Leaving a Legacy | 1 Chronicles 28-29

Good morning, family of God. Good to be with you this morning. My name is John Elmore. I'm one of the teaching pastors here. Did anybody here go to the Uncommon Parenting Conference? Show of hands, round of applause. Yeah, we had an incredible turnout, a great event this past weekend about how to leave a legacy with your children, one of discipleship, raising them up in the faith…not just children but teens throughout all life stages. That was a huge blessing.

As I say, "Good morning, family of God…" This "brothers and sisters in Christ" has been a theme that has been shared throughout this morning in worship. That is what we are because of Christ. I just want you to know if when I say, "Family of God," you're like, "That's not me," today there is an open adoption into the family of God because of what Jesus has done.

If you're here exploring the faith, if you're here because someone invited you, know that there is good news specifically for you today. Everyone who's here once was as you are: far from God, wondering, "Is this really true? This feels too good to be true." Today, because of Jesus, you can have a new life.

So, I want to start by talking about famous last words. Famous last words has become a catchphrase. You know, when you leave a job or someone serves you at the end of something, it's like, "Famous last words." Like, "Wow!" It can be good. It can be bad. Perhaps the most famous last words, which aren't actually words that were ever stated, are "Et tu, Brute?" It's what Shakespeare penned when he wrote Julius Caesar.

Historians think he didn't actually say that, but he was talking to his friend, like, "And you, Brutus?" These words that have been carried on. They're famous last words. As I thought about that, the reason why there is that is because your mortality brings clarity. When you realize, "I am going to die. This is my last shot. This is the ending of my life," it brings a lot of clarity as to what you want to pass on.

So, while those words weren't actually spoken, most likely, there are some famous last words that were spoken that I think are little known. I want to share some of those today, because what they're attempting to do in these moments before they cross over from life to death is they're passing something on, like, "This is what I want to be my legacy."

So, here it is, a person we're probably not familiar with…William Seward, who was US secretary of state. He negotiated the Alaska Purchase, kind of a big deal. They asked, "Any last words?" and he said, "Nothing. Only to love one another." That's what he passed on as the summation, totality at the end of his life, having accomplished so much: "Love one another."

You have Harriet Tubman, great abolitionist. At the end of her life, after singing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," they asked, "Harriet, any last words?" She said, "Give my love to the churches. Tell the women to stand firm. I go to prepare a place for you." Then this one, which is rather haunting. It's Queen Elizabeth I, who had untold wealth that was passed on to her.

At her deathbed, dying a terrible death of sickness, they asked, "Any last words?" She said, "All my possessions for a moment of time." She just wanted more time, but it was running through her hands like water that she couldn't grasp. She said, "I would give everything for just more time." Our mortality brings clarity.

I share that because I think all of us… Right now, in this moment, you want your life to count. Nobody is sitting here like, "I want to be nothing, used for nothing, known for nothing." All of us have this innate desire for our lives to count. We know we were created by God for a purpose. It's hardwired into us. We are not these meaningless systems of cells that are just operating, but rather the Spirit of God in us, as believers, has called us to something.

We want our lives to count and to leave a legacy. David's life is no different. As we have this series continuing, The Life of David, we now come to some of his last words that are recorded in Scripture. It's his effort to leave a legacy for others. I've said the word legacy a few times now, so let's define it. Legacy can be defined as a long-lasting impact on another's life or on lives. Biblically, what we call that is discipleship.

It's what has happened in our lives. Jesus came, died, and rose again. The gospel broke forth and has been shared through millennia by others through whom we received it. There has been a legacy written upon our lives from others. There has been this long-lasting impact that has been passed and passed and passed and passed through the ages. We have been discipled and have found ourselves to be in the forgiveness of Jesus Christ, having been born again.

The way to leave a legacy is to live a legacy. It's not enough, clearly, to speak a legacy, because words can be forgotten, but as you live a legacy, that is how you can leave a legacy. To live it is to leave it. So, we have to live out this discipleship as we live this life. That is what will be a legacy. Hear me say…this is really important…the legacy is not of you.

So many times, I hear someone say… And it rattles me. They'll say, "I just want to leave a legacy." I want to believe the best, but I think that's a really prideful statement. "I want to leave a legacy," like a legacy of me and my life. The legacy in Christ is not to be of us; the legacy is to be of Jesus. He's the one who receives the glory.

He's the one who can actually change a soul. He's the one who disciples through us. It's his truth, his life, the Holy Spirit at work in all of us. The legacy is his. We are just messengers, stewarding what he has given us. So, as we all do desire to leave a legacy, leave a legacy of him, not of you. Make a name for him, not you. Give glory to him, not you.

I think this is really funny. Does anyone know why Dallas is named Dallas? Raise your hand if you do, because I don't. No one. There are three, at minimum, hypotheses for why Dallas is named Dallas. That proves my point. We're one of the top 10 largest cities in the nation, and no one even knows why we're called that.

Now, there were three people who went by that name. They had the last name of Dallas, but no one actually knows. There have been different hypotheses. There were different people. There was a vice president. There was an early settler. There was a commodore. There were different people who have had the last name Dallas, and nobody knows. Talk about the forgotten legacy of a person.

But if that person knew Jesus and discipled others, it's okay. It's actually right to have passed along Jesus to others, and then your name be forgotten. Like, who cares? They don't need to know my name; they need to know the name of Jesus Christ. If that's the case, my job, your job, our job is done. Let us be forgotten. Let Christ be known. That is to leave a legacy.

Today we'll be in 1 Chronicles 28 and 29. They're long chapters, these last words of David, so we're not going to read them in their entirety, but we are going to dip into various themes and grab some passages in there. Some of the themes I'll give to you and offer, and then we're going to walk through this in a way that I think will be helpful to remember…

One of the themes is chosen. David was chosen. Solomon was chosen. It says in the Scriptures that you also, if you're in Christ, have been chosen. God has chosen you, but he has chosen you for a purpose. You see a theme here, too, of obedience, to follow God, to take him at his word, to live out his will, which is his word. You see a theme of seeking God and this calling upon a person's life.

You see that his aim was to build up the house of God. That's a major theme in this passage. And to do the bidding of building the house of God, it had to be according to God's way. They couldn't have done it in their own creative way. This wasn't like Meow Wolf. This wasn't some creative expression they could concoct. Rather, God had a design for them to orchestrate. It was God's way. That would have been impossible except for the fact that God would be with them.

It says, clearly, that it's for his glory. The text explicitly says, "This house is not for you; this house is for God." So, in response, God's people give. They give of their time, they give of their money, and they give of their very selves. They're like, "All we have is for you." Then there's this prayer, a long prayer, a beautiful prayer, one we would do well to model and sit in in this next week to come. Then there's a response in worship and, finally, fellowship. It's an incredible passage…1 Chronicles 28-29, David's last words.

As we walk through this, because legacy equals the long-lasting impact of one life upon another, which is discipleship, we are going to unpack, in this passage, the word legacy…L-E-G-A-C-Y…each letter corresponding to a word as we walk through this passage, and you'll see it throughout the theme.

1) L: live with your end in mind. It's said often, "If you're going to start, begin with the end in mind." This is the same thing to live. It doesn't matter what your past is. David had made some colossal mistakes, yet here he is. In his last days, he's like, "I am going to live with intentionality. I desire to leave a legacy. I want to live a legacy despite my mistakes. It's mission over mistakes." Every single person, by your own presence here, is an admission, "I have mistakes in my life." It's why you need the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Live with your end in mind.

First Chronicles 28:8: "Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever." I believe in that moment David is thinking back to the Abrahamic covenant given in Genesis 17:8 where God said, "I'm giving you this land as an everlasting possession."

He's saying, "You've got to follow him. You've got to walk according to his ways, because also, there are the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy. If there is disobedience, you're going to be taken to a faraway land. Now, the land will be yours forever, Israel, but you may be drawn out because of disobedience and brought back," which you see with the Babylonian captivity.

He's saying, "Live with the end in mind. You don't want to lose this. You don't want to go astray. Walk with God, and that will project a way of living that will continue to walk in the will of God. Live with your end in mind. There's a reason for this." His mortality brought that clarity, but it also brought priority. There was an emphasis on priority, like, "This is it. This is the ultimate. This is our focus. This is our north star. This is our compass. We walk with God and follow him." To live with the end in mind.

Ecclesiastes says there's wisdom in the house of mourning. Why would that be? Because when you see someone die, and you attend a memorial service or a graveside, you remember your own mortality, that as they are, you soon will be. It snaps you and sobers you into a clarity, like, "What will be said of me? Will my family even come to my funeral or will I be estranged? Will they proclaim Jesus or will they talk about my wealth or lack thereof?" To live with the end in mind.

There are these creepy paintings. I'm sure we've all seen them in high school textbooks or whatever. There's a picture of one on the screen. It's like, "Why in the world is that person studying something with a dead person's head right there?" There are these paintings of skulls. You guys know what I'm talking about. Oftentimes, there's a candle burning on top of the skull, which seems super dark. Like, "Who was that, and what did he do to that guy?" He's like, "I'll never forget you. I'll study beside you in my toga."

In the Renaissance, this was a really common theme. You'll see it. In the Renaissance paintings, there's this recurring skull by study. By the way, I just looked down and am reminded I want this tattoo so badly. I want a skull with a candle on it, but 1 Corinthians 7 says my body is not my own, and Laura is not there yet, so… But pray for her, because I want this. The reason is not because it's freaky or creepy. It's incredible.

It's a Latin phrase, memento mori. It means remember your death. The reason Caravaggio painted Saint Jerome penning theological words with a skull staring at him is Jerome was remembering, "Man, I've got one life to live. I've got one shot, Eminem. This is it. It's all I've got." Frankly, lose yourself, Christ said. (I digress.) He said, "Gain the world, lose your soul. Lose your soul, find yourself." That's it. (I think he has trusted in Jesus, by the way. Listen to the song "Use This Gospel." Now I've really digressed. He proclaims Christ.)

Anyway, remember your death. That's why the Renaissance paintings had this. They were living with the end in mind. They were like, "I'm going to be dead one day, so how am I going to steward my days?" Am I going to live for Netflix and Instagram? And, as Rockefeller said, how much is enough? "Just one more dollar."

Or am I going to know that one day, I'm going to be a skull; I'm going to spend eternity in heaven or hell? What will be the impact of my life on others? Will I leave a legacy? I will if I live with the end in mind. I will if I live for his glory and not mine. I will if I live to make his name known and not mine. That is how. To live with the end in mind…memento mori. (If I get that tattoo, you know I'm going to show it.)

You live with the reality of mortality, your own mortality, and others' eternity. That's what's at stake. Everyone is going to live, die, and face judgment. Hebrews 9 says, "It's appointed for man to die once, and then face judgment." So, as we're walking and talking and eating and working amongst immortal souls, will we step out and share with them the only hope there is? How will you live? Will you make disciples?

It's not just this life. We are also living with the end in mind, knowing that no matter what comes, if you're in Christ, there is heaven, the very presence of God, where there is no tear, pain, or sorrow forevermore. So come what may. Be rejected at work, not because you're a slouch worker but because you share Christ, because you live by Christian morality, because when they ask you to do something unethical, you say, "I can't because of my faith. I've trusted in Jesus."

Live with the end in mind, knowing that this is a vapor, a mist, a shadow, and one day we will be reunited with Christ forevermore. So, live with that end in mind, and when you live with eternity in mind, then you realize, "My mortality has now switched to immortality. I can't die. I'll never die." Jesus said, "Whoever has trusted in me has crossed over from death to life." My body might die; my soul will never, and one day I'll get a resurrected body. Live with the end in mind. It'll change how you live.

2) E: execute. I don't mean getting a task done, like, "Yeah, I'm really good at executing tasks." I mean kill. Scripture means kill. Kill. Execute. You might remember this by saying, "Kill the killers." That's what it means to execute: to kill the killers. David says this. It's in 1 Kings 2:1-9. There's no time to read it, but Shimei, who TA talked about last week, who was hurling stones at him for a long distance and cursing him (and there was another one, Joab)…

David says to Solomon at the end of his life… This is another passage of his last words. These, I think, are said privately. He doesn't address the whole assembly of God, as he does in 1 Chronicles 28 and 29. Here, in a very personal address to his son, he says, "Hey, remember Shimei and the evil that was done to me, and don't let his gray head go down to the grave without blood." He says to kill him.

Now, he had vowed to Shimei not to kill him. So theologians would say, "Yeah, that probably was a miss on David's part." But I think to his son, he's like, "Hey, he came after me. He's likely going to come after you. Right now you're young. You don't have experience. You're not a man of war. I was. And if he came after me, he's going to come after you, so kill him."

So, Solomon, trying to live righteously, basically puts him on house arrest in Jerusalem and says, "If you ever leave Jerusalem, you'll die. I'm going to let you live, but if you leave Jerusalem, you're dead." And he did. He left Jerusalem, and he was killed. David said, "Kill the killers," and it happened. But it can't mean that for us, because Jesus said to love, pray for, and bless your enemies. So, certainly now it doesn't mean kill the killers.

So who are the killers? The killer is sin. The killer is the sin within. Scripture makes it really plain that we are to kill the sin or it will kill us. Romans 8:13 says, "Put to death, therefore, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the deeds of the flesh and you'll live." Put them to death. We are to execute. Kill the killers. The reason we have to do this is because sin will sideline you. Sin will sideline you from living with the end in mind.

You want to follow God. This is what David called them to. "Follow his commands. Walk with God. It's going to go well." But if we don't kill the sin within, it will kill us. It will sideline us. Now, nothing can take your salvation if you're in Jesus, but it can sideline your occupation. It can keep you from doing what you're meant to do. It can keep you on the defense instead of advancing the kingdom forward in offense.

This past weekend, we were… I'm pointing to my son over here, Hill. He's our oldest. We were taking a hike, and we were in these limestone formations a couple of hours away. As we were walking through… Judd, our youngest, had already passed through, which is good because he's shorter. You'll hear why later. Hill walked next, and he was climbing up this rock. He went to put his hand on a ledge to pull himself up so he could make it through this little pass. As he looked up… Laura had been praying for our safety.

He looked up, and there was a five-foot rattlesnake right here, 12 inches from his head. No exaggeration. I shouted, "Jesus Christ!" and not in a "take the Lord's name in vain" way. It was the only prayer that came out. The kids started running backward. That thing was coiled up ready to strike. I was like, "That thing almost killed my kid. It could have struck his head." We were kind of in the middle of nowhere. It wouldn't have been a good situation.

So I said to the kids, "Hey, we need to kill that snake. I'm going to get a stick." (I know I talk about killing things a lot from this stage, and I'm sorry. We love the outdoors.) I was like, "I'm going to get a stick, and we're going to kill that snake." They were like, "Why? No! Don't kill it." I was like, "Look. This is a trail. People are going to hike. We got a hall pass from God, but somebody else is going to walk through here and get hit. We have to kill it."

Hill said, "That snake is not going to go to heaven when it dies, is it?" I was like, "No. No, it's not." He said, "Well, it only has a short life then, Dad. Just let it live." I chose to let my son guide that decision, but it seemed crazy to me. Like, "Somebody is going to walk through here and get struck." I think it's the same thing we do with sin. We're like, "You know what? Let's just keep it contained. It didn't kill me." We have this permissible amount.

We don't kill our killers. We let them be. We think, "Well, I've kind of struggled with that since junior high. That's my ditch. That's just who I am." No. Jesus has forgiven you, if you are in Christ, but he longs to free you. It's not just forgiveness; it's freedom. You can have both…forgiveness from the penalty of sin, but also freedom from the power of sin. That's the full, abundant life he has promised. So, kill your killers by the power of the Holy Spirit, and give them no quarter, which is a military term that means no mercy. You make war.

3) G: God of the gospel. Know him, serve him, and seek him. First Chronicles 28:9: "And you, Solomon my son…" Listen to the verbs. "…know the God of your father…" It doesn't mean know about him. This isn't mental assent. This is a relational knowledge. "…and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you…"

So, you have know, serve, and seek. This is John 17:3 where Jesus says, "And this is eternal life, that you would know the one true God…" Eight billion people walking this earth, and they call out "God" to a variety of different things. Jesus says there is one true God. There are not many paths up the mountain; there is one. He says, "…and his Son Jesus Christ whom he has sent." The way to the Father is through the Son, and there is no other way. Period.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through the Son. This is the gospel. God of the gospel. We have been separated because of our sin, and God sees us and that eternal dilemma, knowing that we will face judgment, be condemned, and spend eternity separated from God in hell, so he sends his Son, perfect, living sacrifice, fully God, fully man, to take our place and die a death on the cross, be buried, and raised again to demonstrate he's no mere teacher, he's not a prophet; he is God in flesh.

Every other prophet of every other religion is in the tomb to this day spare Jesus alone, and in him there's eternal life. This is the God of the gospel. You take the G out of legacy, and you don't have a word. You have a meaningless life. Right here, God of the gospel, so core, so foundational to leaving a legacy. The lasting impact of your life upon the lives of others without the gospel is null and void. You'll be forgotten. You'll be like the name Dallas. But with the gospel…

This is Acts 17 where Paul writes and says, "God has determined the times and the places that you should live in order that you might reach out and find him, though he is near. For in him we live and move and have our being." This is the sole purpose of life…the God of the gospel, the good news…that he has come for us to rescue us, ransom us, and live with us.

I was traveling recently out of town to visit a friend. He was like, "So, what do you want to do while you're here?" It's a tourist destination. I was like, "Man, I just came to be with you." He was like, "Yeah, but do you want to see such-and-such? Do you want to go here? Do you want to try this restaurant?"

I was like, "Truly, man, I don't care. We can run errands. I came to be with you." That's what God has done for us and now what we do for God. We just want to be with him. The rest is details. We are living out these details that will soon be forgotten when the sole purpose is the God of the gospel, to know him, serve him, and seek him.

4) A: appointed by God. If you've trusted in Jesus, if you've trusted in the God of the gospel, then you're appointed, appointed by God. What a high calling that is upon your life. I don't care what your business card says or if you don't have one. Whether you're a student, retiree, empty nester, divorcee… Whatever your sin past or present may be, if you are in Jesus Christ, you're appointed by God, and the appointment is to go and make disciples, the most important commission that has ever been given in the history of this world.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." That's your appointment. You've been called by God to share Jesus. You're like, "But with whom?" With anyone God puts in your path. What an incredible responsibility this appointment is. But here's the thing. That feels really daunting, doesn't it? Solomon felt that.

First Chronicles 28:10: "Be careful now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it." The passage would later say Solomon is young and inexperienced. David says this. "My son is young and inexperienced." Yet he's supposed to build a house for God? I mean, the guy is not an architect. He has zero experience. "Appointed by God? I'm insufficient for this." God is sufficient for all things. He will be with you. He'll move through you. Abide in him and you'll bear much fruit. Apart from him you can do nothing.

So how? How will he do this? Verse 19 says, "All this [God] made clear to me in writing from the hand of the Lord, all the work to be done according to the plan." So, we're not just aimlessly like, "Well, how do I make disciples? God, I don't know how. I don't know how to share my faith. What would I even tell them?" He has given us his way, which is his will, which is his Word. It's all right here.

Just as David says, "I have received the plans of God from his own hand." Some think he actually wrote this, like he did the Ten Commandments, that it was that much of a priority to God. "This is how the house shall be built." Paul writes to Timothy and says, "This is how one should behave in the household of God." It's a household. Just as this, the temple that was being built, was a house, the church is a house, the house of God. I don't mean this building; I mean the people of God are a household.

He says, "This is how you build it." This is not "Me and Jesus." This is not your own subjective spirituality. "I'm spiritual but not religious." He has made it really, really clear from the hand of the Lord, inspired by the Holy Spirit. You say, "Well, it's too much. I can't do it." We do it by God's presence and his power, which is verse 20. "Then David said to Solomon his son…" Imagine a little kid with this task. "You're going to build a temple for the very presence of God."

"Be strong and courageous." Hear that, the simplicity and the potency. "Do it, Solomon." "Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you." It was his presence that would enable the project. There would be no other way. Only by God's presence. "He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished." He was appointed by God.

Jesus says this in John 17:4. We talked about John 17:3, that eternal life is to know God through Jesus. Here is the next verse. Jesus says, "I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do." This appointment by God… He was sent on a mission for salvation for the world. He says, "All that you've given me to do I've accomplished. I know I was appointed."

Hebrews 10 says, "A body you've prepared for me. Behold, I come to do your will." "All that you have desired I have now accomplished, and I've given you glory by doing so." It translates to us, this appointment by God. It says in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God's workmanship…" His poiema, his masterpiece.

You think, "No, not me." You individually, no matter who you are, what you look like, what your past is, whatever society may say is a disability or deficiency, or whatever you've been told… You are his masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, prepared in advance that we'd walk in them. You do have an appointment by God. Your life is so important, so precious, so valuable in the hands of a master to accomplish his good work for his eternal glory. You will find the fullness of life as you walk it out. It's fullness of life.

I had a soccer coach in high school who would scream at us. You know, you have all of these players on the field, and the ball is going everywhere. He would scream, "Play your position! Play your position!" Which meant as sweeper, last person, last line of defense, I was not meant to be at the… I scored one goal in my entire soccer career because I was playing defense. He would scream if I got too far up, "Play your position!"

I wanted to score goals. It wasn't my job. My job was to stop goals. So it is in the body of Christ. Stop looking at others like, "But I don't have the gift of evangelism. I don't have the gift of faith. I don't have the gift of generosity." What gift do you have? Play your position. This is a team sport. Like you'll see in this passage, he calls everybody. Solomon is going to lead the charge, but everybody has a role in this thing. Everybody. He says all, that all would do it.

This place would dry up, be dead, close the doors, and be made into a civic center were it not for all of the people using the gifts God has given them to leave a legacy of discipleship, that the body of Christ would be built up here to the ends of the earth. It's why we exist. May the name of Watermark be forgotten and Christ's name be remembered. We've been appointed by God. Team sport.

5) C: consecrated. It comes from a Latin word meaning with sacredness. So, if you've been appointed to something, you'd better be all in, because you can't very well fulfill an appointment when you're like, "Man, I kind of give it half effort." To make sacred. That's the definition. Another definition is to dedicate to a divine purpose.

This is "God, you get everything. You get me. You get my job. You get my money. You get my family. You get my house. You get my phone. You get my laptop. You get where I live and what I do. You get my days. You get all. I am consecrated unto you. You've saved me, the God of the gospel. You've appointed me to a good work, and I can't fulfill that if I give you a tenth. Rather, I consecrate; I set apart my whole self as sacred for a divine purpose, holy unto you."

It's what you see in Zechariah, chapter 3, and in the Old Testament throughout. The high priests (and we are now a kingdom of priests) would have a gold band across their head, "Holy unto the Lord." Meaning, "I'm set apart in sacredness. My sole reason for existence is for the Lord." Holy. Sacred. It's also W-H-O-L-L-Y. It's holy, like holiness of God, and it's wholly, meaning entirely. There is a consecration. "You get all."

I made eye contact with Jeff Blem. Neither one of us used to be consecrated. We'd give God a little. That brother is consecrated now. He's a shepherd of Community Groups. He has been in re:generation for as long as I have. Thank you. I see the consecration. But it's not for Jeff Blem's name to be known. It says it's all for the glory of God.

So here it is…consecration. Verse 29:5: "…and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the Lord?" David said this in the hearing of all of Israel. Who will willingly consecrate not just their money but themselves…your very life, all that you are, the totality of your being? Who will willingly, not under compulsion but as a response to the grace of God, be like, "You've saved me. You get all. I consecrate myself to you"?

In verse 29:1, it's all for the glory of God. He says about this house that's being built, "…not be for man but for the Lord God." So, people consecrate themselves and all that they have, and then God gets all the glory. They're not like, "Wow! Great job, Jeff." They're like, "Great God you serve, Jeff. Who would do that with your life? Oh my goodness!" He gets all the glory.

Now, you would think, "No. I think the house was built for man. Man would come. Man would offer sacrifice. It was going to be a house of prayer for the nations. There was praying there. There was incense they were burning there. There was the altar, the Holy of Holies. It seems like this is where man was doing a lot of activity." God says, "No. It's not for man. This is for my glory. Now, you will be a beneficiary of it. As you come into my presence, you will be blessed, but make no mistake; this is for me." So it is for the church.

We here, as brothers and sisters in Christ, are being built up in the faith, but God gets all the glory. It's for him. The question by way of application is…Will you consecrate yourself? Holy unto the Lord, double meaning of holy, because in full consecration comes fullness of life. When we live straddled between the world and faith, it's just painful and fruitless.

1. Y: yearn. Yearning is a deep longing for something. I use this word for prayer because it's how Jesus prayed. It said he was heard because of his loud cries. He was yearning unto the Father when he walked this world with loud cries and tears, and it says that he was heard. So we pray God's promises back to God.

Romans 8 makes it clear that we do not know how we ought to pray. We're praying with such feebleness, but as the Spirit guides us and intercedes for us, and Jesus, who always lives to intercede for us… What we know is it says in 1 John 5 that if we ask anything, he hears us, and if we ask anything according to his will, it will be done. That's an insane promise.

How much are we leaving on the table because we don't pray according to God's will? He says, "If you pray according to my will, it will be done." So, you can pray for a new job, for a new house, or for a new girlfriend. You can, and those things may come about. I'm not saying not to, but you can also pray, you must also pray, we must also pray (I'm talking to myself), the will of God, and he says it will be accomplished. It's a promise in 1 John 5.

So, you see here David and his legacy that he's leaving. He's like, "I want you to yearn. I want you to pray God's promises back to him, because he's the one who said this." I think it honors God when you go to him and say, "You're not man that you should lie, and I'm not just making this up. You have said in your Word that you will bring this to pass, so I'm calling upon you. I'm just taking you at your word. Now, I don't know when or how, but you have said that it will be done, so I'm calling upon your promise."

I think it honors God. He's like, "Yes! Yes, I will bring it to pass." In verse 18 it says, "O Lord…" Here are the promises. He's reminding them of the covenants that were made. "…the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes…" He's telling God, "I know what you said. You said. I'm not imagining this. I'm not making it up. This isn't wishful thinking or 'I'd really like to.' You said this." "…forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you." Pray God's will.

So, to tie it up… L: live with your end in mind, both your mortality and your eternity, because it will change your priority. E: execute. Kill the killers, and do it by the power of the Holy Spirit. Do it in the name of Jesus Christ. You have no power over sin; he has all power, and he lives to set you free.

G: God of the gospel. Know him. Serve him. Seek him. If you don't, today don't walk out of these doors. Come forward and receive Jesus. Be born again. Receive the Holy Spirit. A: appointed by God. You have a calling to complete, and it's to leave a legacy in the name of Jesus. It's to make disciples. Make a name for him, not you. C: consecrated, set apart holy unto him. "You get all." And Y: to yearn, to pray God's promises back to him, to pray with faith.

Remember the famous last words that I started with, et tu, Brute? Shakespeare. They may be known because of literary significance. They're not the most famous last words. The most famous last words are the words of Jesus on the cross when, lying there, nailed to the cross, having said, "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do," he said, "It is finished." It's finished. In that, he was not speaking of his life. "It is finished."

The Roman centurions, the Pharisees who were scoffing, even the thief who was hurling insults at him… When they heard, "It is finished. Into your hands I commit my spirit," they would have thought, "Quitter. Died. Checked out. It's finished," when in reality, it was just beginning. When he said, "It is finished," he said, "All that you have given me to accomplish I have done. I have laid down my life, conquering sin, death, and Satan, that all who place their faith in the name of Jesus Christ will be saved and set free. It is finished."

Then he went to the grave and was raised again, ascended, seated at the right hand of the Father, and is returning. There are some other famous last words at the very end of this book in Revelation where it says, "Come, Lord Jesus. Come quickly." I want to give you time and space to pray now. There's a lot of time, actually, before we sing in response.

One thing I want to put before you… Would you guys think it was crazy and a little weird if I told you there were certain rooms in our house that I can't go into? That would be pretty weird, huh? If she was like, "Hey, you can't go in that closet, and please don't go there." It's my house just as much as it is hers.

We are said to be the dwelling place of God, that our body (1 Corinthians 6) is a temple of the Holy Spirit. I think sometimes in our lives we say, "Jesus, you can have this or that or a tenth, but you don't get this room. You don't get this part." I want to ask today that in David's response… It's his only question in this whole passage, I think. He says, "Who then will willingly consecrate themselves?"

Just say, "You get all. I'm tired of saying, 'Don't go into this bedroom of my sexuality. Don't go into that closet that's overflowing with my finances. Don't go into the kitchen where I make a lot of messes.'" Today be like, "Here are the keys. You get all." Let's take some time now and pray, and then we'll sing together.

I want to lead us now individually through each point prayerfully. Keep praying. Keep your heads down. Ask God to help you live with your end in mind, that you have a finite amount of time. You don't know that you're going to live to a ripe old age of 90. You may die on 75 on the way home. How will you steward your days? Ask him to live the heart of wisdom in the house of mourning. Ask him for it, to rightly number your days.

Now I want you to think of a particular sin struggle. The E is execute. Kill your killers. Just as he told his son Solomon to kill Shimei, ask God to kill the sin within, whatever it is. Say it by name. "By the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ, kill this sin in me." Say, "I can't; you can." Plead with him. There is no other way. I've tried. "You alone can move this mountain of sin. Kill my killers, Lord."

The G is God of the gospel. If you've not ever trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, now is your time. You can pray with me. "God, I confess that I'm a sinner in need of forgiveness. I believe that Jesus died for my sins and rose from the dead. Today I confess Jesus is Lord. I believe in my heart that you raised him from the dead. Save me. Send the Holy Spirit to fill me. You have saved me. My life is yours."

The A is appointed. It's an impossible task beyond your ability, which is to make disciples of all nations, but I want you to tell him, "I want to fulfill every good work you created in advance. Send me wherever you will and put the words in my mouth, whether it's to my neighborhood or the nations. I want to fulfill the appointment you've given me." Pray it to him. Don't waste your life.

The C is consecrated. Give him the keys. "Every room of my soul, holy unto you and wholly yours. You get all. I willingly consecrate myself to you today. Everything I have is yours. Everything I am is yours." The Y is yearn. It's what we've been doing, praying according to God's will. He says, "Whatever you ask in my name according to my will, it will be done."

So we thank you. We thank you that we are now right with you because of Jesus and we can thus sing an offering, a fragrant offering, lifting up to your throne room in the name of Jesus Christ. So we sing with joy. We sing as those who are saved. In Jesus' name, amen.