Slaying Goliath | The Next Generation of Giant Slayers | Part 4
Amen. All right. Well, we’re there in 2nd Samuel, chapter number 21. I’d like you to keep your place there. That’s our text for this morning. But go with me to the book of Judges. Judges, chapter number two. Judges, chapter number two. Brother Terry, if you could just turn me up just a hair, I’d appreciate that. Judges, chapter number two. And you’re there in the 2nd Samuel, if you go backwards from 2nd Samuel, you’ve got 1st Samuel, Ruth, and Judges. Judges, chapter number two. Make sure you keep your place there in 2nd Samuel. We’ve been in a series entitled Slaying Goliath the last several weeks.
If you remember the first week, we talked about Goliath, and we talked about what makes you dismayed and afraid. We talked about those things that we see as hopeless and hurtful. Then in the second week, we talked about before you get to Goliath, those little giants you have to battle before you get to the big giant. We talked about the naysayers, and the worldly counsel, and the indifferent. Then last week, I preached a sermon called Fight or Flight. Right? Facing your fears. How David was able to go against Goliath when others were too afraid to do so.
This week, I want to end and conclude the series with a sermon entitled Preparing the Next Generation of Giant Slayers, or just The Next Generation of Giant Slayers. We’re going to come back to 2nd Samuel 21, but I want you to notice Judges, chapter number two. In Judges, chapter two, look down at verse number seven. I just want you to notice this and let this be a highlight in your mind. Judges, chapter two, and verse seven, the Bible says this, “The people served the Lord …” This is, of course, after the days of Joshua. The children of Israel have conquered the land of Canaan. Now they’re going into this time of the Judges where they have these military chieftains, really, that are leading the people. And of course, you know the theme of the book of Judges is that every man did that which was right in his own eyes. And there’s a big mess there as a result. But I want you to notice what leads into that is what we read about in verse seven, “And the people served the Lord …” Notice what it says, “… all the days of Joshua.”
Joshua was a strong leader, and while Joshua was alive, the children of Israel served the Lord. And not only during the life of Joshua did they serve the Lord, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua. So Joshua was a strong leader. As he led the children of Israel, the children of Israel served the Lord.
Joshua had some contemporary leaders that outlived him. And of course, you know that’s true because Joshua and Caleb were the oldest men in the nation there since they were the two spies that did not give an evil report. Everyone else died, and they went into the promised land. The Bible tells us that not only while Joshua lived did the children of Israel serve the Lord, but because he was such a strong and capable leader, he had strong and capable leaders around him, and the elders that outlived Joshua, while they were alive after Joshua’s death, the children of Israel also served the Lord. But notice what it says there, ” … who had seen all the great works of the Lord for He did for Israel …” Look at verse eight, “Joshua, the son of Nun, that served the Lord, died being 110 years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance, in Timnath Heres in the Mount of Ephraim, on the north of the hill Gaash.”
Look at verse 10, “And also, all that generation were gathered unto their fathers, and there arose …” notice what it says here, ” … another generation after them.” I want you to notice these words, ” … which knew not the Lord.” “Which knew not the Lord.” While Joshua lived, the people served the Lord. And while the elders that outlived Joshua, the people served the Lord. But the Bible tells us that after Joshua was gone and after those leaders were gone, there arose another generation after them, “… which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which we have done for Israel.” Notice verse 11, “… and the children of Israel …” Notice what the Bible says, when a generation arose that did not know the Lord, “… they did evil in the sight of Lord and served Baalim.”
Notice verse 12, “They forsook the Lord, God of their fathers, which brought them out of the lands of Egypt and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger.” Verse 13, “And they forsook the Lord and served Baal and Ashtaroth.”
If you don’t have a child on your lap, I’d like you to take some notes this morning and I’d like you to write this statement down. This is not one of my points, but I just want you to have this statement. It’s a good quote for you to think about. I’ve written it down in several places in my Bible and I think about it often. I heard a preacher say this. I heard a pastor say this, and when he said it, I thought, “That’s a good quote.” I wrote that down, and I wanted to make that something that I often think about. And the quote is this, “There is no success without succession.” There is no success without succession. If we fail to pass down our faith to the next generation, we have failed. Please understand that there is no success without succession.
It does not matter how nice of a home you live in. It doesn’t matter how nice of a vehicle you drive. It does not matter how nice of clothes your children wear. It does not matter how successful you are or how well you provide for them. It does not matter how many trips you take and how many vacations you go on, and how many pictures you have, how many memories you have. If we fail to pass down our faith to the next generation, we have failed.
There is no success without succession. But David was actually a man used of God who was able to not only be a Giant Slayer himself but he was a man that were used of God to prepare the next generation of giant slayers. What we’re trying to avoid when we talk about preparing The Next Generation of Giants Slayers, you say, “What are we trying to avoid?” We’re trying to avoid Judges 2:10 that there arose another generation after them which knew not the Lord. Now keep your place there in Judges, we’re going to come back to it, but go back with me to 1st and 2nd Samuel. You have your place in 2nd Samuel, go to 1st Samuel right before it. Keep your place in Judges, we’re going to come back to it.
I want to give you, this morning, three thoughts, three steps that we see from the life of David in regard to Preparing the Next Generation of Giant Slayers. Preparing the next generation of Giant Slayers. 1st Samuel Chapter 17. We’ve been in 1st Samuel chapter 17 for some time now and though that is not our text for this morning, I do want you to glean a couple of things from it. 1st Samuel Chapter 17, and I’d like you to look at verse number 48. 1st Samuel 17:48. You’re familiar with the story, we’ve dealt three weeks with it now.
“And it came to pass when the Philistine arose and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened and ran toward the Army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, and the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.” Verse 50. “So David prevailed over the Philistine.” You looked at it already, we’ve seen it, so I’m not going to take the time to show you the verses again, but you know that the response of the children of Israel to Goliath was that they fled in fear. The Bible says that they were afraid and greatly dismayed. They were without hope and they did not think that they could beat Goliath. They did not think that anybody could beat Goliath, but David does that which no one thinks can be done.
The Bible tells us there in verse 50 that David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and he smote the Philistine and slew him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Remember that? Because he did not take the weapons that Saul was attempting to make him take. In verse 51, the Bible says, “Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. You say, “What does it mean to be a Giant Slayer?” Here’s what it means to be a Giant Slayer. It’s when you accomplish that which others think is impossible. When you accomplish that which others say is not possible. When you accomplish that. It’s when you raise children in this generation where we see so many children going to the things of the world and going against the world.
And when you actually raise kids that love the Lord and serve God and are soul winners, that makes you a Giant Slayer. When you preach the Word of God and in a way today where we’re told, “You can’t build a church that way, and you can’t lead a ministry that way.” But when you do it anyway and when you fight the giants of our time, that makes you a Giant Slayer. See, everyone else stays back while David fights and prevails over the Giant. But here’s what’s interesting about that. When you get to 1st Samuel 17, nobody thinks that Goliath can be defeated. Nobody thinks that Goliath is someone that can be brought down. Nobody thinks that they have the ability to be able to beat and prevail against Goliath.
Here’s what’s interesting though. You’re there in 1st Samuel 17? Go to 2nd Samuel 21, the text that we read this morning. When you get to 2nd Samuel 21, in 2nd Samuel 21 is towards the end of the life of David. At the beginning of the life of David, nobody thinks that Goliath can fall, nobody thinks that a giant can be prevailed against, nobody thinks that they can win against Goliath. When you get to the end of the life of David, giants are falling all the time. Giants are being killed all the time. Many normal people are going to battle against giants and beating them. Are you there in 2nd Samuel 21? Read verse 15. “Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint.”
Verse 16. Here’s our first giant we learn about. Remember we talked it about last week where David picked up five stones, people believe that one was for Goliath and the other four may have been for four other giants mentioned in the Scripture. Well, we’re going to read about those four other giants here in this passages. Look at verse 21. “And Ishbibenob …” That’s giant number one, “… which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.” Verse 17. “And Abishai …” Here we have our next generation of giant slayers, ” … the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and … ” Notice what it says, ” … smote the Philistine, and killed him.” So at the beginning of David’s life, nobody thinks giants can fall.
At the end of David’s life, after David kills Goliath, we have Abishai who looked at what David did and said, “Well, I can do that too.” And when this giant, Ishbibenob who the Bible says thought to have slain David that means he intended to kill David, he was planning to kill David, Abishai, the son of Zeruiah I succoured him and smote the Philistine, and killed him.
Read verse 18. “And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle against the Philistines at Gob: and Sibbechai …” Giant slayer, next generation giant slayer, “… the Hushathite, slew Saph …” That’s the second giant, “… which was of the sons of the giant. Look at verse 19. “And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, the Bethlehemite …” Notice, “… slew …” Here’s giant number three, ” … the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.”
Read verse 20, “And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was …” Here’s giant number four. We’re not given a name, we’re just given a description. “… a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant. And when he defied Israel …” Notice this, “… Jonathan the son of Shimeah the brother of David slew him.” Slew who? The great man, the man of great stature.
Verse 22, “These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.” I want you to notice, before David no one thinks they can kill a giant. After David, it’s open season on giants. Before David, people said, “It cannot be done.” They’re dismayed and afraid. After David, men rise up and say, “You know what? David can do it, I can do it. David can kill a giant, I can kill a giant. If Goliath can go down, then this giant go down.”
It was the first lesson we learned in regards to Preparing the Next Generation of Giant Slayers. We’re number one, if we are going to prepare the next generation then we’re going to pass down our faith to the next generation. We must set the example. We must set the example. We see David does that which no one thought could be done and then others follow his lead and begin to do the same thing. If you kept your place there in Judges, I’d like you to go back to Judges. In Judges Chapter seven, there is a great verse in regards to leadership and it’s in the story of Gideon. We’re not going to go into the story of Gideon, I just want to pull out this one verse and it’s a statement that Gideon makes as he is leading an army towards his David and Goliath story, when of course when 300 soldiers are going to go up against an innumerable military.
I want to know what Gideon says. It’s a great leadership verse. Look, we are all leading somebody. As a pastor I lead a church, but you may be leading somebody as a husband and as a father and you ladies are leading somebody in regards to your children and other people that are looking to you towards leadership or whatever it might be. And you know what? Even kids, even the teenagers here, they might not realize it but they’ve got some younger children looking at them in a leadership capacity and looking at them and we all need to learn to become better leaders.
In Judges 7:17, the Bible says this, “17 And he …” Gideon, Judges 7:17, “And he …” Gideon, that’s Gideon. Though “He” there, if you want to look at it in the context. “And he said unto them …” Here’s a great statement on leadership.” Notice what he says. He says, “Look on me, and do likewise.” “Look on me and do likewise.” What does a good leader do? Here’s what a good leader does. He says, “Look on me and do likewise.” Notice he said, ” “Look on me and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that …” Notice what he says. “As I do, so shall ye do.”
Look. A leader sets the example. A leader says, “Look on me, and do likewise. A leader says, “As I do, so shall ye do.” Go to 1st Corinthians chapter number four in the New Testament. You got Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1st Corinthians. 1st Corinthians chapter number four. Let me ask a question to those of you in leadership, which should be all of you here. You’re leading somebody. There is somebody looking at you for leadership. It may be a younger Christian looking up to you as an older Christian. It may be a younger sibling looking up to you as an older sibling. It may be because you actually have a leadership position in ministry, or as a husband, or as a father, or as a mother, or as an employer or whatever it might be. And here’s the question I have for you. Do you look at those that are following you and say, “As I do, do that likewise?”
Or do you tell your kids, “Do what I say but not what I do”? Because a bad leader says, “Here’s what we should do. No, I’m not doing it, no, I’m failing in that area, no, I’m not doing those things, but here’s what you should do.” That’s what a bad leader does. You know why? Because the leader must set the example. It’s not enough for David to look at his servants and say, “Hey, you can kill a Goliath. You can kill a giant. You can win great battles.” You know what? David has to go and set that example first. And a leader that passes down his faith to the next generation, his courage to the next generation, the torch to the next generation, does so by first setting the example for them.
1st Corinthians 4:16. Note what the apostle Paul wrote. 1st Corinthians 4:16, he says, “Wherefore I beseech you …” That’s what he says. “Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.” Paul said, “Hey, follow me. Follow me. Do what I do.” And what do you think Paul learned that from? Or maybe he learned from the Lord Jesus Christ who would often look at his disciple and say, “Follow me.” And here Paul says, “Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.”
You’re there in 1 Corinthians 4, go to I Corinthians 11. Look at verse one. 1 Corinthians 11:1, and here’s the question you got to ask yourself; what kind of example are you setting for those that are coming behind you? What kind of an example are you setting for those that are coming behind you? I Corinthians 11:1 the Bible says this, Paul said this; “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”
Today you’ve got hyper spiritual people who say, “Oh, I don’t follow man. I don’t follow a man, I don’t need a pastor. You know what? I don’t need a man to lead me, I just follow Christ.” Well, Paul said, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” God always raises a leader to lead his people. And look, if you say, “I don’t follow anyone,” you’re not right with God. The Bible says, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” There in 1 Corinthians 11.
Go to Philippians number three. You’ve got 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. This is the Apostle Paul again writing to the church at Philippi. Philippians 3:17 says this. Philippians 3:17, “Brethren …” Notice what it says, “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for …” Notice what it says, “… an ensample. He says, “God has given you leaders to be your ensample.” To be your example. And he says, “Brethren, be ye followers together of me.” Here’s what you need to understand. You as a leader are setting an example that your followers will follow.
And look, it’s proven statistically. Parents who smoke can tell their children all day long, “Don’t smoke. Don’t smoke. Don’t ever start. Don’t ever start.” But it’s statistically proven that children are more likely to begin to smoke when their parents smoke. Children are more likely to be alcoholics when their parents were alcoholics. Children are more likely to get a divorce when their parents got a divorce. Children are more likely to go down the sin of their parents when that’s the example that was set before them. It’s just, you can’t get away … I’m not trying to hurt your feelings, I’m just trying to tell you the truth. If you’re going to bring the next generation along, we must learn that we must set the example.
I remember a couple of years ago when we were having the big Orlando protests and we had five or six or seven hundred protesters on the church. One of the biggest questions I was getting from people was, “Should we bring our children to the service? Should we bring our children to the service?” And I thought to myself, why would you not bring your children to the service? I want to set an example for my children that we don’t run away from battles. We don’t run away from Goliaths. We don’t … Look, you think I want the image that my children grow up with was, “When there was a big protest dad cowered out. Dad ran away with his tail between his legs.” You think of I want them to remember?
You say, Pastor Jimenez, do you want your children to one day stand up and preach and stand against the Sodomite agenda? Well, you know what? They better see me do it too. I’m not going to … Look, I’m just trying to explain to you. You’re not going to raise a giant slayer when you’re running away from all your giants. When you’re running scared, when you’re shooting the wrong example, when you can’t beat that drug, when you can’t beat that addiction, when you can’t beat that trend. When you just cower and run every time something gets difficult, just realize that’s the example that you’re setting for the next generation.
Why was it that David was able to raise up servants that killed giants in their day? Because David had stood up against the giant of his day. If we’re going to raise the next generation of giants slayers, we must realize that we must first set the example. We must be able to look at our children and say, “Hey, be followers together of me. Be followers of me even as I also am of Christ.” So number one, we must set the example. Number two, we must set up memorials. Go back to 1st Samuel chapter 17 if you would. 1st Samuel chapter 17. We must set up memorials.
I want you to know it’s what David did after he killed Goliath. And this is something you find as a common theme throughout Scripture. 1 Samuel 17:51, the Bible says this; “Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword …” Notice what it says; “… and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him.” I want you to notice what David did. “… and cut off his head therewith.” “… and cut off his head therewith.” You missed that part in the Sunday school version of David and Goliath, but David cuts off Goliath’s head. “… And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
Look down at verse number 54. “And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.” I want you to understand a couple of things. At this point in history, Jerusalem is not a city that belongs to the nation of Israel. It is still a city called Jebus. It is not until later on in David’s life when David becomes the king of Judah, that he takes over Jebus and turns it into the city of Jerusalem. When the Bible says here that he took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, we’re actually fast forwarding into the future. But I want you understand. You say, “Why would David cut off the head of Goliath and take it as a trophy to show all the enemies of the children of Israel and then set it up in the future capital of the city? Why would David do that?”
Here’s what you need to understand. David took a souvenir. David took a souvenir from his battle with Goliath in order to set it up as a memorial for future generations to see. The Bible tells us that he took the head. Look at verse 54 again. “… of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem.” That’s not the only souvenir he took. It also tells us, “… but he put his armor in his tent.” He took the head of the Philistine as a souvenir, he took the armor of the Philistine and put it in his tent. Go to 1st Samuel 21. 1 Samuel 21. We’re fast forwarding into the life of David but I want you to notice that these souvenirs became a memorial that people could look at and they could look at it and they could see, “Hey, one day David slew Goliath.” We remember that David slew a giant. I Samuel 21.
This is later on in the life of David. David is now running from Saul because Saul has grown envious of David. And by the way, when you kill Goliaths, when you kill giants, people will grow envy of you. They will fight you, and they will attack you, and they will lie about you. 1st Samuel 21:8 says this; “And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword?” David is speaking to Ahimelech and he is asking for, he’s running from Saul and he’s asking for a weapon. He says, “… for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste. And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.
I want you to notice that in the tabernacle where the Levites were ministering, they had placed the sword of Goliath. Why would they do that? Because it was set there as a memorial, as a way to remember. See here’s what you need to understand. We must teach and reteach the next generation about the battles that have already been fought. Go to Joshua chapter number four. Let me give you an example of this. Joshua chapter four. We must set up memorials. This is a common thing if you read the Old Testament. I’ll give you one example of it, but it’s common throughout the Old Testament that they were commanded to set up these memorials.
We talked about it last week, I’m not going to take you to that passage, but if you remember last week we talked about the fact that they beat the Anakims and Moses was commanded to rehearse that in the ears of Joshua, and to let him know and to remind him about that battle. Let me give you another example here, Joshua chapter four. If you kept your place in Judges, right before Judges you have the book of Joshua. Continue to keep your place there in Judges, but go to Joshua chapter 4, look at verse one. Joshua 4:1, the Bible says this; “And it came to pass …” This is the story when they’re crossing the Jordan. This is not crossing the Red Sea. Crossing the Red Sea happened with Moses. They’re now crossing the Jordan with Joshua.
The Bible says, “And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.” God performed a miracle where he stopped the flow of the Jordan river so that the children of Israel could cross the Jordan River. If you remember the story, the Ark of the covenant, as a priest held the Ark of the covenant, they had to step out first by faith.
The Bible says as the sore of their foot touched the water, that God parted the river there. And as they crossed, those men that were carrying the Ark of the covenant, they stayed in the midst of the Jordan until everybody had passed. And God is commanding them that they would choose one man from every tribe, and that every man would go to the middle of that river and pick out 12 stones and leave them in the lodging place. They were to take up 12 stones from the midst of the river and carry them out to the other side of the river and then they built them. They basically just stacked them a part of each other, these 12 huge stones. You say, “What was the purpose or the reason for that?” Look at verse six, Joshua 4:6, “That this …” That these stones that were pulled out from the midst of the river, “That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
Then ye shall answer them, that the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, and the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for …” Notice these words, “… a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.” Throughout the Old Testament you see God telling them to set up these memorials to show, to have these physical objects that would cause the children of Israel to look back and to think back. And the kids would ask their parents, “What mean ye by these stones?” And they would say, “Oh, let me tell you that story; when God parted the Jordan River for us and we pulled out this stone.” They were meant to do what? To remind them. To teach them. To reteach them.
And listen to me, in your life and in my life, we must learn that it is our job to impart our faith to the next generation. I’m not saying physically we need to build up memorials or that wouldn’t hurt, but spiritually we need to build memorials in the lives of our children that will allow us to teach and reteach. To tell them the stories, to help them understand. To impart to them our faith. You say, “What?” Because there is no success without succession. Look, you’re going to raise your kids in Verity Baptist Church. The whole time they’re growing up, they’re in a homeschool and they’re this, and they’re that, and they’re in every service, and you drag them to soul winning. If they grow up and never get saved and die and go to hell, you failed.
They grow up and live for the world, you failed. If they grow up and don’t live for God … and I’m not saying that every kid needs to grow up to be a preacher, but look, we should all have the goal that every one of our children grows up to serve the Lord. I’m not concerned if my sons grow up … I don’t need them to be pastors, I want them to do what … if God places that desire in their lives, then praise the Lord for that. And if God raises a desire in their life for them to go and be a church member that’s going to help a pastor in his local community, and they’re just going to be businessmen, or employees, or whatever, praise the Lord for that. There’s no shame in that, but they better be serving the Lord. The goal is that they serve God, because there is no success without succession.
Go to Deuteronomy Chapter six. You’re there in Joshua? Just one book back. Deuteronomy Chapter six. We must impart our faith to the next generation. We must not only set up examples, but we must set up a memorial. We must set up a … It’s like what I was talking about with the protests. My kids will forever have that memory in their minds of when they served God, and when they were in that church that stood up against the perverts of these world. Hey, that’s a great memory. That’s a great memorial that we set up for them that they can remember.
Your kids and my kids should have a memorial. They should have a memorial when they are adults, where they can look back and remember as a six year old, and as a seven year old, and as a nine year old, and as a 10 year old, that they would go out soul winning with their family. They should have a memorial. I want my kids to have memories of sitting down and reading the Word of God with their mother, and reading the Word of God with their father. You say, “Why do you do that?” Because we want to set up some memorials that they can look back to, and impart our faith in their lives.
We must not only set the example, but we must set up memorials in their lives. Deuteronomy Chapter six. Are you there? Read verse one. I just preached that Deuteronomy six when we talked about homeschooling. I’m not going to go to those same verses. I just want you to look at verses one and two in the chapter. Deuteronomy chapter six, verse one and two. The Bible says this now, “These are the commandments; the statutes and the judgments which the LORD, your God, commanded you to teach you that you might do them in the land whether you go to possess it. That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee …” Now, I want you to notice what it says, “… which I command thee.” Don’t miss this. “… which I command thee.”
“Thou …” He says you. “… of one generation.” He says, “Thou and thy son …” That’s generation two. Notice this. “… And thy son’s sons,” generation three. “All the days of thy life. And that thy days may be prolonged.” God expects us to have an influence not only on the next generation, but the generation after that. God expects my reach as a father to not only go to my children, to my sons, but to my son’s sons. To the second and to the third generation. You say, “Why is that?” Because he desires that there would be overlap.
See, if I reach not only my sons and my daughters, but I reach my influence into their sons and into their daughters, and then my sons not only have an influence on their sons but they then reach into their sons’ sons. And if their sons’ sons, my grandchildren, not only have an influence on their sons, but they reach their influence into their sons’ son, and you have this constant overlap of influence, of imparting of truth, of imparting of faith, then we will never fail because there will always be succession.
And by the way you can find some joy in that and in realizing it, you might say, “Well, I already messed up with my children.” Yeah, but maybe you can influence your grandchildren. “Well, my kids are already not living here, they’re gone.” What are the grandkids? “… which I command thee, that thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; that thy days may be prolonged.”
Look, we as Christian parents need to wrestle with this question, “What makes a Christian home.” What makes a Christian home? Or “What makes a home Christian?” See, I think we get this idea we say, “Well, I don’t have a Christian home because we don’t certain things.” We therefore are not watching certain things. In our home there’s the many things we don’t watch. “I have a Christian home because we don’t watch certain things.” “I have a Christian home because we don’t drink certain things.” “I have a Christian home because we don’t eat certain things.” “I have a Christian home because we don’t wear certain things.” All that is valid, and I’m not minimizing any of that.
All that is good but please understand, that is not what makes your home a Christian home. I would submit to you this morning that if you are not imparting fruit to the next generation, you do not have a Christian home. You might have all the right rules and all the right stands and all the right structures, and all the right … but if you are not passing that out to the next generation, if you’re not making sure that that faith is being imparted to the next generation and the generation after that, you are failing, and I’m failing. Because there is no success. There is no success without succession.
We must impart our faith. We must impart our faith to the next generation. Go to 2nd Timothy Chapter number one. 2nd Timothy in the New Testament, you got all those T-books clustered together, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, 1st and 2nd Timothy, Titus. 2 Timothy chapter one. I’d like to tell you a quick story, a conversation I had this week. This week I went to see Miss Joyce. Brother Veejay is in India for a few weeks and as he’s traveling I went by to see Miss Joyce see how she was doing, see if she needed anything and she had brunch for me. We had brunch together, that was a nice time, and we were talking a little bit. Brother Veejay and Miss Joyce are in that grandparent generation. We’re talking about her kids and her grand kids.
She made a statement to me and I asked her when she made the statement, I said, “Do you mind if I write that down? Would you mind if I use it in my sermon this Sunday?” She didn’t know what I was preaching about, but … I said, “That goes well with what I’m preaching about.” And she gave me permission to do that. As we were talking about grandparenting … You say, “Why are you talking with Miss Joyce about grandparenting?” I want to learn from people who have done it right. You see, they’ve got a family that are saved. You’ve got young people, their children, their daughters that are saved and grandchildren that are saved and walking with God and loving the Lord and all of those things.
Here’s the great key. They love with each other. You get to the end of 50 years of marriage you still love each other, that’s quite a success. You still love your spouse, your kids still like you, that’s good. I want to learn from those people. She made this statement to me and I asked her if I could use it in the sermon. She said this; she said as grandparents she has learned, do not interfere but always influence. I said, “Can I write that down?” Do not interfere but always influence.
It’s true. As grandparents who you … One day as you’re a grandparent and Lord willing as one day I’m a grandparent, we need to be very careful. As our children get married, we need to be very careful, because the Bible says this, and you have to turn there. In Genesis 2:24, and this is quoted throughout the Bible, it says, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” The Bible says when you get married, you ought to leave father and mother, and you ought to cleave unto your wife. Let me just go ahead and say this for you married couples. It is a very foolish thing to involve your parents or your in-laws in the problems of your marriages.
You don’t … No, don’t do this thing where it’s like, “Oh, I’m mad. I’m going to go spend the night with mom.” No. No. When you get married you are to leave and to cleave. You are to leave them behind. The umbilical cord needs to get cut at some point. I’m thankful for my parents and my … My parents weren’t perfect. Obviously, nobody’s parents are perfect, but I remember one thing my dad said to me when my wife and I got married, is “You don’t come back here. If this doesn’t work out, you don’t come back here. You figure it out. That’s your wife now.” Of course, he, half joking, half not. Listen, and you that are one day will have children that are married and you’ll be the in-laws, don’t interfere in your children’s marriages. Don’t interfere. That’s not your place.
There’s a lot of wisdom there from an older lady who says, you know what? “Never interfere.” Never interfere. That’s not our place. She said, “Do not interfere but always influence.” My goal is that one day my sons and my daughters will be old enough to where I cannot tell them what to do. They will be old enough, they will be married. Well, I cannot tell them what to do. I cannot tell them, “You must do this.” I cannot tell them, “You must do that.” I cannot walk into their homes after their marriage and say, “This place is a mess, why don’t you clean it up?” I won’t have the authority to say that, but I hope that I will still have some influence in their lives.
I hope that I will have some influence in their children’s lives. I hope that the Lord will allow me to not only reach into the next generation, but the generation after that. And if you would allow me maybe even the generation after that. I want to not interrupt in their marriages, but I do want to try to influence and to help them raise the next generation. And the next generation, and the next generation of giant slayers.
How do we do that? Well, here’s how you do it. Number one, you must set the example. But number two, you must set up memorials. There must be markers that you put in line that you can look back to and say, “This is what we believe. This is what we stand. Here is the faith of our fathers. 2nd Timothy chapter one. Are you there? Look at verse five. Here’s what Paul said to Timothy. 2nd Timothy 1:5, he says, “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.”
Here we have an example of a grandmother, Lois, who not only influence the next generation but reached into that third generation and had an influence on her grandson, Timothy. How do we raise them? How do we impart? How do we pass the torch along? We must set the example. David set the example not only by encouraging the killing of the enemies of the Lord, but by going out in front and doing it first. Setting the example, killing Goliath so that others can look at his example and say, “It can be done.”
What are my roles? Everywhere I go, everybody want to tell me. I’m not like … If you’ve done this I’m not mad at you and I’m not even thinking specifically of anybody in this room, but everywhere I go, no matter where I go, people are constantly telling me all the bad things about California. “It can’t be done in California. You can’t survive in California.” You can’t live for God in California.” I mean, people think of California, I don’t know what they think California is like. Mars or something. I get it. It’s bad. But you know what? Noah raised children in a really bad environment and found wives for them too. And people calls you and say, “Oh, you can’t do it in California.” “I can build …” You can’t build a church.
You know what? One of my goals is to build a thriving Independent Fundamental Baptist power preaching church in California as an example for other young men who will say, “You know what? I’ll go take on that giant of California. I’ll fight that battle.” Every one wants to tell us, “No, it can’t be done!” You can’t preach like this and build a church. You got to get rid of the pulpit. You got to put a little stool here. You got to share. You need small groups. You need contemporary music. You can’t do it with the old hymns. You can’t do it with the King James Bible.” Hey, why don’t we just beat that giant and then other young men will see it and say, “Hey, it can be done.”
You can still do it preaching the Word of God. You can still do it not compromising. You can still do it being an old fashioned fundamentalist. It can still be done. We need to impart. We need to impart and we need to set up memorials. I hope that our church one day will be a church that young men will look at and say, “Men, they did it back then. They did it back then!” I hope that grandchildren and great grandchildren one day will look at our church and great grandchildren one day we’ll look at some great churches like Faithful Word Baptist Church and Stedfast Baptist Church and Old Path Baptist Church. They will look back 50 years from now and 80 years from now and say, “They were doing it back then, and it still can be done.”
We must set the example. We must set up the memorials. There’s a third thing I want you to notice. Go to 2nd Samuel 21. 2nd Samuel 21. So how do we prepare the next generation of giant slayers? Well, number one, we must set the example. Number two, we must set up memorials. Here’s point number three. We’re done. I’ll give you this and we’ll be done Here’s point number three; we must stay in the fight.
We must stay in the fight. We cannot quit. We will not set up the next generation. We will not impart our faith to the next generation of giant slayers when we quit the fight. I want you to note something interesting about David. Are you there in 2nd Samuel 21? Look at verse 15. “Moreover, the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David …” I want you to know what it says about David. David, mighty man of courage, he is a great warrior. The Bible tells us, “… and David waxed faint.”
In this battle, David got tired. That’s what that means. He got faint. He wasn’t able to fight like he used to fight. Look at verse six. “And Ishbibenob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.” Again, that means he intended to kill David. So here you are in a battle, David is waxing faint to the point where even a giant can identify. You know what? “David is not fighting like he used to fight.” He’s a little slower. He looks a little wounded. He’s a little tired and this giant says, “I’m going to go over there and kill the giant slayer. I’m going to go over there and kill David.”
Verse 17, “But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him.” He got his attention. The giant was going towards David. And Abishai said, “No. No. No. Come. Look at me.” And he started fighting with him. And smote the Philistine, and killed him. And the men of David sware unto him, saying … Note this. After the threat was neutralized, and the giant was killed, the men of David sware unto him saying, notice what they said. This is what they said, “Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle.” They said, “You cannot battle with us any more.” You say, “Why is that?” This is why they said that, because David was an old man at this point.
They are telling David, “David, it’s time to retire. David, you cannot do this anymore.” Now, they weren’t saying it’s time to quit on God, they were saying, “Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle.” Notice why, “… that thou quench not the light of Israel.” Here’s what they were saying. They were saying, “David, you have been such a light to the children of Israel. You have been such a leader to the children of Israel. If you died now it would really hurt our cause. So here’s what we want David, you’re getting older, you’re getting slower, you’re getting more tired. You’re not going to go out to battle with us.”
They asked him to be done. Be done with fighting. Not be done with serving God, but just be done with the physical fighting. You know what? I plan to pastor in this church for the rest of my life and I’m not going to be going anywhere else or doing anything else, but I hope one day when I’m 80 years old or whatever and the sermons aren’t as sharp and maybe the rambling goes on a little longer, that somebody will nicely come up beside me and say, “Hey pastor, maybe it’s time you finish. Maybe it’s time …”
We all come to the place where we can’t do … We will all come to the place where we can’t do what we once used to do. David here is coming to the end of his life, but I want you know what’s interesting. When David comes to the end of his life … When we see the beginning, because we saw the beginning of David’s career, right? We’ve been talking about it for the last three weeks. What was the beginning of David’s military career? It started with one big fight against Goliath, the giant of Gath, the Philistine. When David started his career as a military man, he was fighting the Philistines. I want you to notice when David ended his career as a military man, I want you to notice what he was doing.
Look at verse 15 again. 2 Samuel 21:15, “Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint. I want you to notice that David began his career by fighting the Philistines, and David ended his career by fighting the Philistines. David just stayed in the fight. He was fighting the Philistines as a young man, he was fighting the Philistines as a middle aged man, and he was fighting the Philistines as an old man. And you know what? As a Christian, you and I, if we’re going to pass on to the next generation the faith of our fathers, we need to just stay in the fight. You say, “What do you mean by that?” Here’s what I mean by that. As a young man I’m a soul winner. You know what my goal is, when I’m an old man, to be soul winning.
As a young man I’m preaching out of the King James Bible, one day as an old man I hope to be preaching out of the King James Bible. As a young man I’m preaching standards and righteousness and we want right music and not worldly music, I hope that as an old man we’re still singing the old hymns. We’re still standing for the same truth. Nothing has changed. Here’s what I’m trying to tell you. If we’re going to pass on our faith to the next generation, we cannot quit and we cannot change. We fight the Philistines now, we better be fighting the Philistines then.
David didn’t quit the fight. He ended on the same page, the same fight, the same battle, doing the same things when he started as when he ended. And you know what? If you and I are going to raise the next generation of giant slayers, we better stay in the fight. Look, 20 years from now you better be King James only. 20 years from now you better still be soul winning. 20 years from now you should be in a Baptist church. 20 years from now, you should still be believing the things that we believe; eternal security, you know in dress standards. All these in 20 years? You say, “Why?” Because when we quit and when we change, we’re destroying the next generation.
Go to 2nd Timothy chapter four. We were just in 2nd Timothy or 1st Timothy? I’m not sure if I told you to keep your place, but I apologize. Go to 2nd Timothy chapter four. Remember Paul said, “Follow me,” Paul said, “Follow me, brethren, follow me.” He said, “Follow me as I follow Christ. He said, “I’m your ensample.” I want you to notice how Paul ended his life. 2nd Timothy chapter 4. You know the verses so we’re going to through them together. 2nd Timothy 4:6. Paul says, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.” Paul says, “My life is getting ready to end. I’m getting ready to be done with what God has called me to do.”
Verse seven, 2nd Timothy 4:7, he says, “I have fought a good fight, I have …” Notice these words, “… finished my course.” “I have fought a good fight …” And he says, “I have finished my course.” Notice, “I have kept the faith.” What does that mean? He says, “I haven’t changed.” “I haven’t changed.” Listen to me, if we are going to prepare the next generation of giant slayers, we’ve got to stay in the fight. We can’t quit. I started off married. To Miss Joanne Clarke. I’m planning on finishing married to Miss Joanne Clarke.
I started off as a Baptist, I’m planning on finishing as a Baptist. I started off you know going to church Sunday morning and Sunday night and I plan on finishing that way One day I might get so old that I can’t preach but I’ll be here. Someone have to drag me in or wheel me in, or whatever. What I’m trying to tell you is that we need to not quit. We need to not quit. We were talking to the guys. I forget which one of the guys was it telling me about what we’re reading about in the Bible how it says that the next generation served not the Lord, the next generation served not the Lord and we always look at that as a negative thing like, “Oh, the next generation didn’t serve the Lord,” but that’s a lot better than what we’re doing now. Because today you’ve got people that show up for two or three years and then they quit on God.
Don’t even make it to the next generation. They don’t even serve God. And be like saying Joshua quit on God. But we’ve got to stay in this thing. We’ve got to stay in the fight. We got to keep fighting the Philistines. We got to keep doing what God has called us to do. Go to Acts chapter 13. We’re going to look at two passages we’ll be done. Acts 13, Psalm 78. If you want to find those, Acts 13, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts. Psalm 78. You open your Bible right in the center, you’re more than likely to find the Book of Psalms. Psalm 78. Acts 13, Psalm 78.
How do we prepare the next generation of giant slayers? How did David do it? Well, he set the example. He set up the morals and he stayed in the fight. He didn’t quit. He never got tired of fighting them Philistines, he just kept fighting Philistines. And look, you’re never going to be done with the Philistines. You know that? We must teach and reteach. We must teach and reteach. We must never get tired of teaching and reteaching the same things. I was recently asked to preach at the Soul Winning Conference. “You preach on eternal security.” Of course I thought to myself, “Eternal security? Everybody knows about eternal security.” But then I thought to myself, you know what? It’s a privilege to teach and reteach the same things. To lay the foundation because there’s always someone who hasn’t heard it.
There is always a young person who needs to be grounded in those things. To reach and to reteach. Acts 13:36. I want to know what the Bible says here in Acts about David. In Acts 13, we’ve got many generations after David. The descendants of David are talking about David. All the way in the New Testament I want to know what they said, Acts 13:36. “For David …” Note these words. “… after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption.”
I want you to notice that many, many years later, people look at the life of David and you know what David did? David served his own generation. How do you do that? One, by setting the example; by fighting the giants and showing people that giants can fall and leading others to do the same. By setting up memorials. By putting check marks where people could go back and look at and say, “Notice what had been done in the past. And if then God did it for David, God is no respecter of persons. If God did it for David, he can do it for us.”
How did David serve his own generation? By staying in the fight. By not quoting. Of course, David had his own problems. He had sin in his life, we understand that. But he just kept fighting the Philistines. He just kept fighting the Philistines.
Psalm 78:1. Psalm 78. We’re done right here. Psalm 78. We must serve this generation. hOW? Psalm 78:1. Notice what the Bible says, “Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old.” Verse 3, “Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.” “And our fathers have told us.
Listen to me dads. Your goal in life have to be that your adult children can say, “Our fathers have told us. Our fathers have taught us. Our fathers have explained to us. They’ve taught us, they’ve been there with us.” Look at verse 4, “We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.” Here’s the question I have for you. Are you helping us raise the next generation of giant slayers? Are you influencing your children? You say, “Well, that’s done.” How about your grandchildren? Are you setting the example for them, or are you setting example of someone who quits on God? Of someone who gets backslidden, or someone who quits on marriage, who quits on the things of the Lord?
Are you setting the example for your children and your grandchildren? Are you setting up memorials for them and showing them along the way and having conversations and when they ask you questions, “What mean ye by these stones grandma?” “What mean ye by these stones grandpa?” Well you can say, “Let me tell you about when God parted the Red Sea. When God parted the Jordan. When God brought down the walls of Jericho.” Are we setting up memorials? And are you staying in the fight? Are you staying in the fight because there’s nothing that would do more to destroy the next generation than people who refuse to stay with it.
“Well, I used to.” That won’t help. Make sure you’re still fighting the Philistines at the end of your life. Make sure you’re taking the same stands, doing the same things. “We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generations to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.” Because there is no success without succession.
Let’s bow our heads in a word of prayer.