Sermon Series: “Monkey See – Monkey Do”
The Altar Call
Pastor Matt
What is an altar
call?
Does it have to
happen at the end of the service? Do I have to come forward?
Is there a specific
way I am supposed to respond? How do I respond?
Is there a right or wrong way to respond?
Turn in your Bibles to the book of Hezekiah
chapter 7, verse 4. The book of Hezekiah does not exist just like the American
altar does not exist in the Bible. The practice grew out of camp meetings and
became popular during the first half of the nineteenth century. [1]
Coming to the altar
is a man made system.
So then, why do
so many churches have “altar calls?”
To understand why
we do altar calls, we must understand what an altar is:
The Old Testament Altar:
A place of blood sacrifice.
1. Altars were a
place of forgiveness.
-
God required the shedding of blood on the altar so their sins could be
forgiven
-
They sacrificed on the altar as they asked God to forgive them for the
sin in their lives
2. Altars were a
place to communicate with God
-
when people wanted to meet with God, they would build an altar, sacrifice
on the altar, and then go to Him in prayer
3. Altars were a
place to thank the Lord for deliverance.
-
Read about the many battles the Lord intervened in.
4. Altars were a
place to remember what God has done.
-
The many times God saved His people, or do something amazing for them,
they would stop, build an altar, and worship Him, thank Him
5. Altars were a
place of submission.
-
Coming to the altar showed allegiance to God.
-
People would submit themselves to the routine of the altar
6. Altars were a
place of action.
-
Building the altar was a time to commit to God what He was telling them
to do. They would make a covenant with God and the altar would be a visible reminder
of that covenant they made.
I believe that the
Old Testament altar was an example of how we are to respond to Him.
So How are we to respond?
What is the Biblical
way of respond to what God is telling you?
In the Old Testament
days, they responded to God by making an altar and slaughtering an animal on it. Anyone
up for that?
Acts 8:26-38
1. We listen to His Words
8:28. sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet.
Your first job is to open the Word.
-
Your first job is to respond to the Truth you have been given
o Romans 1:20. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power
and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
§ You have something to work with.
· Listen to what you know and then move into a deeper knowledge of Him
o Revelation 3:20.
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.
§ You can hear Him knocking.
§ He wants a relationship with you.
§ That may be all you know but that is all you need to know.
-
What about sin?
o Sin is sin whether you know it or not.
§ Don’t you want to know if you are sinning?
2. We understand His Words
8:30. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said “unless
someone explain it to me?”
One of the pastor’s job is to help you understand the Word
o My desire is to teach you the Word so you can understand, so you can be the person wants you to be
-
When asked what the greatest was Jesus said in Mark 12:30, Love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind and with all your strength
- Jesus tells us in John 14:23 that, “If anyone love me,
he will obey my teaching.”
§ Too long churches have been telling you what to do, but not the why.
· We must use our minds to understand the Bible so we can obey it because we love Him
§ Why do we love our dogs? Because
they obey us. They show us their love by obeying us. We get irritated when they don’t listen, and we are not that close to them.
· God created us the same way. We show and receive
love through obedience, respect.
§ Church is the only place people take what you are shoving at them hook
line and sinker
3. We believe His Words
8:35. Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him
the good news about Jesus
The Holy Spirit’s job is to convict you about the Word
o He went from being confused to understanding
o We see in verse 36 that he wanted to be baptized. Why. He had already made a decision to believe in his heart and he knew he needed to be
baptized
-
In John 16:8, when Jesus was referring to the coming of the Holy Spirit, he said that one of the Holy Spirit’s jobs was to “…convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.
-
Sin for forgiveness
-
Righteousness for how we are to live
-
Judgment for those who refuse to listen
4. We Obey His Words
8:36. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch
said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” And He gave orders to stop the chariot. Then
both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
Your second job is to live out the Word.
-
When God, speaks, get off your chariot and do what God is telling you to
do!
-
James 2:17. “…faith, by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead”
-
James 2:18. “…show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”
o What he is saying is that…
§ When you believe there is a change in your life
You show the world
your decision by your actions
How do I respond? When you hear the message, understand the message, and the holy Spirit is convicting
you that you need to do something, then do it!
Why Should I respond?
Two simple reasons:
Jeremiah 17:19-27
We are going to
look at a simple command and God’s response.
1. If we listen, understand, and obey, He will bless us.
17:24. If you are careful to obey me…
Don’t believe
me?
Check out Proverbs 2:1-8.
Or
James 1:22-25
2. If we refuse to listen, we’ll never understand. If
we don’t understand, we can’t obey. If we don’t obey, He will
discipline us.
17:23. They did not listen, or pay attention, they were stiff necked and
would not listen or respond to discipline.
17:27. If you do not obey me…I will kindle an unquenchable fire…
God is our daddy
and He is going to do what is best for you even if it means wooping us once in a while to get your attention.
Hebrews 12:6. The
Lord disciplines those He loves
There is always
a reason why He disciplines.
Micah- I told you,
but you wouldn’t listen, you would not respond.
When we don’t
respond to His Word, we are putting ourselves in a dangerous place.
Closing
What has He been
telling you to do?
When are you going
to do it?
Disobedience
is not the best option.
How are you going
to respond today?
Do something concrete
to respond to Him today!
[1]Kurian, George Thomas. Nelson's New Christian Dictionary : The Authoritative Resource
on the Christian World. Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Pubs., 2001.