This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

This is day four together of week eight of our look through the book of Exodus.
Chapter 39, our next to the last chapter of Exodus. Each day we're beginning by
looking at the principles of freedom we've learned throughout the book.

We've looked at the fact that someone must trust God, the second principle I
must realize what I cannot do, a third principle I must depend on what only God
can do, fourth principle I must come face to face with my biggest obstacle. Two
other principles we saw through the book to focus on today, the principle that I
must have faith that God has planned a way out. They saw that at the Red Sea.

I must have faith that God has planned a way out, a way out of my temptations, a
way out of my trials and struggles, that He's not going to leave me there in
those things. This is the principle of hope. This is the principle that there is
never anything, anything that can happen in my life as a believer that should
cause me to lose hope.

Oh, there are circumstances that I don't like. There are circumstances that
could cause me to lose hope if all I look at are the circumstances, but God's
greater than any circumstance. He's greater than life itself.

Our hope extends beyond this life into all of eternity. So I have faith that God
has planned a way out. Without that, I can't live in freedom.

I'm always going to live in anxiety, always. And then another powerful principle
we saw, really our last principle we saw just last week is I must forgive those
who have hurt me. Without forgiveness, there's no freedom.

Without Jesus forgiving me, there's no freedom in my life. And without me
forgiving others, I can't experience that freedom in my life. I'll be locked up
in bitterness the rest of my life.

So God, give us the strength not only to receive your forgiveness, the gift of
your forgiveness, but also to express that gift of forgiveness to other people
in our lives who've hurt us. In this chapter, chapter 39, this is a chapter
again that's all about the priest's garments. Chapter 39, verse 1, "From the
blue and purple and scarlet material, they made finely woven garments for
ministering in the holy place, as well as the holy garments which were for
Aaron, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

" Now let me stop there. Focus on those words, "just as the Lord had commanded
Moses. " You see, we just a few chapters ago, it seems, read about them being
commanded to make these garments and here they're making them.

And it's just as the Lord had commanded Moses. In fact, that idea of just as
commanded it was done, that's picked up again down in verse 32 and verse 43.
Listen to these verses.

"Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was completed, and
the sons of Israel did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so
they did. And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its
furnishings, its clasps, its boards, its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets,
and the covering of the ram skins dyed red, and the covering of the porpoise
skins, and the screening veil, the ark of the testimony, and its poles, and the
mercy seat, the table, and all the utensils, and the bread of the presence, the
pure gold lampstand with its arrangement of lamps, and all its utensils, and the
oil for the light, and the gold altar, and the anointing oil, and the fragrant
incense, and the veil for the doorway of the tent, the bronze altar, and its
gold grating, its poles, and all its utensils, the laver, and its stand, the
hangings for the court, its pillars, and its sockets, and the screen for the
gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs, and all the equipment for the
service of the tabernacle, for the tent of the meeting. The woven garments for
ministering in the holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron and the priest,
and the garments for his sons to minister as priests.

So the sons of Israel did all the work according to all that the Lord had
commanded Moses. And Moses examined all the work, and behold, they had done it,
just as the Lord had commanded. This they had done.

So Moses blessed them. Now you read this chapter, chapter 39, in one sentence
you think, "How about we read this chapter before? " These things they were told
to build.

But no, this chapter is not about what they were told to build. This chapter is
about what they did build, that they built what God told them to build. God
tells us just exactly what they were to build, and then he tells us just exactly
what they built.

And Moses looks at it, and it matches up. They had done it, just as the Lord had
commanded they had done. That's what we want for our lives.

Because you see, now you're the tabernacle of God. And just as there was one day
when the people brought this tabernacle that had been built before Moses, and
Moses looked at it and said, "Yes, it matches with what I intended to build,"
there's going to be one day when you and I, now as the temple of God, as the
tabernacle of God, are brought not before Moses, but before God himself. And
God's going to review what was built into this life, into your life, into my
life, into this tabernacle.

And in that day, he's going to see that what he's intended to build has been
built. He's going to see all of those places where, just as it was commanded,
just as it was decided in his heart, you decided to do. That began with you
trusting, that is most significantly seen in you trusting for forgiveness
through Jesus Christ.

And he'll see that stamped on your life. He'll see every step of obedience,
every decision of faith stamped on your life. Just as there's this long list of
all these utensils, all these pieces of furniture, all these curtains, all these
garments in the tabernacle, there'll be this long list of all that God has done
in your life.

And just as there was that moment when God allowed Moses to look at all that was
done, when Moses was able to say, "I bless you for this, just as it was
commanded, it was done. " There will be that moment in your life, in my life,
when God will look at what he intended to be done, see where it was done, and at
those places he will say, "Well done. Well done, good and faithful servant.

" So how about today? How about today in my life, in your life? How can I do
that today?

That's my prayer for me, for you. How can I do that with my thoughts? What God
has said to think is what I decide to think.

It's easy to think worried thoughts, anxious thoughts, but God says, "Don't be
anxious about anything, but instead pray about everything. " So how can I turn
anxious thoughts to thoughts of prayer? That's a well-done, good and faithful
servant moment.

It's easy to have impure thoughts, we're in an impure world. But instead God
says in Philippians 8, other places, "Whatever is good and honorable, right and
pure and lovely? " Think about those kinds of things.

Every time you turn from impure thoughts to those kinds of thoughts, that's a
well-done, good and faithful servant moment in your life. How can you do that
today? What God has said to do, that is what you decide to do in your life.

How can you do that not just with your thoughts, but with your words? It's easy
to say words that tear people down. They're the easiest words in the world to
say, because people make mistakes, people mess up.

It's easy to note that. It could even be said to be lazy to note that, it's so
easy. But to say words that build up, to say words that build faith, when you
decide, instead of saying the easy thing, to take a moment to think and to say
the word that could build faith in your friend and somebody in your family,
that's a well-done, good and faithful servant moment in your life.

How can you do that today with your thoughts, with your words? How can you do
that today with your actions? God told them to build this, and that's what they
built.

What's God telling you to do? That could be overwhelming. You could think, well,
a thousand things He's telling me to do.

What's the next thing? There's something good in the picture of building a
tabernacle, and that is you have to do one thing at a time. They couldn't build
everything at once, they could only build one thing at a time.

Their faithfulness to God was one piece of furniture at a time, one curtain at a
time, one pole at a time. How about your life and my life? What's the next thing
that needs to be built?

What's the action that He's causing you, calling you to take today? When you do
that, even if you're afraid, even if you think it's going to amount to nothing,
or even if you think with faith this is going to change the world, when you take
that step, that's a well-done, good and faithful servant moment. Our Father, we
pray together that in our thoughts, in our words, in our actions today, you'd
help us to live out the truth of who you are.

We need your strength to do that, we can't do that on our own strength. We need
your love to do that. And we do look forward to that day when we stand before
you.

We do look forward to that day when you review the tabernacle, the temple of our
lives, and not because of what we've done, but because of what Jesus has done in
us, you're able to go down a list, and by your grace, you're going to be able to
say, "Because of your faith in me. " Well done, good and faithful servant. Help
us to live today, looking forward to that day.

We ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Tomorrow is the end of our study of the book
of Exodus together.