Today orthodox Christians can be divided into three main groups: one group focuses on the tabernacle, another group focuses on the altar, and yet another group focuses on the Ark. However, there are not many who pay attention to the Ark.
One brother told us recently that fifty young people from the United States suddenly volunteered to go to Japan to preach the gospel. These young people were paying attention to the altar. Another youth organization came to Taiwan several times as well. At the most, their work was related to the altar. They tried to bring people to the Lord by playing basketball. However, if people can be brought to the Lord by playing basketball, it is also possible that people can be brought away from the Lord by playing basketball.
Preaching the gospel by playing basketball can bring a Christian only to the altar; it can never bring a Christian to the experience of the Ark. We dare not say that no one can be saved through this kind of basketball gospel preaching, but one thing is certain—we can rarely find anyone who is saved in this way who is willing to forsake the world, bear the cross, take the Lord’s life as his life, and follow the Lord to walk in the way of the cross. This is the meaning of having the altar without the Ark.
Today there are many mission boards that preach the gospel zealously; however, they do not have the tabernacle and the Ark. They have only the altar. We humble ourselves before the Lord and say that we absolutely do not have the intention of criticizing others. We need to speak of these examples because we want to help everyone understand the Lord’s way.
In her proper condition the church should have the tabernacle, the altar, and the Ark at the same time. In other words, she should have the church, the redemption of the cross, and the glorious Christ as her center. We should have all three at the same time, and we should stress them equally. We should not ignore or overemphasize any one of them. On the island of Taiwan, especially in the church in Taipei, there is no problem concerning the tabernacle, and the matter of the altar is adequate. However, the matter of the Ark concerns us very much. I hope that everyone who has an ear to hear would be able to open his heart and spirit for the sake of the Ark. We should never despise the Lord’s gospel, and we should exalt the Lord’s redemption in order to make the bronze altar brightly shine. Moreover, we should never despise the matters related to the church, such as our coordination in the service and our meeting and worship together, but we must pay attention to Christ as our center and reality.
History shows that when God’s children are in desolation and confusion, there is a danger that many with a heart for God will focus only on the tabernacle and the altar and ignore the Ark, which is the desire of God’s heart. This is the reason we want to help the brothers and sisters to know the Ark—Christ. This does not mean that we despise the tabernacle and the altar. Instead, it means that the reality depends upon having the Ark, Christ, as our center and life.
In conclusion, there are three major points in this message. May the Holy Spirit enlighten us to see that when God’s children are in desolation and when God’s testimony is affected by man, we must pay attention to these three things simultaneously: the tabernacle, the altar, and the Ark. According to typology, we must focus on the matter of the church, the matter of redemption, and the matter of Christ as life at the same time.
If we consider the condition of the churches in the localities today, we are satisfactory in respect to the tabernacle and the altar, but we are very short in respect to the Ark. This means that the churches do not have any problem with the outward form of the church and the redemption of Christ, but their knowledge of Christ is poor and inadequate. May the Lord have mercy on us so that we would know Christ more, have the Ark as our center, and not despise the matter of the church with its coordination and service. Furthermore, we should not despise the Lord’s redemption on the cross and His gospel. We must preach the gospel everywhere, help people to believe in the Lord, and help people to gain Christ as their life. We should not have any bias; instead, we should pay equal attention to the tabernacle, the altar, and the Ark.