Altar Call

Greetings,

 

Again, it has been quite a while since I have sent anything out to the group but I want to share a praise report and it ties into an article (attached) I sent to you in January of this year.  But first I want to set it  up with a story in a class I was attending on the Tabernacle about a month ago.  The instructor was talking about the Brazen Altar as being an altar of sacrifice.

 

My thoughts and question was “If the Tabernacle is an altar of sacrifice, why are we not doing the same in the church?”  There are times when I go to the altar during praise and worship to confess my sins, repent, surrender, ask forgiveness, to humble myself, to confess my love for Him, to thank Him, to praise Him, to worship him and to ask the Holy Spirit to be present.  I could not understand why others were not doing the same.  Going to the altar at the end of service was a regular part of the service at a church I attended in the past.  Sometimes, up to twenty percent of the congregation was at the altar.  When the people come to the altar of sacrifice, the Holy Spirit will come and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17  Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty).

 

The brazen altar, bronze altar, or altar of sacrifice in the Tabernacle and was situated inside the courtyard upon entering the gate to the tabernacle. The altar was the first piece of furniture the sinner encountered as he passed through the gate on his way to fellowship with, and the worship of, God. The altar was the meeting place for the holy God and the sinner. God came down to meet the sinner where He accepted a substitute for his sin.

 

The brazen altar finds a perfect fulfillment in the work of Christ upon the cross; a further analogy is found in the materials of construction and in the purpose of the brazen altar as compared with the accomplishment of Christ on the cross.

 

The altar was the place of sacrifice, and it foreshadowed the cross on which the Lord Jesus Christ shed His blood for the sins of the world.

 

So the altar was actually a type of Christ, who became the substitute for man’s sin and thus allowed the holy God and sinful man to meet. Even the word ‘altar’ refers to that which is elevated or lifted up. Perhaps this is what Jesus had in mind when He said, ‘And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me’ (John 12:32). As an offering had to be lifted up and placed on the altar, so Christ was lifted up and placed on the cross to die for the world.

 

The altar was the place of substitutionary sacrifices—the place of death. There the blood was poured out, and the body was consumed by fire, which speaks of judgment. The altar in the tabernacle stood between the gate of entrance and the door to fellowship with God. It barred the way so that no approach to God was possible except by the altar.

 

So too, the cross of Christ bars the way to God for every sinner. Those who bypass the cross will never have eternal life and fellowship with God; rather, they will remain in their condemnation.

 

That all must come to God by only one means is clearly evident from what Christ said to Nicodemus: ‘Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’ (John 3:3). Because Nicodemus did not understand what He was saying to him, Jesus explained the necessity of spiritual birth. He said, ‘That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3: 6).

 

The cross is the only way of salvation because it was there that Jesus shed His blood for the sin of the world. Hebrews 9:22 clearly states, ‘Without shedding of blood is no remission (forgiveness)”.  Receiving Jesus Christ as Savior produces the only true foundation in a person’s life.

 

The praise report is an answer to my prayers and I am sure others have prayed for the same.  The church I am attending has set aside a time at the end of service that allows for praise, worship, and an invitation to the altar where there are pastors and prayer teams available to minister to the flock.  This was implemented two weeks ago and I was so excited that I made a beeline to the altar and thanked  God for His grace and mercy.

 

I encourage you all to go to the altar at every opportunity and put aside what people think and focus on what God thinks.  You will honor Him when you present yourself at the altar of sacrifice.

 

Blessings to you all,

 

Tony Sanchez