2 SAMUEL 7 PURSUE GODS HEART TOWARD YOU2018 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Samuel 7 Pursue Gods Heart Toward You

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2018. Well, as we look at 2 Samuel chapter 7 this evening, I've titled the message, Pursue God's Heart Toward You.

And we've talked about pursuing God's heart as we've looked at 1 and 2 Samuel. We've talked about the importance of that all-out pursuit that not kind of a casual like, hey, I'm kind of like, you know, I think the things of God are cool, but

But really to devote ourselves and to be passionate about God's heart, knowing God's heart, pleasing God, and walking in God's will and obedience to God. And we've talked about the specifics of pursuing God's heart towards others, like enemies, like Saul's who are out to get us, or those who repeatedly offend us and hurt us and, you know, try to take us out. We've looked at God's heart to other people in a variety of ways, but God's

This evening, as we look at 2 Samuel chapter 7, we're looking at David and some interaction that he has with God through the prophet of God. And David here is looking at what's God's heart for David. And what we see happen here is that David, as he has this interaction with the Lord, he recognizes what God's heart for him is, and then he sets himself to pursue that. And this evening, I would ask you to consider that. What is God's heart for you?

for your life? What does God want for you? What does God want from you? And I would encourage you to consider it in this way, that whatever it is that's on your heart from the Lord, whatever it is that God wants for you or from you, whatever, if you have just a little inkling of a sense that, I think God wants this for me, I think God wants this from me,

then I want to encourage you to follow the example of David and pursue it and to really, you know, put your life in that direction and take steps of action to go forward in those things that, well, that God has for you. There are times that we know what God wants, but we hesitate to really commit to it. You ever done that? I've done that.

I would say not so much past tense. It's not that I have done that. I did that one time. No, but it's more like, yeah, that's kind of a regular thing. As God begins to put things upon your heart, there can be that hesitation, that reservation, that holding back. And I want to encourage you this evening to let go of the reins. Let go of the reins and just let those horses drive, man. Just pursue it. Like, go forward and

I don't know why I used the reins and the horses illustration. I don't know if that's the accurate way to do that, but you get the point, right? Put the pedal to the metal, like go forward, pursue it. There are times where we'll express things like, I know God wants this, but, and there's just this like pause, this like hesitation. Like, I know God wants me to invest more in this, spend more time here, do more of this, you know, fulfill this thing or have this attitude. I know God wants, and we know what God wants, but

But are you pursuing God's heart towards you and really making it a drive of your life to chase after what God wants for you and from you? And if you just have just a little hint, God wants this for me, God wants this from me, oh, let's follow the example of David and pursue that. Turn on the sirens, go as fast as you can, work as hard as you can, and pursue what it is that God has for you because what God has for you is what's best for you.

And we need to be in pursuit of that. Well, we begin looking at David's example here in verses 1 through 7. And here's point one of four points. The first point this evening is desire to do something great for God. Desire to do something great for God. And Harvey's going to love this message because Matthew 6, 33 just like resonates all throughout this chapter. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

And then all these other things shall be added unto you. As we wrestle with the things that we need, as we wrestle with the things that we desire, as we wrestle with the things that are needs and that we're looking for to happen in this life, the first things first is to seek first the kingdom of God. And here we see David doing that. He's desiring to further God's glory, God's kingdom, God's name.

In verse 1, it tells us, Now, two weeks ago, as we looked at chapter 6, we saw all of the things that went into David bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. Now, two weeks ago, as we looked at chapter 6,

And he set up a tent for the Ark of the Covenant. It wasn't the full tabernacle, but it was a tent specifically for the Ark. And so there now in Jerusalem is the Ark of the Covenant, but it's hanging out there in a tent. And here David, he's in a state of his life. And the context for chapter 7 is actually probably late in David's life.

even though we're early in David's kingdom, as far as we're looking at 2 Samuel, like, you know, it was just a couple of chapters ago, he was anointed as king and that kind of thing. But the chapters of 2 Samuel here are not so much chronological as it's talking about different aspects of David's life and ministry. And chapter 7 very likely is late in David's life. We'll talk more about that in a little bit. But

Here we're seeing that it's late in David's life. He has rest from all his enemies. His battles are over. His wars are done. He's kicking back in his house and like, wow, I've got a nice house with, you know, cedar panels. And, you know, it was fancy. It was luxurious. It was elaborate. But then he looks out his window and he sees the tent.

He's like, oh man, I've been meaning to repair. There's that seam that's coming undone. You know, I can see a little bit of hole there. I got to fix that. You know, he's seeing the tent that has been housing the Ark of the Covenant. And he's thinking, you know, why do I get this nice house that

And then God gets this just kind of shabby tent that has to be repaired all the time. It doesn't last very long. Why is it that I have this, you know, lasting structure and God just has this temporary tent? I think maybe I need to build God a house. And as he's just kind of kicking back, thinking about this, he tosses out the idea to Nathan the prophet who's hanging out with him.

He says, hey, Nathan, what do you think? I dwell in a house of cedar. I mean, doesn't it make sense that God has a house at least as good as mine? Like God's house should be better than mine, actually. What do you think, Nathan? And Nathan agrees. He says, oh, go and do all that is in your heart for the Lord is with you. That sounds like a great idea, Nathan says. Now, it's probably the case that Nathan overstepped a bit his boundaries as a prophet in that it sounded like a good plan,

There was nothing wrong with David's motivations or David's heart. No, there was nothing wrong with this whole scenario. But Nathan went on to say, the Lord is with you and kind of gave the Lord's stamp, you know, applied the Lord's name and says, yeah, God wants you to do that. And that's not exactly what God wanted, as we see in verse four, it says, but it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan saying, go and tell my servant David, thus says the Lord, would you build a house for me to dwell in?

David, you want to build me a house, and the Lord's going to go on to speak to David. That's not what I want for you, David. I appreciate the thought. I appreciate the sentiment. Your heart's in the right place. Good job in that, but that's not part of my plan for you. You're not the one who's called to build my house. And so Nathan says,

He likes the idea. It's a good idea. In fact, ultimately, God wants this to happen, but it wasn't quite time yet, and David wasn't the man to do it quite yet.

And so Nathan attached the Lord's name to it when God had not actually spoken. And I just point that out not to condemn Nathan, but to remind us, you know, hey, there's a difference between sharing with someone your opinion and what you think and your counsel. And then there's a difference between that and then sharing this is what the Lord wants.

And we need to be very careful about speaking on behalf of the Lord. Maybe there's not a problem in many cases for us to share, this is what I think, this is my perspective on the situation or what needs to happen. I think that sounds like a great idea. But we also need to be careful not to bless in God's name

something that he is not wanting to do and that we don't mislead people in God's role in the work that they're about to set on. I like the way that G. Campbell Morgan puts it. He says,

Here's what we need to understand, that there's a lot of good things that could be done. And building a temple for God, that was a good thing. And ultimately, that's what God wanted. But it was not going to happen if David did it according to the will and the plans of God. And so even the best ideas, the best works, the highest and holiest desires, G. Campbell Morgan says,

They need to be tested by the will of God. It's not just, does God want this? But does God want this right now? Does God want me to do this? Does God want me involved? And he points out that it should be at the express command of God that we do the work of God. That we don't just come up with good ideas, that we don't just come up with great ideas, that we don't just come up with, you know, our interpretations, but that we really let God speak about what he wants us

to do. What David wanted was a good thing. His motivations were good. His intentions were pure. Ultimately, it was something that God wanted, but it wasn't the way that God wanted it to happen. But God will commend David for all of these things that are happening in his heart. Later on, we find out from Solomon in 1 Kings 8-11,

Solomon reveals to us that the Lord had said to David, whereas it was in your heart to build the temple for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. And God gives David credit for the desire to build the temple. You wanted to establish my presence and you wanted to bless me in that way. You wanted to build the temple for my name. Good job, David. And David gets credit for that. You did good, David. It was in your heart.

Ultimately, you're not the one to build it, but I'm proud of you. And you get reward for the fact that it was in your heart. And it's important for us to understand, especially as we consider the point is to desire to do something great for God. I want to encourage you to think about what can you do for God? What can you do to bless God, to honor God, to lift up the name of God? That's what David was seeking to do.

And it's appropriate for us to, like David, kind of be sitting around and in our times of rest to be thinking, okay, now what can I do for you, God? What can I do to bless you? What can I do to further your name and further your kingdom? And to have those desires and to think about and brainstorm and, you know, think about what can we do for God?

Now, that doesn't mean that we do everything that we think about, but that then we take those desires and we test them with the Lord and say, Lord, do you want these things? And when you want something that, well, ultimately, that's not God's plan for you. So maybe you desire, I want to be a missionary and I want to go to, you know, help Quentin Betts in Clovis, New Mexico. And God shuts those doors, but you want to go. God would say to you, the fact that you had the desire to go and be part of my work in that way,

Well done. Good job. You did well that it was in your heart. God appreciates and the motivations and the intentions of our hearts, the desires of our hearts to do the work of God and be involved in the glorifying of God, he rewards that. He appreciates that. He says, well done.

And so we can desire to do something great for God, even if ultimately that's not the specific thing that God wants us to do. So we don't just chase after whatever desires we have, but we take those desires and we say, Lord, what do you want? I would love to do this for you, Lord. Would you let me do this for you? Would you let me be part of what you, you know, are doing here? Would you let me be part of this work? Desire to do something great for God.

God goes on in verse 6 and 7 to say,

God says, look, I've been comfortable in a tent for a long time. Ever since we came out of Egypt, I've been living in a tent. And all through the 40 years in the wilderness, God was in the tent, in the tabernacle. As they went into the promised land, God hung out in the tent. The tabernacle was there in the midst of Israel and a couple of different places at different times. And God is saying, did I ever command anybody? Make sure you build me a house. Make sure you build me a structure. You know, build me something of cedar,

God is saying, I never asked for that. Now, you can read this kind of with harsh tones, like God's kind of scoffing David, like, did I ever ask for that? Why would you think that's a good idea, right? Like, please don't read that kind of tone ever into God's voice. I think God is commending David, even in asking these questions. He's saying, look, David, this is amazing, David. You want to do more for me than I've ever asked for.

I've never asked for this. And yet you want to do, you want to go above and beyond more than what I've asked for. Well done, David. It's good that it was in your heart to do this. I think God is commending David and saying, this whole time I've been living in a tent and I'm cool with that. That's what I told them to build. But you even want to go above and beyond that and build me a house. You did well that it was in your heart. Good job, David.

Pastor David Guzik puts it this way. David's heart was filled with this question. What can I do for God? He was so filled with gratitude and concern for God's glory that he wanted to do something special for God. And this evening, that's what I want to encourage you to do. Fill your heart with gratitude and think about what can I do for God? How can I be a part of glorifying God and furthering God's kingdom and God's name in

What can I do that's special for God? Lord, what can I do to be a part of your work and your desires? Desire to do something great for God. And as you seek to pursue God's heart towards you, this is the first step. Seek first the kingdom of God. Now, you might be thinking like, well, what's God's heart towards me, you know, in, you know, who am I going to date? Or who am I going to marry? Or what job am I going to have? Or where am I going to live? Or, you know, I want to know God's heart towards me in those things.

And I have these needs and my car is breaking down and how am I going to fix that? And you know, I need this and I need, and we could think about, you know, well, like, well, what's God's heart towards me in this or that? But let's stop and seek first the kingdom of God and think, what can I do for God? What can I do that's just special for God? Just out of appreciation, Lord, I'm so thankful for who you are and all that you've done for me. I'm so blessed by you. God, what can I do for you?

I would encourage you as you meditate on that, as you think about that, if you have any kind of hint, if you have any kind of little idea, this is what God wants for me, man, begin to take steps to pursue that. Not in a way that if God says, that's not really what I want for you, that you would be like, well, I'm going to do it anyways, you know, not in a rebellious way, but kind of like David where, yeah, that's like a good idea. And I think I'm going to go forward with this and begin to take those steps and pursue what it is that God has placed upon your heart.

What is best for you is for God to be honored and glorified and lifted up high. And you can apply that to your home. What's best for you in your home is for God to be honored and glorified and lifted up high. What's best for you in the workplace is for God to be honored and glorified and lifted up high. Wherever you put that, that's what's best for you is for God's kingdom, for God's name to be lifted up.

for his kingdom to be furthered, for his glory to be renowned. So desire to do something great for God. And even when he says, no, that's not really what I want for you, but good job, you get credit, you get reward, you get blessed for the fact that it was in your heart. Again, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and then all these other things. And all those other things that you're seeking the Lord for,

God's going to reveal. He's going to work. But first things first, desire to do something great for God. Well, moving on now into verses 8 through 17, we get point number two, and that is God desires to do something greater for you. Here's the amazing thing about God. Whenever you want to do something great for God, Lord, I just want to bless you. I just want to do something that you're magnified. Whatever idea that you come up with,

Whatever thing that you could think of, whatever work that you could imagine, whatever you could engineer in your own imagination, God has even a bigger plan, a bigger picture in the work that he has for you. It's amazing. David's like, I want to build you a house, God. I mean, this is going to be cool. And God is going to come back and say, David, I really appreciate that you want to build me a house. But listen, I'm going to build you a house. And the house that I'm going to build you is far greater than

than the house that you could have ever built for me. I'm going to do a far greater work for you than you even imagined to do for me. Verse 8 goes on to say this. Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep to be ruler over my people, over Israel.

And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more, nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them any more as previously."

God, first of all, reminds David, hey, let me remind you about the great work that I have already done. In verse 8, he says,

David, remember you were that little kid out in the yard that they didn't even bother to bring you in when the prophet Samuel showed up to anoint someone as king. You know, they were like, oh, that's just little David out in the field. Like the real sons are at the table. You know, they're present for the feast. But yeah, David, he could stay out with the sheep. I brought you from there, from the sheepfold. And I have caused you now to be ruler over my people, Israel. Think about the great work that I have already done, God says to David.

And I've made you a great name, he says in verse 9. I've made your name great. Your name is known. Remember the song that we got to hear over and over and over again? It was on the top 10 charts for many years with Saul and David, right? Saul has slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands. I've made your name great, David. Your name is known. I've brought you from very little to rule the people. And your name is like the men of the great men who are on the earth.

I mean, you're right up there with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, you know, Noah. Your name is great. Your name is known. I've done a great work already. And God says, and I'm not done yet. I'm not done yet. In verse 10, he tells David, listen, I am going to appoint a place for my people Israel. And I'm going to plant them. I'm going to do a work for the people of Israel. They're not going to move anymore. They're going to be established here in the land that I've given to them.

I've given you rest from all of your enemies. Here, in a sense, you could think about it this way, that God is saying, look, you've completed the work that was begun by Joshua. Remember, Joshua went into the land, and they were to conquer all the land, and they didn't quite conquer all the land, and then the judges, you know, rose up, that God called and rose up, but

But the people, in their condition, in their hearts, they were not drawing near to God, and they never took the land that God had given to them until David is now on the throne. Even under Saul, they lost a lot of territory. They lost a lot of land. But through David's reign, through the wars that he fought, which we'll read about in chapter 8 and chapter 10 in the coming weeks,

David completed the work that was begun by Joshua, and he took the territory that God had given to them, and now they have rest. God says, look, I've done such a great work, but I'm not done. Because at the end of verse 11, he says, also the Lord tells you that he will make you a house. You wanted to build me a house, but I'm going to make you a house.

And what does God mean by that? Well, he explains it in the following verses. In verse 12, when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you who will come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. What does God mean by I will make you a house? Well, the first part of that is your son will be king. Now that may not seem very significant to us, but it's interesting to consider. This is the first time in Israel's history where the son of a ruler is

is going to be in charge after the father is gone. To think back through the history, right? You have the patriarchs, so that was kind of distinct. But when it comes to Moses leading Israel out of the wilderness, Moses had sons. Moses' sons were not in charge after Moses died. It was Joshua. Different guy, different family. Joshua led the people of Israel. And then Joshua died. And Joshua's sons didn't take over. Then God raised up Judges.

And when the judge died, the judge's son didn't become the ruler of the people. They tried that with Gideon. Didn't quite work. It kind of fell apart with Gideon's sons. This is the first time in Israel's history, the first king for Israel was Saul. And Saul has now died and his son did not become king. For a little bit, Ish-bosheth, you know, he reigned a little bit. Wasn't God's plan. This now is the first time this is God's plan. The kingdom is going to be passed to your descendant.

I'm going to build you a house, David. Your family is going to reign over Israel, starting with your son. Verse 13, he shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. What does God mean when he tells David, I will make you a house? Not only is your son going to reign, but your son is going to be the one who builds the temple. That house that you want to build for me, your son is going to build that house for me. I'm going to do this work, David.

I'm going to make you a house and it's your son who's going to reign. It's your son who's going to build the temple. And notice, I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Your son's kingdom will last forever. That's another way of saying, saying, David, your kingdom will last forever. Your throne, it's your lineage. It's, it's your line that will be the rulers of Israel forever, for all of eternity. Verse 14, I will be his father and he shall be my son.

If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But my mercy shall not depart from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. God says, I'm going to relate to your son in a special way. Even if he walks away from me, even if he commits iniquity, I'm not going to give up on him and give the kingdom to somebody else. I'll chasten him because God chastens the ones that he loves, right? I'll

discipline him. I'll seek to bring him back into alignment, and he's going to experience the blows of men in rebelling against me, but he will not experience the absence of my mercy. My mercy won't depart. I took my mercy from Saul, but I won't take it from your son. His kingdom will last. Your son will receive my mercy. This is what God means when he says, I will build you a house. Now,

From David's perspective, I mean, as you look at this, you have to kind of look at the big picture to really appreciate this, right? Because God's talking about things that are going to happen after David is gone. So God's desires, or God desires to do something greater for you. That is the truth. But you also need to understand that the greater thing that God wants to do, it's a bigger picture than just what you might experience right now, tomorrow, this week, next year, the next 10 years, 20 years.

God's plan for you is much bigger than just the moment and the momentary need and the thing that you might be wanting and crying out to God for. God has a plan for you and it's greater than anything that you could ever do for God. But you also have to look at the big picture to appreciate it. David didn't see the fulfillment of all of these promises during his life here on this earth, but he has seen the fulfillment of these promises, partially through his son Solomon, but ultimately through Jesus Christ. Verse 16 says,

And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever. And so here, verse 16 really kind of summarizes God's promise to David in building him a house. He says that your house will be forever. Your kingdom will be forever. And your throne will be forever. This is the promises of God to David. Again, partially fulfilled in Solomon.

in that Solomon, well, he was established next, and he reigned, and he had the kingdom, and he sat on the throne of David. And that kingdom has continued, but this will be ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. Remember what Mary was told in Luke chapter 1? Angel Gabriel told her, Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great in

and will be called the son of the highest. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David. And Jesus will rule and reign on the throne of David for the rest of eternity. He is the son of David. He is the ultimate fulfillment of all of these things that God is promising to David. In fact, in God's promising these things to David, God is telling David, David,

The Messiah is going to come from you, from your family. And that's why we have the genealogies in Matthew and Luke recording the history, the lineage of Joseph and Mary and declaring and solidifying the fact that Jesus comes from the line of David and is the fulfillment of all of these promises. In Acts chapter 2, verses 29 through 31, Peter alludes to this and says, look, David knew

When God told him these things, David knew that God would raise up the Christ from his family, from his line, that this was a promise that the Messiah would come from him. God's plan was great for David, far greater. The house that God wanted to build was far greater than the house that David wanted to build. God wanted to establish David as the ruler of Israel and the one who would bring forth

the Messiah, the Savior of the world. So verse 17, according to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. Now Nathan is able to speak with the authority of God's name because God has shown him, David, this is what I want to do. I want to do something far greater for you than you ever imagined to do for me. And this is important for us to consider. God desires to do something greater for you. Whatever you could imagine, you want to do something great for God? Awesome.

But God wants to do something even greater for you than you could ever imagine to do for him. And that's important to know because sometimes we get a little bit mixed up on this. And let me say it another way. Let me say it this way. You are more important to God than any work that you could do for him. You are more important to God than anything you could do for him. God is not about like cheap labor, right? It's not just, sometimes we talk about, you know, the Lord wants to use you.

And we understand that in our Christian speak, you know, our Christianese, our terminology that we use. But when we talk about God using us, we mean it as a good thing. But typically when someone's talking about being used by someone else or something else, it's not in a good way. You know, like you were just using me. It's not in a good light. That's not the way that God deals with us. He's not just using us to get things done. Well, I needed a house built. So I, you know, did this work in your life.

The work, that's like secondary. That's like just overflow. That's just like the spillage over of the work that God is really interested in. And that is the greater work that he wants to do in you and for you. The work isn't the activity. That's not what God's focused on and excited about. That's part of his plan. But the core of his plan is not just getting you to do, you know, random chores that he wants done. Right?

If he asks us to do any chores, it's only because, well, that's part of a greater work that he wants to do in us. You are more important to God than any work that you could do for God. And he wants to do something for you greater than you could ever do for him, that you could ever imagine for him. You have to look at the big picture to really appreciate that. You have to understand eternity. You have to understand forever. But it doesn't,

Take away from the reality of the amazingness of what God wants to do for you. God's work for you is great. I thought Alan Redpath had a good comment on this. He says, although there is heaven's denial of his great resolve, David says, I want to build a house and heaven says no, there is also heaven's recognition of the desire in David's heart. How wonderfully God made it up to David and how wonderfully he makes it up to us when he says no.

And you have this desire, I want this. I'm looking for this to happen in my life. I'm looking to do this for God, perhaps. I'm looking for this need to be fulfilled. And we're looking to God. And God has a wonderful way of making up when we want to do something for him and he says, no, that's not my plan for you. David, I don't want you to build my house. Instead, I want your son to build my house.

But David, it's going to be worth it. I'm not punishing you. This isn't discipline. David, you're in trouble. Go sit on timeout. It's just God's saying, I have a different plan. And it's great. It's a greater plan than your plan. And sometimes we really feel disappointed when God says no. Understandably so. But again, step back and look at the big picture to appreciate

God wants to do a greater work for you than you could ever do for him. What does God want to do in your life? If you have any kind of hint of what God wants to do, any kind of inkling at all that God wants something from you or for you, man, I would encourage you pursue that because God's plans in that, it's far greater, far more than what you could ever ask or think. That's what the Lord tells us.

Well, we get to see David's response in the verses that follow. And so we'll look at verses 18 through 24 for point number three, and that is accept God's great grace. What God offers David is absolutely incredible. And how David receives it is a really good example for us. Take note of how David responds in verse 18. Then King David 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? And yet this was a small thing in your sight, O Lord God. And you have also spoken of your servant's house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord God? Now what more can David say to you? For you, Lord God, know your servant for your word's sake. And according to your own heart, you have done all these great things to make your servant know them. Verse 22 says,

Therefore, you are great, O Lord God, for there is none like you, nor is there any God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And who is like your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth, whom God went to redeem for himself as a people, to make for himself a name?

Verse 24. Verse 24.

David, in response to this message from the Lord about God's great plans for him, he goes immediately to the presence of God. He sits before God and he begins to just express this gratitude for the grace of God. Here, I put it this way. He accepts God's great grace. He just accepts it. He acknowledges it.

He just receives it. He just wonders and marvels at the grace of God in his life. And he reflects and considers how great God's grace is. That's what grace is. It's God's goodness. It's God's goodness towards us that we don't deserve. And David just sits before God and says, God, boy, you're great. And your plans for me are so great. I don't deserve this.

these plans. In verse 18, David says, who am I? I'm not worthy of this plan that you've worked up for me. I haven't earned this. Now we can look at David's time in the wilderness and talk about how, you know, God trained David and, you know, he spent that time preparing David to be king and all of that. And yet at the same time, at the end, David would testify and we would agree. David hasn't earned this plan of God. He hasn't earned this right to be king.

the one from whom the Messiah is going to come. He hasn't earned the right to be in this position in the nation of Israel for all of eternity, forever. He hasn't earned this. Who am I? David says. Here's something you need to accept. The work that God wants to do in your life, it's not based upon who you are. And if God were to reveal his will to us like he did for David here, if he was gonna reveal his plan and what he has in store for us,

The only appropriate response for us would be to say, well, of course, yeah, I am that good. No, no, the only appropriate response would be like David to go sit before the Lord and say, Lord, who am I? And David, he just is thinking about what's happened so far. In verse 18, who am I and what is my house that you've brought me this far? Lord, you mentioned the sheepfold and how, you know, you've made me ruler. And I'm just amazed at, I mean, just this part of your plan and what you've done here.

God, what you've done up to this point, I'm not worthy of it. And every single one of us are recipients of God's grace in that way that we can say, Lord, who am I that you've brought us this far, that you've done this much, that you've, we can consider, you know, the offer of salvation. It's not because of who I am. And God offers you salvation and forgiveness and the promise of eternity, not because of who you are.

God offers to work in your life by sanctification. God offers to work in your life with the Holy Spirit. God offers to work in your life in provision. And he's brought you this far not because of who you are, not because you've earned it or deserve it, that every one of us in the end, we say, well, who am I? Unless we're delusional and we forget about how good God is. But when we really understand what's going on,

Like David, we sit before the Lord and say, who am I? And then in verse 20, David says, now what more can David say to you? For you, Lord God, know your servant. Lord, what else am I going to say here? God, you know me. God knows you through and through every detail. And God's great plans for you

He has those for you, even though he knows you completely and thoroughly, every aspect of every corner of your life. Now, again, I would ask you to consider the timing of this chapter. 2 Samuel, these chapters we're looking at here, they're kind of recapping the life and the kingdom of David. They're not necessarily in chronological order in the sense that, well, David is going to have a lot of battles in chapter 8.

Those are not necessarily sequentially what happened after he had this revelation from the prophet Nathan. In fact, quite the opposite. It's likely that chapter 7 is placed here because of its connection to chapter 6 and the Ark of the Covenant being brought to Jerusalem. And then, you know, now kind of connecting the thought, David wants to build a house for the Ark. You know, it's kind of the next thing. But it probably chronologically took place here.

Later in David's life, these chapters are covering about 40 years of David's reign and just grouping different aspects of that reign and that life together. Because in verse one, it tells us that this took place after the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around. So David's going to have some battles. He's going to be, you know, taking some territory. There's going to be some enemies as he begins to reign and, you know, begins to establish his kingdom. And it's after those things are settled, right?

Those battles are fought. Those wars are won. We're going to read about them in chapters 8, 9, and 10 into 11. We're going to see those things that happen. But so the reason why I'm pointing that out is what's David known for? His big failure. His sin with Bathsheba, right? Committed adultery. Then to cover it up, he killed Bathsheba's husband, Uriah. How did he kill Uriah? Anybody remember? In battle, right?

They were in war, fighting enemies. But chapter seven happens after they had rest from their enemies. So here's the thing to think about. When David says, Lord, what more can I say for you know your servant? I would suggest David here is saying, look, God, I mean, you've seen my highs, you've seen my lows, and yet you have these plans for me. Accept God's grace. He's seen your highs and he's seen your lows, right?

Now, even if this took place before David's sin with Bathsheba, God still had these great plans, even though David is going to commit adultery with Bathsheba, and God knew that. So it doesn't dismiss that point. The reality is God knows. He knows all of your victories. He knows all of your failures. He knows all of that, and yet still he has greater plans for you than you could ever come up with to do for him.

And David here is recognizing, God, it's not about me. I haven't earned this. I haven't deserved this. You know me through and through, but you've promised to do this. In verse 21, he says, for your word's sake and according to your own heart, you've done all these great things and to make your servant know them. God, you've done great things, but it wasn't because of me. It wasn't because I earned it. It wasn't because of who I am or who my family is, but it was according to your own heart. Verse 22, therefore you are great servants

Lord, you are great. I'm not great. I wanted to do something great for you, but what you have planned for me is greater than I could have ever imagined because you're great.

Because you're good. David is just blown away at the grace of God. Charles Spurgeon puts it this way. There's some sweet doctrine here. The Lord blesses David, not because of David's virtue or David's merit or David's prowess, but for his own sake. The Lord blesses David for the Lord's sake, because he wants to, according to his own heart, according to his own word, according to his own promises. David says, look, you've done great things, God.

He goes on in verse 23 and 24 to talk about the nation of Israel. He says, who is like your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for himself as a people to make himself a name. The rest of the nation, David is reflecting and he's saying, look, we're all in this together. You've called us, but not because of us, but for your namesake.

You've made your people Israel, your very own people forever. We have this, we're in this position of recipients of your grace, of your goodness for your sake, for your name, because that's what you want to do. And it's not because of us, even though we as a people, we've messed up and failed. I as a person, I've messed up and failed. You know all of these things through and through, and yet you have these great plans for us. Pastor Chuck puts it this way.

God's grace is never a reward for your goodness or righteousness. God's grace always proceeds from his heart, not because you're worthy, not because you're especially nice or especially good. It's because he loves you, and that's his heart to show his love to you. Pastor Chuck goes on to say it this way. He says, that's his heart to show you his love to you and just to totally overwhelm you

Though you realize how totally undeserving and how unworthy you are, it's just the hardest thing to do, to accept grace gracefully. You ever find that hard? To accept grace gracefully. This is what David's doing. He's showing us, look, God wants to do something great for you. Just go sit before God and receive it. Don't go out and try to earn it. Don't go try to deserve it. Don't try to, you know, avoid it or prevent it or

Just go and sit before God and say, Lord, I'm amazed. Recognize it's for God's sake that he wants to do these great things for you and in your life. Accept God's great grace. And finally, verses 25 through 29, embrace God's great plan. Verse 25 says this,

Now, O Lord God, the word which you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as you have said. So let your name be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel. And let the house of your servant David be established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to your servant, saying, I will build you a house. Therefore, your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to you.

And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this goodness to your servant. Now, therefore, let it please you to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue before you forever. For you, O Lord God, have spoken it. And with your blessing, let the house of your servant be blessed forever. Here, David takes this time sitting in the presence of the Lord now to a specific request.

a specific prayer, and it is a bold prayer. As Harvey was encouraging us from Hebrews 4.16, let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, right? We can come boldly. David comes boldly to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. David comes boldly to God. He comes boldly to God, not on the merit of who he is or what he's done or his earning or deserving

What gives him this boldness to say, God, bless me and establish me in my house forever? I mean, that is a bold prayer, right? What gives him this boldness? The fact that God said, this is what I want to do for you. David is just taking God's word at his word and saying, this is what you said, God. Now I'm asking you to do what you've said.

In verse 25, he says, now, oh Lord God, the word which you've spoken concerning your servant, establish it forever and do as you have said. It would be very presumptuous for me to come before God and say, God, make me king and my family rulers over the world forever, right? I mean, that's a boldness that is unmerited, right?

Unless God says, this is what I want to do for you. And then to ask God to do what he has said, it's not arrogance. It's faith. It's accepting the grace of God. It's embracing the plan of God. And that's what David does. He says, Lord, you say you want me to rule this kingdom and you want my house to rule it forever. So Lord, I'm going to come before you and ask you to do what you have said.

And David's out for the glory of God. In verse 26, he says, so let your name be magnified forever. This is attached to you, God, your name. So do this so that you are glorified because this is what you said and this is what you've promised. And let the house of your servant David be established before you. Let my house, let my kingdom reign. Let my house be the rulers of Israel forever, just as you have said.

Verse 27, for you, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to your servant, saying, I will build you a house. Notice, therefore, your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to you. David makes it very clear. The reason why I'm praying this prayer, God, is because this is what you've told me. Now, there's a lot of

ambitious people who have prayed this prayer without God saying it ahead of time, right? I want to rule. I want the power. I want this. I want that. And we can allow our ambitions to lead our prayers. But David here is not being led by his ambition. He's being led by God's word.

You think about Saul, right? Saul worked hard to establish his kingdom, to pass on the kingdom to his son, to let his kingdom be the established kingdom and the monarchy of Israel. And he fought against David and chased after David and threw spears at Jonathan and said, don't you realize as long as he's alive that you're not going to be able to be king? You know, like he worked so hard to try to fulfill that plan that he had, his ambitions. And

I don't have any doubt in my mind. I bet you Saul prayed for his kingdom to be established, right? I mean, that's right in line with where Saul's heart was. David prayed that too. But David prayed that because it's what God had said. And in response to what God had said, David says, Lord, I don't deserve this. I haven't earned it. You don't owe it to me. But Lord, you've said you're gonna do this. And so for your name's sake, for your word's sake,

Lord, I'm asking you to do what you said you will do. And now, verse 28, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this goodness to your servant. Now, therefore, let it please you to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue before you forever. Again, David is attaching this, Lord, this is what you have said. Now, speaking on behalf of all children,

We like nothing more than to take the words of our parents and to put them right back in their face. But you said, right? We like that as children. We definitely do. In a good way, we can do that with God. Not to try to trap him in his words like we might with our parents, but to present our words back to God and say, God, here's what you said. You said, if I seek you first in your kingdom, you'll provide everything else that I need. Lord, you said that. Lord, you promised. Well, what has God promised you?

What has God spoken to you? And that can be the revealed word of God. It can be something that God has specifically spoken to your heart individually. And listen, it's not wrong. In fact, it's the right response to take God at his word, to bring God's words back to him and say, God, I'm asking for this because it's what you have said you want to do. You've told me this. This is your word. This is what you've promised me.

And we can, with great boldness, come before God and say, God, I'm asking you to fulfill your promise for your namesake, for your word's sake, because this is what you have said. Oh man, I love how Charles Spurgeon says this. He says, nothing pleases God better than to see his promises put in circulation.

He loves to see his children, bring them up to him and say, Lord, do as thou hast said. And let me tell you that it glorifies God to use his promises, to bring the promises of God to him and say, God, this is what you have said you would do. Spurgeon says, there's nothing that pleases God better than that. Don't be afraid. Don't be ashamed. Don't be timid. Bring the promises of God to God in prayer and say, God, would you do these things that you said you will do? Sometimes because

Well, God said he was going to do it, so why do I need to pray about it? That's not the right attitude to have. God has told you he wants to do this, therefore pray for it. Ask God for it, because he's told you he wants to do it. Don't take the attitude that he's already told me he wants to do it, so I don't have to pray for it. No, no, no. God told you that he wants to do it, so that you would join with him in that work and ask him for it. Ask him for it. Now again,

The plans that God has, they're big. So that doesn't mean, you know, well, I asked him for the Porsche. He told me he was going to give me a Porsche. And well, maybe your Porsche is in heaven. I don't know. But maybe that's tomorrow. I don't know. But you get the point, right? It's the big picture. But to take God at his word and say, God, you said, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these other things will be added to you. You said that, God. And there's some all these other things that I'm in need of. You said that.

to present my request to you and the peace that passes all understanding will guard my heart and my mind. And Lord, I need some peace. Lord, you said, and to take what God has said, it's an embracing of God's great plan. And you may not be that comfortable or excited about God's great plan for you, but you can take God at his word and boldly ask him to do it because it's a greater plan than you could ever imagine or ask or think.

And so what has God promised you? I would ask you to consider that. Whatever God has promised you, bringing it back to the beginning, pursue God's heart in that. What God has promised you, that's his heart towards you. Run towards that. With all your might, with all your effort, with all your strength, pursue God's heart towards you. And if you don't know where to start, we could start where David started in desiring to do something great for God. Just imagine.

What can you do for God? What can you do to honor him, to glorify him? And whatever you come up with, it doesn't necessarily mean that's exactly what it is that God wants for you. Maybe, but just start thinking and presenting it before the Lord and saying, Lord, is this what you want? Can I do this for you? I like to think about the apostle Paul who wrote to the Romans and he says, look, I've tried and tried and tried and tried and tried to find a way in the will of God to come to you.

Paul didn't wait for God to lay out this solid blueprint of, okay, here's the agenda. You're going to go here, and then you're going to go here. Paul was like, wait, can I go to Rome now? No, not now. Okay, I'll keep working here. Wait, can I go to Rome now? Not now. Okay, I'll keep working over here where I'm at now.

Okay, now I'm in Galatia. I'm kind of close. I'm right. I can see Rome over there. Lord, can I go to Rome now? No, you can't go to Rome now. Okay, I'll keep working here. You're like, you know, I've tried to and to find a way in the will of God and he was seeking out. He was seeking first the kingdom of God in the same way desire to do something great for God. Be looking for opportunity. Be looking for a way to be involved in the work and in the kingdom of God. But as you do that, recognize that God desires to do something greater for you.

It's not about him using just cheap labor and, you know, he just needed to get work done and so he picked you. If he involves you in a work, if he wants to do something in your life, it's because, oh boy, what he has in store for you, it's beyond your imagination. It's like miles above what you could ever earn or deserve or think about or imagine. You just need to accept it. Accept the grace of God, God's goodness towards you. You don't deserve it. You haven't earned it.

but accept it and embrace it. Whatever it is that God has for you, whatever it is that God leads you in, whatever it is that God wants you to pursue, just embrace it. It may not be what you originally wanted or your great desires, but embrace it. God's plan for you is what's best and he plans it for you because he knows it's what's best. So don't fight against those plans of God, those things that he puts upon your heart. Don't hold back, don't resist, don't dilly-dally or lag behind. Put the pedal to the metal and pursue it.

Embrace what it is that God has for you because it's greater than you could ever imagine. I'm gonna invite the worship team to come up and close us out in a time of worship. And I wanna encourage you in this time to stop and think about what God wants to do in your life. I wanna encourage you in this time to come boldly to the throne of Greece. Come with great boldness to present God's promises to him and say, look, here's what you have said, Lord. Would you do that? And ask God to fulfill those promises. Ask God to do that work today.

that he said he would do. Invite him to do that work. And as we worship the Lord and pray over those things, as usual, we also want to give the opportunity to minister to one another. Maybe God wants you to be a Nathan, to come alongside someone and say, here's what God wants for you. Maybe it's just to pray for someone, encourage someone in something that you've been reading. But whatever the case may be, we'll take this time to spend it before the Lord, to sit before the Lord just like David did.

in awe of who God is and what he has said of us, what he has promised for us, and in response to the things that he puts upon our hearts. And so let's worship the Lord together as we pursue God's heart towards us. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.