In this sermon, the preacher addresses the difficulty of forgiving someone who has done something unjust or perverse. He compares this challenge to learning a new concept in school, like dividing with a two-digit divisor. The preacher emphasizes the importance of going through God's program and experiencing trials that threaten our rest in order to be built up as the body of Christ. He also highlights the danger of being caught between serving God and serving money, using the example of the Pharisees who were covetous despite their devotion to religious practices.

Turn to John 14, verses 1 through 6, 14, 1 through 6, and here we go. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. Thomas said to him, Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way? Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Can we put up the King James there? Is that possible, Mike? Because this translation, I think, has interpolated some words. By and large, it's a good translation, and I use it scholarly and quite accurate, but when you're working with the original languages, there's things they have to assume they mean in order to make them clear, and here they're assuming that Jesus is talking about going to heaven. All right, there's the King James, and I want to point out a difference to you. In my Father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you, that's right, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. You see how they interpolate there. I am going there as to a place. And also in verse 4, I am going there as to a place. And also in verse 5, I am going there as to a place. And whether I go, you know, and the way you know, the NIV says you know the way to the place where I am going. See, they have interpolated that because of the assumption that Jesus is talking about going to heaven. But if you'll notice in the 6th verse, he doesn't say anything about being the way to heaven. See, no one comes to the Father. So the NIV just put those in with good intention, hoping to make this clear, this venerable text that everybody knows. But boy, you've got to be careful when you add words to the Bible, because it may not always mean what you think it means. So it's best to stay with the original language, and King James is quite faithful in that. So you might wonder, well, what is the difference between going to heaven and going to the Father? Well, there is a tremendous difference. Because you see, if your goal is to go to heaven, then what you desire is to be in a better place. Hopefully where there are no problems. How many would like to go to a place where there are no problems? Well, it's funny. But when you talk about going to God, you're not talking about going to a place where there are no problems. You're talking about relationship. You're talking about relationship. Now, Mark has been away in the Navy, and he could say, I want to go back to San Diego. That's one thing. People might wonder why you want to go back to San Diego. Might be the weather, scenery. There's worse places to live in terms of environment. But you see, if he says, I want to go see my mother or my friends at the church, you're talking about relationship. You're talking about a whole different thing. Mark, let me ask you a question. Suppose there was no one in San Diego that you knew. Everyone had left. Benny had left. Your mother had left. There was no one here that you knew. Would that change your mind about wanting to come to San Diego? Where would you want to go? Where they're at, exactly. So you see, there's a huge difference between going to a place and going to a person. Then another phenomenon, if we want to call it that, or an artifact of the text here, is where it says, in my father's house are many rooms. Well, that's an accurate translation, except that, as I remember, the thrust of the Greek word is not just on room, but on a room where you live. It used to be in the old days, they would have in a house a room called a parlor. And the lady of the house would have furniture, she'd have everything covered in there so they get no dust on it. That was the parlor. Nobody lived there. It was for guests or when you had a wake. But no one lived there. They might live in around in the kitchen where it was warm, around the wood stove, but they didn't live in the parlor because the lady of the house was, what are you doing in there? Get out of there, that's for guests. So this Greek word moni is more, it isn't just a room, it's a room where you live. I don't know where you live in your house, if you have in your kitchen a bar, probably people spend a lot of time just sitting around there talking, drinking coffee and so on. Well, that would be a more faithful rendition of the Greek term moni than just room, because there may be some rooms in your house that don't get used that much. Well, so this is one of the best known passages in all of Christianity, but it doesn't mean what it's ordinarily presented, because the reason in 1610 this was translated mansion instead of room was because the mansion used to be just a word for house. Mance, we get the word mance from that today. A mansion today is a special kind of house, but in 1610 it was not a special kind of house. So I don't know whether the translators, I don't think they meant by that really mansions, but they shouldn't have translated it house, because the proper Greek term for house is in my father's house. And so you wouldn't say in my father's house are many mansions, when mansion means a house in 1610 when the Bible was translated under the high and mighty King James. All right, so the word room is very pertinent, especially the best translation of it actually is abiding place. And in John chapter 15, where it says abide in me and I in you, the term is the same except in that case it's a verb, whereas here are many rooms it's a noun, but it's the same word. And also in John 14 23, the same chapter, John 14 23, we have, if anyone loves me he will obey my teaching, my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home, is the same word moni. But it's the only two times the term moni is used in the Bible, except as I said in a verb form in John 15, where the verb is used abide in me and I in you. So the translators, by making it room in one place and home in another, are doing us a disservice. They're reflecting popular sentiment. In other words, what people would ordinarily expect. But actually, if you were going to translate it room in John 14 2, then in 14 23 it should be and make our room with him. Or if you want to use home, it should be in my father's house are many homes. And then you would use home in 14 23. But by using different words, you make a person who is not adept with the Greek would presume they were two different words. And they're not. They're the same Greek now. Is that right, Tony? He's our resident Greek scholar. Moni or moni, it's only used twice in the New Testament. It wouldn't be in the old because it's Greek. Probably, I don't know what would be in the Septuagint if it's used at all. But we don't need to go into that at all. What we need to do is to see what this is talking about. Now, first of all, it says in my father's house. Now, the emphasis is not on us. It's on God. See, we immediately turn. We say in my father's house are many mansions where I'm going. It's not the emphasis of the scripture is on what we're going to do at all. It's on God. And it first appears in the 15th chapter of Exodus in verses 17 and 18. God tells us in the Bible, Old Testament and New, that he has created us to be his dwelling place. Now, if that's the case, let me ask you, if God has created us to be his dwelling place, which is more important, God or us? Which is more important, the house or the people that live in it? Huh? Well, of course. So, when it says in my father's house, he's making rooms, the main point, emphasis is on God. Hard for us in America to appreciate that because we're kind of stuck on ourselves. Whatever it says, it must be for my benefit. Well, I'm telling you, this whole program of salvation is for God's benefit. And that's an important point of view. It's for God's benefit. Our salvation, everything that happens to us is for God's benefit. So, that's why it isn't that the point is not that we escape hell and go to heaven. The point is that we learn to please God. Well, the old people, old timers used to know that, you know, and I think sometimes the Catholics do. Excuse me, I come armed. Oh, this is madness and folly. You usually can't get these things out of here. It's a test of my manhood and it just fails. Away with it. You can't get the things out of the cellophane. All right, so I'll hold forth manfully without my cough drop. Now, the father's house, first of all, thank you, Rebecca. You're a darling. Thank you. And, Bob, I thank you on behalf of Hewlett-Packard and everybody else. Now, let's look and see what it's talking about. Oh, that's good, Bob. I like that one. In my father's house. Not heaven. Heaven is not God's house. What? What is heaven according to the Bible? God's throne. Where is that found? Somewhere it's written. Try Isaiah, verse 61, Mike. Huh? Try chapter 61, Mike. Try 66, Mike. Heaven is what? His throne. Well, you know enough about the kings of England. I know there's a difference between their throne and their palace. Heaven is my throne, not my house. It doesn't say in my father's throne. It says in my father's house. And the earth is my footstool. Wouldn't it be wonderful to get the footstool closer to the throne? Where is the house? Amazing, isn't it? How much light the Bible throws on the commentaries. Where is the house you will build for me? Now, why does God want a house? Why do you want a house? To keep the rain off your head. You want a house? You want a place to live so when you go there at night and you're tired, you can flop. Eat and flop and be warm and dry. You can't go into the neighbor's house. I did that once in Florida. There was a whole bunch of houses identical and I was a guest at one of them and I went out for a walk and I come back. I thought it was at the right one. I walked in the front room. There was an old fellow and his wife just sitting there at the table. They're very careless in Florida. They leave the door unlocked. I said, hi, I got in the wrong place. I turned and went out. You don't go in the neighbor's house. You go in your own house. And so obviously, there's a difference between God's throne, which is heaven, and this house wherever it is. Notice also that the house is his resting place. And we've talked a lot about the rest of God. Now, hold your big toe in that one and we're going to go back to Acts 7 verses 44 through 50. I just have demolished one of the pillars of Christian doctrine. Bully for me. Acts 7, 44. Now, this is at the birth of the Christian church. And Jesus had told his disciples, when you're brought before the rulers, don't plan what you're going to say. The Holy Spirit will do it. Now, Stephen here had been brought before the Sanhedrin. And so it's the Holy Spirit speaking. I know he's a Jew. Every Jew who has a question has to go all the way back to Adam and give the whole history of Israel. Well, he finally got to the point. Our forefathers had the tabernacle of the testimony. That's the tabernacle of the congregation, we call it. With them in the desert had been made as God directed Moses according to the pattern he had seen. Having received the tabernacle, our fathers under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations. God drove out before them. I didn't read the last emphasis right. It remained in the land until the time of David, which it did, who enjoyed God's favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. Well, David asked God if he couldn't build him a house. And what did God say? He says, you're a man of war, there's all blood on your hands, you can't build me a house, but your son will build a house. But it was Solomon who built the house for him. This is a big issue in those days because Jesus had said, just destroy this temple and I'll rebuild it in three days. And they caught him on that. That was one of the big things they accused him of. What was he talking about? His body. However, the most high does not live in houses made by men, as the prophet says. So you can imagine how the Jews felt because their whole religion was based on the temple. And here the Holy Spirit in Stephen is saying to them, that is not where God lives, is in your big temple there. Well, you couldn't say anything worse to a Jew of that day. You could not say anything worse than to criticize the temple. Heaven is my throne. Now, where is he quoting? Isaiah, verse 66, right? Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or where will my resting place be? Quoting the Holy Spirit, quoting Isaiah, at the birth of the Christian church. That's the important thing to remember. This is not some Old Testament thing that died with a backing. This is the Holy Spirit speaking the thing that's on God's mind to the Sanhedrin. All right. You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears, you are just like your fathers. You always resist the Holy Spirit. Now, what's he getting at there? What he's getting at there is the problem with religion. The problem with religion. The greatest murderer of Christ in the world is religion. For this reason, religion gives people something that they can do. And people who do anything, you know, if they've got a heart at all for religion and morality, and you get on and say, build this cathedral, or let's go through this liturgy, or let's do this. And, of course, we're not used to high church around here, but the forms and ceremonies are really, I take a catalog to write them all down. But the purpose of religion, which the religionists invariably miss, is that relationship between the individual and God. And the reason why people will go to religion rather than to relationship is because you can still preserve your life and your way of doing in religion. You can be yourself, you can come and work at the church, you can donate 50% of your money, but retain yourself, retain your own way of doing. You figure out, how much am I going to give to God? Well, I'll give him so many days a week, I'll do this. But what happens is you're caught like Absalom, you're halfway between heaven and the earth, caught in the trees, because you cannot please God and money. Those are the two competing gods in the world, is God and money. Jesus never mentioned any other God, and there are a lot of gods in those days. Only money. You cannot serve God and money. Now, in religion, you can. The Pharisees had devoted their lives to religion, but the Bible says they were covetous, and they despised Jesus when he said that money was not important. They despised him, and the New Testament says because they were covetous. See, here they were, they kept the law of Moses, not only the law of Moses, but all the interpretations of the law of Moses by the rabbis and everything else. A God-given religion, Judaism, a revelation from heaven, men took it and made it into a system that they could do and never let God into their heart. That's why he's saying you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart, because you go to the temple and you go through all these washings. It's interesting to go through the four Gospels and see how many times Jesus was criticized for doing something that offended Jewish law, like going in a house and not washing his hands, or picking wheat, heads of wheat on the Sabbath day, or healing on the Sabbath day. All the time, this is not of God. He doesn't eat the Sabbath. Now, here this woman came, washed his feet. If he'd known what kind of a woman she was, if he was God, he'd know and he'd never let her wash his feet. On and on and on and on went the religious criticism of Jesus. Why? Because they didn't have God in them. See, they did not. There was no relationship with God. If there was, they would have loved Jesus. That's what he said. If you were Abraham's children, you'd love me, you'd keep my words. But you're not. Your father is the devil. And he said that to Jews, to the chosen people who were keeping all the law. You have your father the devil. Now, what God is telling us today is that your religion, and this includes the Christian religion and everything else, is only as good as it brings you to a personal relationship with Jesus. You can't buy it. You can't assign so much of your life to it. You can't learn all the choruses and words and theology and attend church every time the door is open. That's all good and helpful, but it's not a trade-off. It's not something that you do to buy time to be yourself. You can do everything we do in this church and keep your own counsel. Never have God at all. And when Jesus moves, you'll be angry at those through whom he moves, because it always works out that way. I don't know how many true Christians are in the world. I expect there's a mess of them. But they're scattered around in all kinds of churches, and they have all kinds of liturgies all the way from wild Pentecostal meetings all the way through to the tinkling of bells in the Russian Orthodox Church, and everything in between. And none of that means anything. There are people in all these religions that love God with their heart. And God knows them. He knows them. He knows them. Jesus said, my sheep know my voice. So, God's will for man is to be God's dwelling place. And because of that, you cannot buy off God with religion. You cannot buy him off with service in the church. He wants your heart. Or forget it. I mean, he wants your heart. Not kind of, sort of, part of. He wants your unpolluted worship. Worship. Worship. God, you are the light of my life. I can stand to lose anything and everyone except you, Lord. If you want to take my health, take it. If you want to take my life, take it. If you want to take my loved ones, take it. If you want to take everything I am, will, or ever become, take it. Just not your presence. And when you can say that, then God will accept you. He will not accept the worship of anything except himself. What a calling that is. Religion makes some demands on us depending on the particular religion. Some a very small demand. Some a major demand. But God makes total demands. Total. He wants your heart. He didn't want you just to sing about it. He wants you to give him what you are. What you are. What you are in essence. God is calling for that. He's your creator. He doesn't owe you anything. He doesn't owe me anything. We owe him everything. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for God. So, God is number one. Numero uno. God is the center. Now, with regards to God's house, Ephesians 2 verses 2 and 3. I got it right this time. Ephesians chapter 2 verses 2 and 3. That's pretty plain. I mean, you don't have to wrestle with obscure passages, esoteric theology. It's plain. What did I say? Ephesians what? I didn't get it right. It's Ephesians 2 verses 22 and 23. Boy, I'm batting a thousand today. Wonderful. I just hope I make it through the day. Probably. At this point, probably. Now, speaking of Jews and Gentiles together, because in verse 15 of this chapter it says you're one new man. So, the Jews and the Gentiles were reconciled by what? Cross. Brought together. Made one new man. And he says you're built on the foundation of the apostles. That would be the new covenant apostles and the Hebrew prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone in whom the whole building, that building is the Father's house. Well, that computes. Joseph, does that compute? In my Father's house. This is the house. This is the house. What house will you build me? This is the house. What is the place of my rest? This is the place of his rest. So, the whole purpose of our Christianity is to become a house for God. And we don't become a house for God so we can get something. Like if we become a house for God, then he'll answer our prayers. We become a house for God for God's sake. Thank you. In whom rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built. Built. B-I-L-T. Built. Is that right, Abby? Did I caught you? All right. You are being built. How do you like being built? Would you just prefer somebody not build you? Evidently, God isn't satisfied with you as you are. He's building you. Oh joy. Can you just imagine God goes to work with his plane, with his saw and hammer and nails. And guess who's being planed and sawn and hammered and nailed? Isn't that sweet? To become a dwelling. In my father's house are many dwelling places. Now, this is not the same word, but it's probably related. To become a dwelling in which God lives by his spirit. Now, it doesn't mean there that the spirit is in place of God. It means that the spirit is the medium through which God operates. When we're through with this whole situation, we will be the eternal dwelling place of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Okay. Now, God is looking for a resting place. And that, by the way, is the holy city, the New Jerusalem. That is the finished house, is the New Jerusalem. And it comes down to earth, to the new earth. It won't come down until it's perfect. It's coming down to the new earth. And it's going to rule over the new earth forever. That's it. There's no more. You can go home now. Now, being built. Being built. There's two parts to Christ dwelling in you. Now, this is hard. Oh, Lord, this is hard. This is really way up there in the doctoral program. There's two parts to Christ dwelling in you. Is that all right, Matthew? Now, I have to go slowly because people lose this one. First, Christ has to be formed in you. Now, there's only one house of God, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. And God will not dwell anywhere except in Christ. So, if Christ and the Father are to dwell in you, dwell in you, the persons dwell in you, you have to be built. You have to be changed. The Father and Christ will not dwell in Adam. In the Adamic nature. They will not dwell there. So, Christ has to be formed in us. Now, that Christ that is formed in us is not Christ who is at the right hand of God. It's not the person. It is his body and blood. It is his substance. And the Holy Spirit takes that substance and puts it together with what we are. And that is the new creation. The new creation is the substance of Christ integrated with the human personality. Much like you'd graft an orange shoot on a lemon tree. It's an integration. So, in that sense, it's not Christ. It's a new creation. But the new creation is of the substance of Christ mixed into the human personality. And that's where the building comes in. See there, before the Father and the Son can dwell in us, we must be built. And we must be built from Christ. And so, we talk about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. Now, we talk about the program that God brings us through. Now, some of you, all of us, I'm sure, have been through this program during the previous week of being built now. We've still got the Father and the Son up there where they are. All right, they're still up there. I'm talking about what you and I experienced last week. Okay. You were brought into a situation last week that threatened your rest, that caused you fear or anger or some kind of passion of your flesh or soul, something that troubled you. Was there anyone here who this last week, nothing troubled... Now, I'm not going to ask that because then I'll put you in a bad light later. I was going to say this. If nothing troubled you, you better do your homework. The chances are you're not in the program because God doesn't waste time. So, every day we get something that challenges our sweet peace in Jesus. And we want to get mad at people or we want to fear and hide under the bed or we want to do something because we're upset. How many were upset? No, I won't even ask that. This is a rhetorical question. How many were upset last week? Rhetorical means you don't have to answer. How many were upset last week about something? Well, you think in your heart. Well, you say, well, that's just life. No, it isn't. It's the building process. See, and here... Now, maybe somebody you're mad at and you'd like to really, you know, kill them three times. All right. And it's so hard to forgive because what they did was unjust or perverse, which is worse yet. In other words, it's so twisted and so diabolical that you would like to kill them three times. Okay. Very hard to forgive. All right. So, now you're doing your lesson for the day. So, what you do, just like a child in school that's presented with finally learning how to divide with a two-digit divisor, is something new, something challenging. All right. Now, you've got something new because you've never dealt with such injustice before or perversity or demoniac operations. All right. So, now you go to the Lord and the Lord will give you His body and blood. It comes into you because you have chosen, instead of blaming people, instead of growing bitter, instead of fighting and becoming angry and binging on your wife till she wishes you'd leave, you take it to the Lord. And when you do, there's a part of this old guy that dies, the one who ordinarily would be up and at them. You know, it says about Christ, who when He was reviled, reviled not again. Now, that's hard for me because when people threaten me, I feel this way. You're going to threaten me? Brother, I'm going to threaten you. Now, we'll see who does the biggest threat. Me and the Lord or you? Oh, it gets my dandruff up, I'll tell you. But the Bible says, who when He was reviled, reviled not again. So, we're not allowed to counter sue and threaten and bring out our big guns. Who when He was reviled, reviled not again. See, our peace has been upset because we got, who do you think you're threatening around here? That's got to die. See, that's got to die. And if we will meet the situation in Christ, He will give us of His substance. But in the meanwhile, something in us dies. So, it's a double whammy in there. We get something good and we lose something bad. This is how we're built. This is the new creation. The new creation is what just come into you. But then tomorrow, there's a new challenge. Now, tomorrow, you're going to divide with a three-digit divisor. See, there's a new challenge. Because Christ is not going to waste your life, your time. If you work with Him, He's going to build you into a room in God's house. There's a lot of rooms in God's house. All right, now, when Christ has been formed in you, Galatians 4.19, we're about ready for that. When Christ has been formed in you, then you are a suitable home for the Christ and the Father who are up there, the persons of Christ and the Father, to come into this new creation. First, the building of Christ within you, which is still you. Like Paul says, Christ lives in me. Well, we know it's still Paul. But you are not the Father and the Son. But the Father and the Son are looking for a resting place, and so they want to make you that resting place. So, in order to become a resting place for God, you have to give Him all you are, because anything you hold back isn't going to work. Anything you hold back, the program will stop, and you will continue to be a religious person. But your relationship has been broken off because you're not bearing the fruit that God is after. See, it's not for our benefit. It's for God's benefit. People say, well, I'd be saved anyway. Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye. The point is, is God's need met. Am I hindering with my stubborn unbelief and disobedience? Am I hindering something that God wants? That's the issue, not am I going to be saved or not. We got to get ourselves God-focused. Paul, the ministry is always in the pains of childbirth. That Christ may be formed in the people, formed in them, formed in them. Now, the Galatians had gone back into religion. They had gone back into circumcision, and Paul said, I wish you'd mess yourself up. If you're going to be circumcised, you have to keep the whole law. What are you messing with that for? That's not the new covenant. How many Christians today are going back? They're half in Judaism and half out. They don't know which is which. They don't know whether they're supposed to keep the Sabbath or not. They don't know whether they're supposed to eat pork or not. They don't know whether they're supposed to keep the Feast of Tabernacles or not. All the woods are full of them. They don't know what they're doing. These were only, all these things were to bring us to Christ. Christ is the, not the end of the law, I don't mean the termination of the law, that's not a correct translation of the Greek. It means Christ is the end game. That's the best translation of that word, is the end game of the law. The law brings you to Christ. It's a slave to bring you to Christ. Then you've got everything that God wants. But it's so much more comfortable to go back and give God one day a week and maybe refrain from eating pork and eat something else and lamb or something and keep the feast days. It's so much simpler because you can still retain your identity. You can still leave a part of that for you. Well, doesn't God want to leave anything for me? That's not the issue. The issue is God is making a different you. You better hope he doesn't leave anything for you because whatever is gained for you is loss for Christ. He's making a different you. Well, I like me. You know, I'm the same old person that I always was. I've got to be me. Don't you realize that Adamic nature will lead you to a life that is constantly filled with pain and bewilderment and every other thing just when you get something and there's this problem and that problem. One moment you're up high and the next moment you're down low and you fall in love and get married and then it didn't work out like what you want. So that's up and that's down in some way or whatever happened. You can count on it that if you live in the Adamic nature, you're going to be just like everybody else in the world trying to find out how to diet so you don't feel so bad. We're talking about life lived in the Shekinah, in the glory of God becoming the house of God Almighty where the old passes away and it all becomes new and we're the dwelling place of God and God's love comes down through Christ and Christ's love comes down through us and it goes out and embraces mankind. That's the only life there is. Everything else has sought us or as Paul said, dung. Well, it's a real battle because our personality, you know, God made us little gods as it says in Psalms and He will not have puppets. He won't do that. You've got to choose God. You've got to say, well, here's God and all He's offering and then here's the world and all it's offering and you've got to choose. I'll tell you, choosing the world is dumb, but you may have to find out the hard way. One more thing I want to bring to your attention and then I'm going to cut all this. All right. Psalms. Now I've got this one right. 68 verse 18. This is right. I don't have to worry about this one. This one is correct. Oh boy. In my father's house. That's you. Me. I thought I was going to go up to heaven and ice cream, not get fat. He comes up with all this stuff. All right. When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train. You received gifts from men, even from the rebellious. And what's the purpose that you, Oh Lord, God might dwell there. Then we turn to Ephesians. The fourth chapter. And I've got this right also. I'm on a roll. Ephesians four. We find the quotation from Psalm 68, starting with verse nine, Ephesians four, nine. Now he's quoting Psalm 68, right? Right. Thank you. What does he ascended mean? Except that he also descended to the lower earthly regions. In other words, you can't ascend until you descend. All right. He's the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens in order to fill the whole universe, which tells us there's a whole bunch of heavens, which there are. And Jesus is in the highest one. And now we're talking about the gifts with the Old Testament said from men and here it's gifts to men. Maybe there's something there. Maybe an artifact of the language. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers. All right. But Psalm 68 tells us the purpose of these gifts. And what is it? Psalm 68, 18. I must have went through it too fast. How many say he went through it too fast? Let me see your hands. He went through it too fast. Not even the kids. Don't blame me. All right. Now what's the purpose of these gifts? That who might do what? That the Lord God might dwell there. Now back to Ephesians 4. This is a quotation from Psalm 68. So why did he give apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers? Why? Lord. Joseph, why? Back to Psalm 68, 18. We'll get it yet. The purpose of the gifts is so, let's say it together, that the Lord God might dwell among them. Joseph. All right. Now back to Ephesians 4. Bring out the pom-pom girls. That would help. Mount Zion pom-pom girls. All right. Now, he gave all these gifts, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, for what purpose, class? The Lord God might dwell. Now it says, to prepare God's people for works of service. In other words, he gave the sum of God's people to be apostles of some so that they could serve. Now here's the end. So that the body of Christ may be built up. Now what do you suppose, based on these lengthy talk I made this morning, what do you suppose then the body of Christ is? The decline of western civilization. What do you suppose the body of Christ is? Amen. You got it. The house of God. In my Father's house are many rooms. Who are the rooms? Who? The person next to you? Who are the rooms? Some are saying God and some are saying us. We are the rooms that are being built. When it says, I go to prepare a place for you, where did he go? I told you how he brought the Jews and the Gentiles together. What? He went to the cross. For what purpose? To prepare a place for us. Where? In the Father's house. He has to prepare the place which he did. He took his blood and sprinkled it before the throne of God so that we might be accepted. And then he prepares a place in us. And the whole thing is so that God might have a place to live among his creatures. Shall we stand?