Stirred To Work

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