Making Room for the Altar

This morning, we continue our series The Awe of God with a special message.

If you are following along in the book, you won’t find this message in the devotions. But this message is a very timely and important message as it focuses in on the importance of the altar.

If you have not noticed already, we have some new prayer benches installed near the front of the stage.

These altar benches were made by the men of the church… several guys spent many hours milling the wood, sanding, shaping, constructing, and finishing it all so we could have what is before us today.

To all of you who made these benches a possibility, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your work has helped make God’s vision for this church reality.

The altar… is extremely important when it comes to our healthy fear of Lord.

This series has brought back to our attention the need to honor and to revere God… to stand or kneel in awe of who He is and what He has done. We NEVER want to lose sight of who God is!

This fear of the Lord reminds us that HE IS GOD, and WE ARE NOT. It reminds us that He is above all and worthy of our praise, worship, and adoration.

The last two message focused on the freedom that we have in the Lord:

We talked about how that freedom wasn’t free - Christ had to die… He paid the price we could not pay so we could be free.

We then talked about how our freedom is worth fighting for - Christ WILLINGLY gave His life so we could be victorious. In Christ, we are no longer slaves to sin but are now more than conquerors!

Jesus gave.... Jesus laid it all down for us and the altar is the place where we lay ourselves down for the Lord. It is a place of personal sacrifice and commitment… a place we need to get back to today in AWE of the Lord.

So we are going to go back to a passage of Scripture we looked at several months ago. This message is a bit of a reprise… but God laid this on my heart again as we make room for the altar. I want to begin by looking at a story in 1 Kings. Israel was facing a very real problem - the problem of false worship. They were deeply involved in Baal worship.

Elijah was the only prophet of God left… but there existed 450 prophets of Baal. Elijah presents a challenge, if you will, in his attempt to lead the people of God back to the Lord. He said this in 1 Kings 18:21

1 Kings 18:21 NIV

21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.

The people said nothing. I find that to be an interesting response. Elijah is challenging their faith and they stood their… silent. So he goes another direction. He offers another challenge or test.

1 Kings 18:22–23 NIV

22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it.

And then, Elijah says this… this verse serves as our main text today and for the main verse for our business meeting later.

1 Kings 18:24 NIV

24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

The people agreed to the test - a test of the true altar of worship. The test was simple - the people would worship and the true God… would answer.

We know the story… the prophets pf Baal go the distance… they dance and shout and do all they can to get their “god” to answer. But 1 Kings 18:26 makes clear, “there was no response; NO ONE ANSWERED.” Look at verse 27

1 Kings 18:27 NIV

27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”

NOTHING HAPPENED! The people had placed their faith in a lifeless god… a false deity. The people had been misled and misdirected. It was clear… their so-called god had FAILED the test.

But Elijah was confident that the God of the universe, the God he worshiped, served and obeyed would NOT fail the test. Again, look at his words and faith in 1 Kings 18:24

1 Kings 18:24 NIV

24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

Now, before Elijah calls down fire from heaven, he does something extremely important. After the people watch the prophets of Baal make fools of themselves, it was now Elijah’s turn to present the offering to the One true God.

Look at verse 30.

1 Kings 18:30–32 NIV

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed.

Before he called down fire… HE REPAIRED THE ALTAR.

The altar… had been torn down. The place of worship and sacrifice… had been torn down. The place of total surrender and obedience… had been torn down.

Before Elijah called on the name of the Lord… HE REBUILT AND RESTORED THE ALTAR.

This morning, I want to re-share with you a very clear direction God has given me regarding our worship and service. God has been working on my heart regarding this vision for some time now. And today… the vision becomes reality.

Today, we restore and make room for the altar at HWC. Today, we make a commitment to being a church that lays itself down for the Lord in sacrifice and worship.

The Significance of the Altar

First off, let’s talk about what I mean by an altar of worship.

HWC is NOT involved in any kind of false worship of any false god. We believe in and worship the One true God. Amen?

However… in these last days, I believe God is calling us back to a deeper, more intimate worship of Him. And it’s going to start… at the altar.

The altar is a place of worship and sacrifice. The altar has been a part of faith in God since sin entered this world.

Why did the altar become a part of our faith AFTER the fall of man? Because it became the place where sin was atoned for… blood was shed on the altar. Sacrifices were made as payment for our disobedience and rebellion.

Thankfully, Christ satisfied our sin payment in full. We no longer have to make such sacrifice because Jesus was the ultimate sacrificial Lamb - His blood was enough. The sins of those who would call on His name have been atoned for. His blood becomes our new covering.

Jesus did this work for us… on the cross… at Calvary. If you need forgiveness of sin, restoration of your soul, and spiritual freedom, JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY!

So if Christ paid the price in full on the cross… what significance does the altar hold for believers today?

The cross is where Jesus laid down His life for us… the altar is where we lay down our lives… FOR JESUS.

And that brings me back to the vision I shared with you in February… the emphasis that God laid on my heart.

A long while back… roughly two and a half years ago, God began to stir within my heart the need to restore the altar - to be clear, to bring back altar/prayer benches to the front of the sanctuary. In December of last year, God brought it back to my attention. I had not done what He called me to do.

Why? I feared man’s POSSIBLE response more than I feared the Lord. I placed what others might think above what God was leading me to do. I was afraid of what someone might say at the absence of 12 chairs. As God had said to my heart, “I ensured we had plenty of space for personal comfort, but I had neglected the space for personal sacrifice.”

Your pastor is leading you back to the altar of the Lord that our fear and reverence of Him might be renewed.

Your presence here today is a demonstration of your commitment to your walk with the Lord. We are here together, to worship together, to be in His Word together, to grow together.

The altar is a space that will also help us to give of ourselves together, to go deeper together, to hear from Him together, to receive from Him together.

Instead of placing our hope or trust in the lifeless things of this world, we place our hope and trust in the God who answers by fire… We place our hope in the One who is alive, who is all-powerful, all knowing, all sovereign.

Not only will we have the altar available in every service, but we have a dedicated service every month called Night at the Altar. It is designed to give us additional time to seek the Lord and to receive from Him.

The Restoration Process

Before Elijah repaired the altar, he called the people to come and to observe. The people were present as the altar was restored. As they watched, Elijah reminded them of their heritage with the stones and their history.

Our restoration process will be similar… as I have commissioned Stronger Men’s Ministry to build these altars from scratch.

We have secured the materials from Buzz Rice. He has lumber material that we are going to mill, shape, bolt together, and finish - we will build two 12’ altar/prayer benches that will be placed right here near the front of the stage.

And… as you can see, the front row of chairs have been removed to MAKE ROOM for the altar in this place. 12 chairs in all have been placed in storage.

And someone might be thinking, “Pastor, what if we need those chairs some day? Isn’t our prayer and hope to fill every chair with someone who is seeking the Lord?”

Church, as I have said before, if we want to fill every chair in this place with a soul who needs Jesus, we must FIRST restore and make room for the place of intimate worship and personal sacrifice. We must lay ourselves down at the altar.

AND… I want you to be aware of something God said long ago regarding the restoration of the altar at HWC.

This word was not given to me… it was given to someone in this church as the walls were being built and this house of worship was taking form. I did not know of this word until I shared with the Board what God had shared with me regarding the altar. And I want you to hear this prophecy directly from the one who received it years ago…

LEO GRAHAM - Testimony of what God said to Him.

Church, I want to be clear with something: the altar bench is NOT an object of our worship… it is a place where we worship the Lord. The altar bench moves us to humble ourselves before the Lord and it visually reminds us of what must be laid down in our pursuit of Jesus - we must give Him everything! We can worship without these benches… but these benches give us a visual… they remind us of the importance of humbling ourselves before the Lord, kneeling in reverence and holy fear of Him.

Closing Time of Prayer

Church, God is on the move. God is preparing this place, this church, this body - for a move of His power like we have never seen before.

But will we be moved? Will we follow as He leads? I am not just talking about being emotionally moved by stories today… we need to be moved by His Spirit! We can build an altar… we can move some chairs, we can amen and hallelujah all service long… but will we be moved to SERVE Him?

I wrestled a bit on what to do in this moment… as we introduce these new altar benches in this house of worship. Do we have a moment of dedication… or does God want something else?

We realize these altars belong to the Lord. This space is already dedicated to serving Him and to honoring Him.

My question today is: Will we be a people dedicated to His altar? A people commited to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to the Lord? A people who will stand or kneel in awe and reverence of God almighty?

This morning, we are going to end this message a bit different. I want us to look back at the story of Elijah. God is calling us back to… the altar… God is calling us back to a place of sacrifice… a place of commitment, surrender, and giving all.

Go back to our main verse. Go back to the “test” Elijah lays out for the people.

He challenges the prophets of Baal to prepare an altar, and Elijah would do the same. They would call on the name of their god… but look at what Elijah says again in 1 Kings 18:24

1 Kings 18:24 NIV

24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

I love what Elijah says… and it is here where I feel God is calling us to pray this morning.

Other things have gotten in the way of people’s faith. Other “gods” have caused the body to become sleepy in their walk with God. I believe God is calling us, arousing us from this sleep and in response, as Elijah did in 1 Kings 18, we need to call on the name of the Lord, the name that is above ALL names!

Prayer Point One: Call on the Name of the Lord - Pastor Chris

His Name is Jesus. He is our Savior, our deliverer. He is the One that gave His life for us. I want us to take several minutes simply calling on His name, humbling ourselves before our Lord tonight. Church, can we call on His name and praise His name for the next several minutes?

Secondly, Elijah says something very important. He identifies God as the God who answers.

You see, Elijah knew the false gods of the day would have no answer. How could they? They were false gods! And like many in our culture today, people are turning to things that really have no answer for what they are walking through. Our God IS the answer! And our God answers prayer!

Prayer Point Two: Lift up your need before the Lord - Pastor Darrel

God WILL answer. And maybe that need has distracted you. Maybe that need has got you down. Maybe that need has you wavering in your faith. Whatever that need is… God is the answer… and He has an answer for you.

He was the answer for the people then… and He is the answer for us this evening. He HEARS your prayer and He will ANSWER your prayer. So take a few moments to lift up the needs in this place tonight.

Thirdly, Elijah goes on to describe how God will answer. He said that God answers by what? by fire. And then Elijah reemphasizes that God… IS God.

Not only does our God answer prayer… but His answer is power - an answer that can only come from Him. So this final prayer point is simple...

Prayer Point Three: Be Receptive to God’s answer of power and fire - Pastor Chris

Open your hearts to what God wants to pour into you today. In Acts 2, we see a prophecy recited that states God will pour out His Spirit on ALL people… His Spirit of power and fire.

We are living in the last days. God wants to pour His power into our lives through Spirit Baptism… yet too often we are not ready or willing to receive.

His answer is fire - miraculous power from on high - an answer you won’t find in anything of this world. He wants to pour His Spirit on ALL people… do you desire to receive from Him?

Lastly, we honor and remember the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. We remember all that He gave… all that He laid down.

Jesus gave it all… it is only fitting that His followers… do the same.

Communion reminds us of what He did. We don’t do this for ritual sake… we do this in remembrance of Him. We receive the elements today in worship. We will partake of them in a moment together in reverence and remembrance of Jesus.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NIV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.