The Promised King
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, Decmeber 7, 2025.
Sermon text: 2 Samuel 7:12-16
Why do we gather every year at Christmas time and express our desire for a King?
1.) It's pretty much the least American thing we can do.
2.) Are kings a good idea biblically?
So again... Why do we gather every year at Christmas time and express our desire for a king?
If you take everything that we have learned so far, you can boil the problem with kings down to 3 things:
So again... Why do we gather every year at Christmas time and express our desire for a king?
Our actions are always fueled by our expectations. So it is important for God's people to considerwhat or who is shaping our expectations?
Who was Israel allowing to shape their expectations? Foreign rulers. Foreign armies. Foreign idols. In short, the world. Forsaking God, they lost sight of all that God had done for them, how
He had delivered them, how He had made them a people for His own possession. And this is the root of all idolatry, trading the truth about God for a lie.
Who is shaping your expectations? Our expectations are shaped by God's promises. Our act of gathering every year at Christmas time and expressing our desire for a king comes directly from God's promise of a King. 2 Samuel 7... Davidic Covenant...
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. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever."
1.) Their kingdoms are weakened by death. The Kingdom of Jesus cannot be weakened by death!
14 "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, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you."
2.) Their kingdoms are plagued by sin. The Kingdom of Jesus cannot be plagued by sin!
16 " And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ "
3.) Their kingdoms are exhausted by time. The Kingdom of Jesus cannot be exhausted by time.
Advent is about anticipating the King that God has promised. Jesus!
While earthly kings take, our heavenly King gives!
My favorite line of all the Christmas songs we sing this time of year is "a thrill of hope, a weary
world rejoices"... Isaiah 11:1 says, "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit."
If you are weary, entrust yourself to King Jesus.
If you are plagued by sin, go to King Jesus for forgiveness and help.
If are exhausted from trying to figure out life in this fallen world, invite King Jesus to reign and
rule in your life now.
Isaiah 9:6 "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his
shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace."
Discipleship Questions:
Sermon text: 2 Samuel 7:12-16
Why do we gather every year at Christmas time and express our desire for a King?
1.) It's pretty much the least American thing we can do.
- In 1776, the 13 colonies of "British America" declared independence from the monarchy.
- In that declaration of independence, the republic listed 27 grievances against King George III... including, but not limited to... manipulating laws to give himself too much power... corrupting elections... obstruction of justice... harassment... excessive use of force and intimidation... cutting off our trade with all parts of the world... imposing taxes on us without our consent...
- Grievance 24 really gets to the heart of it... "He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people."
- And what did many of you do every morning at the start of school?
- But our country is only 250 years old, so maybe if we go further back in history, we can find a good argument for wanting a King...
2.) Are kings a good idea biblically?
- After the flood, the world began to colonize. Monarchies and Kings became the norm.
- For most of that time, God's people were not a monarchy, but a theocracy... meaning that God leads His people through a priesthood. But one day, God's people decided that they wanted a King! Why???
- Before Israel had any kings, they had judges. And the last great judge was Samuel. Israel was a mess. They had forsaken God in many ways, even to the point of worshipping foreign idols!
- In 1 Samuel 8, Samuel has gotten older, and his sons did not walk in his ways, but used their power for selfish gain... v.5 "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations." Was this a good plan???? Samuel prays and God responds...
- v. 7 "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them."
- Then God says to solemnly warn Israel, "These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you."
- HE WILL TAKE your sons
- HE WILL TAKE your daughters
- HE WILL TAKE the best of your fields and vineyards
- HE WILL TAKE the tenth of your grain and your vineyards
- HE WILL TAKE your male servants and your female servants
- HE WILL TAKE your donkeys
- HE WILL TAKE the tenth of your flocks
- HE WILL TAKE your freedom... you shall be his slaves
- v.18 closes with an ominous warning... "And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day."
- Israel's response? "No, but there shall be a king over us, that we may also be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles."
- To which God responds, "Obey their voice and make them a king."
So again... Why do we gather every year at Christmas time and express our desire for a king?
If you take everything that we have learned so far, you can boil the problem with kings down to 3 things:
- Their kingdoms are weakened by death
- Their kingdoms are plagued by sin
- Their kingdoms are exhausted by time
So again... Why do we gather every year at Christmas time and express our desire for a king?
Our actions are always fueled by our expectations. So it is important for God's people to considerwhat or who is shaping our expectations?
Who was Israel allowing to shape their expectations? Foreign rulers. Foreign armies. Foreign idols. In short, the world. Forsaking God, they lost sight of all that God had done for them, how
He had delivered them, how He had made them a people for His own possession. And this is the root of all idolatry, trading the truth about God for a lie.
Who is shaping your expectations? Our expectations are shaped by God's promises. Our act of gathering every year at Christmas time and expressing our desire for a king comes directly from God's promise of a King. 2 Samuel 7... Davidic Covenant...
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. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever."
1.) Their kingdoms are weakened by death. The Kingdom of Jesus cannot be weakened by death!
14 "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, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you."
2.) Their kingdoms are plagued by sin. The Kingdom of Jesus cannot be plagued by sin!
16 " And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ "
3.) Their kingdoms are exhausted by time. The Kingdom of Jesus cannot be exhausted by time.
Advent is about anticipating the King that God has promised. Jesus!
While earthly kings take, our heavenly King gives!
My favorite line of all the Christmas songs we sing this time of year is "a thrill of hope, a weary
world rejoices"... Isaiah 11:1 says, "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit."
If you are weary, entrust yourself to King Jesus.
If you are plagued by sin, go to King Jesus for forgiveness and help.
If are exhausted from trying to figure out life in this fallen world, invite King Jesus to reign and
rule in your life now.
Isaiah 9:6 "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his
shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace."
Discipleship Questions:
- What are the 3 things that plagued every earthly kingdom?
- Why don't those things plague the Kingdom of Jesus?
- Do you have any expectations that are not shaped by God's promises?
- What are some ways that we can practically lead our children to anticipate the King that God has promised?
- How is God reigning and ruling in your life now? Are there any areas where you are resisting His reign and rule?
- How does the promise of King Jesus help us with our weariness right now?
- Discuss what it will be like when the Kingdom of Jesus is finally and fully established in the new heavens and new earth. Look for details! Make it personal! What will He give to your sons and daughters? What is something that you have to deal with now, that you will never have to deal with again? Praise God for that now!
Recent
Archive
2025
August
September
November
No Comments