May 22nd, 2021
by Kevin Benton
by Kevin Benton
Nowhere in the Bible is the altar “the place of blessing.” An altar exists for only one thing. Just ask that little lamb that was brought to the altar…this is not a place of blessing; it is a place of death. [Repentance is our altar; it is where flesh dies so the spirit can live.] But if we can embrace that death, then perhaps we can see God’s face.
(The God Chasers, 55)
(The God Chasers, 55)
Reflection by Pastor Kevin
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
I believe that over the years the "church" has diminished the true meaning of the altar. Many come to the altar looking for God to fix a problem, heal a sickness or disease, grant the desires of our hearts and many other things that are all about us. Many look to our God as their "Sugar Daddy" who supplies them with all their wants and desires. This is not the relationship our Heavenly Father desires to have with us. He wants all of our hearts, all of our minds, He wants all of us. Yes we can come to the altar when we are in need, but we must come to the altar recognizing it is the place where we die and He lives!
Lets look at the above scripture found in the book of Romans. First their is the phrase "living sacrifice" those two words do not compliment each other, as a matter of fact they oppose each other. How can something be living and be a sacrifice? The word sacrifice (thusia) means to sacrifice as a victim. This word comes from the root word (thuo) meaning to kill or slay. The word living (zao) means life or living. So you can see how they go against each other. Prior to this phrase we are told to present our bodies. Here is where it gets deep. Here we go.
We as humans are spirit beings who live in a body and posses a soul. Our soul is comprised of our mind, our will and our emotions. What Paul is saying in this verse of scripture is that we are to present our entire being to the Lord as a sacrifice. Not a dead sacrifice but a living sacrifice. We are to sacrifice our all of what we are, all of who we think we are to Him. We need to be dead to the ways of this world, the desires of our flesh, our own selfish, self centered motives and ambitions and finally our pride, ego and intellect. We need to crawl up on the altar of our own lives and sacrifice ourselves to the Lord daily. This altar is not a physical location, it is not at the front of your sanctuary or any man made place. This altar exist in our hearts and in the hands of almighty God. We must crawl into His Mighty Hands every day and say "Here I Am Lord, I surrender my life to you today" Paul said, "I die Daily" Paul is referring to dying to self. We must practice this every day. Laying down our lives before the Lord. When we begin to do this we will see His Face, Feel HIs Presence and walk in the power of humility before the Lord! What do i mean walk in the power of humility before the Lord? When we walk humbly before the Lord, that is when His power will be greatest in our lives and we will wlak in HIs Power because we are surrendered to Him.
Genesis 22:10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took hold of the knife to slay his son. [Heb_11:17-19]
Genesis 22:11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham! He answered, Here I am.
Genesis 22:12 And He said, Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear and revere God, since you have not held back from Me or begrudged giving Me your son, your only son.
Genesis 22:11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham! He answered, Here I am.
Genesis 22:12 And He said, Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear and revere God, since you have not held back from Me or begrudged giving Me your son, your only son.
Here we see Abraham following the direction of the Lord and is about to sacrifice his son Isaac on the altar. This is significant, not just because Isaac is Abraham's son, but Isaac is also the fulfillment of the promise of a son that the Lord gave to Abraham. Abraham feared and trusted God so much that he was willing to lay it all down and sacrifice his only son, the fulfillment of God's promise to Him. None of that mattered more than pleasing His God. We see in verse 12 that the Lord spared Isaacs life and the Lord told Abraham that He knew that Abraham feared God and held nothing back from God. In other words God said, I know I can trust you! I want God to be able to trust me! I am sure you want God to be able trust you too! Don't get me wrong. God wants to bless us. God wants to give us the things we desire and ask Him for. He just does not want to be our "Sugar Daddy" He want to be our "Heavenly Father" whom we fear, respect and love. Lets lay it all down before the Lord and say like Abraham "Here I Am" (P.K.)
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