Title: Symbol of the Church (Acts 07:38)
Even in the Old Testament times, the people of Israel went to the tabernacle on the Sabbath and listened to the word of God through Moses.
The people of Israel served God in the tabernacle, and we, the spiritual Israelites in the New Testament era, are serving God in the church. Therefore, Stephen called the tabernacle “the church in the wilderness.”
Acts 7 38 We were at the church in the wilderness with the angel who spoke on Mount Sinai and our ancestors, and Moses was Jesus Christ. The law is the gospel. The General Assembly of Israel is the shadow of the church.
Just as the people of Israel value the tabernacle, we must also cherish the church.
The Israelites did not leave the tabernacle throughout their lives and lived in the center. Factual relationships are vital relationships. Likewise, the relationship between the church and the saints cannot be considered in isolation. Because we are said to be the body of Christ. How can we exist as members of the body if we leave Christ? Therefore, the saints are inseparable from the church.
Calvin said: “The Church is called the Holy Mother to all believers. Just as a mother gives birth to sons and daughters, so too should a family of children produce and nourish children of God. Martin Luther said, "If anyone wants to find Christ, he must first find the church."
The church is the organization in which God reveals Himself. Therefore, loving the church is different from loving God, but loving the name of God must be true.
Dr. Torrey can find that the word church appears in the New Testament, and is recorded about 115 times. Anyone who despises this church will despise the church that God has established.
The church is like a mother who spiritually gave birth to us, fed us, clothed us, and raised us.
I believe you should love the church as you do.
4. Symbols of Heaven What is Heaven Heaven is where God is. It is a place where God reigns. The tabernacle is also a place where God dwells. And Israel was the place where God reigned. Therefore, the tabernacle can be a model of heaven.
Pastor Spurgeon said, “Hell is where Christ is, and heaven is where Christ is not.
All of you, as I said last time, the tabernacle is insignificant from an outward appearance. But because God is present there and is glorified through Israel, I believe that it is the model of heaven.
I believe that your church should invite people who live in a world like the wilderness, equip them with a model like heaven, and invite all you who labor and carry heavy burdens to come here so that they can rest and smell the fragrance of heaven.
Therefore, it must be filled with love. We must be the ones who wait for the day when the church comes. And we need to make it a church where it is nice to meet and talk with each other. Teachers in the United States are working hard to make their own in other countries all week long. So, they gather at the church on Sundays. I meet people I haven't met before, and the story blossoms. Also, the elderly spend a whole week in an unfamiliar place, in a place where they can't understand the language, and when they leave the church, they can communicate. So, they worship in the morning, then they disperse to share the saints' textbooks, study the Bible, eat lunch, and have an afternoon service you will see it go.
Jacob said in front of Pharaoh that it is the way of a stranger's life, but we are all walking the way of a stranger in this world. 1 Peter 2 11 Beloved, I urge you, as strangers and passersby, to abstain from the lusts of the flesh, which fight against the soul. Spend the time with fear, dear friends, those who live in this world as strangers will want to live in the church and receive comfort from it, considering the church as a model of heaven.
I believe that those who say that I am happy do not need to be consoled by the church.
Beloved, we are living a life of sojourners. Even tonight, if God calls you, you have to leave everything behind. Please don't get too attached to this. You don't even have to make your home too luxurious. Don't invest too much here, it's no use.
As I said in the last time, the wealthy people who are filthy, and those who do everything for money, they do not have an afterlife. Because they have to decorate their homes as heaven in this world, they have to play with and own things that are good in the world.
However, as strangers, living in this world and heading for our hometown, we believe that we should lighten our bodies as much as possible.
Dr. Ilhan Ilhan, the founder of Yuhan Corporation, was a man who earned money by studying hard in the United States. But he is a man who lived thoroughly as a stranger. You will see that before his death he dedicated all of his fortune to a charitable foundation. There is a Korean proverb called 父傳子傳. Maybe that's why, last year or so, his daughter Yoo Jae-ra gave away all her fortune of 20 billion won to a public interest group.
All of you, I believe that those who see heaven and enjoy heaven by faith on this earth will not live with hope in the world, but live with the hope of heaven and diligently prepare to go there and live. Jesus said to lay up treasures in heaven for your sake, not for me and for Jesus. May we all live longing for the things above as people of the kingdom of heaven Amen