The Cost of Serving God
II Samuel 24:18-25
Our text this morning comes at the close of one of the darkest events in David’s life.
Most would say it was his affair with Bathsheba, and there other contenders we could discuss.
But if you notice, of all the sins that David committed, the one that is given the most space in II Samuel and I Chronicles is when he numbered the people.
David is near the end of his life.
He is no longer the strong warrior of his youth.
His family was fractured by his sin with Bathsheba.
His own sons rose up against him and tried to take the throne by force.
I do not think he had a very strong hold on the throne at this time.
He gives in to fear and doubt.
He sends Joab out to take a census of the people.
The reason for this is so that he will know how big of an army he can muster.
At this time, there was a very small standing army.
When there was a need for a larger force, the trumpets sounded and volunteers answered the call.
How many would show up was not known.
It was in fact a way to force the king to trust in God and not in man.
He had to believe that God would muster a sufficient force to meet the need.
But if he knew ahead of time how many men he could count on, well he would trust in the might of his army and not God’s provision.
Joab, for all his faults, tried to warn David.
But the census took place.
By the way, it was not a spur of the moment decision or action.
Even our justice system views crimes that are premeditated differently than those that happen in the heat of the moment.
This took planning.
It took months to execute.
It could have stopped at any time, but David allowed it to continue.
Finally, the conviction of God set in and David expressed remorse for his actions.
I say that on purpose that he was remorseful.
I do not think he was yet ready to repent.
There is a big difference in expressing sorrow for your actions and turning your back on them.
God gave him a choice of punishments:
7 years of famine
3 months of his enemies begin victorious
3 days pestilence in the land.
David chose the last one.
70,000 died across the land.
I do not think David had broken yet.
Then the angel stood outside of Jerusalem, pausing the judgment right on David’s doorstep.
Then David repented.
We come now to our text.
The prophet Gad comes up to David and tells him that God wants him to build an altar on the site where the angel stood.
That piece of land was owned by a Jebusite named Araunah in II Samuel and Ornan in I Chronicles 21.
Same meaning, just variation in spelling.
He must have been a survivor of David’s capture of Jerusalem 30 years before.
Araunah tells David he can have the land.
He would throw in his oxen and his farm equipment too.
It was generous offer, but David refused it.
Note the words in vs. 24 – “Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing.”
The week before last was Teacher Appreciation Week.
The folks at the school up here counted me as a teacher since I do chapel with the kids on Thursdays.
They were very gracious and gave me a bunch of stuff that I really should not be eating anyway.
I’ll confess this though.
I got a couple of Starbucks gift cards.
Now, to some folks those are worth their weight in gold.
But I am not a coffee drinker.
Give a Dr. Pepper any day!
No one in my house is a coffee drinker.
Guess where some of those cards ended up?
We regifted them to some of the kids’ teachers.
I felt like that helped us out – we didn’t have to go buy anything.
Now think about it like this:
I received a gift that I valued little.
I passed it on to someone who hopefully valued it more than I.
In the end, it made for a balanced transaction.
Financially, that’s a pretty good deal.
But as a show of love and appreciation, you have to admit that it falls short.
There is David, his heart is torn in grief at his sin.
He was offered an easy way out – he could accept the gift and pass it on to God.
But he says that was not the right thing to do.
He says that if he is to make an offering to God it needs to cost him something.
That was the correct choice.
Friends, serving God out to cost us something.
Christ put it this way in Luke 14:25-33
Luk 14:25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
Luk 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Serving God will cost you because your priorities will change.
Luk 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Serving God will cost you because your life will be surrendered to God.
Luk 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Luk 14:29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
Luk 14:30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
Luk 14:31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
Luk 14:32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
Luk 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Serving God will cost you because you need to see it through.
Someone may say, “well, salvation is free – fully paid by Christ – so Christianity is free!”
Oh yes, salvation is freely given by grace through faith to all that call upon the name of the Lord.
You cannot buy it or earn it.
But we are not talking about salvation here.
We are talking about following the Lord once we are believers.
David was not making sacrifices to be saved – he was making them because he was saved!
He knew that it costs something to serve God.
Let me ask you a couple of questions:
1. WHAT HAS SERVING GOD COST YOU?
Have you had to lay aside personal ambitions?
Have you had stopping going certain places or doing certain things?
Have friends and family pulled away from you?
I want to say something very strong here.
If it has not cost you to be Christian, you probably are not one.
The Bible says that the if you are Christian the world will hate you.
The Bible says you have to crucify the fle sh – our desires, ambitions, and pride.
Christ put it this way in Luke 9:23-26
Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Luk 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
Luk 9:25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
Luk 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.
2. WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY TO SERVE GOD?
I saw this week on social media a questionnaire from a church in Asia that was for people wanting to get baptized.
In that part of the world, it is a big deal to get baptized.
The culture takes that as sign you are turning away from your world to Christ.
Here are the questions it asked:
- Are you willing to leave home and lost he blessing of your father?
- Are you willing to lose your job?
- Are you willing to go to the village and those who persecute you, forgive them, and share the love of Christ with them?
- Are you willing to give an offering to the Lord?
- Are you willing to be beaten rather than deny your faith?
- Are you willing to go to prison?
- Are you willing to die for Jesus?
I can sum that up – Are you willing to pay the cost of being a Christian?
We are so spoiled – we want Christianity that has no cross, no commitment, and no cost.
3. WHATEVER THE COST, IT IS WORTH IT
Paul paid a great price to serve Christ.
It cost him friends and fame among the Jews.
He suffered physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
But at the end, some of the last words that he would write are these:
2Ti 4:6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
2Ti 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
2Ti 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
Know what he is saying there?
All the trials and heartaches were worth it.
We have the promise that God will make all things right in the end.
Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
In the eternity before us, no one will ever say it was not worth it.
In fact, if we say anything, we will only regret that we had not given more for our Savior.
CONCLUSION
- Be careful to value things by Heaven’s price guide.
- ILLUS – Beckett baseball card magazine
- Things that seem small down here are big up there.
- Things that seem big down here are small up there.
- Value things by the eternal standard of God’s word.
- Be thankful that the one absolutely free gift is Salvation.
- Jesus paid it all.