Chico Alliance Church
Pastor David Welch
“Stirred to Work”
Introduction
The Bible records many building projects inspired by the Lord.
Since the beginning of matter and space and time in the universe, God has blended the physical world with the immaterial spiritual world.
Adam enjoyed perfect spiritual communion with God and yet found expression of character and devotion to God through responsibilities in the physical world.
He walked with God in a physical garden in the cool of the day.
He served God by cultivating the garden and using his intellect and interaction with the creatures of the garden.
God tested his loyalty by prohibiting indulgence of a particular physical tree in the garden.
Jesus entered a physical world with a physical body and physical challenges and demonstrated authority over both the physical and spiritual dimensions of life.
Loyalty and commitment are demonstrated by physical acts and sacrifices of personal physical resources and possessions.
God demonstrates blessing both in the physical and spiritual dimensions.
God asks us to do and give physical things as a demonstration of our devotion.
Today we are here to serve the Lord by engaging in a physical activity.
Although relationship with God arises out of the spiritual dimension and is basically immaterial, expression and interaction with God manifests on a physical plane as well.
We stand, we sing, we speak, we pray, we work, we do, we raise our hands, we kneel.
All these are physical activities intended to express a spiritual reality.
This whole re-carpeting and remodeling project is hopefully to demonstrate our care God’s property.
We want things to look God for the glory of God.
We want people who come here to know that we care about God’s stuff.
Sunday is a great day to do it.
Keeping a Sabbath does not mean absence of work.
Isaiah 58 is clear that the Sabbath is for devoting our energies for God’s things.
"If because of the Sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word, then you will take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." Isaiah 58:13-14
Many think that the Sabbath is to do no work and sit around watching the football game on the tube.
No, the Sabbath is for focusing on God’s stuff.
You say God doesn’t care about buildings. I think the Bible indicates he does. God has directed more than one building project.
I want to share just briefly a sequence of events that shows that God cares about how things look.
Background
God chose Israel to be His special people. They grew into a formidable nation though small. After years of bondage to the Egyptian empire, God answered their cries for deliverance and miraculously lead them on a journey to a parcel of land promised long before to their ancestor Abraham. There was much to learn along the way about fidelity and trust and the faithfulness of God. God brought them to Mt Sinai where Moses ascended the mountain and received the covenant and instructions that would guide them and become a superior way of life. While Moses met with God and received the covenant, the people grew impatient and came up with their own way and decided on their own way of worship.
God sent Moses down to confront the rebellious raucous crowd.
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. "They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, 'This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!' " The LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. "Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation." Exodus 32:7-10
Moses powerfully interceded for the people rather than allow God to start over with his descendents. “Children of Moses” rather than the “children of Abraham”.
Moses confronted the people and God brought judgment on the ones who refused to declare their allegiance to the one true God.
Moses returned up the mountain to again passionately intercede.
On the next day Moses said to the people, "You yourselves have committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the LORD, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin." Then Moses returned to the LORD, and said, "Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. "But now, if You will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!" The LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. "But go now, lead the people where I told you. Behold, My angel shall go before you; nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin." Then the LORD smote the people, because of what they did with the calf which Aaron had made. Exo 32:30-35
God reaffirmed his intention to keep his promise to bring them into the Promised Land but announced that He would not let his personal presence be known among them.
The people repented and Moses pled on behalf of the people again.
Then Moses said to the LORD, "See, You say to me, 'Bring up this people!' But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me. Moreover, You have said, 'I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.' "Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people." And He said, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest." Then he said to Him, "If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. "For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?" Exodus 33:12-16
What will distinguish us from other organizations upon the face of the earth? The presence of God!
Moses asked God for a new encounter and deeper realization of His brilliance, His glory. God responded by showing Himself to Moses in a most powerful and life-changing way. After sin came repentance and intercession and fresh perception of God. Then God was ready to commission a temporary and portable temple called the tabernacle filled with spiritual symbolism and a place where earthly and heavenly met together.
God carefully prescribed every aspect of this physical representation of the heavenly temple. How would this building project be accomplished?
The call to the congregation of people in verses 1-19 of Exodus 25 was two fold.
Moses called for those with WILLING HEARTS to contribute necessary materials.
Then he lists all kinds of possible contributions.
Moses called for those with INSPIRED SKILLS to make the raw material into items for worship.
In verse 20…
Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel departed from Moses' presence.
And everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him came and brought the LORD'S contribution for the work of the tent of meeting and for all its service and for the holy garments.
Then all whose hearts moved them, both men and women, came and brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and bracelets, all articles of gold; so did every man who presented an offering of gold to the LORD. And every man, who had in his possession blue and purple and scarlet material and fine linen and goats' hair and rams' skins dyed red and porpoise skins, brought them.
Everyone who could make a contribution of silver and bronze brought the LORD'S contribution; and every man, who had in his possession acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it.
All the necessary material for the project began to flow in. It was a move of God on their hearts and a stirring in their spirit to work the works of God and invest in the construction of this place of worship.
Not only were the ones called to give of their resources stirred to participate, but God also stirred both men and women with the skills to fashion the resources into specified worship elements.
And all the skilled women spun with their hands, and brought what they had spun, in blue and purple and scarlet material and in fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred with a skill spun the goats' hair. And the rulers brought the onyx stones and the stones for setting for the ephod and for the breastpiece; and the spice and the oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense.
They did not lack for the necessary material because those moved by God responded.
The Israelites, all the men and women, whose heart moved them to bring material for all the work, which the LORD had commanded through Moses to be done, brought a freewill offering to the LORD.
God also moved among the men
Then Moses said to the sons of Israel, "See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. "And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding and in knowledge and in all craftsmanship; to make designs for working in gold and in silver and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, so as to perform in every inventive work.
God moved in hearts both to work and to teach.
"He also has put in his heart to teach, both he and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. "He has filled them with skill to perform every work of an engraver and of a designer and of an embroiderer, in blue and in purple and in scarlet material, and in fine linen, and of a weaver, as performers of every work and makers of designs.
So what was the result of this mighty move of God?
Chapter 36 wonderfully outlines the results for us.
Verse one repeats the mandate to work according to God’s specific design not man’s.
Verses 2-7 recounts the response of those stirred to give.
Then Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every skillful person in whom the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him, to come to the work to perform it. And they received from Moses all the contributions which the sons of Israel had brought to perform the work in the construction of the sanctuary. And they still continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning. And all the skillful men who were performing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work which he was performing, and they said to Moses, "The people are bringing much more than enough for the construction work which the LORD commanded us to perform." So Moses issued a command, and a proclamation was circulated throughout the camp, saying, "Let neither man nor woman any longer perform work for the contributions of the sanctuary." Thus the people were restrained from bringing any more. For the material they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the work, to perform it.
Notice that many took on extra work in order to have something to contribute. There developed such a passion for the work among the people that more than enough came in to fund the divine project.
God could have used other means but chose to stir hearts to sacrificially invest in the work. The blending of man’s investment according to God’s direction and inspiration results in a place where God’s presence becomes overwhelming.
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Exodus 40:34-35
I want this place to look great for the glory of God.
I want more that God inspires and stirs our hearts to serve Him by investing time and energy and resources in God’s place and purposes. There is great value in personal investment on a physical level.
Jesus clearly taught the treasure principle.
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21
The investment of our treasure in eternal things demonstrates our heart for God.
Jesus rebuked the man who decided to invest his treasure in the temporal things of this earth.
"Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry." ' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?' "So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." Luke 12:18-21
Our heart and devotion follow wherever we choose to invest of our physical resources or what we deem important to us.
Buy some shares in Microsoft or Costco and then observe how much more interested you become in those companies.
When we choose to invest what is important to us in a cause or a place, we begin to feel a sense of ownership and responsibility.
Many people easily leave a church family because they never sacrificially invest their physical resources in that church family.
I challenge you today to invest yourself in this family.
Today, I ask you to give of your physical energy and time.
Tomorrow, invest your finances, your time, your prayers, your physical skills, your help, your ideas, your gifts, your words of encouragement to the things that count for eternity.
Volunteer until every job is covered.
Give until every ministry, repair and improvement project is financed.
Pray until every dream is realized.
Share until every member moves closer to God.
Minister until every need is met.
By doing so you will store up treasure in a place where no one will be able to diminish its value.
My prayer is that you will open you heart.
My prayer is that God will stir hearts to meet the needs and opportunities that lie before us.
My prayer is that we will discover the joy of investing our treasure in heaven where no one or no thing will ever diminish its expression of our devotion to our Lord and Savior.
God stirs people to give their lives to things that matter so that their hearts will be gripped with things that last.
Remember, one day everyone’s work will be evaluated.
Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 1 Cor. 3:12-15
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Cor. 15:58
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. 2 Thes. 2:16-17
