2 Sam 7- When God Says No !!
Intro: One of the most DISCOURAGING words in the English
language is the word No!!/ most of the time we don’t like to Hear it
A.)Kids
hate it – mommy ice cream – no
Taking Little kids to store can be real trial {
they want everything! NO!!
B.)
A Young man expresses heart to young woman – asks if she feels the same way – she says no – heartbreaking{ No is a Hard word to hear!
C.)And
it doesn’t get any easier in the Christian life because – we can approach God
about things - A dream / a desire/ A hope / Make a request
1.)He too will at times answer no
D.)
Been said God answers our prayers in 3 ways
/ yes rejoice.
Wait
Ok still
hope – often the waiting answer is jus met by silence
1.)We
want direction go? Silence.
He is saying wait – stand still
That
is hard but I can deal with it
But The toughest ANSWER is when God says no
A.)But I think sometimes He has more to teach us
from His denials than from His permissions
B.)Well here in 2 Sam 7, We see an episode in the
life of David where God says - no! Read
v. 1-3
C.)Things
were going well for David – the nation
was at rest – no war – enemies had backed off
1) David’s
new palace was built – when something began to stir in his heart
D.)Why should I dwell in
this palace –When the Ark Which = God Presence – dwells in a tent – I will
make a house for God
So David goes to his friend Nathan the prophet and shares
his vision – this is the first mention of Nathan in the bible
A.)Nathan – thinks it is a wonderful idea and tells David do all that
is in YOUR heart- God is w/ YOU
B.)Nathan’s
reply was a reasonable one – but the problem was Nathan didn’t consult God- He
didn’t Pray { easy mistake to make
1.)Something
might seem like a great idea to you and from a practical sense it makes all the
sense in the world
C)
But maybe it is not God’s will for you / Now
what we need to be concerned about is
God’s best
1)
Not what seems best to
us – But what is Best in God’s eyes !!!!!
Property
– 12 acres
D)Ministry
volunteers – pray – seek the Lord –
don’t respond to a need. You need to Know that your are called
Nathan makes a mistake here by not praying with David about
his desire – but that night God
corrects it! V.4 – 7
1 Chron 17:3-4 – more clear 3But it happened that night that the word of God came to
Nathan, saying, 4“Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD:
“You shall not build Me a house to dwell in
A)What a hard answer this would
be for the king to hear – His dream shattered
– When God said no
B.)
And what is really
interesting is: – at this time God
didn’t give David an explanation of why? God just said – no
C.) It would years later that God revealed the
reason why! – 1 Chron 22:8
David had shed too much Blood – too many Wars
{Temple place of peace
D)But initially God just said no David , I don’t
want you to build me a house
Now, was God saying it was wrong for David to want to do
this? No
A.)Years later Solomon – 2 Chron 6:7-9 –7Now it was in
the heart of my father David to build a £temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 8But
the LORD said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a
temple for My name, you did well in that
it was in your heart. 9Nevertheless you shall not build the temple,
but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My
name.’ You did well
that it was in your heart
B.)
So it wasn’t wrong But in God’s word to Nathan
/reveals not necessary/ See God
cannot be contained in a building – He envelopes the universe
1.)The
church is not a building – the church is a body – people
C.)Building can merely be a place where the body
gathers together to praise the Lord – meet with
God – learn about God
1.)And to encourage each other in God – A place TO get stirred up to go into the
world and shine for God
D.) But God had a plan for this temple – Important
in the prophetic picture – sore spot in Israel now!
So here we find David at this place where he wants to do
something for God / he thinks it is a great thing – But God says no!
A.)But then God says – listen
to what I am going to do for you! V.8-17
B.)David
goes to Nathan and says this is what I want to do for God – Nathan says cool -
1)But then God says no –but
tell David this is what I am going to do for him!
C.)God’s response to David is known as the Davidic
Covenant
1)
Simply states that God
was going to establish David’s kingdom forever
D.)Though it has direct application to David’s son
Solomon who would build the temple
1) It has a far-reaching application to Jesus who
would come from David’s lineage – his seed/
Thru Jesus God will establish an
everlasting kingdom!
WE are waiting for the return of Christ getting closer –
signs of the times{ Look at temple – Destroyed – What sign of coming …age!!!
A.)Now The family of David did rule over Israel for
more than 400 years – but was eventually removed for evil deeds
B.)Sad
commentary – in book of Kings concerning the descendents of David: So and so did not follow in the ways of King David
1.)So David’s family was eventually removed from
ruling
C.)But Isaiah 11:1-2 – declared that out of the stump of David, God would raise up new branch
that would reign forever and ever!
1)
That Stump is Jesus –
Coming Back – set up His Kingdom – Everlasting Kingdom – He will Reign forever
& ever { Hold
up ? Salvation
Now we can Learn important lesson from this: This is so like
God – we say God, I want to do something for you – He might say no
A.)But then He says – I
will do something even better for you
B.)Now
He might not tell you at first – but if you are patient and continue to seek
Him – it will be revealed
1.)Sue
and Denise
C.)Has God told you No recently? What has been your
response? Mad? Sulking? Turned back on God?
1.)Listen He has
your best interest at heart
D.) Like David, he wants to radically bless your
life – plans for you – that will blow your mind 1 Cor 2:9
9But as it is
written:
“Eye has not
seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things
which God has prepared for those who love Him.
So God says David – this is what I am going to do for you –
establish throne forever – notice David’s reaction: v.18-29
Note 4 things – be done!
#1 – David just sat down – blown away!
A.)David goes & sits before the Lord – and just
sits still in amazement !!!
1.)It’s
a good thing to be awe struck by God’s presence / Wow!
G.K.
Chesterton The world is not lacking in wonders,
but in a sense of wonder.
.
B)
V.18 – Who am I? David thought
about his life / his back ground / his family- they weren’t anything special –
1) And David’s reaction is – Who am I Lord – David’s
estimation of
himself
only MAGNIFIES THE GRACE & GREATNESS OF God !
C)
True Principle – If I think
of myself rightly - a frail and insignificant creature, a sinner, a great and
persistent sinner;
1)
at best, a very
imperfect Christian; proved to be to many circumstances to number –
D)
When I realize that I am deserving of nothing from God – it only proves to
magnify his GOODNESS & GRACE to me
1)
And if Salvation was
the only blessing I ever received from God it is more than enough – and way
more than I deserve
E)
But He doesn’t just save us / He blesses us w/ His presence / He gives us the
hope of eternal life / Heaven / Service /
1)
Takes care of us /
watches over us / Communes w/ us / Allows us to be part of a Family of
believers – On & on – Great blessings of God !!
V.19 – David says – Is this the manner of man – is this the way man deals with each other?
A)Indeed not – peculiar – men don’t extend blessings
for no apparent reason
B)But so like God who in His grace – gives even the
most unworthy people the greatest of his blessings and the reality of His
presence!
1) Ever look at
your life – wow? God you have blessed
me so much!!!
Has God recently said no to you? Before you turn away – before bitterness or resentment has a
chance to creep into your heart
A.)Sit down before the Lord and consider his
blessings to you
B.)Salvation
/ capacity to know Him / hope of heaven
so first David sat down
#2 – He praises God! V.22-24
A.)v.22 There is none like you Lord!!!!!-
B) One man described the Vastness & the
Greatness of God in this way
More sky than man can see,
More seas than he
can sail,
More sun than he
can bear to watch,
More stars than he
can scale.
More breath than he
can breathe,
More yield than he
can sow,
More grace than he
can comprehend,
More love than he can know.
C)Worship is language – love!
If worship is just one thing we do, everything becomes
mundane. If worship is the one thing we do, everything takes on eternal
significance.
David says who is like you Lord & Who is like the
People of God !!
A)Israel was God’s special people – now in Christ the Church is too
IN Christ there is Neither Jew or Gentile – One Body
B)
Sometimes kids can have the tendency to look at other kids who are richer / or
have a parent who is just a great guy
1) And they can think – I wish I was him
or her I wish I had their Dad
C)
Good friend growing up – No Dad – So Competitive – compete w/ me used to really
make me mad – I understand now – Why
1)
My dad was the closet thing he Had to the real thing
D)
God intended Israel to have a similar affect on the other nations around them –
They would See His dealings w/ Israel & desire to know their God
E)
God wants the Church today to have a Contagious affect on the World around it –
CONTAGIOUS AFFECT
1) Sees the Peace / Satisfaction /
Contentment / Strength in the mist of the
Storm & all the other results of
God’s Grace in our lives
So David Worships God – Who is like you & who is like your People
#3 – He believes the promise: v.25-29 – Let it be so!
A.)Not promise keepers but promise believers / Promises of God
B)David is not just blown away by the Promise of God
but wants to walk in them
Susanna
Wesley God's promises are sealed to us, but not
dated.
#4 – David couldn’t build the temple but He does what he can –
Turn 1 Chron 29:2-3
1Furthermore
King David said to all the assembly: “My son Solomon, whom alone God has
chosen, is young and inexperienced; and the work is great, because the temple
is not for man but for the LORD God. 2Now for the house of my God I
have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for
things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood
for things of wood, onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various
colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance. 3Moreover,
because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the
house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my
own special treasure of gold and silver:
A.) David drew up plans and gathered materials
When God says no – you can’t go – you can’t build –
encourage you to do what you can
A.)If you cannot build you can gather materials –
help finance
B.)Can’t
go – but you can send someone else
1.)cant’
do it – you can pray – you can encourage
God’s Denials can result in some
incredible Blessings
A.)It all depends however on whether at the time
when God says no – how you react – will you sulk or will you seek?
B)If you seek you will find – God is right there
with blessings such as you have never experienced before!