The Two Altar of A Christian

Leviticus 6:12-13 And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall
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burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of
the peace offerings. The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.
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Exodus 30:1-9 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it. A
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cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be
the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top
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thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold
round about. And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon
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the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal. And thou shalt
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make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the
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ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. And Aaron
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shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. 8

And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD
throughout your generations. Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering;
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neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon. 

Intro: 
Our Christian life demands that two altars be kept constantly in use: The Tabernacle plan
given to Moses has two altars. One is the altar of burnt offering and the other is the altar of burnt
incense. It is the altar of service and the altar of communion.

THE ALTAR OF SERVICE

 The Altar of Burnt Offering
 Was for burnt sacrifice
 It was placed in the outer court before the tabernacle
 The priest accept the sacrifice of an Israelites for their sin. Exo 29:25  And thou shalt
receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a
sweet savour before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 
 Animal sacrifice was burned every morning and every evening
 A fire was always ready to receive the sacrifice

THE ALTAR OF COMMUNION

 The Altar of Burnt Incense
 It was placed inside the Tabernacle in the Holy Place. 1Ch 6:49  But Aaron and his sons
offered upon the altar of the burnt offering, and on the altar of incense, and were
appointed for all the work of the place most holy, and to make an atonement for Israel,
according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded. 
 This altar was for one purpose only
 Only incense could be offered here
 And only the exact kind of incense prescribed by God could be offered
 Nothing else must ever be burned on that altar

God’s warning to Israel – Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice.

The purpose for each altar was distinct. They could not be interchanged. One altar stood outside.
The other altar stood inside. Incense on this inside altar was burned every morning and every
night. It was just as necessary as the altar for burnt offerings.
THE TWO ALTARS IN APPLICATION TO OUR LIFE
Now this story has an important truth to tell! The physical body of every Christian believer is the
temple or tabernacle of the Holy Spirit, God's personal manifestation to the world in this present
dispensation. 

Therefore there are these same two altars in every truly born-again Christian's life. 

1. The first altar is an altar of burnt sacrifice—the altar of our service to God. 
 These are our outward acts of testimony and contribution that we offer daily before God
for the spread of His Kingdom upon earth. 
1. Our coming to church every gathering (its our testimony to everyone)
2. Doing of the responsibility assign to us.
3. Sharing the word that we freely receive

 I am unworthy unless I make such a daily offering. My life must be continually used in
His service. 

We are here for service.

1. To serve God
2. To serve the body of Christ (the church)
3. To serve our fellowmen

Relate my service which is also 24 hours on call. After the Pentecost Sunday I receive a
telephone call at 11 midnights. With me is Rolem and Kenn. I told them “Pag Pastor pa mo.”)

Nganong mag-alagad kita sa mga kaigsoonan? Gal 5:13  For, brethren, ye have been called unto
liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. (Kay
kamo mga igsoon gipanagtawag ngadto sa kagawasan; mao lamang nga dili ninyo paggamiton
ang inyong kagawasan ingon nga pasangil sa pagtagbaw sa lawas, kodili nga pinaagi sa gugma
mag-inalagaray kamo ang usa sa unsa)

But, Brethren, service is not enough! I am going to say that again. Service is not enough. 

There is another altar that must not be neglected. It stands hidden behind the curtain. 

2. The altar of burnt incense.

  It is our daily offering of praise and prayer – our daily personal devotion
 They are Martha and Mary of our lives

The Two Altars was seen in the life of Jesus

Mat 9:35  And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and
preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the
people.
Mat 14:23  And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to
pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. 

Kinahanglan kini nga Altar kanunay ginadawat sa Dios pinaagig kalayo. Mao kini ang Espiritu
Santo nga kinahanglan madawat sa matag-usa.

I do have an outward duty to perform.

I do have a service to render for Jesus, who has saved my soul from destruction.
I want to please my Master by showing forth to others a daily kind of living that will cause my
neighbors to say, "There goes a Christian!"
I must be scrupulously honest in money matters.
I must-render to the Government what belongs to the Government and to my church what
belongs to the church.
I must honor every debt incurred and protect everyone whose credit I may use.
I must talk like a Christian.
I must curb any tendency to exaggeration.
I must not pad my figures and say there were two thousand present at my meeting when actually
there were only twelve hundred present.
I must not be a party to gossip or a "carrier" of slander.
My tongue must not only be clean from cursing and profanity but it must also be clean from
criticism.

Then I've something else to work at daily as a Christian.

I must keep my temper under control.
I must learn to control my impulses, my emotional life, just as I must control the car I drive.
There is no place in the Christian's life for sarcasm or pouting or making demands or jealousy or
argument or a "series of cold wars."
I must live without worry. I cannot indulge in self-pity and ever hope to attract the unsaved to
Christ.
My Savior bids me to be of good cheer— to give this poor, crippled world a smile. Yes, I must
come every day to the altar of burnt offering! I have something to do for Jesus.

It took me a long time to realize the significance of Matthew 6 :33, "But seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and His righteousness...." It took me a long, long time to see that the priority is
the spread of God's kingdom—that my first concern must be for the prosperity and advance of
the Church. My life must be wrapped up in such zeal. It's not to be a once-a-week, Sunday-
morning side-issue. It's a daily program. 

My life must be identified with the Church. What would I think of a Ford salesman who came
into my home and talked of nothing else than Chevrolets? I wouldn't think much of him, or for
that matter of a Chevrolet salesman who talked to me about nothing else than Fords. I expect that
man to push his company’s interests. I expect him to make every personal effort to expand that
"industrial kingdom" of which he -is a part.
Likewise with a true Christian! You and I have to eat, drink and sleep it, brother! It must be a
daily concern of mine how I can see more missionaries on foreign fields—more young people
offering their lives for the ministry—bigger Sunday school enrollments—more gospel literature
rolling off the Christian presses of the world. What does the world think of my profession for
Christ if this is not so? Therefore, I teach a Sunday school class and I visit the sick in hospitals
and sanitariums. Each day is filled to the brim with Christian activity. There's less and less room
for anything else. Yes sir, that altar is necessary! It is a part of my spiritual welfare. Don't let
anyone tell you differently.

But, Brother, we need the other altar just as badly. We can get so busy working for God that we
forget God. We can lose out right in the midst of a busy church program. We can lose out in the
midst of our schedule of classes and work assignments while enrolled in some school. We can
lose out as a pastor or an evangelist or church official. We can lose out by neglecting the altar
just inside the curtain—the altar of personal communion with God. We can become too busy.
God waits for that daily offering of incense. All that we do for Him can never substitute for our
failure to draw near to Him. 

Our Christian religion is a personal relationship with the Lord. Without that we have nothing
more in our church affiliation than another fraternity or service club. We are simply carrying out
an idea. We are working hard for self-improvement and for a higher standard of culture and
civilization. We deny the personality of God. We deny it by our neglect to talk with Him. We
deny it by our failure to praise and worship Him. 

God will not accept a substitute! Some people attempt to offer the incense of self-satisfaction—
the incense of "Lord, see what I have done for you!" It smacks of unholy pride. It is an
abomination before God. When you give your tithes—when you teach your Sunday school class
—when you take your place in the choir—when you make that hospital call—it is only your
"reasonable service," sir, nothing else.

Some people attempt to offer the incense of self-imposed martyrdom. They say, "I went to the
Wednesday night service when I didn't feel like it." They constantly remind the Lord how much
they have suffered for His sake.  

David said, "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my
prayer unto Thee, and will look up." He said again "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I
pray, and cry aloud; and He shall hear my voice." 

That's the altar that took Daniel through!

"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being opened in
his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before
his God, as he did aforetime." (Daniel 16:10)

That’s the altar that made the leper return to give thanks to Jesus and worship
Luke 17:12-19- There are ten lepers who were healed by Jesus, but on the way they notice that
they were healed. The leper who return make his altar at the feet of Jesus. 

It’s the kind of altar that the Pharisee and the Publican entered into. ( Luke 17:11-19)

You'll need more than your own good works and culture and the good society you keep to take
you through. You will need God's Presence. Watch out for the enemy of your soul! He will allow
you to fill your program so full that you will lose out on your quiet time. How about you,
preacher? Did you have enough prayer before you brought the sermons today? Was there
something lacking in your pulpit? Go back behind the curtain to the altar of incense! How about
you, Sunday school teacher? Did you feel empty and alone in class today? Then you have been
neglecting your private devotions. All the service we perform for God cannot take the place of
waiting upon God. Evangelist, don't end those meetings without an altar call and the after-
meeting!

It takes two altars to make a happy Christian.

The fire on these altars must never go out. Keep your service balanced with devotion and your
devotion balanced with service. There are outward duties and there are inward responsibilities.
Jesus could meet the needs of the multitudes by day because He communed with His Father
when the day was spent and the shadows had lengthened. These are your altars, Brethren. Kneel
before him now!