August 26, 2007

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1 Chronicles

Reverend David S. Huffer

Westwood Baptist Church - 2124 Davis Road
 Waynesboro, VA

When God Changes Your Mind

1 Chronicles 7:14

Have you ever made plans and then at the last minute someone changed them on you?

·         This church is going through this very thing. How does it make you feel?

·          How are you going to react?

·          How is the church going to react?

TODAY - I want to take a look at a story in the life of King David where he makes great plans to build a beautiful temple for the Ark of the Covenant and God changes his plans. How did he react?

Background: Read 17:1 – What is the Ark of the Covenant?

·         It is the symbol of God’s presence – Israel’s most sacred object

·         Golden Rectangular box - 2 Gold Angels on top facing each other – Cherubim

·         Constructed at the same time as the Tabernacle and placed in the Most Sacred Room – Holy of Holies

·         Inside – Two stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments; Jar of Manna – bread God provided in the wilderness; Aaron’s Rod – Symbol of the High Priest’s authority

·         Only the Levites could carry the Ark

Have you ever had one of those “What’s wrong with this picture” moments?

STORY – Steve and his 19 hr workday

·         David has one here in his palace.

·         He looks around and tells Nathan, the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord is under the tents.”

·          David was disturbed that the Ark sat in a tent while he lived in such a beautiful place.

FRIENDS - David’s desire was right, but his timing was wrong.

V. 3-10 – God tells Nathan to go to David and tell him that he will not build the temple.

·         God tells David that He will build a “house” through him – meaning a dynasty

WE MUST BE WILLING TO ABIDE BY GOD’S TIMING

God did not want a warrior to build his temple and David had shed so much blood in unifying the nation.

·         So the honor of building the temple would go to David’s son, Solomon.

·         David would pass onto Solomon a peaceful and united kingdom

·         Ready to begin work on a beautiful temple

FRIENDS - God’s timing is not our timing! AMEN!

·         God’s timing doesn’t always come when we want it.

1. God Rescues us – Ex. 2:23-25
2. Do what is right at the right time – Numbers 14:40-44

HERE ME CHURCH – When you feel that God has forgotten you in troubles, remember that God has a time schedule we can’t see.

·         Wait on God’s timing – Psalm 74:10-18; 75:2; 2 Peter 3:8-9

WE MUST BE WILLING TO DO OUR BEST!

How does David react?

1. V.16-27 – Humility and Thanksgiving – rather than growing despondent, angry, blaming God;

·         David willingly invested in what he would not personally see through to completion.

2. V.21:22-26 – Bought the Land – he purchases the land from Ornan the Jebusite and instructs and instructs his son to build the temple.

3. V.22:5 – Made Preparations

4. V.22:6 – Instructs His Son

How can we as parents help our children carry out God’s plan for their lives?

·         Show Them How To Pray – We need to model this for them!

·         Show Them How To Study God’s Word – Model this for them; Family time together in the Scriptures

·         Showing Them The Difference Between Right And Wrong – Modeling – loving discipline

·         Showing Them The Importance Of Church Involvement – They need to see that church is important to you and why

(1. Be willing to accept God’s Timing; 2. Be Willing To Do Our Best)

BE WILLING TO FOLLOW GOD’S PLAN

the Lord.

·         For some time David wanted to build a house for the Lord.

·         God said NO to his dreams.

When God interrupts and changes our plans, how do we react?

·         We get angry. We blame God.

·         We question God and sometimes we just fail to accept the truth that our plans may not be God’s plans.

FRIENDS - Like David, we must learn to trust God even when we do not understand the reason HE has said NO to our plans.

UNDERSTANDING THE REAL SECRET TO SUCCESS – 22: 11-13

Verse 11 - The real key to success is having the Lord with you!

KEEP SEEKING THE LORD IN ALL WE DO – 22: 17-19

Cooperation is essential to the work of the Kingdom.

·         David knew that cooperation was essential to the completion of the task.

·          You need to stick together to complete the task!

CLOSE

REMEMBER: BEFORE YOU BUILD FOR THE LORD:

1.    CONSULT THE ARCHITECT:

·         Ask God to help you understand how you can best serve Him

2.    STUDY THE PLAN:

·         Seek and obey His will above personal agendas

3.    RECRUIT THE CREW:

·         Solicit help from those whose lives are characterized by devotion to the Lord in all they do.

4.    LOOK BEYOND THE PRESENT:

·         Be willing to invest and labor even if you will not have the opportunity to see things through to completion.

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