1 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:05,120 The text for the sermon this morning comes from Second 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:10,360 Samuel, Chapter 7. I invite you to turn there and 3 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:17,920 follow along as I read Second Samuel 7 verses 8 through 17. 4 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,880 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David. 5 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:28,880 Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from 6 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:32,560 following the sheep, that you should be Prince over my people. 7 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:35,040 Israel. And I have been with you 8 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:39,080 wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before 9 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:41,520 you. And I will make for you a great 10 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:45,000 name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 11 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:49,680 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant 12 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:53,560 them that they may dwell in their own place, and be 13 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:58,280 disturbed no more, and violent men shall afflict them no more. 14 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:02,800 As formerly from the time that I appointed judges over my people, 15 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:07,040 Israel, and I will give you rest from all your enemies. 16 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:11,480 Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you 17 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:14,640 a house. When your days are fulfilled and 18 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:18,720 you lie down with your father's, I will raise up your offspring 19 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:21,960 after you who shall come forth from your body. 20 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:24,360 And I will establish his Kingdom. 21 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:28,520 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the 22 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:33,200 throne of his Kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he 23 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,880 shall be my son. When he commits iniquity, I will 24 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:40,800 chasten him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of 25 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:44,000 men. But I will not take my steadfast 26 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,160 love from him as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from 27 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,680 before you. And your house And your Kingdom 28 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:54,680 shall be made sure forever before me. 29 00:01:55,240 --> 00:02:00,080 Your throne shall be established forever, in accordance with all 30 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,280 these words and in accordance with all this vision. 31 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:15,320 Nathan spoke to David. Reasons that God's covenants 32 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:23,960 with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David should increase the joy of 33 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:28,400 our faith is that the main point of every one of these covenants 34 00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:36,520 is that God is for us. That is, all of His omnipotence 35 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:42,120 and all of his omniscience is employed to do good to His 36 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:46,720 people, and you are that people if you follow him in the 37 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:51,720 obedience of faith. The most practical truths any 38 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:57,600 Christian can know are that God is sovereign, all powerful, and 39 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:03,840 that God is all wise, and that God is all together for you and 40 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:07,880 not against you. If you believe those things, 41 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:12,640 they will have a very practical impact on the way you use your 42 00:03:12,640 --> 00:03:17,880 money and spend your leisure and pursue your vocation and rear 43 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:23,320 your children and deal with conflict and handle anxiety. 44 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:28,000 Heartfelt confidence in the sovereignty of God who is 45 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:33,440 working everything together for your good effects every area of 46 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:41,800 your life. Deep emotional assurance and I 47 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:45,720 stress emotional because sometimes I think we try to 48 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:50,400 equate assurance with thoughts. And thoughts are only the 49 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:54,720 foundation of assurance, they are not the experience of 50 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:58,520 assurance. Assurance is an emotional thing 51 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:04,880 or it is non existent. The deep emotional assurance 52 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:10,400 that even though you are a Sinner, God's attention is 53 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:16,360 focused on you with omnipotent mercy is the day-to-day strength 54 00:04:16,399 --> 00:04:20,279 and power to give you deep peace when you can't go home for 55 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:24,760 Christmas. Or to give you genuine joy even 56 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:27,800 though you can't afford the gift you'd like to get her. 57 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:31,840 Or to give you warmth in your heart. 58 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:39,240 When the friend doesn't write, when you expected, when you rest 59 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:44,720 in the fact that God's job description for himself for you 60 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:50,920 includes the responsibility of seeing that everything works 61 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:55,920 together for your good, then you will not yield to covetousness 62 00:04:56,160 --> 00:05:00,040 or stealing or returning ridicule for ridicule. 63 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,840 Nor will you resist the impulse to tell your colleagues this 64 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:06,720 week at work what Christmas really means to you. 65 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,880 The reason we are studying the covenants is because in them we 66 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:17,800 see the biblical proof that God's job description does 67 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:22,600 indeed include the responsibility not to withhold 68 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:25,080 anything good from those who walk uprightly. 69 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:29,040 It does indeed include the responsibility to work 70 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:32,360 everything together for the good of those who love him. 71 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:37,200 It does indeed include the commitment to work for those who 72 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:41,240 wait for him, and to turn every strep throat and stripped clutch 73 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:45,560 and stinging put down for your eternal good. 74 00:05:48,280 --> 00:05:52,600 That's what I would offer this morning as a definition for 75 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:55,240 God's covenant. Some of you have asked me what? 76 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:57,400 What's a covenant anyway? You keep using this word 77 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:01,960 covenant. Here's my definition of God's 78 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:09,400 covenants with his people. God makes a covenant with a 79 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:16,120 person when he reveals to them the job description he has 80 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:23,960 written for himself in relation to them and hands it to them, 81 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:31,520 signed by his own blood for their enjoyment. 82 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:42,520 If they will but trust him to do it, That's it God's handing over 83 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:46,640 of the job description that he has written for himself to 84 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:51,040 perform. He simply says this is how I 85 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:55,320 will work for you, with all my heart, with all my soul, and 86 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:58,880 with all my strength. If you trust me, you cleave to 87 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:04,560 me alone. Now today I want to look at the 88 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:08,960 job description God wrote for himself in relation to David or 89 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:13,240 the Davidic Covenant. And we'll do three things and 90 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:15,240 sort of they merge into each other. 91 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:21,080 One is try to understand verses 12 to 17 of Second Samuel 7 so 92 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:22,680 you can stick your finger in there. 93 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:27,720 The second thing is to try to see how it works itself out into 94 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:30,080 Jesus Christ. How is this covenant fulfilled 95 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:33,560 in Jesus and 3rd? What difference does that make 96 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:37,240 for US 20th century American Gentiles anyway, since that all 97 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:41,400 seems so Jewish. All right, let's do those in 98 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:44,360 that order. Second Samuel, Chapter 7, verses 99 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:48,440 12 to 17. This text does what a lot of 100 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:52,440 prophetic texts do. Picture me holding here a 101 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:57,400 telescope that collapses looking up there at that lamp and I 102 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:02,520 close it. The the outer portion of the 103 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:07,520 telescope represents events that are far away, and this little 104 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:10,720 piece of the telescope near my eye represents events that are 105 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:12,680 just about to happen. And when you close the 106 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:15,720 telescope, all you see is 1 unit. 107 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:19,560 That's what happens here in this text, with events that are far 108 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:21,400 away and events that are very close. 109 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:27,720 That's why in verse 14 you read about Solomon fulfilling part of 110 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:31,760 this covenant, says when he commits iniquity. 111 00:08:32,159 --> 00:08:37,360 Solomon, that is, I will chasten him with the rod of men, with 112 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:41,919 the stripes of the sons of men, but I will not take my steadfast 113 00:08:41,919 --> 00:08:46,640 love from him as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from 114 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,320 before you. Now that's very close. 115 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:54,720 That's just going to happen in a few years after David's death. 116 00:08:55,160 --> 00:09:01,160 But notice verse 13 and verse 16 where the Lord says he That is, 117 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:05,680 Solomon will build a house for my name, and I will establish 118 00:09:05,680 --> 00:09:09,040 the throne of his Kingdom forever. 119 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:14,480 And then look at verse 16, and you and your house, Speaking of 120 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:18,160 David now. And your Kingdom shall be made 121 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:24,560 sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established 122 00:09:24,560 --> 00:09:27,800 forever. So that threefold repetition in 123 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:33,360 verses 13 and 16 of the phrase forever show that something far 124 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:36,560 greater than the ministry of Solomon is in view here. 125 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:40,520 No wonder that this covenant had a central place in Israel's 126 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:44,560 history, because if you commit yourself to do something 127 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:48,760 forever, and you are God, you are shaping eternity by your 128 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:53,320 very commitment. This is an important job 129 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:55,760 description. He's writing for himself here. 130 00:09:56,320 --> 00:10:02,440 Now we notice in verse 12 that God intends for David to die, 131 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:08,400 not live forever. Yet in verse 16 it says your 132 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:11,880 Kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. 133 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:15,760 Your throne shall be established forever. 134 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:21,600 So what that must mean in view of David's death is that his 135 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:25,800 Kingdom would be established by a a descendant, a member of his 136 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:29,800 household. But Solomon here is depicted as 137 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:34,280 a Sinner who needs to be chastened, and therefore the 138 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:37,080 Kingdom could never be established in the hands of a 139 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:39,280 Sinner. As we're going to see in just a 140 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:42,120 minute. Something else must be in view 141 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:45,840 beyond Solomon if it's going to be established and secured 142 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:49,240 forever. And I want you to see how 143 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:53,280 conditional this covenant becomes as it develops through 144 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:57,480 these history books. Turn over with me to 1st Kings 145 00:10:57,480 --> 00:11:05,680 Chapter 11, First and Second Samuel, First Kings Chapter 11. 146 00:11:05,680 --> 00:11:12,680 Here Solomon has just married foreign wives and begun to 147 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:16,360 worship their gods. Now what is God going to say 148 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:18,800 about Solomon, the heir of the throne of David? 149 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:24,400 The Lord? Said verse 11 to Solomon, Since 150 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:28,960 this has been your mind, and you have not kept my covenant and my 151 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:33,000 statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the 152 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:36,720 Kingdom from you and give it to your servant. 153 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:40,280 Yet for the sake of David, your father, I will not do it in your 154 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:42,600 days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 155 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:47,040 However, I will not tear away all the Kingdom, but I will give 156 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:52,680 one tribe to your son, for the sake of David, my servant, and 157 00:11:52,680 --> 00:11:55,720 for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen. 158 00:11:56,280 --> 00:12:01,880 Now that text shows that the promise to establish David's 159 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:08,120 Kingdom cannot happen as long as the descendants of David are 160 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:14,160 sinners, because the Kingdom is always going to be ripped out of 161 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:18,360 the hand of idolaters and rebellious sinners. 162 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:23,120 The conditionality of this covenant is repeated again and 163 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:27,320 again in Kings and Chronicles. Turn back with me if you want to 164 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:31,760 see the text in First Kings chapter 2, verse 4. 165 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:38,440 Here David, near the end of his life, tells Solomon that God 166 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:45,040 said, if your sons take heed to their way to walk before me in 167 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:49,400 faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, 168 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:54,160 there shall not fail you a man on the throne of Israel. 169 00:12:54,560 --> 00:12:57,720 You see what that implies? That means? 170 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:03,880 That as long as David's sons are disobedient, there won't be a 171 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:09,920 man to sit upon the throne. The throne will be empty, or at 172 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:13,440 least we'll be in jeopardy and about to be empty, about to go 173 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:17,000 into exile. Flip over back now to First 174 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:23,160 Kings 8, verse 25, First Kings 825. 175 00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:27,680 Here we have Solomon himself speaking, and he says in his 176 00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:32,000 prayer to the Lord. Now, Lord God of Israel, keep 177 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:36,520 with thy servant David my father, what thou hast promised 178 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:41,320 him, saying, There shall never fail you, a man before me, to 179 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:48,040 sit upon the throne of Israel, if only your sons take heed to 180 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:54,520 their way to walk before me as you have walked before me. 181 00:13:55,720 --> 00:14:02,360 Now Israel learned in the successive centuries that when a 182 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:07,360 king was righteous, the nation prospered, and when a king was 183 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:12,040 rebellious, the nation was plundered and ultimately the 184 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:16,280 kingly line became so corrupt that the nation went into 185 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:21,240 captivity. Now that taught them very 186 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:26,400 clearly one thing. On the one hand, the promise is 187 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:31,120 secure. David's kingship will last 188 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:34,240 forever. The Kingdom will be established. 189 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:41,040 But all the kings are rotten and therefore the kingship is not 190 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:42,960 being established. We're in exile. 191 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:48,960 What could they conclude? All the prophets concluded one 192 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:51,960 thing. There will come a son of David 193 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:57,920 who is good enough to fulfill the conditions someday somehow. 194 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:01,240 Listen to the words of these prophets. 195 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:06,760 Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel First. Ezekiel 3723. 196 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:10,960 I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have 197 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:15,440 sinned, and will cleanse them. And they shall be my people. 198 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:19,560 I will be their God, and my servant David shall rule over 199 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,400 them, and they shall have one shepherd. 200 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:27,800 You see, the promise had to include cleansing both of the 201 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:34,520 king and of the people. Second, Jeremiah 23 verse 5. 202 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:38,080 Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise 203 00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:44,000 up for David a righteous branch, and he shall reign as king and 204 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:49,560 deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the 205 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:52,560 land. In his days Judah will be saved 206 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:58,520 and Israel will be secure. And this is the name by which he 207 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:02,240 will be called. The Lord is our righteousness. 208 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:07,120 So Jeremiah stresses that when the son of David comes, he'll be 209 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:09,680 righteous. He will fulfill the conditions 210 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,000 of the covenant, and then Isaiah. 211 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:18,640 Now Isaiah is a special case. This was a this is the gospel 212 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:21,280 writer of the Old Testament, if there ever was one, because 213 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:27,760 Isaiah saw that if the covenant was going to be certainly 214 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:30,920 fulfilled, God would have to fulfill it. 215 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:36,400 And therefore Isaiah teaches that the Son of David will be 216 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:42,680 Mighty God, Everlasting Father. It says in Isaiah 9, verse six 217 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:46,760 For unto us a child is born, and to us a son is given, and the 218 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:49,720 government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be 219 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:57,080 called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, 220 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:00,800 Prince of Peace. And now listen how he links that 221 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:05,160 in with the Davidic Covenant, and of the increase of his 222 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:09,720 government, and of peace. There will be no end upon the 223 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:14,680 throne of David over his Kingdom to establish it and uphold it 224 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:18,040 with justice and with righteousness. 225 00:17:18,359 --> 00:17:24,560 From this time forth and forevermore God himself in the 226 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:30,680 Son of David will fulfill the conditions of the covenant and 227 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:34,000 establish the Kingdom. In no other way could it be 228 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:37,520 certain We can learn a lesson from this every time you read 229 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:40,960 about a covenant in the Old Testament that looks conditional 230 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:45,480 and yet looks certain because God has promised it No. 231 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:52,160 For a surety God will fulfill the condition somehow in some 232 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:57,120 way. Now when the Angel comes to 233 00:17:57,120 --> 00:18:04,960 Gabriel and says to Gabriel, or when the Angel Gabriel comes to 234 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:11,360 Mary and says to her, Luke 1 Behold, you will conceive in 235 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:15,640 your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 236 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:20,840 He will bear, He will be great, and will be called the Son of 237 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:24,600 the Most High. The Lord will give to him the 238 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:30,440 throne of his father David, and he will reign over the House of 239 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:36,000 Jacob Forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end. 240 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:42,080 We can conclude with surety that the Bible teaches that Jesus 241 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:49,000 Christ is the hoped for and promised son of David, the 242 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:52,520 descendant of David, who would rule and fulfill the covenant 243 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:56,640 with this great king. He is son of David, and as Jesus 244 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:02,400 said, Lord of David. And today he rules on the throne 245 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:08,000 of David in heaven until he puts all enemies under his feet, and 246 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:11,720 he rules now over a true Israel, the church. 247 00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:15,960 Now the question has to be raised here. 248 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,000 What does all that have to do with us? 249 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:25,120 I mean, it is quite Jewish and we are quite gentile and distant 250 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:29,960 in America from all that. Isn't the covenant with David 251 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:32,000 only relevant for the nation Israel? 252 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:34,760 Isn't it going to be fulfilled simply in the millennial Kingdom 253 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:40,600 when he sits on his throne and rules over the renewed people of 254 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:46,160 Israel? No, that is not the limitation 255 00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:49,280 of the New Testament teaching of the Davidic covenant. 256 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:56,760 The reign of Jesus Christ as the King of David in the world today 257 00:19:56,760 --> 00:20:00,160 has very much to do with you this morning and me. 258 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:04,800 And I want to try to show you mainly from Acts 15 that this is 259 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:07,640 so. So turn with me to Acts chapter 260 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:13,560 15 verses 14 to 18. You remember? 261 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:21,600 The Jerusalem Council, all the big wheels gathered in Jerusalem 262 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:26,800 around 48 AD. The Apostles, the elders, the 263 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:30,840 people, to discuss a tremendously important issue, 264 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:33,880 namely, do you have to be a Jew to get saved? 265 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:38,080 Or more specifically, do you have to get circumcised in order 266 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:41,400 to belong to the people of God? To whom belong the promises? 267 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:46,960 Huge question, because the apostles saw themselves as heirs 268 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:50,080 of the Old Testament promises. The Messiah had come, He had 269 00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:53,200 died for the sins of Israel. He had risen, reigns. 270 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:56,600 Now on the king, on the throne of David in heaven, will come 271 00:20:56,600 --> 00:21:00,000 again to set up his established rule over Israel. 272 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:05,320 What's all that got to do with the nations with you in America 273 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:11,200 20 centuries later? Everything according to this 274 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:16,320 Council meeting, First of all, Peter gives his testimony in 275 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:20,080 verse 8 and says, look, the Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius and the 276 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:22,600 Gentiles when I was preaching. So we've got to accept them. 277 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,040 And then Paul and Barnabas give their testimony and they say, 278 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:29,520 look, we've been preaching throughout Asia Minor and we get 279 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:32,120 kicked out of synagogues and get welcomed by Gentiles. 280 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:36,680 We've got to accept them. And then James, the most 281 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:43,400 conservative Jewish exclusivist among them, gives the death blow 282 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:47,880 to Jewish exclusivism, and he gives it with the Davidic 283 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:53,600 Covenant. Look at verses 14 to 18 of Acts 284 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:58,240 15. James says, Simeon. 285 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:02,000 That is, Peter has related how God first visited the Gentiles 286 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,840 to take out of them a people for his name, and then he brings the 287 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:11,680 Old Testament guns to bear. And with this the words of the 288 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:17,440 prophets agree as it is written. And then he quotes Amos 9, verse 289 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:24,960 11, which says, after this I will return and I will build the 290 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:29,320 dwelling of David which is fallen. 291 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:36,440 I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up that the rest of 292 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:41,120 men may seek the Lord. That's you, 20th century 293 00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:46,840 American Gentiles, that the rest of men may seek the Lord and all 294 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:50,680 the Gentiles who are called by my name. 295 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:55,760 Now do you see what that means? That means that when God said to 296 00:22:55,760 --> 00:23:01,080 David in his job description back in Second Samuel 7, your 297 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:06,920 house and your Kingdom shall be made sure before me forever he 298 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:12,920 had in view a house and a Kingdom vastly greater than the 299 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:16,400 Jewish nation, vastly greater than Israel. 300 00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:21,000 The reason the Davidic Covenant is relevant for 20th century 301 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:26,000 American Gentiles is because God's job description which 302 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:31,000 revealed to David, which he revealed to David, included not 303 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:34,280 just the responsibility to establish a righteous ruler over 304 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:37,720 Israel, but to establish that same righteous ruler over the 305 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:41,880 church and over the world. And he reigns today on the 306 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:48,200 throne of David in heaven, over the church and over the world as 307 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:53,800 our King and our Lord. Isaiah, you remember, said of 308 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:56,800 the increase of his government and of peace. 309 00:23:56,920 --> 00:24:02,040 There will be no end. This King of David is not going 310 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:05,240 to rule over Israel only. He's going to rule over 311 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:08,080 everything that can be ruled over. 312 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:12,440 Or Revelation Chapter 11, verse 15. 313 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:17,920 The Angel says the Kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom 314 00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:23,920 of our Lord and of His Christ and he shall reign forever and 315 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:27,600 ever. When God has completed all the 316 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:31,560 responsibilities in his job description, the House of David 317 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:38,200 will be planet earth, and the subjects of the King will not 318 00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:41,600 just be Jews, but people from every tongue and tribe and 319 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:43,800 nation. Now here's what that implies for 320 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:47,680 us. First of all, the mission of the 321 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:52,320 Church today is to submit ourselves to the Son of David, 322 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:56,600 who now rules invisibly from heaven until he puts every enemy 323 00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:59,640 under his feet. We have a king, and it isn't 324 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:05,440 Reagan or any sovereign on the face of this earth. 325 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:11,800 It is Christ the Lord who sits enthroned at the Father's right 326 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:16,160 hand, and not long hence will leave that throne to establish 327 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:20,760 it on the earth. Second, our mission is to 328 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:25,040 announce the good news to people in every neighborhood and in 329 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:29,480 every nation, that they can be happy subjects of this Kingdom 330 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:33,200 forever and ever, if they will forsake the allegiance to the 331 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:36,720 Kingdom of this world and swear allegiance to the Kingdom of 332 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:41,680 Christ. Or to put it another way, 333 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:50,680 personal holiness means learning new attitudes and patterns of a 334 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:56,400 new Kingdom, new attitudes, new emotions, new thoughts, new ways 335 00:25:56,400 --> 00:26:00,480 of acting under a new king and in a new Kingdom, new customs, 336 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:07,640 as it were in a foreign land. And personal evangelism means 337 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:13,080 telling people that the rightful king of the world, against whom 338 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:21,560 they are in rebellion, is willing to grant amnesty to all 339 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:23,560 who return and live under his rule. 340 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:29,560 Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the eternal king of the world, 341 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:34,880 is coming again. He is going to rule every human 342 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:40,040 being, whether unwillingly in hell or willingly in the king. 343 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:49,840 And evangelism is simply telling people there is full, free, 344 00:26:50,360 --> 00:26:59,280 universal amnesty. Come home before it's too late. 345 00:27:01,120 --> 00:27:04,880 And I close with an invitation and it isn't mine, it's God's. 346 00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:08,320 And it's so important I invite you to look at it with me. 347 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:15,760 It's in Isaiah chapter 55, an invitation issued to everybody 348 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:21,720 with empty hands and a hungry heart. 349 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:25,040 And I don't think there's a person in this room whose heart 350 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:30,800 is not hungry for God. Nobody is here who doesn't have 351 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:34,920 longings that are unsatisfied by this world at Christmas time. 352 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:41,240 So this is for you the point of the invitation in Isaiah 55. 353 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:46,800 One to three is that the very sovereignty and wisdom and love 354 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:51,640 of God that assured David of an eternal Kingdom, assures you of 355 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:54,040 God's eternal kindness as part of that Kingdom. 356 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:59,800 Listen to these great words. Ho, everyone who thirsts come to 357 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:04,400 the waters, and he who has no money come by and eat. 358 00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:08,320 Come buy wine and milk, without money and without price. 359 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:11,040 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and 360 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:13,560 your labor for that which does not satisfy? 361 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:17,880 Hearken diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight 362 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:20,960 yourselves in fatness. Incline your ear and come to me. 363 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:26,840 Hear that your soul may live, and then look at this, and I 364 00:28:27,360 --> 00:28:31,880 will make with you an everlasting covenant. 365 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:40,720 What covenant? My steadfast, sure love for 366 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:44,120 David. You see what that means? 367 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:50,400 That means that if you come to God, hungry and empty handed, 368 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:59,240 you will be David to him. Everything he has to offer David 369 00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:05,520 with all the love, power and assurance he offers to you to be 370 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:13,800 God to you, or to put it in closing, like this, there is a 371 00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:18,800 job description that God will write for every single 372 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:24,000 individual in this room, and in that job description he commits 373 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:29,280 himself to the responsibility of working everything together for 374 00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:34,840 your good. He will be God to you, and all 375 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:40,480 the certainty that we see in the covenant of David, guaranteed by 376 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:45,320 the coming of God himself in Jesus Christ, guarantees that 377 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:48,520 Job description will be fulfilled for you. 378 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:55,160 He will give it to you as an eternal covenant, signed in His 379 00:29:55,160 --> 00:30:01,000 blood, never to turn away from doing you good. 380 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:10,560 And so I invite you to come and adore this Lord with that great 381 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:13,320 hymn. O Come All Ye Faithful, let's 382 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:16,920 sing just the first verse of O Come All Ye Faithful. 383 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:22,840 It's hymn #193. And let's remind ourselves, as 384 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:25,280 the verse says, that he is the king of angels. 385 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:29,520 And if of angels, how much more of us, and ultimately of the 386 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:32,280 whole world shall we stand together?