David: A Man Who Finished!

 Temple Baptist Church - 12-5-2021

2 Samuel 23:1-7

Introduction:   

 

A.  "Now these be the last words of David."  The last words of a man after God's own heart!

 

1.  In order to finish right, one must start right, with the Lord in Salvation.  What we do from salvation to homegoing is important to God, the brotherhood, and the world. 

 

2.  In the life of David, a man after God's own heart, we find the importance of finishing right.  Despite faults and failures, victories and defeats, ups and downs, the last words of David show us that he finished right. 

 

B.  How you begin is important and how you run is important, but how you finish is the most important thing. 

 

1.  I have had some good friends that started well but ended up with their lives, and ministries in a mess.

 

2.  David certainly started well and then made a mess of the middle, but ended well.  Nehemiah ended with his plea to the Lord:  “Remember me, O my God, for good!”  (Nehemiah 13:31)

 

C.  We have studied the Life of David with all of it’s ups and downs, but the final commentary on David’s life was written in Israel’s history books.

 

1.  Acts 13:22 says, “And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.” 

 

2.  God never mentioned the failure in the New Testament though He was not pleased with the sin.  God’s grace and compassion goes far beyond our failures.

 

D.  In the midst of many failures (Bathsheba, numbering the people, and bringing home the Ark of the Covenant in a wrong manner), David was a man whose heart panted after his God.  In 2 Samuel 23:1-7, we find several aspects of David’s character that show why he finished well.  If a man ever had an earthly reason to quit, David did and, yet he continued to serve the Lord until his death.  Here are 7 reasons why:

 

1.  He continued to follow the God of his fathers – “God of Jacob”  - Verse 1  The character and integrity that David showed in his earlier years held him in good stead in his later years.  A wise man once said, “Bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people but neither one of them stay that way.”

 

2.  He continued to worship the God of his fathers – “sweet psalmist of Israel” Verse 1 David realized that it was his sin that caused the problems in his life and not either the Lord or someone else.  He never blamed God for the “sword” nor did he getter bitter in his heart.

 

3.  He loved the Word of God – “his word was in my tongue” - Verse 2   David found both hope and help in God’s Word.  It is in the bible that will find both comfort and help.  As the Word of God is magnified, the Son of God is glorified.

 

4.  He was a man who feared God – “ruling in the fear of God” - Verse 3  David ruled Israel in the fear of God and God delivered both him and his people.  He was the greatest King that Israel ever had.

 

5.  He led those under his authority in a right manner – “as the light” - Verse 4  He led Israel in the ways of the Lord all of the days of his life.  It is only in the “light” that we see light.

 

6.  He was committed to serve the Lord though his family brought reproach – “be not so” - Verse 5  The “sword” never left David’s house and a great price was paid in his family but he remained committed to his Lord.

 

7.  He placed the Lord above his own personal desires – “all my desire” - Verse 5  The bible says that God will give us the desires of our heart when we walk uprightly with Him.