Come to the Altar
2 Samuel 24:18-24
Last week I talked to you about adding sticks to your life…
Spiritual leverage
To be able to handle all the junk you, Satan, and others pile on you
This week will be a follow up… helping you to understand HOW
How to add spiritual leverage
There are many things you can do
Prayer, bible study, fasting, meditation,
Today I will be talking about the starting place
What comes FIRST… the foundation for the rest
THE ALTAR
What is An Altar?
Depends on whom you ask!
An altar can also be something constructed for the sole purpose of offering sacrifices. This is the most common usage of the term.
Men of God in the Bible built Altars for God after He had done things for them like Moses (in Exo. 17:15) Abraham, Isaac, Solomon e.t.c.
For a Jew it might be a structure where animals are sacrificed.
For most Baptists; it is either this stage… or the communion table.
Let me read you this and I think you will understand what I mean when I say ALTAR
(((Read “the Living Room” from “My Heart Christ’s Home)))
For the purposes of this sermon, I am defining an altar as:
a personal means of communication and fellowshipping with God. It is otherwise called ‘Quiet Time’. This is a time you have assigned/committed/set aside for God to meet with Him on ‘one-on-one’ level or basis. It comes with a specific time at which you seek the face of God through worship, praises, thanksgiving and prayer. The essence is to hear and talk to God; it ensures a direct link with God. Lk 5:16
While you are in that place, several things need to happen.
I want to look at several altars from scripture and see what we can learn about altars and what can/should happen there.
1 The Altar is the place where God IS (Rev 8:1-3)
An Altar symbolizes holiness… there is something more holy about a place when it is God’s place, your special place for meeting with God.
When you are there… it is easier to sense the holiness and purity of God
It makes us more aware of our un-holiness
And the altar makes us more aware of the presence of God
When we get in that place… we can feel God
I know…God is omnipresent… everywhere… at the same time
So… it is true you can meet God anywhere
Driving – in bed – at the lake
True—God is everywhere… but you cannot sense Him as well
You can have your quiet time anywhere
That is secluded, no distractions, available daily
But meeting at the same place… at the same time… makes the place and time special
It makes them AN ALTAR
So… the altar is the place where God is
2. The altar is a place for sacrifice/offering (Gen 22:7-9)
I don’t know why, but GOD CHOOSES to meet us, speak to us and hear from us… (MOST OFTEN) at our altar
If you look in the OT, it was at the altar that God revealed most about Himself… his likes, his desire, his character
In fact; if you remove the altar experiences… we would know very little about God.
But one thing we learned from them is: the altar is special
In this text: Abraham did not kill a lamb and offer it on a pile of sticks
Just anywhere
He built an altar! THEN… he offered the sacrifice there
An altar was not a pile of sticks thrown down wherever you were or wherever was easy
An altar is a PREPARED PLACE... a place prepared, and set apart, for that purpose
A prayer spoken in some place is not ALTAR… any more than a pile of sticks someplace
I BELIEVE: God would not have accepted Abraham’s offering on a pile of sticks back at home
God showed Abraham where to build the altar…
HE WILL SHOW YOU TOO
The altar teaches us more about our offering…
It teaches PERSONAL EXAMINATION
When Abraham or David was bringing an offering to God, they examined the animal closely. It could not be just any animal. It had to meet certain standards in order to be an acceptable offering… to be accepted by God
Male, clean, unblemished, unbroken, healthy, certain age
Leviticus 1
When we come to our altar… we do not come just as we are… and offer whatever we have, whatever we please
Lev. 22:17-25
God told the Jews what animals were acceptable
God has told us what is acceptable, what He requires ((BIBLE))
We need to have an out-of-body experience
Lay our offering (life) on the altar and look
Step back and examine our life, our conduct, our habits, character
Examination makes us aware of our sin, our deformities, our spots
Awareness leads to sorrow… broken-ness for our shoddy offering
Sorrow leads to confession
“God, I am sorry. This is truly a sickly animal… deformed and ugly. I know it does not meet your expectation. It doesn’t even meet my expectations. I am ashamed of what I have brought. I am ashamed of myself for offering it to you. I know you want more… so do I. It wasn’t the best I could bring. I could have brought something much better, something much more acceptable. I forgot you… because I was only thinking of myself and what I wanted. But now, in this place, in your presence, seeing your holiness… your presence is are like a dagger that pierces my conscience and my heart… your holiness is like a weight that crushes me until I cannot breathe. And my offering is a vile and disgusting thing. The stench is putrid in my nostrils and makes me sick… and ashamed.
TRUE sorrow… leads past confession… to CHANGE
But…
3. The Altar is the place of Forgiveness (Lev 4 and 5)
Over and over in these two chapters, God tells his people that when they sin… if they will offer the proper sacrifice… in the proper way… they will be forgiven.
So can’t we ask for forgiveness while we are driving or standing in line for the movie?
Yes!!
What is the difference?
FOCUS… PRESENCE… HOLINESS
Rarely, while you are waiting in line are you alone. People are talking, there are sights, smells and sounds.
It is very difficult to sense the presence of God or be overwhelmed by His holiness.
And THIS IS NOT THE PLACE GOD USUALLY CHOOSES
To reveal His presence, His goodness, His message
If we want to be in the presence of God and truly sense His holiness and hear from His heart…
WE NEED TO GO TO THE ALTAR
4. The Altar is a place for worship (Gen 8.20)
God had just brought Noah through the darkest time in all of history up to this point, the storms had raged, Judgment had fallen upon all mankind yet Noah had been brought though it all.
Now, God had brought Noah though on the other side.
Now Noah could praise and worship the God of Glory.
Not only when we are in the storms of this life but also on the other side of those storms we should be at the altar praising God for all that he has done, for all that he isn’t going to do, and for all that he is doing in our lives.
The bible tells us that the VERY FIRST thing Noah did when he got off the ark was: Build an altar and offer sacrifices.
Noah was in the ark for one year… and a few days.
During that time the bible NEVER tells us that Noah worshipped. WHY?
For Noah, worship ALWAYS involved sacrifice… an altar
NO ALTAR = NO WORSHIP
STILL TRUE
When he got out he was hungry for many things
Fresh air, solid ground, steak, greens,
But he was most hungry for WORSHIP
Can we worship God if we have no altar???
NO!!!!!
You can know Him, you can talk to Him…
But you cannot worship Him
Some of you here today… CANNOT WORSHIP
You have no altar in your life.
5. The Altar is the place where God speaks (Luke 1:11-13)
Zechariah was a godly man… a priest.
Scripture does not one time record that he had ever received a word from the Lord.
This day, he was in luck… his name had been drawn to burn incense before the altar… the altar
He was in need. He was hurting. He had a deep, deep hunger…… for a child
On this day, he was at the altar, and what happened?
GOD SPOKE TO HIM
Now you can give me excuses for why it did not happen before
Not God’s time
All I want to say is “It is amazing how often God chooses to speak when someone is at the altar.”
Could God have spoken to Zechariah… at his house
On the road
In the congregation
Yes. Why did God speak when Zechariah was at the altar?
I don’t know but He did
And He still does… primarily
The scripture is filled with accounts of God speaking to people while they were at the altar.. more than any other place
Conclusion-
For you to get closer to God and have an intimate relationship with Him; to know and understand Him better, then you need to build a befitting place of worship… AN ALTAR
An Altar brings you closer to God and there is a constant flow from God to you.
