How to Stop Crawling Off the Alter

Today we are going to be looking at a strong word from the Apostle Paul about our commitment to transformation as he challenges us to adopt the attitude of a Living Sacrifice.

Evangelist D.L. Moody once said that, “The problem with a living sacrifice is that it keeps crawling off the altar.”

I’m guilty....not only of doing this personally more times than I care to admit but also of watching others do the same and doing nothing to stop it.

Today men, I’m gonna tell you How to stop crawling of the Alter.

Welcome to the Re/Man Initiative.

Romans 12:1 NET

1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God—which is your reasonable service.

Therefore I strongly encourage you, brothers and sisters, by the tender mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy, set apart and pleasing to God—which is your logical and reasonable service to Him.

 Do not be conformed to this present world order, the worldview of this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and prove to yourself what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God - JBPV

Joe Bailey’s paraphrase version :0)

Last week we discussed the need for us as men to be intentionally engaged with the living Word of God.... and that Jesus .....was said to be the Logos or Living Word of God.

Let’s briefly look at the open passages of the Apostle John’s gospel account and let me simply read to you what John said about Jesus. And then, bear with with for a few minutes while I tie John 1 with this passage in Romans 12

The Gospel John 1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life,, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it. 1

1 Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jn 1:1–5.

I love this description of Jesus, because it it’s like the ultimate Origin Story for an Epic Hero.

I despise the Images of Jesus that permeate our culture, ...the image of the weak, effeminate looking dude with the round doe eyes, the fair skin, the long wispy hair in the powder blue bathrobe with a pretty white sash tied neatly around his waste and the little lamb hanging gently in his arms.

Ugghhh. I’m not saying that Jesus isn’t gentle and kind..... of course he IS, but this is not the Image that most closely represents our King.

John gives us a glimpse into who he really is .....and the strength and glory of who Jesus really is makes ......Thor or Batman .........look like the dudes in the cheap bathrobes.

I think it’s important for us have a solid idea of just who this King is…Who is this MAN that we have sworn allegiance to. if we don’t know the answer to this, when it gets hard and it will get Hard boys, we will fall aside and shrink back.

If the image you have of Jesus in your Mind’s eye doesn’t inspire to lay everything at his feet and give every last ounce of courage and commitment you have to him, then you don’t see him for who he really is.

Have you ever asked yourself why a group of rugged, hard working, blue collar types of men like the fishermen that followed Jesus, would be willing to risk it all?

I mean If the image of Jesus that you have in your mind.... showed up at your Job and asked you to leave it all behind and follow him, would the door be hitting you in the rear end as you walked out of your job to follow him?

To be fair, even those rugged men that first followed Jesus didn’t really see him for who he was initially. For most of them, it wasn’t until after the crucification and the resurrection that they began seeing him for who he really was.

After the resurrection, the same men that ran like sacred little girls when Jesus was arrested by the High Priest’s guard the night he was betrayed, are the same men that stood boldly in the streets of Jerusalem and in Inquisition by the same Rulers, and religious leaders who condemned Jesus to death ; boldly preaching the message of the risen Jesus and the power of this Story to save and transform men and women who trusted in Jesus the Chosen One.

These MEN (with the exception of the Apostle John, were all martyred for their allegiance and dedication to Jesus.

Disclaimer: What we know about the apostles’ deaths are based on both historical accounts and some accounts that were passed down by Christian traditions.

Andrew: (brother of Peter) was crucifixion (bound, not nailed, to an "X-shaped" cross) in a city in southern Greece.

He Hung alive for two days, preaching to all the spectators and that he died on the third day.

· Bartholomew (Nathaniel): Was skinned alive and crucified, head downward by the idolaters of Armenia (Western Asia near Turkey).

· James the Greater (son of Zebedee / brother of John) :

Beheaded with a sword by Herod Agrippa around 44 AD near Palestine and not far from where he was a local missionary to the Jews in Judea.

It’s worth noting that the stories claim His accuser was converted by James' courage & the two were beheaded together.

· James the Just - brother of Jesus

And the first Bishop of Jerusalem was Martyred around 62 AD. He was first thrown from the pinnacle of the Temple and when that didn’t kill him, they began to stone. he was final killed by a blow to the head from a launderer’s club.

· Matthew The former Tax Collector (Levi) :

Was Martyred about 60 AD by being staked and speared to the ground. Preached the Gospel in Ethiopia (Africa) and was killed for questioning the morals of the king.

· Simon Peter (The Rock /Petra):

Was crucified in Rome by Nero around 68 AD / up-side-down at his request because he did consider himself worthy to be crucified like Jesus.

· Philip:

54 AD in Heliopolis, Egypt. 

Said to have been tortured, impaled by iron hooks in his ankles and hung upside down to die. preaching until he was dead

· Simon [The Canaanite] :

Martyred by crucifixion in Britain in 74AD and then sawn in half.

· Thomas [Didymus] : The one we call doubting Thomas was Martyred, thrust through by spear in India

· Mark (John Mark): Author if the Gospel of Mark was Martyred by being dragged to death.

· Luke: The Physician. Wrote Luke and The Acts. Was hung to death from an olive tree,

· Matthias [Disciple who filled the place of Judas Acts 1:20-26 ] : Was stoned and beheaded at Jerusalem.

· Apostle Paul (Saul): Wrote half of the New Testament was beheaded by Emperor Nero at Rome.

Jude (Thaddeus) : Wrote Book of Jude. Was beaten with a club then crucified in 72AD

 John (The Beloved) (son of Zebedee / brother of James) :

Was the only one who died of old age.

Not because they didn’t try to kill him

It is said that Roman emperor Domitian commanded that the apostle John be boiled to death in oil, but John only continued to preach from within the pot.

He was banished to the Isle of Patmos in A.D. 97. where he wrote the book of Revelation.

Was later freed & went to preach inTurkey and died at 100 nat city of Edessa [Turkey] while on a missionary trip that went to Persia (Iran). 

https://www.csmedia1.com/thexenaproject.org/week-01-how-the-disciples-died.pdf

In Romans Chapter 12, the Apostle Paul is strongly encouraging those who are in Rome to present their bodies as living sacrifices.

Problem as mentioned earlier is that living sacrifices tend to Keep Crawling off the Altar.

I’m guilty of this myself, so many times in my faith journey

But for the men who really knew Jesus, there was no crawling off the alter.

They did not have any issues giving their ALL to the last full measure of breath because they knew who Jesus really was, they loved him deeply and it was this knowing and loving of our King that INSPIRED THEM to never crawl off the alter.

When you really know who you are sworn to and you see him for who he really is, the desire to keep crawling off the alter leaves you.

True transformation requires that we know who Jesus really is and that we developing a self-sacrificing sort of love relationship with Him. It is the foundation of transformation.

As we continue discussing transformation in our lives brothers, my prayer for you right now, is that you will begin to see Jesus for who he really is because when that happens, nobody will need to convince you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice, you will be blown away by the fact that you get to.

Until next week

May the Lord bless you

and protect you.

May the Lord smile on you

and be gracious to you.

May the Lord show you his favor

and give you his peace.’

God Bless Brothers

We’re called to be a living sacrifice. But the problem with living sacrifices is that they keep crawling off the altar. As Tim Keller says:

See, the old sacrifices were no problem. You killed it, and then that was it. They burned and it was over. A living sacrifice means every day, every hour, every moment, right now you have to deliberately, consciously, continually, and perpetually offer yourself to him. It’s constant. It’s never over. It’s intense… You’re not living the Christian life unless you put to death the idea that you have a right to live as you choose. I can’t believe I’m saying this in the middle of America. I can’t believe I’m actually pointing out to you that there probably has never been a culture in the history of the world more averse to the very essence of what it means to live a Christian life. Do you hear that? What it means to live a Christian life is that you put to death the right to live life as you choose. You put to death the idea that you belong to yourself. You put to death the idea that you know best what should happen in your life. You put that to death, and you give it to God. It feels like a death to really say, “You know best, and I just trust you. Here’s what you say in your Word, and I don’t like it, but I’m going to do it. I don’t choose anymore.” It feels like a death, but on the other side it’s life. That’s why it’s a living sacrifice – it’s a sacrifice that leads to life.

1 Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2005), Ro 12:1–2.

Exhort - parakaleo - to Urge or Encourage.

Mercies - oiktirmos - Compassionate feelings of God

Present - Paristemi - Take a stand

Sacrifice - Thysia - Offering, Burnt Offering

Alive -

Holy - hagios - Devoted to, separated out for God

Pleasing - eaurestos - Well pleasing

Reasonable - logikos - true to nature -logical

Conformed - syschematizo - A passive verb - suggests that the conformation happens in part subconsciously. It may also be a “permissive passive” meaning that there may be SOME consciousness of the conformity taking place, but like drifting aimlessly there is no real concern about the affects.

Present Age - Aion - This current period or age, refers to this Kingdom of Evil, this period of time where the fallen sons of God were given a time. We don’t understand the full reasoning for the period of time that these fallen divine beings have been given, but we can know, because we know the Father that is is being done in order and based on the righteous laws that have been in place since before Eden. When God judges those angels who left their first estate, there will be NO defense that can be made, No acquittal of the charges, no commuting of their sentence.

Transformed - metamorphoo -

Renewal - anakainosis - making new

Mind - nous - Way of thinking - changing the way you think

Test and Approve - dokimazo - prove to oneself- like one who has examined and tested something and shown it to be pure or worthy.

Well-please and Perfect - teleios - mature, complete

Will - thelema - The desires and purpose of God

The more I read the letters you inspire through Paul, the more I see the genuine love and care that my dear brother had for those who were under his care.

I can feel the heart and desire that he has for the Roman believers and his deep desire to see them growing and maturing in you Jesus.

The encouragement that he is offering is rooted in your great compassion towards them but also that is moving and stirring in him.

I understand that feeling, that deep desire to see those you love to be hungry for the Gospel and to watch them grow in grace and love.

The Apostle’s encouragement is for them to present their bodies, which really means the whole person, not just as a sacrifice but as a complete sacrifice that was to be laid upon the altar and completely consumed.

This wasn’t just the sacrifice if a few minutes of a person’s day, or the sacrifice of a few dollars, this was the extravagant offering of the complete body, everything.

The burnt offering was in view here. The entire animal, nothing left for any other person to consume, all was to be offered and none was to be shared.

Paul concludes that this is a logical position and reasonable act.

I wonder how many people who attend church would see such an act as reasonable?

The word - logikos, meant authentic and true to the real nature of a thing. It was logical.

If we are New Creations, new creatures in Christ Jesus with new natures then from Pauls point of view, it is only logical and true to that nature that we offer ourselves completely to our God and be wholly set apart for him and him only.

Do not the Conformed

There is a lot more to this than meets the eye and mind at first.

The conformation is passive. Syschematizo - A passive verb and it suggests that the conformation happens in part subconsciously.

It may also be a “permissive passive” meaning that there may be SOME consciousness of the conformity taking place.

Ugghhhh. I do this! What we ignore or allow, we condone. If we allow ourselves to become immersed or in contact with the things of this present age, even if we aren’t trying to engage in the behavior of this present evil age, we are just bystanders and onlookers, close proximity causes conformity. We become desensitized to evil because we see it all the time. We become OK with sin because we spend our days witnessing it.

You can’t stand by the fire and not be smelling like smoke!

This is not to say that we are to hide in some hole or become like the Amish, but that we are to be mindful and aware of what we are around, understanding the nature of this world and sin and how it stains and affects us, even when we are simply nearby.

This present, evil age has the subtle ability to press you to conform and when we are aware of this we can start to see how the pressure to conform is ALL AROUND US.

DON’T CONFORM - BE TRANSFORMED

metamorphoo - TAKING ON a new shape, a new identity, something completely different looking that what you used to be. This isn’t just a mere change in appearance, but a deep reshaping of the very internal engine of our minds. Core Values remade, deeply held convictions reformed, old wounds that used to drive behaviors and decisions healed, old patterns that were life-controlling shed like a cocoon. New Wings that weren’t there before, beauty that looks nothing like what was wrapped in the cocoon earlier, OH....the Power of the Gospel of Jesus to completely remake a human-heart and soul.

Why don’t more people come to Christ? Because those who are suppose to be in Christ are evidencing the metamorphoo that was spoken of. When the Children of God start evidencing the metamorphoo caused by the Gospel of Jesus, others would take notice and be moved by that miracle.

We are suppose to be the Signs and Wonders that move others to seek Christ and believe the Gospel.

The Renewing of our minds is an Intentional process.

Either Paul was a brilliant thinker or you inspired him Holy Spirit to be so. Probably both.

There are some wonderful parallels here.

Burnt Offerings in the past were DEAD, We are offering sacrifices that are ALIVE!

The old adage is in play “the problem with living sacrifices is.. they keep crawling of the alter”

Conformity is Passive-Permissive Passive but still a passive process, Renewal of the Mind is ACTIVE and requires intentionality.

Why do this? Why be intentional?

I feel like there is a dual meaning here in this last part Holy Spirit.

So that we might TEST and APPROVE

dokimazo - carries with it the idea of proving something to be worthy or strong or sound, like testing the temper of a sword or the purity of gold.

When we renew our minds, we prove to ourselves that God’s desires and his purposes are GOOD and PERFECT, mature and complete.

God’s ways are strong and true and when we renew our minds we can begin to not just intellectually know this, we can experientially know this.

It is the experiential knowing that also shows us to be proven.

In the renewal process, we are tested and examined and shown to have been made be pure and worthy by the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Holy Spirit, transform me. Help me to be intentional each and every day to engage with you in prayer and in meditation of your word, so that I might transformed into the image of God’s Chosen Son Jesus.

Give me wisdom today Holy Spirit. Thank you for your leading.

I pray for Savannah today and I ask that you would arrange the circumstances needed for Ivy and I to love and support her.

I cannot see her not being cared for Jesus.

I want to be a father to her but I know that wisdom must be used. I want you to know that I have no issues being obedient in this. I desire to do so with my whole heart. I also have no idea what I am doing and so I ask Holy Spirit that you shepherd me in this please.

Father bless my Wife and Children and help me lead by example. Let my transformed life be the miracle the need to see the convince them of the power of the Gospel.

Cause my wife to walk in her true identity in Jesus.

Cause my children to desire to seek you first.

Bless my mentor, Joe Martin and his Wife Tonya. Bring real healing into Tonya’s heart and mind today.

In the name of Jesus I ask that she be completely restored and reclaimed for the Kingdom of God.

I pray for Larry and his family and ask that you would shepherd them Holy Spirit.

I pray for the men that you have given me to lead and ask that you would engage each of them in a powerful way, drawing them closer to you Lord Jesus. That each man would be shepherded on a journey of discovery and deep loving relationship with you.

I pray for Save1 today and ask that you meet their needs.

I pray for Kenny and Amy and ask that you would anoint them as they lead us.

I pray and ask that you would bless Hope Assembly and that unity and power, enfolded in true love would flow from this place.

Help me to bring excellence and grace to all that I do for your people.

I deeply love you Father. You have my whole heart. I want nothing from this world at all. You , Jesus are my portion and my prize.