A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost 15 August 2021, by Justine Wong.
The scripture readings that day :2 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14 (OT)
Ephesians 5:15-20 (NT)
Good morning everyone. It's been awhile since I worshiped with you all. It is such a joy and honor to share God's words with my KUC family.
For those who may not know me, my name is Justine Wong, and I was the seminary intern at KUC three years ago! Time flies, especially in this pandemic. Our lives are so different from the past. Can you believe we have been wearing a mask for a year and a half now? In an uncertain time like this, let us seek wisdom from the Bible, and learn how we should live.
Let's us first pray. Dear God, thank you for the words and messages you have given us. May we have opening hearts to listen, to ponder and to response. May the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
“How to live wisely?” The New Testament reading today tells us how to live directly.
Ephesians 5:15-16.
15 Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise,
16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil.
Given the prolonged pandemic, extreme weather events and political unrest around the world, we can truly feel that the days are evil. How can we make most of our time? In this passage, there are 3 sets of Dos and Don’ts which teaches us how to live:
Don’ts: As unwise people Be foolish Get drunk with wine
Dos:
As wise people Understand what the will of the Lord is Be filled with the Spirit
So theoretically we know we need to live as wise people, be filled with the spirit and understand the will of the Lord, but how does it look like in real life? Is there any example we can follow?
This leads to the Old Testament reading about the early life of King
Solomon. Not only was he a wise man, he also understood the will of the
Lord. The scripture told us that after King David died, Solomon sat on the
throne of his father; and his kingdom was firmly established. The Lord
appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, “Ask what I should give you.”
I think we are quite familiar with this story. If God grant you the same
offer today, what would you ask? To win an Olympic game? To get
unlimited consumption vouchers? Or the downfall of someone you don’t
like? Solomon did not ask for honor, riches or life of his enemies, he asked
for an understanding mind. Let’s look at how did he ask.
6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant
my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness,
and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and
steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today.
(V6) Before presenting the request in his heart, Solomon firstly
acknowledged God's great and steadfast love towards his father David.
And this love was kept for his whole life, because David was faithful and
loyal in serving God. Furthermore, Solomon recognized that God is the
one who made himself king in place of his father. He knew that his father’s
success and glory were given by God, and his throne was also from God.
This is a good reminder for us. Before we pray and present our request
to God, we need to remember that, we are deeply loved by God, and
whatever we have right now is given by God. This recognition would set us
in the right position with God.
7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father
David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.
8 And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great
people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted.
(V7-8) Solomon called himself "servant" a few times, and he also
called himself "a little child, who do not know how to go out or come in."
He was humble before God, and was aware of his inexperience in ruling,
so he needed to seek guidance. This humble servant image was in contrast
with the people whom he rules. Solomon used the words "great" and
“numerous" to describe the people, as they are God's chosen people. Do
we have this kind of humble attitude when we interact with God?
9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able
to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?”
(V9) After acknowledging God’s love and provision, and presenting in a
humble attitude, Solomon asked for an understanding mind to govern
God's people, and to discern between good and evil. The phrase
“understanding mind” can be translated directly as a “listening heart”.
Solomon was seeking God’s direction in his ruling.
Besides, by asking “for who can govern this your great people?”,
Solomon was affirming God’s sovereignty over His people, hinting that
God should be the one who govern his own great people.
10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.
11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself
long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself
understanding to discern what is right,
12 I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind;
no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.
13 I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no
other king shall compare with you.
(V10-13) It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. He was
acting according to God’s will, at the same time, not asking benefits for
himself, but aiming for greater good. God did not just gave him what he
asked for. In additions, God gave Solomon both riches and honor all his life.
How do we live today? Do we live wisely? Do we strive to live according
to God’s will? It is easy for us to ask God for the benefits for ourselves and
our loved ones, but not so much for the greater good of others. We tend to
act according to our own will and judgement, instead of seeking God’s
guidance. What is hindering us from living wisely today?
This reminds me of an incident took place a few weeks ago. One day,
when I arrived the lift lobby of my apartment, I heard the security guard
said “我唔識講雀仔話喎” (which means “I don’t speak bird language”). Of
course, I was eager to find out what was going on. Then I noticed,
everyone’s’ attention were towards a little bird outside the glass door of
our building. The security guard said it hit on our glass door and fainted.
When I saw it, it has regained conscious, but it seems to be confused, and
didn’t know what was going on. So the security guard said she doesn’t how
to communicate with the bird and tell it to fly again.
A lot of times we are like this little bird. We think we know our way, we
think we can see through our path, so we fly towards where we want to go
in full force. But “bang”, we hit on a glass door or glass wall. Then, we may
be dizzy, injured and confused, and we questioned where God was when
we got hurt.
But the truth is, we chose our own path without consulting God. Our
visions and views have limitations, and we often relied solely on our own
judgements. When we just focus on ourselves, and hold on to our own
perspectives, we do not look to God for guidance and discernment. It is the
time when we easily make bad decisions.
Solomon was different. Though he was a king, and his kingdom was
firmly established, he remained humble and knew his own limitations. He
was willing to accept God’s instructions, and requested a listening heart
and an understanding mind.
Sisters and brothers, are we willing to follow God’s way? Do we have a
listening heart towards God? Do we seek for an understanding mind from
God to discern between good and evil?
Today, we learned from the example of Solomon on how to live wisely.
First and foremost, we need to acknowledge God’s love towards us. This is
the foundation of our relationship with Him, so we know we can trust and
follow Him. Secondly, we need to have a humble attitude before God, so
that we would listen to His guidance.
However, there may be situations in life where we don’t understand, or
we think it is not justified or fair. And we question why God is absent? In
evil days like this, we need to remember God’s sovereignty, and remind
ourselves that He is in control. God is the ultimate ruler, and king of kings
of this world, we just need to try our best to follow and act according to
His will. Lastly, when we pray to God, we should not just pray for our
personal gain, but also pray for achieving greater good for this world.
I think if we truly follow these 5As, we can live a wiser life and avoid
hitting on a glass wall. If these 5As are difficult to recall, let us at least
remember one verse. Let us read this verse together.
Psalm 111: 10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who
practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.
What we talked about today eventually lead to “the fear of the Lord”,
which is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord leads us to respect
God and His words. This fear or respect make us think before we act or
speak. We no longer just focus on ourselves and go on our own ways, but
would consider what is pleasing to God. This is the beginning of wisdom,
and all those who practice it have a good understanding.
Let me conclude with a quote I saw on the internet.
There is no perfect life, no perfect job,
no perfect childhood, no perfect marriage
and no perfect set of people who will
always do what we expect them to do.
What we have is a perfect God
who is able to lead us through this imperfect life
with unfailing strength, incomparable wisdom and infinite love.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, August 15, 2021
