SermonStudio

It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for 18-year-old David Neuer when he met Pope Pius XII in the summer of 1949. David was serving in the navy and was away from home for the first time. David could see the Pope sitting on a chair carried by Swiss guards. It was one of those times when you could feel the excitement surge from the crowd. David had the opportunity to personally greet the Pope. The Pope held out his hand. "I did not know what to do," David remembers of that special day. As David shook his hand, the Pope was ushered forward. It was when the Pope was several yards ahead that David realized that there was something solid in his hand. With a loud gasp, David saw the Pope's ring in his hand. He had stolen the Pope's ring. Pope Pius XII, stopped, motioned for the Swiss guards to return. The Pope extended his hand again and David put the ring back on his finger. He smiled at the young man for a moment and then asked, "What is your name, my son?" Completely flustered David answered, "I am not Catholic, I am Methodist, and I should not be here!"

The Pope leaned forward and quietly said in perfect English, "I know you are not Catholic, and you are far from home, and you are welcome here." Again he asked the young man's name. "David Neuer, and I am from Sunbury, Pennsylvania." Then he made the sign of the cross and said, "Bless you, David Neuer from Sunbury; go in peace."

Young Solomon must have felt out of place when he became ruler. He not only felt out of place, he was overwhelmed at the large task before him. It would not be easy to fill the shoes of his father, David. It's no easy task trying to fill the shoes of a legend.

David had certainly captured the people's enthusiasm and loyalty. David won victory after victory against the enemies of the Israelites. David first gained the public spotlight when he defeated the giant, Goliath. David had reigned over Israel for forty years. David's last years were years of conflict within his family. It seemed fitting that the mighty warrior king died peacefully in his sleep in his own bed. With the news of David's death, people were heard saying, "There will never be another king like him." It would be hard for anyone to attempt to fill David's shoes.

Solomon realized how enormous the responsibility placed on his shoulders would be. Sensing the weight of the responsibility of being ruler over God's chosen people, Solomon retreated to a favorite place where he would seek out God's direction.

For those intent on finding faults with politicians, it seemed that Solomon faltered from the very beginning of his reign by going to an altar outside of Jerusalem. Solomon traveled to Gibeon, "for that was the principle high place." Gibeon was considered an important place because it once housed the famed ark of the covenant. The ancients believed that if a person wanted to communicate with God he should go to an important place, camp out overnight, and God would speak to him in a dream. This was commonly known as "incubation," intentionally sleeping in a place expecting God to communicate. It was at the very start of Solomon's reign as king that he went to Gibeon to speak with God.

The real beginning of Solomon's reign was a spiritual experience that would empower him the rest of his life. That night God appeared in a dream to Solomon. In the dream the Lord God said, "Ask what I should give you." It must have been a frightening experience. It's one thing to go somewhere expecting to talk with God; it is quite another when God actually speaks. Solomon was given a unique opportunity to make a wish. Along with this opportunity there was also responsibility. Solomon wanted to be the best king he could be, he wanted to do what God wanted him to do, and above all he wanted to obey the laws God had sent the people. Solomon had the people's best interest in mind that night when he spoke to God. That responsibility weighed heavily on Solomon's shoulders. Solomon responded by acknowledging how God had been faithful to his father David, "because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you."

Lois was going through one of those periods where she questioned her faith that we all seem to go through at one time or another. She wanted to "figure Jesus out" and began reading books on the life of Jesus as well as the Gospels. During this time of confusion, worship took on a renewed meaning in her life. During prayer time one Sunday, Lois became aware of a young couple whose fifteen-month-old daughter had a malignant brain tumor. It was Lois' turn to distribute the church flowers and she chose this young couple. Taking them the church flowers resulted in a series of visits over the next month until the young child died.

One Saturday Lois was holding Lisa in a rocking chair. She had been there about 45 minutes when she began to wonder what she was doing there. "Here was a child I had never known healthy," Lois reasoned with herself. She did not know the family that well either. "I had no obligation to be there or any reason to believe that my presence was doing anyone any good," Lois admitted. She felt very uncomfortable. Just then the little girl's body stiffened. It was almost as though she could perceive what Lois was thinking, which startled Lois. She whispered to the infant that she would stay.

"I discovered that in the process of putting aside my active search for answers and getting involved with this family," Lois said, "I no longer questioned where Jesus fit in. I discovered that I had, in fact, known Christ all along."

There are those times when the tasks loom so large before us and everything seems impossible when we need to worship God, seeking God's guidance. We do not have to travel to holy places. When life is getting the better of us, it's time for us to retreat to a quiet place to listen for the word of God in our lives. Once we remove all the distractions and interruptions from our lives we are able to communicate with God. At decisive moments in Jesus' life he would withdraw from the crowds and seek a lonely place where he would be alone so he could pray.

Solomon showed his concern for the people. Given the opportunity to make one request, Solomon asked, "Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil." A noble request. Solomon could have requested anything; he was granted one wish. He could have asked for selfish things and no one would have faulted him. He could have asked for a long life, or wealth, or even popularity. He could have asked God to kill all his enemies, thus preserving peace. That would certainly have made him popular. Instead of selfish desires, Solomon's greatest concern was for the people. These were no ordinary people; they were God's chosen people. It's refreshing for us to find a politician whose greatest concern was not for his own gain but for the people he represented. The king must be God's steadfast servant whose central concern must always be the people. You see, Solomon did not inherit the throne from his father David, he did not seize it for some personal gain, rather God had chosen him for the task. God had shown steadfast love to the people. Solomon wanted to be the best king he could be with concern for the people.

If God were testing the young ruler at the outset of his reign then Solomon passed the test with flying colors. Solomon requested wisdom to lead the people. Solomon's request pleased the Lord God. In the dream God responded, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for understanding to discern what is right, I now do according to your word." God gave Solomon a discerning and wise mind. "No one like you has been given before you and no one like you shall arise after you." Solomon would be the wisest man in the world. In fact, Solomon no sooner returned to the palace when he was asked to decide a dispute between two women who both claimed the same baby as their own. Solomon in his wisdom was able to determine which woman was actually the mother and gave the child to her.

Because Solomon knew what to ask for and what to reject, God was pleased with him and granted his one request, and God exceeded it. If Solomon remained true to God's law, then God would have given others things that he never asked for. Solomon would have wealth, fame, and a long life as long as he obeyed God. "If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked," the Lord God told Solomon, "then I will lengthen your life." Solomon had the assurance that night that God would be with him as he set out to rule the chosen people. Solomon retreated to a quiet place seeking God's guidance. God spoke to him in a dream which would empower him the rest of his life. If Solomon remained obedient to God, then God would give him more than he ever expected.

Then Solomon awoke from his dream. It was time for him to go back to the royal palace. It was time to put into practice what God had promised him. One thing was clear to him after his divine encounter and that was that God keeps God's promises. Solomon saw in his father, King David, how God kept the covenant through some trying years, and he understood that no matter what might or might not happen, God would keep the covenant.

A Sunday school class made up of persons who had recently become Christians discussed what their newfound faith meant to them. Howard said he believed God could be trusted to give his followers "an inner peace, especially when things get really bad and you are helpless to do anything. I am not as quick to worry," Howard said. "If I have a problem I leave it in the hands of God." Cindy recalled that before she realized that God loved her when she had a problem she would always turn to people for a solution. "Now I'm not so desperate to call someone on the phone to hear them say, 'You're okay.' I still turn to people to pray for me," Cindy explained, "but God can help, too. When I get desparate, I go to church."

Another spoke of the "assurance of salvation." Faith helped another "in understanding the past part of my life and putting it in proper perspective, and in knowing that life does work out and there is eternity of peace to come."

There is not much in life that we can believe in. Everything and everyone seem to let us down, but the good news is that God will never let us down. God is faithful. Above all else, God keeps God's promises.