Out of Shame/Into Glory

(S1) — Series

...God has done some amazing things...

—Out of Fear/Into Hope: Courage of the Hebrew Midwives

—Out of My Plans/Into God’s Story: Moses and the Burning Bush

—Out of Bondage/Into Freedom: Ten Plagues/Passover

—Out of Despair/Into Celebration: Crossing of the Red Sea

—Out of Chaos/Into Covenant: 10 Commandments

On their exodus journey God was teaching to trust him and be obedient to a better way of life…

Exodus 6:7 “I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.”

But, there were some bumps along the way—Even with all of the miraculous things God had done, they had not yet realized why God had saved them.

Exodus 32:1 “When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us.

Golden Calf (Aaron)—Plague—New tablets…

The Exodus story reveals God’s patience; his greater plan of bringing them out of one way of life and into another.

Their exodus story parallel to our own journey of faith

—learning to trust God, to be obedient to His ways, and finding our way back from our bumps in the road; OUT of…and INTO

(S2) — Title

…the climax of the Exodus story; God ushers in a new era of presence with his people; bringing them…

At the foot of Mt Sinai, he again tests their obedience; giving them their first assignment

25:8 “...have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.”

A major building project–10 chapters devoted to it…

— attention to detail; materials used; size, placement, every piece having a purpose

With God as the grand architect; Moses as foreman, who brings the skilled workers, best of supplies...to construct God’s Tabernacle .

(S3) — {Exodus 25:9}

…the place where the God who had SAVED them would set up shop…for the next 38+ year journey to the promised land.

When you think of the Church, do you see yourself as a part of God’s kingdom building project?

…their obedience to the completion of the project; God’s purpose in it; what it means for us as followers of Jesus

{Exodus 39:42-43}

PRAYER

(S4) — Tent Disaster

Tenting Experiences/Cabin/Hotel

Its interesting that God doesn’t tell them to build a big mansion, or a ginormous building; but build me a tent…

Exodus 40:1–2 “Then the Lord said to Moses: “Set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the first day of the first month.”

(S5) — Tent of Meeting

First completed at the foot of MT Sinai around 1450 b.c. (7 Months)

— Mishkan (dwelling)—Ohel (a nomad’s tent)—Miqdash (sacred place; sanctuary)

— Ohel haeduth (tent of testimony or witness) — Yawheh covenant with Israel

Entrance Curtain—150’L x 75’W (1/4 acre)

“The linen curtains a foresight of the robes of white as the righteous of the saints in the resurrection” (Rev. 19:8)

Outer Courtyard—Alter of burnt offering—slaughtering tables

“The blood of the sacrifice was poured out on the ground at the base of the altar picturing Yeshua (Christ) shedding his blood at the cross.”

Bronze Laver (basin) —

“In the laver, the priests were to wash their hands and feet before going into the tabernacle so that they would not die.

2nd Curtain to the Inner sanctuary (Holy Place)

“In the outer court, the theme was washing, judgment and death, while in the inner sanctuary the theme was light, food and fragrance.” This represents steps of maturity in the believer’s life and progression in one’s spiritual focus.

Table of Show Bread (12 loves), lamp stand, alter of incense…

3rd Curtain/Holy of Holies (High Priests)—Ark of the Covenant

It served as a house of worship; a most Holy place of sacrifice to Yaweh during the Israelites 40 years in the desert …where Moses, later the priests, would go to inquire of the Lord

How do you view this sacred space of worship?

They would discover that this was much more than a building project…it was the reason God saved them…

(S6) —

God SAVED them, so God could be WITH them!

From the beginning...God has always wanted to ‘hang out’ with us; — Adam and Eve…but sin entered the human heart and separated all of mankind from a loving God

— Good News, this was not the end of the story. God’s desire to save us so He could be with us; from Genesis to Revelation

—The Whole story of God is to redeem us so God could be with us!

It took a lot for the Israelites to trust God in the wilderness, for them to see that God wanted to be with them….

But, through the tabernacle…

(S7)

I. God was making a WAY to be with them!

At the foot of Mt Sinai; God chooses to manifest Himself—a visible presence—an invisible God

34 “The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”

cloud...the same cloud of God’s presence that was with them in the wilderness…

covered...to cover over, so that nothing is left uncovered

Dew settles on the ground/dust all over your house

...to conceal, “render Invisible, to pardon and forgive”

1 John 2:2 “Jesus is the atoning sacrifice (covering) for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Glory (kbod)...heaviness...God’s presence was unmistakable…so intense that even Moses could not enter!

Ever felt the presence of God in such a way, that your heart was so full—bursting with God?

God was making a way to be with them; all they had to do was pitch their tent…

Upon Jesus death; curtain torn—God making a way to himself

Palm Sunday…message; God is here; present with you, so get ready to pitch your tent of faith—Its about making this God’s Holy space; not ours…

Do you come expecting; ready for the moment when God’s glory will fill the room…cover you?

Through the tabernacle they would learn that…

(S8)

II. God wants to go WHEREVER his people go!

36 “In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; 37 but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted.”

The tent, even as big as it was, 1/4 size football field, was a portable sanctuary. They were never meant to stay in the wilderness…they were on the move and so was God…

Jacobs Dream at Bethel...

Genesis 28:15 “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.””

I don’t believe we were ever meant to be stationary in our faith…always growing…always going…

What if we lived life that way...how would you live differently knowing your life in Christ is a mobile tent; God with you is Jesus who is the way for God to be with us!

Is God with you where you go? work, school, family...

Jesus was always going…God was always with him…but he always knew his destination; purpose his death would make a way for God to Go wherever his followers would go. So, pitch a tent so I can go wherever you go”

Through the tabernacle they would learn that…

(S9)

III. God would ALWAYS be by their side

Exodus 40:38 “So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.”

God’s presence would be visible; the cloud by day to protect them; fire by night to light their way—always by their side

Leviticus 26:12 “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.”

God was saying, “walk with me, and I will walk with you.”

In the crowd of what we call Palm Sunday, many had walked with Jesus...not knowing yet that they would no longer see him

How can we see the presence of an invisible God; always by our side?

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

God’s presence is God dwelling in us through the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 3:16 “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”

God SAVED them to be WITH them—By making a WAY—to go WHEREVER his people would go—so they would know that he would ALWAYS be by their side

It would take a lot for God to reconcile us in our sin to himself: to bring humanity out of SHAME/Into GLORY

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father...

As we consider Palm Sunday and journey through Holy Week...know this that God is still in the saving business...we all need to be brought out of...and into

What does your tent look like? Is it built on Christ? God’s home or yours?

2 Corinthians 5:1 “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”

(S10)

JESUS saves you, so GOD can be with you!

Pitch your tent of faith in Christ...

So, God will go wherever you go...

and, always be by your side

Choose to walk with Jesus as he walks with you

Palm Sunday Jesus was pitching the tent of God himself for all people to enter

Ephesians 2:21 “In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.”

Jesus the WAY for God to be with us...

Jesus with us wherever we go...

Jesus who isn ALWAYS by our side

(S11)

“Best of all is, God is with us” John Wesley

Jesus saves...Hosanna...so God can be WITH you to bring us out OUT of shame and into his GLORY