Turn back there with me to Exodus
chapter 35. It seems like if you read through
these last chapters of Exodus, that it's a lot of repetition. It's a lot of repetition. I read
there I don't know how many times going through chapter 35 of all
the spinning of the cloth and of the goat's hair and the bringing
of the ram skins, and he says that several times. And if you
go through these chapters, it seems as though there's just
a lot of repetitions of things that he's already said. And to
some degree, that's true. But I thought about this in my
studies. Repetition, for us who are dull
of hearing, is a good thing. I need to hear something over
and over and over. So it's a good thing. And it's
a needful thing. And as preachers, we are encouraged
to do that very thing. Listen to this in Philippians
chapter 3 verse 1. Paul writes, Finally, my brethren,
rejoice in the Lord, to write the same things to you. To me,
indeed, is not grievous, and for you it is safe. It is a good
thing to say these things over and over. And then in Deuteronomy
chapter 6, And speaking of these very things that we're studying
here in Exodus, the ceremonial law of Moses, Moses says to the
children, thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children, and
shalt talk of them in thine house. And when you walk by the way,
and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up, he's going
to talk about these things. Deuteronomy 6, verse 7. So repetition
is a good thing. It's a good thing. And then let
me say this, there's always a little something added in the repetition. If you look at it, it's not exactly
the same. And you know, I was reading there
a while ago, studying a verse over in Romans, and Brother Mahan
made this point, All of these graces that God gives us, the
grace of faith and all of these, these graces all grow. And a
lot of times in the repetition of doctrine, you'll find in there
a little added detail that gives a little depth to that doctrine. It adds a little depth to it
and so that more mature believers can see these things and pick
up on these things, and so that even the immature can grow in
grace. He always seems to come at it
with a little different angle, and a little more detail, and
a little different application. And that's exactly the case here
in Exodus chapter 35. Exodus 35 is about beginning
the work which God commanded Israel to do. And this is the
beginning of the building of the tabernacle. This is where
the actual work began. And tonight, I want to give you
four things concerning this work. I actually titled the message
tonight, The Rest of Labor, or The Labor of Rest. And I want
to give you four things concerning this work. And the first thing
that I want you to see is that everything he has to say in this
chapter follows that revelation of God's glory that God gave
to him back in chapter 34. So that everything that the believer
does and everything that he believes and everything that moves him
to serve the living God arises from this revelation of God's
glory. This is how it must be. I'm not
permitted to stand up here and begin to motivate our people
with fear or motivate our people with bribes. You know, you might
think that's an odd word, but it was commonplace when I was
a kid in some of these Armenian churches. They'd hide a $10 bill
under the seat or behind where the songbook was, and people
would come just on the prospect of maybe finding that $10 bill
or $5 bill. That's bribing people to get
them into the house of the Lord. come up with all kind of funny
things that they do. If somebody brought more than
10 people, the pastor would take a pair of scissors and cut the
end off his tie, and just silly stuff like that. I'm not permitted
to do that as a preacher. I have one way to motivate you,
to counsel you, and to preach to you, and that's Christ and
the glory of God. And there's everything, everything
that the believer, now I'm not talking about these people out
here in the world, they're motivated by everything on the sun. But
believers are motivated and all their work and all their motives
and all that about their service, it arises from that revelation
of God's glory in Christ. It has to be that way. That's
why I preach Christ. Let me show you a couple of scriptures
and see if what I'm saying is accurate with the Scriptures.
Turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. I talked with a lady this past
week who was asking me if it were possible for some of the
other women where she went to church, she attended an Armenian
church, to be believers despite the fact that they denied God's
sovereignty and denied God's holiness and denied God's perfect
justice and denied all these things that she was telling them.
And I told her, absolutely not. There's no possibility. Because
this is what eternal life is. If you're born of God and given
eternal life, eternal life is to know the true and living God.
Not to know every detail about Him, but everything that you
do know, you might just know one thing about Him, but that
one thing will be truth. If you just know the holy God,
you'll know that holiness in truth. You'll know what it is.
The just God, you'll know His justice. And I'll tell you this,
even those things that you don't know, when you're presented with
them and they're declared to you, you'll receive them if you're
a child of God. I said, absolutely not. That's
what it is. Salvation is being brought to
see the glory of God in Christ, to see God with eyes of faith
as He set forth in the Scriptures and set forth in His Son. And
the danger and the goal of false religion is to deny the glory
of God in Christ and cause you not to see it or even to consider
it. When I was asking questions,
I began to read the Word of God for the first time in my life,
actually read it. And what I found out was there
was so much in this book that they never mentioned. Never mentioned. I mean, I went to church from
the time I was just a little feller all the way up to the
time I was in high school. I was made to go. As long as
I was at home, I had to be there. And we went two or three, four
times a week. Never heard him ever mention
God's sovereignty or election or especially predestination. And so when I began to read about
these things, I brought them up. And the deacon shooshed me
real quick. And he said, oh, he said, you
don't want to go there. He said, those hidden things
of God, those secret things of God, we're to leave them alone.
And I said, well, if they're secret, why did he put them in
his words? I said, he told John to put his pen up when he didn't
want him to write things down. He told him to put his pen up.
But he didn't tell Paul to put his pen up when he was talking
about predestination. And not only that, but he wrote
it more than once. He wrote it to the church at
Ephesus and he wrote it to the church at Rome. And he dealt
with that predestination of God. They don't even want you to consider
it. Don't even consider it. Don't
even bring this up. All this is going to do is cause division
in the church. Well, it probably will. Probably
will. Watch this here in 2 Corinthians
4, verse 3. Paul said, if our gospel be hid,
who's it hid to? The lost. The lost. Now watch this. How do I know
who's lost and who's saved? Now watch this. In whom the God
of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the
image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for his
sake. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ." So the glory of God's eternality. They were denying that. Well,
God, His redemption is not eternal redemption. We weren't redeemed
until Christ died on the cross. Well, He's the Lamb slain before
the foundation of the world. I'll let you and the Holy Spirit
can deal with that. But it's true whether a man accepts
it or not. Does that mean Christ didn't
have to come and die? No. That's why He came and died.
Because this was the purpose of God. And they deny God's eternality. The glory of His sovereignty.
Arranging providence. working in the hearts of all
men and all principalities and powers to do what His hand and
His counsel determined before to be done. The glory of His
justice, the just dying for the unjust that He might bring us
to God. Being justified, Paul said, freely
by His grace through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus whom God
has set forth as the propitiation for our sins in order that He
might be just and righteous in His justification of all that
believe. And the glory of His grace, oh
my, by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God. Election is an election of grace. That's what it says in the Scriptures.
Justification is called free justification of grace. The gospel
is the gospel of God's grace. The Holy Spirit is called the
Spirit of Christ. You cannot call on an unrevealed
God and you cannot believe in Him of whom you have not heard.
This whole idea of faith in an unknown God and regeneration
in ignorance is totally contrary to the Word of God. You are not
going to find it in there. You are not going to find it.
Turn with me to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Now, here's what I'm
saying. I'm saying that faith and love
and all true service begins with a revelation of God's glory. Men and women who don't know
the glory of God don't know who God is. They're not saved. They're not
saved. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13.
But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren,
beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth. Now watch this. Whereunto he
called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Here's the first thing I know
about serving the Lord. It begins with a revelation of
God's glory in Christ. Everything that Moses writes
about in chapter 35, it arises from that revelation of God's
glory that He gave him on the mount. And the Lord even told
him on the mount, now you see to it that all these things that
you've built are after the pattern that I showed you in the mount.
And then secondly, God declares to them before they ever lift
a hand to build this tabernacle, to keep the Sabbath. Did you
find that kind of odd that chapter 35 started with the keeping of
the Sabbath? Now any man who has a revelation
of God in Christ knows this. Christ is our Sabbath. He's our
Sabbath. The Sabbath, no matter if you're
talking about the sixth day or the seventh year Sabbath or the
Sabbath of Jubilee, is a Sabbath about rest. It's rest. And Christ is our rest. Listen
to Hebrews chapter 4 verse 3. For we which have believed do
enter into rest, though the works were finished before the foundation
of the world. And the only way that's possible
concerning the Sabbath. This is before the world was
made. So I know he's not talking about that six days. Six days
the Lord and then on the Sabbath day rested. That's not what he's
talking about here because this was before the foundation of
the world. And that rest before the foundation of the world was
Christ. That's Christ. I've read old writers and they
just do away with all the commandments and all the ceremonial law and
they go all the way back to that Last day, when God said, it's
finished, and then God rested. And they said, well, now that's
the Sabbath that we're commanded to keep. I beg your pardon. This
rest that believers entered into, that work was finished before
the world was. And that rest is in Christ. All true service begins and ends
resting in Christ. You can't serve until you learn
to rest. That seems like a contradiction,
doesn't it? Turn with me to 1 Peter 2. This is a total paradox to
those who don't know God, and it's troublesome to some who
do. How can you rest and serve at the same time? Hebrews 4,
verse 10. Listen to this while you're turning.
For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from
His own works as God did from His. Now, watch this very next
verse here in Hebrews chapter 4. He said, Let us labor therefore. Huh? Well, I thought we just
ceased from our work. We did. Now we can labor. Now we can labor. And what do
we labor for? To enter into that rich. All
true service arises from a revelation of God's glory in our accomplished
redemption in Christ. We're not laboring to accomplish
our salvation. Christ already accomplished it.
We're not laboring ignorantly like Israel of old trying to
establish our own righteousness. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believes. And believers
are not laboring for a relationship with God. In Christ, we're one
with the Father. Isn't that what he prayed in
John 17, verse 21? And believers are not laboring
to pay for their sins. Christ bore our sins in His own
body on the tree. Now look here in 1 Peter, chapter
2, verse 4. He is talking about
believers coming to Christ here. To whom coming as unto a living
stone disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious. Ye also, as living stones, are
built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual
sacrifices." Now watch this line right here. Acceptable to God
by Jesus Christ. Then look down at verse 9. You
are a chosen generation. a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a peculiar people, that you should show forth the praises of him
who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, which
in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God,
which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy."
And then Peter goes on to exhort the churches to serve the living
God. We are made accepted, Paul said
in Ephesians chapter 1, in the blood. We are accepted in Him. And in Him, our sacrifices are
offered by faith in Him. That is how believers walk. That
is how believers serve God. Our Lord said this. He said,
take my yoke upon you and learn of Me. Learn of Me. I am meek and lowly in heart.
and you shall find rest for your soul. Are you with me so far? What I'm telling you, all true
service is preceded by revelation of God's glory in Christ. Has
to be. That's where it all begins. It
all arises from that. Up until that point, we're just
religious nuts. We just run around here, we get
a taste of religion, and we run around jumping up and down and
doing everything they tell us to do. Waving our arms, marching
around the church, or whatever, coming down an aisle, kissing
somebody's ring, whatever it is. There's a multitude of things
that different churches have you to do. But up until this
point, we don't know God. And then we come to know Him.
And then we come to see something of His glory. And then we begin
to enter in to this service. This all arises from a revelation
of God's glory. And then secondly, all true service
begins and ends with rest. We're resting in Him. In Christ
Jesus our Lord, we have a perpetual Sabbath of rest. He's our Jubilee
that never ends. And then thirdly, all true service
must come from willing hearts. Hearts made willing. I can't
make you willing. I can tell you what the Lord...
I get calls from people all the time. This lady this past week
was talking to me about what to do. And I said, well, I can't
tell you what to do. I can tell you what I'd do. I
can tell you what I had done. I'd sail out, find me somebody
preaching the gospel, and go there. That's what I'd do. But
you're going to have to come to that point when God convinces
you what to do. But I said, you know, what you're
telling me is these people despise you and they despise the gospel
and you have no fellowship there. You've got no common ground there.
So why are you staying there? Why are you staying there? Why
don't you go where you do have some common ground? Go where
you do have some gospel revelation. Go where there is a preacher.
That doesn't raise up preachers everywhere. It comes from willing hearts.
I can't make your heart willing. God has to make your heart willing.
And He will in His people. In the day of His power, they
shall be willing. Listen to this here in Exodus
35, verse 5. He said, "...take you from among
you an offering unto the Lord, whosoever is of a willing heart,
Let him bring it and offer it unto the Lord. That's the beginning
and the end of offerings, isn't it? A willing heart. A willing heart. Now listen to
me for just a minute. There can be no doubt in any
man's mind who has carefully studied the Word of God that
God did not need man's assistance in building the tabernacle. You
think about it. He spoke this universe into existence. How easy would it have been for
him to snap his fingers and have a tabernacle? He didn't need
man's assistance for anything. He created all things. He spoke
this world into existence. Is he now lacking that he needs
something from us? Not hardly. He said, if I was
hungry, he told them one time, he said, I wouldn't tell you.
He said, those cattle you see out there on 1,000 Hill, they
belong to me. Where do you think you got them
from? Because all things are His. And
everything that Israel brought found its beginning in God. But
here's what I want you to see. That God, out of love and mercy,
condescended to use those that He delivered out of bondage to
establish His place of worship. And everything connected with
that worship while they were still in the wilderness under
His care. God condescended to use His people. Ignorant, rebellious, stiff-necked
people. And he made their hearts with
it. And they brought these things to it. Now to get a grasp of what I'm
saying, listen to what Paul says to the Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 1.26. Listen to what he says here.
For you see your calling, brethren, Boy, how often do we need to
be reminded about that. Do you see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble are called? But God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise. And God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are
despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not to bring
to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory in his
presence. Those who are used of God in
the service of his kingdom are all vessels of mercy aforeprepared
unto glory. They're all vessels of His mercy
and grace. And that which they bring, they
acknowledge as gifts given to them of God. That's what they're
going to bring, what God's given them. That's what Paul told those
proud Corinthians. Some of them, they're just really
full of themselves. And Paul said, who maketh thee
to differ? What have you gotten that you
haven't received? And if you received it, why do
you glory like you didn't? And their prayer is that God
will take whatever it is that they gave and make it acceptable
in Christ and use it for His own glory. And His motives are
love and gratitude. His gifts are the first fruits
of His possessions. And then notice this, verse 4. When willing hearts give out
of love and gratitude, it's always more than enough. Exodus 36,
verse 5. Listen to this. And they spake
unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for
the service of the work which the Lord commanded to make. Verse
6. So the people were restrained
from bringing. Restrained from bringing. Verse
7, for the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to
make it, and too much. David said, thy people shall
be willing in the day of thy power. And I'll tell you this,
when God's people are made willing by the grace of God through the
proper motivation with love and gratitude of heart, they always
give too much. They always do. Now let me show
you one more thing concerning the building of God's tabernacle
and the establishing of God's place of worship. It begins with
the revelation of His glory. It's preceded with the rest given
in Christ through His glorious person and work. And it comes
by way of willing hearts who are ready to serve God and give
themselves to the work. And then finally, notice this.
God includes everyone, but some in particular. Everybody brought,
all the women, all the men. Everybody that God made wise-hearted. What he's saying there in this
wise-heartedness is everybody that God gave a talent to weave
or to sew or to crochet or whatever it was that they did or carve
or any of those things. God gave them that gift and that
talent and they came to Him. All of them did. All the men,
all the women, anybody. They was all coming in there.
They all took part in this thing. But there was two men in particular. And in our day, God does the
same thing when we're talking about the church and we're talking
about the gospel going forth and all of those things that
we have in pattern in the tabernacle, we have in actuality in the church. And all of those things, everybody
is included in that. All your gifts and offerings,
all of those things that come up here, they come that way.
But He has some men in particular. And he said to Messiah, nothing
to do with them, nothing to do with some special gift that they
have, but God gives that man for his own glory a certain gift,
a certain calling, arranges his providence in a certain way for
him. And that's exactly what he did with Basaliel and Aholiad. That's exactly what he did. He
gifted these two men. And these two men are pictures
of gospel preachers. and the Church of the Living
God who are fellow laborers with God in the building of God's
spiritual temple. All are included in the work,
but some in particular. Ephesians 4, 11, He gave some
apostles and some prophets. He gave them for the writing
of the Word of God and as gospel witnesses. And because of these
men, we have a complete canon of Scripture and a foundation
of faith in the Word of God. And he gave some apostles and
some prophets and some evangelists. Thank God for men like Henry
Mahan and Don Fortner and some of these men that have given
their lives and sacrificed everything that they have to preach the
gospel anywhere and everywhere that they can. And then he gave
some pastor teachers. Pastors are men who are gifted
to teach the gospel to God's elect. That's what they're for. Oh, Bazaliel and Aholiab fashioned
those pieces as God gave them the pattern through Moses, and
so gospel preachers preach Christ as He set forth in the Word of
God. And in so doing, God's place
of worship is established in this wilderness, and God's people
support it. We need to understand that. Do
you know that? Folks don't understand that. They really don't understand
that. I think if they really understood that, this place would
be wall-to-wall tonight. Be wall-to-wall. They'd sacrifice
whatever they could sacrifice to be here. May God be pleased to teach us
these things and to willingly give ourselves to it. Make us
willing. Give us willing hearts to labor
for Him and to set these things before Him.