I Kings 9:2 That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.
Some years ago, in my area of Rutherford County, Tennessee, there was a piece of land, which is now almost right in the city, that was kind of rural. It was a farm at one point, but a church had apparently bought the property. For some years there was a big sign on the corner of the empty lot that had been the old farm property that stated, “Look what God is doing here” with the name of the church. I certainly sympathize with these people. I don’t know what happened. Maybe they just didn’t have enough money to make a go of it. I don’t know. But it was striking that for years I went by an empty lot that said, “Look what God is doing here.” I think God was doing something, but obviously He did not do anything that resulted in building in that spot. That may have been for a number of reasons.
If you were to put a sign on yourself today, could it say without irony, “Look at what God is doing here”? Sometimes we want to give things to God like our ministry, talents, money, church building, child, or a marriage. All of those things are good, but ministry is an action, not a thing. Sometimes we say, “I’m giving this ministry to God.” Well, ministry is not a church building. It is not an organization of people. Ministry primarily is an action. It is service and serving.
In I Kings 9 we read the story of the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, this magnificent structure that Solomon had made for Jehovah God. I Kings 9:1-2 says, “And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD…that the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.” God goes on to say, “I have heard thy prayer…I have hallowed this house.” But then God says, “And if thou wilt walk before me…then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom.” Verse 6 says, “But if ye shall at all turn from following me then will I cut off all Israel.”
You have a condition here. God says, “If you give yourself to Me, I will honor this house. If you turn yourself from Me, this house is not going to be enough to make you alright.” In other words, the best way to dedicate your work is to dedicate yourself. Should I give my work to God? Yes. Should I give my money to God? Yes. Should I give my family to God? Yes. But what God wants, and the only thing you really have to give apart from gratitude, is yourself.
Maybe you are dedicating a church building. My home church is hoping to shortly begin building a church building on some new property. God has been very good to us. So, it is great to dedicate a church building, but what about dedicating yourself? Maybe in your kitchen there are Bible verses. That is great! But it is not so much the house that needs to be given to God; it is you.
I once preached in a church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that had once been a nightclub. As John Rice once said, “I too am under new management.” So, here is a building created to be a nightclub that is now a church building. I remember meeting someone who said, “Before I was saved, I used to come to this building as a nightclub. Now I am saved and this is where my church meets.” That is wonderful! So, it is good to dedicate a building, but it is better to dedicate yourself.
What about a marriage? We dedicate our marriages to God, but there is definitely a trend, almost a desperate flee to the casual. It is like we are scared of something that is transcendent, substantive, or that includes God in any way. Friend, whatever venue you use for your marriage, it is important that you remember you are talking about something that is a covenant, not just with another person, but with God. It is transcendent and important. It is an occasion. We should dedicate our marriages to God, but that begins by dedicating yourself.
There is a sense in which you can’t make a decision for your spouse, to say, “I am now going to serve God with my spouse.” You give yourself to God and help your spouse to do the same. So, dedicate your marriage, but first dedicate yourself.
What about your children? My church sometimes has a baby dedication where parents dedicate their babies to the Lord. That is a wonderful tradition. But when God appeared to Solomon, He said that He had heard Solomon’s prayer and had hallowed the temple, but then told him to walk before Him as David had with integrity, uprightness, and obedience. So, David had walked with God and had perhaps dedicated Solomon to God, but Solomon needed to dedicate himself to God.
Ultimately, apart from gratitude, the only thing you have to give God is yourself. Even you are a creation of God, but you have the choice. So, give what you have to God, but begin by giving yourself because the best way to dedicate your work is to dedicate yourself.