Fellow Redeemed in Christ Jesus,
The early returns were in, and they were very generous. King David had made the first offering and the leaders of the people followed suit. The abundant finances for the new Temple enabled Solomon to begin his labor of love to his Lord, build his house.
The people noticed how generous their leaders had been. “The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.” Now it was their chance. Their response matched the earlier one. In the first words of our text, David says, “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this?”
God’s appointed king recognized that both the amount of the gifts and the heartfelt motivation to give had not come naturally from him and his people. The answer to David’s question is, we have nothing of ourselves and do nothing by ourselves in such willing sacrifice.
What is the explanation for the commitment of gifts to build the Temple, and the commitment we make of our gifts for our new construction of God’s house? It is A Generous Response from A Generous God. The Lord fills our hands with everything from his hand. The Lord keeps this desire and loyalty in our hearts.
Our leaders have promised a three-year gift of about $360,000 toward our goal of $400,000. Truly, this is a generous response both in amount and in willing dedication to the project.
How are they able to do that? David says, “Everything comes from you, and we have given only what comes from your hand.” Today is your chance. Their response as yours today comes into our hands from the Lord’s hand in both amount and devotion of the heart. The Lord has been generous to all of us in our material goods. The Lord has been generous to us to build devoted hearts for Jesus, hearts that sacrifice the first and the best for the work of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Who are we that we should be able to give as generously as this? “We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow without hope.” Just imagine, people like us able and willing to offer a generous response of love. How can that be? King David gives us the answer. “O Lord, our God,…it all comes from your hand and belongs to you.”
God promises that his Word will accomplish the purpose for which he sends it. That purpose is to save us through faith in Jesus Christ. This faith alone moves us to act according to our new nature in love for God and one another. The Lord tests us to see if we will match our faith with our actions. He is pleased with the integrity that makes those things match.
As we gather the rest of the promise cards today and perhaps some in the days ahead, it is my prayer, and my conviction, that our leaders and all of you will say with David, “All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent.” We know from our continuing stewardship emphasis, Building Devoted Hearts for Jesus that the Lord fills our hands with everything from his hand.
We want our desire and loyalty to continue. This too is a generous response from a generous God. The Lord keeps this desire and loyalty in our hearts.
David knew that desire and loyalty to the Lord are something we cannot create or keep by our own power or will. Therefore, as part of his prayer, David calls on the Lord to work and preserve those qualities in us. “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.”
Abraham, Isaac and Israel, or Jacob are our fathers as well, our spiritual fathers. We are their children as we share their faith in the promise God made to them. We have seen that promise fulfilled in Christ. We talked about such desire and loyalty last Sunday on Reformation. What a blessing to share the same desire to be generous toward the Lord and loyal to him that our Reformation fathers manifested.
God has granted to our congregation generosity, and loyalty to him. Those attitudes are part of everything that comes from his hand into ours. They begin and end at the cross. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ who loved us and paid for all our sins, God keeps this desire and loyalty in our hearts. Our special Bible studies and review during the service these past weeks were centered on that gospel.
Our building devoted hearts for Jesus will continue from that starting point on Calvary. It we remain focused on the heavens as we lift our heads and wait for our redemption to draw near in our Savior’s return. What a day that will be to hear our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share my master’s happiness.”
Please permit your pastor to rejoice as David did in a personal way and echo his words, “And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.” Like David, I am not surprised , or impressed as if we were able to do this of our own volition. Like David, I know it all came about as a generous response from a generous God. Amen. <SDG>