1 and 2 Samuel: Live By God's Promises, Not Our Plans

Well, we are studying our way through the book of 2 Samuel this morning.

We're in chapters 6 and 7.

Now, back in the book of Exodus, God commanded Moses to build the Ark of the Covenant.

Here's a picture of what the Ark of the Covenant probably looked like.

It was made of wood, it was plated with gold.

On the bottom of the Ark of the Covenant, there were four gold rings where they would slide the poles in.

This is how they were told to carry the Ark.

Now, if you're my age and above, maybe you remember the Indiana Jones movies.

In 1981, Raiders of the Lost Ark came out.

And Indiana finds the Ark of the Covenant in the movie.

But so do the Nazis.

And there's this scene toward the end where Indiana's tied up and the Nazis, not pure of heart, look on the Ark of the Covenant and everybody is zapped, they're burned up, their faces melt off.

And so why all the zapping?

Like why all the face melting?

Like why did why did that why did that happen?

Well, the Ark of the Covenant was the manifestation of God's physical presence on earth.

It was God's glory for man to see.

So let's get a definition.

God's glory is the infinite beauty and worth of God made known.

God's glory is the infinite beauty and worth of God made known.

So the impurity of the Nazis was burned up, zapped by God's purity.

At first, while the Israelites were in Sinai, those desert years after Egypt, the ark resided in a temporary structure called the tabernacle.

And when God spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in Numbers 7, 88, 9, God spoke to Moses from between the angels atop the ark.

Now eventually the ark was moved into a room in the temple.

It was called the Holy of Holies.

It was accessible only one day of year by one person.

That's in Leviticus 16.

On the Day of Atonement, the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies to ask for forgiveness for himself and for the people.

See, the ark is an object lesson for us to begin to understand God's glory.

This is what perfect glory, perfect holiness is like without grace.

So in 2 Samuel, David has taken Jerusalem.

He is now the king, and David decides it's time to bring the Ark of the Covenant back into Jerusalem.

So he gathers 30,000 men to go get this Ark of the Covenant.

And they put it on a new cart.

They don't carry it how God has asked them to carry it with the poles.

They get a new cart, they put it on the cart, they begin their travel.

But that's not how God told them to do it.

Point number one is this God's holiness is absolute, and his ways matter.

We see this in 2 Samuel 6, 5 through 7.

And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.

And when they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah put his hand out to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.

And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah.

And God struck him down there because of his air, and he died there beside the ark of God.

So the ox stumbles, Uzzah reaches out, and zap, he dies.

He got too close.

It's like us getting too close to the sun.

The nature of the character of the sun would overwhelm the nature of the character of us.

Well, David's angry at first that this happened.

And then he's afraid.

Like, ugh, I don't know if I want to be near this ark.

So he leaves the ark at a guy's house, this guy named Obed-Edom.

2 Samuel 6, 12 through 15.

And it was told to King David, The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God.

So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David with rejoicing.

And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal.

And David danced before the Lord with all his might.

And David was wearing a linen ephod.

So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, with the sound of the horn.

Point number two is this God's glory fuels our worship.

But not just that, God's glory fuels your joy.

God's glory fuels our worship and our joy.

Pastor and author John Piper, he breaks it down like this.

He says, first thing is this God made the world and you for his glory.

It's why you were made.

It is why you are here.

Isaiah 43, 6 and 7.

I will say to the north, give up, and to the south, do not withhold.

Bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the end of the earth.

That's us.

Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created.

Why?

For my glory, whom I formed and made.

Okay, so the first thing is God made you for his glory.

The second is this God made you to long for and seek real joy.

That's what we're all doing.

We're all doing it in all sorts of different ways.

We're seeking joy.

Isaiah 55, 1 through 3.

This is what God says to that pursuit.

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters.

And he who has no money, come, buy and eat.

Come buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

Incline your ear and come to me, hear that your soul may live.

And I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast sure love for David.

So the third thing, tying this together, is that these are not two pursuits.

It's the same pursuit.

So God made you for his glory.

You were made to seek real joy.

And these are not two pursuits but one, meaning God's glory and your joy, same pursuit.

Same exact pursuit.

David dances as he aligns his ways to God's ways.

Piper explains it this way, summarizing this: God made our souls to find real joy in him.

Now I'm not just saying that God made us to long for satisfaction, but that he made us to find satisfaction in him.

God's appeal is not, you do you, find your own joy, but come to me, find real joy.

God himself is the feast.

This feast which offers satisfaction that is full, free, and forever could only be God.

We see this in David, God's glory for our worship and our joy.

See in 2 Samuel 6, 14 and 15.

We read it.

David, he's dancing before the Lord with all his might.

Everybody's being such joy as this ark is coming out.

So God's glory and their joy, same pursuit.

So David's at peace.

The war's over.

The ark is in Jerusalem.

David built himself a really nice house.

But something's bothering him.

This ark is living in a tent.

And David thinks to himself, I got a plan.

We're gonna build a temple.

The ark needs to be in a temple.

David said, I'll do that.

That'll be my plan.

That's gonna be my purpose.

I'm gonna build a temple.

2 Samuel 7, 12 through 15.

This is what God says to David's plan.

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

He shall build a house for my name.

And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.

When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with a rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men.

But my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.

Point number three is this we love to have a plan, but the Lord directs our steps.

We love to have a plan, but the Lord directs our steps.

See, God reverses David's plan, but gives him covenant promises.

Right?

David says, I'm gonna build a temple.

Somebody have my purpose.

Imagine that man on my purpose, David would have waking up every day.

We're gonna build a temple.

That's what needs to be done.

David has his plan, and God says, No, you're not gonna do that, but I shower you with promises, right?

This text is promise after promise of God's presence and love to David.

And then another promise comes in verse 16, and your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.

Your throne shall be established forever.

When I was 25 years old, I graduated seminary, and Christy and I got married.

I was convinced I had a plan.

And I was going to be a religion professor.

I'd seen these guys at the University of Georgia.

They taught in the morning, they were at the rec center by about 11.30 a.m.

They played basketball together in the lower gym every day from 11.30 to 1.30.

They showered up and they headed home.

And I thought to myself, that's amazing.

I'm gonna go and I'm gonna get my PhD in religion.

I'm gonna work really hard for 15 years, and I'm gonna publish, and then I'm gonna get tenure, and I'm gonna be teaching in the morning, I'm gonna play basketball, I'm gonna be home by the afternoon by two for a nap and hang out with the family.

That's what I'm gonna do.

So I studied really hard for a whole summer.

I bought all the GRE books, and I was gonna go sit for the GRE.

I was gonna apply to grad school, they were gonna give me a full scholarship because I was so brilliant, they were gonna pay for my PhD.

This is how my life was gonna play out.

And so I studied every day at the pool, all summer, with my GRE books.

I had note cards, studying, studying, studying.

I went and I took the GRE and I did unbelievably really, really bad.

I did really bad.

It was bad.

Like, bad, like not gonna happen anywhere bad.

Like that's how bad it was.

So my plan was dead.

You've been there.

David was there.

I'm gonna build a temple.

No, you're not.

Not gonna build it.

I'm I'm gonna go to grad school, PhD.

I'm gonna be no, you're not.

And you had a plan.

Maybe you had a plan for a certain job or a family or to have children or you're gonna get a raise, you're gonna get into something, you're gonna have something happen, and then it just no, doesn't happen.

Didn't happen.

And then what?

What then?

Well, while we are concerned about plans, and I love plans.

I mean, I can calendar on a date night.

I mean, that is, to me, that's romance.

It's like, can we calculate?

When Christie says, hey, can we sit down and calendar?

I'm like, absolutely, like that's love language, the six love languages, calendar.

While we are concerned about plans, the Lord directs our steps through his promises to us.

Listen to David's response to this.

So David's just told, Yeah, you're not gonna do that.

But here are my promises to you.

Like I love you and I'm for you and your family.

Here's his response, 2 Samuel 7, 18 through 22.

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that you have brought me thus far?

And we just pause there.

I mean, most of the time when my plans are disturbed, I'm just like a brat.

Like I'm thussy, I am bratty for a couple weeks.

I might eventually get to this verse 18.

It's not my initial, but it's where we need to get.

Right?

Just that humble gratitude, you have brought me thus far.

And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God.

You have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God.

And what more can David say to you?

For you know your servant, O Lord God, because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness to make your servant know it.

Therefore, you are great, O Lord God, for there's none like you, and there's no God beside you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

Point number four is this our life is humble trust, and God's promise is known in Christ.

The writer of Hebrews in the New Testament ties in how do we know God's glory?

Well, we know it in Jesus.

That's what the New Testament teaches.

We don't have to worry about being zapped, because all of God's glory, all of his holiness is absorbed in the person of Jesus.

So what we receive is lavish acceptance, lavish love.

Hebrews 1, 1 through 3.

In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways.

But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

The Son is the radiance of God's glory, the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven.

So all of God's justice, all of God's glory, all of God's holiness is in Jesus, satisfied.

We don't get zapped, our faces don't melt off, we are accepted.

We're loved.

So what does it look like to let go of plans?

We form our plan, we have our plan.

What does it look like to let go of them, or at least hold them with open hands, and live day to day in God's promises to us?

Well, let's work our way through five promises.

I pulled these from the Gospel and Life book by Tim Keller, amazing book.

I'm just gonna work my way through them.

They'll be on the slides.

Promise number one: God is my true security.

That's in Hebrews 13, 5.

I will never leave you or forsake you.

Here's the promise because of Christ, God's presence with me is not earned or lost.

My security is anchored in Jesus' finished work, not my performance or circumstances.

So my heart response to that is I can stop building my life on control, approval, or stability.

So the trust application is when I feel anxious, I actively return to God as my only true security instead of trying to fix everything myself.

Promise number two, God's grace is enough for my weakness.

2 Corinthians 12, 9, my grace is sufficient for you.

The promise is that in Christ God's power is known in my weakness, not in my strength.

So my heart's response is, oh, I released the need to prove myself to God.

And the trust application is I can stop hiding my weakness.

Instead, begin to bring it honestly to God in prayer.

Promise number three.

God gives me peace that circumstances cannot take away.

This is the promise in John 14, 27 from Jesus, as Jesus said, He promises, My peace I give to you.

The gospel promises that because of Jesus, because he overcomes sin and death, my deepest problem is already solved.

Even if my present problems remain.

So my heart response is I can resist fear-driven thinking.

And the trust application is that when anxiety rises, I return to prayer and trust over spiraling thoughts.

Anybody else spiral?

I spiral.

You're spiraling.

You're like, oh, let's slow down.

Let's trust.

Let's remember some promises that anchor me in something outside of my circumstances and my problems.

Promise number four: God works all things for my good in Christ.

That's Romans 8.28.

All things work together for good.

The gospel promises that good is defined not as comfort, but being with and like Jesus.

And the heart response is, I trust God's wisdom even when I don't understand his plan.

Even when I don't know the six steps out, I can trust right now, today, and Lord help me take the next step.

The trust application is I see disappointment through God's heart, not my feelings.

Last promise.

God has already given me everything I truly need.

That's Romans 8.32.

God promises that he who did not spare his own son will also graciously give us all things.

The promise is that if God has already given me Jesus, I can trust him for everything else I truly need.

And the heart's response is I can begin to loosen my grip on material and emotional must-haves.

And then I can trust and I can move forward in gratitude rather than scarcity thinking.

Beloved, we may not know our life plan.

Like we may think we're gonna build a temple.

Here's the temple I'm gonna build.

It might not happen.

Maybe it does happen.

Praise God.

Might not happen.

And if it doesn't happen, what we have his promise.

God is for us and love us.

Church, church, we can trust in his promises.

That's how we live day to day, while some plans work out and some plans don't.

Jesus is enough.

If you have any questions about the sermon or like prayer, I'll be down front afterwards.

Love to pray with you.

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father, we're so grateful that our lives are not the perfection of our plans, but our lives are your perfect promises to us.

We have limited sight and yet we love our plans.

Forgive us for the ways that we pridefully hold them before you.

Would you begin to help us hold them before you with open hands?

Would we entrust our plans to you?

And will we live day to day in your promises to us?

Help us to be anchored in Jesus.

Your sufficiency, forgiveness, righteousness, your care for us, your presence with us.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.