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💭 Consider this: In what ways do you measure your success by numbers (achievements, possessions, social status)? How does this influence your sense of identity and worth? Knowing that your value is given by God (1 Cor 6:20), how should your perspective change?

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📣 Are you caught in a number game? 🤔

We often measure our worth by what we can count—our achievements, possessions, even our influence. But do we truly own these things? Or are we falling into the same trap that once ensnared King David?

When David ordered a census of his army, he wasn’t just numbering soldiers—he was placing his trust in numbers instead of God. His pride led to devastating consequences. Like David, we too can be tempted to count and compare, believing our success, security, or even spiritual standing comes from what we’ve accumulated. But Scripture reminds us: only God has the right to count.

In Exodus 30:11-16, God instructed the Israelites to take a census, but with a ransom price for each person—a reminder that their lives belonged to the Lord, and everything they had was a gift from Him.

So, what are you counting? And more importantly, what are you trusting in? Join us as we uncover the real danger of the number game—and rediscover the only One who truly counts.

📄 Follow along with this sermon's transcript:

📍 Sermon Outline 00:00 Trailer 02:10 Introduction

03:39 I. THE PRICE OF REDEMPTION

God’s guidelines for the census & payment

11:37 II. THE LESSON OF REDEMPTION

God’s reminders for His people

The danger: King David & his pride

Are we guilty of his assumption?

How the number game can affect the church

We are His stewards!

What are the dangers of the number game?

Who should we live our life for?

Highlights

There was this classic example in the Bible about this danger of the number game, and it was found in the life of King David. There was a time in David's life when his kingdom grew so strong and powerful that he decided to take a census to do a headcount of the number of soldiers in his massive army. His faithful commander Joab strongly objected to his decision to do that, and he said in 2 Samuel 24:3, "Now the Lord thy God add unto the people, how many soever they be, an hundredfold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it: but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing?"

In other words, ‘It was God who had increased the number of people in your kingdom so much, even a hundred times, and you have seen it with your own eyes. Why do you want to take delight in this thing? Why do you want to take pleasure or be proud of something that you did not do, when it was all God's doing? Why do you want to take the credit for himself?’

But against the wise counsel of Joab, David wanted to know how big his army was. He was like saying, "Well, I want to see how many soldiers I have. I want to know how powerful my army is. I cannot even imagine the number of soldiers I have. Most likely, I have the biggest army in the whole world!" Why do you think David behaved like that? Because he was caught in a number game. He had forgotten that whatever he had came from God, and he had become proud, which was his downfall.

Dear friend, who has the right to number the things we have? Only God alone. Naked we come into this world, and naked we will leave this world. And if we truly believe in this truth, then whatever we have accumulated in between, during our lifetime, does not belong to us. We are just stewards of what God has entrusted into our care. The truth of the matter is that only God alone has the right to count. And God says, ‘All these things are mine, and I have entrusted them into your care. I have assigned them to you, and I want you to be good stewards, and I want you to use them for my glory.’