{"id":33723,"date":"2024-12-10T22:00:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T05:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/2-samuel_7_1-17-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-11-26T17:14:55","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T00:14:55","slug":"2-samuel_7_18-29","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/2-samuel_7_18-29\/","title":{"rendered":"Respond to God\u2019s Promises with Wonder, Worship and Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"

2 Samuel\u00a0 7:18-29 \u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 2 Samuel 7:18-29.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.\u00a0 See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

2\u00a0Samuel\u00a07:18a (NIV)<\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>Then King David went in and sat before the LORD<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 18a:\u00a0 Notice how David responds after hearing the powerful promises God spoke to him through the prophet Nathan.\u00a0 David doesn\u2019t say, \u201cThat\u2019s interesting\u201d and walk away.\u00a0 Rather David responds by getting into God\u2019s presence and sitting before the Lord.\u00a0 When God speaks to you, don\u2019t just go, \u201cThat\u2019s nice\u201d and walk away.\u00a0 Take time to sit in God\u2019s presence and let your soul digest what you have received.\u00a0 Then you can respond to God in an appropriate way.\u00a0\u00a0One of the most powerful things you can do any day is to sit in God\u2019s presence and be still.\u00a0 When I sit down in God\u2019s presence, I experience His peace, receive insight for my situation and direction for what to do next.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2\u00a0Samuel\u00a07:18b (NIV)<\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u2026and he said: “Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 18b:\u00a0 David did not take for granted the ways God had blessed and promoted him.\u00a0 David never forgot that he was a shepherd boy and now he had become the king.\u00a0\u00a0No matter how far God takes you, stay humble and never forget where you came from.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2\u00a0Samuel\u00a07:19 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD?<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 19: David is blown away by God\u2019s goodness \u2013 not just the blessings he has already received but the promise of even greater blessings to come in the future.\u00a0 David realizes he doesn\u2019t deserve any of these blessings.\u00a0 So he responds, \u201cIs this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign Lord?\u201d \u00a0Similarly,\u00a0may we never\u00a0get used<\/em>\u00a0to God\u2019s grace.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0May we never be spoiled, entitled children.\u00a0 May we always have a sense of wonder, excitement and awe at all the ways God has been good to us. \u00a0<\/strong>At the centre of those blessings is Jesus\u2019 death on the cross to pay for our sins and his resurrection from the grave to give us life.<\/p>\n

2\u00a0Samuel\u00a07:20-21 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>“What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign LORD.
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 20-21:\u00a0 At least seven times David addresses God as \u201cSovereign Lord\u201d.\u00a0 What does that mean?\u00a0 \u201cSovereign\u201d means to be in charge, to be in control, to be able to do whatever you want to do, to be the one whose decisions are final and whom no one can challenge.\u00a0\u00a0God is sovereign and we are to worship Him as sovereign.<\/strong>\u00a0 He will do whatever He decides to do because He is our Sovereign Lord.<\/p>\n

2\u00a0Samuel\u00a07:22 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>“How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 22:\u00a0 After sitting down in God\u2019s presence, David\u2019s first response to God\u2019s goodness in His life is to worship.\u00a0 May that be your and my first response too.\u00a0\u00a0When you get into God\u2019s presence (whether it\u2019s in church or in your personal time with God), take a moment to worship God first before you ask Him for anything\u00a0<\/strong>or complain to Him about anything.\u00a0 Through worship we are reminded of how big our God is.\u00a0 Also,\u00a0like David, don\u2019t hold your worship and thankfulness in. Express your worship and thanks to God.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Lift your voice, clap and lift your hands, shout to God.\u00a0 When you express your praise to God, your faith grows, your body is strengthened, and the atmosphere around you changes.<\/p>\n

2\u00a0Samuel\u00a07:23-24 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>And who is like your people Israel–the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 23-24:\u00a0 God\u2019s promises in\u00a02\u00a0Samuel\u00a07\u00a0were not just for David alone but for all of Israel (v10-11).\u00a0 David saw that these promises were a continuation of the goodness God had shown Israel long before David was born, back to the time of Moses.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Recognize that we are part of a much bigger story that God is writing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We can be very focused on ourselves, our generation, our times, what\u2019s happening right now and have no idea what God has been doing in the generations before us.\u00a0 But the fact is: what God is doing now in our time is the next chapter of a story God has been writing for generations.<\/p>\n

2\u00a0Samuel\u00a07:25-26 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>“And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised,
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>so that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, ‘The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established before you.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 25-26:\u00a0 Notice David\u2019s reason for inviting God to fulfill His promises: it\u2019s \u201cso that Your name will be great forever\u201d and so that \u201cmen will say, \u2018The Lord Almighty is God over Israel\u2019\u201d (v26).\u00a0 In other words, David desired for God to fulfill His promises not just for his own exaltation, but even more so that the Lord\u2019s name would be lifted up.\u00a0 Similarly,\u00a0may the desire of your heart not be for your own exaltation, but for God\u2019s name to be exalted.<\/strong>\u00a0 As Isaiah 26:8 says, \u201cyour name and renown are the desire of our hearts\u201d.<\/p>\n

2 Samuel 7:27-29 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“O\u00a0LORD\u00a0Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to offer you this prayer.
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0O Sovereign\u00a0LORD, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Sovereign\u00a0LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 27-29:\u00a0 I love what David says in verse 29: \u201cwith your blessing the house of your servant\u00a0will\u00a0<\/em>be blessed\u201d. This is David expressing his faith in the power of God\u2019s promises.\u00a0 David believed that whatever God said He will bless, God will indeed bless.\u00a0 Likewise,\u00a0respond to God\u2019s promises with faith.\u00a0 When God\u2019s Word says that you are blessed (John 1:16, Ephesians 1:3), believe wholeheartedly that you are!\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>That\u2019s why at THRIVE we like to proclaim, \u201cThis is my Bible.\u00a0 It is God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 I am what it says I am.\u00a0 I have what it says I have.\u00a0 I can do what it says I can do.\u201d\u00a0 What are we doing?\u00a0 We\u2019re responding to God\u2019s promises with faith.<\/p>\n

Father, praise You for being the Sovereign Lord, the unstoppable one whose decisions no one can challenge and whose plans no one can thwart.\u00a0 I pray that I would not get used to Your grace in my life, that I would never be spoiled and self-entitled, but that I would always have a sense of wonder, excitement and awe toward Your grace in my life.\u00a0 May I respond to every promise You make to me with faith.\u00a0 Because Your Word says so, I proclaim that am blessed.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 2 Samuel 7:18-29.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.\u00a0 See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!\u00a0<\/p>\n

2\u00a0Samuel\u00a07:18a (NIV)
\n18\u00a0Then King David went in and sat before the LORD<\/p>\n

On verse 18a:\u00a0 Notice how David responds after hearing the powerful promises God spoke to him through the prophet Nathan.\u00a0 David doesn\u2019t say, \u201cThat\u2019s interesting\u201d and walk away.\u00a0 Rather David responds by getting into God\u2019s presence and sitting before the Lord.\u00a0 When God speaks to you, don\u2019t just go, \u201cThat\u2019s nice\u201d and walk away.\u00a0 Take time to sit in God\u2019s presence and let your soul digest what you have received.\u00a0 Then you can respond to God in an appropriate way.\u00a0\u00a0One of the most powerful things you can do any day is to sit in God\u2019s presence and be still.\u00a0 When I sit down in God\u2019s presence, I experience His peace, receive insight for my situation and direction for what to do next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33725,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33723"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33726,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33723\/revisions\/33726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}