Isaiah 40:31 says, "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
We have been in a series called, "Pursuing Wisdom."
We learned from Solomon's life that it doesn't matter how much wisdom you have if you don't apply it. We also learned from Solomon's life that it doesn't matter how well you start. It matters how you finish. 1 Kings 11:4 says, "For WHEN SOLOMON WAS OLD his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father." The part that surprised me most about Solomon isn't that he turned from the Lord, but WHEN he turned from the Lord: when he was old. He finished poorly because he failed to apply the wisdom God gave him.
If Solomon was the only example of a king finishing poorly after starting well I wouldn't have developed any sermons on this topic. But since it's a theme I thought it deserved attention. If Scripture makes something important through repetition, we should make it important. In our last sermon we looked at three examples: Solomon, Saul, Hezekiah, and Asa. We will look at two more examples this morning: Joash and Uzziah.
Thinking about the Christian life as a race is very applicable because many verses in the New Testament make this comparison. Here are a few… • 1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know THAT IN A RACE ALL THE RUNNERS RUN, but only one receives the prize? So RUN THAT YOU MAY OBTAIN IT. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I DO NOT RUN AIMLESSLY. • Acts 20
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Scott LaPierre is the teaching pastor at Woodland Christian Church in Woodland, WA, an author, and conference speaker. He holds an MA in Biblical Studies from Liberty University. Scott and his wife, Katie, have nine children and they are passionate homeschooling advocates. Scott...
