Our Altar
Heb 13:10-16
10 We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-- the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. (NIV)
Altar
The Hebrew word for altar means “a place of slaughter or sacrifice” (Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ©1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers). The altar was a place were they carried out their spiritual rituals and religious practices of offering up some type of sacrifice to God as a form of worship.
As we just read in Hebrews 13:10, “we have an altar” of our own now. Our altar of worship isn’t like what they had in the Old Testament. Our altar of worship is a place were we can come and offer up the fruit of lips that confess His name.
Our Altar of Worship is . . .
1. A Place of Promise
In Genesis 8:20-22 we read of an altar that Noah built to worship God after the flood had destroyed the earth. Here at this altar God spoke to Noah and gave His entire creation a promise. “Then Noah build an altar to the Lord . . . never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.” His altar became a place of promise.
Later in Genesis we read about a promise given to Abram, who would later be known as Abraham. “The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him” (Genesis 12:7). We see this covenant restated in greater detail in chapter 15 with the promise “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates” (Genesis 15:18). His altar too became a place of promise.
We have an ALTAR of Promise!
A. We will never be alone!
Heb 13:5-6
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." 6 So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (NIV)
John 14:18
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (NIV)
We can be confident that our Omnipresent God, the God who is everywhere all the time, will always be with us! He didn’t leave us as orphans destines to wonder the streets lonely and afraid. Continue reading John 14 and see how He has given us His Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to be our guide, our helper, our strength, our voice. We have an altar of promise that we can come to and be assured that we are never alone.
B. We have a hopeful future!
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (NIV)
Not only are we never alone, but our omniscient God, who knows the past, present and future, has a plan already set out for our lives. His plan includes prosperity and protection. His plan includes hopeful future! If God loved us enough to sacrifice His only son, than surely He has a special plan us.
In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus tells us “do not worry about your life”. He then goes on to give us this challenge. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow.” We have an altar of promise that we can come to and be assured of our hopeful future.
Our Altar of Worship is . . .
2. A Place of Sacrifice
Gen 22:9-13
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. (NIV)
Here we read about the testing of Abraham’s faith. Abraham was living out the promise that God had given him. He and His wife Sarah had finally bore their first son to carry on this promise and now God has asked him to sacrifice it, to kill his only son. What irony! Abraham was being asked to give up the very thing that was going to fulfill the promise God had given him a few years earlier.
We have and ALTAR of Sacrifice
A. A living sacrifice
Rom 12:1-2
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will. (NIV)
A living sacrifice in that which seeks to please God through a holy lifestyle. It is one refuses to conform to the world’s standard and allows the Spirit of God to change them from the inside out. Our altar of sacrifice begins by living our lives, inside and out, in holiness and dedication to God.
B. A dying sacrifice
1 Corinthians 15:31 – I die daily . . .
Paul was speaking figuratively here. He was talking about dying to the status quo, to a reputation, to financial security, to the pursuit of his career even. Remember, before Paul’s conversion, he was a high ranking official, one of the best educated of his time, and had many political ties. He had the potential of becoming the High Priest. However, he died to it all. He sacrificed it all to become a missionary. We have an altar of sacrifice that we must come to and die to our own ambitions and pursuits, die to our reputations, financial security and careers.
The difference between the living sacrifice and the dying sacrifice is the cost. Sometimes it’s easy for us to be that living sacrifice, walking with God in a quiet personal way. But some of us have an Isaac that God is asking us to offer on the altar.
You see, there was nothing wrong with Abraham having a son. It wasn’t a sin. In fact, Abraham was a great example of living sacrifice. BUT God wanted to take him to the next level. He wanted Him to sacrifice that which he closest to his heart. He wanted him to die to his pride, die to his ambitions, die to his security. I’m sure Abraham even asked, “How can I be the father of many nations, how can I build Your nation Israel when you are asking me to sacrifice my only son? He learned that it wasn’t about the “How can I”, but rather “How can God?” and it started at his altar of sacrifice. We too have an altar where we must be both a living and a dying sacrifice unto God.
Our Altar of Worship is . . .
3. A Place of Witness
Josh 22:26-28
26 "That is why we said, ’Let us get ready and build an altar-- but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.’ 27 On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the LORD at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, ’You have no share in the LORD.’ 28 "And we said, ’If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica of the LORD’s altar, which our fathers built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.’ (NIV)
When you all of Joshua 22 you can see the background of story and it’s underlying principles. The twelve tribes of Israel had divided up all the land that God had promised them at Abram’s altar (Genesis 12). Joshua blessed them and then sent them on their way.
A few of the tribes (the Reubenites, Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh) were given land on the other side of the Jordan river. These tribes felt that the Jordan was a barrier between them and the others and feared that in time they would cease fearing the Lord their God (v25). So they devised a plan to create a “replica” of the altar that was in the temple. This altar was not to actually burn sacrifices, but rather to be used as a symbol – a witness between them.
We have an ALTAR of Witness
A. A witness between you and God
Rom 8:34
Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-- more than that, who was raised to life-- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. (NIV)
Heb 7:25
Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (NIV)
Jesus himself stands before God as our witness! He is interceding on our behalf to God. That means that He literally stands in the gap and speaks to God as our witness. We have an altar of witness were Jesus stands before God, the righteous Judge, as our defense.
B. A witness between you and others
Matt 10:32-33
32 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. (NIV)
When we come to this altar it is a witness between you and those here that you are in need of God. It is an act of humility that shows we can’t make it on our own, we don’t have the answers, we don’t have the strength, but we know who does and we know where we can find him – at the altar.
We need to come back to our Altar and show the world it’s significance. We need to remember it’s place and importance. We need to teach our children the heritage of our altar. We have an altar of witness that shows the world our need and desire for God.
Our Altar of Worship is . . .
4. A place of Refuge
IKing 1:51
Then Solomon was told, "Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon and is clinging to the horns of the altar. He says, ’Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’" (NIV)
IKing 2:28
When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar. (NIV)
Here is another great Old Testament story that helps illustrate the significance of the altar. Solomon had just been appointed King as David his father just passed away. But as David was growing old, His other son Adonijah, with the help of Joab and Abiathar, rose up and tried to appoint himself as king.
Well, when Solomon cam to town as the new King, Adonijah afraid for his life. He ran to a place of refuge, of safety. He ran to the temple and took hold of the horns of the altar. Joab did the same when he discovered he too was to be killed.
We have an Altar of Refuge
Ps 46:1-3
1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah (NIV)
We have an altar of refuge where we can come and find protection from our enemies, rest when we are weary, strength when we are weak, and help for all of our troubles.
Our Altar of Worship is . . .
5. A Place for the Supernatural!
In 1 Kings 18:19-39 we see God’s supernatural power at work through the prophet Elijah. God has Elijah call all of the prophets of Baal and Asherah together for a big showdown. So both the prophets of Baal qand Elijah make an altar, put wood on it, and then a bull cut into pieces was placed on the wood. Now the test was to see whose God would set their altar on fire.
From morning till noon the prophets of Baal called upon their god to no avail. Now Elijah starts taunting them so they shout even louder and cut themselves with their swords, but still nothing happens throughout the day and into the night.
Elijah then prepared his altar and even poured water all over it and around it. Then he stepped forward and prayed this simple prayer and the supernatural followed.
1 Kings 18:36-39
36 “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O Lord, anser me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” 38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD-- he is God! The LORD-- he is God!" (NIV)
We have an altar where the supernatural should be natural!
To many times we take this altar for granted. To many times we don’t have the faith to believe what God can do around this altar. To many times we are simply to busy to come and spend some time with Him around this altar. To many times we think that this altar, in the front of our church, is the only place where the supernatural can take place if at all.
Our altar should be a place where the gifts of His Holy Spirit flow freely. Our altar should be where families are rebuilt, finances are provided for, bodies are healed of sickness, addictions are freed, and lives are changed through miracle working power of God. We have an altar where our omnipotent God dwells and desires to bring fire from heaven upon his people.
We have an ALTAR like they never had.
We have an altar that combines all of these elements and more.
- We have an altar of Promise – of everlasting love, a hopeful future
- We have an altar of Sacrifice – where God our Father gave His only Son for you and me
- We have an altar of Witness – where Jesus Himself stands before God as your witness
- We have an altar of Refuge – a place where we can go for rest, strength and protection
- We have an altar that is Supernatural – a place where God will bring down fire from heaven and perform miraculous signs and wonders.
We have an ALTAR – It’s the CROSS of Jesus Christ where He was slaughtered and sacrificed for you and for me. This is an ALTAR that we must come to! This is an ALTAR where we must worship the Lord our God. This is the ALTAR were lives will be restored, renewed and refreshed.
Come to this ALTAR and offer to God the FRUIT of lips that confess His name. Come to this ALTAR and offer to God your life. Come to this ALTAR and offer to God a sacrifice of praise. Commit to Him your LIFE today. Commit to Him your WORSHIP everyday.
