For Thine Is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

October 6, 2013

1 Chronicles 29:11

For Thine Is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory

In the name of Jesus.

I.

Last words can be funny or profound. English playwright George Bernard Shaw remarked before he expired, “Dying is easy; comedy is hard.” Famous scientist Johannes Kepler's last words? “Solely by the merits of Jesus Christ, our Savior.”

For many believers, their last words aren't funny or original, but they are profound and true. Christians on their deathbed, even when they have forgotten the names of their own children, have been heard to pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven . . . “ and their last words are “For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Those last words that have graced the lips of so many believers were first spoken by King David. At the end of his 40 years as king, he spoken his last recorded words, that served as his last will and testament.

May You be praised, Lord God of our father Israel, from eternity to eternity. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to You. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all. Riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler of everything. Power and might are in Your hand (1 Chronicles 29:10-12)

We use David's words of praise as the last words of our Lord's Prayer. But what do these words mean?

II.

King David had great friends, lots of kids, a world-wide reputation as a warrior who had killed tens of thousands of bad guys, and a great place to live with lots of servants. And he was loaded.

But at the end of his life, David remembered who had done the loading. Everything that he had—money, friends, and reputation, and everything else—came from God and thus, everything David had wasn't his, but God's. When you pray, “For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory,” you are simply recognizing the reality in which you live. You are a servant in someone's else world; you are serving in someone's else house.

This reality should lead all people to live accordingly, but most don't because they hate the Someone to whom all things belong. But believers trust that all things are created by God and therefore they live in the real world. Jesus said,

So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.” (Luke 17:10)

III.

What is your duty? What is Jesus telling you to do? This depends on your vocation.

David's vocation was to be a king and a father. None of us are royalty, but many of us have been called to serve as fathers.

As a king David was a good steward who sought to leave the nation of Israel better than he had found it. And he considered improvement to be one thing: receiving the promises of God every day.

And this led him to carefully plan how he would use God's things to prepare for the building of God's Temple. Solomon's vocation was to actually build the Temple in Jerusalem, but his father David carefully planned out the necessary preparations. He arranged for building materials, but perhaps most importantly, he prepared Solomon for his task by being a good father.

David called his son Solomon “young and inexperienced” in his opening remarks. Why did he say that? He wanted Solomon to remain grounded in reality. There are few better gifts a father can give to a son. When Solomon would later be given wisdom directly from God, his father's final words would assist in keeping him grounded in reality: his wisdom was from God.

IV.

Dear Christians and fathers and mothers? Our church has already been built. So what is your duty now?

You imitate David's careful planning as you build your homes rooted and fed by Christ.

Coming to Him, a living stone—rejected by men but chosen and valuable to God—you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. . . .

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,

a holy nation, a people for His possession,

so that you may proclaim the praises

of the One who called you out of darkness

into His marvelous light.

Once you were not a people,

but now you are God’s people;

. . . now you have received mercy.

(1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10)

Build a strong foundation for yourself and your family by clinging to the joy that you have received mercy. All the forgiveness you have is from Christ. And in this reality, as Christ's living stones, you carefully plan your duty in His service.

As a congregation we ask how we build a foundation for our young stones that will leave them with a life-long love of learning Jesus' promises, so that they will have golden words to speak before Jesus calls them.

So instead of sparkling jewels and tons of gold, serve Jesus by raising up living stones with sharp minds and homes where we treat the Bible like gold. A wonderful offering you can place at Christ's feet as His unworthy servant is yourself and your family at prayer.

Spend your time, no, spend Jesus' time that He has given you, to daily pray the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, and the Lord's Prayer. Pray these promises for they have been given to you.

And then no matter when Jesus calls you home, your last words will be His words.

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.