You all are weak on that first one, I’ll tell you. Here we are again. Good morning, brothers and sisters, and thank you, thank you.
We are thankful for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Wow, what He has done for us—it takes a lifetime to fathom, and probably eternity to realize all that has been accomplished by our Lord Jesus on Calvary’s cross on our behalf. And we’re so grateful.
That’s why we gather this morning: to behold Him, behold His glory, and learn about the Lord and His ways. So, let’s begin with a word of prayer this morning.
Lord, I just come to You this morning. I ask for grace to be able to share the burden You put on my heart. I pray for the anointing.
Lord, we stand in the anointing this morning, both to speak and to hear the Word of God, that, Lord, Jesus’ words don’t just fall to the ground, but that they accomplish much fruit on Your behalf and for Your kingdom’s sake.
Lord, lay hold of all of us as we gather this morning and hear Your Word. We ask Your blessing upon our time, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
I’d like to begin by reading two Scriptures. The first one is Acts 13:36.
For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption.
For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep. I pray that could be said of all of us at the very end: that he served God’s purpose in his generation.
First Corinthians 9:16. Very simple Scripture. This is Paul:
For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel.
For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
In other words, if I do it willingly, I have a reward; but if I’m unwilling, it doesn’t matter. This responsibility has been committed to me. For necessity is laid upon me.
I wonder in our lives how many times we’ve come to a place in our life with the Lord where it becomes a necessity. It’s no longer optional for us, but it is a necessity.
We’ve been speaking on this matter of responsibility. Today, I’m going to be concentrating on the lives of David and Paul, but just to quickly summarize, we looked at the parable of the mina, the parable of the talents, and the faithful servant.
What we discovered in these is that the Lord is trying to share with His disciples, who were all concerned about who was going to be greatest in His kingdom and sit on His right hand and left hand, this matter of responsibility.
Basically, what He was saying was, “Look, I’m going away to receive the kingdom,” which He has done. “But I will come back, and I’m going to give you grace and talent—spiritual grace and talent.” Grace comes out of His life, and spiritual talent comes out of His life.
Every born-again Christian has grace and talents, and He expects us to do business with that. In other words, He expects us to grow. He expects us to increase not only in our personal life with the Lord, but in the life of His body, the church, to be a supply in the church.
Not only that, but, if you remember, He held them accountable. They had to tell the Lord, when He came back, exactly what they had done with the grace and talents given to them. The ones that had been faithful were rewarded.
It appears to be in the kingdom age. Some were awarded that they were going to rule over ten cities and so forth. In other words, they will serve responsibly in God’s government over the nations during the kingdom age. What a responsibility.
But for the ones that were unfaithful, they don’t enter the joy of the Lord. They don’t enter into this joy of special service during the kingdom age, but will come under further discipline in order that, when the final New Jerusalem is brought down from heaven, everyone is in it and everyone has been perfected. Hallelujah. The Lord is faithful, even when we’re not.
I also shared out of the life of Deborah. I think it’s very important, brothers and sisters. The Canaanites were on the move. They were coming in to wipe out Israel.
The men didn’t seem to be very responsible. The Lord could not find a man who would rise up, but He found Deborah, a woman, a sister in the Lord. This was not the Lord’s normal way, but He raised her up to be faithful.
She was called a mother in Israel. She had a heart for Israel and for the Lord. She had that mother heart. Now, that’s not just for sisters, brothers. We need that mother heart for the Lord Himself and for the assembly.
Then it says that she was a prophet. In other words, she knew the Lord. She had interactions with the Lord. She heard from the Lord, responded to the Lord, and had experience with the Lord. We’re all called to that, whether we have the gift of prophecy or not.
One of the main things I wanted to share was that she had such a heart. She was able to exhort and inspire the whole nation, particularly Barak, who was captain of the army and wasn’t very responsive or responsible. But praise the Lord, she was faithful, and praise the Lord, he rose up and fulfilled his responsibility. They were able to overthrow the army of the Canaanites.
I also shared something that I want just to say again: that was our experience in Richmond. There were six sisters, and they had seen something of what the Lord was after.
It wasn’t any brothers; it was sisters. But the Lord had something on His heart that He wanted to do in Richmond, and somehow or other, He put that burden on them through a conference they attended in 1967, where our brother K. Kong and Brother Sparks were speaking.
They spoke on the eternal purpose of God. They spoke on Christ, the fullness of God, and the church, the fullness of Christ. It absolutely changed their lives, and they had such a powerful burden that they committed themselves to prayer.
Brothers and sisters, they prayed for five years. Eventually, our brother K. Kong came to Richmond, encouraged these sisters in the Lord, and shared more of what was on God’s heart. They really took it up in prayer.
The assembly in Richmond was birthed out of the travailing prayer of these sisters. In 1972, a few of us young brothers came along, and we began to have our eyes opened as well. But our sisters, they were the leaders, no doubt about it. The Lord had raised them up, and I’m so grateful.
Our brother K. Kong also shared a word on the importance, in the testimony of the Lord, of this matter of divine order. Our sisters heard that very clearly, and so did us brothers. But we brothers were actually still reluctant at that point.
I think the sisters were reluctant as well, in a sense. It was difficult. They had carried this heavy burden for so long, and to begin to shift it to the shoulders of the brothers was not an easy thing for them.
But praise the Lord, they came to us after a second conference in Richmond, where Stephen shared on spiritual leadership. A number of us brothers were touched—Kenny and I particularly.
After that ministry, our heart was not, “Become a leader.” Our heart was just, “Hey, we need to take up responsibility. These sisters are carrying the whole load, and we need to be more responsible.” So we committed ourselves to meet together once a week to pray for the assembly.
After that happened, these precious sisters came to us and said, “Look, we want to see God’s order and the testimony of His divine order established in our midst. We’re going to take a step back, but we’re not stepping out of responsibility.”
“What we’re doing is, we’re going to pray for you brothers. We’re going to pray that the Lord meets you brothers and uses you brothers. We’re going to pray for the brothers. We’re going to pray that the Lord will raise up in Richmond a testimony to Himself.”
“We’re going to stand for what the Lord wants, and we’re going to stand for the Word of God that has been spoken in our midst, which some of us brothers have begun to speak.”
How grateful the whole assembly is, and should be, to these marvelous sisters who gave themselves to prayer and took up their responsibility the Lord had given them. We owe much to these dear sisters, and we’re thankful.
I’m thankful that that ministry still goes on in our midst every week as the sisters get together and pray. The Lord has been faithful all these years, and I’m thankful.
I also shared on Gideon. Just two simple thoughts on Gideon. The Midianites had come in and destroyed most of the crops, taken the cattle and sheep, and the people were hiding in caves at that point.
But when we open the book of Gideon, we find him out there. With the little bit of harvest that he was able to find, he was getting the grain from it on the threshing floor. At the risk of his own life, he was providing food for the family.
That is a great principle. We’re all called to provide food for the family, and we are the family. What is the food? It is Christ—your experience of Christ, what you’ve learned of the Lord Himself and of His nature.
We share that with one another, and that feeds the family. Like Gideon, we are all responsible for that.
Secondly, the marvelous thing about Gideon was that he was just a simple brother. His testimony says, when the Lord came to him and said, “I’m going to deliver Israel using you,” he said, “Wait a minute. I’m the least. My family is the least in the nation of Israel, and I’m the least of my family. What are You doing coming to me? I have no name. I have no prominence.”
The Lord said, “I’m going to do it. I’m going to raise you up.” Brothers and sisters, he was just a brother in the Lord. He didn’t seem to be anything unique or special. He wasn’t looking for position or authority to rule over others.
As a matter of fact, after Gideon’s battle with the Midianites, if you remember, there were three hundred of him and his troops against one hundred and twenty thousand Midianites. They won the battle. These three hundred men won the battle. Praise the Lord. It was the mighty hand of the Lord.
So great was the victory that the whole nation rose up, went to Gideon, and said, “Look, we want you to rule over us.” What was his response?
I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you.
What a great lesson. What a tremendous man of humility—not striving or looking for power, nor giving orders, but really becoming a servant of all.
Responsibility comes from the life of Christ. Our Lord was a very responsible Person. I haven’t got time to go through all that again this morning, but when you receive the life of the Lord Jesus, you have received that life which not only gives us grace and talent, but a life that is responsible.
The Lord is responsible. It is just the nature of His life. So spiritual responsibility is far different from responsibility in the world.
When the Lord lays responsibility on you, brothers, it is not just for your edification. When He gives you grace and talents, it is not just for you to hold on to. You are stewards of His grace and talents. You are not the owner.
It’s not your choice, not something that man has put on you or given to you. God lays upon you the responsibility of the grace, gifts, and talents that He gives to you. He lays it upon you.
It is spiritual responsibility, not like the world. It is not positional; it is spiritual. Our desire should be to function in the house of the Lord. That’s what our heart should be: to function in the house of the Lord.
I said it last week, and I think it’s worth saying again: when the Lord touched particularly Kenny’s and my heart on this matter of leadership, it was not in our heart at all to come and be leaders. It was in our heart just to take up responsibility.
I am so thankful that the sisters supported that. Our desire should be to function, not to gain position. The Lord Jesus said, “If you want to be the leader, you have to be servant of all.” It’s quite different from the world.
Today, unfortunately, Christianity has become mostly a human institution, run by the ways of the world. Now, what do I mean by that? I mean that in most places, responsibility is a matter of position.
You come into an assembly somewhere, and finally they say, “We’re going to give you the position of a deacon, or a helper, or a deaconess, or whatever.” Then you take up responsibility. You’re given a position, and then you become responsible. That’s just backwards from what the Lord does.
Spiritual responsibility means that you function, and then you begin to see what the Lord has called you to do. You become a servant of all, not lord over all.
But that mentality has come into the church. Some think that if they’re not given a position, they’re not responsible. Brothers and sisters, that’s what happened in the early church.
Remember the Lord in Revelation? He said, “I hate the works of the Nicolaitans.” What was that? It was a system of clergy and laity that had come in.
They had a special class called the clergy. They held a position. They were position-oriented. But the laity were just supposed to come, listen, and take orders. Brothers and sisters, that is not the church. That is not the way of the Lord.
When we take that kind of attitude, brothers and sisters, we get to the place where we’re just attending meetings, not being responsible, not really being a part, because we haven’t been given a position.
I remember one of the men where I worked for the housing authority. I was director of maintenance and modernization there and had about one hundred and fifty on staff. The number two guy under me wasn’t a Christian, but he believed in Christian values, if you know what I mean. He also believed that you ought to go to church and pray.
I remember he came to me one time and said, “Jerry, I started going to this little church near where I live, way out in Powhatan somewhere. I hadn’t been there a couple of weeks, and they already wanted me to take up some responsibility there.”
He said, “You know, I think I’m going to go to a larger place where I can just hide.”
Brothers and sisters, that’s what happens when we get position-oriented. It divides into clergy and laity—man’s ways.
Unfortunately, a lot of times the church gets a gifted brother in—actually, a gifted brother in the Lord—and says, “Well, if we want him to stay with us, we’re going to have to give him a position.” That’s just not the way the Lord works.
The Lord says, “Function.” Be reminded that in the body of Christ, the church is a living body with the Lord as its Head, and it is organic in nature.
It is not run by rules and regulations, but it is run by the Holy Spirit, the unction of the Holy Spirit, and the life of the Lord coming out in each brother and sister.
In other words, it comes from the Head. The direction and the place that we’re raised up to in the house of God comes from Him. We function. The idea is not to hold positions.
Now, I want to clarify a little bit. Y’all stay with me. I’m kind of rushing because I’ve got a lot, but it is true. In the Scriptures, it talks about pastors, teachers, shepherds, deacons, deaconesses, and leaders.
We think of these, even as we read the Scripture, a lot of times as positions—something that these brothers attain to. But if you read your Scriptures carefully, you’ll find out that it wasn’t by human appointment that they came into these places of spiritual responsibility. It came by the life of the Lord being manifested in them.
Brothers and sisters, we don’t really appoint people. We only affirm what we see the Lord doing in someone. If the Lord is raising someone up in responsibility, it is our place to affirm, but we really don’t appoint. Only the Holy Spirit does.
Can we turn to Acts 13? Acts 13:1-4.
Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
And as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
In Antioch, there were these teachers and prophets, and they were together praying. They were concerned. There had been persecution, and the Jewish saints had scattered all over the known world at that time. Churches were being raised up by the Lord, and they were concerned.
So much so that they got together and began to fast and pray: “Lord, how do we strengthen these ones? What do You want, Lord?”
It says very clearly that, as they ministered and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate unto Me Barnabas and Paul.” Who called Barnabas and Paul out?
Was it some other brothers who felt like they ought to get a committee together and vote on it? Not at all. It was the Holy Spirit.
They fasted and prayed, and the Holy Spirit shared this with them. They only carried out what the Holy Spirit had shown them. First of all, they recognized the calling upon these brothers. Then it says they laid hands on them.
Did they appoint them in the laying on of hands? Is that the appointment? A lot of people in the church today think that’s the way you are appointed: someone has to lay hands on you, and then you are appointed.
Brothers and sisters, they did not appoint them. It’s very clear:
Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia.
Brothers and sisters, they didn’t appoint them. They only affirmed what they saw the Holy Spirit was doing in the midst of these brothers and sisters.
I’m sure the assemblies began to notice who the Lord was raising up. Thank the Lord, in those very early days it was pure—much purer than today. It was not corrupted like it is today, and people weren’t grasping for positions, but just looking to serve the Lord.
It was the Holy Spirit who appointed them. Did the brothers send them out? In verse 3, it says that when they had fasted and prayed and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
Did man send them away? Did they send them out? No. Verse 4 makes it very clear: they were sent forth by the Holy Spirit. These other brothers only responded to what the Lord had shown them, and the whole assembly was good with it.
Praise the Lord. We need to be clear that it is not man’s ways that govern the house of God. It is the Head. He is the One who calls, raises up, appoints, and sends us to do our responsibilities.
They only acknowledged what the Holy Spirit showed them to do.
When we see Paul exhorting Titus—remember, in Titus 1:5, he exhorted Titus to go out and ordain elders in every city—Titus, be clear on this, was not the appointer.
One time I was asked by a brother, “Who laid hands on you and appointed you to be a leader?” That’s the way of the world. They said, “Was it an apostle that did it? If it wasn’t an apostle, it wasn’t official.”
You have to be clear in the Lord: the Appointer is the Holy Spirit. When Paul exhorted Titus to go back, all Titus was doing was confirming the ones who obviously had been raised up by the Lord.
He witnessed to that and acknowledged that among the brethren. Let me say it another way. When you sign a contract with somebody, you’re supposed to have a witness sign it.
That’s really what Titus was. He was just a witness to the transaction that had taken place between the Lord and those He was raising up. He was the official witness, so to speak.
Brothers and sisters, I share that from my heart because it’s important for every one of us—brother or sister—to realize that it is God who has called us. It is God who appoints us.
It is God, through the Holy Spirit, who raises us up to carry out our various responsibilities and ministries in the church. No matter how you may view it, whether you view it as a small thing or a big thing, in the Lord, it’s all a big thing. I’ll tell you that.
It’s just on my heart that we be very clear as we’re talking about taking up responsibility.
David. Before I talk about David, I’ve got to mention Samuel, the forerunner of David. Samuel is the one who anointed David.
Remember, Samuel called Jesse and said, “Jesse, I need you to bring your sons before me. I’m going to anoint one of them as king.” Jesse brought seven out, and the Lord said, “No, none of those.”
Actually, the one Samuel thought was the one, the Lord said, “No, you’re looking on the outward. I look on the heart.” Finally, they had to go get David, who was taking care of the sheep—being very responsible, by the way—and brought him in. He was the one the Lord anointed.
Samuel was the forerunner, but look at Samuel just real quickly. You remember the story. I haven’t got time to read it all, but Hannah, his mother, had prayed in travailing prayer to raise up a son.
Finally, she said, “Lord, if You’ll give me a son, I’ll give him back to You to serve You all the days of his life.” I pray that we all do that with our children.
At the age of four, she took him to the temple and released him into Eli’s care. It says he served in the temple, probably from around four or five years old, by opening the doors every morning.
In other words, he was a child, but he was learning responsibility. I say that because of the children in our midst. It’s okay for them to have responsibility, to learn to be responsible in the house of the Lord.
I’m always thankful, over the years—particularly now, as I’m in the group that has a lot of young children—that they come and set up chairs and put out the books. That’s marvelous.
Samuel opened those doors faithfully. That was not an easy responsibility, because the doors had to be open at sunrise. So he had to get up himself. I don’t know what kind of alarm clocks they had in those days, but he had to get up and open those doors right at sunrise. He did it faithfully.
You know what? It says he was still a child when the Lord spoke to him. Remember, the Lord spoke to him about Eli and what was going to happen. It says he was still a child. That means he was under thirteen. He was probably eleven or twelve years old.
The Lord spoke to him personally. Brothers and sisters, sometimes we think our children learn a lot about the Lord, but they can know the Lord. They can know the Lord at an early age and have the Lord speak to them in their hearts. We should encourage that in our young children.
Well, that brings us to David. David, David. Now, I guess I’m speaking to the little older ones.
David was the youngest of those eight sons, and they gave him the most menial task—the hardest task, probably—which was taking care of the sheep. He faithfully did it. It was his responsibility, and he took it up very seriously.
I’m sure there were many nights he probably just stayed in the field with the sheep. But let me tell you: while he was alone with the sheep, he learned the Lord. He communicated with the Lord. He saw the stars, the glory of God, and it affected his heart.
He developed a very close relationship with the Lord, even as a young teen. He was very responsible, and the Lord recognized that.
I remember that David’s father had left him out in the field when Samuel came to anoint the new king. He was left out in the field. His dad and his brothers probably didn’t think too much of him. He was just doing the thing they had asked him to do, certainly not one who should be considered to be a king.
But you know what I found in the Scriptures? I think it was his mother. Now, mothers, listen up. It says in Psalm 116:16:
O Lord, truly I am Thy servant;
I am Thy servant, the son of Thy handmaid;
Thou hast loosed my bonds.
Speaking to the Lord: “I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid,” or bondwoman. I think, from that one little Scripture, that was probably the one who encouraged David in the ways of the Lord and for that relationship with the Lord.
When he was out doing his regular duties, shepherding those sheep, he always had the Lord in mind. He always had the Lord in mind and had a close relationship with the Lord. He was quite a young man.
I’ll just give you the reference: 1 Samuel 17:34-35. You remember the story. A lion attacked the sheep, grabbed one of the sheep, and had it in his mouth.
David did not stand back. He did not run away. What did he do? He chased the lion down, brothers and sisters. He beat him until he dropped the sheep out of his mouth.
And I went after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
That’s a teenager. That’s not a big hulking man. It’s a teenager. Such a sense of responsibility. Those sheep were his, and he wasn’t going to let anyone take them out.
Brothers and sisters, in a sense, we all need that heart of David, that shepherd heart, don’t we? When our brothers and sisters are in trouble, we come to the rescue. We deliver them from the mouth of the lion.
That happens to some of us. We have those periods in our life where the lion attacks, and we can’t handle it alone. We go, and our brothers and sisters help.
David carried out that responsibility. I think it’s amazing that he didn’t just say, “Eh, one sheep is not worth it.” No, it was his sheep, and he was going to take care of that sheep. Praise the Lord.
Remember also, he said that a bear attacked the sheep. Remember the story? The bear attacked the sheep, and he took the bear out. Wow. What a young man in the Lord.
I thought about this, and I think I may be right, but I won’t be absolute about it. Remember that Samuel had anointed David. David had the anointing upon him. David had the anointing upon him, and it was the anointing of the Lord that gave him the power and strength to overcome the lion and the bear.
Even as young Christians, we have the anointing. The anointing of the Lord is with us. When we’re called into service, whatever responsibility it may be, whatever difficulty may arise, we have the anointing.
We can exercise the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit to deal with that situation in your life. You need to know that, to learn to respond to the anointing. We have that unction within, and we have the anointing on us to carry out our responsibilities.
He overcame because he had learned the anointing. Brothers and sisters, that carried over even as he became fifteen or sixteen years old.
What happened when he was fifteen or sixteen? Take a guess. Goliath. Amazing, isn’t it?
Do you know Goliath, according to the measure of cubits in the Scripture and what they think a cubit is, was about nine and a half feet tall? A hulking man, with all his armor and his spear that was more like a tree trunk, standing out there in the field.
He was defying the army of Israel in the name of his gods. Very important: for forty days, every morning and every evening, he would stand before them and defy them, saying, “Send out a man. If he defeats me, then we will be your slaves; but if I defeat him, you will be our slaves.”
He did it in the name of his gods. David heard it and said, “What is going on here? Why isn’t anyone challenging this man?”
The honor of the name of the Lord was at stake. Israel was supposed to be a testimony to the might and power of God in the midst of the nations, and here they were on their knees before this great giant, trembling and not knowing what to do.
Even Saul, who we know was a fairly large man and a warrior, couldn’t go out and challenge this man. But David said, “No. I am going out in the name of the Lord.”
Listen to these words. Goliath had cursed David in the name of his gods. Remember, David came before him, and Goliath cursed him and called him a dog. He cursed David in the name of his gods.
What he was saying was, “My god is far superior to your God.” David said:
Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin:
but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts,
the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
That’s my God. I come in His name. I’m given to His name. I’m using His name because His name has become my name. He’s under that name.
Brothers and sisters, we remember the story. With the slingshot, he took down this mighty giant, probably in the only vulnerable area he could get, because the giant had a helmet on and all this armor.
In the movies they show it hitting here. I’m not quite sure where it hit, but I know it hit his head—maybe in the temple, I don’t know. But it killed the giant, and he slew him.
The name and honor of the Lord was exalted. That was what was on his heart. He cared about the honor of the Lord’s name. He cared about the testimony of God in Israel and in the midst of Israel.
That is what we’ve been called to be as the house of God, as the body of Christ: to be a testimony on this earth to the Lord Jesus, to exalt His name and lift up His name.
Remember Peter and the poor man begging for money? Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold, but what I have I give to you.” What did he say? “In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.”
It wasn’t Peter. He had come under the name of the Lord, and it was powerful.
Let me say it another way. The Lord Jesus said, when He was revealing the church for the first time:
For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.
Two or three gathered in My name—I am in the midst. Brothers and sisters, what an honor we have. We have been given His name. It is a powerful name.
But He goes on to say, “The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” What does that mean? That means the enemy, anywhere there are two or three—even two or three—standing in the name of the Lord for the Lord’s testimony on this earth, will try to destroy it.
Brothers and sisters, through the years we’ve experienced many assaults, as many of the other assemblies have. But David had come in the name of the Lord, and he had stood against the giant.
We have a responsibility to be a warrior like David—to know what it is to be living under the name of the Lord and standing for the name of the Lord in our midst, and for the testimony of God in our midst.
In Ephesians 6, it’s very clear, if you read it again, that the assembly is really the Lord’s warrior on earth today. We’re called to stand against principalities and powers of darkness.
At times they seem to prevail, but the Word says, “Stand. Withstand. And having done all, stand.” We’re called to that ministry. That’s what our prayer time is partially about. It’s a matter of spiritual warfare.
I like what Brother Sparks said. He said, “Stand, withstand, and having done all, remain victor in the field.” That’s the way he said it. I think that’s a marvelous way to put it.
We stand. We’re not the ones who are really fighting; it is the Holy Spirit, the Lord. But it is our heart to stand and withstand—not in our victory, but in the victory of the Lord.
The third thing about David is that he was responsible for building the house of the Lord. We know Solomon actually built it, but David had such a heart for the house of the Lord.
He gathered all the materials from his many battles. He had gained much gold and silver and other items and vessels that he could use for the house of God. He prepared all of his life for the house of God to be built exactly the way it had been shared to him.
What is interesting about David: remember I said in the beginning that David had a heart for the Lord. David was alone in those fields, and he learned the Lord and spoke with the Lord. He had that deep relationship.
The Lord had not yet revealed to His people the place of which He said, when they left Egypt, “I’m going to take you to a place where I’m going to put My name.”
He hadn’t yet revealed that, but He revealed it to David. David had a heart for the Lord, so the Lord shared His heart with David. David said, “I’m going to build a house for the Lord, a permanent house for the Lord in Jerusalem, the place where the Lord will put His name.”
That guided David’s life. That was the guide for David’s life. That was David’s purpose.
The temple was only an earthly representation of what we are today: a house of God made with living stones. When the church comes into its fullness, brothers and sisters, we will be the New Jerusalem.
We will be the bride of Christ, His helpmate, through eternity, to serve His purposes. It’s all about building that house. David gave his heart to it.
He said he would not give slumber to his eyes nor sleep until he saw that the house was built. That was his passion in the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, this is what’s been on God’s heart for eternity. It was the eternal purpose of God that drove David. He had such a passion, and he prepared for the house of God.
I want to ask you today: purpose in anyone’s life is critical. But the purpose you have is what matters. It is what gives you direction, gives you energy, gives you desire and passion.
Not only did David have a passion for the house of the Lord—remember our Lord Jesus Christ:
Zeal for Thy house shall eat Me up.
Then in Ephesians it says that He gave His life for the church. That was the Lord’s passion.
I have to say, over the years, I can’t say I haven’t had lapses. I know I have. But brothers and sisters, that is the thing that has gripped my heart: the Lord has something on His heart, and are we responding to His heart? Are we fulfilling His desire?
Later, Paul said, “The foundation has been laid. Be careful how you build on it.” Are we building on the foundation? That’s what we’ve been called to.
Life without purpose is a wasted life. It’s meaningless and, frankly, of very little value. That’s why we have to be very careful. When I talk about responsibility in these messages, it’s all in the context of God’s heart—what His purpose is and what He wants.
Living stones being responsible in the Lord.
Read Psalm 132:4-5, and I’ll read it again. This is David:
I will not give sleep to mine eyes,
Or slumber to mine eyelids;
Until I find out a place for the Lord,
A tabernacle for the Mighty One of Jacob.
He was compelled. He was compelled.
I don’t know how you feel, brothers and sisters, but every once in a while that load hits me. I’m compelled. But I was recently reminded that the government is on His shoulders, and that was a great help.
He’s the One who is responsible, but we are responsible to be responsible to Him. So praise the Lord.
That brings me to Paul, and just one verse: the verse that I read in the beginning, 1 Corinthians 9:16. I’ll read it again.
For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel.
For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
Necessity is laid upon me. Brothers and sisters, Paul didn’t consider his ministry just a responsibility. He considered it a necessity.
He had to do it. Whether he was willing, or even if he was unwilling, it was still his responsibility. It was a necessity. He had no choice. There was no escape. It had gripped him that much.
I think we all fall into a little bit of a trap on this. We receive grace. We’ve received talents, the life of the Lord in us, and the Lord awakens us at some point about responsibility.
If you’re willing to take it up, that’s great. But if you’re unwilling, you just say, “Well, that’s not for me. I’ll lay it down.”
Paul didn’t have a choice. But a lot of times we believe that we have a choice. “I can take it up if I’m willing, but if I’m unwilling, no, I’m not going to do it. I’ll lay it down.”
This was not a choice for Paul. It was a necessity. This is God’s purpose and our responsibility. If we don’t take it up, we fail. But more than that, we fail the Lord and His purpose.
Let’s be honest with one another this morning. We love the grace of God, don’t we? Every day we live by the grace of God, even if we don’t realize it.
God’s grace has been so wonderful toward us, so merciful. He pours out His grace upon us, and hallelujah, brothers and sisters, it is not by any works that we’ve done. It is free. It is given to us.
But grace is something that we not only receive; in that grace, it makes us responsible. We cannot live without grace as a Christian. We accept grace as a necessity of our life, but often we consider responsibility optional.
Think about that. Grace, we receive. We see it as a necessity. But responsibility—that may be optional.
Responsibility is the very nature of grace, and it is not optional, brothers and sisters.
You can’t say to the Lord, “Lord, I receive Your grace, but I’m going to opt out on the responsibility. I receive Your grace, but I’m going to opt out on Your responsibility.”
I’ll tell a little story on myself. I’m not proud of it at all, but it does make the point, I think. When I was in junior high school, I went out for basketball, and I’m one of the most uncoordinated people in the world.
We were doing what’s referred to as running a figure eight, where you weave back and forth and the last guy shoots the ball in the basket. I kept bumping into the other guys. I couldn’t run that figure eight to save my neck. I got pretty frustrated.
Then the coach told me, “Jerry, I want you to guard so-and-so.” Well, this guy was about a stone, you know, and I’m thinking to myself, “There ain’t no hope. There’s no chance. Nothing I can do about this guy.”
So when we began to run the play, I went and guarded somebody else.
The coach said, “Jerry, what are you doing?” I said, “Well, you know, I couldn’t guard this guy. I figured I’d do what I thought I could do best.”
He said, “You need to do what I tell you to do.” Of course, he said it in different words.
The bottom line was, brothers and sisters, I hadn’t learned the lesson of responsibility. That was my responsibility. Regardless of whether he was ten feet tall, it didn’t matter. I should have guarded him. It was my responsibility.
But I opted out. I didn’t consider it a necessity, so I opted out on it.
Honestly, after a while, I finally just gave up. I said, “This basketball is not for me.” It’s probably okay that I did, because I certainly wouldn’t have helped the team in any way. My best thing I could do for the team was to sit in the stands and root them on.
But I learned a lesson there, and I have always regretted that I didn’t take up my responsibility and at least give my full effort to guard this guy. I didn’t do that.
I’ve always remembered that from my childhood, and that’s been a lesson the Lord has kept on my heart all these years when I come to this matter of responsibility: “Jerry, you can’t give up on responsibility. It’s a necessity.”
So let me just say: it is a necessity. According to the parables, if we don’t take up our responsibility, unfortunately, it says woe is waiting for us. We will not be able to enter into the joy of the Lord.
He actually called those unfaithful servants who hid their talents wicked. I think that’s pretty tough. We have to take that seriously.
We cannot be irresponsible in the house of God. Taking up responsibility is not optional. It is a necessity. It has not been laid on us by man.
It has been laid on you by the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever responsibility you’ve been called into, the Lord has appointed you. The Lord has called you, directed you, and you have the anointing for it, even when you’re facing a giant.
Brothers and sisters, let us never forget that.
The motive for taking responsibility as a necessity is not fear of the consequences of being irresponsible. Somebody sitting here today might say, “Wow, if I’m irresponsible, there’s going to be consequences,” and there are.
That is only to wake us up to realize we are responsible and have responsibility. What is the motive for serving the Lord? It is love.
It’s what He told Peter. After Peter had failed so greatly, denying the Lord three times, the Lord met him down there on the seashore with those fish. What were His words to Peter? “Do you love Me, Peter? Do you love Me more than these?”
Peter could only say, “Lord, I’m attached to You.” And the Lord said, “Feed My sheep.”
The Lord could trust Peter now because Peter had been dealt with. He said, “Feed My sheep. You take this responsibility up, Peter.”
Three times He challenged Peter. On the third time, the Lord doesn’t say, “Peter, do you love Me?” He just says, “Are you attached to Me, Peter?” Then He says, “Feed My sheep.”
So look, I want to say this much. We may have failed many times and in many ways, but taking up responsibility is a necessity.
At some point, and in some interaction with the Lord, in whatever you’re doing in the house of the Lord, I think there comes that point where it’s no longer something that you can choose to take up or not. It becomes a necessity.
That’s so critical, brothers and sisters. The Lord knows, just like He knew with Peter. Peter discovered that in himself he couldn’t do it, but the Lord had been raised from the dead. It was resurrection life now, and we have that resurrection life.
Well, I hope I haven’t been confusing this morning, but it is really a burden on my heart to encourage the sisters, the brothers, the children, the young men—all of us.
No one’s exempt from responsibility and from it becoming a necessity. So may the Lord help us.
Lord, I just come to You this morning. Thank You for these brothers and sisters that we have in Scripture as examples to us, Lord, that we might learn and grow and become responsible living stones in the house of God.
Now, Lord, I just pray You take and touch the hearts with whatever thoughts You have in each heart today. I pray the anointing be upon Your Word, that it could be effective and fruit could come from it.
Lord, we ask Your blessing upon this assembly. Lord, it is indeed true that the enemy wants to destroy us. But Lord, we stand in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ this morning.
We stand under Your great name against all the powers of darkness. They come against us and try to take the sheep one at a time, try to destroy us, try to get us discouraged, try to see us divided in some way.
We stand against him in the name of Jesus Christ. But Lord, I want to recognize You, the Head of the body, the Head of the assembly, the One who calls, the One who directs, and the One who empowers us all. In Jesus’ name. Amen.