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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/william-lavery/applications-from-solomon/
2 Chronicles 9, and verse 1. And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bear spices and gold in abundance, and precious stones.
And when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her questions, and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, and the meat or the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, his cupbearers also, and their apparel, and the ascent by which he went up into the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.
Now we know that God will bless His word with what we have heard before. Must have been a tremendous sight to be in where Solomon's household was and see the perfect order. I'm sure there was magnificence, and the house that he built for God, it must have been a marvelous thing.
People would talk about it all over, it would be a great testimony to the greatness of their God. Now we don't have any big ornate buildings usually for the places where we meet for our gospel halls, but we have something far greater.
And the first thing that I thought of when I read this here was the wisdom of Solomon. There was nobody like Solomon in all the world at that time. No one had more wisdom than Solomon had, and I was thinking about God's house today.
In God's house today, there's one thing, well, when I think of the local assembly, often my mind goes to 1 Corinthians. And when we go to chapter 1 and 2 of 1 Corinthians, what is the subject there? It's wisdom.
It's not the wisdom of men. The Jew requires a sign and the Greek seek after wisdom, but Paul said, we preach Christ and Christ crucified. Whoever could have devised a means of salvation like God? You and I couldn't figure it out.
The Jews certainly couldn't. And the Greek, he tried to figure everything out. And some of us maybe were like that, but just previous to the time that God saved us, we're trying to figure things out and we couldn't figure it out.
But you know, God had wisdom. And God not only sent his son to die on the cross, to the Greek, that was foolishness. How could a person nailed to a tree, the most helpless person you would say in all the earth, how could he be the savior?
They couldn't just take that in. But how was it for you and how was it for me? But you know, God not only sent his son to the cross, but he exalted him, giving him the highest place in heaven. And then he sent the Holy Spirit into the world.
And you and I could never have figured out the wisdom of God if it hadn't been for the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit of God dealt with us. And we acknowledge our weakness and there's nothing we could do.
But thank God, God and his wisdom sent the Holy Spirit into the world to deal with us and to show us our sin and our weakness, but as well to show us the greatness of his son and the greatness of the work at Calvary.
I'm glad that I'm part of an assembly where we preach the gospel. We'd all like to preach it better, but at least we all preach it in simplicity. And the assemblies that we're associated with are all the same.
Isn't that marvelous? There's a clear, simple preaching of the gospel. Mr. Harry Ironsides, he told a young pastor one time, he said, you research your message. Go to the first mention and the last mention and mentions in between.
And he said, then be clear with your message. Don't try to be clever with it. Just be clear. So when it comes to the house of God today, thank God, it comes out of the wisdom of God. But then what else did we read?
It said, and the house that he built. Now that would be first Corinthians chapter three, wouldn't it? Where we find of God's house other foundation and can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ.
And he said, take heed how you build thereupon. The structure must answer to the foundation. And the foundation is Christ. I would take it that when Paul went into Corinth, he preached Christ's souls were saved.
That was the foundation of the assembly. Came through the preaching of the gospel. And one ministered and another watered. But he said, take heed how you build thereupon. Gold, silver, precious stones.
Well, sometimes we link that with the glories of the Lord Jesus and his redemption, redemptive work and the beauties and so on. You know, I think maybe we could apply it to the people and those that we see saved in God's assemblies.
Now, you know, you go to the tabernacle, think of those posts and so on, covered with gold. They were wood, but they were covered with gold. Some were silver in the house, too. It speaks of redemption.
And there were precious stones and beautiful colors. It must have, the tabernacle now we're thinking of maybe, it must have been a lovely place. People on the outside didn't see the beauty of it. All they saw were the curtains around the perimeter.
But you and I are different. We see more today than even the Levites saw. They had to turn their back when the furniture was being covered. But we know something of the gold. God's assembly is a wonderful place.
No place like it could be better. And the reason, if we're going to hire the tone of the assembly that you're part of, that I'm part of, how are we going to do it? By hiring the tone of our own lives.
And that's what we've been exhorted to do here at the conference. It's a change in our lives. We just don't want to come and go as a door and it changes. We want to have an appreciation for the assembly.
And then, you know, the next thing, the meat of his table, the food. That would be 1 Corinthians 10, wouldn't it? Where you find the food at the idol's temple and at the Jewish altar, but then you have God's assembly.
And we shouldn't be occupied with the religions of the world and all the food that's in the world. Satan is so busy. And there's so many charms that he can set before us and before God's people. They shouldn't have any charm for us, really.
We have the real food, the food for the altar. And what is the altar? Christ is the altar. We have an altar whereof they have no right to eat, but serve the tabernacle. I believe that's the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
And in the local assembly, that's what we're occupied with. We're occupied with this wonderful person. And if you and I are occupied with him, there's other things will fade into oblivion. I heard of a preacher and he was introduced to a young fellow that had just gotten saved.
And he said to him, the preacher said to him, now, you're going to have to give up this and you're going to have to give up that. Would you be surprised that the young man is not around today? I think Brother Beattie mentioned something like this recently.
Why? Well, get into your Bible. That's what we want to do, encourage people, not to tell them, get rid of this or get rid of that. Get into your Bible. Learn the things of God, not just the principles, but learn Christ himself.
And I tell you, those things that Paul gave up, those seven things in Philippians chapter three, if you ask Paul, what he gave up, he'd say nothing. My compared to Christ, these things are absolutely, well, our Bible said done, but they refuse.
Not worth anything, worthless because of occupation with Christ. And here's a woman and she came, she would remind me of that person that came in among God's people in first Corinthians and said, God is in you of a truth.
My, she was all taken up with this person. That was the point. The other things were subsidiary to that. The first thing was told her everything. There was nothing hidden from him. There's nothing hidden from the Lord.
And we should be taken up with him as she was. And then she was impressed by his people. What does it say? The sitting of his servants, the very demeanor of those that were gathered around Solomon. My, she saw something, you know, I was thinking of Ruth.
When she came in among God's people, she said, I'm not like unto thy maidens. She saw there was a difference and there should be a difference between us and people in the world in our very demeanor, in our responsibilities in the assembly.
She would see these men and maybe women as well, but they would all be in their own place and all ready to do their own job. Wouldn't be a chore. They'd be so glad to be with Solomon and hear his words and then to just be ready to act just like the seraphim.
God showed Isaiah the seraphim because these were heavenly servants. And he said they cover their eyes and they cover their feet and with two wings they fly. It's much to say my little service, don't even look at it, and my feet, even my walk.
But you know, they're always ready to move at the Lord's bidding. And God has something for each one of us to do. I don't know what your gift is. We've heard about Timothy and it's good to encourage young people.
If the Lord's people encourage you, don't think you have arrived. Timothy wasn't like that. But maybe they see some little spark that they're trying to do. I'm glad that people encourage me. I don't know if they're so glad.
Most of them are gone anyhow, but all that signed my letter of commendation, none of them are around anymore. It doesn't mean I'm a freelancer, though. I'm responsible to the assembly that commended me and the assembly where I'm in fellowship.
But anyhow, you see a difference. I'm not telling you to go to a denominational place, but if you do, some of us did in days gone by before we're saved. I tell you, there's something real about God's people and we should love all of God's people and we should all be ready to fit in and do the little thing that God has for us to do.
And then it says the sitting of his servants, the attendance of his ministers. I suppose really the sitting of his servants would think of First Corinthians 12 and the gifts that are given. Maybe I should have mentioned that at the beginning, but I'm trying to not take too much time.
So anyhow, all the gifts God has given every one of us a gift and we need to exercise that gift. And then our apparel. I was thinking, I hope I'm not stretching it too much. I was thinking of First Corinthians 13, why everything was done in love.
You know, love isn't a wishy-washy thing. Love is something that's real. And if you love me and something in my life, you think it's not what it should be. I hope you'll come and let me know. That's what washing one another's feet is.
It's not just overlooking everything, but we're here to help one another and whatever we do, preach the gospel, minister the word, speak to children in the Sunday school, whatever God has for us to do.
One isn't more important than the other. The important thing is to be doing what God wants me to do and to be where God wants me to be. And whatever you do, do it in love. Do you have a love for the children that you teach?
I know some brethren here that go to great extent to bring in the lost and the perishing, the little children that would have no opportunity at all to hear the things of God. And they treat them so nicely.
They treat them with love. They treat them with care. That should be our treatment of all of God's people. Nothing will be accomplished if we're not operating with that garment of love, trying to help God's people.
Why? Not because we see faults in them. We all have faults, but because we love them. The Lord loved the disciples. I'll tell you, you know, Peter denied him. And well, let's put it this way. John 13, the Lord had a little band that was around him.
Having loved his own that were in the world, he loved them unto the end. He loved them with an extreme love. Peter says, you'll never wash my feet. Do you think the Lord loved them? You and I might have been a little different, but the Lord still loved them.
And no matter what took place and how they all forsook them and fled, the Lord still loved every one of them. You see, His love for us doesn't depend on us. We were thinking about that this morning in the Bible reading.
He was hated without a cause. We were loved without a cause, and we're still loved without a cause. Now, when we come to the next little part here, we have the ministers and their apparel as well. And maybe we'd go into 1 Corinthians 14, and you'll see how the gifts all operate, and they all work together.
And they're all for the glory of God. We're not freelancers in any way. We're all working together, no rivalry. We're all in the same work. And I think it's good you can see that spirit among the Lord's servants and the Lord's people in many places today.
Must go quick. What about the cupbearers? Well, I suppose you could go back to the breaking of bread, but I don't want to do that right now. I know Harold St. John, he said that it was said of him that he used to quote a verse in the Old Testament, he in whose hand my cup is found, he shall be my servant.
He used to quote that at the breaking of bread. That's nice. But here I want you to think of joy. How are we going to have joy in our hearts by being occupied with Christ and going according to the pattern?
That's what we need. What about the ascent? That'd be first Corinthians 15, wouldn't it? Bodies are going to be changed. Not wonderful. Some of those are bodies that aren't like they used to be. Some say you're getting old when everything hurts and what doesn't hurt doesn't work.
Well, some of us are a bit like that. But, you know, there's a better day coming. We're going to have a body. And that's where the change is going to take place when the Lord comes. And there's another house.
We may be in a house here on earth, and I know we can look at it in a wider aspect, but there's a father's house in heaven. The ascent to the house. We're going up. I think old Mr. Bert Granger used to say when people said life's full of ups and downs, he said, no, it's downs and ups.
The last way is up. Are we longing for that day when we're going to be in his presence? May the Lord help us to have a great appreciation for Christ. The wisdom of Solomon must have been marvelous to be in his presence.
Just to be with him would have been tremendous. And then to be able to serve him in whatever little capacity. Wouldn't have been jealous of another servant. Maybe they have a better job than I have. You'd be just glad to be there and doing what he wanted you to do.
Whatever you want me to do, I am mine. Oh, Lord, I've heard thy voice. Help us to be ready and willing to serve him. And when are we going to start? Well, I'll tell you, time's short. It'll soon be the ascent.
The time to start is now, if we haven't before. To enjoy the Lord himself and enjoy the privileges and the pleasures of the house. And to look forward to the time of the ascent. When we're going to have changed bodies and leave this old earth and be in his presence for all eternity.