I'd like to read the 25th verse
of 2 Samuel chapter 7. 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. Do as thou hast said. Let's pray together. Lord, we come into your presence
in Christ's name and Lord, we come with thanksgiving. We thank
you for the salvation that's in your son. We thank you for
the freeness of your grace. We thank you for the glory and
the majesty of your son, of yourself. We thank you for thy spirit,
the author of life. Lord, we ask that you would meet
with us and speak in power to our hearts from your word. Lord,
we confess our sins and we pray for forgiveness and cleansing.
Lord, we pray that wherever your word is preached, you'd bless
it for your glory. We thank you for this opportunity
of meeting together. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Do as thou hast said. Now my desire is that the Lord
will use this to increase our faith. Wouldn't that be a blessing?
You know, the disciple said, increase our faith. And it's
my prayer that the Lord will use this for that purpose. Now, two things that can't be
separated is faith and hope. Do as thou hast said, that plea,
is the plea of faith. When we're asking the Lord to
do something, all we ask him to do is to do what he said he
would do in his word. Now that is the plea of faith. Do as thou hast said. Now like I said, two things that
can't be separated is faith and hope. Faith, the scripture says,
is the substance of things hoped for. And hope is a confident
expectation with regard to the future. Now, everything that
I hope for, everything that I believe is found in His Word. I can't even begin to express
how important that is. Everything I hope for, now I
have a hope. Remember, hope is a confident expectation with
regard to the future. Faith is believing what you hope
for. Everything I hope for is founded
in His Word. Now, I have a hope that I stand
perfectly justified before God. I have a hope that I'm going
to be accepted because I like peanut butter. What? Where's that in the Word of God?
Well, it's not there. I have a hope that I'm gonna
stand before God on Judgment Day and be accepted because I
accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and let Him be the Lord
of my life. Where's that in the Word of God?
It's not found in the Word of God. Now any hope I have that's
not founded in the Word of God is a false hope. It's a hope
that will do me no good. Can I go to the Scriptures to
show what my hope is. Now, all the hope I have and
all the hope any sinner has is a hope that's founded in the
holy word of God, the scriptures of truth. All scripture is given
by inspiration of God. And that's what we're looking
for when we're looking for our hope. Is it found in the scriptures?
The things I ask the Lord to do for me. Can I go to the Bible
and say, Lord, do what you said? Now that's a very simple concept,
but there isn't anything more important, is there? Lord, do
what you said. Now, there's some things that
we believe that are utterly amazing. And if we didn't have the Bible
to tell us these things, we wouldn't dare believe them. For instance,
turn with me, hold your finger there in 2 Samuel, we'll get
back to it. John chapter 17. I left my Bible in California
this week, and I'm using a new Bible, and I can't get the pages
turned, so you're going to have to bear with me while I do this.
Lynn warned me not to leave anything there, and she claims I leave
something everywhere I go. I don't know if that's... I might
do it. But look at John chapter 17, verse 23. I in them, speaking
of his people, I in them, and thou in me, that they may be
made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou
hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me." Would
you dare believe something like that if the Word of God didn't
say it? Now, here the Word of God says that God the Father
loves every believer. That's talking about me, you,
anybody that's in Christ. God loves that person who's in
Christ, who's a believer, with the same love that He loves His
Son with. Would you dare believe that about
yourself if the Word of God didn't say it? I wouldn't. I wouldn't
dare believe that. But the Word says He does. Isn't that glorious? Quote another
scripture, 1 John 4, 17 says, as he is, as he is, so are we
in this world. Now, is he altogether lovely? Oh yes, so are we. Is he perfect to the father? Yes, so are we. You see, you wouldn't dare believe
something like that unless the Word of God actually said it. Now, the Bible. If I can't find
my hope, like David did, he said, do as thou hast said. If I can't find my hope in the
Word of God, my hope is no good. But if I find my hope in the
word of God, it's not presumptuous for me to believe it. And it's
not presumptuous for me to say unto the Lord, Lord, you said
this. I didn't say it, you said it. Do as thou has said. We believe in his truthfulness.
We believe that whatever he said must come to pass. And this is
our plea with regard to everything we believe. Lord, do as thou
hast said. Now, in verse 17, back to our
text, in 2 Samuel chapter 7, in verse 17, God had said all
these things that he was going to do. And we read in verse 17,
according to all these words and according to all this vision,
so did Nathan speak unto David. David heard the Lord say all
these things about what he was going to do for him. He heard
them very clearly. He heard them from the mouth
of the prophet Nathan. Now, here's what David says regarding
this in verse 25, after he had heard all this, and now, O Lord
God, The word that thou has spoken concerning thy servant that he
heard him previously in this chapter and concerning his house
establish it forever and do as thou hast said. I'm asking you to do this for
this one singular reason. Not because I deserve it. Not
because I'm living up to anything. for this one reason, because
you said you would do it. No other reasons needed. Do as
thou hast said. Now let me remind you that this
book we're looking at right now, called the Bible, is God-breathed. It's inspired. It's the inerrant
word of God. All scripture 2 Timothy 3, verse
16, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. Now, can
I prove to you that the Bible is inspired? No. I feel no need
to. I know it is. It recommends itself. It recommends itself. And it's
not hard to believe. Somebody said, that's hard to
believe. Did men write it? Yeah, men wrote it, but they
did so as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. And God, if he's
able to create the universe, He's able to preserve His Word. And the Bible claims to be the
inspired Word of God. And we believe it is. And everything
we believe is founded in this book. Now, this book tells us
what God has said. It has God's promises in it.
And obviously, it's very important for us to know what He said,
isn't it? I can't say, do what you said, if I don't know what
He said. It's of infinite importance for us to know exactly what it
is that God has said. Now, faith is believing what
God has said. That's a very simple definition
of faith, isn't it? Faith is believing what God has
said. The first example that comes
up in the scriptures is in Genesis chapter 15, where God said to
Abraham, Abraham didn't have any children. He said, look up at the stars
in the sky. That's how your seed is going to be. Now, he didn't
have in his experience anything but what God said. And he believed
what God said. That's it. You're going to have
a great multitude of children. By sight, I don't see any. But
God said it. God said it. I believe what God
has said. Now that's what faith is. It's
believing what God has said. Let me show you an example of
this. Would you turn to John chapter 4? This is such a clear
example. John chapter 4. Beginning in verse... Am I in the right chapter? Wait
a minute. Oh yeah, I'm sorry. Beginning in verse 46. So Jesus came again into Cana
of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain
nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that
Jesus was come out of Judea into Galilee, he went unto him and
he besought him that he would come down and heal his son for
he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, except
you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. You know, that
almost seems like a harsh statement to him, doesn't he? He's coming
with his sick son and he says, would you please heal him? And
the Lord makes this statement, except you see signs and wonders
you will not believe. You got to see me do something
before you believe me. I mean, it was kind of, kind
of, I mean, it almost seems harsh, doesn't it? That's what the Lord
said to him. We know whatever the Lord says
is right, though. Let me say that. Any judgment
we have of what the Lord says, may the Lord give us the grace
to see whatever he says is good. It's right, it's the best thing,
whether we understand it or not. Now let's go on reading. The
nobleman said unto him, Sir, come down, ere my child die.
Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way, thy son liveth. And the man believed the word
that Jesus had spoken unto him. He had no evidence that his son
was alive, except the fact the Lord said it. He didn't see him
all of a sudden get better. He simply believed what the Lord
said. Go thy way, thy son liveth. And the man believed the word
that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he
was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying,
Thy son liveth. Then inquired he of them the
hour which he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday
at the seventh hour the fever left him. The very same time
the Lord said, Thy son liveth. The very same time. So the father
knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said unto
him, thy son liveth and himself believed and his whole house. Now that's the simplicity of
faith. He believed what the Lord said. Remember how David said,
do. As thou hast said, faith is believing
what he said. The plea of faith is do what
you said. And there's a boldness in this,
isn't there? There's a boldness in this. I come into the Lord's
presence, not because I think I deserve something, but simply
because he said it. And I said, Lord, you said this.
Now, do as thou hast said. This is the very plea of faith.
It's not presumption. It's faith. Let me give you some
examples. If we confess our sins, the scripture
says, 1 John 1.9, if we confess our sins, now that means a whole
lot more than just to name what they are. For one thing, you
don't know what they all are. And if you spent all your time
naming what they all are, you wouldn't be doing anything else.
To confess your sin is to agree with what God says about your
sin. It's to take sides with God against
yourself. That's the best definition I
know of, of confessing your sins. It's to agree with what God says
about your sins. It's to take sides with God against
yourself. You ever done that? If we confess
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins
and to cleanse us from all iniquity. Now, did you hear that? He's
faithful. He's faithful to do what He said He would do. And
He's just. The very justice of God demands
the forgiveness of the sins of everybody who confesses them
because of the work of Christ on the cross. By your grace, I'm confessing
my sin. I'm taking sides with you against
myself. Do what you said. Be faithful
and just to forgive me of my sins and to cleanse me of all
unrighteousness. Do what you said. Romans 6 14
says, sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under
the law. but under grace. Lord, you said
sin shall not have dominion over me. I didn't say it, you said
it. And you said it's because I'm not under law but under grace.
You said it. Now, do what you said. Romans 10, 13, whosoever shall
call, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved. Lord, By your grace, whatever
it means to call on your name, I'm calling on your name. Lord,
save me. Do what you said. You said this. Do what you said. This is the very plea of faith.
Finding out what God has said and saying, Lord, you do what
you said. Here's a real simple one. 1 Timothy
1.15 says this is a faithful saying. I love the way he tells
us that. This is a faithful saying. And
it's worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners. Lord, I'm a sinner. Save me. That's the very plea of faith.
I'm a sinner. Save me. You said, I didn't say
this, you said you came into the world to save sinners. Do
as you have said. Come and save me. Luke 19, 10,
the son of man has come to seek and save that which is lost.
Lord, I'm lost. You said you came to save the
lost. Save me. Do as thou hast said. All that the father giveth me
shall come to me. Him that cometh to me, I'll in
no wise cast out. Lord, I'm coming. I don't even know what the means
to come, but I'm doing it. Don't cast me out. Do what you
said. Now, you will notice in every
one of these instances, we're asking him to do what he said.
We're not coming any other way than what he said. Here's an
example of what I'm talking about. Let's say I'm a criminal in hiding. That would be an apt description
of us in a way, wouldn't it? A criminal in hiding. I've been guilty of
some kind of crime and I'm in hiding because I know if I come
out, I'll be arrested, I'll be thrown in jail, I'll be punished,
whatever. So I stay in hiding. I don't want to be found out.
And somebody says, you know, if you go ahead and turn yourself
in, it might be that the president will give you a pardon. I'm still not coming out. That's
not enough for me. I have to have better assurance
than that. Somebody says, now, I've heard
that if you come out, the president will give you a pardon. I've
heard that. You know, that's still not enough for me. I'm staying hiding. But if I
get a letter from the president himself saying, You come out,
you will receive full pardon. And it's signed by his name.
It really came from him. You know what I'm gonna do? I'm
gonna turn myself in and I'm gonna be pardoned. But you don't
deserve to be pardoned. I know that. But the president
said he'd pardon me. That's all I need. Now that is
the way every believer comes into God's presence, pleading
only what he has said. I love the way David says this.
This gives me so much encouragement. He talks about all these glorious
things he's going to do. Read 2 Samuel chapter 7 once
again. And he says, Do as you have said. 2 Samuel chapter 7 verse 26. And here's the reason he's going
to do as he said. Verse 26, And let thy name be
magnified forever. This is for your glory, saying,
The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel, and let the house
of thy servant David be established before thee. This is about His
glory. This is about His glory. Now,
Romans chapter 10 verse 13 is a verse of Scripture Lord, whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord. That's who he is, and we're
calling on his sovereignty, his justice, his grace, his mercy,
his love. That's who he is. His name is
his attributes. Whosoever. I'm in that group. Whosoever. It doesn't say if the let call.
It doesn't say if the ones that Christ died for called, although
those are true, but it says whosoever. I like that word better. I like
that word better. I love the word whosoever. Whosoever
shall call. upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved." Now, if I called upon His name and He didn't save me, I'd lose
a lot, wouldn't I? That'd be a horrible thing. But
He would lose more. He would lose His glory. He would
lose His honor. he would lose his truthfulness
because he said, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved. The Lord is not going to lose
his glory. The Lord is not going to lose
his honor. His glory is at stake for the
salvation of everybody Christ died for. And what is the evidence
that Christ died for them? They will call upon his name. And his glory is at stake for
the salvation of everybody that he died for. And if he'd lose
one of them, oh, that person would lose a lot, but he'd lose
more. He'd lose his glory. You see,
in your salvation, let me ask you a question. In your salvation,
does God get all the glory? None to you? Yes? Mine too. And if he, if somehow
I wasn't saved, he would lose his glory. And that will never
happen. The glory of God is at stake
in the salvation of every believer. Look in verse 27. For thou, O
Lord of hosts, God of Israel has revealed to thy servant saying,
That's what he said. I will build thee a house. Therefore
hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto
thee. I'm only talking about what you said you'd do. You said
this. You said you'd build my house
forever, and I'm asking you to do what you said. Verse 28. And
now, O Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true. And thou hast promised this goodness
to thy servant. You see, he's just repeating
the same thing, isn't he? I'm going upon what you said. Therefore, now, let it please
thee, because you said you'd do it. Now, notice in this prayer,
David doesn't just say, Say, well, if he says he's gonna do
it, I'll believe it. No, he asks him to be pleased to do what
he said. That's what prayer is. That's
what faith is. 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. He
reminds him, you said this. And with thy blessing, let the
house of thy servant be blessed forever. Lord, do what you said. May the Lord teach us to ask
him to do what he said. Amen.