A Generosity that flows from experiencing the beuty and Mercy of God (Clint's Addition)
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Generosity
Generosity
Intro:
Hello, I’m Clint. Studying through Exodus.
Three parts, The Deliverance, the Wandering, At Sinai and beyond
Instructions for the Tabernacle. Glassy Eyed, so good. Because its about a God who wants to be present with his people.
Right now, today, right here in the Twin Ports, God is inviting us, you and I, to participate with him, making room for his presence, bearing his name…
Like Israel, we are invited to bear the name of Yahweh by becoming a kingdom of priests, a set-apart, holy people among all the other people in the Twin Ports, so that the everyone can see the character, the image of God…
and there are very specific and encouraging things we can learn from this moment with Israel beside Mt Sinai…
Read the passage-SLIDE
Exodus 25:1–9 NIV1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give. 3 These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; 4 blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; 5 ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather; acacia wood; 6 olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 7 and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. 8 “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. 9 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.
Yahweh invites everyone to participate, and we get to choose our level of involvement (Slide)
25:2 “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give.
God who created us, seems to honor our agency, he allows us to decide our level of engagement.
Remember, he is entering into a covenant relationship with us. Healthy relationships have an element of give-n-take, shared expectations and commitments. We are not enslaved, we get to choose whom we serve (Bob Dylan's reminder, You Gotta Serve Somebody, is so fitting).
This invitation is for our own benefit; we are better off when we follow the way God has designed our lives to function. And yet, he allows us to decide.
We have a choice in this church community to engage, or watch from the sidelines. It's your choice how much relationship you want.
We will always be offering opportunities to engage, and we have a commitment to never try to manipulate you into being involved. Over the years some folks have asked us to stop offering opportunities, because they felt guilty for not being involved more. "I'm really sorry you feel guilty. And I'm never going to stop offering opportunities for your growth, your transformation, deeper relationships, and opportunities to love your neighbor as yourself.”
And let me say this clearly: some of you are involved in other organizations outside of the Vineyard…WAY TO GO! I think we need to be involved in every organization we possibly can in the greater Twin Ports. We get to bring the power and presence of the resurrected Christ everywhere we go, and we should go everywhere. And think of this community, this church, as the family that supports and encourages and empowers and helps to sustain us along the way.
In fact, we're beginning to build a list of all the other places our community serves so that we can specifically pray for and encourage and train each other to do amazing work throughout the community. If you want to fill out the connect form and tell us where you serve, we'd love it!!
So everyone got invited to participate…
Let's skip to the end at look at the result of this request for an offering…
Exodus 36:3–7 NIV3 They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. 4 So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing 5 and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done.” 6 Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, 7 because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.
This might be the only time in the history of God's people that the leaders had to ask the people to stop contributing! You have no idea how many times I’ve prayed to have this be my problem!
What is it that most impacts our generosity?
I think its our personal experience with the love/grace/mercy/beauty of God. The Israelites had been in Egypt for 400 years, and the brutality of the slavery, the mistreatment they experienced had gotten quite intense—remember after Moses was born, all the baby boys were being systematically killed?
They're generosity is a direct result of their experience of an amazing rescue!!!
This reminds me of a time Jesus was at a Pharisee's house? SLIDE
Luke 7:36–50 NIV36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” 40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. 41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. 44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” 48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
That story kinda speaks for itself. What about you? I remember what my life was like before meeting the resurrected Christ. I remember the experience of believing that this life was all there was. I clearly remember what life was like with very little faith/hope/love in my tank.
I love reading about how, when the Holy Spirit gave birth to the church early in the book of Acts—generosity erupted! Generosity, it turns out, is a telltale mark of the presence of God in the church…
Acts 2:44–45 NIV44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
…and we keep seeing generosity expressed by the church as it spread throughout the Roman empire…
2 Corinthians 8:1–5 NIV1 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.
How does this apply to us?
My job as a pastor is not to try to coerce you into giving…not at all. My job is to help you experience the grace/love/mercy/beauty of God in such a way that your imagination and desires are captivated, that you experience transformation at the deepest levels, and then, through the leadership of the Holy Spirit, you become the kind of person, who, in covenant relationship with God, you are able to bear his name alongside us to the rest of the world!
"…from everyone whose heart prompts them to give."
What needs to be transformed in your heart…what healing needs to happen at the deepest part of your being…what perspectives or paradigms need adjusting…what transformation needs to take place for you to participate in a god-like extravagant generosity? The kind of generosity that actually reflects the love/grace/mercy/beauty of God?
And you want to know what's really cool about this…
God has already provided everything we'll need
The raw materials
Do you ever wonder where they got all of these precious metals, the precious stones, the expensive colored fabric and all the other stuff necessary to build this crazy tabernacle? The Egyptians gave it all to them for free when they escaped!
Look at the collection of what they’ve got: gold, silver, bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices, onyx other gems.
There is a Hebrew word, tach-ash, that no one has ever really know how to translate—in this translation we have “another type of durable leather.” Depending on your translation you might read: badger skin, goatskin, hides of sea cows, manatee skins, narwhal even porpoise or dolphin skins! Nobody really knows what kind of leather that was, but I’m pretty sure the tabernacle was dolphin free, just like your tuna!
Remember Yahweh telling Moses that the Egyptians were going to provide all this stuff way back at the burning bush…
Exodus 3:21–22 NIV21 “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”
Right before the last plague, the death of the firstborn, Yahweh gives them this reminder:
Exodus 11:1–3 NIV1 Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. 2 Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.” 3 (The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.)
and then immediately after the death of the firstborn…
Exodus 12:35–36 NIV35 The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. 36 The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.
I love the way God knows what we need long before we need it. There were probably several moments along the way when Moses and the rest of Israel were so focused on surviving in the trenches that they forget about or just completely doubted God’s promised provision.
He gives us the raw materials, and he has a detailed Plan
A detailed plan
So they’ve got all the raw materials, and God is showing Moses exactly what to do with it all, what the tabernacle supposed to look like, and how its meant to be used.
Remember that Moses is on Mt Sinai, peering through the sky-dome and seeing something of what God’s throne room looks like.
Exodus 24:9–10 NIV9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky.
So much of this section is detailed verbal blueprints of things [I think] Moses is actually seeing—this is utterly crazy.
God’s provided the raw materials, and a detailed plan. They are not on their own, wandering around in the wilderness just trying to make something up…
You may not realize it, but the Holy Spirit has been leading the church in much the same way for a couple of thousand years, in every country, in people group after people group—just like this.
One of the reason I love to read biographies of men and women who followed Jesus, is because I need reminded, over and over again, of God’s faithfulness to reveal himself and lead his people throughout history. And he’s completely faithful today!
In the context of community
And it always involves the community of God’s people. God doesn’t show Moses stuff just for Mo. And there’s no way Moses can collect or make or do all the stuff he’s being shown. We can’t follow God independently—
I don’t know if you know this about us, but we are part of a much larger, very healthy organizational structure. When we encounter difficulties, as every church does, we have a healthy organizational structure to rely on both here locally, and throughout the country, and even around the world. There are people I can call. There are people our leaders can reach out to. There is support and help and people who love us…and it works!
That’s why we have the small group, and leadership structure we do here…all of us need healthy community, and we need to be healthy community for others. If you’re not currently a part of a small group or ministry area here in our church, can I plead with you to change that? It’s still up to you!
All the raw materials were given to them, the community was given to them, and
Skilled Craftspeople
God gives them all the skills necessary to build this thing
One of my favorite passages in this section…
Exodus 31:1–11 NIV1 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. 6 Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you: 7 the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent—8 the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, 9 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand—10 and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, 11 and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you.”
God has specifically chosen and gifted specific people with specific abilities for the different kinds of work—artists, craftsmen, builders, priests…God has given gifts of creativity, skill, ability, knowledge, craftsmanship
God is highlighting to Moses the specific people who have the abilities to do the work! Remember those somewhat weird artistic folks who were always making “creative” bricks?
I don’t think they just woke up one morning with a bunch of new skills…God seldom works that way. I'm willing to bet they had been developing these skills throughout their lives…and they might have been quite frustrated at only making Egyptian bricks a few months ago.
I think that in every church, right here in our church community, God has given all the necessary raw materials and skills to accomplish absolutely anything he invites us to do. Everything we need is right here. It might not be fully developed, but its here. And our job is to simply say yes, and to put our skills to work!
I’ve been around the church for a few years, and I’ve noticed how the people who are spotting the problems, are often the people in whom God has placed the skills to help solve the same problems. We may need lots of character development, and skill refinement; we may desperately need to grow in emotional and spiritual maturity—and we may be those God is inviting into growth so that he can use us to lead and serve the community well.
there’s so much more I could say about that, but consider this…
God is inviting them to build a tabernacle that is gratuitously beautiful
We might even be tempted to say that its unnecessarily beautiful…
Come on… They are using lots of valuable resources to craft this stunningly beautiful place in the middle of a wilderness camping trip.
In creation, God does something unnecessarily extravagantly beautiful. What we see around us, and what we see in one another is a gratuitous gift of God…
Therefore one of the things beauty does is that it draws us closer to God—the presence of beauty draws us towards God, whether we’re aware of it or not, and whether or not the artist intended it. Why?
God is not just a source of beauty, God is beauty (Art + Faith, by Makoto Fujimura
In anything we recognize as beautiful, that beauty of a reflection of the one who is beauty. The life of Jesus—astonishing beauty.
The presence of beauty directs our attention towards God. The beauty of art and music and dance, the beauty of an amazing meal, the beauty of healthy relationships, even in the most difficult of circumstances…
And don’t forget the purpose or it all—Worship
The tabernacle was the embodiment of the presence of God in their midst. by building this they are effectively welcoming the presence of God into their midst.