Encounter, Altar, Anointing: The Pattern of Pentecost

Happy Memorial Day. It's Memorial Day. But did

you know it's also Pentecost? About six of you

knew that. That's good. Pentecost Sunday. Welcome.

Are we sounding okay? Okay. Yeah, Pentecost,

we... are here to celebrate the outpouring of

the Holy Spirit. And you have to, just a fair

warning, okay? Just a fair warning. I was in

India, well, last week or whatever, ten days

ago or something. And we did four sessions. No,

no, four days, two sessions a day. Four or five

hours each time. Sunday service was 9 a .m. to

3 p .m. So if you look back and it's like 12

.05 and you feel that we're wrapping up, just

know that the way maker is in the house and a

miracle has happened. And with Jesse being gone,

we can get a little leeway. But no, awesome to

be here this morning. get the honor and opportunity

to share the word on Pentecost Sunday. We, you

know, it's Pentecost Sunday. Ironically, the

Pentecostals on Pentecost Sunday were the ones

outside of the upper room. Just a fun fact for

you. Everyone celebrating Pentecost was outside

the upper room. The only non -Pentecostals were

the 120 in the upper room. You understand? So

we don't celebrate Pentecost today. We celebrate

the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And in my

mind and humble opinion, I believe it's just

as important as the resurrection. Just as important

as celebrating the resurrection, right? We celebrate

Easter or Resurrection Sunday. I believe Pentecost

Sunday, where we celebrate the outpouring of

the Holy Spirit, is just as important. Because

without the Holy Spirit, We can't be born again.

We can't know the power of the resurrection without

the Holy Spirit, right? So, hallelujah. What

a day to celebrate. What a thing to celebrate.

And so it just so happens also that we're in

our year of supernatural kingdom expansion. And

so if you're visiting with us, this has kind

of been our theme for the year. So today, we're

going to marry the two. supernatural expansion,

plus the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and by

God's special grace, I believe we're just going

to go on a journey through the Word this morning.

And I believe we're here together. We're here

in the presence of God. Our lives are going to

be changed forever. I'm here for that reason.

Amen? So, are you hungry for the Word? Amen?

Let's do this. Put your hand on your heart. Close

your eyes. And just pray with me as we get started.

Father, I'm hungry for the Word. Father, restore

my appetite for the Word. Come on, we're praying.

You can say it with me. Father, remove everything

from my system that doesn't have an appetite

for Your Word. I'm hungry for your word. I receive

your word today. I want the word, and I receive

it with my heart. Amen. It's just a little spiritual

check up there, right? Okay. Let's open the Bible

up to the book of Genesis. Genesis chapter 8.

Genesis 8 · chapter mention

A few years ago, I was in the great nation of

Cuba. And one fine, hot, muggy morning, I was

sitting in the church. We were there ministering

in the church in Amancio, Cuba. And we've been

together, a few of us. And it was before service.

Now, they can't really build like big church

structures like we can. They don't have that

liberty. So I'm sitting there in this like lean

-to that's built onto a house. So there's no

walls. So you can just see out. You get a little

breeze, but it's hot and humid under this thing.

It's early one day. We're having like a day session.

In Cuba. And so people are starting to come and

I'm just sitting like sitting in the pew, sitting

in the chair. And of course, you know, Cuba been

under communism for so long and the people, you

know, without goes without saying they're living

in a level of oppression. Commodities and things

are scarce. So I'm sitting there. And the Lord

begins to speak to me and show me some things

about the power of the church. and the importance

of the church. And the fact that this church

there in the midst of this impoverished culture

and society was opening their doors to bring

people in to worship God in this community. It's

like in the middle of a neighborhood and people

are just coming in to have church, have service,

right? And we're worshiping, we're hearing the

Word, and the Lord began to show me that If that

church was not there, it would be like taking

away these people's opportunity to experience

what God had for them, in a sense. Because the

divine institution that God has established on

the earth to bring about His blessing and His

glory is the church. And He began to show me

this. in scripture from that time to this and

i've just been working through this i've never

shared this before but let's take a journey and

look at these three things okay you're going

to find this pattern it's very powerful number

one is encounters so this local church right

in the middle of this city in cuba opened their

church up for people to encounter the living

god Whether through the Word, whether through,

you know, worship, whether through just a spontaneous

moment with the Lord. So, encounters, altars,

and anointings. These three things. Can you just

say them with me? Encounters, altars, and anointings.

One more time. Encounters, altars, and anointings.

This divine structure, this divine system. And

we're just taking off, okay? So just bear with

me. The plane is just taxiing. We're just taking

off. And we're going to see how this feeds into

the depths of Pentecost, the depths of the outpouring

of the Holy Spirit. And we're going to peer into

the mind, the brilliant, genius mind of Almighty

God as He set these things up in place. You ready?

Look at Genesis chapter 8. Look at verse... Are

Genesis 8 · chapter mention

we going to get Scriptures on screen? Genesis

8. 15. Awesome. What translation you got? I didn't

hear you. It's okay. 8 .15. Then God spoke to

Noah, saying, Encounter. You see it? Right there.

God spoke to Noah. Encounter. Make note of it.

Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your

sons and your sons' wives with you. Bring out

with you every living thing of all flesh that

is with you. birds and cattle and every creeping

thing that creeps on the earth, so that they

may abound on the earth and be fruitful and multiply

on the earth. Now take note of that language

also. Blessing, fruit, multiply. Does that sound

familiar? Isn't that the word that came to Adam?

Okay. 19, every... So Noah went out and his sons

and his wife's sons with him and every animal,

every creepy thing, every bird and whatever creeps

on the earth according to their families went

out of the ark. Note here. Then Noah built an

altar to the Lord. So Noah encountered the Lord.

What happened? The Lord showed up and spoke to

him. There's your encounter. What was Noah's

response? Alter. Encounter, alter. And then what

was the anointing? Be fruitful. Multiply. You

get it? You guys are going to have to just feed

back a little bit today. Okay. Encounter, altar,

anointing. So that's the very first place in

the Scripture where the word altar is used. So

Noah just like spontaneously got this idea of

altar. He was so moved by the encounter that

he just said, I have to do something. I have

to worship. I have to build something to worship

God, to put a sacrifice to the Lord. Very important.

Remember that. Alright, let's flip through here

because we have several of these. I'm building

my case. Genesis 12. We're going to talk about...

Big Daddy Abe. Abram. Genesis 12, verse 7. Then

Genesis 12:7

the Lord appeared to Abram and said, Encounter.

Right? The Lord appeared to him. He encountered

him. Abram, to your descendants I will give this

land. And what did Abram do? He responded by

building an altar. Encounter. Altar. Now, let's

go up a few verses here in that same chapter.

Because this is important. Actually, let's read

verse 1. Now the Lord had said to Abram, get

out of your country from your family, from your

father's house to a land that I will show you.

I will make you a great nation. I will bless

you. I will make your name great and you shall

be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you

and I will curse those who curse you. And in

you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Hallelujah. Does it feel like God's trying to

get a message to Noah? And then to Abraham? something

about blessing, something about multiplying,

something about making someone great. And then

he comes down in verse 7 and he appears to him

again and he says, to your descendants I will

give this land. And then Abram somehow says,

I have to build an altar. And he responds. And

then, of course, the Lord... encounters Abraham

many times from this. He tells him, you know,

your descendants will be like the sands of the

sea, like the stars of the sky. He just really

hammers this vision home for Abraham. And Abraham

builds other altars and builds other places of

worship to God. Does everyone understand what

an altar is before we move on? Let me give you

a definition of altar. Or what an altar is for.

And this is why. You know, you go around the

world, you go to other cultures and societies

that have more history, the concept of altar

is there. Like many other nations, like you drive

down the road and they have an altar built to

a stone. Or an altar built to a tree. Or an altar

built to a cow. You understand? Now, when you

get into the West, the concept of altar gets

a little bit lost on us because we are sort of,

now not us, okay? I'm just saying in general,

a little more materialistic, right? These ancient

spiritual structures and systems are foreign

to us. But biblically and spiritually, they're

very real. The concept of an altar is very real.

It can be very powerful or it can be very dangerous.

Because altars will open you up or people up

to the realm of the Spirit. Okay, just with that,

you see how important this is, can you? You see

how vital this is that we understand this concept

of altar. Has anyone ever heard of an altar call?

Does anyone ever know what in the world that

is supposed to be? Come to the altar. Well, okay.

Is that where we just come up front and Miss

Susie cries a little bit and we go back and don't

really know what happened? What's an altar? What's

an altar call? It's a very powerful thing. It's

a very, very, very powerful spiritual system

that God has set up. An altar is for worship,

for sacrifices, and for memorials of encounters

with Him. Altars mark places of consecration,

thanksgiving, covenants, atonement, and divine

intervention. So in other words, an altar is

a place and a moment. Where the divine and the

natural meet. It's a place of invoking the divine

into the natural. Are we learning? So you see

these old saints of God. They understood this

concept. This idea where. hey, God encountered

me, so what am I going to do? I'm going to respond

by building a structure of worship where I, now

this is the key, where I make a sacrifice. And

there's something about a sacrifice that is irresistible

to the Spirit of God. Can you see it? It's so

important. I promise if you just stick with me

today, this will absolutely shift the culture

of your heart, the culture of your home, and

hopefully the culture of our church. And I don't

mean our church, but just the church. Okay, let's

fast forward to... Book of Genesis. We're staying

with Abraham here. We said Abraham had many other

encounters with God. He built many other altars.

There was many other sacrifices that Abraham

made upon the altars that he built. And Abraham

was so convinced of this system. Look what happens.

He was so convinced. Now God spoke to him and

said, I'm going to make you the father of many

nations. Your seed is going to be mighty in the

earth. I'm going to use your lineage to bless

the whole entire world. And of course, Abraham

was like, I don't even have a kid. And then God

supernaturally brought him two kids. So now he's

starting to see the fulfillment of the promise

of God in his son, Isaac. But then God speaks

to him and says something very crazy one day.

After he'd already told him, through your seed,

I'm going to bless the world. Then he'd given

him the fulfillment of the promise of a son.

Then in Genesis chapter 22, let's start in verse

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

8. Genesis 22, 8. He prepares his stuff. He's

going up onto the mountain to make a sacrifice,

to build an altar. Are we there? Abraham said,

God, my son. So he's with Isaac. He's got Isaac

on the mountain. And he says, what are we going

to sacrifice, Pop? And Abraham says to Isaac,

My son, God will provide for himself the lamb

for a burnt offering. So the two of them went

together. Then he came to the place of which

God had told him, and Abraham built an altar

there and placed the wood in order. Then, hey,

what are you doing? He bound Isaac, his son,

and laid him on the altar. Now think of it. Abraham,

the father of our faith, was so persuaded that

this system of altar and sacrifice would bring

multiplication and blessing that this son of

his, who is the fulfillment of the promise, he

was willing to take him and put him on the altar.

Because he knew, listen, whatever goes on this

altar, the anointing will come upon and cause

it to explode with blessing. He was so convinced.

He said, I know God told me that my seed would

inhabit the earth and fill the earth. He said,

and I've got two sons, and this son was the son

of promise. And I trust God knows what he's doing,

and I'm going to fulfill my obligation to this

system. Can you see it? Can you enter into what

he might have been thinking there? He was convinced

of the system. So powerful. And of course we

know the rest, we'll just read it. Abraham stretched

out his hand, took the knife to slay his son,

but the angel of the Lord called to him from

heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. So he said,

here I am. And he said, do not lay your hand

on the lad or do anything to him, for now I know

that you fear God since you have not withheld

your son, your only son from me. And I think

spiritually we could say that... actually he

did put his son on the altar. In fact, Hebrews

11 shows us he actually put his son on the altar.

And that was a moment where the anointing came

upon that moment. The Spirit of God was so pleased

with that sacrifice. He said he's willing to

give, even give me the promise. You understand?

Even give me the promise, promise seed on the

altar. So much trust, so much faith, so much

Belief in this spiritual system. Amen? Alright,

let's fast forward. We're just taking off. We're

at 5 ,000 feet and rising. Genesis 26. So here's

that same Isaac that was on the altar that came

off the altar. So it was Abraham. Now this is

Isaac, his son. God prospered in many ways. You

can read from that Genesis 22 to here. You can

see where God just prospered him. God just blessed

his socks off. He was so prosperous in calves

and goats and sheep and all these things. By

the way. Our church in India is doing great.

Hallelujah. If you didn't know, you guys and

we planted churches. We now have over 40 churches

in India using these principles. I'm telling

you today. So this is not just something that

we just theory out in the stratosphere. These

are spiritual principles that work. And they

have a... So I was just there at our mission,

our church in Rajasthan. It's actually in Banswara,

Rajasthan, India. Last week was the hottest place

on earth. It was like 150 ,000 degrees. We landed

and I stepped outside. We had all day. We gathered

our pastors and leaders. We have like 50 pastors

and leaders that we support. And we stepped out

into the heat. We traveled, you know, you travel

like a long time to get there. And we finally

got there after a four -hour car ride from the

airport, and we stepped out, and the sun hit,

and we knew, I mean, they don't have air conditioning,

or, you know, they have a big pink tent in the

field, you know, that's what we had. And they

were all gathered, banging their drum, and we

stepped out, and the sun hit, and I said, Lord,

I don't, this may be it. Talking about altars,

this may be the one. that ends it for me. I'm

putting myself, but if I go, I'll go out doing

what he wants me to do. But we ended up having

great meetings, and it was just fine. I made

it. Here I am. But we went back to dinner, and

I've never seen this. I've been there many times.

Michelle's been there. They have a vat of wheat

that they actually harvest. you know, the wheat

berries. Correct me if I'm not saying it right.

I don't exactly know what I'm talking about.

But it's a big thing of wheat that they harvest

and they make bread. Chapati and paratha and

all those different kinds of bread. And so I'd

never seen it, but the guy that was with me was

very inquisitive. And he noticed things that

I didn't. So we said, what is this? So we opened

it up and said, this is our wheat. The Indian,

our main pastor, Pastor Lazarus. He's probably

watching. So they have all these herbs and stuff

in this vat of wheat that they put in there to

keep bugs and stuff away. You know, they've got

it down. This is like thousands of year old,

you know, crunchiness. Their ultimate crunchy,

organic and all that. And so they harvest this

wheat they put in there and they said, well,

when do you harvest it? Oh, we harvest it a few

times a year. I said, well, how long does it

last? They said, well, what do you mean? I said,

how long does it last? It never runs out. Well,

who all eats it? Everyone. Everyone from our

tribe and village come. We never even think about

it. They just reach in and grab the wheat and

it never runs out. Isn't that awesome? Miracles

of biblical proportions. They don't even think

about it. It just keeps expanding in there. Because

it's... They live on the altar. They live with

the anointing. The Spirit of God is on everything

because everything they do is on the altar of

sacrifice. So it opens the channel for the Holy

Spirit to come and hit their lives and expand

and increase and grow everything that they do.

This is real. It works. How could Jesus multiply

the bread and the fish? Why was He even interested

to do it? He was the Bethel. Open heavens over

him. His life. Here I am, God, to do your will.

That's what he said. And maybe we'll get there.

Into the New Testament. Genesis 26, right? Okay.

I don't want to leave you hanging. I'm trying

my hardest to stick to this because I want to

just journey through this with this. Genesis

26 and 12. We're on Isaac. I'm sorry, 28, 28.

28, 12. Oh, see, you guys got me off telling

this story. 2624. If you were on Life 360 right

now, navigating through the Bible, it'd be like

this, just all over the place. 2624. This is

Isaac. And the Lord appeared to him that same

night. Encounter. Say encounter so I know you're

awake. The Lord appeared to him that same night

and said, I am the God of your father Abraham.

Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless

you and multiply your descendants for my servant

Abraham's sake. So he built an altar there and

called on the name of the Lord and pitched his

tent there. And there Isaac's servant dug a well.

Encounter. The Lord encountered him. Isn't that

interesting? The Lord encountered him and he

said virtually the same thing. The same thing

he said to Adam. The same thing he said to Noah.

The same thing he said to Abraham. I'm going

to bless you. I'm going to make you great. I'm

going to prosper you. I'm going to show forth

my glory through your life. And Isaac responded,

I guess. His daddy Abe taught him how to respond,

I guess, to build an altar. Now let's look at

Genesis 28. Breathe in. Okay, I can handle this

much Scripture, right? Okay, now we're on Jacob,

right? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. Let's see what

happens. 28, let's start in 10. Now Jacob went

out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. So

he came to a certain place and stayed there all

night. I love this story so much. because the

sun had set. And he took one of the stones of

that place and put it at his head, sleeping on

a rock. And he lay down in that place to sleep.

Then he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was

set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven.

And there the angels of God were ascending and

descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood

above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham,

your father, and the God of Isaac. I love how

God identifies himself that way. The land on

which you lie, I will give to you and your descendants.

Also, your descendants will be as the dust of

the earth. Multiply, right? Blessing, multiplying,

expansion. You shall spread abroad to the west,

to the east, to the north, to the south. And

in you and in your seed, all the families on

earth shall be blessed. Isn't that awesome? Have

you ever seen that before? Oh, I guess all of

you have seen that. Okay, well maybe it's just

new to me. Alright. Verse 15. Behold, I am with

you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will

bring you back to this land, for I will not leave

you until I have done what I have spoken to you.

Then Jacob woke up. He wipes the sleep out of

his eyes and says, Whoa! I remember Grandpa telling

me that God showed up to him this way. I remember

Papa. telling me that God showed up to him this

way. Now look, he shows up to me. I think that

was a happy day for Jacob. I think that was a

great moment. You know, because Jacob was a rascal.

His name was Subplanter. You know, he was kind

of a real fast guy. He was a little juking jiver.

So he might have been a little worried. Is God

going to continue this promise with me? This

thing that he's done where he's encountered grandpa

and dad. And he wakes up from this dream. In

verse 16. And he says, surely the Lord is in

this place. And I did not know it. And he was

afraid and said, how awesome is this place. This

is none other than the house of God. And this

is the gate of heaven. Then Jacob rose early

in the morning. Now look what he does. And took

the stone that he put his head on. And he set

up as an altar or pillar. And then he does something

different. What does he do? Pours oil. Where

did he get that? What is the oil representing?

The anointing. He has an encounter. He builds

an altar. Then the anointing. And he called that

place Bethel, which is house of God. Now let's

do one more, okay? In Genesis. One more. We're

just kind of having a Bible study today. This

is good. I probably haven't even gotten above

20 decibels with my voice. That's how you know

I can sustain four or five hours when there's

not much shouting. The record is 14 hours. 14

hours with a tea break. you know and you don't

even know it's it's so wonderful it's like what

else would you do you guys i can tell you're

getting really worried right now i got you right

where i want you my dad used to preach and and

me and valerie had this joke where he we would

be sitting back there and just you know there's

a lot to overcome in church right to like to

really get blessed and and between social awkwardness

and you know uh the music and uh and not liking

things and not having donuts there's a lot to

overcome right i'm gonna just be honest us americans

there's a lot to overcome a lot of times it's

like you're trying to worship and then brad sings

a bad note and you're like oh man i was just

kind of getting in the pocket and uh one thing

that you shouldn't have to overcome is like The

utter cringe factor of the minister. And my dad,

bless him, he's not watching, thankfully. We

would sit back in the back and just, Valerie

and I, just endure. And we were hostages. It

was like, 911, we got a hostage situation. And

that was not, you know, that was like 45 minutes.

Is that true, Valerie? We stayed married through

a lot. That was one of our biggest trials. And

some of you know. So I will not have you as hostage

today, okay? I promise. But nevertheless, we're

navigating through some important scripture here.

Genesis 35, 11. This is still Jacob. Oh, let's

go 9, 35, 9. Then God appeared to Jacob again

when he came from Paddan Aram and blessed him.

Yes, thank you, Lord. And God said to him, your

name is Jacob. Your name shall not be called

Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.

So he called his name Israel. Also God said to

him, I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply.

There it is again. A nation and a company of

nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall

come from your body. The land which I gave Abraham

and Isaac I give to you, and to your descendants

after you I give this land. Then God went up

from him in that place where he talked to him.

So Jacob, what does he do? Set up a pillar. And

that place where he talked with him, a pillar

of stone, and he poured a drink offering on it,

and he poured oil on it. And he called that place

again, or that place was called Bethel. So you

see there, once again, God encountered him. He

said the same thing, virtually. Blessing, multiplication,

expansion. So there was the encounter. There

was the altar or the pillar. Then there's the

anointing right there. Encounter, sacrifice,

alter, anointing. Encounter, sacrifice, anointing.

Encounter, alter, anointing. You see that pattern

over and over again. And always coupled with

this, be fruitful, multiply. Isn't that pertinent

to our year of expansion? Isn't that pertinent

to our lives? So what is he saying? What does

this mean? What does it mean for us? What was

the message from that little church in Cuba?

That we create a space. The church is the entity

where we create a space, an environment, for

God to encounter His people. For there to be

encounter. For God to show up. For God to meet

with you. This is not just, you know, sing a

few songs and hear some scripture. This is a

place where you encounter God. Where God speaks

to you. Where you meet with the Almighty. That's

the idea. Where we open our doors, we open our

arms, we open our hearts, and we just say, here

we are, Lord. Come meet with us. Come show yourself

strong in our lives. Speak to us. I have nothing

else to do except for just encounter you. And

then when He comes and He inevitably will come

encounter you, He'll speak to you. He'll reveal

Himself to you. Then you need to know how to

respond. We need to know how to respond to the

encounter. When there's something... There's

something from heaven that hits your spirit and

you know that you've come in contact with the

divine. There's a breath of life on something.

And it doesn't have to be here in the church,

right? It can be in your home. That's what I

said. This can shift the culture of your home,

of even your workplace. Imagine you back there

in your cubicle on your knees just praying, making

a little altar. Starting a little fire back in

the cubicle. And then the next thing you know,

there's a blessing that comes on the business.

And your boss says, I don't like you, but you're

staying. I don't know what's happening. What

happened when the ark was in, was it Obed? I

just went blank. Obed -Edom, right? What happened?

Blessing, blessing, blessing came, right? Why?

Because He was some holy person? It's because

the presence was there. God was there. So we

can encounter God. We can encounter His Holy

Spirit. We can encounter His presence. Be looking

for. So what does it mean to seek the Lord? You

know, He's a rewarder of those that diligently

seek Him. What does He reward you with? Encounter,

presence. A moment in time where you meet with

the living God. I mean, imagine Jacob. He met

with God. Abraham met with God. Isaac, have you

ever met with God? Jesus said, you search the

scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal

life, but it's them which testify of me. And

you won't come to me that I might give you life.

It's not worshiping a Bible. It's worshiping

the living God. It's encountering Him. He's a

living God. He's a risen, living Christ. He's

alive. He's in this place. We have to tune ourselves

up with Him. Look for Him in the sanctuary. Seek

His face. Listen for His voice. You see, Paul

the Apostle, He was on the road, right? He was

zealous for God. He was seeking God. He just

didn't have the knowledge to seek God rightly.

But he was zealous for God. He was so zealous

for God, he was killing those he thought were

opposed to God. Everybody know? And what happened?

I mean, he had an encounter. But what was interesting

about his encounter was, he saw Jesus. In fact,

he said, this gospel that I received, I received

from the revelation of Jesus. In other words,

he didn't receive it from Jesus sitting with

him and telling him everything. The message that

Paul preached, the Pauline revelation that we

call, the message of the new creation, he received

from seeing Jesus. The whole message was, I saw

the risen Christ and he was revealed to me. My

encounter gave me the message that I now preach

to you. But what was interesting about his encounter

that really stands out to me, because he had

a heart for God. He said, I'm the Hebrew of the

Hebrews. I sat at the feet of Gamaliel, you know.

He had all these credentials in God. Which, by

the way, he said, I count them all as dung in

comparison to knowing him. To encountering him

and the power of his resurrection. It's all fluff

and dung is what he said. But he was hungry,

he was zealous, he was seeking the Lord. I can

just picture him riding down the road to Damascus,

you know, with a smile on his face because he

just killed another Christian. He was happy with

himself because he knew he had a real zeal. And

then Jesus, bam, Paul, Paul, actually, Saul,

Saul, why do you persecute me? Why do you kick

against the goads? And he said, who art thou,

Lord? That was his born -again moment, by the

way, because he confessed Jesus as Lord. He recognized

his moment, his encounter. He said, I don't know

you, but I know your Lord. Who are you, Lord?

Obviously, he didn't know him because he was

working against him, but he said, I know this

is the God I've been seeking. I keep saying this,

but this is what was interesting about his encounter.

He heard the voice. He saw Jesus, but there was

people with him that didn't, See Him? And they

heard something, but they said, what? It has

to be thunder. We heard something. What does

that tell you? They weren't ready. They were

spiritually sleeping. They weren't seeking God.

They weren't seeking that encounter. Amen? Let's

not be like those. Let's be... Seeking. Let's

be ready. Let's be tuned up and ready to meet

with the Lord when we come into the house, when

we come in anywhere, any moment. You know, He

can just meet you in any moment. What if God

showed up to you and started revealing destiny

to you? That's what He wants to do. He wants

to give you vision for your life. He wants to

reveal purpose. He wants to give you a specific

word. A sharp, pointed word. But see, now when

that happens, and maybe it's happened already,

but when that happens, what we can do is respond

how? What are we going to do? We're going to

build an altar. Now does that mean we're going

to go to Home Depot, get some wood, we're going

to have our goat ready so we can... It's a spiritual

structure. It's a spiritual thing. The altar

is the heart posture that follows the encounter.

It's a response of sacrifice. Because what did

he say? We all, let's put 2 Corinthians 3, the

last verse. Are you feeling equipped a little

bit? I mean, come on, just be honest. You feeling

ready to encounter? Okay, I'm starting to see.

I know what to do. The church is for equipping.

Very last verse, please. But we all, with unveiled

face, behold it. Can we go one verse before?

Because you've got to see this one. This is good,

too. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the

Spirit of the Lord is, there's freedom. But we

all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror

the glory of the Lord, encountering, right, are

being transformed into the same image from glory

to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

So he's saying that you encounter the glory.

You encounter God. You encounter His glory. Even

more than what Moses experienced. You can encounter

the glory in this way. And when you see His glory,

when you behold His glory, when you have that

revelation of God, then there's a consecration.

That's the altar. Right? There's a consecration.

You say, I see you, Jesus, like Paul. Now, this

revelation that you've given me, I consecrate

myself to this revelation. I put myself on the

altar, the sacrifice to this God that I've just

encountered. But you're not going to encounter

the fullness of His glory. You're going to go

from glory to glory. Right? So with each glory,

that's why you should be so excited to come to

church. Be so excited to wake up and pray tomorrow.

Be so excited to read my Bible. Why? Because

I'm going to encounter the glory of God. I'm

going to meet with the Lord. Meet with Jesus.

Yes. What else is there? How exciting. When I

die, if you're still alive, put on my tombstone,

here lies a man who loved Jesus. That's all I

want. I don't care. You know, some place they

call me doctor, some place they call me apostle,

some place they call me trash. I don't care.

Just put my title as this man loved Jesus. Because

I love him. And we get to encounter him, encounter

his glory. And what he's saying is the transformation

comes with when we encounter this glory, whatever

it is, whatever it is, then we place ourselves.

In consecration to this revelation. Then there's

a new revelation. Right? Because he's Jehovah

Jireh. He's Jehovah Nisi. He's Jehovah Shalom.

He's provider. He's healer. There's a new revelation.

So then that requires what? A new response. A

fresh. A fresh consecration. Are you seeing?

The power of the altar. Are you seeing why we

want an altar? Why we want a response? It's not

to coerce you to some emotional thing where everybody,

you know, come up front. No, it doesn't matter.

It's between you and God. But at least we get

an opportunity for you to encounter God and an

opportunity to consecrate yourself. To give yourself

once again. And the question is, you know, okay,

I'm a gospel preacher, okay? I am grace, grace,

grace to the max. So, you know, don't hear what

I'm not saying, right? This is not a works -based

thing. This is just unveiling mysteries of the

Spirit and mysteries of the kingdom because there

are systems and principles that we can... Get

into the flow of according to the scripture that

will enact certain things because jesus said

my people Well, he he said you will know the

truth. The truth will make you free So what we

don't know is our problem and the scripture says

My people god's people are destroyed because

what we don't know So we need to know that there's

things like this that God has set up. There's

spiritual systems that God has set up that are

there and in place for our edification, for our

blessing, and ultimately for His glory in this

earth. We're going to get there. Just a moment.

So, while we're there, Romans 12. You know this

one. Romans 12, 1 and 2. I beseech you therefore,

brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present

your bodies. Present your bodies. Living sacrifice.

What does he mean? What we've just been talking

about, right? Present your bodies. He's talking

about, and then look at verse 2. Don't be conformed

to this world, but be transformed. That's the

same word that he used in 2 Corinthians 3 at

the last verse. He says, we are being metamorphosed.

We're being transformed. We're changing state

from glory to glory. How? We can't surpass the

glory of God that we behold. And to behold the

glory, we have to encounter the glory. Right?

Are you seeing? So you encounter that glory.

And he said, then you present yourself. Just

put your body upon the altar as a living sacrifice.

That is your reasonable service. That in your

mortal flesh, the life of Jesus may be manifested.

Put yourself on the altar so that the death of

Christ and the life of Christ can be manifest

through you. So you can be transformed. You can

be morphed, changed into another person continually

by the revelations of God. Amen? And what's going

to happen as you place yourself upon the altar?

Look at this. Oh, we're about 15 ,000 feet. No,

no, no, no. We may be 20 ,000 feet. Cross -check

for all call. What is it? Oh, that's when you

take off. One time I said that, and I was totally

wrong how I said it. What is it? Cross -check

for all call? Yeah. Two of you know what I'm

talking about. That's fine. Look at this, okay,

Acts chapter 1. Are we digesting the Word a little

Acts 1 · chapter mention

bit? Are we, you know, one, we have doctors in

here, so I can't, you know, I can't, I've got

to be careful I'm not wrong, because I'm probably

wrong, but one thing that, you know, that your

doctor will ask you, Well, how are you feeling?

Oh, I don't know. I feel okay. Well, are you

eating? How's your appetite? What does that mean

if your appetite's not great? Oh, you could have

something going on. Then you go back for a checkup.

Oh, how have you been eating? How's your appetite?

Oh, it's great. I've been eating everything.

Well, then you're healthy. Good. Well, it's the

same with the Word, you know. Sometimes if your

appetite's less, you may want to check your spiritual

system. That's why we prayed at the beginning

because you've got to have an appetite, right?

We've got to eat the Word. Let's be voracious.

That's what we're doing today. Acts 1 and verse

8. Let's go 7. Okay, this is Jesus talking. I

want to go to Luke. He said, all right, we'll

just start here. And he said, It's not for you

to know times or seasons which the Father has

put in his own authority. This is Jesus. Okay,

close it off, close it off, close it off. Because

you'll start reading and you won't listen. This

is, Jesus rose from the grave, and then what

is Pentecost? 50 days, right? 50 days after the

resurrection was the day of Pentecost. So there

was 40 days where Jesus showed himself. Now the

Bible says, if there's no one that's been saved

in here today, just listen. The Bible says that

Jesus showed himself to over 500 people after

he rose from the grave. He said he also did many

undeniable signs. After he rose from the grave,

such as walking through walls, and he even fed

the Pope some fish, Peter. And he did many, many,

many miracles for the span of 40 days after he

rose from the grave. And then he told his disciples,

he said, now, here's what's going to happen.

Go to Jerusalem. And Terry, wait until you be

endued with power from on high. Now they thought,

I don't even know what this is. Never heard anything

like it. There's no precedent like this. But

I promise you, if you see a man rise from the

grave and then you see him walk through walls

and then he does other miracles, you're going

to be listening to what he has to say. And he

said, go to Jerusalem and wait until you be endued

with power from on high. So, right after he says

this, we're going to pick it up, okay? In Acts

1 -7. Luke, the physician who wrote Luke and

he wrote the book of Acts, he also records this.

He says, he said unto them, now this is like

day 40, okay? Of the 50. It's not for you to

know times or seasons which the Father has put

in his own authority. But you shall receive power.

A reiteration of what he says was recorded in

Luke. When the Holy Spirit has come upon you.

Now listen to this, okay? You may not have ever

considered this. You shall be witnesses to me

in Jerusalem, Judea, all Judea, Samaria, and

to the ends of the earth. Now, I can skim over

that, but question. Does it sound suspiciously

like what he said to Noah? And he said to Abraham,

and he said to Isaac, and he said to Jacob? Can

you pick the same spirit up of what he's saying?

Yes, no, or I want to sleep. That's choice three.

Can you see it? He said, the Spirit is going

to come upon you. You'll be endued with power

from on high. Why? To be witnesses of the resurrection

all over the world. Now, to me, it sounds an

awful lot like a reiteration of what he told

Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. And not only that,

but a power to get it done. Yes? Go into all

the world. What else could it mean? Go into all

the world. Make disciples. Preach the gospel.

Be witnesses. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and

to the uttermost parts of the world. This is

a restitution. In fact, this is the word that

came to Adam was meant for you. The word that

came to Noah was meant for you. The word that

came to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob was meant for you.

Don't look at me like that. Come on. The word

of expansion was meant for us. God has a dream

of the whole earth will be filled with my glory.

As the waters cover the sea, the whole earth

will be filled with my glory. And he says, I'm

going to give you power to witness, to testify

to the glory of the risen Christ. And I want

you to do it in all the world. Start where you

are, then go out a little, out a little, out

a little, until you just fill the earth with

my glory. And he said, it's not just going to

be your efforts, it's going to be my power. Because

was anybody there when Jesus rose from the grave?

I know the scripture says we were risen with

Christ. I know. That's not what I'm asking. Did

anyone see Jesus rise from the grave? Now, we

go out into the world and we tell them, Jesus

is alive, right? It's a message that's hard to

understand. It's hard to believe unless you have

the power. of the witness right so you weren't

there but who was there this holy spirit who's

going to come and fill you up he's going to be

with you he's going to help you he's going to

guide you he's going to empower you to be a witness

he's going to empower your life to be a living

epistle of the reality of the resurrection he's

going to do what you can't do he's going to make

I want to prophesy. He's going to make your business

prosper. He's going to make everything you put

your hands to, to be blessed. He's going to make

intangible things happen in your life. How did

this contract come? How did this opportunity

come? It can only be explained by this blessing.

Oh, I have to show you this. Galatians 3 .14.

Just stick with me, okay? I promise you, this

is so good. This is not just... I said it's Bible

study, but it's not. I promise you, something

is unlocking in your life. I promise you. If

ever there was a question about... I will quit

the ministry if something amazing doesn't happen

in your life. If you just stick with this. This

is unto something. Look at Galatians 3, 13, 14.

Now remember what he said to Abraham, Isaac,

Jacob. Remember that, okay? Go back and meditate

that. Then he said, the Holy Spirit's going to

come upon you and empower you. And now look what

he says here in Galatians 3, 13, 14. Christ has

redeemed us from the curse of the law. having

become a curse for us, for it is written, cursed

is everyone who hangs on a tree, that the blessing

of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ

Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the

Spirit through faith. Now do you see, he marries

the two. The encounter, the altar where the Spirit

of God comes. Then the blessing that's going

to take this thing throughout the whole world.

You see it? What was the blessing? Be fruitful.

Multiply. Your seed is going to be a blessing

everywhere you go. Last time I was ministering,

I don't remember where it was, but I was praying.

I'm not a professional preacher, if you can't

tell. I'm not interested in that whatsoever.

I just want to help people. That's all I wanted.

I just want to help people. Live the life that

God has for them. And I was standing, getting

ready to minister, and I didn't know, you know,

many times I have no idea what I'm going to say.

Sometimes I know where we're going to take off,

and I know where we're going to land, but, you

know, we're going to take a lot of this. But

I said, Lord, I cried from my heart. I said,

Lord, help me be a blessing to these people.

It wasn't here, it was somewhere else. Help me

just be a blessing. And the Lord spoke to me

and said, I have blessed you that you will be

a blessing. And it goes right with this, right?

The same word that came to Abraham. That you

will, you know, all these wonderful things, fruitful,

multiply, all these things. And then he sends

the Spirit of God to empower us. And he says,

Jerusalem, Judea, all over the world. And then

he reiterates it and makes it clear for us that

the same blessing. that was on Abraham, that

caused him to, you know, fulfill everything that

God wanted him to, is now the same promise, the

same spirit that we receive. Amen? Isn't that

wonderful? Oh, okay. It's not 12 o 'clock yet.

And I want to read you one more scripture, and

then I promise you will close, okay? I'm going

to leave you with this because I think this is

going to invoke some further study for you. The

book of Ezekiel. Matthew, Mark, Luke, Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 28 · chapter mention

Chapter 28. I'm going to read this. We're going

to work through it for like two minutes, and

then we're going to pray, okay? And we're going

to receive something this morning that's going

to make a huge difference in our lives. I mean

it, a huge difference. We're going to receive...

Something from God. Okay. Ezekiel 28, verse 12.

Ezekiel 28:12

Son of man, take up lamentation for the king

of Tyre and say to him, thus says the Lord God.

Now, this is talking about Lucifer, okay? So

just relax. You were the seal of perfection,

full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were

in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone

was your covering. The sardius, topaz, and diamond,

beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise,

and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your

timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the

day you were created. Now listen to what he says.

You were the anointed cherub who what? Covers.

Now, God wants the whole earth to be covered.

You were the anointed cherub who covers, literally

spreads. Think of it like the foliage on the

ground that just covers, it grows and just covers

the earth. Now this is talking about Lucifer.

The anointing that Lucifer received was not an

unholy anointing. It was a holy anointing. But

he corrupted his anointing. He received an anointing,

which is a grace. It's a dimension of the Holy

Spirit and a grace for a specific task. He received

this anointing to cover, to spread. That means

there is an anointing to cover. Are you with

me? Or have you gone home? There's an anointing

to spread. That means the anointing of God. that

we thought was just for casting out demons and

preaching the gospel, is much, much bigger than

just that. The anointing that God has for us,

if we want it, and the anointing that came at

Pentecost was the anointing to spread. Can you

see? Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria. It's the same

anointing, the anointing to spread. There's no

other, this is what's interesting here, there's

no other time that this Hebrew word is used.

It's the word mimshak. So I want you to remember

that. Write it down. Mimshak. The mimshak anointing.

The mimshak anointing that covers, that spreads.

Theologians believe that Lucifer's task was worship,

which is what? Spreading the glory of God. The

worship would come to heaven or whatever, and

he would be the administrator of the glory. You

understand? So his task as worship leader was

to literally spread and cover the earth with

the glory of God. Because he had the anointing

to cover and spread. That's why when Beyonce

drops her greatest latest, what does it do? Come

on, what does it do? Like a wildfire. It covers

the earth. They'll be singing that in rural China.

To the left, to the left. Is that the latest

hit? I don't know. Don't laugh at that. Because

Lucifer, he understands one thing. Covering the

earth. This is something God's children, we have

to get. For too long we've settled for an anointing

to preach or to cast out demons or heal the sick

or whatever. An anointing to administrate anything.

But there's an anointing that covers. There's

an anointing that spreads. And God wants us to

receive that anointing to spread His glory throughout

this earth. Spread His power. Witness to Him

all over. It's not dependent upon our ability

to administer and organize and do things for

the Lord. It's dependent upon the anointing that

spreads. Because those songs aren't any good,

right? No, it's because there's a supernatural

element to it. We can receive that supernatural

element for our business. You may have a little

kiosk, but if you receive the anointing to cover,

it can cause that thing to grow. You're thinking

of examples right now. How does someone... You

were here yesterday and now you're here. The

thing just covered, just exploded. Right? It's

an anointing. It's a grace. It's an anointing

to cover. It's an anointing to spread. Is anyone

at all interested in that? Has anyone at all

been frustrated with the speed and efficacy of

their life? Has anyone felt stifled and like

maybe things just ain't growing like they should?

I want to do something for the Lord, but it's

just not working. Anyone? Has anyone wondered,

why is the church not taking more ground, doing

more? We started in India four -ish years ago

with 27 pastors and maybe a hundred person tribe

or so. Now we have about 5 ,000 people. That's

about 1 ,000 people a year. And I promise you

it has nothing to do with any good organization.

Nothing good about, am I right? This is not like

good planning and look what we've done. We've

hit this mile. Nothing. It's all about this memshack.

It's like that vat of wheat. It just, something

hit it. It was placed upon the altar and something

hit it. And there's an intangible power that

just causes it to spread. How do you explain

life? How does a tree grow? It's the same intangible

force in the anointing that causes whatsoever

you do shall prosper. Is that what the Word says?

You will be like a tree planted by the rivers

of water and everything that you do shall prosper.

The blessing of Abraham. We have to not settle

for small, small in this year of a kingdom expansion.

We have to not settle for small, small. We need

to go for it. I was with my father, not my hostage

-holding father, which you might be accusing

me of that here pretty soon. But this guy I consider

a spiritual father. I've been with him for several

days and just seen amazing things happen. He

stopped time. He healed people with his shadow.

Jesus is alive, you know, in that place. And

I was just going to tell him bye. I was heading

back home. And he was sitting in the chair, and

I just knelt down just to shake his hand and

say thank you. And he's got this Reinhard Bonnke

voice, just deep. I wish I had a preacher's voice

like that. Just deep and strong, you know? And

he looked at me. He was tired. He'd been preaching

all day. And he looked at me and he said, Brad,

go for it. Oh, it hit me so hard. Go for it.

I said, yes, sir. I stood up like a man, you

know, and I just started crying. Okay, I'm going

to go for it. I'm going to go for it. But we've

got to go for it. Anybody, let's just close our

eyes right here. We're closing. Let's pray. Let's

go for it, guys. Let's encounter the living God.

Let's respond with... putting ourselves upon

the altar with each passing revelation of God

and build from glory to glory. And then let's

experience the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Let's expect the anointing, the anointing to

spread, the anointing of God that breaks yokes,

the anointing to build, the anointing to grow.

Would you just hold your hands out right now

in this moment? We're not going to have any atmosphere

music. We're not going to have anything fancy.

But something is going to come upon your life

as you're genuine and authentic with the living

God in this moment. And you say, Lord, I want

to encounter you. Lord, I want to put myself

on the altar today. And Lord, I want a fresh

anointing on this fine Pentecost Sunday. I want

a fresh memshak. Mimshack. I want it, Lord. And

then you're going to go from this place and there's

going to be doors of opportunity that open for

you. There's going to be things that happen where

heaven and earth... Your eyes are closed now,

okay? We're receiving. Where heaven and earth

will shift out of the way. Just like that one

fish that Jesus said, come get on my hook. And

there was money in its mouth. The things are

going to move out of the way for your life. as

you dedicate yourself to live for His glory,

His glory will be seen and expressed through

your life. So right now in this moment, receive

the anointing for Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria,

and the uttermost. Receive. You say, what does

it mean? I'm just a homeschool mom. Receive the

anointing, the memshak, to send your arrows.

Think spreading. Think growth. Think life. We're

praying, okay? We're still praying. Give us 30

seconds. And just you're receiving. Something

is soaking into your spirit right now. New dimensions

are opening in your inner man right now to receive

something from the living God. You're going to

leave this place changed. And I speak and pray

that something in your future, there's things

waiting for you because of your choice to be

here this morning and hear the word of God. And

I pray that you begin to expect, expect those

contracts, expect those things, expect that growth,

expect that spreading. Not by power, not by might,

but by the Spirit, says the Lord. Amen. Thank

you guys so much for being willing and open to

receive. I'm going to just stay up here. If you

guys desire any further prayer or ministry, I'm

open, but we are formally dismissed. I love you.