The Nearness of God

Title: The Nearness of God

Context: If you weren’t here last week… we have moved back into our Exodus series. If you remember from last summer/Fall we had just taught through the giving of the law… the People of God have been delivered from Egypt and are now at Mt. Sinai where God is giving the law to the people through Moses. Last week Pastor Nate set the stage talking about the Covenants and now for the next few chapters God is giving Moses instructions on how to build the tabernacle… the home of God.

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Illustration: In 2004 I lived in a small apartment in Everett… near the water and near downtown. It was my first apartment so even though it was tiny, it was mine and I loved it. And I remember like it was yesterday one particular moment sitting there on my couch. I was having an all time low moment in life. These general feelings of depression, and wondering what I was doing with my life caused me to doubt God’s existence…. Was God really there? Did he exist? If he did exist why was he so silent? And as I sat on the over large couch in my 500 sq.ft apartment I prayer and asked God to show himself. I asked God to come down from heaven and make a light flicker or something… maybe a small tremor… nothing crazy… just give me something to strengthen my faith… help me know that you are near… and as I sat there staring intently… as if I was trying to use the force or something… guess what happened? Nothing. Absolutely nothing happened. Perhaps you have had a moment like this in your life… one where you struggled with feeling like God is not near too. Maybe this is you now… where are you God? Do something.

In these moments… in these moments of silence… we can be tempted think God is far off. That he is sitting up there… wherever up there is… sipping his mead… choosing to act in our lives sometimes… but not others… and we end u[p living our lives as if God isn’t with us. We live lives that are hidden from God…

But here in exodus we have a challenge for this… what if God is not so far off even in his silence… what if God is actually near. This is what we find here in this passage. we find the God who is near. And in this section on the building of his home, we find a God who is eager to dwell with his people. A God who wants his home built among his people. There are three things we learn about the heart of God and his desire to be near to us in this passage….

The first way we see God’s desire to be near to us… is….

1. God Invites Us to be near through our participation in his work.

We draw near to God in our participation with his work because we are working right beside him. His invitation to work beside him… is an invitation to draw near. Like a child drawing near to their parent in the kitchen, or yard or shop… Children love it… Why? Because they want to be near to their parent.

And we find the invitation to be near in our participation in two ways in this passage.

a. Contribution – vs 2-7

i. God didn’t need the stuff of the people… like a parent doesn’t need the help of a child… but out of love invites us to contribute. He didn’t even command them to give it… he says, if you are lead to give from your heart… then give. This seems like an optional thing… it isn’t written in the law book for them… but it is an above an beyond gift of the heart…

i. The unique thing about this contribution is that he didn’t command them to give it… he says, if you are lead to give from your heart… then give. This seems like an optional thing… it isn’t written in the law book for them… but it is an above an beyond gift of the heart…

ii. And so we might be tempted to think… phew… I only have to if I feel like it. But if I feel like I want that other thing I can use my resources for that instead… or I can save them up… or I can invest them or…

iii. The idea of the heart in the ancient world was not just a mere feeling… but it was the seat of the will. The heart truly exposed someone. Why Jesus says, where your money is, there your heart will be also… he is asking “what drives you as a person? Money?”…. So here God is saying… do you really want me? What drives you as a people? Show me. And God invites his people into his work through their contributions. What is amazing is that later in Exodus we find that the people did show God. That they gave so much that Moses had to tell them to stop giving.

iv. Its easy to think that they might be giving away old used stuff… But what kind of stuff did they give? They gave their most prized possessions (Gold, silver…). Possessions that had come with them from Egypt… treasures that would have helped them rebuild in the Promise Land. And here they spend them to build a home for God in the dessert. It is easy to give away a dying car when you buy a new one… It is harder to give away the new car. They gave away the shinny Ferarrai. Joyfully.

iv. Its easy to think that they might be giving away old used stuff… But what kind of stuff did they give? They gave their most prized posessions (Gold, silver…). Possessions that had come with them from Egypt… treasures that would have helped them rebuild in the Promise Land. And here they spend them to build a home for God in the dessert. It is easy to give away a dying car when you buy a new one… It is harder to give away the new car. They gave away the shinny Ferarrai. Joyfully.

v. Responding to God’s invitation to participate in his work by bringing their treasures before God… brought them near to God. It drew their hearts close to him. We experience this when we give sacrificially too. It makes us feel good… it makes us feel connected… it draws us to the Father. This is HIS design.

vi. But the people of God weren’t invited to just gather up all there materials for the house of God and put them in a pile… like an intern getting coffee for the real work to be done… But he invites us to participate in our work as well.

b. Work – vs 9

i. “So you shall make it”… God can build. He made this world and did a pretty good job… But again here he draws near to us… like a father to a child, by giving us the material list and the blueprints… he doesn’t want us to be passive members of his household… but he brings us into the conference room… rolls out the blueprints and says… here… this is what I want you to make… I will show you and you will do the work.

ii. And some of this gets into more detail later on… as we learn about the various craftsmen that come and use their gifts to build the temple… Stone workers, carpenters, seamstresses… all using their talents to come and work along side the great architect… because they love Him and he loves them.

So what we learn first here in God’s desire to be near to his people… Is that he wants us to work beside him.

i. Through our participation in the work of God, God draws near to us. This is His invitation and initiation… He created the project that is the church… SO THAT you would be involved, invested… using your time treasures and talents… Sometimes when we feel that distance… it could be that our participation is lacking. God has also invited you into his work. To use your gifts, to you your talents and treasures… Are you responding the way the people here responded? Some of you are actually… I could tell stories of a lot of you who do so much around here… giving what you can… What does your participation in God’s work through Christ Church reveal to you about vyour hearts desires? Because it is in your joining the work of God… that he draws near… and he wants you to work with him. He wants you to be his apprentice… So join him.

i. Through our participation in the work of God, God draws near to us. This is His invitation and initiation… He created the project that is the church… SO THAT you would be involved, invested… using your time treasures and talents… Sometimes when we feel that distance… it could be that our participation is lacking. God has also invited you into his work… Are you responding the way the people here responded? Some of you are actually… I could tell stories of a lot of you who do so much around here… giving what you can… What does your participation in God’s work through Christ Church reveal to you about vour hearts desires? Because it is in your joining the work of God… that he draws near… and he wants you to work with him. He wants you to be his apprentice… So join him.

iii. This is what it means for God To draw near to us in participation. But God is not merely an architect who designs the world and stands back from it… but he actually dwells in this world. The house we are building is for him. The work we do is so that His kingdom would grow.

iii. This is what it means for God To draw near to us in participation. But God is not merely an architect who designs the world and stands back from it… but he actually dwells in this world. The house we are building is for him and for his kingdom.

2. God Draws Near In His Sanctuary

We see this desire for God to be near to us in Verse 8…. Why does God want a sanctuary built? So that he can be with his people.

So what is a sanctuary?

a. Sanctuary – The Sanctuary is a word that means holy place… it is where we get our word “Sanctified” from which is the process of being made holy. So a Sanctuary is the holy place, a place that is already sanctified… It is modeled after heaven… it is heaven on earth…. And God is saying build me a sanctuary… a holy place so that I can live with you.

a. Sanctuary – The Sanctuary is a word that means holy place… it is where we get our word “Sanctified” from which is the process of being made holy. So a Sanctuary is the holy place, a place that is already sanctified… It is modeled after heaven… it is heaven on earth…. And God is saying build me a sanctuary… a holy place so that I can live with you. Make me heavenly home on earth.

So all this work to gather and build… is so that God can have a place that is holy to live among his people.

But you might be wondering… if God is God can’t he just come and go as he pleases? Why does he need a home to be near to his people?

For one, God is holy. We are not. TO be holy is to be concecrated… to be fully dedicated to the work of the Lord. He is fully dedicated to his work… this is holiness… and we have split dedications… So he needs a place that is set apart… he needs a holy place that is equally as dedicated to himself in order to be with his people… Secondlay… God has actually been coming and going throughout Genesis after the fall until now. Speaking through different people. But now God wants to set up a more permanent home. Not so that he can have a place to sleep and eat… but so he can have a presence with his people. Just like Adam had the presence of God in the garden before the fall… so God wants to have a presence with his people. And the tabernacle… the sanctuary is part of the process of making that a reality again.

For one, God is holy. We are not. He is fully dedicated to his work… this is holiness… and we have split dedications… So he needs a place that is set apart… he needs a holy place that is equally as dedicated to himself in order to be with his people… Secondlay… God has actually been coming and going throughout Genesis after the fall until now. Speaking through different people. But now God wants to set up a more permanent home. Not so that he can have a place to sleep and eat… but so he can have a presence with his people. Just like Adam had the presence of God in the garden before the fall… so God wants to have a presence with his people. And the tabernacle… the sanctuary is part of the process of making that a reality again.

God’s dwelling place is a place that is dedicated to the LORD. No common activity happens there… people aren’t hanging out and shooting the breeze… the purpose of it is to meet with God. Because God lives there.

b. Dwells in Our Midst – That’s what we actually find here… in the second part of verse 8 that the very purpose of the building of the sanctuary… the tabernacle… was so that God could be with his people…

To dwell is to reside… to settle… to build your home. I mean you think about the neighborhood that you live in… that you dwell in… That you make home… it mean’s your presence is in your neighborhood. Your neighbors are affected by you and you are effected by your neighbor.

And t to be in the midst of the people… is to be in the center of them. We don’t have a God who keeps his hands off… we have a God who gets into the mud with us… Who builds a dwelling place… that as we will find… can be moved. The people don’t have a permanent home on earth… so neither does he.

And this is what it means to be in the midst of the people… to be in the center of them. We don’t have a God who keeps his hands off… we have a God who gets into the mud with us… Who builds a dwelling place… that as we will find… can be moved. The people don’t have a permanent home on earth… so neither does he. His tabernacle is also situated in the center of the people. Everyone else lines up around it and the tabernacle is at its center…

God being at the center… his presence right in the middle… gives them their identity as a people. Their physical orientation matches their spiritual one. They are not a people that do what they please… but they are meant ot be a holy people… a people dedicated to the LORD.

God being at the center… his presence right in the middle… This is what it means to be in the midst of the people… to be in the middle of it… God not just drawing next to us… being being at the very center of us.

So what we find is that God wants to draw near… and he makes a way to draw near… to be with his people in the building of a sanctuary. A Holy place.

Illustration: Something you find when you travel in parts of Europe or even in Mexico and south America is that in the center of every town and village is a church. There was one town I visited outside of Guadalajara that had a church in the middle of the city and the church was the center of the towns activity. It was their identity. The same is true for the Israelites and for us.

Even still, when we gather every Sunday, The first day of the week… and we remember who God is and who we are… and God is present with us in a unique way as the gathered people of God. God draws near to us in this place. How? Through Jesus.

Even still, when we gather every Sunday, God is present with us in a unique way as the gathered people of God. God draws near to us in this place. How? Through Jesus.

3. God Makes a Way to be Near In Jesus

This leads us to the third way the God draws near to us… He draws near to us in Jesus.

In Jesus God comes and lives in a normal house… in normal human body… a body that gets hungry and tired just like ours… a body that gets wounded and bruised just like ours… Born of a women… He experiences sadness and joy just like us…

In Jesus he comes and lives in a normal house… in normal human body… a body that gets hungry and tired just like ours… a body that gets wounded and bruised just like ours… Born of a women… He experiences sadness and joy just like us…

The word in John used to talk about this dwelling of Christ is the word that means tabernacle. That Jesus actually tabernacled among us. Jesus is the presence of God among his people. Jesus… God in the flesh… finding a way to be near to his people… And the amazing thing is that he not only draws near to us… but he makes a way for us to draw near to him.

And we need this because One challenge for us is that he have split dedications in our lives. We are holy… concecrated… dedicated to God in some moments and then in other moments we aren’t. We bounce between love and hate… peace and anger… Contenment and lust. We have mixed loves. Of course we are growing in our holiness of our love… we are growing in our sanctification… but we aren’t there yet… and so we need Jesus to come and make a way for us to be near to God… the holy one.

And we need this… we need God to pursue us because One challenge for us is that he have split dedications in our lives. We are holy… consecrated… dedicated to God in some moments and then in other moments we aren’t. We bounce between love and hate… peace and anger… Contentment and lust. We have mixed loves. Our mixed loves actually pull us away from God… and so we need Jesus to come and pursue us and make a way for us to be near to God… the holy one.

He does this through his work on the cross. In his death and resurrection Jesus takes our unholiness… our un concratedness upon himself so that we can have his holiness… and having his holiness allows the Spirit of God to now be inside of us! The same Spirit that dwelled in the tabernacle… now dwells in you…

He does this through his work on the cross.

Making us temples… 1 Corinthians tells us that we are now the temple.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. –

In his death and resurrection Jesus takes our unholiness… our un concratedness upon himself so that we can have his holiness… and having his holiness allows the Spirit of God to now be inside of us! The same Spirit that dwelled in the tabernacle… now dwells in you…

Making us temples… 1 Corinthians tells us that we are now the temple.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

God now actually dwells within each one of us. The very tabernacle that was built… with all of its adornments and spectacle and shekinah glory… the glory of the LORD his really presence among his people… now it lives inside of you. And because of this you are made holy.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

You are now consecrated to the Lord.

God now actually dwells within each one of us. The very tabernacle that was built… with all of its adornments and spectacle and shekinah glory… the glory of the LORD his really presence among his people… now it lives inside of you. And because of this you are made holy.

And Just as God’s dwelling place was in the midst of the Israelites… forming them… shaping them… giving them the law… making them clean… now we are that… The gathered church… the gathered temples come and are formed by the indwelling spirit of God… which encourages us… which convicts us of our sin… Moves us towards acts of Love… Moves us towards holiness.

You are now consecrated to the Lord.

The same God that was worshiped in the tabernacle… in all his holiness and splendor… is the same God we come before week after week. This is made possible through jesus… Because he has made us holy… we can come gather before him.

God is near. And even when it feels like God’s distance is profound, he couldn’t be closer… So why does the God who lives inside of us feel distant? How is that even possible?

And Just as God’s dwelling place was in the midst of the Israelites… forming them… shaping them… giving them the law… making them clean… now we are that… The gathered church… the gathered temples come and are formed by the indwelling spirit of God… which encourages us… which convicts us of our sin… Moves us towards acts of Love… Moves us towards holiness.

The same God that was worshiped in the tabernacle… in all his holiness and splendor… is the same God we come before week after week. This is made possible through jesus… Because he has made us holy… we can come gather before him.

- The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.

This means that God is near. And even when it feels like God’s distance is profound, he couldn’t be closer… So why does the God who lives inside of us feel distant? How is that even possible?

Think about the people in Exodus. They spent generations in Egypt… in captivity crying out to the Lord. They were tested by his eylids. We don’t always know why… but we do always know that God is with us… and that he wants us to draw near to him in those moments… not away… he wants us to trust him… and when we look over the history of scripture and the lives of others and even the lives of ourselves what do we learn? That he can be trusted… that even in the most dire circumstance, we worship a God who is near. And one day we will

- The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.

God is teaching us that whether we feel and sense his closeness… or whether we feel or sense his distance… he is near. He is watching. Though his eyelids close for a moment… he is there. If you are at a park watching your kids play… do you blink in those moments? Yes. Do you children suddenly disappear? Are you less near when you blink? No… neither is God. And although he blinks feel like they last an eternity… sometimes when we trust in the midst of the blinking eyes of God… that we experience his closeness the most.

The truth is we don’t always know the answer to the question. But when you look at the story of scripture… when you look at the prayers of the Psalms who often struggle with this… we are called to trust and hope… even when it feels dire… The Israelites had to trust and hope in deliverance too… They had to wait in captivity for generations… and God heard them and delivered them… but they had to wait. And for us… we are all waiting… waiting until heaven and earth become one. When the whole world becomes his sanctuary…

Think about the people in Exodus. They spent generations in Egypt… in captivity crying out to the Lord. They were tested by his eylids. We don’t always know why… but we do always know that God is with us… and that he wants us to draw near to him in those moments… not away… he wants us to trust him… and when we look over the history of scripture and the lives of others and even the lives of ourselves what do we learn? That he can be trusted… that even in the most dire circumstance, we worship a God who is near.

God is teaching us that whether we feel and sense his closeness… or whether we feel or sense his distance… he is near regardless. He is watching. Though his eyelids close for a moment… he is there. And although his blinks feel like they last an eternity… sometimes when we trust in the midst of the blinking eyes of God… that we experience his closeness the most.

When I was feeling desperate and alone… the thing that kept me from going off the deep end was staying connected in the church. I served. I gave. Even though I didn’t feel like it… I let God’s people encourage me… and through that there was a process of coming out of the fog. It wasn’t instant. It took time. But as I kept walking forward, near the church and his people God protected me. And Lead me to move to Canada… And maybe God is calling you to Canada… but whatever he is calling you to, he is near to you and wants you to be near to him.

May we be a people who wait and trust and hope in God… so that even when he feels distant… we don’t stray, but we grow even closer to him in our work and worship.

When I was feeling desperate and alone… the thing that kept me from going off the deep end was staying connected in the church (Issac). I served. I gave. Even though I didn’t feel like it… I let God’s people encourage me… and through that there was a process of coming out of the fog. It wasn’t instant. It took time. But as I kept walking forward, near the church and his people God protected me. And Lead me to move to Canada… And maybe God is calling you to Canada… but whatever he is calling you to, he is near to you and wants you to be near to him.

1. Sursum Corda

May we be a people who wait and trust and hope in God… so that even when he feels distant… we don’t stray, but we grow even closer to him in our work and worship.

1. Sursum Corda

2. Prayer

a. Holy and gracious Father: We give you thanks that you draw near to us, and you give us the meal that reminds us of what you sacrifices to draw near and sustains our souls when we feel your distance. Encourage us throuhg this meal that we might sense how close you really are. May we with boldness come forward and be strengthened by your presence that dwells within us.

2. Prayer

3. Reflection

a. Holy and gracious Father: We give you thanks that you draw near to us, and you give us the meal that reminds us of what you sacrifices to draw near and sustains our souls when we feel your distance. Encourage us through this meal that we might sense how close you really are. May we with boldness come forward and be strengthened by your presence that dwells within us.

3. Reflection

a. this meal is a foretaste of the great feast that will be… where we will dine at the table with Jesus… and now God draws near to us in this meal… reminding us that he knows our pain because this meal was born of pain… but that in the midst of that pain we have hope because the meal birthed hope in the resurrection and life everlasting. So come eat and let your heart and mind and body be strengthened by Christ in this meal.

4. Fencing

a. this meal is a foretaste of the great feast that will be… where we will dine at the table with Jesus… where his nearness will be as obvious to us as the sun shining. and now God draws near to us in this meal… reminding us that he knows our pain because this meal was born of pain… but that in the midst of that pain we have hope because the meal birthed hope in the resurrection and life everlasting. So come eat and let your heart and mind and body be strengthened by Christ in this meal.

a. If you are visiting here with us today, the only thing we ask in order to take the Lord’s supper is that you have been baptized and you have put your trust in Christ. If you are here, and that isn’t you, we would invite you to pray and ask God to give you the gift of faith. We would love to answer your questions and to baptize you. We know that coming to faith is a journey. We have a couple of printed prayers in our bulletin that you can use to ask God for the gift of faith. Or if you would like, you can come forward and we would love to pray for you.

4. Fencing

b. But For those of you who belong to the Lord Jesus, this meal is for you.

a. If you are visiting here with us today, the only thing we ask in order to take the Lord’s supper is that you have been baptized and you have put your trust in Christ. If you are here, and that isn’t you, we would invite you to pray and ask God to give you the gift of faith. We would love to answer your questions and to baptize you. We know that coming to faith is a journey. We have a couple of printed prayers in our bulletin that you can use to ask God for the gift of faith.

b.

5. Institution.

c. But For those of you who belong to the Lord Jesus, this meal is for you.

a. I now pass on to you that which the church has received, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

b. In the same way he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you proclaim the lord’s death until he comes.”

5. Institution.

a. on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

6. Instructions.

a. At Christ Church we take communion row by row, WE have wine in the outer ring, and grape juice in the inner rings. We have gluten free bread if you come down the center aisle. This is a communal meal we take together as God’s children, so feel free to greet one another.

b. In the same way he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you proclaim the lord’s death until he comes.”

b. And this morning we have the joy of welcoming to the table for the first time, Finley, Miles and Maizy Gladsby… for a child to take communion here they have to make an age appropriate confession of faith and all three have… so welcome our brothers and sisters to the table.

6. Instructions.

a. At Christ Church we take communion row by row, WE have wine in the outer ring, and grape juice in the inner rings. We have gluten free bread if you come down the center aisle. This is a communal meal we take together as God’s children, so feel free to greet one another.