In this sermon, Minister Stephen Carl discusses the importance of recognizing Jesus as the final revelation of God. He emphasizes that in the past, God spoke to the fathers through prophets in fragments and preparations, but now He has spoken to us through His Son. Jesus is the heir of all things and the creator of the world. He is the effulgence of God's glory and the expression of His substance. Minister Carl also mentions the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain and how it symbolizes the finality of Jesus as the Son of God.

This is ministry given in Richmond, Virginia by Brother Stephen Kong on Sunday evening, April the 9th, 1972. I'd like to read from the book of Hebrews, two passages. Hebrews, chapter 1, verses 1, 2, and 3. God having spoken in many parts and in many ways, formerly to the fathers in the prophets, at the end of these days has spoken to us in Son, or in the person of the Son, whom he has established heir of all things, by whom also he made the world, who being the effulgence of his glory and the expression of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, having made by himself the purification of sins, set himself down on the right hand of the greatness. And then Hebrews, chapter 12. Hebrews, chapter 12, verse 2. Looking steadfastly on Jesus, the leader and completer of faith, who in view of the joy lying before him, endured the cross, having despised the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Now, in my version there is a footnote. This looking steadfastly, it means looking away from other things, and fixing the eye exclusively on one. Or to put it more simply, looking off, O-F-F, looking off unto Jesus. God has spoken. I think this is one of the greatest things in the universe. God speaks. He has spoken. Now suppose God shall remain silent. Suppose God never speaks. How are we to know him? We can never know God unless God speaks. And in his speaking he reveals himself to us. So I think we should be very, very grateful that God has spoken. He has spoken to our fathers in the former days. That is to say, before the coming of Christ. God spoke to our fathers through the prophets. God will raise up men and women. God will inspire them. God will put his thoughts and sometimes even words into their mouth that they might speak for God. God spoke through the prophets. But when he spoke through the prophets, it was in many parts and in many ways. In other words, when God spoke through a prophet, what the prophet prophesied about God was only fragmentary. It was never complete and perfect. However much that prophet might be used of God to speak, what he had uttered was but bits and pieces and fragments. God had to raise up many prophets. He had to speak through many prophets. But even when you put all the speakings of the prophets together, there were still many parts and not the whole. God would use one prophet to speak a little. He will use another prophet to reveal a little bit more of himself. Now the prophets here we cannot limit just to the prophets as we know today in the Old Testament. For instance, like Elijah, like Jeremiah, Isaiah, up to Malachi. Now we consider these people as prophets. But as a matter of fact, if you read the Old Testament, you'll find Abraham was a prophet. Noah was a prophet. Enoch was a prophet. Moses was a prophet. These were all prophets. Why? Because God once spoke through them. God once revealed himself through these people. So you have to take the whole Old Testament together and there you'll find God spoke through the prophets. It was in many parts. God spoke through Abel a little bit. God spoke through Noah or Enoch a little bit. Through Noah a little bit. Through Abraham a little bit. And so on and so forth until Malachi. Because these were all parts, fragments. These were all pieces. These were all preparations in a sense. They were not the final, full, complete revelation of God. Through these teachings we might know God to a certain degree. But only to a certain degree. Not to the full revelation. At the same time, when God spoke through the prophets, he spoke in many ways. Sometimes he used very plain words. Other times he spoke in riddles and parables. Sometimes he spoke through visions and dreams. Other times he spoke in the form of types. And still others he spoke by demonstrating it in history, in actions. Therefore in the Old Testament you'll find we have the law, the psalms and the prophets. Sometimes he was like a commandment to us. Other times he was like a song to us. A sentiment. And then another time he was like a prophesy. So God spoke through the prophets in many ways. And in many parts. Thank God for all these teachings. But again, it was not the final. It was fragmentary. It was parts. Not the full. Then at the end of these days. That is to say at the end of the days of the law and of the prophets. When God introduced his own son to this world. Then the Bible said, God has spoken to us in son. You know in Greek it is rather strange. It doesn't sound very much like English. God has spoken to us in son. We will put an article before the son. But in the Greek the spirit of God purposely omitted that article. Before son. Why? Because the way that God speaks in his son is very different. Completely different from the way that he spoke through the prophets. When he spoke through the prophets. He inspired them. He gave them words to speak. Sometimes they understood. Sometimes they did not understand. But when God speaks in his son. It is not just inspiring his son to speak. Or putting words in his son's mouth. No. God speaks in his son. That is to say God speaks. The closest English expression would be, God speaks as son. God himself is speaking. He is speaking directly. He is speaking not in the person of the father. But he is speaking in the person of the son. So you find a great difference between these two kinds of speaking. When he speaks in his son. He is revealing himself to the fullest. Because he speaks directly. The Lord Jesus is not only the last word of God. God has spoken many words. And when he comes to the Lord Jesus, his son. Of course he utters the last word. But he is more than the last word. All that the prophets have spoken are speaking concerning him. He is the very substance of all God's former speaking. He is the son total of all God's speaking. In other words, the son is the final. When the son comes, then God is fully revealed to man. There is nothing further beyond that. He is the final. In other words, if you want to know God, you have to know him. If all you know is the prophets. No matter how many prophets you know. No matter how much. Uttered by the prophets you are acquainted with. All you have are parts. Or fragments. Or preparations. Preparatory. It behooves us that we know the son. If you have the son, then you have all. Because no one knows the father. But he who is in the bosom of the father declares him. The son is final. He is final. I think there is a picture that can illustrate this point. One day you remember our Lord Jesus took three disciples to the mountain. And there he transfigured. These three disciples were the leading disciples among all the others. He took these three, Peter, John and James, with him to the mountain of transfiguration. And there he was transfigured. His face shone. Even his garments. And there Moses and Elijah appeared. And they talked to him. Now the word departure actually means his exit. How would the Lord Jesus make his exit out of this world? He has come to this world. He has lived on this earth for a number of years. He has demonstrated through his earthly days what kind of man God wants. And he is that man. Now Moses and Elijah appeared with him. And they were talking about his exit. How would he go out of this world? You know this was a very, very important moment in history. How far as the Lord himself is concerned he is well qualified to make his exit from the mountain of transfiguration. Why? That's because he has proven to be worthy to appear before God as man. Here is a man who is qualified to abide in the presence of God. He is a man at God's own heart. He has pleased God in every way. And certainly he can be received to God as the perfect man. Now should our Lord Jesus make his exit at that time then what will happen to us? There will be no redemption. No cross, no redemption. It is alright for him. But there will be only one man in glory. And no more. So you find that this is a very important subject to talk about. Moses and Elijah, they are interested in this subject. Now how will the Lord Jesus make his exit out of this world? Instead of making his exit at that time he decides to make exit from this world by way of the cross. That gives us hope. But anyway you find Moses and Elijah, they are talking with the Lord Jesus about his exit. And because the glory is so great these disciples fall asleep. These are wakes up just in time. As if he senses that Moses and Elijah are going to leave. So immediately he feels he has to say something to retain them. He does not know what to say. But he has to say something. Therefore he says, oh Lord it is good to be here. Let us make three tabernacles. One for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah. And let us stay here forever. It is better that he keeps quiet. Because immediately after he has spoken a cloud and God dismissed Moses and Elijah immediately. So they see no one but Jesus, the Lord and the Prophet. They prepare the way. They introduce Christ. As soon as their tasks are done God dismissed them. God is very jealous of his son. If anybody wants to make Moses and Elijah on a same footing with our Lord Jesus the Father is so jealous he dismisses them right away. He says no one is to be on the same footing with my son. They are introducing the son. They have a place in my economy. But when the son arrives that is the final. He does not want us to see Moses. He does not want us to see Elijah. He wants us to see Jesus. There is a finality in Christ that God wants us. But our tendency is always trying to hold on to something other than the son. And we must remember God is very jealous. And that may explain many experiences of your life. The whole book of Hebrews is written with this theme. The finality. Now if you know anything about the background of the book of Hebrews I believe you will appreciate it more. Why? Because you remember after the Lord has accomplished the work of redemption. And he is risen from the dead. He is ascended upon high. And on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit is poured forth. The church is formed. And the gospel is being preached to all mankind. Now as the gospel is spread many Jews at that time believe in Christ. In the book of Acts you find even many priests. They believe in Christ. But they do not confess him publicly. Why? Because they are afraid of their position. In Judaism. But anyway you find that during the early days of Christianity there were many many Jews who became believers in Christ Jesus. When they believe in the Lord Jesus you find that they were holding in their two hands both Judaism and Christianity. You know the world at that time did not know that Christianity was something entirely new and different from Judaism. The Roman world, the Roman Empire at that time in the very beginning treated Christianity as a sect of Judaism. They thought it was just a sect. A school. In Judaism. And not only the world thought it that way even the believers at that time. They thought that it was just a continuation of Judaism. Therefore you find these early Jewish believers what we will call today Hebrew Christians they might gather together on the Lord's day and break the bread in remembrance of the Lord. And yet on Sabbath they still went to the synagogues and to the temple. On the one hand they believed in the Lord Jesus as the fulfillment of all prophecies yet on the other hand they still kept the law and the dates and all these things. So you find in these so-called Jewish believers or Hebrew Christians they couldn't see the distinction between Christianity and Judaism. It was a Judeo-Christianity. In other words they put Moses on the same level as Christ. They had received Christ but they would not let Moses go. They wanted both. It was such a mixture. And you know God was very unhappy about their situation. God was very jealous of his son. So God decided to do a drastic thing. If God did not do something drastic these Jewish believers would never be delivered from Moses. They would never be pure in their faith. So God decided to do something terrible. What? God decided to destroy Jerusalem. To destroy the temple in Jerusalem. To destroy the sacrifices. To put these priests out of job. Jerusalem was the place of God's appointment. He himself chose that place to set his name there. To a Jewish people Jerusalem had such a hold upon him. You remember in Psalm 137? The psalmist said, Oh, if I forget Jerusalem let my hands forget its steel. If I do not remember Jerusalem let my tongue cleave to the upper palate. In other words, Jerusalem was everything to a Jew. That's why you'll find this time when they got Jerusalem they would not let it go. It was their very life. The temple. The temple was given to them by God. God himself said he would set his eyes upon the temple. He would hear their prayers. This is the place where they came to worship God. The temple was given to them by God. The pattern was revealed to David by God himself. The laws. The sacrifices. The priesthoods. The services. All these things came from God. They were the very life of Judaism. The very life of the Jewish people. But because they held on to these things to the extent of rejecting God's Son and even those Jewish believers they did not reject the Son they received the Son and yet they still held on to that Jewish Judaism and were most reluctant to let them go as if they would lose something. So God said alright. I had to do something. God was determined to wipe out Jerusalem. Destroy the temple. Tear everything down that these believers might be set free from the bondage of Judaism in order that they might enter into Christ in a pure way. Otherwise they would never be able to enter into purity of faith. Christianity in the eyes of God is not a continuation of Judaism. It is a new thing. A new creation. And God did not want his people to hold on to the old and try to mix it with the new. You remember the parables our Lord Jesus speaks about the old and the new? If you have an old garment and there is a hole there now what will you do? Do you tear a piece out of the new garment and put this piece, new piece on the old garment? No. Or do you put a piece of unfinished cloth and mend this old cloth? No. Because if you do the new, the unfinished cloth will shrink and it will tear the hole even bigger. You don't do that. Or do you put the new wine in an old bottle, old skin? No. Because the new wine will still expand and the old skin has lost its flexibility, elasticity. So the wine will burst the skin and the wine will be poor for. You don't do that. But you know that's exactly what these Jewish believers were doing. They tried to hold a new wine in the old skin. They were thinking of tearing off a piece from the new garment or from the unfinished cloth and mend the hole in the old garment. The Lord said, God said, Now, my son is the final. I do not want you to have my son and with many things else. These all served. Now they have served their purpose. They could, My son shall remain only... But you know this was such a drastic step. If God did not instruct them first to prepare their hearts, they are afraid might be shaken to pieces. I remember during the war time I was in Singapore and the Japanese came and bombed Singapore day and night. Day and night. Any hour except two hours. Early in the dawn. And that's the time that we met together. We never stopped meeting. We knew during that two hours from approximately four o'clock to six o'clock in the morning. So we came together on the Lord's Day and met during those two hours and then dispersed. Bombing any hour. Day and night. And one day I remember very vividly a young brother came to me in agony. I could see he was just agonizing. He came to me and said, Brother, brother, have you heard? Have you heard that a bomb has fallen through the roof of a church building? Have you heard of that? Oh, I said, yes, I heard it. He said, brother, if God allowed a bomb to go through the church we have no more protection. We are finished. Brothers and sisters, how we put our trust in a building thinking that this is the sanctuary and we may find protection there. Isn't it God is trying to show us there is something more real? But you know what the Jewish believers at that time, they had the same trouble. What if God should destroy Jerusalem and the temple and with all these things? Now these Jewish believers would say, now that's the finish. That's the end. They would begin to doubt God. Their faith would be all shattered to pieces. Because somehow they lean upon these things. They held on these things as if these were the very thing, the very substance. It is for this reason that God raised up an instrument. We do not know who the writer of Hebrews is. There are different theories. But let's not speculate. But anyway we know that God raised up a servant of His. And through that servant He gave the Hebrew believers at that time. And the message in the book of Hebrews is not these things but Christ. All these things had to go. But the Son shall remain forever. And it is much better. So you find the book of Hebrews is centered upon the theme of the finality of nothing is final. Because it is not final therefore sooner or later it will pass away. But Christ is the finality of God. And this is the purpose of God. All the other things introduce Christ. But when Christ has come these things must pass away. Why? Because God will not allow anything to stand together with Christ. However good it may be. Not only the things that do not come from God must go. Even the things that come from God. The Son. Is there a message in this book of Hebrews for us today? I believe there is. We are living in a time of transition. This age is drawing. And the age to come is to be introduced. We are living in a time of transition. And during this time of transition there will be great seekings everywhere. During the last 50 years. Or during the last 10 years. Or during the last 5 years. You can see there is much seeking in the world. Much seeking. Let us not think of the world. Let us think of the Christian world. During the last 5 years how much seeking has happened to the Christian world. To Christianity. It seems as if everything is being tested to its very core. Even this matter of whether there is a God. And the very theologian in Christianity will come out and say there is no God. God does not exist. Or God is dead. He exists once. But he is dead now. You find that the very core of Christianity is being tested. We are not like the Jewish believers holding on to Judaism. But dear brothers and sisters do we not have the same problem? We are holding on to Christianity. To Christian traditions. Christianity in reality is Christ. Christianity is Christ. What is Christianity today? Christ. There are many things in Christianity that have been developed through the centuries and ages that do not come from God. And if they do not come from God they have to be shaken off. Why? Because the kingdom that cannot be shaken is coming. Before the kingdom that cannot be shaken comes. All that can be shaken that is, all that is not in the kingdom has to go. Therefore you find many things in Christianity that are developed through the years but do not come from God have to be shaken away. Do not cry over that. They cannot enter into the kingdom of God anyway. But the thing is even things that come from God just like Jerusalem the temple the law the feasts the sacrifices they came from God. And yet the day shall come when these things will also pass away. Why? The sun has come. Brothers and sisters let me ask you a very serious question. What do you have in your hand? What is Christianity today? Is Christianity a huge collection of things? Things that are not from God and things that are from God but a collection of things? That is to say we have a collection of teachings of doctrines of instructions of rules of regulations of forms of ways of worship of service is just a great huge collection of things like a museum like Smithsonian Institute. Or is Christianity to you Christ? What do you have in your hands? What is your Christian life composed of? Is it composed of many things? Or is it composed of nothing but Christ? Brothers and sisters this will be the test of our days. God allows and God will allow yet much more seeking in Christianity. Not only those traditions that do not come from God will be questioned even Christian traditions that do come from God will also be tested to see whether they are but things or they are Christ. If they are things they will be shattered. If they are Christ they will enter into the kingdom that cannot be shaken. That is the test of our day. I have a deep burden in my heart. I do not know how to discharge it. But dear brothers and sisters I have a great fear in my heart. My fear is when it comes to things that do not come from God we can readily see it. We will reject it. Why? Because it does not come from God. Not that easy though. Many things we know that are not from God we still hold it very precious. But in comparison let us say that things that do not come from God are easily discerned and should be more willingly forsaken. In other words when the shaking comes and these things were shattered to pieces we will let them go to pieces. We will not try to hold them together. But dear brothers and sisters the difficult thing is suppose what you have are things should you let these things go? Does God want to take these things away from you? Because you are occupied with things. You are not occupied. He has given you these things. But these things are to introduce you to Christ. Unless you reach the finality anything that is not final has to pass away. May I say very reverently Christ is the final form of all things. You read the gospel according to John. You know the gospel according to John is written very late. After the gospel according to Matthew the gospel according to Mark the gospel according to Luke have been written and spread among the believers for some time. And then there began to have confusion. Confusion among believers as to Christ. Therefore God used the apostle John in his old age. After a long period of knowing God God used the apostle John to write the gospel according to John. You know the gospel according to John is very different in nature than the other three gospels. Therefore all theologians divide the three gospels in one class and the gospel of John in another class. And that's correct. It's very different. Why? Because in the three gospels you find they record what Christ has done and what he has said. In John's gospel he also records what Christ has said and done and yet there is a difference. In the gospel of Mark, Matthew and Luke you see things. You meet things. But in the gospel of John all these things are not just things. Christ is these things. That's the difference. Therefore you'll find in the gospel of John many, many times there is such a word I am. I am the bread of life. Suppose you're hungry. Suppose you're not satisfied spiritually. You need spiritual food. You need it. The Lord said I am the resurrection and the life. When he went to raise up Lazarus he was not just giving Lazarus a thing called resurrection. He was giving to Lazarus himself. I am the resurrection. You'll find throughout the gospel of John Christ is the great I am. That is to say he is it. Whatever it may be if it is bread, he is the bread. If it is life, he is the life. If it is the way, he is the way. If it is the truth, he is the truth. If it is the life, he is the life. If it is resurrection, he is the resurrection. In other words, he is all things. Not just bread a thing. Light another thing. Way another thing. Truth another thing. Life another thing. Resurrection, another thing. Oh brothers and sisters, how many things we accumulate in Christianity, in our Christian life. But if all we have are things and not crying, one day they will be shaken up. It simply is not enough to be occupied with things. We must be occupied with Christ. There are two verses in the Bible, which are great verses. Tremendous, tremendously. You know in Colossians chapter 1 verse 19, that he might have the preeminence over all things. Christ may have the first place in all things. Now this is the will of God. The eternal will of God is that Christ may have the first place in all things. But how? And then another verse is in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 10. To head up or to sum up all things in Christ. Things in the heavens and things on earth. That is the eternal purpose of God. But how is it to be fulfilled? Let us say in the early days of our Christian lives, we usually are given things or we meet with things, we deal with things. For instance, I'm a sinner. I'm deeply burdened with my sin. Oh how I need forgiveness. So I go to the Lord and say now Lord, will you please, you have died on the cross for me. You have shed your blood for me. I believe you. Will you forgive me? And the Lord says, I forgive you. So we take a thing called forgiveness of sin and we get the forgiveness of sin. We come to the Lord and say Lord, I need to be justified. But how can I be justified? Not by my work, but how? You are the justifier. So will you please justify me? And the Lord says, all right, I'll justify you. So you know the Lord as the justifier. Or to put it another way, you know the Lord as your savior. But when you read the Bible, you'll find something very strange. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 30, God has made him our righteousness, our justification. He is not only our justifier, he is our justification. He is not only our savior, he is our salvation. That's Psalm 27. God is my light and my salvation. Now we will say God is my savior. But the prophet know better. He said God is my salvation. Christ is our righteousness. It is not only that he justifies us or he gives us something called righteousness, he himself is made righteousness. Glory. I cannot forget the story about John Bunyan because you know sometimes when you have a very hard time to get through, God may have some lesson for you to learn to help others. Other people got saved very quickly, but John Bunyan got saved very difficultly. You know as a young man he was very careless and he sinned, you know, and then he was convicted and he tried to reform himself, you know, he became in the church, he became the bell ringer, you know, he rang the bell in the church. And then he was reformed for a while and then he slid back again and then he was again convicted and he tried to reform himself. So it went back and forth, back and forth. You will find his autobiography in that book, Grace Abounding. Grace Abounding is his biography. He didn't mention his name, but that's his biography, autobiography. But you know one day, when John Bunyan was so burdened in his heart about his justification, righteousness, he was walking in the field. He was sighing. How can I be justified? I had no righteousness. All the righteousness that I have, all like filthy rats. How can I be righteous before God? And he was so burdened and he was walking through the field, he heard a voice. Whether he heard it from heaven or he heard it from his heart, I don't know. He said, my righteousness is in heaven. Suddenly it dawned upon him. My righteousness is not in me. My righteousness is in heaven. Why? Because Christ is in heaven. Christ is my righteousness. Now if Christ is my righteousness, that solves the problem. I may not feel righteous, but my righteousness never changes because it is Christ. Brothers and sisters, in the early days of our spiritual life, we usually go to the Lord and cry out for things. Just like children, I'm hungry, give me bread. And the Lord condescends himself and gives bread to us. And when we have bread, we run away and have a good time. Then when we have another need, we come back to him and say, now Lord, we are in need again. Please give me this thing. The Lord says, all right, I'll give you this. And we take this and we off we go. You find that what we want are things. Spiritually, spiritually. We want justification. We want sanctification. We want redemption. We want joy. We want peace. We want comfort. We want power. We want gift. We want grace. We want this. We want that. And you know, in the early days of our Christian life, strange to say, God often gives these things to us. Because if God did not give these things to us in the early stage of our Christian life, we would stop going on with it. God has to suffer long with us. He goes along. He goes along with you. But he cannot go along with you all your life. Why? Because these things are not final. The finality is in Christ. Unless you find Christ in these things, unless Christ become these things to you, God's purpose is not served. Is not served. And that is the reason why all these things will be tested and shaken. Have you ever heard, probably you would say, well, that would never happen. But I have read many biographies. I have heard, known, all the experience of many Christians, of some Christians I would say. And some, even the best of Christians, love the Lord throughout their life, even the servants of God. But do you know, it seems to shatter your faith. In their death bed, they even doubted whether they are saved. Have you heard of that? I have read about that. I saw something. Why? Is it not because they know the Lord as Savior, but they do not know the Lord is the Savior? Is it because they know the Lord as the Justifier, but they do not know the Lord as the Justification? They know the Lord as Give, made them righteous, but they do not know Christ. Even this matter of our salvation has to be tested. If it is Christ, it cannot be tested. It is in the kingdom. If it is just a thing, one day, even if it comes from God, why, it is not the last one. God has to lead us to the very end, to see that it is Christ. And thank God, as you read these biographies, even at the very end, they had a struggle. Even in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, you will remember that. The Christian. When he passed through the icy water, you know he falters. He is drowning. And what's the other man's name? Faithful? Yeah. Has to break him and help him out. You know, that is a picture. Now even to the very last, it is tested. But thank God. You find in all cases, at the very, very end, they came out of darkness and they know the same yesterday, today, and forever. They may doubt. They may be puzzled. But it doesn't change Christ. Brothers and sisters, if you see Christ, that's the final. It never changes. Oh, how many brothers and sisters. Oh, you know that you don't have patience. You know, that's the problem with all of us, probably. So you go to the Lord and ask for patience. Lord, Lord, I'm a believer. I have to be very patient. If I'm not patient, people will say, now are you a believer? So you go to the Lord and say, now Lord gave me patience. They gave me patience. And you know, strange to say. Lord gave you some patience. It is very strange, very strange. For a few years, maybe, you are able to be quite patient. But the hard thing is, after a few years, you are supposed to be matured now, more matured. And suddenly you discover you lose your patience. God takes away his gift. And yes, strange. In my own experience, I knew a sister. I admire her. I was a young boy then. And she was way ahead of me. And I admire her very much. And the Lord used her so much. But after I first came out to learn to serve the Lord, one day I heard her standing up and said, things that really frightened me. Such a patient sister. She told us how she lost her temper. That was terrible. After many years of being patient, he discovered. But do you know why? The Lord has something bigger for her. The Lord said, you want a thing called patience. Well, I have to give it to you for a little while. But that is not Christ. So you have to lose that thing in order to gain Christ. If Christ is your patience, then you will be as patient as Christ. Your problem is forever solved. That is sanctification. That is holiness. Holiness is not you get something called holiness. Or you eradicate something that is unholy. No. Holiness, Christ is holiness. He is that thing. He is that thing. Therefore you find the Bible said, what is the church? The church is the body of him who fills all in all. All things to all men. Everything, everywhere in the end of our life. Everything, everywhere. Christ is all things in all. He is your salvation. He is your way. He is your truth. He is your life. He is your gift. He is your power. He is your wisdom. He is all these. Brothers and sisters, God is very jealous. He does not want us to be occupied with things. Even things of God. This thing and that thing. And we think if we accumulate a hoard, a lot of spiritual things that makes us very spiritual. Is Christ your wisdom? Is Christ your power? Is it Christ? Or is it in Christianity? There is no thing, nothing. All the things that we have, have a personality that is to say Christ is all things to us. All things to us. And because Christ is all things to us, therefore he has the first place in all things. And this is the way he sum up all things in himself. It is not one thing, another thing. He's gather up all things in himself. It is he. I remember Brother Nee used an illustration. Of course he is talking about himself. He has lots of experience of healing. Once he was dying of tuberculosis. The doctor gave him up long ago. But then suddenly the Lord just raised him up by his word. He had lots of experiences. But he said one day the Lord offered him a lesson. And the lesson is, it is more than the Lord healed him. The Lord said I am your healing. I am your healing. And he used 2 Corinthians chapter 12 as an example. Here was Paul with a thorn in the flesh. He went to the Lord and asked for healing. The Lord could well very easily heal. But the Lord did not take away that thorn. Did the Lord heal him? Yes. The Lord was his healing. My grace is sufficient. What we need to learn is simply this. Christ is the final. Therefore the scripture exhorts us. Look away from all things and look only. Because if you look at things, one day these things will pass away. But if you look at Christ it never passes away. That's what God really wants you to have. It is he. It is he. Because of this God will measure us with this criteria. With this standard. You remember Revelation chapters 2 and 3. The seven churches. The Son of Man is judging, measuring these seven churches. But what is he looking for in these seven churches? In some of these churches they have many good things. Things that come from God. For instance in the church in Ephesus God said I know. I know your labor. I know your work. I know your endurance. I know your patience. I know you can test the false apostles and prove them false. I know you do not keep the doctrines of a Nicolaitans. Nicolaitans. I know you have this, you have that, you have this thing, you have that thing. But the Lord said I'm against you. Why? Because I do not find myself. You have lost your first love. You may have many things. But if the Lord cannot find himself in these things. Or if the Lord is not in these things. If the Lord is not these things. They will be shaken. The Lord said unless you repent I will remove the testimony. In other words remove the testimony. In the church in Laodicea. Oh they are very proud of themselves. We are rich. We lack in nothing. As a matter of fact they are. They are very rich in doctrines. Very rich in teaching. Very rich. This and that. But the Lord said I do not find myself in these things. If you do not repent I will burn you out. What do the Lord, what does the Lord see in the church in Philadelphia? Even though they have a little power the Lord sees. So brothers and sisters we are approaching the very end of the very end. God is shaking you. Shaking you. Because the kingdom that cannot be shaken. He will measure us. Test us. With one criteria. And that is. Is it or is it things will pass away. Christ alone. So my burden today is. As I meet many believers. One thing pierces my heart. I have met many believers in many places. But I discover most of God's people are occult. And because of this great shaking will come. I have already seen some shaking. Unless we see it is Christ. Then our faith will even be purified and strengthened. Our hope will even be lifted. And our love. So it is. Very important. That we see. In God's mind. Our heavenly Father. We do not know how to. Discharge a burden. But we just live of our heart to Him. And pray. That thou will give us. The spirit of wisdom and revelation. That we may see Christ. As the final. We pray that we may not stop short. With many things in our hands. Things that come from this. And yet. Thou art not in them. Neither art thou all things. O Lord we pray. That more and more. We may be occupied with thyself. Instead of with things. That when thy kingdom shall come. We may find. Find ourselves. In that kingdom. Which cannot be shaken. O Lord. Do not spare us. Lest we be deceived. In the name of our Lord Jesus.