Knowing The Will Of God #5 - Through Council Series

Knowing the Will of God #5 – Through Council

17th February 2008 am

Proverbs 24:6

a. Council should come from a godly source – Proverbs 25:19

When seeking God’s will for your life who do you turn to? I can tell you that there are certain people you should avoid like the plague.

Have you ever had tooth ache? – it kills, You cannot bite with a broken tooth and you can’t walk with a broken foot. Both will let you down at the time they are most needed.

Your council should come from a godly source – don’t ask the world for advice because they will give you worldly answers – that will lead to problems.

b. Always seek the Lord – 2 Samuel 7:1-13

Sometimes even the godliest person can unknowingly give us wrong advice. Nathan the prophet did this when he encouraged David to build the Temple.

Pastor Ed – this is what I think, this is what someone else thinks, but this is what the Bible says…..

David wants to do something great for God, but God said "No!"

Vs. 1 - This was a time of peace. For what was a probably a long time, David had rest from his enemies. One of the good things about times of peace is that they are times to think.

When I’m at peace I can plan better.

When I’m at peace I can meditate on God’s will.

When I’m at peace I can appreciate with gratitude the fact that God has given me that peace.

When I’m at peace I am in a good position to do something for God.

When I am at peace I can appreciate what God has done for me.

Vs. 2 - We meet Nathan the Prophet for the first time. Nathan was a great man of God. Nathan would be the one to confront David when David sinned with Bathsheba. It is apparent that Nathan and David had a good relationship.

David was at peace and appreciating what God had done, and was looking to show his appreciation. David realizes that he was living in a nice house made of cedar, while God’s house was a tent. Remember the ark was a box containing the Ten Commandments, the rod of Aaron, and a jar of manna.

On top of the ark was the mercy seat. God made his physical presence known by dwelling above the mercy seat.

David’s plan was to build a house for the Lord, and what better person to bounce it off of than the preacher!

David’s desire was a good desire.

David’s desire was a noble desire.

David’s desire was not a wrong desire.

There are some desires that you might have to do things for God. Such desires are good.

What are some things that a Christian may desire to do for God? My list:

Be a preacher

Be a missionary

Reach a neighbor for Christ

Teach

Go to Bible School

Build something for God

Start a ministry

Find a way to help those in need

Be a full time singer of the Gospel

And there are many more things we can desire to do!

God does not always say "yes" to our desires. Sometimes he has another plan for our lives, and chooses to use us in other ways.

Psalm 75:6-7 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. [7] But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

Vs. 3 - Here’s Nathan’s response. "Sound’s good to me! Go for it! God is with you.

There was nothing wrong with David’s desire. Nathan could see the value of a permanent house for God. He did what we probably would do. He gave his blessing and even God’s.

Perhaps he should have offered to pray about it before he gave an approval. But I can certainly see how and why it was easy for Nathan to approve.

Vs. 4 - I imagine that the message came from God to Nathan during a time of sleep. The important thing is that God had a different plan than David or Nathan. It was Nathan who got the word from God.

Nathan was going to have to return to David with a different answer than what Nathan had given the day before. He was going to have to rescind the blessing that he had given. He was going to have to humble himself to admit that he, the prophet of God, had been wrong.

One of the hardest things to do sometimes is to admit that we are wrong. Our pride keeps us from being humble enough to say "I blew it. I was wrong." Nathan gives us a good example to follow. When Nathan realized that he was wrong, he went to David with the corrected message.