Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] There are two kinds of people.
[00:00:04] Those who, when traveling, choose a traditional hotel and those who choose an Airbnb. What about you? When you're away from home, who picks a hotel?
[00:00:14] Who looks for an Airbnb?
[00:00:17] Okay, so they both have pros and cons, right? When you stay at a hotel, you get breakfast with those tiny cereal boxes.
[00:00:25] With an Airbnb, you can stay in a cereal box.
[00:00:31] Represent, right?
[00:00:33] So a fun thing about Airbnb is when they're not a cereal box, they're typically decorated like a home.
[00:00:41] So you could imagine yourself living there, right?
[00:00:45] Like you, you know, you, you sit on the couch, you think, man, this, this is living. We should get this couch.
[00:00:54] Or there's like a 90 foot TV projector. And you realize that is what's been missing from your life.
[00:01:02] I always find something I like in an Airbnb, but I've never taken anything.
[00:01:08] Hey, babe, this is a nice fridge.
[00:01:10] Back the truck up. We're going to take this bad boy home.
[00:01:14] I've never taken it because it doesn't belong to me.
[00:01:17] Somebody owns that Airbnb. They owned it before I came. They're going to own it after I leave.
[00:01:23] Everything belongs to them.
[00:01:26] Everything is theirs, right? Well, we begin a new sermon series today called Everything is God's.
[00:01:34] This graphic kind of represents how we feel. It's all mine, right? My stuff, the time and the place that I live, my past, my future, even the battles that I face belong to me. They are mine.
[00:01:49] But then when we get an accurate view of who God is, the creator of the heavens and the earth, the giver and sustainer of life that lies torn apart. And we live in the freedom that actually everything is God's.
[00:02:05] I'm actually not responsible for all of it because he is God and I'm not. And we can live in the freedom of that.
[00:02:12] So our text Today is from 1st Chronicles 29:11.
[00:02:17] Like I said, if you need a Bible, they're back there on the AV booth. And if you've got one of those Bibles, we're on page 258.
[00:02:25] As long as you got one of these Bibles, your Bible, I don't know what page, but if you're using one of these, page 258, you find the big 29 for chapter 29, the little 11 for verse 11.
[00:02:39] So these verses are the prayer of a king, King David, who was once little David, the shepherd boy who fought the giant Goliath.
[00:02:50] And God called David a man after my own heart.
[00:02:54] The Bible also calls David a Liar, an adulterer, and a murderer.
[00:03:00] So if you are here today and you think that God doesn't love you or wouldn't use you because of mistakes you've made, I just want us to see this as proof that God loves and even uses imperfect people.
[00:03:14] And I point this out because sometimes we get this idea of church, that it's a bunch of boring, judgmental, goody goody people who tell other people they should be doing better.
[00:03:25] But the church we want to be, a church that follows the gospel of Jesus, says, I'm messed up, you're messed up.
[00:03:34] But thankfully we have a Savior who's perfect and who loves and forgives.
[00:03:40] I'm not perfect, you're not perfect. But thankfully Jesus is perfect. So let's follow him together.
[00:03:47] So this story is all evidence of that.
[00:03:50] So back to First Chronicles. A big theme in First Chronicles is God's chosen people. That's the nation of Israel building a temple. And this temple would help those Israelites recognize and remember who God is, the Creator and, and the King of the universe.
[00:04:08] So that's where we are in this book. Here at the very end of it, King David had led preparing the building of the temple. Then they're at the ceremony where he's crowning his successor who would actually build the temple. So David called together all the officials, all the big dogs for this ceremony. And during the ceremony, David stopped and humbled himself and he prayed. This.
[00:04:32] 1st Chronicles 29:11.
[00:04:35] Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty.
[00:04:44] Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord. And this is your kingdom.
[00:04:52] We adore you as the one who is over all things.
[00:04:57] Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything.
[00:05:02] Power and might are in your hand and at your discretion. People are made great and given strength.
[00:05:10] Amen. That's a prayer, right?
[00:05:14] In David's prayer, it mirrored the goal of the temple. To recognize who God is and to worship him. To see accurately that everything is God's.
[00:05:26] If you got a sermon handout, that's your first blank you can fill in. Everything is God's greatness, power, glory, victory, majesty.
[00:05:35] Everything is his.
[00:05:39] Let's pray.
[00:05:42] God, I wish. I wish I had eloquent words like David to.
[00:05:48] To pray and praise you in that way. But I will just say, you are God. You alone are God. Everything is yours.
[00:05:55] Thank you that we can be here at this time, in this place and have the freedom to say that and to live that truth.
[00:06:06] God, I just. I pray that the Truth today that you are over all things would change us.
[00:06:12] It would be very practical and, and change how we see our lives.
[00:06:17] So God, would we just be overwhelmed by the love that you have revealed to your son, Jesus and Holy Spirit? Would you preach a better sermon than I will? It's in his name we pray. Amen.
[00:06:29] There are two kinds of people, iPhone and Android.
[00:06:39] They both have pros and cons. One's easier to use and the other has the dreaded green chat bubble.
[00:06:46] We're not picking sides, just an example. But virtually all the materials in your phone come from the earth.
[00:06:56] The phone in your pocket or your hand right now, if you're bored, it contains around 30 chemical elements like aluminum, copper, lithium, silver, and even gold.
[00:07:09] In a sense, your phone comes from the earth.
[00:07:14] In David's prayer we saw, he acknowledged that everything in the heavens, earth, is yours, right? Without the earth God created, we couldn't have our precious phones. So even our stuff belongs to God.
[00:07:31] Our stuff belongs to God. Now, you might be so rich, you got more than you can say grace over.
[00:07:36] But David declares, wealth and honor come from you alone.
[00:07:42] You might have so many college degrees, you got an Alphabet after your last name. You may have worked out so much, you've chiseled your body into a work of art. But David goes on at your discretion. People are made great and given strength.
[00:07:56] The heavens, the earth, and all the stuff on it belong to God.
[00:08:00] From the. From the bodies that our souls inhabit, down to the phone we carry, our stuff belongs to God.
[00:08:11] There are two kinds of people.
[00:08:15] Those who view the speed limit as a suggestion and those who view it as a law.
[00:08:21] When we pull onto a public road, we are agreeing to follow those rules, right?
[00:08:28] So the roads, they belong to a higher power. We're just traveling them. David recognized God's dominion and he prayed. This is your kingdom.
[00:08:40] We can see speed limits as like unfair constraints or as useful boundaries intended for our good.
[00:08:47] And we can view the time and place God has chosen for us to live in the same way, right? We could long for the good old in a better place, or we can live in the freedom that God has a plan and a purpose for us today.
[00:09:05] I read this earlier. The apostle Paul said this about God. From one man, God created all the nations throughout the whole earth.
[00:09:13] He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.
[00:09:21] God put you where and when he wants you.
[00:09:27] Our time and place belong to God.
[00:09:33] The time you live in and the place you live in belong to God. You weren't born in the Canary Islands, because God has a plan for you here.
[00:09:44] I'm sorry you don't live during the Italian Renaissance, because God has a purpose for you today.
[00:09:53] So our time and our place belong to God. So we can see them either as burdens or blessings.
[00:10:03] I mentioned earlier that King David was a liar, an adulterer and a murderer.
[00:10:09] But he was a liar and adulterer and a murderer who experience God's grace and forgiveness.
[00:10:17] And the response to experiencing God's grace and forgiveness is to praise and worship God. Which is why David devoted his life to building the temple.
[00:10:27] Because his past was filled with shame and mistakes.
[00:10:31] But he knew he was forgiven and set free. So he wrote this in Psalm 32, I confessed all my sins to you.
[00:10:41] I stopped trying to hide my guilt.
[00:10:44] I said to myself, I'll confess all my rebellion to the Lord.
[00:10:48] And you forgave me.
[00:10:50] All my guilt is gone.
[00:10:54] David gave his past to God, and God forgave him. So our past belongs to God.
[00:11:03] It doesn't matter what your past includes. It belongs to God.
[00:11:07] And if your past includes guilt and you walked in here with it today, you can keep wearing it like it's a winter jacket when it's 140 or whatever it's going to be outside today.
[00:11:18] Or you can take it off and give it to God and let him take it.
[00:11:23] And David wrote this, knowing from experience that when you're honest with God and you take regret, like any regret to him, do you know what David wrote that God does?
[00:11:35] You say, God, here's my guilt. God breaks it in half.
[00:11:39] He throws part of it to the east, and it'll never stop going that direction. He throws the rest to the west. It'll never stop going that direction. And you are separated from it. It is gone.
[00:11:51] And David said, all my guilt is gone.
[00:11:57] How does that sound?
[00:12:02] Do you wish you could say that?
[00:12:06] Do you believe you could?
[00:12:09] Do you think you've done something or experienced something so awful that you'll never be able to walk away from it?
[00:12:17] If so, I just want to.
[00:12:22] If so, there's a line right here where my microphone doesn't work. So if that is you, I want to say I'm sorry.
[00:12:30] This life is really hard and it's not fair.
[00:12:35] But I want to tell you there is hope, there is healing, there is redemption, there is forgiveness, there is grace. And you're not alone.
[00:12:43] You have an enemy who wants you to think you're alone. You're the only person who's ever dealt with this, who's experienced this, that's a lie. These seats are filled with people who've experienced God's gr. Grace and forgiveness and who would love to walk with you on your journey.
[00:12:57] Because most times a lot of you know this. If somebody comes to me and says, man, I got this going on, or this is happening, my response is, either I've been there, I'm going to walk with you, or it's not something I've experienced, but I have a brother or sister in our church who has. Could they walk with you through this journey?
[00:13:15] So you are not alone. Whether your guilt comes from addiction, abuse, a choice you've made, lying, adultery, murder, like our friend King David, there is forgiveness and the freedom of having your guilt taken away.
[00:13:34] And I got lots of books.
[00:13:36] I've been through several studies and programs trying to work out my own junk, but the best resources I've found they have something in common.
[00:13:46] They're not so focused on the cause of the guilt.
[00:13:50] They're focused on the character of God, because that's where healing and freedom come from.
[00:13:56] They don't say, oh, let's dig into why you know you're feeling this. They say, let's look at who God is and see that he's greater than this.
[00:14:04] Here's an example. If you experience depression, this book is a great encouragement.
[00:14:11] Daily devotion in God's heart and character. It's called Depression Finding Christ in the Darkness.
[00:14:18] In Edward Welch, he writes this. When depression descends, it's as though all good just got up and walked out. And you need a lifeline now.
[00:14:27] You'll find one among the psalmists.
[00:14:30] Many of the Psalms are cries of misery that scrub the specifics so that as many people as possible can enter in. So that you can enter in.
[00:14:41] And then it quotes Psalm 77, also written by King David.
[00:14:45] Has God forgotten to be gracious?
[00:14:49] Has he slammed the door on his compassion?
[00:14:53] So if you ever wonder if you can just be real and talk honestly with God, read through the Psalms.
[00:14:59] Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his compassion?
[00:15:05] What's happened here is the struggle is so close to David, it's all he can see.
[00:15:10] He can't see God past the struggle, but then he goes on verse 11 but then I recall all you have done, O Lord, and I remember your wonderful deeds.
[00:15:21] He remembers who God is, and that changes his perspective, which changes his heart.
[00:15:29] So he if this is how you feel, if you're not on to remembering who God is, if all you can see is a struggle, if you're not yet convinced that your past belongs to God, that He can take your guilt.
[00:15:41] That's okay, But I want to encourage you.
[00:15:45] Just talk to God about it.
[00:15:47] We see. You can be angry, you can doubt, but just talk to Him.
[00:15:53] If you have a Christian brother or sister who you can trust, talk to them.
[00:15:58] Read God's word. Talk to God and listen.
[00:16:01] Because as this book says so well, his words should sound good even if you're not quite convinced.
[00:16:08] But just please keep talking to God and keep listening. And I bet over time, those words will become true for you.
[00:16:17] There are two kinds of people.
[00:16:21] Dallas Cowboys fans and sane, reasonable human beings.
[00:16:29] Now, I say that, but I came up during the glory days, and I am all Cowboys.
[00:16:34] I love them. I don't know if I like them, but I love them. And I will from here on out. Which is why it was so sad to see this headline.
[00:16:43] Multiple brawls, Mars Saints, Cowboys Joint practice Session.
[00:16:48] We can't even get through a practice.
[00:16:52] It's hard to trust the future when you know who controls it.
[00:16:58] Like I said, like I said, I don't want to disparage anybody because I love the Cowboys.
[00:17:12] It's a little inside football, but okay, let's get back to the Bible. The Bible says we don't have to fear the future because of who controls it. Because Jesus says, I am the living one.
[00:17:29] I died. But look, I'm alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death in the grave.
[00:17:37] The one who holds the keys is the one who's in control, right?
[00:17:41] And if Jesus holds the keys of death in the grave, our future belongs to God.
[00:17:47] He owns the future, and he invites us to spend it with him in eternity. By allowing his son Jesus to open the door, God showed His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
[00:18:01] God saved you and gave you a future. Not because your past was perfect.
[00:18:07] God saves you and offers you a future because he loves you.
[00:18:12] Christ died so you could live. He died, but he is alive now, forever and ever. And he invites you into that life. And all you have to say is, yes, God, I want that.
[00:18:24] I need your forgiveness. I want you to take my guilt. I trust you as my Savior. And you can experience his grace and. And forgiveness and freedom today as offered to you freely, regardless of your past. Because who owns your past?
[00:18:41] God does.
[00:18:43] So before he was a mighty king, David was a modest shepherd.
[00:18:49] His big brothers, they were in the army. They were under attack by a giant. I mean, under attack is kind of generous. Goliath would just walk out and everybody would run away.
[00:19:00] So Goliath just strutted back and forth every day, mocking and cursing God.
[00:19:08] David's dad was like, hey, you're not good for much. Take some food to your brother's on the front line.
[00:19:13] So little David went to the front line, delivered food, and he heard this giant mocking God, and he wasn't having it.
[00:19:22] He marched across the valley toward the giant man. This is. This is so good.
[00:19:28] Little David says, I come to you in the name of the Lord of heaven's armies, the God of the armies of Israel, who you have defied today. The Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head.
[00:19:43] Then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.
[00:19:50] And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear.
[00:19:57] This is the Lord's battle.
[00:20:03] Some of the stories, some of us more seasoned folks in church, some of the stories that we learned when we were little, you should really revisit them. There's a lot going on there.
[00:20:13] So when he was a young boy tending sheep in the pasture, David learned something. That our battles belong to God.
[00:20:23] And there's a reason God had him in that place. Right? Remember, God owns our time and place. He had David there for a reason. Because in the quiet of the pastures, God was teaching David about his character.
[00:20:37] Because lions and bears would come attack David, but God would strengthen him, and David would overcome and win those battles.
[00:20:47] So when David saw this giant, his courage didn't come from an absence of fear.
[00:20:54] It came from the presence of God.
[00:20:57] Right? He was a person and saw this giant. Yes, he was afraid, but he heard him mock God. And David said, no, that's not how this works.
[00:21:06] So the courage he had did not come from an absence of fear. It came from the presence of God.
[00:21:13] And maybe you are totally confident that your future belongs to God, but when a struggle blows up, you forget who's in control.
[00:21:23] Your focus is so on that struggle, you lose perspective of who God is.
[00:21:32] But imagine this.
[00:21:35] Imagine you're a young child.
[00:21:38] Some of you are. That's good for you.
[00:21:41] But all of us. Imagine you're a young child and you ask what your dad does for a living. What does that do when he goes to work?
[00:21:49] What exactly do here, dad?
[00:21:53] And imagine your mom says, oh, oh, you don't know.
[00:21:59] Well, your dad is.
[00:22:01] He's in charge of everything. Everything.
[00:22:05] He goes to work and he Oversees it all.
[00:22:09] He's the richest and most powerful person who's ever lived. Whoever has and whoever will, would that change the way you live?
[00:22:21] If you were told that your Father owns the greatness, the power, the glory, the majesty and the victory, would it change how you lived?
[00:22:30] Would you sleep a little easier knowing this is your Father's kingdom?
[00:22:35] Would you breathe a little better knowing that he's over all things?
[00:22:41] Would you worry less knowing that wealth and honor come from your Father alone?
[00:22:47] Would you not fear the future when you can trust that the heavens and the earth belong to your Father?
[00:22:54] Because that's who your Heavenly Father is, the One who is over all things.
[00:23:02] And He's a good Father.
[00:23:07] So there are two kinds of people.
[00:23:10] Those who hear truth and respond to it and change how we live, and those who ignore it.
[00:23:18] So we can go on as though we are slaves to our little corner of the world, all alone, responsible for every detail of every day, or we can trust that our Heavenly Father owns everything and he loves us and cares for us because he invites us to live in the freedom that everything, our stuff, the time and the place we live in, our past, our future, even our battles, everything belongs to Him.
[00:23:50] So the only way we can wrap this up is by agreeing with David's prayer.
[00:23:56] How about you stand up? Let's do that.
[00:24:05] Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory and the majesty.
[00:24:14] Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.
[00:24:27] Amen. You can be seated.
[00:24:29] So I'm going to invite our worship team back up, and I want to encourage us get specific, Like, what is it in your life that you feel, if you feel overwhelmed by something, that's probably a good sign, that you think it belongs to you.
[00:24:57] If you fear something, probably a good sign, you think you're responsible for it.
[00:25:04] If there's something from your past that you feel defines you, probably a good sign, you think it's all yours.
[00:25:12] So I just want to give us a moment. Just don't be afraid. Like, bring that thing up.
[00:25:21] And if you can, if you believe it, just say, God, I give this to you.
[00:25:26] And that may be something you have to do several times.
[00:25:31] It may be something that you need the help of a professional counselor or somebody who can help you walk through what releasing that looks like for you.
[00:25:41] But everything is God's.
[00:25:43] And he said, I'll trade you that guilt and that fear. I'll trade you that for my freedom and my grace.
[00:25:52] So just take a moment just use you can close your eyes whatever you need to do just bring to mind that thing that just feels overwhelming.
[00:26:23] God I imagine there are some heavy hearts and minds in this room right now if we're being honest about the things that overwhelm us the things that we feel we're responsible for, the things that are our fault or the holes we've dug or the people we've hurt maybe the hurt that we've experienced but God we believe it all belongs to you maybe even the good things you've given us that we take too much pride in that we let define us.
[00:27:01] Those things belong to you.
[00:27:03] So I just pray for my brothers and sisters God that we would live in the freedom of releasing all that giving it to you living in the truth and the freedom that you are God and we don't have to be.
[00:27:20] So we praise you in Jesus name amen.
