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[0:00] So I have, we've been in this, this is going to be part two of the series called Six Months Later.! And, you know, I've been really praying for this service and praying for this message and trying to find some direction for us today.

[0:23] And today just seems like a day of missions, of giving, of sacrifice.

[0:36] And I also can't help but think about the need for breakthroughs. For breakthroughs in your life. Breakthroughs in your family's life.

[0:48] Breakthroughs in our church. Breakthroughs in our giving. Breakthroughs in our thinking, in our understanding. And I just feel God's presence.

[1:01] So, so strong right now. And so before we even go to the next part of this, I want us to pray one last time.

[1:12] And then we're going to move into the Word of God. Father, we love you today. We thank you, Lord, for your presence. God, we thank you for your goodness, Lord. And God, I pray right now that you'd help us as a church, as a people.

[1:27] God, as a congregation, Lord, as a movement. As men and women, Lord, as families, God. To really hear the Word of the Lord. And enter into your presence like never before, God.

[1:39] We love you. And we praise you. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Praise God. All right.

[1:54] Hey, so last week we started, we kicked off this series called Six Months Later. And the question that I asked and I posed, I'm going to ask again today is, you know, hey, where are we going to be in six months from now?

[2:09] Where are we going to be six months from now? And our mind sometimes goes to the natural. Hey, I'm going to be in Hawaii, which is confirmed. We will be in, if the Lord should carry.

[2:21] Praise God. Maybe you want to be at home, chilling in your backyard, catching a tan. Maybe you want to be eating jack-in-the-box. Jack-in-the-box and curly fries and tacos.

[2:37] I'm saying all this because I can't have any of that stuff right now. My diet doesn't allow me to eat that stuff. But my doctor told me I can't. So where do you want to be in six months?

[2:50] Where do you think you'll be? Is it going to be by chance or is it going to be on purpose? Where do you want to be? Where do you want your family to be? Where do you want your spiritual life to be?

[3:02] Where do you want your finances to be? Where do you want your career to be? Where do you want your marriage to be? Where do you want your husband?

[3:13] Where do you want to see him go? Where do you want to see your wife aspire to? Where do you want to see your ministry become? Okay, these are all important questions because we are going to be somewhere in six months.

[3:28] And either we're going to show up and it's going to be there or we're going to on purpose seek out the will of God. And we're going to say, Lord, not my will, but your will be done.

[3:39] Not the way I want to design it because if I get my hands on my future, if I get my hands on this, I might mess it up, Lord. What is it that, God, you want me to do?

[3:50] Where do you want me to be in the next six months? We might rush into a job that God never decided for us. We might rush into a career that God never designed for us.

[4:01] We might rush into a relationship, a boyfriend or a girlfriend or a husband and a wife that God, you know, God's still trying to work some things out in your life. Amen. Hallelujah.

[4:12] You might want, you might rush into something that God is saying, what are you doing? I have a path for you. I have a life laid out for you.

[4:23] You just got to surrender to my will. And I'm going to lead you. I'm going to guide you. I'm going to show you. Amen. Oh, hallelujah. Hallelujah. You know, we learned, we heard last week about a young man who was on his way, on a path of destruction, who was on his way to a path of death.

[4:44] A path that would ultimately led, he was like, as the scripture said in Proverbs 7, that he was a ox. If you think of an ox, ox, ox aren't very smart.

[4:57] They're kind of just, you know, they eat, they live, and they are slaughtered for food or for whatever it might be. But this ox, this young man, it says, is being led like an ox to his slaughter.

[5:13] And he was on a pathway to destruction. And who was that woman? It was a woman who was of ill repute. She had a bad reputation. She was an adulteress.

[5:25] Her husband was gone on a long journey. She wrapped her arms around him and said, hey, you're the one. Remember? And he's the young man said, oh, I'm the one. Yeah, all right.

[5:38] But he was the one of many. Praise God. And we had said, it's easy for us to look at others' lives. And it was easy for Solomon to look at his life.

[5:50] And this young man, as you look through the window, to see his end. But when it comes to our lives, everyone say us. When it comes to us, it's hard to see where we are sometimes.

[6:03] It's hard to see in what direction we're headed and what pathway. And so what I want to do with this series and these messages is have us pause.

[6:15] And not think about your neighbor for a minute. My neighbor needs to hear this message. Or my friend needs to hear this message. Or the person in front of me needs to hear this message.

[6:26] Okay? Or the person in back to me needs to hear this message. You know who needs to hear this message? You do. You know who needs to hear this message? I do. Amen.

[6:38] You know who needs to know where they're going? I need to know where I'm going. Because it could be a place of destruction. Or it could be a place in the will of God. Amen. where are we headed?

[6:50] So the question was where will you be in six months? Because we're going to be somewhere. We're going to be six months older. We're going to be six months wiser or six months more behind or whatever it might be.

[7:02] But where are we going to be spiritually, relationally, financially in our walk with God? Because everyone's going to end up somewhere. But few get there on purpose.

[7:16] You'll be somewhere in six months. Either by God's plan or by your passivity and allowing influences and things to navigate you and push you into things that God never, ever designed for your life.

[7:31] Amen. Amen. For me, I'm kind of, I'm really, I'm not going to use that word.

[7:45] For me, I am kind of putting myself out there because these messages were birthed out of what God is dealing with me about.

[7:58] Out of what God is doing in my heart and what he's, what God is saying, Matt, you got to wake up. You got to realize where you're headed.

[8:08] You got to get some priorities in order. You got to get some things straightened out. You got to get some things worked out. And if you'll surrender yourself, I'm going to help you.

[8:24] I'm going to shape you. I'm going to mold you. And for many of us, yielding that control, or for some of us, I guess, yielding that control, it's hard because we'd like to have control.

[8:35] We'd like to have control of where we're going. We'd like to have control of our finances and control of our lives and our day-to-day and our future. We want to date who we want to date. We want to marry who we want to marry.

[8:46] We want to spend on what we want to spend on and we want to do all these things that we think is best for our lives. But what about what God wants for your life?

[8:59] What about what God has for your life? How much better would it be? How much greater would it be? Amen. I don't know. Because God's working with us individually.

[9:11] He's working with us personally in those areas if we'll surrender ourselves to that. So the first session, the first message we heard was about we don't need a miracle.

[9:27] We just need to repent. We don't need a miracle to get us out of whatever we're in. We don't need a miracle to change our direction. We need to repent.

[9:39] We need to repent of our sins. We need to repent of our thinking. We need to repent of our words and our judgments on people sometimes. We need to repent of those things and say, Lord, you know, I'm wrong.

[9:53] I'm going in the wrong direction. I've said the wrong things. I've thought the wrong things about these people. God, I need to repent and I need to get right with you, Lord, and I need to walk with you and walk in your way.

[10:05] God, your words, let your word be a lamp to my feet and a light into my pathway, God, because I've been following the way of the world and following the way of my feelings and my emotions, but God, now I realize it's time to get back on track and follow where you want me to go, God, because there's something at the end of that trail that, God, you want from me, hallelujah, that's greater.

[10:30] and I get so frustrated when I see, when I see people give their lives to God and they know the right thing to do, they know, I need to go to church, I need to read the word of God, but they get, I'm getting ahead of myself, but they get so discouraged and they keep walking like an ox to the slaughterer, it's like, stop, you're going the wrong way, turn around, hallelujah, whoo, Jesus, so the first portion, the first message was about, we need to repent, we need to do miracles, we need to repent, right, and get back on track with God, and, today, I want to talk about building, building through sacrifice, I want to talk about building, amen, hallelujah, I want to talk about priorities, I want to talk about building a life, building priorities, building, whether it's your marriage, or your family, or your children, or your personal life, or whatever it might be, but building on priorities, and if we're going to build something, if we're going to build something meaningful, and something right, and lasting, it's going to require that dreaded word of sacrifice, sacrifice, amen, hallelujah, so I want us to go to a story about a people in the scriptures, who are coming out of exile, who are rebuilding, rediscovering themselves, rediscovering God, and his word, and priorities,

[12:16] I want to talk about the people of God, Israel, the nation of Israel, and Israel had, in this end, what we're going to read right now, has up to this point, they have been taken away, in captivity, they've been in Babylon, and Babylon has come and invaded, and taken articles out of the temple, they've destroyed, they've ransacked the city, they've caused a lot of destruction, and now the people of God are in exile, and then the canneser came, brought them into this captivity, there was another invasion, and another invasion, and now they're, they're still in captivity, they're not a nation, they're not ahead of the nations any longer, and we're going to read this out of the book of Ezra, and at this time, the one who's in power is Persia, and Cyrus, the king of Persia, gets stirred, in the spirit, let's read,

[13:22] Ezra chapter 1, verse 1, says, now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of the Lord, by the mouth of Jeremiah, might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all this kingdom, and also put into writing, and he gave some leeway, he gave, there's proclamation, let me bring up that verse, actually I didn't finish putting that verse in there, saying, verse 2, thus says Cyrus, king of Persia, all the kings of the earth, the Lord God of heaven has given me, and he has commanded me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah, so Cyrus is stirred, and he says, we're going to build this house, and there's a man by the name of

[14:27] Zerubbabel, say that five times, yeah, I try, I try, last night I was sitting with my kids, we were sitting around, and I said, Zerubbabel, and Deanna's all, no, Zerubbabel, I said, I mean, how do we even know, I mean, are you Jewish, or what's going on, here, and we try to say, Cash can't even say it five times, you can't even say it once, but Zerubbabel, this man of royal lineage, and Jeshua, a high priest, so about 50,000 people had returned, returned to the site, to this location, to rebuild, not just a building, but their lives, and worship, worship, the nation is in ruins, I mean, they're in exile, their homeland is destroyed, their place of worship, is knocked down, the temple is gone, everything is in ruins, and God puts it in this man's heart, to send these people, to build, to let them rebuild again, and Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, they go, and with 50,000 people, to rebuild, again, not just a building, but their lives, and a place of worship, we read in Ezra chapter 2, verse 68 through 69, at some of the heads, of the fathers houses, when they came, to the house of the Lord, which is in Jerusalem, offered freely, for the house of God, to erect, in its place, according to their ability, they gave, of the treasury, for the works, 61,000 gold, drachmas, 5,000 minas, of silver, and 100 priestly garments, they gave, you see, they didn't wait, until, everything was perfect, or, everything was right, but they gave freely, and willingly, and sacrificially,

[16:22] I don't want to say, sacrificially, the first act, of commitment, and their first act, of moving, into this direction, was not building, but it was giving, they gave, they gave freely, they saw the purpose, they saw, where they were headed, in the direction, they said, if we're going to build, if we're going to rebuild, this again, if we're going to rebuild, our lives, in this place, of worship, I'm going to give, I'm going to give, to this, vision, I'm going to give, to this thing, I'm going to give, freely, it wasn't like, Zerubbabel said, hey, I need you to give this now, now that you're here, you need to give this, no, they arrived, and then they said, no, we're going to do this, we're going to give, to this work, we're going to give, willingly, and sacrificially, to this, voluntarily, I'm going to give, of my, substance, beyond, what was, what is required, beyond, what is expected,

[17:29] I'm going to give this, to the work, of God, because you understand, the children of Israel, grew up in a system, the Mosaic law, where there was the tithe, there were three tithes, but the tithe, was a 10% giving, that already had belonged, to God, and so in their minds, they already knew, that that belonged, to God, so I'm going to give, 10% of what I get, of what I gather, I'm giving 10% to the Lord, that was a minimum, obedience, but anything beyond that, was a free will, was an offering, was saying, you know Lord, I do trust you, with this, but I'm so grateful, and I'm so thankful, and I'm so, in love with you God, I'm going to give beyond, what is expected, I'm going to give beyond, what is obedient, God,

[18:29] I'm going to give beyond, because you're so good, so I'm going to give, to you, these people gave, beyond, what was expected, amen, they did it freely, because tithing, was commanded, Leviticus 27, 30 said all, and all the tithe, of the land, is the Lord's, and it is holy, to the Lord, it was a gift, or it was not a gift, but it already, belonged to God, but Zerubbabel, and the people, they said, you know what, we're going to go, beyond, and we're going to give, to the work of God, we're going to give, to the increase, I want to say this, real fast, and I think it's important, it's easy, when emotion, is involved, to say, yes, I'm going to give, I'm going to, throw this here,

[19:29] I'm going to throw, yes, yes, yes, yes, I cause, I'm moved by emotion, and that's great, and God blesses that, and God loves that, and that's good, but there, is a greater blessing, when you, understand, the consistency, the consistency, of giving, you see, offering, and giving, in these one time things, or towards the cause, that's, that's great, but tithing, which already belongs, to the Lord's, it's not just about money, it's about your trust, and Deanna said it earlier, hey, when we talk about this stuff, right, people either, check out, they get on their phones, or they, you know, it's, they get kind of awkward, but it needs to be said, that tithing, isn't so much about, the money, it's about your trust, in God, with your substance, it's about your trust, in God, with your money, it's saying,

[20:46] God, you are my source, God, you are my source, and I, and I trust you, beyond my paycheck, I mean, I have my paycheck, and I thank you, Lord, and, and how I'm going to thank you, and be obedient, is I'm going to give, that which already belongs to you, and I'm going to take that 10%, of whatever I've, earned, and, and, and, and made in wages, and I'm going to give, to you, Lord, I'm going to give, back to you, God, because I trust you, more than my paycheck, amen, amen, and if you're new, to tithing, if that's something, that's beyond, what you thought of, or you're not doing it, start somewhere, start giving, being faithful, being consistent, it's so funny, you know, we want God, to do so much for us, but we can't even, be faithful, in those things, we can't be consistent, in those things, but we want God, to bail us out, you want God, to come in, and, and, and in our inconsistency,

[21:54] God wants to, you want God, to come in, and just wipe it all out, things that we get ourselves into, listen, I'm sharing my heart, because, I'm not the best giver, this is not, coming out of a place, of frustration, this is not coming out of a place, of, looking down on anybody, this, I'm being real, right now, and saying, you know what, I haven't been the best giver, I haven't been, the best, in those areas, and a lot of situations, that I'm in right now, I put myself in, of my mismanagement, of my finances, but, I'm also at a place, to where I've said, Lord, I've messed up, but God, I want to get back on track, with my giving, Lord, I want to be consistent, and give, and give to you, Lord, the 10%, God, of what I earn, that's going to you, that's going to your work, that's going to your kingdom,

[22:59] God, it's going to you, and beyond that, God, whatever you put, in my hands, God, I'm going to give to you, in Jesus name, hallelujah, oh, I feel the Holy Ghost, right now, amen, amen, praise God, encourage you, I challenge you, if you feel like, you're behind, or you messed up, hey, that's okay, let's start afresh, let's start new, right now, let's start anew, right now, let's say, God, you know, I haven't been a good, giver, or tither, Lord, or free will offering, person up to this point, but God, starting now, God, forgive me, God, now I'm going to give, God, I'm going to be consistent, God, I'm going to have a plan, we have to plan to give, we have to plan to give, our tithe, and our offering, we have to plan, to give to the kingdom, and give to the Lord, and give back, amen, praise God, that's good teaching anyway, praise the Lord, offerings, and free will givings, are expressions, of generosity, it's spirit led, sacrificing, kingdom, participation, giving,

[24:12] I'm going to, this will make sense, in a minute, but giving prepares the way, for revival, financial stewardship, and personal blessing, we don't fund, we don't fund, revival, we don't fund, growth, we don't fund, the church, with our leftovers, but you lead it, through sacrifice, you lead it, through giving, and stretching yourself, amen, hallelujah, praise God, that's good anyways, David Bernard, said giving, is not a transaction, it's an act of faith, we give, because God, is first, Nathaniel Haney, said there was no, revival, without sacrifice, if you want fire, you must bring, something, to the altar, hallelujah, you want revival, in your life, bring a sacrifice, you want revival, in your world, bring a sacrifice, you want revival, in your family, bring a sacrifice, hallelujah, tithing, is the foundation, and of its obedience, and offering, and the free will giving, is a worship unto God, hallelujah,

[25:24] I want to worship the Lord, not just with my hand, and not just with my, I want to worship God, with my money, with my substance, I want to worship God, with my giving, hallelujah, because there was so much, power, in giving, hallelujah, hallelujah, but you see, the people of Israel, they didn't give, to fund a project, they, they, they rebuilt it, I'm sorry, let me say this again, their giving, didn't just fund a project, it rebuilt the priorities, and the very first thing, they rebuilt, wasn't a wall, or a temple, but it was an altar, it was an altar, an altar, let's read, Ezra 3, chapter 3, verse 1, and when the seventh month, had come, and the children of Israel, were in the cities, the people gathered together, as one man to Jerusalem, then Jeshua, the son of Jezadok, and his brethren, the priests, and Zerubbabel, and the son of Sheatel, and to his brethren, arose, and built the altar, of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God, though fear had come upon them, because of the people, of those countries, so the people around them, they were fearful, of those people around them, they set the altar, on its basis, and they offered burnt offerings, on it to the Lord, both the morning, and the evening burnt offerings, verse 4, they also kept the feast, of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered it, the daily burnt offerings, and the number required, of the ordinance, for each day, and afterwards, they offered the regular burnt offering, and those for new moons, and appointed feasts, and the Lord, they consecrated it, so they built, the altar, they were surrounded, by enemies, but they rebuilt, that altar, they were surrounded, by opposition, but they rebuilt, the altar, because they knew, that the priority, was the altar, the priority, was sacrifice, if they were going to have revival, if they were going to have growth, they had to get the priorities correct, and they had to rebuild the altar, hallelujah, it was a place of sacrifice, it was a place of death, to self, it was a place of repentance, it was a place of worship, hallelujah, they said,

[27:47] God, we know what the priority is, and that's given to you, we know what the priority is, God, and that's sacrificing, to you God, hallelujah, it was sacrificing, and saying, forgive us of our sins, it was sacrificing, to take care of the sin issue, in their lives, it was sacrificing, and offering, to the Lord, and saying, you are my priority, and the number one thing, was to build the altar, hallelujah, praise God, it was not about, comfort, or convenience, it was about covenant, it was not about, what was convenient for them, it was not about, it was about, what was covenant, what was in the word of God, Anthony Mangin said, if you keep the fire burning, on the altar, the house will take care, of itself, Robin Johnson said, these are all you PCI ministers, the altar is not a place, to visit, it's where God meets you, again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, hallelujah, thank God for the altar, thank God for a place, of sacrifice, thank God for a place, to meet the Lord, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, thank the Lord, we cannot build, anything lasting, in the Lord, without rebuilding, the altar first, if the altar, in your life, is cracked, and torn down, and broken, we know, where we're going to start, we got to rebuild, the altar in our lives, we got to rebuild, that place of worship, and that place of sacrifice, hallelujah, in our homes, we wonder, why things are broken, in our homes, we wonder, why things are messed up, there's no altar there, hallelujah, we wonder, why our lives, are shambled, because there's no altar, for worship, there's no altar, for giving, there's no altar, for sacrifice, and for repentance, hallelujah, hallelujah, praise God, we wonder, well why,

[29:57] Lord, why is my life, like this, why, why am I facing, so much opposition, Lord, why, why, why is this, this, and this, and this, there's no altar built, there's no altar built, for us, to sacrifice, and to repent, and get our lives, and or, this is about, getting our priorities, correct, amen, and if you're wondering, here today, like where do I start, build an altar, build an altar, of worship, an altar of giving, of sacrifice, of place, so where you can come to, and say Lord, not my will, but thy will be done, God, let your spirit, have your way, in my life, God, hallelujah, altar always precedes, the foundation, it is the foundation, in your home, in your calling, in your finances, in your marriage, start with, the altar, hallelujah, and God will bless you, God will bless, that surrender, because that's what the altar represents, it represents the place, of where things die, and you surrender, and God will honor that, and God will bless that, hallelujah, amen, so they gave, the people of God, they gave, they built an altar, then they laid the foundation, and just when it looked like, momentum was beginning to build, there was opposition, the opposition, showed up, with force,

[31:26] Ezra 3, verse 10, when the builders, laid the foundation, of the temple, of the Lord, the priests, stood in their apparel, and trumpets, and they sang responsibly, praising, giving thanks to the Lord, but many of the priests, and Levites, in the heads of the houses, old men, who had seen the first temple, wept, with a loud voice, when the foundation, was laid before, the eyes, before their eyes, before I get, to the opposition, before we get, to that point, they've laid the foundation, and there was a, there was a younger crowd, and there was an older crowd, there was an older crowd, who had seen, the first temple, they had seen, the temple of Solomon, they saw its beauty, and they saw its, its, its wonder, and they saw all its glory, and they saw all that, and the younger generation, they were excited, because this was new, and this was, we're doing something for God, we're giving, and we're rebuilding, but there was a danger, for both, for both generations, there's a danger, for both generations, because one, the older generation, can look at the younger generation, and says, it'll never be good enough, for the younger generation, they can look at the older, and say, you don't know, what you're talking about, we're going in a new direction, and there's a danger, for both, but I can simply,

[33:05] I can, I understand the older men, the older generation, who had seen, because there's a lot of emotion, tied up in that as well, they heard the destruction, they heard the ransacking, they heard the killings, they heard the rapes, they heard all those things, and so there was a lot of emotion, tied up, into the older temple, and it's glory, one man said, the tears of the older men, were not only about glory lost, but perhaps, regrets, that they had lived, to see the consequences, of disobedience, Anthony Mangus said, God doesn't want to restore, what was, what was, he wants to reveal, what will be, and stop weeping over, what you've lost, and worship over, what's next, that's why I'm saying, there's danger, in both camps, so we need to honor, what has been, but we also need to look, ahead to what, can be, hallelujah, because if we hold back, and look in the, rear view mirror, we're going to crash out, and we're going to, not see the potential, of what's ahead, amen, and that nostalgia, can become a distraction, from what new things, are ahead, but we honor, the past, we honor, what has been, amen, and on that, we build, and we say,

[34:30] God, bless this future, bless what's ahead, God, God, give us, give us direction, for the future, amen, so we honor the past, and we build, for the future, but now, we have this opposition, that's coming, they've got, they're giving, they're rebuilding, they're doing all these things, but now, they got this opposition, that's showing up, Ezra 4, verse 1, now when the adversaries, of Judah and Benjamin, heard the descendants, of the captivity, were building, the temple, the Lord God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel, and the heads, of the father's house, and said to them, let us build with you, for we seek for God, as you do, and we have sacrificed to him, since the days, of Esarhaidon, king of Assyria, who brought us here, but Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the heads, of the father's houses, of Israel, said to them, you may do nothing, with us to build a house, for our God, but we alone, we build, to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, had commanded us, so these adversaries, they pretend, that they want to help, but their motives, are totally corrupt, and so when the Jews, refused, to let them in, on what's happening, and to help them, they retaliate, with intimidation, and, and with some legal pressure, and they send letters, and as a result, in Ezra 4, 24, it says, thus the work, of the house of God, which is at Jerusalem, ceased, ceased, so when they, weren't let in, on the party, they wrote letters, to the king, and said, hey, these, these people, they have a history, of, of inconsistency, of, of, of rebellion, of falling, back in some ways, and, and Darius says, all right, well let's, let's check this out, let's, let's cease, let's cease what we're doing, and then it says, the work of the house of God, ceased, but what's interesting, is that there is 16 years, of, of no work, between chapter 4, and chapter 5, 16 years, of nothing, nothing is built, no progress, no sacrifice, no giving, just delay, discouragement, and distraction, when something good happens, when God begins, to do something, in our lives, and in our church, there will always be opposition, there will always be opposition, when you give your life to God, when you, get baptized, when you obey, and you get baptized, in Jesus name, when God fills you, with the Holy Ghost, and you commit, there will always be opposition, because there is another world, that wants to destroy your life, there is another world, a spiritual world, that wants to destroy your family, that wants to destroy your husband, that wants to destroy your wife, that wants to destroy your children, and your grandchildren, hallelujah, hallelujah, there is a world that wants to destroy your life, and says, oh they're going too good,

[37:54] I'm going to stop this, and opposition wants to show up and cause 16 years of silence in your life where there's no sacrifice where there's no giving where there's no more offering to the Lord where there's no more altar and if the devil and the enemy can get a foothold in your life that's exactly what he's going to do he wants to stop you I've seen it we've seen it time and time again haven't we people get into church they're on fire and then they come to the opposition we don't see them for 16 days 16 months 16 weeks 16 years where there's no sacrifice there's no giving there's no altar there's no construction there's just delay there's discouragement and distraction hallelujah hallelujah roben johnson said a delayed obedience becomes disobedience over time when the altar sits idle the fire goes out the fire goes out so we need to understand right now that God is doing good things in our lives and in our church but when good things happen just get ready and know it.

[39:22] Put it in your mind. There's going to be some opposition. That's when we dig in. That's when we get into the word of God. That's when we hit our knees harder and we pray and we fast and we sacrifice more.

[39:37] Hallelujah. Praise God because the enemy wants to stop it. The enemy wants to destroy it. Amen. He's come to seek. He's come to destroy it. He's come to kill.

[39:49] Amen. He wants to demolish your life. I don't know how else to say it. He wants to leave your life in shambles. I mean, He doesn't want any resurrection or any restoration in your life.

[40:07] He wants to leave your life in a way that you're never going to get up again. Hallelujah. He wants to leave our lives in a way that we're never going to be able to get up and see the hope.

[40:18] He wants to take us like an ox. To slaughter. Hallelujah. But I'm here today to preach the word and tell you that God is for you. Hallelujah. He's not against you.

[40:29] Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. Hallelujah. So I can't fall seven times. He gets back up again. Praise God.

[40:40] Hallelujah. Let's put ourselves on the altar. Let's sacrifice on the altar. Let's get to God on the altar. Hallelujah. Woo.

[40:51] Praise God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Haggai chapter one verse one says, God sends the word.

[41:16] He sends Haggai and he sends Zechariah. He sends the word to restart the work of God. Hallelujah. Haggai chapter 1 verse 1 says, In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai, the prophet of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, son of Zahosadak, the high priest saying, Thus speaks the Lord of Hosein.

[41:43] This people says, the time has not come. The time of the Lord's house should be built. Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai, the prophet, saying, It is time for you yourselves to dwell in Pound House, in this temple to lie in ruins.

[41:59] Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of Hosein, consider your ways, consider your priorities. You have so much and bring in little. You eat, but don't have enough.

[42:10] You drink, but you are not filled with drink. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages, earns wages to put into the bag with holes. Thus says the Lord of Hosein, consider your ways.

[42:22] Church, let's consider our ways. Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple. That I may take pleasure in it and be glorified, says the Lord. You look for much, but indeed it came too little.

[42:35] And when you brought it home, it blew away. Why? Why? Says the Lord of Hosein, because my house that is in ruins. Well, every one of you runs to his own house.

[42:46] Your priorities are misplaced. Your priorities are off. Haggai, by the Lord, calls out the people for their misplaced priorities.

[42:57] They had time for comfort. They had time for themselves. They had time for their own lives, but not covenant. But not God. So he stirs them up with this truth.

[43:09] He says, consider your ways. Consider your priorities. Consider your lives and where they are. Hallelujah. You see, the word of God should not entertain us.

[43:22] It should ignite us. It should convict us. It should cause us to consider our ways. And consider our priorities. Hallelujah. If we're in comfort and we're in disarray, we need to allow the word of God.

[43:36] Not tickle our ears or tickle our fancies or whatever else it tickles. But it should convict us. And say, God, my priorities have been wrong.

[43:49] My house is full of my comfort. But God, what's it going to get me while your house is in ruins? While your house lays desolate? God, forgive me.

[44:01] Help me to align myself with your word and your ways. One man says, sometimes revival doesn't need a song. It needs a sermon. One word from God will restart what fear shuts down.

[44:16] So God sends a preacher. He sends Haggai, but he also sends Zechariah. Zechariah 4 says, and he answered and said to me, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel.

[44:28] Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain?

[44:39] Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forth a capstone with shouts of grace, grace to it. Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, the hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple.

[44:54] His hands shall finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For who has despised the day of small things?

[45:05] Oh, yes. I'm going to say that again. For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.

[45:16] They are the eyes of the Lord which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth. Hallelujah. What a word. What a word to Zerubbabel who's probably discouraged.

[45:29] 16 years of silence. 16 years of no work. Declan encourages the people not to be ashamed of small beginnings. Not to be ashamed of the small things that are beginning to take place.

[45:42] But he reminds Zerubbabel that the hands that laid the foundation will also finish the work. Paul Price said you don't finish the work of God in the flesh.

[45:56] That started in the spirit. Paul Price. He's passed now. He's going to be with the Lord. But he's an old time pioneer. Old time Pentecost pioneer.

[46:07] Preacher. He said you don't finish the work of God in the flesh that started in the spirit. You need fire. Not formulas.

[46:19] And I love that. Because it's a reliance on the spirit of God. On the Holy Ghost. For it to lead us. And guide us. And show us what's next.

[46:30] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Maybe you've stopped building. Maybe you've stopped building or believing that God can do something in your life.

[46:43] That God can touch your husband. That God can touch your wife. That God can heal your family. Amen. Lord. Maybe you've stopped believing that. Maybe the altar has grown cold.

[46:57] Maybe your giving has stopped. Maybe faith is beginning to fade in a road. But God is sending a word. Just like when there were 16 years of silence.

[47:12] God is sending a word to you. Go back to the altar. Pick up your tools. Better is ahead. But not without obedience.

[47:25] If the enemy can't stop you from starting. He'll try to keep you from finishing. Come on. Come on. All right. That's good. Good. If the enemy can't stop you from starting.

[47:37] He'll try to stop you from finishing. And right now we're in the building process. Your family is being built. And the enemy is trying to discourage somebody here this morning. Hallelujah.

[47:49] And God is still speaking. And he's speaking to us. And he's saying. Amen. Yes he is. Let's continue the work. Let's all stand. The good news is that they didn't stay stuck.

[48:15] when the word came they responded they responded they built and the glory returned Haggai Haggai Haggai one of the prophets that showed up in those years of silence of no work discouragement said this the glory of this ladder or this ladder house shall be greater than that of the forearms and the best is yet to come and the best is yet to come for you so maybe the work has stopped maybe the fire has died but just like Haggai the sacrifice showed up on the scene in those years of silence and no work in their construction the altar and the altar will sacrifice

[49:59] I'm here the pastor gets up and preach it up hope to us that the ladder house shall be greater than the former house that the ladder shall be greater than the former and the best is yet to come that there is still hope for your life there's hope for your husband there's hope for your children there's hope for your family there's hope for revival there's hope for this child amen to growing and expanding and being an influence in this community hallelujah where will you be in six months will you still be building will you still be sacrificing will you go deeper in God's plan or anything without direction it's time to rebuild that altar it's time for consecration and worship and prayer it's time to recommit to giving or tithes and offerings and sacrificial free will offerings to the Lord

[51:30] I believe it when Deanna had said that God's going to put a number on your heart to give it's going to stretch us I told Deanna the other day I said you know Deanna I feel like I've been so bad in this area and I feel like God is just dealing with me and bringing me back to a place of sacrifice and I said Deanna I'm praying that God will put a number on my heart to give to stretch my life to stretch my faith to stretch me but what's so powerful about this story is that the first ones to give were the leaders and I said to him I'm praying God if if you expect the church to give God I as a leader I've got to give I've got to commit myself to the altar

[52:34] I've got to commit myself to giving to continuing the work the last thing I want to say if the work in your life is stopped it's time to start again you start the work don't give up on your marriage don't give up on your children don't give up on your faith don't give up on your life God's best God's best is ahead let's all say that together God's best is ahead come on let's all say it God's best is ahead hallelujah

[53:39] I believe that do you believe it do you believe it as best is ahead it only comes through sacrifice today hallelujah let's close our eyes God we praise we thank you God for your word God for your presence oh Jesus oh God would you help us help us God we pray right now in the name of Jesus for this church for these people God God we pray that you would help us to come to a place oh Lord of sacrifice a place of believing that the best is yet ahead God and the only way to that end Lord is through giving and sacrificing and continuing the work oh God you've put in our hands and in our lives

[54:43] God God I pray right now for every man and every woman Lord that you would help us to come to the altar Lord sacrifice the altar of repentance the altar of giving oh Lord and if our altars can share with God help us to build and help us get back to that place that God and give the ones of God hallelujah hallelujah these altars are open hallelujah when the bikes they come down hallelujah we're gonna pray we're gonna do business with God hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah Thank you.