Repairing Broken Altars

“REPAIRING BROKEN ALTARS!”

1 KINGS 18:30

INTRO: Israel was deep into Baal worship. For too long God had been ignored

by the people. Now was the time for Israel to make a choice. Would

they serve God or Baal? Elijah asks in 1 Kings 18:21—“And Elijah

came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two

opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.

And the people answered him not a word.” When all the people had

assembled.… Elijah stood before them and challenged them to end

their doublemindedness, wavering between two opinions. It was not

good to try to “walk the fence” worshiping two gods. Apparently the

Israelites thought that if Yahweh let them down they could turn to

Baal, and vice versa. Elijah was saying that if One is the true God and

the other false they should follow the true One wholeheartedly and

forget about the impotent impostor. (The Bible Knowledge

Commentary: Old Testament. WORDsearch Version 5.X.2.

Friends, this challenge simply came down to a matter of consecration.

Whoever or whatever we are consecrated to we will give our whole

being to. Sam Jones once said: “Suppose you were to buy a house

and lot, an elegant residence, pay the money and get the deeds,

and the day you were to go in the gentleman said: ‘Here's the key to

eight rooms; I have reserved two rooms.’ ‘Didn't I buy the house?’

‘Yes.’ ‘Well, what do you mean?’ ‘I want to keep four tigers in one

room and the other I want to fill with reptiles. I want them to stay

here.’ You say: ‘Well, my friend, if you mean what you say, I would

not have your house even as a gracious gift. You want me to move my

family into a house where one room is full of tigers and the other full

of snakes.’ Many a time, we turn over our whole hearts to God, and

when He comes in, we have reserved some rooms for the wild beasts

of pride and the hissing serpents of iniquity. Let me tell you, brethren,

I won't ask God to come and live in a house that I won't let my family

live in. Empty every room in the house, and then the heart is the

center of gravity to Jesus Christ, and He will come in and live with

is a choice we all make daily! Joshua challenged the people in

Joshua 24:15—“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose

you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers

served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the

Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will

serve the LORD.”

In 1 Kings 18, Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest.

The prophets of Baal were to call upon Baal and Elijah, the prophet of

God, would call upon the God. The one who answered by fire would be

God! The prophets of Baal began first. They made all the preparations

and began to call on Baal. This they did from morning to evening, but

no response. Now it was Elijah’s turn. First he called all the people

together. Then he repaired the altar of God that was broken down.

Friends, let me say tonight that there has never a revival that did not

begin by repairing the altars of consecration! We play at our worship,

we worship our play, and then we wonder why we have no power! God

is not pleased today with our “Laodicean” type churches with stained

glass windows, robed choirs, eloquence in the pulpit, who feel they

have need of nothing! We are sometimes so interested in creating the

machinery of the church that we let the fire go out in the boiler. (Bible

HIM with all our hearts! He demands truth in the inward parts, and

friends, heaven will keep silent until we approach Him with rebuilt

altars.

Friends, I want to speak tonight on “Repairing Broken Altars!” For us

to achieve what God wants us to achieve, for us to fulfill the

responsibilities God has given us, we must begin by REPAIRING

BROKEN ALTARS! And folks, there must be a SACRIFICE on those

altars—not a sacrifice for sin—Christ took care of that once for all

when He died in our place. Then what sacrifice needs to be made? Let

us see that we must all offer:

(1) THE SACRIFICE OF PENITENCE

1 KINGS 18:37-39—“Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may

know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their

heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the

burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and

licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people

saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the

God; the LORD, he is the God.”

A. THE MEANING. What does penitence mean? “Penitence” means

“contrition.” When a person is “penitent” it means that that person is

“affected by a sense of one’s own guilt, and resolved on amendment.’ (Funk

& Wagnall’s Standard Desk Dictionary. Volume 2, N-Z. p. 485). The

psalmist David said in Psalm 51:17—“The sacrifices of God are a broken

spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Penitence

is not merely feeling sorrow because one got caught in their sin but having

a broken heart over our sin and how it has affected our relationship with

God. I want you to notice these words in v39—“And when all the people

saw it, they fell on their faces…”. They “fell on their face” in reverence of

God, astonished at the miracle wrought, ashamed of themselves and their

sins, particularly their idolatry, that they should turn their backs on the

true God, and follow idols (John Gill’s Exposition of The Entire Bible. e-

Reserved Worldwide).

B. THE MOTIVATION. One who offers this sacrifice realizes his own guilt

and feels sorry about it. The problem today is that many don’t feel sorry

over sin! We tend to wink at sin or merely dismiss it. Friends, we are

living in an age of dry-eyed Churches! We feel no sorrow over the sin that

is present in our lives nor any remorse for our lack of obedience unto the

Lord! Friends, our motivation for offering the sacrifice of penitence should

be that we love the Lord and want to be all we can be for HIM! 2

Corinthians 5:14-15 tells us—“For the love of Christ constraineth us;

because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that

he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto

themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” May we let

“the love of Christ constrain us” so that we acknowledge daily that we have

sinned and ask His forgiveness so that we can be all that HE would have

us to be! God will not merely wink at sin! Sin is serious to God and it

should be to us also (Galatians 6:7). We must return to our “first love”

with our whole heart. Revelation 2:5 tells us this returning involves:

 Remembering. “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen…”. They are called on to remember what they enjoyed before. How greatly they felt the presence of the Lord among them. How this saw God’s mighty power working in their midst and in their hearts.

 Repenting. “Repent, and do the first works…”. Jesus called this church back to love. They needed to repent of their lack of love and do the things they did at first—love as they had originally loved, with enthusiasm and devotion. (Life Application Bible Commentary: Revelation. WORDsearch Version 5.X.2. WORDsearch Bible Study Software. Copyright 1987-2000. WORDsearch Corp. All Rights Reserved). Friends, we need to ask the Lord’s forgiveness for our coldness, for our lack of compassion, and for our unconcern! Warren Wiersbe has aptly pointed out: “If the church does not get its heart back in the right condition, the lampstand will be removed. The local church is to shine as a light in the world. Without true love for Christ, its light will go out.” (Warren W. Wiersbe. Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on The New Testament. WORDsearch Version 5.X.2. WORDsearch Bible Study Software. Copyright 1987-2000. WORDsearch Corp. All Rights Reserved).

Friends, we need to be REPAIRING BROKEN ALTARS by offering THE SACRIFICE OF PENITENCE and offering…

(2) THE SACRIFICE OF PERSON

1 KINGS 18:21—“And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How

long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.”

A. THE CHOICE. Elijah laid a choice before the people: “If the LORD be God,

follow him: but if Baal, then follow him…”. They could either decide for God

or else decide for Baal but they had to choose only one. We have a choice

laid before us to: we can either serve SELF or the SAVIOR. God doesn’t

merely want to be our Savior but He wants to be our Lord also! But for Him

to be the Lord of our life we must give Him His rightful place! Jesus asks in

Luke 6:46—“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I

say?”

ILLUS: Someone has written: I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do

everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do.

And what I ought to do, By the grace of God I shall do! -- Edward

B. THE CONSECRATION. Friends, until we are willing to allow His Spirit to

control us in all areas of our lives; He is not Lord! Jesus said in Luke

9:23—“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his

cross daily, and follow me.” “If the LORD be God, follow him…”. Are we

willing to do that? The biggest hurdle we face is in denying self! The

Macedonians, to whom Paul wrote of in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5, first gave

themselves to the Lord! Friends, that is what consecration is.

ILLUS: A little boy had no money to give to the Church but he wrote

upon a piece of paper, “I give myself” and put that into the

plate. His was the biggest gift that morning! (Vance Havner. The

Vance Havner Notebook. p. 22).

ILLUS: Judas betrayed the Lord with a kiss, not with a slap. Our master

is betrayed more often with a show of affection than any other way.

Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clave unto her. We

need more people who cleave unto the Lord and are not content

with a Sunday-morning kiss. (Vance Havner. The Vance Havner

Notebook. p. 191).

Friends, God wants our hearts above anything else! Let us be as Paul, “For

me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21). After the fire of

God fell the people consecrated themselves to the Lord. How do we know?

Look at v40—“And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not

one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to

the brook Kishon, and slew them there.” Elijah required the people to show

their conviction by acts - acts which might expose them to the anger of

king or queen, but which once committed would cause them to break with

Baal and his worshippers forever. (Albert Barnes. Albert Barnes’ Notes On

Rights Reserved Worldwide). Friends, the Lord desires that we offer

ourselves to Him as “living sacrifices” according to Romans 12:1. Many

today are involved but few are committed. What’s the difference you ask?

The Rev. Robert Ard, president of the Black Leadership Council, explains

the difference between involvement and commitment: "When you look at a

plate of ham and eggs, you know the chicken was involved. But the pig was

committed." -- Tom Blair in San Diego Union. (Bible Illustrator For Windows.

Reserved).

Friends let us be busy REPAIRING BROKEN ALTARS by offering HIM THE SACRIFICE OF PENITENCE, THE SACRIFICE OF PERSON and finally…

(3) THE SACRIFICE OF PRAISE

1 KINGS 18:39—“And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces:

and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.”

*THIS SACRIFICE SHOULD COME FROM:

A. OUR LIPS. The writer of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 13:15—“By him

therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit

of our lips giving thanks to his name.” We try to work up that sacrifice by

artificial means; song leaders sweat and plead trying to bring out a song

that is not there. (Vance Havner. The Vance Havner Notebook. p. 22). If we

are truly born again we should be ready and willing to praise the Lord with

our song. The psalmist said in Psalm 40:2-3—“He brought me up also out

of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and

established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even

praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.”

God had truly as Elijah prayed for the people, “turned their heart back

again.” This led them to proclaim, “The LORD, he is the God; The LORD, he

is the God.” Folks, there is no reason for God’s people not to be joyful and

singing in their hearts to the Lord! For one thing we are commanded to.

Over and over in the Psalms we see the exhortation: “praise ye the

Lord.” One of my favorites is found in Psalm 34:1-3—“I will bless the LORD

at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make

her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify

the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.” Paul wrote in

Philippians 4:4—“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice.” We

should praise the Lord because we are commanded to. But also we should

praise Him because it shows our consecration to Him. The more I love Him

the more I will praise Him. If we would but rejoice in Him and get our eyes

on Him instead of on people, we would have joy and peace. (Warren W.

Wiersbe. Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines On The New Testament. p. 570).

B. OUR LOVE. Friends, for us to worship and praise God rightly, it must

come from the heart (John 4:24). And until the heart is right, we cannot

give Him praise rightly! Many today have not yielded their heart and life to

God so they cannot praise HIM! When our heart is changed, and we are in

love with Jesus Christ, we cannot help but sing His praises! I [have]

learned that worship and worry cannot live in the same heart: they are

mutually exclusive. -- Ruth Bell Graham in Prodigals and Those Who Love

Them. Christianity Today, Vol. 36, no. 9. Psalm 100 is a great psalm of

praise that we ought to read often. It says—“Make a joyful noise unto the

LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence

with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us,

and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter

into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful

unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting;

and his truth endureth to all generations.” Friends, we have so much to

praise God for! We must not let worship and praise fall into second place!

CLOSING: Vance Havner said, “You cannot change the order of penitence,

person, and praise. When God’s people repent and give themselves

to God, they will have a song. It will be spontaneous; for what is

down in the well will come up in the bucket.” (Vance Havner. The

Vance Havner Notebook. p. 22).

How can we repair the broken altars in our lives? By offering THE

SACRIFICE OF PENITENCE-realizing we have sinned. By offering

THE SACRIFICE OF PERSON-repenting and giving ourselves fully

to God and His will. And by offering THE SACRIFICE OF PRAISE-

rejoicing in the Lord with our lips and out of our love for HIM!

Friend, are their some altars in your life which need repaired? Will

you come tonight and confess your waywardness and ask the Lord

to help you be all you can be for HIS GLORY? May our pray tonight

be the words of the psalmist in Psalm 85:6—“Wilt thou not revive

us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?”