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1 Kings 20:1-12 – Can you imagine the position that king Ahab was in here? Ahab surrendered to the wishes of the king outside. Have we surrendered our lives to Jesus?
What kind of relationship are we going to have with Jesus? A mediocre Christian life isn’t really worth it. Jesus work on Calvary was a very expensive transaction. He did it for us, providing the basis for salvation.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 – There is no way to repay the debt that we incur when someone dies in our place. There is a debt that remains for the rest of our lives.
Jesus invites us to respond to him. He doesn’t push down the door…
Luke 14:25 – Life itself is worth pouring out to follow the cause of Jesus. When Jesus takes possession of our lives he doesn’t just ask for our hearts and souls, he wants everything.
Christianity without the concept of discipleship is weak and empty. It’s as attractive as salt is without any flavor.
The only way that we can respond to the Lord is with what Jesus has already done for us and given us.
Hebrews 10:5-7 – The attitude of Jesus was that he was here to do the will of his father, regardless of what that meant. He had a body, given to him by his father and he was ready and willing to give it back.
John 17, Hebrews 1:9 – Jesus didn’t seek his life, he gave it. Joy comes through submission and being yielded to God.
Romans 12:1 – A living sacrifice is worth much more to God than a dead one. Jesus wants us, he wants our lives… are we willing to say “anywhere, anyhow, and whenever” to God?
Necessary Uses of Altars in our Lives
There is an initial cleansing that happens when we accept Jesus as our savior. However walking with God, walking in the light, is a lifelong thing. The more that the light exposes the more we need to surrender and the closer we can walk with God.
The heart is capable of locking itself on anything and turning it into a “little idol.” There are things that we begin to think we can’t get along without. The rich young ruler came to Jesus and asked what he needed to do to follow Jesus. Jesus pointed out an idol to him, his wealth, that needed to be taken care of before he could follow Jesus.
Job’s altar was different from Abraham’s altar. Job lost everything in one day – he had no say in the matter. Abraham was asked to offer up the one thing that was incredibly special to him. We need to have an “altar attitude” – God gave it to me and he can take it away.
Genesis 12:1-7, Genesis 13, Genesis 22 – The story of Abraham is continually punctuated with a return to the altar where he worshiped the Lord. The last altar Abraham built is the one upon which he laid his son. Abraham’s attitude was the same as Jesus attitude – “you have given me a life and a body, here I am to serve you.” Every time Abraham built an altar, God met with him.
When we face an offering, God is there on the other side, he is there to meet us and walk with us. Even as we give back the things that God has given to us… God will fill us and bless us.
God wants to take care of us. God knows and cares and can provide when we face altars and say yes.
We can never put God into debt to us. We will always be in debt to God. For the duration of our lives God will be the giver and we will be in debt to him.
Has the issue of lordship been answered in our lives? This is probably the single greatest issue that will affect the trajectory of our lives.