A Christian is not supposed to live in the cycle of guilt and shame. When we come to the altar, we come away with a message of hope, restoration, and the very spirit of God continually inhabiting the believer. The altar is about becoming something entirely new and learning to live all over again as a new creature. Unfortunately, this is where most lose hope in their faith and in following Jesus. They attempt to live the new life as they did the old.
Hebrews 13:10 (NLT) We have an altar from which the priests in the Tabernacle have no right to eat.
However, the altar remakes us; we cannot walk away from a real God encounter unchanged. In a real God encounter, we either trust Him so completely that we allow Him to take our most precious thing, or we choose to trust ourselves and lose the most precious thing later because we are simply too weak to hold onto it. Let us come to this altar today. Let us prepare to be born again.
A Father’s Love For His Son
We Can’t Imagine the Love God has for His Son Jesus
The bible is full of evidence of how deeply God loved His Son. “This is My Beloved Son In Whom I Am WELL Pleased!” (Matt 3:17). God and Jesus had been together since eternity past and existed as the very essence, presence, definition, and expression of love. God is the only being in all of the universe capable of perfect love. He has no fear, no limitations, no ignorance. As much as we love our own children, He loves His Son, Jesus more than we could possibly fathom. Therefore, our love will always fall short.
We Can’t Imagine the Sacrifice Made on our Behalf
God sacrificed Jesus for someone else. The arrest and conviction was someone else’s. The beatings, humiliation, the hanging, the thirst, the agony, the full, complete, and utter condemnation was all for someone else. God made this immense sacrifice so someone else could be made strong, be forgiven forever, be put back together, be healed of disease and be completely made alive. Why? Because God wanted all of His sons to come home.
53:5-6 (NLT) But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. 6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all.
You can’t Imagine the Love God has for You
Don’t reject God over lies. If you believe that God doesn’t care about you, you believe a lie.
John 3:16 (NLT) “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
God loves you and He has proven It beyond the possibility of doubt. You were the someone who needed forgiven, restored, healed, made new.
Romans 5:8 (NLT) But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
God’s Gift That Costs Every Worthless Thing.
What Would be on Your Altar?
What is on your altar this morning? What is it that you most treasure? What is your god? What is it that you worship? The altar, or specifically the cross Jesus died upon is the place where all of those competing interests, loves, lovers, idols, must go. It’s ok to give them away, they are worthless anyway and they always fail to satisfy the hole we try to fill.
Colossians 2:12-15 (NLT) For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with Him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. 13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross.
Would You Continue to Follow Jesus?
Once you encounter God and leave your sacrifice at the altar, you must continue to pursue Him through:
- The Bible: Read, think, paraphrase, memorize and share
- The Holy Spirit: Pray! Until you are willing to pray, you continue to be your own god.
- The Path (Jesus): Follow and invest in His teachings, His example and His behavior.
- Expectations: Expect the impossible, follow the God of the IMPOSSIBLE. Expect challenges and persecution. Not many people will appreciate or understand your journey.
Colossians 2:6 (NLT) And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him.
Conclusion:
Jesus’ death will grant eternal life to all who repent, believe and follow Jesus. While you can’t have your old life with Jesus in it, you can have a new and eternal life today.