Abounding Grace

Guest (Male): Imagine a need within the church and the people gave so generously that the leadership had to step in and say, "Stop, we have enough." That’s exactly what occurred in Exodus chapter 36, as Pastor Ed explains.

Pastor Ed Taylor: When God touches your heart, you become generous. It doesn’t have to be measured by me telling you a certain number or this percentage. When you’re generous, you don’t count like that. You don’t even look at the resources you have. You just know they belong to the Lord and he’ll take care of it. You’ll do this, you’ll step into that. I want to be a part of that. No, I don’t think God wants me to be a part of that. It’s just a beautiful thing.

Then you might even have the same thing in your own life. I’ve been giving and giving and giving, and then it stopped. Then I’m going to move off over here and I’m going to give. Then Moses stands before the people: "Enough." What a celebration that must have been. Enough, we got it all. Don’t need any more. Take it back home. Yeah, but we want to give. No, we don’t need any more. Next time. Save it for next time. There’ll be another one and the Lord will take care of it.

Guest (Male): We began our journey through Exodus back in December of last year, and today and next time, we finish it up here on Abounding Grace. In a moment, Pastor Ed Taylor will review where we’ve been and then survey the final chapters. Chapters 36 through 40 will sound familiar as it’s territory we’ve covered in previous studies. So let’s lean in and listen to part one of The Glory and Presence of the Lord.

Pastor Ed Taylor: Open your Bibles to Exodus chapter 36. Exodus chapter 36. We hope to close out our study in Exodus today. The title is The Glory and Presence of the Lord. It’s been a glorious time studying the character and the nature of God in his loving deliverance of the nation of Israel. Our study in Exodus has grown our hope in a faithful God and how strong it’s been as our faith has grown and our hope has grown. What he did for them, he can do for us. He can hear our cries and answer our prayers and deliver us from the most difficult situations. He does know our pain, and he does have those in our lives that will help us along the way and lead us.

Jesus has delivered us from the pain and the penalty and, soon, from the presence of sin in our lives. He is our deliverer. Exodus is a book of deliverance. In it, we see the power of God delivering the children of Israel from the bondage of Egypt through his deliverer Moses, who becomes a type and a picture of the great deliverer, Jesus Christ. We follow along how God can use a man and how God fulfills prophecy. Remember Jesus taught us in John 14:6 that he alone is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father except through him.

There is no other way to be delivered from your sin except through Jesus. There’s no other way to get to heaven except through Jesus. There’s no other way for your eyes to be opened to spiritual things, your ears to be opened to the voice of God, your heart made new, but through him. He is a singular deliverer and he has come to deliver us. Jesus says, "I am that Exodus." As we’ve learned, he’s the mercy seat. He is our propitiation for our sin. He is our atoning sacrifice. He has paid the full amount, the full penalty for our sin, and that is the theme of Exodus.

I wonder in your own testimonies if this applies to you. How many of you during our time in Exodus were delivered from something? God set you free. Your eyes were opened. New faith was given. I would love to hear it. You should email me or share with us as a team. We’ll talk about what God has done in working deliverance in your life by simply studying the Bible and believing God and watching him work, which is what the children of Israel did.

Not only is the book of Exodus a book of deliverance, it’s also a book of providence: the sovereignty of God. I am so grateful that our God is sovereign, that he is in control. Sovereignty is one of those difficult theological truths about God as he’s revealed his character and nature. Here’s how it works. I know a lot of people argue about it and there’s a big issue about it, but I want to set those aside for a second and talk about a real-life issue with the sovereignty of God.

It usually goes this way. If my life is the way I want it, I love the sovereignty of God. But if I’m facing difficulty, hardship, all kinds of challenges in my life, I’m not so happy about the sovereignty of God. You may even want to begin to change your circumstances and to get out from under them or to run away from them. That mindset, although it may even be valid—who wants to go through trials and who wants to experience pain? None of us. It may even be a real good reason not to want to endure this difficulty or not to even want it in your life.

But it spills over into a doubting that God knows what he’s doing with your life, that he is in control. I’m learning through the good and the bad to be grateful for the sovereignty of God, to trust him with my life, to come back to that basic principle that God knows what he’s doing. He knew and loved me, knew what he was doing with my life and loved me even when I was in rebellion toward him, resistant. Nothing happens outside of God’s view, outside of his purposes.

Satan will so often attack us, trying to get our eyes off of God and off of his strength and off of his sovereignty and off of his providence. The word providence comes from two words, pro and video. Literally, it means to see in advance. God can see in advance. He sees events before they happen so that he can weave things together in his powers and in his purposes. A true view of the sovereignty of God will inevitably lead you to Romans chapter 8, verse 28, where you say with confidence, even in the midst of pain, "And we know that God is working, that all things work together for the good for those who love him, those who are called according to his purpose."

Or a real-life example of that in the life of Joseph. He comes to the end of his life after everything was done to him and all the hurt that he experienced and all the lies, all the false accusations, all the imprisonment, everything Joseph faced. At the end of his life, he looks at his brothers and says, "You know what? What you meant for me, you meant evil against me. We know it, you know it, I know it, we all know it. But you know, the story doesn’t end with your intent on evil upon me."

I’m paraphrasing Genesis chapter 50, verse 20. He says, "You meant evil for me, but God, he meant it for good so that he could work out things as it is this day, that I could save you." Isn’t that amazing? You did all this to me, but you know what God was doing? He was saving the nation and here we are. You don’t need to fear. Here we are reunited and we all trust God together.

Not only is Exodus a book of deliverance, not only is it a book of providence, but it’s also a book of sacrifice. We see throughout Exodus, as chapter 12 unveils for us, the Passover. The lamb was sacrificed for the people to atone for their sins, to cover their sins every year. Not only is Exodus a book of sacrifice, but it’s also a book of worship, a very amazing, dramatic book of worship.

Chapter after chapter dedicated to the building of the Tabernacle and the articles of worship and how beautiful it was going to be, how expensive and costly it was going to be, how it would be beautiful to the eye, how it would touch the heart. How even the priests would have such beautiful clothing as they would come and on their chest, they would have the stones of the tribes of the nation of Israel. Why? So that they could carry in a very beautiful way the people on their hearts on behalf of God.

It would be something that you would see and it would be something that you would smell and it would be something that you would participate in. It would be something that would be grand and beautiful as a message to the nations. This is the one true God. This is what worship should be. God has given more time to the Tabernacle than he gave to creation itself in the Bible. In the Bible, more time is spent on his worship than the great acts of creation. It’s very important to him.

God is interested in our right worship of him. Finally, Exodus is a book of obedience. The Ten Commandments are in chapter 20. Then in chapters 21 through 24, he gives a set of social laws defining for the nation how they’re to govern one another and what their society should look like. These laws in the book of Exodus have been the basis for most of the common laws throughout civilization God has ordained. With that in mind, let’s survey the final chapters of Exodus as much of it is repetition.

Verse one, chapter 36: "And Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whom the Lord has put wisdom and understanding, to know how to do all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, shall do according to all that the Lord has commanded." And Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred to come and do the work.

And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making of the sanctuary. So they continued bringing to him free-will offerings every morning. We emphasized in our study last time, free will, free will. God is after the heart, those of us that are willing. If you weren’t here, please pick up the study; it goes together really well with today.

Verse four: "And all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, and they spoke to Moses saying, 'The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work of the Lord, the work which the Lord commanded us to do.'" Check this out. This is just amazing. You have to let verse six say what it says and let it hit really strong. Be ready for this. So they’re building, they’re coming together, they’re collecting everything that was told to bring. Everybody’s bringing it: free-will offerings.

Verse six: "Moses gave a command and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp saying, 'Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.'" And the people were restrained from bringing, for the material that they had was sufficient for all the work to be done, indeed too much. That’s what happens when God’s got your heart. That’s what happens. You don’t get this through manipulation and you don’t get this through guilt. You don’t get this through heavy-handedness. But when the Lord touches your heart, you become generous.

So much so that God says, "Stop. Stop giving." I have to stand before you today after 25 years and never have I said that to our church: "You have brought more than enough." Although the giving of this church has been very, very gracious. I can say along the way that we haven’t had projects where we have said stop, no longer, you don’t need to give any longer, it’s already complete.

One of them was the radio. We had half of the radio money saved. We took a loan on the other half. Grace FM cost us $3.1 million 15 years ago. We had just moved into the building and this big thing was dropped into our lap. Through a series of miraculous things, we had enough and then we took a loan. Then we told the church, "Hey, we got to pay this off. The radio is going to be really effective. We could pay this off. We still got to pay the bills, we got the mortgage, we got everything, the outreach, the missionaries. We don’t want anybody to suffer, so this is something special."

And you know what this church did? Many of you were a part of this church back then. Within one year, that radio station was paid off. One year, this church. And we could say no more, don’t need to give. That project is sealed. Then it became, well, there’s ongoing costs and different things and so as for the radio, we always ask. But that was one time where we got really close.

But here’s what happens in our church. We have some project and some thing and this precious church every year when we were smaller, when we’re larger, doesn’t matter, every single time God put something in our life, he always stirred the hearts of the people of this church. Always. I wish you were here for all those wild days in the beginning. But you’re here for these wild days. Whenever God puts something on our heart, we step into it by faith. He provides and then he puts something else on our heart.

"Well, here’s a new thing, and here’s a new thing." I just met with a young man, I actually met with two young men, just one of those things, that run a mission organization and God’s doing something really special with them. We’re just going to be praying about how God might be able to expand what we’re doing on the mission field. Then I see Kevin over here. I also just got an email that just came in today of another radio broker and said, "I want you to check out this station. It might be the right fit for you for down south."

It’s just step after step. But here’s the thing. When God touches your heart, you become generous. And you know what generosity is in your life and what it’s not. It doesn’t have to be measured by me telling you a certain number or this percentage. When you’re generous, you don’t count like that. You don’t even look at the resources you have. You just know they belong to the Lord and he’ll take care of it. You’ll do this, you’ll step into that. I want to be a part of that. No, I don’t think God wants me to be a part of that. It’s just a beautiful thing.

Then you might even have the same thing in your own life. I’ve been giving and giving and giving, and then it stopped, and then I’m going to move off over here and I’m going to give. Then Moses stands before the people: "Enough." What a celebration that must have been. Enough, we got it all. Don’t need any more. Take it back home. Yeah, but we want to give. No, we don’t need any more. Next time. Save it for next time. There’ll be another one and the Lord will take care of it.

These guys are a good model for us in ministry. They were generous. Then Bezalel and Aholiab, other men that were gifted and they used their gifts. But notice their gifts were spiritual, not just physical. So let me just touch real quickly on four areas of life in your life that you can see your practical side of your life touched by the Holy Spirit. Things that you can measure, like what will make you more effective using your gifts and talents and your practical gifts, whatever you’re good at: computer programming, plumbing, driving, taking care of the kids. All of life’s experiences can be touched by the Holy Spirit.

Number one: are you a spiritual person? And what I mean by that is, are you born again? Not just, "Oh, I’m a spiritual person, I live in the spiritual space." Are you born again? Do you have a real relationship with Jesus Christ and do you have a walk with the Lord? If you come back with us this weekend, we’re going to learn in Galatians one part of the walk with the Lord is to walk in the Spirit. Now you’re unable to walk in the Spirit if you don’t have a walk with the Lord. Are you really walking with the Lord?

Number two: are you faithful? Can you be relied upon? You can just look at your own life. Are you a person of your word? Is your yes, yes? And faithful—think of the word—are you full of faith? Trusting the Lord. You’re reliable, you can be counted on. But you trust God. Your reputation is as a man or a woman that is faithful and full of faith.

Number three: are you teachable? Many people stumble here. Can you take correction? Are you defensive and always have an answer? Can you learn? Are you full of pride and resistance and rebellion? Now there is much to be said about our younger generation. Let’s set that aside for a second. We want that zeal and we love the zeal of the young people. You know who really deals with pride? Older people. Like me, like you. Where you’ve got a few miles under your belt, you’ve got a few years of walking with the Lord, and you think you don’t have anything to be taught.

It just stunts your growth. We’re always learning something. If we approach every situation, "I’m going to learn something," it’s a very exciting thing. God’s going to show me something, you’re going to show me something, we’re going to learn it together. But you have to be teachable or you won’t be usable. You won’t be usable if you can’t be teachable. These are self-evident, although some people can reveal it to you if you need to.

Number four: are you available? Because you can be born again and you can be faithful and you can be teachable, but if you’re never available, then you won’t be used. You could have all these wonderful attributes, but they can’t be used if you don’t show up. You gotta show up. Be available to the Lord. There are people who have wonderful God-given, Holy Spirit-imparted abilities, but they’re never available. You’re just not around when you need them. Here’s a reminder for us. These men were available and they rushed to the beginning. And then they’re given that instruction: "Hey, no more, don’t give anymore. We got enough. Let’s get this thing built."

The rest of the chapter, almost to the end, is very repetitious. You will see, and we’ll go through some of the repetitions. We won’t read every verse because we have in earlier studies. But in chapter 36, verses eight through 19 is a repeating of the curtains. Each layer of all of the different fabrics that were being used for the curtains spoke of Jesus Christ. Verses 20 through 34 speak of the boards. They speak of our need for one another, how we stand together, how we lock together.

One of our culture statements here in this church is that we lock shields. We’re strong together. That’s speaking of being in unity and fighting the good fight, but it also speaks of being locked together like the boards. We learned that the boards connect us in fellowship, holding us up in the Lord, that we need each other. Verses 35 through 38 speak of the veils. The veils would be the covering coming in and out. One way in, Jesus says. There’s only one way in. Jesus is the door and the way.

Guest (Male): This is Abounding Grace and you’re listening to a message from pastor and Bible teacher Ed Taylor. Catch a replay when you visit aboundinggraceradio.com or listen wherever you get your podcasts. Here in the month of May, we’ve picked out an excellent book written by Chuck Smith called When the Storm Hits. If you’re struggling with life’s burdens, this is a must-read.

From the ability to discern spiritual warfare and how it can affect our emotions, to the realization that God is intimately aware of everything we are going through, this book will restore hope and peace to the weariest of believers. God may not always deliver us from the storms of life, but he is faithful to be with us as we go through them. We’ll send you a copy with our thanks for a gift of $25 or more to Abounding Grace. Please remember it is through your financial support that we’re able to come to you day by day on stations all across the nation.

Your gift, whatever the size, would be greatly appreciated and put to good use. Request your book today by calling us toll-free at 877-30-GRACE. Again, 877-30-GRACE. You can also order the book online at calvaryco.store. If you’d rather not have the book but still want to make a donation, that can be done rather easily at aboundinggraceradio.com.

Pastor Ed Taylor: This is Pastor Ed. I just want to share a quick note at the end of the program today, thanking you for your financial support. You’re hearing about it a little bit more lately as we find the ministry expanding and the partnership opportunities growing. So please do support us financially. Of course, we want your prayers and continue to pray for us, but give. Give after you give to your local church.

This is a valid ministry that you can support. We have been doing this for 23, 24 years. We have two radio stations here in Colorado that reach 80% of the population of Colorado. And don’t you know that Colorado needs the Gospel? But it also goes Abounding Grace around the country, even around the world. Please support us. Abounding Grace Ministries is being used of God in surprisingly wonderful ways. Your partnership means a lot. Thank you.

You can make a donation at calvaryco.church. You’ll find the give tab right there at the top of the homepage, designated to Abounding Grace. You can do it on the app as well. May the Lord bless you guys, encourage you, and continue to pray for us as the word of God goes forth.

Guest (Male): Again, you can make a donation at calvaryco.church. You’ll find a give tab there at the top of the homepage and you can designate it to Abounding Grace. Thank you very much for your support. We’ll finish up Exodus next time on Abounding Grace with Pastor Ed. Don’t miss it.