BY JAN PAULSEN, President,
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

My Text is 2 Chronicles 7:11-16, and the setting is the dedication of Solomon's temple.

David, the man after God's own heart, the patriarch of the royalty of Israel, had wanted to build the temple for the worship of God as an act of dedication and an expression of his love for the God of Israel. But God said "No, not you. Because you are a man of war and much blood has been shed." And David understood.

God is present among his people also when he says: "This is not the role for you; not now. I have someone else in mind." It is not a sign of rejection by God. It is just that God has other plans. God loved David, and he honored David for the fact that it was in his heart to build the temple, but when God told him that Solomon, his son, was the one who would do it, David did all in his power to rally the people of Israel to support this plan. This teaches me that the cause is always bigger than the individual.

Before David died he offered one of the most moving prayers recorded in the Bible. (We find it in 1 Chron. 29:14- 19.) In it he says to God: "I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity" (verse 17).* His humility and devotion is so eloquently expressed when he says to God, no doubt thinking of the temple he had wanted to build, "Who am I to think that there is anything I could bring to you. Everything I have is already yours" (verse 14, paraphrase).

Some of you have said the same to the Lord about your worship and service, and I honor you for it. As an act of worship and devotion you have given much and generously, and you have gone back to find more to give, for that is what love compels you to do.

And so, under King Solomon, a temple of unmatched beauty is built to God. The temple was finished and the moment for its dedication had come. As the people are gathered, Solomon offered a very special prayer to God to mark the opening of the dedication event itself. The prayer (in 2 Chronicles 6) is remarkable for the things Solomon said to God-among them the following (as his words played with my thoughts):

You who are too big for the whole universe to contain, will You really come and dwell in this house (verse 18)? Will You be that close to us? We are flawed. What about Your reputation?

When Your people pray in this house, will You hear and forgive (verse 21)? We pray and ask for forgiveness, and then, alas, we go back to our old ways - is it true that You forgive not just seven times, but seventy times seven? When a man wrongs his neighbor, will You side with the innocent one (verse 23) and defend him, for it is so difficult for the one who is innocent to defend himself. When the people are defeated by an enemy, deservedly because they have sinned against You, and they are taken away to a foreign land, and they confess their sins, repent, turn towards this house and pray, will You forgive them and bring them back to the land of their fathers (verse 25)? God, when my wrong decisions back-fire on me and maybe my family, and I deserve what is coming, but they do not, can I come to You and know that You will open Your arms and take me in?

When a foreigner who does not belong to Israel comes to pray in this house, will You hear also his prayer so that all people may know You (verse 32)? Lord, You love the stranger whom I may think does not belong in this house. Please help me to remember that.

As Solomon looks to the future, he knows the frailty of his people, and in this prayer he wants to cover all his bases with God, even to the point of acknowledging the equal right of "strangers" to be heard by God. It is important to understand that God is not owned by anyone. God is a God for all people, and his saving love goes out to all. And his houses of worship are houses of prayer for all people. Mission is about opening doors-and keeping them open.

Then God Spoke
The night following the dedication service, God appeared to Solomon in response to his prayer earlier in the day. And it's what He said to Solomon that I invite you to think about next:

The first thing that strikes us is the sovereignty of God. God shows that He is the One who sets the parameters and lays down the rules. But also that He is the one who lovingly reaches out to claim His people and give them assurance of how they can walk into the future with him.

The image of a father and his wayward child only hints at the strength of God's involvement with Israel then, and also with his people today.

"If my people who are called by my name . . . ."

There is a people whom God calls His own. This is the God who loves every human being, and, yet, he says: There is a people who are mine in a special way. Israel of old-the seed of Abraham-were that people for whom God had wonderful plans. They had a special place in his purposes. God looks upon this people-not as a people who might one day qualify to be listed as "my people," but are "my people" now! What does He see as He looks at us? He sees flaws and luke-warmness. And yet, "enfeebled and defective" though the church is, it is the "one object upon which God bestows in a special sense His supreme regard" (Acts of the Apostles, p. 12).

Why? Because they are "my people," says the Lord. And therein lies a wealth of love and commitment. Let us not be reckless or callous in our treatment of the church. God is watching, and he cares. Israel of old failed God primarily because of unbelief. This is the message, sadly, that's expressed with almost every generation. Their unbelief was seen mainly through their apostasy-choosing other gods and other values; and, therefore, with the passing of time, God, the spurned lover, turned elsewhere.

Also in this we see God's sovereignty displayed. Neither God nor the people's status can be taken for granted. He says: Don't ever question my right to do what I must do. The clay cannot talk back to the potter; the thing cannot talk back to the craftsman who made it. "If my people will not," God says, "I will go elsewhere." And he did, thus opening the door for the gentiles to come in. That door remains wide open today, giving meaning to our global mission mandate.

A New Community
God's true followers were always a "remnant." Not biologically of Abraham, but grafted, as it were, into the heritage of Abraham and the promises that God made to him. This would be a community built on faith in Christ. And to this people of God He makes this commitment: "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Rom. 10:9-11)

I believe that the community of faith to which you and I belong, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, is special to God today. We are not exclusive, but we are unique in the witness we have to bring. So when I read the ancient words of God to Solomon, I hear God saying to you and me: "If my people" will be and act, showers of blessings will come. Note the word "if." It contains both sovereignty and judgment, but it is spoken by a loving God who is driven by a passion to save.

God's spiritual people today know how they are to live their lives in faith and obedience to God. Ignorance is not the problem of God's people, disobedience sometimes is. By the life we live, as a community and as individuals, we either affirm or deny our status as God's chosen people. I hope, I pray, and I believe that God shall not need to turn elsewhere for a people to finish his mission.

Notice the following four emphases in the prayer:

"If my people will humble themselves." Humility is not naturally cultivated in today's world. Instead, there's pride- and with it a certain arrogance that says; "I can do it; and I am ever-sogood at it." When you serve God and deal with people every day, arrogance must give way to humility. The attitude and sentiment God is looking for in His servants is well illustrated in Solomon's description of himself, after he had been made king. He said to God: "I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. . . . Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and distinguish between right and wrong" (1 Kings 3:7-9). Such an attitude reveals reverence before God, and dependence on Him.

Humility carries with it a softness that cancels arrogance and an abrasive "I-know-it-all." Humility has no need to boast. It acknowledges frailty and shortcomings. It has an open mind, for it is willing to learn and receive. Humility is a quality which every leader who serves in God's cause needs and must seek. Said Jesus: "Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart" (Matt. 11: 29).

2. "if my people will…seek my face." Prayer and humility go together. Wrote the Lord's servant: "Prayer is the breath of the soul. It is the secret of spiritual power" (Ellen G. White, Prayer, p.12). "Our prayers should be full of tenderness and love" (ibid., p. 26); "Those who have a humble, trusting, contrite heart, God accepts, and hears their prayers" (ibid., p. 33). "When temptations and trials rush in upon us, let us go to God and agonize with him in prayer. He will not turn us away empty, but will give us grace and strength to overcome, and to break the power of the enemy" (Early Writings, p. 46).

God is in effect saying to Solomon and to His people - as He is saying to you and me today: When difficult times come, as they surely will, remember to talk to me. When enemies from without or within assail you-and the ones from within are often the most difficult to deal with-do not think that you can take care of this yourself; come, talk to me! Let us reason together. Partner with me, says our Lord. For, he says through his servant, "It is not the capabilities you now possess or ever will have that will give you success. It is that which the Lord can do for you" (Christ's Object Lessons, p. 146).

The presence of the Lord, in response to prayer, does not mean that the challenges are fully resolved in one go. Some changes take time, even with the Lord and the Spirit fully present. So, don't dismay if matters facing you are not fully resolved quickly.

3. "And turn from their wicked ways." This is reformation. It signals change. The message from God to us as human beings is simply this: Society has gone wrong; humanity has gone terribly wrong; you have gone wrong. Just look at the world in which you live. Look at the indiscriminate violence we bring to totally innocent people, whether working in the twin towers in New York City or traveling on a commuter train in the city of Madrid. Remember Rwanda? Or Bosnia; or Yugoslavia? Just look at the violence and the immorality that a misguided entertainment industry brings into our homes. We let it in seemingly without reservations and have forgotten that it does not belong in my home and it has no rightful claim to a place before our children.

Then look at the greed of perverted leaders of industry whose plenty hungers for more. Look at nations and multi-nationals who manipulate and exploit the poor, making them even poorer. And look at how we treat each other-at the walls we erect between one another; the doors we shut instead of walking through them to become an integrated family.

This world is not a good place; and we don't really want to spend a lot more time here. The whole creation, including my own heart and soul, longs and cries, with moans and groans, for the day of liberation, for the day when He who said: "Behold, I make all things new" will fulfill that promise.

But while we are here we have to make choices and decisions every day. You cannot run away from them. I want the Adventist family to be known as a compassionate people.

4. "I will hear . . . , I will forgive . . . and I will heal." (v.14). Here we come to the wonderful heart of the gospel: God says to the people of old and to us: You cannot walk into the future alone. Stay with me; talk to me; learn of me; make choices instructed by me; and when you do, "I will hear . . . , I will forgive . . . and I will heal." (v.14)

By this the circle is complete. We are His people, individually and collectively. We're called by His name, and have begun our journey with Him. But we've drifted and, for one reason or another, lost our way in the wilderness. Then, remembering the voice of Him who said "If with all your heart you truly seek me, you shall ever surely find me," we've found Him again and have discovered that He had already found us. We came again close to Him, and we stayed to talk with Him; and we heard the sweetest of all words: "I will forgive . . . I will heal."

Go away from this session with that assurance ringing in your ears, for God is with His people. What I hear God saying to us is: "My eyes and my heart will always be with my people". He sees it all-he is blind to nothing; and he knows it all; but what he sees and knows is filtered through a heart filled with commitment and love for a people and for individuals who still have much growing to do.

Is this word from God not enough?

We go into the future with his assurances ringing in our ears. We are a people of hope and we carry a message of hope. We echo the words of Jeremiah:

"You are among us, O Lord, And we bear your name; Do not forsake us!" Jeremiah 14:9

Oh, yes, that is quite enough! And we will walk boldly through the door into God's future with our hearts full of assurances, for we always remember his words: "I will hear, . . . . I will forgive, . . . . I will heal."

Praise be to God for His everlasting faithfulness to His people!

*All scriptural references, unless otherwise indicated, are from the New International Version.