Praise the Lord of everything.

 

Sermon for Trinity 9, August 1, 2021

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.  Amen.

1 Chronicles 29:10-13  ¹⁰David blessed the Lord in the presence of the entire assembly.  He said: Blessed are you, Lord, the God of Israel, our father, from eternity to eternity.  ¹¹To you, O Lord, belong greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty, because everything in the heavens and on the earth belongs to you.  You, Lord, are exalted as head above everything.  The kingdom belongs to you.  ¹²Riches and honor come from you.  You are ruling over everything.  In your hand are power and strength.  It is in your power to make anyone great and strong.  ¹³Now, our God, we are thanking you and praising your glorious name. (EHV)

Praise the Lord of everything.

Dear friends blessed by God,

            Some have called them trust-fund babies, or children born with a silver spoon in their mouths.  With parents rich beyond measure, they are born into a world of wealth and ease most people can only imagine.  Every whim or desire they might have could be fulfilled in an instant.  In our modern media driven age, they are often called social influencers, for as they flaunt their privileges on the various websites, their less fortunate peers are influenced to desire all the same things. 

Of course, if those parents are wise, they won’t give in to every little thing their toddlers might desire so that they don’t become insufferable, spoiled, greedy, little brats.  Still, the parents often give their children the best things their wealth can provide.

Now, I suspect that most of us here today weren’t born into that kind of wealth.  In fact, in a very real sense, we all were born into poverty and servitude.  To be blunt, I just turned the story from one of material wealth to the spiritual condition of our birth.  We each were born rich in the sins of our fathers, but poverty stricken in righteousness.  From the very first kidnapping of mankind, we were all born slaves to sin, death, and the devil, so we couldn’t even imagine the wealth David speaks about in our text.  But here’s the deal, the God David was praising didn’t leave us in the position of our poverty-stricken birth.  Instead, by granting us faith in Christ Jesus, God has adopted us into His family, whereby we are set to inherit all the riches of heaven.

It is a tale of two worlds, really, that we were born into a world so spiritually impoverished that we didn’t know God, didn’t know what and how He so willingly provides for all people, whether realized on their part or not, and didn’t know His love and mercy.  According to what natural man understands, this world is fraught with danger, hardship, inequity, and poverty.  It is why so many people struggle so hard to get what their neighbors have.  Greed, lust, covetousness—all lead to unhappiness with what we have, to overwork, to swindle, theft, affairs, jealousy, and even murder.

On the other hand, as children who have been adopted into God’s family by faith, we have wealth and blessings that the people of the devil’s kingdom cannot begin to imagine.  We have peace with God and with our own consciences.  Even in the worst of times, we have all the things we need to live on earth, and should those things ever run out, we know we have a home of riches and glory in heaven that simply cannot be described in ways the ordinary man can understand.  Finally, when death draws near, we have the sure knowledge that our debts have been paid in full and we will live in heaven in a mortgage free mansion greater than any home ever assembled on earth.  Therefore, as children of the Almighty, everlasting God, we can and should Praise the Lord of everything.

Our sermon text comes as the nation of Israel contributed an immense offering for the building of the temple of the Lord.  David also had given enormous piles of precious metals and stones, along with other fine materials for God’s house.  Yet, here, David and his people proclaimed no selfish pride in their great gifts because they recognized that God had provided all those riches to His people and enabled them to make those generous offerings.  So, let’s break down David’s praise.

Immediately, David recognized the relationship God had bestowed on them.  He said, “Blessed are you, Lord, the God of Israel, our father, from eternity to eternity.”  Like us, the Israelites had not chosen God.  Rather, God had chosen that people over a thousand years previously when He called Abram out of a land of idolators.  Furthermore, God had rescued this nation out of bitter slavery in Egypt and given them a land flowing with milk and honey, and homes they didn’t have to build, in which to live and thrive.  All of that was completely by God’s mercy and grace.

Furthermore, David sang about the true ownership of all things.  So often, believer and unbeliever alike forget that all good things come from God.  Our sinful nature inclines us to imagine that we produce wealth and power.  Our nature also inclines us to jealousy, unkindness, stinginess, and especially to put ourselves above God.  Yet, in firm faith, David sang, “To you, O Lord, belong greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty, because everything in the heavens and on the earth belongs to you.”  At the time, David was nearing the end of his reign as one of the most powerful kings of his time.  Surrounding nations had bowed down before him in defeat, yet David understood that it all came from the Lord, so we see David Praise the Lord of everything.

That, dear friends, is how we praise the Lord—by recognizing that God is the source and provider for everything and everyone.  In fact, the greatest way we can praise the Lord is by trusting His promise that He not only provides for all our earthly needs, but that God has also provided for our spiritual needs.  By that, we recognize that God provides mercy, forbearance, and forgiveness.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, we believe that “God, because he is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in trespasses.  It is by grace you have been saved!” (Ephesians 2:4-5) 

St. Peter wrote of the Lord’s forbearance, “The Lord is not slow to do what he promised, as some consider slowness.  Instead, he is patient for your sakes, not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)  Of this grace, we can be completely certain, because God gave His Son into death so that we wouldn’t have to pay our debt of sin, nor the debt of sin we inherited from our fathers, because “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17)

In our times, there is a lot of fuss and bother about the government possibly forgiving the debt students have accumulated in college.  Some claim it is necessary for the good of our nation.  Others argue it would cost too much, and many consider the idea unethical.  In contrast, however, God freely forgave the massive debt of the sins of the world.  For all our rebellious, selfish acts, all our evil and unbelieving thoughts, our lack of love for our neighbors, for every broken command, and even for the sin of not knowing our Creator as God and Lord—all sins were paid for by Jesus on the cross. 

If there has ever been a people made rich by adoption through faith in the Lord, it is those of us who believe in Jesus.  For people just like you and me, the Son of God, who possessed all the wealth and glory of heaven and earth, came down to earth to live in perfect humility and service on our behalf.  Therefore, for Christ’s perfect life and sacrifice, David said, “You, Lord, are exalted as head above everything.  The kingdom belongs to you.  Riches and honor come from you.  You are ruling over everything.  In your hand are power and strength.  It is in your power to make anyone great and strong.  Now, our God, we are thanking you and praising your glorious name.” 

The texts for our worship service this morning are centered around the idea of stewardship.  For many people, that assumes a plea for more offerings for the church.  However, true stewardship isn’t worried so much about what God demands back from us.  Rather, it focuses on the blessings God has given us and how best we might use everything He gives us for His glory and service.  That means we consider the time we are given and the talents we are blessed with.  It means we gladly and willingly devote our lives to God’s service in everything we do, remembering that everything we do to serve our neighbors, families, and fellow man is a good and pleasing thing to the Lord when done by His children in faith.

Sometimes, when we consider our record of stewardship, our heads hang in shame, for we see in ourselves a record of being guilty of selfishness with our time, talents, and treasures.  Honest Christians confess that we have sometimes been lacking in trust, lacking in honest evaluation of the blessings God gives us, lacking in willing service, and lacking in mercy for others who offend us.

At the same time, we have every reason to rejoice with King David, because God has given us so many reasons to Praise the Lord of everything.  Because of God’s goodness and love, He daily and richly provides everything we need for our bodies and life.  Most importantly, God gave us a Savior who shed His blood to cover our guilt.  Because of Jesus, no great sacrifice is needed from us, for God keeps no record of our wrongs or weaknesses.  Because of Jesus, we have peace with God, and because of Jesus we have an eternal home in heaven where we will give thanks and praise to God face to face without fear or trembling, because we have been made right with God and He has welcomed us into His family through the adoption of Baptism where He washed away our sins as He declared us His children by the promise of the gospel.

Dear friends, trusting that you are a child of God, with an inheritance of eternal riches and blessing through faith in Christ Jesus, Praise the Lord of everything.  He is your Father “from eternity to eternity.”  Amen.

Now to the King eternal, to the immortal, invisible, only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen.