Sermon Central
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Is Your All On The Altar
Contributed by Dr. Ronnie Grizzle on Jul 15, 2007 (message contributor)
Summary: Has the true believer really placed everything on the altar? Are they truly open to self-sacrifice for the Lord?
Is Your All On The Altar?
Thompson Creek Baptist Church
July 15, 2007
WHAT IS AN ALTAR?
It is a place of full surrender!
In Genesis 21, Abraham came to such a place.
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
You can’t just be surrendered partially—it must be full and complete surrender.
There are some here today, who have been a Christian for years and are still not fully surrendered to God!
It is a place of sacrifice!
In Genesis 4, Abel came to such a place.
Paul tells us in his epistle, “We are crucified with Christ.” What have you sacrificed for God lately?
You must be willing to sacrifice self to please the Lord.
There are some here today, who have been a Christian for years, who have yet to sacrifice anything for God!
The Altar is a place of sure death!
In the OT, the Lamb had to die! For the sacrifice to be complete, it had to die.
Jesus said, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12.24).
In order to produce fruit as a Christian you must DIE to self, on a DAILY basis, and be fully surrendered to God and willing to sacrifice your own selfish desires to please Him!
There are some here today, who have been a Christian for years, and have yet to die to self for the Lord.
We see that the altar is a place of full surrender, a place of sacrifice and a place of death.
Now let’s take a moment to look at:
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO PLACE ON THE ALTAR?
You need to place Yourself on the Altar!
Rom 6:13 says, “...yield yourselves unto God...” (Read text again)
Are you yielded to God or are you still in control? To get the full force of God’s blessings on your life, you must place yourself on the Altar!
You must present your body, your soul and your mind to God and let it all be His and His alone.
You need to place your will on the altar. If you are a true child of God, then your will means nothing!
It is the will of God that means everything to you! Does God’s will have first place in your life?
Is your attitude towards your life, what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine?
Does it have to be your way! If it is something that you are comfortable with, are you willing to give it up for God?
Let me tell you what God says to those who get comfortable in His house:
Amos 6:1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria,
Woe to them that are at ease in the church and trust their own ways better than the Lord’s!
Woe to them that are at ease in the church and trust tradition more than the Lord!
You need to place your family on the Altar!
In order to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ, you must be willing to give up anything that could possibly come between you and the Lord.
You need to place your family relationships on the altar, and say, God, I am willing to give it up if I must, in order to please and follow you to the utmost!
Are you ready today to put on the Altar the things that you need to put there?
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR ALL IS ON THE ALTAR?
When your all is on the altar, the Fire of the Lord Comes Down!
When Elijah placed it all on the altar for God, “The fire of the Lord fell,” (2 Kings 18.38).
Isaiah felt the Fire of the Lord from heaven when he placed His all on the altar (Isa 6.7-8).
When Isaiah placed it all on the altar, God purified Him for a purpose that was not his own.
Do you want to know what your purpose is in life? Then place your all on the altar and allow God to purify you for His purpose.
How many of you really want to see revival?
If every true born again believer at Thompson Creek Baptist Church, were to place their all on the altar, I believe that God would send revival fires like we have never seen before.
When your all is on the altar, the Song of the Lord Returns!
For 16 years the song of the Lord was gone from His house. After sixteen days of cleaning house, (one day for each year) the song of the Lord was heard again in His house. (2 Chron 29).
