THE WILLING HEART OF WORSHIP
Exodus 25:1-8 (KJV)
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.
And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,
And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair,
And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,
Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,
Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.
And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
Turn with me also to,
2 Corinthians 9:1-7 (KJV)
For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you:
For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many.
Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready:
Lest haply if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting.
Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness.
But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
And, if you will, please read out loud with me verse 7
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
One of the more common misunderstandings people have concerning the Bible is that there is this huge chasm between the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Like,
· The Old Testament was written to the Jews and ONLY applies to them so that
· The New Testament is written to today’s churches and THAT’S the only thing we should study.
There are differences between God’s promises to Israel and His promises to New Testament Christians and, in order to rightly divide the Word of Truth, we need to understand and acknowledge them.
· Israel was not the church in the Old Testament and
· Today’s churches are not Israel in the New Testament
The Bible, from beginning to end, is a flow of revelation as our unchanging God gives to us, line upon line, His plan for the redemption of man.
What is true of God:
· Must be as true in Matthew as it is in Malachi
· Must be as true in Luke as it is in Leviticus and
· Must be as true in 1 Corinthians as it is in 1 Kings
We find a demonstration of this hermeneutical law in the texts we open this message with.
God loves the cheerful giver.
· He loves them in the New Testament era we now inhabit
· He loved then in the Old Testament era of Moses and Israel in the wilderness
People today like to point out how that in the Old Testament religion was about the law, but that in the New Testament it’s all about grace.
The fact is, there was grace in the Old Testament.
There was grace in the Old Testament and
There are commands in the New Testament
John 3:7b (KJV)
… Ye must be born again.
Is not an option.
It’s this or else.
Jesus said, John 14:6 (KJV)
… I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Acts 4:12 (KJV)
…. for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
It’s not optional.
Trust Jesus for salvation or else.
What I am trying to say is that God has not changed at all.
Our understanding of His eternal plan is clearer today, but the plan has never changed.
With that in mind then, I want to show you how God blesses His people.
Israel was in the wilderness.
· They were alone
· They were without a country
· They knew God, but they had not had any form of organized way to worship him for more than 400 years.
God gave them a program for worship.
He gave them a pattern for their tabernacle and
He gave them a plan to be close to Him
Notice firstly
I. GOD SAID IT
Exodus 25:1-8 (KJV)
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.
And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,
And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair,
And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,
Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,
Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.
And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
It all begins right here, with the Bible.
Someone said this week, “I don’t get what the big deal about the Bible is.”
His question had to do with why we make such a big deal out of saying that the Bible is perfect, that it has no mistakes and that God has preserved it perfectly for us.
· One guy likes the New International Version
· Another guy likes the English Standard Version and
· We all like the King James Version
What does it matter?
What matters is, Did God say it or not?
Moses came down from the mountain with some very specific instructions, didn’t he?
Exodus 25:1-8 (KJV)
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.
And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,
And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair,
And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,
Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,
Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.
And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
The offering was supposed to be
Gold and silver and brass
The offering was supposed to be
Blue and purple and scarlet
The offering was supposed to be
Fine linen and goat’s hair
The offering was supposed to be
Ram’s skins dyed red, badger’s skins and shittim wood
The offering was supposed to be
Oil for light, spices for anointing and sweet incense
The offering was supposed to be
Onyx stones and stones to be set in the ephod and breastplate
The offering was supposed to be
To make a sanctuary
And
The offering was supposed to be
given willingly with the heart.
Do you suppose when God said blue, He might have meant green?
Is it possible when God said gold, He really meant platinum?
The details of God’s Word matter.
God said it.
Further then,
II. MOSES PREACHED IT
Exodus 35:4-20 (KJV)
And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying,
Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass,
And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair,
And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,
And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense,
And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate.
And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded;
The tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets,
The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering,
The table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread,
The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light,
And the incense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle,
The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,
The hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court,
The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords,
The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office.
And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.
What we find then in this passage is Moses’ delivering to the people of Israel the message that God gave to him on Mt Sinai.
Notice especially Exodus 35:5-9 (KJV)
Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass,
And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair,
And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,
And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense,
And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate.
Moses preached the message exactly as God had given it.
· The gold was gold
· The silver was silver
· The blue was blue
And the offering was to come from a willing heart.
He preached exactly what God gave him to preach.
Now, I do notice that Moses’ message is longer than what he got on the Mount.
He’s not adding to the Word of God but following another Biblical principle for the preacher.
Nehemiah 8:4-8 (KJV)
And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:
And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.
So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
The preacher’s job is to help the children of God by
A. Telling them exactly what God said
We read the Bible to you.
We urge you to open your own Bible and see for yourself that is what it says.
B. Giving the sense so they understand the reading
We read what it says and then
We explain what it says.
How to get in on God’s blessings:
God said it
Moses preached it
And then notice,
III. THE CONGREGATION OBEYED IT
Exodus 35:21-29 (KJV)
And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD'S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.
And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD.
And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them.
Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD'S offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it.
And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.
And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair.
And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;
And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.
The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.
· Every one whose heart stirred him and
· Everyone whom his spirit made willing
They brought.
Notice what they brought
· They brought gold
· The brought silver
· They brought brass
· They brought blue
· They brought purple
· They brought scarlet
· They brought fine linen and goat’s hair
· They brought rams’ skins dyed red and badgers’ skins and shittim wood
· They brought onyx stones for the ephod and breastplate
· They brought oil for the light and spices for sweet incense
And they brought it all with a willing heart.
Conclusion
God said it
Moses preached it and
The congregation obeyed it
· God told them exactly what He required of them
· Moses faithfully explained God’s Word to them and
· They willingly obeyed what had been taught to them
This is the New Testament pattern for revival demonstrated in the Old Testament Law.
· Everyone gave different things
· Everyone gave different amounts
· Everyone gave at different times
Everyone gave willingly.
And by the time they were finished with the tabernacle, the glory of God dwelt among them.
Do you want God’s blessings, God’s glory in your life?
· God tells us how in the Bible
· God uses preaching like this to explain it to us and
· God expects that we will obey His word willingly and from the heart.
Was there anyone who didn’t give with a willing heart?
The Bible doesn’t tell us here, but I suspect there was.
· Those who murmured and were bitten of snakes
· Those like Korah, who rebelled against Moses and Aaron and were destroyed by God
God doesn’t force anyone to obey His Word.
But God’s blessing only rests on those who do obey and that with a willing heart.
Because God loveth a cheerful giver.
Let’s Pray
Preached at BBC Puyallup 2-9-20
[1] Hebrews 13:8 (KJV)
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Malachi 3:6 (KJV)
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
[2] Genesis 6:8 (KJV)
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
[3] Genesis 19:19 (KJV)
Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:
[4] Exodus 33:12 (KJV)
And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.
[5] Ezra 9:8 (KJV)
And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.
[6] Jeremiah 31:2 (KJV)
Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.
[7] Zechariah 12:10 (KJV)
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
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