We Give You Thanks!

I Chronicles 29:1-20

29 Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God. ² With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities. ³ Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: ⁴ three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, ⁵ for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?”

⁶ Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. ⁷ They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron. ⁸ Anyone who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. ⁹ The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

David’s Prayer

¹⁰ David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

“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.
¹² Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
¹³ Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.

¹⁴ “But 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. ¹⁹ And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”

²⁰ Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord your God.” So they all praised the Lord, the God of their fathers; they bowed down, prostrating themselves before the Lord and the king.

David has been a very successful king of Israel. The most successful in terms of victory over their enemies. He was a king who was a poet, which is obvious in this passage, and acted in many ways like a priest. As a leader he interceded for the people. And he was humble. When you look at the impact of His life, if you were to ask him about what he did and why things went the way that it did, this prayer above is what you would get. And the reason for the prayer is found in what David has practiced his whole life. Verse 14 says, “Everything comes from you.” Because of the adoption of this attitude, the people are able to embrace the work of God in this moment of salvation history. They will build the temple of God, the house of God in their land. This is a great moment. And it serves as a concrete example of what God will do in and through us as well. But we must adopt this attitude: “Everything comes from you.” And we must adopt this attitude: “Thank you God for what you have done in my (our) life (lives).”

 

1. Now God, We Give You Thanks

 

1. The basic action

        Definition:

To admit to be real or true a service or favor given.

So, there is a service or a favor or some other positive experience in our lives. And then we recognize the reality of      the blessing and express our understanding of that.

And so in the passage above, everything that David says is true   of God is the acknowledgement. Verses 10-12. Each of those     things that are true of God have had a positive impact on their      lives.

1. They were strangers, foreigners, as were their ancestors and God brought them out to Himself. Realize what the temple is, the        dwelling place of God with man!
2. God is the source of all honor.
3. God is the source of all wealth
4. God is the source of all strength.

Greed, pride and sensuality is the act of replacing God with these things that are resident in Himself. Then think of how being thankful is a foundational action that guards our hearts against sin. It is no small thing to be thankful!

1. The Biblical mandate

Leviticus 4 thank offerings given

I Chronicles here: processes in the temple set up to thank God.   It’s the job of a Levite to do this all the time!

I Chron 16:

⁴ He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord,   to extol, thank, and praise the Lord, the God of Israel:

I Chron 16:34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever. (The most common expression of thanks)

Psalms 9:1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

Romans 8: ²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the   good of those who love him, who have been called according to       his purpose.

Phil 4: ⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever         is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,      whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—    think about such things.

I Thes 5: ¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Abraham Lincoln establishes this holiday because He understands        this truth!

In the negative:

Phil 2: ¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine     among them like stars in the sky

 

1. The bottom line blessings

        God exists.

        God is good.

        God’s love endures forever.

        What do I see in my life right now that is an expression of the love of God?

1. They were strangers, foreigners, as were their ancestors and God brought them out to Himself. Realize what the temple is, the        dwelling place of God with man!
2. God is the source of all honor.
3. God is the source of all wealth
4. God is the source of all strength.

 

1. Thanksgiving Connects Us to God’s Will

       

1. We know this is the will of God

        I Thes 5: 16-19

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit.

You can do no better in life than to do the will of God. And we know that the will of God is that we be thankful for His good gifts!

Story of Mary Grice

 

1. We have what comes from God’s hand v.14

                Give and it will be given unto you

                I Peter 4: ⁷ The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. ⁸ Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹ Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. ¹¹ If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

 

1. We are the new temple

        They are bringing the building materials from themselves to the temple. They give willingly, cheerfully, wholeheartedly!

                I Peter 2:4-5

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

What we have to offer God has come from His hands! So we are grateful that we have something to offer. We acknowledge those gifts from Him. And we give them back to Him!!

 

III. Thanksgiving Protects us from Unbelief

1. Romans one example

        Whenever we fail to recognize the good gifts of God in our lives    then we move into judgement! We will either claim that the gifts       do not come from Him, we will fail to submit to His limitations on    the gifts in our lives and we will replace God as the source of the   gift! The consequences of this will be disastrous to relationships.

1. The tenth commandment

        The last of the commandments that is actually a warning    against ingratitude!    

Coveting is behind theft.

What are God’s promises concerning provision? If we trust Him    will we see Him provide? “Give me neither poverty nor riches.”

Coveting is behind bearing false witness against a neighbor.

Why do we need to deceive? What of our neighbor’s do we want that God has not provided us?

Coveting is behind adultery.

Easy to see

Coveting is behind murder.

Respecting the image of God in another man. Coveting the honor         and respect that he is owed.

 

All sin is a reflection of unbelief in God’s goodness or provision. This was true for Adam and Eve in the Garden. Imagine Adam and Eve celebrating God’s great provision for them instead of focusing on what they are not allowed. When we trust that God is good and is caring for us, then why can we not celebrate what we have without focusing on what we do not have! This can be powerful in your marriage. This can be powerful at work. This can be powerful in church even.

Think about the second temple and Ezra. When the people saw the new foundation of the new temple, some rejoiced. And some wept. What do you think God would have them to do? Should they not rejoice? Because it is God who is in their midst!

 

1. Old Testament Altars

Be careful that you do not forget…

Deut 4 twice,

Deut 6,

Deut 8 twice!

Why build an altar? So they will remember what God has done in their lives. Why would they forget what God has done? What can they do to remember? What do you do on an altar? What do we sacrifice when we are thankful?

David says: ²⁴ But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”

Being ungrateful makes you weak. Being thankful makes you strong. This is true socially, financially, emotionally and spiritually!