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.
So when you’re wrong, admit it! Admit it to God and confess any sin involved.
Admit to those it affects and seek their forgiveness if necessary.
Vs. 5 - It is very important to see what God calls David. He calls him, "My servant". David was not in the proverbial "dog house". God did not have a low opinion of David. David was special in the eyes of God, even though God was not going to let David do what he wanted. In fact later it was stated that David’s thoughts and desires were good.
2 Chronicles 6:8 But the Lord said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart:
Verses. 8-9 - David was to realize just how much God had blessed Him. God had taken him from being a humble shepherd to being a great king with a great name. David was being blessed of God, in spite of the fact that God did not want him to build a temple.
When God says "no" to something we want to do, it would do us well to remember all the ways God has blessed us and has used us. Also, remember that God has different jobs for each of us. David was told later by God that because David was a soldier, a man of blood, he would not build the temple.
1 Chronicles 22:8-9 - But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. [9] Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.
We need to remember that God will not give us every job. He has not qualified us for every job. But whatever job God has given us we should do well for Him.
1 Peter 4:10-11 - As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. [11] If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Vs. 10 - God gives David another assurance. There will be a day when Israel will be secure. That day is yet to come, but it is coming. God had given David so much! God has given us so much! When God says "no" we can still relax.
c. It’s your responsibility – Ephesians 5:17
Each person is responsible for knowing God’s will for their lives
How foolish it is to stumble along through life and never seek to know the will of the Lord. Even though God has set a path before us, so many people take diversions, and end up in a mess and miserable.
God wants us to understand what His will is for our lives. Don’t waste time, energy, money and talent in that which is out of God’s will. Lost opportunities may never be regained; they are gone forever.
God reveals His will to us through His Word – Col 1:9-10
God reveals His will to us through Prayer –
God reveals His will to us through Circumstances – Romans 8:28
