Who is really sitting on the throne of your life? Throughout the story of Saul and David, we see two kings with very different hearts. Saul is driven by fear, insecurity, and control. David shows us trust, humility, patience, and repentance—but even David eventually fails. The same man who showed incredible restraint in a cave would later show devastating selfishness from the rooftop of a palace. Even a man after God’s own heart needed grace. That’s why the story doesn’t end with David. In 2 Samuel 7, God makes a covenant with David: his throne and kingdom will be established forever. Centuries later, that promise finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ—the Son of David, the promised King whose Kingdom will never end. The gospel isn’t “Stop being Saul and try harder to be David.” David needed grace too. The gospel is that the true and better King has come. Jesus remained faithful where every other king failed. He gave Himself for His people, purchased our forgiveness, and invites us to surrender every rival throne in our hearts to Him. Jesus, I am not King. My fear is not king. My desires are not king. My reputation is not king. My wounds are not king. My plans are not king. Jesus Christ is King. SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 7:8–16; Luke 1:31–33; Luke 22:19–20 THE TRUE AND BETTER KING A Tale of Two Kings | Vertical Church
THE TRUE AND BETTER KING
A Tale of Two Kings
SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 7:8–16; Luke 1:31–33; Luke 22:19–20
Throughout this series, we’ve followed the lives of two of the most famous kings in Scripture: Saul and David.
It would be easy to walk away thinking the lesson is simply that Saul was a bad king and David was a good king. But Scripture does something deeper. It holds up a mirror.
The story of Saul exposes the places in us where fear, insecurity, pride, approval, comfort, lust, and control compete for the throne of our hearts. We may say that we trust God while still trying to control the outcome. We may ask God to lead while quietly keeping one hand on the wheel.
The question underneath the entire story is:
WHO IS ACTUALLY LORD OF MY LIFE?
THE SPIRIT OF SAUL IN ALL OF US
Saul’s greatest problem wasn’t simply that he lost the throne of Israel. His greatest problem was that he refused to surrender the throne of his own heart.
And something is always competing for that seat in us.
Fear wants it.
Approval wants it.
Comfort wants it.
Pride wants it.
Lust wants it.
Control wants it.
Whatever sits on the throne eventually begins to rule everything beneath it.
If FEAR is king, manipulation often becomes the fruit.
If APPROVAL is king, compromise becomes easier.
If COMFORT is king, disobedience eventually feels normal.
If PRIDE is king, correction feels like an attack.
If LUST is king, people become objects for our desires instead of people made in the image of God.
If CONTROL is king, trusting God and trusting others becomes almost impossible.
Manipulation may be the fruit, but fear may be the king. Compromise may be the fruit, but approval may be the king. Defensiveness may be the fruit, but pride may be the king.
DAVID SHOWS US BOTH THE BEAUTY AND BROKENNESS OF A HUMAN KING
David is different from Saul in some incredibly important ways.
When Saul reaches for control, David waits.
When Saul protects his position, ego, and reputation, David trusts God’s promise.
When Saul attacks David, David refuses to return evil for evil.
David demonstrates qualities every follower of Jesus should desire: trust, humility, obedience, patience, and repentance instead of image management.
But David still isn’t enough.
The same David who showed extraordinary restraint in a cave eventually showed horrifying selfishness from the rooftop of a palace.
He could defeat the enemy standing in front of him, but he could not defeat the enemy within him.
The pasture didn’t make David perfect.
The anointing didn’t make David perfect.
The victories didn’t make David perfect.
The throne didn’t make David perfect.
David still couldn’t save himself.
THE HEART OF REPENTANCE
One of the greatest differences we see between Saul and David is what happens when their sin is exposed.
Saul is confronted and repeatedly tries to manage the perception.
David is confronted and eventually says:
“I have sinned against the LORD.”
Psalm 51 gives us a window into David’s heart after his sin involving Bathsheba and Uriah.
“Have mercy on me, O God…”
“Wash away all my iniquity…”
“Create in me a pure heart, O God…”
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation…”
That is repentance.
Repentance isn’t asking, “How can I make this look better?”
It isn’t, “How can I explain what I did?”
It isn’t, “How can I protect my reputation?”
Repentance says:
“God, I have sinned. Have mercy on me. Cleanse me. Change me. Create something in me that I cannot create in myself.”
Maybe being a man or woman after God’s heart doesn’t mean we never fall. Maybe it means that when God exposes what is in our heart, we don’t protect it—we surrender it.
But even David’s repentance points us beyond David.
Because if the message of the Bible were simply, “Be more like David,” we would all be in trouble.
David needs grace too.
GOD MAKES A PROMISE
In 2 Samuel 7, David is finally king. His enemies have been subdued, he is living in Jerusalem, and he wants to build a house for God.
But God turns the entire conversation around.
David wants to build God a house, but God essentially tells David:
“You are not going to establish Me. I am going to establish you.”
God promises David that He will raise up one of his descendants, establish his kingdom, and establish his throne forever.
This is the DAVIDIC COVENANT.
A covenant is a binding promise God makes in relationship with His people.
And the beauty of this covenant is that its ultimate fulfillment does not rest on David’s ability to hold everything together. It rests on God’s ability to keep His word.
David will fail.
Solomon will fail.
The kings after Solomon will fail.
The kingdom will fracture.
Jerusalem will fall.
Eventually, David’s throne will appear to be empty.
But God had spoken one word that would not disappear:
FOREVER.
So how would God keep His promise?
JESUS IS THE PROMISED KING
Centuries later, an angel appears to a young woman named Mary.
Luke 1:31–33 says:
“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus… The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David… and his kingdom will never end.”
There it is again.
The Son.
The throne.
The Kingdom.
Forever.
God did not forget His promise.
God fulfilled His promise in Jesus.
Jesus is the Son of David toward whom the promise of 2 Samuel 7 was ultimately pointing.
And suddenly the entire series comes into focus.
Saul could not save us.
David could not save us.
We cannot save ourselves.
Jesus is the King who remained faithful where every other king failed.
Saul used people to protect himself.
Jesus gave Himself to save His people.
David sacrificed another man to cover his own sin.
Jesus sacrificed Himself to cover ours.
David needed forgiveness.
Jesus provides forgiveness.
Our salvation is not ultimately being held together by the strength of our promise to God, but by the strength of God’s promise to us in Jesus Christ.
THE TRUE AND BETTER KING
The gospel is not:
“Stop being Saul and try harder to be David.”
David needs grace too.
The gospel is that the true King has come. Jesus has done for us what we could never do for ourselves, and now He calls us to receive His life and turn from everything else that has been ruling us.
The throne of our hearts is already occupied.
The question is: by what?
Before communion, our response is repentance—not because repentance purchases forgiveness, but because Jesus has already purchased forgiveness. His kindness gives us the courage to bring what is hidden into the light.
So we pray:
Jesus, I am not King.
My fear is not king.
My desires are not king.
My reputation is not king.
My wounds are not king.
My plans are not king.
JESUS CHRIST IS KING.
THE TABLE REMINDS US WHO OUR KING IS
When Jesus took the bread and cup in Luke 22, He pointed His disciples toward the new covenant established through His own body and blood.
When we come to communion, we are not celebrating how faithful we have been to God.
We are remembering how faithful God has been to us in Jesus.
His body was given for us.
His blood was poured out for us.
The covenant stands because Jesus is faithful.
So we lay down our idols.
We repent of every rival king.
And with empty hands, we receive again the grace of the only King who truly gave Himself for His people.
BIG IDEA:
Saul wasn’t the king we needed.
David wasn’t the king we needed.
We cannot be our own king.
Jesus is the true and better King.
SCRIPTURES:
2 Samuel 7:8–16
Psalm 51:1–4
Psalm 51:10–12
Luke 1:31–33
Luke 22:19–20