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Solomon was the son of King David, the greatest king Israel ever had—a man the Bible says was "after God's own heart." Despite coming from a relationship born of David's adultery with Bathsheba, Solomon's life began with extraordinary blessing and favor from God.
The Bible describes Solomon as filled with the Holy Spirit—specifically, a spirit of wisdom. He became the wisest man who has ever lived, a distinction the Bible says still stands today. His wealth was staggering: a conservative estimate of his net worth in today's dollars was around $2 trillion, making him about four times wealthier than Elon Musk.
But Solomon wasn't just blessed materially. He experienced direct encounters with the living God, built the temple, and led a national revival so powerful that when God's glory descended on the temple, the priests couldn't even stand. He didn't merely read Scripture—he wrote Scripture. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he authored three books of the Bible: Proverbs, the Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes.
Yet this is how Solomon's life ended: he worshiped demonic false gods. God removed His blessing from Solomon's life, and his children and grandchildren followed him into those same false religions. The nation of Israel disintegrated and split in two.
How did someone so blessed, so wise, so filled with God's Spirit end up in total spiritual destruction in a single generation? The answer lies in a chain reaction that began with one tiny decision.
It all started so small—so small that it's easy to miss its significance. First Kings 3:1 tells us: "Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter."
This doesn't sound catastrophic, but it violated a direct command from God. In Deuteronomy 17, God commanded that none of the people of Israel should marry foreign wives. This wasn't a prohibition against interracial marriage—it was a prohibition against interfaith marriage, because the other nations worshiped other gods.
Solomon's reasoning seemed logical: This is just a political alliance. I'm protecting Israel from being attacked by Egypt. What's the big deal?
But here's the problem with one bad relationship: it never stays that way.
Wolves travel in packs. One bad relationship always leads to multiple bad relationships.
First Kings 11:3 tells us that Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. That single decision to marry Pharaoh's daughter didn't remain isolated—it became a pattern, a lifestyle.
Here's a critical principle: the people you're around change the thoughts you have.
First Kings 11:4 says: "His wives turned away his heart." The Hebrew word for "heart" doesn't mean just emotions—it means mind, will, and emotions combined. Every day, Solomon was surrounded by people who didn't believe in God's exclusivity. They whispered, Why does it have to be just Yahweh? Why can't we coexist spiritually? Can't we all just do our own thing?
Slowly, imperceptibly, Solomon's perspective changed. His thinking shifted. And his heart—his mind, will, and emotions—turned away from God.
First Kings 11:5 describes what happened next: "Then Solomon went after Ashtoth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites."
That word "abomination" should have made Solomon—and us—recoil in horror. Milcom was a demonic false god worshiped in the most wicked way imaginable: his followers would heat metal idol statues until they were red-hot and scalding, then place newborn infants into the burning belly of the statue. Child sacrifice. Utter wickedness.
Yet Solomon, because of his new perspective and new values, embraced this.
The purpose of emotion is to put you in motion. Bad values don't stay in the mind—they spill out into actions.
First Kings 11:6 says: "Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord."
He didn't just think it. He did it.
One bad decision, if repeated, becomes a chain. Your choices become chains.
First Kings 11:8 says Solomon did this "for all his foreign wives." The first time was an exception. But exceptions, repeated, become the norm. Bad decisions calcified into bad habits.
Here's a truth: when you're born, you look like your parents. When you die, you look like your habits. Habits always determine outcomes.
First Kings 11:9 states: "The Lord was angry with Solomon."
The outcomes were nuclear-level destructive:
All of this—all of this catastrophic destruction—started with one tiny decision that didn't feel like a big deal at the time.
What's remarkable about Solomon's life is that later, when he was older and wiser, he reflected on why this happened. In the Book of Proverbs, he wrote:
Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
That's gravity. Nobody defeats that principle. It's undefeated.
You will always end up walking like who you walk with.
Let me say this in different ways, because this is so critical:
This isn't opinion. This isn't advice. This is a law of the spiritual universe.
Some of you right now are in the middle of this chain reaction. Your small decisions—decisions that didn't feel like a big deal—are setting off dominoes that will lead to the destruction of your life and your lineage.
I'm praying that the Spirit of God and the Word of God wake you up today so you can change course.
Everything in Solomon's life started with one tiny decision—a decision so small it hardly seemed significant at the time. In First Kings 3:1, Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and married his daughter.
This may not sound like a big deal, but it was. In Deuteronomy 17, God had commanded that the people of Israel should not marry foreign spouses. This wasn't a prohibition against interracial marriage; it was a prohibition against interfaith marriage, because the other nations worshiped other gods. Solomon broke that command.
He rationalized it: "Why is this even a big deal? This is just a political alliance. I'm trying to protect Israel from getting shellacked by Egypt." It felt really small. But one bad relationship never stays that way.
Wolves travel in packs. One bad relationship always ends up as multiple bad relationships. This is what happened in Solomon's life: he had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
You need to understand this pattern: one bad relationship is like a gateway drug to multiple bad relationships.
Here's what relationships do: the people you're around change the thoughts you have. Bad relationships lead to a bad perspective.
First Kings 11:4 says: "And his wives turned away his heart." Every day Solomon was surrounded by people who were not believers. They whispered to him: "Solomon, why is it a big deal that we worship these other gods? Why do you have to be all about just this one way? Can't we all just coexist? Can't we all be spiritual together?"
The relationships influenced his perspective and turned away his heart. In Hebrew, the word "heart" means mind, will, and emotions—not just feelings. His new perspective led to new thinking, which led to new feeling.
Because of his new perspective, Solomon took on bad values. First Kings 11:5 describes him going after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites.
Molech was a demonic false god worshiped in the most horrific way. They had huge metal idols that they heated until the metal was red-hot and scalding. There was a hole in the belly of the statue. They would take their newborn infants and burn them alive inside these things. This was child sacrifice—the worst of the worst wickedness.
And Solomon ended up doing this.
The purpose of emotion is to put you in motion. Bad values and bad feelings lead to bad doing. First Kings 11:6 says: "Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord."
Decisions never just stay decisions. Your choices become chains. The first time Solomon made a bad decision, it felt like an exception. But one bad decision turned into a bad habit. He kept making the same bad decision over and over.
First Kings 11:8 says he "did for all his foreign wives." What started as an exception became his new normal.
When you're born, you look like your parents. When you die, you look like your habits. Habits always determine your outcomes.
Solomon's bad habits turned into catastrophic outcomes. First Kings 11:9 says: "And the Lord was angry with Solomon." Any choice that can result in the loss of blessing and the judgment of God is a really bad choice.
The outcomes were nuclear-level terrible. His entire family was ruined. Two generations down, his legacy was destroyed. He died a lonely, depressed man. Reading the Book of Ecclesiastes, there was probably some form of sex addiction. He lost his entire kingdom through his sons. Israel disintegrated and was split in two.
All of these catastrophically bad outcomes started with one tiny decision that didn't feel like a big deal at the time.
When Solomon was older and wiser, he reflected on why this happened. In the Book of Proverbs, he wrote:
Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
That's gravity. Nobody defeats that principle. It's undefeated. You will always end up walking like who you walk with.
Let me say this in different ways, because this is so critical:
This isn't opinion. This isn't advice. This is a law of the spiritual universe.
Let me say this in another way because you need to get this: Every time you choose your friends, you're choosing your future. Nobody defeats that principle. Nobody.
Let me step into some parental business for a moment. As long as you are able and have this position in your kids' lives, you need to choose your kids' friends. You may be thinking, "But Pastor, they're their own person. They have their own free will." No. You're the parent. You have God-given authority in the house.
Here's why this matters: Kids are fools. Proverbs 22:15 literally says, "Folly is bound up in the heart of a child." This isn't being brutal; this is Bible.
Especially if your kids are at a certain age, you're making a significant mistake if you're not prioritizing them being in LakePoint Students and LakePoint Kids. Every week, 2,000 kids gather at our church—the ones who want to honor God, chase after Jesus, and live for righteousness. We're giving you a target-rich environment to help your child make friends who will choose a godly future.
Here's another warning: do not teach your kids to view people through only two categories—nice and mean. That's the wrong way.
Understand this: there is such a thing as nice evil people. Solomon's wives were very nice to him. Every time Solomon made a decision, they said, "You're the best, Solomon! You're so great! Do you!" No matter what decision he made, they cheered him on.
Friends who will cheer you on all the way to hell are not your friends. And here's what you need to know: evil people will sometimes be really nice to you and cheer you on toward godlessness and the destruction of your life and your family.
There's also such a thing as rough good people—people who care enough about you to tell you hard truths. When the prophet Nathan rebuked David in front of everybody, it probably felt really mean. But he saved David from going down a path that would destroy his life, his children, his legacy, and his family. He turned him back to God. I call that a good man.
You need to learn to view people through the same lens as the Bible. There are three types of people:
While you're listening, ask God: "Show me which category the people closest to me fall into."
I need to say something with an edge: some of you are naive. Your default mode is total trust toward every person you meet. You meet someone and immediately give them full access to your life. You take all their advice on everything.
But here's the truth: you can't treat everybody the same because not everybody is the same. If there were three different animals in front of you—a snake, a polar bear, and a puppy—you wouldn't treat all three the same way. You treat people according to their character.
On the other hand, some of you are totally suspicious of everyone, everywhere, all the time. Your default mode is: everyone is guilty until they prove themselves innocent.
Neither extreme is right. The biblical way is to discern people's character and relate to them accordingly.
Some of you are naive—your default mode is total trust toward every person you meet. You meet someone and immediately give them full access to your life. You take all their advice on everything. But this can lead to foolish decisions, like trusting a stranger's scheme without discernment.
On the other hand, some of you are totally suspicious of everyone, everywhere, all the time. Your default mode is: everyone is guilty until they prove themselves innocent. You won't sit anywhere but the edge of a row. You position yourself to see every exit. Neither extreme is right.
The biblical way is to discern people's character and relate to them accordingly. You wouldn't treat a snake, a polar bear, and a puppy the same way—you treat people according to their character.
I want to ask God to show you which category the people closest to you fall into.
Wise people are led by the Spirit. In the Bible, wise people are represented by shepherds. They're the people who influence others toward Jesus and honor to God.
Here's the critical distinction: knowledge comes from school, but wisdom comes from the Spirit. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A wise person is somebody who loves Jesus and obeys Jesus in all their decisions.
Wise people help you ask, "What's the word say?" With every decision you make, they guide you back to Scripture. If you have friends that just cheer on every decision you make, they are not wise people.
Foolish people are led by the flesh. They're led by their feelings and their desires. In the Bible, foolish people are represented by sheep.
All of us are foolish sometimes. We all do dumb things. Many times, foolish people have good hearts but undiscipled heads. They love Jesus but are still figuring out how to make wise decisions.
These are the people who might say things that show a lack of understanding, or who make decisions without thinking them through. But their hearts are in the right place—they're just learning.
Evil people are led by the demonic. In the Bible, evil people are represented by wolves.
Here's how you identify an evil person: evil people hate and oppose the things of God. They call truth "hate" because truth sounds like hate to people who hate truth. Evil people are intentionally dangerous—they use their energy to create injury.
Often, there's trauma or abuse in their past that went unhealed and unforgiven. The Bible calls Satan "Beelzebub," which means "Lord of the Flies"—he will access your life through an unhealed wound and turn it into an infestation, getting control of your life through that wound. So they think, "I was tormented, so I'm allowed to torment. I was hurt, so I'm allowed to hurt others."
Some of these people will pretend to be Christians. The Bible calls them wolves in sheep's clothing. Just because somebody says they're a believer doesn't mean you should believe them. Don't watch what they say or how they make you feel—watch what they do. Do they act like disciples of Jesus?
Here's a crucial point: an evil person will corrupt a wise person faster than a wise person will consecrate an evil person.
Consider Solomon. He was the wisest person who ever lived. But his wives, who worshiped demonic false gods and influenced him, were evil. His heart turned away from God because of their influence. This is the danger of close relationships with the wrong people.
Some of you might think, "Not me. I'm different. I'm special. I will influence my closest friends instead of them influencing me." But the Bible says, "Don't be deceived. Bad company corrupts good character." It's right there in Scripture.
God wants your closest relationships to be with other committed Christians in the church.
Notice the word: committed. Not someone who says, "I love Jesus but I'm not into the church thing." Not someone who has "potential" but isn't committed. Not someone who sleeps around and cusses but wears a cross necklace. Not someone who believes some of the Bible but finds parts "offensive and outdated."
Committed Christians in the church.
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:14, "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers." A yoke connects two animals together. If one is trying to go one direction and the other is going another way, how can they be connected? "What righteousness and wickedness have in common? What fellowship can light have with darkness?"
Apply this to your dating life right now. Some of you think, "He's not quite there yet, but I'll influence him to the light." That's not what Scripture says. What's more likely is that they will pull you down into darkness, not the other way around.
I know being single is hard. But let me tell you what's harder: wishing you were single while you're married. Being lonely in a marriage is worse than being lonely and single.
"Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm."
This is an undefeated principle.
Some of you just gave your life to Christ. God has given you a new life, a new calling, a new future, a new destiny, and a new eternity in front of you. But something is holding you back: you're trying to live a new life with an old community.
New wine does not fit into old wineskins. You cannot live the right life with the wrong friends. Right now, a choice needs to happen in your life.
Let me talk specifically to the men for a moment. When you read David's life—a man after God's own heart—you constantly see Godly men close to him. He had Joab, a warrior who fought alongside him. He had Nathan, a bold, courageous prophet who spoke truth into his life. He had Jonathan, a friend who stuck closer than a brother. They were a band of brothers, following Jesus together.
But when you read Solomon's life, you never hear mention of any male friends. Not once.
Men, you cannot fight the devil in the dark because the darkness is his domain. If you have to fight a polar bear, don't do it on the snow. If you have to fight a shark, don't do it in the water. If you have to fight the devil, don't do it in the dark. Don't do it in relational secrecy where nobody else knows you.
It's not enough to have buddies. Buddies are golfing buddies, fishing buddies, Cowboys game buddies, work buddies. But are your relationships rooted in Christ or rooted in a hobby? When the hobby's over, the relationship's over.
You need a band of brothers who are going to come alongside you and fight with you. You need men you can drag any sin, any struggle, any pain out into the light of honesty with—so that Jesus, the Lord of the Light, reigns victorious over everything in your life. This will change not just your life, but your legacy and your lineage.
One tiny decision can set off a redemptive chain reaction. Consider the story of the Morse family.
Their daughter Reyes accepted Christ at camp and came home a different person—so happy and fulfilled. She started coming to church Wednesday nights and Sundays, always inviting them. Her parents thought, "We're the worst parents on Earth because our kids just wants us to go to church." They didn't want to go—there were so many people. But she kept inviting them: *"Just come one time.""
From the very first Sunday they walked through the doors, they felt welcomed. They got involved and plugged into a life group. As they said, "When they're talking about the Bible, different people know different things. I want to know that. It's wonderful to have likeminded people as your circle of friends."
When baptism came up, the father made the decision and asked his daughter to baptize him. Their entire life group came to watch. As they said, "We say about our life group: we're all doing life together." Their entire life changed because of one decision to enter into community.
Every person here wants something new. Some want a new marriage or new family. Some want new peace and joy. Some want new finances. Some just want a new life.
The Bible is showing you that one tiny decision can set off a redemptive chain reaction that will lead to all those outcomes. The small decision is to enter into a new relationship.
I'm challenging you—not asking, but challenging you—to test drive a life group for just the next six weeks. Not until Jesus returns. Just six weeks.
Some of you are thinking: "I don't know enough about the Bible." Listen, you're not going to get a quiz on the way in. Everybody's learning together. And here's the thing: it's not the people who know the most about the Bible who are the most mature—it's the people who apply the most to the Bible. You might actually step in and be a pace-setter for your group because you're committed to doing what the word says.
Some are thinking: "What's going to happen? Is it going to be weird?" It's not going to be weird. In a life group, it's simple: ESPN—Encouragement, Scripture, Prayer, Next Steps. That's all that's going to happen.
Some are thinking: "I don't have time." I'm calling your bluff. You make time for eleven hours of Netflix per week. You never miss a Cowboys game. Why would you make time for things that make your life worse but not for the thing that might change your lineage and legacy? We make time for the things that matter.
Some tried a life group once and it was awkward. You don't let that stop you in any other area of life. You've had bad restaurant experiences, but you didn't give up eating. Apparently you'll do awkward for things that matter. And hey, this matters. "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm." The Lord is calling you to something that's going to set off a chain reaction today.
As soon as this service ends, text the word "group" to 20411. It's only three blanks—it'll take you less than 30 seconds. One of our pastors will reach out to every single family personally to help you find the group that would best fit your family and your schedule.
If you've drifted away from your life group, it's time to come back. And if you're already in a life group, I'm challenging you to start inviting people you know into your group.
Take that step today. Text "group" to 20411 before you leave your seat.
Solomon was the son of King David, the greatest king Israel ever had—a man the Bible says was "after God's own heart." Despite coming from a relationship born of David's adultery with Bathsheba, Solomon's life began with extraordinary blessing and favor from God.
The Bible describes Solomon as filled with the Holy Spirit—specifically, a spirit of wisdom. He became the wisest man who has ever lived, a distinction the Bible says still stands today. His wealth was staggering: a conservative estimate of his net worth in today's dollars was around $2 trillion, making him about four times wealthier than Elon Musk.
But Solomon wasn't just blessed materially. He experienced direct encounters with the living God, built the temple, and led a national revival so powerful that when God's glory descended on the temple, the priests couldn't even stand. He didn't merely read Scripture—he wrote Scripture. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he authored three books of the Bible: Proverbs, the Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes.
Yet this is how Solomon's life ended: he worshiped demonic false gods. God removed His blessing from Solomon's life, and his children and grandchildren followed him into those same false religions. The nation of Israel disintegrated and split in two.
How did someone so blessed, so wise, so filled with God's Spirit end up in total spiritual destruction in a single generation? The answer lies in a chain reaction that began with one tiny decision.
It all started so small—so small that it's easy to miss its significance. First Kings 3:1 tells us: "Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter."
This doesn't sound catastrophic, but it violated a direct command from God. In Deuteronomy 17, God commanded that none of the people of Israel should marry foreign wives. This wasn't a prohibition against interracial marriage—it was a prohibition against interfaith marriage, because the other nations worshiped other gods.
Solomon's reasoning seemed logical: This is just a political alliance. I'm protecting Israel from being attacked by Egypt. What's the big deal?
But here's the problem with one bad relationship: it never stays that way.
Wolves travel in packs. One bad relationship always leads to multiple bad relationships.
First Kings 11:3 tells us that Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. That single decision to marry Pharaoh's daughter didn't remain isolated—it became a pattern, a lifestyle.
Here's a critical principle: the people you're around change the thoughts you have.
First Kings 11:4 says: "His wives turned away his heart." The Hebrew word for "heart" doesn't mean just emotions—it means mind, will, and emotions combined. Every day, Solomon was surrounded by people who didn't believe in God's exclusivity. They whispered, Why does it have to be just Yahweh? Why can't we coexist spiritually? Can't we all just do our own thing?
Slowly, imperceptibly, Solomon's perspective changed. His thinking shifted. And his heart—his mind, will, and emotions—turned away from God.
First Kings 11:5 describes what happened next: "Then Solomon went after Ashtoth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites."
That word "abomination" should have made Solomon—and us—recoil in horror. Milcom was a demonic false god worshiped in the most wicked way imaginable: his followers would heat metal idol statues until they were red-hot and scalding, then place newborn infants into the burning belly of the statue. Child sacrifice. Utter wickedness.
Yet Solomon, because of his new perspective and new values, embraced this.
The purpose of emotion is to put you in motion. Bad values don't stay in the mind—they spill out into actions.
First Kings 11:6 says: "Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord."
He didn't just think it. He did it.
One bad decision, if repeated, becomes a chain. Your choices become chains.
First Kings 11:8 says Solomon did this "for all his foreign wives." The first time was an exception. But exceptions, repeated, become the norm. Bad decisions calcified into bad habits.
Here's a truth: when you're born, you look like your parents. When you die, you look like your habits. Habits always determine outcomes.
First Kings 11:9 states: "The Lord was angry with Solomon."
The outcomes were nuclear-level destructive:
All of this—all of this catastrophic destruction—started with one tiny decision that didn't feel like a big deal at the time.
What's remarkable about Solomon's life is that later, when he was older and wiser, he reflected on why this happened. In the Book of Proverbs, he wrote:
Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
That's gravity. Nobody defeats that principle. It's undefeated.
You will always end up walking like who you walk with.
Let me say this in different ways, because this is so critical:
This isn't opinion. This isn't advice. This is a law of the spiritual universe.
Some of you right now are in the middle of this chain reaction. Your small decisions—decisions that didn't feel like a big deal—are setting off dominoes that will lead to the destruction of your life and your lineage.
I'm praying that the Spirit of God and the Word of God wake you up today so you can change course.
Everything in Solomon's life started with one tiny decision—a decision so small it hardly seemed significant at the time. In First Kings 3:1, Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and married his daughter.
This may not sound like a big deal, but it was. In Deuteronomy 17, God had commanded that the people of Israel should not marry foreign spouses. This wasn't a prohibition against interracial marriage; it was a prohibition against interfaith marriage, because the other nations worshiped other gods. Solomon broke that command.
He rationalized it: "Why is this even a big deal? This is just a political alliance. I'm trying to protect Israel from getting shellacked by Egypt." It felt really small. But one bad relationship never stays that way.
Wolves travel in packs. One bad relationship always ends up as multiple bad relationships. This is what happened in Solomon's life: he had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
You need to understand this pattern: one bad relationship is like a gateway drug to multiple bad relationships.
Here's what relationships do: the people you're around change the thoughts you have. Bad relationships lead to a bad perspective.
First Kings 11:4 says: "And his wives turned away his heart." Every day Solomon was surrounded by people who were not believers. They whispered to him: "Solomon, why is it a big deal that we worship these other gods? Why do you have to be all about just this one way? Can't we all just coexist? Can't we all be spiritual together?"
The relationships influenced his perspective and turned away his heart. In Hebrew, the word "heart" means mind, will, and emotions—not just feelings. His new perspective led to new thinking, which led to new feeling.
Because of his new perspective, Solomon took on bad values. First Kings 11:5 describes him going after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites.
Molech was a demonic false god worshiped in the most horrific way. They had huge metal idols that they heated until the metal was red-hot and scalding. There was a hole in the belly of the statue. They would take their newborn infants and burn them alive inside these things. This was child sacrifice—the worst of the worst wickedness.
And Solomon ended up doing this.
The purpose of emotion is to put you in motion. Bad values and bad feelings lead to bad doing. First Kings 11:6 says: "Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord."
Decisions never just stay decisions. Your choices become chains. The first time Solomon made a bad decision, it felt like an exception. But one bad decision turned into a bad habit. He kept making the same bad decision over and over.
First Kings 11:8 says he "did for all his foreign wives." What started as an exception became his new normal.
When you're born, you look like your parents. When you die, you look like your habits. Habits always determine your outcomes.
Solomon's bad habits turned into catastrophic outcomes. First Kings 11:9 says: "And the Lord was angry with Solomon." Any choice that can result in the loss of blessing and the judgment of God is a really bad choice.
The outcomes were nuclear-level terrible. His entire family was ruined. Two generations down, his legacy was destroyed. He died a lonely, depressed man. Reading the Book of Ecclesiastes, there was probably some form of sex addiction. He lost his entire kingdom through his sons. Israel disintegrated and was split in two.
All of these catastrophically bad outcomes started with one tiny decision that didn't feel like a big deal at the time.
When Solomon was older and wiser, he reflected on why this happened. In the Book of Proverbs, he wrote:
Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
That's gravity. Nobody defeats that principle. It's undefeated. You will always end up walking like who you walk with.
Let me say this in different ways, because this is so critical:
This isn't opinion. This isn't advice. This is a law of the spiritual universe.
Let me say this in another way because you need to get this: Every time you choose your friends, you're choosing your future. Nobody defeats that principle. Nobody.
Let me step into some parental business for a moment. As long as you are able and have this position in your kids' lives, you need to choose your kids' friends. You may be thinking, "But Pastor, they're their own person. They have their own free will." No. You're the parent. You have God-given authority in the house.
Here's why this matters: Kids are fools. Proverbs 22:15 literally says, "Folly is bound up in the heart of a child." This isn't being brutal; this is Bible.
Especially if your kids are at a certain age, you're making a significant mistake if you're not prioritizing them being in LakePoint Students and LakePoint Kids. Every week, 2,000 kids gather at our church—the ones who want to honor God, chase after Jesus, and live for righteousness. We're giving you a target-rich environment to help your child make friends who will choose a godly future.
Here's another warning: do not teach your kids to view people through only two categories—nice and mean. That's the wrong way.
Understand this: there is such a thing as nice evil people. Solomon's wives were very nice to him. Every time Solomon made a decision, they said, "You're the best, Solomon! You're so great! Do you!" No matter what decision he made, they cheered him on.
Friends who will cheer you on all the way to hell are not your friends. And here's what you need to know: evil people will sometimes be really nice to you and cheer you on toward godlessness and the destruction of your life and your family.
There's also such a thing as rough good people—people who care enough about you to tell you hard truths. When the prophet Nathan rebuked David in front of everybody, it probably felt really mean. But he saved David from going down a path that would destroy his life, his children, his legacy, and his family. He turned him back to God. I call that a good man.
You need to learn to view people through the same lens as the Bible. There are three types of people:
While you're listening, ask God: "Show me which category the people closest to me fall into."
I need to say something with an edge: some of you are naive. Your default mode is total trust toward every person you meet. You meet someone and immediately give them full access to your life. You take all their advice on everything.
But here's the truth: you can't treat everybody the same because not everybody is the same. If there were three different animals in front of you—a snake, a polar bear, and a puppy—you wouldn't treat all three the same way. You treat people according to their character.
On the other hand, some of you are totally suspicious of everyone, everywhere, all the time. Your default mode is: everyone is guilty until they prove themselves innocent.
Neither extreme is right. The biblical way is to discern people's character and relate to them accordingly.
Some of you are naive—your default mode is total trust toward every person you meet. You meet someone and immediately give them full access to your life. You take all their advice on everything. But this can lead to foolish decisions, like trusting a stranger's scheme without discernment.
On the other hand, some of you are totally suspicious of everyone, everywhere, all the time. Your default mode is: everyone is guilty until they prove themselves innocent. You won't sit anywhere but the edge of a row. You position yourself to see every exit. Neither extreme is right.
The biblical way is to discern people's character and relate to them accordingly. You wouldn't treat a snake, a polar bear, and a puppy the same way—you treat people according to their character.
I want to ask God to show you which category the people closest to you fall into.
Wise people are led by the Spirit. In the Bible, wise people are represented by shepherds. They're the people who influence others toward Jesus and honor to God.
Here's the critical distinction: knowledge comes from school, but wisdom comes from the Spirit. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A wise person is somebody who loves Jesus and obeys Jesus in all their decisions.
Wise people help you ask, "What's the word say?" With every decision you make, they guide you back to Scripture. If you have friends that just cheer on every decision you make, they are not wise people.
Foolish people are led by the flesh. They're led by their feelings and their desires. In the Bible, foolish people are represented by sheep.
All of us are foolish sometimes. We all do dumb things. Many times, foolish people have good hearts but undiscipled heads. They love Jesus but are still figuring out how to make wise decisions.
These are the people who might say things that show a lack of understanding, or who make decisions without thinking them through. But their hearts are in the right place—they're just learning.
Evil people are led by the demonic. In the Bible, evil people are represented by wolves.
Here's how you identify an evil person: evil people hate and oppose the things of God. They call truth "hate" because truth sounds like hate to people who hate truth. Evil people are intentionally dangerous—they use their energy to create injury.
Often, there's trauma or abuse in their past that went unhealed and unforgiven. The Bible calls Satan "Beelzebub," which means "Lord of the Flies"—he will access your life through an unhealed wound and turn it into an infestation, getting control of your life through that wound. So they think, "I was tormented, so I'm allowed to torment. I was hurt, so I'm allowed to hurt others."
Some of these people will pretend to be Christians. The Bible calls them wolves in sheep's clothing. Just because somebody says they're a believer doesn't mean you should believe them. Don't watch what they say or how they make you feel—watch what they do. Do they act like disciples of Jesus?
Here's a crucial point: an evil person will corrupt a wise person faster than a wise person will consecrate an evil person.
Consider Solomon. He was the wisest person who ever lived. But his wives, who worshiped demonic false gods and influenced him, were evil. His heart turned away from God because of their influence. This is the danger of close relationships with the wrong people.
Some of you might think, "Not me. I'm different. I'm special. I will influence my closest friends instead of them influencing me." But the Bible says, "Don't be deceived. Bad company corrupts good character." It's right there in Scripture.
God wants your closest relationships to be with other committed Christians in the church.
Notice the word: committed. Not someone who says, "I love Jesus but I'm not into the church thing." Not someone who has "potential" but isn't committed. Not someone who sleeps around and cusses but wears a cross necklace. Not someone who believes some of the Bible but finds parts "offensive and outdated."
Committed Christians in the church.
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:14, "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers." A yoke connects two animals together. If one is trying to go one direction and the other is going another way, how can they be connected? "What righteousness and wickedness have in common? What fellowship can light have with darkness?"
Apply this to your dating life right now. Some of you think, "He's not quite there yet, but I'll influence him to the light." That's not what Scripture says. What's more likely is that they will pull you down into darkness, not the other way around.
I know being single is hard. But let me tell you what's harder: wishing you were single while you're married. Being lonely in a marriage is worse than being lonely and single.
"Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm."
This is an undefeated principle.
Some of you just gave your life to Christ. God has given you a new life, a new calling, a new future, a new destiny, and a new eternity in front of you. But something is holding you back: you're trying to live a new life with an old community.
New wine does not fit into old wineskins. You cannot live the right life with the wrong friends. Right now, a choice needs to happen in your life.
Let me talk specifically to the men for a moment. When you read David's life—a man after God's own heart—you constantly see Godly men close to him. He had Joab, a warrior who fought alongside him. He had Nathan, a bold, courageous prophet who spoke truth into his life. He had Jonathan, a friend who stuck closer than a brother. They were a band of brothers, following Jesus together.
But when you read Solomon's life, you never hear mention of any male friends. Not once.
Men, you cannot fight the devil in the dark because the darkness is his domain. If you have to fight a polar bear, don't do it on the snow. If you have to fight a shark, don't do it in the water. If you have to fight the devil, don't do it in the dark. Don't do it in relational secrecy where nobody else knows you.
It's not enough to have buddies. Buddies are golfing buddies, fishing buddies, Cowboys game buddies, work buddies. But are your relationships rooted in Christ or rooted in a hobby? When the hobby's over, the relationship's over.
You need a band of brothers who are going to come alongside you and fight with you. You need men you can drag any sin, any struggle, any pain out into the light of honesty with—so that Jesus, the Lord of the Light, reigns victorious over everything in your life. This will change not just your life, but your legacy and your lineage.
One tiny decision can set off a redemptive chain reaction. Consider the story of the Morse family.
Their daughter Reyes accepted Christ at camp and came home a different person—so happy and fulfilled. She started coming to church Wednesday nights and Sundays, always inviting them. Her parents thought, "We're the worst parents on Earth because our kids just wants us to go to church." They didn't want to go—there were so many people. But she kept inviting them: *"Just come one time.""
From the very first Sunday they walked through the doors, they felt welcomed. They got involved and plugged into a life group. As they said, "When they're talking about the Bible, different people know different things. I want to know that. It's wonderful to have likeminded people as your circle of friends."
When baptism came up, the father made the decision and asked his daughter to baptize him. Their entire life group came to watch. As they said, "We say about our life group: we're all doing life together." Their entire life changed because of one decision to enter into community.
Every person here wants something new. Some want a new marriage or new family. Some want new peace and joy. Some want new finances. Some just want a new life.
The Bible is showing you that one tiny decision can set off a redemptive chain reaction that will lead to all those outcomes. The small decision is to enter into a new relationship.
I'm challenging you—not asking, but challenging you—to test drive a life group for just the next six weeks. Not until Jesus returns. Just six weeks.
Some of you are thinking: "I don't know enough about the Bible." Listen, you're not going to get a quiz on the way in. Everybody's learning together. And here's the thing: it's not the people who know the most about the Bible who are the most mature—it's the people who apply the most to the Bible. You might actually step in and be a pace-setter for your group because you're committed to doing what the word says.
Some are thinking: "What's going to happen? Is it going to be weird?" It's not going to be weird. In a life group, it's simple: ESPN—Encouragement, Scripture, Prayer, Next Steps. That's all that's going to happen.
Some are thinking: "I don't have time." I'm calling your bluff. You make time for eleven hours of Netflix per week. You never miss a Cowboys game. Why would you make time for things that make your life worse but not for the thing that might change your lineage and legacy? We make time for the things that matter.
Some tried a life group once and it was awkward. You don't let that stop you in any other area of life. You've had bad restaurant experiences, but you didn't give up eating. Apparently you'll do awkward for things that matter. And hey, this matters. "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm." The Lord is calling you to something that's going to set off a chain reaction today.
As soon as this service ends, text the word "group" to 20411. It's only three blanks—it'll take you less than 30 seconds. One of our pastors will reach out to every single family personally to help you find the group that would best fit your family and your schedule.
If you've drifted away from your life group, it's time to come back. And if you're already in a life group, I'm challenging you to start inviting people you know into your group.
Take that step today. Text "group" to 20411 before you leave your seat.
