Are you familiar with GoFundMe? It’s a digital platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from celebrations to accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the beginning of 2020, over $9 billion has been raised on the platform with contributions from over 120 million donors. Anyone can make use of GoFundMe.
As you might expect, many requests are downright silly and selfish. For example, there’s a guy who is asking for money so he can buy hats because he is going bald. There’s a kid who is raising money to buy AirPods because his parents won’t buy them for him and he thinks “he deserves them.” (I love one of the responses to his request: “Here, have some Air Dollars.”) And finally, there’s the teenager who is asking for a million dollars…because he needs a liver transplant? No, simply because he wants to become the youngest millionaire.
At least these individuals are honest about what they intend to do with funds received. How would you feel if someone said they needed money for a medical procedure, so you reached deep into your pocket and provided funding only to find out later that the recipient used your money for hats or AirPods? You’d be upset and perhaps would vow to never give away money like that again.
Our sermon text today teaches us that even though we may have never turned to GoFundMe to ask for money, all the money we have along with every talent and all our time is a gift from God. We each can say: Go(d)Fund(s)Me. And for what purpose? He does so to show his love to us and through us. Listen to our text.
Our sermon text takes place about 1000 years before the birth of Christ. King David was coming to the end of his reign and his son Solomon would soon take over. David had accomplished much as the second king of Israel. However, there was one thing God did not allow him to do: build a temple for the Lord. Although David wouldn’t get to build the temple, he did make sure everything would be ready for Solomon to complete the building project. One helpful resource was the 100 tons of gold David was giving from his own treasury.
100 tons of gold! Do you have any idea how much gold that is? For comparison’s sake, consider how a Boeing 757 airplane weighs 100 tons. The Cloud Gate sculpture in Chicago, also known as the “Bean”, is 100 tons. A sing-story, 1600 sq ft. house weighs 100 tons. But since gold is really heavy, 100 tons of gold won’t take up as much space as any of the things I just mentioned. Pictured here on the screen is just one ton of gold in the back of a pickup. There’s plenty of room to put many more things into that pickup, but if you were to put any more gold in this truck, you’d break its suspensions. 25 tons of gold would easily fit on a flatbed truck, but that’s all such a truck can legally carry. 100 tons of gold would stack over six-feet high and four-feet wide. It doesn’t look like much but 100 tons of gold today is worth…any ideas? $5.4 trillion! To put that into perspective, the US national debt is currently at $30.9 trillion.
100 tons of gold for the temple was just the beginning of King David’s generosity. He also gave 260 tons of silver, which today is worth $16.6 billion. David also gave marble and precious gems, though we don’t know what kind or how many. In response to David’s generosity, the leaders of Israel added 190 tons of gold, 380 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, 3,800 tons of iron, and more gems. How much in total was given towards the building of the temple? It’s hard to say, but perhaps around $11 trillion?
More precious than the amount of the gift was the spirit in which it was given. David reports: “…who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 15 We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16 LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 18 LORD, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.” (1 Chronicles 29:14-18)
Go(d)Fund(s)Me! That’s what David was confessing. He and his fellow leaders could be so generous because God himself had given them all their resources. David was just giving it back to the Lord. It’s like the child who gets $20 from Dad to buy him a birthday gift. Even though Dad is the one supplying the money, he still delights to see what his child will buy and give to him. Our God is like that too.
But isn’t this a truth that’s easy to forget—especially when the way God often gives us money is through our regular paycheck? When you work hard, it’s easy to think on payday: “I did this. I earned this money. Now it’s mine to do with as I please.” But who is it that gave you the job? Who is it that gave the smarts to carry out the work? Who gives you the strength to get up every workday? All these are gracious gifts from God. That’s why Moses reminded the Israelites: “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. …17 You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth...” (Deuteronomy 8:14a, 17-18b)
Why does God fund us? Well, it’s one way he shows love to us. A couple of weeks ago I was in Wisconsin to attend a symposium on Compassionate Ministry. The presenters reminded us that our God is not just concerned about our souls, he is also concerned about our bodies. Think of the people that Jesus fed and the diseases that he healed. Likewise, our God is interested in our physical wellbeing too. That’s why he has promised to provide what we need for our everyday lives. We acknowledge this truth whenever we say in the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread…” and perhaps we could add “…as you have promised to do.” And the truth is, God often gives us much more than the bare necessities.
So why does God often give us more than we need? He does so, not just to show love to us, but also to show love through us. God doesn’t want us spending the money only on ourselves but also to use it to care for our family, to give to the needy, and to support the work of his kingdom.
How are you doing in that regard, Brothers and Sisters? Are you eagerly using your funds to show God’s love through you? Or have you started to think and act like the person who requests money on GoFundMe for selfish reasons? Are we more concerned about building up our lives than God’s kingdom? Just as you would be upset if someone misused the funds you had entrusted to them, should not our God feel the same way about us if we are misusing the funds he has entrusted to us?
But perhaps as you listened to how much David gave for the work of the temple you found yourself thinking: “I’m not rich like that. I can’t afford to give to the Lord or to help others. I’ve got my own bills to pay!” If we think that generous giving is only for the rich, consider what the Apostle Paul wrote about stewardship. He urged the Corinthian Christians: “Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.” (1 Corinthians 16:1-2)
Paul’s directive about giving wasn’t just for the rich members. It was for everyone including those members who were slaves! Sure, they may not have had much to give, but stewardship isn’t about raising dollars, it’s about practicing our faith. It’s about acknowledging that yes, everything we have is from you, Lord. And I get to show my trust in your promises to care for me as I give back some of the money you have entrusted to me, knowing that you will continue to provide what I need for everyday living. King David made that point when he appealed to his fellow leaders: “Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the LORD today?” (1 Chronicles 29:5b) Notice how David did not ask, “Who is willing to give their treasures to the Lord,” but “Who is willing to consecrate themselves…?” Christian stewardship is a matter of the heart first and dollars second. For we might give lots of dollars but if the gift is not from a thankful, worshipful heart, then it isn’t God-pleasing.
What will motivate us to consecrate ourselves and our resources to the Lord? While it’s easy to be impressed with the amount that David gave for the building of the Lord’s temple, consider how much more the “second” David gave. Do you know who I am talking about? The “second” David is of course Jesus. The first David was a great king over Israel, but the second David is an even greater king—for his kingdom covers the earth, and his reign will have no end. While David gave over $5 trillion for the building of the temple, he only gave that which God had given to him first. Jesus, the Son of God, on the other hand gave that which had always belonged to him from eternity. He gave up his comfortable place in heaven to take on human flesh. Jesus subjected himself to hunger pains and to the inconvenience of living with sinful people. He endured all this just so he could give up his life on a cross. The first David’s trillions built a beautiful temple that lasted for 450 years before it was destroyed. The second David’s gift is building a temple of believers that will endure into eternity. You and I are part of that temple, for having been washed in the blood of Jesus, we are the stones that make up this temple (1 Peter 2:4 ff.). Through Jesus’ gift we have eternal life. And we also have God’s undying promise to care for our daily needs.
So sure, inflation has gone through the roof. But we remain among the wealthiest people in the world. Why did God ensure that we were born into such wealth? Because we were more deserving of his grace than people who live in a shack with no running water? No. God delights in showing us such gracious love to us because he also wants to show his love through us to others.
No, none of us has the resources David had to give, but God has entrusted each of us with his treasures. We have money to give to help the needy and to ensure that we can do the Lord’s work here and as a church body. God has also given us time and talents. While you might not have $5 trillion lying around to give, if you live to be 80 years old, you’ll have had over 2.5 trillion seconds to give to the Lord during your lifetime. May we live in such a way that every second of our life declares in action what David said with these words: “Praise be to you, LORD, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. 11 Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.” (1 Chronicles 29:10-11) Amen.
SERMON NOTES
(pre-service warmup) If you are familiar with GoFundMe, the digital platform that allows people to raise money, what are some of the craziest funding efforts you’ve heard of?
King David and the Israelite leaders gave an incredible amount to support the building of the temple. How much did they give? What was the most precious gift they gave?
Although you may have never used GoFundMe, each of us can state that Go(d)Fund(s)Me. How is this true even if you’ve never seen an angel drop off a stack of hundred-dollar bills at your front door?
For what two reasons does God give us everything that we have?
How would you respond to someone who says: “I’m not rich like King David, so I can’t afford to give anything to the Lord.”
In what way did the “second” David give much more than King David? How does that motivate you in your life of faithful stewardship?
