What did the resurrected people do after they came out of the ark and started their new living? The first thing they did upon coming out of the ark was to build an altar and offer sacrifices to God (8:20-22). The first thing in the church life should not be work; it must be the offering of Christ to God through the cross. Noah built an altar and offered sacrifices to God (8:20). Both the altar and the sacrifices are types. The altar is a type of the cross of Christ, and the sacrifices are types of the different aspects of Christ. We must offer Christ in different aspects to God. We must offer to God the Christ we have experienced. If we experience Christ as the burnt offering, then we should bring Him as such to God and offer Him to God. God wants us to bring Christ to Him. When we experience Christ and bring the Christ whom we have experienced to God, this is what pleases God. We must offer Christ to God for His satisfaction. In the church life, we must pay attention to this. We need to learn how to experience Christ, bring Him to God, and share Him with God. This is what God will accept.
We offer Christ to God through the cross. Do not work—go to the cross. Do not try to do anything or to behave—go to the cross. What will the cross do with you? It will only do one thing: it will cross you out. Before you do anything for God, you should go to the cross and let it cross you out. If a young man wants to obey the commandment to honor his parents, he should first let the cross cross him out. If a husband wants to love his wife, he also must be crossed out. The same is true for a wife who intends to submit herself to her husband. Are you going to work for God? Before working for Him, you must come to the cross and be crossed out. Eventually, there will be no natural work, service, or behavior. After you pass through the cross, only Christ will remain. Such a Christ will be a sweet savor to God.
When we, through the cross, offer to God the Christ whom we have experienced, God will be satisfied. We all must be crossed out at the altar that we may offer the Christ whom we have experienced in our daily life. How I thank the Lord that throughout the years the churches in this country have been practicing these two points. We are being crossed out and also are experiencing Christ, bringing Him to God, and sharing Him with one another in the presence of God. Whenever we come together in this way, we have the assurance that God is satisfied. How do we know that He is satisfied? Because we are satisfied. When you are hungry, be sure that God also is hungry. When you are unhappy, God is unhappy. But when you are satisfied, the very God to whom you offer Christ is satisfied also. The more you work by yourself, the more unsatisfied you will be. The more you try to behave yourself, the more you will sense that you are hungry and thirsty. However, once you have been crossed out on the cross and have experienced Christ in a full way, you will be filled, happy, and satisfied. You will say, "Hallelujah, I'm filled and satisfied. I'm at peace. I have food and water. I have everything." This is the indication that God is satisfied.