In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes that in the New Testament, Jesus has restored believers to God's original plan. All believers are now considered priests and are called to live a life of service to God and His purpose. The speaker explains that the church is the holy place where believers serve, and within the church, there are three important furnishings: the golden table of shoe bread, representing communion with the life of Christ; the golden candlestick, symbolizing the need to walk in the light and have fellowship with one another; and the sanctuary, which God instructed the Israelites to build so that He could dwell among them. The sermon highlights the importance of recognizing that everything we have is given by God and encourages believers to willingly offer back to Him as an expression of love.

Will you please turn to Exodus, Exodus chapter 25. Just one verse, verse 8. Exodus 25, verse 8. And they shall make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. 1 Chronicles, 1 Chronicles chapter 28, verse 19. 1 Chronicles chapter 28, verse 19. All this, said David, in writing by Jehovah's hand upon me, instructing as to all the works of the pattern. Let's have a word of prayer. Dear Lord, our hearts do bow in worship, thanking Thee for all that Thou hast done for us on Calvary's cross. Thank Thee for calling us to come together to remember Thee at Thy table. Thank You for calling us to commune with Thy blood and with Thy bread, Thy life. And thank You for calling us to wait for Thy return. Lord, Thy love is so amazing, so tremendous, we are overwhelmed. We do thank Thee. And as we continue in Thy presence, we look to Thee to open Thy word to us. As Thou didst open Thy word to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. Lord, may Thy word not only warm our hearts, but Thy word will give us hope, give us strength to return to Jerusalem. We commit this time into Thy hands, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen. Last, last day, we began to share together on this matter of the house of God. The house of God is a mystery that has been hidden in the heart of God, even before the foundation of the world. In other words, the house of God is an integral part of the eternal purpose of God, that which God wants to have and to accomplish. And we find how God, through the ages, revealed what was in His heart. So, last, last day, we mentioned that the house of God, that very term, is first mentioned in Genesis chapter 28 to Jacob. Therefore, the first time God reveals to Jacob all the hidden principles concerning the house of God. You know, when you study the word of God, we often mention that there's the principle of first mentioning. Whenever something is mentioned for the first time in the word of God, usually hidden in that first mentioning are all the basic fundamental thoughts of that thing. So, we find that when God revealed to Jacob the house of God, the basic understanding is, what is the house of God? The house of God is being pictured as a ladder, the top of which reached to heaven. It is set on earth, and we know who is stationed at the top of the ladder. God himself. And who lays at the bottom of the ladder? Jacob. And that ladder joins God in heaven and Jacob on earth together into the house of God. So, what is the house of God? God and man in Christ Jesus, because only Christ Jesus is the way to heaven. Now, this morning, we would like to continue on the revelation in the word of God concerning the house of God. We remember how God led the children of Israel out of Egypt. They were slaves in Egypt, and God delivered them. Through Moses, God brought them to Mount Sinai. And there in Exodus, we find God said to Moses, I brought my people out as an eagle's wing to myself. And if they will keep my word and my covenant, I will make them my people, my possession out of all nations. To be a nation of priests, I will be their God and they will be my people. In other words, their God revealed to the children of Israel, the reason, the purpose, why he delivered them. He delivered them, not just to set them free. They may have a free time to live for themselves, but he delivered them with a definite purpose. And there on that mount, God revealed his purpose. So after he gave them the law, we find that he began to tell them to build him a sanctuary that he might dwell among them. Now brothers and sisters, why did God give the law to this redeemed people? The reason for giving the law to this redeeming people is that they might be God's people. By keeping the law, they will truly be God's people. And our emphasis sometimes will be on the giving of the law. But as you read the word of God, you will find only five chapters are devoted to the giving of the law at Mount Sinai. But there are seven chapters following concerning the tabernacle. The sanctuary. In other words, the giving of the law is a preparation to prepare a people for the reason of what follows. And the reason is, God said, make me a sanctuary, a habitation that I may dwell among you. God is holy. Even though this people were delivered out of Egypt and were given the law in order to be God's people. And yet we know they were not holy enough for God to dwell immediately, directly among them. And that's the reason why God said, make me a sanctuary. And through that sanctuary, I may dwell among you. So here you'll find a further revelation. And it's still based upon the same principle. In other words, even we who are redeemed by the Lord, separated unto God, supposed to be the house of God. And yet, conditionally, we are not holy enough. Separated enough as God is holy. And therefore, the only way for God to dwell among man is through a tabernacle, a sanctuary. And we know that tabernacle is a type of Christ. So the same principle, how can God dwell with man? How can God and man be together? It is through Christ Jesus. So this tabernacle is basically and primarily a type of our Lord Jesus. God commanded Moses to build that tabernacle. Now, of course, there's so much in that tabernacle. But I think for our present consideration, let me just put it very briefly. The tabernacle represents Christ, our Lord. And the tabernacle is in three sections. You have the outer court. You have the holy place. And you have the holiest of all. It is through that tabernacle that man were able to approach God, come to the presence of God. And it is through that tabernacle, God was able to speak to his people, to commune with his people, and to come out to bless his people. So everything you find is centered upon this tabernacle. And that is what our Lord Jesus is. We may say the outer court represents Christ's relationship to the world. Because in the outer court, everybody could come. And in the outer court, you have only two things. One is the brazen altar of sacrifice. And the other is a brazen labor for washing. Now, brothers and sisters, we know that this brazen altar represents the cross of our Lord Jesus. No one can approach God. Because if anyone dare to approach God on himself, he will be stricken to death. Because God is so holy. And we are so unclean, unfit for God. So anyone who desires to come to God has to come by the brazen altar. Because there, the sacrifice was offered. And it is by the blood that our sins are washed away. So brothers and sisters, here you'll find our Lord's relationship to the world. Whosoever wills, anybody can come. But they have to come first to the brazen altar. They cannot bypass the cross of our Lord Jesus. Because there, he redeems us. He shed his blood for the remission of our sins. And there he justifies us before the righteous God. That's the salvation preaching to the world. But after we have gone through this brazen altar, after we have believed in the Lord Jesus and him crucified, we are the Lord's. And as we become God's people, we are called to serve. Let my people go that they may serve me. So brothers and sisters, by being redeemed is for the purpose of serving. We are made priests unto God. And when priests begin to serve God, you find they have to come to the brazen laver first. And there they have to wash their hands and their feet. In order that they may serve at the brazen altar of sacrifice and also to enter into the holy place to serve God. And here again you find the brazen laver typifies our Lord Jesus, his work. He is not only the one who justifies us at the brazen altar. He is also the one who sanctifies us at the brazen laver. So we who have been saved, because we are still in this world. We are still in contact with this world. And in our daily life, unconsciously, we pick up the dust and the dirt of this world. And make us, as it were, unfit to serve God. So every time we are to serve, we have to come to the brazen laver. We have to be washed. Our hands, our feet need to be washed. That our relationship with the Lord will be clear. That we are ready to serve. And this is basically what sanctification means. He will wash us by the water with the word that we may be holy, sanctified, fit for him. And there you'll find in Ephesians chapter 5, this water represents life. In other words, after we are saved, he will use his word and his life in us. To cleanse us, to sanctify us, that we may be fit to serve him. So brothers and sisters, here in the altar court, you have all the preparation for our approach to God. Then briefly said, as priests, you enter into the holy place. So the holy place, in a sense, represents Christ in relation to the church. We, as members of the body of Christ, we are all priests. Even in the Old Testament time, God's original purpose is a nation of priests for the children of Israel. It is because of their failure that you'll find that God had to call one tribe and one family to be priests unto him. But God's original thought concerning his redeemed people is a nation of priests. So in the New Testament, in the work of our Lord Jesus, he has restored us to God's original thought. All believers are priests. And as priests, we live to serve. We live to serve God. As priests, we do not live for ourselves. We live for God, to serve his purpose. So here you'll find the holy place. That is the church. In the house of God, in the church, we serve. And then you'll find, briefly, in the holy place, there are three furnitures. You'll find the golden table of showbread. And that typifies, basically, Christ as our life. We are in communion with the life of our Lord Jesus. And as we commune with him, then you'll find, secondarily, the 12 loaves of bread on the altar. I mean, on the table of showbread represents the 12 tribes of Israel. So in other words, you'll find it is a communion with the life of Christ. And as we commune with the life of Christ, we are transformed. And we become a showbread, a bread of testimony to the world. And then, of course, there is the golden candlestick, the light. And the work of the priest is to light that candlestick every day. And you'll see that the light is always shining. In other words, how do we serve the Lord? We serve the Lord by walking in the light. He is the light. And if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. And the blood of God's Son, Jesus Christ, cleanses us from all our sins. That is service. And as we serve him in that way, we become light to the world, a testimony to the world. And then again, you'll find in the holy place, there is the golden altar of incense. It represents chiefly our Lord Jesus as the high priest, living in heaven today, making intercession for us unceasingly to save us to the uttermost. It is a prayer of our Lord Jesus that we are able to be kept throughout this world. And in union with him, we too become intercessors. We come to pray and pray together with him. And prayer is the highest ministry of the church, the highest ministry of the priest. You know, in the old days, in the days of Christ, if a priest was given the opportunity to burn incense in the holy place, he could only do it once in his lifetime. Because at that time, he represents the whole nation. He was the only one in the tabernacle. All the people standing outside praying, but he was the only one representing the nation before God. And he prayed the prayer of the nation. Come, Messiah, come. So it's a high privilege. He could do it only once. And many priests did not even have the privilege of doing it in their lifetime. So brothers and sisters, here you'll find we who are priests unto God, our responsibility is not only receiving the benefit of the unceasing prayer of our Lord Jesus for us, because that's the only way we are able to be kept. But at the same time, we are called to join with him in prayer. Let thy kingdom come, let thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and let thy name be honored, be glorified. So brothers and sisters, here you'll find a step further, nearer, as it were, to the throne of God. And then you'll find the holiest of all. In the holiest of all, there is only one furniture. You have the ark and the mercy seat upon it. And the glory of God sat upon the mercy seat. And there he will speak to his people and bless his people. So brothers and sisters, the holiest of all can represent Christ in relation to heaven or to the heavenlies, to the heavenly realm. In the very presence of God. Brothers and sisters, today we are in the heavenlies, and there in that heavenly realm, we are able to be in the presence of God, to behold his beauty, and to inquire of him. In other words, it is a life of union with God in Christ Jesus. Just a word of caution. Because in Christianity, throughout the ages, as people seek to be united with God, and I believe that this is God's purpose. He wants us to be united with him. Man and God, united together, to be the house of God. That is God's purpose. And throughout the Christian ages, you find people have been seeking for the union with God. But unfortunately, they come to a serious heresy. And that is, they think to be union with God and is to deify man. And man become God. That is not the Bible teaching. God is God, man is man. There is a gap that can never be crossed. Thank God we are saved. Thank God we receive his life. Thank God we are united with God. But that's united with God is in life. Not in person, we are not deified. We receive his divine nature, divine life, but we are not in that deity. He is always God to us, and we are always man. But thank God, there is a union, and that union is in Christ Jesus. So union with God in Christ Jesus is scriptural. Union with God to be God, to be deified, is heretic. So let us be careful about this. Now thank God, it is God's will that we may live a life in the very presence of God. We may be so joined to God in life, in Christ Jesus, that we may be like him, conform to the image of God's beloved son. But that's the limit. And that is the real union life. It is in Christ Jesus. So you find that the whole matter is centered upon Christ. Without Christ, we will not be justified. Without Christ, we cannot be sanctified. Without Christ, we will never be glorified. But thank God for him, for what he has done for us. Now, we are not only justified, we are sanctified, and we are glorified. And that's the full salvation of our Lord Jesus. So brothers and sisters, God's desire is that we may be one with him. But that is in life, in Christ Jesus. That is the meaning of the tabernacle. And it is in that tabernacle that God dwells with man. But here you'll find something more revealed, and that is, God said, make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among you. God wants his people to be involved in the making of their sanctuary. God created the heavens and the earth all by himself. He did not need any help. But strangely, in this house of God, it is his will to involve man. He will not do it alone. He wants his redeemed people to be involved. So here you'll find, in Exodus chapter 25, God said to the children of Israel, give me a love gift, a heave offering. A heave offering is a love gift. Give me a love gift. Give me what I have given to you. That the tabernacle may be built. Now, dear brothers and sisters, we need to remember, the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt for hundreds of years. A slave on nothing, not even his life. But when God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt, you remember he commanded the children of Israel to demand from their neighbors, the Egyptians, gold, silver, clothing, all these things. So when they left Egypt, they were no longer a poor people. They were a wealthy people because they spoiled Egypt. Egypt at the time was a rich country and they spoiled Egypt. So they were very wealthy. They came out rich, with plenty, with abundance. And now out of what God had given to them. Out of that abundance, God said, give me a love gift. It is all God's, but God wants his people to give some back as a love gift. As an expression of their love for God. And you know the story, how Satan tried to deprive God of that resources. When Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments on the Mount, they built a golden calf. And where did the gold come from? The gold was given to them when they left Egypt. But thank God that Satan was not able to exhaust all that God has given. Because God gave him so plentifully. So you remember afterwards, God said, Whoever whose heart was touched by the Spirit of God, come and offer willingly. So dear brothers and sisters, there is a lesson for us to learn. Everything we have is given by God. We came out naked and we will return naked. Everything that we have are given by God. We are not owners of anything. We are stewards to manage what God has entrusted to us. And out of what he has given us, let his love constrain us. And we are constrained by love to give to God something, what he has given to us. Let not the enemy deprive us of such giving. And it is out of the heave offering of the children of Israel that you find the tabernacle was built. So this is a further revelation concerning the house of God. And then another thing you find, God said, Make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among you. This was spoken to Moses primarily. Now who was Moses? Moses was a man with great learning. He had learned all the learnings of Egypt. And Egypt at that time was famous for its architecture. Even the pyramids that are still existing today. Great feature of architectural skill. Moses was a great builder, trained engineer, architect. And when God said, Make me a tabernacle, God, Moses would say, Fine, easy. I can build pyramids, burial place for emperor. To build a tent, that's the easiest thing to do. Just let me do it for you. No, God said, I will give you the pattern on the mat. Every detail was given. Not only the material, the type and shapes of the furniture, the weight, the color, everything. God gave the pattern to Moses in detail. And then God warned Moses to do everything according to the pattern on the mat. Because there was a temptation. Oftentimes we think we are cleverer than God. Oftentimes we thought we are able to do God a service. God said, No, everything has to be from him, through him, and unto him. There is a pattern for the house of God. It is not for man to invent the form and shape of the house of God. It is to learn from the revelation of the word of God to know what that pattern is. And then Moses was considered faithful in all God's house. Why? Because he followed everything to the last detail. And brothers and sisters, that should teach us another lesson. Thank God, in the house of God, there is a pattern. We need to study that pattern. Not only to know the pattern, but also to follow the pattern in every detail. God has not given us liberty to do what we think will be best for him. It may be a trial to our flesh. Because we think we know better. We can do it. But thank God, everything spiritual has to be done in God's way, and not in our way. So, dear brothers and sisters, you find there is a further revelation of the house of God in time. Then, of course, as you continue on, you find the children of Israel, finally, they build the tent. And they carry the tent through the wilderness for 39 years. And then they enter into the promised land. But unfortunately, the children of Israel were unfaithful to God. They allowed the ark of God to be captured by the Philistines. The ark was in the Philistines for several months. But thank God, the ark that represents the presence of God knew how to protect itself. So, finally, the ark was sent back. But when it was sent back, instead of taking the ark to Shiloh, where the tent was, tabernacle was, it was hidden on the hills in the house of Abinadab for a long time. The children of Israel had no heart for God. The tabernacle in Shiloh was there. Maybe the daily sacrifice was done. Some faithful priest must be there. But there was no ark. The wholeness of all was empty. No reality there. And even the outward was so corrupted and so degenerated, the ark was hidden. I know. Not until David. And that was about 400 more years. David, a man after God's own heart, who will do all his will. And brothers and sisters, thank God, he raised up David. David has God's heart. He treasured what God treasured. And if you read Psalm 132, you'll find how his heart cried out for a place for the ark of God. He couldn't close his eyelid. He couldn't go to his bed, into his tent. He was thinking of the ark. He discovered it in the hill of the forest. And it was his desire to bring it back to Zion. Brothers and sisters, here you'll find a man who has a heart for God's heart. Now again, you'll find David, he not only brought the ark back and put it in his tent, temporarily set up in Mount Zion. But he also, after he became king, he told Nathan, his prophet, how could I dwell in a house of cedar and God's ark still in the tent? I want to make him a temple, a permanent place. He was not allowed to build it because he was a man of war. He shed too much blood. But God was so pleased with him. God's heart was touched. And God said, wait a minute. I will build your house first, so that you can build my house. Your son will build my house. Now brothers and sisters, when you read, you may think that it was David's idea to build God a temple, a more permanent house for God. But actually we knew that it was God's thought. Even though he holds the foundation of the world. But here in this case, you'll find God did not ask for it. You know, in the wilderness, God asked his people to make him a sanctuary. But in this case, you'll find God did not even ask for it. The children of Israel had proved themselves unfaithful. So God will not even ask for a temple, a more permanent place. He was waiting for someone who really loved him, who really had a heart for him, who really wanted to please God, to satisfy God, to fulfill God's desire. He was waiting. And he had to wait for hundreds, hundreds of years for that man to rise up. Brothers and sisters, I believe there is some lesson for us to learn. How gracious is our God. He can force us to do things, but he never will. He's waiting for the love of his people. He's waiting for the love of Christ constrains someone to think of God's need, to put God's need first. And that's how the temple was built. That temple was built with love. Not only the love of God for man, but the love of man for God. That's the house. David was not allowed to build it, but God gave the pattern to David. That pattern was more elaborate, more full, more permanent, because that is what the house of God is. The house of God represents the fullness of God. The fullness of God in Christ Jesus and the fullness of Christ in the church. It is everlasting. It is permanent. And not only that, David prepared materials for the building of the house. You know, if you read 1 Chronicles, you will find in 1 Chronicles chapter 22, it says, out of his affliction, out of the affliction of David, he prepared materials for the temple. Now, I think there the affliction is David had gone through many wars. And out of the spoils of the war, he set apart gold and silver, medals for the building of the temple. Isn't that true? That out of our affliction, there should be spoils. Out of our trials and sufferings, there will be some spoils. And these spoils are to be offered to God for the building of the house. Spiritually, that is very true. If you have no spoil, you have no material to offer. And then when you come to chapter 29 of 1 Chronicles, David said, I gave out of all my power, all that I could do, I gave. And then he said, I gave all out of my affection for the house of God. Out of his love, he gave and gave and gave again. That is the expression of love. So, dear brothers and sisters, every day of our life is a preparation, preparing materials for the house of God. Every trial, every affliction should bring some spoil for the Lord. Out of our power, out of our affection, we are preparing materials for the house of God. Then you'll find it was Solomon who built the house. Love prepares the material, wisdom builds the house. Solomon is a symbol of wisdom, not the wisdom of this world. His wisdom is an understanding heart, a heart that knows God, understands God. And with that wisdom, he built the house. He could read the blueprint, the pattern. He could transform that pattern into a building. That's wisdom. So, brothers and sisters, it is love that prepares the material. And it is wisdom that builds the house. We cannot build the house of God with human wisdom. Human wisdom can only build a tower or Babel. It takes spiritual wisdom. The spirit of wisdom and revelation be given that we may know the will of God, that we may know how to build the house. And thank God, finally, it was built. And brothers and sisters, all these are in types. More revelation will be given. And we are hoping that we may have the opportunity to consider together again. Dear Lord, we thank you for revealing your heart to us. You want a house. You want a family. You want us to be with you and united with you in Christ, in life. To be together forever in one life. Oh, Lord, pray that thou will impress upon our heart the importance of the house of God. That we may not each go after our own house and forget the house of God. Dear Lord, put that burden upon our heart and make us a people who out of love will daily prepare materials for that house and give us wisdom to build it according to thy will. We ask in thy precious name.