How David Finished Strong

Below is an excerpt from the sermon...

Let’s open our Bibles for a moment to the book of Acts. The Book of Acts chapter number 13 tonight. And it may sound unusual. We have mentioned this morning that we would talk about the man who finished strong (This will be our last message, I believe on this subject), and it’s David. But we’re looking at the book of Acts of all things. Acts 13, and a key character trait of his is mentioned in this passage here. Acts chapter 13, and we’ll be looking at the message tonight. Sometimes a message, most messages ought to have 3 to 5 points. And that’s what we always tell the preachers when they’re preparing sermons—three to 5=five points. Don’t be like that guy crawling under a barbed wire fence: “Just a few more points and I’ll be through.” You know, it’s not like a porcupine sermon, lots of points. Most ought to have a few. Tonight, there’ll be a lot, but they’re brief because we’re not going to spend a whole month on the life of David. So, if you feel like, boy, Pastor’s got a lot of points and they’re not related, there’ll be something that will be pointed towards you in your life. And so, what a wonderful life.

Look at this in Acts 13. And let’s look down please in Acts 13:22. And it says, “And when he had removed him…” He’s talking about King Saul. “…he raised up unto them David…” Notice that phrase “he raised him up.” And that’s what leadership is. Anytime God sees someone with a heart that’s right, He reaches down to where we are and raises us up so others look to us for leadership. “He raised him up.” And that phrase is used a lot in the bible. “He raised him up.” And some of you, even at work, you’ve got unsaved people that come to you and ask your advice. You say, “Well why are you asking my advice?” Because God has raised you up. Sometimes you go through a trial and people know about it. So, God has raised you up, and now people are looking to you to see what kind of God you serve. And here’s what the Lord did for David, and it says he raised him up. Obviously, he was a shepherd. He becomes the king thirteen years later. You know, those are not the proper steps. Right now, almost every president except one, they’ve been in politics their whole life. And then it was just kind of the next step to be the president. But can you imagine someone holding a homeless sign on the street corner, and then thirteen years later, there’s the president. It just doesn’t usually work that way. David the shepherd, but now he’s the king.

So, it says, “…he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David…” So, I guess God was looking for him, huh? If God found him, He had to be looking for him. And God is still looking for people today. He’s looking for people to use. He’s looking for people to bless. He’s looking for people to lead. He’s looking for people that He can use as an instrument. “…I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.” That phrase is mentioned about one person in the whole Bible. It’s David, a man after My own heart. We would put it this way: you feel about things the same way I do. I found someone that finally feels how I do about this. And that’s what David was, the man after God’s own heart.

He’s a man that finished strong. David had his ups and downs. I wish he didn’t have any negatives in his life, but if you were to color David’s life would be like a checkerboard. If you’ve ever played Checkers or Chess, there’s light spaces and dark spaces. When David was good, he was real good. When David was bad, he was real bad. And there was no in-between. But somehow God blended it together. Isn’t it something how God averages grades. Ever noticed? I remember I had a professor when I was backsliding in my heart attending LSU. Never should have gone there, Lucifer State University. I went there one semester because I had a scholarship. Long story. And I had a scholarship to LSU, and it was academic. But when I was there, the professor said, “We’ll have five major tests in this class.” Each test was three hours long. I mean it was quite—I mean we finished the textbook. He said, “I’ll throw out the worst test. “He said, “We’ll average it all together.” That’s how God does. You know, you have ten great years of service and you have one summer when you don’t do much. God doesn’t throw it all down the drain. God says I have seen all your service, we’re going to average this thing together. And God is so merciful. There’s so much material on the life of David in Scripture. There’s 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, the book of Psalms, and some places in Acts where he’s quoted.

And get this about David: When Jesus was on Earth, they called Him the son of David. “Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.” When they referred to Jesus ofttimes, they referred way back to His lineage to David. What a blessing. They were both born in the same city, Bethlehem. They grew up in the same town. What a guy. The only one called the man after God’s own heart. Why so much material about him? Maybe God wanted us to examine what a heart for God looks like because he wants more than one person to have that heart.

David went through many tragedies. He had a child that died under age two. It was a boy. We don’t even know his name. He had a son that rebelled against him. In fact, he wanted to kill his own father. David had a son that was killed in battle. David had a son that was a murderer. David had a daughter who was abused. David had a wife… we would describe her as cantankerous. And that’s a Hebrew word. I think it means cantankerous. He was persecuted by his siblings. He had his brothers who did not believe in him. So much of David’s life looks a lot like Jesus’ life. He fled the palace. They wanted to kill him. He was publicly cursed in front of a large crowd. His best friend was killed in the military. The king he served was killed. His preacher, Samuel, was killed. David had a tough time, a lot of loss. Yet at the end of his life in 2 Samuel 23, here’s how God described him, “the sweet psalmist of Israel.” He went through all the negatives and ended up sweet. He had all the bitter events, but when he finished, God said he was the sweet. Still had a song in his heart. Was a sweet man.

Below is an excerpt from the sermon...

Let’s open our Bibles for a moment to the book of Acts. The Book of Acts chapter number 13 tonight. And it may sound unusual. We have mentioned this morning that we would talk about the man who finished strong (This will be our last message, I believe on this subject), and it’s David. But we’re looking at the book of Acts of all things. Acts 13, and a key character trait of his is mentioned in this passage here. Acts chapter 13, and we’ll be looking at the message tonight. Sometimes a message, most messages ought to have 3 to 5 points. And that’s what we always tell the preachers when they’re preparing sermons—three to 5=five points. Don’t be like that guy crawling under a barbed wire fence: “Just a few more points and I’ll be through.” You know, it’s not like a porcupine sermon, lots of points. Most ought to have a few. Tonight, there’ll be a lot, but they’re brief because we’re not going to spend a whole month on the life of David. So, if you feel like, boy, Pastor’s got a lot of points and they’re not related, there’ll be something that will be pointed towards you in your life. And so, what a wonderful life.

Look at this in Acts 13. And let’s look down please in Acts 13:22. And it says, “And when he had removed him…” He’s talking about King Saul. “…he raised up unto them David…” Notice that phrase “he raised him up.” And that’s what leadership is. Anytime God sees someone with a heart that’s right, He reaches down to where we are and raises us up so others look to us for leadership. “He raised him up.” And that phrase is used a lot in the bible. “He raised him up.” And some of you, even at work, you’ve got unsaved people that come to you and ask your advice. You say, “Well why are you asking my advice?” Because God has raised you up. Sometimes you go through a trial and people know about it. So, God has raised you up, and now people are looking to you to see what kind of God you serve. And here’s what the Lord did for David, and it says he raised him up. Obviously, he was a shepherd. He becomes the king thirteen years later. You know, those are not the proper steps. Right now, almost every president except one, they’ve been in politics their whole life. And then it was just kind of the next step to be the president. But can you imagine someone holding a homeless sign on the street corner, and then thirteen years later, there’s the president. It just doesn’t usually work that way. David the shepherd, but now he’s the king.

So, it says, “…he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David…” So, I guess God was looking for him, huh? If God found him, He had to be looking for him. And God is still looking for people today. He’s looking for people to use. He’s looking for people to bless. He’s looking for people to lead. He’s looking for people that He can use as an instrument. “…I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.” That phrase is mentioned about one person in the whole Bible. It’s David, a man after My own heart. We would put it this way: you feel about things the same way I do. I found someone that finally feels how I do about this. And that’s what David was, the man after God’s own heart.

He’s a man that finished strong. David had his ups and downs. I wish he didn’t have any negatives in his life, but if you were to color David’s life would be like a checkerboard. If you’ve ever played Checkers or Chess, there’s light spaces and dark spaces. When David was good, he was real good. When David was bad, he was real bad. And there was no in-between. But somehow God blended it together. Isn’t it something how God averages grades. Ever noticed? I remember I had a professor when I was backsliding in my heart attending LSU. Never should have gone there, Lucifer State University. I went there one semester because I had a scholarship. Long story. And I had a scholarship to LSU, and it was academic. But when I was there, the professor said, “We’ll have five major tests in this class.” Each test was three hours long. I mean it was quite—I mean we finished the textbook. He said, “I’ll throw out the worst test. “He said, “We’ll average it all together.” That’s how God does. You know, you have ten great years of service and you have one summer when you don’t do much. God doesn’t throw it all down the drain. God says I have seen all your service, we’re going to average this thing together. And God is so merciful. There’s so much material on the life of David in Scripture. There’s 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, the book of Psalms, and some places in Acts where he’s quoted.

And get this about David: When Jesus was on Earth, they called Him the son of David. “Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.” When they referred to Jesus ofttimes, they referred way back to His lineage to David. What a blessing. They were both born in the same city, Bethlehem. They grew up in the same town. What a guy. The only one called the man after God’s own heart. Why so much material about him? Maybe God wanted us to examine what a heart for God looks like because he wants more than one person to have that heart.

David went through many tragedies. He had a child that died under age two. It was a boy. We don’t even know his name. He had a son that rebelled against him. In fact, he wanted to kill his own father. David had a son that was killed in battle. David had a son that was a murderer. David had a daughter who was abused. David had a wife… we would describe her as cantankerous. And that’s a Hebrew word. I think it means cantankerous. He was persecuted by his siblings. He had his brothers who did not believe in him. So much of David’s life looks a lot like Jesus’ life. He fled the palace. They wanted to kill him. He was publicly cursed in front of a large crowd. His best friend was killed in the military. The king he served was killed. His preacher, Samuel, was killed. David had a tough time, a lot of loss. Yet at the end of his life in 2 Samuel 23, here’s how God described him, “the sweet psalmist of Israel.” He went through all the negatives and ended up sweet. He had all the bitter events, but when he finished, God said he was the sweet. Still had a song in his heart. Was a sweet man.