Joseph Parker, a popular 19th-century London
pastor, once admonished his congregation that if there ever was a pastor of
that church who did not preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, “let Ichabod (The
glory has departed) be written across its portal.” As it turned out, the pastor who followed
Parker was a modernist who didn’t preach the truth of the gospel, and some
brave soul dared to paint “Ichabod” across the portal!
Sadly, I have to ask, where is the glory of God in most
churches today?
Exodus 40 reveals two keys to a church that pleases God, a
church through whom the glory of God will shine. That chapter records the
finishing of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, the place of worship where God
would meet with His people through the intermediary of God’s anointed
priests. Recognizing that with the
coming of Christ – His death, resurrection and ascension – and the coming of
the Holy Spirit upon all believers, worship is significantly different from
what it was for Israel in the desert.
But two things strike me as very pertinent to every local church today.
First, Exodus 40 records that every detail of the Tabernacle was completed: “just as the lord had commanded Moses.”
Moses and the God-anointed craftsmen who performed the work followed meticulously
God’s directions for the design and construction of the
Tabernacle. The great missionary to
China, J. Hudson Taylor said, “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s
supplies.” Moses and his craftsmen
certainly learned that truth: they had to restrain the people from giving materials,
including precious metals and gemstones, for the construction of the Tabernacle
and the high priest’s garments because they had more than enough! (Exodus
36:4-7) The key was obedience to God’s explicit
instructions. It seems today, though,
that most churches look to every source except
the Bible for directions in building their congregations and conducting
their services.
The second key is the anointing of the
Tabernacle and the priests. God had
commanded Moses to make a fragrant anointing oil of myrrh, cinnamon, fragrant
cane, cassia, and olive oil (Ex. 30:23-25).
With the anointing oil, Moses anointed the Tabernacle and everything
that was in it (Ex. 40:9). Then he
anointed Aaron, the High Priest, and Aaron’s sons who would serve the Lord and His people (Ex. 40:12-15). The holy oil was a symbol of the Holy Spirit
(See 1 John 2:20, 27). When the God’s
servants, from pastor to every member of the congregation are filled with the
Holy Spirit, the church has a sweet fragrance that pleases God and attracts
others.
Once the Tabernacle was assembled and anointed, “just as the
Lord had commanded Moses,” and the
priests were anointed, “the glory of the Lord
filled the Tabernacle” (Ex. 40:34).
Do you want the glory of the Lord to fill your church? Here are the keys: (1) Submit all that you do
to the Word of God, seeking His guidance in every detail, and (2) submit
yourselves to God for the filling of His Holy Spirit.
When the glory of the Lord
filled that Tabernacle in the wilderness, “Moses was not able to enter the tent
of meeting” because of its intensity.
Wouldn’t it be great if the Lord’s presence was so strong in our
services that we could hardly stand it?
