 Hi everyone. Welcome back. I see a question here from Christopher. There were two points that you had mentioned at the close of the last session. The second one was that we are all pilgrims. What was the first point? So, as we were talking about the second altar, right Christopher? We're calling it the altar of intimacy and the pilgrim walk. So, the first point is basically that in our walk as Christians, we need to grow in intimacy and also keeping in mind at the same time that we are all pilgrims and that we are not of this world. So, that's just the two points. Everybody else doing alright? Can you guys with me hope you're learning something? Yes sir. So, we take a look at page 5 at the very bottom of your notes. It says once again from Hebrews 11-9. I just want to read that for us. Even when he reached the land, God promised him he lived there by faith. This is the scriptures telling about the way Abraham lived his life. He was like a foreigner living in tents. So, what's the significance of a tent? You're not just putting a foundation to it. There's no bunch of concrete and bricks and stones and what not. It's very easy to pack and move on. More like the Bedouin tribe, those shepherds, they would live in the wilderness in the tents. So, that's more like it. So, living in the tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob who inherited the same promise. So, the temporary nature of the tent bears testimony to his willingness to have no roots in this world except to be a pilgrim in it. Let's take a look at Acts 7 verse 5 and come down to page 6. I've mentioned this in your notes. In Acts 7 verse 5, it says, He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. Abraham just knew at the point that I'm going to live as a pilgrim. But he's promised me and I'm just going to obey his voice. I'm going to let him lead me. I'm going to trust him. This is a quote from Thomas R. Taylor. I just thought it was very interesting. He says, But I am but a stranger here. Heaven is my home. Earth is a desert. Heaven is my home. Danger and sorrow stand around me on every hand. Heaven is my Fatherland. Heaven is my home. So as a children of God in our time, we too are called upon to live as pilgrims in this world. And more on this, we see in the next altar that Abraham built is the altar of commitment and separation. So once again, let's go to Genesis chapter 12. I want to read for us from verse eight, just so we get the context. It says, From there he went on toward the hill east of Bethel and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. This was the second one, right? Verse nine. Then Abraham set out and continued toward the negative, the negative wilderness, the desert. Verse 10. Now there was a famine in the land. And Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife, I know what a beautiful woman you are. The Egyptians see you. They will say this is his wife. They will kill me, but we'll let you live. We know the remainder of the story. So from verse 10 to verse 20, the next 10 verses of Genesis 12, which is about Abraham in Egypt. Do you need me to project the notes for us? Please let me know. Sorry, I didn't realize that I had not shared my screen. Go ahead and do that. So we are talking about the third altar, the altar of commitment and separation. I'm calling it that and we'll see why in just a bit. So later he went to another place, he built a throne and built another altar. In these three places, Abraham built three altars. This altar is associated with Abraham's communion and relationship with God. So in Abraham, in Genesis 12, we see that he left, he leaves the land. Okay, the land had promised him, said, this is the land that you are to live, and this is the land that I will be giving you your descendants. But during the time of severe famine, Abraham goes down to Egypt. Right? And then when we come down, in his time in Egypt, he comes out with, and I don't want to say headache, he comes out of Egypt with two things. One, he becomes a very wealthy man, very rich. So he comes out of Egypt with great possession. So I just want to read from my NKJV version, very quickly in Exodus, sorry, in Genesis 12, Genesis 12, and the last, so the last verse, verse 20, Genesis 12, 20 says, So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him, Abraham, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had. Okay. Genesis chapter 13, verse one says, then Abraham went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and lot with him to the south. Abraham was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. Okay. Now another, one of the translations of some, it says that he came out with great substance. He came out with great possession or great substance. And that is such a foreshadowing of this. Let's very quickly go to Genesis chapter 15. Okay. Sorry, I'm making you read too many scriptures too early in the morning. Too many jumping around here and there. Okay. Genesis chapter 15. Okay. And verse 12, Genesis 15, verse 12. Okay. It says, as the sun was setting, Abraham fell into deep sleep and a thick and a dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, okay, the Lord said to him, know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a strange land, in a country, not their own. And they will be enslaved and mistreated 400 years. But I will punish the nation. They serve as slaves. And afterward they will come out with great possessions. They will come out with great substance. So there's a lot of things that's happening there. One is God is prophesying about the people of Israel's time in Egypt that they will be enslaved for 400 years, that they will be in bondage. But when they come out, they're going to come out with great substance and in a position. That's exactly what is happening here in Genesis 12 and early chapters of verses of Genesis 13. It's like a foreshadow. There it says when Abraham came out of Egypt, he came out with all that he had with great substance and possession. So now when you look at that, because he was rich, there was a lot of friction that was happening between Abraham and his nephew Lot. When you go through the chapter 13, you will see their livestock was way too much and there was always quarreling happening between Abraham and his nephew Lot. But then there comes a point where Abraham says, Okay, enough is enough. I've had enough. Why should we quarrel? The land is huge. We have enough space and whatnot. And then Abraham gives Lot the choice. You choose where you want to go. If you want to go to the left, I'll go to the right. If you want to go to the right, I'll go to the left. One side note thing which is not very important is the patriarchs of those days would always take use north as a compass, which again happens most of the time, even this day is. So he was talking in reference to that. Say, okay, you go to the west, I'll go to the east. If you go to the east, I'll go to the west. So that's what's happening there. And Lot chooses to go to the land that is lush and green, which is very, very, very close to Sodom and Gomorrah. Okay. And even at that time it was known. Okay. If you look at Genesis chapter 13 verse 12 verse 12, it says Genesis chapter 13 verse 12 says, Abraham lived in the land of Canon while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. Okay. Look at those words there. I don't know what your translation says. It says, now the men of Sodom were past, okay, wicked and were sinning. That means they had already built a reputation of being very wicked people. Lot knew that, but then he still chose to go towards that in that direction, right? Because, okay, everything looked amazing. Now, so Lot went from living in the outskirts of the city. And then we get to know later that he was living among them, right? Now, if I was a patriarch, if I was a leader, if I was the one who brought you out, right? If I had, knowing that I have the authority, I would have told, okay, you know what? I'm gonna go there, you go there. But instead, Abraham gives Lot the chance to choose. And even in this, Abraham knew what Sodom and Gomorrah was all about. And they were living a sinful life, wicked life. And sometimes the sin can be very exciting, very attracting, you know, very inviting. But then Abraham chooses himself to set himself apart. He's like, no, I'm not going to associate myself with wicked people. And that's what happens in Genesis chapter 13 verse 18. Then Abraham moved his tent and went and dwelt by the terrible tree of Mamre, which are in Hebron and built an altar there to the Lord. Okay, Mamre means manliness and Hebron means society of our friendship, stable strength firm. So with this altar, in this move, Abraham desired to separate himself to the Lord away from Sodom and Gomorrah. And the Hebrew, this verse in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 10 corresponds to this altar. It says, Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God. Okay, he was constantly looking, living life like a pilgrim. He said, okay, you know, none of these earthly things are going to attract me. I've left everything, my home, my land, and I've come and searched. And then Hebrews 1110 says, he was constantly looking for a city with eternal foundations, a city that was designed and built by God. And which is why Abraham was not even tempted to choose a land that looked very green and lush and flourishing and fertile. It didn't matter to him because he was not looking for it. He was not attracted by it, but his eyes and his heart were set on something bigger, right? So not only did he live a pilgrim's life denying himself the pleasures of this world, but he took a step of separating himself to God. He wanted to be in communion with his Lord in the quiet place of fellowship, Hebron. Okay, the Hebrew word for holy is set apart. When we say God is holy, we simply say that He is set apart. That means there is no one like Him, right? And forgive me if I've used these examples before and if you remember. Is that there is not a single creature on earth or in heaven that God can point His finger and say, I am like Him. If an alien, a Martian, so to speak, come to earth and say like, who are you? What are you? I can point my finger and say I'm a human being like Charles, like Prabhakar, like all of you guys. But that's what holy is when we say God is holy. There is not a single angel that He can point His finger and say, I'm like that. Or a single molecule that He can say, okay, or I'm like this. God is set apart. And because He is set apart, He calls us to be set apart. And one of the recurring themes of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is that God keeps saying, I will be your God, you will be my people. Simply means I'm setting yourself apart from me. I will be your God and you will be my people. I'm not going to share you with anybody else. In Exodus chapter 19, when you read it, he says, out of all the nations of the world, although the whole earth is mine, I have chosen you to be my holy nation, a treasured possession. What is he saying? That I'm choosing you to be set apart from me. And that is the heart of our God is that because He is holy, He's calling us to be holy. And Abraham gets this. And then he chooses at the very early stage in his life. He chooses himself to set himself apart and not to get mixed up with the world. And so that's where he builds that altar. And this altar is the altar of commitment and separation. And finally we come to the fourth altar, the altar of sacrifice. But before we go on, do you have any questions, any thoughts, pointers, anything that you're learning so far? Because I'm constantly talking, sorry. First off, I've got a question. In Genesis 13, the end of 12 and the beginning of 13, just wondering, is it possible that there's some history of Abraham that's not recorded in the Bible? Because here he said that in this one, then Abraham went up from Egypt. He and his wife and all that he had with love with him to the south. And then from the south, then he went to battle with gold and stuff. So can you speculate that he might have gone to Ethiopia or south away from Egypt, even though it's not recorded. I know it's not to be recorded. Yeah, we certainly can speculate, thank you. That's a good point as well because not everything will be recorded. I'm not too sure about that. But yeah, I mean he's gone down south. But the Bible is very clear that he says he comes back to the place where he built an altar that is Bethel, his second altar. So he must have gone down and then gone back up to the place. I don't know which route he must have taken. But yeah, does that answer? Yes. Yes, that's it. Please go ahead. Thank you, Pastor. Pastor, my question is, how is this going to imply as a Christian? Abraham was in the Old Testament and he was not with Christ. So is this, do we also have this different altars we have to make in our day-to-day life or in Christ we can find everything? That's my question. Thank you. Sure. That's such a valid genuine question. But so we are in the New Covenant, right? As in the Old Testament, in the Old Covenant, we know that altars was a place of worship. It was a place of sacrifice. Sacrifice were constantly offered. And if you read, when we read Leviticus chapter 8 and 9, I guess, I think, I'm not too sure. Priests would build altars and would place sacrifices constantly. But Jesus is our sacrifice. He is our ultimate sacrifice. We don't need to take another sacrifice on the altar because the ultimate price is paid. The ultimate price is paid. Now all the blood that was shed in the Old Testament, it was covering for our sins. We read that time and time again. But when Jesus is introduced by John the Baptist, he says, this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That means he's not just covering our sins anymore, but he's completely cleansed us, ransomed us. He's completely redeemed us. And so we walk the walk of faith as Christians. But what we do doesn't really matter. Everything is given to us by grace. We don't earn righteousness. I hope you get what I'm saying. But it is by grace that we've been redeemed. We've been ransomed. So this is another point. As we walk this Christian life, we learn about that in this last altar. And I hope that will make sense because there is one verse that I want to highlight as we conclude. Is that okay, Shri Kumar? Yeah, thank you. Yeah. Thanks for sharing those scriptures as well. His final altar, the altar of sacrifice, we all know about this is Genesis chapter 22 verse 9. The story of Abraham taking his son, Isaac, because God tells him to go take him up and to be sacrificed. Now we see how his life has progressed from Genesis 12 and 10 chapters later. And when you see Genesis 12, when God says, leave, he just left. And then his relationship with him, his build is increasing, he's become very intimate. And now it's come to a point where God says, I want your son, you're only begotten son. Sounds very familiar, right? And so let's just read the passage. Then they came to a place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order. And he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood. Can I ask a very simple question to us? Although it was Isaac on the altar, who do you think was really on the altar? Abraham? Yeah, it's not a trick question, yeah. You know, when he's waited for a son for a long, long time, finally the promises come. And we can discuss so many things about this, right? We can't even express how hard it must have been for Abraham to do this. So in all fairness, it was actually Abraham that was on the altar. What do I mean by this? God did not want Isaac. He wanted the heart of Abraham. It was Abraham who was really upon the altar. In Hebrews 11, 1719, it says, It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God's promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. Even though God had told him, Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted. Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead. I mean, this is so beautiful, isn't it? We know about this person called Abraham and then he is known as the father of faith and whatnot. But when you read the scriptures, when you read the Word of God, of how the Word of God testifies about this person called Abraham, it really does something to us, isn't it? That he knew that even though Isaac was the son that God promised, that he will increase his descendants, he did not hold back. And he kind of knew that, okay, even if Isaac dies, I know this God was going to raise him back from the dead. You see the growth of intimacy and faith in Abraham's journey, right? In his faith. So it is no wonder that under God, Abraham became the founder of a nation, the friend of God, the father of the faithful and the fount of blessing to a lost world. It was truly a patriarch, a prophet, a prince and a pilgrim. But now, Sri Kumar, just to answer your question. Romans 12 verse 1 says, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, right? We are very familiar with that scripture, isn't it? Paul is challenging us to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, a wholly and acceptable set apart, that means dying to ourselves every day, as we walk this walk of faith. John H. Samus, he says, But we never can prove the delights of his love until all on the altar we lay. Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid? Your heart does the spirit control. You can only be blessed and have peace and sweet rest as you yield him your body and soul. And so as a conclusion of this section, it's very simple. I'll just stop presenting here. God is not only asking us to build altars in our journey, that as we learn that altar is a place where we recognize, we acknowledge who God is. It's a place of surrender. It's a place of worship. And then we read Romans chapter 12 verse 1, we sing, Okay, we are not just called to build altars, but we are called to be on the altar. And so the question is, as worshipers, as ministers of God, one, are we building altars where we remind us of everything that he has done and then are we on the altar knowing that he is good? And so I'm going to lay my life down to the King who is worthy of it all. So you guys, let me, so I just want to end this session actually with that point and not go any further. We'll resume with the rest of the session next week. Any thoughts, anything that you'll learn that kind of stood out today that you want to share before ending the class? Yes, Shri Kumar. I just want to, as the Romans chapter 12, when we say, or as you said, all of us to be sacrificed. So can you help me to understand that what exactly, how I can implement this thing in my life or how I can, that is something which I want to know. When I say that all of us to be sacrificed, I want to know that how it can be implemented in my life. You're welcome, Shri Kumar. I wanted to have a follow-up question so that we can answer it together. From Shri Kumar's question, as from Romans 12 of 1, and the statement you've made that God is calling us not only to build altars but to be on the altar. Does that one now connect with Romans 12 of 1? That is the one that I wanted you to connect. Thank you. Thanks, Chants. I think a short answer would be, yes, that as in when I say, when we read the words, Romans chapter 12, right? Okay. So once again, if you don't mind, I read the Romans chapter 12 verse 1 says, therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. And this is your spiritual act of worship. So Shri Kumar, so this would again vary from person to person in terms of how I can apply this self in my life. So as an individual, what are the things of the world that tempts me, that attracts me, that is causing me to go away from my relationship, from my walk with God? Are there some of the things that I'm doing? Am I involved in certain things that does not please God? Does that interest me? Does that tempt me? Am I involved in that? Instead, am I going to say no to all the things of the world that are pleasing to the eyes, right? And that's just so appealing and say no. I'm going to say no to all of those things. Instead, I'm going to lay myself on the altar. I'm going to say no because I want to say yes to God. Okay. So that's, and that would vary like I said, from person to person, like, you know, and some cases it might be a desire, a passion, like there might be one thing that you want to do and then there's another thing that God is telling you to do. What are you going to do about that? For example, let's say, okay, I want to go and just do my studies in say culinary arts. I'm just giving that as an example. That's my, you know, I love cooking and what, and there's absolutely nothing following that. But then somewhere down the lane, you know that, okay, you know, God's called you for to go on, to be a missionary and so on and so forth. I mean, you know, the voice of God is being very clear to you and whatnot. Are you going to say, you know, are you going to lay on the altar and say, okay, Lord, this is what I want to do, but because you have called me, I'm going to say no to my personal desires because I want to say yes to you. So in small things like that, it doesn't have to be the big Shri Komar. So in small things every day, you know, we are called to carry our cross every day, die to ourselves every day and walking, being sensitive to the leading of his voice, to the leading of the voice of our shepherd every day will help us, you know, offering ourselves as a living sacrifice. That's what it is. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thanks Shri Komar. I hope it helps. Yeah, thank you, sir. Thank you. Great. Thanks, Alasha, for sharing your thought. This is my point in today's discussion. It is much important to be laid on the altar as to building an altar. Yeah. Please remember, guys, this is all metaphoric in this day. Symbolic is I'm not asking you to go get some bunch of stones and bricks and start. Okay. Christopher, go ahead. Yes, I'm actually referring to Romans 12-1 in the NKVI. And there's a mention about, which is your reasonable service. Just trying to understand, is it where God is saying that based on your limitations, just trying to understand what is meant by reasonable service. Okay. Can I just quickly read for us from the message version? Yeah. I heard not so. So I feel like one second, please, if you don't mind. Christopher. Okay. I'll paste it in the chat section. So this is from the message version. I kind of like it because it's very simple. So it says, here's what I want you to do. God helping you. Take your everyday, ordinary life. You're sleeping, eating, going to work and walking around life and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You will be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity. God brings the best out of you, develops well formed maturity in you. I think that makes a lot more sense. Christopher, I mean also to Sri Kumar. Take everyday things. And when we talk about worship, we say worship is a lifestyle, isn't it? And this is what it is. In IV, in Romans chapter 12 verse 1, it says, this is your act of worship. And so we live in surrender, an absolute surrender. That simply is our act of worship, us being on the altar, complete surrender. I just wanted to understand this particular, I mean what the poison that you put across. But I just want to understand a little more about the word reasonable. Where God has, I can't remember the actual verse, but God doesn't give you more than you can handle. And again, as we grow in our spiritual level, we get strengthened and then we can stretch ourselves even more. But I'm saying at a particular instant, in the instance of time, there is a certain aspect of where God is providing, is giving you that objective of the level of service. And it is reasonable, it is something that we can do. Yeah, when you put it like that, yeah. But also when I read the message version, like what you said, you're sleeping, eating, going to work, walking around life, all of that sounds pretty reasonable to me. When I offer all of those things and live in surrender of those small mundane things, those can be considered as a reasonable service as an act of worship as well. Okay, all right guys, thank you for hanging around. I hope you had a good time. Thank you all for sharing. Asha is sharing, I have learned and grasped about the altar, how we can encounter through our worship, testimony, and communion. It also wants our heart, our trust, obedience, our faith. It's like Abraham, when he went to sacrifice his son, he wanted Abraham's heart, yeah. Thanks for sharing Asha, thanks for taking that out. Everybody, thank you for joining for today's session. I'll see you all once again next week. Okay, stay care. Have a blessed week. Bless you. Thank you, Pastor. You're blessed. Thank you. Bless you.