Untitled Sermon (11)

Israel was in a moment of transition. The temple had been completed and the transition from David to Solomon had begun. The time had come for David to begin to accept offerings at the temple- his last recorded public ministry moment.

In this moment David offers a pray for the people- and the content of this prayer has a lot to say to us in the midst of the current state of the USA. His prayer takes the focus from the gifts that are being given, and places it on the one they are giving to. His prayer names some important aspects of God and reminds us of why God is worthy of our praise- even in the midst of all of the uncertainty of the days we are currently living in.

David says “Everything in heavens and Earth is yours God.” Our God is the grand possessor. If you see it- he owns it; if you feel it- he owns it; if you can hear it- he owns it. In fact, God owns the things you cant see or feel- he owns it all. Listen to Psl 50:10-12

English Standard Version Psalm 50

For every beast of the forest is mine,

the cattle on a thousand hills.

11  I know all the birds of the hills,

and all that moves in the field is mine.

12  “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

for the world and its fullness are mine

David reminds the people that all of the things that they were bringing belonged to God in the first place. Just before this passage we read what was brought to the altar for sacrifice that day. Listen to what the people brought “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.”

And every bit of it was God’s- not theirs.

Listen to what David prays in v 12: “Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all.” David points back to God as the giver and sustainer of money and wealth.

You see, it is easy to worry about economic crash when we convince yourself you are responsible for holding it all together.

This is one of the tricks of capitalism that flies in the face of a Biblical understanding of money and finance. Capitalism is built on the concept that goods and services are owned and offered by private individuals or cooperation and that those goods and services are offered as supply and demand for money. The ownership of any thing is attached to someone and that this person is in control of how to spend, save, sell, or trade their goods.

A Biblical understanding of money and goods is quite different, because the Bible teaches that Gerald does not own the beef cattle in his field- God is their primary owner.

So, as the country is in panic that the economy is going to collapse- I want to remind us all that it is God who controls possessions and wealth- not man. Remember Jesus’ words in Matt 6

English Standard Version Chapter 6

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

So, how shall we live in the middle of this economic uncertainty? Let’s think through it, shall we?

1- Look to the giver, not the gift-

He begins his prayer “Blessed are you O Lord; Yours is the greatness and the power, and the glory, and the victory.” David had done it all, friends. He had come from being a lowly shepherd boy to the King of the greatest nation on Earth. He had wealth, power, and influence. He knew fully well that his name and reputation would live on throughout history for all of the things that he had accomplished. Nonetheless, what is the first thing David does? He gives glory to GOD. He plants his feet firmly in the ground and points his head, his hand, and his heart towards God.

What about us? David’s conviction was evident- God is sovereign and is worthy of our praise. Thus, David points those around him to God in full assurance of his sovereignty. Who are we pointing to in the midst of this World Crisis? Some point at politicians, some point at medical workers, some point at community leaders; but today I choose to point at Jesus- because he alone is worthy.

James 1:17 reminds us that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” We live in a world that looks at the gifts; the things; the stuff. As people of God our call is to look beyond to God. When we allow any possession, or money, or economy to come between us and God it is sin and we need to repent and readjust our lives.

2- Love people, love Jesus, but don’t love money- Hebrews 13:5-6 really hits it home. When we are consumed with a love for money it will spill over into the rest of our lives. It’s like making a cake with rotten eggs- they will effect the entire product. We can stand here all day and tell stories of people who have been evil and corrupt because of their love of money.

I would like to remind us that we can be such a witness for Jesus in these moments. So, if you are one of the people that has to deal phone calls, messages, and paperwork I want to encourage you to remember to keep your love for Jesus lifted higher than your need for money. In the midst of the crisis I urge you to treat people with kindness, love, and grace…speak to them like Jesus. Do not allow the stress of this situation to treat people badly or take your eyes off of Jesus.

I don’t know about you, but I have hung up from a stressful phone call trying to sort out a bill or a problem with paperwork, and I’ve thought, I wish I could do all that over again; I was not very Christlike. If you need to, each time you pick up the phone to research a payment or ask a question stop and ask Jesus to fill you with his love for the people that you are about to interact with.

3- Find your worth in Christ, not a payment- In times like this many people will relate their value to a amount on a check- don’t do that. Find your worth in passages like this:

English Standard Version Chapter 12

22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

English Standard Version Psalm 139

For you formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

14  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

For many people the loss of income is deeper than just the ability to pay their bills- it makes them feel useless or unneeded. Jesus shows us our value in his outstretched arms on the cross.

Your purpose is not determined by your profession

Your life is bigger than your ledger sheet

Your value is bigger than your vocation

4- Be generous- The last 2 points were geared toward those who have had some change in circumstance in the midst of this uncertainty- now I would like to share with those who have not had much change. In 1 Tim 6:17-19 we read “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” Some of us have not felt the tightening as much as others- we have been blessed, but what if you have not just been blessed for you- what if you have been blessed for others? All of us know someone who needs a hand right now.

A rich, but cynical businessman said to one of his staff, "Show me a truly unselfish act and I will give you a $100 bill." The staffer, said, "OK, walk with me at the lunch hour." They went to that part of town where there were lots of street people.

The staffer said, "Pick out anyone of these folks at random, and I will show you an unselfish act." The businessman pointed to one old man and said, "That one."

The staffer walked over to the old man, and gave him a $10 bill. He turned to the businessman and said, "There! I just did an unselfish act. Where is my $100 bill?"

The businessman started to speak, but stopped in his tracks, when the old man shouted to some of his friends: "Hey, guys! I have a tenner! Let’s go buy something to eat!"

The businessman looked at his staffer, and said, "Your act was selfish. You gave $10 to get $100. But that old man ... now, that was unselfish. So, I guess you get the $100 anyway, because you did show me an unselfish act."

Crestfallen at his own selfishness, the staffer called to the old man, and gave him the $100 bill, also. "Have a real party," he said.

The moral of the story is that unselfishness generates even more acts of kindness.

We need generosity in these times. When we economy gets rough our natural response is to become tight fisted. To keep what we have to ourselves. We think that it is too risky to just give things away, what if we need it? Well, I want to remind you of 2 things today when it comes to being generous

1- Giving money away with no need for return on investment shows the deepest trust in God. If we see giving to others as investment- relying on karma or that God will surely bless our generosity- then it takes some faith, but it is no different that someone who does not know God investing in the stock market- they weigh the risk and the reward. When we trust God fully we relinquish control of what happens to the money and if we will get a return on our investment.

2- Your accountable for giving, the other person is accountable for how they use it. Too many people fail to be generous because of another person’s questionable integrity. Some might say “if I give him that money, he’s just going to spend it on booze” But what if he doesn’t? Some say “She wouldn’t need my help if she would get a job!” Did you know that Megan Hustings, director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, told Axios that between 40 and 60 percent of the homeless population floats in and out of full-time and part-time work?

The deepest faith relinquishes control of what happens to your money. Remember, you are not accountable for what they do with the money you give them- but you are ALWAYS accountable for the money God gives YOU

5- Control what you can- trust God with the rest. Proverbs 6:6-8 “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.” You cannot control when this economy will come back; when your stocks will rise again; when your job will flex back to normal. But you CAN control things like how you spend what you have right now; how you give; have you prioritize your assets.