If you would please stand for our, we have a responsive call to worship this morning. And so please join me in our call to worship from the book of Romans chapter 11 and chapters 12 where we are urged on by God's mercies to worship and serve him. of the depths of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways. For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly. If service, in his serving. Or he who teaches, in his teaching. Or he who exhorts, in his exhortation. He who gives, with generosity. He who leads, with diligence. He who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good. be devoted to one another in brotherly love, giving preference to one another in honor. Fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, pursuing hospitality. For from him and through him and to him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Amen. So as we are one people in Christ Jesus, let's sing praises to our Lord as we sing, we are God's people. We are God's people. Born of His Spirit, established by His Word, Our cornerstone is Christ alone, and strong in Him we stand. O let us live, transfigured in Him, We are the power of which the Lord is man. We are a temple, the spirit's dwelling place. A cup to own God's grace. We die alone for one eternal wish, and for those who's fall. Burning down the under flame, we'll jump in air. The third night went to its end. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you so much that as we were dead in our sins and in our trespasses and separate from you and separate from one another, you gave your Son who willingly bore our sins on his body, on the tree that we might have life with you, that you might unify us as Christ's body that we might be forgiven our sins. And as Christ was raised from the dead, so too have our souls been raised from the dead to newness of life, all by your grace, all that you might be glorified. And so we pray this morning that as we are filled as your temple with your Holy Spirit, that you would lead us Oh, our Savior, in worship of you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that you would be honored, that you would be exalted this morning, that we would be encouraged and edified and challenged, and that if there is a soul here who does not know you, that they would come to know you in a saving way, that to know you, as you have told us, is to have life eternal, and so we pray this morning that you would help us in our worship, that you would be pleased in our worship. Any shortcomings in our worship, we pray that you would forgive us. Pray for your help this morning, and know that we have it because we pray through Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you, our Father, one God, Father, Son, and Spirit. Amen. Please be seated. Well, if you were here back in April for Michael's ordination service, you'll sort of see, well, we're sort of doing a very similar thing here today. A lot of the parts in this service are going to be the same or at least similar to what they were back in April. So what are the differences here? If you can remember back to the ordination service, it really all comes in the vows and the questions asked, the promises declared in these services. At the ordination service, you notice Michael answered a lot of questions. He professed and promised his faithfulness to teach from the scriptures, to teach the standard of doctrine that we profess as a church, the Westminster standard. So a lot of it was about teaching and practice. But you notice today, though, this installation service, it's going to start to be a little bit more personal. Well, it is personal. He's taking vows to this church specifically. And you, in return, after he makes those vows, are going to make vows to him. You'll see that this is a two-way relationship. I think maybe we intuitively understand that. Sometimes we don't live that way, though. We think church is sort of a one-way relationship. I receive everything and I give nothing, or the pastor just thinks people are just here to listen to me. And that's all, no, it's a two-way relationship, and that's bared out here in this installation service. So once Michael makes these vows, you make these vows to him, he'll become the moderator, what it's called, of the session. here at this church, installed as the senior pastor to go along with the work of ministry that the ruling elders do as well. So with all that said, I'm now going to ask Michael these questions for installation. Are you now willing to take charge of this congregation as their pastor, agreeable to your declaration in accepting its call? Do you conscientiously believe and declare, as far as you know your own heart, that in taking upon you this charge, you are influenced by a sincere desire to promote the glory of God and the good of his church? Do you solemnly promise that by the assistance of the grace of God, you will endeavor faithfully to discharge all the duties of a pastor to this congregation? and will be careful to maintain a deportment in all respects, becoming a minister of the gospel of Christ, agreeable to your ordination engagements. Now, questions for you members of Sand Lake Presbyterian Church. If you do agree, would you raise your right hand? Do you, the people of this congregation, continue to profess your readiness to receive Michael Moon, whom you have called to be your pastor? Do you promise to receive the word of truth from his mouth with meekness and love and to submit to him the due exercise of discipline? Do you promise to encourage him in his labors and to assist his endeavors for your instruction in spiritual edification? Last one. Do you promise to provide for him while he is your pastor that sufficient worldly provision which you have committed, and to provide him with whatever you may see needful for the honor of the Christian faith and for his comfort among you? Wonderful. And now I ask the elders up here, and Michael's gonna kneel and we're gonna lay hands on him and pray. Okay, let's pray. O gracious Father, as you have arranged by your great providence this relationship between Michael and Sandlich, would you now bless it. Bless it with all the wonderful spiritual fruit that comes by your Holy Spirit and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Would you both equip Michael and this congregation here to fulfill these vows that they have just taken. Father, that Michael would embody the gentle yet courageous shepherding that Jesus shepherds us all with, and that this church body here would humbly and kindly receive his shepherding and seek to help and serve him in this body as much as they can. Father, as Christ is known here at Sandlink, May he now continue to be known. Would he continue to be cherished? Would he continue to be loved here for years and years ahead? We pray all this in Christ's name. Amen. And now, Michael, you can stay here a minute, and then you can go ahead and sit down, because we have a few words, just a few brief words, especially directed, words of encouragement directed to you, Michael. As Paul writes in the second letter to Timothy, he was in prison for his faith, for his spreading the good news of Jesus. And he doesn't tell Timothy to lay low, to cringe, to make a truth with the hostile culture, so that he'll avoid prison and opposition too. He doesn't tell him that at all. Instead he says, I remind you to bring to life again the fire. to fan the flame of the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of hands of the body of elders. For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power and love and discipline. Jesus has given you the Holy Spirit, just like he gave it to the apostles. He said to them, I will send you the Holy Spirit and therefore don't let your heart be cowardly. Same word. Don't let it be timid. Don't let it be fearful. The Holy Spirit is the same spirit that was present at creation and brought forth life. The Holy Spirit is the same spirit that has given you new life. He regenerates, He gives you new birth so that you've cried out to Him, Abba, Father. The Holy Spirit is that same Holy Spirit that equipped our Lord Jesus so that He might fulfill His work. And now that Spirit has also been given to you, Michael Moon. And Paul says, and God has not given you a spirit. He's not giving you the Holy Spirit of cowardice, but of power and love and discipline. The Holy Spirit given to you as a spirit is the spirit of power. And so it's that word dunamis from which we get our word dynamite. so that when you go to a person's door, you remember, I have been given the dynamite of the Holy Spirit. I am his ambassador. I have what they need. It's the gospel of Jesus. Yet the Holy Spirit gives you power with love. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, came to Mary and Martha at the tomb of their beloved Lazarus And He loved them. And He wept with them. And the Holy Spirit gives you power and authority with love that enables you to discipline. And that's not your word for self-discipline. It's one of those ismos words. It's a verb that's been taken in to be a noun that's an action noun. And it's saying the Lord's given you power and love to discipline, to guide, to correct, to lead people that are astray back onto God's The Holy Spirit has given you power and love to discipline like the Lord Jesus when he came to Peter after Peter denied him. He didn't leave Peter in his pride, and he didn't leave Peter in his grief for his failure. But he said, Peter, Do you love me more than these? Like you said to do a few days ago? Do you love me more than these? And Peter saw his sin. And he said, you know all things you know, I love you. And what did Jesus say? Get back to work, Peter. Feed my lambs, feed my sheep. There was power and love that disciplined and restored and shepherded back to him. So God's word to you today is God has not given you a spirit of cowardice, but of power and love and discipline. So let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you with the laying on of hands by the body of elders. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching. Give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Persevere in these things. For as you do this, you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. God bless you, my dear brother. And now, let's all stand together and sing. And I'm doing the clicker today because One of our dear sisters is on vacation, and the other dear sister is with her brother in the hospital. So we want to sing, though, together. Bind us together, Lord, bind us together. Bind us together, Lord, bind us together with cores that cannot be broken. Bind us together, Lord, bind us together, Lord, bind us together. There is only one God. There is only one King. There is only one body. That is why we sing. Bind us together, Lord. Bind us together with cords that cannot be broken. Bind us together, Lord. Bind us together, Lord. Bind us together in love. Purchased by We are the family of God. We are Christ's own cherished pride. Bind us together, Lord, bind us together with cords that cannot be broken. You may be seated. I believe now is the time where you may give your offerings in the bowls that are provided. And there's going to be a ministry of music encouraging us to tell the world that Jesus saves. Claker. Who will know if we don't tell them? Who will go if we don't send them? We must evangelize the world in Jesus' name. We must leave our homes and go there. There are so many seeds to sow there. We must go world that Jesus saved. We have a great commission in a world so full of sin. The only thing we need to know is where do we begin. heart to do what someone did for me. I would be so bold to lift his name as others might be free. Help me sing it. We will go if we don't tell them. We will go if we don't send them. We must evangelize the world in Jesus' name. We must leave our homes and go there. There are so many seeds to sow there. ♪ Must go and tell the world that Jesus saves ♪ Lord, I pray I have compassion ♪ Give me a heart to reach the lost ♪ When we've stopped to view eternity ♪ There's no way to count the cost If one hope can start a fire, plant that flame inside of me. To teach this one lost soul to change the future of a family. don't tell them who will go if we don't send them we must evangelize the world in Jesus name we must leave our There are so many seeds to sow there. We must go and tell the world that Jesus saved. We must go and tell the world that Jesus saved. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures, here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly foes. seated. I invite you to turn your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 7. That's page 323. Page 323 in the Pew Bible. Pastor Mike and I have been doing a series on seeing your life in the Psalms and life of David. And now we come to a particular point in David's life. where he has an idea. And we're going to consider from this how to live responsibly, not responsibly, but responsively, responding first to God's word, second, responding to God's grace, and thirdly, responding to God in humble, prayerful commitment. 2 Samuel chapter seven, I'll be reading verses one through 18, and then 25 through 28. Let's hear the word of the Lord. Now it came about when the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, that the king, David, said to Nathan the prophet, see now, I dwell in a house of cedar. The ark of God dwells within tent curtains. And Nathan said to the king, go, do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you. But in the same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go and say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord, Are you the one who should build me a house to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this day. But I have been moving about in a tent, even in a tabernacle. Wherever have I gone with all the sons of Israel? Did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar? Now therefore, Thus you shall say to my servant David, thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following sheep, to be ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth. I will also appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them. that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly. Even from the day I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and I will give you rest from all your enemies, the Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you. When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. And I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men. But my loving kindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall endure before me forever. Your throne shall be established forever. In accordance with all these words and all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. Then David, the king, went in and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord? And what is my house that you have brought me this far? Verse 25. Now therefore, O Lord, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and his house, confirm it forever. Do as you have spoken, that your name may be magnified forever by saying, the Lord of hosts is God over Israel, and may the house of your servant David be established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made a revelation to your servant, saying, I will build you a house. Therefore, your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. Now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are truth, and you have promised this good thing to your servant." Thus far, God's word. God's word is truth. The flowers fade, but the word of the Lord does endure forever. Let's pray together. You pray for me, I'll pray for all of us. Lord in heaven, your word is truth. You spoke truth to David. Speak your truth through this event to us. Oh, Lord in heaven, help him who speaks to speak that which is truth from God to the glory of God for our upbuilding. Be with us all, Lord, that we might hear, that we might be living stones in the building of your temple. In Jesus' name we pray this, amen. Did you ever get involved in an activity because your friend was involved in it? Maybe they played football, so you wanted to play football. Or they played volleyball, they crocheted, so you wanted to crochet. Or they were really good at hunting, so you wanted to take up hunting too. And they excel, your friend excels at the activity, but you're kind of just average. You kind of sit on the bench on the team, and they're shooting the deer, but you're never getting a deer or a turkey or a rabbit. Well, Joshua Jones in Jeanette Oki's book, Winter Is Not Forever, tells us about Joshua Jones, who wondered if he should be a missionary like his best friend Willie, who was in his first term as a missionary in South Africa. And was something wrong with him staying on the farm to help his grandpa? Yeah, he liked learning about caring for cattle, and the milk production of the herd was up, and he was excited about that. But was he missing his calling by not going, like his friend did, to the mission field? Josh Jones did not have the same calling as Willie. And you do not have the exact same gifts and calling in life as your friend or as your pastor or as your pastor's wife. And King David did not have exactly the same calling. He didn't have the same job that his son Solomon would have. David was called to be a writer of psalms, a writer of music. He was a musician. He enriched the worship of the people of God. And David was a warrior. He was used by God to conquer the enemies all surrounding Israel so that they would have the land that God had promised to Abraham. And so under David, they conquered Moab and Edom. They conquered the Syrians. They conquered the Philistines. The kingdom expanded through David, the victorious warrior. In fact, the next chapter talks about how he conquered Moab and the wicked nation. He had three lines of people and two of them, he said, they deserve death. He spared in mercy the last line, but he was used of God as a warrior king to expand the kingdom in the promised land. And yet one day, here's David, he's resting in his nice house. And it was a house that Hiram, king of Tyre, had built for David out of cedar. It was a nice palace. And there he is, and in verse two, he's thinking and he says, see now, he's talking to Nathan the prophet, and he says, see now, I dwell in a house of cedar, nice house, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains. Now, here's a picture of what David's nice palace had with all its verandah and all its plants. And he says, God's house right now is a tent, the tabernacle. And he says, why should God live in a tent when I have a nice house? I want to build him a temple. And Nathan says, go ahead. Do all that's in your heart. But God came to Nathan that very night, and he came to Nathan saying, no, no, no, no, no. Thus says the Lord. David, is he the one that's going to build a temple? Is he the one that's going to build me a house to dwell in? No. I didn't ask for it, and I'm not wanting David to do it. You may have a good idea, a really good idea, but in that good idea you may not be following God's calling, His task, His job for you. And you may not be the best use of God's abilities that He wants you to be using for Him. David was a warrior. He was a man of blood, called to conquer the wicked nations around him and make room for God's people. His son Solomon, whose name meant peace, Solomon would be given rest from all those battles. He would be a king of peace, and he therefore would have the time to devote to the building of the temple for the worship of God. Verse 13 tells us, he, this son of David, shall build a house for my name, says the Lord. Solomon would build the house. He would build the temple. And so Ptolemy's temple was a grand temple. It wasn't like that tent in the wilderness. And on the day when it was dedicated, the Shekinah glory of God that had led the people through the wilderness out of Egypt, that Shekinah glory cloud came and came to the temple in God's glory. And yet, wait a minute, God is infinite. And so on that very day, Solomon acknowledges your glory isn't constrained. It doesn't just fit in this temple. Your glory fills all heaven and earth. And yet God's glory came to that temple where the people of God would worship him in spirit and in truth. There at that temple where God's glory was, the people of God would come and offer him praise and thanks and glory. Now, how can you know what God wants you to do? Don't just impulsively, like David did, don't just impulsively think, I got this idea. Don't just jump at the first thing that comes across. You have to ask. What does God's word say should be my priority for me in this place? And that's what the word of God came back through Nathan to David. Oh, no, no, not this. But your son will do that. You have to do what God has called you to do, King David. So you and I need to then be people of the book, don't we? To be people of God's truth. What does God's word say? I need to respond to God's word, but I also need to respond to God's grace. God's grace to you, as David came to respond. David, you want to build me a house? You want to build me a temple? No, no, no, no, David, but I'm going to build a house for you. Wow. No, don't you do that, but I'm going to do this for you. Look at verse 11. He says, the Lord also declares that the Lord will make a house, a dynasty for you. When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you who will come forth from you and I will establish his kingdom. And he will build a house for my name. You want to build me a house? No, but I have something even better in mind. One of your descendants will build a house, a kingdom. Now there's a really central principle here. God has to first build your house. He has to first build your life before you can be a part of building His house. The Lord's work of grace always becomes before our work for Him. The Lord always takes the initiative. He always takes initiative to work in your heart, to change your life. And our work is always a grateful response to what He has done for you. It's like the Book of Romans, isn't it? Romans 1 through 11 is all speaking of God's mercy, what he does to save us. Some would die for a righteous man. Somebody might die for a good guy. But God demonstrated his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That's Romans 1 through 11. And then what does he say? Romans 12, therefore I urge you by the mercies of God, because what God has done for you, because of what Jesus Christ has done for you, now I urge you by that mercy to present your body as a living sacrifice. Christ gave himself as a sacrifice to pay for all your sins so you'd be reconciled to God. Now you give yourself back as one bought by him, as a living sacrifice, urged on by God's mercies to live for him. But what mercy, what grace was David called to respond to? Well, what did God mean when he said, David, I'm going to build your house? That mean he was going to give David a new house on the shore of the Mediterranean or down at Virginia Beach or something like that? What did it mean he was going to build David's house? Look again at verse 12. He says, I will raise up your descendant, your seed, after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. And he shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Verse 16, your house and your kingdom shall endure before me forever. Your throne shall be established forever. So here he's talking about David being given a dynasty as king that's going to last forever. And that is the establishment of his house, his family forever. Now, the Lord's referring to more than David's son Solomon, isn't he? He promises that a descendant of David, his own descendant, will reign as king. Did you get it? Forever. And he says it three times in that one verse. Forever, forever, forever. You're going to have a descendant who's going to reign as king forever. Now, David's son Solomon did sit on the throne of David's kingdom for a while. But then Solomon died. And the dynasty of David lasted for around 400 years, a long time. But then the people were taken into captivity. And then when they came back, it was Caesar and non-descendants of David, Edomites, Herods, that were ruling in the land. Did this promise come true that you're going to have a descendant from you that's going to reign over a kingdom forever? He says, I will raise up your descendant after you who will come forth from you, who will be from your physical line, and I will establish his kingdom. The Lord here is not just talking about David's son Solomon, but he's talking about the coming of God's greatest gift. He's talking about the coming of God's greatest gift and David's greatest descendant, David's greatest son. A gift, the greatest gift. And what was that greatest gift? See if I can get it out of here. There it comes. Okay, what does it say, children, young people? David's son, David's descendant would be the forever king. The forever king. That was the greatest gift. And so here is that promise that the Lord Jesus would come from him, who would be physically descended from David's descendants. He would have some of David's genes in him, right? And yet he would also be fully God, God and man, God and descendant of David, God's gift, David's son, David's descendant being the forever king. Now, here's a little bit of a teaser, maybe a sneak preview, maybe not so sneaky preview. But come December, as you begin to celebrate the Christmas season, Pastor Mike is going to unpack this even more. from the Psalms and from the narratives of the birth narratives. He's going to unpack even more the significance, the meaning of this for you. During Jesus' day, people had hope in this promise. They were looking for the Son of David. You know, the blind would call out, right? The blind man called out, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. They were looking for that Son of David. The children, the crowds, when Jesus entered into Jerusalem, they were singing, Hosanna to the Son of... Save us, we pray. Hosanna to the Son of David. They were looking for this Son, this descendant of David. The religious leaders were jealous. Their jealousy led them to put Jesus to death. But Jesus was raised from the dead. And he sits on David's throne, God's throne, forever. The way the Apostle Paul put it in Acts chapter 13, as for the fact that he, God, raised Jesus up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, he has spoken in this way, I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David. Isaiah 55 said, the time's coming when your thirst of your soul will be satisfied because I'm gonna keep the sure blessings of David and send that blessed one to you. And Paul said, here it is, it's Jesus. He's risen from the dead. And in Jesus, the sure blessings promised to David in 2 Samuel 7 are coming true. What is Jesus doing? while he is king, risen reigning king. What is Jesus doing now? Jesus is building his kingdom. The risen Jesus is doing what God promised David he would do. He is building and reigning over his kingdom. He's building a house. He's building a temple. He's building a place where God himself may dwell. You say, wait a minute. I thought Solomon built the temple. Now, what are you talking about not Jesus building a temple? Think about this. At the beginning of Jesus' ministry, in John chapter 2, Jesus said, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again. And then the Apostle John gives us a commentary. And he says, Jesus was speaking of the temple of his body. Jesus was the temple par excellence. Jesus is the temple that all the tabernacle and the other temples pointed forward to. Jesus is the Word, the Son of God made flesh, and we're told in John 1, He's the Word, the Son of God made flesh, and He templed among us, He tabernacled among us, He came as the dwelling place of God among us, full of grace, full of the glory of God, full of truth. So Jesus said, I am the true temple that all the other temples pointed forward to because in me is the Shekinah glory of God come in its fullness. So Jesus says, I am the temple of God. I am the dwelling place of God because I am the fullness of God. I am the true temple of God himself. And when you personally belong to Jesus by God's grace, You are made a part. You are made a part of God's temple. You, when you are joined to Jesus, you become the place where God, by the Holy Spirit, lives. Am I making this up? Is it too good to be true? Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 2. By grace, you have been saved through faith. That's not of yourselves. It's a gift of God. It's not a result of works, lest any man should boast. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who were formerly far off, have been brought near by the blood of Christ, been brought back to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are God's household. Ooh. That's 2 Samuel 7 language. You are God's household. You were in that prophecy when he said, I'm going to establish a house. You are God's household. Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole building being fitted and joined together is growing into a holy temple. Oh, you are the temple. You are the dwelling place of God, holy temple in the Lord. in whom you who are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. You. Isn't that marvelous? You. You. Us. The place where God himself lives. You are the temple, the household of God, where Jesus is reigning over you as your King. You're the household of God in whom the Spirit of the Lord God. You know, Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 6, he applies verse 14 to you all. When he said, I will be a father to him and he a son to me, Paul says, now that's true for you who are God's household. I will be your father. You will be my sons. You will be my daughters. The Lord will be your Father until he takes you to heaven. And it's not just Jesus in you. Then it won't be just Jesus in you, the Spirit in you, but you in Jesus. You will be part of his temple, experiencing the full glory of God forever. Now, how should we respond? How are you to respond? to Christ's work of grace for you, how should you respond to God's work of grace in you? How should you respond to these wonderful promises? Well, respond like David. He responded to God's grace with humility, commitment, and prayer. Verse 18, God makes these promises, and David says, oh, wait a minute, who am I, Lord? And what is my house that you've brought me thus far and given me these promises? What is your greater grace? I wanted to build you a house. Now you're going to build me a forever house. And then again, in verse 27, David goes on to pray. And this is to be our response. For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made a revelation. You've revealed yourself to your servants, saying, I will build your house. Therefore, your servant has found courage to pray to you." God makes promises that gives us courage to pray to him. Now, O Lord, you are God. Your words are truth. You have promised this good thing to your servant. Now, therefore, may it please you to bless the house of your servant. God makes a promise. David says, I'm counting on it. God makes you a promise. Then what do we do? What is prayer? Turning those promises back to God and say, OK, God, Keep it, keep them. I'm counting on you. Young people, everybody, we live in tough times and Satan wants to eat up. He wants to devour the rising generation. He wants them. He wants you. We need kingdom builders. who will build the house of God, who will be part of building a place for God's glory to shine on earth amidst the darkness. And so we need you. We need you. And we need you to pray. Lord, confirm your word, keep your word which you have spoken. that your name may be magnified and glorified forever. Lord, keep your word and help me to glorify you and be part of that household, that temple of God, which brings you honor. But before you can be a kingdom builder, God must bring you into his family as a son or a daughter. He must bring you to the King, to King Jesus, to save you, to deliver you, to conquer you. And then you'll be his subject, subject of the king. You'll be a living stone in his temple. And Jesus' kingdom alone, Jesus' kingdom is the only kingdom that will last forever. As David conquered Moab, so we're told that Jesus will put all his enemies under his feet. But isn't it better to be ruled as a citizen? Isn't it better to be defended as Jesus' own son and daughter and child than to be laid out in a line for judgment? Come humbly. Come truly before this Lord. Say with David, who am I, Lord? I don't deserve these blessings. I'm a sinner. Oh God, be merciful to me, a sinner. But Lord, you've promised that there's grace in this great gift of your son. And Lord, I'm going to cling to that. My King, my King, my saving King forever. Maybe you do and have and are trusting the Lord, but maybe you're perplexed. Maybe you're perplexed this morning because The Lord has said no to your plans. Maybe your heart was in the right place when you had a particular plan. In 1 Kings 8, Solomon's speaking, and he says, the Lord said to my father David, because it was in your heart to build a house, to build a temple for my name, you did well. What was in your heart? In other words, when David wanted to build the temple for God, God said, your motive was right, but I still say no. Your heart was in the right place, David, but it wasn't your job. It wasn't your task. It wasn't your time to do that. You didn't plan for a loved one to be terminally ill You didn't plan on a change in your own health or you didn't plan on a job change. You didn't plan on life throwing this at you. And so you thought God wanted you to build the temple in Jerusalem. You thought God wanted you to do this. But the Lord has another job for you. He has a job for you. in his kingdom, but it wasn't that which you planned. But don't doubt the Lord. Look to him. He's the Lord who keeps his promises. He kept his promise to David to send Jesus, didn't he? Did he keep that word? Oh man, did he keep that word? And he keeps all his promises. You can count on them. You can claim them. You can remind God of them. You can trust them. For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, made it known to your servants, saying, I will build a house. Therefore, your servant has found courage to pray to you. God keeps his promise. Therefore, Lord, I find courage to pray to you. And Jesus, Jesus took this promise. And so he said, I will build my church and the gates of hell. will not stand against the advance of the church that I am building, for I will build my church because I am that descendant, the son of David, who has been given an eternal house and my house will be built. And the way that Jesus keeps that promise to build his church. Is to save you by his grace. to make you a part of His temple by His grace and give you the Holy Spirit so that you respond to His great grace by saying, here I am Lord, where you want me to serve you as a living stone, I will serve you there. As Paul says in Romans chapter 12, if you have the gift, though they differ from others, if you exercise them according to the grace given to you, David, I have grace for you to be the warrior. I give grace to your son to build the temple. I give grace to you if it's service in your serving, serve him. If there's teaching in your teaching, serve him. If you exhort, you urge others to do what's right, do it in your urging. If you give, give with liberality, generosity. If you're leading, do it with diligence. If you show mercy, be cheerful about it. Your gift, mercy. Use it. Do it. David became content to collect gold and silver and brass and wood for his son to do the building later. He was content then to prepare for what his son would do. He never built the temple himself. But he became contented and committed to the calling that God, the job that God had for him to do. Far better than what David had in mind for what he wanted to do for God was what God had in mind to do for David, to build his house forever. Joshua Jones finally found contentment not in being what God called his friend Willie to be, but in what God called him to do. Josh got word that his friend Willie in South Africa died, died of malaria during his first term there in South Africa. And that hit him pretty hard. His uncle Nat came over to see him knowing that Josh was grieving. And uncle Nat says this, now I don't know the reason for what happened, But there is a purpose. God can make all things work together for good. Those aren't just words, Josh. I'm sure of that. Willie's life accomplished what it was meant to accomplish. Willie was obedient to God. He was right where God wanted him to be at the time that God wanted him to be there. He wasn't running away. He wasn't fighting God's plan. He was obedient. God fulfills his plan for us when we obey him about the daily decisions and the big ones. I know you wanted to support Willie with the profits from your farming. But there are other missionaries who will need to be supported. And Willie's fiance, Camellia, is one of them. A.W. Pink put it this way. Whatever be our spiritual aspirations, whatever be our desires in our service to the Lord, They must be regulated by the revealed will of God. He assigns to everyone his own work and each of us should thankfully and faithfully attend to our proper business. Oh, to be satisfied with the place which God has allotted us, to discharge earnestly the duty which he has appointed to us, and leave to others whom he has chosen the more honorable work. The temple was to bear the name Solomon, Solomon's temple, and not David's. May your gift, may your abilities, if it's mercy, if it's watching the nursery, if it's helping prepare for a Thanksgiving meal, if it's building a porch for somebody, if it's giving due with generosity, if it's being like Uncle Nat and coming alongside a young person and helping guide them in God's ways. The Lord's saying, what the Lord shows you to do, do it with all your might and the enabling of the Spirit of God. Be part of the exciting work of Christ's expanding and growing house. Pray that the Lord Jesus would be honored in your life. Lord, Not beyond what you want me to be, but what you know is best for me. Show me that path that I might respond to your grace and do it. Let's pray. Lord in heaven. Come now by your Holy Spirit and fill us who are your temple, that we might live for your glory, to your praise. We thank you, Lord, in heaven for your word. We thank you for the promise of Jesus, who is ours, whose we are. We have been bought with a price. Lord, grant us grace as a body, as a church family, to glorify you in our bodies. We do pray for those of our body who are in particular need caring for loved ones who are in great physical extremity. We pray, Lord, that you would sustain them and give us joy and peace in believing in you, our risen Lord, our comforter, our counselor, our risen redeemer, our king, our protector. In Jesus' name, we thank you for who you are. Let's stand together and respond to God's word by singing a combination hymn, Christ Shall Have Dominion, combined with Onward, Christian Soldiers. It's taken from Psalm 72. Christ shall have dominion over land and sea. Sri Mukta's regions shall his empire be. Faith and wealth in heaven shall their worship bring. Kings shall render tribute, nations serve our King. when the needy seek. For their lives are precious in his holy sight. Christ shall have dominion over land and sea. First three boldest regions shall his end and forever. Like a mighty army moves the Church of God. Brothers in our jettings, where the saints have trod. ♪ Soldiers marching as to war ♪ ♪ When the cross of Jesus is moving on before ♪ ♪ Crowns and thrones may perish ♪ ♪ Kingdoms rise and wane ♪ ♪ But the church of Jesus ♪ of hell can never, can such a thing burn. Amen, I invite you to stick around and introduce yourself to somebody you might not know, or enjoy fellowship together. But here now, the Lord's benediction, the Lord's word of blessing to us as we depart. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.