Service: 21 Days Fasting & Prayer – Day 12
Sermon Title: A Greater Than Solomon is Here 7
Preacher: Pastor Ayo Ajani
Date: 19.01.2024
Prayer
1 Samuel 10:26 – 26 And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.
Father in the name of Jesus, men and women who will interpret my ideas and visions with their skills are coming to me now. I receive a band of men who will interpret my dreams, my visions, my ideas, the instructions ,the wisdom and the assignment you have given to me are coming now.
Sermon
Let’s examine something in the life of Solomon. We are looking at different aspects of Solomon’s life and taking lessons from those aspects and then building upon them by the wisdom that comes from the Lord. The simple hack to becoming wiser is to read your bible everyday. And you will find out that you are a wiser person. Glory to God.
1 Kings 5:1-2 and 12
And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.
12 – And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.
One of the things you see about Solomon was his ability to discern and maintain strategic alliances. One of the ways wisdom finds its greatest expression is through the ability to maintain relationships.. A lot of these relationships and alliances are seen in scripture, but one of them I want us to examine is the one with the King of Tyre, Hiram.
The bible says in verse 12, that God gave Solomon wisdom, now why would the Lord make mention of this here and highlight it at this point. The manifestation of God’s wisdom upon Solomon was in the relationships around Him. Because of the wisdom that was at work in Solomon’s life, there was peace between himself and Hiram and they made a league together.
If you study the alliance between Solomon and Hiram, you would see that Solomon would not have been able to build the temple of the Lord without Hiram. Hiram supplied him with almost all the materials that were needed for the building of the house. So you realise if God said you should do something, it is men who will help you do this. The world is stupid, so if you follow the philosophies and the ways of the world, you will live a very stupid life. Sayings like, I just cancel people, I just cut people off is a very stupid statement to make. How do you call yourself a believer who has received grace and you can contemplate that.
Some people say things like, I don’t like what happened and so I just cut them off, I cancel them from my life. Anyone who talks like that are the ones who should be cancelled. People who talk like that don’t have the wherewithal and maturity to handle relationships. Jesus was very specific when he said, whatever you want people to do to you, you do the same unto them. You see the bible related the wisdom Solomon had to the health of the relationships in his life. So there is a lot that God wants to do with people and you can be so anointed and you pray for helpers, yet you don’t have the maturity to handle them when they come. God didn’t say your helpers will be perfect.
1 Kings 5:6-8
Now therefore, command that they cut down cedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.
Now, the Cedar of Lebanon we most famously use to describe the house of God came from Hiram, not Solomon. So, wisdom finds major expression in the relationships in our lives. The wisdom of the world looks to isolate you from people. The opposite is what God’s wisdom does.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10- NLT- Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. This does not only apply to marriage alone. We have used this to teach marriage and have missed what Solomon was trying to tell us.
This means the relationships God brings into your life is never a one sided thing. An example is someone who is helping the vision of another to come to pass and at the same time learning things to better their lives and walking in the assignment God has called them. God has designed it in such a way that nobody can reach destiny alone.
Proverbs 18:24 -A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: And there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
There are different levels of associations that God will bring into your life. However, that is not what we are looking into. What we are looking into tonight is the general wisdom for managing relationships.
3 keys to this are as follows;
1. Practice discernment. Now, everyone that comes into your life comes in for a reason. Find the reason. To relate to everyone the same way and to treat everyone the same way is to show dishonour to critical relationships in your life. There is the general requirement to love all men equally, but then you have to practise what you call discernment.
We see this in the life of Abraham and his relationship with King of Salem Melchizedek and the King of Sodom. He discerned between both kings and understood they were not the same and therefore he tithe’d a 10th of his possessions to Melchizedek.
So the first key to managing relationships in your life is that you have to practise discernment. Who is this person and what place do they have in my life? This is so important. It will help your marriage get better. Recognise the office they are in and treat them accordingly . It will be foolish of me to allow the same level of access and audience to everyone that comes into my life. Jesus spent more time teaching the 12 disciples than the multitude. This is because the commitment the disciples made to Him, the multitude did not make and it would be wrong for Him to respond to the disciples the same way He responds to the multitude. It is the same reason why when people are a blessing to you and tomorrow they turn around to be a thorn to your flesh, you never forget what they brought into your life. I have seen people judge people based on failed expectations forgetting all they’ve done for them in the past.
2. Practise the golden rule. Love is the golden rule . Paul says in scripture that by all means be at peace with all men. Hebrews 12:14 says follow peace with all men, the reasonable and the unreasonable and holiness by which all men might see the Lord. By all means, find a way to ensure from your part there are no grievances and offences. This is important. It is a basic principle but it will help you.
3. Bring value always. No relationship will survive if your mindset, your reason why you entered the relationship is primarily based on what you can get. At every level and at every time in your life, you must always position yourself to bring value to the table. You must ask yourself, what can I add to this person, what can I add to this relationship. Solomon offered to pay Hiram for the Cedar of wood even though he loved David. You should not always expect to get things for free from people just because you have a relationship with them. This is not proper.
Wealth is never an account balance but a mindset. So always seek to bless and don’t be a leech and a liability always but ensure you don’t have the messiah complex where you think you can help everybody. This is very important, aim to be a blessing but don’t develop the messianic complex. The relationships that God will bring in your life will determine the kind of results you will have.