Inside Out Worship

Inside Out Worship | Exodus 25-31 February 26, 2023 I'm not too proud to admit that I need the instruction manual when putting something together. But, I do tend to get a bit anxious when I open up the box and there are countless pages of instructions, because as my family can attest to, something always seems to go wrong. Whether it means that something doesn't quite fit, or something is missing altogether, I usually expect an issue of some sort. Then I read the text for this week, and thanked God that I wasn't part of this team that was tasked with putting together the tabernacle, because in those rare occasions that something isn't wrong with the packaging, I end up skipping a step, or using the wrong part. Then, I end up having to start that step - or all of it - all over again. But that's kind of how it is when we try to do things without the Lord, isn't it? We start to think that we can do it on our own. That is why we need to be sure we have the right attitude when coming before the Lord. That's what we'll see this morning. We're now in next major section of Exodus, chapters 25-31. In a couple of weeks, we'll see much of the same information, but the difference is the planning of the Tabernacle, which we see in this section, versus the construction of the tabernacle in that final section. We'll use the time then to go over everything in more detail. But this morning, what we'll try to do is pull out the overlaying principle of this section, and even make some observations along the way. The first observation is attached to our main idea, which is: The faithful worship of God's people begins from the inside out. It's very possible that when we hear the word "worship" in church, we probably think about music. Definitely not wrong, but it is only a part of the worship experience. Worship should include prayer, the Word, service, music and even giving. This is why true and faithful worship begins from the inside. Darlene Zshech, one of the contributors to Matt Redman's book, "Inside Out Worship" defines inside out worship as, "devotion that flows from a changed life." That's why this section follows so naturally, as we've just spent the last two weeks talking about being a people set apart. There are two aspects of this idea that we see throughout these chapters. The first thing that we see is how the instructions of the tabernacle begin from the inside out. On the screen, you'll see a picture of the tabernacle, and it is all labeled with everything that is in this section and in the latter chapters that close the book. First, it begins with a collection, but following that are instructions on the Ark of the Covenant, then the table for the bread, then the lampstand. The Ark of the Covenant is in the holy of holies, or the inner part, and the bread and lampstand is in the holy place. Following that are the instructions for the tabernacle, then the bronze altar, courtyard, then all that is followed by the priestly garments. Let me put this into perspective for you. Exodus 25:8 says: 8 AND LET THEM MAKE ME A SANCTUARY, THAT I MAY DWELL IN THEIR MIDST. Recall what we've seen so far in the book of Exodus. In chapters 1-2 we saw that the people were enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. They were afflicted and called out to the Lord. In chapters 3-4, we see that Moses was called to be their deliverer, a picture of Christ. In chapters 5 through the first part of chapter 7, Moses and Aaron go before Pharoah to ask him to let God's people go. In the rest of chapter 7 through most of chapter 15, the Lord brings down plagues and the people are released from slavery, this section includes the great account of the parting of the Red Sea. The rest of chapter 15 through chapter 18, we see some of the challenges the people faced during the first part of their journey. In Chapters 19-24, Israel received the Law from Moses to make them a holy nation and a people set apart. Now that the people have an idea of how they are to live, they are now given instructions on how they are to worship. The Lord is now saying, you are holy, and now I will show you how to worship as a holy nation. In fact, the word "sanctuary" in verse 8 literally means "holy place." So, we see that the purpose of the tabernacle was so the people could be in God's presence. The New Testament application, as seen in Hebrews 8, is that it is a copy and a shadow of Christ. The second illustration we see of God using the construction of the tabernacle as an illustration of inside out worship is through the materials that He used. We first see this example in chapter 25 with the collection of the materials needed for the tabernacle's construction. Chapter 25:3-4 gives us these details: 3 AND THIS IS THE CONTRIBUTION THAT YOU SHALL RECEIVE FROM THEM: GOLD, SILVER, AND BRONZE, 4 BLUE AND PURPLE AND SCARLET YARNS AND FINE TWINED LINEN, GOATS' HAIR, While not easy to see from our point of view, these materials were valuable. The yarns used for the tent were expensive and the highest quality. Here is what I read from one commentary describing the use of metals: "The materials for constructing the court will include the precious metals bronze and silver (also vv. 17-19)-lesser metals than the pure gold prescribed for the elements inside the tabernacle (25:10-40), since they are farther from the Most Holy Place, where the Lord dwells." I don't know about you, but I love these two illustrations of inside out worship. But the question is ... WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT INSIDE OUT WORSHIP? First, * Worship is not a spectator sport. o We see this immediately when we open this section of the book as we look again at 25:8: 8 AND LET THEM MAKE ME A SANCTUARY, THAT I MAY DWELL IN THEIR MIDST. * When God is dwelling in our midst, that means we must respond in a way that honors Him. * That means that we are to participate in the acts of Worship individually and corporately. * Recall, we saw earlier that "sanctuary" means "holy place" * Because God is holy, we are also to be holy, as we saw just a couple of weeks ago. * That means we must be cleansed before the Lord. We see this in two ways in our passage today: * The priests o Take a look at 29:1: NOW THIS IS WHAT YOU SHALL DO TO THEM TO CONSECRATE THEM, THAT THEY MAY SERVE ME AS PRIESTS. TAKE ONE BULL OF THE HERD AND TWO RAMS WITHOUT BLEMISH o And 30:30: YOU SHALL ANOINT AARON AND HIS SONS, AND CONSECRATE THEM, THAT THEY MAY SERVE ME AS PRIESTS. o The priests in those days (as seen in chapter 29) were about the service in the temple, the service of their God, and the service of the people. This is why they needed to be cleansed. The bronze basin in chapter 30 was the instrument that was used to ensure they were cleansed before entering the temple for their daily service. o The lesson for us is that we too must be cleansed before we approach a holy God in worship. * This is true because Peter calls us priests in his first letter. * Next, we also see this in ... * The place and instruments of worship o In chapter 30, verse 22-25 we see that anointing oil and incense was made, and we read this in verses 26-29: 26 WITH IT YOU SHALL ANOINT THE TENT OF MEETING AND THE ARK OF THE TESTIMONY, 27 AND THE TABLE AND ALL ITS UTENSILS, AND THE LAMPSTAND AND ITS UTENSILS, AND THE ALTAR OF INCENSE, 28 AND THE ALTAR OF BURNT OFFERING WITH ALL ITS UTENSILS AND THE BASIN AND ITS STAND. 29 YOU SHALL CONSECRATE THEM, THAT THEY MAY BE MOST HOLY. WHATEVER TOUCHES THEM WILL BECOME HOLY. o You see, everything that was used for the purpose of worship was also consecrated. o When my parents had their home built, they told us that they wrote bible verses on the dry wall and they prayed over their home. In a sense, they were dedicating that home for God's use. o Most of you don't see this, but when our worship team prays before practice every Sunday, many times, they are for the Lord's blessing on all the details of our gathering time. o The desire is not a superficial, "I pray that nothing goes wrong," rather it's a "I pray that nothing distracts us from worshipping You!" * You see, everyone here is participating in the act of Worship. Next ... * We all contribute to worship. o Here, this is manifested in three ways: * Financially * Heading back to chapter 25:1-9, we see this: 1 THE LORD SAID TO MOSES, 2 "SPEAK TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, THAT THEY TAKE FOR ME A CONTRIBUTION. FROM EVERY MAN WHOSE HEART MOVES HIM YOU SHALL RECEIVE THE CONTRIBUTION FOR ME. 3 AND THIS IS THE CONTRIBUTION THAT YOU SHALL RECEIVE FROM THEM: GOLD, SILVER, AND BRONZE, 4 BLUE AND PURPLE AND SCARLET YARNS AND FINE TWINED LINEN, GOATS' HAIR, 5 TANNED RAMS' SKINS, GOATSKINS, ACACIA WOOD, 6 OIL FOR THE LAMPS, SPICES FOR THE ANOINTING OIL AND FOR THE FRAGRANT INCENSE, 7 ONYX STONES, AND STONES FOR SETTING, FOR THE EPHOD AND FOR THE BREASTPIECE. 8 AND LET THEM MAKE ME A SANCTUARY, THAT I MAY DWELL IN THEIR MIDST. 9 EXACTLY AS I SHOW YOU CONCERNING THE PATTERN OF THE TABERNACLE, AND OF ALL ITS FURNITURE, SO YOU SHALL MAKE IT. * The key here is in verse 2, where the Lord states that this contribution will come from every man whose heart is moved. o You see, it's that inside out worship mentality we see here. o This is a voluntary contribution from those whose hearts have been changed. * Let's face it, God could have brought all of these materials needed anyway that He wanted. But He is asking the people to contribute to the act of worship. * We see another example of this in chapter 30 with the temple tax, where everyone was asked to contribute for the daily needs of the temple. * Next, they contributed to worship ... * Functionally * Here is an example from chapter 27:20-21: 20 "YOU SHALL COMMAND THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL THAT THEY BRING TO YOU PURE BEATEN OLIVE OIL FOR THE LIGHT, THAT A LAMP MAY REGULARLY BE SET UP TO BURN. 21 IN THE TENT OF MEETING, OUTSIDE THE VEIL THAT IS BEFORE THE TESTIMONY, AARON AND HIS SONS SHALL TEND IT FROM EVENING TO MORNING BEFORE THE LORD. IT SHALL BE A STATUTE FOREVER TO BE OBSERVED THROUGHOUT THEIR GENERATIONS BY THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL * You see, they contributed to the oil used to light the lampstand. * This is no different than those of you who contribute by bringing the snacks every week. o Finally, those who contribute in ... * Service * Chapter 31:1-6 reads: 1 THE LORD SAID TO MOSES, 2 "SEE, I HAVE CALLED BY NAME BEZALEL THE SON OF URI, SON OF HUR, OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH, 3 AND I HAVE FILLED HIM WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD, WITH ABILITY AND INTELLIGENCE, WITH KNOWLEDGE AND ALL CRAFTSMANSHIP, 4 TO DEVISE ARTISTIC DESIGNS, TO WORK IN GOLD, SILVER, AND BRONZE, 5 IN CUTTING STONES FOR SETTING, AND IN CARVING WOOD, TO WORK IN EVERY CRAFT. 6 AND BEHOLD, I HAVE APPOINTED WITH HIM OHOLIAB, THE SON OF AHISAMACH, OF THE TRIBE OF DAN. AND I HAVE GIVEN TO ALL ABLE MEN ABILITY, THAT THEY MAY MAKE ALL THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU: * There are two major observations in this passage. o One, the Lord empowered them with the Holy Spirit, and two, o They had a team of able men. * Last year, we did a sermon series in the Proverbs, and one the observations we made was that Hebrew word for wisdom was closely related to the idea of skill, and the proper application of that skill. * That's what we see here, wise men who were tasked to create everything needed for the tabernacle. * Lastly, we learn that inside worship means that ... * We worship a God of order and purpose. o If we were to go through each of these items described here, you would see precise measurements, specific materials used for specific purposes, and so on. o Here are two examples of the details given to Moses. In chapter 25:23-28 we see the instructions for the showbread table: 23 "YOU SHALL MAKE A TABLE OF ACACIA WOOD. TWO CUBITS SHALL BE ITS LENGTH, A CUBIT ITS BREADTH, AND A CUBIT AND A HALF ITS HEIGHT. 24 YOU SHALL OVERLAY IT WITH PURE GOLD AND MAKE A MOLDING OF GOLD AROUND IT. 25 AND YOU SHALL MAKE A RIM AROUND IT A HANDBREADTH WIDE, AND A MOLDING OF GOLD AROUND THE RIM. 26 AND YOU SHALL MAKE FOR IT FOUR RINGS OF GOLD, AND FASTEN THE RINGS TO THE FOUR CORNERS AT ITS FOUR LEGS. 27 CLOSE TO THE FRAME THE RINGS SHALL LIE, AS HOLDERS FOR THE POLES TO CARRY THE TABLE. 28 YOU SHALL MAKE THE POLES OF ACACIA WOOD, AND OVERLAY THEM WITH GOLD, AND THE TABLE SHALL BE CARRIED WITH THESE. 29 AND YOU SHALL MAKE ITS PLATES AND DISHES FOR INCENSE, AND ITS FLAGONS AND BOWLS WITH WHICH TO POUR DRINK OFFERINGS; YOU SHALL MAKE THEM OF PURE GOLD. 30 AND YOU SHALL SET THE BREAD OF THE PRESENCE ON THE TABLE BEFORE ME REGULARLY. o Or, how about the details for the lampstand in verses 31-36: 31 "YOU SHALL MAKE A LAMPSTAND OF PURE GOLD. THE LAMPSTAND SHALL BE MADE OF HAMMERED WORK: ITS BASE, ITS STEM, ITS CUPS, ITS CALYXES, AND ITS FLOWERS SHALL BE OF ONE PIECE WITH IT. 32 AND THERE SHALL BE SIX BRANCHES GOING OUT OF ITS SIDES, THREE BRANCHES OF THE LAMPSTAND OUT OF ONE SIDE OF IT AND THREE BRANCHES OF THE LAMPSTAND OUT OF THE OTHER SIDE OF IT; 33 THREE CUPS MADE LIKE ALMOND BLOSSOMS, EACH WITH CALYX AND FLOWER, ON ONE BRANCH, AND THREE CUPS MADE LIKE ALMOND BLOSSOMS, EACH WITH CALYX AND FLOWER, ON THE OTHER BRANCH-SO FOR THE SIX BRANCHES GOING OUT OF THE LAMPSTAND. 34 AND ON THE LAMPSTAND ITSELF THERE SHALL BE FOUR CUPS MADE LIKE ALMOND BLOSSOMS, WITH THEIR CALYXES AND FLOWERS, 35 AND A CALYX OF ONE PIECE WITH IT UNDER EACH PAIR OF THE SIX BRANCHES GOING OUT FROM THE LAMPSTAND. o Those are just a couple of examples where we see that not only does God provide order to worship, but He provides purpose to our worship as well. We've seen this morning that: the faithful worship of God's people begins from the inside out. A heart that is unchanged will not participate in worship, contribute to the worship, and will not care to worship a God of order and purpose. So, therein lies the problem: HOW DO I CHANGE FROM THE INSIDE OUT? * Begin by cleansing my heart. o I preached on a section from Proverbs 4 last year, and the purpose of that sermon was to encourage you to guard your heart. o The key passage from that Proverb came from verses 23-26 23 KEEP YOUR HEART WITH ALL VIGILANCE, FOR FROM IT FLOW THE SPRINGS OF LIFE. 24 PUT AWAY FROM YOU CROOKED SPEECH, AND PUT DEVIOUS TALK FAR FROM YOU. 25 LET YOUR EYES LOOK DIRECTLY FORWARD, AND YOUR GAZE BE STRAIGHT BEFORE YOU. 26 PONDER THE PATH OF YOUR FEET; THEN ALL YOUR WAYS WILL BE SURE. * The idea of "keep" is to protect and guard your heart. Solomon states here that we do this by following the path that the Lord has set for us. * When we search the scriptures, we can learn that path. o Then ... * Cleanse my mind. o This may come in various ways. o First and foremost, our minds should always be focused on the work of the Father through His Son and Holy Spirit in us. o Paul said this very thing in Colossians 3: 1 IF THEN YOU HAVE BEEN RAISED WITH CHRIST, SEEK THE THINGS THAT ARE ABOVE, WHERE CHRIST IS, SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD. 2 SET YOUR MINDS ON THINGS THAT ARE ABOVE, NOT ON THINGS THAT ARE ON EARTH. o Because the world can be attractive, we lose sight of the things unseen, but Paul's words are very wise here because what is on our minds often lead to what we end up doing or saying. o We must cleanse our minds, then finally: * Have an attitude of worship. o A friend of mine had a rough week recently, but as the day started to fade away, she happened to be in her back yard, and saw God's canvas as the sun was setting. It was then when she realized that even in the darkest times, God's light was showing her that He was there. o When we live a life that is full of worship, we can fulfill the words of Paul when he told us to rejoice always. o The world is dark, but we were called to be light, because Jesus is the Light. I want to close this morning by reading the Message paraphrase of Romans 12:1-2: 1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life-your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life-and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Will you do that? Will you place your life before God as an offering? Will you fix your attention on God? Will you ask the Lord to change you from the inside out? Let's pray. 2