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[0:00] Good morning, y'all. What a blessed morning. You can turn your Bibles to Exodus chapter 31. We are going line by line, verse by verse through the book of Exodus.! We have just about finished Moses' first stint to 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain of God with the Lord up there.

[0:18] He has received, after receiving the Ten Commandments at the base of the mountain, he goes up to the mountain with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu. Matthew, they all stay halfway down the mountain. He then proceeds the rest of the way with Joshua, makes camp with Joshua there.

[0:34] And then Moses continues as God calls him into his presence. He goes into the presence of the Lord there, 40 days and 40 nights. And God then expounds upon the Ten Commandments, essentially says, here's how you live this out.

[0:45] Here's how the application is going to work. And at the end of that, he gives him the instructions for the tabernacle. And we've just spent weeks looking at the implements of the tabernacle, how they reflect Jesus and how it's such a picture.

[0:57] It's a perfect picture of who Jesus is in the new covenant because the tabernacle under the old covenant reflects the tabernacle, which is in heaven. It's supposed to. Moses obeyed the Lord and didn't change anything.

[1:09] And so last week we finished with our last implement. It was the bronze laver. It was the bronze basin that the priests would wash in before they would sacrifice or before they would go into the tabernacle to serve the Lord.

[1:23] And it ends with then the instructions for the ingredients for making the anointing oil. All of the implements and the priests would be anointed. And then the instructions for the ingredients of the incense that they would burn on the altar of incense.

[1:38] We saw how God desires us to be washed and anointed when we come into his presence. Those who serve God must be washed and anointed as we come into his presence. We are equipped as we draw near to God.

[1:52] The closer we draw to God, the greater he's equipping. Because the closer we draw to God, the more we're going to experience that washing and that anointing. As we draw away from him, as we pull back from him, will we remove ourselves from a source of washing?

[2:05] We confess our sins. He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If I remove myself from that source, I remove myself from a source of cleansing. That continual desire, what Jesus said to Peter, you need your feet washed, Pete.

[2:19] They get dirty. They get stinky. We need to clean them up. So God's people, they're to be clean. They're to be anointed and they're to be in God's presence. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6, 11, But you are washed, but you are clean. You are sanctified.

[2:35] You are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. Zechariah 4, 6. The word of the Lord to Zerubbabel is he's rebuilding the temple.

[2:46] He tells him this work is not by might. It's not by power, but it's by my spirit, sayeth the Lord of hosts. There's that continual theme in this. That is the Spirit of the Lord. It's the Spirit of the Lord that does this.

[2:57] As we see here, our cleansing, our anointing, our equipping is all by God's Spirit. The work that God does is always by his Spirit. There are no exceptions.

[3:09] There's no work that God does. He says, well, you know, this one I'm going to take a break and I'm just going to leave it to man's wisdom. I'm just going to leave it to your flesh. I'm just going to leave it to how well, let's see how well you can just kind of come up with something.

[3:20] All work that God does is by his Spirit. Now, that doesn't mean that all work that God does needs to be crazy and scary and pizzazz. On Wednesday night, we're going through the book of Revelation.

[3:34] We just finished Revelation 13, where we've looked at the beast and the false prophet, the Antichrist and his PR man. And it says, great power is given unto them to do many lying signs and wonders, many signs and wonders.

[3:47] And John says, he says, I beheld one coming out of the earth, one that is his PR man. And he says he looked like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon, right?

[3:59] He looked like a lamb, but he had the breath of a dragon. So the Spirit of God, the Spirit of God is going to look, it's going to look like something, yes, that's of the Lord.

[4:09] But it's also going to have, it's going to have the same sound. It's going to have the same voice that it's going to speak with. And so, yes, God always does his work by his Spirit. Jesus says in John 6, 63, is the Spirit that quickens, the flesh profits nothing.

[4:26] Paul would write in 2 Corinthians 10, in verse 3 and 4, he says, Well, that through God is through God's Spirit as he operates.

[4:39] God is able to manage the work that he's bringing about. So here, Moses has just received this massive amount of information, right? He's just received this whole backlog of work.

[4:51] He's like, how am I going to do this? How am I going to manage this? Well, God is a very good project manager. And that's what we're going to look at today, that God, after giving all of this to Moses, says, Don't worry, Moses.

[5:03] I've got a way to manage this project. Exodus 31, as the Lord finishes, he says, Moses, here's the last of the implements, the last of the design for the tabernacle.

[5:13] This is the last thing, Moses. In verse 1, he says, Remember when Moses was first called to go back to Egypt.

[5:32] He's been in the desert 40 years. It's a theme with Moses, the 40 years, right? And then he sees a bush that's burning. And the idea is that it's a living bush, a green bush, alive. And yet it's burning with fire, but not consumed.

[5:45] He's like, what is this? And so he draws near to see what it is. The Lord says, hey, I'm going to send you back to deliver my people. And he's like, no, that's not me. That's not my thing, Lord.

[5:55] I don't do deliverance. I lead sheep. And the Lord says, hey, you'd be surprised how close those are. That job description. He says, I can't. I can't go. And he says, well, I'll be with you.

[6:05] I don't have any. How are they going to believe me? So here's some signs. Well, I can't speak. I'll be with your mouth. And ultimately, Moses says, no, I'm not going to do this. And the Lord says, well, yes, you are.

[6:18] I'll send Aaron. And he's like, OK, OK. Well, for better or worse, Moses has now got Aaron for the rest of his life. And Moses never again asks for help. He'll never ask again.

[6:32] And so you wonder here, as Moses has just received all of this news, all of this design. All right, I'm going to go down and do this. Maybe he's thinking, how am I going to do this?

[6:43] But God, OK. And God says, hey, I already got a man. I've got someone, Moses. I've got it all worked out. And maybe Moses is thinking, boy, I wish I had gone with that the first time. Instead of, you know, saying I can't do this.

[6:55] And yet God is such a redeeming God because from Aaron is going to come the priesthood. He will use him to be the means by which God would draw his people near and be a picture of our ultimate high priest.

[7:07] And so the Lord speaks to Moses and says, I've called. The tense is there. I've already called. I've called Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. God's call.

[7:18] God's call is able to be communicated to those involved. God is able to communicate his call to those that are involved. Bezalel did not need Moses to tell him he was called.

[7:31] And the interesting thing is Bezalel is called before the work is even presented to him. He doesn't even know about this work. It's just God has stirred something. God is calling him to a work that Moses hasn't even presented to him yet.

[7:42] Remember when Saul had rejected the Lord's word and he had disobeyed and he had saved alive the king of the Amalekites and he had saved all of the sheep and all of the herds and all of that.

[7:54] And then Samuel goes to leave him and Saul reaches out and grabs his robe and tears it. And Samuel says, in the same way, God will tear the kingdom from you, Saul.

[8:06] And he's given it unto another. And so then Samuel is kind of pouting and God says to him, how long are you going to mourn for Saul seeing I've rejected him? He says, I have another. Go to Bethlehem.

[8:18] Go to the family of Jesse and find there my anointed. And so he shows up and here's Jesse with seven sons. That's a lot of sons. And Samuel says, well, surely this one, the oldest, is the Lord's anointed.

[8:30] And he says, no, it's not him. I've rejected him because I look on his heart where man looks on his outside. And so all seven are presented and none of them, not a one, is it.

[8:41] And I love Samuel's heart. His heart isn't, well, maybe I made a mistake. Maybe God made a mistake. Maybe, I don't know. Instead, he just says, well, God's word is true. And I followed his word.

[8:52] Therefore, well, Jesse, do you got any other kids? Are you hiding a son? Well, yes. We don't talk about him. You know, he's the last one and he was homeschooled.

[9:03] So, because I have David, the son of, look, I was homeschooled so I can make homeschool jokes. Okay. And he brings him in and says that he was beautiful accountants and good to look on.

[9:16] And the Lord said, arise and anoint him for this is he. And Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brethren. Poor David. And the spirit of the Lord came upon him from that day forward.

[9:28] And Samuel rises up and leaves. And here's David after all seven of his brothers were rejected, has been accepted. And awkward family moment. When was that ratified in David's life?

[9:41] When was that confirmed in David's life? When did actually take place the fulfillment of that promise of that anointing? Decades later. Decades later. Before God's anointing on his life was communicated to those around him.

[9:54] But God was able to do that all on his own. He's able to communicate his call on his anointing. And Bezalel didn't need Moses to go and say, you're the guy. Come on. It was the Lord alone who did that.

[10:05] And we see here that there are three ways that God confirms his call in this beginning of the scripture. It's by his word. God confirms his call by his word. He spake to Moses and said, I have called.

[10:20] God confirms his call by his people. Ultimately, there is a confirmation that says, yeah, we see that call on your life. As Moses would go and confirm that with Bezalel. And it's by God's spirit as we're going to see.

[10:33] As the Lord in verse three, it says, I have filled him with the spirit of God. God's calling is very specific to the one being called. Very specifically.

[10:45] Through his word, through people, and through his spirit. It says here that he has called him by name. Isaiah 43, verse one, speaking of being called by name, says, but now thus saith the Lord that created you, O Jacob, and he that formed you, O Israel.

[11:00] Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. Wow. How amazing would it be to be called by name? I wish I was called by name. I mean, this is, you know, you just, this is, this guy was going to build the tabernacle, Bezalel.

[11:15] Of course he's called by name. And that's a pretty, pretty impressive work. And in Isaiah here, it's Israel being called. Of course he's going to call his name, but he's going to call my name. Who am I? Psalm 100, verse three says, know you not that the Lord, he is God.

[11:30] It is he that has made us and not we ourselves. We are his people. And the sheep of his pasture. You said, yeah, Jared, I know that. I know I'm one of the sheep of his pasture. But have you ever gone out to look at a flock of sheep?

[11:43] You can't tell them apart. There's just a lot of sheep and they all kind of get lost. And I know I'm part of his pasture, but does he know me? Does he really know me by name? John chapter 10, verse two.

[11:55] And he that enters in by the door of the sheepfold is the shepherd of the sheep. To him, the porter opens and the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

[12:08] Yes, he's called us by name because we are the sheep of his pasture. We are his sheep. The Lord knows those that are his and he calls them by name. Mezaliel's name is an interesting one.

[12:19] It means in the shadow of God. Literally, the idea is in the protection of God. That he's under his shadow. He's under his protection. He's under his wing. And all those who God calls are under his protection. All who are called by God come under his protection.

[12:32] Psalm 91, verse one. He that dwells in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the almighty. To be in someone's shadow. What does that mean?

[12:44] How near do you have to be to be in someone's shadow? I mean, if they're 50 feet tall, I guess you can be a little further away. But to be in the shadow of someone, you have to be pretty close to him. Psalm 27, verse five.

[12:56] For in the time of trouble, he shall hide me in his pavilion. And the secret of his tabernacle. Shall he hide me? He shall set me up upon a rock. All those who God calls are under his protection.

[13:09] Because the point of it is he's calling them near. Calling them to tabernacle with him. It's the whole point of why he's giving these instructions to Moses. Last one. Psalm 37 or 32, verse seven.

[13:21] Thou art my hiding place. Thou shalt preserve me from trouble. Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. God is our hiding place. God preserves us. God knows how to keep those who he has called.

[13:33] So here we have Bezalel. And he's the son of Uri, who is the son of Hur. Hur. So Uri means fiery. And Hur means a hole. Literally like a viper's den or a prison. I mean, I don't know.

[13:45] Son, you're like a viper's den. But Hur, what Hur is this? Is this the Hur of Aaron and Hur who held Moses' hands up?

[13:56] Is this Aaron and Hur who God said to the people? I mean, Aaron said, Moses said to the people, Hey, you have Aaron and Hur there with you. If so, then Bezalel is Hur's grandson. Hur, hole, viper, prison, how God can redeem and take a life and use it for his glory.

[14:12] You can call that life near and you can take someone who was known as a viper. And his son was very fiery, right? Bezalel was not called because of his family connections.

[14:24] He was not called by God because, well, he's the grandson of Hur, you know. No, he was not called because of his family, nor was he called in spite of his family, if their names indicated their personalities.

[14:37] Our calling before God is not conditioned upon our position. It's not who we think we are our position is. Well, Gerard, you're a pastor. That's why you were called.

[14:48] No, it's because of who I am, position, before God in relationship that God then calls. He doesn't call because of position. If you look at Romans chapter 1, Paul starts it out in verse 1 and says, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated under the gospel of God.

[15:07] Of course you were, Paul. You're Paul. Of course you were called to be an apostle. Before Paul was called to be an apostle, he was a blasphemer and a murderer. Why was he called to be an apostle?

[15:18] Because Paul had a heart that responded to God's call to put his faith in him. And then in verse 6, it says, Among whom are you also the called of Jesus Christ?

[15:31] We also have a calling, and our calling is conditioned upon our heavenly, not our earthly relationships. Our family relationships, our earthly ties and positions do not condition our call.

[15:43] Our calling is conditioned upon our heavenly relationships and our heavenly connections. Verse 3, And Moses is going, Because I was trying to figure out how I'm going to make a golden menorah.

[16:04] I mean, if you've seen me draw, it's just stick figures. He says, So we've looked at God's work, and now we have God's equipping. Called by the word. Equipped by the spirit.

[16:17] Called by the voice of God. I have called him by name, and I have filled him with my spirit. Called by the word and equipped by the spirit. Jesus puts this together in John 6, 63, when he says, It is the spirit that quickens.

[16:31] The flesh profits nothing, as we read. Well, the rest of that verse is, The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. Called by the word and equipped by the spirit.

[16:44] You see, God's call will, without fail, always result in his equipping. If God calls, God equips. What's our part? It's our part to equip ourselves when God gives a call upon our lives.

[16:56] When God calls us to himself, when we hear that call, even to salvation. Well, I need to equip myself. I need to clean myself up. I need to get a little holier. I should probably go to church, get a few reps in, before I present myself to the Lord.

[17:08] No, our part is to respond in faith. We just respond in faith to God's call. Very often, though, that faith that we respond to, we respond to that call, I mean, in faith, it lacks visible evidence at the time.

[17:22] Bezalel, right? God's put a call on his life. He's like, God, I feel like you've put a call on my life to do a work for you. I don't see any work. God's like, hold on, I'm preparing it. I'm on the mountain with this guy.

[17:34] He puts a call on our lives and we don't see the evidence. David, I've got a call for you. I've anointed you to be king. God, I don't see any evidence of that in my life. But we shouldn't be surprised because faith is a substance of things hoped for.

[17:48] It is the evidence of things not seen. The evidence of a spirit-filled life. The evidence of a spirit-filled work. As he says here, I filled him with wisdom and understanding and knowledge.

[18:01] Spirit-filled work is based on the word. And a spirit-filled work will always result in work for the Lord, right? The filling of the spirit wasn't for Bezalel's personal gain. It was like, man, God, fill me with your spirit so that I can be successful.

[18:15] Fill me with your spirit so that I don't struggle anymore and have failings because I don't like how I feel about myself. God, fill me with your spirit so that I can just be powerful and amazing and strong.

[18:28] The filling of the spirit was not for personal gain. Now, was there a personal gain in it? You bet. Yet, being filled with God's spirit and being a part of his work is great gain. But the reason God equipped him was for the work of God so he could fulfill the call of God.

[18:47] He was to devise, verse 4 and 5 here says, to devise cunning works. To work in gold and in silver and in brass and cutting of stones to set them. And carving of timber to work in all manner of workmanship.

[18:59] So as God has described those stones that would be set in those settings of gold. That would have the engravings of the names of the children of Israel set in the shoulders of the ephod of the high priest.

[19:12] And as God would describe the posts, the beams that would hold up the courtyard. That would make up the boards. That would make up the tabernacle. They'd be overlaid in gold. God says, don't worry.

[19:22] I got a guy for this. I've already made a way. For Moses, it probably seemed like this is going to be an impossible task. But God, if you said do it, we'll do it. The equipping was spiritual.

[19:34] It was a spiritual equipping. He says, I filled him with my spirit. And all knowledge. And all wisdom. And all understanding. But the work was practical. It was a spiritual calling and a spiritual equipping.

[19:46] But it was practical. He still had to cut the boards. He still had to plane the wood. He still had to smelt the gold. He still had to go through all the work that God equipped him for. It was a hard work. It was very real and sometimes very hard that he was equipped for.

[20:01] I think we think sometimes, well, God's put a call on my life. And God's equipped me. And I'll never have any hard work again. I'll never have to work hard. Because that'd be striving in the flesh.

[20:11] Well, we don't want to strive in the flesh. But the work of the spirit is a very real and a very hard work. And very practical at times. Sometimes it's going over to someone's house when you were hoping to take a rest.

[20:26] Man, they need some help. I need to go. They need to move. Or they need this. Or whatever. Someone's sick. It's going to be very practical. Jesus lived a very practical but very spiritual life.

[20:37] We answer the call and we receive the equipping. And God calls us. We answer that call. Say, yes, God, I'm going to receive that call.

[20:48] I'm going to answer that call. And then God decides to equip us. But we still must participate in the work. You know, it doesn't do any good to be called and equipped and then never to participate in the work. Imagine Bezalel being like, man, telling his friends, you won't believe what God did in my life this week.

[21:03] You won't believe how the spirit moved and filled me and equipped me to do what? I don't care. I'm just filled and equipped. I'm just going to live that way. Maybe you know people like that.

[21:16] Maybe you've been there. God's saying, hey, I want you to move forward into this work. That's not exactly what I was thinking of, Lord. God's called to not alleviate Bezalel from this very real and very hard work.

[21:27] Verse six. And I behold. Now Moses finds out further. I've also given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahizamech of the tribe of Dan. So he has given another.

[21:41] To serve with him. These names Aholiab means father's tent. One who dwells in his father's tent, abides in his father's tent. Ahizamech means brother of support. A brother who supports.

[21:53] And here God has called Aholiab to do what? Support the work. To support the work that he's called Bezalel to lead. Just as Bezalel was specifically called and equipped to lead in this work, Aholiab was just as specifically called and equipped to support the work.

[22:09] They do not conflict. You see, as we have said, calling is not a condition. It was not conditioned upon our position. Our position also doesn't determine the value of the call.

[22:21] God has called me to be a janitor in his church. Great. You know, when we were at, my wife and I, in the school of ministry, 2001 and 2, upstate New York, the guy that was the janitor of the church there, amazing man, deep man, love that guy.

[22:41] I learned a lot from him. And he's now pastoring a church somewhere. God called him. And his view was, I'm called to support the work that God is doing here. And this is how he's called me to do it.

[22:52] I'm thinking, man, I don't want to be called to be a janitor. You know, my toilets I've cleaned. And what did God put me on when we were there at school? I got to just work with him as a janitor. But position does not determine the value of the calling.

[23:06] We think that, you know, well, he's the pastor. She's the worship leader. The call is determined, the value of the call is based upon the one who calls, not on the position. Illustration.

[23:18] All right? You're heading, guys, I'm going to use you because I'm a guy. You're heading home from work, you get a phone call. It's like some random number. Hello? Hey, have you thought about stopping and getting eggs at the store before you get home?

[23:31] Not really? I think you should. You know, you hang up and you're like, well, okay. I don't feel I need to do that. That was kind of strange. Maybe your pastor calls you. Right?

[23:42] Hey, this is your pastor. Oh, hello, brother. God bless you. I was just reading my Bible as I was driving. Well, anyway. Did you think maybe you stopped? I just think like the Lord's telling me to share with you that he wants you to stop and get eggs on the way home.

[23:54] You're like, gee, you know, man, I'm like, maybe I should consider that. Maybe I should do that. Then you forget about it until the next week's sermon. But anyway, maybe you'll stop.

[24:05] The value of the call has just gone up. Not because of the call itself, but because of the one calling. And guys, then your wife calls. Hey, can you stop and get eggs on the way home?

[24:16] Yes, ma'am. Turn it right in right now to do that. Right? The value of that call was based on the one who calls. It had nothing to do with the information in it. It had nothing to do with the outcome of it. It was because of the one who called.

[24:28] A holy of calling to support this work of God was just as valuable as Bezalel's. And both were needed to complete the work of God. If a holy of said, I don't want to do that.

[24:39] I don't feel it's valuable because my position isn't the same. Man, we live in a world that does that. Men and women, their positions are the same. God has created something so beautiful. When we choose to do it in our own effort, in our own ways, we completely mess it up.

[24:55] The call to the position that God calls us to is extremely valuable because of the one who calls. And if we don't respond to that and allow us to equip us in that, then we hinder the work God wants to do and it can't be completed.

[25:08] And then it says he's put not just Bezalel and Aholiab, and I love this part, and in the hearts of all that are wise-hearted, I've put wisdom. These unnamed dudes. Maybe you're an unnamed dude. Praise God for unnamed dudes who have hearts filled with wisdom.

[25:22] That they may make all that I've commanded. True-hearted wisdom. It comes by God's word. It comes by God's will. And it comes for God's work. God said, this is my word.

[25:35] I have put wisdom in their hearts. This is my will. And it is for my work. Proverbs 4, verse 1 says, Hear you, children, the instruction of a father, and attend to no understanding.

[25:46] You jump down to verse 7. Wisdom is the principal thing. Therefore get wisdom, and with all that getting, get understanding. Here you have Aholiab who says his father means one who supports his brother.

[26:00] We should never underestimate, especially as parents, the effect that our faithful parenting will have in the work of the Lord. We should never underestimate what the effect of our faithful serving and living our lives in very practical things, but with spirit-filled and wisdom-filled hearts.

[26:16] We should never underestimate the effect that could have on the work of the Lord. 3 John, verse 4 in chapter 1 says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

[26:30] Man, that's the heart of our father. He has no greater joy than to hear that we would walk in truth. You say, well, what if I lack wisdom? I don't, I don't, how do, what if I'm not one who I can say, yeah, my heart's filled with wisdom?

[26:41] No problem. God's word's got that covered too. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that gives to all men liberally. It's not your position. It's not your call. God will give to all men liberally.

[26:53] And a bread's not, and it shall be given them. So neither Bezalel nor Aholiab, neither of these two men, were who they were because of their work. It was not their work that made them who they are.

[27:06] We think of that. We think that way. I mean, we live in Charlotte, right? I mean, Billy Graham library's here. And we think, man, Billy Graham was a great man because of his work. That's who he was.

[27:17] That's who made him who he was. No. It's who he already was that made him who he was. So then God could call and equip him for the work, right?

[27:28] It's who we are already that qualifies us for the work. Ephesians 2. Verse 8. For by grace are you saved through faith.

[27:39] And that not of yourselves. It's a gift of God. It's not of works. Lest any man should boast. So who are you? Does your work make you great?

[27:49] Are we qualified because of our position? No. We're qualified because of who we are. Who are you? Well, I'm one that's been saved by grace. I'm one who's responded to God's call.

[28:01] Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.

[28:12] Are we saved by work? No, but we're saved for work. Are we saved by fruit? No, but we're saved for fruit. Colossians 1.10.

[28:23] That you may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work. God puts the two together. And increasing in the knowledge of God. God desires us to have fruitful lives, to be active in the things of God.

[28:36] But it doesn't come from the fact of because we think we're some big person in a big position. If I could just attain to that position, then I can be used greatly by God.

[28:46] No. God's call is on the life of David, on the life of Bezalel, on the life of Moses as a shepherd for 40 years. You have not chosen me, says Jesus in John 15, 16.

[28:59] But I've chosen you and ordained you. That you should go and bring forth fruit. And that your fruit should remain. That whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

[29:10] This verse is very instrumental in my life. On October 1st of 2019, just doing my own devotions, where I was at that time, God just spoke to me. And he's like, this is what I've called you to do.

[29:21] As I was seeking the Lord, Lord, what do you have for me? He says, I've ordained you. I've ordained you to shepherd my people. Like, all right. Great. And I began to live that and operate in that. And I always had that heart anyway, just to serve.

[29:33] But it's like, fine. This is how I'm going to look at it. God has called me. Whether man ever ratifies it or not, who cares? God has spoken to me and said, I've ordained you. And I've called you to this. Great. Two years on August 29th, 2021, before I was officially ordained as a pastor.

[29:48] It was like, great. But for me, I was ordained in 2019 when the Lord spoke to my heart and said, hey, this is what I've called you to do. And then it was two years later on March 12th of 2023, before I ever pastored my first church.

[30:00] Before here we are. Now, two years later after that. Are we saved because of a work? No, we're saved for work. And our work does not validate who we are.

[30:13] It does not bring value to who we are before the Lord. That is established first. We are valuable to God. And then he says, hey, I have a work for you and I have a call for you. Walk in that.

[30:24] But it doesn't add value to who we are with the Lord. So God's commands, as he says at the end here with these guys, and I have commanded them. They shall make all that I've commanded them.

[30:35] God commands our calling. He commands our equipping and he commands our work. God's calling and God's equipping. They're for God's work. And that work has to be done in God's order.

[30:46] We're going to see between verses 7 and 11. What is that work he's called them to? Well, it's to make the tabernacle. If you're with us as we've gone through the tabernacle and the laying out of the implements, God has a very specific order in which he laid them out.

[31:00] Well, he rearranges that order right here. He shuffles it. And it's like, well, what are you doing here? Well, he's putting that work in the order in which he desires it to be accomplished.

[31:11] God's work is firstly inward. Verses 7 and 8. The tabernacle of the congregation and the ark of the testimony and the mercy seat that is thereupon. You make the tabernacle. You make the things which are within it first.

[31:24] God's work begins at the mercy seat. That's where it starts. Jesus says in John chapter 6, verse 28.

[31:40] He answers the disciples who said, What shall we do that we might work the works of God? Oh, Lord, we want to do great works. We want great positions so we can feel valuable.

[31:52] And Jesus answered and said to them, Well, this is the work. If you don't do this one first, none else is going to matter. You believe on him who he has sent. Listen, guys.

[32:03] We cannot expect to take part in the work of God if we do not first believe in the God of the work. It's pretty basic. We can't take part in God's work if we don't believe in the God of the work.

[32:14] The disciples thought that their value to God would be based on what they could do. And Jesus flips it and says, No, the work, the thing that brings value is your faith, is your relationship to God.

[32:28] God's work, it begins inward. It begins with belief. It begins in the heart before it ever moves outward. It begins at the mercy seat. And then God's work moves outside.

[32:40] When the inside is right, the outside will follow. Verse 9. And the altar of the burnt offering and all his furniture and the laver and his foot. Everything now outside of the tabernacle. When the inside is right, the outside follows.

[32:53] God's work begins inward, moves outward. And God's work is also personal in verse 10. And the clothes of service and the holy garments for Aaron, the priests, and the garments of his sons to minister in the priest's office.

[33:05] So it's God's work, but done in God's order. It begins in the inward first before it moves outward. And it's a work that has to be personal. It has to be for these, each one specifically of these priests would take part in this work.

[33:18] It requires a personal call. And it requires a personal equipping. It doesn't do any good to be surrounded by people who are partaking in God's work. And then we're not.

[33:29] You know, you can hide yourself in that flock. Because the sheep all look the same. In Matthew 22, Jesus is giving a parable about the kingdom of heaven.

[33:39] He says, it's like unto a king who made a marriage for his son. And if you remember, he sends out everybody to invite. And they say, we don't want to come. He says, all right, go on the highways and byways. Compel them to come in.

[33:49] And my house may be filled. And then as he's walking among the guests, he sees one that doesn't have a wedding garment. And he says, friend, how came you in here without having a wedding garment?

[34:02] And he was speechless. And he said to the servant, the king did, bind him hemmed and foot. Take him away and cast him into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

[34:13] For many are called, but few are chosen. Few are chosen. Many are called. So now we don't have time to come. We don't, we don't, we're not coming. We're not choosing to come.

[34:26] Well, few are chosen. And this guy comes and he says, well, he came. Yeah, but he didn't have a wedding garment. And he was speechless. Why? Because the wedding garments are free.

[34:37] They're at the door. When you show up, here's a wedding garment for you and one for you. We are clothed in his robes of righteousness. We have no excuse to be there without being clothed. That's why he was speechless.

[34:48] Galatians 3.27 says, for as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. We're to be clothed with Christ. There's no excuse. But it's a personal work.

[35:00] Have we personally received that? So are you talking about baptism? You talked about that last week. And I'll talk about it again. If anybody's not been baptized or you'd like to be baptized, man, come and talk to me.

[35:11] We can set up the little pool thing. We can do that. Again, baptism is just an outward symbol of an inward work. The inward work is described in 1 Corinthians 12.13.

[35:22] For by one spirit, are we all baptized into one body? If we've been baptized into one body by God's spirit, then it is for us to be baptized to do the outward work as well. But this is a work that has to be personal.

[35:36] That we can take part of God's work. His personal equipping and his personal call that we might personally be clothed upon. Verse 11. And the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place, according to all that I've commanded thee, they shall do.

[35:51] So verse 7, it's an interior work. 7 and 8. Verse 9, it moves exterior. Verse 10 is personal. And verse 11, it says it's a holy work. This work. The sweet incense and the anointing oil for the holy place, according to all that I've commanded you.

[36:06] God's holy work. God's holy work is an anointed work. It's a separate work. It's sanctified. It's set apart. And it's always according to his word.

[36:19] Always according to his word. God's the one who determines the order. You see, God calls us and God's equipped us. God puts the work in front of us. And I think, oh, I know how this is going to go.

[36:30] Believe me, I've thought that. I thought I knew exactly when God says, I want you to plant a church. I thought, I know how this is going to go. And it hasn't gone that way. It's gone better. It's been exciting. It's different.

[36:41] Very different. It's according to his word. God's calling. God's equipping for God's work done in God's order. Verse 12 leads to God's rest.

[36:54] And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Truly my Sabbaths you shall keep. For it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations that you may know that I am the Lord, that does sanctify you.

[37:08] You see, Israel's Sabbath was to be for their national identity as part of who they are as a people. We have a Sabbath too. But our Sabbath is not for our national identity.

[37:18] It's for our eternal identity. Hebrews chapter 4. The writer of Hebrews says, For if Joshua had given them rest, Israel rest, when they finally got into the promised land, that's where they were going.

[37:29] We're supposed to be at rest here. We have our own kingdom, our own land. But there wasn't a permanent rest. If Joshua had given them rest, then would he not have afterwards have spoken of another day?

[37:41] There remains, therefore, a rest to the people of God. In the Greek, the word rest is Sabbath. There remains a Sabbath to the people of God. We are not national Israel, so we do not keep the Israel's Sabbath.

[37:58] But we are God's people. And so there is a Sabbath for us. As it says here, there remains a Sabbath to people of God. And that Sabbath, that rest, is what God's work leads to.

[38:10] God's work shouldn't lead to us being wore out. It shouldn't lead to us being burned out. Now, it's a very real work. It's very practical. It can be a hard work, and it can be tiring, but ultimately it leads to rest, brings us into a place of rest.

[38:22] God's people enter into his rest by his word, by his will, and by faith, which is by our participation. God desires us to be a part of his work, which then leads to his rest.

[38:39] Verse 14, he says, You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy unto you. Everyone that would defile it shall surely be put to death. For whosoever does any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

[38:54] God takes rest very seriously. It's a very serious thing for him. The word defile in the Hebrew is halal, and it means to pollute, to profane, and it also means to pierce, almost like to mar something, like to put a bunch of holes in it, like a garment.

[39:11] Isaiah 53, 5. But he was halal for our transgressions. He was wounded. He was polluted. He was profaned. He was pierced for our transgressions.

[39:24] He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. He was halal for our transgressions. Jesus became halal so that we might enter into rest.

[39:39] He took that on himself. 2 Corinthians 5, 21 says, For he has made him to be sin for us who knew no sin. He made him to be halal, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, that we might enter into that rest.

[39:55] God takes rest very seriously. Rest is to be holy. Rest is to be pure. And rest is to lead to life. If we reject that, if we reject God's rest and his holiness and his purity, we find ourselves in a place like Israel would.

[40:12] A place that instead of life, this only brings death. Six days may be work be done, but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord.

[40:23] Whosoever does any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. And so he reiterates that, but he establishes for Israel work. Yeah, six days work may be done and should be done. Paul says in 2 Thessalonians, Hey, if any man doesn't work, he don't eat.

[40:37] Don't think that like, well, now that I'm a believer, God, I'm just going to sit back and God will take care of all my needs. He will take care of all your needs. But he expects you to participate in that as he leads you. That which is holy to God, it should be holy to us.

[40:51] God says the Sabbath is a holy rest. If it's holy to God, I should take that serious. If God takes it that serious, so should I. But here he says, work should never keep us from rest. Six days you may work, but in the Sabbath you will rest.

[41:05] No work shall be done. Work shouldn't keep us from rest. Work's important. Work is valid. Work is needed. But work under God's order should lead to rest.

[41:17] And we live in a world that's the opposite. You go on vacation and you go on your weekend and rest so you can get back to work and you work hard. But work should lead to a place of rest.

[41:30] God's people are to work God's way, but we do that according to his word. Rest is never to be eclipsed by work, no matter how valuable we feel the work is. No matter how valuable we feel God's work is.

[41:42] God says it does not take priority over rest. Work should never keep us from rest. It should lead us to rest. And that rest that we experience comes from God's finished work.

[41:55] Here he likens it to, in Genesis chapter 2, using that as their example. He says, On the seventh day, God ended his work which he had made and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

[42:05] In John chapter 19, verse 30, Jesus bows his head, gives up the ghost and says, It is finished.

[42:17] It is finished. You see, our rest comes from a finished work. For if Joshua had given them rest, then would he not have afterwards have spoken of another day? As we said, there remains therefore a Sabbath to the people of God.

[42:30] Well, verse 10 of Hebrews 4 says, For he that has entered into God's rest, I thought that would be Sabbath. When I looked it up, it's not. It's a word that means calm. There remains a rest for us. And if we enter into God's calm, if we choose to enter into that, we shall also cease from our own works as God does from his.

[42:47] What work is that talking about? The work to present ourselves acceptable before God. I don't need to do that anymore. I've entered into God's Sabbath of Christ, and there's become a calm in my life now.

[43:00] I don't have to try and strive for that. So the work that I now do for God, it's from a place of rest. I'm not trying to bring validation in my relationship to God. I'm not trying to get some more points, hopefully a couple more than you guys.

[43:13] That's not the idea. God's work is done from a place of rest. And to reject that work, God says, if you reject my Sabbath, then you reject holiness, rest, and calling.

[43:27] Those are found in that place of God's Sabbath. And that Sabbath for us is Christ. He's the one who is our rest. Many are called, but few are chosen.

[43:42] Who are the ones that God chooses? He calls all. The ones he chooses are the ones who choose to put their faith in the finished work of Christ, to enter into his rest. Let's wrap this up.

[43:53] Wherefore, the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, verse 16, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations for a perpetual covenant. It's a sign between me and the children of Israel forever.

[44:04] For in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day, he rested and was refreshed. What is God asking his people to do? He's asking them to simply follow him into a work that he's already accomplished.

[44:17] He says, listen, rest, because in six days, I created heavens and the earth and I rested. As we read in Hebrews, God rested from his work. Jesus finished the work. He's simply asking his people, follow me into a work that's been completed.

[44:32] The rest has already been accomplished. God's people are to be identified by a covenant of rest. Israel, this is to be a covenant with you this Sabbath. My Sabbath rest identifies you.

[44:44] God's calling, God's equipping for God's work done in God's order. It leads to God's rest. And what's that last word there in verse 17? Man, it leads to God's refreshing. The word refresh means to take a breath, to breathe.

[45:00] It leads to, man, God just gives us a breather. God's rest is supposed to be refreshing. You see, rest allows for God's people to reflect on the God who breathed life into them.

[45:13] Man, if we keep ourselves so busy and so churning, believe me, even in the work of the Lord, even in the ministry, man, there's so much to do. And then with working a full-time job and family, there's so much that I can find myself, I've asked the Lord at times, Lord, help me not to lose my love for your word, where it just becomes a tool to accomplish your work.

[45:31] I don't want that. I don't want it to be where this is just a tool to do this. I want it because I love it, because I value it. Leads to refreshing.

[45:43] Genesis 2-7, the Lord God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. When we allow ourselves to enter into God's rest, we allow ourselves to enter into God's refreshing, and we remind ourselves of the one who breathes life into us.

[46:01] Jesus, in John 20-22, he looked at his disciples and he says, he breathed on them and said, receive you the Holy Spirit. Come into God's refreshing. So God's work is not to wear us out.

[46:13] It's not to burn us out. His work should result in rest and refreshing. Maybe you're saying, I don't have any rest or refreshing. All right.

[46:25] Maybe it's time to recalibrate. Right? Say, Lord, I need to enter into that rest. I need to just take some time and, Lord, would you refresh me so that I can enter back into that place where I'm not using work to bring validation.

[46:38] I'm not trying to use this for a position, but simply to come into your presence. Verse 18, and he gave unto Moses, then, God's finishing this whole section.

[46:50] Unfortunately, next week is chapter 32 and this wonderful, literal mountain high we've been on with Moses going through the tabernacle. and he goes down and the people are worshiping their golden calf.

[47:02] But right now, he says, he gave unto Moses, God gives unto him. When he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone written with the finger of God.

[47:14] Now, Moses will go down, he'll be angry, he's going to break these tablets. And he's going to come back up and God's going to tell him, you hew out two stone tablets and he's going to write on them.

[47:25] And when it comes down, he says that he has this tablets and written on them is the Ten Commandments specifically at that time. I don't think everything he's just told Moses is going to fit on these two tablets and they're pretty heavy.

[47:37] So I think it's the Ten Commandments. But God wrote them on there. So God's calling, God's equipping, God's work done in God's way leads to God's rest and God's refreshing.

[47:49] And all of that is established in God's word. Right? God writes it in his word. God writes with his finger upon his word, his word upon the stone. Second Timothy 3, verse 16, Paul writes and says, all scripture, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness that the man of God may be complete, whole, perfect, thoroughly equipped onto all good works.

[48:20] All scripture is given so we might hear God's calling, have God's equipping for God's work done God's way to enter into God's rest and God's refreshing. That's his desire for us. Moses received God's word written upon a stone.

[48:36] For you and I, God wrote upon our hearts. Moses had a couple of stones that God wrote on. We have our hearts that have been written on. Jeremiah 31, verses 31 and 32, behold, behold, the day has come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers and the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

[49:00] That's exactly what we're reading about right now, the history of that. He says, I'm going to make a new covenant that's not based upon one that I'm written in stone. But what is that new covenant? Verse 33, That's God's desire.

[49:26] You see, we enter into God's calling and we enter into God's equipping by entering into his word and by letting his word enter into us by having it written upon our hearts. That's how God desires to call and to equip us.

[49:40] The work of God and the rest that God desires us to enter into, both are accomplished in our life by the same source. He said in the beginning, we saw the same thing for Bezalel.

[49:51] He was filled with the spirit for his equipping in the work that God had for him. 2 Corinthians 3.3 says, For as much as you are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, the letter of Christ ministered by us, but that letter was not written with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the heart.

[50:21] God has written upon our heart by his spirit. God has written those commands and those truths so that we might partake in God's call, that we might be equipped by his spirit, that we might enter into his work, that we might partake of his rest, his refreshing.

[50:37] We do all of that through his word and through his spirit, through his equipping. God knows how to manage his people and God knows how to manage his work, doesn't he?

[50:50] And maybe the work that you feel he's put in front of you or maybe at this moment you're kind of like Bezalel. I feel a call, but I don't know what it is.

[51:01] Paul tells us to make our calling and election sure. He doesn't say, make sure you find out what the work is. He says, make your calling and election sure. And like the apostles, we can say to the Lord, what is the work of God?

[51:14] He says, no, you're focusing on the wrong thing, guys. This is the work that you might believe. And so, as God puts a call upon our heart, our response is not to figure out how to go and make that happen, how to work that out.

[51:28] It's just to be faithful, to allow him to equip us by his spirit, to allow his word to be written upon our hearts and to trust that he will confirm that just as he did in Bezalel's life.

[51:42] Maybe, this morning, it's not so much that you're wrestling with the call of God. Maybe you've just never heard the call. Maybe you've never entered into that relationship of rest and you're one who's trying to bring validation through your life, through your effort, through your work, through checking off attendance, through whatever it is.

[52:00] there's nothing you can do to write upon your heart the work that only the Spirit of God can do. Because we allow Jesus to do that.

[52:11] By grace are we saved through faith. We enter into the call of God through that rest. Or maybe the call that we've never heard is you're like, I'm a believer, but I always thought there was like two classes of Christians.

[52:23] There's the Christians and then there's the Christians that God uses to do things. I didn't realize it's all supposed to be like, I'm supposed to have a call on my life and God will equip me for that.

[52:36] I've been looking like for some big thing that needs to happen. No, we're just all the other dudes with all the other dudes that are filled with wisdom and with the Spirit that God wants to do at work through our lives.

[52:48] The call that God will put upon your life and the call He's equipped you for, it's a call that He alone can speak to you. You don't need a Moses to come and tell you what that is. God will use others to confirm that but He alone can speak that personal call in your life.

[53:03] He's the Good Shepherd. He calls His sheep by name. He knows your name. Man, He knows that my name is Pit, Viper Pit and Den and yet He can change that and He can change it to a Bezalel or a Holyab or whatever.

[53:21] We bear the name of Christ, guys. He has called us. So as we end as Kitty plays and as we worship, we have a great God. He's done all the work.

[53:33] If He's at rest, we can be at rest, guys. He's not stressed. He knows exactly what He has for this church, for each person here. Respond to His call.

[53:46] It's personal. It's internal. It's His to fulfill and He will equip you. And if you've not been filled with His Spirit, if the Holy Spirit to you has been something that's kind of like, woo, I've seen what happens when people say they're filled with the Holy Spirit.

[53:59] I don't know about that. Man, what of today that we've talked about is scary? What is so horrible about entering into rest and refreshing? That's what the Spirit of God does.

[54:12] Let Him clothe you. Let Him baptize you. Let Him pour out upon you the peace, the rest, and the refreshing. That comes with the call of God. Amen? Father, how good You are, Lord.

[54:23] We could just spend all day, Lord, talking about, sharing stories, looking at Scripture of how You've refreshed us, how You've given us rest, Lord. How in the midst of our sin, our sorrow, our failures, You came, Jesus, and You called us by.

[54:38] Amen. Amen. You call us by name, Lord.

[54:49] You call us by name, Lord. When our name was, maybe on other people's mouths or in their hearts, something to be despised. When our name had no value.

[55:03] Lord, when every position we held, it didn't do what we wanted it to do. It didn't bring that validation to our hearts, Lord. It didn't give us rest. I don't feel refreshed.

[55:14] And then You came, and so gently, Lord, You just called us by name. So all I want You to do is just respond to this call. And this morning, Lord, You're calling us again afresh.

[55:26] And all You want us to do is respond to that call by faith. The equipping is Yours. The work is Yours. The ordering of the work is Yours. It's all Yours, Lord.

[55:38] And if we enter into that, we find rest and refreshing. Thank You, Lord, for Your Word, which establishes who we are in Christ.

[55:51] And Lord, it gives us so much more than we could have ever had on our own. In Jesus' name, amen. You know, I hope you leave today at rest and refreshed.

[56:04] That's my heart's desire every time we gather. God knows how to manage His work, and He knows how to manage each one of us. He knows how to manage His people. Remember, it is His work.

[56:18] Being confident of this very thing, that He which has begun a good work in you, He will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

[56:28] It's His work. Rest. Be refreshed. Lord, I pray, Lord, that as we have been in Your presence this morning, because of a finished work, because of the rest that has resulted from that.

[56:43] Lord, for the rest of our day and the rest of our week until we gather again, Lord. Lord, would You allow us to enter into that rest and that refreshing anew, reminding ourselves that it is Your work, You know how to manage Your work, and You know how to manage each one of us.

[56:57] You are the Good Shepherd. Thank You for caring for us. And now may the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you. The Lord be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up the light of His countenance upon you and give you peace.

[57:12]  Amen. Have a great week, guys. Enjoy some fellowship.