More Than Enough

More Than Enough

Exodus 36:1-7

November 10, 2019 • Mount Pleasant UMC

It is perhaps the most iconic and well-known picture to come out of World War II—the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima. While there have been accusations that someone staged this dramatic moment, the more accepted account goes something like this: Iwo Jima was a major objective during the Pacific campaign, and the invasion of the island lasted over a month. Early on in the attack, the Marines set out to capture the airfields and to also take Mount Suribachi. When six Marines raised the United States flag on top of the mountain on the fourth day of the battle, photographer Joe Rosenthal snapped this photo, which quickly became one of the most significant and recognizable images of the war. It was put onto a postage stamp that same year, won a Pulitzer Prize for Photography, and continues even now, almost 75 years later, to be an image that defines bravery and victory. Every time I see this image, I think of all it took to achieve that goal and what it would yet take to win the battle that was still ahead. It took every single person giving their all to this mission. It took every single person dedicating their resources and their very lives to winning the battle.

Dedication, resources, strength, ability—we all have those things and we give them to whatever is important to us, what matters to us. For those soldiers, winning the battle was more than a set of orders; it was a matter of personal pride and passion. Today, it’s been said you can determine what our  priorities in life are if you look at our checkbooks, our credit card statements or our calendars. We give what we have toward the things that are most important to us, and that’s at least part of what makes the passage we read this morning so amazing and so counter-cultural. This is a story from Moses’ life that is not as well-known as some of the others we have looked at, but the larger story actually takes up a huge portion of the Scriptures. What we read this morning from the life of the reluctant prophet is only a small part of a much larger narrative that details the building of the Tabernacle. What, you might ask, is the Tabernacle? It’s a big ornate tent that had a very specific purpose in the life of the people of Israel. This is part of getting Egypt out of these former slaves. Even though, as we talked about last week, they were not to make any physical representation of God, no idols, they still needed a place that focused their thoughts and devotion. God did not need a tent to live in, but they needed a reminder of God’s presence with them, and so the Tabernacle became that physical symbol, the place of worship, the center of their life as a people. Later on, when they were settled in the land, they would eventually build a Temple, a more permanent place of worship. But for now, as wanderers in the desert, they needed a tent, a moveable place of worship in which and by which they could show their devotion to the God who had rescued them.

So this section of Exodus has detailed instructions about the construction of this Tabernacle, and a lot of ink has been spilled by scholars picking apart what each symbol and each instruction meant and means. That’s not what I want to do this morning; there’s a time and place for that sort of study, but it’s not today. Rather, let’s focus on the artisans and the offering, two things that were not only important to what happened in ancient Sinai, but also have something to say to us yet today.

We first meet these two men, Bezalel and Oholiab, back in chapter 31. where God specifically sets them apart to make all the things God had in mind for the Tabernacle. Bezalel, we’re told, has been blessed to be able to make stuff, all kinds of crafts. He has the ability I wish I had, the abilities that some of you have and that I am envious of. I can envision all sorts of creative things, but when it comes to actually doing it, drawing it, making it—well, my results are less than spectacular. But Bezalel, like some of you, had tremendous creative talent in gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood. Then there’s Oholiab, the one who is appointed to be Bezalel’s assistant. What is his special talent? He can make things as well, but in chapter 35 we learn he also has “the ability to teach others” (35:34). He will learn from Bezalel and then he will help others learn what to do so that everything comes out just the way God intended.

When it comes to building the Tabernacle, no one person can do it all, and that’s not God’s plan anyway. God calls all sorts of people and gifts them, fills them with his Spirit, and calls them to participate in the mission he has given them. Ultimately, building the Tabernacle is not Moses’ job, and it’s not Bezalel’s job, or Oholiab’s. It’s the job of the community, leaders and artisans and builders alike, each using their special gifts and the ways the Spirit of God has gifted them, together for a greater project or mission. That same idea carries over into the New Testament; Paul talks about it in terms of believers being given gifts of the Spirit. When we become followers of Jesus, the Holy Spirit fills us and gives us gifts and abilities to help accomplish the mission Jesus sends us on. But the Spirit does not give anyone all the gifts. Pastors are not called to do all the work, nor are Leadership Council members. The whole body of Christ is called to the mission—all of us. Paul put it this way: “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully” (Romans 12:4-8). We have different gifts and abilities given to us by God (there are no “self-made people”). And all of our gifts and abilities are given to us “for the good of the church and the glory of God” (Wiersbe, Be Delivered, pg. 234 Apple Books edition).

So Bezalel and Oholiab are gifted, empowered by the Spirit of God, to lead the work, but they do not have all the resources needed to get it done. They don’t have the stones, gold, bronze and so on to be able to build what needs to be built. So Moses issues a call to the people to share what they have. We don’t have a record of the speech Moses made or the email he sent out, but I imagine it went something like this: “Friends, we have a big project ahead of us. God has called us to build a place of worship. We’re going to call it Mount Pleasant Tabernacle or something like that; actually, we’ll figure that out later. Anyway, what we need you to do to get behind this project is to donate materials (see the attached list of what we need). I realize not everyone can build or design, but we can all do a part by donating out of what we have so that the mission can be completed. Thank you in advance for what you will do! Sincerely, Mo.” Moses recognizes and acknowledges in some way that this Tabernacle is a project that’s going to take the whole community to complete. It’s bigger than any one of them, so Moses invites them to participate by bringing some of what they have to help it come to pass.

So what happens? Adam Hamilton says what takes place next is “every pastor’s dream of a capital campaign!” (Moses, pg. 135). Let me explain why. People responded by coming every morning to Moses and bringing what they wanted to donate off of the list of things that were needed. Moses would wake up every morning to a line of people wanting to donate. He, in turn, would take the donations over to Bezalel and Oholiab so that every day they had more material to work with. We don’t know how long this went on, exactly. What we do know is this: Moses had to tell them to stop. Bezalel and crew tell Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done” (36:5). And so Moses goes back to the people, who are still bringing donations, and asks them to stop. “Don’t make anything else for the Tabernacle,” he tells them, and the text actually says they had to restrain people from bringing more. They had to hold people back. Moses had to stop them because the builders had too much (cf. 36:7). The text literally says they had “much more than enough,” “enough and some left over,” and “all that is needed.” The people responded with overflowing blessing; this is “generosity run rampant” (cf. Brueggemann, “The Book of Exodus,” New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 1, pg. 962).

I’m just going to say it: I would love to have that problem. I would love to have to call each and every one of you and say, “Please don’t bring your offering on Sunday; we don’t need it because we already have too much.” But, in nearly 27 years of ministry, I’ve never had to do that, and I don’t personally know any pastor who has had to do that, either, in any denomination. But wouldn’t that be great? Wouldn’t that be the best problem to have? One of the things I love about the Operation Christmas Child packing party we’re having downstairs this morning is how we live out this story with that project. All year long, Ginger lists in the bulletin what is needed and we bring those items in. Thanks to the Woodard family, when we get to this day, everything is organized, categorized and sorted so we can come together and pack over 500 boxes in a short time. It’s a great demonstration of the way we come together to do what we couldn’t do by ourselves. On my own, I couldn’t pack a box of items for a child halfway around the world and then deliver it to them in time for Christmas. But by partnering with each other and with Samaritan’s Purse, we can make that happen for 500 children who otherwise would have no Christmas to look forward to. We’re asked to give, we do, and lives are changed because you bring more than enough.

Bezalel and Oholiab answered the call to use their gifts in leadership, but everyone had a part. Moses asked the people to give, and they responded in overwhelming fashion. As far as I know, this is the only offering like this in history. But that doesn’t mean it’s the only offering like this that could ever happen. What would it take for such a thing to happen again? Maybe we need to answer a more basic question first: why do we give? Why do we give what we give to God? In religious practice in general, there are two motives behind our need or desire to give. The first is to get something from the gods. “I give so that you may give.” I would call this “Let’s Make a Deal.” In other words, we give so that the gods will give us what we want. This was rampant through the ancient world and it included acts such as temple prostitution. It was believed in many ancient cultures that if you wanted fertile fields and abundant crops, you would go and pay a fee at the temple then sleep with the temple prostitute. This ritual was supposed to guarantee you a good harvest. Or you would do certain rituals and if you do this or that or gave this or that then the god had to give you what you wanted. It’s manipulation at its finest, and it still shows up today when we “make deals” with God. “If you do this, God, I will go to church every Sunday for a month.” Or, “If you get me out of this, God, I will donate this much to charity.” And on it goes. When we “make a deal” with God, we’re trying to manipulate him and get something out of it for ourselves.

The other motive that causes us to give (the Biblical motive) is the mirror image of “Let’s Make a Deal.” It might be summed up this way: “I give because you have given.” We’re not trying to get something; we’re responding in gratitude for what God has given (cf. deSilva, Sacramental Life, pgs. 156-157). It’s a recognition that everything actually belongs to God in the first place. It’s remembering that whatever we have came from God to begin with. It’s Paul’s question to the Corinthians: “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). The answer is: “Nothing.” Everything we have is a gift from God; we give what we give as an act of gratitude for those gifts. That’s what is happening in Moses’ story—overwhelming gratitude. We give of what we have, then, as we remember God’s forgiving generosity and in anticipation of God’s full presence (cf. Brueggemann 962). We give in response to all that God has done for us and, in some way, when we give, we experience God’s presence. The people of Israel are finally beginning to “get it” in this passage (though they, like us, will stumble again and again in the future). They are responding to the gracious work of God in their midst. God has been so good to them, so they give back to him and his work.

I’ve believed for over a quarter of a century that if we become passionate about the mission, we will put our resources behind that mission. I still believe that. Whatever we get excited about, whatever we become passionate about, we will throw everything we have behind it. For over a quarter of a century, I’ve endeavored to get the church excited about the mission of Jesus Christ for the world. Our mission—you hear me say it often—our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. But maybe those are nice-sounding words without much meaning. Are we actually doing anything about it? Let me just tell you what I see, week in and week out here at Mount Pleasant. A week ago yesterday, I sat here and watched as many of our special needs folks took to the stage in their talent show, and I marveled at the courage it took for each and every one of them to perform a song or a dance or a skit. More than that, I saw in each of them a confidence that no matter what they did, God loved them because that’s the message they get to hear every week through Grace Unlimited. I watched two weeks ago as over a thousand people came through our parking lot for Trunk or Treat, including 114 families that were not connected to a local church, 114 families we get to follow up on. A little over a week ago, I got to watch the preschool harvest program and hear preschoolers share Bible verses they are learning as a part of their class work. I thought of that verse from Proverbs (I learned it in the KJV): “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (22:6). When words from Scripture get into their hearts and minds, they won’t be able to forget them. God’s word is never planted without results (cf. Isaiah 55:11).

One of the things I love to do is to walk through the building on Wednesday evenings. I will stop by the kids’ choir, who are practicing at this point to sing for Jingle Jam, and they not only sing, they often do service projects. I will eat dinner with the youth groups—middle school and high school—as they get ready for their small group studies. Jess and a team of volunteers are investing in the lives of those youth, a time investment that I know will reap great dividends. I’ll walk upstairs, giving thanks for the adults who have cooked a meal for the youth, and then I hear the praise team practicing. And I’m also aware that evening there is a men’s group meeting and a young adult group meeting, both off campus, but both seeking to grow more like Jesus. That’s just one evening, when this building is full of activities that are seeking to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

I also think about Yarn Spinners, a group of ladies who make throws and blankets that are sent out to remind people of God’s love and your prayers for them. I think of our Missions team, who work throughout the year to support several missionaries and projects literally around the world. I remember the eleven LifeGroups that are currently meeting, sharing life and growing together. I think about Celebrate Recovery, meeting here twice a week to help people take steps away from addiction and toward Jesus. And if that’s not enough, some of the leadership of Celebrate go twice a month into the county jail to help prepare inmates for life outside confinement, to help them find healthy and spiritual ways to deal with their addiction. I think of Upward Sports and the fact that we get to share Biblical principles every week with kids and their adults. I think of the four Scout troops we charter at this church, and the ways they help behind the scenes in the life of the church. And I think of our newest ministry, Friendship House, which is not only touching lives and learning about life in community, but they are reaching out beyond the walls of their house and making connections with neighbors in ways that have the potential to change the neighborhood they are in. All of those things are what it looks like to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Each and every one of those things, I believe, are things that Mount Pleasant Church has been called to. These things are ways we are seeking to respond to and live out our mission.

At the same time, it’s no secret that this year has been a challenge financially here at the church. I’ve had several people share different theories as to why this has been so, and some of them may even be accurate. There are a lot of trends about churches and about giving in the general culture that I’m aware of, but I’ve also realized we can’t change what has happened or even what is happening in the larger world. What we have to deal with, and what your Leadership Council has been trying to manage, is where we are now and how we move forward. As I said, I still believe that we get behind what we truly believe in. We give to whatever is important to us. We support what matters to us. The Biblical principle is this: God’s people are called to support God’s work with their time, talents and treasure, just as we saw in the story from Moses’ life. My hope is that we would live to again see a day like Bezalel and Oholiab experienced: when we can say, “We have more than enough to do the work God has called us to do.”

So, my friends, here is my question this morning: what will it take for us to move the needle, to say together we want to move forward in this mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world? Are we tired of living in scarcity when we worship the God who owns it all? What will it take for us to literally buy-in to the mission? This morning, as we do every year about this time, we’re going to ask you to fill out a commitment card for the coming year. It’s a simple question: what commitment will you make to God and your church in 2020? There are many ways we can engage in ministry next year and in the years to come, but it is all dependent upon the support of this part of the body of Christ. We can move forward, or we can continue to worry every month if we will have enough to pay our bills. The budget that the Leadership Council is working on basically holds the line; there are no raises and no unnecessary changes to line items. So the Council is trying to be responsible and responsive to what they are hearing from the congregation. Now, it’s in your hands and mine.

One of the things I love about this story from Moses’ life is that the people came every morning with their offerings (cf. 36:3). It was the first thing they did when they got up. It wasn’t something that waited until the end of the day; they began with an offering of gratitude to God. They sanctified the day by giving what they had first thing. My friend, Biblical scholar David deSilva, has a great suggestion for incorporating our giving into every day, somewhat like these folks did. deSilva suggests that, once we have made our commitments of how much we will give, figure out approximately what percentage of your workweek that represents. Then, designate a block of time that represents that percentage—maybe immediately before lunch or during a morning break time—the time that will be spent earning what you will give, and focus during that time on worshipping God in and through your work. That way, you’re giving gratitude in a variety of ways and integrating your spiritual life into everyday life (cf. 158). That, to me, seems a good way to live out the story of Exodus 36 beyond just filling out a commitment card (though we want you to do that, too).

“The people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning…Then 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.’…because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work” (36:3, 6-7). In response, this is my prayer: "Do it again, God. Do it again!”

Now, before we pray, let’s pull out the pledge cards in your bulletin and prepare to make our “more than enough” commitments to God for 2020.