Streams of Living Water
More Than Tap Water
Exodus 31:1-5
October 24, 2004
Mark Eberly
This morning we are going to be learning about the sacramental life. It is the sacred life. This is different from the holy life, as we will see. It is often called the incarnational life. The word “incarnate” means God in the flesh. So we are going to look the tradition of finding God who is always around us. He manifests Himself first through Christ then in our everyday life. As Dr. Blackaby says, “God is always at work around us.” God is already at work, we just need the eyes to see it.
So the sacramental life is learning that there is more to life than just tap water. There is more to life than just your ordinary, everyday occurrences. There is a sacredness or sacramental element in our daily lives. Most of us don’t think about tap water too much. It is there most of the time. We take it for granted.
We need to altar the focus of our lives in such a way that we stop taking from granted the hand of God that is at always at work. This is a life that is not just prayer-filled but it also becomes worship-filled. Every event is an opportunity to interact with God whether it is by acknowledging His goodness or seeking direction.
A worship-filled life is one that discovers the presence of God in even the most mundane details of life. A worship-filled life finds the sacred in the ordinary.
The Worship-Filled Life (Incarnational or Sacramental Life)
• Finds the Sacred in the Ordinary.
This is just part of it, however. It is very important because we often cruise through life and through our day never realizing what God is doing around us. We have God-moments throughout our days. Daily we have opportunities to worship God that are missed because we have taken the time or effort to recognize them.
However, this is only half of it. The worship-filled life then takes the ordinary and sets them apart to be sacred.
• Uses the Ordinary as the Sacred.
The worship-filled life uses everyday, ordinary materials to symbolize the sacred. These ordinary-turned-sacred items and events become important markers to point us toward worship. They become a means through which we move deeper into God’s presence.
Let me show you this in Scripture. Turn to Exodus 31. In this passage we see God giving direction to Moses and the people in the construction of the place of worship. Through a guy named Bezalel we see both elements at work. We see God using the skills of a blue-collar worker to take ordinary materials to make something sacred to be used in worship. But it is Bezalel’s relationship to God that has enabled him to be used this way. God has placed a calling upon his life, he has responded to it, and God uses him right where he is at.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of craft – to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.
Here we have a normal, everyday worker. He is a blue-collar worker. And God has given him special abilities and it is not special ability to preach or to lead worship but to take ordinary materials and make something beautiful consecrated to God. This is huge. This means that God can take whatever you do: changing diapers, flipping burgers, selling things, teaching, as well as making things or repairing things, and use you for His glory and Kingdom. There is no job too small. There is no skill insignificant to be used by God.
And do you know the requirement? That the Spirit of God fills us. Did you know that this is the first time in the Bible that this phrase is used “filled with the Spirit of God?” And it used not with royalty like Moses but with craftsman that God has given some artistic ability.
God is at work all around us – in every area and every arena. God is already there. We just have to look for Him. We just need eyes to see.
Believing Is Seeing.
You’ve heard that seeing is believing. Honestly, I don’t think that is true. You see what you believe. If you don’t believe that God cares for you and that God is at work in your life everyday, you will never see the miracles that God does around you. They will be good fortune or good luck. But if you believe that God loves you more than you will ever know and that God is always at work around you, you will look for and see evidence of that.
So where is God at work? In what arenas can God be found? Three primary ones.
• Home.
One of the great benefits of the worship-filled life is you see God working in your home and family life. I have seen God do some amazing things in Kendra’s life and in the life of my kids. Sometimes they are things that could easily be missed. For example, Micaela has the cutest little smile and nod when she asks for the smallest things. Kendra or I will ask her to clarify what she asked if she really wants her cup, and her face will light up with a smile (her whole face especially her eyes smile) as she nods recognizing that she has been heard and understood.
God has shown me that this is not just a cute little smile but this is a reminder that God is at work in my life and her life. It is a tiny blessing to remind me that God hears me when I ask. And if my heart is thrilled by Micaela’s smile, how much more is God’s heart thrilled when God answers my requests and excites me.
God is present even in the smallest, most mundane of daily activities.
• Work.
This gives meaning to our work. We work to an “audience of One.” Our real employer is God. We become partners (or co-laborers as the Bible says) with God to bring good into our world. What we do vocationally is greater than what we see allowing us to get beyond ourselves. We become better stewards of everything: time, talents, and money.
• Society.
God is at work in those unexpected occurrences as well as our normal schedule of life. God is at work in the lunchroom. God is at work on the playground as well as the gym. God is at work in the locker room as well as the union meeting.
The worship-filled life reminds us that everywhere we go, we can experience the presence of God. We don’t have to wait for Sunday morning to worship. We can worship at any moment in any place. We are given a greater sensitivity to the stewardship of our environment. We are constantly beckoned toward God. The symbols of the sanctuary are to remind us that God is present in every moment of our day. We are reminded that we need to refocus and regroup because we often are distracted, forgetful and confused.
They are some perils that we need to watch out for however.
Perils of the Worship-Filled Life
1. Idolatry.
One way that we can be tempted is to identify God with the universe. It is easy to do when we take time to reflect on the awesomeness of creation. This explains why so many people worship false gods and idols.
Another way idolatry crops up is when we do not make a difference between a sacred object and the spiritual reality that it points us toward. This is why so many people resist the use of icons because they fear (rightfully) that people could worship the image instead of the Creator. For example, the cross. But we do not worship a cross. It is a reminder or symbol to point us to the resurrected One: Jesus Christ. That is whom we worship.
2. Putting God in a Box.
We try to manage God through externals such as religious systems. Cain is great example that tried this strategy. If I just do things the right way, then God will have to accept me and answer my prayer or love me.
This happens when a group or a church insists that their way of worshipping is the only way to ensure the full blessing of God. If you really want God, I mean really, truly want God, then you must come here and do what we do. Statements like “you must become a member of our church (or denomination or prayer group or whatever) if you really want the blessing of God.” “If you haven’t responded to an altar call, you haven’t responded to God.” Did I step on anybody’s toes here? The Church of God has sometimes fallen into this trap that the only real response to God is to come down to the altar and prayer. In fact some people measure the success of the service or sermon based on how many come down to the altar and prayer. There are literally thousands of ways to respond to God. Coming to the altar is a powerful, wonderful time but we need to be careful in elevating this response to becoming a way to manage God.
For example, did you know that according to a recent Barna survey of those who become Christians, 43% do so before the age of 13? Almost half do so before they become teenagers. This has huge implications on who we should focus upon and evangelize. Not only that but out of those who became Christians before 13, half of those were led to the Lord by their parents and another 20% were led to the Lord by some friend or relative. Only 7% accepted Jesus in response to a minister’s prompting. God is doing a new thing (as He always does) and we need to join Him in that work instead of trying to manage Him through methods that He blessed in the past.
Okay so how do I begin practicing the worship-filled life?
Putting Into Practice
A. Ask.
Ask for two things. Ask God to join you in your journey. Ask God to move in the different areas of our life. God is always at work around us but there are some areas and some situations that God is waiting for us to come to Him and ask for His power. There are many times when God is just waiting for us to stop relying on our own efforts and depend upon Him. When I first got sober, God didn’t force it upon me. He waited for me to come to Him to move in that area of my life. Was God at work in my life? You better believe it! I can’t tell you how many times God subtlety moved to guide me to a place where I could relinquish control of my life to Him. But I still had to ask.
Ask also for God open your eyes. Isaiah 6 talks about being deaf and blind to the ways of God even though one might physically be able to hear and see. We need to ask God to open our eyes so that we can see. This is what revelation is. We cannot see the hand of God on our own. God must reveal that to us. This is why many people scoff (as Jude says) and they think that gospel is foolishness. They simply can’t see. We need to ask just as the song that we sing says, “Open the eyes of my heart, I want to see you.”
B. Take a Time-Out.
Just take a moment to pray, reflect and meditate on what is happening in your life. Take a moment to ask God to guide you as you make your decisions. “God, how do you want me to respond here?” We rush through our day on automatic pilot trusting our instincts and common sense instead of consciously trying to connect with God. I do it. We all do it. It takes discipline to train yourself to lean not on your own understanding. It takes practice to say, “Give me a moment.” Then ask God, “What is Your will here?”
C. Discover Your Calling.
We need to focus on God so that our work and labor whether in the church or in the workplace or in the home is so consecrated to God that we worship Him. We have so compartmentalized our lives that we disconnect our spirituality from various areas of our life. We all do this! It is our culture. If you don’t believe me, then answer this question, “Do you worship God when you have sex?” Our youth especially need to understand and hear that sex is holy. It is one of the highest expressions on earth of Christ’s relationship to His Church. Believe me! They are hearing quite a different message but we can’t talk about it in church. It is only appropriate in certain settings. Yes, detailed discussion is best in smaller groups but God says that sex is beautiful, wonderful thing. It can and should be an act of worship between a husband and wife not a duty or a selfish act or even a release.
Now that I have your attention, we do the same compartmentalization with our work. There needs to be a renewed emphasis on the sacredness of work. This is the worship-filled life. It is worship-full. Every area is the opportunity to worship.
You may not be called to full-time pastoral ministry but you are called to full-time ministry. You are called to full-time service to Christ whether you are a farmer, plumber, electrician, or domestic engineer.
This means we have a joy in what we do because we are where God wants us to be. We have been given tasks that are important to God and His Kingdom. We do not need to be a workaholic to accomplish more and more and climb the career ladder. God values us already and doing more cannot increase that or change it. People are more important than efficiency or productivity or profit. Our lives (as well as our work) have meaning & purpose.
D. Recover Your Family Life.
Lastly, we need to recover the marriage and family life. Marriage is a covenant. It means abandoning oneself to an outpouring of love. It means giving 100%. It is not a fifty-fifty proposition.
Remember that in half of those under the age of 13 who give their lives to Christ do so because of the leading and prompting of their parents. The home should be the place where our spiritual life and everyday life meet. Recover the sacredness of the family table. Throughout history, mealtime, especially the dinner meal, has been considered a sacred time. Remember when the disciples shared a meal with the risen Christ? It was at the meal that their eyes were open. Every meal can be a time where (if we are sensitive enough) we are conscious of the presence of our risen Lord.
Common labor in the home should be a time of worship. We are tending our Garden of Eden that God has entrusted to us. Play worship music while you work. Take time to thank God for the things that you need to clean. Many people (perhaps you are one of them) simply treat the home as a place to eat (and that may be rare) and sleep. It is intended to be the center of family life. It is the place where we work together, dream together, worship together, play together, and even make love.
We are called to have a worship-filled life. Just as prayer is not an important part of our relationship, it is the essential part. Prayer leads to worship and worship leads to prayer. We are to pray without ceasing. We are to have a life that is filled with worship. Every area is an opportunity to worship. This is incarnational living. It is God in the flesh. It is seeing God at work in the ordinary and turning the ordinary into the sacred. We discover that everywhere we go is “holy ground.” Our bodies, the tabernacle of God’s Spirit, are portable sanctuaries that empower us to worship in any and every situation as the Holy Spirit transforms our character and bodies from one degree of glory to another.
Remember the first step is to ask. Ask for more of God’s presence. Ask for more of God’s power. Ask for more of God’s love. Ask God to open the eyes of your heart. Ask God to help you cultivate the worship-filled life.
