whom they will call the Blessed One.
Please have a seat.
Let me just add my own welcome.
Welcome to church this morning,
especially if you're new and gathering with us.
We pray that you would know God's encouragement.
A welcome also to church this evening at 5.30.
Some of the themes that we're touching upon this morning,
we will think about in the wonderful beginning of John's gospel.
We're thinking about the questions that Jesus asked.
In John 1, he asked the question, what do you want?
One of the most fundamental questions we can ever ask ourselves.
Jesus asks it of us.
And again, just a welcome,
if you are able to join one of our community discipleship groups,
a place to enjoy friendship, fellowship around the Bible,
to discuss it, to pray together.
A great opportunity for us to build strength together,
to encourage one another in the middle of the week.
Well, now let me invite you now to turn with me to God's words.
2 Samuel chapter 7.
This is the last time for now we'll be thinking about aspects of the life of David.
And we just sang the psalm to the perfect king,
anticipating the Messiah who will come.
And in chapter 7 of 2 Samuel,
we have the gospel of the promised king in another form.
So let's hear God's word.
After the king was settled in his palace,
and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him,
he said to Nathan the prophet,
here I am, living in a house of cedar,
while the ark of God remains in a tent.
Nathan replied to the king,
whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it,
for the Lord is with you.
But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan,
saying,
Go and tell my servant David,
this is what the Lord says.
Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?
I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day.
I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling.
Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites,
did I ever say to any of their rulers,
whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel,
why have you not built me a house of cedar?
Now then, tell my servant David,
this is what the Lord Almighty says.
I took you from the pasture,
from tending the flock,
and appointed you 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.
Now I will make your name great,
like the names of the greatest men on earth,
and I will provide a place for my people Israel,
and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own,
and no longer be disturbed.
Wicked people shall not oppress them anymore,
as they did at the beginning,
and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel.
I will also give you rest from all your enemies.
The Lord declares to you that the Lord Himself will establish a house for you.
When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your offspring to succeed you,
your own flesh and blood,
and I will establish His kingdom.
He is the one who will build a house for my name,
and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever.
I will be His father,
and He shall be my son.
When He does wrong,
I will punish Him with a rod wielded by men,
with floggings inflicted by human hands,
but my love will never be taken away from Him,
as I took it away from Saul,
whom I removed from before you.
Your house and your kingdom
shall endure forever before me.
Your throne shall be established forever.
Nathan reported to David
all the words of this entire revelation.
Amen.
So this morning,
we are thinking about promise and fulfillment.
And to help us with that,
picture a child of the 80s,
the first time walking down the street
where they see one of those mobile phones.
And imagine that child in the 80s saying,
one day,
one day my child will have one of those,
those shiny, wonderful,
magnificent pieces of technology.
If we fast forward through the decades,
and it's now the child's birthday,
if he is given the shiny new iPhone,
is the promise kept?
I think we would all answer yes.
You know,
back in the 80s,
the giant brick was the best
that could be imagined at the time,
but the promise has been fulfilled
in light of new technology,
in light of the passing of history.
Now this is important
because we have a central promise
from God given to King David.
And from this point in Israel's history,
their hope is now centered on
the everlasting Messiah King.
He's the hope of God's people.
So you turn to the Gospels.
Remember John the Baptist
asking the question about Jesus.
Are you the one who is to come?
That question matters
more than anything else.
But see,
for most of the Israelites,
and that includes in Jesus' day,
their expectations were low
in terms of how this promise
would be fulfilled.
This Messiah,
he would be a strong king.
He would have a settled
political kingdom.
There might be freedom and peace
for the people of God
in their land.
But we're going to see
that God's fulfillment
is far bigger
than they could ever have dreamed of.
And it's a hope
and it's a promise
of Jesus,
the Son of God,
who has come to be Messiah King
to establish an everlasting kingdom.
So 2 Samuel 7
explains to us
the significance
of Jesus as everlasting king.
That right now,
Jesus rules and reigns over all.
Because we might find ourselves wondering,
okay,
here is a promise
for a king of Israel,
for a future king of Israel.
What has that got to do with us?
We turn to the gospels.
Maybe we wonder,
why is it that Matthew and Luke,
as they tell the story of Jesus,
why do they highlight,
again and again,
Jesus born in David's city?
Jesus comes from David's family.
Jesus fulfills David's promise.
To help us,
we're going to need to do some work.
We're going to need to pull on some,
what we can call,
gospel threads.
There are themes that are woven
throughout the Bible.
words,
ideas,
and themes
that direct us
both backwards
to previous promises.
So we'll be thinking a lot
about creation
and Adam and Eve.
We're going to think about promises
made to Abraham.
But there are also going to be
these promises
that connect us forward
to King Jesus,
to the good news of the gospel.
Because in this promise
made to David,
the Spirit gives us eyes to see,
we will see the glory of Christ.
We will see the hope
that He brings,
the promise of new beginnings,
the grace that He shows
to His people.
But before we get to that point,
we need to recognize
the central theme of this passage.
And it's the theme
of the promised house.
David wants to build
a house for God.
God speaks of building
a house for David.
His house building is there.
So let's work through
the text very briefly,
thinking first about
David's housing crisis.
If you look in your Bibles,
do you see the crisis there
in the first three verses?
God has settled the king
in his palace
and given him rest.
God has established
David as king,
and David's instinct
in response,
God has given me rest.
I want to build
a resting place for God.
We recognize again
that David has a profound concern
for God's glory.
We already saw it
in chapter 6.
As he worshiped,
as he wanted the ark
to be brought to Jerusalem,
he wanted to connect
his throne with God's throne
to show that he was living
as God's king
under God's rule.
And he's still concerned
for the glory of God.
And so he has this problem,
he has this crisis.
Verse 2,
he explains it to Nathan,
the prophet.
Here I am,
living in a house of cedar.
I've got this great big
luxurious palace,
but God's ark,
the symbol of God's presence,
the symbol of God's rule,
it's in a tent.
That doesn't seem right to David.
Nathan recognizes David's heart,
he recognizes his instinct is right,
whatever you have in mind,
go ahead and do it,
for the Lord is with you,
though we'll discover,
God says,
not yet and not you.
That's David's housing crisis,
but from that,
we discover something
of God's housing policy,
because in verse 4,
the word of the Lord comes.
It comes through Nathan.
And the response is that
there is something
that is far more important to God
than living in a solid structure,
than living in a cedar house.
And that more important principle
is what we can call
the Emmanuel principle.
This principle that God desires
to live with his people,
God with us,
God with his people.
So in verses 6 and 7,
that's what he says,
it was true for Israel.
During the time of the Exodus
and in the wilderness,
I have been moving
from place to place
with a tent as my dwelling.
Wherever Israel moved,
God moved with them,
because most important to him,
being with his people.
And in fact,
he makes it even more personal,
because he says this was true for David
in his rise to the throne.
Look at verse 8.
I took you from the pasture
and appointed you ruler.
I have been with you
wherever you have gone.
The story of the nation,
the story of the king,
God with his people.
It's one of the great themes
and promises that we find
throughout the Bible.
So this evening,
we're going to turn to
John chapter 1, verse 14.
Jesus, the word of God,
the word who became flesh
and dwelt among us.
And we have seen his glory,
the glory of God
in the tent of a human body.
Well, having explained
his housing priority
and policy,
in verses 11 to 16,
we see the house building project.
Three details that stand out.
First of all,
God will say to David,
David,
you will not build
the house for me
in the sense of a dwelling place.
We discover in verse 12 and 13
that that's going to be Solomon's job
and Jesus is going to come
and he's going to be the true temple
and establish a kingdom
that lasts forever.
But David is not going to build the house.
He's not going to build the dwelling place.
But God will build David's house.
We'll establish a dynasty.
We'll establish a royal family
for David.
The Lord declares to you
that the Lord himself
will establish a house for you.
There's a principle of grace going on here.
That the first thing that needs to happen
is that God must first
make this promise.
God must first establish
David's family line
as the one through whom
the kingdom will rest forever.
And from that promise,
from that grace,
then can come
obedience serving,
can come
the building of the temple
through Solomon.
So David will not build the house.
God will build the house.
But we also need to recognize
that these two houses,
by God's design,
will be connected.
And we see that there
in that it's this,
someone from this permanent dynasty,
Solomon, David's son,
who will build a permanent dwelling place,
the temple for the Lord.
Speaking to us of God's desire
that the throne
and the temple
be united.
God desires
that his king
establish
and be,
when we come to Jesus,
the true temple,
the true meeting place
between God and man.
But there is this
permanent union of the crowds
that the Lord God
will rule forever
through the son he loves.
And that son that he loves
is Jesus.
Two points of application
for us at this stage.
First, just to remind ourselves
that God's glory matters.
David was right
in his concern
for God's glory.
His timing was off,
but his instinct was right.
We actually discover
in the later prophets,
you could turn to a prophet
like Haggai.
And Haggai is told
by God
to deliver a message
to the people,
a message of judgment.
Judgment because
the people were living
in their luxurious houses,
but the temple
was lying in ruins.
So, they are judged
for not having a concern
for God's glory,
and that was shown
in not having a concern
for the temple.
So, when David wanted
to build,
it was for him
going to be
an expression of worship.
God is glorious.
What value do you and I
place on God's glory
in our lives,
in our day to day,
relative to our own luxury,
relative to our own concern
for our own glory?
Because God's glory matters.
And secondly,
God's building project matters.
So, this kingdom promise
that we have here
is a permanent,
eternal promise.
This is a promise
of God's everlasting king.
This is a promise
of God's faithful love.
Even when,
and God's word spoke of this,
even when his people mess up,
and we see the kings of Israel
mess up in sin frequently,
this is a promise
of an eternal kingdom
that even endures
beyond the grave.
Book of Acts,
body of David decayed.
Jesus' body didn't see decay.
He was raised up
and now he has
an eternal kingdom.
God's building project matters.
And it matters
because it centers on
a perfect king.
So, that's where
we're going to turn next
to the perfect king
anticipated in this promise.
Some of us, I imagine,
will be familiar
with the legend of Excalibur,
the sword in the stone,
the story of how
the boy Arthur
was revealed
as the rightful king
of the Britons.
If you're not familiar
with the story,
the previous king died,
a king by the name
of Pendragon.
There was no heir
to the throne
and so the kingdom
was thrown into chaos.
The knights of England
were rising
to get armies
to fight with one another
to see who would be the king.
And then,
this mysterious
sword in the stone
appeared.
And there was a test.
Whoever can pull
the sword from the stone,
he is the rightful king.
Arthur passed the test
and he was crowned
and there was peace.
For hundreds of years,
ever since the promise
of 2 Samuel 7,
God's people
have been searching
and longing
for the rightful king.
Where is the Messiah?
Has he come yet?
When will he be?
Are you the one
who is to come?
What will be the sign?
How will we know
when this worthy one appears?
Not that he will pull
a sword from a stone.
The worthy one,
the rightful king,
will fulfill
the amazing promise
that we find here
in this chapter.
And so,
what we're going to do
is we're going to pull on,
as I said,
some of those gospel threads,
these themes
that are woven together,
that help the New Testament
writers to see
the everlasting king
is Jesus.
They were in no doubt,
as they began to preach
the book of Acts
and as they wrote
the New Testament,
that Jesus is this promised king.
He is good news
and a good news
beyond anyone's
wildest imagination.
The first thread
to pull on
is the thread of hope
and it's hope
connected to a seed
or to the offspring.
Hope, of course,
is important.
It's important for us
as people.
Hope gets us out of bed.
Hope keeps us
moving forward.
Hope allows us
to dream
that things
will get better.
It is a hard thing
when we find our hopes
are disappointed,
when our hopes
are crushed.
One thing that we discover
that we want
as people
is solid hope.
Something or someone
we can place our hopes in
who will not,
which will not disappoint.
as we've already said,
that for the people
of God
in the Old Testament,
for the nation of Israel,
this promise
given to David
meant that for them,
Messiah King
is my hope.
Hope is now located
in a person.
And as they lived
through dark times,
times of division
within the kingdom,
as they saw
their nation
invaded,
as they went
into exile,
still hope
remained
in the Messiah
King.
And that hope
was planted there
by God.
There's a deliberate
word choice
here in verse 12.
When your days
are over
and you rest
with your ancestors,
I will raise up
your offspring
to succeed you,
your own flesh
and blood,
and I will establish
his kingdom.
That word offspring,
sometimes translated
seed,
is a thread
that speaks hope.
Because those were words
spoken to Abraham,
known in the Bible
as the father of faith.
in Genesis chapter 15,
to childless Abraham
came the promise
that it will be
an offspring,
it will be a seed
from your own body
that God will bring
blessing,
God will speak
his promise
to the nations
of the world.
And now we're being told
the king,
this future king,
is the seed,
is the offspring
who will bring
blessing from God
to all who will
trust in him.
If we want to know
life with God,
the love of God,
hope from God,
we need to know
the offspring.
And there's more.
Because this word
offspring
or seed
was a word
that was spoken
to Adam and Eve
way back
in the Garden of Eden.
in Genesis chapter 3,
as they were living
in a perfect world,
perfect garden,
perfect peace
with one another,
perfect life with God,
they fell into sin.
They were tempted
to disobey God,
to mistrust God,
to do the one thing
they were commanded
not to do,
and so sin
came into the world,
bringing all the death
and the ruin
and the chaos
that we see
in our world today.
And even then,
Genesis 3, 15,
God spoke a word
of promise,
the promise
of a seed
who would crush
the head
of the serpent.
The one whose heel
would be bruised,
but he would crush
the head
of the serpent,
anticipating
King Jesus
coming
on a rescue mission
to save sinners
by defeating
evil.
That's why
the New Testament
authors want
to keep highlighting
for us,
Jesus is from
Abraham's family,
Jesus is from
David's family line.
That's why Paul
in the book of Galatians
will say,
Jesus is the seed,
because he speaks
hope to the world.
In the coming
of Jesus
as everlasting King,
there is everlasting hope,
hope that extends
beyond death.
Here is hope
that is solid,
it is death proof.
In Jesus
comes the blessing
of God.
To trust in Jesus
means to enjoy
life and relationship
with God.
It means that we
enter into a covenant
relationship with God,
which means that
his steadfast love,
his faithful love,
is now guaranteed
to us.
And this promise
extends
to all
nations,
whoever we are,
wherever we're from,
is a call to believe
and to trust.
And in the coming
of Jesus,
the promised seed,
he brings the salvation
of God.
It's the message
of the cross.
Colossians chapter 2
speaks of Jesus
winning
a triumphant
victory
over sin
and darkness
at the cross.
That by his death
and through his resurrection,
he has disarmed
the power
of evil.
That for those
who are dead
in our sins,
we are made alive
with Christ.
For those deserving
to be condemned,
Jesus took
that condemnation.
He took the record
of all our wrongdoings.
It was nailed
to the cross.
The price is paid
in full
by faith in him.
We have freedom.
There is hope
in the coming
of the perfect king.
Here's a second thread
that we need to pull on.
Verses 10 and 11.
It's connected to the idea
of new beginnings.
I will provide a place
for my people,
Israel,
and will plant them
so that they can have
a home of their own
and no longer be disturbed.
End of verse 11.
I will also give you rest
from all your enemies.
In the world
that we live in
right now,
I imagine
we all experience
in different ways
this sort of tension.
we see
beauty
in our world.
We see beauty
within creation.
We see beauty
in one another.
But we also
see brokenness,
tragedy,
despair.
There is this tension
where we all have
this longing
for restoration
and governments
and organizations
and individuals
are plowing
energy
and billions
of pounds
to try and bring
restoration.
We have this tension
where deep down
we also sense
something of human
weakness.
That we can't
actually bring in
the world
we all want
as much
as we would love
to.
And so this
promise
comes as good news.
It speaks
of a kingdom
established
by God
which brings
good news
for his people.
It speaks
of a restored
creation.
It speaks
of God's people
living in a world
of peace
and rest
and where God
is present.
Now we pull
on that thread
that leads us
again back
to promises
given to Abraham
in Genesis
chapter 12.
Abraham was told
to leave
his home,
his family,
to leave everything
and to go
to the place
that God
had promised him.
The promised land.
And in the promised land
God's people
were to be settled
in this place
that God
had for them
knowing that God
was with them
ruling over them
for their good.
It's a theme
that pulls us
all the way back
again to the
Garden of Eden
to life as it was
in the beginning
creation,
life for Adam
and Eve.
They were planted.
They were planted
in God's
perfect garden.
And they were planted
in this perfect place
and God was there.
They were enjoying
perfect friendship
with their God.
In the land,
the Garden of Eden,
they enjoyed
deep rest.
In fact,
their very first
full day
as people created
in the image of God
was a day
of rest.
To share with God
his enjoyment
of the perfect world
that he had made,
to enjoy
perfect relationship
relationship with God,
to live lives
of worship.
We were made
for this rest.
Don't we often
find ourselves
restless,
frustrated,
longing?
Then we hear
Jesus say,
come to me
and I will give you
rest.
He is inviting us
into the life
that we were made
for.
King Jesus,
in his victorious
work,
opens up
the way to
paradise for us.
Remember his words
to the thief
on the cross?
That thief
who turned
and in his last
hours recognized
recognized
that Jesus
had done nothing
wrong,
that he was righteous
and he was a king
with a kingdom?
As he turned
to Jesus
and said,
remember me
when you come
into your kingdom?
Jesus turned
to him
and said,
today
you'll be
with me
in paradise.
Jesus
is the way
home
to God.
To enjoy
life with
God himself,
we begin
to experience
it here,
but we look
forward
the remains
for the people
of God,
a Sabbath rest
still to come.
We look forward
to eternal rest,
eternal peace,
an eternal sense
of being home
with our God.
And that's the
promise of the
gospel,
that King Jesus
who today
is ruling
and reigning
over all things
as King of Heaven,
one day at the end
of history,
the time that God
appoints,
he'll return
and he'll make
everything new.
Sin
and evil
and death
will be destroyed.
A kingdom
of justice
and peace
will be established
that will last
forever
for all those
who trust
in him.
New beginnings
because of
a perfect king.
One more thread
to pull on.
It's the thread
that brings us
to consider
God's grace.
The idea of grace
runs counter
to culture.
We have so many
invitations
and encouragements
to make a name
for yourself.
That relentless
call to prove
yourself
in a relationship
in the workplace.
And it can be
exciting,
but it can also
be exhausting.
It can be a call
that can lead us
to pride,
making a name
for ourselves.
And if we bring
that mentality,
that mindset
into religion,
thinking,
I must prove
myself so I can
save myself,
it is death.
It's deathly.
It's impossible.
God is too holy
and we are too sinful.
The gap
is simply
too wide.
But God's grace
comes.
God's grace
comes here
in verse 9.
David wanted
to do something
for God.
God says,
I have been with you
wherever you have
gone
and now
I will
make your name
great.
David,
I will make
for you
a great name.
And again,
this phrase
takes us back.
Takes us back
to Abraham,
takes us back
to Genesis 12,
actually takes us
back one chapter
earlier
to the Tower
of Babel.
You read
Genesis chapter 11,
you come to the Tower
of Babel,
you find
the people
on the earth
instead of scattering
to spread
the glory of God
to the far reaches
of the world,
they gather together
in defiance
of God
and in an act
of pride
and rebellion
they build this city
then they want
to build this tower
so that we might
make a name
for ourselves.
God scatters
them in judgment
but God's
gracious response
is to speak
to Abraham
and to call
Abraham
and to say
Abraham,
I will make
your name
great.
There's grace
and from Abraham's
family,
blessing
to the nations
and now
we understand
that God
is raising
up a king
Abraham's line,
David's line,
who will bless
the nations,
who will extend
the grace of God.
There is grace
here in the promise
from God himself
to David,
I will establish
a house for you,
I will raise
up your offspring,
I'm going to do it.
the God of grace
provides
the king
who will rule
and reign
forever.
The God of grace
establishes
the kingdom
that is everlasting,
establishes
a king
who forever
knows God's love
because he is
the eternal
son of God.
And the message
of the gospels
is Jesus
is this king
declared by the angels
as the savior,
as the Christ,
the anointed one,
the Messiah,
the Lord,
declared by God
the father
at his baptism
to be the beloved
son with whom
the father
is well pleased.
And even as we
turn to the cross
and think about
the message
of the cross,
Jesus,
the righteous
king,
the promised
king,
who will be
flogged,
who will be
killed,
though he has
done nothing
wrong,
in the place
of those
who have sinned,
in the place
of lawbreakers.
But as 2 Samuel 7
also anticipates,
this king will be
raised up.
And as we read
our Bibles,
we discover
Jesus was raised up.
He was raised up
from the dead
on the third day.
His disciples
saw him raised up
to glory where he
now sits on the
throne of heaven.
And he has been
raised up to receive
the name that is
above every name,
that the name of
Jesus,
every knee should
bow and every tongue
confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord.
We have this promise
from God,
who is a God of grace,
that he will send
a king who is a
gift of grace,
who extends grace,
who says to us,
you don't have to
try and save yourself
or prove yourself,
come to me and be
saved.
Come to me and find
forgiveness.
Come to me and find
rest.
Let's close very
briefly by thinking
about a personal
response.
God's storyline of
salvation weaves
together wonderful
threads and brings
them together in the
personal work of
Jesus, the promised
everlasting king.
Come back tonight,
we'll think about it
some more wonderful
theme to help us
to see the glory of
God.
But Jesus fulfills
this promise to be
God with us.
Jesus is the king
who rescues.
Jesus is the king
who will return to
restore the world
we all want.
He is the one who
brings salvation and
life with God for
sinners.
He is the one who
offers and promises
ultimate peace and
rest.
He is the one who
provides the way
home to God.
2 Samuel 7 gives
the promise.
Jesus brings an
out-of-this-world
fulfillment.
It's hope and
promise for each
one of us today.
So how to respond?
And what can we
learn as David
receives this
promise?
We didn't read
these verses, but
I'm going to read
them now.
Three responses,
three verses.
As David gets
this promise, he
turns to God in
prayer.
The first response
I think that this
calls for is the
response of worship.
We hear it from
David.
King David went in
and sat before the
Lord and he said,
Who am I,
Sovereign Lord,
and what is my
family that you've
brought me thus
far?
Let the promises
of God about
Jesus the king
produce a sense
of wonder at his
mercy and his
goodness.
That the king of
the universe
commits himself
to tiny people,
sinful people like
us, to raise us
to glory, should
provoke the
response of
worship.
Second response,
verse 21,
David recognizes,
For the sake of
your word and
according to your
will you have done
this great thing and
made it known to
your servant.
Humility.
As we consider the
wonder of all that
God has done for us,
shouldn't it lead us
to humility?
As we consider
ourselves, we think
about the state of
our hearts and our
lives, our weakness,
our inability, that
we would come with
empty hands to the
king of grace, to
receive forgiveness, to
receive salvation, to
enter into new
life.
The last response, I
think that these
promises of the
wonderful king calls
for is the response
of faith.
Listen to David in
verse 25,
And now, Lord God,
keep forever the
promise you have
made concerning
your servant and
his house.
Do as you
promised.
David knows that
promise is huge,
but he also knows
that God who promises
is faithful, and he
will do it.
How do you and I
today know that God
is faithful to keep
his promises?
Because he sent
Jesus to be this
king.
We see it in his
perfect life, we see
it in his sacrificial
death, we see it in
the glory of his
resurrection.
He is this king.
And he calls for
believing trust.
He calls us to
accept God's
promises for
ourselves.
And he calls us to
bow, to confess.
Jesus is my
Lord.
Jesus is my
king.
Let's pray
together.
Lord, our God,
we thank you for
the great storyline
of salvation
woven throughout
the pages of
the Bible.
people.