Knowledge That Leads to Fruitful Service

Good morning and welcome back. I trust that you have had some opportunities to enjoy this beautiful weather.

This past week was a great blessing to me as I had the opportunity to officiate two weddings and recognize the anniversary of a couple I married two years ago…It’s that time of the year.

And when we look at what a couple goes through to prepare for marriage, because sometimes there are some trials and suffering that help them grow in the process, we can find…

Hope in Everyday Life

Through the past 5 months, we have studied Hope in Everyday Suffering through a look at 1 Peter.

• We can find hope even in a political environment we do not like

• There is hope in our homes and in our marriages even when we face huge challenges

• There is hope in the church even if it experiences hardship

• There is hope in our work and daily life even if our Christianity faces pushback from societal pressures…

And we are called to follow our Master and King, Jesus Christ…and if we suffer for what is right, we can rejoice, because we know we are able to glorify God in the middle of that suffering.

With all of that in mind, We can know that our hope is not just to survive, but to thrive as we find…

Hope for Fruitful Service

Over the next 7 weeks, we will be unpacking the practical ways that we can choose to find hope through growing in characteristics that Paul charges us to grow in at the start of his second letter.

Each week, we will look at 2 Peter 1, specifically verses 5 through 7 and then define and explore the biblical examples of men and women who exemplified those characteristics.

For example, as we seek to grow in love, we will look at the example of love through the testimony of Ruth’s life or as we choose to grow in moral excellence, we will observe the example of Daniel’s life in Babylonian exile.

But this is why we need 7 weeks to go through this, because we do not have enough coffee out there for me to teach 2 peter 1:5-7 today and cover them all.

…

As reminder, Peter was writing to the believers in the church who had been scattered across the land due to the persecution of emperor Nero and Peter’s heart for his friends would have been filled with urgency as He knew that his death was likely near under the cruelty of Nero

So, Peter starts this second letter by greeting the church and reminding us that we have all that we need in God’s word, saying,

“seeing that his divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence.” (2 Pet 1:3)

This is one of the verses that I go to when I need to be reminded that God has the truths that we need for Hope in Everyday Life, because He has given all that we need for life and godliness…

From here Peter goes on to give hope that we might be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption of this world…

In other words, there is hope that we can stand up to the false teaching and stand up for God’s truth even in a world that is attempting to bully us into going every other direction.

But notice how Peter describes where this false teaching can reach out and touch our lives…He says its comes from

“the corruption that is in the world by lust.” (2 Peter 1:4b)

Those last two words tell the story…by lust, not sexual lust, but by a desire of anything more than we desire godliness…

How can we have the Hope of fruitful service if we are still battling our own desires and allowing the corruption that is in the world to influence us?

To answer this, Peter tells us what we are called to do as Christians in a corrupt world…

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.” (1 Peter 2:5-7)

In studying there verses together over the next seven weeks, we will answer the same basic question each week…what does it look like to

“Make every effort to add to your saving faith ___________.”

Today we are going to fill in that blank with Knowledge…

Peter starts with “for this very reason,” for which we should go right to the question…What reason is that?

This very reason is the truth of our salvation when Peter describes “for by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises.”

In other words, we…meaning those of us who have placed our faith in Christ alone…can stand upon the assurance of our salvation to walk strong in our faith in the face of a corrupt world…and that is what we are going to be talking about.

Before I get too far, I have to understand that there may be some of you here today who have not made that choice to place your faith in Christ…the last thing I would want you to take away is that I am speaking of your to-do list so that you can be saved. That is not what Peter is writing here.

Peter is writing to us about Hope for Fruitful Service in response to the work of Christ in our lives…because we have the assurance of salvation.

If you are with us today and still have questions about Christ and what it means to be saved…what it takes to be saved…we want to talk to you about those question, in the meantime, I would ask you to listen today to hear the blessings that come from those precious and magnificent promises.

“Now for this reason…applying all diligence…”

Living the Christian life is not one of sitting back and simply waiting for the heavenly gates to open for you…

God is the one who has done everything necessary for our salvation

Yet, God then calls us to respond by applying all diligence…contradiction…no

This is consistent with Paul’s teaching to the Philippians…

“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Phil 2:12-13)

We are called to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, or as Peter calls us to apply all diligence…

The applying implies that we are to make a strong effort to supply something necessary…not necessary for our salvation but in parallel with our salvation or in response to our salvation in order to live our lives with godliness…

then he finished by saying to do so with all diligence…this is the fear and trembling part…our diligence demonstrates that we are seeking an effort with zeal and eagerness…

As I said, we will then seek to walk in the next seven weeks to go over what applying all diligence means or to…

“Make every effort to add to your saving faith ___________.”

Today, we will begin with knowledge…not because we are going to skip moral excellence. If you have been with us for a while here at Faith, you know that we will not skip over words in the Bible because we want to preach something else. I promise that we will cover moral excellence as well…that just means you need to be here for each week of the series to unpack all of these virtues…

But for today – we will focus on knowledge…

Knowledge that leads to Fruitful Service

When we come to know Christ, I think we can all agree that we may approach that moment with a wide range of what we might call knowledge.

• Some are children, who beautifully have come to know Christ based on what their parents have taught and the example they have seen in them.

• Some come as adults who have read the Bible and know the facts about Jesus, but it took more than facts. They needed to see the beauty of the gospel so that they might choose Christ…

• Others come with many ideas of the world, which they are just then discovering have been lying to them all along.

If those were what we were to talk about today, then the real need would be a sermon, but a theology class.

But that is not the whole of what Peter is describing…for then applying all diligence to knowledge would be for self alone and would not lead to fruitful service.

As we speak of knowledge today, I want you also to be thinking about wisdom, and I want you to specifically be considering what it looks like to skillfully and diligently apply the divine truth that has been granted to us for everything pertaining to life and godliness.

Or to give you a simple thought to take away – When we apply all diligence…

Knowledge = Skillful application of the divine truths for life and godliness

and of course I know that you are all on the edge of your seats waiting to hear the wisdom and knowledge of Pastor Rod so that I can tell you all the ways that I have applied all diligence to seek greater knowledge to go along with my faith…

But then again, you did not come here to hear the Word of Rod…neither did I…I would far rather to seek the divine truths, the Word of God which can help us to grow in applying all diligence…

Of course, I am thankful that God’s word has much to say on this, so we have plenty to study.

To focus us today, we are going to look to the example of Solomon and to explore how his desire to make every effort to seek knowledge impacted him, impacted his kingdom and others around him.

As such we will now be jumping back into the Old Testament, and specifically the Book of 1 Kings where we will explore

Knowledge that leads to Fruitful Service

And find

4 truths from Solomon’s life about Making every effort to add to your saving faith – knowledge.

The first truth from the life of Solomon which we need to know is where he sought his knowledge.

Solomon had grown up under his father, King David and had likely been taught by the best tutors and even watched his father seek out trusted advisors…but He also saw his father’s relationship with the Lord and as such, Solomon chose to

I. Ask God for Wisdom (1 Kings 3:6-9)

When I use the terms wisdom and knowledge in this context, I am referring to the same things where biblical wisdom is defined as the practical skills associated with understanding and living a successful life, or as I said earlier, the skillful application of the divine truths for life and godliness.

I think we all have to admit that this is not what we would call a natural trait that we are all born with…

So then How do we ask God for Wisdom…this is the example of Solomon…

• At a time when Solomon was offering sacrifices before the Lord, The Lord came to him in a dream and said…

• “Ask what you wish me to give you.”

• The Lord opened the door…and Solomon stepped in.

READ 1 KINGS 3:6-9

The Lord had opened the door for Solomon, and for us – so then how should we step through?

Approach God with Humility

Solomon was the anointed king of Israel, we was seated on his father’s throne, and yet he did not approach God proudly, he acknowledge who he was in relation to God…

Then Solomon said, “You have shown great loving kindness to Your servant David, my father.” (1 Kings 3:6a)

Solomon‘s thanksgiving had nothing to do with himself. Solomon gave thanks for what God’s faithfulness and then Solomon clearly acknowledged his place…

“Now O Lord, my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.” (1 Kings 3:7)

God is seen as Lord, Solomon sees himself not as the rightful king, but as a servant of the Lord.

And not only as a servant, but also He sees his need for growth before God as He describes himself as a little child…

Solomon was 20 years old at the time he was made king…How many of us would describe ourselves as a little child when we reached 20?

So then – What does the first step look like to “Make every effort to add to your saving faith – knowledge.”?

It begins in even coming to Saving Faith…

Jesus said in Matt 18 – “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

We cannot stand upon our own pride thinking that we have the knowledge that we need, that we can figure this out on our own, first we must become like little children, trusting in the teaching of the Father, to receive the gift of salvation and then we must continue to approach God with humility as we seek to continue to grow in knowledge.

And that humility is not simply about seeing ourselves as little children, though that is an appropriate attitude, it is even more about walking humility before our creator God…

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov 1:7)

When we see fear in this context, do not think fright, we are not talking about the horrors from which we should rightly run, but rather this fear is the awe and wonder of knowing God and recognizing the perfection of his omniscience, that he is the All-Knowing God and the source of our truth.

We have so much to learn as we make every effort to add knowledge in this way…Look how Proverbs 2 describes this sequence…

“Then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Prov 2:5-6)

When God opens our eyes in salvation and we can see the beauty of His attributes, as we get a glimpse of His glory, there is no other response than to discern the fear of the Lord…

Are you there?

As we make every effort to ask God for Wisdom, does it begin with a discernment that brings awe and wonder about our God? Without that, will we truly value the wisdom which God offers?

Solomon saw all that God had done for his father and it caused him to seek God’s wisdom

Do we see all that God has done for us? Or is it clouded by…as Peter described…the corruption that is in the world by lust?

To make every effort to seek the knowledge of God…consider taking the first step again in humility, and find a fear of the Lord that comes from discerning what the attributes of God mean for you…

• What does it mean for you that God is Sovereign?

• What does it mean for you that God is merciful?

• What does it mean for you that God is Holy?

Then when we humbly fear the Lord – we can trust in his Word that says “the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding…

As such we must

Seek God as the source of Wisdom

Solomon recognized the gravity of what it meant to be the anointed king, the decisions that he would need to make and the impact that he would have on others’ lives and as such he asked…

“So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil.” (1 Kings 3:9a)

He recognized his need for knowledge, and he knew there was only one place to look for truth…Seek God’s help. We will see how that was lived out in a few minutes, but for now we must ask ourselves…

Are you seeking God as your source of wisdom?

What are the places where you are looking for knowledge?

• Do you look only within yourself and the need to be true to you? Are you trying to be your own source of knowledge and truth?

• Do you find you knowledge comes from education – the facts and figures that you have been taught? And the models of thinking to help you interpret those facts?

• Or is it out there on the internet? You just need to find the right Youtube channel, the right influencer, the right ideas that will help you to achieve what you want…

Or will you Ask God for wisdom and knowledge?

Think about our phrase today – making every effort to add to your saving faith, Knowledge…effort takes time…

Where are you spending your time?

• Does your time say that you are making an effort? Or does it say that you are comfortable where you are – I am OK if I don’t add knowledge.

• Does your time say that you are seeking God? Or does it say you love the world?

• How would I know?

• How many days of the week do you read God’s Word? Remember my challenge to add 2? How are you doing there…

• But this is about more than just devotionals – What about your decision-making says you are choosing the skillful application of divine truths?

• When you have a choice before you? What principles from God’s Word do you choose to measure your decision against? And if you say, I don’t know the Bible well enough to do that…

• Who are you asking for help? Do you come to the church? Your brothers and sisters in Christ to check God’s Word? Or do you just look for the person you know will agree with you.

Making every effort to add to our saving Faith – Knowledge starts by Asking God…Then our next points help us to know how well we are doing in seeking to add knowledge and wisdom, because

II. Wise Decisions lead to Blessing for you and for others

God’s blessing for you comes because your choices are pleasing to God.

1 Kings 3:10 says it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked for this thing, as compared to more personal or selfish desires…He did not ask for long life, riches or even victory over his enemies, and because God was pleased with Solomon’s choice, he gave him all of these things as a blessing.

Will you allow God to bless you if He chooses?

Solomon’s wise choice also brought blessing on others as Solomon applied his wisdom…

In the remainder of 1 Kings 3 – we see the events where

• Two women came before the king.

• They had each given birth about the same time and

• it happened some nights later that one of the sons died in the night.

• They both claimed that the living child was their son

• Solomon listened and then said – bring me a sword, divide the living child in two and give half to each.

Solomon’s wisdom was displayed in how he applied his knowledge, so we too should…

Listen before you answer (16-22)

Here was the wisest man in the world, and yet he waited and listened first…why?

“He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him." (Prov 18:23)

What do we do when conflicts come to us?

• Parents, when our children come to us in conflict…do we already know the answer?

• Friends, when another person comes to you again and again with their problems, do you dismiss it right from the start because you know the problem.

• Maybe it’s the first time you have seen this person – but when you take a look at them – you just know…

In our own wisdom, do we choose to make assumptions and base our response or our reaction on what we know? Or are we ready to listen – making every effort to grow in knowledge and wisdom…so that we may…

Seek to understand the heart

Solomon did not stop at face value for the problem of these women…

The king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” (1 Kings 3:25)

On first reading, Solomon’s decision seems harsh, but when we see the purpose of the statement, we can see how he was seeking to understand the heart…because the words that were being presented made both women sound genuine…but that could not be true and in his command, the hearts of both women were revealed, a loving sacrificial heart and a deceptive selfish heart.

And in our wisdom, even this is not something we can discern on our own,

“The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.” (Jer 17:9-10)

Again, when we are approached and asked for our help, our wisdom to decide a problem, we need to over and over again ask for God’s wisdom to be able to discern the heart behind the request or the response.

This will be the difference between always assuming the worst, or always taking people at face value.

Making every effort means taking the time to ask the questions that will allow God to show us the heart of the issue, and then being willing to see where those answers take me.

Making every effort to seek wise decisions will be a blessing to others as well when we…

Choose what is right over compromising for ease

There were easier options for Solomon to simply send these women away…2 Mothers, one child, don’t know who is actually the mother…

How about shared custody – they live together anyway…

That might have been easier, but it would not have been right, and it would not have been a blessing for the son…

Then the king said, “give the first woman the living child and by no means kill him. She is his mother.” (1 Kings 3:27)

• When I am making a decision as a parent –

• is it just the answer that will bring me quiet so I can get back to my TV? It is all about me…

• Did I make the decision simply to keep my child happy even though it will cause problems in others areas for our family

• Am I choosing right even when it means more work for me?

• Even when it means more work for my team?

• Even when it may cause a financial loss

The Blessing for you may not come in the immediate outcome of the wise decision, it may not even be seen as a blessing by the person most directly impacted by the decision, but when we choose wisdom over ease, we can trust God that He will bring the blessing and as we have been studying all year, that may come in the form of a trial or suffering…

“But if when you do what is right and you suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.” (1 Pet 2:20b)

The greatest blessings will be in how God transforms us through suffering, and ultimately the blessings that we will receive for doing what is right resulting in His praise to say “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Then as we are making every effort to add to our saving faith – Knowledge…it is not only about the blessing we receive, but also the glory that we can bring to God.

III. Wisdom is designed to bring Glory to God

As Solomon sought to exercise the knowledge of God, he chose to do so in ways that pleased God.

Solomon’s wisdom…even though greater than all others on the earth…did not lead him to be self-sufficient…

Solomon chose to bring other’s in to help him in many areas to include officials and deputies with specific responsibilities within Israel. Think of it like – they were Solomon’s cabinet members – and how do we know that it pleased God? In this case, the prosperity of the nation would be the indicator – because they were God’s chosen people…

Solomon also sought help specifically for the purpose of glorifying God.

Seek help in ways that please God

“But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; There is neither adversary nor misfortune. Behold, I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying, ‘your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.’” (1 Kings 5:4-5)

From God’s blessing of Solomon…”my God has given me rest on every side”…Solomon’s wisdom was to seek God’s glory, before He would build a house for himself.

This project was a mighty one and one worthy of the king to complete…but see how Solomon proceeded…

He did not go to war with his neighbors to take what he needed, but rather, he developed the relationship that would be a blessing to both…

• Solomon shared the real goal of the project to build a house for the God of Israel

• He did not manipulate King Hiram to get what he wanted …

• He sent his servants to work right alongside Hiram’s.

• He did not ask of others what He was not willing to do himself

• He did not demand the lumber and labor at no cost

Then Solomon’s skillful application of knowledge did not only bring God glory because of Solomon’s work, but also because of how others viewed the wisdom of Solomon.

For us that means for us to make every effort that our wisdom would

Draw others to seek and obey God

• o His own people

When Solomon completed the temple and brought the ark of the covenant into the temple, he did not miss the opportunity to share the commands of God with the people of Israel.

When we are seeking to apply our knowledge for God’s glory, How do we tell the story? Amazing Me or Amazing Grace?

Solomon’s wisdom also resulted in those outside the kingdom seeing something that peaked their interest…

• o And Others – “Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with difficult questions…Then she said t the king, ‘It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom…Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel.” (1 Kings 10:1,6, 9)

In your life and in our church, God’s Words calls us to this purpose for how we apply our knowledge –

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Cor 10:31)

I discuss that verse, 1 Cor 10:31 a lot in counseling, but we need to also consider God’s glory in the verses that follow, 10:32-33…for we are called to not be a stumbling block to those outside the church or inside the church, not to seek our own profit, but the profit of many and nothing more important than that our application of wisdom would make a path that they may be saved.

The questions we must ask about how we are using our God-given wisdom

• Am I making wise choices?

• Am I making choices for my glory? Or the Glory of God

• Even when my goal is to please God, am I seeking help in a way that pleases God?

• Or am I choosing to manipulate and control things to achieve my goal thinking it is for God?

The final truth that I want us to see from the life of Solomon is to see that even

IV. Wise people can Sometimes Make Foolish Decisions.

For all the good that Solomon did, for even the wisest man on earth, and including those of us who think we are the wisest on the earth, it only took one foolish decision to ruin it all…

Desires that ignore God’s command, lead to sin

For all the wisdom of Solomon, when Solomon ignored the commands of God…his foolish decision led him into sin…

“King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, ‘you shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.” (1 Kings 1:11:1-2)

And because of this,

Unwise choices will lead to loss

“Now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the Lord had commanded. So the Lord said to Solomon, ‘Because you have done this, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the Kingdom from you, and I will give it to your servant.” (1 Kings 11:9-11)

God’s warnings would all come to pass as the nation of Israel followed it’s king into sin, and separation from their God and finally to their exile.

But it is not my point to leave you with this dark warning, but to also point us to God’s faithfulness and love for his children. Despite all their failures, none of this would stop God’s plan to send His Son with all of His wisdom to bring blessing upon others and to glorify God by His willingness to suffer and die because of the knowledge that there was no other way.

As we seek to make every effort to add to our saving faith, Knowledge, my prayer is that the example of Solomon would point ultimately to Christ that we would seek to ask God for Knowledge, bless others through God’s Knowledge, give God all the glory by applying His knowledge, and recognize that we are never so wise that we are not tempted to make foolish choices…