Open your Bibles to Acts 13:36

This is the first message in a series of messages concerning the life of David. God willing, this series will cover his whole life span. David is mentioned by Paul in the Hebrews 11:32 as one of the Hall of Faith individuals, and we will look at his life and many others in The Heroes of Faith Series. Acts chapter 13:36 reads,

“For David, after he had served [circle that word served] his own generation by the will [circle the word will] of God….”

Here, Paul is referencing this verse to a certain group. Now that I think about it, I’m not much into tombstones and burial plaques, but if you are going to have one when God calls you home, what would you want written on it? What would you like people to remember about your life? What would others remember about you? I have thought about the epitaph that would be placed on a burial plaque or a speech given concerning my graduation into eternal life (if God calls me home before His return). What is interesting about this verse—and not just this verse, God wrote many epitaphs—is that Scripture shows us what their lives were like and what it was about. Chapter 11, the Hall of Faith, is filled with monuments to their lives, because at some point God was pleased with them.

Now, what is an epitaph? It is an inscription on a tombstone or monument commemorating the person buried there. It could also be a speech or writing commemorating a dead person, a short speech or piece of writing commemorating the life of a recently deceased person. I thought about that, and you will see when I am done with this message that if someone is going to write an epitaph concerning my earthly life, I would want something like what we just read in verse 36. So, let’s look at verse 36 a little more in detail.

“For David, after he had served his own generation by the will….”

The word will in the Greek means purpose or plan. That is how I would want people to remember me: “He served God according to His purpose and plans.” Why? As I will say at the end of this message, David was a soldier in His service.

Now, if God sent an order down to one of these companies that makes plaques or monuments to write an inscription for you, what message would He send? Think about it. We know what Paul had written down inspired by the Holy Spirit concerning David.

“For David after he had served his own generation by the will [or ‘purpose and plan’] of God, he fell asleep.”

He fell asleep. Why did he get such an epitaph from God? Because no matter his shortcomings or successes, he sought God and when he sinned against God, he did not make excuses. He ran to Him; he pleaded with God to forgive him and get him set on a straight path once again. He was God’s servant, according to the plans and the purposes that God had for him. Who will be in heaven? God’s servants.

When reading through the New Testament, especially in Paul’s writings, you will find that Paul had that in common with David. David and Paul constantly referred to themselves as God’s servants in the Scriptures. Both looked on life as serving God. When it is all said and done, that is how I would like people to remember me: that I served God according to His purpose. Not my purpose, but His purpose, and I carried out His plans because I was His servant.

I have covered this before many years ago: the word serve is the verb form in the Greek. It literally means an under-rower. So, because that is the same word used in this verse, it tells me that David was under God’s command. As you read the Scriptures, David sometimes got off course and started doing things his own way in chasing his desires. However, when he lined back up with God’s plan and purpose, he was God’s under-rower; he was under God’s command. Look at the life of David. With all of his problems, he did what the Lord asked him to do. Remember, because of war, there was so much blood on his hands that he could not build the Temple of God. He did what Saul, and others prior, should have done to defeat God’s enemies. Solomon was able to build the temple and the land would have peace for a considerable amount of time until Solomon’s death. David did the dirty work, as we would say today. And, as he was doing what the Lord called him to do, there was something unique about David that you do not see that often—especially in today’s Christian environment—he always wanted the Lord to get all the glory. David wanted to magnify God in his life. Both David and Paul have that in common. They were used according to God’s plan and purpose, and when you analyze their lives, you can describe them and the ministries they had as under-rowers. When all was said and done, they gave God the credit and the glory, and that is the unique thing about them.

As I analyze these Scriptures, what leaps out at me is how God is honored when His servants— that means you and me—remember His hand in our lives. That was true for both David and Paul. To give you some examples of that, go to 1 Samuel. This introduction seems like it should be toward more the end of the series then the beginning, but this is where I want to start. That is, how God remembered David in the Scriptures and the reasons why: David was a servant that God could use for the plans He had, and David magnified the Lord as he was carrying out those purposes. David honored God when he stayed according to God’s plan. In 1 Samuel 17, verse 32 we see the story of David and Goliath. It reads,

“And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” David was not saying he was a servant of God here. In those days it was customary to acknowledge the king as the ruling power and you would be his servant. David is humbling himself by saying “thy servant.” No one else wanted to go. This young man volunteered himself. “And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he is a man of war from his youth. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant…”

There he goes again. In verse 32, David said, “thy servant” and here in verse 34 he says, “…Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover….”

David is going over his qualifications. This was his resume to Saul, and verse 37 continues, “David said moreover, The Lord [Who is he giving credit to? The Lord.] that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, [Yes, David had abilities, but he credited God with those abilities.] and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver [A statement of faith here.] me out of the hand of the Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go and the lord be with thee.” Do you really think Saul believed David would succeed against Goliath? I’m sure David had to give his resume and lay out all his qualifications because Saul had his doubts. He probably said, “Who are you, kid, coming in here thinking you can take on that giant?” But what does David say? That his greatest accomplishments up to this point that we know of in Scripture came from none other than the hand of God.

I have come across Christians my whole lifetime who are too timid to tell others what God has done and is doing in their lives. They are afraid to testify about God’s greatness. They are afraid to testify about God’s hand in their lives. But again, we should do it, because God is honored when His servants remember Him in their lives. David is living proof of that, and he found the opportunity over and over to honor God and His name. Nothing has changed; thousands of years later, God is still honored when we choose to do so.

You cannot tell me if you have been a Christian for any length of time—that God has not entered in. You know it. You have seen it within yourself. You have experienced it, yet you are afraid to share it with anyone else. I have been trying to get you out of those practices for years now. You have become ‘couch potatoes’ for Jesus and you only want a relationship with Him with none of the inconveniences about sharing it with others. Go make disciples, but before they get to the discipleship part, they must hear the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ—hopefully correctly taught about salvation and how to receive it. Then the process starts with the discipleship, but it takes communication. You may think that it is the preacher’s responsibility. Yes, for the most part, but it does not mean you are excluded from it. Many of you have children. How do you plan to raise them? Do you testify about God and what He has done in your life, which honors Him and gives Him glory? Or will you keep it silent and let them figure it out for themselves, if they ever do figure it out? The excuses are poor.

To skip ahead in the story, verse 45 says halfway through the verse, “…but I come unto thee in the name [Whose name?] the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord….”

See what is happening here, over, and over? I am not even getting to the Psalms concerning this story. David is giving God the credit.

“This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee,” Jump down to verse 46, the later part of that verse. “that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”

David is not just talking about the little vicinity where the battle was going to take place. He had a bigger picture about where the story would spread. David did not want to be remembered as the human element that God used. He was more concerned about everyone knowing that God of Israel is the one that defeated the enemy and delivered Israel.

Our present world has marginalized God. The God that created everything, the God that holds everything together. You see it and it is sad. It is slowly being erased from people’s lives, and I don’t really think it is that slow anymore. In these last days it is rapidly taking place. His truth is minimized. His Word is mocked. His Word is neglected. Throughout God’s Word you see over and over that He asks us to honor Him, to magnify Him. What did Jesus say at the last supper? “Remember Me.” Not remember Paul. Not remember Peter. Not remember James or John. Too many today are worried about their legacy. Get over it! Put your focus back on Jesus. He said, “Remember Me” because of what He did, and if you have trust and confidence in what He did, it brings you eternal life. It places you in a place where you are no longer separated from God. Your sins have been removed. There is no longer any hindrance. Over and over in God’s Word you see David dedicate his successes—let’s call them trophies in this case—to the Lord. I think he did it because he wanted to bring God glory. God is glorified when His servants like David dedicate their trophies to Him. This is one of the things that made David tick. I think it is one of the things I think God would still like to see in our lives today. What do you do with a trophy? In David’s time, you would take your enemy’s head, and then display it where people could see your accomplishment, but not David. He did not put it in his trophy room. Read verse 54,

“And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.” Any trophy that David ever received in all the years of undefeated conquest he always seems to give back to the Lord, so that he honored God. This was because he was God’s servant according to God’s plans to fulfill His purpose. So, throughout his life he gave his trophies back and placed them where God would be seen as the one who was the deliverer, not only of himself but God’s people.

1 Chronicles 18:11 shows another example of what I am trying to say. It reads, “Them also king David dedicated unto the Lord,”

And we have the list describing David’s military successes. In this verse, dedicated in the Hebrew means to set aside and apart to be holy. Not set apart and dedicated to make David rich. No; it was for higher purposes.

“Them also king David dedicated unto the Lord, with the silver and the gold that he brought from all these nations; from Edom, and from Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek.”

You see the habit that David had during his lifetime? No wonder God gave him great victories. And as his life advanced in years, God kept giving him greater and greater trophies to go with it, but David just kept giving them back to the Lord. Just think about what God can do. There is no limit to what God can do with the life that keeps giving back to Him. (I could turn this into a giving message.)

Now, let me read to you something else. If you have been a Christian for a while you have heard of C.T. Studd. He lived between 1860 through 1931, and it is said he lived by these words: “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” Those are powerful words. “only what’s done for Christ will last.”

He was a sickly individual for most of his life. When he said those words, his family had gathered around him at his death bed. It is told that he expressed to them, “I wish I had something to give you, but I have nothing left” because he gave it to Jesus long ago. Well, maybe he did not realize, or maybe he did, that he gave his children more than most fathers will ever give in their lifetime. I don’t care if you are the richest man or woman in the world, he gave them something precious. He gave them a viewing point where they could see his personal devotion to God and the Word of God. Like I said, he had constant health problems, intense pain, and weakness, but he pressed on. He felt his life had a plan and a purpose that was directed by God. And even though he had physical ailments that would stop most people, he pressed on. If you really think about it, every one of his children, according to the written documentation that we have, went on to serve the Lord. They saw and followed a great example; a man dedicated to God, no matter what. Now, I am not saying that everyone’s children will turn out that way. But I think it is important and I have preached enough about the change of mind that needs to happen where we need to send our children forth with the right information where they understand, acknowledge and start trusting and having confidence in Jesus—either from the moment they hear it or a later time in their life.

If you have done your part, you have given your children the most precious thing you ever can give. You cannot put a dollar value on it. If you have children, one of the most important things they can witness concerning your life is how dedicated you are to God, how you put your trust and confidence in Him, and press forward. You will press on. No matter what.

If you look at the end of David’s life, what did he do with all those treasures that he dedicated to the Lord? Go to 1 Chronicles 22:14,
“Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the Lord an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto.”

A better translation for the beginning of this verse is: Indeed, I have taken much trouble to prepare for the house of the Lord.
1 Chronicles 29:2 tells us, “Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set glistering stones, and of divers colors, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of god and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,”

What was David’s secret? He had a heart to serve. There is no doubt in my mind, David wanted to serve the Lord. Even with all his flaws, his failures, and sins, he wanted to serve the Lord. And the reason why he got the epitaph he did in Acts 13 is because he was a man after “mine own heart” according to God’s Word. You see it in Acts 13:22,

“And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will [thelema].”

“He shall fulfill all my will.” God will force individuals, like Cyrus, the Persian King, to send forth a decree for the children, the Jews, the House of Judah to go back and rebuild the walls in Jerusalem. Meaning, according to God’s Word, He had a plan and used Cyrus at that moment in time. We also see in David’s life that God used him continuously, even with all his flaws, failures and sins, and David had plenty of them. He was no angel, but He found a servant that was a man after His own heart. Put your name on that. Wouldn’t you like to hear God say when you get to the Judgment Seat of Christ, “Joe, (or whatever your name is), you were a man after my own heart, and I fulfilled my will through you.” That is the message of Romans 12:1 when Paul is writing to the Romans. It says,

“I beseech you [literally, I call you to join me at my side] therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy [set apart], acceptable, unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

We serve in respect to God, which is divine service and includes service and worship of God. I will read it to you again as I conclude this first message on the life of David. This is 2 Timothy 2:1 from the Revised Standard Version,

“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier on service gets entangled in civilian pursuits….” And it goes on.

The key words there are: “no soldier on service.” He is not talking about off duty soldiers. He is talking about soldiers that are on service, meaning we should live our lives as soldiers on service, not for ourselves, but for Christ. If anyone tells you anything different, they are preaching another gospel.

David could be used by God because even through his ups and downs, he had a heart that wanted to serve God. David wanted to magnify God, he wanted the world to know it was God who was the deliverer of Israel and should be credited with all his successes. David lived his life according to God’s plan and purposes when he was in tune with God’s ways. Yes, there were times in his life when he went his own way and tried to pave a different trail, but when corrected he had no problem saying, “Unto thee oh God have I sinned.” He then went right back into divine service that God had planned according to His purpose for David’s life. God has plans for us and He has purposes for us. We must have a willing heart to serve and bring glory to God in that service like David. Thank God that all of our hope is in Jesus.