Life That Flows From the Sanctuary

I recently watched a documentary of a basketball player who had a very difficult upbringing and his parents worked hard, went through a lot of suffering, he and his brothers, and then finally he gets to the point where he's eligible for the NBA draft. And in that documentary they show him and his brother sitting there waiting for, is his name going to be called? And he was, they thought that it could be called in a certain, certain teams might be interested and they missed and missed and then they're sitting there and then his name is called. And it's just the relief the documentary shows, you know, just imagining what it was like, the relief on his parents and him and his brother and just joy, eruption of joy and exuberance.

And immediately my thought went to Revelation chapter 5, where the scrolls are sealed up. You've heard me read from this chapter, that passage has been on my mind a lot recently, maybe we can start there. Where the scroll is sealed up and no one knows what's written on the scroll, Revelation chapter 5. And there was no one worthy to break open the seals.

And in a sense, I feel like John was weeping because he said, I want to know, is my name there? And you know the whole, the rest of the story, one of the elders says, stop weeping, there is one who can open it. And I thought of the joy that I'm going to experience and you and I are going to experience when that book is opened, the Lamb's Book of Life is opened. And he says, look, on line number whatever, it's written Santosh Poonen, Jesus said, don't rejoice that you have the authority to cast out demons.

That's nothing. Satan's defeated, you have authority to cast out demons. Rejoice in this, your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Do you need a reason to be happy today, dear child of God, dear brother, dear sister? This week, did you have a reason to be happy? Was it because job went well, or you got a little bit more money, or you could get this, or get that, or were you rejoicing simply in the fact that Jesus has written my name in the Book of Life. It's there, and I can't wait to, I've seen it in faith, I see it in faith, but one day Jesus is going to unscroll that and show it to me written. Jesus says, rejoice in this, he told his disciples, that your name is written in the Book of Life.

And I, when I think about that, oh, it's just going to be joy, rapturous joy, with each name, one after the other, name written, your name's there, your name's there. You don't have to wait till you get to heaven to see it. That's why Revelation 5 is written now, in your Bible.

You can open this, you can see the scroll opened now by Jesus. He opened it already, and he told the disciples, and he's telling you, dear brother, dear sister, you can know that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. We don't need any reason beyond that to be happy.

If you're looking for some other reason to be happy, it means you haven't really seen what a valuable thing it is that your name is written in the Book of Life. Do you need anything else, brother, sister, child? Do you need anything else other than that? If so, you haven't seen the value of it. And I'm not saying this this way, I'm saying it this way.

I'm judging myself and saying, Lord, those times when I'm in a bad mood, or upset about this, or flustered with that, or frustrated with this, will you open the Book afresh for me and show me my name written there? We were singing that song this morning. What a wonderful way to start your life, your day. Lead me to Calvary.

Lead me to Gethsemane. Show me your agony. Show me what it costs that my name is written in the Book of Life, and oh, my day will be completely different.

What a different day you'll have tomorrow than last Monday. If you wake up with this, lead me to Calvary. Show me the agony.

Show me the pain you suffered. Show me how faithful you live, never once pleasing yourself. And that, for that reason, my name is written in the Book of Life, in the Lamb's Book of Life.

And I believe you're not going to erase it. You know, there are some, Jesus says, I will erase their name from the Book of Life. But I have faith God's not going to erase mine.

It's not arrogance. It's not pride. It doesn't give me the license to live however I want and live for myself, continue with sinful life, bad moods, lust, anger, bitterness, jealousy, unforgiveness.

It doesn't give me the license to do any of that. But it gives me a passion to live wholeheartedly for the Lord Jesus Christ until he comes, with the utmost confidence that my name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, and he's not going to erase it. You can have that assurance, dear brother, dear sister, dear children.

There are some Christians who are taught, some people, they're not really true Christian religions, I believe, but some religions teach that you cannot know that your name is written in the Book of Life. And thank God, children, that you grow up in a church where you are taught that you can know that. You can have an assurance.

I can't tell you that. None of us elders can tell you that. Even your parents cannot tell you that.

But the Holy Spirit, somebody far greater, somebody who can never lie. See, dad and mom, we don't want to lie. Hopefully I'll never lie my whole life again for the rest of my life.

I have told lies in the past. But I could lie. I'm human.

Let God be true and every man a liar. So children, even if we were to tell you you're born again, your name is written in the Book of Life, you might have some doubt. Dad said so, but dad's still a human being.

Brother so-and-so said so, and he's a godly man, but he's also a human being. The Holy Spirit has said so. When the day comes that the Holy Spirit has told you that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, you will have an assurance that nobody can steal from you.

And oh, we pray for that, children. And we pray for that for you adults if you don't have that yet. That the Holy Spirit will give you an assurance your name is in the Book of Life.

And you just keep trusting Jesus. You keep your hand in His, and He will never erase it. He will never cast you out if you come to Him.

So be encouraged in that, dear brother, dear sister. One of the characteristics of the Old Covenant was that things were divided. We sang in another song about the veil being rent.

The veil is rent, and so we have access into the Most Holy Place. So the veil being rent means under the Old Covenant there was a veil, and you only put a veil like this veil, this curtain, when you want to divide something. You divide some part of a building from another.

And the tabernacle is an example of the division that existed in the Old Covenant. There was the people, the camp where the people lived, and then there was an area that was set aside which had specific dimensions. If you read the Book of Exodus, the outer court had a like a fence or a wall around it, or that marked it.

That was the outer court. And then inside that outer court in one area was a tabernacle, a building, the temple. And that temple was a building, maybe something like this.

It was actually much smaller than this. But that building was also divided into two parts, as you know, the Holy Place and then the Most Holy Place, which was an even smaller area. And the curtain separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.

Levites were a people set apart, divided from the rest of the people to do God's work. And the priests, the high priest was one set apart from the rest of them. So throughout the Old Covenant, you see all these divisions that exist.

And most importantly of all, there was a division between the outer life and the inner life. What mattered under the Old Covenant was the outer life. As long as you didn't commit adultery, didn't steal, didn't murder, honored your father and mother, kept the Sabbath.

God didn't command them as much that their attitude towards the Sabbath should be godly or that their attitude towards their parents should be honoring. As long as you honored them and under the Old Covenant, if you were angry to the point of like, I could kill you man, but you didn't actually kill that person, you were okay. It wasn't considered sin from what I see under the Old Covenant.

There was that division. You could have an outward testimony as well. Now it wasn't pleasing to God in that sense.

What you read in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, about what was actually pleasing to God was faith. That despite the fact that God spoke about the outer life so much under the Old Covenant, he was still looking for those who would say, Lord, God, there's something more that I want to give you. I don't want to just give you.

I want to give you from my heart as it were, as much as I can. You see that all the way in Abel. That's why God was pleased with his sacrifice.

He saw that Abel himself had a heart towards God and gave his sacrifice out of that. David was like that and all these men of faith, they went beyond the outer as it were, but there was still that division between the outer and the inner and God abolished that division. That's what it means when he says that the veil is rent.

Now there is no division between the outer and the inner. There aren't Levites or specific people set apart who only do God's work. Every member of the body must build up the body.

Ephesians 4 is very clear on that. The apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, the teachers, they equip the rest of the body to do the work, but the work is done by everybody. We are all priests, Peter tells us.

So that division is taken away and unfortunately, most Christians, I believe, most people today who call themselves Christians are living in an old covenant way. They don't necessarily seek to, let me give you one example, they don't necessarily seek to hear from God before a Sunday meeting in the same way as the pastor of that church says, Lord, I want to hear from you. Most people who go to church on a Sunday morning, go to a church meeting on a Sunday morning, they don't necessarily have to open their Bible and see, Lord, what should I, what are you saying to the church? That's for the pastor to do.

He's the one going to give the message. So I can just sleep in, show up, and expect that God will speak to me through the pastor. That's all covenant.

I hope you're not sitting at RLCF that way, saying, well, Brother Santos is probably going to speak today, it's his turn, so he'll have a word from the Lord for me. That's all covenant. If you came here this morning expecting for a word from the Lord through me in a way in which you haven't heard from the Lord yourself, then I'm sorry, I don't have anything for you.

I still have a word from the Lord, I believe, but the word from the Lord through me this morning is, you must have a word from the Lord yourself. This is what it means to live under the new covenant, that you're hearing from the Lord and whether it's a Sunday or a Tuesday or a Thursday or Friday, Monday, it doesn't matter. I'm hearing from the Lord because it's the new covenant.

There's no separation between who hears from the Lord and who doesn't. That's all covenant. Samuel heard from the Lord.

Elijah heard from the Lord. Jeremiah heard from the Lord. The people, Moses heard from the Lord.

That's all covenant. Under the new covenant, every member, every child, if you're a child of God, you can hear from the Lord. Children, this is why you must be born again, so that you can be a part of God's family, so that you can hear from your Father in heaven.

And this is what it means to live the spiritual life. We've been hearing about the spiritual life a lot and I'm going to continue on that. Let's turn to Revelation chapter 21.

A few characteristics of the spiritual life. I will tell you, first of all, the spiritual life, like I said, is undivided. There's no division between the outer and the inner.

In other words, what you see about me on the outside should be what's true on the inside, even though you can't see it. I can see it. I can see the inside and the outside.

And when it says in 1st Corinthians 10, in the context of the breaking of bread, let a man examine himself. Let every woman and man examine themselves. What is it that you should examine? When we broke bread last week, when we had the breaking of bread meeting, here's what I was examining myself.

I said, Lord, is it true that my inner life corresponds to my outer life? Outside, these brothers and sisters have an opinion of me based on what they see of me, what they hear from me. But is it true that what they see and hear from me on the outside corresponds to what is true on the inside that only I know about? If that's not true, then let me examine myself and judge myself and walk in the light. And so it's there's no division.

And you see here in Revelation 21, verse 16, that this city, which is a description of our life, the city is laid out as a square, or actually, if you read more carefully, it's a cube. Our life, think of it like a cube. And its length is as great as the width.

And he measured the city within the with the rod 1500 miles, its length, and width, and height are equal. Its length and width and height are equal. And here's how I thought about it.

What does it mean when it says this is the city think about the city of this new city, the kingdom of heaven being made up of, it's a cube made up of cubes, if you will. Each of us is that cube, where for each and if you know enough math, I think I don't know when they teach it nowadays, maybe third grade or so what a cube is, but essentially a cube is something that its length, breadth or width and height or depth is exactly the same. All the dimensions are equal.

That's a cube, a perfect cube. And the city of heaven is described here as a perfect cube length, width and depth equal. Picturing for me, each of us must have that same quality of life that each of us our life must be like this cube.

For me, the three dimensions are my words, my deeds, and my devotion. Think about these three areas of your life, like three parts of a cube, my words, what I say, how I live my deeds, that's both of those are still visible. That's the length and the breadth as it were.

So if you had a cube that was sitting in the ground, as it were, you could see the top of it, that it's a length and breadth are equal. I think about that like my words and my deeds, my words must back up my deeds. And Jesus said about the Pharisees, their words don't back up, aren't backed up by their deeds.

Their deeds aren't true, aren't righteous, but their words are full of righteousness. So that would be like us preaching a whole, me preaching a lot about living a Christ-like life, but when I'm with my wife or when I'm with you in secret, my deeds don't correspond to my words. I preach about patience, but I don't really have patience.

I preach about having control over your tongue, but I don't really have control over my tongue. This is length and breadth not corresponding. So that's where it starts.

My words and my deeds correspond to each other. What I stand for, and for you, maybe you don't preach, but you're a part of a church that preaches this, your words must be backed up by your life, by your deeds. And then it goes deeper, and then it's your devotion, your attitudes, your motives.

That's what devotion means. Are you doing it out of devotion to God? Then it doesn't matter whether people see it or not. Then your attitude and your motive, your thoughts where nobody else can see or will ever see, corresponds to your words and your deeds.

So words, deeds, and devotion, which is thoughts, motives, attitudes. That's the characteristic of the New Covenant life, and that's why we must be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes us, if I could summarize what I just said, makes it so that my words and my deeds and my inner devotion are all the same proportion, same length, same breadth, same depth, only through the power of the Holy Spirit.

That's why you must be filled with the Holy Spirit. Think about it, be honest with yourself, brother, sister, children, be honest with yourself. If the opinion of people about you, based on what they see, is higher than the reality of your inner life, then you must be filled with the Holy Spirit.

If, when you look at your thoughts and your motives and your attitudes, you say, Lord, if people knew this about me, I would be ashamed that I thought such a thought or had such an attitude or had such a motive. Fill me with your Holy Spirit, Lord, because I want that three-dimensional life. I want my depth, my devotion to correspond to my words and my deeds.

Mark chapter 4, another characteristic of the Spirit-filled New Covenant life, is it grows very quietly. It grows very quietly. Mark 4, Jesus told a parable.

He said, The kingdom of God is like a man, verse 26. Mark 4, verse 26. The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day and the seed sprouts and grows very quietly.

How? He himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself. First the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head, but when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle because the harvest has come.

If you have a tree outside or you have bushes outside or grass outside, have you ever heard it growing? You know, even with us human beings, sometimes you hear us growing. I'll tell you how. What I mean by that is, sometimes our kids will come into our bed in the middle of the night and say, Oh, my leg hurts.

I call those growing pains. You can hear them. And because the kids are crying, they're like, Oh, my leg hurts.

It's growing pains. But grass and trees, when they grow, you don't hear it. Do you? The grass is announcing, Look, I'm growing.

Like it says, like Jesus said here, this is a picture of the kingdom of heaven. You wake up in the morning and realize, Wow, this little seed has grown up. It's become a little shoot.

The next day, it's gone a little bit more. Next month, a year from now, it's now a little shoot, a branch and a tree. It's growing.

So the spiritful life grows very quietly. And that's why the true life of being filled with the Holy Spirit is quite different from the noisy spirit that exists in a lot of Christendom. In a lot of churches, the characteristic of the spirit filling is a lot more noise.

In fact, it's exactly the opposite. You become quieter. You have more control over your tongue.

Yes, you may speak in tongues. Sure. Yes, there is a greater praise.

But there's a quietness that comes in a stillness before the Lord, the quiet growth. And one more thing I'll mention here. First Corinthians chapter 10.

First Corinthians chapter 10. First Corinthians 10 verse 31. The spiritual life is characterized by a different motivation.

Whether then you eat or drink, whatever you do. First Corinthians 10 verse 31. Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Verse 33. Just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved. What do you see in this verse? See earlier, he's talking about contrasting the people of Israel with the new covenant under the old covenant.

It says they all perished. They were not pleasing to the Lord, even though he blessed them. And then he, what I see here is him summarizing the difference between the old covenant and the new covenant is this.

In the old covenant, the question is what you do and what you don't do. What can you do? What can you not do? You can do this. You can't do that.

You can do this. You can't do that. You can't do that thing, but you can do this.

That's why the books of Exodus and Leviticus and Numbers and Deuteronomy are so full of what you can do and when you can do it. Under the new covenant, there is only one question. Why? That's why he says, whatever, whatever, whatever you do.

Do you eat shellfish? Okay, that's great. Do you eat pig bacon? Whatever you do, why do you do it? That's the question. Do it for the glory of God.

You know, can you play games on Sunday? Some people ask that question. Some religions teach you can't do anything on Sundays or you can't do anything on Saturdays. Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink or play or work, do it for the glory of God.

If you're doing it for the glory of God, it's that motivation. It's that question of why. So, this is the thing I'd like us to meditate on for the next few minutes while I continue to speak.

I have a picture I'd like to show you and while that's coming up in John chapter four, let's turn to John chapter four. Jesus said, John chapter four, verse fourteen. John four, verse fourteen.

Jesus said, whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. And this is how the work begins. A well of water springing up to eternal life.

As you've been hearing about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the life of being spirit-filled, I hope you get this picture that it's a well of water that springs up and then flows out into other areas of our life so that we might be spirit-filled. I'd like to turn you to Ezekiel chapter 47 and we're given a little picture of this. Ezekiel chapter 47 in a vision that God gave Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 47. We begin reading in verse one. Then he brought me back to the door of the house.

And I want you to try to envision this while we're reading. He brought me back to the door of the house and behold water was flowing forth from under the threshold of the house toward the east. So I don't know if you can describe that.

Envision that. The water was flowing out from the house towards the east for the house faced east. So the house was facing east and the water was flowing from the house eastward and the water continuing in verse one was flowing down from under from the right side of the house from south of the altar.

So this water that we're going to read about was flowing out from the altar. It began there. Was flowing out from south of the altar.

He brought me out by the way of the north gate and led me around on the outside of the outer gate by way of the gate that faces east and behold water was trickling. So it started from the altar as a trickle. A little trickle starting from the altar.

This is again a picture of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. A life of being filled with the Holy Spirit. It's going to become something big as we'll see.

It's going to become overflowing flooding water but it didn't start that way. It started like a little trickle. Water was trickling from the south side and when the man went out toward the east now he's following the path of this water.

This is the life of being filled with the Holy Spirit and continually being filled with the Holy Spirit. When the man went out toward the east with a line in his hand he measured a thousand cubits and he led me through the water. Water reaching the ankle.

So as this water went out from the sanctuary from the altar it started as a trickle and now he measured a thousand cubits or a thousand cubits out whatever that is. I think a cubit was from the elbow to the hand. So you measure a thousand of these.

You go out now it's deeper. See the water that you see here on the earth gets less as it comes down from the mountain because it's just filtering away. It's decreasing.

It starts out with a large amount of snow snow melt and snow fields and then it comes down and gets less and less and less and eventually dies out. But the spiritual life the water that flows from the throne is the opposite. It increases as it flows out.

It starts out as a trickle and now when you go out a thousand cubits it's ankle deep. Verse four again he measured a thousand and led me through the water. Water reaching the knees.

Two thousand cubits out it's now knee deep water. Water that is increasing as it flows outward. Again he measured a thousand in the middle of verse four and led me through the water.

Water reaching the loins. Now it's up to your waist. Verse five again he measured a thousand and it was river that I could not ford for the water had risen enough water to swim in.

A river that could not be forded. He said to me son of man have you seen this? Then he brought me back to the bank of the river. Now when I had returned behold on the bank of the river there were many trees very many trees on one side and on the other.

Then he said to me these waters go out toward the eastern region and go down into the Araba. Araba is a desert. Then they go out toward the sea being made to flow into the sea and the waters of the sea become fresh.

It will become it will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes will live. When you read this I hope that there's a hunger and a thirst within your heart brother sister and children. Lord wherever you take me I want it so that every living creature will thrive will grow.

That people will come around me because there's life in me. Pray that river of life christian fellowship will be just that. That people will will will will be drawn to this place whether it's here physically or joining online or wherever However because there's life in us it will come about that every verse 9 living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes will live.

That people will say when I'm when I'm around them I find that I'm experiencing a little bit more of life. Husbands is that your testimony? Can your wives say that? The more I spend time with my husband I find that there's life in me because there's life in him and vice versa. Can your children say when I spend time with dad my spirit gets encouraged gets lifted up because dad has life in him mom has life in her.

Everything will live where this river goes. Brothers sisters when you come to the meeting is it the testimony of your life that this place strengthens the life within you it's not up to it's not the preaching it's not the singing it's not the meals we eat it's the life in each one. Let's continue reading and there will be very many fish middle of verse 9 for the for those waters go there and the others become fresh.

Where think about this that you're going to go into a workplace sometime this week you're going to go to work somewhere and wherever the water goes it's fresh doesn't matter where you're working outdoors indoors out of town in town wherever you go it's fresh you showed up and the kingdom of heaven came there this is the spirit for life others become fresh so everything will live where the river of where the river goes. So they don't necessarily have to come here and sit in our meeting on a Sunday morning if they choose to that's great but what happens Monday through Saturday river of life Christian fellowship not the name but the river of life that's in us goes to that workplace and to that workplace and to that other workplace and everything lives where RLCF goes. This is our desire this is our ambition.

Verse 10 and will come about that fishermen will stand beside it from Engedi to Eniglaim there will be a place for the spreading of nets their fish will be according to their kinds like the fish of the great sea very many. Verse 12 by the river on its bank on one side or on the other will grow all kinds of trees for food their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail they will bear every month listen to this they will bear every month really I would say every day every week every day they will bear fruit because their water flows from the sanctuary you see why it's a continual bearing of fruit it's not because I'm so gifted the reason that you're able to bear fruit every day every week every month every year until Christ comes is because of the source of the water it's not how gifted you are or where you are it went to the araba the desert is God calling you to an araba this week a desert workplace where there's it's dryness filth people using swear words and listening to bad music and and full of flirtation and lust and that's the kind of work environment you work in okay if the river that you're that's in you has started from the sanctuary of God you will bring life there and you could be a hundred people living sinful lives and you one trying to live a godly life and you will be greater than them greater is he who's in you than he who's in the world we're told that very clearly why they will bear fruit every month because their water flows from the sanctuary and their fruit will be for food and their lives for healing that's why I have that sentence there if you can see it they will constantly bear fruit to nourish and heal dear family dear rlcf God is taking you into a situation this week into situations this week and the weeks to come to nourish and to heal because the water in you flows from the sanctuary if it flows from the sanctuary you can be absolutely certain it will heal you don't have to go to seminary you don't have to have the right words you don't have to be gifted in being able to preach or teach or anything like that but the water must come from the sanctuary and then God will do the work if the water comes from the sanctuary it will nourish it will feed it will heal so I want to talk about this that's why I have that diagram there and like I said it starts in that inner sanctuary it might be a little small but hopefully you can see it in that inner sanctuary it's Jesus and you I've drawn it inside a heart but there in the middle of it is a cross John chapter 12 I'd like to briefly talk about each of these areas of living the spiritual life but I wanted to emphasize it must start there that the river begins in the sanctuary what is the sanctuary a sanctuary is a place a holy place a small place a lonely place by lonely I mean an alone place where it's just you and God if you want the spirit life dear brother dear sister dear children there must be a sanctuary in your life where it's just you and God a cross it's represented by a cross where you in secret are taking up your cross John 12 verse 24 Jesus said truly truly I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies it remains alone but if it dies it bears much fruit the water will be so deep that you can't touch the bottom of it but it must start with dying it must start in a sanctuary in an altar at the altar where it's just you and God this is where the spiritual life begins and many many Christians who ask for the spiritual life who long for the spiritual life never come to experience it because they're looking for something out here they're saying Lord I want the spiritual life where the water is so full where I'm overflowed with joy and praise and victory and overcoming and God says no that's not how it starts it starts by me taking you back to an altar where it's just you and me and it's your content with just that do you want a spiritual life dear brother and your sister you must be content to just be alone with God if you're not satisfied with that you want tongues and you want preaching and you want big meetings and you want revival on the outside and you want tent meetings and you want prayer meetings and all this other stuff and you want ministry and you want teaching and you want prophetic words and all of that but you don't want to start with the altar then you can have all the other things because there are churches that are full of those things loud singing and praise and all kinds of instruments and they go on all night all day and they keep going heaven hasn't started with an altar every revival read it we've been reading about them in our monthly prayer meetings every revival begins with an altar one man or one woman moved by God to fall on their face before an altar and say Lord it's just you and me that's why it starts in that it's a it's a relationship of love it's a heart but in the center of that heart is a cross where I say I am going to lay my life down I'm going to fall into the ground and die I'm going to fall into the ground and die that's the spiritual life if you're not willing to fall into the ground and die you can never have a spiritual life this is personal devotion and that's where it starts every day can you make it your prayer lest I forget Gethsemane lest I forget thine agony lest I forget thy love for me lead me to Calvary it goes on to say Lord show me help me my cross to bear that I might follow thee why do we want to see Gethsemane why do we want to see Calvary I mean there's a lot of churches that have crucifixes there they have a cross on top of their church building most churches are associated with crosses but that's not the cross we're talking about lead me to Calvary in such a way that I will take up my cross show me oh Lord how to take up my cross and follow you and we sang in that next song though the crowds are praising Jesus and speaking of Calvary there are very few that will actually follow him and the center the core the sanctuary the altar that I'm talking about dear brothers and sisters is a place where you decide I am going to follow you Lord Jesus I'm going to take up my cross today I'm going to deny myself not what does it mean to deny myself I'm not going to please myself today because situations are going to arise where you can please yourself or please the father it's always one or the other it's never both you can please yourself or you can please the father choose to please the father never please yourself deny yourself say no to yourself say no to yourself say no to yourself this is where it begins this is personal devotion in that next circle and it must start there if you want to be fruitful in this church if you want your life to be meaningful I hope that's your ambition not to make more money not to raise a godly home and have children that are well established and get married and start their own home this is what the world is seeking make it your one ambition Lord I want the one life you've given me to be pleasing to you I want the one life you've given me to be useful for your kingdom and I'll give up anything Lord I don't care what life you call me to have how uncomfortable or inconvenient is I don't seek comfort here on this earth I don't want a better this or a bigger that I want the one life that you've given me to be useful for you because I can't do it again I want it to be useful for you then the Lord will say okay let's start with a little trickle decide every morning before you get out of bed dear children dear brothers dear sisters Lord help me today to take up my cross in every situation every situation to say no to myself and say yes to you help me Lord oh he'll do that sing that song if you must Lord lest I forget Gethsemane lest I forget thine agony lest I forget thy Calvary thy love for me lead me to Calvary lead me to the place where I will take up my cross and follow you let it start there and then the next most important area of your life every one of you who is married is your marriage I thought about it like this when I stand before the judgment seat of Christ a lot of you say thank you Santosh for you for your love for the church you honor us as elders praise God for that when I speak in other places people always come and appreciate me and thank me for laboring in the word they how they how they're blessed by the word you know what I immediately thought about my thoughts immediately for the last five or six years immediately go to the judgment seat of Christ where there's only one person whose opinion of me matters everybody in the whole world could think extremely highly of me and see what a wonderful brother he is what a wonderful this what a wonderful message and all of that none of that matters that all adds up to zero there's only one person whose opinion of me matters and that's God himself and one day I'll have to stand before the judgment seat of God and I thought about it like this for the last number of years the first question God is going to ask me Santosh your turn I'm gonna stand before him and then he says let me call Megan I'm gonna ask her what was he like as a husband I know okay before we get to that brother in such and such a country who was blessed by that message you preached and those people sitting in our LCF who thankful for you as an elder all long before we get to that I'm gonna start with your wife I'm gonna ask her she saw you at home every day she saw what you lived like she saw the things that you were motivated by she saw you in those unguarded moments how you responded I'm gonna start there and if you fail that test Santosh I don't even need to go any further it's it's over you see your marriage that way husbands wives it starts there seek for a spiritual life to be a godly husband to be a patient husband to be a long-suffering husband to be a godly wife to be a patient wife to be a long-suffering wife and if you can do that full of the Holy Spirit this trickle that's growing into ankle-deep water long before you get there if it's dried up like a thousand cubits away from the sanctuary that's what it was a thousand cubits that's for me that's the marriage if it's already dried up what what use is that ten thousand cubits away that whatever that is it's not the real water it's not the water from the sanctuary the water from the sanctuary that is all ultimately going to be useful in other areas of your life including your work life brothers sisters whatever if you work outside the home that work that you do to earn a living you know what how what will make that life fruitful you think it's your boss you think it's the success of your company is this company doing well so your jobs going to do well no it's does the water start from the sanctuary and it's your marriage precious do you treat the marriage your your marriage as holy we're told in the New Testament treat the marriage bed as holy that means don't bring unholiness into it don't corrupt that marriage with lust and pornography and flirtation with other women treat your marriage as holy Colossians chapter 3 I really believe that that that's what it's going to be like at the judgment seat of Christ he's gonna ask he's when he calls me he says I'm gonna listen to what Megan says now it's just picture language because God knows me in and out but it helps me live a life and say Lord especially if the Lord uses you in ministry in some way and if you're a part of the church and other people at RLCF have a very high opinion of you but your husband or your wife not because they despise you but because they have to say I don't see Christ likeness coming out no everybody at RLCF thinks you're such a Christ like person but they may not tell you that because they love you and they're long-suffering but if God wants to ask them be honest with me what is he like what is she like you were to say sad to say they lose their temper now and then they get irritated yell at the kids they get upset over little things earthly things brothers sisters don't be discouraged be honest before God don't cover it up but seek for the power of the Holy Spirit he wants to give you a spiritual life the life I'm talking about today is not an imaginary life it's the real life it's the only true Christian life and God is more eager to give you this life than you are eager to have it you believe that God is more eager to give you a spiritual life then you say Lord I have to be honest Santosh is it's like he's been in my home I'll tell you why because I'm in my home I know what my life is like and the longing I have and say Lord it ought to be that you can say Lord I don't care what anybody else thinks you bring Megan up there let her testify about what my life's been like it hasn't been perfect but it will be Christ like I'm pressing on to perfection Colossians 3 verse 18 wives be subject to your husband's God will call your husband dear wife and say did she submit now maybe your husband's are long-suffering and they don't demand submission of you it's none of us husbands does that I hope not let it never be that but God will call your husband and say what was your wife like did she subject herself to you as is fitting in the Lord did she just have that submissive spirit to you husbands your God will call your wife and say did your husband love you and not was not embittered against you husbands check check yourself before the Lord do you love your wife truly love your wife as Christ loved the church were told in Ephesians and do not be embittered against them don't allow any bitterness to come in doesn't matter if you get up here and speak or she passed the mic and you testify or something good do you have a bitterness towards your wife in some area because she's like this or like that she rubbed you the wrong way there's a bitterness there a little bitterness whatever else you said during the sharing time on Sunday meant nothing because it wasn't the water that flowed from the sanctuary the water that flows from the sanctuary to be a to others outside of your home must go through your home must go through your marriage has it filled up that marriage and so the reason I've drawn it like this think of it like a well springing up in the middle it's not water dropping over here and dropping over there it's water springing up in the middle and then flowing outward that's why that arrow is like that it springs up from the middle where there's an altar where I've taken up my cross and I've fallen in the ground and died like a grain of wheat and that water springs up and now it flows and fills my marriage that's how you experience a spiritual marriage don't be embittered against them then the home in the next area your family after he calls Megan he's gonna call my children he say okay you say that you are a child of God you're a follower of Jesus you took baptism you decided to follow Jesus let me call your children one by one and ask them what was dad like I know everybody he he went to all the meetings and he was like this and like that and had a good testimony but what was he like fathers verse 20 do not exasperate your children so that they will not lose heart yes you have to discipline them yes you have to be firm with them don't exasperate them don't let them get so discouraged by how strict you are it's good to be strict we must be strict likewise don't be loose with them do you know the spiritual condition of your children fathers do you know how they're doing spiritually do you take time with them do your children know that you are valuable to them more than your own interests are valuable to yourself please ask I want to say this again because I want to say it in love it must be absolutely true that our children know that they are more important to us fathers than our own interests are important to ourselves this is humility Philippines to treat others as more important than yourselves are your children's interests and what's important to them more important to you then oh but I want to do this that's what God will ask you were you more interested in doing what you liked to do and what you wanted to do spending your time and what you wanted to do because it would feel good or did your children know my father invested in me I'm thankful I had a father he lived a very busy life he often had to travel God had to use him to plant churches so many different parts places I didn't even know about that he would travel by bus by at night but I tell you this I knew I had a present father we didn't have a lot of money we were poor he wasn't constantly trying to get more money so that we could have more more things but he was there he was present let it never be that our any of us dads are workaholics it was so interested in making more money so that we can have more things that is much more important that your children know dad I knew him he spent time with me he showed up at my my games and my events my my school things he was there he was involved in my life okay now many of you have busy lives but take time even if it's five minutes every day with your children or ten minutes a week surely you can afford that take time with them parents I say especially to us fathers because I think our mothers do a much better job of spending time with the children than us dads do now granted we have other responsibilities but let's prioritize our lives right because all this other stuff see I put work after that yes we work why do we work I tell my I lead a team at work and I tell them honestly I says the only reason I'm working is to provide for my family I'm not trying to make a big name get popular or climb the corporate ladder and all of those things if God allows me to do that it's great but I'm working for one reason I want to provide for my family and if I can get by with doing enough work to provide for my family so that I can invest more in my children and in my wife especially first of all then I'd rather do that is that how you're working brothers I'm asking myself that honest question and I hope you are too is that the reason that you're working or are you looking to make a little bit more money because somebody else across the street has a little bit more money and you see that they bought a bigger house so they bought a nicer car or you're reading of you're seeing these commercials and these advertisements of this new car and how good it is and all that other stuff and you think I want that I hope you're working for this reason to invest in your wife and your children and in God's kingdom seek first his kingdom and God will add all these other things to you I skipped verse 20 children be obedient to your parents in all things for this is well pleasing to the Lord I like the JB Phillips translation of this verse listen to how it says at your age children this is one of the best things you can do to show your love for the Lord children do you want to know what is the best thing you can do to show that you love Jesus listen carefully children what is one of the best things you can do to show you that you really love Jesus obey daddy and mommy for this is well pleasing to the Lord one of the best things you can do right now I want to be useful for you Lord I want to tell you however young or old you are if you live at home one of the best things you can do to show your love for the Lord is obey dad and mom just obey them God will be so pleased by it it's right there Colossians 3 verse 20 obey them and this will be pleasing to all this is one of the best things you can do to be pleasing to the Lord it to show your love for the Lord is to obey them I want just briefly talk on the Mary on the home as well here if you turn with me to Hebrews chapter 11 have you wondered how is it that Moses when he came of age and went into Pharaoh's palace and was basically adopted into that family and could have anything he wanted people serving him food any kind of food he wants this was living in the palace of the most important the ruler of the most powerful country in the world at that time he was adopted into that family and here this is a of pleasure and money and wealth and comfort and everything you want ahead of you and Moses says no I don't want that have you thought fathers that you can raise up a son mothers as well in such a way that God could take that son and put him in the place where he could have anything he wanted all the pleasure and all the money and all the comfort and he'd say I don't want that isn't that a godly father godly mother if Moses his parents Amram and Jochebed right am I getting it right I mix up their names sometimes I think that's their names without the power of the Holy Spirit could raise up Moses so that by the time he was what I don't know 18 at most probably younger than that 15 maybe he goes there and he can have all the women he wants and all the money he wants and all the food he wants and everything he wants and he says no what an example for us parents Hebrews 11 verse 23 by faith it really should read Amram and Jochebed in verse 23 when by faith Amram and Jochebed when Moses was born hid him for three months because they saw he was a beautiful child and they were not afraid are your children beautiful it's not a trick question every one of you parents is of course my child is beautiful they're the most beautiful children in the world they're the best okay what are you gonna do with it don't be afraid first of all the days are evil your children are growing up in a world that is getting worse and worse in the sense that it's always been evil but it's just become easier to sin now it's easier to lust with your eyes than it ever was and you it's more it's easier to hide it than it ever was in the midst of all of this don't be afraid that's the first thing I see when the king said the king's edict was this what who's the king today it's the devil the devil says I'm gonna make it easy for boys to lust with their eyes don't be afraid fear God because they saw he was beautiful in God's eyes and in theirs and they were not afraid of the king's edict and therefore because of this faith Moses when he had grown up refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter choosing he had a choice rather to endure ill treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt for he was looking to the reward I hope parents you'll go back this week and meditate on this and say Lord why is it that these two this husband and wife father and mother under the old covenant without even the law the law hadn't even been given yet how is it that they were able to raise Moses in such a God-fearing way that he they could take him as a teenager and put him in the palace and he says I know my mom I know the God of my mom I know the God of my dad I fear him and you could tempt me with all what do you think see I think the devil knew Moses was the child that God was the man that God was going to use to take his people out of captivity don't you think he saw 15 year old Moses and presented him with this and presented him with that and you can have this and you can have that other thing and you could have more of this and more of that and Moses says no no no how could a teenage boy turn down the pleasures of Egypt it's a question that we must answer parents be filled with the Holy Spirit cry out does that cause you to fall on your face say Lord I don't have the power of the Holy Spirit I see the temptation that my children face I see this I see that I see their disobedience I see their attitudes in their heart and says Lord I'm not just gonna say it's their fault it's mine I want to fall on my face and say Lord if you could do it for Amram and Jochebed you could do it for me you've given me something far greater the power of the Holy Spirit in me help me Lord let me fall on my face and pray and pray and pray weep on your pillow for your children fathers mothers pray for them when you're in the workplace when you could be distracted by all the other thing pray for your children I thank God for the children we have I praise God for them they're some of the best children I've seen in the world they when I hear them pray back there my heart rejoices to parents you're doing a wonderful job but cry out to God we can't afford to lose even one of these children and it's up to us parents it's up to us parents yeah first Thessalonians chapter 4 the workplace I put that before the local church but and that's because we spend more time in our workplaces but don't let that always ever be a priority your business your work should never be a priority I made it a milepost as it were in my life that every Sunday and every Wednesday I'll be here and every prayer meeting every organized meeting of the church I won't miss one now sometimes you're sick and the exception might be there where something comes up with your children but it's it's a marker and you might say well are you being a legalistic and I don't know I know I'm not being but I tell you that structure of Sunday Wednesday and our bi-monthly prayer meetings are structures I put in place they say Lord help me keep it's like guardrails you know you may be a good driver but you ever drive on the that highway over there by where there's no there's no barrier and or even going up to Mount Evans know what's it called now Blue Sky Mountain I think Mount Blue Sky or driving on these narrow roads on a cliff where there's no guardrail I'm nervous my palms get sweaty I'm getting sweaty thinking about it right now I've driven for 30 years and so you might say well do you still need that guardrail of Sunday Wednesday I say I do because for me coming to these meetings is an independence indication of my dependence on the Lord Lord I need to pray with my brothers Lord I need to be taught by you along with my brothers Lord I need to be encouraged by my brothers and sisters here that's why I'm here it's an indication of my dependence on the Lord not to so you can check the box I'm pretty sure you won't mind if I miss it Wednesday I'm not coming here to please any of you you know that I'm here because I need to meet with the Lord together with you the Lord's ordained placed me in this body for that reason and I hope brothers sisters that you come to the meetings with a diligence and a devotion and a faithfulness for that reason first Timothy first Thessalonians 411 says make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and to mind your own business and work with your hands verse 12 so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need not be in any need doesn't say so that you will be successful and make a lot of money and be a millionaire and all that no so that you will not be in any need you won't have to beg or borrow or steal from anyone work with your own hands and then the local church body and other ministries outside of that but like I said all of those things some of you may be called to have an external ministry outside of the church some of you may have other areas that you minister and reach others for the lost but whatever it might be it must start with this well springing up and flowing to the outside God will do the work I believe it and it'll become rivers of living water where like we read in Ezekiel 47 everything will live where the river goes is that the ambition of your life wherever you take me this week Lord everything must live my neighbor that driver who cut me off on the street on the road let him have life because I'm going there that grocery store clerk at the at the checkout counter everywhere I go everywhere the river goes there's life everything will live where the river goes I'm in Lord I pray that you will make this a reality in my life I long for it I pray I believe we are all longing for it I pray you'll make it so forgive us Lord the times of ignorance you overlook but now you command men everywhere to repent I repent Lord and humble myself I fall before you like a grain of the wheat grain of wheat falling into the ground and die and I say Lord Jesus I've decided to follow you this is the life you lived I've decided to follow you I will take up my cross and follow you will you help me I've decided to follow you no turning back the world behind me the cross before me though none go with me still I will follow no turning back help us Lord we believe you will pour out your spirit within us that we might experience this spiritual life we ask in Jesus