SERMON NOTES: ALTAR’D #1

01: IT’S TIME TO BUILD AN ALTAR

Throughout the Fall our focus was “Heart Check”

• “God wants to work in us so he can work with us and through us”
• We need to continue to allow the Lord to work in our hearts but He is working in us with a purpose
• As we come into 2019 my heart is stirred that we will individually and corporately go after the callings and purposes of God in our lives. IT’S TIME!

Romans 12:1 TPT – 1 Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship.

The key: I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifice! 

• You may have been saved but have you surrendered yourself to God as his sacred, living sacrifice? 
• Sacrifice = the act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy.

If you are going to make a sacrifice then you need an altar.

• Altar = a mount, table or elevated place where sacrifices were made.

There are many different forms on altars in the Bible:

1. A place of Encounter
2. A place of Worship
3. A place of Consecration
4. A place of Forgiveness
5. A place of Covenant
6. A place of Intercession
7. A place of Sacrifice

Over these 21 days we want to build an altar in our lives, and build an altar in our church where we surrender ourselves to God as sacred, living sacrifices.

As we build an altar to surrender ourselves to him our lives will be altered!

Genesis 13:1-18 (NKJV)

• Abram pitched his tent at the ‘place of at the altar that he had made there first’ but Lot only pitched his tent – are we committed to build an alter (and surrender ourselves as living sacrifices) or are we committed to pitching our tent?
• Lot was more than willing to enjoy the blessings of God but Abram was committed to CALL on the name of the Lord and to the CALLING of the Lord – are we interested in only the blessings or are we committed to CALL and to the CALL?

Practical Application: 21 Days of Transformation Commitments

1. Fasting – to abstain from something – with a particular focus on seeking God

• Fasting doesn’t change God… it changes us
• Jesus said “when you fast…” (Matt. 6:16)
• Fasting is powerful because:
  • It ’tunes’ you in to hear God
  • It is a denial of the flesh
  • When combined with prayer it is a catalyst for breakthough and change (Matt. 17:21)
• There are a number of different types of fasts: Juice Fast (drink only liquids), Daniel Fast (eat only fruits and vegetables), Partial Fast (fast daily until dinner or fast lunch), Media Fast (fast TV, internet, social media

2. Prayer

• Jesus said “when you pray” (Matt. 6:5)
• We are called to be a house of prayer (Matt. 21:13)
• When you combine prayer and fasting in obedience to the Lord powerful things happen
• Set aside time to pray daily and prioritize our worship and prayer gatherings on Friday nights
• What if the key to stepping into what God has for you in 2019 is found in going deeper in the place of prayer?

3. Reading the Word of God

• There is something powerful about digging into the Word of God
• The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword (Heb. 4:12)
• I have hidden your word in my heart that I may not sin against you (Ps 119:11)
• Right at the foundation of being a Christian is digging into the Word of God

4. We will have a daily “Video Devotional” to help us stay connected and engaged – 5 minutes per day.

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