In 1 Chronicles 22:9, The LORD promises David that a son will be born to him who will give his people rest. In fact, he will be a man of rest, and will give peace to Israel all of his days. This son was Solomon, who ruled Israel during it's most peaceful and prosperous days. I love the section of Chronicles that tell us about the golden years of Solomon's reign. Peace on all sides and every man under his own fig tree, it's a brilliant picture of the future for God's people.
Solomon is David's son, a man of peace. Just like Jesus, a man of peace, the Son of David, the head son, the king son, the Son. All God's promises are yes and amen in Him, and so every promise made by God to His people in the Old Testament is a promise made to us, and 'amened' in Jesus. So Jesus is the man of rest who will give us rest. He came to give us peace.
He came to give us peace with each other. No wars in Heaven. No cross words caused by the million faces of pride, no marriages in strife. Because Jesus is a man of peace and He brings peace to all who are in Him. In His Kingdom there will be no broken hearts, no tears shed. We'll have peace with each other.
What's the source of our restlessness with other people? Our restlessness within ourselves. No one ever fell out with someone needlessly because they were perfectly happy with their own hearts. How often are our frustrations with others actually just reflections of the restlessness in our own hearts. Our sins are wracked by sin. They are ruined by our pursuit of self. Follow your heart has to be the worst advice you can possibly be given, because your restless heart will lead you astray. But in Christ's Kingdom, when we're face to face with the man of peace, our hearts will be full of Him, and there'll be no room for ourselves in there. And what a day that will be...
And the reason we don't have peace within ourselves, and with others? Is because we do not have peace with God. That's what we were made for, that's who were made for. The Kingdom of Israel was made for peace, made to be a light to the nations, but they turned their hearts and worshipped other Gods. They ripped themselves away from the source of all their peace, and were sent away, but not forever. We've been sent away too, but not forever. One came out of the wilderness and across the water, He fought the devil in the desert and prevailed. He has borne our sorrows and our trials. And our restlessness, and our lack of peace. He died under the weight of it and left it in the grave. And only in union with peace Himself can we find peace ourselves.
1 Chronicles 22:9 calls us to look beyond Solomon, because we know how his story ended. Beyond a son of David, to the Son of david, and find rest in Him.
Showing posts with label David. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David. Show all posts
Thursday, 13 February 2014
Friday, 5 April 2013
Spring Broken
It's been spring break this week. Rachel's been off work, and i've been able to spend some more time with her. It's been lovely. I love the busy rhythms of normal life, but i also enjoy a break from time to time. And extra time with Rachel is never a bad thing.
In the mornings i've been prepping a series of messages in 1 John for Teen Discipleship which starts in a couple of weeks. John Piper described 1 John as 'uncannily relevant for our time.' John Macarthur writes at length about the diverse melting pot of beliefs in Ephesus at the time John wrote. This study has helped me and edified me, in the way that sermon prep should. I love the toughness and tenderness of the beloved apostle. Don't sin! But if you do, we have an advocate! Don't call God a liar! But come and be His child. This toughness and tenderness is what we need in the church today isn't it? Tough on sin, tender on sinners. Hold out Christ as all light with no darkness, and holding out Christ as our advocate, who bled to free us.
Also, apart from the first message on the chapter 1:1-4 and the last message on 5:18-21, i'm preaching more thematically than verse by verse, looking at the three tests of the Christian faith. Belief in Christ, obedience to God and love for the brothers. I'm looking forward to growing as a preacher in this area.
I've also been reading and enjoying/convicted by The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter. Reading this on the back of Paul Tripp's Dangerous Ministry has been really helpful, and like i say, convicting. The cool breeze of the centuries has given me a fresh perspective on pastoral and preaching ministry, on my relationship with God and my church.
Finally, a wise man remarked this week that 'everyone in the Bible is either Adam or Christ.' Absalom, tragically, is a type of Adam, but David is, as we know, as type of Christ. We see this so clearly in the close of 2 Samuel. God turns His face against the House of David, and as a result, there is a place that man can meet with God. You don't have to read Christ into the Old Testament, in fact, He's so obviously there, you have to try to read Him out!
In the mornings i've been prepping a series of messages in 1 John for Teen Discipleship which starts in a couple of weeks. John Piper described 1 John as 'uncannily relevant for our time.' John Macarthur writes at length about the diverse melting pot of beliefs in Ephesus at the time John wrote. This study has helped me and edified me, in the way that sermon prep should. I love the toughness and tenderness of the beloved apostle. Don't sin! But if you do, we have an advocate! Don't call God a liar! But come and be His child. This toughness and tenderness is what we need in the church today isn't it? Tough on sin, tender on sinners. Hold out Christ as all light with no darkness, and holding out Christ as our advocate, who bled to free us.
Also, apart from the first message on the chapter 1:1-4 and the last message on 5:18-21, i'm preaching more thematically than verse by verse, looking at the three tests of the Christian faith. Belief in Christ, obedience to God and love for the brothers. I'm looking forward to growing as a preacher in this area.
I've also been reading and enjoying/convicted by The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter. Reading this on the back of Paul Tripp's Dangerous Ministry has been really helpful, and like i say, convicting. The cool breeze of the centuries has given me a fresh perspective on pastoral and preaching ministry, on my relationship with God and my church.
Finally, a wise man remarked this week that 'everyone in the Bible is either Adam or Christ.' Absalom, tragically, is a type of Adam, but David is, as we know, as type of Christ. We see this so clearly in the close of 2 Samuel. God turns His face against the House of David, and as a result, there is a place that man can meet with God. You don't have to read Christ into the Old Testament, in fact, He's so obviously there, you have to try to read Him out!
Friday, 15 February 2013
The Preacher Says 'come with us...'
Warren Wiersbe said that ministry is the overflow of our relationship with God. Simply, that if 'ministers' in particular, and Christians on the whole, are in the business of offering Christ to others, they can not offer what they do not have. Someone else, i forget who, said that the problem with so much preaching is that preachers are like starving chefs who barely lick their own fingers. No heart warming ministry will flow out of a heart that has not been warmed.
On Thursday morning i read Numbers 9 and 10, Psalm 45 and Acts 17, and i saw some of this in action. The opening verse of Psalm 45 is 'my heart overflows with a pleasing theme...' What is that pleasing theme? The Handsome, God-blessed victorious King, who reigns forever and whose bride enters his presence with joy and gladness. This instructional love song was written and sung for the new son of David sitting on the throne of Judah, and is fulfilled the final Son of David, sitting on the throne of the universe.
This is a 'pleasing theme.' It's good to think about Jesus! It's good to stop and look at the sunrise on a cold, clear winter morning, good to stop and watch a cardinal pick about in your garden, good to slowly wallow in the truth of the Gospel. And this theme overflows. The Psalmist can't keep it in any more, praise is cascading from his lips for the king, and for The King. He invites others to sing with him, as they consider the beauty of this great King.
Moses does much the same in Numbers 10. It's nearly time for the camp to set out, and he wants his brother-in-law to go with them. Partly because he knows the lay of the land, he's a wilderness expert, and can help them on the way. But Moses is far more concerned about Hobab, at least at first. He says 'come with us, and we will do good for you...' Come to Israel, come to the LORD, come to Canaan. Abandon your false gods. Yes, for objective reasons of truth and helpful reasons of guidance, but more, come with us because we will do good to you. It will be good for you to be in relationship with the LORD and His people. It will be good for you to enjoy the promised blessings of Canaan, it will be good for you to rejoice in the atoning blood of the lamb as we celebrate Passover.
The LORD's goodness is a pleasing theme that overflows from Moses lips. He's tasted and seen, and now he says come and see. Is our preaching, our evangelism, the same? Do we offer a 'get out of Hell free' card, or do we offer a love stronger than death? Do we offer a new set of rules, or a king that will ruin our hearts for other lovers? Do you offer the Gospel to law-breakers, or to adulterers?
Paul's Mars Hill address in Acts 17 is the cornerstone for people who think that unless we offer a Gospel wearing a nose stud and laden with expletives we're doing it wrong. Look, Paul goes to Athens and meets them on their own terms. He doesn't really though does he? Hey, Athenians! God doesn't live in these temples you've built, God doesn't need your service, God is not unknown. If he was trying to be culturally sensitive at the cost of Biblical faithfulness he didn't do a very good job!
What does Paul actually say? Consider the God who loves you enough to give you the rain in it's season, who loves you enough to reveal Himself to you, who loves you enough to go to the grave and defeat death on your behalf. Not like the Greek gods, who were just bigger and more powerful people, with their jealousies and sins writ large, but a God who is fundamentally not like us. Paul says 'come to Jesus, and He will do you good.'
The Psalmist's heart, and Moses's heart and Paul's Gospel warmed heart overflowed with a pleasing theme, do our hearts do the same? As our hearts overflow, do our voices say, 'come with me, taste what i've tasted, see what i've seen, and it will do you good.'
On Thursday morning i read Numbers 9 and 10, Psalm 45 and Acts 17, and i saw some of this in action. The opening verse of Psalm 45 is 'my heart overflows with a pleasing theme...' What is that pleasing theme? The Handsome, God-blessed victorious King, who reigns forever and whose bride enters his presence with joy and gladness. This instructional love song was written and sung for the new son of David sitting on the throne of Judah, and is fulfilled the final Son of David, sitting on the throne of the universe.
This is a 'pleasing theme.' It's good to think about Jesus! It's good to stop and look at the sunrise on a cold, clear winter morning, good to stop and watch a cardinal pick about in your garden, good to slowly wallow in the truth of the Gospel. And this theme overflows. The Psalmist can't keep it in any more, praise is cascading from his lips for the king, and for The King. He invites others to sing with him, as they consider the beauty of this great King.
Moses does much the same in Numbers 10. It's nearly time for the camp to set out, and he wants his brother-in-law to go with them. Partly because he knows the lay of the land, he's a wilderness expert, and can help them on the way. But Moses is far more concerned about Hobab, at least at first. He says 'come with us, and we will do good for you...' Come to Israel, come to the LORD, come to Canaan. Abandon your false gods. Yes, for objective reasons of truth and helpful reasons of guidance, but more, come with us because we will do good to you. It will be good for you to be in relationship with the LORD and His people. It will be good for you to enjoy the promised blessings of Canaan, it will be good for you to rejoice in the atoning blood of the lamb as we celebrate Passover.
The LORD's goodness is a pleasing theme that overflows from Moses lips. He's tasted and seen, and now he says come and see. Is our preaching, our evangelism, the same? Do we offer a 'get out of Hell free' card, or do we offer a love stronger than death? Do we offer a new set of rules, or a king that will ruin our hearts for other lovers? Do you offer the Gospel to law-breakers, or to adulterers?
Paul's Mars Hill address in Acts 17 is the cornerstone for people who think that unless we offer a Gospel wearing a nose stud and laden with expletives we're doing it wrong. Look, Paul goes to Athens and meets them on their own terms. He doesn't really though does he? Hey, Athenians! God doesn't live in these temples you've built, God doesn't need your service, God is not unknown. If he was trying to be culturally sensitive at the cost of Biblical faithfulness he didn't do a very good job!
What does Paul actually say? Consider the God who loves you enough to give you the rain in it's season, who loves you enough to reveal Himself to you, who loves you enough to go to the grave and defeat death on your behalf. Not like the Greek gods, who were just bigger and more powerful people, with their jealousies and sins writ large, but a God who is fundamentally not like us. Paul says 'come to Jesus, and He will do you good.'
The Psalmist's heart, and Moses's heart and Paul's Gospel warmed heart overflowed with a pleasing theme, do our hearts do the same? As our hearts overflow, do our voices say, 'come with me, taste what i've tasted, see what i've seen, and it will do you good.'
Friday, 27 July 2012
Cool Things Happen On The Third Day
Jonah was three days and nights in the belly of the great fish, on the third day he was vomited out. Cool things happen on the third day...
Abraham took the son of the promise up the mountain on the third day, and he was ransomed for a sacrifice that God provided.
Genesis 22:3-5 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and
took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for
the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes
and saw the place from afar.5 Then
Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy[a] will go
over there and worship and come again to you.”
As they walked through the wilderness, it was on the third day that the LORD met Moses and gave Him the law. On the third day in the wilderness the story of revelation continued.
Exodus
19:1-3 On the
third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of
Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 They
set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they
encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the
mountain, 3 while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall
say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel
After being chased through the wilderness and fighting a war, on the third day, God's anointed King, David, was crowned King, with the news that Saul was dead.
2
Samuel 1:1-3 After the death of Saul, when David had returned from
striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. 2 And on
the third day, behold, a man
came from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came
to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage.3 David said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to
him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”
On the third day, showing her total faith in God, Esther went before the King to represent her people. She was the only one who could have an audience with the King, and it might've cost her her life.
Esther 5:1-3 On the third day
Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the
inner court of the king's palace, in front of the king's quarters, while the
king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the
entrance to the palace. 2 And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won
favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his
hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. 3 And the
king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be
given you, even to the half of my kingdom.”
On the third day, God's people will be revived, they will return, they will be raised up.
Hosea
6:1-3 Come, let us return
to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will
bind us up.2 After two days he will
revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.3 Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his
going out is sure as the dawn;he will come to us as the showers, as the
spring rains that water the earthFriday, 29 June 2012
Mephibosheth
Who are you when you read the Bible? You know what i mean. Are you Paul, riding off into the sunset to plant another church. Are you Peter, overcoming past sins to commit your whole life to God? Are you Ruth, trusting God in the face of overwhelming circumstance?
I don't know about you, but i've never been Mephibosheth. Who was Mephibosheth? He was the grandson of Saul, which was a problem when the new king came to town. IN those days, particularly when the throne passed from one house to another, the new king was perfectly within his rights to round up, and at the very least, exile or kill the descendants of the old king. That's why verse 1 of 2 Samuel 9 is such a shocking verse. Is there anyone left of the house of Saul that i might (kill them? Finish them off? Chase them from the land?) show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? David and Jonathan had promised to show kindness to each other's descendants, should the Lord give them a chance, and here is David, fulfilling that promise.
In verse 10 we see this kindness fleshed out. Mephibosheth is given all of Saul's land, his servants, and will eat and drink at David's table. That's some kindness to show to the lame grandson of a former king! What has Mephibosheth to offer David? Nothing! Not insight on the enemy, they've been vanquished. Not strength in battle, he's lame. Not prestige to add to David's house, in a day when defects were attributed to the punishment of God. No wonder Mephibosheth is amazed in verse 8; 'what is your servant, that you should show regard for such a dead dog as i?'
Why does David do it then? You can answer that question by saying, 'for the glory of David's name, for the glory of his love.' Who knew about the pact between David and Jonathan? Not many people, it certainly doesn't seem to be part of Jonathan's family lore, if Mephibosheth's reaction is anything to go by. For the sake of his name, David shows kindness to Mephibosheth even though he has nothing to offer him.
Let's digress for a minute. What are 95% of the worlds relationships based upon? The fulfilling of mutual needs? Why are divorce rates so high? Because many marriages are based on one party meeting the needs of another. Why do some people never get married? Because they don't want to find themselves tied to a person who one day may not meet their needs. What do we mean when we say 'i love you.' Often times we mean 'you, at this moment in space and time, meet my needs.' It is this view of marriage that has so devalued marriage. If met needs + attraction = marriage, then why shouldn't a man marry a man, or woman a woman?
This is not what David means by love is it? It can't be. There are no needs that Mephibosheth is meeting for David. When David says love he means, 'i have set my steadfast favour on you, and you can not fall out of my favour.' It's from incidences like this that we understand how Jesus is King David's greater Son, and King David's Lord.
You and I are Mephobisheth. In the past we stood against God, but he sought us out to do us good. Why did David find a descendant of Jonathan? To keep his promise to do them good. Why does Jesus seek us out? To do us good. What sort of good? Life, and land and prosperity forever. There's even a feast in 2 Samuel 9, just like there is at the end of time. Jesus finds us, brings us into our house, and sits us down to eat and drink with Him.
Why?
Not because He needs us. How does that make you feel, that God doesn't need you? More loved or less loved? More secure, or less secure? If Jesus loves us because He needs us, first of all, He's not much of a God, much less of a Saviour, and we should be wary about laying all our trust on Him. More to the point, what happens when He doesn't need us? Imagine though, Jesus loves you because He loves you! He has set His face on you to do you good, and nothing can convince Him otherwise! We did nothing to earn our salvation, and, as we're faithful to the end, we won't forfeit God's favour. This is tremendous, life giving news.
What sort of life should this produce? Well, look again at Mephibosheth. Verse 8 shows us a picture of humility. None of us want to portray ourselves as a 'dead dog,' but that humility would do us good. It produced a life of favour. Mephibosheth ate at the kings table 'always.' He had constant access to David, as we, through Christ, have constant access to God the Father. I would imagine that all the tea in China wouldn't have stopped Mephibosheth from telling the story of David's kindness to him. Are we as vocal in telling the story of Christ's kindness to us? I wonder how the promise of David effected the way Mephibosheth lived his life. I doubt very much that the fact there was always going to be food waiting for him at the King's table and a kind word from David at the end of the day made him lazy, or complacent. I would imagine faith in this future grace of David made him determined to live in a way that pleased David, and confident that when he failed, there would be grace.
All the Bible testifies to Jesus, and sometimes we're in there two. We're in the Bible as the totally undeserving recipients of sovereign grace. Nothing in our hand we bring, simply to His cross we cling...
I don't know about you, but i've never been Mephibosheth. Who was Mephibosheth? He was the grandson of Saul, which was a problem when the new king came to town. IN those days, particularly when the throne passed from one house to another, the new king was perfectly within his rights to round up, and at the very least, exile or kill the descendants of the old king. That's why verse 1 of 2 Samuel 9 is such a shocking verse. Is there anyone left of the house of Saul that i might (kill them? Finish them off? Chase them from the land?) show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? David and Jonathan had promised to show kindness to each other's descendants, should the Lord give them a chance, and here is David, fulfilling that promise.
In verse 10 we see this kindness fleshed out. Mephibosheth is given all of Saul's land, his servants, and will eat and drink at David's table. That's some kindness to show to the lame grandson of a former king! What has Mephibosheth to offer David? Nothing! Not insight on the enemy, they've been vanquished. Not strength in battle, he's lame. Not prestige to add to David's house, in a day when defects were attributed to the punishment of God. No wonder Mephibosheth is amazed in verse 8; 'what is your servant, that you should show regard for such a dead dog as i?'
Why does David do it then? You can answer that question by saying, 'for the glory of David's name, for the glory of his love.' Who knew about the pact between David and Jonathan? Not many people, it certainly doesn't seem to be part of Jonathan's family lore, if Mephibosheth's reaction is anything to go by. For the sake of his name, David shows kindness to Mephibosheth even though he has nothing to offer him.
Let's digress for a minute. What are 95% of the worlds relationships based upon? The fulfilling of mutual needs? Why are divorce rates so high? Because many marriages are based on one party meeting the needs of another. Why do some people never get married? Because they don't want to find themselves tied to a person who one day may not meet their needs. What do we mean when we say 'i love you.' Often times we mean 'you, at this moment in space and time, meet my needs.' It is this view of marriage that has so devalued marriage. If met needs + attraction = marriage, then why shouldn't a man marry a man, or woman a woman?
This is not what David means by love is it? It can't be. There are no needs that Mephibosheth is meeting for David. When David says love he means, 'i have set my steadfast favour on you, and you can not fall out of my favour.' It's from incidences like this that we understand how Jesus is King David's greater Son, and King David's Lord.
You and I are Mephobisheth. In the past we stood against God, but he sought us out to do us good. Why did David find a descendant of Jonathan? To keep his promise to do them good. Why does Jesus seek us out? To do us good. What sort of good? Life, and land and prosperity forever. There's even a feast in 2 Samuel 9, just like there is at the end of time. Jesus finds us, brings us into our house, and sits us down to eat and drink with Him.
Why?
Not because He needs us. How does that make you feel, that God doesn't need you? More loved or less loved? More secure, or less secure? If Jesus loves us because He needs us, first of all, He's not much of a God, much less of a Saviour, and we should be wary about laying all our trust on Him. More to the point, what happens when He doesn't need us? Imagine though, Jesus loves you because He loves you! He has set His face on you to do you good, and nothing can convince Him otherwise! We did nothing to earn our salvation, and, as we're faithful to the end, we won't forfeit God's favour. This is tremendous, life giving news.
What sort of life should this produce? Well, look again at Mephibosheth. Verse 8 shows us a picture of humility. None of us want to portray ourselves as a 'dead dog,' but that humility would do us good. It produced a life of favour. Mephibosheth ate at the kings table 'always.' He had constant access to David, as we, through Christ, have constant access to God the Father. I would imagine that all the tea in China wouldn't have stopped Mephibosheth from telling the story of David's kindness to him. Are we as vocal in telling the story of Christ's kindness to us? I wonder how the promise of David effected the way Mephibosheth lived his life. I doubt very much that the fact there was always going to be food waiting for him at the King's table and a kind word from David at the end of the day made him lazy, or complacent. I would imagine faith in this future grace of David made him determined to live in a way that pleased David, and confident that when he failed, there would be grace.
All the Bible testifies to Jesus, and sometimes we're in there two. We're in the Bible as the totally undeserving recipients of sovereign grace. Nothing in our hand we bring, simply to His cross we cling...
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