In this sermon, the preacher discusses the story of Moses and the children of Israel in the book of Exodus. He highlights how the Israelites wasted the gold that was meant to be used for building the cabinet of God by creating a golden calf. The preacher emphasizes that sometimes we also waste the blessings and resources that God has given us by using them for other purposes. However, through the intercession of Moses, God forgives the Israelites and gives them another chance. The sermon also mentions the process of building the tabernacle and the importance of wisdom in turning raw materials into finished products.

Verse 18, Matthew chapter 16, verse 18 and I also I say unto thee that thou art Peter and on this rock I will build my church and Hades gates shall not prevail against it. Let's have a further word of prayer. Dear Lord we want to thank thee for gathering us together unto thy name. We thank thee for thy table. We thank thee for what thou hast done for us. And we thank thee that we can continue in thy presence. And we can hear thy word. Dear Lord do speak to us. Open our heart, open our understanding. And bring us into the reality of thy word. That thy name may be glorified. We ask in thy precious name. Amen. Thank God for gathering us together yesterday morning and this morning. The burden that the Lord has put upon my heart is just one word. And that is the word you'll find in Matthew chapter 16, verse 18. Our Lord said I will build my church. So the word is build. We find that the first mentioning of that word is found in Genesis chapter 2, verse 22. God said it is not good for man to be alone. I will make him a helpmate his like. And then in verse 22. And God took the rib out of the man and built it into a woman. And then he took the woman to the man. Now we know that the word build is a technical word. It is used in architecture. And we mentioned yesterday morning. That there are at least five steps you can find in this matter of building. First you have the purpose. God said it is not good for man to be alone. I will make him a helpmate. So you'll find there is a definite purpose there. And then the second thing is pattern. After the purpose is decided. Then you need to have a blueprint, a design, a pattern. And in the case of the woman. You'll find that her pattern is none other than Adam himself. And then after you have the pattern. Then you begin to prepare for the building. You have to get the material to build. And where will the material be found in the building of the woman? And you'll find again it is in Adam. And in order to get that material out of Adam. You'll find the fourth word which is process. And then God put Adam to sleep. And out of his side God took out something, a rib maybe, to build a woman. And after the woman was made. And finally there is the presentation. God brought that woman to the man. And when the man saw the woman. He said this is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called a woman. And the two became one. This is the first mentioning of the word build in the Bible. And often times you'll find in the first mentioning you have all the principles involved. But our focus is not on the man and the woman. Because Adam and Eve are but types. So we are not going to deal with shadows. We want to see the entity, we want to see the reality. You remember in Ephesians chapter 5. The apostle Paul said this mystery is great. But I'm speaking of Christ and the church. So our burden is the building of the church of God. We know that the church is not something that just happened. There is a purpose behind it. And you can trace that purpose way back before the foundation of the world. Before God created anything. God purposed a purpose in his son. That is to say he wanted to give his son something that would really satisfy his son. Because he knew that even the heavens and the earth would not satisfy his son's heart. And he wanted to give his son the greatest gift that he could ever give. So he purposed a purpose in his son. Even before the ages. Before he began to create anything. And that purpose is that he will give his son the church. And that church is to be his son's health meat. And it is to be his life. It is as if God said. It is not good for my son to be alone. I will make him a health meat. His life. And God made that purpose even before he created anything. And that purpose is so glorious. That it was hidden throughout the ages. And it wasn't until he revealed it to the holy apostles and the prophets. And it wasn't until he revealed it to the holy apostles and the prophets. And this purpose is so glorious. That even the angelic hosts, they are to learn this mystery through the church. We mentioned yesterday morning. That the angelic hosts, they are more intelligent than human beings. And yet, in this particular respect. You find even the angels, they have to learn the all wisdom of God through the church. They will see how God will make his unsearchable riches to fill a body. And that body is to manifest the glory of the Lord Jesus. And this is a marvel even to the angelic hosts. So, brothers and sisters. First of all, we need to see one thing. And that is, the church is not something that is extra, too much. You find the church is the mystery of the Christ. It is the greatest gift that God could ever give to his beloved son. And God puts such an emphasis upon that church. And brothers and sisters, how can we treat this matter of the church as something insignificant. Often times, we only think of our own. Our own interest. And even in the pursuit of spirituality. We feel that to be a spiritual man or to be a spiritual woman, that is the highest of all pursuits. And yet we do not understand God's heart. God's heart is more than individual spirituality. Because no one person can contain all the riches of Christ. No one person can satisfy fully the heart of God's beloved son. It takes a corporate body. It takes all those who are redeemed of the Lord. It calls out ones gathered together unto the name of our Lord Jesus. And in that body, all the unsearchable riches of Christ can be contained. And through that body, the glory of Christ, of the head, may be fully manifested. So dear brothers and sisters, the church is not the product of man. It is not the product of human history. The church is a preconceived idea of God. And it is for his beloved son. Now secondly, we say now after you have that purpose, then you need to seek for a pattern of blueprint. So the question is always asked. Does the church have a pattern? Some people think that the church does not have a pattern. In other words, it is left for man to decide how it will be formed. But as we read the word of God, and yesterday morning we went into some details, we will not go back again. But anyway you find that whenever God purpose a purpose, he always follow by set down a pattern. Now his purpose is to dwell among the children of Israel. So he gave Moses the pattern of the mountains. And the same thing is true with the temple. You find that how God give the pattern to David. All the details of the building. What material should be used? How should they be put together? It is all planned out by God. So we cannot say that the church which is in the heart of God has no pattern given. There must be a pattern given to us. It is not left to man to decide how to organize a church. It is not the result of human genius. God does give us a pattern. And we also mentioned, some people try to find a pattern in the Old Testament. As a matter of fact, if you notice what Christianity is going, you will discover that Christianity is gradually going back to the Old Testament. Because they found in the Old Testament the things that they would like to have in the church today. For instance, in the Old Testament, you find so far as the temple service is concerned, you have the priests, you have a group of people being separated from the rest of the children of Israel. And they are being specially trained. And they are giving the sole responsibility of all the spiritual works to do. And in order to give some glory, honor to these priests. So you find there are certain garments of beauty, of glory, that the priests will be dressed with. And brothers and sisters, as you notice Christianity today, you know in the beginning only the Catholic Church you find such things. And then you find the Protestants begin to learn from them. I remember when I was a boy, in the particular denomination I was in, the pastors, they did not wear a special garment. But now they are doing it. And it becomes more and more popular. To distinguish them from the rest of God's people. To give them a special honor, a special place. And you can find this from there. You know, here you find among God's people, you find that you need a choir of course. When will be a church without a choir? Now where do you find the basis for a choir? The Old Testament. Because you remember David, how he organized the choir. So the only reference you can get from the Bible for the special choir is found in the Old Testament. In the New Testament you do not find it. Because it is congressional singing. We all sing unto the Lord. So brothers and sisters, some people think that you have to find the pattern in the Old Testament. But you must remember, what the Old Testament tells us are the shadows. God does not want us today to play with shadows. Because the reality has already come. Christ has already come. So we need to hang on, hold on to what is real. And then some people say, well we should go back to the Old Testament to the shadows. Then where can you find the pattern? Of course, find it in the New Testament. So they say we want to organize a New Testament church. Now how do we organize a New Testament church? Now, how do we organize according to the Old Testament? New Testament. Now you find that in the Book of Acts. Now you find that how the apostles, they appoint some elders. And you find how they choose the deacons. The elders will take care of overseeing the church. And the deacons are doing all these practical services. Yes. And so you find that to have a New Testament church, you need elders, you need deacons, and of course you need the laity. Without the laity, the elders and the deacons, you know, they are all chiefs but no Indians. And so when you can have some elders, and you have chosen some deacons, and you have the laity, then you can say we have a New Testament church. But brothers and sisters, is that New Testament pattern? Is it the pattern that God has given to us concerning the glorious church? You know, in the Old Testament time, God was dealing with an earthly people. So whatever He did with them, were physical and material. But in the New Testament time, we are God's heavenly people. We are God's spiritual people. So God's dealing with us is no longer in that lower level of the physical and the material. God has brought us into the heavenly and into the spiritual. So the pattern given cannot be just technical. You may be technically correct according to the New Testament. And yet it is not it. Now, what is the New Testament pattern? I think it is so evident. When you open the New Testament, what do you find there? You find the full Gospels. The first Gospels tell us about the Lord Jesus. And then following the full Gospels, what do you find in the next book? The book of Acts. It tells us of the church. In other words, God is clearly telling us that the building of the church is according to the pattern of Christ. What Christ is, that is what the church is to be. And it is not in a technical sense. Because you do not treat Christ as a technical person. You see Christ in the Spirit in a living way. He is the living one. You say, I am the first and the last. I am the living one. I die, but I live again. And I live forevermore. And I hold the keys of death and of Hades. So our Lord is the living Christ. You know, some people emphasize the historical Christ. Of course, Christ is historical. Two thousand years ago, the Son of God came into this world. And He became a man. He is historical. But brothers and sisters, He is eternal. So He is not limited, but by time and space. He lives forevermore. And this living Christ is given as the pattern of the church. So the measure of Christ is the testimony of the church. Thank God He has given us that living pattern. Now, these we have already shared yesterday. So we have come to this morning. After God has set His purpose, that He will give to His Son a corporate body which is called the church. To be His helpmate. To be His like. And then, on the basis of that, God gave us a pattern. He sent Christ into this world. And He said, now, this is the way I am going to build my church. So when Christ was on the earth, the first time He mentioned the word church, is in Matthew chapter 16, verse 18. Our Lord said, You are Peter. You are a stone, a little stone, a small stone. On this rock, massive rock, I will build my church. And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Christ will build His church on Himself. He is the pattern of the church. So, you have the pattern there. Now, after you have the pattern, you need to prepare the material. So the third word in building is preparation. In the Old Testament text, how did God, first of all, prepare the material for the woman? Since Adam is the pattern. Now, where can God find the material for the building of the woman? It is quite clear. He can only find it in Adam. Because only that which is out of Adam can return to Adam. Can be united to Adam as one. You know, our body will reject foreign articles. But it comes from the same source. Then it can be united into one. So God finds the material in Adam. Now, in the case of the tabernacle, we mentioned yesterday, after God had delivered the children out of Egypt, He brought them to Mount Sinai. And there He proclaimed the Ten Commandments to them. Now, why did God give the children of Israel the Ten Commandments? Because by the Ten Commandments, He made the children of Israel His own people. Because by the Ten Commandments, He made them His own people. You see, these Israelis are different from all the people in the world. In what way are they different? It is found in the Law of God. In the Ten Commandments, God used the Ten Commandments to separate them from all the world. By obeying the Ten Commandments, they became the people of God. Then what happened next? Then God revealed His will to save them. Why did God save these people? Why did God make them His own possession? Because God has a purpose there. He wants to dwell among them. And in order to dwell among them, He needs to have a tabernacle. He needs to have a sanctuary. Now, where will you find the material for the tabernacle? Now, if you read Exodus 25 verse 1, God told the children of Israel, Give me a heave offering. Give me a heave offering, out of a willing heart. The materials for the tabernacle came from His redeemed people. You know, it is very strange. Because when God created Heaven and Earth, He created them out of nothing. He called nothing into something. God could do everything. He did not ask any help. He did not need any material, ready material. He said a word and it was done. That is creation. But strangely, when He wants to make a tabernacle, Now, what can a tabernacle be compared with the Heavens and the Earth? God can easily say a word and the tabernacle was there. But God did not do that. God told the children of Israel, You give me a love offering. It is a love offering. You offer with a willing heart. Now, brothers and sisters, if you know the condition of the children of Israel, you know when they were in Egypt, they were slaves. Now, what do you mean by slaves? A slave is a person that owns nothing. And they were put in slave labor. So they had nothing at all. But when God delivered them out of Egypt, you know what God did? God said, Now, you can find that even in Exodus chapter 3. Chapter 3. Yes. When God first called Moses to go to Egypt, to deliver the children of Israel, He already told Moses what would happen. He said he would do wonders to them. Because Egypt would not let them go. But he would do wonders. And finally would deliver them out. But when they were coming out, they are to ask the Egyptians for gold and silver and clothes. And they would spoil the Egyptians. In other words, all the riches of Egypt were turned over to the children of Israel. Now, in one sense, this is just. Because the riches of Egypt came from the slave labor of the Hebrews. They would never pay their wages. So God being righteous, He said, well, get them back. And so you find that actually God not only redeemed the children of Egypt, God redeemed the man, the woman, and even the children. God even redeemed their property, their rightful property. So you can see the fullness of redemption. You know, when you think of ourselves, God did the same thing. He not only redeemed you, He also redeemed all that is yours. Everything belonged to God. And then after God delivered them out, with all the riches, then God said, give me a love offering. If you love me, because I love you so much, if you love me, now give me out of all that I have given to you, something. Some gold, some silver, some clothing, and some kinds of materials. All the materials for the building of the Tabernacle came from that love offering. God will not do it alone. He wants the cooperation of His own people. That is the way God always does with new creation. In old creation He did alone. But in new creation it is God's will that He wants His redeemed one to work with Him. Actually, everything comes from Him. And yet, He will first give to us, and then He asks us to give back to Him out of love. As if it is from us. Brothers and sisters, this is the genius of God. So the Tabernacle was built in that way. But you know how subtle is the enemy of God. Because after Moses told the people what should be done. Then he went back to the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments. Then he was there forty days and forty nights. And the children of Israel in the plain. They came to Aaron and said, we do not know what happened to Moses. Maybe he had died. We need someone to lead us. So make us a God. And you remember what Aaron said. Let all the men and women and children take off the golden earrings. And he took these earrings with gold. And he melded them and he molded them fashioned them into a golden costume. And the children of Israel said, this is our God. And Aaron immediately let's have a feast. This is Jehovah. You know, what a mixture. And how they sit down they drink and eat got up and there we go. And when God told Moses to go down when he saw it he smashed the two tables of stone because they have already broken it. And she they meld the gold golden cup and then throw it on the stream. And asked children of Israel to eat it. To eat their own sins. What a waste. The gold is supposed to be used to build the tabernacle of God. And yet it is wasted in building a golden cup. Brothers and sisters do you realize that we sometimes do the same thing? All that God has given to us is supposed to be a love offering to God. To serve his purpose. And how the enemy entices us. And waste what God has given us in other things for other purposes. But thank God through the intercession of Moses God forgives them. And then once again God gives them another chance. In Exodus Chapter 35 God through Moses told the children of Israel Anyone who is prompted by the spirit and with a willing heart they can still give. And thank God the children of Israel they give and give and give until they had to be stopped. Because it's too much. Brothers and sisters this is how the materials for the tabernacle were gathered together. And the same thing happened with the temple. We said God gave the pattern of the temple to David. But because David was a man of war he shed too much blood. So God said no you cannot build it. Your son will build it. But not because of that. Now David said well because God did not want me to build it so that's it. No. David is a man after God. So what did he do? We do not have the time to read these chapters. But if you go to First Chronicles I will just point out a few points. In First Chronicles Chapter 22 Verse 14 and onward. David he gathered the people and he told them how he wanted to build a temple for God. But it was not God's will for him to do that. But his son Solomon would do it. But he said in my affliction I prepare gold, silver and other things for the building of the house of God. He separated the spoils for God. Not for his own. And not only that if you come to First Chronicles Chapter 29 If you come to First Chronicles Chapter 29 and you will find in Verse 2 He said I have prepared materials for the house in all my power. He used all his power to prepare the materials. And what abundant materials he prepared. And in Verse 3 He said in my affection for the house of God out of my own I offered gold of offer the best gold. So brothers and sisters you find here is a man who knows God's heart. And he loved God. He loved God's house. Even though he was not allowed to build it. To him it is not a duty. It is a love. So he prepared all the materials that he was able to prepare. In his affliction in his affection with all his power Oh, if you read these chapters you will find how much he had prepared. It is his love offering. And he encouraged the people to give freely. And when they began to give freely how he praised God. Now in Chapter 29 you see his worship. He said everything is given by you. And now what you have given us out of a willing heart we give. What a worship that is. Now this is the preparation the preparing of the material. How about us today? Brothers and sisters God is the Lord Jesus said I will build my church. The church is built by none other than Christ himself. Nobody can build the church. We can be laborers under his direction. But he is the one who built the church. And he is the one who decides on the material. Now where can he get these materials? Brothers and sisters you have to go back to the very beginning. Do you know why God created man? And why did God create man in his own image according to his likeness? You know there is something already hidden there. Because God knows he could not build the church with stars with moons with suns. He cannot build the church with angels. He cannot build the church with living animals. Because they do not answer to him. They do not answer to his life. They do not answer to his character. And for that reason he created man in his own image. After his own likeness he created man that had every potential to receive his divine life. The sun cannot receive his life. The animal cannot receive his life. The angel cannot receive his life. Because they are not created in that way. But only man is created in this specific way that can receive God's life into them. That can have God's character built in them. Out of God something that can return to God. That's the material. So brothers and sisters that's the reason why. Why God created man in the first place. And that's the reason. You'll find after he created man he put man in the Garden of Eden. And there is the Tree of Life there. As if God suggests to Adam all the trees you can eat. Except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I imagine that tree of the knowledge of good and evil stand by the side of the Tree of Life. So God is giving a hint to man. Eat the Tree of Life. Then you will have my life in you. And then with that life in you I can build the Church. What a heart of God. But you know what happened. Man fell. Man fell into sin. So that give God so much work to do. Instead of just forsake man and create another man. No. God came to the Garden. And He said Adam where are you? God came to seek the lost. And throughout the ages God was working back towards His original purpose. He gave us a promise. The seed of the woman He will brush the serpent's head. And then you find God began to call Abraham. And out of Abraham a nation. A people that belong to him. Because out of that people God will send the Savior. God is working all these times. Until one day Christ came into this world. And even when He came into this world you find He was seeking for the material for the building of the church. He couldn't find it anywhere. He couldn't find it. The only way He could find it as God put Adam to sleep. So that God can take out something out of Adam. To build a woman. So God put His beloved son our Lord Jesus to death. And His death is not like Adam's death. Because when Adam was put to sleep there was no pain. It was a painless operation. But with our Lord Jesus it is a painful crucifixion. Why? Why do you forsake me my God? Because there is sin involved. Sin has to be redeemed. Sin has to be judged. And our Lord Jesus He had to took our sins upon Himself. He was rejected not only by man but even by His beloved Father. And then out of Him you remember when the soldier thrust the spear into His heart. Out of His side came out blood and water. Blood to forgive our sins. Water to give us life. Brothers and sisters it is with this material that God built His church. Our Lord said I will build my church with myself The material for the church can be none other than Christ Himself. But it is Christ in you and Christ in me. This is the material. So our Lord said you are Peter. You know Peter before was Simon. The Lord said you are Simon. I will build my church. No, He cannot do that. But He knew Simon, Simon would deny Him three times. The natural man cannot be the material. If you use the natural man to be the material for the house of God it will turn out to be a tower of Babel. The Lord said no. You are Peter. You are a stone. You have received my life in you. You are a new man and I will build my church upon this rock. I am the rock. You are a little stone. You are a chip from that rock. And I will use people like you to build my church. Thank God Peter understood. He knew he was not the rock. So in 1 Peter 2 verse 4 and verse 5 Here he said to homecoming a living stone that is Christ. To homecoming a living stone rejected by man but chosen and precious to God. And yourselves also. As you come to Him you become living stone. And you are being built together into a spiritual a holy priesthood to offer acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus. Brothers and sisters our Lord is a living stone and when we come to the Lord we all become living stones. We have His life. We share His very life. And our Lord will take these living stones and He will build them into a spiritual house. That's where you find the material. So brothers and sisters you know the church is made of people that's true. Those who are called by God gathered together under the name of the Lord Jesus. But strictly speaking it is more than that. It is not just the called out ones gathered together. It is these called out ones gathered together unto His name. That is to say we all submit ourselves under the headship of Christ. That anything in us will be cut off by the cross. And what is left is the Christ in you Christ in me. And only that pure material can be used for the building of the house. Only that comes out of Him can return to Him. All the foreign particles will be rejected. That is how the materials are gathered. Brothers and sisters for that purpose what God has done what Christ has done in order to have that material. So no wonder it is so precious to Him. That is the preparation. And then after preparation you have the process. You have all the materials now but if you just pile the materials without any design it doesn't make a house. We are not AI a heap of ruin. We are to be better of the house of God. So you find that to build you have to go through a process. You have to take all these materials and form them into forms and also to set them in the right place. Now that takes wisdom. So you find when God commanded Moses to build him a sanctuary and after all the materials are being given. But these are raw materials it takes wisdom to turn the raw materials into finished products. You know that's the difference between wisdom and knowledge. Knowledge is that you know these materials but wisdom is to know how to use these materials and make them into finished products. And so when you come to the book of Exodus and you find in Exodus chapter 29 and you find God said I have called Basilio and Holian I think it's Exodus not 29 31 Exodus 31 and Holian and Holian These two men God put his spirit in them. God give them wisdom knowledge and understanding to know how to use these materials and make them into finished products. And under the direction of these two men God said all the wise men people with a willing heart they will all come together and turn these raw materials into a cabinet. And you find the same thing when you come to the temple. You know all the materials are there. But it took Solomon to build it. Because Solomon is a synonym for wisdom. He is the wisest man in the world. And with the wisdom that God has given him with that understanding heart he is able to turn all these materials into a temple. Brothers and sisters when the tethebon echo was made it took them about a year. But when the temple was made it took them seven years. Do you know how long it takes our Lord to build His house? When He was on earth He said I will build. In other words the building hasn't started yet. Because there was no material. He was there to prepare material. And after He died rose again ascending. And on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came down and 120 gathered in that upper room. In one spirit they were baptized into one body. That's the beginning of the church. You'll find that it began in the beginning in the first century. And our Lord in heaven by His Spirit on earth is still building. It has been two thousand years and the building is not yet finished. Do you find any building on this earth that takes two thousand years? You can see the magnificence of that building. And the Holy Spirit is taking all these raw materials these rough stones these rough stones He will refine us. So that we may be precious stones. He will take away all the dross in us. And you know a precious stone it takes so much pressure, so much heat, so much darkness to form a precious stone. And do you know brothers and sisters that is our story. You wonder why is it that after you are saved after you have received the Lord and you are saved you think you are on the highway to heaven and there will be no problem anymore. But to your surprise you find there are pressures there are heats there are darkness you wonder the Holy Spirit arrange your circumstances He is trying to transform you rough stone into a precious stone. He is trying to impart to incorporate into your life the very character of Christ. He is transforming you to conform you to the image of God's beloved Son. Because that's the way to build a church. He is doing the building work to them. It is a dirty work and you find lots of lots of chiseling lots of cutting lots of smoothing to do to make you a polished precious but that's not all. God's purpose is not to put you in your museum as an exhibit. You go to New York museum and you find all these precious stones exhibited. That's not God's purpose. God's purpose is use these precious stones to build He wants to fit us together. Ah! There's lots of fitting to do. This is my beauty. But unfortunately your beauty interfere with the next door. And you cannot fit together. Everyone is a giant. So no one will submit to the other one. Everyone is the best. No one want to obey any other. The work of the Holy Spirit He is using the cross to cut us to fit us to one another until we can be built together into a spiritual house fit for the habitation of God. Brothers and sisters that's the process. If we can understand the process we will be willing to humble ourselves submit ourselves under the mighty hand of God. Because in due time He will exalt us until the final product comes a glorious church without spot or wrinkles of any such sort fit to be presented to the bridegroom. Brothers and sisters this is the work of God. He is still working. He is working in you He is working in me. We have too much rubbish that need to be cast away. Too much of ourselves our self-righteousness our self-confidence our self-independence our self-sufficiency our self-pride all these need to be crucified that the cross will take away all the rubbish and He will allow Christ's life to grow in us. No longer I it is Christ and brothers and sisters one day you will see that finished product. If you read Ephesians 5 if you read Revelation 19 if you read Revelation 21, 22 you see the final product the new Jerusalem the bride of the land as a matter of fact not only the church today but even all the work of God in the Old Testament time will all be gathered together in that holy city the new Jerusalem God cannot fail glory to God and then when you have the finished product now what do you do? have presentation the woman was built so God presented the woman and immediately Adam responds this is me we are one how supernaturally natural this is and the same thing happened to the tabernacle when the tabernacle was built according to the pattern on the land when it was erected the glory of God filled that when the temple was built according to the pattern the glory of God came down and even the priests they had to retreat from the temple because the glory filled that you know it is my lifelong desire that one day we will see that glory fill history you don't see any man anymore everyone had to retreat his glory filled the house and thank God one day that finished product will be presented to Christ and what a glorious day that is that is the day that we are all looking forward we know that is something that God has done it is the work of God through the time God does nothing but this one work our Lord said my father worked his time and I work and brothers and sisters do we cooperate and work together that we may speed hasten the day of fulfillment we have a great responsibility today brothers and sisters we cannot live as we lived before we have to live for God's heart we have to give ourselves fully absolutely out of love to Him we have to deny ourselves take up our cross and follow Him allow Him to finish the perfect work oh how glory that day will be glory to God dear Heavenly Father we bow in worship to you how precious how manifold are thy thoughts who are we that thou should be mindful of us we are poor material and yet thou can take nothing and make it something so beautiful how much it has cost thee and yet out of thy great love thou has spent it all for us dear Lord may thy love constrain us that we live no longer for ourselves but live for your purpose live for you live for your church that you may receive sooner that which you long for to thee be the glory in thy precious name amen