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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Pastor Tim Patoka
Faith that Delights in Duty
October 2, 2022
David then takes a moment to ask himself our thematic question, “Who am I? Who are my people that we are able to offer willingly like this?” (1 Chronicles 29:14a EHV) David knew there was nothing in and of themselves to explain it. After all, they were no more than aliens and temporary residents in God’s sight! To answer his question, David rightfully points to God who alone made this happen. It was the Lord’s hand that they received their abundant blessings purely out of God’s love and grace for them. And the Israelites were nothing more than God’s humble servants. Is that how you answer the question, “Who am I?” Do you give God all the credit for everything you have and are? So often our sinful nature wants to take some credit. Look at all your accomplishments and ask yourself, is it what you did for yourself or what God did through you? Take stock of your possessions and consider, did you get those things or did God give them to you? Whose hand is behind your blessings – yours or the Lord’s? We need a reality check to correctly answer “who am I?” Our blessings are not from our hand. It’s from the Lord. As Deuteronomy chapter 8(:17-18a EHV) says, “You might say in your heart, ‘My ability and the power of my hand have earned this wealth for me.’ 18But then you are to remember that the Lord your God is the one who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” King David already knew this. That’s why he gives praise and thanks to the Lord upon seeing the mountain of wealth given to build the Temple. As the Lord’s hand abundantly blessed David and the Israelites because of his love and grace for them, so the Lord abundantly blesses us from his hand. This shows the personal nature of these blessings from God to us. The Lord didn’t accidently give you the personality, skills, talents, passions, and possessions you have. It was intentional, with you in mind, in keeping with his love and grace for you. If the Lord has allowed some disability, chronic illness, or other disadvantage to come upon you, trust in the Lord’s perfect wisdom and loving plan that desires your eternal salvation above all else. And when we get to heaven, we’ll finally learn how that hardship was for your good if we haven’t learned it already. Getting back to God’s hand that abundantly blesses us, we also have the literal hands of God the Son, Jesus Christ. The tiny hands that Mary and Joseph held in Bethlehem’s manger when God became truly human for our sake. The outstretched hands that healed countless people without asking anything in return. The gesturing hands that brought Jesus’ words to life so his listeners could better learn what he had to teach them. The pierced hands that were nailed to the cross 2
Pastor Tim Patoka
Faith that Delights in Duty
October 2, 2022
when Jesus paid the price for our sins. The uplifted hands that blessed his children as Jesus ascended into heaven. It is from these same hands that we receive the blessings that come through faith in great abundance, the blessings of forgiveness, life, salvation, peace, and so much more. And they’re given to you personally from God’s own hand. So who do we answer the question, “Who am I?” We start by following David’s lead that gives all the credit to God. For we are nothing more than humble servants of our Lord who have been abundantly blessed by his gracious and loving hand. Yet there’s more to our answer. For we are also servants whose heart’s uprightness is preserved by God. Preserved in My Heart’s Uprightness When the Israelites gave their wealth to the Temple’s building project, they did so in delight. Using the words of our worship service theme, the Israelites delighted in their Christian duty by freely offering their God-given wealth to the Lord. There’s more to our Christian duty than freewill offerings. Broadly speaking, our Christian duty is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). We carry out this duty when we prioritize our time in God’s Word, give our blessings back to God, and serve our neighbor with a willful spirit. And when we delight in these things, well that’s our goal. When King David saw the Israelites delighting in their Christian duty, he loved it and prayed that God would preserve their heart’s uprightness so they may continue in this. When you carry out your Christian duty, is it with an upright heart that delights in it? If we’re being honest, we’d rather be served by others than be the ones serving others. In the military, there is a saying that goes “Rank hath its privileges.” The idea is that the higher your rank is, the more privileges you have in deciding what happens, enjoying the luxuries of military life, and getting things done as you would like them done. In short, it’s about being served by others instead of serving others. It’s not just in the military we find a “rank hath its privileges” mentality. We civilians also do not consistently delight in our Christian duty. We view our time in God’s Word as robbing us of time we’d rather spend elsewhere. We give our offerings with a cheerless heart and well below in keeping with our income. We serve our neighbor because it’s an obligation, not a joy. We love others so they will love us in return. 3
Pastor Tim Patoka
Faith that Delights in Duty
October 2, 2022
That’s not the way it should be. Instead, we should delight in our Christian duty. So what’s the secret to have an upright heart so we may delight in this very thing? We go to the Lord and his gracious and loving hand that abundantly blesses us. When we consider all he has done for us, we are overwhelmed in a wonderful way. We cannot help but be filled with thankfulness and praise for the upright heart we now have. And we delight to show that thanks to our God by carrying out our Christian duty. To preserve that upright heart in us, we turn to God the Holy Spirit who strengthens our faith and keeps our heart upright through the Word of God. In this Word, we hear the news of forgiveness that never ceases being good. We renew our purpose and way of thinking that seeks to serve God above all else. We direct our hearts away from sin and towards our Savior so that we delight in what God delights. We know firsthand how hard it is to preserve this upright heart that delights in our Christian duty. That’s why we echo David and ask God to preserve it within us. Therefore, go to God’s Word for it is the source from which we drink to keep our hearts upright. Count your abundant blessings that come from the Lord’s hand to see how gracious and loving he personally is for you. Get rid of your “rank hath its privileges” mentality and replace it with a servant’s heart that delights in your Christian duty. Because when we ask ourselves the question, “who am I?” we reply as did King David by saying, “I am a humble servant who’s been abundantly blessed by the Lord’s hand and who looks to him to preserve my upright heart.” May we remain close to our Savior and daily reflect on everything he has done for us so that we always have a faith that delights in our Christian duty. Amen.
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