A reading from the book of Exodus.
Moses did everything just as the Lord had commanded him.
The Tabernacle was set up in the first month of the second year.
On the first day of the month, Moses set up the Tabernacle.
He laid its spaces, positioned its supports, inserted its
crossbars, and set up its pillars.
Then he spread the tent over the Tabernacle and put the covering
of the tent on top of it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Moses took the testimony and placed it on the ark and
attached the poles to the ark. He set the mercy seat on top of
the ark. He brought the ark into the
Tabernacle, put up the curtain for the screen, and screened off
the ark of the testimony, just as the Lord had commanded him.
Moses placed the table in the tent of meeting on the north
side of the Tabernacle, outside the curtain.
He arranged the bread on it before the Lord, just as the
Lord had commanded him. He put the lamp stands in the
tent of meeting opposite the table on the South side of the
Tabernacle and set up the lamps before the Lord, just as the
Lord had commanded him. Moses installed the gold altar
in the tent of meeting in front of the curtain and burned
fragrant incense on it, just as the Lord had commanded him.
He put up the screen at the entrance to the Tabernacle.
He placed the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the
Tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and offered the burnt offering
and the grain offering on it, just as the Lord had commanded
him. He set the basin between the
tents of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing.
Moses, Aaron and his sons washed their hands and feet from it.
They washed whenever they came to the tent of meeting and
approached the altar, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Next, Moses set up the surrounding courtyard for the
Tabernacle and the altar and hung a screen for the gate of
the courtyard. So Moses finished the work, the
cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the
Lord filled the Tabernacle. Moses was unable to enter the
tent of meeting because the cloud rested on it and the glory
of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.
The Israelites set out whenever the cloud was taken up from the
Tabernacle throughout all the stages of the journey.
If the cloud was not taken up, they did not set out until the
day it was taken up, for the cloud of the Lord was over the
Tabernacle by day, and there was a fire inside the cloud by
night, visible to the entire House of Israel throughout all
the stages of the journey, the word of the Lord.
Let us pray together. And now we come to you, our God,
thanking you that you have chosen to meet us in this place.
And when you meet us, you address us, you speak to us, you
speak to our hearts. Now we invite you, Lord, to
continue doing the sale. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
You can have your seats. It's common for people who have
relationships and same purpose and passions to travel together
on common journeys, which can take many forms.
It can be a family vacation or maybe a honeymoon, or maybe a
mission trip or a study abroad program or even a retreat for
workers. But whatever this whatever form
these journeys may take, they are more than moving from one
place to another. They reflect A deeper longing
for connection and shared purposes and meaningful
experiences. The Exodus reading that we have
taken, you can turn to that in your bulletin or in the Bible.
We see Israel moving in the desert towards the promised land
of Kalan, and God had delivered them from slavery.
Now He was with them on a journey, and He was their
companion on that journey and He was with them on every step of
the journey. And this is the powerful
reminder for us all that God does not only send us out on
journeys, but also He wants to journey with us at every state.
The journey of Israel mirrors our journey as a church because
we are called the ecclesia word that typically means those who
are called out, the called out ones.
God has called us out in very many ways to journey with Him,
to be set up, to be set up, to be set up apart away from sin,
but also to walk in fellowship with one another and to be salt
and light in the world. We are on a journey, and this
reading in Exodus teaches us and illustrates to us that God is
always faithful to journey with His people, both in the previous
but also in the present. And God is also calling us to a
response in light of that aspect of Him.
Journey with us. Therefore, there are two
important question that I want us to think about in light of
the fact that God is always journeying with us.
The first question is what is God is called on us on this
journey and how do we design this call?
And then secondly, what does it mean for God to journey with us
and how is His presence made known to us along the journey?
I want you to imagine using Google Maps to a place that you
don't know, which you are not familiar of.
And when you enter in the address, the service will show
you the direction. Not at once.
It will give you a step by step direction as you move and when
you take the next turn, that's when the service shows you where
you are supposed to take on next.
And when you stop moving, then the navigator will stop guiding
you until when you have proceeded further.
This is how I want us to imagine the journey of the Israelites.
God was moving with them using this divine navigation system.
They knew their destination, it was Canaan, but they didn't know
exactly how it was going to work out.
They didn't have the entire route which they were going to
take. God was guiding them one step at
a time, revealing to them that this is where I want to go at
the specific moment when they wanted direction.
This idea of God leading us step by step and not giving us a
comprehensive, detailed plan seems challenging for us in many
ways, especially in our world today.
In our culture, we value clear goals and predictable results.
We are used to having aspects like 5 year plans and entire
plans. But oftentimes God is ways
unfolds in a slow way. It is quite unpredictable
sometimes. And sometimes even the things
that we feel are clear, they not they may not be as clear as we
feel. Therefore, it is painful to us
in many ways to experience this slow movement where God calls us
to experience Him slowly and steadily.
But also our world esteems things like planning tools and
we have thought that we can plan anything and we know about the
future. We crave to have certainty and
control. We don't feel when we are
threatened with uncertainty. We feel that it's not
comfortable for us. We want to know every aspect of
the journey of the path. It is challenging for us to have
an experience of uncertainty, but God is calling us to trust
Him every step by step. We are not the ones in charge.
It is God who is in charge. And now at this moment of the
journey with the Israelites, God calls them to build him a sacred
place. They didn't think about this
when they were living, but now God tells them build for me a
sacred space in form of a tent. This was the mobile sanctuary
that we refer to as the Tabernacle.
From that Hebrew word that basically means a dwelling
place, which has deeper meaning because God now wanted to live
amongst the people to live with them.
The other words that have been used to define or to describe
this structure, which suggests many other meanings.
For instance, it's called a tent, suggesting that it was a
movable structure. It's also called a tent of
meeting, suggesting that God wanted to meet the people in
that tent. And when God asks these people
to build this Tabernacle, it was not just a command to build a
structure. God wanted to form a
relationship with these people. He was on a journey with them,
but he was not just interested in them reaching the promised
land of Canaan. God wanted to form them into a
people who lived in His presence day by day.
In the same way, many times when we are journeying with God, we
think about specific destinations, attaining that
career, having a wonderful worship space like the one we
have, achieving that goal or that future dream.
Whenever we are preoccupied with just the future, it robs us of
enjoying the presence of the God in that very moment where we are
going. When we focus about only the
future, we miss the present, the joys of the journey, but also
the formation that goes along on the journey where God is
stressing us. Moses, the spiritual guide of
these people who was taking them, He was able to be signed
the instructions of the Lord and to know that it's time to build
the Tabernacle. And he followed these
instructions in detail. He passed them, They passed the
instructions over to the people, and they responded by bringing
all the things that were required.
But also they are skills to build the Tabernacle.
And now at Exodus 4016, the work is complete and the camera
focuses again on Moses. He's on the center to oversee
the assembly and the construction of this structure
and this moment entails fulfilling all the commands of
the Lord. It highlights extreme obedience
of the Lord because there is a repeated phrase that is repeated
for over 7 times in the 17 chapters.
In the 17 verses we have read, it says Moses did just as the
Lord had commanded. This repetition emphasizes Moses
is full obedience. He obeyed God to the very
detail. Moses's task can be thought
about as putting together a complex puzzle.
Every piece had a place and a purpose, and he was supposed to
take care to observe that all elements are put together in
their specific places. He set up the frames and their
coverings. He placed the Ark of the
Covenant behind the inner veil of the Holy of Holies.
He added the table of the bread of presents and the lamp stand
and the altar of incense. And then he hung up the veil.
And then he set up the altar of bat of rings and the washing
basin on the outer court, and then finally put up the screen
of the gate. And each structure was arranged
according to God is plan purposefully and on plan.
And at the end there is this wonderful praise where it says,
so Moses finished the work and then the puzzle was together.
When we put together a puzzle, every piece that we put up means
something. You cannot understand the
puzzle, not until when all the parts have been put together.
We shouldn't try to judge life because of the simple pieces of
the puzzle. Sometimes we only have the small
pieces of the puzzle. We don't have the entire
picture. But when we try to understand
without seeing the entire picture, we miss it up.
In the same way, God often gives us just pieces of the puzzle.
We might we might not have the entire picture.
He gives us all the pieces to fit along the way.
And we walk in obedience even by putting up those small pieces
that we have. And then at one time when we
have proceeded in the journey, we can look back.
And when we see all the things that have happened, then we
appreciate the entire picture and we enjoy what God has been
doing in our lives, even when you don't have the entire
picture. We shouldn't cease trusting in
Him, working with Him, putting down the small pieces that He
has given us, not until when later when we shall have the
full meaning of the entire pieces that God has been giving
us in our lives to lay on the journey as we are working with
Him. But of course Moses was blessed
because for him he had the entire plan of the structure
that he was building. For us in many ways we don't
have the entire plan for what God is calling us to do.
Many times we don't have the detailed plan.
It is like driving in a fog and you only have your headlights.
They only see one next drive you and but when you trust your
headlights, you can continue on driving till when you reach
home, even when you don't see the entire length of the road
that you are driving. That is what God does for us.
Many times in our lives we only see the details that are enough
to sail us to the next station, but as we proceed on, we can
slowly and steadily reach our destination.
For instance, if we were to ask me how did I design that I
should pursue advanced theological education, I will
tell you that I pass. I discerned this along the
ordinary rhythms of Christian life.
I was a fine art teacher who responded to a call to be born
again. And after that call I had a call
now to church ministry, and I enrolled as a lay reader.
And then after a time, I realized I needed Father
theological training. And along the way, as I was
training for ministry, I realized that there is a lack of
trainers of theologians and pastors in my Ugandan context.
And then when the doors opened up for advanced training, I
realized that this is God is called for me.
And I entered into those doors. And here I am still training and
trusting God that as I continue all in this step, God is plan is
being unfolded in my life. I have learned that faithfulness
in the present step is the preparation for the next step.
The signing God is call oftentimes feels like that.
We don't have the full picture of the journey, but God gives us
the light that we need for the next step and He invites us to
continue trusting and resting in His guidance in spite of having
smaller light that we are walking and following with Him.
This is what Apostle Paul says, that we walk by faith, not by
sight. Faith is trusting in the one who
calls us to move forward despite of having all the answers.
We ought to continue following on in the journey.
But now let's explore this aspect of God is presence with
us along the way because we read that then the cloud covered the
tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.
This divine manifestation of God was both to express His
pleasure, but also His presence to the people.
God was pleased with all the obedience of the people, Moses
and the people He was. God was pleased.
And then now this cloud fills the Tabernacle.
It's like a holy embrace. God is coming to embrace the
people and to kiss them and tell them well done.
You have done it all, just as I expected you to do it.
Many times God meets us at finishing points of our lives.
He even meets us today with embrace and with cheer for the
faithfulness that we display and we portray.
And he says well done, good and faithful servant.
But I ought to say that in our lives many times we don't esteem
and we take. We don't have a full
understanding of faithfulness. Sometimes faithfulness does not
lead to immediate rewards which are visible.
Sometimes we will go on faithfully labouring and
working, but there are no rewards.
There is nothing like a portrait of success and influence and
measurable impact. Yet God still expects us to
continue serving Him even in the quiet and unslow ways where
faithfulness cannot be seen by the people.
God does not measure our obedience by the outcomes that
we see because we have been faithful.
But even in the quiet and the silent, God still esteems our
faithfulness. Now we read that God after
seeing their faithfulness, there is this cloud and fire that
ascended upon them and upon the structure, and God is presence.
Was there they needed? God is guidance.
They needed him for the unfamiliar path that they we are
moving in, but also they needed God, his presence for protection
and for reminder of him being with them as the people of the
covenant, we as Christian pilgrimage, we might not find
all those spectacular ways of God being with us in clouds and
in and in fire, but yet still God is with us guiding us day by
day. He has given us his very
presence in the Tabernacle of his Son Jesus Christ.
This is whom John writes about in the Gospel, saying the Word
became flesh and he built amongst us, and we have seen His
glory, the glory of the only Son from the Father, full of grace,
the light of men, the light that shines in the darkness, and the
darkness has not overcome it. The true light which gives light
to everyone. This Jesus, the glory of God,
the light of all people, still invites us to make room for Him
and space for Him in our daily rhythms of life.
We are not supposed to build physical tents for Him, but we
are supposed to open up our hearts for Him, our communities
for Him. Our choices are supposed to be
made in light of Him and as we proceed on giving Him room in
our lives, He continues to be manifested.
In our day-to-day lives, in our routines, in our relationships,
in our workplaces, He continues on to be manifested.
We are still like Israel, a people on a journey.
Our journey is still going on. We are moving on, but God is
presence is with us. And when I say that God embraces
us, embraces our faithfulness, He does not only wait for us at
the finishing line to say well done, good and faithful servant.
He even walks along with us in those small steps of
faithfulness that we take. He's pleased with us to continue
working with us. He does not only reward us at
the finishing line, but he's also a companion with us on the
road as we continue moving with him.
So the question is not that whether God desires to dwell
with us, but the question is for us to prepare a room for Him to
dwell and live with us. We should create that space for
Him. For Him.
He's already open and willing to dwell and live with us, but it's
upon us to create a room for Him.
He's ready to guide us in His Word through His Spirit, but
also through His people, as long as we'll come and give Him room
to do that in our lives. Therefore, God is calling us for
faithfulness in many ways. He wants us to open our doors,
to allow Him to dwell with us, to experience Him day by day.
There are many various spiritual practices that we can cultivate
in our lives that can enable us to have an encounter with the
presence of God. One of the ways that have been
powerful in my life is has been through prayer, allowing God
opening up myself in prayer. I will share with you that one
of the most meaningful ways of encountered God in prayer is
through videos. I love spending night time in
worship spaces like this. But when I am unable in my home,
I say I will not sleep in my bedroom.
I will sleep anywhere else, deny my comfort and then sleep
elsewhere. And then when I'm there, I'm not
just sleeping, I pray silently and sometimes loudly.
And of course the body needs rest.
Sometimes I feel asleep. I want, I'm tired, I want to
rest. Then I can, I can doze off.
But sometimes even as I'm dozing off, I'm still enjoying the
presence of the Lord. Those nights have been good to
me. God has met me in those nights.
God has spoken to me in those nights.
Because as I'm lying up, there is a contemplative aspect that
is moving on in my mind. And God has directed me.
God has given me wonderful visions.
God has given me encouragement for ministry.
He has empowered me even for glorious ministries that are
around. With the simple ministries, I'm
calling them glorious, but things that I couldn't do in my
own physical power, things that God has met me with His own
presence, just as I open up my space to welcome Him and to wait
upon Him in prayer. Another way that I can recommend
and I can share with you is by gratitude in journaling, writing
up the things that you are thankful to that the things that
God has done in your lives and trying to meditate.
What do they imply about God is character and his presence?
Let me tell you one one scenario.
I had a popular witch. When I speak about witches, I
had a popular witch that was threatening my life.
This witch I had had daughter whom she had dedicated onto
spirits and whatever things. So I LED this daughter to
Christ. And later I discipled the
daughter and we we, we burnt the fetishes she had given the
daughter. And then this witch began moving
around threatening me. That preacher is going to die.
He's going to die. And he was the popular witch.
In fact, this witch, he was the popular one.
Let me just tell you. So I began feeling afraid and it
commented that the witch is going to to harm me.
And then in one of those nights I've spoken to you about God
challenged me to to write a journal and in that journey told
me write the things I have done in your life.
And what do they imply about me? I wrote around 3 and when I
wrote, I stopped at 3:00 because I realized that God had even
saved me early around from even similar occasions like those
ones. So the moment I continue to
journal, I realized that God is present with me.
I shouldn't fear. And I just confessed my my
timidness to God and I said, God, I am sorry.
I don't fear this switch because you have served me in the
previous. You are around me, you are
protecting me. You are present with me, so
popular journaling can be a good way of writing the things that
you are grateful for and then thanking God for all those
things and realizing that God is around you and surrounding you.
But of course, when I speak about God is present with us and
he will speak to us and he will address us.
I don't say that even in times when God is silent, it doesn't
mean that God is not there. Even when he's silent, God is
still there. We shouldn't assume that his
silence means that he's disengaged.
We are not enjoying fellowship with him because he's silent.
God is near sometimes. He's not speaking to us.
He's not present with us in ways that we expect, but still He's
there with us even on the nights when I say I will spend time
with Him, even if I don't have contemplative revelations, it
doesn't mean that God is not there.
He's there, but maybe He's meeting me in another way,
contrary to the usual way of experiencing those wonderful
contemplation visions. So His presence is always there
with us in quiet moments. Sometimes it's not through the
dramatic signs as I've been speaking about them was modest
experienced them even in those quiet moments of silence.
Still we can encounter God is presence in our lives.
So divine guidance is with us always in our lives in many
ways, as long as we open ourselves to experiencing that
guidance and experiencing that presence of the Lord.
So this is the invitation that God has for us today.
Are we going to continue on walking even when we just see
the next step? Even when we cannot see the next
step, can we continue on walking?
Are we going to continue obeying God even when the outcomes are
not certain? This is what the Israelites did.
This is what Moses did. God is still in the business of
not giving us the full plan, but He's ready to guide us as long
as we admit that God is present with us and we allow His
presence to be experienced in our lives.
I would love to call upon you even as we are praying today.
Let us spend some a meets up some time to experience the
presence of God just in meditation.
And as I lead in a moment of prayer, let us have a time to be
silent before the Lord. Dear God, we are here, you
people. We don't want to read about
these things as myths that you met people in the previous.
Even today you still meet people when they gather in your name.
And now we are here, you people, longing for You.
We want to experience Your presence even now as You are
able to do so. Come into our hearts.
Silence the fears that we come with.
Speak to us, those who are need of direction, those who are
lonely. Let us experience that You are
around us and surrounding us. And Lord, empower us for the
journey ahead of us. Even when we are uncertain about
tomorrow, we are ready to follow you.
Thank you for your Son Jesus Christ, who is our companion
always in our lives. Let your Presence continue being
with us even as you have been in the previous and even now.
The name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.