Seeking God

All right, thanks, Alex. Let's go ahead and pray as we come to God's Word together.

! Father, we are grateful for Your good and sovereign hand that guides Your church all around the world

! and guides us here at Trinity, this local church that You love. God, thank You for the search process,

for those who have served on the search committee. God, we do pray for us as a church as we move into

this new season of considering Pamela for this position, and God, we are eager to see how You

will continue to advance Your gospel through us as a local church. God, as we come now to Your Word,

Lord, would You come by Your Spirit, open our minds and our hearts to hear what it is You have for us

today in Your life-giving Word. Lord, we remember the writer to Hebrews who says that Your Word is

living and active, and it pushes down, it cuts down into the deep parts of who we are,

that it might bring life and renewal.

So, we pray that. We pray that would be true this morning for Jesus' sake. Amen. Amen. All right, so,

would you turn with me to the Old Testament books of 1 and 2 Chronicles. 1 and 2 Chronicles. We're

starting a new sermon series today that will continue throughout the spring and summer months,

and primarily we're going to be looking at 2 Chronicles chapters 10 through 36, the last part

2 Chronicles 10 · chapter mention

of this two-part book. We're going to be tracing the stories of the rise and the fall of Judas Kings

after Solomon leading up to the exile. And the hope in this series is that we'll consider all the heart

dynamics that each of those stories expose in us and how they point us to the ultimate hope of Jesus

in the gospel. But today, today what we want to do is we want to set the stage. We want to get an

overview of this two-part book that we call 1 and 2 Chronicles. Now, I say two-part book

because 1 and 2 Chronicles are really one book, and they've just been divided up into two because

of their size. So, rather in our series just kind of diving into the particular narratives in the

second half of part two, we're going to try to give an overview of the whole book today to set up

where we'll be headed for the rest of the spring and the summer. Now, typically when we jump into a

sermon, we like to read the text and then pray and then explain what the text means. But if I were to

read all of 1 and 2 Chronicles, we'd be here for a while. And half of you would probably leave

before I got to the end of chapter four, and you'll see why in a second. So, obviously, I'm not going

to read the whole book. Instead, I want to start our overview at the end. So, turn with me all the

way to 2 Chronicles chapter 36. That's page 420 in the Pew Bible. I encourage you to turn to page 420,

2 Chronicles 36 · chapter mention

2 Chronicles chapter 36. We'll start at the end because the end gives us the context for the message

2 Chronicles 36 · chapter mention

of the whole book and what the author, the chronicler, as we call him, wanted to communicate

to his audience. So, 2 Chronicles chapter 36, starting at the end with verse 22. We'll read

2 Chronicles 36 · chapter mention

the last paragraph of the book. Now, in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of the

Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia,

so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing.

Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia, the Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth,

and he's charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up.

So, stories matter. Stories are powerful, aren't they? Jesus himself used stories to communicate

the most important spiritual truths that humanity has ever heard. But if stories are powerful,

histories are often even more so. Histories matter. And what 1 and 2 Chronicles is, as a book,

is a retelling of the history of God's people from creation all the way back with Adam,

and it goes all the way to the return of Israel from exile in the sixth century, what we just read.

Now, why would someone take the time to write such a thing? Why retell the history of God's people?

If you're familiar with the Old Testament, you know that if you start reading in Genesis

and continue pretty much straight through the book of 2 Kings, you get the story of God and God's people

from creation all the way to the exile. So, why would God put a second retelling of mostly the same

history into the Bible? Well, the answer is because God's people were in a new situation.

It was a new day. They had returned from exile. They had come back to the land,

and in that new situation, they needed to be reminded and realigned with their story,

with their history. They needed these old stories for a new day.

It's been said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Now, that is true,

but you see, the chronicler had much more in mind than just that. He didn't just want the people of

his day to avoid the mistakes of the past. His vision was actually much more bold and more meaningful

than that. He understood that the people of God, having been brought back to the land of Judah after

exile. Well, that reality that they had come back was nothing less than evidence that God truly was

sovereign and that God had a mission for His people. He had not abandoned His people or His kingdom purpose.

Look again at the paragraph we just read. Cyrus, the Persian king, in 539 BC, issues an edict that the

people who were dispersed and exiled by the Babylonians earlier that century, now that Persia had come into

the rule, Cyrus makes an edict that they could all return to their homes and rebuild their temples and

worship their gods. And the chronicler doesn't just see that as some accident of history. Oh, yes,

the Babylonian empire has fallen to the Persians, and now the Persian king has sort of a new

imperial agenda. That's true, but ultimately the chronicler sees this as an outworking of the

sovereign grace and faithfulness of God. It's the Lord who stirs up Cyrus to do this so that the word

of Jeremiah the prophet might be fulfilled. This was God's plan. God is acting in human history to bring

about His promises, and the book ends with these rousing words, let them go up. So the chronicler

is writing to his generation, the generation that has returned miraculously from exile, and he wants

them to be reminded and realigned around the great mission that God has for them. And we see that mission

unfold as the chronicler retells the story of their history. He writes this carefully constructive

narrative that highlights the important themes and the vital realities that they have to keep in mind

as they live into God's mission in their day. And friends, the church today, our church today,

the church today can learn a lot from this retelling of history, because the church today shares a lot in

common with the post-exilic people of God in that day. Think about it. By God's sovereign grace in the

church, He has called His people out from among the nations and has given us a great mission. Just like

Israel in the sixth century was brought out of the death of exile into the new life of reestablishing

their home in Judah, so now in a much greater way, God is calling men and women out of every nation,

out of the spiritual exile from God, to live life, new life in God's kingdom, not just in Judah, not just

in Palestine, but in every corner of the globe. So let's look then at what 1 and 2 Chronicles highlights

for the mission of God's people in that day and how we might learn from them for our own day. Let's listen to

these old stories for a new day and be realigned around God's purposes for us. Now, as we open the pages of

1 and 2 Chronicles, the first lesson we see is this. 1 and 2 Chronicles says, remember that you are God's

people. Remember that you are God's people. This is the first…

…that these genealogies are here. There's a reason.

You know, by the way, did you know there's actually a place today where a list of names draws literally

millions of people every year so they can go see it? There's a couple of places like that in the world,

but there's one I have in mind. Do you know where? Ellis Island. Why is it so exciting to go to Ellis

Island and see the register of names on display there? Why do three million people, that's what

they approximate, three million people every year go there? Because in that place, in that list of names,

there's a picture, there's a reminder of the courage and the hope that inspired those people to make a

costly journey to start a new life. And now that's inspiring for anybody, right? But if you actually

have a relative that came through Ellis Island, well then it's even more meaningful. And what we have

here in the opening of 1 Chronicles isn't just a list of names, but it's a family tree of the people of God,

the people that God preserved and kept through generations and preserved even through exile and

brought them back.

And for Christians, well, this is your family story too. This is your family tree.

Paul says in Galatians that it's not just the physical descendants of Abraham who are Abraham's

family. No, it's everyone who has faith in Jesus the Messiah. You are spiritual descendants of Abraham.

Abraham, Abraham who through faith was made righteous in God's sight long before he was circumcised.

Those who are of faith are grafted into this story, into this family.

So the Old Testament story is your story, Christian, and these genealogies are your family tree. These are

your people. Now again, why do people get excited about their genealogy or seeing

the name of an ancestor on a register of names like at Ellis Island? Well, because it reminds you of who you

are. It gives you a sense of identity, of belonging, of rootedness. It gives you a story.

And for the Chroniclers audience back then and for us today, it's easy, isn't it? It's very easy to forget who we are.

So easy to forget who we are and what we're rooted in, this long, rich history. It's so easy to start

defining ourselves by the neighborhood that we live in, or the schools that we attend, or the

jobs that we have, or the clothes that we wear, or the people we think we can impress. Our identity gets

pulled into a million directions, and we get fragmented, and we lose ourselves, and we just

blur into the passing fads of the moment. So we have to come back again and again to the reality

that our most important identity is this. We are God's people.

And what does remembering that reality mean? What effect does that have or should that have on us?

Well, I think the Chronicler wanted that message to strike gratitude and wonder into the people of his day.

Why? Why gratitude and wonder? Well, because it was only through God's grace

that they were still a people at all. You know, in the ancient world, when an empire came and defeated

you and carried you off into exile, when you were kind of conquered and dispersed like that,

that was usually the end. Like, that was it. You know, you can read through the Old Testament. There

are a lot of old nations there. You read them and you think, what happened to these people? That happened

to those people. You were finished. You would just assimilate into the dominant culture. Maybe you would

survive in little pockets for a while, but eventually you would just fade into history.

But for this people, something radically different happened. God's grace had rescued them.

Do you remember the prophet Ezekiel? Do you remember the vision, that famous vision that God gave the

prophet Ezekiel of what the return from exile was going to be like?

Do you remember the voyagnosis? Do you remember the voyagnosis? Do you remember the voyagnosis?

voyagnosis? Do you remember voyagnosis? Do you remember voyagnosis? Do you remember voyagnosis? Do voyagnosis?

and those bones begin to rise up and reconnect, and flesh comes back upon them,

and breath fills their lungs, and the whole valley becomes a mighty people again.

The point is that the return from exile was like being brought from death to life.

God was faithful to His people and rescued them.

And brothers and sisters, if that's true for the Old Testament people of God in that day,

how much more true is it of us?

The Apostle Peter in his first letter writing to the church, the church made up of Jews and Gentiles now,

says, you, you're a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession,

that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light

and then Peter makes this point.

Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people.

Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

That's what it means to remember that you are God's people,

to realign yourselves with the unbelievable reality that God's mercy and grace has rescued us from darkness

and brought us into light.

How?

How?

How is that true?

How has that come about?

Well, the passage we read earlier from Ephesians tells us,

but now, Paul says,

in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off

have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

This is how God brought Jews and Gentiles into the one people of God

from the spiritual exile of sin and death.

He sent His Son to die, not just for the sins of Abraham's physical descendants,

but for everyone who turns from sin and takes hold of Christ through faith.

He reconciles us both to God in one body through the cross, Paul says.

So, brothers and sisters,

the world will want to tell you many things about yourself

and about who you are.

It will want to tell you that you are only as valuable as your productivity,

only as valuable as your good looks,

or your athletic prowess,

or your artistic ability,

or the size of your bank account,

or your academic pedigree.

But those things don't define who you are.

Once, you were not a people,

but now,

you are God's people,

beloved,

chosen,

precious in His sight.

The world might see a valley of dry bones.

You might feel a little creaky sometimes.

But God is raising up a mighty host.

We are part of a lineage,

a great lineage of saints,

saints that stretch back

through the history of the church,

through missionary endeavors,

through powerful revivals,

through reforms and renewals,

through the building of great cathedrals,

through the writing of theological masterminds,

masterpieces,

through the courage of the monasteries

when empires crumbled,

through the bravery of martyrs

who stood firm in the face of death,

through the apostles who took this message

throughout the known world,

and back even further,

through the Old Testament saints

who put their hope in God's kingdom

through exile and trials,

all the way back to David,

to Moses and Miriam,

to Abraham and Sarah,

to Adam and Eve.

A mighty host,

preserved by the power of God.

That's who you are.

Let it fill your heart with wonder,

with gratitude,

with praise for God

and His sovereign grace.

Remember that you are God's people.

But the chronicler has more to say

than just that.

After nine chapters of genealogies,

where does the story pick up?

Well, it picks up with King David.

When David's reign is established,

the chronicler focuses

an immense amount of attention.

Once David's in place,

where does his attention go?

The temple.

The temple is one of the major themes

throughout this two-part book.

David prepares for the temple

in the second half of 1 Chronicles.

Solomon builds and dedicates the temple

in the first half of 2 Chronicles.

And the kings who follow Solomon

in the rest of 2 Chronicles,

nearly all of them in one way or another

are described as prioritizing

or neglecting the temple.

Obviously, the chronicler

wants the audience of his day

to make the temple their priority.

When Cyrus' decree,

we see that at the end of the book,

when Cyrus' decree allowed

the Jewish exiles to return home

in 539 B.C.,

they went with the mission

to rebuild the temple

that had been destroyed.

And you can read the books

of Ezra and Nehemiah

and the prophets Haggai and Zechariah

to see how all that took place.

But now, when the chronicler was writing,

now the temple had been rebuilt.

And the chronicler was adamant

that the people not neglect it,

but make it their central priority

and purpose as a people.

You see, what he was telling

his generation was this.

Not just remember that you're

the people of God,

but also he was telling them,

prioritize the worship of God.

Make the worship of God

your uppermost aim.

Put the worship of God

above all other priorities.

Prioritize the worship of God.

Seek Him above all else.

After all, what was the temple?

In the Old Testament,

under the Mosaic Covenant,

the temple was the place

where God promised

to be present with His people.

It was the focal point

of God's presence on earth.

It was the throne room

of the Old Covenant kingdom

where God the Creator and King

dwelled among His people in holiness.

That's what the temple was.

But we know,

we know from the book of Ezra

that when the temple was rebuilt

after the exile,

there were some people

who were still alive

who remembered the old temple.

And the new temple,

the rebuilt one,

wasn't as glorious,

wasn't as impressive

as the old one.

In fact,

when they laid the foundation

of the new temple,

Ezra chapter 3 says this,

Ezra 3 · chapter mention

it says,

many of the priests and Levites

and heads of the Father's houses,

old men who had seen

the first house,

wept with a loud voice

when they saw the foundation

of this new house being laid.

Though many shouted aloud for joy,

so that the people

could not distinguish

the sound of the joyful shout

from the sound

of the people's weeping.

Their joy was intermingled

with their weeping.

Joy because they had just laid

the foundation of a new temple,

weeping because it wasn't

like the old one

that they remembered.

But you know,

it wasn't just that comparison

to the old

that sort of drew people away

from maybe prioritizing the temple

and prioritizing the worship of God.

There were all the other cares

and concerns

of being a fledgling people

attempting to restart

and maintain their new life

back in Judea.

There were cultural pressures

to conform to the world around them.

There were political pressures

as they continued to live

under the Persian Empire.

Of course,

there were financial pressures.

And in the midst

of those very real pressures,

very real concerns,

the chronicler wants

to remind the people

that the most important thing

is that they prioritize

the worship of God.

God must remain

at the center of their lives

or else everything else

will fall apart.

You see, friends,

the reality is

that something's going to take

the place of God

in our lives.

As human beings,

we're going to worship something.

We're going to put something

uppermost in our life.

We're going to chase after something

as our hope,

as our happiness,

as our life.

You know,

another way of putting it

is that

there really is

no such thing

as an atheist.

Of course,

plenty of people

don't believe

or don't worship

the God of the Bible,

but everyone has a God.

God,

we take some good thing

and make it

an ultimate thing.

For example,

it's a good thing

to work hard

and enjoy your job,

but if your career

is what defines you,

if that's what gives you

your ultimate sense

of identity and worth,

then it's become

your functional God.

You're putting your hope

and your career

to save you,

to be your meaning

and purpose

and rest and hope.

But you know,

it can be anything.

We can do this

with anything.

It's a good thing

to appreciate,

even love,

your country,

for example.

But if your national identity

is what defines you,

if your ultimate sense

of purpose and belonging

is as a citizen

of this or that country,

then patriotism

has become your God.

Friend,

are you self-aware enough,

are you honest enough

to admit

what your God

really is?

There's really no such thing

as an atheist.

Now, you might say,

I don't worship anything.

Nothing controls

or defines me.

I don't need money

or career or country

to define me.

I choose my own path.

I define me.

Well, a lot of people

say that today.

But don't you see,

if that's what you

really believe,

then you've made independence.

You've made freedom

your God.

And that's one of the most

common gods of our age.

Here's the irony.

By making freedom

and autonomy our God,

we're going along

with the crowd

more than anyone else.

Making autonomy our God

is the easiest way

to slip into herd mentality.

But what happens?

What happens when you make

some created thing

your God?

What happens when you

worship something other

than the one you were

created to worship?

You know,

it's not for nothing.

It's not for nothing

that Chronicles starts

by going all the way

back to Adam.

Adam takes us

all the way back

to the creation narratives

of Genesis.

Why did God create humanity?

Well, He created us

to bear His image

and to find our deepest delight,

our deepest satisfaction

in Him.

And that, perhaps,

is the greatest gift

God could have given us

as humans.

He gave us the capacity

to worship Him.

Don't you see

how wonderful that is?

I mean,

imagine how silly

it would be

to enter one of the

great art museums

of the world

and spend your time

gazing and admiring

the typography

on the bathroom sign.

It might be slick,

but what a foolish thing

to do.

Imagine how silly

it would be

to stand 10 or 20 feet

from the Grand Canyon

and admire and stare

at a little ditch

beside the road.

Friends,

you were created

with the capacity

to worship

the greatest

and most satisfying

thing in existence.

You were made

to be satisfied

by more than

the greatest human work

of art,

more than the most

stunning natural wonder.

God made you

to delight in Himself,

a God of infinite beauty,

infinite wonder,

and power

and freedom.

You know,

you can listen

to any great composer.

You can listen

to any great symphony

long enough.

Listen to it long enough.

And you know what?

Eventually,

it will get old.

I know that might

seem like blasphemy

to some of our musicians

in the room,

but even Bach,

even Beethoven,

even Mozart,

Lord.

Oh,

they can hold

our attention

for days,

for weeks,

for years even,

but eventually,

they too

will get old.

old.

But God is infinite.

He never gets old.

God is an ocean

of wonder

with no bottom.

And He made you,

little old you and me,

with the capacity

to worship Him.

Do you see

what a privilege that is?

to know Him,

to love Him,

to find our deepest

delight in Him.

Worship anything else.

Worship anything else.

Put anything else

in the center of your life,

and the center

won't hold.

Make career ultimate,

and it will disappoint you.

Put your friends

in the center of your life,

and they will let you down.

Live your life

for patriotism,

and it will leave you

jaded and cynical.

Those things can't save you

or satisfy you.

Only God can.

But even worse,

if you worship anything

other than God,

you're actually

putting yourself

at odds

with the very God

who made you.

You see,

by setting up

a rival God

in the world

that God made,

by worshiping

a created thing,

you and I

are staging

a cosmic rebellion,

defying His goodness,

dishonoring His name,

incurring guilt

against a holy God.

And that's true

of all of us, friends.

We've all worshiped

created things

rather than God.

And if God were

to call us to account,

if He brought us

before His tribunal,

we'd all be charged

with cosmic treason,

and the penalty

would be death.

God doesn't give us

what our rebellion

deserves.

In the person of His Son,

Jesus Christ,

He actually came

and stood in the place

of the rebels,

taking the penalty

that they deserve

for their sins,

that we deserve

for our sins,

and in exchange,

offers us

full acceptance,

full pardon,

full amnesty,

not on the basis

of what we've done,

not on the basis

of our good record

or our proper worship.

We don't have that.

But He offers us

that amnesty

on the basis

of what Jesus has done

because Jesus

was the perfect worshiper.

He lived every moment

for the glory

of His heavenly Father.

He was completely

righteous in every way.

And when we place

our faith in Him,

when we stand with Him,

His record

of perfect righteousness

and perfect worship

becomes ours

so that even though

we are rebels,

even though we do

deserve death for treason,

God forgives us

and He treats us

not as rebels

but as friends

and even more

than friends

because of Jesus

He adopts us

as sons and daughters

and He gives us

renewed hearts

by His Spirit

that are able

to begin

worshiping Him

as He deserves.

The Spirit comes in

and begins

to lift our gaze

to Him

what we were

originally created

to do.

Do you want to be free

from the little gods

in your life

and dive into

the infinite wonder

of the God

who made you?

Jesus Christ

is the door

to step through.

Take hold of Him

and your heart

will open up

to new vistas

that the old one

could never provide

and that invitation

is open

to you now

to take hold

of Him by faith

and to begin

worshiping the infinite God.

Now,

in the Old Testament,

the physical temple

in Jerusalem

was the focal point

of the worship of God

but the story

of the Bible,

as you follow it out,

you see that the physical temple

was never meant

to be permanent.

The temple was where

God dwelled

under the old covenant

but when Jesus Christ came,

He fulfilled everything

the temple was about.

He was God dwelling

in our midst.

He was the ultimate

sacrifice for sin.

And the New Testament

goes on to say

that the church,

the people united

to Jesus through faith

and filled with His Spirit,

the church

is now the place

where God dwells.

Not a building

but a people.

Little did you know

when you got up

this morning

after hitting snooze

eight times

because it's your day off

that you were going

to come meet with God

in His temple.

When the church gathers

and the gospel

is proclaimed,

there I am in the midst,

Jesus says.

God is in our midst

by His Spirit.

Listen again

to how Paul puts it

at the end of Ephesians 2.

So then you're no longer

strangers and aliens

but you're fellow citizens

with the saints

and members of the household

of God

built on the foundation

of the apostles and prophets,

Christ Jesus Himself

being the cornerstone

in whom the whole structure

being joined together

grows

into a holy temple

in the Lord.

In Him,

you also

are being built together

into a dwelling place

for God

by the Spirit.

So now,

under the new covenant,

what does it mean

corporately

to prioritize

the worship of God?

It doesn't mean

traveling to a physical building

somewhere in Jerusalem.

That was just a shadow.

The reality is Christ

and the assembly of people

gathered in His name

proclaiming His word.

The local church

is the temple

of the living God

and the church

isn't confined

to one location

or to one country.

The church

is a worldwide movement

in every country,

in every place,

in every language.

The whole world

is now the location

of God's temple

as the church

continues to grow

and gather

in local assemblies

worshiping Jesus as Lord.

As we're going to see

in the coming weeks,

one of the main themes

of Chronicles

is seeking God.

When the people

seek God,

when they worship Him,

they experience

deeper flourishing,

deeper renewal.

When they turn away

from worshiping

false idols

and false gods,

that's when they

begin to be renewed.

When they turn away

from God

and worship those things,

they fall apart.

But when they forsake

those lesser gods

and seek the Lord

and return to Him,

it's like fresh water

springing up

through the dry ground.

bringing life

and healing

and sanctification.

So a central exhortation

of Chronicles

to the people corporately

is to turn to God

and seek Him.

Now one classic verse

that expresses that theme,

maybe you're familiar with it,

is 2 Chronicles 7.14,

which says,

if my people

who are called

by my name

humble themselves

and pray

and seek my face

and turn from

their wicked ways,

then I will hear

from heaven

and will forgive

their sin

and heal their land.

Solomon spoke those words

at the dedication

of the temple.

And as we've said,

under the old covenant,

the people of God

and the worship of God

was localized

in one place,

what Solomon calls

in that verse,

the land.

But friends,

get this.

Now that Jesus has come,

now that we live

under the new covenant,

now that the presence

of God is no longer

localized

to one building

or one place

or one land,

we have to interpret

that verse

with a bigger vision.

You know,

too often people

can recite that verse

as if it's the recipe

for national

or political renewal.

But the land

in that verse

is not the United States

or the United Kingdom

or any contemporary

political reality.

God's people

are now salt and light

in the whole world.

it's the renewal

of the church

that this verse points to.

And yes,

wherever the church

is renewed

through the worship of God

and the proclamation

of the gospel,

we will be salt and light.

We will impact our culture.

But changing the nation

or changing the culture

isn't the goal

of that verse,

you see.

It's the revival

of the church.

It's the global advance

of the gospel

to the ends of the earth.

It's the spread

of God's glory

and worship

to every language

and every people.

And what a gift.

What a gift

that here

at Trinity

we get to be a picture

of this global movement

that is the church.

God has made us a people

from so many countries

and cultures

and backgrounds.

What a gift

to be a sign

of God's global church

right here.

But what should

our priority be?

Do we celebrate

our diversity

for diversity's sake?

Not at all.

We prioritize

the worship of God

in the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

We are the living stones

of the new covenant temple.

God's spirit dwells

in our midst

and our uppermost priority

is to worship God

and give Him glory.

To declare that the God

who has made Himself known

in Jesus Christ

is the one true God

who deserves

our complete allegiance

and our deepest trust

and our most joyful praise.

That's our priority.

That's our purpose.

God's grace.

So we've seen then

two great themes.

Two great themes

in 1 and 2 Chronicles.

First,

remember that you are

the people of God

and second,

prioritize the worship

of God.

Now there's one more

great theme in this book

and I'll have to be brief

because of time.

There's a book table

downstairs we have to go

rummage through

and there's an art gallery

upstairs we have to get to

so I'm going to be brief.

After God's people

and God's worship

we come to God's King.

The third theme of Chronicles

is this.

Put your hope

in God's promised King.

We've already seen

how after the genealogies

of chapters 1 through 9

the Chronicler kind of jumps

right into the story

of David and the monarchy

and he will trace

throughout this two-part book

the line of kings

descended from David.

Unlike the book

of 1 and 2 Kings

if you're familiar with that

Chronicles does not

go into great detail

about what we call

the northern kingdom

that splits off

after Solomon's reign.

Rather the focus

of Chronicles

sort of stays

laser-like

on the southern kingdom

on the line of David.

Why?

Because of the promise

that God made.

In 1 Chronicles 17

God makes a binding promise.

He makes a covenant

with David.

In verses 11 through 14

of that chapter

God says this.

He says,

when your days are fulfilled

to walk with your fathers

I will raise up

your offspring after you

one of your own sons

and I will establish

his kingdom

he shall build a house

for me

and I will establish

his throne forever.

I'll be to him

a father

and he shall be

to me a son.

I will not take

my steadfast love

from him

as I took it from

him who was before you

but I will confirm

him in my house

and in my kingdom

forever

and his throne

shall be established

forever.

David's throne

will be established

forever.

And that promise

will continue

through the rest

of the book

through the ups and downs

of 2 Chronicles

we're going to see

king after king

some are good

some are not

some seek God

and some don't

but through it all

God remains faithful.

He doesn't let the light

go out on his promise

even in the darkest days

we see that promise

reaffirmed again

and again

like in chapter 20

verse 7

of 2 Chronicles

when a king

named Jehoram

and his son Ahaziah

reject God

and worship idols

it's terrible.

Even in that darkest day

the chronicler says

yet the Lord

was not willing

to destroy

the house of David

because of the covenant

that he had made

with David

since he had promised

to give a lamp

to him

and to his sons

forever.

You see

even though the people

are faithless

even though the kings

are faithless

God remains faithful

God keeps his promise

and you see

in the chronicler's day

in the days

and years

after the exile ended

the people

were still waiting

they had returned

to the land

they had rebuilt

the temple

but there wasn't

a king

did God give up

on his promise?

Had he abandoned

his word to David?

Had the failure

of the previous kings

and the previous people

been just too great?

But the message

of Chronicles

is this

put your hope

in God's promised king

God will remain

faithful to his word

and we know

that God was faithful

when the time

was fulfilled

God sent his son

the king came

Jesus was

the true

and greater

son of David

he was the one

of whom God

the father

could really say

I will be to him

a father

and he will be

to me a son

because Jesus

was the son

from all eternity

you see friends

we put our hope

not in human leaders

but in God's

promised king

and just as

the chronicler

looked forward

to the coming

of this king

so we look forward

to this king's

coming again

when he will judge

and he will save

and he will make

all things new

so chronicles

is a retelling

of history

for a new day

it reminds us

to remember

that we're God's people

to prioritize

God's worship

and to hope

in God's king

but it ends

with a bit

of a cliffhanger

let them go up

are the last words

of the book

why

because the chronicler

knew

that the history

wasn't over

God

had more

of the story

to tell

and he knew

that his generation

was going to be

part of it

this retelling

of history

was meant

to give them

a trajectory

but there were

chapters yet

to be written

brothers and sisters

so too with us

God's history

continues to be written

God's mission

continues to advance

God's kingdom

continues to bring

healing and life

so Chronicles

stands here

and says

let's join

the story

let's put

our chapter

into the pages

of this great

history

that will resound

for eternity

you have a part

to play

it may seem

small

you may think

it's so insignificant

but friend

in the light

of eternity

who can say

what is small

and what is great

the kingdom

of God

Jesus said

is like a mustard

seed

it starts small

but when it's

fully grown

it becomes

a great tree

and the birds

can rest

in its shade

brothers and sisters

write your chapter

in this great history

plant your seed

into the soil

of God's kingdom

and let's see

what God might do

in our generation

that will resound

for eternity

let's pray

Father we ask

that you would

align us

with your

great kingdom

purposes

help us to

remember

these things

help us to

live for you

in the coming week

Amen