Passing the Torch

Background

1 Chronicles was written as a historical narative aimed to theologically educate the people of Israel

It was written after the people were restored from Babylonian captivity

You might think that after this captivity, that the people would be in a good place, after all, they are free

However, they were facing economic hardship, foreign opposition, and having constant disagreements amongst themself

By looking at the past of Israels history, they can find a theological framework on how to move forward

Today we are going to look at learning from the past while looking forward to the future to leave a legacy

Over the past 4 weeks we have been looking at the life of King David and the Anointed Mess he was in

We talked about how he was the unlikely of Kings, yet God called him

We talked about how he patiently served and trusted God

We talked about how he stood up when no one else would, God prepared him, He trusted God

We talked about his failings and repentance

Today, we look at King David passing the torch (1 Chronicles 29:10-11)

We will see King David solidifying his legacy

One of my favorite movies is the Sandlot

In it, new kid on the block (Scotty Smalls)

The best player among the kids is Benny who takes smalls under his wing

He includes him and teaches him baseball

At one point the kids are out out of balls and in order to help fit in, Smalls steals a ball from his step-dad and uses it to play

The ball ends up going over the fence and they cant get it because there is a beast in the backyard where it is at

That is when Smalls admits that he stole the ball from his step-dad and that it was signed by Babe Ruth

They attempt to get it multiple times but fail

One night, Benny has a dream where Babe Ruth tells him that “Heros get remembered but legends never die”

Benny bought some new shoes, jumped the fence, grabbed the ball and was chased by a huge dog

Ultimately he outruns the dog and they meet the owner

The owner gives them a new ball signed by all of the Yankees that included Babe Ruth

Benny becomes a Sandlot legend by his actions

Most often, legacies are built by actions or becomming bigger than a moment

I love this movie but I dont want us to get confused between the words legend and legacy

When a person is focused on being a legend or doing things to become a legend there is often ego involved

I want to be remembered, I want my name to be remembered forever. what can I do to be remembered?

But when we are focused on leaving a legacy, we are focused on impacting others, on building God’s Kingdom

David certainly left a legacy and although we might view him as a legend, his actions show that he was more focused on leaving a legacy for Christ rather than becoming legendary

As we look at 1 Chronicles 29:10-30 we will find that Ezra or Nehimiah (Two most attributed to writing 1 Chronicles) includes this historical account of David to remind the people of Israel to continue to contribute to the new temple

Context: David is encouraging the people of Israel to give to the temple of God, Introducing Solomon as the next king

David understands that he will dies and his son Solomon will have to do the work of building the temple

Lets read this historical account together

1 Chronicles 29:10-15 “Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you. Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision.” Then David said to all the assembly, “Bless the Lord your God.” And all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and paid homage to the Lord and to the king. And they offered sacrifices to the Lord, and on the next day offered burnt offerings to the Lord, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. And they ate and drank before the Lord on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and they anointed him as prince for the Lord, and Zadok as priest. Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of David his father. And he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. And the Lord made Solomon very great in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel. Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. The time that he reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. Then he died at a good age, full of days, riches, and honor. And Solomon his son reigned in his place. Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the Chronicles of Samuel the seer, and in the Chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the Chronicles of Gad the seer, with accounts of all his rule and his might and of the circumstances that came upon him and upon Israel and upon all the kingdoms of the countries.”

If you have only been recently joining us, you may not know that this church only a couple of months ago was called Golden Acres Batist Church

We have been calling it GABC

of course we are now New Day Pasadena

It was established in May 31st, 1936 although there were gatherings before the official formation

Truth be told I wasn’t here over 85 years ago but I am told it started on a lumber yard

On October 4th, 1936 the last service was held on the lumber yard and consturction on a new facility began

In June of 1954 the educational wing was officially built and opened

In the Spring of 1957 additional education classes were built along with the new sanctuary

In the Spring of 1960 the church voted to build 2 more educational buildings and they were finished before the years end

In 1972 the Christian Life Center was built (Gym accross the street) (I just found out that is why many of you call it the CLC)

In 1987 the offices were built out

in 1995 the sanctuary went through its first major renovation

Since 95’ there have been many renovations to the existing facilities

Since 95’ there have been many event changes, tradition changes, and I believe 3 pastoral changes

A couple of months ago our church boldy, courageously, stepped out in faith and trusted God who brought New Day Church to us

The members of this church voted overwhelmingly to merge with New Day and we are now New Day Pasadena

Here we are in 2022, undergoing another renovation change

We have a new name, a new Pastor, new events

The question is, how did we get here and how do we keep this going?

What are the beliefs we can find in scripture that this church has clung to too have it last this long and what should we do to continue the legacy of this church?

Legacy comes from God

I submit to you that the first thing we should find is that a true and lasting legacy comes from God.

1 Chronicles 29:10-13 “Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.”

It can be tempting to look at over 85 years and say “Look at what we have done”.

It can be tempting to look at the recent vote to become New Day as “We have failed”

But we look at King David and at the end of his reign, before his son Solomon takes the throne

He submits that everything he did, the wielding of power as King, The many successful battles won, the building up of the great nation of Israel, everything was done because God was over it.

Israel is His, the greatness is His, the victories are His, the heavens and earth are his,

God is King and he is the one who gives riches and honor

God is power and might

His hand makes what is great and gives strength

it is because of God that First Baptist Church of Golden Acres, that Golden Acres Baptist Church, and now New Day Pasadena exists

There is no man or woman powerful enough to thwart God’s plans and blessings

I am my own worst critic. I always think back or re-watch my sermons and I pick out things that I could have done better or said better

Just last week, I went home to my wife (Still love saying that) and I vented about how I should have added something to communion

And Marianne looks at me and she says, “I hate to break it to you but you are not powerful enough to bring someone to Christ.”

If God calls someone to him and it is the time for their heart to be regenerated, there is nothing you can say or cannot say that could stop that from happening

Those types of reminders/correction makes me warm and fuzzy bacause thats the kind of woman I married

But it was a sobering reminder that I am not in control, God is. He and he alone is sovereign

This is also freeing, it is not my responsibility to do the saving, it is my responsibility to do the serving

He is the alpha and omega

Through his providence we are where we are at today.

And we must look at verse 13 - And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name

As we move forward in continuing the legacy of this church we must continue in thankfulness, submitting that he is in control

Remnant

The second thing we see that God uses his people to leave a spiritual legacy

1 Chronicles 29:17-19 “I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you. Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision.””

What we find all throughout scripture is that God leaves a remnant of believers

Remnant - A small remaining quantity of something

At no point has the followers of God ever ended. At the lowest of lows, God destroyed the world and Noah and his family, the remant of mankind, but more importantly the remant of believers remained

Reading geneologies is Scripture is tough and its boring, but its a reminder that God is in control, that God has a plan, that God uses his people to further His Kingdom

It is because of God that David has an upright posture of the heart

God used David as a King to lead and teach the people of Israel

And now here is Israel joyfully giving, sacrificing, and praising God

They are praising God for who he is

Jesus hadnt even come yet but they knew that he is promised and until he comes they will still have faith in God

And from the line of David, from the city of David, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was born

That Jesus would be the eternal King

That Jesus would be the perfect King

That Jesus would be the Sacrificial King

Jesus lived the perfect life that we couldnt

He went to the cross and he willingly bore our sins so that we could be reconciled to God

That through Jesus’ death and resurrection our hearts can be regenerated

That we are made new

That we can walk in faith and good works according to God’s will

Before our hearts are changed there is nothing good within us

Nothing that can save us or be made holy

But because of Jesus who changes us, we are able to do things for God’s glory

We know this and we put our trust in Jesus but at the time this was written Jesus hadnt come

And before Jesus came, the Israelites were under the law but still had to have faith in God

King David listed out the Patriarchs - Abraham, Issac, and Jacob

These men taught their children and people about God, they obeyed the Lord by circumcising the males,

They lived their lives in a way that spiritually directed others towards God

Does your life direct others towards Christ?

Marianne and I have been planning things financially

We want to be in a good financial standing when we have kids

I am going to be honost that I already wonder what are the things I have to do to leave my kids set for life after I am gone.

Also, I desire for my son to be the next Jose Altuve (2017 Altuve not the 2022 Altuve)

So I want him to excel in baseball and I want to pour as much as I can into his baseball career,

If I die, I want to leave them (I could have a girl) with financial gain,

What is more important is that I leave them with spiritual wisdom

I may not be able to leave behind a fortune, but you can ensure that your kids have knowledge of who God is and what he has done for us through Jesus

You can do the same

And if you dont have kids or if your kids are grown, you can still point others to Christ

Many faithful servants have gone through this church. Many of you can name who has impacted you in this church

many have left a spiritual imprint of what a follower of Jesus Christ is, what a disciple maker should look like, what a relationship with Jesus looks like

Many of us here today are the remnant of Golden Acres, and now we are New Day

I submit to you that the common denominator isn’t a building, a name, or a program

But its about faithful servants keeping their eyes on Jesus and following him.

It is ok to have spiritual influences but their influence came from God and His word so at the end of the day that is what we cling to

Because of Gods word, we live a spiritual life

Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

When this is our focus, then it will be harder Not to leave a spiritual legacy behind because the word of God, wisdom, songs, and thankfulness will compel us to live our lives for Christ and teach others.

King David did this constantly - and here in the text,

And as we look back at the text we find here in the text that King David is praying for his son.

King David has taught Solomon about the ten commandment, about God’s statutes, and has taught him how to steward towards building God’s Kingdom

David knew the importance of leaving behind a spiritual legacy

I submit to you today that no matter where you are at in life, no matter how recent you have became a Christian, you are building your spiritual legacy, and again, its not for your glory, its for God’s glory

We are to leave a legacy that builds His Kingdom and to lead others to Christ

Invest in the Future

What we can learn from King David is to invest in the things you want to see live beyond you

It is interesting to me that King David said “”and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision”

King David knew that he would not live to see the temple of God made

He knew that it was a task that Solomon would have to take up, so David did what was necessary to make it happen.

1 Chronicles 29:23-25 “Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of David his father. And he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. And the Lord made Solomon very great in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.”

It is not by accident that Solomon took the throne and was not oppossed

That Solomon prospered

That Solomon was made great by God in the sight of all of Israel

King David laid the groundwork for this and taught Solomon well

The text says that God bestowed on Solomon such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

That includes his father, King David

What we find in 1 Kings 6 is that King Solomon does build and finish the temple

Its a descriptive and detailed list of what it was made of - and just when you think its done describing it, it continues

It took 4 years to lay the foundation and 7 years to build it

Yet, in the middle of the pasage, God said this, 1 Kings 6:12-13 ““Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel.””

It does no good to build this temple for me and then not follow me

God says to walk with me, obey me, and just like I was with your Father I wil be with you Solomon

I will dwell among you and will not forsake you

We too have promises established concerning our walk with God

That when our hearts are regenerated and our eyes are opened to the goodness of Jesus

The Holy Spirit dwells within us and is with us always to guide, convict, and to point us to Christ

Because God loved us first, because he pursued us, we love, walk, and obey him.

Call to Action

So now I ask you, how will we continue to invest in the legacy of this church

Notice I didnt say the legacy of GABC

I didnt say the legacy of First Baptist Church of Golden Acres

I didnt say the legacy of New Day Pasadena

I said the legacy of this church

This church is a body of people freely proclaiming the Lord Jesus Christ, Serving, Giving, and rejoicing, not in what we have done but in what God has done here

I cannot name to you the thousands of members who have served this church

none of them have become legends

But most of them has left behind a legacy together to build up God’s church and kingdom

I want to encourage everyone here to continue to hold fast to God’s word. - To seek God, trust him, and know that he is in control

That is what matters, if this church ever gets away from God’s word and his teachings, and the focus isnt on him, then it will get into trouble

But as it stands we are here, we do cling to the word of God and so we must continue to build His Kingdom

And so I ask, how will you invest in our spiritual legacy?

I do not want to renovate the church - Knowing that over $100,000 is invested and then us go back in there and sit and do nothing

The renovations is a collaboration of leadership and not all of John’s preferences are happening.

If I were in 100% complete control of that renovation other decisions would be made

At the end of the day that sanctuary is not what about what I want

And you will not know what preferences did not go my way because 100% unified with leadership that main goal is to point others to Christ and to do what is necessary to bring people in

And so I am pleading with you and submitting to you that when that new sanctuary is opened there will be a temptation to criticise because some of our preferences are not being met but at the end of the day I am calling you to overlook your preferences to how we can invest and build this church up.

1. Be present, be encouraging, be a peacemaker

2. Serve - dont just sit back and watch, be a part of it

3. Give - Not just because we are commanded to tithe, but because we want to to contiously give and build the Kingdom of God

4. Pray - We need to invest in our church spiritually, asking for protection, praying for visitors,

Satan comes in to steal, kill, and destroy

Join us in building the legacy of this church