Sound of Faith

Sharon Hardy Knotts: Greetings friends and new listeners and welcome to the Sound of Faith. I'm Sharon Knotts. Thank you for tuning in today because we know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Today's message by my father, Brother Hardy, "Build Again the Altars," is truly a word in due season to him that is weary and a call to the church to rise up and rebuild the altars of righteousness that are fallen down and even torn down by compromise and syncretism. These are sobering times, but God is not silent, and he speaks to us today. Build Again the Altars.

R. G. Hardy: Folks stumble because they disobey, but if you obey the truth, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. If you continue in the word, then you are his disciple indeed, and then you shall know the truth. The wise man built on the rock, the altar of God, the foundation of God, the word of God, the precepts of God, the righteousness of God. Paul said, "I don't want to be found with my righteousness, which is by the law, but I want the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ."

Jesus is faith. He is righteous. He's the rock. He's the foundation. Build his house on the rock. Say what you're built on: the blood of Jesus. What else? Righteousness or living right. Living holy, because he said, "Be ye holy, for I am holy." If you couldn't be holy, why did he tell you to be holy? He said to follow peace with all men and holiness without or apart from which no man shall see God. For God has not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication. Harlotry, that means. That you should know how to possess your vessel in sanctification, holiness, and in honor. Neither yield your members as servants of unrighteousness from iniquity unto iniquity, and the fruit in the end thereof, the wages is death. But rather yield yourself unto righteousness, unto holiness, and the fruit is holiness of righteousness.

When you live right, you bring forth fruit of holiness. When you live wrong, you bring forth fruit of filth, iniquity, and transgression. It's not all that cry, "Lord, Lord," that enter in, but to whom you yield your members' servants to obey, no matter what you call yourself. His servant you are to whom you obey: obedience unto righteousness or sin unto death. I'm going to build the altars of God. I want to be wise. How can I be wise? Jesus said in the seventh chapter of Matthew, "The wise man built his house on the rock."

Now, listen to this. And the rains descended, and the floods ascended, and the winds blew and beat themselves on it. Can I stop a little? You're not going to fly to heaven on a magic carpet even though you're on the rock. Let me go another step. The foolish man built his house on sand, and the rains and the winds and the floods beat. They both went through the same thing. Is that right? You all following me?

Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, Matthew 7:24, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon the rock. And the rains descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon the house, just beat on you. That's if you're saved and on Jesus. And if you backslide and if you're a sinner, here's what's going to happen. And every man that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand.

And the rains descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon it. You're going to have the same thing. But the only difference is the one that's on the rock when the rains come and the floods ascend and the winds beat on you. He said when it's all over, you're going to stand. He said, but if you're backslidden and a sinner, the rains are going to come, the winds are going to blow, and the floods are going to just beat on you. He said, but you're going to fall.

So if you're saved or a sinner, you're still going to have rain. You're still going to have floods, and the winds are going to beat on you. The only thing is when the test is all over, you're standing on the rock saying, "Victory is in Jesus." When the rains come, I tell myself, "Don't worry, behind the cloud there's a sun." Somebody couldn't prove that. Elijah could, Enoch could, but they haven't come back yet. Philip couldn't. He came back. His feet were running when he hit the ground. He was still running.

One time he preached Christ to the Samaritans and then he went and preached Christ to the Ethiopian eunuch. The Spirit of God caught him up in the heavenly chariot. When he hit the ground, he was still running, preaching holiness to the Lord. I'll tell you what you do if you're struggling: just pray and fast. You're like that jet taking off. Praying and fasting and straining and revving all of your power. You're breaking and breaking.

But they tell me after that thing gets up about 25,000 feet or higher, it levels off above the storm, above the cloud, above the bad weather. It gets a tailwind behind it. It gets in what they call a jet stream. That thing begins to just move 800 miles an hour, 900 miles an hour. Boom, there they go. They broke the sound barrier. There's an explosion. You're all the way in the Spirit. The devil's domain's busted through. You got through the second heavens. You're in the third heavens. You're in heaven.

These folk don't know what I'm talking about. They never got off the ground yet. A bunch of chickens going around. Honey, some of you need to stay in that prayer and fast until you climb above them things. You know what a lot of you Christians are like? That jet plane takes and goes out onto the runway out there, and it calls up to the tower. He sends his number up to clear for takeoff. The tower sends him instructions back. You know what he does? Honey, he throws them flaps down and opens that throttle up and roars them engines.

I mean, he throws the full juice to it, but that plane don't even move a half inch. He gets out there and throws them flaps down so it won't go nowhere and then opens up all the motors and just revs it with all its power. Honey, if God would give some of you the power, all you do is you got your flaps down. You got your feet dragging, and all you do is just rev and buck in church and buck and jerk and sputter and buck. You ain't going nowhere.

But honey, when you get the right combinations, when you send the right number and he looks on that board and said, "That's it, you're cleared for takeoff, let it roll." Pray and fast and you raise them flaps up and you start down that runway. Pray and fast a little bit more, and you're going down that run. Pray and fast, and pretty soon after a while, your wheels are off the ground. But you ain't all the way up in the jet stream yet. Some more battles to come.

But nose that nose straight on up. Look unto me, all ye the ends of the earth, and be ye saved. Look unto the hills from whence cometh thy help. Thy help cometh from the Lord that made heaven and earth. Honey, I'm already up there, Lord. Put the tailwind on me. You better stay close to that. Don't you get out of the Spirit. You got to play a little bit. I'm in the jet stream. It's been 10 fights. It's been 10 months of praying and fasting. Them chickens, they don't bother me anymore. I'm up too high. They can't get up there.

As long as those people talking about you is hurting you, you're not up high enough. Throw the throttle on and pray and fast some more. That thing strains 5,000 feet, 10,000 feet. All of those storm formations are banging it. Some of you are in them old engine types. They fly right through the storms. The winds are flapping. That's all some of you are. You're always in the storm. Your face looks like a Missouri mule. I'm feeling good. A tailwind is pushing me and you conserve that fuel. Oh, it's just wonderful. You just sit back and you're just going.

You don't believe it, but God knew he was going to let the old jet plane come. He said you would walk and not faint. You keep on walking and praying and fasting and you start to run and not be weary. Pretty soon, honey, he puts a little bit more Spirit on you. And what? You begin to mount up on wings. Some of them are just chickens down in the barnyard. I don't like that. Just buck, buck, buck. Just buck everything. Pray and fast. I don't like that, going to buck, buck, buck. I feel good. I'm up in the jet stream.

In his presence, you just get in his presence. I mean, when that sun begins to come through the cabin window up at the top of them clouds, it can be snowing and blowing down on the earth. That heat comes through that window, and you feel so good. You know this time of the year, a couple days ago when that sun came out a little bit, didn't that feel good? You just wanted to get in the sun. You followed it all the way around the house. For our God's a sun.

Just like when that jet levels off and that sun comes through and the announcer's voice comes over the communication system, says, "Welcome aboard. This is flight so and so. We're going to so and so. We're up 28,000 feet. It's wonderful out. The sun's shining." When you sit in heavenly places in the third heaven with the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost says, "This is flight JESUS." Said everything's all right in my Father's house. Peace and happiness there. Joy there. No more sighing. You don't believe it.

I tell you how you get up there: you got to build the altars up. You got to walk with God. You walk and you won't get weary. When he runs, you run with him. You run and you won't faint. Then when he begins to flap them wings, honey, we're on the verge of it. God has sowed people all over. He's hid them like Obadiah did: fifty, fifty, fifty. Power, power, power. Pentecost means fifty. That's all it means. On the fiftieth day. See, forty is trial, probation, preparation.

Jesus came back after he was crucified and resurrected. He walked forty days with them. He upbraided them for their unbelief and their doubt. He opened up the scriptures. He prepared them. He qualified them. He got rid of their doubt. He says, "Come on Thomas, I was with you three and a half years and you didn't come up yet. But now here I am, stick your hand in. Let's get it over with. Get it ready. I got to prepare you because after the forty, after the preparation, then I'm going to start all over again. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and when you come to ten, it's a new beginning. I'm going to begin to do a new thing."

And on the tenth day in a new first, on the fiftieth day, he said, "I'm going to send the power back." Said, "After I prepare you and get rid of your doubt and unbelief, come on." God wants you to say, "Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Believe me. I'll pay your bills, stick your hand in my side. Trust me. Just trust me. I'll pay your bills. I'll heal you, trust me." How are you going to be a deliverer when you don't know whether God can deliver?

You're going to go out there and deliver somebody. Somebody said to me, "Oh Brother Hardy, I can pray for other people, but I can't pray for myself and I don't get healed. I don't want you to pray for me. Get out of here." Said, "Man, I can't believe for myself, but I can believe for others." Honey, I can believe for myself better than anybody else because I'm the one that knows what I need the most. I don't know whether you're going to pray, but I'm going to be praying for me in the name of Jesus.

That old fever, virus tried to get me. I said, "In the name of Jesus," lay hands on it. Somebody said, "I lay hands hard." It don't hurt me. It feels pretty good. Said, "Lord, they have digged down your altars." Can I read it to you? Can no other foundation be laid, only that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus the Lord. And if any man build thereupon gold, silver, precious stone, wood, stubble, and hay, for the day shall declare it, and the fire shall try it of what sort it is. If any man's works be burned up, he loses his reward. But if his work remain, he gets a reward.

For in a great house, there are not only vessels of honor but some to dishonor. And if a man purge himself of these, he will be a vessel of honor, sanctified, meet for the master's use, prepared unto every good work. You know what the good work is? Let your light so shine before men that they might see your good works. Say, when's the best time to fulfill that scripture now when they say there is no God? How are they going to know there is a God? Let your light so shine before men that they might see thy good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Let your light so shine for this generation that says there is no God, and they're going to see God in you, the hope of glory. Christ in you and God working in you, and they're going to say there is a God, and they're going to glorify him. What are the good works? Acts 10:38: God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and power who went about doing good. What was it? Healing all that were oppressed of the devil. The word "oppressed" is "katadunasteuo," which means overlorded, crushed down, and thoroughly ruled and conquered by the devil.

Where do we get that word "dynasty" in English? "Katadunasteuo," which means he has conquered you and got you crushed down. "Healed" means to be loosed and set free from. "Delivered" means to be loosed and set free from. "Salvation" and to be saved means to be loosed and set free from. Usually, when you say "salvation," it's from sin you're loosed and set free from. "Deliverance" they usually think in their mind of a habit or a bondage you're delivered or loosed or set free from. "Healing" is usually a sickness or a disease.

But they're interchangeable. God said he'd heal your soul of which spiritual sicknesses and diseases. Isn't that right? Here's the way sometimes it figures, but they have not all believed the gospel. Tenth chapter, sixteenth verse of Romans. But they have not all obeyed the gospel, for Isaias or Isaiah saith, "Lord, who hath believed our report?" And I'd like to read a little bit more. And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? How many have seen his mighty power? Has God revealed himself in power?

So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. But I say, "Have they not heard?" Yes, verily or truly. Their sound went into all the earth and their words unto the ends of the world. But I say, "Did not Israel know?" For first Moses saith, "I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people and by a foolish nation will I anger you." God never turns anybody over until they know. But Isaias is very bold and saith, "I am found of them that sought me not. I am made manifest, I am revealed. God wants to reveal or manifest himself to you under them that asked not after me."

Talking about God rejected the Jews and revealed himself to the Gentiles. But to Israel he saith, "All day long I've stretched forth my hand unto a disobedient and gainsaying people." And honey, the parallel is coming the reverse. The church has fell into the same thing. They don't believe the report. They don't obey although God has spoken, his arm's been revealed. All day long he stretched forth his hand to a disobedient and a gainsaying people. I can preach the prophecies the last month and God said that.

I say then, "Hath God cast away his people?" God forbid. He don't cast away his people. He casts away reprobates. God forbid, for I am also an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not or know you not what the scripture saith of Elias or Elijah, how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying? What did Elijah pray against when Jezebel had her 850 false prophets, when she digged down the altars of God?

When Ahab had married that terrible woman of a foreign nation, disobeyed God when God said don't take a strange wife. I've watched young person after young person in this church do it. Some of these mothers are supposed to be saved and fathers say, "Oh, he's a nice boy." I got news for you, honey. If he's not saved, he's got a devil in him and it's playing possum until you disobey God, and when you disobey God, he's going to let the real him be seen. He's of his father the devil, and his father, he will do the lust of his father.

And what's so wrong with Jesus that he don't want him? And what's so wrong with my Jesus that you don't want him? And if you marry him or she that don't want to come to church, what are you going to do? They're not going to want to come more so afterwards and you have lost the upper hand. And if they love you the way they say they do, why don't they come and get saved? Oh, but you'll be like Ahab and marry Jezebel, that terrible woman, bringing in her terrible religion.

Because all of the religions, the Moabites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Jebusites, and all the other "-ites," all of their worship was the devil's and always harlotry was associated with their worship. Their temples had female and male prostitutes. They worshipped the god of reproduction. This god's of fertility. And when you worshipped, you had to have an unlawful, horrible, homosexual act to consummate your worship.

That's why God hated it and destroyed it. And Ahab married that woman, and she set her up 450 prophets that was Baal. Baal, the god of flies. No wonder God brought flies into Egypt. Said you ain't got no god that's got power over the flies. I got the power over the flies. The Egyptians worshipped the god over the frogs and the flies and all that, and God smote them with the thing that was supposed to be on their side. And to all of Israel, they digged down the altars, the right worship, the righteousness, the godliness of God, and they put up the altars of harlotry and wickedness and homosexuality.

Until it was so bad that Jezebel killed all of the prophets of Jehovah. Wanted to get rid of that worship so the people wouldn't know anything but wickedness. The devil's trying to get rid of you if you're right so the world won't know anything but wickedness. The devil's trying to put your light out. I'm preaching the same message: only he who will let will let until he be taken out of the way. The devil's trying to remove you. Same thing coming out of another scripture. Same message.

The devil's trying to remove you and turn your light out because the whole world lieth in darkness. The devil's tore down the altars. The devil's killing the prophets like Jezebel did in Elijah's day. But honey, I'm going to be an Elijah. I said I'm going to be an Elijah. A bunch of folk go out and say I said I am Elijah. I said that 10 years ago in the mission. Remember, Granny? And I said, "Oh Lord, make me a last-day John the Baptist. Make me a last-day Elijah to cry out against sin and prepare a people for the coming of the Lord."

They went out and said Brother Hardy said he's John the Baptist. But honey, I want to be a last-day Elijah. I want to build the altar of God back again. Let's kill all the false prophets. Come on God, it's time to have a contest. All you devils that have been murmuring and complaining and fault-finding and saying I'm false, why don't you come on up here? I'll let you pray for me first. Then I'll pray for you.

Even if the man was false, God said don't pull him up. Let the tares grow with the wheat lest you pull up a tare you uproot a wheat. But you go out in front of your loved ones and murmur and complain and then you wonder why you can't get them to an altar. You're destroying them. A lot of times the one you're stabbing at's the only one between you and God. Oh, Miriam and Aaron were stoning Moses, and God got so mad he came down in a tabernacle and his glory filled that and he spoke out and said, "Moses, tell Aaron and Miriam to come before me."

God came down and God said, "Miriam and Aaron, why didst thou not fear to touch my servant Moses?" And smote her with leprosy. She turned white with leprosy. God was angry. Said you should have feared to touch mine anointed. Honey, you better fear to touch anybody that's been anointed of God. David, when he had Saul in the cave and could have killed Saul and he was righteous, he would have been vindicated for what if he'd have put a spear and nailed Saul to the ground. Nobody would have said anything because Saul was out to murder him.

But David said, "No, I will not touch God's anointed. I'll just clip a part of his garment, let him know I could have killed him, but God delivered him." I'm going to be what? Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. I'm going to have mercy on Saul. And if anything be against him, let the Philistines or let God be against him, but I'm not. You better fear to put your hand on somebody God put the anointing on because I tell you in these days somebody that God can put the anointing on, they're a rare vessel because people are backslidden and carnal and sensual and wicked.

You either put your hand on somebody that God's using for one of two reasons: you're backslidden and God's using them to uncover you and prod you or you're jealous. And the only thing it is, you're spiritually lazy, and if you'll pray and fast, God will give it to you because he has no favorites. He just uses people that will obey him. You're nobody special. All you are is somebody that will obey him. He doesn't need anything of your wisdom and knowledge. He'll give you the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge. He'll give you the gifts of healing and miracles.

All he wants you to do is present your body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto him and is your reasonable service and say, "Lord, I will obey you." And honey, when you will obey him and acknowledge your wrong like David when you make a wrong, you'll be a man or woman after God's own heart. He'll use you.

But what saith the answer to Elijah when he interceded against Israel? God has not cast away his people which he foreknew. If you want to go on with him, he won't cast you away. He'll never leave you or forsake you. Wot you not, know you not the scripture saith of Elias, how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, "Lord, they have killed thy prophets and dig down thine altars and I am left alone and they seek my life." But what saith the answer of God unto him? "I have reserved to myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal."

Listen to this fifth verse, and the word five is grace. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. God's got a number right now, honey. God's got a number that won't bow their knee to Baal. God's got them hid: fifty here and fifty there. He's been feeding them on bread and water, which is trial and test. He's been proving them to see if they're going to stand up for right and righteousness and will build the altars of God that have fell down, that will lift up their voice and say, "Jezebel, you are a false prophetess. You are a sinful woman. Ahab, you murdered to get what you got. You disobeyed God."

In the midst of that time and in the midst of that wickedness and in the midst of that false prophecy, God is going to send a revival. Up on the mount of prayer, he's going to bring them together, and God is going to prove who's the real God, who's the real prophets, and God is going to send a rainstorm. I made up my mind I'm going to be one of those remnants. He said there is a remnant now reserved. In every dispensation and generation, God's had a remnant.

When wickedness got so bad that God had to let Nebuchadnezzar desecrate and destroy Jerusalem and his house that was so wicked, the wickedness was perpetrated and committed until he tore it down. That's why there is no house now in Jerusalem because of the wickedness, even like Eli's day. The light went out and his own sons were committing harlotry in God's house. Honey, I'm going to lift up the standard and God's fire burn. You ain't going to commit harlotry in here. You're liable to drop dead in here.

Is that right? Is that so? Honey, he had Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego and Daniel that would not compromise, and they weren't afraid of their fiery furnace, and they weren't afraid of the lion's den because after they got out of the fiery furnace and the lion's den, their enemies were killed and they were the rulers. We're going to go to the mount of prayer and get ahold of God, and the God that answers by fire, let him be God.

Sharon Hardy Knotts: Attention friends of Sound of Faith. September is Radio Month, and we want to send you a free gift. It could be a CD or a book, and it's coming to you free if you write in with the call letters of this radio station written on the bottom left corner of your envelope. This will help us determine where our program is blessing people like you. Write to Sound of Faith, P.O. Box 1744, Baltimore, Maryland, 21203. Don't forget those call letters on the front of the envelope.