The secret to be established by God
"After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”
But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:
“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’
“Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders[a] over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.
“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me[b]; your throne will be established forever.’”
Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.
(2 Samuel 7:1-17)
As mentioned in the above passage, King David wanted to build a house where the Ark of the Lord would be stored, a House that would honor God. In response to his plans, God promised David the following:
Greatness
Stability to the people of Israel
A home to the people of Israel
Rest from oppressors and enemies
Stability of David’s Kingdom
Continuous succession in his family
The six above things were promised to David in response to his plans of building a Temple.
What can we learn from the above story?
A lot of Christians are looking for : stability, positions of influence, greatness, stability for themselves and their families and rest from their enemies.
Let us not be fooled: ‘it is possible for a man to access wealth or various forms of stability without knowing God.’ There are countless examples of unbelievers who are billionaires without knowing God but ultimately, if they do not give their lives to Christ, they will lose their souls. This is why I encourage you to access wealth and greatness while maintaining a relationship with God.
The best way to access an established life, stability and rest from enemies, is by
1. Working towards building a house for the Lord with tangible resources /and
2. By maintaining the House of the Lord with tangible resources.
When David wanted to build a House for the Lord, he really meant his plans by even getting materials for the Temple as mentioned in 1 Chronicles 22.
This is what we can learn from David's story: ‘ We do not take care of the House of the Lord with good intentions. We cannot build the House of the Lord with good intentions. The House of the Lord is built and taken care of with our tangible resources.
So many people expect God to establish them but they are never willing to lay down their resources for His House. We cannot expect God to constantly establish us with stability if we never give anything for His house.
I know that some people will say : ‘But Maurice, I am a servant of God and I serve Him with my time, Therefore, I do not have to contribute any resources to the House of the Lord.’
Ok, let’s examine that statement for a moment. If you read again the passage of 2 Samuel 7:5, you will notice that God refers to David as ‘His servant’. David was already a servant of the Lord before he could get the materials for the Temple. ‘Being a servant’ did not stop him from building a House for the Lord. We cannot use ‘being a servant’ as an excuse not to give tangible resources towards our local churches.
Here is one final word: In Matthew 21:12-17, Jesus became violent when He chased merchants operating in the Temple. Notice that it was the only recorded time where Jesus acted violent towards people. If Jesus made violence to preserve the dignity of the Temple, it also means that we have no excuse to withhold our resources towards contributing towards the House of the Lord.
To you, the House of the Lord, is the local Church you attend and where God planted you. Furthermore, when you contribute with your resources towards missionary acts that aim at building Churches in various parts of the world, you are also contributing towards building the House of the Lord.
Why am I teaching on this subject?
As I mentioned in December last year, the devil is planning a global financial attack on the economies of the world. Many will be destabilized but God can establish you financially on solid ground if you look after His house. The advice I just wrote is practical advice and not a fluffy one. The best way to remain established is by practicing what I just wrote.
May God keep you established!