The Story of a Kingdom - 2 Samuel 7:1-17

We are in our series, “God’s Story, My Story” and we are learning to find our place in God’s unfolding story of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Our story is about God’s story. His story IS our story… and a major theme in God’s story that we are going to explore today is the idea of Kingdom.

That’s the title of today’s sermon: the Story of a Kingdom.

Now Kingdom may seem like a foreign concept to us… because we don’t live in a kingdom...

We live in a democracy… we don’t have a king… in fact we don’t like the idea of one person or party having TOO much control...

So most of us, when we hear the word “Kingdom”… it feels a little distant to OUR story.

But if we stretch our minds a little bit, probably the first KINGDOM we are familiar with would be the United Kingdom.

And I think it’s interesting how much that reflects our American concept of Kingdom...

I went on the official website of the British Royal Family… royal.uk to see how they describe the Royal Family’s role in British life… let me just read this to you...

“In a monarchy, a king or queen is Head of State. The British Monarchy is known as a constitutional monarchy. This means that, while The Sovereign is Head of State, the ability to make and pass legislation resides with an elected Parliament. Although The Sovereign no longer has a political or executive role, he or she continues to play an important part in the life of the nation. As Head of State, The Monarch undertakes constitutional and representational duties which have developed over one thousand years of history. In addition to these State duties, The Monarch has a less formal role as 'Head of Nation'. The Sovereign acts as a focus for national identity, unity and pride; gives a sense of stability and continuity; officially recognises success and excellence; and supports the ideal of voluntary service.” (Source: royal.uk/role_monarchy)

Basically, they are saying that the Sovereign (which means “the one who has total power”) has no real control at all… but acts as a figure head.

Sort of ironic… they are Sovereign with no real power.

They are someone who rallies the nation and provides a general sense of stability and confidence when their name is mentioned and makes everyone feel good when they are in the room… they are great for the photo op and the televised royal wedding...

But to give them absolute decision-making power… absolutely not.

And as I thought about that concept of the United Kingdom’s monarchy that most of us are probably familiar with, I realized that this is exactly how many people in our culture relate to Jesus as King.

He makes a great figurehead… he makes a great source of pride or national identity… we are a “Christian nation” by many people’s label… or at least they think we once were.

Jesus is a source of comfort when we feel scared or uncertain about the future…

He’s someone we look to for advice or a helpful word when things aren’t going well… or someone to blame when things are falling apart..

But many would not acknowledge his Sovereign authority over all things.

That’s a tragedy. Because since the beginning of the story, God has been demonstrating that he is the Sovereign… the King of all Creation…

And in this particular part of the story we are studying today... he has called out a particular nation to be his Kingdom… so that the rest of the nations could KNOW HIM through them.

And in the passage we are studying today he is setting up a covenant… a binding promise to a particular king...

And from that king’s lineage will come the King of Kings who will put all things under his feet… he will be the SOVEREIGN forever.

The king we are going to meet today is a King by the name of David.

He is a man after God’s own heart… he is a good king… but he is not a perfect king… and he is not the ultimate king...

David is a king who is also a servant... he serves a bigger purpose in God’s unfolding story of salvation through Jesus Christ.

And so we can learn from David… and WITH David today THIS big idea:

Big Idea: Serve the King who establishes a Kingdom that is everlasting.

We are going to study God’s covenant with David today from 2 Samuel 7, but before we jump in there, let me just remind you of where we have been in the story… and let me frame it using this theme of Kingdom.

Author Vaughan Roberts has a helpful definition of the idea of God’s Kingdom that he explains in his book, “God’s Big Picture”… he defines kingdo as God’s people in God’s place experiencing God’s rule and blessing.

And we see this concept of Kingdom play out from beginning to end in the Bible… I’ve adapted this chart from Roberts to match our outline and emphasis here…

First we talked about the story of Creation… we called that the story of everything. [Explain chart & insert in notes]

Big Ideas:

Your story begins with a good God who created everything by his word.

The fall destroys everything in your story, but God promises to cover and conquer sin for those who turn to him.

Put your faith in God's unchanging and unstoppable promise as he works out his story.

Draw near to the covenant-keeping God.

Serve the King who establishes a Kingdom that is everlasting.

So as we learn about this time in Israel’s history, we recognize that the one who fulfilled that promise to David is also the one who fulfills all the other promises to Eve in the garden… and to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob… he fulfills the Mosaic Covenant… and he is the one through whom all of the nations of the earth will be blessed… he’s the reason we are sitting here today studying the story of Israel’s king… because he is OUR KING.

And we here today need to learn what it looks like to serve the King who establishes a Kingdom that is everlasting.

So let’s read the whole chapter of 2 Sam 7 and then learn from David and the Lord what it means to serve the king.

What we see in these verses is that David is the King of Israel… but he’s not the ultimate King… he serves an even higher authority: God the Sovereign.

Israel was what we call a Theocracy before it was a monarchy… theo means God… like theology is the study of God…

Theocracy is a government ruled by God with God’s law was their only law.

Israel did not have any other centralized government… the only law so far was the one given to Moses on Sinai… And this made them feel inferior to the surrounding nations...

They saw all these other nations with their kings who really got things done...

Maybe who looked a little scary to them… these kings were often threatening to invade… often actually invading...

And so at the beginning of 1st Samuel, they were like, “We want a king we can SEE!!!”

God acknowledges that in what they are saying, they prove they don’t get it... they are rejecting him as King… So he gives them King Saul....

Saul is everything they would expect in a king… tall, handsome, commanding...

But he’s also sort of a lunatic… he’s paranoid and controlling and glory-hungry… he’s a bit oppressive...

And he doesn’t like to do things God’s way...

So God takes away the Kingdom from Saul’s line and anoints David… the youngest in his family… who is a humble shepherd...

And God is saying something about the King he wants for Israel...

He wants a King who will represent and reflect him… not replace him.

He will allow them to have a monarchy… a King… but it’s going to be a theocratic monarchy...

One where GOD is truly the king and the human king is his representative ruler.

He wants a king who will lead the people by SERVING him...

And so we see in David a King who is a SERVANT of the true King.

David is just a servant of a story MUCH greater than his own… he’s not the hero… God is...

And so from God’s covenant that he makes with David, I want us to see Four Principles for Serving the King:

1) Serve the King who needs nothing (v. 1-7)

Explain: So David is experiencing rest from his enemies… which is really saying something if you track the story through Joshua, Judges and 1 Samuel...

The nearby people called the Philistines have been like a swarm of bees constantly buzzing around Israel’s head... threatening to overtake them...

And under David’s leadership, they have FINALLY been subdued… So now David FINALLY has some time on his hands to build something...

The king of one of his other nearby enemies had already built a house for David as a form of treaty… so he’s personally living comfortably...

But if we look at the previous context to David’s covenant… a big concern for David was that the Ark of the Covenant, which was a symbol of God’s special presence with Israel… was not where it belonged… the nation had forgotten about it… and therefore they had forgotten about God and his worship… for many years...

And so David FINALLY brought the ark back to Jerusalem... he’s putting God back at the center of their national identity…

But now that the ark is back in Jerusalem, something still doesn’t FEEL right to him… he realizes that the accommodations for the Ark were nothing like his own palace… it was in a tent...

So David is like, “I live in a house of Cedar… God lives in a tent… I’m God’s representative… he’s the real king… something is wrong with this picture.”

In fact, every other nation gave their FALSE gods temples made of cedar which made them look prominent and important…

It gave their idols strong shelter from the elements...

And so David tells this thought to his main advisor… who also is a prophet… a cool guy named Nathan…

And Nathan is like, “Seems like a good idea to me… go do what is in your heart.”

Now I want you to understand: David’s motives are good here.

His idea passes the initial sniff test… you are trying to honor God.

And God will allow a temple to be built eventually...

But David needs to learn a lesson here that everyone seeking to serve God needs to learn: God… the ultimate King… needs nothing.

In verse 4, God speaks to Nathan in a vision in the night… he’s like, “Did I ask for a house to dwell in? I’ve been dwelling in a tent since y’all left Egypt… I appreciate the thought, but I’m good. I don’t NEED a house. Don’t think of me or the ark of the covenant like the rest of the idols of the surrounding nations.”

There’s a bit of an irony in the whole story…

Because David is feeling pity and wants to build a house out of cedar for the God who created the cedar trees out of nothing!

God doesn’t NEED his help feeling secure or looking powerful!

One book later… when David’s son Solomon actually does build a temple, he captures the irony when he says, “The highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less a house built by men.”

And in this we learn an important lesson: we don’t serve God because God NEEDS us to serve him.

He’s not competing for attention like the gods of the other nations...

He’s not lacking shelter or comfort… the other gods of the nations would need shelter because they made of metal or wood… and they would rust or rot...

But God is not CREATION… he is CREATOR.

We don’t serve God because he needs anything...

Illustrate: Our family just celebrated a whole bunch of birthdays this weekend… we do like one big bday party per quarter on each side of the family...

And Katy called me with that dreaded phone call this week: what do you want to get for your brother-in-law Dan?

And he’s really hard to buy for because he’s really practical and if he has needs, he doesn’t tell us about them...

I feel like our parents are often in the same boat… what do we get them… they don’t really need anything...

It’s that age-old question, “What gift do you buy for someone that needs nothing?”

Apply: And we need to realize this: we serve the King who needs nothing.

God is not asking you to serve him because he can’t complete his story without you.

He’s not demanding your allegiance or your worship because he is needs his self-esteem built up.

He’s not waiting on you to come up with some big grand idea that is going to keep the world from going to hell...

He’s not asking us to rescue his church from becoming irrelevant or obsolete...

He’s already got all that figured out.

And that should be tremendously freeing!

God’s kingdom does not depend on you!

But at the same time… kind of like those birthday presents for someone who needs nothing… it can also leave us wondering, “Then what’s the point?”

If he needs nothing and can accomplish his purposes without me, then why serve him?

Does he even want me to serve him?

Is there even a place for me in his kingdom?

And kind of like those birthday presents, even though he needs nothing, our king loves when we bring him something out of our nothingness.

2) Serve the King who wants our nothingness. (v. 8-9)

Look at verse 8 - Now, therefore, thus you shall 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.

Explain: God is reminding David that he came from nothing.

Maybe you remember the story… King Saul wasn’t working out… so God sent Samuel out to anoint the next King...

And he came to the house of Jesse… and Jesse lined up all of his sons from oldest to youngest…

And Samuel went down the line, but God said that it wasn’t any of them...

And Samuel is like, “I’m confused… God sent me here to anoint one of your sons… but none of these guys are it… is there a son you aren’t telling me about?”

And Jesse is like, “Oh, well I guess there is David… but he can’t be the one.”

And Samuel is like, “Get him.”

And it was this humble, nobody shepherd out in a field in a small rural town in Bethlehem that God had chosen to be King.

It wasn’t because David was SOMETHING that God used him...

It was precisely David’s nothingness that caused God to use him in establishing his kingdom.

We think of KING David, but we can’t forget that KING David was shepherd David…

And even as David is sitting on the throne, God reminds him of his ultimate status by calling him “my SERVANT David...”

David was God’s servant… his rule and reign was only to serve and represent God’s rule and reign...

His story served a greater story…

He’s shepherd turned SERVANT king by no power of his own...

It wasn’t an incredible education or superior intelligence that qualified him to be King...

It wasn’t by working his network of friends that he rose to prominence...

It wasn’t his good ideas that would help him maintain power...

God chose David in a field simply because David was "nothing” in the eyes of the world, but he was one who sought after the heart of God.

Illustrate: As I think about God taking David from a shepherd’s field, I’m reminded of the story of one of our GCC pastors… Jon Kelly.

Jon is the pastor at Chicago West Bible Church… God is using him and his church so much to reach some very challenging parts of Chicago...

And this is Jon this week at the US Capital… advocating for prison reform...

Which is a big part of Jon’s story because Jon himself was once an inmate...

Jon grew up in a single-parent home in inner-city Philadelphia and he started getting into trouble at an early age… selling crack by age twelve...

He went to three different high schools his freshman year and ended up in a disciplinary school...

Eventually him and his friends started robbing drug dealers… they’d break into their homes and rob them… pretty gutsy...

And one night that turned fatal when one of his friends shot and killed one of the drug dealers they were robbing...

So they were all sent to prison… Jon got 6-10 years…

And due to overcrowding in the prison was in solitary confinement 23 hours a day.

Alone and with nothing to do and nowhere to turn, he asked one of the guards for something to read, and because the guard was a Christian, the only thing he would give him was a Bible...

Jon started reading at Matthew straight through to Hebrews like in one sitting, and at that point his eyes were open to his sin and wickedness...

He started praying and asked for forgiveness and surrendered his life to Christ.

And he just kept praying and reading because he had no one to disciple him…

After 6 years, Jon was awarded parole… and as soon as he got out, he got involved in a Bible believing church… that’s where he met his wife...

And he felt the Lord calling him to ministry...

Here’s this drug dealing, drug-dealer-robbing dude from the streets of Philadelphia...

And God says, that’s the one I want...

And so God tore down some incredible walls to get him to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago where he studied...

And later planted a church in Chicago that is now Chicago West Bible Church…

And that’s why he’s also taking the opportunity to talk about prison reform at the nations’ capital...

God wrote an incredible story in Jon’s life… he took him to some of the lowest places so that he could show his glory through him...

God takes the weak and nothing things of the world and uses them for HIS glory…

Apply: And God is seeking the same thing from us. He wants us to remember that all that we bring to the table to serve him is our nothingness.

Maybe you think, “I can’t serve God because I don’t know enough… or I’m not smart enough...”

Maybe your parents didn’t think you would amount to much… kind of like Jesse thought about David...

Maybe you think, “I can’t contribute anything to the Kingdom living in a small rural town… what contribution could I make?”

Maybe you think, “I don’t have very much money… or my house isn’t that big… or I don’t have enough to share with others… God will use those who are more well off… or he will wait to use me UNTIL I am more well-off.”

Maybe you think, “I’m physically weak… God probably wants to use someone who doesn’t have so many limitations!”

But that’s not the way God works. Remember… God NEEDS nothing…

He doesn’t need what intelligence you have… he doesn’t need any of the resources you have… he doesn’t NEED you to be strong or prominent...

Instead he LOVES to use your nothingness.

He builds his kingdom using weak materials so that he can hold it together with his unsurpassable strength.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians: For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26–31 ESV)

This is something that takes real WORK to remember… that God INTENTIONALLY chooses weak people in their nothingness...

Everyone wants to be recognized for their strengths and abilities… everyone wants to be SOMETHING… but we only bring nothingness to serve in God’s Kingdom...

And when we realize that, God will use us in incredible ways.

So here’s what this looks like:

Maybe the person God is looking for to share the gospel with your neighbor is NOT the smooth-talking public speaker, but your own bumbling words that have been transformed by the power of Christ and demonstrate your love for him.

Maybe the person God is looking for to love the needy, “high maintenance” person at work is not the person who can fix all their problems and has all the answers, but rather someone who realizes their own neediness and is willing to simply walk alongside that person and point them to Christ… can you be that someone?

Maybe the person God is calling to teach that children’s class or greet that person at the door is not the super-confident, outgoing people person, but the one who has themselves experienced the love and welcome of God and is motivated to extend that to others.

I’ve had to even come to terms with this myself: maybe the person God wanted to pastor Oak Hill Fellowship Church is not the Seminary Graduate Greek Scholar who has a ton of experience in leading churches and the gray hairs to prove it… but rather, maybe he wanted to call a young, beardless (at the time), inexperienced, depression-prone guy from Lancaster County who would simply love his people, pray hard and lead them according to his word.

It’s honestly sometimes hard for me to imagine...

And I so want to bring SOMETHING to GOd...

But I’m slowly learning that all I have to bring is my nothingness… and that is GOOD. That is SOOO GOOD. And honestly SOOO refreshing.

And if you came up to me after the service and tried to convince me, “No, I don’t think you’re nothing… you’re something… you would miss the point.”

We don’t need to be something. Christ is something. We need to remember our nothingness and delight in it, because it is there that we see the power of Christ.

So as God reminds David of where he came from… he reminds him of his nothingness, he then he makes some incredible promises that are particular to David and reveal to him God’s greatness… look at v. 9:

“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 the Lord will make you a house.” (2 Samuel 7:9–11, ESV)

These promises are specific to David, but they help us understand another important principle about God’s kingdom:

3) Serve the King who is sovereign over everything (v. 10-11)

Explain: If we are going to bring our nothingness… it is going to require a steadfast trust in God’s sovereignty.

We serve a King who uses our nothingness to accomplish HIS sovereign plan.

He says to David, “I have been with you… I have cut off your enemies. I know you were the one wielding the sword, but I was the one landing the blow.”

And I’m going to keep working in your life, David. I know that your heart is for me...

I know that you just want to honor me, and that’s why you had that crazy idea to build a temple...

But instead of you working for me, I’m going to do a great work in your life...

I’m going to show how great I AM through you...

I’m going to make for you a great name...

That should remind us of the blessing and promise God made to Abraham…

To make his name great and to bless him so that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed...

God is now sharpening the focus of that promise to the David’s Dynasty.

And he says I will appoint a PLACE for my people Israel and will plant them...

That’s the promise that God made to Abraham about the LAND of Canaan…

God’s people in God’s place.

And violent men will afflict them no more… I will give rest from your enemies.

What can protect from enemies from attacking? NOTHING but the sovereign hand of God.

And then he says, “And remember how you wanted to make me a house David? That was cute, but instead I’m going to make YOU a HOUSE.”

It’s a play on words… the word house can mean a dwelling place… but it can also mean a family… a lineage...

And we see in the next verses that God promises to give his Kingdom to David’s offspring… it’s going to be a dynasty.... a house… that remains forever.

And those promises can ONLY be made by a sovereign God!

Only God can preserve a promise to Abraham… to Isaac… to Jacob… to Jacob’s 12 messed up sons… through 400 years of slavery only to deliver his people… through conquest… through rebellion… through a bad king...

The promise is exactly the same. Depsite sin and suffering and slavery and a million threats...

Only a TRULY Sovereign God can do that!

Not a “Sovereign” like the United Kingdom has…

But a TRUE sovereign… One who wields absolute authority over the kingdoms of this earth...

And at this point in the story, God is working out that sovereignty for the nation of Israel through King David and his household.

Illustrate: God sovereignly works to establish HIS kingdom. And that is good news as we seek to serve him.

We don’t serve a king who is merely a figurehead… he is not there to make us feel warm and fuzzy… and to give us some false sense of security in hard times.

He is there to actually work all things out for his ultimate glory and our ultimate good.

And he will use his sovereignty to protect us and establish us as we get after SERVING HIS KINGDOM.

When Jesus commanded his disciples to serve him by making more disciples, he used Sovereign Kingdom language to assure them in the task...

Do you remember what he said??? He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to ME!”

That means HE is the sovereign king not only of Israel, but of ALL of heaven and earth...

The throne of David has expanded it’s territory a WHOLE lot in Jesus Christ.

And because of that fact, he said, “Therefore, go and make disciples of ALL nations...”

That’s our PRIMARY service to the king in the present age.

And then he wrapped up that command with these words: and behold I am with you always.

The one who has all authority in heaven and on earth is with us always to SERVE him in making disciples.

Apply: Listen - the ultimate sovereign king who subdued the enemies of David is the SAME sovereign King who calls us to serve in his kingdom.

And our story serves the kingdom story.

The story of your life is meant to prove the sovereignty of the king...

And we may not be able to see it now in the chaos of this fallen world....

But there will come a day when we stand around the throne of King Jesus… and we see how he subdued his enemies to protect his servants.

Sometimes that means that he will ALLOW suffering and opposition in order to ultimately protect us from the enemy of our souls...

Sometimes that means that he will ALLOW hardship and obscurity to show what awesome things he can do with it...

But in the end, we will see how every single event in our story was under the sovereign watch and guidance of the king.

And sometimes it’s only when we step back… and see the BIG STORY… when we see the kingdom unfolding for all eternity… that we can see the sovereignty of the King in our story.

Which is why we need this fourth principle:

4) Serve the King who is sovereign forevermore. (v. 12-17)

Look at v. 12 - “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ” In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.” (2 Samuel 7:12–17, ESV)

Explain: So David lived out his life… and it wasn’t all sugarplums and buttercups...

He sinned grievously against the Lord and reaped some of those consequences...

His son, Absolom tried to take over the government and kill him… and he had to hide in caves to escape...

And he does end pretty well by the grace of God… he comes back around for the most part… but also a broken man with blood-stained hands...

And his son Solomon is the one who God will build a house… a temple for God’s name...

And that’s awesome… but Solomon again starts well, but ends poorly...

And God disciplines him...

And after Solomon the kingdom is divided… and some of David’s line does OK… but many do not.

And God has to discipline these kings again and again for leading his people to worship foreign gods… and he sends them off to slavery and exile where they are beaten and oppressed...

And YET... God’s steadfast love… even through all of that… never leaves his people… and in Isaiah he prophesies one who will sit on the throne of David…

“Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” (Isaiah 9:7, ESV)

Rest assured - the King is Sovereign forevermore.

Even in exile and discipline God was still keeping his promise to David.

But Isaiah also says this of the servant who is to come: “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5, ESV)

You see, Jesus came on the scene hundreds of years later… and he was born in the line of David to a poor family who had traveled to David’s hometown of Bethlehem…

An angel told his mom, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:32-33 ESV)

Whereas David was merely a REPRESENTATIVE of God as King… Jesus was the Son of God himself come in the flesh to be the King over his people…

And he was worshiped by lowly shepherds and grew up in the obscurity of Nazareth…

But when he was 30 years old, he came out preaching, “The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.”

And this Jesus never sinned… he never needed the rod of God’s discipline… but he took the discipline that we deserve for our sin upon himself… and he died on a cross in our place for our sin…

So that everyone who believes in him for salvation could enter into his kingdom… by HIS wounds WE are healed...

And he rose again and he sits at the right hand of the father...

And he will return again to earth to sit on the throne of David and reign for 1000 years from the land of David...

And then he will usher in his ETERNAL kingdom...

God IS RIGHT NOW KEEPING his covenant with David through King Jesus.

We serve the king who is sovereign forevermore.

Apply: And so the question is, “Will YOU serve him?”

Will YOU seek first HIS Kingdom and his righteousness?

And specifically, HOW will you serve him?

This week… in the places he has called you.. in your obscurity… in the corner of your office… or the privacy of your home… how will your story serve the greater story of God’s kingdom?

I’ve already mentioned making disciples of Jesus as the primary call on our lives as servants of the king in this age....

Who will you help to serve the King?

He doesn’t need you… but he wants to use your nothingness.

And he offers his sovereign presence as you get after serving his kingdom.

Who will you serve as an expression of serving Jesus? Who will you point to Jesus through your service?

In your job? At school? In your neighborhood? In our church? In your family?

All of it is under the sovereign, eternal rule of Jesus Christ.

And he is WORTHY of your service.

He needs nothing… but he is worthy of everything.

Serve the King who establishes a Kingdom that is everlasting.