Peace, Rest and Healing

July 22, 2010

2 Samuel 7:1-14a Scripture reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-7 After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the prophet, Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.
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Ephesians 2:11-22

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

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? 6 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. 7 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? _______________ For the past week our family has been attending a pastors camp in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This is a family camp hosted by Intervarsity Christian Fellowship at Cedar Campus, it is a camp where college students are invited to learn and grow both in faith and in leadership. In this place we take a deep breath, we put away our cell phones and computers as well as spending a week away from television and radio. Sure, some news filters in and quite a few of us checked our messages in the evening, and I will admit that there were a few who were checking Facebook and email on their cell phones from time to time, but for the most part, we unplugged and took a moment to just relax. For us, it is a time to be a family, to spend time together doing things we dont get to do the rest of the year. We play carpet ball together (Patti was this years family champion), we paddle around in kayaks and go sailing (Patti and Lina came in fifth in the camp regatta). Each day the adults spend time in seminars hearing from the Word of God and learning new things about being a pastor and a leader and how to care for ourselves as well as caring for our churches. Our speaker this year was John Smith, a pastor who, while he now cares for other pastors, once pastored a church in Long Island, New York where he cared for a family (and for a church) when one of their members was murdered. This pastor also had members in Manhattan when the World Trade Center was attacked on 9/11 and was at ground zero with a fire chief from his congregation when the bodies of firefighters and police officers were found in the rubble and were carried out. Hearing from a pastor like this is not something that your pastor gets to do every day and learning from his experiences is invaluable. Each day we also spent time in small groups sharing together with other pastors how we have done in the last year, the things we have done as families and how we were doing as married couples. We spent time offering helpful suggestions to one another but mostly just listening, being supportive of one another and most of all, praying for one another. I cannot thank you enough for this time away. So what does a story about our time in Michigan have to do with our Sunday sermon? Simply this: In Ecclesiastes 3, Solomon tells us that there is a time for everything under heaven, a time to build and a time 1

to tear down, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them together. Whether you are a pastor or something else, there are different seasons of life and the same thing applies to families, to corporations and to churches. In our scripture lesson this morning we heard the beginning of the story of King David, at the peak of his power and authority, as he sought to build a temple for God. David is described in scripture as A man after Gods own heart. David was the greatest King in the history of Israel. David had just reunified all twelve tribes of Israel and had successfully protected Gods people from a host of enemies on every side. Even so, when David seeks to build a temple for the Lord, God says, No. (2 Samuel 7:1-14a) After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the prophet, Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent. 3 Nathan replied to the king, Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you. 4 But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying: 5 Go and tell my servant David, This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 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. 7 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? 8 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. 9 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. 10 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 11 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: 12 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. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. God is essentially telling David, Youve been wonderful. Youve done wonderful things. Youve done many things that I asked you to do and many more that I allowed you to do. I love you, but youve done enough. Today you are the ruler and King of Israel and that is enough. I have lived this long without a house and I can live a while longer without a house. For you, now, has come a season of rest. David was Israels greatest warrior but the time had come for peace. David had built a nation, had built a palace, and had built many other things but in Gods timing, the time for building was over and David was beginning a season of rest. It wasnt just David that needed some time off either. Jesus and the disciples did too. In Mark 6:30-34, 53-56, we find Jesus teaching his followers that after a busy time if ministry, even in the midst of their busyness, there should be a time for rest.
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The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. 2

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When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he wentinto villages, towns or countrysidethey placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed. Now, please understand. I am incredibly grateful for the time away that you all have allowed me but I am not reminding you of this scripture to remind you that even pastors need a time of rest, I am reminding you of these things to remind you of what Jesus was teaching his disciples. That all of the followers of Jesus Christ need to take time off of ministry, to get away to a place of quiet so that they can grow and rest and reconnect with God. God has placed a profound calling on our lives and desires for us to reach the lost in all the corners of the earth, but God does not want us to cause harm to ourselves, to our families or to our churches while we are doing it. God desires that we be about his ministry, to take our mission seriously, to do it well, but to pause from time to time to rest, reflect, and heal before we go out into the world again. In Ephesians 2:11-22, Paul goes even farther than that
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Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called uncircumcised by those who call themselves the circumcision (which is done in the body by human hands) 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with Gods people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Paul says that Jesus is our peace. It was Jesus who brought together the circumcised and the uncircumcised, the Jews and the Gentiles, the people with the huge chasm of disagreement between them. There were few groups of people in that culture that were more impossible to join together but Jesus brought them together. Jesus brought together those who were separated from God and reconnected them with God. Jesus brings peace by bringing all of humanity together and by reconciling us all with God and with one another. It may look like mortar, but it is Jesus that joins together the stones of this church and it is Jesus who binds together the hearts of his people. David wanted to build a temple so that God wouldnt have to live in a tent, but Paul says that in Jesus, we are all being built together so that we might be a dwelling place for God. I know that I just got here. I know that many people are happy that perhaps now the church can begin moving forward again, and while thats all great, we must also consider what season God has prepared for us. After all that has happened, perhaps now is a season of rest. Perhaps now is a season of peace. Perhaps now is a season of healing. Before we all begin diving into a new season of ministry and a new season of busyness, let us spend some time in prayer considering if perhaps now is a time that God has 3

intended for rest, for peace, and for healing. After weve done that, then we can begin to sense Gods leading, together, to see on what new adventure he may be taking us. Over the next several weeks, I am asking that we would all remember our church in prayer. I know that many of you already do this, but over the next several weeks let us all specifically ask God what season he has prepared for us. Please pray for wisdom for your pastor and for all of our leaders as we begin to plan for next year so that we might best follow the path that God has intended for us.

You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry heights in Massillon, Ohio . Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln Way E., Massillon, Ohio 44646. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at subscribe@trinityperryheights.org. If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online). These messages can also be found online at http://www.scribd.com/Pastor John Partridge. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.