Introduction

The title of Hebrews Chapter 8 is The True Tabernacle of God, the True Covenant of God. We know that since the Old Testament's Genesis, God made a covenant with Adam, a covenant with Noah, a covenant with Abraham, and God also established the Sinai Covenant with Moses on Mount Sinai. Later, the Holy Son Jesus Christ was sent down for humanity, and a new covenant was made with us.

After reading these, we are very confused about what this is all about! Later, when we read the Bible, we gradually understood. Where did we start to understand? We understood in the process of practice. What did we understand? It turns out that God's will is to set us free, God's will is to restore us to the glorious image He originally created us in, God's will is to let us willingly and joyfully act according to His words, and God's will is to let us start learning to believe in God!

Understand God's beautiful attributes, and know that God wants to release us, God is the God who heals us. In Hebrews Chapter 8, He is talking about the true tabernacle and an image. When you go to a real estate development to buy a house, what you see first is not a large building, but an image of a building. What is an image of a building? It is a sand table, several models, exactly the same as the real thing, but just a miniature. If you move the model home, you cannot live in it. The real thing has not been built yet, but you are shown a model first, but this confuses people all at once.

People think that those models are the houses they are going to buy. Can models be lived in? No. Models are just for customers to have a reference, to let them know that the house they are going to buy in the future will be like this model, and the building will look like this when it is built. In fact, in the Old Testament, what God showed us was also a model. How do you say that? They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: 'See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.' What does this mean? The earthly tabernacle must be built according to God's will. Then Moses went down and built a model for the people of Israel to see. As a result, the people of Israel were really unlucky, and they were immediately deceived by the shadow. Why? Because after seeing this shadow (the tabernacle), they thought that this shadow was all there was.

Skillful at Grasping the Essence

Anyone who does not grasp the essence is grasping a shadow. What is the most important characteristic of a Christian? Is it like Jesus or not like Jesus?

Whether one is like Jesus or not like Jesus immediately distinguishes true and false Christians. If you say I am not like Jesus, but I am still a Christian. Then where is the problem? In name you are a Christian, but in reality, where are you like Jesus? Christians believe in Jesus, and believing in Jesus is imitating Jesus. If Christians are not like Jesus, then it is really a troublesome thing.

Regarding the truth spoken of in the New Testament, there are actually many Christians who do not grasp the essence of the New Testament. The true covenant must be engraved on people's hearts. The covenant that Moses made with God on Mount Sinai was engraved on stone tablets, while the New Covenant is that God offered His own Son Jesus Christ. The Old Covenant offered sheep and oxen. Can they be the same? One is the law engraved on stone tablets, and the other is engraved on the heart.

What is God doing? God is filtering out the excellent from the inferior, and immediately finding those who are serious and grasp the essence. In fact, in this generation, there are a lot of Christians who are playing it fake. Why? Because they like to fake it. They are not saying they want to harm anyone, but inside they are filled with things based on works.

Brothers and sisters must know that our Christian faith is based on faith. The path opened up by Abraham is based on faith. When Abraham made a covenant with God, Moses had not yet come. Moses leading the Israelites was 430 years later. After Abraham's 430 years, he could not abolish Abraham's covenant based on faith.

In fact, God dug many pits in the Bible. Once I gave a sermon called The Stumbling Stone, which was forwarded by a pastor, and as a result, this sermon became popular online. Why did he send it out? Because this pastor found that he could use my sermon to prove one thing: to prove that he was justified in causing people to stumble, that he had tripped many people. But in reality, it was not this pastor who tripped them, they fell on their own. The information brought out by the stumbling stone is very important. Today, brothers and sisters, start to think carefully about how many pits there are in the Bible? There are extremely many.

Let me give you a few examples: After Jesus, the Son of God, came into the world, He healed people on the Sabbath. The fact that He healed people on the Sabbath immediately confused the Jews. If He is the Lord of the Sabbath, how could He violate the Sabbath? You will find that these things really bring a lot of confusion to people, and these Jews abandon the fundamental and pursue the superficial, grasping the shadow and not the essence. They grasp the false and not the true, the model and not the real house, the sand table and not the real building, which is very fatal. In the final analysis, people must learn to grasp the essence of things!

What is the reaction of someone who does not grasp the essence? Jesus healed the sick on the Sabbath, enabling the blind from birth to see. Then what those Jews saw was not that the blind could see, but that He was healing people on the Sabbath. This kind of thinking logic is really too strange, how could people be like this? Why did our God come into this world to heal on the Sabbath? The Sabbath confused the Jews.

The Bible records that the King of the Jews is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah they were expecting, who comes from Bethlehem in Judah. Didn't the Old Testament say that Jesus would come out of Bethlehem? Why did He have to come out of Nazareth? Couldn't He move to Bethlehem? But God did not do this. When Jesus was born, His birth had to be registered, and then they went to Bethlehem. Mary, pregnant, arrived in Bethlehem and gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem. You say, isn't this a joke? Isn't this teasing us?

God's original intention was not like this, but to sift out God's true people. All those who grasp the essence and not the shadow know who our Lord is. So that the blind from birth can see, and that blind man said: It's really strange, you don't even know who he is who enabled the blind from birth to see. Does God not listen to the prayers of sinners? Who is this person who can enable the blind from birth to see the light?

In my life serving God, I have met so many bizarre Christians. There was a Japanese student who suffered from depression. I prayed for him, and his depression was mostly healed. Then he went back to his hometown to visit his relatives. His grandfather was lying in bed and could not get out of bed, so he brought the local church people to pray for his grandfather. He said that after they prayed, not only did his condition not improve, it would have been good if it had not worsened. Then that student contacted me, and I prayed for his grandfather. His grandfather got out of bed and walked, and was healed. Then, he immediately deleted me.

There is something in this world called grasping the essence. Grasping the essence and not grasping the essence immediately distinguishes people.

On the day when I act, says the LORD Almighty, they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. (Malachi 3:17-18)

It turns out that our God is doing something. What is it? Some fall, some rise; some serve God, some hate God; some are wicked, some are righteous. This is immediately distinguished. If I had learned the Bible according to my previous method, what would have happened? The Bible is inspired by God, and it is all correct. But many people like to take things out of context, and that would be a big problem.

Some time ago, I saw an article that quoted a passage from the Book of Jude:

But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you!' (Jude 1:9)

The person took this passage and expressed his opinion: Christians cannot rebuke demons. Then I was very confused. This Jude said that the archangel cannot rebuke, and can only say, The Lord rebuke you!

I cannot find the source of this passage. What I see is that Jesus often rebukes demons to leave. I am very confused. Who should I listen to? Isn't it a very simple thing to listen to Jesus? It is a very obvious thing. This Jude can only be considered Jesus' younger brother, and also that James, the James who wrote the Book of James, is Jesus' younger brother. I was thinking about this question, should I listen to Jesus? Or should I listen to Jesus' younger brother? If you compare me with my younger brother, who would you listen to, me or my younger brother?

Today we must know that of course we must listen to Jesus, right? Imitate Jesus, not imitate Jude. So I choose to imitate Jesus. Jesus can rebuke, and we can also rebuke, don't grasp that shadow. What is the intention of God placing the Book of Jude in the Bible? Read the Bible carefully. The Bible also talks about Judas who betrayed the Lord and hanged himself, right?

So today, don't be deceived by other people's things taken out of context. Today I can tell you that there are many pits in the Bible. You know that we software writers are most afraid of encountering pits in the program code of the software. If you encounter that pit, it will be difficult to do. What does this mean? It means that the software you wrote has no problems, but the platform has problems. That is to say, the section you wrote cannot run normally when you put it on top, because that platform has this defect.

So our brothers and sisters start to know to be careful of pits. Why do I say this? You say, how hard did the Pharisees work to read the Bible? The Pharisees definitely worked harder to read the Bible than you and I. So how could they become a brood of vipers? Why? Because they did not grasp the essence when they read it. So you ask me what is a Pharisee? I can tell you that Pharisees are all pretty good people. Aren't Pharisees pretty good people? Why? Because the Pharisees all keep the tithe. But they have a problem:

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. (Matthew 23:23-24)

The Beautiful Covenant Established by God

What is a Pharisee? It is to reverse the importance of the truths in the Bible, to regard the unimportant as very important, and to regard the important as unimportant. That is how you become a Pharisee. You say, isn't this a pit? But the Bible really doesn't say which is important and which is not important. It seems like it says it, but it also seems like it doesn't, and it doesn't say it clearly. Like the matter of Jesus coming back from Nazareth is very vague. When we read the Old Testament, do we have a foggy feeling? In fact, the Bible hides these things inside.

Today I tell you what the most essential thing is. As long as you are a serious person who desires to be like Jesus, desires to pursue God, and desires to love God. I tell you, you will definitely be able to understand God's words and receive the revelation of the Holy Spirit. So what does the New Testament say? It is that the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth. If you rely on your little brain to understand, it should be a bit difficult. Why? Because in God's eyes, your little brain is at most a walnut. Although it looks very similar, a walnut is just a walnut.

Brothers and sisters must be very careful. Why? They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: 'See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.' (Hebrews 8:5)

So in the Old Testament you must be careful, that is to say, we must be very careful in this matter. Why? Because many times the truth is hidden, and only those who seek will find it. If you want to fake it, play the surface, you will become a Pharisee. Today I bluntly tell the brothers and sisters and the serving leaders among us, no matter what, be a serious person, don't play it fake with me, don't play it fake.

Today's theme is God's true tabernacle, God's true covenant. What I am going to talk about today is really important. Why? Because you have to be serious. Whether you are serious or not, I know it in my heart. I can tell you, God has given me a special grace. Who is playing it real and who is playing it fake, I know it very well. Don't play it fake with me. Today I won't fix you, I won't fix you tomorrow, but one day I will fix you, don't play it fake with me. When I was a senior executive in a company, the thing I hated the most was that my subordinates only reported the good news and not the bad. I also hated my subordinates playing tricks on me.

Everyone must know that doing real things is extremely important! If you fake it, it is not a fun thing. Especially when you lie to our God. So when we read this Hebrews Chapter 8, the first important thing we talk about is that we have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle. If you play it fake with God, can you outsmart Him? I tell you, if you have only fake things in your heart, God not only knows that you are playing it fake, but the demons also know that you are playing it fake, then it would be strange if you are not controlled by demons.

Once, Jack Ma was speaking on stage, and a young man in his twenties stood up and said: Jack Ma, you are just fooling us. This is very interesting, and Jack Ma's answer was very brilliant. He said: If I give a speech here for an hour, I may be fooling you, or I may not be fooling you, but I cannot fool these colleagues who have been working with me for more than ten years. I work with them every day, and they cannot not know what kind of person I am.

Brothers and sisters, I tell you that I never play it fake. If I have a place where I play it fake, I repent. If you can point out a place where I play it fake, I will really repent. I am really serious. Why? It is uncomfortable to play it fake, why would I do that? I finally live a lifetime. Playing it fake today, playing it fake tomorrow, wearing a fake mask, and then lying today and lying tomorrow, and then having to prove to everyone that this playing it fake is real, it is very uncomfortable.

So I have a characteristic, first, I play it real; second, I will not prove anything to you. So once a sister was with me on the road and asked me: Who do you like in 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'? Oh! Good question, why? Because she often says that I am Liu Bei. We are all from the Liu family, that is indeed the old Liu family. This is very interesting. I said I like Liu Bei, isn't there such a saying? When you read The Three Kingdoms at 20, you like Cao Cao, because you are ambitious, holding the emperor to command the princes, awesome; when you read The Three Kingdoms at 40, you like Sima Yi; when you read The Three Kingdoms at 60, you probably all like Liu Bei.

I asked her: Do you think Liu Bei is playing it real or playing it fake? She didn't answer. Liu Bei is playing it real, otherwise, after he was defeated, he would not have taken the elders of Xuzhou forward, with the soldiers chasing after him, and then taking the elders of Xuzhou, how can you play it fake? You can't play it. Can you fight with the elders of Xuzhou? It's difficult! Just the problem of the elders of Xuzhou eating, drinking, and sleeping is very troublesome. If they are all soldiers, they can run when they say run. Is this serious? It is serious. Otherwise, how could Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Pang Tong, and Zhuge Liang follow him with all their hearts?

Today we should not play it fake, we should be serious. Today we see that God has given us a true tabernacle, and God has given us a true covenant. God has given us such a good salvation, and God has given us such a good grace. Why don't we want it? Why are we still playing it fake with God?

Brothers and sisters, be careful, what we are talking about today is the true tabernacle. Our Jesus Christ God is the Lord of this true tabernacle. What does it mean? It means that our Lord is building the church, which is His tabernacle, on the rock. The powers of hell cannot overcome it, God will give us the keys of heaven, and what we bind on earth will be released in heaven. This high priest is a true high priest. The previous high priest nailed Jesus to the cross, that high priest was fake, that was a shadow.

Do you understand? When buying a building, don't just look at the model, when buying a building, we have to buy the real building, you cannot live in a model. Today we must be careful when building the church, all kinds of objects need to be built according to what the Bible reveals. The most powerful person in building the church is the Apostle Paul. He is a wise master builder, he leads us and tells us how to build a glorious church from the revelation that comes from God.

There are many spiritual truths in the books of Ephesians and Hebrews in the Bible. Don't you know how to read them! You have to read that kind of thing where even the archangel cannot rebuke demons? Today I tell you, the tabernacle in heaven must be the church of Jesus Christ on earth. The church is the body of Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is the head of the church. These things are so fatal!

So today, why do we see God's glory and God's power constantly manifested among us? I lead prayer meetings every Saturday, and large numbers of people are healed and delivered. A sister with groin pain sent me a message saying that she was completely delivered and the pain completely disappeared. If I were to talk about it, there would be too many.

One sister was delivered, crying and weeping. Why? Because she was often afraid and played it fake. I scolded her, and the spirit of the big fish and the dragon

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## No Fear in Love

Today, understand that God loves us, and there is no fear in love. Understood? If you are driven by fear, it is because you do not yet know that the church is the true tabernacle. The true tabernacle is our Lord Jesus, who will raise it up to manifest God's glory, so that all within may find true rest.

If you diligently read the Word, you will find our faith is based on belief. The Bible says we are justified by faith, but I find justified sounds strange. I believe the righteous live by faith, and we should overcome by faith. That is, faith is the foundation, beginning and ending in faith. If you believe, you need no proof. If you believe and then seek proof, you will find none. The Pharisees repeatedly sought proof, but God opened a path of faith for us.

If you believe you are a child of God, you need not tell the devil, I will prove it. To prove is to admit disbelief, to show others. So, if any of you seek to prove something, you are surely on the wrong path. When the devil tempted Jesus, he said, If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread. Prove it to me! But Jesus, being wise, did not offer proof, for doing so would have been troublesome.

Jesus said, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Understood? Do not go down the path of proof. This afternoon, the sister I ministered to often sought to prove herself to me. I did not use her because she was good enough, but because, though lacking, she was faithful. Understand? Do not fall into the constraints of works-based righteousness.

Once we are in a works-based system, we stumble on the rock. God has given us the true tabernacle, to build His glorious church where He dwells. He has given us a true covenant, not one without power, but one of great power. Understand that all our needs are met in Jesus Christ. God owns the universe. If you do not trust Jesus but rely on your own abilities, you will encounter many strange things.

Abraham's offering of Isaac was a shadow; God's offering of His Son Jesus Christ is the true covenant. When Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac, God said, Stop! I will provide a lamb. So Isaac came down from the altar, and the lamb was sacrificed. Did God not provide it? In the New Testament, God's Son, Jesus Christ, was hung on the cross—that is the true sacrifice.

Our Jesus Christ, God's only Son, died for us on the cross. Do we believe? By believing in Jesus Christ, not by proving to God that you are His child, you enter into the promise of Abraham—a promise founded on faith. You need no proof; you need faith. With faith, God will accomplish what you believe through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Many of you are willing to tithe, some to give twelve percent, even thirty percent. But do not think I will thank you. I do not care about eleven or twelve percent; what matters is your genuine willingness and cheerful heart.

Through our faith and the power of the Holy Spirit, God writes His law on our hearts. If we sin, our hearts know it first, without the law telling us. Understand that I am speaking of the true tabernacle, the true covenant. God is serious; we must be serious too.

God's people are the materials for the tabernacle. God's Spirit dwells among us; God rests in us, and we rest in God. Know that you are truly children of God. How do we know? Because we believe, and obeying God's word is simple. If you do not believe, it is painful. If serving God is hard, it is because of unbelief. If you believe, it is easy.

## Faith-Based, Grasp the Essence

I emphasize that God has prepared many pitfalls in the Bible, all leading to a works-based system. When we walk by faith, we overcome all pitfalls and come boldly before God. We know God loves us, and we love God, so serving Him is no longer difficult.

We know our God is powerful and gracious, governing the universe. Serving Him is a worthwhile endeavor; I am very clear about that. In my understanding, I know my God is the answer to all my problems. This is what we mean by the true covenant.

The true tabernacle is built by God's own hand. The true covenant is God offering His only Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice, hung on the cross, bearing all our curses. All who believe in Jesus Christ will not be put to shame. The author argues that we must not be mistaken: the model is just a model. The covenant of Jesus Christ is not powerless but a means to tap into heavenly resources and God's power. That is true rest. Remember, anything not of faith is sin.

We believe in God. What if we have unbelief? We start with a little faith, and it grows. Even a little faith can manifest great power, leading to greater belief and more power, growing from faith to faith. Our faith is not in vain, for it is not built on eloquent wisdom but on the power of God.

Do not think the model is real. Those buying property should not buy the model, or you will spend millions and get a model—how foolish! God has accomplished real salvation. We come to God with heart and truth, not playing games with God, or with me, which would trouble me.

Playing false is a bad habit; do not lose sight of the main goal, focusing on small things. Abraham showed us the way to overcome by faith, so faith is fundamental. You will become more like God, more like Jesus Christ, and your actions will reflect those of Jesus. You will bear the glorious image of God, which is His covenant, to restore His glorious image in you.

When praying for the sister this afternoon, I said she has God's glorious image. She agreed. But the dragon within her said, No, you don't! You can't! I commanded it to leave in the name of the Lord. We truly have God's glorious image. Do you believe? If so, you will have the glorious image of Jesus Christ.

With God's glorious image, God will continually set you free, much to the devil's dismay. The devil hates to hear that we have His glorious image. He wants us to believe the lies: I am stupid, I am bad, I am worthless... All lies from the devil.

## Conclusion

Regardless of your actions, Jesus Christ has opened a new way for us—not according to the Old Testament, but according to the New, the true covenant. God intends to set us free, according to our faith. If we believe we have God’s glorious image, we will live it out, for God has redeemed us through His power.

Redemption is God restoring the original image in which we were created, to be like Him. Believe or not? Works-based or faith-based? The distinction is clear. Are you precious in God's eyes?

## Prayer

If you believe, pray with me, placing your hand on your chest:

Lord Jesus, You are the true High Priest, the Son of God, who came to earth, died on the cross for me, shed Your blood, was buried, and rose from the dead. Today I believe I have God's glorious image, not by my power, but by the power of Your Holy Spirit!

In Jesus’ name, I open my heart, inviting the Holy Spirit to fill it, to shape and mold me, to break all bad habits and restore the glorious image of God when He created me!

I believe God will accomplish His good work in me and restore His glorious image. In Jesus’ name, I rebuke all the devil’s lies and reject all bad habits and lies within me. I declare I will live out God’s glorious image, in Jesus’ name, Amen!