I. Men of Action 00:00
Let’s open with a prayer. I promise it’ll be short; I did hear the Gospel about the long prayers.
Lord, I thank you for this opportunity to dig into your word and to learn what you have to teach us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
So I’m going to sum up. I told Bishop I was joking: I was like, “I’m going to preach all the sermons from the men’s retreat, then I’ll preach about Exodus.” But no, I’m not going to do that this morning; it might take a little too long. But I’ve got two sentences. One of them is a run-on sentence, I just want all of our grammar people to know. But that will give you a picture of everything we learned at the men’s retreat.
Number one is this. It’s a great quote from The Princess Bride. It wasn’t quite said, but the idea was spoken several times: “We are men of action. Lies do not become us.” And number two, we were told to focus. Let go of anything holding you back. Become free through submission to God’s purposes, because God wants to break time in our life so we can be renewed in the purposes and the potentials of the kingdom of God every day. And finally, as we’re told every men’s retreat: be a man, build your family, and save the world.
Okay, great. It was quite good. I have that written in my notes: “It was quite good.” It was an awesome men’s retreat, and those concepts were what was taught, but the Holy Spirit’s ministry is what was done. We learned, but we also were transformed through the learning, through the prayers, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
II. God Wants to Dwell With His People 02:18
So as we listen this morning to Exodus, we’re told that the Bible has that power in our life, and as we study these Scriptures, it has the power to transform us. So I hope that this morning this sermon doesn’t just teach you something about Exodus, but that it actually changes the way that you live your life. And even as you’re listening, you can actually put yourself into a posture where you’re looking for ways that God might be transforming you. So I just invite you this morning not just to learn, but to open your heart to what the Holy Spirit’s doing. We’ve already heard him in our worship, which was so powerful. We’ve had him in our Scriptures. We’ll talk about him in this service, and then we’ll have him in the Eucharist. So there are many opportunities for you to experience the presence of God. I just invite you to think that way: this isn’t just another sermon, but an opportunity for God to move in our life.
Okay, we’re going to jump into Exodus. We’ve kind of gone through this journey, and today God does what he’s intended to do the entire time. You may not have known this, but the entirety of Exodus was taking this people whom God had chosen, who had forgotten him in their slavery in Egypt, introducing himself to them again, giving them his name, Yahweh, and teaching them who he was as he saved them out of the hand of the tyrant, out of slavery in Egypt, by his mighty power. Then he taught them on the way to Mount Sinai that not only did he save them, but every need that they had, every need that they encountered, he would be their provision. It wasn’t like we often do as Christians: “I was saved, and now I’ve got to go work to earn my salvation.” That’s not how it works. In fact, you were saved, and you’re being saved in every situation. So he’s teaching them as they go through, and they get the water from the rock, the manna from heaven. All of these stories are bringing them to Mount Sinai, where God is going to show up. It has been told: “You will worship me on the mountain of the Lord.”
And so during this time on Mount Sinai, we did the Ten Commandments. God had to tell them, “Okay, if you’re going to be my people, this is how you’re going to live.” And he’s leading them, guiding them, testing them, shaping them, so that he can live with them. Ultimately, that’s the goal. God wants to dwell with his people. And then eventually, he doesn’t just want to dwell with them here. He wants to dwell with them in the promised land forever and ever. But today we get to talk about God dwelling with his people. So we’re going to learn a little bit about the tabernacle and the ark. There are sixteen chapters dedicated to building the tabernacle and the ark. You think God cared about this? I mean, we’ve only gone 25 chapters, and now almost a third, if not more, of Exodus is about just building this ark and this tabernacle. So there’s something God wants to tell us.
We’re just going to take a couple of snippets here, so you can get the idea of what’s going on. We’ll start in Exodus chapter 25, verse 1:
1 Yahweh said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me. 3 And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, 4 blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair, 5 tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood, 6 oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 7 onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. 8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. 9 Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.” Exod 25.1–9
So what’s going on here? God wants them to make a place where he can come and dwell among his people. And not only that, he wants to make it a place that they can pack up and take with them. He’s making them a tent. All of this is to be transported, so that he will walk with them everywhere they go. This is the intention here.
Now, if you show up with your contribution on Sunday with goats’ hair, we’re not going to accept it here, just so you know. We will kindly put it to the side. But there is a parallel in what God is asking these people to contribute out of their wealth to the household of God. God’s purposes have been the same yesterday, today, and forever. He’s teaching his people that the way the house of God is built is by all of us coming together as living stones, built into the house of God, symbolized by their earthly contributions. It’s not because God wants money. He’s got plenty. He has everything he will ever need. It’s because he wants us to learn how to come together and form the house of God. And so he’s teaching his people.
III. The Love of Gold 06:41
Now, I’m a part of this Facebook group. It’s called Christian Lord of the Rings Memes. And if you didn’t know I was a nerd before, you know I’m a nerd now. Yeah, it was pretty obvious. So they had this picture the other day that really rubbed me the wrong way. They had a picture of the Pope censing the altar, and he had the golden chalice and the golden ciboriums, and he had the golden lampstands and the golden thurible, and this beautiful display of worship. And they put underneath it a quote from The Hobbit, where it said the love of gold had corrupted them, or something to that effect. And there was this rant from this group about how the Roman Catholic Church’s beautiful cathedrals and art and elements were a love of gold. Which, first of all, doesn’t make any sense, because every single thing on that table in that picture was set aside not for their sake but for God’s. They can’t use that. They can’t sell that. It’s been set apart for God’s use.
So, either way. But I also think that there’s something that we need to learn from this example, especially as we talk about this tabernacle that God is specifically designing with luxurious materials, because there’s a point to it. So there are two things going on when we look at these situations, when we look at this luxury, this lavish display. Even though I know that the beautiful worship of God is a good thing, something in our hearts, when we see abundant wealth, finds easy ways to criticize it. In fact, when you look at wealthy people generally, or if I say “rich people,” generally you get a negative picture in your head, don’t you? I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. But you start thinking of corrupt individuals, almost cartoon villains. It’s like, “Oh, the rich, the wealthy, the one percent, the people who have.” And so I have not, and they have, and there are problems.
I think there’s a reason why we think that way, especially in the Christian church, especially in the Protestant Christian church. Jesus was constantly teaching in ways that may have misled us about wealth, if we allow them to, if we don’t see them in their proper context. We get the teachings of Jesus that confront the idea that wealth is a sign of God’s favor. What does Jesus say? It’s harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (Matt 19.24). We take that and we think, “Oh, so we shouldn’t be rich.” That’s not Jesus’ point there. Jesus’ point is: your wealth counts for nothing when it comes to the kingdom, and it can be a massive stumbling block when it comes to entering, because we’re tempted to worship that which we have or that which we want. And so Jesus not only says that, but he also talks about the love of money and the corruption that can come from that. And we’re told, “The love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Tim 6.10). Even that Tolkien quote I was talking about, “The love of gold had corrupted them,” talking about the dwarves in his famous story. But none of those things are a condemnation of wealth as such. It’s actually a condemnation of our heart towards wealth.
Even if you read the Bible carefully, you’ll see that there’s a Scripture in Third John, chapter 1, verse 2. I actually really like this Scripture here. It says:
2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 John 1.2
Not only does God not despise wealth the way that we might sometimes, but he wants us to have prosperous lives, and have health, and have spiritual prosperity. I’m liking this God. He’s for me. He’s not against me. Now, there’s a little bit of a bad taste in people’s mouths when you use that word “prosper” from the pulpit. People think of this thing called the prosperity gospel. And people are very scared of the prosperity gospel, because rightfully, it is wrong. God’s will in your life is not centered on you getting a Corvette. It’s also not centered on you living a life of health like an Olympic athlete for the rest of your days. It’s also not centered on you having a house. But he wants us to have all good things.
But the center of his message is: you die, and I raise you to new life so you can look like me. That’s the center of his message. You die with him on the cross, with him in baptism. You lay down your life. You lay down the things that might be holding you back. And then he raises you to new life so you can be like Jesus. And believe it or not, you can do that and get a Corvette. It can happen. But if you focus on the Corvette, you’re going to miss the Jesus. And so the point of Jesus criticizing the wealthy was that they were focused on the things of this world, excluding the things of eternity. He was changing our focus, not telling us to criticize wealth and abundance and beauty.
IV. Beauty Will Save the World 12:48
In fact, maybe you look at that picture of the Pope with those golden implements (and this was rampant on that Facebook page), and they said, “Well, why didn’t they use that money to feed the poor? Why didn’t they use that money to take care of the needy?” And Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus, says exactly that. You remember that story. The woman comes and she breaks this costly perfume in her worship of Jesus, and Judas goes, “Why didn’t they use that money for the poor?” And Jesus rebukes him and says everywhere the gospel is preached, this woman’s act of costly worship will be talked about. It turns out God wants beautiful, costly worship. And we see that in the detail, in the intricacies, of his tabernacle. And in fact, beautiful, costly worship is evidence to the world of who God is.
So when we look at these things, we’ve got to remember a quote from Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a really great Russian writer. He says, “Beauty will save the world.” Well, actually, he said, “Mir spoysit krasōta.” He’s Russian. I looked up how to pronounce it; that’s pretty close, as far as I can tell. But it sounds better in English: “Beauty will save the world.” What does he mean? All goodness, all truth, and all beauty points to God. And when you have a hard heart, show them a beautiful painting. Something is triggered in us when we see beauty, when we hear beauty in music, when we see it expressed. Something calls to us. And his point in that particular book was: yes, the world has become cynical. Yes, the world has become atheistic. But man, if you woo them with beauty, if you lure them into the presence of God with the beauty of your sacrifice, your worship, your art, your craftsmanship, all of these things will lure people towards the worship of God. It will open their hearts and minds to hearing the truth and the goodness of God.
That’s all I have time to say about that. But as you read through this and you think, “Why did God care about having this tapestry this particular length, and having this piece of wood cut in this particular fashion?” It’s because excellence and beauty are embedded in God’s nature. He never asked us for anything less than excellence and beauty. Okay, let’s keep going. There’s more to that, but we’re going to get to that later.
V. Filled With the Spirit of God 15:18
The next thing I want to talk about is who builds this crazy tabernacle that God has put forward. Who builds the Ark of the Covenant? I almost had some stuff about Indiana Jones, but we just don’t have time to go there. Raiders of the Lost Ark: great time.
This verse I’m about to read is the first instance in the Bible where God says, “I have filled this person with the Holy Spirit,” or the Spirit of God. You know, like Pentecost, and that whole thing that we believe is charismatic, that you get filled with the Holy Spirit and you walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. The thing that God gave to the church, he gave to this guy first. Now, there are instances of other people who walk with the Spirit, but this is the first time that we hear God say, “I have filled this person with the Holy Spirit.” And who is it? Is it a prophet? Is it an apostle? Is it Moses, Joseph, Abraham? Is it one of those people? No, no, no. It’s a craftsman. It’s a layperson, let’s say, who is excellent at his work. Let’s talk about this here, in Exodus 31, verse 3:
3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. Exod 31.3–5
This is so cool, because what this means is that the Holy Spirit isn’t just for when I preach. Yes, the Holy Spirit’s here. But it’s also for when you sell AC units, Thomas; when you, Brian, serve as a Marine; when all of these people in this room go into their daily lives. That’s what the Holy Spirit is for: that you might be excellent in everything you do. And by being excellent in everything you do, don’t you think people are going to be amazed and look to God? That’s what we see throughout the whole Bible. What did the Queen of Sheba say when she came to visit Solomon in his glory and in his temple? She said, “I was convinced of the reality of God because the stone steps were cut so perfectly.” That’s a weird thing for her to say. She comes to Solomon, the wisest man in all of history, and she says, “Walking up those steps, I knew God must be here, because they were so beautifully carved.” That’s pretty darn crazy.
Did you know that the leaders of the church, the missionaries, the pastors, all of us, our job is to help you be filled with the Holy Spirit so you can go build the kingdom? We are part of building the kingdom, an absolutely crucial part. Yes, God set us up. But you’re the ones who are going out and building the kingdom in the world. This is all about you and me, but you too.
VI. The Ark of the Covenant 18:44
Okay, so we’ve got this craftsman, and he’s in charge of other craftsmen, and they make this beautiful tabernacle, and they have to make an ark. So let’s jump into this Ark of the Covenant, Exodus chapter 25, verse 10:
10 They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, Exod 25.10
I told you he gets real specific about these measurements.
a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. 11 You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it. 12 You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. 13 You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them. 15 The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. 16 And you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you. Exod 25.10–16
Okay, there’s a lot there. We’re just going to talk about some of the stuff that’s going on, and we’ll put up a picture of an artist’s rendition of the ark that you can look at as we talk about some of these elements.
First of all, what does the ark contain? He says, “Put my testimony in it.” What does it contain? Well, it contains three things that God considers his testimony. It contains the tablets of stone, which we haven’t even talked about yet (we’ll talk about those another time), the ones on which God wrote the Ten Commandments. And then Moses broke them, and so then Moses had to write the Ten Commandments again. Fun story. Then he put in this staff that was Aaron’s staff, and that’s a whole other story that we don’t even get to get to in this series. But God proved his authority with the staff of Aaron by making it sprout buds and ripe almonds. So he put that in there. And then there’s one other thing in the Ark of the Covenant at this time, and it’s the manna that God had served them with, the bread of life. So it’s God’s commandments, his authority, and his presence, as represented by the manna. Jesus says, “I am the true manna that comes down from heaven.” So the presence of God is in this thing. The authority of God, the will of God, is in this ark. So maybe it’s kind of important how God wanted it to be made.
Let’s look at a couple of the symbols. I know you don’t believe me sometimes, but there are quite literally books written about the two and a half cubits by this many cubits, and then they did this, and now the other thing. We are not going into that type of detail. I’m pulling a couple of things that are extremely insightful about what’s going on in this ark.
First of all, let’s talk about the four rings of gold that were for the transportation of the ark. You can see them up there; they put the poles through them. What do the rings of gold represent? Well, we’re told they represent the four corners of the earth and the four Gospels that come through Jesus Christ. Now, let’s pause for a second here. I thought we were in the Old Testament. What are the four Gospels? They weren’t even written yet. Yeah, but you know, God designed this thing, and God himself is outside of time. And Jesus told us all of that stuff pointed to him: Moses, the law, the prophets, all of that. We’ll even have a verse about it coming up here in a second. But think about this. The four rings were for transporting the presence of God, the authority of God, and the commandments of God to the world. What does the gospel do? When the gospel is preached, the authority of God, the commands of God, and the presence of God go to the whole world. That’s actually part of our job as the church, I don’t know if you know that: to spread the gospel to the four corners of the earth. And we see that foreshadowed. We see a type of that in the design of the ark.
VII. The Mercy Seat 22:43
And then we talk about the mercy seat. That space between the two cherubim, as they look forward, that empty space there, is called the mercy seat. So we’re going to read a little bit of Exodus here, so you can get an idea of what this is, in Exodus, beginning in chapter 25, verse 17:
17 You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. 20 The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. 21 And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. 22 There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel. Exod 25.17–22
Sorry, a lot of words there. What’s going on in the mercy seat is this: this is the special place where the presence of God emanates from the ark, and his words from the mercy seat. “I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment.” He will command from the mercy seat.
And then we’ve got the cherubim. Maybe you think of the Hallmark cards and the little naked babies with the little wings. That’s not what they’re talking about here. The word cherubim itself actually means “fullness of knowledge.” And the two cherubim faced the mercy seat, and they signify, we’re told, the Old and the New Testament. The revelation of God’s mercy is signified by the Old and New Testament. So imagine the Old and the New Testament looking towards the mercy seat. So the center of everything that we read, everything that we do, is mercy. God’s revelation to us in the Old and New Testament is mercy, typified in Jesus Christ, the mercy of God made flesh, the love of God made flesh.
So if you read anything in the Old or the New Testament that doesn’t bring you to the mercy seat, but makes you angry at your neighbor for being a heathen, or makes you angry at yourself for being a sinner, then reread that with the light of Christ, because both Testaments face Jesus and talk about Jesus. Now, absolutely, Jesus is the truth. Jesus comes in Revelation with a sword coming out of his mouth, because he divides and judges. Absolutely, that’s important. But remember the center of all these things: mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2.13). And the center is Jesus Christ, the fullness of knowledge of God. The cherubim are revealed in the Old and New Testament and culminate in the person of Jesus. Even in the Ark of the Covenant, before any of that happened, God was prefiguring all of this.
VIII. Acacia Wood 25:43
Now let’s talk a little bit about acacia wood. I wanted to talk about this partially because my wife’s sister just had a baby and named him Acacia. And I was like, “That’s so cool.” They’re not really avid Christians. I think they believe in God; I’m not quite sure. But they named their child Acacia. What is acacia about? Well, acacia wood was present there. It’s very strong and dense. It’s resistant to moisture and pests, kind of like those benches we put out there. We’ve got the ipe wood; it’s like ironwood. That stuff is strong; it’ll last forever. Acacia is not quite at that level, but it’s a similar idea. You’d want to build with this because it would last, even in the harsh conditions of the desert. And the Egyptians, because of those properties, even used acacia wood to symbolize the immortality of the soul.
And it was also the only tree in the area that they could have built it out of. So I think all of that other stuff matters, but I also want to acknowledge that it was the only thing they had, and God knew that. But isn’t it cool that God uses the stuff you have to reveal himself and to provide in your life? He doesn’t have to just miraculously give you gold to make everything out of. He’s like, “No, that wood is special. I’ve led you to the things you have in your life.” You look around, you’re like, “All I’ve got is acacia wood.” He goes, “Yeah. It symbolizes the immortality of the soul. It’s dense. It’s the perfect stuff to make the things that I want you to make with.”
One more thing about acacia that’s important: it’s a thorny tree. You have to remove all those thorns. And we’re pretty darn sure that acacia wood is the crown of thorns on Jesus’ head. It’s the only thorny plant that they would have used for that purpose. So the tabernacle itself is built out of the same wood that crowns our Lord Jesus’ head as he dies for us. There’s a lot of stuff going on in here. Like I said, we could go deep, but we’re just going to keep on going, because there’s something that we have to get to. This is actually just the tabernacle and the ark, the prefiguring of what’s coming.
IX. The Word Became Flesh and Dwelt Among Us 28:09
So let’s get to what’s coming, because we are privileged to live in the New Testament age, where Jesus has come and has revealed himself to us. We’re going to talk about the dwelling of God with men. So what is the purpose of this tabernacle and this ark? It’s summarized in Exodus 29, verses 44 through 46:
44 I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. 45 I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. 46 And they shall know that I am Yahweh their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am Yahweh their God. Exod 29.44–46
God is establishing himself as dwelling with this people and claiming them as his own. So let’s scoot forward a little bit in history. Let’s go to John chapter 1, beginning in verse 14:
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1.14
We’ll pause right there. That word “dwelt” is the same word that God uses when he says, “I will be in this tabernacle and dwell among them.” John is calling forth that same image. And then the glory of God: how does God consecrate the tabernacle when it’s built? They see the glory of God fall upon that place. There’s a direct reference to Jesus in this. So you’re like, “Well, I don’t have a tabernacle to go worship at.” No, no, no. God wasn’t done there. He had a bigger idea. This was just the beginning. He was starting something that culminates in Jesus Christ, and it goes further. So let’s read verse 16 here:
16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; John 1.16–17
Once again, what was in the Ark of the Covenant? It was the tablets of stone, the law given through Moses.
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. John 1.17–18
Now, that’s maybe one of the most confusing sentences in the entire Bible. “Who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” What does that mean? John’s making it very clear. No one’s ever seen God the Father, but God the Son… that’s what he means by the God that’s at God’s side. That’s what that all means: the God who is a part of God, at his side. God the Son has made God the Father known. So the Israelites get the glory of God in the tabernacle, and we get Jesus, the face of God on earth. That’s what it was all leading us to. And Colossians follows up:
19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, Col 1.19
God’s plan is to get us out of Egypt, to break us free from slavery, to teach us how to be his people, to live like him, and to dwell among us. And by doing so, he wants to not only lead us to the promised land; he wants to make the whole world the promised land, because each of us gets to carry that God with us everywhere we go.
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Cor 6.19–20
You see the same symbols there: the glory of God. Your body’s a temple. What’s the temple? It’s the second… it’s Tabernacle 2.0. Now we are Tabernacle, I guess, 4.0. Jesus is three. I don’t know, you could talk about it however you want. But you are now the presence of God in the world. That is ridiculous. I don’t feel like the presence of God in the world. I feel like a man struggling to be a father, struggling to be a husband, struggling to work, struggling to preach, struggling, struggling, struggling. And yet by the grace of God, in my weakness, he makes himself known to the entire world. That’s the whole point. That’s why we’re reading Exodus: because it’s about them, but it’s really about us too. And when you realize that God is walking with you day by day, providing you food and water, providing you everything you need, teaching you to love like he loves, to be like he is, and indwelling you with his presence, so that the whole world can become the promised land…
X. Raising the Water Table 33:39
I felt like I got a word this retreat that I didn’t share at the retreat, but I think it’s for our church. God is raising the water table for our church. The water table is the stuff that sits below the surface, and when it rises, destruction happens. Buildings fall down, because when the water table rises, the soil gets saturated with water and things fall to the ground. It’s not good, actually. I didn’t even know what the water table was when I got this word, but I looked it up. It can bring destruction. But I think what God wants us to know is that he’s tearing down those things in our life that are holding us back, the things we built on the sand, the things that are not going to last the storm. And then the foundation will actually be the Spirit of God as it rises in this place.
Water has always been a picture of God’s life, God’s Spirit, and he wants us to tap in. The water table is so high right now, all you have to do is reach down, and it’s right there. You don’t have to dig for a well anymore. It’s right there. So reach down. He wants you to prophesy. He wants you to pray for healing. He wants you to do the things that he gave us as the church to do, because he wants us to manifest his presence to all peoples. But the only way we can begin is with manifesting his presence to one another. That’s the starting spot. And then we continue, and we continue, and we build one another up in love, and we rise into the full maturity of Christ, and the world gets saved, not by our power, but by the Spirit within us.
So as we close out today, I just want you to think about the tabernacle and the ark as beautiful historical evidences of God’s presence with his people. And the person that you hug on the way out of church, or the person that maybe you don’t like so much in our church, equally qualifies as the container, the temple, the tabernacle of the Most High God. And that’s a pretty high calling for us too, because now you’ve got to live like you believe that. Do you believe that you actually have the Spirit of God within you, the Spirit that raised him from the dead (Rom 8.11)? Let’s live like it. We are men of action; lies do not become us. That applies equally for the women in this room. Amen.