Welcome to a firm foundation presented by Princeton Ministries with Dr. Ken Smith. This is Carol Smith, Ken’s wife. Please enjoy.

Walter Hoving is 83 years old and for the last 25 years has been the chairman of the board of Tiffany’s in New York City. Hoving is a Christian. He says God made Tiffany’s. He’s retiring. Just this month, he announced that he may be retiring, but he’s not quitting. And a reporter asked him, what are you going to be doing? He said, well, I’m going to present my services to business. And what are you going to tell them? Going to tell them the things that have succeeded at Tiffany’s. How much is this going to cost? Without flinching, he said, $100,000 per company. And what are they going to get for it? They’re going to have the opportunity to talk to me. Walter Hoving is certainly appreciated by the business world.

We invite you to stay tuned for this next half hour as our speaker, Ken Smith, deals with subjects that will strengthen your foundation in the word of God. Here now is Ken Smith to tell you more about this most interesting topic introduced at the beginning of today’s broadcast.

His name is Dave Winfield, attended the University of Minnesota and is one of the few athletes in the world who has been sought by three different professional athletic teams. The Minnesota Vikings wanted him as a tight end, the Atlanta Hawks wanted him as a forward in basketball, and the San Diego Padres wanted him as a pitcher outfielder. Since 1976, Dave Winfield has been a free agent. And just this year, in December of 1980, Dave Winfield signed the largest contract in sports history, receiving over a ten year period an estimated $20 million. And the world of sports knows how to show their appreciation to a man who is very gifted as an athlete. But all of this pales in comparison to a man out in the deserts of Nevada with his boyhood looks, his straightforward presentation.

And who this year signed a contract for five years to sing in a nightclub for only seven weeks out of the year, seven weeks for the next five years. And Wayne Newton will be paid $35 million for that one engagement. And the world of entertainment knows how to show their appreciation to those who they consider to be successes. But we’re not in entertainment. We’re not in athletics. We’re not selling jewellery. We come together as christians. How does a Christian show his appreciation to his father in heaven? Do we appreciate our father?

From the book of two, Samuel, chapter seven, verses twelve through 16, we read that David has finished his reign, and the prophet Nathan comes to him and says, you’re not going to build a temple that’s going to house the Lord, but rather, your son is going to do it, and your son is going to succeed as he follows me, but he will fail if he doesn’t follow me. And he tells David, be prepared for your son, Solomon. The reign of Solomon lasted 40 years. And perhaps in the history of the entire Old Testament, there is no greater episode in the wealth, the prosperity, the privilege of the nation of Israel as it was under the reign of Solomon. Solomon saw the kingdoms united. He was anointed as king.

But he had an experience that very few of us have ever had, and it occurred to him twice. Solomon, it is recorded on two separate occasions, spoke with the Lord. The first was at Gibeon, there, while praying. The scriptures tell us that the Lord came to Solomon in a vision, through a dream. And Solomon was asked by the Lord, what do you desire? He said, wisdom. The Lord said, because you have asked for this and that you did not ask for wealth or power or prestige. I’m going to give your wisdom, but I’m also going to give to you great power, great privilege, great prosperity. And it’s Solomon who builds the temple to house the Lord, taking seven years to build.

And at the completion of those seven years, there was silence, according to the scripture, from the Lord during the construction of the temple. And after it was constructed, then Solomon, after he had dedicated the temple to the Lord appears to him again in a vision, a dream. And he establishes his covenant with Solomon, and he gives him this great. He said, you’re my man. As long as you follow me, as long as you do the things that you know you ought to do, you’re my man, and blessing will follow. But if you do not follow me, a great curse will fall on you. The nation will fall, it will divide, and it will seem to come to rubble. Solomon, you’ve talked twice with God. That’s right, Solomon, what was his voice like? Can’t explain it to you, but I know he spoke to me.

Solomon, you’ve received a position of great authority and privilege. How are you going to use it? And the wisdom of Solomon spread throughout the land until the queen of Sheba comes and is so taken by the teachings that she returns to her homeland and says, certainly this man far surpasses any wisdom that I have ever encountered. He is greater than the reports. The scriptures say that Solomon took wives from other countries, and he had been forbidden by the Lord to marry those women. And knowing that this was a teaching of the Lord, he went ahead. Anyway, he had 700 wives, 300 concubines, many children. The result of that act was that the Lord condemns Solomon, but he does not forsake him, for he gave the promise to Solomon’s father, David, your son. Solomon will be like my son and I will be his father.

I will chastise him, but I will not cast him off. Solomon was the cause for the break of the kingdom. But Solomon, you talked to the Lord twice. You saw his glory fill the temple. That’s right. Didn’t you appreciate that you were in a privileged position? Yeah, at the time I appreciated it, but something happened. I can’t explain it, but I no longer appreciate the Lord. I have all of these wives. I’ve even built temples to foreign gods and I’ve worshipped at them. In the christian church, there are many who would seek only to have experiences with the Lord. And their life as a Christian is hinged directly to. Did the Lord do something unusual for me today? Is he going to do something unusual for me tomorrow?

Is the Lord going to intervene in such a way from week to week, month to month, year to year, that I can appreciate him? You know, you find in the Old Testament, the great pillars of the faith only encountered the Lord on occasions that were not that often. For example, Solomon, how many times did you meet with the Lord in 40 years of reigning? Twice. Noah lived 950 years. The scriptures record that it was only at the age of 500. For the first time, the Lord spoke to Noah. The Lord only spoke to Noah three times according to scripture. The first, when he was 500 years old, and he simply said, build an ark. The second time was a hundred years later, at the completion of building the ark. And the Lord simply said to Noah, get in.

And then it rained for 40 days. During that 40 days of great turbulence, of great concern that they might even be killed. The scripture says nothing, that during that time the Lord spoke to Noah. Noah came out of the boat, it landed on the earth, and then, after building a fire, presenting an offering for the third time, the Lord speaks to Noah. He says, you’re my man and I make a covenant with you. Never again will this happen. The earth will not be destroyed again by flood. That’s my promise. And yet, within the evangelical church, there are so many who turn away from the Lord. Because this week the Lord did not perform a miracle. This week, the Lord did not speak to me clearly, my friend. Scriptures say Noah lived 950 years.

And in all of that time, the Lord spoke to him only thrice. Solomon twice in the book of Romans, we read that we are the adopted sons of God. Which means what? It means that God has made a transaction that was paid for by his son, Jesus Christ. Let me ask this question. If God did not answer one more of your prayers, has enough occurred in your christian life that for the rest of your days you can appreciate your father in heaven? If God took away his hand of blessing on your family, has enough occurred that you could live even 950 years and still appreciate your father? I have found that love is a very peculiar thing. And those who so often say they love you, when it comes down to it, are misquoting themselves. They’re not being accurate.

What they’re simply saying is, I like you’re a friend, but not I love you. Not I care for you like a father cares for his son. What does it mean when we say that we appreciate God, our father? What is it that we appreciate about him? Is it that he answers our prayers? Is it that he says, I’ve prepared a place for you forever? Is that what we appreciate about our father? I think not. Rather, it seems to me that true love shows itself only once in clarity in a life. I lived at home for 20 years, had never heard an argument in my home, never had heard a foul word used, and came from a family that certainly was unique. We enjoyed our time together. I can never recall a major argument with either my father or my mother.

And during those 20 years, I did not appreciate my parents. I knew they loved me, but I didn’t appreciate it. It wasn’t until finishing college and I was going into the air force and my aunt decided that it would be appropriate to have a going away party. And so all of the relatives were assembled. Aunt Alice, Uncle Collie, Aunt Helen, my parents, my brother, sister. And we finished dinner. And it came that time for me to leave the room, to say the last farewell and to get in my car and to drive to Texas where I would begin officer training school. And as I went around the room, my aunt came up to me, gave me a big hug, put a five dollar bill in my pocket. My brother gave me a handshake. My mother gave me a kiss.

All of the words of farewell were exchanged. And as I was leaving the room, the last person to say goodbye was my father. He said nothing. He extended his hand and shook mine. I knew at that moment that he loved me. And from that day, I’ve appreciated him like I’d never appreciated him before. One act that brought everything together. Why do you and I, as Christians, appreciate our father in heaven. It is primarily because of one act that was performed by our father on behalf of us. We sang it this morning when I survey the wondrous cross upon which the prince of glory died. If God were never to answer another prayer, if God were, in a sense, to turn his back, which he won’t.

But if he were, there is enough that has happened for me that if I had to live like Noah for the rest of my days, never again hear from the Lord that one act of the crucified Christ on a tree for my sins is the act that causes me to love, to appreciate my father who is in heaven. There are so many christians who say, don’t you have anything new for me? Don’t give me Jesus and the cross. Don’t you have some new innovative thought? Don’t you have a new approach? Can’t you cause God to speak to me this week? Can’t you cause God to answer my prayer today? And I think everything in the scripture says, no one can cause that to happen. That happens by his good pleasure.

But there’s one thing that has happened that is that he died on the cross for my sins. And that is why I appreciate my father. Pastor was speaking for a week at a church. And on the 6th night the congregation became unsettled because for the previous evenings he had used the same text, John 316. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whosoever should believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And on the final evening, this pastor came to the pulpit and he looked out over the congregation and he said, open your scriptures with me. They opened to John chapter three, and he could see their countenance fallen. And he said, this afternoon in my study, I hunted the scriptures for a text upon which to preach to you this evening.

But as I searched the text, I could find none more grand than this. That God has loved you so much that he sent his only begotten son. And even if I were to mount the very parapets of heaven, and I were to come into the presence of Gabriel, who lives and settles himself as a communicant with God Almighty, and if I were to ask Gabriel, give me a text, give me something new that will bring excitement to this congregation, that will express the love of God. This old preacher said, I know what he would say. He would give me this text, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever should believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For we ask this in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Thank you for listening to a firm foundation presented by Princeton Ministries. This programming is supported by you, the listener. You may go to our website, princetonministries.org, or send your donation to Princeton Ministries Post office box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 8543. That’s Princeton Ministries Reese Post Office Box 2171 Princeton, New Jersey 8543. The Lord bless you and Dr. Smith looks forward to hearing from you. We would like to thank Rone’s web development company for making this webcast possible. You can find their link at the bottom of our website, princetonministries.org