Tabernacle

Introduction

If we have not had the pleasure of meeting my name is John Colunga and I have the privilige of serving as lead pastor here at New Day Pasadena

I also have the privilige of bringing this weeks sermon

So if you have your Bibles, please turn to Exodus 25:1-8

If you forgot your Bible please use the one in front of you and if you dont have a Bible at all, please take home the one in front of you as a free gift to you

Opening

My software tells me that this is one of my shorter sermons but if you know me then you aren’t getting your hopes up

But I want to share that I have loved our Exodus sermon series and today and next week we will conclude it and then of course have Easter on the 31st.

As we have gone through Exodus:

When we first started, we talked about how God is supreme over all things and works for the good of his people

We have looked at God’s promise of deliverence for the Israelites

We looked at God’s calling of Moses

We have noted that God has a plan, and sometimes, in his plan, things get harder before they get better

We talked about God’s power and how God used his power to bring Pharaoh to a place to release them

We talked about the grumbling of the Israelites and how they should have lead with faith and not emotions

Last week we talked about the 10 commandments and how they were given as the perfect law to guide and direct the Israelites

New Testament

And, while we have talked about about all of these things, we are able to see how all of this points to and parallels Jesus

God is supreme over all things and he does work for the good of his people

And so God has a plan to deliver, to rescue, to reconcile, to justify, to make righteous, his church and all who are a part of it

And before time, God had a plan to send Jesus to deliver his people

And in God’s plan, things had to get worse before they got better, Jesus had to die in order to deliver his people

But because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, by the power of his perfect blood, God’s people can be delivered

That by the power of God, hearts are changed - and lives are transformed into a new life with Him

In this new life, we lead with faith - trusting in God rather than living in emotions

In this new life, we live in obedience to Christ but we are not bound to our failings - rather we are free in the forgiveness, mercy, and grace of Jesus Christ

And today, we are going to see Christ making a way for us to be Holy

Separated

There has always been a distinction from the church than the rest of the world

And sometimes that is viewed positively and sometimes it can be viewed negatively

Sometimes the truth of Jesus and Church is twisted in ways to make it seem hypocritical

Sometimes the truth of Jesus and Church is twisted so that people can justify how they want to live

Sometimes the truth of Jesus and Church is twisted to make it seem like Christians just want to elevate themselves over others

Now, certainly, at times, being fallen people, we can be hypocritical, we can try to justify our sin, and maybe sometimes we do allow some pride to creep in

But this is why Christianity relies not in the church, but on Jesus Christ

Notice that the attack on Christians is being used to try to attack and discredit Jesus

But the truth of the matter is that Jesus being the firm foundation of the church is unshakable

And because Christ is Holy he makes his church Holy

And so the church will always be separated from the world

Holy - to be set apart from

Here, in Exodus, God has set apart his people, the nation of Israel and has freed them from slavery

He has met their needs and has led them

He now wants to dwell among them and so he gives this directive to Moses

Exodus 25:1-8

If you are able to stand, I ask that you please do so for the reading of God’s word. I’ll read it as you follow along,

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.

This is the Word of the Lord - You may now be seated

Contribution

God has established that he is God

God has proven that He is for his People (Israelites)

God now wants to be among his people

A sanctuary has to be made and it will be built by the contribution of his people

Not Lording a specific amount, but an offering (freely given) by the heart

I am not sure if you have caught this but when God promised to free the Israelites, he promised that they would leave with treasures

Gods covenant with Abraham

14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ge 15:14.

21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 3:21–22.

35 The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 12:35–36.

Prince of Egypt depicts the Israelites as minimal and lost things in the parting of the red sea

But that is not what is found - and God surely wouldnt ask for a contribution knowing they didnt have what he was asking for - so, they had have riches

Is God being unfair in his asking for a contribution?

NO!

God is the one who ensured that they had treasures in the first place - Everything they had was because of him

The Israelites were to freely give from what God had given to them

And - It’s not like God was asking themto throw their contribution into the sea

God is going to use it for a place of dwelling among the people

Sancturary to dwell in their midst

God wants to dwell among his people (relationship)

God wants to be near his people

God wants to dwell among his people (King)

God wants to be the ruler and authority

God wants everyone to know that these are my people

God wants to dwell among his people (Holy)

They will know that these people are set apart just as God is set apart

Worship / Confession / Mercy

Tabernacle - to dwell

And what happens in the dwelling place is worship

Worshipers enter the outer court to pray and offer sacrifices;

the priests carry the people’s petitions into the holy place

Once a year on the Day of Atonement, the high priest enters the Most Holy Place, the very throne-room of the Almighty, with a blood atonement to meet the Lord at the mercy seat.

This mercy seat is mentioned here in chapter 25

But I want us to focus as to why it is the mercy seat

It is the mercy seat because upon it, the people would be made right with a blood sacrifice

The sins of the Israelites would be atoned for or washed away or covered by this blood sacrifice

Guilt is removed and reconciliation to God is made

It is a mercy seat because upon it the judgement made by God about his people isnt death

Rather, the judgement made is righteousness which leads to life with him

There is worship, confession, and mercy, taking place within the tabernacle

Within the sanctuary of the Israelites

Jesus

Jesus came to dwell among the people

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Jesus came to dwell among the people and to be in relationship with them

Jesus came to dwell among the people to establish his kingdom

We finished going through the book of Matthew last year and we found that Jesus had a lot to say about his kingdom

And just to be clear Jesus was teaching that he himself is King, Christ is King

Jesus came to dwell among the people to be the mercy seat and to make his church Holy

Jesus came to be the atonement for sins

Jesus went to the cross and willingly died for our sins

When he did that he became the atonement for our sins

He covered our sins or he washed them away

His atoneing sacrifice was his love and mercy for us

Example: I sin, I ask for forgiveness, Christ’s work on the cross washes that sin away, it is covered, I am forgiven and because that blemish is covered, I am righteous in the Lord’s eyes

What a mercy! Please dont miss this!

The mercy seat in Exodus becomes the focal point for God meeting with His people.

The purpose of the exodus was the bridging of the great divide separating God and humanity (29:45, 46).

Jesus becomes the focal point for God meeting with his people

And the purpose of Jesus was to bridge the great divide separating God and humanity!

Jesus came so that we could be made Holy

He is set apart

And because he is our mercy seat, because he has atoned our sins, and because we are righteous in the Lord’s eyes

We are set apart - The church whome Christ came to save is to be set apart, it is to be Holy

1 Peter 1:15–16 “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.””

Application -

Live a Holy Life

Do we live Holy and Set apart lives?

We sing that Jesus paid it all but do we live as if we believe that he paid it all?

Do we live in such a way where we are blatantly rejecting God’s commands?

Well if Jesus covers my sins then I guess I get to sin however I want!

No!

We are not to sin so that grace can abound even more

We are to strive for Holiness!

I want to read what my Study Bible says about 1 Peter 1:15-16

Just as OT Israel was set apart by God from the surrounding nations to be holy, so also the church is to be set apart from sin to the service of God. The Christian’s standard of and motivation for holiness is the absolute moral perfection of God Himself. They are made in His image and are to reflect Him.

R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 2243.

Brothers and Sisters, if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation

we are to live Holy lives that reflect God

That those who do not know Him would see Christ in us

And if you are here today and you are battling an addiction, you are habitually sinning, you know you have been outright living for yourself

Dont think that you are too far gone

Dont believe the lies of Satan that you are no good

Dont given to the shame that tells you that God doesn’t want to hear from you

Why?

Because Jesus paid it all!!! And we believe it!

You can repent, you can surround yourself with others to help you,

And ultimately, you can fight whatever you are spiritually going through because you are now the tabernacle!

The Holy Spirit - fully divine - part of the trnity of God - He dwells within you!

Your heart is changed, you have faith in Christ, and you recieve the Holy Spirit

The divine lives within you to lead, to guide, to convict, to teach, and to help you in your spiritual battles

And this is why we come back to faith and the striving to be Holy

God will work in your life to bring you out of any addiction, or sin habbit, or pride

God will forgive you of your sin!

You are set apart!

We Worship and Give

And in our striving to be Holy, we must be part of a body of Christ

SO I want to be specific first to the members of our New Day Church

We found in our text today that the Israelites gave to build the tabernacle

From what God has blessed them with, they gave freely

Members of New Day Church, we are giving to build up this church

And we are immensly blessed - lets keep giving what is on our heart

We are giving both our time and finances

We are giving our encouragement and our praise

We are giving our worship and joy

Ask yourself, what am I giving? Maybe ask yourself, what is God asking of me to give?

Coffee shop with David, Ronnie, and Hazel

We are in year 2 of New Day Pasadena - We will continue to worship and we will continue to give

Because we believe that the Lord is at work here - He is at work right now

He is present right now, in this room, working

I want to encourage you, continue to be generous with your time, finances, encouragement, praise, worship, and joy

The Lord has blessed us with so much and he continues to bless us - everything we have is because of him

Please continue to be an active part of our church or maybe pray about getting involved or more involved

Non-Members

Mattress Firm salesman

If you are not a member, visiting, or maybe coming for awhile

I want to invite you to be a part of this church and to give what you can to help us build

If just showing up and worshiping is all you can do right now, great

If you are thinking about taking a next step with us, great (we will talk about those in a minute)

The Lord is at work here and we are striving to build this church up in this community to love, serve, and have an impact for many years to come

Salvation

If you are here today and you have not trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior