"This do in rememberance of me."

I. Introduction.

My Altars.

“My life was altered at an altar.”

If only you knew...

Every good thing in my life, every blessing, every movement of grace, began at an altar.

The night that God baptized me with Spirit life, it happened at an altar.

I’ll never forget that altar, a hot mosquito choir night in Tupelo Mississipi, 30 years ago.

We sang and worshipped and praised! all night!

I was just a kid!

I don’t recall any specific altar moment for another few years.

But 8 years later, I found another altar.

That was the summer I learned to pray.

There was the night that my friend Savoris and I began praying in the prayer room, behind the baptistery.

Four hours later I came to.

I was on the floor, two doors and 50 feet from where I began.

As awareness returned, I found myself slowly rolling back and forth in the altar, speaking in tongues, communing with God in a depth that still haunts me!

I remember the glory of it was so great, I knew my natural frame couldn’t bare much more.

As the burden began to lift, I remember begging God to let the flow continue just a little longer.

I never will forget that altar.

I bet you have some altars that you remember.

A place of surrender and submission to the Word of God.

Every need and emotion laid bare!

You never wanted to go up there, to be seen by others in such a vulnerable state!

But then as a very personal God pulled at your heart and challenged you to make a faith statement, to dive in and trust him, you did that.

And you did it at the altar.

The years come and go, and looking back, its almost like a dream!

I remember standing beneath a high vaulted ceiling, looking up at rough wooden arches, framed in delicate lines.

Soft light filtered through sepia panes and rested on those people I love.

With a boom, the back door opened to a lovely red headed girl in a dazzling white gown.

I have never been so close to cardiac arrest!

My heart belonged to her then and still does.

In moments, a whirl of seconds only, we were pronounced man and wife!

All of that happend at the altar.

Folks, as the years have passed, God has worked some overtime shifts!

He’s had to pull some all nighters working on me, sorting me, fixing me, teaching me, redeeming me.

Happens at the altar.

And then when the storms of life intimidate and overwhelm me, I find peace and hope at the altar.

When big decisions approach, when choices need to be made that will form the future, I again return to the altar.

See He’s wonderful, and He’s wonderful at the altar.

He’s counsellor and he counsels at the altar.

There, I find the Mighty God!

There, I find the Prince of Peace!

And a Father who loves us more than we will ever truly know!

I have known unsearchable riches and I have known them at the altar.

It is where all the best things in my life have come to pass!

You have probably figured out, I want to talk altars today.

They stretch from one end of the Bible to the other!

Bible Altars

Considering the importance of the concept of sacrifice in the Bible, it follows that altars are important structures.

The building of altars covers all periods in the biblical text beginning with Noah building an altar after the flood (Ge 8:20) and continuing to the building of the altar in Herod’s Temple.

Altars also vary in their locations and purposes, with some altars being built for personal use and others being built within temples for community use.

Some were used for Israelite worship while some were used for the worship of foreign gods

Altars abound! Altars everywhere.

The Altar of Sacrifice before the Tabernacle!

Thousands upon thousands of offerings were lain there!

And then every time, a supernatural thing happened:

The fire of God would consume the offerings!

No bic lighters, no matches or prisms or any other thing.

The fire came from God and consumed for sin.

It was called the brazen altar because it was covered in a mix of coper and brass.

Same as everything else in the outer court.

The brazen altar, the brazen laver.

This was the metal commenly employed in the manufacture of weaponry.

Brazen was for blood, for war and judgement.

Judgement was necessary.

But then, as the High Priest would enter the tent, the Holy Place, everything there was wood, covered not in brass, but in gold.

No judgement here, all that was dealt with at repentance and washing!

Here, it’s wood and Gold!

Symbol of the natural, and symbol of the Divine.

Just so, He would one day reveal himself: Fully God and fully man!

I remember how I felt the day I learned that the Priest would take hot coals from the brazen altar and use those coals to fire the altar of incense!

The first altar stood for sin, the second altar stood for worship!

It is the Divine heat of forgiveness that lights the fire of worship!

That’s why nobody can praise Jesus like you can!

You who have been buried in baptism!

You who have been forgiven!

You left all your past misakes in the water! The Old man, the Old nature!

Forgiven!!!!!

He paid your debt Himself!

And everytime you remember where HE’s brought you from, it puts pep in your step!

You Jesus name people can praise God like nobody else!!!!

Oh it is beauty, it is peace it’s power!

When forgiveness lights the fire of worship!

Many altars confront the reader:

Some good, some bad.

Some were hidden, tucked away where nobody could see.

Others were easy to get too.

I remember my picture Bible as kid.

I remember a picture of adonijah, clinging to the horns of the altar.

His desperation.

And that’s really the key ingredient to making an altar experience work!

It’s only a bench!

A square of carpet!

the floor of your bedroom, the foot of the bed, the front of the church.

It is your desperation and your offering that make it an altar!

What do you offer?

What do you present to the fire baptizer?

It can be a a behavior, a prejudice, an attitude, a bitterness or even a broken heart!

It’s when you can release all outcomes to a God of mercy!

And then there’s even that most valuable of offerings: a living sacrifice!

It’s when you climb up on that altar yourself and surrender all to Jesus!

“Lord Jesus, burn up anything that is not like you! then sanctify and use the rest for your service!”

I give it to you!

My life is not my own, to you I belong, I give myself , I give myself to you!

I heard a man preach once it was Powerful!

“Don’t take the altars out of the church!” Is what He said.

I’d extend that and say:

“Don’t take the altars out of your life!

Forgiveness and worship!

We need them both!

We need them every day!

Don’t forget the altar!

Don’t forget where good things happen!

The grandest decisions are made at the altar!

Hearts are made new at the altar!

I know it seems vulnerable, but truly the altar is the safest place that you can go!

Solomon and Herod both built temples, altars.

Priceless, exotic materials, jewels precious stones, gold.

La de da.

Big deal.

Let me share another altar

Exodus 12, vs 1-28

No Gold leaf here, no jewels, no fancy tent or temple.

Exodus 12:1–28 NKJV

Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. ‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you. So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ ” Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ ” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

It’s not the fancy altars that interest me.

But rather, the altars of necessity.

An entire nation is called by God into a future unknown!

He calls them from the other side of tomorrow! It’s time to leave!

It’s time to leave your old way of living!

God has something so much better!!!

But before anything else, there must be a sacrifice!

Judgement is coming! “But when I see the blood, I shall pass over thee!”

Have you ever noticed how that God does not spring new concepts on people, just out of the blue?

Jesus is a perfect gentleman!

Always, he lays a foundation of precedence.

And then over time, he builds upon that, teaching us, showing us, setting an expectation that anyone can understand.

You can take it back to the Garden!

Fig leaves were simply inadequate.

Something had to die.

So it was that we see the first crimson thread in this truth- tapestry of the ages!

How many lambs were sacrificed in ex 12?

How many, across the ages of man?

Before the tabernacle, at the temple!

All these simply set the stage for the ultimate sacrifice!

Not a golden altar, there was no beauty, there was no pomp and circumstance!

It was an old rugged cross!

It was shame! It was desperate! It was terrible!

It was the hinge, on which turns the entire universe!

See all of the blood shed before, only ever postponed judgement!

The sins of the people were merely rolled ahead year by year.

Like transferring the balance of one credit card to another over and over, to buy a little more time.

“Someday we’ll pay it off.”

Only you cannot!

The price was perfect blood!

It still is!

Thank God for Calvary!

Thank God for an old rugged cross!

Jesus Christ did not lose blood that day.

Loss is unintentional, an accident.

Jesus spent his blood!

Every last drop!

The crosss of Calvary was a transaction with the mafia of hell!

Blood was the price! Perfect blood!

All of those Old testament heroes had been saved, or counted righteous on credit!

But Calvary was an explosion of Grace!

From Calvary, Grace raced backward to the patriarchs, the faithful of old!

From Calvary, Grace exploded out to the future! To you and to me! And to whomsoever will!

When I read Exodus 12, I am always intruiged how specific God’s instructions were to the people.

There is so much that we can learn!

Now some folks say that salvation comes from imitating the virtues of Christ.

It is called modernism. Has much to say about the perfect example of Christ Jesus but denies the necessity of His blood to save.

EX 12 can really help such a person.

Let us suppose that someone in the camp of Israel thought that way,

Such a person would indeed choose a perfect lamb from the flock, only the best!

But since he did not believe in the shedding of blood, he would perhaps tie up the lamb close to the house and instruct the family concerning it’s virtues.

And perhaps his family did emulate that lamb becoming very meek and humble, he would surely be proud of his family and feel safe from judgement.

But when the angel of death approached his house, he would not enquire after the life and manners of the occupants!

All that matters is the blood! He’s looking for the blood!

Where is the blood?

We can all agree that Christ Jesus is the perfect example! That we should all be like Him!

Yet it is not the perfection of Jesus that saves us from our sins! It is the shedding of blood!

Matthew 26:28 NKJV

For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Hebrews 9:22 NKJV

And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

1 Peter 1:18–19 NKJV

knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

Some folks believe in universalism.

They say that since Christ died for every soul, everyone will automatically be saved.

Now suppose there was once such in the camp of Isreal.

He may have indeed selected a perfect lamb and even slain it.

And then feeling secure in the death of the lamb, he assured his family that all would be well!

But since he did not believe it necessary that the blood be applied, he neglected to do it!

And the next day, such a man would have wept bitterly as death had taken the firstborn!

Yes, Jesus died for everyone!

But listen, the blood must still be applied!

How?

Good news folks!

You don’t have to sell your house and go live on a mountain!

No pilgrimage, nothing!

All you have to do is obey in faith!

Repentance, baptisms of water and Spirit, this is what we call the New Birth!

THis is the process whereby the blood of Jesus is applied to your life!

Another group teaches that it is necessary to repent, but after having recieved Christ, it is impossible to be lost, no matter what you do!

It is called eternal security or unconditional, eternal security.

Someone like that would have gone farther than the universalist.

He would have applied the blood, but believing that his future life had nothing to do with his salvation, he would have neglected to feed on the lamb and gain strength for the journey!

He would ahve no reason for putting shoes on his feet and girding his loins.

Yes, death would have passed his house but when everyone else left, He’d have had to rush around trying to prepare and been left behind!

Being too weak from lack of food, he’d have never caught up!

He would have remained in bondage in Egypt after all!

Here’s the bottom line folks: Jesus’ blood makes all the difference!

Why don’t we just stop here and give Thanks!

Thank you Jesus!

(Ask Ushers to hand out cups)

1 Corinthians 11:23–31 NKJV

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.

This is how we celebrate the blood of Jesus under the New Covenant, here in the New Testament!

It’s easy to kind of freak out there in verse 29 and 30, but don’t worry, I can explain:

That reference has to do with the local situation in the Corinthian church where they had divided the church by class and economic position.

They treated the whole thing casual, not actually repenting and basically made it a big party.

So, before we celebrate the Lord’s supper, we are going to repent together!

This whole thing, this whole lifestyle, all of it, it’s all about Jesus!

We do this in rememberance of Him!

Lead them in a prayer of repentance

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 NKJV

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

Eat the wafer.

1 Corinthians 11:25 NKJV

In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Drink the juice.

Now let us thank Jesus together!

This is an altar moment!

All the best things happen at the altar!

Why don’t you make a choice and say this year, I’m living at the altar!