Message: We Belong

I am taking a class on Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah.  To begin class tonight, we read David's last prayer, as recorded in Chronicles.  A few years ago, I shared a message with the youth group at Southeast based on a portion of that prayer.  Here's my message.

1 Chronicles 29:1-17

So, to give you a little history into what has been going on in 1 Chronicles, basically, one day King David was thinking about how he lived in a palace made of cedar.  He said to himself, “Wow, I live in a palace made of cedar, but the ark of the covenant, which is a symbol of God’s presence, dwells in a little tent.  So I want to build a temple for the Lord to house the ark of the covenant.”  The prophet Nathaniel told David, “Go for it!”  But that night, God told Nathaniel to tell David this:  “There have been many kings before you, David, and none of them have desired to build me a house.  No; instead, I am going to build you a house—your throne will endure forever!”  And David said, “Who am I, that I should receive this blessing after a blessing?”

Later, God told David that he would not build the temple because he was a warrior, and had shed blood.  Instead, David’s son Solomon would build the temple because he would be a king of peace, and God would give Solomon’s reign peace.

So, in 1 Chronicles 29, we see David telling the people, “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced.  The task is great, because this palatial structure (or palace) is not for man but for the LORD God.” 

And David then presents all of his gifts of devotion to the Lord for the building of the temple:  gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, turquoise, and much more.  As beautiful as this temple was going to be, though, it was not for man, but for the Lord.  Have you seen the new bridge that has been constructed downtown?  It’s a beautiful bridge.  And downtown has many beautiful buildings.  But they were built for man.  They were built so that, when people look at them, people will say, “San Diego is such a sweet city.”  

This temple, though, was not built for man—it was built for God.  And all of these precious stones David is giving is not for men’s approval, but for God’s.

After David says all that he gives, he asks the people, “Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the LORD?”

The word consecrate contains another word buried in it:  “sacred,” or in another word, “holy.”  To consecrate oneself is to become holy, or set apart—in other words, to give ourselves to God, who is the Holy One.  Just as King David gave of his resources to the Lord, David is now asking, who among us will give of our resources—not only that, but our actual selves—to the Lord?

What do you have that you can give to the Lord?  Do you have gold, or silver?  Your time?  Your talents, your passion, your thoughts, your emotions?

And just as the Lord chose King Solomon to construct a temple for the Lord, what do you sense the Lord has chosen you to build or do for him?

When I read this passage, sometimes I think about a book that I am writing.  I wonder if perhaps God is asking me, choosing me to write this book, or build this little temple, for the Lord.  It’s hard to know sometimes when the Lord asks us to do things.  I think a key verse to think about when considering what we do for the Lord is verse 1:  “The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the LORD God.”  

Writing a book can often be for man and not for God.  For the longest time, my motivation for writing and for being a good writer has been so that I can become famous one day.  So that one day, your grandchildren will read my stories in their textbooks in school.  But I think I’m missing the point of what the gift of writing is for.  God gives us gifts so that we can give them back to him, and the purpose of writing is not so that we can be admired by fellow people, but so that we can minister to others, proclaiming the good news and building up the body of Christ. 

So, if you are wondering if the Lord is choosing you for a certain task, whether it is building a temple or writing a book or joining a band or getting a job or being a good friend, I’d recommend sharing that with a friend or mentor, as well as praying about it and reading God’s word to see if it is something that the Lord is choosing you to do.  And if you don’t have a sense yet of what God is choosing you to do, that’s alright, too.  God works in us in different ways and at different times, and maybe God is preparing you right now for a work he will one day choose you to do.

Next we move on to verses 6-9.  After David gives his resources for the temple, we read that the leaders of the families, the commanders, officers, and officials give willingly, too.  “Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the LORD in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.  The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD.” 

When the leaders give, then the people rejoice.  I think of the leaders of this church—Pastor Steve and Vonda, the youth leaders, the children’s workers, the worship bands, Brother Mack and Sister Maggie, Mario, and others—who give of themselves to the Lord.  Mario, the caretaker, giving his hands for the church.  Brother Mack and Sister Maggie giving their hands to drive their van for camp and men’s retreat.  They are giving of themselves, consecrating themselves, willingly to the Lord.  And as they do this, as we do this, the whole church rejoices.  The temple they are building is the church, the Lord’s temple in which Christ dwells.

Eventually, the temple that King Solomon built got destroyed.  And another temple was built, and that was destroyed by the Romans.  But the Bible tells us that now, we, the church, are the temple of the Lord and that Jesus Christ dwells in us.  We are the stones of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, sapphire, turquoise, and more—but we’re living stones, breathing, aching, growing, living.  

So I ask you, now, who is willing to consecrate him or herself today to the Lord?  To become part of this living temple in which Christ dwells?  To give of yourself for the growing of the temple? 

And notice that word “willing.”  When the leaders give, they give “willingly” and “wholeheartedly” to the Lord.  It’s not something that we do because we’re supposed to.  Giving ourselves to the Lord is not something we do because we feel pressured by our youth leaders or parents to do it.  We give because we desire to.  We are willing to, wholeheartedly.  It’s a desire that God gives us to do.  God has given us the grace to want to.

Now I’d like us to read verses 14-17.  King David prays to the Lord, “O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.”  

King David realizes humbly that all of these resources they are giving God belongs to the Lord.  At the end of the word “belong” is the word “long.”  To long for something is to deeply desire it, to desire it the way one wishes for water after a hot day of working, or the way one wishes to be home. 

We can belong to many things, and many things can belong to us.  For instance, if someone wrote a song, that song would belong to them, because the words and the music came from their heart.  If someone stole the song, the song would still belong to the original writer.  If someone kidnapped us, too, we would still belong to our parents, right?  And if the devil tricked us, and we followed his lies, we would still belong to the Lord, because the Lord created us and will never leave us or let go of us.

We also belong to each other.  And we belong to each other because we belong to God.  God created us—he created the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, and so everything in this universe belongs to God.  Not only does God own us, God is our home.  He is our source, the way a songwriter is the source to the lyrics of a song. 

In the same way, all that we can give to the Lord, like our time, talents, gold, thoughts, emotions, belong to God.  They come from him, so they belong to him.  Sometimes, I can think about things so much that the thoughts cycle in my head like a tornado.  Sometimes they get overwhelming.  But I need to remember that even these thoughts belong to the Lord.  I’m not saying God gave me these thoughts; some of them are dark thoughts.  But still, God gave me my mind, and the ability to think, and God gave me words, through which I think thoughts, and emotions and memories, which empower my thoughts, and when I give my thoughts to God in prayer, I understand the truth about them, that they do not have power over me because God has power over them and me, and that they and I belong to God.  

King David realizes the truth that without the Lord, “Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.”  

So, I ask you, now, who is willing to consecrate yourself today to the Lord?  Who is willing to set ourselves apart, to give ourselves and all that we have to the Lord?  Are you?  We give to the Lord because the Lord has given us all that we have and all that we are, even the ability and desire to give to the Lord, because all of us and all that is inside of us belong to the Lord.