Kingdom Established

Order of Service

• Announcements
• Hymn — In Thanksgiving Let Us Praise Him
• Call to Worship — Psalm 99
• Hymn — In Thanksgiving Let Us Praise Him
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — 1 Timothy 3:16
• Sacrament of Baptism (Justice and Mercy Erickson)
• Prayer
• Hymn — A Christian Home
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Prayer of Dedication
• Hymn — Revive Thy Work, O Lord
• Sermon
• Hymn — God the Lord, a King Remaineth
• Benediction — 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

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Sermon Title: Kingdom Established

Scripture: 2 Samuel 2:1-11

I. God's Established Kingdom Is Directed by God (2 Samuel 2:1–4)

A. David pauses to inquire of the Lord before acting, even when his kingship seems obvious

1. David wants God's backing and blessing, not merely providential opportunity
2. His posture contrasts with those who succeed without seeking the Lord

B. The place of inauguration — Hebron — carries deep redemptive-historical significance

1. Abraham first settled and received covenant promises there (Genesis 13)
2. Hebron is the burial site of the three patriarchs — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — signifying their hope in God's promises
3. Joseph's dying wish to have his bones carried to Canaan illustrates the same covenantal faith (Genesis 50)

C. The tribe of Judah carries its own redemptive-historical significance

1. Genesis 49:10 promises the scepter shall not depart from Judah
2. The Abrahamic promise to bless all nations converges with the Davidic line in this moment
3. The kingdom begins small — like a mustard seed — but contains the dynamite of God's cosmic purposes
4. Only the eyes of faith can see God's hand beneath what appears to be an insignificant ceremony

II. God's Established Kingdom Is Driven by Character (2 Samuel 2:5–7)

A. David commends the men of Jabesh-gilead for their loyal burial of Saul (1 Samuel 31)

1. Their loyalty to Saul originated in his rescue of their city from Nahash the Ammonite (1 Samuel 11)
2. David calls them to be valiant once more — now in service to God's chosen king

B. Jabesh-gilead faces a decision that mirrors the call of the gospel

1. They could go north with the majority, aligning with Ish-bosheth under Abner's power
2. Or they could go south to tiny Hebron, aligning with the true king by faith — paralleling Abraham's choice over Lot's in Genesis 13

C. God's call is to channel gifts, zeal, and character toward the right king

1. Paul's pre-conversion zeal was impressive but misdirected — the gospel reoriented it (Romans 10)
2. Jim Marshall of the Minnesota Vikings recovered a fumble and ran the wrong way — a vivid illustration of gifts used in the wrong direction
3. Whatever our gifts — strength, intelligence, creativity, hospitality — they must be directed to the glory of God, the great Gift Giver

III. God's Established Kingdom Is Denounced by Blind Commitments (2 Samuel 2:8–11)

A. Abner makes Ish-bosheth king over all Israel in opposition to David

1. It is Abner, not Ish-bosheth, who drives this — highlighting his intense, misdirected loyalty to the house of Saul
2. Ish-bosheth reigns two years; David reigns in Hebron seven years and six months

B. Blind loyalty, though outwardly commendable, leads to foolishness and opposition to the true king

1. Like soldiers in the Nazi regime who followed orders blindly, causing great evil
2. Like the Jewish nationalists of Jesus' day whose blind commitment made them blind to their true king
3. As in the film Gladiator, blind allegiance to a false king causes men to betray the true and worthy one

C. The unanswered response of Jabesh-gilead is a challenge to the reader

1. How would you respond if the true king said, "Be valiant for me"?
2. Blind commitments to temporal things — schedules, traditions, culture — can make us deaf to Christ's invitation
3. The posture of the Christian must always be: I am willing to throw it all away to have Christ and his kingdom