Avalon Church

UNCERTAIN: BECertain – People of God | PART 4

Listen Later

In 1 Chronicles 21, we learn that Just like King David, In an uncertain world you can be certain that you are part the grand, epic story of God.

Series: UNCERTAIN: Discovering Who We are Through Difficult Times,
Speaker: Pastor Don Dodge,
Scripture: 1 Chron 21:18, 1 Chron 21:21-24, 1 Chron 22:1, Gen.22:2, 1 Chronicles 21:18, 1 Chronicles 21:22, 1 Chronicles 21:23, 1 Chronicles 21:24, Genesis 22,
Video: https://www.facebook.com/avalonchurch/videos/2391690934455692/,
Sermon page: https://www.avalonchurch.org/sermons/uncertain-becertain-people-of-god-part-4/,
Sermon Notes: 2020-04-19_uncertain-part-4_notes.pdf,
Discussion Questions: 2020-04-19_uncertain-part-4_discussion-questions.pdf,
Notes:
Good morning, Avalon Church!

Each week, we will observe communion together

at the end of our gathering.

Make sure you grab some bread and juice.

Several weeks ago we began this series called Uncertain.

It seemed fitting.

We all feel displaced.

We have no idea when it will end,

…or what the world will be like when it does.

But as followers of Jesus,

No matter how uncertain we are about what is happening around us,

…In Christ, we have certainty.

Last week was Easter.

We talked about the certainty of Jesus’ resurrection,

…And the transformed lives that have occurred because of it.

Transformed lives is what this series is about.

…Discovering who we are as followers of Christ.

…Our identity in him.

God
I’d like to tell you a story this morning.
It’s a story about God working in the midst of a plague.

Pretty relevant!

It was during the time of David,

Towards the end of his life.

David was comfortable in his role as king.

He had fallen into the trap we all struggle with.

And his passion was towards success.

For him that meant security and power.

He was the king.

He had all the control.

God had become routine.

It took 2nd place.

And then came the plague.

It rattled David to the core.
He recognized that he had no power to control this.

He was watching his people suffer,

…It was a wake-up call.

…It was a moment of divine clarity.

That beautiful moment when you realize

The world doesn’t revolve around you.

That there is something bigger going on here.

And rather than fighting for control,

David responded so well.

He turned back to God.

He repented of his self-centeredness.

And he prayed for God’s deliverance.

This is what made David so great.

It’s not that he was pure.

He wasn’t.

He was a hot mess,

But when confronted with his sin… his brokenness,

He always responded humbly to God.
With always returned with a broken and contrite heart.

So in the midst of this plague,

David threw himself before God.
And God sent a prophet named Gad.

He told David,

18 …“Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite–1 Chron. 21:18 (NLT)

Go to this specific piece of property in Jerusalem.

This is where you must build an altar.

Seems a little weird.

So King David shows up at the property unannounced,

…And Araunah (AH’ Rauna), the owner,

A foreigner… is shaken.

He bows.

And the King says,

Let me buy this threshing floor from you at its full price. Then I will build an altar to the Lord there, so that he will stop the plague.” – 1 Chron 21:22 (NLT)

Araunah is just grateful that’s all David wants.

He exclaims,

Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you wish,” Araunah said to David. “I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, and the threshing boards for wood to build a fire on the altar, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give it all to you.” –1 Chron 21:23 (NLT)

Take it. All of it.

Use it as you wish.

I’ll give you everything you need for the sacrifice.

It’s yours at no cost.

24 But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it for the full price. I will not take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not present burnt offerings that have cost me nothing!” –1 Chron 21:24 (NLT)

 
David is like,

My life is the Lord’s.

You don’t need to sacrifice for my obedience.

I will not force you to obey what God has told me to do.

There’s a powerful message in here,

But I want to focus on the bigger picture.

Because, I don’t know if David realized

all that was happening when he purchased that land,

But the writer of 1 Chronicles did.

He knew David was part of a much bigger story.

We catch a glimpse of that story a few verses later.

1 Then David said, “This will be the location for the Temple of the Lord God and the place of the altar for Israel’s burnt offerings!” – 1 Chron 22:1 (NLT)

Think about it.

God told David to buy that piece of property.

And as a result,

…David is convinced this is where the Temple should be built.

…Which his son Solomon did after David died.

For the next 2500 years,

Even til today,

Whether the temple was there or destroyed,

All of Judaism would center on this piece of property.

But why here?

Why this spot?

I wonder if David knew how special this spot was.

…That this very piece of land

is mentioned in Genesis 22, when God told Abraham,

2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” –Gen.22:2 (NLT)

Now, as you know, God never did require that sacrifice.

Instead, God provided the sacrifice

…and Isaac lived to a very old age.

But, I’m not sure if you know this detail,

…But the Land of Moriah where Abraham was told to sacrifice…

…That’s Jerusalem.

It was this very spot,

The threshing floor of Arauna (AH’ Rauna), the Jebusite.

The spot that David purchased,

…The spot that he would not take freely,

But required a sacrifice,

Was the exact spot where God provided a substitute sacrifice

for Abraham and Isaac

And now, 1100 years later,

David makes a sacrifice and purchases this property

to save the people from the plague.

And this piece of property would soon be

where the Temple was built,

Where Jews would offer sacrifices to God

As a substitution for the forgiveness of their sins,

And it was this very piece of property where 1000 years later,

 
Jesus would hang on the cross as God’s sacrifice,
…bearing our sins upon himself.

…to save the world

from the plague of sin and death.

All of that happened right here

on this very mountain top.

Abraham had no idea that this his willingness

to sacrifice on this mountain what was most precious,

…Would be a foretaste… the anticipation

of what God would actually carry out
when he sacrifice his son, Jesus.

David had no idea that when he obeyed

and purchased this property,

…He was purchasing the land

where Temple sacrifices would preview

…God’s ultimate sacrifice

to save the world.

It’s a good story, isn’t it?

And none of them knew it.

None of them knew the part they were playing

in God’s grand story.
You (Application. So What?)
And that’s the point!

There is so much going on

…and we are completely unaware.

This story reminds us that

No matter how crazy things get,

No matter how out of control they seem,

We can be sure that God has a grand plan,

…And all of this is going somewhere.

God is continually involved in history.

He is working in the midst of our decisions,

Good and bad.

He is working in the midst of a fallen word

Of plagues, and tsunamis, and cancer.

No matter what is going on around us,

God has a plan to redeem us,

…and restore us,
…And eventually… resurrect us.

Even now, in the midst of all we are experiencing,

God is working out his plan.

A plan to repair our brokenness and restore us to wholeness.

…to return us to the intimate relationship with him

that we were designed for.

…to reestablish our original purpose of participating with him,

overseeing his will in the world.

To accomplish this plan,

Sometimes he steps into history,

That’s what he did when he promised Abraham

His descendants would be God’s special means

… to bring the world back to him.

God stepped into history

when he spoke through the Prophet Gad

…Telling David to buy this property.

And God stepped into history

When he chose to become human.

…And Jesus taught about God’s grand plan… his kingdom.

…Living it out through the miracles, and signs, and wonders.

…Especially by dying and rising from the dead,

…And sending his Spirit to live in us continually.

God is working his plan.

Moving the story towards its designed end.

…using our good choices and bad ones,

…And the good consequences and the bad ones,

…even using things beyond our control,

Results of living in a fallen world,

Like COVID-19.

God has a plan.

Of that we can be certain.

And a plague can’t stop it.

Governments can’t stop it.

Bad decisions can’t stop it.

Pain and suffering can’t stop it.
And neither can death.

God uses everything a broken world throws at him,

…And he redeems it.
…He uses it to open hearts and reveal our need for him.

…He uses everything to bring people to himself

to receive THE life, hope, and peace we were all designed for.

God’s plan is the eventual restoration of all creation.

We are truly people of a grand story.

So here’s the question for you.

Are you a David?

Are you allowing God to work out his story through you?

Or, is God working out his story in spite of you?

You can live life on your own terms.

…Suffering the painful and empty consequences of

Selfishness, and pride, and sin.

…Or you can live the life you were designed for,

A life in God,

and with God,
and through God.

It’s your choice.

But you were made

for a life of joy and wholeness in Christ.

That no matter what plagues and uncertainty surround us,

…We have hope because we are part of a grand plan
That God is working out in the world.

…A plan that is so much bigger than this life.

Is that the life you are experiencing?

Because that is the life you’re offered.

And right now, Jesus is offering you the opportunity once again.

Will you choose to follow him?

Will you choose to find your identity and purpose in him,

…In his story.

You will never regret it.

(pray for salvation)

If you did that.

If you have questions.

Text “life” to 407-559-8210.

Next week,

we are going to look at our identity as a people of a great promise.

I hope you’ll join us.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store
Avalon ChurchBy Pastor Don Dodge
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5

5

1 ratings