Building Up the Lord’s Church

By Jeff Curtis

Christians are constantly building the church of the Lord, the house of God – building it from the beginning in new areas, and then building it up in both numbers and in spirituality. How can we successfully help to build up the Lord’s church? Paul told us to be wise builders in 1Corthians 3:9-10. We would be smart to look at the example of the Israelites who built the tabernacle. How did they do it?

The explanation of building the tabernacle emphasizes Israel’s use of their talents and abilities in its construction. The text points out that some of the offerings for the tabernacle consisted of cloth made by “skilled women” (Exod. 35:25) or by women “whose heart was stirred with a skill” (Exod. 35:26).

The text also highlights the fact that the actual building of the tabernacle was done by people who used their special skills for that purpose. The Lord told Moses that He had called Bezalel to take charge of the actual construction of the tabernacle, saying that He had “filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship” (Ex. 31:3). Also, God called Oholiab and other skilled men to help in the building, giving them the skills they needed to do so (Ex. 31:6). In Exodus 35 Bezalel and the other workers were actually appointed to the task. Again, Moses emphasized that it was the Lord who had called Bezalel and his assistants and had endowed them with the skill they needed (35:30-35).

Three truths stand out in considering our text, and the gifts used to build the tabernacle.

The Skills these men and women possessed came from God. What kinds of gifts were involved? Their gifts were not that they became prophets or able to speak the word of God eloquently. They were skills necessary for the building of the tabernacle. Today, God also gives Christians the skills they need to do their work as carpenters, electricians, plumbers and seamstresses. If you can repair a car, fix a broken faucet, or make a computer run properly, then you have that talent from God.

These individuals were willing to use their abilities in the service of God. The Bible doesn’t emphasize their willingness, but there is no suggestion in the text that God forced them to dedicate themselves and their skills to this cause. God called them, and they were willing to answer His call.

The people who had the gifts were willing to give their time in using them. Gifted individuals were willing to invest more than six months of their lives in building the tabernacle. They worked consistently for six months, six days a week, on this project. They stayed with it until they were done.

What does the church need today? More money? Generally speaking, members have enough money to do what is needed, but they may need to become more generous givers. More talents? As a rule, within the membership of almost every congregation, there is enough talent to enable the church to accomplish everything God expects. What the church needs more than anything else in most places is time, that is, time that the members are willing to invest in the work of the Lord. What good are abilities if those who have them are unwilling to volunteer their time to use those abilities inf God’s service? We need to be willing to use our time serving God – studying the Bible, praying, worshiping God in the services of the church, visiting the sick, helping our neighbors, getting involved in the activities of the church, and doing its work.

For the church to be what God wants it to be, members need to give their abilities, their time, and their money to the task. If they will, the church can be built up wherever we go, in the same way the tabernacle was built. Then God will be pleased today, just as He was then.

The Goodness of the Lord is Our Shield Against Discouragement

by Joe R. Price

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13). Discouragement is a tool our adversary, the devil, uses against us. The encroachment of spiritual foes wears us down unless our faith remains focused on the Lord Jesus (Heb. 12:1-2; 2 Cor. 4:16-18). Worldliness in the church, false doctrine threatening and deceiving hearts, apathetic negligence of spiritual duties, derelict fathers, careless mothers, disobedient children, and the moral decline of our nation are just some of the things that cause Christians to lose heart.

David faced enemies who sought his life, yet he was confident in the Lord’s strength and salvation (Ps. 27:1-3). He waited on the Lord with faith, and the Lord delivered him from his foes (Ps. 27:4-5, 14).

Likewise, we face spiritual enemies intent on destroying our souls, but the Lord’s strength sustains us in our spiritual struggles (Eph. 6:10-13). We refuse to be discouraged because we believe the Lord’s goodness blesses us in “the land of the living” even as we anticipate eternal glory (Phil. 4:4-7).

Encouraged by the faithfulness of the Lord, “let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Gal. 6:9). So with David, let us “Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord” (Ps. 27:14)!

There is No Substitute for God

by Jon W. Quinn

     “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42:1-2).

     I read the following statement some time ago. I thought about it. “God may well be taken as a substitute for everything; but nothing can be taken as a substitute for God.”

     That’s true. It took me a bit to see the truth in it, but finally the light came on.

With God there is always hope for the faithful. There is always prospect and assurance and peace. There is confidence that, at last, all will be well… more than well… perfect. We can suffer the loss of anything, even life itself, and still have this assurance. As long as we have God, then ultimately all will become as it ought to be because God is more powerful than death. That is why nothing can be a substitute for God. Nothing else does that.

     But, on the other hand, without God we are destined to lose everything worthwhile and there is no hope of even a glimmer of good. This is why we ought not spend our lives chasing after futile things and neglect God. Nothing can take the place of God. Not really. We can put other things in God’s place, but they will fail to do what God does. Nothing can take His place in our lives.

The Lord told His people, “You must not turn aside, for then you would go after futile things which cannot profit or deliver, because they are futile” (1 Samuel 12:21).

     Jesus once asked His apostles if they were giving up and going away. The answer came back, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

     Jesus identifies Himself as “The Bread of Life” because He sustains us through our deepest needs. Just as candy can spoil our appetite and cause us to pass up needed nourishment, the love of things of the world can rob us of our hunger for righteousness and leave us growing ever sicker and ultimately dying a spiritual death. Things of this creation can never do for us what God can do. There is no substitute. People need to stop looking for one.