Thank you, Chris. Good morning. If you would, please take your Bibles and turn to 2 Samuel chapter 7. If you need to, look in your index in the front part of your Bible. I also want to extend a welcome to anyone who's new here to Blacksburg Christian Fellowship, or if you're at home listening for the first or second time, we're delighted that you are with us. Whether you're in the building or whether you're here in the auditorium, thank you for being here. Hopefully you found your way to 2 Samuel 7. I'll be reading verses 1 through 17, 2 Samuel chapter 7. Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, see now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent. And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you. But that same night, the word of the Lord came to Nathan. Go and tell my servant David, thus says the Lord. Would you build me a house to dwell in? I've not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I've been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom 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 the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more as formerly from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you who shall come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. in accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David. Father God, who am I? And Father God, who are we that you would be so good to give us your word to feed our hungry souls, Father, please grant us by the power of the Holy Spirit, eyes to see, hearts to feel, and minds to understand. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. None of us, none of us will get very far in our Bibles without reading words and concepts associated with the monarchy. In fact, the first human couple, Adam and Eve, that God created were a king and a queen. And please understand, they were not ultimate in their royal position. God still maintained the title of uppercase king, but Adam and Eve, as God's representatives, were lowercase king and queen. And God granted them authority and dominion over a small portion of land called the Garden of Eden. And their royal calling was to take this garden and to develop it and to work it and to cultivate it and to populate it so that the entire world would be filled with lowercase kings and queens who would worship the ultimate king, God himself. But the worst day in human history came when this first royal couple committed treason against their king. They were not satisfied with representing the king. They wanted to be like him and their mutiny against God caused the color and the vibrancy and the beauty of the garden to turn black and white overnight. And all the brokenness we see in the world today is traced back to that revolt that happened with this very first royal couple. This morning we prayed for Nikki, beautiful Nikki. Sweet, beautiful Nikki. Nikki's cancer is the result of the rebellion that happened in the garden. When you heard the word cancer, the first thing that should have come into your mind was fall, brokenness, rebellion against the king. But Nikki's not the only one in this room dealing with cancer. Each of us has been born with a cancerous heart that is in rebellion against the king. And it's a type of cancer that not even the best at Walter Reed Hospital can cure. This is beyond Walter Reed. But that's not where the story ends. The Bible begins with the rebellion against God, but it quickly turns as God the King sets into motion a plan to rescue his people and bring them back to himself, to restore them to their royal status. And we see the first indication of that rescue plan in Genesis 3.15, when God the King declares that there would be one coming from fallen Eve who would crush the head of the serpent. In other words, God would send another king, a greater king, to do what the first King Adam failed to do, one who would be strong and courageous and a champion for God's people. And the identification of this saving king was further narrowed down when God revealed in Genesis 22-18 that through Abraham's seed that all the nations would be blessed. Then God gives further detail in Genesis 49-10 when Jacob proclaims that the scepter, the royal staff, shall not depart from Judah. In other words, God is letting us know I haven't abandoned you. So he says, I'm coming. I'm sending somebody. And this person is going to come, first of all, from Israel. And to fine-tune it even more, he's saying, and this person is going to come from the tribe of Judah. And now we come to 2 Samuel, chapter 7. A passage in which God provides even more detail. about the coming king who will rescue traitors and restore them to their royal status. This is a big chapter. In fact, theologian Walter Kaiser calls 2 Samuel 7 one of the most brilliant moments in the history of salvation. And as we walk through this passage, I've organized our time together with the following three headings. Verses 1-7, we're gonna see a king denied. Verses 8-11, we're gonna see the king declares. And then in verses 12-17, we're gonna see the king established. So let's begin with verses 1-7 and a king denied. The king of which we are speaking of, of course, is David. who was also lowercase K King. And at this time in Israel's history, things were going well. They were going great. The kingdom was united. There was rest from all surrounding enemies. The Ark of the Covenant, which was the symbol of God's presence, was with his people. It was brought back to Jerusalem. On top of that, David, he had a palace built for himself. In short, things were good. Things were good. It reminds me of those moments around this time of year when we're sitting around the table with friends or family and things are just right. They're just right. Stomachs are full and there's laughter and there's joy. And we just take it all in and we say, this is fantastic. If this could just last forever, But it doesn't, it never does. But God gives us these moments in life when things are just right. This is what I envision emotionally the state where David is at. And so with a restful heart and a rest from outside distractions, David looked at his house, he looked at his palace, and he compared it to the house or to the tent that housed the Ark, the Ark of the Covenant. And David concluded, this isn't right. Something's wrong here. I'm living in this beautiful home. And this ark, this ark that symbolizes the presence of God, it's parked in the tent. This can't continue this way. And just so that you know, in the ancient world, it was common for a king to build a house for his god. And for many of the surrounding nations, since the deity that they worshipped was regarded as their ultimate king, it was not uncommon for temples to be built that were larger than the earthly king's palaces. And I'm not sure what moted David to want to do what he intended to do. If he looked at the other nations and said, I want to be like that, our passage doesn't tell us. But he does want to build a house for the ark. And so he tells Nathan, the prophet, his idea. And Nathan seems to agree, seems to think that this is a great idea and encourages him to move forward. Only one problem, one problem. It's not the Lord's plan. It's not the Lord's plan. May I just take a minute and suggest to all of us, hold your plans loosely. Hold your plans loosely. Some of the most unhappy people I know are that way because they live in a perpetual state of unmet expectations. God wants you to get the job, you're gonna get the job. If God wants you, Mr. Professor, Mrs. Professor, if he wants you to get the grant, you're gonna get the grant. If God wants you to move, he'll open that door and he will see fit that you move. But hold your plans loosely. Be prepared for God to have you wait on your plans. or even be prepared for God to deny your plans. For David, it was the latter. God, through the prophet Nathan, informed David that his plans were denied. And why were David's plans denied? The first reason, which is not mentioned in our text, is because David had shed blood. And so in 1 Chronicles, God said, no, David, you're not gonna build this house because you've been involved in war. But the second reason why God did not want David to proceed in this building project was that since the Exodus, the ark was always housed in a tent. In other words, why fix it if it ain't broke? Listen again to verses 4 through 6, but that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan. You'd go and tell my servant David, thus says the Lord, would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not, and this is God, I've not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day. But I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. There was a reason why the ark was housed in a tent. The tent was portable. The tent was movable, it was transportable. It allowed God to dwell with his people. And I think it sent a message to God's people, I'm with you. I'm with you. It's not like it was in the garden, because things are broken. And you as rebellious people, you can't engage with me like the first royal couple did, but I'm with you. And by the way, if you're a believer, the Bible says that you as the temple of God, you have God in you. It's so much better. He's dwelling in you. And collectively as a church, the spirit of God dwells among us. But there's a third reason why God denied David's plans. Again, the first reason is because David shed blood. The second reason was that there was nothing wrong with the ark being in the tent. Here's the third reason. God never asked David to do it. Never asked him, verse seven, in all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, why have you not built me a house of cedar? In other words, it was not up to David to determine what God should and should not do. If God wanted a temple built, he would initiate it on his own terms according to his perfect timing. Said another way, David was king, but he was still lowercase king. And he needed to let the uppercase king be king. God had plans. God had purposes that were completely unknown to David. That's why as believers we're to live by faith and not by sight. All we see is what's in front of us, but behind the scenes God is doing millions and trillions of things that we're not even aware of. He's got plans and purposes. And that was the case with him And David, and so for all those reasons, we see in verses one through seven, a king denied. Yet God's so gracious. He's so good, although he said no to David. He followed that up with, but I've got something even better for you. No, but I've got something better. By the way, that's a great tip for parents. Great tip for parents. Sometimes it's a no, and it's a no, and I don't have anything better. But sometimes it's a no, but I think we can go this way. And that's what God did for David. It was a no, but I've got something better for you. That's why in verses 8 through 11, the king declares. The king declares. And who is this king doing the declaring in these verses? It's Almighty God. It's uppercase K king. And what does he declare? Look at the end of verse 11. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. I'm gonna make you a house. And what kind of house does God intend to make for David? He already has this beautiful palace made of cedar. He's got a house and a place to sleep. So it's not that kind of house. No, it's a different kind of house. What kind of house is God talking about? He's talking about a dynasty. This is a promise, a promise that God through David will build a family dynasty. In other words, God completely flips things around. David, you're not going to build me a house. I'm going to build you a house. And this plan for a Davidic dynasty, it was not some spontaneous decision. This wasn't just some random fleeting thought. Why? Because God's doing behind the scenes millions and trillions of things, working all these details out. No, this was not plan B, this was plan A. This was God's plan all along. Verse eight, thus says the Lord, I took from you or I took you from the pasture from following the sheep that you should be prince over my people Israel and I've been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. In other words, this family line through David, this dynasty was part of God's plan from the very beginning. Nothing is accidental with God, nothing. Some of you are here this morning, you don't even know why you're here. Some of you are watching. You don't even know why you're watching. Somebody invited you to watch or somebody invited you to come and you're here. You never expected to be here. Some of you have been here for a few weeks. You don't know how you ended up in the parking lot watching outside services. You think it was an accident? There are no accidents with God, because behind the scenes, He's doing millions of trillions of things, working out His purposes for your good in His glory. And just as God's hand was guiding David's past, He would continue to guide David in the future. Verses nine through 11, I'm gonna make you, I will make for you a great name like the name of the great ones of the earth and I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more and violent men shall afflict them no more as formerly from the time that I appointed the judges over my people Israel and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Did you notice all of the personal pronouns, I. Did you pick up on that? Six times God uses the pronoun I, speaking of himself. I took you. David, I. I took you. I. That's right, Nikki. I've been with you. I will make your name great. I will appoint. and I appointed and I will give you rest. David wanted to help God, but God ended up helping David. In this little section in verses eight through 11 is a declaration of all that God had done and was doing and would do in the life of David, culminating with the family dynasty. Yet God's declaration in verse 11 about this family line, it leaves us wanting to know more, doesn't it? And so we have in verses 12 through 17, the king established, the king established. Verse 12 through 16, when your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you who shall come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. Did you catch how often the word forever was repeated, 13, I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 16, in your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever. Your throne shall be established forever. In other words, someone will come through David's family line that will rule forever and ever and ever. and his kingdom and his throne will last forever and ever and ever. Yet there's one huge, huge problem. And the problem is this. David's family line It lasted a long time, a very long time. In fact, I don't think there's been another dynasty in the history of the world that's lasted longer than David's line of 400 years. But eventually God's kingdom would divide. And the Assyrians would take the northern kingdom in 722 BC. And the southern kingdom would last until 586 before falling to the Babylonians. The second to the last king in Judah would be exiled to Babylon and sent to prison before he was eventually released. And you know what happened to the last king? You know what happened to the last king of Judah? According to 2 Kings 25, 7, the last king of Judah, Zedekiah, he watched as all of his children were slaughtered before him. Could you imagine that? Then his eyes were gouged out. Then he was taken to Babylon as a prisoner. And throughout these tumultuous years, God's people were left asking, God, what about your promise? God, have you forsaken us? What's going on, God? Do you ever have those questions? Do you ever say to yourself, God, what's going on? What about your promises that you'll never leave me or forsake me? I feel so lonely. Do you ever lose hope when the realities of life seem to contradict God's promises? God, you told me if I raise up my kids in a certain way, that they would follow in those same footsteps What's going on, God? If you've asked those questions, where are you, God? You're not alone. God's people of old struggled with that same tension. In fact, Psalm 89. Psalm 89, which was pinned with the tension of knowing God's promises on the one hand, with the reality that outside invaders were destroying God's kingdom. Psalm 89 was written with that tension in mind. Listen what the psalmist writes. but now you have cast off and rejected. You are full of wrath against your anointed." They're aware of 2 Samuel 7. In fact, this was written with 2 Samuel 7 in mind. And they're looking around, they're saying, it's not adding up, God. You've renounced the covenant with your servant. You have defiled his crown in the dust. You have breached all his walls. You have laid his strongholds in ruins. How long, O Lord? How long will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? Do you hear? Do you feel the hopelessness in the psalmist's voice? He knows the promises given in 2 Samuel 7. He knows that God promised David a dynasty that would last forever, a kingdom that would last forever, a throne that would last forever. Three times forever was used in 2 Samuel 7, but given the circumstances, it looked and felt as if God had forsaken his promises, leading the psalmist to cry, how long, O Lord? in the absence of a king would last 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 plus years. And just when you think God's rescue story has been thwarted, an angel visits this young, beautiful, innocent woman by the name of Mary and says these words. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great. And he will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom, there will be no end. Do you remember? Do you know? how the very first verse in the New Testament begins. Matthew 1.1, just to remind us of this point, the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David. God did not forget his promises. God promised that through David, one would come that would rule and reign and sit on his throne forever. A continuous stream of kings could have done that or it could be accomplished through one king from David's line living forever and ever and ever and God chose the latter. And what does that mean for you? And what does that mean for me? It means that God's plan to send a king to rescue rebels and traitors who have committed treason is being accomplished by God himself. God's doing it. Do you remember what God told David in 2 Samuel 7, 14? I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. God sent his only son, King Jesus, to save you and me from our sins. Everything that was lost in the garden is restored through Jesus. Color can be restored once again. And as we just end our time, I'm gonna ask you a question. Are you part of this kingdom? You. Are you part of this kingdom? Not as your mom or not as your dad part of this kingdom. Are you part of it? Have you accepted the King's pardon for the treason you committed? You no longer have to live your life as enemy to the King of the universe. Exoneration is yours through King Jesus. Father God, we thank you that you are a covenant-keeping and a covenant-making God, and we thank you that your promises are fulfilled and have their yes in your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, if there are any here this morning who are not part of your kingdom, I pray that they would turn and trust King Jesus. We pray this in his name, amen.