Over the last several weeks, we’ve had some amazing moments with God! Between Student Camp and helping serve our kids’ camp, God moved powerfully in our lives and challenged us all in various ways.
Today we are taking a look at the life of Solomon, a man who encountered God in a powerful way and in a way that lived that “camp-high.”
Read: 1 Kings 3:3-14
ASK: How would you rate Solomon’s relationship with God at this moment?
Solomon was walking a spiritual high at this point. He came to God with a sincere and honest heart. He experienced God in a real way, and God blessed him greatly
In Chapters 4-7, he builds the temple, his palace, and all the furnishings. In chapter 8 he has the amazing moment where they bring in the Arch of the Covenant (the literal presence of God) into the temple. After they bring into the temple, a cloud of God’s glory fills the temple to the point that people couldn’t even stand.
Solomon then does a very powerful prayer where he blesses God, the people of God, and gives Glory to God for fulfilling his promise. Ultimately, he recites a very interesting prayer.
Read: 1 Kings 8:61
ASK: What is Solomon challenging his people and also himself to do?
Solomon is challenging his people to do the very thing God told him to do all the way back in chapter 3, be faithful to God. Follow Him in all of His ways.
In chapter 9, God tells Solomon he has heard his prayers and praises him for what he has done, but then he says this:
Read: 1 Kings 9:4-8
ASK: What is God’s warning
Basically, God tells him that as long as he does what he’s supposed to do, then they will be blessed, but if he turns away from God, God will tear down everything he has.
ASK: Look at verse 4. David infamously messed up due to an integrity issue. Why would God tell Solomon to be like his father?
The thing about David that set him apart is that, despite his issues, he was willing to repent. God doesn’t expect Solomon, or any of us, to be perfect. But he does expect us to have the integrity to repent and grow.
In Chapter 11, we discover that Solomon has a woman problem. He marries several women, all of whom do not worship God, and he turns his heart away from God. He allowed his flesh, his personal desires, to turn him away from God. He went so far in the opposite direction that he built altars to demonic beings known as Chemosh and Molech, and sacrificed babies!
When we experience these amazing spiritual events in our lives, we must be intentional about not forgetting what God has done and about actively participating in our spiritual disciplines. This is where the practice of packing our Spiritual Go Bags comes into play that we talked about.
- Being in the Scriptures – Reading Them, Memorizing Them, Studying Them
- Meditating on the things of God
- Spending time in Prayer
- Spending time in Silence and Solitude
- Truly functioning in the practice of confession and fellowship.
Here is your challenge: when we come through a powerful time with God, we have to be intentional about identifying what God wants to do in our lives moving forward, and setting up guardrails to help us to continue to grow.
I’m going to provide everyone with a questionnaire with some questions I want you to answer for yourself. These are for you to take home, to pray about and walk through after you answer. The second sheet, however, I need you to give to me. It has one simple question:
What do I need to grow in this year?
Adventures in Student Ministry 