All On The Altar

Introduction

"Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people; thou hast covered all their sin. Selah. Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger. Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease. Wilt thou be angry with us forever? Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations? Wilt thou not revive us again; that thy people may rejoice in

thee?" (Psalm 85:1-6).

In this passage we note that God had been good to Israel.

I. They were Free (v. 1)

The first example of His goodness is seen in verse one. He had, "brought back the captivity of Jacob." He had freed them from their oppression from the surrounding enemy nations that had once enslaved them. They were FREE!

II. They were Forgiven (v. 2)

But also, they were Forgiven. Verse two states that God "hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people." Also, the Bible states that He "hast covered all their sin."

In the Old Testament we see a constant pattern of God's people, Israel, straying from Him. Yet God in His infinite mercy is seen forgiving them over and over again.

In verse three we see that the fierce consequences God's burning wrath had been taken away. So, it seems as though God had taken care everything for His chosen people. But still, something was horribly wrong.

The children of Israel needed revival. They were God's Chosen people, yet they had grown cold in their relationship to Him. They now expected God to spoil them with His forgiveness. The awesome fear in His presence was gone. Their love for Him had waned. Their passion for Him had abated. Life in relationship to God was now cold and lifeless, covered by rules and regulations. A life in which intimacy with God had been substituted instead by insulation from their Creator. So rather than simply basking in the freedom, forgiveness, and mercy of God, there is a note of desperation in this passage as the psalmist cries out in verses four, five and six these three imperatives: "Turn to us again, O God!" "Cease being angry!" "Revive us again!"

These three phrases are a heart-cry for revival. To live again. To experience newness. For God to again be first. To be only in my life! For dead religion to be replaced again by fresh relationship with our Creator, our Lord, and our Friend. As I looked at the phrases I wrote from verses four through six, I w some things unnoticed at first.

1. Turn Us, O God

"Turn to us again, O God," is actually inaccurate, for God had never moved. "Turn Us, O God!" Turn us back to you! We are the ones who have moved. We have grown indifferent and callous in our relationship to you. Restore to us the wonder of our salvation, and the joy that comes from radical, even some would say "obsessive" commitment to You.

You have heard the story about the elderly couple who were riding in a pickup truck. The wife turned to her husband as he drove and complained, "Sam, I remember when we didn't sit on opposite sides of the truck. I remember when we sat close to each other and cuddled as you drove." Sam replied, "Well, Margaret, it's not me who moved!"

Brothers and sisters, it is not God who has moved. We have grown distant from Him, and we need to return.

2. Cease being Angry

"Cease being angry" is also an inaccurate rendering. It is not possible for God's anger to be abated. It is part of His nature. "Cause thine anger toward US to cease," (verse 4). Even though they were forgiven and freed, God was still angry with them. Even though this passage tells us that God's fierce consequences had been turned, God was still angry. And this broke the psalmist's heart. "I don't want to just be free from the consequences of your anger. I want to please you. I want to be in right relationship to you." This is what the psalmist seems to be saying.

3. Revive us Again

"Revive us again!" This is an accurate depiction of the psalmist's heart cry. But notice his plea, "Revive us ... again." This implies that they had once been in a right relationship with God. You cannot Re-vive what you never had to begin with. You cannot Re-dedicate what's never been dedicated in the first place. Revival is for God's people. Non-Christians cannot be revived; they must be regenerated, born again, saved!

III. The Need of our Church

In this passage God had been good to Israel, but they still needed to live again as God's people. God has been good to our church as well. Through His cross He has freed us from the penalty of sin through His salvation. In His mercy He has forgiven us to walk in newness of life. But just this week I realized how much our church needs a touch from His hand.

We are a sinful people. We need to see the Lord high and lifted up as Isaiah did in chapter six of his book. We are a people of unclean lips living in the midst of a people of unclean lips. And when we see the King, the Lord of hosts our new commitment is not, "Here am I send me." It is instead, "Why doesn't someone do something?"

A. Robbing God

In the area of tithes and offerings we are robbing God (Malachi 6). We tip him like a busboy, and pat ourselves on the back. Many in our church have known sacrifice when it comes to a new car or boat, but have never known sacrifice in giving tithes and offerings to the One who supplies all our needs.

B. Failing to Witness

In the area of personal witness we play church, sing hymns, and eat casseroles while a line of lost lemmings in our community slips over the cliff of death and are lost for all eternity. They could have followed the Savior to life, but there was no one to lead them.

C. Personal Holiness

In the area of personal holiness we have strayed from the solid foundation of what's right and what's wrong. Our church like other churches is losing its moral footing on the shifting sands of relativism. Our standard is no longer "What does God say?" Now, we ask, "What feels the best," or "What is the path of least resistance?"

"Well, Christians aren't perfect," you say. That is a fact. Now we conveniently use that statement as an excuse. The struggle to be holy is over for many. Smoking, drinking, eating habits are joked about with a mischievous grin and a twinkle in the eye. The things we view and let our teens watch on TV and movies must grieve the heart of God.

Our lack of devotion, prayer, and hunger for God's Word is both a symptom and a cause of our spiritual malady. Many in our church never, I repeat never, have a daily personal time with God each day. We say we know the Lord without even a twinge at the irony of saying you know Someone that you have never really gotten to know.

D. True Revival our Need

We need revival...the real kind. Not the pseudo-revival that looks at the problems I mentioned, resolving to clean the outside of the cup. That's morality...being clean on the outside. We need holiness ... being changed on the inside. Our church does not need a cosmetologist; we need a surgeon. And that's what real revival is all about. That's what today is all about. Placing all on the altar before God.

We should not sweep the dirt under the carpet, hide the filthy clothes in the closet, and conceal dirty dishes in the cupboard. Our house, Christ's home, should be so clean that even someone peeping through the keyhole will find us blameless. You see, in real revival the Holy Spirit creates in our hearts a genuine hatred of sin itself...not just its consequences. And that type of true revival is only achieved from a change within. You can "act" the part outwardly, but that is only a façade of holiness; it is not real!

Rudy Giuliani is a wonderful mayor. He cleaned up New York City, but that cleansing was imposed from without by hordes of policemen mobilized to write tickets for every offense, even jaywalking and littering. New York is a better place because of this cleansing, but it was not a true cleansing. It did not change the heart of man.

Compare that cleansing to the Welsh Revival. God took hold of the hearts of people and cleaned them up on the inside to the point where crime in Wales became practically non-existent. It did not have to be enforced by hordes of policemen. In fact, do you know why so many barbershop quartets dress like policemen? It harkens back to the time of the Welsh Revival. The crime rate had fallen so dramatically that the police had nothing to do. So they formed quartets that when from church to church singing at their revival meetings.

"Oh, our church is doing great," you say. But if we rely on our greatness we will surely fail. We have a beautiful building, great programs, and wonderful, talented, friendly, and involved members. But it is not great talent that God blesses. He blesses those who are like Jesus.

God has also blessed us materially. There was another great church in history that was rich and increased with goods to the point where they said, "We have need of nothing." But in God's spiritual sight they were poor, naked, and sickening in their carnality. The name of this church was Laodicea, and in chapter three of Revelation, God felt like spewing them out of His mouth. But there was hope. Jesus was standing at the door and knocking...waiting. His invitation was, "if any man will hear my voice and open the door, I will come in."

"If any man...." One person is the key. Will it be you? God is not waiting for a committee to pass a resolution. He is not waiting for a vote in a church business meeting. He is waiting for one person to open the door. One person who will not wait another second. One person who cares not what others do! One person who must be right with God regardless of what others think.

It need not be the chairman of the deacon board, the Minister of Education, the worship leader, or even the interim pastor, although maybe is should be. It can be the poorest person in the church. It can even be a student, like Evan Roberts through whom God brought the Welsh Revival.

Any person can open the door. You can open the door. Revival will come to your church only through revival coming to your life. When you open the door and surrender to Christ, you let Him into your church as well.

All on the altar Sunday. I hope it's not just a slogan. In the Bible, the altar was a place of surrender. The altar was a place of sacrifice. The altar was a place of offering. The altar was a place of death. But today God is not asking for animals or grain. He is asking for you to place yourself, your own life, on the altar before Him.

Conclusion

I can see him at the door of our church. I can hear His incessant knocking! I can feel His relentless love. Will we turn Him away as we play-act with this thing called "Christianity"? Or will we throw open the door for our savior, our surgeon, and our Lord to enter our inmost heart?

As we pray the choice rests with you. Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Lord Jesus. You are welcome in this place. I place my life before you. My all on the altar, holding nothing back. Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord, to thee. Simply, "Lord, I'm all yours."

Many are giving or re-giving their all to Jesus now. Surrendering totally to His will. And as a public affirmation of your commitment, of course I am going to ask each of you to come to the altar. Not because your neighbor or friend is coming. Only if you really mean it. Jesus first ... Jesus only!

I will be here if you need to speak with someone about church membership or beginning a relationship with Christ. But it is God's invitation, His summons. Respond not to me or to this church, but to God as He leads.