Truth is a crucial piece in the believer’s armour, girding the loins and, as such, freeing a man from life's entanglements.
God expects loyalty from man. He is not interested in “worship” that involves Him being one of man’s many gods. In fact, He adamantly opposed this position within the Ten Commandments. There the Lord admonished His people to “have no other gods before” Him (Exodus 20:3). He then warned them not to make nor bow in worship to idols (Exodus 20:4-5). The Lord earned Israel’s loyalty in many ways, but the Bible specifically points to His delivering them from Egypt. It is important to note that God does not expect blind loyalty from man, but He certainly deserves this type of loyalty. He earned man’s loyalty by being his Creator. Yet His ultimate claim to loyalty stems from His offering to redeem fallen man though man is completely unworthy.
In Moses’ day, when the people of God were called upon to give to the work of God, they gave abundantly. Ultimately, the men doing God’s work came to Moses suggesting that the people refrain from giving anything more. Any person with the right heart who believes in the work of God will not have to be begged to give. He will give liberally. This type of liberality manifested itself again in the early church. The Bible describes the people of God at that time as being “of one heart and of one soul” (Acts 4:32). Amazingly, many of them sold their houses and lands and brought the money to the apostles (Acts 4:34). This liberality greatly assisted the work of God and helped the people of God.
This life offers only a window of time and opportunity to work for the Lord. Youthfulness and old age both offer their own hindrances to service. In many ways, though not entirely, youth should be spent in learning, middle age in doing, and old age in teaching those who are learning and doing. Many of the greatest servants of the Lord found in scripture began their journey in youth by learning of the Lord and His ways (1 Kings 18:12; Psalm 71:5; 2 Chronicles 34:3; Job 29:4; Ecclesiastes 12:1). As they approached the prime of life, they invested their learning by serving the Lord (Numbers 8:24-25). As they passed their prime, they would pass their knowledge on to the next generation in hopes of the Lord’s work continuing and flourishing (2 Timothy 4:1-8)..
Man always seems to find a way to corrupt that which is good. Prayer was meant to give man a means of communicating with the Creator. It is to originate from the depths of the heart and never to be memorized and repeated. This is why true prayer is speaking to God from the depths of the heart. As such, God never intended for man to script His prayers to the Lord. In fact, the Lord warned His people against using “vain repetitions” while talking to Him (Matthew 6:7). Unfortunately, many people find it easier to simply repeat a prayer commonly called the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) rather than communing with God with heartfelt sincerity. God never intended this example of praying to be repeated. In fact, the Lord clearly made His intentions understood when He said, “After this manner . . . pray ye.” The Lord provided a manner (or an example) for His disciples to follow, not words for them to inattentively repeat. With this example of prayer, the Lord certainly was not instructing His followers to do the very thing that He warned against a few verses earlier.
What a scene! The need was great. The people of God had been challenged to bring gifts so that the tabernacle of God could be built. They began to offer as the Lord had worked in their hearts. Yet, there was seemingly no end to their gifts. Every morning the people brought more offerings unto Moses for the work (Exodus 36:3). The offerings were so much that Bezaleel, Aholiab, and the other wise hearted men came to Moses and requested that the people stop bringing offerings. God so moved on the hearts of the people that they had brought “too much” (Exodus 36:7). Fast-forward to the present day. The work of the ministry requires sufficient money to fund its processes. Could you imagine the astonished look if ever the man of God told the congregation that “We have given too much”?
