Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. He's inviting you into the covenant that was made with David and is possible through the Son of David, Jesus Christ.
That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series, Son of David, as presented at Rinaldin Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program today, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries. As you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at PastorAlan.org. That's PastorAlan.org.
Or call 877-544-4860. Now, more on this later in the program. But now, let's get started with today's teaching.
Here is Alan Wright. Someone from your house will be on the throne forever, and he says to him, essentially, you can count on the fact that I'm with you, that I love you, that I'm never going to leave you, and David, this doesn't have anything to do with you. That is essentially what is going on here, and so it is a breathtaking promise. Now, David is established, he's grateful, he's noble, he wants to do something for God, and this is what ancient pagan kings generally would do. They would come into power and establish their capital city, their throne would be there in the palace, and then they would erect some kind of edifice for their god that would in a sense kind of stabilize the regime.
And so in some sense, this may be part of what David is acting out of. Brueggemann says, the obvious answer to the problem of legitimacy characteristic of every ruler in the ancient world is to build a temple. Give God a permanent residence that will solidify the regime. In principle, a temple lives in tension with the ark. Whereas the ark articulates God's freedom and mobility, the temple removes the danger and possibility that God might depart. This is a God who will not be held in place, however, by any religious arrangement. Brueggemann goes on to say, the plushness of the proposed temple contradicts the Lord's self-understanding. Yahweh will not be bought off, controlled, or domesticated by such luxury. He's going to free God and will continue to be the royal apparatus is not able to make the Lord its patron.
So there's a part, I think Brueggemann's right, there's a part here in which the Lord is saying, you ought to understand, I am big, and I am free, and I do not have anything confining me. And so in the first place, he's saying no to David because I want it never to be associated with your name and with the establishment of your house that what it was about was you building a place for God to be. Instead, I want to remind you of this David, I chose to be with you. You didn't do something to assure yourself that I would be with you, and there's nothing you can do now building me some great temple to assure I'll be with you and with the people.
Here's how you can be assured that I'll be with you, I'm telling you so. So the first reason that God said no to the temple was he was making a huge point that would only make real sense in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. He's a God unlike every other because he wants to be with you. He said, David, I'm going to move with you as I've always moved with my people. He's a God who's on the move. He's a God who never leaves you. He's a God who can be on the mountaintop with you and can be in the valley with you, who can rejoice with you and can weep with you. He is saying to David what would be fulfilled in the promise of Jesus who is the great high priest, who's not unable to sympathize with your weakness because he's been through what you've been through.
He is prefiguring the very fact of Christmas that he would come in the flesh, that he is God Emmanuel. Don't build me a temple and think that I'm going to sit in a temple. I want to be with you. I'm free, I can't be contained, and I want to use my freedom to be a constant source of strength and blessing and companionship to you, my creatures, my children, my beloved. This is one of the key things that I want to speak over your life as we go into this new year. God is with you. Don't, don't, don't, David, no, I don't need you to build me a temple.
But the second reason is even more shocking, breathtaking, and beautiful. He says, he says, David says, I want to build him this beautiful temple. And the Lord says, would you build a house, build me a house to dwell in? That's verse 5. You would build me a house? And then he issues all these promises until you get down to verse 11 and the second half of that verse says, moreover the Lord declares to you, the Lord will make you a house. Do you see the covenant with David hinges on a play on these words.
David says, I'm going to make you a house. And the Lord says, no, I'm going to make you a house. Every religion and every religious system in the world other than the Christian gospel essentially operates according to this idea. If you will do something impressive for God, then he will bless you. And the more impressive the thing is that you do for God, then the more you'll get his attention and he will bless you.
That is the way all religious systems in the world work. And that is the seed of that is within, even within the heart of many that want to understand Christianity end up misunderstanding because they'll hear the exhortations of the Bible, they hear the statements of the scripture exhorting us about how we can live better and more holy lives or people come to a new year and make their new year's resolution and they're all basically essentially have this seed in it. I'm going to build God a house. I'm going to do something. I'm going to be more holy. I'm going to be a better person. I'm going to be a better husband or wife.
I'm going to be a better whatever. I'm going to be more of a witness to more people. I'm going to pray more. I'm going to read my Bible more. I'm going to do something so that God will look down and say, look at Alan, he's doing something that's really rather impressive. And so I think I'm going to bless him more, you know, this year. And David, without thinking about it, and I think it's a noble thing in his heart, but he just, he comes and said, I want to build, I want to make you a house, God. And it's like the Lord, I can always just, he's almost like laughing because he's like, you're going to make me a house. Let me remind you, David, of the story.
And he recounts the story. I took you out of the pasture. You were a nobody. You were the one person they thought couldn't be king. I chose you. I appointed you. I gave you a place. I put you on the throne.
I have given you rest from your enemies. This, he's saying essentially, David, I appreciate the token, but may I remind you of the gospel, that this is not about you building God a house. Moreover, let me tell you what it really is all about. David, here's the gospel. I'm going to make you a house. Isn't it, if you don't get this, if you don't ever get this, that the Christian gospel is not about you making something for God, but about what God has accomplished for you. If you can't see this, David, if you don't get this, then you won't really have the gospel. I'm just going to tell you as plain as I can, I am going to do something for you, David, that is going to blow your mind. He does for David what is exceedingly abundantly above and beyond what David could ask or think. You thought that you were going to build me a house.
Ha! Let me tell you the way it really is. I'm making you a house. David meant a temple, but when God spoke, He meant a dynasty. He meant a reign.
He meant a dominion. He meant a rule of righteousness. He meant something of steadfast love, of unconditional mercy. He meant something that was never-ending, something of infinite glory and majesty and wonder and beauty and loveliness. The very thing that all of Israel would look to in David, the very thing that David would have wanted for his own reign, God just transcended it. David said, I'm in a beautiful palace of cedar.
God's blessed me. I'll make him a nice temple. We'll have the palace. We'll have the temple. We'll have Jerusalem. We'll have a nice life together.
And God said He's much bigger than that. I'm going to make your house, your dynasty, established in my perfect love and when there is wrongdoing, there may be discipline along the way, but I want you to know this. I will never, ever remove my hesed, my covenantal love. My grace will always be sufficient for you. And your throne, your throne is gonna be carried on by your descendant. There's gonna be one of your descendants that's gonna take the throne and they're gonna be an even better king than you are because this is what's gonna happen is there's gonna be a reign of righteousness and it will never end.
Ha! I'm saying that's some huge promises that came out of nowhere, came out of the heart of God. That's Alan Wright, and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. In a world that often feels overwhelming, we all seek moments of encouragement and hope. As a heartfelt thank you for becoming a monthly partner with Alan Wright Ministries, we're excited to send you our blessing box featuring 24 beautifully crafted cards filled with encouraging blessings from Pastor Alan. Each card offers daily inspiration and scripture on themes such as hope, strength, your identity in Christ, thanksgiving, and much more.
These blessings are designed to uplift your spirit, providing encouragement whenever you need a boost. This unique resource can be yours with our thanks as we welcome new monthly partners to the support family of Alan Wright Ministries. The gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support.
When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.
That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, PastorAlan.org. Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. I'd like to give you the whole sermon series today, but I won't. But I want to give you a little preview of the blessing that we want to speak, therefore, over everybody next week. I want you to receive the word that was given to David in 2 Samuel 7. The Lord says, I will make you a house. And I think for us deeply, this as it was for David has a double meaning to it.
It means on the one hand that God is making a house for you. By this He said, I appointed you, David. And I think the word for us in this is that everyone who is in the Son of David, everyone who is in Christ, and I want you to believe this, you have been made a part of a royal family. You've been appointed a place and given extraordinary gifts.
There may be others in the world and the culture around devalue you, under appreciate, do not recognize or even mock your gifts or who you are. But as people of the gospel, we're in the Son of David, we're in Christ. God's made us to be part of a dynasty. As Paul said, we now reign with Christ.
It beggars our belief, but we're co-heirs with Jesus. And to say that the Lord will make you a house is also to say God has made a house in you. He's made you His house.
You see the irony of that? David says, I want to make you a house. And the Lord's saying, no, I will make you a house. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
And God's on the move in and through you. And all this is to say that if the Lord is the builder, you can rest. I'd like to make some bold claims to the promise of God to cut off the strife that is caused by the enemy. I'm not saying that we're not going to face temptations in the coming year. I'm not going to say that we're not going to have things that we have to struggle with in life.
We are going to. But the enemy's primary weapon of accusation has been cut off by the power of the gospel. In canceling the written code of the law, Paul says God has disarmed the principalities of evil. I'm praying for you, brothers and sisters. I'm blessing you that you will see just how much the Lord has cut off your enemy.
You still have an enemy? And there are still battles that we're involved in, but it's been decided. What this means is that our lives are not to be comprised of strife but of rest in the grace of God. All that and more, I think, is in the Lord will make you a house. God really, really wanted his people to get this.
Over and over, this is referenced. The Davidic covenant is referenced. What I'm saying is the entire hope of Israel is wrapped up in the Son of David coming. I love, especially love, what the Lord said through the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah is centuries after David, and he speaks to people who are experiencing distance and exile, and at the time of Jeremiah prophesying this word, there's no son of David in sight, certainly not a descendant of David reigning on a throne in Jerusalem.
They have been swamped by the Babylonians, they are. And this word comes to Jeremiah because surely people begin to doubt the promise of 2 Samuel 7. And Jeremiah says, Thus says the Lord, If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night so that day and night will not come at their appointed time, then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne.
You see what he's saying? He's saying, if you could break up my covenant that there'll be day and night and that the sun will shine, that there'll be light. If you could break that up, then you can break up my covenant with David. But unless you can get the sun to stop shining, you can't break my covenant up with David. What he's saying is, if you get up tomorrow and there's been night and day comes, you can count on 2 Samuel 7.
Never doubt it. There will be a son of David on the throne. It had been foretold, and Isaiah said it best, For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness. From this time forth forevermore the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
The throne of David will have no end, and then Isaiah later gives the invitation, Come, everyone who thirsts, come. Come to the waters, and who has no money, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me and eat what is good and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear and come to me.
Listen to this. Hear that your soul may live, and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. He's inviting you into the covenant that was made with David and is possible through the Son of David, Jesus Christ.
And we know this to be sure because at the end of your Bible when you get there to Revelation 22, you'll see Jesus and he says, I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright and morning star, the spirit and bride. Say come and let the one who hears say come and let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires to take the water of life without price. Come and receive the blessing upon David that comes through the Son of David. Come and enjoy the rest from the strife of living under the bondage and the fear of the law and embrace the gospel for all that it is.
Receive this down deep into your being. The part of you that thirst is thirsting for the covenant that God made with David and is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Say yes. Say I thirst. Say yes. You see, the invitation of the gospel is not build God a house. The invitation is to take God at his word. I make you a house and let me fill your life. Wow.
I don't know. I don't think Harrison Ford could play the part. You can't find anybody to play this part. Shepherd, hero, king.
There's only one by one person that could ever play that part. Somebody else born in Bethlehem. Jesus was and is a David, but a better David than David could ever be. And that's the gospel. Each card offers daily inspiration and scripture on themes such as hope, strength, your identity in Christ, Thanksgiving, and much more. These blessings are designed to uplift your spirit, providing encouragement whenever you need a boost. This unique resource can be yours with our thanks as we welcome new monthly partners to the support family of Allen Wright Ministries. The gospel is shared when you give to Allen Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Allen Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860. That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, pastorallen.org.
Allen, we're back here in the studio to share your parting good news thought for the day. When we look at heroes, when we look at having somebody we're going to look up to, I mean, David's a good role model, but there are imperfections. In fact, most of the Bible, you're going to see your heroes, and it shows the dirt. It does, and I think so many of us have been taught along through Sunday school to look at someone like David, try to be more like a David. That's not really the gospel. The gospel instead is that Jesus came to be the David that none of us would ever be able to be. And because of what Jesus has done, our lives are changed forever. So look to Jesus. And all throughout, we'll see David.
He has imperfections as well as his wonderful attributes. But it is all meant to point us ultimately to the true David, the son of David, to Jesus himself. Not only can you listen again online, but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching, delivered right to your email inbox, free. Find out more about these and other resources at pastorallen.org. That's pastorallen.org. Today's good news message is a listener-supported production of Allen Wright Ministries.
