Aug. 9, 2026 -- Exodus 26

[00:00:00] Speaker A: I know some of y' all are wondering. That's Avery. So Avery is. Avery is a great blessing to us. And she is. She joined and has a great gift. And so, yeah, that man. We're so blessed with Granger leading our worship team, and just the way that he does that and the lyrics of the songs that we sing become our prayers to the Lord, and so very thankful for him. [00:00:27] Speaker B: Hey, we're gonna be in Exodus chapter 26. But before we jump into, I want to invite a couple of my friends [00:00:34] Speaker A: up, Shannon and Carrie Lewis. And if the boys want to come, y' all are welcome to. You're good sitting there. [00:00:39] Speaker C: Okay. [00:00:39] Speaker A: All right. All right. We'll just invite Shannon and Carrie Lewis. [00:00:43] Speaker B: Some of y' all know them because they were our partners in South Sudan, [00:00:47] Speaker A: and so we took trips over there. And so some of y' all were able to take trips with us as [00:00:52] Speaker B: we partnered with them in church planting [00:00:54] Speaker A: in among the Taposa people, a people group that did not have what was considered a above a 2% presence of the gospel. And so they were an unreached, unengaged people when y' all moved over to Africa to engage this people. And so Norris Ferry, in the early [00:01:10] Speaker B: days, we were back in the kids [00:01:12] Speaker A: area, and that was our whole church was. We were in there when we partnered to come alongside you guys to say, how can we be a part of what God's doing for the gospel to go to the ends of the earth? And so, by God's grace and by a lot of work and sweat and a lot of great stories, then God moved among the Taposa people in a phenomenal way. And there are churches there, and God has spread them even through persecution and through famine and through things like that, into other areas in refugee camps. And the church is still growing, and there is a gospel presence and a continued work there. [00:01:48] Speaker B: God then moved you guys to Kenya, [00:01:51] Speaker A: and so y' all were working in Kenya and doing some really cool stuff and some sports stuff and still advancing the gospel in that. And then recently, God has a new [00:02:04] Speaker C: journey for you guys. [00:02:05] Speaker A: And some of that includes being empty nesters as you send your youngest off to college. But it also includes moving back to the US and coming on staff with Norris Ferry as our new missions pastor. Come on. Y' all voted on that in our budget in the spring for us to be able to look and to find a missions guy to give us some leadership in our mission stuff and in church planting. And you guys know that we want to be a church that multiplies and that multiplication is not just here in Shreveport, it is here in Shreveport. And the strategic nature of. Are there areas within Shreveport that need the gospel, that need healthy churches? And so how can we plant churches in Shreveport in. In Louisiana, in the U.S. but even to the ends of the earth. And so you guys bring a great skill set. And we're super excited to have you all here. You're fresh off the plane. You all have been here less than a week. Less than a week. And so there's a big adjustment. I know for you guys, it's been 18 years since y' all have lived in the US and so a big adjustment in that. Empty nesters. [00:03:17] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:03:18] Speaker A: Moving back, new church, working in a church. And so I know that there's going to be a big adjustment and I know that our people will be praying for you guys and we're so excited. Official start date is going to be a little bit later this fall as they're getting everything settled in, just moving back. And so I wanted to let you guys know that. That the Lewis's are here and going to be coming on staff. And so Shannon's going to be on staff with us. Kerry is working on getting your nursing license back up and looking at being a nurse. And so we're super excited. Would y' all join me in just praying for them this morning? God, I just thank you so much for the friendship with Shannon and Carrie and their boys, Lord, and just what a blessing they've been to me and my family, just personally, Lord, and just the joy that it brings me to be able to partner in this way, to do ministry and the things which you've called us to as a church. And, Lord, just the excitement of the place where you've placed us as a church with resources and influence, Lord, that we want to steward that well, to advance your kingdom, not Norris Ferry's kingdom, but your kingdom that your name would be known among the nations, Lord. And so I thank you for just bringing Shannon on staff. I thank you for Shannon and Carrie and just the wisdom and the experience that they bring to help us as a church to do that well. And so, Lord, we pray your blessings upon them in this season of getting re acclimated of change, Lord, of all the different things that will partake, Lord, I pray your blessings upon them. That they would know your nearness, Lord, and that they would know your peace. We ask it all in Jesus name. [00:05:04] Speaker C: Amen. Thank y'. [00:05:06] Speaker A: All. Well, y' all will hear more from them. I told them I wasn't gonna give them a mic this morning and put them on the spot. And they said, that's just fine. So we are super excited. They'll be commuting from Minden for a little bit of time, but we will get them quickly acclimated, and y' all will see what a blessing they are if you haven't got to spend some time with them. If you've got your Bible, let's turn to Exodus, chapter 26. [00:05:33] Speaker B: And I want to just begin by [00:05:34] Speaker A: reading just the first six verses. Where we're at in Exodus, Moses has gone up to the mountain, and God is speaking with Moses. And this is what God is telling Moses. And so Moses is up on the mountain meeting with God. He's gonna then come back down the mountain and tell the people what to do. This is what God has said. And so we have recorded here what God has told Moses what to do. And in that is there's a building that God has told Moses he's supposed to build. The people are supposed to build this building. It's called the tabernacle. And so we get some instruction here. And so as you read this text, maybe you've read it before or you got the newsletter, and you're like, what in the world do we do with this? Well, let's just read. And then I believe that God has something really good for us this morning. Look at verse one. He says, moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twilled linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns. You shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them. [00:06:39] Speaker B: The length of each Curtain shall be [00:06:41] Speaker A: 28 cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. And the curtains shall be the same size. Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. And you shall make loops of blue on the edge on the outermost curtain in the first set. Likewise, you shall make loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the [00:07:01] Speaker B: second set, 50 loops you shall make [00:07:03] Speaker A: on the one curtain, and 50 loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain. That is, in the second set, the loops shall be opposite one another. And you shall make 50 clasps of gold and couples the curtains one to another with the clasps, so that the tabernacle may be a single whole. And you're like, what? Right. That's the way the rest of the chapter reads. So settle in. I'm just kidding. What do we do with things like this when we read them? My hope, this morning, as we walk through this is that we would see how to read the Old Testament, that we actually get a glimpse into the character of God. That's one of the things we've been saying in the book of Exodus, is that as we look at the book of Exodus, we get to see who God is, that God displays his character in how he interacts with his people and the instruction that he gives them. He displays his character. And so as we see this, there's very. [00:08:01] Speaker B: Just intricate, unique details. [00:08:04] Speaker A: Some of you have put together IKEA furniture, and you're like, I've seen this before, right? [00:08:09] Speaker B: Like, I know what instructions like this. Look at some of your kids build Legos, and. And it's like, okay, building with the kids. It's like, how many dots are on there? Okay, this piece goes there. And there's a uniqueness in the intricacy of putting all these things together that then when they're fashioned together, then they [00:08:28] Speaker A: make a complete whole. That's one of the things that the scripture says here, that it might be [00:08:32] Speaker B: a complete whole, that all these pieces fit together in order that it would [00:08:37] Speaker A: be a complete whole. [00:08:39] Speaker B: And the whole of what it is, we actually get a glimpse in Exodus 25:8 that it tells us, the purpose of this is that you shall fashion a sanctuary for me that I may [00:08:52] Speaker C: dwell in your midst. [00:08:54] Speaker A: That's the purpose of this, is that [00:08:57] Speaker B: they're to put this thing together, that it would be a complete whole, that God's presence would dwell in their midst, [00:09:04] Speaker A: that God would dwell with his people. That's the whole purpose of this. [00:09:07] Speaker B: But we've got to remember God is leading his people. He's given them a promise. Hey, I rescued you out of Egypt, not just to free you from slavery, but. But I rescued you for a purpose, that I'm gonna bring you into a land, and you're gonna be my people, and you're gonna be a blessing to the nations. And so they're in process. They're on a journey. And so they've got to take this tabernacle, this building. It's got to be mobile. [00:09:35] Speaker A: And so God has told them instructions for how to make a mobile sanctuary that they can take with them. We've got a video that I want you to see that I think just helps us kind of visualize what the rest of this text explains. And so watch this video. It's about two and a half minutes, and I think it will help us understand. So you saw just a little bit that kind of helps you visualize that [00:10:02] Speaker B: there's these curtains that were made. And then they're fashioned together. [00:10:06] Speaker A: And that's one layer. [00:10:07] Speaker B: And then on top of that layer, [00:10:08] Speaker A: then there's another layer which goes on [00:10:11] Speaker B: top of that of wool and yarn. And then on top of that, then there's another layer. [00:10:15] Speaker A: And then on top of that, then [00:10:17] Speaker B: there's another layer of skins. And so you see in this that there's this building, and we've already talked a little bit about this lampstand that it's enclosed, that then you have these acacia wood boards, which there's instruction of how these boards are to be made. And they're to sit down in these bronze bases. And so they fit into those bronze bases. And then you have these. These gold rods that move through the walls to hold this structure together. And then everything's overlaid with gold. But then on the inside, and we get some instruction when we get later into verse 31 about that there's to be a veil that's built in between [00:10:56] Speaker A: the holy of holies and the holy place. [00:10:58] Speaker B: And so this veil is to be built, and it's supposed to have cherubim facing each other with outstretched wings, much like we saw with the Mercy seat that was to have cherubim fashioned of gold at the Mercy seat. And so we see all of these different details and intricacies and curtains and clasps and loops and boards and sockets and bars and measurements and colors and designs. [00:11:21] Speaker A: And we go, why? [00:11:25] Speaker C: The whole purpose, again is that God desires to dwell with his people. [00:11:31] Speaker A: That's the whole purpose of this, is that God desires to dwell with his people. And so there's three things that I think we can just pull out of this as we. As we see the character of God. Here's what I would like us to see about the character of God as we look in depth at the fashioning of the tabernacle. The first is that that God wants to dwell with his people. Why would God give this instruction? [00:11:58] Speaker B: Because he desires to dwell with his people, but don't take his presence for granted. The people have been enslaved in Egypt and that God has rescued them in order that he might dwell in their presence. But let's zoom out even bigger from [00:12:17] Speaker A: just these people of Israel. Let's zoom out a little bit more [00:12:23] Speaker B: as we see the character of God that God desires to dwell among his people. So don't take it for granted. We first see God dwell among his people in the Garden of Eden. That God fashioned this incredible garden together with the intricacies of his creation. And he put together this garden and [00:12:45] Speaker A: He Put Adam and Eve in the garden. [00:12:49] Speaker C: And it says that God dwelled with [00:12:51] Speaker B: them, that he walked with them, that God has always had a desire to dwell with his people. Now, sin caused this separation. And we find out actually in Genesis chapter three, that because of this sin, that God then removes them from the garden. God expels them from the garden because he says, lest they eat from the tree of life and. And live, that they would live in this constant state of separation from God, that they would live in this place of having sinned and disobeyed God and dwell in that place forever. [00:13:33] Speaker A: And so the story of your Bible is actually this story of redemption. It's a story of how do we redeem and restore that which was lost in the garden? [00:13:45] Speaker B: What was it that was lost? What was lost there is God's dwelling presence with his people because of sin. And you've got the holiness of God and sinful man. And how can a holy God dwell with sinful people? And we've talked about that, that the tabernacle actually gives us a glimpse that there's a needed sacrifice, that there's a [00:14:05] Speaker A: needed mediator, that there's a needed payment, and that God provides that. [00:14:11] Speaker B: But we see once again that what was lost in Genesis 3, we see [00:14:15] Speaker A: beginning to be restored in the tabernacle, that God would dwell with his people. Now, the tabernacle is not an ultimate thing. It's a tent. It's a tent that they carried around the desert. [00:14:29] Speaker B: And the tabernacle is actually going to be replaced by a physical structure when they get into the promised land. And. And God's gonna give them instruction to build a temple, and it's gonna have many of the same principles. [00:14:42] Speaker A: But even the temple didn't last. Jesus, when he came, he actually said, in three days, they'll destroy this place [00:14:53] Speaker C: and I'll rebuild it. The people freaked out. [00:14:58] Speaker B: They were like, what? You're going to destroy the dwelling place of God? Like it's gonna be destroyed. [00:15:06] Speaker A: See, they didn't get it that the tabernacle was pointing them forward to something, and they thought it was the temple, but the temple was pointing them forward beyond even that physical structure. It was pointing them to Christ himself, [00:15:20] Speaker C: who would suffer and die and give his life as a ransom for many, [00:15:27] Speaker B: that Jesus would be the key [00:15:32] Speaker C: to [00:15:32] Speaker A: God dwelling with his people. That then, because of what Christ has done, and we're going to talk about this a little bit later, but because of what Christ has done, the dwelling place of God is no longer in a physical building. [00:15:45] Speaker C: It's not in this building that we built. [00:15:49] Speaker A: The dwelling place of God is [00:15:53] Speaker C: in man. [00:15:55] Speaker A: It's that he would make his dwelling [00:15:57] Speaker C: place in us by His Spirit. [00:16:00] Speaker A: We read that at the beginning of the sermon, but we see in this that God desires to dwell with his people. [00:16:07] Speaker B: That's why he gave them specific instructions, was so that he could dwell with his people. And we see this that there was a barrier to the holiness of God. And so the further you move in, there's more and more a barrier to the holiness of God. Because how does a holy God dwell among a sinful people? [00:16:25] Speaker A: They can't just come to him as they want. That's the second thing I want us to see in this text is that God is specific about how he can [00:16:36] Speaker C: dwell with his people. [00:16:37] Speaker A: He's specific about how he can dwell with his people. [00:16:40] Speaker B: Why do we have such intricacy to this? Why did God give specifically all of these instructions? It's because there is a specific way in which sinful man can dwell in the presence of a holy God. [00:16:57] Speaker A: So don't try to approach God on your own terms. That's what we learn. God gave specific instructions. [00:17:07] Speaker B: It was up to them to obey those instructions. [00:17:10] Speaker A: They couldn't be like, well, we don't really want to make 50 loops, we'd rather make 48. Like, that's silly. [00:17:18] Speaker B: You have a holy God who has said, I want to dwell in your midst, so obey this way so that [00:17:23] Speaker C: I can dwell with you. [00:17:26] Speaker A: It would be silly to be like, well, I don't really want to do that piece. [00:17:31] Speaker C: I'd prefer to do it my own way. [00:17:34] Speaker B: When the almighty God who's spoken all things into existence, who loves you and knows you, wants to dwell in your midst, and you go, nah, I want [00:17:41] Speaker A: to do it my way rather than [00:17:42] Speaker C: the way that you've told us. [00:17:45] Speaker B: Like, that's just silly, isn't it? [00:17:47] Speaker C: And yet, isn't that what we do [00:17:50] Speaker A: all the time, that we go, I don't get your instructions. It doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me, so I'm gonna [00:17:57] Speaker C: do it my way rather than yours? [00:17:59] Speaker B: Well, that seems kind of old fashioned. I don't really like your color choices. Like, we've got new interior designers, so we'd rather use green than this blue. [00:18:11] Speaker A: Well, that just seems silly, right? No, you've got the God who has all knowledge, who's omniscient, who says, do [00:18:21] Speaker C: it this way, [00:18:24] Speaker A: that we need to obey. He gives us specific instructions so that we can dwell with Him. So don't Approach him on your own terms. [00:18:33] Speaker B: Again, this points beyond just the tabernacle. This points us to something even further that then Jesus when he shows up that In John chapter 14, he says, I am the way, the truth and the life. [00:18:51] Speaker A: No one comes to the Father except through me. I mean, I don't really like that. So I want to do it my way. I'm going to get there my own road. [00:19:04] Speaker B: I'm gonna choose my own fashioning of [00:19:07] Speaker A: how to dwell with God. [00:19:08] Speaker B: I'm gonna choose my own way. He's given us instruction and it's detailed so that we might follow it. [00:19:15] Speaker A: And it's foolish for us to disobey and to choose our own ways. What it actually does is it just reveals our heart that we're a rebellious people. [00:19:28] Speaker B: The scripture would say that we're a stiff necked people, that we're like, no, I'm not going that way. When he says, just go this way, it's for your good. [00:19:35] Speaker C: And we go, nope, I wanna do it my way. [00:19:39] Speaker A: We laugh because we've experienced this. Maybe among kids, they hit about 2 years old and you're like, okay, you need to sit down so you don't fall. [00:19:50] Speaker C: No, [00:19:52] Speaker B: it's like, wait, I have your good in store. I have blessing for you. I want to protect you and provide for you. I want to be with you. [00:20:06] Speaker C: No, I want to do it my way. So we experience that. [00:20:12] Speaker A: But then when it comes to us with God, as we read his Word and he says [00:20:19] Speaker B: that all of these [00:20:20] Speaker C: instructions are for your good, that I can dwell with you, we go, I want to do it my way. [00:20:29] Speaker A: See, it reveals to us that we can't do it our way because God has a specific way for us to dwell with him in the book of Acts. Then we see in Acts 4:12 that [00:20:44] Speaker C: there's actually salvation in no one else. [00:20:49] Speaker B: There is no salvation in anyone else. That it's not choose your spiritual path and they all lead there. It's not that all roads lead to heaven. It's not that we're all climbing this mountain from various different aspects and ways and we all get to the top. No, that's not what the scripture says. [00:21:08] Speaker A: He said, I gave you specific instructions [00:21:10] Speaker B: that there is salvation in no one else. [00:21:12] Speaker A: For there's no other name under heaven [00:21:14] Speaker C: given among men by which you can be saved. [00:21:18] Speaker B: That there's salvation in one way, and it's through Jesus that God would dwell with his people in the tabernacle in one way. And the detail and the intricacies of [00:21:31] Speaker A: how he fashioned that to dwell among his people we see in the tabernacle, but it points us forward to the [00:21:37] Speaker B: man and the person, Jesus Christ fully. God fully came and lived a perfect life. It could only be this way because there could only be a just God who could punish sin. The sin of mankind could only be satisfied [00:21:59] Speaker A: by Jesus Christ, who obeyed perfectly [00:22:01] Speaker C: and yet gave his life as a ransom for many. That there's only one way that we [00:22:08] Speaker A: can dwell with a holy God. And God made it specific in the tabernacle, teaching his people, pointing them forward, [00:22:15] Speaker C: that there would be only one way in Jesus Christ. [00:22:19] Speaker A: So don't try to approach God on your own terms. [00:22:22] Speaker C: It won't work. [00:22:25] Speaker A: God has a plan and he has a path. The third thing that we see in this text, I want us just to jump down to actually verse 31. Verse 30 tells us that it was according to the plan, for it was shown to Moses on the mountain. But then verse 31 begins to show us that it zooms in. It goes inside this tabernacle and it says this, and you shall make a veil. This veil is the curtain that separated the holy of holies from the holy place. And so you shall make this veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns [00:23:02] Speaker B: and fine twilled linens, and it shall be made with cherubim, skillfully worked into it. And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with [00:23:11] Speaker A: hooks of gold, on four bases of silver. [00:23:14] Speaker B: And so we saw that in that little video. And so we see that there's this curtain that's there, the two angels facing each other, the cherubim. We saw the four pillars there that are sitting in these silver bases. You shall hang the veil on the clasps and bring the ark of the [00:23:33] Speaker A: Testimony in there within the veil. So inside this place, it's a pretty small room. [00:23:41] Speaker B: It's probably a little bit smaller than your bedroom, right? This is a pretty small area, estimated [00:23:48] Speaker A: about 15 by 15, maybe that small [00:23:52] Speaker B: area where behind this veil there's going to be the Ark of the covenant [00:23:56] Speaker A: or the Ark of the Testimony, which inside that we know is going to [00:24:00] Speaker B: be the tablets of God's law. There's going to be the manna which God provided for his people. And there's going to be the staff [00:24:08] Speaker A: of Aaron which budded, which was God does the miraculous. [00:24:12] Speaker B: And so inside there, this testimony that God is for his people and with his people and provides for his people. [00:24:18] Speaker A: And then over that we see that the veil shall separate for you, the holy place, from the most holy place. And you shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony, in the most holy place. So inside this veil we actually see in the character of God that God [00:24:41] Speaker C: provides the way for his people. [00:24:46] Speaker A: So we've seen that God desires to dwell with his people. We've seen that God is specific about [00:24:51] Speaker B: how he can dwell with his people. [00:24:53] Speaker A: And then third, we see that God provides a way for his people that [00:24:57] Speaker B: inside this veil is a mercy seat. This is where God's presence is going to dwell. But there's a curtain because the people can't come into the presence of God without something satisfying the payment of their sin. That there's a curtain there. [00:25:17] Speaker A: This is where it gets really good. [00:25:21] Speaker B: That even in the midst of this [00:25:24] Speaker C: we see that God is going to dwell with a sinful people as they [00:25:29] Speaker A: travel through the desert. [00:25:31] Speaker C: Like we shouldn't get over that. [00:25:34] Speaker B: That a holy God would say, I desire this sinful, rebellious, stiff necked people to such an extent, I' going to make a way that I can be in their presence because I just want [00:25:48] Speaker C: to be with them. It's incredible. [00:25:52] Speaker B: And so he provides that way by saying, you're gonna build this curtain so that I can be as close as [00:25:58] Speaker C: possible to you so that I can be with you. [00:26:03] Speaker A: They build this curtain, this veil, and [00:26:07] Speaker B: it blocks [00:26:10] Speaker C: them from coming in. He's close, but there's still a barrier [00:26:17] Speaker B: to really being with him. What was in the garden was that it speaks like God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the night. He strolled around just in their presence, enjoying each other. It's like, man, it's incredible. And then I was lost. Now there's this barrier. He's with them, but there's still this barrier that God provides a way for his people. So they need to treasure this. [00:26:43] Speaker A: But again, this points us beyond just the temple, points us beyond the tabernacle to the temple. It points us beyond the temple to Jesus. And we've talked about it before, that when Jesus hung on the cross, the gospels record this. When he hung on the cross and [00:26:58] Speaker B: he breathed his last and he said, it is finished. Then Scripture records that at that moment in the temple, then the veil was ripped from top to bott. That this curtain which they fashioned was torn. That God ripped it and said, now [00:27:13] Speaker C: I can be with my people with no barrier, [00:27:19] Speaker B: treasure that there is no [00:27:23] Speaker C: barrier between us and God. [00:27:27] Speaker B: We don't have to go through a priest, we don't have to do a bunch of Washington. [00:27:34] Speaker C: We can come into his presence, we [00:27:38] Speaker B: can dwell with him, treasure this Privilege. How did that happen? It happened because of Jesus. And then because of that, then the author of First Corinthians, Paul, he would tell the people in Corinth, he's writing to them, and he's like, you guys don't get what has happened. You guys don't get the privilege that you have. That God made a way for us to dwell in, that we can be in his presence. You guys don't grasp fully what has happened. That because the temple veil was torn, God doesn't dwell in a building anymore. He dwells in us. First Corinthians, chapter 3, verse 16. He says, or do you not know, that you are God's temple? And that God Spirit, he dwells in you. Not in a building, not in a holy place. He dwells in you. He goes on in chapter six, verse 19, and he says that your body, your physical body, is now a temple of the Holy Spirit. We read this and we see all the intricacies and how it was so uniquely put together. And we see all these things. And it just made my mind jump back to what David said in the Psalms. And he says that you are intricately woven in your mother's womb. This is same idea that they wove these curtains together, that they knitted them together. And God says, you have been knitted together. If you just think about our bodies, that the DNA which resides within this little bitty microscopic cell, if you stretched it out just your DNA would be six feet long. That God has woven the intricacies, that we've got hundreds of thousands of proteins and we've got incredible DNA in the human genome project, which we haven't even fathomed how that works. And God has knitted that all together for you in order that he would [00:29:36] Speaker C: say, I'm dwelling in you, and that I've made that possible because of what Jesus Christ has done, that I have removed that heart of stone and I have given you a heart of flesh, that my spirit might dwell in you. That you are the temple of God and His Spirit dwells in you if you are in Jesus Christ. See, we ought to treasure that. [00:30:09] Speaker B: We ought to live different because of that. That's actually what Paul is compelling the Corinthians, that if they would believe this truth, that God's Spirit dwells in them, it would transform the way that they live. [00:30:24] Speaker A: That they wouldn't go like, oh, well, this sin, which seems fun for a season, is more important than the fact [00:30:33] Speaker C: that God dwells in me by his Spirit, empowering us to live according to [00:30:40] Speaker B: his purposes, that we are a kingdom of priests, that Ephesians goes on. And Paul pulls this again to the Ephesians church and he's talking to the church and he says that, that you are being built up, individual people with God's spirit dwelling in you, being fashioned together in a church, joined together, that you're being built up into a temple [00:31:02] Speaker C: where God's spirit dwells. That's what he says. [00:31:06] Speaker B: It's like, oh, we got individual people which make up these individual parts. That when we assemble together, then we get to image forth this incredible picture of God's presence dwelling here. Just think about what the culture should think of. [00:31:21] Speaker A: People outside looking in, go, why do all those people show up at that building? [00:31:26] Speaker B: It's not because God's spirit dwells in this building. No, it's as we assemble. [00:31:35] Speaker A: It just makes me think of some of these Marvel movies and it's like Power Rangers Assemble. [00:31:41] Speaker B: You come together and you're a force. [00:31:45] Speaker C: There's something really cool about this, that [00:31:48] Speaker A: as we come together in all of our unique giftedness, in all of our [00:31:52] Speaker B: differences and diversity, that God has fashioned us together, not just individually, to image forth his glory, but then to collectively join us together as a church. That the culture would look and say, [00:32:04] Speaker C: whoa, there's something incredible going on right there. Because look at the way that they are fashioned together. [00:32:12] Speaker A: Loving each other, caring for each other, [00:32:15] Speaker C: forgiving one another, imaging forth the glory of God, that his Spirit dwells in them. God's presence with his people because of [00:32:29] Speaker A: what Christ has done. [00:32:32] Speaker C: God desires it, [00:32:35] Speaker A: but he made a way, and it's very specific. It's not whatever way you want. [00:32:40] Speaker C: It's not however you feel. [00:32:43] Speaker A: It's not. I don't feel gold and silver and red and blue, no. [00:32:48] Speaker C: He gave them specific instruction by faith in Jesus Christ, forgiveness of your sins, adopted into the family of God, His Spirit dwells in you. And then he fashions us together to image forth his glory. [00:33:06] Speaker A: It's the story that we see in here that everywhere they carried this tabernacle, all the nations would go, who has [00:33:16] Speaker C: a God like them, who dwells in their midst? And that everywhere we go, the nations would see. Your neighbors, your co workers, your family members would say, who has a God like them, who dwells in them? And we go, listen, there's nothing special about me. If he did it for me, he can do it for you. Come and partake. Incredible. God wants to dwell in our midst and image forth his glory. Would you pray with me, [00:34:00] Speaker A: God? [00:34:00] Speaker C: Thanks for your word, which we look [00:34:04] Speaker A: at and we see just almost this [00:34:07] Speaker C: instruction manual of how to build this [00:34:09] Speaker A: place with such detail and such intricacies. [00:34:15] Speaker C: But. [00:34:16] Speaker A: And yet it gives us a glimpse into who you are. It gives us a glimpse into your character, of who you are. That you have fashioned intricately each and every person. You have woven them together in such [00:34:29] Speaker B: a way that your spirit might dwell there because of what Christ has done. [00:34:34] Speaker A: That you might make your dwelling place [00:34:36] Speaker B: in us, [00:34:40] Speaker A: that you desire to dwell with us. Lord, I pray that that might transform the way we think. Just like Paul was writing to the Corinthians, that. [00:34:50] Speaker B: That we would grasp so deeply the reality that you dwell in us and your spirit is in us. That it would transform the way we live. That we would fight sin. We would turn away from sin and repent and come back to the mercy [00:35:05] Speaker A: seat in which you've shown us mercy. [00:35:07] Speaker B: That we would image forth the glory that you have done in us. That we would go not with fear, but with boldness and courageousness because you dwell in us. That you are the God who is able and who can. That it would so transform us [00:35:27] Speaker A: that everybody around us would go who has [00:35:30] Speaker C: a God like them. [00:35:33] Speaker A: And that we would be able to give the most incredible invitation that's ever [00:35:38] Speaker C: been offered [00:35:41] Speaker A: that to all who would [00:35:42] Speaker C: come, they could experience forgiveness, adoption into the family of God. Thank you, Jesus. We ask it in his name. Amen.