Leave Your Gift At The Altar

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:46

Good afternoon, and welcome to Hill and Stream Waters Daily Doses. It's another day, it's another week that God has kept us, and we're grateful and thankful for it. I'm going to be reading in your hearing today the fifth chapter of Saint Matthew, the 23rd and the 24th verse. And it reads as such. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come to offer your gift. And so what that means, uh my dad used to always have a saying, this thing is for believers. And it was one account in the scriptures where 70 of Jesus' disciples turned and walked no more with him. Why? Because although this gospel is good news and it's for the betterment of all people, it is an acquired case. Because this gospel requires sacrifice. And taking up our cross and following God daily. It doesn't make a sense. And so that takes a little more muscle power. It takes a little bit more discipline. It takes a little bit more of a made-up mind to do this. You really have to have a commitment to Jesus in order to walk the walk that he walked. Think about him. He was led to the slaughter as a sheep before her chairs, and he opened not his mouth. How many of you can do that? Go without having to respond, going without having to um trying to get back at somebody. God said, Vengeance is his and he will repent. So the topic again is leave thy gift at the altar. Because the word does say, how can you love me whom you have not seen and hate your brethren, who you see every day? Methods are many. Principles are few. Methods may change the way we do things, how we do things, they will change. But principles never do. If God says love, that's exactly what he means. Not love those who love you, but love those who uh despitefully use you. Love those who do you no good, love those who talk about you and persecute you. But he said, if you remember, why you bringing your gift to me and you remember that your brother having aught, he said, leave your gift at the altar, go reconcile, and then come back because God won't even accept your gift. I'm reminded with Cain and Abel that you know, giving our gifts to the Lord, and God was pleased with Abel's, but with Cain's, he was not, and Cain was rough about that thing, to the point that he wasn't satisfied till he killed his brother over a gift, and you know, anything that makes you go to the extreme like that, call jealousy, envy, and God don't want the gift if the heart is not right. We must give whatever we do out of our heart. The uh above scriptures say, in order for us to see God, we must have a pure heart. Who can stand in his holy hills? Those who have clean hands and a pure heart. God does not accept our gifts any old kind of way. No, he wants what he wants. Go thy way, make amends. We have to forgive. God said, if we don't forgive, he will not forgive us. So don't waste your time with doing a lot of activity if it's not from your heart, out of the pureness and the honesty of your heart. He will say, Many come to me and say, Haven't I prophesied? Haven't I did this? Haven't I did that? He's gonna say, I never knew you, depart from me, because it's not about the activities, even Moses and magicians. Moses threw down his rod, the magicians do down theirs, but it was a difference because Moses, Moses' rod that turned into a snake, he ate up the Egyptians. So the magicians, the sorcerers, there are people that have powers, but if your power is not of God, it will not last. So make sure your gift provide the gift out of the pureness of your heart. Leave it, go reconcile. He says in the book of Revelation, I I understand there are some false prophets or apostles, whatever. I I know, I see, I see how I look low, I see everything that's going on, but I have something against you. You left your first love. Go back and do your first words, do it, obey God, have faith in God, trust God. You only need a little bit of faith. He said we have faith the size of the muffin seed. So, people God, children of God, my brothers and sisters, make sure your gift, God is accepted. Because other than that, he's gonna, as he said, he's gonna purge you that you bring forth more fruit. But if you don't, he said he's gonna burn it. Make sure that whatever you do in word or deed, that you do it heartily, as unto the Lord, knowing that He is gonna reward you for that which is right. Go in the vineyard and work, and that which is right, God says, I would pay. Methods are many, principles are few, methods they will change, but what God says, his principles, his statutes, his ordinance, his commandments, you cannot bypass. You cannot violate principle and get the promise. No, sir, Bible. If you look in Deuteronomy, it has a whole lot of if-then statements. If you do this, then I will do that, not before and not after. Bring forth fruit that's meat for repentance, and repentance means turn, turn from your wicked ways, as in um second chronicles 7:14. If my people that are called by my name, if they were humble themselves, so we gotta not about what I want, what is it that God wants? Jesus said, even in the garden, if it be thy will, take this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine, oh Lord, be done. So today we know we're coming up to resurrection Sunday, and as we take communion, the Bible says, as we eat this bread and drink of this blood, do it all in remembrance of me. Why did he come down through 42 generations and was a great exchange for us? Bulls and goats, it didn't save us, it couldn't save us, but God said, Prepare me a body, and I'm gonna go down. He sacrificed for us, and we must also do it for our brethren. If you feel, if you sense that somebody got a gift, um, somebody got something against you, or make amends. Uh, that's with uh AA, they have 12 steps, and one of the steps is making amends. You cannot go forward until you clean that up from your past. You can't clean up everything because some people are not on this earth for you to ask forgiveness or to reconcile with, but you can make a mental note, you can write it, write a note, and then after you write a note, burn it. But you must get it out of you, make amends, leave your gift at the altar, go do it, and then bring it back. God's looking for pureness of heart. So I say to you today, from healing stream waters, daily doses, what would you let separate you from the love of God? Don't don't let these, yeah, it may be small things, but sometimes the smallest things is the biggest thing because that little jealousy, that little envy, that little unforgiveness can keep you from going into your future. Leave it, leave it at the altar and go back, rectify, make amends, and you know what? Forgiveness is not for the other person, it actually is for you. Clear your heart out, give it to the wind, be okay with it. I've been there, I done that, and I can't go forward if I keep holding holding so unforgiveness. Is a cancer and it will eat you alive. Go, go, not for you. I mean, not for others, do it for you. What would you let's separate you from the love of God? This is daily doses from hill and stream waters. Go with God, have peace, nothing missing, nothing broken. And he wish above all that you would be in, you would be in good health, even as your soul shall prosper. He wants the best for you. He has you in mind when he came down here. God loves you. I love you, and there's nothing you can do about it.