2 Samuel 7:1-3 and 1 Kings 8:18: Heaven Is for Those Who Have Failed on Earth

INTRODUCTION

When King David began to reign over Israel, the shrine at which the Israelites worshiped was called the Tent of Meeting (or Tabernacle). The Israelites believed that God was everywhere, but it was at this Tent of Meeting that they especially felt the nearness of God.

The priests offered the sacrifices in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. It was in this courtyard that the Levites played their trumpets and harps and cymbals and sang their songs of praise. It was here that the Israelites gathered to celebrate their holy festivals.

But inside this sacred tent, in an inner room, called the “Holy of Holies,” was the holiest object in the world: The Ark of the Covenant. It was a large box, covered with gold. On the top of the ark were two golden winged cherubim and inside were the two tables of stone on which God had written the Ten Commandments.

The only person ever to enter this inner room was the high priest, and he came in only once each year on the Day of Atonement. He would enter with a bowl of blood from the sacrifice and pour out the blood on the lid of the Ark, which was called the “Mercy Seat.”

By the time of King David—Israel’s second king—more than 200 years had gone by since the Israelites had settled in their homeland, but the precious Ark of the Covenant was still in the tent that had been its home during their days of desert wandering.

I. King David had won many battles and the country had become prosperous.

A. But King David’s conscience accused him. He had built himself a grand palace, but the Holy Ark was still in this old tent.

In 2 Samuel 7.1-3 we read,

Now when the king dwelt in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies round about, the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See how, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.”

And Nathan said to the king, “Go do all that is in your heart; for the Lord is with you.”

I suppose David went to bed at night planning that glorious temple. By building a glorious Temple he would express his love for the God who had done so much for him. It would encourage the people to worship their God.

B. But then David’ plans were upset. The word of the Lord came to Nathan the prophet, with a message for King David.

God told Nathan to tell the king that he was not to build the Temple. David’s son would have that honor.

But there’s something else that God told David—This message is recorded in 1 Kings 8:18. God told David, in effect, “You are not to build the Temple—but you did well that it was in your heart.”

During the rest of his reign, King David gathered timber and stone for building, and iron for nails and hinges, and gold and silver for adornment (1 Chronicles 22). David was determined that it would be magnificent—even though he would never see it.

II. So it was Solomon who had the privilege of building the Temple, but God honored David for his intention. He said, “You did well that it was in your heart.” And that is the point of my sermon.

A. You know the proverb: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” And that is true. But it is also true that good intentions are some of the surest stepping stones to heaven.

Sometimes we try with all our might to serve God in the way we believe he has given us and we fail.

The good news is that God recognizes our efforts and sincere intentions and rewards them as if we had been successful.

When I was a teacher, sometimes I would give a student a little higher grade than he or she had really earned because that student had tried hard. I reasoned this way: “Life is like that. In life, effort counts too, not just brains.”

Well, God grades entirely on effort. God looks at our hearts and judges our hearts and rewards us according to our intention to please him.

That’s what the saying means: “Heaven is for those who have failed on earth.”

III. Here are some examples of what I am trying to tell you:

A. During that last week of Jesus’ life before his crucifixion he went to the temple. (Luke 21:1-4)

He watched the rich men putting handfuls of gold and silver coins into the Temple treasury. Then he saw a poor widow put in two tiny copper coins.

“Look!” said Jesus, “she put in more than all of them—because she put in all that she had.”

Her little coins did little to help the poor, but God was pleased with her generosity. That poor widow didn’t think anyone had noticed her generosity. I’ll bet she surprised when she got to Heaven and found out that she had a place in Scripture as an example for all generations!

B. Here’s my second example:

In 1912 a missionary doctor named Dr. William Leslie and his wife Clara went to live and serve tribal people in a remote corner of the Congo.

It was a wild country, infested by leopards. Some of the natives were still cannibals. Dr. Leslie worked hard. He used his medical skills. He told Bible stories to the children. He founded schools.

After 17 years he returned to the United States. He had worked and sacrificed much, but he hadn’t made an impression on the people he came to serve.

Some of the tribal leaders had asked him to go home and not return.

He was discouraged. He was a failure.

But in 2010, another group of missionaries entered the region and made a shocking discovery. They found a network of thriving churches, scattered like diamonds in the dense jungle in which Dr. Leslie had worked 81 years before.

The missionaries found eight thriving churches. Each village had its own gospel choir. They wrote their own songs and had singing competitions from village to village.

The missionaries were surprised to find a 1000-seat “cathedral” in one of the villages. This church had become so crowded that the members planted churches in the surrounding villages.

Dr. Leslie had thought he was a failure, but the legacy he left is huge.

(http://blog. godreports.com/)

C. None of us have been missionary doctors. Maybe none of us have been outstanding in any way. But Dr. Leslie’s story tells us that we don’t always know what good we do when we attempt to serve God.

God uses mediocre people. In fact, most of the people God has used to spread faith in the world have been ordinary people—like us.

Someday you may find—and I think you will find—that something you have done, or something you have said, has blessed someone and made a difference you didn’t imagine.

CONCLUSION

I have told you that during the three years we lived in Japan we taught a weekly Bible study at a Japanese high school. I don’t believe that the students came because they were especially interested in the Bible; they just wanted to hear English spoken.

We had a good time. Sometimes we invited the students to our house for parties. We became friends.

We returned to the United States in 1960. About five years later I was surprised to receive a four-page letter from a young man who had attended our Bible study. He had now graduated from a university in Tokyo.

I had written him after our return but five years later I had no memory of this student. I didn’t remember writing him, but all these years later he wrote back.

He wrote, “I happened to find your old letter. Happiness means that unexpected things come with a sudden shock. But the things which we seemed not to have expected and thought of, are often the true things which we are hoping for a long time.”

He mentioned a visit to our house in Japan where I had corrected a speech he had written for English class. He mentioned the happy welcome he and his friends received at a second, unexpected visit to our house.

At the end of his letter he wrote, concerning his recollections upon discovering the old letter: “I seem to have been touched by some sacred moment.”

The astonishing thing to me was that I had no recollection of this young man. I remembered the Bible study, the high school, and at least one party we invited the students to at our house. I couldn’t remember distinctly any of these young people who had come to this class. We had pleasant memories of the class but had no reason to believe that our efforts had actually blessed anyone.

That was a lesson to me.

Nothing is wasted that is done for God. God remembers our efforts, and he blesses our efforts, even when we can’t see any results.

And someday we may be surprised when he welcomes us into Paradise with the words: “Well, done, good and faithful servant.”

You have loved God and served him by serving others. And maybe you think your efforts were wasted. Maybe you can’t point to success.

Maybe you have taught Sunday school and the children didn’t pay attention. You wondered whether they learned anything at all.

You have done generous things for people who have not appreciated your efforts—or even said “thank you.”

You have loved people and prayed that they would turn to God and they didn’t.

Maybe the career your heart was set on—and in which you hoped to do great things for God—didn’t work out.

Take heart. God will not forget your efforts.

In God’s eyes, you have not failed.

In God’s eyes, you have succeeded because God looks at your heart. He looks at your intentions.

And maybe—and I think, probably—you have been more successful than you think. If you have been faithful, someday you may be surprised.

Because “Heaven is for those who have failed on earth.”