Will you please turn to Matthew Chapter 16.
请翻开马太福音第十六章。
We'll read from verse 13.
我们由十三节开始读。
To verse 18.
到十八节。
Matthew Chapter 16.
马太福音第十六章。
Verse 13.
十三节。
But when Jesus was come into the paths
of Caesarea Philippi, He demanded of His disciples
saying, Who do men say that I the
Son of Man am?
耶稣到了盖撒尼亚菲律宾的井内,就问门徒说, 人说我人子是谁?
And they said some John the Baptist, and
others Elias, and others, again Jeremiah, are one
of the prophets.
他们说有人说是施洗的约翰, 有人说是以利亚, 又有人说是耶律米, 或是先知米的一位。
He says to them that ye, who do
ye say that I am?
耶稣说,你们说我是谁?
And Simon Peter answering said, Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God.
西门彼得回答说, 你是基督是永生神的儿子。
And Jesus answering and said to him, Blessed
art thou Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood
has not revealed it to thee, but my
Father who is in the heavens.
耶稣对他说,西门巴悦纳, 你是有福的, 因为这不是属血肉的指示你的, 乃是我在天上的父指示的。
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.
我还告诉你,你是彼得, 我要把我的教会建造在这盘石上
,阴间的全病不能胜过它。
The Letter to the Ephesians, 以佛所书, Chapter 2,
以佛所书第二章, We begin with verse 19,
从第十九节开始, through verse 22, 十九到二十二节。
So then ye are no longer strangers and
foreigners, but ye are fellow citizens of the
saints, and of the household of God.
这样你们不再做外人和客旅, 是与圣徒同国,是神家里的人了。
Being built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the God
-consortium, 并且被建造在使徒和先知的根基上, 有基督耶稣自己为防角石。
In whom all the building fitted together increases
to a holy temple in the Lord.
各房靠他联络的和室, 渐渐成为主的圣殿。
In whom ye also are built together for
habitation of God in the Spirit.
你们也靠他同辈建造, 成为神借着圣灵居住的所在。
1 Peter, Chapter 2, 彼得前书第二章, Verses
4 and 5.
彼得前书第二章,第四第五两节 To homecoming a living stone cast
away indeed as worthless by man, but with
God chosen, precious.
主乃是活实,固然是被人所弃的, 却是被神所拣选,所宝贵的。
Yourselves also as living stones are being built
up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to
offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus
Christ.
你们来到主面前, 也就像活实被建造成为灵弓, 做圣洁的祭司, 借着耶稣基督奉献神所悦纳的灵迹。
And finally, Hebrews, Chapter 3, 希伯来书第三章, Verse
6, 第六节, But Christ has sun over His
house, whose house are we?
If indeed we hold fast the boldness and
the boast of hope firm to the end.
但基督为儿子至美神的家, 我们若将可夸的盼望和胆量坚持到底, 便是祂的家了。
Let's have a word of prayer.
我们再有一点的祷告。
Dear Lord, our hearts are most grateful.
亲爱的主,我们心里面满了感谢的心。
That Thou should gather us together these days
to Thyself.
这几天里面,祢把我们聚在祢自己的面前。
We thank Thee for crowning the days with
the Lord's table.
我们感谢祢早上, 祢用祢的桌子来成为今日的冠冕。
Truly, Thou art the beginning and Thou art
the end.
祢实在是始,祢是终。
Everything comes from Thee, through Thee, and unto
Thee.
一切都是本于祢,依靠祢,也归于祢。
May glory be all unto Thee.
愿一切的荣耀都归给祢。
As we continue in Thy presence, 当我们继续活在祢的同在当中, Lord,
we want to ask Thee if Thou has
a last word for us.
我们求祢向我们说这最后的话。
We pray that our hearts are still open
and softened, tender before Thee.
我们求祢叫我们的心向祢仍然是打开,向祢的心仍然是柔软。
We pray that Thy love continues to constrain
us.
我们求祢的爱继续地在激励我们。
That we may give back to Thee all
that Thou has given to us.
我们把祢赏给我们的,我们献上给祢。
Dear Lord, we want Thy heart to be
satisfied.
我们愿意祢的心得着满足。
We want Thee to have what Thou does
desire most to have.
我们要祢得到祢心中最要的。
Continue to work in us.
继续在我们里面动工。
Until Thy heart is fully satisfied.
直到祢的心完全地满足。
We commit this time into Thy hands.
我们把这段时间交在祢的手中。
And ask Thee to bless it.
求祢赐福。
In Thy precious name we pray.
奉祢宝贝的名祷告。
We do thank the Lord for bringing us
to this last moment of this conference.
我们感谢主把我们带到特会的最后一刻。
Indeed, God has made the impossible possible.
主实在叫这不可能的事情成为可能。
We thank Him for gathering us together from
all corners of the world.
我们感谢祂从地的四面八方聚到这里。
How He has joined us together into one
spirit, one soul, one heart and one love.
祂把我们带到同一个心,同一个名,同一个爱,同一个旨意的里面。
We are here not only to consider together
a theme.
我们在这里不光光是来学习一个主题。
We are here to demonstrate the reality of
the Word of God.
我们在这里要彰显出神话语的实际。
Truly, as we come to the Lord, 当我们真正来到神的跟前,
we are built up together into a spiritual
house.
我们是一同被造成为神的家。
A house for Him and for us.
一个家是为了主也为了我们。
Truly, He has made us a holy priesthood.
祂实在把我们成为圣洁的祭司。
We are not only those for Him to
dwell.
我们不单止成为祂的居所。
We are also those who will serve Him
with our whole hearts.
我们也是成为那些全心来侍奉祂的。
We do thank Him for giving Himself to
us in such a way 我们实在感谢祂, 祂是这样把祂自己给了我们, that
we may be able to offer Him back
to the Father.
我们能够再把我们献给我们的父。
And these will be our acceptable sacrifices.
这就是成为那被悦纳的灵祭。
Now, this morning, we will speak on the
building of the house of God.
今天早上我们要讲到神的家的建造。
When God created the heavens and the earth,
当神造天地的时候, He did it all by Himself.
完全是祂自己所做成的。
None of us were there at that time.
那个时候我们都不在。
God, all alone, by His wisdom and power,
created all things in heaven and on earth.
神,他自己用着他的全能跟智慧创造了天地。
He did not consult anybody.
他没有去询问任何人。
He did not ask the help of anyone.
他没有向任何人要求帮助。
He did it all by Himself.
他完全是自己做成的。
But, in the new creation, in the building
of the house of God, 但是在新造的里面, 在神家的建造过程, He
works with a different principle.
他有一个不同的做工的原则。
Instead of working all by Himself, 他不再是一个自己做。
He calls us to work together with Him.
他召我们与他一同同工。
He wants to work in us and with
us.
他要在我们里面做工,也与我们同工。
Actually, in working this way, 当他这样做工的时候, it gives
him more problems than he should have.
那这样就给他增加了许多的难处。
But it pleases him to work in this
way.
但是他的心是在喜悦这样的做工。
And he will refuse to build his house
alone.
他不愿意单独的来建造他的家。
He wants to build it together with us.
他要与我们一同在建造。
But of course we understand.
当然我们明白。
Actually, the work is done by him alone.
我们知道其实这个工是他自己做成的。
And yet, he first does his work in
us.
他首先在我们里面做工。
In order that we may be drawn to
work together with him.
然后吸引我们,叫我们能够与他一同的同工。
This is the wonder of the building of
the house of God.
这是建造神家的奇妙的地方。
And for this, we are most grateful.
我们为了这一点,我们实在充满了感谢。
Our Lord Jesus retreated to the border of
Caesarea Philippi.
我们的主他退到Caesarea Philippi的境内。
We know that Caesarea Philippi is a Gentile
city.
我们知道Caesarea Philippi是一个外邦的城市。
Now why is it that our Lord Jesus
should withdraw himself to the border of the
Gentile city?
为什么我们的主退到外邦的境内?
Because it is a time when he is
rejected by his own people.
因为当时属于他的人拒绝了他。
But while he is in Caesarea Philippi, 当他在Caesarea
Philippi的时候, 他问他门徒一个问题。
Who do men say that I, the son
of man, is?
他说人说我人子是谁?
And of course his disciples tried to give
him all the best answers.
门徒就希望找到最好的答案给主。
Of course they have heard a lot.
当然他们听了许多的讲法。
But they do not report to the Lord
all the bad reports.
他们不敢告诉主那些坏的报告。
They try to say everything that is good.
他们告诉他都是好的。
Oh, they told the Lord Jesus said, some
say you are John the Baptist.
他们对主说有人说你是施许约翰。
John the Baptist coming to life again.
哦,施许约翰复活了。
Others said you are Elijah, that great prophet.
And some say you are Jeremiah, because you
are a man of sorrow and acquainted with
grief.
And others said, well, you are one of
the prophets.
Or you are the prophet, prophesied by Moses
in the book of Deuteronomy.
And one day God will raise up among
the brethren a prophet.
And whoever does not listen to him shall
perish.
All these good reports.
哦,都是这些好的报告。
Now these reports will more than satisfy anybody.
哦,这些的报告对于别人来讲一定很满意了。
But they do not satisfy our Lord.
但主并不满意。
Because the world does not know him.
因为世界不认识他。
All they can know him is outward.
他们只能够从外面认识他。
So our Lord turned to his own disciples
that have been with him for more than
three years.
The Lord said, now who do you say
that I am?
And Simon Peter, as usual, the spokesman of
the disciples, and he said, Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God.
Thou art the anointed of God.
Thou art the Messiah.
Thou art the one sent out by God
to accomplish a mission.
A mission that nobody else could accomplish.
You are the Son of God.
That is your person.
So far as your person is concerned, you
are the Son of God.
The beloved, only begotten Son of God.
So far as your work is concerned, your
ministry is concerned, you are the Christ, the
saint one of God.
And when our Lord heard this, he says
to Simon, he says, Simon, son of Jonah,
you are blessed because this is not flesh
and blood that is able to tell you.
It is my Father who is in heaven
reveals it to you.
Dear brothers and sisters, our knowledge of the
Lord Jesus has to come from the heavenly
Father.
Flesh and blood can only know Him as
a great prophet.
But the Father in heaven alone can reveal
the Son in us.
It is the Father in heaven who reveals
His Son.
We thank God that one day it pleased
the Father to reveal His Son in us.
Before we have that revelation, all we can
know of the Lord Jesus is He is
a good man.
He is a great man.
Probably He is the greatest of men.
But brothers and sisters, we thank God that
it pleased God to reveal His Son in
us.
We know that He is the Christ.
We know that He is the Son of
God.
And because of this, we are saved, born
again.
On the basis of the revelation of the
Father, our Lord Jesus began to reveal something
more to us.
Without the revelation of the Father concerning the
Son, we would never be able to have
the revelation that is coming through the Son
to us.
So our Lord Jesus began to reveal something
more to us.
And the Lord said, You are Peter.
You are a stone.
You remember, brothers and sisters, the first time
when Simon came to the Lord Jesus, that
is recorded in John chapter 1, his brother
Andrew brought him to the Lord Jesus.
And the Bible says the Lord looked at
him.
And the word look is a very strong
word.
It means that our Lord looked him through.
The Lord looked into him and said, You
are Simon.
But you shall be called Cephas, Peter.
And Peter means a stone.
You know, originally we are all Simon.
And we are all made of dust.
We are all of earth.
That is our nature.
But when we come to the Lord Jesus,
He will transform us from dust to stone.
He will put a new life into us.
A new nature into us.
To develop a new character.
Because our Lord Himself is a stone.
You remember in 1 Peter chapter 2, our
Lord Himself is a living stone.
Rejected by man.
But precious, chosen by God.
Now as we confess Him as the Christ,
the Son of the Living God, that faith,
that confession, that revelation, transform
us from dust into stone.
We receive the same life from our Lord
Himself.
We begin to have His same nature so
that we can be transformed and conformed to
His own image.
So brothers and sisters, we thank God that
by the revelation of the Father and our
confession of the Lord Jesus, we are all
become stones, living stones.
On this rock, our Lord said, I will
build my church.
And Hades' gates shall not prevail against it.
Here you'll find our Lord Jesus.
He said, I will build my church.
But He will build it upon a rock.
We know a rock means a massive stone.
On this massive rock, the Lord will build
His church with many living stones.
The rock is the foundation of the house
of God.
And all these little stones are the materials
for the building of the house of God.
Now of course, the rock refers to our
Lord Himself.
The rock refers to the confession of our
Lord Jesus.
That He is the Christ, the Son of
the Living God.
The rock refers to His person and to
His work.
He is the foundation of the house of
God.
You remember the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians
chapter 3.
He said, He is like a master builder.
Actually, the Chinese people in Chinese is better.
He is a foreman.
He is not a master builder.
He is a foreman.
And He laid the foundation of the house
of God.
And He said, there is no other foundation
that anyone can lay but the Lord Jesus
Himself.
So our Lord is the foundation of the
church.
He is the rock.
And on this rock, our Lord will build
His church.
Thank God, Peter understood it very well.
Even though we find in this world many
who had misunderstood.
Some say that the church is built upon
Peter.
He is the rock.
Now if that's the case, you'll find before
the building begins, the foundation has already shaken.
Because you remember when our Lord began to
reveal to His disciples that He will go
to Jerusalem.
He will suffer.
He will die.
But on the third day, He will be
raised from the dead.
And you know what Peter did?
Out of his good heart, he laid hold
of the Lord.
He shook the Lord a little bit and
said, Lord, forbid it.
You should never go to the cross.
And our Lord turned around and Satan, get
behind you.
Because you're mindful of man and not mindful
of God.
Peter could not be the foundation.
Our Lord Himself is the foundation.
And thank God, Peter understood it well.
Because in 1 Peter 2, he said, as
we come to the Lord, as we come
to the living stone, we all become living
stone.
And then we are being built up together
into a spiritual house.
Peter himself will be built into the house.
And all of us who are living stones
will be built into that house.
And our Lord Jesus said, I will build
my church.
Our Lord Jesus said, I will build my
church.
Who is the builder?
Who is the master builder?
None other but the Lord Himself.
You know, the house of God is so
heavenly, spiritual and glorious.
It is to be the habitation of God
in the Spirit.
It is to be the resting place of
God.
And it is also to be our eternal
home.
If you realize what a house this will
be.
Now, who will be the builder?
Truly, there is only one who is able
to build such a spiritual house.
And the Lord said, I will build the
church.
He is the architect.
He is the engineer.
He is the builder.
Brothers and sisters, today we hear people say,
we are church planters.
And we are going to the world to
plant the churches.
But dear brothers and sisters, remember, unless the
Lord build the house, the builders labor in
vain.
That is Psalm 127, verse 1.
We may be able to build many, many
other houses.
We may be able to build even palaces.
We may be able to build great empire.
But the Lord alone can build that spiritual
house.
Unless He builds the house, the builders labor
in vain.
So this should be a warning to us.
And the Lord said, I will build my
church.
This house is the church.
Because it is the call of ones gathered
together.
Where two or three are gathered together unto
my name.
The Lord said, there am I in the
midst of them.
With the presence of the Lord, among His
own people.
With the people gathered together unto His name.
That is, put ourselves under His authority.
You have His church.
The church belongs to Him.
It comes out of Him.
And it goes back to Him.
So, brothers and sisters, sometimes we hear to
say, this is my church.
This is my church that I am responsible
for.
But let us be warned.
The church belongs to the Lord alone.
And if it is His own work, then
the gates of Hades shall not prevail against
it.
As we look into Christianity today, it seems
as if Hades' gates have prevailed against it.
Why?
Because this is man's work.
It is not the work of our Lord
Himself.
We thank God in one sense.
That we find the so-called churches today
are being shaken.
That the unshakable may remain.
So here you find our Lord Jesus for
the first time mentioned the word church.
Our Lord came into this world for this
very purpose.
When we read the gospel according to Luke,
we may get the impression that the reason
why our Lord came into this earth is
to seek to save the lost.
Truly, that's what He did.
We are the lost.
And our Lord came to this earth.
He came to seek us.
And He came to save us.
So the gospel according to Luke is the
gospel of the forgiveness of our sins.
The remission of our sins.
The dear brothers and sisters, of the four
gospels, only the gospel according to John give
us the deep meaning of the coming of
the Lord.
Because John always goes back to the beginning.
He always goes to the depths.
Our Lord does come to save the lost.
That is very true.
But that is the beginning.
That is not the end.
Our Lord comes into the world.
According to the gospel, according to John, He
came as a bridegroom.
He came to seek for His bride.
But when He came to this earth, He
could not find His bride.
So He had to make His bride.
He has to call people out of the
world.
And gather them unto Himself.
In other words, He has to build His
wife.
That is the reason of His coming.
Because the house, the church, is His wife.
Today it is the body, His body.
One day it will be His bride.
When this body is fully grown.
So the real reason for His coming is
to build the church.
That is His motive.
So we can see how important this is
concerning the building of the house of God.
We would like to go back to the
Old Testament.
As our brother mentioned last night, the Old
Testament gave us pictures.
The New Testament gave us the Word.
We have the Word.
But we need to go back to the
picture.
Because the picture will give us more details.
And with visual aid, it will help us
to understand deeper.
It is true, the Old Testament is shadow.
But on the other hand, it is picture.
It is easier for us to understand.
So how does the Lord build His church?
We go back to the Old Testament pictures
and learn some principles about it.
You know when God called the children of
Israel out of Egypt, He brought them to
Himself, to Mount Sinai.
We already mentioned that He gave them the
Law so that they may be sanctified.
And then God began to reveal His mind
to the people.
He said, Make Me a sanctuary that I
may dwell among you.
Here you find God does not give them
a sanctuary.
God said, Build Me a sanctuary.
But how are they going to build it?
First of all, in Exodus chapter 25, God
said, Let the people bring heave offering unto
Me.
All whose hearts have prompted Him, let them
bring Me a love offering.
Gold, silver, brass, and wood, and all these
materials.
Brothers and sisters, you remember the children of
Israel were slaves in Egypt.
They were slaves for hundreds of years.
Now, a slave owns nothing.
A slave does not even own his own
life.
So, as slaves in Egypt, they were destitute.
They have nothing that they can claim as
their own.
So, where came all these gold and silver
and precious stones?
Now, you remember, when God sent Moses to
Egypt, He told Moses, I will deliver My
people out of Egypt.
And, when I'm doing that, all the children
of Israel will ask of their neighbors.
Egyptians.
For gold, silver, and all these things.
So, when the children of Israel came out
of Egypt, they asked their neighbors for all
these precious things.
And the Bible said, they're actually deprived of
Egypt, of all Israel.
Now, in a sense, God is righteous.
Because they have been slave laborers for hundreds
of years.
Without any wages.
So, God not only delivered them, but gave
them all the wages of the past.
When God delivers a people, His deliverance is
so complete.
Not only men, but also women and children.
You remember Pharaoh said, let the men go,
but let the children stay behind.
Pharaoh said, let the men go, but let
the children stay behind.
But no.
All will go.
Not only men and women and children, whole
families, even all the cattle and the sheep.
Not only all the cattle and the sheep,
but all the wealth of Egypt.
When the children of Israel came out of
Egypt, they were a wealthy people.
All given to them by God.
And now God said, give me a love
offering.
Whoever's heart have prompted Him.
Brothers and sisters, this is the way of
God.
He gave us everything.
And when He asked for a love offering,
He said, if your heart prompts you.
If you want to hold back as your
own.
Thinking that you are the owner, the possessors
of it.
Even though they do not belong to you.
They are given to you by God.
But if you want to hold it back
for your own.
God said, you can do it.
But it's to your own heart.
God wants a willing sacrifice.
Out of the abundance of His grace.
He asks us to give Him back something.
Brothers and sisters, this is the way of
God.
And then when you come to the building
of the temple.
You remember David wanted to build God a
temple.
He was not allowed to do it.
And yet David prepared all the materials for
the house of God.
In 1 Chronicles chapter 22, verse 14.
He said, David said, in all my affliction,
I have prepared abundance of material for the
building of the house of God.
In other words, in all the wars that
David engaged in.
He separated the spoils for God.
And also in 1 Chronicles chapter 29.
And here you'll find in verses 2 and
3.
1 Chronicles chapter
29 verses 2 and 3.
He said, and I have prepared according to
all my power for the house of my
God.
According to all my power.
And verse 3.
And moreover in my affections for the house
of my God, I have given of my
own property of gold and silver for the
house of my God over and above all
that I have prepared for the house of
the sanctuary.
Out of his affliction.
According to all my power.
Out of my affections for the house of
God.
He gave the best to God.
Brothers and sisters, this is how the house
of God is built.
Now, if this is true in the Old
Testament time, now, how much more true it
should be with the reality.
Brothers and sisters, that's the reason why you'll
find in Romans chapter 12.
Therefore, brethren, by the compassions of God, I
beseech you to present your bodies a living
sacrifice.
Totally acceptable to God, it is your reasonable
service.
In Romans, you'll find from chapter 1 to
chapter 11, tells us of the manifold mercies
of God.
How He saves us from death.
How He delivers us from our sins.
Forgives our sins.
Delivers from the power of sin.
Gives us His Holy Spirit.
Not only justifies us, but sanctifies us.
And glorifies us.
You know, brothers and sisters, when you read
Romans 1 to 11, you'll see all the
compassions of God.
How He graces us with many graces.
Now, what should be our response?
Therefore, brethren, present your bodies a living sacrifice.
Our love offering is not gold and silver.
Because we are not building a physical building.
Our love offering is ourselves.
This body that has been redeemed by a
great price.
We do not belong to ourselves.
We are bought with a price.
We are not our own.
We have no right to live for ourselves.
We belong to Him.
And yet, God will force us.
If we want to live our own lives
with all that He has given us, like
the prodigal son, we could do that.
He will not force us.
But what a loss!
Loss to the father and loss to the
son.
By His love, He beseeches us.
By His Spirit, He prompts us.
He wants us to present our bodies as
a living sacrifice.
And this living sacrifice is the material for
the building of the house of God.
How can our Lord Jesus build us into
a spiritual house?
To be saved alone is not enough.
We have to consecrate our lives to Him.
We have to give our right, as it
were, to Him.
Actually, we have no right to Him.
Our right belongs to Him.
And yet, in another sense, He wants to
give up what we consider as our right
back to Him.
So that He can work in us and
with us.
The reason why the house of God is
not built.
Why is it so delayed?
It is because those who are redeemed hold
themselves back.
They hold themselves back.
They do not give themselves completely as burnt
offering to God.
So we say consecration is the beginning of
our Christian experience.
The Lord cannot do anything with you until
you present your body as a living sacrifice.
Then you'll find the Lord will begin to
work to build His house.
And then, of course, you'll find in the
Old Testament you'll find in the Old Testament
after the Lord called them to bring in
the love offering.
Then He called certain people to come and
work with this material.
In the case of the building of the
tabernacle, you'll find in chapter thirty-five of
Exodus and the beginning of thirty-six, God
called Basilio and Aholiot these two men.
God called Basilio and Aholiot these two men.
These two men are filled with the Spirit.
God gave them wisdom and understanding.
God gave them skill to work with all
these various materials.
And together with them all those people who
have wise and understanding heart and all those
who are moved to come and work.
So you'll find these people they come together
to work with the material.
Of course.
All under the direction of Moses.
And then again you'll find when you go
to the building of the temple, the same
thing.
Solomon is the man of wisdom.
And you'll find that he gathered tens of
thousands of people to come and build the
temple.
Brothers and sisters, when you come to the
reality, the building of the church, of the
house of God, you'll find that the master
builder is our Lord Himself.
But He does not build all by Himself.
He called us to come and work under
Him and with Him.
He gave us wisdom and understanding not according
to our human wisdom and human knowledge.
On our natural ability.
But He gave us spiritual gifts.
He gave us spiritual grace.
And with all these we are able to
work under Him.
And that is the reason why you'll find
in Ephesians chapter four that after our Lord
ascended up on high, He gave gifts to
man.
He called some apostles, some prophets, some shepherds
and teachers, and some evangelists for the perfecting
of the saints.
These ministers of the Word of God, they
are the gifts of God to His church
because the church is built with the Word
of God.
But their work is to perfect the saints.
They are not the ones who build the
church.
They are building directly.
They are building indirectly.
Their work is to perfect the saints in
two ways.
One is to mature the spiritual life of
the saints because the Word of God will
nurture us.
On the other hand, to equip the saints
to help the saints to develop their gifts.
And then the whole body will minister one
to another.
It is the body ministry.
All the members of the body, all are
gifted in one or other way by the
Holy Spirit.
All who have received grace from God, we
function together.
We work together.
And as we work together, in the Bible
it says, Ephesians 4, 16, it shows the
self-building up in love.
We love one another.
We encourage one another.
We supply one another.
Brothers and sisters, through such fellowshipping, the church
is built.
Then thirdly, you find also all these materials
that are to be built into the house.
Lots of work has to be done to
these materials.
You do not just take the raw materials
and then just display them.
You have to make them furniture.
So you find there is lots of beating
in the Old Testament tabernacle.
The gold has to beat and beat and
beat into form, beautiful form of the golden
tabernacle.
So lots of work has to be done
upon the material.
The same thing is true with the temple.
These massive stones, they have to cut from
the quarry.
And in the quarry they are to be
chiseled according to measure and to be smooth.
And every stone is given a number so
that these stones when they are transported to
Mount Moriah, they can just fit one to
another.
The Bible said during the building of the
temple there is no sound of iron.
No sound of hammer.
Because everything was done in the quarry.
Done in darkness.
Lots of work has to be done.
When you come to the building of the
house of God today, are you surprised that
the Holy Spirit has to do lots of
work to your life?
There's lots of cutting to be done.
Lots of chiseling, lots of smoothing.
Lots of reducing.
Lots of the work of the Holy Spirit
by using the cross upon our life.
Without the cross there can be no church.
Not only individually we have to bear the
cross.
Because to fit us with our brothers and
sisters there is much cross to be borne.
The Lord is not building a monument.
The Lord is building a house.
So you'll find that's the reason why there's
lots of work to be done.
But thank God if everything is done according
to pattern, when it is finished, the glory
of the Lord will fill the house.
Brothers and sisters, it takes less than a
year to build a tabernacle.
It takes seven years to build a temple.
It takes probably around four years to build
a second temple.
And of course, King Herod enlarged it for
forty-six years.
But how many years is the house of
God built?
For two thousand years already our Lord is
still building His house.
Can you find any house on the earth
that takes so long?
What does it tell you?
It tells you on the one hand it
is a house that God built.
It is no man's work.
It will be a glorious church.
It will be an eternal home.
That's why it takes so long.
But on the other hand, does it say
anything to us?
We have delayed and delayed the finishing of
that house.
How anxious our Lord must be to enter
into His rest.
How anxious He wants us to enter into
rest.
But we do not understand.
Our heart is not one with Him.
We do not cooperate.
We do not yield to Him.
He is the master builder.
How skillful is His hand.
He can turn these base materials into noble
vessels.
If only we will put ourselves completely in
His hands.
So our prayer is, Lord, hasten this work.
Begin it with me.
That our Lord may enter into His rest.
We will not give ourselves to rest.
Until the Lord can rest among His people.
Let us pray.
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee for
these days.
We thank Thee for the fellowship of the
saints.
We thank Thee for giving us Thy Word.
And we thank Thee for all that Thou
has bestowed upon us.
Dear Lord, we pray that all these will
not be in vain.
By the working of Thy Holy Spirit, pray
that Thou will turn it into value.
Eternal value to Thyself.
Bless all Thy people.
Wherever we go, may Thy work continue until
that glorious church without spot or wrinkle may
be ready for Thy Beloved Son.
We ask in Thy precious name.
Before we depart, I
believe I can represent all the brothers and
sisters from abroad.
We are very thankful for the brethren in
Singapore.
We thank You for Your love.
We thank You for the labor of Your
love.
May the Lord bless you.