* Solomon takes wise steps to establish his kingdom.

Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet

By our own flesh we will compromise the Word of God, weakening our position.

By the Spirit we will establish our own kingdom; that area in this life to which we have been assigned.

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A lesson concerning our flesh:

Our flesh does not want to keep God in our knowledge.

Our flesh wants to be praised by other people and to seem like "a good person", "a fair person", to other people.  So our flesh will encourage us to take actions to be "friends" with all persons, showing such our support even in their sins.

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In the 1980's, I was on radio in many cities, from coast to coast in USA.  I went into those cities and had meetings for the radio audiences.  So I was traveling much of the time during the year.

I was in my hotel room in Seattle when I received a phone call from one of our part time office workers.

At that time, one woman from the church I attended, handled the office staff which met in her home.  They answered the mail from the radio audience, and they prepared boxes of tapes which we sold at my meetings (by which we paid for radio broadcasts), and they took care of the offerings which came through the mail.

I trusted the woman in charge and I never checked to see what she was doing.

The part time worker who called me that day asked, "Do you know about the financial problem?"

I replied, "What problem?"

She went on to tell me that we did not have sufficient money to pay for that month's radio bills.

I got off the phone and prayed:  "God ... what is the problem?"

One word was brought to my mind:  "Chris." (this was the woman in charge of the office)

I got on the phone and called the office manager and fired her immediately.

This is like the Old Testament story where they took the sword and killed the enemy swiftly.

I did not ask her to explain herself.  I had heard from God that she was the problem so I got rid of the problem.  

This may seem to be irrational, but all I need to take action is what God says to me.

Keep it simple.  

When I fired her, the other office workers quit in loyalty to her.

At that time, most of us were in the faith movement churches.  So the action I took must have seemed devastating.

There were about 8 people working for Chris, plus this part time worker who called me.

***

After I returned to Dallas and got the financial books, my secretary, Peggy, and I sorted through the records.

First, I learned we were paying a man to keep track of our accounts and to prepare our ministry tax reports once yearly.  We were paying him about $600 a month, as I recall.  Peggy and I took $400 a month salary.  He was making more than we were.

I called this man and said we could no longer afford to have him take this much money for doing our taxes.

This man said to me, "I thought it was a lot of money but in view of the amount you were paying your office staff it seemed reasonable to me."

It turned out that Chris had been paying the office staff as much as $1200 a month, as I recall.  That was an enormous amount of money at that point in time for office work.

When you consider where Chris was coming from in doctrine, it did make sense.  She was deeply involved in the faith movement and her theory was, "God wants to bless you."  She was blessing everyone with our money.

An example of the craziness: 

I lived in Dallas and sometimes I had to fly out of DFW which was located between Dallas and Fort Worth.  When this was the case, Chris would send the husband of one of the office workers to come from Arlington (15 miles away) to pick me up and take me to the airport. I can't recall how much she paid him but at the time I realized I could have rented a chauffer driven limousine for less than we were paying this man!

But I considered that all the problems with the office manager and her dealings with finances came from the doctrine of the faith movement which was, "God wants to bless you."

Within a month of firing her, our finances were straightened out and we never again had a problem paying for radio bills.

Peggy and I took care of all the finances from my apartment so there was no longer any expense.

My "kingdom" was established.

So it is with each of us.  We have to turn to God and see the source of the problem and take a spiritual sword to that problem, removing it quickly, to establish that assignment which we have been given by God.

***

In the following examples, we will see king Solomon taking action with wisdom, to deal with his kingdom and to establish his kingdom.

I Kings 2:12-25    Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.

And Adonijah (the 1/2 brother of Solomon) the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.

He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on. 

15  And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother's: for it was his from the Lord.

And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on.

And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.

And Bathsheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king. 

Bathsheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand.

Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay.  And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay.

And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife.

And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.

Then king Solomon sware by the Lord, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life.

Now therefore, as the Lord liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me an house, as HE promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day.

Why? What did Adonijah do?

This is what I asked God before writing this.  I told God I didn't understand this sin.  I told God I didn't think I could write this unless God explained this to me so I could understand.

So God explained it to me.

Adonijah showed his heart in his opening statement which he made to Bathsheba when he said:

"Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother's:"  v. 15

In his heart the kingdom should have belonged to him, to Adonijah.  He viewed it as stolen from him by Solomon.

Second, Adonijah showed he would do everything to slip himself into Solomon's place, even to the point of going through Bathsheba, Solomon's mother.

Wisely Solomon knew Adonijah would never be satisified with his position in the kingdom and only if he were king in place of Solomon would he be happy.

So this was as a death warrant for Adonijah. 

I Kings 2:25    And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him (on Adonijah) that he died.

By this Solomon took proper steps to establish the kingdom given to him by God.

It seems strange to us today that God would approve such a killing, but that is because we, today, are steeped in the ways of today's world.  When we read more Bible examples we will see more from the standpoint of the true God, whom Paul said was more than we knew ... "knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men."  II Corinthians 5:11

***

Certainly we do not physically kill people today who are enemies.  But we do put those people away from our association, thus cutting them off, as if by a sword.

My own cousin took strong action against me to try to stop me from going the way God showed me to go and to try to get me to go the way she goes in the Church of Christ church group.

To follow my cousin, I would have to do the following:

* Renounce all the heavenly visions and experiences which God has given me.

* Renounce all the teachings of the Bible concerning the Holy Spirit of God.

* Renounce faith in God.

* Renounce the blood of Jesus who cleaned me from my sins of early times.

* Set up a doctrine of works.

Paul once told the following to king Agrippa:

Acts 26:19   Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:

I told my cousin I was not going her way but was staying with the heavenly vision given me by God.

***

At the exact same time, one of our church members arose against me with terrible accusations. She said the corrections I had brought her were like I was throwing rocks at her. 

If that were true, I had no business being a minister of God or continuing to present exhortations to the church.

So I told God I had to be judged by HIM.

That same night God gave me a dream:  I opened the front door of my house to find that someone had put piles of their own garbage at my door and all the way down the front of my house and now it would have to be cleaned up.

I believe God was telling me this woman's many accusations against me were her own stored up garbage.

Instead of confronting me, she lived for decades with these things in her heart.  Instead of repenting by scripture and honoring the ministry, she stored up her feelings until they finally surfaced from her heart through her mouth.  She had been with our church group for 39-years.

Now she was "railing" against me.

I Corinthians 5:11    But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

Railer:  to complain bitterly or vehemently against another person

I could hardly believe what I was hearing.  It was by phone and I finally stopped her and said, "We need to get Pam Padgett to hear what you are saying."  I got Pam to come to the extension to moderate this matter.

Amazingly this woman picked up her "railing" against me and continued with her bitter accusations.

Pam and I both knew this woman of 39-years had to be put out of the church group because Paul said to do this to a "railer" in I Corinthians 5:11.

She has never shown any sign of repentance.

This woman has a very dark side and a fascination with suicide.  When she and her husband visited the Grand Canyon she told me she took one look at the area and then went back to their hotel and looked at a book concerning those who have committed suicide in the Grand Canyon.

She as good as committed suicide that day she attacked me and attacked the ministry of God.

It is very hard to believe a person would do these things in the church.  But they do.

Jesus said:  John 16:2   yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

I feel certain my Church of Christ cousin felt she was doing God a service by trying to stop me.

Through the many attacks over the past 40+ years, I have turned to God and HE has kept me going by HIS Word which HE brought to my mind by the Holy Spirit.

***

These scriptures keep me going:

Hebrews 3:12-14   Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; 

Hebrews 10:25    Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

exhort:  to urge earnestly by advise or warning

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