Jump Start # 947

Acts 13:36 “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay.”

We wrap up our series on David by looking at a passage that gives an incredible summary to his life. David was a man of God. David loved the Lord. David was Israel’s greatest king. The nation of Israel was the largest and strongest under David’s leadership. Jesus is in the lineage of David. Often, Jesus is referred to as “son of David.” Jesus sits on David’s throne.

Our passage today reminds us of two great principles.

1. David served the purpose of God. That is our calling and purpose. We need to be about the purpose of God. The creation serves the Creator. We were made for His purpose. Many do not get this. They live without God. They live for themselves. They see their purpose as the pursuit of money or happiness. That defines their life. Where they have been, what they own, how large their house is—that impresses them and they use that to try to impress others. David served the purpose of God. That implies that he understood God’s purpose and then he set about fulfilling and living that purpose.

God wants us to be like Jesus (Rom. 8:28). God wants us to be His people, which means we are to be like He is. We are to be holy, generous, kind, and people of the book. When we set about doing those things we touch lives for the better. We impact people and help them. We leave a trail of goodness and good deeds. We bring value to life by living for God and His ways. There were days when David got off that purpose of God, as we do. His greatest mistakes came during those times. When he got back to doing what he was supposed to, he did his greatest good.

God has a purpose for each of us. His purpose is not so specific as living in Montana or Miami or working with my hands or on a keyboard. Some see it that way. Some believe every choice in life is made by God. They will say, “God wanted me to move to this city,” or, “God wanted me to switch my major in college,” or, “God wanted me to work in this field.” Putting God into those statements gives them assurance that they lack and if it falls apart, it wasn’t their fault, somehow it is God’s. I don’t know how a person can know that God wants them to live in Montana? The Bible doesn’t say that. They must be living on feelings. God doesn’t operate that way. God’s purpose is defined in the Scriptures. So, whether you are a mom at home, a pilot, a school teacher or a student in college, God wants you to serve His purpose. God needs godly moms and godly pilots, and godly teachers and godly students. You can serve God in Montana or Miami or in the city or in the country. God doesn’t pick our careers or our houses or our friends. We do. We make those choices based upon the wisdom we learn from God’s word. Our choices reflect insight from God.

David served the purpose of God. That’s what we should do.

2. David served the purpose of God in his generation. That’s what we are given– this generation. We may wish that we lived in another generation, but here we are. Our work is for now. We don’t try to do something so lasting and great that it will cross many generations. That won’t happen. We work for now. This is the time given to us. One of my passions is studying the lives of long ago preachers. I have a lot of material in that area. I have file cabinets full of old church bulletins that were written before I was born. I think about those long ago preachers. They did what I do. They tried their best to teach the word of God to the people they came in contact with. They strengthened the faith of brethren. Sermons, classes and articles were used to accomplish these tasks. These men poured hours upon hours into their sermons and articles. Where are those things today? A few sit in my file cabinets rather quietly. The rest have done their good and have gone on. The same will be said of my stuff. I have even more file cabinets of all my sermons, articles and classes. I pour my heart into this work. Some day all of these things, including all of these Jump Starts, will be forgotten. If there are more generations, they won’t know anything about them. It is to this generation that we work. Forget monuments, legacies, and making a name—serve the purpose of God in this generation. This is your time. This is where you belong. This is where your effort is needed.

After our passing, if it could be said that we served the purpose of God in this generation, then we have really done something.

Roger

Jump Start # 638

Acts 13:36 “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay.”

Our verse today is taken from a sermon from the apostle Paul while on his first missionary journey. In this section the resurrection of Jesus is being stressed. Numerous references to the resurrection is made. Paul then quotes David in reference prophecies that he made concerning the Lord. It is in this setting that we find our verse about David.

Our passage today is a great summation of life. If this could be said of each of us, then we have done well. It is a fitting epitaph of a faithful following of God and it calls each of us to the three principles it expresses.

(1) David served the purpose of God. David did that in many ways—the greatest being the leader and king of Israel. Long before that he was serving the purpose of God has he led sheep and had a heart that longed for God. He served the purpose of God when he refused to allow a giant to taunt the God of Israel. He courageously challenged and defeated Goliath. He served the purpose of God by refusing to kill Saul, even though Saul tried desperately to kill David. He made Jerusalem the capital and brought the ark of the covenant there. Jerusalem became the city of David, or more accurately, the city of God. He expanded and grew the kingdom. He wrote numerous Psalms. Late in life he desired to build a permanent building, the temple. When God wouldn’t allow that, he made preparations so Solomon could.

Sure the life of David had it’s bumps, mistakes and sins. There were times he took his eyes off of God and that got him in trouble. But as our verse shows us, he served the purpose of God. That’s what we ought to be doing. Making a life for ourselves without God isn’t the right course. Doing what is easy, fun or brings the greatest advantage to us isn’t the right thing either. God has a purpose and a will for all generations. He has a purpose for you. You are not a mistake, an accident but rather made by God on purpose for His purpose. God has plans for you. He has plans that include you. Through you, He works. This does not come without risks, responsibilities or choices. The selfish will never see this. Their life is all about them. They will often ask, “Why should I?” The answer of course is that “it’s not about you, but God.” Raising a godly family, being an active part of your congregation, sharing the gospel with others, having a heart of a servant and opening your eyes to see opportunity all around you are the keys to fulfilling the purpose of God. Are you about it?

(2) David served the purpose of God in his generation. That’s all we have to work with is our generation. What we do may not last much beyond our generation, but it is the purpose of God and what we need to be engaged in. It is easy as one gets older, to look back and think that the work that they did spiritually didn’t do a lot of good. We can feel that our labor was in vain. Not so. Whenever the word of God is placed within good and honest hearts, good things will happen. Consider for a moment the work of the apostles. Aside from the inspired messages left to us in the Bible and their examples recorded in the Bible, what from their labors remains? Take for instance all those churches that Paul started. Today, none of them exist. There may be a few disciples in those same cities but they cannot trace their church history directly to the churches Paul established. Those original churches and the work that was done is gone. What about the sermons we preach, the classes we teach, the articles in bulletins, the questions we answer, the gospel we teach—it helps this generation. A few may pass these lessons on to the next generation but that’s as far as it goes.

I thought a lot about this recently. I have been preaching now 32 years of my life. I have thousands of sermons, most sitting in file cabinets, most only preached one time. Hours went into those sermons. A lot of thinking, writing, research, digging and polishing to make them the best that I knew how. A Sunday came and I preached them. They were filed away and there they sit. What good did they do? For the moment, for the day, for the time, much like one rain shower, it helped the good and honest hearts that heard them. They did not answer every question, solve all problems or carry one through for the rest of their lives. Some brought people to Christ. Some comforted troubled hearts. Some strengthened hearts. Most were drops of rain for a day. They served the God’s purpose for the time. In some ways I could be discouraged about all of this. Most people do not remember those sermons. The reality is, I do not remember many of them. Why put all the time and all the work into something that will not be remembered even a few weeks later? Like a rain shower, it serves a purpose for the moment. Combined, all those rain showers helped things grow and we benefit from them. David served the purpose of God in his own generation.

(3) Finally, David died. The passage says that he “Fell asleep.” We live and we die. It comes to all of us. We try to make a difference to those around us. God realizes and recognizes what we do. Our time will end. God’s doesn’t. Someone else will then pick up the touch and not carry on our work, but rather continue on in God’s work.

It is at death that we look back and see what a person accomplished. The work was either in vain or to the purpose of God. The effort was either wasted or to the glory of God. What we did was serve self or serve God. David served the purpose of God. How about you?

This generation, this time, needs you to be busy serving the purpose of God. The call of death is soon upon us and what we do will end. Our Lord said the harvest is ready. He also said we must work while it is day, night is coming. We sing, “To the work, to the work.” Serving the purpose of God is the greatest work you can do.

Roger