1 Kings 10:1-29 (KJV)
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. 2And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. 3And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not. 4And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom, and the house that he had built, 5And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. 6And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. 7Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. 8Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.
Several years ago the Lord directed me to this passage of scripture as it pertains to excellence in ministry. For several weeks at that time we put a strong emphasis on Excellence on raising the bar if you will. Today I want to revisit this passage of Scripture and draw again on the things that the world is looking for when they visit this church or any other church that claims to have something going on with God.
Notice what she saw or spied out, and remember she is the perfect example of a visitor to our church:
I. She noticed the looks of the House.
A. God’s house ought to be taken care of better than our house.
If there is anything that most all of us are guilty of to some degree, it is to treat the Holy House of God as though it was no more important than any other building we spend time at.
B. God’s house ought to look better than our house!
The church ought to look good and smell good and the lawn should be neatly trimmed and the parking lot should be kept clean. Why, because it speaks volumes to those who are looking for a church and it says to the Lord, “We appreciate all that you have blessed us with!” I have driven by churches that are falling apart, the grass is about 2 feet tall, the paints peeled and the structure looks unsafe. If I am the average Joe looking for a place to take my family, I probably will not go there. I’m sorry if that offends you, but, the fact of the matter is, how we take care of the outside is generally a reflection of the inside.
D. I put a challenge out to every one of you today, "Join Me, Marry the church and begin to take a personal interest in keeping this church looking its best!” That’s why we discourage folks from bringing food and drinks into the building; we want this to be a holy place and we want it to look its best for years to come if the Lord should tarry.
II. She noticed that there was good food on the table.
A. Good food!
I have yet to leave a good looking restaurant, full and satisfied because it looked good. It’s not enough to have a beautiful edifice, or awesome facilities. We better make sure that there is some food worth coming back for.
B. Atmosphere!
It is my responsibility to bring the Word of the Lord with every ounce of passion that I can muster up, to preach with all of my mind, soul, body and strength. But if the atmosphere is not right, that word will fall on ground that is not conducive to a move of God, and I will have wasted my time and yours. So it takes more than passionate preaching, it takes prayer teams that have bathed the church in prayer on Tuesday, and Saturday. We all have a part to play in making sure that when cousin Elizabeth comes to visit, she leaves saying, "That was a great place to eat!" , I don’t eat at places that look like a pig pen. The rule of thumb is, before you order your food, go see how clean the bathroom is.
III. The attendance of His ministers is what the KJV says. Two things are seen regarding the Ministers, those who were servants of the Lord.
A. Happy are thy men!
I want to be very candid and speak a word to you that I am more convince than ever is the Word of God for this church! God’s people should be Happy People! If you are disgruntled and irratable, if you are negative and criticle, you are being watched by the queens of Sheba that would come to this church but they won’t come because they heard you the other day at Wal-mart criticising something going on at the church! "Well pastor, I’m just not happy!" Then maybe you need to pray your unhappy little self through and realize that the purpose of the church is not be a glorified nursery to those of us who refuse to grow up but to be a hospital where a hurting world can come to be ministered to. What I’m trying to say as nicely as I can is, "Get your eyes off of man, get your mind off of your trouble and make a decision this morning to let go of your hurts, your pains, your poor little pitiful me mentality and climb up out of that pit the enemy has dragged you down into! This is your day, and victory and joy are your destiny! Be happy saint of God, somebody is watching to see a church that is filled with joy and happiness. How can I be happy with all that’s going wrong in my life? You need to understand that if you’re not happy with you, you will never be happy with me!
Let’s make up our mind to be the happiest saints of God that ever walked the streets of the Parkland! Whistle, sing, smile, and laugh alot, you will get someones attention! We’ve been sad and beat down long enough, it’s time be happy!
B. Seating arrangement of the officers.
Look at verse 8 to see what this means. 1 Kings 10:8 (GW)
How blessed your men must be! How blessed these servants of yours must be because they are always stationed in front of you, listening to your wisdom! That means she took note that the people wanted to set up front. They weren’t slothful about getting to church. "If we are a few minutes late, it won’t hurt a thing."
IV. Their apparel!
She noticed that they dressed their best! If you are going to a job interview, you dare not go to the dirty close hamper and drag out some old rag tag wrinkled shirt and some dirty wrinkled pair of pants and expect to get that job. You know better! But I have been amazed over the years how some folks dress to go spend time in the Home of the King! Come on Pastor, it’s just Church! I might be old fashioned, but I have a little problem dressing better for a job, than I do for church. But I don’t have a suit. I’m not talking about suits! But I don’t have a new dress! I’m not talking about new dresses; I am talking about dressing your best for the King of Glory because He deserves your best! Did you hear that? Your Best! But my good clothes were dirty! Did you know that Sunday was coming? When it is important, we plan for it! Now without a doubt someone will get their feelings hurt, "that pastor over at harvest doesn’t want you to come to church if you don’t have nice clothes!" Hear me well, if you leave here thinking that, you slept through this message. If your best is a pair of jeans and a tee shirt then wear a pair of jeans and a tee shirt! Let me say one more thing about this and then I’ll move on. When you dress your best to go somewhere you are saying this is an important place or I’m going to meet some important person.
V. His cupbearers. This speaks of the neatness of those who served. I believe the world is impressed with church folks who live neat lives. Do you know what I mean by that? People who take care of what we have been given by God. We should take care to make sure that our houses are clean. If you are afraid for anyone to come to your house because you would have to dig to find a place for them to sit, or your car looks like the county landfill, you are sending a message that you are slothful. God’s people should be people of excellence! If you have a humble house in the boondocks, it is important to keep it clean and neat. Do you know that it is proven fact that people who live in a clean environment are healthier. Besides you send a message to those around you when you show respect to God for the gifts that God has given.
VI. She was breathless!
God always honors excellence! The world recognizes and respects the church when our presentation is its’ best. It took her breath away, it caused her to be taken a-back! She was blown away that King Solomon and the people of Israel actually put their best into the House of God! He deserves nothing less. When she saw its’ magnitude and its beauty, she made the choice to pour financial blessings into it. There are some “queens of Sheba” who are ready to bless the work of God. Let’s do our part to show the world that God is worthy of our best, and that we are going to live a life of excellence for the King of Glory!
