Doing things God's way. That's
my subject tonight. Turn with me to Exodus chapter
36, please. Doing things God's way. The fact is, if we would worship
and serve the true and living God, we must worship him and
serve him his way. Just how precise, how demanding
is God concerning that? Go ask Uzzah. You will either worship God,
God's way, or you won't worship God. You'll either serve God,
God's way, or you won't serve God. That goes for every preacher
in the world, this one included. That goes for every local church
in the world, this one included. That goes for every individual
human being in the world, you included. You will either worship
God his way or not at all. You'll either serve him his way
or not at all. You'll either worship and serve
God his way or you'll go to hell with the pretense of worshiping
and serving God. We either do things God's way
or everything we do that we call worship and service to the Lord
is but an exercise in futility, a show of religion and a show
of godliness in will worship, nothing else. doing things God's
way. Spirit of God, be our teacher
tonight. We're going to begin in Exodus
chapter 36, but my text actually will take up four chapters, Exodus
36, 37, 38, and 39. In these four chapters, we are
given much repetition concerning things that we have seen already.
We're told about the tabernacle and how that it was actually
constructed according to the word that God gave Moses when
he was in the mount. In the previous chapters, we've
read how the Lord spoke to Moses and gave him the revelation that
he had concerning the building of the tabernacle and the worship
of God in the tabernacle services of the Old Testament. Now in
chapters 36 through 39, the tabernacle is actually constructed. There's
no need to go back over all the types and pictures. You know
the types and pictures. I'll rehearse them again, I'm
sure, numerous times before we finish this study in Exodus. But no need to go over all of
those things in detail. The tabernacle represented our
Lord Jesus Christ and God's salvation in him. But that does not mean
that these four chapters are merely redundant repetitions
of things already given. Most of the commentaries I have
been studying as we're going through this book of Exodus,
most of them, regrettably, when they get to chapter 35, quit.
They just quit. As if 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, and 40 were just written to fill
up space. And they'll tell you these things
are just a repetition of what we've had before. Oh, no. Oh,
no. These chapters, like all the
rest of the book of God, were written for our learning and
for our admonition that we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures,
might have hope. So let's look at the chapters
together. Now, obviously, We can't read all four chapters
and then we preach the message, or we might be here a little
longer than you want to be here, and maybe even a little longer
than I want to be here. So we're going to read a few
passages within these four chapters, and I'm going to speak as briefly
as I can, giving you the message of the passage. Remember the
tabernacle. the whole of the tabernacle in
the wilderness was intended by God to typify three specific
things. First, it shows forth the person
and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything about the tabernacle
was designed ordained and given by God to show us the all-glorious
person of our Redeemer. The gold things made out of shidom
wood but overlaid with gold, speaking of His glorious humanity
and His absolute deity. Speaking of Him being the eternal,
unchanging, unchangeable God, our Savior, Jesus Christ, the
same yesterday, today, and forever. Joy to the world the Lord has
come. Oh Blessed blessed be his name
God came down here in human flesh and God now sits on his throne
in human flesh having accomplished eternal redemption for us the
tabernacle portrays his person and but it also speaks of his
obedience and his blood atonement. The tabernacle speaks of his
acceptance in the holy place wherein he entered in once with
his own blood having obtained eternal redemption for us. Second,
The tabernacle represents redemption and salvation. That is the redemption
and salvation of God's elect by Christ's obedience unto death. The redemption and salvation
of our souls by his righteousness and his satisfaction rendered
to God as our substitute. And third, the tabernacle represents
the whole church of God. That is, the whole body of God's
elect, saved by His grace, tabernacling forever with God. Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men. And soon we shall dwell together
with Him in all the glory of Christ our Redeemer. Let me call
your attention to a few things in this regard. You read the
whole of the 36th chapter, and you'll see that the boards of
Shittemwood overlaid with gold are set in specific sockets of
silver. One of the first things I recall
Brother Larry telling me after he made that tabernacle, that
model of the tabernacle I had back in my office, you've looked
at so many times, the boards surrounding the holy place. Each
board has to be put in in a precise order. Is that right? They won't
fit otherwise. Immediately I thought, well,
that's a pretty good picture. God saves his people exactly
at the appointed time of love, bringing each one into his kingdom
at precisely the hour he has ordained wherein they fit into
his kingdom. Remember the temple? I told you
how they rub the stones together and make them fit. So it is God
fits each one in his temple at precisely the right time. And
he puts each board in his church, in his tabernacle, in the body
of Christ at exactly the right time. I wrote to a friend in
Australia this week who was a little down. I had written to him earlier
in the year. Disgusted with myself because
of my attitude toward the way the election turned out in our
country and the abominable way we are being governed by our
Senate and Congress and the executive branch and the judicial branch
of government, not just parts of this nation but all over the
nation. It's abominable, abominable. But I've been trying to keep
some things in mind. This is the day the Lord has
made. This day right here. David, this
is the day he made for us. And this is the day for which
he made us. There's never been a day in which
you and I would be better off to live than this day. This is
the day the Lord has made for us and the day for which he made
us, we will rejoice and be glad in it. It is in this day the
Lord still putting boards in his tabernacle. These boards
representing sinners saved by God's grace are set in the tabernacle,
all of them surrounding the mercy seat, all of them surrounding
the throne of God, on which Isaiah saw the Lord sitting, sitting
on the mercy seat. These boards were all standing
up. Wonder why the Lord specified
that here in chapter 30, 36, look at it in the last part of
verse 19. These boards of shit and wood,
standing up. Standing up. They were all standing
up, fixed upon sockets of silver. Each board having two sockets. Sockets of silver made from the
atonement money, a blood atonement. sockets of silver with righteousness
and satisfaction by the obedience and death of our Redeemer, standing
up in the house of God, standing here where in ye stand, having
hope and rejoicing in the glory of God, wherein we have access
unto the Father, always standing before God in Christ our Redeemer. And the boards were all coupled
together. And so it is that God's people
are coupled together in Christ Jesus by the spirit. And they're
all held in place by these bars of shit and wood surrounding
the boards. Held in place by the attributes
and promises of God, maybe that's the significance. But then there's
one bar that shot through them all. And the only person who'll see
that bar is the one who put it in there. That's Christ in you,
the hope of glory. That's what knits all the boards
together and holds them in place. That's what it is that makes
us a habitation of God through the spirit. And they all stand
united as one tabernacle before God. All right, let's read beginning
at verse one in chapter 36. And I would encourage you, as
soon as you get a chance to, tonight, sometime tomorrow, while
the message is still fresh on your mind, read the four chapters
together and be sure you see for yourself the message contained
here. All right? Exodus 36, verse 1.
Then wrought Bezalel and Aholam and every wise-hearted man in
whom the Lord put wisdom and understanding. to know how to
work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary according
to all that the Lord had commanded. And Moses called Bezalel and
Aholaab and every wise hearted man in whose heart the Lord had
put wisdom, even everyone whose heart stirred him up to come
into the work to do it. And they received of Moses all
the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the
work of the service of the sanctuary to make it with all. And they
brought yet unto him free offerings every morning. And all the wise
men that wrought all the work of the sanctuary came every man
from his work which they had made. And they spake unto Moses
saying, the people bring much more than enough for the service
of the work. which the Lord commended to make. Verse 6, and Moses gave commandment,
and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying,
let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering
of the sanctuary. Imagine that, preachers saying,
quit giving. That's enough. No more. Read
on. So the people were restrained
from bringing For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the
work to make it, and too much. Chapter 39. Chapter 39, verse
32. Thus was all the work of the
tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished. And the
children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded
Moses, so did they. Verse 42, according to all that
the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all
the work. And Moses did look upon the work
and behold, they had done it as the Lord had commanded. Even
so, had they done it and Moses blessed them. Oh, what a picture
we're given here of devotion and generosity. These men and
women and their rulers, all the children of Israel, are here
held before us as examples of utter devotion. of generosity,
of consecration, performing the work of the sanctuary. They're
held before us here as men and women who put their hearts into
the work. They put their shoulders to the
task of building this tabernacle. They considered it their high
honor and great privilege. As many times as we're given
warnings about the things in future days and in past days
that the children of Israel did, murmuring, they're bickering,
they're complaining, they're idolatry, they're adulteries,
they're just constant strains. But here, here they're held before
us as examples. Examples of utter devotion and
consecration to God. These people bring their gifts. So generous are they, that they
brought more than was needed for the work. And much was needed. Much was needed. What did Moses
do to get them to give like they did? What rules did he lay down
to get them to give? There's no mention here made
of the tithe, though the tithe was something that was established
long before Moses was given the law. And the tithe is mentioned
many times after this, but why no mention of a tithe here? Because
this represents a willing service and a willing sacrifice, representing
a willing service and sacrifice based upon that which is revealed
in the tabernacle. These people understood what
it represented, and they give with willing hearts, generously. I suppose Some of the message
I have been preparing today you're going to hear a little bit of
Sunday night. I've been working out of Malachi chapter 3. How
many times in verse 10 have you heard fellows use that passage,
will a man rob God to refer to folks not paying their tithes,
God will get you. Strange thing though, the folks to whom the
word is given are called priest, the people who lived on the tithes. So the scolding is not that at
all. How did Moses get these people to give? He must have
whipped them into a friendship. He must have stirred them with
some great, great appeal. He must have had some real arguments
to give. No, not at all. God stirred their hearts. God stirred their hearts. I was
sitting right here a minute ago thinking about Folks who are
here and folks who are not. Folks who will be here suddenly
and folks who won't. Some because they can't be. That's fine. That's
fine. But I quit a long time ago trying
to beat folks to death to get them to do things they don't
want to do. I'm just not going to do it. I'm not going to revert
to law. I'm not going to revert to promises. I'm not going to revert to threats
to get folks to do what they don't want to do. I'm as honest
as I can be when I say to you, if you want to come, come, if
you don't, stay away. It's all right. It's all right.
You have to answer to God for what you do, but I'm not going
to try to persuade folks to do what they don't want to. Offering
plates have passed, and we still pass offering plate because I
look upon our giving as an act of worship, not a matter of constraint,
but an act of free worship. Just as we sing our hymns together
and pray together, we give together. But you want to give, give. If
you don't, don't. Keep it. Take it to hell with you. God
doesn't need it. God doesn't need it. It's his
and you can't keep it. But give what you want to. You
want to read your Bible, read it. If you don't, don't. You
want to pray, pray. If you don't, don't. If your
heart doesn't stir you, what you do is meaningless anyway.
And the fact is, you can't stir your own heart to do it. You
ever try? The Lord stirred their hearts
and then their hearts stirred them. Everything here, streams
of devotion flowing from within are streams of devotion that
are genuine. Rulers and men and women, all
the children of Israel contribute to the work. A candidate, their
sweet privilege to give to the Lord, not with a narrow heart
and a niggardly hand, But after such princely fashion as Bezalel
and Ahola Ab told Moses they had given enough and too much. Not only did the children of
Israel give generously with open heart and open hand because they
wanted to, that which they did, they did in implicit obedience. That is unquestioning Unhesitating
obedience. Oh God, teach me that kind of
obedience. After all, that's the only kind
of obedience there is. Unquestioning. Unhesitating. Absolute obedience. Obedience
to what God reveals. Obedience to what God says. Obedience
to what you know is right. That's all. Just obedience. We
read, according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the
children of Israel made all the work, 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. Turn, if you will, to Exodus
25. I want you to see how important this is. I know religious fools who claim
to believe what we call sovereign grace, and they'll say that character
and conduct don't matter. Obedience really is insignificant.
Read Exodus chapter four and ask Moses whether or not obedience
is significant. God met him in the end, was about
to kill him, and would have killed him in the end if he hadn't circumcised
his boy right there on the spot. God said so. The children of
Israel obeyed the Lord implicitly. God gave minute, detailed instructions
concerning the whole work of the tabernacle. Every pin, every
socket, every loop, every buckle, every piece of crown molding
was done exactly as God said. There wasn't any room for a man
to offer an opinion. There was no opportunity for
folks to take a vote and decide whether or not it ought to be
done this way. There was no wiggle room for anything. Every detail
was prescribed by God, not even Bezalel and Aholaab. These men
who led the work and were designed by God and gifted by God especially
to perform the work. Not even they had an opinion
about the thing. Everything exactly as God said.
Look here in Exodus 25 verse 40. And look thou, Look that thou make them after
their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount. Look at chapter
26 verse 30. And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle
according to the fashion thereof, which was showed thee in the
mount. But brother Dahmer, that's that's
in the law. That's that's in the legal age.
All right. Let's turn to another age. Hebrews
chapter eight. Hebrews the 8th chapter. Here
the Spirit of God explains to us the significance of the types
and the ceremonies of the Old Testament. Hebrews chapter 8
verse 5. He tells us that these things
serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things. as Moses
was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle.
For see, saith he, that thou make all things according to
the pattern showed to thee in the mount. This left no room
for human device. The fact is that man had been
allowed to bring a single pin that he had made by his own wisdom,
by his own cunning, by his own craftiness, no matter how impressive
it looked, no matter how much it cost, no matter how much it
appeared to outshine the other pins, it would have been cast
aside as worthless. God wouldn't receive it. And
the matter of obedience then, the children of Israel did just
as they were told, nothing more, Nothing less. Turn to 2nd Timothy
chapter 3. God the Spirit constrained them
to do exactly as they were instructed. That they might have their obedience
set here as an example for us to follow. The tabernacle was
in all respects according to the divine pattern. It was in
all respects a picture of redemption, grace, and salvation in Christ.
It was in all respects that which was designed to show forth God's
glory. And the volume of the book describes
for us that which must be done and that which must be preached
in this day and in every day for God's glory. The Scriptures
speak plainly. There are a lot of folks who
want to devise creeds and confessions of faith and I get notes from
folks, real regular, wanting to know, would you give us a
copy of your confession of faith or your creed or your catechism? No. No, we don't have one. Are you afraid to tell people
what you believe? Just listen to one sermon and
find out for yourself. No, I'm not afraid to tell about
what I believe. No, I'm afraid to put something I write on a
piece of paper and have Bill Raleigh pin his faith to it.
I'm afraid to do that. I'm afraid to put my name to
a piece of paper that Lindsay Campbell wrote and say, this
is what I believe. I'm not afraid to rest my soul
on everything written in this book. I'm not afraid to declare
exactly what we find in this book. The Word of God and the
Word of God alone is our rule of faith and practice. It is
a sufficient guide and the only guide we're to follow in doctrine,
in practice, in life, in worship, in the service of our God, in
the preaching of the gospel, in the order of things in the
house of God, nothing but the book of God. Oh, but brother
Don, we're so out of step with everybody in this age. That's
not accidental. That's on purpose. I intend to
stay out of step, but everybody's do it. Go ahead. I'm not even concerned about
what everybody else is doing. I have absolutely no concern about how
the rest of the world looks on how we do things. None whatever.
They may laugh at us. I laugh and cry for them. We worship God according to the
book. All right, look at 2 Timothy
chapter 3. All scripture, verse 16, is given by inspiration of
God and is profitable for doctrine. for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect,
throughly furnished. I know the modern translations
translate that word throughly, thoroughly. Throughly is a more
accurate translation. Throughly furnished. Furnished
throughout body, soul, and spirit. Furnished for life. Furnished
to worship God. Furnished to walk with God. Furnished
mentally. Furnished emotionally. Furnished
in your heart. Furnished in your soul. Throughly
furnished unto all good works. All right now, back here in Exodus
chapters 36 through 39. Let me call your attention to
four things and I'll wrap this up. First, look at the men and
women who did the giving here. Those who brought the gifts were
all the congregation of the children of Israel. Men, women, and rulers. The old and the young, the rich
and the poor, God's covenant people. His chosen people, these
redeemed ones who had been taught to rest in Christ, for they were
commanded to keep the Sabbath before any of this started. These
people whom God chose for himself, to whom he had revealed himself
in saving grace, these people knowing what's represented in
this tabernacle. I'm more convinced today than
I've ever been. These folks understood what Moses
was preaching. Moses saw the type. He saw Christ
in his glory pass before him, and he reveals to the children
of Israel, the pattern speaks of the Redeemer. He's the pattern.
And this is how the tabernacle is to be made. And these people,
knowing what they were about to do, they were about to construct
a place on the earth where God shows himself Israel's God and
Israel's Savior in the accomplishment of redemption through that Messiah,
the seed of woman who soon shall come. They said, let's have at
it. Let's have at it. Now, second,
let me say just a word or two about Bezalel and Aholam. These men, I've already told
you, were certainly types and representatives and pictures
of the Lord Jesus, but they were also God's appointed leaders
to Israel to do the work. They were men God had chosen
and set aside specifically to guide the children of Israel
in all the work. Bezalel and Aholab did not themselves
do everything. These other folks were the real
workers. Bezalel and Aholab were the men who had wisdom and understanding
and a heart gifted of God to guide his people to perform the
work exactly as revealed by God to Moses in the mount. These
men were filled with the Spirit of God. They represent, if I'm
not mistaken, and I'm sure I'm not, God's servants, pastors,
missionaries, evangelists, preachers, men gifted of God and appointed
by God to be overseers in their churches. Overseers. That's what Bezalel and Holiab
were. Overseers. Men who oversee the work. Either I speak the truth or I'm
lying to you. As I was preparing this message, I spent a good
bit of time pausing today, asking God to make me understand,
really to understand. The folks who really do the work
are the ones to whom I preach, because I couldn't preach if
you didn't do the work. Brother Moose just sent out an
email commending this congregation, sending their pastor around to
preach the gospel. If you didn't, I couldn't go. I'd have to stay
here and do the job you're doing. I'm just the overseer, just the
overseer. Sadly, too much bears my name. It don't bear your name. Every
book I write, I'll have Bob Duff's name on it, Lindsay Campbell's
name on it, not mine. Oh, you're just being facetious.
I told you. Either I'm telling you the truth or I'm lying to
you. One of the two. No in-between ground. God's servants
are just the overseers. Gifted of God. Gifted of God
for the work. God puts their hearts in the
work and puts the work in their hearts. And God's people recognize
that they are being God's gifted to be their overseers. So they
follow them. Now, third, look at the gifts. There's a lot to be learned here.
When you read through these chapters, be sure you carefully mark the
gifts. Some folks gave gold. Gave gold. And other folks gave oil. And you know the gold didn't
mean any more than the oil? And the oil? Didn't mean any
less than the gold. Some folks gave silver. Other
folks gave dye. Blue and purple and scarlet. Dye. Well, that ain't much. It is if you bring what you've
got and give it to God. Some folks gave goat's hair. And some folks gave linen. Some
folks gave wool, and other folks gave spices. Some folks gave
onyx stones, and others precious gems, and others some brass,
and others shit and wood. What I've got to offer God is
meaningless. Good that you know that. Good
that you know that. Oh, it doesn't make any difference.
You're right, it doesn't. It doesn't. What you give, what
I give, what you do, what I do, not going to change what God's
purpose and what God does. It's not going to change a thing.
And you ought to recognize that. Well, sometimes there's better
preachers than others. Doesn't make any difference.
Doesn't make any difference. I, uh, fixing to go down and
spend a few days with Brother Walter Groover. He won't mind
me telling you this. He'll tell you himself. If you
were to go to seminary, go to Louisville Seminary and study
a course on missions, and study every book that's been written
on missions, and you get it down pat. Everything you would learn
to do in an entire seminary degree on missions is exactly opposite
of what Walter's done. I'm telling you the truth, exactly
the opposite. You've been down there, am I telling the truth?
Exactly the opposite. Oh, he's a brilliant fellow.
He is, in his own right. I've listened to him preaching.
He's not as good a preacher as some fellows I've heard. Go ask
those folks down there. In 45 years, God used him to
establish 39 gospel churches. Every one of them standing on
their own in God's providence and grace. I don't know anybody
else in history. I don't know anybody else in
history who's accomplished such things. Nobody else in history.
That's something else. Yeah, God uses nothings and nobodies.
That's what he uses. Oh, well, what I've got to give
is nothing. You're right, it isn't. My talents are nothing. You're right, they're nothing.
My abilities are nothing. You're right, they're nothing.
Nothing. But these gifts came from a people with willing hearts,
happy to give because they understood why they were doing it. Look
at verse 35, or verse 5 in chapter 5, chapter 35. Take ye from among you an offering
unto the Lord, whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring
it, an offering of the Lord. He says, you bring a gift with
a willing heart, an offering unto the Lord, and then he says
it's an offering of the Lord. Which is right, both. What we
bring him is already his. We just have it on loan from
him. Look at chapter 35 verse 21.
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
unto the work of the tabernacle. The Lord's offering. The word
of God supplies us with a lot of instruction about this matter
of giving. Take your pens out. Let me give
you 10 statements. 10 short statements. You can
use abbreviations wherever you want to. It'll help you. The
Word of God never tells you how much to give. I'm not going to
either. The Word of God certainly doesn't
teach tithing. It doesn't threaten folks or
tell you God's going to take it out of your hide. Doesn't
promise you you'll get 20% back if you give 10%. But it does
tell us in 2 Corinthians 9 verse 7 that we're to give with a plan. That is to say, you who worship
God, if you would worship God with your gifts, plan what you
want to give. Plan it as you purpose in your
heart. 2 Corinthians 9, 7 says also
God loves a cheerful giver. Gifts got to be voluntary. If
they're not voluntary, they're not gifts. That simple enough? They're not voluntary, they're
not gifts. You work there in a restaurant, and I know you're
a cook, but I suspect that sometime or another you worked on tips.
And they're called gratuities. That means if I want to leave
it, I can. If they put it on the bill, it's not a gratuity.
It's a charge. You understand that? Gifts are either voluntary
or they're charges. It's not a tithe. A tithe is
a tax. Gifts are gifts. Our giving has got to be motivated. by love and gratitude. This is
how Paul motivates us, 2 Corinthians 8. You know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, how that though he was rich, yet for your sakes
he became poor, that you through his poverty might be made rich.
Now he says, Joe, prove now the sincerity of your love. This is how the Lord proved his
love to you. Now you prove the sincerity of your love. Our gifts
must be according to our ability, each one as is able. God doesn't
expect you to give gold if all you've got's oil. And he won't have your oil if
you've got gold. According to our ability, 1 Corinthians
16, 2, every believer is to give a portion of his goods to the
cause of Christ. And those gifts are to be liberal
and sacrificial. David said, I will not sacrifice
to the Lord that which doth cost me nothing. And Bobby can apply
that to every aspect of our worship of God. God, give me grace. I'm not going
to offer you A message didn't cost me anything. My wife will
verify it. I'm not going to offer up stale
bread to you or anybody else. Not gonna happen. I'd rather
die. Not gonna do it. Because you
see, it's not to you I offer it. It's to God. It's to God. You bring a gift, you bring that
which cost you something, or you brought nothing. Give as
unto the Lord. And ninth, this kind of giving,
we're told, is well-pleasing to God. It's a sacrifice of a
sweet-smelling savor to God. You mean God'll accept what we
bring? He sure will. Moses looked at it, and he said,
that's just right. That's just right. And I'll tell you something
else. He said, well, Brother Don, I
can't do that. I've discovered something that's
declared in the word, and I've proved it to be true. Why I ever
questioned it, I can't fathom. I can't begin to understand.
If you're willing to give, God will supply you with the means
to give. I have never in my life Neither
as pastor of this congregation, nor as the head of my house,
nor as an individual. I have never in my life been
challenged to make some kind of a sacrifice of time, of labor,
of money for the cause of Christ. And I looked at it and said,
man, there's only 24 hours a day. There's only a hundred pennies
to a dollar. Just can't. I'm telling you the
truth. I never, never, never one time. looked at what I had, and said,
well, yeah, I can do that. I've never done it. I went down.
But I've never been met with a challenge that reached my pocket. If I got another hour, if I got
another dollar, well, there it is. There it is. Ever. My God shall supply all your
need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. That's what Paul said to the
poor Philippians with regard to their gifts to the cause of
Christ in the gift to his servants. All right. One last thing. The
result. Because the children of Israel
were stirred up in their hearts by the spirit of God, stirred
up by the knowledge of what it is they were doing, what was
represented in the tabernacle they were constructing. the priesthood,
and the sacrifices, and the services, all speaking of the Redeemer
and redemption by Him. We're told in verse 7, the stuff
they had was sufficient for the work. That's enough. That's enough. Whatever is required, whatever
is required of physical strength, spiritual strength, of mental
strength, whatever is required of money, of time, of people,
whatever is required to do what God would have us to do as we
give ourselves to Him that be sufficient for the work. I promise
you. I see these folks out begging. I was in a store yesterday and
had some church selling candy bars for the church. Churches
sell candy bars and have bake sales and rummage sales and send
children out standing at the red light with buckets and beg
for money. God's not a pauper. God's not a pauper. Not a pauper. Well, you send your missionaries
out on deputation, not so. Oh, not so. Mm-mm. No. I'm absolutely certain, absolutely
certain, if God Almighty called Bobby Estes to go to Ballymunny,
North Ireland, establish a work there, you won't have to ask
anybody if he didn't do it. Just go do it. If God doesn't supply
the means, he didn't call you. Just that simple. Just that simple.
God doesn't supply the needs of the congregation. Congregation
has no business existing. God doesn't open the door for
a pastor, there's no business preaching. Just that simple.
But as God's people give, hearts stirred to give by the Spirit
of God with gratitude to the Redeemer. There's always sufficient
for the work and enough and more than enough. Amen.