Running To Win

Guest (Male): Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. As we believers manage the gifts God has given us, we find he wants us to be good stewards of what he's entrusted to us. This involves a close connection between stewardship and worship. Today, we'll probe Exodus chapter 35 to learn how worship happens in the context of building a Tabernacle.

From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running To Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line.

Guest (Male): Pastor Lutzer, there's no doubt that worship can be and should be a group activity. How does Israel's building a Tabernacle relate to worshipping God?

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Dave, I wish I had time to really expound on that, but this is so exciting. God said that he was going to open the hearts of the Egyptians to give to the Israelites before they left. So the Israelites received gold, and silver, and curtains, and they are thinking, "What a windfall!"

God is thinking, "Tabernacle."

To all those who are listening today, you may indeed experience a financial windfall, but God is thinking, "ministry." Investing in the ministry, which is actually a form of worship. Now, to all those who are listening, I know that there are many different ministries that enable the gospel of Jesus Christ to get around the world. But I want to challenge you.

Would you pray about the possibility of helping us, especially during this month? Because at the end of this month, it is the end of our fiscal year. But not only that, during this month, any gift that is given will be doubled. Imagine that.

This is a form of worship. It's a form of dedication, and it enables us to meet our investments on the other side. Jesus said that we should give in such a way that someday people will welcome us into everlasting habitations.

They will say, "Part of the reason that I'm here is because of your investment." So would you pray about that? Here's what you can do. Go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Now, I'm going to be giving you that contact info again.

But I want you to also pray about the possibility of investing in this ministry.

Guest (Male): This is the third in a series of messages titled "Managing God's Gifts."

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: We've learned that we don't own anything. Adam didn't own anything. Yet God said to him and to Eve that they were to rule over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, and over everything that he would give them. They were to rule over God's earth. But the earth would always remain God's.

So we've been talking about this business of stewardship, managing what God has given us. But today we come to a very important component, and that is the connection between stewardship and worship.

Because really, at the end of the day, God isn't just interested in our stewardship for stewardship's sake. He's interested in our hearts. In the scriptures, there is a connection between what we give and how we worship.

I want you to take your Bibles and turn to the 35th chapter of the book of Exodus. Exodus chapter 35, and if I might paint the context, Moses and the children of Israel are in the desert. They've had an experience at Mount Sinai earlier on in the book, and now they are looking forward to the future, and God gives them an assignment. He said, "I want you to build a Tabernacle."

Now, that word Tabernacle really means a tent, but it is, of course, a very interesting tent with partitions and with tables and with altars. If you include the outer sanctuary, it was quite an experience and quite a building that they were to construct out there in the desert.

Now, God could have done it on his own. He could have spoken the word and said, "I'm going to build this tent for you." Then he could have created it in a moment of time. He could have gotten the angels to build it. But God usually does not do those kinds of things in that way. What God does is he gives people the ability to do what he wants them to do.

So what I'd like to do in the next few moments is to show you five principles of stewardship that really turn out to be, in effect, five principles of worship. I hope we never, ever view it in the same way again. That's the agenda, and it shall last only for the next few moments.

Exodus chapter 35. I pick it up here at verse four. Moses said to the whole Israelite community, "This is what the Lord has commanded. From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an offering of gold and silver and bronze and purple, scarlet yarn, fine linen, goat hair, ram skins dyed red, hides of sea cows, acacia wood, olive oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastplate." And it goes on to describe these things even in more detail and adds to the list.

What are the five principles when God wants to do a work and when he desires a place where he is worshipped? What are those principles? Number one, you'll notice it was a community project. Verse four, I read it, Moses said to the whole Israelite community.

God was saying that this project is one in which all of you can participate. There are people who can do various things in that context. Some can work with linen. Some had wood to contribute. Some had gold and some had silver. But there was a place for everyone because God blesses unity.

The scripture says that a house that is divided against itself cannot stand. Only in heaven will we understand the blessing that has sometimes been withheld from churches because of division, because of criticism, because of factions. God blesses unity because in the process of being unified, we are of one mind and one heart. We have mutual respect and dependence one upon another. We realize that we really do need each other, and in the process, God builds that strength and into that strength he builds blessing.

God says, "Be unified." It's for everyone. There was another reason too, and that is that blessing was going to come as a result of this huge project of building this house for God. And God was saying, in effect, "Why shouldn't everyone have a part of the blessing?"

When the Tabernacle was constructed, when it was finished, people would be able to say, "I contributed part of the curtains. I gave part of the wood. I gave some of the brass that was being used." And so it was a community project and along with that project would come community blessing. No one wanted to be left out. It was a community project.

Number two, I want you to notice that it was a volunteer project. I read it a moment ago, it says there in verse five, "From what you have, take an offering for the Lord of gold and silver," but it says, "everyone who is willing." Verse 20, "Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses' presence, and everyone who was willing, everyone whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work of the tent of meeting." Verse 22, "All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold and jewelry of all kinds, brooches, earrings, ornaments."

Shall I say it one more time? Verse 29, "All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord a free will offering." Now, there are some things we do because we have to do them. And even in the law, God says, "I want you to do this," and there are certain tithes that needed to be brought and that was stipulated as to what they were to do.

But when you get to a project like this, God says, "Those who are willing to give, they are the ones who need to give." The Bible is very clear that it is from that spontaneous heart that we should give, and it is the willingness of the heart because to God, delight is more precious than duty.

You know, if you give because you have to give. If you give because you're badgered into giving. If it is a real weight and a real burden to you, then don't give. Don't give. This is for people who are willing, whose hearts, the Bible says, God has opened, and he has made them willing.

You know that as parents, we all know that we'd rather have our children obey not because they have to, not because the strap is hung at the back of the door, and under the strap is written the words, "I need thee every hour."

Some of us obeyed because that was the motivation at times. But how much more blessed to obey because you want to obey, you love your parents, you're in a good mood, you're in fellowship with them, and when they ask you to do something, you do it because you want to give. You want to please them. That's what's happening here.

Joy is a sure sign of the presence of God. And God says, "This is for those who are willing." Let me give you a third principle. We've learned that it's a community project. Everyone can do something. We've learned that it's a volunteer project. It is also a worshipful project. This was worship, folks.

Notice in verse 22, "All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold, jewelry of all kinds, brooches, earrings, and ornaments." They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord. That's important to understand.

Now, when you look at all of the different offerings of the Old Testament, it gets very complicated. At times, I've studied them, I've read about them, and you discover that there are five or six different major offerings. But even under those offerings, there are subcategories of offering.

The wave offering was something that was brought, and the priest helped you wave it before the Lord, probably not vertically, but horizontally. It was waved like this before the Lord, and in the process of doing that, it was people saying, "I am giving this gift to God. This is my worship." The whole sacrificial system involved worship.

In the Old Testament times, no one went into the temple without something to give to God. Nobody did. That was unheard of. I mean, if you're coming into God's house, you bring God a gift. Because you bring God a gift, therefore, you come with something. The idea of approaching God with an empty hand was unthinkable.

I mean, you're coming into the presence where God dwells in the Old Testament sanctuary. You're coming where the cloud of glory has come, and you have nothing to bring to God? Unthinkable.

Now, of course, here at the church, as we mentioned a moment ago, we do not expect those who are visiting to give, or those who are our guests. But for those who are a part of what God is doing, and Moody Church is your church home, I want you to know that giving is not only a privilege and an opportunity, it is an act of worship. It is me saying, "God, this is the gift that I present to you today."

In fact, I've served in churches or preached in churches where always, when the offering was taken, the ushers would come down the aisles, and then they would lay the offering plates on the altar. We don't do that here. It's a little inconvenient given the number of offering plates. But symbolically, in our minds, that's what we should be doing.

What we're saying is, "God, this is my gift to you today. This is my worship to you today, and this is my heart to you today. Here it is." So it was a worshipful project.

Could I say also, number four, it was a generous project? Very generous. Here we look at chapter 36, and I pick it up in verse three. "They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring free will offerings morning after morning."

That's remarkable. They'd go home and they'd say, "Well, I've got something else to bring," or, "What shall I bring today? Well, they need more brass. They need more linen." "All right, what we're going to do is we're going to bring more linen." "They need more wood." "Well, we're going to bring more wood." Whatever it was, they kept doing it morning after morning.

So all the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left their work and said to Moses, "The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work of the Lord that has been commanded." Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp, "No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary." And so the people were restrained from bringing more because what they had was more than enough to do all the work.

Well, this past week I was reflecting on my ministerial career, shall I say. I was thinking of being the pastor of a Baptist church for five years, being at the Moody Church for 20. Just once in my career, just once, just once, I'd like to be able to say to the congregation, "Stop giving."

Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing? Maybe I'll say that someday. "We have more than enough." Now why is it that the people were so generous? It's because God opened their hearts. This was the spontaneity of joy saying, "It came from God, we give it to God."

There were people who were so committed. Now, I need to tell you this, there's a little nugget of truth in the 38th chapter. It talks about the laver that was made, and it was made of brass. Now, in those days, they did not have glass, so they didn't have mirrors like we do today. What the women would do is they would take polished brass, and they would polish that brass so well that they could actually see themselves as a mirror. Those were their mirrors.

Now, listen to what the text says. "They made the bronze basin," that held many, many gallons of water, by the way, "and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance of the tent of meeting."

I hope I can get by with this remark. I'll try it and see later how I do. My dear friend, if you have women giving up their mirrors, this is a God thing. This is a God thing. And they were willing to give that up because they were saying, "This is for God, this is my offering, this is my experience of worship."

Well, we've learned that it was a community project, a volunteer project, a worshipful project, generous project, but oh how glorious it was. Now, those of you who are following in your Bibles, if you want to turn to the last chapter of Exodus. That's Exodus chapter 40, and I'm reading verse 34. This is after it's finished now.

It's all done. In fact, verse 33 says, "Moses set up the courtyard around the Tabernacle and the altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard, and Moses finished the work." Now, he had a lot of help, a lot of skilled people were involved. It says in verse 34, "Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle."

Oh, wonderful. "Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled upon it and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle." What does that sign of glory mean? What God was saying is, "First, I approve of what you've done. I am pleased."

Is there a more blessed thing that might be possible than God saying, "Should we finish the project that we as a church have undertaken that God says, 'I am pleased'?" You say, "Well, why doesn't the glory cloud still come like it did in the Old Testament?" The reason is because Jesus Christ has come.

Because Christ has come, it says, "The word became flesh and tabernacled among us." That's the Tabernacle now. We sing at Christmas time, "Veiled in flesh the Godhead see." The glory of God, the cloud of glory was veiled in Jesus Christ. It broke forth on the Mount of Transfiguration.

So we don't have that today because Christ has come. But I can imagine the same approval of God, the same blessing of God, the same leading of God, the same presence of God. As God says, "My glory is descended, and I am pleased with what you have done."

What are some lessons we can learn from ancient Israel? We've given five principles, but now two concluding lessons that hopefully you and I shall not forget. First of all, God gives people the ability and the resources to do his work. He gives them the resources.

I mentioned at the beginning of this message, God could have just created it for them, but he gives them the resources. Where did all this stuff come from? Here they are in the middle of the desert, and they have all these personal items. If we took time to read the jewelry and the linen and the silver and the gold, and yes, the mirrors, and everything else thrown in, where did they get it?

Well, you know, there's an interesting text in the book of Exodus, chapter 12, and I shall just read it to you. It says this, "As they are leaving now, we're talking about Passover night. The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. And the Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for, so they plundered the Egyptians."

Let's just imagine it. It's Passover night, and the Egyptians are giving you all of these articles that are very, very valuable even in those days. And you've got more than you can carry, and you're putting it in your tent, and you know that you're going to have to move, and you're carrying it with you as best you can. What are you thinking?

Well, you're thinking to yourself, "You know, this is really wonderful." I mean, it was the ancient equivalent to winning the lottery. You're saying, "This is really unbelievable that we're getting all this stuff," and they're giving it to us, and we, we are actually plundering them. That's what the Israelites were thinking.

Let me ask you a question. What was God thinking? God was saying, "You're thinking that this is for yourself. But I have a Tabernacle in mind." In fact, I already know its dimensions. I know how big it's going to be. I know how much gold it's going to need. I know how much silver, I know how much brass, and how many linens it's going to have.

So what God was doing, you see, is while they were thinking this was just for personal enrichment, God was saying, "I have a Tabernacle in mind."

You know, as I think about this, perhaps I speak to people today who 20 years ago you made an investment. Some of you, perhaps 20 years ago or 30 years ago or 10 years ago, you, you had a business in which you took some risks, and it turned out well for you, and and you say to yourself, "How fortunate it is that God has given me all of these resources." And what you didn't know was down the line, God was saying, "Moody Church, I have a building in mind. I'm thinking about that building." And you didn't know that those resources generously given to you by God were for this moment, for this hour, for this project in this wonderful city.

Guest (Male): Yes, my friend, not only in this city, the city of Chicago, but also around the world. At the beginning of this program, I challenged you to pray about the possibility of helping us as we continue to do our part to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in 50 different countries and seven different languages.

Many of you participate. Would you consider becoming one of our partners? Here's what you do. You go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com, and the reason I'm emphasizing this is because any gift that you give during this month will be doubled. And as an expression of our appreciation, we have a special resource. It's a book I've written entitled "Christ Among Other Gods," a defense of Christ in an age of tolerance. Maybe you've been looking for something to give to a skeptic, to a neighbor, to a friend that explains the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and why he alone can be a savior.

Right now, go to rtwoffer.com, that's rtwoffer.com, or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. Remember, your gift will be doubled as we continue to get the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world with your help and your prayers.

You can write to us at Running To Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60614. You've heard Erwin Lutzer introducing "How Worship Happens," the third in a six-part series on Managing God's Gifts. We heard about five principles of stewardship which are also principles of worship. Next time, more on the connection between worship and giving. So plan to join us.

Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running To Win is sponsored by The Moody Church.