Old Testament in a Year: Exodus 29-40
I appreciate you being here. Take your Bible if you will. This morning we're going to Exodus. How many of you know, Pastor Abe just brought it like crazy last week, preached a great message. I'm so grateful.
It's powerful.
If you're new, if you're joining us for the first time, we are walking through the Old Testament in this year, 2026, preaching through the entire Old Testament, New Testament next year. And today we're finishing out Exodus, the book of Exodus, looking at chapters 29 through 40, 12 chapters there that we're going to be examining this morning and what we'll find there and what you're going to see in a moment. There's a lot of material, there's a lot of stories and there's a lot of lessons in those 12 chapters. But there's an overriding theme. And the overriding theme is this.
Order matters. Order matters. And we're going to see that today. And God's got a great plan for our lives and he's got instructions and order for for our lives that we're expected to follow and to implement in our lives in order to experience the outpouring of the presence of God. Hey, do me a favor.
Before we continue this morning, we have incarcerated men and women, thousands of them all over America that join us on Sundays via the Pando app. Will you do me a favor? Just welcome all of our friends that are on Pando today. We love you guys. Welcome.
Amen. I would think that many of you have been in a setting before where you've seen an orchestra perform. Maybe you've been to a Broadway show and they have the live orchestra there, maybe like our family does a lot of times around the fourth of July, the city of Kannapolis puts on a great fourth of July celebration. And every year the Charlotte Symphony. And they play an hour and a half concert followed by fireworks.
It's really awesome. But here's something that I've noticed about orchestras is that for a few moments before the performance begins, as the orchestra is getting ready, it just sounds like a hot mess. Anybody know what I'm talking about? You've got the best instrumentalists, the best. There are great string players and woodwind players and percussionists and brass players and all those people that are there.
But here's what happens before the performance begins. They're all tuning. They're all getting ready. The percussionists are checking the tension of their drums. The brass players are tuning.
The woodwind instruments are tuning. And it just sounds like you would never classify that as Music, I don't think. Here's an example. I've got an example for you. In case you've never been in the setting, this is what it sounds like.
But I want you to notice the turning point. Check this out.
That's the turning point.
Nothing changed. The instruments, they're all still there. They're all still the same. But all of a sudden, when the conductor steps on his platform and raises his baton, chaos turns into music.
Listen, you may have all the instruments that you need in your life, but maybe there's not proper order.
Maybe you've not allowed the conductor to raise his baton over your life and to turn the chaos of your life into music. We're going to look in Exodus chapter 40, then we're going to backtrack. But Exodus chapter 40 is the music of what we see in the preceding chapters. Exodus chapter 40, beginning in verse 34. Would you stand to honor the word of God one more time?
Exodus chapter 40, beginning in verse 34. All the notes are on the app, as always. And here's what we read again. This is the music. This is when God, the conductor has stepped onto his platform, raised his baton, and he brings music out of the noise.
It says this. Then. The cloud covered the tabernacle and the glory. Everybody say glory. And the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Moses could no longer enter the tabernacle because the cloud had settled down over it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Now, whenever the cloud lifted from the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey following it. But if the cloud did not rise, they remained where they were until it lifted. And the cloud of the Lord hovered over the tabernacle during the day. And at night, fire glowed inside the cloud so the whole family of Israel could see it.
This continued throughout all their journeys. Let's make some declarations before you're seated. Everybody here? Everybody watching online? You ready?
Go. I will hide this word in my heart.
This word is life to my body and health to my bones. I will be a doer of the word and not a hearer only. And I am confident of this.
I gotta be honest with you. Y' all sound half dead. You sound half dead. Daylight savings time done kicked your tail. Come on, just the last part again.
He who has begun a good work in me. What in Jesus name? If you believe it, say Amen. Amen. You can be seated.
I want you to say this with me. This phrase, holy order brings heavenly outpourings. Come on, say it. Again, holy order brings heavenly outpourings. Here's what we see in these chapters.
And I said we're going to backtrack. We see God raising His baton as the great conductor of humanity and bringing order, bringing instructions, bringing anointing, bringing his design that when followed, when arranged properly, results in his glory. I don't know about you, but I long for the glory of God over my life. I long for the glory of God over this church. I long for the glory of God over my family.
Is anybody with me this morning? So in order for us experience what we just read in Exodus 40, the cloud of the presence of God coming over, not a building, coming over your life, because you're the tabernacle, you're the temple of the Holy Spirit. And in order for us experience the cloud of his presence coming and covering us, covering our lives, there are some things that have to be in order. And what we see in the preceding Chapters of Exodus 40 are some instructions that God says and some things that God teaches so that there can be the holy order that brings the heavenly outpouring. First thing that we see is that God gives instructions about rest.
About rest. Look what we find in Exodus chapter 31, verse 12. And the Lord then gave these instructions to Moses. Tell the people of Israel, be careful to keep my Sabbath day. For the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you from generation to generation.
It is given so you may know that I am the Lord who makes you holy. You must keep the Sabbath day, for it is a holy day for you. Now, if we go back, Exodus chapter 20, if you're following in the reading plan, you should have read this just last week. But In Exodus chapter 20, this supernatural thing happens. When Moses climbs Mount Sinai and they're at the top of the mountain, he has this cosmic encounter with God where God takes his finger and he writes on tablets of stone.
These things we know as the Ten Commandments. Powerful, supernatural, life changing. Let's review real quick. Commandment number one, no other gods. Commandment number two, no idols.
Commandment number three, don't take the Lord's name in vain. Commandment number four, keep the Sabbath holy. Commandment number five, honor your father and mother. Number six, don't murder. Number seven, don't commit adultery.
Number eight, don't steal. Number nine, don't lie. Number ten, don't covet the Ten Commandments. Now, the word Sabbath comes from a Hebrew word, Shabbat, that just literally means to stop, to cease, or to rest. Somebody said once, if the devil get in front of you and stop you.
He'll get behind you and push you into busyness and activity. Another way of saying it is, if the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy.
Here's the holy order of God that we find in Exodus, chapter 31. The Sabbath was meant to teach the Jewish people how to stop, how to cease striving, how to rest in the Lord. And it was to teach them that the coming Messiah would be the fulfillment of commandment number four. Just like Jesus is the fulfillment of Passover that he, according to Hebrews, became the final sacrifice, shed his blood once and for all. His blood that we just recognized through communion, spread over the doorpost of our hearts so that death passes over our lives and we can have eternal life with Jesus.
If you're thankful, say Amen. Jesus became the fulfillment of Passover. And the Sabbath was to teach the people that the coming Messiah would fulfill this thing of rest. In other words, we would find the ability through Jesus to stop striving, to stop trying to do what only he could do. Matthew 11:28.
Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you what church, I will give you rest. My yoke is easy, My burden is light. And that's what God wanted the Israelites to see. He wanted them to understand that there was this thing of rest that is needed. And we see the holy order of God in the way that the ten Commandments are arranged.
Watch this. First three commandments, they're all about our vertical relationship with God. Last six commandments, all about our horizontal relationships with others, and sandwiched right in between those. And at first glance, you might think, what does this have to do with anything? Why is commandment number four right there?
It wasn't an accident. God did that on purpose. Why? Because if this is not right, if our vertical relationship with God is not right, this will never be right. The horizontal relationships will never be right.
And what God wants you and I to understand is that if we learn to rest him, and the Apostle Paul talks about it, he talks about believers being seated with him in heavenly places. He doesn't just mean when the Rapture sounds and when we go to heaven, he means now, while we're here on the earth, we can find a place in Christ where our identity and our security is sealed through our relationship with Him. And then when that happens, this will be what it's supposed to be. But listen, if we don't learn to rest in him, then we put ourselves in jeopardy of lying or of stealing, or of coveting, or of adultery, or of murdering, even with our mouths. Like, if we don't have this part right, we are jeopardizing everything else.
It's the principle of resting, of ceasing, of leaving it with the Lord, of making ourselves vulnerable in the presence of God, so that our security is found in him and in him only. Because holy order brings a heavenly outpouring. That's what God wants us to see. Secondly, God teaches us in Exodus that there's an order to worship.
There's an order to worship. Look what we find in Exodus, chapter 34, verse 14 says this. You must worship no other gods. For the Lord, whose very name is jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you. Let me show you something from Scripture.
This is so key. And we're gonna see this in the book of Exodus, but we see it all the way back at the beginning of mankind, and it's this, that doubt and distrust will always lead to disorder and defiance. Doubt and distrust leads to disorder and defiance. Let me give you an example. In the garden, Satan came to Eve, and he created doubt and distrust by asking this question.
Did God really say. Did God really say he sowed doubt in her mind? And he created this thing of, can I really trust who God is? And that doubt and distrust led to disorder, and it led to defiance. And we see the exact same thing in Exodus, chapter 32, beginning in verse one.
Watch what happens. And the people saw that a long time had passed and Moses had not come down from the mountain. When Moses went up on Mount Sinai and he received the Ten Commandments. And so they gathered around Aaron and they said, moses led us out of Egypt, but we don't know what happened to him. Make us gods, little G. Who will lead us?
Aaron said to the people, take off the gold earrings that your wives, sons and daughters are wearing and bring them to me. And so all the people took their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took the gold from the people watch, he formed it with a tool, and he made a statue of a calf. Later on in the same chapter, you read when Moses confronted Aaron about this after he came down off of the mountain, saw what was going on. Aaron says, I don't know what happened.
And it's crazy. It's the craziest thing. All these people just started taking off their earrings and their bracelets, took their Rolex watches. They threw them in the fire. It's crazy.
And just out from the fire comes this golden calf, creates this whole crazy Lie to try to cover up what he had done, which was bring all your stuff to me. And he takes a tool and he fashions the. This golden calf so that the people would turn their affection from God to a false idol. In other words, doubt and distrust created disorder and defiance. Look what we read.
Then the people said, israel, these are your gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before the calf. And he announced, tomorrow it's gonna be a special feast to honor the Lord. The people got up early the next morning. They offered whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.
They sat down to eat and drink. And then they got up and they sinned sexually. This is doubt and distrust. Where's Moses? We don't even know where the guy is.
Is that guy really qualified to lead us? Is he gonna get us to where we're going? Doubt and distrust. And it led to disorder and defiance, where they start worshiping this false God, and then they're committing all types of sexual immorality. Listen to me, Church.
The enemy wants to do the same thing to you. That's what he does. His playbook is not a mystery to us. He's been doing it since the beginning of mankind, and he wants to do it to you and I. What is it He.
He wants to create doubt and distrust. And in seasons of disappointment. At times in your life, when you're suffering or maybe you're walking through a severe trial, the enemy loves to come and start whispering in your ear and ask you things like this. Does God really care about you?
He hadn't showed up yet. Is God really trustworthy? You still got the bills. A new job hasn't opened up for you. God hasn't healed your body.
Can you really trust God? And the enemy whispers that into our minds so that doubt and distress is created. Why? So that then we turn our affection to things or to people, and we start looking to them to do what only God was designed to do. Disorder and defiance.
Because over time, the doubt and distrust turns into this. I knew you wouldn't come through for me.
I had doubts all along that you would heal me. I knew that you weren't gonna save my family member or save my son or save my daughter. I knew you weren't gonna provide for us financially. I knew you weren't gonna bless us the way you're blessing other people. And so what do we do?
We just throw caution to the wind and we say, I'm just going to worship other things. I'm going to worship Other people listen. God's way looks like this.
When I cannot see him, I worship him.
Holy order looks like this. When I can't hear him, I worship him. When I can't understand him, I worship him. When I can't feel him. Anybody ever been there where you just can't feel his presence?
Holy order says, I'm going to worship him anyway. When his timing is different than my timing, guess what? I'm still going to worship him. When things are good, I'm going to worship. And when things are bad, still going to worship.
And that holy order that says I'm going to worship him regardless brings the outpouring of his presence over your life. It brings the wind of the Spirit of God to blow through us. God says, this is holy order. This is my way of doing things. And then lastly, he says, this.
He teaches us. He says, there's order to this thing of rest. There's a reason. Commandment number four is there. He says, there's holy order to this thing of worshiping.
It's not just based on how you feel. It's not based on when everything's going right. No, it's easy to worship God when things are going right, but God's way is when you're at your worst, you're still gonna worship. And holy order is this. God teaches us that there's instructions about giving.
Look what we find in Exodus, chapter 35, verse 4. It says this. And then Moses said to the whole community of Israel, this is what the Lord has. Take a sacred offering for the Lord. Let those with generous hearts present the following gifts to the Lord.
Gold, silver and bronze, blue, purple and scarlet thread. Fine linen and goat hair for cloth tanned ram skins and fine goatskin of leather. Acacia wood, olive oil for the lamp, spices for the anointing oil and the fragrant incense. Onyx stones and other gemstones to be set in the Ephod and the priest chess piece. Exodus 30:5, verse 21 says this.
All whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved came and brought their sacred offerings to the Lord. They brought all the materials needed for the tabernacle, for the performance of its rituals and for the sacred garments. Both men and women came. All whose hearts were willing. Notice that they brought to the Lord their offerings of gold, brooches, earrings, rings from their fingers, necklaces.
They presented gold objects of every kind as a special offering to the Lord. Notice what we just read? Watch. God looks for, first of all, generous hearts. Generous hearts.
Secondly, God looks for willing hearts, or, pardon me, hearts that are Stirred by the spirit of God.
Listen, that's not enough. You may be generous in your heart. You may feel stirred by the spirit of God to obey God, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you're willing. God also looks for willing hearts. God looks for those who say, man, I'm stirred by the spirit of God.
I want to be generous on every occasion. And you take the next step and you say, I'm willing to sacrifice. In other words, I understand that the reason I'm on planet Earth is not just so I can get more stuff and live a comfortable life, but the primary reason that I'm here is to advance the kingdom of God. You realize, according to the Barna research group, only 5% of the general population tithes. Watch this.
25% of those who identify as believers, 25% of those who say, I am a Christ follower give zero to their church. A fourth of people who say, I'm a Christian give nothing to their church. Only 21% actually give 10% or more to their church. And the majority of churchgoers, the majority give nothing, nothing to their church ever. Which is concerning.
Oh, for the day that what we read in Exodus 36 would be the case here at the refuge. Watch Exodus 36 beginning in verse three. But the people continue to bring additional gifts each morning. Finally, the craftsmen who were working on the sanctuary left their work. They went to Moses, and here's the report they gave him.
Hey, the people have given more than enough materials to complete the job the Lord has commanded us to do in building the tabernacle. So Moses gave the command and this message was sent throughout the camp. Here's the message. Men and women, don't prepare any more gifts for the sanctuary. We have enough for the day.
Every pastor's dream to be able to stand up in front of the people and say, hey, guys, we've got enough. You don't even have to give anymore. Watch what happens. So the people stop bringing their sacred offerings. Their contributions were more than enough to complete the whole project.
Oh, I just long for the day I live for. The day we could say about the Life Campus over here, where we need some $12 million to build out the whole thing.
How incredible would it be for me to be able to stand up and go, hey, guess what? Church don't give another dime for the Life Campus. It's all done. It's all built out. Every building.
Everything we were going to do, it's all completed because of your generosity. Now here's according to scripture, when we put in Order those things in our life. This thing of rest, this thing of worship, this thing of giving, that the holy order brings, the outpouring of the presence of God. Now, I want you to notice something that is so key. You read through those other chapters there.
God gives instructions about the tabernacle, very specific instructions. He gives instructions about the garments for the priest. He gives instructions about how the altar is to be made and how the ark of the covenant is to be made and how the lampstands are supposed to be made. He. He gives all of these different detailed instructions.
But here's the takeaway. Here's what I want you to see. That for Moses, he never let the instructions override intimacy.
In other words, he never let ritual take the place of relationship. Moses kept the main thing. The main thing. No, the instructions were important, and Moses knew that. But he knew that the most important thing, and we're going to see it in Exodus 33.
The most important thing was intimacy with God. And he said, I'm not going to let the ritual of what we have to do. I'm not going to let the instructions become more important or more prominent than intimacy with the Father. Watch this. Exodus 33, verse 13.
If you're pleased with me, Moses says, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people. And the Lord replied, my presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. Notice the connection. Everything we need is found in the presence of God.
Then Moses said to him, if your presence does not go with us, don't send us up from here. In other words, we're not going to move. How will anybody know that you're pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth? And the Lord said to Moses, I will do the very thing you have asked because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.
And then Moses said, now show me your glory, God. In other words, all the other stuff is important, but God. The most important thing is your glory and God. We're not going to move. We're not going to budge.
We're not going anywhere. Unless your glory comes. Unless your presence comes. Moses did the other stuff. He prioritized the rest.
He prioritized the worship. He prioritized the giving. But the greatest priority, the greatest thing, the main thing was the main thing. And it was this. Show us your glory, God.
Show us your glory, God. We've got to have your presence, Lord. And then because of that cry, Exodus 40 and the cloud of his presence, the glory of his presence settled on the temple. Moses could not even stand, the priest could not even minister, because the presence was so thick, the glory of God was so heavy. Listen, church, we're the tabernacles now.
Where is temple? And oh, that we would get to the place we say. Oh, God, Nothing is more important, Lord. I want to have things in order. But nothing's more important than your presence, than your glory.