Month: June 2023

Pathway to Victory; Dr. Jeffress

 

They read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading.
–Nehemiah 8:8

God uses the church to generate the power of His Holy Spirit into our lives. And one characteristic of a winning church is instruction–the teaching that comes from God’s Word. The early church understood that instruction from God’s Word is an integral part of worship.

You might say, “If the Holy Spirit dwells within me, can’t I just study God’s Word on my own? Why do I need to go to church in order to hear God’s Word?”

Let’s see what God says about that. Look at Ephesians 4:11: “He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers.” In the original text, there is no “and” between “pastors” and “teachers.” It is one word: “pastor-teacher.” Why did God ordain these pastor-teachers? “For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (vv. 12-13).

God is in the body-building business. The purpose of the church is to build you up in such a way that you resemble Jesus Christ in all His fullness–not in your physique but in your actions, attitudes, and affections. How does God accomplish that? Think about a professional athlete. If an athlete is serious about building muscle, his coach will hire a trainer. It is the same way here. God has hired trainers to help you become just like Jesus Christ, and in the church the trainer is the pastor-teacher. He is the one God has ordained to teach you the Word of God so you can grow in your faith.

Yes, it is valuable to study the Bible for yourself. As 1 Peter 2:2 says, “Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.” However, a personal study of God’s Word is no substitute for sitting under the preaching of God’s Word. In fact, as you read the New Testament, you will find that listening to the Word of God from a sound teacher is commanded as much as or more than studying the Word for yourself. If you are only engaged in your own personal Bible study, you are missing out on what God has planned for you. The early church received instruction from a God-ordained pastor-teacher, and that is God’s plan for your growth as well.

45.n. “Wilderness” – 9.t. “Glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle”

Exodus 40:34-38  Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

 Numbers 9:15    On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning.

Obviously, God was pleased with the obedience of Israel. This was not so much because it showed His superiority over them, but it was more so because it proved they really did believe Him and love Him. There is a real and significant connection between the continually mentioned obedience of Moses and Israel (as the LORD had commanded Moses) and this remarkable display of glory. We shouldn’t think that Moses or Israel earned this display of glory because of their obedience; yet their obedience welcomed it. This is an enduring principle. We don’t earn our rescue, and God doesn’t love us more when we obey. Yet, undeniably, when we walk in God’s light and truth, there is blessing. Proverbs 3:5-6 speaks beautifully to this: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. The Book of Exodus ends with great hope and trust in God. Though Israel was in the middle of a desolate desert, had fierce enemies in the Promised Land, and was weak and liable to sin and rebellion, God was with them. This gave them great cause for faith and confidence. “To speak of a journey is to look for an arrival: He who has begun a work of salvation for Israel will complete it . (Guzik)

The cloud covered the tabernacle even in the clearest day; it was not a cloud which the sun scatters. This cloud was a token of God’s presence to be seen day and night, by all Israel, that they might never again question, Is the Lord among us, or is he not? It guided the camp of Israel through the wilderness. While the cloud rested on the tabernacle, they rested; when it removed, they followed it. The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. In light and fire the Shechinah made itself visible: God is Light; our God is a consuming Fire. Yet so dazzling was the light, and so dreadful the fire, that Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, till the splendour was abated. But what Moses could not do, our Lord Jesus has done, whom God caused to draw near; and who has invited us to come boldly, even to the mercy-seat. Being taught by the Holy Spirit to follow the example of Christ, as well as to depend upon him, to attend his ordinances, and obey his precepts, we shall be kept from losing our way, and be led in the midst of the paths of judgment, till we come to heaven, the habitation of his holiness. BLESSED BE GOD FOR JESUS CHRIST! (Gill)

45.m. “Wilderness” – 9.s. The Tabernacle for service and reverence to God

 

Exodus 36:8  And all the craftsmen among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains. They were made of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns, with cherubim skillfully worked.

Exodus 37:1  Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half was its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold around it.

Exodus 37:10  He also made the table of acacia wood. Two cubits was its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made a molding of gold around it.

Exodus 37:17  He also made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered work. Its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers were of one piece with it. And there were six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it;

Exodus 37:25  He made the altar of incense of acacia wood. Its length was a cubit, and its breadth was a cubit. It was square, and two cubits was its height. Its horns were of one piece with it. He overlaid it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And he made a molding of gold around it,

Exodus 38:1  He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. Five cubits was its length, and five cubits its breadth. It was square, and three cubits was its height.  He made horns for it on its four corners. Its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze.

Exodus 38:8  He made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Exodus 38:9  And he made the court. For the south side the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits; their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.

Exodus 38:21  These are the records of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, as they were recorded at the commandment of Moses, the responsibility of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.  Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses; and with him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer and embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen.

Exodus 39:1  From the blue and purple and scarlet yarns they made finely woven garments, for ministering in the Holy Place. They made the holy garments for Aaron, as the LORD had commanded Moses. And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them.

And every wise hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle,…. Did the part assigned him, what he was fittest for, and most skilful in: particularly some

made ten curtains, &c. which were properly the tabernacle, and were made first, and then the several things appertaining to it;  is only an account of the making of the tabernacle, its curtains, coverings, boards, sockets, and bars, the vail for the most holy place, and the hangings for the tabernacle, exactly as they are ordered to be made. The furniture is next made for it. The several articles and ornaments of this the people were not admitted to see, but the priests only; and therefore it was requisite that they should be largely described, as they are in this chapter, particularly to them. And Moses would thus show the great care which he and his workmen took to make every thing exactly according to the pattern showed him in the mount. The ark, with its glorious appurtenances, the mercy-seat and the cherubim, was the principal part of the furniture of the tabernacle. It was placed in the most sacred apartment of the house, and was the great symbol of the divine presence and protection. “It represented,” says Henry, “the glory of a holy God, the sincerity of a holy heart, and the communion that is between them by a Mediator. It is the glory of a holy God. The tabernacle and its court being now fitted for divine service, the next things to be wrought were the robes of the high-priest and priests, to be put on when they did service in the holy place. (Benson)

The priests’ garments were rich and splendid. The church in its infancy was thus taught by shadows of good things to come; but the substance is Christ, and the grace of the gospel. Christ is our great High Priest. When he undertook the work of our redemption, he put on the clothes of service, he arrayed himself with the gifts and graces of the Spirit, girded himself with resolution to go through the undertaking, took charge of all God’s spiritual Israel, laid them near his heart, engraved them on the palms of his hands, and presented them to his Father. And he crowned himself with holiness to the Lord, consecrating his whole undertaking to the honour of his Father’s holiness. True believers are spiritual priests. (Henry)

What It Means To Worship – Dr. Jeffress – Pathway to Victory

O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
–Psalm 34:3

One way the members of the early church received the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives was through worship. Acts 2:47 says they were “praising God and having favor with all the people.”

What is worship? Today many churches use “worship” as a synonym for “music.” And it is very easy in our minds to separate “worship” from preaching. But the Bible never makes that separation. Music is an essential component of worship, but it is not the only component.

So what does it really mean to worship God? Donald McCullough once wrote about the experience of attending a performance by famed tenor Luciano Pavarotti. McCullough said, “He held nothing back, it seemed. Every single note was filled with boundless passion and glorious beauty. We had to respond: we jumped to our feet and we clapped, hooted, and whistled. We did not stop, not for a long time. Wave after wave of grateful applause was sent up to the platform, calling forth encore after encore. In the midst of this mayhem of gratitude, when my hands were beginning to ache from the pounding, I thought to myself, ‘This is deeply satisfying, a profound joy.’ It felt right to offer praise in response to such excellence.”

That is what worship is: expressing our praise and admiration to God for who He is and all He has done in our lives. In Psalm 34:3, the psalmist said, “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.” If you place an object under a magnifying glass, that object is enlarged. The psalmist said worship is coming together to magnify the Lord, to make Him larger.

You might say, “Wait a moment, Pastor. When you magnify something, aren’t you distorting reality?” Think about it this way: I can take two nickels out of my pocket, put one in front of each eyeball, and completely block out the sun. How can something as small as a nickel block out something as large as the sun? It is a matter of perspective. Those nickels are right in front of me. And it is the same way with God. Every day, you and I focus on the problems that are right in front of us. Those are the nickels, so to speak, that block out God from our view. There needs to be a time every week when we shift our focus and let God regain His proper perspective in our lives. And that is what worship does for us. When we worship God, we are focusing on Him rather than our problems. We are thinking about His bigness, His power, His wisdom, His forgiveness. The larger God is, the smaller our problems become. That is why worship is so vital.

45.l. “Wilderness” – 9.r. “They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning”

 

Exo 36:1  “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.

This shows how blessed giving can be when free from human manipulation and tricks. Willing hearts will always give enough as God blesses the work. “When the heart is truly stirred, and the spirit makes willing, giving is robbed of all meanness; indeed, it ceases to be calculating. Nothing is too precious to be given, no amount is too great.” This also shows that Moses and the planners of the work knew how much was enough. The job was organized and planned to the extent that they understood what they needed, and when they had more than enough. When God’s people are asked to give to something, they should expect that it be well organized, planned, and managed. Moses showed great integrity by not gathering more than the project needed. God told him to take an offering for the building of a tabernacle, and when the tabernacle was provided for the offering was over. The purpose wasn’t to amass endless resources, but to properly put those resources into action. “It must have been both a disappointment and a frustration to those who had delayed their gifts because they could not bear to part with their treasures, and who now found that God had no further need of them. His work was finished, but they had excluded themselves from any share in it: God deliver us from such a frustration.” (Guzik)

It is hard to say which is most to be wondered at, the great liberality of the people in contributing so freely and bountifully, and continuing to do so without being urged, or even asked; or the honesty of the workmen, one and all, who might have gone on to have received the gifts of the people by the hands of Moses, and what was superfluous might have converted to their own use; but instead of this, they agree as one man to let Moses know how the state of things was and prevent the people from making any more contributions. (Gill)

Obviously there are ministries that think too small and others that think too big. When God is leading them to expand they say no more, and when they should be stopping they are saying more, more. Such it will be when God is not the true leader in their decisions. This can happen to anyone when the blessings of giving are abundant or lacking. When is the last time you have ever heard a ministry say that is enough? We have met our goal. Please do not send us any more. Is it because of the lack of giving that these goals are not met? Is it because the goal is man’s and not God’s will? Is it because people are not generous? Is it because of man’s desire to do that which God has not called them to do? Is it because people do not have reverence for God and their hearts and ears are closed to the leading of the Holy Spirit in Giving? I would have to say it is a combination of all of these. It is crucial that we have desiring ears to hear the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit and a godly desire to be ever-increasing in our generosity.  Too often there is a lack of wisdom to understand the blessings of giving and being prepared by setting aside gifts for opportunities to give when needs arise and the Holy Spirit’s wisdom to discern that which is of God and that which is of man’s design, but surely it is each person’s responsibility to give, be prepared to give, and do it generously.

45.k. “Wilderness” – 9.q. “He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship”

 

Exodus 35:30-35  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.

Here is the Divine appointment of the master-workmen, that there might be no strife for the office, and that all who were employed in the work might take direction from, and give account to them. Those whom God called by name to his service, he filled with the Spirit of God. Skill, even in worldly employments, is God’s gift, and comes from above. But many are ready enough in cutting out work for other people, and can tell what this man or that man should do; but the burdens they bind on others, they themselves will not touch with one of their fingers. Such will fall under the character of slothful servants. These men were not only to devise and to work themselves, but they were to teach others. Those that rule should teach; and those to whom God has given knowledge, should be willing to make it known for the benefit of others. (Henry)

Moses then informed the people that God had called Bezaleel and Aholiab as master-builders, to complete the building and all the work connected with it, and had not only endowed them with His Spirit, that they might draw the plans for the different works and carry them out, but “had put it into his (Bezaleel’s) heart to teach” (Exodus 35:34), that is to say, had qualified him to instruct labourers to prepare the different articles under his supervision and guidance. (Keil)