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Today is Sunday April 25, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of I Kings, chapters 9-11. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-april-25

Title: Bible Study: True Measure of Success
God blesses us all with wisdom, skills, and talents to do and become anything we want, regardless of whether or not we choose to follow Him. Now, successful people of the world will tell you that they made themselves a success and have everything they need so they do not need God. Successful Christians on the other hand know that God made them successful and give Him the glory for the things that He has done for them. What separates children of God from the world is their commitment and obedience to God. God wants to bless His children abundantly for their standing by Him through and beyond their success and He does. However, if Christians are not careful they too can become like the world and feel they no longer need God and in the end learn the hard way that our true measure of success comes only from our relationship with God.

King Solomon was the most successful king of all time, he not only possessed great wisdom, he was wealthy and looked highly upon by the rest of the world. The Lord gave Solomon special privileges far exceeding those of any other kings, but His continued blessings were conditional. Once again, God spoke to Solomon in a dream, “That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:” - I Kings 9:2-7. God is speaking to Solomon about the huge prayer that he said and now He is putting him to the test. He tells Solomon if he wants to continue a successful life and one for his children he needed to follow Him with all his heart, just as his father David did. He also gives him a warning, should he disregard His commands, He would destroy the nation of Israel. God promises to answer our prayers, but they come with a condition that we obey and remain committed to Him.

Solomon disregarded God's warning and did everything he was not to do as king, “So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year. And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.” - I Kings 10:23-26. God said that Israel's future kings should not multiply wealth, horses, or wives for themselves (Deuteronmy 17:14-20), but Solomon multiplied all three. In disregard for the Word of God, Solomon lived in an atmosphere of unparalleled luxury, including marrying seven hundred women and having three hundred girlfriends, “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites: Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.” - I Kings 11:1-4. Did Solomon assume that building the most sacred Temple in history, praying the longest prayer, and offering the most sacrifices meant that God would overlook his self-centered life? Solomon deceive himself into thinking that, as king, he could ignore the Word of God in his personal life and still see His blessings? His pleasure driven life eventually became his downfall, the underlying corrupting influences of his wealth, worldly policies, many pagan wives, and ignoring the Word of God not only destroyed his relationship with God, it also destroyed the foundation of David's kingdom.

What happened to Solomon can happen to anyone who allows physical pleasure, riches, lust, or any other thing to crowd out their opportunities to give their best to Christ. We must all realize that our success comes from God and just as He can give it to us, He can take it away if we are not obedient to Him. Before Solomon died he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, “And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.” - Ecclesiastes 1:13-17. The measure of success is not by how many people we know, how wealthy we are, or how many things we possess, it comes from God and any of it obtained out of His will will fail. God gives us great gifts, it is time that we acknowledge all of them as His and use them according to His will. Jesus Said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” - Matthew 6:19-21. Our true success comes from knowing Christ as our Lord and Savior, He is our treasure and what we receive here on earth is only temporary, but what we receive from Him is eternal life, the most valuable treasure we will ever receive.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and the Lord's Day.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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