10/31/2021 - The House of God - Bigger Smaller Deeper - 1 Chronicles 29 - Pastor Jason Fritz

This Sunday marks an important day in the life of Illuminate. That little commitment card you received over the last two Sundays represents the work of God in our hearts. We are anticipating great things from the Illuminate family as we prayerfully consider what we will offer above and beyond our regular giving. The Bigger, Smaller, Deeper vision will be yet another, “Only God!” moment for us. As always, for His glory!

I am reminded of a beautiful prayer found in 1 Chronicles 29. It might surprise you to know the inspiration behind it. King David was getting old. He lived in a palace and yet God had no house of his own for the people to gather and worship. Before his death, he wanted to make this right. So he began by leading the way himself. He gave of his own resources and then the leaders gave afterward. This gave birth to excitement and a joy that fueled the people to give as well. The total amount for God’s house of worship - the temple, was raised in one day!

This causes David to break out in prayer…

“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 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. 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. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

“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. 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. 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. 1 Chronicles 29:10-16

Notice that David emphasizes more than once, “God, it all belongs to you.” Throughout this Bigger, Smaller, Deeper sermon series I’ve been trying to impress upon you this one fact: Giving is not about money, it’s never about money. It’s certainly not about what numbers you write on your commitment card. It’s not about building new space for kids, students, visitors and the expansion of outreach. It’s about your heart, your faith and your relationship with God. It’s about our commitment to the work of God in the Valley and even throughout the world. 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.

I read the story of a pastor who gave a powerful sermon titled, “God’s Ownership” and it rubbed a wealthy congregant the wrong way. The wealthy man invited the pastor to visit his house and then walked him through his palatial estate and said, “Now are you going to tell me,” he demanded when the tour was completed, “that all this land does not belong to me?” The pastor smiled and replied, “Ask me that same question a hundred years from now.”

If everything belongs to God and if he owns it all then there is no need for you to worry about your stuff, because it is not your stuff. It is all his stuff. You will find real contentment and real satisfaction, both in God and in life, when you finally realize that God owns everything, controls everything, and provides everything.