Five foundations for reaping a GC harvest
Hope for Lenawee • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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MAIN IDEA: Five foundations for reaping a Great Commission harvest.
Foundation #1 ~ A harvest is reaped when we dedicate our hearts to that purpose.
1 And David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for the palace will not be for man but for the Lord God. 2 So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of onyx and stones for setting, antimony, colored stones, all sorts of precious stones and marble. 3 Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God: 4 3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house, 5 and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the Lord?”
In 1 Chronicles 22, David had a conversation with Solomon about building the temple.
David said (v5), “The house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificient, of fame and glory throughout all the lands. I will therefore make preparations for it. So David provided materials in great quantity before his death.”
David said (v7-8), “I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth.’”
David knew he would never see the temple that he dreamed would be built in Jerusalem. Yet, we read in chapter 22 that he started the preparations, so there would be a strong foundation for the future. In fact, the rest of 1 Chronicles tells about David preparing Israel for a temple to be built.
Chapter 29 is just before his death. I view this chapter as his final speech to Israel concerning the temple. Israel, I have devoted time and resources to this project for two reasons. The palace is the Lord’s and my devotion is to the house of God. Israel, I wanted the next generation to have everything they needed so they could experience what God wants to build.
In verse 5, he asked the crowd, “Who will join me in dedicating our hearts to plant seeds for something God will do in the future?”
Planting seeds for somebody else is high risk but has a high reward. It’s hard work without always reaping a visible harvest. It’s humble work because often there is no visible appreciation. It’s sacrificial work because it takes energy and resources. It’s a great commission work because it requires that we continually dedicate our hearts to the Lord.
Over the next forty days, would you pray that God cultivates your heart so that you can dedicate your heart to a Great Commission harvest in 2025?
Great Commission pledge cards??? Easter offering??? Christmas offering???
Foundation #2 ~ A harvest is reaped when we participate in financial generosity.
6 Then the leaders of fathers’ houses made their freewill offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officers over the king’s work. 7 They gave for the service of the house of God 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze and 100,000 talents of iron. 8 And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.
I want us to notice something in these verses. They should be on the screen.
In the original language, the words highlighted in yellow mean “a worshipful, eager sacred gift to the Lord.”
In the original language, the words in green mean “healthy and sustainable.”
An Israelite always gave God the very best of their possessions and never the leftovers. They never thought, “before we drop this off at goodwill, let’s see if the church could use it.” An Israelite had great excitement about giving to God and was very intentional about doing so. They worshipped while they were giving God their very best.
Interestingly, David invited them to dedicate their hearts to the Lord the same way they brought their tithes and offerings to the Lord.
Chris, what is tithe? That’s a new word to me. Tithe means one-tenth of their income. An offering is anything above one-tenth. Everything given in 1 Chronicles 29 was an offering. We’re going to talk specifically about a tithe in a few weeks. Some Christian leaders believe a tithe no longer applies to American Christians. Some Christian leaders believe a tithe can go to any Christian ministry or a combination of ministries. I believe a tithe applies to American Christians and it is supposed to be given to the church you attend. I will explain why in a few weeks.
David invited Israel to dedicate their hearts and their offerings to be a “worshipful, eager sacred gift to the Lord that was sustainable for reaping a Great Commission harvest. I think the Lord is inviting us to do the same thing, so we can bring hope to Lenawee county.
Foundation #3 ~ A harvest is reaped when we acknowledge that God owns all things.
10 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. 11 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. 12 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. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.
It’s not hard to figure out that David believed God owns all things. He made that declaration in eight different ways. If God owns all things, what does that mean?
God owns what happens in this building. The glory and the majesty and the victory is his. When something great happens in our church and we try to claim credit, or glory, or victory, we are spiritual criminals.
God owns our personal agendas. When the alarm goes off in the morning, when our feet his the floor, as we go throughout our day, God owns our personal agenda.
God owns our gifts and talents.
God owns our time.
God owns our finances.
If God owns all things, God can tell us what to do with all of the above EVEN when it doesn’t align with our preferences.
Foundation #4 ~ A harvest is reaped as God cultivates our desire to follow his leading.
14 “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. 15 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. 16 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. 17 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. 18 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. 19 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.”
We see it again ~ a worshipful, eager sacred gift to the Lord. David also acknowledged that God tests the heart of humans. Will we do the right thing? Are we tempted to think we can do right without the Lord cultivating our hearts? Do we think the right thing is something different than the Lord’s commandments, testimonies and statutes?
David’s prayer, “Lord, keep cultivating my heart according your purposes. Lord, I know you want to build something great, so will you give the next generation a cultivated heart too?”
Foundation #5 ~ A harvest is reaped when we worshipfully anticipate God’s harvest through seeds we have planted.
20 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. 21 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. 22 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.
They worshipped. They brought their offerings. They celebrated. God didn’t even build the temple yet, but they believed it was going to happen. They were joyful because of what God would do in the future.
Church, I believe we have an opportunity to plant seeds for a Great Commission harvest. I believe we have an opportunity to bring hope to Lenawee county. If the Characters of Christmas showed us that everybody has a role in God’s kingdom and the gospel is for all people, will you consider this question?
What seeds has God trusted you with that could be planted for a Great Commission harvest? Unplanted seeds cannot produce a harvest…
Throughout the next 40 days:
Would you pray that God would cultivate your heart toward a Great Commission harvest in 2025?
Would you pray that God would direct your heart toward his leading regarding financial generosity?
Would you pray that God would help us to worship and celebrate his future harvest?
