BUT WHO AM I? (1 CHRONICLES 29:1-22)

 

BUT WHO AM I?

BIBLE PASSAGE: 1 CHRONICLES 29: 1- 22

Picture taken from Google

Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Lesson ideas taken from: tony evan/sermons

JULY 04, 2021

MEMORY VERSE

But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.

1 CHRONICLES 29:14

 

INTRODUCTION:

Try to imagine the time you were in your mother’s womb. Out of millions of cells, you were the one successfully reached the place of conception. Remember what God says to Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).  Therefore, God knows everyone of us and Luke 12:7 says, “But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Sometimes or most of the times we live as if we own our lives. We live like there’s no God who controls everything. Psalms 90:10 says, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” People don’t see how short life is. They focus more on how to accumulate money and no time for spiritual things. Let’s be reminded what the book of Job says in 21^st verse of chapter 1, “And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” And in Ecclesiastes 5:15 says, “As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.” So you see, we carry nothing out on this world.

 

Another thing, we are all doomed to hell but because of God’s love, He sent His only begotten Son on earth to die and pay the penalty of sins of mankind. Do we owe everything to God? YES! Colossians 2:13-14 say,

¹³ And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

¹⁴ Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

 

For all the things God has done to all of us, what we should give in return? Psalm 116:12 says, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?” In our passage today, David had in his heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord. But sad to say, God didn’t allow him instead the task was given to his son, Solomon. In verse 1, David’s concern to his son; he was young, and the task was too great. He tried his best for the preparation of the building of the temple. We noticed in the last line, “… for the palace is not for man but for the Lord God.” This a great reminder that it is for the Lord. They should give their 100% on this task; focus, effort and sacrifice are needed because it’s for the LORD.

 

In verse 14, where our title came from, “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.” In tagalog, “Ngunit sino ako at ang bayang ito? Buong puso kaming nagkakaloob pagkat ang lahat ng ito ay galing SAiyo at ibinabalik lang naming. Personally this gives me the thought that even we have the ability to give in abundance or sacrifice more for the Lord, we can’t be proud of it because everything comes from HIM. With this, what should be our attitude in giving?

 

 

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  DAVID GAVE WITH A HUMBLE HEART (1 CHRONICLES 29:14)

² Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

³ Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house.

 

In verses 1-5, we can see how David was generous and even his own gold and silver, he gave unto the Lord. Why he was generous? Because he had set his affection to the house of the Lord (Kasiyahan niyang magkaroon ng bahay si Yahweh).

 Like what I have said, though David was a king and he had all the resources, the influence, and the power needed, he said, “But who am I and what is my people?”  We know that when a person has all the resources, he has the tendency to be proud of it. He might not be vocal about it but there’s something in his heart telling him, “You’ve done good.” This is a good reminder for every one of us that whenever you give, give it with a humble heart.

Romans 11:35-36 say, “Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”

Tagalog: “Sino ang nakapagkaloob ng anuman sa Diyos. Para siya nama’y gantimpalaan? Sapagkat mula sa kanya at sa pamamagitan niya at sa kanya ang lahat ng bagay. Sa kanya ang karangalan magpakailanman! Amen.

For man himself can give nothing. This truth explains the amazing response of the people in David’s day. But it also stands as the basic truth that animates all Christian giving. All that we are and all that we have comes from God. Everything is a gift. Nothing is earned; everything is given: Your life is a gift. Your health is a gift. Your career is a gift. Your intelligence is a gift. Your strength is a gift. Your personality is a gift. Your children gift. Your friendships are gift. Your possessions are gift. Your accomplishments are gift. Your wealth is a gift.

You own nothing. Everything you have is on loan from God. He gives it to you for a little while and says, “Take care of it.” We hold on tight because we think it all belongs to us. Sooner or later we’ll understand that it doesn’t belong to us … and it never did. We are like little children holding so tightly to a few borrowed marbles. We grip them in our palm because we’re afraid of losing them. But sooner or later God himself begins to pry the marbles out of our hand. One by one he pulls our fingers off the things we think are ours. We may fight back, but he is stronger and he always wins. In the end he takes back that which belongs to him in the first place.

Life is the ultimate gift, but none of us lives forever. Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, man, woman, boy, girl, white or black, and young or old we all die sooner or later.

The Bible warns us over and over about the seductive power of money. First Timothy 6:10 reminds us that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” The love of money corrupts us in so many ways. It makes us selfish, greedy, and envious. It causes us to forget our friends, trample on our co-workers, neglect our children, and ignore our wives. It seduces us with the promise of happiness but then delivers nothing at all. God has enabled us to give like this, even though we do not deserve to be helped. LET’S GIVE WITH A HUMBLE HEART because nothing we can boast.

2.  DAVID GAVE WITH A WILLING HEART (1 CHRONICLES 29: 5-6)

The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?

Like what I have said, David offers his own resources for building the temple: gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, precious stones, marble. Having set a good example, he then challenges the leaders to follow his lead. Verse 6 tells what happened next:

Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king's work, offered willingly,

David asked, “Who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?” Did David persuade the people? They were asked and made choices. Human choices. They were not persuaded by David; we can see in the next verses that they gave willingly. David was just set an example to the people. He chose what was better for the task given by God.

This is leadership at its best. First the king gives, then all the other leaders follow, from the greatest to the least.

Notice two points in this verse. First, they gave “freely.” That means there was no pressure. Second, they gave “wholeheartedly.” That means there was no limit. The same two signs may be found today whenever God’s Spirit is moving. People will give freely and won’t have to be pressured, enticed or intimidated. And they will give without limit to the work of the Lord. The next few verses record a psalm of praise composed by David on the spot. In verse 12 he reveals the secret of generous giving: “Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.”  In tagalog, “Sa iyo nagmumula ang kayamanan at ang karangalan. Taglay moa ng kapangyarihan at kadakilaan, at Ikaw ang nagbibigay ng lakas at kapangyarihan sa lahat.” He then explains that truth in more detail in the following verses, beginning with verse 14 then in 15-17:

¹⁴ But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. ¹⁵ For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. ¹⁶ O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own. ¹⁷ I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.

 These verses contain a truth we need to carefully consider. David says the people gave generously because they understood that everything they had came from God. In a sense, they were only giving back to God what he had given them in the first place. That’s why the people were able to give “willingly” and with so much joy.

Let’s consider this thought, “Generous giving is not difficult when we understand that everything we have comes from God.”

3.  THEY GAVE WITH A REJOICING HEART (1 CHRONICLES 29:9-13)

Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.

So how are we to give to God? Just this way. We are to give with a willing heart, with a complete heart. And we are to give with rejoicing. Give what you can. Give with a free rejoicing heart. Now God doesn't want you to give to Him out of pressure. God doesn't want you to give to Him because you're being forced or constrained to do it. Because God never wants you to gripe over what you gave to Him. What an insult to God for a person to turn around and gripe over what they gave. Complain over what they gave. That would be horrible. God never wants that to happen. Therefore, He always wants your gift to come from your own heart. That which you purposed in your own heart to give to God willingly. That which you can give cheerfully, give. That which you can't give cheerfully, don't give. If you can't do it with a cheerful, willing heart, then don't do it at all. It's of no value. God isn't interested in it.

And so, these men gave complete heart willingly unto the Lord. And there was great rejoicing. There's real joy in giving to God.

Wherefore David blessed the LORD before the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all ( 1 Chronicles 29:10-11 ).

Now verse eleven here sounds much like the final phrase of the Lord's prayer. "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever" ( Matthew 6:13 ). Look at it again. "Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all." David was so great with words and so able to praise the Lord. I love the way David is just able to express himself to the Lord so freely, so. And really with such great expression. "Lord, Yours is the kingdom. The whole earth is Yours and the whole universe."

CONLUSION:

Giving is not about money; it’s never about money. It’s certainly not about what numbers you write on your commitment card. And it’s not about building new classrooms. It’s about your heart and your faith and about your relationship to God. It’s about our commitment to the work of God in CBT and all its missions. It’s our commitment to be part of what God is doing in the world today. If we have trouble with our giving, it’s probably because we’ve never figured out that everything comes from God. We don’t own a thing. It’s all loaned to us and someday God will take it all back.

When we give generously, we’re saying, “Lord, it’s all yours anyway.”

When we give generously, we’re investing in the Kingdom that cannot be shaken.

When we give generously, we are declaring, “There’s a lot more where that came from.”

When we give generously, we’re laying up treasures in heaven.

The late Bishop Edwin Hughes once delivered a rousing sermon on “God’s Ownership” that put a rich parishioner’s nose out-of-joint. The wealthy man took the bishop off for lunch, and then walked him through his elaborate gardens, woodlands, and farm. “Now are you going to tell me," He demanded when the tour was completed, “that all this land does not belong to me?” Bishop Hughes smiled and replied, “Ask me that same question a hundred years from now.” EVERYTHING ON EARTH WILL TURN TO DUST.