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Theme: BUILDING NEW JERUSALEM
Text: “And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning. And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make. And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing.” – Exodus 36: 3 – 6.
Comment: Jehovah, the Almighty God, is the Creator and Owner of all resources in the world. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein”(Psalm 24:1; 1 Corinthians 4:7) Apostle Paul asks us whether there is anything that we have that we did not receive from God. Surely, there is none. All that we have, including our lives, are given to us by God. (Deuteronomy 8:17,18) God is the owner of the work, he would not give us a task without giving us the enabling resources to accomplish it. – Philippians 2:13.
Some of us today give lame excuses why we will not contribute to the building of New Jerusalem. This was the attitude of the Israelites when on their return from captivity God commanded them to rebuild the temple Solomon built that was destroyed. God Almighty spoke to the Israelites through Prophet Haggai warning them of the consequences of not contributing to the building of the temple. “Thusspeaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD’S house should be built. Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, “Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.” Haggai 1:2-5.