This sermon emphasizes the importance of following God's commands diligently, as seen in the Old Testament tabernacle where Moses obeyed the Lord's instructions meticulously, resulting in the glory of God filling the tabernacle. It highlights the distinction between religious patterns and the genuine presence of God, urging believers to seek a personal encounter with Jesus rather than mere religious practices. The analogy of being a bride to Jesus is used to illustrate the excitement and longing for intimacy with Him, inviting weary and burdened individuals to find rest and true life in Him.

That's why in the Old Testament tabernacle, there was a pattern. And if you read Exodus chapter 39 and chapter 40, you read it sometime, 18 times you'll see this expression. Moses did as the Lord commanded him. As the Lord commanded him. In just two chapters, 18 times he made the curtains as the Lord commanded him. He made the boards as the Lord commanded him. He made the altar as the Lord commanded him. He made this as the Lord commanded him. And at the end of it, it says, thus Moses finished the work and the glory of the Lord came upon the tabernacle. You know, that was the mark of that Old Testament tabernacle. It wasn't just the pattern. The fire of God was there. If some Philistine had got a copy of the book of Exodus, they could have made a tabernacle exactly like that. We can make one today like that. Because all the descriptions there, length, material, everything. But there's one thing the Philistines would not have been able to produce. And we can't produce either. That's the fire of the glory of God resting upon it. That you can't produce. And I'll tell you, you know, you can do all the things that a Christian is supposed to do. Sing the right songs, speak the right language, and everything and everything, etc, etc. But there's one thing you cannot duplicate. And that is the presence of God. We can come to a church and say, oh, in this church we pray like this. Okay, I'm going to pray like that. In this church we behave like this. Okay, we behave like that. It's a pattern. It's good. The tabernacle also had a pattern. I'll tell you this, brothers and sisters. There was a time when that glory departed. But the tabernacle was still the correct pattern. Pattern didn't change. The glory went. The temple was made according to exactly as God spoke to David. It was exactly there. But one day the glory went. And so that's the thing. When you lose that bridal spirit, when your longing is not that God should be here, what do you seek? Whom do you seek? I say, Lord, I seek you. I don't want to just come back from a meeting and say, well, that was a good message. I sort of got all stirred up. For how long? A week? Until the next meeting comes along. I say, Lord, the trouble is I don't meet with you. I want to meet with you. And that's the question the Lord is asking all of you today. Whom do you seek? What are you seeking for? Just a nice message or Jesus himself? There was a time when Jesus was walking down a road and huge crowds were pressing around him and suddenly Jesus says, who touched me? And the disciples said, what do you mean who touched you? Everybody is touching you. He said, no, no, no. Everybody is crowding around me. But one person touched me by faith because I felt something going from me, power, blessing somebody. I've often thought of that crowd as a picture of a meeting. Here we are all sitting together crowding around Jesus. He is here. The Lord Jesus is here. He is as much here right now as if he were here physically. And we crowd around him. But here and there somebody touches him by faith. Somebody with a deep longing responds to the deep longing he has. And those are the ones who meet with him before they go home. I want it to be like that, not just in a meeting. I want it to be like that every day of my life. I mean a bride in a bridegroom. What a word. There is a difference between a wife and a bride. We are going to be the lamb's wife one day, but on earth we are called a bride. And there is something wonderful about the bride. Have you ever seen a bride who is depressed and gloomy? I've seen wives who are depressed and gloomy, but brides who are depressed and gloomy. I've never seen one. Brides are always excited and, hey, I'm a bride. So I thank God that I'm the bride. One day I'll be the wife, but then in heaven there won't be any opportunity to get depressed. So it's okay to be a wife there. But right now I'm a bride. Think of that. Think of the day when you got married if you really loved your wife or husband. What a day that was. I remember my marriage day. It was really exciting because I was marrying somebody I loved very much. It's the same with my Christian life. I want to be a bride every day, excited that I can be with Jesus. It doesn't matter if I can't do much for him. I want to say that, brothers and sisters. Don't feel discouraged that you can't travel the world like some other brothers can. It doesn't matter. What did David say? There's only one thing I long for. I want to be with you. What do you seek? Who do you seek? Let me show you a couple of verses, whom Jesus is inviting to come to him. Matthew chapter 11 and verse 28. Come to me. Not every Tom, Dick and Harry. I want to say that not everybody is invited to come to Jesus. Only those who are weary and heavy laden. Now I will give you rest. You know, those who are sick and tired, frustrated with their own Christian life. Do you feel like that today? You feel you're putting up a front because you belong to CSC. You're supposed to be spiritual. So you have to put up a front of rejoicing. You're not like that. You're pretty fed up and frustrated and so many things wrong, going wrong and you don't seem to have any victory. You say, well, no hope for me. I want to tell you the good news. You're the one whom Jesus is calling. Those who are weary and heavy laden, those who are sick and tired of their, frustrated of their life and says, I will give you rest. Here in the message Bible it says are you burnt out on religion? Are you burnt out with religion, with rules and trying to behave like a Christian and all the things that religion requires you. A lot of people are burnt out on religion. It says, come to me. All of you who are burnt out on religion, come to me and get away with me. Let's go away together somewhere. This is the bridegroom calling. Let's go away together somewhere and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me, work with me and watch how I do it. I like this, if you can understand this English. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. Unforced means there's no compulsion. Rhythm is a musical word. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. Heaven is going to be a place of music. I will not lay anything heavy on you or something that doesn't fit for you. I know exactly what fits for you. Keep company with me. This again the voice of the bridegroom. And you will learn to live freely and lightly. Like I say often there'll be a spring in your step, a song in your heart and a twinkle in your eye because you're walking with Jesus. Every day it's meant to be like that. If you haven't got there, don't get discouraged. Are you weary and heavy laden? He invites you to come. I took some years, a number of years to get there but I tell you, I'm a very happy man today because I've learned to walk with him. And anytime the Lord asks me, what are you seeking? I say, Lord, I'm not seeking anything. I'm seeking you. What do you want? I want you.