Whose hearts moved him

Scripture: Exodus 35’21-24, 31, 35, 36 March 7, 2011

Title: Whose hearts moved him Sunday Noon Service
21.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.
22.All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the LORD.
23.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.
24.Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the LORD, and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it.
31.and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts--
36:5and said to Moses, "The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done."
36:6Then 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." And so the people were restrained from bringing more,

Last week on March 3 at 7 am at COEX Hall in Samsung-Dong, Seoul, the National Breakfast Prayer Meeting was held. This Breakfast Prayer Meeting for the Nation and the People of Korea was held for the 43rd time this year, and it is a prayer meeting unique to Korea and does not exist in any other countries. Also, while 43 prayer meetings were held, the President of Korea attended all the meetings except twice, and it is a historical record.  From that perspective, I have the vision and hope that the future of Korea and the future of the Korean people will be blessed and bright. Although you, who are worshipping God this morning, may already be praying for the nation and the people of Korea, I pray in the name of our Lord that you are filled with such hope.

There was an especially touching scene at this prayer meeting, which was the way the attendees prayed. Pastor Gil, Ja Y eon, the president of the Christian Council of Korea suggested to pray for the nation, the people of Korea, the people of North Korea, and for world peace, and suggested to kneel before the Almighty God who controls our life and death, weal and woe, all attendees including President Lee, Myung Bak knelt without hesitation.  How touching it was to see them earnestly, desperately praying to the Almighty God! It was a blessed time of prayer in which we sought God’s help, confessing how the future of this people and nation, the peace of the world arise from, maintained by, and achieved by God. To see the President kneeling before God, and pastors and all attendees who earnestly petition to God was truly touching. Hallelujah! Please spread this touching blessing to everyone who attended our service today. God is the hope of the world, of this people, and of this nation. Hallelujah!

Today’s scripture which you and I read together today also includes a very moving verse. In Psalm 11:4, it is said that God is in his holy temple. The reason why we worship God together today is because God is in the holy temple of Kyungdong Church.

Psalms 11:4
The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them.

So in Psalm 122:1, David was happy to go up to the temple. Why? Because God is in the temple.

Psalms 122:1
A song of ascents. Of David. I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD."

That God is in his holy temple is a happy news for us. Not only that, God wants to bless his people who come to worship him. The author of the Book of Hebrews describes this blessing as follows:

Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

It says anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Therefore, those who came out to worship today are blessed people. Then, how should we build a church, which is a blessed holy temple where God dwells and where we worship God?  The scripture we read today suggests the blueprint of the Tent of Meeting which we may call the very first church. Not only that, it also describes the process in which the temple was built. Kyungdong Church is praying about and preparing to build a temple. Then it is truly important to know how to build a temple. This morning, we would like to find the wisdom about the biblical way of building a temple from today’s scripture. What is the model, biblical church that God wants? Not only that, we would like to find the model of church building which the Bible suggest and participate in the process of biblical church construction. I pray in the name of our Lord that such amazing wisdom about biblical church building will be revealed to everyone who came before the Lord this morning, so that you may participate in the process of church building.

First, when we look at the setting of today’s scripture, where the Israelites stayed after leaving Egypt was the wilderness. Wilderness refers to a desert. Desert has a climate which is extreme and different from those of general residential areas, urban areas, or rural areas. It is difficult for habitation, and it has a serious temperature difference between day and night because the temperature during the day rises above 50 degree Celsius and the temperature right before sunrise falls almost to below zero.  Moreeover, because of the strong sunlight, it is a dry and barren land in which animals and plants cannot easily live in. Also, it is an area of conflict where there is endless competition for oasis because of lack of water in the area. Desert is and represents a land where one wants to escape as soon as possible. There is no way to live in a desert permanently.

Nevertheless, desert is a land that is indispensible in our lives. What the Bible suggests to us through the situation in which the Israelites confronted in the desert is that the wilderness is a course of life which we cannot detour, and a reflection of our lives which shows our lives as we live in this world.  There are endless difficulties before the eyes of the mankind that live this world today, and the wilderness is an unavoidable reality. Difficult things challenges us and various hardships pass by our eyes, and we cannot avoid the wilderness. The construction of a tabernacle was as important as the discovery of an oasis for those who lived in a desolate desert. God got the Israelites out of the land of Egypt and commanded Moses to build tabernacles in the

One of the reasons that God commanded Moses to build tabernacles in the desolate desert is that if God was with them, the place of the tabernacle could turn out to be an oasis or paradise even though they dwelled in the desert. Dear everyone! A tabernacle or church is like an oasis for those who live in the world that is similar to the desolate desert. A church is a resting place for those who are tired and exhausted and a place that gives us God’s strength and helps us to win the world. The reason that God commanded Moses to build a tabernacle was that the tabernacle was a blessing place in which God could receive the people’s glory and we could receive God’s grace. There is a son who came to Seoul with the dream of success. He does any job that he gets his hands on and works hard. Without the good skill, he has to live from hand to mouth. However, he lives his life with an attitude of diligence.

And he has started to run a small shop after a one year hard work. He works hard day and night. He does not care himself to get out of the difficulties that he faces. Years later, he sees a ray of hope. His small shop begins to prosper. He has regulars in his shop and now he can maintain a stable income.  He does not stop here. He presses forward with more efforts and works. By the way, what happens? He gets bad news like a bolt out of the blue while his business develops. Since he works for a success he could not care his body. He is diagnosed as third stage of gastric cancer.  There is no point in getting an medical operation. To make matters worse, his small funds he has collected so far go bankrupt. He feels crushed. He gets wrecked. There is no more hope or vision. The last option he can choose is to give up the life. He decides to kill himself. Living further is pointless to him. He feels that there is no hope, no reason to live.

But there is one thing he never forgets. It was his mother who lives alone in a countryside village. His mother is always devoted for him. His mother is one that is concerned of him even in her dreams. He decides to say good bye to his mother before he ends his life.  He comes to his hometown that will never be forgotten even in his dream. He closes to the village in which he had played with his old friends and had fully enjoyed a happy time, and there was small hills and broad fields although it was not splendid.  The home village unfolds in front of his eyes. When he sees the smoke arising from the chimney, he recalls that he happily and innocently lived with his mother. It was the embrace of his mother he never forgets for a moment.

Even though he does not have hope since he fails to run the business and develops disease, his own hometown and mother welcomes him. Dear Everyone! Today, the tabernacle is like the embrace of the mother for God’s people who come to KD church, just as it was life an oasis for those who lived in the desolate desert.  God wants to build a tabernacle for you and me who live today. He does not want his people to drift away like a floating grass, he wants us to live as a separated, godly and holy people and so to build a KD church. Even though we live in the world like a desolate desert, God wants us to live with an oasis flowing with happiness. Hallelujah!  Let’s bless people around you. You are God’s people. A church is an oasis flowing with living water. Hallelujah!

Moses heard the details of the blue print and of the schedule about building a tabernacle. Today’s scripture, Exodus 35:21 says God wants to build a tabernacle through those who are willing and whose heart moved him.  In the Bible, special events were achieved by those whose heart moved him.  People who were moved by the Holy Spirit can build a sanctuary. This morning, we should think of those whose heart moved him. When I was working as an evangelist, I volunteered to work at a certain church. That started up in the rented second floor of a building. The church received God’s grace and grew in size. As it developed, more space became necessary. But there was no official discussion about building a church building. And it was not made public.

One day while I was praying, I felt an urgent necessity about construction of a new building. So I prayed, “What can I do to build your church, God?” I decided to look for what I could do.  At that time, my heart moved me to offer an offering for construction. But I had no possession, so I had nothing to offer. So I prayed again to God, “God! I don’t have anything, so I have nothing to offer.” But when I was praying, I was kept reminded of the rent deposit of the house I was rending. So I decided to offer the rent deposit and discussed the matter with my wife. I told her the story, and she answered, “Please do as your heart moved you to.” I think about it again. If she opposed me back then, then what my heart moved would not have mattered. But she did not ignore my heart and submitted to the will of the Lord, saying, “Please do as your heart moved you to.”

Until then, I did not understand why we had to submit to the heart that moves us. But what is amazing is that, when my heart was moved and told the pastor about it, saying, “Pastor, my heart moved in such a way that I am offering my rent deposit as an offering for the construction of the church,” the pastor hesitated a little bit but accepted the offering, saying, “How can I stop it when God moved your heart! Please do as your heart moved you to.”  After I offered my offering for church construction, amazing miracles stated to happen. At that time, compensation for evangelists was not a lot. We only had to look upon God, and the congregation members knew about it. But the fact that an evangelist in a difficult financial situation offered his rent deposit as an offering for construction stirred up the church.

There was an old couple, Deacon Jung and his wife. When they heard this news, they shed tears, saying “When our evangelist offered his housing deposit as construction offering, how can we just sit back and do nothing?” The week after, Deacon Jung offered 350 Pyung-wide land that he owned for church construction. When he was offering, he said, “How can we remain still, when we possess so much more than our evangelist. Besides, this land will be used for the most precious and valuable purpose of building the church building.” He offered the land in thanksgiving and willingness as his heart moved him. Hallelujah!  After the land was offered, amazing things happened on that land. A church was constructed on that land, and now that land is the center of the area, and the church became a resting place which serves the people of the community, and which living water overflows.

Building a tabernacle is done through those whose hearts move them. The Bible suggests us that this is the way God’s tabernacle is built. A church in Kyunggi-Do plans to build a church building and begins to pray. They opened up meetings, formed committees, made a blueprint, and planned the budget. At that time, there was no guaranteed budget for church construction. However, they clearly heard the voice of God regarding this matter, so they began construction in faith. After the blueprint came out, they realized that the cost for the construction, including cost for drawing the blueprint, was something unbearably great for the church. A meeting was called. At the meeting, the elders of the church unanimously agreed and said, “Pastor, six of us will offer our houses.”

 “So please give each of us just one small container on the empty ground of the church. We will sell our houses and offer the proceeds for the construction. All we, the families of the elders, need is just one container for each family.” The pastor tried to stop them. But the elders would not stop. They sold their houses, placed six containers on the church ground and became neighbors. This news greatly moved the hearts of the whole congregation. So everyone willingly brought offerings for construction, and later, there was too much offering that they had surplus.  Not only that. This news was quickly spread in the area and this church was known to be a church in which one really wants to attend, remain as a member of congregation for life time, and the elders were known as elders who are willing to offer their lives for the church. The rumor became truth, and the empty seats of the church were filled up as soon as construction was over.

When the elders’ hearts were moved by the Holy Spirit and as they obeyed to the Holy Spirit, such amazing work was done. Today, God builds the foundation of church construction through the people whose hearts are moved by the Holy Spirit. Kyungdong Church has been praying for construction of a new building for the past few years. In 2011, we hope to construct a new building and move. Just as God constructed the Tent of Meeting through those whose hearts moved them at the time of Moses, and as the Deacon Jung and the deacons whose hearts moved them, I believe that God will do the same work again for Kyungdong Church. I bless you in the name of our Lord that such precious blessing will be with you all.