Introduction

Greetings! We have finally arrived at the moment when the glory of God descends. This day has been hard-earned. When the Israelites left Egypt, God brought them out with a mighty hand. However, even after witnessing God's powerful arm, they did not live a God-centered life. In fact, they had just gone through the ordeal of the golden calf. After Moses spent forty days and nights on the mountain with God, he came down. Then, after the efforts of Bezalel and Aholiab, we arrive at Chapter 40. They completed all the tasks God had commanded, assembled everything, and the glory of God filled the tabernacle.

You must understand that all the hard work was for the glory of God to descend upon the Tabernacle of the Lord. You will find that all our labor and toil is to see the glory of God. In fact, you will find that the things Moses wrote in the Book of Exodus were not easy to articulate. But on this day, the glory of God filled the tabernacle. I tell you, in these past years, I have longed for the glory of God to fill the church. I have a great dissatisfaction within me; I said the church should not be like that. The church should have the glory of God, the power of God, the presence of God, and the guidance of God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, as we study this chapter, I am deeply moved. I think this matter gives us a great revelation: you must do this and that according to God's instructions, only then will the glory of God come. If you do not do as the Lord has commanded, if God tells you to go east and you go west, if God tells you to chase dogs and you catch chickens, then there will be trouble.

The theme of this chapter of Exodus is that the glory of God filled the tabernacle. Didn't Exodus describe the army of the Lord God coming out of Egypt? What do you think the army of the Lord God relied on to fight? It relied on the presence of God! Victory in battle relies on the glory of God. How can we see the glory of God? We must do as the Lord God has commanded. But let us examine carefully today, where does the problem lie in building a church without the presence of God? The problem lies in not doing as the Lord God has commanded. Therefore, doing as the Lord God has commanded simplifies many things. Not doing as the Lord God has commanded complicates things.

In this chapter, you will find that I have not made doing as the Lord has commanded the main theme, but rather a subheading. This chapter speaks of the glory of God filling the tabernacle. Why did the glory of God fill this tabernacle? Because it was done according to God's requirements. Think about it, if God told Moses to carve two cherubim, and he carved two flying pigs instead, whether gold or silver, could God dwell there? It would be unsettling to look at.

God said: Use sealskins. You say: What sealskins? Just find some wild dog skins, there are plenty of wild dog skins. If that is the attitude, there will be trouble. The Lord God said: Use gold. You say: That's too expensive, sell all this gold and give it to the poor, that would be great! If the glory of God is not in the temple of God, what are you doing? You say: What gold? Just find some scrap metal. If everyone brings scrap metal to donate, that place becomes a recycling center, that is not filling the glory of God.

I imagine this is quite funny. If we build a very dilapidated church and bring a group of people with torn shoes, torn hats, and torn robes, that's Ji Gong, a bunch of Ji Gongs picking their toes, rubbing the dirt into pills for everyone to eat. Would you eat that? That would be a joke! Our God is not so disgusting, we must do as the Lord God has commanded. Don't even talk about God, think about yourself. If you hire a contractor and he doesn't paint the colors you want, he paints the colors he likes, would you like it? If the contractor paints colors you hate, would you want to live there? If it's decorated crookedly, with the floor like a sieve, would you want to live there? Not only would God not dwell there, but people wouldn't want to live there!

God wants us to build Him a temple, a tabernacle, shouldn't we do it according to God's requirements? When you read this, many people ask: Teacher, why sealskins? Why a table? Why the Ark of the Covenant? Why cherubim? And the holy garments. When you come to me to study the Bible, we don't study it that way. There is no why. God says what to do, we do it, it's that simple.

Brothers and sisters must know that doing as God commands is our duty! From ancient times to the present, no one can explain clearly why God made the golden lampstand, why He made the table, the utensils, etc. Just do it! How many of our brothers and sisters do not do it? Not doing it is a tragedy! You must know one thing, Chinese Mingding Doctrine is building the church according to God's commands. I don't care what it is, we must return to the Bible to examine it. If you find that I am not doing some things according to the Bible, you must tell me, and I will definitely change. Everything must be done according to God's commands, God commands, and we do it, and things become simple.

Sometimes, I find people very strange, always asking why. Many years ago, I hired a junior employee who often did not follow my standard operating procedures. We have an SOP, and then his supervisor came to me and said: Boss, this employee is not following the procedures. I said: How is he not following the procedures? He said: Look, we have steps one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, and he is not following these steps. Not only does he not follow steps one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, but he doesn't even follow steps one, two, three, four, five. I said, what does he follow? He does what he wants to do, and he doesn't do what he doesn't want to do.

I asked him to call this employee in, and I said: Why are you not following the standard operating procedures? He said to me: Why should I follow them? This question left me speechless for a long time. I said: I hired you to work, you must do as I require, that is a matter of course. And you ask: Why should I follow them? I tell you, this operating procedure was created by experts, and employees must follow it. Even if I were to explain it to you, you wouldn't understand! This is work, there is no why! Just follow it, that is my requirement of you.

So from this, I learned a lesson. The consequences of having such a person build a church are imaginable! Later, he was noticed by a pastor, and he and his wife went to that pastor's church and became church co-workers. As a result, this church was so messed up by this young couple that people left. Two hundred people became one hundred and fifty, one hundred and fifty became one hundred, one hundred became fifty, and later this church was about to close down.

What am I saying this to illustrate? It is deadly to not follow the rules! In a child's growing process, the most important thing is to teach him to follow the rules. Teaching a child to follow the rules is a good exercise for him. Think about it, that's how it is. So I encourage everyone to develop the habit of following the rules. Some people say, I am a Buddhist, then you should follow the rules of Buddhism; I am a Catholic, then you should follow the rules of Catholicism; I am a Muslim, then you should follow the rules of Islam.

I find that the people who least like to follow the rules are Christians. Muslims are quite impressive. No matter what day it is, when the time comes, they hide in a small room to pray. And now some countries have even created prayer rooms for these Muslims to pray in. But I find that Christians don't have this habit. Isn't that interesting! Muslims and Buddhists are quite good. But when it comes to Christians, why do they do this? I think God hears these words even more than I do. Isn't that upsetting? This person has his own way of doing things. So brothers and sisters, don't ask why, there is no why, it is all for the glory of God to fill the church.

Think about it, why hasn't the glory of God filled the church? Why won't the glory of God descend if you build a small shed at home? You built a small shed in the wilderness, without the glory of God, without the pillar of cloud and fire, and without God's guidance. It's because you did it according to your own ideas! So you must follow God's rules!

Doing as God Commands

Doing as the Lord God commanded, you will find that this is mentioned a lot here.

Moses did so, as the Lord commanded him. (Exodus 4:16)

He put the tent cloth over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent cloth on top of it, as the Lord had commanded him. (Exodus 40:19)

He brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the Testimony, as the Lord had commanded him. (Exodus 4:21)

And he set the bread in order upon it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded him. (Exodus 4:23)

He lit the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded him. (Exodus 4:25)

And he burned sweet incense on it, as the Lord had commanded him. (Exodus 4:27)

He set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded him. (Exodus 4:29)

When they went into the tent of meeting, or when they came near the altar, they washed, as the Lord commanded him. (Exodus 4:32)

There are a total of eight instances of doing as the Lord commanded. Why repeat it so many times? Repeating it so many times shows that this matter is important! Therefore, Chinese Mingding Doctrine is very particular about doing as God has commanded. If God has not commanded it, we should not do it, don't mess around. Many years ago, when I was building a church, what I most wanted to see was the church doing what Jesus did. Doing as our Jesus Christ did, that would be great! I thought, Jesus touches and the sickness is healed. I touch, why isn't it healed? Later, I longed to be like Jesus, longing to be like Jesus is so great!

As a result, someone said, how is that possible? How many Jesuses are there, how many Moseses are there, how many Samuels are there, how many Apostle Pauls are there? Isn't there just one? I am not one of them! This is strange, look at what this person is saying. They did as the Lord God commanded. If we do as the Lord commanded, can we do it? Absolutely! Therefore, brothers and sisters must know that the Ark of the Covenant, the veil, the boards, the altar of burnt offering, the golden altar of incense, the laver, and the holy garments, this series of things, are all as the Lord God commanded, this is what the church should do.

Actually, I find it strange. Many years ago, I found that the church exchanges gifts at Christmas, and then we go to the store to buy gifts. If we buy something expensive, we are reluctant. If we buy something cheap, we are embarrassed to give it, we struggle for a long time, it's quite torturous. Why is this so torturous, so tiring? I still like to read the Bible. When I read the Bible, I find that there is nothing like this in the Bible. Who invented Santa Claus? I said, what is this? That is not as the Lord commanded.

What did God command? God commanded us to imitate Jesus, so Chinese Mingding Doctrine speaks of imitating Jesus. How Jesus did it, we do it, what Jesus did, we do. Later, I often said this: What Jesus did, he doesn't do; what Jesus didn't do, he does a lot! Do you think there can be the glory of God? Without the glory of God, you must do as God has commanded. Don't ask what the laver is for? What is the veil for? When we read Chapter 39, we must know that this is the path to sanctification!

Anointing

You know, after the construction is completed, you must begin to anoint. Anointing is very interesting. Why do we call it Mingding Doctrine? Because this anointing is a Mingding Doctrine. Many people think that anointing is just putting oil on the body, putting oil on the forehead. Many people think that this is magic, something very magical. But I like to get to the bottom of things. What is this anointing? Does everyone know what anointing is? After anointing, that thing is holy to the Lord. Whether it is an object or a person, they are appointed to serve God, so it is called Mingding Doctrine.

Why do we call it Chinese Mingding Doctrine? Anointing is Mingding Doctrine, Mingding Doctrine is anointing. Why is it sanctified after anointing? Because it is holy to the Lord. So the word Mingding Doctrine comes from this. Anointing, sanctification, after anointing, it is holy to the Lord. Our serving God is our Mingding Doctrine! Of course, we must also add putting on the holy garments and so on.

The Everlasting Priesthood

Once anointed, one shall forever be a priest of the Lord God. Anointing signifies Mingding Doctrine, and Mingding Doctrine means being a priest of the Lord God. Is it good to be a priest of the eternal God? It is exceedingly good, with countless benefits! What are these benefits? There is no better role in this world. Consider, people are of different ranks, and the highest rank is that of a priest of the Lord God. What does this priest of the Lord God do? He touches the throne of God, representing God on earth, carrying out the duties God has given us.

Whether the army of the Lord God can triumph depends entirely on whether this temple is built according to God’s requirements. Most importantly, is there someone serving as a priest? This priestly duty is significant! Even when Israel was in decline, there was a priest named old Eli, and when he spoke, God fulfilled his words. This is why we emphasize the priestly duty!

What does the priestly duty entail? Lighting lamps, burning incense, offering sacrifices—all these are part of serving God. With these, with priests after God’s own heart, with prophets after God’s own heart, with God's people after His own heart, God will be with them, and God will cause them to prosper. How does the army of the Lord God fight? By God’s presence. You must begin to understand that fighting with God’s presence is powerful. Brothers and sisters, know that our church is full of priests of the Lord God. You and I have received the priestly duty of the Lord God, anointed and appointed to this Mingding Doctrine, consecrated to the Lord, becoming eternal priests.

This is God’s will. Do not think this is a hardship. Once, on a plane, I met a pastor sitting next to me. I asked, "What are you doing?" He said, "I'm going to do business." I said, "Why aren't you a pastor anymore?" "Ah! I've finally unloaded this burden." Hearing this, I felt sorry for God! Such a glorious duty, such a glorious Mingding Doctrine, he described as a burden. I thought, God must want to kick him! I hope he doesn’t kick the plane down. I was still on the plane! How could someone be so foolish?

Another pastor wrote on his website that his occupation was a businessman. It sounds strange. Is it better to be a businessman or a priest? Of course, it is better to be a priest. Priests deal with God’s blessings, while businessmen deal with business and money. We Chinese Mingding Doctrine value the priesthood of the eternal God highly. I often lead everyone in prayer every week, and during prayer, this person gets better, that person gets better, and many illnesses are healed. What did I do? I am a priest of God, fulfilling my priestly duty, bringing God’s presence. Operating God's lamps in God's presence, having the Spirit of God, is powerful. Do not despise this title! It is terrible to despise this title.

In the past, many people I served used words that didn't sound right. For example, I served a pastor with a brain tumor. I asked, "Why did you get a brain tumor?" I wanted to test his response. He said, "We pastors only get one day off a week." I thought, "How many days off do you want?" We Christians work from Monday to Saturday and go to church on Sunday, and it doesn't seem like we get much rest either. He said, "We pastors only get one day off a week." I thought, "No wonder he got a brain tumor." I said, "Tell me more. You say we pastors are so tired!"

What are pastors tired of? What work have you seen pastors do? Writing a Sunday bulletin, having an administrator help write it; preparing a sermon, often taking out an old one and reading it again. Some people have heard it several times in the past decade, and they still feel they don't get enough rest. Isn't that strange? How can a pastor not burn out doing this? I thought, "How did it turn into depression?" There are many such cases! There are also pastors who take their congregation fishing, but they can't pray for their own children who have cancer, and they don't even serve their own children as diligently as I do. Isn't that strange? They haven't done anything!

It's not easy for people around me to work because I often say, "Write down what you've done and show it to me. What have you been doing?" I calculate with them, and they only work a few hours a week. Some pastors are hard to reach by phone. Occasionally, they answer because the phone accidentally connects in their pocket. I hear them comforting their children! What job allows you to work like this? Your boss is God! Isn't this a joke? You can serve God like this! On the other hand, I think, "This job is good!" It's just a bit bold. No earthly boss would let you do this, but you can serve God like this as a pastor in the church!

In the tabernacle of God, lighting lamps, burning incense, the Ark of the Covenant, the Mercy Seat—all these are according to the duties of the priests as commanded by the Lord God. Serving God is what God requires, and it depends on whether you are willing to carefully obey God’s commands. In Chinese Mingding Doctrine, even if you are just a member here, you pay more than pastors in other churches. Serving God is not a joke; it is serving God! My God is powerful, my God is like a consuming fire! We must be holy, or we might get a brain tumor or even cancer.

If you are a Christian, wandering day after day, not to mention being a member, but especially being a pastor, wandering around can lead to cancer. I am not cursing you, but you must know that serving God requires careful obedience. Many people eat enough for two but do not carefully obey God’s word. How can they not attract demons? Someone asked me, "Is traveling considered not carefully obeying?" Always thinking about eating, drinking, and having fun, I tell you, that won't end well. Someone else asked, "How do you live your life?" I am a priest of the Lord God, serving God in the presence of the Lord. What a glorious grace!

The responsibility of a priest is to follow the commands of Jesus Christ. The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength! Once, I was invited to preach, and I preached about loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. This offended many people. Afterward, they pulled me aside and said, "You can't preach like that; it offends people." Offending people is better than offending God. I don't want to offend God. I would rather offend people. I don't want to mess with God; my little arms can't twist God's big leg. I don't want to be like those people; I don't please people; I only want to please God, and then God’s glory fills us.

I want to love the Lord our God, serving God with all my heart, soul, and strength; I long to see God’s glory, as Moses saw God’s glory; I long to see God’s leading. When God’s glory comes down, when God’s glory fills the tabernacle, there is a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When the pillar of cloud comes down, the people of Israel stop and camp. When the pillar of cloud rises, the people of Israel move on, and all problems become simple! Who can overcome God’s people? Who can accuse God’s people? God has chosen them, sanctified them, and made them priests of the eternal God.

Build a church that is full of God’s glory! I thank God that many people in their previous churches had this illness or that illness, but they were healed when they came among us. Some time ago, a girl came to me. She had been having shoulder pain for ten years. When she came among us, I prayed for her, and she was healed. But I don't think she is smart. I can only say that. I think many people are missing a screw in their heads. If I went to a church and got cancer, would I go back? I wouldn't.

If I got cancer and was healed when I came among us, would I go back? I wouldn't go back. God is here! I never pull people in. Why would I pull you? If you don't seek me, I don't want you. But she went back. Now, ten years have passed, and her buttocks hurt, her shoulders hurt, and her whole body hurts. She is uncomfortable and came to me again. I prayed for her, and she felt much better, and then she went back again. Go back if you want to, may God have mercy on you! Brothers and sisters, know that all our goals, all our pursuits, are to build a church of God’s glory!

So Moses Finished the Work

If you are going to do something, finish it. Don't stop halfway. Don't leave a sealskin with a missing piece here and a missing piece there, with big holes and small holes. Count the bronze, sockets, and bases, and make sure there are not too many or too few. Can you do anything with that? You can't do anything. I am saying that Moses finished the work. If you are going to do something, finish it. Think about it, you are in your thirties, what have you accomplished? The hardest people to serve are those who are old but have not accomplished anything. Are there any such people among us? You are a difficult problem because you have too many bad habits.

I have been thinking about how to fix it. Bad habits are hard to fix, either doing things halfway or things disappearing as you do them. Let's fix it slowly. Moses finished the work. You will find that our God is a God who finishes the work. If we don't do well, it doesn't matter. Let's do it little by little, one version after another, until we finish the work. Don't build a church halfway, grinning and grimacing. I really don't like doing things haphazardly!

Some people have been building churches for twenty or thirty years, and when you look, there is no accumulation. I like to do one thing well and finish one thing. Without the character to finish things, it is difficult to see God’s glory! When the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. That's what it says here, and we don't know what it's like for the tabernacle to be filled. But in the New Testament, it says that God’s glory fills us! Do you know what God’s glory is? When the blind can see, that is God’s glory, that is God’s power. If you carefully examine the Bible, you will think I am right!

God’s Leading

I have finished explaining Exodus. The glory of God descending among us is still our desire. May God continue to lead us! God’s leading, a pillar of fire by night, a pillar of cloud by day, God clearly with us, is powerful! For a priest, without God’s presence, isn't that a tragedy? Brothers and sisters, begin to carefully ponder what I have preached. Building a church of God’s glory depends on God’s leading. Without building this tabernacle, God’s glory will not come down. God is the God who builds the tabernacle! Brothers and sisters, value our duties. If we fight spiritual battles, the most important thing is God’s presence! Amen!

May God bless everyone!