Turn, if you will, to 1 Kings,
1 Kings chapter 10. 1 Kings chapter 10, we'll read
the first 10 verses. Familiar passage of scripture,
the record of the Queen of Sheba's visit to Solomon, recorded here. And then we'll turn to one other
verse. In Matthew's Gospel chapter 12, our Lord makes application
of this record to himself. in Matthew chapter 12. But first, let's read the first
10 verses of 1 Kings chapter 10. We read, And when the queen
of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of
the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she
came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that
bear spices, and with very much gold, and precious stones. And when she was come to Solomon,
she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon
told her all her questions, he answered them. And there was
not anything hid from the king which he told her, not. And when
the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house
that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the setting
of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers and their apparel,
and his cupbearers, and his assent by which he went up into the
house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. And she
said to the king, it was a true report that I heard in my known
land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit, I believed not the words
until I came and mine eyes had seen it. And behold, the half
was not told me, thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame
which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are
these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and
that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God,
which delighted in thee to set thee on the throne of Israel,
because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore made he thee
king to do judgment and justice. And she gave the king 120 talents
of gold and of spices very great store and precious stones. There
came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen
of Sheba gave to Solomon. Now turn if you will to Matthew
chapter 12. Matthew chapter 12, we'll read
just one verse there and that's verse 42. Verse 42 of Matthew
12, our Lord Jesus speaking and he says, the Queen of the South,
that is the Queen of Sheba that we just read of, the Queen of
the South shall rise up in the judgment with this generation
and she'll condemn it. for she came from the uttermost
part of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and behold
a greater than Solomon is here." Behold a greater than Solomon
is here. That's the title of the message.
As great as Solomon was in his day, he's no comparison to the
greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Solomon in his very song, and
of course he wrote of Christ. Christ told his disciples on
Mount Olivet before he ascended back to heaven, he said, Moses
wrote of me. David wrote of me, all the prophets
wrote of me, and that would include Solomon's song of praise, the
song of Solomon. The subject of that song was
not a Shulamite woman, it was the Lord Jesus Christ. And in that song, among many
other things, Solomon said this, he's, not she, he's altogether
lovely. He's the lily of the valley. He's the fairest among 10,000.
There's not another like him. No one compares to him. He's unique. Only of him did God ever speak
thus. Only one individual that ever
walked this earth that the Lord God from heaven spoke concerning
with these words. He said, this is my beloved son,
in whom I am well pleased. Well pleased. I'm pleased. I'm
satisfied with everything he's done. Every word that ever proceeded
out of His mouth, He always spoke those things that pleased the
Father. And only Christ could utter these
words concerning His obedience to God. He said, I do always
those things that please the Father. Could anybody else say
anything like that? Christ said, I do always those
things that please the Father. And the Father responded, in
Him I'm well pleased. He does everything to please
me. Turn, if you will, back to 1
Kings chapter 11. Compare that to Solomon. Solomon
with all his wisdom, with all his riches, he proved that he
was still just a man. In chapter 11 of 1 Kings we read
these words concerning Solomon, verse 9. And the Lord was angry
with Solomon. Remember what he said concerning
his son, the Lord Jesus Christ? I am well pleased. And the Lord
was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned from the
Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, and
had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not
go after other gods, but he did. Solomon did. But he kept not
that which the Lord had commanded. When you behold Solomon, you
behold only a man with all the weaknesses and the sinfulness
of a mere man. But if you're ever enabled by
God's grace, and it requires a miracle, as he told Peter,
it's not in you, Peter, by nature. It's not something you've just
come to on your own. Flesh and blood, not your own
or any other man's. Flesh and blood have not revealed
this unto you, Peter, but my Father which is in heaven, He's
done something for you. He's done something for you that
in His infinite wisdom and sovereignty, He's not done for everybody,
but He's done something for you, Peter. He's revealed to you who
I am. He's given you a revelation of
who I am. Now, Peter saw Christ in the
flesh, but that wasn't enough. The Lord from heaven revealed
to Peter that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Christ of God. And Peter could testify, we know
who you are. We know who you are. You're the
Christ of God. And that's when our Lord said,
flesh and blood didn't teach you that. And if the Lord of
glory is ever pleased to do the same thing to you, you'll behold
Him, the Lamb of God. And you'll say as He did, He's
altogether lovely. There's not another like Him.
There's not a beloved like my beloved. You'll behold the Lamb
of God, the only begotten of the Father. And that one who
said, I come to do thy will, O my God, and he actually did. He actually did. There were many
people on earth, Pharisees and scribes and so forth, Sadducees,
that claimed to do the will of God. They claimed to speak for
God, but they didn't. Oh, but our Lord said, I come
to do thy will, O my God. And those sacrifices? And those
burnt offerings, which were just types, they were just pictures,
you've got no satisfaction. Then said I, in the volume of
the book that is written of me, I come to do thy will. Oh, if you're ever enabled by the miracle of divine revelation. If your eyes are ever open to
behold Him, this will be the result. This will be the result. If God gives you vision to see
Him, then He'll direct that vision to behold the Lamb of God. And you'll be able to sing, my
faith, Oh, that precious gift of faith has found a resting
place. I rest my soul upon Him, the
Lamb of God. There I can repose. There I can
find comfort and peace for my heart and soul. Our Lord Himself
said, come unto me. All ye that labor and are heavy
laden, all ye that are burdened under a sense of sin, come unto
me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll do what
none else can do. I'll do what you can't do for
yourself. I'll do what the law can't do.
The law can only curse and demand, but it can't give peace. It can't
comfort the sinner. It can't take away your sin.
Look unto me. I'll do that. Come unto me, all
ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Behold, Those are the words of
one greater than Solomon, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. There
are just several things I want to consider in comparison to
Solomon and comparison to our King, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Lord Jesus Christ has a greater kingdom. greater than Solomon's,
because Solomon's as great as it was, and he seems to have
expanded it beyond that which his father David had, but even
his kingdom was nothing compared to the kingdom of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Our king, Our King rules over
all. He rules over all. There are
no exceptions to His rule. There's nothing or no one that
falls outside the circle of His rule. He sets King forever and
over everything. I've heard people say, I've had
them say to me, perhaps you have too, oh yes, I believe God is
sovereign but, but, No, no, that won't do. That just won't do.
I believe God is sovereign but... No, there are no buts. There
are no buts. There are no maybes. He's sovereign
over everyone and everything all the time. He always has His
way. Always has his way. He has his
way when it's fair and he has his way in the whirlwind. The
clouds are but the dust of his feet. Turn if you will to Luke's
gospel chapter 1. The angel Gabriel prior to this
had appeared to Zacharias and said your wife Elizabeth will
have a son in her old age. Six months later he appears to
a virgin named Mary, engaged to a man named Joseph. And he
speaks concerning that one that Mary would bear, that which she
would conceive, and said something concerning this one that he could
say of none other, that would apply to none other. Verse 30
of Luke chapter 1. And the angel said unto her,
fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. Mary, you're
not the mediator. But you have been blessed you
found favor with God verse 31 and behold Thou shalt conceive
in thy womb just as Isaiah prophesied should take place 700 years before
this Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a
son and thou shalt call his name Jesus Jesus Joshua the salvation
of the Lord He shall be great. He shall be great greater than
none other And shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the
Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign for a little
while. No. He shall reign if people
are willing to let him. No. He shall reign without stipulation. He shall reign over the house
of Jacob forever. forever. O behold, they're greater
than Solomon is here, and of his kingdom there shall be no
end." Oh yes, this is Jesus, they said, the king of the Jews,
they wrote over his cross. But more than that, this is Jesus,
the king of all kings. Turn back, if you will, to the
book of Isaiah. I know these are very familiar
passages, but it won't hurt to look at them together. Isaiah
chapter 6, we read in verse 1 of Isaiah 6, in the year that King
Uzziah died, his reign ended, didn't it? It ended with his
death. But the reign of our king didn't end. Uzziah's death, the
end of his reign, didn't affect the reign of the King of Glory
whatsoever. Wasn't a factor whatsoever. Because even though in the year
that King Uzziah died, Isaiah said, I saw also the Lord setting
up on the throne. He's where he always was. He's
ruling as he always has. High and lifted up. high and
lifted up, above all, reigning over all, ruling over all. And
his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims,
each one had six wings. And with twain he covered his
face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did
fly. And one cried unto another, and
said, Holy, holy, Holy is the Lord God of hosts. The whole
earth is full of His glory. Our peace is not given by who's
in the White House. It's not determined about who's
elected and who rules in the White House. Oh no, it's determined
by that one who sits upon the throne of everlasting glory,
the Prince of Peace himself said, My peace I give unto you. My
peace I leave with you. Don't let your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. The rule and reign of earthly
kings cease, because they themselves cease, like Solomon did, like
Uzziah did, but not King Jesus. Not him. Oh no, of his kingdom
there shall be no end. He shall reign forever. Turn
if you will to Psalm 29. The 29th Psalm speaks of this. Psalm 29 verse 1. Give unto the
Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength.
Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name. Exalt Him. Praise Him. Glorify Him. Honor
Him. Ascribe greatness to our God.
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the
Lord is upon the waters. The God of glory thundereth.
The Lord is upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful.
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. Look down at verse
10. The Lord saideth upon the flood,
yea, the Lord saideth, King, Forever, forever. Verse 11, the
Lord will give strength unto his people. The Lord will bless
his people with peace. All they said, even his enemies
confessed, we've never heard anybody speak like him. They
sent these men to arrest our Lord and they couldn't. His time
was not yet come. And they went back to the authorities
and the authorities asked them, why have you not brought him
to us? And they said, you don't understand. You just don't understand. Nobody speaks like him. He's
different. He's not like you. He doesn't
teach like you. He teaches with authority. He
speaks of things as though he knew what he was talking about.
He's not like you. Oh, never a man spake like this
man. He stood on the ship. during
a storm at sea and the waves were tossed and the rains came
down and the waves were beating into the ship and he stood there
and he said to the waves and to the wind, peace be still. And you know what the result
was? We're told there was a great calm. A poor diseased leper came
to him one day, bowed down before him and said, if you will, you
can make me clean. And our king, the king of glory
said, I will, be thou clean. And you know what happened? The
leper was cleansed. The leper was cleansed. Oh, he
stood before the tomb of a dead man, a man who had been dead
four days. And he spoke that man's name
and said, Lazarus, come forth. And you know what the result
was? Lazarus walked out of the tomb. When he bowed his head
upon the cross and cried, it is finished. You know what the
result was? You know what the outcome of
that was? Bless God, all the sins of all
his people were put away. then and there, completely, eternally,
forever. Oh yes, how can any man dare
say that the work of Jesus Christ upon the cross on the behalf
of his people was not an accomplishment, was not finished? How can a man
dare say that when the King himself declared it is Finished. It's accomplished. I've done
what I came to do. He then and there, without any
need for you and I, for all of his people for whom he shed his
precious blood, they don't add anything to that in time. Everything flows to them from
that blessed work as a gift of God's mighty grace. Oh, then
and there, He alone by Himself trod the winepress and brought
in an everlasting righteousness and accomplished eternal redemption
for us. My soul, what a Savior! What a Savior! What an accomplishment
that was! What a feat that was! What a
work that was! He satisfied divine justice! He took the cup of God's wrath
and He drank damnation dry! What a Savior! Now, when He speaks
these sweet words, Thy sins are forgiven thee, go in peace, that's
done too. That's done too, when he says
so, not when the preacher says so, or the priest, not even the
Holy Father, the Pope himself. Oh, but when the King says so,
when the King of Glory says, thy sins are forgiven thee, enter
into peace, the very peace of God, my Father, and your Father,
and my God, and your God, then it's done. Turn, if you will,
to the book of Daniel, Daniel chapter 4. Nebuchadnezzar walked
out upon the balcony of his palace one day. And he looked out and
said, oh, look at great Babylon. Boy, isn't this something. Babylon,
he said, that my hands have built. Daniel chapter 4. And while the
word was still in his mouth, he who is king of kings, and
that includes Nebuchadnezzar, he was his king too, said, Nebuchadnezzar,
the kingdom is taken from thee. God sets men up and God brings
them down. It's up to him. And the kingdom
was taken from Nebuchadnezzar. He loses his mind. The next time
we see him, he's in a field down on all fours. Not a very flattering
picture, is it? That's what happened to Nebuchadnezzar.
That's what happened to that proud rebel. And when God was
pleased to restore his senses back to him, listen to what he
says in verse 34 of Daniel 4. At the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar,
lifted up my eyes unto heaven. If he had done that at the beginning,
he wouldn't have been driven from his throne. And mine understanding
returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, the Most High. And I praised and honored him
that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and
his kingdom is from generation to generation. and all the inhabitants
of the earth are reputed as nothing, and he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven." Sounds like he has his way, doesn't
it? He doeth according to his will
in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth,
and none. None, many or few, great or small. None can stay His hand. He's
omnipotent. He has all power. None can stay
His hand or say unto Him, what doest thou? He has His way. At the same time, my reason returned
unto me, and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness
returned unto me, and my counselors and my Lord sought unto me. And
I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added
unto me." Now, now. Now I've changed my tune. He's
been brought down. Like my father used to say to
me when I would get a little bit too big for my riches, son,
I'm going to knock you down a peg or two. And he'd do it. He'd
do it. He was good at it. And I had
it coming. This is what God did to Nebuchadnezzar.
And afterwards, Nebuchadnezzar said this, verse 37. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar,
praise and extol and honor, not himself like he did before, oh,
I'll honor and extol the King of heaven. All whose works are
truth, and his ways are justice, are right. And those that walk
in pride, like Nebuchadnezzar did, he's able to abase. He's able to bring down. No flesh, no flesh should glory
in his presence. And remember what our king said
in John chapter 17, Father, I finished the work that you gave me to
do. I've done what you sent me into
this world to do. You've given me power over all
flesh. You've committed all flesh, saved
and lost. All mankind are in my hand. You've given me the name above
every name. All power is in my hand. All
authority, all flesh is in my hand to do what? To give eternal
life, unlimited power for this purpose. To give eternal life
to as many as Thou has given me. Oh yes, our King rules over
a greater kingdom than Solomon ever did. And the subjects of
this king, they can't be numbered. Solomon had a great kingdom,
but they could be numbered. Now, of course, the Lord knows
those that are His, but when John saw them, when John saw
them before the throne, all clothed in white robes of the righteousness
of Christ, all waving the palm leaf of victory, when John saw
them, he said, there were a great multitude that I couldn't number. I couldn't number. Has anyone
ever told you, you know, this, that you believe election. Most
churches in our day just assume you walk in and say a cuss word
and then utter that word, rather, election. But people hear that
you believe that, you know, it's got a way of coming out. And
they'll say, oh yeah, you believe only a few people are going to
be saved. You believe only a few might
be saved. And it gives me joy to tell them,
oh no, I'm sorry, you're wrong. You've never heard that from
me. You've never heard that from any man that preaches God's free
grace, that we believe only a few might be saved. The Bible doesn't
talk that way, and God's preachers don't either. No, we believe
that a multitude Not might be saved, but bless God, they will
be saved. There's no might about it. They
will be saved. They'll be saved today. They'll
hear His voice and they're going to come to Him. They're going
to come. You know why? Because they that
exalt themselves, God's able to bring down. It doesn't make
any difference how proud a rebel He is. How far he's wandered
from the Father's house. When Christ says, come unto me,
come down, they'll come down. Oh, that gives me encouragement,
doesn't it, you? The glorious gospel of the blessed
God is the instruments that God has chosen to use. It's the ordained
means. Today, he's not changed his mind. He doesn't need another instrument.
No, this is the instrument. David said concerning Goliath's
sword, give it to me. Give it to me. There's not another
like it. And concerning the gospel of
God's free grace, it's his ordained means of calling out his elect. And he still uses it today. A
multitude that none can ever not might be saved, but bless
God, they will be saved. All the subject of this King,
The Lord Jesus Christ, they bowed to Him willingly. Willingly. Another accusation's been laid
against those who believe in free grace. We've been told,
you believe that God saves people against their will. Anybody ever
told you that? You believe God saves people
against their will. No, you've never heard me say
that. You've never heard me preach that and you never will. Because
it's not scriptural. I believe as I said this morning.
As I read from Revelation 22 this morning and I believe it.
I can preach from that without any reservation whatsoever. Whosoever
will, let him take the water of life freely. Louis, because
grace is free and sovereign, that we can preach from a text
like that. Whosoever will. without any qualification,
without any prerequisites. Come to the throne of grace.
Come to the fountain of living water. If anybody's thirsty,
the invitation is there. Come and drink by wine and milk
without money and without price. But I also know this, I know
this is true as well. Our Lord said to those in his
day, and it's true of man today, he hasn't changed, his nature
is still fallen. Ye will not come to me. If left
alone, if left to yourself, ye will not come to me. He said
you search the scriptures. You do that. He wasn't telling
them, go do that. He said, I know you do that.
You search the scriptures, but they testify of me. And he said,
ye will not come to me that you might have life. Then what's
the answer to that? Whosoever will, let him come.
And yet we're told, man left to himself will not come. What's
the answer? Oh, the answer of grace is this.
My people shall be willing in the day of my power. It's God's will that makes the
difference. It's not man. No, we're born
not in the will of man, nor the will of flesh, but we're born
again from above by the will of God Himself. Oh, the reason
the King declares, all that the Father giveth me. She'll come
to me. Oh, isn't that royal language?
Isn't that the language of a king? Doesn't that sound like one speaking
that has all power over all flesh? All that the Father given me
says, shall come. There's no question about it.
There's no doubt about it. Those that I redeem, remember
what we read earlier in Isaiah 43? You're mine. You're mine. You belong to me. I've redeemed you. You're mine. And the Lord says, all that the
Father giveth me shall come to me. And he that cometh unto me
I will in no wise cast out. Solomon was a great builder. One of the things that so impressed
the Queen of Sheba while she visited him was all the buildings
that Solomon had built, that he was the architect of. Oh,
but behold, a greater than Solomon is here. He said concerning this
temple of Solomon, he told his disciples, The day is coming
when there won't be left here one stone upon another that won't
be thrown down. Compare that to his temple. His
workmanship. Turn, if you will, to Ephesians
chapter 2. Because the temple of God, the
temple of Christ is not made of stones, not made of bricks
and mortar. It's made of His people. By the
Spirit of God dwelling in His people, we're the temple of the
living God. And this is what Paul speaks
of in Ephesians chapter 2. The workmanship of Christ Himself. Verse 20 of Ephesians 2. Well,
let's read verse 19 as well. Now, therefore, ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints
and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets. The same foundation. Jesus Christ
himself being the chief cornerstone. Is that so? That's the most important
part of the building, is it not? Everything standard rises upon
that, does it not? Oh yes. Jesus Christ himself
being the chief cornerstone in whom all the building. fitly
framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord." A
perfect foundation, a perfect structure because it rests on
and it grows from that perfect foundation, Jesus Christ Himself. Turn, if you will, to 1 Peter
chapter 2. where he speaks of this precious
chief cornerstone. 1 Peter 2, verse 6. He says, Wherefore also it is
contained in Scripture. Isaiah chapter 28. Behold, this
is God speaking. Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone. elect precious, precious. And he that believeth on him
shall not be confounded, shall not be put to shame, shall never
be ashamed, shall never be put to shame. He that rests upon
Christ the chief cornerstone, that one foundation chosen by
God, elect and precious. Secondly, our king has greater
glory than Solomon. Behold, greater than Solomon
is here. Solomon's glory was given to
him by God, but our Lord's was his inherently. He was himself
The God-Man. John said, "...and the Word was
made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the
glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and
truth." See the glorious conquest of our King. He reigns over sin. Where sin abounded, grace doth
much more abound. Turn back, if you will, to Romans
chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. Here's the
reign of grace and the result of it. And it reigns through
one man, the Lord Jesus Christ, in Romans chapter 5, verse 19. For as by one man's disobedience,
Adam, many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall
many be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered that
the offense might abound, but But where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound. That as sin had reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. The only help for me, The only
helper of this sinner, the only grace that's going to help me
is reigning grace, conquering grace, sufficient grace. The
floods of his grace prevails over the mountains of our sins. I hear the king say, I shall
give grace and glory. Grace and glory. Whoever experiences
my grace, that's a foretaste of glory. That's the earnest
of glory. Whoever experiences that can
rest assured I'll bring them all the way to glory. It's my
will. It's my will. And none can stake
my hand. It's my purpose that all the
Father giveth me should be with me where I am. The Queen of Sheba,
when she had saw all of Solomon's rule, his kingdom, listen to
his wisdom, we read, and when the Queen of Sheba saw, or rather
had seen Solomon's wisdom and the house that he had built,
there was no more spirit in her. Can you imagine? I thought about
this this afternoon. When we see him, When we see
our great King, that One who is greater than Solomon, greater
than all, King of kings and Lord of lords, when we're ushered
into His presence and we see Him, the hymn writer said it
like this, when we see Thee as Thou art, love Thee with an unsinning
heart, Lonnie, what will that be like? What will that be like
Louie to love him with an unsetting heart to see him as he is? Not till then shall we know what
a debt of love we owe and we'll cast our crowns down at his feet
Singing worthy is the lamb. Oh my there'll be no more spirit
Left in us and our great King has greater wisdom than that
of Solomon Could Solomon give her the answer to this question?
How can a sinner have peace with God? How can a man born of woman,
man that is unclean, be just with God? All of man's wisdom,
all it ever produced is this. All man's wisdom, the world by
wisdom, knew not God, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1. But behold,
a greater than Solomon has the answer. No, that's not right.
That's not right. It's not that a greater than
Solomon has the answer. It's that he is the answer. He's the wisdom and the righteousness
and the redemption and the sanctification of all his people made so by
God. Turn, if you will, to Galatians
chapter 2. Galatians chapter 2. Read verses
2 and 3. Galatians 2, verse 2. That their
hearts might be comforted being knit together in love and unto
all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement
of the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ, in
whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." They
all reside in Him. They all abide in Him. Only in
Christ and by Christ do mercy and truth meet together. Only
in him do righteousness and peace kiss one another. Now last of
all, our King, beholder greater than Solomon is here, he has
greater riches than Solomon ever had. Open the treasure chest
of grace and there sparkles the precious gift of faith. the precious gift of faith. Blessed are your eyes, he said,
for they see. Look again, and there's the Father's
ring of reconciliation that he puts upon the finger of every
prodigal son that by grace is brought back home to him. And
there's the crown of righteousness that fadeth not away, a mansion
prepared for all of his own. Turn, if you will, to 1 Peter
chapter 1. Let's read this together. First
Peter chapter 1 verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to his abundant mercy,
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled,
and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, awaiting your
arrival. who are kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
time. Solomon's throne, we read in
1 Kings, was overlaid with gold. But behold, the throne of our
king, the throne that he sits on, we're told in Hebrews 4,
it's a throne of grace. Oh, a throne of grace. Of what
value is that? There he sits with all the riches
of God's grace at his disposal. And he alone has the right and
the power to dispense that grace and mercy. And he exercises that
power. He does it. Turn, if you will,
to Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4, verse 14.
Oh, this is our great high priest. This is that one greater than
Solomon. Verse 14 of Hebrews 4, seeing
then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with
the filling of our infirmities. He identifies with his people.
He was flesh of our flesh and bone of our bones. He was made
like unto his brethren. but was in all points tempted
like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace." A throne of grace where the King of grace
sits, dispensing all the grace that all of His people will ever
need until He brings every one of them to glory, that we may
obtain mercy and find grace to help in time Need. Oh, yes, behold a greater than
Solomon is here Let me conclude the message by reading a few
verses from Psalm 45 Psalm number 45 concerning our great God and
King the Lord Jesus Christ Psalm 45 verse 2 Thou art fairer than
the children of men Grace is poured into thy lips. That's
our Lord. Therefore. God have blessed thee
forever Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O Most Mighty, with thy
glory and majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously,
because of truth and meekness and righteousness, and thy right
hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp
in the heart of the king's enemies, whereby thy people fall under
thee. Thy throne, O God, is forever
and ever. The scepter of thy kingdom is
a right scepter. Thou lovest righteousness and
hatest wickedness. Therefore God, thy God, hath
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Behold, a greater than Solomon
is here. God bless you.