PARTNERING GCC PRAYER MOUNTAIN

1. Offerings for the tabernacle

a) The atonement money was the first offering God commanded his people to bring to him in the Old Testament, the second offering was for the construction of the tabernacle, or Tent of Meeting), the details of which are given in Exodus  35:4-9.

i) Exodus 35:4-9 New King James Version (NKJV)

4 And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying: 5 ‘Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze; 6 blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; 7 ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; 8 oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; 9 onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate.

2. The Tabernacle Offerings Presented

a) Exodus 35:20-29 New King James Version (NKJV)

20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21 Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. 22 They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought earrings and nose rings, rings and necklaces, all jewelry of gold, that is, every man who made an offering of gold to the Lord. 23 And every man, with whom was found blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair, red skins of rams, and badger skins, brought them. 24 Everyone who offered an offering of silver or bronze brought the Lord’s offering. And everyone with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it. 25 All the women who were gifted artisans spun yarn with their hands, and brought what they had spun, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. 26 And all the women whose hearts stirred with wisdom spun yarn of goats’ hair. 27 The rulers brought onyx stones, and the stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate, 28 and spices and oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. 29 The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the Lord, all the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the Lord, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done.

b) The atonement money was a fixed sum—no more and no less—but this offering was a freewill offering, the principle on which all New Testament giving is based.

c) You will note that:

i) There was no compulsion to give. All who were willing, and whose hearts moved them, brought an offering to the Lord (Exodus 35:21).

ii) God didn't tell his people how much to give: they gave as they wanted to give and as their hearts prompted them to give (Exodus 35:22–28).

iii) The people gave according to their means—according to what each of them had (Exodus 35:5).

3. The People Give More than Enough

a) Exodus 36:2-7 New King James Version (NKJV)

2 Then Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred, to come and do the work. 3 And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. So they continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning. 4 Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, 5 and they spoke to Moses, saying, “The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the Lord commanded us to do.”

6 So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, “Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.” And the people were restrained from bringing, 7 for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done—indeed too much.

b) God allowed his people to give according to how they felt in their hearts. No amounts were mentioned, neither were individuals told to give specific items. They were simply informed of the need and the people gave.

c) And their generosity was so great, and their desire to see God's tabernacle built was so strong, that they brought more than enough to do the work; and Moses had to stop them from bringing any more.

d) Do you think God moved in the hearts of his people so they gave in this way? Yes he did, and that is what he does in the New Testament if we ask him to lead us in our giving.

4. The Cost of Giving

a) The completion of the tabernacle brings the Book of Exodus to a close. The first seven chapters of Leviticus then lists the sacrifices God required his people to bring to him there: the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, the fellowship offerings, the sin offerings and the guilt offerings.

b) All those offerings involved the people giving to God out of their means, which meant it would have cost them something. That there should be a cost involved in giving to God is taught in 2 Samuel 24.

c) David had sinned against the Lord by counting Israel's fighting men; and to atone for his sin, and to bring to an end the plague that had come upon Israel as a result, he was told to build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

d) When David approached Araunah to buy his threshing floor, Araunah said, 'My Lord, I give it to you and you can have my oxen for the sacrifice as well.' But David said:

i) 2 Samuel 24:24 New King James Version (NKJV)

24 Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

e) The answer David gave to Araunah reveals an important spiritual truth: that there should always be a cost involved in giving to God. And why is that? Because there was a cost involved in God giving to us. Think what it must have cost the Father to see his Son die on the cross for the sins of the world—the innocent for the guilty.

f) The Bible says that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son (John 3:16). Giving is a godly thing because God is a giving God; and biblical giving involves a cost—both in respect to God giving to us and us giving to God.

5. Partnering GCC Prayer Mountain

a) Having read on how eager the Israelites responded to the call, would you like to partner in the further development of GCC Prayer Mountain in Bentong, Malaysia.

b) Brother Bob Quah, the property owner of GCC (Grace Commission Center) in Bentong has an ardent desire to have a house of prayer be built on the mountain top. This development involves the construction of:

i) The GCC Prayer Tabernacle, and

ii) The GCC Prayer Tower

c) For more information, Brother Bob Quah can be contacted as follows:

Email      :      gccommunitybentong@gmail.com

Mobile    :      +6012 225 5599

Webpage :      http://grace.gospeltvhub.com/