Isaac had an altar, a tent, and a well. He prayed, he moved, he drank the living waters. To give ourselves to the Word is to open ourselves to be reshaped. Delight speaks of being molded.
Psalm 1:2; Genesis 26:23-25

Speaker: Zane Turk, Eugene Davis
Sermon: 12768
Date: 2024-08-11
Time: Sun 6:30PM

 

P. Eugene Davis –

Good evening. Can we all stand? Just going to read one portion in our Bible. Two verses. Psalm 1, I’m
going to read vs. 2-3. (Prayer). You may be seated. It’s amazing so, who knows what’s coming
up in a couple of weeks? The start of MBC&S fall semester 2024. Why is this important?
Because P. Steve just said something earlier. Friday night, we’re going to be praying for warfare.
I think warfare came into the mic for a moment. But there’s another area where we see
warfare, and it’s in hindering the receptivity studying in the Word of God.

I love this in Psalm 1:2. The psalmist who’s writing Psalm 1 delights in something. And it’s interesting.
Where Psalm 1 runs chronologically in our Bible is directly after Psalm 119. And Psalm 119
speaks about the importance of the Word of God. Delighting in the Word of God.

And this is interesting because, you know, and we’ve been taught that many scholars believer
that Psalm 119 was written by Ezra the scribe. And when the children of Israel were in captivity
and horrible, horrendous things happened, and what is the answer to those things? It is the
Word of God. And I love this word “delight” because this word speaks of having pleasure in
something. But there’s another definition for the word “delight” and it means to be moldable.
It’s interesting. We find it in Psalm chapter 37.

It says, “delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” And it’s
interesting this word “delight” because many times people have said and said that verse talks
about well, whatever I want, God’s going to give me. And that’s not what it says. It says what it
means to delight, it means that I am moldable by God. I allow God to come in and have his way
in my life. This is why Bible college is so important. Because when I make a decision to sit in a
place where the Word of God is coming and in Isaiah 50:4, it’s amazing. It says before I have the
tongue of the learned, it says he wakeneth my ear to hear morning by morning.

So, the hearing of the ear comes before the tongue. When I delight in hearing the Word of God
in Psalm 119:133, it says, “the entrance of God’s Word gives light and it gives understanding to the
simple.” And as I hear the Word of God, as I sit and hear the Word of God over and over and
over again, something happens. We see it in Psalm 1. There are roots that get planted like a tree. I
become stable. Amazing today.

How many were at the memorial service for Dan Eaton? It was amazing because what
happened in Dan Eaton’s life is the Word of God got ahold of him. He started hearing the Word
of God in Wilmington. It brought him down to Baltimore and he kept hearing the Word of God.
And we saw the fruit of Dan Eaton by playing on the guitar, but there was more to Dan Eaton
than just playing the guitar. It was a man of God who God had taught him, Though things had
happened in his past, instead of being a victim he became a victor. And he began to go beyond
what happened in his life and he began to minister to people. And it’s amazing. We see this
happen because of the Word of God. The entrance of God’s Word.

You know, it’s interesting. It says that one of the amazing things about when the Word of God
comes in as we said in Isaiah 50:4 it says, “he wakeneth mine ear” and this is interesting. It
means the idea of opening something that is closed. Like waking up in the morning. I know
some of us have a hard time waking up in the morning and we’re like, really? What time is it?
Oh, my God. I can’t believe it’s this early ’cause school is getting ready to start. But it’s amazing
when I choose to open my ears and then it says this. “I was not rebellious.” That’s an interesting
statement because that is what our society today is known by. Rebellion. Disobedience. Defy
any authority. Have you seen it? It’s in our news. It’s in our society. We have an opportunity
every day when God speaks to say here am I. Speak Lord.

In 1 Samuel 3, Samuel was learning how to hear the voice of God. It says the Word of God was
rare in those days. Meaning that it was precious, because there wasn’t an opportunity to hear
the Word of God. In Amos 8:11, it says the days come when there will be a famine, a famine of
hearing the Word of God. So, we know that people aren’t hearing the Word of God, but it
doesn’t mean that I have to follow suit. It doesn’t mean that I have to follow the trends of the
world. It doesn’t mean that since I went to Bible college, I don’t have to go again because you
know what? The night is far spent. Evil is waxing worse and worse.

So, every opportunity to hear the Word of God, I hear the Word of God. I love this in Numbers
chapter 10. This is how important the Word of God is. In Numbers chapter 10, there were four
sounds for the children of Israel in the camp. One was only for the leaders. One was for the
general assembly. One was for the whole Israel to gather, and one was to move and go
forward. Imagine if I couldn’t hear correctly. Imagine the leaders are coming and all of a sudden
like okay. You called. And they’re looking at me like you’re not a leader. I don’t know. I heard
some sound. I heard something. It sounded like this.

But you know what’s amazing? And I love this in 1 Corinthians 14:8. This is a signature verse in our
ministry. “For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who can prepare in battle?” It’s
interesting. It doesn’t say for the battle. It says in battle which means the battle is already going
on. So, it’s important how I hear because if the trumpet gives an uncertain – and the word
“uncertain” means it’s not clear. It’s not precise. It’s granular. I don’t get it.

And if that happens, I don’t know how to prepare in the battle. I don’t know in Ephesians 6 whether
to put on part of the armor or the whole armor. I’m fidgeting with the armor. But Bible college
teaches me to precisely put the armor on. The helmet of salvation. The breastplate of
righteousness. The shield of faith. The sword of the Spirit. My feet shod with the preparation of
the Gospel of peace. Prayer. This is where the Bible college, the preciseness and the specificity
of being in the Word of God and hearing day in and day out categories. And my roots are being
established.

And you know, this is amazing. Turn to 2 Kings 2. This is a great portion of Scripture because
this is where we see an application of the importance of having roots established in the Word
of God. 2 Kings 2. It’s the story of Elijah and Elisha or as P. Schaller likes to say Elijah #1 and
Elijah #2. Because we’ve all been tongue tied and like okay which one. But it’s an amazing thing
happens. This is Bible college. Because Elijah is going to be taken to heaven and Elisha is in
training. And Elijah says to Elisha, tarry. And what does Elisha say? No. I’m going with you. I love
this because we can all be discouraged in the plan of God.

And God can even use a leader or a man of God or a woman of God or someone investing in
your life to say, you know what? You’re okay here. I’m going with you all the way. Like Ruth said
to Naomi, I’m going with you. Where you lodge, I lodge. Where you go, I go. Where you are
buried, I’ll be buried. It sounds a little fanatical, but you know what? This is the life of a disciple.
One who is being trained for the battle.

Because the battle is for the souls of men and women. The battle is for people whether they
continue with God or don’t continue with God. The battle is whether the lights are on here or
it’s shut down and it’s closed. There’s a battle. The battle’s in your family. When the devil tries
to get in and take out your family members or your kids or the school, GGCA, or the Learning
Center, the battle doesn’t stop. But you know what’s amazing. We heard this Friday night. I love
this, P. Scibelli. Because we have spiritual weapons, we are not afraid of the battle. 2 Corinthians 10:4-
6, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.

But what happens here it says, Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal and Elijah said to Elisha,
“tarry here I pray ye. For the Lord has sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said to him, as the Lord
lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” I’m not quitting. I’m not quitting. I came here. I
came here. I’m following you. I’m not quitting. And even you telling me to stop is not going to
discourage me. I’m going all the way.

You know what’s interesting. There’s the sons of the prophets who say, your master will be
taken from you today. How many when we’ve been in Bible college said, what are you doing in
Bible college? Why are you going? Are you going to getting a job in Bible college? What do you
think you’re going to do in Bible college? I’m here to learn the voice of God so I know how to
fight in the battle. I know how the certain sound when I’m single, when I’m married, when the
kids come, when the kids go. I know who to hear the voice of God.

In 2 Kings 2, he goes with him from Gilgal to Bethel, from Bethel to Jericho, from Jericho down
to Jordan and across the Jordan. And it was only in crossing over the Jordan that Elijah asked
Elisha what do you want? If he had stopped at Gilgal, he would never have gotten a double
portion. If he had stopped at Bethel, he would not have gotten a double portion. If he had
stopped at Jericho, there would be no double portion. He had to go all the way.

And what does that mean for us? All the way. Dan Eaton, all the way. He’s before the Lord
today. Part of the great cloud of witnesses that says to all of us, keep running. Keep going. Don’t
quit. Don’t be discouraged. Don’t be weary. Don’t turn back. Keep going. Keep going. Keep
going. Delight in the Word of God. Delight in the Word of God. Meditate on the Word of God.
Be available to hearing the Word of God and you will be like a tree planted. Your roots will go
down and I love it. Roots downward. Fruit upward. And like Joseph a fruitful bow goes over the
wall. And this is what happens in Bible college.

And you know what I love about this ministry? This is the testimony of our lives. I’m preaching
to the choir because so many here have gone and are still going to Bible college, but this fall is
another opportunity. This year to be in Bible college. If you’ve never been there before, come
for the first time. If you’ve been there, come again because the battle is still going on. But you
know what I love about the battle? The battle is the Lord’s. Amen. Amen. (Prayer).

Zane Turk –

Let’s here it for the song again. Huh? That was awesome. Hey, does anyone have
any Clorox wipes for the mic? No, I’m just kidding. We won’t be touched with the diseases of
the Egyptians, right? No, I’m not calling P. Fred an Egyptian. No. It’s okay. How many of you can
you raise your hands if you’ve gone on a Summer Harvest trip or Summer Alive in Baltimore City
or even if you just went on outreach this summer? I’m trying to get the numbers of the hands
up. Okay. It’s amazing, huh? We’re on the move. Our church is on the move.

My wife and I, we were in Westminster, uh, West Virginia. The other West. We were in West
Virginia yesterday with P. Andrew Gardner and Laura and his daughter and it was an amazing
time. We had a big team there. We just went on the streets of Morgantown and we just
evangelized, talked to people. And we had a great time. We swarmed the suburbs and it was
crazy to see a flock of Greater Grace knocking on doors and just going up and down streets
everywhere you turn. You know, it’s amazing to see God’s people just giving his Word and P.
Fred was in Richmond yesterday with the team there. And they were, they were in Maine this
weekend as well. Long Beach, California. Oslo, Norway. Scotland a couple weeks ago. The list
keeps going on. It’s amazing, right, that we’re on the move. So, thank you Lord for this amazing
church that we’re a part of.

Let’s read one text in Genesis 26. And we’ll just enjoy a couple minutes together reading God’s
Word and pray that he ministers to us. So, Genesis 26:23-25. So, would you just join me for a word
of prayer before we start the message. (Prayer).

Amen. So, this verse is an amazing verse because of what it means in our lives today that Isaac,
Isaac built an altar. He called upon the name of the Lord. He pitched his tent and then his
servants dug a well. In this verse, there’s three things that represent something in our life
today. It’s an altar. It’s a tent and it’s a well.

In Romans 15:4 it says that the things that were written in former days, they were written for our
instruction that through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. So, these
things were written for our sake and what do these things mean? So, I’m just going to go
through what these things mean in our life and I pray that it will encourage us tonight. All right.
So, let’s start with the altar.

In Exodus 20, if you would turn there with me, we can read a couple verses. The altar. The altar is
something that’s significant because an altar is something that represents death. God made a
provision for the transgression of man and he said you had to kill a sacrifice or sacrifice an
animal on this altar. It represents a place of death, but it also represents a place of forgiveness.
And it represents a place where a sinful man could meet a holy God. The altar is a place where
man meets God. And the altar is the place of eternal things.

The altar represents eternal things. At the same time, a tent represents something that is temporal. It’s temporary. It’s easily moved. It represents our daily life. A tent represents the things of this earth. The tent
represents how we relate to other people in our life. The altar represents how we relate to God
and a tent represents how we relate to people.

So, in Exodus Chapter 20, immediately after God gives the Ten Commandments, – let’s just read a
couple verses and we’ll be encouraged I know cuz it’s such an encouraging word. Vs. 18 of Ex.
20. Vs. 19. And Moses says something amazing. Vs. 20-21. This is an amazing scene that the
children of Israel are at the bottom of this mountain, and God is speaking to them. Giving the
Ten Commandments and they are so afraid. They don’t want to speak to God. And I think that
would be true if I were there as well.

That we would, I would see this amazing sight that there’s thunderings. There’s lightning.
There’s smoke. There’s smoke coming off the mountain. And I and this is a fearful sight but
Moses says, do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. God has come to test you so that the fear of him
may make you not sin. On the one hand, don’t be afraid. But on the other hand, fear him.
That’s amazing. That you may not sin.

And I love this verse 22. Yes, that’s amazing. God talking to us. God talking to us. Something,
something from outside of our own imagination. Something outside from a story that we could
make up about who we think God should be like the religions of the world. But God said I talked
with you from heaven.

Vs. 23. And notice this. God said you shall not make gods of silver to be with me. To be with me,
nor shall you make gods of gold for yourself. And isn’t that true that we would make a god for
ourself. We would make a god in our own image. We would make a god to appease our own
feelings that are religions. Our own guilt would cause us to make a god for ourselves so we
could appease him.

But really, it’s just a god of our own image. And I love this in vs. 24. Here’s the meat of it. And
this is a specific type of altar that was made out of the earth. Why is it significant that this altar
is made out of the earth? Because it represents the Cross of Jesus Christ. And we know that. It
represents the Cross. But it’s made out of earth because it’s strictly here on the earth where
somebody can receive the work of the Cross. It has to be received here in this lifetime, and
people need to receive the Cross while they are still on the earth.

When the time comes for a man to die, after he dies he can no longer receive the Cross. He has
to receive the Cross while he’s here on the earth and that’s why we go out. And that’s why we
talk to people because there is no altar in hell. There is only an altar, the Cross, on the earth
and people need to receive the Cross while they still have a decision to make.

And I love that God was the one that suggested this. The people wanted to make idols but God
said, no. You don’t need an idol. You need an altar. You don’t need an idol but you need
forgiveness of your sins. You don’t need to make a god of silver, but you need forgiveness and
you need salvation. Doesn’t God know what we really need? Doesn’t God know what I need
more than I know myself? And he gave it right after the Ten Commandments.

Why did he give it immediately after the Ten Commandments? Because he knew we couldn’t
keep his law, right? Romans 7 it sys that the law is holy and the commandment is good. But Rom.
8 says that the law is weak because of our flesh. Heb. 7:18 says the law is useless because of
our flesh, so we had to have an altar, right? And we’re thankful for the Cross tonight, aren’t we?
We’re thankful for the Cross. And that’s the first thing it represents. It’s an altar of earth.
If you go down one verse to vs. 25, let’s read this. Vs. 26. And that has so much meaning in the
light of our salvation tonight.

That the altar was made of stone. Stone is something that God made, right? Man made bricks in Ge. 11 but God made stone. And he says don’t cut the stone. This speaks of how salvation was planned in the heart of God in eternity past. The Cross was something that God came up with not man. The same way that God made stone and not man.
In the same way that God said don’t cut the stone, is the same way that we cannot alter or
tamper with the Gospel of grace. We cannot alter the Cross. The Gospel needs no altering. The
Gospel is complete. The Gospel is perfect and the Gospel is from God. We don’t need to add
anything to it to make it look better, and we don’t need to take away anything from it to make
it more attractive. It’s the Gospel of grace. It’s the Cross of Christ. It means that sin is just as bad
as it is. It means that it puts a price on sin and it says it has to be the perfect Son of God that
pays for it.

And I love this part. God says don’t put any stones that are leading steps up to the altar. Don’t
put any steps up to the altar. And that’s amazing because if we could put steps, we would put a lot of steps, right? We would put a lot of requirements. You have to dress a certain way. You
have to spend a certain amount of time in probation before you can receive it. You have to be a
certain qualification or meet a certain set of requirements to come to God’s altar, right? And
before you know it, man would be working and working and working and working. But God said
don’t put any steps up to my altar.

Don’t do it. Because if you do, what’s going to happen? It’s
an interesting thing God says. That your nakedness will be exposed. Why does he say that? He
says it because in Hebrews 4:13, he says no creature is hidden from his sight but all are naked and
exposed in the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

And in Genesis 8, God said after he smelled the pleasing aroma from Noah’s altar, in Ge. 8:20 God
said I know the wicked intent of the heart of man and his intentions are wicked continually. And
God knows the wicked intentions of our heart. And if we put requirements or steps to get up to
the altar of God, the sinfulness, the wickedness, the trickery and deceit of our heart would be
exposed in the eyes of God. And no man would be able to come.

If we put steps to get to the altar of God, nobody could get there. But God said there are no
steps. And this Gospel is for everybody. Amen. I’m so glad tonight that this Gospel is for
everybody. That this Gospel is for a man in a desert, a man at sea, a captain of a ship, a man in a
plane. They can’t meet the requirements. It’s for the young. It’s for the old. It’s for the rich. It’s
for the poor. It’s for the Chinese. It’s for the Iranian. It’s for the Yemenis person. It’s for the
American. The tribal people of the Amazon jungle. It’s for everybody. It’s for all of us. There are
no steps.

And tonight, if you don’t know that, you can come to the altar of Christ and you don’t need to
work to get here. You don’t need to go to church to get there. You just need to come to the
Cross of Christ and say I believe and you will receive the promise that God said in John 1:12,
“whoever received him, he gave the power to become sons of God, children of God. Not born
of blood nor of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God.” We are born of God because there
are no steps to get to his altar. We have the Cross of Christ tonight and we didn’t do anything to
earn it but believe. Amen. Wow. Praise God for the altar of stone. The plan of God. No steps in
getting there. Amen. Isn’t that amazing. Thank you, Lord. And that’s the altar of stone.

And if we go to Part 2, what does it mean that we have a tent in this life? This is also an amazing
theme throughout the Bible. So, let’s turn to Hebrews 11 to get a clearer picture of the tent,
because you and I are living in tents as well in this life. Heb. 11, and I don’t know if any of you
have ever been camping in a tent. I haven’t had this happen to me, but I can imagine the story
of somebody camping at night and hearing a crunching sound, right? It’s not a good sound at
night when you’re in your tent. You can see the silhouette of a giant creature or a bear or a
something. What is separating you from that enemy? A thin piece of plastic, right? Not much
separating you from a bear.

But what does man want to do? They want to, they want to – Cain did this in Ge. 4. He left the
presence of God and what did he do? He built a city. He left the presence of God and in the
strength of his natural man, in his soul power he built a city, right? And what did he do around
that city? He probably built walls. He probably took some sort of measures to fortify himself, to
make sure no enemy could come in. Remember how he was ridden with guilt and he said
somebody is going to come kill me if they find out I’m a murderer. So, he was probably ridden
with guilt and building walls around himself in this city, right?

Man wants to build a city. But God wants us to live in a tent. And what does that mean? That
doesn’t mean that we sell all of our homes and we go pitch a tent in the woods. No, but it
means that in our hearts we are looking forward to something to come. Let’s read it in Heb. 11.
We’ll start in vs.8. Are you guys with me? You’re good. It’s good to see Adam. Adam, it’s good
to see you. Love you. And the Staples. West Virginia. Let’s go. We got to visit Andrew Garnder.
He is an amazing guy.

He’s amazing there in Morgantown. He’s a grace man. He really is. We’ll
keep him in our prayers. We’ll keep P. Dennis in Frederick in our prayers and Jesse Feyers and
Josh Harris, the churches in our prayers. Lord, we thank you for your work. Amen.

So, Hebrews 11:8, Yes, that’s amazing. An inheritance. Have you felt the inheritance that God has
given us? Have you felt it while you are reading the Word of God? Have you felt it while you’re
thinking about the promises of God? Have you felt the inheritance while you think about
heaven? Have you felt the inheritance when you’re in the Body of Christ and there’s love? Have
you felt the inheritance when you’re sharing your faith and there’s purpose in your life and
there’s hope and there’s joy as you sell all that you have? Have you felt the inheritance that is
reserved in heaven for you, that is undefiled, that is unfading.

We can feel the inheritance. We can sense the spiritual blessings in Ephesians 1:3 as we gather together. I can sense it when we are encouraging one another. And it’s our inheritance. It’s from God.
It’s a little bit different from what the world is looking for. They’re not looking for an
inheritance that is to come, but they are looking for something similar in Joshua 7 where they
had gone into Jericho and when they came home, one man took some of the spoils, right?
Achan took some of the spoils. And where did he hide his spoils? He hid it in his tent and he hid
it in the ground and that’s a picture of how the flesh wants to indulge itself in the pleasures of
this world. The flesh wants to be gratified and satisfied and filled and what does it mean that
we are living in a tent in this life? But it means that we’re not filling ourselves with the
pleasures and the securities of this world.

In Luke 12, there was a man that built bigger barns to store his goods. He built bigger barns and
he was planning ahead for years and years to come and he said if I just built bigger barns, I
won’t need to go to work anymore. And I can enjoy my life and I can be secure. But God said,
tonight your soul is required of you. What does it mean that we live in a tent but it means that we’re looking forward to the inheritance to come. We’re looking forward to the city that is to
come. And it says as he went out, he did not know where he was going in vs. 9.

By faith he went to live in a land of promise. We have an inheritance and we have the promise. What was the
promise made to Abraham in Genesis 12? It was that in you all of the nations will be blessed. I had
to say that right away because P. Eugene has been stealing all the answers! I say, what is the
promise in Genesis 12? And he knows it right away. He’s a man of the book, right?

In you all of the nations will be blessed. Where was that promise fulfilled but in Acts 2 when the
Holy Spirit came and all of the nations were made to fit the Holy Spirit because of the
resurrection of Christ. Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise, and the Holy Spirit was the
Comforter that came to fill all who would believe so that all of the nations of the world could be
blessed. And we have this promise tonight, Luke 24. It’s the promise of the Holy Spirit, the
power of the Holy Spirit. He said wait in Jerusalem until you are clothed with power on high.
And we have that promise tonight in our hearts as we are filled with the Holy Spirit in this place.
So, we have an inheritance. We have a promise, and in vs. 9, it says he lived there as in a foreign
land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob.

Heirs with him of the same promise for he was looking forward to the city which has foundations. And that is an amazing thing. And one verse in Psalm 89:4 this is an amazing verse and it says that righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. That is an amazing truth that righteousness and justice are the foundation of his
throne. And in this world, we will never truly see justice fulfilled. We will never see it. People
will get away with terrible sins. World leaders will get away with mass murder in this life. But
there is a day where righteousness and justice will be the foundation of God’s throne and we
will see it.

And we don’t look for vengeance in this world because God said – we know what he said.
Vengeance is mine. Give me that vengeance. Let me have it. We say we’re not looking for
justice now, Lord. We’re looking for, we’re looking for grace and mercy and you can have the
justice when you set your throne up on this earth. And we’re not looking for city to put our
roots in this life, but we’re looking for the city that is to come. Amen.

And let’s go – we have to go there. We got to do it. Revelation 21, we got to read one verse, because
it’s the truth of the Word of God and it’s so encouraging in our, in my heart right now that Rev.
21:9. And do we believe this together, church? We believe that there is a city coming? Do we
believe that there’s an inheritance that is undefiled, reserved, unfading, kept in heaven for you
by God? And that it’s an eternal inheritance in Hebrews 9. An eternal redemption in Heb. 9. And
that’s such an amazing promise because it’s the eternal Spirit that has done it for us in vs. 9.
Revelation 21:9, I’m going to show you the bride. Come here. Vs. 10. And he showed me a city.

I thought you were going to show me a bride? But that looks like a city to me. What does that
mean? That means if you look to your left and your right or as you walk out of the church tonight and you see fellow brothers and sisters, you are looking at in some amazing, mysterious
way that we really can’t fathom, yet you’re looking at the New Jerusalem. You’re looking at the
bride of Christ. He said I will show you the bride of Christ and out of heaven comes a city. That
means that we are being built in as the house of God in Heb. 3:6. We are God’s house. We are
living stones in 1 Peter 2:4. We are being built into God’s house in Ephesians 2:18-21. We are being
built into a structure and this structure grows.

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a building that’s growing. I haven’t seen a building that’s
growing. But there’s something about this city of God that is being built and it is also growing
like a tree or like a plant. Like it’s not, it’s a building but it’s alive and it’s growing and it’s the
Body of Christ and in Ephesians 5:18-19, I love this word.

It says that if you are filled with the Spirit, you will make a melody with your heart to the Lord,
right? And I love the offering because Jemima is an amazing worship leader and worshipper and
she’s singing the melody. And then, in the back I hear Tom Reagan like really high voice and I’m
like looking over. Tom is standing in the corner singing backup and he’s got this amazing
harmony to the melody.

In Colossians 3, it says that love binds everything together in perfect harmony. In Rom. 15:5-6 it says
that when you come together and you glorify God together with one voice, it’s a harmony. And
tonight, your fellowship with God, when it’s you and God having fellowship, it’s like a melody.
But when we come together in the church, it’s a harmony. The Body life of Christ is harmonizing
with our personal fellowship with God. And we are, we are experiencing that inheritance. It’s a
melody and a harmony and it’s experienced only in the Body of Christ.

And that’s why we draw near together. That’s why we live as if we’re in a tent because we’re
looking forward to the city that is to come. We’re holding on to the promises of God as we walk
as pilgrims through this life. And we are looking for the foundations – the justice of God, the
mercy of God, the grace of God.

And the last thing in closing, the last thing that Isaac did in Ge. 26 is that he built or he dug a
well. He dug a well and this well is something amazing. Jesus likens it to the work of the Holy
Spirit in John 4. And when we have the Holy Spirit in our life, it’s an amazing well and it never
runs dry. When we seek to satisfy the flesh, it’s going to run dry. We’re never going to be full.
We’re going to be putting money in our pockets but our pockets are going to have holes in
Haggai chapter 1. We’re going to be filling up the cistern but there’s going to be brokenness in
our cistern and it’s going to leak in Jeremiah 2:13. The flesh will never be satisfied.

But when we drink from this well, when we drink from the well of the Holy Spirit, when we sow
to the Holy Spirit in Galations 6, we will reap of the Holy Spirit eternal life. And this will never runs
dry. And we can draw from this well in times of success, in times of joy, in times of great achievement, in times of laughter. And we can draw from this well in times of sorrow, in times
of pain, in times of mourning and weakness and frailty and failure. We can draw from this well
and it’s a very deep well.

It’s as deep as the love of God in Ephesians 3:9. It’s a deep love. It’s a deep
well. It never runs dry and it’s so deep that it’ll carry us all the way to heaven one day. And it
will always satisfy us.

So, tonight if you heard the message, if you heard about this altar, of the Cross, if you heard
about this tent in living in this life as a pilgrim and setting your eyes on the city that is to come;
and if you heard about the well that never runs dry. If you heard about the Cross of Christ that
there are no steps to get there. There is just coming. There is just receiving. There is just
believing in Jesus Christ.

If you heard that message and you just want to receive Jesus as your Savior, you can just
receive him in your heart that you know you need a Savior. And you know you need his love
and his forgiveness. If you’re saying that prayer tonight, could you just raise your hand and we
have something for you. And if you’re here tonight, and you just want to dig deeper into that
love and you want to dig deeper to the well and you want to pitch your tent towards the
heavenly Jerusalem, towards heaven, and you want to come to the altar of Christ, well I do to. I
want that deeper in my own life. That’s why we draw near. (Prayer).

 

Please enjoy these sermon notes from the messages preached at Greater Grace Church in Baltimore. These notes are provided to aid in your study and understanding of the Word. Note that these notes do not represent complete, word-for-word transcriptions. Also, they may contain omissions as well as some errors in spelling and structure, etc., as we attempt to provide them as soon as possible. Our hope is that these notes serve as a way to help you search and connect with messages on related subjects and passages. Thank you for your interest in the ministry of Greater Grace.