The Calling of the Church - Exodus 35:30-36:2
Septemeber 18, 2011

Since the beginning of time, God has encapsulated Himself in various arenas

In the early chapters of Genesis, God brought Himself into the Garden of Eden and allowed the fullness of His presence to be unleashed within the bounds of the garden—we see this when God, in the "cool of the day" or more accurately, in the Spirit of the Day of Judgment, brings a Covenantal Lawsuit, described by Isaiah and the prophets as a sound of a thousand miseries, against Adam for forsaking his role as the protector and guardian of the garden.

Then, a few chapters forward, we read the story of Jacob and his deception of Esau wherein he runs away to a place called Bethel and has a dream of a ladder and descending and ascending angels from and to Heaven—Jacob appropriately names the place Bethel, saying that "surely God was in that place."

Still some chapters following yet still in Genesis, we read the story of Moses and his calling, wherein God encapsulates Himself in a small space surrounding a burning bush.

But here, in our text today, we find, for the very first time in man's history, the God of the universe encapsulate Himself in something far smaller than a garden and far meeker and humbler than burning bush: In our text today, God, the creator of all existence, is allowing Himself to be encapsulated in the very same entity that encapsulated every single human being at the time: A small and dingy tent called the Tabernacle.

You see, at the time, all people in all places, except for royalty, were housed in small tents—and here, our text comes from a series of texts that describe God, Yahweh, allowing Himself to be encapsulated, not by a golden palaces, not by hanging gardens, and not by bejeweled temples; rather, by a small, leather-made tent— a humbling preview of what God would do some thousands of years later and through a far smaller capacity through an infant child named Jesus of Nazareth.

In other words, we have here a monumental moment in history when the God of the universe is allowing Himself to be belittled by the most finite and miniscule of beings—and He does this (thought our text doesn't reveal it), in order to satisfy a covenant He made with the people of Israel and maintain a sense of fellowship and communion with them; for the first time in history, God desires to be continuously intimate and local with them.

Now if you or I were in Moses' shoes, what do you believe your response would be? Would you not begin construction of this tent by gathering the finest of materials possible and by designing the most elegant and beautiful tent possible?

But is the first thing that Moses does in constructing the first House of the Lord? Moses calls two people to help with the development. Again, the first thing Moses does in this incredible situation is call two people—two normal, blue-collar workers—to help him build the House of the Lord.

What is the first thing that Jesus, the greater Moses, do when He begins His ministry and begins to build the greater, spiritual House of the Lord called the church? He doesn't gather the finest of materials or plan the most intricate blue-prints; rather, He calls a handful of regular people.

The beginning of the Tabernacle and the beginning of church isn't some sort of program or idea or vision but it begins with people, chosen by the greater Moses, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, whenever something happens in a church that neglects, discourages, or hurts people, then that church has forgotten the reason it exists: the church begins with people; people, in other words, are not just important but they are essential and absolutely necessary for church.

But not just any people—consider the people Moses calls. Moses calls two individuals who are described to be "filled with the Spirit of God" and ordained with the skills necessary to construct a tent.

Therefore, in the same way, a church is filled with (1) firstly, people who are chosen, by God, to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And (2) secondly, a church is filled with people who are ordained by God to utilize their skills, abilities, and talents to further develop the church.

So, that leaves us with a few questions—first, how does one know that he or she is called by God to be filled with Holy Spirit?

Well, the answer lies in 36:2—Moses called those whose minds and hearts stirred to do work for the Tabernacle.

Have you ever met someone who said, "I don't need church because I devoutly read the Bible"? If so, then this individual doesn't understand that the church is not merely filled with people who desire to love God individually—although many churches are filled with these kinds of people.
Instead, the church is to be filled with people who desire to love God communally because, again, people and community are absolutely essential and utterly necessary to the church

Therefore, those who contributed to the House of the Lord in Exodus weren't just individuals who wanted to individually serve God and honor Moses as their Savior but to contribute to the community of God and honor Moses as their leader

In other words, if all you are focused on is serving Christ individually, then you are exclusively focusing on the role of Christ as a savior; however, Christ is much more than that—He is the head and king of the church and there is no way to honor that role unless you are first a part of a church and unless you utilize the people of your church.

Therefore, you know you are called by God if you have the same communal Spirit of God that understands, appreciates, and honors the essential nature of community in a church—even God Himself, within the framework of the trinity, is a community Himself; therefore, why would He not expect the same for His creation?

So, a church is filled with people who are called by God to be filled with His Holy Spirit and you know you are called if you have this desire in your heart and this conviction in your mind that you ought to serve and participate in your church.

But a church is also filled with people who are ordained to utilize their skills and abilities to develop the church.

I do believe God is sovereign over brain-function and your abilities to play certain instruments or perform complex mathematical operations and so forth; however, the problem with the way modern society interprets these things is that they implement these abilities above the church.

However, in our text, look at the way Moses describes Bezalel and Oholiab: He does so with this underlying assumption that they were chosen and given their abilities for the greater purpose of building the Tabernacle. It is likely that they were making a living off of their skills; however, the true reason why God, in His sovereignty, provided these skills was to use them in His church.

Therefore, if you possess a skill—and every single person has a skill and an ability—then it needs to ultimately be used in its greatest capacity for the development of the church. You can use those skills to make a living, however, they need to be consummated within the church.

And if you are thinking, by the way, that this is a radical notion and that this utterly eradicates all forms of privacy or personal aspiration—well, then, you're on the right track to understanding the true nature of the true church.

Even Cornelius, a Roman governor during the time of the Apostle Paul, was disgusted and repulsed at how incest-ual in nature the church demanded its congregants to be—indeed, the terms of fellowship and communion within the church are radical and require your very life.

And here is why: because that is precisely the price Christ paid to purchase and develop the church. He died in order to create an entirely new, not a moderately reformed way of living.

Christ did not die to add onto your living and provide some subtext; Christ died upon the cross to radically transform your life in every possible way—beginning with your investment in the church.

Christ cared and cherished the church so much that He gave His life up for it upon the cross and for us to relinquish the duties provided in Scripture for the church is to diminish the cross all-together.

And through His death, Christ, the greater Moses, chose people (not just one person but people) to develop the church and to give their lives for it—which thousands upon thousands of people throughout history have.

Let's close with this: In our text, the overwhelming idea here is that God chose and that Moses chose—do you know what the significance of God's choice is?

"This is how John Calvin puts it: "We shall never feel persuaded as we ought that our salvation flows from the free mercy of God as its foundation, until we are made acquainted with his eternal election, the grace of God …" (Institutes of Christian Religion, 607)

Paul puts it like this, "Even so then at this present time also, there is a remnant according to the election of grace." (Romans 11:6)

Both Calvin and Paul are saying that the choosing, election, and ordaining of God is to instill a sense of humble awe—we were all lost but not we are found, by God's grace, together.

This past week I heard some unfortunate news about the church I grew up in and how the congregation there is having some major quarrels with the leadership.

And it is discouraging to see churches like that in dysfunction and the elders blaming the congregation and the congregation blaming the elders. And the situation got me thinking: How often do churches across the globe forget their calling and their function?

And I not only see this in churches that are breaking apart but in churches that are seemingly doing very well --- mega-churches across the nation are fueled by one teacher, preaching several times a day to thousands and thousands of people and, all the while, virtually every single individual has forgotten the function and calling of the church and have, instead, redefined what they desire or believe the church ought to be.

But what we see through our text today is that church is something for more than that—it is something that requires our whole lives in response to the life graciously given upon the cross: the life of Jesus Christ.

And honestly, when I think about a church like that—a church where everyone truly treats one another like brothers and sisters, a church where everyone is giving their lives to develop one another and serve one another, a church where people are essential and not just important, a church where people are filled with the Spirit of God—that is the kind of church I'd like to attend.

And one day, in Heaven, I will. But before that day comes, we can bring the a little bit of heaven to our churches here today.

Are you certain you are chosen by God and filled with the Holy Spirit? If not, then repent and seek the Lord today and receive Jesus Christ into your life as your Lord and Savior.

If you are certain, then let me ask you—am I essential to you, today? Are these people here essential to you or are we just here, some of us being minor and others of us being major in terms of importance?

We are called to live a radically different life in order to develop the church, pouring out our abilities and talents and skills into this place instead of in other, temporary and worldly things. Because Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, poured out His everything to build this place.