Spiritual House - Part 3 — Stephen Kaung

Christ Builds His Church on the Rock

Will you please turn to Matthew Chapter 16. We'll read from verse 13. To verse 18. Matthew Chapter 16. Verse 13. But when Jesus was come into the paths of Caesarea Philippi, He demanded of His disciples, saying, Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?

And they said, Some John the Baptist, and others Elias, and others again Jeremiah, are one of the prophets. He says to them, That ye, who do ye say that I am? And Simon Peter answering said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And Jesus answering and said to him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in the heavens. And I also I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and Hades gates shall not prevail against it.

The letter to the Ephesians. Chapter 2. We begin with verse 19. Through verse 22. So then ye are no longer strangers and foreigners, but ye are fellow citizens of the saints, and of the household of God.

So then ye are no longer strangers and foreigners, but ye are fellow citizens of the saints, and of the household of God. Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the God-Constant.

Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the God-Constant. In whom all the building fitted together increases to a holy temple in the Lord. In whom ye also are built together for habitation of God in the Spirit.

1 Peter chapter 2 and 5. To homecoming a living stone, cast away indeed as worthless by men, but with God chosen precious. To homecoming a living stone, cast away indeed as worthless by men, but with God chosen precious.

And finally Hebrews chapter 3 verse 6. But Christ as son over his house, whose house are we, if indeed we hold fast the boldness and the boast of hope firm to the end. But Christ as son over his house, whose house are we, if indeed we hold fast the boldness and the boast of hope firm to the end.

Let's have a word of prayer. Dear Lord, our hearts are most grateful that thou should gather us together these days to thyself. We thank thee for crowning the days with the Lord's table. Truly thou art the beginning and thou art the end.

Everything comes from thee, through thee and unto thee. May glory be all unto thee. As we continue in thy presence, Lord, we want to ask thee if thou hast a last word for us. We pray that our hearts are still open and softened, tender before thee.

We pray that thy love continues to constrain us, that we may give back to thee all that thou hast given to us. Dear Lord, we want thy heart to be satisfied. We want thee to have what thou dost desire most to have.

Continue to work in us until thy heart is fully satisfied. We commit this time into thy hands and ask thee to bless it. In thy precious name we pray. Amen. We do thank the Lord for bringing us to this last moment of this conference.

Indeed, God has made the impossible possible. We thank him for gathering us together from all corners of the world. How he has joined us together into one spirit, one soul, one heart, and one love. We are here not only to consider together a theme.

We are here to demonstrate the reality of the word of God. Truly, as we come to the Lord, we are built up together into a spiritual house. A house for him and for us. Truly, he has made us a holy priesthood.

We are not only those for him to dwell. We are also those who will serve him with our whole hearts. We do thank him for giving himself to us in such a way that we may be able to offer him back to the Father.

And these will be our acceptable sacrifices. Now, this morning we will speak on the building of the house of God. When God created the heavens and the earth, he did it all by himself. None of us were there at that time.

God, all alone, by his wisdom and power, created all things in heaven and on earth. He did not consult anybody. He did not ask the help of anyone. He did it all by himself. But in the new creation, in the building of the house of God, he worked with a different principle.

Instead of working all by himself, he calls us to work together with him. He wants to work in us and with us. Actually, in working this way, it gives him more problems than he should have. But it pleases him to work in this way.

He will refuse to build his house alone. He wants to build it together with us. But of course we understand actually the work is done by him alone. And yet, he first does his work in us. In order that we may be drawn to work together with him.

This is the wonder of the building of the house of God. And for this, we are most grateful. Our Lord Jesus retreated to the border of Caesarea Philippi. We know that Caesarea Philippi is a Gentile city.

Now why is it that our Lord Jesus should withdraw himself to the border of the Gentile city? Because it is a time when he is rejected by his own people. But while he is in Caesarea Philippi, he asks his disciples a question.

Who do men say that I, the son of man, is? And of course his disciples try to give him all the best answers. Of course, they have heard a lot. But they do not report to the Lord all the bad reports. They try to say everything that is good.

Oh, they told the Lord, Jesus said, some say you are John the Baptist. John the Baptist coming to life again. Others say you are Elijah. That great prophet. And some say you are Jeremiah. Because you are a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief.

And others say, well, you are one of the prophets. Or you are the prophet. Prophesied by Moses. In the book of Deuteronomy. That one day God would raise up among the brethren a prophet. And whoever does not listen to him shall perish.

All these good reports. Now these reports will more than satisfy anybody. But they do not satisfy our Lord. Because the world does not know him. All they can know him is outward. So our Lord turned to his own disciples.

That have been with him for more than three years. The Lord said, now who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter, as usual, the spokesman of the disciples. And he said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Thou art the anointed of God. Thou art the Messiah. Thou art the one sent out by God. To accomplish a mission. A mission that nobody else could accomplish. You are the Son of God. That is your person.

So far as your person is concerned. You are the Son of God. The beloved, only begotten Son of God. So far as your work is concerned. Your ministry is concerned. You are the Christ. The saint one of God.

And when our Lord heard this. He says to Simon. He says, Simon, son of Jonah. You are blessed. Because this is not flesh and blood that is able to tell you. It is my Father who is in heaven reveals it to you.

Dear brothers and sisters. Our knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Has to come from the heavenly Father. Flesh and blood can only know him as a great prophet. But the Father in heaven alone can reveal the Son.

In us. It is the Father in heaven who reveals his Son. We thank God that one day it pleased the Father to reveal his Son in us. Before we have that revelation. All we can know of the Lord Jesus is he is a good man.

He is a great man. Probably he is the greatest of men. But brothers and sisters. We thank God that it pleased God to reveal his Son in us. We know that he is the Christ. We know that he is the Son of God.

And because of this we are saved, born again. On the basis of the revelation of the Father. Our Lord Jesus began to reveal something more to us. You know without the revelation of the Father concerning the Son.

We would never be able to have the revelation that is coming through the Son to us. So our Lord Jesus began to reveal something more to us. And the Lord said you are Peter. You are a stone. You remember brothers and sisters.

The first time when Simon came to the Lord Jesus. That is recorded in John chapter 1. His brother Andrew brought him to the Lord Jesus. And the Bible says the Lord looked at him. And the word look is a very strong word.

It means that our Lord looked him through. The Lord looked into him. And said you are Simon. But you shall be called Cephas, Peter. And Peter means a stone. You know originally we are all Simon. And we are all made of dust.

We are all of earth. That is our nature. But when we come to the Lord Jesus. He will transform us. From dust to stone. He will put a new life into us. A new nature into us. To develop a new character.

Because our Lord himself is a stone. You remember in 1 Peter chapter 2. Our Lord himself is a living stone. Rejected by man. But precious chosen by God. Now as we confess him as the Christ the son of the living God.

That faith, that confession. That revelation. Transform us. From dust into stone. We receive the same life from our Lord himself. We begin to have his same nature. So that we can be transformed and conformed to his own image.

So brothers and sisters we thank God. That by the revelation of the Father. And our confession of the Lord Jesus. We are all become stones. Living stones. On this rock our Lord said. I will build my church.

Our Lord said. I will build my church on this rock. And Hades gates shall not prevail against it. Here you find our Lord Jesus. He said I will build my church. But he will build it upon a rock. We know a rock means a massive stone.

On this massive rock. The Lord will build his church with many living stones. The rock is the foundation of the house of God. And all these little stones are the materials for the building of the house of God.

Now of course the rock refers to our Lord himself. The rock refers to the confession of our Lord Jesus. That he is the Christ the son of the living God. The rock refers to his person and to his work. He is the foundation of the house of God.

You remember the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. He said he is like a master builder. Actually the Chinese is better. He is a foreman. He is not a master builder. He is a foreman. And he laid the foundation of the house of God.

He laid the foundation of the house of God. And he said there is no other foundation. That anyone can lay. But the Lord Jesus himself. So our Lord is the foundation of the church. He is the rock. And on this rock.

Our Lord will build his church. Thank God Peter understood it very well. Even though we find in this world. Many who had misunderstood. Some say that the church is built upon Peter. He is the rock. Now if that is the case.

You will find before the building begins. The foundation has already shaken. Because you remember when our Lord laid the foundation. Our Lord began to reveal to his disciples. That he will go to Jerusalem.

He will suffer. He will die. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead. And you know what Peter did. Out of his good heart. He laid hold of the Lord. He shook the Lord a little bit. And said Lord forbid it.

You should never go to the cross. And our Lord turned around. And Satan get behind you. Because you are mindful of man. And not mindful of God. Peter could not be the foundation. Our Lord himself is the foundation.

And thank God Peter understood it well. Because in 2 Peter 2. He said as we come to the Lord. As we come to the living stone. We all become living stone. And then we are being built up together. Into a spiritual house.

Peter himself will be built into the house. And all of us who are living stones. Will be built into that house. And our Lord Jesus said I will build my church. Who is the builder? Who is the master builder?

None other but the Lord himself. You know the house of God is so heavenly. Heavenly, spiritual and glorious. It is to be the habitation of God in the spirit. It is to be the resting place of God. And it is also to be our eternal home.

If you realize what a house this will be. Now who will be the builder? Truly there is only one who is able to build such a spiritual house. And the Lord said I will build the church. He is the architect.

He is the engineer. He is the builder. Brothers and sisters. Today we hear people say. We are church planters. And we are going to the world to plant the churches. But dear brothers and sisters remember.

Unless the Lord build the house. The builders labor in vain. That is Psalm 127 verse 1. We may be able to build many many other houses. We may be able to build even palaces. We may be able to build great empire.

But the Lord alone can build that spiritual house. Unless he builds the house. The builders labor in vain. So this should be a warning to us. And the Lord said I will build my church. This house is the church.

Because it is the call of ones gathered together. Where two or three are gathered together unto my name. The Lord said there am I in the midst of them. With the presence of the Lord. Among his own people.

With the people gathered together unto his name. That is put ourselves under his authority. You have his church. The church belongs to him. It comes out of him. And it goes back to him. So brothers and sisters.

Sometimes we hear to say this is my church. This is my church that I am responsible for. But let us be warned. The church belongs to the Lord alone. And if it is his own work. Then the gates of Hades shall not prevail against him.

As we look into Christianity today. It seems as if Hades gates have prevailed against it. Why? Because this is man's work. It is not the work of our Lord himself. We thank God in one sense. That we find the so called churches today are being shaken.

That the unshakable may remain. So here you find our Lord Jesus for the first time mentioned the word church. Our Lord came into this world for this very purpose. When we read the gospel according to Luke.

We may get the impression that the reason why our Lord came into this earth. Is to seek to save the lost. Truly that is what he did. We are the lost. And our Lord came to this earth. He came to seek us.

And he came to save us. So the gospel according to Luke. Is the gospel of the forgiveness of our sins. The remission of our sins. The dear brothers and sisters. Of the four gospels. Only the gospel according to John.

Give us the deep meaning of forgiveness. Of the coming of the Lord. Because John always goes back to the beginning. He always goes to the depths. Our Lord does come to save the lost. That is very true.

But that is the beginning. That is not the end. Our Lord comes into the world. According to the gospel according to John. He came as a bridegroom. He came to seek for his bride. But when he came to this earth.

He could not find his bride. So he had to make his bride. He has to call people out of the world. And gather them unto himself. In other words, he has to build his wife. That is the reason of his coming.

Because the house, the church is his wife. Today it is the body, his body. One day it will be his bride. When this body is fully grown. So the real reason for his coming. Is to build the church. That is his motive.

So we can see how important this is. Concerning the building of the house of God. We would like to go back to the Old Testament. As our brother mentioned last night. The Old Testament gave us pictures.

The New Testament gave us the word. We have the word. But we need to go back to the picture. Because the picture will give us more details. And with visual aid. He will have us to understand deeper. It is true.

The Old Testament is shadow. But on the other hand, it is picture. It is easier for us to understand. So how does the Lord build his church? How does the Lord build his church? We go back to the Old Testament pictures.

And learn some principles about it. You know. When God called the children of Israel. Out of Egypt. When God called the children of Israel. Out of Egypt. He brought them to himself. To Mount Sinai. We already mentioned that he gave them the law.

So that they may be sanctified. And then our Lord began. God began to reveal his mind. To the people. He said, make me a sanctuary. That I may dwell among you. Here you will find God does not give them a sanctuary.

God said, build me a sanctuary. But how are they going to build it? First of all. In Exodus chapter 25. God said, let the people bring heave offering unto me. All whose hearts have prompted him. Let them bring me a love offering.

Gold, silver, brass, and wood. And all these materials. Brothers and sisters. You remember. The children of Israel were slaves in Egypt. They were slaves for hundreds of years. Now. A slave owns nothing.

A slave does not even own his own life. So as slaves in Egypt. They were destitute. They have nothing. That they can claim as their own. They have nothing. They have nothing to own. So where came all these gold and silver and precious stones?

Now you remember. When God sent Moses. To Egypt. He told Moses. I will deliver my people out of Egypt. I will deliver my people out of Egypt. And when I am doing that. All the children of Israel. Will ask of their neighbors.

Ask the Egyptians. For gold, silver, and all these things. So when the children of Israel came out of Egypt. They asked their neighbors. For all these precious things. And the Bible said. They are actually.

Deprived of Egypt. Of all its wealth. Now in a sense. God is righteous. Because they have been slave laborers. For hundreds of years. Without any wages. So God not only delivered them. But gave them all the wages.

Of the past. When God delivers a people. His deliverance is so complete. Not only men. But also women and children. You remember Pharaoh said. Let the men go. But let the children stay behind. But no.

All will go. All will go. Not only men and women and children. Whole families. Even all the cattle and the sheep. Not only all the cattle and the sheep. But all the wealth of Egypt. So when the children of Israel came out of Egypt.

They were a wealthy people. All given to them by God. And now God said. Give me a love offering. Whoever's heart. Have prompted him. Brothers and sisters. This is the way of God. He gave us everything.

And when he asked. For a love offering. He said. If your heart prompts you. If you want to hold back as your own. Thinking that you are the owner. The possessors of it. Even though they do not belong to you.

They are given to you by God. But if you want to hold it back for your own. God said. You can do it. But it's to your own harm. God wants a willing sacrifice. God wants a willing sacrifice. Out of the abundance of his grace.

He asked us to give him back something. Brothers and sisters. This is the way of God. And then when you come to the building of the temple. When we talk about the building of the temple. You remember David wanted to build God a temple.

He was not allowed to do it. And yet David. Prepared all the materials. For the house of God. In 1 Chronicles chapter 22. Verse 14. He said. David said. In all my affliction. I have prepared. Abundance of material.

For the building of the house of God. In other words. In all the wars. That David engaging. He. Separated the spoils. For God. And also in Chronicles. In 1 Chronicles chapter 29. And here you'll find in verses 2 and 3.

1 Chronicles. Chapter 29. Verses 2 and 3. He said. And I have prepared. According to all my power. For the house of my God. According to all my power. And verse 3. And moreover. In my affections. For the house of my God.

I have given of my own property. Of gold and silver. For the house of my God. Over and above. All that I have prepared. For the house of the sanctuary. Out of his afflictions. Out of his afflictions. According to all my power.

Out of my affections. For the house of God. He gave the best to God. Brothers and sisters. This is how the house of God is built. Now if this is true. In the Old Testament time. How much more true. It should be.

Presenting the Body as a Living Sacrifice

With the reality. Now. Brothers and sisters. That's the reason why you find in Romans chapter 12. Therefore brethren. By the compassion of God. I beseech you. To present your bodies. A living sacrifice.

Totally acceptable to God. It is your reasonable service. In Romans. You find from chapter 1 to chapter 11. Tells us all the manifold. Mercies of God. How he saves us from death. How he delivers us from our sins.

Forgives our sins. Delivers from the power of sin. Gives us his Holy Spirit. Not only justifies us. But sanctifies us. And glorifies us. You know brothers and sisters. When you read Romans 1 to 11. You see all the compassions of God.

How he graces us with many graces. Now. What should be our response? Therefore. Brethren. Present your bodies. A living sacrifice. Our love offering. Is not gold and silver. Because we are not building a physical building.

Our love offering. Is ourselves. This body. That has been redeemed. By a great price. We do not belong to ourselves. We are bought with a price. We are not our own. We have no right to live for ourselves.

We belong to him. And yet God will not force us. If we want to live our own lives. With all that he has given us. Like the prodigal son. We could do that. He will not force us. But what a loss. Loss to the father.

And loss to the son. By his love. He beseeches us. He promises us. He wants us to present our bodies. As a living sacrifice. And this living sacrifice. Is the material. For the building of the house of God.

How can our Lord Jesus. Build us into a spiritual house. To be saved. Alone is not enough. We have. To consecrate. Our lives to him. We have to give our right. As it were. To him. Actually we have no right.

The right belongs to him. And yet in another sense. He wants to give up. What we consider. As our right back to him. So that he can work. In us and with us. The reason why. The house of God. Is not built.

Why is it so delayed. It is because those. Who are redeemed. Hold themselves back. Do not give themselves completely. As burnt offering to God. So we say. Consecration. Is the beginning. Of our Christian experience.

The Lord cannot do. Anything with you. Until. You present your body. A living sacrifice. Then you will find. The Lord will begin. To work. To build his house. And then of course you will find. In the Old Testament.

After the Lord called them. To bring in. The love offering. Then he called. Certain people. To come. And work. With this material. In the case. Of the building. Of the tabernacle. You find. In chapter thirty five.

Of Exodus. And the beginning. Of thirty six. God called. Basilio. And Aholiab. These two men. These two men. Are filled with the spirit. God give them. Wisdom and understanding. And give them skill. To work with all these various materials.

And together with them. All those people. Who have wise. And understanding heart. And all those who are moved. To come and work. You find these people. They come together. To work with the material. Of course.

All under the direction. Of Moses. And then again. You find when you go to. The building of the temple. Solomon. Solomon. Is the man of wisdom. And you find he. Gathered tens of thousands of people. To come and build the temple.

Spiritual Gifts and the Ministry of the Body

Brothers and sisters. When you come to the reality. The building of the church. Of the house of God. You find that. The master builder. Is our Lord himself. But he does not build. All by himself. He call us to come.

And work under him. And with him. He give us wisdom and understanding. Not according to our human wisdom. And human knowledge. On our natural ability. But he give us spiritual gifts. He give us spiritual grace.

And with all these. We are able to work. Under him. And that is the reason. Why you find. In Ephesians chapter four. That after our Lord ascended. Upon high. He give gifts to man. He call some apostles.

Some prophets. Some shepherds and teachers. And some evangelists. For the perfecting of the saints. These ministers of the word of God. These are the gifts of God to his church. Because the church is built.

With the word of God. But their work is. To perfect the saints. They are not the one. Who build the church. That is building directly. They are building indirectly. Their work is to perfect the saints.

In two ways. One is to mature. The spiritual life of the saints. Because the word of God. Will nurture us. And on the other hand. To equip the saints. To help the saints. To develop their gifts. And then.

The whole body. Will minister. One to another. It is the body ministry. All the members of the body. All are gifted. In one or other way. By the Holy Spirit. All who have received grace. From God. We function together.

Work together. And as we work together. In the Bible it says. Ephesians 4 .16. To the self building up in love. We love one another. We encourage one another. We supply one another. Brothers and sisters.

Through such fellowshipping. The church is built. Then thirdly. You find also. All these materials that are to be built. Into the house. Lots of work. Has to be done. To these materials. You do not just take the raw materials.

And then just. Display them. You have to make them furniture. So you find there is lots of. Beating. In the Old Testament. Tabernacle. The gold has to beat and beat and beat. Into a form. Beautiful form.

Of the golden tabernacle. So lots of work has to be done. Upon the material. The same is true with the temple. These massive stones. They have to. Cut from the quarry. And in the quarry. They are to be chiseled.

According to measure. And to be smooth. Every stone is given a number. So that. These stones. When they are transported to Mount Moriah. They can just fit one to another. The Bible said. During the building of the temple.

There is no sound of iron. No sound of hammer. Because everything was done. In the quarry. Done in darkness. Lots of work has to be done. When we come to the building. Of the house of God today. Are you surprised.

That the Holy Spirit. Has to do lots of work. To your life. There is lots of cutting to be done. Lots of chiseling. Lots of smoothing. Lots of reducing. Lots of the work of the Holy Spirit. By using the cross.

Upon our life. Without the cross. There can be no church. Not only individually. We have to. Bear the cross. Because. To fit us. With our brothers and sisters. There is much cross. To be born. The Lord.

Is not. Building a monument. The Lord is building a house. The Lord is building a house here. So you find that is the reason why. There is lots of work to be done. But thank God. If everything is done.

According to pattern. When it is finished. The glory of the Lord. Will fill the house. Brothers and sisters. It takes. Less than a year. To build a tabernacle. It takes seven years. To build a temple.

It takes probably around four years. To build a second temple. And of course. King Herod enlarged it. For forty six years. But how many years. Is the house of God built. For two thousand years. Already.

Cooperating With the Master Builder

Our Lord is still building. His house. Can you find any house. On the earth. That takes so long. What does it tell you. It tells you on the one hand. It is a house that God built. It is no man's work.

It will be a glorious church. It will be an eternal home. That's why it takes so long. But on the other hand. Does it say anything to us. We have delayed. And delayed. The finishing. Of that house. How anxious.

Our Lord must be. To enter into. His rest. How anxious it warned us. To enter into rest. But we do not understand. Our heart. Is not one with Him. We do not cooperate. We do not yield. To Him. He is the master builder.

How skillful is His hand. He can turn these. These materials. Into. Noble. Vessels. If only we will. Put ourselves. Completely in His hand. So our prayer is. Lord hasten. This word. Begin it with me. That our Lord may enter into His rest.

We will not give ourselves. To rest. Until the Lord. Can rest among His people. Let us pray. Dear Lord. We want to thank Thee. For these days. We thank Thee. For the fellowship of the saints. We thank Thee.

For giving us Thy word. And we thank Thee. For all that Thou has. Bestowed upon us. Dear Lord. We pray that all these will not be in vain. By the working of Thy Holy Spirit. Pray that Thou will. Turn it into value.

Eternal value to Thyself. Bless all Thy people. Wherever we go. May Thy work continue. Until that glorious church. Without spot or wrinkle. May be ready. For Thy beloved son. We ask in Thy precious name.

Amen. Before we depart. I believe I can represent. All the brothers and sisters from abroad. We are very thankful. For the brotherly in Singapore. We thank you for your love. We thank you for the labor.

May the Lord. Bless you.