Introduction
Greetings, everyone. Let us delve into Exodus, Chapter 39. I am most delighted at this moment because I am finally nearing the end of studying Exodus, a task that has proven exceedingly challenging. In years past, whenever I encountered descriptions of red and purple threads, and various gemstones in Exodus, I would skip over them. Similarly, if I saw passages filled with the names of foreigners, I would also bypass them, as I did not recognize these individuals, and I suspect many of you have done the same. However, as pastors, we cannot simply skip over passages we do not understand. Now, not only am I finally completing this book, but I have also come to understand what this chapter is about.
Sometimes I make jokes, or boast a little, and they even give me a nickname, "Versailles," but how could I not have understood Exodus before? Exodus is exceptionally well-written, culminating in Chapter 40 with the glory of God descending upon the tabernacle. Chapter 39 speaks of being consecrated to the Lord as priests, a matter of utmost importance and nobility!
One day, a pastor told me that there are two of the most difficult jobs in the world. I asked him what they were. He said the first is the President of the United States, because it is very difficult for the President to understand the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the two parties. The second most difficult job is being a pastor. Pastors also have a Senate and a House of Representatives, the first being the Board of Deacons and the second being the Co-workers' Council, so he was in great pain as a pastor.
I looked at him and thought, how did he make the priesthood of the Lord God into this? Then I wanted to make a model for these pastors to see, of course I was very arrogant back then. Later I slowly realized that being a pastor is not that simple. At first I thought being a pastor was a very simple job. The job I managed in the company, could a pastor do it? Pastors can't do it! But can I do the job of a pastor? I felt I could do it, isn't it just standing on the stage for two hours a week and fooling around, isn't that easy? Who can't talk, it's not like speaking a foreign language, it's just chatting, what's so difficult? Later, after becoming a pastor, I realized that being a priest of the Lord God is not easy, and it can't be done well by fooling around.
What work in the world is better than being set apart to the Lord and being His priest? None. What business is better than being a priest of the Lord God, doing the business of our God? God is our major shareholder, what is better than working for Him? Nothing! What is more noble than Him? Absolutely not! What is more enjoyable than being a priest of God? Nothing! After I said this, everyone felt that serving God is really good.
Suddenly someone came over and said: Teacher, I quit my job. I said what are you going to do? He said I want to come to the church to work! I said who told you to come? He said didn't you tell me to come? I said when did I tell you to come? It turned out that it was because I always said that nothing is better than being a priest of the Lord. As a result, people really came, and I was thinking in my heart what to do? If we lead everyone to live a poor life, and they are all so poor that they are jingling, and people open the door and see several Ji Gong inside, with ragged clothes and shoes, picking their toes, and holding a broken fan, it will be troublesome.
Being a priest is really noble and really good! It's just been ruined by some people. Being a priest is such a sacred calling! After I say this, don't think that I love money, and think that I compare the church to a business, this is the business of our God.
Being a Priest is a Very Noble Office
I am very fortunate to be a priest of the Lord God! Before, I was busy making the golden altar, the ark of the covenant, the cherubim, the curtains, the sealskins, the poles, the bases, the bowls, the sockets, etc., all of which were made for the priests of the Lord God, and also made for God. What does God want these for? In the end, it's still for people. So brothers and sisters, we must not get it backwards. After being busy making so many things, it is ultimately for the priests. In Exodus chapter thirty-nine, Bezalel began to make holy garments for Aaron, who was serving as a priest.
Don't get me wrong, these holy garments are not shrouds for the dead. Shrouds and holy garments are different, the difference is very big, one is for the dead, and the other is for the living. It is very noble for the living to wear holy garments! In that era, everyone wore linen clothes, but the ephod made of purple, scarlet, and blue was very noble. It looked good when worn, and after wearing it, Aaron immediately changed his name to priest! It is interesting that the Bible records this here. The Bible does not record wearing Ji Gong's clothes to be a priest, otherwise it would be troublesome!
Being a priest of the Lord God is very noble. Everything is done for this day, wearing holy garments to serve before the Lord God and manage this lamp. Some people say, this is so boring, it's much worse than playing mahjong! Think about it, what problems can playing mahjong solve? Why is this matter so important? Because the priest serves before the Lord God, and God serves God and blesses people on earth through the priest, and the glory of God descends among us.
Some people ask, can the glory of God descending among us be eaten? This can not only be eaten, but also be eaten as medicine, and it can also solve all the troubles in our lives! Being a priest of the Lord God is such a glorious office! The glory of God first descends to the priest. Being consecrated to the Lord as a priest is a very noble office! This office is not for eating, but this is the most beautiful thing in a person's life, the glory of God is here!
Why can I solve many people's problems? Because many people's problems must be solved through the priest! I feel that if I didn't have God in this life, then life would be so meaningless! People can live without mahjong, without poker, without computer games, but they cannot live without the glory of God, because all the problems in a person's life can only be solved in the glory of God!
Priests Carry a Destiny on Their Shoulders
Priests carry a destiny on their shoulders, because this is the best job, and the President of the United States cannot compare with this! In the kingdom of God, He arranged it this way: first the priests, then the Levites, then the twelve tribes, and finally the nations of the world. Because in God's design, God wants to make these people He has chosen above all the nations of the world. The office of priest is above the twelve tribes of Israel. Is this a glorious office? Although the office of priest is glorious, it also carries a destiny and a responsibility.
Why do people always not understand? Because any office carries a responsibility. You can't have glory, nobility, and ability, and then have no responsibility and only know how to play, how can that work? If you work in a company, the greater the power, the greater the responsibility. Being above all the nations of the world, being above the twelve tribes, and then serving as a priest before the Lord God, must you not shoulder the destiny of the twelve tribes?
So the ephod is engraved with stones, layer upon layer of gemstones. According to the engraving method of that seal, the names of the twelve tribes are engraved on it and worn on the chest, and then hung on the neck with a gold chain, which is called the ephod. The ephod carries the names of the twelve tribes, and the responsibility of this matter is very heavy. The rise and fall of the twelve tribes and the rise and fall of God's people all depend on the office of the priest. If you read the history of the Old Testament carefully, you will read that the more the priest does according to God's words, the stronger he becomes; the stronger the priest, the more he can take on the responsibility of managing the twelve tribes of Israel; the more he manages, then he begins to boldly demand, and as a result, the entire twelve tribes of Israel become prosperous.
Why is our church so prosperous? Because my requirements are high! When have you ever seen me ask you? I often say, if you are willing to follow me, then serve God well; if you are not willing to follow me, you can go wherever you want! You need to serve, and I have to ask you? Serving eagerly, doesn't that become a business? Doing so makes the noble office cheap. Why do they say that the first most difficult job is the President of the United States, and the second most difficult job is the pastor? Because they ruined a good thing.
Our brothers and sisters are beginning to gradually understand that it is the best blessing for you to have high demands on you! Otherwise, how did I slowly develop the habit of Versailles? I developed the habit of Versailles not for anything else, but to ask you to run upward and receive blessings, this is the destiny God has given us! The destiny God has given us is to make us a blessing to many people. Blessing is passed down layer by layer, but now it seems like I am asking you to give you blessings. So the people among us do not live by offerings, but by God's provision.
If I cherish your offerings, then I love money. If I love money, how can I serve God? Besides, my God is not poor, what do I cherish money for? Brothers and sisters, you must know that as long as the priest of the Lord God takes on the office of offering sacrifices in the sanctuary and the most holy place, the entire nation of Israel will prosper. This is God's arrangement, this is not an ordinary thing. Today, all our brothers and sisters must become royal priests before God, and they must all shoulder a destiny and become a blessing to many people. Some people say, teacher, don't ask any more, if you ask, people will leave. If they leave, they leave, we can't ask people to have a destiny, we need people to be willing to have a destiny. If you ask him, try asking him?
You must do according to what God has commanded, not according to what the people below have commanded. The priest carries a destiny on his shoulders, and all the blessings are from above to below. Where does the priest's blessing come from? The priest's blessing comes from God. The most important thing in a person's life is blessing! The most fatal thing in a person's life is curse! If you understand these two things, blessing and curse, you will live a very good life in this life, so people must have a destiny!
Why are priests so important? The priest's job is to touch God's throne with his hands and stand on the ground with his feet to bring down God's blessing, God's nobility, God's power, and God's glory to bless this generation. How can that be? How can businessmen have this good thing! Businessmen make money! What do we make? We make God's blessing, we must get God no matter what!
Priests Must Act According to God's Instructions
When we read the 《Bible》, we must pay attention to the repeated sentences. For example, the first verse says, "as the LORD had commanded Moses," then, "as the LORD had commanded Moses," and later, "as the LORD had commanded Moses." Isn't it annoying! Why write so much? Why not just say at the beginning, "All according to what the LORD had commanded Moses"? That's not the point; repeated parts in writing are very important! It's as if afraid you didn't read it, so it's repeated several times. But if you still haven't read it, isn't that foolish? Sometimes I ask people what they've read, and they say they haven't read anything. When asked what is repeated, they also answer they don't know. So, our brothers and sisters are beginning to understand that the repeated point is according to what God had commanded Moses.
How did God command Moses? Moses was on the mountain for forty days and nights, and then another forty days and nights, eighty days with God, and God gave Moses these instructions. As for what exactly happened and how He commanded, it's all my speculation, but my speculation has some basis. Did God tell Moses the content word by word, and then Moses copied it down word by word? No. Remember! The relationship between God and Moses is definitely not ordinary! I guess God used VR to show Moses on the mountain, that is, Moses saw the heavenly appearance on the mountain.
Moses' most remarkable ability is to be able to describe this clearly in his own language after seeing it. Why do I say this? Because God likes to work together with people, God really doesn't like it if He says one word and you write one word, says two words and you write two words, that's not good. I want to tell everyone, Moses is one of the greatest prophets in history! What is the greatest prophet? It is someone who deeply understands God's will.
If Moses' work was a copy-and-paste process, it would be meaningless. Don't expect to just read from the book; it's about fully understanding in your mind what the tabernacle should look like, and then describing it in your own language. Moses' greatness lies in this. Do not be a rigid, by-the-book implementer; you must become a friend of God, a child of God, and understand God's will in your heart. To be a priest of the LORD God, you must act according to God's instructions. Don't become a scribe and a Pharisee while doing it. If a person becomes a scribe and a Pharisee, it's troublesome; they become a cursed kind. So Moses was able to grasp God's heart. To be a priest of the living God, you must act according to what the LORD God commanded Moses, and Moses wrote these things clearly.
Those people recorded in the 《Bible》, the Apostle Paul wrote clearly the revelations he received from God. If you have obstacles in expressing yourself clearly in language, you need to change. That's why our brothers and sisters need to train in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, because this is the effort that a person must put in regarding language in building a knowledge system. I ask you to write notes so that you can clarify things and clarify what's in your head. If what's in your head is unclear, it's very troublesome; things become clear when written down. I guess Moses also tried his best to write this matter clearly. You can only truly understand what you can write clearly; you must train in this.
According to God's instructions, you must grasp God's heart! Don't say, what sea dog skin? Just use dog skin; what wool? Just use pig hair. Can clothes made of pig hair and wool be the same? Careless. Those of us who are sloppy, muddled, and disorganized must begin to transform ourselves to become priests of the LORD God. The priests of the LORD God work with their mouths; you must be able to explain God's words clearly. Although I am an engineer, my explanations are quite clear. According to what the LORD commanded Moses, Moses then instructed Bezalel and Oholiab, and then Moses wrote the 《Book of Exodus》; it's amazing. Why didn't God personally tell Bezalel and Oholiab? Because this is God's arrangement. So brothers and sisters, each of you does your part to build God's glorious church; that's how it's done.
You will find that I didn't talk about the purple thread or the pomegranates made of scarlet thread; I abstracted this out. To build God's glorious church and be a priest of the living God, the most important thing is to build according to God's word. If you don't build according to God's word, you will be cursed. To be a Christian and become a cursed Christian; to be a pastor and become a cursed pastor, it's better not to do it. What else can you do other than doing something that deceives God? You didn't build according to God's word, but you say you built according to God's word. Some people deceive and deceive until they deceive themselves.
I have to train our brothers and sisters to be able to open a hotline for preventing deception, and then you have to know what deception is and what the original thing is. Don't be deceived as soon as something happens, and be confused as soon as something happens. Many pastors serve until the end, and they don't even know that they haven't acted according to God's word. King Saul, God established him as king, but later he didn't even know that he hadn't acted according to God's word; he even thought he was doing well! This is troublesome. He deceived himself; what is this? We must understand what the 《Bible》 says!
How are some people deceived? It's like a person who didn't study elementary school Chinese well, and then didn't study middle school Chinese well, and as a result, didn't study Chinese well in college. What did he study then? He only learned to say, "Oh, My God!" This is really fatal! Why? Because there is his own set of things in his head, and this is a tragedy! We must not mess around; in any case, there must be a classic to check. Can things be done if there is no classic to check? What one does is not that one is not clear about God's word, but that one does not accept God's word. If everyone wants to do things according to God's word, is that okay? Later, he got himself into trouble; he only recognizes what he recognizes, so never think that you have done everything right!
God Wants to Check the Quality of Our Work
They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold and engraved on it, like the engraving of a signet, “HOLY TO THE LORD.” And they attached to it a blue cord to fasten it on the turban, as the LORD had commanded Moses. (《Exodus》 39:30-34 )
Thus all the work of the tabernacle, of the tent of meeting, was finished. And the people of Israel did according to all that the LORD had commanded Moses; so they did. And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its furnishings, its hooks, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its bases, the covering of rams' skins dyed red and the covering of goatskins, and the veil of the screen, the ark of the testimony with its poles and the mercy seat, the table with all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence, the lampstand of pure gold and its lamps with the lamps set and all its utensils and the oil for the light, the golden altar, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the entrance of the tent, the bronze altar with its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils, the basin and its stand, the hangings of the court and its pillars and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court, its cords and its pegs, and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting, the finely worked garments for ministering in the holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest and for his sons to minister as priests. According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the people of Israel had done all the work. (《Exodus》 39:36-42 )
Quality control is very important. After the work is done in the church, God checks the work we have done. The Apostle Paul said in his letters that if our work can stand firm, it is built according to God's word, and a fire cannot burn it away; if it is not built according to God's word, a fire will burn it away. Let us take on this priestly office and be willing to let God check our work at all times. If God points out our problems after checking, but we say that's how it is, this is called self-righteousness. For example, if you build a car that can't run, do you think you are making a trolley? If you build an airplane that can't fly, do you think you are making a toy airplane! It's useless to do this. Many people have done this, and I admire them.
The 《Bible》 clearly says that you should imitate Jesus and do what Jesus did. But people just don't think so! I admire them very much. My building of the church is proof that what these people say is pure nonsense. Many years ago, I wanted to do what Jesus did and act according to God's word, and after doing it, let God check our work. In fact, my work didn't pass the first round, so I had to tear it down and rebuild; the second round was not done right, so I tore it down and rebuilt; the third round was not done right, so I tore it down and rebuilt. This is how we constantly tear down and rebuild until we get it right, and the later versions are better than the previous ones.
I gradually came to understand that this is what God wants, and this is the source of Chinese Mingding Destiny. Chinese Mingding Destiny is about being like Jesus according to one sentence, and tearing down and rebuilding if you are not like Jesus. If you ask me, isn't it troublesome to tear it down? It's better to tear it down than to build on a wrong foundation! Chinese Mingding Destiny talks about listening to God's word and then acting on it. Then God checks, and if it is not qualified, we tear it down and rebuild. I never complain.
Determined to Be a Blessing
We must gradually learn to see the problems in our lives. Never be stubborn; stubbornness is definitely not the way to solve problems. Many people are stubborn and stubborn, and in the end, they are stubborn to the point of getting cancer. Many people don't listen to what I say, and in the end, they are self-righteous. They know their problems very well, but they just don't change. Why don't they change? They know, but knowing is useless. Brothers and sisters, you must know that God will tear down His temple, and God will tear down His church. If it is not built according to God's word, God will tear it down. We must also know that after God checks our work and gives affirmation, God's glory will fill us, because what we do is for God's glory to come down.
We act according to what the LORD commanded, and then Moses saw that all the work was done and blessed them, and it became a place for dispensing blessings. People must have this attitude. If people don't have this attitude, they can't do it. While doing it, they either please people or please ghosts.
Let me summarize the 《Bible》 study today: First, a noble office; second, bearing a Mingding Destiny; third, building according to what God has commanded; fourth, letting God check our work; fifth, we are determined to be a blessing. Don't end up doing it and not receiving a blessing, but instead suffering a curse, and having no way to reason. We have no place to argue with God; we only have one thing to do, which is to say to God: I listen to you. We have no choice but to listen to God's word. Don't be a foolish person; be a wise person, build your house on God's rock, and act according to God's truth. From now on, change the habit of being self-righteous.
Amen! May God bless everyone!