Why Do You Worship? - Exodus 25:8-9,17-22; 29:38-46

The Faith Builders Bible Class has been made up of the older men in First Baptist Church of Heber Springs for many years. During the past twenty or more years there have been very few [if any] that were physically able to work at a steady job, especially one of hard labor. However, there is no single group in the church that is more involved in contributions to the church.

There are so many ways that active members can contribute that there is no reason for anyone to feel left out of church activates. Even the home bound have found avenues of service through an established call-service that is extended to other home bound, and or those in the hospital, nursing homes, and retirement homes.

Members of our class that are active and able organized a construction group called the Nail Benders many years ago. They bought a covered trailer and equipped it with a well organized set of tools. They have a complete set of the needed equipment to build a small church, Sunday school rooms, or a parsonage. These men have their own portable homes that they move to the building site to live in while they construct for God. They have built churches all over Arkansas, and several in other states. This has formed one of the mission arms of the church.

Others in this class have made it known that they were available to furnish transportation to members of the church that have a need to visit a doctor, hospital, or see a dentist. Then there are always two or three that enjoy visitation to the homes of those that have missed church, or have a crisis in their home. There is and has always been a cry for help among God’s people. The background for this study today was in Egypt and the senior adult that was called to help was 80 years old at the time.

We have all heard of the Israelite descendants of Jacob who were enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years, when they cried out for deliverance and god sent the 80 year old fugitive named Moses to bargain for their release. Pharaoh finally released God’s people from bondage and they were allowed to take with them great amounts of silver, gold, and fine linens as they made their way toward the Promised Land. After years of wandering in the wilderness and maintaining a rebellious state of mind toward God, at the foot of Mt. Sinai, God delivered his law for their guidance and also his demand that they build a tabernacle to be used to worship him.

The explicit plans were given to Moses regarding the size of all the rooms and the furnishings of the tabernacle, including the materials with which they were to be built. It was made clear that the people would be responsible for the building of the worship center. All of the workers were to contribute to the building according to their skill and ability. Even the women and children got involved as they were called on to donate their jewelry they had brought with them out of Egypt.

All of the structure of the tabernacle was to be formed from Acacia wood. The reason was that the Acacia timber was abundant and could be used for construction as well as for wood for heat and cooking. All members of each family could be involved in the production of the building materials and the needed fuel. There was a place for everyone to be involved in God’s plan to build a tent for His worship.

When the tabernacle was finished and made ready for the people to use in worship, God demanded that Aaron and his sons be brought in and washed or anointed as priest to serve the people as their priest. When one looks back just a few months ago and remembers that Aaron was involved in the making of an idol bull calf to be worshipped as the god that brought them out of Egypt—it is hard to understand why he was chosen to be the new priest of all the people. Just remember that God has chosen me and you to do a work for him and we may not understand why—but no one else can take our place. We are totally responsible and therefore must be totally committed and willing to contribute what ever we are ask, or directed.

Last Sunday our pastor, Brother J. R., preached a wonderful sermon from the book of Acts indicating that the people had a problem; a new need arose in the church and they selected seven new members of the church to fill that need. They contributed to the solution of a problem in the church. He then related this to a new need that has arisen in the Children’s Department of our church. The church should not have to beg for help. There is someone out there that has the ability and they should step forward and contribute to the work that needs to be done for our little ones. This is not a unique problem. I feel sure that the same kind of need exists wherever you attend church and the opportunity is there for you to give of your time and talent as your contribution to God’s work.

Just remember that there is no time or place for retirement from God’s work. Moses was 80 when he started this humongous task of leading God’s people out of bondage. The Faith Builders Class will probably average seventy-five or more and every one with health that permits, in constantly contributing to some work of the church. Work for the night is coming when man’s work is done. If a great work is completed, you will feel better if you did your part.

Tested Devotion

Very few Christian people realize the importance of testing throughout our lives. In fact the term “testing” usually issues a connotation of fear or at least discomfort. History students usually enjoy the stories that complete our knowledge of how our nation grew and prospered. The discussions open avenues of learning by giving us the opportunity to tell others about our experiences that have created special knowledge and understanding. Even more important, the discussions provide us opportunities to listen to others who are more knowledgeable and learn from their experiences that we have never had. The history class moves forward through the entire semester; from about August 25 until about December, 20 as a wonderful learning experience with no glitches and then the teacher announces that FINAL TEST will be tomorrow. For some reason the announcement of a test that will determine our semester grade sets off an emotional fear that we may have not learned well. A condition exist that will determine my success or failure. For some reason, I am not to blame; someone else placed this burden on me. Why should I have to take a final exam?

Many of us have experienced having skin cancer. We have gone through a period that included diagnosis, treatment or even surgical removal of a tumor that was either positive or negative. This experience can end with a happy announcement that the cancer is no longer present. The final disclosure depends on the results of a scientific test that proves that we are free from any continuing cancerous conditions. I did not want to take the test because it may prove that I have a serious problem.

Abiding faith in God and our devotion to Him starts when we accept Jesus as our Savior. It also will finally be proven by the final test we use to prove that we depend upon God. Some of us will trust in God’s providence and humbly look to the Lord for help and strength in our time of need. It is sad, but some of us grow bitter in our circumstances and even give up when we are asked to take the final test. The proven response is for us to grow in our devotion to the Lord even when life grows more difficult.


The successful completion of a semester study of history depends on the results of an important test. Whether we still have cancer or not depends on the results of a final lab test that proves the treatment was successful. Finally, I have shown you that your devotion to Almighty God will be shown or proven through the final test that indicates your true devotion to The One and Only God.

Our lesson today is taken from the story of how God worked through Moses and his people as the escaped from the horrors of the Red Sea incident. Chapter 15 contains the song of Moses and Miriam as thy sing their praises of God’s deliverance from the Egyptians. Their test came to an end at the time when they looked back and saw their enemies swallowed up in the rushing waters of the Red Sea. The salvation of God’s people momentarily succeeded in their deliverance from the charging army of the Egyptians.

We are examining the TESTED DEVOTION of God’s people, and find to our sorrow that the minds and hearts of Christian people have always been fickle and wavering even though God has never wavered from his promise to stand firm in support of all who will continue to trust and believe.

In verse 21, Miriam sang to them: ‘Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.” They were free. And Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. Look at this picture. Only three days passed, they were out of water and that is all the time required, for a perfect test score to turn into a failing score. Their tested devotion turned to distrust…God led them to Elem where there were twelve springs of pure water and green palm trees to rest under.

The 16th chapter reveals that there was a lack of food on the fifteenth day of the second month of freedom. The Jews grumbled that Moses had led them out of the land of plenty [Egypt] and now they are starving. God furnished food in the form of Manna and Quail. It has never taken God many days to test the devotion of his people and he has always found marvelous ways to prove his power and willingness to feed his people. I am not sure of the taste of the Manna…but I doubt seriously that he could have found a more marvelous and lush dish than that of the Quail. Most of us have eaten Quail and would highly recommend it as a Sunday Special.

The life of Moses as he spent it attempting to lead a rebellious people has always intrigued me as one of the most devoted of all men. I wonder how he managed to keep a right mind. Think of this quote from Abe Lincoln and remember him as an American that must have trusted God far beyond what politicians today want to give him credit. He said: “Trusting in Him who can go with me and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will be well.” I have far more faith in our forefathers and their leadership than any of the recent presidents.

Leading the people of Israel was no easy matter. They had water problems, meat and bread problems all of which are fond in these three chapters of Exodus. But Moses remained faithful to God, and to the people he led. Even though the people blamed him for their problems, Moses became an intercessor for the people who must fight wars all the way to the land of promise. They should remember that their deliverance was never promised as a children’s hay ride.

When times are rough, we must remember that God has never promised that the way was easy. He tells us that we do not live by bread alone—and we must remember that God even provides the bread. We surely learn from this lesson that grumbling and complaining will get you no where with God. He is much more concerned that we have prayed and sought His wisdom and will for the trials and troubles we are facing. These people were successful when they obeyed and should have soon learned that God’s demand that his laws be obeyed was a necessity. We are to trust and obey for there is no other way!

Let me challenge you to answer a couple of questions. The first question is—have you ever stood with a Moses on the banks of a Red Sea? I do not even know who is reading this, but the answer to this question is YES. Just think of the times when you owed a debt and your local bank had sent their last warning. You or your wife or child was ill, and the insurance plan had expired. You were working at a job that barely paid the bills, and you got a notice that the plant was closing.

The second question is: did you blame the bank? Whose fault was it that you were in debt? Was the government to blame for your hospital bill not being paid when you needed health care? Why was your employer paying you a low wage? Di you actually think he waned to close his plant?

Will we ever reach the time and place in life that where I am is my choosing and in most cases my fault. Will I eve admit that I must be responsible for my predicament and trust totally in God to lead me to freedom?

Resurrection Hope

It is absolutely amazing to me how as I grow older and slow way down—the calendar and the clock seem to speed ahead so fast that it places unreasonable necessity on our decision making process. When I was twenty-five, it seemed that there was an entire life-time available to use in making important decisions about life, work and my family. Now I have only a few hours to prepare for the end of life, find someone that will do a little work for me, and allow me a little time to enjoy two aging daughters, five grand children and two great-grand sons.

The winter came and went so soon; the wild madness of basketball and track blew by during the windy month of March and now baseball is in season and already the preparation for another foot-ball season is under way. It seems we are watching the final four in the play-offs about every three months. It is the same for those who use the Easter season to remember and celebrate the resurrection of our Lord; it is so, especially for those of us who attempt to teach others about this blessed event. It has happened over fifty times since I started teaching the bible. Try to imagine how difficult it is to find fifty different ways to present the one and only truth about the resurrection. It is impossible since it happened only one time in all history; and it happened only in one way and the greatest story on earth is simply that our Lord and Savior is not dead in a grave somewhere here on earth, BUT HE IS ALIVE AND ABIDES IN HEAVEN WAITING THERE TO WELCOME US TO OUR ETERNAL HOME.

The history of the birth of Christ is only recorded in the gospels and then it is repeated or explained in a few other places in the New Testament. It does not take long to read all that has been inspirationally written about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Dr. Luke was the best qualified to record this history and his account is probably used more than any other writer by those that enjoy renewing their mind and heart about this most important event in the lives of Christian people. Why do I say it was the most important event in the Christian story? Please allow me to explain my thinking regarding this matter.

I believe that Christ is the Son of God; was, is and will always be. He was there when the world and all other things were created—including you and me. That is most important. I believe that man sinned and needed a savior and that Christ gave up his place in Glory and came to earth as deity, and became man through the virgin birth to “seek and save lost people.” That was most important.

For the most of my Christian life I never dreamed that the time would ever come when it would be absolutely necessary for me to emphasize the fact that Christ was born to Mary, his mother, WHO HAD NEVER KNOWN A MAN—that is she was a virgin and had never had intercourse. She conceived our Lord with the help of the Holy Spirit who is man’s helper here on earth. He became man through his mother [a person; a human being] and he remained deity through the work of the Holy Spirit who is the third person in the God Head. And the bible plainly teaches, without any doubt, that the God Head is THREE PERSONS IN ONE…GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT. Any teaching that denies this fact is a lie from the devil himself, delivered to readers by a man demon-possessed. The bible warns us not to believe any one that will “add to or take away one jot or tidal from God’s word

He lived for about thirty-three years, was rejected by his own people and murdered on the cross, on Golgotha’s Hill. He suffered as no other man ever has, and died to pay for the sins of all who will believe in Him. That is most important. He was buried in a borrowed grave, and arose on the third day, and later ascended back into heaven to establish a way, a road, a way for man to follow, marking or establishing the way for us to be united with the God-head in heaven after our death on earth.

Prior to his resurrection, there was no way, there was no road for us to travel to our final destination—HEAVEN. That is most important. Without the resurrection morning, and the empty grave, his birth, life and death would have been meaningless to man kind. He arose! He is our risen Lord. He is alive in Heaven now and intercedes for each one of us each moment of the day and night. NO OTHER PERSON WHO CLAIMED TO BE A GOD, OR WHO IS WORSHIPPED AS A GOD CAN MAKE THIS CLAIM. NONE!

The doubter may say it is impossible—maybe it is impossible for man—but CHRIST AROSE. How, and why? BECAUSE HE IS THE ONE AND ONIY TRUE GOD OF THIS UNIVESE. “It was very early in the morning and it was on the first day of the week that the women went to his tomb” to complete the customary preparation of His body for entombment. [The press for time at the end of his death had denied a proper procedure to be completed—and they were there to complete the preparation.] Maybe it could be compared to our placing flowers on a grave today—or marking the grave with a head stone.

Three women were named and possibly there were others who arrived and went into the tomb, a small room of solid rock with only the one outside door and they attested to the world that Christ was not there. He had arisen. The women were astounded and worried; and were shedding tears when at least two men approached them and assured them that he had risen. John’s gospel tells us that they were angles, but we know that angles often appear to us as people. My wife was recently in critical care for eighteen days, she knew nothing then, and now remembers nothing that happened while dozens of God’s angles looked in on her and ministered to her. Without the hand of God she would never have walked away from the hospital. Those angles [men] and the women attest that Christ was no longer in that tomb.

Abe Lincoln was president. He was shot to death. He was no longer present in government functions because he was placed in a tomb. Do you believe that? You were not there. You did not see it happen. You read about it either in old reports or in a history book both of which were written and attested to by men only, and their word was not inspired by god; that is, God did not tell them what to write. And you believe them—so why will anyone disbelieve the report of these women, these angles, and several thousand who saw him, touched him, and even ate with him afterwards. Luke and the other apostles were among the witnesses.

It may seem redundant to you but I must reemphasize the fact that as a young man growing up in Raft Creek Bottoms in Arkansas, I never [never] had the thought that any true blooded American would doubt God’s word—because His word is Truth. It literally breaks my heart when I find that some people who have grown up in this “God blessed America” will refuse to believe God’s word to his people—The Holy Bible is God’s truth revealed to man.

Jesus Christ rose from the dead in fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures, He mad personal appearances to his followers after his resurrection, and promised to send his Holy Spirit back to them as their counselor and then ascended to the Father in Heaven. My dear friends, the gospel stands or falls on the reality that Christ arose from the dead according to the Scriptures. This statement simply means that if Christ is still in the tomb—we cannot believe anything else recorded in the bible. The truth is that a great number of qualified witnesses told the resurrection story with mixed initial reactions.

One specific example is recorded. In the interpreting of Scripture and the breaking of bread, Jesus revealed himself as the resurrected one to two disciples who were walking to Emmaus. One other example is recorded saying that the resurrected Jesus revealed himself as on with the physical ability to eat and as the one whose life, death, and resurrection fulfilled scripture. Finally, Jesus revealed himself as he ascended to heaven and the members of the early church worshipped and obeyed him.

· Jesus Christ is the risen Lord of the church.
· Resurrection faith differentiates followers of Jesus from all others.
· The life, death, resurrection and mission of Jesus Christ come directly from the expectations and teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures.
· Resurrection faith developed only after doubting disciples experienced the risen Lord, heard witnesses of the risen Christ, and were led by God to personally recognize the risen Christ.
· The church [all saved people compose the church] worship the risen Lord with joy and praise.
· It is difficult for me to understand how rabbits and died eggs have anything to do with the resurrection of Jesus.
· I can visualize a vase of blooming flowers [a dozen red roses] as symbols of the resurrection, because in the winter they are dead, and in the spring they are resurrected to new life and bloom beautifully.