Promise
The King Who Keeps His Promises • Message 2
Bryan Jones
December 7, 2025

Prayer Points for Prayer Time:

• Ask God to help you surrender your plans, knowing He is in control.
• Ask God to guard you from Satan's distractions.
• Thank God for bringing you out of darkness and into His kingdom.

Scripture Reading:

“Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.“ ‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ ”Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation. 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?
2 Samuel 7:8-18 (NIV)

Trustee Confirmation Vote: One of the things we do each and every year is bring together recommendations for trustees. If you are not familiar with our governance policies, what we have are trustees, who are key lay servants, who work with me and several of the other pastors to form an advisory team. This advisory team makes sure we are moving in mission and vision at Brookwood, and every year we present the trustees who have been recommended for us as a church to vote.

Now, let me just say this: trustees do a lot, but here are three key things that our trustees do. Number one, they are prayer warriors. Every trustee prays for the staff. They pray for the church. They pray for you. In addition to that, the trustees also work with the pastors to make sure we have a ministry plan, and the presentation of our budget actually goes through them as well.

And the third thing is this: they just help with different business matters. They are very involved, sometimes in the front, but a lot of times behind the scenes, making sure everything is running smoothly. And we have been led faithfully through the years by so many amazing trustees, and so I have no doubt that it will continue. I want to present to you the trustees for 2026 that the church has recommended. These nominees have been in our program and on our website for a few weeks.

They are Jason Bergeron, Dawn Carter, Scott Day, Bob Felts, Marilyn Kendrick, and Betty Zeller. So, if you approve of these trustees for 2026, would you please raise your hand as a symbol and a sign that you approve of these amazing men and women serving our church? That is clearly a majority. Would you do me another favor? So many of these folks do things behind the scenes that you are not even aware of, and I would be remiss if I didn't also just thank our trustees who have served and are going to serve this year. Would you join me in just thanking them for all of their hard work, prayer, and faithfulness to our church?
 Thank you.

God made a promise, or a prophecy, and it was fulfilled by Jesus' coming, and it will be ultimately fulfilled in His second coming. God makes promises in the Old Testament. 

All throughout the Christmas songs and the story of Jesus’ birth, you will hear one name mentioned over and over again in connection with Jesus' birth- it's David. 

For instance, when Jesus is born, the angels say I bring you good news today in the town of David, a Savior has been born.

What’s the first book of the New Testament? Matthew. What’s the last book? Revelation.
 (Look at you, Bible scholars!)

This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham:
 Matthew 1:1 (NLT)

And in the last book of the Bible, and in the last chapter, it says…

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.”
Revelation 22:16 (NLT)

They are telling us that if you want to understand the birth of Jesus, you have to understand David. You don’t understand David; you won’t understand Jesus. If you don’t understand 2 Samuel 7, you won’t understand the birth of Jesus. 

Why look at these prophecies? Because there are a couple of promises they can teach.

B.  The King Who Keeps His Promises

After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.” But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:  “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”
2 Samuel 7:1-7 (NIV)

Moses leads the people to the edge of the Promised Land, then Joshua takes over.

Joshua leads, and the first generation follows God, but then the second generation begins to drift, and by the third generation, they have completely fallen away.

Have you noticed how easy it is to drift in life? 

The first generation knows God.
 The second generation knows about God.
 The third generation doesn’t know God. 

The first generation lives by the Bible.
 The second owns a lot of Bibles.
 The third generation ignores the Bible.                                  

The first generation serves in the church.
 The second generation attends church.
 The third generation doesn’t go to church.                     

The first generation… It's God and me.
 The second generation… It's me and God.
 The third generation… It’s me. 

Satan doesn’t need to destroy you if he can distract you. Have you ever noticed how, in certain seasons, you can be dialed in with God, and then the next, you read something and your mind wanders all over the place?

But here is the real danger of drifting… You forget who is in control of life… You forget who is running everything… 

Take your faith, your family, your finances, even your health…

Neglecting                                           Obsessing 

It doesn’t matter                                 It’s all on me

Neglecting                              Stewarding                               Obsessing 

It doesn’t matter               Working with God                      It’s all on me

God wants you to work with Him, not for Him. But when you work with Him, remember who is in control. 

I showed this picture a little while ago… [show picture] I was building something a little while ago, and Selah wanted to help me. So she started helping me put things together… and honestly, everything she did, I had to go back and redo. But she would grab a tool… a project that should have taken me 2 hours took 3 times that long because I always had to stop and let her grab the screw, or help. When we got done, I thought she was going to say thank you. She literally came up and said, Dad, I'm awesome. I did this… We are working on the humility thing. 😊

Now, the truth is, I could have done it without Selah, and way quicker, but I loved doing it with her. The promises of God aren’t dependent on you. 

This is one of the most important principles we can learn about God. He can do anything, build anything, but he loves doing it with us. Think about it. It’s what makes Christianity so different from all other religions. You have to work or do something to receive blessings from other Gods, but we can’t do anything to earn God's love. It's all about grace.

David is obsessing and thinking…it's all on me… (keep up the chart)

Then in this verse we just read… David’s got a whole house made of cedar. He's got a palace. And the ark of the covenant, where God’s glory and presence would dwell, is in a tent. So, David says, This isn’t right. I’m up in First Class, and God’s flying coach. It’s time to upgrade God’s digs.

One reason God doesn’t want David to build it, we find out later, is that David was a warrior. He didn’t want him to do it because he had blood on his hands. So even though Solomon is the one who ultimately builds it, God isn’t showing that He doesn’t need us—instead, He’s showing that He loves to work through us. That’s important.

“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom.
2 Samuel 7:11b-12 (NIV)     

So David wanted to build a physical house for God, and he says, Hey, I’ve got a different idea; I'm going to do something way better. I'm going to build a house for you. Not a physical house, but a dynasty… a kingdom to carry on. 

Because God wants David to see that he needs no help building his kingdom, he’s in control… God closed that door for him to do it. But he still had good plans. 

 Some of you might have some closed doors in life… You can’t trust that God has good plans. He is the one building everything… And sometimes he closes certain doors so he can open better ones… 

Imagine if you had a house that needed a new roof, and I came up and said, I got this… and you said, Hey, what track record do you have? What experience do you have? And I just told you, Listen, I built a ton of LEGOs as a kid… I’ve got this… plus I'm a quick learner. What’s your confidence?

Imagine a neighbor comes over and says they can fix your roof, and you find out they've had a company for years, with tons of great reviews… what's your confidence? High … Why? Because of his resume, because of his history…
 Some of us struggle to trust God. How can you trust that He’s good and has good plans? This is why we look at the promises of God; it shows us His resume, if you will. 

This section has two promises, and both are fulfilled. 

One for David's kingdom to continue, and the other is for a Savior to come through David’s bloodline.

I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”
2 Samuel 7:14-16 (NIV)

This suggests that Solomon, his son, was considered the wisest man around. However, I don’t think he was that wise, given that he took 1000 wives, which means 1,000 mothers-in-law. One is more than enough, amen. Nevertheless, he also built the temple.

But he carried on the kingdom… interestingly, the longest dynasty before this promise in history was the pharaohs of Egypt, which reigned for 250 years… David's dynasty reigned for 400 years, which is part of the promise here. 

Here's a history lesson to reveal the faithfulness of God, his resume… 

There is a problem… 

“As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off.
 Jeremiah 22:24 (NIV) 

See, the wickedness of the kings in David’s line is so wicked… God says 400 years after David… That’s it, your blood will no longer reign or rule. I'm ending this… You and your sons will never rule or reign, your bloodline won't carry on… 

So, if you know the Bible, you know how God can fulfill what he promised David in verse 16…

“Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.”
2 Samuel 7:16 (NIV)

How can God fulfill His promise? 

How many of you have read and studied the genealogies of Jesus? Those of you raising your hand probably have accounts on ancestry.com and tattoos of your family’s lineage, which I love… but I confess that I have spent very little time on genealogy until recently, but something floored me when studying… 

Show Matthew's genealogy: 

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

 Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

Matthew 1:6b-11 (NIV)

Notice David… Jeconiah was another name for Jahoakim, the wicked king that God promised would never reign or rule… or even any of his direct family members…

Goes on to show this…

After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

 Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus
 who is called the Messiah.
Matthew 1:12-16 (NIV)

So, this shows Joseph's connection to David… 

But look at Luke’s genealogies… 

the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,
Luke 3:31 (NIV)

So, get this church… Matthew traces Joseph's lineage to David.

But Luke 3 traces Mary's lineage to David… and get this, David had two sons: one was Solomon, that we read about in Matthew; but Nathan is the one we read about in Luke 3.

Bloodline is cursed… but Joseph's blood isn’t in Jesus. When you trace Mary’s lineage, you go back to David, but not through Solomon through the royal bloodline, but through another son of David, Nathan.

So, get this… God curses the bloodline… He gets around the curse by the virgin birth! 

If Jesus were born through Joseph's bloodline, he would’ve been cursed, and it would’ve cursed us… but Jesus was born of a virgin, so Joseph's bloodline wasn’t His… isn’t that amazing.. 

Jesus is born as the son of God, through the line of David, as king. Think about the fact that a tiny place like Israel would have a king born to reign and rule over the whole world. Because God is faithful… 

But let me also remind you that Jesus was born a king, but he had no subjects… without subjects, you can't have a kingdom. The Bible is clear: we were all subjects to the kingdom of darkness, but He went to war, He went to the cross, and through that, He won us back to the kingdom of God. Kingdom of light… 

and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:12-14 (NIV)

Listen, whatever God orders… whatever He promises… He’s always faithful to deliver them… 

When we moved here, my son was very upset for two reasons. One was because he was a doddle dinosaur; he loved the mascot. Then he found out he would be at Monarch, and his new mascot would be a butterfly… this was a big deal. I read a bunch of facts on butterflies, trying to convince him, but he wasn’t having it… 

The other reason was that he didn’t have any friends. The first six months were really hard on him, and it was hard on me because I wanted him to have friends so badly. However, I knew God would provide at some point. 

When I first got here, many of you asked how you could pray, and I said to pray for my son to find a friend. And many of you faithfully did. About nine months later, I remember the doorbell rang one day. Then it rang again. And again. And then there was a basement full of boys… they just kept showing up. 

And I would run into people, and they would say they had been praying for my son… and I would say, Just stop praying! No more prayers! But I always knew if God called us here, he would provide. God is a good host. He pays for what he orders…. He doesn’t just leave us with the bill. 

What has God promised you… Or let me ask you this… what promise are you holding onto this morning? 

A baby born in a manager was not just a Savior, but a Davidic king promised almost 1,000 years earlier.

 It's amazing to think that God fulfilled His promise, and He always does… 

You know, I read a stat that there are about 3 billion dollars worth of gift cards that aren’t used each year. That’s crazy… 

But what's perhaps the greatest tragedy is that there are 7,000 promises in the Bible, according to Bible scholar Dr. Herbert Lockyer, and many of those are never claimed. 

The enemy doesn’t want you to cash those in, but don’t miss out.