GIVING CATALYZES GIVING!

In the last chapter of I Chronicles, David is coming to the end of his reign as king of Israel.  Although God did not allow him to build the Temple, he was permitted to gather wealth and resources for the massive project. 

In addition, God gave David a detailed blueprint for the building.  Like Moses, who only got to see the Promised Land from a distant mountaintop, David only got to see the Temple in his mind's eye.

But David had seen the goodness of God!  He had a clear vision of how great God is!  David wanted this Temple to exceed anything that had ever been built on the earth!  Honoring God became David's most important goal!

He says:   (vs.1-3  LB)

My son Solomon, whom God has chosen to be the next king of Israel, is still young and inexperienced, and the work ahead of him is enormous;  for the temple he will build is not just another building - it is for the Lord God himself!  Using every resource at my command, I have gathered as much as I could for building it - enough gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and great quantities of onyx, other precious stones, costly jewels, and marble.  And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of God, I am giving all of my own private treasures to aid in the construction.  This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected. 

When the leaders of Israel saw David's generosity, they immediately responded with similar largeness of heart - giving even more, collectively, than David had given!

GIVING CATALYZES GIVING!!!

Could this happen today? 

Could massive generosity of heart stimulate great giving by others? 

Remember what initiated David's generosity?  It was a magnified realization of the goodness of God and how vast and powerful and magnificent God was!!!  David had built palaces for himself and his family, yet God still lived in a tent. 

When this realization hit David, his heart changed.  From that point forward, he could not rest until he had provided for God's Temple. 

What will it take to change my heart?  How do I get a similar new-view of God?  How should I channel my generosity?  How do I do so in a way that honors God without drawing the spotlight to myself?  How will others even know that I've given sacrificially?  Will it impact them, if they know? 

What would it be like to get so excited about who God is that I just wanted to give everything to bring worldwide attention to Him?