1 00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:03,840 You're listening to the Bridgetown Church Podcast with 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:06,840 Pastor Chris Ochoa, where our vision is Jesus, our mission is 3 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:09,760 people, and our cause is love. Thanks for tuning in. 4 00:00:10,040 --> 00:00:13,600 Let's dive in. As I begin, I have a question 5 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:16,160 for you guys. Do you guys have a favorite 6 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:19,520 Bible verse? Maybe you have it tattooed on 7 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:25,560 your body in Hebrew or Greek? Maybe you have a favorite Bible 8 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:30,320 story, a narrative that you go back to over and over and over 9 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:33,400 again during rough seasons of your life for encouragement. 10 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:36,280 Do you have a favorite Bible verse? 11 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:41,400 We do, some of us. Maybe it's the classic John 316 12 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:44,480 For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son. 13 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:47,320 Maybe for some of us it's Philippians 413. 14 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:49,880 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 15 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,360 That tends to be the athlete's favorite scripture, right? 16 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:58,200 Maybe it's Jeremiah 2911. I know the plans I have for you, 17 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:01,000 says the Lord. The plans for good of you, to 18 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:02,720 give you a future and a hope. Not for evil. 19 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:07,600 Something memorable, a Bible story that you cling to, 20 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:10,760 something that anchors your soul through pivotal seasons in your 21 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:13,400 life. We all have these scriptures in 22 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,960 our minds. It's interesting that none of us 23 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:20,560 have Second Samuel Chapter 7 on our list. 24 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:24,560 You're probably not even thinking about it, and that's 25 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:27,840 OK, because honestly, at first glance, it's not on my list 26 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:29,360 either. It's not high on my list, but it 27 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,560 should be. And my hope after today is to 28 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:36,080 persuade you to put this passage on your list. 29 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:42,360 This passage is a crucial, crucial passage to the whole of 30 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,840 Scripture. Today is a turning point in the 31 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:49,080 Old Testament narrative and in the Scripture as a whole. 32 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:54,880 This is foundational. I will even go so far as to say 33 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:57,960 that you cannot understand the rest of the storyline of the 34 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:01,400 Bible without understanding Second Samuel Chapter 7. 35 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:05,240 Lest you think I'm overselling this, listen to this Bible 36 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:07,040 scholar talk about Second Samuel 7. 37 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:11,240 When talking about Second Samuel Chapter 7, he says the dramatic 38 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:15,560 and theological center of the entire Samuel corpus is Chapter 39 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:20,960 7, and in fact the most crucial theological statement in all of 40 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:23,000 the Old Testament. It's today. 41 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:28,680 What we have here is a around 200 word monologue. 42 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:34,480 God is monologuing to David just a series of promises, promises, 43 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:35,880 promises, over and over and over again. 44 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:40,640 The only other monologue that's this long is when God is talking 45 00:02:40,640 --> 00:02:46,040 to Moses on Mount Sinai, giving him the law in the book of 46 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:49,520 Exodus. That's the level of Second 47 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:52,680 Samuel Chapter 7. Today we're going to study the 48 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:55,680 Davidic covenant, God's promise to David. 49 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,000 What this is, it's a series of promises that God gives to King 50 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:03,120 David concerning his future family, a future dynasty. 51 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:07,400 These promises are going to set the tone, set the expectation 52 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:12,240 throughout the rest of Scripture for a coming future king that 53 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:13,920 would descend from David's family. 54 00:03:14,640 --> 00:03:19,360 This king would establish a Kingdom of all nations, and it 55 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:24,000 would never, ever end. This chapter is going to provide 56 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:29,200 the outline or the profile of evil of who the eventual Messiah 57 00:03:29,640 --> 00:03:32,680 is supposed to be. It stems from this chapter here. 58 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:35,320 This is huge. So with that being said, we're 59 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:37,160 actually going to study this chapter in two parts. 60 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:38,480 We're going to take our time with this. 61 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,160 We're going to do 2 weeks in Second Samuel, Chapter 7. 62 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:43,920 Today's Part 1. We're going to study God's 63 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,240 relation to this covenant, God's relation to this promise. 64 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,640 Next week we're going to discuss, we're going to study 65 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:53,760 David's response to all these promises. 66 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:57,640 How does David feel about what's being told to him in here in 67 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,440 this chapter, Chapter 7? So a quick recap. 68 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:04,080 Where are we? Israel is experiencing a time of 69 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:05,960 peace and joy like they've never had before. 70 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:08,960 All of their enemies have been subdued and cut off. 71 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:10,760 David has been installed as king. 72 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:14,960 All 12 tribes are united. Remember last week, the Ark of 73 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:18,440 the Covenant, the Ark of God has moved into its center, the 74 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:20,720 center of Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. 75 00:04:21,079 --> 00:04:25,440 Now the presence of God resides in the heart of the Holy Land, 76 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:27,440 in the heart of Israel, in Jerusalem. 77 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:35,200 Yet that Ark of God is residing in a tent, in a tent that sets 78 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:40,360 up our story today. So let's get to it, verse one. 79 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:43,280 Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him 80 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:46,280 rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan 81 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:50,880 the prophet, see, now I dwell in the House of cedar, but the ark 82 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:53,440 of God dwells in a tent. Verse 3. 83 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:57,280 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in your heart, 84 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:01,000 for the Lord is with you. So in a time of peace and with 85 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,720 his enemies subdued, David turns his focus to the internal 86 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,160 affairs of the Kingdom, the eternal affairs of Jerusalem. 87 00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:10,640 The first thing pressing on his heart, it's weighing heavy on 88 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:14,400 his heart, is to build a permanent dwelling for the ark 89 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,560 of God. He consults the prophet Nathan 90 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:23,760 and asks how can IA human live in a palace but God the Holy 1 91 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:27,000 is out there living in a tent. It just doesn't make any sense 92 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:30,440 to me, Nathan. Nathan responds, and he readily 93 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:34,000 endorses David's desire. He says, Yep, awesome, I'm with 94 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,640 you on that 100%. Let's build God a dwelling. 95 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:41,120 So who in the world is Nathan the prophet? 96 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:45,360 He kind of shows up randomly here in Chapter 7. 97 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:48,320 Who is Nathan? Well, he serves in David's 98 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:52,040 cabinet as an administrator. He's a counselor and advisor to 99 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:54,720 King David. So in First and Second 100 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:56,640 Chronicles, we actually have hints. 101 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:58,520 You can go read this, study this on your own time. 102 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,560 In First and Second Chronicles, we have hints that Nathan, he's 103 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,440 actually the chronicler. He's the one authoring First and 104 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:07,120 second Samuel. It wasn't Samuel because you 105 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:10,000 think about it, Samuel's dead. Somebody has to write this 106 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:10,880 stuff. Who's writing it? 107 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:16,000 It's most likely Nathan. Nathan is the time keeper, 108 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:18,920 keeping the the meeting notes, if you will, in David's court. 109 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:22,320 First and Second Chronicles hints that Nathan is possibly 110 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:23,800 the author of First and Second Samuel. 111 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:27,440 He's actually a prophet as well, commissioned by God. 112 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:31,680 Now, what the role of a prophet is, is they are the mouthpiece 113 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:34,640 of God, the mouthpiece of Yahweh to the king. 114 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:37,320 Whatever God wants the king to hear. 115 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:40,480 God would raise up prophets to speak on his behalf. 116 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,760 So as he speaks and advises David, he's actually carrying 117 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:48,160 the very words of God. And that's a weighty, weighty 118 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:49,480 thing. That's a scary thing. 119 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,240 Remember last week in Second Samuel chapter 6, we talked 120 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:56,960 about God's nature being holy and about it being glorious. 121 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:01,640 That term in Hebrew, glory means wait, something weighty. 122 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:05,200 When you're in the presence of God, it's just like a burden. 123 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:07,760 It's like a weight on you. This is why all the prophets 124 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:12,200 that are commissioned by Yahweh to go carry his message, when 125 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,080 they are in his presence, they lie prostate face down because 126 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:16,720 it's weighty to be in His presence. 127 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:19,880 Nathan is a prophet commissioned by God. 128 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:24,840 It's interesting. Verse 4 there picks up a it 129 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:27,240 picks up an ironic and funny little line here. 130 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:32,680 Verse 4 says that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan. 131 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:35,640 That same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan. 132 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:40,320 What had happened here was Nathan had spoken in haste and 133 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:42,520 give it David given David counsel. 134 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:44,920 That was not what God had intended. 135 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:50,080 So David says, Nathan, look, look at this situation. 136 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:52,680 I'm here living in this beautiful palace made of cedar. 137 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:56,000 God's presence, the holy presence of God is living in a 138 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:57,160 town. We got to do something about 139 00:07:57,160 --> 00:07:58,600 this. Nathan says, yeah, yeah, dude, 140 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:03,320 awesome stamp of approval. God loves that God, says Nathan. 141 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:08,040 Not so fast, man, Not so fast. Did you even consult me giving 142 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:11,160 that word to David? So later on that same night, God 143 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:13,400 needs to correct the counsel of Nathan. 144 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:16,800 He says not so fast, Nathan. You see, what happened was 145 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:21,240 Nathan the prophet was hasty to agree with King David without 146 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:25,240 consulting God first. Though his intentions were in 147 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:29,440 the right place. Nathan had presumptuously spoken 148 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:32,760 on behalf of God. God has a different plan in 149 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:36,559 mind. Now, have you ever said the 150 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:41,000 right thing at the wrong time? Join the club. 151 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:46,400 Or worse, maybe you've said the wrong thing at the wrong time. 152 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:50,440 You've all been there. Maybe you've brashly given out 153 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:54,040 seemingly good advice, but in a haste, somebody puts you on the 154 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:55,520 spot. Hey, what do you think about 155 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:57,560 doing this? Yeah, yeah, yeah. 156 00:08:57,840 --> 00:08:58,560 Go, go. Do. 157 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:01,560 That's kind of what happened with Nathan King. 158 00:09:01,560 --> 00:09:03,520 David the King. Hey, I need your counsel real 159 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:05,360 quick. Do you think I should do this? 160 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:08,600 Nathan thinks to himself. Seems right. 161 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:09,200 Yeah. Go ahead. 162 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:12,160 Go ahead, do it. We have those moments in our 163 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:15,240 lives where we give counsel to somebody else that probably, 164 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:17,720 that was probably not the wisest thing we should have said to 165 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:20,080 them. And so later on that night, your 166 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:22,400 head hits the pillow as you're going to sleep, and the 167 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:24,360 inevitable thought crosses your mind. 168 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:28,680 Gosh, why did I say that? I should have said something 169 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:33,560 else that probably wasn't wise. This happens in our lives so 170 00:09:33,560 --> 00:09:38,600 often, and it's OK. As Christians, we are called to 171 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:41,320 exhort and counsel one another. As a body of believers, this is 172 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:44,600 what God has called us to do, to exhort and counsel one another. 173 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,200 Inevitably though, we will get it wrong. 174 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:52,080 Sometimes you and I will give out advice, counsel that maybe 175 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:54,440 isn't in the right place. Maybe it's more of us speaking, 176 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:58,440 not necessarily the Lord. Maybe it's more of our thoughts 177 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:02,480 and not necessarily the Word. We are fallible and perfect 178 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:04,880 people after all. But that doesn't mean we stop 179 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:08,280 giving counsel. We will be we will fail you, 180 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:10,560 especially your leadership here at Bridgetown. 181 00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:16,040 I am but a man and it's been quoted that the even the best of 182 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:20,720 men are men at best. All of us from time to time get 183 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:22,080 it wrong with our counsel and advice. 184 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:25,480 James chapter 3 verse 2 the book of James. 185 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:29,640 James writes this for we all stumble in many ways and if 186 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:35,320 anyone does not stumble in what he says, he's a perfect man able 187 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:39,000 to also rattle his whole body. James is making an ironic 188 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:41,960 statement saying if you don't say the wrong things sometimes 189 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:45,320 you're perfect. You're the one exception because 190 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:47,600 the rest of us say the wrong thing all the time. 191 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:52,040 James leaves room for humility. Now the difference between a 192 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:56,880 Christian and a non Christian should be humility. 193 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:02,920 Humility, admitting we were wrong, confessing and repenting, 194 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:06,320 admitting we got it wrong. Hey, hey, my friend, let let me 195 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:08,920 correct what I said earlier. I'm sorry I gave you I gave you 196 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:10,960 a bad counsel. You know, I thought about it. 197 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:13,320 I searched the word and and I probably should have told you 198 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:15,440 something else. Would you forgive me for that? 199 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:19,560 That's the posture of of the Christian and humility, 200 00:11:20,560 --> 00:11:23,320 proclaiming the word of God. Get this straight, proclaiming 201 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:26,920 the word of God, what I'm doing up here, what you guys do to 202 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:28,480 each other in each other's lives. 203 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:31,040 Proclaiming and speaking the word of God into each other's 204 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:36,240 lives is a heavy task because the word is holy. 205 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:39,640 And when we say be careful, when we say, I feel like the Lord is 206 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:42,280 telling me to do this right now. Just be careful. 207 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:46,680 You need to make sure it's him because you're speaking on His 208 00:11:46,680 --> 00:11:51,280 behalf and you can really speak into somebody's life and either 209 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:57,080 build them up or tear them down. Our words should be His words. 210 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:00,720 It's a scary task, my friends, but it must be done. 211 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:05,160 This is what the church does. We encourage, we exhort, we 212 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:10,120 rebuke, we build up for the sake of the body, for the sake of our 213 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:12,240 faith in Jesus Christ. It must be done. 214 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:14,240 Don't shy away from encouraging one another with the Word of 215 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:17,560 God. So Nathan gives Davidson vowed 216 00:12:17,560 --> 00:12:20,600 counsel. Later on that night God speaks 217 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:22,280 to him and says, hey, not not so fascinating. 218 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:23,560 I have a different message for Nathan. 219 00:12:23,560 --> 00:12:24,640 Thank you. Your heart was in the right 220 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:27,440 place, but here's the message I really need you to give to him. 221 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:32,640 So verse 5 picks up. God says to Nathan, go and tell 222 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:35,800 my servant David. Thus says the Lord would you 223 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:39,760 build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house 224 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,560 since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to 225 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:45,240 this day. But I have been moving about in 226 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:48,600 a tent for my dwelling and all the places where I have moved 227 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:51,400 with all the people of Israel. Did I speak a word with any of 228 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:54,520 the judges of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people 229 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:57,800 Israel saying, why have you not built me a House of cedar? 230 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:03,560 Here God redirects the desire of his servant David. 231 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:09,960 He asked a rhetorical question. God asks David, you're trying to 232 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:13,600 build me a house out of out of wood. 233 00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:20,320 Really, David, have I come ever complained to you about my lack 234 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:26,480 of accommodations? David, don't you remember who I 235 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:32,120 am? You see, God reorients David's 236 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:36,200 vision and he invites David to have a grander vision of who he 237 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:41,320 is and the role that God, God has called David to play in his 238 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:43,760 plan. The first thing I want you to 239 00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:48,320 notice, in God's response to David, he calls David my 240 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:52,240 servant, my servant. David, I want you to note the 241 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:55,760 tenderness of God, the relationality between God and 242 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:59,880 David. He loves David, he loves David. 243 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,360 This is a term of endearment and loyalty, relationality. 244 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:06,880 He calls David my servant. He does my will, He does what I 245 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:10,280 ask. Unlike Saul before him, he 246 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:15,520 follows my words. The only other time before this 247 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:20,520 where God calls somebody his servant, it's used of Moses, my 248 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:24,760 servant Moses. David is now getting called by 249 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:29,680 the same term, my servant David. This will then this phrase, my 250 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:34,280 servant David will become the standard for Israel and judges 251 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:36,920 future kings down the line. You'll see this repeated in the 252 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:39,880 prophets, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah. 253 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:43,840 You'll see these lists of kings who either do something good or 254 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:45,760 do something bad. And there's this repeated 255 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:49,720 refrain that king so and so did not walk in the way of my 256 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:53,680 servant David, or that king did walk in the way of my servant 257 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:56,840 David. He becomes the standard by which 258 00:14:57,280 --> 00:14:59,200 all of Israel's kings are then judged. 259 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:02,800 My servant David, I want you to note the tenderness of God to 260 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:04,920 him. He's not rebuking David. 261 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:07,280 He goes, oh, David, David, I know your heart. 262 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:12,680 I know you want to build me a house, but let me show you who I 263 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:14,520 am. Let let me redirect the plans I 264 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:19,440 have for you. So God in a house, just think 265 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:21,960 about that. God calls David to your grander 266 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:25,680 vision of who he is. Do you remember last week, 267 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:29,720 Chapter 6, the the saga with Uzza in the ark? 268 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:32,960 As the ark was moving, they moved on the cart when they 269 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:35,560 weren't supposed to. The ark is about to tip over and 270 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:37,880 fall because the oxen that are pulling the cart stumbled. 271 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:43,320 Uzza, one of the priests, in a haste, goes to touch the ark to 272 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,080 save it from falling over. Immediately. 273 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:49,160 He's dead. Why? 274 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:53,360 Because he, an unholy person, just entered sacred space, the 275 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:56,560 sacred space of a holy God, and he's killed instantly. 276 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:03,000 You remember that the Ark of God didn't need protection. 277 00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:06,920 The ark of God, the presence of God didn't need protection. 278 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:11,640 Rather Israel and all of humanity needed protection from 279 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:14,400 the ark. The ark can take care of itself. 280 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:15,960 The presence of God can take care of itself. 281 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:20,200 Remember the theme of holiness, David, you say what? 282 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:22,520 Why is why is my God sitting in a tent? 283 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:26,960 God says, let me, let me tell you who I am. 284 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,600 Now I'm going to spoil a little bit of the story because we 285 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:35,400 won't get there soon, maybe 1-1 day down the line. 286 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:41,440 But First Kings chapter 6 and eight, I'm spoiling the story a 287 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:44,200 little bit. David is going to have a son 288 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:47,240 named Solomon. David is David's son. 289 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:48,880 Solomon is going to build the temple. 290 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:51,120 He's going to build a dwelling for the presence of God. 291 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:54,480 Now here's an interesting thing, you can read this, read about 292 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:58,600 this dedication of the temple in First Kings chapter 6 through 8. 293 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:02,120 Here's an interesting thing. When Solomon builds the temple 294 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:09,839 and dedicates it, he does a 7 day celebration of dedication 295 00:17:09,839 --> 00:17:11,480 for the temple and it lasts 7 days. 296 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:14,480 So they build the temple and there's a seven day dedication 297 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:17,680 week. On that final day, the ark of 298 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:21,880 God comes and rests and it dwells in the temple and it says 299 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:24,680 the temple is filled with his glory, God. 300 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:27,640 On the final day, the ark of God, the presence of God comes 301 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:31,040 to rest in the temple. Here's the interesting thing. 302 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:35,720 Why 7 days, Solomon? Why 7 day? 303 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:38,080 A7 day celebration for the dedication of the temple. 304 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:45,640 What else is 7 days creation? You see what Solomon's doing 305 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:46,840 here? It's he's marrying. 306 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:49,360 Creation week. Creation week. 307 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:51,400 Now let's go back to the creation narrative. 308 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:54,480 Genesis chapter 1 and 2. There's a seven day creation 309 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:59,040 cycle, 6 days of activity, and then one day of rest, the 310 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:01,960 Sabbath where God rests, where God looks at everything and says 311 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:07,000 it is good. What that day of rests means. 312 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:10,400 When God rests, it's he's pleased with His creation. 313 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:14,240 He settles in and He begins to rule. 314 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:17,680 Creation is then filled with His glory. 315 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:20,760 Do you see what's happening here at the correlation? 316 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:22,400 Here is the payoff. Here's the correlation. 317 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:26,920 Like the temple taking a seven day dedication week. 318 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:30,600 The creation narrative is a 7 day dedication week, if you 319 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:32,960 will. What the scriptures are saying 320 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:38,320 is there's a correlation. All of creation is God's temple, 321 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:43,360 All of it. He reigns over everything and 322 00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:45,320 the creation is full of His glory. 323 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:50,760 First Kings chapter 8, verse 27 in his prayer of dedication, 324 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:55,160 Solomon says this. But God will you indeed dwell on 325 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:58,120 the earth. Behold, heaven, and the highest 326 00:18:58,120 --> 00:19:01,280 heaven cannot contain you. How much less this house I've 327 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,880 built. David, don't you see? 328 00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:08,120 You're over here like the presence of God is in a tent, 329 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:12,040 David says. Oh, God says to David, David, 330 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:15,640 everything. You see the wood that built your 331 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:18,640 palace, I own that. That's mine. 332 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:20,480 I've never once complained about my lodging. 333 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:25,120 He calls David to a grander vision of who he is. 334 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:27,480 The earth is filled with his glory. 335 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:33,360 All creation is his. Now what I want to call you to 336 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:37,000 Bridgetown Church. I want to call you to a grander 337 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,880 vision as well. A grander vision of who God is 338 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:44,920 and what He wants to do with us. His church here at Bridgetown. 339 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:48,400 I want a grander vision of Bridgetown. 340 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:52,240 Admittedly, right now we are a church in transition. 341 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:54,520 It's been an interesting couple months. 342 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:55,360 Is it? Has it not been? 343 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:02,080 Now a question I have for you. Do we believe that Bridgetown's 344 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:05,800 best days are still ahead of us? Amen. 345 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:11,320 Or do we find ourselves looking back at the church's past in 346 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:16,880 fondness saying those were the days if we could just go back to 347 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:18,560 that, everything would be perfect. 348 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:24,280 Bridgetown, I want to call you to grasp of the bigger vision of 349 00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:26,840 what God wants to do with your life and with Bridgetown Church 350 00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:29,440 here. He has a role for you to play 351 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:32,560 here. He loves you so much and He's 352 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:36,520 called you in some way to worship here, to receive from 353 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:38,920 him, from him here, to serve here. 354 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:41,680 We have many opportunities to serve here. 355 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:44,080 He's not yet done with this church. 356 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:49,280 So no moping, no moping about the past. 357 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:54,560 We pressed on for the future. We must have hope that God still 358 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:57,920 has future grace yet to pour out in our lives as a church. 359 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:02,760 So we want to move together with a grander vision of who God is 360 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:06,360 and have an expectation of wonderful things from him for 361 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:09,560 this church. He is the faithful promise 362 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:11,120 keeping God. And that's what the Davidic 363 00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:14,640 Covenant is all about, the faithfulness of God, the promise 364 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:16,880 keeping God. This is what he does. 365 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:20,440 He promises things and he brings it to pass Why? 366 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:23,480 Just because he does? That's what he does. 367 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:28,880 Let's move on to the actual body of the Davidic Covenant. 368 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:33,600 Verse 8. God continues in his monologue. 369 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:38,080 Now therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, thus 370 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:41,920 says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from 371 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:45,120 following the sheep, that you should be Prince over my people 372 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:46,920 Israel. And I have been with you 373 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:50,200 wherever you went, and I've cut off all your enemies from before 374 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:52,400 you. And I will make for you a great 375 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:55,840 name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 376 00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,520 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and I will 377 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:02,960 plant them so that they may dwell in our own place and be 378 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:06,440 disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict 379 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:09,360 them no more, as formerly, from the time that I have haunted 380 00:22:09,360 --> 00:22:13,000 judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from 381 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,000 all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to 382 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:20,320 you that the Lord will make you a house and will stop there. 383 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:23,960 Right now. God reminds David of his 384 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:29,120 faithfulness in David's life. You see, David's whole life from 385 00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:32,200 the sheep fields to the throne room has been providentially 386 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:35,080 ordered and provided by the will of God. 387 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:40,200 God then begins to make a series of promises to David that God 388 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:44,880 himself will fulfill. This is called the Davidic 389 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:48,720 Covenant. This is an important text of 390 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:50,520 Scripture. Again, like I said in the 391 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:54,960 beginning, this text, these sets of promises change the shape, 392 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:57,960 change the way that we interpret the rest of Scripture. 393 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:01,120 The storyline now revolves around these promises. 394 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:05,240 How is God going to be faithful to these promises that he's 395 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:07,760 making to David? He puts his name at stake. 396 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:10,760 How does he do that? So first, let's back up a bit. 397 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:13,120 This word covenant, what does that mean? 398 00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:15,760 It's a theologically loaded term covenant. 399 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:20,240 Really all it is. It's the Lexan Bible Dictionary 400 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:24,800 describes it this way. It's a sacred kinship bond 401 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:28,160 between two parties ratified by swearing an oath. 402 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:34,640 An oath is a promise and more. It encompasses one's entire 403 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:39,360 life, and two are bound together by certain stipulations. 404 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:42,080 So what is a covenant? It's a promise between two 405 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:46,440 parties where something is put at stake, where two parties are 406 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:49,000 not just speaking these promises, but they're putting 407 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:52,000 something on the line to fulfill this oath. 408 00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:55,960 Essentially, something valuable is put at stake in this 409 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:59,760 agreement. An example of a covenant is 410 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:02,000 marriage. Marriage is a covenant. 411 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:04,720 It's a covenant between a biological man and a woman 412 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:07,840 before God and all the wedding attendees. 413 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,120 When you go to a wedding, you're not just there to observe and 414 00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:16,080 go, oh, it's so beautiful. What you're doing is you're 415 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:19,000 holding them accountable. You're holding the man and the 416 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,720 woman accountable. You made a commitment in front 417 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:24,640 of God, in front of all everybody here that you're going 418 00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:28,440 to be faithful to one another in sickness and in health until 419 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:32,600 death do you part. Marriage is an example of a 420 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:35,360 covenant. Now, covenants during this time 421 00:24:35,360 --> 00:24:37,720 in the ancient year E, they were typically made between two 422 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:42,240 parties in the presence of a divine deity, much like the 423 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:46,440 wedding attendees are the witness to the marriage. 424 00:24:47,120 --> 00:24:50,240 Two parties in the ancient year E would make a covenant, and the 425 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:53,080 Witness would be their divine God, whoever that is. 426 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:56,360 There's specific parts to this covenant. 427 00:24:56,360 --> 00:24:59,480 There's the preamble. The preamble is all right. 428 00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:02,360 Who are the two parties who's making this covenant, right? 429 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:06,240 There's a prologue. A prologue is the history of 430 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:08,480 what's happened. You think about any good 431 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:12,440 wedding, they tell the story about how they met, how they 432 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:16,080 came to be, what the engagement was like, how they got here. 433 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:18,480 That's a prologue. Then there's certain 434 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:22,600 stipulations. Do you promise to be faithful to 435 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:25,360 one another? Do you promise to be there for 436 00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:27,560 one another? Certain stipulations. 437 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:30,160 And then afterwards, part of the covenant, there's there's 438 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:32,040 blessings and then there's curses. 439 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:39,240 Blessings and curses. Israel is unique among the 440 00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:40,880 ancient near recent cultures. Here's why. 441 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:48,200 Because God himself, the divine deity, is the one that 442 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:49,880 establishes covenants with people. 443 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:54,120 Usually the two parties are humans, like kings. 444 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:57,440 Usually it's a conquering king and the king that's conquered 445 00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:00,400 the conquering king says I won't destroy you. 446 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,040 If you make a covenant with me, you're going to bring me all 447 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:05,000 your tribute. OK, OK, I got it. 448 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:08,440 I got it. Usually it's 2 human partners in 449 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:09,720 the presence of the divine deity. 450 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:14,840 Israel's unique What happens when that divine deity himself 451 00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:19,120 makes a covenant with humanity? It's different. 452 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,440 He binds himself with humanity through these promises. 453 00:26:25,360 --> 00:26:32,240 People often say I swear by heaven and earth, or I swear to 454 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:35,200 God. Think about it, though. 455 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:40,920 If God, the divine deity, is the one making covenants, who does 456 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:45,800 God swear by? I swear by myself. 457 00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:50,920 We get a hint. Hebrews chapter 6, verse 13. 458 00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:55,280 Listen to this. For when God made a promise to 459 00:26:55,280 --> 00:27:00,280 Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he 460 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:05,320 swore by himself, surely, saying, I will bless you and 461 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:08,480 multiply you. And thus Abraham, having 462 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:10,400 patiently waited, obtained the promise. 463 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:14,040 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in 464 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:16,640 all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 465 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:21,520 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the 466 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:26,680 promise His unchangeable character of His purpose, He 467 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:30,720 guaranteed it with an oath. So that by two unchangeable 468 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:36,120 things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled 469 00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:39,880 for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to 470 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:43,240 the hope set before us. Do you hear what Hebrews is 471 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:45,520 saying? When God makes a covenant with 472 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:47,960 somebody, when he makes a promise, He puts his character 473 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:53,600 on the line, who I am. That's why chapter 6 last week 474 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:58,000 we talked about God's holiness. That's his divine nature. 475 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:01,680 Everything else originates from that stems from His Holiness. 476 00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:05,480 When God makes a promise to somebody, he puts His name at 477 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:08,680 stake, and He's passionate about His own glory. 478 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:13,360 He will bring to pass what He's promised because his name and 479 00:28:13,360 --> 00:28:17,800 his character is at stake. And if he's holy, completely 480 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:20,360 good. There are some things God cannot 481 00:28:20,360 --> 00:28:22,200 do. Did you know that? 482 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:29,400 He cannot lie, He cannot not be himself. 483 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:34,040 He's 100% truthful, He's 100% pure, He is holy. 484 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:38,200 So when God makes a promise with somebody, He puts His character 485 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:41,200 on the line, I will bring it to pass because it's not just 486 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:43,400 affecting you, it's affecting me and my worship. 487 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:47,520 It's going to happen. Now, what are covenants 488 00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:49,520 biblically? I want you to think about them 489 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:52,920 like mile markers on your journey, mile markers on our 490 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:56,440 journey from here to San Diego. You get the like. 491 00:28:57,040 --> 00:29:00,640 I think San Diego or Vegas or Arizona, wherever you're going, 492 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:05,920 you'll pass these signs that say Vegas 100 miles away, Vegas 50 493 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:09,200 miles away, 25 miles away. I want you to think of biblical 494 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:11,560 covenants like that in the Scriptures. 495 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:16,800 They reveal God's plan of redemption and how he's going to 496 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:19,440 reconcile Israel and the nations together. 497 00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:22,640 He's going to redeem and reconcile all of humanity to 498 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:24,520 himself. That's what biblical covenants 499 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:27,280 are, promises that God makes throughout the biblical 500 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:32,080 storyline to fulfill his purpose of uniting heaven and earth, 501 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:36,160 uniting Israel and the nations, uniting humanity with himself. 502 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:39,880 Once again, we have at least 4, you can count at least 4 503 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:41,520 covenants in the biblical storyline. 504 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:44,240 For you Bible nerds out there, do you know what they are? 505 00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:47,800 Abraham the Abraham, the covenant. 506 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:50,280 You're going to be the father of many nations, right? 507 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:55,120 There is one to Noah even before, before that, that I'm 508 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:57,640 never going to flood the earth again, be fruitful and multiply. 509 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:03,480 We have Moses, the Mosaic covenant at Mount Sinai. 510 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:05,880 I'm going to be your God. You're going to be my people. 511 00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:07,640 Here's the blessings for obedience. 512 00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:09,280 Here's the curses for disobedience. 513 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:12,280 And then here we have the Davidic covenant and it's all 514 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:14,440 coming together on your journey through the Scriptures. 515 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:17,160 These mile markers are weaving the same story. 516 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:20,560 They're leading to one destination and his name is 517 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:25,480 Jesus Christ. This chapter is pivotal and 518 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:27,040 understanding who Jesus Christ is. 519 00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:33,080 So God is in control. God is in control. 520 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:34,520 Some things I want you to notice. 521 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:39,080 Who in the preamble is represented in this covenant? 522 00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:44,400 God and his servant David. OK, prologue the history. 523 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:47,880 God says here's what I've done for you, David. 524 00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:52,480 I've took you from the fields as a shepherd boy from the pasture. 525 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:58,240 I took you and then I made you king. 526 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:03,600 There's no way all you can get 12 tribes to unite on anything. 527 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:08,160 I can't get 12 people to agree on anything, let alone 12 tribes 528 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:10,720 of thousands of people to agree. Yeah, that guy's a king. 529 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:13,680 It's a unanimous vote. It's a miracle. 530 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:18,200 God says I made you king. What I want you to notice is the 531 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:21,760 I statements. Here's the strange, amazing 532 00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:25,200 thing about this covenant. Usually in covenants of the 533 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:27,080 ancient eries there's two parties that agree to do 534 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:29,160 something. And this covenant, there's only 535 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:32,200 one person doing it. It's God. 536 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:38,080 What has David done up to this point to merit or earn these 537 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:43,400 promises from God? Nothing. 538 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:50,080 He's done nothing to earn this blessing from God. 539 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:54,800 You imagine David's story. Remember, Nathan is probably the 540 00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:58,160 one writing here. I imagine. 541 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:01,160 Have a vision with me, if you will. 542 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:03,000 I imagine how the writing process went. 543 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:06,600 Nathan, his recorder says. Hey, hey, King David, can you 544 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:08,600 can you tell me how did this all start, man? 545 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:10,000 I'm writing a biography about you. 546 00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:14,720 How did how did you get here, Nathan? 547 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:18,080 Dude, I don't even know. There I was. 548 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:22,320 It was like a Tuesday morning. I was herding the sheep, trying 549 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:26,040 to count them. There's Billy, There's Frank. 550 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:30,280 There's Stephanie the sheep. I know why a sheep would be 551 00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:31,560 called Stephanie, but that came in my mind. 552 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:35,720 I'm just hurting. I'm working on my sling, 553 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:39,360 tightening it up. And then all of a sudden I look 554 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:42,760 in the distance and my father's servant is running out toward 555 00:32:42,760 --> 00:32:44,920 me, toward in the field, screaming at the top of his 556 00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:49,560 lungs. David, David, you need to get to 557 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:52,760 your father's house now, quick, since somebody's here and it's a 558 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:55,360 very important person from from the Kingdom and they they want 559 00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:59,040 to meet with you. So I'm like, OK, I stopped what 560 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:01,640 I'm doing. I herd the sheep back to the 561 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:05,920 home and I meet this man and he looks at me and he starts 562 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:10,120 weeping. He starts crying over me. 563 00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:13,760 He takes out this flask of oil and he just pours it on my head. 564 00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:17,600 And he, he tells me, David, you're going to be the king. 565 00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:22,360 God has chosen you. Can you imagine what that must 566 00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:26,000 have been like for David? I I was just herding sheep. 567 00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:30,520 I don't know what I did to deserve this exactly. 568 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:39,160 Each and everyone of you. Here you have a David story, a 569 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:44,840 moment you don't know when, a moment where God broke into your 570 00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:46,240 life and you weren't looking for him. 571 00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:52,240 This is the kind of God that you serve, the God who seeks you 572 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:56,040 out, who longs for you, who takes the first step, if he 573 00:33:56,040 --> 00:33:59,000 will, makes the first move. It's up to us if we want to 574 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:04,400 respond to that love or not. Is it not wonderful, a wonderful 575 00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:08,239 truth to know that God is in control of the direction of our 576 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:13,320 lives, Every minute detail and unexpected situation that we 577 00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:16,239 experience, It's not unexpected to Him. 578 00:34:18,159 --> 00:34:22,280 Nothing surprises him, and He is never out of the loop. 579 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:28,120 You and I can entrust our lives to the Creator of heaven and 580 00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:34,679 earth who owns everything. He numbers the stars and he 581 00:34:34,679 --> 00:34:38,239 erased the lilies and he knows what your upcoming work week is 582 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:42,320 going to be like, and he's going to be there with you. 583 00:34:42,679 --> 00:34:46,120 Do you believe that? And why does he do this? 584 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:50,280 For his glory and the joy of his people. 585 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:56,560 That's why he does all of this. Here's the most amazing thing 586 00:34:56,679 --> 00:34:59,480 that this promise ends with here in this, in this portion. 587 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:03,000 Moreover, the Lord says, the Lord declares to you that the 588 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:06,440 Lord will make you a house, David, and this is a play on 589 00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:08,280 words here. It's a play on words in Hebrew 590 00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:11,080 because the word house can mean many different things. 591 00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:16,680 So God's using a play on words. He's such a funny, funny God. 592 00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:22,720 He says, David, you wanted to build me a house, a temple, a 593 00:35:22,720 --> 00:35:25,720 building to localize me. That was David's expectation 594 00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:28,920 that God says, no, I'm going to build you a house, which is the 595 00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:32,040 same word in Hebrew, but that word also means dynasty. 596 00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:37,920 You want to build me a house, brick and mortar, but I'm 597 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:39,920 calling you to expand your vision. 598 00:35:40,680 --> 00:35:44,200 I want to build you a dynasty. I have a different expectation 599 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:48,560 for your life. And then our endless talking 600 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:52,320 heads today, our endless stream of talking heads. 601 00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:56,560 If you are a big sports fan, you'll know there's always this 602 00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:59,120 term thrown around called. They always talk about a 603 00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:01,840 dynasty. You know, are the Dodgers a 604 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:04,480 dynasty? Well, they got to win five more 605 00:36:04,480 --> 00:36:08,040 to be a dynasty in my book. Are the Warriors in basketball a 606 00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:12,000 dynasty? Well, they didn't match the 607 00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:13,960 Bulls, Jordans, Bulls and Pippins Bulls. 608 00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:16,880 There is this. If you're a sports fan, you know 609 00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:19,120 that all these talking heads talk about they throw on this 610 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:22,320 term dynasty. Well, let me tell you, this 611 00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:26,360 dynasty that God promises David will never end. 612 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:29,800 It's not about championships. It's literally unceasing. 613 00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:34,800 Again, God calls David to a grander vision. 614 00:36:35,480 --> 00:36:39,400 Last week, I ended it with the point that I said that I had 615 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:45,480 hoped to demythologize David a bit, to demythologize him in 616 00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:48,080 your mind. Here's why I wanted to do that. 617 00:36:48,080 --> 00:36:51,720 Here's the payoff. David is human, just like you 618 00:36:51,720 --> 00:36:55,520 and I. He's just like us. 619 00:36:57,000 --> 00:36:59,080 God called him when he wasn't looking. 620 00:37:00,480 --> 00:37:03,280 Do you believe that God is working in your life still, just 621 00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:04,800 as he was working in David's life? 622 00:37:06,360 --> 00:37:09,120 Or do you say, Oh no, I'm not like David? 623 00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:12,000 I, I, I can't defeat giants. Well, neither could he. 624 00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:17,160 He didn't throw the stone in the perfect direction at the perfect 625 00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:19,000 angle. God guided that stone to defeat 626 00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:22,320 Goliath. There's no feasible, logical way 627 00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:26,080 it should have worked, but it did because God says it's going 628 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:29,680 to work. You are just like David. 629 00:37:29,680 --> 00:37:32,720 He's just like you, and all God has called David to do is 630 00:37:32,720 --> 00:37:35,160 believe. Be faithful to me. 631 00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:40,040 Let's pick up in verse 12. The promise goes on. 632 00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:43,600 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your father's 633 00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:46,720 David, you're going to die. I will raise up for your 634 00:37:46,720 --> 00:37:51,560 offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will 635 00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:54,720 establish His Kingdom. He shall build a house for my 636 00:37:54,720 --> 00:37:57,840 name, and I will establish the throne of His Kingdom forever. 637 00:37:58,520 --> 00:38:01,440 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me His Son. 638 00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:05,320 When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of 639 00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:07,560 men, with the stripes of the sons of men. 640 00:38:08,080 --> 00:38:10,360 But my steadfast level will not depart from him as I took it 641 00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:12,600 from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 642 00:38:13,720 --> 00:38:15,840 This is it. This is the foundational moment 643 00:38:17,160 --> 00:38:18,920 in the story of Scripture, the Davidic covenant. 644 00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:23,200 God has made a series of promises that He would establish 645 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:26,160 David's dynasty beginning with his offspring. 646 00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:30,440 That there would one big common offspring whose Kingdom will be 647 00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:32,600 established and it will never end. 648 00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:37,760 There are 6 promises that he makes here in the Davidic 649 00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:38,680 Covenant. Six of them. 650 00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:41,600 Some of them have already been fulfilled, but not all of them. 651 00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:44,520 Here's the three that have already been fulfilled. 652 00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:48,200 It says God promises I will make your name great. 653 00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:50,400 That's already happened. You remember? 654 00:38:50,880 --> 00:38:54,560 Where did David get the cedar wood in chapter 6 to build his 655 00:38:54,560 --> 00:38:58,600 palace From the foreign nations. They gave it to him as tribute 656 00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:00,520 because his fame went before him. 657 00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:02,400 God made his name great. So that's one. 658 00:39:02,520 --> 00:39:05,240 One down. He says I will appoint a place 659 00:39:05,240 --> 00:39:07,720 for my people. The city of David. 660 00:39:07,720 --> 00:39:10,120 He just captured Jerusalem. The ark is now in Jerusalem. 661 00:39:10,720 --> 00:39:12,360 Boom. All 12 tribes are united. 662 00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:16,200 Promise 2 is fulfilled. Promise three. 663 00:39:16,920 --> 00:39:18,720 I will give you rest from my from your enemies. 664 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:21,520 This is a time of peace. All the enemies have been 665 00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:23,880 subdued, promised to be fulfilled. 666 00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:27,760 These are the already promises that God has fulfilled. 667 00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:31,920 But there are still some not yet promises yet to be fulfilled. 668 00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:36,080 Here's the remaining three. He says I will make you a 669 00:39:36,080 --> 00:39:41,280 dynasty through your offspring. I will adopt your offspring as 670 00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:45,560 my own son and then I will establish that offering's 671 00:39:45,560 --> 00:39:49,160 Kingdom eternally. Some things I want you to 672 00:39:49,280 --> 00:39:52,000 understand and notice about these last three remaining 673 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:57,600 promises is 1 divine sonship. This relationality between God 674 00:39:57,600 --> 00:40:00,000 and David taken to the next level. 675 00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:03,920 God is saying your offspring. I'm not just going to call them 676 00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:07,440 my servant, I'm going to call them my sons. 677 00:40:08,640 --> 00:40:12,040 They're going to image me a be a reflection of me, my royal 678 00:40:12,040 --> 00:40:14,440 representative to all of my people, Israel. 679 00:40:15,520 --> 00:40:18,200 This is a family term. I'm going to be their God, their 680 00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:20,200 father. They're going to be my sons. 681 00:40:20,600 --> 00:40:23,520 The king is to be a reflection of who I am as my son. 682 00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:30,680 Does that not ring a bell in your mind on who Jesus is? 683 00:40:33,240 --> 00:40:35,920 I want you to notice the covenantal love of God, the 684 00:40:35,920 --> 00:40:39,040 steadfast love of God, he says. Your offspring, they're going to 685 00:40:39,040 --> 00:40:43,160 mess up, they're going to sin, but I will not remove my 686 00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:45,440 covenant to love from them like I did from Saul. 687 00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:48,760 Remember I made I'm making covenant with you. 688 00:40:48,760 --> 00:40:52,160 I'm putting my name at stake. I'm not going to back out ever. 689 00:40:53,080 --> 00:40:56,520 This is called the has said in Hebrew that has said love of God 690 00:40:57,200 --> 00:41:00,560 and it's love based upon a promise and oath. 691 00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:05,320 It's like in marriage the in sickness and in health till 692 00:41:05,320 --> 00:41:07,920 death do us part. This promises oath. 693 00:41:07,920 --> 00:41:11,400 I may continue. God will discipline the House of 694 00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:13,720 David. And if you know anything about 695 00:41:13,720 --> 00:41:17,960 Israel's history, again, like I said earlier, not all kings live 696 00:41:17,960 --> 00:41:21,320 up to the standard of David. God does discipline them. 697 00:41:22,080 --> 00:41:24,360 In the biblical storyline, there's this thing called the 698 00:41:24,680 --> 00:41:29,720 exile. God rejects Israel because 699 00:41:29,960 --> 00:41:31,640 they've broken the Mosaic covenant. 700 00:41:33,520 --> 00:41:35,920 That's those stipulations are still in effect, but it's 701 00:41:35,920 --> 00:41:42,640 blessings and curses. Yet when these sons mess up, God 702 00:41:42,640 --> 00:41:45,520 is still covenant until he bound to the House of David and he 703 00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:49,480 will not reject them. This ultimate undying covenant 704 00:41:49,480 --> 00:41:55,720 to love Jesus chooses his words carefully in the upper room when 705 00:41:55,720 --> 00:42:01,000 he says take and drink. This is my blood poured out for 706 00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:01,960 you. It's the blood of the new 707 00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:05,880 covenant. I'm binding myself with you, and 708 00:42:05,880 --> 00:42:07,320 I will never leave you nor forsake you. 709 00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:10,000 I'm covenantily in love with you. 710 00:42:11,960 --> 00:42:13,960 So let's talk about Jesus real quick. 711 00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:21,880 Verse 16. God ends the divided covenant 712 00:42:21,880 --> 00:42:24,960 with this promise, and your house and your Kingdom shall be 713 00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:29,080 made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established 714 00:42:29,680 --> 00:42:34,240 forever. This is an amazing promise, but 715 00:42:34,240 --> 00:42:37,200 one that would not be realized until much, much later. 716 00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:42,600 In fact, we today here at Bridge Town Church, we still eagerly 717 00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:44,720 await for the ultimate consummation of this promise. 718 00:42:45,680 --> 00:42:49,400 We live in the already, not yet time. 719 00:42:50,040 --> 00:42:53,400 We see some of these promises fulfilled, but there's yet 720 00:42:53,920 --> 00:42:58,880 future promises, future grace to to still be realized, the return 721 00:42:58,880 --> 00:43:02,040 of Jesus. God promises David that his 722 00:43:02,040 --> 00:43:04,720 offspring's Kingdom would be permanent and eternal, and his 723 00:43:04,720 --> 00:43:06,080 rule would be established forever. 724 00:43:07,320 --> 00:43:08,640 Now. This is the dual nature of 725 00:43:08,640 --> 00:43:11,360 prophecy. Some biblical interpretation 726 00:43:11,360 --> 00:43:13,720 advice for you. As you read prophecy, understand 727 00:43:13,720 --> 00:43:15,280 that it has an immediate context. 728 00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:19,600 It means something to them, and then it means something to us, a 729 00:43:19,600 --> 00:43:23,840 future context. God does both when he sends 730 00:43:23,840 --> 00:43:26,200 these prophets to speak into the lives of Christians. 731 00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:29,160 There's a future vision, a future context. 732 00:43:29,160 --> 00:43:32,280 Not all promises were fulfilled in David's lifetime, but they 733 00:43:32,280 --> 00:43:35,760 will be fulfilled much later. You see Solomon, he does build 734 00:43:35,760 --> 00:43:37,800 the temple. Solomon is David's son. 735 00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:42,240 He builds a temple for the dwelling of God, but later 736 00:43:42,240 --> 00:43:46,320 literally his grandson, David's grandson Rehoboam. 737 00:43:47,200 --> 00:43:49,800 Because of his foolishness, he does not walk in the way of his 738 00:43:49,800 --> 00:43:52,960 grandfather David. The Kingdom is split into two, 739 00:43:53,880 --> 00:43:55,840 Israel in the north and Judah in the South. 740 00:43:57,160 --> 00:44:00,720 This is the last time that Israel will be will be united 741 00:44:00,720 --> 00:44:05,240 under the kingship of David. Israel will then be destroyed by 742 00:44:05,240 --> 00:44:09,560 the Assyrians in 722 BC. And then in 586 BC, the 743 00:44:09,560 --> 00:44:12,520 Babylonians will come and take Judah into captivity. 744 00:44:13,160 --> 00:44:15,200 Why? Because they broke the 745 00:44:15,200 --> 00:44:16,840 stipulations of the Mosaic covenant. 746 00:44:18,280 --> 00:44:22,040 Those are still in effect. What does this do? 747 00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:27,080 Because these promises God's made to David and they're still 748 00:44:27,120 --> 00:44:28,680 on the line, yet to be fulfilled. 749 00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:32,520 The reason? Second Samuel Chapter 7 is so 750 00:44:32,520 --> 00:44:35,680 important. It's because it shapes the rest 751 00:44:35,680 --> 00:44:40,200 of the Bible as it shapes the expectations and a waiting for 752 00:44:40,200 --> 00:44:42,040 these promises to still be fulfilled. 753 00:44:44,080 --> 00:44:47,120 This is why it's a focal point of the prophets. 754 00:44:47,400 --> 00:44:52,560 Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah 53, the suffering servant 755 00:44:52,560 --> 00:44:55,800 passages talking about one who is to come, who will suffer for 756 00:44:55,800 --> 00:44:57,240 our iniquities. He's ruined for our 757 00:44:57,240 --> 00:45:01,640 transgressions. It's a focal point for these 758 00:45:01,880 --> 00:45:04,880 promises, these messianic promises to still be fulfilled. 759 00:45:06,240 --> 00:45:11,560 That's why do you remember the in the, in the, the nativity 760 00:45:11,560 --> 00:45:14,960 narrative of the book of Luke, the Gospel according to Luke, 761 00:45:15,640 --> 00:45:20,560 there's these two people, these old timers, Simeon and that 762 00:45:20,560 --> 00:45:25,120 Simeon and Anna the prophetess. They're waiting day and night in 763 00:45:25,120 --> 00:45:28,600 the temple, waiting day and night in the temple, fasting and 764 00:45:28,600 --> 00:45:30,440 in prayers and then seeking the Lord. 765 00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:33,040 They're waiting. It says they're waiting for the 766 00:45:33,040 --> 00:45:37,680 consolation of Israel, the expectation for the one from 767 00:45:38,040 --> 00:45:40,080 these promises, the one who these promises are about to 768 00:45:40,080 --> 00:45:41,600 arrive. And guess what? 769 00:45:41,600 --> 00:45:45,440 On one specific day, they get to see the boy Jesus and hold him 770 00:45:45,920 --> 00:45:49,400 in their arms. He is the consolation of Israel. 771 00:45:51,720 --> 00:45:55,160 Mark chapter 10. I want to read you a passage as 772 00:45:55,160 --> 00:45:59,560 we begin to wind down Mark chapter 10. 773 00:45:59,800 --> 00:46:02,560 We have this story recorded right before Jesus's triumphal 774 00:46:02,560 --> 00:46:06,200 entry into Jerusalem. It says this. 775 00:46:06,360 --> 00:46:09,680 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho 776 00:46:09,680 --> 00:46:14,160 with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind 777 00:46:14,160 --> 00:46:18,200 beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside, and we 778 00:46:18,200 --> 00:46:20,320 had heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth. 779 00:46:20,680 --> 00:46:27,240 He began to cry out and say, Jesus, son of David, have mercy 780 00:46:27,240 --> 00:46:33,400 on me. Jesus, son of David, have mercy 781 00:46:33,400 --> 00:46:37,120 on me. And many rebuked him, telling 782 00:46:37,120 --> 00:46:39,800 him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, 783 00:46:40,640 --> 00:46:45,680 Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stopped and said, call 784 00:46:45,680 --> 00:46:48,480 him. And they called the blind man, 785 00:46:48,480 --> 00:46:51,840 saying to him, take heart, get up, for he's calling you. 786 00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:56,120 And throwing off his cloak, He sprang up and came to Jesus. 787 00:46:56,120 --> 00:46:58,880 And Jesus said to him, What do you want me to do for you? 788 00:46:59,080 --> 00:47:02,680 And the blind man said to him, Rabbi, let me recover my sight. 789 00:47:03,560 --> 00:47:07,440 And Jesus said to him, Go your way, your faith has made you 790 00:47:07,440 --> 00:47:10,240 well. And immediately he recovered his 791 00:47:10,240 --> 00:47:11,480 sight and followed him on the way. 792 00:47:11,480 --> 00:47:13,520 Do you see what Mark's doing here? 793 00:47:15,240 --> 00:47:17,960 Jesus of Nazareth passes by the city of Jericho. 794 00:47:19,240 --> 00:47:24,120 Bartimaeus, a blind man, repeatedly, repeatedly hails him 795 00:47:24,120 --> 00:47:30,240 as the Son of David. Isn't it ironic that a blind man 796 00:47:30,240 --> 00:47:33,120 recognizes Jesus as the fulfillment of the Davidic 797 00:47:33,120 --> 00:47:35,440 promise? He's blind. 798 00:47:35,440 --> 00:47:39,720 Do you see what Mark's doing? Those who can see, physically 799 00:47:39,720 --> 00:47:42,320 see. They don't know who Jesus is, 800 00:47:43,400 --> 00:47:48,520 but the blind man does and his faith heals him. 801 00:47:50,520 --> 00:47:55,840 And it couldn't be more clearer than Luke chapter one, verse 31 802 00:47:55,840 --> 00:47:59,120 through 33, the Angel Gabriel announcing to Mary, you're going 803 00:47:59,120 --> 00:48:01,840 to have a son. You know it very well. 804 00:48:01,840 --> 00:48:04,560 We recited at Christmas time in the nativity story. 805 00:48:05,520 --> 00:48:06,840 Maybe you can see it with new eyes. 806 00:48:06,840 --> 00:48:11,480 Now listen with all your might, Gabriel says, and behold, you 807 00:48:11,480 --> 00:48:14,200 will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call 808 00:48:14,200 --> 00:48:17,760 his name Jesus. He will be great and he will be 809 00:48:17,760 --> 00:48:21,120 called ready. The son of the Most High. 810 00:48:23,080 --> 00:48:26,440 Check that box off the Davidic covenant. 811 00:48:26,480 --> 00:48:30,000 He's the son of the Most High and the Lord God will give him 812 00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:35,800 the throne of his father David. Check that box and he will reign 813 00:48:36,200 --> 00:48:40,520 over the House of Jacob Forever. Check that box and of his 814 00:48:40,520 --> 00:48:43,520 Kingdom there will be no end. Check that box. 815 00:48:43,880 --> 00:48:48,400 Luke is crafting A narrative saying he's fulfilling every 816 00:48:48,400 --> 00:48:50,240 remaining promise. It's him. 817 00:48:52,040 --> 00:48:56,680 So this Jesus, he is the messianic king, the one that 818 00:48:56,680 --> 00:49:00,040 fulfills the promise. He is the one that sits on the 819 00:49:00,040 --> 00:49:04,400 throne of his father David. And his Kingdom will never, ever 820 00:49:04,480 --> 00:49:07,800 end. And that's why we are gathered 821 00:49:07,800 --> 00:49:13,240 here today, Bridgetown Church in 2026 because he has called you 822 00:49:13,560 --> 00:49:15,360 just like he called blind Bartimaeus. 823 00:49:16,800 --> 00:49:20,440 And I don't want to invite the worship team up As I wrap up, 824 00:49:22,320 --> 00:49:24,640 we're going to enter into a time of worship and prayer. 825 00:49:25,480 --> 00:49:28,560 But before I do, I want to give you some meditations and 826 00:49:28,560 --> 00:49:34,680 applications to think about. One, have a grander vision of 827 00:49:34,680 --> 00:49:38,600 God. Rich Town church creation is his 828 00:49:38,600 --> 00:49:42,000 temple. He now resides in you. 829 00:49:43,600 --> 00:49:47,160 God owns all of creation and the whole earth is full of His 830 00:49:47,160 --> 00:49:52,480 glory. You need to come with Him, come 831 00:49:52,480 --> 00:49:54,600 to Him. Rather, come to Him with all 832 00:49:54,600 --> 00:49:59,240 your fears, your doubts, your worries, because He can handle 833 00:49:59,240 --> 00:50:03,800 it. He is never in lack of anything 834 00:50:05,360 --> 00:50:08,680 and He is never in our debt, but He's willing to freely give. 835 00:50:09,560 --> 00:50:11,880 He is the source of all that is good, and He calls you to 836 00:50:11,880 --> 00:50:15,760 Himself. He can handle your messes, so 837 00:50:16,080 --> 00:50:22,680 would you come to him #2 God keeps His promises. 838 00:50:23,720 --> 00:50:29,560 He's the promise keeping God. What He declared to you, what 839 00:50:29,560 --> 00:50:34,800 He's promised to you, He will bring to pass, because He's 840 00:50:35,040 --> 00:50:40,920 bound himself to you through Jesus Christ as you've believed 841 00:50:40,920 --> 00:50:43,040 in Him, He's bound himself to you. 842 00:50:43,680 --> 00:50:46,280 Remember that God cannot lie. He can't fail. 843 00:50:47,040 --> 00:50:48,920 He is wholly and completely truthful. 844 00:50:49,920 --> 00:50:52,680 This is why we can say with Paul in Philippians chapter one verse 845 00:50:52,680 --> 00:50:56,720 6, he who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete 846 00:50:56,720 --> 00:51:04,280 it at the day of Jesus Christ #3 Jesus is the ultimate son of 847 00:51:04,280 --> 00:51:08,000 David. Jesus is the fulfillment of 848 00:51:08,000 --> 00:51:13,240 God's promise to David. In Jesus, here's what happened 849 00:51:13,240 --> 00:51:15,400 at the cross. Here's what the cross 850 00:51:15,400 --> 00:51:20,240 represents. The powers of darkness that 851 00:51:20,240 --> 00:51:24,160 tempt you, that corrupt your heart, The powers of darkness 852 00:51:24,160 --> 00:51:27,640 were dishroned. You no longer belong to them. 853 00:51:29,680 --> 00:51:35,000 In Him, humanity is redeemed from its bondage to sin and the 854 00:51:35,000 --> 00:51:39,720 curse of death. We ought not to be afraid to 855 00:51:39,720 --> 00:51:43,720 die, for death is no longer punitive. 856 00:51:43,720 --> 00:51:47,120 It's no longer punishment. It's a doorway to being with 857 00:51:47,120 --> 00:51:51,040 him. O death, war is your sting. 858 00:51:51,880 --> 00:51:55,160 O grave, where is your victory? That's what the cross does. 859 00:51:55,480 --> 00:51:59,360 In him, Jesus, a new Kingdom has been established. 860 00:52:01,080 --> 00:52:05,240 The Kingdom of darkness, of sin and death has been toppled. 861 00:52:05,240 --> 00:52:08,120 It's over. The Kingdom of light and 862 00:52:08,120 --> 00:52:12,040 righteousness and hope is here, and He invites you, the 863 00:52:12,040 --> 00:52:13,920 believer, to partake in every day. 864 00:52:14,400 --> 00:52:17,920 And those who do not yet believe, would you come and 865 00:52:17,920 --> 00:52:21,720 believe in Jesus? Because you can be added to this 866 00:52:21,720 --> 00:52:22,960 Kingdom? All you have to do is believe. 867 00:52:24,360 --> 00:52:27,960 I ended last week demythologizing David. 868 00:52:28,440 --> 00:52:31,920 What did David do? Nothing. 869 00:52:31,960 --> 00:52:37,120 This is just the kindness, the generosity of God, and this is 870 00:52:37,120 --> 00:52:42,400 how he feels about you today. This week, Part 1 of Chapter 7, 871 00:52:42,400 --> 00:52:45,960 we've talked about God's role in the covenant. 872 00:52:46,360 --> 00:52:48,680 Next week, come ready because we're going to talk about 873 00:52:48,680 --> 00:52:51,840 David's response and let me give you a little sneak peek. 874 00:52:52,840 --> 00:52:58,680 His response is worship. What can I say? 875 00:52:58,680 --> 00:53:04,760 God, I don't deserve this. That's what worship is. 876 00:53:04,960 --> 00:53:07,680 We're bringing our best to God because He's given us 877 00:53:08,000 --> 00:53:11,160 everything. We hope you enjoyed this message 878 00:53:11,240 --> 00:53:14,360 and we'd love for you to join us in person every Sunday at 10:30 879 00:53:14,360 --> 00:53:15,920 AM. For more information and 880 00:53:15,920 --> 00:53:18,120 updates, visit wearebridgetown.com. 881 00:53:18,440 --> 00:53:20,440 Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next week.