The three tabernacles of God: sermon outline

There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands. Hebrews 8:2

Introduction:

God has always wanted to be with His people.
The true Tabernacle is in heaven, and it was built by the Lord, not by human hands (Heb 8:1-2).
Three tabernacles: the tent in the desert, you and the New Jerusalem. Along the way, a temporary reign.

1. The first tabernacle: the tent of Moses. There God dwelt (Exod 25:8).

First it was a tent just for Moses, "outside the camp": "Everyone who wanted to make a request of the Lord would go to the Tent of Meeting" (Exod 33:7). But God wanted to be with the people.
Why was it made? "so I can live among them" (Exod 25:8). What was it for? "I will meet with you there and talk to you" (Exod 25:22).
Everything "exactly according to the pattern I will show you" (Exod 25:9). The One who makes a tabernacle for God to dwell in is God Himself.
It was temporary. In Eli's day, "the Ark of God was captured" (1 Sam 4:11), and almost 500 years after Egypt the tent gave way to the Temple (1 Kings 6:1).

2. The second tabernacle: you. In you the Holy Spirit dwells (1 Cor 3:16).

Your body is "this earthly tent we live in" (2 Cor 5:1). You are the tabernacle.
"Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?" (1 Cor 3:16).
The tabernacle had three parts, and so do you: "your whole spirit and soul and body" (1 Thess 5:23).
The outer court is the body: everyone sees it. The inner court is the soul: only a few know it. The Holy of Holies is the spirit: there God dwells.

3. The millennium: a temporary reign before eternity (Rev 20:6).

Those who share in the first resurrection "will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years" (Rev 20:6).
A thousand years is not the end yet. Then come the judgment of the nations and the "great white throne" (Rev 20:11).

4. The third tabernacle: the New Jerusalem. There the Trinity will dwell with us (Rev 21:3).

"Look, God's home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people" (Rev 21:3).
The city "shone with the glory of God" (Rev 21:11).
God is not in a temple in the city; He is the temple: "the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple" (Rev 21:22).
On the gates, "the names of the twelve tribes of Israel" (Rev 21:12); on the foundations, "the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Rev 21:14). Israel and the Church in the same city.

Conclusion:

Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? 1 Corinthians 6:19

In the tent, God dwelt. In you, He dwells. In the New Jerusalem, He will dwell with us forever.
Today, the tabernacle is you.
What does God find in the Holy of Holies of your life?