Living Sacrifices

Living Sacrifices

All eyes were turned to the boy as he slowly progressed forward, cuddling the little lamb lying quietly in his arms. His mother silently watched from afar, her heart broken over a pain in her son’s deepest being that she could never kiss and make go away. His father walked beside him—stone faced. He could not betray his inner emotions, the turmoil welling up inside of him. How well he remembered his first sacrifice and the conflicting emotions that warred within him. For weeks his son had loved and cherished this innocent creature, this spotless lamb. For weeks this lamb grew to love and trust the boy, even curling at his feet during the long cold nights. Surely the boy would do nothing to harm him. This was “his boy” and he was “his lamb.” Forward the boy continued, each step as if it weighed a ton, forcibly placing one foot in front of the other. He had known this day would come. He prepared for it as best he could. But how do you prepare for your heart being wrenched from the very depths of your soul? Tears welled up in the back of his eyes, but he didn’t make a sound. He was thirteen now. He was a man. He would show no weakness.

Very gently he placed his lamb on the altar before the priest. Lovingly, the boy placed his hand atop his head. The lamb looked up with sweet inquiring eyes, as if to say, “I trust you,” then obediently laid his head upon the altar. In the flash of an instant, down slashed the knife through the throat of the lamb. The boy was sure he saw that look of love in his lamb’s eyes even as his life force seeped out and ebbed away. The boy stood very still. “Good-bye” he whispered. The lamb had willingly given up his life for the boy. The boy had willingly sacrificed his lamb that he had raised, the one nearest and dearest to his heart, for his God. Thus, did the boy experience his first true act of worship! In sacrificing that which was precious to him, he consecrated his allegiance to his God. ​​ Worship in its truest form is total disregard for oneself, coupled with total regard for “God” who is most precious of all. In this story we come face to face with outward worship, the act of complete submission. We are also confronted with inward worship which comes from a heart wholly devoted to God, even in the midst of pain.

From the very beginning man was created to exhibit both forms of worship. But man’s outward worship became nothing more than a show, not of submission, but of piousness and legalism. Transforming it from an act of devotion and submission into nothing more than cold-hearted selfishness. Proof to all around, including himself, that he was religious, and God must accept him. This was never meant to be. Animal sacrifice was never intended to turn worship into a cold, mechanical act. It was meant to pierce deep into the soul. Now, animal sacrifice is no longer required. Christ’ death fulfilled the need for blood to be shed. His blood was sufficient for all. Yet, sacrifice was to remain an integral part of worship. What is the difference between then and now? Instead of laying an animal on the altar, we are to present ourselves as a sacrifice. Still, for many of us, we prefer to offer an animal sacrifice. A deed completed, easily forgotten, not to be remembered until the next day of sacrifice. The giving of ourselves as a sacrifice is to be an act of love, bringing the eyes of all who sacrifice to the Messiah—the one true Lamb who shed His blood for all.

Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Now that Jesus has willingly paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, we are to daily, willingly present ourselves as a “living sacrifice,” totally submitted to God. This is the only way we can be in true communion and fellowship with Him which brings us to our big idea this morning that Communion and fellowship with Jesus requires sacrifice. For the Israelites, it required animal sacrifice, for us to come to salvation it required our belief in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and now as a Christian it requires a daily and personal sacrifice of our hearts, minds, bodies and souls to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Before we look at the next piece of furniture of the tabernacle, the Altar of Bronze, let’s pray: Dear Heavenly Father, we humbly come into your presence this morning asking that you pour out your Holy Spirit on us. Please open our hearts and minds and give us insight into your Word and help us to be obedient to the commands found in it. Let your Word be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths as you lead and guide us along our way. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

There are two points this morning. The first point, Altar of Bronze, is found in Exodus 27:1-8. This is what God’s Word says, “Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze. Make all its utensils of bronze—its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. Make a grating for it, a bronze network, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the network. Put it under the ledge of the altar so that it is halfway up the altar. Make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze. The poles are to be inserted into the rings so they will be on two sides of the altar when it is carried. Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain.

Moses is still on the mountain getting instructions from God about the Tabernacle. The tabernacle (picture) is going to be God’s “tent” that He will dwell in, in the midst of His people’s, the Israelites’, tents. So far, we have seen God’s plan for building the ark of the covenant and the atonement cover (picture) that will reside in the Holy of Holies. We have seen God’s plans for the table of the bread of the Presence (picture) and the lampstand (picture) that will reside in the Holy Place outside the Holy of Holies. Last week, we studied the tabernacle proper (picture) which will be a forty-five foot by fifteen-foot tent that will house the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place. This morning, we continue to move from the inside out as we look at the bronze altar (picture). This altar is also called the Brazen Altar or the Altar of Burnt Offering which distinguishes it from the Altar of Incense which will be made of gold and will not be used for sacrifices. As with the other pieces of furniture for the tabernacle it is made of acacia wood. Acacia wood was stronger than oak and was durable and pretty much indestructible. It was also prevalent in the Sinai area they were in. The height of the altar was to be four and a half feet tall, and it was to be a perfect square measuring seven and a half feet long by seven and a half feet wide.

Horns were to be made at each of the four corners of the altar and were to be made as one piece with it. Horns in the Bible symbolized a number of things. They are a symbol of salvation, strength, power and judgment. The horns of the bronze altar were probably modeled after animal horns and were used for a couple of reasons. One, they were probably used to tie the animal sacrifice to the altar to be slaughtered. Two, according to Exodus 29:10-12, the blood of the sin-offering was to be put on the horns of the altar signifying God’s acceptance of the sacrifice. In this way, the horns were used for worship, purification and atonement for sin. Then the entire altar was to be overlaid with bronze. Bronze signified the earth and was to be used for the parts of the tabernacle that were closer to man and the earth and farther away from the presence of God and heaven.

As with the table of the bread of the Presence and the lampstand, utensils were to be made that would be used in conjunction with the altar. These utensils would be made of bronze and included pots or open-topped pans used to remove the hot ashes from the altar. Shovels would be used to scoop up the smoldering ashes and other debris from under the altar. Sprinkling bowls would be used to collect the blood of the sacrifices to be sprinkled on the horns of the altar or on the atonement cover. Meat forks would be used to move and adjust the sacrifices on the altar. And firepans or censors would be used to transport burning coals to the Altar of Incense inside the tabernacle. These utensils would all serve the needs of the priests. Next, God instructs them to make a grating and or a bronze network for the altar. There is some confusion about whether this is one or two separate things, but it does make sense that there are two items being described. One would be a bronze network that would go around the outside of the altar and where the four bronze rings would be attached. This would allow air to come up through the altar from underneath to keep the fire stoked and burning. The second would be a grating put inside the altar, under the ledge and halfway up, to hold the fire and the sacrifice. This would allow the ashes, grease and fat to drip through to the ground.

Next, we are reminded that the altar was portable as were the other pieces of furniture for the tabernacle. Poles of acacia wood overlaid with bronze were to be made to carry it. These poles were to be inserted into the rings so they would be on two sides of the altar when it was carried. Overall, the altar was to be made hollow, making it easier and lighter to carry. Lastly, we are reminded again that Moses was to make the altar just as he was shown on the mountain. This is the fourth time that Moses is told to follow God’s instructions to the letter for everything to do with His house, the tabernacle. Giving the vagueness of the verbal instructions reminds us that Moses saw what the finished product was to look like, a divine “blueprint”, and would have relayed that information to those crafting and building the tabernacle and furniture to go with it.

I wanted to also give you some other tidbits of information about the Bronze Altar. It was the largest of the seven items of furniture in the Tabernacle, which indicated its importance. It was the only item, besides the Altar of Incense, to be called “most holy.” We see this in Exodus 40:10. The fire in the Bronze Altar was to always be kept burning in preparation for the morning sacrifices and the offerings brought by the people. We see in Leviticus 6:13. The altar was the only item to be wrapped in purple when being transported which connected sacrifice with kingship. For Jesus, first came the cross and then came the crown. The position of the altar was just inside the courtyard. It would have been the first thing the Israelite worshipper would have seen as they entered the tabernacle courtyard, coming into the presence of the Lord. We see this in Exodus 40:6. Pink says, “There it stood: ever smoking, ever blood-stained, ever open to any guilty Hebrew that might wish to approach it.” The altar was the symbol that death is the consequence of sin but also of sin “remitted” or canceled. At the altar, God dealt with sin not by punishing the sinner but by the death and shed blood of the sinner’s substitute. The holiness and righteousness of God in punishing sin is seen in the altar. The only way to be in true communion and fellowship with a holy God requires sacrifice (Big Idea).

That brings us to our second point, Altar of Christ. With the Bronze Altar, God was teaching His people that they needed to be saved and cleansed from their sin to be able to approach Him. A substitute had to be sacrificed in their place in order to live and be in communion and fellowship with God. Imagine how many sacrifices must have been made on that altar! The altar was always burning, ready to receive another sacrifice. At least two burnt offerings were sacrificed every day for more than 1,000 years. Fellowship offerings were made whenever people were grateful to God. Then there were all the sin offerings and guilt offerings. Think of all the bulls, goats, lambs, and pigeons that must have been required to atone for the sins of a million people. This was a powerful witness to the totality of Israel’s depravity and ours as well. The Old Testament sacrifices were intended to overwhelm. The Lord wanted His people to realize His holiness and their sinfulness and to be conscious of their sin.

In Isaiah 6 we get a glimpse of this. Isaiah 6:5 says, “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” When Isaiah saw the holiness of God, the righteousness of His throne, the profound reverence of the heavenly intelligences, on the one hand; and his own sinfulness and the iniquities of the people among whom he lived on the other; he saw also the awful distance there was between his soul and God, and he cried, “Woe is me!” There was nothing Isaiah could do on his own to be cleansed from his sin. He was in danger of being destroyed by the holiness and righteousness of God. But then we continue in Isaiah 6:6-7 which says, “Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah’s salvation came from the altar and the live coal that had touched his lips. The live coal had done its work; the sacrifice had been consumed; and nothing remained but ‘the live coal’; this was applied to Isaiah’s lips, and his guilt was taken away and his sin atoned for. The “live coal” was symbolic of Christ’s work on the cross (his altar) to take away our sins. Have you ever considered the holiness of God and your own sinfulness and how unworthy we all are to come into his presence much less to be in communion and fellowship with the Lord God Almighty? Are we conscious of our sin and how it separates us from God? Are we truly sorry for our sin or is our repentance just a deed completed, easily forgotten, not to be remembered until the next time we feel the need to repent? Let us be people who take our sin and repentance seriously, having accepted the “live coal” from God’s altar that is Jesus Christ. That brings us to our first next step on the back of our communication card which is to Be conscious of God’s holiness and my sinfulness, taking my sin and repentance seriously.

The animal sacrifices were a foreshadowing of Christ’s death on the cross, which was the ultimate sacrifice to which all others pointed. By killing their sacrifice, cooking it on the altar and then eating it in God’s presence, the Israelites learned over and over again the concept of substitutionary atonement and renewed their commitment to their covenant with the Lord. The sacrifice represented the means by which the worshipper had access to God. The means to enter into the presence of God and have communion and fellowship with him is not through the sacrifice and blood of animals but through the sacrifice and blood of Jesus Christ, God’s one and only son, shed on the cross at Calvary (Big Idea). 1 Peter 1:18-19 says, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

We ultimately show if we have truly accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross by becoming daily and willing “living sacrifices” surrendering our hearts, minds, bodies and souls to Him. Every morning the priests were to offer a burnt offering on the bronze altar, which was a picture of total dedication to the Lord. Jesus Christ is our altar, and he bears the wounds of his sacrifice on the cross. In 1 Peter 2:5, it says that as a holy priesthood believers are to “offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” We are to present our bodies, our material wealth, our praise and good works and a broken and contrite heart to the Lord daily and willingly. That brings us to our second next step which is to Start my days by presenting myself as a living sacrifice in total dedication to the Lord.

Now I would like to take this opportunity to introduce our theme for 2025. The tabernacle and the furniture we have been discussing all speaks to our relationship with Jesus. From the ark of the covenant and the atonement cover to the table of the bread of the Presence, to the lampstand, to the altar, it all speaks to our ongoing daily relationship with Jesus. It speaks to our table being empty (picture) or full (picture). Our theme for 2025 is Urgency (picture). I picked that theme because none of us know when our days on this earth will end or when Jesus will come back, and we must be ready. First, if you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I pray that today would be the day of your salvation. If you have questions about salvation or want to make that commitment, please mark that on the back of your communication card this morning and I will get in contact with you.

If you are already a follower of Jesus, there should still be an Urgency in our relationship with Jesus. We can become stagnant or apathetic and that is dangerous. I was reminded of a story during the Christmas season. It was the story of the wisemen coming to King Herod looking for the Messiah. Herod called the people’s chief priests and the teachers of the law and asked where the Messiah was to be born. They told him the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem in Judea and quoted the prophecy from the prophet Micah. Bethlehem was six miles from Jerusalem. It would be like going from here to Biglerville. That was how close the Messiah was to the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and they didn’t seem too excited. They had no urgency to seek out the Messiah. And sometimes I think that is how I am, and we are. We do not have an urgency in our relationship with Jesus and he is that close to us waiting for us to have an urgency to be in communion and fellowship with Him. ​​ 

So, if you look in your bulletin you have an insert with a survey on it. I picked three aspects of our relationship with Jesus, being in God’s Word, prayer and evangelism. There are more for sure, but I picked these three for 2025. The idea is to rank these 1-3. 1 meaning that you feel you are struggling in that aspect the most in your relationship with Jesus. The one where your table is the emptiest. And then #2 would be the next and #3 would be the one where you feel your table is the fullest. Starting in February, we would like to give you resources to help you improve in your #1 area. You would work in that area for four months and then the following four months work on your #2 area and finally the last three months of the year work on your #3 area. We would have resources in each area for you. It may be Right Now Media if you have that capability or a book to read. But the next step would be to fill out the survey and leave them at the Welcome Center, so I can start to compile them and see what resources are needed and how many are needed. I hope that everyone would be willing to have an Urgency in their relationship with Jesus. And if you feel like you have a good handle on these three areas, please continue to do what you have been doing but please still do the survey and just put that at the bottom of the insert and turn it in. That way I know where we all stand, and I can be praying for everyone where they are. We want to be intentional about our spiritual growth in 2025. That brings us to our last next step which is to Have an “urgency” in my relationship with Jesus.

As Roxey comes to lead us in a final hymn and the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offerings, let’s pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for this opportunity to gather as believers and study your Word. Lord, help us to take seriously your holiness, our sinfulness and our repentance. Help us to not take your grace and mercy for granted. Help us to present ourselves as living sacrifices in total daily dedication to you. ​​ Also, give us an urgency as we strive to have a deeper and deeper relationship with you. Give us a hunger and thirst for righteousness and help us to be obedient to your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Introduction: https://lisasarnold1.wordpress.com/2014/04/14/precious-a-short-easter-story-about-a-little-boy-and-his-precious-lamb/