Your Life is a Sermon

The first funeral I ever preached was for a man named Trav Brown.  I had known this man my whole life.  He lived in the little community of Hope, where I grew up, where my family has lived for generations--and where my parents and brother still live.  Back when Hope had a little store, Trav was one of the old men who sat there every day, drinking Dr. Peppers and eating cheetos, talking to whoever came in.  His wife and sister were both faithful members of our church, but Trav never darkened the door.  His wife was already gone home to the Lord, but his sister was still alive, and living in the nursing home in Yoakum (When I told her that Trav had died, she said simply, "Well, prepare to meet thy God..."). 

It is a sobering thing to realize that (unless the Lord returns before you die) someday a preacher will have to think of some way to sum up your life.  What I want to say to you today is this: Long before that day comes, your life itself will preach a sermon.  One way or another, God will glorify Himself in that sermon.  The question is, what sermon will your life preach?  As we look at this story today, I want you to ask yourself a couple of questions. First, what message has your life preached up to now?  I don’t mean a message about you, like “Work hard enough, and you can achieve whatever you want!”   I mean a message about God.  And second, what message do you want your life to preach from this time on?

             
2 Chronicles 7:11-22 represents the second time the Lord appeared personally to King Solomon. The first, which we looked at a couple weeks ago, came near the beginning of his reign, when God offered him one request, anything he desired. Solomon chose wisdom, which was the best choice of all. As a result, he was the wisest king Israel ever knew, and he led them to the greatest prosperity in their history.  The days of Solomon were Israel’s golden age, when the nation had political power and military peace, when silver was as common as stones.  But this time when God came to Solomon, it was in the middle of his reign.  Solomon had finished building the temple of the Lord and his own magnificent palace.  He was in the 40-50 year old range.  CS Lewis once said “The long, dull, monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather for the Devil.”  That was certainly true for Solomon.  That is the context; This Sunday we'll look at what the Lord said to the king.