Joy In The Mundane

We are in Ezekiel chapter 4. If you will turn to Ezekiel chapter 4. Hold that chapter.

Ezekiel 4 · chapter mention Ezekiel 4 · chapter mention

Now I know what you're thinking, not another sermon in Ezekiel, but here we are. Another sermon in Ezekiel.

So Ezekiel chapter 4, we're going to read the whole thing.

Ezekiel 4 · chapter mention

I laughed more yesterday at that opening line than you guys did.

I had a good time with that one.

Anyway.

Ezekiel chapter 4.

Ezekiel 4 · chapter mention

And you, son of man, take a brick and lay it before you and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem,

and put siege works against it, and build a siege wall against it, and cast up a mound against it,

set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it all around.

And you take an iron griddle and place it as an iron wall between you and the city,

and set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it.

This is a sign for the house of Israel.

Then, lie on your left side, and place the punishment of the house of Israel upon it.

For the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their punishment.

For I assign to you a number of days, 390 days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment.

So long shall you bear the punishment of the house of Israel.

And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time,

but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah.

Forty days I assign you, a day for each year.

And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm bared,

and you shall prophesy against the city.

And behold, I will place cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other,

till you have completed the days of your siege.

And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer,

and put them into a single vessel, and make your bread from them.

During the number of days that you lie on your side, 390 days, you shall eat it.

And your food that you eat shall be by weight, 20 shekels a day.

From day to day you shall eat it.

And water you shall drink by measure.

The sixth part of a hen, from day to day you shall drink.

And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it in their sight on human dumb.

And the Lord said, Thus the people of Israel eat their bread unclean,

among the nations where I will drive them.

Then I said, this is Ezekiel saying this,

Then I said, Ah, Lord God, behold, I have never defiled myself.

From my youth up till now, I have never eaten what died of itself,

or was torn by beast, nor has tainted meat come into my mouth.

Then he said to me, See, I assign to you cow's dung instead of human dung,

on which you may prepare your bread.

Moreover, he said to me, Son of man, behold,

I will break the supply of bread in Jerusalem.

They shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety,

and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay.

I will do this, that they may lack bread and water,

look at one another in dismay,

and rot away because of their punishment.

This is a visual representation of what God was going to do to Jerusalem.

He was to act this out.

It was an impending punishment.

Matter of fact, this prophecy, he wrote this down in about 592, 593, somewhere in there.

Jerusalem was destroyed in 587.

So five years later is when this happened.

It was a visual for Jerusalem to see what was going to happen,

and be a sign for their punishment.

Not only for the people to see,

but as they walked by Ezekiel laying there,

they felt it.

They felt God's punishment impending.

Ezekiel was used by God to physically demonstrate this impending punishment

that God was going to give to them.

Well, there's three parts of this prophecy that did come to fruition in 587,

and I want to talk about each of the parts.

So kind of keep your Bible there,

but the first part is verses 1 through 3,

and that first part is to build a replica of Jerusalem.

And he was to use a little brick

and sort of somehow design Jerusalem on that little tile or brick,

the little clay,

and that sort of went into the center,

and then he built up mounds next to it and towers

and sort of designed the city there,

but also what the siege looked like.

So mounds next to it,

and the way when they had walls around the city,

and so when another nation came in to try to take over a city,

they would build mounds,

and then they would put camps on the top of those mounds

and look down into the city,

and then they would cut off all supplies in through the gates.

They would stop all the supplies from coming into the city

or siege it in that way.

And he was to depict this,

depict it all on the ground there

in this little sort of diorama of Jerusalem.

He was also to put an iron pan or griddle.

I like the word griddle.

He was to put this iron griddle,

probably not a black stone.

That's kind of what we're used to, right?

A big pan in between.

So his face and Jerusalem is where this pan would sit.

So we know from the next verses

that he's actually laying down when he's doing this.

And so as he's laying there,

the pan is in front of his face,

and his diorama of Jerusalem is on the other side, right?

There's a couple of ideas of what that pan

and him on the other side might represent.

One of those ideas is the strength of Babylonian.

That's in 587 who comes in is the Babylonians.

They come in and lay siege and wipe them out.

So maybe it's the Babylonians

and their strong siege and iron will of that nation coming in.

There's another idea,

and I think I resonate a little bit more with this idea,

is that that pan, as Ezekiel laid there,

the pan was in the way.

He could not see Jerusalem.

And it's like a separation from God.

They were being punished for years,

centuries, centuries of disobedience.

And that pan was a separation between God and them.

He would not even be able to hear their cries,

which you know they would.

There's a truth here I want to remember.

The truth is what God has ordained will happen.

What he has ordained will happen.

I am the Lord.

The second part, verses 4 through 8,

is Ezekiel.

It describes how he's to lay on his side

and what that looks like.

Notice the use of the word punishment

in verses 4 through 8.

It happens five times.

He describes over and over this punishment that's coming.

God will punish sin, won't he?

This is not something that's going to go without.

He's holy.

He will not exist with sin forever.

A second truth from this account is

sinners will be punished.

God says, I am the Lord.

390 days representing years.

390 days you lay on your side

and with this pan in your face

with the diorama on the other side.

And then another 40.

But 390 days representing the house of Israel.

Israel at this time,

so there was David, then Solomon.

And after Solomon, the nation split into two.

The northern group was called Israel.

The southern group was Judah.

And Israel at this time

had already been gone for a long time.

They were already wiped out and destroyed.

Jerusalem was left.

Judah was left at this time

until 587, about five years later.

That's when they were taken into captivity.

So as we look at 390 days

from Ezekiel's prophecy,

or 390 years from Ezekiel's prophecy,

what time span was that?

If you go back 390 from that moment,

it would have been in the reign of Solomon.

1 Kings 11, 11 through 12.

Therefore the Lord said to Solomon,

since this has been your practice

and you have not kept my covenant

and my statutes that I've commanded you,

I will surely tear the kingdom from you

and will give it to your servant.

Yet for the sake of David, your father,

I will not do it in your days,

but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.

390 years prior to Ezekiel prophesying

and doing this in the middle of Jerusalem,

God told Solomon he was going to take it away.

From that time, from Solomon's reign

until this, until 587,

they sinned.

And if you're familiar with all the accounts

of one king after another,

after another, they were sinful.

They didn't care.

They even lost at one point

the scriptures for years

and they were uncovered

and no one even knew what was in.

They sinned against God in all that time.

The 40 years, there's a lot of discussion.

You can look at different things.

There's a lot of ideas of what these years

or these days that Ezekiel is laying down

actually represent.

But the 40 years, one idea is that

maybe that was the time from Jesus's death

to AD 70 would have been about 40 years.

And then Jerusalem again was destroyed

and taken completely apart

and they were dispersed.

That's a possibility.

They're not exactly sure.

Not exactly sure.

430 years is the total.

That is also a very important number

because that's what they spent

from the time in Egypt

until the time of coming into the promised land.

So these numbers are a little bit unknown.

Exactly what it is.

But there's a couple of key things within that.

There's further specifications

to the prophetic picture.

leg on his side.

But then he is to prophesy with his arm bared.

And that is the symbol of God's arm.

God's arm of punishment, of strength.

And that's represented through his bared arm there.

God also places cords on him.

So not just does he lay there on his side,

but God straps him down so he doesn't move.

Doesn't move at all.

Jerusalem is not moving

or getting out of their punishment.

It will happen.

It will happen.

I, in the study of this there,

the question comes up to me,

was he there that whole time?

How many months is it?

That's, you know, so 430 days.

We're talking, what, 15 months?

What's the number on that?

Well over a year.

Was he there that entire time?

Well, when I read that the cords are there

and he doesn't move,

I kind of think, yes, he was.

There's other things that say,

well, he was there much of the day

that maybe he, you know,

packed things up and went home

in the evening or something like that.

I don't know.

But what I do know is that

he spent a lot of time laying there.

I tend to think he was somehow

supernaturally there the whole time.

Because the cords held him there.

So, even hours a day, though,

would be tough.

The third part of this picture

is in the eating and drinking,

verses 9 through 17,

the last part of it.

Here's the third truth from it.

Sinners will suffer.

Sinners will suffer, won't they?

We know this.

That's what was being depicted.

The food that he had

was this grain, bean, millet mix

that was rationed out

in a very, very small portion.

Depending on what you read,

it was basically a portion.

The size of ESV kind of leads us

to see a size of 11 grams,

which 11 grams is about the size

of a AAA battery.

That's pretty small.

The most I saw,

there's some discrepancy

on the exact size of this,

but less than a cup.

So, from a AAA battery

to less than a cup

is kind of what he had

per day to live on.

Also, this bread was not

like the Ezekiel bread.

You know, when we go to the store

and we get this nice pack

of Ezekiel bread,

it's somewhat yummy,

we can toast it

or whatever we want to do.

That's not what this was.

One thing that I read

said that this was

so yucky,

the dog would not eat it.

It was basically

basic nutrition

to keep the dude alive.

That's all it was.

And then he had water as well.

What this,

less than one quart

is what it comes out to

for the water.

While he laid there

with straps,

looking at a pan

with a diorama

on the other side.

It represents the rationing

that's going to happen.

When they lay seeds

to Jerusalem,

they shut off the gates.

What happens

is the food

goes down,

down,

down,

down.

Then God

first instructs him

to cook his little

bit of

bread

over his own food.

Right?

And he says,

hey,

that will defile me.

And God

respects that

in what he says.

Okay,

let's use cow dung

instead.

But the truth

of the matter,

and you see

in verse 12,

it was

in their sight.

This was all done

in their sight.

And what will happen

five years from then

when everything

gets shut down?

All the animals

will die

because they will

use them

because there's

nothing to eat

and nothing to get.

Which means

they will be

reduced.

Any cooking

will be

on human dung.

That's

just the beginning

of the ugly

paradigm.

What often

it does get

reduced to

is cannibalism.

That's in their future.

The visual

was so they know

I am

the Lord,

God says.

He repeats

that same phrase

60 times

in the book

of Ezekiel.

I am

the Lord.

So a couple

of notes

on this

that I want

to share.

One

is God's

character.

I want to talk

about God's

character from this

because he's

the same,

isn't he?

He's the same

in how he deals

with Ezekiel.

He's the same

with us today.

So his character

is what

perseveres

across all

of this.

So let's look

at a couple

of character

things.

Number one,

he's jealous

for his name.

He is to be

glorified and

honored.

They didn't do

that.

They didn't do

that.

In their hearts,

they didn't do

that.

They didn't

glorify him

in any way,

shape,

or form.

For you shall

worship no

other God,

for the Lord

whose name is

jealous

is a jealous

God.

Exodus 34,

14.

God will not

share a throne

with any

other small

g God

that we may

want to serve.

He will not

share it.

That's not

how we

glorify him.

That's not

how that

works

as a believer.

That's his

throne

and his

alone.

The second

thing is

in his

character

is long

suffering.

430

years.

And as

you read

through those

kings and

the things

that they

did and

the ways

that they

just

completely

took in

anything and

everything

other than

God,

he was

very long

suffering,

very long

suffering.

He showed

them his

kindness.

He sent

prophet after

prophet after

prophet.

We know

from the

New Testament

that they

were killed

and they

were sawn

in half

and they

were treated

miserably.

But that

was God's

kindness to

have them

repent.

Now,

remember,

what Ezekiel

is doing

here is

not a

repentance

message.

It is a

you're going

to die

message.

It's

repentance,

that time

has passed.

Now,

it's

punishment.

That's

Ezekiel's

message.

It's

different.

But he

sent

many,

many,

replete

with

turn,

turn from

your wicked

ways.

How many

times did

he do

that?

His

kindness,

his

patience.

Numbers 14,

18,

the Lord

is slow

to anger

and abounding

in steadfast

love,

forgiving

iniquity

and

transgression,

but he

will by

no means

clear the

guilty,

visiting the

iniquity of

the fathers

and the

children to

the third

and the

fourth

generation.

The third

character

trait is

God is

purposeful.

He's

purposeful.

He has

purpose in

his

prophetic

word.

This

punishment

is going

to happen.

That's

his

purpose.

Proverbs

19,

21 says,

many are

the plans

in the

mind of

man,

but it

is the

purpose

of the

Lord

that will

stand.

His

purposes

in

punishment,

his

purposes

in dealing

with his

people,

these

things

will come

to fruition.

Sin

will be

dealt

with by

a holy

God.

He has

a plan

for the

Jews as

his chosen

race.

He's

their

God,

and he

continues

to have

a purpose

with them

as well

as all

of us,

mankind.

So I

want to

apply some

of these

character

traits to

us today.

God

doesn't

change.

We have

established

that.

He is

to be

glorified

and we

are to

bring

glory

to

his

name.

We

act in

his

will

when we

serve,

love,

and sacrifice

in a way

that brings

glory to

God.

And as

we take

that

principle

of glorifying

him,

that's

we as

a body,

we bring

him glory

in the

things that

we do,

in the

things that

he calls

us to

do,

in the

things that

his will

mandates

that we

do.

He is

patient

and kind

with us

that we

may come

to repentance.

The great

patience that

God has

with his

children.

You ever

think about

that?

The patience

that he

has with

you

personally.

It's

tremendous

in my

life.

Stephen

Charnock,

a Puritan.

Let me

read this

quote.

I want

to dissect

it a little

bit because

he talks

in old

words.

Let's

think about

it.

We'll

think about

it again.

This will

be great.

He says,

God's

slowness to

anger is

a branch

from his

mercy.

The Lord

is full

of compassion

and slow

to anger.

Psalm 145.

It differs

from mercy

in the

formal

consideration

of the

object.

Mercy

respects

the

creature

as

miserable.

Patience

respects

the

creature

as

criminal.

Mercy

pities

him

in his

misery

and

patience

bears

with the

sin

which

engendered

the

misery

and is

giving

birth

to

more.

The

antithesis

of

judgment

compassion

and

patience.

Now

here's

I think

the best

way to

illustrate

what he's

saying

there.

Think

of the

person

that

as we

get to

the

corner

and

even

going

out

generally

there's

two or

three as

I'm

heading

to

back

to

435

on the

way

home.

There's

usually

somebody

on the

corner

in there.

There's

someone

with a

sign.

There's

someone

asking

for

money

or food

or whatever

it is

they're

asking.

I look

at them

and in

mercy

I look

at them

and I

say

they're

struggling.

Whatever

this

moment

I can

look at

them,

I look

at the

way

they're

dressed,

I look

at what

they're

asking

for

and

my

mercy

would

say

they're

struggling

right now.

They're

having a

hard time

in life

right now.

Patience

says

I don't

care why

they're

suffering.

I don't

care why

they're

struggling

because if

you're like

me,

I see

that person

and I

can get

the mercy

there.

I can feel

the mercy

and I feel

sorry for

them or

I have

pity on

them.

But then

going to

the second

part,

I think

there's

things they

could do.

They probably

just want to

buy this

or that.

Probably

it's a

series of

decisions

that put

them into

this

place.

Patience

says

they sin

but I

overlook

it.

Patience

says I

don't care

why

they got

there.

as God

looks at

us

full of

compassion

and slow

to anger

he knows

we're sinful.

He looks

at us

with pity.

He looks

at us

as people

who fall

and struggle

and lose

it.

But his

patience

bears

with us

in our

sin.

God

has

purposes.

He has

specific

purposes

with

Christ

church.

God

is a

plan

for our

existence

as a

church

and

Jesus

is our

head.

He has

purposes

we have

yet to

see.

We don't

even know.

We don't

even know

yet the

things that

he wants

to do.

We're to

proclaim the

good news

and bring

glory to

God.

Similarities

between our

work and

Ezekiel's

work.

There's a

few things

that are

somewhat

similar.

So just

to illustrate

that I

want us

all to

get down

and lay

on our

sides.

But there

are some

similarities

between the

two.

Number one

is there

are people

heading to

a certain

death.

There are

people all

around us

that are

heading to

a certain

death.

It's not

a matter

of is it

going to

happen.

It's not

a matter

of well

maybe they'll

somehow get

off that

road or

whatever.

They are

heading that

way.

And we

have a

message.

We have a

message that

says the

same thing.

If you are

apart from

God you're

heading to

certain

death.

If you

don't know

Jesus you're

heading to

certain

death.

we must

be obedient

to God's

plan no

matter what

that looks

like.

Doesn't

matter.

Doesn't

matter what

it looks

like.

Big,

small,

this way,

that way,

doesn't

matter.

Our

message is

literally of

life and

death.

So,

what about

Ezekiel's

experience?

That is what I

want to talk

about.

What about

Ezekiel's

experience with

his message?

It was

boring.

It was

boring.

He laid

there.

He did

nothing.

It was

boring.

Wouldn't

you agree?

There was

just, he

just laid

there for

months doing

nothing.

God

chose to

use him

in this

seemingly

mundane

mundane

visual

prophecy.

That's how

God chose

to use

Ezekiel.

Was in

this mundane

day after

day,

looking at

a pan,

trying to

cook,

maybe,

with

cowpoo.

God's

economy is

different.

God's

economy is

different than

ours.

Maybe we

wouldn't have

put Ezekiel

in that

spot.

Maybe we

wouldn't have

said,

do something

so,

what seems

so weird.

We may not

have done

that, but

God's ways

are higher

than our

ways.

Here's a

truth that I

came to

on this

study,

and I

think it's

very important.

God chooses

to use

our lives

in any

way he

sees fit.

It's not

always

comfortable.

It's not

what we

think.

It's not

what we

would envision,

but it's

his way.

And I

think it's

far too

easy to

get our

own

thinking

in that

mix and

forget that

God uses

our lives

in any

way he

sees fit.

Even if

it's mundane,

even if

it's boring,

even if it

doesn't make

sense,

it's his

plan.

Ezekiel

understood that

his life

belonged to

God.

He was

truly a

living

sacrifice,

this guy.

Truly was.

Romans 12

1,

I appeal

you,

therefore,

brothers,

by the

mercies of

God,

to present

your bodies

as a

living

sacrifice,

holy and

acceptable to

God,

which is

your spiritual

worship.

Did Ezekiel

do that?

100%

he did

that.

No matter

what God

wanted to

do,

he was

presenting

himself

soul and

body.

Ezekiel

presented

himself

soul and

body to

what God

had in

mind.

He was

obedient to

whatever God

wanted to

do.

He obeyed

all parts

of this

plan.

No quitting

or establishing

a great start

and then

falling off.

He stuck

with this.

430 days

laid there,

did what

God had

him do

and

didn't

stop.

He submitted

to the

parts

of God's

will that

weren't all

that great.

Lying in the

dirt,

not moving,

people walking

by,

looking at

him,

teasing,

snide comments,

maybe kicking

dust on

him.

He was,

after all,

giving them

a message

of impending

death and

doom.

You think

they liked

that?

I don't

think they

did.

And they

probably took

it out on

him.

Long days,

horrible

treatment,

difficult

circumstances,

great pain.

If you

continue to

read on

in Ezekiel,

you'll see

some of

the pain

that God

put Ezekiel

through,

just to

get his

message out.

One of

which,

his wife

died.

And he

wasn't even

to grieve.

This was

to get

his message,

God's

message,

out.

And Ezekiel

followed and

participated.

And Ezekiel

was effective.

He was

effective.

His work

and message

was shocking.

It had

impact.

You don't

see a person

do this

very much.

Personally,

I've never

seen a person

do that.

I don't know

if you guys

have,

maybe.

It was

shocking.

The message

was given.

It was

successful,

regardless of

what the Jews

did.

It was

successful

because God

said,

I want

this message

to go

out.

The message

went out.

It was

successful.

He was

obedient.

He did

his best

to be

thorough

and complete

in the

demonstration,

putting

everything

together

the right

way,

and then

submitting

himself

to what

God's

plan

was

in the

message.

That was

Ezekiel's

experience.

Now let's

talk about

our experience.

First thing

I want to

talk about

is the

idea of

mundane,

this

concept

mundane.

So mundane

basically,

I looked

up some

synonyms

in the

thesaurus.

So mundane,

ordinary,

boring,

everyday,

humdrum,

normal,

routine,

common.

These are

all kind

of the

same ideas

of what

we might

call

mundane.

I'm

often asked

what was,

I was on

nuclear submarine,

and I'm

often asked

what was

the longest

time you

ever went

out without

coming back

up.

And the

longest time,

so going

down and

then the

span of

time and

coming up

was 60

days for

me.

Now that

was in

the midst

of a

180-day

deployment

where we

spent 140

of those

days

underwater.

140

days in

six months

underwater.

It's not

430,

but we'll

get to

Ezekiel

numbers maybe

someday.

So when

I'm asked

that,

people think,

oh,

you know,

that's,

I don't

think I

could do

because it's

like claustrophobia

and things

like that,

but there's

also this

element of

boredom.

Lots

of boredom.

What do

you do

underwater

for two

months

straight?

What do

you do?

You know,

we would

play games.

We actually

worked,

we worked

18-hour

days is

what it

turned

into.

Because you

can change

the 24-hour

cycle because

there's no

sun,

it doesn't

matter anymore.

So we

would work

for six

hours and

you would

be off

for 12.

And so

some people

they would

sleep for

every bit

of that 12

that they

could sleep.

Others,

you know,

would ink

or we

would play

cards or

we would

watch movies.

Back in the

day we had

a cabinet

of VHS

tapes.

We would

kind of

fight and

discuss until

we could

pick a VHS

tape that we

all agreed on

for that

movie,

you know.

But you

know what?

It was

boring.

It was

very boring.

The only

time I got

to see out,

we were

coming close

to an

island and

I looked

through the

periscope and

I saw land

with palm

trees for

about five

seconds.

It was

awesome.

In 60

days.

Well,

we've all

lived parts

of life

that are

ordinary and

what we

might call

boring or

common or

things like

that.

We've all

experienced

this in

one way

or another.

Does anyone

remember the

commercial

time to

make the

donuts?

Any of you

guys remember

that?

It might have

been Duncan.

This probably

was early

80s,

late 70s.

But this

guy, he

was like

dredging in

early in the

morning.

It's still

dark and

everything.

He's like

going in

time.

It's like

how boring.

He seems

bored.

That was

the first

thing I

thought about.

That's

because I'm

a child

of the

80s.

But anyway,

every moment

of every

day is

not a

ball of

firecrackers

and excitement.

That's not

how we

live.

I think

we would

go crazy

if every

day was

just full

of excitement

nonstop

all the

time.

But there

are important

realities to

the work

that God

has given

us specifically.

There's

important

realities here

that God

has given

us specifically.

And Ezekiel's

work was

truly mundane.

I think

maybe you

would agree

with me on

that.

It was

truly

mundane.

So is

there anything

that we

would have

to complain

about?

Whatever God

gives us,

we're not

laying down

strapped to

the ground

and eating

the way he

ate.

We're not

doing that.

He may

call us

to the

earth,

but thus

far he

has not.

All work

given to

us by God

is significant

work.

Every bit

Christ

church is

work that

God has

given to

us.

Us.

This is

our

work.

I

thought of

this

illustration

that I

want to

share.

Picture a

gold bar

like a,

you know how

you see

the, like a

gold bar,

you know,

it's all

put together

and everything.

And it's

nice, it's

complete, it's

big, you

know, that

kind of

thing.

Imagine

slicing off

just a

little bit

of that

or breaking

off just

a small

piece of

that gold

bar.

And now

on the

table I've

got the

main piece

and I've

got just

a little

piece over

here.

When I

take that

gold, that

small piece,

when I take

that gold off

of the

big bar,

does it

change in

property?

It's still

gold, isn't

it?

It doesn't

become

something else.

It's not

like gold

plated

something.

It's still

gold.

That's the

property.

Is it

worth the

same amount?

If I were

to measure

it out and

get worth

in ounces,

I would

measure that

and I

can weigh

and it

would be

worth not

the same as

the big

one, but

proportionally

it would

be worth

the same

because there's

a number

per ounce.

Make sense?

I think

that sometimes

we can

look at

a church

plant

that comes

off of

a large

church

not as

another

piece of

gold

but as

something

less,

as something

that doesn't

have the

same value,

as something

that isn't

quite as

important,

as something

that's not

quite as

significant,

but it's

still gold.

Spiritually,

it's still

gold.

this is

his

church,

isn't it?

This is

no different.

Jesus is

the head,

we are

the body.

The work

that he

gives

is spiritual

gold

because it's

of him.

It's not

a gold-plated

something,

it's not

someday

this gold

will be

worth

what this

gold,

it's now

worth

the same

thing.

It's not

different,

it's not

less,

it's not

a facsimile

or something

that is

going to

one day

it will be

good like

this,

no,

now,

it is

good like

that.

We are

his bride.

Christ's

church is

his bride.

We must

serve with

excellence

because this

is gold.

gold.

His church

is gold.

We must

serve with

excellence.