God Owns It All

Psalm 24:1–2 ESV

1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

Exegetical Idea

David publicly declares God’s undisputed ownership over creation and humanity, grounding that ownership in His creative act.

Homiletical Idea

Because God owns everything, we must not live as owners but as accountable stewards of God’s property.

Introduction

One of the greatest barriers to true discipleship is not ignorance of truth, but resistance to ownership. We will accept that God forgives, that God blesses, that God protects — but the flesh resists the truth that God owns. We say “my money, my time, my life” — but Psalm 24 interrupts us: “The earth is the LORD’s.”

Stewardship does not begin with generosity — it begins with surrender to reality. If God owns all, then we do not give to God — we return to God what already belongs to Him. And if He owns all, then every choice we make with His property is an act of obedience or rebellion.

Psalm 24 is coronation liturgy. As David brought the ark — the throne of God — into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6), Israel does not chant David’s name. They declare the right of the true Owner-King: “The earth is the LORD’s.” This is not poetry — it is the public recognition that Yahweh holds title to what He rules.

Before the ark rests, ownership is confessed — because you cannot enthrone a God you do not recognize as Owner.

So, what does this mean for us today? . . .

Because God Owns, We Cannot Live As Though We Own

Psalm 24:1 ESV

1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,

The Hebrew laYHWH ha’arets is possessive — “To Yahweh BELONGS the earth.” Not influence — ownership.

Psalm 24 does not offer a suggestion — it confronts a lifestyle. If God owns everything, then nothing we handle is autonomous. We do not get to make independent decisions with God’s property — not with our time, bodies, money, gifts, or relationships.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ESV

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

This text is not informing us — it is correcting us. You cannot claim salvation from God while living as owner against God.

God’s ownership places us under His authority in every area of life.

Pastoral Pressure: If He owns you, then you are not free to do as you wish — you are free to obey. If He owns your resources, then withholding is not caution — it is contradiction. If He owns your life, then unmanaged living is not weakness — it is unfaithfulness.

Illustration (everyday): A person driving a company car does not get to say, “It’s my gas, my miles, my route.” They are accountable because the car is not theirs. The moment you forget ownership is the moment you begin to misuse what you were only assigned.

Application: So the question is not, “How am I using my life?” — the real question is, “Am I handling God’s life the way the Owner would want it handled?” If God trusted you with breath, with strength, with income, with influence, then don’t drive it like it’s yours. Pray before you plan. Consult before you spend. Submit before you act. You are not free to do as you please with what belongs to Him.

Transition: And David does not stop at “the earth” — he extends God’s claim to everything that comes out of it…

Because God Owns the Fullness, Nothing We Hold Is Truly Ours

Psalm 24:1b — “...and the fullness thereof…”

David does not only claim land — he claims the yield of the land. In Hebrew, melo’ (fullness) means all output — produce, profit, systems, circulation, opportunity. God is not just Owner of creation — He is Owner of results.

That means: Your income is not yours — it is God’s under your management. Your platform is not yours — it is God’s tool in your hand. Your time is not yours — it is God’s schedule on loan. Your education, network, strength — all fullness belongs to Him.

Pastoral Appeal: If you believe God gave it, then you cannot live as if you own it. You cannot pray “Lord, provide” and then live “Mine, not Yours.” To treat God’s property as personal is not wisdom — it is theft disguised as independence.

Proverbs 3:9 ESV

9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;

2 Corinthians 9:7 ESV

7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Biblical Illustration – Cain & Abel: Cain brought as if he owned it. Abel brought as if God owned it. One offered out of attitude, the other out of acknowledgment — and God made a difference between them.

—And that is the difference between people who give out of habit and people who give out of honor. —That is the difference between people who give out of pressure and people who give out of revelation. —That is the difference between people who give to get God off their back and people who give because God already owns it all.

God does not receive every offering the same — because God does not see the amount first, He sees the attitude behind it, the theology under it, and the ownership you acknowledge in it.

When you bring it like it’s yours, God treats it like it’s yours. But when you bring it like it is His, God puts His favor on what you return.

Transition: And the reason God has the right to distinguish between offerings is because He is the One who created it all. That is why David says, “For He has founded it…” — creation gives God the right to require and evaluate.

Because God Created Everything, He Has the Right to Require Everything

Psalm 24:2 — “For He has founded it…”

The “for” gives the basis: God owns because God created. Creation is the legal foundation for possession.

David gives the legal reason: God owns because God created. We do not own anything because we create nothing. We only touch what God made.

Creation → Ownership → Authority → Accountability.

You will not answer for what you did not have — but you will answer for how you handled what God let pass through your hands.

Romans 14:12; 1 Cor 4:2

Romans 14:12 ESV

12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

1 Corinthians 4:2 ESV

2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

Cultural Illustration — Apple & iOS: You can hold the phone, customize the screen, store your contacts — but Apple can override, restrict, or reclaim because creators retain rights. The user never outranks the maker. Neither does the steward outrank God.

Application — Ownership Determines Accountability

If God owns, then stewardship is not optional devotion — it is required obedience.

TIME — procrastination is not neutral; it is misuse of God’s hours BODY — impurity is unauthorized use of God’s temple MONEY — spending without prayer is trespassing into God’s accounts RELATIONSHIPS — harshness violates souls God owns GIFTS — unused callings are buried assets, not personality quirks (Matt 25:14–30)

Ownership makes obedience optional. Stewardship makes obedience necessary.

Vision80 (Subtle Tie)

We are not giving to a project — we are returning what already belongs to God. God is not evaluating amounts — He is evaluating whether we treat His work as His priority.

Conclusion

And the greatest picture of stewardship is Jesus Christ Himself. He said, “I came not to do My own will…” — that is stewardship. In Gethsemane He declared, “Not My will, but Thine be done.” He stewarded His body to be wounded. He stewarded His blood to be poured. He stewarded His breath to say, “It is finished.”

And because He stewarded His life unto death — God highly exalted Him and gave Him a name above every name.

But hear me — That same Jesus who stewarded His life is coming back again. And when He returns — He is not coming for owners — He is coming for stewards.

And every steward must stand before the Owner and give an account. No excuses then. No negotiations then. No explanations then. We will answer for time He loaned… gifts He loaned… money He loaned… life He loaned.

And I don’t know about you — but when I stand before Him, I want to hear Him say, “Well done — good and faithful steward.”

If He could give all for us — we can give back what belongs to Him.

Because God owns it all — we manage what He loans — and we will stand before Him.