WEBVTT 00:00:02.250 --> 00:00:05.250 Welcome to the Life Bible Church podcast. We 00:00:05.250 --> 00:00:07.669 want to thank you for joining us today, and we 00:00:07.669 --> 00:00:10.169 hope you find today's sermon impacting as you 00:00:10.169 --> 00:00:12.689 listen to it wherever you are in your daily walk. 00:00:12.949 --> 00:00:15.929 To find service times and watch messages online, 00:00:16.210 --> 00:00:20.109 see our website at lifebiblechurch .org. Now, 00:00:20.129 --> 00:00:25.190 enjoy this week's message. You would turn with 00:00:25.190 --> 00:00:31.649 me to Galatians chapter 2, verse 20. Galatians 00:00:31.649 --> 00:00:39.990 chapter two, verse 20. It says here, I have been 00:00:39.990 --> 00:00:45.070 crucified with Christ. It's a powerful statement. 00:00:46.810 --> 00:00:51.890 I have been crucified with Christ. Jesus was 00:00:51.890 --> 00:00:55.969 crucified on a Roman cross. And Paul, the apostle, 00:00:56.270 --> 00:01:02.609 says that I have been crucified with him. We 00:01:02.609 --> 00:01:06.390 are crucified with Christ, which means that in 00:01:06.390 --> 00:01:09.450 order to have relationship with God, not only 00:01:09.450 --> 00:01:12.670 did he have to die, but we must die with him. 00:01:14.129 --> 00:01:19.909 Turn to somebody and say, I'm glad I came this 00:01:19.909 --> 00:01:29.430 Sunday to church. I've been crucified with Christ. 00:01:29.549 --> 00:01:35.329 Have you been crucified with Christ? It is no 00:01:35.329 --> 00:01:38.969 longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. 00:01:39.030 --> 00:01:41.709 Which means that the only way to experience the 00:01:41.709 --> 00:01:45.310 living power of God is to die to your own life. 00:01:46.709 --> 00:01:49.370 Something must die before something can live 00:01:49.370 --> 00:01:53.090 again. Something must be crucified for resurrection 00:01:53.090 --> 00:01:59.540 life to come. And the life I now live, in the 00:01:59.540 --> 00:02:06.120 flesh I live by faith. In who? The one I was 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:11.979 crucified with. My faith is in a Savior who took 00:02:11.979 --> 00:02:17.680 the most humiliating way to die. Because in the 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:20.539 times of the ancient church, when Rome... had 00:02:20.539 --> 00:02:24.599 the extensive pantheon of gods. To have a God 00:02:24.599 --> 00:02:28.159 that came into human flesh alone was already 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:32.199 a blasphemy in their eyes. But then to have a 00:02:32.199 --> 00:02:37.039 God that was hung on a cross next to two thieves 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:40.800 is even greater of a blasphemy and an insult 00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:45.919 in the eyes of men. But God said this was the 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:51.400 only way. For as we know in Philippians 2, he 00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:54.780 was humble and obedient even to the point of 00:02:54.780 --> 00:02:59.039 his own death. And because he died, he was lifted 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:04.080 higher than everyone else. You cannot get to 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:07.199 exaltation with Christ if we do not humble ourselves 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:11.960 to the cross of Christ. We will not experience 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:15.680 his glory until we experience his suffering. 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:22.900 The life I now live by faith in the Son of God 00:03:22.900 --> 00:03:29.479 who loved me and gave himself for me. Because 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:38.060 this is love. This is love to die for you and 00:03:38.060 --> 00:03:45.949 I. This is Christianity. I'm not preaching a 00:03:45.949 --> 00:03:49.409 more glorified, intense, ultra -religious form 00:03:49.409 --> 00:03:52.250 of Christianity that's only for the select few. 00:03:56.409 --> 00:04:02.930 Dying is the bare minimum requirement to live 00:04:02.930 --> 00:04:08.189 for Jesus. This is kindergarten Christianity. 00:04:10.030 --> 00:04:17.459 This is basic. Let me ask you, would you ever 00:04:17.459 --> 00:04:20.579 preach the gospel only speaking of the resurrection 00:04:20.579 --> 00:04:25.980 of Christ? No. You have to preach his death. 00:04:27.079 --> 00:04:30.079 You have to preach his sufferings. You have to 00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:33.500 preach that he died on the cross. He did not 00:04:33.500 --> 00:04:40.579 die in a glorified battle. He was condemned in 00:04:40.579 --> 00:04:45.529 a courtroom. He was mocked, bruised, and broken 00:04:45.529 --> 00:04:50.949 for our transgressions. He was beaten. His beard 00:04:50.949 --> 00:04:55.189 was pulled from his face. He was covered in a 00:04:55.189 --> 00:05:03.589 mocking manner, humiliated. Do you know the early 00:05:03.589 --> 00:05:07.329 church, after getting flogged in Acts, I believe 00:05:07.329 --> 00:05:11.750 it's Acts chapter four, that they glorified God. 00:05:12.439 --> 00:05:15.500 Because it was considered an honor to be hated 00:05:15.500 --> 00:05:23.259 the way Jesus was. They rejoiced at the mocking. 00:05:23.500 --> 00:05:28.180 They rejoiced at the beatings. Because then this 00:05:28.180 --> 00:05:32.100 is something that is real. That I get to share 00:05:32.100 --> 00:05:36.319 in the honor that Christ was given. The honor 00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:39.879 to be persecuted and to suffer for his sake. 00:05:46.000 --> 00:06:01.300 Let's turn to Matthew chapter 16, verse 24. It 00:06:01.300 --> 00:06:07.879 says here, after Peter just got done rebuking 00:06:07.879 --> 00:06:17.600 the living God, just think about that. What did 00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:20.459 he rebuke Jesus for? He rebuked him because he 00:06:20.459 --> 00:06:24.560 didn't want his savior to die. He wanted to be 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:30.560 saved without death. How many of us have rebuked 00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:36.459 God because something had to die and we didn't 00:06:36.459 --> 00:06:47.290 want it to? Jesus says, If anyone would come 00:06:47.290 --> 00:06:51.209 after me, this is, remember, this is Christianity 00:06:51.209 --> 00:06:58.910 101. If anyone would come after me, let him deny 00:06:58.910 --> 00:07:05.050 himself and take up his cross and follow me. 00:07:05.509 --> 00:07:10.550 We don't get to follow Jesus until we first deny 00:07:10.550 --> 00:07:15.040 ourselves. The word in the Greek means to refuse 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:21.240 yourself. To disagree with yourself. Because 00:07:21.240 --> 00:07:25.259 your flesh has arguments. And it's up to you. 00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:33.660 It's your choice to refuse them or not. You can't 00:07:33.660 --> 00:07:36.800 even take up your cross until you've denied yourself. 00:07:42.029 --> 00:07:45.610 I've done this. I'm speaking from experience. 00:07:46.850 --> 00:07:58.870 What I thought was a cross on my back ended up 00:07:58.870 --> 00:08:03.550 being something of a burden. It wasn't a cross 00:08:03.550 --> 00:08:12.189 at all. I thought it was a cross. But because 00:08:12.189 --> 00:08:21.050 I did not deny myself first, I thought the burden 00:08:21.050 --> 00:08:28.310 of Christianity was just like this. See, we make 00:08:28.310 --> 00:08:33.649 following Jesus heavier than it needs to be. 00:08:36.629 --> 00:08:39.759 Because we try to pick up a cross. that can't 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:44.679 be picked up until we deny ourselves. You cannot 00:08:44.679 --> 00:08:47.379 say yes to yourself and pick up a cross at the 00:08:47.379 --> 00:08:51.500 same time. You cannot say yes to your flesh and 00:08:51.500 --> 00:08:54.539 the spirit and think that you are in agreement 00:08:54.539 --> 00:08:59.080 with both. By choosing one, you have denied the 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:04.970 other. And so any... Cross or spirit we think 00:09:04.970 --> 00:09:07.929 we're following and think we're carrying and 00:09:07.929 --> 00:09:11.029 think that is upon us is not the spirit of the 00:09:11.029 --> 00:09:19.289 cross of Christ. It is a form of religion that 00:09:19.289 --> 00:09:21.350 is useless against the works of the flesh, as 00:09:21.350 --> 00:09:26.909 Galatians says. Seeing things that deny yourself, 00:09:27.190 --> 00:09:29.899 choose, don't touch this, don't touch that. but 00:09:29.899 --> 00:09:32.740 has no power against the indulgences of the flesh. 00:09:34.259 --> 00:09:38.059 It is a form of denying yourself without actually 00:09:38.059 --> 00:09:42.259 denying yourself. Because you're denying what's 00:09:42.259 --> 00:09:53.279 easy. God tells us what we should deny, and we 00:09:53.279 --> 00:09:55.840 have to respond to what he says we have to deny, 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:59.139 not what we... argue with him about and say, 00:09:59.220 --> 00:10:08.080 well, I can give this up for you. Like I said, 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:11.799 I've done this. I've argued with God. I've argued 00:10:11.799 --> 00:10:15.539 with God. I will give you this and I hope that's 00:10:15.539 --> 00:10:26.720 enough. I will give you blank. I'll give you 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:28.580 this relationship. I'll give you this thing. 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:31.460 God says, hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. No, you have 00:10:31.460 --> 00:10:38.639 to deny yourself. Don't deny what is easy for 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:44.740 you. The cross, we're talking about, if you haven't 00:10:44.740 --> 00:10:49.860 noticed, the theology of altars. The theology 00:10:49.860 --> 00:10:51.500 of altars, which by the way, I know theology 00:10:51.500 --> 00:10:53.919 can be an intimidating word, but essentially, 00:10:54.860 --> 00:10:58.159 theology is the study of God. That's what it 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:00.960 means. And I want you to understand that for 00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:03.100 a lot of people that might have this stipulation 00:11:03.100 --> 00:11:06.220 that theology leads to a dry wilderness, dead 00:11:06.220 --> 00:11:09.440 relationship with God, what you experience is 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:15.100 not true theology. Human wisdom is probably what 00:11:15.100 --> 00:11:18.139 you experience, but theology leads to the refreshing 00:11:18.139 --> 00:11:23.169 springs of revelation of Jesus Christ. Theology 00:11:23.169 --> 00:11:32.470 is worship, not study. Theology is worship. Do 00:11:32.470 --> 00:11:34.149 you know what the angels and the seraphim and 00:11:34.149 --> 00:11:36.210 the cherubim get to do all the time? Theology. 00:11:39.070 --> 00:11:43.070 Because they are constantly observing the living 00:11:43.070 --> 00:11:51.759 God. And God has made himself plain to us through 00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:56.139 the word of God. Let my eyes be open to the word. 00:11:56.740 --> 00:12:01.039 As Psalms 119 says, let my eyes be open that 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:05.919 I may observe your splendors. That's worship 00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:10.340 language. Theology is worship. And theology leads 00:12:10.340 --> 00:12:16.169 to an experience, not theories. We often get 00:12:16.169 --> 00:12:19.409 into this mode of thinking that theology leads 00:12:19.409 --> 00:12:23.169 you to a place of just intellectual contemplation 00:12:23.169 --> 00:12:27.870 and meditation. No. Theology leads to experience 00:12:27.870 --> 00:12:32.649 and encounter. It should. Real theology does. 00:12:35.429 --> 00:12:46.139 The Lord put it on my heart. Excuse me. The Lord 00:12:46.139 --> 00:12:48.240 put it on my heart a couple of years ago to study 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:51.720 the altars of the scripture. I don't know why 00:12:51.720 --> 00:12:57.659 I just decided to do it. And the Lord in the 00:12:57.659 --> 00:13:00.379 midst, throughout this study, and I'm still in 00:13:00.379 --> 00:13:03.019 the midst of it, I haven't finished Exodus yet. 00:13:04.259 --> 00:13:08.080 But one of the things that I have realized as 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:13.740 studying this is how much we have watered down 00:13:13.740 --> 00:13:20.159 the altar. And how much we have made this space. 00:13:21.659 --> 00:13:26.279 The altar. For all you church kids, you know, 00:13:26.379 --> 00:13:33.179 the altar call is the place where you respond 00:13:33.179 --> 00:13:36.559 and get saved. It's the place where you go to 00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:40.059 in worship and you get your feelings and you 00:13:40.059 --> 00:13:45.519 get to just, ah, and just trauma dump on the 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:53.299 Holy Spirit. A lot of churches have actually 00:13:53.299 --> 00:13:56.759 stopped doing altar calls because they saw a 00:13:56.759 --> 00:13:59.799 lot of pastors abusing it and using it as a form 00:13:59.799 --> 00:14:02.879 of emotional manipulation for the sake of having 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:11.240 a spiritual experience. But the Lord cares about 00:14:11.240 --> 00:14:17.139 this deeply because there's an altar at the center 00:14:17.139 --> 00:14:24.480 of the gospel. The altar of the cross. The cross 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:29.299 is an altar. He is the lamb that was perfect 00:14:29.299 --> 00:14:33.120 and the all -sufficient sacrifice who was slain. 00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:37.440 Where were the lambs offered in the Old Testament? 00:14:38.179 --> 00:14:43.100 The altar. Jesus is the fulfillment of the lamb 00:14:43.100 --> 00:14:49.029 crucified on the altar of wood. Which we know, 00:14:49.029 --> 00:14:51.509 if you think hard enough about it, guess what 00:14:51.509 --> 00:14:57.289 kind of altar Isaac was placed on? But Isaac 00:14:57.289 --> 00:15:01.269 was removed and God spared him and said, let 00:15:01.269 --> 00:15:10.750 a ram take his place. The altar is full of blood, 00:15:10.789 --> 00:15:16.230 sacrifice, water, and oil. And Jesus is the fulfillment 00:15:16.230 --> 00:15:21.970 of all of them. Jesus Christ died on the altar 00:15:21.970 --> 00:15:24.830 of the cross. And not only did he die on the 00:15:24.830 --> 00:15:26.789 altar of the cross, which by the way, in the 00:15:26.789 --> 00:15:31.190 early forms of the altars, before even the tabernacle, 00:15:31.350 --> 00:15:34.649 the altars were made of unhewn stones and dirt 00:15:34.649 --> 00:15:40.269 mounds. Untouched by human hands. Guess what 00:15:40.269 --> 00:15:44.210 hill, elevated position Christ was crucified 00:15:44.210 --> 00:15:49.600 on? A hill made by the hand of God. An altar 00:15:49.600 --> 00:16:01.279 made by the hand of God. And not only that, this 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:04.759 is why we read Matthew 16, 24 through 25. Because 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:07.259 as we know in the tabernacle of Moses, the altar 00:16:07.259 --> 00:16:13.279 was not stationary. It was mobile. They would 00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:16.899 do set up and tear down church all the time. 00:16:20.029 --> 00:16:21.929 They didn't get a building for many, many years, 00:16:21.990 --> 00:16:24.009 hundreds and hundreds of years. So we are very 00:16:24.009 --> 00:16:26.429 grateful, Lord, that we have a building. In only 00:16:26.429 --> 00:16:28.289 20 years, we didn't have to wait a couple hundred. 00:16:33.049 --> 00:16:35.350 Until Solomon came around to actually build a 00:16:35.350 --> 00:16:37.889 stationary place. But before all of that, it 00:16:37.889 --> 00:16:41.210 was mobile. You know the throne of heaven is 00:16:41.210 --> 00:16:45.870 mobile? Why do we think his altar is not the 00:16:45.870 --> 00:16:52.049 same? Hebrews tells us that the tabernacle was 00:16:52.049 --> 00:16:55.169 made. He says, build these things according to 00:16:55.169 --> 00:16:58.309 what you have seen on the mountain. What did 00:16:58.309 --> 00:17:03.210 Moses see? He saw the tabernacle of heaven. He 00:17:03.210 --> 00:17:10.069 saw the altars in heaven. So altars, it's not 00:17:10.069 --> 00:17:12.009 something that's just done away with with the 00:17:12.009 --> 00:17:18.150 Old Testament. Because we come to an altar of 00:17:18.150 --> 00:17:22.180 the Spirit. An altar that was provided to us 00:17:22.180 --> 00:17:29.380 through Christ. The thing is, Jesus died for 00:17:29.380 --> 00:17:37.680 access. We must die for proximity. Let me say 00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:39.339 that again because it's messing with some of 00:17:39.339 --> 00:17:50.509 your theology. Jesus died for access. He made 00:17:50.509 --> 00:17:56.069 a way where there was no way. He opened the door 00:17:56.069 --> 00:17:59.829 of the veil and now we get to behold him with 00:17:59.829 --> 00:18:03.230 unveiled face. According to 2 Corinthians chapter 00:18:03.230 --> 00:18:08.210 two, we get to approach the throne of God, which 00:18:08.210 --> 00:18:10.329 we understand the mercy seat of the tabernacle 00:18:10.329 --> 00:18:12.250 is representative. The Ark of the Covenant is 00:18:12.250 --> 00:18:16.630 representative of his throne. We understand that 00:18:16.630 --> 00:18:21.339 yes, Christ made a way. Through his death, but 00:18:21.339 --> 00:18:28.240 we have to die for proximity. We are severely 00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:35.220 mistaken if we think that his death means that 00:18:35.220 --> 00:18:39.460 we don't have to die. And unfortunately, a lot 00:18:39.460 --> 00:18:46.339 of Christian theology leans that way. All right. 00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:53.059 Now we can get into the meat and potatoes. Father, 00:18:53.059 --> 00:18:58.279 open your word to us. Reveal yourself to us that 00:18:58.279 --> 00:19:00.920 we may better reveal who you are to the world 00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:07.720 around us. In Jesus' name, amen. I want you to 00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:12.819 imagine a pig. I know, some whiplash from that 00:19:12.819 --> 00:19:15.940 turn there. Imagine a pig who's getting ready 00:19:15.940 --> 00:19:22.339 to go to a spa. He says to himself, self -care 00:19:22.339 --> 00:19:26.099 is very important. And he comes to a building 00:19:26.099 --> 00:19:28.339 with a sign out front that says, Deluxe Farming 00:19:28.339 --> 00:19:34.920 Spa, we cure what ails you. He didn't realize 00:19:34.920 --> 00:19:36.880 that what he was walking into was a butcher shop. 00:19:39.859 --> 00:19:45.119 The pig walks in, takes a seat, and the butcher 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:47.099 there at the counter is staring at him with shock. 00:19:49.390 --> 00:19:54.190 The pig says, I want the full treatment. My friends 00:19:54.190 --> 00:19:56.930 have been saying that I have too much anxiety. 00:19:59.150 --> 00:20:02.490 I need to get rid of that. I also could really 00:20:02.490 --> 00:20:06.109 use a full body massage, really tenderize me. 00:20:08.809 --> 00:20:11.009 And maybe you could help me lose a few pounds 00:20:11.009 --> 00:20:14.430 even while you're at it. Just kind of, just help 00:20:14.430 --> 00:20:20.460 me slim down a bit. The butcher responds, a little 00:20:20.460 --> 00:20:25.119 confused, but he says, yeah, we offer full treatment 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:30.019 here. A few moments later, the butcher guides 00:20:30.019 --> 00:20:32.759 the pig to a spot, lets him lay down, puts some 00:20:32.759 --> 00:20:38.599 cucumbers over his eyes. He goes to turn the 00:20:38.599 --> 00:20:43.240 grill on, and the pig, his ears perk up at the 00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:45.980 sound of butter sizzling on the pan on the barbecue. 00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:49.579 And he says, ah, I hear the sauna warming up. 00:20:53.880 --> 00:20:57.839 When we come to the altar, we're not coming to 00:20:57.839 --> 00:21:02.019 a spiritual sauna to be massaged and pampered. 00:21:06.539 --> 00:21:10.079 The pig says, I want the full treatment. When 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:15.089 we come to the altar, we often think, I come 00:21:15.089 --> 00:21:18.849 for the full treatment, God. Give me something 00:21:18.849 --> 00:21:21.390 that's just gonna take away my anxiety, something 00:21:21.390 --> 00:21:23.210 that's just gonna polish me up a little bit, 00:21:23.309 --> 00:21:25.809 and I'm gonna leave this place with just a glow 00:21:25.809 --> 00:21:28.990 because I just got a great facial from the presence 00:21:28.990 --> 00:21:31.849 of God, and I just got a full body massage, and 00:21:31.849 --> 00:21:34.529 I feel so much lighter now. He's worked out some 00:21:34.529 --> 00:21:36.869 of those knots in my back. Thank you, Jesus. 00:21:39.089 --> 00:21:51.700 But nothing died. altar is the place. This place 00:21:51.700 --> 00:21:57.480 is where Christians are transformed from something 00:21:57.480 --> 00:22:00.759 unclean and motivated only by appetites into 00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:03.539 a life that releases a pleasing aroma to God. 00:22:05.259 --> 00:22:09.759 Come on, who loves barbecue? That is a pleasing 00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:18.680 aroma, I'll tell you what. We have to understand 00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:21.779 that the altar that every Christian must come 00:22:21.779 --> 00:22:30.720 to is the altar of the cross. And the altar that 00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:34.180 was initially a place of death has now become 00:22:34.180 --> 00:22:36.359 the place where resurrection life is imparted. 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:42.039 Now you get to experience resurrection life because 00:22:42.039 --> 00:22:45.940 you came to the altar saying, I'm ready to die. 00:22:48.519 --> 00:22:50.980 And God says, good, I'm ready to give you life. 00:22:55.180 --> 00:22:58.940 I remember when I was a young kid and I'm a seventh 00:22:58.940 --> 00:23:01.819 generation pastor. And so I've grown up in church. 00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:04.240 I've been to more services than you've probably 00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:07.940 had Big Macs. I have heard more sermons than 00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:11.059 you could possibly count. I have been to hundreds 00:23:11.059 --> 00:23:15.750 of altar calls. And I remember as a young kid, 00:23:15.809 --> 00:23:17.930 when I was at a conference in Seattle, there 00:23:17.930 --> 00:23:20.829 was this incredible speaker. Presence of God 00:23:20.829 --> 00:23:24.490 was moving. He has this altar call. And for years, 00:23:24.549 --> 00:23:27.029 I was kind of the guy that actually stayed back 00:23:27.029 --> 00:23:30.049 in my own row simply because I was so scared 00:23:30.049 --> 00:23:33.650 of what people would think about me. I had so 00:23:33.650 --> 00:23:36.630 much fear of man that I would just, let me just 00:23:36.630 --> 00:23:41.150 hang back. I was the pastor's kid. I'm the senior 00:23:41.150 --> 00:23:45.599 pastor's son. And I'm chilling in my row while 00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:47.460 all my friends have gone forward to the altar. 00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:49.839 And I just remember, just like, oh, you know, 00:23:49.880 --> 00:23:52.180 okay, fine. I'm going to go up to the front. 00:23:53.240 --> 00:23:55.799 Because at least I'll look like I'm serving God. 00:23:56.640 --> 00:24:01.079 So I go to the front. And I could feel the presence 00:24:01.079 --> 00:24:04.700 of God increase the closer I got. But the closer 00:24:04.700 --> 00:24:08.900 I got, the fear of man increased as well. My 00:24:08.900 --> 00:24:14.069 anxiety began to heighten. And what ended up 00:24:14.069 --> 00:24:16.250 happening is I get in with the people and I'm 00:24:16.250 --> 00:24:18.829 there and I'm trying not to raise my hands too 00:24:18.829 --> 00:24:23.150 high because I know I'm sweating. And as a 14 00:24:23.150 --> 00:24:27.609 -year -old, never put on enough deodorant. Keeping 00:24:27.609 --> 00:24:34.990 the pleasing aroma to the Lord. Pleasing. Trying 00:24:34.990 --> 00:24:38.829 to just engage with God and just, I was so distracted 00:24:38.829 --> 00:24:41.990 and I was so out of it that even though I was 00:24:41.990 --> 00:24:44.130 experiencing the presence of God, the fear of 00:24:44.130 --> 00:24:45.990 man kept increasing, increasing, increasing. 00:24:47.789 --> 00:24:50.529 Usually the thing that is heightened when you 00:24:50.529 --> 00:24:52.750 come to the altar is what God is pointing out 00:24:52.750 --> 00:25:01.250 to you that needs to die. Many of us avoid coming 00:25:01.250 --> 00:25:04.599 to the altar. Because of the heightened sense 00:25:04.599 --> 00:25:07.299 of anxiety or fear. What will people think of 00:25:07.299 --> 00:25:09.940 me? What are people going to say? How is this 00:25:09.940 --> 00:25:13.599 going to go? We get to this place in our walk 00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:17.240 with God where we are safer outside of the tent 00:25:17.240 --> 00:25:20.519 letting somebody else offer a sacrifice and get 00:25:20.519 --> 00:25:23.220 to bask in the aroma of someone else's sacrifice 00:25:23.220 --> 00:25:27.700 rather than coming to God ourselves. And to say, 00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:30.740 Lord, I don't know if I can give this. I have 00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:35.400 so much. Social anxiety. Social anxiety is a 00:25:35.400 --> 00:25:40.000 demon, folks. I'm telling you right now, I don't 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:41.859 care what COVID did. I don't care how long you 00:25:41.859 --> 00:25:46.980 were locked up in your house. That is a stronghold 00:25:46.980 --> 00:25:50.880 not from God. And you need to bring it to the 00:25:50.880 --> 00:26:00.779 altar and let it die. If we don't teach this 00:26:00.779 --> 00:26:04.299 and live this, the altar will just be a sauna 00:26:04.299 --> 00:26:07.539 where the flesh just sweats, but it doesn't actually 00:26:07.539 --> 00:26:14.140 burn and die. And many of us have had some good 00:26:14.140 --> 00:26:20.759 sweats at the altar, myself included. But as 00:26:20.759 --> 00:26:25.140 I began to study the altar, you don't come to 00:26:25.140 --> 00:26:27.559 an altar unless you're ready, something is going 00:26:27.559 --> 00:26:34.509 to die. The altar is a serious thing. This is 00:26:34.509 --> 00:26:38.430 not a place for emotion. Emotions can happen, 00:26:38.529 --> 00:26:42.910 but it is not the primary motive and it is not 00:26:42.910 --> 00:26:49.450 the primary manifestation. I come to the altar 00:26:49.450 --> 00:26:52.849 because I say, Lord Jesus, you are worthy of 00:26:52.849 --> 00:26:57.089 whatever you ask of me. And I am, any part of 00:26:57.089 --> 00:27:00.910 me you say, give me that. I say, yes, Lord, have 00:27:00.910 --> 00:27:04.289 your way. Not my will, let your will be done. 00:27:04.450 --> 00:27:07.569 I am ready to die to it. I am ready to deny myself. 00:27:07.730 --> 00:27:11.670 I am picking up my cross and I come to the altar 00:27:11.670 --> 00:27:17.630 and I carry the altar on my back. And God, I 00:27:17.630 --> 00:27:21.950 have hope that you will not leave me in a state 00:27:21.950 --> 00:27:25.470 of death. but you will give me resurrection life, 00:27:25.609 --> 00:27:31.190 that you impart into me the life of Christ. It 00:27:31.190 --> 00:27:35.750 is not I who live, but now I leave the place 00:27:35.750 --> 00:27:40.970 of the altar with the life of Christ. And there 00:27:40.970 --> 00:27:43.609 are many people, remember, I've been in church 00:27:43.609 --> 00:27:45.450 a long time. You know those people that they 00:27:45.450 --> 00:27:48.490 come, they always respond to getting saved every 00:27:48.490 --> 00:27:52.529 time? They come to the altar like every week. 00:27:52.569 --> 00:27:54.490 You do a salvation altar call, they come. Everybody, 00:27:54.630 --> 00:27:57.509 oh, Jacob is coming. He's going to the altar 00:27:57.509 --> 00:27:59.869 again. I can't believe this. It's so embarrassing. 00:28:00.009 --> 00:28:02.089 Doesn't he understand the salvation? Doesn't 00:28:02.089 --> 00:28:09.750 he understand gospel? What I've learned is that 00:28:09.750 --> 00:28:13.410 I don't want to ever squander the conviction 00:28:13.410 --> 00:28:17.740 and the draw to come to the altar. He may have 00:28:17.740 --> 00:28:19.759 something off about why he's coming to the altar. 00:28:20.259 --> 00:28:22.980 He's confessed Jesus as Lord, but there's something 00:28:22.980 --> 00:28:25.279 probably in Jacob that hasn't fully died yet. 00:28:25.980 --> 00:28:29.799 That's why he feels the pull. That's why he feels 00:28:29.799 --> 00:28:32.920 drawn to it. It's not necessarily the sake of 00:28:32.920 --> 00:28:35.799 salvation that Christ must die again, but he 00:28:35.799 --> 00:28:38.799 now has to die again. And he says, I need to 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:41.000 come. Something happened this week and something's 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:44.460 got to die in me. And I got to give it to God. 00:28:44.940 --> 00:28:47.920 and give it wholly to him, that it would not 00:28:47.920 --> 00:28:50.559 come back, but only the resurrection life of 00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:58.900 Christ would be within me. If I could have the 00:28:58.900 --> 00:29:04.819 band come up. You okay if I teach for just a 00:29:04.819 --> 00:29:13.900 second? I only needed one yes. It's the yes of 00:29:13.900 --> 00:29:21.119 the Holy Spirit. The word altar is in Hebrew, 00:29:21.180 --> 00:29:24.059 mizbeah, and it means the place of slaughter. 00:29:27.099 --> 00:29:34.200 It means the place of slaughter. And it's a place 00:29:34.200 --> 00:29:41.890 of giving gifts to God. The altar is a place 00:29:41.890 --> 00:29:45.009 of sacrifice. So the question that comes up then 00:29:45.009 --> 00:29:50.230 is, if the altar is a place of sacrifice, then 00:29:50.230 --> 00:29:52.710 whenever an altar is brought up, I have to ask 00:29:52.710 --> 00:29:58.670 this question, what is being sacrificed? Because 00:29:58.670 --> 00:30:03.250 not every altar takes the same sacrifice. You 00:30:03.250 --> 00:30:05.349 don't go to the altar of incense in the holy 00:30:05.349 --> 00:30:07.789 place bringing a bull to slaughter it right then 00:30:07.789 --> 00:30:10.000 and there. Whoa, whoa, whoa. You skipped this 00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:13.539 step here. You gotta go back. Go to the brazen 00:30:13.539 --> 00:30:14.859 altar. That's where the bulls go. That's where 00:30:14.859 --> 00:30:16.960 the rams go. There's a different offering. There's 00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:20.579 a different sacrifice for this altar. Not altars 00:30:20.579 --> 00:30:22.700 are the same. They require different sacrifices. 00:30:25.200 --> 00:30:27.779 A specific altar means a specific sacrifice. 00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:31.740 And there's a second meaning for the word altar 00:30:31.740 --> 00:30:34.859 here. It means, so it's a place of slaughter 00:30:34.859 --> 00:30:39.200 and it is a place. For something to be lifted 00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:44.599 up. Which if you know the teachings of Jesus, 00:30:44.859 --> 00:30:48.079 you know in John 12, verse 32, it says here, 00:30:48.220 --> 00:30:56.960 and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will 00:30:56.960 --> 00:31:01.079 draw all people to myself. Do you know what's 00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:04.940 the most attractive thing to people? To the world? 00:31:08.259 --> 00:31:16.900 Christ crucified. This is not my opinion. I'm 00:31:16.900 --> 00:31:20.740 just reading the Bible to you. When I am lifted 00:31:20.740 --> 00:31:23.700 up. Lifted up on the cross. On the altar of the 00:31:23.700 --> 00:31:28.200 cross. The place where I am seen as crucified. 00:31:28.619 --> 00:31:31.599 When John looks at the book of Revelation. When 00:31:31.599 --> 00:31:36.079 he sees Jesus. What does he see? A lamb. as though 00:31:36.079 --> 00:31:49.720 it had been slain. In that place, in that time, 00:31:49.779 --> 00:31:52.319 in that moment, he will draw all people to himself. 00:31:57.019 --> 00:32:00.019 This is so counter to what we think. We think 00:32:00.019 --> 00:32:03.859 we have to win people and convince them. like 00:32:03.859 --> 00:32:06.440 a bait and a switch almost. It's like, hey, do 00:32:06.440 --> 00:32:08.480 you want, you know, we preach the gospel like, 00:32:08.559 --> 00:32:09.960 yeah, you're gonna have to, you know, deny yourself, 00:32:10.140 --> 00:32:11.519 take up the cross. But then you get to follow 00:32:11.519 --> 00:32:17.460 Jesus and Jesus does miracles and Jesus will 00:32:17.460 --> 00:32:20.119 touch you and he'll reach and he'll provide for 00:32:20.119 --> 00:32:21.500 you. You won't ever have to worry about your 00:32:21.500 --> 00:32:23.799 finances again and he's gonna heal that broken 00:32:23.799 --> 00:32:26.420 knee or that crazy disease you have. Look, God 00:32:26.420 --> 00:32:30.440 is gonna meet you and we skip the very thing 00:32:30.440 --> 00:32:35.640 that is actually gonna draw them. Because we 00:32:35.640 --> 00:32:37.980 think life, the resurrection, life is what draws 00:32:37.980 --> 00:32:41.319 them to Christ. No, it's the fact that the very 00:32:41.319 --> 00:32:46.140 God of the ages, the majesty, the splendor, the 00:32:46.140 --> 00:32:50.000 one who created all things, and all things were 00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:54.140 created through him. He came down as flesh, perfectly 00:32:54.140 --> 00:32:58.539 God and perfectly man, and he came to what? Die. 00:33:01.480 --> 00:33:04.819 If we preach anything less, We are not preaching 00:33:04.819 --> 00:33:10.480 the gospel. We do not preach Christ. And here's 00:33:10.480 --> 00:33:12.140 the thing, people, I want to encourage you in 00:33:12.140 --> 00:33:15.019 this. If people are not willing to follow Jesus 00:33:15.019 --> 00:33:19.700 because it would cost them, do not maneuver around 00:33:19.700 --> 00:33:23.339 the gospel to get them to say yes to something 00:33:23.339 --> 00:33:26.720 that is not the gospel, but it is something to 00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:35.150 just make us feel better. Because I want to hear 00:33:35.150 --> 00:33:38.529 the yes. I want to be able to tell people that 00:33:38.529 --> 00:33:44.529 I led someone to God. That is chaff before God. 00:33:49.009 --> 00:33:51.170 Because the thing is, why do we have such an 00:33:51.170 --> 00:33:53.289 epidemic of young people as soon as they graduate 00:33:53.289 --> 00:33:58.569 high school leaving the church? Why? Because 00:33:58.569 --> 00:34:04.470 we have preached a gospel. I have. I've done 00:34:04.470 --> 00:34:07.089 this. I've preached it because of my own insecurity. 00:34:07.390 --> 00:34:11.269 I've preached a gospel that was easier for them 00:34:11.269 --> 00:34:14.630 to swallow and required nothing of them except 00:34:14.630 --> 00:34:21.300 to just say yes. That is not... Christianity. 00:34:21.539 --> 00:34:24.239 And this is not why we come to church. This is 00:34:24.239 --> 00:34:27.800 if I want somebody to get saved out there and 00:34:27.800 --> 00:34:30.659 they come in here, they have already experienced 00:34:30.659 --> 00:34:34.920 the altar out there. The altar, remember, is 00:34:34.920 --> 00:34:40.349 mobile. It does not just stay here in these few 00:34:40.349 --> 00:34:44.010 little square foot of land here in front of this 00:34:44.010 --> 00:34:49.090 stage. This is a place of an altar, yes, but 00:34:49.090 --> 00:34:53.349 the altar is mobile. The Christian must take 00:34:53.349 --> 00:34:56.110 the altar to the world so that the world would 00:34:56.110 --> 00:35:16.420 come to the altar. So here's what we're gonna 00:35:16.420 --> 00:35:33.260 do. We are going to respond to the altar. We 00:35:33.260 --> 00:35:38.219 need to come to the altar not as people who just 00:35:38.219 --> 00:35:43.340 want to be massaged, pampered. We come to the 00:35:43.340 --> 00:35:49.550 altar to die. Because in death, we get to experience 00:35:49.550 --> 00:35:54.550 his resurrection life. And that's when we're 00:35:54.550 --> 00:35:58.289 transformed. That's when transformation takes 00:35:58.289 --> 00:36:04.909 place. Time and time again, I've gone, God, I 00:36:04.909 --> 00:36:09.530 feel stuck. And every time I've said that to 00:36:09.530 --> 00:36:11.769 God, God says, no, you're not stuck. You're just 00:36:11.769 --> 00:36:19.880 still alive. There's a part of you still living. 00:36:24.199 --> 00:36:29.340 Okay, God, then show me. You told Abraham the 00:36:29.340 --> 00:36:32.099 specific sacrifice. You told him to give of his 00:36:32.099 --> 00:36:37.579 son. You told David what to sacrifice. You told 00:36:37.579 --> 00:36:40.300 him to sacrifice with praise and the lifting 00:36:40.300 --> 00:36:45.039 of hands and through prayers. You told Jesus 00:36:45.039 --> 00:36:49.179 what to sacrifice his very life. And you tell 00:36:49.179 --> 00:36:51.519 us what to sacrifice. This right now, this altar 00:36:51.519 --> 00:36:57.260 is for the sacrifice of life. Your life. Pour 00:36:57.260 --> 00:37:04.840 it out before him. This is not a salvation altar 00:37:04.840 --> 00:37:14.719 call. This is the altar that we as Romans 12 00:37:14.719 --> 00:37:20.500 says, living sacrifices. Because Christ is eternally 00:37:20.500 --> 00:37:27.840 the land that was slain. He lives. But he's seen 00:37:27.840 --> 00:37:35.159 as crucified. We live. But when people look at 00:37:35.159 --> 00:37:41.260 us, are we dead? Not dead as in just zombies. 00:37:42.980 --> 00:37:46.550 Being so mopey and all this stuff. Not having 00:37:46.550 --> 00:37:48.929 joy in life. No, no, no. The fear of the Lord 00:37:48.929 --> 00:37:50.829 and the joy of the Lord are complementary. They 00:37:50.829 --> 00:37:55.610 don't cancel one another out. The fear of the 00:37:55.610 --> 00:38:00.550 Lord and the joy of the Lord go together. When 00:38:00.550 --> 00:38:04.230 I come to the altar and experience death, I rejoice. 00:38:05.639 --> 00:38:10.639 because now I get to join him in his crucifixion 00:38:10.639 --> 00:38:14.440 in his sufferings because he died for me because 00:38:14.440 --> 00:38:17.059 he loved me and I will die for him because I 00:38:17.059 --> 00:38:27.619 love him if you wish to respond no one's going 00:38:27.619 --> 00:38:30.480 to pray for you no one's going to lay hands on 00:38:30.480 --> 00:38:34.860 you the altar is open this is between you and 00:38:34.860 --> 00:39:07.500 him Responding to the altar. Lastly, if you are 00:39:07.500 --> 00:39:10.480 in need of prayer send us a text message at 541 00:39:10.480 --> 00:39:15.360 -625 -1365. We would love to pray with you.