Practical Ministry / Practical Apostasy September 13, 2012
Spirit Powered / Satan Powered
Exodus 31 Page 1
We have covered all the calling of the priests to the priestly ministry
But ministry is not about just the ______
Acts 6:1–4
Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
1 Peter 4:10–11
As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1 Corinthians 12:4–7
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
God’s Calling
By name
Bezaleel = In the shadow of God; under God’s shadow.
Uri = Light (of the LORD); light of Jehovah; enlightened; fiery; burning; my furnace. My light.
Hur = Cavern; (root = a hole; a cavern, with the idea of hollowing or boring). Noble; splendor. White.
Judah = Praised; the LORD be praised; object of praise; praise of the LORD. He shall be praised.
Stelman Smith and Judson Cornwall, The Exhaustive Dictionary of Bible Names, 151 (North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos, 1998).
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Hur – the same as
Exodus 17:12
But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set.
A family with a history of service and now the grandson is chosen by God
His gifts
Wisdom, understanding, knowledge
And craftsmanship
Metallurgy
Stone cutting
Wood working
He will be ______overseeing the construction of______
Superintendent
Aholiab = Tabernacle of my father; her father’s tent; tent of the father.
Ahisamach = Brother of support; (root = to sustain; to be propped).
Dan = Judging; judge; he that judges; (root = to judge; to rule; to execute judgment; to contend).
Stelman Smith and Judson Cornwall, The Exhaustive Dictionary of Bible Names, 57 (North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos, 1998).
Aholiab was selected by God to be ______
The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm
Leonard Bernstein
Another Second Fiddle
Exodus 24:13
So Moses arose with Joshua his servant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.
Numbers 11:28–29
Then Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, “Moses, my lord, restrain them.” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’S people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!”
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Deuteronomy 1:38
“Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter there; encourage him, for he will cause Israel to inherit it.”
Philippians 2:8–11
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
In addition there are others also selected and filled with skill
Hakam - wise, intelligent, endowed with reason and using it, sagacious, shrewd, wise from experience of life, and skilful with regard to affairs both human and divine
Wilhelm Gesenius and Samuel Prideaux Tregelles, Gesenius’ Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures, 277 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2003).
God is telling Moses
He has ______to get this done
He has ______those to do the work
He has ______with the Holy Spirit
He has provided them with the ______necessary to get the job done
God is ______as He builds His Tabernacle
Whose Tabernacle is it?
Whose church is it?
Matthew 16:18
I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
Psalm 118:22
The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone.
1 Peter 2:4–5
And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
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After assigning the team to do the job God reiterates the command regarding the Sabbath
God does not ______at us letting things slip so we can accomplish a work for Him
Exodus 31:17
“It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.”
Hebrew – yôm - a unit of time reckoned from sunset to the next sunset, including two or more segments (morning and evening) about 24 hours
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament), electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
Septuagint - ἡμέρα - the period between sunrise and sunset, day
William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., 436 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000).
Moses receives the tablets written by the ______
He has been on the mountain for 40 days and nights now
Just 40 days ago was the glorious meeting and fellowship meal with God
Just 40 days ago the people heard God give the Big Ten
Apostasy Then and Now
The Golden Calf Problem
While Moses was up talking with God, how were the people doing?
They were becoming ______
Apostasy
Apostasy means “to stand away from” something (Gr. apostasis). This word describes a departure. An apostate is someone who has departed from something. In the religious sense the word refers to extreme departure from God’s will. “Apostate” is not necessarily a synonym for unbeliever. The person who departs from God’s will may be a believer or an unbeliever. The term refers to obedience, not salvation. Most of the apostates in Israel were apparently believers.
Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003).
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Apostasy is a deliberate turning away from revealed truth after it has been tentatively received.
William Evans and S. Maxwell Coder, The Great Doctrines of the Bible, Enl. ed., 278 (Chicago: Moody Press, 1974).
We can learn much from this incident in the nation of Israel as they continued to have a problem with apostasy up to going to Babylon.
Apostasy is something we have to deal with in the church and it is a sign of the end of the age
1 Timothy 4:1–3
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.
Apostates
They are those who have known and professed the truth and become willfully disobedient to it because it does not serve their appetites. Sadly, it is the church, in every case, who has given them a platform from which to spew their renegade doctrines. It is the church that has given them audience. Likewise, in almost every circumstance, these men at some earlier point in their lives taught at least fairly accurate doctrine.
Apostasy! The Word-Faith Doctrinal Deception by Jeff Kluttz
2 Timothy 4:3–4
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
Is an apostate a believer?
Jude 17–19
But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.
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If a person is devoid of the Spirit, then they are not a believer
Romans 8:9
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
Revelation 3:14–20
To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”
Characteristics of Apostates
Jude 16
These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.
Apostasy was a problem for the nation
It is a problem for us today
It is something we must be constantly on guard for
Approach all teaching with the following verse in mind
Acts 17:11
Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
Listen to what they say, then check out what the Bible teaches.
Current Apostasy Trends
The Bible is filled with error
God is a genie who is ready to do what we demand of Him
All paths lead to God
God is love and would never send anyone to hell
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There is no Trinity
Jesus is not God
The Problem with the People
Refusal to ______
Put God in a box, make Him in an image we can control
Fall back on the sins of the past but now use god talk instead of idol talk
Aaron’s Problem
He feared what ______
Proverbs 29:25
The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted.
Where he needed to be
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
We have just seen the lengths God goes to, to provide for His people to worship Him
Now His people ______- and do it their way
They set up their idol and then justify it by saying it is the Lord and His festival
Exodus 32:6
So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
Notice the language God uses in telling Moses
Moses the mediator…a type of Christ
He begins by ______the great things God has done to bring the people to where they were
Moses expresses concern for God’s ______
This from the same man who only a little over a year ago said he was the wrong guy
Moses reminds God of His promises
Moses ______in his prayer
As a result of his prayer, Moses is now in ______with God’s will and the need to discipline the nation
An intercessor of God is on good ground in stressing God’s power, His knowledge of a great plan, and His promise of blessing for those who are the objects of prayer
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James E. Rosscup, An Exposition on Prayer in the Bible: Igniting the Fuel to Flame Our Communication With God, 193 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008).
Later, God will look for someone like a Moses to stand in the gap, but He will not find anyone
Ezekiel 22:30
“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.”