Pastor Tim Patoka
Faith that Delights in Duty
October 2, 2022
Who Am I? 1 Chronicles 29:1-2, 10-18 1) Abundantly Blessed by the Lord’s Hand 2) Preserved in My Heart’s Uprightness How would you define who you are in a way that is both concise and complete? Do you list the things you’ve done or the places you’ve visited? Would you include your family and loved ones? Or would you just use a big question mark because it’s too hard? It is difficult to define who we are because we are complex people and full of contradictions. We’re also a moving target as we mature through the years making it increasingly difficult to concisely and completely summarize. As you think how you would answer the question, “Who am I?” did you include your faith in Jesus? How you are a faithful servant of his who delights in your Christian duty? As Christians, this is a key component to our identity and purpose in life from which everything else builds off. It’s the same question that King David asked of himself and the Israelites in our verses this morning from 1 Chronicles. And the answer he gives is an exemplary one – as a humble servant of God whose faith delights in his Christian duty. Though our circumstances are quite different, we too answer the question, “who am I?” in the same way. For we too are abundantly blessed by the Lord’s hand and have the uprightness of our heart preserved by our God. Abundantly Blessed by the Lord’s Hand At first glace, you would think that David’s speech of praise and thanks was because of a huge military victory or some sort of miraculous deliverance. Rather, it’s occasioned by the vast amount of wealth that was freely given to build the Temple. Though God forbade King David from building it himself (1 Chronicles 22:8), that didn’t stop David from getting everything ready for his son Solomon, the heir to the throne, to build it. And we see the vast wealth that was gathered: gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, onyx, antimony, stones of different colors, every kind of precious stone, and alabaster in abundance. These gifts weren’t just from the state treasury, but from David’s personal wealth and many of the Israelite leaders. Upon seeing this mountain of wealth, there was only one way for David to respond – to praise and thank God who made it all happen with his abundant blessings.
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