Once again, God's grace to you, and I would invite you to bring the book to First Chronicles 29. It's actually the last chapter of First Chronicles. And may God add His blessing, and may we tremble before His Word. As we bring the book, many of us love the Psalms. They are well-known, well-established, they are renowned, and for a lot of us, the Psalms are a go-to in many ways. And what we have in 1st Chronicles 29 is psalm-like. you'll notice a lot of overlap that what's here is a lot like a psalm and it makes sense because we know that about half of the psalms come from David and when you look in our passage it is largely about David and so no wonder the psalms come out of our passage because David is here. And you'll notice as we go through, there is a particular statement, but you'll just see in the whole passage this particular statement, that David has set his affection on something. That's so obvious, that he has set his affection on something. And as you go through, he doesn't set his affection on his kingdom. He doesn't set his affection on his military. He doesn't set his affection on his gold. He doesn't even set it upon his family. But as you go through our passage, he clearly sets his affection on the house, the house of the Lord. That's where all of his exertion, all of his attention goes on the Lord's house. And what about you this morning? especially in this season of the year. What about you? Where's your affection? What has your attention? And it is so clear what has David's attention. You remember in Isaiah 58 where it talks about how we call this day a delight. And it is clear that David in our passage is delighting in the Lord. Even as Paul says in Colossians 3, set your affections on those things which are above. And that's what David is doing here. And that's the call this morning, that we would set our attention on things above. Now, also, you'll recognize some very famous language from the New Testament, not just the New Testament, but from the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll notice an obvious overlap in our passage. And that overlap is with the Lord's prayer, that model prayer that he gave to us. And we know how that prayer begins, our Father in heaven. And we also know how that prayer ends, where Jesus says, yours. And it's interesting, because that language is right here. As we read through 1 Chronicles 29, just pay attention to all the yours that are mentioned. So that really, when Jesus gives the model prayer, he is dipping back into 1 Chronicles 29. He's dipping back to David some 1,000 years before him, before Jesus. He dips back 1,000 years, and he grabs these words, and he models prayer out of what David has said. And you'll notice some elements here that are very familiar as we read through some very familiar aspects of what we do. You'll notice in the beginning of our passage that we have preaching. So in a sense we're going to sit under the preaching of David. At the end of our passage, you'll notice that David is praying. And then in the middle of our passage, you'll notice that he is praising the Lord. And those are familiar to us. Preaching and praying and praising. They're very familiar because it's what we do on the Lord's Day. It's what we have already done. It's what we do Sunday after Sunday. These three elements. And the reason why we do these, and you know, that it's not because Some man thinks it's a good idea. It's not because this is based on an opinion. And so our brother Abrahamson and brother Jubello come up here and they just want to beat on a soapbox and they think it's really good to preach and to pray and to praise. But we do these things because we are regulated from the scriptures. Over and again in the scriptures, we are regulated to do these things. And when we come here, they are preaching and praying and praising because that's what God's people do. That's what God's people have always done. 3,000 years ago, they were doing what we're doing this morning. And we take their cues from the Word of God and from this passage. And so we see some familiar things with God's people. You'll also notice here that this is a building project. Our passage has a massive operation that is getting underway. It's in the beginnings of this building project. And of course you know what's about to transpire is that Solomon is going to build the Temple of the Lord. But it is David that makes the arrangements. And just like before we might build something, there's always planning. There's always preparation going on. And so we run to Home Depot and we get our materials and then we can start. Well, that's what's happening here in First Chronicles 29. There are arrangements. They're gathering materials for what will one day become the Temple of the Lord. And obviously, as we come together this morning, I saw your church many times on the internet. I pulled in. I'm very familiar with the surrounding town and then pull into your property and look at the parsonage and look here and I look around and downstairs and all these things and brothers and sisters be encouraged that you have a beautiful place. The Lord has given you many things and the Lord has given you a place to call your own, a place for this particular family. Sometimes it takes an outsider with fresh perspectives to come and tell you that when I look around, you're blessed. This is a beautiful place and you have a family and a place to call your home. And I say all that to say we have a building project in our passage, and this morning we are not going to launch a building project for Englewood Baptist Church. Many pastors have used this passage to launch new sanctuaries and new facilities. We're not launching anything like that this morning, but I will say we're not putting forth a building project We are the building project in the New Testament. Not the brick and mortar, but we are the building project. Because as you know from Paul to the Corinthians on various occasions, and what Peter says, and what Ephesians says, that we are the holy habitation of the Lord by the Spirit. We are the temple and the dwelling place. We are the project that God God has underway. You remember Jesus said, I will build my church, I will build my temple, and we are that temple. And just like when you drive around, I'm sure, all over New Jersey and the interstates that we have, all the time you see things and places and roads that are under construction. Well, under my church back at home and under this church, you can put a sign everywhere that we are under construction. Which means, be encouraged, the Lord is not finished with you, He will preserve and you will persevere, but be patient with one another. We are looking at a bunch of construction sites. We are under construction as the Lord's people. And what kind of temple, what kind of building does He erect and form? Well, his temple is not really going to be filled with stained glass windows and candles and robes and religious art and all of that. But the temple that the Lord is building this morning is one that looks like Christ. Christ-likeness. Remember Paul said to the Galatians, he talked about Christ being formed in them. And the kind of temple that God is interested in building is a Christ-like temple. A temple a people of God that are full of sacrifice, that are full of love, that are full of humility, that are full of service, that are full of holiness. That's the kind of temple that the Lord is building, hopefully, in our churches. Well, with that, brothers and sisters, I would invite you to First Chronicles 29. This is God's Word. King David said to all the assembly, My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great, because the temple is not for man, but for the Lord God. Now for the house of my God, I have prepared with all my might gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance. Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God over and above all that I have prepared for the Holy House, my own special treasure of gold and silver, 3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver to overlay the walls of the houses. the gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the Lord? Then the leaders of the fathers' houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of the thousands and of the hundreds, with the officers over the king's work, offered willingly. They gave for the work of the house of God 5,000 talents and 10,000 derelicts of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze, and 100,000 talents of iron. And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord into the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the Lord. And King David also rejoiced greatly. Therefore, David blessed the Lord before all the assembly, and David said, Blessed are you, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty, for all that is in heaven and in earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you reign over all. In your hand is power and might. In your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. Now, therefore, our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from you, and of your own we have given you. For we are all aliens and pilgrims before you, as were all our fathers. Our days on the earth are as a shadow and without hope. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build you a house for your holy name is from your hand and is all your own. I know also, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasures in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart, I have willingly offered all these things, and now with joy I have set your people I have seen your people, who are present here to offer willingly to you. O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of your people, and fix their heart toward you. and give my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep your commandments and your testimonies and your statutes, to do all these things and to build the temple for which I have made provision.' Then David said to all the assembly, Now bless the Lord your God. So all the assembly blessed the Lord God of their fathers and bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the Lord and the King." Amen. And thus ends our reading. May God add it to us. Let's pray. Our Father, we do bow and we do worship you. We ask for your help and for your blessing. We ask, Father, that you would work in our hearts. We ask that you would, by your Spirit, give us understanding. By your Spirit, make our hearts willing. By your spirit, glorify your name and your gospel and work in our hearts that we would love and set our affection upon you and upon your house and upon your word. Bless us, Lord, as we enter into what the people of God have always done. And Father, bless us as we seek to be your building project, that you would take what is well-pleasing and build in us, we pray, build in us Christlikeness, that he would have the preeminence. And we ask that you would save. We ask that you would sanctify. And it's in Jesus that we come. Amen. Now, how many kings in our day and throughout history have big heads? And this would be true when it comes to any number of people. When it comes to celebrities or athletes, how many of them have big heads? And probably when you go to work tomorrow and people that you know, how many people around you have big heads? And when you look at verse 1, though David has a real seniority here, At this point, David has been ruling over Israel for 40 years. If you think about in our own nation, over the last 40 years, we've had seven presidents. But here, over four decades, there has been one man. It's King David. He is a real seniority in our passage. He has credentials, and you might say that he has bragging rights and a reason to have a big head. And yet, when you look in verse one, you see nothing but humility in the king. And you see it there when he says in verse one, my son Solomon is inexperienced. If you look that up, it kind of carries the idea of timidity. My son Solomon is timid. And really what's happening here is that Solomon, as he looks forward to being the next king, and as he looks forward to the project here, you see that he feels weak under the load. He's 25 years old or so. He's a young man. He's no pushover. He's no wimp. But yet here, he is feeling weak under the load. And I'm sure there are many strong men that know that experience. I'm sure that all of you have felt weak under the load of certain things. And that's what's happening to Solomon. My son Solomon is feeling weak under the load. And I want to know why. And he tells you, David says, because the work is great. Now you've seen that word great. We all understand that word great. Oftentimes we flip it around even for things that are not so great. But everything becomes great around us, even though they're really not. But we understand that word great. We've seen it in the creation account in Genesis 1 16. Remember that as God is creating, he made those two great lights. Same word. He made those two great lights, one to rule the day and one to rule the night. And so though there are lights in this room, though there are lights out on the streets, though there are lights in the stores, there are lights in your house, so there are still these two great lights up in the sky that outshine all the other lights around us. And in the same way, this is what David is talking about in verse one, the work is great. Brothers and sisters, there's work all around us. There is work for these people. There would have been work out on the fields, out on the farms, in the shops, in the marketplace, around the house. There is work everywhere, but the work that outshines every other work is what David says here in verse one, this great work. The work here is outshining every other work. And we understand why. Because the work is not great because of all the money involved. It's not great because of all the manpower involved. It's not great because of the years that would be involved. It is great because it is for the Lord. When they're working here, it's great because you can go no higher than the Lord's work. And so David and Solomon are feeling a weight under this great work. And so here, David in verse one, rather than being proud, how many people out there when there is great work to do, they become proud. But here in the midst of this great work, he is not boasting, but he is humble. Now, what does David do to motivate these people for the great work? What does he do? And we see what he does there in verses 1 through 5. You don't find gimmicks. You don't find games and giveaways. You don't find contests. But you notice there in verse 1 what David does to move these people. David said to all the assembly, to the whole congregation, David is going to raise his voice. He's going to lift up his voice. In other words here in verse 1, we could take it that David now is preaching to these people. so that God here is using preaching to motivate the people. What a blessing we have every Lord's Day as we come together, that God means to use preaching to motivate and to inspire and to move his people. We come here sluggish, we come here dull, and God means to bring life to our dry bones by the preaching. And that's what's happening here. God is going to use preaching in the lives of these people. And so, in the first five verses, David is having a holy proclamation. He is addressing these people in a sermon. Now, you notice that David doesn't call them merely to a project. Sometimes churches are all geared up and their attention is given to a project. But David doesn't call them merely to a building. He doesn't merely call them to himself or to Solomon. But you notice there he calls their attention where it belongs. He calls their attention to God. Look at verse 1. The work is great. Why? Because the temple is not for men. Now how many ministries become about men? How many churches can become man-centered in what they're doing? Oh, well, the pastor wants us to do this. The deacons want us to do this. This person and that person, they want us to do these things. And we have to be careful because the text is not saying David wants us to do this. Solomon wants us to do this. But you notice the work is great because the temple is not for man. But for God. Brothers and sisters, when you come together in whatever your activities, whatever your ministries are together, that must be the highest. That this is for God. Not just because the pastor says so. For you kids. Not just because your parents say so. Now, sermons often ask questions. And you see in our passage that David is going to pose a question. And this question is going to center upon a key word. As you look through this text, six times this word comes up in the passage. And so David is going to go right at the heart of the issue here. He's going to go right at this key word. And his question in verse five is, who is willing? It's really a key word in this text. David's going to go right at it and ask, who is willing? So that David here is not using his political weight. He's not using his political power. David is not forcing anything. David is not manipulating anything. He's not mustering up human energy here. He's not using propaganda. And he's not calling for fakery to go through the motions like a Pharisee. He says, who is willing? And you notice there in verse five, it's not so much who is willing to give their money. Or who is willing to give their time. or who is willing to give their talent. But you notice there in verse 5, who is willing to consecrate himself. Himself. Because what do we typically think? We usually think that it's all about our plans and our resources and what we have to offer. But you notice there the call is who is willing to consecrate himself. Before all the things that go into the temple, it's who is willing to consecrate himself. The Lord's work is first about the giving of yourself. And isn't this what Paul says in Romans 12? We know the passage. I beseech you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, that you what? that you present yourselves. So that, brothers and sisters, whatever ministry you do or when the collection plate comes around in your church, what ought to go into the plate every time is yourself. Because that's what David is focused on there. Who then is willing to consecrate himself? And literally, if you look it up, is who then is willing to fill his hands. Who is willing to fill his hands for God is what those people heard from David. So that literally empty hands come from empty hearts. And if your hands are full, it should be coming from a full heart for God. So that the hands always follow the condition of the heart. And so, David here says, who is willing to fill his hands for God? Now, how did they respond to the question? And you notice how they respond in our passage? They respond in a way that is consistent with God's people. In other words, they respond in a way that you would expect from God's people. You know, when your pastors preach, There is a holy expectation on how you, as the professed people of God, ought to respond. And these people are going to respond, as in James 1, they're going to respond as doers of the Word. Who is willing to consecrate himself? And they respond well. Now, at any church offering, In our church, we have love offerings, we have Lord's Day offerings, and many times in our prayers over those offerings, or many times when we're encouraging one another in the offerings, we quote from the Apostle Paul, from the book of Corinthians, where God loves a, and you know the rest of it. You never had to study this verse, you just know it. God loves a cheerful giver. And if you look, brothers and sisters, after they all gave their gold and their silver, after they filled their hands, notice there in verse nine, Then the people, what did they do? They rejoiced. God was looking upon a congregation of cheerful givers. They rejoiced over what they gave. And you remember what Paul says there in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. You remember he says that God loves a cheerful giver. And Paul says, don't give grudgingly. don't because you feel forced don't give because you feel like you have to because everybody's watching he says don't give grudgingly and if you follow there in verse 9 after the offering then the people rejoiced for they had offered willingly not grudgingly now We ask for a lot in prayer, and rightfully so. We have prayed several times this morning. And you come to our church on Wednesday nights for prayer meeting, and we ask for any number of things. You and I spend our days asking the Lord in prayer. We pray for health. We pray for travels. We pray for decisions, and future, and finances, and family, and relationships, and salvation, and all of these things. But when was the last time you prayed about what you see in verse nine? Because they rejoiced, they offered willingly, and notice the root of all that. It's that they had a loyal heart. They had a loyal heart. Brothers and sisters, when was the last time we sought the Lord for a loyal heart? And this would probably honor the Lord because we all have unsaved family and friends. We would love to see them to come to the knowledge of the truth and bow and believe on King Jesus. We would love to see that. And I think we could take up this matter and say, Oh Lord, give them a loyal heart for you. Because that's called salvation. When a man has a loyal heart to the Lord, it's to be converted. We should ask that for ourselves and for the people all around us, that God would give a loyal heart. And brothers and sisters, I know we're sitting in here and we've got a full week and a full schedule in front of us. And it's all that you can do to tame yourself and to keep those things aside while we come into the Lord's day. And I know that we often get tangled up in circumstances and schedules and all the burdens of life. But brothers and sisters, ultimately, if you've been regenerated, if you have been born again and given life and been made into a new creature, if that's true of you, ultimately, you have a loyal heart. It's a gift of grace that you don't have to pretend it. It's just there. Sometimes it flickers, sometimes it's faint, sometimes it's dull. But you know, if you're a true believer, you know, even when nobody else is around, you know there's something in you that is loyal to God, loyal to His Word, loyal to prayer, loyal to church, loyal to righteousness. It's there. Because God has done something in you. And again, that doesn't mean it's perfect. But your heart has been remade and renewed. Your heart has been set upon God. Set upon another affection. Not the things of this world, but upon God. And ultimately, brothers and sisters, rejoice that you do have a loyal heart. It is toward the Lord. And yet, We get bogged down and what we get into forgetfulness is that practically our hearts can be so disloyal soon after we leave this place, even during the Lord's Day worship. We have the weakness of the flesh, we have the weakness of our minds and our emotions, and practically we struggle with the disloyalties of our hearts. Brothers and sisters, come before the Lord and ask him to give you, what's in this text, a loyal heart, but rejoicing that if you're in Christ, ultimately your heart is toward him because he has done that for you. And so here in verse nine, it's not a partial heart, It's not a half-heartedness. It's an all-the-way heart that David is talking about. And isn't this what Paul says in Colossians 3? He says there that whatever you do, do it with all of your heart, as for the Lord. Do it with wholeheartedness, as to the Lord, Paul says. And so it is here. And so, no wonder He preaches to them. They're motivated. He asked them this challenging question. Who is willing to fill his hands? Who is willing to consecrate himself? And how do they respond? They respond as believers. They respond as doers of the Word. They're willing with a loyal heart and they cheerfully give. No wonder they give this way. Look at verse 7. You can see how they give. Now if you do the math, they gave 750,000 pounds of silver. We can't even imagine that. 750,000 pounds of silver. What does that look like? And if you do the math, today, an ounce of silver goes for about $31. If you do the math, these people gave the equivalents of $23 million in silver. Astronomical. Not to mention the other materials that they give here. But then, not just the silver, but if you look at the gold, If you do some math there, they gave the equivalence of around 370,000 pounds of gold. 370,000 pounds of gold. And today, if you look at the numbers, that gold goes for about $2,700 an ounce. And if you do the math here, these people gave the equivalence of about $16 billion in gold. Billion with a B. So we're into these astronomical amounts of money. If you look in verses 4 and 5, David as the king, he gave a lot. You can't dispute that, that David pulls from his treasuries and he gives a lot in verses 4 and 5. But, when you look in verse 7, the people outgave the king. Which is very instructive to us, that David could have outgave any one of them, but together they outgave the king. Together they did more than one man can. Do you see how instructive that is for the people that are in this room? Collectively, together, we can outgive. Collectively, we can do more together. These people did more than even their king when they came together. No wonder God says how good and pleasant it is for the brethren to dwell in unity, because there's so much more that can happen in a church. It would have been easy for the people to say, well, King, you're rich. You have all the resources. You do it. And all of Israel would have been limited by that. And it's easy for any church, no matter of the side, to say, well, pastor, you do it. You're the full-time guy. You do it. Brothers and sisters, Amos can do a lot, but nothing like the 30 people in this room. And this is what's happening here. These people shine. They outshine the king. Now, you also notice here that the people had all of these riches to the billions. It's unbelievable, all this money. They had all these riches, but they were not captured by them. They mastered their riches, but they were not mastered by their riches. It's okay to have things. But money is always a bad master and it ought to be a good servant to us. And that's what's happening here. They are not captured by these things. And I'm reminded of the Apostle Paul in 1st Timothy 6 when he says, charge them that are rich in this world. That's us. Charge them that are rich in this world that they be not proud, that they don't trust in their riches because that's so easy to do. But what does he say there? He says to be rich in good works. You want to be rich? Be rich in good works. And here, the people of Israel, as they come together, it is clear that they are rich in good works. They were rich to the billions, but they were richer in good works. And we see in our passage the real treasure, right? The real treasure is not gold. Wow, billions and billions of dollars. And that can capture anybody's attention, anybody's emotions. But the real treasure here is not the gold. It's God. And if you're a believer, again, you may faint, you may be weary, but if you're a believer, your real treasure, your greatest treasure, is God, hands down. You know that Jesus said you can't serve God and money. And you go to the typical Joe in Englewood, the typical people out there, and you say to them, would you love to have the $23 million of silver in our passage, or would you love to have the Lord Jesus Christ? And for them, it's a no-brainer. They'd take the money. But there's a radical change for the people of God, because if that silver is put before you or the Lord Jesus Christ, it's not even a contest, isn't it? 100 out of 100 times we would take the Lord Jesus Christ because we know he is the greater treasure. He's the pearl of great price. That we give up everything that we might have him. That's what's being demonstrated here, that God is their greatest treasure. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? And what can a man give in exchange for his soul? So you come with your billions of dollars before God, and at the tribunal, at the judgment of God, you come with all of your money, all of your assets, and it's not enough. There's only one currency, there's only one tender in the court of God. And it's the life and death and blood of Jesus Christ. Only that currency makes a purchase and is accepted by God. Now, the question when we look at these billions of dollars in gold and silver, the question might be, isn't this too much? I mean, it's almost ridiculous what happens here. Pastor, isn't this extravagant? Isn't this over the top? Billions of dollars in gold and silver. It's way too much. Well, I remember several, several years ago, I had an atheist friend. And he was talking about how outer space is just a waste of space. That it's so vast. Again, we can't even understand the numbers, the distances that are involved. And he was saying that outer space is just a waste. It's so vast and empty. It's futile. There's just vanity all over it. And you know what? Outer space would be a waste if it was about man. But space, in all of its vastness, is not a wasted place, because it's not about man, it's about God. The heavens declare the glory of God. And when you look at the vastness of the sky, it says something real about God. It's declaring His power and His wisdom, His infinitude, that there are no boundaries before God. When you look at all of that space, you are learning something very real about God. It's not wasted territory. And in the same principle here, you look at all this gold and silver that they were given. Isn't it extravagant? Isn't it too much? It is if it's about man. But the temple here was a great work. The temple here was not about man. It was for God and therefore all of this stuff is not wasted. It's not too much because it's about God. What was the temple here to do? You remember the temple is signifying, it's illustrative of God's true abode. So that God would dwell in this house. He would dwell in the temple on earth. And all it was doing was figuring the true temple which is in heaven. And so they give to this project, number one, to reflect the glory of God, but also they give all of this gold and silver to reflect the glory of heaven. The temple was, if you will, a heaven on earth, but all this beauty and majesty and gold and silver was to reflect something very real about the true temple, the abode of God in heaven. And so when you look at all this wealth, all this gold and silver, it's a window for us to imagine the true beauty, the true worth of where God truly dwells today in heaven. And I think that's helpful because in the next few weeks, with the first Advent, with Christmas coming up, we are thinking about the Incarnation. When you look at this temple, full, decked with gold and silver, it is a window to heaven, the glory and wealth of heaven. And what happened in the Incarnation? He who was rich became poor, that we who are poor might become rich. This temple, with all of its beauty, with all of its wealth, is a window to heaven. And what did Jesus do? He emptied himself of his reputation. He came off the throne and was born into a world like this. He left all the splendor and majesty and beauty of heaven to come into a corrupted world that eventually would turn against him and kill him. But from the glory of this temple, we see the glory of the abode of God and what Jesus gave up in his incarnation. Well, how do things get done in a church? And we tend to think of planning. And we tend to think of volunteers. And we tend to think of money. That's how things get done. And we become very corporate. And obviously, planning and volunteering and money is all part of it. But how do things get done here in our passage? By David preaching. And then we see how things get done in verses 16 through 19. We see things get done by prayer. See, we just get caught up in the gold and silver that's happening here, and we forget that behind the temple is preaching, and in verses 16 and 19, it's prayer. Brothers and sisters, what's behind the church? There could be a lot of action, a lot of people doing things, but what's behind all of that? It's preaching and prayer. That's what moves the church. In verses 18 and 19, what did David pray for? What did he pray for? And you see it there in verses 18 and 19. He basically prays for them to be sensitive, to be responsive, to be pliable to God. Why? Why does he pray for sensitivity toward God? Well, think about it in a marriage. Marriage without devotion is vanity. A team without devotion is vanity. And so it is here, he is praying for a sensitive and responsive heart to God because a temple without devotion is vanity. What did the Pharisees do? They came to the temple without devotion. And brothers and sisters, to have worship, to have ministry without devotion is vanity. To come on the Lord's day, to come to church without devotion is vanity. And so David here they're coming with their gold and their silver and as they're endeavoring to build the house of the Lord he's praying that they would be sensitive and responsive to God because you can have all the gold and the silver and you can have a beautiful temple but all that stuff without devotion is vanity it's to have cathedrals and temples and religions and beautiful palaces like we have all over this world having a form of godliness but having no power Notice there in verses 18 and 19. He's praying and he says, Oh, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, our fathers. Keep this. The temple, the offering, the willingness, the rejoicing, the loyalty. Keep this. in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of your people and fix their heart toward you. Verse 19, and give my son Solomon a loyal heart. And he mentions about the commandments and the testimonies and the statutes and give him a loyal heart. Why? To build the temple. You know, David here sounds like a Calvinist. He believes in the sovereignty of God. And a lot of Christians are okay with God ruling all things, like it says in our passage, that God rules heaven and earth. He's in control of all things. People say that he is sovereign, but brothers and sisters, you see in verses 18 and 19, that David believes in the sovereignty of God over the hearts of men. He says, give my son Solomon a willing heart. He says there that you would fix their heart towards you. He's talking like a Calvinist. He's believing the sovereignty of God over the inner man. What a hope we have when we know that God is sovereign over the hearts of men. And he sounds like the Apostle Paul, doesn't he? Philippians 2, it is God that works in you to will and to do of his good pleasure. That's what Paul is, that's what David is saying here. God work in them to will and to do of your good pleasure. And notice there, David is going to preach, and David is going to pray in our passage. And then in verse 10, you see that he is going to praise the Lord. Look at verse 10. Therefore, in light of all that happened, the willingness, the loyalty, David blessed the Lord before all the assembly. And David said, blessed are you, Lord God of Israel, forever and ever. He praises the Lord. He knew the Westminster Confession, didn't he? He knew the catechism. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. And that's what David is doing. He's glorifying God here. He's enjoying God here. And when you look at verse 11, as one writer said, he's going to ransack the theological dictionary. Because in verse 11, he's going to grab at six things, six attributes. So he just ransacks the theological dictionary. And notice there in verse 11. Yours is the greatness. Yours is the power. Yours is the glory. Yours is the victory. Yours is the majesty. Yours is the kingdom. This lofty theology comes springing out of David. And brothers and sisters, here we are on Thanksgiving weekend. Most of us, if not all of us, have gone through the motions of Thanksgiving. Football was on, gathered with family and friends. We had a full table of food. Most of us have gone through that activity. Most of us have tossed those words around, happy Thanksgiving, happy Thanksgiving, happy Thanksgiving. But brothers and sisters, in the last few days, have you entered into Thanksgiving? And that's what David is going to do. Behind Thanksgiving, Behind David's Thanksgiving, behind our Thanksgiving, brothers and sisters, is that great little word, yours. Changes everything. How does Thanksgiving begin? With that great big recognition, yours. David here is gonna say yours. What's behind the Lord's Day? It's that great big little word, yours. What's behind Christmas as it comes up? Yours. Brothers and sisters, when we come before the Lord, yours is my life. This is the confession of a Christian. Yours is my life. Yours is my career. Yours is my family. Yours are all my possessions. Yours are my trials. Yours are my struggles. Yours is my destiny. Yours is my salvation. It's all yours. It changes everything. And it's behind everything. That four-letter word, yours. If you look all over this passage, you just keep seeing David saying, your, your, your, your. Now, in verse 11, David says, yours is everything. But notice there in verse 12, both riches and honor come from you. and you reign over all. In your hand is power and might. In your hand is to make great and to give strength to all. Don't miss it because it's somewhat subtle there. In verse 10, verse 11, yours, and pay attention to verse 12, yours are riches and honor. Yours is the reigning. Yours is power and might. But notice, At the end of verse 12, in your hand is to make great and to give strength to all. The beginning of verse 12, riches and honor come from you. What are you saying, Pastor George? It's all yours. It all belongs to God in verse 11. But in verse 12, God is not hoarding He's giving what is His. This is what's behind Thanksgiving. This is what's behind the Lord's Day and every day of our lives as you get up and crawl out of bed tomorrow. Yours is everything, but God doesn't hoard. He freely gives to us. In your hand is to give, the text says. Isn't this really what's behind sanity? Things have been insane in the last few years. What's behind our sanity is that yours is everything and yet you give to me. That's the beginning of sanity. That's the beginning of hope. That's the beginning of worship. And that's the beginning of this week. That yours and you give to me. Verse 13. Now therefore, since it's all yours and you have given to us, now therefore, our God, we thank you. And God here was given the temple. And what was the temple all about? It was sacrificed to deal with their sins. And the temple was all about meeting with God on the basis of a sacrifice for their sins. And brothers and sisters, what is this obviously pointing to? What is it echoing? It's the gospel. That we come to God on the basis of the gospel. That we come to God because he has provided a sacrifice to deal with our sins. And we can meet with him through Jesus Christ. The temple here was about sacrificing and meeting with God, and it's pointing to the gospel where sacrifice and meeting with God truly happen. Now, as we would close, here in our passage, David gathered riches, didn't he? He gathered riches, but Jesus gathers us. Jesus is the great David, the true David, the son of David. He's the fulfillment of the Davidic hope. He's the great David, the king that would rule forever. And so David here is going to gather riches, but the greater David, the Lord Jesus Christ, is going to gather us. David gathered the riches of gold and silver. David used the riches of gold and silver. And what does the Lord Jesus use? He uses the riches of love and grace to build his temple, to build us as his dwelling place. David used wood and metal. Jesus does the same thing. Jesus uses the wood and metal of the nails and the cross. And brothers and sisters, all over our passage, David is saying, yours And as we come on the Lord's Day, and as we would leave this place, and as we would go into the rest of our lives, brothers and sisters, what a tremendous, all-encompassing, God-centered statement of theology. Yours! There's one thing that we haven't mentioned. Yours is my sin. Aren't you glad we sing it? And I bear it no more! We bear it no more in the gospel, in imputation. The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. He became sin for us who knew no sin. So that here, brothers and sisters, we can say, yours has become my sin and I bear it no more. It's been nailed to the cross. Yours is my sin and yours has become my righteousness. And because of that gospel, yours has become my sin and yours has become my righteousness. We have hope today and everlastingly. And brothers and sisters, you remember Jesus at the table says, remember, right? Peter, I think it is that says that we have to put into remembrance. You know why? Because we so easily forget, don't we? And so be reminded of this great big little word, yours. What a motto. There are several mottos that Christians can have, right? Not I but Christ, in all things Christ. I'm crucified with Christ. These are all mottos. But we have a one word summary here, a one word motto, yours. And isn't this what Jesus says in the garden on the brink of the cross? Not my will, not my will be done, but yours. That's every day of our lives. Not my will be done, but yours. And in verse 20, David said to all the assembly, he's going to exhort them. He's going to call them to action here. Now bless the Lord, your God. And so what did they do? They blessed the Lord their God and bowed and prostrated themselves. But he calls them to go and bless the Lord. If you look up the Septuagint, the Greek version of this, it's the word eulogy. He calls them all and he says, now go speak well of the Lord. Brothers and sisters, to each other in just a few minutes around the lunch table. And tomorrow when you go about your life, you go and bless the Lord. You go and speak well of him. God bless it to us through Jesus Christ. Amen.