[0:00] All right, you got a Bible? One Bible. Let's get another one out here. Let's find 1 Chronicles 23.
[0:16] ! 1 Chronicles 23 is where you can get set up.! And we're going to just read a verse here and then kind of push through toward the end of this book.
[0:30] So get your place there. And we're going to be looking at David here tonight, King David. And if you're at the chapter here, 1 Chronicles 23 and verse number 1, just notice what the very first verse says here.
[0:45] So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel. So David is at the end of his reign, the end of his life. There's not much left for David.
[0:58] We know a lot about David. We know, if you're familiar, I mean, you don't even have to know the Bible. You know of David and Goliath. You've heard his name before. You've heard it. And the world still has a very heavy fixation with that analogy for any kind of event where it's something big and something small.
[1:15] It's a football game. It's David and Goliath. College, it's a David versus Goliath. It's always out there. So you've heard of David. And we're introduced to him in the Word of God as when he's a youth. He's cunning and he's courageous.
[1:27] And he comes to years and is employed by King Saul to fight the battles of the Lord.
[1:38] And he goes out and he behaves himself wisely. Even when the king put him in some very precarious situations, David in his development, you might say in his grooming from God to one day take over the kingdom, David is, he learns some lessons. He learns how to be dependent upon God.
[1:56] He learns how to exercise patience. While he is the successor, he's been anointed by Samuel the prophet to take over the throne. Yet this man Saul is still there and he had opportunities to take him out, but it wasn't of the Lord to do that, nor would he lift up his hand against the Lord's anointed.
[2:14] So he exercised great patience. While Saul's kingdom, the current monarchy, was just in disarray and confusion. But when the time came, David did sit upon the throne.
[2:27] And it took a little bit for the dust to settle and for things to kind of clear out. And then he expands his kingdom and his reign, really his empire across the region.
[2:40] He has subdued the enemies of the Lord and of Israel. And we know this man is a cunning, courageous, a valiant man, a wise man, a faithful man, a man after God's own heart.
[2:52] God chose him. God protected him. God promoted him. And God blessed him. And furthermore, the Messiah that would come to Israel was going to come from the seed of Abraham.
[3:03] It was promised to come through Isaac and through Jacob and through Judah. As the scepter will not depart from Judah, but from who? Who is going to come from Judah's line that's going to bring forth the Messiah?
[3:16] Well, there's no mention. We know of Boaz. We know of his son Obed. We know they're in the line, but no prophecy is given to them. No prophecy is even given to Jesse, his father. But when David comes along, God makes a covenant with that man, with that king.
[3:30] And through that covenant, God established the prophecy that the Messiah would come through Judah, through the line of David, Jesus Christ, commonly called the son of David.
[3:44] Now, beside all of this, the Bible records several blunders of the man. We know namely of Bathsheba, of his wandering eyes and of his adultery and consequent murder of her husband Uriah.
[3:59] We know of another great blunder that we looked at Sunday with the numbering of the people to David's own presumption that he could do that and get away with it. And they weren't the only sins of the man's life, and they weren't the only mistakes he made on the throne.
[4:13] But those are definitely some pretty grave ones, both that are mentioned in the Bible. And they're big enough that you could imagine that some other man would not have come back from that.
[4:24] Meaning, God's booted people off the throne for less, and in some cases, he's put up with a lot more. And who hath known the mind of the Lord, and will never understand why God does what he does with who he does.
[4:38] But in 1 Chronicles 23, Here now is this man, great man David, at the end of his reign. He's transferring the kingdom to his son.
[4:50] And from here to the end of the book is a record of the... Some of it's chronological stuff. Some of it's just a layout of who's who in the kingdom.
[5:02] And who was set up under David to minister in this capacity or in this capacity. He's turning it all over to Solomon. And even looking ahead into chapter 27, he mentions who's the treasurer over his kingdom.
[5:15] He mentions who would be in charge of the Department of Agriculture, as we would consider it today. David lays out... It's laid out in this book all that David's turning over to Solomon, his son.
[5:27] In chapter 28, he charges his son to take this throne and to follow the Lord. And to establish that if you do right, God will establish your kingdom forever.
[5:39] And so David's on his way out. In chapter 28, verse 10, some famous words. He says to Solomon, Take heed now, for the Lord hath chosen thee to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong and do it.
[5:53] And now we come to chapter 29. And this is where I want to land. And the last chapter of the book, the last chapter of, I don't know if you'd call it the biographical chapters of David's life.
[6:04] This is the end of it. Most of it's back in 2 Samuel. And here we find a good portion in 1 Chronicles. And here's the last one. And let's read together the first nine verses to remember where we're at in his life and in his kingdom and reign.
[6:19] He's done a lot. He's a great man. And here he is at the end of his reign. And verse 1 says, Furthermore, David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon, my son, who God alone hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great.
[6:35] For the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God. 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, glistening stones of diverse colors, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.
[7:00] Moreover, because I set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the house withal.
[7:21] The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who that is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?
[7:33] Then the chief of the fathers, and princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands, and of hundreds, with their rulers of the king's work, offered willingly, and gave for the service of the house of God, of gold five thousand talents, and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.
[7:55] And they with whom precious stones were found, gave them to the treasure of the house of the Lord, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart, they offered willingly to the Lord.
[8:10] And David the king also rejoiced with great joy. I think it's a beautiful thing. I mean it. I think it's just a phenomenal, a beautiful thing, to see this elderly man, at the end of his days, being able to rejoice with great joy.
[8:33] At that stage of his life, when you look over the history of the kings of Israel, it's not very many of them, that were able to rejoice with great joy, at the end of their reign.
[8:45] The king before him was Saul. That didn't end so well. He died in battle. His son died with him. David may have mourned and lamented him, but there really wasn't much too good to say, about the reign of Saul.
[9:01] He didn't die rejoicing with great joy. The son Solomon that reigned after him, started really great, but in the end, God was already working the angle. He had already anointed Jehu.
[9:12] He's already going to work something to split that kingdom. He didn't die rejoicing with great joy, and there's very few others that you could say that about. The apostle Paul said in Acts chapter 20, that he wanted to finish his course with joy.
[9:31] He wanted to finish his course with joy, and despite the blunders of David's past, David was able to go out with joy.
[9:42] He's able to spend the last years of his life doing something that mattered to him greatly, to prepare for the building of the house of God in Jerusalem.
[9:53] He called it a palace in verse number 1. He called it a holy house in verse number 3. Back in chapter 22 and verse 5, David said, The house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceeding magnifical of fame and of glory.
[10:12] He's old now. He's full of days. We read that. He can no longer defeat the giants of the Philistines. He can no longer lead Israel in and out of battles.
[10:24] He can no longer wield the sword. He couldn't even run if another insurrection came up upon him in the land. Those days for David are gone.
[10:36] He's an old man, but despite his age and despite his ability, there were some things that he could still do. Now I realize that I'm not trying to preach to a nursing home tonight or to people that have one foot in the grave.
[10:54] This message isn't aimed at old people. It could apply. But if your position is not in life that you're going to do grand things for God and be recognized by the world of somebody, if they didn't invite you to speak at the convention or at the funeral, if nobody knows your name and you don't see yourself as a great leader, you're just a normal individual, just a Christian living for God, nobody special, if that's who you are, you can still do things successfully in your Christian life, no matter who you are, no matter what stage of life you're in.
[11:32] And tonight in these next verses from verses 10 to 22, David's going to show us the way. In his old age, David's going to show us, you don't have to be mighty, you don't have to be strong, you don't have to have everybody looking, you can just do what you know to do is right.
[11:52] And I want to show you, David did that. He might be old, but there's four things that he did here that you and I can all do. And so let's take a look at these together. In verse number 10 through 13, notice this, that David, though he was old, he could still worship the Lord.
[12:08] In verse 10, wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation and said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
[12:22] Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty. For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine. Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.
[12:36] Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over all. And in thine hand is power and might, and in thine hand is to make great and to give strength unto all.
[12:47] Now therefore, our God, we thank thee and praise thy glorious name. Maybe you think that's nothing great. Maybe you think that's not a big deal.
[12:59] But I think, I can say with all certainty that to a holy God in heaven, that stuff never gets old. To hear somebody bless his name forever and ever, to hear a man in his old age publicly declare that God, you're the great God, you're the powerful God, you hold all things in your hands, nothing on earth happens if it's not done by you or you allow it, all that greatness is ascribed to God.
[13:28] Thou art exalted as head above all. I think that's some of that sweet incense that we looked at the other Sunday coming up before the throne of God.
[13:39] I don't get God's ear when you worship Him. God desires our worship. You don't have to be educated. You don't have to be popular.
[13:50] You don't have to have a resume. You don't have to have a royal degree. You can worship the Lord and you can give the praise that God deserves and you can ascribe greatness and glory to Him from your own heart.
[14:03] The God that saved your soul wants to hear your voice. He deserves your worship. And you don't need a microphone. And you don't need a podcast. You don't need an audience to worship the Lord.
[14:16] You just need the audience of one. And that'll do. If you're willing, just the audience of God Himself to just open your mouth and praise Him.
[14:28] So whether it comes from an old person in a nursing home or a rehab or a jail cell or the work truck or your shower or the side of your bed, God deserves to hear your voice.
[14:44] And He deserves to hear your worship. He desires it and He deserves it. In verse 14, David says, But who am I? Who am I?
[14:57] And what is my people? Do you ever talk like that? Does that attitude ever come out of you in prayer? I know a few weeks ago I mentioned that the Bible will teach you how to pray.
[15:10] If you'll spend your time in the Word of God, you'll learn to pray. And I wonder, has that phrase, if you're in your Bible, David says it more than once. Back in, I have it marked in 1716, he says it back there when he received a covenant of God, the quote unquote sure mercies of David.
[15:27] And he said, Who am I? And I wonder if that attitude has filtered its way into your prayer and into your worship. An attitude of complete humility and baseness and worthlessness.
[15:43] Just an acknowledgement that the only goodness and the only righteousness in you is coming from the Lord Jesus Christ. And without Him, who am I?
[15:55] What do I have to offer to a holy God? I'm an ungodly, carnal, proud, earthly, pleasure-seeking, pleasure-driven creature.
[16:16] Who am I? I'm a sinner that falls short. So very, very, very, very short. And yet, what I consider that the Lord Jesus Christ gave His blood for my sins.
[16:31] And when I think that as a young child I learned this truth and I called on His name for salvation and believed on Him alone to think that He saved a stupid little kid and that He gave him the Word of God and somewhere along the way, I don't know when and how, but He put a love inside of me for these holy words.
[16:53] I don't know who in the world and He said, who in the world am I? What in the world? David might be old, but he could still worship the Lord.
[17:05] He might not be what he was years ago, but he could still worship. He could still open his mouth and give praise and holy, just ascribe it all to God.
[17:17] All of it goes back to God. And you don't need intelligence and you don't need degrees. If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, you can worship Him and you can submit to Him and you can get yourself low and you can lift Him up high.
[17:32] And if you don't, it doesn't change anything with Him. He still has the majesty and He still has the power and the glory. If you don't give it to Him, He still has it.
[17:43] But if you do, it'll help you. You'll find there's something you can do to bring glory to God in this life.
[17:56] There's fulfillment in worshiping God. It's something you were created to do. And you'll find out the more you do it, the more it feels good. The more natural it feels to the new man to just brag on God, to tell others about Jesus Christ.
[18:13] It's natural and it's good. And so David might be old and you might be nobody, but you can still worship the Lord. Look also in chapter, the same chapter, the next few verses, in verses 14 through 17, David at the end of his reign, he might be old, but he can still give to the Lord.
[18:34] In verse 14, he said, But who am I and what is my people that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? For all things come of thee and of thine own have we given thee.
[18:45] For we are strangers before thee and sojourners as were our fathers. Our days on the earth are as a shadow. There's none abiding. O Lord, our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee in house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand and is all thine own.
[19:01] I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart, I have willingly offered all these things.
[19:13] And now I have seen here with joy thy people which are present here to offer willingly unto thee. As David's days come to a close and his physical limitations dictate more and more what his abilities, what his limitations are, any value that he can offer, whatever he could do in any earthly endeavor, David understood clearly, though I can't do the work, I sure can support the work.
[19:43] I can give what I possess to the work of God and so David gave. When he talks about in the beginning we read of all that was given, all of these things he prepared with all his might, then he says, you know what, but because I set my heart to this thing, I gave more, more of mine own I gave to this work of God.
[20:03] Something is in his heart. He gave abundantly to the work of the house of God. We read this twice here in verse 14 and in verse 16 where David said that what he possessed he received of the Lord, therefore in his mind it belonged to God.
[20:22] But that's not the attitude that of a selfish, of a carnal mind, of a greedy mind. That's a man that has an understanding that everything he has he owes to the Lord.
[20:37] And David, our example here, has the desire and the will to give and to support the work of God for the glory of God. The carnal mind views it differently.
[20:48] The carnal mind looks and says, I worked hard and I received wages. I had to pay taxes. I have to pay bills.
[20:59] And the little bit that's left, that's mine. I gotta get something out of this. This is mine. Me. I did that. But the spiritual mind says, oh God gave me that job.
[21:16] God gave me the strength. God gave me the mind. It's of the Lord's mercies. God gave me the health and the strength to do these things. He says, all things come of thee.
[21:29] The spiritual mind says, I can't take any of this with me. And the pleasures that I can draw from it are but for a moment. And they're past and they're gone.
[21:42] And instead says, I want to use it to glorify God. I think it'd be a good idea if we all viewed our finances through that lens. That we can't take it with us. And they certainly make themselves wings and therefore, whatever we give to God can lay up treasure in heaven.
[21:59] And so let's give to the work of the Lord. Take a look. Keep your place. Take a look at Luke chapter 12. At an example that the Lord Jesus Christ gave to the people about this selfish mindset of keeping and holding on and growing versus giving.
[22:22] In Luke chapter 12 and in verse 16 through 20, He spake a parable unto them saying, the ground of a certain rich man, notice this, he's a rich man, isn't he?
[22:38] He's rich. And his ground brought forth plentifully and he thought within himself saying, what shall I do? Because I have no room where to bestow my fruits.
[22:51] This he said. This will I do. I will pull down my barns and build greater. And there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
[23:01] And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease. Eat, drink, and be merry.
[23:14] But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?
[23:26] The man was rich. The man already had barns. And he realized that what I received of the Lord was so plentiful it could not only fill my barns but there's so much left over.
[23:43] And the man decided, I need to have it and keep it all for me. Thou fool. You're not only going to not enjoy what you think you're going to enjoy, you're going to die and pay with your life for your selfishness.
[24:02] You should have been content with a full barn and the riches that you already have as the text says and then use the surplus and the rest to glorify God.
[24:14] Like Paul says when giving special offerings, he says, as God hath prospered him, when it's there to give, give. God always blesses the giver but curses the one that will hold on.
[24:28] The Bible says there is that scattereth that gives and yet increaseth. And there is that withholdeth more than his meat yet attendeth to poverty. In this case, attendeth to death.
[24:40] David, he's old back here, he's at the end but he saw, you know what, I can still give. I can still give, I can't take it with me but I can give it to God while I have the chance.
[24:52] There's something else that you can do. Back here in 1 Chronicles 29 in verses 18 and 19, David might be old but he can still pray for the people of God.
[25:04] In verse 18, O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and of Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people and prepare their heart unto thee and give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies and thy statutes and to do all these things and to build the palace for the which I have made provision.
[25:31] Here David prays for the nation and he prays for their new leader, his son Solomon. David can no longer lead this nation, David can no longer train up his child but he can pray.
[25:45] He can carry their cause before the throne of God and he can ask him to work in their hearts. Did you notice that three different times in those two verses he deals with the heart, the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people and he says, prepare their heart unto thee and give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart.
[26:06] Three requests David makes to God, each one is for the heart, the heart of the people, the heart of their leader. He's not asking for their wealth, for their power, for their might.
[26:20] He's not asking for their safety or for their provision. He's just praying for God to work and move in their hearts and God will. He will. God could send them rain.
[26:33] God could send them prosperity. God could give them promotion. He could exalt them with great power. But if the hearts of Solomon and the people aren't right with God, to what avail is all the rain, all the prosperity?
[26:48] They would use it foolishly. What good is the physical blessings of God on any people if they don't know how to use it for God's glory? And so David's been around and David knew how to pray.
[27:02] God, you get their hearts. Get their hearts right. You might sit here tonight and say, well, I'm no preacher and I'm not wealthy and there's not much that I can do, but I don't think I've ever met a Christian that can't pray.
[27:16] If you're saved, you can pray. Your church needs your prayer. Your brothers and sisters around here need your prayer. Your pastor, I need your prayers. Your family, they need your prayers.
[27:29] David realized, I'm old, but I can still pray for the people of God. I can pray for God to do a work in their hearts. I can do that. I can't pick the sword up anymore, but I can still get on my knees.
[27:43] There's one more thing in verse 20. David might be old, he might be on his way out, but before he does, he can still influence others in all of these areas that we've talked about.
[27:56] In verse 20, David said to all the congregation, Now bless the Lord your God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers and bowed down their heads and worshipped the Lord and the King.
[28:11] And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the Lord and offered burnt offerings and on they go. David still has an influence. He's an old man, but he can still use his influence to direct the people to bless the Lord and to worship the Lord just like he was doing.
[28:33] He can still influence the people to give to the Lord just like he did and they did that back in verses 6 through 9. They offered willingly and it caused them to rejoice.
[28:45] And here in this verse 20, their heads are bowed down and the next they're sacrificing and they're offering to God. This is all because of David. It's all because of his heart.
[28:59] And it's all because his desire to stay active and to stay serving the Lord God. Others joined in. He influenced them. He led them in this. He didn't just pray for them.
[29:13] He taught them. He showed them the way. David influenced others. And this causes me to say to you once more, don't ever underestimate the power of a godly testimony of living for Jesus Christ one day after another in front of the world, in front of your family, in front of your brothers and sisters, just doing what's right and living for God.
[29:38] Don't underestimate the power of choosing to do what's right, of choosing to be faithful, of choosing to serve the Lord. You might say, well, nobody's really watching.
[29:50] I can promise you, the very people closest to you are watching. Your children or your spouse or your parent, whoever it is, they're watching. They see you every day.
[30:01] And they see if you pick up that Bible. They see if you go to prayer. They see if you attend church faithfully. They see if you attend church functions. Your family knows.
[30:13] They absolutely see. Don't underestimate the power your Christian testimony can have on the people closest to you. I can tell you some stories and there's a few flooding my mind of individuals that did not have a family behind them, but they went after what was right and in time, it wasn't directly in a month or week, one by one, the family started coming around and started, and by the end of it, they're all in church.
[30:43] They're filling a pew and they're rejoicing in the Lord. It took somebody to stay faithful and to stay right to influence the others. You can influence them to do right or just like they notice when you do what's right, they notice when you let it slide and they notice when you decide to do what's not right and you can influence them that way as well.
[31:13] One thing I've noticed in my own walk with the Lord and in Christian life and church, I've noticed that when parents take a step, allow a step away from what's right, like when they're 97% instead of 100, the kids are at 87 or 77.
[31:37] And when the kids grow up at 77 and I'm just throwing out numbers, their kids, 57. It's never the other way. It's never I'll just take a step away and my kids, it always affects them.
[31:49] It always affects them beyond. If you can take a step, then that's where their ceiling is. They'll take another step too. And by the generations that go on, this isn't like a truth across the board, but it's happened.
[32:03] They're nowhere to be found. And God has to do a strike up, a work in one of their hearts somewhere else. David might be old, he might be done, but he can still influence others and he's doing it.
[32:16] And one last thing here, look at verse 22, the last verse of this section. After all this sacrificing and worship, it says, they did eat and drink before the Lord on that day with great gladness.
[32:31] The people too experienced the same joy that David had back in verse 9 when he rejoiced with great joy. And his actions and his attitude were, it was all able to influence them.
[32:44] And the result of that is now they're rejoicing before God the way they ought to be. David is going out with great joy.
[32:56] He wasn't perfect. He messed up some things that could have knocked him out completely, but he repented and by the grace of God stuck with it. And at the end of his reign, at the close of his life, he's finishing his course with joy.
[33:15] I find it just a beautiful thing to consider at the end of his life, he has something that can consume him for the Lord. That he can give all of himself toward this house, toward setting it up, the stage getting all of the information to his son, doing everything, like it just consumed him.
[33:34] And what a beautiful thing, a great thing, that God allowed this, of this man at this age of his life, to have something to do. Instead of looking at what you can't do, instead of looking at what others are doing, or instead of desiring for something more and greater, how about there are some things that you and I can do.
[34:03] And David shows us the way here tonight. You can worship God. You don't need recognition for that. You can just worship God. Bring something to his throne today, something that will catch his ear.
[34:19] You can give to God. Willingly. Realizing that it's not going to go with you. And that he loves a cheerful giver. And he will satisfy the need you have in this life.
[34:34] If you give with a willing heart. You can pray. Pray that God prepares hearts. And pray that God works in lives. And while you do all of those, you can influence others for good.
[34:47] You can certainly influence those very close to you. And I think you can influence others in this church as a godly testimony. One that gives.
[34:58] One that prays. One that worships God. It's pretty simple stuff, isn't it? David's an old guy. Not much he can do, but those things he can do. And you don't have to be a king.
[35:09] And you don't have to be a professor. And you don't have to be a preacher. You don't have to be anybody that anybody ever recognizes to do those three things. And fourthly, to influence others along the way. And this is how, this is simple stuff.
[35:23] This is what the Christian life is built on. These little things that you all do. We all do them together for the glory of God. And God is pleased. The church is strengthened. You have some fruit.
[35:35] And you have some reward in the end. And it's simple. It's not complicated. Thank the Lord. All right. That's good enough for tonight. And that's a look at David.
[35:46] And I hope that it just helps you and strengthens you in some of these ways, some of these areas. And even convicts you if need be. But at any rate, in the end, let's give God the glory.
[35:56] And make sure that we're doing what we can. Father, please bless as we dismiss. Please use these thoughts and this example in David's life to minister this truth into ours. I pray that each soul here this evening would take it to heart their need to worship you individually, just for you, with nobody else to hear, just for you.
[36:18] Help them to work. Help us to do that, God, to take serious. And then, Lord, help us to give. Help us to pray. Help us to influence others in our lives to do things that are right.
[36:30] Lord, please protect us as we go. Please bring us back safely on Sunday. We pray your hand be upon our sister, Linda West, that you'll restore her to a sound mind and just strengthen her physical body.
[36:43] We pray that you'll give grace and mercy as well. We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen. Amen. You are dismissed.