Pastor Cal Lord's Recent Sermons
"It’s Not About You"
July 19, 2009 II Samuel 7:1-7
When Roy DeLamotte was chaplain at Paine College in Georgia, he preached the shortest sermon in
the college’s history. However, he had a rather long topic: "What does Christ Answer When We
Ask, "Lord, What’s in Religion for Me?" The complete content of his sermon was in one word:
"Nothing." He later explained that the one-word sermon was meant for people brought up on the ’
gimme-gimme’ gospel. When asked how long it took him to prepare the message, he said, "Twenty
years."
“What’s in it for me” is not the right question to ask when it comes to our faith. I like what Rick
Warren says in the opening paragraph of his book, The Purpose Driven Life.
“It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your
peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your
wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must
begin with God.”
This morning we commissioned seven people as short term missionaries. Our team will be going to
West Virginia to work with the poor and to share the love of God. I can understand if some of you
are excited about what you are being called to do. You may very well be an angel of mercy for
someone on the edge of despair. You may be the answer to a prayer for a family in dire straights.
But getting back to what I said a moment ago, this trip is not about you and me. It is about God and
what He wants to do.
You have been called. You may not even realize it. You may think it was your idea. But believe me,
it was in God’s mind even before we decided as a church to take this trip. Once we decided to go,
he put it in your heart because God has something he wants you to do for him.
Lest you think I am only talking about our short term missionaries, I got news for the rest of you.
God has plans for each and every one of us. He has job for you to do and he is waiting for you to
step up and accept his call.
I think sometimes we get confused about church, our faith and even about the things of God. We
live in this age where everything seems to be about us. We look for churches that will meet our
needs. We ask God for things to make us comfortable and happy. Sometimes we even think about
something we can do for God.
That brings us back to our text today. God calls David “a man after my own heart.” Yet, we know
his flaws. He wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination. There was something within him
though, that God valued. It’s something we need to pay attention to. Our text today is a perfect
example of how David came to know the heart of God.
To sum it up, David is now king of Israel and things are going very well. They have subdued most
of their enemies and they are in the midst of a time of peace and prosperity. David has built his
palace in Jerusalem and is enjoying the spoils of his victories. Suddenly it hits him that he ought to
do something for God. It isn’t right for him to enjoy this luxury and forget about God. That wouldn’
t be right. So he calls Nathan, his prophet/priest and tells him what he wants to do for God.
This whole thing sounds great, right. Sounds like something you or I might do. In good economic
times, if we get a big raise, if we get a promotion, we decide to up our pledge or make a major
contribution to the building fund. We don’t want to forget about God, do we?
Well Nathan goes to God with this plan and it gets vetoed. God is actually offended. Why? God
reminds Nathan and David that every victory he had was because of God’s graciousness and his
plan. David would not have had any victories if it wasn’t for him. Furthermore, God doesn’t need a
temple to reside in. And if he did, he would let David know.
Sounds kind of rough doesn’t it? But God was right. David got caught up in his success and forgot
who had given him the victory. David wasn’t successful because he was smarter or braver or
luckier that his opponents. Just like that day when he went up against Goliath, it was God who gave
him the victory. The same is true for us. It is God’s grace that gives us the victory over the things
and circumstances that try to overwhelm us. We are where we are today because of God.
The second point in this passage is that we should never get comfortable with the idea that we are
going to do something for God. God doesn’t need us to do something for him. Now this is different
from offering ourselves to God.
Here is the difference. Someone might say, “I am going on this mission trip so I can do God’s
work and save souls and share his love. Sounds good but it suggests that we are going to do God’s
work for him. On the other hand we might say, “I am answering God’s call and I will allow him to
use me wherever he sees fit.”
Dr. Walter Brueggeman, a reknown Biblical scholar, refers to this passage we read in 2 Samuel 7 as
“the dramatic and theological center of the entire Samuel corpus…one of the most crucial texts in
the Old Testament for evangelical faith.”
I think there are five things we can take away from it this morning. Each of them reminds us that it
isn’t about us, I’s all about God.
First, it calls us to remember that every success is a gift of God’s grace. On the surface here, we
don’t see any overt evidence that David has become filled with pride, but there are some clues that
David is beginning to be a little full of himself. I like the way Eugene Peterson describes what is
going on in David’s life:
I think David is just about to cross a line from being full of God to being full of himself. Outwardly,
everything is the same…But David, riding the crest of acclaim, having decisively defeated the
opposition, united God’s people, and captured the allegiance of all Israel and Judah, heady with
success, is going to do God a favor… David is now housed better than God…David has achieved a
better standard of living that God, and…from David’s position of strength he can now do
something significant for God.
In the text, we find some clues that David is in danger of being pulled away from God by his pride.
Notice that in verses 1-3, David is referred to by his title,king. But, as we’ll see in just a moment,
when God speaks about David, he calls him “my servant.” Perhaps David is a little too conscious of
his position as king.
There is a tendency on our part to think that growth, maturity and success somehow insulate us
from sin. In reality, these things just provide us with new areas of temptation. One could make a
pretty good case that David was in much more danger of sinning in the safety and comfort of the
palace than he had been in amidst the dangers of the wilderness, running for his life.
If we want to make sure that our successes don’t become a trap, then we need to remember that
we never produce those successes on our own. Each one is a gift of God’s grace in our life. I
really like Paul’s words on this subject:
What makes you better than anyone else? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if all
you have is from God, why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own? 1
Corinthians 4:7
Second, don’t presume that you know God’s heart.
When David comes to Nathan, proposing to build a house for God, Nathan just assumes that must
be something that God laid upon David’s heart. But we quickly find that isn’t true. No sooner had
Nathan advised David to go ahead, than God comes and makes it very clear to Nathan that neither
knew God’s heart.
So many times we all make our plans and just proceed with them without ever consulting with God
to see if we really know His heart. So how do I know what God’s heart is. How do I make sure I’
m not presuming to know his heart when I don’t have a clue?
Here is the short answer. The casual Christian is going to have a hard time discovering the heart of
God. As Paul wrote:
Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How
impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! For who can know what the
Lord is thinking? Who knows enough to be his counselor?
Romans 11:33, 34 (NLT)
There is a sense in which we can never fully understand it – because he is God and not a human
being. But the Bible is also clear that when we seek out God, when we focus our attention in
delighting in Him, that God chooses to reveal Himself to us.
We are so blessed today because we have something David and Nathan didn’t have – God’s written
Word. God wants us to delight in His Word, meditating on it day and night. And when we do that,
God is able to reveal Himself through His Word.
Third, we need to recognize that God is the one doing the building and he doesn’t need us to do
anything for him. But he wants to do something for us.
David comes to God, offering to build God a house, but God isn’t interested in what David can do
for Him. He basically says to David, “David, I don’t need a house. I never asked for one; I can’t be
put in a box…or a building. But David, I love you so much that I’m going to build a house for you
– not just some temporary structure, but an eternal house that will never pass away.”
This passage is what is known by theologians as the “Davidic Covenant.” God promises David that
He will build a house for David and that David’s house and his throne will endure forever.
Ultimately God’s covenant with David will be fulfilled when Jesus, who the Bible clearly shows to
be the offspring of David, returns to this earth and reigns forever.
You see this was God’s plan. He was setting things in motion for the salvation of the world. David
and his victories were to be a part of that. It wasn’t about David. It was about something much
bigger and more important to God’s plan.
We are going on this mission trip and all of us might come back feeling pretty good. The whole
church might get all excited when they hear what we have done. It would be easy if we began
thinking it was all about us. But our story today reminds us that it isn’t. You see God has a plan.
Some young person sitting in our congregation might be watching and suddenly hear the call to
enter the mission field. They might grow up and then save thousands of people with their work. Or
somebody we touch down in West Virginia might set off a chain reaction of events that will lead to
some great work God had in mind. The hope we bring the love we share could be the catalyst for
God’s great mission. It’s not about us.
Fourth we need to trust God to do his will. After Nathan reveals God’s response to David’s plans,
the account tells us that David went in and sat before the Lord. The Hebrew word translated “sat”
also means to “dwell”, or “abide” or “remain.” David didn’t just go into the tent and sit down for a
few moments. It was a prolonged period of time where David could just focus on God.
Unfortunately for many of us, when our plans fail, that’s the last thing we do. What do we usually
do? We figure the plan was good, but the execution was off, so we just put in more effort and time
with the same plan. Or we figure the overall plan is good, but it needs a little tweaking, so we go
back and modify the plan and try again. Or we figure the plan is wrong, so we start from scratch,
make new plans and try again.
Ultimately, any plan of ours is doomed to failure unless it is also God’s plan. So instead of making
new plans, we need to go into God’s presence and stay there for a while. That’s a lesson that Jesus
focused on throughout His ministry:
Finally, we need to simply do what God calls you to do. I love David’s prayer here. David doesn’t
focus for one second on the fact that God has just withdrawn the building permit for God’s house.
Instead, he spends all his time focusing on what God has just revealed to him. He humbles himself
before God and thanks God for the promises he has just made to David. And then, beginning in
verse 25, he prays and asks that God will be faithful and will keep his promises.
It is a prayer that focuses completely on God and His purposes and plans for David’s life.
I’m convinced we’re not very good at that, though. We come into God’s presence; we read His
Word and God reveals Himself, His purposes and His plans to us. And then we turn around and
pray and completely ignore what we have just learned from God.
It’s OK to pray for our needs and the needs of others. But if that’s’ the extent of our prayer life,
then prayer becomes all about me, and not about God.
Let’s make it a point to wait on God and to respond to his call. Whether we are going on this
mission trip or we are being prepared by God to be used at work or school or by some other
institution in the community, let’s open our hearts to him. Let’s ask God what he wants instead of
trying to tell God what he needs. Let’s offer ourselves to be used by God as channels of his mercy
and his blessing wherever he sees fit. For that is where the blessing will come to you and to those
around you. Amen.
July 19, 2009 II Samuel 7:1-7
When Roy DeLamotte was chaplain at Paine College in Georgia, he preached the shortest sermon in
the college’s history. However, he had a rather long topic: "What does Christ Answer When We
Ask, "Lord, What’s in Religion for Me?" The complete content of his sermon was in one word:
"Nothing." He later explained that the one-word sermon was meant for people brought up on the ’
gimme-gimme’ gospel. When asked how long it took him to prepare the message, he said, "Twenty
years."
“What’s in it for me” is not the right question to ask when it comes to our faith. I like what Rick
Warren says in the opening paragraph of his book, The Purpose Driven Life.
“It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your
peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your
wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must
begin with God.”
This morning we commissioned seven people as short term missionaries. Our team will be going to
West Virginia to work with the poor and to share the love of God. I can understand if some of you
are excited about what you are being called to do. You may very well be an angel of mercy for
someone on the edge of despair. You may be the answer to a prayer for a family in dire straights.
But getting back to what I said a moment ago, this trip is not about you and me. It is about God and
what He wants to do.
You have been called. You may not even realize it. You may think it was your idea. But believe me,
it was in God’s mind even before we decided as a church to take this trip. Once we decided to go,
he put it in your heart because God has something he wants you to do for him.
Lest you think I am only talking about our short term missionaries, I got news for the rest of you.
God has plans for each and every one of us. He has job for you to do and he is waiting for you to
step up and accept his call.
I think sometimes we get confused about church, our faith and even about the things of God. We
live in this age where everything seems to be about us. We look for churches that will meet our
needs. We ask God for things to make us comfortable and happy. Sometimes we even think about
something we can do for God.
That brings us back to our text today. God calls David “a man after my own heart.” Yet, we know
his flaws. He wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination. There was something within him
though, that God valued. It’s something we need to pay attention to. Our text today is a perfect
example of how David came to know the heart of God.
To sum it up, David is now king of Israel and things are going very well. They have subdued most
of their enemies and they are in the midst of a time of peace and prosperity. David has built his
palace in Jerusalem and is enjoying the spoils of his victories. Suddenly it hits him that he ought to
do something for God. It isn’t right for him to enjoy this luxury and forget about God. That wouldn’
t be right. So he calls Nathan, his prophet/priest and tells him what he wants to do for God.
This whole thing sounds great, right. Sounds like something you or I might do. In good economic
times, if we get a big raise, if we get a promotion, we decide to up our pledge or make a major
contribution to the building fund. We don’t want to forget about God, do we?
Well Nathan goes to God with this plan and it gets vetoed. God is actually offended. Why? God
reminds Nathan and David that every victory he had was because of God’s graciousness and his
plan. David would not have had any victories if it wasn’t for him. Furthermore, God doesn’t need a
temple to reside in. And if he did, he would let David know.
Sounds kind of rough doesn’t it? But God was right. David got caught up in his success and forgot
who had given him the victory. David wasn’t successful because he was smarter or braver or
luckier that his opponents. Just like that day when he went up against Goliath, it was God who gave
him the victory. The same is true for us. It is God’s grace that gives us the victory over the things
and circumstances that try to overwhelm us. We are where we are today because of God.
The second point in this passage is that we should never get comfortable with the idea that we are
going to do something for God. God doesn’t need us to do something for him. Now this is different
from offering ourselves to God.
Here is the difference. Someone might say, “I am going on this mission trip so I can do God’s
work and save souls and share his love. Sounds good but it suggests that we are going to do God’s
work for him. On the other hand we might say, “I am answering God’s call and I will allow him to
use me wherever he sees fit.”
Dr. Walter Brueggeman, a reknown Biblical scholar, refers to this passage we read in 2 Samuel 7 as
“the dramatic and theological center of the entire Samuel corpus…one of the most crucial texts in
the Old Testament for evangelical faith.”
I think there are five things we can take away from it this morning. Each of them reminds us that it
isn’t about us, I’s all about God.
First, it calls us to remember that every success is a gift of God’s grace. On the surface here, we
don’t see any overt evidence that David has become filled with pride, but there are some clues that
David is beginning to be a little full of himself. I like the way Eugene Peterson describes what is
going on in David’s life:
I think David is just about to cross a line from being full of God to being full of himself. Outwardly,
everything is the same…But David, riding the crest of acclaim, having decisively defeated the
opposition, united God’s people, and captured the allegiance of all Israel and Judah, heady with
success, is going to do God a favor… David is now housed better than God…David has achieved a
better standard of living that God, and…from David’s position of strength he can now do
something significant for God.
In the text, we find some clues that David is in danger of being pulled away from God by his pride.
Notice that in verses 1-3, David is referred to by his title,king. But, as we’ll see in just a moment,
when God speaks about David, he calls him “my servant.” Perhaps David is a little too conscious of
his position as king.
There is a tendency on our part to think that growth, maturity and success somehow insulate us
from sin. In reality, these things just provide us with new areas of temptation. One could make a
pretty good case that David was in much more danger of sinning in the safety and comfort of the
palace than he had been in amidst the dangers of the wilderness, running for his life.
If we want to make sure that our successes don’t become a trap, then we need to remember that
we never produce those successes on our own. Each one is a gift of God’s grace in our life. I
really like Paul’s words on this subject:
What makes you better than anyone else? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if all
you have is from God, why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own? 1
Corinthians 4:7
Second, don’t presume that you know God’s heart.
When David comes to Nathan, proposing to build a house for God, Nathan just assumes that must
be something that God laid upon David’s heart. But we quickly find that isn’t true. No sooner had
Nathan advised David to go ahead, than God comes and makes it very clear to Nathan that neither
knew God’s heart.
So many times we all make our plans and just proceed with them without ever consulting with God
to see if we really know His heart. So how do I know what God’s heart is. How do I make sure I’
m not presuming to know his heart when I don’t have a clue?
Here is the short answer. The casual Christian is going to have a hard time discovering the heart of
God. As Paul wrote:
Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How
impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! For who can know what the
Lord is thinking? Who knows enough to be his counselor?
Romans 11:33, 34 (NLT)
There is a sense in which we can never fully understand it – because he is God and not a human
being. But the Bible is also clear that when we seek out God, when we focus our attention in
delighting in Him, that God chooses to reveal Himself to us.
We are so blessed today because we have something David and Nathan didn’t have – God’s written
Word. God wants us to delight in His Word, meditating on it day and night. And when we do that,
God is able to reveal Himself through His Word.
Third, we need to recognize that God is the one doing the building and he doesn’t need us to do
anything for him. But he wants to do something for us.
David comes to God, offering to build God a house, but God isn’t interested in what David can do
for Him. He basically says to David, “David, I don’t need a house. I never asked for one; I can’t be
put in a box…or a building. But David, I love you so much that I’m going to build a house for you
– not just some temporary structure, but an eternal house that will never pass away.”
This passage is what is known by theologians as the “Davidic Covenant.” God promises David that
He will build a house for David and that David’s house and his throne will endure forever.
Ultimately God’s covenant with David will be fulfilled when Jesus, who the Bible clearly shows to
be the offspring of David, returns to this earth and reigns forever.
You see this was God’s plan. He was setting things in motion for the salvation of the world. David
and his victories were to be a part of that. It wasn’t about David. It was about something much
bigger and more important to God’s plan.
We are going on this mission trip and all of us might come back feeling pretty good. The whole
church might get all excited when they hear what we have done. It would be easy if we began
thinking it was all about us. But our story today reminds us that it isn’t. You see God has a plan.
Some young person sitting in our congregation might be watching and suddenly hear the call to
enter the mission field. They might grow up and then save thousands of people with their work. Or
somebody we touch down in West Virginia might set off a chain reaction of events that will lead to
some great work God had in mind. The hope we bring the love we share could be the catalyst for
God’s great mission. It’s not about us.
Fourth we need to trust God to do his will. After Nathan reveals God’s response to David’s plans,
the account tells us that David went in and sat before the Lord. The Hebrew word translated “sat”
also means to “dwell”, or “abide” or “remain.” David didn’t just go into the tent and sit down for a
few moments. It was a prolonged period of time where David could just focus on God.
Unfortunately for many of us, when our plans fail, that’s the last thing we do. What do we usually
do? We figure the plan was good, but the execution was off, so we just put in more effort and time
with the same plan. Or we figure the overall plan is good, but it needs a little tweaking, so we go
back and modify the plan and try again. Or we figure the plan is wrong, so we start from scratch,
make new plans and try again.
Ultimately, any plan of ours is doomed to failure unless it is also God’s plan. So instead of making
new plans, we need to go into God’s presence and stay there for a while. That’s a lesson that Jesus
focused on throughout His ministry:
Finally, we need to simply do what God calls you to do. I love David’s prayer here. David doesn’t
focus for one second on the fact that God has just withdrawn the building permit for God’s house.
Instead, he spends all his time focusing on what God has just revealed to him. He humbles himself
before God and thanks God for the promises he has just made to David. And then, beginning in
verse 25, he prays and asks that God will be faithful and will keep his promises.
It is a prayer that focuses completely on God and His purposes and plans for David’s life.
I’m convinced we’re not very good at that, though. We come into God’s presence; we read His
Word and God reveals Himself, His purposes and His plans to us. And then we turn around and
pray and completely ignore what we have just learned from God.
It’s OK to pray for our needs and the needs of others. But if that’s’ the extent of our prayer life,
then prayer becomes all about me, and not about God.
Let’s make it a point to wait on God and to respond to his call. Whether we are going on this
mission trip or we are being prepared by God to be used at work or school or by some other
institution in the community, let’s open our hearts to him. Let’s ask God what he wants instead of
trying to tell God what he needs. Let’s offer ourselves to be used by God as channels of his mercy
and his blessing wherever he sees fit. For that is where the blessing will come to you and to those
around you. Amen.
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