“Build My House”
Pastor David Moore
New Testament reading: 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 (NRSV)
For we know that, if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to be further clothed with our heavenly dwelling, for surely when we have been clothed in it we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan under our burden because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. The one who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a down payment.
So we are always confident, even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to him. For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive due recompense for actions done in the body, whether good or evil.
One of the hard parts of following God is choosing when to act, and how. We all have a certain amount of time and energy, and though we want to worship God with everything we have all the time, that really isn’t possible, or effective. So, we must pick and choose what ministries to get involved with. We must pick and choose how much time we put into our family, into our neighbors, into our church family. There was this one time King David was really enthusiastic about something, and God told him to wait, to hold off, because it would have taken David down a different path than the one that God had for him. ~D. Moore
Old Testament reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-21 (NIV)
After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”
That night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:
“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’
“Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.
“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord Himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”
Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:
“Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign Lord?
“What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign Lord. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.”
Theme: David listens to God and he listens to others and what they hear from God. ~D. Moore
David demonstrates for us a life of listening prayer. I like that David goes to prayer a lot when he is in trouble, and truthfully, he is in trouble quite a lot. I like to remind us that there are lots of types of prayers; praise, confession, thanks, guidance, silent prayers, prayers for others, and prayers for ourselves, but the most common prayer is “God help me.” David was great at this; asking God for what he needed. For help, for refuge, for healing, for salvation, for deliverance, for mercy, for the Holy Spirit. He prayed praise as well. ~D. Moore
God knows the future, and what needs to happen. We can see God’s plan for us in retrospect. ~D. Moore
David’s prayers reflect on what God has done for him. God is personal with David. David is coming back to the relationship that he knows and wants. ~D. Moore
2 Samuel 7:18-19 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign Lord?
We need to return to our first love, the Lord our God. Remember you are on a first name basis with God, and if something has gone wrong in your relationship with God, get it right. There is nothing more urgent, and no better time than now.
In your prayer, renew your commitment to God. ~D. Moore
God bless and have a good week!