21 | June | 2019 | You Are Not the Only One

#loyalty #God #Man #Friends

Have you ever had a friend notify you that you could not possibly as close to them as they are to you because your words indicated that you were disloyal to them? Why? You talked about someone else with whom you were friends, but they were not. Now that is a human conundrum. But let’s explore that situation for a minute. The wisest man who ever lived on this earth was Solomon. He began his relationship with the God of his fathers in a stupendous way. So what went wrong? Why did the Lord stir up an adversary against Solomon? When Solomon finished building the most glorious temple that has ever been made for the God of his fathers, he had a SEE: Significant, Emotional, Encounter with God.

He had a conversation with his maker. The Almighty talked to him about the importance of his loyalty and friendship with Him. Solomon understood the meaning of that loyalty. So? Did he also understand the implications of disloyalty? Did he know that NOTHING should ever come before God? Did he value his friendship with God? Did he comprehend or understand what would happen to him and his children if he was disloyal to God? You see, we tend to make excuses for why our relationships with others become our 10th, 11th, or 12th, priority rather than our 2nd, 3rd, our 4th priority. You see, only God should be #1 in our lives. Let’s see if Solomon had an excuse? Did he drink the kool-aid of seduction and danced with the devil in the darkness of companionship?

He was also given the option of choosing to be disloyal to histrue friend-God. He was told about the consequences of disloyalty to God. He was told what would happen if he walked and lived on the dark side. But did he remain loyal to God – even though he was warned?

1 Kings 11:1-4 “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites: Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to 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, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. 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 with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.”

Say what? He did what? How could he have forgotten God’s warning? How could he have been disloyal to God? He chooses to gratify his flesh, immediately rather than his spirit for the eternal gain of being a friend of God. He started his relationship with God on the right footing. His desire was to love, serve, and grow in his relationship with Yahweh, but he loved women more than God. So now, what happens to Solomon? 1 King s 11:14-12:24

An Edict from God: 1Kings 11:

33 Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. 34 Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant’s sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes:

Prioritize Your Loyalty Friends: Determine who and what you will serve and focus on Him? Do you serve to be seen? Solomon built the biggest, baddest, boldest temple to the God of Israel. Nothing on earth has ever been made like that edifice. But he forgot that he was human. He did not nourish his relationship with his one true friend. A series of event occurred as he began to reap what he sowed. Here we see a list of the adversaries that God raised up against Solomon. But we should also note that He did not erase Solomon from the face of the earth. Why? Because of his father David – the man after God’s own heart. We judge with human hearts and human eyes, but God judges with righteous judgments.

The first adversary was Hadad (11:14).
The second was Rezon (v.23),
‘the leader of a band of rebels’ (v.24-25).
Next, Jeroboam rebelled against the king (v.26). He was one of Solomon’s officials, ‘a man of standing,’ whom Solomon had put ‘in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph’ (v.28).
Solomon ended his life surrounded by adversaries and trying to kill Jeroboam (v.40).
Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, inherited a mess. Have you heard that before? Did he learn from his father’s mistakes? He did not listen to the wise and learned persons who were connected to God (Chapter 12:1-8 ).
Instead, he hired incompetent persons who were not close to God, but who led to him stroked his ego. (Chapter 12:15 ). The wise leaders realized that Rehoboam ‘hadn’t listened to a word they’d said’ (v.16).
He rejected the advice that the wise counselors gave him. As a result, civil war broke out, and the kingdom was split in two: Judah stayed with Rehoboam and Israel rallied with Jeroboam.
‘Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David’ (v.20).
War broke out (v.21). The result is a divided kingdom – but even that is not the end of the problems. God promised Jeroboam incredible blessings: ‘if you walk in obedience to me’ (v.38). OK so now we see someone who should never have become king ruling the most powerful nation on earth at that time. Did he learn from the previous person’s mistake? Did he prioritize his life? Did he lead the people to love God and love others in the same way that they loved God? Tragically (as we will see over the next few days) Jeroboam did not – and the results were disastrous.

So what? We may think that was then this is now.” “What does this have to do with me and my relationships with others today? What does this have to do with me and my relationship with God? Simply put? If you sow disloyalty in your relationships with human beings, you will also sow sedition in your relationship with GOD. When we sow disloyalty, we will reap disloyalty. However, GOD is NEVER disloyal to His children. Remains faithful to His character. No, He will not continue to bless us as if everything is ok. He will discipline us in the same way that he disciplined Solomon (1 Kings 11:32,34,36). But he did not abandon, nor renege on his promise his servant David. What does this have to do with me you may ask? After all, this is 2019.

If you have wandered away from daily prayer and Bible Study of God’s word. If you have chosen to stop doing your daily devotionals, just skimmed over His word, and only talk to Him when you want something, then you are disloyal in your relationship with God. He has not moved the pendulum of His love for you. God’s commitment and loyalty to you are so substantial that “Neither height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39 KJV).

Prayer: Lord, send down the power, gentleness, and unity of the Holy Spirit to your church. Give us a spirit of love, loyalty, oneness in Christ. Show us, minute-by-minute how to work together in unity with one another for the sake of your Kingdom. Protect our relationships with each other and our fellowship and partnerships. Give us the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to direct our steps as we work through life’s challenges and the obstacles that the enemy places before us every day-Selah