And the title of my message this
evening is A FINISHED WORK. A FINISHED WORK. You know, we
went through the tabernacle and all the furniture and people's
names that did the work. And then through Exodus 35 in
chapter 40, chapter 35 to chapter 40, there's several things. in these chapters I haven't mentioned
before. And I believe that these things
that hopefully will speak to us, and speak to us. Now we're
down to the last six chapters. And here's the first thing, you
know, we'll deal with these things in these six chapters tonight,
just going over a little, keep your Bibles handy, we'll look
at different things. But first of all, we have a Sabbath
rest. A Sabbath rest. and the people
bring to Moses in these verses that I'm going to read tonight
the materials required for the building for the tabernacle and
thirdly the doing of the work by those appointed the making
of the furniture and all to do with the tabernacle all to do
with it and then they set the tabernacle up and then God's
glory fill in that house in Israel's midst You know in chapter 25-31 is
the description of the tabernacle as God gave it to Moses. And
here in chapter 35-39 it tells us what was actually made according
to the pattern that God gave to Moses. So this double account
tells us what God plans and what he purposes will be accomplished. He gave him a pattern come down
off the mountain with a pattern and then that pattern and everything
about it was made perfect according to that pattern. So God's will
and God's purpose and when God gives a pattern and tells somebody
to do something it's going to be done. His will is going to
be accomplished. His purposes will be accomplished. Now you
know the children of Israel and here's another thing and I will
deal with all these things tonight. God helping But in Exodus 35,
21 through 39, the children of Israel, they bring an offering
and they bring it unto the Lord. They give of their substance.
And then in chapter 36, the actual work begins. But before anything's
ever done, before anything's ever done, They have to enter
into a Sabbath rest under the Lord. No work to be done until
you have a rest first. You start out resting. Look here
in chapter 35 with me in 1 through 3. And Moses gathered all the congregation
of the children of Israel together and said unto them, These are
the words which the Lord hath commanded that you should do.
You know, God doesn't ask people to do anything. He just doesn't
do it. He commands people to do it.
He commands them to do it. In every place you find, the
Lord said or the Lord commanded. And he says this, and this is
God's commandment, six days shall work be done, but on the seventh
day there shall be to you in holy day a Sabbath of rest to
the Lord. Whosoever doeth any work therein
shall be put to death. You shall kindle no fire throughout
your habitations upon the Sabbath day. And before anybody can ever
bring an offering to him, or bring anything to Him, or do
any service to Him, you got the first receive from Him. And this
Sabbath rest that he's talking about is typical of our Lord
Jesus Christ. When God rested the Sabbath day
because the work was finished, He didn't rest because He was
tired. And beloved, we have to start out just like they do,
resting in the Lord Jesus Christ. That Sabbath rest is typical
of the rest in Christ. Keep Exodus 35 and look in Hebrews
chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4. This is the,
you know, you got to start out with a rest. That's the thing
that we do. We start out with a rest. Start out with a rest. And here it says, you know, in
verse 4, excuse me, verse 3 of Hebrews 4. For we which have
believed do enter into rest. We enter into it. We enter into
it. As he said, as I've sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter
into my rest. Although the works were finished
from the foundation of the world. We rest in a work that's been
finished from the foundation of the world. We start out with
a rest. And he says and all goes down
here and says this. Verse 6 seeing therefore it remaineth
there some must enter therein they to whom it was first preached
entering to this rest Entered not in because of unbelief and
down in verse 8 look what it says here, and it says Jesus
here He's talking about Joshua Joshua, when they went into Canaan,
for if Joshua had given them rest, then would he not have
afterwards spoken of another day? There remaineth therefore
a rest to the people of God. And that means keeping of a Sabbath.
For he that is entered into his rest, whose rest? Christ's rest. He also, listen to this, now,
he hath also ceased from his own works as God did from his. And that's the next thing it
says over here. He says, so we start out with a rest. And if
any man works, endure not rest. It says here, no work should
be done. No work shall be done. You start
out with a rest. And if you work to enter into
that rest, and you work after you've entered into that rest,
what does it say about it? No work shall be done. God don't want our works. And
the only works that He'll approve of is what He Himself works in
us to do. You know, He created us on two
good works. And look what He goes on to say
here. And then no kindle no fire on the Sabbath day. Now why is
He talking about kindle no fire? This shows us the strictness
of the law. But the spiritual application
of this don't kindle your own fire. A lot of folks kindle their
own fire. You know, I was telling Shirley
today, I said, you think of all the people, all the people, And
this world that attends services, Pentecostals, and they got a
fire. They're more interested in fire
than anything else. And he says, don't candle your
own fire. Don't try to work something up.
You know, Nadab and Abihu, they went and took strange fire and
built their own fire and God killed them. because he said
I'll only have the fire that I myself kindle and that's what
he said don't never kindle your own fire don't try to work up
anything of your own and so that's what he's talking only the Holy
Spirit can enable us to rest and have no works of the flesh
no works of the flesh whatsoever now look down here in verse 21
and 22 of Exodus So we start out with a rest.
No works, not going to kindle no fires. Not going to try to
work something up. Not going to work something up.
I tell them I remember something that day. You know, Fred Wood,
I used to go over and preach for him over in Winston-Salem.
And him and Bobby Smith was together for years. And I tell you what,
he said he'd get up with a handkerchief. And whip up that handkerchief,
you know, and turn that, just get that handkerchief going and
say, Come on children, let's get with it! Come on children,
let's go! And then they said, you know,
and they'd be preaching the cross and Bobby would go back and turn
out the light and they'd start talking about them hours of darkness
and they'd work on people's emotions. That's don't kindle no fire. That's works of the flesh. They
had never entered into rest. If you enter into rest, you'll
cease from your works. Look what he said here now in
Exodus 35 and verse 21-22. 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
an offering of gold unto the Lord." And you know what this
is a response to? You know the tabernacle and all
that pertained to it was made and built with voluntary offerings. People brought willingly. Look over here in Exodus 25. This is just a response to Exodus
25. You know, when they started bringing
the offerings in and everything that they needed. This is the
response to that. Verses 1 and 2. And the Lord
spake unto Moses, Speak unto the children of Israel that they
bring me an offering. of every man that giveth it,
listen to this now, willingly with his heart, you shall take
my offering. And this is the offering which
you'll take of them, gold and silver and brass and all these
other things. And so we go back over here,
and I tell you this, the tabernacle and everything that pertained
to it, people brought all the material out of a devoted heart.
A devoted heart. And the scriptures teaches us
that a man must be willing, only willing to give. You can't give
what you don't have. And that's what he says. These
people came willingly. And they came everyone whose
heart, whose heart, heart was in it. Their love for God is
in it. Their love for Christ was in
it. Whose spirit, and listen to this, was made willing. They
was willing. Huh? Both men and women, as many
as were willingly, willing-hearted, offered unto the Lord. And that's
what's so wonderful about grace. What's so precious about grace.
You know, they didn't have any begging here. Moses never got
up and begged. Never got up and begged. He took
no pledges. took no pledges. A lot of churches,
you know, a lot of congregations now, these great big ones that
you know, they tell everybody, they said that whatever you make
for the year, we're going to send a pledge card out here,
and you pledge to give 10% of your income of whatever you make
next year, and you sign that card. And that way, they said,
now we'll know what our budget's going to be. You reckon God's
on a budget? No pledges. No threats. He didn't get up and threaten
them. God's gonna kill you if y'all don't bring some money
in here. No, no, no. Uh-uh. They gave spontaneously. They gave freely. They gave joyfully. And they felt like they were
privileged to do this. Privileged to do it. Look what
he said here in verse 5 and 6 of Exodus 35. Take ye from among you an offering
unto the Lord, whosoever is of a willing heart. Willing heart. Let him bring an offering unto
the Lord. If it's gold, bring gold. If you've got silver, brass,
blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goat's hair. Just whatever. You know, whatever's necessary.
And you know this is the acts of a people that's already been
redeemed. A people that's resting. So they're
resting. They're not doing anything but
bringing what God already gave them. And that's why it says
the love of Christ constrains us. And I tell you, so we start
out resting first, then giving up freewill offering, willing
offering, and then that's when the work starts. Work is always
in the third place. An acceptable service for God
can only come from those who have been regenerated. If a man
hasn't been regenerated, born again by the Spirit of God, It doesn't make any difference
what he does. And look what it said here now. That's why it
said of a willing heart. Where do we get our willingness
at? Where do we get our willing heart?
Where'd that come from? That willing heart to give. You know we've done a lot of
things over the years in this place. We built that addition
on back there and it was paid for before we ever started. This
parking lot was paid for before we ever started. And nobody said, listen, you
got to do this. We got to get this done. So you
all come on. I'll pass some buckets around.
You fill them buckets up and we'll count the money. That's
not the way things are done. A man's got to do what he does
because he's regenerated and God gave him a willing heart,
a willing spirit, and a willing nature. And I tell you what,
and we said, the other one of us has said this, everything
we got belongs to God anyway. We're not going to be like that
woman said, you know, said, I want you to put your money, I want
all my money put in the casket with me. Well, she walked up
there. wrote a check, stuck it in there,
said cash that when you get there. I couldn't help it. But that
just goes to show you, you can't take it with you. You just better
take a check or something. But that's what you know it.
Did I tell you something else? The women also worked. Look down
here in verse 25. And all the women that were wise
hearted, God gave them a wise heart, dispensed with their hands
and brought that which they had spun, both of blue and of purple
and of scarlet and fine linen. And all the women whose hearts
stirred up them up in wisdom spun goat's hairs. So I even
know women was involved in this. Wise-hearted women. Women who
was delighted to do these things and then look the rulers set
the example look down here in verse 27 and the rulers brought
onyx stones and stones to set for the ephod and for the breastplate
and for spice and for oil for the light and the anointing oil
and the sweet incense. So that's what, start out through
the rest, give willingly, and then people start to work. Now look over here in Exodus
38.21 with me and I want to show you something over here. 38.21 everything had been done all
the money had come in all the offerings all the gold silver
and everything that came in and he said here in verse 21 this
is the son of the tabernacle even of the tabernacle of testimony
as it was accounted according to the commandment of Moses for
the service of the Levites by the hand of Ithemar son to Aaron
the priest Now when he says this is the sum as it was counted,
that means it was numbered. In the Lord's work here when
they were building the tabernacle, Everything was counted. Everything
was weighed. Everything was numbered. And
why was that? Because everything had to be
made according to detail. I mean, you look at all the furniture.
You look at all the curtains. You look at the tabernacle and
the white linen and the ceiling of it and the roof of it. And
you look at all the things that was done. And Jesus was counted,
it was weighed and numbered. So what attention to detail. Every detail of the mind of God
was essential. to the glory of God for this
to be done just exactly like God told it to be done. Let me
give you an illustration. Remember we talked about the
pegs, they had the tent, and they had the cords, and they
had the pegs, and the pegs was made out of brass, and they put
those pegs out here, and they had those things to hold that
tent, that badger skin over it. Now listen, if they had missed
a peg, say they missed a peg, you know what that'd cause? That'd
cause the cord to be slack. A curtain, if it was out of place,
not made just exactly perfect. If it was out of place, one was
just a little longer than the other. Or they didn't fit together
just right. If anything was out of place,
all the disorder would spread and the whole tabernacle would
be out of order if one detail was left out of place. And that shows you that God pays
attention to detail I read a wonderful article this
week said that God is as much in a aphid on a rose leaf as
he is the stars in the heavens if he don't take care of the
minutest things what make you think he doesn't take care of
the great things when he watches the sparrows and cast the hairs
of the numbers of your head there ain't nothing in this world I
don't care if you see a bug somewhere it's exactly where God meant
for it to be at that particular time you saw it God pays that
much attention to things in this world and you imagine if he let
things get out of control just let Look what man's done when
he's in control. And God lets men go so far to
show what man's capable of doing. And there's nothing that a man
isn't capable of doing if God lets him go. And so I tell you,
that's the way it is in the detail of our salvation. Every single
detail of our salvation was made and accomplished and fixed before
you and I was ever, before God ever put Adam in the garden of
Eden. Every single detail of it was. I mean you know Christ
came, when did Christ come? When it was time. When did Christ
die? When it was time. When did Christ
raise again? When it was time. everything
of our lives and everything in this world and I thank God for
it that every detail of my life is measured by God himself and
nothing in this world is going to happen to me or nobody else
for whom Christ died but what God's already ordained before
you and I was ever born He ordered my tomorrow He ordered the day after if I
let me live And that's why I tell them every detail is taken care
of. Oh my. And that's why you know I
preached the other day in John 19, 28 and Jesus knowing, Jesus
knowing. Now He's dying. He's naked. He's bleeding. He's broken. Crown of thorns on His head.
Blood all over the place. and Jesus knowing that all the
scriptures concerning him were fulfilled he said it is finished and he
gave up the ghost everything and how did that happen? Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God You know exactly when God crossed
your path with the gospel? When it's exactly when God purposed
to cross your path. You know when you're going to
leave this world? Exactly when God says it's time. Ain't you thankful that things
is like that? I mean, He pays attention to... Look, just a
handful of us are here. And He pays attention to every
detail of our lives. And then you add up all the multitudes
that's now that know God, that know Christ, that worship Christ,
that believes in the free grace of God, and preaches the gospel. You imagine that He's doing that
for every single one of them too. And you've only got children.
Ain't you grateful that God in His sovereign mercy is going
to protect your children and do just exactly right by them? Every detail. If there had been
one missing link, what would it have been? What if He left
one thing undone? And said, all you got to do is
just this little, little, little, bitty, tiny bit. Oh no, no, no,
no Lord, don't do that. You finish it, you do it. Alright, look over here in Exodus
39, verse 1. Now I want you to look at this
thing about as the Lord commanded Moses. As the Lord commanded
Moses. And the blue and the purple and
scarlet they made clothes of service to do service in the
holy place and made the holy garments for Aaron as the Lord
commanded Moses. Here the work of the tabernacle
is finished and all was done and God mentions his Moses as
the Lord commanded Moses eight times in this chapter look in
down in verse 5 down the last line as the Lord commanded Moses
these things were done as the Lord commanded Moses look down
verse 7 as the Lord he put the ephod net and the Lord commanded
Moses 21 verse 21 and they bound the press plate
by his rings, rings of the ephod and as the Lord commanded Moses
and then every time he finished these works then it would say
look down verse 32 according to all that the Lord
commanded Moses so did they look down verse 42 according to all
that the Lord commanded Moses So the children of Israel made
all the work. The people did what Moses said. Why was that? Because he's the
mediator. He's the go-between between them
and God. He'd say, God, this Lord commanded
Moses. He'd say, you all do this. You
do that. You do this other thing. And
all these people did what Moses commanded. He's the mediator.
And I tell you what we do, Christ is our mediator between us and
God. Us and God. And we want more
than anything in this world to take what Christ says and do
it. We want his will to be done in
our life. He's our mediator. He's the one between us and God.
God would not accept any service that you and I did except it
goes through our mediator. And when our mediator tells us
to do something, our redeemer tells us to do something, lays
on our heart to do something, then we willingly, gladly, joyfully
do that. We try to do what he says by
God's blessed grace. So they did what they did because
Moses was the mediator. Now I want you to look back with
me. Keep Exodus 39 and look back with me in Exodus 25-40. Told
you that was going to be all over
the place. And look what he says here now.
This is when he finds out how to build this thing. How to build
this thing. verse 25 and chapter 25 and verse
40 and look that thou make them after their pattern which was
showed thee in the mount and that's exactly what they did
over here according to that mount and then look back over here
in chapter 39 and verse 43 He said, now you do that according
to the pattern. Well, everything they did as
Moses, as the Lord commanded Moses. Eight times it says here.
And everything that when he got something done, and the children
of Israel got something done, then they say, as the Lord commanded
Moses. And look here in verse 43. And
Moses did look upon all the work And behold, they had done it
as the Lord had commanded, even so had they done it, and Moses
blessed them. Oh my! They brought everything
to the mediator, everything to Moses for his inspection. All
had to pass under his holy eye, or under Moses' eye. And because
Christ is our mediator, We can pass under God Almighty's inspection. His eye can look us over from
top to bottom, inside and out. And you know what He says? I
find no fault in them. You read it tonight. He gonna
present us unreprovable, unblameable in His sight. In His sight. So I tell you what, everything
was under inspection. and I tell you everything had
to pass under his eye and everything has to pass under God's eye and
Christ makes us acceptable makes us holy and makes everything
that we do in every work we do in fact you know I've told you
time and time again everything that we do we have to make God
makes it acceptable through the Lord Jesus Christ that's the
only way it can be acceptable He did look upon all the work
upon all the work and he said oh what a work what
a work what a beautiful work and Moses blessed them there
blessed them there it wasn't the quantity that was done it
was the quality of it and then look here in chapter 40 this
is when the tabernacle was actually erected and set up And the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up
the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. You know, on
the first day of the first month shall they set them up in the
tabernacle. You know, this is the anniversary of when they
were brought out of Egypt. that's brought out on the first
day of the first month. In fact, you keep this and look
with me over in Exodus 12. Look with me over in Exodus 12,
chapter 2. This is exactly the same time. And God said, this is when time's
going to start for you. The Lord spake unto Moses and
Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This shall be unto you the beginning
of months. It shall be the first month of
the year to you. And so when they built that tabernacle,
It was on the first day of the first month. And that's when
their time started. When they were redeemed. When
they were brought out of Egypt. And our time started when God
redeemed us and bought us with His precious blood and regenerated
us by His Spirit. That's when time really started
for us. Really started for us. And okay, and the Lord spoke
on the first month, the anniversary from the redemption in Egypt.
And Moses is the only one here in chapter 48. Look what it says
in verse 18. Moses is the only one. And Moses
reared up the tabernacle, fashioned his sockets, set up the boards,
put the bars thereof, and reared up the pillars. Moses is the
one who reared up the tabernacle. And you can go down through here
and read of how he set it up and how everything that was done.
And look down at verse 33. And this is my whole... I've
said all these things to get here. Verse 33. And he reared up the court round
about the tabernacle and the altar and set up the hanging
of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. It's done. He looked on and said, Boy, it's
wonderful. This is what a wonderful thing. What a blessed thing.
And he finished the work. Oh, thank God that we have this
finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Finished. Done. Somebody said this morning,
if there's anything, absolutely anything left for me to do, Christ
didn't do it all, I would have no hope at all. None. None. Whatsoever. And so Moses finished
the work. And you know when the work was
finished, it's finished, it's done. When God does something,
He finishes it. He starts it and He finishes
it. And Moses finished this work. It was beautiful when you looked
at it. Inside, outside just looked like
a tent, but it's beautiful. It's like our master. When you
look at it from the outside, Just look like another Jew. But
you read tonight that He is before all things and by Him all things
consist. And in Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. It pleased the Father that in
Him should all fullness dwell. Oh my! Beautiful inside, glorious
in all of His blessed work. But then look what happens. When
the work was finished, When the work was finished, then a cloud
covered the ten of the congregation and the glory of the Lord filled
the tabernacle. When the work is done, who gets
all the glory? God does. And He came down in
glory. He came down in a cloud. And
I tell you what, it was such a glorious thing. that Moses
wasn't even able to enter into the tent of the congregation
because the cloud abode thereon and feel the glory and when God
Christ ascended and went back to glory and the Holy Spirit
come on the day of Pentecost Peter stood up and said you men
and brethren I've got something to say and it's only after the
work is finished is when God comes down in glory It was only
when we understood that the work was finished that God come in
glory and filled us with His Holy Spirit. And look what it
says in verse 36. And when the cloud was taken
up from over the tabernacle, then
children of Israel went onward in all their journey. But if
the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not. For
the cloud upon the tabernacle by day, and the fire was on it
by night, and the sight of all the house of Israel through all
their journeys. And I tell you what, you know the only thing
they had to pay any attention to? Just watch that cloud. Watch that glory. If a cloud moved, it's time for
us to move. If God's glory moves, it's time
for us to go somewhere. And that's why they said, just
watch that cloud. When that cloud gets up, it's time to go. When
it comes back down, it's time to stop. In all life we just
say, oh God come down in glory, come down in glory on us. Our Father, in the precious name,
blessed name of our Lord Jesus, thank you for allowing us another
day of worship, public worship, the worship of God's people here.
Lord, I'm encouraged by your dear people, encouraged by their
love of Christ, the love of the gospel, that You gave us all a willing
heart. Thank You for the wisdom that
You give Your dear people. And God, we again and again pray
for those whose bodies are hurt, bodies are frail, and bodies
are maimed. We ask Lord Jesus that You'd
be merciful and gracious to them. And ask for those who are still
frail in their body Lord, we know that you have ability to
make a body just whole, just that quick, make it well. You
can take a sick person and raise them up. If you can raise the
dead by just taking them by the hand, Lord Jesus, you can stop
a fever. You can stop the frailty. And
so Lord, we ask according to your precious will, if it pleases
you to do that, for those that we in our heart are thinking
of. And we ask you to do it for Christ's
sake. Amen. Amen. There is a name I love
to hear. I love to sing its words. it sounds like music in my ear
the sweetest name on earth oh how i love jesus oh Oh, how I
love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Because He first loved me.