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