All Hands On Deck

Exodus 35:4–36:7 (ESV)

Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “This is the thing that the Lord has commanded.

Take from among you a contribution to the Lord. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the Lord’s contribution: gold, silver, and bronze;

blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; goats’ hair,

tanned rams’ skins, and goatskins; acacia wood,

oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense,

and onyx stones and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.

“Let every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the Lord has commanded:

the tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its hooks and its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases;

the ark with its poles, the mercy seat, and the veil of the screen;

the table with its poles and all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence;

the lampstand also for the light, with its utensils and its lamps, and the oil for the light;

and the altar of incense, with its poles, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the door, at the door of the tabernacle;

the altar of burnt offering, with its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils, the basin and its stand;

the hangings of the court, its pillars and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court;

the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court, and their cords;

the finely worked garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests.”

Then all the congregation of the people of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.

And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the Lord’s contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments.

So they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to the Lord.

And every one who possessed blue or purple or scarlet yarns or fine linen or goats’ hair or tanned rams’ skins or goatskins brought them.

Everyone who could make a contribution of silver or bronze brought it as the Lord’s contribution. And every one who possessed acacia wood of any use in the work brought it.

And every skillful woman spun with her hands, and they all brought what they had spun in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen.

All the women whose hearts stirred them to use their skill spun the goats’ hair.

And the leaders brought onyx stones and stones to be set, for the ephod and for the breastpiece,

and spices and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense.

All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord.

Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;

and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship,

to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze,

in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft.

And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan.

He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.

“Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the Lord has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.”

And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work.

And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning,

so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing,

and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.”

So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing,

for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.

“A chair is still a chair…”

A House Is Not A Home is Luther Vandross’ attempt to draw the distinction between spaces and places.

A chair is not a house…a room is not a house…An effective place requires enough space

But even if you have an entire house, a house by itself is not a home

Now, let me rush to say that Luther Vandross got it wrong about what makes a house a home (it is not at all about romantic love)

But, Luther is onto something

Sufficient space does not mean we have effectively made a place

University of Wisconsin Center On Community Economic Development says, “Place Is Space Plus Meaning”

There are stories and values, experiences and feelings that are knowingly connected to the space.

At this point, you might be thinking, “Okay, this is interesting information, but how did we go from Exodus to a thorough exegesis of Luther Vandross?”

When I first read this passage of scripture, I thought it was a passage about giving and generosity.

But, as I prayed further into it in preparation for preaching, I began to realize that this passage is not about giving and generosity.

There is giving here and there is generosity. But, the passage is not about that.

This is a passage about how the people of God worked together to make a place for the Presence of God.

All the way back in Chapter 25, this is what God had talked about with Moses in the mountain: His desire to have a tabernacle with the people.

A dwelling place

God had promised to be among them. And God had been among them in the pillar of fire and cloud, as smoke and fire on the mountain.

But, God desired a more accessible place. A place purposed and designed for God to dwell among His people.

And now we see that the same vision that God gave to Moses in, He puts it in the hearts and in the hands of the people.

All Hands On Deck: Working Together To Make A Place For The Lord

Everybody Giving What They Have

This is a “freewill” offering

Not a tithe

Not a sin offering

Not trying to make budget

This is giving above and beyond to expand the impact of God’s presence.

This is a comprehensive offering

Large gifts and small gifts

Onyx stones and spices

Not equal giving, but equal sacrifice

This is a considered offering.

V. 20: Then all the people departed from the presence of Moses. (This was not a spontaneous thing)

The Hebrew word is tĕrûmâ is translated “contribution” rather than “offering”

Has the root idea of that which is ‘taken out from’ something that already exists.

Each person, therefore, was called to explore what they already possessed and to set aside from it what was to be given to the Lord.

Examples

(Something small) Fast lunch

(Something a bit more) Saving up for a downpayment on a house

They understood that everything they had came from the Lord

because it literally was handed to them from the Egyptians.

Sometimes we forget (we think we worked for it)

Everybody Doing What They Can

Important to note that this is not an either or proposition

There was an organization put in place to get the work done

Skilled leaders to organize and oversee the work. (Bezalel and Oholiab)

Other skilled craftspeople put their hands to the work

Skilled women did the design work and sewing

They taught people how to do the work

Everybody in. Nobody out.

Our list will look a little different because our work is different. But, we still need everybody

Cooks and hospitality workers

Interior designers and beautification teams

Project managers and outreach specialists

Fundraisers and business minds

Table leaders, singers, greeters, and musicians

Mental health professionals and personal care experts

Safety and security personal and transportation people

AND OTHER THINGS I DIDN’T THINK OF YET

To borrow a phrase from President John Kennedy, “Ask not what your church can do for you. Ask what you can do for your church”

Nobody Holding Back On God

Seven times it mentioned in the text the motivating factor behind the giving

Whoever is of a generous heart (35:5)

Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him (35:21)

All who were of a willing heart (35:22)

All the women whose hearts stirred them (35:26)

All the men and women…whose heart moved them

He (God) has inspired them to teach (35:33)

Everyone whose heart stirred him (36:2)

They were not giving because Moses demanded it of them. They were giving because God had stirred their hearts.

Giving is a major part of a culture of placemaking. But, if our hearts are not in the right place, a giving culture will be offensive.

How do we get our hearts in the right place?

2 Co 8:1–5: We want you to know, brothers and sisters about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the ministry of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

You have to give yourself to the Lord before you can participate in a culture of giving your wealth and your time and your skills to the Lord’s church.

The way this works is that a project is put before us from the Lord. And the leadership will put it out to the congregation.

We each go to the Lord in prayer.

And He will move on our hearts certain things

To give

To volunteer time

To contribute our skills and expertise

And you don’t have to do what somebody else does.

But always be bold enough to do what God puts on your heart to do.

Don’t ever hold back from doing that.

Sometimes its lunch money,

Sometimes it’s the large sum you’ve been saving for a downpayment on a house.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

If God put it on your heart to do something, God will place it within your means to do it.

It may involve some sacrifice,

But, “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” (2 Cor. 9:8)

We must embrace a culture of placemaking.

This is what Ambassadors do…they make connections.

As a church, our vision is that no person in the southside and Chicago southland will be more than one relationship away from a community where they can experience the love and truth of Jesus.

Very often, that relationship is not enough. The relationship needs to be linked to place…

where they feel welcomed

That is accessible to them (physically and emotionally)

If we are going to fulfill the vision that God has for this church, we must embrace a culture of placemaking.

That means everybody giving what they have.

That means everybody doing what they can.

That means nobody holding back on God.

at 3 o'clock this morning, I heard a lot of commotion on my street.

I looked out the window and saw no fewer than 45 young people (late teens, early twenties) pouring out of the house across the street where the drug dealers live.

After the police cleared the commotion, my wife wondered out loud, “What are they doing to attract so many young people?”

THEY MADE A PLACE FOR THEM.

Somehow they let them know that they were welcome.

They probably had various forms of entertainment

I BELIEVE THAT IF WE WORK TOGETHER UNDER THE LEADING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, WE WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE MANY PLACES WHERE PEOPLE CAN EXPERIENCE JESUS.

Put out a sign and some flyers that tell them that they are welcome.

Give them a comfortable seat and something delicious to eat and to drink.

Greet them with a warm greeting.

We’ll start on time and end on time.

We absolutely want to build a culture of generosity and giving, but that needs to be embedded in something much bigger and more meaningful…We must Embrace a culture of placemaking

I’m going to give what I have.

I’m going to do what I can.

I am not going to hold back on God.

Reading through the passage, we also see that there is special callout for giving among the leaders.

And so, we went to the leaders because we want to do some placemaking here…so that this building can be ready for Relaunch Sunday.

We have considered a gift.

And are bringing the gift today.

Welcome joiners…