In this sermon, Pastor Chuck Smith discusses God's Covenant with David as described in 2 Samuel chapter 7. He emphasizes how God chose David, a humble shepherd, to be the king over Israel and how God was always present with him. Pastor Chuck explains that God's chastisement of his children is always remedial, meant for correction and not punishment. He highlights the grace and goodness of God, who bestows his glory and blessings upon those who are unqualified and undeserving. The sermon concludes with the assurance that God's mercy will not depart from his children, unlike what happened with Saul.

Oh, let the Son of God enfold you With His Spirit and His love Let Him fill your heart and satisfy your soul Oh, let Him have the things that hold you And His Spirit like a dove Will descend upon your life And make you whole Here's David expressing to Nathan his desire to build a house for God. And Nathan, without inquiring of the Lord, just off the top of his head said, Oh, splendid David, do all that's in your heart. God is with you. But that night, the Lord awakened Nathan and said, Nathan, you blew it. You encouraged David to build my house. Can't have it. David's hands are bloody. This guy's killed too many people. My God of peace. It wouldn't be consistent to have David build me a house. I can't allow him to do it. So you're going to have to go back and give David the sad news that he can't build a house for me. But you tell David, my servant, that I'll build him a house. I will establish his kingdom. So Nathan came back to David with a message. God took you, David, from the sheep coat. A humble beginning, David. You were nothing but a little shepherd boy and God made you king. God reminds us sometimes of our past. We were nothing. And yet God chose us to reign as kings and priests with him forever. I took you from the sheep coat, from following the sheep. Made you the king over my people, over Israel. I was with you wherever you went. God reminds him how he was present with David. I've cut off all of your enemies. I've made your name great. Past. Future. When your days are fulfilled and you sleep, I will allow your son to sit upon the throne. Establish the kingdom with him and he will build the house. Now verse 14 is interesting because it shows us how God deals with his children. God brings chastisement into the lives of his children. Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth. But the chasing of God's children is always remedial. It's always for correction. The remedy. Whereas the chasing of the Lord upon the wicked is always penal. God punishes us to remedy a problem in our lives. God punishes the wicked to punish them for what they have done. So God declares that his mercy will not be apart. When he does wrong, I'll take care of him. I'll chastise him. I will bring the stripes upon him. There will be the chastisement. God chastises us as his children. And really, when you are chastened of the Lord, you should rejoice. Because number one, it proves you are a child of God. If you weren't a child of God, he wouldn't chasten you. My son despise not the chasing of the Lord, whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth. My mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, who I put away. And your house, and here's the clincher. Your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before thee. And thy throne shall be established forever. David interpreted rightly this declaration that the Messiah was to arise from his descendants. He would be a part of the lineage that would bring the Messiah to the earth. His kingdom, thy kingdom, shall be established forever. That is, through Jesus Christ. And thy throne shall be established forever. That was fulfilled in Christ. According to all of these words, according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David. Now, David went in and sat down before the Lord and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house that you have brought me to this position? Yes, you have made me king. You've given me this beautiful palace. You have blessed me with victories over my enemies. You have given me fame and glory and honor. Who am I, Lord God, that you should do this for me? He acknowledged that he was nothing, the humble beginnings. And he acknowledged the goodness and the grace of God that had been showered upon him. And this was yet a small thing in your sight. This is really nothing, Lord, compared to what you've promised you're going to do. You've spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord God? Lord, only you show this kind of grace. Only you show this undeserved goodness. Man is always looking for the qualified, deserving people to reward. God calls those who are unqualified to bestow upon them His glory, His honor, His power, His riches. God chooses the poor, the weak, upon which to bestow His grace and glory just to confound the wise of the world. I look at my own life and what God has done. And I often chuckle because I know how undeserving and unworthy I am of all that God has done. But He's done it for me just to encourage people. It is interesting, when God first began to bless Calvary Chapel, another man who was pastoring a church in Costa Mesa that started out about the same size as our church was encouraging his people as they were watching the growth of Calvary Chapel and as exciting things were happening. And he was telling his people, if God can do it for Chuck Smith, He can do it for anybody. The man was right. That's why God did it for Chuck Smith. To encourage anybody. God can do it for you. And God doesn't do it as a reward to a person who is deserving. He's not as man. But He bestows His grace. He lifts up the lowly. Oh, how great is our God. And so you've spoken, Lord, of a great while to come. And what can David say more unto thee, for thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant. Lord, I can't say anything more. You just have to know. You read my heart. You know what I feel inside. And there are emotions that are so deep and so full that you cannot really express them with words. Language becomes then a barrier. A hindrance. You just have to be silent and let God read your heart. The love, the feelings, the emotions that are there. And then David prayed. And he said, For your words' sake, and according to your own heart, have you done all of these great things to make your servant know them. Lord, you didn't do it for my sake, for the fact that I was worthy. I was deserving. I recognize that, Lord. You did it for your word's sake. You did it so it might bring glory to you. And that's why God chooses unlikely people to do his work. In order that the glory may be to God and not of us. God does things that are almost ludicrous. Paul said, For we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Now, if you owned the hope diamond, you'd probably keep it in a gold box lined with velvet in a vault in some bank someplace. That thing's valuable. You need a fitting box to keep it in, you know. You wouldn't throw it in a cigar box or something. You'd want a fancy jewelry box for that thing. God's glorious treasure. Where does he put it? In these clay pots, earthen vessels. That the glory may be to God and not of us. You see, he puts this glorious treasure, the gospel of Christ, in earthen vessels so that we don't draw attention to ourselves. People see the work and they say, Only God could do that. And that's what he wants. He wants people to give glory to his work. And so David acknowledges that when he said, Lord, it's for your word's sake and according to your own heart that you've done these great things and you've allowed me to know them. Wherefore, you are great, O Lord God. Not I am great, you know, I'm David the king. You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you. Neither is there any God beside you. According to all that we have heard with our ears. Lord, you are it. You're great. There's none like you. Neither is there any other God beside you. I am in the process of gathering research for a book. A book that will trace the desire to be God. That began with Satan before man was created. And that perpetrated Satan's fall. The lure that Satan used to deceive Eve. You will be as God. The claim that will ultimately be made by the Antichrist. As he stands in the temple of God proving that he is God and demanding to be worshipped as God. And in the wings we will pick up the hope of the Mormons to be gods, to have their own planets and populate them and oversee their developments. We will also pick up the New Agers who feel that we are on the verge of the great new quantum leap of the evolutionary spiral upwards and man is about to become God. And unfortunately this same concept has been brought into the church by some of those adherents of that positive confession. And they're now telling you why you can speak things into existence because you are God. And you have the capacity of God. For God exercised faith when he spoke the world into existence. And these same potentials are yours. And as you come to the full understanding of your position and your rank and all, you can speak the word of faith and you can create your own reality by the words that you speak. And I have their quotations, I have their books and this is the thing that disturbed me and caused me to do the research and to write this next book that I'm going to be doing. David said, Lord, you are the only God. There is no other. God said that about himself. To the false prophets in the time of Isaiah. He said, I alone am God. I know no other gods. They used to put people in the funny form. For thoughts like that. Thinking they were Napoleon or thinking they were God. But now it's become a very popular thing. Of course, what is Ramtha revealing? This 35,000 year old man who is speaking through his channeler. Revealing the mysteries of the ages to us moderns. What is the message of Ramtha? You are gods. But you see, the whole thing is setting the stage for the Antichrist to come soon upon the scene and declare to the people I'm God. Worship me as God. And it's something that is not going to go away. It's going to develop and continue to continue until it will center in the Antichrist himself. But this is all preparatory. David said, you alone are God. There is no other beside thee. And what one nation in the earth is like your people. Even like Israel. Who you went to redeem. You went down to Egypt and you took them out and you redeemed them from their slavery. That they might be your people. You might make your name great. And you have done great things and awesome. For your land before your people which you have redeemed from Egypt. And from that nation and their gods. For you have confirmed to yourself your people Israel to be a people unto thee forever. And you Lord are become their God. Now notice this. God has confirmed to himself. The people of Israel to be a people unto him forever. There are those today who are declaring that God is through with Israel. That they have been set aside. And that God's whole purposes now are to be accomplished through the church. And the church is Israel. And they take all of those promises that relate to Israel. And they apply them to the church. But in the same token they take all of the things of judgment. That are to come upon Israel before God restores his unfaithful bride. And they apply those to the church. And thus they put the church in the great tribulation. And that's the error that they make. Those that say that the church is going through the great tribulation. Have to also set Israel aside and say God is through with Israel. It's all over for Israel. They had their chance and opportunity. And now the church is Israel. And they then make the application of the passages of scripture that refer to Israel. To refer to the church. And in thus twisting they end up with the church in the great tribulation. It is not good biblical exegesis. Because God has confirmed Israel to be his people forever. And you Lord have become their God. And now oh Lord God. That word which you have spoken concerning your servant. Concerning his house. Establish it forever. Do as you have said. And let your name be magnified forever. God said to David I've made your name great. But David said Lord let your name be magnified forever. Saying the Lord of hosts is the God over Israel. And let the house of your servant David be established before thee. For thou oh Lord of hosts. God of Israel. Has revealed to your servant saying I will build you a house. And therefore has your servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto you. Lord I'm wiped out. You said you're going to build my house. I can't. Oh Lord glory. Therefore now let it please you to bless the house of your servant. That it may continue forever before you. For you Lord. Have spoken it. And with your blessing let the house of your servant be blessed forever. So Lord. Just go ahead and do what you said you're going to do. And glorify and magnify thy name. Beautiful prayer of David in response to God's promise. To build him a house. To raise up from his seed the Messiah. To rule over the earth. We'll return with more of our verse by verse study through the book of 2 Samuel. In our next lesson. As we learn more about the victories of David. And we do hope you'll make plans to join us. But right now I'd like to remind you that if you missed any part of today's message. Or perhaps you'd like to order a copy for that special friend or loved one. You can do so by simply contacting one of our customer service representatives. And they'd be more than happy to assist you with the ordering details. Simply call 1-800-272-WORD. And phone orders can be taken Monday through Friday. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time. Once again our toll free number is 1-800-272-9673. 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And watch over you as you go. May he rest, refresh and strengthen your bodies. And may the Lord perform for you. All of those good promises that he has made unto you. Through his word. And experiencing and seeing the grace of God in your life. Find emotions filling your spirit. That you can't express. As the joy of the Lord. And as the peace of Christ. And as the glory of God fills your being. May you be brought into that close. Fellowship with him. In Jesus name. My name is Pastor Chuck. I'm well acquainted with Pastor Jerry. And the ministry of U-Turn for Christ. It's my estimation. That it is one of the most effective ministries I know. To help people turn their lives around. Without reservation. I recommend this ministry. For more information about a U-Turn for Christ. Location nearest you. Visit us at our website. At U-Turn for Christ dot com. Or call us at area code 951-943-7097. This program has been sponsored by The Word for Today. In Costa Mesa, California.