(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Grab a song book, open that song book up to song number two, Glory to His Name, and we'll all stand together for this first song if you are able. Song number two, Glory to His Name. Song number two, Glory to His Name, everyone nice and strong all together. Down at the cross where my Savior died, down where for cleansing from sin I cried, there to my heart was the blood of Christ, glory to His name, glory to His name, glory to His name, there to my heart was the blood of Christ, glory to His name. I am so wondrously slain from sin, Jesus so sweet He abides within, there at the cross where He took me in, glory to His name, glory to His name, glory to His name. There to my heart was the blood of Christ, glory to His name. O precious fountain that saves from sin, I am so glad I have entered in, there Jesus saves me, keeps me clean, glory to His name, glory to His name, glory to His name. There to my heart was the blood of Christ, glory to His name. Come to this fountain so rich and sweet, cast thy warm soul at the Savior's feet, plunge in today and be made complete, glory to His name, glory to His name, glory to His name. There to my heart was the blood of Christ, glory to His name. Amen, it's over our service with the word of prayer. Father, thank you God, Lord, for allowing us, God, to be here tonight, Lord, hear your word preached unto us, God. Pray, Lord, that you would bless the service, Lord, every aspect of it, God. Fill pastor with your spirit, Lord, as he preaches to us, God, and help us, Lord, to be edified, God, by the preaching of your word, Lord, that we would leave here differently than when we came in, God, and apply that which we hear to our lives, Lord. We love you, God. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. Song number 159, Blessed Be the Name. Song 159, Blessed Be the Name. Everyone, all together nice and strong. All praise to Him who reigns above, in majesty supreme, who gave His Son for man to die, that He might man redeem. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, blessed be the name of the Lord. His name above all names shall stand, exalted more and more, at God the Father's own right hand, where angels host adore. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, blessed be the name of the Lord. Redeemer, Savior, friend of man, once through and by the fall, thou hast seen my salvation's plan, in the glory of the past, my Lord. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, blessed be the name of the Lord. His name shall be the Counsellor, the mighty Prince of Peace, of all earth's kingdoms' conquerors, whose reign shall never cease. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, blessed be the name of the Lord. All right, great singing. Thank you for being here this evening. Just a few announcements here before we sing our next song, which will be 343, Revive Us Again. If you want to get that ready in your songbook, song number 343. And if you did not get a bulletin, go ahead and raise your hand. One of the ushers can get one for you. Important information on there, as well as the prayer sheet that we're going to go over in just a bit. Our Sunday morning service is at 1030 Sunday evening at 5 p.m. And then we have our Thursday night Bible study, of course, at 7 o'clock, currently going through the book of 2 Samuel. You see the sowning teams and times there, along with the list of the teams and the list of expecting mothers, if you can continue to pray for them. You see the important reminders there at the bottom. Please give heed to that. And then the next big event for our church is the annual Thanksgiving banquet on Tuesday, November 22. And as I mentioned before, that will take place of our midweek service. It's typically on Thursday. Our midweek service that week will be on Tuesday. And it will not be here at the building. It will be right there at the location. And you have the QR code there. You can take a picture of that. And it will give you directions to where that is. Please make sure you RSVP to fwbcla.org to make sure we can have a headcount of everyone who's coming. And, of course, the theme is 1800s, okay? And so make sure you dress up. And we're going to have a great time. Invite your family and friends, co-workers. And we're just going to feast, hear some preaching, and just have a night of Thanksgiving. And then the men's prayer night is coming up on Friday, November 25. Homeschool field trip is coming up on Tuesday, November 30. And you can see my wife for more details about that. And then we're getting into December here. The Christmas caroling starts on Saturday, December 10. We'll give you more info on that as we approach. Last year was great. We went Christmas caroling in the hills right here. And it was just very receptive to say the least. People actually liked us singing, okay? Not like in times past, all right? I remember we're in Oman and we're like singing and people just like close the door on us or something. But what we would do is if someone didn't like us singing, then we'd walk away singing Psalm 139. Okay? So, you know, we're not going to have that problem this time. And so some of you don't know what I'm talking about. All right. By the way, this Saturday is Jacob and Malia's wedding, which is on the 12th. What time is it at? Two o'clock. And so it's an open invitation. Everyone's welcome to come to that. And that'll be at two o'clock. Be here to celebrate with them as they are getting married. And then you see the reminders are at the bottom. No food or drink allowed. Intimate on a tour except for water and coffee. Please make sure you're not loitering in the foyer or fellowship hall during the preaching service. And make sure you silence your phones during the preaching so as to not be a distraction during the service. You can look at the prayer sheet there and go over that on your own time. I'd like for Brother Maury just to spend a good amount of time praying over the trip. We're going to Belize on Sunday. Some are taking off on Saturday. Some will be arriving on Monday. And we're going to be there for about six days. Some for five or so. And so please pray that we just get a lot of people saved. And it's been a couple years since we've gone to Belize. Of course, the last time we went, it was just a complete bust because of COVID. But it's not because they weren't receptive. It was just because of COVID. And so this next time around, we're hoping to get a lot of people saved in San Ignacio. We're going to be going to Belmapon. And Brother Glenn is taking a group up to Orange Walk, which is in the north of Belize. And so pray that we get a lot of people saved and that people would be receptive. And that we'd have a great time, of course. And you know, it might be raining up there. And that is not really a problem. But just pray that the weather would be in our favor. So it doesn't hinder us at all from talking to people. And that all would go well. And so, brother Moore, if you could just spend some time tonight just talking about... Is that my imagination or did I actually hear something? Did you guys hear that? Was that? Okay. All right. That was weird. I don't believe in science, by the way. So if you could spend some time praying about that. And please pray for us as we go out to Belize. Pray for traveling mercies that all would go well with that. All right. Brother Moore, why don't you come on up and pray over here. By your eyes and a word of prayer. Dear Lord, Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us another day. Lord, thank you for all the blessings that we have. Thank you for our church and our pastor and the fellowship that we have here. And Lord, just thank you for the King James Bible and for our salvation as well, Lord. Thank you also for the people that got saved over this past week and just through the ministry of this church here, Lord. Let us continue to do your will. We pray that we have your favor on our church as we're serving you. Allow us to be able to continue to have your mercy and grow closer to you and studying your word and meditating on it and growing closer to you every day. Lord, just pray for the soul winning as we go out into the highways and hedges, preaching the gospel, teaching people how to go to heaven, Lord. And I just pray that we have your favor on us and protection as we're going to these different places. Lord, I pray for the missions trips as we're going to be going out to Belize this weekend. And Lord, I just pray that the time is very receptive and that we're able to get a lot of people saved. And Lord, I pray for the weather as we're going out there. I pray that it's good enough for us to be able to at least go out and talk to people, Lord. And Lord, I just pray that if there's any weather issues that can hinder us, that those don't hinder us. I pray that you protect us as we're out there and serving you and doing what you've asked us to do, which is to preach the gospel. Lord, I just pray for both teams as the team that's going up north and south. And Lord, I just pray that for travel mercies, that we're able to get there safely and no issues and that you can hinder any problems that could address us as we're trying to do your will. Lord, I pray that a lot of people get saved and I pray for you to open doors so that we can be able to meet different people and plant as many seeds as possible as we're out there. Let us maximize or let us efficiently use our time as we're out there, Lord, as we're going out, giving the gospel. But then also, we're there to work for you, but we're also able to have fellowship with the brethren that are going as well. And thank you for that and I pray that we're able to do a great work for you there. Lord, I pray for more laborers. I pray that more people have the desire to go out and give the gospel and teach your word to people and show people how not to go to hell and show them how to go to heaven. Lord, I pray for families to continue to grow and I pray for expecting mothers. I pray that they have healthy deliveries and the newborns, that they're healthy as well. Lord, I pray for the unspoken and general requests and salvation requests that we have here as Lord, as we have for the church collectively. Lord, just thank you for all that you give us and Lord, we thank you for the fellowship that we're going to have afterwards. And Lord, I pray that we're able to be receptive to the message that past me has prepared for us. And Lord, we pray this humble name. Amen. All right. Please open up your hymnals to song number three hundred and forty three. Song number three hundred and forty three. Revive us again. Three hundred forty three. Revive us again. All together, nice and strong. We praise the. Oh, God, for the son of my love for Jesus. Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, oh, God, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, Good evening. We're in 2 Samuel chapter 7. And the Bible reads, And it came to pass when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies, that the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in the house of Ceder, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart, for the Lord is with thee. And it came to pass that night that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shall thou build me a house for me to dwell in. For as I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. And all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any other tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me in house of Ceder? Now therefore, soul, shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thou saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheep-coat, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel. And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth. Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more, neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as before time. And I sense the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee in house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seat after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If it come into iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men. But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. Thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee, thy throne shall be established forever. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David. Then went King David in, and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house that thou hast brought me hitherto? And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God, but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord God? And what can David say more unto thee? For thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant for thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart hast thou done all these great things to make thy servants know them. Wherefore, thou art great, O Lord God, for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things, and terrible for thy land, but for thy people, whom thou redeemest to thee from Egypt, from the nations, and their gods. For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee forever, and thou, Lord, art become their God. And now, O Lord God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it forever, and do as thou hast said, and let thy name be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee. For thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house, therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee. And now, O Lord God, thou art thy God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant. Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee, for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it, and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed forever. Let's pray. We thank you, Heavenly Father, for this church that you have given us, dear God. Please bless it forever. And we thank you for the words in the Bible, dear Lord. Every single one is precious, and every single soul in this church is precious. Please bless our pastor as he preaches your word tonight. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, we're continuing this evening with the Book of 2 Samuel here. We're, of course, in chapter number 7. Let me just give you a little bit of review to get us caught up on the timeline here and what we're dealing with. Of course, David is officially the king, not only of Judah, but also of Israel. And as he is in office, essentially he is basically making a lot of moves. He is setting up his capital in Jerusalem. And then the last chapter we went over in chapter 6, we see that he makes an attempt to retrieve the Ark of God. And I'm not going to rehash the whole story with the Ark of God. Of course, we went over that in chapter 6. But if you remember, the Ark of God was taken before the first king was established, the first king being King Saul. And it was taken by the Philistines as a punishment from God to Israel for departing from the Lord. And the glory of God was departed. And here's the thing is that as it was in the land of the Philistines, no one really sought after it in Israel, Saul included, during the reign of Saul. So during Saul's reign, no one really inquired of the Ark of the Covenant. No one really cared where it was. Obviously, Saul didn't care about the Ark of the Covenant and he didn't put any effort into retrieving it. And so when David takes over, that's one of his first things that he wants to do. He wants to get it back to its original home. And of course, he's able to retrieve it along with some bumps down the road. And we see here that as he begins to reign, he is essentially just trying to establish his kingdom. He wants to please the Lord. He is bringing the Ark of God back. He is establishing that capital in Jerusalem. Now, in Chapter 7, we see that he has a strong desire to build the house of God, a temple for the Lord. And look at verse number one here. We're going to talk about a better house. It says here, verse number one, And it came to pass when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies, that the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See, now I dwell in a house of cedar, but the Ark of God dwells within curtains. And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart, for the Lord is with thee. Now, a couple of things that I want to mention before we get into these couple of verses here is that in verse number one, it says that the Lord gave David rest round about from all his enemies. Now, what you're going to see later on, what we're going to look at in the coming weeks in Chapter 8 specifically, is that he's still fighting battles, because you see him in Chapter 8 going to war with the Philistines, and he's battling these foreign nations still, and he's conquering them. And so you kind of wonder, what does that mean when he gives them rest from his enemies round about, but he's still involved in wars and battles? Well, I believe what this is referring to is the fact that when it says that God gave him rest, it doesn't necessarily mean that he's no longer going to have to go to battle, no longer going to have to go to war, but essentially David now has the upper hand. You see, in times past, David was fighting the battles of the Lord, but he was also running for his life. He's running away from Saul, he's running away from different individuals, and he's kind of like a nomad, just dwelling in different places. And now that Saul's dead, and those who wanted David dead are dead as well, he basically has rest from his enemies round about, and now he is secure and established to be able to do conquest and fight the enemies of the Lord without any hindrance. It's one thing when you're fighting for your life, and then you're also fighting the battles of the Lord, it's another thing when you're not necessarily fighting for your life, and you're on good ground to be able to fight the wars of the Lord with efficiency. And so I think this is a great principle for us to learn that in the Christian life, you know, God may give you rest round about from all your enemies, or it may give our church rest from all our enemies, but that doesn't mean there aren't any battles left to fight, right? I mean the Christian life is filled with wars, it's filled with battles. Yeah, we may not have sodomites trying to break down the doors anymore and yelling and all those things, but you know what, you still have to battle the flesh, right? And you know, often Christians lose that war far more often than they lose the war against the sodomites, unfortunately. You know, they lose the war against the flesh, they lose the war against the world, against the temptations of Satan, or just any other wars that they have. You know, maybe it's a battle, it's a war to raise their children. It's a battle, it's a war within marriage, okay? It's a battle, it's a war to just grow as a Christian. This is like a war, it's a battle that we're in. So, you know, God may have given us or may have given you rest from your enemies per se, where you're not fighting for your life, you know? You're essentially, you got a job now and everything's going well as far as your health is concerned, you know, you're in church, you're living a life of discipline, you're reading the word of God, but that doesn't mean that your life is now absent of any battles or any wars because the Bible specifically tells us that we should fight the good fight of faith. And you might be a person of discipline where you're not struggling to fight your flesh all the time, maybe you're structured, you have a structured life, a structured home, you consistently read the word of God, well then God still has a war for you to fight and that is the war to defend doctrine, right? And so there's always some sort of battle for us to fight and fighting Satan doesn't always come in the same manner, you know? People are always asking, when's the next protest? Like I'm trying to schedule them or something, like I have to like, well, you know, I call them, you know, they're kind of busy or something, I'm working on it, man, you know, it's just like, they're just so packed out this year, maybe next year is the year that we're going to, you know, it's just like, dude, we don't, that's not how things work, okay? And we didn't even schedule our last protest either, it just came upon us as we're preaching God's word. And so, you know, and people want to glory in that type of battle and those battles are great, right? But often the most profitable battles are those that you win against your own flesh, are those that you win against Satan, are those that you win winning the hearts of your children, winning your spouse over, just the day-to-day struggle of being a Christian, reading God's word, praying, staying right with God, those are battles, those are wars. And in fact, you know, the Bible specifically says that the Spirit lusteth against the flesh, the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, these are contrary to one to the other, so that you cannot do the things that you would. You know, you constantly have to battle your flesh and, you know, these wars come and go, but the battle with your flesh stays with you for the rest of your life. And so that's a constant battle. And, you know, the Bible tells us, when a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with them. Doesn't mean they cease being his enemies, they're just at peace with them in the sense that they're not messing with them. And we can't say that David didn't have any enemies because he obviously does, there's people who hate him, but they're not willing to step out and actually fight against him because God is with David. God has blessed David, and of course they know that David can whoop him or whatever. And we see later on that he's conquering, he is fighting the Lord's battles, and he's doing well. So the principle that I want us to learn this evening in that regard is, you know, don't put anything on, don't put your Christian life on cruise control. Just because there's no battles out there, there's always a battle to fight, okay? And, you know, there's a battle to be disciplined, or, you know, sometimes battles arise within the church when there's false doctrines being spread in the church, right? Some sort of false ideology, some sort of philosophy that you got from like Andrew Tate or something like that. You know, something starts making its way into the church, we have to battle that, we have to fight that. That's a constant war and a constant battle that we have to go up against. And so he's giving him rest, but that doesn't mean he stops fighting. We can't put the Christian life on cruise control. We need to always have the mindset that we are earnestly contending for the faith, we're contending against the wicked. And look, if you're reading the Bible and you're praying and you're right with God and you're in church, you know that there's a constant battle with this world, right? Because this world is constantly trying to push their filth down our throats and try to, you know, promote abortion, and sodomy, and everything that's anti-Bible, we have to fight that. And, you know, the Bible says have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. And so it's not enough that we don't fellowship with them, God expects for us to actually speak out against him. Look at verse number 2 here, it says that the king said unto Nathan, So the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies, that the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. And Nathan said to the king, Go do all that is in thine heart, for the Lord is with thee. So it's pretty interesting, you know, David is basically sitting in his palace, made of cedar, and he feels a certain level of guilt because he's like, man, I got this really nice house, this mansion or whatever, made of cedar, yet the ark of God dwells within curtains, referring to the tent. Because at this time, of course, you don't really have the temple yet, you have the tabernacle, and the ark of God is dwelling within there, and that's God's original intent for the ark of God, is that it would dwell in a portable tent where it would be movable. And, you know, David feels a certain level of discontentment with the fact that he has a really nice house, but yet God's house, per se, is still behind curtains. And he doesn't say he wants to build a house, but Nathan gets the point. And Nathan just tells him, hey, do all that is in thine heart. And so the conversation kind of ends there, but what obviously David wants to do is he wants to build a house of God. He has this idea and this desire to build a temple, something that's extravagant, something that is pleasing unto the Lord. Now, sometimes people will kind of scoff at Nathan here. I've heard people just kind of not get upset with Nathan, but kind of criticize him because they think that he made a wrong judgment. Because he says, do all that is in thine heart, but then we see that God doesn't want him to build a temple. And they'll say, well, Nathan, you know, obviously he just didn't know what he was talking about. He told him to do all that is in thine heart. But I don't really agree with that view because of the fact that if you think about it, it was okay for David to do all that was in his heart because of the fact that David was a man who delighted in the Lord. And the Bible says that if we delight in the Lord, that he shall give us the desires of our heart. So I don't think David is a person who's just kind of doing his own thing and he doesn't love the Lord, doesn't love God's word. I think he's right with God and then he has this sincere desire to exalt the Lord by building this temple for the ark of God. And that's in his heart. And if you notice, you know, when God is speaking to Nathan, telling him that David essentially can't build the temple, he's not saying I don't want any temple, period. Right? Because there's never a time when he says, hey, you know, this is not what I want. He allows that dream to come to fruition just not with David, but rather with his descendants. Okay? So he allows David to honor him in that manner. The difference being is that it wasn't going to be David who builds it because of the fact that he shed a lot of blood. He was a man of war. And it was God's preference that someone who was a man of peace that was not involved in war would build that temple. And that person, of course, was Solomon. Okay? And so when he says, do all that is in thine heart, you know, there's nothing wrong with that. And in fact, I personally believe that if you're right with God, do all that is in thine heart, obviously, as long as it's in accordance to God's word. You know, we obviously understand that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? And it's for that reason that we need to read God's word in order to bring our thoughts into alignment and make sure that what we're doing doesn't contradict the Bible. A lot of people out there that do what they feel and do what they think is right in the eyes of the Lord. But when you compare it to Scripture, it's like, dude, you're just like completely sinning. You're transgressing. That's not what God wants. We are fortunate that we have God's word that we can read and measure our intentions based upon God's word and recognize, well, this is what I desire to do. Is it in accordance with God's word? And if it is, do it. And, you know, if it isn't or if the Bible is not really clear in that situation, then do it. And you know what? If it turns out bad, don't worry, because all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. And so I think we as God's people should do all that is in our heart if we're delighting in the Lord, if we are reading God's word, if we're praying, if we know that we're right with God and we're doing the best that we can to live the Christian lives. You know, we should do all that is in our heart. And, you know, you say, well, you know, I feel like I was doing that and I was asking God, you know, and he didn't really answer my prayers. Well, you know, you ask not because you have not, you have not because you ask amiss that you may consume it upon your lust. Sometimes people don't get an answer to prayer because they're asking for the wrong things or they're asking for something selfishly. But this isn't something that, this isn't a selfish desire that David has, obviously. You know, he obviously wants to honor the Lord by building this temple. And so Nathan tells him, do all that is in thine heart, for the Lord is with thee. And so David has in his heart that he wants to build this temple. He wants to build a house of God and honor him. Look at verse number four. It says, And it came to pass that night that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant. I'm sorry, I forgot to mention. That's what I was talking about. Delighting in the law, delighting in the Lord. Sometimes we think to ourselves, well, you know, I don't really desire like the things of God as much like I don't desire reading the Bible. I don't desire to come to church. But you need to delight in the Lord and then God will give you the right desires. Because sometimes what it is, is that we need our desires to change. You know, we come from the world or we come with false ideologies and, you know, they're contrary to God's word. And so what we need to do is delight in the Lord. And through delighting in God, you know, reading the Bible and just doing what God tells us to do, he ends up essentially changing our desires. Okay. And sometimes people just have trouble being in church or listening to preaching, especially this kind of preaching, you know, because they don't have an appetite for it. Okay. You'd be surprised. You know, people actually do like this preaching, you know, as offensive as some people may say it is. And so direct and you know, whatever, you know, deep down inside anybody who loves the truth, loves this type of preaching, even if it rubs them the wrong way. Okay. And I'm sure there's people in this room who started listening to this kind of preaching and it bothered them because they felt like the preacher was too rude or just too, you know, abrasive or too, you know, crude or whatever. They just felt that they were mean and, you know, all those, you know, words or whatever, just, oh, this person's, he's just got a mean spirit. But deep down inside you're like, but what they're saying is true. And often what they'll say is this, you know, what that person is saying is true is just, it's just the way they say it though. You know, I don't disagree with them. It's just, you know, the way they say it. Well, it sounds to me that you just got to change the way you view that type of preaching because if it's truth, the truth, there's nothing wrong with the truth. And in fact, there's not even anything wrong with the preacher, you know, expounding that truth. It's just that you're a little soft. That's what it is. You understand? And, you know, God, you know, God's word should be powerful. The preaching of God's word should hit hard. It's God's word. That's what it's supposed to do. I mean, God, this is what he used to create worlds. You understand? This is what he used to create solar systems and power and light. I mean, this is what he uses to make life. You understand? And so it should come as no surprise that when you hear biblical preaching, it hits you like that. You understand? Or it hits you right in the chest, not physically, but, you know, in a spiritual sense, and it kind of wakes you up. And yeah, you know, and if you get a little offended, you know what the Bible tells us? It says, great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them. So what's the flip side to that? If you're offended by the preaching of God's word, then it's just an indication that you don't love God's word. So that means we have to develop a love for the law of God so that we're not offended by his word. You understand? When we hear something that maybe rubs us the wrong way, and it causes your face to go red, and you feel embarrassed, and then you start getting mad at me, you're just like, well, I don't have a problem with the message, it's the messenger. No, you have a problem with the message, because I'm not the only one preaching this. And, you know, not a single person can come to me and say, you know, you're wrong about this because you contradict this part of the scripture or whatever. They can see that it's biblical. And, you know, the reason why we say it in the manner that we do is to let you know how serious we are. You know, you can't really preach on sin in a nice way, my friends. It'd be weird. Like, hey, don't commit adultery. Don't fornicate. Don't, you know, dress like that or don't listen to that or whatever. You wouldn't take me serious. You say, well, doesn't the Bible say speak the truth in love? And people have often used that to, how they interpret that is you have to preach the Bible like nicely. But it doesn't say preach the truth nicely. It says preach the truth in love. And love is not a way that you communicate something. Love is a motive. So basically you preach the truth with the motive that you love the person you're preaching to. You understand? You know, when we preach on sin, a particular sin, your sin, your flaw, your habit, you know, it's being done out of an intention to help you to grow and repent of that sin to get right with God to make you a better Christian. That's what it means to preach the truth in love. Not preach it just to be, you know, just to put on a show. It's just to do it in love. In other words, you're doing it because you love the people you're speaking to. And you don't want them to be hit by that freight train, by that vehicle called sin, by that iniquity, and therefore we preach the truth in love, okay? I don't remember where I was going with that, but hey, I mean, it's true though. Whatever I just said is true. I don't know how it applies to what we're just reading right now. But, you know, delighting in God's Word, okay? And so, you know, it takes a lifetime to delight in God's Word and build an appetite for the Bible. It takes a lifetime to sometimes develop an appetite for hard preaching. And, you know, we all like the preaching that talks to the person next to us. It's when we actually start getting on your particular sin that it gets a little quiet. But we should like all types of preaching, you understand? Whether it's talking about us or another person. You know, we obviously, the other person, that's, you know, what we desire the most. So we can nudge the person next to us and look at the person and tell your spouse he's talking about so-and-so or whatever. But what about when I'm talking to you, you know? And so make sure you understand that that's part of delighting in the Lord. And so verse number 4, he says, And it came to pass that night that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shall thou build me an house for me to dwell in? Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. And in all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar? So at face value, you may think to yourself, is he like rebuking David for like coming up with this idea of building a house of God? Because he's kind of like saying, you know, are you going to build me a house? But I think really what God is telling David is he's kind of honoring David's nobility and his desire, his sincerity, and wanting to build God a house. Ugh, it's annoying the crap out of me, I'll just be honest with you. You know, he's, he's, ugh. Hey, we'll preach in the dark, right? One time at our church plant, I remember this happened at our church plant one time, where literally the power went out. I was preaching in the Spanish ministry, and the power went out, right? And everyone was like, oh, you know? And I was like, someone bring their flashlight up here, I'm preaching with the flashlight on. And so I started preaching, right? And the guy was literally like over me, you know what I mean? He was like this, and I preached that entire service, in Spanish. And so after we were done, I mean it was completely dark except for that light, after I was done preaching, I went to the English, and I was just like kind of, you know, see like how it went for them, but they were gone. And I was like, where's the English? And they're like, oh yeah, they left, they left. When everything went off, they left. I'm like, they left immediately after it went off? We're like, no, they took the offering first. And then they left, you know what I mean? But, you know, it's like, dude, it's not a big deal. Thanks for that, Albert. So I think what God is doing here is he's honoring David's sincerity. He's like, you know what? No one has ever come up with an idea or ever thought about building me a house, you know? He's kind of saying like David is thinking outside the box. He obviously loves the Lord so much that in all of the history of Israel, there's never been a person who actually comes and say, well, can I build you a house kind of thing? And I believe this is what God is trying to communicate to David because he allows him to do it. You understand? And so he's kind of honoring him there. And it says in verse number eight, Now therefore, so shalt thou say unto my servant David, dost sayeth the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheep coat, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel. And I was with thee with the server that wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth. Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people, Israel will plant them, and they may dwell in the place of their own, and move no more, neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more as before time. So a couple things I want to mention here is the fact that there's nothing wrong with the temple being constructed because of the fact that it ends up working as a spiritual application for us in the New Testament. This is why in the New Testament, the Bible describes our bodies as a tabernacle because we're portable. You know what I mean? Our church here can move around anywhere. We're not necessarily tied down to one place. We're portable. We're just kind of like nomads in this world. It's a tabernacle, but it's also considered the temple. The Bible says that ye are the temple of the Holy Ghost which ye have of God, and ye are not your own. And the common denominator, obviously, is that in the tabernacle and in the temple, that's where God's presence was. And the Bible teaches us in the New Testament that when you believe on Jesus Christ, that you're actually sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise until the day of redemption. The Bible calls him the earnest of our inheritance. So we perpetually have the presence of God dwelling within us, and this is why we don't need a third temple. A physical third temple, we are the temple of the Holy Ghost. We're the temple of God. And so this essentially works out for good because it kind of helps illustrate the importance of essentially being a good Christian, building up your spiritual house per se. As much effort as Solomon put into building the house of God and making it beautiful and extravagant, in like manner, God wants us to build up our spiritual house in a spiritual way, not physical. It's just like, well, yeah, that's why I hit the gym, you know what I mean? Try to lift all that weight and get all that hypertrophy in. That's not necessarily what God's concerned with. What he's actually concerned with is the amount of Bible content that you're taking in, the changes that you're making in your life, making sure that you are a house of God that is glorifying to him. And so it ends up working out where the tabernacle transitions into a temple and they both picture the believer. And that's why we don't support the third temple being built in the Middle East. And a lot of Christians do, though. Christians so-called, they think that it's a biblical thing, it's a good thing to bless Israel. It's okay, it's all right. They think it's a good thing to bless Israel and fund and send their resources to Israel in order to essentially build that third temple. But what they don't realize is that that third temple is for the Antichrist. That's where he's going to sit in the temple of God proclaiming himself to be God when the abomination of desolation is set up and he's going to be there. That temple has nothing to do with God? No, it has to do with the Antichrist who claims to be God. Because the true tabernacle, obviously from a spiritual perspective, is us. But the true tabernacle that's in heaven, that temple is in heaven. That's that New Jerusalem that's in heaven. And that temple, that tabernacle, that Mount Zion, so to speak, is not going to descend until Revelation 21 when the new earth is essentially established. And so that's why it's important that we recognize that and not support unbelieving Israel and think, Well, you know, I'm just kind of trying to help Bible prophecy. Yeah, but you're not helping in a good way, though. You know what I mean? Like you're helping the Antichrist come sooner than later, which you might want to do that. I don't know. Maybe you're just ready for everything to end or something like that. He says in verse 11, So I want you to pay attention to that. First and foremost, he's telling David that he took him from being from leading the sheep in his father's house to leading the sheep of God, a nation. And it kind of shows you like in order for you to be a great leader, you have to be a great servant, right? He was a servant to his father. He took care of that which is minuscule and small and maybe things that people wouldn't esteem as being important. But that led him to, you know, helping him to be a great leader. But I also want you to notice that David started off, you know, intending to build him a house. And what did God do? He's like, I'll one up you. I'm going to build you a house. Because that's what he says. Also the Lord telleth thee that I will make thee an house. So David's like, well, I'm going to build you a physical house. And God's like, I'll do one better. I'm going to build you a spiritual house. Because what he ends up doing is establishing this covenant with David that basically his descendants will reign forever. And this is partially carried out essentially through the physical descendants of David. Because we see that Solomon takes over after David. Then you have Rehoboam. And then you have a bunch of kings that make mistakes or whatever. But eventually who comes from that lineage? Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the son of David, right? And Jesus Christ being the son of David, the lineage of David, also represents essentially those who get saved as well. So when we get saved, we are spiritually a part of that spiritual house. So not only did God provide for David a house, essentially referring to the fact that his sons were going to reign on the throne, he also provided the Savior through his lineage. And through the Savior, all of us Gentiles got saved. We're a part of that house as well. In fact, the Bible specifically says that we are no more strangers than foreigners, but fellow citizens and of the household of faith. And he says that we're built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. He says that we're a spiritual house and that we're essentially spiritual priests offering up sacrifices of thanksgiving. That we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and the peculiar people that you should show forth the praises of him with called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. And so through this promise that God is making to David, we get affected by that. So we're a part of that. You say, well, would that mean that there were kings? Yeah, the Bible actually says that we're priests and kings unto the Lord because we're saved. And so we are royalty, my friends. So we've got to act like royalty, amen? And not allow ourselves to be influenced or to be affected by the peasant ideologies of this world, by the peasant sins of this world. We are essentially children of the king. We're part of this royal household. And so don't allow yourself to be degraded and be a part of the sinful peasants of this world who are trying to bring you down to their level. And obviously we're not talking about an economic status, right? We're talking about spiritual status. You know, the Bible tells us that we need to be rich in faith, right? And so that's a sermon for another day. But I thought that was interesting that, you know, David's like, I want to build you a physical house. And God's like, I'll one-up you. I'm going to build you a spiritual house. And it kind of shows you, you know, when you serve God, you can never outdo God. You can never outgive God. You can never outdo God. Whatever it is that you sacrifice for the service of God, God will always provide abundantly above all that you can ask or think. Because I'm sure David didn't have in the back of his mind, you know, if I build a house for God, maybe he'll allow my sons to rule on the throne. Maybe he'll allow Jesus Christ to come from my loins and my bowels. Maybe, you know, the Messiah will come and, you know, and just kind of go from there. He just had the original intention just to build God a physical house. And it kind of shows you, you know, serve God in the areas that you know how to serve God. And you'd be surprised the ripple effect that it can have in this world, right? You know, go sowing and you'd be surprised the ripple effect that that can have in a person's life, okay? And so, you know, he honors David by giving him that household. And then, of course, he begins to prophesy of Solomon. He says in verse number 12, And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. Just letting you know, this might go off again, so just, you know, brace yourselves, okay? You know, but don't be so bougie that you can't listen to me with lights off, okay? It's not that big of a deal. It's like, I can't believe this church. We're the light of the world. We don't need lights. He says in verse 13, He shall build an house for my name, referring to his descendant, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Now, who is he talking about? He's talking about Solomon. Now, what's interesting is that, obviously, we're going to see this later on play out, that David commits a grievous sin with Bathsheba. He commits adultery. He murders her husband, and then they have a child, but that child ends up dying, okay? And, you know, I'm sure David thought this was going to be the son that was going to take over the throne, but he ends up dying because of David's sin. But through that relationship that he had with Bathsheba, you know, via his reconciliation to God, Solomon was produced. And Solomon, the Bible says, the Lord loves Solomon. And, you know, obviously, you know, Solomon's mom, Bathsheba, wasn't the best situation with King David, but it kind of shows you that God is more interested in that reconciliation than where that relationship essentially started off as. You understand? Because we all make mistakes. You know, everyone fails to a certain degree. David failed, but David repented. He got right with God, and then he married Bathsheba, and the byproduct of his reconciliation with God and doing things right produced Solomon, which ended up taking the throne, okay? Now, I want to talk about Solomon for just a minute, because here, obviously, he plays an important role in the fact that he's going to be the one to build the temple, right? And one point that I want to make first and foremost is that David was not able to build the temple because his hands were essentially bloody, but Solomon was given the privilege to do so. David was actually given the privilege to collect the resources and the materials necessary to build that temple, but he was never able to build the temple himself. That privilege was given to his son. And the principle that we can learn there is that, you know, we should put in 100% effort in the Christian life, and we may not be able to reach certain goals as a Christian this side of eternity, but maybe we can collect the resources and the building materials for the next generation to build that. You think to yourself, well, I want to be the one to build it. Well, why don't we just rejoice in the fact that, you know, our descendants will build it one day, right? And so, you know, we want to go as far as we possibly can, obviously. We want to get as many people saved as we possibly can, start as many churches as we possibly can, baptize converts, do mission trips. I mean, we want to do as much as we possibly can for the Lord in His service, amen? And not, you know, try to hinder ourselves thinking, well, you know, who am I? And, you know, obviously we want to be humble, but not the kind of humility that will hinder you from actually stepping out in faith, right? So we want to step out in faith and actually do the service of the Lord. However, maybe we're not going to be able to go as far as what we intended, but maybe our children can go that far, right? But it's going to require for us as parents, as spiritual parents, physical parents, spiritual parents, to collect the resources and bring the building materials to that new generation so that they can build that, okay? You say, well, how can I apply that? Well, you know, maybe you think to yourself, you know, I don't have the best marriage, right? I don't have the best marriage and, you know, I just, you know, it's just kind of fell apart or maybe I'm just struggling in my marriage or whatever it may be. And you still want that perfect, yeah, strive for that perfect marriage. But if it never comes in your lifetime, at least provide the resources and the building material necessary for your children to have a successful marriage, right? Don't just throw in the towel and say, well, you know, I'm just going to throw, you know, if it doesn't work for me, then I don't want it to work for anybody else or something like that. You know, if I can't have a good marriage and I'd be darned if my kids have a successful marriage or something, we should obviously have the attitude that we want our kids to succeed in the areas that we failed in. And, you know, and I'm not saying, you know, oh, yeah, you're done with, your marriage is done with or your child is done with. I'm saying go as far as you can and if you don't reach that desired destination that you wanted to in your marriage or in your child rearing, just make sure you provide the resources and the building material necessary. Okay, that one got me for sure. You know, the building material necessary for your children to have that. So whatever we can't have as Christians, we don't have to throw a pity party. We can say, well, hopefully the next generation can have it. And I'm going to do everything I can on my part to make sure that happens, okay. And so, you know, David didn't throw a fit. He was like, but I want to build it. I want to build the temple. He's just like, who am I that you would even consider my children to build the house of God. He felt honored and privileged and he was happy about that and, of course, Solomon ended up taking over. Now, that's the first thing I want to mention about Solomon. The second thing I want to mention about him is that Solomon, although he doesn't exist at this specific time, we know that he's going to exist later on, Solomon is a safe person. Now, we could obviously safely assume that because of the fact that he's in the Bible, he's David's son. But, you know, sometimes Solomon falls under a lot of scrutiny of people because of the fact that later on in his life, what does he do? He begins to worship false gods, right. And he's often used by heretics to claim that, oh, yeah, see, he lost his salvation because he's not serving the true God. He's serving a false god. Or people who are heretics will also make the assertion that because Solomon is serving false gods, he's still saved or whatever. Therefore, the people today who convert to Mormonism, who were once Christians, or convert to Islam, who were once Christians, they're still saved because they believe right at the very beginning at least. And both of those are wrong, okay. Both of those are wrong. Solomon was saved. He said, well, how do we reconcile the fact that he served false gods, though? You ever thought about that? Like, how do we reconcile that? Because if he believes in the true God, what is he doing serving these false gods? Now, hold your place here. Go to 1 Kings 11, if you would, where we're going to find that particular story. 1 Kings 11, this is towards the latter end of Solomon's life. By the way, one thing we can learn from Solomon and why he was like this is because of the fact that he experienced no wars. He experienced no battles. David experienced battles, he experienced wars, and he lost some personal battles, obviously, because he was a man of lust. However, you know, he still served God. He had a perfect heart with God. But Solomon never really learned how to fight, okay, and I don't mean physically. I mean, he never learned how to fight spiritually, so it's like he kind of gave in to these particular things here, and, you know, it was to his detriment because he didn't have that fighting spirit per se. Look at verse number 1, it says, but King Solomon loved many strange women. So he's basically like, he just, I don't know how else to put it, he just likes women. And, you know, there might be guys out there that like women, but Solomon actually had like the money to actually do something about it. Because it says, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, the Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites, of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go into them, neither shall they come in unto you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods. Solomon, clave unto these in love. He was a hopeless romantic. He just liked women, and he married all these girls. In fact, look what it says in verse 3, and he had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines, and his wives turned away his heart. And Solomon was just like, dude, 700? I mean, he's like, do you even go on dates anymore? Do you know their names? What do you do? Do you number them or something instead? But what ended up happening? They turned away his heart from serving God. And it says in verse 4, for it came to pass when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. So we see here that he begins to serve false gods, and the Bible specifically says that his heart was not perfect with God. What does perfect mean? It means complete. He was kind of haphazardly serving God while serving these false gods as well. Whereas David, his heart was perfect with the Lord. He was completely serving God, he had his flaws, but his service for the Lord never waned and never changed. Now, the first thing I want to point out is that you don't get saved by having your heart perfect with God. You don't even get saved by serving God. So that goes out the window. Well, he served false gods. Well, guess what? You don't get saved by serving God. Right? Because that is a work. And so serving a false god, although it's wicked, it's idolatrous, doesn't negate the fact that he's saved because of the fact that service, also known as works, don't save us. Now, here's the thing with Solomon is that I personally believe that he didn't necessarily in his heart worship those gods, or replaced his God with these false gods. You say, well, how do you know that? Well, look at verse number five. For Solomon went after Asherah, the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milkim, the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build in high place of Shamash, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. Look what it says here, and likewise did he, why? For all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrifice unto their gods. So why is he doing this? For his wives. His wives are like, I want a temple for my false god. And you know what? He's got like 700, he's got 700 wives. He's like, I don't want to hear all this nagging. So he's just like, just build a stupid altar to this dumb god. So he's just kind of appeasing his wives. That's why it's not good to have multiple wives, guys. You have 700 unsaved wives? 700 unsaved concubines? I mean, that's 700 women nagging at you, wanting an altar here, they want a grove here. And he's probably not willing to fight because he's never fought a day in his life. So he's just like, just build it for her. You know, that stupid altar, that stupid god or whatever. He's doing it for his wife. And you know what? This is common even today where, you know, some Christian dude marries a Catholic who came to their church like once or twice or something like that. You know, to prove how much they were going to convert or something. But then what happens is they get married and then they want to remain a Catholic. And so the husband, because he doesn't have any fight in him, ends up giving in. And what does he do? He goes to the Catholic Church. He sits on that pew. He listens to that faggoty little priest. And inwardly, you know, he's sitting down, but inwardly he's standing up. Right? Because he's not happy about being there. But what is he doing it for? His wife. Look, it happens a lot. Okay, you know, there's people in our church who are married to Mormons and they would go to the Mormon Church and they didn't like it. They were completely against it, but they did it because of their spouse. And so Solomon, he's old. He has 700 wives. He bit off more than he can chew. And aside from that, they're unsaved. And the Bible tells us, be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. And you know what, by the way, let me just say this, is that people like Andrew Tate will point to scriptures like this to say this is why you should have multiple wives. You know, because men in the Bible had multiple wives. Well yeah, well look how it turned out for them. Look how that worked out for them. You're like, oh man, it's meant to have all types of wives and they're meant to just, you know, men in the Bible did the same thing, there's nothing wrong with it. You know, it doesn't really look like that in the Bible now, does it? Looks like he lived a miserable life and in fact, his heart, what ended up happening to his heart, it was driven away from the Lord. Which ultimately brought God's chastisement and punishment upon his life. Because he ended up splitting the kingdom after that. At a time when the kingdom of Israel was united, it was split in two after Solomon because of his son Rehoboam. And so I just want to point that out there. He says, likewise did he for all his strange wives with burnt incense and sacrifice unto their gods and the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart turned from the Lord God of Israel which had appeared unto him twice. Go back to 1 Samuel, or I'm sorry, 2 Samuel, chapter 7. So I believe that's evidence to show that he is saved, but if that's not enough for you, if you say, well that's not enough, you know, that's not a clear scripture to show that he was saved. Because it still says that he's serving false gods, blah blah blah blah blah, that's not enough to really prove that he was saved. Okay, well let me show you a scripture that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Solomon was saved for sure. Look what it says in verse number 14. God speaking of Solomon, I will be his father and he shall be my son. Now, we obviously know that he's not referring to like literally because there's only one way to be a son of God. But as many as received him to them gave you power to become the sons of God even unto them that believe on his name. You know, behold what manner of love the father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God. So we see here that Solomon, he's prophesying the fact that Solomon's going to be saved because he says I'm going to be his father and he's going to be to be his son. Like, well I think that's referring to something else. Well, look what it says. I will be his father, he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will remove his salvation. No, it says I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of children of men. Isn't that interesting? Because what does the Bible say in the New Testament? It says, whom the Lord loveth chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If he endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons, for what son is he whom his father chasteneth not? Listen to this, but if he be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons. And the implication there is that you as a Christian, if you're out there just living a wicked life, you're away from the Lord, you're committing sin and you're just not being punished at all. According to the Bible, you are a bastard. You say, why would you say that? Because that's what the Bible says. Why would the Bible call a person who's not being chastised, who claims to be a Christian a bastard, because of the fact that they're an illegitimate spiritual child. They think that they're saved, they claim that they're saved, but they're not really saved. Because a true son of God will be chastised and punished of the Lord. That's what the Bible says. Because once we get saved, we become children of God, and you know what? God deals with you like he dealt with Solomon. There's no respect for people, it's not like, well, Solomon's a king, you're not really a king. God's like, he's no respect for people. He's like, both of you are my sons, and if both of you are driven away from me, I will chastise both of you. It's not like he deals differently with me than he does with you. Now obviously I might be held to a higher standard because I'm a pastor, but at the end of the day, sin is sin. And if we're involved in sin, God will chastise us. He will punish us. And that is one of the greatest indicators that you're saved. The Bible says that the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we're the children of God. Well guess what, a great indicator that you're saved is that you're punished by God. And in fact, I spoke to someone recently, and they ended up getting saved, but they thought they were saved, but they weren't. And they said this, this is their proof, this is their proof. And he's like, this is the reason why I believe I'm saved, this person said. He goes, because I've been out in the world, I've committed a lot of sin, and God's never punished me for it. That's what they said. They literally said that God's never punished me for it, I've never suffered any consequences for it, and so I think that's just God basically blessing me because I'm saved. And I'm like, that's not how it works. And I went over to Hebrews chapter 12 verse 6, and I showed them what the Bible says, and they're just like, oh that's not good. I was like, because I haven't been punished. I'm like, yeah, so get saved so you can start getting punished. Because it's better to be saved than be punished, and at least you know that you have eternal life, you understand? And so that's not a good indicator. You say, well then why are people out there not being punished? Well because the goodness and forbearance of God should lead you to repentance. So unsaved people sometimes don't suffer the consequences of their actions because God is trying to draw them. He's trying to help them realize that God is merciful to them, that He's been kind to them, that He's been gracious to them, and that they have not suffered the consequences of their actions. And in light of that, come to the foot of the cross, find a soul winner, a soul winner finds them, and they believe on Jesus Christ, and now they can catch some whoopings from the Lord. And so this is proof that Solomon was saved. I will be to him a father, he shall be to me a son. If he commit iniquity, I will chase him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children of men. Look what it says in verse 15, but my mercy shall not depart away from him as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. So what do we see with Saul? Well the difference between Saul and Solomon is the fact that Saul's transgressions were so grievous that God basically chased him to the point that he died. And make no mistake about it, listen to me, God can chase you to the point where you just die. You say then that's not chastening, that's chastening. That's like chastening at its highest form. When he whoops you so bad that you die, that's bad punishment. And especially more often than not, when you look at the Bible, when God chases saved people to the point where he takes their lives, they die in a dishonorable way. I don't know about you, but I want to die in an honorable way. Either I want to die like David just surrounded by all my family members and just give my son like a hit list of everyone. You know, just like make sure you take care of this guy and this guy, man, this guy right here. You know, that's a cool way to go. Or, you know, just die honorably by serving God, suffering persecution to the point of death or whatever. But to die dishonorably, I mean basically Saul died dishonorably. He fell upon his own sword. He was about to be killed by the Philistines. And so, you know, Solomon crossed the line there. And so I'm essentially out of time here, but verses 17 and on is basically David's thanksgiving of praise. He doesn't throw a fit because he can't build the temple. He's not upset. And in fact, he's humbled that God would select him to be the king, but also select his descendants, his progeny after him to take the throne. And eventually when he says establish thy house forever, he's basically saying like this is where Jesus Christ is going to come from. It's a perpetual kingdom type of a thing. And so he is humbled by this. He is happy about this. He's thankful and he blesses the Lord because of it. So what are a couple of things that we can learn from this particular chapter? Well, the first thing we need to learn from David is that we need to make sure above all else that we just delight in God. OK, that's the most important thing, because if we just have a good relationship with the Lord, where we have good fellowship with him, we're reading God's word. We essentially situate ourselves in such a way spiritually that it doesn't matter what direction you take. It's all going to work out together for good. You know, it's basically like what round do you want to take blessing, blessing, blessing or blessing? It's like I'll take blessing. It's just like you can't go wrong with that. Right. And another thing that we could learn from David is the fact that whatever you're not able to do, this side of eternity that you intended to do, just make sure you come to grips with that first and foremost. Number one. And number two, start working at preparing the next generation to build what you intended to build, but could not for some previous sin or, you know, just upbringing, whatever may have happened. You know, intend to teach your children and help them to build that spiritual house. OK, and that's pretty much it. And so, you know, great chapter there. Let's pray and we'll be dismissed. Father, we thank you so much for your word. So thankful for David's example, the humility of heart that he had, his love for you. I pray that, Lord, we wouldn't do the same, Lord, and have that desire to serve you, Lord, and delight ourselves in the law of God. And, Lord, you've promised us within your word that as long as we just walk in the spirit, we read the Bible, we can't go wrong. So I pray that you bless us as we do so. Help us to collect the resources and the spiritual building materials necessary for the next generation to build that which we intended to do. We love you. We thank you. Pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. OK, we have one last song. We're 13. Must Jesus bear the cross alone? Song 13. Must Jesus bear the cross alone? Going all together nice and strong. Must Jesus bear the cross alone? And all the world go free. No, there's a cross for everyone. And there's a cross for me. The consecrated cross I'll bear till death shall set me free. And then go home, my crown to wear, for there's a crown for me. Upon the crystal pavement, down at Jesus' pier, said, Feed Him in peace. Joyful, I'll cast my golden crown, and His dear name repeat. O precious cross, O glorious crown, O resurrection day, The angels from the stars come down and bear my soul away.