. Some of them had the eyes of another woman.

They wanted to rise up inside us. Have a lust. And lusted after beautiful women. He loved luxury. He had a lust for material things. Listen when we turn aside. It is not nothing we turn aside. There is always something there.

It is another thing entering in. And I want to tell you something. If you allow someone or something to take your heart. The first thing that is going to happen. That thing that takes your heart. Captures your heart.

It will go right after the fear of God. It will go right to the fear of God. And try to put you at ease. And say God can't be that angry. God is not like that. And the first thing you do is have your eyes smooth.

You lose your discernment. Then you run after a gospel. You'll heap yourself. Teachers have an itch in ears. You'll run to some church where somebody will make you feel comfortable in your sin. You're sitting here tonight and you have an affair going.

You have an adulterous affair. You've got fornication. You've got a lust for homosexuality. You have a lust for alcohol. You've got a lust for drugs. Whatever it may be. The reason we preach like we do in this church.

Is that you come to God by the power of the Holy Ghost. And ask Jesus to put it at God's roots. Lest you lose the fear of God. The most gracious thing God can do for you. Is to keep the fear of God alive and burning in your heart.

And hearts become flushed with power and prosperity. And then hell no longer becomes a reality. We don't want to hear anything about hell. We don't want to hear anything. They say I don't want to hear gloom and doom.

And I know there are many preachers that have accused this ministry of being gloom and doom. And I know why. Because they'll sit in the camp. They've been sitting in the camp. And they don't like to hear it because it's a reproof.

It's a judgment to their lifestyle. There's a young man that attended this church for about a year and a half ago. He was on drugs and the Lord saved him. The Lord dealt with him time and time again about his cocaine habit.

And one night, in fact he was sleeping at the church. He had no place to sleep. He just wanted to be in the Nederlander theater. And one night, the Lord gave him a vision of hell. He got an incredible vision of hell.

In fact, he woke up pale and ashen white. He could hardly speak. For two or three days, he lived in the absolute fear of God. He said, Brother Dean, I've been to hell. God let me see hell. I can't even begin to describe it.

And God told me that if I go back to my old ways, He'd let me to see what was waiting for me. He loved me so much, He didn't want me to go. And he said, Brother Dean, I've never turned back. I've seen hell.

Thirty days later, he's back on the streets. Right back on the streets. Because he couldn't give up what was in his heart. And he lost, totally lost the fear of God. There's no more fear of God within the heart of the transgressor.

Psalms 36 .1. There's no more fear of God within the heart of the transgressor. Those who really love the Lord, love holiness preaching. Because it produces the fear of God in their hearts. You say, do you want to produce the fear of God in my heart?

Solomon’s Neglect of the Written Word

Oh yes, yes. I want to produce the fear of God in my heart as I preach and pray. And I want to see it produced in your heart also. Secondly, Solomon forsook the written word of God. And relied instead on dreams and verses.

And now we come to continue where Pastor Bob just added a few exclamation marks. That we heard this morning about false prophets. The Lord appeared twice to Solomon in dreams. And twice he heard the clear voice of God.

That verse encouraged him and the verse warned him. In 1 Kings 3 .5 in Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. And God said. You read also 1 Kings 9 .2. The Lord again appeared the second time to Solomon.

And the Lord said to him. And you find it over and over again in Chronicles and Kings. When you see God coming to Solomon. It says, and God said, and God said, and God said. You hear it over and over again.

This man heard from God in dreams. He heard verses from heaven. But that did not keep him from his iniquity. Solomon did not read and heed the written word of God. Every King. I want you to read. I want you to go to Deuteronomy 17.

I want to show you something. It's so very, very vital. And God is trying to say something to this church. This church is going to be founded on the word of God. And not on some preacher standing up and giving you a room.

Never. I want to show you something from the word of God. Deuteronomy 17. Folks, we are failed as shepherds if we don't get you driven to the word of God. And make you afraid of every false prophet on the face of this earth.

Deuteronomy 17 chapter. Beginning to read verse 14. Do you have it? When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. And shall possess it. And shall dwell therein. Thou shalt say, I will set a king over me.

Like all the nations that are about me. Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee. Whom the Lord thy God shall choose. One from among the brethren. Shall thou set king over thee. Thou must not set a stranger over thee.

Which is not thy brother. But he shall not mow the plow horses to himself. How many horses did Sir John had? Twelve thousand. Stalls. Will cause the people to return to Egypt. Where did he get his horses?

Out of Egypt. And to the end that he should mow the plow horses. For as much as the land has said unto you. You shall not henceforth return no more that way. And he said don't ever go back to Egypt for anything.

Not even a mouse, let alone a horse. Neither shall he multiply wise to himself. This man had wise a thousand times of wise. That his heart turn not away. Neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.

And it shall be when he is seated upon the throne of his kingdom. That he shall write him a copy of this law in a book. Out of that which is before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him. And he shall read therein all the days of his life.

That he may learn to fear the Lord his God. To keep all the words of this law and these statutes to do them. That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren. And that he turn not aside from the commandment.

To the right hand and to the left. To the end that he may pronounce his days in his kingdom. He and his children in the midst of Israel. Now listen to me folks. Simon had he been a student of the written revealed word of God.

He would have read, he would have learned, he would have been careful to observe. If he had been a student of God's word. He would have read this from Deuteronomy 28. Do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you to do.

Don't turn to the right or to the left to go after other gods. And if you will not obey, if you will not observe this. I charge you that all these curses shall overtake you. The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke.

And all that you undertake to do.

This is the end of side one. You may now turn the tape over to side two.

The Sure Word of Prophecy and Testing Voices

So what happened to Solomon? He was a man who depended on dreams and voices. But never once picked up the written word of God. In fact it was hidden. It was not found. It was hidden in the temple. It was not found until Helkiah found it.

The high priest under the dead Josiah. He went in, found it and brought it to Josiah. Josiah saw it, heard it. And when he read it, he went his clothes. He said we are not keeping this. And revival came to Israel.

Because a man read this book. My Bible predicts the last day there is going to be a great flooding of rain. It predicts the love of many is going to grow cold. Let me tell you why it's going to happen.

All the kids are depending on voices and dreams and prophecies. They want a prophetic word from some prophet. This Bible says is the sure word of prophecy right here. This is the sure word. Nothing else but this I hold in my hand is the sure word of prophecy.

We have people running all over the United States to get a word. They are not like Daniel. They are not like Jeremiah. Studied with the word of God even in prayer. Hearing from the Lord themselves. None of these men were studied with the book and they could say thus saith the Lord.

Because they had the law and the wisdom of prophets in their hands. Daniel studied Jeremiah. He studied every prophet that went before him. He was out of the book of Jeremiah. But Daniel counted the 70 years.

That's how he could prophesy as he did. We've got charismatic psychics all over the United States today. Johnny Carson had a man named the Great Creston. And the Great Creston could stand. I don't have television now but when I used to, it was amazing.

He could tell you what you had in your pocket. He could give you your name, your address. He could tell you you're a doctor. He could tell you all about your life. There's nothing unusual about that, that psychic.

We've got charismatic psychics who go around trying to read people's lives. If you want that, go to Gene Dixon. Go to a psychic of the Lord. If you want to hear from God, you'll get on your knees and you'll get this book out.

And get the pure word of prophecy in your heart. You see, we're not students of the word of God. We're not a foundation anymore. I'm shocked at the letters I get. I'm shocked at the material that's being sent to me from all over the United States.

Books and records and tapes and writings. And some of it is off the wall. These are prophecies by so-called prophets. And they're sent to me and people are writing saying, this sounds so good, could you tell me, is it all right?

Now folks, that's fine. There are times that you need a shepherd to help you discern. But I'm so shocked when I turn on my tape recorder and I listen to this incredible foolishness. It's foolishness, it's gibberish.

And they say it sounds so good because there's a little God, there's a little Jesus. And it's so new, it's historic, it's so different. And I say to myself, if they only knew the fundamental principles of this book.

Suddenly there are a thousand scriptures commencing to my mind, one after another, that lock it all down. And I say, what's happening in the church? Where's the foundation of the word of God? Why should God reveal to you something when you won't take the time to study what he's already revealed?

In this past dream, God had spoken to him. I want to tell you, the trick the devil's going to use in this last day, he's going to try to put something in your mind and make you hear a voice and make you think it's God.

He'll chase you all over the world with that voice. He'll make you do dumb and stupid things. You'll think it's God. Because you haven't tested it, you haven't tested it by this word. Hold steady folks, Bob said it this morning and I'll say it again.

Test it, put it through the fire there. Glory be to God. You know, there was a prophet that came to Paul. His name was Agabus. The Bible says he came down from Judea and he took Paul's belt and he bound his own feet and hands and said, this is what is going to happen, the Holy Spirit says.

In this way the Jews and Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt. And this true prophet of God ties his hands and feet and he said, this is what's going to happen, the man who owns this belt. And everybody knew Paul owned the belt.

Very dramatic. And everybody is weeping, they're crying. You heard the prophet, Paul, don't go to Jerusalem. But you see, Paul only had one prophet and his name was Jesus. And he'd been with him. Paul believed in true word of God.

There is a word of knowledge. But you see, the word of knowledge, as I see it, works to the sinner. It works to those who don't know how to touch blood. The word of knowledge is primarily for those who have lost their way, their lost sheep.

It should not be for those who claim to know the Lord. And they're crying and they're weeping and they say to Paul, you've heard what the prophet said. Paul was unmoved. There's not a thing any prophet could say that could move him once he heard from God.

Paul said, what are you doing weeping and breaking my heart? For I'm ready not only to be bound but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because I'm ready to die. Let him bind me.

Hallelujah. A confirmation of something God told him. I heard someone say, they're into prophecy, the direction of prophecy. In fact, they have meetings now with prophets who are all lined up and you get in line to get your word.

And they acknowledge now they're only 30 accurate. I want to tell you something folks, that's the most dangerous thing I've ever heard in my life. God doesn't play with the emotions of his children.

He does not play games. 70 of people hanging on the walls of a man they believe is a prophet and ruining and ruining their lives. 70 wrong. Folks, don't go to some prophet. There are true prophets of God.

Brother Bob explained the parameters of that. How to tell a true and false prophet. God's not going to play with your heart. Solomon turned aside because he had no foundation of the written word. He could not say as Jesus did, it is written.

Had he been able to stand up and say it's written, he could have fought off this onslaught of the devil. Hallelujah. Solomon heard all kinds of voices. He had all these voices he attributed to God. Voices told him that it was alright to take strange riots.

Voices told him to build luxurious mansions. Voices told him to erect shrines to false gods. Those voices saying you've got to be a king to all the people. You've got Hittites, you've got Moabites, you have to be king to all of them.

You have to keep unity. And that's what the devil told him. God wants unity. So for the sake of unity, you have a temple for the Moabites and the Hittites and the Amorites. And you allow all of this to happen.