Thank you. Greetings, friends. In Genesis chapter thirty-one and verse three, we read another great I am of Scripture, where God reveals some of his character, some of his characteristics, we might say, so that man on earth would have some idea of God. For we cannot describe deity, we do not have the knowledge to describe deity. But God has given us throughout the Bible some of his characteristics. We read that no man can see God at any time and live. So it's impossible for us to describe deity. But in Genesis chapter thirty-one and verse thirteen, we read another of the great I Am. I am the God of Bethel, B-E-T-H-E-L. And this is a place where Jacob, when he was fleeing from his brother Esau, built, put stones together, and used a stone for a pillow. There's where he had the vision. As he slept, he dreamed, and he saw a ladder that reached unto heaven. And the angels of God were ascending, they were going up, and they were descending, coming down. And then God spoke to him from the top of the ladder in heaven. And Jacob realized when he awoke that, and he said, this is none other than the house of God. God was there. And now God says in Genesis chapter thirty-one and verse thirteen, I am the God of Bethel. where thou anointest the pillar, and where thou vowest a vow unto me, now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred. Jacob was over with Laban, and he had there worked fourteen years, his two wives, and so on, and God is saying, now, to leave that land and get back to the land of his nativity, back to his land where... His kindred were where he was born. But he says to Jacob, I am the God of Bethel. Jacob made a vow. If the Lord would prosper his way and bring him back, what he would do for God if he could get back home. But the thought we wish to emphasize today is, I am the God of Bethel. Bethel, meaning the house of God. or where God's presence dwells in a special manner. For God is omnipresent, He is everywhere. Therefore, there isn't any spot where God is not. This, of course, is another reason why we can't understand deity. God is omnipresent. He is everywhere at the same time. But there's special spots. in the Bible where God, especially there, we read. When the offerings were made in the Old Testament, God accepted the offerings. He was present to accept the offerings, only if they pleased Him, and they pleased Him only if they were carried out and conducted in accordance with His directions. We read that he had pleasure in the offering of Abel, but he had not pleasure in the offering of Cain. So Cain and his offering were rejected, whereas Abel and his offering were accepted. So we have the House of God and a special place where his presence and honor dwells. This was true in a tabernacle when he overshadowed the place and filled it with his presence. And then there was a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The same was true when the temple Solomon built was open. The presence of God filled the place. But now when you, these are pictures, these are shadows, and these are examples of what God had in mind. For the day and age in which you and I are privileged and blessed to be in, the church he read. Because we read in the New Testament about the church, that is, the body of Christ, the Corpus Christi, the mystical body of Christ on earth today, which is composed of every true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. They form a special place in the... in the presence of God, and they are God's presence especially manifested, and they are a spiritual building. We read that every true believer is a part of that building, of that church, which is his mystical body on earth. This is... brought out very clearly in the New Testament. In the ninth verse of the first Testament of Corinthians in chapter three we read, For we are labors together with God. Ye are God's husbandry. Ye are God's building. Hear the church, the individual men and women. believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Christians at Corinth, they are cited here as God's building, not the stone and the wood and the mortar and the paint, but the individuals themselves are here spoken of as the building, the building for God to occupy. Then we get a further explanation or clarification. In Ephesians chapter two and verse nineteen, where the Holy Spirit of God records, Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, these were the Ephesian Christians, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God. The whole group is one of the household of God, no matter who they are, but further, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone built upon him. Now notice, in whom all the buildings fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the lawn, in whom ye also are built together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit. This teaches that each individual who trusts the Savior and believes in him for the salvation of their souls, they become a part of the Church of God. And the Church of God is likened unto a building in which God dwells, and a habitation of God. The whole building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord. Here is the mystical body and building of Christ. The body... of each individual, the person of each individual, forms a part of that great and mystical body, the church, and then it's likened to a building in which God dwells, a building where people would congregate if it were an actual building, but here the individuals themselves form the building. You build it together, swiftly framed together, growth unto an holy temple in the Lord. This is a matter of the Scriptures that's not often emphasized. But nevertheless, this is the true statement of Holy Scripture. And then to further emphasize the fact that This building is a building of human beings. We have in the Epistle of Peter the First Epistle and Chapter Two. We read this, ye also, as lively stones, living stones, are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. What is this? Living stones, a building of living stones. That's the church. That's the mystical body of Christ on earth. This is the house of God now, not necessarily that that's made of stone and brick and mortar and lumber. No. But God see, the church has built of living stones, individual Christians born again. saved by the grace of God. Oh, my friend, it is a wonderful experience. It is a tremendous worth and value and satisfaction to come as a guilty sinner by faith and accept the Lord Jesus Christ, realizing that he died on the cross and paid your penalty and judgment, bore the judgment due to you and me. And he asked us to receive him now, to accept him, as our Savior, that we might have these blessings, that we might become a part of the church, the body of Christ, the mystical body, that building, which is for him to dwell in forevermore. Father, we thank thee for thy great plan, for the... for mankind. We thank thee for the gospel message that's free, that salvation is free to the whosoever will. We pray again for our president. We pray for our country, for our government. We pray for the cabinet, the Congress, and the courts. We pray for the governors of every state. We pray, Lord, for each individual, not only of our country, but around the world, the nations of earth. For only thee and thee alone can handle all of this. We ask thy blessing that soles may trust the Savior, and build it into that mystical body of Christ. We pray, in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.