God's unstoppable kingdom

Here’s a few lines from a recent Christian book:

If you live in the west you live in a culture that is increasingly hostile to Christianity. That’s just how it is. In the UK, I think we’re pretty much at the point where to hold Christian values and to speak Christian truth is to get hated…And elsewhere in the world, it’s far, far worse.[Honest Evangelism, Rico Tice]

If we’d call ourselves a Christian, doesn’t that tap into how we feel, at least some of the time? Living as a Christian at school can be difficult. Sharing the gospel is hard. Church attendance across the nation is plummeting. If Jesus is our saviour and King then why does it sometimes feel like his kingdom is failing? We’re beginning a new series this evening in the book of 2 Samuel, and we’re kicking off in 2 Samuel 5 tonight. And for large parts of the books of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel God’s people would have thought “Is God’s kingdom failing?”

Saul had been their first king, but he’d disobeyed God. And, driven by jealous rage, for years he’d pursued David – the man of faith God had chosen to be king instead. And the immediate background to 2 Samuel 5 was civil war in Israel following Saul’s death – because some had finally accepted David as king, but some had not. God’s people were in disarray: disunited and in danger from surrounding nations. But through God’s work in David, God’s kingdom is about to rise again. And as we study these chapters, through David we will see a trailer, they’re shot through with glimpses…of King Jesus – what he’s like, and how necessary and amazing he is. And through God’s Kingdom at the time of David, we’ll see glimpses of Jesus’ Kingdom today – the church. We’ll see how it’s an unstoppable Kingdom, ruled by an unstoppable King. And, tonight, we’re going to see what God’s unstoppable Kingdom is all about. But, before we go any further, let’s pray:

Lord, we pray that you would show us more of your Kingdom and your King. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

1. God’s Kingdom is about people accepting God’s King (2 Samuel 5.1-5)

And it would be helpful to have 2 Samuel 5 open, that’s on page 257 in the Bibles where you’re sat. Reading 2 Samuel 5.1-3:

Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.’” So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.

This is a huge moment in Israel’s history! After years of turmoil, David is at last recognised as king over all of Israel by all of Israel. And notice what the leaders say about him in 2 Samuel 5.2. Firstly, they recognise that even though Saul had been their king, David had been their true leader – leading them out to, and in from battle. Secondly (second half of 2 Samuel 5.2) they acknowledge that God had promised that David would king. It was God’s plan for David to rule, and what God promises always happens. And 2 Samuel 5.2 also show the type of king God wanted David to be. David was to be like a shepherd of God’s people. He was to put his comfort, and his life, on the line for their sake and he was to be a prince over Israel. Because the people weren’t David’s people. They were God’s people, and God was their King. David was to be a loving, servant-king, the like of which the world had never seen before. He was to be God’s king, ruling God’s way. And we need to do a bit of digging to unpack the significance of this. So, back in 1 Samuel 12 (at the time of Saul’s appointment as king) the prophet Samuel reminded Israel of God’s commitment to his people. Samuel said (1 Samuel 12.22):

For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.

And, this was really a re-commitment of a promise made to Abraham generations earlier. God said that through Abraham he would make a great nation, which would bring blessing to all the families of the earth i.e. everyone everywhere. And what’s fascinating is that the events of our passage took place (2 Samuel 5.1) in Hebron. Abraham and his family were buried at Hebron. Everyone would have known Hebron was Abraham’s town. So God’s ultimate purpose in making David king was to continue his promise to make a people for himself. Because you can’t have a Kingdom without a people. And God’s business is bringing people to accept his King, to live in relationship with him, and to enter into his Kingdom. It’s unstoppable. From David’s family line would come the one true King – Jesus. A King who knows and loves every single one of his subjects. That’s mind-blowing isn’t it?

David was king of Israel. Jesus is God’s promised King for all nations. David was so good, and yet also so flawed. Jesus lived the sinless life no one else could live. David was to shepherd his people. Jesus is the good shepherd – who’s with us, and cares for us. The good shepherd that laid down his life for us – taking all of our sin, and dying for it on the cross. David was to rule as a prince, a vice-regent under God. Jesus is God himself, made man. Eternal. Victorious. Risen from the dead. Ruling now forever. And powerfully at work through the power of his Spirit.
And all for us. All so that we could live in relationship with him. Jesus is the new and better David.

A friend a while back came to trust King Jesus. He said he’d tried all sorts of ways of living life – but they’d ruled him. None of them paid off. He said eventually he came to his senses and chose to follow the true King. In this chapter we have a picture of a people coming to their senses and accepting their true King. What about you? Have you accepted Jesus as the true King of your life? If we’re really honest, we’re all following a king of some sort. Something defines us/rules us/governs us. Don’t waste your life following the wrong king. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Follow the true King! Follow him tonight! And if you do you will become one of God’s people, and part of God’s unstoppable kingdom. Because Jesus says, there will always be a people of God. And God will always be in the business of bringing people to accept and enter into relationship with his King. Haven’t our baptism services this term reminded us of this? The Kingdom is growing. And whether life in the Kingdom feels fantastic (which it often does) or feels fragile and failing, which it sometimes does, all of this will always be true because of Jesus and his unstoppable Kingdom.

2. God’s kingdom is about God’s people living in God’s place (2 Samuel 5.6-16)

Reading 2 Samuel 5.6-12:

And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off”—thinking, “David cannot come in here.” Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. And David said on that day, “Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack ‘the lame and the blind,’ who are hated by David's soul.” Therefore it is said, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.” And David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David. And David built the city all around from the Millo inward. And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him. And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house. And David knew that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

So David sets out on a military campaign – the aim is to take the city of Jerusalem which was occupied by the Jebusites. But the city’s defences were so developed, that the inhabitants mockingly suggest that the lame and the blind could protect it. But God is in ruling over everything, behind the scenes – the city’s water shaft proved to be the chink in the armour. Jerusalem becomes the capital of the re-unified Israel and became the city of David. But why did David take it? Well, Abraham had been promised that his family line (which had become God’s people) would live in a land given by God. And when the people had entered the land, God had told them they were to drive out the other nations as an act of judgement on how they’d lived. The Jebusites are listed in God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 15. They should have been driven out long ago. By this stage, they’re the only nation left. David took Jerusalem to fulfil God’s promise to Abraham. David became greater and greater. But as 2 Samuel 5.12 shows us, he was in no doubt that God was behind all of that. And that God has done it for the sake of his people Israel.

God had been faithful to his promises! And everyone, even the rulers of other nations, could see it when they looked at David ruling from Jerusalem. God’s king, on God’s throne means God rules! And God’s king, on God’s throne, in God’s place means that God really wants to be with his people. We’ll see more of that next week. And God’s place is about God’s presence. Today, believers in Jesus are described as being in him. We’re united with him. He is in us, through his Spirit. And we’re in him. One with him. That’s how close we are with him, that’s how present he is with us. And where he is, one day we will be. And in the end, that will be in a new eternal city, where he rules. Revelation 21.2-3 describes this. John writes:

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God…

King David, ruling God’s people in God’s place, is a tiny glimmer of this great hope, because despite all the odds God put his people in his place, ruled by his king. Against all odds. But King Jesus defeated the power of the enemies of sin and death. And he’s begun a Kingdom that will last for eternity – where God’s people live in his place forever. You have to accept the King. But if you do, one day you’ll be there, really with Jesus in a face-to-face, unhindered, nothing held back way. God’s place will be our place. You can’t get closer than that.

I like to think of those moving platforms in big international airports. You know when you have a flight from gate 937, and it’s so far away, the floor beneath you literally has to move to get you there? You’re plodding along, and, it doesn’t always feel like it but you’re being carried to your destination. It’s unstoppable (unless you whack one of those big red emergency stop buttons…but don’t spoil my illustration)! Friends, we’re being carried to God’s place – one day we’ll live in the city of the King. In a sin-free world. Oh, it will be better by far! And far better than even the best this world can offer. Because, as we see in 2 Samuel 5.13, the old Jerusalem would be the beginning of David’s great strength, but also his stupidity. 2 Samuel 5.13:

And David took [note the significance that word] more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to David…

So, in historical narratives like 2 Samuel, morality is often inferred – we have to work it out based on the rest of the Bible. On one hand, more sons and daughters were a sign of God’s blessing on David. But on the other hand, I think our writer is leading us to conclude that this was not a good move. Which, of course, it wasn’t. Because it was going to take a sinless King to get us to, and keep us in, God’s sinless place. That’s the bubbling tension of these chapters. David could never have been good enough. But can you see that Jesus is?

3. God’s kingdom is about God’s people living under God’s rule (2 Samuel 5.17-25)

Reading from 2 Samuel 5.17-21:

When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.” And David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. And he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim. And the Philistines left their idols there, and David and his men carried them away.

For years, the Philistines had been the enemy of God’s people. And hearing that David has been made king, they decided to move against Israel’s new found strength. David is God’s king – but he knows that God ultimately rules. So he asks if God will grant Israel success against them. God says he will. And the Philistines are defeated in battle. Their idols are left behind. It’s a picture: the one true God will win! False-gods, in the end, will be exposed as worthless. Their idols failed the Philistines. But the Philistines failed to learn: God rules! We read in 2 Samuel 5.22 that they came back for more. The outcome? 2 Samuel 5.25:

And David did as the Lord commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.

This time, in dramatic fashion, God leads Israel to finish them off for good. Chapters like this in the Bible are troubling. You probably felt that from 2 Samuel 5.6 onwards. We’ll think more next week about God’s justice. So come back then.
But, for now, it’s worth briefly pointing out two things: Firstly, the Philistines were enemies God and his people. They worshipped false gods. They mocked the Lord God. They sought to destroy his people. Secondly, when you read 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel it’s astonishing that God put up with them for as long as he did. So the kingdom image here is of the people of the King (far from perfect, of course but) depending on God for deliverance, and trusting in his rule, and the enemies of God, worshipping false gods, and seeking to destroy God’s people. And God won’t tolerate this situation forever. Eventually, he won’t allow all those things that cause us to even ponder “Is God’s Kingdom failing?” Because, ultimately, in God’s Kingdom, everyone will live willingly under his rule. And those who oppose him will taste life outside of it.

I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of Ken Elliot? He left Australia to go to Burkina Faso as a missionary doctor in 1972 with his wife, Jocelyn. They’ve said they wanted to show the love of God in how they work and serve. One night in 2016 there was a knock on his door, Islamic extremists burst in, and Ken and Jocelyn were kidnapped. Jocelyn was later released. Ken remained in captivity. He was finally released last May at the age of 88. He’d been held for 7 years. What do you think God should do about that at the end of time? Sweep it under the carpet? Make no mistake about it, God is very patient. He wants people to accept his King and come into this Kingdom, whoever they may be! That’s God’s business – bringing people into his Kingdom. But, in the end, if they do not repent, the perfectly righteous God will smash his enemies. Foolish are we if we let our sensitivities dub down the word of God.

So that’s instalment one of our Kingdom trailer. But there’s loads more to come! And the prayer is that God will use this to help us see that God’s Kingdom isn’t failing. It’s an unstoppable Kingdom because it’s ruled by an unstoppable King. Let’s pray, and in a moment of silence let’s bring to God what’s most struck us about his King and his Kingdom tonight, and let’s ask for his help to respond appropriately to that.