Sermon Tone Analysis

Songs of Worship

Call To Worship:

Immortal, Invisible (God Only Wise) - Scott Wesley Brown

2.Be Thou My Passion - Christ 4 The Nations

3.All Hail The Power Of Jesus Name - Newsboys

To God Be The Glory - Francis J.

Crosby

Communion .The Cross Medley - Discovery Singers

Benediction .

Be Thou My Vision - 4 Him

Be Thou My Passion - Christ 4 The Nations

All Hail The Power Of Jesus Name - Newsboys

To God Be The Glory - Francis J.

Crosby

The Cross Medley - Discovery Singers

Be Thou My Vision - 4 Him

Call To Worship Scripture

Sermon Scripture

2 Samuel 7:26

Introduction: Arrogance In The Church - A lesson from 2 Samuel 7

When our arrogance is finally destroyed, it can result in some of our greatest pleasure, joy and worship that we have ever known.

Arrogance - a word which we all can have labled upon us.

It is the thinking of ones self more highly than one ought.

Or in this case, the failure to consider with accuracy the relationship between you and God Almighty and apply that to your ambitions.

Arrogance is the great enemy of love though it may begin with noble intentions.

The seeking to serve and the seeking to do something for someone are two entirely different things.

The servant recognizes a master and places themselves below the master.

They are therefore honored to be approached by the master to do anything for the master.

The one seeking to do something for another in need may place themselves above that person as able to accomplish something that the one whom they are serving cannot.

In this form of service there is a sort of “been there done that” or “here let me help you (who cannot do it) pride.

As Christians we are called to serve God alone, which means that every act of service is one of humble position as being unto God.

It is of the first description, of seeking to serve God.

And it is in that, that we take pride.

That we have been used by God, and if we were not to be chosen by God, to be used by God, then we would have no position to rightly serve in the first place.

In a time, culture and society within and without the church when charity has become the pop culture icon, we must learn this lesson less we in claiming to “serve God” choke on our own arrogance and offend God.

However I would offer you two more reasons why you should hear the message this morning.

Not only should you hear in order to avoid an offence towards God, but also, when serving from the flesh we miss out on the greatness of the actual plans of God and on His great plans for us and how we truly bless others through His power and enabling.

In short, you could describe this morning exhortation to you, to recognize that, to be called out by God, to walk by faith in His promises, is more worthy of praise than any ambitious thought of man.

Our ambitions, even when they are for God, bring God nothing.

However obedience and recognition of who He is and trust in His good and perfect will, brings God great delight in His servant.

This is the lesson learned by King David in .

This chapter of scripture makes up a crucial text which contains the Davidic covenant.

It is one that points us away from our own “godly ambitions” and demands that we look at and take joy in the plans of God.

David’s Plans Receive The Prophets Approval

First we see David’s plans and that they are met with prophetic approval:

David had, had great success by the power of God.

Perhaps in a moment of contemplation David recognizes how far God had brought him from herding sheep to being King over Israel ().

David and Israel were in a time of peace.

David with help from Hiram, king of Tyre, had completed his own palace and is now living in royal splendor.

This being accomplished David has time to observe and to devote himself to other task.

Now it is, that after a failed first effort the ark of God has been successfully brought to Jerusalem and housed in a tent.

Now, how is it appropriate for David to live in a palace and the ark of God to be kept in a tent?

This is the thought that comes to David when he gets the ambition to build another house to house the ark of God in, one that is far more fitting with the surroundings.

With this set in his mind, he tells the prophet Nathan.

Nathan sees no great error in this with the law of God.

In fact it appears that he sees it as rather noble.

However the God who knows both the mind and heart better than we ourselves corrects His prophet who must correct his servant king David.

The Prophet Corrected By God

2 Samuel 7:

Our mind are far to finite to and too corrupt to even lift a rock for God and properly place it where it might please Him.

For in every step of the way we seem not to be able to help to consult ourselves and forget to consider God.

Even in considering God, we don’t consider God.

David had been brought from the shepherd fields to be king of God’s people by God.

He had been preserved through Goliath and through Saul and numerous battle by God.

He had been chosen for His position by God.

All of the favor and peace that he now enjoys, His palace of comfort has been established by God and then he looks out and says I will build a house for God.

We hear all of this as fitting and noble, just as the prophet Nathan did, that is until we hear the words of God,

“Would you build me a house to dwell in?”

“I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day.”

“I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling.”

“In all of this time, to all of my people, to all of the judges who were commanded by me to shephered my people, did I ever ask any ‘why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’

DETAILS WORTH NOTING:

Let me point out a few details to help us see what is taking place here.

First: In verses 1,2 & 3 David is refered to as king.

But when God refers to David, He calls him My servant David.

(v.5)

David’s title as king had perhaps begun to go a little to much to his head.

Though for the people in Israel and surrounding areas he was the highest authority in the land, in relation to God, David is merely a servant.

David takes what appears to be the serving postion here of wanting to give God a helping hand.

David is in a temple, God is in a tent…here God let me help you with that.

Second: David seems to put too much value in a temple, as apposed to the teabernacle.

This is adressed by Stephen in .

Stephen had been brought before the Sanhedrin on trumped up charges, and one was that he spoke against the temple ().

Stephen did not deny the charge brought against him by a false witness.

Instead, he used the law (the Old Testament Word of God) to defend himself.

He pointed out that God was not nearly as impressed with the temple as the Jews were.

His argument was that God gave Israel the tabernacle, and that the temple was David’s idea.

Then in his closing argument, he noted that the God who created all things surely cannot be confined to a dwelling made by human hands.

In short, God does not need a temple, and He did not ask for one.

God rather allowed David’s son to build the temple because David wanted it.

It wasn’t wrong, it just wasn’t God’s idea so to speak or rather did not make a difference in God’s plan.

So God did not need a temple, as for some, a temple conveys the wrong message.

is in agreement with Stephens argument.

In we see as God gets to the heart of the matter.

Notice the pronoun “I”.

This section of God getting to the heart of the matter is very clearly God-centered.

Peterson states,

The message that Nathan delivers to David is dominated by a recital of what God has done, is doing, and will do.

God is the first-person subject of twenty-three verbs in this message, and these verbs carry the action.

David, full of what he's going to do for God, is now subjected to a comprehensive rehearsal of what God has done, is doing, and will do for and in David.