Finding Hope When Dreams Die

Well good morning and welcome to church today. My name is René, another one of the pastors here. Chasing David is what we call our series going through the life of King David in the Bible. Why? Because his story is still so relevant to modern life. In fact, I saw this week that the Wells Fargo Center, that's the home to the Philadelphia Hockey and NBA teams, just opened what they call a rage room where frequently disappointed Philly fans could go to vent about yet another loss. It's stocked with everyday items like TVs and guitars and dishes. The team's own mascot was one of the first people in there to let off some steam. And I saw this and I thought, isn't this exactly how many of us tend to respond when things don't go our way, right? Throw a tantrum or at least get a little bit moody.

What about you? How do you handle it when things don't go your way? And I'm not just talking here about your team losing. I'm talking about really serious things. I'm talking about when people pray for jobs and don't get them. When people pray for somebody to marry and it never happens. People who pray for babies and are never able to be parents. People who pray for a healing and don't get it. People, I've seen people who have an honest, sincere desire to serve God, to help others, to make a difference, and they leave a career and they start a church or they start a ministry and somehow that good dream never seems to come true. That is very tough. These situations are probably among the toughest situations that I have to help people through as a pastor.

What do you do when God seems to be saying no? Because you know when that happens, sometimes you kind of feel like God promised you and maybe, maybe even kind of owes you. Because you played by the rules. You did everything right. You behaved. You waited. And isn't there a verse in the Bible about sowing and reaping? Isn't there supposed to be some kind of a cause and effect and you feel like you did things right? You did everything right and now your dreams are not coming true. And in fact, in some cases it looks like they can't ever come true. And in fact, it looks like everybody else's dreams are coming true, but your dreams. And in fact, sometimes it looks like God has granted somebody else your dreams while the door just keeps getting slammed shut into your face. What do you do in those times?

That might be where some of you are today and it is where David finds himself in the story from the Bible that we look at this morning. Grab your message notes that look like this inside your bulletins, help you follow along. Let's talk about finding hope when dreams die. And the story is in the Bible in 2 Samuel chapter 7. Now, 2 Samuel chapter 7, that might not be as familiar a Bible reference to you as say John 3:16. But 2 Samuel 7 is actually one of the most important chapters in the whole Bible. 2 Samuel chapter 7 sets the stage in both the Jewish and the Christian traditions for the coming of the Messiah. What happens in this one chapter ends up demonstrably changing world history. And what happens in this one chapter could change your own life because it could change the way you handle it when God says no.

As we start the story, the long dark night that we've been tracking in David's life where he's fleeing from Saul who was trying repeatedly to murder him is finally over. Saul has died on the battlefield. David is acclaimed king first in Hebron and then he takes over Jerusalem and moves there. He even brings into the city the Ark of the Covenant and establishes it there as a place of worship. Indiana Jones helped him find it so they're all very excited and he has a big goal. Verse 1 of 2 Samuel 7, "When King David was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all the surrounding enemies, the king summoned Nathan the prophet." Look David said, "I am living in a beautiful cedar palace." And just a side note here in the book I go into more detail but as I speak the world's leading authority on this era's archaeology in Israel believes she has found the actual ruins of David's palace under a pre-existing building in the suburbs of Jerusalem and how she found it is a great story.

It is worthy of a national treasure movie and we go there under this building in this week's chapters in the Chasing David book and on the YouTube videos related to that. Now this was just the foundation. It was a great beautiful building made of cedar. I mean imagine living in a cedar chest right? All your clothes, everything just smells amazing, just beautiful wood but David says here I am in a cedar palace but the Ark of God is out there living in a tent. What's he talking about? The Ark of the Covenant is in a tent. Well the tent he is referring to here is the Tabernacle and here's a modern representation of what it looked like. The Bible describes it very precisely and this was a tent that housed the Ark of the Covenant. Now at this point it had been in use for about 400 years. Imagine what it must have looked like by then.

It has been traveling around all the time much of the time through the harsh desert climate so it's probably tattered, it's probably worn, the poles are bending and David looks at this and he says that the Ark of the Covenant it should be in a more beautiful place than that and he has this dream to replace that old tent with a glorious temple in Jerusalem. This was so important to David. He was a man of deep faith and he believed that this may even unite the nations of the world in worship of the one God. In many ways everything in David's life has been leading up to this. He probably saw this as one of the reasons for his life. This was his passion, this was his dream, this was his life's goal. It is impossible to overestimate how much this meant to David.

Then Nathan replied to the king, "Go ahead do whatever you have in mind for the Lord is with you like of course that's an awesome idea." But that same night the Lord said to Nathan, Nathan has this vision of God and God says, "Go and tell my servant David." This is what the Lord has declared, "Are you the one to build me a house to live in?" And in the next couple of verses God sounds almost playful to me. He says things like, "I've never lived in a house, I have never once complained, I have never asked why haven't you built me a beautiful cedar house?" He's kind of like, "You think I want a cedar house? Cedar's for hamsters? We got streets of gold up in here, David, right?" And God says no to David's dream. Like no, not like no for this year. Like no. Like not ever. Just no.

Now this chapter serves two purposes in the Bible. At one level if you look at the story of David as a series of hills and valleys, kind of high points and low points in David's life, this story is Mount Everest. Everything in David's story so far has led up to this point that we're gonna look at this morning and everything that comes next references back to this. You can't understand David's story without this story. But it also serves as a mountain peak for the entire Bible. In some ways the whole Bible has been leading up to this moment and then the whole rest of the Bible until and including the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, keeps referring back to this moment in time. So you really can't understand the Bible or the ministry of Jesus without understanding this chapter of the Bible as you will see.

So track with me. First this morning I want to look at why does God ever say no, right? Why doesn't He just say yes to every single prayer we pray? And then I want to look at what to do when God says no, very practical stuff. And then I want to see the role this chapter plays in the whole book of the Bible and how it helps us understand Jesus. So first why does God ever say no? One, because He has a bigger perspective. God has a bigger perspective than you and me. He just has a longer view, right? I remember when our youngest son David was about eight years old and if it's been a while since you've had little kids, eight is a major sort of a life moment for little kids these days because at eight years old they graduate out of the big giant car seats the babies use and they get to sit in a big boy booster seat right on the chair which David was proud of at first but then he quickly realized that he couldn't see past the front seat and couldn't see over the hood of the car anymore.

Now he's down at this eight-year-old kid level. He can't even see above the windows now and this just drove him nuts. All the way to school. Every day we were commuting on the highway like you guys do if you take your kids to school and so we were constantly slowing and stopping of course and then going for a few seconds and then slowing and stopping, going, slowing, stopping and David asked non-stop all year long every morning why are we stopping? Why are we going? What's going on? What's happening? Why are we going down? Why are we stopping now? Because he didn't have the perspective that I had looking out the front window of the car. Now the good thing was I was driving right so he didn't have to see. Well God's got a bigger perspective than you have and the good news is he's driving. He sees all the way into your past and all the way into your future. God sees the whole road and he demonstrates this here.

God says Nathan tell David this. I took you from the pasture from tending a flock and I appointed you ruler over my people. He's contrasting. He goes David you were ruling over sheep and now you rule over my nation. I have been with you wherever you've gone and I've cut off all your enemies from before you. It's all God. Now I will make your name great like the names of the greatest men on earth and I will provide a place for my people Israel and then at the end of verse 11 God says the Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you. You see what he's saying? He's punning on the word house. He's saying you want to build me a house David? I'm gonna say no to that but I'll tell you what I'm gonna build you a house. The house of David a royal dynasty for when you die and are buried with your ancestors David can't see past that none of us can. He can't see what's gonna happen tomorrow let alone past his death.

When you die and are buried I will raise up one of your descendants your own offspring and I will make his kingdom strong and he is the one who will build a house a temple for my name and he's talking here at first about one of David's sons Solomon. God has a bigger perspective. He can see into your future he can see past your life and so he can enact the best plan and that's second God has a better plan. He has a better plan. In the next verse God says now I want you to really focus on this verse here because I'm gonna ask you some questions he says and I will secure his royal throne for how long? Forever. I will be his what? Father and he will be my what? Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for how long? All time and your throne will be secure. How long? Forever. Three different ways three different times God in this one verse says forever forever or forever now wait a minute. David's dynasty did not last forever. In fact it only lasted about another hundred years or so before Civil War North and South tore it apart. Solomon did not rule forever. David's throne did not last forever. So what is God talking about in this verse?

Well look at the clues what does he say? One day there will be an offspring of David a descendant of David whose throne will last forever. In fact this is kind of an interesting way of putting it. People will look at him and they won't just say that David is his ancestor they'll say God is his father and he will be the son of God says this verse and he will reign forever he will reign forever. Now who do you suppose that was? More on that later. But don't miss this we are all reading this verse three thousand years after David heard this and so with our perspective we can open up our Bibles and we can read all about every single one of David's descendants that's written about in the Bible. We know all about Solomon and we know Solomon built a glorious temple and was the wisest king Israel ever had and we can open up our Bibles and we know about Jesus who was a direct descendant of David and about the kind of kingdom without walls and without borders that he began which still continues to this day and so we kind of read this and we understand but these two sentences are all David got.

God never told him who what where when why or how. God if you look at this and you subtract all the knowledge about history in the Bible that you probably have and just look at what God told him God's basically telling him David no. Now after you're dead some good stuff's gonna happen. Stuff you're never gonna see cuz you'll be dead but it's gonna be good for about your dream yeah just the answers no slamming the door on that for the rest of your life. God has a better plan that doesn't mean he's gonna explain it. I heard Rick Warren say that you and I have to realize two things and a lot of peace comes from knowing this. First some things in my life will never be explained. There are some things in life I'm just never gonna understand it till I get to heaven and you know what God doesn't owe me an explanation either and some things in my life will never change. Now it takes wisdom to see this but David could have complained and argued and stamped his feet but God had other plans period and so the question is what do I do if the no is final?

The question is can you still be happy if some things never get explained and never change? Well what does David do? Next page next verse it says so Nathan went back to David and told him everything the Lord had said in this vision and then David went in and sat before the Lord and prayed. Now don't miss this it says David went in where? Well probably that tabernacle the very worn out old tent that he wanted to replace and David goes in and sits before the Lord before the Holy of Holies and the verb used there for sat before the Lord is the same exact Hebrew verb used earlier in this chapter for dwell like David dwells in the palace. That means this wasn't just a one-minute prayer he probably went into that old tent and sat there in the presence of God for quite a while before he spoke like David wrote many times in places like Psalm 37 be still before the Lord and just know that he is God just soak in his power in his existence his presence his love for you you just can sit there for a while and then you find yourself getting to the point where you can do the three things that David does next and I want to be clear these three things they're not going to eliminate all the hurt and the rejection of the sting that you feel when a door slammed in your face I'm not saying it won't hurt it won't be hard but I'm saying that having these three attitudes can lead you forward and can bring you hope and the first one is this you think of God's grace to you.

Grace means undeserved favor you think of God's grace to you like you know God's salvation to you that's a gift that's not something you earn and so is everything else that you have have you ever thought of this your life your existence everybody just take a breath right now with me just breathe in that breath is a gift of God's grace the fact that you are alive means basically you won a lottery against the greatest odds you will ever play this is the fact that you exist and so every moment that you and I are alive as a gift of grace not to mention you know any of friends that you have any shelter that you have any family that you have any skills any talents any thoughts that you have those are that's all great this wonderful church that we have it's all grace gracious blessings from the hand of God so you thank God for the gifts that you have from us in other words don't obsess on the one thing you can't have think of the many gifts that you do have and look at what David says it's just so beautiful he goes who am I who am I sovereign Lord what is my family that you have brought me this far do you deal with everyone this way oh sovereign Lord what more can I say to you you know what your servants really like sovereign Lord you see my heart you see me behind closed doors you know what I really like you know you know I don't deserve this and yet because of your promise and according to your will you have done all these great things not because of my performance or because of my will it was all your promise your will your grace and you have made these things known to your servant and watch this don't miss this how great you are oh sovereign Lord there's no one like you.

We have never even heard of another God like you now why is he saying that what does David mean when he says we've never even heard of another God like you right but what does he even mean here as people who are just sort of enmeshed in our Western culture it's difficult for us to to see the revolutionary significance of this and so let me try to explain it to you in David's day it was typical for a king who wanted something from his God to build a temple to that God let me give you an example that's roughly contemporaneous with David Tutmose the third was a Pharaoh of Egypt and he built a temple for the god Amun Ra very spectacular and then the priests of the god Amun Ra came and said this and it's preserved in Egyptian inscriptions they said our God says Tutmose the third since you have built my dwelling place and you have outstripped all other kings in building my monuments now I will establish your throne under distant days Tutmose the third you earned the blessing of this God in other words just about the exact opposite of what God says to David.

David doesn't say this they did what David gets from God is I'm not gonna let you build a temple to my name and I'm still gonna bless you in ways you can't even imagine and this is why David said we've never even heard of another God like you like like gods don't operate this way again the order in David's world was you do something for your God and then your God will bless you. Now the people in America today still often tend to think it works that way absolutely but God says I don't operate that way a thousand years after David a man named Paul wrote a letter that ends up in the Bible as the book of Ephesians and he wrote for it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this isn't from yourselves that's a gift of God not by works so that no one can boast we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works that God prepared in other words you got to put the cart before the horse our faith primarily is not about you doing something for God our faith is about sitting in the presence of God like David in grateful wonder realizing what he has done for you and then we do good deeds that God has prepared for us to do but out of gratitude not obligation.

Like all these acts of kindness projects this month you can see them on the back of the sermon notes there I was interviewed this week in a podcast that was a national podcast here on Thursday and the host said your church is known for doing all kinds of things in the community and these you know million meals that you give to the food bank and so on how do you motivate your congregation to do these things and I said the motivation comes from knowing that God has already given us so much more than we could ever give back and it's when we realize how graced we've been that's when generosity overflows from us so I pray that hundreds of us like we do every fall sign up for these things you can sign up in the lobby project pajamas and gift bags for Aptos junior high school staff and many many more things to bless the community but I pray that you do it because you know you have already been the recipient of God's gracious blessings and not out of mere obligation.

So when things don't go your way you think of God's blessings but frankly that's easy the next two get harder the second thing David does is thank God for his veto power you thank God for his veto power are you able to do that David says and now Oh Lord God I am your servant I'm your servant God not me you know we do this a couple of times a year at church finger like this you hold your finger up and then you point up like this and you say God go ahead and say it God and then you point yourself and go not not this is what David's doing here Lord God God I'm your servant not so you do as you promise do whatever you want God concerning me and my family.

Have you discovered yet the God answers prayer three ways sometimes yes I love that sometimes wait don't love that as much and sometimes God says no and I don't like that at all but the Bible is full of examples of God saying no and not just no to stupid ideas no to really good dreams like Moses asks God can I go into the promised land God says no Jesus begs God let this cup pass from me meaning his death by execution God says no the Apostle Paul had what he called a thorn in the flesh some sort of a physical disability he begged God to take it away God said no and here David just asking God to build a temple that will draw all nations to worship God God says no and if God said no to Moses and David and Jesus and Paul I have a feeling he's gonna say no to you and me sometimes too and so you and I have to learn to thank God for that can you do that?

In fact quick audience poll here raise your hand if you are in retrospect super glad God did not answer yes to every single one of your prayers in your life can I see a show of hands how many of you are very glad you did not marry the very first person you fell in love with right how many of you saw this truth with stunning clarity when you went to your high school reunion anybody the word no can be God's greatest gift to you because God's a good parent and sometimes good parents say no.

One time Laurie and I were in a diner type restaurant I think it was a Denny's in Reno, Nevada a little while back and we saw a little girl about four years old was there when we arrived the girl was coming out of the restroom screaming to her mother I don't want to wash my hands I don't want to wash my hands and Laurie was just going into the restroom she comes back and said her mother said that's okay sweetie if you don't want to wash your hands after going poo-poo that is fine they were sitting at the next table the whole time we were there and watching whatever the kids touching just like staying a mile away from it right and the kids complaining about all kinds of stuff all through dinner we ended about the same time but here's the kicker on our way out this little four year old girl is standing in the lobby area by the cash register stomping her feet saying I said I want to buy some cigarettes and Laurie and I looked at each other and we just stopped we're on our way out but we just stopped put our hands in our pockets and we just wanted to watch and see what would happen next so the mom kind of sighs and says no honey you can't have any cigarettes sweetheart and the girl says I want to buy cigarettes now and the mom sighs and says okay honey and as we watch mom buys a pack of camels and on the way out the door hands them to her four-year-old let me ask you this is it good if a parent never says no no of course not the parent never said no every four-year-old would be smoking camels every eight-year-old boy would have a set of machetes right judging by my grandson every three-year-old would be driving a fire truck everywhere he went God is a good parent the word no is a good word the word no leads you to blessings the word no keeps you from harm so learn to see no as redirection not rejection.

Years ago before I was a pastor here Laurie and I applied to do missionary work in Swaziland Africa at a missionary radio station this is what I we both of us really felt like God is calling us to do we both of us without I never wanted to be a pastor at an American church I really both of us felt convinced God wanted us to do missionary work and we were so committed to this goal of working for this missionary radio station in Africa we waited breathlessly for the missions response I knew I would get the job because I was an ordained pastor check I had years of a professional experience in radio check years of professional experience in ministry check we had prayed we had sought advice check check we knew this was the way to go all our advisors told us you're perfect for the job and we got the letter from the mission board and they turned us down flat and in fact if I dare say so the rejection letter was actually kind of kind of rude very confusing so then we applied to a mission agency in Germany to do youth work and again we were sure we would get that position we had talked to friends talked to advisors they encouraged us why are we we're we sure we would get it well I had years of experience as a youth pastor it was in Germany and I spoke German fluently were we rejected oh we never even heard from them I wasn't rejected I was completely ignored and that really felt like rejection now I it hurt honestly so confusing it's like what do we do now and now I see it was not rejection it was redirection to you characters but it sure felt like rejection then but I never would be doing this if not for God's no.

Here's what I'm saying don't cling so hard to the dream you want that you miss the dream God is giving you don't cling so hard to the dream you want that you miss the dream God is giving you and David here is saying I'm open to whatever you want God and that's point three trust God with your future relax in his arms trust him David says for you are God was sovereign Lord your words are truth you have promised these good things to your servant did you know no matter what's happening right now in your life God has promised good things to you too in your future and then don't miss this life-changing truth from the last verse of his prayer David says you sovereign Lord have spoken and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.

Do you see the wisdom of this where he says with your blessing I will be blessed a lot of people never get to that point where you choose to be blessed with God's blessing choose to be blessed with the blessing God chooses for you like somebody said happiness isn't getting what you want it's wanting what you got and you gotta be intentional about this about noticing and about being grateful now as I said this promise of God to David becomes a major biblical theme and you really can't understand the Bible not the Hebrew Scriptures of the Greek Scriptures the older New Testament without understanding this because David's dynasty did not last the house of David as a unified monarchy over all Israel ended barely a century after this happened but the people from day one the people saw this as an ongoing promise they thought one day there will be a descendant of David who fulfills this promise of God to David and just about every one of the prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures keep circling back circling back circling back to this promise with prophecies like this out of the stump of David's family will grow a shoot yes a new branch bearing fruit from the old roots and expectations grew and grew and grew and grew and people dreamed of this descendant of David to come they said things like this poetically for unto us a child is born to us a son is given and the government will be on his shoulders and he will be called wonderful counselor mighty God everlasting father Prince of Peace of the greatness of his government peace there will be no end and he will reign on what David's throne from that time on and forever.

So they just can't wait for this person who's gonna show up one day the Messiah the anointed one and then one day a thousand years after David almost exactly an angel appears to a young girl named Mary and says good news you're gonna have a baby and let me tell you about that baby he will be very great and he will be called the what son of the Most High that's a call back to 2 Samuel 7 and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David and he will reign over Israel forever and his kingdom will never end the angel was just paraphrasing God's promise to David in 2 Samuel 7 and the Mary did not keep quiet about this she shared this with people and other people started believing it about Jesus and the excitement around Jesus grew and grew throughout his life until one day he was cheered into Jerusalem by a massive throng of people with the words Hosanna to the son of David these people shouted because they expected him to be the one the one who would finally restore the kingdom as was promised a thousand years before the one who would finally kick out the foreign oppressors and they prayed Oh God answer our prayer and God said no to their good dream God allowed the Roman oppressors to execute Jesus because God had a bigger perspective and God had a better plan.

See David defeated the Philistines but by his sacrifice Jesus defeated death and sin David established Jerusalem but Jesus will establish the new Jerusalem that's the Bible's term for the renewed and restored and reunited heaven and earth David brought peace to Israel Jesus will restore peace one day to the whole earth and on that day the Bible says Jesus from his eternal throne will declare I Jesus and the root and the offspring of David the bright and morning star yeah God has a big plan a very big plan and his plan means healing from all the pain that you feel from all the no's you will ever hear in your life healing for all that heartache for all that disappointment for all that frustration it's the ultimate yes beyond every no.

And so as we close today let's get very very real here I have no doubt that many people in this service many of you are discouraged God has said no recently and I believe God is saying to you today as he said to David will you trust me will you trust that your story isn't finished yet will you trust that the final chapter hasn't been written will you trust that there are good things in your future at the end of your notes I wrote a little prayer it's just my paraphrase of David's prayer before the Lord in 2 Samuel 7 these words aren't magic of course but I believe it reflects the place where David was at spiritually and emotionally so what I'd like to do now as we close is this it's a little bit different than what we normally do I'm gonna ask you to bow your heads in prayer in a minute but you can peek at these words here and I'm going to say these words out loud but you can read silently along with me if this reflects where your heart is at maybe for the first time or maybe as a recommitment you want to sit before the Lord as David did and say God not let's pray sovereign Lord you are God I am NOT and though you seem to be saying no to this I will remember how you have done good things for me how you have promised good things for me so with the blessings you send today I will choose to be blessed on the blessings you promise for tomorrow I will choose to set my hope and in the son of David Jesus Christ I will choose to place my trust.