Episode Transcript
[00:00:04] Speaker A: Speaking of assembling things, I have this question for you. You ever buy something like Walmart, Amazon, I don't care. You buy something like a bookshelf, a piece of furniture, you're super excited about it. You know, you get the box, you're pumped, you look at it, you unload it, and it says on the box, some assembly required, right? You're thinking, no problem, I'll throw it together real quick, get a little Allen wrench, a few screws, throw it together, assemble it, admire it all day standing there. And then you open the box and it's absolute chaos.
There are like screws and parts and washers and boards and instructions that may as well be in Aramaic. And you're saying to yourself, this isn't some assembly. This is like a part time job.
You thought it was going to be one of those just add water projects and all of a sudden. But it's so much more work than you ever considered. Now consider a parallel.
Back in Exodus 25:8, God says, Let them build me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. Okay, we've talked about that. We do every year. What a cool concept, right? A place for God to dwell. Let's do. And maybe they thought, cool, we're in the desert, let's throw up a few skins, throw some pretty paint on the wall, and God's going to show up and it's going to be amazing. And then he gives the actual instructions and it's words upon words upon words. For us, it's a lot of rolling in the scroll, or if we're turning pages, it's pages upon pages of details, exact measurements and weights and materials and sacred garments and detailed components and precision work. And it has to be done only by specific people. And it turns out it's no quick weekend project, some assembly required, to say the very least.
It's a full scale, intentional, costly and communal construction. And what happens is not simple at all. It's a detailed, deliberate, meticulous work. It concludes our Torah portion, or it is our Torah portion today, it concludes the book of Exodus. The Torah portion is called Pekudei, which means reckonings. All of the things are being assembled. This is also the portion of a special Shabbat that's called Shabbat Hakodesh. This is the Shabbat prior to the month of Nisan, which starts Tomorrow and Nisan 1 tomorrow. Tomorrow is exactly thousands of years later, the very day in which the tabernacle was assembled. Okay, finally assembled.
And God shows up, right? Exodus 40, the cloud covered the tent of meeting as the glory of Hashem filled the tabernacle.
Wow. Wouldn't you have loved to be there? Can you even imagine that we all would have to have had God's glory? The Shekinah. Come in to this space. Fill it. But I want to show you something.
And it's obvious and it's very practical, and it's very easy to not pay attention to.
I want you to note the end of the previous verse, which I don't have up there, but it's 40, 33. Okay, I read you 34. The cloud covered the tent. It's like the massive, incredible thing. But the end of the previous verse, what comes just before God shows up in power?
In Hebrew, it says, moses completed the work.
Moses completed the work.
A lot of work.
A lot of work. They had come a long way since. Let them build me a sanctuary that I might dwell among them. They have been through a lot. Some assembly required is a. Is an understatement.
And this is not to be missed. What I'm going to tell you today might be criticized or misunderstood by some people. Okay? I hope it's received by everyone who's willing to hear it and act on it. But here's the thing.
It turns out the presence of God just doesn't show up because you want it to.
It dwells where something has been built, where something has been assembled, where something has been ordered. And it's a lot more work than we might want it to be.
And only when it's all finished, when the last peg is in place, when every item is present and accounted for and Moses has completed the work, then the glory of God fills the space. Not before, not halfway, not when they were thinking, wow, I really want God to show up. It took way more than some assembly. It was the full effort. Assembly, the instructions, the crafting, the labor, the contributions, the communion, the individual sacrifices, and every single piece mattered.
You've read these portions before. I know. They're very easy to skip over. They make up the majority of Exodus. But the sockets, the poles, the coverings, the skins, the dyes, the clothing, the turban, the crown, the anointing oil, all of it, you've read it. All of it mattered.
And it was so worth it.
And the deeper truth hits. This is an amazing connection for us right now when it comes to making space for the presence of God.
There is a lot more assembly required than many people are want to admit to, or more importantly, are willing to commit to.
And that's what I want to Talk to you about not just longing for God's presence, but building a life where that presence can actually dwell and can actually do something, because it's worth it. Now there's a song we sing. I like the song, it's very catchy. It says, set a fire down in my soul. Cause of that I can't contain and I can't control. I want more of you, God. I want more of you, God. We sing it right. I like it.
Set a fire down in my soul.
Oh, man, that lyric's got a lot of power, doesn't it?
What are we saying with that, God? I want to be like the Mishkan, the tabernacle. I want you to burn inside with the passion of your spirit, to be empowered, to be filled. And I want more and more of it. But it's a powerful set of lyrics and that's why it's so popular, because people resonate so strongly with that idea. Yeah, if I had more of God, more of God, I'd be better off. I want more of you, God. Question, do you really?
We say we want God, but are we preparing a Mishkan within ourselves?
A sacred set apart space demonstrated by our lives?
Are we willing to do the internal work, the assembly, the accounting, the ordering that makes our lives a fit for God to fill it more powerfully? As I said, our portion, it demonstrates this. The presence of God rarely descends into desire. Oh, I want that.
He doesn't fill a half built house.
It comes when something has been prepared, assembled with detail, with order, with care, with attention. Now, so many people say, I want more of you, God. They say, I want more of you, God. So I'm really going to sing the songs and I'm really going to show. And I'm gonna. I'm gonna really whisper a prayer and I'm gonna light a candle and I'm gonna hope that God's just gonna come and fill this room.
Even in religious settings, we're very absorbed in this. Just show up, just, just belief. Just sing louder. God will do the rest.
Now let me be very clear here. I am not suggesting in any way that we attempt to prove your worth, earn his love. We already have that.
No matter what condition you find yourself in. That's kind of the point, actually. God loves us so much, the creator of all things, that he desires to be near to us. He desires to dwell with us and listen. Without a doubt, we can say that before the tabernacle, God had certainly shown up. For Israel, this is not in doubt. In Egypt, he heard the cries of his people, passing over their homes, sparing their lives, leading them out of Egypt in abundance with the gold and the riches of the Egyptians, passing them through the sea, defeating the enemies who were behind them, who wanted to kill them, keeping them from going the way of the Philistines right out, because they weren't ready for the war. Taking them to the mountain, cloud by day, fire by night, and then the mountain showing up in lightning and shofar blasts and speaking to Moses and giving him a marriage contract and saying, do this. And then forgiving them for the absolute failure of the golden calf, giving them a second chance.
God had shown up in many ways. But what we're talking about here is something different. We're talking about a sustaining presence.
Talking about this idea that the sustained presence of God would dwell in the midst of the people in a new and amazing way. It would be right there in the center of the camp, in this area, that they all came together to build and assemble and sacrifice, to see happen.
They committed to the process because God made it clear, build me a sanctuary that I may come and dwell among you. And apparently then it was more than just the desire of the people.
His sustained, sustaining presence requires a place and not just a longing. And the tough love part that I'm talking to you about today, it's the same here.
It's the very same here.
Set a fire down in my soul that I can't contain and I can't control. Okay?
He absolutely loves us. He meets us where we are. He fills broken vessels. He's been with us. He responds to our prayers and needs. But if you say, I want more of you, God, I want you to take up resonance in me in such a powerful way that it's tangible, then the truth, the hard unpopular truth, is that this can be more work than people want it to be or are willing to dedicate to it.
We live in a culture that prefers instant and easy results. I want microwave transformation. I want peace with no discipline. We want the presence of God without any process of preparation.
Now, the power and presence dwells in our Torah portion, where something has been assembled, ordered, prepared, and there was undoubtedly some assembly required.
But the good news is, unlike the bookcase you ordered from Amazon that showed up with missing parts, instructions in Chinese, and 6,000 unlabeled pieces, unlike that, God's instructions are pretty clear.
And this really struck me this week. Why do we talk about self improvement so much? Maybe you wondered why as a rabbi, I spend so much time talking about character, about mindset, about Attitude about inner work.
This is not a therapy session.
This is not a self help seminar disguised as a seminar, I mean, as a sermon. I believe these things.
I believe that God desires to dwell in us. Not just as a community, as individuals. And this place we're building, yeah, it's sacred space. But the sacred space that's most important exists in here.
It exists among the individuals. And like the Mishkan, that takes work. It takes detail. It takes attention, awareness, precision, purpose, commitment. You can't slap a few boards together, staple on some spirituality and say, come on, God.
Come on, God.
God, I want more of you, God.
The Mishkan and the soul, the tabernacle and the soul. The rabbis say that the Mishkan reflects our soul. So you ask yourself, ask yourself these questions. Are your foundations stable? Your sockets? Is my private life pure? The coverings and the curtains? Am I tending my character daily? The oil that went into the menorah? Do I carry my role with honor, like the priestly garments? Is the Torah like the ark at the center of my life? Am I bringing my unique gifts like gold and silver? Or am I holding them back? Are all of these things required?
Are all of these things required? They have to be perfectly in order. Do we have to complete the work like Moses said before, God is willing to show up in our tabernacle before he sets a fire down in our soul. The good news is, no.
I firmly believe God rewards the effort. In Pirkei avot, Rabbi Tarphon says, it is not yours to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it. E about our work in the world. But that also really works for your inner work, really works for your inner work. You don't have to build the perfect Mishkan overnight, but you're not off the hook either.
Start building, keep building, and God shows up.
So, no, not perfectly, you know, but more than just I want more of you, God.
To those who might say, wow, that sounds legalistic.
You're telling me, you're suggesting that I have to do work as it relates to God if I expect God to show up?
Wow, man. Well, listen, if you want God to show up, if you want God to set a fire down in your soul that you can't contain, you ready?
Yes.
Yup, that's what I'm telling you.
Definitely what I'm telling you. That's exactly what I'm suggesting. And for those who doubt the Jesus or the New Testament validity of this idea, let me just pass this along. This isn't a Torah principle. This isn't some Jewish thing. Well, if Yeshua said it, it's still a Jewish thing. But Yeshua said it, and here's what he meant. Consider his call to build our own Mishkan. What is this Sermon on the Mount other than a blueprint for your internal space?
A sermon that says, you've heard it said, there's this way. But I tell you, there's a bigger way that I want you to go.
If your eye causes you to stumble, remove it. Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. That's not throwing up a quick wall and calling it a house. That's a deeply deliberate heart renovation. And to make it even more pointed, Yeshua goes on to say when he's talking to about discipleship, which of you wanting to build a tower does not first count the cost.
The kingdom is not a quick install, it's a construction zone. And so so are you.
Just like you.
The kingdom doesn't arrive with slogans and good lyrics. It comes when people have counted the cost and they start building something outside of themselves. Yes, but we need to prepare a place inside ourselves if we want the power and the inspiration and all of the things that we want. And friends, the pieces, all of the pieces matter.
Just like in the tabernacle, the minutia of reading the Torah portion, and you read it and all of it matters. And all of it came together beautifully and God showed up. Shabbat Chachodesh this day. Traditionally, you'll be excited because I'm just getting started. This is the longest message of the year.
Why? Traditionally, many people didn't have access to text to scrolls. So it was the rabbi's responsibility. As we're coming into the season of Passover and Nisan 1, it was the rabbi's responsibility to prepare everyone, holakically, legally prepare them for Passover. You got big things if you have. If you eat leaven, you're cut off from your people. So it's the rabbi's responsibility to make sure that you know everything, right? To tell you all of the details of Passover and your seder and all that. What does seder even mean? It means order. It was the rabbi's job to put everything in place and get you ordered up. And that took time.
So the longest message of the year.
Now who wants that? Don't raise your hand. I could actually do that, but.
And I'm happy to tell you the Passover details. I'm happy, David. I didn't even look your way Because I knew you raised your hand.
I could tell y'all about your matzah consumption requirements. I could tell you about the four sons and why they asked these questions, or why the little kid asked the four questions, or all of it. To get everything in order. But the other important part of Shabbat Chodesh, that was the rabbi's responsibility, beyond those pieces, beyond the ordering of your seder, was the ordering of the building blocks of your soul to prepare you for a season of redemption. So here's what I say to you. Prepare, build, order. This is the month, this is the time, this is the season. And the other reason why we're always talking about self help, and if you want to use that stupid word, is because this is what Judaism does.
We live in a calendar world in Judaism, where almost every festival is preceded by a season where you have to go inside yourself. You have to be introspective. You have to consider, how is the condition of my Mishkan even before Passover? And then the Omer is this rising wave up until Shavuot, where we're supposed to be elevating. So I didn't make up the idea to have you condition and work on your insides. That's God.
A thousand. Well, more than that. Thousands of years ago, as I told you, tomorrow, God's Shekhinah showed up in the tabernacle that Israel built for him. Wouldn't it be amazing if this year, and I'm not trying to sell you, I'm just saying, wouldn't it be amazing if this year you really take inventory of the pieces, all the parts of you, and you make a place that's very special for him to dwell.
Your mornings, like the lampstand, like the daily illuminations, how you start your day sets the tone for everything else that you do, like lighting the menorah in the morning, do you reach for your phone or for a moment of connection with God?
Make your morning sacred scripture. Quiet, gratitude, intention. I don't care if it's sitting across from your spouse with a cup of coffee, just looking at them, you know why it's important that you spend time with the people that you love. And sometimes in the morning, just setting the tone of having some. Some relationship with someone, even if you're not even talking, it's amazing just to feel the same energy of the person that you love.
Your words are like the altar of incense. You know, the incense rose to the heavens. Did you know that your words are similar to the incense? How do you use those words? What Are the incense of your words? Are they filled with gratitude and.
And blessing and wonderful things? Are they filled with complaint? Are they filled with gossip? Your relationships, your curtains, your sacred boundaries, your friendships, your marriages, your children, mentors, they're all sacred. Are you present in these relationships right now? Are you forgiving in these relationships when it's necessary to be that?
Are you cultivating peace? Are you drawing boundaries in your professional life that make certain that your family and your personal life is not lacking? The Mishkan had boundaries. It had sets about its borders. Relationships need that, too. Your thought life, your thought life, it's like the holy of holies in the tabernacle, your most private space. No one sees it except you and God. What goes on there?
How does that work? Are you nurturing thoughts that honor him? That honor him for creating you? Do you have bitterness? Do you have fear? You have lust? You have whatever. How's your inner thought? Your holy of holies, your finances, your offerings, your gold, your silver, all of it. What condition is that in? Do you use that with generosity? Do you use it? Do you hoard it? What do you do?
Your time, your Sabbath rhythm?
Shabbat was the first thing that God mentioned after Moses gathered the people and after the golden calf. How you rest matters, how you spend your time matters. Are you working nonstop, or do you protect space?
Do you make sure that you have space for you and him and you and the people that you love? Your emotions, your vulnerability, like your coverings, you stuff everything down. Are you honestly processing things, joy and grief and relationships and all this stuff? You notice? I keep going back to relationships, relationships, relationships, because relationships are the most important thing that you have in this life.
And it's really, really important that you nurture those through all of these kind of areas. And, yeah, these little pieces of the tabernacle, hopefully they're memorable in some way. But your habits, I got to throw this one in.
Like the pegs and the sockets. I've always been amazed by the amount of detail that God gave to the pegs and the sockets. But you know why?
Without them, the thing blew away.
They were in the middle of a wilderness.
God said, I want these made like this. This size out of this material. And this is how they're going to be secured, and you're going to attach things to them. It's like, why God? The same thing for you in your life. Your habits, they're your sockets. They are a foundation of your life. Are they good? Are they bad? What do you use them for?
And then this is a big one. And it's always such a fun area to talk about. But that's your hidden sin.
What is in there that needs to come out? Before the priest came in to serve in the tabernacle, he had to go through the mikveh, right? He had to wash. He had to show up cleansed and prepared to do the work of God. If we're harboring, if we're hiding, if we're just afraid to face it or want or can't, whatever that clouds the space in which God needs to get into.
So we gotta be aware. Confession, healing, repentance, whatever. This is how we clean house. All the pieces matter. But listen, this is actually my favorite part of the Jewish calendar, is this whole idea of introspection.
Listen, this is gonna sound incredibly critical, but it's really great to have a holiday that honors when Jesus was born and when Jesus died and resurrected. And I get to go to heaven for that. And thank you. That's wonderful. And that's beautiful.
These holidays and this calendar, it's about gratitude to God. And Passover, of all things, is a moment to recognize Yeshua's death, burial, and resurrection. But these holidays are about work.
They're holy days. They're about work. They're about work on you. They're about work on your relationships and your life. And they are about putting a space in your space where God can powerfully show up.
So I ask you, you can ask yourself as you're starting into the month of Nisan and getting ready for Passover, but I'll ask you today, is your life arranged?
Is it built? Are you preparing? Have you, like Israel, been willing to do the work to create this most important space where God can dwell? Or does your life look like that Amazon bookshelf that you assembled, but you didn't read the instructions, so it kind of leans to the left and one of the shelves is held up by duct tape.
And you, you know, it's. You know what I mean?
One side's installed backwards. You constantly have to, like, if that's the case for you today, it's okay.
Nothing I've said is about judgment.
It's okay. That's what today is for.
That's what this season is for. There's nothing wrong with spending a lot of time invested and dedicated and committed to building a renewed and sacred space for God. As they say, tis the season.
And, yes, he's already with you. He's already with you. That's the amazing thing we can never let go. Is he, you have a spirit that dwells within you. It's a sign. It's a seal of future redemption through Messiah and the kingdom to come. But there's something to be said for having him set a fire down in your soul today, in this life, right here, right now, to create this beautiful space. So I want more of you God.
I want more of you God.
You still want the fire?
You still want more of God than hear the call? Here's the call. Build. Assemble. Prepare. Bring your pieces to the table. He will not despise your effort. He will not laugh, he will not dismiss. He will not ignore your offering. But I gotta say, I. I really believe after a lot of things that came together, he's waiting for more than a wish or a heartfelt lyric that you sing a little louder next Saturday when you build.
Listen.
He's waiting for a place. And yes, there's some assembly required.
But the good news, more good news. When you build even imperfectly, even slowly, even with the bent nails and the missing screws, he comes and again. It's not a Moses completed all the work and then thing. God doesn't actually require that from us, though it's our responsibility to never desist from the work. He still fills the Mishkan of our soul. He still sets fire to the altar, figuratively. And he still responds to those who make room for Him.
Tis the season.
[00:31:46] Speaker B: Shabbat Shalom I'm Darren with Shalom Macon. If you enjoyed this teaching, I want to ask you to take the next step. Start by making sure you subscribe to our channel Next. Make sure you hit the like button on this video so that others know it's worth their time to watch. Last Head over to our website to learn more about Shalom Macon, explore other teachings and events, and if you're so inclined, contribute to the work that we're doing to further the kingdom. Thanks for watching and connecting with Shalom Macon.
[00:32:20] Speaker A: Sa.
