Genesis 8 – Part 2 – SAVE OUR ANIMALS! ARK OR ALTAR?
Julie and I move to Sydney on Monday night. We’ve done all the packing and I still need to pack away the last vestiges of files from my study, a never ending process. We are looking forward to getting to Sydney after a couple of days journey in the car. 26 hours driving time, so I can put on the timer and I won’t have to ask “Are we there yet!” I am looking forward to getting out of that car already at the other end and sorting out what we will be doing.
Noah stepped out of the ark to a whole new world. Now don’t get the wrong view of this. When Noah stepped off the boat, it wasn’t like I have seen in the picture books and children’s stories - all sunshine and a big rainbow, and the animals are all smiling. And there's trees and there's rivers and there's green grass everywhere. I am sure that wasn't what they saw.
They came off that ark, and there was death everywhere and desolation, and a landscape devastated by flood - incredible erosion and upheaval. I’m sure there was plant life, but it probably wasn't profuse. It still had to develop and grow again. It certainly wasn’t like Eden. It would have been the opposite of that. It was a destroyed planet.
And when they walked off, maybe the first thing that they saw were carcasses and dry bones. Massive evidence of death and destruction, the aftermath of judgment.
I bet one of the questions Noah had was “Well lord, where do we go from here?”
That’s the question all of us ask when we’ve had the faith and trust to put your life into God’s hands, and Noah answers that question.
Genesis 8:20 (NIV) says “then Noah built an altar to the lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.”
The first thing Noah did in verse 20 was build an altar. Where do you go when the world you knew has been ripped apart, and all you see is the aftermath of the storm - when you really come to grips with what life would be like without God.
Noah says to me and you, “Build an altar - totally surrender your life to Christ in an act of worship”
Genesis 8:20 (NIV) says “then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.”
God didn’t command him to do that. It was a freewill offering. By the way, some people think that there were only 2 of every animal in the ark, but Noah was told to take 2 of every unclean animal and 7 of every clean animal (or domesticated animals) into the ark. (Genesis 7:2-3)
Noah’s reputation with the Animal Rights movement was good until this time, but in the Bible, a burnt offering is primarily a recognition of total devotion to the lord. There were some offerings where you put it on the altar and burned some of it and you ate some of it. But a burnt offering was totally consumed in the fire, and it was a picture of total devotion, total dedication to the Lord. You gave everything to the lord. You didn't keep anything back for yourself. You just gave your all.
If you just got off the Ark you would say, that is very generous offering. Remember, it’s not as if there’s a lot of animals around. In fact there was an animal shortage! Nevertheless, he didn't say "Look, we don't have a lot of animals here to populate the whole world, so I’m just going to hold back a little on the offering side of things. Things are tight at the moment. We have a severe animal shortage.” He didn't do that! He took from every clean animal and every clean bird he had, slaughtered them, and burnt them all totally on the altar, as an act of unrestrained worship. When it came to giving worship to God He didn’t hold back.
By this time the animal rights groups would have notified the authorities. As they held up their placards saying “SAVE OUR ANIMALS FROM EXTINCTION” Noah would have been fined thousands of dollars. Fortunately for Noah, it was the animal rights group that had become extinct!
If you just survived a worldwide flood, would you be giving up your livelihood by giving God the best of all you had. What did Noah need the most? The domesticated animals and he gave one seventh of his livestock to God, as a sacrifice.
This wasn’t just a tithe. Like one woman said to her pastor, “Pastor, I can’t afford a tenth of my income. I’ll have to give you a seventh instead!”
It requires faith to give to God and risk. If the storm is a financial storm, it doesn’t make sense to give.
There is a choice involved in obeying God, and building an Ark. And there is a choice involved in worshiping God and building an altar. No ark, no altar. You won’t know what it’s like to worship, until you appreciate what it’s like to be saved, and then your worship will never be something trivial. It will be a wholehearted expression of thanksgiving.
This is the first mention in the bible of an altar. Cain and abel gave an offering, but there's no indication about an altar. This is the first time an altar is used for the purpose of sacrifice.
You may be asking like Noah, “Where do I go from here?” Here and now is your opportunity to build an altar, to totally dedicate your life to Christ.
Romans 12:1 (NASB) says “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
So the altar is a picture of total devotion, total dedication to the Lord, where you give everything to the Lord. You don’t keep anything back. You just give all of yourself to the Lord.
God bless you Church as you declare “I’ve been saved in order to serve unreservedly, total commitment. It’s no longer ark building time. It’s altar building time!” It’s time to give sacrificially! Of time and talent and yes, of treasure. Worship for me must never be just being there on Sunday. It involves sacrifice, giving of myself completely to Christ. He want’s my heart.
Pastor Ross
Showing posts with label Worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Worship. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
Matthew 5 - Part 14 - WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN SOMEONE HATES YOU?
Matthew 5 - Part 14 - WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN SOMEONE HATES YOU?
I remember years ago that a man wrote a nasty letter to me and included in it a curse and all kinds of false accusations. To this day, I don't know why he wrote it. It was so vicious and untrue, but he had built up a case against me and it all bubbled out in this letter. It included distorted views of what I had said in messages, and I had no idea he felt this way against me. I went to see him but when he saw me coming he slammed the door in my face and refused to speak with me. When eventually I got some of his friends to speak with him, he agreed to see me and I did all I could to get the relationship right again. It was hard work, and my first desire was to defend myself against the curse and false accusations. But Jesus suggests in Matthew 5 that the relationship is even more important than the case.
Matthew 5:23-26 gets to me every time. It's one of those passages you just can't escape.
"So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. "When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison. And if that happens, you surely won't be free again until you have paid the last penny."
Jesus teaches the Disciples on the mountain some leadership principles. He even get's into the law and how it's important it is for a Disciple of Christ to settle legal matters quickly and out of court. He says it's not so much about the legal matters as it is about the relationship you have with the person. The principle of settling disputes quickly has to do with being reconciled with your brother (I think "a brother" here is not referring to just anyone and everyone, but specifically to the people with whom we have some kind of relationship, even if it's just a legal one as in this case).
Jesus goes beyond the legal matters again. The CASE you have against someone is not as important as the RELATIONSHIP you have with them. Jesus emphasizes that the RELATIONSHIP IS ALWAYS MORE IMPORTANT. Sometimes we don't want it to be more important. We would rather just avoid a person who has something against us, especially if it's legal, but God says that reconciliation is important. We are to do our part in keeping the peace with others where possible. It may not always work out, like with Jesus Himself, but we are to do our part in seeking reconciliation. That's the way of the Cross.
This passage says settling disputes out of court is more desirable than taking it through court and having to pay all kinds of costs and destroying the relationship with the person altogether.
Most of the time I don't have a lot of trouble doing this. I have had people threatening to take legal action against me because of some of the decisions I have made in the past, but so far I have been able to talk things through and find a resolution and maintain the relationship without taking it through the courts. Lord, help me to do this, especially when I can find a thousand and one reasons not to.
God's answer to anger is always reconciliation. If someone has something against you, act quickly. If there's a problem with a brother, especially a Christian brother or sister, and you find that they are building up an emotional bad attitude towards you, do something about it. Notice that it is them that has something against you and yet it is YOU who are to take the initiative in getting things right with them.
Sometimes I think it is so petty, it is not worth dealing with, but Jesus says it is important you help someone who has a bad attitude towards you. It may affect their ability to worship God and no-one would want to do that.
1 John 4:20-21 (NLT) really outlines the principle.
"If someone says, "I love God," but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don't love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And He has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters."
RECONCILIATION IS THE PREREQUISITE OF WORSHIP. At the very heart of worship is reconciliation.
Some people think it's actually better not to go to Church so they don't have to see the person they feel so angry with. The idea is not to stay away from Church if you have a bad relationship with your brother or sister! The idea is to get right with your brother or sister quickly because worship is so important. WORSHIP IS A PRIORITY. RECONCILIATION IS A PREREQUISITE, and that involves helping eachother to get things right.
Colossians 3:13 (NLT) says, "Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others."
God bless you Church as you do always seek reconciliation no matter how right you may think you are. Let relationships be more important than forming a case against your brothers and sisters. Let WORSHIP BE A PRIORITY and because of this, let RECONCILIATION BE A PREREQUISITE.
I remember years ago that a man wrote a nasty letter to me and included in it a curse and all kinds of false accusations. To this day, I don't know why he wrote it. It was so vicious and untrue, but he had built up a case against me and it all bubbled out in this letter. It included distorted views of what I had said in messages, and I had no idea he felt this way against me. I went to see him but when he saw me coming he slammed the door in my face and refused to speak with me. When eventually I got some of his friends to speak with him, he agreed to see me and I did all I could to get the relationship right again. It was hard work, and my first desire was to defend myself against the curse and false accusations. But Jesus suggests in Matthew 5 that the relationship is even more important than the case.
Matthew 5:23-26 gets to me every time. It's one of those passages you just can't escape.
"So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. "When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison. And if that happens, you surely won't be free again until you have paid the last penny."
Jesus teaches the Disciples on the mountain some leadership principles. He even get's into the law and how it's important it is for a Disciple of Christ to settle legal matters quickly and out of court. He says it's not so much about the legal matters as it is about the relationship you have with the person. The principle of settling disputes quickly has to do with being reconciled with your brother (I think "a brother" here is not referring to just anyone and everyone, but specifically to the people with whom we have some kind of relationship, even if it's just a legal one as in this case).
Jesus goes beyond the legal matters again. The CASE you have against someone is not as important as the RELATIONSHIP you have with them. Jesus emphasizes that the RELATIONSHIP IS ALWAYS MORE IMPORTANT. Sometimes we don't want it to be more important. We would rather just avoid a person who has something against us, especially if it's legal, but God says that reconciliation is important. We are to do our part in keeping the peace with others where possible. It may not always work out, like with Jesus Himself, but we are to do our part in seeking reconciliation. That's the way of the Cross.
This passage says settling disputes out of court is more desirable than taking it through court and having to pay all kinds of costs and destroying the relationship with the person altogether.
Most of the time I don't have a lot of trouble doing this. I have had people threatening to take legal action against me because of some of the decisions I have made in the past, but so far I have been able to talk things through and find a resolution and maintain the relationship without taking it through the courts. Lord, help me to do this, especially when I can find a thousand and one reasons not to.
God's answer to anger is always reconciliation. If someone has something against you, act quickly. If there's a problem with a brother, especially a Christian brother or sister, and you find that they are building up an emotional bad attitude towards you, do something about it. Notice that it is them that has something against you and yet it is YOU who are to take the initiative in getting things right with them.
Sometimes I think it is so petty, it is not worth dealing with, but Jesus says it is important you help someone who has a bad attitude towards you. It may affect their ability to worship God and no-one would want to do that.
1 John 4:20-21 (NLT) really outlines the principle.
"If someone says, "I love God," but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don't love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And He has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters."
RECONCILIATION IS THE PREREQUISITE OF WORSHIP. At the very heart of worship is reconciliation.
Some people think it's actually better not to go to Church so they don't have to see the person they feel so angry with. The idea is not to stay away from Church if you have a bad relationship with your brother or sister! The idea is to get right with your brother or sister quickly because worship is so important. WORSHIP IS A PRIORITY. RECONCILIATION IS A PREREQUISITE, and that involves helping eachother to get things right.
Colossians 3:13 (NLT) says, "Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others."
God bless you Church as you do always seek reconciliation no matter how right you may think you are. Let relationships be more important than forming a case against your brothers and sisters. Let WORSHIP BE A PRIORITY and because of this, let RECONCILIATION BE A PREREQUISITE.
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