Any Requests?

1 Kings 8:54-61--When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the LORD, he rose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven.  55)  He stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:  56)  “Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.  57)  May the LORD our God be with us as He was with our fathers; may He never leave us nor forsake us.  58)  May He turn our hearts to Him, to walk in all His ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations which He gave our fathers.  59)  And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that He may uphold the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel according to each day’s need, 60) so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other.  61)  But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by His decrees and obey His commands, as at this time.” 

It rapidly approached…2014!  Lots of people made their New Year’s resolutions. They resolve to change their lives in the New Year—to start doing this, to stop doing that. Did you write yours?  New Year’s resolutions are fine, but a better way for us Christians might be not to make resolutions, but to make New Year’s requests. Requests put the emphasis where it belongs—not on us and on our power, but on God and His power.  Asking is an act of humility, an indicator of our need for a power greater than ourselves.  So join me today as we listen to our God, who tells us:

MAKE SOME NEW YEAR’S REQUESTS!

There are three requests we ought to make, as we see in Solomon’s words this evening:

1. Ask God to never leave us

2. Ask God to help us keep His commands

3. Ask God to bless our daily efforts 

Solomon says, “May the Lord our God be with us as He was with our fathers; May He never leave us nor forsake us.”  God will never leave us in 2014, but we are able to leave Him.  We all have a sinful heart that attacks God’s rule inside us and wants to do our own thing.  Every sin we did in 2013 is proof of that.  This past year wasn’t always moments of pride for me.  I look back and see broken promises, unfinished work, undisciplined days, and feeble attempts to serve Jesus.  If you’re honest with yourself, I’m sure you see the same thing.  We left our Lord and tried to run away from Him too much this last year...even if it was only once. 

That’s why we need to pray tonight, “Jesus, never leave us or forsake us in 2014.”

As Solomon says in verse 58, “May He turn our hearts to Him.”  When we ask God to never leave us, we’re asking God to turn our hearts to Him.  We’re the ones who need to change. We’re the ones who need to be different.  We’re asking God to lead us to repentance, for that’s what the word “repent” means: “to turn,” or “to change.”  When we ask God to never leave us, we’re asking Him to make us sorry for our sin the instant we do, say, or think it.  We’re pleading with God to assure us of Jesus’ forgiveness for that sin.  We’re asking God to cause us to joyfully remember we’re redeemed through His blood.  Our God has done that for us daily in 2013.  And He will continue to fulfill His truth!

Solomon continues speaking, “Not one word has failed of all the good promises God gave through His servant Moses.”  Our God won’t leave us in 2014.  He’ll be there every day for us.  He’ll speak to us daily through the words of the Bible we read; those very words we meditate on, those words we have memorized...we have written on the tablet of our hearts.  He’ll faithfully be there every week as we gather for worship or Bible Study or Wednesday Night Fellowship.  He’ll be there constantly/consistently through our fellow Christians, who bring us words of encouragement, comfort, strength and correction throughout this New Year.  When we ask God to never leave us, that’s a prayer of faith in which we declare we believe He NEVER WILL.

And that leads to a second New Year’s request: Ask God to help us keep His commands.

Solomon says, “May He turn our hearts to walk in all His ways and to keep the commands, decrees, and regulations which He gave our fathers.” This wise king continues, “Your hearts must be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by His decrees and obey His commands.”

It is part of our Christian faith that we now turn from sin and desire to do God’s will.  The Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is to depart from evil.”  Jesus once said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

Part of believing in Jesus is that we are now devoted to doing what God wants us to do, because of Jesus’ love for us.  It’s true; we won’t always get that done.  There’s still a part of us that wrestles with the flesh and doesn’t want to do what He has for us.  To the degree that we see that in our daily lives, that’s proof we still have an old Adam of sin who’s alive and well.  But that part of us is NOT in charge of our lives.  The new man of faith is!  The real us, the real people of God that we are, is our believing nature & His redeeming grace.  And He’s the one in control of our lives.  The instant we see sin rooting in us, we fight it tooth and nail because His blood & salvation have made us a new creation!  His Holy Spirit inside convicting us for His glory.  Because we believe in and have accepted Jesus, now we are determined not to sin, but to fight it and do God’s commands instead.

HOWEVER, we need God’s power to do that, so that’s why we ask God to help us keep His commands. We ask the Father to remind us of what Jesus did for us to cleanse us from our sins.  We request that God daily to show us His love in Jesus and to assure us that because of Him we’re forgiven.  We petition Him daily to guard our lives, tongues, and thoughts with His controlling gospel power.  Paul says, “The love of Christ compels us, for we are convinced that if one died for all, then all died. And He died for all…so that those who live no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.”  Ask God to help us keep His commands in the year 2014.

This is especially needed in our relationships.  How about in our homes?—husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters.  Ask God to help you treat each other with kindness, respect, gentleness, and love.  In the workplace—ask God to help you do your job well (to work as unto Him), to follow Matthew 18, and avoid petty gossip.  In your social lives and neighborhoods—ask God to help you live lives that glorify Jesus. Make this New Year’s request—We need His help.

Finally, let us ask God to bless our daily efforts.  Solomon says, “May the Lord our God uphold the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel according to each day’s need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other.”  Solomon here is asking the Lord to bless his daily efforts as king and to uphold the efforts of Israel as the Lord’s people.

We do the same.  If we claim to be heirs with Christ then every day we do what we do because of Jesus’ love for us.  God has laid out for us what to do in 2014.  He’s planned it all and has set up opportunities for us to serve Him.  We just need to ask God to bless us as we do them.

Are you a husband and a father?  Ask God to bless you in that role.

Are you a wife and a mother?  Ask God to bless you in that role.

Are you a student or a worker?  Ask God to bless you in that role.

We all have individual tasks that are given to us daily.  They may look rather mundane, common, monotonous—preparing meals, punching timecards, cleaning homes, doing schoolwork.  They may seem to be not very glorious to the world, but they are glorious to our God, because they are an assignment from Him...And He’s promised to bless them.

The Bible says in 1 Thes 4:11-12, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”  Don’t ever put down what you’re called to do in 2014.  Because when it’s done in the name of Jesus, God views it as a wonderful act of thanksgiving, love, and sacrifice to Him.

Solomon tells us everything we do has missionary value.  Let me write that again!  EVERYTHING WE DO HAS MISSIONARY VALUE.  He states in 1 Kings, “so that all the peoples on earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other.”  People will be watching us in 2014.  Will they see our little acts of kindness?  Will they hear our tactful and encouraging words?  Will they observe our faithfulness to duty and our commitment to people?  Will they notice our submissiveness to God’s will and to one another?  Will they be aware of our quiet and confident joy in living as children of God?  Will they be amazed at our forgiving attitude and daily contentment?  You can’t hide the fruits of the Spirit.  Let’s ask God to bless our daily efforts at letting our lights shine in 2014, so many other people will be led to give up their ‘rat race’ approach to life and revel in God’s grace instead.

Go ahead.  Make your New Year’s resolutions.  But make them in the form of a prayer. If we make resolutions to do anything by our own power, they will fail.  But if we make resolutions to do everything in life in the power of our God, then He will bless them. Turn to God this New Year and make some New Year’s requests!

I pray:  Loving God, inspire us with courage and hope as we continue to embark on this New Year.  May our lives throughout the coming months be an example of Your love in our relationships with family, friends, and those we meet in our work.  Bless us with fruitful opportunities in 2014; grant us the wisdom to grasp them, and Your resources to complete them.  In the powerful name of Jesus, I pray AMEN!