A Life That Speaks

A Life that Speaks

June 29, 2025, Morning Service

Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK

Rick Boyne

Message Point: Our lives—our character, decisions, and legacy—are visible testimonies to others. The kings of Israel give us examples of both faithful witness and tragic failure.

Focus Passage: Matthew 5:14-16

Supplemental Passage: “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice…which is your spiritual service of worship.” – Romans 12:1 (NASB)

Introduction: If I’m walking down the hallway with a cup of hot coffee and we both round the corner at the same time, I’ll spill hot coffee on you. I won’t spill a chocolate shake. I won’t spill a glass of champagne. Nor will I spill ice cold Dr. Pepper all over you and me. I’ll only spill coffee, because that’s what I was carrying. We spill out whatever is inside us when we get bumped by the world. Or a friend. Or a fellow Christian. If we ended up spewing angry words and bitterness, it’s because that’s what we were carrying in the first place. But if we spew out grace, love and forgiveness, it’s because we already had those things within us.

***

A New York family bought a ranch out West where they intended to raise cattle. Friends visited and asked if the ranch had a name. "Well," said the would-be cattleman, "I wanted to name it the Bar-J. My wife favored Suzy-Q, one son liked the Flying-W, and the other wanted the Lazy-Y. So we're calling it the Bar-J-Suzy-Q-Flying-W-Lazy-Y." "But where are all your cattle?" the friends asked. "None survived the branding." D.A.C. News.

I. The Testimony of King David

a. "After He had removed King Saul, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’" – Acts 13:22 (NASB)

b. “David did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and had not deviated from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.” 1 Kings 15:5

c. Even with flaws, a heart that sincerely pursues God leaves a testimony of faithfulness and repentance.

II. The Testimonies of good kings

a. “(Hezekiah) trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; and after him there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. For he clung to the Lord; he did not desist from following Him, but kept His commandments…” 2 Kings 18:5–6

b. “(Amaziah) He did right in the sight of the LORD, yet not like David his father; he did according to all that Joash his father had done. Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 2Ki 14:4-5

c. “(Azariah) did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.” 2 Kings 15:3-4

d. “(Jotham) did what was right in the sight of the LORD; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD.” 2Ki 15:34-35

e. “(Josiah) did right in the sight of the LORD and walked in all the way of his father David, nor did he turn aside to the right or to the left.” 2 Kings 22:2

III. The Testimonies of bad kings

a. “For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away to follow other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of his father David had been.” – 1 Kings 11:4 (NASB)

b. “Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as his father David had done.” 1 Kings 11:6

c. Even great wisdom and success mean little if we allow our hearts to turn from God. A compromised life weakens our testimony.

d. “There certainly was no one like Ahab who gave himself over to do evil in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife incited him.” – 1 Kings 21:25 (NASB)

e. “Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him.” 1 Kings 16:30

f. “(Jehoahaz) did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.” 2 Kings 23:32

g. “(Jehoiakim) did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.” 2 Kings 23:37