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Words Of Wisdom And Words Of Warning - Part 1

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• 1 Chronicles chapter 28 and verse 9. The title of the message is "Words of Wisdom and Words of Warning."

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• 1 Chronicles chapter 28 and verse 9, "Words of Wisdom and Words of Warning." Solomon is giving counsel—David is giving counsel to Solomon, his son, and he says this in verse 9: "And thou, Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever." There are five books in the Bible that are known as wisdom literature. They are referred to as wisdom literature because they deal precisely with our human struggles and with our real life experiences. The books of wisdom are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon.

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• They contain the poetry of the Hebrew nation, but they also provide the reader with important stories and wisdom. They tell us how to live and how not to live, how to solve problems and how not to solve problems. In other words, these books are full of what you and I would call practical, everyday counsel and advice.

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• Now, although these five books are precisely known as wisdom literature, that does not mean that there is no wisdom in the rest of the books of the Bible. Obviously, every book of the Bible is full of divine wisdom, but these particularly are called wisdom literature. There is also a vast distinction between divine wisdom and worldly wisdom. They are not only contrasted, they are in contradistinction, one from the other.

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• So if you will hold 1 Chronicles 28, but turn in your Bibles, first of all, to 1 Corinthians 1, and then we're going to James 3. And let me show you the difference, the distinction between divine wisdom and worldly wisdom. So in 1 Corinthians 1, beginning there with verse 18, note, if you would, what the Bible says. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 18: "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness."

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• "But unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." But note if you would please, God has made foolish the wisdom of this world, and the Bible tells us it is by the wisdom of the world that they reject and refuse God.

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• If you would turn right over in your Bibles to the book of James chapter 3, and let's begin reading there with verse 13. James 3 and verse 13. Again, you're going to see divine wisdom, heavenly wisdom contrasted with worldly wisdom or hellish wisdom. So in James chapter 3 and verse 13, the Bible asks this question: "Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom."

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• "But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth." Now pause there just for a moment. Look at that verse again. "But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth." Well, we're told in scripture that God is the God of truth. That means the Father is truth. Jesus Christ is truth incarnate. The word of God is called the word of truth. And the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth. So when we have bitter envying and strife in our hearts, we're lying against God and we're lying against his word. Now watch carefully. He says in verse 15, "This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." Here's the distinction.

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• "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace." So obviously there is a clear distinction then between divine wisdom and worldly wisdom. Those of you who have read Pilgrim's Progress, you will remember that there was one character in that book by the name of Mr. Worldly Wiseman, who tried to throw Pilgrim off the track by his worldly wisdom. And certainly, just reading these two passages in 1 Corinthians 1 and James 3, you can see that worldly wisdom is certainly in contrast and in opposition to divine wisdom.

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• Now, when you think back in 1 Chronicles 28 and verse 9, another remarkable thing about this text is that David is giving counsel and advice to his son Solomon. Interestingly enough, very few fathers endeavor to pass on to their children, and especially their sons, the divine wisdom that they have. And so he begins by saying to Solomon, "know thou the God of thy father." In other words, he's going to be passing on what is known as divine wisdom. So very few fathers actually try to pass on divine wisdom to their children. We can go even farther and say this, very few fathers even try to pass on any wisdom to their children.

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• They just leave them to learn the hard way. I do not actually remember my father sitting me down and trying to instruct me and teach me according to the Word of God.

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• Now, my father was a Christian, he was a deacon, he was also a Sunday school teacher, but I don't remember him ever doing that. Now, it could be that I just didn't listen. It also could be that my memory is failing me, but I certainly do not remember him doing that. However, I did learn from my father, not only by example, but also by use of the rod. For the Bible says in Micah 6 and verse 9, "Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it." I was recently, in fact, just this past week, I was visiting with my sister, and I made an observation of the distinction between she and I. And I said to her, "I am more like my father and you are more like our mother."

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• You say, well, that's obvious. Well, it's not necessarily obvious. It probably should be and could be. I've known plenty of daughters who learned from their father and had good sense about themselves. But I can see even today, habits and traits and even thinking patterns in my life that were in my father. Even though I do not recall him teaching me verbally, I do believe that I learned by example and also by observation.

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• I think it would be wise if fathers did exactly what David did in 1 Chronicles 28 and verse 9, that is, have a sit-down talk with his son and tell him how the cow eats the cabbage, so to speak. And that's exactly what David is doing. So I want you to turn back to 1 Chronicles chapter 28 in verse 9. As David is giving counsel to Solomon, I'm going to divide this message into two parts, words of wisdom and words of warning. Today I'm only going to cover this first part, that is words of wisdom. I will tell you up front that I originally planned to teach this message in one sitting. And during the week as I got to thinking about it, I thought, well, there'll be more questions on the second part than on the first part, and I need to be able to explain and answer the questions on the second part. So I went back and restudied, divided it into two parts. So today we're just going to look at words of wisdom.

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• So if you'll look in 1 Chronicles 28 in verse 9, David said, "And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind." So the very first words of David to Solomon should be the very first words that we speak to our children, "know thou the God of thy father." Notice if you would, he did not say, "know thou about the God of thy father." He said, "know thou the God of thy father."

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• There's a vast difference between knowing about and knowing personally. There's a vast difference between knowing facts and knowing someone individually. And I'm greatly afraid today that many professing Christians, as well as our children, only know about God and about the Lord Jesus Christ, and they do not really know Him personally, genuinely, truly, and savingly. They may have a knowledge. It may be an intellectual knowledge. It may be a historical knowledge. And they have all the facts, but they really, truly do not know Him.

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• Now, the Hebrew word for know is the word yada, which literally means to know, to understand, to perceive, to have knowledge of, and to learn by experience. So let me put it like this. Many individuals have heard sermons, testimonies, and Bible studies, yet they never really heard. It was kind of like Augustine, the early church father, who said, "I heard the gospel all of my life and then one day I heard it." And so obviously and clearly, many Christians know all the facts, they know about, but many of them really do not know the Lord in a saving fashion and they certainly have not had an experiential relationship with him.

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• Let me give you a good illustration. You remember it was Laban who was speaking to Jacob. Jacob was sojourning with him and he worked with Laban for 14 years for his two wives and for the flocks that he came to possess. But Laban, when Jacob was thinking of leaving, Laban said this, "I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake." Notice what he said, "I've learned by experience."

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• It was not something that he had heard. It was something that he knew firsthand. The same thing is true with Potiphar in reference to Joseph. The Bible says this in Genesis 39, verses 5 and 6: "And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured."

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• So very few people have really personally, experientially tasted and seen that the Lord is gracious according to 1 Peter 2 and verse 3. And I'm sure that those of you that have heard me preach for many years probably knew I would get to this passage in John 17 and verse 3. When our Lord said, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." So eternal life is in a personal, intimate relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ. So knowing God, then, is knowing Him as He's revealed in His Word. Knowing God is knowing Him as He's revealed in the salvation in Jesus Christ. Knowing God is knowing Him experientially in your life by personal love, trust, worship, and obedience. Knowing God is having an open line of communication with Him, leaning upon Him, learning from Him, understanding Him to a degree as to what His nature is by the attributes of God that are revealed in His Word. And knowing God is when you learn to conform your life to His Word and His will.

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• So David, in 1 Chronicles 28 and verse 9, said, "And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father." So he was certainly not referring to an intellectual knowledge, nor was he referring to a historical knowledge, but a real, genuine saving knowledge. Now, there's a verse in Psalm 36 and verse 10, and it goes like this, "O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart." Note, if you would, "O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee." So those who actually know God not only perceive and experience His lovingkindness. Look back in verse 9, because he says this, "And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart."

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• Now, this is the second admonition. The first one is to know the God of thy father. The second one now is to serve him with a perfect heart. I hope you can see the progression in David's counsel. If Solomon really knows God in a personal, intimate, saving relationship, there will be a practical demonstration of that truth in service. To know God is to serve Him. To know God is to obey Him. And to know God is to make application of His truth in our lives.

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• I want to point this out. He said, "And thou, Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart."

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• Now, the word serve is from the Hebrew word avad, and it literally means, listen carefully, to serve, to till, to work, to dress, to labor, and to make oneself a servant. This word is translated different ways in our Bibles. We talk about serving the Lord and many times we have no idea what we've been talking about. I want to show you what the word serve actually means. First of all, we're going to look at creation and the fall and then some other passages, but hold 1 Chronicles 28, but go in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Genesis, chapter 2, if you would, please. Genesis, chapter 2. And I want you to look, if you would please, at verse 5. Genesis 2 and verse 5. You're going to find the same Hebrew word, avad. Watch it. Genesis 2 and verse 5.

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• "...and every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground." The word till is the word avad. It means to serve. It means to work. There was not a man to serve the ground. There was not a man to work the ground. If you will notice in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 23, after the fall, when Adam is driven from the garden, God says this, "Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken." It's the same word avad.

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• Now, the problem is this. Before the fall, work was pleasant and enjoyable. After the fall, it became onerous because of the sweat and the flies and I guess exasperation sometimes, the weeds. Have you ever noticed that you don't have to plant weeds? You really don't have to till them or do anything. They just come up. If you do not understand the work that is involved in tilling, then you were never raised on a farm.

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• And I realize today they're huge tractors, air-conditioned tractors. It wasn't like that when I was a boy. You had to plow with a tractor, but it was no cover. And if it was in the rain, it was in the rain. It was just that simple. And I am old enough, believe it or not, that I did plow mules. In fact, there is a building that's still standing in town that when I went in that building with my father, when I was seven years old, on the left hand side, you could buy horses and mules. And on the right hand side, you had tractors and cars in the same building. Now, if you've never plowed a mule, then you don't understand what work is because a mule is not like a tractor.

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• And a mule will jump the trace, a mule will run away, a mule will do all kinds of things that are so exasperating. Now, this is what he's saying. You're going to till the ground, you're going to work, you're going to serve, you're going to be tied to the ground. So in both passages now, in Genesis 2 and in Genesis 3, it's the same Hebrew word.

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• Now, let me take you farther. I want you to look in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 15. I'm trying to impress upon you that the word serve actually means to work. Notice if you would in Genesis chapter 15, beginning in verse 13, God is speaking to Abram and He said this, "And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years."

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• Now we're talking about slavery. "...and they shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years."

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• Now, verse 14, "And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance." Now, I believe that hard labor qualifies as work, and especially when you are made to work, when you have no choice in the matter. So clearly, the word serve has reference to hard work.

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• Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Exodus, the book of Exodus chapter 10. This may surprise you, but I hope it does. Look in Exodus chapter 10, because now Moses and Aaron are talking to Pharaoh and demanding that he let Israel go. So in Exodus chapter 10 and verse 3, the Bible says this, "And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me." Wow. The word serve is avad, to work, to till.

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• Put yourself as a servant. So the Israelites, listen carefully, were being delivered from the bondage of slavery from the Egyptians into the bondage of service to the One True and the Living God, which His deliverance unto himself was really liberty and freedom. There's a vast difference between the service of the world and the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me show you what I'm talking about.

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• If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 28, Deuteronomy 28. In this passage, God is going to lay out the real difference between His service and the service of the ungodly. So in Deuteronomy chapter 28, beginning there with verse 45, you know, Deuteronomy 28 deals with the blessings and the curses. So this is just the curses for disobedience. Notice he said in verse 45, "Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever."

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• Now look, "Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee." God said you're going to see the difference between My service and the service of the wicked. You're going to see the difference between the liberty and the freedom that you have in serving Me and the tyranny and the enslavement you have in serving sin and serving the wicked. Isn't that amazing?

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• So this is not doublespeak. The truth of the matter is very simple. Real freedom, real liberty is found in serving the Lord Jesus Christ.

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• Now, here's an interesting thing. When you read the New Testament, the apostle Paul especially, but other apostles as well, refer to themselves as a servant of Jesus Christ. For instance, Romans 1 and verse 1, the Bible says, "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God." He said it again, in Titus 1 and verse 1, "Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness."

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• But Paul's not the only one who said that. James, in James 1 and verse 1, said, "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting." And then when you get to 2 Peter 1 and verse 1, the Bible says, "Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." And then one last one, Jude 1 and verse 1, "Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called."

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• Now here is the interesting thing. Every time the word servant is used in these passages, the Greek word is doulos, which means a slave, a bond slave, someone who yields his will to someone else. So every time you read Paul a servant, or James a servant, or Jude a servant, they're calling themselves the bondslave of Jesus Christ.

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• Now, I want to show you. Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 7. 1 Corinthians 7. And look, if you would please, at verse 22. 1 Corinthians 7 and verse 22. Here's a most interesting passage. Because in this passage, we're talking about free men, and we're talking about slaves. So in 1 Corinthians 7, verse 22, the Bible says, "For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant." Isn't that amazing? So he said, if you are called being a slave and you're saved, you may still be in slavery, but you are a free man in Jesus Christ. And if you are not a slave and you're a free man and you get converted and saved by Jesus Christ, you're now a slave to Jesus Christ.

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• So that's not double speak. It's just saying that this is the real freedom. This is the real liberty in Jesus Christ. We have been purchased with a price. Do you remember that passage in 1 Corinthians 6, verses 19 and 20, when He said, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." He purchased us. He bought us. We belong to Him.

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• Now, so, he said, if you're a slave, you're free. If you're free, you're a slave. Now, here's the answer. Look in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 3, verse 17. 2 Corinthians 3, verse 17. Look what the Bible says. 2 Corinthians 3, verse 17.

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• Verse 17, "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." So if a man is a slave and God saves him, he's in liberty, even though he's a slave. And if a man is a free man and God saves him, he becomes a slave to Jesus Christ, but he's still free. He's free from the bondage of sin. He's free from self. He's free now to serve the Lord. So true liberty and true freedom is in serving Jesus Christ. This is why David said to his son Solomon, "Know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart."

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• Now, listen, the word serve means to work. It means to till. It means to labor. We have to understand that serving Him is work. It may be divine work, but it is still work. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3, verse 1, talking about a pastor or an elder, a bishop, "If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work." The ministry is a work. I still laugh about it, but I remember when I was a boy, I wanted to be a preacher.

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• because they only worked on Sunday and Wednesday and they could play the rest of the week. I found out that was not true, but I remember thinking that as a boy, man, it must be nice just to work on Sunday and just on a little bit on Wednesday, have the rest of the time off. Well, it just certainly did not work like that at all. But true ministry is serving Christ, which means it is work.

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• Here is something that I'm deathly afraid of, and I know it's the absolute truth. In Christianity, and in the world, we have lost what is known as a biblical work ethic. Everybody wants a paycheck, but hardly anyone wants to work. And hardly anyone wants to work right. Everyone wants to take the easy way and deceive and defraud and do whatever just to get a paycheck and do the least they can. No one takes pride in their work anymore.

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• I had a friend that used to repair TV sets many, many years ago. And he went out of business. The reason he went out of business was, he said, everything is made so cheaply today, it's cheaper to buy a new one than to fix an old one. One thing I do remember that my father did teach me was this, whatever you do, do it right the first time. And you can save yourself a lot of heartache and a lot of time, because if you don't do it right the first time, you're going to have to repeat it. You're going to waste more time doing it a second time or doing a third time. So the things that you hate and the things that you dislike that have to be done, do them first and get them over with and do them right. That way, you don't have to redo them.

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• I never will forget when I was in the university, there were certain courses I hated, I despised. And I made sure that I made an A in those courses, because I wanted to make dead sure I did not have to repeat them. I'm just simply saying we have lost the work ethic. We've lost it in Christianity. We've lost it in the world. Very few people are really interested in work. Let me show you. It's not just with us.

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• Unhappily, this is the way it is. So look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Malachi, last book in the Old Testament, Malachi chapter 1. And look carefully, beginning there with verse 6, because God is registering a complaint against the priests, believe it or not. And the priests were supposed to be His servants, particularly. He says in verse 6, "A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?" He says, "Here's how you've done it. Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible." God says, you're giving me that which is lame, that which is blemished. You're not doing your best. You're not providing your best. And now you're saying the work of God is contemptible.

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• Now watch if you would in verse 8. He said, "And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts." So let me ask you a question. Whether you agree with Governor DeSantis or not or like Governor DeSantis or not is beside the point. But if the governor came to your house and he was hungry, would you set a piece of wormy,

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• pus-filled meat in front of him and expect him to eat it? You wouldn't do that to anyone. And even if you didn't like DeSantis, at least you might respect the office. God said, if a governor would not accept what you're giving, what makes you think I would accept it? Because I am a great king. Now watch, it gets even worse. He says in verse 9, "And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the Lord of hosts." God's not going to regard your persons, especially when you're giving him that which is wicked and wrong. Now look at verse 10. "Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts."

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• So he said, who would even shut the doors for nought? I find it interesting that just about every position in the church is a paid position. You pay people to play an organ. You pay people to play the piano. You pay people to clean the building. You pay people to cut the grass. I'm just saying, where in the world is this service? I'm going to just stop and interject something right here.

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• Years ago, I was preaching in Illinois, and the pastor was a young man, and he told me about another pastor in the area that had built a very beautiful building. And he wanted me to see the church building and to meet the pastor. So he took me over there. And when I got out of the car, it was indeed an extremely beautiful building. It really was. And when I walked inside, the carpet was beautiful. The stained glass windows.

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• I mean, they had padded pews. This was before most churches ever had padded pews. I mean, it was exquisitely beautiful. And when I met the pastor, I complimented him on the fact that the building was beautiful. And the pastor looked at me and said, "It's the worst thing that ever happened to us." And I assumed he meant that they were in debt, you know, for that building because it was beautiful. I said, "Do you mean that you're in debt up to your eyeballs for this building?" "No, no, no." He said, "We paid cash for this building and we have millions in the bank." I said, "Well, please explain to me what you're talking about." He said, "Well, before we had this building, when our church came together, if the yard needed to be cut, we all pitched in and cut it. If there was repair work to be done on the old building, we got together and we did it. If we needed to raise money for something, we did it." He said, "What happened was a widow woman in this church died and left us like $19 million."

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• He said, "That's how we got this new building. That's why we got millions in the bank." He said, "It's the worst thing that ever happened to us. Because now if something needs to be done, well, it's already done. We got the money." He said, "We got the building. We got the money. Well, we lost the church. We've lost our service. We've lost our heart." This is exactly what God is talking about in the book of Malachi chapter one. Now, we must understand that service is work.

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• When we serve the Lord, we are tilling for Him. We're plowing for Him. We are working for Him. It may be divine work, but it is work. Now, look at this. Let me finish. David said to Solomon, "My son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart." Do you have a perfect heart? How do you know whether or not you have a perfect heart if you don't even know what a perfect heart is?

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• Now, it is true the Hebrew word actually is the word shalem, which means to be perfect, whole, complete, full, and peaceful, serving with a perfect heart. You remember that passage in James 1 in verse 8, where he said, "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." Dipsuchos is the Greek word, a double-souled man, a man that has two minds, a man that is pulled in two different directions, a man that is wavering, a man that can't make up his mind, he has a divided interest, he can't serve because he doesn't know really and truly what he wants to do. So God said that we should serve Him with a perfect heart the way Solomon is being admonished by his father to serve God. One way that you understand some of these terms is by comparing Scripture with Scripture. So let me show you what the Bible talks about when it talks about a perfect heart.

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• It does not mean that you have to be sinless. Look in your Bibles, if you would, to 1 Kings 8. 1 Kings 8, and then we're going to 1 Chronicles 29. So 1 Kings 8, and note, if you would please, verse 61. This is still given to Solomon. Note, if you would. "Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day." Wow. "Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God." What is the perfect heart? One that walks in His statutes and keeps His commandments. Then, if you will turn right over to 1 Chronicles 29, and look, if you would please, at verse 19. 1 Chronicles 29 and verse 19. Notice, if you would, the Scripture says this, 1 Chronicles 29 and verse 19. David says, "And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart." What is that perfect heart? "To keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision."

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• So a perfect heart, then, is a heart that is whole and complete and total obedience to God and His Word. Now, listen, this I think is very important. Do you realize the perfection or the wholeness and the completeness of your heart can be measured, manifested, and revealed by your obedience? That's what he just got through saying. You can flip the coin over. That means your double-mindedness, your imperfection in your heart, can also be revealed and manifested by your disobediences. So to serve Him then with a perfect heart is to serve Him with complete obedience to His Word. So what the Scripture is telling us is this, we must serve God with a perfect heart, we must have a singleness of heart, not being double-minded, not being unstable. And it might be something that you and I have to fight for to maintain in our lives that we have a heart that is set on obedience to God.

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• I think Samuel gave some good counsel to the people in 1 Samuel 12 and verse 24 when he said this, "Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you." So how do we maintain a perfect heart? Number one, we maintain a perfect heart by serving him in truth. We're not being a hypocrite. We're not being half hearted. We're not being double hearted. We're making sure that what we do is biblical and scriptural. And then number two, he said, "and consider how great things he's done for you." In other words, you consider what you owe him and how he's redeemed you and reconciled you and how he's blessed you and kept you. And that should encourage you to want to serve him more. Now I want you to go back to 1 Chronicles chapter 28 in verse 9. I want you to see this. Look carefully. 1 Chronicles 28 verse 9. Because he's still giving a third admonition in these words of wisdom. He said, "And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind."

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• So here's my question. Do you have a willing mind? In order to answer that, you must know that which a willing mind consists. You must know the essence of a willing mind. And the Hebrew word is the word khafetz, which literally means to desire, to have pleasure, favor, delight. It refers to a mind that is full of joy, delight, and pleasure in doing something. Let me show you two passages as to where this word is translated differently. It's only translated as willing, for us in verse 9 right here, but it's translated other ways.

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• So look in your Bibles, if you would, please, first of all, to Psalm 5, and then we're going to Psalm 111. Psalm 5, and then Psalm 111 it is.

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• So here now is the same Hebrew word that is translated as willing. Look in Psalm 5 and verse 4. The Bible says, "For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee." So here is the same word, "thou art not a God that hath a willingness in wickedness." God doesn't have any joy, delight, or pleasure in wickedness. He doesn't will it. No. "Neither shall evil dwell with thee." So, look in your Bibles, if you would, now to Psalm 111 and verse 3. In fact, let's read verse 2. "The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein."

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• "His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever." Note, if you would, verse 2, "the works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein," sought out of all of them that have willing delight, willing joy, willing pleasure in them. A willing mind is a mind that has joy and delight and pleasure in God, in His works, and in His will. So David says, "Know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind." When you think about a willing mind, it was David who wanted to build the temple.

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• I want you to look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 6. You remember, and you'll find it in the book of Kings as well, but in 2 Chronicles 6, David had wanted to build the temple, and Nathan originally told David to do all that was in his heart. And then that night, God came to Nathan and said, you go and tell David, no, he's not going to build my temple. His son Solomon will, and David's not going to build it because he's been a man of war and shed much blood. But I want you to see what God said concerning the willingness of David. Notice, if you would, 2 Chronicles 6, beginning there with verse 7, Solomon says, "Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel. But the Lord said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart."

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• "Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name." Now, let me just stop. It was in David's heart to build the house. Did you know that God gave David the pattern for the temple? Did you know that David made preparations for all the materials and the silver and the gold and the precious, everything for the temple?

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• He left it for Solomon. And God said, that he did well and that it was in his heart. David had a willing heart. It was Solomon who built the temple, but Solomon could not have built the temple without his father's provision and without the direction and the pattern that God had given his father. So who built the temple? Well, Solomon actually did it. But David had the willing heart. Here's my question. Do you understand that oftentimes God in his graciousness

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• accepts the will for the deed. There have been times when you and I really, genuinely, truly wanted to do something, willed to do something for God, but we were hindered. We were unable to do it. In that case, God accepts the will for the deed. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 8. Now, if you will remember, in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, the Apostle Paul is talking about taking a collection for the poor saints at Jerusalem. And he's gathering money from all of these people to give to the saints in Jerusalem. And he makes this statement in 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 12, "For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not." Note if ye would, "for if there be a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not." So suppose Steve said to me, "Pastor, I would really like to give

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• this ministry a million bucks. I'd really want to do that. I really, really would love to do that." And I said, "Well, thank you, my brother. I believe I could use a million bucks in the ministry." And then he says, "But all I have is 20 bucks. But I want you to have it." You know what God does? I get the 20 and God marks down a million because it was in his heart.

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• Do you remember that poor widow woman that threw the two mites in? And what did our Lord say? "This woman hath cast in more than they all." Why? Because she gave of her penury and she gave out of her heart and she gave willingly. You remember that? You see, oftentimes God does accept the willingness for the deed. I may want to be a missionary. I may have a real desire to be a missionary. But if I'm providentially hindered, and God does not open the door, there's no way I could be a missionary. But if that burning desire is in my soul, God would accept the will for the deed.

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• Think about it like this. Look at the number of saints that would love to be sitting where you're sitting today. But they cannot because they are at home or in a hospital incapacitated. But they love the worship of God and they love the Word of God and the preaching of God and they would really want to be here, and desire to be here, but they can't. God would accept the will for the deed.

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• If there first be a willing mind. Now I want you to go back to 1 Chronicles chapter 28, look in verse 9, because David explains to his son Solomon exactly why these admonitions were given to him. Look at it. "Thou Solomon my son know thou the God of thy father and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind." Why? Here's why: "for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts." What did you see? That the Lord searcheth all the hearts. He knows whether or not we have a willing heart. He knows whether or not we have an obedient heart. We can't fool Him. No. And He said, He understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts. Do you know what the Bible says in Isaiah 66 and verse 18? God said, "For I know their works and their thoughts." Wow. You can't hide anything from God. He is omniscient. He said it like this in Jeremiah 4 and verse 14, "O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?" God must know their thoughts to have known that the thoughts of the heart were vain thoughts and useless thoughts. And how about this one? Ezekiel 38 and verse 10, listen carefully, "Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought." God knows our thoughts before they ever enter into our minds. Isn't that amazing? And David said, "Solomon, listen to me. Know the God of thy father. Serve him with a perfect heart and a willing mind.

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• Because son, there's no way you can deceive him. There's no way you can fool him. There's no way you can play the hypocrite. There's no way that you can get by with less because God knows everything. He is omniscient. So the words of wisdom that David is giving to Solomon is to know Him, to serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind.

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• Now, let me make just a couple of applications. The first one is this. Salvation for the child of God is only the beginning. Christianity is a life of service. It's a life of work. We are saved to serve. God delivered Israel from Egypt to serve Him. We've been saved from our sins to serve Him and to glorify Him. One of the great problems that we have in Christianity today is that God's people have lost a servant's heart. And when you understand that to serve means to work, we've lost that biblical work ethic.

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• I remember when I was a boy, if a neighbor's barn burned down, all the farmers got together and helped him rebuild. If he got sick, all the neighbors came together and took care of his crops and took care of his animals until he got well. They weren't paid to do it. Alice can tell you we had a neighbor years ago who had a stroke. My girls and myself and his wife planted all the crops, harvested the crops until he got well and could do it himself.

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• I'm just saying that is what service is all about. That's what God says. And here's the thing. When we serve Him, we must serve Him with a complete and total heart ready to obey and with a willing mind. It cannot be begrudged. Even our giving, you know, there's a passage I could show it to you there. 2 Corinthians where the Bible says that God loveth a cheerful giver. God doesn't love a begrudging giver, he loves a cheerful giver. I've heard the old expression "give until it hurts." That's not biblical. You know the word cheerful? Gary's got a Greek text over there. The word cheerful is the word hilarion. That's where we get our English word hilarious. You don't give till it hurts. You give to your laughing until you're rolling on the floor hilariously. That's what he says. So God had rather have two cents from a willing heart than two million from a begrudging heart.

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• So the truth of the matter is this. He deserves all honor, glory and praise. And whatever we do, we're to do it willingly, with an obedient heart for his honor and his glory. Words of wisdom: know the God of thy father, serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth.

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• Help us, Lord, to be that which we should be. Understand that we've been bought with a price, that we belong to Thee, that we're to be Thy servants, and we're to serve Thee and honor Thee and glorify Thee. Help us, Father, in every area and every sphere of our life to bring our lives in conformity to Your Word. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

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• ♪ you

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:20:28Z