Gleanings 20) On the spot 3

I started Gleanings because my stack of sermons needs pruning/burning? and before taking drastic measures I looked back to my beginnings in Blackburn in the 70's.  In the building crisis my short series called: BUILDING FOR THE LORD shows me wrestling with Scripture with dangers of manipulation lurking everywhere.

Sermon 2) UNDER ORDERS (2 Samuel 7: 1-18) began with the story of Saddleworth (in Yorkshire) where an ex-sprinter councillor argued for an Olympic-sized running track.  People said 'What a good idea.' The expensive track  was joyfully completed but ever since it has been permanently water-logged and unusable.  King David pleased with his rich palace thinks it a good idea to build God a rich temple too.  Consulting prophet Nathan, he received an immediate green light only for God, later that night, to break in with his rebuke.  David is not to build his temple.  No. Man is wiser after the event; God is wise before.  David and Nathan have to learn to be under God's orders.   I emphasized that a) God only knows and warned how we can all make Nathan's mistake. 'We should saturate every step with prayer as we look to our future. There can be no jumping at the good idea until we are sure it is God's order'.  And b) God only succeeds - we do wonder what God is up to?  It's a strange sort of success as David is told to look to his son.  And we are told to look to God's son and a strange sort of success in the crushing agony of Gethsemane and desolation of Calvary. But under God's orders Jesus completed the task and now as we look to the cross we see it empty, deserted - the failure of man's worst to annihilate God's best. And in his power God would have us stay under his orders today....

Preachers should often ask as they preach Old Testament stories - how is Jesus wanting to tell this today? How does this Old Covenant story belong with the New Covenant?  And are they just using a story to make a personal point?  Good questions.