“Not Ready Until Consecrated” – FBC Morning Light (2/9/2024)

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Well, a good Friday morning to you. So here we are looking forward to the weekend again, and looking forward to gathering as God's people on the

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Lord's Day. I hope you're planning to do so, and look forward to hearing what

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God has for us, and look forward to giving to God what pleases Him, the sacrifice of our lips with praise unto the

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Lord, the response to His Word with submission and obedience.

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I hope we're looking forward to the Lord's Day. Well today in our Bible reading, we're finishing up the book of Exodus, reading chapters 37 to 40, and we're reading how all of the components that went into the tabernacle and the worship of the

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Lord in that Old Testament tabernacle setting were finally completed. And you have a summary of that work as it was completed in chapter 39, verses 32 through the end of the chapter.

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And it's emphasized that the work was completed. Notice, verse 32 says, all the work of the tabernacle of the

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Tent of Meeting was finished, and the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded

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Moses. So they did. And then it says they brought all the pieces together, the components of the tabernacle, and verse 42, it says, according to all that the

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Lord had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work. And then

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Moses looked over all the work, and indeed, they had done it, as the Lord had commanded, just so they had done it.

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So here are all these different components that were involved in the tabernacle and the worship, what would be the worship of God, all of the skirting, the tent, the sides, the bases, the pillars, the posts, the coverings of the tent, the tent coverings, the

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Ark of the Testimony, the table, all the utensils of the table, the table of showbread, the lampstand, the utensils for the oil for light, the gold altar, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, the bronze altar, the hangings for the court, its pillars and sockets, and so forth, and all the garments for ministry that Aaron and the priests would have to wear, all of these things were, all of them were made exactly according to the specifications that God gave to them.

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All were done perfectly as God designed. But here's the thing, they still weren't ready to be used.

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Why not? You come to chapter 40 and you find out. In chapter 40, the

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Lord spoke to Moses and says, on the first day of the month, you're going to set up, the first day of the first month, you're going to set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, you're going to put everything in its place, and so on and so forth.

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And then finally, you get down to verse 9, and it says, you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and you shall hallow it and its utensils, it shall be holy.

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You shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils and consecrate the altar, the altar shall be most holy.

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And you shall anoint the laver and the base and consecrate it. And then, you shall bring

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Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle, the priests, and wash them with water, you'll put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him, consecrate him, that he may minister as a priest to me.

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You shall bring his sons, clothe them with tunics, and you shall anoint them as you anointed their father, that they may minister to me as priests for their anointing shall be surely an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.

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Thus Moses did according to all that the Lord commanded him, the first day of the first month they did all of this, they anointed all of the components of the tabernacle, they anointed the high priest, they anointed the priest, and verse 33 says, so Moses finished the work, and then, verse 34, the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the

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Lord filled the tabernacle. Then the tabernacle was ready. It was ready for the service unto the

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Lord, when everything was anointed, everything was consecrated unto the

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Lord. Now, I point out all of that and emphasize all of that for one specific reason.

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In the New Testament, Romans chapter 12, just as here in Exodus chapter 40, once the consecration occurred, once the anointing oil was poured upon the priests and it was sprinkled on all of these different components, from that point forward, all of it was holy to the

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Lord for his service. It was wholly dedicated to him for his service.

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I want to remind you what Romans 12, verses 1 and 2 tell us.

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You remember in the book of Romans, Paul elaborated on the glorious message of the gospel and justification by grace alone through faith alone and God's sovereign calling of people to himself and saving sinners and bringing them to himself.

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But to what end? Paul writes, Romans 12, therefore, I beseech you by the mercies of God, present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto

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God, which is your reasonable service, your spiritual service, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good, acceptable, that perfect will of God.

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Consecrate yourselves, Paul tells us in Romans 12, dedicate yourself wholly unto the

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Lord, your entire being, dedicate yourself unto him that you might be holy in his service.

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What a wonderful picture this is in the Old Testament, but what a great challenge it is to us in the New, isn't it?

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We are called by God to serve him, to love him, to live for him.

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It is our reasonable service to consecrate ourselves to him for that purpose.

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May we do so. Our Father and our God, thank you for this challenge today, how we need it, and I pray that each of us would have the desire of our hearts to be consecrated wholly unto you for your service, we pray in Jesus' name and for his sake, amen.

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All right, well listen, have a wonderful Friday, a wonderful weekend, and may God bless you as you gather with his people for worship and service of him on the