The Table California
The Table is a church family in Arroyo Grande, California. Our desire is to give Jesus His desire...a house where He can be Himself with His family. This podcast hosts the weekly teachings from our Sunday evening gatherings and occasionally supplemental conversations throughout the week.
The Table California
Clothed in Glory: How Relationships Shape Our Spiritual Garments
In this episode, we explore Exodus 28:1-4, where God instructs Moses to set apart Aaron and his sons as priests, emphasizing the significance of their holy garments, which will clothe them in glory and beauty.
This message delves into two main points:
1. Ministry to the Lord as Priority: The essence of being a priest is to stand before God, which must precede any ministry to others. Our relationship with God empowers us to serve effectively. When we pour ourselves out to Him, we are filled with His presence, enabling us to minister to others authentically.
2. The Necessity of Community: Aaron, despite being called and anointed by God, could not create his own holy garments; he needed the artisans in his community. This illustrates that we, too, require those around us to fulfill our God-given roles. The body of Christ is designed to build each other up, as stated in Ephesians 4:16. Our character is shaped through interactions within our community, where we practice living like Jesus.
The episode also addresses the modern church's tendency to prioritize individual gifting over character and community. It emphasizes that true spiritual growth occurs in the context of relationships, where we are held accountable and encouraged by one another. Just as athletes and innovators rely on their teams, we must recognize our need for the family of God to thrive spiritually.
Ultimately, the journey to radiate God's glory takes time and commitment to community. By devoting ourselves to one another and to God’s design for His house, we can shine together in His light. Join us as we reflect on the necessity of becoming the family of God and how we can embody the character of Christ in our daily lives.
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Exodus 28. We're going to read verse 1 through 4. Now take Aaron. A little context. God is speaking to Moses. He's getting ready to consecrate the priesthood. He's getting ready to give the gift of the priesthood to God's people, israel. So God says this to Moses Take Aaron, your brother, and his sons, with him from among the children of Israel that he may minister to me as priest. Aaron and Aaron's sons, nadab, abihu, eleazar and Ithamar. If you have your second child anytime soon, those are good choices for you. Have your second child anytime soon? Those are good choices for you. Nadab, abihu, eleazar, ithamar.
Speaker 1:Verse two and you shall make holy garments for Aaron, your brother, for glory and for beauty. I'm actually kind of shocked right now that one of the main emphasis of our worship today was beauty. That's what we're talking about. Clothed in glory and beauty, you shall make holy garments for Aaron, your brother, for glory and for beauty. So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him. Consecrate means to set apart, to remove from common use, to render holy that these garments may consecrate him so that he may minister to me as priest, or, as the NASB translates it, so that he may serve me as priest. Verse four and these are the garments which they shall make a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban and a sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron, your brother and his sons, so that he may minister to me as priest.
Speaker 1:Two main points today. Point number one the primary role of the priest is to stand before the Lord and to minister to him to serve God. We don't have time for it, but I'd encourage you to read through Ezekiel, chapter 44. Fascinating chapter about the difference in the priests who minister to the people as a judgment against them, because they preferred the accolades of the people and the attaboys from the people, compared to the sons of Zadok who were invited to stand before the Lord and minister to him. Ezekiel 44. Read that on your own time. The primary role of the priest is to stand before the Lord and minister to him. Aaron was called, aaron was commissioned and he was given a very specific task minister to Yahweh. There were other important functions of the priest, like making sacrifices on behalf of the people, but the primary role of the priest. The number one reason for that guy to wake up in the morning was to minister to God. Now, the role of the priesthood is not my main point today, but it is important for us to know that the priest is not just some old timey old Testament thing.
Speaker 1:The priesthood is not just something that the Catholics do. If you believe that Jesus is who he says he is and you're born again, then according to new covenant language, you are a priest unto God. First, peter 2.5 says that we, collectively, we are being built up as living stones into a spiritual house, as a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices to God or to minister to God through the sacrifices of our lives lived before him. That's the language that Paul uses in Romans 12.1. Offer up your bodies as living sacrifices. That's priestly language. You're a priest, not just a Christian, not just a church attender. You're a priest. I feel like we need to do a whole teaching just on that. It's not today. I'm trying to restrain myself so we can finally finish at some point. But you're a priest.
Speaker 1:A few verses later, peter writes this 1 Peter 2, verse 9 through 10. We are a chosen generation. What's next? A royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, so that you may proclaim the praises of him, who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Our lives are first to be lived vertically before they ever turn horizontally. We are priests unto God before we are ever preachers unto men. Someone else can shout me down too. I love it.
Speaker 1:If we never take our stand before Yahweh, we're going to have nothing of eternal value to proclaim to the world. We are chosen as a royal priesthood so that we will then proclaim his majesty to the world. It's our ministry unto the Lord that qualifies us to minister unto others. If we stand before men before we stand before the Lord, then we're standing in our own power. We're standing in our own authority. We're out of order with God's design. You can have all the right language man, you can be preaching out on the pier every evening, but if you haven't taken your stand before God and ministered to him as a priest, something is out of alignment. I would submit your standing in your own authority, doing good things, doing righteous things, doing very important things that the world needs, but let's do them in order. Take your stand before him. That's what we were doing just now in worship. That's what it means to be a priest. You are beautiful, you are holy.
Speaker 1:Then we go out and tell the world hey, god's nothing like you've been told. Trust me, I've stood in his presence. When our lives are poured out to him, then we become fit to stand before men because we've emptied ourselves on him. I love this language. I'm completely stealing it from Lindsay. We empty ourselves out onto him and then there's nothing left of us. There's nothing left of us. Then we go out completely empty and he fills empty things with himself, so that when we speak, it's not us speaking, it's him speaking. Do you see how that works? Mary sat at his feet, poured out everything she had. The other Mary cracks open the vial, pours it all out on Jesus. There's nothing left, judas. That's wasteful. You got to save something for the poor. Isn't that the mentality so often pervasive in the church? We got to hold something back, like what are we going to have for the poor? What are we going to have for the children's ministry? What are we going to have for this or that? God's design is we empty it all out on him. Then he fills us with himself so that when we pour out, we're pouring out him, not us. Thank you, lindsay, for that good word. Thank you, lindsay, for that good word.
Speaker 1:So Aaron is called, commissioned and anointed to minister to the Lord as priest, to spend his life blessing God. So God then says in verse two you shall make holy garments for Aaron, garments for glory and for beauty. Holy garments for glory and for beauty. Point number two there was a garment that the priest was required to wear before he could stand before the Lord. The priest was to be covered in something holy. Remember. Holy doesn't mean free from sin. Holy means completely distinct, unlike anything else. When we were just singing God, you are holy, we were declaring there is none like you. Every other God is a false God. You are the one true, living God. Holy means distinct, absolutely unlike anything else.
Speaker 1:Aaron was to be clothed in garments that would set him apart from everyone else around him. He would be clothed in glory and beauty. These priestly garments would radiate. That's what glory implies. I'm not saying there was a visual radiation, I don't know, maybe it was. The text doesn't say that, so I'm not going to say that. But that's what glory implies. It's a radiation, it's an emanation coming out. The rays of sun that come down to us are the glory of the sun in the heavens. Aaron was to clothe himself in something that radiated glory.
Speaker 1:And here we arrive at my main point in verse three. Speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, so that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, so that he may minister to me as priest. Aaron was called. Aaron was as priest. Aaron was called. Aaron was anointed, aaron was commissioned, but Aaron could not clothe himself in glory. There was someone else in the camp who was called, commissioned and anointed to consecrate Aaron with garments that were made by skilled artisan hands. Aaron was insufficient within himself to clothe himself in glory.
Speaker 1:I was hoping that would strike with a little more impact. Okay, thank you for that. Okay, I'm going to make it plain then. Thank you for that. Okay, I'm going to make it plain then. It didn't matter how gifted or anointed Aaron was. There was something in Aaron that was insufficient within himself to do what God had called him to do.
Speaker 1:Aaron needed community, aaron needed family. Aaron needed the people of God, and so do we. How's that? Did that land better? Does that make a little more impact? God is determined that he's going to call you, he's going to set you apart, he's going to anoint you for the works that he has prepared beforehand for you to walk in. And you faithfully being who God has called you to be is directly connected to the people of God around you, being who God has designed them to be. This is the necessity of community. This is the family of God building itself up, clothing itself in glory. This is Ephesians 4.16. The whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the whole body for the building up of itself in love. That's a powerful verse, ephesians 4.16. You should read that again on your own time. We are an interconnected body building one another up in love. Okay, big statement.
Speaker 1:Lindsay gets nervous every time I say that she's like oh man, we're going to have to do a podcast and like clarify what it was that just came out of your mouth. God has determined that the community of his people will clothe one another in glory and beauty. God has determined, it's God's design, that the community of God, the people of God, will clothe one another in glory and beauty. I'm going to tell you what I mean by that. I'm going to explain that. But some of you might be saying hold on a second brother. I thought God is the one who clothes us in glory. Yes, amen. But he's designed the body to function in a very specific way, with.
Speaker 1:Aaron applies to us, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10,. These things have been written down for our benefit, so that we can learn. I'm going to give you an example. Let's say that I have a gift from God. I have a calling, I have a role within the body that God has designed me for. That's awesome. But God does not intend for me to exist inside of a vacuum. He designed me to exist within a community of Jesus, people to function within a body of believers that also have their own gifts, their own calling, their own anointing, their own purpose within the body. And it's at the intersection of my life and yours that God continually shapes us and conforms us into the glorious, beautiful image of the radiant sun. It's our interaction with one another in the daily grind of life where we actually become more like Jesus.
Speaker 1:On my own, just locked in this building over here by myself. God's word is theorized. I understand conceptually that I am to love others more than myself. I can amen the Bible all day, but it's all concept until I bump up against an enemy and then I'm called to love the enemy. That's where the rubber meets the road. I can understand conceptually that I'm to walk humbly, that I'm supposed to choose mercy and forgiveness, that I'm now to live like Jesus.
Speaker 1:But it's only when I come out of the prayer closet and I bump into the community of believers that those things are actually put into practice. It's the community of God's people where I now have the opportunity to love like Jesus, where I have the opportunity to honor and serve and forgive and walk in humility, to demonstrate the life of Jesus and the transforming power of his gospel. I know the gospel has transformed me, not by how much I mend God's word, but by how much I see a change in my life when I bump up against real life. Yes, let's say amen to God's word and then let's make sure we look like Jesus when we have a head-on collision with real life. That's how I know the power of the gospel, because I don't act the way I used to act. I know the way that guy would react. He's been dead, he's buried. Praise Jesus forever. Now I can live like Jesus.
Speaker 1:Real life lived with the family of God gives me the opportunity to put flesh around the things that may only exist as ideas when I'm isolated, or, to use our metaphor, with Aaron and his garments. Real life lived with the family of God clothes us in glory. Forgiveness is glorious, humility is beautiful, and when I have a chance to forgive, I'm clothing myself in this Christ-like character of forgiveness and heaven says my goodness, he used to be a dead enemy of God, but now look how beautiful he is. He looks like Jesus. Forgiveness is only a concept if I never suffer a wound inflicted from another. Yes, ma'am, forgiveness is only a concept if I never suffer a wound inflicted from another. Humility is never tested if I don't have an opportunity to choose me over you, but instead choose to serve you rather than serving my flesh. Forgiveness, humility, love and all the other qualities of Jesus become our holy, priestly garments, which is why Peter says in 1 Peter 5, 5,. All of you clothe yourselves with humility to one another. Life lived with one another Clothes us in the glory and the beauty of Jesus, who laid down his life for others and, as a result, was glorified forever. How are we doing so far, philip? I'm glad you're here. How are we doing so far, phillip, I'm glad you're here. Okay, getting ready to make a bit of a shift. The message is going to get a little harder. Lindsay's really nervous right now. You good, okay, she believes me.
Speaker 1:I believe the point that I've made is clear, but I want to contrast the word of God to the current church climate that we live in. Now. Please hear me. I assure you I am not speaking to anyone directly. I wasn't picturing different people as I'm writing these notes out there. Oh, I'm going to get it with this. I'm not speaking to you directly. I wasn't picturing different people as I'm writing these notes out there. Oh, I'm going to get it with this. I'm not speaking to you directly. Anyone listening on the podcast, or if you're not here today, I'm not speaking to you, I promise. But if something I say pricks you or rubs you the wrong way, please don't take offense at me. It could be the Lord is actually calling you out. I assure you I'm not calling you out, but maybe Jesus is Okay. Everybody good Now. Lindsay's nervous. Let's talk about Paul for a second.
Speaker 1:Paul had a powerful encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus he saw the resurrected Lord. The encounter with this brilliant light radiating from this God man left Paul literally physically blind. The encounter that he had was attested to by all the guys that he was traveling with. He had a legitimate head-on collision with God. Modern Christianity, especially our charismatic blend of Christianity, would say that this encounter qualifies the man for ministry. If you don't believe me, just go to the next conference where the guy who saw heaven for 11 minutes or hell for two minutes is speaking. I guarantee it'll be the most well-attended conference you will find.
Speaker 1:Paul may have had a powerful encounter with Jesus, but scripture shows us that Paul still needed to be healed. Paul needed to be taught. Paul needed to be taught. Paul needed to mature and grow. He needed to be refined in the crucible of Christian community. Now I understand. Paul did not consult with flesh and blood regarding his gospel Amen. There's nothing in scripture that suggests that Paul attained maturity of character in one encounter with Jesus. Jesus may have knocked Paul off his horse and changed his life forever, but he still needed the Jesus people to clothe him in the character of the Messiah. Paul needed community to clothe him in glory. Paul needed Ananias to come and put his hands on his eyes and heal the man. Paul needed affirmation from the leaders in Jerusalem. Paul needed the community of Antioch Acts 13.1, to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit saying set apart for me, consecrate Saul and Barnabas. And then Paul needed his church community to say amen, we agree with the Holy Spirit. This man is called by God. Saul, we've witnessed your life, we've witnessed your development in character and we send you out as a church family blessed by God. That's what Acts 13, three is saying. Having fasted and prayed and laid hands on Saul, they the church sent them out. His community sent them out. Paul was gifted, paul was called, paul had seen Jesus what an encounter. And Paul was connected to a church family. This tells me that Paul was properly clothed in priestly garments.
Speaker 1:We live in a cultural Christian climate that knows very little of God's view of community and family. We are spiritual drifters. Not any of you talk about them. We're spiritual drifters. We're Holy Spirit hobos content to bounce from one event to another or disconnected renegades, roaming about with suitcases full of church hurt and offense. And this has produced a church culture that too quickly elevates individuals solely on the basis of gifting and talent, solely on the basis of gifting and talent. We know nothing about the man on stage other than what we see under the lights, but he can prophesy the paint off the wall.
Speaker 1:So let's follow that guy. Someone else may be a gifted teacher and leader, he may be charismatic, he may speak with the tongues of angels, but is he clothed in humility? Does he speak with love? Because if not, he's just a clanging cymbal. Impact has been prioritized in the church over fruit and character. And that chicken has come home to roost. Just look at what is going on in the church across the nation. Just last week, another prophetic leader resigned his position because of improper behavior, a man that ministries here in this community had no hesitation in placing him before their people to say minister to our people, speak on God's behalf to our people, don't worry, you can trust his gift. Now this man has had to resign because of improper behavior. His impact mattered more than his character. When the chicken came home to roost, it showed he wasn't clothed in humility and the character of Christ. He was gifted, he was anointed, he was called, but he hadn't submitted himself to the process of God. He was called, but he hadn't submitted himself to the process of God.
Speaker 1:What local church is that man who prophesies so well? Or that worship leader who brings heaven into a room Like? What church is he from? Who's he doing life with? Who's he accountable to? What's his family like? I have a friend that we served with in Iraq. He was at a conference, speaking at a conference, and he was sitting in the green room with someone. If I said his name, you all would know his name, big name, and so my friend. He starts asking this brother some questions, like pretty deep, intimate questions, and at one point this other man of God looks at my friend and says who are you accountable to? Man Like? Who are you submitted to? What church family are you part of? They had just met and my friend was kind of like shocked and so he rattled off his church family. He thought about it afterwards and he was like, wow, I was on a journey with this man into covenant kingdom things and he wasn't just going to throw his pearls before swine. He wanted to know if I was a covenant man, if I was a kingdom man.
Speaker 1:When Lindsay and I came here, we were asked to be part of a ministry. They didn't know us. We had a common friend who vouched for us. That's great. Lindsay and I are kingdom. So we printed off three pages of names, phone numbers and emails and said I know that you don't know us, but these people do, going back 13 years. Call them, they're going to vouch for us.
Speaker 1:I get it that people are sent out, but kingdom means they're sent out under a covering of somebody who's done life with them. That's why Paul says about Timothy he's my spiritual son in the faith. When he sends out Titus or Timothy or the others, he's sending them with a letter and he's vouching for them. You know me, let me vouch for this guy. Timothy, he's my son. He's not just a Christian, he's my son man. That's family language. That's clothed in glory language. We still doing good.
Speaker 1:There should be no one among us who becomes qualified for the work of the Lord by anything other than who they have become within the family of God. I'm going to read that again, because there are ones among us who are carrying a big anointing and a big calling and God's going to send other ones to be among us who will carry weighty things. I'm just going to tell you right now I'm not going to be impressed by the gift. I've said that before. Prophecy doesn't move me, not anymore. You know what moves me Forgiveness, humility, love, washing feet that's glorious. So let me read this statement again there should be no one among us who becomes qualified for the work of the Lord by anything other than who they have become within the context of God's family.
Speaker 1:Gifting talent, money, gifting talent, money, network visions of heaven, prophetic gifting. You worship like an angel. You can perform miracles. Awesome. We need that functioning in the body. The world needs to see this glorious, transcendent, powerful, god-made flesh living and dwelling in our generation. Amen, we need those things. But are you clothed in glory? Are you radiant with Christ-like character? Do you emanate, do you shine? Paul was taken up to the third heaven man, but he kept his mouth shut. He said I'm not going to brag about these things. Let me show you what I've suffered. That's a whole nother message. Paul was taken up to the third heaven, but it wasn't that encounter that clothed them in glory. It was a life lived with the saints in the rhythm of life together. Antioch clothed Paul in beauty, not the third heaven.
Speaker 1:The early church was a devoted church. It devoted themselves to things like the apostles' teaching to fellowship, to breaking bread with one another, to prayer. Their devotion to God and to one another clothed them in glory, and God intends the same thing for us. I'm just going to announce it over us we are a devoted people. We are a devoted people. We are a devoted church family. We've grown up in our gifting and our calling in the context of God's community. I know we've only been doing this for a few months, but I'm going to go speak it as though it is. We have grown up and we will continue to grow up in our gifting and our calling in the context of God's community. Our character has been and will be forged in the fires of life together. Scripture is unbending on this issue. God intends to conform us to the image of his son through lives lived with his people. Saints, we need each other. That's the title of the message. Saints, we need each other. We must ask God for the grace to be the family of God that he desires.
Speaker 1:We're living in a cultural climate that says it's okay not to be connected to a local church family. It's okay to just graze on the fringes and simply attend. Everything in our church culture right now is prioritized except devotion to the things that God says is ultimate. The kid's ball game, the second cousin's birthday party, the weather, another vacation, the surf swell, the fishing trip, the long week at work man, I just need to rest. There's an unending list of things that will always be more important than gathering with the people of God if we think we can close ourselves with glory. Now don't hear what I'm not saying. Are there birthday parties to attend? Amen. Are there vacations to go on? Amen. Or are people of Sabbath rest and shalom we celebrate. Do we need to just unwind? Sometimes, yes. Is the surf swell really good? Occasionally, yes. So don't hear what I'm not saying. There's a big difference in that and the constant choosing of those lesser things over God's ultimate things, which is being formed and fashioned by God's people into the image of Jesus.
Speaker 1:I also want to say I'm not implying that you should be devoted to this church family. I'd love for you to be, but I'm not implying that you have to be devoted to this church family. Maybe you need a children's ministry. Maybe you prefer the large full worship band. Maybe you require something in your current walk with God that we're not equipped for or called for. That's okay. My heart is that you get planted and you give yourself to a people of God who are healthy and whole and will walk with you. I want us to be clothed in glory, not build a big ministry. I want a people called by God to run with us who are clothed in glory, not a big ministry. We're coming to the finish line. We're going to land the plane. Who said yay? Whose kid?
Speaker 1:Is that there's a sense today that if you attend every now and again and let me just preface it, I know I've been prefacing a lot, but I just I want you to hear my heart is not this like condemnation thing? Sometimes I feel like I'm speaking to principalities and powers. I feel that now I'm not even so much speaking to us as I am to the atmosphere, like I'm putting a stake in the ground, saying this church is not that there's a sense today that if you attend every now and again, that you are part of the local church. That's false. You may be saved, you may be born again, but you're isolated, you're disconnected from the body.
Speaker 1:Isolated, disconnected Christianity has nothing in common with Biblical Christianity. You can't find that in here. If someone was isolated, it's because they were in prison. Isolated, disconnected Christianity is a modern invention and that way of living I've seen it time and again it's going to result in a stagnated walk with God. It will plateau very quickly Again. You may be saved, may be born again, but your walk is going to plateau. It's going to hit a ceiling ceiling COVID made acceptable what so many churchgoers secretly had hoped for all along Couch potato church. Are you kidding me?
Speaker 1:Facebook prophecies on demand. Yes, I can stay at home, listen for a few minutes, send a tithe in online and never have to do life with people. I'm in YouTube. Sermons are a great supplemental resource, but they're not going to clothe you in glory, not in the way doing life with God's people will. Reposting your favorite social media prophet is not going to guard you from schemes of the enemy, the way that family will. Even attending multiple services a week all over town does not make you part of a church if you never open up your life to others and do the hard work of relationship, if you never actually submit yourself to a local body. I've said accountability and submit heaven. Help us all. The same message in closing Bless God.
Speaker 1:Michael Jordan won how many championships? Come on, who said six? Nathan said six. Sarah was getting ready to say six, weren't you? Michael Jordan won six championships. Who did Michael need to win six championships? Scotty Pippen, that's the one I was looking for. Who said Scotty Pippen championships Scottie Pippen that's the one I was looking for. Who said Scottie Pippen? Matt said Scottie Pippen. Jordan needed Pippen. Derek Jeter won how many World Series? No one knows this one. He's a Yankee. He's a Yankee. You shouldn't know it anyway. Go Red Sox. Derek Jeter won five World Championships, but Derek Jeter needed the Yankees. Steve Jobs was brilliant, but he needed that other funny looking dude, steve Wozniak, to help him build Apple.
Speaker 1:Out of high school, I went to Berkeley College of Music. There were the most gifted musicians on the planet and they all had come from around the world because they knew they were insufficient in themselves to get to the place that they wanted to go. They needed instruction, they needed discipleship, they needed mentoring, they needed someone else's experience. Kids, what happens? Or? Let me ask the question this way A lion in the desert.
Speaker 1:Right, he's hungry. He's looking for lunch. He sees a whole herd of zebras. What is the lion looking for? Joshua, add his hand up first. Prey, okay. What specifically? Let me ask the question this way pray, okay, what specifically? Okay, let me ask the question this way. He's got, say, he's got 500 zebra out there in the, in the valley. Which one is he gonna go for? The weak one, how do you? Uh, the weak one? Okay, what do you mean by the weak one? What does a weak one look like? The isolated one? Right, I know Jane was getting ready to answer that one. Right, you had it, it was right on the tip of your tongue. The lion he's looking for, the one who's isolated and separated from the pack.
Speaker 1:Look, we understand these things about every other area of life sports, business, nature but do we understand it when it comes to the kingdom of God? God has a very particular way of doing things and I believe this is his design for his church that we be a covenantal people, committed, a family, a community. Now, every one of us has a calling. I'm really almost done. First, one's just kind of a teaser just to keep you engaged. Every one of us has a calling. We are all called to be conformed to the image of Jesus. We are all called to be conformed to the image of Jesus More than anything we ever do. He's called us to be. We're called to be conformed to his image and to minister to him with the sacrifice of our lives. We are designed to radiate, to emanate glory, to shine, and he intends to clothe us in garments that radiate with the glory of a trillion suns, and those garments are going to be woven by someone else in the camp. How many of you know that this is going to take time? This is not microwave Christianity that we're talking about.
Speaker 1:If you read through Exodus 28, it's fascinating to consider how long it must have taken these gifted artisans to weave together these garments. The breastplate had to be forged and hold four rows of precious stones. The ephod was made of blue, purple, gold, scarlet thread of fine linen. The robe had little pomegranates sewn in on the bottom. How do you make a pomegranate sewn in on the bottom? How do you make a pomegranate out of fine linen? I don't know. It's not like they had sewing machines and scissors back then. Maybe they had scissors. They weren't sharp, though if they did and there were no fabric shops, it's not like they could run down to Michael's.
Speaker 1:Grab a yard of fine linen. Where are they getting these things? From India? From India, I love that, amen, homer. From India. My point is this For us to become the church family that clothes one another in glory is going to take time, but we're never going to get there if we don't give ourselves to the process. Amen. If we don't understand what church really is, I'm going to stop there. Kids are way too happy. Are there any questions?
Speaker 2:I have one just about like of our worship, because we were talking about us like serving. Is that our worship is like to serve him and, like you said, like to, and then he just give all of him and then he fills it with all of him.
Speaker 1:And then, as the girls discovered this weekend, worship becomes serving others, but first it's to him. The term worship leader is a misnomer. It should be what? What's it called? One who serves through worship. Isn't that beautiful Serving the Lord and ministering to Him, and then, from that place, you serve those who are in front of you.
Speaker 2:So it's kind of like our plates, because we have a plate and it's up this with Him first and then our plate goes up. So it's up this with him first and then our plate goes out.
Speaker 1:So it's, it's ministry unto him. So what that looks like just real quickly. It's like we did today worship, but worship, that's telling him who he is, acknowledging his holiness, his beauty, his glory, glory. So ministry to him is worship. Ministry to him is prayer, it's spending time with him, it's intimacy, it's reading God's word. There's many different resources that we have that become our ministry unto him. It's even in a crisis moment, it's even a in a crisis moment, choosing to believe.
Speaker 1:No, you're God. You said x, y and z. I'm gonna believe that you are who you say you are and not that this circumstance is gonna wash over me and control me. That's a ministry unto him. Why? Because you're standing on faith. You're saying I believe that God is who he says he is. I don't care what the empty bank account says, I don't care what the sick child says, I don't care what the prodigal child says. I'm choosing to stand on faith and say that you are God and you cause all things to work together for good. You lead your people in triumph. You see how that takes a volatile crisis and it turns it into ministry.
Speaker 2:Like saying, when we read His Word if there is a crisis, depending on whatever it may be, that when we're speaking His Word back to Him, is that like ministering to Him as well?
Speaker 1:I believe so.
Speaker 2:Because we're speaking His Word, we're claiming that we believe and we have faith in His Word. Well, I believe so, like, because we're speaking his word, we're claiming that we believe and we have faith in his word. I believe so, and so we're just ministering back to him.
Speaker 1:I believe that god loves to hear things that he's already said spoken back to him by image bearers who used to be lost enemies trapped in darkness, but who now bear his image, understand and know him and are speaking back to him things that he said. That's high praise, like that's powerful. Yeah, imagine if do you have children, three? Okay, imagine if one of your children strayed and ran off and they left you and they were gone for like 10 years. They're lost, they're almost like, in a way, like dead to you. They're just, they're not calling, they're not writing, you don't know where they are. Like they're gone and all of a sudden they come back to you and they say, mom, I remember what you said when I was five years old. You said you loved me. You said you would never, ever stop loving me. Recalling back to you, I remember those days. I remember the way that you used to care for me and my siblings. Oh, mom, used to cook the best dinners. I love this dish, mom. I used to love the way that you. So what's that doing to you? It's ministering to you. It's blessing you. In the same way, when, when we come back and are reconciled to God, we're speaking out to him who he is. That's worship, that's ministry unto him. Yeah, amen, yes, I'll find it and I'll get it to you. Yeah, yeah, okay, anything darling. Okay, let's say the blessing, the blessing. I look like I'm standing over a meal getting ready to bless it.
Speaker 1:Let's pray, let's thank God for this awesome time. Thank you, jesus. Lord, I thank you for being you. Thank you that you are God. You're the kind of God that you are.
Speaker 1:Lord, we love you, we worship you, we praise your holy name. We thank you that we had an opportunity today to come together as the family of God, praise your holy name, minister to you, bless you, worship you and then talk about you. You bless you, worship you and then talk about you. Holy Spirit, I pray that we would become conformed to the image of Jesus, that you would give us the grace to be a Jesus people in our day, lord, that we would resist the gravitational pull of church as we've always done it, and he would call us up into the place of glory and beauty, or give us the grace, when we bump into one another, to go low, to prefer the other more than ourself. Thank you, god, or thank you for this meal that we are getting ready to absolutely smash. Thank you for everyone who contributed to it. Lord, we bless them. We thank you for them. Bless our fellowship, our conversation and our time in Jesus name Amen.