Rev. David Holwick ZM King David series
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
November 19, 1995
2 Samuel 24:18-25
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I. Have you been blessed?
A. We are most prosperous generation America has ever seen, yet
we think of ourselves as poor.
Story is told of an affluent kid whose family moved to a
new city.
The parents didn't want to draw attention to themselves,
so they told their son that they were poor.
"We really don't have much," they told him.
"Others are much better off than we are.
On the first day of school the teacher asked the children
to write a paragraph about themselves.
The young boy wrote, "I am poor, my father is poor, my
mother is poor...our maid is poor, the man who flies
our jet is poor..."
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1) We have much more than our parents did at this point
in their lives.
2) Dinner with Ana Alvarado, whose family fled to America
with very little - "I have been blessed so much, it
makes me afraid."
B. Everything we have, we have received. 1 Cor 4:7-8
1) All blessings come from God.
2) Corinthians have blessings, but boast as if they don't.
3) They are kings in spiritual sense, through faith in Jesus.
C. Paul mocks their view of "kingship," but our passage in Samuel
today is about a real king.
1) King David did not take God's blessings for granted.
2) He valued his relationship with God in a concrete way.
II. It can't cost nothing.
A. Jump ahead to end of David's life. (to keep sermon topical)
1) He organized a census of fighting men.
a) We do this every ten years, and you can get results
on 14 CD-Roms for just $2,000.
b) David aroused God's wrath, because the king was relying
on manpower for victory and not the Lord God.
c) Even hardened General Joab realized foolishness of this.
2) Once again, David is conscience-striken. 24:10
a) Recalls cutting off corner of Saul's robe.
b) He admits his mistake and confesses to God. 24:10
B. "Law of the Harvest" - Actions have consequences. 24:11
1) Through prophet, God gives three options. 24:12
a) They decrease in time, but increase in intensity.
2) Rabbinic interpretation is that king would have been sheltered
from famine and war, but plague can strike anyone.
C. David's view - people are capricious, but God is merciful. 24:14
1) God will cut short, perhaps?
a) He stops on his own before David does anything. 24:16
2) Ironic. David wanted more land and people, but ended up
with 70,000 fewer fighting men. (better than "people")
3) At height of plague David again confesses his guilt,
and calls wrath directly on his family. 24:17
a) (David's concern for sheep is characteristic of him.)
D. God doesn't come cheap.
1) David is ordered to build an altar, and seeks to buy
threshing floor of a Jebusite. (high, exposed place)
a) Araunah's free offer may be a Palestinian way of
dickering.
b) David gives a classic reply:
"No, I insist on paying you for it.
I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings
that cost me nothing." 24:24
2) Site is same place (Moriah) Abraham once held a knife
over his son Isaac. Gen 22:2; 2 Chron 3:1
a) Now David sees the sword of the Lord ready to plunge
into Jerusalem.
b) In both cases, death is averted by a sacrifice.
It cost something.
III. What will you pay for your relationship with God?
A. David valued God more than reputation.
1) When ark was dedicated, he danced joyfully, in an ephod.
2) His wife thought it was unseemly. 6:16,20
3) David was unapologetic: 6:21-22
"I will celebrate before the LORD.
I will become even more undignified than this, and
I will be humiliated in my own eyes."
B. He valued God more than his wealth.
1) Araunah's field came cheap.
2) The Temple was far more costly.
a) Even though David didn't build it, he provided the
materials.
b) The amounts were enormous - 100,000 talents of gold
and a million of silver. 1 Chr 22:14
C. How much do YOU value God?
1) How much time do you spend for God?
a) Time for worship and fellowship.
b) Time for personal growth.
c) Time for service and outreach.
2) How willing are you to be vocal about faith?
a) Humiliation is hard to take.
3) How willing are you to commit your finances to God?
a) David gave of his best - not just national wealth, but
his personal wealth, too. 1 Chr 29:3
1> If every born-again Christian gave HALF a tithe,
churches could replace need for welfare.
2> Do you give to God from the top, or the leftovers?
b) David left a heritage of a beautiful Temple.
1> We also can leave a heritage - through a will.
Wills can testify of our faith.
William Shakespeare's will said,
I, William Shakespeare, of Stratford-upon-Avon,
in perfect health and memory, God be praised,
Do make my last will and testament in this manner:
First, I commend my soul into the hands of God,
my Creator,
Hoping and assuredly believing through the only
merits of Jesus Christ, my Savior,
To be made partaker of life everlasting, and I
commend my body to the earth whereof it is made."
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2> If you tithe your paycheck, you should tithe your
estate.
IV. What costly gratitude provides.
A. God is honored. 1 Chr 29:10
1) Gifts express how much we value someone.
(Buying Secret Pal gift for Celeste.
How much to spend?
I give a figure, Celeste says,
"Oh no, she's worth more than that!)
2) Costly discipleship is best thanksgiving.
B. We gain proper perspective on our lives. 1 Chr 29:14-15
1) Everything comes from the Lord.
2) Our lives are short anyway.
(Goldy Weller - 8 years old, first airplane)
C. Others are motivated. 1 Chr 29:9
The Sunday following the Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995,
Ernie Ross worshipped at the Edmond American Baptist
Fellowship in Edmond, Okla.
Ross is employed in the composing room of "The Journal Record,"
housed at the time of the bomb blast across the street from
the Alfred Murrah Federal Building.
Only a plate glass window separated Ross and his co-workers from
the explosion on April 19.
He suffered severe facial cuts when the window shattered.
As he entered the Edmond church building on Sunday, Ross handed
Pastor Charles Macrander a note which read:
"My name is Ernie Ross.
These are my children, Warden, Thomas and Sara.
I was in "The Journal Record" building at the bombing and got
out of the hospital on Thursday afternoon.
I just wanted to bring my children to church this morning
to be with fellow Christians and thank you for your prayers.
Because I know that without the grace, the love of God,
I wouldn't be here. Thank you."
Ross has continued to worship with the Edmond American Baptist
Fellowship.
He has also joined others in writing personal notes of thanks
to churches across the U.S. who have prayed and sent gifts and
notes of encouragement to those affected by the bombing.
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V. When we think thanks is too costly, consider what God paid.
During the Vietnam conflict, a young graduate of West Point Academy
was sent to Vietnam to lead a group of new recruits into battle.
He did his job well, trying his best to keep his men from ambush and
death.
However, one night he and his men were overtaken by a battalion of the
Viet Cong.
He was able to get all but one of his men to safety.
The one soldier who had been left behind had been severely wounded.
From their trenches, the young lieutenant and his men could hear their
wounded comrade moaning and crying for help.
They all knew that venturing out into the vicious crossfire of the
enemy would mean almost certain death.
But the groanings of the wounded soldier continued on through the
night.
Eventually, the young lieutenant could stand it no longer.
He crawled out of his protected area toward the cries of the dying man.
The lieutenant got to him safely and was able to drag him back.
But just as he pushed the wounded soldier into the safety of the ditch,
he himself caught a bullet in the back and was killed instantly.
Several months later, the rescued man returned to the United States.
When the parents of the dead hero heard that he was in their vicinity,
they planned to have him come to dinner.
This young man's life had cost them a great deal and they wanted to
get to know him.
On the night of the dinner party, their guest arrived drunk.
He was loud and boisterous.
He told off-color jokes.
He showed no concern for his suffering hosts.
The parents of the dead hero did the best they could to make it a
worthwhile evening, but their efforts failed.
At the end of that torturous visit, the obscene guest left.
As her husband closed the door, the mother collapsed in tears,
saying,
"To think that our precious son had to die for somebody like that."
The young soldier owed those parents the best that was in him.
It was evil for him to give so little thought to what they had lost
because of him.
Considering the price that had been paid for his life, his ingratitude
was beyond comprehension.
But we are just like him - Jesus died for us, yet we continue to
neglect him.
We fail to reflect on the cost of our salvation.
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