Introduction
Greetings everyone! Let's delve into the thirtieth chapter of Exodus. Truth be told, each time I study Exodus, it's a rather arduous task. Not only do you find it difficult to understand, but so do I. Please don't think I'm some kind of divine being; I'm just like you. But I have good news to share. What is this good news? After a period of prayer and spiritual warfare, God has given me a very clear revelation: there's absolutely nothing wrong with our minds. Don't ever think I'm smarter than you, or you're less intelligent than me. We're like the hardware, akin to Kirin chips; they're all pretty much the same.
However, the software we've installed inside is quite different. Software has a peculiar characteristic: for instance, when you buy a phone and do nothing with it, it's busy doing its own thing, getting hot, and the battery drains. If you buy a slightly better phone with well-written software, you can leave it there, and the battery won't drain for hours. That's quite good, isn't it? But if the battery drains even when you're not using the phone much, it's because there's a bug in the software. In English, it's called a bug, meaning there's a problem with the software.
When we study Exodus, we need to get rid of the bugs in our minds. If we remove the bugs from our brains, wouldn't that be great? So, I'm telling you the good news: there's nothing wrong with your brain; it's just infested with bugs. It's like a phone with poorly written software, working hard but accomplishing nothing. We're reading Exodus, and we've quickly reached the thirtieth chapter, haven't we? Exodus chapter 30 is about meeting God here.
What do you think of this statement? I ask you, if you're covered in bugs, lice, fleas, and bedbugs, can you come here to meet God? It seems a bit difficult, doesn't it? Do you understand? So, I think the theme of our study of chapter 30 is meeting God here. The entire book of Exodus has been about the army of Jehovah coming out of Egypt, and after coming out, they haven't done much else but kept busy. In Exodus chapter 30, Moses is still on the mountain. What's he doing there? God is instructing him on what to do.
What is being arranged in chapter 30? It's about making a golden altar of incense. The dimensions of this golden altar are different from the dimensions of the outer altar. The golden altar is very small and placed inside the tabernacle, just outside the veil of the Ark of the Covenant. Do you understand? God says: I will meet with you there. Remember, the army of Jehovah God does not fight with chariots, horses, or weapons; it relies on the presence of God. As Christians, we fight against these hellish bugs and the dark forces of demons by relying on the presence of God. Meeting God here is a wonderful topic!
Many Christians, as soon as they believe, say that the one within them is greater than the one outside, but they are full of garbage, filth, and bugs. Do you understand? When the bugs turn into cancer, how many bugs must there be? Many people say they are like Job, but even Job wasn't all that great. You might think I'm being presumptuous, but I say Job wasn't all that great. Don't think I haven't read the Bible well; I have read it very well. Job was actually quite self-righteous.
From the first chapter of Job to the thirty-something chapter, he had only heard of God. Today's Christians can't even compare to Job; we're far behind. Job could easily leave you in the dust. But Job had only heard of God, and you might not have even heard of Him. Later, Job admitted his ignorance, his foolishness, and his inadequacy. The illness Job suffered was caused by the bugs of hell, but later Job repented.
If you are sick, repent properly. After repenting, what did Job say? "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you." So, how does God meet with us now? God meets with us at this golden altar of incense. In the previous chapter, we talked about the path of sanctification for priests. I tell you, today's Christians are very foolish and self-righteous, including myself. Don't think I'm not self-righteous. If God hadn't disciplined me, I would have suffered a lot. If it weren't for God's discipline, how could I have seen God with my own eyes? How could I have come to the golden altar to meet with God?
So today, brothers and sisters, don't think that the one within you is greater than the one outside when you're still at the foot of the mountain and haven't even started climbing. I'm telling you, forget about it! In the last days, we must ascend the mountain of Jehovah and enter the temple of the God of Jacob. This is the path of sanctification. We're still at the foot of the mountain, far from the temple on the summit. I think you still need to clear out the garbage inside you. You have a lot of bugs inside, like your phone with poorly written software. The hardware is fine, but what have you installed inside? Either the knowledge of good and evil or the indulgence of the flesh, all worldly and loving the world. In the end, you accumulate a lot and still feel wronged. Don't disbelieve it!
Knowing that you haven't done things right is the right thing to do. You say, "This is too discouraging to my faith." But your false faith is useless. Ascend, climb the mountain of Jehovah, enter the temple of the God of Jacob, come to the golden altar in the temple, and meet with God. What a wonderful thing! What does the Bible say? In the last days, people will ascend the mountain of Jehovah and enter the temple of the God of Jacob. If you are at the foot of the mountain, know that you are at the foot of the mountain. If you have only climbed a few steps, don't be content there. We are still far away, so today, our path of sanctification still requires us to do many things.
The entire thirtieth chapter of Exodus is about meeting God in the temple of God. Don't believe in a gospel that requires no sacrifice, nor climb the mountain of Jehovah, and then spend your whole life learning only one truth: "I am saved." I think you are not saved; you are infested with bugs. Your brain is full of garbage. Not to mention what God thinks, even with my eyes, which are not particularly discerning, I can tell that the other person's brain is full of mundane things, just like old women's talk. Do you think that's acceptable? Studying might not even be good enough, and not studying is even worse. Don't be a useless Christian.
A few days ago, someone wrote a lot of words, and I said, "This sounds like the knowledge of good and evil." Later, I said, "Maybe it's ignorance!" As a result, our pastor contacted them and found out that they had been a Christian for over twenty years but had never read the Bible! You might say they haven't read it, but they have a copy and flip through it. Anyway, they don't know what the Bible says; their minds are full of themselves. They've been believing for over twenty years, and all those years they've been stuck in the mud.
Don't believe in Christians who don't pay the price! I ask you, does going to college require a price? Does taking the college entrance exam require a price? Does doing research require a price? Yes! Then why doesn't being a Christian require a price? Today, brothers and sisters, we must know that when a priest achieves meeting with God, his whole body will radiate the glory of Jehovah. You say, "How do I know if my whole body is radiating the glory of Jehovah?" It's when those things in the spiritual realm, the bugs of hell, are afraid of you. If the bugs of hell look at you and say, "We're on the same team!" then it's the bugs meeting with you, not God. It's meeting with old Ma, meeting with the King of Hell.
The most important thing for the army of Jehovah God is to be with God, to meet with God. So we must strive to pursue, constantly advancing to perfection. Isn't that what the New Testament says? You may not have read it, but I'm telling you that's what it says. You can believe what I say for now. The New Testament says to strive to advance to perfection, to be full of the likeness of Jesus, full of the stature of Jesus Christ, and then to meet with God. Some people's meeting with God is nonsense. They play a few songs, like Praise Springs, River of Life Christian Church, and some English songs, singing and singing. Can that lead to meeting with God?
Meeting God at the Golden Altar of Incense
At the golden altar of incense, you must light the lamps, burn incense, prepare incense, know how to make the incense, know how to make the anointing oil, and once a year, use the blood of the sin offering to smear the four horns of the altar, and then meet with God in this place. In fact, chapters 28 and 29 of Exodus are all about this meeting with God.
God's great plan is: God will be our God, God will be with us, and we will be with God. Then why do so many things? The previous twenty-plus chapters talk for so long, and in the end, we meet with God at the golden altar of incense. After doing so many things, why is it so troublesome? Burning incense, lighting lamps, preparing incense, preparing anointing oil, offering a sin offering once a year, and then smearing this and smearing that, that's called meeting with God! Actually, for the sake of meeting with God, is this troublesome? Some people think it's troublesome, and some people don't.
Some people are getting married, and the wedding arrangements are very complicated. Some people have to go in and snatch the bride, and the people inside have to stop them, and then there's a lot of stuff, like making a ruckus in the bridal chamber, inviting guests, and giving gifts. From dawn, the man and woman start toiling, and the wedding is exhausting! After all the toiling, they find it meaningless, just for the sake of the couple meeting. After the couple meets, they look at each other and become increasingly displeased, and after looking at each other, they become enemies. People like to do this, why? Just for the sake of the couple meeting.
This is flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone, the apple of my eye. But not long after the marriage, it becomes a thorn in my flesh, a thorn in my bone, a lifetime of pain. Divorce is another injury, this is mine, that is yours, this is before the marriage, this is after the marriage, very tiring!
Today, meeting with God, it's normal for it to be a bit troublesome. What people seek in life is nothing more than this. If I can meet with God in this life, I am willing to pay any price. When you are dating, you meet many times, but on the wedding day, you still toil, and in the end, your heart is pierced. That's how things are in the world, but our meeting with God will not pierce our hearts. Our God is good! Many people say, "Have you seen Him?" Am I not running forward? My pursuit in this life is to meet with God. Do you understand?
God will not pierce our hearts; God is faithful. People are all deceptive, aren't they? I tell you, make friends with God. Why make friends with God? Because God will not deceive us. Why doesn't God deceive us? Why does your husband deceive you, your wife deceive you, but God will not deceive you? God has everything and doesn't want anything from us, except that we can obtain Him in Him. You say, "How can there be such a thing?" You say that marriage doesn't involve wanting something from the other person? Being well-matched, or marrying a rich second generation, or marrying a rich first generation. Rich first generations are usually old rich first generations.
So, brothers and sisters, people get married wanting something. But God doesn't want anything from us. Tell me, what can God want from you? With your little self, what can He want? He wants nothing. God just wants us to be like Him, to have life, joy, and peace, right? So what about burning incense, lighting lamps, preparing incense, preparing anointing oil, anointing this, anointing that, and the sin offering once a year? Toiling!
In the previous chapters, there was also burning a whole lamb, one a day, two a day, and so on. Troublesome? Not troublesome. Why? Preparing yourself to meet with God, what's troublesome? Many Christians are foolish, foolish to the extent that they find meeting with God troublesome. They don't find meeting with their husband troublesome when they get married, and later they spend a lot of energy meeting with their husband, and in the end, their hearts are pierced. I'm speaking to your hearts, right? I tell you, if we're going to spend effort, let's spend effort meeting with God, at the golden altar of incense.
Anoint All the Objects to Be Holy, Anoint the Priests to Be Most Holy
Thirdly, this meeting with God has something called anointing all the objects, and also anointing the priests. Anoint all the objects, anoint the priests, and then become holy, become most holy. You say, "This thing, anointing all these things, almost everything in the tabernacle has to be smeared with this anointing oil." Do you remember what it means to anoint the priests? What does it mean to anoint these objects? It means that all these things have a Mingding Destiny, and all these things are for a common goal. Anointing, smearing, do you think it's hard work? It's hard work, all for one goal, that goal is to allow us to meet with God there. To make us holy, to make us most holy, and then all the objects become holy, become most holy, just to meet with God here.
After reading, are you reading the same thing as me? Oh, it's so troublesome! How is this incense made? How is this anointing oil made? There are rules, and there are many rules! Then I tell you, the church we are building is a church that pays the price, why? Because we value meeting with God, the presence of God, very much. Meeting with God, these things will become most holy, so what is most holy?
Mingding Destiny is in every cell of our bones, this Mingding Destiny has entered our bone marrow, entered our hearts, entered every cell of our body, all for one thing, to meet with God. The army of Jehovah God does not fight with chariots, horses, guns, or weapons, but relies on the presence of God. Do you understand? Then this most holy thing, how most holy is it?
I won't read it according to the original text. After you listen, compare it with the original text. This thing becomes most holy, that golden altar of incense becomes most holy, and what other things become most holy. Then whoever touches that golden altar, whoever touches it becomes holy. Do you think that thing is powerful? So what does it mean to become holy? What does it mean to become most holy? All these things are because God is there to meet with us. Do you understand?
Meeting with God, I ask you: "Oh, I met God! Oh, I met Him!" Then after meeting God, a checkup reveals cancer. Just this evening, a brother I used to know, who is in another church, had his cancer spread. A few days ago, I called him. Actually, in my heart, I really wanted to bring him into the place of meeting with God. So why is he like this? Hard work! The bugs of hell are too many.
Just did a scan, and I sighed. If we ourselves are priests of this generation, what are we doing here to meet with God? It's so that in this generation, we can meet with God here, ascend the mountain of Jehovah, enter the temple of the God of Jacob, and then see the glorious face of God, behold the glorious face of God. Do you understand? What is the Bible telling us to do? We are to serve the people of this generation.
What are we doing this for? To be a blessing to this generation. How do we bless these people? "I'll introduce you to the best doctor." Can that bless them? "Oh! I'll introduce you to a Chinese herbal medicine, and I'll introduce you to something else," but not introducing God. Why? Because they haven't seen the glorious face of God. Wherever I go, I introduce God. Oh! People live such miserable lives. I tell you, what they lack is seeing, they haven't seen God. They haven't seen God with their own eyes! If you were a Christian who had only heard of God in the past, today you must become a Christian who sees God with your own eyes, and then prepare yourself to meet with God.
Anointing all the objects, it's tiring! So much work, isn't it? The whole temple exudes the fragrance released by the anointing oil and the incense they make. Wow! It's simply wonderful. Are you willing to pay this price? When we meet with God, we must burn incense at the golden altar, light lamps, prepare incense, prepare anointing oil, and prepare a sin offering. We must anoint all the objects, anoint the priests, and then become holy, become most holy.
Count the People of Israel, and Collect the Redemption Money According to the Number
Have you seen that I am leading you to study the Bible by focusing on one thing? I am speaking according to one thing, and I am connecting all these things together. The Bible is indeed saying this. Right? So, count the people of Israel, and collect the redemption money according to the number. These people of Israel are the army of Jehovah God, do you see that? Those who are twenty years old and older, the younger ones don't count. Count the people of Israel, and everyone pays the redemption money.
Why? To avoid plagues among them. If you don't pay this redemption money, there will be plagues! Do you know why? You haven't been redeemed, and you are not counted as part of the army of Jehovah. If you count, and you include those who don't belong to God, and you also include those who belong to God, wouldn't that be troublesome? Brothers and sisters, we must know that I have a set of logic for building the church. Only those who can fight count. Only those who are counted in the army of Jehovah God count.
I must warn the pastors among us, don't urge people to give offerings. Do you understand? Don't say, "You haven't given an offering yet, you must give an offering." If some people among us say, "Look, he's urging me to give an offering," then that should be his own business, that's because I didn't teach well. What are we? If you don't count here, you don't have the right to give an offering. Do you understand? If you don't count here, you say, "I also want to follow you to fight," then there will be plagues.
You think bullets don't have eyes, they have eyes! Today's bullets are precision strikes, precision-guided. Today's bullets have eyes! As soon as they see that this person is not part of the army of Jehovah, they hit him. Ghosts see people very accurately, right? When we build the church, we must know that we are not collecting offerings, we don't need money, what we need is to meet with God! Do you understand? If you don't count as part of the army, then don't count him in, cut him off from the assembly, cut him off.
So, brothers and sisters, don't urge people to give offerings. We don't even want their offerings! Don't take them, he's not part of God's army, what are you taking his money for? If you take it and he's not, aren't you shaming God? Only those who can fight count. Those who count, then collect this redemption money, to avoid plagues, and whether this person is rich or poor, the amount collected is the same, half a shekel.
Brothers and sisters, don't think that this person gives more offerings and that person gives fewer offerings, no! In the matter of the tabernacle, in the matter of how to meet with God, everyone collects the same amount. Redemption money, half a shekel per person, and what do you do with this money? Use this money to supply the use of the tabernacle, that use. Many churches don't dare to mention offerings, or many churches value offerings very much, both are problems!
What we value is meeting with God, what we value is being able to bring blessings down from God, what we value is the presence of God! The presence of God can lead us to fight and then overcome, and be able to plunder the enemy. So first, if you are willing to walk this path, you must be a person who gives offerings. If as soon as you ask for offerings, people run away, that's not good. Second, I may not even want your offering, you are not qualified! Because you don't meet the requirements for giving offerings, then forget about it.
From now on, we will no longer ask for offerings. We will also examine whether people are qualified to give offerings. People are not pursuing this priestly path at all, they don't want to meet with God at all, and they don't want to fight this spiritual battle at all, and then they are beaten by ghosts, so forget about these people. If he likes to be a person who is beaten by ghosts, then he is not among us, he doesn't count. Occasionally we help him drive out the ghosts, and he calls the ghosts back, that's normal. Count the people of Israel, and collect the redemption money according to the number. This is a very important point for us to be able to meet with God, because we must redeem our sins.
This Anointing Oil, This Incense is Holy
To meet with God, we need anointing oil and incense, and these are holy. The 《Bible》is written in a very interesting way. You cannot use the anointing oil to anoint others; if you do, that person will be cut off from the people. You can't mess around with it, nor can you treat the incense as ordinary. You might say, "I'll take some home to smell," but that's not allowed. You cannot copy it and use it for yourself; it's copyrighted. This incense and this anointing oil can only do one thing, fulfill one purpose: to meet with God here. If you make your own anointing oil and anoint yourself or others, or if you make your own incense and use it for yourself or others, that person will be cut off.
This is talking about how the church cannot mess around. The church must be careful when ordaining leaders. Some churches ordain leaders based on who donates the most – you can't do that! The church becomes their home, they become members of the board of directors. You must know that this is not meeting with God. If it's meeting with money, then go find old Ma. The church cannot mess around; it's not based on money, but on pursuit. So brothers and sisters must be careful; there are too many messed-up things in the church today. When I say this, people think I'm criticizing them. Why would I criticize them? I want everyone to understand in their hearts. I'm not telling them; I'm telling our brothers and sisters.
So this anointing oil cannot anoint those without Mingding Destiny. If you don't have Mingding Destiny and only have a little money, what's the use? Don't say that we Christians should look down on money; even those who have money don't like being called nouveau riche. Having nothing but money, these people later engage in some culture, because they feel ashamed of not having culture. Brothers and sisters, take money lightly. If you have God's presence and can meet with God, money is not a problem at all. This anointing oil and this incense are for those with Mingding Destiny, not for ordinary people.
Wash Your Hands and Feet
To meet with God, put a basin there and be sure to wash your hands and feet. Why? Because the things your hands touch are always dirty. The dirtiest things in this world are hands and feet. For example, we use our hands to wipe our bottoms and to eat. Isn't that disturbing? Hands touch everything, but people don't think they're dirty because they wash them. Once washed, hands are clean. If you don't wash, who knows what you just touched. What I'm saying is, don't be afraid of things being dirty; you have to wash them clean.
There's another more interesting thing. Chinese people eat large intestines, which are filled with feces all year round. After they're washed clean, they're eaten. But if a bowl has held feces, even if it's washed clean, it can't be used because the psychological burden is too heavy. That's interesting, isn't it? Large intestines hold feces all year round, but after they're washed clean, they can be eaten. A bowl that has held feces, even if it's washed clean, can't be used. Don't you think the things in people's minds are strange? Our minds are filled with such strange things; why don't we clean them out? So everything must be washed clean. Some people say they don't eat large intestines, but I'm telling you, when you eat out, you can't be sure what's going on. What I'm saying is, everyone should see through this.
Why do we wash our hands and feet when we come before God? Because our hands are dirty and touch everything, so we must wash our hands. When we come before God to meet with Him, our hands must be washed clean. Some people's hands shake and grab during healing and deliverance prayers; that's because they're used to grabbing money. You count banknotes with your hands, and banknotes are very dirty. Our hands are very dirty, and our feet are too. If we looked at our feet and hands under a microscope, we really couldn't live. So when we come before God, our hands must be clean, our hearts pure, our feet must be clean, and we must walk God's path, and our hands must do things that please God.
So when people come before God to meet with Him, they must wash their hands and feet. The things we touched in the past are gone after washing. The things we thought in the past, our thoughts and intentions, need to be cleansed even more. We must be clear about these points when we meet with God. We ascend the mountain of the Lord and enter the temple of the God of Jacob, and we still need to wash our hands and feet. What about at the foot of the mountain and on the plains? The level of truth at the foot of the Lord's mountain is very low, and we still need to wash our hands and feet when we ascend the mountain, understand? Along the way, when we climb the mountain of the Lord, at very low levels, there is a lot of filth and uncleanness released by demons.
If you really understand, Christians at very low levels are actually contaminated with a lot of filth, and only at a very high level is there none. Moses ascended the mountain of the Lord and entered the temple of the God of Jacob. He reached such a high realm, and to enter the golden altar to meet with God... If you are at a very low level, I really don't know what to say.
Remember that on the road to meeting with God, we must strive hard, constantly sanctify ourselves, and constantly remove the filth from our bodies. Prepare yourself to come before God to meet with Him. Our God is a holy God. When we fight and win, and meet with God, when you come out of God's temple, your body will be radiating God's glory, and the devil and enemies will have no way to stand before God's glory. So pursuing holiness is such a desirable thing!
Summary
Brothers and sisters, start re-examining yourselves and start striving hard. Don't just think, "I'm already saved, and I'll go to heaven after I die." Forget about that! I'm wondering, are you going to the Eastern Heaven or the Western Heaven? Don't people always say they're going to the Western Heaven when they die? You must understand that going to the Western Heaven is not a good thing. If I say, "I'll send you to meet with God," that would be wonderful, but we can't send you; you still have to strive hard.
The best thing in a person's life is to strive hard until they see God's glorious face. Is it hard for everyone to do some ministry work? Is it hard to buy a computer? It's normal to pay a price. Isn't it normal for us to buy a computer or a phone? I'm telling you, it's normal to pay a price for learning. Save the nonsense things and pay a price for God. Isn't that normal? Let's ask ourselves, how much of a price have we paid for God? Count on your fingers; we haven't paid much of a price!
A leader in charge of ministry told me, "Some people want to learn to type, but they're reluctant to buy a computer." If that's the case, this thing really can't be done. I can only say, "Then forget it." If people don't pay a price, they can't do anything. That's because they don't know this is something worth investing in. If you don't invest and don't sow seeds, you can't do anything. It's happy to pay tuition for school. In our midst, learning so many things, isn't it normal to pay a price? What's more, learning so many things is free.
Let's prepare ourselves to be people who pay a price, and for the sake of pursuing to see God's glorious face and to meet with God, we can pay any price. Actually, the most important thing is to know what our Mingding Destiny is. This is the goal we pursue in our lives, and it's simple and not a problem anymore. Tidy up our hearts. We just want to see God's glorious face, to meet with God here, at the golden altar.
If we can see God's glorious face, I ask you, can any devil or enemy stand before us? No. We can become a blessing to this generation and a blessing to future generations, and many people will be blessed because of us. Wouldn't that make us the Abraham of this generation? I hope everyone can keep this matter in their hearts. We don't win battles because our spiritual level is too low.
Start striving hard to climb, constantly pursuing, and never be deceived by old Ma. Don't just earn some money and become arrogant. In the past, those people were terribly losers, but after our constant training, they started to be less losers, were able to earn some money, were able to support themselves, and started to love the world. Alas! We must pursue loving God! I say this every day, and I don't know if it's useful.
In this life, people pursue and pursue, and finally take a plane once, and the plane crashes vertically. No one can stop such an ending. Brothers and sisters, if no disaster happens to you, and you spend your life pursuing to see God's glorious face, isn't that a good fate? If a disaster puts an end to all your efforts in life, what's the use? There's no use at all. We must reflect on ourselves! We must know that the most important thing in a person's life is to meet with God here at the golden altar!
May God bless everyone!
Reflection Questions:
What does it mean to meet with God? What do we do when we meet with God?
How can Christians meet with God?
After counting the people of Israel, why did they have to pay the atonement money? What would happen if they didn't pay?
The army of the Lord God fights by ( )?
A. Relying on chariots, horses, guns, and weapons
B. Relying on God's presence
C. Relying on abundant supplies and money