1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,800 I'm gonna invite you if you can, we're gonna be reading today out of Genesis 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:09,500 chapter 8. This is now part 3 of our new beginning series looking at the life, the 3 00:00:09,500 --> 00:00:15,360 faith of Noah, particularly in the moments after they enter the ark, stepping 4 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:20,640 into a new world and what this would say to us about our lives today. Genesis 5 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:25,480 chapter 8 and verse 20, if you were not here last Sunday and you did not catch 6 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:30,760 the live stream or the sound cloud or whatever we are, we're on podcasts now 7 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:34,840 with Apple Podcasts and Spotify. I mean we're trying to hit you from every 8 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:38,680 angle we can. Just find one of those things and listen to last Sunday's 9 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:42,680 message because I feel like it was a marquee message for all of our families. 10 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:47,840 Amen. But here we find in verse 20, reading from the new living translation, 11 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:56,280 then Noah built an altar, someone say altar, to the Lord and there he sacrificed 12 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:02,720 as burnt offerings the animals and the birds that had been approved for that 13 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:11,320 purpose and the Lord was pleased with the aroma, it pleased him, of the 14 00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:17,600 sacrifice and said to himself, I will never again curse the ground because 15 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:23,080 of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent 16 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:32,160 toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things. My 17 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:38,760 topic today is build an altar, build an altar. I invite you to pray with me at 18 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:42,640 this time right there where you are. Father, I thank you for your presence that 19 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:48,320 we feel in this place today God. Our gathering this afternoon is not in 20 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:53,720 vain. We've come to lift up your name primarily God but also to encourage one 21 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:59,440 another. We do this Lord in a variety of ways. We do this God with the greetings 22 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:05,640 of one another and the fellowship through the edifying of songs, hymns and 23 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:10,440 spiritual songs God and also the breaking of bread of the word and I pray 24 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:16,200 God that as we go into your word God you would speak to us. God I take authority 25 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:23,840 right now over every spirit, every force, every mind set in attitude that is 26 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:30,520 contrary to the spirit and the word of God and I cast it out in the name of 27 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:37,080 Jesus and I give you Lord permission to speak to your church the way you want to. 28 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:42,760 Touch us God today and anoint my lips. In Jesus name we pray. Everyone say amen. 29 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:50,400 You may be seated in God's presence. Noah is perhaps the Bible's most renowned 30 00:02:50,400 --> 00:03:00,720 builder and the Ark was of course the project that put his name on the map. 31 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:10,320 Cemented his place in history and eventually earned him a spot in the 32 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:17,440 prestigious Hall of Faith which is found in the writings of Hebrews chapter 11 33 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:22,480 detailing all the great acts of faith, men of faith and women of faith throughout 34 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:29,160 the ages. He's on the top of that list. It was his crowning achievement. If he 35 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:38,560 were a painter it was his Mona Lisa. If he were an inventor it was the light bulb. 36 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:46,440 Solstinonymous are he and his boat that upon hearing the name Noah one 37 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:56,120 instantly thinks of the Ark. That's how closely related they are. However the 38 00:03:56,120 --> 00:04:05,280 Ark wasn't the only significant thing that he built in his lifetime. In fact 39 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:15,160 one could argue that what he built after the Ark was as important as the Ark 40 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:25,720 itself. Maybe not as grand, maybe not as famous, maybe not as big but no less 41 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:35,000 valuable to a man who was on a mission from God. Thus before staking his claim 42 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:44,400 in this new world that he had run aground into and before he built new 43 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:54,080 houses and farmland, Noah's first act when he stepped off the Ark was to build 44 00:04:54,080 --> 00:05:05,480 an altar. Someone say amen. A place to consecrate his life and the new destiny 45 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:12,920 that he was embarking upon. And so from the very onset of this new journey that 46 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:19,560 he is on along with his family as I preached on last Sunday all of them as 47 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:26,480 a unit we see a principle that I want to build on this afternoon which is that no 48 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:36,240 step of faith is complete without an altar. I don't care where you go, I don't 49 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:41,960 care what you do, I don't care how successful or notorious or great you 50 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:50,880 become. No step of faith is complete without an altar. If you hope to thrive 51 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:58,880 in the things of God and in the season that you're in you need to build a 52 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:07,080 spiritual altar in your life. And the precedence that Noah sets for us today 53 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:12,960 church is one of great importance because of all the things that he could have 54 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:19,840 occupied himself with in a new world. Think of it, it's like a blank canvas 55 00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:30,240 before him. A brand spanking new world. All the things he could have done. He starts 56 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:35,720 off with the most important thing that we could ever do before you build 57 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:44,200 anything else. Make sure you're building an altar. There are over 400 references to 58 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:50,560 altars in the Bible which makes this a prominent fixture worthy of our 59 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:57,720 consideration. Scripture reveals that every great patriarch of faith was known 60 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:05,400 to build an altar. And these altars staying with animal blood and human 61 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:12,800 tears were more than just places of prayer. More than just places of devotion 62 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:20,520 but places of sacrifice. Aside from Noah, Scripture says that Abraham whom we 63 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:27,840 refer to often as the father of faith built at least four altars throughout 64 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:34,880 his lifetime coinciding with every season of faith that he entered. There's an 65 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:38,080 interesting study there. Maybe I'll preach a series one day just on the 66 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:44,480 altars of Abraham because he didn't build just one but with every season of 67 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:50,680 his life. Every new thing that God did in his life he consecrated that season 68 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:57,760 with an altar. And then his son observing his father's faith also built an 69 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:05,600 altar. Isaac and then his son Jacob built an altar. And down the line Moses built 70 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:16,480 an altar. Amen. Then Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon, Elijah. Are you noticing a 71 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:24,680 pattern here? All these great men of faith were known to be altar builders. 72 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:29,840 And you cannot separate the works of faith, the mighty works through which 73 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:36,640 God did through them from their altar. They are synonymous. They are incomplete 74 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:43,240 without each other. And so if we are to live a life of faith pleasing unto God, a 75 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:48,440 life of victory, a life that Christ calls us to live as his followers, then we 76 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:54,640 also need to understand that no step of faith is complete without an altar. Amen. 77 00:08:54,640 --> 00:09:02,240 So Noah built this altar. He said first things first before we go on with living 78 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:06,960 our lives, before we go on in pursuit of what we want to do and where we want to 79 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:11,680 go and what we want to accomplish. We need to build an altar. So today I came 80 00:09:11,680 --> 00:09:15,800 with a very simple mission today to I want to give you the raw materials to 81 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:20,360 help you understand how to build an altar and what that altar ought to look 82 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:28,040 like in our daily lives. Amen. We need a thriving altar in our lives if we are 83 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:35,560 going to achieve and apprehend the things of God. Building and maintaining your 84 00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:41,280 altar might be the most important battleground in your life because I have 85 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:48,360 come to realize that if the devil could bring our altars into disrepair, if the 86 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:54,400 devil can get between us and our altars, then he can get between us and our 87 00:09:54,400 --> 00:10:02,240 destiny and our future in God. So you better believe that the altar is of 88 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:07,760 utmost importance for us today. And Noah built his for three reasons. The first 89 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:14,760 that I want to mention is to build an altar to show God honor and gratitude. 90 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:25,000 Hallelujah. Noah stepped off the boat and he was overcome with appreciation. 91 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:32,920 Maybe he got emotional. Maybe him and his wife held each other in their arms and 92 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:40,000 shared a moment of reflection to think about where they had come from. Think 93 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:47,880 about the storm and the flood that they had just survived. Think about the 94 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:54,480 goodness of God in their life and how it was that the same flood that wiped out 95 00:10:54,480 --> 00:11:01,880 humanity had served to be their mode of salvation. To think about to hold this 96 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:09,520 moment so precious and so beautiful that they they had to in their minds 97 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:16,480 consider the goodness of God. What is clear is that Noah understood that it 98 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:25,600 was only by the grace of God and the goodness of God that he survived 99 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:34,000 something that others did not survive. Oh, Hallelujah. He fully recognized that 100 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:43,200 if it had not been for the Lord that was on his side, he would have never made it 101 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:52,120 to the other side. Let me tell you why we build our altar today. We build them 102 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:58,720 because we as people of faith and people of God understand that it was not us in 103 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:04,880 our own power and ability and smart and education that brought us to the other 104 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:12,560 side but it was the grace of God and God alone that brought us to where we are 105 00:12:12,560 --> 00:12:19,240 today. We ought to give God a praise right now. I said we ought to give God a 106 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:27,400 praise right now. Oh, thank me to God. Hallelujah. Noah's altar set a 107 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:33,720 precedence of honor and gratitude that would forever change the trajectory of 108 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:39,680 his life and his descendants. He wanted to drive a stake in the ground and said 109 00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:46,600 we are primarily a thankful people, a grateful people. We recognize that we 110 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:54,680 did not get here on our own but we are here by the sheer mercies of God. And so 111 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:59,720 he pauses. And if you study the altars, the great altars in the Old Testament 112 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:04,760 with the succeeding patriarchs, you'll find that they were not merely designated 113 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:10,320 places of prayer. These were not just like a prayer spots where we just kneel 114 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:17,480 and pray. No, they served as physical and spiritual landmarks to the story of 115 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:25,000 what God has done in their lives. These altars served as monuments to help the 116 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:31,360 people of faith and of God. Remember that it was the Lord that had done these 117 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:37,720 mighty works in their life. These altars were built to commemorate life-changing 118 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:44,040 encounters with God. Things that God did for them that they were never to forget. 119 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:51,000 They stood as memorials for the hand of God, such as when Israel crossed over 120 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:56,000 the Jordan and into the land of milk and honey, the land of Canaan. Not only did 121 00:13:56,000 --> 00:14:01,360 they set up these memorial stones in the river, but they also built an altar, an 122 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:06,920 altar that would serve as a reminder of the goodness of God, an altar that 123 00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:12,320 every time the people of God, generation after generation, would come across and 124 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:17,600 see those stones. They would also see a bloodstained altar right next to the 125 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:24,320 stone. Hey, we have got to make sure that we are also handing down altars to our 126 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:30,320 children and to our next generation. We gotta show them what it's all about. 127 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:37,320 It's all about the altar. Hallelujah. Come on, let's give God some thanks right now. 128 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:45,560 Let's give God some praise today. Hallelujah. The altar you build is about 129 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:51,440 honoring and blessing God for getting you here. Let me remind you that you didn't 130 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:56,960 get here because you're smarter than others. I'm gonna say that again. I said 131 00:14:56,960 --> 00:15:00,120 you didn't get here because you're smarter than others. You didn't get here 132 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:05,040 because you're lucky. You didn't get here because you know the right people. You 133 00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:08,680 didn't get here because you've been perfect your whole life. No, you're here. 134 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:12,520 Hear me loud and clear today. My God, cannot preach just like I want to. You're 135 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:20,480 here because God ordained it. Oh, my help somebody right now. I said you're here 136 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:25,800 because God ordained it. If the devil had any word in it, he would have stopped 137 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:33,160 you from ever getting my God. If the devil had a say in it, you wouldn't be 138 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:39,960 sitting where you are today. But the devil is a liar. God ordained for me to be here. 139 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:47,240 And that's why I lift my hands. That's why I lift my voice. That's why I worship him 140 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:53,560 in praise of the day. Hallelujah. You survived things that should have drowned 141 00:15:53,560 --> 00:16:01,440 you. Sin and shame. You survived. Somebody say I survived. Amen. Sickness and 142 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:08,280 injury, heartbreak and affliction, family crisis, financial crisis, mental crisis. 143 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:14,080 You survived layoffs. You survived recessions, pandemics, countless personal 144 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:19,080 tile and tribulations. But I've got a question for you. Have you built an 145 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:28,600 altar of honor and gratitude to God? Did you thank him for preserving you? 146 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:32,840 Hallelujah. And I've got news for you. You don't have to like they did in the 147 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:36,640 Old Testament. You don't have to kill any animals. Amen. Unless you're gonna eat 148 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:43,960 them. Praise God. Peter said, Lord, tell them rise and kill. Amen. But you don't 149 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:49,920 gotta kill any animals. You know what you gotta kill this flesh. Oh, my God. You 150 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:54,040 gotta kill this flesh. You don't gotta kill any animals. The Bible says in 151 00:16:54,040 --> 00:17:00,800 Hebrews 13 and verse 15, therefore, by him, let us continually offer the 152 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:06,920 sacrifice of praise to God. That is the fruit of our lips. Giving thanks to his 153 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:11,800 name. So how do I thank him? You don't gotta slay any animals today. You just 154 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:17,280 gotta slay this flesh. Open up your mouth and say thanks. Be the God for 155 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:22,480 everything that you have done for me. I will bless you, Lord. Come on, people of 156 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:28,640 God. That's how we do. We do with our lips. We do with praise. You don't have to 157 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:35,440 wait for Thanksgiving Day to be thankful. Praise him while you can. That's what I 158 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:43,280 say. And so Noah steps into a new world. A new destiny. And he says, no, we just 159 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:49,400 can't go on living life. And no, lest we repeat the mistakes of humanity past, 160 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:55,640 lest we repeat the mistakes of the pre flood civilization. We have got to set 161 00:17:55,640 --> 00:18:00,800 things in spiritual order and we've got to let this brand new world know that God, 162 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:10,360 this is God's territory. Have you marked your territory for God? Have you marked 163 00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:17,800 your living rooms for God? Have you marked your car for God? Oh, my Lord, have you 164 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:24,720 let everything know around you that this is the praise zone right here? This is a 165 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:30,720 praise zone right here. Noah steps foot into this new world and he builds an 166 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:37,040 altar first to give glory and honor to God. And secondly, you build an altar to 167 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:50,480 sacrifice for a new season. Noah stepped into a newly baptized earth, which Bible 168 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:56,120 students you will know and you will learn that this portrays a new birth 169 00:18:56,120 --> 00:19:01,880 experience in Christ. You see, what happened with Noah and the new earth is a 170 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:09,240 picture of what new life in Christ looks like. It is a foreshadowing of you and I 171 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:15,880 being covered like the world was in Noah's time with water coming out new. We 172 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:19,800 were baptized, if you were baptized in water in Jesus' name, that you were very 173 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:26,560 much like the earth was in Noah's time. Amen. In the words of Paul, therefore, and 174 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:34,480 second Corinthians 517, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. 175 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:42,800 Old things have passed away. Behold, all things. Someone say all things. Say it 176 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:52,080 again. All things have become new. He said, old things have passed away. I want 177 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:56,160 you to think about just for a moment, what are those old things? You see, old 178 00:19:56,160 --> 00:20:03,200 things here is not just a term for the old nature or the sinful nature. That is 179 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:09,760 at the root of it, but old things here represents anything that God wants to 180 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:19,120 replace with something new. How many of you like new stuff? Oh, come on now. I said, 181 00:20:19,120 --> 00:20:26,480 how many of you like new stuff? Yeah, I like new stuff. I like new stuff. 182 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:32,280 Sometimes when you get something new, you don't want to touch it, right? You get a 183 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:36,640 new pair of shoes. I don't want any creases in there. You know, I don't want 184 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:42,720 to, when it's new, it's like, man, we like new stuff. Get something new. And then 185 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:47,120 once it's no longer new, it's like, okay, but we like new stuff. New opportunities. 186 00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:53,120 Amen. New business. New relationships. 187 00:20:56,120 --> 00:21:00,680 I don't know where you all went with that one. I just, you know, we can keep doing 188 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:06,320 this all day if you want. Hallelujah. Amen. New seasons. Let's get back to this 189 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:13,360 book. New seasons. New thing. I like new. However, you got to understand that 190 00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:17,920 every new, and I'm not just talking about like, like a new material thing. I thought 191 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:26,120 every new thing that God does requires a new cost. With every new season comes a 192 00:21:26,120 --> 00:21:34,880 cost. There's a price that has to be paid. Oh, hallelujah. Noah knew that whatever 193 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:44,360 he sacrificed and offered before the flood was for that season. Now, this is 194 00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:50,640 conjecture, but I suppose that this was not Noah's first altar. The Bible says 195 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:55,240 that he walked with God for all those hundreds of years prior to the art. He 196 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:59,240 walked with, he had a relationship with God. So if you would allow me some 197 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:03,200 license, creative license here, I've got to think that he had to be an altar 198 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:10,080 builder even back then. He walked with God. He knew how to please God. And Noah 199 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:16,520 understood that whatever he built for God, whatever altar existed for God in 200 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:24,240 that season was for that season. But now God has brought me into a new season. He's 201 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:30,400 brought me into a new destiny, into a new place. And he understood that the further 202 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:39,800 in God you go, the more he requires. Not the less brother and sister, but more. 203 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:44,520 Someone say more. Yeah, you should have praised God when you had the chance. 204 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:52,240 Because now I'm talking about more. In other words, let me put it to you this way. 205 00:22:52,240 --> 00:23:01,840 Your level of sacrifice should rise with your level of faith. You should never 206 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:11,880 let your success get bigger than your altar. Oh man. You should never let where 207 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:17,080 God's taking you. I don't care how big the door is. You better be taking a new 208 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:25,720 altar with you. I pray that my success, no matter what it is, never overshadows 209 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:36,280 my altar. That my platform never gets bigger than my altar. God, whatever space, 210 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:44,080 whatever rooms God allows me to enter, that I still know there's an altar that 211 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:53,720 needs to burn for him. And no, Noah did not just offer up theoretical offerings, 212 00:23:53,720 --> 00:24:00,560 mystical offerings. He offered up something of real value and substance. 213 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:05,320 Remember all the animals that he had on the Ark? Right? God said fill up the 214 00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:11,080 fill up the Ark with all these animals. You have to excuse the way my mind works. 215 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:16,840 But I'm thinking man, what would it like to be one of those animals? You just 216 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:22,320 survived a worldwide flood. Everyone's getting used to the new world. Like man, 217 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:27,000 I can't wait to the place I'm gonna fly, the things I'm gonna do, and then Noah 218 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:33,760 looks over that said, not so fast little guy. That's messed up. That little guy was 219 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:38,520 getting ready to start a new life and he found out he's about to be barbecued for 220 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:49,440 the Lord. I like to have fun when I read the scriptures and my mind was thinking 221 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:55,600 about those poor guys, man. But here's the thing, it had to have hurt Noah as well. 222 00:24:55,600 --> 00:25:00,560 He had a relationship with all these animals. He was the zookeeper, if you 223 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:09,360 will, feeding them, taking care of them, nurturing them, calming them when the 224 00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:16,520 storm was raging. He was for all intents and purposes like a father to all of 225 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:21,520 these creatures. He cared for them. They were under his responsibility, under his 226 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:28,760 care, almost like members of his own family. So when the Lord says, okay, now I 227 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:35,320 need you to take from some of those flocks, those precious birds. Hopefully he 228 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:42,280 didn't name them yet. I need you to take those and offer something of value unto 229 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:48,560 me. Because in order for this to be a sacrifice, Noah, it's got to hurt you a 230 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:56,600 little bit. My God. It's got to hurt you. And his whole life was affected by this. 231 00:25:56,600 --> 00:26:02,600 And we see a New Testament reality in Romans chapter one, or excuse me, chapter 232 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:08,360 12 and verse one, that we are to by the mercies of God. Who, my Lord, present your 233 00:26:08,360 --> 00:26:16,920 bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable 234 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:25,800 service. He said, present your body, someone say my body. This 235 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:34,960 encompasses everything about our lives. It's everything. It's not just the parts 236 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:42,120 that we want to give. We have a habit of only offering God what's comfortable. Only 237 00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:51,400 certain parts and not, but that's not a sacrifice. Amen, somebody. Is this okay? 238 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:56,640 I'm just preaching for a little bit more. Amen. So let me ask you a question today. 239 00:26:56,640 --> 00:27:09,040 What qualifies as a sacrifice? What makes a sacrifice a sacrifice? I feel like we 240 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:15,360 could be talking about two different things right now. When we hear sacrifice, 241 00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:22,080 what does that even mean? Let me tell you what it is. A sacrifice is something 242 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:37,440 that hurts or is significant to you. It's something that you feel when you give it. 243 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:47,400 Whether it's physical, spiritual, financial, every aspect of our life, listen to the 244 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:54,240 words of David. David was an Old Testament soul with the New Testament 245 00:27:54,240 --> 00:28:01,200 revelation because watch what he says in Psalms 51 17. The sacrifices of God. This 246 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:06,480 is a man who lived during the period of animal sacrifice and yet he says, are a 247 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:13,680 broken spirit. Someone say broken, a broken and a contrite heart. These, oh God, you 248 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:20,680 will not despise. So listen, when it stops breaking you in some way is when 249 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:30,240 it stops being a sacrifice. Oh my God, because then, you know what ends up 250 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:39,120 happening? It becomes just another thing on a long list of other things. 251 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:47,600 Sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. How do I know that it's a sacrifice? 252 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:55,840 Brother David, when it breaks me. Oh my Lord, this is going to separate some of 253 00:28:55,840 --> 00:29:00,560 the things we think are sacrifices versus what actually is a sacrifice because if 254 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:06,000 it doesn't affect me, if I don't feel it, if it doesn't touch me in some way, if 255 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:11,280 it's not significant, if it doesn't hurt, then it's not a sacrifice. And I've come 256 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:16,040 to a place in my life in my walk with God. I don't want to praise him and I don't 257 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:19,840 want to offer up God praise or thanksgiving or offering or anything else I 258 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:24,280 can give and it be just another thing. I don't want coming to church to just be 259 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:27,600 another day of the week, brother. I don't want Sunday to just be like Monday and 260 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:32,360 Tuesday. I want it to be a sacrifice. You don't think there's other places that I 261 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:36,160 can be right now on a Sunday afternoon? My goodness, the weather's beautiful. We 262 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:39,480 can be a lot of places doing a lot of different things. It's got to be a 263 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:43,960 sacrifice and I don't want the things of God to be treated like every other 264 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:48,240 thing. I don't want to treat my giving like it's just another bill. I don't want 265 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:53,960 to treat my praise and give God the same level of praise like I give to the 266 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:58,640 Golden State Warriors or to the San Francisco. Oh, come on now. If you can 267 00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:04,160 shout for those things and you can lay your bow, my God, sacrifice your flesh 268 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:11,480 for those things, then surely you can do it for the name of the Lord. Come on now, 269 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:17,520 somebody. I wonder if there's somebody right now that can give God a sacrifice 270 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:24,520 or praise. Hallelujah. Come on, give Him a hallelujah. Give Him a praise. 271 00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:35,120 It hurts. And so the Lord is convicting, Holy Ghost is convicting all of us today, 272 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:41,120 me included, and the big question that I am to ask you and is this, and this is 273 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:46,000 the question, this is the question is that, is what you are offering? Hear me, 274 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:50,520 this is good. It's not on the screen, so pay attention. Is what you are offering 275 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:59,040 consistent with what God has done for you and what you're still expecting Him to 276 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:05,640 do? The question is so good, I'm going to ask it again. Is what you are offering 277 00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:14,720 consistent with what God has done for you? Don't tell me, well I think it's a lot. 278 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:19,160 No, don't compare your offering to mine. Don't compare your sacrifice to mine. 279 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:28,920 It's all relative to what God has done for you. Oh my God. And if the answer to 280 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:34,800 that question is no, then this is where the Holy Ghost is now leading us to a 281 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:41,000 place to an altar where we say, now it's time for me to level up my sacrifice to 282 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:45,000 the level that I, because God's been letting us get away with some things, 283 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:51,160 you know. We've been living on house money for a little bit. We've been 284 00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:56,800 living off yesterday's sacrifices. Oh God, hallelujah, it's getting quiet now. 285 00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:00,280 We've been living off yesterday's blessing, living off yesterday's, hey, 286 00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:08,200 that was for yesterday. What about today? This is the day that the Lord has made. 287 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:16,600 Someone say amen today. So I pray that my ministry, that my life, my success, never 288 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:24,520 outgrows my altar. My altar needs to grow in proportion to whatever God is doing 289 00:32:24,520 --> 00:32:32,840 in my life, if not greater. I don't want to preach better than I can pray. 290 00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:40,280 Never get to a place where you can play, sing better than your altar. Serve 291 00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:43,160 better than your altar because you can fool people for a while, but you can't 292 00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:48,880 fool God. So I know your altar. I've seen your altar. You got some cobwebs on 293 00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:57,160 there boy. It is stained in the blood. There's no fresh blood on that altar. I'm 294 00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:01,160 almost done. I'm gonna end with this final point as to why. 295 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:12,680 Noah built the altar. He did it to change the course of the future. Amen. 296 00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:23,520 Noah, after he built his altar and made his sacrifice, God was pleased with it. 297 00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:34,200 He smelled the aroma of the worship and the sacrifice that he gave. And watch 298 00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:40,040 what God does in response. If you want to get God's attention, offer him a worthy 299 00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:45,200 sacrifice. If you don't believe me, not just this story, read what happened when 300 00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:50,360 Solomon offered thousands of burnt offerings to the Lord. Oh God said boy, 301 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:56,720 he brought him a blink check. Anything you want, man. I got you. Imagine 302 00:33:56,720 --> 00:34:00,840 God saying that to you. You tell me what you want. It's yours. He asked for wisdom. 303 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:07,360 He's a better man than me. Just give me wisdom. I pray that I could be like that. 304 00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:14,520 But the Lord said, you gave Jesus whatever you want. It's yours. Here is now Noah 305 00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:19,960 offering up this burnt sacrifice to the Lord. And the Lord said, man, 306 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:25,880 when you offer up God the kind of sacrifice that Noah did, God's like, he 307 00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:31,680 looks at you and is like, man, how can I bless him? He's looking for a way. How 308 00:34:31,680 --> 00:34:37,200 many of you would like God to be looking for a way to bless you? Like, I want to 309 00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:42,680 bless you so good that you didn't even pray for what I'm doing for you right 310 00:34:42,680 --> 00:34:51,160 now. Oh my God. The other player, I'm going to invite you on up. I'm going to 311 00:34:51,160 --> 00:34:57,720 bless you so because where in the Bible did Noah pray, God, please don't ever 312 00:34:57,720 --> 00:35:02,720 curse the ground again. Please don't ever. We don't read that. He said any of 313 00:35:02,720 --> 00:35:08,280 that. And yet in verse 21, the Lord said, you know, I am in such a mood right now. 314 00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:12,760 This is what I'm going to do for you, Noah, and for your generation and for 315 00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:18,840 your descendant. I will never again curse the ground because of the human race. 316 00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:27,080 And he said, I'll never again do it. Someone say never again. Man, I was reading 317 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:30,520 those words this week. I was meditating on them, brother. And I just said, never. 318 00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:35,000 I don't know. I just couldn't get past those words. And the more I read, never 319 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:39,480 again. I will know. You know, there are some things that once you get past, God 320 00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:45,320 said, I'm never going to take you through that again. Oh, some. I got about 10% of 321 00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:51,960 you believe what I just said right now. Oh, there are some trials, brother, that 322 00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:58,200 once you pass the test, you don't have to take that test again. 323 00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:06,120 Oh, he told Noah, he said, he said, look, I'm going to give you a deal. You can't make 324 00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:10,200 you an offer. You can't refuse. Noah, I'm going to bless you so good. You're never 325 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:13,320 going to have to go through one of these again. I don't know about you, but there's 326 00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:19,240 some things I don't ever want to go through. Can I get an amen out there? I don't have. 327 00:36:19,240 --> 00:36:21,800 I know what it's like to be in certain places. I know what it's like to be 328 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:25,240 without. I know it's like to be hurt. I don't ever want to go through that again. 329 00:36:25,240 --> 00:36:29,320 Unless God is absolutely or danger. I don't want to ever. And there are some 330 00:36:29,320 --> 00:36:33,880 tests and it's like school. It's like school. You only have to retake the test 331 00:36:33,880 --> 00:36:40,680 that you failed. If you keep retaking the same test, honey, it's probably because 332 00:36:40,680 --> 00:36:44,840 you're not learning whatever it is that God wants you to know. 333 00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:47,800 Because God's not like that. God just, you know, he not just putting you through 334 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:52,040 stuff just for the fun of it. It's to develop you. It's to teach you something. 335 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:56,520 It's to show you something about him. 336 00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:59,960 You only retake those things you didn't learn. 337 00:36:59,960 --> 00:37:04,680 Jesus. But once you pass certain tests of faith, 338 00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:10,920 once you graduate like Noah did, hallelujah, then you get to this place of 339 00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:13,800 life where God said, I'm not saying life's going to get easy. 340 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:17,240 Because as you continue to read his story, Noah's story, 341 00:37:17,240 --> 00:37:22,440 life didn't, it wasn't easy. The world was new, but it wasn't perfect. 342 00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:25,960 There were still challenges that he had to deal with in his family and 343 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:32,440 all sorts of things. But listen, he never had to go through that again. 344 00:37:32,440 --> 00:37:36,440 And the next level for Noah looked totally different than his past. 345 00:37:36,440 --> 00:37:39,800 What's with the Lord continue to say in verse 22, I might help you out one more. 346 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:42,680 Man, I got just a few more last minute things to give you here. 347 00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:46,440 Verse 22, as long as the earth remains, what's what he tells them? 348 00:37:46,440 --> 00:37:49,800 There will be planting and harvest. Come back next week because I'm going to preach 349 00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:53,240 on that one right there. Oh my God, I'm excited about that one. 350 00:37:53,240 --> 00:38:00,280 There will be planting and harvest. Cold and heat, summer and winter, day and 351 00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:02,920 night. What did God mean by all of this? He's 352 00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:07,160 telling Noah, he said, Noah, I'm about ready to set some things in 353 00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:11,000 motion. I'm about ready to start some cycles 354 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:15,080 in your life that nothing is going to be able to break. 355 00:38:15,080 --> 00:38:21,080 I'm going to set some patterns of blessing, some things that you can bank on. 356 00:38:21,080 --> 00:38:25,880 So that as you step foot into a new beginning, as you step foot into a new 357 00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:30,520 life, Noah, you're going to know that you can depend on me, that my word is 358 00:38:30,520 --> 00:38:34,200 true, that what I said I'm going to do, I'm going to do it. And you can take that 359 00:38:34,200 --> 00:38:39,000 all the way to the bank, Noah. I invite you to stand with me at this time, 360 00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:45,160 church. Oh, hallelujah. Now obviously this impacted the 361 00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:49,560 earth's environment, right? It impacted everything. 362 00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:53,000 It changed the climate of the earth. God said, I'm going to set these things in 363 00:38:53,000 --> 00:39:00,840 order. Planting, harvest, cold and heat. 364 00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:05,800 I'm going to set the seasons in order. I'm going to set the cycles in order. 365 00:39:05,800 --> 00:39:13,320 God's a god of cycles. Oh, I said the Lord is the god of cycles. 366 00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:17,320 He's a god of seasons for every time. 367 00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:21,880 There's a season, a time for everything under God. 368 00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:24,600 God's a god of season, God's a god of cycles. And he's, I'm going to set these 369 00:39:24,600 --> 00:39:27,400 things in order. Now why did God do all of that? 370 00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:34,360 I'll tell you why. So that when Noah starts to plant for his family, 371 00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:39,720 the most important thing that a farmer needs is stability in the environment. 372 00:39:39,720 --> 00:39:47,400 To know that what I plant in the spring, what I plant in the summer, 373 00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:52,120 will produce a harvest in the fall. 374 00:39:52,120 --> 00:39:58,440 God was giving Noah stability. Someone say stability. 375 00:39:58,440 --> 00:40:01,480 I'm going to bring, I feel this in the Holy Ghost right now. 376 00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:05,000 God is telling somebody today, I say this prophetic, I'm going to bring you 377 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:09,160 into a stable place. 378 00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:14,440 I'm going to bring you into greater stability 379 00:40:14,440 --> 00:40:21,080 so that you can plant with confidence, so that you can serve with assurance, 380 00:40:21,080 --> 00:40:25,000 so that you can move forward with faith knowing 381 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:31,640 Noah that what you sow, you shall also reap. 382 00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:38,360 Knowing Noah that I've got you and I'm going to take care of you. 383 00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:44,840 I've come to tell somebody today that if you will build a real altar prayer in 384 00:40:44,840 --> 00:40:49,480 your life, a real altar of sacrifice, 385 00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:53,800 I feel the Holy Ghost. In fact, right there where you are, 386 00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:57,320 would you just begin to pray? I feel something happening right now. 387 00:40:57,320 --> 00:41:03,720 Come on, I'm inviting somebody right now to pray. 388 00:41:03,720 --> 00:41:09,720 I'm inviting you to pray here with me right now. 389 00:41:09,720 --> 00:41:15,640 Oh, come on, tap it to the Holy Ghost right there where you are. 390 00:41:15,640 --> 00:41:21,960 Tap it to the Holy Ghost right there where you are. 391 00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:29,000 Oh, if you don't build an altar, nothing else you build is going to stand. 392 00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:32,440 You got to have that place of consecration. 393 00:41:32,440 --> 00:41:37,800 You got to have that place of sacrifice. You got to have that place 394 00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:47,480 that belongs to God and put your whole life on that altar 395 00:41:47,480 --> 00:41:55,880 and burn for Jesus, God, and burn for God.