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Communion

–        How do we know we belong to God?

o   Our performance? Contract basis

o   God’s promise? Covenant basis 2Samuel 7:18-24 ¹⁸  Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? ¹⁹  And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord GOD. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord GOD! ²⁰  And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord GOD! ²¹  Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. ²²  Therefore you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. ²³  And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? ²⁴  And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O LORD, became their God.

o   Matthew 26:26-29 ²⁶  Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” ²⁷  And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, ²⁸  for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹  I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

–        The Father invites you to the kingdom.

–        Forgiveness invites you to the table.

 

MOTIVATE

Have you ever forgotten or misplaced something important?

–        A calendar event for somewhere you were supposed to attend?

–        A person’s name or recognition day (birthday, anniversary, etc.)?

–        An object that was extremely important for your day to day functioning?

o   Wallet, car keys, cell phone

o   Password login

o   Passport.

• I placed mine somewhere I just knew would be unmistakable and immediately found but the obvious is not always clear or certain.

Forgetting items and misplacing objects happens to me on a regular basis. And I imagine they happen to you as well because this common action of life reminds us of our limitations; the fact that we are human and not perfect.

Yet our limitations do not have to define our destiny. We can have a greater legacy than our limitations allow if we identify the source of our hope not in our memory or might but in the wisdom and worship of God.

EXAMINE           2Samuel 6-10            God’s Kingdom is for Legacy

David’s legacy was invested in worshiping God’s presence.

At this time David has become king over Israel, both the south and the north. There is the start of a unified kingdom and David realizes that something is still missing – the worship of God being the central priority for the nation. So, David seeks to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem.

–        What is the Ark?

o   A wooden box overlayed with gold inside (cf. Exodus 25). The box represented God’s presence as it had two golden angels on top, facing each other with an altar or mercy seat in between. On the side of the Ark were rings with poles attached to carry it; no person was to touch it outside of the priests. The Ark box contained the following items: The 2 stone tablets of the Ten Commandments that represented God’s holiness and Law; Aaron’s staff that represented God’s power and presence among the people; and jar of manna representing God’s provision to care for the people.

o   Last time Ark was mentioned was in 1Sam 5 with Israel treating it like a good luck charm into war and then later when the Ark was captured by the Philistines but God’s presence was revealed when the box was placed in the pagan temple next to the statue of their idol Dagon; the idol kept being knocked over and was decapitated (1Sam 6). The Philistines become scared of the Ark and send it away and it stayed at Kiriath-Jearim (1Sam 7:2).

In the return of the Ark to Jerusalem we see at least 3 applications for how we are to view God in worship.

1)    Our worship is to be passionate. David gathers 30K men and instructs them to transport the Ark with a cart. The men are “making merry before the Lord with sons, and lyres, and harps and tambourines, and castanets, and cymbals…sacrifices… shouting and with the sound of the horn… and dancing” (2Sam 6:5, 14-16).

Psalm 84:10 “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”

2)    Our worship is to be principled. David’s hast to relocate the Ark to Jerusalem caused him to forget God’s instructions for how to treat the Ark. Traveling through hills and steps the Ark began to tip and fall, but Uzzah grabbed it with his hands to stop it. The problem was if they had followed God’s original instructions for transporting the Ark it would have never fallen in the first place. So, God struck down Uzzah as an example to David for God’s holiness (2Sam 6:6-7). Worship of God is not about what human’s want or personal preference, but about God’s requirements.

After three months, David learns from his mistake and turns from his pride. He selects only priests to carry the Ark of God with the poles, and they offer sacrifices every seventh step (cf. 2Sam 6:12-14; 1Chronicles 15).

3)    Our worship is to be presented to God and not people. David’s passion to worship was uninhibited by what others thought of him. He sang freely and danced deliriously. David’s wife Michal despised him for his style of worship. Michal was concerned with how David looked before the people (like her father Saul), but David was more concerned with how he looked to please God. David humbled himself so that God could be exalted – either we humble ourselves or God will, because only one deserves the glory.

o   What does the way you worship show who gets the glory?

o   How generous are you with your praise? How you serve with your time & talents? How you give financially? How you treat the hurting and desperate?

o   Some respond, “Well I’m just not emotional or expressive.” What about when your favorite sport team wins… or if you received a job promotion that doubled your salary… or somehow you received a multi-million dollar inheritance… ???

• Those who are forgiven much love much…
• Variety of postures in worship: awe, silence, shouting, study
• Men frequently need to learn to be more expressive
• Women frequently need to learn to be less embarrassed to what others think

o   (2Sam 6:19) David celebrated and blessed the people in the name of the Lord by distributing bread, meat, cake of raisins. These were a symbol of the fruit of the land; some note that raisins were an aphrodisiac. The point was that Israel was to continuously bear fruit for God’s kingdom.

• The contrast was Michal’s womb was closed… no fruit bearing.
• David would commit adultery with Bathsheba yet her womb would produce Solomon and onward to Jesus Christ. So, which sin is worse: adultery or embarrassed worship?

 

David’s legacy was invested in God’s promises.

–        David is fully established as king and has a stable kingdom with defeated enemies, solid alliances, and a prosperous land (2Sam 7:1).

–        David is dreaming of what he can do for God.

o   Need more dreamers

o   Need more planners

o   Need more initiators & implementers

o   Need more givers

–        Nathan knew when David often put his dreams into action, so his response was “Go do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.” (2Sam 7:3)

–        The Lord has always been incarnational, dwelling among His people – in tents, among judges, in pastures, in cities, at war among enemies… (2Sam 7:5-11)

–        God’s promises to David reveal that we can never outgive God (2Sam 7:11-17)

–        God’s promises of a legacy

o   A house… a dynasty, a legacy

o   Offspring

o   Godly offspring and reigning on the throne

o   Will be disciplined with the stripes of men but God’s steadfast love will not depart

• Through Jesus’ sacrifice we receive forgiveness and assurance that God will never forsake us despite our failure or sin.

o   assurance

o   Grace: David could not earn God’s favor by doing, but God graced David. Salvation does not cost us because God paid the full price.

• Yet, somehow we cooperate 2Chron 6:7 “Because it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was in your heart.”

 

APPLY/THRIVE

–        David’s legacy is spared his own failures often through the counsel of others (Jonathan, Abigail, Nathan). David, the king, needed wise and godly counsel. Our present spiritual health, future and legacy often depends on having the right people influencing, encouraging, and speaking into our life.

–        All of us need the intervention of Christ, whom God incarnated to be among us and bear our sin and suffering that we may have eternal life.