Build a Life That Lasts Instead of Chasing What Doesn't | Summer At Northview | Pastor Joseph Antley

Well, good morning, Northview. We're glad you are here on this weekend. Welcome to those of you in the room. Special welcome to all of you who are watching online or who are joining us at one of our campuses this morning. We are thrilled that you joined us on this July 4th weekend. I do wanna take a moment and honor and acknowledge Pastor Mark Kroll and our executive team. I am grateful for them to give me the opportunity to speak here today. And man, they are phenomenal men. They are phenomenal men. But if we haven't met yet before, my name is Joseph Antley. I am our campus pastor at Noblesville. And I gotta tell you, I love Noblesville. It is a great place, it is a great community, and I am honored to get to be a part here at Northview. I also wanna take a moment and acknowledge what I believe is the best team that I've ever served on, and that is our campus pastor team. I gotta tell you, these are phenomenal men at each and every one of our locations. I spend a lot of time with them. And I can tell you, they love you, they pray for you, they are passionate about your city and your community and what God is doing there. And so if you love your campus pastors at all of our locations, do me a favor, give it up for them right now. Let them know we appreciate them,

who they are, what they do every single week. And of course, I gotta shout out Noblesville. I gotta tell you guys, I am from the great state of Texas. And when I moved up here, I was not sure, it was about three people from Texas, thank you, was not sure what to expect. But Noblesville, they have loved me, they have loved my family, they have invested into my children, they invest into my wife. And every single week, they remind me that church is not about a building, but it's about the people and the community that you get to do life with. So I'm so grateful for you, Noblesville. And Northview, you are, man, you are an amazing, an amazing church. So this morning, we are continuing our Cloud of Witnesses series. And what we've been doing each week throughout the series is we've been looking at different characters of the Bible, and we've been taking some time to look at their life and see what God wants to teach us in and through their experience. And today, we're talking about King Solomon. And what we're gonna do is we're gonna look for just a few moments at some of what happened early in his reign in 1 Kings chapter three. We're gonna start in verse five. It says, at Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon

during the night in a dream. And God said, ask for whatever you want me to give you. Verse seven. Now, Lord, my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father, David, but I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. But your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong, for who is able to govern this great people of yours? The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies, but for discernment and administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. And moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for, both wealth and honor, so that in your lifetime, you will have no equal among kings. Let's take a moment and pray. God, we thank you so much for who you are. We thank you that we live in a country that we can freely open up your word this morning and we can freely worship.

But God, in this moment, I pray that you would do what only you can do, is you would make the scriptures come alive, that you would speak to our hearts and to our minds, because this is your church, this is your people, and I am your servant. This will not be the best sermon that's ever been preached, but God, I will bring my best and ask that you will take the rest and that you will do something that only you can do. And it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. So I'm from Noblesville, as I've said. And in Noblesville, we interact a little bit. It's a little bit smaller. So I'm gonna ask you some questions and you may not be used to responding, but I just want you to feel comfortable this morning. You can respond. You can say, yes. You can say, I've been there before. You can say, no. So the first question this morning is very simple. How many of you have ever been overconfident in a situation? Thank you, thank you. 9 a.m. was like, nope, nope, never been overconfident, got it right every time. I used to think, man, when I first got married, it was the moment where I realized I was a little too confident. I came into it confident

that I was gonna set the bar for husbands. I've read books, I've watched sermons, I've prepared. I'm gonna be the greatest husband that has ever lived until that was our first fight. So we've been married a couple of months and growing up in a Texas home, I was the middle of three boys and we loved football. We all played football. We all played football. We watched football. It was a big part of our life. And so Monday night, there's a game on. So I'm doing what I've always done, watching the game. My wife is in the kitchen. She's working on some food for us and we're watching. You know it, for some reason, it seemed like every pot and pan that night was twice as heavy as it had been before. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it was just really loud. A lot of commotion was coming from the kitchen. But again, I'm a confident, great husband. So I know I'm gonna go check on my wife. So I walk in and I say, hey Whitney, is everything okay? And she responds, I'm fine. And I believed her. So I went back to watching the game. Pots and pans kept clanging, actually got louder. So I turned the volume up on the TV.

Overconfident. Eventually she walks in and she asked a very normal, honest, gracious question. She walks in and says, are you gonna watch football every night? Remember, I'm a guy who grew up with all guys. So when I respond, I respond with the first thing that comes to my mind. And I say, of course not. There's not football on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. So you're catching on that I was a little too confident. Like I was humbled very quickly in that moment and realized maybe I'm not as smart as I thought I was. And we've all been there before. You've been in situations where maybe you were a little too confident and afterwards you regret maybe something that you said. Maybe you were on a date of some sort and afterwards you're like, man, I might not should have said that. Or maybe you were confident in a job interview or maybe it was July 4th. Maybe you were confident last night that one more plate of barbecue wouldn't do any damage. And this morning you were like, I was a little too confident on that. Like we've all been there before. There's also moments in our life that I have found that, man, they're overwhelming. There are moments that I call,

that I just simply say that the mic's not working. And I just say, God, I'm not ready for the mic to not work. But we've all been there. Moments where we say, man, God, I'm not ready for this. I'll never forget nine and a half years ago, the biggest, God, I'm not ready for this moment happened. My wife was 33 weeks pregnant with our twins and the babies were coming. And so we are rushing to the hospital and we get there and I take my wife up to the labor and delivery unit. The doctor comes in and he says, Mr. Antley, your babies are on their way. We have to do a emergency C-section. I'm young, what does that mean? He said, all you need to know is that your babies are gonna be here in the next 30 minutes. Put this on, we've gotta go prep your wife for surgery. We'll be back. So I put this on and the little gown and they take me back into this operating room and it was so bright. I've never seen a room like it before. It was so white, there were lights everywhere. Because there was twins, there was two of every nurse, two of every doctor, two of every anesthesiologist. It was really kind of overwhelming. And we're sitting there and in the blink of an eye, both babies are now in the world with us, but they were so small and so young that they had to rush them out to the NICU.

We didn't get to see them, didn't get to hold them. They just immediately rush them out to try to get them stable. And they take my wife and I into a room where she can recover and they say, your wife has to stay here, but whenever your children are stable, dad will come get you. I'll never forget them getting me and taking me into this room, the NICU. And I walked in, I've never seen babies so small. I mean, the size of my hands and they've got wires all over them. They've got monitors, they have all these things connected to them. And I say, well, can I hold them? I say, well, no, sir. Right now we need to keep them stable, but what you can do is you can put your hands on them. And so I'll walk over and I've never been more gentle with anything in my life. I walk over and I take my hands and I put them on my two fragile, tiny baby girls. And in that moment, I was overwhelmed. It was this overwhelm of responsibility where I was like, God, I'm not ready. I'm not ready to raise them. I'm not ready to care for them. I'm not ready to be a dad. I'm not ready to start a family.

Like I knew this moment was coming, but now it's here. And it was just so massive and so overwhelming that in that moment, I didn't know what I was gonna do. But you see, we all, if you live long enough, you come into moments in your life, you say, God, I'm not sure that I'm ready. Maybe it's you step into a new position at work that you've got appointed to. You're like, man, God, I'm not sure that I'm ready. Maybe you're about to get married. You're like, I'm not sure that I'm ready. Maybe you're a student and you're about to go to college and you're like, man, I'm not sure that I'm ready. Maybe you're like a friend of mine who was in the hospital just a few weeks ago and got a report that looks like it's not gonna be a good situation for them, a terminal illness. And you say, God, I'm not ready. Maybe you're about to retire and you're like, man, I've planned my whole life for this, but now the time has come and I'm not sure that I'm ready for what comes next. So we all come in our life to moments where we say, God, I'm not sure that I'm ready. What do I do now? And the thing I love about the Bible is the Bible is full of characters and people that although their circumstances may be different, they experience many of the same things that we experience. And because of their life.

It's the stories that we have, we can learn from them. Take Solomon, for example, someone who we're gonna be talking about this morning. Solomon was a great man. We know that he was the king of Israel. He was the third king. There was King Saul, then King David, and now King David's son, Solomon, has ascended into the throne. Solomon is known for a lot of things. He's known for being a great writer. He wrote the Song of Songs. He wrote the Book of Proverbs. He wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes. He's also known as a builder. This guy built the temple. He built the palace. He built fortified cities, and he was also wealthy and famous. We're told that there was never anybody as wealthy as him, and that people from all around the world would come and pay homage to King Solomon. We're also told he's someone who loved women. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines, and if you're asking why, that's the first question I'm gonna ask him when I get to heaven. According to the world's standards, he had everything, but before he had everything, the Bible allows us a sneak peek into the man

before he had everything. What was it like to be Solomon? Before he becomes this great and mighty king, before he's well-known, before all these things happen, we're told that he goes to Gibeon and he makes us some sacrifices. The temple hadn't been built there, so it hadn't been built yet, so he goes to Gibeon where the temporary temple is, the tabernacle. He makes sacrifices, and then he falls asleep, and we're told that in this dream, God shows up and says, ask me for whatever you want, and I'll give it to you. And here's Solomon's response. He says, thank you, I'm glad that I'm here, and then he says, but I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Now, he's using hyperbole here. He's not a little child. He's in his early 20s. He's married, okay? He already has a child at this point, but put yourself in Solomon's shoes. He's following King David. David was the giant killer. Whenever David showed up, the enemies that were against Israel would begin to quake in fear because he was such a known great warrior.

Solomon's gotta follow the giant killer, but David wasn't just a great warrior. David was a great musician. He wrote a lot of songs. We're even told that he had an anointing on his life that when he played music, evil spirits had to flee as was done with Saul. Man, it would be difficult to follow King David. He reigned for 40 years, and the nation loved David, but Solomon was not David. Now, Solomon has ascended to the throne. He's the king, and an entire nation is looking to him for leadership. What are we gonna do? What is next? How are you gonna lead us? And he gets to that moment, and he says, man, I just feel like a little child. I'm not ready for these responsibilities yet. God, I'm not ready, just like many of us feel throughout our lives. But he says, God, I'm not ready, but could you do something for me? And in 1 Kings 3, 8, we see that he says, your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong,

for who is able to govern this great people of yours? In two verses, did you notice what he did there? Yes, he asked for wisdom, but in two verses, he said, you are your five times. Five times in two verses, he takes time to acknowledge his need for God. This extreme reverence. He's like, God, these are your people. And God, I am your servant. And I know that I am nothing without you. These people, they need God in their lives. This king, he needs God in his life. God, I need you. I am desperate for you to be a part of what I'm about to step into. I'm a little child in need of a God. And we know that God answers this prayer, that Solomon is given wisdom beyond anything that anyone had ever experienced before. And as Solomon throughout his life, many of the things he wrote about was how to gain this wisdom. I love for Solomon, he says, yes, I gained wisdom. But if you read some of the books that he wrote, he tells us what the access code was to get that. He says, it wasn't, I didn't get wisdom whenever I became king. I didn't get wisdom when I built a palace. I didn't get wisdom whenever I gained all this gold. I gained wisdom when I asked for it,

but I did something right before that. And he tells us in Proverbs 9, verse 10, what it was. He says, I had the fear of the Lord, and the fear of the Lord was the beginning of wisdom. I had a deep reverence that I need God in my life, and I would not have had access to that wisdom had I not had a fear and a desperation that God, I need you more than I need anything else. God, would you please be with me? This is your servant, and I'm your servant, and these are your people. See, the fear of the Lord, what we say is the starting point of wisdom. Say, I want wisdom in my life. Well, you gotta start with the fear of the Lord, but we get a little confused. I grew up in church where I heard about the fear of the Lord and the spirit of fear. I was told, Joseph, do not. have a spirit of fear, but you better fear the Lord. And they kind of seem contradictory. Like how in the world am I supposed to have a fear of the Lord, but not have a spirit of fear? Because there are two different things. See, a spirit of fear causes us to run away because we've done something wrong. Adam and Eve were told that whenever they ate of the forbidden fruit, they sinned, that they hid from God. They ran away from him because they had a spirit of fear.

But the fear of God is not us running away from God when we've done something wrong. The fear of God is us running to God when we've done something wrong, because we are desperate for him to be in our life and be a part of this situation. I love the way Pastor John Revere says it. He says, the fear of the Lord is being terrified of being away from God. That I'm so fearful of what my life will look like without God in it. I'm so fearful of what will look like in this situation if I don't ask God to be a part of it. I'm so fearful if I keep going down this road that I've messed up on, that I'll just get further and further away from God. The fear of the Lord is being desperate that I need him in my life. And I'm terrified of what my life will look like without it. See, there's a difference. And people who possess the fear of the Lord, man, you know it. You ever noticed that? People who have the fear of the Lord, they don't have to wear a t-shirt. They don't have a hat that says, I fear God. They're just people that as you watch their life, you say, there's something different about them. There's something about them that I can see.

And here's one of them. I've learned that people who fear God, they've learned that the fear of God leads to obedience. See, when I fear God, I'm gonna obey him. We're told that there's a guy in the name of, in the book of Genesis, he has a great name. If you're about to have a son, you should consider this name. His name's Joseph. Joseph is a man of wisdom. We're told that he interprets a dream for the Pharaoh of Egypt. He interprets this dream that there's gonna be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. And then Joseph unsolicited says, Pharaoh, here's what you should do. In the seven years of plenty, prepare for the seven years of famine. That way Egypt won't just thrive, but you'll be able to serve all the nations of the world. It was really wise. But do you remember why Joseph was there in the first place? Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. The guys who were supposed to care for him, his older brothers that he looked up to, they sold him into slavery. And although God was able to redeem that for good and put Joseph in second command of all of Egypt, he still had what most of us would say, a vendetta.

I mean, think about it. If your brother sold you into slavery, aren't you gonna get your revenge? I mean, we wanna get revenge on the people who betray us, the people who lied to us, the people who do something wrong, the person at work who fired me, the person in the highway that cut me off, but we all wanna get revenge on things. And so Joseph's father, Jacob dies and his brothers, man, they're terrified. And they're like, this is it for us. Like, this is it, this is the moment. Joseph was kind to us while our father was alive, but this is the moment Joseph's gonna get his revenge. He's gonna do what everybody else says he should do. He's gonna do what's normal in culture. He's gonna do what he has the right to do, be in second in command of all of Egypt. He's gonna do that. Watch what Joseph says in Genesis chapter 42. It says, on the third day, Joseph said to them, do this and you will live for I fear God. You're not gonna live because I'm a good person. You're not gonna live because I have good morals. You're gonna live because someone told me to. You're gonna live because I fear God. I am going to be obedient to God even when nobody else says that I should. I'm gonna be obedient to God

when everybody else thinks that I'm foolish. I'm gonna be obedient to God when I stand here by myself because he is God and I fear him more than I fear anything else, that I will obey God. You see, people who fear the Lord, they obey God. You don't have to ask them. You don't have to trick them into it. You don't have to inspire them. They say, you know what? I fear God. So when God tells me to do it, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna walk in faith that he is God and I am not and I trust him. So the fear of God, it leads to obedience, but I've also learned with people who fear God that it's like they're fearless. You ever notice people that fear God, it's like they are always faith-filled. No matter what happens in their life, they're saying, God's got it. No matter what happens, they're like, I trust him. No matter what happens, they are never afraid of something else in their life because I found that the fear of God chases away all other fears. Fear of God chases away rejection, chases away failure, chases away hardship. The fear of God chases every other fear in our lives. We're told in the book of Daniel that there was an edict that was put out

that anybody who was to pray to anybody other than King Darius would be thrown into the lion's den. And if you read it, it says, period. Next verse, Daniel goes back to his home. He just heard this was issued out. He goes back to his home. He goes upstairs, he opens the window and he begins to pray three times a day, just as he did before. So Daniel, what are you doing? This is King Darius. Do you know what he can do to you? He's gonna throw you in the lion's den. Aren't you afraid of lions? But Daniel, he probably was afraid of lions. He probably did have some fear of Darius, but not more than he feared God. So you know what? I fear God a whole lot more than I fear lions and a whole lot more than I fear Darius. And so I'm going to do what God told me to do. I love the way Pastor Charles Spurgeon puts it. He says, the fear of God is the death of every other fear. Like a mighty lion, it chases away all other fears before it. Let me tell you something. When you fear God, every other fear looks small and compared to a life without him in it. Imagine what would happen in our church if we feared God.

Imagine the depth of community that would be experienced whenever we were not afraid of what people may think of us if they knew that we didn't have it all together. We weren't afraid of what people might think if they knew that maybe our marriage isn't the way it should be. We wouldn't be afraid of what people may think if they knew that we weren't great parents or great at this or great at that. But we said, I fear God more than what I fear other people are gonna think of me. Imagine the depth of community and genuine authenticity we would experience in our church. I'm not even talking about out in the community, the people of God that say, I fear God more than I fear the community. I gotta be honest with you, I'm broken. I've made some mistakes. I'm not perfect, but I'm less worried about what you think of me and I'm more worried about not having God in my life. So I'm gonna be honest and transparent and let you know that this is me. See, there's a difference. What would happen to us with just take serving? So many conversations I have with people that they're afraid of serving because Joseph, what if I mess up? What if somebody makes fun of me? I'm not qualified,

but I imagine a life where if I feared God more than I feared not being qualified, people would step up and say, man, I'm not worried about that thing. I'm gonna serve and do what God's told me to do. Or how about this? The amount of conversations I have with people that are terrified of sharing the gospel with people. What you mean? The gospel that changed your life? The gospel that you dedicated your whole existence to? The Jesus that died on a cross for you and you're terrified to go share it with your neighbor, with your coworker, with your sister, with your friend? People who fear God are not terrified of what someone may think. They're not terrified if someone asks them a question they can't answer. They are terrified of God not being present in their life and so I'm not afraid of them. I'm gonna be obedient. See, the fear of God, man, it changes you. Another thing I've learned with people that fear God is they have learned that it leads to trust. See, when I fear God, man, I trust Him no matter what. Not just in the good times, but I trust Him in the bad times. I shared earlier that I have two daughters. They're twins. I'm actually the dad of four daughters.

And to those of you that have never met me before, thank you for your prayers. I appreciate those. I will need those many, many times over over the next few years. But they're so sweet. I love them. I've got twin nine-year-olds. I've got a six-year-old and I've got a one-year-old. And my six-year-old, man, she's daddy's little buddy. Everywhere I go, she wants to be there. Hey, daddy, can I come with you? Daddy, can I help you? I'm making a run to the store. Hey, daddy, I'll come with you. And if I'm working on something, man, she is right there beside me. Daddy, can I use that? Daddy, can I turn the screwdriver for you? Daddy, can I help you hang that? Not only is she helpful, she's so encouraging. She's like, daddy, you're doing a great job. Sissies, come look at what daddy's done. This is amazing. Mommy, look what daddy built. And I'm like, you know what? Amazon gave me good directions, but I did do that. I built it. Thank you, Presley. She's so encouraging.

That was until a few months ago, I saw a different side of my six-year-old. She was helping me as usual. And I was hanging a TV, small project, in our garage. So I'm hanging this TV and Presley's like, daddy, you're doing a great job. Daddy, can I help you? Can I bring you this tool? Daddy, you're doing good. Keep it up, daddy. So I hang up the TV and I take a step back. And wouldn't you know it, the moment I step back, the mount comes out of the wall and the TV starts to come down. So I run over and I grab the TV before it causes any damage, but the real damage was to my heart with what happened next. Presley, my encourager, Presley, daddy, you can do it. You know what she said? Daddy, I knew you didn't know what you were doing. Like, what? Hey, Presley, can you help me? Nope. And then she takes it a step further. She has the audacity to walk into our house that I pay for, talk to her mother, my wife, and go to her and say, mommy, you need to go help daddy because he doesn't know what he's doing out there. And I just can't believe it. She's helped me with so many projects.

She's seen me do so many things. The moment one thing goes bad, she's like, I don't trust you anymore. We do that with God, don't we? Man, he's been faithful. He's been there time after time after time. He's walked you through trial after trial after trial. But the moment something goes bad, I don't know if I trust him anymore. Moment the situation gets too heavy, the walls get too high, doubt begins to creep in. We're like, I don't know if I can trust him anymore. But people who have the fear of God are terrified of what their life will look like without him in it. that they're saying, I'm taking my chances with Jesus. You give me the bad report at the hospital, I'm still taking my chances with Jesus. I just lost my job, I'm still taking my chances with Jesus. I just got served the divorce papers, I'm still taking my chances with Jesus. I'm not sure how to answer the situation that my child's in, but I'm still following and sticking with Jesus because my life is always gonna be better with him leading it than me leading it on my own. I fear God. That's the starting place of wisdom. So Solomon, he looks at his life and he says, I remember when I got granted this wisdom,

it wasn't the palace, it wasn't the throne, it wasn't all the mighty things that people think about, it was whenever I had the fear of the Lord. And it's amazing that he even asked for it. But what I find more amazing than him asking for wisdom is the very next verse about what God had to feel about it. It says, the Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. I don't know about you, but I want a life that pleases God. I want a life that when people look at it and they're like, I'm not sure you know what you're doing, I say, I'm not worried about you, I'm trying to please God. What was it about this moment that pleased God? See, the thing that I found about God is he loves, he loves when we pursue things that are lasting, not when we pursue things that are temporary. He wants us to pursue things that last well beyond the moment because there is wisdom into it. Solomon, he learns this because he's told, we've read right there, he could have asked for wealth, he could have asked for death to his enemies, he could have asked for long life, but all of those eventually would end, the thing that he asked for was wisdom. And so Solomon, when he looks back at his life and he looks back at the wisdom that he was granted, and he says, man, the fear of the Lord was the access that I had into it.

But there was a legacy that was built whenever I chose to pursue wisdom. And what he does is he begins to, he begins to take these foolishness and he takes wisdom and he kind of pairs them against each other. You ever noticed this in the book of Proverbs how he talks about foolishness is like an adulterous woman, very enticing, promises a good time, come in and enjoy all of this, but destruction will come in the morning. Time after time, he describes these temporary pleasures with foolishness. But then when he talks about wisdom, look at how he describes it in Proverbs 9, verse one. Wisdom has built her house. She has set up its seven pillars. Foolishness looks for what's temporary in the moment. Wisdom looks for something that'll last well beyond this moment. The legacy of wisdom is a house that lasts. See, when you live a wise life, you build something that goes far beyond this moment. See, foolishness, here's what foolishness is. Foolishness wants the fancy car and the big house. Wisdom wants financial freedom for my children's children. Foolishness wants a spouse that looks good the next three years. Wisdom wants a spouse that's gonna be faithful the next 65 years. Foolishness prioritizes my kid's opportunity

to become a professional athlete. Wisdom prioritizes my kid's opportunity to fall in love with Jesus every chance that they can. Foolishness prioritizes making whatever I want in this moment, I'm just gonna eat it and consume it. Wisdom says, I wanna be faithful to God and my wife and my children and my children's children. I'm gonna take care of my body now so that 30 years from now, I can still be around moving and doing the things that I wanna do. Wisdom builds a house that lasts. Foolishness looks for something here in the moment. And I love that Solomon, as he's teaching us about the legacy of wisdom and he's teaching us about a house that lasts, that he goes and he says, you know what? There's something that you should know. You should know that whenever you build something that lasts, people may not always understand it. People may look and say, what is it that you're doing? I'm 17 and people are looking around saying, you should do what everybody else does. It's more fun over here. Culture says you should do it. Music says you should do it. All my friends say I should do it. Before a 17 year old to stand up and say, I'm building something that lasts. I'm gonna start putting something aside right now

to prepare for the spouse that I want one day. I'm putting something aside right now that says I want a house that lasts, that I'm gonna start putting money away and start being smart with the things that God has given me. People who wanna build a house that lasts, man, it's that spouse that says, you know what? I know that I have to prepare for this. You see, it's too late when you get the divorce papers. It's too late when your kid graduates and moves into college you have to prepare now for a house that will last. And I love Christians because we're so good at faith. And faith is important. I mean, it's essential. We're told that we are only saved by faith through grace. But faith is not the only thing that we need as followers of Christ. Because if I just have faith, it's just all about belief. So God says, build a house that'll last. And I say, I believe it's gonna happen, Shazam. Well, I prayed about it. I want a marriage that's gonna last. I'm just. to believe it's gonna happen, shazam, doesn't happen. I want my kids to love Jesus and I'm just gonna pray about it and believe, shazam. And nothing happens. Wisdom says, I got a plan. Wisdom says, I'm gonna invest into my marriage today. Wisdom says, I'm gonna prioritize my spouse right now.

Wisdom says, I'm not gonna take it for chance that by taking my kid to church a couple of hours every month, that that's how they're gonna fall in love with Jesus. I'm gonna teach them about Jesus at the dinner table. I'm gonna teach them about Jesus driving. I'm gonna give them every opportunity to follow him because eternity is on the line here. I am going to build a house that lasts. So you know what? I wanna have good health when I'm older. I'm not just gonna do what feels good in this moment. I am trying to build something that lasts. See, that's wisdom. Foolishness is temporary. And I love that in the book of 1 Kings 3 here, if you continue reading the title of the next section, verse 16, it is a wise ruling is what it's called. Now, if I'm Solomon, I've just been granted this wisdom by God. The next story that I want to be told is a story of how I just was awesome. The next story should be about how the entire nation of Israel was surrounded by all the armies of our enemies. All these kings, all these generals came in, but because I was so wise, I turned the tables and I'm the greatest king ever. If I'm King Solomon in this moment, I want it to be an opportunity where all the wisest people in the world came in and I taught them the depths

of knowledge I have about who God is, about how the world works. Like, I want that to be the next story. But that's not what we read in verse 16. There's no generals, there's no kings, there's no nobility. We're introduced to two characters in 1 Kings 3, verse 16. Now, two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. We just read over stuff too much. What? What do you mean two prostitutes? He just got granted wisdom. He's the greatest king, more wise, more wealthy than anybody else. And the first people that he gets to be wise to are two prostitutes? They were considered the lowest of the low. They were not allowed to, they were considered of low class. We're told in the book of Esther that she was a queen. And even as the queen, she was terrified to come before the king without being summoned because she could be killed. And the first people we're introduced to are two prostitutes? What's even going on here? How many of you, you probably know the story of these two prostitutes. They both have a child about the same age. They're sleeping in the same house. One of them, she rolls over onto her child

while she's sleeping and she smothers him. So she wakes up in the middle of the night. She takes her dead child, switches it with the living child of the other mom. And now both moms are fighting for the living child. So they bring these two moms and this living child before King Solomon, and he's not sure whose child this belongs to. So he says, bring me a sword and I'm gonna cut them in half and you can both have some. Well, the first mom is filled with empathy and just please have mercy, let her have this child. At least he will live. But the other woman says, good, neither of us will have a living child then. And Solomon says, give the mom who had empathy the child because he belongs to her. Now, who do you think the greatest benefactor of the story was? It was the prostitute, the mom. The mom gained access back with her living child. She gained her baby that she cared so much for. This baby that we don't know the baby's name. We don't know if the baby ever grew up to anything. We don't know what this prostitute ever did. All we know in this moment is that the wisdom that Solomon was given was the greatest benefactor to this prostitute and her child, not to Solomon. The truth is the greatest benefactor to wisdom isn't you.

It's those around you. You see, of course, this benefited Solomon by this great ruling, but not near the point that it benefited this woman and her child. Because the truth is whenever you begin to grow in wisdom, the people that benefit the most, those are the people around you. See, of course, you'll be a better business leader. Of course, you'll be a better spouse. Of course, you'll be a better teacher. Of course, you'll be a better student as you grow in wisdom. But the true test of if you're living in wisdom is how are the people around you benefiting from this? See, it's the spouse that says, I wanna start growing in my wisdom and I'm less worried about being right and I'm more worried about getting right with the Lord and with you. It's the parent that begins to get prepared for their child to be released out into college and to get a good job. And they're so worried about how things are gonna look, but they're saying, you know what? I'm gonna do everything I can to bless you and prepare you and send you out with success. And it's that parent that is so focused, that is so committed. It's not my student pastor's job. It's not the teacher's job. It's my job to raise.

this child in the ways of the Lord. It's that business owner that doesn't just look at the bottom line, but that says at the end of the bottom line, there's an employee that needs a paycheck because there's a spouse and their children that are impacted by every decision that I make. See, wisdom isn't just about you, it's about blessing those around you that they are the true benefactors of when we grow in wisdom. So Solomon, as he looks at his life, he says, man, it was amazing. I gained the access to wisdom by having the fear of the Lord. God taught me how to build a house that lasts. And I learned that the greatest benefactor wasn't me, it was the people around me. So many of you, you're probably sitting here thinking, man, this is great. When I fall asleep tonight, I'm gonna pray that God appears to me and says, what do you want me to do? And I know my answer, I need wisdom. But the truth is, you don't have to have God come appear to you in a dream because he already told you if you need wisdom, here's what to do. James chapter one, verse five. If any of you lacks wisdom,

you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. You see, you have not because you ask not. If you knock, the door will be opened. If you ask, you shall receive. But I asked for money, I asked for a car. Yeah, you were asking for foolish things. Ask for something that lasts. I need wisdom to know which thing I should do in this situation. Ask God and he will give it to you. I need wisdom to know how to lead my marriage in this moment. Ask God and he will give it to you. I need wisdom because I'm not sure how to raise my kids in this current world. Ask God and he will give it to you. So I don't have to earn it. I don't have to buy it. I don't have to reach a certain status. I just have to ask. So it's available to all of us. And that's so encouraging to me that I can have access to wisdom. And I'm grateful to have grown up in a home with a man who did not have a lot of what you would say worldly status. My dad, he was the son of a car mechanic. And so he became a car mechanic. He finished high school, no college education,

nothing famous, not gonna hear anything about him. He gave his life to the Lord. And so he began to pastor a church. It was a small church, more than 50 or 40 or 50 people. And so I would always say, my dad was a car mechanic by day and a pastor by night. He's the guy who would come home as a grease monkey, you know, black all over his arms and his hands. And he would come and use that stuff that probably kills us to get it all off and just clean himself. And then he would get a college shirt on, he'd go visit people or go study for a sermon. My dad didn't have access to all of the worldly things that you may think that you should have. Maybe some of the things that Solomon had, but he had access to wisdom. And I'll never forget the greatest lesson my dad ever taught me. I'm 15 and I give my life to the Lord and I'm real serious about it. So serious, I feel like God has called me into ministry. So I go to my dad, I say, dad, I'm called to ministry, put me to work. And I'm thinking, Joseph used to preach a sermon. You're pretty young, you're pretty smart. Let's get you in the game. Joseph, you should start teaching some classes. I like the get that you have, like just go after it, start teaching some classes.

Maybe Joseph, you should take over a team. Like it'd be great to have your leadership as a part of all of this. And you know, he didn't give me any of that. You know what he said? The bathrooms need cleaned and the floors need mopped. Are you willing to come on Saturday night and do that? I said, sure. So every Saturday night I'm cleaning the toilets, I'm mopping the floor, nobody's there. Nobody's saying, great job, Joseph, proud of you. Hey, wax on, wax off, it'll work out someday. Like no one's doing any of that. I'm just there doing what my dad told me to do. Months go by, no sermons, no lessons, no cool classes, no groups that I'm leading. And then about 10 minutes before Sunday night service, my dad pulls me in. He says, Joseph, you still feel called to ministry? Yeah, yeah, I do dad. I said, good. Because ministry is not about a platform, ministry is about serving. And if you're not willing to serve, you're not called to ministry. Never forget it. And I haven't. In that moment over 20 years ago, it hit me the amount of wisdom that a car mechanic with no formal education, with not a renowned name,

without a lot of money taught me in that moment that ministry is just about serving. So here I am 20 years later. Do you know how many times I've went home from church confused, angry, my heart just broken about things that happen in our lives and in our world and things that people go through. And I'm constantly reminded it's about serving. A few years ago, my wife and I were in a situation that was really difficult. And I wasn't even sure what I was supposed to do. I wasn't sure what was next. I was furious about some things. So I called a spiritual mentor of mine. He said, I don't know what to do. You know what he said? He said, your first ministry is your wife. serve her. And I remembered that moment that that wisdom my dad had given me. You know what I did? I actually stepped away from church for several months to serve my wife, not because it was the right thing to do, not because it was what someone told me to do, it was famous, none of that. I did that because I wanted to serve my wife because that was the wisdom my dad had bestowed upon me. And you know, nine and a half years ago, whenever I walked into that NICU

and I put my hands on both of my daughters, just feeling absolute overwhelmed at the situation, you know what I felt like God told me? The greatest ministry you will ever do is serve these children. See, the greatest benefactor to wisdom isn't you, it's those around you. See, my dad bestowed wisdom on me that has allowed me to serve in states my dad's never even been to. It's allowed me to serve people that my dad's never even served. God knew that I was gonna marry my wife and that her life would be better, not because I got it all together, because I definitely don't. But if I walked into it with the idea that my job is to serve her, and God, for whatever reason, gave me four beautiful girls and said, "'Joseph, I trust you because you understand "'that the greatest benefactor to the wisdom you have "'is not you, it's the people around you.'" My question to you this morning is, what situation do you have in your life that you need wisdom in? What situation are you in where you say, God, I'm just not sure that I can do this. God, I'm not sure I can handle it. I'm not sure I'm ready for what's next.

God, I'm not sure for this next stage of my life. Ask, if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God and it will be given to you. I don't know about you, but I wanna be a part of a church filled with wisdom. Not just faith, I have faith that God has been with us for 45 years, but I believe that God's gonna be with us another 45 years. And it's not gonna happen just because I believe, not just because I say it, it's gonna happen because we step out in wisdom and say, God, what do you want me to do right now? It starts whenever every person at every campus gets serious about their faith and says, I fear God more than I fear anything else in my life. I'm gonna be obedient to him. I'm gonna trust him. I'm gonna give my life to Jesus and I'm gonna dedicate everything I do to that. It's gonna come when at every campus, we choose to say, I wanna build a house that lasts. I want my family's life to be changed. I want my kid's life to be changed. I want my co-worker's life to be changed. I wanna build something that lasts at every city that we're a part of. It's gonna happen whenever we realize that the people that need to be served aren't in this room. They're out in the community around us

and they're looking for the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And who among us doesn't just have enough faith to believe God's gonna change the world, but we have enough wisdom to say, God, use me. Use my words, use my actions. Be with me in my workplace. Be with me in my school. Be with me in my family. God, do what only you can do because I fear you. Man, I believe that if I step out in faith, you will give me wisdom to know what to do in this situation. So that's what we wanna do in this moment. So I'm gonna take a moment and I want us to pray and ask God for wisdom. So in the room and at all of our campus, I'm gonna ask that you would stand with me as we pray and get prepared to close. And I don't know what it is that you're going through, but I leave in this moment, if you need wisdom, you can ask and God will give it to you. And I'm telling you, if you begin to seek wisdom, we won't just talk about how wise Solomon was. We're gonna talk about how wise that man in Anderson was. We're gonna talk about how wise that woman in Flora was. We're gonna talk about how wise that student at Carmel was. We're gonna start talking about how wise people are, not because they've done anything fancy, but because they asked God and he showed up in their life.

Let's pray. God, I thank you so much that you were a good God. I thank you that we got to open your word this morning, but God, I know that there are some people in situations where we're saying, God, I need you. God, I'm not sure that I'm ready. God, I'm not prepared for this thing that's come up in my life. And in this moment, God, I just pray that you would bestow wisdom on each and every one of us. God, there are men right now who need the wisdom of God in their life for their businesses, for the marriages and their families, for a health situation. God, we just pray for your wisdom. God, a wisdom that surpasses all the wisdom of the world, a wisdom that comes only from you. We ask and believe that we shall receive. God, I'm praying for wisdom for women of our church. God, women to rise up in the wisdom of who God created them to be. Not to look around at what the world says they should be, but to rise up in who you've created them to be, that they fear you more than anything else. God, I pray for teenagers that will begin to build today a house that lasts. They're not worried about what everybody else is doing. They're not worried about what everybody else thinks is cool. They wanna build something that lasts today.

God, be with our church. God, allow us to be a church that is 100% faith-filled, but also a church that it has the wisdom of God with our leaders, the wisdom of God at all of our campuses, and the wisdom of God with every person that calls Northview home. Because at the end of the day, the communities that will be changed will be changed because we trusted you and stepped out with the wisdom that you gave us. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.