Matthew 25 - 4.9.25

Scripture: Matthew 25:10-13

“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Observation

Jesus died to save us from our sin, not because we did anything to deserve it, but simply because of his great love for us. Once we accept his salvation, it should be evident in our lives. In three separate parables in Matthew 25, Jesus warns us not to become complacent. If we truly love God, we should want to please him by following his commands.

Application

On Sunday, Pastor Levi shared the story of the fig tree that did not bear fruit. And within days, I am again reminded that God loves me, but he also requires something of me.

It is easy to become complacent in his love. But Jesus warns us throughout scripture that we have a duty to stay focused on him; to follow God’s commands, to love others, and to share his word.

Matthew 10:5-8 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.  As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Prayer

Lord, please forgive me for my complacency. Forgive me for putting you second, or sometimes even last. Forgive me for testing you. Freely you shower me with your love and forgiveness. Help me to stay focused on you and connected to you. Help me to walk in a way that is pleasing to you.

Colossians 1:9-12 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

- Debbie Dunn

1 Chronicles 29 - 4.8.25

SCRIPTURE:  1 CHRONICLES 29:1 – 5

Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God. 2 With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise,[a] stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities. 3 Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: 4 three thousand talents[b] of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents[c] of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, 5 for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?

6 Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. 7 They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents[d] and ten thousand darics[e] of gold, ten thousand talents[f] of silver, eighteen thousand talents[g] of bronze and a hundred thousand talents[h] of iron. 8 Anyone who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

OBSERVATION

King David is addressing the assembly with a heartfelt message. He is not only preparing a way for his son, Solomon, to build the temple for God, but is providing a wonderful image of what it means to put action to your love for God. David details that he provided a lot of special items for the temple through his resources. He tells the assembly about what he’s provided – which is a long list of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, onyx, and many types of stones and marble for the temple. You would think after listing all these things, that would be more than enough to build a wonderful temple… but it wasn’t enough for David. Because of his love for God, he wanted to give more out of his personal treasures. He gave “over and above” out his devotion to God and the temple. He not only gave a few more things but thousands more. He was showing his love for God by giving in great measure.

David was also a good father – supporting his son Solomon in God’s design for him to be ruler of Israel and for building the temple. David could have easily been jealous or sad that God didn’t choose him to building the temple for God. Instead, David took God’s decision for his son, Solomon, and exceeded God’s commands.

David set the example of what it meant to give everything to God. He then rallied the leaders and challenged them by saying in verse 5 “Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?” He set the example and asked others to rise up and commit themselves to God in the same way he did - by exceedingly giving to the temple church - out of his deep love for God.

APPLICATION

Throughout David’s writings, you find someone who loved God with all his heart and showed his love to God often. Before David became King, Saul was rebuked by Samuel and foretold David’s appointment to be king by saying in verse 14 “the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” No other person in all the Bible has earned the title of “after his (God’s) heart” than David.

When I look at David’s actions in this scripture (and many others), he set many examples for us. He used his resources, possessions, finances and his entire life as a way to praise and worship God for all that God had done in his life. He also showed the full circle of giving in the prayer in verse 16, that it comes from God and it all belongs to God:

16 Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.

David’s method of praise and worship to God is the perfect example for our own lives. Think about all that God has done for you, his saving grace, provisions, and deep love – and then decide how much you can give in response. Is giving to God’s church nothing at all, the bare minimum or above and beyond? Just like David said to the assembly “Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?” The word “consecrate” here means “to set apart or dedicate oneself fully to God’s service” in the building of the temple. We can take inspiration from David, his passion and love for God and the building of the temple, to consecrate ourselves to God’s church at Desert Streams Church. Can you use David’s method of giving, with a full heart of love towards God, and commit to give fully – even above your normal -  to God’s church at Desert Streams?

Wouldn’t it be great to have the same results at Desert Streams like the people responded in verse 6 – 8  to what David asked? They saw David’s example and gave fully to God in order to build the temple. If we apply David’s example to how we give, we could all rejoice like the people and David did in verse 9, because of the willing response of all who gave “freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord” at Desert Streams Church. Let’s plan on rejoicing together, in praise to God, for the blessings of giving back to God.

PRAYER

Lord, thank you for David and all that he did in praise and worship to you. He knew how to show his love towards you in many ways - in praise and worship to you. He set a wonderful example for me and all who read your scriptures. Thank you for all you’ve done in my life. Not only saving me but blessing my life. I owe everything to you! Please let my service and giving be a blessing to your church at Desert Streams. Help me to always give based on my love for you and nothing else. It’s not about the amount given but being a cheerful giver as 2 Corinthians 9:7 says that “God loves a cheerful giver.” Thank you for the opportunity to give to your church. Giving is a blessing. Thank you for that blessing and the gift of giving. I give you all the praise! In Jesus name. Amen

- Mary Oberg

1 Chronicles 28 - 4.7.25

Scripture

1 Chronicles 28:20 

David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished. 21 The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing person skilled in any craft will help you in all the work. The officials and all the people will obey your every command.”

Observation

King David summoned all of Israel and explained that he had planned to build a Temple for the Lord. However, God told him that he had done enough work already, is getting up there in age and had shed so much blood for the cause of the Lord. Instead, the Temple would be built under the leadership of his son, King Solomon. 

King David knew his son would be too young and inexperienced for the task, so he made sure everything was planned out and prepared before he handed off the task to him. (‘“David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.”’ -1 Chronicles 22:5).

I encourage you all to read 1 Chronicles 22 again, which is 6 chapters back, as King David already started prepping his son in that chapter. This is what God said about Solomon:

“He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’”

‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭22:10‬ ‭NIV‬‬ (which is also parallel to 1 Chronicles 28:6-7)

King David did 4 things for his son before he handed off the job:

1. King David informed the officials, officers, commanders and warriors of Israel, what God had told him regarding the building of the temple and that his son, Solomon would be overseeing the project, not him.  The purpose of this was so that the people would give his son the same respect and submission that they had given King David. (Verses 1-4)

2. King David encouraged the people to continue to follow God’s commands so that He would bless them and their descendants. (Verse 8)

3. He passed on the plans he had been working on, to his son. (Verses 11-19)

4. He gave encouragement to his son. He told him to do the work, be strong, be courageous, not to be afraid or discouraged, that God will not fail him or forsake him until the work is finished, and encouraged him that all his help is in place. They are ready to obey his every command. (Verses 20-21)

Application

Pray and ask the Lord who He would want you to take under your wing to train and disciple so that the work of God would continue successfully.

I also want to encourage everyone who is not part of a small group at DSC to be part of one! That’s a great place to disciple and be discipled by others! Go to this link to see all the small groups we offer:desertstreams.com/smallgroups

I read a really good leadership book called “Becoming a person of influence” by Pastor John C Maxwell and Jim Dornan. They said that the mark of a great leader is how they are able to empower others. “When you empower people, you’re not influencing just them; you’re influencing all the people they influence.”

This chapter in God’s Word shows this in action in King David’s life. He was not only influential as King over Israel and empowering them to put God first, but also influential in empowering His Son to take over God’s plans for the Temple.

Prayer

Dear Lord, You have called us all to be leaders (or influencers), whether we are leaders in our home, church or workplaces. You have also called us all to be ministers of Your Gospel message. I know that if we are saved, we are already a couple steps ahead of someone who do not know You.  I pray that we would embrace our calling as influencers for Your Kingdom and live it out in our daily lives. Also, just like David encouraged his son, may we be strong and courageous, and do the work. May we not be afraid or discouraged knowing that You are with us and that You won’t fail or forsake us until the work is finished. Amen.

-Michelle Gaddi