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"Now it came about when the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, [2] that the king said to Nathan the prophet, 'See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains.' [3] And Nathan said to the king, 'Go, do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you.' [4] But it came about in the same night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, [5] 'Go and say to My servant David, 'Thus says the Lord, 'Are you the one who should build Me a house to dwell in? [6] 'For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this day; but I have been moving about in a tent, even in a tabernacle. [7] 'Wherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, 'Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?' ' ' [8] 'Now therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be ruler over My people Israel. [9] 'And I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth. [10] 'I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly, [11] even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you. [12] 'When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. [13] 'He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. [14] 'I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, [15] but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. [16] 'And your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.' [17] In accordance with all these words and all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David."

Really, David's thought was a noble one, he thought that God's house should be as nice as his. In many ways, it showed spiritual maturity. I've seen the other attitude. Right after Susan and I were married, I accepted the pastorate at the First Baptist Church of Palm Desert. There were a small group of people that gathered on my first Sunday to greet me in a little run down building. It was a small house with an added on auditorium. Sometimes the restroom worked, sometimes it didn't. One of the rooms had a hole in the floor and the air conditioning wasn't always in working order. But the dirt parking lot was lined with Mercedes Benz automobiles and Cadillacs. To God's glory, we got rid of the old building and built a new one at a new location. With some leadership, the people were willing to work and to give to provide a place where the church could grow, but I never will forget my disappointment when I saw their nice cars and nice homes then looked at their run down church building. I knew it wasn't right.

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