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Below are notes to a sermon
preached Sunday evening, July 25, 2004, at
Gospel Light Baptist Church, Albany, Georgia. For more outlines,
including zipped files of outlines from previous years, click on the
link at the bottom of this note, and go to our website:
THE ALTAR REQUIRED BY THE LAW
By Michael D. O'Neal
Pastor, Gospel Light Baptist Church
Albany, Georgia
Scripture Reading: Exodus 20:1-26
Text: Exodus 20:24
Exodus 20:24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt
sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy
sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come
unto thee, and I will bless thee.
Introduction: In this chapter we have recorded the giving of the law,
the 10 commandments. Accompanying the reading of the commandments, there
was a horrible display of the judgment and power of God -- thunderings,
lightnings, the noise of a trumpet, and the mountain smoking. This
caused the people to back away.
Exodus 20:18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings,
and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the
people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
This reminds us that the law does not bring people to God; it merely
exposes their sin and shows their inadequacy. The law brings a curse and
pronounces a death penalty upon sin:
Exodus 20:19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will
hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
The law was a test for man. Moses was 40 days in the mount getting the
law. Forty is associated in scripture with testing, probation, and
preparation.
Exodus 20:20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come
to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin
not.
Then God warned the people through Moses not to make idols but to make
an altar.
Tonight I want you to know that I believe the altar here is a picture of
our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. The law required absolute
righteousness and obedience, which no one has ever performed. Therefore,
there had to be sacrifices.
Jesus is our sacrifice. I believe this is one of the places referred to
by our Lord when He said:
John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal
life: and they are they which testify of me.
Those scriptures were specifically Genesis through Deuteronomy, the
first five books of the Bible, for the Lord further stated:
John 5:46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he
wrote of me.
I want to point out four great truths about our Lord and the altar from
our scripture reading in Exodus this evening:
I. THE PREPARATION OF THE ALTAR
Exodus 20:24-25 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt
sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy
sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come
unto thee, and I will bless thee. 25 And if thou wilt make me an altar
of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy
tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
An altar of EARTH ...
Isaiah 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a
root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we
shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Psalms 85:11 Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness
shall look down from heaven.
In this earthen altar we are reminded:
A. Of the man
1. Of the earth, according to the
flesh
2. Phil. 2:5-11
B. Of the miracle
1. Of the virgin birth
C. Of the mystery
1. Of the incarnation
2. God and man as one (1 Timothy 3:16)
II. THE PURPOSE OF THE ALTAR
Exodus 20:24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt
sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy
sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come
unto thee, and I will bless thee.
Jesus, our sacrifice, or altar
A. Is a reminder of sin
B. Is a remedy for sin
1. THE remedy
2. His blood
C. Is the remover of sin
1. John 1:29
III. THE POLLUTION OF THE ALTAR
Exodus 20:25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not
build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast
polluted it.
Man will pollute, if he is allowed,
A. The message of salvation
(Galatians 1:6-9)
B. The method of salvation
(Romans 11:6)
C. The meaning of salvation
1. Temporary versus eternal
life and salvation
2. No hell? Jehovah's False Witnesses
and Seventh Day Adventists
IV. THE POSITION OF THE ALTAR
Exodus 20:26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy
nakedness be not discovered thereon.
The ground-level position reminds us of
A. The iniquity of man
1. Romans 3:23
2. The nakedness of Adam
B. The inability of man
1. Romans 6:23
2. Can't climb to heaven
C. The invitation to heaven
1. God came to where you are!
2. All come the same way!
3. Revelation 22:17
4. The ground is level at the foot
of the cross
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Michael D. O'Neal (Proverbs 11:30), Pastor,
Gospel Light Baptist Church
P.O. Box 3071 (237 Lockett Station Road), Albany, GA 31706
(229) 432-0039 (church) / (229) 698-2127 (parsonage)
*Scriptures in my notes are from the Authorized Version 1611 -KJV-
and are used by permission of the Author - Ephesians. 6:17*
"Prepare For War in 2004"
Visit The Bible-Believing Fundamentalist Web Page - http://www.brothermike.com |
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