(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

All right, we're continuing our series on the alphabet of characteristics, we're getting toward the end, we're looking at the letter W, and we're looking at wisdom. We're looking at wisdom or being a wise person. And the obvious example in the Bible of a person to look at is Solomon. Obviously we read this story where God grants him extra wisdom, so we're going to look at four points here today about wisdom with Solomon. Let's start at verse number one of the chapter. The Bible reads, And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the house of David, till he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord until those days. And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. And the king went to Gebi and sacrificed there, for that was the great high place. A thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. So at this point in the life of Solomon, he's a very godly person. He's a young man, he's the king, he's a godly person. Obviously later on in life he ends up going into major sin, but at this point he's a very godly person. And point number one in regards to wisdom in Solomon is that Solomon, we're going to see, recognizes that he needs wisdom. We see a recognition of the need for wisdom in his life. It says here in verse 5, And Gebi and the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. So God is saying, I'm going to grant you a wish, anything that you want Solomon. Right now, this is not the exact same thing, but what came to my mind preparing this sermon is I thought of the movie Aladdin, which when I was a kid was very popular in the US, and you've got like the genie in the lamp, and you get three wishes. And you know, when you see that story, and I don't really remember the movie, but if the average person got the opportunity to get a wish granted, they are not going to ask for wisdom. There's no way. They're going to ask for money, they're going to ask to be the president, they're going to ask to be powerful, or whatever, but with Solomon he recognizes the need for wisdom in his life. He says this in verse 6, And Solomon said, Thou wast shewed onto thy servant David, my father, great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with thee. And thou hast kept for him this great kindness that thou hast given him a son to set on his throne as it is this day. And now, O Lord, my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father, and I am but a little child. I know not how to go out or come in. Now when the Bible says go out, you can look through all the stories of the Old Testament. Going out is like going out to battle. Coming in is like leading within. So an application would sort of be going out is like, you know, going out soul winning, coming in is the organization within the church itself, with the kingdom, going out is fighting battles, conquering new lands, and coming in is just kind of the organization and how you run from the inside. And he says, I'm a young man, I'm a little child. He said, I don't know how to go out or to come in. He's like, this is new to me. This is a job that I'm not sure exactly what to do. I don't have a lot of experience. I need God's wisdom to do a good job. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people, which thou hast chosen, a great people that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude, give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad for who is able to judge this, thy so great a people. And what Solomon says is, I've got a big responsibility, and if I don't have wisdom, I'm not going to do a good job. I need God's wisdom in my life to do a good job running this group of people, running the kingdom, going out, coming in, learning how to make decisions, all of that. I need God's wisdom in my life. Now go to 1 Samuel 16, 1 Samuel chapter 16. I don't think there's any doubt that Solomon had an important job. I mean, he was the king, the political leader of God's nation during that time period. That's a big job. That's a very important job. But what I would also say is that regardless of what your responsibilities are in life, you need God's wisdom to do a good job. Don't look at your life and say, well, I got it all figured out. I don't need God's help. I mean, that's a foolish attitude to have. Any area of life, look, if you're a parent in this room, you need God's wisdom to raise your kids. If you're a husband or a wife, you need God's wisdom to be a good spouse. If you work at a company, you need God's wisdom to be successful. You look at characters in the Bible like Joseph, and he worked his way up because he was a hard worker. He had God's wisdom. Look, we need God's wisdom in our life, or we're going to destroy it. You know why? Because you and I are dumb. Without God's wisdom, we're stupid. We need God's wisdom if we're going to do a good job. We think that we've got it all figured out, but if we just went by our own opinion and our own heart and our own emotions, we would destroy our lives. We need God's wisdom to guide us into making the right choices. Now, in 1 Samuel 16, this is basically when God has rejected Saul from being the king, and he's going to the sons of Jesse to choose a king. And I find this story very interesting because, you know, in 1 Samuel 16, this is where he's choosing a king, and then 1 Samuel 17 is the David and Goliath story, and David is already the king, but he's not really the leader. It's kind of like once Saul gets, you know, dethroned, then he's going to take over. But notice what it says in 1 Samuel 16, verse 10, again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel, and Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And Samuel's like, I'm here to select a king, and then everyone that's come up, this is not the king. It's like, I mean, is this everybody? I mean, I'm a bit confused. And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him, for we will not sit down till they come hither. Now, I believe that David is aware they're selecting a king. I don't think David thinks he's going to be chosen, but I also think that David's thinking, I've got an important job keeping the sheep. That's the job I've been given. And he said, Well, that's a lowly job. I mean, you've got the opportunity to be a king, and you're worried about keeping the sheep. Well, if that's a responsibility that I've been given in my life, yes, it's important. And look, whatever responsibility you have in life, it's important. Look, one of my biggest pet peeves in my life is just people that do not take their jobs seriously. You know, I just remember so many times in the U.S., I'd be at a grocery store, and you know, I've worked minimum wage jobs. I've worked at car washes. I've worked at fast food restaurants. I've worked minimum wage jobs. And when I worked at those jobs, I took it seriously. I mean, even though it's not a prominent job, even though it doesn't pay much compared to other jobs, I just said, Hey, this is my job. I want to do a good job. And I've been at grocery stores, and you're the only person in line. And then all of a sudden, the person who's the cashier, they take a couple minute break to talk to the other employee, and you're just waiting on them. And you're just waiting and just waiting. And I don't really like confrontation. I don't want to be rude. I just kind of wait there. But in my head, I'm just thinking, it's like, can you just, you know, check out my groceries so I can leave? Because I've got to wait on you. Or you go to a fast food restaurant, and the people there, they don't take it seriously. They're just kind of goofing off, not taking it seriously. And I just think, man, when I had remedial jobs, or what the world would consider remedial, I worked hard at it. I took it seriously. And look, people have this attitude. If I have an important job, I'll take it seriously. If I get paid a lot of money, I'll take it seriously. But if I don't get paid a lot of money, I'm not going to take it seriously. I mean, if I had an important job, I'd be the hardest worker. But if I don't have an important job, I'm not going to take it seriously. Well, I hate to break it to them, but at the end of the day, your boss is God. And God sees everything you do. And if you work at a job that does not pay much money, you still do have the opportunity to impress God and move up in the company, because God looks down and He blesses your life. Never look at your job and responsibility as being, you know, you're too good for this job. You're better than that. It's like, whatever job you have, take it seriously. And I'm telling you, even if you work the lowest of the low job, guess what? You need God's wisdom. And yes, there could be the opportunity to move up, because God looks down at your life and He blesses you. All of us, we need God's wisdom in our life. Look, young people, how are you going to live a clean and holy life if you don't take heed to God's Word? You need His wisdom. At a young age, everybody needs God's wisdom in life. Now, it's interesting, because He's keeping the sheep. He comes in, He's selected. Now, go to 1 Samuel 17. And realize, in 1 Samuel 17, David's already the king. I mean, he's not in the position, but he's been chosen. He's going to take over for Saul. And his father doesn't send him to battle. So David, it's very unique. He's the king of Israel, and he's underneath the authority of his parents and his father. So it's a very unique situation. It'd be very easy to say, Dad, no offense, but I'm the king. I'm not going to do what you tell me, right? But notice what it says in 1 Samuel 17, verse 20. And David rose up early in the morning, because his father tells him to go to the battle and basically provide supplies. It says in verse 20, and David rose up early in the morning and left the sheep with the keeper. Boy, doesn't it seem like, because this is a small detail, this is the most exciting chapter of the Old Testament, the most famous story, David and Goliath in the Bible. And the Bible makes it a point to give us this small detail that he left the sheep with the keeper. You know what that means? Listen, after being selected king, he took his job seriously. Don't you see that? He left the sheep with the keeper. You know what's interesting about this? Later on in 1 Samuel 17, what does his older brother accuse him of? And who did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness with? Isn't that what he says? Do you remember that? I mean, he criticizes him and says, you didn't take your job seriously. Why are you even here? Well, our dad sent us. He doesn't say this, but that's what I'd be thinking as David. Well, our dad sent us, and guess what? I did leave the sheep with the keeper. He did take it seriously. And even after being selected the king, what do we see? We see that David took his job very seriously of keeping the sheep. I mean, this is a dumb animal. I'm not an animal person. Animals have no soul. They live, they die, and that's it. But you know what? He took the job seriously saying, hey, I'm in charge of being the shepherd of the sheep and I'm going to take it seriously. But see, here's the thing. If you prove yourself to be faithful in something small, guess what? God might give you something larger to be faithful over. God is waiting for you to be faithful now. Look, now turning your Bible back to 1 Kings 3, but 1 Kings chapter 3, and let me just say that, you know, at this church, obviously I'm the pastor of Verity Baptist Church Philippines, Verity Baptist Church Manila, Verity Baptist Church Pampanga. I'm the leader of this church. But here's the thing. I have not always been a pastor when I've been a member of churches. When I first got saved and started going to churches, I wasn't the one running anything. You say, what did you do at the church? Well, you know, I've always just gotten involved and volunteered at church. I mean, I figure if I'm going to be in this, I want to be in it to win it, right? And so I was at the church, and you know, I remember, I used to hand out the bulletins to people at the door as they walked in. So I'm in the front, and basically I'd open the door, close the door, hand out the bulletins, and at churches I worked as the backup on bus routes where we'd leave at like six or seven in the morning and go out and pick up kids in the community. Not a very prominent job, but I considered it important. It's like, if this is the job and responsibility God has given me, then I'm going to take it seriously. Now, I had a desire to be a pastor back then, but I did not have the attitude, well, I'm not going to volunteer because, you know what, it's beneath me. I'm better than being a worker on a bus route. I'm better than handing out bulletins. Now, I just said, if that's how I can help the church, I'm going to help, right, in our lives. In any area that you do, take it seriously. Don't be a lazy person that, you know what, you're just doing the dishes. You have five dishes to do, and it takes you 25 minutes because you have to watch five YouTube videos. Take it seriously. Whatever you have in life, take it and do it with all your mics, right? Whatever your hand finds it to do, do it with thy might, right? Now, with Solomon, he recognizes the need for wisdom in his life, but I would submit to you that I think sometimes we look at this story a little bit wrong because it is not that Solomon was an unwise person that all of a sudden became the wisest. He was a wise person that got more wisdom. You say, well, why would you say that? Well, doesn't it take wisdom to realize you need wisdom? Most people are not going to ask for wisdom. Besides, the Bible also says a wise man will hear and will increase in learning. I mean, it takes someone to already have wisdom to ask for it because that same question was asked of somebody else. They would not have asked for wisdom. You say, why? Because Solomon already had wisdom. Now, obviously, God grants him even more wisdom, but he already had wisdom when he asked for wisdom. He just didn't have as much as he would have later on. Point number one, Solomon recognizes he needs wisdom, but let's look at the reality of wisdom and how most people do not recognize the need for wisdom. Verse number 10, and the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing, and God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment. So notice that God mentions three things. You did not ask for long life. You did not ask to be rich, and you did not ask for power over your enemies. You know what the basic implication is? Most people that are kings, you know what they would ask for? Money, power, or a long life. Isn't that pretty much what God's saying? He's like, Solomon, you were not like other world leaders. I promise you that if this same situation happened to Kim Jong-un or to Vladimir Putin or Joe Biden or whomever the president would be, these are probably the things they'd ask for. A lot of world leaders would ask to be the most powerful man in the world, right? It's like, you're the president or leader of a country with 40 million people or 60 million people or whatever, and that's not good enough? You got to be the leader of the world with billions of people? But that's what most presidents and leaders would ask for. They would want more power and more money. It's like, if you're a king, aren't you already rich? I mean, everybody else in the country might be poor, but if you're the president of the country or the king or the leader, you're not going to be poor. You're already going to be pretty rich, right? Why would they ask for a long life? Well, they'd ask for a long life because of the fact most people, they do not know for sure that they're on their way to heaven. They do not have eternal life, especially political leaders, I would say. Probably very few are actually saved. And the thing is, they don't really want to die because they just want to live on forever and have power, when in reality, eventually you're going to die and you're going to be forgotten. That's just the way it is. And they want to live a long life here. These are the things that they would ask for. Now I hope that it would be said of me, and I hope it would be said of you, that if God were to come to us and ask us, what do you want, that our answer would not be, I want 100 million pesos. I want to be the president or ruler. I hope what you would answer is, wisdom. I want God's wisdom. Now, go in your Bible to Proverbs 30, Proverbs 30, Proverbs 30. You say, Pastor, I mean, you know, I don't believe God's going to ever come to me in a dream and ask me for what I want. I agree with you. If that's happened to you, I think you're possessed by a devil, right? Or you just had a dream, right? I mean, dreams happen, but I don't think God actually visited you in a dream and just asked you for something specific. But here's the thing. The Bible is very clear about how we can get wisdom in 2024. Because in diverse manners, in time past, God spake unto the fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He's spoken unto us by His Son. And how do we get wisdom? Who is the Son? What's another name for the Son of God? What's another name for Jesus Christ? He is the Word. And if you want wisdom, I mean, it's right here. You don't have to wait for God to show up to you in a dream. You can open up the Word of God and get wisdom on a daily basis. But here's the thing. Do most Christians do that? No. Most Christians would say, yeah, I'd ask for wisdom. But if that were really true, wouldn't you open up the Bible and just get that wisdom on a daily basis yourself? And look, obviously, people have different amounts of free time. You're in different situations. I'm not saying everybody has to read the Bible for the same amount. I think everybody has time to spend 20 or 30 minutes at least a day reading the Bible. It's like, if I spend 20 or 30 minutes a day, I'm going to have to get rid of some of my hobbies. Well, do what you got to do. If I spend 20 or 30 minutes a day, I won't be able to spend three hours in front of the mirror fixing my hair. Well, I mean, spend two hours reading the Bible then. It sounds like you've got a lot of time. I mean, do what you got to do, but read the Bible. It's like, well, I'm just so busy in my life. Then go with less sleep. Go with less sleep. Do what you got to do, but make sure you get the wisdom. You don't have to listen to me. Go ahead and live your life without any wisdom. Let your own heart lead you. Let your own emotions lead you, and we're going to find out how smart you actually are. But I would say that I don't think I'm very smart apart from God. I think I need God's wisdom. You know, what's interesting in life is there are people that are the most naturally intelligent people on the planet, and they're like the dumbest people in the world. Isn't that true? I'm amazed how sometimes I talk to my parents when I talk to my mom. It's like my mom has some very intelligent relatives in her family, and I'm just amazed that my mom will tell me about conversations she has with them, and my mom's a very conservative person. My mom reads her Bible every day. She's a saved person. She reads her King James Bible every single morning, and so my mom, she has a lot of wisdom, and I'm just amazed. She talks to people that are by levels of IQ on past the genius level, and then I hear the things that they say. I'm just thinking, that's like the dumbest thing ever. Isn't that true? It's amazing. As a Bible-believing Christian, when you read the Bible, you get all this wisdom, and then you hear other people, and some people are very smart, and then you hear them talk, and it's like, how is it that you could ace a test that very few people could, and then practically speaking, there's no wisdom, but it exists, doesn't it? Look at all these smart, these geniuses, the Richard Dawkins, the Stephen Hawking, and it's just like these are the dumbest people on the planet, and people think they're so smart. It's like, yeah, they might be able to pass a physics test or a calculus test, but practically speaking, it's like they're the dumbest people in the world, and the wisdom of the world is truly foolishness to God. It ought to be foolishness to us as well. I hear the wisdom of the world. It sounds like foolishness to me. It sounds like stupidity when I listen to it. Here's what it says in Proverbs 30, verse 7. Two things that are required of thee. Deny me them not before I die. Remove far from me vanity and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with food convenient for me. Lest I be full and deny thee and say, Who is the Lord? Lest I be poor and steal and take the name of my God in vain. So it says here in these verses, you know, God, just give me what I need. I don't want to be rich. I don't want to be poor. Just give me what I need. And the danger in being poor is you could get bitter against God, take the name of the Lord in vain, it says here, and of course, if you're rich, you can forget about God. You know what the problem is with the United States of America in 2024? They are too rich. They've forgotten God. I believe the United States was really a beacon of light in the world if you were to go back in time at one time. I do believe. I mean, they're a country that sent out missionaries all over the world. Great churches were started. They did a lot of great things. And there's the remnants of that. But if you were to look at the United States today and you were to go soul winning with me in the United States, let me explain to you how soul winning works for about an hour and a half door to door. I mean, sometimes you barely even get a word out. Hello, my name is... They don't care because they're rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. That's what you see with rich countries. I mean, people just are not interested. Isn't that true in our country? We go soul winning, and when we go soul winning in rich areas, how likely is it that someone's going to get saved? They're just not interested. It's like, man, I want to go soul winning any other place. I just want to go where people listen. But rich people often, guess what? They're just not interested in the things of God. And here's the reality. Although all of us would probably want more money than we had, for probably most of us that wouldn't actually be a good thing. Because if we did have more money, we could easily start to forget about God. That's just the way that it usually works. And what the writer of Proverbs is saying, what Solomon's saying is, hey, just give me food convenient for me. Right? Let's go back to 1 Kings 3. 1 Kings 3. 1 Kings chapter 3. And the Bible says in 1 Kings 3, verse 11, And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies. Behold, I have done according to thy words. For I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart, so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honours, so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. Now, I want to be clear that serving God does not guarantee you that you're going to have money. It does not mean that you're going to become rich, nor do I think that's a good thing for most people. But I will say this. I do believe that if you put God first in your life, He's going to provide some of the necessities that you put in a back burner in order to serve God. Doesn't the Bible tell us that in the Sermon on the Mount? Put God first. Seek ye the kingdom of God first, and all these things shall be added on to you. Now, obviously, there are responsibilities we have in this life. But if you put this secondary and say, You know what? Reading the Bible is more important to me. Serving God is more important. Church is more important. So many is more important. I do believe that God will provide the other things. But you've got to put God first. It's very easy to just kind of put God in the back burner or make excuses saying, Well, I'm going to do this, and I'm not going to be able to go to church, I'm not going to be able to read the Bible, but I'll still try to serve God when I can. It's like, No, put God first. That's what the Bible says. And I'll tell you what. Wisdom in serving God is more valuable than money when you're not serving God. And I'll tell you what. All of us, we naturally feel like money is going to fix our problems and we're going to be happy. But is that really true? Because I find it interesting. I go soloing in certain areas, and I see, you know, we try to go everywhere, both here and in Pampanga, but of course we try to go to the more receptive areas. And I've gone to a lot of neighborhoods that are not very financially well off. They're really struggling financially. And yet it seems like the kids have as much fun as any other kids in this world. They're playing and having a great time. I mean, they don't have the fancy video games. They don't have the fancy whatever. But they seem to be having a great time. It seems like money doesn't buy happiness. I look at celebrities in this world that hate their lives. It just seems like maybe money is not the answer. Maybe being rich is not what it's all cracked up to be. When I was in college, a lot of people would say that they wanted to do this. You'd ask, What do you want to do for a career? You've got to realize, when I was in college a while ago, as long before Donald Trump was the president, nobody ever thought he was going to become the president. He had this reality TV show and he's a rich person. A lot of people. What do you want to do when you graduate college? I want to be Donald Trump. A lot of people said that. A lot of people. I remember there was somebody that I got saved. And, you know, he was a cousin of my friends, of my best friends that I had. And, you know, it was sad because he got saved, but he still just had this millionaire mindset. I just want to be rich and money and money and money. And I'm just thinking, Man, is this what life is about to you? Because, I'll tell you what, I'm not a millionaire. I'm nowhere close to being a millionaire, but I'm happy. I'm happy serving God. And I'll tell you what, it doesn't matter how much money you have, guess what, you still put on your pants one leg at a time, as they say. I'm wearing a shirt, they're wearing a shirt. Now this suit is not worth like 100,000 pesos. I don't know what 100,000 pesos suit would be. I don't have these bright alligator red shoes or whatever. I don't have that sort of money that Pentecostal preachers have. But I'm happy. I mean, I wake up, I get food that tastes good. I mean, almost most food tastes good. I'm happy I get to read the Bible. I mean, I get to serve God and God's blessing to the wife and three kids. I mean, my life is great. And then you see a lot of people that are rich and they have everything the world has to offer. They're miserable. They're not happy. Now, of course, everybody puts a smile on their face in public to act like they're happy. But if they're so happy, why are they drinking their lives away? Why are they getting drunk? I like my life, so guess what? I like to remember what happens in my life. It's like, well, what did you do last night? Man, I can't remember. I just got drunk and then something happened. Well, I'm sorry, I enjoy my life, so I don't need to get drunk to be happy. I don't need to do cocaine or heroin or whatever to get happy. I'm happy just eating food, spending time with my family, working, and just going to sleep like a normal person, waking up, reading the Bible. I'm happy, right? Don't ever think that we're missing out by not having all this money in the world. 1 Kings 3. And where was I? What verse am I on? 1 Kings 3, look at verse 13. And I've also given thee that which thou hast not asked, with riches and honors, that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants. Now, point number one, we saw the recognition of wisdom. Solomon recognizes that he needs wisdom. Point number two, we see the reality that most people do not realize they need wisdom. They want money. They want fame. They want power. They want a long life. And look, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with wanting a long life. I hope I live a long life. You know, obviously all of us would probably like to have more money than we have, but the thing is, is that what your life is about? You better look and put God first in your life, rather than worrying about the other things, right? Point number three, we see the revelation of wisdom. And here's what we see in this story, that Solomon ends up being wiser than anybody else, and there's a revelation because it's manifest. Everybody sees it. Everybody knows it. And what I'm telling you is that if you set your heart to read the Bible and serve God, there will be a revelation that you're just wiser than the average person. You're going to be smarter, and you might not score the same on some complicated science test as them, but you're just going to be, practically speaking, a lot more intelligent, a lot wiser. You're going to understand the world we live in. It's just going to make sense, whereas smart people, sometimes it goes over their head. They don't get stuff, right? 1 Kings 3, verse 16. Then came there two women that were harlots under the king and stood before him. And the one woman said, Oh my Lord, I and this woman dwell in one house, and I was the lover of a child with her in the house. And the Bible says they're harlots. It's saying they're prostitutes. They sell their body to make money. And you know what often happens when people sell their bodies to make money? They get pregnant. Happens all the time, right? Whether it be in Ermita or in Anhale Sin City, it's like this often happens. The women get pregnant, and then they end up having a child. And what also often takes place, because it doesn't really seem like there's a father in the picture, oftentimes there's no father in the picture. It's like they end up getting pregnant, and then all of a sudden the person flies back to Europe, the U.S. or Australia, and you're left with a baby. That's the reality, right? Verse 18, And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also, and we were together. There was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. And this woman's child died in the night, and because she overlaid it. So she's saying that she basically suffocated her child by rolling over on her child during night. And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I arose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead. But when I considered in the morning, behold, it was not my son which I did bear. And the other woman said, Nay, but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No, but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king. Now, here's the thing. This is a very, very, very important judgment that Solomon's going to make. I mean, there's a child whose life is at stake in terms of, does the mom get the child or not? And obviously these women lived a very ungodly profession that they had, but there's still the love of a mom inside of the mom of this child, and she deserves to raise that child, right? Now, my opinion is that at this point in the story, Solomon probably is already pretty sure that he knows who the mom is. You say, why is that? Because maybe the average person doesn't pay that much attention, but someone as wise as Solomon probably is paying attention to nonverbal communication, the tones of the voice, how they react. I mean, this is something, honestly, I never really studied too much before I was a pastor, before I was an evangelist, but I started to study techniques that they have to spot deception and things like this, and there are a lot of clues, and I'm sure Solomon was much better at it than me, so I'm pretty sure he's kind of already aware, but at the same time, it's a big judgment, so you cannot just go off what you're 90% sure is true, right? He probably already knows at this point, and I can say this, I don't think for a second that Solomon was going to allow this to happen, the child to be divided, as we're going to see, but what he also realized is that inside of the heart of the actual mom is love, and inside of the heart of the mom who accidentally killed her child, she's envious, she's bitter, she's upset, and the idea is he's going to bring a situation up unexpectedly and out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, so basically the emotions are going to come out, and what he's assuming is this mom that's lying about it, or this one who accidentally killed her child, the emotions are in there of bitterness, and she basically, if I'm miserable, I want her to be miserable also. Isn't this true with people that are drunks? Why is it that someone that is a drunk must have everybody else drink alcohol? I haven't been in these settings for over a decade, but when I was in college, when I first got saved, I wasn't drinking, but I was hanging out with people that drank because they were my friends at the time, and it's like, they're always trying to get you to drink. I was like, I don't want to drink, and they're always trying to get, it's like, why can't I just be here without drinking? But since they're miserable, guess what they want? They want everybody to be miserable. That's just the way that it is, right? This is why the LGBT, they want everybody to be like them because they're the most miserable, disgusting people on the planet, and they hate their lives, and they want everybody else to hate their life too. They act like they're happy, they're not happy. They hate their lives, right? Verse 23, Then said the king, The one sayeth, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead, and the other sayeth, Nay, but thy son is the dead, and thy son is the living. And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king, and the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other. So he says, okay, I don't know who the mom is, so let's just divide the child in two and give each mom one half the child. Well, obviously, this is not an adequate solution because that basically means neither one gets the child, right? I don't believe that Solomon would have ever let this happen, but he realizes, you know what, I believe I can get the truth to come out of her mouth. And he gets it because notice what it says in verse 26. Then spake the woman, and ask yourself this as a parent, okay? Put yourself in this situation as a mom. Put yourself in this situation as a father. Let's say, for example, your child had one of two options, to be killed or to be given to somebody else. What would you choose as a parent? Give the child to somebody else. That'd break your heart as a parent, but no, I wouldn't let my child be killed, right? That's how you would feel as a parent. And what would you do in this situation? You know, you'd probably stop and say, no, no, don't do that, never mind. They can have the child. Isn't that what you'd do? That's what I would do. That's what the mom actually does. Because it says here, Then spake the woman, whose the living child was unto the king, for her vows yearned upon her son. She has the love of a mom inside her heart, and she said, oh my Lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it, but the other said, let it be neither mine nor thine, but divided. Is there any mom that would say, yeah, just divide the child, but it shows what is actually inside that other woman's heart. She's bitter. She's upset she accidentally killed her child. She's envious, and it's like, if I'm not going to be happy, I don't want anybody else to be happy. Now, this is a wicked attitude to have. Look, if God blesses somebody else, and your life is tough, be happy for other people. Rejoice with those that rejoice, even if you're not in a moment of rejoicing. Be happy for other people. But out of the normal person, you want other people to be miserable if you're miserable. And she says, just divide the child. And of course, Solomon at this point knows, okay, I realize this is not the child of this woman because she wouldn't let the child be killed. Right? But this other woman who said, give the child away, this must be the mom. And it says in verse 27, Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. She is the mother thereof. And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged, and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment. What do we see? We see that everybody sees this revelation of this wisdom. It's like, man, he figured it out. I would have never realized what to do. And they see the wisdom. What I'm saying is, in your life, if you serve God and read the Bible and memorize the Bible, you're going to have more wisdom than the average person out there. I mean, the average person out there just kind of goes along with whatever they're told. They don't actually have any wisdom. They don't think for themselves. They have no idea. But if you're reading the Bible, guess what? You say, well, you know what? What does the Bible say? What does the Word of God say? Right? Go in your Bible to Proverbs 1. Proverbs 1. Proverbs chapter 1. I mean, there's a lot of dumb things you can think about that people say, that smart people say. There's a lot of smart people that would tell us there's 187 genders in this world. It's laughable! It's like, what? 187 genders in this world? Here's the wisdom of this world. I mean, it's happening in countries all over the world now. All over the world, men that identify as women are competing in women's sports. It's like, what? Here's what's happening all over the world. Men that are cross-dressers are entering beauty pageants and winning. It's like, what? I'm sorry. Somebody is insane. It's either me or the world. Right? Am I dreaming? I mean, like, am I asleep or something? Is this the world we live in? But it is! What a dumb world we live in! Stupidity! Just the dumbest things! You hear things said all the time, and you're just like, these people are so dumb, and yet a lot of these people are naturally intelligent. Man, they still have the periodic table memorized, and they're like the dumbest people in the world! You're like, what is wrong with these people? How do they have an IQ of 170, and then they sound like they have an IQ of, like, five? It doesn't make any sense, but you know what it's called? They don't have any wisdom. They have no wisdom at all. And, you know, what it is sometimes is not only do they not have the wisdom from God, because a lot of people don't have this wisdom, but they have all the wisdom of the world, which is, like, the opposite of the Bible, and they're filled full of foolishness, and they think they're really smart, and then you hear them talk, and you're like... I'm sorry. This is, like, the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life. You know, I'll give you an example of this, and I gave this example yesterday. I said it before in sermons, but the character that people in history, they always try to compare to Solomon, is Buddha. People talk about this ancient wisdom in Buddhism. Right? They'll say, Buddhism is such a smart religion. People say, well, you know, I'm a Christian, but I just study Buddhism for the wisdom. I'm thinking, okay. There's a famous story, and I'm going to abbreviate and shorten this story, you know, because it's like a 10-minute video if you go on YouTube, but it's there. I encourage you to check it out. I start laughing at this story. But about the wisdom of Buddha, and, you know, there's this guy, and Buddha was supposedly, whether he existed or not, or whether it's fabricated, he supposedly had all of his disciples just like Jesus did, and they're listening to him, and people would come up to get wisdom from the Buddha. Right? And this man comes up to get wisdom from the Buddha, and he says, man, he's like, I've been spending my entire life, you know, devoted to my God, and, you know, I've built temples for him. I've spent my money, my time, my energy. I've been telling people, this is the path, but there's been this burning thought inside of my heart and my head. Is God real? I mean, maybe he's not real. Maybe I'm wasting my life. And then Buddha said, no, my friend. God is not real. Thirty minutes later, another guy comes up to him, and he says, I've been an atheist my whole life. I've been telling people there is no God. You're wasting your life, but I've had this burning thought inside my heart and my mind that maybe there is a God. Maybe I'm wrong. And he said, Buddha, can you tell me, you know, is there a God? And he says, yes, my friend, there is a God. And then his followers are like, what? And one of them said, he's like, but wait a minute. You told this person over here that there is no God, and you told this other person that there is a God, and then Buddha said, I told them what they needed to hear. And that's the end of the wisdom of the Buddha. That's the end of the video. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life. Like, what are you talking about? It's like, hey, does brother so-and-so own a dog? I tell one person yes, I tell another person no. I told them what they needed to hear. That's stupid. And yet that's the wisdom of the world. That's what 500 million people in this world are studying, Buddhism. And then there's Christians, so-called, that are studying Buddhism, and let's just do yoga and medication and get all this wisdom that's out there. Look, if you want the wisdom that is actually out there, read the Bible. The true wisdom. This is foolishness, the wisdom of the world. Right? Now, you're in the Bible in Proverbs 1, and you know what, this doesn't really tie into the sermon at all, but I was trying to figure out how to fit it in, so I'm just going to go off and tell a story, okay? As a pastor, I have a right to do that from time to time. So I want to tell you a story from something that happened yesterday. Brother Dante was at the church yesterday, so you can confirm this, about this guy that got kicked out of church, okay? Everybody in Pampanga was excited because they've never seen it before. I mean, for me, it's just like, well, we've had this here, but it wasn't a regular member. They were there for their second time, but they came like last Saturday. And they came for the first time, and they were a strange, strange person. Right? I mean, is that not true, Brother Dante? They were a weird person. All of us as moms and fathers were like, you know, I saw my wife during there, and she's like, all the children are like right there, like, I'm not letting our children out of our sight, right? This guy was strange. Like, he had on his shirt something. He would press this button. It would light up. He's like, I'm Iron Man. And this is an old man, and it's like, I'm sorry, but I've never watched The Avengers. I don't, you know, it doesn't impress me. It's like, look at this light that shines up. Woo, I'm Iron Man. It's like, okay? Right? And that's just the tip of the iceberg. He's a very, very strange guy. But he came to church last week because he met us out soul winning, and he said, I'm going to visit your church. And then he visited a church. He visited, you know, last Saturday, eight days ago. He visited a church, and somebody gave him the gospel after service. They talked to him for a while. Does not believe in the resurrection. Does not believe the Bible's the word of God. Does not believe that Jesus is God. He's raised I and C, and he seems to have a mix of about everything inside of his head. Because he said he visits like every religion. It's like, okay? And, you know, while someone from our church, I wasn't there when they were given the gospel. They were given the gospel, and, you know, he makes this joke because the kids are, you know, running around being noisy. I mean, it's after the service. It's not even during the service. So the kids are having fun and everything like that. And he said, man, the kids are being really noisy. He's like, you know, I might have to shoot them. It's like, what? Now, I wasn't there when he said that. But it's just like, what? Right? It's like when Vice Pong, he makes these like very inappropriate jokes, and then he's like, oh, ha, ha, ha. You know, it was a joke. I'm sorry. It's like, well, a normal person doesn't have that inner, into their heart or their mind. That's weird. And this guy was already a strange guy. And during the church, before the gospel was being given to him, there was like this one kid at the church, and he kept like touching him, touching his shoulder and everything. It wasn't my child. Otherwise, he'd be like, hey, dude, you know. But it was still just like, and then it was like right before the second service. You know, we have a ten minute break just like here. And, you know, there's like a row with like one family. And he was kind of in between like the family. And he had like the wooden box that Brother Ehrman made. And he's like playing with the shapes. And it's like, hey, we're having church. It's like, can you put away the circles and the squares? I think that wooden cube is like amazing. But as a grown man, it's like we're about to start church, and he's playing with it, and he's not letting the other kid play with it. It's like, what is wrong with you, right? And so after the service, you know, the person gave him the gospel. And, you know, he obviously didn't get saved. He doesn't believe Jesus is God. He talked to him for a while. And, you know, afterwards, you know, they told me how it went. And he said, yeah, he made this joke about how, you know, the kids are being noisy, you know, that, you know, we might have to shoot them. We might have to kill them. I'm just like, excuse me? And I was like, I was trying to figure out last week, how are we going to deal with this? Because I was thinking, I don't want this guy coming back to church. I mean, he obviously heard the gospel for like an hour, and he didn't get saved. And he made a joke about killing the kids. It's like, I'm sorry, I have three kids. It's like, I'm not going to put the life of my kids at stake. But I was like 95% sure he would not come back. And then he came back yesterday. I was thinking, you've got to be kidding me. Because usually, you know, it's just better to let problems resolve themselves, because usually they do. You know, then all of a sudden, he came back for the second service, right before the announcements and everything. So I'm thinking in my head, you know, well, what am I going to do? You know, how am I going to preach on something? What am I going to do? And so I'm looking at my notes and everything. And here's the thing. The reason why I'm adding this story is because yesterday, I just spent like 30 minutes talking about the LGBT to try to preach him out of the room, you know. And so instead, I'm just telling this rabbit story, rabbit trail right now. And when I was preaching on the LGBT, I mean, this guy was like doing gymnastics in his seat. He couldn't sit still. He's like really fidgety, like he's uncomfortable about what I'm saying. So I'm trying to just hit it hard to just get him to go, because I was like, I think this guy might be just a pervert. I mean, is it normal? Have you ever made a joke, I'm just going to kill children? What? I mean, that's not funny. That thought has never entered into my mind. Trust me. I mean, I get frustrated sometimes with the kids being noisy. Never do I think, man, I'm just going to kill them. It's like, what? That's bizarre. Right? And this guy made the jokes, and then afterwards, I just had a couple of guys come with me as I talked to the guy, and I just said, why are you here? You don't agree with what our church teaches. I was like, you don't believe Jesus is God, you don't believe in the resurrection, you don't believe the Bible is the word of God, so why are you here? He's like, well, you know, I'm just kind of interested, just trying to learn what different people teach and stuff like that. And I was like, did you make a joke last week about killing kids? He's like, no, no, no, I would never do that. And then as I pressed it on for a second, he's like, oh, it was just a joke. He's like, the thing is, I watch a lot of comedy. And so, you know, I just made this joke, you know, yeah, I shouldn't have done it, I'm sorry. It's like, yeah, it's like as a father, and the other men that were with me are fathers, I was like, none of us feel comfortable with you around our kids. I'm sorry you're not welcome here anymore. Now here's the thing, a normal person, if they were told you're not welcome, you know what they would do? They would just leave, especially when they don't agree with what the church teaches anyway. And he's like begging to stay. I was like, if you don't believe what our church teaches, why do you want to be here? And look, I don't want you to misunderstand what I'm saying. I am perfectly okay with people coming to our church that do not believe the things we teach, even if they're unsaved, that's fine. I mean, they can hear the word of God, they can get saved, but when you're making jokes about killing kids, it's like, whoa, I'm sorry, that's way, an apology doesn't fix it. I mean, you might step over bounds sometimes the joke and say you're sorry, but when you're this far over, you say you're sorry, it's still like, why did you say that? Excuse me? Right? And so I told him that, and then all of a sudden, it's like when I'm telling this that I'm sorry, but you're not welcome here. I was like, you have to go somewhere else. Then all of a sudden, he starts bringing up repentance of sins. And he's like, well, your friend last week told me that all you have to do to go to heaven is believe on Jesus. You have to repent of your sins to go to heaven. I was like, well, that has nothing to do with conversation, but yeah, that's what we believe, that it's by faith alone. You don't have to repent of your sins. And he's like, well, what about all the verses about repentance in the Bible? And I was like, and look, Brother Dante was there. You can ask, this is how the conversation went, if I'm remembering everything correctly. He's like, what do you want me to do? You want me to cut all the places in the Bible that talk of repentance out of the Bible? And I said, well, here's the thing. You can do whatever you want, just not at our church. Do whatever you want. Do, you know, the karate chops to your Bible. I don't care. Whatever weird things you want to do. I'm telling you, during the service, this guy acted so strange. When I was preaching, literally yesterday, Brother Dante was on the front row and this guy was toward the back. Literally, Brother Dante, when he saw this guy show up, he just turned around and looked at the guy the whole time because we don't trust this guy. This guy was a weirdo. And then all of a sudden, he's like, man, he brings up Ray Comfort. He's like, your friend said Ray Comfort's false. He's like, he's a great man of God and all this stuff. I was like, look, you're not welcome here. And finally he went. Right? And look, I try to be at peace with all people, especially if you never know if somebody might have a weapon or whatever. I mean, you do have to be wise as a serpent because you just never know. And I hope this guy never comes back. And this has nothing to do with his hermit. But yesterday, yesterday I went on a rabbit trail about the LGBT to try to get rid of this guy. So instead, I'm just going on a rabbit trail to talk about this guy that we got rid of. So I guess I used valiance. I guess I used wisdom. I don't know. He's gone. That's what counts. It's just like, I mean, he was a very, very strange guy. I'll say this. Every single person in the church was very happy I got rid of him. That kind of tells you all you need to know. I mean, weird, weird guy. And I didn't even think about it. I mean, Brother Dante mentioned it to me. Like, his son actually brought it up as a possibility because I wonder, why is he doing this Iron Man thing? And then it was a good point. Well, maybe he does that to attract kids because like, hey, look at this, kids. And then they think it's, like, really cool. And it's like, but literally, after he came eight days ago, like, literally a lot of the men said, you know, I think that guy's a homo. Like, he gave off a lot of vibes and he did a lot of weird things. And it's just like, yeah, I don't want that guy coming back. You know, we were talking about what if he does come back. I didn't think he was going to come back. And it's like, right after the service, it's like, right when the prayer is done, it's like, all right, come with me. And then we just, all right, can you come outside and talk to me? And it's like, leave our church. I did it in a nice way because you never know whether someone could have a weapon or get mad or whatever. So, but it's like, you know what? We care about the kids at our church. We want to keep them safe. And I'll tell you what, this has really nothing to do with the sermon except, you know, as a parent, have some wisdom and realize we do live in a dangerous and scary world. And make sure you take your job as parents seriously. Right? I mean, if you see your kids, like, if you see a grown man obsessed with a kid's toy for 30 minutes and touching kids, it's like, you ought to have a lot of red flags that are going off in your head, like, what is wrong with this guy? Normal people aren't like, hey, look at me, I'm Iron Man. Right? It's like, okay, it's bizarre. I mean, you tell a story like this, it sounds like I'm just making this stuff up. I mean, Dante's my witness. If I'm lying, he's lying, right? So I'm just like, what a weird guy. I'll be honest with you, okay? In the years of our church here in Manila, we have never had somebody this strange visit at our church here. Not a single time have we had anyone even close to this level. We've had some unique people that were kind of strange. No one near this level. Like, this guy was strange, but also, like, in a scary way, like, what's up with this guy? Right? So anyways, Proverbs chapter 1. Proverbs 1. Proverbs 1, verse 1. Proverbs 1, verse 1. The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel, to know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity, to give subtly to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. Verse 5. Proverbs 1, verse 5. A wise man will hear and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels. To understand a problem, the interpretation, the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. This is why I'm saying these false religions, people that follow these religions and really devote it to them, they're fools, because they fill themselves up with stuff that is against what the word of God says. And if you know anything about Buddhism, it is like the biggest religion that says, do not fear God. God is not a God to be feared whether he lives or exists or not. Don't fear him. There's no such thing as a God that we need to fear. That's like their big thing. What's going to be the result? You're going to have the dumbest religion in the world. Why? Because the fear of the Lord is the beginning. It's the beginning. Before you started reading the Bible, you didn't have a lot of wisdom. You might think you did, but I don't think so. Yeah, all of us naturally think that we're very intelligent, but the reality is, no, you're really not. You need God's wisdom, and when people don't read the Bible, you're going to see a lack of wisdom. There's a revelation. There's a difference. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. You hear people in the world talk about stuff, or you hear something in the news, and then you're like, that doesn't even make any sense. What are they talking about? And yet everyone else is like, man, that makes a lot of sense. And you're just like, what? Think of the stupidity. It's like they'll say, well, a baby is not a child until it's born. It's not a child inside the belly. It's like, have you ever seen an ultrasound? It's like, what are you talking about? I mean, it has a head. It has arms and legs. It has all the body parts. What are you talking about? Well, it's not a child until it leaves the belly. What kind of stupidity is that? But that's the wisdom of the world. Foolishness. Go to your Bible to 1 Kings 11. 1 Kings 11. Look, if you're a young person in this room, and you want to be a... wisdom in your life is going to help you be successful. It's going to make you have a better marriage. It's going to make you a better parent. It's going to make you successful in your secular work. It's going to make you be able to get along with people. Having wisdom will greatly, greatly improve your life. And if you're a young person in this room, you say, I want to have wisdom. Here's the thing. Obviously people are born differently. Some people are born naturally more intelligent or better at some things than others. So if you want your mind and your heart to start reading the Bible on a daily basis, there will be a revelation of wisdom that takes place. You'll be a much wiser person, much more intelligent, much more educated. And it's like there might be people like the Richard Dawkins that might have an IQ of 170 or whatever it is, but it's like you hear them talk and they're idiots. But you actually have wisdom that will make you successful in life. Point 1, we see the recognition of the need for wisdom. Point 2, we see the reality that most people don't value wisdom. Point 3, we see the revelation of wisdom. Point 4, though, with Solomon we see the relapse. Because the thing is, regardless of how wise you are right now, you can still go down the wrong road and then just throw it away. Throw away that wisdom. Notice what it says in 1 Kings 11, verse 1. But King Solomon loved many strange women together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zydonians, and Hittites. And so Solomon decides, I don't want to just be married to the daughter of Pharaoh and other wives. Now, look, I'd imagine that the Pharaoh would probably have an attractive wife, which means he probably had an attractive daughter. I'm assuming Solomon's wife, by everyone's standards, would be what a beautiful woman this is, and yet he's not satisfied with it. And it's amazing, sometimes you'll see celebrities and they're married to beautiful people and they still commit adultery. And it's like, what are you doing? It's like your wife's not good enough? Right? Verse 2. Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go into 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, princes, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned away his heart. I mean, this is a thousand. It's like, what? I mean, a thousand women? It's like, what are you doing? A thousand wives. Seven hundred wives, three hundred concubines. And it says in verse 4, 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 for the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milkim, the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father. Now go to Ecclesiastes 2, we'll close up. Ecclesiastes chapter 2. Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. Psalms in the middle of your Bible. Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes chapter 2. And I don't have time to go into it for sake of life, but, you know, Ecclesiastes is written where basically Solomon is in remembrance of the foolishness of his life, of going after all these things of pleasure, and he talks about all the things in chapter 1 that he went after. He's like, I got this, and I got that. I mean, everything the world had to offer as a very rich man, he gave into his heart. Every desire he had, he gave into it, right? And then you get to chapter 2, and it says here in verse 10, chapter 2, verse 10, And whatsoever mine eyes desired, I kept not from them. I withheld not my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor, and this was my portion of all my labor. You know, I would say that, on average, everybody would just say, I would love to be in a situation where everything that I liked with my eyes I could have, like that. It would actually be a bit of a curse. If literally everywhere you went, oh, I like that car, I'll have it. I like that boat, I'll have it. I like that iPhone 74, I'll have it, or whatever. Whatever number iPhone's on, I have no idea, right? That would actually be a curse. It wouldn't actually be a good thing to just have everything that you want. You know why? Because your eyes are not going to be satisfied. I mean, the Bible says the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. We think that if I just had this one thing, I'd be happy, I'd be satisfied, and that would be the end. I'd never need anything else, and yet it's never enough. You see, if I just had a million dollars, and then you would want two million dollars, there's never an end to what the Bible says. Now, here's the thing about this. This is, you know, basically counterintuitive to what you would think in your normal flesh, right? It would seem like money and all these things would buy happiness and make your life great, and in reality that's not true. And Solomon was such a wise person, and yet inside of his head there was that thought, but what if, what if I went down this road? Maybe I'd be happier. And that's what he does. What's the end result of just having everything you want? Verse 17. Therefore I hated life, because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me for all his vanity and vexation of spirit. I mean, I don't think I've preached a sermon called this title. I probably should, though. How to hate your life. And, you know, you men that preach at our church do not steal that sermon title, okay? It was not the wisest thing for me to say that out loud, right? We'll scratch that from the audio recording, right? But legitimately, you want to hate your life, do exactly like Solomon did. You're going to be miserable. That's what we see. Now this doesn't seem like that in our flesh. We feel like we'd be happy, and yet, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with money or getting things, but I'll tell you what. One of the best things you can do for your children sometimes is say no. Can we buy this? No. And look, I like to give my kids nice things, but one of the best things is sometimes saying no. And if they complain about it, you deal with it. You spank them if necessary. You tell them no. Don't be a spoiled brat. Other kids don't have these things. Quit complaining about it, right? Because if we always get everything we want, it's never going to be enough. It amazed me. I remember, I think I've told this story before, and I'll end on this. I had a friend in high school, and I owned my first car when I was like 20 or 21 years old or whatever. My first couple years of college, I would walk to class, and I didn't have a car, which was fine, but I had a friend of mine whose parents were both doctors, and they were very rich. He was my good friend growing up, and I remember, I wasn't really friends with him when we got older, but I remember it was outside of the school, and he was shooting basketball, and he looked very sad, very depressed. And I was like, wherefore look ye so sadly today, right? Of course, I didn't really know the story of Joseph much at the time, so I didn't say that, but he looked very sad. I was like, is everything all right? Are you doing okay? Because this is someone I grew up with. I hadn't been friends with really for a while, but I was thinking, man, did something happen to your family? Because I knew his parents. I knew his sister and all that stuff, and I said, why are you so sad? And he said, well, I turned 16, and my parents bought me this car, and he's just like, he wanted a different car. He wanted to have like a $100,000 car because his parents were rich, and then his parents bought him a brand new car, a brand new car, but it wasn't the car that he wanted. I'm thinking, man, your life is so tough. It's like, you know, I'm walking to school and everything, and then in college I'm walking, and it's like you get a brand new car, but it's not enough, but here's the thing about this. He was my good friend growing up, but I can tell you this. It's like his parents always gave him everything that he wanted in life. They figured, because here's the thing. You know what his parents did? They worked a lot of hours. They were very rich. They had very successful jobs, and the mindset, I believe, probably from his parents were, hey, you know, we're not able to spend as much time. We'll just buy nice things for our kids, and then, you know, what's the result? We'll be very close to them. You know what? If you want to, you already have your child's heart from birth. Do you realize that? Your children already love you from when they're born. You know what? My son, Zeph, and my son, Ezra, I'm sure, in another year or two, you know what they want to be when they grow up? They want to be daddy. That's what they want. They want to be like me. Guess what my daughter wants to be like? She wants to be like my wife. And that's what your kids want to be like. And it's like you naturally have their hearts. And, yeah, is it nice to buy nice things for your kids? Of course. You know, it's a nice thing to get nice things for your kids if they can, but don't think that that is the key to winning their heart or to having a good relationship with them. That's not. If all you do is just give them, never spend any time, just give them really expensive things. It's like they're going to grow up and hate you. That's just the way that it is. And even with Solomon as a grown adult, he does everything he wants and he hates life. And this was the wisest man in the world. It's like when I read the stories, I don't know, maybe if you're like me or like this, I don't know, I read these stories and then there's a part of me that wants the story to change, you know? Where it's like, don't do it this time. Solomon, just make the right choice. And then it's like you see them just destroy their lives. And, of course, these are stories that actually happen, but here's the thing. We live in the present. And you might be in situations of these sorts of opportunities. Do not destroy your life. You need God's wisdom and you need to keep God's wisdom. And I'll tell you what, it doesn't just automatically stay there. You better make sure you're reading the Bible every single day and you have a humble attitude, excuse me, a humble attitude that realizes I don't know everything and if I just lead myself by my own heart and my own emotions and my own thoughts, I will destroy my life. Sometimes we need to just read the Bible where it basically just smacks us in the face and it's like, you know what, I'm wrong. I need to do what God says, right? All of us, regardless of what your position is in life or your responsibilities, you need God's wisdom to be successful. Let's close in word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and just getting to learn from the story of Solomon and help us to use Solomon as an example of what to do and also what not to do, God. Help all of us in this room. Help all the young people in this room start reading their Bibles regularly and memorize the Bible and start getting the wisdom that is only found in your book, God. And help us that maybe have read the Bible or maybe are older in our faith, help us to continue to just go to you and pray and ask for wisdom in our lives and read the Bible and memorize the Bible, God. Help us to keep that with us. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.