KINGDOM CHARACTER-II—1Kings 3:16-28
AKA—Motherhood Potential
!!Take this sermon to the next level by focusing upon every Christian’s potential!!
Attention:
Is God leading you or has the devil been allowed access to your world because of the way in which you approach your potential?
Remember our Background/Context:
YaHWeH had approached Solomon “in a dream by night” saying, “Ask! What shall I give you?”(:5).
King Solomon recognized his own inability to rule properly because he saw himself as “a little child” who did not even know how to go out or come in”(:7). On top of that, he was also taken with & humbled by the sheer numbers of God’s people. Also tied into this was an understanding that Solomon’s charge was to lead God’s chosen people(:8). The expectations/responsibilities upon Solomon were great & he felt their weight.
Therefore in answer to God’s question, Solomon requested “wisdom” from the LORD. Solomon knew he needed “an understanding heart to judge” YaHWeH’s people, that he might be able to “discern between good & evil”(:9). He was concerned that he be able to “judge” the people of God wisely & with equity.
Solomon’s desire “pleased” God(:10) so that He responded by giving Solomon the “understanding”he had asked for along with the personal things he had not considered important—long life, riches, & the life of his enemies(:11-14).
The result & proof of God’s bestowing His wisdom upon Solomon was immediately manifested to everyone as follows in our text(:16-28)...
The events surrounding one of Solomon’s official judgments revealed the motherly potential of a harlot.
A woman’s character reveals her mothering potential.
*How does a woman’s character reveal her potential as a mother?
How does a woman’s character reveal her potential for motherhood?
9 ways in which motherhood/mothering potential is measured.
2—Motherhood/Mothering Potential is manifested in a woman’s...
Approach to TRAGEDY(:17-21)
Explanation:(:17-21)
:17—“And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman & I dwell in the same house; & I gave birth while she was in the house.”
:18—“Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house.”
:19—“And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him.
“What anxiety is caused by little children, how uncertain their lives are, & to how many dangers they are continually exposed. The age of infancy is the valley of the shadow of death; & the lamp of life, when first lighted, is easily blown out. It is a wonder of mercy that so few perish in the perils of nursing.”—M. Henry
:20—“So she arose in the middle of the night & took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, & laid him in her bosom, & laid her dead child in my bosom.”
:21—“And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.”
Mommies must be tough! Personal Tragedy holds potential to either ruin you or make you!
Argumentation:
Prov. 3:21-26—“My son, let them not depart from your eyes-- Keep sound wisdom & discretion; So they will be life to your soul And grace to your neck. Then you will walk safely in your way, And your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down & your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the LORD will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.
Illustration:
Sept. 11, 2001, NY City’s Twin Towers corporate business hubs crumbled to the ground after having been mercilessly attacked by terrorists by hijacking & flying two public passenger planes(filled with innocent civilians) into them—A horrific & senseless scene!/TRAGEDY
My wife(an RN) has never wanted to work in pediatrics because of the prospect of TRAGEDY regarding infants/TRAGEDY
Application:
?Is your Approach to TRAGEDY... of God, or of something else?
?You fulfilling your Motherhood/Mothering Potential?
Such doesn’t necessarily mean that you will become a mother...
But now you can walk with your head held high knowing that you do indeed ‘fit the bill’ in God’s kingdom!
3—Motherhood/Mothering Potential is manifested in a woman’s...
Approach to TRUTH(:16-22)
Explanation:(:16-22)Capacity for/Handling/Ability/Premium
:16—“Now two women who were harlots came to the king, & stood before him.”
:17—“And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman & I dwell in the same house; & I gave birth while she was in the house.”
:18—“Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house.”
:19—“And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him.
:20—“So she arose in the middle of the night & took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, & laid him in her bosom, & laid her dead child in my bosom.”
:21—“And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.”
:22—“Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, & the dead one is your son.” And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, & the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king.”
Mommas never want their children to be liars!
Liars lie about things they shouldn’t be tempted to lie about!
The devil is a liar & slanderer!
“Devil”—diabolov—1) Prone to slander, slanderous, accusing falsely—1a) A calumniator, false accuser, slanderer; 2) metaphorically applied to a man who, by opposing the cause of God, may be said to act the part of the devil or to side with him. Strong—A traducer; specially, Satan.
English=‘Diabolical’
Traducer—To speak badly of or tell lies about(someone) so as to damage their reputation.
Argumentation:
1Tim. 1:8-11—“But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless & insubordinate, for the ungodly & for sinners, for the unholy & profane, for murderers of fathers & murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, & if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.”
Js. 3:13-18—“Who is wise & understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy & self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast & lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy & self-seeking exist, confusion & every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy & good fruits, without partiality & without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
Jn. 8:31-44—“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, & the truth shall make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, & have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, & you do what you have seen with your father.” They answered & said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father--God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth & came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, & the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, & does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar & the father of it. “But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.”
Acts 13:1-12—“Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets & teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, & Saul. As they ministered to the Lord & fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas & Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, having fasted & prayed, & laid hands on them, they sent them away. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, & from there they sailed to Cyprus. And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant. Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas & Saul & sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him & said, “O full of all deceit & all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? “And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, & you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on him, & he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.”
*1Jn. 3:4-11—“Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, & sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, & in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; & he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God & the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,”
“Devil”—diabolov—1) Prone to slander, slanderous, accusing falsely—1a) A calumniator, false accuser, slanderer; 2) metaphorically applied to a man who, by opposing the cause of God, may be said to act the part of the devil or to side with him. Strong—A traducer; specially, Satan.
English=‘Diabolical’
‘Traducer’—To speak badly of or tell lies about(someone) so as to damage their reputation.
Jn. 1:15-17—“John bore witness of Him & cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” And of His fullness we have all received, & grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace & truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Jn. 14:6—“Jesus said to him[Thomas], “I am the way, the truth, & the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Jn. 3:20, 21—“For everyone practicing evil hates the light & does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Jn. 4:23, 24—“But the hour is coming, & now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit & truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, & those who worship Him must worship in spirit & truth.”
Rom. 15:8-13—“Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, & that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: “For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name.” And again he says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!” And again: “Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!” And again, Isaiah says: “There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope.” Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy & peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Illustration:
Selling a used car-truck-motorcycle-boat/It may be tempting for some to call attention to the ‘good’ qualities while avoiding the ‘troublesome problems’/But then the inevitable question comes...“‘Why are you selling it?’/You may be tempted to reply, ‘Oh, I just wanted a new car-truck-motorcycle-boat!’/But the reality is—the truth is—You haven’t ever been able to fix it properly & you’re sick of it!—Its a money pit!/TRUTH
Application:
?Is your Approach to TRUTH...of God, or of something else?
?You fulfilling your Motherhood/Mothering Potential?
Such doesn’t necessarily mean that you will become a mother...
But now you can walk with your head held high knowing that you do indeed ‘fit the bill’ in God’s kingdom!
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Perhaps motherhood is far beyond your reach. Yet you can know with certainty that you are indeed fit for such service to God!
Perhaps motherhood is intentionally out of the picture for you. Perhaps God has other plans for you. Remember, His plan is perfect & tailor made just for you. Don’t hold on to the past but look to those things which God has been pleased to offer you that are available to you now & in the future.
!!Take this to the next level by focusing upon every Christian’s potential!!
Action:
Motherhood/Mothering Potential is manifested in a woman’s Approach to...
2. TRAGEDY(:17-21)
3. TRUTH(:16-22)
1. PERSONAL SIN(:16)
Pt. 2-3 only!presented 05/08/2016am to:
FBC C’belle
206 Storrs Ave. SE(Ave. A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
