Psalm 24: 1-10, “Who may ascend into the hill of God?”
Today’s message comes from Psalm 24, which King David wrote to celebrate the occasion of bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the city of Jerusalem. This was before the temple was built, but a tabernacle was set up within Jerusalem for the Ark of the Covenant, –the symbol of God’s Holy Presence. It was a processional song bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the city. We can easily imagine that the Ark of the Covenant of God, the very symbolic figure of God’s Holy Presence, was in procession, and David could not help but cry out, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and those who dwell therein!” His words echoed in Solomon’s after Solomon completed the Jerusalem temple, and as he dedicated the temple, he prayed in exclamation, “Behold, heaven, the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house which I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27). In this processional song, David was proclaiming God’s magnificence as the Creator, the Owner of heaven and the earth, and everything therein, at the same time, recognizing its insignificance of humans as a part of God’s creation, belonging to God.
Being in the presence of God, we cannot help but realize who God is and what we are. We first learn that if we truly know who God is, we do not own anything. We are not our own; our bodies and souls are not. The whole earth is His and everything in it; Time and space are also God’s creation. We do not own any of them; we simply live in them.
Our children? They do not belong to us! Are the property and the land ours? Our lives? Our eyes and ears, our mouth? Our tongues are not our own; they are to be at His service. Is there anything we can claim as ours? Not according to the given text today, there is nothing we can claim as ours since everything in and on earth is God’s. What are we, then? We are just stewards, caring for what God has entrusted us. If we know that we are not the owners but just stewards, our outlook on life and things will be different.
There was a rich man whose ground yielded an abundant harvest. He gathered crops so much that he had to tear down his barns and build new ones. He was content with his life and thought, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night, your life will be demanded from you.’ I am sure you know this is about a rich fool from Luke 12. God called him a “fool” because this rich man did not know that time was not his. He did not know that his very life, the ground that yielded abundant harvest, and the crops he gathered were not his. He did not know that all he had could be taken away. At this point, let us ask ourselves. How many of us can call him a “fool”?
How many of us live in a way knowing that we do not own anything? Is there anything that God cannot take away from us? Nothing! Because we do not own anything, God owns everything. Do we know that when God takes away the breath we are breathing, we are no more and that God has every right to demand what we think is ours at any moment?
Yet, we live as if we are the owner of what is entrusted to our care, –our life, our time, our property, our children, etc. That is a tragedy on our part. If we knew that we were just stewards, we would always think about how to use our money, time, and live the way the owner wants us to use them, not how we want. As for our children, if we know that God has entrusted them to our care, our job is to educate and train them to know their Creator, their ultimate Father. Are we faithful stewards of God? Do our children and grandchildren know God, walking in His way?
How do we remind ourselves that we are stewards, not the owners? One way to recognize God’s ownership is to give a “tithe.” Tithing for what God has given us. As we know, the tithe was an obligatory offering from the law of Moses, requiring ten percent of an income, as a reminder to Israelites that everything they have belongs to God. Some people say tithing practice belongs to the Old Testament, not to the New Testament people because in the New Testament, there is no mention of tithe, they said. But do we know that Jesus commended a poor widow who gave two small copper coins to the temple treasury? Jesus taught his disciples that the widow gave more than the rich and that the amount of money was not important, but rather the sacrifice made in the offering. The poor widow who gave two small coins, which was everything she had, made great sacrifices in giving, but those rich who gave a lot, comparatively speaking, but out of their surplus, gave without making sacrifices on their parts. Among the true Christians, I know many who make great sacrifices in giving according to God’s will.
God still teaches me to how to spend money. In my family circle, I am a charity case. Some of my nieces and nephews make six figures in income with their college degrees only. So, occasionally, my brothers and sisters would give me small allowances, $300 or $500.00, which I gracefully accept and give to the needy. My brother-in-law gave me $300.00 the last time. Upon receiving it, I told myself as I walked into Costco in Saint Louis that I wouldn’t give this money to those in need but would use it for myself this time. After I finished grocery shopping, I searched for my wallet to pay. But the wallet was nowhere to be found; the cash I received was gone with my credit cards, my license, and my phone. I walked all over Costco, about one and a half hours, every aisle I was in, and even those places where I had not set foot. I asked Costco customer service to announce if anyone had found a wallet, but to no avail. Out of desperation, I finally sat down at the food court and prayed. I asked the Lord, “Lord, what is it? Have I stolen what belongs to you? Have I cheated anyone? Why did this happen? Please let me know why this is so.” Suddenly, I remembered what I said to myself regarding the money I received from my brother-in-law. Then, I asked for forgiveness and said, “Lord, I will let it flow down to those in need. Please help me find the wallet that was dropped from my pocket.” After the prayer, as I tried to make a round again, the Costco worker who oversaw the fresh produce walked toward me fast, waving my wallet up high. He found my wallet in the potato’s container. The money went to the North Korean defectors.
As Christians, tithing is a basic duty –a symbol and a reminder– that God calls us to live our lives as stewards rather than owners. Do we give what belongs to God with our money and our time? How much do we spend time with God daily? If we do not spend time with God, we easily forget that we are just stewards. We would live as if we were the masters of our lives, the owners of our time, our property, and our children. What is worse, if we are not in the presence of God, we cannot help but be under satan’s influence, –the Father of all lies. Satan lies and tempts people to live in the illusion that they are the master of their lives, that they own their life, time, and money, urge them to do whatever they want to do with what is entrusted to them.
Secondly, in the presence of God we realize that we cannot come to God on our own. Vss. 3 and 4 ask, “Who can ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who can stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.” The answer is NO ONE, but Jesus Christ is. In other words, these verses do not suggest that there can be people who can ascend into and stand in God’s Holy place on their own righteousness. We must read vss. 3 and 4 in the context that the Ark of the Covenant was bringing in. The Ark of the Covenant symbolizes God’s Grace and Mercy through the blood of the lamb, Jesus Christ. The top of the Ark of the Covenant was the Mercy Seat on which the blood of the lamb atoned for the sins of people was sprinkled. Through the blood, vs. 6, God sees them, who “seek His face,” His presence, favor, and grace, and gives them “righteousness.” The God of salvation gives them “righteousness” through the blood of Jesus, the lamb of God, who sheds for the atonement of sins.
The keyword is “being in the presence of God.” If we are in the presence of God, we realize that we are nothing but stewards and that we cannot come to God on our own. Therefore, if we spend time in God’s presence, we cannot help but seek God’s favor, knowing that we are doomed without God’s mercy manifested in the person of Jesus Christ. For those who seek “God’s face,” His Presence, then mercy and grace are given through the blood of Jesus Christ. So, the question is, ‘Where are you? Are you in the presence of God or not yet there?’