4th Sunday of Advent 12/18/05 Text: 2 Samuel 7: 1-11 Title: Curve Ball
4th Sunday of Advent
12/18/2005
Text: 2 Samuel 7: 1-11
Title: Curve Ball
Let us pray. - Lord God, Creator and Maker of us all, speak in the calming of our minds and in the longings of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
Our Old Testament reading for today is very appropriate for Advent, for in this text we hear God telling the prophet Nathan to tell King David that the promised Messiah is going to come from his linage. These are wonderful words of promise and hope, not only for King David, but for all of us, as we know that that promise was fulfilled when Jesus was born as one of us.
This then gives us confidence in the other promises of God, especially his promises of forgiveness and his second advent, which is his coming on the last day to judge the world, an event which we are not to fear.
As wonderful as the assigned text for today is, David’s response to God gives us a wonderful lesson in how we are to respond to God when we are thrown a " curve ball". That is right, a " curve ball’, for that is what God is throwing David.
You see David has plans, big plans. He wants to build God a new home, one worthy of his honor, or maybe David wants to do it for his honor. We are not told, but because God is chastising David for even considering building him a permanent home, the chances are that David wants to build the temple at least in part for his own honor.
That presents a problem, for God is perfectly happy having the Ark of the Covenant resting in a tent, for in doing so he is showing the people of Israel that he is not tied down to one place, but that wherever they go he will be there with them.
We also see, from what God is telling him through the prophet Nathan, that God wants to remind King David that it is God that has gotten him to the position of power that he is now in. While the Old Testament reading was being read by ?, I began to wonder why did God even had to remind King David of his background and all that God had done for him.
David should know what Nathan is telling him for David is a man of God. He should remember how he started out as just a lowly shepherd boy. He should know that all of his success in battle and the running of his kingdom is dependent on the good will of God.
He should know, but does he? It doesn’t appear so otherwise God would not have told Nathan to tell him what he is telling him. No, I think David is pretty full of himself. And why not, he is a mighty king, he has won almost every battle he fought. The people love him. He has big bucks, and lives in a beautiful castle. He has everything he needs and more. He just wants to build God a suitable home, like the one he has, that’s all. At least that is what he is saying.
Now, what could be wrong with that? Wouldn’t we do the same thing, if we had the money and power to do so. Why, I am sure that if we each lived in a beautiful house, while the church we attended was getting kind of worn looking, we would want the best for God. We would want God’s house to be the best looking one in town, an elaborate church in which we could show those in the town how much we loved God. We would want that and so did King David.
I am sure that King David only wanted to do is do what is right by God, but it sure would not hurt anything if his subjects and visitors would also be able to see how much he loved God by building him a fancy building for the Ark of the Covenant to reside in instead of a tent.
That is why God threw David a "curve ball". God had to do it, for what David wanted to do, was not what God wanted to do. God has bigger plans for David, than building a home for the Ark.
You see, David’s line, his descendents are going to bring forth the coming Messiah and in doing so his linage was going to last forever. Now that is a blessing if there ever is one. For instead of building a temple for God that would be eventually destroyed, God would build a linage for him that would last forever, thus fulfilling a series of prophecies that were made years earlier.
After hearing from Nathan that he was not going to build the temple David could do one of three things. He could go off and sulk because Nathan told him that God said he was not to build his house. He could go ahead and build it anyway, because after all God couldn’t be serious, who wouldn’t want to honored by having a beautiful building built in his name, or he could repent of his sin of pride, and acknowledge his total dependence on God.
Well, David chose to repent and acknowledge his total dependence on God. I wish there was more time this morning so we could read verses 18 through 29 of chapter 7 for in those 11 verses you see a wonderful example of prayer by King David. What caught my attention as I read David’s prayer is that it follows the acronym ACTS that I talked about some months ago. A stands for adoration of God, acknowledging who he is. C stands for confession of one’s sins before God. T stands for thanksgiving for all that God has done. S stands for supplication, which is nothing more than being willing to be bent to God’s will, instead of trying to bend God to your will. It is an act of humbleness. David’s prayer is a wonderful prayer for us to model our prayers after, especially during this hectic time.
You say that you have not gotten a "curve ball" from God, at least one that you know of. Well, what about hurricane Katrina that hit our area and the gulf coast so hard? I can’t even begin to imagine how many plans were changed because of the hurricane, how many lives were disrupted, how many dreams vanished into thin air, how many people who had thought they were in control of their lives found out that in fact they were not in control, and in doing so were brought to Christ.
We will never know, but I know there is one thing that always happens when we are thrown a ‘curve ball", for it is just part of our human nature. "Curve balls" always bring up lots of questions, almost all of which are unanswerable, and that usually brings pain into our lives, emotional and spiritual pain that causes us to wonder about our relationship with God.
Sometimes God has to throw a "curve ball" our way, because we get ourselves so involved in making what we consider great plans for our selves or our loved ones, or our church that we forget who is in control and who we owe our allegiance to. We forget and so we are thrown a "curve ball to get us refocused on God, so that he can give us as he tells us in Ephesians, "More than we could ever imagine". .
All we need to do is just stand back and let God go to work in our lives, for when that happens he can do what he does best, that is be God. The only thing God wants from us is to have faith in him and his promises, the faith that has been given to us so that we can learn to trust in him as King David did. That is what he wants us to do and more times than we do, we don’t do what he wants us to do.
So, just like that great man of God, King David had to have a "curve ball" thrown his way to get him to realize that God knew better than he did what was best for his life, we too need to be reminded that God always knows what is best for us.
I pray that you take home with you this morning four things out of this sermon. First, know that God loves you and will only throw you a "curve ball" when you need to be refocused on what is the most important thing in your life, his forgiveness, and his Gospel message.
Second, that when you are troubled by doubt and those unanswerable questions about life and your relationship to God that you will remember that you are not alone for even that great man of God King David was plagued with doubts and questions about God and his relationship to him. We see that in almost all of David’s prayers, the prayers we call Psalms. You see, human beings from the time they were booted out of the Garden of Eden have wrestled with those same doubts and questions.
Thirdly, I pray that you will follow the example of King David’ and earnestly pray to God when he throws a "curve ball" into your life. As you pray acknowledge God as your Sovereign Lord and Savior. Confess and repent of your sins. Give thanks for all God has done for you and all people. Ask God to help you to be more easily molded as he wants you to be, and not as you want to be.
Fourth, and the most important, is that you remember God’s promise to King David, for it is God’s promise to you, "Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever". What a wonderful Gospel message to close on this morning, for David’s throne was established forever though his distant grandson Jesus whose birth we will celebrate next weekend. Amen
12/18/2005
Text: 2 Samuel 7: 1-11
Title: Curve Ball
Let us pray. - Lord God, Creator and Maker of us all, speak in the calming of our minds and in the longings of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
Our Old Testament reading for today is very appropriate for Advent, for in this text we hear God telling the prophet Nathan to tell King David that the promised Messiah is going to come from his linage. These are wonderful words of promise and hope, not only for King David, but for all of us, as we know that that promise was fulfilled when Jesus was born as one of us.
This then gives us confidence in the other promises of God, especially his promises of forgiveness and his second advent, which is his coming on the last day to judge the world, an event which we are not to fear.
As wonderful as the assigned text for today is, David’s response to God gives us a wonderful lesson in how we are to respond to God when we are thrown a " curve ball". That is right, a " curve ball’, for that is what God is throwing David.
You see David has plans, big plans. He wants to build God a new home, one worthy of his honor, or maybe David wants to do it for his honor. We are not told, but because God is chastising David for even considering building him a permanent home, the chances are that David wants to build the temple at least in part for his own honor.
That presents a problem, for God is perfectly happy having the Ark of the Covenant resting in a tent, for in doing so he is showing the people of Israel that he is not tied down to one place, but that wherever they go he will be there with them.
We also see, from what God is telling him through the prophet Nathan, that God wants to remind King David that it is God that has gotten him to the position of power that he is now in. While the Old Testament reading was being read by ?, I began to wonder why did God even had to remind King David of his background and all that God had done for him.
David should know what Nathan is telling him for David is a man of God. He should remember how he started out as just a lowly shepherd boy. He should know that all of his success in battle and the running of his kingdom is dependent on the good will of God.
He should know, but does he? It doesn’t appear so otherwise God would not have told Nathan to tell him what he is telling him. No, I think David is pretty full of himself. And why not, he is a mighty king, he has won almost every battle he fought. The people love him. He has big bucks, and lives in a beautiful castle. He has everything he needs and more. He just wants to build God a suitable home, like the one he has, that’s all. At least that is what he is saying.
Now, what could be wrong with that? Wouldn’t we do the same thing, if we had the money and power to do so. Why, I am sure that if we each lived in a beautiful house, while the church we attended was getting kind of worn looking, we would want the best for God. We would want God’s house to be the best looking one in town, an elaborate church in which we could show those in the town how much we loved God. We would want that and so did King David.
I am sure that King David only wanted to do is do what is right by God, but it sure would not hurt anything if his subjects and visitors would also be able to see how much he loved God by building him a fancy building for the Ark of the Covenant to reside in instead of a tent.
That is why God threw David a "curve ball". God had to do it, for what David wanted to do, was not what God wanted to do. God has bigger plans for David, than building a home for the Ark.
You see, David’s line, his descendents are going to bring forth the coming Messiah and in doing so his linage was going to last forever. Now that is a blessing if there ever is one. For instead of building a temple for God that would be eventually destroyed, God would build a linage for him that would last forever, thus fulfilling a series of prophecies that were made years earlier.
After hearing from Nathan that he was not going to build the temple David could do one of three things. He could go off and sulk because Nathan told him that God said he was not to build his house. He could go ahead and build it anyway, because after all God couldn’t be serious, who wouldn’t want to honored by having a beautiful building built in his name, or he could repent of his sin of pride, and acknowledge his total dependence on God.
Well, David chose to repent and acknowledge his total dependence on God. I wish there was more time this morning so we could read verses 18 through 29 of chapter 7 for in those 11 verses you see a wonderful example of prayer by King David. What caught my attention as I read David’s prayer is that it follows the acronym ACTS that I talked about some months ago. A stands for adoration of God, acknowledging who he is. C stands for confession of one’s sins before God. T stands for thanksgiving for all that God has done. S stands for supplication, which is nothing more than being willing to be bent to God’s will, instead of trying to bend God to your will. It is an act of humbleness. David’s prayer is a wonderful prayer for us to model our prayers after, especially during this hectic time.
You say that you have not gotten a "curve ball" from God, at least one that you know of. Well, what about hurricane Katrina that hit our area and the gulf coast so hard? I can’t even begin to imagine how many plans were changed because of the hurricane, how many lives were disrupted, how many dreams vanished into thin air, how many people who had thought they were in control of their lives found out that in fact they were not in control, and in doing so were brought to Christ.
We will never know, but I know there is one thing that always happens when we are thrown a ‘curve ball", for it is just part of our human nature. "Curve balls" always bring up lots of questions, almost all of which are unanswerable, and that usually brings pain into our lives, emotional and spiritual pain that causes us to wonder about our relationship with God.
Sometimes God has to throw a "curve ball" our way, because we get ourselves so involved in making what we consider great plans for our selves or our loved ones, or our church that we forget who is in control and who we owe our allegiance to. We forget and so we are thrown a "curve ball to get us refocused on God, so that he can give us as he tells us in Ephesians, "More than we could ever imagine". .
All we need to do is just stand back and let God go to work in our lives, for when that happens he can do what he does best, that is be God. The only thing God wants from us is to have faith in him and his promises, the faith that has been given to us so that we can learn to trust in him as King David did. That is what he wants us to do and more times than we do, we don’t do what he wants us to do.
So, just like that great man of God, King David had to have a "curve ball" thrown his way to get him to realize that God knew better than he did what was best for his life, we too need to be reminded that God always knows what is best for us.
I pray that you take home with you this morning four things out of this sermon. First, know that God loves you and will only throw you a "curve ball" when you need to be refocused on what is the most important thing in your life, his forgiveness, and his Gospel message.
Second, that when you are troubled by doubt and those unanswerable questions about life and your relationship to God that you will remember that you are not alone for even that great man of God King David was plagued with doubts and questions about God and his relationship to him. We see that in almost all of David’s prayers, the prayers we call Psalms. You see, human beings from the time they were booted out of the Garden of Eden have wrestled with those same doubts and questions.
Thirdly, I pray that you will follow the example of King David’ and earnestly pray to God when he throws a "curve ball" into your life. As you pray acknowledge God as your Sovereign Lord and Savior. Confess and repent of your sins. Give thanks for all God has done for you and all people. Ask God to help you to be more easily molded as he wants you to be, and not as you want to be.
Fourth, and the most important, is that you remember God’s promise to King David, for it is God’s promise to you, "Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever". What a wonderful Gospel message to close on this morning, for David’s throne was established forever though his distant grandson Jesus whose birth we will celebrate next weekend. Amen
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 5:04 PM
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