Still Searching for a King, Part 2

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I'm your host Molly that events. So glad you're here with us today so we run all the prophecies where Jesus Christ is foreshadowed throughout the Old Testament but not just in prophecies also in viewing the failures of human leaders and seen in the longing of God's people today pastor JD Greer continues our series on the life of King David with a message about one of David's most egregious mistakes as we listen will discover why Israel was still searching for a king. Even though David was a man after God's own heart. Let's get started.

David had two different interviews that are given to it in the Bible this week. One of the next week which will be our final message, but today in the number one of the life of David would come from second single chapter 24 so if you have a Bible I would love for you to pull that out and opened up the second signal 24 bits with the bill. Is this Davidson's command, but he wants his people to number all of the fighting men in Israel, both those that are currently in the Army as an enlisted man as well as those who are eligible for the draft.

But David's heart struck him after he had number the people. David said the Lord I've said greatly what I've done.

But now, oh Lord, please take away the iniquity for your service of your servant Ry have done very very foolishly. Now I am going to give you an explanation for why I think this was so wrong he wasn't only fighting many goggles you will see whether to do with the attacks of what's wrong with that God had promised to take care of them David that used to say that matter how big the drive is because God by Frost that Dave is not there anymore. Now he's like yeah that was me when I was a teenager, but now I got responsibilities and I got bills but I got a kingdom run logo come down to help the got only as to the lack of faith. One of the reasons that that you figure out how many fighting men. You have a Scripture thing about pick a fight right these things made David delight in his army.

He should've been delighting in God he should have been trusting in God, and he should've had his eyes on God's grace not on the potential conquest of other nations. The irony. The irony is second signal ends with David repeating the same sin that open person about a week we started this study, Israel's first sin going in the first Samuel was that they wanted a king replace God as their security and their treasure. Now David once an army to replace God as his security and treasure. So David's sin here because he delighted in the strength of his numbers not in the grace of God. Verse 11, when David arose in the morning were the Lord to the prophet Gad God says the dead go and say to David thus says God three things I offer you choose one of them, but I may do it to you for 13 show three years of famine come to you in your land or show sleep very much for your photos while they pursue you, or shall there be three days pestilence in your lab. Now consider and decide what answer I shall return them resent me mainly God. So David chooses the pestilence the plague to come upon the land for three days and it tells you that within three days 70,000 people died 70,000 Israelites.now it is passages like this one that are precisely what keeps some people from believing the Old Testament could possibly be from God. Are they. Did you see what there were a number of problems. Some of you probably noticed as we went through there and there's probably some more that you didn't even notice.

I see five of them number 124 says that God moved David to fight tell the fighting that the Lord did, but you know that's kind of a problem but then it gets even worse because if you read it get this, the parallel account in first Chronicles when the author Chronicles tells the same story he says. Chapter 21, one then Satan stood against Israel and excited David to number Israel is of Satan or is it God number two is your second problem you see something you'll notice if you study the first Chronicles account is that there's a discrepancy the number of people that get reported. §24 says that in the northern states. There were 800,000, whereas first Chronicles 21 says that there were 1.1 million people appointed is not will clearly there's a contradiction here. The Bible can't possibly written by God because God could count number three number three wasn't the third objective people give like one of punishment, like an overreaction line people read your God set this big plague in response to David telling the people in it so I can only have best got a little cranky here. Number four for questioning.

What about the innocent David commits a sin right but the people would pay. This brings out the whole question of human suffering people asked why do innocent people suffer when I haven't done anything wrong and most people have this attitude are like God. Why are all these bad things happen those good people. The Bible and she turns that on its head says no.

Why are all these good things happen to you bad people.

The fact you and I took a breath this morning. The fact that we have family.

The fact that we are alive. His mercy if you understand what the Bible says about the penalty for our sin is sin that you what I have all participated in a rebellion against God. The fact we got up the bay. The five a. God gives us another chance to repent. The fact that you and I are alive read any good things is the mercy of God, and it requires a complete reengineering of your thinking, because when you have that you don't have the same questions used to have. What is surprising is not the severity of God's judgment.

What is surprising is the magnitude of his mercy. When you understand things the way to the Bible presents them Jesus one time what most politically incorrect conversation we ever have shocking scenes of Jesus in the Bible. Note that there is a tower injured in Jerusalem. It fell and killed 18 people people as she is like a 18 people to wake up. Nobody else like outsole 18 of all 18 of them together at the same time about as much as I just match them with the tower is that is that what was going on.

Jesus responsible chapter 13 was no what he said next, I'm telling you this so this is not gentle, meek and mild precious moments. Jesus little fuzzy in a row that you give Robin about this is not him. He looks back at him and he says yeah is not what was happening. The truth is, unless you repent you will all likewise perish. You said you translate it for you. Your sin on asking why the tower fell on these 18 people. The question you want to be asking is why did a tower fall on you is when you understand things from God's perspective. When you see the magnitude of the sin you what I've committed what is surprising to us is mercy, not judgment. What is surprising to us is how much grace that God has given us so that's the first point I'm trying to make you is that the people are not innocent but you like okay yeah but there were many people who were innocent of that particular sin enables one who did it. So that leads me to the second point, I will make about bits and that is that this is not the ultimate judgment from God's perspective. The ultimate judgment is in heaven. And that's the only one that really matters. There may have been people that were innocent of this particular sin that got swept up in this judgment, but God will not hold them responsible in eternity for a sin. They did not commit. And that's the judgment that really matters. You can kinda just look at this like God is collecting these people early, after which they will be judged by God in eternity for only fair deeds I was you and I could never ever ever use that line of reasoning to justify violence against the innocent on our part because were not God for us. Only the people who did the crime to get the punishment but God reigns in eternity and sees justice from that dimension God who sees all time as if it were all in one moment can do things like that and we not accuse him of injustice because he sees all the Spencer eternity in one single instance, one more thing on this before I move on to our for our last issue and that is that David says something at the end of this that reveals an understanding about God that you and I when we finally see things clearly will also say verse 14 let us fall into the hand of the Lord for his mercy is great, but let me not fall on the head of a man the Bible.

Listen, consistently maintains in the presence of suffering that God is much more merciful and more gracious than any of us would ever be you, your mom, your grandma, Mother Teresa, God is much more merciful and when you and I finally see things clearly. What will amaze us is not the severity of God's justice will amaze us the magnitude of his mercy. One of the reasons that you and I think of the judgments of God are harsh is because we have no concept of how wicked our sin is against God and when we finally see that clearly what surprises us is how gracious God has been to us.

If you had to fall into the hands of men or the hands of God.

You should always choose the hands of God. That's what David holds on to. I realize that for some of you you have trouble making sense of the world with that statement. The statement that God is more merciful, more gracious avails rather be swimming to be a way that uses more with you but here's our thing about this geometry class for quite a while to get Dr. some days you don't want to go back into right, but geometry class that was a completely unusual type of math class because up until that point in my life whenever I was given a math problem.

I was always in the private medical home, the answer now I'm getting the answer of the home and figure out the problem geometry. Remember this will eventually I got to where I trusted my teacher and I would go home and it wouldn't work out. But I keep pressing on and keep working at it and eventually I would figure out the axioms that led me down to that that final answer right. The reason I am telling you that is because that's what I want to do with God as well. There are many things that God says about himself like this and I'm more merciful, more gracious than anyone could ever imagine. And I look at the guy why would you do this and it doesn't make sense to me. So what I do is I believe what God reveals about himself, even when I can't make sense of some of the reasoning to get there because I'm not God is probably a lot of stuff that I not see leading up to that.

You see God's compassion God's character was once for all measured for me and put on display at the cross of Jesus Christ. That's where I see God feels it comes to me that's where I see how in control. God is that's where I see the character and the beauty of God put on display and when I can understand what God is doing in other places I hang on to what was revealed to me about God in the gross. That's what David does is he holds onto a truth about God even when he can understand a lot of things are going on. That's what's gonna happen with you as well. Here's number five the fifth. The sky was a link that had I like the Old Testament God right Old Testament is God in his JV years is cranky yeah guy got saved in the New Testament and became gentle Jesus me meek and mild. What answer that.

Let me show you how God acts in the story in the same exact way that it is the New Testament it's exact same thing say this, God forgives David of his sin in the story for two reasons. These are the exact reasons people get forgiven in the New Testament, a he repented of his idol, David repented of his idol. December 14 David said let me not follow the man's a man will befall the hands of God.

What you said is that it's safer.

The best place to be is in the hands of God, because God is a much better source production is a much better source of mercy much more of a delighting satisfaction anywhere else I could be. He repented of his idol. Whenever people come to Christ they repent of their idols and what they delighting in trust in more than God, and they return to God. That's the first reason God forgive David that he repented of his idol.

Second reason he got forgive David the gospel gospel. Let me say this about your text that will cover 16 when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it.

The Lord relent that were relented in Hebrew is a word that means compassion if he was grieved something in God's soul. If you call that was churned up with enemy Saudi was grieved from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people. It's enough stuff that's figuring an angel the Lord tells you where was was by the threshing floor are you in the Jebusite for 17 then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who striking the people and said all I'm going to send. I'm going to wickedly the she would've done, but your hand begets me because my father's house.

So then dad comes back to David and says all right got stops. God is grieved got a showing compassion. He forgives so he wants you. Here's a message from God.

He wants you to buy catch this the threshing floor where he stopped and was grieved.

This is where it gets really good because what you find out later. Second Chronicles chapter 3 is that threshing floor that belong to Aruna the Jebusite was called Mount Moriah, Mount Moriah was the place where Abraham had offered Isaac tried to offer Isaac that became a promise that God would one day send a ram to die in the place of Israel so that Israel could walk free and the ram would be put to death in Isaac's place in Israel's place. Second Chronicles 3 tells you that that very spot on this threshing floor is where Solomon built the temple which is where for the next 800 900 years sacrifices are going to be offered the lamb sacrifice the blood that are all going to point forward to the coming of the Lamb would die once role for the sins of all people, should we just happen, God comes to this place. This threshing floor and he looks down through history and he sees that this place you are going to commemorate the sacrifice of the Messiah for the sins of the people and guys grieved. These grieved with love for his people. He is grieved, thinking about how Jesus is going to die in Their Pl. in God's is enough. It got forgives silver 17 David says let your hand be against the shepherd, but the seaport of the don't punish me that was something David couldn't do it his own sin, but that field. God looked out the history and saw the shepherd really would be smitten for the sheep and he forget to let me bring all this to close for you, this strange ending of second Samuel leaves you with one major points. David is not the king that we can search for there is another David story second Samuel ends by him committing the very sin that it started this whole thing.

We come full circle. They wanted a king replace Godspeed I want to normally replace God to the many Old Testament books and in exactly the same way. It's really strange what you see you succeed everywhere Moses for example Moses Moses the lawgiver right Moses story ends by Moses breaking the law and because about being unable to go to the promised land it's it's a pathetic thing all Israel's margin over the promised land. Moses so that the mountaintop watch them go across the Jordan law lawgiver breaks the law. Nehemiah in the Bible to the last chronologically historical things that happens in the Old Testament. Nehemiah is the great rebuilder of Jerusalem accurately destroyed rebuilt the temple in the book of Nehemiah, Ezra Nehemiah in with this prophetic see all the old people. Although people were standing around his temples wall they just built and they all start crying.

But why are you crying] is not news pretty is the first one may remember, they'd seen the first one but Debbie downer looks terrible under the first was a lot better this in the book of Nehemiah gives with this question of really, that's it. That's the restoration of Jerusalem, David David's life ends with him committing the exact same sin again. This whole thing. The whole message of the Old Testament is we need a lawgiver that not only keeps the law but to redeem us when we break it we need a builder who will build a glorious eternal kingdom that can never be shaken.

We need a shepherd who will not abuse his sheep like Bathsheba and Uriah butter shepherd who will die for them. We need a father who will not neglect his children like Absalom, but will pursue them to the point of death, and lay down his life for them.

We need a king will not sin against his people, but a king who will die their place for their sin and that role cannot be played by Moses or Nehemiah or David can only be filled by Jesus Christ, God's son. He is the king that we have been searching for some of you all your life all your life you heard the stories and the message has always been like David be like Moses there to be a Daniel really really you want to be like David. David did some cool stuff there certainly some things that we can emulate from him, but David was a terrible father.

David was a bad husband, David failed as a king. The point of David's life and Moses like Daniel's life is not to be like them.

They are to point you to hope and a Savior who works the salvation that is great enough for them and great enough for you and that's good news for some of you, especially those of you who have lost your way and made a mess out of things because that means the point is not your perfect record. The point is the great salvation that God can work in and through you.

So if you feel so beat up because you have failed to feel so beat up because the mess you've made of things.

The whole point is that Jesus Jesus is the King were searching for. I am not in these messages trying to give you an example to emulate.

I'm not trying to stuff your head full of Bible facts. I'm trying to get you to see Jesus because what you need is a Savior, a Savior who can change your heart a Savior who can forgive you where you have failed a Savior who can make all things new. This before, but the goal of a lecture is that you be with information. The goal of a motivational speech is that you would with action steps. The goal of a sermon is that you leave Porsche worshiping Jesus not filled with expectations about what you need to go do for him standing in hush. All because of what he has done for you, as the goal of the sermon. If I just give you Jesus as an example, but did you David is example you feel proud when you're doing well, but disgustingly bad, like a failure when you've messed up. But if you see that Jesus was the Savior.

It will both humbled you as you see what he had to go through for you but then fill you with hope because you see what he can re-create through you at the same time religion messages that tell you be like David there to be a Daniel there always are to produce one of two things. Pride and despair you're proud when you're doing well and you feel like crud when you're doing bad.

The gospel fills you with absence of those associate with humility is what Christ had to do for you because you couldn't do it yourself. Nobody can fills with hope because you see the resurrection what God can do in your life and in your marriage so your lodger is messed up as David's is good news point that David appoints Jesus. You see, what a beautiful picture that second Samuel leaves you with second Samuel ends with Israel suffering because of the sense of their king, but it won't point you forward to the coming of the King who will suffer for the sins of his people Israel died for David Sands. Jesus would die for hours, the whole points second Samuel is to show you that whatever king you choose will let you down. Israel had a lot of hope in David. He was in many ways everything that they wanted but let them down. Whatever king you choose will let you down. Maybe it's a spouse, maybe it's money maybe it's romance maybe it's a drunk. Whatever king you choose will leave you in the exact same spot that David left the people of his but there is another there is a king Jesus is the only king listened that if you obtain him will actually satisfy your soul is the only king that if you fail you will die for you to forgive you. He is the king you would search your king.

There's no need to look any further.

He's ready and he's waiting for you to crown him king you're listening to Senate life with pastor Janie Greer. Janie is the last week were offering an important bug.

It's called one nation under God.

Christian hope for American politics, so can you tell us as we look toward the coming elections to advocate for a specific party or candidate is a great question and the answer is no. This will make it clear that Jesus is an equal opportunity offender friend of mine says that the role of the of the gospel preacher is to undermine all the political parties that's kind of what this book does. It shows you that certain political parties are to get certain questions right at the end of the day you have to choose the political party think it's more the most important questions more right and the other party does. And so we want to stand both above and behind both parties telling them this is what the Lord says these questions and many others are addressed in this great little book. We wanted to give to you as a gift to say thank you for being part of her ministry.

Throughout the series, this will say thank you for how you partner with us in in the ministry or some copy of called one nation under God again when you donate to support this ministry again tonight when you donate now by calling 866-339-5220. Forgive online Janie Greer.com don't forget nation under God. Never again by 5220.

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