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You would have been so proud of your staff. We got to train over a thousand pastors and
leaders. And it was great; I got to speak in the mornings. The staff led all sorts of
breakout sessions. Lori did one for senior pastors. Matt and Jeff, and Shelly and Tricia
did ones. Literally they were so excited about them, we couldn't pull them away because people
just wanted to know more. Todd who works back here and runs this whole building they loved
him cause he was trying to help them understand how to do all this stuff in the building.
On the weekend our staff taught in churches all around Nairobi and so that was great.
And next year we are gonna do another fearless, and do one in Shrilonka and the year after
that maybe one in china. So we are very excited about what God's doing through this movement
and building and equipping pastors and leaders around the world.
So if you would pull out your outlines. We are continuing on in our series titled The
Bible. The most amazing thing that the mini series taught us is people in your life, your
friends, your co-workers, neighbors all are interested in the bible. They all want to
know what it says, what its about, so we are doing the giant narrative of the bible. Want
to make sure that you have a chance to invite them to it. And so it's still the most read,
most purchased book of all time. And so what we are doing is we are looking at the book
of Kings. We've all seen the movie the lion king and you know Simba sings that great song
I Just Can't Wait to be King. And that kinda captures all of our hearts right? Cause we
all want to be kings. We want to rule be able to have authority, be able to exert our control
over other people; right? You know women aren't most of you married to somebody who thinks
they should be king, right? And that's a problem because there are struggles in homes about
how is in control. You know who's gonna be king. Who is gonna be in control. Struggle
in businesses and in communities. We struggle with this. And the bible tells us partly why.
We have a God given desire from the very beginning. We saw in Genesis the very first command that
God gives us is to fill the earth, which we have been faithful to carry out that command.
But then he said to rule to have dominion over creation. The bible tells us that all
of creation belongs to God. But he delegated his authority to us. But the problem was in
the garden we took that delegated authority and we sacrificed and gave it over to Satan
in the fall. And we looked at that. And the rest of the bible is a story of how God is
restoring his rule, is dominion, to the earth. Now we follow the story along. God delivers
the people of Israel out of slavery. They go to mount Synide. God gives to his people
there. The kingdom principles, He says this is how you are to live. He gives them the
tabernacle he says, "This is how you are to connect with me" because he says look at the
world. Because of sin there is injustice, corruption, and pain, and sexism, and racism,
and all sorts of evil in the world. And the only way that the world will be made right
in this lifetime is if you will live according to these kingdom principles. You will restore
my rule in the world. And the whole purpose of God choosing his people, he said, is you
follow my kingdom principles. You do as I say. You will live in peace, you'll live in
unity, I will provide for you, take care of you, and people will see this love and unique
community that's living under Gods world and they will know that I am the one true God.
And people will be drawn to me. That's the whole story in the Old Testament. But the
problem is we didn't want God to be our king.
So we come to the book of kings. There are 6 books in the bible that tell our story.
First and second Samuel, First and second Kings, first and Second chronicles. So we
know a lot about this time. And so we didn't want, the people of God did not want God as
their king. And so they said we want a king. Other nations have a king. They have armies
that we can see. We don't have an army t at we can see. You know you're a God who says
he protects us but we can't see you. Well they've got Kings we've got nations, well
we want a king. And so God says this is first Samuel 8:6-9 when they said give us a king
who leads us they have rejected me as their king. That's what God said. They rejected
me. As they had done from the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day. Forsaking
me and serving other Gods. Now listen to them. This is God speaking to Samuel. But warn them
solemnly, I just got off a plain from Kenya, Let them know what the King who will reign
over them has his rights. They can have a king but the problem is he says this king
is gonna act like a king. He's gonna demand certain things and it's gonna hurt them. So
they have their king. Do you know who the first king of Israel was? HaHa you a little
afraid of that? Saul. Alright Saul. And he was a very bad king. But here was their idea.
It's like a high school team that could never win a game. So they said let's go get la Bron
James and that's sorta what they did. They've got the biggest guy in the land. The most
handsome guy the bible tells us. He came form a wealthy family. And they go now that's our
king. He'll be great; we will be able to dominate everyone. The problem is Samuel I mean Saul
did not trust God. He didn't follow God. Saul was king for 40 years but after 25 years God
said I'm done with him, he doesn't do what I say. Every time he's confronted he minimizes
he rationalizes he says its not my fault it's the other peoples fault. And so he's done.
So God says to Samuel I want you to go to Bethlehem. Recognize that city? And he says
there there's a man named Jesse and he has 8 sons. And I want one of his sons to become
king. So Samuel goes to Bethlehem he goes to Jesse's house. Jesse has 7 sons they line
him up. And Samuel says sure it is one of them, they are big strong guys. But God says
this powerful line to Samuel. One of the most powerful lines in the bible. He says do not
Judge my outward appearance. That's what man does. Don't look at the outside, look at the
inside, God judges by the heart. So he looks at all the sons and he says do you have any
other sons. And they go yeah but he's the youngest he's not even the brightest guy.
And they said no I want him.
[00:06:44]
And so Samuel anoints David as the king over Israel. And so we are gonna look at David
this morning. And David is an amazing King, he's an artist. He's a poet. His position
he's a political leader, a military leader and incredible leader. But the most important
thing is the bible identifies him uniquely as the man after God's own heart. So we are
gonna look at his life. And I thought as we are gonna look at it as I was flying back
on a plane, kinda preparing this message. One of the things Oscar did. You met him pastor
Oscar from Kenya. Is he talked about the 4 phases of a leaders life. And I thought now
lets look at the four phases of David's life and then apply them to our lives. And so what
I'm gonna do is talk the story of David and break up into 4 season and then apply it to
your particular season.
So the first season you can see is form college age to 35. So how many of you are 35 or younger
raise your hand. So this is your season. And I'm gonna talk to you about what David and
his life can teach you in that season of life. So if you got your outline. And this is the
season I'm calling building the foundation. Now if you look at that season of your life
when you're young, you know in your twenties. What's one year to you. You can do anything.
If you're 70 years old 1 year is a big deal. But those of you that are young a year is
not such a big deal right. You have energy. You can miss a night of sleep you know and
just keep on going. I missed a night of sleep coming back form Kenya and I can't even see
straight. And then you have passion. I mean you have deep seeded passion. The world can
change. You look at the riots that are going on in Egypt, those people on the streets they
think they can change Egypt in the next week. But we know it's gonna take a generation or
two for Egypt to change but they're gonna change the world. And then risk. You're willing
to risk anything because you've got nothing to loose and you'll risk it all. And then
you've got freedom. Now the downside of this time in your life is you've got not experience.
You got out to get a job right out of college and what does want? 5 years of experience.
And you go I don't have 5 years of experience. And they go well I can't hire you. And you're
going how can I get 5 years of experience if you won't hire me. And then you have no
credibility. You know you haven't built a resume. You have no money, you have no networks.
Everybody that you know is your age and on the ground hustling on the streets. So what's
the thing that we can learn, you can learn form David in this season of your life? Here's
the most powerful thing. David in this season of his life builds the foundation of character
and a walk with God he builds values. He builds a powerful foundation for your life. And what
I would like to say to you those that are 35 and younger. This is the most important
thing you can do in this season of your life. If you don't build a powerful spiritual foundation
the rest of your life will erode. If you don't do this you're gonna have to build it later
in your life. And this is the time in your life when you can build character and values.
Deep into your life. And we can see in David's life this is what he did. After David was
anointed in his life as king. He didn't go out and try on royal robes. He didn't get
fitted for a crown. He didn't try to take the thrown. He actually just went back to
being a shepherd. You know he spent time with God; he spent time in God's word. He spent
time prayer and solitude. He developed this powerful character in his life. And we know
that he did it because he wrote one of the most defining poems in human history and all
of you know it. In this season of his life he wrote psalm 23. And I'm gonna read psalm
23 to you and as I read it to you think of it in this way. What kind of person writes
this kind of a psalm? What does he know about God and how did he know this about God because
he developed a powerful foundation. [00:10:36]
The Lord is my shepherd. It doesn't say the lord is the shepherd. He talks about a personal
shepherd that he knows. This personal intimate walk with God. And he says I lack nothing.
God is the one who provides for me. He gives me everything I need. He gives this powerful
word picture. And he says he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside
quite waters; he restores and refreshes my soul. Everything that he needs is pastures
water, and he goes that's what God does for me. He protects me, he provides for me. He
gives me everything that I need. And he restores my soul in a world where it seems like there's
a lot of things that damages a person heart. Everything that I need to be restored, the
place that I can go where God rebuilds and restores my heart. God does that and he says
he guides me a long the way and the paths, right paths along his namesake or the righteousness.
Paths of righteousness. So every time I come to a fork in the road and I have a decision
to make God is the one who gives me guidance. He shows me which way to go. And even though
I walk through the darkest valleys, valley of death, I will fear no evil for you are
with me. He knows that in the most challenging times of life that God was always with him.
He protects him. He says your rod and your staff they comfort me. You protect me. You
prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me; you put me in
a safe place, even in difficult times. You anoint my head with oil. Your cup over flows.
You're generous. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. And
I will dwell in the house of the lord. In this season of David's life he build a
powerful spiritual foundation, which carried him through his life. Secondly he accepted
God's call on his life. God's call in his life was to be king over Israel. What that
mean was David was called to restore God's rule over God's people. God he wanted David
to lead the people back to God, to honor God, to honor God in such a way that live in such
a way according to his principles. That they would take dominion over everything God had
given them. And that people would look at the people of God and say look at he peace,
look at the unity, look at the love in that community. Surely their God is the one true
God. And David did it in his lifetime. The third thing is that he took incredible risks.
You know the story of David and Goliath he stepped out with courageous faith, he stepped
out and did awesome things.
So if you are 35 years or younger I want you just to stand up. I want to bless you. So
35 or younger. Come on your young you got energy snap right up. Okay that's it. [Clapping]
ok slow down, we're excited for you. Ok. So here's what I would say to you. In this season
of your life. Learn from David and build a powerful spiritual foundation. Walk with God.
Spend time with him. Develop character and values. It will serve you well for the rest
of your life. And live with courageous faith embrace God's call on your life. Go ahead
sit down.
[00:13:52]
For those of you that are in the second season of your life. For those of you that are 35-50
raise your hand. You're way north of 50 give me, ill talk about your group later. Alright
so. The positives are if your 35-50 you have energy, your willing to take reasonable risks,
you have some things that you could loose. You have passion. You know things can change.
They aren't gonna change over night but you understand change. You've got experience.
You've got 10 or 15 years experience. You've got money. Either you've made more or you
control money in the business world. You've got opportunity; jobs are now coming your
way. And you've got great credibility. What are the negatives for you? 35-50. You have
children, you have a job, and you are always dead tired! Alright. You don't think you will
ever not be tired again. In fact the reason you came to church was just so you could get
an hour of sleep because you got no sleep. So you got no time. Secondly you got golden
handcuffs right? You got a car payment. You got a house payment. You are in financial
Jail right? One of the dangers is you have opportunity, distraction. You know you have,
lots of people make the mistake in this time of jumping from job to job and never really
getting traction. And the last thing is lots of people in this time of their life go through
a midlife crisis. You start to realize your not going to get everything in life so they
become desperate because they can't have it all. And sometimes they act out in that. So
what can we learn from David in this season of your life? This is the season of expansion.
And what is so powerful in this season of David's life, because he trusted God and he
obeyed God. It says in the bible. Everything David did, God made David victorious wherever
he went. It was a powerful year of expansion. But he trusted God and he obeyed God. In this
first part of this season in David's life, he wasn't quite king yet. Saul was still king
and Saul was insanely jealous of David. For the 15 years before Saul died and then David
became king. Saul chased him, Saul tried to kill him. Saul took from him a lot of things.
David lost all of his popularity. David lost his first wife to Saul. David lost his best
friend Jonathon. He lost his mentor. And one of the things that's fascinating about this
season of his life, because David's got this great call. And for some of us we have this
Call on your life, you have a sense of God wants you to do great things. And you think
that means your life is gonna be comfortable, easy, and that God's gonna answer every prayer.
Your gonna sit at little league games going my son needs a hit, be sure they get a hit,
because they won't have a good identity, and after all I showed up at church. And then
he strikes out and your going where are you God? And the problem is that, you know David
went through a lot of pain and sadness but he continued to trust God. Saul wanted to
kill him. Literally one time David was hiding in a cave and Saul came into that gave and
was gonna go to the bathroom. And David could have killed, but David didn't because he knew
it was wrong. He trusts God and he obeyed God in this season of his life. Look at what
he wrote in psalm 34. This is latterly from a cave in the desert.
Glorify the lord with me. Let us exalt his name together. This isn't like Orange County
where life is easy; this is when he was running for his life in the desert. Glorify the Lord
with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord and he answered me. He delivered
me from all my fears. This poor man called, and he delivered him. He saved him form all
of his troubles. The angel of the lord and he camps around those who fear him. Taste
and see that the lord is good. Blessed is the one who takes his refuge in him. Lions
may grow week and hungry. But those who seek the lord will lack no good thing. Now listen
to this David after he's lost all those things, this is what he discovered about God. The
Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous
person may have many troubles but the Lord delivers them from. Ok you can read the rest.
So David becomes King. Its says that God made him victorious in everything that he did.
He unites Israel in one nation. He makes Jerusalem as their capital. He expands their kingdom;
he takes dominion over everything that God had promised the people of God to have. The
kingdom of Israel goes to as far as it will ever go. It reaches its zeanus under David.
And then late in his forties David goes through this midlife crisis and the bible gives us
an autopsy of David's big mistake in his life. He has an affair with Beersheba. And it highlights
this. Even though David was a man after God's own heart. He's clearly flawed. But you can
see what he got wiped out in this season of his life. In his late forties David had a
great wife. The bible has about 3 chapters on a woman named Abigail who is David's wife.
And she is awesome. She's beautiful but David did not invest in his marriage. And as a result
of that this thing plays out. So David's got a great wife but he doesn't invest in his
marriage. Secondly David developed a lustful lifestyle. He just did what was wrong. The
bible in Deuteronomy says 3 things the king should not do and one thing he should. It
says the king should not trust in the size of his army, secondly it says that a king
should not take multiple wives like the other nations did. The bible affirms that. And so
David started to collect wives and developed a lustful lifestyle. The third thing the bible
said is a king should not become wealthy on this backs of his people. And then the fourth
thing is the King was suppose to read God's word through every year.
But David starts to develop a lifestyle and starts to just collect wives because that's
what other kings did. The third thing is that David was not where you're suppose to be.
And if you're not where you are suppose to be then you're? Yeah then you're where you're
not suppose to be alright. If you're not where you're suppose to be then you are in the wrong
place. And so David in a time when Kings were suppose to go to Battle David didn't. So he
wasn't out fighting the battle with his army. So he wasn't where he was suppose to be. So
he was in the wrong place. So if you aren't where you're suppose to be, then you're in
wrong place. Ok so see how profound God's word is. So then one night he's walking around
onto the roof of his palace. And he looks out and this woman Beersheba is taking a bath
on her roof, NAKED. Which just leads to the question, why? Why is she out there? So why
do you think Beersheba was out there? Exactly that's exactly why she was out there. She
knew what she was doing. So David doesn't look away. David starts making movies in his
mind where he's playing a staring role. He finds out who this woman is. Now here's what's
critical. David finds out that she is married to Aria who is one of David's officers. Who
stood with him for years? This guy's an awesome guy. But David doesn't stop and so he finds
out who she is and he sends for her. This is kinda get in the white spaces but she comes
into the palace. There's music paying, there's candlelight, there's dinner, they talk. Oh
we are soul mates. She reaches over and touches David's arm. And says, "You are so cleaver,
you are so bright. People don't appreciate how smart you are." He's going, "Yeah". The
music plays to a crescendo. They have sex and they live happily ever after. That's right
cause that's the way it goes in Hollywood but not in real life.
So Beersheba gets pregnant. David tries to cover it up. He calls Aria back from the front
lines. Aria is such a stand up guy he won't even go to his wife. He says my friends are
fighting in the battle he sleeps at David's door. David finally gets so frustrated he
ends up killing Aria. And the pain that sweeps through David's life. David knows the results
of this affair with Beersheba. You read the next through chapters of his life. They are
the most painful chapters in all of the bible. Their child dies. There is rebellion in David's
family. There's ***, there's ***, I mean you can't believe the pain the destruction
that this sin causes in David's life. It's painful to read. Did I mention how painful
it was? This is painful. Sin is painful. This is really pain. You don't want to mess with
sin. It's painful!
But the other thing we realize is David is confronted by Nathan the profit. He comes
to his sense. But God is always gracious. He never removes the consequences of sin.
Did I mention how painful these are? But he's always gracious, he's always loving, he's
forgiving. David turns form his sin. He repents of it. And David, God forgives him. And he
writes this incredible Psalm. Psalm 51. Have mercy on me God according to your unfailing
love. According to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions and my sin is always before
me. Against you and you only have I sinned. And done what is evil in your sight. So you
are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. But cleanse me with hyssop and
I will be clean. Wash me and I will be whiter then snow. And so David learns this powerful
lesson that God is forgiving, he always is loving, He extends his grace. But he never
removes the consequences. And did I mention how terrible the consequences of sin are?
He never removes them. They are terrible but God is always forgiving.
And so for those of you that are in this second phase. This season of expansion. If you are
50 or younger stand up alright. Come on stand up you're not that old yet you can do this.
Alright, 35-50 so what would we say to you during this time in your life. Our prayer,
our blessing to you is that this would be a season of expansion for you. That your hearts
would be that you would say I'm gonna serve God alone. You would live lives of purity
and honesty and that God would make you victorious in everything that you do. Go ahead and sit
down.
[00:24:59]
Alright for the next season. For those of you that are 50-65, who's that? That's my
group! Alright don't stand up. You'll get a chance, sit down. This is the best season
of life. Look at the positives alright. You couldn't be more excited about this season.
You have huge credibility. You've spent 30 or more years doing what you're doing. You
have power. I mean you can get done whatever it is you want to get done. You've got money
or are in control over money. You've got senior leadership. You've got budgets you can get
things done. You've got people you can order around. You've got networks. Alright I sat
down and started to think about my networks. I know people, I know leaders in Washington,
I know the local political leaders, I know the business leaders in our community. I know
pastors, significant pastors around the nation. I know people. I can connect you with the
proper price. [Laughter] I know people. So you have networks and you have experience.
You have learned some really valuable lessons. The weakness are, you have no time you are
totally committed. Then you have diminishing energy. I know let's face it. You've got crinkles,
you just sit there, you can't do what you use to do. You know I flew home from Kenya
it just wiped me out. I can't do anything and then you have no freedom. You have no
freedom anymore. You got all sorts of commitments that you've picked up along the way.
This is the season of impact. And it's the season of greatest impact in your life. And
what makes me most sad is that many of you have bought the worlds lie and you have stepped
out of the game and you have stopped being a part of what God is doing in the world.
In this season of your life you can really pray the prayer, God I want to see your kingdom
come. And I want your will to be done. And you can do some huge kingdom things. But some
of you are out just playing golf cause you bought the lie. And lets talk honestly here
you've bought the lie that life is for the young. And yeah you know what they got the
goggle machine and the Internet. But you know they don't know spit cause they haven't lived
all the things that you have lived. And you don't want to waste all that God has given
you. Listen to what the bible says. Wisdom is for the aged and understanding for the
old. Come on all you old people agree with this. Wisdom belongs to the aged and understanding
to the old. And all God's people said. Yeah that's true! So here is what we learned for
all of those of you that are in this season where your life is gonna have the greatest
impact. Your life doesn't have any impact until you live beyond 50.
Here's what it is. David put God first. David leveraged all of his credibility. All of his
leadership, all of his power. He had taken his kingdom to this. I mean they had dominion
over all the land that God had given them. But the one thing that wasn't happening is
the people were not turning back to God. God had given them the tabernacle, which was the
center place of worship. Where they connect with God. They would understand there was
forgiveness. There sins could be atoned for. It was a place where there was all these festivals
for thanksgiving, for first fruits, for Pentecost, the Passover. And it had not been used for
70 years. So David used all of his leverage, his strength, and he brought back the tabernacle
and the people turned back to God. And there was this huge revival. The second thing that
David did is he looked at the tabernacle, and he was living in a palace that he built
and he said God it's not right that you live in a tent and I live in a house. I want to
build you a temple. And God said no David I don't want you to build me a house. But
because you wanted to build me a house I will build for you a house. A royal line that will
last forever. And I will make your name great. And so God did bless David and he made him
a royal heritage. And ultimately through the line of David, where Jesus is born in Bethlehem
where David was born. And literally Jesus comes through the line of David. And he fulfills
that promise where he says you are gonna have a kingdom that will never end. And so Jesus
comes and destroys the power of sin and death. Ultimately establishes his kingdom that will
rule forever. So God fulfills that promise.
But the thing that's amazing is that David in his lifetime established God's rule in
Israel. He restored the people to God's principles that were given way back in Moses. It was
the high point of the Old Testament. Literally the kingdom of Israel never got any larger;
this was the high point of it. They were unified and God's rule was among the people. They
in every area of life, in homes, in families, and in the business place, in the market place.
People followed what God said. And there was unity and there was peace. And people from
all over the world would like at Israel and say, "The god of Israel must be the one true
god." He established God's rule in among God's people. It was awesome what he did. And so
the one thing that group.
So if you are 50-65 stand up. You're still young enough; I know it causes a little bit
of pain. But get up. So here is my blessing for you. You are in the years of greatest
impact. And you are, my prayer for you in this season is that you will pray. God I want
your kingdom to come, and I want your will to be done. And I'm gonna leverage all of
the experiences and credibility so that your kingdom comes in this world in my lifetime.
Ok go ahead and sit down.
[00:31:14]
Now for the last group, for those of you that are 65 and older. Wahoo am I excited for you,
cause you are living in the most valuable season of your life. Which is the sage or
mentor season. You have incredible experience you have monster credibility. You have wisdom.
Remember wisdom belongs to the? And understanding to the? Old. And you are seriously old if
you are older then 65. You have influence. And I want you to appreciate that. Because
for those of you that are over 65 you have the greatest influence. The people who have
marked my life the greatest are people who have been 65 or older. Because they know stuff.
And you have time. The weaknesses of this is you don't have strength anymore. I know
its true. You don't have networks anymore. You know everyone's kinda retired with you,
you can't call. And then you have money; some of you have money some of you don't.
But for those of you that are 65 years and older you are in my opinion in the most valuable
season of life. Because God has invested this incredible treasure into your life. He has
a lifetime of wisdom and relationship and you know stuff that you can't know unless
you've had a lifetime to learn it. Here's what you must remember a life is always measured
by what is given away. A life is always measured by what is given away. And for those of you
that are 65 and older you have the most to give away. Lessons and insight. And it is
incredible you think about your life, David had a wonderful. You are the mentors and the
sage. You are the people who come along and you can mentor the next generation. David
had a great mentor in Samuel. And look at what he taught him. You know don't look at
the outward. God judges at the heart. That's a mentor's lesson. And you know what David
did? He invested in the next generation. David wasn't allowed to build the temple. But you
know what he did. He realized he wasn't allowed to build the temple but that meant Solomon
could build the temple. His son. And so he took all of his money and he collected all
of the materials that would be necessary. He gave a fortune. And in fact he is the most
generous man in the whole bible. Who's the most generous person in the bible? No. The
woman the widow who gave everything that she had. I trapped you. She was the most generous
person but who is the most generous man? David was the most generous man. What he gave was
so startling. Think of this David gave so much that it caused the hearts of the people
to swell. And they became generous just by watching a generous person. Literally they
had to say to the people, "don't give anymore to the building of the temple. We've got everything
that we need." Only time in history that's ever happened. And so David believed and trusted
in the next generation. So that they could do something he couldn't do. So now here's
my question I want to ask you. Do you want to be, those of you that are 65 and older,
do you want to be known as the greatest generation or do you want the generation behind you to
be known as the greatest generation? Because David, his generation wasn't the greatest
generation. But Solomon's was the greatest generation in Israel's history. And the reason
is because he stood on David's shoulders. He invested so powerfully into the next generation.
That the generation that followed him, it was the zeanus of Israel's history. In the
bible, this is the high point of the Old Testament. Then it is all down hill. They stood on David's
shoulders and my questions to you that are 65 and older, what do you want to give to
the next generation? Because if your willing to say I want the next generation I want them
to be know as the greats. I am gonna take everything that God has given to me. And I'm
going to leverage that, and I'm going to pass it along so that people learn the lessons
that I've learned.
David wrote Psalm 62 in this season of his life. Psalm 62 is one of my favorite Psalms.
This is how it goes. He says as I look back on my life, there are 2 ways that I live my
life. As a god alone man & as a god and man. There was a season in my life that God alone
was my rock. That God aloe was my shepherd. Seasons that I trusted in God alone and that
season that I trusted in God alone I lived a great life. & God was faithful & good & things.
But there was a season in my life when I rose to power where I lived as a God and man. I
thought that God would provide for me and my army would. I thought that God would protect
me and the things that I owned. I thought that that God would be good to be but also
I trusted in the stuff and possessions of life. I thought that Gods name had to be great
and mine and this is what I learned. When I was the God and person my life unraveled
and it was a waste. But when I was a God alone person that's what made my life really great
and valuable. So he says people trust in God alone. He closes that Psalm saying this, two
things I know three things I've learned. God alone is strong. God alone is loving and I
will trust in God alone.
See that's the way a mentor speaks. That's the way a person who's lived a long life speaks.
And for those of you in this season of your life, your life will be measured; life is
always measured by how much you give away. So in this season are you going to choose
to live as a person going? "This worlds going to hell. Everything is going bad. You'll never
make it." cause no body wants to listen to that person. Or you can be the person that
says I want your generation, not my generation, I want your generation to be known as the
greatest generation. And I'm going to leverage all my experience. I'm not gonna burry it
and I'm going to invest it in the next generation. Because for those of you that are 65 and older
you want to pass on a sense of optimism and excitement believing that the next generation
will be even better then yours. People will line up to be mentored by you, to listen to
you and your heart.
So if you are 65 and older, as hard as it is for you, try to make your way and stand
up. [Clapping] what I would say to you, as I would say to all of your that are 65 or
older. We are a church that is a partnership of generations and you have the opportunity
to invest into the next generation. You know the greatest lessons in life and you can teach
us those lessons if you will give to us all the treasure that God has given to you. Because
your life will be measured by how much of it you give away. Go ahead and sit down.
[00:39:00]
So for all of you that are in season 1 the most important thing you can do is build a
foundation. A spiritual foundation of character, walking with God. Those of you that are in
season 2 it is a time to trust in God alone. Your life is expanding but say I'm gonna trust
in God alone. For those of you that are in the third season of life, that is the season
of greatest impact. You people can say God your kingdom come, your will be done, and
I'm gonna move out and do all the things that I can to make sure that happens. And those
of you that are in the fourth season of life, you are the ones that can teach us what it
means to walk with God. Now look at what David said in the last part of his life. Now devote
your heart and soul to seeking your God. Then he says now serve him with a wholehearted
devotion and serve him with a willing mind. And if you seek him, he will be found you.
Look at what it says of David, Follow god with integrity and Godliness. And then Acts
13 tells us that David was a man after God's own heart.
[00:40:09]
Would you bow your heads and close your eyes just for a moment just answer this one question.
It is not an accident that you are here today. What was it that God wanted you to hear? What
did God want to say to you through David's life? [Long Pause]
[00:41:15 End Audio]