It's daylight savings time. And all of you are like, oh, I see a few more coffee canisters out in the crowd today. Would any of you guys say that this idea of springing forward is easier said than done? All the parents said, amen. I don't know why. Just this morning, when I was thinking about the phrase, like, spring forward, I know it relates to the season that we're heading into, but I got this word picture of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh, you know, because he springs on his tail, and it's like, I don't know if that's supposed to be our mood with spring forward, like, joyful, enthusiastic, optimistic. But I felt more like Eeyore this morning. And I'm assuming some of you feel the same way. And so this easier said than done is actually just part of our lives. And I figured that out especially this fall when we moved into a new house that had other projects. And I look at Calvin. Calvin and his business helped seed our yard. And one of the instructions was like, hey, water it two to three times a day. And I'm like, easier said than done, right? Like, who has time to water their yard that much? Not me. Think about, like, oh, the odd and end projects of Toe Kick and all the stuff that is really easy for most people, but for a guy like me, I just. I say, easier said than done. How many of you guys have used that phrase before? Okay, when it comes to our faith, is it possible that there's components of our faith that are easier said than done? Okay, the answer is yes. Let me give you a few examples. Ephesians 4. Forgive one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Psalm 1. Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord, who meditates on it day and night. Matthew 7. Judge not that you be not judged. These are all things that, as we look to apply our faith, they're actually easy to quote, but they're really hard to carry out, right? They're quick on the tongue. But if we're honest with ourselves, they can be really hard to apply. And last week, we got the opportunity to come across another easily quotable phrase that's hard to carry out. It's this. God loves a cheerful giver. God loves a cheerful giver. And we look at a phrase like that and we say, man, I know I should be a cheerful giver. Maybe I even desire to be a cheerful giver. But it's also not hard to be like, man, it'd be easier if. And if you are anything like me, you look at a passage like that and say, man, it'd be easier to give cheerfully if I had maybe a little more money, right? It'd be easier to be a cheerful giver if my student loans were paid off. Or, you know, you can just dream up these other scenarios where it's like, maybe it would be easier to just be a joyful giver if only my financial situation looked better. But what's interesting to note is studies have shown that quite the opposite is true when it comes to generosity. There was a study performed by a psychology researcher at UC Berkeley where he said, hey, I'm going to take participants that range a variety of socioeconomic statuses. I'm going to put them in the simulation. And the simulation was essentially a game. The game was that each Participant is given 10 credits and is told, hey, at the end of the game, your credits will be redeemable for cash value. So you can turn this into real money. Now, before this game starts, you need to make a decision. Are you willing to give any of your credits away to someone who you will never meet and to someone who will never meet you? It's another participant in the study. Would you be willing to part way with some of your credits? And what ended up being discovered is that lower class individuals were inclined to give away 44% more of their credits. In other words, the study was published under the title of the poorer being deemed more charitable than the rich. Now, I don't know about you, but that's confronting to say man, if being a cheerful giver is not rooted in my income, my bank account, my life situation, what is it rooted in? And Taylor talked about this last week, kind of landed the plane of Second Corinthians 9 in verse 7, which is, this is a heart issue. This is a heart issue. But when you say man, the Lord loves a cheerful giver. And the only way we can give cheerfully is if our heart is in the right place. The question I'm asking is, how do I get my heart in the right place? Right, because something is obviously wrong with me. If I can't give cheerfully, something is wrong with my heart. And what I want us to see in our text this morning, we only have a few verses, is two sicknesses of the heart that are in desperately need of a cure. We want to answer this question, what must be true of our hearts to lead to cheerful giving? So that's where we're going this morning. If you have a Bible, pulled it out, 2nd Corinthians 9. If you have A program you would see. We're covering verses 8 through 11, but I'm going to get a running start in verse six. You guys okay with that? Okay. Little bit of an on ramp here. Here's what the word of God says. Second Corinthians 9, beginning in verse 6, the word of God says this. The point is this. Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. And. And whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver. And here's today's text. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work as it is written. He quotes Psalm 112, verse 9. He has distributed freely. He has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce things. Thanksgiving to God. All right, a lot to unpack there. Before we do, I want to just kind of remind us of who the audience is. Right. Paul is writing to this church in Corinth. And maybe you remember, all the way back in Second Corinthians 1, we kind of gave this picture of who the Corinthians were. Right? Number one, very immoral city, but also very affluent city. They were very wealthy. And part of this is based on its location. It was located on an isthmus. Take you back to geology class. This geography is right in between these two seas, the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea, which made it a port city, huge for travel and commerce, but also it made it very fertile soil when it came to agriculture, a great place to grow crop. They were known for growing wheat and barley, olives and grapes. Plants were plentiful. Corinth. And so Paul is a genius and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit says, hey, I want to start talking to you guys on terms that you understand. We're going to use agriculture here and take it from agriculture to your wallet. And I think what's sweet, I mean, we don't use this terminology, but sowing and reaping, how many of you guys, like, use that in common vernacular? Not many. We're not talking about, like, sowing sweaters. We're talking about Sowing with an O seed. The idea of scattering or planting seed and then reaping don't go dark on me like Grim Reaper. Reaping, like cutting or gathering a harvest. So he's talking about planting seed and gathering a harvest. And what I love is that we're a rural church in the top corn producing state in the nation. Amen. Come on. And it's almost as if God is like, hey, people from Iowa will get this. So if we didn't get it before, we're going to get it this morning. Amen. All right, here we go. We're going to talk sowing and reaping. And we want to look at two sicknesses of the heart. The first sickness that I want us to look at together is this sickness of distrust. Distrust. And it's not hard when you think about farming to think about having trust issues. I mean, think about all of the risk involved when it comes to farming. It's like you have the precious commodity of the seed, you have the precious commodity of the time. And then you have the intense and difficult labor that was spent sowing all of the seed, planting all of the seed intentionally. And if that's True today in 2025, how much more in AD55 when this was written, you think about how much more risk and how much more labor was involved. Right? No such thing as crop insurance in A.D. 55 or government subsidies. No such thing as technology to help you better understand depth of soil and precision planting, like efficiency with was not really something that they could just bank on. And so when you start talking sowing and reaping, the believers in Corinth knew this boils down to our trust. Our trust in not just the law of the natural world, but ultimately the one who is in charge of the law of the natural world. Right? To look at man, all these seeds that I'm sowing, you know what it's dependent upon ultimately God, but underneath that, it's like sun, rain, soil. All of these things have to play together to make this seed actually produce a harvest. And what we know as you would just go through your New Testament especially, you would understand that reaping and sowing is not just a law of the natural world, it's a law of the spiritual world. And in both cases, whether you think of like physical planting and harvesting or whether you think of the spiritual sense, sowing and reaping invites us into this death of instant gratification and self reliance. How many of you guys would say that's really easy for you, that's hard, right? Think about any context where you have placed yourself, where you have very visibly and tangibly understood I am not in control and how that made you feel. I'll give you a hint. Not good. Or how about waiting? Anybody in here really great at waiting? Microwave culture, right? Amazon Prime. If you don't have something you need, you just order it. It's on your doorstep. Netflix. We've joked with our connection group of like, oh, the next generation of kids that say cliffhanger at the end of a show and then all they have to do is play next episode. It's like you don't even understand cliffhangers, right? We never have to wait for anything anymore. And I think that this actually drives the wedge much deeper for us when it comes to this element of distrust that we also, much like the Corinthians in A.D. 55, are invited into a death of instant gratification and self reliance when it comes to our money. Now, like I said, this is true of the spiritual world. You see this several places. I'll give you a few scripture references. The verses will not be on the screen. You can write them down. Mark 4 Jesus says that this is what the kingdom of God is like. It's like a man who scatters seed on the ground goes to sleep. The seed sprouts and grows and the man knows not how. That's incredible, right? To just be like, that's how the kingdom of God works. It's like scattering seed and going to sleep and then before you know it, there's a harvest. Paul has talked to the church in Corinth in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, actually about this concept of evangelism and discipleship, church planting and divisions in the church. He's like, hey, this isn't about who your leader was or is right? He said, I planted. Apollos watered. But who brought the growth? God. God brought the growth. And then you look at Paul to believers in galatia, in Galatians 6, he tells them to not grow weary of doing good, and in due season we will reap if we don't give up. And so whether you're talking about discipleship or deeds or yes, as our text says today, money. What we're called to know is that we have a responsibility and God has a responsibility. Here's our responsibility. Planting, sowing seed. What's God's responsibility? The harvest producing right to take that seed that is planted in faith and to actually be the one who produces the growth. And what's incredible, as you look at this text today, right? Verse 7 is this call to be a cheerful giver. And it's almost as if Paul anticipates that there's going to be a level of distrust in the Corinthian believers to say, but what if we actually do this? What if we actually step forward and give cheerfully? Or as verse 6 says, what if we actually sow bountifully? What's going to happen? What's going to happen if I sow bountifully and God doesn't actually produce a bountiful harvest? What if I sow bountifully and the harvest is actually minimal? He's almost anticipating that in us. And we shouldn't be surprised, Church, because if you go all the way back to Genesis 3, which is the fall of humanity right in the Garden of Eden, what is one of the enemy's first tactics in leading Adam and Eve astray is to deceive them, to lie to them and to make them think that God will not provide, that God will not show up, that God is holding out, he's holding back, right? Did God really say that you couldn't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? No, he wouldn't do that because I mean the reality is he just doesn't want you to be like him. He's holding out on you. And we see this distrust lead to disobedience. It gives way to sin, which ultimately leads to death. As we know Adam and Eve being kicked out of the Garden Eden. And so we look at this sowing and reaping financially, this call to be cheerful givers and to say, man, it's going to be really hard to sow bountifully, to give cheerfully if we're tight fisted because we don't trust our God. Well, what do we need to know then about God? Well, we need to know that he's our provider. Right? Look with me, verse eight, God is able. God is able. And he goes on this great list which we're gonna unpack here in a little bit. God is able to make all grace abound to you. Like God is going to show up. He's Gonna provide verse 9 as Paul quotes Psalm 112. It's talking about the man who fears the Lord, the man who's blessed in the Lord's sight, talking about how this man would distribute freely and give to the poor, and the Lord would continue to provide means of righteousness forever, which is, yes, both an inward disposition and the ability to continue to provide and meet others needs. Verse 10, he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food. Who is that church God. I'm going to give you a lot of Bible school answers this morning. If you say God, you're probably good. Okay? Verse 10, this emphasis is on, God is the one who is there to supply for you. He's the one who gave you the very seed to sow. He's the one who gives you bread to eat. But what's interesting, and we talked about this a little bit last week, is verse 10 is very against the prosperity gospel. The prosperity gospel that says, hey, as long as you just, like, give cheerfully, here's what God's going to do, make you healthy, wealthy and prosperous. And the prosperity gospel almost makes God like a cosmic vending machine to make a way for us to be comfortable. But verse 10 does not talk about generosity that way. It says, here's what God is able to do. He's able to multiply your seed for sowing, okay? So he's able to take the money that you've invested. Here's what he's able to do. He's able to continue to meet your needs, which we've talked time and time again as define your need. Okay? Do you have food? Do you have clothing? He's met your needs, right? He's able to meet your needs. And yes, he is able to multiply your seed. For what purpose? To continue to sow, to continue to be a cheerful giver. And ultimately, this harvest is not like you posted up in a mansion. Here's what it the harvest of your righteousness that God is going to use cheerful giving to make you look more like Jesus and Lord willing, help more people around you. Savor Jesus, or as verse 11 says, give thanksgiving to God. That is the promised harvest of our cheerful giving. But church, what we need to know is that Jesus isn't surprised when we feel a sense of distrust, right? The Sermon on the mount, Matthew 6. Jesus has given stern words to his disciples, right? He's like, hey, don't store up money where moth and rust can destroy. Store up your treasures in heaven. He goes so far as to say, you gotta pick. Are you gonna love God or are you gonna love money because you can't serve both. And he knows that his disciples feel this inner wrestle this like, oh, my goodness, I'm gonna have to part way with my possessions. And what does Jesus say? Don't be anxious, right? He says, do not be anxious about what you will eat, what you will drink, what you will wear. He's addressing their Needs and then what's beautiful. I don't know how many of you guys, like, do this when you read, but to, like, try and place yourself in the story to be like, okay, imagine you're sitting on the side of a mountaintop. Jesus is literally teaching to you, right? And he speaks to you, I'm sure, with a very gentle and loving tone. Do not be anxious. And then what he invites you to do, he says, hey, actually, would you just stop looking at me for one moment? Would you just look at the birds of the air, right? They don't sow and reap. Who feeds them? God feeds them. God takes care of the birds. Okay, now turn around. Like, look off the mountainside. Do you see the lilies? Do you see the grass of the field? See how beautifully arrayed they are and how much splendor they are clothed in? Who clothes the fields? God does. Then he's almost like, look back at me. Aren't you more precious than the birds in the grass? And then he goes on to say, therefore do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat? What shall we drink? Or what shall we wear? For the Gentiles, contextually speaking, the pagans, even the people who don't worship God, they seek after these things. Things like food and drink and clothing. And your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all of these things will be added unto you. That is a promise to cling to, right? If you will seek first the kingdom of God, if you will delight yourself in sowing bountifully and being a cheerful giver, here's what will be true. God will provide for you. He will meet your needs. And I think this is an invitation for every single one of us in this room to simply just, like, look up and look back. Whether you're like man, I need to look back over the last 24 hours and be like, God has provided. I'm still here, right? By God's grace, I got to Veritas church this morning. Maybe you need to look back over the last two weeks and you've heard these messages on generosity and giving. And you're like, man, maybe I'm here gonna step out in faith and like, I don't know how the Lord's gonna show up, but I'm gonna give. And guess what? You're still here. You still have food and clothing. Maybe you look back over the last two years and you're like, man, the economy's been nuts. My pay hasn't maybe gone up at the rate inflation has. And guess what? You're still here. And even if you're like man, I struggle with seeing God's faithfulness over the last two days or two weeks or two years. Let me just invite you to look back two millennia, 2,000 years ago, and to look no further than the finished work of Jesus Christ, the son of God, who came and was the cheerful giver in your place, who lived perfectly, knowing you never could, as Taylor said on the tail end of worship, who died for you while you were yet a sinner, and who rose victorious to offer a way free to you at great expense to him, the gift of salvation. Romans 8, 32. We talked about it last week. For we know that he who did not spare his own son, but graciously gave him up for us all, how will he not also, with him, graciously give us all things? There's this invitation to say church, will you find your confidence in God, this God who will provide, who has proven that he loves you so much that he would not withhold his most precious gift in the person work of Jesus Christ? If he would not withhold Christ, why would he hold out on you? He won't. You can trust him. You need to place your confidence in the God of the Scriptures to truly believe that, yes, he is the one who will provide and who will meet my every need. Which actually invites us in to look at the second sickness of our heart and the eventual cure that we'll see in this text. And this sickness is called discontentment. Discontentment. It's really hard to be a cheerful giver when you struggle with discontentment. And Paul knew this. He knew this would be true of Corinth. He knew this would be true of us. And that's why in verse 8, he goes on this incredible unraveling of all of these, all words and every word. So if you have your Bible open, if you're a pen person or highlighter person, just underline or highlight every time you see the word all. And just get a picture of what Paul is trying to help us see this morning. Verse 8. God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. It's this beautiful unraveling that's meant to just overwhelm us and say, what else do we need? What else do we need? Actually, if your Bible has a footnote and you were to look at the bottom, the root word for sufficiency, there is actually also translated Contentment, that he would give you all contentment, that God in Christ would give you all contentment. And this word, maybe you've heard this said before, can seem rather cliche, but it can also be a punch to the gut. Contentment is not having everything you want, but. But being satisfied with everything you have. And there's a question of is that true of us? Are we satisfied with what we currently have? Or are we, like the rest of the world, following the lies of more, better, bigger and newer that are just constantly rattling around? They're competing for our attention and our affections. Like, watch a commercial one time and you'll understand there is constantly a need for more, better, bigger, newer. Whether you're thinking technology, phones, TVs, computers, whether it's clothing, right? There's this thing called sneaker heads. And I know amongst our youth, that's a thing, right? Or the next Ugg slippers, or the next fashion trend. It's like more, newer, better. It feeds into our hobbies, the things that we naturally already give our money to, to be discontent in, the things that we're trying to find ourselves content in. I think when I was big into running, it was like I would buy multiple pairs of shoes at a time. For what? Right? And all the hunters in the room is like another gun, really. I think that's your seventh, right? I won't pick on you too much, but you guys get the idea. There's always the lie of more, better, bigger, or newer, and it will be impossible for us to give cheerfully when our eyes are constantly on what we do not have. And the only fix is to actually find ourselves content in Christ and to be satisfied with what we already do have. I want to look at two other passages with us real briefly that use this same root word, but it's translated contentment. Okay, the first is in first Timothy six six. It'll be up on the screen. But godliness with contentment is great gain. To say, hey, if you are satisfied in Christ, if you're growing in your Christlikeness and you are content in him, this is of great gain to you. This is of great benefit to you. This is for your flourishing. Paul says it this way to believers in Philippi, Philippians 4. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low. I know how to abound in any and every circumstance. I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. And then famously quoted Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Which by the way, is not about draining half court shots like Steph Curry. It's about contentment. Paul is saying here, I understand contentment. And what you need to know about contentment as you look at Philippians 4 is it's learned. It's learned. He uses that very word, I have learned the secret. I have learned what it looks like to be content. And he talks about learning in two different ways. The first is intellectually, right? You have to believe that Paul was a man of the Scriptures, that he could look back at the Old Testament and look at passages like Psalm 63 where the Psalmist says, because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. He could look back at minor prophets like Habakkuk and look at Habakkuk3 and be like man. Even if the fields don't produce anything, if all of our herds are gone, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to praise God because he's better. He's better than anything this world has to offer me. Paul understood that learning contentment was partially rooted in just knowing the God of the Scriptures, but also verse 12. We know that Paul learned contentment through circumstances. Not just intellectual learning, but experiential learning. I'm going to help illustrate this for us this morning, and I'm going to ask you to participate with a raise of a hand. I know it's church, it's weird, but you can raise your hand. Okay? How many of you know that childbirth is painful? Okay, let me ask that again. How many of you experientially know that childbirth is painful? Exactly. And you're like nudging the men next to you, be like, you don't really know, right? What Paul is saying here when it comes to contentment is I know and I know. And the reason he's able to say that if you were to read the Book of Acts, is because he's experienced both spectrums, right? He helps lead this woman named Lydia to faith in Christ, who is a dealer of purple cloth, very wealthy woman. And she invites Paul and his travel companions into her home, which I'm assuming pretty nice, right? Paul is a missionary who's used to being homeless, living the lavish life up in Lydia's mansion. Chilling, right? He knew how to abound. But you know what else is true? He walked away from that to eventually be chased out of town by a mob in the name of Jesus. And that begs you to ask the question, how could he do that, how could he leave riches? And how could he sustain poverty? Well, that's what verse 13 is all about. He had Christ. I can do all things through him who gives me strength, because I am satisfied in Jesus alone. So for Paul, abundance was not impressive and poverty was not troubling. Because he had Christ, he could walk away from abundance. He could run headfirst into poverty because he knew that he had all he needed in Jesus. Or as verse 11 would say from today's text, he knew that he could be enriched in every way in Jesus. In every way. And the reality is we can too. We're invited into this same reality to find true and lasting contentment that our possessions and our money can never offer lasting comfort, lasting joy, lasting security, lasting status and value rooted in the person work of Jesus. I'm going to give you just a couple scripture references to show you this. Ephesians 1:3. God the Father in Christ has blessed us with him with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Every spiritual blessing. You're in need of blessing. Guess what? Look no further than the finished work of the cross of Christ. You are blessed in him with every spiritual blessing you could ever want. You can be satisfied in Him. Or, as Peter writes in second Peter 1, his divine power has granted to us all things. And by all things, he means all things pertaining to life in Godliness. How? Through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. Oh, isn't that incredible, right? To say we're invited into this beautiful reality to not just sing about beholding God, but to actually behold him, to be full, fully satisfied in Jesus, that the answer to our discontentment which ruins our cheerful giving, is to find ourselves fully satisfied and content in the person work of Jesus alone. Now, I'm going to do one more activity for us today. And it doesn't require raising of hands, but it does require talking back to the preacher in church. Okay, we can do this together. Psalm 23:1. I know this is one of the most famously memorized passages in the Bible. Whether you were taught it as a kid or you're teaching it to your children, or you've even just heard people quote it, we're going to say it together before I put it up on the screen, okay? The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Okay? That's how the ESV reads the English Standard Version, and it's translated word for word, which is a very faithful translation of the text. But if you're anything like me, you say that Psalm 23:1 and the phrase shall not want is instantly driven by duty or obligation. You say, okay, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. And it's almost like I could be scrolling Amazon and be like, I shall not want, I shall not want, I shall not want. Oh, but I, you know, but you want. You're found wanting. And you almost use Psalm 23:1 as like this pill to be like, oh my gosh, if I just tell myself this enough, maybe I'll stop wanting. But what's beautiful, church, what you should know, Psalm 23:1 is actually translated in different ways. When other translations don't just look at like the original root text, but say, hey, what's the tone of the author? What's his intended meaning of the text? Not just word for word, but thought for thought. You know, optimal equivalency is this phrase that's used in Bible translation. And there's a translation of the bible called the CSB. Here's how Psalm 23:1 reads in CSB. The Lord is my shepherd, I have what I need. You see the difference there? Wow, that is so profound to be able to say, okay, this isn't just me telling myself over and over and over again, I shouldn't want, I shouldn't want, I shouldn't want, I shouldn't want. It's like, no, because God is my shepherd, I have everything I need. What's the overflow of that? There's nothing I want. I'm fully satisfied in him. That's what contentment looks like. And so if we want to deal with these sicknesses of the heart, if we want to truly have a heart of cheerful giving, here's what we need to know today. Confidence and contentment in our generous God lead to cheerful giving, confidence and contentment. And is our God not generous church? Wow. Look no further than Jesus. He has provided richly for us. And so today I want to give us just two quick applications before we land the plane together. And sometimes if you're like me, application can just be like, give me the box to check this week. It's really like type A driven, like, okay, just give me something to do. That's part of it. But today I want to give you a new way to think and a new way to live. Alright, here's the new way to think. Giving is a way to depend fully on God, to even just change in your mind to say, giving is an invitation for me to depend fully on God, to actually be able to tell myself I'm giving because I know God will provide it's an exercise of faith, of trust, of dependence, of love, to be able to say, I believe God is good on His Word. And if I sow bountifully and cheerfully, he's gonna show up. And he's gonna show up in ways that I wouldn't ask, think, dream, or imagine, but he's gonna meet my need because he's a good father who knows how to do that. So we need a new way to think. God will provide, but we also need a new way to live, which does not just say, God will provide, but says, God is my prize. That's language that we use frequently around here. God is our prize. We can be fully satisfied and content in Him. And if that is true, giving is a response, a right response for us to say, we are free to give cheerfully. We're free to give generously because we are already delighted fully in God. We don't need to look for delight in other places because we are fully delighted in Him. That we would be able to say, he alone satisfies. And therefore it's not me tight fisting my money, but me being quick to say I'm free to be generous because money does not have a hold on me, and that we would give in such a way that shows that we are worshipful. And what's sweet as you think about what this might look like in a church like ours is you actually get a picture. In the Old Testament, book of First Chronicles. Everybody in here loves First Chronicles, right? Okay, First Chronicles 29. I'm gonna read this for you. David and the leaders of the tribe of Israel have all stepped up, have given generously to say, we want this temple to be built in Jerusalem because God deserves to be worshipped. And here's what 1st Chronicles 29 says, Beginning in verse 9, verses will be on the screen for you. Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely. You could say cheerfully to the Lord. David, the king also rejoiced greatly. Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said, blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty for all that is in heaven and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord. You are exalted or lifted up as head above. All riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might. In your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, O God, our God, and praise your glorious name. And David says this, but who am I and what is my people that we should be able to thus offer willingly? For all things come from you and of your own. We have given you, like, think about that. This congregation of people who have all put forth their wealth, their possessions, all of these materials, and they're just overflowing with rejoicing, overflowing with worship. Why? Because they're like, God, you deserve to be worshiped. This makes no sense to me that you would choose to use people like us, that you would invite little old people like us to simply give back to you what you deserve. This is incredible. And it's easy sometimes to read 1 Chronicles 29 and be like, that's amazing. But that's David. Dude's a beast in the faith, right? You read the Old Testament, it's like, of course David would say that. But what about me? And what's encouraging to me is the only reason that this text is in my sermon today is because I met with a couple this week who brought me here. And they said, this is our heart posture. We have seen God show up time and time again. We have given in ways that we didn't know made sense, but we believed was faithful to God. And guess what? He has taken care of our every need. And he has produced in us a harvest of righteousness. He has shaped us more into the image of Jesus. He's used it so that more people would be bring praise into his name. And the question is, who are we to continue to be a part of this? We just want to be cheerful givers and to put their best on the table. And so what's beautiful to me is to stand in front of you and to say, this is not just David and Israel. This is people in your midst who are saying the same thing. Why? Because God can be trusted. He's shown up time and time again. And why else? Because God satisfies. He has satisfied their soul in the person work of Jesus. And he can satisfy yours too. And the only appropriate overflow is that we would be a church that models 1st Chronicles 29 and give God the glory as well. Amen. Let's pray to that end together this morning. Jesus, I'm grateful that as you taught us to pray in the Sermon on the Mount, you told us to talk to God as our Father in heaven. What a beautiful phrase. God, that you are in heaven, that you are above all, that all things come from you are, for you are provided through you that you are sovereign and powerful but yet God, you are near, you are close. You are our Father who knows every need in this room, who knows every heart in this room who can be quick to be distrusting or discontent. But that's exactly why you sent Jesus while we were yet sinners. Christ that you would die for us, that we would not be left to our own merit to pursue righteousness but that you would become righteousness on our behalf and that you would promise that for all who would trust in you that we are credited with the very righteousness of Christ. We can be satisfied in him because you would not withhold Jesus that you can be trusted to meet our every need. So God, I pray for each heart in this room this morning. Increase their dependence on you and God grow their delight in you that you would be worshiped the way you deserve to be worshiped. We pray this in Jesus name Amen.