Introduction

Good day to everyone. Let us examine the seventh chapter of 2 Samuel. This chapter is particularly well-written, and I earnestly pray that the grace God promised to David will be fulfilled in the lives of our brothers and sisters. This is an immense grace, so great that: Is this the common experience of man? Can one encounter such a thing in a lifetime? Let us consider the events we typically face in our lives. I hold a rather pessimistic view of people, as many I observe seem to be magnets for misfortune.

Therefore, you must understand that the events David encountered in this chapter are not what one would ordinarily experience! This is also David's own sentiment! Why does man not often encounter such things? Because people do not particularly care about the things of God. Thus, God expresses a profound regret here! If only people cared about the things of God, then it would be a common experience for them.

God Expressed a Profound Regret

That night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought the people of Israel out of Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. As I moved about with all Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ (2 Samuel 7:4-7)

God never said He was waiting for someone, but suddenly one day someone comes forward and says: God, I will build a temple for You. In the days of David, David said: God! I will build You a house of cedar. God is filled with emotion; the regret that has been in His heart for so many years is finally spoken by David. Why didn't God tell those judges? Because telling those judges would be meaningless. In those past years, those judges were just using God as a rag. Whenever people encountered problems, they would call upon God, and God would raise up a judge to help them, and the Israelites would begin to live peaceful lives. Then they would set God aside and go back to their own affairs.

God is truly filled with regret because, since Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, God has been full of grievances: How could I ask those judges to build me a house of cedar? God does not say it, but He has such a desire in His heart, hoping that someone would rise up and say: God, I will build a glorious church for You; God, I will build a glorious temple for You. But no one did! Regretful? Very regretful! It sounds like God is complaining, but in reality, God is expressing a profound regret within Him.

In these past years, how many people have said: God, I will build a glorious church for You? God would shed tears, because there was almost no one. Some say: I will build a large cathedral in our city, and others say: I will build a landmark in our city, where weddings or any ceremonies can be held. Didn't a pastor build a large cathedral and end up owing 320 million, and then he ran away? These people are not doing what God wants.

Now I will make a bold statement because I have studied Christian history, and I feel regret. Can God not feel regret? For so many years, from the apostles to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, how many people have been willing to build a glorious church for God? Almost none! I am very grateful to God: God, I am so blessed that I can build God's glorious church. Therefore, God says:

As I moved about with all Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ (2 Samuel 7:7)

Although this is God's intention, if you do not speak it, God will not say it either. As a result, David summarised God's intention and knew God's regret. So God was pleased to see David and sent Nathan to speak to David. How did this come about?

Now when the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.” (2 Samuel 7:1-2)

David truly cares about the things of God, so I earnestly desire that brothers and sisters can emulate David, taking God's will as our own, not living in a small villa, a carefully decorated house, while neglecting the desolation of God's temple. The reason why God's temple is desolate is not because of the small number of people, but because the people in the church only care about their own affairs, selling insurance and products in the church, but I have not seen anyone truly willing to build a glorious church for God.

David Was Able to Know God's Will

If you ask me, is David doing it for his own selfish gain? No. David can deeply feel God's regret within him, and he can deeply care about God's will. In the days of Saul, Samuel, and old Eli, the ark of God was captured by the Philistines. Later, the Philistines sent the ark back, and it was placed in the house of Abinadab for at least forty or fifty years. At that time, Saul had not yet become king. After old Eli, Samuel should have ruled for twenty years, but Samuel did not care about the ark, nor did Saul. The ark remained in the house of Abinadab.

Later, Saul reigned for forty years, and then David reigned in Hebron for seven and a half years. Later, the other tribes submitted to David, and only then did David bring the ark to the City of David. It is difficult for us to understand that Samuel and Saul did not care, but as soon as David was settled, the first thing he thought of was to bring the ark of God to the City of David. Later, God gave him rest from all his surrounding enemies. Why? Because the ark had not yet been brought back. David has God in his heart, so not long after, David thought of building a temple for the Lord. God was so pleased that He sent Nathan to tell David:

Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that he will build you a house. (2 Samuel 7:8-11)

Brothers and sisters, if you can truly enter into God's will, this word is for you. Why can David understand God's will? Because David has a very important concept within him, he knows that everything he has comes from God, not because he is destined, he just knows that God is everything to him! Do you know God's will? After reading the entire Bible, I immediately grasped God's will. God's will is to build His glorious church, because the church is the body of Jesus Christ, the bride of Jesus Christ. The Church will be united with Jesus Christ in the future. The bride does not refer to you alone, but to the Church.

Building a glorious Church is the theme of the entire Bible. Establishing God's glorious Church, building the body of Jesus Christ, is the will that God expresses in the entire Bible. I thought to myself: God, I want to build a glorious Church for You, I need Your presence, I need Your glory to fill us. Actually, the Bible talks about a lot, can you give up everything? If you can't give up everything, such a person cannot be used.

I feel particularly blessed, my blessing is so great that it only comes once every five hundred years. This is not something that ordinary people can encounter! It is not something that people commonly encounter. So I tell you, being able to come among us is not something that people can commonly encounter either. How many Christians in this world have such a blessing, to be able to build God's glorious Church with us? Very few!

When I convey the concept of building God's glorious Church, I actually have a lot of regrets within me. Some brothers and sisters have walked with me through the most difficult environment and stage of the Church, but when God is about to truly manifest His glory among us, they leave. I feel a deep sense of regret. In the end, I can only say that their Mingding Destiny is not good. So we must always have God's heart as our own, this is my cry before God.

Think about it, God's regret has been passed down from generation to generation, from Moses to David, for about five to six hundred years. David was around 1000 BC, about three thousand years ago. Moses was about three thousand and five hundred years ago. From Moses to David, so many years have passed, yet no one has been able to enter into God's will. One person comes out every five hundred years! We must know that God has been looking for a usable vessel for many years to build a glorious Church. I am so blessed! Sometimes my eyes get wet while talking.

Building a Temple for God is Not a Common Blessing

The reason is very simple. How much gold is needed to build a temple for God? David accumulated two hundred tons of gold to build God's temple. To build God's temple, you must have strength. Not just putting up a few pillars and building a shack, that is not a temple. Why don't these people have this intention? Because they calculate and find that they don't have money. They feel that building a church requires money. Is money really needed? What is needed is the determination in people's hearts. Do you know how much it costs to shepherd God's flock? It costs a lot. Building God's glorious Church, building a temple for God, that is not a joke! Calculate and see, we don't have this budget, no money! Let's build it when our economy is better.

Why does one person come out every five hundred years? From Moses to David, no judge stood up and said: We will build God's temple for God. Because they only see money in their eyes. Did David at this time really have money? Not so much. But David wanted to build a temple for God. What is needed to build a temple is not money, but God. With God, money is not a problem. Our Church is about to enter a new stage. In this stage, the treasures of the sea will be brought in, because we are going to build God's glorious temple, and God's glory will fill us!

The reason why David later had more than two hundred tons of gold was because he initially had the intention to build a temple for God and accumulated it bit by bit. From the initial one kilogram that was hard-earned, it was slowly accumulated to one ton, ten tons, one hundred tons, and finally more than two hundred tons. This is not a common blessing for people, you must have character. What's more, God must give you this position. If you were not David or Saul in the nation of Israel, but a small farmer in a remote village, farming a field of vegetables, so poor that you couldn't eat or drink, and said you wanted to build a temple, wouldn't you be mentally ill? You have neither capital nor appeal, and God will not let you do this.

Building a temple for God is really not a common blessing, but God will definitely remember that we have such a determination. Everyone who has the determination to build God's glorious Church, God will give you these blessings that were promised to David. Never make a deal with God! We are not building a temple for this blessing, or for those two hundred tons of gold. If what you want is those two hundred tons of gold, that is not God's will. Why is this blessing good? Let's talk about blessing one.

Blessing One: Not Being Disturbed by Enemies

Now when the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies.(2 Samuel 7:1)

Did David first have the intention to build a temple, or did he first have peace on all sides and not be disturbed by enemies? He first had the intention to build a temple, but only at this time did he say it. David said to Nathan:

Then the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.” (2 Samuel 7:2)

David always had this idea in his heart. He felt that at this time he should build a temple for God. In fact, God had already bestowed blessings on him, so that he would not be disturbed by enemies on all sides. If a country is often disturbed by the surrounding people, such as the Japanese devils coming, this devil and that devil, becoming the three great mountains weighing on the Chinese people, it is a very unlucky thing. The reason is very simple, that is, there is no blessing. If you lose money as soon as you do business, and you are unlucky as soon as you fix it, you are a jinx. The reason is very simple, that is, you have no God's will in your heart. If you have God's will, even if you have not said in your mouth: I am going to build a glorious church for God, God will protect you, because you have such a heart inside. So when David wanted to build a temple for God, the temple had not yet been built, he just said a word to Nathan, and God said:

Wherever you go, I will be with you and cut off all your enemies from before you. (2 Samuel 7:9)

Back then, no one could defeat David because God was with him. No one can defeat God. If you opposed David, God would cut you off. So building a temple for God is not a common blessing. God said, Those who curse Abraham I will curse, and those who bless Abraham I will bless. Could any enemy stand before Abraham? No. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph were all such people. Now David is the same, undisturbed by enemies. Even if enemies try to disturb him, they will surely be defeated before David. Because God will cut off all your enemies, which is a great thing!

Blessing Two: Making Your Name Great

Think about it, those around David who tried to disturb him were defeated by David, then ground under his feet. The surrounding nations all felt that David was powerful. Why was David powerful? Because David's God was powerful. As a result, God made David's name great. That is to say, the surrounding nations and people were all aware that behind David was the God who created the universe. David's name was tied to God's name. If your name can also be tied to God's name, God will make your name great.

If you really have some research on the entire market, you will know that a name is a brand. If you make one bag and earn a hundred, and someone else makes one bag and earns two thousand. If you sell a bag for two thousand, and someone else sells one for two thousand, how can you sell it? The profit of a brand is very high. God made David's name great, and David became the most famous brand in the area. In that case, would David lack money? No. Later, David had more than two hundred tons of gold. How did it come about? People gave it to him, and David didn't even know why they gave it to him, but they all wanted to蹭some of David's popularity and traffic. David was a very powerful person. Enemies were defeated as soon as they came, and competitors were defeated by him as soon as they competed. Could David become very wealthy? Definitely! From historical records, David's dynasty was the most powerful dynasty in Israel.

Why do brothers and sisters always complain about not having money? It's because their names are too small, they have no brand. You have to manage your brand. It's this logic, don't just work blindly. If you are really building God's glorious church, how could you experience these unlucky things? I have not seen David experience those unlucky things. From Abraham to David, God wants to make their names great. If you pursue God's will, God will surely make your name great. Whatever you do, your opponent becomes God's opponent.

The worst thing is that you are God's opponent, and as you work, you become the person God has to deal with. Why are people unlucky? Because God is always dealing with you. Originally you were doing well, but God said, Unlucky fellow, go mess with him. As a result, everything is ruined, all the investments are wasted, because you are pursuing making your own name great, not pursuing making God's name great. If a person pursues making God's name great, building God's glorious church, God will make his name great. It's not a transaction in essence. In fact, David really had God in his heart, and God also made his name great.

Blessing Three: Establishing Your Kingdom

Did God establish David's kingdom? Yes, He did. Then someone asks, What about when David's son usurped the throne later? But wasn't it taken back after the usurpation? There are not many such things in history. Someone takes your things away, and God gives them back to you. That is truly establishing your kingdom. Brothers and sisters must understand that God wants to establish your kingdom.

What people lack is the blessing of God establishing your kingdom. People always want to protect their own kingdom, making themselves neurotic. Although they are kings, they make themselves like prisoners, why? Because they put themselves in prison, very miserable. God not only wants to establish David's kingdom, but also to establish the kingdom of his descendants, which is so good! Brothers and sisters should begin to know that when you have such a promise from God, you will not have that sense of insecurity in your heart. If you always want to guard your position, establish your kingdom, you will become Saul.

If you build God's glorious church, God will protect you, and you don't have to protect yourself. God will make your name great, undisturbed by enemies, and establish your kingdom. Are such things common? Not common. But we have all encountered them! Shouldn't we laugh secretly when we encounter them? Brothers and sisters, let us build the church together in unity, and we will have these blessings.

If you were in debt in the past, you will not be in debt again in the future, then you owe me a favor. Because God had mercy on me and chose me, allowing me to lead everyone to build God's glorious church, you will have such blessings. Some brothers and sisters did not have this faith at the beginning, but after listening to my sermons, they said, I also want this blessing, let's build the church together. As a result, many brothers and sisters began to turn around from very passive financial situations, which is such a great blessing! Unfortunately, some people's minds don't work well, and they missed this blessing. They had once experienced God's great grace among us, but they did not know that this is something people cannot often encounter.

I once served a cancer patient, and his aunt also served with me. Although the child died, his aunt saw our service and came among us, but she left after a while. I don't know why she left, maybe she was afraid that the money contributed to God would be taken away by us. Such people have a deep curse and will surely be disturbed by enemies in the future. God will surely make such people's names small, and their positions will never be firm. If people want to have blessings, they must rely on God. Without relying on God, they cannot go on.

Blessing Four: Establishing Your Household

Everyone must know that David's household was not very good. Which household is to be established? It is actually the spiritual household. We recited a passage of scripture some time ago:

Sing, barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband, says the Lord. (Isaiah 54:1)

This is called a spiritual household. In fact, David's household is very strong. All those who imitate David in building God's glorious church and have the same aspirations as David are David's household, which is a spiritual household. If you read God's word carefully, you will find words such as eternal and everlasting. David did not build an earthly home, but an eternal home. What is the eternal home? The eternal home is the body of Jesus Christ. Don't get it wrong, it is neither your home nor my home.

If we want to build God's glorious church with worldly entanglements, we cannot build it. Some people want to have a child to support them in their old age, but they find that this child is not good, so they think of having another child, but it is still not good, because that is not an eternal household, but a household of this life. What we want to establish is an eternal household. Everyone who has the same aspirations as David is David's household. This household that God promised to David refers to all those who build the body of Jesus Christ later. God will forever establish this household, not referring to David's earthly home.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. It does not refer to what is born of David's flesh, but to what is born of the Spirit. Therefore, David has many spiritual children, so it can be clearly explained that all those who imitate David in building a spiritual household, that is, those who build God's glorious church, are David's household. God will surely strengthen our kingdom, strengthen our household, and build a spiritual home for us. If you and I both have a spiritual home, how good it would be!

David's Response

After David received this blessing, his response was particularly interesting.

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of my family—and this is the customary way of men, Sovereign Lord. (2 Samuel 7:18-19)

David said, I just wanted to build a temple for the Lord God, and you blessed me to this extent? David was very emotional. Unlike some of us, who treat the grace of Jesus Christ as a rag. Those among us who receive grace do not receive it because you are good enough, but because you are bad enough. David had this heart, so he received grace, and he exclaimed, What is my house? This is small in your eyes, is this something people often encounter? David was so excited that he didn't know how to express himself.

“What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God. “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight. (2 Samuel 7:20-26)

Everyone see that? Brothers and sisters, don't think that I am managing the church, but God is managing it. I may make mistakes, but God will not make mistakes. Many people want to say, Who can check the power of the pastor? Then you might as well check the power of God. You are very capable, come and check the power of God and try. It's not like that, we all have to know, may everyone honor God's name, may the Lord of hosts be the God who governs Israel, may we all say this, so that we can build God's church.

“Because you have revealed this to your servant, Lord Almighty, God of Israel, saying, ‘I will build a house for you,’ your servant has found courage to offer you this prayer. (2 Samuel 7:27)

After we read this passage, what is your reaction? The blessings we have received far exceed what David received back then, Because our Lord Jesus Christ has been resurrected from the dead, ascended to heaven, God wants to manifest His presence and His grace in His church, and give these blessings to us. These blessings are not all兌現, in fact, there are still many that have not been 兌現.

Let us honor God's name, let us say before God: the Lord of hosts our God is the God who builds the church, the church is built by His hands, we only have the duty to follow His words. Because we have a heart to build a glorious church, how God promised us, it is also manifested among us, and many graces are given. We must strive even more diligently, strive to enter into perfection, and build God's glorious church.

Some time ago I said that everyone should begin to experience greater prosperity, because God wants to do greater things among us. This is not瞎说, this is God's will. God is satisfied because He has this small group of people. God also wants to give us great grace. Are the blessings we receive things that people often encounter? Over the past few years, I have been filled with gratitude for the path we have taken.

I have a heart to build God's glorious church, and someone may ask me, How did you think of doing this? I don't know, but that's what I thought. When I was a child, my mother said to me, Child, you are blessed. Now I think about it, it is really blessed. This blessing is not something people often encounter. It is that God created and chose us in eternity, allowing us to become vessels to manifest His glory, what a blessing this is. I will encourage everyone once again, don't let God feel regret again! Let God's word encourage us, we are all a group of people who pursue God's will, we must satisfy God's will, what a wonderful choice this is. May God bless everyone!