Tabernacle Lesson #3
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 2 viewsNotes
Transcript
I. The Materials and Workers.
I. The Materials and Workers.
The Source Of Materials
The Source Of Materials
For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Imagine you did’nt have an OT. Imagine that you only had a NT and so you read that first.
(There are some places where the Bible is only now being fully translated.)
Then one day, you came across a brand new OT and with great excitement, you read that OT.
When you got to the Tabernacle, and you began to read about the materials and workers, and how God financed the project, you would not at all be surprised.
Because you know this same Almighty God had said:
Luke 14:28 (KJV 1900)
For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Every project begins with blueprints, approved plans and financing right?
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.
This is actually one of the most astounding accounts of giving, national giving, on record!
When all the materials were gathered, they found that there was enough and to spare! (Ex 36:7)
In the gathering of materials, we find Christ exemplified, the supplier of every need.
He is Jehovah-Jireh, the God who provides!
Remember when the people left Egypt? They took the riches of a nation with them!
Call it 400 years of backpay!!!
The Lord gave the people all that was required to build the Tabernacle.
Likewise, God will make it possible for His people today to give what is required to support the work of God.
Consider verses like:
1 Chron 29:14, when Solomon says:
But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.
“Of thine own, we have given thee!”
It’s all yours anyway!!
The only reason you and I brothers and sisters have anything is because God blessed us with the jobs and the income that we have!
I knew of a pastor who started a company to support the church.
He felt that it was necessary to pay for their building and the utilities and the various projects that they had.
Now I’m not saying that is not right, some churches have for example, started schools that not only blessed the students through Godly instruction, but offset the costs of the church. That can be good in some situations, but I want you to see a principle here:
If we all honor God with our increase, if we give our tithe and offering, God will make it possible for the church to support itself!
You need to know this! And some of you who God may lead into pastoral ministry one day, you need to know this principle and trust it!
I’ve also seen churches that started businesses that succeeded and did so well, to the point where they had to choose to commit to one or the other, the business or the church.
You’d think that would be an easy decision, but not so for many. And some have made the wrong choice.
So, folks, when God moves on you to build something for him, A congregation, a ministry, whatever, know that He has designed a system to pay for it!
You may not be living like a late night TV Evangelist, but then who needs a Rolex anyway! Who needs a private jet? I sure don’t!
These charlatans who sell “Holy water” to little old ladies in exchange for their pension money that isn’t enough for them to survive on anyway? Do you really think those guys are even saved?
Listen, there are times we may do fund raising for special events or needs or national events in our organization, big global stuff, and we should!
We have MTM in a few weeks and these fine youth leaders have arranged a bake sale fund raiser! Awesome!
but that is not the global system God uses to support the local church. He has a very simple system to do that.
The church was never supposed to be a for profit business! Our profit is spiritual and eternal!
God has a plan to pay for church expenses! It’s called tithe and offering!
And if we all simply obey his system, the funding will be there!
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Now as the church grows, our costs will grow also. We will have growing pains and that is good!
But Peter learned the coin was in the fish’s mouth. It still is.
I would rather spend my effort leading precious souls to Christ than trying to run a business! Been there, done that.
The Tabernacle needs to be built, and God has a method of supporting it!
Still today:
God is going to take care of his church!
The Workers.
The Workers.
Every building needs builders!
And God gave the needed wisdom to those who were willing to work! Ex 35:30-35
And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the Lord hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.
The Lord will never call anyone to any type of service without first annointing him to that particular service.
For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
Notice too, how that the women also had their share in the workmanship. They spun the rich linen hangings.
And in the NT church, our ladies still have an important role to fill!
We need you ladies, doing what God leads you to do!
Somemtimes men can get chauvenistic towards our ladies and I have no patience for that!
Remember what Joel said:
God promised in the last days, that He would pour out HIs spirit upon the handmaidens, as well as upon the servents and they would prophesy!
And don’t think Paul had a problem with women in ministry either!
As long as they were proberly aligned with the authority (same goes for us fellas) Paul gave them honor and thanked them for their ministry to the church!
Okay, let’s zoom in a bit on the Tabernacle itself:
Let’s talk about the boards!
II. The Boards.
II. The Boards.
Description
Description
Perhaps the best place to begin is with a physical description!
So here goes!
The framework of the Tabernacle consisted of forty eight boards of acacia wood.
Twenty on each side and eight on the end.
Each board was completely covered with Gold and had two tenons (projections) by which it connected to the silver sockets underneath.
These boards were held in place by fifteen horizontal bars, five on each side. (Ex 26:15-29)
Wow! How much does a fifteen or sixteen foot board covered in gold weigh?
More than I can carry, let me tell ya!
The Boards as a Type of Christ.
The Boards as a Type of Christ.
Remember how the outer court furniture was brazen?
Common metal, the metal of weapons and blood and judgement?
All of that is outer court stuff.
It’s different here!
The two contrasting materials of which each board of the Tabernacle was made, Wood and gold, perfectly illustrate the humanity and deity of Jesus Christ!
Acacia wood is quite something. I’ve used it in campfires growing up, and some of it is so hard, when you’re fire is done, you knock the charred parts off and there is still an inner core of wood to burn in your next fire!
Acacia is noted for it’s incorruptability. Here we have a fitting symbol of the sinlessness and incorruptibility of the humanity of Christ.
Peter speaking of our Lord said:
Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
Oh He was so pure!
Yes He was tempted! The devil himself worked that project!
But Jesus showed us it is possible to be tempted and not sin!
He was tempted in all manner like as we, but without sin!
Don’t let the devil convince you that you are a terrible person, just because you face temptation!
Jesus did too! only be like Him and overcome!
Okay, so get this:
Even in death, Jesus’ body did not decay!
He rose on the third day, in fullfillment of prophecy that His flesh would not see corruption!
Since each board was made of both wood and gold, we have this truth illlstrated that Jesus was truly man and truly God at the same time!
While the wood was not the gold and the gold was not the wood, together, they still formed one board!
While Christ’s deity was not His humanity, and while his humanity was not his deity, they still form One person!
I am the Lord: that is my name:
And my glory will I not give to another,
Neither my praise to graven images.
I and my Father are one.
As a man, Jesus slept with weariness in the bottom of a boat.
As God, He arose and rebuked the storm!
As a man, He wept at the grave of Lazarus.
As God He called him forth from the tomb!
As a man, He suffered on the cross.
As God, He arose in victory!!!!
Yes, those Tabernacle Boards are a type or symbol of Christ Jesus!
And they are more besides:
The Boards are also a type of the church!
The Board as a Type of the Church.
The Board as a Type of the Church.
Considering the construction of the boards in relation to the church, they can well represent the individual member in the body of Christ, for the church is also a building “fitly framed together.”
In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Okay, think about this:
When the woodcutters chose trees to make the boards, they found them among the other trees, firmly planted and rooted in the earth.
Since the Lord had need of them, they were cut down, forever seperated from the earth.
They were then covered with Gold and fashioned into a dwelling place for the great Jehovah!
Consider the similarities:
In our unsaved state, we too were rooted in the earth, partaking of the pleasures of the world.
Through the sword of the Word of God, we died to the world, seperating ourselves from it forever.
Through the Spirit, we becmae partakers of His divine nature, covered with His righteousness and made into God’s own dwelling place!
God imputes His righteousness to us through the process of the New Birth!
We become the dwelling place of God!!!
Do you see then, how that the boards are a type of both Christ and the church?
Okay, what about the bars?
Horizontal bars that stabilized the whole construction:
III. The Bars.
III. The Bars.
Comparison to Christ.
Comparison to Christ.
And thou shalt make bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward. And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end. And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold.
Five gold covered wooden bars, running horizontally across each side of the Tabernacle, held the Tabernacle in place.
The boards had to be fastened securely so that the framework could not be blown down.
If the framework could have been blown down, the curtains and hangings would become a twisted mass! Cant have that!
Similarly, if the deity of Christ could be overthrown, every other Christian doctrine could be contested!
All of this is built of the fact that Jesus Christ was and is Almighty God!!!
If the deity of Christ cannot be established, if indeed He did not rise from the dead, as only deity could do, then Paul said, “Ye are yet in your sins.... And they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished!” (1 Cor 15:17-18)
This then explains why the attacks of the critics always center upon Christ’s deity, His incarnation, His virigin birth, His bodily ascension and His second coming!
This is exactly why the Apostle John spends so much time explaining the dual nature of Christ Jesus!
He spends so much time and effort to make sure that you know, Jesus is absolutely God in flesh!
Don’t listen to the common confession:
“Oh He was a prophet, or He was a good man, or He this or that...”
Not good enough friend!
Don’t swallow that!
Cause if you buy that, then every other docrtine is for naught!!
Friend, Jesus Christ is still the chief cornerstone!!!!!
Jesus is not in the Godhead! The Godhead is in Christ Jesus!
Folks, this is worth memorizing: Just as the boards were not secure until bound up by the bars, the world will never be secure until all things are gathered under the rulership of Christ.
At the end of the age, He is going to “gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth.”
That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Hear me, with the government upon His shoulder, He will establish a kingdom that can never be torn down!
That’s why I cannot allow myself to get too upset with some of these treehugging bumper stickers I see, you know, “peace this and peace that.”
What those people want and they don’t even know is, they want the millenial reign!
They want His government to increase!
Deep down inside, there is a longing for peace!
And we will have it!
It is going to happen one day!
Comparison to the Church
Comparison to the Church
Consider this:
If the Tabernacle boards are a type of the church, who are the five bars?
I’ll tell ya:
It’s the fivefold ministry!
He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Five bars to hold the church together!
Listen, this church is connected to Bishop Mark Morgan.
Not only is he my pastor, I believe He has the ministry of an Apostle.
Not that a man today could write or add to Scripture, but an “Ascenscion Apostle.”
(After Jesus ascended he gave apostles, prophets, evanelists ETC.)
Yes, you need a pastor, but you also need the ministry of an Apostle!
We will have some guest speakers here before the year is out, teachers and hopefully a prophet.
I am working to make sure that happens!
That’s why I send you sermons preached by other roles in the five fold ministry than mine!
That’s why I do my level best to get you to camp meetings and conferences and everything I possibly can!
Because the church needs five bars! Not just one, but five!
When strong desert winds of opposition or false doctrine blow and bluster and rage against the church, you need more than one bar holding the thing up!
Praise God! He established five offices to hold the church straight and together!
Let me also share this with you:
I believe that one of the signs of the church is when the five fold ministry is mirrored in the local church itself!
Sis Nina has shared dreams that God gave her to Sis Thea and myself, that were very prophetic!
Sis Christina has told me things that were very prophetic!
I value that! Pastor Louw is not threatened by that!
If God gives you a vision folks, share that with me!
We will judge it together!
We’ve got Bro Moses, a great man of God in this church, He bears the anointing of an evangelist! Just listen to him talk!
Go on outreach with Bro Moses and see what I mean!
The local church needs the functions of the five fold ministry!
Yes, the pastor has an important role and local authority under Christ, but I tell you now: The mature assembly is connected to the five fold ministry and has five fold ministry in the local church!
God has
Okay, so we got this board, 48 boards, more than twice my height and super heavy!
And yes, we have bars to stablilize but:
How are we gonna stand em up!
Can’t just smoosh them into the sand! They’d topple over!
What then do you need?
What does any building need?
You need a foundation!
III. The Foundation.
III. The Foundation.
Description
Description
The tabernacle had a silver foundation consisting of one hundred sockets of silver, two under each of the forty eight boards and four under the pillars of the veil.
Each socket weighed a talent, or nearly a hundred pounds. (Ex 38:27)
These silver sockets were made from the redemption money that each man above twenty gave, as a ransom for his soul ( the price that each gave was a half shekel.) (Ex 30:11-15)
I looked it up this afternoon and in today’s prices, you’re looking at each talent, the foundation of each board costing $24, 500!
I mean, my first car cost me about that much!
Remember, the desert is just sand!
They didn’t have Concrete and post hole diggers for a foundation, and even if they did, that would have made it permanent and unable to travel in the wilderness!
Instead, each board rested, slotted into 200lbs of silver!
So, 96 multiplied by 24,500 means that just the foundation alone, cost $2,352,000!!!
Listen, when God wants something done, He wants it done right!
Why come to Bible study tonight, when you could be doing something else!
You came because you believe in foundation!
This church will never grow higher than our roots grow deep! And it is the same for each of us!
Okay, let us move now into a time of prayer.
There is so much more that we could say, but in prayer we can actually strengthen our foundation!
Ask God to help you remember these Tabernacle studies!
Ask God to strengthen you and teach you and open your understanding with revelation!
And then pray, simply because talking to Jesus is wonderful!