Author: Randall Smith

I sat next to them at a banquet. They smiled often but said little, even to each other. I tried, without being noticed, to observe the two of them together. They had the reputation of being the happiest senior couple ever! They glanced to each other, smiled, and even giggled a bit. They shared whole messages with their eyes. What a joy! I wondered about their secret. I wondered how people together for fifty or sixty years could have such a relationship. What was their secret? Last week we looked at what God said he wanted from Solomon, and noted that the obedience was just a means to a greater end – an intimate and personal relationship with him. How does someone get that? There is a secret that the text quietly passes to those who will look carefully for the “how” of the relationship.

Key Principle: When you have a vibrant private side to your walk, God will open public blessing!

The Public Side of His Life (7:51-8:21)

1. Followed through on the work God entrusted to Him (7:51a)
2. Put the treasures into God’s work in respect to His father’s wishes (7:51b).
3. Assembled the team together to complete to serve the Lord (8:1-4, 6-9)
4. Extravagant in giving (8:5)
5. Saw God’s blessing on the work (8:10-11).
6. Proclaimed God’s faithfulness (8:12-21).

The Private Side of His Life (8:22-53)

1. Unashamed: he stood before the Lord (8:22). In Matthew 10:33-34 Jesus said that the disciple that denied Him was no disciple at all, and could expect Jesus to deny the relationship later.

2. Personal in approach: Lord God of Israel, There is no God like you in Heaven or earth (8:23). Jesus began His prayer, Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be your name. Hallowed is from the word agios, or holy, which means UNLIKE ANY OTHER. Acknowledging the way God is distinct from men and all other living beings is important to Him. We must understand He is not ordinary, He is precious and alone as the God of the Universe. The angels before His throne cry out endlessly of His distinctiveness. If it is important to Him, it must be important to us. Do not say “Oh my God!” meaninglessly. Do not use His titles in explitives. He is unlike any other, and above every other. He is supreme.

It is the same as Jesus taught:

Principle #1 We are instructed to approach Him with tenderness: Jesus taught His disciples to pray “Our Father” since we are adopted into that royal family.

Principle #2 We are instructed to approach Him with reverence: “In heaven” Jesus reminds us here that we are not approaching an earthly father that is limited in his capabilities or his presence.

Principle #3 We are instructed to approach Him with respect: “Hallowed be Your name” – our Father is free from all impurities. He is totally separated from all evil. It was John MacArthur who pointed out “Praying this prayer places some demands on ourselves… it is a risky prayer:

I cannot say “our” if I’m living only for myself.
I cannot say “Father” if I don’t try to act like His child.
I cannot say “Who art in Heaven” if I am laying up no treasure there.
I cannot say “hallowed be Thy Name” if I am not striving for holiness.
I cannot say “Thy Kingdom come” if I’m not doing my part to hasten that day.
I cannot say “Thy will be done” if I am disobedient to His word.
I cannot say “in earth as it is in Heaven” if I’m unwilling to serve Him here and now.
I cannot say “give us this day our daily bread” if I’m not relying on Him to provide.
I cannot say “forgive us our debts” if I harbor a grudge against someone.
I cannot say “lead us not into temptation” if I deliberately place myself in its path.
I cannot say “deliver us from evil” if I haven’t put on the whole armor of God.
I cannot say “Thine is the Kingdom” If I am not loyal to the King as His faithful subject.
I cannot attribute to Him “the power” if I fear what people may do.
I cannot ascribe to Him “the glory” if I am seeking honor only for myself.
I cannot say “forever” if my life is bounded completely by the things of time.”

3. Relational in approach: Keeping your covenant by showing hesed to your faithful ones (8:23). Solomon knows that God’s mercy is beyond anything that can be understood in normal human experience. His trustworthiness is unimpeachable. He gives and gives and gives the undeserving and even often the unappreciative. He blesses the unloving and cares for those that don’t even care for themselves well. He is the ultimate caregiver to His people. He recalls even the specific nature of caring for promises he made to David in the time of Solomon (8:24).

4. Intercessory in approach: Solomon knows the relationship exists, and he is not afraid to call on God to ASK OPENLY on behalf of the needs of those around him, particularly those in his care.

A) Asked God to continue to keep His promises (8:25-26) regarding the throne and succession. He recalls the Word God spoke about obedience as a prerequisite for blessing. Having obeyed, he calls on God to fulfill His Word!

B) Recognized how vast God is (8:27), yet asked God to stay very personal (8:28 30). He does not presume to house God in aTemple. He acknowledges God’s awesome greatness, but asks that God continue to show Himself as a personal God, watching over Jerusalem’s Temple night and day.

C) Asked God to stand over the nation and reveal injustice (8:31-32). Solomon knew that men in the kingdom would sin and cheat each other. He wisely called on God to pick out the righteous and uphold them. “Russian reformer and Nobel laureate Alexander Solzhenitsyn said in an address to Harvard University: “We have placed too much hope in politics and social reforms, only to find out that we were being deprived of our most precious possession-our spiritual life.”

D) Asked God to reconcile the confessing sinners (8:33-34). Solomon knew that his people would hide their sin as Aachen did under Joshua, and defeat would come as a result. He asked that God would regard the people’s repentance and turn His face back to them.

E) Forgive the repentant nation when they recognize the penalty (8:35-36). He knew that God would have to send hardship on the people to get their attention when they were not listening, but asked that God would turn His face back when they cried out to Him.

F) Hear the downtrodden and plague ridden (8:37-40). When war didn’t capture the attention of the people, perhaps an illness would. Solomon wanted God to open his ears to the hearts of those whotruly repented before Him. He held God to no obligation to help those who did not repent!

G) Hear the stranger that comes to you by the testimony of the nation (8:41-43). He anticipated others that were not of his nation coming to God, and thoughtfully asked to be a nation of testimony, with a promise of God to offer.

H) Hear when the nation goes to war (8:44-45). He asks God to regard the people when they are on the field of battle if they turn their face to the Temple to pray for help.

I) Hear when the nation disobeys and is taken captive, and return them home again
(8:46-52). The longest part of the prayer anticipates another eventual captivity of the people as God promised in the end of Genesis they would be in Egypt. Solomon asked God to look down the road and yet forgive for sin not yet committed. This was not to escape responsibility, but to root the people’s enduring relationship with the land and the Temple.

5. Promise oriented (Rested in the Word – 8:53). Solomon ended on the note of God’s pattern of separating His people, and His enduring promise to care for them. He ended with the phrase he began with, “O Lord God”. The only thing that makes prayer powerful is the God that hears it! “Roger Simms, hitch hiking his way home, would never forget the date–May 7. His heavy suitcase made Roger tired. He was anxious to take off his army uniform once and for all. Flashing the hitchhiking sign to the oncoming car, he lost hope when he saw it was a black, sleek, new Cadillac. To his surprise the car stopped. The passenger door opened. He ran toward the car, tossed his suitcase in the back, and thanked the handsome, well-dressed man as he slid into the front seat. “Going home for keeps?” “Sure am,” Roger responded. “Well, you’re in luck if you’re going to Chicago.” “Not quite that far. Do you live in Chicago?” “I have a business there. My name is Hanover.” After talking about many things, Roger, a Christian, felt a compulsion to witness to this fifty-ish, apparently successful businessman about Christ. But he kept putting it off, till he realized he was just thirty minutes from his home. It was now or never. So, Roger cleared his throat, “Mr. Hanover, I would like to talk to you about something very important.” He then proceeded to explain the way of salvation, ultimately asking Mr. Hanover if he would like to receive Christ as his Savior. To Roger’s astonishment the Cadillac pulled over to the side of the road. Roger thought he was going to be ejected from the car. But the businessman bowed his head and received Christ, then thanked Roger. “This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.” Five years went by, Roger married, had a two-year-old boy, and a business of his own. Packing his suitcase for a business trip to Chicago, he found the small, white business card Hanover had given him five years before. In Chicago he looked up Hanover Enterprises. A receptionist told him it was impossible to see Mr. Hanover, but he could see Mrs. Hanover. A little confused as to what was going on, he was ushered into a lovely office and found himself facing a keen-eyed woman in her fifties. She extended her hand. “You knew my husband?” Roger told how her husband had given him a ride when hitchhiking home after the war. “Can you tell me when that was?” “It was May 7, five years ago, the day I was discharged from the army.” “Anything special about that day?” Roger hesitated. Should he mention giving his witness? Since he had come so far, he might as well take the plunge. “Mrs. Hanover, I explained the gospel. He pulled over to the side of the road and wept against the steering wheel. He gave his life to Christ that day.” Explosive sobs shook her body. Getting a grip on herself, she sobbed, “I had prayed for my husband’s salvation for years. I believed God would save him.” “And,” said Roger, “Where is your husband, Mrs. Hanover?” “He’s dead,” she wept, struggling with words. “He was in a car crash after he let you out of the car. He never got home. You see–I thought God had not kept His promise.” Sobbing uncontrollably, she added, “I stopped living for God five years ago because I thought He had not kept His word!” [J. Kirk Johnston, Why Christians Sin, Discovery House, 1992, pp. 39-41. www.christianglobe.com/illustrations/prayer]

Don’t Give Up God is Working Out the Answer!

The Fulfilled Life: “The Danger Zone”

The man was clearly blind, with a cane in hand and a dog in tow. I got more and more nervous the closer he came to the edge of the cliff. He walked up to it as though he could see. Did he know how dangerous the place was? I almost couldn’t watch…but I had to see if he would stop before he got to the end of the earth and toppled downward. I was afraid and nervous as he walked up quickly, seemingly un-phased by the danger… Do you know people who are living on the edge? What does the Word teach us this life looks like? What are the danger signs we should read? Are there any safeguards we can erect to protect us from living beyond the wise place?

Key Principle: There are symptoms that we must recognize to keep ourselves from plunging downward.

Solomon had a great beginning, but that is just not enough! On a project around the house, a class in school, a job in church or in paying off some bills…. I mean we are out of that starting gate like hungry grey hounds chasing a rabbit…..But time passes and the diet ends, the exercise stops, we fail the class, the job doesn’t get done and the bills are still there. You see, though there is nothing wrong with a good start — it just isn’t enough — is it? Solomon had a great start — a good father, good advice, a good request, he performed as good project, he had a good prayer life and he wrote 3 good books….. But in the end we find the Lord becoming angry with Solomon and tearing the Kingdom from Him, Why? BECAUSE he no longer walked in the ways of the Lord…. “THESE THINGS HAPPENED TO THEM AS EXAMPLES AND WERE WRITTEN DOWN AS WARNINGS FOR US, ON WHOM THE FULFILLMENT OF THE AGES HAS COME.” (I CORINTHIANS 10:11). (Steve Malone, Southeast Christian Church, Orlando, FL)

Symptom One: Basking in Breathtaking Extravagance (The Wow Principle – 9:26-28; 10:4-5, 11-14). Breathtaking extravagance is the process of getting where no one around you has ever been (9:26-28), having what no one around you has ever had (10:4-5), building what no one around you has ever built (10:11-14) to the point that it “takes the breath away” from others (10:5b).

Problem 1. We miss the opportunity to bless the Lord in our extravagance! “I think the message in this story is “Take the BLESSING of God seriously.” Too often we brush everything off. We take it for granted that we live in one of the most prosperous countries in the world. We take it for granted that we have cars to drive and food on the table and a large TV in the living room… we need to respond to God’s blessing the same way the Queen does… We need to say in the words of Ephesians 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” And we need to say in the words of 1 Chronicles 29:12 “Wealth and honor come from YOU! YOU are the ruler of all things! Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name!” (Pastor Marc Axelrod, Peace Evangelical and Reformed Church, Wisconsin)

Problem 2. We forget the lessons that WANT brings to us! The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “It is not good for all your wishes to be fulfilled. Through sickness you recognize the value of health, through evil the value of good, through hunger satisfaction, through exertion the value of rest.”

Symptom Two: Allowing an Unwarranted Reputation (Big Buzz Principle- 10:1,6-7). Allowing an unwarranted reputation is settling for people telling us we deserve what we have. It is believing our own press (10:1,6-7). Solomon was well known in antiquity, and many stories survive of his wisdom: “…the Queen of Sheba that she sent two wreaths of roses to Solomon, one real and the other artificial. To test his reputed wisdom she defied him to detect the genuine from the artificial. Solomon at once directed that some bees be brought into the room. Immediately they flew to the real flowers and ignored the counterfeit.” (Pulpit Helps) Maybe it was true, but it was not deserved. Solomon got what he got because of God’s goodness. He readily admitted later that he was not living the wise way he should have been in Ecclesiastes! There are six Hebrew Wisdom books are divided between three Didactic (teaching) writings and three Devotional (reflective) collections:

Three Didactic
-Proverbs (Mishlai – tapestry of illustrations). Key Thought: The Use of wisdom in life. Key Subject: Fruits of righteousness and unrighteousness.

-Ecclesiastes (Koheleth – from kahal “assemble”; the announcer; Greek: EK is “out of” and KLESIS – “a calling”). Key Thought: Futility of experience and rationalism without revelation. Key Subject: The Way to truth.

-Job: (Job). Key Thought: The place of trials in life. Key Subject: Crucible of testing.

Three Devotional

-Psalms (Tehillim – the range of praises). Key Thought: The place and method of worship. Key Subject: How worship works to draw me into God’s presence.

-Song of Solomon (Shir HaShirim – song of songs). Key Thought: The place of affection and love in life. Key Subject: How God views affection and yearning of heart.

-Lamentations (E-khah- “alas”). Key Thought: Destruction is not the end. Key Subject: the crucible of judgment.

Eight Empty Marks (Vanities) of Life:
1. Human Wisdom – 2:15,16
2. Human Labor – 2:19,21
3. Human envy and rivalry – 4:4
4. Human avarice – 4:8; 5:10
5. Human fame – 4:16
6. Human coveting – 6:9
7. Human frivolity – 7:3,4
8. Human awards – 8:10,14
Solomon showed he tried many things throughout his life that were not wise!

Symptom Three: Trafficking Unlived Advice (Talk the Talk Principle – 10:2-3). Sometimes we give the right advice, but we don’t live the right way at the same time! Trafficking in unlived truth is dangerous, but not uncommon among believers (10:2-3) -Charles Swindoll in his book on Grace puts it this way, “You want to mess up the minds of your children? Here’s how – guaranteed! Rear them in a legalistic, tight context of external religion, where performance is more important than reality. Fake your faith. Sneak around and pretend your spirituality. Train your children to do the same. Embrace a long list of do’s and don’ts publicly but hypocritically practice them privately . . . yet never own up to the fact that its hypocrisy. Act one way but live another. And you can count on it – emotional and spiritual damage will occur.” Charles Swindoll. The Grace Awakening. Dallas: Word Pub., 1990) p.97 -One of the subjects I taught was physical science for learning disabled kids. It was hard to get them motivated to do much at all. One day I showed the class a video about protecting the environment. It explored all the ways that humanity was destroying the earth and the steps we needed to take to save our planet. By the end of the video, half the class was unconscious and the other half well on their way to sleepy land. It irked me so I flipped on the lights and launched into a five-minute tirade about how they should care about this subject and do something about it. At the end of my mini sermon one kid named Sam, who never passed a test the whole year, raised his hand. This was odd. Usually nothing roused Sam from his sleep in class. When called on he asked, “Mr. Smith, do you recycle?” Stammering and trying in vain to save face I had to admit that I did not. With one stupid question Sam nailed my hypocrisy. I’ve often wondered if God didn’t work through that sleepy teenager to teach me a lesson. (Sermon central)

Symptom Four: Reveling in Flattery of Allies (The Golden Tongue Principle – 10:8-10). Your men, your servants, your God… On the surface it all sounded good. Was it true? Reveling in praise for things that belong to you Master to give as He desires is not good (10:8-10).
“Flattery is all right—as long as you don’t inhale.” –Adlai Stevenson Flattery is from the teeth out. Sincere appreciation is from the heart out.- Dale Carnegie Psalm 112:9 says that God has scattered his many blessings all over the world. Instead of looking at another person’s success and saying, “That stinks,” we should say, “Lord, I am thankful that I’m not the only person in the world who has been blessed. I am thankful that you cause the sun to rise upon the evil and the good. I am thankful that you have given us everything we need for life and godliness. I am thankful that we serve a God that didn’t just create the world and walk way. But that we serve a God who is involved with blessing us every day of our lives.” And after we get over the shock of discovering that God has the right to bless people as much as He wants, we should say, “Lord, thank you for what you have done for me personally. Thank you for the privilege of being alive in the United States of America. Thank you for my house and my family and my ministry on this earth. Now I wish I could tell you that Solomon was just as thankful to God as the Queen was. I wish I could tell you that he learned to be grateful for his blessings without getting selfish. (Pastor Marc Axelrod, Peace Evangelical and Reformed Church, Wisconsin) Jesus said that the queen was wise to comprehend God’s goodness for what she saw: “The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.” (Matthew 12:42)

Symptom Five: Glory in Power Consolidation (The Build Up Principle – 10:15-17, 26). Power appears in symbolic ways. When we ready for a war that is not there, we often do so to our own peril. It was not for preparedness that Solomon stockpiled weapons, it was for vanity (10:15-17,26). We get easily caught up in our own visions of glory! Peter Marshall had this proper attitude in prayer: “O God, when I am wrong, make me easy to change, and when I am right, make me easy to live with!” (Tan #2954 epigram) During an operation, an experienced surgeon asked a young intern, “Who is the most important person in this operating room?” The intern (who was taken back by the question) groped for an appropriate answer. He didn’t believe (for a moment) that this mentor was asking (or fishing) for personal compliments, so trying to sound gracious, he replied (giving credit to the other people’s contribution to the team), “I suppose that it would be these nurses who assist you in such an efficient manner.” The surgeon shook his head and said, “No, the most important individual in this room is (not the doctor, the nurses, or the team, but) the patient. (Remember that.)” (Daily Bread 9/29/93)

Symptom Six: Lap up Status Symbols (The “Bling” Principle – 10:18-25). We can get caught up in the status symbols, but we are really masking emptiness (10:18-25). In a 1995 Forbes magazine released an interesting survey of the chances of a person having an extramarital affair with the income level he or she is making. The higher the income bracket you are in, the higher the infidelity level you will face. If a person makes $10,000-20,000, the chances of a person’s heart changing is 33%. If the person makes $20,000-30,000, the percentage is 45%. If the income is $30,000-40,000, 55%. If income is $40,000-50,000, 66%. If $60,000 and above, 70%. (Forbes FYI 1995) People tend to forget where the small pleasures of life and the simple things in life once they make it. Solomon made it big. He was a celebrity, a hit, a showstopper. Traders or spice merchants (1 Ki 10:15), governors of the land (1 Ki 10:15), apes and peacocks (1 Ki 10:22) made its debut in Scriptures and made their way into Israel for the first time. The king lived a life of influence, affluence and opulence. Solomon made a great throne of ivory for himself (1 Ki 10:18), and twelve lions were on the six steps leading to the throne. All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the palace were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver (1 Kings 10:20-21). (Victor Yap, Riverside CMA, California).

A Jewish story tells of Alexander the Great’s presence before the gates of paradise on his journey home after he had conquered the whole world. Seeing that the gates would not open for him, he asked for a token to prove that he was there. All he got was a human eye. Reaching home, he called all his wise men together. “O King,” replied the wise men, “place the eye in the scales and weigh it.” “What for?” asked Alexander. “I can tell you before hand that it weighs but little.” “Do it just the same!” the wise men urged. “In the other half of the scales place a gold piece. Then we will find out which is heavier.” Alexander did as they asked. To his surprise he found that the eye was heavier than the gold piece. He threw into the scales another gold coin – still the eye was heavier. He then threw a whole handful of coins and ordered that all his gold and silver and jewels be thrown in. Still the eye outweighed the treasure. “Even were you to take all your chariots and horses and palaces and place them in the scales, the eye will be heavier.” said the wise men. “How do you explain this?” asked the king. “How is such a thing possible?” “Learn a lesson from all this, O king,” said the wise men. “Know that the human eye is never satisfied with what it sees. No matter how much treasure you will show it, it will want more and still more.” “Your explanation doesn’t satisfy me. Give me proof,” insisted Alexander. “Very well,” agreed the wise men. “Have all your gold and treasure removed from the scales. Then place a pinch of dust in their place and observe what happens.” Barely had Alexander placed a little dust in the scales when they tipped to the other end, for the dust proved heavier than the eye. “Now I understand the meaning of your words and of what was in your minds!” cried Alexander. “So long as man is alive, his eye is never sated, but no sooner does he die when he is as dust! Then his eye loses its impulse and becomes powerless. It can no longer desire.” (Victor Yap, Riverside CMA, California) What can we do to guard against the slide into sin in spite of appearances? We need to be aware and observant that there are symptoms that we must recognize to keep ourselves from plunging downward.

Every year in Alaska, a 1000-mile dogsled race, a run for prize money and prestige, commemorates an original “race” run to save lives. Back in January of 1926, six-year-old Richard Stanley showed symptoms of diphtheria, signaling the possibility of an outbreak in the small town of Nome. When the boy passed away a day later, Dr. Curtis Welch began immunizing children and adults with an experimental but effective anti-diphtheria serum. But it wasn’t long before Dr. Welch’s supply ran out, and the nearest serum was in Nenana, Alaska–1000 miles of frozen wilderness away. Amazingly, a group of trappers and prospectors volunteered to cover the distance with their dog teams Operating in relays from trading post to trapping station and beyond, one sled started out from Nome while another, carrying the serum, started from Nenana. Oblivious to frostbite, fatigue, and exhaustion, the teamsters mushed relentlessly until, after 144 hours in minus 50-degree winds, the serum was delivered to Nome. As a result, only one other life was lost to the potential epidemic. Their sacrifice had given an entire town the gift of life.The people were saved by the sacrifice of others, but equally by the ability of one man to see the symptoms and interpret them in the lives of his villagers before they were lost!

“But YOU PROMISED!” she said from the back seat of the car. Every parent has heard it before! In every agreement there are the claims and promises. In some there is the “fine print”; you know, the part that is so small you need a magnifying glass to read the number 3 font lettering. The fine print reveals the CONDITIONS on which everything else is based. Don’t you really appreciate it when someone makes clear the conditions up front? It settles your expectations!
God never wanted those who follow Him and wait on Him for blessing to misunderstand the real conditions for blessing. Yet it seems the “fine print” has gotten lost in many places that are claiming to dispense God’s blessings on His behalf. Could they have missed the “conditions statement”? Solomon had a unique relationship with God as a King that had pleased God. He was not only a king, but a gifted wise king. Yet, God took special pains over the centuries to record and preserve the messages of God to Solomon. Why?

Key Principle: God has revealed what He truly expects from each of us. It is not a secret or a mystery. He opened the conditions of blessing for any who want to listen to them.

9:1-3 At the time that Solomon did all the projects he intended (building his Palace and the Temple) that the Lord came to speak to Solomon again. God said: “I heard the prayer you offered, and I set aside the Temple as a special place where I invested both My heart and My name (as you asked Me to).”

I. General Pattern: God looks for the believer to produce from their heart a work from Him, based on their call and their gifts. He hears their prayers and He opens to them the supplies that ask for. In this case, God waited for Solomon to use the abilities that He gave him, and put together the projects that were on his heart. He listened to Solomon’s prayers and responded to the needs requested.

9:4-5 “Now concerning the part of your prayer for you and your throne, I want to restate the conditions of blessing. If you walk with integrity (from tawmam: to complete with soundness) of heart, if you walk uprightly (from yawshar: level or plumb), if you perform obediently my engraved unchanging principles (khoke: engravings) and ordinances (mishpatim: judgments), THEN your family hold over the throne will go on without end.”

II. Positive Claims and Promises: God asks believers to walk with two basic requirements: first, that they would live within the boundaries of His timeless truths or principles. Knowing us, God says, if you fail to do so, then hear my judgments on these things, repent, and do what I prescribe to mend the problems. When those things happen, you open the flow of blessing to what you have requested.

9:6-8 “In the event”, the Lord continued, “that you or any son of yours stop following Me (meaning, serve (awvad: labor on behalf of) someone or something other than Me), I will remove the blessing of the land from the people of Israel, remove My special hand of blessing in the operations in the Temple, and I will publicly cause the humiliation of this people to be on the lips of those around them. The Temple will be an astounding ruin that everyone will see and remark about the destruction and the reason for it – turning from Me to other gods.”

III. Protective (Negative) Conditions: God states that when a believer decides that some other goal is more important to work at than those given to him by God (when he was living to please the Lord) then three penalties should be anticipated:

1) Loss of the fruits of promise and blessing from God. In the case of Israel it was the loss of the Promised land. They would not possess the eternal inheritance they were given. They would still have claim to the land, but it would be iused by another people group – not them.
2) Loss of intimate touches in meeting with God – especially in worship;
3) Replacement of shame over the positive testimony of our lives.
God has revealed what He truly expects from each of us. It is not a secret or a mystery. He opened the conditions of blessing for any who want to listen to them.

Responsible living and the Gospel of Grace: Just as our walk began by the energizing work of the Spirit and the miraculous salvation through the cross of Christ, so the walk of the believer continues by empowerment beyond the work of the believer Himself. We must face our responsibilities, that is sure. Yet, we must also admit we cannot be all that God wants us to be apart from increasing more time with Him, yielding more of ourselves to Him, relying more heavily upon His power than ever before. It is not a simple will issue. We have to admit that we aren’t strong enough without the empowering work of His spirit and the cleansing work of His blood. We have to surrender to His desires consciously, or we will walk in our own desires willfully.