| Hebrews 9:1-4 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. The tabernacle in the Old Testament time had two parts - The Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The Holy Place had lampstand and consecrated bread, and the Most Holy Place had a golden altar of incense and God's ark of the covenant. The items in the tabernacle had different significance. First, the consecrated bread represents redemption by the Lord. When Jesus Christ established the Holy Communion, He used his own body as an analogy. His body was the bread, and He died on the cross for us as if His body was broken apart for us. When the bread was torn apart, it was broken for us, which symbolizes how our relationship with God is restored. This is the grace of the Lord, the great work of redemption that the Lord accomplished for us on the cross. Next, the lampstand represents the presence of God. The authority of darkness has overshadowed our hearts, particularly in our time. Nevertheless, if a lamp is lit up in the darkness, its light will cast out darkness. This is a simple principle - God is the true light, and when God enters this world of darkness, the authority of darkness is cast out. The church is not just a place where people congregate or has lots of activities, but it really needs God's presence. Today, the church often focuses on the activities that attract people to come, but what will actually attract people is the presence of God. The world has plenty of activities that are attractive, so how is the church different from them? Isn't it the presence of God? When people enter the tabernacle of God, they will see God's presence, fall down before God and acknowledge that God is among us. The lampstand represents how God's presence will manifest among us. Third, the golden altar of incense represents our prayer before God. Tabernacle is the place where God and people meet. Not only will people speak to God, God will also speak to people. Every single prayer that we make before God is heard by Him, and God's grace can come upon us through prayer. Therefore, we can indeed come before God without any fear. The most precious thing in the New Testament era is that the tabernacle is already inside us - We don't need to go very far, but we can just come to God's tabernacle every day to meet the true God who lives inside us and receive grace from Him. That is so precious to know!
Pray with Pastor Tong Liu 
Lord, I thank you because we have such abundant grace in the New Testament era, but your grace can directly enter our lives. Please help us to not still live in the Old Testament era, but to move on to the New Testament era, so that we can enjoy your redemption, your presence, and your grace that comes upon us through our prayer. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!
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