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A brief bit of encouragement for the journey from God's Word. Today's Scripture reading: Exodus 35-36 / Mark 3 / Psalm 31
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Music: "Awaken the Dawn" by Stanton Lanier https://www.stantonlanier.com CCLI #20109360
Well good morning,
I'd like to encourage you today from Exodus chapters 35 and 6 to think about how you are involved in the
Lord's work. There's a couple of different ways that, a couple different very broad categories of involvement that are brought out in chapter 35 and then into chapter 36, and one of them is a way that we can all relate to, and sometimes even good people get a little weary of hearing about it, and that is the giving of our resources.
The Lord's work requires generous -hearted people to contribute of their material resources for the sake of that work.
Now we see this in the offerings that are needed for the tabernacle in Exodus 35, as Moses spoke in verse 4 to the 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, and then he goes on itemizing a bunch of things that are needed, gold, silver, bronze, blue, purple, scarlet, thread, fine linen, goat's hair, ram skins dyed red, badger skins, acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod in the breastplate.
All kinds of important and valuable materials.
But notice the attitude with which the Lord wants these materials offered to him.
He says in verse 5, whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the
Lord. Of a willing heart. The Lord wants his people to give of their resources for the sake of his work, but he doesn't want it given because they feel like their arm is twisted, and they are constrained, like they have to do it.
No, no, no, no. God wants his people to see that his work requires practical, mundane, physical, material resources in order for it to exist, and he wants those people to say,
I want to give, I want to help in this. And so their heart is willingly involved.
But there's more. God doesn't want just the giving of our financial or material resources for the sake of his work.
He wants us to get to use our skills and our talents for his work as well. You see this in the next several verses, in verse 10 of chapter 35, it says, all who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the
Lord has commanded. And then he itemizes all the different things that the Lord has commanded to be made.
Well, for these things to be made it requires people who have the skill and the ability to make those things.
Now we saw the other day with Bezalel, who was going to, you know, be in charge of the making of these materials, that God's Spirit filled him for those tasks.
And indeed he does, he uses his people, by his Spirit's enablement, uses
God's people to give of their talents and their abilities, their skills, for the sake of the work of the ministry.
Now, this isn't just an Old Testament thing that has to do with the construction of the tabernacle, and the building of materials for the tabernacle.
These same principles carry over into the New Testament. I'm not going to look at any passages specifically about financially giving.
We did so not long ago, I think, when we talked about, I think maybe even in, it may have been a couple months ago now, when we talked about Paul's principles for giving in 2nd
Corinthians. But what I want to zero in on is in 1st
Peter, chapter 4, verse 10. And it says this, but as each one has received a gift, a spiritual gift, that spiritual gift can be some of those that are specifically itemized in a couple of different passages.
It can be the gift of your skill or talent that the Lord has given you, that you have honed and developed and used over the years.
But anyway, he says this, as each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
Look, as a child of God, he has graced you, gifted you, with resources and abilities that you could use for God's glory in his work.
Are you doing that? Are you using those things for him? I want to encourage you to do so.
Our Father and our God, we thank you for your grace and the way that you gift your people financially, materially, as well as practically, with our abilities and skills and talents and gifts.
Help us to use these things for your glory in your service, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. All right, well listen, have a good rest of your day.