Calvary Chapel Kampala

2 Chronicles Chapters 1-3 “Seek First the Kingdom of God”

1. I. Solomon Put God First (Chapter 1)

1. 1. He recognized that everything came from God (Vs.1)
   1. Its easy to live for God and put Him first when we see that everything comes from Him.
      1. 1 Corinthians 4:7 “… And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”
      2. James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

• Even the position that we are in was given to us by God

1. Psalms 75:6-7 “For exaltation comes neither from the east Nor from the west nor from the south. 7 But God is the Judge: He puts down one, And exalts another.”

1. He made worship a priority (Vs.2-6)

• Other kings that would follow him did not have this priority. They saw coming to church and worshipping God as an option in life.
  • Do you see that attending worship services should be a priority?

1. Hebrews 10:25 “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

• A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going.  After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him.  It was a cold evening.  The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.  Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a big chair near the fireplace and waited. The pastor made himself comfortable but said nothing.  In the silence, he contemplated the flames around the burning logs.  After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning coal and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone.  Then he sat back in his chair, still silent.  The host watched all this in quiet fascination.  As the one lone coal’s flame diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more.  Soon it was cold and dead.  Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.  Just before the pastor was ready to leave, he picked up the cold, dead coal and placed it back in the middle of the fire.  Immediately it began to glow once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it. As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said, “Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon.  I shall be back in church next Sunday.”
• Solomon led others to worship God through his own dedication

1. He chose God’s will above gold and silver (Vs.7-12a)

• His heart was more concerned about God and His people than personal wealth and material possessions

1. John 6:27 “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
2. Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
3. Colossians 3:1-3 “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

• Sadly, the most popular gospel today is a gospel of money and material riches.
  • “We established last night that you are not whole until you get your money. Amen.” His church members cheer when they hear him say “Well, you need to hear about money, because you ain't gonna have no love and joy and peace until you get some money!… You got to get some MONEY!” (Creflo Dollar, TBN, July 20, 1999)

1. He was blessed with the temporal when he prioritized the spiritual (Vs.12b-17)

• We must become people who put God first. Only then will all these other things be added unto us!

1. Mark 10:28-31 “Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You." 29 So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, 30  who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time — houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions — and in the age to come, eternal life. 31  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

• “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.” -C.S. Lewis
• We read of Solomon’s wealth and become envious. But remember what Solomon said about it all at the end of his life:

1. Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 “Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my reward from all my labor. 11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.”

• Solomon Built God a Temple (Chapter 2)

1. He wanted it to be great and wonderful (Vs.1-10)

• We see his priority in the letter to Hiram
  • I am doing it for God (not myself)
  • God is greater than all gods
  • The temple cannot contain God
  • I want the best for God

1. He was a good leader (Vs.11-18)

• God cares about His people, therefore, God cares about the leaders.
  • Hiram recognized that God put Solomon there because He loved His people. Sadly, many pastors are in ministry only for themselves.

1. Ezekiel 34:2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds:"Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?”
2. Ezekiel 34:10 “Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them."”

• God was the one who gave Solomon the abilities that made him a good leader
  • This included the favor with the people who were working

• Solomon Knew What Was Important in God’s House (Chapter 3)

1. The temple was built on a good foundation (Vs.1-3a)

• The mountain on which the temple was built was the same mountain where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac. It is in the same area as where Jesus was crucified.
• We need to build our lives and church upon a good foundation

1. 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

1. The temple had God as the focus (Vs.3b-14)

• All of the design and architecture focused upon one place: the holy of holies. This was where God would meet with the people.

1. The temple was a reminder that God is the one who establishes by His strength (Vs.15-17)

• The two pillars at the entrance of the temple had special meaning. The one on the right was given the name 'Jachin,' meaning 'He shall establish,' and the one on the left the name 'Boaz,' meaning 'in strength.'
• Every time someone came to the house of the Lord in the days of Solomon they said, "Look! There is 'He Shall Establish.' And there is 'In Him Is Strength.'" It set them in the right frame of mind to worship the Lord. When the crowds gathered at the morning and evening sacrifice to worship the Lord, the Levites led the people standing in front of the temple with these two great, bronze pillars behind them. It was always before them: He Shall Establish and In Him Is Strength.
  • This should be a reminder to us that we must abandon self sufficiency and self reliance. Without God we have no strength and we shall not be established.