Subject 11 : The Tabernacle
[11-28] The Ornamental Knobs For the Gospel of The Water and the Spirit (Exodus 25:31-40)
(Exodus 25:31-40)
“You
shall also make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be of
hammered work. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs,
and flowers shall be of one piece. And six branches shall come out of
its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of one side, and three
branches of the lampstand out of the other side. Three bowls shall be
made like almond blossoms on one branch, with an ornamental knob and a
flower, and three bowls made like almond blossoms on the other branch,
with an ornamental knob and a flower—and so for the six branches that
come out of the lampstand. On the lampstand itself four bowls shall be
made like almond blossoms, each with its ornamental knob and flower. And
there shall be a knob under the first two branches of the same, a knob
under the second two branches of the same, and a knob under the third
two branches of the same, according to the six branches that extend from
the lampstand. Their knobs and their branches shall be of one piece;
all of it shall be one hammered piece of pure gold. You shall make seven
lamps for it, and they shall arrange its lamps so that they give light
in front of it. And its wick-trimmers and their trays shall be of pure
gold. It shall be made of a talent of pure gold, with all these
utensils. And see to it that you make them according to the pattern
which was shown you on the mountain.”
This
passage describes the lampstand of the Tabernacle. Today, I would like
to explain the spiritual meaning of its ornamental knobs, flowers and
lamps. God commanded Moses to first make the shaft of the lamp stand out
of one lump of gold. So the shaft was molded first, and then from this
shaft branches were hammered out. Three branches came out of each side
of the lampstand, and on each branch three bowls like almond blossoms
were made, and then ornamental knobs and flowers were made. Like this,
seven lamps were placed on top of the branches. Oil was then put into
these seven lamps to light them. The lampstand thus illuminated brightly
the inside of the Holy Place and all of its utensils as well.
For
you and me our Lord, the King of the Kingdom of Heaven, came to this
earth in the likeness of a lowly human being. And on this earth Jesus
carried out the works of salvation manifested in the blue and scarlet
thread. These works of salvation were fulfilled by Jesus Christ who was
born unto this earth, and was baptized by John the Baptist at His age of
30 in the Jordan River, and then was condemned on the Cross. By “thus”
being baptized in a form of the laying on of hands, Jesus took upon all
the sins of mankind (Matthew 3:15). Because Jesus, who had become a man,
took upon all the sins of mankind by being baptized, He was crucified
and shed His blood, and thereby carried out His duties of salvation
manifested in the blue and scarlet thread. This is the Truth on which
God’s Church places its foundation.
Our
Lord has become the ornamental knob of the Church. God became the
foundation of salvation for you and me who have received the remission
of sins. Therefore, you and I have become part of God’s Church by
believing that the Lord has saved us from all our sins with His works of
salvation manifested in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread. Through
the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we have been clothed in God’s
grace. This is why the word “church” is called as “έκκλησία” (Ekklesia)
in Greek, meaning “the gathering of the called out from the sinful
world.”
He
who has enabled the people of this world to escape from sin by
delivering them from it is none other than Jesus Christ. He is the Lord
who came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit and washed away the
iniquities of all sinners. By believing in the Lord’s baptism and
bloodshed, we have been saved from sin and become perfectly righteous.
That the Lord made us righteous was achieved by our faith in the truth
that He came to this earth and fulfilled all the works of salvation
manifested in the blue and purple thread. This is the faith that is
revealed in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread.
By
being baptized by John when He came to this earth, Jesus took upon all
our sins (Matthew 3:13-17). This is the truth and faith that are
manifested in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread. Because Jesus was
condemned for the sins of the world on the Cross after being baptized by
John the Baptist, He has blotted out our sins once for all. In other
words, Jesus, who shouldered all our sins, has delivered us from all
sins. In this way, with His works of salvation manifested in the blue,
purple, and scarlet thread, the Lord has saved us from all the sins of
the entire world. What the faith of true salvation really means is for
us to know and believe in this truth correctly.
Because
we have been saved from all our sins by faith, salvation from sin is a
gift of God. Like this, our salvation had been designed in Jesus Christ
even before the foundation of the world, in the baptism that He received
and the blood of the Cross. Before this planet was even made, and
before Adam and Eve, the common ancestors of mankind, were even created,
God the Father had planned in Jesus Christ and with the gospel of the
water and the Spirit, the salvation of sinners from their iniquities;
and when the time arrived, He came to this earth to fulfill it by being
baptized and shedding His blood. Our God who created mankind has
fulfilled the remission of the entire mankind’s sins as He had promised
to them. This fulfillment of God’s promises was all achieved by Jesus
Christ being baptized by John and shedding His blood. And to all those
who believe in this, God has given the gift of salvation that delivers
them from all the sins of the entire world and allowed them to receive
the remission of their sins and eternal life. Those who believe in this
Truth have been perfectly saved by God as His very own people. This
Truth is the Truth of salvation revealed in the blue, purple, and
scarlet thread.
The Gospel of the Water and the Spirit Is the Shaft of the Lampstand
Jesus
has become the cornerstone of salvation, the indispensable cornerstone
for the salvation of all mankind. With the gospel of the water and the
Spirit, Jesus has completed and become the foundation of salvation for
us. The lampstand of God had bowls like almond blossoms, ornamental
knobs and flowers. And it had a shaft. Jesus Christ has also become the
flower of salvation. If Jesus Christ’ Truth of salvation is the flower,
who might the ornamental knobs then be? They are, of course, the
servants of God and all those who have received the remission of sins.
In other words, the flower is Jesus Christ and we are the ornamental
knobs that support the flowers to full blossom.
After
saving us from our sins, our Lord has made all of us the ornamental
knobs of the gospel. Do you know this truth and believe it? Our pastors,
elders, and brothers and sisters are all ornamental knobs. Anyone who
has received the remission of sins is an ornamental knob. The Lord first
laid the shaft of salvation with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread.
He then saved us first with the gospel of the water and the Spirit and
made us the ornamental knobs that support the flowers of the gospel so
that it could bloom. Only when all of us become ornamental knobs can
sinners be saved from their sins. The only difference is in size, as
some ornamental knobs may be large while others are small, but the fact
that we all are the ornamental knobs for the gospel does not change.
Because
Satan always stands opposed to God, he seeks to prevent us from
believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit in order for all of
us not to be freed from our sins. But as flowers blossom even in a
ruined field when a storm have passed through, every sinner can be
delivered from sin by hearing the gospel of salvation, namely, the
gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Lord wants to save the lost
souls from sin. In other words, He wants to spread the Truth of the
water and the Spirit throughout this entire world. Therefore, God’s
Church also works for the same purpose.
When
ministers do not serve their churches by believing themselves to be the
ornamental knobs of their respective churches, such churches can hardly
bear any fruit of salvation. Therefore, if any minister only seeks to
be served by his congregation, he then is merely an obstructer of the
gospel themselves rather than a supporter of the beautiful gospel.
The
reason why Satan first came is to rob us of life and kill us. But our
Lord came to give abundant life to His sheep (John 10:10), and He has
saved them by giving up everything He had. If anything is beneficial to
the spreading of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we must not
hesitate to do that no matter how hard it seems to be. Such mindset
makes us become the ornamental knobs of the gospel. It is even proper
for pastors to work as menial workers to serve the gospel, and that is
why our pastors are actually working under the burning sun. If even a
single soul can be saved by their fulfilling the role of ornamental
knobs even under the burning sun, then they would do this for their
entire lifetime. Ministers are the ones who have the kind of faith that
makes them willing to do anything to bring the flower of God’s gospel
into bloom. You need to realize just how much effort and sacrifice it
takes for a single flower of the gospel of the water and the Spirit to
blossom. The very fact that you and I have been able to receive the
remission of sins was also because of the fact that there had been the
forefathers of faith who were martyred to preserve the Word of the
Scriptures.
The
seven lamps in the Tabernacle were where God’s precious oil was poured
in. By our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we have been
able to receive this precious oil and enjoy it, and by the grace of
God, we have also become the ornamental knobs of the gospel. When we
serve the gospel, we come to realize that there are so many things to
do. From one thing to another, there is no end to what needs to be done.
Publishing our gospel books, securing adequate funding for the
ministers to preach the Word, to pray, and to lead their brothers and
sisters, and for the brothers and sisters to serve the Lord—all these
things must be carried out to fulfill the role of the ornamental knobs
that serve the gospel. I hope you never forget the fact that God is
using us the righteous as these ornamental knobs that enable the flower
of the gospel of the water and the Spirit to bloom.
Taking Good Care of New Believers Is Also Doing God’s Work
The
cutest but at the same time the most fearsome in God’s Church are those
young brothers and sisters who have only recently received the
remission of sins. Before them, even pastors must be humble and engage
them at the level of their spiritual understanding. Why? Because though
they have received the remission of sins, their standard of judgment
still tends to be based on their flesh. Therefore, the predecessors of
faith who have believed first must become the ornamental knobs that
serve those young believers who are following in their footsteps. They
must serve new believers so that when these new believers grow up in
their faith, they will come to realize how they had been taken care of
when they were still young in the faith. They will come to be grateful
for the kindness that had been bestowed on them personally, and with
their faith they will in turn also return this kindness to the new
saints coming into the Church.
However,
you should not treat them with kindness unconditionally. Being kind to
someone unconditionally just in the flesh does not necessarily mean that
this person’s soul would grow and prosper. The way to lead people to
spiritual well-being is to guide them to live according to the will of
God by faith. If we are blindly nice only in the flesh, then far from
helping them, it can actually corrupt them. Do you know why some
brothers and sisters leave the Church? They leave because they were not
led by faith into a spiritual direction. Just like the lampstand was
made by hammering out a lump of pure gold, those who have become the
lampstand and ornamental knobs must deny their thoughts of the flesh and
their own righteousness, and they must hammer their hearts and bring
them under submission according to the will of God. They must become the
workers of God’s Church by beating themselves to submit to God
appropriately.
Social
workers often ponder how they can best help people. What is the
appropriate course of action? Giving money to beggars, or helping them
to become independent? Often, many people just hand out money and food
to them. But those who have some knowledge of social works never just
hand out money. They instead give the kind of help that plants the
motivation and independence in the needy so that they may be able to
live their lives independently. This is what truly helps them. So
helping others also requires some highly technical skills.
Likewise,
this thing called the gospel-preaching ministry is also a gift of God,
for it requires one to water souls with the Word of God and serve them
so that their flesh and spirits would grow in harmony. Ministers, in
other words, must lead souls and guide them to the Lord, and they must
also lead them in the affairs of the flesh so that they may succeed in
their lives of faith. Ministers must always be wide awake. Our lives of
faith as the born-again are all about fulfilling the role of the
ornamental knobs every day and in many different fields and occasions.
Our duty is to faithfully spend our entire lifetime as the ornamental
knobs of the gospel before going to the Lord.
After
saving us, our God has made us the ornamental knobs and entrusted us
with appropriate duties so that we can serve to bring the flower of the
gospel to full bloom. The people of this world who have not been born
again are authoritarian, pretentious, arrogant, and always trying to be
served by other believers. But the servants whom God has appointed as
ministers in the born-again Church are well aware of His will and they
are faithful to do what has been assigned to them as the ornamental
knobs of the gospel. It is critically important for ministers to fulfill
the role of these ornamental knobs well. Our Lord said, “It is more
blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). This is not just a
hypothetical notion, but it is the guiding principle of faith and of
actual life. Those who give are indeed more blessed than those who
receive. Have you experienced this yourselves?
Let
me tell you a story. A couple having a child late in their age, prayed
that this child would grow up loved. As they had prayed, the child
indeed grew up always being loved. But as time passed by, they
discovered that their child, who they thought would be loved only, was
instead growing up to be a selfish person who cared for no one else but
himself. What they had done thus far was not beneficial to the child at
all. As he constantly kept receiving, he came to know only how to
receive, not to give, and this turned him into a child filled with greed
and selfishness. The old couple then prayed again to turn their child
into someone who knows how to love others.
Giving
is more beautiful than receiving. How much fun is it to serve the Lord?
How gratifying is it? When I think that a soul comes to receive the
remission of sins whenever I serve the gospel by faith, I can only be
joyful and gratified. The righteous believers desire to spread the
gospel to many souls. In God’s Church, the role of the ornamental knobs
of the gospel is critically important. You and I must realize in which
positions God has placed us as the ornamental knobs. And on these
positions of the ornamental knobs, we must fulfill our roles by faith. I
believe that when we serve the gospel not by the abilities and prides
of our flesh, but by our faith in God, He will bring the flower of
salvation to blossom fully. It is when we become the ornamental knobs of
the gospel that the flowers of the gospel bloom, and it is through
these flowers that many are blessed.
The Church Is the Lampstand That Illuminates This World with the Light of Salvation
By
gathering together, the righteous become the lampstand of the gospel
and illuminate this world. The righteous shine the light of the gospel
of the water and the Spirit. Life as the lampstand illuminating the dark
world with the bright light of truth—this is our lives. It is when the
righteous who have received the remission of sins become the ornamental
knobs of the gospel that the flowers of faith are in the full bloom in
this world, and it is when this happens that the gospel of the water and
the Spirit is testified throughout the entire world. Without these
ornamental knobs, there can never be flowers nor any lamp. The shaft of
the lampstand had four bowls like almond blossoms, each with its
ornamental knob and flower. It is when we become such ornamental knobs
and fulfill the role that has been assigned to each of us that God’s
Church can spring up everywhere and many souls can be saved from their
sins. When we look at the lampstand, we see that there was another
ornamental knob above one ornamental knob, and that above this knob
there was yet another knob along the shaft. Like this, through your
serving the gospel, the flowers of the gospel have been blooming so far,
and the gospel will be preached throughout this entire world. You and I
are these ornamental knobs. From hearing the gospel of the water and
the Spirit to spreading this gospel throughout the world to this very
day, we have done countless works as the ornamental knobs. This is how
you can receive the remission of your sins and spread it to others as
well.
We
have done various works to carry out our roles as these ornamental
knobs. For example, we built this chapel two years ago for our
discipleship training and spiritual retreats. It took us about a month
to build this sandwich panel building. When we built this building by
faith, we thought, “Our brothers and sisters will come to this place for
spiritual retreats, and many lost souls will come to our gospel
classes, hear the Word, and receive the remission of sins.” Though we
had faced many hardships while constructing this building, we were
always keeping this thought in our minds, plowing through such
difficulties and working faithfully in hope. This is how this
discipleship training center was built, and how we have been able to
worship in this warm and comfortable place. This was also made possible
because of those who fulfilled the role of each ornamental knob. It is
because you and I have become ornamental knobs that we can now worship
in warmth even in this cold weather. Had there been no ornamental knob,
these easy circumstances would never have come about. Before this chapel
was built, this place had just been a desolate wilderness. If we were
to gather in such a dreary place to hear the Word of God, would you have
wanted to come? Too cold for worship service, you would probably have
gone back home.
It
is because ornamental knobs have been in place that we have been able
to make the flower of the gospel bloom not only to this day, but we will
also continue to do so in the future. There is a famous Korean poem
titled, “Beside a Chrysanthemum,” and it goes,
“For one chrysanthemum to bloom,
The nightingale must have wept like that since spring.
For one chrysanthemum to bloom,
The thunder must have rolled like that in somber clouds…”
Indeed,
the ornamental knobs of so many servants of God and so many saints have
been placed to the tree of the gospel. To bring the gospel of the water
and the Spirit to blossom, the workers who fulfill the role of such
ornamental knobs have worked hard everyday. And below these ornamental
knobs, the Lord has placed more bowls like almond blossoms so that we
would fulfill this role of ornamental knobs even better. And God has
also bestowed on us His grace in His time, giving us oil for the seven
lamps. Knowing that we cannot do anything with our own strength, our
Lord has clothed us in His grace through the Church, so that we would be
able to fulfill the role of the ornamental knobs that serve the gospel.
You must therefore realize that becoming these ornamental knobs does
not mean that we can spread the gospel alone by our own strength.
Rather, it is only by the grace of God that all of us have been
glorified to become these ornamental knobs.
Those
who received the remission of sin now and those who received it a while
ago are all the same ornamental knobs that are to serve the gospel. The
reason why they are all the same in spite of the differences in their
spiritual levels is because they are all called as the ornamental knobs.
Each and every one of us is an ornamental knob without any exception.
Just preaching the Word spiritually while not lifting a finger in other
works is not what the proper spiritual life is all about. Those who are
truly spiritual can do anything if it benefits the gospel. “My church
position is this, and so I only do these things. Since you received the
remission of sins now, should you do these other things while I do just
mine?” This is not right. When it comes to serving the gospel, there is
no one higher or lower than anyone else. We must all unite together and
become the fertilizer only for the gospel to blossom and bloom.
How Can the Born-again Saints Follow the Flesh?
“I
am so happy now that my sins have been remitted and I have become
sinless. But I would be happier if I became rich. Would it not be nice
if I could finally live in opulence?” Is there anyone who wants to be
successful in the flesh also now that his spiritual problems have been
resolved? When I first met the Lord, not realizing that He had saved me
so that I would become a perfect ornamental knob for the gospel, I
thought I would fulfill this role by going into business and making some
money. I thought I would go to church everyday, teach at the Sunday
school, spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit to the kids, run a
small business and work only for a few hours a day, give my daily
earnings as my offering to the church, and help church planting by
serving materially in this way. Of course, I also thought that apart
from the few hours that I spent with my business, I would spend the rest
of my time for the Lord. But regardless of what my thoughts were, when I
asked the Lord what role I should fulfill as an ornamental knob, He did
not want me to fulfill it by making money.
My
thoughts at that time had been wrong. The Lord did not allow me to do
this. So now I am fulfilling my role as a proper ornamental knob by
fully dedicating myself to my ministry for the spreading of the gospel
of the water and the Spirit. Whatever pleases God, we must do it all. If
He tells us to remove a mountain, then we must remove it. If countless
people are saved by removing this mountain, then we are more than
willing to do so. Even if any given task seems hopelessly impossible and
reckless, if God tells us to do it by faith, and if it is spiritually
beneficial, then we believe that it will surely be achieved. Digging the
mountain with hoes, our beginning may be feeble, but in time, we will
blow up the mountain with dynamites and clear out the debris with
bulldozers. The mountain will then disappear. Because we do not follow
our man-made thoughts but only the will of the Lord, in other words, we
always fulfill the role of ornamental knobs for God’s gospel by faith.
This is how we carry out our roles as His ornamental knobs.
The
Lord has placed us inside His Church so that we would become the
ornamental knobs for the spreading of the gospel. Where we are placed as
ornamental knobs is the only difference, and when it comes to the
spreading of the gospel, there is absolutely no place that is more or
less important than another. If we have to sort out the order, then the
first shall serve the last, as the Lord Jesus said, “If anyone desires
to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35). Is
it not true that when the Lord has called us to fulfill the role of the
ornamental knobs, He wants us not to strut and show off ourselves? When
we fulfill the role of ornamental knobs well, marvelous works of our
Lord takes place, as the light of the seven lamps on the lampstand
illuminated the Holy Place brightly.
It
is written in today’s Scripture passage, “And its wick-trimmers and
their trays shall be of pure gold. It shall be made of a talent of pure
gold, with all these utensils. And see to it that you make them
according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain" (Exodus
25:38-40). Among the utensils of the lampstand were its wick-trimmers.
Oil was poured in and the wicks were placed in the lamps that rested on
top of the lampstand. With the wicks burning, sparkles flew, and the
wick-trimmers were used to pick up these sparks. These wick-trimmers
were also made of gold. Priests trimmed the burnt wicks with these
wick-trimmers and placed them in trays. Such utensils were used often in
the Holy Place.
When
we are fulfilling the role of ornamental knobs after having received
the remission of our sins, there may be times when our hearts are
hardened from busying ourselves too much with just one job. So there are
times when we do our entrusted works very habitually or halfheartedly.
In such times, the servants of God need to change the wicks of the
lampstand. Like the burnt wicks were trimmed, the servants of God renew
our hearts by alternately changing the duties that have been assigned to
us. Our Lord removes the cinders of our hearts so that we may be able
to continue to serve the gospel with our renewed hearts, as it is
written, “Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become
new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Through this, the workers come to serve the
gospel with their hearts made new once again.
Do
you remember that there was nothing but pure gold inside the Holy
Place? To become a faithful ornamental knob by faith, you must look for
new works of the Lord incessantly. Only then can we always live by
faith. We must live today by faith, and we must live tomorrow by faith
also. By faith, we fulfill new roles of the ornamental knobs everyday.
We the workers of the gospel of God must remove all cinders from the
wick with the wick-trimmers, tend the lamps, and keep them shining
brightly and make their light be never put out.
The
inside of the Holy Place is glorious. The Lord has called and gathered
the righteous into God’s Church so that they may become the lampstand
that spreads the gospel of the remission of sins. In it, God has placed
leaders, He has given to all the righteous His gifts that enable them to
serve the gospel, and He has called us so that we may serve the Lord by
becoming the ornamental knobs that bring the flowers of the gospel to
blossom from the place that each of us has been assigned to. God has
thus allowed us to spread the gospel to all the sinners throughout the
whole world. This is the very “ekklesia,” God’s Church. We are, in other
words, the people of God’s Church where the called-out and the saved
gather together. Our God has saved us from sin by delivering us from all
our sins and iniquities and calling us out from the world. Through our
Lord’s salvation, God has saved us by making us believe in Jesus, and He
has formed this Church so that we may serve the gospel by uniting
together. It is this truth that has formed the gathering of the saints.
The Reason Why the Church Exists Is to Shine the Light of the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit
The
reason why there was the lampstand made by hammering a lump of a talent
of gold is to make God’s Church unite together and bring the flowers of
the gospel to blossom. This lampstand denotes God’s Church, and it
exists to illuminate all darkness. This is the very purpose of the
existence of the Church. The Church has first become the ornamental knob
to serve us to be born again. And now is our turn. You and I, and all
of us who have received the remission of sins, must become these
ornamental knobs, and we must all keep carrying out our duties as the
ornamental knobs and fertilizers so that the flowers of the gospel may
be in full bloom. All of us the righteous and all God’s Church must
carry out the role of the lampstand that spreads the light of the gospel
throughout the whole world and serve the Lord.
We
are not trying to establish a new denomination. If we have to describe
our denomination inevitably, then it is Jesus’ denomination. We are the
righteous who have been called to serve the Lord. When we become the
ornamental knobs of the lampstand and serve the Lord, we come to realize
that He also fills all our needs as the ornamental knobs. Even though
we don’t try anything particular to fill our needs, God Himself supplies
all our needs abundantly. Everything is supplied in time just as the
Lord said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). The Lord adds to
the righteous who serve the gospel all that they need. When the workers
who are carrying out the role of the ornamental knobs face hard times,
the Lord gives them strength, saying, “Cheer up! I am with you always.”
When the ornamental knobs have no faith, then He gives them faith,
saying, “Have strong faith! You can do everything through Me who
strengthens you.” And the Lord also bestows His grace upon them. The
Lord then solves that problem, saying, “My ornamental knob, you must
really need this. I will solve this problem for you.” To use us as the
ornamental knobs for His righteous works, God blesses us the righteous
that have become the ornamental knobs.
Whatever
we the righteous do, we must do it to serve as the ornamental knobs for
the blooming of the gospel. Our students must also lead their school
lives faithfully as the ornamental knobs of the gospel. For our lay
believers to earn their living in their workplaces, they must also do so
as the ornamental knobs of the gospel. Whatever it is that we do, all
of us must do it to become the ornamental knobs of the Lord’s gospel. We
the righteous must all exist for carrying out the role of the
ornamental knobs of the gospel, and this is in fact how we should
actually live out our faith. Ornamental knobs are critically important
for the flowers of the gospel to blossom.
You
must remember that we ourselves are not the flowers. The flower of the
gospel is Jesus. The true Light is also Jesus. All that we do is just
preach this Jesus Christ throughout the whole world by faith by
believing in the Truth of salvation manifested in His blue, purple, and
scarlet thread and fine woven linen. It is written in 1 Corinthians
10:31, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all
to the glory of God.” Our lives are aimed at the spreading of this
gospel by faithfully fulfilling the role of the ornamental knobs.
What
people worry about the most in their youth is their future. They
wonder, “How will my future life turn out to be? Where is my beloved and
what is my future spouse doing?” Where is my future spouse? He is in
God’s Church, and He is none other than Jesus Christ. What then does He
do? He shines the light. He is the Light of the gospel of the water and
the Spirit. He is the Lord, and all of you are the brides of Christ. The
Lord is telling you to come into His Church, saying that He would meet
you here in His Church through the Word. The Lord is saying that He
would meet you when you pray to God by wholeheartedly believing in the
Truth which is manifested in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and
the fine woven linen. He has told you that He would come to you and meet
you when you believe in Him.
The
righteous must be always awake in their thoughts. When you fill your
hearts with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then the Holy Spirit
will keep you awake everyday. All that the righteous have to do is just
live their lives according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit to spread
the gospel of the water and the Spirit. When we do so, we ourselves can
then realize and discern the carnal thoughts from the spiritual
thoughts.
You
probably have peeled an onion before, layer by layer. There is outside
skin at first, and when you peel it off, there appears another layer
then, looking somewhat greenish. When you peel off this greenish skin,
then a white inner layer is revealed. When you peel this one off, then
there is another white inner skin, the same as the one before. The whole
onion is made of white layers one after another. When it is peeled off
and its white inner skin is exposed, in time this exposed layer turns
into a yellowish skin. But when this skin is peeled off, then the white
inner skin is once again revealed. After some time, this inner skin once
again turns into outside skin, and so you have to peel it off again to
get a crispier layer.
Our
flesh is like these layers of an onion, and so we must peel off our
carnal thoughts everyday. Now you might think, “I denied myself when I
was saved, but should I deny myself again and again even after receiving
my remission of sins? Do you have any idea just how many times I denied
myself last year? It was hard enough to bend my heart, and now I have
to do it again? It’s so hard!” But, brothers and sisters, it is the
right thing for you to remove your thoughts of the flesh like this. The
Lord is telling us that it is a matter of principle and the right way
for us to peel off our thoughts of the flesh as we peel off an onion’s
skins.
Our
Lord wants to meet us through the written Word. He wants to meet us at
the table of showbread, at the lampstand, at the altar of incense, and
in front of the mercy seat. What I am saying here is not that you should
be forced to deny yourselves and pretend to have faith when in fact you
do not have it, but that you should deny yourselves out of your own
hearts by faith. Can you now understand? The Lord is not merely
suggesting that it would be better for you to deny yourselves, but He is
saying that you must do so. When you engrave in your minds that you
must deny yourselves in your hearts, then self-denial is achieved on its
own. It is reached on its own without you realizing it, “Ah, so this is
how I can deny myself.” But if the basic principles are not taught and
people are only forced to bend their will, then not only is this
impossible for them to achieve, but they may even end up losing their
faith.
When
we tame our hearts into submission the Lord is pleased. And if it
pleases the Lord, then we must bring our fleshly thoughts under
submission. Of course, there are some things that may seem out of our
reach, but we still try hard to achieve them. Is this not the case?
Because the Lord has saved us and made us His workers, there is nothing
that we cannot do, as the Apostle Paul said, “I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Moreover, when it
comes to bringing the flowers of the gospel to blossom, even if we
become the smallest ornamental knob of all, that blossom is still
magnificent. What then is there that we cannot do? When the Lord would
make the flowers of the gospel blossom and save souls if we would just
become even the slightest of all ornamental knobs, can we not become His
ornamental knobs? Of course we can.
We
must also readily admit our faith in our hearts. All that we have to do
is recognize what is right as right, saying, “Yes, that is right,” and
admit what is wrong as wrong, saying, “No, my thoughts were wrong. I was
wrong.” None other than this is following the Lord, denying the self,
and subjugating our own will. When we thus put down our own fleshly
desires, our Lord transforms us. However, we cannot transform ourselves
on our own. Becoming a spiritual person is not something that can be
achieved through our own efforts. What we must do is reflect upon
ourselves before the Word of God to see if we are right or wrong, and if
we are wrong, then all that we have to do is admit ourselves as it is,
saying, “Yes, Lord! Only You are right, and it is I that is wrong.” As
soon as we do this, the darkness in our hearts is removed. Then the Lord
says to us, “For even such a being as you, I blotted out all your sins.
I have turned you into the light.” Our Lord is telling us, “All things
that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes
manifest is light" (Ephesians 5:13).
There
is nothing for us to do out of our own volition. All that we have to do
is just live in the Holy Place by faith. When we thus live in the Holy
Place by faith, the Lord then works in us. To make us even worthier
ornamental knobs, God bestows on us even more grace and more blessings.
Because God truly wants to spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit
through us, He cannot but give us more blessings. I hope you all
believe this truth. I hope you believe in all the Word of God. Do you
believe? If you answer with a “yes” whenever this question is asked,
then your faith will grow. The realm of faith is such that by oneself,
no one can learn anything at all.
Ministers
are ornamental knobs, and so are all our brothers and sisters. “You are
an ugly ornamental knob. But I am a beautiful knob.” I know that no one
among you really thinks in this way, but when such thoughts creep up on
you, you must turn around, realizing that you are moving in the
opposite direction from the mind of God. What good does it do for the
ornamental knobs to compete with other saints in a meaningless beauty
contest for a prize? No matter how good some ornamental knobs may seem,
can any of them really be more beautiful than the flower itself? If the
ornamental knobs are more striking than the flower itself, then the
flower would only turn into a useless and unappealing flower. Just as
small and large bricks are both needed to build a wall, all of us,
whether better or worse, are needed as the ornamental knobs that bring
the flowers of the Lord’s gospel to blossom.
Hence,
let us not ignore each other in our arrogance. Let us instead care for
one another, realizing that we are all precious. Everyone is precious.
Everyone is needed. As God commanded Moses to make the lampstand by
hammering out a talent of pure gold, with the law of salvation He has
turned us into the righteous and made us the ornamental knobs that serve
the gospel of the water and the Spirit. God is therefore pleased to
spread His gospel through us. Even now, God is spreading the gospel of
the water and the Spirit to all humanity through His Church. And through
the spreading of this gospel and its ornamental knobs, God wants to
illuminate the whole wide world with His love of the Truth.
Hallelujah!
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