I Chronicles 28:5-10
I Kings 8:15-19 “And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying, Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel. And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel. And the Lord said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.”
I Chronicles 28:5-10 “And of all my sons, (for the Lord hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. Moreover I will establish his kingdom forever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day. Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the Lord, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever. And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. Take heed now; for the Lord hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it.”
I. Blueprints
A. Webster’s: “a photographic print in white on a blue background used especially for copying maps, mechanical drawings and architects’ plans. A program of action.”
B. Gives an outline of what the finished product should look like.
1. This set of blueprints is the beginning of a house.
2. But everything that will be done on this house is dependent upon how well this beginning set is followed.
3. This plan is based on the survey.
4. If the survey is not followed then the following plan gets thrown out of whack. (Our house)
C. Gives exact dimensions of the project.
D. The Creator of this universe had a blueprint when He designed this world.
1. “In the beginning God said, Let there be light.”
2. He then created different things each day.
3. Everything that was created was dependent upon things created on the previous day for survival.
4. It was all about creating an atmosphere.
E. This same Creator has a blueprint for your life.
1. He has the exact dimensions and measurements for your spiritual success.
2. Some people realize this and are working hard to follow the blueprint.
3. Others have no idea that God has a design for their life.
4. If we are to be successful we must come to the understanding that there is a plan God wants us to follow.
F. The blueprint must be followed.
1. If one step is performed wrong then those that follow will be wrong also.
II. David
A. He was a man after God’s own heart.
B. Accomplished many things for God.
C. Yet the one thing that he wanted to do more than anything else, he was not allowed to do.
1. To build a house for the Lord.
2. God disqualified him from building the house because of the sin that was in his life.
D. We need to understand that the Word says in Psalm 37:4, “He will give thee the desires of thine heart.”
1. But we cannot throw out the rest of the passage.
2. Psalm 37:4-5 “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”
3. If you are to see the desires of your heart come to pass then you must realize that you have to:
a. Delight;
b. Commit;
c. Trust.
E. So this message is not really about David and his accomplishments.
1. Rather, it is about David giving Solomon a blueprint for spiritual success.
2. David was a success as a king but a failure as a father.
3. “You don’t have time to make all of the mistakes yourself…”
III. Solomon’s Blueprint
A. David was trying to bring Solomon to a reality.
B. That reality, first of all, was that people are watching you and the part you are to play in their life depends upon you building according to the blueprint that God has designed.
1. Verse 8 “Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the Lord…”
2. David wanted Solomon to realize that people are always watching.
3. Not only are they watching but they are depending upon you to do that which is right.
4. David knew this firsthand.
5. Not only did he suffer the loss of a great desire but Israel also suffered because she would have to wait to have a house for the Lord.
6. Folks, people are depending on you.
7. You following, or not following, the blueprint could very well have an effect on the people you love the most.
C. The second part of the reality was that even if people do not see what is happening in your life, even if they do not see what is hidden away from human eyes, you still have an audience with God.
1. In other words, God sees everything.
2. You live your life with a personal, one on one audience with the King of Kings.
3. And everything is vital to your spiritual success.
4. Again, David had firsthand knowledge.
5. Some of those things which kept David from building the house for the Lord were things everyone knew, others were things that it seems only God knew.
6. We need such a clear revelation of the fact that God sees it all.
7. I Corinthians 4 tells us that “every hidden thing shall be brought to light.”
8. Our audience with God is a constant audience.
9. David learned the hard way the great cost attached to forgetting this.
10. In this wisdom he is trying to instruct his son and keep him from making the same mistakes that he did as a young man.
D. Notice the reason David gives to Solomon for following the blueprint:
1. “That ye may possess this good land.”
2. “That you might leave it for an inheritance for your children after you forever!”
3. You cannot leave for others what you do not inherit for yourself.
IV. The Blueprint – Six Steps
A. “Solomon, my son, know the God of thy father.”
1. Know God for yourself.
2. So many people miss it here in the beginning.
3. They are still living off of someone else’s relationship with God.
4. It is not enough to know about God, you have to personally know Him!
B. “Seek for all of the commandments of God.”
1. Know the commandments of God.
2. Don’t assume you know, KNOW!
3. Don’t stop with just 10.
4. Find out what God wants you to do
C. “Serve Him with a perfect heart.”
1. This means with a complete heart.
2. Serving God cannot be half hearted.
3. It is an all or nothing thing with God.
4. He requires no more than He was willing, and did, give.
D. “Serve God with a willing mind.”
1. This means a “pleased with” mind.
2. If something is pleasing it is very easy to do.
3. God wants your mind to be in a state of finding the pleasure in serving Him.
4. If you only serve out of obligation or fear of being lost, then your blueprint isn’t quite right.
E. “If thou seek Him”
1. Seek God.
2. No one fully knows or understands God.
3. Neither are God’s will and ways always easy to find.
4. But the key to spiritual success is in seeking God.
5. Too many people seek answers, comfort, acceptance and love in all of the wrong places.
6. In order to be what God intends you to be and do what He intends for you to do you must seek Him.
7. In other words, BE FAITHFUL.
F. “Be strong, and do it.”
1. Don’t get discouraged.
2. Tough times are going to come.
3. There will be valleys as well as mountains; days as well as nights.
4. Be strong.
5. Anyone can get discouraged and quit.
6. But it takes someone with character, someone who understands the big picture, or blueprint, to keep their chin up and hang in there.
–A Father Prayer by General Douglas MacArthur (May 1952)
Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid;
one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat,
and humble and gentle in victory.
Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will know Thee and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.
Lead him I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge.
Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.
Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men;
One who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.
And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously.
Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.
Then, I, his father, will dare to whisper, I have not lived in vain