I invite you to turn in your Bibles tonight to Exodus chapter 31. Exodus chapter 31, we're considering the first 11 verses tonight of Exodus 31. Beginning at verse 1, this is the word of the Lord. 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 in all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamah, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all I have commanded you, the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony and the mercy seat that is on it and all the furnishings of the tent, the table and its utensils and the pure lamp stand with all its utensils and the altar of incense and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons for their service as priests and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the holy place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do. May the Lord bless tonight the hearing of his word. Well, there is always the tendency, I think, that involvement in the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ and in his church and in the work that we do is bringing us closer to God. We hear that often, that we want to do something for God. It's important to think through this particular passage tonight for it helps us a lot to look at the kind of spirit that should go along with a building project and being workers in the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. The New Testament gives us a powerful warning that we should never try to manipulate God to try to bring him near to us with our ways and our building and our thoughts and our desires. It cautions us greatly against that kind of approach. In fact, the New Testament will specifically say, I want you to build only with what God has commanded you to build with. Come back to that. It seems rather important from light of what I just read, doesn't it? His work and its basis by which we have fellowship and access to God, it is His work. It's His building project. The Lord wanted Israel always to understand that because there was this great danger in God coming down to dwell with them. We don't often think about that, but there's danger in this, isn't there? There's danger in coming close to the Lord. And can you imagine if the Lord had left the building instructions up to Israel? What do you think they would have built? What do you think they would have built? Dare I ask? Dare I think about that? Well, we kind of know. It would look kind of like the Tower of Babel, wouldn't it? Spiral right up into the heavens. Well, there would have been so much pride in that house. There would have been so much exuberance about the house, right? That they built for the Lord. What do you think they would have left out of that building project? Well, quite a few things we could say, but how about this? Blood. All over the new building project, right? Nobody would have wanted to see blood on the brand new, nice walls. Well, you could never do those kind of things, and that would have eliminated, of course, any offense, and they would have ultimately done a great job of eliminating the cross. We're about ready to see that in the next chapter. Building God a house can easily turn into building a tower of Babel to reach God their way, with their wisdom, with their power, with their mighty builders. So the message at the beginning of this building project was really clear. The Lord wanted all of Israel to understand that we don't really bring God to us. Nothing we do brings God to us. That's a tough message for us, but it's a really important message for us. We don't really build for him to get him to us. He comes to us and he makes a way possible to dwell with us and for us to be in his presence. And if we don't understand that, we will constantly be about building the kingdom our way and with our wants and with our wisdom and with our own desires. And that was the very trap that Corinth fell into. And all that shows up today as we're worried today in discussions, and this is why Exodus is a book about worship. That's why I keep bringing it up. That we're worried not about worshiping as God commands anymore. That just seems so archaic to say those kind of things, doesn't it? But worship is merely driven by how people feel. When we understand this and we begin to think about all that was going on in Exodus and what was being planned and what was being built and the structure, we're learning a lot about His terms. Twice in this text it says, build this just as the Lord commanded. They will do that. Because in humble awe of His majesty and in faith, we become overwhelmed that a holy God would even care to come down to us and to dwell with us and love us. But it is on His terms. Well, that's what I want to keep in front of us tonight as we go through this. As I was wrestling through Exodus chapter 31 and thinking about all of these things, I thought, how much detail has been given to us in these building projects? Remember, Moses had gone up onto the mountain and essentially a set of building plans had been handed to him. Can you imagine Moses' reaction when the plans were handed? He starts having it explained. I'm scared to start this thing. This is overwhelming. How do we begin? What do we do? I mean, your standard is holy perfection. How in the world could we ever build something that would meet your building code? How could we do it? It's a probing question if you've ever thought about it. If God is supremely holy and gives all this kind of detail and instruction and keeps saying, I don't change. Things need to be done as I command, as I command, as I command. We can't just write that off and explain those things off. It belongs to His character. how could you build something to this kind of specification well what we have for us tonight is the lord raising up one man especially to do this and his assistant to build the tabernacle and to complete all that the lord had shown to moses according to the pattern that was on the mountain so that's what this is about tonight it's teaching us quite a bit about the building of the kingdom of God, how it occurs, what the Lord is after, and what the servant's mindset should be as they are a part of this great building process and project. That's what chapter 31 is helping us at the beginning. You'll notice a connection here that we'll look at next time. You have a work rest pattern that is given to us for next time. We have Sabbath. So all the work is given to us here, all the building and constructing, and then you have Sabbath, where creation themes again, right here in Exodus, a very important point that we'll look at more next time. But let's start for tonight and look at these men, specifically this particular man that the Lord had set apart to build this tabernacle. You'll notice here in verse 1, the Lord said to Moses, see I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur of the tribe of Judah. And I 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 carving wood to work in every craft. The thing to notice here is that these men, and it'll go on to mention Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. These two men were called and they were appointed of God to build this structure that the Lord had commanded in the wilderness, this tabernacle structure. Bezalel and Aholiab, but notice that they were specifically called by God to do this. Nobody took it upon themselves just to begin the building project. The Lord had said that a tabernacle, He would come and this tabernacle instruction would be given and you could imagine nobody was immediately saying, oh, go build it. The question of how this would be accomplished struck fear into everyone. It's way too big. But who are these men? Well, I don't get a lot much more about them in the Scriptures. And the thing that I come up with is essentially they were nobodies. We find them in their connection with the building of the tabernacle. I'm sure when God pointed out Moses, I'm setting aside Bezalel and Aholiab, Moses said, who? Who? Moses was a faithful servant in the house, but I want you to notice something very important here. Moses was not the builder of the house. It's important to be said tonight. Who's building this? Someone is mentioned also in real power in this text, isn't he? that not only Bezalel is mentioned, but what happens is the Lord says, I have filled him, him, this man, with the Spirit of God. Now, maybe I'm wrong, but I think that's the first time the Spirit's mentioned in Exodus. So here, the Holy Spirit is being mentioned in the book of Exodus at the building project's inception, at the construction of the tabernacle. How significant is that? And what is he represented as doing? Well, he's represented here as filling Bezalel with all this wisdom to construct it. Well, we remember the Holy Spirit at creation, don't we? The Holy Spirit was hovering over the water, the face of the waters. There as the building project began, there was the Spirit, wasn't he? and all of a sudden now again we have this great tabernacle structure going up in the wilderness and all of a sudden who shows up the spirit it's no surprise that we have all this beauty described for that's the one of the works of the spirit he makes everything beautiful he filled him with wisdom and understanding and knowledge in all manner of workmanship and what a beautiful work it was in gold, silver, bronze, and jewels. God raised up these men and gave them gifts to make the tabernacle in the power of the Holy Spirit as this particular man was filled. It's just an amazing moment in the Old Testament. A kind of Pentecost, isn't it? Now there's one other thing I want you to notice in the appointment of these men. All the articles of the tabernacle that we have been studying are mentioned in the sort of summary fashion here to capture the whole thing. Everything that we've been studying these last weeks now is summarized here, and it says, the Lord raised up this man and filled this man with the Spirit, you'll notice, as we've been emphasizing here. The end of verse six, that they may make all that I have commanded. And to verse 11 again. According to all that I have commanded, they shall do. The Spirit has just filled and equipped them with everything they needed to build just as the Lord commanded. The Spirit was fulfilling the Word, wasn't He? The Spirit was there, not working apart from the Word, but fulfilling what had been spoken. That's His work. His great work. The tabernacle could not be built according to specification without the work of the Spirit. It has to be just as the Lord commanded. That keeps being emphasized. Any other tabernacle, the Lord would never have accepted. Any other building project would have never been received. He would have never dwelled in it. And you'll see the glory cloud and the Spirit comes down in chapter 40 and the cloud fills the temple telling us the presence of the Lord has arrived and filled this place. The spices, the incense, the whole thing belonged to the Lord. Not just any man could build it. And that's the point. I love that point. It's a great point, I think. Not just any man could build this structure. now the passage at this point can be taken in a whole bunch of different ways um i've read commentaries and one very reputable one it turned it into an entire sermon on how god encourages art and artists in the church to use their gifts to depict the gospel and i sat back and i thought i just don't see it from this passage at all i think that's an abuse of this passage there might be a way to talk about those things and apply those things, but that is not what this particular passage is about. Here we have to think a little bit about the history of redemption and what's happened in history and people who've tried to build houses for the Lord and how that went and think a little bit about that for a moment and you cannot help but to think a lot about the circumstance with David for the Lord points David back to Exodus chapter 31 when he tried to build him a house i want you to listen to this when second samuel 6 the ark is finally brought back to jerusalem and david was lifted up remember and he's singing and dancing and he's having the greatest praise moment of his life he decides i'm going to build god a house he's up and this is what happened in second samuel 7 now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, see now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains. Then Nathan said to the king, go do all that's in your heart, for the Lord is with you. But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan saying, go and tell my servant David, thus says the Lord, would you build a house for me to dwell in? for I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt even to this day but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel saying, why have you not built me a house of cedar? That's an interesting moment in the history of David. Such a good intention, wasn't it? He's moving around in this little tent. Let's build him something better. When have I ever commanded it? I commanded a movable, temporary tent. Can you permanently put me in a house? Is that what you think? See how dangerous it can be when you say you want to do something for God? You know what we do? We box Him in. The very thing that we often get accused of when we say we should do things as God commanded, people always say you're boxing God in. No, no, no, you're boxing God in. You're boxing God into your way, and it's dangerous. Motives and intentions, as good as they may seem, actually may end up putting God in the box that we create for Him. And we never think about that. You see, we often hear that. That God, putting God in a box when we say that God only works according to this way or that way. And we've not listened to His Word. This is an important point today and a huge application for ministry and the service of the Lord, I believe. The servants of the Lord are merely that. And we often forget that. I forget that. We're merely servants. Servants. We're not building our way with our means, with our wisdom? To me, it's the greatest tragedy and people have accepted that the pastor is sort of the CEO and the vision setter and the goal setter and the church is run on the pastor's vision. This is not this pastor's vision versus this pastor's vision and that pastor's vision versus this pastor's vision. We all seem we're just going to pick the one that we think has the best vision. Church is not that. and the worst thing that's happened today in the church is that leaders forget who they're serving and who's doing the building taking it upon themselves to determine the course and the direction and the future of congregations is a dangerous thing to do and you have seen churches where the spirit has effectively moved on from that whole group because they've tried it the lamp stand is gone and it's slipped into every kind of liberalism and compromise of the word of God possible. Soon we find, we can easily find ourselves building something that looks nothing like, this is the amazing, and people will accept it, nothing like what God put in place. Servants of the Lord are called by God for the purpose of building and laboring with the material and the direction that he's given us in the word. You're not building God a house, David. What did God say to David? Now, therefore, this is so important for tonight. Thus, you shall say to my servant, David. Thus, says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be a ruler over my house, over Israel. And I've been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you and have made you a great name like the name of the great men who are on the earth. Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more. Nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them any more as previously since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. And here it is. Also, the Lord tells you he will make you a house that should be glaring tonight i've done it i chose you i put you in my kingdom i made you a name but the end is he's going to build you a house we say things are all of grace for a reason we really mean that it's illustrated right here the lord is going to appoint someone david to build you a house was it solomon yes and no you see the point that god raised with david is that not even moses built the house for him to dwell in not even moses it was temporary and it was constructed according to his design. Bezalel was appointed to build it. I think we need to think about Bezalel for a little bit tonight. You know what his name means? His name means in the shadow of God. It's followed up by saying he was the son of Uri, the son of light. You know names spoke volumes at this time. The builder here was in the shadow of God and was the son of light. His assistant Aholiab means tent of the Father. But you'll love this. He was of the tribe of Judah. Judah. So put this together. God raised up one, notice here, under His shadow, the Son of Light, building the tent of the Father, of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, filled Him with the Spirit. For what end? To build this tabernacle according to all that was commanded because he would be full of wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and workmanship to build the tabernacle just according to specification. Who is this foreshadowing? Well, I hope we know by now. Isaiah 11. There shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. The builder of the house is not Moses. The builder of the house is not David. It's not ultimately Solomon. The builder of the house is Jesus. That's the very point of Hebrews 3. Hopefully this all is put together for you. Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, Consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Jesus Christ, who was faithful to him who appointed him, as Moses also was faithful in all his house. For this one has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but he who built all things is God. And Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward. But Christ as the Son over His own house, whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, today, if you will hear His voice, don't harden your hearts. And He just told you what this is all about. The high priest of our confession was appointed. He was faithful over all the house. The Spirit rested upon him. Notice that. He's this Son of Light under the shadow of the Almighty was sent to build the house. The tabernacle is fulfilled. This is a foreshadowing of something great here. The tabernacle was fulfilled in His body. And think of Him in John 1. tabernacling among us in our flesh, our human nature. A movable tent. And he applies the whole thing by saying that the church is the body of Christ. This house is his body and what are the materials that make up his body? Well, you'll notice here Hebrews says you are his house. If you hold fast to this confidence and rejoice Joicing of the hope firm to the end. You're the house. It's fascinating. The Lord Jesus Christ, the builder of the house, Exodus 31 anticipates this. Lo and behold, who shows up at Pentecost as soon as He's resurrected, finished the work, is seated, the building project begins, and here comes the Spirit. And He fills. He fills, doesn't He? People were filled. The apostles were filled for the great building project. This really is a glorious section. It's not hard for us to grasp. We never had the ability to bring God to us. We don't have the ability or wisdom or the power or understanding to make a dwelling place for Him. We just couldn't make it happen. David was rebuked for that thought. God doesn't need anything from us. But we need everything from Him. And the Gospel of grace is ultimately, you won't build anything for me that ultimately will box me in or bring me to you. But I'll build you a house. I'll build you a house. That's important because we value buildings and we use buildings and we have a building project and we use those things. But we don't use those things to think that we're going to manipulate God or buy God's power somehow that's happened in the history of the church with these things. I will give you a place. Jesus said, I'm going to prepare the house for you. I'm going to take you there. I'm the builder. I'm the preparer you realize we have become as Ephesians says the dwelling place of God in the spirit his people his body his church it's pretty humbling the temple now are living stones being built up a spiritual house offering spiritual sacrifices to the praise of the glory of his grace in Christ Jesus. New Testament is constantly using this language to explain realities to us and helping us think about it. For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God. This is 2 Corinthians 5. A house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation, which is from heaven. Indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked, for we who are in this tent grown, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now, he who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has also given us the Spirit as his guarantee. It's all coming together, isn't it? Let me make tonight, in closing, a great application that helps us as a church tonight, as we go forward and think about and be confident in what we're doing because it all applies that way. The builder, notice here, is God's son, ultimately. You are His building. What happened in Corinth? They forgot this. They forgot this. We remember there was a reason Bezalel and Aholiab were commanded to build just as the Lord commanded. Why? Because any other materials for the building project that were not according to specification would be attacked not only on the building project God would accept, but it would be an attack on the Son's work for us. What happened in Corinth? Well, they wanted to do something for God. They had a church in a very radically changing culture that was inundated with all kinds of worldly wisdom. The church was greatly attracted to it. They asked all the questions that we ask today. How can we be relevant? How can we retain the youth? How do we do this? We've got to change with the times. We've got to do all these things to retain. And how do we reach the masses? How are we going to be effective? All those questions happened in 1st century Corinth. Paul comes along in chapter 3 and says, let each one take heed how he builds. Let each one take heed. You get the privilege now as Christians to be a part of a building project of living stones, of people. Jesus is the cornerstone. What did the Lord want them to know? Ministry is not about doing whatever you want to do in the name of Jesus to win the lost. That is not it. That is not it. It's dangerous. Why? Because he says no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. He's the foundation. He has laid it for the building of his house. If you build with the wrong materials, which happens all the time, Paul says you make the cross of no effect. You take the blood out. No more preaching of the cross. That was the primary building material. The preaching of Christ and Him crucified. When he says, if anyone builds on this foundation, listen to his language, with gold, silver, or precious stones. He's thinking of Exodus 31. But then he adds, he's thinking of Bezalel, but then he adds, wood, hay, straw. Each one's work is going to become clear. if anyone's work on which he has built endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, so is through fire. What's he saying? There are some buildings with everything that's wrong. The whole history of redemption has told us this problem and cautioned us against this problem. Don't build with things you shouldn't be building with. And we're not talking about wood structures right now. There are perishable materials in the ministry that people are using. Depending on human wisdom. And not the Word of God. And they're doing ministry. And we just say, oh, that's great, that's great. No, it's not great. Nobody's saved in that. Judgment Day is going to reveal that there were many doing kingdom work who were not building with what God commanded. And that's a tragedy. It's a tragedy for those under that kind of ministry. You think of all the waste that happens in Christian ministry. I get you guys for a couple hours a week. It's not rocket science what I'm supposed to do here. Paul chided the church to build with that which is lasting. The material is the living Word of God. This is it. This is what we build with. Notice the services are all around this and in this and preaching this and proclaiming this and making this known. The idol of entertainment is the wrong material. This is the material. And if anyone defiles the temple, he says of God, God will destroy him for the temple is holy. Which temple you are? We build on the foundation Christ has laid with the materials He commanded us to use. So think of how wonderful it is that God has given us a place where we are built up. And I'm thinking of this morning with Psalm 66 and the things that we hear. These things build us up. These things strengthen us in our faith. These things help us as we go forward. And then we're realizing how much glory goes to the one who has given us a ministry of reconciliation to announce the gospel that actually sets people free. Think about how glorious it is of what you're really a part of. And one day you're going to get to see this. Right now we live by faith. One day you're going to get to see this with your eyes. Risen eyes. But until then, we believe and the Spirit is with us. The Spirit has sealed us. It's the ministry of the Spirit the New Testament calls. And we need to ask Him. There's a reason, boys and girls, and we should do this more, there's a reason when we pray, they used to call it the illumination of the Spirit before the sermon. Where you're asking for the Holy Spirit to bless the building material so that stones are set firm in the project. That's what we should ask for. That you may forever have the Lord as your dwelling place. You know, Moses said that. Lord, you've been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth or ever you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. You're our dwelling place. Praise Him tonight that He came to rescue you and gave you a place in His kingdom in the house that He built and He has a house reserved for you in heaven. Never forget that you have a place by grace and that you share in the building project of the Lord Jesus Christ. May no other foundation be laid than that which has been laid, which is laid by Him. In the power of the Spirit, we go forward in this ministry until He comes again. Take us back to be with Him in the mansion that He's prepared for us forever. Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word tonight and thank You for Your help to us and thank You for encouraging us with this of the project that You have built and that You are fulfilling and that You are completing. And may we love Your Word, O Lord, and love what You're doing. And we're thankful for the places You give us to worship, real buildings, brick and mortar and stone. And we have that great opportunity that could happen here very soon, Lord, as we're planning for that. We thank You for this as a place to worship. We ultimately know, Lord, that this building project is a people. A people set apart, won by the blood and purchased by the blood of Jesus. May we take care in this place how Your kingdom is built in this local body. And may Your people be strengthened and may You use us all, Lord, with the gifts. It also says in this section that the Spirit filled and helped all these servants to be about this work. May, Lord, we all have hearts to be active and dutiful in this, to bring glory to Your name and recognize what we're a part of. Thank You, Lord, for Your kingdom and for righteousness. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.