Don’t allow yourself to be seduced by power and fame!

The youth service on Friday, 11 January 2019 in Luanda (Angola) delivered a powerful message! Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider brought his young sisters and brothers a tough nut to crack, a Bible text that was far from clear on first hearing it: “Now, O Lord God, let Your promise to David my father be established, for You have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?” (2 Chronicles 1: 9–10).

Solomon: young, but not stupid!

“This is about a young man named Solomon,” the Chief Apostle began his sermon. Aware that his end was nearing, David decided that his son Solomon should succeed him on the throne. He called his son and explained to him what it meant to be king: he was to be a king subject to God’s will! In other words, a model of obedience and faithfulness to God. And he was to remain humble. A king, David told him, must not use his power to enrich himself at the expense of others. In addition, Solomon was to build God’s temple.

Loyalty, obedience, and the construction of the temple: these three important tasks were entrusted to the young man.

The Chief Apostle continued with the story: “The time came that David died and Solomon became king. He asked for strength, wisdom, and a discerning heart for his new position. And God blessed his disposition, granting him wealth and fame on top.” And then Solomon built the temple. “But here we have to tell the full story,” the Chief Apostle said. “Unfortunately, Solomon failed to keep his noble disposition until the end. He became weak and worshipped foreign gods.”

What about us today?

All the same, this story can teach us some lessons today, the Chief Apostle continued.
We have been called and chosen by God to be children of God. Our task: “Let us be witnesses and examples of faith and obedience for others.”

• As children of God we do not have a special position on earth, he continued. Our task is to remain humble. “We cannot come to God and say, ‘We will serve You, but You have to give us food and money because we do not have time to take care of these things. No, God says, if you want to eat, you must work. This is the lot of all human beings.” We have to go to school and study and work, and lead a completely normal life, he said. We become sick like other people, we suffer like everyone else. And we must study and work like everyone else.
• There is still a third task: helping to build the church of Christ. “We are to edify one another, to comfort and encourage one another, to strengthen our unity, and commit ourselves to the Church. Even a successful and highly esteemed New Apostolic Christian remains a child of God. Like all the others, God expects him to be a model of obedience and faith. “I cannot exercise my power to enrich myself at the expense of others. A Christian cannot do that! Let us not follow the example of those who, after having found success in life, thought they could do without God and turned away from Him!” “

The Chief Apostle’s final appeal: “Don’t allow yourselves to be seduced!” A justified recommendation, not only for young people.

Photo: NAK Westdeutschland