2:53 Well, good morning, Maranatha Conference twenty twenty six. I'm so glad to see most everyone here today. I'm sure people will still be coming in. It was a wonderful night. Amen?
3:13 Amen. And we're expecting wonderful things today from the Lord. You know, as I was walking over here, I was thinking about what unity is. You know, I think about everything that people can be united about in this world. Right?
3:28 Politics, through these external things like that, it's not it's not that this unity is fake, because it's not. It's real. But what it is, it's it's ephemeral. It's temporary and it's brittle. You've seen this.
3:54 This kind of unity that is built around politics or sports teams or schools that you go to, it can shatter like that. You give it the right the right impediment. You give it the right striking force. It will shatter completely. And then I was thinking about what we do here because of we've known each other for decades, some of us.
4:21 No. But the unity here is sweet, and it's special, because we are united by the blood of Christ. You know, a lot of people will say, you know, we can be united by appealing to the lowest common denominator of beliefs. But no, here it marinate. Truth of God's word.
4:48 You flock to the truth of the Bible that we see. We have this unity by Christ, because we are forgiven in Christ, because we do bear with one another in Christ. Weekend, and as we begin this service, may we be reminded of the The crisis, what binds us to. And as we start this service, I'd like to read from a small passage, very familiar passage in Romans chapter eight, that reminds us of what we have in Christ. And, truly, that reminds us of what we have in Christ.
5:26 And truly what reminds us of what we have, the the triunity of God himself. So will you please join me in standing for the reading of God's word? Romans chapter eight beginning at verse number 26. Likewise, the spirit helps us in our weakness. Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
5:58 And he, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the spirit, Because the spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. For those who are called according to his purpose, be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called. He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
6:48 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who was raised, who was at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
7:03 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shout tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword, as it is written. For your sake, we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No.
7:28 Sure, neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor heights, nor depth, nor anything else, and all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Father, we thank you. And Lord, we hold fast to this true. Nothing can separate us from your love. And we thank you for that.
7:55 We thank you for this unbreakable promise that we can cling to in the midst of adversity, in the midst of affliction, in the midst of loneliness. Lord, we cling to you today. This meeting today, Laura. Prepare our hearts to hear from you. May you remove all distraction from us.
8:14 May you remove all lesser desires and lesser satisfaction. And Lord, may we only be content. Illuminate our hearts and our minds by the power of your spirit. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
8:37 Amen. Church, will you please sing awaken the dawn with your praises this morning.
12:57 Psalm 33 verse eight. Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spoke, and it came to be. He commanded and it stood firm.
13:14 The Lord brings the council of the nations to nothing. He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The council of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.
28:42 Let's magnify him, shall we, in prayer and seek him with thanksgiving in our hearts. Lord, we do look to you this morning, and we thank you that every day is a gift from you. Every breath is an extension of your grace and Lord we use our breath to praise you this day. And we ask oh God that you would help us experience the blessings that we just sang about. Bring them to mind Lord and may they be our own testimonies so that we can tell the world that you are worthy of our fear, you are worthy of our awe.
29:13 Use this session, use what we will look at in your word to inspire greater fear of you. Oh you deserve it Lord and we need it. Go before us this day. In all our plans, in all our worship, in all our fellowship, may we sense your nearness. In Christ's name we pray, amen.
29:29 Amen. Well, before you're seated, say good morning to somebody, would you? Well, good morning. I trust that you rested well. I trust that you have some energy to look at God's word together, and I trust that you came to this conference with a bible.
30:14 If you don't own a bible, please come see me. I would love to help you get a good bible. But if you do, we are going to look at something splendid together this morning. And what I would like for us to do is consider this question. Have you ever considered whom the scripture records to be the first person who is filled with the spirit of God?
30:43 Have you ever wondered who it is that was privileged to receive this endowment from the Lord for the first time in our bibles? Well, I can tell you now that it wasn't an apostle. It wasn't one of the writers of the New Testament. It wasn't a prophet of old. It wasn't a king.
31:08 It wasn't a judge. The first person whom we are told was explicitly filled with the Spirit of God was the chief architect of the tabernacle in the Old Testament. Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I find it absolutely remarkable that the first individual who received this incredible gift was a builder. A contractor.
31:44 Someone who worked with his hands. And this was so moving to me that I thought it's worth looking at him more carefully as we consider unsung heroes of the bible. And you find this man recorded and mentioned for the first time in the book of Exodus. And so turn with me there to chapter 31. As we look at the first six verses of this chapter, Exodus chapter 31.
32:23 When you consider how rare it was, especially in the old testament for people to come into contact or to be enabled by God's spirit to perform a certain task, the fact that Bezalel here experiences the feeling of the spirit is crucial to our understanding. Let's read together, shall we? Verse one. The Lord said to Moses, see I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah And I have filled him with the spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, and cutting stones for setting and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.
33:19 And I have given to all able men ability that they may make all that I have commanded you. In Exodus, especially in chapters 25 through 30, God had given Moses detailed instructions for this structure called the tabernacle. And he was very specific with his blueprint. In those instructions we find every aspect of Israel's place of worship covered. The courtyard that surrounded it, the structure itself, the furnishings of the sanctuary, the garments of the the priests and the high priest, and even the holy anointing oil that would be used to ordain these ministers.
34:01 But before construction begins, the Lord wants to take time to tell Moses and us who would be in charge for executing these plans. Who would be the mastermind? Who would be the one overseeing this sacred project? And that's what the focus of chapter 31 of Exodus is. And God here wants to reveal to us something important about this man, Bezalel.
34:26 And I want to look at three aspects of this wonderful servant of God. Three aspects that hopefully are memorable. The first thing that we will look at this morning is the calling of Bezalel. The calling of Bezalel. How he was selected.
34:39 How special it is. How unique it was. From the calling we'll look at his filling. Equally special, equally unique. What was the purpose for the Holy Spirit, especially for the first time in redemptive history, at least recorded, to tell us that he was filled with a third person of the Godhead?
34:59 And lastly, we will consider his collaborating, his collaborating. As much as this man was empowered, that he had received incredible ability and wisdom and knowledge, he did not work alone. And that too is important for us to know about. And so let's begin here with his calling. The first few words that the Lord gives us here in chapter 31 are stunning.
35:20 They're absolutely stunning to me. Look at it again in verse two. See, I have called by name, By name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, the tribe of Judah. By name. Why would God tell us that he called them by name?
35:35 That would seem like it's quite obvious. But it's actually not. For God to call somebody by name tells us at least two things. The first thing that it tells us is that, Besalel was selected by God Himself. He was chosen by the Lord.
35:55 So God, when he desired to build a dwelling place for him in the midst of his people, did not make a general call to craftsmen or to contractors or to volunteers and Bezalel just showed up. God had to find a man. God had to choose a man. And this would serve as a deterrent against those who might oppose the appointment of a man like Bezalel. But by the fact here that we see that he was chosen and called by name means that this was not man's idea.
36:30 Not even Moses' idea. This was not the conclusion of a committee. This was God's desire. I want Bezalel to be in charge of this. But another thing that this means is that, Bezalel being called by name illustrates the significance of the work that he's about to embark on.
36:51 This journey is so vital to the Lord that God had to call him by name. Trace through God's word whenever God calls somebody by name and it's often accompanied by an extraordinary assignment. And so the fact that he is called by name means that he is about to do something imperative, monumental. And what would be the task that he would be a part of? Would it be to be a father of a nation?
37:23 Would it be so that he could prophesy like Samuel who was called by name several times? Would it be like Cyrus who was not even in relationship with God, but we were told there in Isaiah that he was called by name to liberate the Jewish people from exile. What would Bezalel be doing? Build God's house on the earth. And this deserves pause.
37:48 This is a cause for reflection. Because it tells us just how important and just how cherished and just how treasured God's house is to Him. This is no small task, this is no small thing, this is something so significant to the Lord. God's dwelling place is so precious and He is so protective of it that He chose who would be in charge to oversee its construction. And I'm afraid that even as Christians when we consider God's building today, which is not a physical edifice, it's the spirit of God indwelling his people who come together under the banner of Jesus Christ.
38:29 I'm afraid that we can lose touch with the divine DNA of our gatherings and of our relationships to one another. Feel it this morning. Get the sense here of the urgency and the integrity of God's house being built under His orders. He does not just appoint anybody to its stewardship. He does not just call anybody to participate in the strengthening and the expansion and the stability of his house.
39:05 He is very selective. He's very careful. And what came to mind when we're meditating on this was how the Corinthian church, the Corinthian church allowed themselves to drift into a place where something like the church became casual. And you look at how much of a mess they made of their meetings, and how they treated one another, and how they regarded their leaders, and what they did in settings like this. They just acted how they wanted.
39:42 In some instances, you had people sleeping with whoever they wanted. In other instances, they were just getting up in the middle of the meeting and saying whatever they wanted because they claimed to be led by the Holy Spirit. And so Paul notes something. He gets deep into the reason for this, at least one of the reasons. And he says there in one Corinthians three seventeen, you know this very well, He offers a warning actually, if anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him.
40:16 And then he goes on to say in that verse, For God's temple is holy and you are that temple. So why were the Corinthians acting like the Corinthians? Because they lost sight of the holiness of the temple of God which is the church of Jesus Christ. How sacred it is. How special it is.
40:37 How it is unlike any other entity on the earth. Have you ever considered just how supernatural this is and what you experience on a weekly basis? As humans, we crave community. We long to be a part of a group of people who believe like we believe and are passionate about the things that we are passionate about. And there are groups and clubs and community centers for absolutely everything.
41:01 You have gardening clubs. You have knitting clubs, you have people who gather weekly for bingo events, and you have more serious things like political rallies and organizations. But tell me, what compares with the church? How do you gather people from different tribes and tongues and nations under this one banner, forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ? How is it that all over the world, we are gathered here because we've all
41:32 and the grace of the death? Experienced the power and the grace of the death of the son of God. And so the church is so special to the Lord. And that's signified here by the fact that He is very picky with who will build the tabernacle. However, I wondered and perhaps you did too, why God chose Besalel out of all the potential candidates?
42:10 Why this man? Well, the easy answer is he doesn't need to explain anything. It's God's prerogative alone to choose whom he wills, to do as he pleases. However, in the same verse where we read that God selected this man by name, we also learn of his ancestry, of where he came from, his lineage. And that invites us to investigate further to see is there any correlation?
42:40 Is there any kind of connection between this man's background and why he was selected by the Lord for this wonderful task. So let's consider it together. Who was his grandfather? Look at it again. Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur.
42:57 Does that sound familiar to us? The name Hur appears two other places in the book of Exodus. The first place is in Exodus 17 when Moses goes up to that hilltop while Joshua fights off the Amalekites who attack them by surprise. And there he is, this intercessor praying on behalf of the people of God. And Aaron is on one side and this man, Hur is on the other lifting up his hands, so that he can continue to intercede.
43:27 And then you read on and you find that Ur appears later on in Exodus 24. When the Lord calls Moses to go up to the mountain to spend forty days and forty nights with him, and Moses being the shepherd that he was, calls the elders and Aaron and her and says, you need to supervise the people while I'm away. You need to take care of the people of God in my absence. And then we read on and find Hur mentioned here once more. So if this is the same Hur, then we know something about Bezalel's grandfather.
43:59 He was a man of God. He was trusted. He was responsible. He was a shepherd. He was reliable.
44:07 He was holy. What about Bezalel's father, Uri? Do we have any other additional information on him? Actually, no. We have no details about his characteristics.
44:24 We have no insight into his accomplishments. We don't know what role he operated in. We don't know what his function was here or elsewhere. But I believe there's a single clue that tells us something about Uri. Something about this man and his walk with the Lord.
44:40 And is in fact of how and why he gave the name Bezalel to his son. Why Bezalel was named Bezalel, I think tells me something about his father. The meaning of Bezalel in the Hebrew is so beautiful. In the shadow of God. In the shadow of God.
45:06 Now if you've read your Old Testament carefully, then you would you would be able to see and say that this concept of God's shadow appears in many places in the Old Testament, especially the Psalms. We read there about the shadow of his wings. We read there in Psalm 91 verse one, in the shadow of the Almighty. And consistently throughout the Bible, the shadow of God denotes the protective presence of the Lord over those who choose to be near him. So I'm persuaded that this father, Uri, in giving his name, the son's name there, Bezalel, expresses his desire for his boy to live near the presence of God.
45:58 To walk so near to the Lord that he would enjoy the blessings of God. Namely his protection, his provision. And here's why that is something for us to meditate on. I don't believe Bezalel was chosen for this assignment because he had an impressive spiritual pedigree. Because his grandfather was a man of God, and because his father had such a desire for his son to live for the glory of God and live in fellowship with God.
46:33 But it makes you wonder if the investments that his grandfather and father made prepared him for his calling. If it fashioned him, if it instructed him, if it instilled within him the convictions and the principles, So that when the time came for God to find a man to build his house, he found somebody in Bezalel. He found somebody that since he was a child and was able to make his own decisions as a young man, lived up to his name. That God did not have to look too far to find somebody because he found Bezalel who was living in his shadow. What an amazing thing for us to consider about the investment that you can make grandfather, that you can make dad, that you can make grandma, that you can make mom.
47:35 Besalel, I'm sure was shaped to fulfill this destiny because of who his grandfather was and who his father was. Before Timothy became the pastor of one of the most influential churches in Asia Minor, he was discipled by his grandmother Lois and his mother, Eunice. I mean just think about that. Before Timothy stood before an assembly and would preach the Word of God, he received the Sacred Scriptures in the living room of his grandmother. He would hear of the oracles of God and the wisdom of salvation as his mother was at his bedside and would rehearse scripture over him.
48:21 So that when Paul came to town, there was a report of a young man, Timothy, and Paul could find and recruit Timothy because he had been prepared beforehand. And I see the same thing in Bezalel. Do not underestimate the seeds that you plant in the heart of that little one. Do not underestimate the prayers that you pray over that precious baby girl. I see here a man who was made ready by his father and by his grandfather.
48:59 He was living in the shadow of God. So this is what we see about this individual's calling. It's it's quite special. It's quite moving. But then now we transition to his filling.
49:09 Look again at verse three with me. The Lord says, And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship. To devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver and bronze, and cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood to work in every craft. Now, we've already established, this is the first person who we are told was filled with the Spirit of God, but we have to now look at the purpose of that filling. What was the reason for it?
49:39 Why did God perform this wonderful thing? Well, as you know, the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament seems to be designated primarily for judges and kings and prophets. And to our surprise, we find that the animating work of the Spirit of God is not for any of those things. It's not for a man to prophesy. It's not for a man to deliver people.
50:02 It's not for any military leader to accomplish some kind of conquest. The first time the filling of the Holy Spirit appears is for a man to build something physically. To craft and to artistically design and to make things functional for the sake of the worship of God's people. And it should be our first instinct when you learn that. If God is willing to help somebody do such a thing, I want that same grace for my life.
50:40 If the spirit of God is willing to work through the hands and the eyes and the mind of somebody like Bezalel in order to to be successful in something like a building project, then Lord bless me. Give me your favor. Give me your wisdom. Make me successful in whatever I put my hands to, so that when people see and hear what I do, they can tell that they're doing it with a different kind of energy, with a different kind of grace. Don't ever forget it.
51:15 The first time a person was filled with the spirit of God was a construction worker. He was an artist. He was someone who didn't preach a sermon. He didn't write any book in the Bible. He was someone who silently built a tent.
51:38 So we can rejoice based on verse three that this is something available to us surely. That especially in the new covenant, we have access to the spirit of God. And he goes with us wherever we go, and he's willing to help us in whatever that we do. But there's something more important here with his filling. It's not just how God is willing to go into whatever that we perform and help us in whatever that we desire to accomplish.
52:06 The ultimate purpose in Bezalel being filled was so that he can obey God exactly how God called him to obey. Look here with me again at verse six of Exodus 31. And behold, I have appointed with him a Holyap, the son of Ahisamech of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability that they may make all that I have commanded you. Do you see that?
52:31 Underline the last part. There was already a blueprint that God gave to Bezalel. And he was supposed to take that blueprint and perform it exactly the way God had instructed him. So for example, look back at Exodus 25. I want you to see something.
52:53 Something that we can overlook so easily. In Exodus 25 verse 10. Remember between twenty five and thirty, you have the guideline. You have the pattern that is set by God for the construction of this tent. And here's just one example of something that Bezalel honored.
53:12 They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length. A cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. And at this point, perhaps you're reading through the book of Exodus in your devotional time and you're wondering, alright. What do I do with these details?
53:30 And then you you keep reading and then you find that it's only repeated like in Exodus 37. Go there with me. The blueprint is between twenty five and thirty, and the execution is found in thirty seven and thirty eight. So look at 37 verse one. Bezalel made the ark of Acacia wood two cubits and a half.
53:56 What it was its length? A cubit and a half its breadth and a cubit and a half its height. And so again, instinctively we bypass information like this, especially when it becomes redundant. But the Holy Spirit doesn't want us to look over this. He wants you to read all the details of the chapters in 25 through 30.
54:15 And then when you come to chapter thirty seven and thirty eight, you read that Bezalel faithfully observed exactly what God told Moses to do. Exactly. This is teaching us something about the purpose of the filling of the Holy Spirit. If you ever teach on the filling of the Holy Spirit, you should consider Bezalel as a model. Because what Bezalel is showcasing here, as he now is a conduit of the Spirit of God, is that the Spirit of God enables you and I to obey what God said we have to do.
54:58 And more than that, Bezalel does not take liberty to alter any of the instructions. Bezalel does not infuse his own ideas into what God wanted for his house. Bezalel knew not just an energizing work, but a restraining work. To simply do what God said to do. So one of the first things that you and I learn about the filling of the Holy Spirit, you know, people have all these wild ideas of what the filling of the Holy Spirit is and what it produces.
55:36 You have an entire movement out there who think that the filling of the Holy Spirit is so that you can manifest physically in some way in a service. What's the purpose of any of those kind of manifestations if you go back out there and live as though God doesn't exist? I encounter the first time the filling of the Holy Spirit appears in the Bible and I learned its first purpose, to obey God. To obey God. You wanna be filled with the Holy Spirit?
56:05 Why? So you can get some tinglies? Is that why you wanna be filled with the Holy Spirit? Can God manifest his presence where he becomes so real, more real than any other person in the room? Absolutely.
56:17 And I champion that. And I pray that we experience that every time we come into a place like this. But God has something more in mind than just an experience. He wants lifestyle. He wants ongoing, stable, consistent, Christ like conformity and he has provided the Holy Spirit to do it.
56:42 Who would have thought that we would know what the Holy Spirit can do from Exodus 31? This is a preview. A preview of something that would be available to all of us in the new covenant. But here we find it with Bezalel. Bezalel does not make any adjustments.
56:56 Bezalel does not deviate. Bezalel stays so close to God. Not just in his fellowship like his name denotes, but even in his obedience to the Lord. And it was because of the Holy Spirit's help. But there's even more in this.
57:13 I want you to consider again verse three. Look at the qualities that the Lord gave to this man, Bezalel in verse three. He was filled with the Spirit of God and with ability, number one, and with intelligence, number two, and with knowledge and all craftsmanship. Now virtually every other word for word translation will render this part in the following way, with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.
57:47 The ESV is unique in this. So if you have a New King James, if you have a NASB, if you have even the King James, it would read wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Now why is that important? Because we can look at these things separately, but when you look at where these other characteristics are grouped together, you begin to discover something amazing about what Bezalel is doing here. So remember, wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.
58:12 Where have we seen those things mentioned together in the Bible? Let's go to one Kings chapter seven. This is the tabernacle. This is the house of worship in the wilderness. But God had in mind that there would be something more permanent, a temple, something more stationary, something more ornate.
58:42 And God had a man in mind also for that. Solomon would ultimately fund it. Solomon would be the king alive to supervise it. But look at first Kings chapter seven and look at verse 13 with me. First Kings seven verse 13.
59:00 And King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. He was a son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze. And he was full of wisdom, understanding, and skill. Now pause. The word skill there in the ESV in the Hebrew is knowledge.
59:21 So it's that same grouping. Wisdom, understanding, and knowledge for making any work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all his work. It makes sense, doesn't it? The same wisdom, the same insight, the same intelligence, the same understanding that Bezalel possessed in order to build a tabernacle was found in Hiram to build the temple.
59:48 But there's more. This grouping of these same characteristics are found in a different kind of work, and it's in the book of Proverbs. So now you have to go to Proverbs. You go to Proverbs with me and look at chapter three and I'll wait for you to get there. Proverbs chapter three.
1:00:11 Proverbs chapter three verse nineteen and twenty. The Lord by wisdom founded the earth. By understanding He established the heavens. By His knowledge the deeps broke open and the clouds dropped down the dew. Something's happening here.
1:00:39 The capacities that were exercised when the Lord constructed the cosmos are the same ones He granted to His servants when they built His house on the earth. And we can spend the rest of our time this morning exploring what that means. Let me leave you with two thoughts based on this. Number one, it shows us here that the wisdom and the understanding and the knowledge of the spirit used in creating planets, and stars, and mountains, and oceans, and everything in between is available for a man to possess and walk in as he serves God. Think about that.
1:01:28 Christians give up so easily. Christians are so content to live in a state of defeat. Do you not see that the wisdom and the understanding and knowledge that was employed at creation filled amen. So why do we throw in the towel so easily? Now I understand there's a greater battle going on with these bodies.
1:01:59 Planets can't say no to God. Oceans can't say no to God. The fields can't say no to God. We can. We have that capacity.
1:02:09 However, do not be discouraged. Look at the help that is at our disposal. Look at the grace that is so available to us. But another thought here is that the attention, and the carefulness, and the detail that God gave to the creation of the world, He also gave to His dwelling place on earth. Again, sense just how much the meeting place of God is to Him.
1:02:54 So yes, wisdom, understanding, knowledge for the systems of our universe, it makes sense. But it's also directed at where God's people would meet with each other and with Him. Why is the church on earth? We say to evangelize the world. We say to be the salt of the earth.
1:03:19 Absolutely. That is totally right. But did you know that the church is also established by God to show off His wisdom? Did you know that? Now let me prove it to you.
1:03:34 This is what Paul said in Ephesians three. Listen to these words in verse 10 of Ephesians three. He's speaking about the church. And he goes on to say here, so that through the church the manifold wisdom, not just the wisdom of God, the manifold wisdom. The multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
1:03:55 That moves me even more. So God builds his church. God establishes a people on the earth. For what purpose according to Paul? To show the manifold wisdom of God to holy and unholy angels.
1:04:16 Not just other people, unbelievers, a watching world, but to stand as a testament to an invisible realm. That's what it means here when he says the rule is an authority in the heavenly places. So the church has been created. The church is operating for many reasons and one of them is to declare just how wise God is. Saying how does the wisdom of God connect to the church?
1:04:47 Well think about it. God was able to take the human race who are responsible for killing the son of God. And in the death of the son of God, he was able to take that same human race and make a people who would worship him. That's pretty wise. He he is able to gather people, again, from so many different backgrounds and cultures.
1:05:10 Naturally speaking, left to ourselves, some of our cultures and some of our heritages hate each other, despise each other, would kill each other in a heartbeat. And yet, under one name of the God who took on flesh and was exalted on a cross, he's able to break down that wall of hostility and make these same people who would be enemies, humanly speaking, become the closest people because of a fellowship that is deeper than blood. So we stand here every single time we gather, every single time we interact, every single time we worship the Lord. And do you know who's watching? Angels are watching.
1:05:58 You know who's watching? Demons are watching. And they are trying to make sense of this. The demons are silenced and the angels praise. I love this.
1:06:09 In Job 38 we learned that the sons of God, in that context that speaks of the angels, sang at creation. Because they see the power of God. They see the the the wisdom of God. They see the excellencies of God. And then we find here that they also stand in awe of the church.
1:06:30 How can this be? And whenever a sinner repents, there's rejoicing in heaven on top of it because Christ is continuing to build his people. So I see something here about the filling of Bezalel. It was ultimately to obey God. And the qualities with that filling show us once again just how wonderful the church is to him, and it should be to us.
1:06:58 But finally, we come to his collaborating. Look at verse six once again of Exodus 31. And behold, in other words, I wanna gain your attention again. I need you to see something else. What does he want us to behold?
1:07:17 Another man. I have appointed with him a holy abd, the son of Ahisamech of the tribe of Dan. So we've looked at this man Bezalel and then we move on here and we think, what else do we have to see? And there is a new man on the scene, Oholiab. This would be Bezalel's right hand man.
1:07:42 Now here's what struck me. You would think that after learning about all that God would do in this man with the filling of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, ability, knowledge, skill, he's good to go. He doesn't need anything else. What more do you need than that? And yet the Lord indicates and shows us here actually quite clearly, as much as this man has a special relationship with my spirit for this moment, he needs help.
1:08:14 What does that say to those spiritual Christians who think they can walk this walk alone, I just need my Bible and my prayer closet, and I'm good to go. Oh really? What does it say about Christians who constantly stiff arm other Christians and isolate themselves? Do you have a task as great as this? Do you have a responsibility and and a calling as memorable as this?
1:08:49 Do you know a filling of the Holy Spirit that can be compared with this? Such a man of such a caliber needed fellowship. He needed others by his side. This is how God designed it. And so he selects a specific man by the name of Oholiab, and you look at him and you wonder, there's some differences here.
1:09:19 And the main difference as we already learned is that Bezalel came from the tribe of Judah and Oholiab comes from the tribe of Dan. Now you look at this and again, it would be another piece of information that might cause you to bypass it. But if it wasn't important to God, he wouldn't have included it. And so I'm looking at this and I'm thinking, okay. Why do I need to know their tribal association?
1:09:42 Why do I need to know that Bezalel comes from Judah and that Uholeab comes from Dan? And here's at least one reason. God is a God of order. He is. He's not a God of chaos.
1:09:53 He's not a God of confusion. Wherever there is chaos and confusion, that's an indication that God's not there. And God displays his desire for structure and organization even in the book of Exodus. So when the people left Egypt, you can say that they left in a scattered way. But early on in their journey through the wilderness, God sets some rules up.
1:10:20 And one of the rules that he establishes is how the people were to go out in procession from the wilderness into their new home, namely the Promised Land. And so you look at a place like the book of Numbers and you see that God actually assigns which tribes would follow one another as they would make their way from place to place in the wilderness. And you'll find something interesting when you look at the tribes that are organized in the way that they were organized. Do you know where the book of Numbers is? You should know.
1:10:56 Turn there with me. I want you to see something very quickly in chapter 10 of Numbers. Numbers 10, look at verse 13. Remember this is the Lord giving guidance to his people of how they were to walk in the wilderness. And in chapter 10 verse 13, we read the following.
1:11:24 They set out for the first time at the command of the Lord by Moses. The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out first by their companies and over their company was Nahshon the son of Abinadab. Who was first in the procession? Judah. And you read more and more and then you come to this in verse 25 of the same chapter.
1:11:45 Scroll down with me with your eyes. Look at verse 25. Then the standard of the camp of the people of Dan, acting as the rear guard of all the camps, Set out by their companies and over their company was Ezer the son of Amishaddai. So who was the end? The tribe of Dan.
1:12:10 Now add to this, how Dan throughout the scriptures is not seen in a positive light. Over and over Dan does some very questionable things and even outright idolatry. And you even go to the New Testament and you discover that Dan is not seen in a favorable light. Read the book of Revelation. If you were there with our series in Revelation, you remember this.
1:12:36 So you gather all of this and you think to yourself back in Exodus 31, it makes sense for the Lord to recruit somebody from the Royal Tribe of Judah. Dan, the last tribe in line. Dan? The one who would bring so much reproach and shame to the God of Israel as a tribe? Dan.
1:13:02 You could have not chosen from the other 10. No. The Lord wanted to choose one from Judah, and we'll get to why in a moment, and He selected one from the very last person, Dan, at the end of the parade. What do we learn from this? Well, it gives encouragement to those who desire to serve God but may not have an impressive upbringing or faithful heritage like Bezalel did.
1:13:39 It reminds us that when God chooses his men, when God chooses his daughters to serve him, he does so on an individual basis. And Dan here would receive some kind of badge of honor as they have been selected by God to have one of them to represent them. And at the start of this conference my prayer is that you would be absolutely convinced that as unimpressive and unattractive you may think you are, the Lord God Almighty is extremely gracious. And he doesn't look at what other people look at. He, he's not drawn to a specific type of personality.
1:14:32 He doesn't look for a certain height. I'm sure there are many differences between Bezalel and Oholiab. I'm sure they had some things in common. But I kept reading and I kept looking and I realized that they had one thing in common that drew God to them, I'm sure. Look at Exodus 36 with me.
1:15:03 In verse two, 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. The stirring of the heart here, be careful, is not indicating that God is the one who's doing the stirring. God is responsible in this verse for putting in their minds this skill. The ones whose hearts are stirred are the people themselves who are doing the stirring.
1:15:44 So you see what's happening here. Yes, God called these men, but God also found in them a longing to be used by Him. And he found a man from Judah and he found a man from Dan. God looks at your heart. He'll take care of everything else.
1:16:06 He'll take care of the wisdom. He'll take care of the ability. He'll take care of the knowledge. But your heart, you're responsible for your heart. You know a preacher can only preach so much, you know.
1:16:16 He can only get you excited so much. In the end, you have to look at your own heart and ask, How much do I really want God to do something with my life? And only God can evaluate it and see the sincerity of it, and he can move mountains. He can find a way to call you by name to do what it is that he would want you to do. And you have no excuse, weak believer.
1:16:46 You have no excuse, embarrassed Christian, because God selected a man from Dan. You know there are some preachers they say, Oh, I'm the fifth generation of preachers. And that's wonderful. I I pray that all of us have a lineage like that. But God isn't looking back at history and saying, you know what?
1:17:07 I want to keep up this trend. So I'm gonna get this guy to be a preacher too. He looks at you. He looks at you. He doesn't look at your dad.
1:17:20 He doesn't look at your mom. He doesn't look at your siblings. He looks at your heart. So we've considered this man's calling. We've looked at his filling.
1:17:31 We've looked at his collaborating. They would work together. It's a beautiful duo. But here's where I want to end. How does this man point to Christ?
1:17:41 Bezalel. You know what's so fascinating to me? God chose a man from Judah to build a tabernacle. But when the tabernacle was built, the tribe of Judah had no association to the tabernacle. Which tribe was it?
1:17:55 It would be the tribe of Levi that was set apart and designated to do all the things that needed to be done within that vicinity. But when it came to the construction, God chose a man from Judah. And I believe there's a prophetic picture there. Because thousands of years from this moment there would be another from the tribe of Judah who would build something, his church. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1:18:28 Do you remember what the Lord Jesus Christ said about his church in Matthew 16? In verse 18 he says, I tell you, you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church. So Jesus was the son of an actual carpenter and Jesus is also a spiritual carpenter. The son of the Heavenly Father. And one of the things that he desired to build when he came to the earth was the church.
1:18:58 But I'll tell you why he's greater than Bezalel. Because as much as Bezalel was faithful to God's word and did what he did in complete compliance and faithfulness, eventually that tabernacle would be permanently disassembled. It would be no more in the days of Shiloh. And even the, the temple itself would be toppled until there was not one stone left standing. But when Jesus built his church, he said, The gates of hell will not prevail against it.
1:19:35 Nothing will ever destroy the church, even the unfaithfulness of the church. I will build my church. I will do it. He is the greater Bezalel in this, That what he started, he will complete and no one, no one can change that. But you have to understand Christ is a master builder.
1:20:01 He's building much more than just his church. As amazing as the church is. Let's go to one final place in our Bibles together before we close. In second Corinthians chapter five, our God is credited for something else. Paul says here in second Corinthians five one, for we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God.
1:20:40 A house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. I love how Paul begins this, for we know. He doesn't just say I know. We know. We as Christians should be resolute.
1:20:52 We should be absolute. We should be totally confident. Confident in what Paul? What do you want us to be so certain of that if our earthly tent is destroyed, we have a building from God. So he's not speaking about actual tents.
1:21:09 He's not speaking about actual buildings here. He's speaking figuratively. And I'd like to think that because Paul was a tent maker himself, he uses this metaphor. Obviously led by the Holy Spirit. When he's speaking about his earthly home, later on he goes on to say, he's speaking about a tent like structure.
1:21:25 And he relates the earthly home to our physical bodies as we know it now. And what are these physical bodies? They're like tents. Yeah they provide shelter and they have purpose and but they're flimsy. They're weak.
1:21:42 They're not designed to be the permanent home of any individual. In fact, they are destined to be disunited, to come apart. And he says, that's your body and that's my body. So we're certain of that but that's not what Paul is getting at. He says, look, our earthly home, they do have an expiration date but we have a building from God.
1:22:06 Now what is he speaking about there? Our resurrection bodies. And with our resurrection bodies, he wants us to know that unlike a tent, it is more permanent. It is more reliable. It is more safe.
1:22:19 And in many cases, it is more beautiful. But notice this language here, We have a building from God, a house not made with hands. Our resurrection bodies do not have human origin. They are not conjured up by the strength of our flesh. The designer and builder of our resurrection bodies is God Himself.
1:22:47 So this greater one than Bezalel is building his church. He's still building his church. You always build his church. But he's also the architect of your resurrected body, your eternal dwelling place. Think about that.
1:23:07 Christ is gonna take that tent like structure of yours that's causing all that agal, that pain, all that frustration, And he's fashioning a resurrected version of it. And I'm sure with this knowledge of Bezalel, when we get to that point we will realize, Oh Lord, you're the greatest builder of them all. Nobody can build like you. Nobody can fashion structures like you. He's building on our behalf.
1:23:45 And in the same way that Besalel was working with the Spirit, Christ our builder, the builder of the church is working in and through us by His Spirit. And we can look at this individually and we can look at this corporately. Corporately he's working on his church. We've already covered that, but individually just like the tabernacle every part of your life is considered by God. There's not one detail he doesn't care about.
1:24:09 He cares about every detail. From the top to the bottom. From how you walk, how you talk, how you interact, how you respond, everything matters to God. And if you and I would just yield to Him and invite his work in our lives, over time more and more we will be exactly what he designed us to be. Let's thank him for it together.
1:24:59 This moment Lord, we are refreshed in seeing Christ in a place where we might have missed him. So Lord we see how in this man, Bezalel, you are willing to fill us and help us to obey you. Help us not make that unbiblical division in our lives. That there are some things that are sacred and some things that are not sacred. That there are some things that are secular and some things that are holy.
1:25:33 Lord, may the Holy Spirit bless everything that we do. May we carry the fragrance of Christ in all that we do. Lord, help us have a new appreciation for your church. That wherever we are planted, we would walk into that place and realize this may not be impressive to the world, but it is so precious to God. And that more than gold and more than cherubim and more than an altar with fire on it, there is the manifold wisdom of God constantly being proclaimed to the rulers and authorities in heavenly places.
1:26:14 Look what God Almighty was able to do with the sons and daughters of Adam. Lord, finally we ask that you would look at our hearts. No matter our tribes, no matter our cultures, no matter our ethnicities, You look for the heart. Oh may our hearts be stirred this weekend for You to use us. And however we are used to be a part of building Your church, may we see it as a glorious thing.
1:26:46 Never as a light thing, never as a cheap thing. There is no other organism like the church whose builder and architect is Christ Himself. May we be the living stones that honor You and that yield to Your leading wherever You place us and however You chisel us. Even now in this morning's service Lord. Remove anything that you don't want to be there.
1:27:17 And Lord, we now stand to worship the one greater than Bezalel who's building his church, who's preparing for us a resurrection body, and who loves us enough to look at every part of who we are as the temple of the Holy Spirit and is willing to change us to your praise and for our good. In Christ's name we pray, amen. Amen. Let's stand together church. Hallelujah.
1:37:34 We serve a mighty God. We serve a mighty God. What a privilege it is to be a part of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. I wanna tell you something. He's building his church, but he never gets overwhelmed as an architect.
1:37:49 He never gets overwhelmed with what he is doing. And as we sing and as we worship and as we realize that he is building his church, listen to the words of Jesus in John 14 verse one and two. Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me.
1:38:06 In my father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have not told you that I go to prepare a place for you. How do you do it Lord? How do you build your church and how at the same time are you preparing a place for us and how in the moment that these tents dissolve, you will fashion us by your hands a resurrected body. He is a mighty God.
1:38:29 That's how. That is how. He is so powerful. And this work is available. This this ability is available for your own life now.
1:38:41 The temple of God is more than just the church at large. The same text tells us that you are the temple individually. So think of all the temples that he's working on at the same time, and he never breaks a sweat, and he never huffs and puffs out of frustration. This is the God that we serve. He is worthy of worship.
1:39:03 Lord you are worthy of worship. Oh we stand in awe of you this morning and we are looking forward to how you will speak to us in these remaining sessions. But for now Lord continue to do your work in our hearts In this special time of fellowship and rest and activity, may we sense something of your grace building relationships, building our joy, building our peace, may we taste it today. And we thank you for it in advance. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
1:39:32 Amen. You may be seated as you receive some instructions now.
1:39:42 Well, good morning, Maranatha. I wait three sixty five days for this to happen again. I wait for this every day. I just love this place. I love this conference and I'm so blessed to be here this morning.
1:40:02 I'm not behind the pulpit, Pastor Mark. Right here. I just wanna thank you all for doing amazing job at registration this year. You're all registered online. There was no complaining, maybe just six or seven or eight complaints.
1:40:19 No problem. The Michigan group, what can they do? You know, they have to complain. It's not like, you know, and where's Jason? Oh, there.
1:40:29 Did you guys see Jason? How about those mustache? Let's go. I'm sorry. You come here.
1:40:37 You have to do this. I won't do much now. It's morning service. We'll do it later on today. Couple of announce
