Building An Altar Of Worship- Lesson 3 Isaac Built An Altar

Genesis 26:1 There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar. 2 Then the LORD appeared to him and said: "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 "Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 "And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 "because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."

Abraham was Isaac’s father; Isaac was the promised son that Abraham had waited twenty-five years for.  Now Abraham had died; would Isaac be a builder of altars like his father before him?  God speaks to Isaac and reminds him of the covenant God planned on keeping with him.  Verse 5 is so interesting, “because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My change, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.  What commandments, what statutes, and what laws.  The law had not yet been given, how did Abraham know so much about the expectation and laws of God.  Abraham was a man who kept building altars of worship.  Whenever Abraham worshipped he would hear a word from God.  Abraham lived chasing relationship with God.

Genesis 26:6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, "She [is] my sister"; for he was afraid to say, "[She is] my wife," [because he thought], "lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she [is] beautiful to behold." 8 Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, "Quite obviously she [is] your wife; so how could you say, 'She [is] my sister'?" Isaac said to him, "Because I said, 'Lest I die on account of her.' " 10 And Abimelech said, "What [is] this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us." 11 So Abimelech charged all [his] people, saying, "He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death." 12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him.

Isaac made the same mistakes that his father did.  He called his wife his sister to ensure his own safety.  Yet like his father, God blessed him even in the middle of his own stupidity.   Isaac was not blessed because he possessed perfect performance before God.  Isaac was blessed because he was a man of covenant with the one true God.  Then Isaac sowed in the land that year and received a hundredfold; the Lord indeed blessed him.  Yet it was obedience that lead to his blessing.  When God told him not to go down to Egypt he obeyed.  Imagine a hundredfold blessing; He is the same God today.  Although Isaac did not have perfect performance his heart was still chasing after God.

Genesis 26:13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. 15 Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we." 17 Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them.

Isaac blessings got so big his enemies became fearful of him.  It was because Isaac was a man of covenant and blessing were following him.  His enemies begin to stop up the wells of blessing because they envied him.  You start walking from the covenant of blessing the enemy will not want to hang out with you anymore.  They sent Isaac away from their land.

Genesis 26:19 Also Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, "The water [is] ours." So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that [one] also. So he called its name Sitnah. 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, "For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land."

Everywhere that Isaac went he would dig a well and find water.  Blessing would spring up and the enemies around would say, that not your blessing.  He moved on and built another well; the enemy again quarreled with him and said Isaac not your well.  So Isaac dug yet another well and no quarrel broke out.  This indeed was Isaac encouraging himself in the Lord; “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

Genesis 26:23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, "I [am] the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I [am] with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham's sake." 25 So he built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well. 26 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol the commander of his army. 27 And Isaac said to them, "Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?"

After he encouraged himself in the covenant of promise he moved to Beersheba.  This was familiar ground to Isaac.  This place of oath was where Abraham was commanded to sacrifice Isaac and it is where Abraham returned and lived when God had made Himself known as Jehovah Jireh (God provides).  When Isaac gets there God appears to him that same night.  The word of oath is reconfirmed.  Verse 25 Isaac built an altar and called on the name of the LORD.   Yes, Isaac had followed with some of the errors of his father; yet he too learned to build an altar of worship and call on the name of the Lord.  Isaac builds his seventh well.

Then the enemy who had chased him away comes to him.  Funny how God can change things around after you have built the altar of worship and spend time in relationship with him.  Isaac asked “Why have you come to me?”  Can you say breakthrough!

Genesis 26:28 But they said, "We have certainly seen that the LORD is with you. So we said, 'Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you, 29 'that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. You [are] now the blessed of the LORD.' " 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 Then they arose early in the morning and swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 32 It came to pass the same day that Isaac's servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, "We have found water." 33 So he called it Shebah. Therefore, the name of the city [is] Beersheba to this day.

Isaac came back to Beersheba and begin to worship.  The enemy begin to recognize the blessing of God on Isaac.  In fact, Isaac’s enemies wanted to make peace with him.  They made a feast and made an agreement of peace with one another. 

Genesis 21:31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there. 32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.

Abraham had made peace with his enemies at Beersheba after he had built an altar.  Isaac too found God working on his behalf after building an altar of worship.  God calls his children of the new covenant to worship at the altar.  What blessing will be revealed and experience as we learn to worship at our altar?

Hebrews 13:10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.

Can you hear the Father calling us to our altar of worship?

Jesus is the faithful God

God is good all the time!

Building an Altar of Worship- Lesson 2 Abraham Built Altars

Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram [was] seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.

On the strength of a word of blessing from God, Abram moved.  No holy scriptures to depend upon, it was a word from God and it was enough; Abram obeyed God. Abel heard a word from God and obeyed, Noah heard a word from God and obeyed, can you see the great pattern of hearing the word believing the word and moving into action?

Genesis 12:6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites [were] then in the land. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent [with] Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

Abram built an altar in Shechem when God appeared to him and affirmed His word.  Then Abram moves to Bethel (The house of God).  Again, Abram built an altar.  Abram had a lifestyle of building altars when he heard from God.  The saints of God will do well to build an altar of worship whenever they hear God speak.  We often gather together in the house of worship but leave without making connection at the altar of worship.  Can we learn of the patriarch of faith?  His story is written for our benefit.

Genesis 15:7 Then He said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it." 8 And he said, "Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?" 9 So He said to him, "Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." 10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

The altar of worship is a great place to lose the doubts and fears that arise by the circumstances of life.  Abram had questions and God commanded him to build an altar.  Sometimes we must guard the sacrifice that is on the altar.  For us it is always The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  The vultures may want to pick at your sacrifice and cause you to put your faith in your own doings but let the object of your faith every remain in Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  Run the vultures off the altar of your worship to your God.

Genesis 15:12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 "And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 "Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 "But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." 17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. 18 On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—

Abram built the altar and God spoke a word of covenant.  When righteous men built altars of worship to God, God made covenant or reaffirmed and brought clarity to the covenant.  God gave a prophetic utterance as to what would happen to a nation not yet created in very specific terms.  God Himself came and passed between the pieces of the sacrifice and consumed the sacrifice with smoking oven and a burning torch from heaven.

Genesis 22:1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2 Then He said, "Take now your son, your only [son] Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

Abraham's life was filled with hearing from God and obeying.  Yet there came an hour of testing!  Testing time is the most important time to build an altar.  Abraham prepared to go and worship!

Genesis 22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you." 6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid [it] on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where [is] the lamb for a burnt offering?" 8 And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together.

Abraham spoke faith filled words at the time of testing “the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you”!  How many times have we shut down the blessing of God because of what we put in our mouth in the hour of testing resisting the promise of God in our life?  Isaac asked Abraham where is the burnt offering?  Abraham’s words remained faith filled.  “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering”

Genesis 22:9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am." 12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only [son], from Me."

The promised son was not withheld from God.  Abraham built an altar and put all on the altar!  Is your all on the altar?  Abraham passed the test and the best of God’s became Abraham’s.  God spared not His Son… I jump ahead.

Genesis 22:13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind [him was] a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said [to] this day, "In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided." 15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only [son]—

At the altar a fresh revelation of God came!  Jehovah Yireh; the Lord Will Provide!  What a revelation God has provided for Himself a sacrifice.  God swore an oath by all that God was and is!

Genesis 22:17 "blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which [is] on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

Abraham heard the word of blessing and he went in dwelt at Beersheba.  Beersheba means a well of oath; Abraham lived in such a way that he would be reminded of the promises of God.

John 3:15 "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The God of oath, the covenant keeper, spared not His Own Son so we could come to eternal life.  He who has the Son has life.  Abraham giving his son was but a shadow and a pattern that is fulfilled in what God the Father has done with the sacrifice of His Own!  Hallelujah what a Savior.

James 2:23 NKJV - And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God.

Building an altar was Abraham’s lifestyle.  He believed God and lived by what he believed.  Abraham was the friend of God.

Jesus is the faithful God

God is good all the time!

Building an Altar of Worship- Lesson 1 Noah Built an Altar

Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every intent of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually.  6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."  8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.  From Adam and Eve’s disobedience came great chaos.  The enemy’s scheme was to contaminate the seed which God had prophesied would crush his head.  God stepped in to destroy the wickedness.  There was a man however who had found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Genesis 6:13 And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 "Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 "And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark [shall be] three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 "You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it [with] lower, second, and third [decks]. 17 "And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which [is] the breath of life; everything that [is] on the earth shall die. 18 "But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark--you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. ... 22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.

What a word Noah heard from God.  Build the ark!  “But I will establish My covenant with you.”  Noah did what God commanded him.

2 Peter 2: 4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast [them] down to hell and delivered [them] into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, [one of] eight [people], a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned [them] to destruction, making [them] an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and delivered righteous Lot, [who was] oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented [his] righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing [their] lawless deeds)-- 9 [then] the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,

We learn from this passage that Noah was a preacher of righteousness.  Imagine preaching righteousness for 100 years and never having a convert save your own family.  God delivered Noah out of great wickedness; He delivered Lot out of great filthiness.  My friend, God knows how to deliver you!

Genesis 7:1 Then the LORD said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen [that] you [are] righteous before Me in this generation. 2 "You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that [are] unclean, a male and his female; 3 "also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. 4 "For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made." 5 And Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him. 6 Noah [was] six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth. 7 So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.

Noah again heard the voice of God and responded.  Before a single drop of rain came Noah and His family were in the ark.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith [it is] impossible to please [Him], for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and [that] He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

Noah became the heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.  Noah heard the word, believed the word and responded to the word.

Genesis 7:12 And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah and Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark-- 14 they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. 15 And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which [is] the breath of life. 16 So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in. 17 Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.

Noah and his family get on the ark, it begins to rain.  The ground beneath breaks forth and the rain above pours out.  The ark is lifted and the rain and the floods continue for 40 days.

Luke 17:26 "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 "They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Noah's life and times have become a prophetic utterance.  The times we live in echo the violent times Noah lived in before the flood.  Clearly, Jesus declares it is a sign of the time of the end.

1 Peter 3:20 NKJV - 20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while [the] ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.

When the world is so wicked why does God put off His returning?  It is called the divine longsuffering of the Lord.  It is God’s heart for all men to be saved.  What if our heart gets in line with the heart of God, longing for an end time harvest of souls for the kingdom of God?

Genesis 8:15 Then God spoke to Noah, saying, 16 "Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you. 17 "Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that [is] with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth." 18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him. 19 Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, [and] whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark. 20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart [is] evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. 22 "While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease."

Noah built an altar of worship to the Lord!  It is the first mention in scriptures of an altar.  Noah came through and he recognized it was God’s hand that brought him through and he worshipped God.  From the clean animals he offered an offering on the altar of worship.  God received Noah's worship!  Whenever men have worshipped the true and living God it has always moved the heart of God and He responds to the worshipper.  The altar speaks of relationship with God!

Genesis 9:8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: 9 "And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, 10 "and with every living creature that [is] with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. 11 "Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." 12 And God said: "This [is] the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that [is] with you, for perpetual generations: 13 "I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.

After the altar of worship, God spoke with words of covenant!  At the altar we learn God is a covenant maker and a great covenant keeper!  At the altar we learn God longs for relationship with man.  Let the altar turn your heart and attentions to the God of hope and truth.  The rainbow stands as a sign that God does not and will not lie!  God’s purpose for the rainbow still stands even though some groups have tried to repurpose the meaning.  God’s word is the word that is above all else; God is the great promise keeper!

Jesus is the faithful God

God is good all the time!

The Right Mindset

Matthew 28:¹⁹Go ^£therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” ^£Amen.

In the believer’s life the greatest inhibitor to receiving all that God has for them is mindsets against the knowledge of God.  Jesus made a great promise recorded here in Matthew 28:20, “lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.  Many have not embraced the promise of Jesus to be with us always; the devil is able to lie to them and tell them God has forsaken them.

Hebrews 13:⁵Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ^£   6So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear.    What can man do to me?” ^£

God’s call to contentment is another mindset breaker that will bring us victory.  What an awesome promise God has spoken that He will never leave us nor forsake us.  Leaning into this truth can cause us to walk in victory.  Oh that every believer would possess a confidence in God.  The declaration “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear.  What can man do to me?  If we have these truths embedded into our soul will can walk without fear.  Believers without a confidence in God walk in fear; the believers established by the word of God walk in faith.  What brings the believer from fear to faith?  Changing our thought life!  As a man thinks in his heart so is he.  In fact, bible defined spiritual warfare is changing our thought life to be in line with the word of God.  Some have tried to gain victory by going through a prayer line; however, until our mindsets are changed the prayer line will only bring temporary relief at best.  God calls His children hearts to be established by the word of His grace.  This is the true way to victory.

2 Corinthians 10:³For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.  ⁴For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, ⁶and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Strongholds bringing defeat in the believer is always connected to an imaginations or pretenses that have created an argument against the truth of the word of God.  Strongholds can be broken by bringing one’s thought life into captivity unto the obedience of Jesus Christ.  Sometimes one stinking thought at a time. A sick mindset in your soul can prevent one from receiving wholeness and soundness.

John 5:²Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, ^£Bethesda, having five porches.  ³In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, ^£waiting for the moving of the water.  ⁴For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  ⁵Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  ⁶When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” ⁷The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

Notice Jesus' question “do you want to be made well?” God is calling to His children do you want to be made well?

John 5:⁸Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”  ⁹And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  And that day was the Sabbath. 

Jesus commanded this man to take up his bed and walk! IMMEDIATELY, the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. 

1 Peter 1:¹³Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ¹⁴as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; ¹⁵but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” ^£

Grid up the loins of your mind!  Jesus wants to change your mindset; however, the believer has to be willing to be submitted to the truth found in Jesus Christ.  Rest your hope fully upon the grace…  Believers without rest need a mindset change!  Great grace is experienced to the measure and degree at which one has received the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:¹If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  ²Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 

To seek those things which are above is to set your mind on the things above!  You cannot set your mind on thing above and things on earth too; this will short circuit your harvest. 

Romans 12: ¹I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  ²And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

God has called us to renew our mind.  That renewal comes in stages if you will.  As you renew your mind you can find the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.  A renewed mind will bring the believer to walking in full victory.

Jesus is the faithful God

God is good all the time!

Spirit Soul Body  The Law The Cross The Covenant of Grace lesson 13

Romans 7:1  Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?  2  For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband.  3  So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.  4  Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another; to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.  5  For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.  6  But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

The law has dominion over a man as long as the man lives.  When we surrender to Jesus we become dead to the law of Moses.  This frees us to be married to another.  Just like the woman whose husband has died she is no adulterer when she marries another.  We have been delivered from the law so we are freed to walk in the newness of the Spirit.  Law gives sin strength; when the connection between the law and believer is gone sin has no dominion over the believer.  The believer is now married to Jesus.

JESUS CHRIST LOVES HIS BRIDE, KEEPS, CLEANS, AND WASHES HER MOUNT ZION THE COVENANT OF GRACE

Ephesians 5:23  For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.  24  Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.  25  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,  26  that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,  27  that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.  28  So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.  29  For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.  30  For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.  31  "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.“  32  This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

JESUS WILL PRESENT HIMSELF A GLORIOUS CHURCH, HOLY AND WITHOUT BLEMISH.  HE DOES IT ALL WITH THE WASHING OF THE WATER OF THE WORD  We are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.  What a powerful union.  Jesus Christ is the head of the church, He is the Savior of the body.  Jesus loved the church to such a degree He gave His very life for her!  Jesus sanctifies and cleanses the bride with the washing of the water by the word.  Jesus loves us, nourishes, and cherishes us!  Oh that we would turn our eyes on Jesus.

THE LAW

Exodus 20:18  Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. 19  Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die."

Remember the law made God unapproachable; the law had limited access to God, it  exposed guilt, brought condemnation,  it fostered fear and trembling.  However, the law could not impute life.

THE CROSS

Titus 2:11  For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,12  teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,  13  looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,  14  who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

The power of the cross brought the divine influence of God to us.  It teaches us to deny evil and empowers us to live righteously.  It forever turns our eyes upon Jesus and allows us to enjoy access to God and live free from guilt and fear.  His perfect love cast out fear!  We are redeemed as God’s special people.

THE COVENANT OF GRACE

Matthew 11:28  "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29  "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  30  "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.“ 

The covenant of grace calls us near to God and promises rest.  The rest is not a moment of peace but a lifestyle of intimacy with God.  Jesus will lift the heavy burden and cause the labor from carrying that burden to cease.   The more we learn from Jesus the greater the rest for our soul.  We need to grow in the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.  His yoke is easy and His burden is light; it is the place of rest.

GRACE AND LAW CANNOT BE MIXED

Galatians 2:16  "knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.  17  "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not!  18  "For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.  19  "For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.  20  "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  21  "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."

Justification (just is if I never sinned) is exclusively by faith in Jesus Christ.  If we put ourselves under the law and find ourselves a sinner once again, does that make Christ a minister of sin?  Certainly not!!  For through the law we died to the law that we might live to God.  I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  To mix grace and law is to say Christ died in vain!

GRACE AND LAW CANNOT BE MIXED

Galatians 4:22  For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman.  23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise,  24  which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar;  25  for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children;  26  but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.  27  For it is written: "Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband.“  28  Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.  29  But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.  30  Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.“  31  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

Abraham had two sons one was the son of promise one was birthed by the will of flesh.  Hagar the bondwoman is the earthly Jerusalem and represents the covenant given at Mount Sinai.  This is the law of Moses and if one tries to serve under it receives the bondage that it fosters.

The Jerusalem from above is free represented by Mount Zion!  It is where the child of promise was birthed.  The Jerusalem from above is the mother of us all.  We are the children of promise, like Isaac was; we are free! 

Those children from bondage persecute the children born according to the Spirit.  The Scripture say “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with son of the freewoman.  Brothers and Sisters, we are not children of the bondwoman; we are children that are free!  Law and grace cannot be mixed!

MOUNT CALVARY THE  CROSS

Matthew 26:26  And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body.“  27  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.  28  "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Jesus' last supper was eating the Passover with his disciples, and with it brought great revelation to the new covenant.  Jesus' body and blood was all that the Passover had pointed to, for all those generations between deliverance for the children of Israel from Egypt to Jesus Christ's earthly ministry.   Every time the nation Israel had Passover they were preaching Jesus Christ is the Passover Lamb! The Lamb brings in a better hope with a better covenant.  Jesus said “My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

Romans 5:18 Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.  19  For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.  20  Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,  21  so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

BELIEVERS CAN TRUST IN JESUS CHRIST’ OBEDIENCE FOR ABUNDANT LIFE 

Through one Man’s righteous act, through one Man’s obedience the righteousness of God has been brought to man.  Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more!!  So that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Grace reigns in life!   Live in the abundant life Jesus provides!

Jesus is the faithful God

God is good all the time!