4/5/03 10.30 a.m. 1 Chronicles 29:1-20
29 1 Then King David said to the whole assembly: "My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the LORD God. 2 With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God--gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble--all of these in large quantities. 3 Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: 4 three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, 5 for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the LORD?" 6 Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king's work gave willingly. 7 They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron. 8 Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the LORD in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly. 10 David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, "Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. 11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. 12 Wealth and honour come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. 13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. 14 "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 15 We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16 O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 18O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. 19 And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided." 20 Then David said to the whole assembly, "Praise the LORD your God." So they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD and the king.
PRAY
There was a very wealthy man who had never been known for his generosity but the church. needed money to replace their boiler so he was approached by the Vicar and churchwardens. They met with the man" and said that in view of his considerable resources they were sure that he would like to make a substantial contribution to this appeal.
"I see,"
he said, "so you have it all worked out have you.? In the course
of your investigation did you discover that I have a widowed mother
who has no other means of support but me." No, they responded,
they did not know that.
"Did you know that I have a sister who was left by a drunken husband with five children and no means to provide for them" No, they said, we did not know that either.
"Well, sir, did you know also that I have a brother who is cripple due to a car accident and can never work another day to support his wife and family." Embarrassed, they replied, no sir, we did not know that either.
"Well, he thundered triumphantly,
I've never given any of them a penny so why should I give anything to
you."
In today's reading we have the generous response of God's people to the need to build a temple to house the arc of the covenant. God had laid this on King David's heart ( 28:2 ), but had revealed to David that his son, Solomon would be the one who would build this ( 28:6 ). David had given Solomon plans for the building ( 28:11ff ), and told him to be strong and courageous in persevering as God would be with him ( 28:20 ).
Before we look at the reaction of God's people we need to understand the God that they were responding to. We see this in David's song of praise in verses 10 - 20.
10 David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, "Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. 11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. 12 Wealth and honour come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. 13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. 14 "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 15 We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16 O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 18 O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. 19 And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided." 20 Then David said to the whole assembly, "Praise the LORD your God." So they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD and the king.
God is great, powerful, glorious, majestic, splendid, ruler of all. The Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q.4): "God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth."
God is a non-material personal being, self-conscious and self-determining. He is everywhere; everything, everywhere, everyone is immediately in his presence. His knows everything, the past, present and future. His is the source of all power, and nothing can happen without his knowledge and permission.
God is holy, literally 'set apart'. He is both morally prefect, His will the definition of what is right. He is also different from any other personal being. Not just because he is perfect but because we cannot comprehend him because he is so great and powerful.
God is eternal - without beginning or ending. He is not merely everlasting, but is outside time space and any other such restrictions.
God is so 'other' so different from ourselves and our experiences that we cannot fully understand him. However, he has revealed enough of himself through creation, salvation history, and especially Jesus, for people to respond to him in repentance, trust, devotion, and worship.
In comparison we are small, finite, limited. Without him we are nothing. David refers to this in verse 15 We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
He created, owns and distributes everything. Not just material things but honour & strength, verse 12, loyalty & devotion verse 18f.
Revelation 4: 11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
David had progressed from being a shepherd boy to a national hero and King of his country. He had led his people to many military victories, extending his kingdom. Under his rule he and his people enjoyed material prosperity. However, his kingdom was temporary. His son Solomon was the last King of a united Israel, a judgement of God because of Solomon's unfaithfulness to God.
Verse 11 mentions the kingdom of God, the place where God's rule is experienced. Everyone experiences the rule of God through his natural grace. The provision of life, health, food, water, love, pleasure etc.
David mentions in verse 18 that God is a covenant God of Abraham , Isaac and Israel. Last week Shaun spoke of the way that God delivered his people from slavery and death under the old covenant, and how he has delivered his people from slavery and death through the new covenant, instituted by Jesus.
In the OT the Israelites experienced the rule of God, for example through his deliverance from Egypt and provision in the wilderness. However, like Solomon they rejected God's rule so he punished them. Since Jesus God's rule can be known, and can only be known through Jesus. We can know the rule of God today in our lives through the redeeming work of Jesus, enabled by his Spirit. This includes the forgiveness of sins, a right relationship with God, answered prayer, the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. Believers can also look forward to the future rule of God, where there will be no sin, sickness, suffering, death and mourning, where everyone will have perfect resurrection bodies and be able to worship, praise and serve God forever.
This, then is the background to David and the people's response to a great, all powerful God who delivers his people and supplies every good gift ( James 1:17 ).
Their response is one of gratitude and humility, generosity, and praise.
David's prayer shows why he was a man after God's own heart. Despite all his achievements, he was deeply humble. He wanted glory to go to God, not himself. The original readers of Chronicles had returned from exile without a king to a ruined temple. This passage would have reminded them that David's greatest concern was for the temple, where his people could worship and serve God. They, his descendants, did not need a king to carry on David's deepest concerns.
David was humble in acknowledging that he had not created, earned or deserved his riches. They came from God, were loaned to David by God, and were temporary. It is clear that David placed no trust in these material possessions, rather, David trusted in God who loves to give good gifts to his children. We too, are called to trust in God rather than in material things.
This message is a challenge to the materialistic culture that we live in. As Christians we should ensure that we do not adopt the values of the world around us. Last Saturday evening I watched a programme on BBC2 called 'Spend, spend, spend' which examined this issue, and challenged the lifestyles of people who lived in well paid jobs. One of the points that the programme made was that, although people have more materially today, they are no happier. Now this assumes that the quality of human life should be measured by happiness, which our faith would question, but it does show the futility of pursuing money and possessions. A renown hairdresser to the stars was invited to forsake his home cinema system, which had cost over a million pounds, for a week. He was unable to do this. He didn't own the system, it owned him.
A record that has just been in the pop charts is 'Ka-Ching' by Shania Twain. It starts,
" We live in a greedy little world,
that teaches every little boy and girl
To earn as much as they can possibly
then turn around and spend it foolishly.
We've created us a credit card mess
We spend the money that we don't possess
Our religion is to go and blow it all
So it's shopping every Sunday at the mall..."
Our identity is not to be found in what we earn, or possess or do. It is not to be found in what we look like or the clothes that we dress in. Our true worth is to be found in and through our relationship with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We are called to be humble and generous with the gifts that God lends us. As Christians we are called to give ourselves totally to God in response to his mercy. This includes our money, possessions, time, energy and talents. They are loaned to us, we cannot take them with us when we die. Martin Luther, the Reformer, "There are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the heart, the mind and the purse." Of these three, it may well be that the conversion of the purse is the most difficult.
David said, 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart. One of the best tests of our faith is what we do with what God has entrusted to us. Jesus' parable of the talents demonstrates this. So do his words in Matthew 6:19-21, our other reading today. We are to 'build up treasures in heaven' ( v. 19 ) and 'where your treasure is, there will your heart be also' ( v.21 ). Or to put it another way, 'Would your bank manager be able to look at your account and conclude that you are a Christian?' repeat & pause
Money is a barometer of our Christian discipleship. It's not the only barometer but it is a barometer. It shows what, or who, we really rely upon. It shows what is truly important to us.
We are called to give ourselves to God as living sacrifices.
At a church the ushers had taken up the offering and brought the plates down to the altar rail. The minister took the plates and held them up in the air and he started his prayer: "Lord, regardless of what we say about you this is a true measure of our devotion to you......"
This leads us from humility to generosity. In 1 Chronicles 29 David gave generously and joyously because of his gratitude and humility, his devotion to God, his realization that these things did not belong to him and his desire to build a temple. His people shared his vision and, encouraged by his example, gave freely and joyously themselves. Their giving resulted in joy, verse 7 says that David and the people 'rejoiced'.
Worship involves preaching (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 14:9), reading of Scripture (Col 4:16; James 1:22), prayer (1 Cor 14:14-16), singing (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16), baptism and the Lord's Supper (Acts 2:41; 1 Cor 11:18-34), and sometimes prophesying and speaking in tongues.
But giving is also an act of worship, it shows, sometimes more than mere words, how important God is, how much he is 'worth'. We read of this in 1 Corinthians 16: 1 Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
Note that this giving is to be part of worship ( on Sunday ), a priority - setting aside money before other things, regular, and in proportion to one's income. As part of worship giving can encourage others, even be a witness.
I, and other P.C.C. members have been encouraged by the tremendous and generous response to the Boiler Appeal. Even though we are not in an affluent area and many church members are retired we have raised over £2,800 since February 16th. Once we have recovered tax from 'Gift Aided' money this figures will be over £3,100, only £300 short of our target. It is not just the raising of the money that is important, but also what is says about the priorities and motivation of God's people here.
When I give something to Chloe I am happy when, without me asking she says, 'Thank you daddy'. When we give something back to God, our loving heavenly Father, this makes him happy. This is another motivation to give, not just of our money but also our time, energy, worship, prayers, talents etc.
I have been speaking of motivation. Why Christians should give. David spoke of this, too. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.
This tells us that giving should be done willingly and honestly. Not grudgingly.
2 Corinthians 9: 6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
This also shows that givers are to do so cheerfully, the Greek word is 'hilaron' from which we get the word 'hilarious'! Giving generously will enrich and not impoverish the giver, because God is no man's debtor. If people give to God He will reward them. This may involve material blessings but could also include developing our character and rewards in heaven. Giving is linked to growing. It is the inevitable result of the true discipleship. As we surrender ourselves to God and to loving our neighbour then we will want to give not only ourselves but our goods to him and to his church.
I mentioned the response of the words of praise by David and the Israelites to God and his generosity. We have been looking at their, and our response through giving.
Last week Shaun led you in saying words of praise from the reading. I think that this would also be a good idea this week.
Would you like to turn to page 434 of your Pew Bibles and we will stand to say together verses 10b -13;
"Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. 11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. 12 Wealth and honour come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. 13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.
PRAY:
Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous,
teach me to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not
heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labour and not to seek reward,
except
that of knowing that I do your will.
St. Ignatius of
Loyola