THE EXODUS: Follow The Pattern

Welcome to the Celebration Church of the Window podcast.

We are so glad you joined us, and we hope you are encouraged by today's message.

So as we continue in the series, I want to invite you to go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 25.

Exodus 25 · chapter mention

You could turn to Exodus chapter 25.

Exodus 25 · chapter mention

If you haven't been here over the past couple of weeks, let me give you some context as to what we're talking about.

That that series opener that you just saw.

We're in this series talking about the Exodus, which is going from captivity to promise.

It's probably, in my opinion, one of the most epic stories in the Bible, aside from the cross, just the journey that the children of Israel they go through, and so much of the Bible and the way that we understand it, and even the fulfillment of Christ is directly tied back to the Exodus.

So when you have context of Exodus, then you have context of what Christ did on the cross.

It's all it's all connected.

And so over the past couple of weeks, the first week when we kicked off the series, we we talked a lot around the idea of identity.

We really did.

We talked about identity and ultimately we looked at two different entities identity.

We looked at the identity of Moses and understanding the way that God wired him and the way that God was going to use his flaws and all, but he was going to take what was in Moses' hand to put the enemy under his feet.

It's such a powerful thought and understanding that no matter what experiences we have had, that God will use those very same experiences to show that he is Lord through them all.

So it's a very powerful moment that we had uh two weeks ago.

Um last week, of course, we didn't get a chance to meet because of Hurricane Dorian and our anticipation of the impact it could have on the city, but we did we still went ahead and recorded um the message in our church offices.

So for those that were able to engage this, this will sound relatively familiar, but for those who didn't, I want to encourage you to go back and check out the message online.

I believe it's on our podcast, and there's some other um avenues that you can check it out.

And and ultimately what we talked about last week was just this idea of compromise.

We we really did because that we're on the journey.

And we're on it, and on this journey, we realize that there's gonna be moments where there'll be this this compulsion to compromise.

So what we see with Pharaoh, who who kind of serves as like the enemy, Satan, like the enemy of our soul, whatever, whatever phrase we're used to, we see that this this archetype of of this adversary of our soul, he begins to issue these compromises to the children of Israel, because in his mind he understood if I can leave a portion of you here in Egypt, you will not make it to the promised land.

And so what we walked away with last week was understanding that that it's not God's will for us to be partially free, because partial freedom is still total bondage, because God wants us to bring all of ourselves, all of our family, all of our resources out of Egypt, because that is how God's family is called to operate and function.

So those are some of the principles that we learned from last week.

And in this week, we have an opportunity to get into some more that God wants to share with us.

We'll find here in Exodus chapter 25.

Exodus 25 · chapter mention

I'll I'll provide some context on the back end, but but here's what it says here.

Now that they've been now that they've been liberated and and and now that they've been set free, we see that we ended last week on this powerful idea of Passover.

This this very sacred meal that that sets the tone for not only for for the children of Israel and the old covenant, but even for us.

Our version of what Passover would be is it's kind of like what communion is for us.

It's the same principle where we pause, we recognize what God has brought us through, what he's taking us to, and we honor God through it.

So communion for us is what Passover was, and is even for many of our Jewish brothers and sisters, even to this day.

But one of the things that I loved about Passover that we didn't get a chance to talk about last week, but I I thought it was worth mentioning to us today, is that that they were they were instructed to make sure today when they ate the meal, that they ate the meal with their shoes on, they ate the meal with their coats on, that they were ready to go.

That ultimately what God was communicating to his people is that I'm about to do something in your life, but I need you to be ready for it.

And and and what that meant for me is I began to think about what does that symbolize for us.

I began to process this question.

If God were to answer my prayers, am I ready for it?

If if God was to really begin to move in my life the way that I want him to, am I ready for it?

Because if we're not ready for it, unfortunately we can find ourselves at this spiritual lottery, and which you'll know about people who often win the lottery, their lives end up worse often before they had the money because they didn't develop the discipline on how to handle it.

That's the principle that God wants to make sure of.

I'm about to move in your life, but are you ready for it?

And and what I believe God is asking some of us is like, man, you're waiting for me to move, but I'm waiting for you to be ready so that when I do move, you don't lose what I've given you.

That's the that's the challenge that God is leading us to.

And so now we find ourselves here at Exodus chapter 25, and looking at verses one through nine, here's what it says The Lord said to Moses, Speak to the people of Israel that they may take a contribution from me.

Exodus 25 · chapter mention

From every man whose heart moves him, he shall receive the contribution from me.

And this is the contribution you shall receive from them: gold and silver and bronze and purple and scarlet yarns with fine-twined linen, goat's hair, tanned ramskins, goat skins, um, acacia wood, um, oil for the lamps, spices, and anointed oil for the fragrant incense, onyx stones, stones for the setting, for the ephod, the breastplate, and then verse number eight and let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst, exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle and all of its furnishings, you shall make it.

Now, a a lot of that sounds weird when we look at it in our current context.

A lot of it doesn't even translate to us, and and we'll we'll explain it a little bit.

But but ultimately what God is saying is that all the favor, all the blessing, all those resources that Pharaoh tried to convince you to leave in Egypt, I want you to take some of those resources and I need you to contribute to building an environment so I can dwell amongst my people.

And each one of those elements had significance to it, each one of those elements actually point back to Christ.

Each one of those elements set the environment so that God can dwell amongst his people, but we each have a part to play.

This is the words of God speaking to Moses and in chapter 35 of Exodus.

Now you have Moses responding and saying these same words to the children of Israel.

So when you read verses one through about 20, you ultimately kind of see the same thing repeated again, but this time Moses is communicating these words.

But but I love what it says here at verse number 20.

It says this says, Then all of the congregation of the people of Israel they departed from the presence of Moses, and they came with everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him.

They brought the Lord's contribution to be used for the building of the tent and for all of its services and for the holy garments.

In this series, we we're talking about this journey that God has us on and how his desire is for us to get out of Egypt, to make it through the wilderness, but ultimately make it to the place that he's calling us to, which we refer to as the promised land.

And everything that God instructs, everything that God leads them to, is symbolic of the journey that we ourselves are on as Christians, but also knowing that He's given us everything that we need to make it to the place that He's calling us to go to.

What we've provided for all of us as a church was we provided a journal, and our hope is that you've been reading along in the journal.

If you didn't get one, you can certainly grab one at the end of service.

But we're hoping that you can read along because there's context and things to some of these things that we're talking about that are gonna be part of your daily readings.

But for the sake of today's message, I want you to write this title down.

What doesn't mean my title?

Okay, there it is.

I blanked out.

Hey guys, I was off last week too.

Follow the pattern.

Follow the pattern.

Okay, let's follow the pattern.

Let's pray.

God, we thank you so much for your word.

Uh, we thank you for this incredible church, God, and what you're allowing us to be a part of.

Father, we pray over the next few moments as we're on this journey of the exodus, going from captivity to promise, Father, that we can see that your word is speaking to us about the patterns that you want us to follow.

So, God, I pray that you give us open eyes that we could see you, give us open ears that we can hear you and open hearts to receive the truth of what it is that you will have us to do.

God, we dedicate this time to you in Jesus' name.

Amen and amen.

Following the pattern.

See, when we when we look at some of the some of the details that are included in the building of this tabernacle, some of it seems excessive, some of it doesn't translate, much of it doesn't even make sense to us in our modern context.

And I and I I get all of that.

Because what we're seeing is a lot of exhaustive detail that if you're if if you're if you're anything like me, you're thinking, like, but is it is it really necessary?

Like, why why does God specifically say that the curtain has to be purple?

Like, we don't have any purple, but we got a bunch of red.

Can I substitute it for what I want to do?

And what we're seeing is that God is very detail-oriented, he's very, very thorough.

Now, now some of us know what it's like to be around a person who is incredibly, who's incredibly detail oriented or thorough.

Some of us know what it's like to be around somebody who is very specific, particular, picky, any adjective that you can think of, we probably know people that are just like there's a set way that they want things done and and you better follow it.

So, so for me, for like that person in my life would be my wife, Megan.

She's she's very, she's very particular and very specific about certain things that even though I've existed on this planet for 44 years, apparently there's certain things that I just don't do well.

So here's something that I learned.

Early in our marriage, I learned that there is a specific way that you are supposed to wash the dishes.

I didn't I didn't know that.

All my years leading up to this, I didn't know that.

But apparently the way that you wash dishes is you wash the dishes fully, then you put them into the dishwasher, and then you wash them again.

Like that apparently that's the way that it's supposed to be done.

Now, in the mind of an efficient person, I'm thinking to myself, then why do we have a dishwasher?

Like it just it doesn't translate, but for some people, that is the way that it's supposed to be done.

Okay, I I get it.

When we had our children, and I would change the parent.

There's a specific way that it has to be done.

In my mind, I'm thinking, okay, the goal is to get the mess off, get a pamper on.

Whatever method I use to do that, that seems like that would satisfy, but apparently that's not the case.

There's a specific way and an order in which you are supposed to do things.

I I get that.

There's there's a specific way and way that you're supposed to even wash clothes.

Y'all help me.

Because I'm I'm I'm trying my best to be a good husband, I'm trying my best to be a contributor, I'm trying my best to be a help in in the present time of need.

But what I've learned very quickly is that there's a specific way that you're supposed to wash clothes.

I I I quickly learned that you're supposed to segregate all the colors, but I'm a person that believes in unity, so I'm thinking that all the colors are supposed to be together.

That's how heaven is supposed to be, that's how our church is, praise God.

So why would we have segregation in any area of our lives?

But apparently that is not a good thing.

Who knew?

So needless to say, I lost my clothes washing privileges, which actually is not a bad idea.

But nonetheless, if that's the reality.

Another thing I learned is that in our household, we we don't really use the dryer.

My my wife air dries everything.

And when I say everything, I'm talking about socks, shoestrings.

Nothing basically goes into the dryer, so why do we have a dryer?

I don't know.

But these are things that I've that I've quickly learned.

There's there's a certain way that things are supposed to be cleaned.

More specifically, vacuuming.

Now I'm thinking to myself, I am a grown man.

I know how to use a vacuum cleaner.

You, you, the goal is there's dirt on the floor, you turn a vacuum on and you turn it off when the dirt's not there anymore.

In my wife's mind, however, she's like, I don't see the vacuum lines.

So, so but the goal is let's just is it is it clean?

Like I thought that that was the way that it was supposed to be done, but apparently there's a specific way that it has to be done.

And so for the person who's very efficient, people who are very thorough can drive you crazy.

But on the other side, people who are very thorough, when they're looking at someone who's efficient, they can look at us as people who are trying to find shortcuts and and things like that.

So I get it, but here's the principle that we see with God.

God is a very thorough God.

God is a very thorough God, He's very specific and He's very detailed.

Now, that doesn't mean that God is not also very efficient, because what we see is that miracles are God's efficiency put on display.

God is creative in how He can allow us to get to a certain end result.

However, He's also very thorough.

He wants to make sure that we're thoroughly prepared.

He wants to make sure that we're thoroughly whole, He wants to make sure that we're thoroughly clean.

So when we look at some of the little things that God will have us to do sometimes, it could be similar to how I feel at moments where I'm like, does it really matter?

But in the mind of God, it really does.

It really does.

Like these disciplines, they really do, they really do matter.

So what we see with God with the children of Israel, he gives them this very deep, detailed process of how to get to the promises of God.

Because ultimately what we find is that even though the children of Israel were no longer in Egypt, Egypt was still in them.

Egypt was still very much a part of who they were.

After 430 years of of bondage, they still had the mentality of a slave.

And unfortunately, the mentality of a slave will never comprehend what it means to operate in royalty until you get slavery out of you.

So God began to lead them down this process of, hey man, I got some promises for you, but I promise you're not ready for that, and you will mismanage the grace that's in your life if I don't first walk you through a process to get these things out of your system.

So we see God painstakingly walking his people through this process because our blessings are in proportion to our freedom.

Our blessings are in direct proportion to our freedom.

Did you know that you actually have the ability to determine God's timing?

You have the ability to determine God's timing.

The children of Israel, their journey that they were going to be on was literally only supposed to take them 35 days.

It turned into 40 years because Egypt was still in them.

I often ask myself, are there areas that I'm supposed to be in that I'm not?

Because I still have left portions of my freedom back in Egypt.

This is unfortunately where we find the children of Israel because God knows that in order for you to really comprehend and walk in the blessing and promises that I have for you, it's going to require you, it's going to require you to get freedom from some things.

So God begins to instill all of these incredible patterns.

I want I want to walk you through these, these, these, these powerful patterns so I can teach you my ways.

But God is saying to himself, if if I'm going to lead you my way, I have to teach you my ways.

Understand my ways of thinking.

Understand my ways of processing things.

I got to get some new rhythms in your life so that you can understand how you can handle the blessing and favor that I have for you, because the the mindset of a person that is in Egypt is never going to understand the blessing and the generosity that God wants us to operate in.

This is the journey that He leads us on.

And so when we look at Scripture, there's these moments where God is trying to communicate to us these patterns and rhythms that we're supposed to take very seriously.

See, in hermeneutical Bible study, there's this principle that is very, very important for us to grab a hold of, and that is something called the principle of the first.

Ultimately, what that means is the first time that you see something in scripture, it's often the most pure definition of it.

You won't get a more pure definition of something than the first time that you see it in scripture.

So, for instance, if we look at Adam, when Adam was created, God created him from dirt.

He gave him identity, he gave him purpose, he gave him calling, he gave him value, he gave him a job description, he gave him an assignment.

And do you know what God gave him immediately after he imparted all those things into Adam?

He gave him rest.

After you have your identity, after you have your purpose, after you have your value, after you understand your assignment, the very next thing that God gave Adam was rest.

He wanted to make sure that he was communicating to all of mankind.

If your identity is rooted in me, you can rest in me.

If your value is rooted in me, you can rest in me.

If your calling is rooted in me, you can rest in me.

Because if Adam would have got to work immediately after God had created him, he would have thought that his works were supposed to come before rest.

But God wanted to communicate that, hey, the first thing first, the first thing I need you to understand is I need you to rest in me.

Literally, ever since the fall of man, God has been trying to get us as a people to get back to a place where we can learn to rest in his presence, where we can learn to rest in his grace, where we're not striving to be successful because we find rest in him.

But the affirmation that we have from God sets to tone for the rest.

So we see that principle and that pattern being established from the very beginning.

We see these other incredible patterns that God begins to establish with people.

But specifically for the children of Israel, we see some incredible patterns being established from the time that God begins to engage them on this freedom journey.

The first thing we see is that God begins to give them favor even while they're in Egypt.

He gives them blessings and favor to go alongside of it.

But in addition to that, God, when they go into their first battle, think about this for a moment.

The very first time that the children of Israel go into battle, they don't win the battle because of their incredible skill sets.

They're slaves.

They don't even really know how to fight.

But their very first battle, they were victorious because Moses was able to lift his hands up.

And as long as the hands of Moses was lifted up, they were able to be successful in battle.

So what is the pattern that God is trying to imply?

It means that no matter what you may face, no matter what battle you may find yourself in, as long as you can continue to have a posture of praise, you will be victorious.

But the adversary wants to make sure that we don't understand that.

So then we get out of sorts, we're not resting in the sovereignty of God and we're trying to fight our battles and our own strength.

God is trying to show us some rhythms and some patterns.

Can you make sure that you're surrendered and submitted to me?

We see those patterns with that.

Just learning how to submit to him and worship.

We see the pattern of them going through the Red Sea.

They're separated from Egypt, and the next thing that God tells them to do is I now need you to go through the water to indicate that you're on the other side.

That is when Israel was baptized as a nation.

So we see this principle of baptism.

We even see this in the New Testament, where this principle of the moment that you begin to separate yourself from the world, what's the next thing that we see in the Great Commission?

Get baptized.

Baptism was never meant to be like this optional thing, it was meant to be connected to our next step.

And guess what, guys?

We have baptisms today.

Imagine that.

You would almost think we planned this.

Um but we see we see this principle that, okay, now that you're now that you're moving forward in your walk, your next step is to go and get baptized.

So we're seeing these this principle of first being established.

But then we get into Exodus 19.

This is where the law, the word of God is now being communicated.

Because now that you're separate from Egypt, you're separate from the world, there's a new set of standards you have to live by.

Because when you were in Egypt, there was a certain mentality that you were able to have, there was a certain sense of function that you could that you can operate in.

But now that you are now my people, I need to give you some new standards, some new obligations, some new rules, even.

None of us feel comfortable with that, but God is trying to make sure that Egypt gets out of us.

He establishes that pattern.

But then you know what he tells his people to do when we get to Exodus 25?

The very same people that was given the resources and favor and blessing in Egypt, he says, I've given you all these resources, I've given you all this stuff.

Here's what I need you to do now.

I need you to take a portion of that and bring it to the community so you can create an environment for me to dwell in.

Why was that so significant?

Because for a slave, they never had ownership of anything.

They never knew what it felt like to have ownership of anything.

So when they leave Egypt, they literally leave Egypt wealthy.

They got all kinds of cows, they got all kinds of cattle, they got all these resources which were economic resources, not to mention gold and silver and some of the other elements we talked about.

So they're walking out and they're coming through dripping.

They got all kinds of stuff.

Like they, they, they're like, yo, like, man, I never knew what this type of money felt like, man.

This is crazy.

Like, we're doing good, man.

We're finally on the other side, man.

We're just making it rain, like we're doing whatever we want.

And then God says, hey man, that's cool.

I gave you those resources, but here's what I need you to do.

Take a portion of that so you can create a space where I can dwell with you.

Man, God, like, are you sure?

Yes, I I gave you what you need so you can give me what I need.

But you have to have a willing heart.

I gave it to you.

Like it was built into what I gave you.

I gave you what you need in order for you to move forward, but but you have a part to play in that.

God was leading his people on this journey where they didn't have a dependency on the substance because they recognize him as the source.

This is the pattern that God was leading them down, and he was like, if you can get this in your spirit, if you can, if you can get this in you, then you will you will totally be free.

But if not, you're you're still actually thinking like a person who lives in Egypt.

Here's what here's what I want you to know a person who has a mindset that is still in Egypt will struggle with generosity.

A person who has a mindset that is still in Egypt will struggle with serving.

Because the mind of a slave, you were always self-absorving.

It was always about survival.

But when I can recognize that God is my source, then me being generous is not a thing.

When I recognize that God is my source and me serving is not a thing, it becomes very easy for us to function.

So God begins to lead them down this rhythm of recognizing that he is their source.

And so what he tells them is now I want to create an environment so that I can dwell amongst my people.

At the tabernacle, this is the first time that God takes his relationship from individuals to making it about a group of people.

Because up until this point, every time God had engaged somebody, it was an individual.

We have, of course, Adam, we have Abraham, we have Isaac, we have Jacob, we have Moses, these people that had these powerful individual encounters with God that now they were responsible for kind of communicating it.

But in Exodus 25, God shifts the paradigm and says, I no longer want to just have a relationship with one person, I want to have a relationship with a people, but you have a part to play in that.

It says that everyone who has a willing heart has something that they can contribute to ensure that I'm dwelling with them.

So let me let me put it this way: you have a part to play in determining the part that God plays in your life.

You have a part to play.

If you want God to dwell in your marriage, you gotta contribute.

If you want God to dwell in in your finances, you gotta contribute.

If you want God to dwell at your workplace, it's not gonna magically happen.

You have to contribute.

What God was saying is the peace that you want to create, you have a part to play in that.

That's the pattern, that's the rhythm that He's establishing.

I'm leading you on this journey where you understand that you have a part to play.

And so the building of the tabernacle was God going from being this distant God who would visit to now being a God who was with them every step of the way.

This was a radical different adjustment.

And so the tabernacle is made up of three areas.

And I believe with those three areas, not only was there deep symbolism pointing to Christ, but I also believe it was a pattern that God wants to model our lives after.

The first, the first, the first pattern that I believe that God wants us to understand is the pattern of sacrifice.

It's the pattern.

Pattern of sacrifice.

See, the first layer of the tabernacle is is the is the outer court.

That's the place where sacrifices took place.

So for the children of Israel, it was very visible.

Everybody could see because they were all positioned around this great tent where God dwelled.

That yes, that is a place where sacrifices take place.

Now, now, sacrifice do a couple of things, if you really, if you really break it down.

One, sacrifice keeps us from having unhealthy attachment to things.

Understanding, like, okay, yeah, like okay, I gotta make sure I don't have unhealthy attachments, so sacrifice is just a part of the life that we live.

But but in addition to that, sacrifice was also the place where we're learning how to manage what God has given us.

Let me let me make it more plain.

Like, God has given us the resources that we need to sacrifice to Him.

We often think of sacrifice as this thing that we have to get from a place of deficit.

I I don't have it, so it's gonna be a struggle for me to give it.

But God's saying, no, my provision has sacrifice built in it, if you recognize it.

I gave you what you need so that you can sacrifice, but it's up to you to learn how to manage it.

So here let me put it this way God gives us what we need to the situations that need it.

God gives us peace.

And sometimes extending peace in a hostile situation that's a sacrifice, but God gave me peace so that I can extend peace in times of need.

God has given me joy.

So when I step into a situation where there's no joy, God has given me what I need to sacrifice to the situations that need it.

God has given me love.

What allows me to walk in love in an environment that's so filled with hate is because it's God's love and I'm a conduit of it.

God gives you what you need in seasons and places that need it.

But God, but God also gives us patience.

He extends patience so that we can then extend patience in times of need.

And if I can be real with you, that's probably the area that I've needed to lean on God more than others.

I'm not gonna say that I'm an impatient person, but I'm not gonna not say that I'm not an impatient person.

But it but it all depends.

It all depends.

Like it's it's all seasonal, of course, it's all seasonal.

So for me, it all depends on the season that I'm in, and that will determine whether or not if I'm I'm overly patient.

So let me let me be practical with you for a moment.

So as my family and I were in the process of stepping into this new calling that we had that God had for us to be here, many of you guys know the story.

Like we're we're living in in Washington, D.C.

So for about a month and a half, we're we're flying in on Thursday or Friday, preaching on Sunday, flying back on Sunday night.

We did that for a whole month and a half.

So understand my context.

I I went from preaching probably about 30 to 35 times a year, till then one weekend it radically changing.

I'm preaching every week now.

The amount of preparation, the amount of study, the amount of processing in and of itself was something that I had to make adjustments for.

But then let's take it a step further.

So I'm still leading a team here, engaging in community here, but still needing to get out of my house in DC and still find a home here in Orlando.

You're you're doing your best to juggle it all.

So you know what I began to do?

I began to run low on patients.

I just wanted to get things, I just want to get the ball moving because in my mind, I'm I I don't know if I have anything left to give.

I've I've left everything on the field.

So when I when I would come home, I would think to myself, man, I don't I don't want to have to make another decision because I make decisions for a living.

So simple questions like, hey man, what are we gonna eat for dinner?

I don't know.

Y'all decided, it's up to you.

I can't make another decision, that's all I do is make decisions.

Well, okay, so do you guys want to go to the park today?

I don't care.

Like you make a decision, I'll do it.

I just don't want to make another decision.

I'm not mean, I'm not being grumpy, I'm just saying I make decisions all the time.

I lead all the time, I speak all the time.

I I don't I don't have anything else to give, so y'all make a decision, I'm all for it.

So there was this one moment where I felt like the family didn't get it.

So I I threw a pity party and I invited my family to it.

Um and I said, hey guys, listen, my my my life has changed.

I'm I'm I'm I'm message prepping all the time, I'm I'm leading, I'm praying, I'm processing things, so so everything in the life has changed.

So I need you guys to be understanding of it.

And so my wife began to push back a little bit, and I'm like, you just don't understand.

Cue the violins.

You don't you don't understand what it's like to carry this weight, you don't understand what it's like to have to study 30 hours for 30 minutes.

You don't you don't understand, you, you don't, you don't get it.

And she's like, no, I I do understand, but I want you to understand that you're asking us to settle for the scraps.

Right?

I I don't know how you argue with that, but if you know me, there's a way to argue with that.

So I I I I said, okay, like let's break, let's time out.

So I literally walk away, I'm like, okay, like God, like, is she is she is she on to something?

Like, am I am I missing it?

And and and here's what I believe.

I believe that the Holy Spirit spoke to me.

He's like, she's she's dead on accurate because I never intended you to step into your calling at the expense of you abandoning your family.

I've I've given you what you need to make adjustments in your life so that when your family needs you, it's not killing you.

It I don't know why, but that blew my mind when I began to consider the fact that if I live my life knowing that sacrifice was a regular part of my rhythms, then when I needed to sacrifice, it didn't actually have to kill me.

I just had to manage it differently.

So, you know what I began to do?

I began to look at my schedule.

And so, you know what I don't do whenever I can control it, I don't have my schedule more than 65 to 70% full.

Because I know it's inevitable, whether it be something with church, whether it be something with my family, there will be things that I didn't expect or anticipate that's gonna require something from me.

But when those things show up, I have the margin to respond, and I'm not operating from a place of deficit.

So what we have to understand is what you when you live your life knowing that I have to make sacrifices, I manage my life differently, and I make sure that there's margin to do that.

What the tabernacle was meant to establish was setting the tone and saying, are you creating enough space so that when things show up that you didn't anticipate, you can do it with excellence.

That was that was something that I had to apply to my own life, but God wanted to make sure that the children of Israel understood, yes, sacrifice is a part of life.

That's just that's what you do.

And so what you have to do is create space and establish a margin so that whenever I'm asking you to step in something that you didn't plan for, you can do it.

We call that managing margin.

So God wanted to establish that for his people from the very beginning.

But here's the other pattern that I believe that God wanted to establish.

He wanted to establish the pattern of discipline.

The pattern of discipline.

I need you to establish a discipline because the outer court is the place where sacrifices took place.

It was very visible.

But now we get into what we refer to as the holy place.

That is where they had the bread, they had the lamp, we had the oil, we had the burning incense, and and and time won't allow me to get into what each of those elements represent and how it points back to Christ.

But but ultimately, what it meant is that for the priests, it was their daily responsibility to go into the holy place every day, twice a day.

I gotta go in here and make sure that the lamp is lit, I gotta go in here, make sure the bread is fresh, I gotta make sure that the fragrance is burning.

Every day that was just part of their discipline.

So, what God wanted to make sure that the children of Israel understood is I need you to understand, in order for you to make it to the promised land, you're going to have to function with some level of discipline.

It's gonna require you to do some things every day.

It's gonna require you to commit to some things every day.

See, when you have when you have daily discipline, you will have results that last longer than a day.

When you have daily discipline, you will get results that last longer than a day.

But unfortunately, those who are efficient, what's the quickest way for me to get the results?

And it just doesn't end up lasting.

So here's a question that some of us have to ask ourselves what does the discipline look like for us in the current season of life that you're in?

Now, now, discipline, that's just another word for intentional.

So let me pose it this way What do you need to be intentional about in this season of your life?

And and if you still don't know what that answer is, let me let me walk you through this way.

What is the area of your life that you're wanting the most results from right now?

What do you want to see results in, man?

I want to see results in my health.

Then that's an area that you need to be disciplined in because you're not gonna get there overnight.

But if you do something every day, you will get the results that last longer than a day.

I wanna I wanna see I wanna see results.

I wanna see results in my family.

Great.

How are you gonna be intentional with your family every day?

Because daily discipline will lead you to results that last longer than a day.

What do you need to do every day to get the results that you're looking for?

It's not gonna happen overnight, but that's what you have to do to invest.

That's exactly what God was modeling for his people.

I need you to set a pattern of being a disciplined people because there's gonna be many things that's gonna come your way that's gonna try to lead you astray, but daily discipline will get you results that last longer than a day.

That's what God was trying to model.

Maybe for you, you need to see some results even in your in your resources, in your finances.

Well, how can you be disciplined in that?

Real talk.

I've I found that I had better success in managing my finances when I had less than when I have now.

And by no stretch of the imagination do I have a lot now, so don't get it twisted.

But but but but but but watch this.

When specifically with my groceries, when I had a very strict grocery budget, I would go into the grocery store, I knew what I was to go into, the list was clear, I would be out at a certain amount of time because I knew that I wasn't there to wander around.

Get what you need, get out.

When I got a little bit more liberal with my grocery list, you know, I go to the grocery store more often now than I ever did in the past because you're just walking in, like, hey, I'm gonna grab this, I'm gonna grab that, I'm gonna, you end up picking up everything, and you get home, realize that you spent$354 and you still don't have any food because you picked up a bunch of junk that you didn't really need.

Because I didn't have the discipline to make sure that I didn't prioritize what was most important.

What are the things that are in your cart right now that it looks like you're moving forward, but when you get home, you still don't have what you need?

God, God was saying, I need you to have a discipline where you can be intentional so you can get to the location that I've called you to go to.

Because daily discipline will get you results that last longer than a day.

That's what he was trying to establish for his people.

Now, now here's here's a third, here's a third pattern, and here's and here's the final one.

The third one was just uh the discipline or the or the pattern of of obedience.

The pattern of obedience.

So now we have the the outer court, that's the place where sacrifices took place.

Sacrifice is a part of life, make margin for it.

Now we have the daily discipline, this is what I do every day, this is what it is.

But then we have obedience, and that is what we call the most holy place.

So we had the holy place, and then we had the most holy place, and if you didn't catch it, it's because that place was the most holy.

That was where the literal presence of God was.

So they would consider that to be the God's throne on earth.

So there would be a cloud that hovered over the most holy place.

So it was very visible that when God was there, you could see the cloud was there.

Like it was it was this really powerful imagery.

And so for the children of Israel, when they would go beyond that veil, when they would go into the most holy place, one, you had to be a high priest, you could only do it once a year.

And it was like such like you talk about uh a job that you're putting your life on the line.

If that priest had any unresolved sin, they would tie a rope around his leg.

So when he walked into the holy presence of God, the perfection of God was so strong that flawed man couldn't stand in the presence of it.

So he would drop dead, and nobody can go and get him, so they would just drag him out with the rope and send the next guy in.

Imagine being the next guy up.

Like, I mean, that's that's enough pressure in and of itself.

Like, that is what the holiness of God is, but fortunately, because of Christ, we don't have to worry about that.

So let me just let everybody off their hook.

They're like, Good Lord, is that how it is?

No.

Thank you, Jesus, for your blood.

But that's how it was.

That's how it was, that's how it was set up.

But watch this that was a place where God's presence was.

That was the place that God spoke from.

That was the place that you would see the cloud of God.

And what would happen for the children of Israel when God was ready for them to move to their next location, the cloud would literally lift up.

They would see that the cloud is lifted up, they would pack up their stuff, and they would they would follow, they would follow the cloud.

So the way that we would kind of think of that, that's kind of like saying, like, um, the grace has lifted.

Anybody ever heard that term?

Like, hey man, I just feel like the grace is lifted.

Well, that's that's that imagery is connected to the tabernacle.

When the spirit of God would lift, they would say, Oh man, I don't I don't feel like we're supposed to be here anymore.

Let me follow the grace.

Or whenever you hear someone saying, like, we're spirit-led.

What that was is that's imagery that's connected to the tabernacle.

We're being led by God's spirit.

That's that's ultimately what it represented.

But it was also the place that God spoke from.

God spoke from that place.

And when God spoke from that place, there was a responsibility on God's people to respond.

They didn't, it wasn't, it wasn't an issue on whether or not we can be obedient to God.

Because watch this.

Do you realize that in the ancient Hebrew language, there is no separate word for obey?

That word doesn't even exist.

So in the mind of God, the word listen, hear, and obey, they're all the same word.

Here's what that means for us that means that God is saying you can't separate what you choose to listen to and what you choose to do.

The word Shema in Hebrew simply means to listen, to obey, and to hear.

They were all connected.

Now, unfortunately, we separated those words and we each can engage them differently.

So I can hear something, listen to something else, and then do something else all at the same time.

But in the mind of God, that was never his will.

His will was, I need you to listen to me, hear what I said, and do what I told you to do because they're all connected.

And if you're not doing what I told you to do, if you're not being obedient, then you haven't listened, which means you're not hearing me.

In mind in the mind of God, that was how it was set up.

But unfortunately, we live in a world now where we can have one headphone ear in, listening to some music, have another ear listening to a conversation while doing our own thing.

That was never the will of God.

He never meant for us to be fragment in a way that we functioned.

Uh, I was talking to um some good friends of ours just recently and talking about just the different ways that that this generation engages music.

Now, we're not going to talk about the quality of music because that's another debate for another time.

But just the way that we engage in music has radically changed.

And for some of those that are that are probably in that demographic that I'm in, you'll remember some of this.

I remember that when we actually used to have like eight tracks.

Anybody remember eight tracks?

Like you had an eight-track player.

Yeah, ten people.

Okay, so we had an eight-track.

Google it.

It's like in the Smithsonian now.

Okay, so you have eight tracks.

Then then you then you had like record players, okay, like this, this like record play, like it was actually a record, like circular black.

Okay, we'll talk about that later.

Okay, so yeah, like record players, and then record players eventually turned into like cassette tapes.

Awesome.

Cassette tapes.

Then cassette tapes led us to like the CD era, compact disc.

And then compact discs led us to MP3s, and then MP3s led us to this place where we can stream everything.

But here's the thing: when I was coming up, I didn't have the luxury of skipping around to different songs.

I had to listen to this album from beginning to end, and the artist developed the album with this continuity in mind.

So song number one was connected to song number two, song two, and so forth.

So we understood that the artist's original intent was not for you to skip past certain songs, it was intended for you to listen to all of it because all of it created the collection that we're listening to.

The unfortunate thing is now we have the ability to pick and choose what we listen to.

My daughter picks and chooses what she listens to.

I'm like, hey, did you hear song number four on Chancellor Rapper's album?

Like, man, I was at the gym, I was getting it, and she was like, I didn't even listen to it.

It's part of the album.

What do you mean you didn't listen to it?

Oh, I didn't like the way that it built, I just skipped past it.

You you just you just skip past the songs that you don't like?

Yeah, like that's yeah, why would I listen to something I don't like?

And watch this.

We end up translating that into our walk with God.

We create our own playlist, and unfortunately, we end up even bringing in other authors and other artists.

So now we have a collective playlist of a whole bunch of different voices, and we've labeled that playlist my truth.

If y'all ain't gonna clap, I'll clap myself.

I'm gonna take a little bit of this, I'm gonna take a little bit of that, I'm gonna take a little bit of this, and this is this is my truth, and you better not speak anything to it.

Well, man, you're entitled to your own opinion, but you can't remix truth.

Come over here and say it.

Yeah, you're you're entitled to your own opinion, but you can't remix truth.

Okay, y'all getting it.

And and unfortunately, what ends up happening is as we're deciding on what songs we want to listen to and what things we want to listen to, we can we can nod our heads and we can move our head to the soundtrack of our preference, but it's not gonna move you forward.

But my head is moving.

Anybody seen the hitch?

I'm doing my I'm doing my two steps, I'm staying, I'm staying in my lane, I'm not, I'm not moving anywhere, but unfortunately, I'm nodding my head to the same song.

And if you notice, I'm still in the same spot.

So I'm still in the wilderness on repeat because I haven't listened to the truth that's gonna move me forward.

But when I learn to listen to the truth of God's word, I can listen to the songs, even the ones that I don't like, and it's gonna move me forward.

I don't like this song, but this song is gonna move me forward.

So when God's word tells me to forgive, I don't like that song, but I know it's gonna move me forward.

When God is telling me to forgive, I don't like that song, but I'm going to do it because I know it moves me forward.

I'm tired of being at a standstill.

I'm tired of nodding my head to the rhythm of the wilderness that God is calling me to be a beautiful.

I don't want you skipping these songs anymore.

It is time for you to move forward.

So, what are the errors that God is challenging you to move forward in?

Maybe you need to forgive.

I don't like that, but it's gonna move me forward.

Maybe I need to love him, I don't like that, but I'm going to move forward.

God is saying, Don't be content and comfortable in the wilderness anymore.

I need you to listen to the whole album because the whole album is going to move you forward.

God wants us to move forward.

Want to ask the worship team to come back out and join.

Oh, they beat me too.

Wonderful.

Um we're we're professionals here.

Um God, God wants us to move forward.

And for the children of Israel, unfortunately, they they were listening to certain things and skipping over other things.

And God is saying, like, you can't you can't look at my word and see what it says about salvation and listen to that, but then look at that same word written by the same author and see what it says about giving and decide to skip over that.

You you can't you can't choose to listen over like just skip over the parts where it talks about serving, but want to listen to the part about blessing.

It's all part of the same collection.

And even though there may be parts that you're not crazy about, you can't skip that part.

That's the pattern that God was trying to establish for his people.

There are going to be some rhythms and some seasons that you go through that you're not going to like that song.

But you know what maturity allows you to do?

I can listen anyway, and because I know that God is calling me to move forward.

What I love about this entire narrative is that it all was set by this idea of God radically saving his people, but then we got find ourselves at this point of the Red Sea.

We we mentioned it earlier, but there's this point where man, in order for me really to move forward, we got to go through this water.

No one had the choice to say, Well, I don't feel like go.

No, that is the pathway to freedom.

That's when they were baptized as a nation.

And I have the strong inclination that for many of us, because we we've been given the convenience of picking and choosing truth, there's certain aspects of God's word that we just skip over.

And unfortunately, for some of us, it's the it's the next step of baptism.

Guess what, guys?

Today we have baptism.

And what I believe that there are some of us that did not come with the intentions of getting baptized, but please stop skipping past the truth.

God says that that is a critical part in order for you to move forward.

Listen, baptism doesn't save you, it's an indication that you're saved.

It's it's a reflect, like, yes, of course, of course, um, that's what we do.

Every time baptism was spoken of in the New Testament, it was connected to salvation.

It was never like this is what you do.

Have you been baptized?

You should believe.

No.

Okay, let us get you baptized.

Like, that was the next step because it was critical in making sure that we made it clear that I've moved forward in my life.

We want to create the space for you to do that.

So here's what I want to do.

With every head bowed and with every eye closed, as we prepare to go back into worship, I realize that there's there's some of us in here that you've already made that decision.

Like, man, I came here today prepared to get baptized.

That's what I came to do.

Like, I brought family and friends with me.

If that's you, you've already decided you're doing that.

I want you to go ahead and um get up, begin to move your way out because we want to make sure that as service wraps up, we can come out and cheer for you as you're uh going through the process of getting baptized.

I also realize that there's some of us in this room that that maybe, maybe for some of us, the next step we need to take is just accepting that God wants to be a person who dwells in our midst, and you have a part to play in that.

Your yes directly determines God's ability to dwell in your life.

So if that's you and you want to commit or recommit your life to Christ, we're not gonna drag this out, but it's it's time for you to be a part of the family.

So if that's you, you want to commit or recommit your life to Christ, on the count of three.

I just want to pray for you.

One, two, three.

Yes to God.

Amen.

Amen.

God bless you.

I see those hands in the back.

Amen.

Come on, church.

Let's let's be celebration, church, and let's cheer and amen.

Amen.

God bless you.

I want to ask all of us to stand on our feet as we prepare to go back into worship.

For the people that have that have made that decision to say, Yes, I want to be baptized.

Ordinarily, we would we would walk you through a prayer, and by all means, the prayer doesn't save you, it's the faith that prayer that saves you.

But the expression of that is getting baptized.

If you're in here and you raised your hand to say yes to Jesus, understanding that that's resolved in your heart already.

But I love, I would love to see you out in the lobby and taking that next step right now.

We got clothes for you, we got tiles for you, we got everything that you need to take that next step and saying that I'm separating myself from the life that God is rescuing me from.

I'm separating myself from the season of bondage that I was in.

But for the rest of us, I want to pray for us.

We're gonna go into worship, then we're gonna go out into the foyer.

We're gonna celebrate and cheer as loud as we can, letting people know we're welcome them as a part of this family.

Let me pray for us.

God, I thank you so much for your word.

I thank you for your people, and I thank you for this series.

I thank you that you've given us the resources that are necessary in order for us to sacrifice for you, for our family, or for the things that are in our lives, God.

Help us to manage our margins effectively so that we can make a difference, God.

Father, I also pray in the name of Jesus for every one of us, God, as we're walking through our disciplines, God, walking through the things that we just need to do daily in order for us to get the results that last longer than a day, God.

I pray that you strengthen us in those areas, Lord.

But Father, I also pray that you help us in the area of obedience, that we stop skipping past the parts that we don't like, that we understand that listening, hearing, and obedience are all the same concept of you, God.

So we will obey, we will walk through this out, God.

We will go to the destination you've called us to be in, Father, in the name of Jesus.

God, I pray against every addiction, every bondage, I pray for every marriage, I pray for every person that's in school, every workplace environment, God, that you've given us the difference that we can make in that environment, Father.

So in the name of Jesus, I pray that your grace moves, that you strengthen us, and that your power is with us.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen.

Thank you for tuning in to today's podcast.

For more information about Celebration Orlando or to get in touch with us, please visit celebrationorlando.org.