Buying the building (1)

[0:00] We are in the process of buying the building in which you are now sat. And this is a great moment for us as a church, a big challenge. And I want to take time this morning to put this in a Bible context to find out what the Bible has to say.

[0:19] Here is some background on the screen and if you'd like to know more you'll find that within this particular pamphlet. Don't look at it now but please take that away.

[0:31] There are more of those on the table at the back of the church. But in very brief order, in 1876 the Brighton Railway Mission started.

[0:42] A very small group of people meeting in Brighton Railway Station only about half a mile or so from here. In 1894 the numbers of people meeting were so large that they needed to buy a permanent place, get into a permanent place.

[0:56] This became the place in 1894. The mission work to railwaymen became less and less as less employment amongst the railway workers occurred during the 1960s.

[1:08] And in 1982 what was a mission was transformed into a church. Which is what we are now, Calvary Evangelical Church. In the 1990s there was a period of great uncertainty and disagreement between ourselves and the National Railway Mission about who owned the building.

[1:30] And this went on for a long period of time and it was a very difficult period for those who were here in the church at that time. Because of the uncertainty as to whether they might be able to carry on in this particular building.

[1:42] This came to a good conclusion in 2005 when there was a memorandum of agreement or understanding between the National Railway Mission and Calvary Church.

[1:54] Whereby we agreed to behave in a Christian manner toward one another in the way that we would deal. And the National Railway Mission became the landlord and the church became the tenant.

[2:08] And on the basis of the smallness of our size and also the fact that we both believed we owned the building. There was an arrangement and understanding so that we paid what is a very modest rent.

[2:22] It's actually £2,500 a year in 2005. That was the rent that was agreed. Currently if we were trying to rent this building it would probably cost us about £30,000 a year.

[2:35] So you can see that we're paying only a proportion of that. And that's a reflection of the fact of this sort of disagreement that was occurring about who owned the building. Now there's a big, big story behind that.

[2:46] I'm not going to go into any of that. But just to say that last year an idea arose and this has been followed through. So now over 12 months later we're in a place where we have an opportunity to actually buy the freehold of the building so it becomes ours.

[3:06] We're not any longer a tenant but we actually own the building. And the figure involved in buying the building is £162,500 which is a great deal of money.

[3:19] But not as much as it might have been. And we as a church have actually decided overwhelmingly to go forward with this process.

[3:29] And this Sunday and the next Sunday is about setting this into context so that everybody's up to speed and we go through this process in a way which we trust on as God.

[3:42] Does the Bible have anything to say? I say what does the Bible say but it's an obvious and a fair question. Well does the Bible have anything to say about us buying a building for £162,500?

[3:52] And it's a fair question. And you might be coming here today and saying I come here on a Sunday morning and what I expect on a Sunday morning is to hear something that's going to do good to my soul.

[4:08] Because I find it jolly hard to live my life and I need something from the Bible that encourages me to be a Christian believer in this world. Does the Bible only deal with matters of belief and ethical behaviour?

[4:25] Do unto others as you would have them do to you. Is it my job this morning to sort of find those passages in the Bible that encourage you to get on with your neighbour and to behave properly in the workplace?

[4:35] Indeed. Is it the job of the preacher to be making clear the truth which is declared in the Bible concerning Jesus, who he is, where he comes from, what he has come to do and so forth?

[4:53] Indeed. Indeed. But is there anything else for us to learn from what the Bible has to say? I believe there is. And in fact I think it's a big shame when we kind of put those issues of belief and ethical behaviour into some great box there and we say well all the rest of life I'm just going to trust the Financial Times or the Daily Express.

[5:18] Or my next door neighbour or what the Metro is saying as to how I make the decisions of my life. Now I think that's the devil's tactic actually.

[5:33] To cause us to sort of compartmentalise the Christian life as if it was just something to do with what we believe and how nice we are to people. Wouldn't it be great if we had a God who was in complete control of the whole world and all the situations of life and was concerned about your job on a Monday and your purchases on Saturday?

[5:58] Wouldn't it be great if there was such a God there? And there is. And there is. That is the God we come to. The God and Father of Jesus Christ is exactly this God.

[6:13] He's not asleep from Monday to Friday and just wakes up on a Sunday. But he's concerned about your new job on Monday, RG. You're starting a hairdressing job, aren't you?

[6:24] We pray for that. We pray for that. Not in a kind of, oh I suppose we ought to pray for it. But because God's in control of that situation. And it's so important that you know the presence of God in your life in that way.

[6:37] As we pray for the Harpers who were interviewed this morning by the evening Argus. Nice pictures taken. No doubt you'll see them in the press. Because they're moving into the Barrows which is a new building in the open market.

[6:49] Fantastic. Great opportunity. But it's not just of interest to the readers of the evening Argus. It's of great interest to the Lord Jesus Christ. And so this topic that we're tackling today.

[7:03] I'm very pleased to say the Bible has something to say about it. I'm delighted really because it's an enormous challenge, isn't it? £162,500.

[7:15] Have you ever seen that much money? It's a lot. It's the biggest amount of financial challenge that people in this building have faced since 1894.

[7:33] When the building was purchased and I can't quite see it from here. But something in the region of £2,500. It's just behind Martin's head. That's it. That's it. £2,500 in 1894.

[7:45] £162,500 in 2013. It's a great deal of money. And I have to immediately say to you. There's nobody else out there who is looking to give us that sort of money.

[8:00] Zero. Nobody. It's down to us. We're not looking to the government. We're not looking to Brighton Hope Council. We're not looking to the local community or anything like that.

[8:12] We're looking to the Lord in this respect. And as those who are committed members of the church here, this is our challenge. And there are 27 members of the church here.

[8:25] 27 members of the church. And we're facing this challenge of raising £162,500. It's an enormous challenge, isn't it? Very interested to note that up the road, there's been a rather similar kind of process going on in relation to a place called Exeter Street Hall.

[8:44] Has anybody heard about it? Right. Right. Okay. As it happens, St. Luke's Church up the road wanting to sell the hall. And they're selling it to the local community.

[8:55] And the way the local community are going about it, very properly, is they're encouraging all the people who want to have a part in that building in the future to actually buy shares in the building. And as they buy those shares in the building, they have developed a very complex, detailed business plan as to how this place is going to be profitable.

[9:16] I want to tell you something. We don't have a business plan. It's God's business. We don't actually have a business plan. We don't have a way of saying, right, if we let the place out for yoga on Monday and Tai Chi or whatever it is on Tuesday and so forth, that we would be able to get enough income to do it.

[9:39] We're not going about it that way. But what we are doing is we're trying to understand what God might have to say about this and to respond to the message of God on that.

[9:52] I want to say that there is something here for all of us. So you come here from different countries. You've just sort of landed in Brighton.

[10:03] You pitch up at the church here this morning. And you think, what is this about? How does this apply to me? Well, all I can say is that I have a strong thought that the Holy Spirit of God has a way of speaking to all of us today and that there will be things that are said this morning that will give you principles that will be applicable in your life.

[10:29] Not just about this particular topic, but about the decisions that you need to make in your life. And it may just be that as you're here today, you're not a Christian yet.

[10:43] You may be interested, but you're not a Christian yet. Well, I hope that as we look at what the Bible has to say and the way that God's people handle the truth of the Bible, that might be quite inspiring.

[10:55] You might think, well, that's a different way of doing life. I never thought I could do life that way. But it's true. Christians are people of the book.

[11:06] And we don't believe that this is just something that has to be dusted off on a Sunday so that we can do the right formulas. It's actually a place where God speaks to us.

[11:21] And he'll speak to us individually and he'll speak to us as a church because he loves the church. So, what might we look at?

[11:32] Plenty of places I could look at there. And when you think about giving in the Bible, your mind immediately goes to those passages in Corinthians. We're not going to look at those passages, great as they are.

[11:43] And you'd think those are the natural places to go to. But I actually want to go to this place on the right hand side. And this is a model of the tabernacle which God commanded to be built by his people in the wilderness.

[12:03] When they left Egypt and almost immediately after they came out of their captivity in Egypt, God called Moses for a very detailed conversation where he gave him complete description of what he wanted the people to build.

[12:21] The tabernacle. It's that we're going to be thinking about today and seeing how it relates and also how it does not relate to us. And we're going to now have a Bible reading, please, from Lindsay from several passages in Exodus.

[12:41] Thank you. Good morning. So, the first reading will be from page 83.

[12:56] Exodus 25, verses 1 through 9. The Lord said to Moses, Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering.

[13:07] You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give. These are the offerings you are to receive from them. Gold, silver, and bronze. Blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen.

[13:19] Goat hair, ram skins, dyed red, and hides of sea cows. Akasha wood, olive oil for the light. Spices for the anointing oil. And for the fragrant incense. And onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

[13:33] Then have them make a sanctuary for me. And I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. And we'll go to page 94.

[13:49] Verse 35, beginning at verse 4. Materials for the tabernacle. Moses said to the whole Israelite community, This is what the Lord has commanded.

[14:02] From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver, and bronze. Blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen.

[14:13] Goat hair, ram skins, dyed red, and hides of sea cows. A kasha wood. All of oil for the light. Spices for the anointing oil. And for the fragrant incense. And onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

[14:26] All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the Lord has commanded. The tabernacle with its tent and its covering. Clasps, frames, crossbars, posts, and bases.

[14:39] The ark with its poles and the atonement cover. And the curtain that shields it. The table with its poles and all its articles. And the bread of the presence. The lampstand that is for the light with its accessories.

[14:52] Lamps and oil for the light. The altar of incense with its poles. The anointing oil and the fragrant incense. The curtain for the doorway at the entrance to the tabernacle. The altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating.

[15:05] Its poles and all its utensils. The bronze basin with its stand. The curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases. And the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard. The tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard.

[15:17] And their ropes. The woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary. Both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest. And the garments for his sons when they serve as priests. Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses' presence.

[15:32] And everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him. Came and brought an offering to the Lord. For the work on the tent of meeting. For all its service. And for the sacred garments.

[15:42] All who were willing. Men and women alike. Came and wrought gold jewelry of all kinds. Brooches. Earrings. Rings. And ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord.

[15:55] Everyone who had blue, purple, or scarlet yarn. Or fine linen. Or goat hair. Ram skins dyed red. Or hides of sea cows brought them. Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze.

[16:06] Brought it as an offering to the Lord. And everyone who had a kosher wood. For any part of the work. Brought it. Every skilled woman. Spun with her hands. And brought what she had spun. Blue, purple, or scarlet yarn.

[16:19] Or fine linen. And all the women. Who were willing. And had the skill. Spun the goat hair. The leaders brought onyx stones. And other gems. To be mounted on the ephod and breast piece.

[16:30] They also brought spices. And olive oil. For the light. And for the anointing oil. And for the fragrant incense. All the Israelite men and women. Who were willing. Brought to the Lord. Free will offerings. For all the work.

[16:41] The Lord through Moses. Had commanded them to do. Then Moses said to the Israelites. See. The Lord has chosen Bezalel. Son of Uri. Son of Hur. Of the tribe of Judah.

[16:52] And he has filled him. With the spirit of God. With skill. Ability. And knowledge. In all kinds of crafts. To make artistic designs. For work in gold. Silver. And bronze. To cut.

[17:03] And set stones. To work in wood. And to engage in all kinds. Of artistic craftsmanship. And he has given. Both him. And. And. And. Oholiab. Son of Ahizamak.

[17:15] Of the tribe of Dan. The ability to teach others. He has filled them with skill. To do all kinds of work. As craftsmen. Designers. Embroiderers. In blue. Purple. And scarlet yarn. And fine linen.

[17:26] And weavers. All of them. Master craftsmen. And designers. So. Bezalel. Oholiab. And every skilled person. To whom the Lord. Had given skill. And ability.

[17:36] To know how to carry out. All the work. Of constructing the sanctuary. Are to do the work. Just as the Lord. Has commanded. This is the word of the Lord. Thank you very much.

[17:50] Well. What a. What a great passage. And I hope we're going to enjoy it. As we. Look at that in a bit. We're going to sing. First though. And it's number. Eight. Six. Eight. Thank you Adam.

[18:06] Great passage. And there are plenty more around there. That's. Those passages. That give great detail. About exactly what God wanted. His people to do.

[18:18] Which is the reason why. It's possible to build a model. Of this tabernacle. If you want to get some idea. Of the size of this. You can see. There's a sort of a tent.

[18:29] Tent affair. All the way around here. That enclosure there. Right. That enclosure. Is about three times. The total length. Of the building. At about.

[18:40] The width of. This hall. And the one next to it. That's. That's the size. And. Within this. There is a special. Tent. The tent.

[18:50] Of meeting. And that tent. Would be. About. The length. Of this. Entire hall. Not quite as wide. As that. And only about half the height.

[19:02] It's rather interesting. Isn't it? Sort of. Sensey. The scale there. And. There's a lot of detail. In this particular model. Because a lot of detail. In the passages. In the Bible here.

[19:14] Everything. Is based upon. A wooden frame. So. It's almost like. Wind breaks. Here. With. Cloth. In between. Timber posts. And.

[19:25] All of the. The tent. Of meeting. Comprises. Lots and lots of poles. With cloths. And so forth. In the foreground. Here. Is. The altar. Of sacrifice.

[19:36] Priests. Clustered around it. Sacrifice. Going on. Morning. Noon. And night. And there is also. A washing. Washing place here. So. After the sacrifice.

[19:47] And before they go. Into the tent of meeting. They wash their hands. And inside the tent of. Meeting. There. Is. A big room here. Called the holy place.

[19:58] You can see. Candlesticks. There. And. There's a. A place where. Incense. Is. Offered to God. And. Also. A place where. Bread.

[20:09] Is. Laid upon a table. Here. And here you see the. The holy of holies. This is where there is the ark of the covenant. The ark in which the ten commandments.

[20:21] Were to be placed. And there is a big curtain. Between the two areas. And this big curtain. Right the way across. Only one person goes into this place. And only once a year. And that's the high priest.

[20:34] Once a year. One person. That's how holy and special. This place. This place is. The priest can go into this area. But this. This area is only allowed for one person.

[20:45] Once a year. On the day of atonement. We can do this model. Because the bible is very detailed. About exactly.

[20:56] What was intended. So. Perhaps we're drifting away from. Buying our building here. But maybe not. Let's just think about. What is not.

[21:08] The case. Firstly. I have to say. This building is not. The house of God. You might be a bit shocked. About that. Might have thought. This is exactly where I.

[21:20] I believe that God would be. But I have to say. God is as present. Immediately outside that door. As he may be here. In this room. But it was certainly the case.

[21:32] That for the tabernacle. That we read about here. It was. The house of God. It was the dwelling place of God. His very real presence.

[21:42] That's why it's called. The tent of meeting. Not because the people met there. But because. God met with his people there. You see. There's a difference.

[21:54] God meeting with his people. In a special kind of way. Because he is especially present. In the tabernacle. It is not. The house of God. I come from the Roman Catholic.

[22:05] Tradition. Where. The bread. Is changed. Miraculously. Into the body of Christ. Christ. And then. In Roman Catholic churches. There is a special place. Where this consecrated bread.

[22:16] Is placed. And that's a very holy place. And only. The priest. Can go into that area. As it were. And take hold. Of that special bread. It's the same sort of idea.

[22:26] But it's not actually. The Bible idea. It's not a New Testament idea. It's. Something from. The back of the past. So. I want to say that. We don't believe. That this is a kind of.

[22:38] Consecrated ground. This building. The consecrated ground. Was. As I say. In the Old Testament times.

[22:48] In there. This building. Is not a visual illustration. Of some important. Spiritual truths. It certainly is the case.

[22:59] That almost everything. Connected. With this structure. Had visual implications. People could look at those things. And they could learn. Important. Spiritual lessons. So they saw the sacrifices.

[23:11] Being made. Day after day. After day. They saw the priests. Making the sacrifice. They learned that the sacrifice. Had to be special. It had to be dealt with. In a special way. Blood had to be poured out.

[23:24] And spilt. The hands had to be washed. Every time they went into. A holy place. All these things speak. They're visual illustrations. And for people at that time.

[23:35] It was very important. For them to have that visual illustration. To be taught. Truth. Concerning. How holy God is. How sinful. We are. And how a sacrifice.

[23:46] Needs to be made. In order for us. Sinful people. To come. Close to a holy God. And. Wonderful. In a way.

[23:57] The illustration. That this. High priest. Alone. Could go to the very very holy place. Where God is. The people couldn't. Only the high priest. We have a high priest.

[24:12] Whose name is Jesus. Who has gone into the holiest place. And he represents us. Not once a year. But all the time. Before God. And he stands.

[24:23] For us. On our behalf. And it's his. One sacrifice. Once for all. Upon the cross. The blood. That he poured out. That is the forgiveness. Of our sins.

[24:35] Not just. For now. But forever. Not just. As a temporary. Sticking plaster. Upon the wrongdoing. Of our life. But as. A sacrifice.

[24:45] Which is completely. Pleasing to God. And he is the sacrifice. Who has stood in our place. He is the lamb.

[24:57] Who has been slain. Whose blood. Whose blood has been spilt. He gave up his life. For us. How wonderful. We have a sacrifice. We have a high priest. We have a prayer.

[25:08] Which is going up constantly. Before the throne of God. From Jesus Christ. And all because of this. We are able. To say. Well hallelujah. Praise the Lord.

[25:20] And we pick up our Bibles. As we read about these truths. In the New Testament language. This is helpful. This is helpful. But. We are not looking at these pictures now.

[25:33] Because we see realities. And the realities. Have to do with Jesus Christ. And these are the things. That we read about. In his word. And especially the gospel accounts. And the applications.

[25:43] That are made. In the letters. Therefore. We put greater store. Upon the reading of God's word. And the spiritual understanding of it. Than attempting to put pictures.

[25:55] On our walls. To display these truths. The truths. Have been brought to light. In Jesus. That's why. It's a rather plain building.

[26:09] Again. I was in a Catholic tradition. Where I went to school. There was a very ornate chapel. It was colors everywhere. Everywhere you looked. There was something to dazzle the eye.

[26:20] And so forth. But I have to say. That's quite a big distraction. From knowing God in our hearts. By the power of his spirit. So that's another thing.

[26:33] Which is not. Nor is it an icon. Or a monument. As much as I love the place. It is not an icon. Or a monument. It is not this building. Which is where. Salisbury Cathedral.

[26:47] Indeed. Salisbury Cathedral. Lovely place. Fantastic history. Amazing. But. I struggle in a way with it.

[26:59] In a way I struggle with it. Because. It kind of. Is removed from the simplicity. Of the relationship with God. Which. A place like this.

[27:10] Encourages. This place doesn't shout. It is very functional. The temple of God. Is not the tabernacle. And it is not Salisbury Cathedral.

[27:23] But it is actually. The people of God. Indwelt by the Holy Spirit. That's awesome isn't it. You look at yourself. And you think. I'm not very beautiful. I'm not very impressive.

[27:37] No one really wants to look at me. Jesus Christ says. No you're wrong. You're absolutely wrong. God dwells. With his people.

[27:49] Not in a tent. But in our hearts. And as we meet together like this. We are the temple. Of God. So.

[28:01] It's not those things. But it's not nothing. It's not nothing. The building does matter. And I'll give you some practical reasons. Why it is important. Most of these photos are rather old.

[28:13] Let's show how far we've come. We now have. Cushioned seats. Rather than. Hard ones. But it is a place of meeting. It is a place where we can meet.

[28:25] Interesting that in the. Early days of the church. They met. Where? In the temple courts. Because that was the biggest. Place of meeting. That was kind of.

[28:36] Currently available. Everybody would say. To their brothers and sisters. Let's meet. In the temple courts. We all know where that is. And so they met. It was a convenient place.

[28:47] For hundreds of people. To meet together. At the same time. And that's what they did. And that's what we do. By having a place like this. We can meet together. That's important.

[29:00] It's important. We don't have to be. In little groups. Of three and four. Meeting in different parts. Of a building. We can all meet together. Like this. And all hear. God's words. Old picture. This is a place of listening.

[29:10] To God's word. That was one of the things. That the early Christians. Spent a great deal of time. Doing. Listening. To the word of God. In the book of Nehemiah.

[29:22] We read about. How all the people. Got together. And when they got together. There was a special. Platform built. Upon which. Ezra stood. To teach. The word of God.

[29:34] So even to the extent. Of why we have a platform. So that everybody. Can see the preacher. It's really quite important. That you hear the word of God. Through a living person.

[29:46] You could easily hear it. Through the internet. I'm not saying. There isn't blessing. Associated with it. But I think. There is a special blessing. Associated with coming together. And hearing the word of God. Through a real person.

[29:57] Who everybody can see. Because God has chosen. That method. As a way of blessing. His people. In particular. It's a place of. Listening to God's word. It's also a place of prayer.

[30:09] A place of prayer. When the apostle Paul. Came to Philippi. He. He went down. To a special place. By the river. Which was known.

[30:19] As a place of prayer. It was a quiet place. It was a convenient place. It was actually. Out of the city. Of Philippi. And he went there. Because he knew. That's where people would be. And where they'd meet together.

[30:29] To pray. And it's a lovely thing. That we can gather. Just cluster our chairs around. And we pray. That's what we do. On a Sunday morning. And a Sunday evening. And on Wednesdays as well.

[30:39] Do come along. On Wednesday night. We meet together. Cluster together. We have. A place. Of prayer. It's also a place. Of gospel experience. And service.

[30:49] And I quickly took photographs. Of Lindsay. And whatever. On Friday night. Food. Is extremely important. There's going to be a meal. After this. Service. Today.

[31:00] We can serve the Lord. Together here. And we can do it. All kinds of ways. Putting chairs out. Stacking them up again. Getting ready for meals. Encouraging one another.

[31:11] Sitting alongside people. We are not little. Ice. Icebergs. Sort of all separated. From each other. We are all together. Clustered together.

[31:21] So that we can serve. One another. And God together. And. We look forward. To the fact. That as that happens. God by his spirit. Grants experience.

[31:33] Of himself to us. It's also a place. Of testimony. Where we can tell the stories. Of what has happened. The stories of God's mighty acts. So you'll see. Clustered around the building here.

[31:44] Plaques. Plaque to your left. Mrs. Gates. Mr. Purser. Up here. So these people lived a long time ago. But they have great stories to tell.

[31:56] And it's fantastic. We can come into a building. Where we can say to one another. These are God's mighty acts. In days gone by. Christianity wasn't invented in 2012.

[32:07] It's been around for a long time. And our fathers. And their fathers before them. And their fathers before them. They knew this God. That's very strengthening for our faith.

[32:21] Very strengthening. To know that people. Generations after generation. Have followed God in this way. We need to know the stories.

[32:33] And we will pass these on to our children. And they will pass them on to their children as well. There won't be room to put more plaques up. But we have to keep these stories in our minds. In some way.

[32:44] And pass them on to the next generation. A testimony. As the people went into the promised land. They set stones up. They put stones up. When particular things had happened.

[32:54] Particular great things had happened. So the children would say. What do these stones mean? And the mothers and fathers would say. Yeah. On that day.

[33:05] God provided for us. On that day. A great victory was won. And this is all a great encouragement. The stones of testimony. And it's the same for us. And it's a legacy.

[33:16] Now here Liz. This isn't your current baby. This is a long time ago baby. It's a great picture isn't it? Of this. And Liz and Julie represent three generations.

[33:29] Here in the church. At this time. And so we look back. By testimony. But we look forward. As legacy. As legacy. So we have these children.

[33:39] And amazingly. These children will grow up. And one day. God willing. They will be serving in the church. Not all of them. Some of them go to other places.

[33:50] No doubt. But we're looking forward to the future. As well. So this is what this place means. I've given you some pretty practical things. It's also an opportunity for stewardship.

[34:02] And one of the great things about being. A follower of Jesus Christ. Is that we are put. In as stewards. Of. The things that God has given us. Economic wisdom.

[34:16] If I'm paying nearly 30,000 pounds a year. To rent this building. We're not doing that at the moment. But that's where the trend would be. Then you can see that to pay 162,000.

[34:27] Is actually quite a good deal. Because I'd have exhausted my rent. After six years. Five years. And I wouldn't have got. Anything to show for it. At all. Economic wisdom.

[34:38] What would you do? If you're buying a house. Would you prefer to be renting your house. At that sort of figure. Or wouldn't want to buy it. It's pure sheer economic wisdom. And it's important. For us to be able to leave.

[34:50] A legacy debt free. For the future generation. And we are safeguarding for the future. I have to say that.

[35:01] We are not going to be living. In future days. In a benign environment. The government of the country. Will not be benign. Towards Christianity. In a way that it was. A hundred years ago.

[35:14] The council in this city. Will not be benign. To this. Particular group. As far as we're concerned. We may be another sect. We can get no special favors.

[35:26] From the council. In the city. There are also. Quite disturbing trends. In churches. That you might have regarded. As evangelical. In the past. And in future days.

[35:37] We may be surprised. To find that churches. That we thought. Felt the same way. And believe the same way. As we did. Don't actually do that. So as we speak.

[35:48] There are churches. Which are owned. By denominational bodies. And they're finding themselves. In tension. With those denominational bodies. Now here's a hard one.

[36:00] Do I leave the denomination? Because I'm not happy. By the way they're thinking. If I leave the denomination. I lose my building. It's a tough one. And it's a tough one as well.

[36:13] If you're renting a building. Which belongs to the local authority. Might be a school. And so forth. And you say. I'm not prepared. To do this particular. Kind of a ceremony.

[36:25] A local authority. Might not be very happy. But your attitude on that. They might say. I'm not going to. I'm not going to let you.

[36:35] Rent this building. Got to be very hard nosed. About this. And say. For us to be protecting. Our future. And the belief system.

[36:45] That we have. And the practices. That we believe. Are important. And right in God's sight. It is very. Very helpful for us. To have control. Of the building. What do these two passages.

[37:01] Tell us. As we hurry on quickly. I want to say this. First of all. So please. Turn to those passages. In Exodus. Now. If you went to.

[37:18] If you flick back pages. If you flick forward pages. You'll. You'll hear this constantly. This constant refrain. The Lord. Said. To Moses. The Lord. Said.

[37:28] To Moses. Do this. Make that. Set this up. Make that. Command. God. Lots and lots. Of verbal communication. That.

[37:39] God gave to Moses. And. What to say. The first thing here. And the big lesson for us. As we go about this work. Is that we are. We need. To listen.

[37:50] To God's voice. There are lots of other voices. That might tell us. How to go about this process. But we want to listen. To God's voice. Secondly.

[38:03] We need to be doing things. In God's way. Exodus 36. Verse. One. Says this. So these. Craftsmen. And every skilled person.

[38:14] To whom the Lord. Has given skill. And ability. To know how to carry out. All the work. Of constructing the sanctuary. Are to do the work. Just as the Lord. Has commanded.

[38:24] So it's not only. A question of hearing. What God says. But actually doing it. And you know. That those two things.

[38:35] Don't necessarily. Always go together. You can hear. But not necessarily. Obey. The wonderful thing is. That these people. Actually did. Exactly what God.

[38:46] Told them to do. Many instances. In the Old Testament times. When God's people. Didn't do. What he told them to do. But in this case. He actually did. It's wonderful.

[38:58] They didn't skimp on the materials. They didn't decide. Well. I'm not. Blue isn't the favorite color. At the moment. Let's try another one. They didn't say.

[39:08] Well. Gold. Expensive. We could actually do. Without the gold. We'll go for silver instead. They did exactly. What God. Wanted them. To do. They did things.

[39:19] In God's way. So in chapter 39. And verses 42. And 43. The Israelites. Had done all the work. Just as the Lord. Had commanded Moses.

[39:30] Moses inspected the work. And saw that they had done it. Just as the Lord. Had commanded. So Moses blessed them. And of course he did. Because.

[39:41] He was delighted. And he said. You've done well. So doing things. In God's way. Next point. Everyone is involved.

[39:53] Chapter 35. Verse 5. Everyone who is willing. To bring. Is to bring.

[40:03] To the Lord. An offering. Of gold. Silver. And bronze. Moses spoke. To the whole. Israelite. Community. He heard the word.

[40:14] One to one. God spoke to him. On the mountain. He told him. What to do. And Moses. Faithfully. Came down. And he spoke. To the whole. Group of people. He didn't just single.

[40:25] A few people out. And said. You're in the know. He spoke to the whole of them. It was a massive. Group of people. The numbers. Are very exact.

[40:35] In another place. It says. There were 603. Thousand men. Above the age of 20. 603. Thousand men. How did he communicate. To that large number. I don't know.

[40:47] But that was what God. Told him to do. And that's what he did. He spoke to everybody. Which is kind of. What I'm doing now. Everybody is to hear this.

[40:59] It's relevant. To all of us. From the smallest. To the greatest. To the youngest. To the oldest. They were all to hear. What God. Wanted them. To do. Everybody. Was. Involved.

[41:09] What does verse 22. Tell us. All who were willing. Men and women alike. Came. And they brought things. With them. Everyone. It's a lot of. Times it says.

[41:20] Everybody. Everybody. Everybody. That's what they all did. Lovely to see. Lovely to sense. If there are 600,000 people. Out there. I think you could probably think. It's not going to make much difference.

[41:32] If I don't join in this. Because there are 599,999. 999 other people. Who will do it. But that isn't what happened here. Everybody.

[41:43] Amazingly. And wonderfully. Got involved. They caught the vision. They understood their responsibility. And they did something about it. Skills are recognized and used.

[41:56] Now. You've. Seen those complicated names. Bezalel. And. Oholiub. And so forth. All who are skilled. Verse 10. Among you.

[42:06] Are to come and make everything. The Lord has commanded. Don't be shy. Everybody has skills. And. And. This is exactly what happened.

[42:17] At that time. In fact. God. Put his finger on a couple of people. And said. I'm particularly anxious. That these two people get involved. Because they're particularly skilled. Not only that.

[42:28] But they're able to teach others. And the two don't necessarily go together. Do they? Could be skilled. But not be able to teach. But the people that God. Particularly put his finger on. Were those who were both skilled.

[42:38] And able to teach others. How to do it. And again. That's another feature. Of this. And certainly. It should be a feature. Of the way that we go about. This process. And we've been very blessed.

[42:49] Really. By having right people. In place. At the right time. As this process has unfolded. We have a Christian solicitor. And it's so great. To be able to. Sort of end our emails together.

[43:00] Saying. In Christ. In Christ. And. This recent turn of events. Where we got to a point. Of not only. Agreeing in principle.

[43:10] A sale. But actually agreeing. A figure. For that sale. And he was so. Pleased with the story. The way that we'd gone about. He said. I'd really like to preach on this. In my church situation.

[43:22] I won't mention names. I really want to preach on this. I thought. Wasn't that great. To have a Christian solicitor. Who was skilled to do the job. But also had a heart. To understand.

[43:32] What. The job was about. From the Lord's perspective. Willing hearts are needed. Chapter 25. Verse 2. That's why I wanted that.

[43:43] Particular passage. To be read. Tell the Israelites. To bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering. From me. From each man. Whose heart. Prompts him.

[43:54] To give. Some of you might think. Old Testament. Wasn't that all about. Laws and commands. Friends. And here.

[44:04] This passage. Is completely rich. In the idea. Of a heart's response. To God. These people. Are responding to God. And he's saying. I don't just want offerings.

[44:15] I want offerings. That you're willing. To give. As your heart. Prompts you to give. So these people. Aren't so long ago from us. Are they after all. They have that.

[44:27] Nice relationship. With the Lord. And. There's just the repetition. Of that in chapter 35. Again and again. Willing. Willing. Willing. Willing. Willing.

[44:38] That's what God wants. From his people. God's provision. This is a lovely thing. Don't worry about verse 3.

[44:49] Where are they going to get. All this stuff. In the wilderness. They're in a desert. They can't go to next. Or CNAs.

[45:01] Or you know. To get the fabric. They're just standing there. In the clothes. That they came out with. Ah. Actually not. Actually not. Because.

[45:12] Exodus 12. Verses 33 to 36. Tells us something. That amazingly happened. Immediately after they. Before they came out of Egypt. So please turn to that. Because you'll be encouraged.

[45:23] By this particular little story. I'm sure you're aware of it. But you see a purpose of God. In this. Exodus 12.

[45:33] 33. To 36. This was the night. The night of terror. And horror. And bad things. Going on. The Egyptians. Urged the people.

[45:44] To hurry. And leave the country. For otherwise. They said. We will all die. So the people. Took their dough. Before the yeast. Was added. And carried it. On their shoulders. In kneading troughs. Wrapped in clothing.

[45:54] The Israelites did. As Moses instructed. And they asked the Egyptians. For articles of silver. And gold. And for clothing. The Lord had made the Egyptians.

[46:05] Favorably disposed. Towards the people. And they gave them. What they asked for. So they plundered the Egyptians. It's a great story. They're slaves in Egypt.

[46:19] They've got nothing. But on the night of their deliverance. God. With great foresight. Encourages them. To ask the Egyptians. And the Egyptians. Give them. The gold.

[46:30] And the silver. And the clothes. The clothing. And here they are. Lugging this around. In the desert. For a period of months. Or so. And then God says. This is the reason. Why you brought this material out.

[46:42] So that you can make it. As an offering. For the building. Of the tabernacle. And I want to say. Because it prompts me. To say this. That you may well have received things.

[46:56] In your past. And you're wondering. What to do with them. Why have they been given to you? What is the purpose? For some of your family heirlooms. Or even a legacy.

[47:08] Well it could just be. It could just be. That God. Is putting his finger. Upon those things. And saying. This is. What I want of you. You've looked at this stuff.

[47:19] You wonder why it's there. Why have I got this. When it may just be. That God is saying. I would love you. To make that. As your free will offering. To me. And so we read.

[47:35] In chapter 36. Verses 2 to 7. This is what happened. Then Moses summoned. Bezel El. And Oli Ab. And every skilled person. To whom the Lord had given ability.

[47:46] And he was willing to come. And do the work. They received from Moses. All the offerings. The Israelites had brought. To carry out the work. Of constructing the sanctuary. And the people.

[47:56] Continued. To bring free will offerings. Morning. After morning. so all the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left their work and said to Moses the people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp no man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary so the people were restrained from bringing more because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work it's a lovely story isn't it a great endeavor, a great construction and so we've got this target of 162,500 pounds and we're trying to be realistic and saying we'll have a gift day at the end of November and we want to raise 40,000 pounds we'll have another gift day at the end of April next year we want to raise another 40,000 pounds that's 80,000 we've already got 12,000 in the bank that leaves 70,000 we're going to take that as a loan but wouldn't it be great if we had 150,000 pounds coming by April next year and I had to stand up here and say no more giving no more giving enough has been provided see that's the way God is isn't he he's so generous he multiplies the loaves and fishes and feeds 5,000 people and there's still stuff over he's not restricted he's not restricted you look at your bank balance you think what can I do what is my bank balance amongst such a big number

[49:59] Lord knows he can multiply its effectiveness next week we're going to have some sort of ideas of what people could do I want to tell you one little story though it's from the Bible here and it's a lovely one it's about the fact that everybody gave one thing I'm not going to tell you the passage you're going to find it afterwards it's headed atonement money they took a census of everybody marked them all down that's why they knew there were 603,500 men above the age of 20 and Moses through the Lord said to everybody every single one of you is to give the equivalent of 6 grams of silver every single one of you I don't know what 6 grams of silver looks like but I want to say this in the passage it says that those people it says the rich are to give how much?

[51:09] 6 grams the poor the very poorest are to give how much? 6 grams everybody was to give exactly the same and they put all this together in a great heap and they made all the bases for the tent and all the bases for the enclosure of the tabernacle from this offering it was like me saying to you by the end of April next year it would be great every single one of us gave 50 pounds wouldn't get the target but it's kind of like that unity of involvement of saying we're in this together we're all going to make one gift exactly the same gift it was something that everybody could afford and this is the kindness of God in a way and the detail so I encourage you to read this passage again for yourself ask God what he would have you to do and the Lord will look after us we're going to sing our closing song which is number 427 because our greatest song today is the song of the lamb and that's ending ending ending ending ending ending ending ending