The Power of the Altar (2)
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· 1 viewIsrael's altar was never something they built for themselves. It was something God established and commanded to stay open, continually, on purpose. For centuries, Israel brought five different offerings to that altar, and each one taught a different piece of what it means to belong to God. But on Mount Moriah, a boy named Isaac becomes something no animal ever could: a living sacrifice, laid on the altar alive, willing, and unresisting. This message moves through three movements, established, required, opened, to show what the altar was for, then asks what it looks like for us to lay ourselves there the same way.
Notes
Transcript
THE POWER OF THE ALTAR
Preaching Outline with Key Takeaway Phrases
Leviticus 1–6; Genesis 22 | Bill Sizemore | Reliant Ministries
The Romans Road | A Living Sacrifice, Week One | September 6, 2026
Big Idea
The altar was never something we built for God. It is something God built for us, and He has never wanted it closed.
TAKEAWAY "If the altar is still open, then I'm still coming." (Phrase of the Day, repeat throughout)
OPENING: STORY AND HOOK PHRASE
Open with a short recap of Joey's message from Romans 12:1-3 last week,
vs. 3 God has measured faith to us.
vs. 2 So that we can renew our minds.
vs. 1 And present our bodies as a living sacrifice.
Every sacrifice has an altar. a place where you bring the sacrifice for consuming. Many of us have an altar in our house (Prayer room) A place that we present ourselves to the Lord. The temple always had an altar where people could come and meet with God.
Today we don’t have a physical altar because Jesus is the living sacrifice and made the altar a spiritual altar of sacrifice. We have become living sacrifices in him. So no matter where we gather we can lay ourselves before the spiritual altar in heaven.
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.
Everyone knew in the 1st century that an sacrifice didn’t last long. So when Paul told them to bring a living sacrifice, he wasn't handing them a nice metaphor. He was handing them a contradiction. How do you stay on the altar and stay alive at the same time?
That's the question underneath this whole message, and I think it's the question underneath a lot of our lives, whether we've ever said it out loud or not. We know how to give God a moment. We're less sure how to give Him a life.
Under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and its flame was first lit on November 11, 1923. Since that day, at 6:30 every single evening, someone has come to rekindle it. Not most nights, every night, for over a hundred years now, including through four years of Nazi occupation, when it would have been far easier and far safer to just let it go out. It never has. Someone has always come.
That's what an altar is supposed to be. Not a place you visit once and check off. A place that stays open, so you keep coming back to it. As long as the altar is open, someone comes.
Phrase of the day: “If the altar is still open, then I'm still coming.”
ROAD MAP
Here's our road map for this morning, three things this passage shows us about the power of the altar:
First: God established an open altar for his people to do business with him.
Second: God required a living sacrifice as our example.
Third: Jesus has opened the altar forever.
SERMON OUTLINE
GOD ESTABLISHED AN OPEN ALTAR
GOD ESTABLISHED AN OPEN ALTAR
Moses was told to construct things as he had seen them in heaven. The altar wasn’t his idea it’s what he saw in heaven.
12 The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. 13 Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.
The fire wasn't lit on demand, it was never allowed to go out. The altar wasn't something Israel visited. It was something God established and kept open, on purpose.
Five offerings show what that open altar was actually for, Leviticus 1-7.
1. Burnt offering: I give myself.
1. Burnt offering: I give myself.
1 The Lord called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock. 3 “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord. 4 He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
The whole animal goes up in smoke, nothing kept back, and it was also Israel's twice-daily standing offering (Exodus 29:38-42), so the picture is continual surrender, not a single dramatic moment.
2. Grain offering: I give what I have.
2. Grain offering: I give what I have.
1 “When anyone brings a grain offering as an offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. He shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it 2 and bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. And he shall take from it a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall burn this as its memorial portion on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
An offering out of labor and provision.
An offering out of labor and provision.
When I travel to other cultures there is a basket set on the altar and during the time of offering everyone come to the altar and places their gift in the basket. The the rural churches in Uganda they bring fruits and vegetables, and sometimes a chicken.
This is be connected to the firstfruits offering.
This is be connected to the firstfruits offering.
14 “If you offer a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits fresh ears, roasted with fire, crushed new grain.
Jesus is the firstfruits offering from death to life.
Jesus is the firstfruits offering from death to life.
This is a picture of our tithe.
This is a picture of our tithe.
3. Peace offering: I enjoy fellowship.
3. Peace offering: I enjoy fellowship.
Leviticus 3:1-5; 7:11-36.
1 “If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. 2 And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar. 3 And from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as a food offering to the Lord, he shall offer the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 4 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. 5 Then Aaron’s sons shall burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering, which is on the wood on the fire; it is a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
The one offering that becomes a shared meal in God's presence.
The one offering that becomes a shared meal in God's presence.
Jesus illustrated this at the last supper.
Jesus illustrated this at the last supper.
He is the broken bread and the spilled wine.
He is the broken bread and the spilled wine.
This is a picture of the communion table
This is a picture of the communion table
11 “And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings that one may offer to the Lord. 12 If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the thanksgiving sacrifice unleavened loaves mixed with oil, unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and loaves of fine flour well mixed with oil. 13 With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving he shall bring his offering with loaves of leavened bread. 14 And from it he shall offer one loaf from each offering, as a gift to the Lord. It shall belong to the priest who throws the blood of the peace offerings.
4. Sin offering: I need cleansing
4. Sin offering: I need cleansing
1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the Lord’s commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them, 3 if it is the anointed priest who sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer for the sin that he has committed a bull from the herd without blemish to the Lord for a sin offering. 4 He shall bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord and lay his hand on the head of the bull and kill the bull before the Lord. 5 And the anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the tent of meeting,
11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.
Sin defiles the community and sanctuary, not just the individual, and only blood cleanses it.
Sin defiles the community and sanctuary, not just the individual, and only blood cleanses it.
Our blood sacrifice is Jesus so atonement is paid in full.
Our blood sacrifice is Jesus so atonement is paid in full.
We are command to confess not ask for forgiveness.
We are command to confess not ask for forgiveness.
Illustration: The Altar in heaven
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
5. Guilt offering: I make it right.
5. Guilt offering: I make it right.
Leviticus 5:14-16.
14 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 15 “If anyone commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally in any of the holy things of the Lord, he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued in silver shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering. 16 He shall also make restitution for what he has done amiss in the holy thing and shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven.
Real repentance repairs what was damaged rather than just naming it.
Real repentance repairs what was damaged rather than just naming it.
Jesus command us to leave the altar and make things right before you present your gift to the Lord.
Jesus command us to leave the altar and make things right before you present your gift to the Lord.
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Landing paragraph:
None of this was Israel's idea. God established the altar, kept the fire burning, and told them exactly what to bring. The access was always His idea. So the first answer to why we still come to the altar is simple: because God opened it, and He has never been the one who wanted it closed. Bridge into point two: Isaac, on a mountain, with wood on his back.
II. God Required a Living Sacrifice
II. God Required a Living Sacrifice
Genesis 22:1-19, Living Example: Isaac
God will provide
God will provide
6 And 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 they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
Isaac carries the wood up the mountain himself and asks the question every worshiper would ask: "Where is the lamb?"
Isaac carries the wood up the mountain himself and asks the question every worshiper would ask: "Where is the lamb?"
The willing Sacrifice
The willing Sacrifice
9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter 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 lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
A willing sacrifice is laid on the altar alive, yielding, unresisting.
A willing sacrifice is laid on the altar alive, yielding, unresisting.
A living sacrifice gets up from the encounter with God to walk with Him.
A living sacrifice gets up from the encounter with God to walk with Him.
TAKEAWAY "Where in your life have you been willing to walk up the mountain, but you're still waiting to see if you'll trust what God provides?
A launch you can't guarantee will work.
A baby on the way and a budget that doesn't obviously cover it.
A retirement you can't fully script.
A diagnosis you didn't choose.
Different mountains, same question."
Application: A living sacrifice is willing to lay it all down and watch as God works through your sacrifice to accomplish his will.
III. Jesus Has Opened the Altar Forever
III. Jesus Has Opened the Altar Forever
Hebrews 10; Romans 12:1
The Altar of shadows
The Altar of shadows
Hebrews 10:1, 4, 10, 12 (ESV): "For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near... For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins... And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all... But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God."
Every offering was a shadow.
Every offering was a shadow.
Jesus sat down because the offering was finished, once, for all time.
Jesus sat down because the offering was finished, once, for all time.
The Altar Remains Open
The Altar Remains Open
The temple curtain tears top to bottom the moment Jesus dies.
The temple curtain tears top to bottom the moment Jesus dies.
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
God tore it Himself.
God tore it Himself.
"That access was never based on your title, your resume, or how long you've attended this church. It's the same open altar for the twenty-two-year-old who walked in here for the first time this morning and the grandparent who's been walking with Christ for forty years."
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
"You're not walking up the mountain hoping to find out whether God will provide a substitute. You're walking up it already holding the certainty that He did."
Conclusion
TAKEAWAY "Through Christ, the physical altar has become a spiritual altar of God and it’s always open.”
When we say the altar is open we are proclaiming victory over every aspect of your life in the name of Jesus Christ. You might just need to come lay it down.
The only question left: is your relationship with God something you manage in moments, or something you've laid your whole self on, alive and unresisting?
Next Steps
• 1. Name the one area, calendar, paycheck, or career ambition, you've been treating like a grain offering that God is calling you to bring as a burnt offering.
• 2. Tell one trusted person what mountain you're climbing, and ask them to pray that you'll trust what God provides.
• 3. Reread Matthew 5:23-24, name the person, and take one concrete step toward reconciliation.
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Altar Call
• Two invitations: for the one who has never trusted Christ, and for the one who already belongs to Him but has kept something off the altar.
• Close the loop on the reconciliation call from Matthew 5:23-24.
TAKEAWAY "If the altar is still open, then I'm still coming." (close on this)
