Rebuilding Altars of Sacrifice

Good morning and welcome to Living Faith Church. I am so excited to be able to worship Jesus Christ with you on this amazing Sunday. If we have never met before, my name is Aaron. My wife Stella and I are honored to be able to serve on the Pastoral team at LFC. Today we are starting a brand new teaching series that I am really excited about called We Are Builders.

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The series Revival Fire called us back to the altar—to repentance, prayer, and a return to the roots of the Gospel in a season of national upheaval, when violence and uncertainty left many searching for hope. In those weeks, we asked the question: Where should we be?

Now, in We Are Builders, we shift the question. Not just where should we be, but what are we building? At Living Faith we do one thing. “We Create Irresistible Environments For People To Meet With God.” And we do this across many different spaces. From gatherings like this, Bloom & Grow on Tuesday, LFY on Wednesday, Mens Breakfast on Saturday and various groups all around our community in homes, restaurants, parks and coffee shops. We create irresistible environments where people meet with God. But, revival is not sustained by passion alone—it must be built on sacrifice, presence, worship, and the Word of God.

Throughout Scripture, revival kings didn’t just tear down idols; they built altars:

1 Kings 18:30–39 – Elijah repairs the altar on Mount Carmel and destroyed 850 false prophets.

Exodus 15:20–21 – Miriam restores worship in Israel’s first revival song after God parted the Red Sea.

2 Chronicles 15:8–15 – Asa repaired the altar of the Lord and leads the people of Judah into covenant.

Romans 12:1–2 – Present your bodies as living sacrifices.

Every altar raised was both a place of encounter and a foundation for the future.

In this series we will talk about:

Altars and Sacrifice – Where we lay down our idols.

Altars and Worship – Where we declare the supreme God.

Altars and Covenant – Where we lead future generations into devotion.

Altars and God’s Word – Where we build on an unshakable foundation.

This series is more than just a retelling of what God did way back when - it’s about what He is calling us to build now: a church, a family, and a future that carries His presence into a broken world. 

The Altar Is Where You Sacrifice Your All

Genesis 22:1–3 NASB95

1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

Within these words lay some of the most theologically rich and yet provocative verses of the Bible. Yet, the call of Abraham was not to sacrifice a son, but to sacrifice his expectations, his perception of a promise. Is it not amazing how quickly we can build an idol out of Gods promise?

Our drive - a God given gift to excel in life, can become an idol when it causes us to ignore our family for promotion, ignore our time alone with God so we can get to work early, miss church community to get those extra hours.

Our family - a God given gift, can become an idol

Our money - a gift from God, becomes an idol when our pursuit of earthly riches becomes more important that Biblical generosity and obedience.

Isaac was more than just a boy - Isaac was the son of promise. God had promised Abraham to become a great nation, and Isaac was the son through which this nation would birthed. Without Isaac, Abrahams promise was null and void. To sacrifice Isaac on the altar was to sacrifice purpose, meaning. To make useless the years of faithful expectation. Before Abraham ever gathered wood for altar and sacrifice, before he ever started up that mountain, he first had to respond to God. Look at the words:

Genesis 22:1 NASB95

1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

In Hebrew that is Hineni, Here I Am - It’s not just a response of our physical presence. We do that so often.

See God, I go to church, I am a good Christian.

See God, I went to group this week - I am super committed.

See God, I read the Bible today - I devoted to you.

But “Here I Am” goes so much deeper. Here I Am is a response, not of the location of your body, but the posture of your heart. It is a response that says my commitment to the God of the promise is greater than my commitment to the promise.

It was the Here I Am of Moses, that committed Moses to a 40 year journey with a stubborn, and grumbling nation that would test the furthest end of his patience and tolerance.

It was the Here I Am of Jacob that led him to Peniel where he wrestled with God.

It was the Here I am of Isaiah that lead him as a prophet to the idolatrous nation of Israel.

It was the Here I am of God, where He emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

Before Abraham ever laid Isaac on the altar, he first laid himself there with one word: Hineni—Here I am.

But because of Moses Henani, Hebrews 11:26 states that Moses received his great and heavenly reward.

Because of Jacobs Here I Am, Genesis 32:30 states he saw God “face-to-face” and his life was preserved.

Because of Gods Here I Am, Isaiah 52:4 the whole world experience the Love of God in Christ Jesus.

Church, where is your surrender? Are you ready to lay your life on the altar? Are you ready to lay the promises of God on the altar? Are you ready to sacrifice your promises of God in exchange for the Presence of God?

The Altar is Where Your Faith is Exposed

Genesis 22:6–8 NASB95

6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

I cannot imagine the pressure that Abraham felt as he patiently awaited God supply. Amidst the questioning of own son. “Where is the lamb….” Abrahams response of “God Will Provide” reveals a level of faith that we should strive for. We translate his response as “God will provide” because that is the best interpretation of what Abraham was saying. But if we were to look at the literal Hebrew, the only words present in the original manuscript are:

Elohim yir’e (ra’a) l (lay) ha se (say)

God see’s Toward The Lamb

Abrahams faith was firm, I do not need to see, because God sees. This is a question worth asking ourselves today.

Am I responding with my eyes or Gods eyes?

Abraham had already learned the lesson of faith through the birth of Isaac. Decades before this moment he had responded with his own eyes when he attempted to fulfill Gods promise of a son through his servant Hagar, bringing about Ishmael a half son who would later mock Isaac.

Now Abraham know, God sees, God provides. But the altar is a test of our faith. Can I go to the altar of sacrifice, carrying my everything in full faith that God will provide?

Altars Are Where God’s Promises Are Revealed

Genesis 22:9–14 NASB95

9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. 14 Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.”

If we want to experience the promises of God, we must be willing lay those promises on the altar. The altar is where His promises are revealed. Without Isaac on the altar, there is no “ram caught in the thicket”. What promise are you believing for?

The promise of a spouse

The promise of promotion

The promise of wealth and health

The promise of family

I want to read to you how this story ends.

Genesis 22:15–17 NASB95

15 Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.

Prior to Abrahams altar of sacrifice he had a son, but after his altar of sacrifice he had a son of promise. The altar of sacrifice is where promises are revealed. What do you need to bring to the Altar?

Salvation Response

Genesis 22:9–14 NASB95

13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.

Maybe you do not have a personal relationship with God; maybe you are still carrying the anxiety, guilt, and pressure that sin induces in your life. Maybe you are stressed out by trying to navigate life all on your own. Can I assure you; today all of that can end, and you can walk out of this room with hope in your heart? The Bible tells us:

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 11

Romans 10:9 NASB95

Many people have told me, I don’t want to become a Christian because I can’t keep up that goodie lifestyle. But this verse says nothing about your lifestyle. God is more interested with your heart. If He can get to your heart, He will deal with your actions later.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 11

Romans 6:23 NASB95.

We know that sin leads to death – you’ve felt the sting, and pain of sin. The good news is this, Paul calls God’s gift of life a “free gift”. I want to pray with you right now to receive this gift. If you would say, I want God’s forgiveness, I want to accept this gift of life, I want Jesus to live in my heart, raise your hand so I know who I am praying for.

KEEP YOUR HANDS RAISED HIGH - I HAVE A PRAYER PARTNER COMING TO PRAY WITH YOU

“Heavenly Father, I trust You to save me through Your Son, Jesus. Forgive me for all of my sins. Make me brand new. Because You died for me, I want to live for You. Fill me with Your Spirit, so I could follow You. Jesus, You’re now my Lord and the Savior of my life. Take my life. It is Yours. In Jesus’ name, I pray.”