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[0:00] If you please take your Bibles and turn to the book of Exodus, Genesis, then Exodus, and go to chapter 40, if you would, page 72 in that black Bible.

[0:19] If you pull out that black Bible, go to page 72, you'll find Exodus chapter 40. We will study chapter 40 and finish the book of Exodus this morning.

[0:34] The plan is to, next Sunday, I'm gonna do a message in Revelation chapter 2, verses 1 through 7, and then we'll do the prophetic book of Joel. We'll start on that May 6th.

[0:48] So I'm gonna do that. I don't know how many weeks. I haven't started studying through that. That's gonna be this week. I'll start studying to see how long that'll be. Probably two to four weeks, something like that. Maybe longer. I don't think so.

[0:58] It's only three chapters. Anyway, so today, Exodus chapter 40. Woo-hoo! I'll read and then we'll study. Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, On the first day of the first month, you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

[1:17] You shall place the box of the testimony there. You shall screen the box with the veil. You shall bring in the table and arrange what belongs on it. And you shall bring in the lampstand and mount its lamps.

[1:29] Moreover, you shall set the gold altar of incense before the ark of the testimony. And set up the veil for the doorway to the tabernacle. And you shall set the altar of burnt offering in front of the doorway of the tabernacle, of the tent of meeting.

[1:45] And you shall set the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it. You shall set up the court all around and hang up the veil for the gateway of the court.

[1:56] Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it. And shall sanctify it in all its furnishings and it shall be holy. And you shall anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils.

[2:09] And sanctify the altar and the altar shall be most holy. And you shall anoint the laver and its stand and sanctify it. Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.

[2:22] And you shall put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him and sanctify him. That he may minister as a priest to me. And you shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. And you shall anoint them even as you have anointed their father.

[2:35] That they may minister as priests to me. And their anointing shall qualify them for a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations. Thus Moses did. According to all that Yahweh commanded him. So he did.

[2:46] Now it came about. Verse 17. In the first month of the second year. On the first day of the month. That the tabernacle was set up. And Moses built the tabernacle.

[2:57] And laid its bases. And set up its frames. And then served as crossbars. And set up its pillars. And he spread the tent over the tabernacle. And put the covering of the tent on top of it.

[3:08] Just as Yahweh commanded Moses. And he took the testimony. And put it into the box. And attached the poles to the box. And put the atoning place. On top of the ark.

[3:19] And he brought the ark into the tabernacle. And set up a veil for the screen. And screened off the ark of the testimony. Just as Yahweh commanded Moses. Then he put the table in the tent of meeting. On the north side of the tabernacle.

[3:30] Outside the veil. And he set the arrangement. Bread in order. In order on it before Yahweh. Just as Yahweh commanded Moses. Then he placed the lampstand. In the tent of meeting. Opposite the table.

[3:41] On the south side of the tabernacle. And he lighted the lamps before the Lord. Just as the Lord had commanded Moses. Then he placed the gold altar. In the tent of meeting. In front of the veil. And he burned fragrant incense on it.

[3:52] Just as Yahweh commanded Moses. Then he set up the veil. For the doorway of the tabernacle. And he set the altar of burnt offering. Before the doorway of the tabernacle.

[4:03] Of the tent of meeting. And offered on it. The burnt offering. And the meal offering. Just as Yahweh commanded Moses. And he placed the laver. Between the tent of meeting. And the altar. And put water in it for washing.

[4:15] And from it. Moses. And Aaron. And his sons. Washed their hands and their feet. When they entered the tent of meeting. And when they approached the altar. They washed. Just as Yahweh commanded Moses.

[4:26] And he set up the court. All around the tabernacle. And the altar. And hung up the veil. For the gateway of the court. Thus Moses finished the work. Verse 34. Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting.

[4:39] And the glory of Yahweh. Filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting. Because the cloud. Has settled on it. And the glory of Yahweh. Filled the tabernacle. And throughout all their journeys.

[4:51] Whenever the cloud was taken up. From over the tabernacle. The sons of Israel. Was set out. But if the cloud was not taken up. Then they did not set out. Until the day when it was taken up.

[5:01] For throughout all their journeys. The cloud of Yahweh. Was on the tabernacle by day. And there was fire. And ended by night. In the sight.

[5:11] Of all the house of Israel. It's called a hyperloop. Hyperloop.

[5:23] It's an aluminum pod. That rides on air. To transport people between cities. At high speeds. It's able to travel.

[5:36] Just under 350 miles per hour. It was showcased at Inno Trans. In Berlin, Germany. This past September. So they're actually building this thing.

[5:48] This hyperloop. Hyperloop. It soon is becoming a reality. Says this futurism.com. Quote.

[5:59] The hyperloop concept was popularized by Elon Musk. And is now becoming a reality. End quote. So you just hop in your pod.

[6:11] And go to Phoenix. Go to Los Angeles. I guess they're building one. It goes from LA. To Northern California. To Southern California. And want to build one.

[6:21] Because they have all the money to do that. It's amazing that the ideas. That we had even 10 years ago.

[6:33] Have now become a reality. I mean think about it. 10 years ago. Like wow. I didn't have this in my hand. 20 years ago. For all you millennials.

[6:43] Yes. There was a time. Where there was no such thing as a cell phone. You didn't pick up. Phone. Actually talk to people. Oh. Oh heaven forbid. You actually talk to people.

[6:54] Don't do that. And with how fast. Technology is advancing. We continue to see ideas. And become real.

[7:05] True. Factual realities. So now put yourself. In this time of Israel. Where all these promises.

[7:19] All these things that God was saying. All the way back even to Adam and Eve. Is becoming a reality. So that the title from this morning.

[7:31] Exodus. Exodus is the Christian life. Displayed through historical narrative. And today we'll see that. It's becoming a reality. That's what Exodus 40 is all about.

[7:44] It's becoming a reality. Or to put in a statement for you. God's promise of paradise. Regaining paradise.

[7:54] Was becoming a reality. And that he was truly dwelling with his people in the tabernacle. This is emphasizing.

[8:05] This chapter. It emphasizes Israel's need for Moses to be their leader. To be their intercessor. As well as their need for God to faithfully keep his promise. He was going to be with them.

[8:19] It was just a building. So it needed divine life. So God came to truly dwell with his people.

[8:32] A picture not only of the promise coming of Messiah. But also of the glorification to come in the end. I mean this is proof for us.

[8:43] Tangible. Something they would be able to touch. You would smell it too. Because you would smell the burning of flesh. You would smell and see the blood.

[8:55] The tabernacle. It was a reality. It was a picture of what was going to happen with Messiah. It was a picture of what God was going to do in the end. And Messiah.

[9:06] God was willing to wait 1500 years to bring Christ to fruition. Because 1500 years later. The word became flesh. And what did we say?

[9:17] What did we read? And tabernacled among us. So we could know. So we could know.

[9:28] That God is kind. God is faithful. God is true to his word. He always will be. And God is with us. He is.

[9:41] So this building. This thing. In Exodus chapter 40. Is important. For this reason. Because it was actually set up. Built. And Yahweh came to dwell in it.

[9:54] It's this tabernacle. It's a historical proof. That God would one day bring Messiah. Who is the epitome of him dwelling with his people. And would one day be with us forever. And God is with us.

[10:06] This is why this is so vital. It's so important. Because you look back. You see. Look. God was so faithful. And then you say. Oh. He was promising Messiah to come. And he came.

[10:18] Which means. God is faithful. He's going to keep his promises. Though you may not feel like it. Although the world seems to be.

[10:30] In such chaos. Do we not live in a fallen world? Do we not live in a lost world? And yet God's going to be faithful to keep his promises.

[10:42] I mean you look at the trajectory of Exodus. The deliverance from Egypt. God saying. You're my people. He calls them the holy living. You see that whole golden calf thing.

[10:56] And there's a threat of abandonment. And yet. You see Moses interceding. On behalf of the people. A picture of Jesus Christ. There's repentance by the people. God shows his love. His grace.

[11:06] His mercy. I'm going to go with you. I'm going to be with you. So the people are like. Oh wow. There's a passion to give. There's a passion to obey. We will follow you. Oh God. Is that not the Christian life? There's a picture of that.

[11:20] So you. We can go all the way. From Exodus chapter 1. To Exodus chapter 40. And we see. Wow. This is God displaying the Christian life. And really this is God displaying. Humanity.

[11:33] History. And how he will come. He will be with his people in the end. It will happen. So we have two points.

[11:45] Very simple. The tabernacle becomes a reality. And God's the only one with his people. It becomes a reality. I mean it becomes a reality. It becomes real. We're going to see like the themes that come out of this.

[12:00] Notice in verses 1 through 33. He's put this up into two parts. God told Moses to build the tabernacle. And he goes and does it. You know how many times it says. Just as Yahweh commanded Moses.

[12:12] Eight times it says that. To show Moses did exactly as he was told to do. So he set it up the first anniversary of them.

[12:24] A year of them being out of Egypt. Their one year anniversary. But what is most obvious. Is the importance of Moses himself.

[12:37] He built a tabernacle. Well not all by himself. He had help of course. But the emphasis is upon him. Because he was the one who initiated the service.

[12:49] At the very place God would meet his people. The importance of Moses. And the importance of this tabernacle that he built. Again it's amazing.

[13:02] How many times a chapter uses the word Moses. As if Moses single handedly did all the work. And what's the point. The point is that. He was Israel's founder.

[13:14] Without him. Israel would be lost. Without Moses. Israel would just be. All over the place. There was no one equal to Moses.

[13:25] Is that not true of Jesus. You see how Moses is such a picture of Jesus. We would be lost without Jesus. He guides his people.

[13:36] He directs us as his people. So that's why it emphasizes. The tabernacle. This whole thing. It emphasizes Israel's need for Moses. As their intercessor.

[13:47] Their leader. As well as the need for God. To faithfully keep his promise. He's going to be with his people. Which leads to that second point. God's dwelling with his people. That becomes a reality. Because you see.

[13:58] He builds this. That goes through all the specifics. Verses 1 through 33. And then verse 34. The cloud covered the tent of meeting. God did not abandon his people. He accompanied them.

[14:09] How? Through the tangible proof of the cloud. So the exodus concludes. With the glorious presence.

[14:22] Of sovereign God dwelling with his people. No one can withstand the full power. Of God's merciful goodness. That's why it says there in verse 35.

[14:35] And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting. Because the cloud had settled on it. He could not enter into the tabernacle. I mean the fact.

[14:47] That Moses could not go inside. The tent of meeting. Tells us that Yahweh was. Truly. Fully. Present. With Israel. His people. He was there. And then notice what it says in verses 36 through 38.

[15:03] Throughout their journeys. Whenever the cloud was taken up. They would set out. If it was not taken up. They wouldn't set out until it was taken up. In verse 38.

[15:15] Throughout all their journeys. The cloud of Yahweh was on the tabernacle by day. Firing it by night. Yahweh would be with his people. Giving them guidance. They would journey through the wilderness.

[15:25] With his very presence. I mean. In short. God walked with Israel. Through the manifestation of the cloud. Think about it. The mighty God.

[15:36] The maker of heaven and earth. True deity. Was actually living. Dwelling among his people. So that you would go outside your tent at night. I can't sleep. So you wake up at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning.

[15:46] Because you're stuffy. Because you have allergies. Amen. Yes. Amen. All of you should be saying amen to that. Come on now. Listen. This side's clogged. This side's perfect.

[15:57] Right? Amen. Praise God. Praise God there's one side that's clear. Right? Thank you. Look. So you walk out at 3 a.m. And then you look. And there's the burning fire.

[16:09] Of the tabernacle. Can you imagine that? You see it. There's God dwelling with his people.

[16:20] What? Wonderful grace. Israel's survival. Israel's salvation.

[16:32] As a nation. Dependent on Moses. And that tent of meeting. And in a greater way. Our salvation.

[16:45] And survival. As God's people. Depends completely. On the Lord Jesus Christ. Who is way better than Moses. And is God. Dwelling with us.

[16:59] And as Jesus said. In Matthew chapter 28 verse 20. And lo. I am with you. Always. Even to the end of the age.

[17:10] God's with us. Which I'll bring this up later. But I mean. Why not now? Here we have the spirit of Jesus. Dwelling inside of us. As Christians. So now. We.

[17:21] Are the dwelling of God. God dwells in us. As a follower of Jesus. So. As I'm touching you.

[17:32] The spirit of Jesus. Is touching you. Physically. In a tangible way. The church. I understand the universal church. But how is the universal church.

[17:43] Displayed in a local church setting. The local church. Is a display. Of the glory of God. The primary way. God displays his glory. Is in a local church.

[17:54] Blemishes and all. Oh that's impossible. It's impossible. Huh? It's impossible. God was with Israel.

[18:08] Now remember. We don't have time to go through this. But remember what happens in the book of Numbers? Constantly. Consistently. Rebelling against Moses. Wah wah wah wah. Wah wah wah wah.

[18:19] Wah wah wah wah. Wah wah wah wah. Wah wah wah wah. Wah wah wah. Wah wah wah. Complain. Complain. Complain. You don't hear about the glory of God. Leaving Israel. Until Ezekiel chapter 10.

[18:32] So for. What is that? Maybe. Just under a thousand years. God was with his people.

[18:43] Blemishes and all. So God is with us. You see. Primarily. How are you going to see the glory of God? In the stars? No.

[18:54] In the sun? No. In nature? No. Don't buy into that. That's how the world thinks. We see God. That is God. No.

[19:05] It's not. That's a display of God's glory. Yes. Psalm 19. Verse 1. But what's the primary way God shows his glory? In the local church. Blemishes and all.

[19:19] We owe our whole existence to the Lord Jesus. The beginning of our salvation. The sustainer of our salvation. The continuation of our salvation. Once again.

[19:30] Moses points us to the Lord Jesus. Who is the founder of God's people. The church. Jews and Gentiles. One. Without the Lord Jesus.

[19:40] We would be lost. The Father took us as his chosen people. And gave us as a gift to Jesus. Who loved us by dying for us. He intercedes.

[19:51] He intercedes. On behalf. Of his people. Exodus is the beginning of this. Exodus. Was the beginning of God's plan.

[20:03] To restore humanity to its place. Where they can enjoy. And delight in their creator. Be totally satisfied. Have total pleasure found in Jesus. Total pleasure found in God himself.

[20:15] Israel's hope in the tabernacle. Was God's step to make things right. To finally have a relationship with God once again.

[20:26] Which was marred from the fall. Exodus was the stepping stone. This was the very beginning of how God.

[20:37] Was going to restore the fellowship. Relationship he had with his creatures in Eden. He would actually dwell with his people. This was the first step to regaining paradise.

[20:52] Or should I say Revelation chapter 21. It's. When you read Exodus 40. It's screaming at you. Read Revelation 21.

[21:03] Read Revelation 21. Because Revelation 21 verse 4 says. And now God tabernacles with his people. You see that there in Exodus 40.

[21:17] And for them. It was an actual thing. That they would actually touch. It was real. All that was lost in Eden.

[21:27] Was in the process. Of being regained in this. I mean. All that was promised to Abraham. Isaac and Jacob. Even Adam and Eve. When they fell in the garden. Here was a real.

[21:39] Tangible element. That was showing. It was coming. To fruition. So Exodus. Points. Ahead to Jesus. But even farther. To the end. So when you read Exodus 40.

[21:52] You could go. Oh. I'm so glad. I'm so glad on this side of things. The tabernacle with Moses.

[22:04] As the intercessor. For Yahweh's people. Was the first tangible step. Towards God fulfilling his promise. To save humanity. To be with his people.

[22:14] To regaining paradise. The first. Tangible. Physical proof. That God's plan. Was to be with his people. To dwell among us. The tent of meeting.

[22:27] Was to be a pointer. To Jesus Christ. But also a pointer. To Revelation chapter 21. Verse 4. The only way Israel. Had this meeting place.

[22:39] Where Yahweh dwelt with his people. Was because of Moses. Because remember. If it wasn't for Moses. It. I mean. God was like.

[22:49] That's it. I'm done. But it's because of Moses. The only way we can meet with Yahweh. Where he. Is with us. Is because of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[23:01] Oh he didn't build anything. No. Because he himself. Is God dwelling. He himself. Is a tabernacle. I mean.

[23:11] You see. How. This. Is. Hangs in the balance. With what we believe. About Matthew. Mark. Luke. And John. The four gospels. Because if you just.

[23:23] Merely believe. They're. Gezicta. That's. German for. Historical. Embellishment. If you mean. It's just. Merely. Gezicta.

[23:33] Just. They're embellishing things. There was this guy named Jesus. And then they. Proclaimed to be the Christ. But he really wasn't. If you base it on that.

[23:44] Our faith means nothing. Nothing. Nothing at all. We believe. In the. Historical. Account. Of Matthew. Mark. Luke.

[23:55] And John. Which is actually. That. We base upon the historical. Account. Of what happened here. In Exodus chapter 40. Because that's. Where God.

[24:05] That first step. The stepping stone. By which God was going to bring. Paradise. Where is the place of rest. And salvation for humanity.

[24:16] It's in Israel. Because salvation is from the Jews. Or I'll put it a different way. This rest or salvation. Is from the Jew. The Lord Jesus.

[24:28] Who was or is the living tent of meeting. The tabernacle who walked among us. Jesus was. Is. A Jew. Didn't have blonde hair.

[24:38] Blue eyes. I hate to. Break it to you. Unless he had dark hair. Dark eyes. Dark skin. He was Jewish.

[24:50] He was a Jew. So. Our rest or salvation. Is from the Jew. The Lord Jesus Christ. And since the tabernacle. Was how. God would dwell.

[25:01] With his people. Jesus Christ. Is the true fulfillment. Of God. Dwelling with his people. And since we have the spirit of Jesus in us. We are now the tabernacle. I mentioned that to you earlier.

[25:13] We are the tabernacle. Not the building. Blow up the building. You still have the people. I'm not. When the people are inside of it. That's not the plan. That's what I'm saying. But if you take down the building.

[25:24] You still have the people. We don't go to church. We are the church. Because we are the tabernacle. It's us. I mean.

[25:35] The one place. People could walk with God. And participate in his rest. Was at the tent of meeting. Humans. Could commune with God.

[25:47] Here at the tent of meeting. Exodus chapter 40. You're living 1500 BC. You come. You say. How do I come to know. The God of heaven and earth.

[25:58] People say. Go to Israel. He's the true God. So you would go to Israel. And you would be there. You'd be a part of the tabernacle. So in a greater way.

[26:13] The one place. People can walk with God. And participate. In his rest. Communing with him. Is in Jesus Christ. And how are they going to know. The Lord Jesus Christ. When the church.

[26:25] Speaks. And proclaims. And we live. The gospel. I mean the gospel. That God should condemn us. We mentioned this earlier right.

[26:36] God should condemn us. God should have nothing to do with this. Why. Does God owe you anything. He's not obligated to you. He's not obligated to anybody. I mean he's God. He should judge us.

[26:46] And condemn us. And yet. He shows love. By taking on flesh himself. Being perfect. Showing himself to be the perfect sacrifice. The Lord Jesus. He was crucified on a cross.

[26:56] On behalf of sinners. Vicarious. Substitutionary. Atonements. Resurrected from the dead. Repent. Turn from your sin. And put your trust in Jesus. He'll save you. Forgive you.

[27:07] All your guilt can be washed away. Shame gone. That's the message that we speak. And that's the message we should live. As the church. As the people of God.

[27:21] I mean don't you want to walk alongside God's glory. As part of his people. Instead of facing the full fury of his glory and judgment. Which would you rather have? Would you rather have the full glory of God and his goodness.

[27:35] Or the full glory of God and his judgment. I go for the former. That's what I'm. I'll go for the former. We will all experience God's presence.

[27:49] All of us will experience the presence of God. Either the presence of his great goodness. Or the presence of his ferocious wrath. So trust Christ today.

[28:01] Because the father's arms are wide open to you. I mean looking back. Over the book of Exodus. It is a display. True display.

[28:12] Truly a display of the Christian life. Through the historical events of God dealing with Israel. I mean you think. You see it. God rescues us from sin.

[28:22] He calls us to holy living. We have that besetting sin of idolatry. It destroys us. But Jesus intercedes for us. We repent of our disloyalty to God.

[28:33] God gives us his amazing love and grace and mercy. He's always with us. And we give him our lives. We obey him. And we follow him. That's the book of Exodus.

[28:43] In a nutshell. So. God has rescued us and his son. Who continues to intercede on our behalf. We continue to repent of our idolatry.

[28:54] That besetting sin. And God continues to give us his amazing grace in Christ. And he is always with us. We give him our lives. We obey him. And we follow Christ Jesus. God is so kind.

[29:07] God is so faithful. God is so loving. God is so true. That's what you see in the book of Exodus. This is who God is. So here's the promise.

[29:23] That's actually coming to fruition. That's actually becoming a reality. It was all promise. It was all a prophecy. To Adam.

[29:34] Eve. Abraham. Isaac. Jacob. Joseph. And it's actually becoming a reality. God's promise. God's promise. Of regaining paradise.

[29:46] Was becoming a reality. And that he was truly dwelling with his people. In their tabernacle. So. To include. The book of Exodus. May we continue.

[29:58] To focus on Christ Jesus. He's our intercessor. Just like Moses was. We owe everything to Jesus. Just as Israel owed everything to Moses.

[30:10] Jesus. We as God's people. Will everything to Jesus. He's interceding for us as a church. Even now. Cottonwood Bible Church. Praying for us.

[30:23] May our focus. Our love. Our devotion. Be to the Lord Jesus Christ. And may we give him our lives. Time. Resources. Yes. He has everything to us.

[30:35] He should mean everything to us. So that we obey him in all things. As we await. The return of our savior. And the end.

[30:46] When God will finally. Completely. Totally. And fully dwell with us. His people. We'll face our death. We'll see our king. He's faithful.

[30:57] He's true. He always keeps his promises. If you take away anything from the book of Exodus. Take away that. God's promise becoming a reality. Let's pray.

[31:11] Yes. All the promises are amen and amen to us. We know and believe in the historical fact of you coming Jesus.

[31:24] God dwelling with us. And we also acknowledge the historical fact that you spirit of Jesus. Holy Spirit. You are dwelling inside of us. So we worship you.

[31:36] Triune God. Father. For choosing us. Jesus. Dying for us. Spirits. Dwelling inside of us. Changing us. So transform us.

[31:49] So many times we do not feel. That you're faithful. Feel. Feel. That you're good. Feel. That you love us. So help us.

[32:02] To embrace the factual truth. The objective reality. That you are with us. You forgive us. You love us.

[32:15] You change us. You are faithful and good. As we will sing.

[32:26] In just a few moments. We are yours forever. And then we'll sing after that. I am his and he is mine.

[32:40] We belong to you. And Lord God. You belong to us. Encourage us. Encourage us. Help our unbelief.