EXODUS 35 DOING THE WORK OF THE LORD2021 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Exodus 35 Doing The Work Of The Lord

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2021.

Amen. Well, as we look at Exodus chapter 35 this evening, we have this chapter before us as the reading for today, and we're not going to try to cover every verse, as I always say, because there's a lot of verses in chapter 35 for us to cover, but hitting some of the key points and some of the things that the Lord highlighted for me, as we get started here in this chapter, let's begin by reading first the first three verses.

Exodus chapter 35, starting in verse 1, says, Verse 3,

Here as we look at Exodus chapter 35, I've titled the message, Doing the Work of the Lord. Last week we talked about preparing to serve the Lord, and a similar theme in some ways this week as we talk about now doing the work of the Lord.

Now, up to this point here in Exodus, the Lord has been instructing Moses and the people through Moses in regards to his laws, in regards to all of the dimensions and details of the tabernacle. And Moses has been receiving the plans of

from the Lord. And as we go forward now into this coming week, we'll be reading as we go through the chapters now really the execution of all of those instructions and plans and the fashioning and making and molding and setting up of the tabernacle that God has done. And so right on the edge of this great work that is going to be done, and it is going to be a massive amount of work,

that will be done in assembling the tabernacle and putting all of those pieces together and fashioning all the different furnishings that God has instructed about. Massive amounts of work.

And so as they're right on the edge of that, God has a few important things to remind the people of, things that they need to hear as they enter into this season of doing the work of the Lord. The tabernacle work is about to start. And so the Lord says a few things. Now, three things we'll be focusing on tonight as we talk about doing the work of the Lord. The first thing for us to consider is,

Here in verses 1 through 3, here's point number 1. Submit to the Lord obediently. The first thing the Lord really wants to remind the people about is their obedience to one of his commands. The command in particular that he's referring to is the Sabbath law. The command regarding the Sabbath.

Now, this is an interesting one to consider because, of course, the Sabbath law was an important part of God's instruction to the Jewish people.

And yet for us today as believers, it's one of those that we don't put into practice in our daily lives in the same way that the Lord had called them to. And sometimes that can cause a little bit of confusion and difficulty for us in looking at the Old Testament and considering that for the New Testament. And so what do we need to think about in regards to the Sabbath for them and for us?

Well, first of all, the Lord reminds us that this is a command. In verse 1, again, it says that Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together and said to them, these are the words which the Lord has commanded you to do. And so again, picture the scene as the tabernacle instructions have been given and they're, you know, about to launch into this work. Then Moses gathers together the whole nation of Israel.

And he says, this is what God has commanded you to do. Moses has been fulfilling his role, hearing from God on the mountain and now passing on those commands to the people of Israel. Now, this is not the first time that they've been instructed about the Sabbath law.

Just a few chapters earlier, we see instructions about the Sabbath. A few chapters before that, we see instructions about the Sabbath. We're going to see instructions about the Sabbath again as we head into Leviticus. It's something that is very important that the Lord continues to reiterate to his people the Sabbath law that he had established for them. Well, what is that law? It's summarized here in verse 2. "'Work shall be done for six days.'"

But the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. The Sabbath day law is based on the pattern of creation. God created the heavens and the earth in six days, as recorded for us in Genesis chapters 1 and 2. And then the seventh day, God rested.

And this pattern God established there in creation is now built into this law to his people, the children of Israel. They are to follow that same pattern. A week is seven days. That was true back then, 4,000 years ago. It's true today. A week is seven days. And God says, okay, so six days of that week, those are days for working.

But Israel, you need to take that last day, the seventh day, and rest on that seventh day. Now, things have not changed that much in regards to the weeks, right? It's seven days in a week. The seventh day is Saturday, right?

That's true today. That's true, you know, when the Lord was giving these commands through Moses back in Exodus chapter 35. The Sabbath is always connected to the seventh day, which is Saturday. There is some confusion today about that. And some people regard the Sabbath and really kind of connect the Sabbath to Saturday.

church day. Sabbath day is church day in many people's minds, but that is not the law that God had established there for the people of Israel. And so because of that perception, though, and that confusion, sometimes it's misunderstood and people wonder, why did we change the Sabbath day from Saturday to Sunday?

But that's not what happened. The Sabbath day was never moved. Nobody changed the Sabbath day. Sabbath day is the seventh day, which is Saturday, and that's always been the case. Now, the New Testament church, when they began Acts chapter 2 and following as you go on through the book of Acts, the church met on Sundays, right?

And it was the first day of the week as opposed to the seventh day of the week. They didn't move the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day. They met on the first day for church.

And there's a couple reasons you could consider for that. First of all, they met on the first day because that's the day that Jesus resurrected. This coming Sunday, we celebrate Easter Sunday. Some people don't like the word Easter, so we celebrate Resurrection Sunday. However you'd like to put it is fine. But we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord because he rose from the dead on the first day of the week, on a Sunday.

He came out of the tomb. And so the New Testament church met on Sundays, partially in honor of and remembrance of the fact that Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday.

But practically speaking, it makes a lot of sense for the New Testament church to meet on Sunday because, well, the New Testament church began in Jerusalem and was primarily Jewish for many years. There in the book of Acts, you can see that.

And so as Jews, they still practiced the Sabbath. You can read through the account in Acts, and you can see they were still going to the temple on the Sabbath day. And so they were still practicing Sabbath and engaging with the Lord in that regard. But then on Sunday was the church gathering day. It was the day that the church met. And so the Sabbath day really made it

difficult to meet on a Sunday for the Jewish people because if, you know, it was the Sabbath day, they were limited on what they could do. But on Sunday, there was no limits. And so they could gather from far or wherever and have time of fellowship with the church together.

So the Sabbath day hasn't moved. Sabbath has always been the seventh day. It's always Saturday. When we celebrate the Lord and have church on Sundays, it's not a changing of the Sabbath day. That is a misunderstanding and confusion.

So what is it then? And why is it that we don't enforce and follow the Sabbath law today? Well, let me remind you of something I've been sharing a couple times, and I'll continue to share, when to obey an Old Testament law.

law. This is something that we have to work through as we work through the Old Testament, because, well, we have that old covenant that the Lord established with the nation of Israel, but then we have a new covenant through Jesus Christ and by faith in Jesus Christ. And so there is a change in our walk with the Lord in that regard, and different instructions, you know, that are applied to us as a result.

And so the Old Testament still has great value for us. And yet at the same time, we have to discern and understand which parts are directly applicable, commands that we must obey today, and commands that are, you know,

informational and that help us understand the heart of God and perhaps instruct us and perhaps the Lord uses these commands to give us clear direction for us personally, but are not broadly applied as commands to the entire church around the world. So when to obey an Old Testament law? First of all, you obey an Old Testament law when it's repeated in the New Testament.

So when the law is commanded in the Old Testament, but you see that same command given, and so we have the Gospels where Jesus is giving commands. We have the epistles or the letters of Paul and Peter and James and John giving commands and instruction to the churches. And so when those things are commanded, again in the New Testament, well then of course we know that is something directly applies to us, commands for us to obey, right?

When to obey an Old Testament law? When it's not reversed in the New Testament. So there are some laws that are given and are then later on reversed. Now, I would suggest to you that the Sabbath law is one of those laws.

And you can read through that, and I'm not going to go through all of the details, but the Council of Jerusalem that happened in Acts chapter 15 was essentially about the Sabbath and circumcision. And essentially it was, are people required to become Jews in order to be part of the church and in order to be saved?

And the conclusion of the Lord, that the Lord brought forth from Acts chapter 15, was that no, it's not a requirement. That the Sabbath law was a law particularly attached to the Jewish people,

Now, a Gentile is anybody who is not of Jewish descent. And so for the Jews, they had some things that were particular to them that they were to follow and to walk in. And the church council at that time in Acts chapter 15 says, all of these people that are getting saved all around the world that have no Jewish background or connection, they're not Jewish.

we're not going to enforce the law on them. They don't have to convert and become Jews in order to be saved. And part of that was the Sabbath law. Another clear way to see that is in Colossians chapter 2, this letter from the Apostle Paul.

When he says in verse 16,

The Apostle Paul's argument there is that the substance of those things, as you read through the book of Exodus and Leviticus, you'll also see the feasts of the Lord. There's three feasts required each year that the Jews were to practice and to show up for in Jerusalem, and other feasts that God also instructed, but they weren't like the three required at

everybody to go to Jerusalem. Anyways, so those feasts, they're part of the old covenant, part of that system, part of God's instruction to his people. In the new covenant, Paul says, look, all of those things point to Christ. The substance of those things is Christ. And so believing in Jesus Christ and walking with him, staying close to the Lord and following him is the fulfillment of those feasts and also the fulfillment of the Sabbath. And

And so practicing those as far as calendars are concerned and that kind of thing is not required here in the new covenant because it's fulfilled in Christ. Now with the Sabbath though, it's interesting to consider because another time to obey in Old Testament law is when God's heart is clearly revealed.

And so that is something that you can kind of take on personally and consider because God does make it clear throughout the time of the importance of the Sabbath to his people. It's not a law upon us in the New Testament, but perhaps it is something that God wants to speak to you about personally. It's not a law for every Christian everywhere. They must do this. But God also can use this particular law

law to speak to you, to speak to me about, you know, insight that he wants for us individually. And so this is something to consider because God's heart is clear. This day of rest is important to the Lord. Now for the nation of Israel, this was a very serious and strict command. You'll notice in verse 2 at the end, it says, "...whoever does any work on it shall be put to death."

And so this law was so serious, breaking the Sabbath law was a capital crime. And so it was to be, you know, the person was to be executed if they broke the Sabbath and worked on the Sabbath.

And so this was something God wanted them to understand very clearly, to grasp hold of, and to follow completely, and to not bend those things, and not to kind of compromise and get wishy-washy about. But he wanted a very clear line. The Sabbath is to be followed, and if you don't follow it, the cost, the penalty is death. So much so, in the previous chapter,

Exodus chapter 34, verse 21, talking about the Sabbath law and reinforcing those things, God says, six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest, you shall rest.

Now, this is interesting to consider because for, you know, farmers, for those who are, their livelihoods are based on agriculture, plowing time and harvest time are very serious times and important times. And, you know, you don't stop and take a break in those days, right?

except the Lord says here for the Jewish people, no, no, you guys are to stop and take a break. But there's a harvest and we got to collect it or it's going to go bad. And God says, no, no, take a break. The seventh day you shall rest. Even when things are busy, even when things are crazy and the demands are high and all of this is there, there needs to be those opportunities for you on the seventh day to rest. And so God said this very seriously. This

May not mean a whole lot to us in plowing time and harvest time, but encourage you to maybe reach out to a farmer. Find someone who lives based on the agriculture and talk to them about what this would mean for them.

And so understanding the heart of God here is that he wants his people to rest, to have a break, even in the midst of crazy busy, the highest pressure, you know, the most difficult times. Now again, the context here is in the building of the tabernacle. They're about to embark on this new season of doing all this work to assemble the meeting place with the Lord.

And I think it's significant when you consider it in light of that as well. Because those who are working on things for the Lord sometimes feel entitled to ignore God's commands. I know it seems kind of contradictory and weird, but

This is a reality that sometimes we excuse ourselves and we compromise in other things of our lives because over here in this area, I'm being so diligent and working so hard for the Lord. And so there is, you know, the need for us to remember, even in our endeavor to do things for God, that

We need to be obedient. We need to follow the instructions that God has given. The tabernacle work doesn't supersede, okay, now throw away all the Sabbath laws because we have this really important tabernacle work to do. No, God says, even in the tabernacle work, follow the Sabbath law. Six days you shall work and the seventh day you shall rest. Now this command, again, it's a very serious command for the people of Israel.

A real strong command, stern command. But what's interesting and a little bit ironic about it is as severe as this command is, think about what the command is to do. The command is to rest. Now the rest of this chapter is going to be not about resting, but about giving and about doing. And those things aren't commanded.

The command, right, the big, heavy, serious, severe command is, hey, take a break. Why don't you sit down and relax for a little bit? This command was given by God to be a blessing to the people of Israel.

Later on, legalism will turn this command into a burden. And because of the way that, you know, they were legalistic about it, the way the Jewish leaders added on to the commands that God had given, it became a stumbling block and a difficulty for people. But God really intended this command to be a blessing, that his people would have an opportunity to

to catch their breath, to get some rest, and to have a window of opportunity for them to really focus on the things of the Lord. Jesus will go on to say in Mark 2, verse 27, that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.

When you get legalistic about it, then it becomes, you know, that man was made for the Sabbath. And so man has to follow all of these things and there's all these details and it's a burdensome thing to follow. But Jesus says, no, Sabbath was made for man. It was intended to be good for man and a blessing for man. It would have been a great blessing for the nation of Israel to follow this because notice again in verse two, it's a Sabbath of rest to the Lord.

It was not just to be a hammock time, you know, rest, but it was to be a hammock time to

for the Lord. Lord, for you, in obedience to you, in honor of you, and because I love you, I'm going to listen to you and lay down for a little bit. I'm going to rest my mind. I'm going to rest my heart. I'm going to trust in you. There's a lot to do. There's, you know, a huge to-do list and all these things that need to be checked off, and I haven't got to them all, but you've told me to rest.

And so I'm going to trust in you. I'm going to rest in you. I'm going to take a break and I'm going to honor you because this is what you have said. And so this is what God was calling his people to do, to submit to him obediently.

Even though there was all this pressure, even though, you know, there was all these big things to do and so much happening, and even though there was all of the burden and weight and, you know, drive to accomplish more, it was a way for God to get his people to have some time to rest, and it was unto the Lord to honor him and to be with him, to meditate on his words and receive peace.

Now, for us again tonight, as we look at this, the Sabbath law is not for the Gentiles in the same way that it is for the Jews. It's not a requirement that God has placed on every believer in Jesus Christ, and it must be enforced or, you know, execution awaits. It's not that way at all. But for us, it is appropriate for us to consider what God has commanded. And if God has instructed you regarding this, then rest if God wants you to.

Even when it's really hard to obey, then obey him and rest. Or if it's work, when you're wanting to rest and God says, no, no, you need to work, you need to get this done, well then obey, even if it's hard to. For us, I would encourage you to let this be a reminder to submit to the Lord obediently. John tells us in 1 John 5, verse 3, this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome.

There's a lot that we could consider about rest and Sabbath and finding the fulfillment of that in Jesus, that we don't work for our salvation, but we rest and trust completely in Christ for our salvation. And so there's things there that you can consider if the Lord wants to stir those things in your hearts. But the idea of God's commands not being burdensome. He intends for his commands to be a blessing to us.

And sometimes it's difficult for us to obey. But listen, if we will obey the Lord, his commands are not burdensome. They're intended for our good. They're intended to give us blessing, to help us to rest and find fulfillment and find a wholeness and a healthiness that the Lord has for us. So submit to the Lord obediently.

If his instruction is about rest, then rest. If his instruction is about work, then work. If his instruction is about something else in your life in particular, whatever it is, even when there's great pressure against it, submit to the Lord. It's for your good. You'll find a wholeness, a healthiness. His commands are not burdensome.

Well, we're going to move on to consider now the next thing. Now for this, it's going to be looking at verses 4 through 9, as well as verses 20 through 29. Now again, we're not going to cover every verse in that mix, but grouping together these verses, addressing this subject. And here's point number two, give to the Lord willingly. Give to the Lord willingly. Check out verse 4 and 5.

And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying, Take from among you an offering to the Lord.

Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord, gold, silver, and bronze. Now in the following verses, he goes on to list all the other materials that were going to be used in the tabernacle and the putting of that together, the different fabrics, the different types of materials that they would need. What I think is really interesting about this is, let's stop for a

We saw in the first three verses this very serious and severe command. You must rest. Now, as we move on into the subject of giving, bringing an offering to the Lord, the command here is quite different. It is a command. He says in verse 4, this is what the Lord commanded, but check out verse 5. Take from among you an offering to the Lord,

Notice the contrast. Here's the strong, serious, severe command. You must rest. When it comes to the subject of giving, hey, you know, if you want to, if you feel like it, if your heart is willing, here's some things that you can bring and some offerings that you can give.

What a contrast. The freedom to give or not to give that the Lord provides here. Now, the way that sometimes we interpret it in our heads, or perhaps has been interpreted and presented to us is, you know, strong requirement. You must give. Bring offerings. You know, like, serious. This is serious. The Lord's work is going to die if you don't bring offerings.

And you know, if you want to rest, you can go ahead and rest, right? Like sometimes we get it so backwards, but this contrast really illustrates how God works. God does the big heavy things. He does the big heavy things. He accomplishes the great things. The things that he commands to us, of course to us, sometimes they seem heavy and hard, but they're not really. And they're always for our good.

Again, salvation is the great example of this. He did the heavy lifting. He accomplished the full work for us there upon the cross so that for us to experience eternity with him is not, you know, by following some huge, serious, severe command and enduring labor that we must do. No, he did the heavy lifting and the opportunity for us is then to receive that.

The things that he commands us is to receive that heavy work that he did on our behalf. In John 6, verse 29, Jesus says, this is the work of God. 10,000 push-ups a day and prayer for four hours and read your Bible for six hours. No, no, that's not the work of God. What's the work of God? John 6, 29 says that you believe in him whom he sent.

That's the big command. Believe in Jesus. Receive his work on your behalf. What a great picture of this contrast. The Sabbath law, you must rest. Hey guys, we're taking up some collections for the materials needed for the tabernacle. If you want to give, if it's in your heart to give, come on down. We'd love to give you that opportunity to give unto the Lord. Again, the tabernacle instructions have been received.

Moses has got all of the detailed diagrams and instructions from the Lord. Now, where's all the materials for that going to come from? Where are they going to get all the resources for that? And so, to answer that, God gave the congregation the opportunity to contribute.

Again in verse 5, Two times here he points out this is an offering to the Lord. It's a Sabbath to the Lord.

Strong requirement, rest unto the Lord. And now also, hey, if you want to give, you want to do more than just lay in the hammock and rest and receive what the Lord has done. You wanna give from what you have. Well, there's this opportunity to give an offering to the Lord, to return to him what he has provided for you. Now, again, here in verses four through nine, we have a detailed list of the different materials that were needed here.

And as you read through the passage here, here's the understanding. The list is given there in verses 4 through 9. And then the people go home and think about what it is that is needed, what it is that they have, and what it is that they want to give. Check out verse 20 and 21. And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. Then everyone came whose heart was stirred.

Here again, we get some insight, some principles of how God works. God says, go home, think it over, and come back and give what you want to give.

This was not impulsive giving, right? Everybody just give the first thing that comes to your mind. Reach in your pocket, you know, whatever you grab, you know, give that to the Lord. Not that kind of giving.

and not manipulated giving, right? The whole congregation is gathered together. This is a perfect opportunity, Moses. All of them are there. You know, if you give them opportunity to go home, some of them aren't going to come back. And so not as many people are going to give if you do that. So Moses, you know, we really need to apply the pressure, you know, have the ushers lock the back doors or whatever the case might be, right? Like, no, no, no manipulation, no guilt trips, no, you know,

trying to force people to give or cause them to give impulsively. This was, hey guys, here is the list of things that are needed for the tabernacle. There's an opportunity here. Go home, think it over. Notice again in verse 20, all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. They left, they went home. They went back to their tents and then had opportunity to hear from the Lord in that way. And then come back later on,

with whatever they decided at home. Pastor David Guzik says, after Moses asked them to give, he sent them home to decide what they would give. This shows that Moses did not use manipulative techniques, such as asking people to make quick public decisions about their giving. There was no manipulation in Moses's request. Again, this illustrates for us the heart of God, specifically in regards to giving, and

he desires for it to be a willing thing. In fact, over and over and over, you see that emphasized here in this passage. It must be something that is done willingly. In verse 5, he says, And then in verse 21, as the people come back, we see,

Then everyone whose heart was stirred and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord's offering for the work. Then in verse 22, they came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart and brought, and it talks about the different

offerings that they brought. Verse 29, the children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the Lord. All the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the Lord by the hand of Moses had commanded to be done. There was a work that God had commanded, the tabernacle, and although God commanded that the work would be done, the resources for that were received at the generosity of the people of the nation of Israel.

donations that were given, offerings unto the Lord. Now the result of this was quite impressive. As we read on this week, we'll get to Exodus chapter 38, which gives us a little bit of insight of the massive amount of resources that were given. In verse 24, it tells us that there was 29 talents and 730 shekels of gold that was given by the people for the tabernacle.

And then in verse 25, the silver that was given and used for the tabernacle was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels of silver. Now those measurements don't mean a lot to us, but converting those to measurements that we do understand...

Gold that they gave, 29 talents, 730 shekels, works out to be about 2,351 pounds. Now, the measurements and those kinds of things that we find in the scriptures and looking at antiquities and antiquities,

bringing them up to today. There's always a little bit of speculation. There's always a little bit of guesstimation and educated guesses. But the general consensus is that a talent is about 70 pounds. And so working that out, it works out to be about 2,300 pounds of gold that was given based on today's gold rate. I just looked it up right before service. It's a little over $47 million worth of gold if it was given today.

For the silver, it was a little bit more. It was 100 talents plus 1,775 shekels, which works out to about 8,000 pounds or about $2.3 million worth of silver.

today so this is a massive amount of precious metals and this is just the gold and silver there was also bronze and then all the other materials that were required the the point is not so much the value or the weight or what but just that that the response was massive and it was a great turnout as people came back to give and

Now, if the Lord required that, let me put that back on the screen again. And the Lord said, all right, guys, you must bring, you know, this weight in gold and this weight in silver, this weight in bronze. And it was a requirement. Boy, it would be a burdensome command. It would be a heavy command, right? If it was reversed, hey, if you want to rest, go ahead and take a break, but you must bring, you know, that would have been a burdensome thing. But the way that God has it,

The way that God works is the burdensome thing, he's taken care of. The offering, he says, give as your heart's stirred. If you want to, as I minister to you and you minister to me and we walk together and I stir up things in your heart, hey, if your heart's stirred, that's great, give. And the response then is, well, it's a joy. It's a privilege. What a great opportunity to be part of

of the work of God. And this is really the way that God does it, is He opens up the opportunity for you to contribute to His work so that then you did it willingly, right? You did it because your heart was stirred and because you wanted to. And now God can reward you for the gift that you gave and what it accomplished and the way that He used it to accomplish His purposes. And so what a glorious opportunity here for the nation of Israel.

to be able to give to the Lord for the tabernacle. And now as the tabernacle is in use, and it's part of the nation's worship of the Lord, and there's all of this work of God that's resulting, the people get to share in the reward for that and the blessing of that because they gave.

Now they gave this massive amount of gold and silver. Where did this all come from? It was just a few months ago. They were slaves in the nation of Egypt, right? Well, Exodus chapter 12 gives us a little bit of insight. The Lord commanded Moses, hey, tell the people to ask for things and treasures from their neighbors, the Egyptians. Exodus chapter 12, verse 35 and 36. It tells us the people did, the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses.

They asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and clothing, and the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so they granted them what they requested. Thus, they plundered the Egyptians. They plundered them. They were given all of these things because the Lord granted them favor. And again, it highlights for us the way that God works.

God prompted them to receive this and granted them favor to receive this. Then later on, God opened up the opportunity for them to give of all of those things that God had provided for them previously. God provides the resources so that we have opportunity to contribute to his work. And this is the way that God works. When he wants us to contribute to his work,

He gives us opportunity to receive the resources that we will have the opportunity then to contribute to his work. Sometimes this can be a way of discerning when God doesn't want us to contribute to different things that are happening. Because if God hasn't provided the resources, then...

He hasn't called us to contribute. Now, of course, we can use that as a very weak excuse, you know, to keep what we got and not give unto the Lord in the way that he is stirring in our hearts. And of course, if we do that, well, we'll have to wrestle that out with the Lord. But the point is, when you want to serve the Lord, you want to give unto the Lord, you can understand that he gives to you

in a variety of ways. Perhaps he blesses you with surprises. Perhaps he blesses you with the ability to work well and, you know, receive income and raises or whatever the case may be. And so he gives you all the resources so that, well, you have a lot of responsibility and you need to provide for yourself and you need to provide for your family and God wants you to do that. That's part of the reason why he gives you those resources.

But also, God gives you resources so that then you have the opportunity to give back to him. If you want to, give to the Lord willingly. Again, that's the point. It's an offering to the Lord. Now, there is the idea of generosity that you could talk about as charity. And this is not what's happening here, right? But it is an important thing to consider.

Charity in general, there's a way of giving generously to someone who is in need or in some charitable way that's not an offering to the Lord. But it's a gift to the Lord when it's connected with the Lord's instruction and provision and opportunity that he presents. And so there is this opportunity for us and need for us to be generous, but also to be connected to the Lord and to have some influence

From the Lord's instruction. What is it that he wants you to be generous towards? And where does he want you to give and how does he want you to give? I would encourage you to be praying about this and be creative as you apply it. Because so many times, you know, we apply these into just limited contexts.

But this idea of giving unto the Lord doesn't only apply to giving at church or on a church website in this day, right? That's not the limit of this. This kind of offering, it wasn't just limited to that kind of scope, but it can be anything that the Lord puts upon your heart.

Any instruction that the Lord gives you as the Holy Spirit is leading you and he's provided for you. And now here's the opportunity that you can give to whatever it is that God is putting upon your heart. And it's unto the Lord because it's in response to what the Lord is speaking to you. And so give to the Lord willingly. As he leads, as he prompts, God wants it to be a willing response.

a gift because your heart is stirred. Now this is reiterated by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament, 2 Corinthians 9. But I say this, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So that each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. God loves a cheerful giver, not one who gives because they have to give.

If you're grudging, if you're upset about it, you know, listen, sacrificing and giving to the Lord, sometimes it hurts severely. It's sacrifices being made, right? This isn't negating that.

But this is saying, no, I want to make a sacrifice. I want to cut back in my life. I want to take away from this, even though it's going to be hard, even though it's going to be sacrificial, even though it's going to cost me. But as a cheerful giver, I'm able to make that decision, to make that choice, and to give in response to what the Lord has put upon my heart. God promises reward.

You sow sparingly, you reap sparingly. You sow bountifully, you reap bountifully. There's great blessing and reward for those who give in response to what the Lord is saying to their hearts. All right, well, the final thing, as we talk about doing the work of the Lord, first of all, we need to submit to the Lord obediently. Second, we need to give to the Lord willingly. Finally, number three, serve the Lord excellently.

And so for here, we're looking at verses 10 through 19, as well as verses 30 through 35. Let's just look at verse 10 to start off. It says, Verse 11 too, actually. And then it goes on through the rest of verse 19 to...

outline all of the detailed elements of the tabernacle and all of those pieces that were to be manufactured or made by these gifted artisans. So here, again, we get to see some principles of the way that God works. God enables his people to do his work. God enables his people to do his work. Notice in verse 10, it talks about all who are gifted artisans.

Check out verse 25. All the women who were gifted artisans spun yarn with their hands. So it's talking about those who were gifted. Generally speaking, specifically highlighting these women who were gifted at spinning yarn excellently. And then in verse 35, he has filled them with skill to do all manner of work. And it goes on to describe different kinds of works. There was a bunch of different techniques and techniques

things that were required for the tabernacle, engraving and designing. And there was tapestry that had to be made. There was a thread that had to be spun. There was fine linen. There was weaving. There was, you know, all these different elements. And so God says, hey, I've gifted people for this. I've filled them with skill. Verse 34, he says that he's put in the heart of Bezalel the ability to teach the

So not only the ability and the gift to do, but also the ability and the gift to teach others, to bring them alongside, to contribute to the work as well. And so it's calling out to others

Again, verse 10, all who are gifted artisans. So gifted artisans, gifted yarn spinners, gifted assistants, gifted engravers, gifted teachers, you know, all of these giftings that God had given his people to enable them to do the work that he has set before them. This is, again, it's an important principle. God enables his people to do his work. He doesn't expect us to do his work

with our resources and with our limits, right? With only what we have, but he enables us to do the work that he sets before us. And this is true for us today. Listen, God has given you some natural abilities, right?

Some things that you're good at. Your mind is designed for and made for, you know, certain things. And your body is capable of certain things. It's part of your physical design, your physical creation. But then, of course, there's spiritual gifts. And this applies to both of these. God has uniquely created you to think the way that you think, to move the way that you move, to work the way that you work, so that you can do the work of the Lord.

so that you can do the things that he is going to set before you. But then he also gifts you spiritually so that then you are enabled by the Holy Spirit to even go beyond what your natural abilities are to accomplish the work that God has set before you. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 4.10, as each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

As each one has received a gift. And so it's important for you to consider. You have gifts. You have natural abilities. You have talents. And you need to consider, how am I using those to serve the Lord?

How am I using those to honor the Lord and to do the work of the Lord? Again, I would encourage you to think about this and be creative about it. This perhaps could be challenging for online service, right? How many people are involved in a Wednesday evening service right now? Well, primarily, you know, not that many. It's just me here.

There is many other ways to serve the Lord, many other things that God calls you to do. And perhaps, you know, there's going to be new opportunities again in the near future. Sunday mornings, there's definitely opportunities here around the church. But at the same time, again, I would not limit it to this context because you can serve the Lord at home and in your neighborhood and in your workplace. There's things that God calls you to do and has for you.

that go beyond the things that happen here at church. It's important, the service that we do unto the Lord here at church, but it's not the extent of what the Lord calls us to. Paul talks about this as well in Romans chapter 12, having then different gifts, according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. And he gives some examples of prophecy, of ministry, of teaching, ministering, exhortation, giving, you know, all of these different things are things that God gives to his people

so that we are enabled and capable of serving him and participating in his work. There's great variety in the way that God calls us to serve him.

And so search it out. You know, the way that Daniel served the Lord was different than the way that Jeremiah served the Lord. And that was different than the way that Peter served the Lord. And that was different than the way that James served the Lord. And that was different than the way that Elijah served the Lord and Moses served the Lord and Joshua served, like all of them had different works. And most of them, you know, you can see clear examples. It was beyond what took place right around the tabernacle or the temple, right? It was their whole life was a service unto the Lord.

There's great variety, and God has plans for you to participate in his plan. And so seek the Lord for what that is for you. The commentator F.B. Meyer puts it this way, ask the Spirit of God to show you your place and equip you for it. Some sphere will be probably indicated by your natural aptitude,

but be sure that you are filled with the Spirit of God. We can't limit it to just what we're good at naturally, physically, mentally, whatever that case may be. We also need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And what the Holy Spirit enables us to do might be different than what we are naturally inclined to do.

Naturally, I'm not inclined to stand up and talk for an hour. That's just not something that I would do of my own self, but that's what the Holy Spirit has enabled me to do and called me to do, and therefore I do it. But there's, you know, different ways that God works with different people, and so you need to seek the Lord for yourself.

And maybe the Holy Spirit gifting that you have goes right along with your natural gifting and takes you farther and further than you could on your own. Or maybe the Holy Spirit takes you in a new direction and makes it clear that it's not your talent. It's the gifting of the Holy Spirit and enables you in that way. Now, something interesting in verse 10, I would say this. Sometimes the enabled people need to be instructed to show up.

All who are gifted artisans, all who are gifted artisans, right? There are gifted artisans. Some of them might not show up. Moses, all of the gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded. And so everybody's received a gift. Everybody has been enabled by the Lord. Make sure that you show up.

for what it is that God has called you to. There's going to be temptation. There's going to be opportunity for you to hang back. There's going to be opportunity for you to, you know, you know, I'll let other people, you know, take care of those things. God will send someone else. And yes, he will.

But don't miss out on the opportunity to do what God has called you to do. Verse 35, he's filled them with skill to do all the manner of work. God has filled them with skill. I want to finish up this thought here with this understanding that these people are gifted. They're filled with skill. That doesn't mean they're perfect.

And maybe think about it, okay? Bezalel, as he's building all of these different elements of the tabernacle, do you think that it's possible that he made any mistakes? Do you think it's possible that he measured wrong, you know, that something was a cubit and a half wide instead of a cubit wide? And he's like, oh man, I measured that wrong and he had to redo that piece. Listen, I don't see anything here that would preclude that from happening. Now it doesn't say that that happened, but at the same time,

I would say, hey, it's probably likely that he didn't get everything exactly right on the first try. That gifted by the Lord doesn't mean that we're perfect in our execution. That giftings, well, they're developed and they grow with time. And so I would encourage you to consider it that way. Sometimes, you know, we hold ourselves back because we're not perfect at it yet.

But, you know, sometimes what we need is just some practice and some experience. There are lots of gifted people who just lack experience. And skill, right, it says he has filled them with skill. That doesn't mean that they sat there, you know, like the Matrix. They just got plugged in and there's, you know, all this skill. No, they received skill from the Lord as they practiced those arts that they were practicing. Skill comes from practice.

And so I would encourage you to practice. And it's okay if it's not perfect. And if it's not going to, you know, turn out and be the most amazing service unto the Lord that anybody has ever seen at all. Like you give your best. Your best might not be the best, but you can still give your best to the Lord and serve the Lord excellently in regard to, you know, your capabilities and where you're at.

And so when it comes to doing the work of the Lord, we, first of all, need to submit to the Lord obediently. That takes precedence.

We are his servants. And when he wants us to rest, we need to rest. When he wants us to work, we need to work. We need to be responsive to him. Give to the Lord willingly. Let him move your heart. Let him direct you and lead you and show you ways that you can contribute to his plans and purposes and what he wants to do. And then serve the Lord excellently. You have gifts. You have a way to be a part of the work of God in your life that God has established for you. Go do it. Do it to the best of your ability. Do it with all your heart.

do it knowing that it's not going to be perfect the first time, but you'll grow. And as you continue to do it again and again and again and again and again, that you will develop skill and you'll be able to be a great blessing from the Lord to the world around you. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for the opportunity to participate in your work.

I pray, Lord, that you would teach us to submit, Lord, that you would help us to listen to you and allow you to override, Lord, the pressures, the things that we face and all the things that we are thinking. Lord, may your word stand as the standard in our hearts and lives, that we would obey you and follow you and listen to what you have to say.

God, I pray that you would move upon our hearts. Teach us, Lord, to be generous with the resources that you have provided, Lord, that we'd be able to give to those opportunities that you present before us. Lord, not every opportunity is an opportunity you want us to participate in. Lead us by your spirit. Help us to go home, to think about it, to allow you to stir our hearts, and then respond as you speak to us.

And God, as you have given us opportunity to serve, Lord, if that's not clear for any of us, I pray, God, that you'd bring clarity, that you would show by your spirit ways that we can step into your work and your plans and accomplish things for you and for your glory, to honor you and serve you

again, with what you've given to us in the area of our natural abilities, with our spiritual gifts. Lord, may we give those back to you by contributing to your work and participating in your plan. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.