One of the defining moments in history was when God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt. Tonight, Garry got the children to re-enact this Biblical story.

We had Pharaoh and his henchmen in their ‘chariots’:

We had an angel leading the way (and then protecting the Israelites) and Moses holding forth the staff:

The Red Sea parted to let the Israelites through, but the waters came back upon the Egyptians, drowning them all. Our Israelites rejoiced just as much as the real ones at this event!

We also had a birthday to celebrate:

Two of my favourite Bible characters appear in the story of the building of the Tabernacle: Bezalel and Oholiab (Ex 31:1-11, Ex 36:1-7) Bezalel and Oholiab were the artists who would turn the detail of God’s commandments into reality. God appointed these two artists to do everything He had told Moses needed doing, They possessed a range of skills: they could work with gold, silver and bronze; they could cut and set stones; they could work in wood; they could engage in all kinds of crafts. This reminds us that there is a role for each one of us in God’s great plan. God gave Bezalel and Oholiab and other people the skill and the ability to know how to do what He wanted them to do. ‘So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded. (Ex 36:1)

I love these two characters because they remind me of the value of the arts and show how we need not only people who can announce the ‘bigger picture‘ but people who can turn these visions and dreams into reality. One of the strengths of the church is that we are not all the same. We do not all have the same gifts, personalities and calling. Moses’s job might have been to receive the instructions about the Tabernacle and all that was to go into it, but he did not have to make all those items himself. That was the work of Bezalel and Oholiab and their team of craftsmen. It’s vitally important that we do not expect square pegs to fit into round holes. It’s vitally important to know what our calling and gifts are and to work with God in these areas.

The Tabernacle could not be built by one person; it required teamwork. It required people to give generously and to work tirelessly. We read about this in Ex 35:10-19, and see that willingness and generosity are hallmarks of people who are keen to follow God in the specifics as well as in the general. Paul reminded the Corinthians that ‘if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.’ (2 Cor 8:12) There is no place for coercion, manipulation, shaming or guilt-tripping in Christian leadership. What works is when a leader like Moses can communicate a God-given vision to people and then people respond, giving what they can, doing what they can. This kind of teamwork gets things done and shows us that we all have a part to play in God’s kingdom!

This morning in our series looking at ‘The Miraculous & The Mundane’, we saw how Moses was given the task of building the tabernacle, a place where God’s glory would dwell. These detailed instructions (Ex 25-40) show us that God is interested in every aspect of our lives, giving Moses instructions about:

1. an ark of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, which would form the chest that would carry the Ten Commandments, complete with carrying rings and poles for ease of transportation (Ex 25:10-17)
2. a cover for the ark (Ex 25:18-22)
3. a table of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, complete with carrying rings and poles and golden plates and dishes to be used in services (Ex 25:23-30)
4. a lampstand with seven lamps which would represent God’s light (Ex 25:31-40)
5. curtains that would form the covering for the Tabernacle, which was essentially a tent, whose dimensions and manufacture were explained carefully (Ex 26:1-37)
6. a bronze altar and different utensils which were to be used in all the offerings prescribed by God (Ex 27:1-8)
7. a courtyard (Ex 27:9-19)
8. oil needed for the lampstands (Ex 27:20-22)
9. the priestly garments to be worn by Aaron and the other priests, including an ephod (a type of apron), a breastpiece and other garments (Ex 28:1-43)
10. how to consecrate the priests (Ex 29:1-46)
11. how to make incense and anointing oil (Ex 30:1-38)

We might not feel such things are particularly interesting, but Heb 8:5 and Heb 9:24 remind us of the heavenly aspect of this sanctuary as well and show us also that God cares about the details. Fortunately for Moses, he was not required to do this by himself; God gave him Bezalel and Oholiab as helpers and the willingness of the people in giving and in helping in practical ways all meant that the vision became a reality.

This reminds us that teamwork and diversity are essential in God’s kingdom (see Rom 12:4-8). We are all different and all needed. We may feel our contributions are insignificant and unimportant (decidedly mundane!), but the truth is there is nothing more miraculous than being the people of God, in whom He lives by His Spirit. As we serve God faithfully, our mundane is turned into the miraculous. Let’s do what Paul says: ‘whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.’ (Col 3:17) That way, we will know the blessing of God and the presence of God with us daily.

Michael Rosen, in his programme ‘Word of Mouth’ on Radio 4,  dealt with the subject of internal conversation, commonly known as ‘talking to yourself.’ This is something we all do, but it is not something we like to talk about. We may view this as entirely natural in childhood, but we often feel that it is a sign of weakness in adulthood and rarely see this processing of ideas in a useful light.

‘Internal monologue’ is not always one-sided conversation; we are perfectly capable of arguing with ourselves, adopting different positions and talking these through to try to to reach conclusions when facing decisions. Some may speak outloud; most of us have learnt to internalise these conversations, with some not even acknowledging these aspects of our thinking, often suppressing these thoughts.

Yet these conversations do exist and can be either a useful source of encouragement (as was the case in Derek Randall’s non-stop chatter during his innings of 150 for England against Australia in the fourth test at Sydney in 1979 which turned the tide in England’s favour) or (as is, alas, more frequently the case) an almost endless stream of negative commentary that ends up being utterly debilitating (‘you idiot, why did you do that? You’re useless!’)

What we say to ourselves, either about ourselves, others or our situations (and also what we say to ourselves about God), is extremely significant. This is why it is vital to check in on these internal conversations and monitor them as frequently and forthrightly as we do our audible speech to others.

What we say, whether to ourselves or to others, must pass the truth test. We must not lie to ourselves. We must not allow lies to be part of our internal conversations, for lies will skew our perspective and divert us from the paths of righteousness. We simply must not allow lies to become part of our internal conversations. All speech must be regulated by the truth of God’s word. Anything other than truth must be forcibly ejected from our speech and from our thinking.

‘I can’t help but worry. It’s who I am.’ This is a lie. When we worry, we are choosing to focus on something (real or hypothetical) and drawing negative conclusions only. God tells us not to worry and offers Himself as the miracle-working solution to every scenario. Who we are in Christ is radically different to who we were before we knew Him.

‘It’s only natural to be afraid.’ Maybe so, but if fear is paralysing us and robbing us of peace, we need to counter this with the truth that we can do all things through Christ’s strength, things which would otherwise terrify us. (Phil 4:13)

‘You don’t know what X has done to me. I can’t possibly forgive.’ This is another lie, since the command to forgive is unequivocal. By focussing on the offence instead of the glorious forgiveness which has set us free in God, we effectively refuse God’s grace in difficult circumstances.

The psalmist says, “I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'” (Ps 91:2) We choose what we say and must learn to choose to speak what is true to ourselves. We must choose to speak truth about God, about ourselves, and about others. Often, we need to shake ourselves to do this (Ps 42:5,11). It’s far easier to repeat the lies we have heard than to aligh ourselves steadfastly with God’s word. But every conversation we have is in some ways a reflection of these internal conversations, so it behoves us to listen more to the Voice of Truth than any other voice and to confirm this voice by repeating truth and not lies to ourselves and then to others. Truth and love must be the tone and content of every conversation we have.

Garry spoke tonight on the ‘growing pains’ which are an inevitable part of maturing, focussing on the topic of prayer. God is here with us and is listening to us, but so often, we overcomplicate [thinking it has to be done in a certain way and a certain place, at certain times and even in certain clothes! But if we are to ‘pray continually’ (1 Thess 5:17), it can’t be that complicated!

The disciples of Jesus asked him to teach them to pray (Luke 11, Matthew 6) and not only did Jesus give them the Lord’s Prayer as a framework for prayer, he also demonstrated to them on many occasions his own prayer life. In the Lord’s Prayer, we see a pattern for prayer, a pattern which includes prayer, a desire for God’s reign, requests for His provision and for forgiveness and protection.

One of the major problems we have with prayer is that there is rarely an audible response. This does not mean that God has not heard us or that he does not answer. We need to pray regardless of feelings, secure in the fact that God has promised to answer us. Jesus gave examples of how to pray and how not to pray (see Matt 6:5-6, where prayer is not simply virtue sugnalling or a show.) Prayer needs to be sincere and should also focus on others (see 2 Cor 1:8-11).We can help others through our prayers (as a church, for example, we are praying for Fredrick and Reeba in India, the children we support in Haiti, India and Uganda; Becky Murray and her One By One charity and have also been praying for Africa’s Gift and Christians Against Poverty this year.) We need to pray for our work in the community (the Parent & Toddler group, coffee morning and fun days). Praying in the Spirit (Eph 6:18) will lead us to pray for other people, lifting their situations before God.

1 Tim 2:1-3 urges us to pray for those in authority over us – MPs, councillors, leaders of groups, managers and team leders. But we must also learn to pray for those who are our enemies (see Matt 5:45, Luke 6:35). As we learn to pray in all these situations, we will become mature. Praying is never something we can stop doing; it is always something we need to work at. But the best way to grow in prayer is simply to pray!