Relax in His Perfect Love
2 Samuel 7:8-16
Introduction
Our problem
One day I watched a movie. In the movie a young lady broke up with her boy friend and could not find a job. She could not even get the chance for an interview, just because she was not good looking. That made her feel very ashamed.
Actually there are different kinds of shame in our hearts.
This shame may come from our society today.
Because people may think :
· We are not beautiful enough .
· We are not smart enough .
It may also comes from our culture :
· It may be because of our gender. Many companies do not like to recruit women. female.
· It may be because of our age. Some companies do not like to recruit older people.
It may come from our family:
· Sime people suffered mental illness because their parents could not accept who they are and do not think they are good enough.
All these may cause us feel ashamed in our deep heart. So we try our best to earn acceptance. We work harder so that people will appreciate us and affirm us. We may even tell lies or have plastic surgery.
Dear brothers and sisters when we are walking on this journey, all these are burdens. Many of us may get lost. We do not know who we are. We do not know the purpose of our lives.
God treat us in different way:
But actually our God does not treat us like that. He has perfect love for us. He has a unique purpose for each of us. He treasures each of us.
Once there was boy who was shepherd, but later became a king. His father and brothers and even the prophet did not think he was qualified to be king. But he did become king because God anointed him.
When a giant came to fight his people, it seemed there was no one who could defeat him. But actually this boy killed him by the power of our Lord. You may know who the boy is. He is David.
撒上16:7因为，耶和华不像人看人，人是看外貌。耶和华是看内心。
The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'
So today I want to show you through David's story how God's perfect love works. Then I will encourage you and myself to relax in His perfect love.
God’s covenant to Abraham
In the book of Genesis we read about Abraham. Because of God’s unconditional love, he chose Abraham. He promised him a land; he promised he would give him a great name, he promised him many descendants, and he promised His blessing and protection. This was God's covenant to Abraham and his descendants, the nation of Israel.
God also promised that the whole world would be blessed through Abraham’s seed, and this refers to Jesus Christ. God called Israel to be the human channel through which His Son and His Word would come to the world.
Abraham's son was Isaac, and Isaac's son was Jacob. When Abraham, Isaac Jacob passed away, God kept his promise to Abraham's descendents. Eventually they became a great nation and God brought them to live in the land of Canaan that he had promised. Many years later David became their king.
God’s Covenant to David
In this chapter, the Lord gave another covenant to David, through the prophet Nathan. This is usually called the Davidic covenant. God’s covenant with David builds on his covenant with Abraham, because it speaks about the nation and the land. But it also adds something new. God promised that David's descendant would continue to be kings after him. In fact, his kingdom would continue for ever.
This declaration meant a lot for David in his day. It also very important for us today!
At the beginning of this chapter, David wanted to build a house for the Lord, because he was a man after God’s own heart and longed to honor the Lord in every possible way. Many years earlier, David had vowed to the Lord that he would build Him a temple. When he was settled as king, it troubled David that he was living in a comfortable palace while the ark of God was in a tent, and he shared his burden with the prophet Nathan. He wanted to build a house for God.
But God told David through Nathan that he didn't need a house to live in. Instead God would establish a house for David. That didn't mean a building; it meant that God would make sure that David's descendants would follow him as kings. David would have a dynasty, lasting forever.
God reminded David that He had never asked anyone to build Him a house. God had commanded Moses to make a tent in the desert, and He had traveled with His people and lived with them wherever they camped. Now Israel was in the land and had peace, they needed a caring leader, not a temple.
God reminded him that He had called him from being a shepherd to be the king . He had defeated all his enemies and made him great. David did not need to build a house but to shepherd his people and to set a great example them.
Then The Lord gave promises about David’s throne and family.
The Lord promised that :
The Lord himself would establish a house for David:
When he died the Lord would raise up his own son to succeed him
The Lord would establish his son's kingdom. The son would be the one to build a house for God.
The Lord will be his father, and he will be my son. When his son does wrong, The Lord will punish him . But God’s love will never be taken away from him.
God would establish his throne for ever.
His house and his kingdom will endure forever before God; His throne would be established forever.' '
The Lord promised David something beyond anything he could have imagined.
David wanted to build God a house (the temple), but God promised to build David a house—a dynasty forever!
The throne of David ended in 586 BC with Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. However, the line of David continued and brought Jesus Christ the Son of God into the world. All of this is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Son of David.
It will be completed when Jesus returns, establishes the promised kingdom, and sits on David’s throne.
The spiritual blessings God offered to David are today offered through Jesus Christ to all who will trust in Him
That why Jesus died for us on the cross.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. (Roman8:1-2)
We do not need to earn acceptance. Because of God's unconditional love and grace, all we need to do is to accept the eternal gift God offer to us through Jesus .
Application part:
The covenant God gave David was unconditional; all David had to do was accept it and let God work. He relaxed in his perfect love. He accepted it with a thankful heart. He sang praises and prayed .
We can learn a lot from what David prayed.
Accept the amazing grace through trusting in Jesus
First he focused on the present and accepted what God had given him.
When David focused on the present, he gave praise for the mercies God gave him (vv. 18–21). It was God’s grace that had brought David this far—from being a shepherd to being king—and now God had spoken about his descendants far into the future.
撒下7:18说，主耶和华阿，我是谁。我的家算什么。你竟使我到这地步呢？
he said: 'Who am I, O Sovereign Lord , and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?
David addressed God as “Lord God,” which in Hebrew is “Jehovah Adonai, the Sovereign Lord.” (In vv. 22 and 25, it’s “Jehovah Elohim,” the God of power.) Only a God of sovereign grace would give such a covenant, and only a God with sovereign power could fulfill it.
One day a gentleman came to church. He wanted me to explain to him what is the gospel. I shared that everyone has sinned against God, and that the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord, because Jesus died for us and our sins. He was very surprised at this. He said “It's impossible. It's so amazing”. “Yes”, I told him. “It is grace. All you need to do is just relax and accept it.”
There is no need to work and worry so much. We could not earn this grace and salvation. Accept the eternal gift by trust in Him.
Second, in verses 22–24, David looked at the past. He gave thanks to the Lord. It made him realize how powerful and merciful God is.
Jacob went back to see his brother Esau .On the way he heard that his brother was coming to meet him with 400 men. He was in great fear and distress . He started to pray. there was include thanks giving too. Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well.
创32:10 你向仆人所施的一切慈爱和诚实，我一点也不配得。我先前只拿着我的杖过这约旦河，如今我却成了两队了。
I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two groups.
Third, David looked at the future. He related God’s covenant. Because of the promises he found the courage to pray to the Lord. He delivered his future into God hand and asked God bless him and his family .
Dear Brothers and sisters, I would like to encourage you to relax in God's perfect love.
Accept his grace. Then you will get the eternal gift through Jesus by trusting him.
Count the great things which God has done in your life and God’s presence will become more real in your life.
And deliver your future into his almighty hand. He will bless you according to his promises.
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