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January 20, 2022 12:00 am
David didn't lie in bed every night dreaming of the next giant he would kill or the next battle he would win. He dreamed of building a temple for God. He was a singer, a prophet, a hero, and a king, but what he really wanted to be was an architect. So what can we learn from his severe disappointment at being told no?
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Morris Morrow garage door. He opens a window window for David was the opportunity to prepare, you will be able to dig one footing is not going to hammer one nail will never hang one door. By the time you get to first Chronicles of David's speech where he hands over the blueprints to Solomon and he announces to the nation all that he's prepared. He spent the remainder of his life getting ready for this, you would expect to find the shell of an angry old man battle build a temple for God, but God had other plans, building the temple would be for David's son, not for David, instead of getting better.
David got to work in other ways.
He made plans that would pave the way for those who would build one day if you've ever had your dreams or plans changed by God. Keep listening because today on wisdom for the heart. Stephen Davies shows you how to respond when God says no were continuing through our series called the singer with this message, when the answer is no God effectively tells Nathan to go tell David that you need a house in the house that will be built the temple will be built by his hand. In fact, if you looked at it.
Verse 12 II read it quickly. David is informed by Nathan that when he lies down with his father's. That is when he dies his descendents will build that temple that house. So in a parallel passage in second Chronicles 17 reads even more clearly the word of God came to Nathan saying go and tell David my servant, thus says the Lord, you shall not build a house for me to dwell in David it won't be you. It will be your son Solomon. Now before you rush ahead and say what I got scraped up and said family to be one. Keep in mind David is no ulterior motive here. He has no selfish ambition has no desire to make a name for himself. They can write his name over the front door. He wants to exalt the name of God.
He imagined wanting to exalt the name of God wanted to do something glorious for God, no ulterior motive. No selfish ambition is for you, and God says no were given a little further clarification in the Chronicles that since David spent most of his life in war. God wanted a man of peace to build the temple and Solomon's name is a derivative of shalom will be that man of peace is a matter of David's heart being wrong. It's a matter where God simply said no no pause for a moment with the difficulty of this in mind for Nathan himself. Imagine a prophet having to do it about-face within 12 hours. That would've been easy David, this is going to have another appointment the next morning with Nathan and they have to effectively say look, David got so excited. I don't your passion in your desire.
It's a great wonderful eyes.
I said God would be pleased for you all for God came to me and said oh yeah he'll be pleased with the buildings temple, but I could be such a discouraging word that you just want to cry you plan to go college or graduate school, but you have made plans to get married but your child you are the person for that job but you plan on having lots of children, but plan on not having any more children. But a little conjunction can change everything that when you're talking to someone what comes after. They say, but is what really matters, so tune in your child out of elementary school teacher, because you and says we really love having little tornado in the classroom with us, but the client calls up and says we've enjoyed doing business with you for years but maybe you fellas had a girlfriend call you at some point so you know you're really nice guy and are all like spending time with you but you know what that means you are now free to move about the country. I'm convinced David was unable to sleep.
He was excited he was dreaming planning the things he would do for the glory of God, and God said, but I have something else in mind. It strikes me that when were told David a heart after God heart after God's heart is such a big statement you can attack that in one lesson marked of having a heart after God is probably nowhere more revealed then and how someone responds with God's heart says no let's go through these next few verses quickly and let me give you five summary words reveal the David's attitude and action will call it five ways to respond. When God says no right here we go number one.
The first way to respond is with humility. Verse 18 and King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, my Lord God, and what is my house that you have brought me thus far is it going to God's presence and I got a laundry list while the man for the child why would you let me do that without any argument without any protest.
David is literally at his best here when he goes into that skin covered tabernacle and offers up the self-deprecating self enunciating self-denying testimony anyway to receive what you've given already. What do I even have now that isn't the result of your goodness, dream or no dreams.
I am a blessed person. David's God says no respond with humility. Secondly, respond with gratitude. Verse 19 and yet this was a small thing in your eyes the Lord God spoke, and also of your servant's house for a great while the common you can insert that was a surprise. What you're doing for me, Lord is choosing to focus on what God is going to do rather than what God has chosen not to do. Gratitude comes when were willing to view the will of God in a longer term rather than a shorter term God has something else in mind effectively were thought about the fact implied in in God's response to David through Nathan that had God allowed David to begin building the temple 20 years earlier when he wanted to. David would more than likely have made it out of cedar wanted out of cedar wanted out of stone and gold and silver read recently about a man who had heard God say no and then God's design was a yes different way. It would involve surprise and disappointment.
He and his wife had dedicated their lives to vocational ministry there were going to Africa to reach and unreached tribe in the result or support. They made it to the field and in the middle of the first term, his wife came down with a serious disease which caused them to have to leave the field and come back to the United States in order to make a living. He joined his father in his dentistry practice was the last thing he wanted to do the needed eat. He also had the idea just from understanding and need within the congregation.
He was part of a denomination observed of the Lord's table every time together and the grape juice didn't have a very long shelf life before it would begin to ferment, so he began to experiment. He experimented with pasteurization so that he could provide unfermented grape juice for their communion. He figured it out. The young man a been a missionary his dream and didn't – along with his wife.
His name was Thomas Welch.
He went on to produce quote unfermented sacramental wine for church, but he caught on and to this day.
In fact, within 10 years. It was selling around the world along with Welch grape jelly, he would go on to give hundreds of thousands of dollars to the gospel and prices. That's it. No, that in a yes to this. Maybe you can't teach what you can pray, maybe you can go. But you can support.
Maybe you can't sing but you can organize, you can run that particular race, but you can provide the shoes for the people who can God says no to that. And yes to this laughter, planning and organizing for 20 years temple is going to be absolutely breathtaking and you you you here 20 years earlier. Nothing but gratitude and David's voice is God will begin to unfold. An entirely different plan for his life respond with humility and gratitude certainly respond with surrender these uneasy words by the way your daily challenges respond with surrender. If you look at verse 20 David to send again.
What more can David say you fridge you know your servant. Oh Lord God is on your servant, what more can I say I belong to you, that's good enough it interesting that in verse 18. He asks who am I in verse 20 he says I am your servant, which provides an interesting principle of surrender and security is not so much who you are, but whose you are on your time surrendering and here's I think the tough part surrendering to the plan of God means you are surrendering to the pace of God as he directs her steps and that pace never fits hours. It's never been easy.
Years ago, driving our twin sons to kindergarten couple mornings a week give Marsha break and we carpooled with another family. They had a son as well. All in kindergarten I ice the drive just they can they be in the back and I just I just listen to the conversations one. Sermon illustration after another. I loved for several weeks, I gotta tell you, they talk about the latest grade in kindergarten the latest thing the big say in the latest rage just so happened to be loose teeth. That was the talk that was a talk. They knew everybody in class who had a loose tooth by name and if they lost out to the coming the next morning and that would be that that the show and tell Trey frighten her back after first hour. I have three kids, give me a hug and the one that came up it was look at this to wiggle it. This is just a badge of growing up like it is finally Marsha and I had a little trouble with art art. Our twin actually like trouble with her twins, but we had a little trouble with this problem. They were born the same day and they thought in their minds and everything that should happen the same time, it just didn't happen that way I can remember one of my boys announced his tooth was loose in his saw his brother our twin son immediately reached for his and it was not loose it was panic time. In fact, all night long he worked on that too many came down to breakfast and analysis loose then it will he'd succeeded one particular Friday afternoon variety along with the little boy. The three little boy announcers a girl in kindergarten. Had to loose teeth saying I owe this good could life be. He knew her name and then one of our sons just said that never happens to me, why, why does everybody have a loose team thinks that I do pullover do emergency counseling right on the side of I couldn't help but think we really don't get far past the Dewey. The only thing that changes is the object of our discontent into the loose teeth that something else. It's things that we can hammer down. It's it's what we like to purchase but can home. It's a career it's a relationship.
David, in the sense is echoing the attitude of Paul who writes, I have learned in whatever situation I am in to be content. Philippians 411 whether rich or poor. He goes on to explain whether appreciated or underappreciated, and whether in the ER in abundance what I got all his tears are not Ireland's whatever you say wow I just wish I had that gift of contentment is not a gift posted. I have learned that kind of learning takes place in a classroom with curriculum more than likely entitled when God says no trouble is, we don't want to stay in class long enough to learn and here's David with great submission and surrender, Lord, I belong to you middle wait on you your purpose, your plan, your pace, your ordering my steps. You've ordered must stop here. You get something else for me to do. Fourth, respond with praise. Look at this response in verse 22. It's hard to imagine this coming on the heels of Nathan revisiting him and say God just said no. This you are, grade 20 Lord God, for there is none like you and there's no God beside you. I didn't got to say no yes he did this in the gray excuse me. Didn't God just take away your dream yeah but he didn't take away my faith is no God like him to try to force the locks made even better down. Maybe not Carter know God is close this door and I'm waiting on his direction to go in a different way.
One author provoke my thinking when he said the difference between waiting on God and wrestling with God is worship the difference between waiting on God and wrestling with God is worshiping God and from verse 22 to the end of this chapter, you could spend a week just going through David's declaration of the glory and the greatness and the faithfulness and the grace of God respond when God says no. With humility, surrender, gratitude, praise one more fifth respond with ready readiness.
I said at first, but I've always smiled at the statement that with God shuts the door. He opens a window so stay alert the window for David was the opportunity to prepare.
He will be able to dig one footing that can hammer one they'll never hang one door but he can prepare for that lazy David did for the next 20 years I get to hang any doors hammer nails negative findings. Forget it. I don't have anything to do with his temple.
Sorry I never thought about it and dreamed about you beating similar philistines over the head. No building the temple of God is obvious by the time you get to first Chronicles in David's speech, regular study able to be a great study where he hands over the blueprints to Solomon and he announces to the nation all that he's prepared.
He spent the remainder of his life getting ready for this, you would expect to find the shell of an angry old man but you don't effectively read to you as he dedicates this work is formally begins. He tells the congregation inform Solomon that he has is a prepare now to build organized and trained 38,000 priests there closing their courses for units. But the do is train 6000 officers who believe he's trained 4000 gatekeepers who will circulate. He's trained 4000 people to sing and play musical instruments all have an instrument he has overseen the development and the building of 4000 musical instrument, he says, with great pains I have provided for the houseboy love the fact that he said that because God said no to something really wanted to do and we got said yesterday he said was painful with great pains with great care with great difficulty. He says I have provided 7500 tons of gold and 75,000 tons of silver, bronze and iron beyond weighing there so much of it timber and stone. I have provided Solomon you have an abundance of workmen stonecutter's carpenters all kinds of craftsmen without number. Skilled in working gold, silver, bronze and iron Verizon were the Lord be with you when author estimated that David and saved up in today's economy. Somewhere around $5 billion worth of gold and silver. There's no shell of a bitter old man. This is an excited, thrilled man who accepted God's answer and spent his years preparing in whatever way he could for the work.
This is like being excited that you spent 20 years to gather seeds so that somebody else can plant an orchard that will bear fruit. You will never taste it. Excited about that. This is the spirit of readiness got said no to that. Yes to this. A focus on what I can do.
Even though God is changed everything want to share. I was driven to the airport on this past Friday by word of life, student whose job was to drive the speakers to and from passively planning on doing and he said the well do a lot of thinking about that things changed. I said all how is it will a month and 1/2 ago my father was killed said have so he said it was a car accident. I thought it was a pastor driving a group of students, connectivity, and on the way back tire blue van flipped and rolled and my father was killed.
I said I heard about that was your dad.
Yes, he said I was studying in New York and now my mother lives here in Florida and my my siblings and I'm the man of the house back here praying about what God has in excess of what he think he has. He said well up fairly convinced that he wants me to go into the ministry now.
I said all unit carry on your dad's legacy.
So how do you feel about. He said I'm really excited to have you come in here today. You've experienced a change of shift of some sort. Maybe your view of life is what is gotta be something different, something better, something faster. Something new or something more exciting you're waiting and there's an open window here over there. But waiting on the door. I found it interesting in my research to come across a survey of secular survey that that interviewed 3000 people, adults asking them the question what you have to live for but the penetrating questions what you have to live it as I read that the answers this this pervasive theme that ran through 90% of their answers had the same idea that they were waiting for something to happen. They wanted to see happen.
There were all waiting for something they didn't have something they hoped would take place. For instance, a number of them were living for that moment when they were going to be married which life mean for you now.
Well not much of, but I'm getting married, others were waiting for children to be born. Others were waiting for their children to leave home somewhere, waiting for that long dreamed about trip. Most of them were waiting to retire tragedy was all of them were waiting for something to happen in the future and in the meantime life meant little in the present. The survey summarize with these perceptive words, especially from a secular source. They indeed pointed to the truth of God's wisdom. These people were waiting without realizing that all anyone has is today because yesterday is gone and they may not have tomorrow are you waiting for God to change his mind waiting for God to change the locks on the door or forgot to stamp your dreams with his approval, or like David coming in sitting in the tabernacle in the presence of God, saying, whom I whom I but your servant you've already been so good. But what could I do to serve you today here and now in the mundane and the drudgery of perhaps all of it in in in in the repetitive cycle of it all. How can I bring you glory here in whatever and where ever you have placed see if I can summarize those five words I would put it this way let's respond like David with humility for what he has chosen for you respond with surrender to what he has chosen to do through you respond with gratitude for what he has chosen to give you respond with praise for what he has chosen to receive from an respond with readiness for how he has chosen his will to be prepared. Organize are supported or enabled precedent by for his name for his glory for his spring, he might be struggling with humility… You know who I am, rather than just your servant.
It might be a struggle of surrender for what he's chosen struggle of gratitude. Whatever way the spirit of God to just talk back with your bike's text was determined by time to God's is an opportunity for us to find God's yes and learn what he does want from us. I'm glad you joined us today here on wisdom for the hard with Stephen Devi. These broadcasts are the core of our ministry, but we have many other resources to help you grow in God's wisdom. Please take the time to explore our website wisdom online.org you're going to find all of our resources there, and I'm convinced that it'll be a blessing to you. One resource you'll find is our magazine each month. Our magazine includes articles written by Stephen to help you dive deeper into specific topics related to the Christian life magazine also has a daily devotional guide that you can use to remain rooted in God's word each day.
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