The Local Christendom Podcast with Aaron Ventura

Spirit-Filled CraftsmenSunday, November 8th, 2026Twenty-fourth Sunday After PentecostChrist Covenant Church – Chehalis, WAExodus 35:4–36:1 (NKJV)
Prayer
O Father, we thank You for Your Son, who came down from heaven and pitched His tent among us. We thank You for Your Holy Spirit, who moves in the church, and stirs us to love and good works for the building up of the body. Build us now we ask, for the glory of Christ Jesus, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God forever, Amen.
Introduction
Last week we heard from the Apostle Paul that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7). And here in Exodus 35, we have a premiere example of cheerful giving.
We learn from Exodus 38 that the Israelites gave 29 talents of gold and over 100 talents of silver for the work. And if we convert those numbers to USD, it comes out to something like $135 million that they gave to build the tabernacle.
Moreover, the Israelites gave so much material, that Moses has to tell them to stop giving.
It says in Exodus 36:5-7, The workmen said to Moses, “The people are bringing much more than is needed for the service of the work which the Lord commanded us to do.” So Moses issued a command, and they circulated a proclamation throughout the camp, saying, “Let no man or woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing any more. For the material they had was sufficient for all the work and more than enough to do it.
Now that is what spirit-filled, joy-filled generosity looks like, we give until we are told to stop giving.
And when it comes to the giving of thanks to God and worship to God, the Bible tells us that that is never to stop!
It says in Psalm 34:1, I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
And in Hebrews 13 it says, Therefore by [Jesus] let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
And so the building of the tabernacle is an outward expression of the spiritual offerings that we are to freely give to God.
The Israelites gave gold, silver, bronze, and precious materials. And we are to give to God what is most precious to us, our own heart, our soul, our mind, our strength.
God has no need for any of our stuff, for He is the creator and giver of all that we have, but when we give ourselves to God, God in return gives Himself more fully to us.
Spiritual goods increase the more that you give them away. Love and truth, knowledge and mercy, cheerfulness and gratitude, multiply the more you give them to others.
And so as we continue to physically work in this building, renovating, remodeling, beautifying this space, all of it should be ordered towards the spiritual building up and beautification of Christ’s body.
As I told you early on this series, it would be a great shame for us to be an ugly people in a beautiful space. It would be a great shame for us to have a warm sanctuary and cold hearts.
Because when God’s Holy Spirit fills you and indwells you, He moves you to do what pleases Him. He inflames yours heart with love.
As David says in Psalm 119:32, I will run the way of thy commandments, When thou shalt enlarge my heart.
And so this morning I want look at some of the ways that God’s Spirit moves His people to build.
1. So first, we’ll rehearse the history and context of the building of the Tabernacle,
2. And then we’ll look at two ways God stirs us to build His House.
First Recall the Context of the Construction of the Tabernacle
Back in Genesis 12:7, God promised to Abram, Unto thy seed will I give this land, (referring to the land of Canaan).
A few hundred years go by and in Exodus 1 we are told, The children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.
However, the land that they are living in is Egypt, not Canaan. And because they are so fruitful, they are perceived as a threat to Pharoah. And so Pharaoh enslaves them, he tries to murder all the newborn Hebrew boys, but God rescues the infant Moses, and 80 years later He sends Moses back to Egypt to bring the Israelites into the promised land.
After ten plagues and the Passover, Israel comes up out of Egypt, they cross the Red Sea, they eat miracle bread from heaven, they drink miracle water from a rock, and they receive The Ten Commandments while encamped around Mt. Sinai.
This brings us to Exodus 24, where Moses goes up into the mountain for forty days and forty nights. And while he is there, God gives to Moses the blueprints and instructions for building God a house or sanctuary, a place to live amongst His people (and this is what Exodus chapters 25-31 describes).
Meanwhile, back in the Israelite camp, the people are starting to wonder whether Moses is ever coming back.
And so at the same time that God is giving to Moses divinely inspired instructions for how to live with Him and receive His blessings, the people below decide “now would be a great time to break God’s covenant and worship a cow made of gold.”
Now if that sounds absurd or irrational, that it is because it is. Sin makes you do stupid things. Sin makes what is totally irrational seem in the moment to be very rational. Sin blinds your judgment to what is true and good and right, and that is the blindness the Israelites experience when they worship the golden calf.
Now in Exodus 32, Moses comes down from the Mountain, and the sons of Levi execute the unrepentant idolaters, 3,000 men are put to death.
And then God says to Moses in Exodus 33:5, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I went up among you for one moment, I might destroy you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, so that I may know what I will do to you.’ God puts them in timeout.
And then, Moses goes back up the mountain to plead with God to forgive His people, and God agrees. Moses comes back down with the two tablets of the testimony, renews the covenant, and that is the context for all this abundant generosity we read about in Exodus 35.
This generous giving of over $135 million dollars is a response to God’s forgiveness, a response to God’s mercy and covenant, and notice, all of it is a free-will offering, none of it is coerced.
So that’s the context for all the giving and building of the tabernacle, which is really the same context for us.
What should God have done to you for all your sins against Him? For all your idolatry and ingratitude and disrespect of His gifts? He should have blotted us all out of His book.
If the wages of sin is death, and all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, then the fact that you are still here and breathing is due only to God’s patience and kindness.
You see, like Moses, the Lord Jesus went up to His Father and asked Him to forgive you. And unlike Moses (who committed some sins), Jesus never sinned. And therefore, Jesus could offer up His own life to God as a worthy sacrifice, substituting His perfection for your guilt and shame.
As it says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
And in 1 Timothy 2:5-6 it says, For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all.
And so the more you believe this truth, and live by this truth, the more grace and generosity shall characterize your life and characterize this church.
If you want to become a cheerful giver, start by recounting the innumerable gifts you have received. For as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:7, What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? What do we have, that God has not first given?
So do you know the infinite value of friendship with God? Of direct access to his throne room? Do you know that God wants to live with you, and He wants you to live with Him forever.
That is what the building of the Tabernacle points us towards. That from these earthly materials, the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary, would come forth a Divine person who is fully God and fully man, Jesus Christ, in whom all the world may find forgiveness, rest, and eternal dwelling.
As John 1:14 says of Jesus, And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt [that is literally “tabernacled”] among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
And so it is because Jesus is most precious, that the tabernacle is built out of the most precious materials that Israel could find. And because the church is Christ’s body, the Tabernacle is also a picture of us.
We bring our gifts, the materials God has first given to us, and we place them in His hands for His service and His purposes. When we are all dead and stand before the Lord, what kind of works will follow you (Rev. 14:13)? What kind of testimony will you have left behind on earth? What will be said of you at your funeral service?
In one of the very earliest sermons on this chapter of Exodus, Origen of Alexandria (living in the 2nd-3rd century AD) said to his church: “How shameful, how miserable it will be if the Lord, when he comes to inquire about the building of the tabernacle, should find no gift from you in it. Have you lived so irreligiously, so unfaithfully, that you have desired no memorial of your own in God’s tabernacle?” And then he starts praying mid-sermon and says, “Lord Jesus, grant that I may deserve to have some memorial in your tabernacle. I would choose, if it be possible, that mine by something in that gold from which the mercy seat is made, or from which the ark is covered or from which the candlestick and the lamps are made. Or if I do not have gold, I pray that I be found to offer some silver at least which may be useful in the columns or in their bases. Or may I certainly deserve to have some bronze in the tabernacle from which the clasps and other things are made. Would that, moreover, it be possible for me to be one of the princes, and to offer precious stones from the adornment of the shoulders and breastplate of the high priest. But because these things are beyond me, might I certainly deserve to have goats’ hair in Your tabernacle, lest I be found barren and unfruitful in all things.”
This is what is spiritually signified and foreshadowed in this section of Exodus: The building up Christ’s body, which is the church.
So what memorial will you have in God’s house? When God finds you here in His sanctuary, will He find any worthy offering from your life?
Two Gifts That Build Up God’s House
Well, let us now briefly consider two gifts in particular that God uses to build up His house, and they are:
1) Willing hearts
2) Skillful hands.
#1 – Willing Hearts
God says in Exodus 35:5, Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord: whosoever is of a willing heart.
Notice again this giving is not under compulsion, or of necessity, because God wants His people to freely give what they have freely received.
It says in 2 Corinthians 3:17, The Spirit of the Lord is the spirit of liberty, freedom. And so the person who is most free, is the person who is least attached to the things of this world.
When God fills you with His Holy Spirit, He makes you to love what He loves and hate what He hates. And God loves eternal things, imperishable things, truth, goodness, spiritual beauty, because those are the things that last forever.
And so those who love imperishable things can say with Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, But though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
And so where does a willing heart come from? It comes from the knowledge of what is truly valuable. It comes from contemplating God, your own death, and the length of forever.
What is gold compared with Christ’s blood? What is silver to eternal life? What is bronze compared to the knowledge of the Holy Trinity?
Jesus tells his weary disciples,Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
And so if your flesh is hindering you from giving all things to God, then you must put your flesh to death. Watch and pray, Jesus says. Ask God to give you a willing heart. Ask God to change your desires. He will!
For it says in Philippians 2:13, It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
So that’s the first way God begins to build us, He gives us a willing heart. And then once those willing hearts have given the raw materials needed for His House, God issues a second invitation, and that is for those with skillful hands.
#2 – Skillful Hands
In verse 10 it says, And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the Lord hath commanded. [the NKJV has “gifted artisans”]
In verse 25 it says, And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands.
In verse 31 it says of Bezalel, And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.
So here we see that God gives to His people a diversity of skills and wisdom to make stuff.
The Hebrew word for wisdom here is a reference to what we would call “manual competency,” or “good craftmanship.” You know what tools you need, how the parts go together, how to heat up the metals, how to forge precious stones, how to overlay the wood, how to weave tapestries together.
This is what it means to be “wise hearted” in this context. You have wisdom in your mind that gives skill to your hands so that raw materials can be transformed and glorified for God. This is the work of the spirit-filled craftsman. All work becomes holy work, when it is done cheerfully unto the Lord.
Notice also that God gives these gifts of wisdom/craftsmanship in unequal amounts. There’s only one Bezalel the master (he can do it all). There’s only one Aholiab, the master’s assistant. And then there are a bunch of other lesser skilled men and women, who use whatever God-given gifts they have to spin and weave, to chop and cut, or even go to Home Depot when Aholiab tells you to.
The point is: everyone has some part to play in building God’s House. From the least to the greatest, the most skilled to the least skilled, everyone has some gift to contribute to the health of the church.
Paul states this explicitly in Ephesians 4, in 1 Corinthians 12-13, and in Romans 12.
He asks rhetorically: Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? (1 Cor. 12:29). No. But all should aspire to have the gift of love.
And in Romans 12:4-5, he says, For just as we have many parts in one body, and not all parts have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and all are parts of one another.
And finally, Peter says in 1 Peter 4:8-11, And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone serves, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Conclusion
Do you know your place in the body of Christ? Are you even connected to the body of Christ? What gifts, what skills, what raw materials has God given you to work with? And are you using them so that God (not self) may be glorified?
Do you remember what happens when the Tabernacle is finally completed? It says in Exodus 40, the very last chapter of the book, So Moses finished the work. Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Don’t you want God to fill this place with His glory? Don’t you want God to fill you with His glory?
I pray that you do. And so may God bring to completion the good work He began and glorify this House, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
 

His Unspeakable GiftSunday, November 1st, 2026All Saints’ DayChrist Covenant Church – Chehalis, WA2 Corinthians 9:6–15
Prayer
O Father, we thank You for Your Son, who became poor for a season, to make us rich forever. Grant us to taste and to see Your Divine Goodness in Your Word, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
Do you have a generous soul? Would other people describe you as being a generous person, a person who has not merely a big wallet but a big heart?
It says in Proverbs 11:24-25, There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters [others] will also be watered himself.
This morning I want us to consider how the Apostle Paul talks about money, giving, and generosity. For here in this letter he is writing to the church in Corinth, advising them to be generous to the poor back in Jerusalem.
Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” and here Paul enumerates what some of those blessings are.
And so I thought it most fitting, that on our first Sunday here, in this building that was largely purchased for us by a handful of very generous souls, that while they remain anonymous, we can honor their gift by honoring God in how we receive this gift. Do you know how God would have us receive a blessing as grand as this?
David asks in Psalm 116:11, What shall I render unto the Lord For all his benefits toward me?
Well, here in this passage, Paul is going to give us some directions in how to do that, sothat you may come to know by experience, that it is truly more blessed to give than to receive.
Outline
Now there are four reasons in this passage, that Paul uses to motivate the Corinthians to be generous. And it is according to those four reasons that we will walk through our text. So starting in verses 6-7, the first reason Paul gives for generosity is: Because the more you sow, the more you reap.
Verses 6-7 – Because the more you sow, the more you reap
6But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
7Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
Here, Paul gives us the image of a farmer, or gardener. And the question he asks you is: How big of a harvest do you want? How much fruit and grain, bread and wine do you want to have this summer and fall? If you want a big harvest, then sow big. If you want a small harvest, then sow stingily.
He says in Galatians 6:7, Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
So this is the first incentive to give. Jesus Christ is Lord of the harvest, He makes the rain to fall and the sun to shine on the just and unjust alike (Matthew 5:45). And therefore, if you are a child of God, living in God’s world, why not sow bountifully into His divine economy and leave the results to Him?
In verse 7 the Apostle goes on to describe the most fertile conditions for producing a great harvest. He says, Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
In the original context, the Corinthian church had had many months, if not a full year to set aside money each week to relieve their poor brothers and sisters in Jerusalem.
In Paul’s first letter to them, he concluded by saying in 1 Corinthians 16:1-3, Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week [Sunday] let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem.
Now as most of us know, it is easy to be inspired to give to some person or missionary or worthy cause in a moment of passion, but then after a few days, or weeks, or months, that passion subsides, and we can easily forget that that need still exists, and that unless we follow through on our intention to give, that intention is really worthless. If after the feeling passes, no gift has been given, no check has been signed, did you really meet that need?
And so Paul is writing this second letter to the Corinthians to stir up their affections again, and to remind them of their original intention to give, along with the real blessings that await those who sow bountifully to the Lord.
As it says in Proverbs 19:17, He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given.
So Paul does not want anyone to give alms from a mere passing sentiment, or emotional guilt-manipulation, and certainly not under threat or compulsion.
Instead, he wants them to give alms (which is a free-will offering distinct from the tithe) from a sober mind, a decisive heart, that cheerfully gives in proportion to their means. Recall He says in 1 Corinthians 16, lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper.
And so do you consider the money in your bank account as seed that God has given you to sow? We could ask the same of your time and energy, and how you prioritize your life. Is your whole a life a cheerful offering unto God?
A healthy church is a church that is full of cheerful givers. Because those are the only kind of givers that God is said to love. God loves a cheerful giver (not a reluctant giver), because cheerful giving is divine.
Such generosity is god-like. Cheerful giving is who God is in His very nature and being. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are together a unity of unbounded and infinite love. And so if God gives cheerfully, so also should His people. That’s the first incentive to give. God is not mocked, a man will reap what he sows.
Now the second reason to be generous is…
Verse 8 – Because God has unlimited resources
8And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
That is a lot of universal language here: all grace, always, all sufficiency in all things to abound in every good work.
This is a remarkable promise, that only a God with unlimited power and resources can make. Later in 2 Corinthians 12 Paul will use his own life as an example of this promise being fulfilled. Paul is suffering, he is in pain, he is being harassed by this messenger of Satan, this thorn in his flesh, and pleads with God to remove it.
But what does God say to him? How does God’s all surpassing power minister to Paul?
It says in 2 Corinthians 12:9, The Lord said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
And so wherever there is a good work to be done, God has grace in unlimited supply. That grace might come in an unexpected form, it might not come as a check in the mail, or maybe it will. But in either case we have God’s promise.
And as Jesus says in Matthew 6:33, Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
This is true for us individuals, and it is true for the church corporately. God does not command us to do anything without also supplying the strength and resources to do it.
Sometimes this means we have to get really creative, we have to make sacrifices, but the promise of God is always sure. He will not test you beyond what you are able to endure, and then when you feel unable to endure, that is often when God most frequently loves to manifest His power.
What did Abraham call the mountain where God provided a ram for his son Isaac? It says Genesis 22:14, And Abraham called the name of the place, Jehovah-Jireh (The-Lord-Will-Provide); as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
This means you must climb the mountain of God by faith. Not by sight, not always carrying the ram upon your back, but trusting that if God told you to do something, He will give you what you need when you need it.
And so however poor and needy you may feel and be, hope in God and never let go. Wrestle with God, like Jacob wrestled with angel, and tell him, I will not let go until you bless me.
This is how God makes you strong, by dislocating your hip in hard trials, so that His divine power can be manifest in your weakness. This is true when it comes to spiritual things, and it is true when it comes to our finances as well.
So Paul tells the Corinthians to give because God has infinite grace, unlimited supply. And this will sustain your heart, even if it feels like a lean season. God is not asking you to give what you do not have.
Now the third reason Paul gives is…
Verses 9-10 – Because God gives us gifts that are labeled for other people
9(As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
10Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
Here Paul fortifies his argument with three proof texts from the Old Testament. He starts with a direct quotation from Psalm 112, and then brings together Isaiah 55:10, and Hosea 10:12.
So just in case you did not trust Paul’s authority. Here he brings forth a threefold witness from the Psalms and Prophets.
And what he is doing is anticipating a possible objection, which is, “If I give to the poor saints in Jerusalem, how can I be sure that I’ll have enough food for myself?”
And the answer Paul gives is, well, you have to trust Jesus. And so think about where both your seed and your bread (the necessities of life) come from. If the seed comes from God, and God tells you to sow your seed bountifully, is He then going to withhold from you the daily bread He knows you need?
And so rather than living with fear and doubt, think about what Jesus did with five loaves and two fishes. He fed thousands. Isn’t that the same Jesus you claim to love and follow and trust? And who tells you in Luke 12:22-23, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing…o ye of little faith.
And so Paul cites these Old Testament passages to strengthen our faith, and to remind us that God gives us more than our daily bread, so that we can be a blessing to others. Isn’t this God’s promise to Abraham, which is fulfilled in Christ, that we are blessed in order to be a blessing to our neighbors?
And what else does Psalm 112 describe about the generous man? It says in verses 3-8, right before the verse that Paul quotes, Wealth and riches will be in his house, And his righteousness endures forever. Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. A good man deals graciously and lends; He will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he will never be shaken; The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established; He will not be afraid, Until he sees his desire upon his enemies. And then it says, He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted with honor.
So there are many and great blessings for those who see their possessions for what they are: Temporary, something you cannot take with you, and packages with other people’s names on it.
The man in Psalm 112 is like the original Saint Nicholas. It brings him cheer to give to other what God has given to him.
SUMMARY: So give because: 1) you reap what you sow, 2) because God is unlimited, and 3) because your abundance is meant to be shared. And the fourth and final reason Paul gives is because, God wants gratitude and worship to increase in the world.
Here in verses 11-15, Paul describes some of the spiritual benefits of generosity.
Verses 11-15 – Because God wants gratitude and worship to increase in the world
11Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
12For the administration of this service not only supplieth the needs of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;
13While, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men,
14And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.
15Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
So beyond just meeting the real tangible physical needs of the saints, Paul says this bountiful gift causes four spiritual effects:
1. Many thanksgivings unto God by all who hear of their generosity.
2. The glorification of God, when people see that the Corinthians are living out their confession to the gospel of Christ.
3. The recipients pray for the Corinthians. So there is a mutual bond of spiritual fellowship.
4. The recipients long for the Corinthians, because of God’s grace which has been manifest in them.
And Paul punctuates all of this with a thanksgiving of his own, Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
Conclusion
According to Greek scholars, Paul invented or coined this word which we translate as unspeakable or indescribable or inexpressible.
Meaning, the gift of God’s grace, and the magnitude of God’s generosity is such a great gift, that human language is insufficient to describe it.
And so I ask you this morning, do you know by experience this indescribable gift?
If someone were to give you today a billion dollars, would writing them a thank you card really do that gift justice? What would you owe that person who gave you such a gift you could never repay?
Well God gave has given us so much more in His Son. He offers you eternal life by repentance and faith in the cross of Christ. And so I close with the words of 2 Corinthians 8:8-9 which says, I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
May God grant you to know these riches and to give them generously to others. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Church Planting in CanaanSunday, October 25th, 2026Twenty-Second Sunday After PentecostChrist Covenant Church – Centralia, WAGenesis 12:1–9
Prayer
O Heavenly Father, we thank you for the example of our spiritual father Abraham, who sojourned in the land of Canaan, who forsook all to follow You, and because of his patience and faith, received the promised inheritance, not in this life, but in the life that is to come. Grant us to imitate his great faith, which is faith in Your Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God forever, Amen.
Introduction
4,000 years ago, Noah died. And two years after Noah’s death, Abram was born. Noah died in 1998 BC. And Abram was born to Terah in 1996 BC.
Now a couple weeks ago we studied Genesis 11 and the building of the tower of Babel. And we saw how men conspired together to dethrone the Most High God.
How did God respond? He responded graciously, by coming down and scattering the tongues and languages of men.
Now as we come to Genesis 12, and the call of Abram, about 320 years have passed since that Babel event. And we find that Abram is living in Haran (500 miles north of Babylon), and with Abram, God is going to begin a new building project, which is the building of Christ’s kingdom.
God has placed Genesis 11 and Genesis 12 right next to each other, to show us this difference between man’s way of exalting himself and building a kingdom against God, and God’s ways of exalting man to sit down next to Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6). God’s kingdom is built through humility, obedience, and patient faith in God’s promise. As it says in Zechariah 4:6, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, Saith the Lord of hosts.
At Babel, man tried to make his own name great, but to Abram what does God say? I will make your name great.
At Babel, man refused to leave his own country and kin. Instead of spreading out on the earth, he tried to build a world city (the first globalist empire against God). But to Abram God says, leave your country, leave your kindred, leave your father’s house, forsake your blood and soil, and go to a new land that I will show you.
At Babel man tried to build a monument for posterity, a name which would not be forgotten. But where are the names of those builders today? Instead, their memory is an unfinished tower, forever testifying to their pride and folly.
What does God build with and through Abram? God builds from him a great nation (many nations in fact), principally a holy nation and a royal priesthood. And through his loins, and the barren womb of Sarah, would come the promised redeemer and seed, the God-man Christ Jesus.
Paul says in Galatians 3:16, Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
So Christ is the ultimate means by which blessing comes to Abram and all humanity. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:20 that in Christ Jesus, all the promises of God find their Yes and Amen.
And so if you have the faith of Abram, which is faith in Christ, then you are an heir together with him. And just as Abram had to trust God, and wait patiently, and endure long trials, hoping against hope, so also must you in your own day.
And so on this final morning, of us worshipping here together in this building, I want us to consider how God builds his kingdom through the faith and patience of His saints.
Outline of the Text
Our text divides into three sections:
In verses 1-3, God issues a command and promises a blessing.
In verses 4-6, Abram obeys and departs to Canaan.
In verses 7-9, God appears to Abram, and Abram builds two altars for worship.
So God commands and promises a blessing, Abram obeys and departs, and then God appears to Abram, and Abram builds a place for worship.
Verses 1-3 – God gives a command and promises a blessing
1Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Here we have a command followed by a promise. The command is to leave at least four things behind:
1. Abram must leave his own country/land
2. He must say goodbye to his kindred and extended relatives,
3. He must leave his father’s house, which we are told in Joshua 24:2 was a house of idolatry.
And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods.
Abram was to forsake his father’s gods and idolatrous ways.
4. And then fourth, Abram must relinquish the security and control that he presently has over his own life. God tells him to go, but God does not yet tell him all the details about where to go, and for how long, and if he will ever get to settle down anywhere. Abram has to trust God, and trust the very limited information God gives to him at this stage.
It says of this scene in Hebrews 11:8, By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Isn’t this how God so often works in our lives? He gives us clear commands that we must obey and promises blessings if we do, and yet He leaves out so many particulars that we think are essential to know.
God gives Abram a command without giving him a precise destination. The command is Leave, but where to, he is not yet told.
And so you can imagine the greatness of Abram’s faith here. Because Abram has to go have one of those awkward conversations with his wife later that evening.
“Honey, the Lord spoke to me, and He told us we need to leave.
Leave what?
Not much, just our land, our family, my father’s house.
Uhm. Okay. Where are we going?
Great question. I don’t know. He didn’t tell me that. But get this, He promised me a great blessing if we obey. Oh yeah?
He said, I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
What did Sarai think of all this? We are not told. But this is a staggering promise that is tied to a kind of scary command. Leave all that is familiar to you, and go somewhere unknown. All you’ve got to go on at this point, is the word of God. Is that enough?
Well as risky or scary or thrilling as this might be (depending on your temperament), this is also what Jesus says to every person who would follow him. Isn’t this what God is still saying to you today?
Jesus says in Luke 14:26-30, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
So have you counted the cost, of leaving all so you can follow Jesus and actually reach the finish line (dying in faith)? Well then you too must in spirit and in truth, forsake this world, forsake the sins of your father’s house, forsake the devil and all his works, forsake your family and relatives, and anything that would hinder you from obeying Jesus completely.
Jesus leaves no room in his kingdom for divided loyalties. You cannot serve God and mammon, no man can have two masters, Jesus says. Eventually God will separate the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares.
And so have you truly forsaken this world, for the sake of Christ? Can you honestly say with the Apostle Paul, But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Chris (Phil 3:7-8).
Abram forsook all to follow and gain Jesus Christ and his resurrection glory. And so must you, if you would be called a true son of Abraham.
Now in verses 4-6 we are given a brief description of Abram’s departure.
Verses 4-6 – Abram obeys God’s command and departs to Canaan.
4So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
6And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
What do you expect to be doing when you are 75 years old? Some of you are older than 75, and here you are. Did you imagine your life would turn out this way? Whatever Abram’s plans might have been, it was probably not leaving everything behind and start a new life on the road.
Recall Abram and his wife are childless, and they have been childless their entire marriage, with all the griefs, sorrows, and disappointments that that would cause. We learn later in Genesis that both of them are fairly resigned to this hard providence, and so Eliezer of Damascus, an adopted servant is the heir.
And so Abram and Sarai are beginning a new life that is founded solely on the Word of God, and not on anything they can presently see. In fact, what they see, and what they know about themselves, appears to run exactly contrary to the promises God has made to them. How will this seed come?
Abram and Sarai are childless. Sarai has a barren womb. And yet God has spoken. God has promised to bless them, and make them a blessing to the whole world. And if God can create the world out of nothing, by the word of His power, then with God, all things are possible.
Now together with Abram and Sarai who else is with them? Hundreds more than are presently in this room.
For starters there is Lot, who is Abram’s nephew. And as nice as it might be to some kindred leave with him, Lot will be the cause of some grief to Abram a couple chapters later. Abram will have to go to war and kill people to rescue him.
In Genesis 14 we are told that Abram had 318 household servants trained for war. And if those men had families, and children or grandchildren of their own, this could easily have been a caravan of well over 1,000 people (some think much larger).
These servants and their families are what verse 5 calls, the souls that they had gotten in Haran.Abram is a kind of civil magistrate, a sheik, or chieftain, not merely a private individual.
And in Genesis 17 God includes all these household servants, who have zero biological relationship to Abram in the covenant of circumcision. In fact, God makes it a command, that if anyone is not circumcised in Abram’s household, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant (Gen. 17:14).
And so loyalty to Abram meant loyalty to Abram’s God, and that mean all the males, including the servants, and the servant’s children, received the covenant sign of circumcision.
And so notice, from the very beginning, the covenant people of God are not limited to a single bloodline. It included non-biological descendants of Abraham, who had no Abrahamic blood in their veins. And this is just one of the many reasons why the New Testament condemns the Jews for all their boasting in the flesh, boasting in their lineage.
Because who is a true son of Abraham? Who is a true Jew?
I know the CKA kids can answer this because they just memorized Romans 2:28-29, For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.
And so even before God called Abram out of Haran, he was already winning souls from those around him. So much so that they were willing to fight for Abram and be circumcised as grown men. That takes some measure of faith!
Abram was what we could call, an evangelist, a church planter. “Apostle to the Canaanites” is a title we could give him. He had been doing this in Haran, and now God is promising to bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him. A promise that belongs to all of us who keep covenant with Christ.
Finally, in verses 7-9, the Lord appears to Abram, and starts to give him some of those details about the land he did not previously have.
Verses 7-9 – God appears to Abram
7And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.
8And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.
9And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
Now in your bulletin you can see this illustrated on the map. Abram left Haran and went south about 400 miles to Shechem. And it is at Shechem that God appears to him, and says, Unto thy seed will I give this land.
Now Abram does not yet know how this will happen, or when it will happen, he is only told that it will happen. And in response to this promise of a seed to inherit the land, Abram builds an altar unto the Lord.
He does the same thing 20 miles south, between Bethel and Ai, and in the next chapter, after his exodus from Egypt, he will build an altar at Hebron (35 miles south of Bethel).
So at 75 years old, Abram is a traveling evangelist, calling upon God, and building altars of worship throughout a land that God has promised him, but which is presently inhabited by Canaanites.
And it is significant that Abram builds 2 altars then a third, because the law says, in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word/matter shall be established (Deut. 19:15, Matt. 18:16).
So an altar is a confirmatory sign, a memorial of witness, a place for sacrificial worship unto the true and living God. This is Abram’s way of planting a flag in the ground, and putting the Canaanites on notice, that their land belongs to Christ, the seed of the woman, who shall crush the serpent’s head.
Now how long does it take for these promises to be fulfilled? How long until those humble altars of earth, become the literal geographic inheritance of Abram’s offspring? Over 400 years.
And this is where faith must be married with patience and hope. Because God tells Abram in Genesis 15:13-16, “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs [referring to Egypt], and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age [he will die at 175 years old]. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
And Stephen the Martyr says in Acts 7:5, God gave him no inheritance in [the land], not even enough to set his foot on.
And so do you have same patience and faith as Abraham? Is your heart set on earthly things, or heavenly things? This world, or the world to come?
It says in Hebrews 11:9-16, By faith [Abraham] dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God…These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return [that is to Shechem, and Bethel, Ai and Hebron]. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
Conclusion
What is God commanding of you today? What has God promised to those who love Him? What is God calling Christ Covenant Church to be in this community?
He is calling you to forsake the world, the flesh, and the devil.
He is calling you to live in hope of that heavenly country, that celestial city, that worldwide inheritance that Jesus Christ died to secure.
Abram built altars for worship on earth, because by them he could lead the Canaanites, and lead his household, into the true and heavenly promised land. And this is what we are doing when we start churches, when we build Christian households, and preach the good news of forgiveness in Jesus, to our neighbors and all who will hear.
We are announcing to them that Jesus Christ is LORD, and Chehalis is Christ’s possession. There may be Canaanites in the land, but their days are numbered. And by God’s grace, those unbelievers shall be converted and subdued to King Jesus.
This is all signified by the first man named Jesus in the Bible, you probably know him as Joshua (which is the Hebrew name for Jesus), who living 400 years after God’s promise to Abram, conquered Shechem, Bethel, Ai, Hebron, and divided the land to Abram’s descendants.
And so I charge dear saints of God, as God charged Joshua before he took the land, Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
And so may He, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Babel & The City of GodSunday, October 11th, 2026Twentieth Sunday After PentecostChrist Covenant Church – Centralia, WAGenesis 11:1–9, Ezekiel 48:30–35
Prayer
O Father, we thank You for the revelation of Your Son, who by his death and resurrection has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, to create in Himself one new man from the scattered and divided tribes of the earth, thus making peace. Grant us this peace, as Your kingdom advances, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
How many acres of land do you own? Zero acres? Maybe you rent. Half and acre. 5 acres. 100 acres. More?
What if God gave you 50 square miles of land, that is 32,000 acres? What would you do with it? How would you organize, divide, and arrange that land so that people would want to live there? Where would you build the city? What would you call it? Where would you put the farmland, the forests, the pasture, the houses, the neighborhoods, and the grocery stores? How would you write the zoning laws for what could be built and where?
In the two passages I just read, Genesis 11 and Ezekiel 48, we have two competing visions for what a land and a city should be.
On one hand there is the Babel Vision, with a tall tower that stretches up towards heaven. And then there is Ezekiel’s Vision, where heavenly blueprints descend down to earth, and God shows us how He arranges 50 square miles of land around His Holy sanctuary.
If you look at the graphic I have put in your bulletin, there is a central square there, in between the two territories of the Prince. And that square measures about 50 square miles, and just for comparison, that is about the same land mass as all of Tacoma.
That is what is God is showing to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 40-48, and this morning I want to compare and contrast these two rival visions for what society can be. There is the Babelic vision to build a tower and a name for oneself. And then there is God’s Vision, with a sanctuary for true worship from which living waters flow, and then south of that Sanctuary is a city whose name is The LORD is there.
So as we are about to move from one city to another, from Centralia to Chehalis, I want us to consider some of the practical lessons contained here in Genesis 11 and in Ezekiel’s vision.
Outline of the Sermon
In order to set these two rival visions side by side, we are going to ask and answer three questions of each building project, that capture its essence. Those three questions are:
Q1. Where do they build?
Q2. What do they build?
Q3. Why do they build?
So starting with the Babel Project, where was the city and tower of Babel built?
Q1. Where do they build?
We read in Genesis 11:1-2
1And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
2And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
First recall the context of Genesis 11. It is about 100 years after the flood. God reduced the entire population of the earth down to 8 people, Noah and his family. And after the flood subsides it says in Genesis 9:1, So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”
So God’s charge to Noah has not changed even after the fall, and even after the flood. The commission God gave to Adam and Eve in the Garden, is re-commissioned to Noah and His sons as they step out of the ark.
God still wants a world full of image bearers who reflect His Triune glory and who exercise dominion over the earth.God intends for Noah and his sons and their wives to fill the earth with true worshippers of the true God, and to especially not repeat the same wickedness, idolatry, and disobedience that provoked God to flood the earth in the first place.
So the marching orders for this reboot of the human race is: Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. That is go out, cultivate the land, plant vineyards, plant gardens, raise cattle, dig in the earth for gold, silver, and precious stones, make tools, make musical instruments and offer all your first fruits to God.
God wants Noah’s descendants to beautify and offer the creation back to God in worship. They are to be good stewards of a new world that has just been washed clean.
Now 100 years go by, and a lot can change in 100 years. Can you imagine living in 1926? It was a different world! And depending on how quickly children were born and spaced, there would only have been perhaps a few thousand people on earth when the tower of Babel was built (estimates range anywhere from 1,000 on the low end to 10,000 at the high end). Whatever the case, when it says in verse 1, the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech, it is describing a world population that is almost certainly less than 10,000 people.
Now we are told in verse 2 that they journeyed from the east and chose to settle in the plain in the land of Shinar (שִׁנְעָ֖ר). This is the where for the city and tower of Babel.
Now what does this name Shinar mean? In Hebrew it means something like shaking teeth, or teeth city. And this word for teeth in Hebrew (Shen) shares a root with the Hebrew word for gate (Shaar). And if you think about it, what are teeth but the gate of the mouth?And this is curious since this whole passage is about man’s mouth and speech and what comes out of it.
In verse 1 it says more literally, the whole earth had one language and one lip. And so there is a lot of Hebrew wordplay going on here as God is about to scatter and divide the proud tongues of men.
So Genesis 11:1-9 is really about man’s mouthy rebellion against the Most High God, and what God does to those who exalt themselves against Him.
So the name Babel, which means confusion, is built in the land of Shinar, shaking teeth.
And perhaps this idea of shaking teeth should remind us of what Jesus says in the gospels. That those who do evil will be cast into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is the land of Shinar, where the ungodly children of men try to build a city in defiance of God. What Satan tried to do as an angel and fell, so also man now tries to do, and will fall.
What about God’s city in Ezekiel 40-48. Where is that built?
First recall that Ezekiel is seeing everything in a vision. And so really the location of God’s city is in the mind of God. It is in the bosom of the Father who begets the eternal Word, and from which the Holy Spirit of love proceeds. The Triune God is the inheritance, the holy land, the true sanctuary and city, for those who desire eternal life.
As we sing in Psalm 46, God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble…There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
Now if you read these chapters in Ezekiel carefully, you will notice that God never tells Ezekiel, He never tells Israel, to build any of what He is showing them. Instead, He tells them to measure it, study it, contemplate its form and its arrangements. As He says in Ezekiel 43:10, Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern.
And so God is using earthly geographic structures, forms, buildings, to teach us what it means to be holy as He is holy.
Ezekiel is seeing in a vision, what our father Abraham could only apprehend by faith.
As it says in Hebrews 11:13-16, These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better [country], that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
What does God say to Abram in Genesis 15:1, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
So mark this difference between the City of Babel, and the City of God. Babel is city a of man’s fleshly works, where men try to climb up to heaven on their own strength, by their own ingenuity, and proud ambition.
But the City of God is built in heaven, not with human hands, but by Divine hands, and at the end of the history, that heavenly city comes down to earth. And thus Jesus says in the Beatitudes of Matthew 5, Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth…Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Heaven and earth are the inheritance of the saints. But you have to aim for heaven by humility and meekness, and then God gives you not only heaven, but earth as well. That is God’s way, and it is opposed to man’s way.
And so I ask you today, Where are you building? Where is your ambition and labor and resources being invested?
The wise mother says to her son in Proverbs 31:3, Do not give your strength to women, Nor your ways to that which destroys kings
And Jesus says in Luke 12:29-32, And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek [first] the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Do you believe this?
This brings us to our second question which is, What do they build?
Q2. What do they build?
We read in Genesis 11:3-4
3And they said one to another, Go to [Come now], let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
4And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
Notice there are three things that humanity tries to build in Shinar: A city, a tower, and a name.
And here it appears that the city is built for the sake of the tower, and the tower is being built for the sake of making them a name. Together this is how humanity imagines it can reach up to heaven and not spread out upon the earth. Organize, unite, and consolidate our efforts to climb upward. This is ultimately what every man-made false religion tries to do: get to get God on our own terms, climb to God on a rickety ladder of our own making.
God said be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. I will bless you! But they say, “No, let’s all stop here in Shinar, make bricks, and build us a city, a tower, and name for ourselves.” Let us climb up to heaven if we can.
Meanwhile, what does God show to Ezekiel?
God shows him a perfectly square sanctuary, a perfectly square city, a perfectly square land in which city and sanctuary reside, and in that city 12 gates in total, three on four sides, so that all the tribes of Israel are united in service to God.
This is very basic but a square has 4 equal sides. And this signifies the equality, justice, truth, and unity that God’s people and city are to be.
In Ezekiel 45:9-10 it says, Thus saith the Lord God; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord God. Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath.
Now one of the most significant details that Ezekiel is shown, is that the City is subordinate to the Sanctuary. And this is God’s way of telling us that Worship is of central importance to having a healthy society. The commonwealth, the culture, the city, is literally downstream of the Church. Everything exists for and revolves around the true worship of God. That is what God is picturing for us here (an eccelesiocentric commonwealth).
A second important detail is that City and Sanctuary are in different places. And it was not always this way.
In Solomon’s day, the temple was inside the city, and the king’s house was right next to God’s house, they almost shared a courtyard.
However, the kings of Judah had abused this privilege, they committed idolatry, and profaned the true worship, even transgressing at times the priestly office (King Uzziah does this in 2 Chronicles 26 and God punishes him).
And so in Ezekiel 43 God essentially says to them, we can’t be next door neighbors anymore. You’ve got to learn to distinguish rightly between City and Sanctuary, between Politics and Worship, between your house and God’s House, between the Civil realm and the Church realm.
Jesus Christ is high priest and high king, and ruler over all. But Jesus Christ governs the church in a different way than he governs the world. Jesus governs the church through Word and sacrament, through elders and discipline. And then He governs the world, the land, the city, through civil powers and civil laws. These are distinct jurisdictions, but both under Christ.
As it says in Romans 13:1-2, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
This is just one of the lessons of Ezekiel’s vision and how the land is laid out.
Moreover, notice the city is not called the City of David. Instead, it is named The LORD is there. And so God’s presence is not only in the Church, God is also present in the city of the righteous. In those who are just, equitable, honest, and upright.
What is God building today? He is building his heavenly kingdom through the preaching of the gospel, and temporal cities through the holy lives of His people.
In Ezekiel 47 there is a river of living water that flows from the sanctuary down to the dead sea. And the fountainhead of that river is the body of Jesus, who poured out the Holy Spirt at Pentecost, and who says in John 7:38, He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.
This is what you Christ Covenant Church is meant to be in Chehalis. Pure water proceeding from a pure heart, speaking pure words, that purify and give life to the dead.
You are called to this supernatural ministry, and to participate with God in His healing of the world.
Finally in closing, we can compare the competing Why’s of all this building.
Q3. Why do they build?
We are told in Genesis 11:4, that Babel was built, not only to make a name for themselves, but also lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
And so we observe here at least two sinful motives/reasons for the building of Babel: Pride and Fear.
Pride blinds us and makes us foolish, and fear can do the same.
There is a righteous fear of the LORD, which is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7). But there is another fear that arises from disobeying God, where you are afraid of God punishing you. It says of this fear in Proverbs 10:24, The fear of the wicked will come upon him, [but] the desire of the righteous will be granted.
Those who are afraid and have a bad conscience, ultimately have their fears realized. The men of Babel feared being scattered, and yet, that is exactly what happens to them.
The fear of the wicked eventually comes to pass. And so it is better to just obey God the first time, rather than digging in your feet, and erecting a monument to your pride and folly.
As Mary sings in her Magnificat in Luke 1:51-53, He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, And exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; And the rich he hath sent empty away.
In contrast to the pride and fear of Babel, there is the God who builds from sacrificial love.
What will it take for Ezekiel’s visionary city to be realized? It will take nothing less, than the humiliation and death of the Son of God.
Jesus Christ came down from heaven and suffered on the cross for things he was not guilty of. So take whatever injustices you have experienced, and then add to that all the sins of the world.That is what Jesus suffered and endured because He loves sinners, and He loves the glory of His Father.
And so God’s city is built on sacrificial love, it is built on the blood and humility of the cross of Christ.
And so that is how we must build as we move to Chehalis. We must love one another. We must humble ourselves and suffer for one another. We must forgive the people who have hurt us. Because then, and only then, can God say of our city, the name of it is The LORD is There.
May God grant you to see that day, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.