Psalm 118:27
Bind It To the Altar
All of this verse, as well as all of this chapter, has much to teach us, but I
want to direct your attention to just the last part of this verse.
…bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
We are all familiar with the Old Testament saints offering sacrifices, but I
wonder if we have ever consider some of the procedures for doing so.
1. We understand that in the Old Testament that live sacrifices were brought
to the large brass altar which set in the courtyard of the temple.
2. Have you ever considered what would be done with these living animals
until the priests could get around to sacrificing them?
3. Have you ever tried to take a dog or cat to the vet?
4. Even the most timid animal gets nervous when it is around other animals
with which it is not familiar.
5. Added to that the smell of blood from the many slain animals, and I
imagine that if these living sacrifices were not restrained, the priests
would have to have an army of Levites just to keep running down the
sacrifices and bringing them back.
6. And suppose a sacrifice got away? Here, some worshipper had saved and
worked hard to grow a small herd of sheep. He felt impressed to offer
one to the Lord or perhaps he had committed a sin and was required to
offer a sacrifice. In obedience, he brought it to the priest, but now
it is gone.
7. Hence, from this passage, I gather that the sacrifices were brought on
some kind of leash or cord.
8. The great brass altar had four horns, each on one of the corners of it.
9. According to this passage, the leash or cord would have been tied to one
of the four horns so the sacrifice could not get away.
10. My question to you, "Have you bound your sacrifice with cords to the
altar or have you let your sacrifice get away?"
Let’s consider some thoughts this morning.
I. Your sacrifice does not have to be an animal sacrifice.
A. Some believers today think that we offer no sacrifices, but they are
wrong.
1. We are the sacrifice.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is
your reasonable service.
2. Our actions can be a sacrifice - The writer of Hebrews says that
good behavior and generosity are good sacrifices we can offer.
Hebrews 13:16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such
sacrifices God is well pleased.
3. If the Bible lists these, there are likely other things that
we can sacrifice, give back, to our God.
B. So what can we sacrifice?
1. We can sacrifice anything God has given to us.
a. What is a sacrifice except us giving back to God what He has
given to us.
b. An Old Testament saint could offer a lamb because God first
gave him a lamb.
c. The goat, bull, the offering of the crops, all the sacrifices
of the Old Testament could be offered because God gave them.
d. In this age, I would submit that anything God has given to you
would make a suitable sacrifice to give to God.
2. But according to this verse, your sacrifice does not even have to
be a physical thing.
a. In the middle part of the verse, God is recognized as the
one who shows us light.
b. You have heard the expression, "I see the light"?
c. It means, "Now I understand."
d. The idea of that phrase in this verse is that God has
revealed something to you, illuminated you.
e. If, when God shows you something, you obey and act upon it,
that obedience is your sacrifice.
C. This verse is also saying that we need to bind anything we offer to
altar.
1. Why? Because if you don’t, it will get away from you!
2. The things God shows us--the spiritual truths, insights, commands,
renewed determinations, these must be bound to the horns of the
altar lest they get away from us.
3. Jesus \\#Matt 13:19\\ describes Satan has a thief who comes to
steal away the seeds of the God’s Word from the hearts of those
who hear it.
4. We must protect what God gives us. We must bind it to the horns
of the altar. We must make it secure and fast before the thief
can come and rustle our sacrifice.
D. Let’s review.
1. New Testament saints can and should offer sacrifices.
2. Our actions and the things that God shows us are our sacrifices.
3. But we must bind these sacrifices unless they get away.
II. What are some things that God has shown us, some things that need to be
bound to the altar?
A. Our freedom from sin is a sacrifice we should bind to the altar.
1. When we came to Christ, one of the first things God did was set
about the task of freeing us from our sin.
2. For some of us, there were many chains of sin wrapped around us.
3. In some cases, the deliverance was like a Houdini escape trick.
The chains of sin just instantaneously disappeared.
4. For others, it was more of a struggle.
a. I remember watching a young convert struggle with the addition
of cigarettes.
(1) That person labored heart, actually suffering through
uncontrollable tremors as their body cried out for
nicotine.
(2) But in time, they were freed.
b. I’ve watched others struggle against their sins.
(1) Some drugs, some profanity, some adultery.
(2) Case after case, God gave light to them and set them
free!
(3) It was never easy, but they did it as a gift a sacrifice,
to the Lord.
5. Unfortunately, some did not bind their sacrifice to the altar.
a. I have a written prayer list. As I pray for people, I keep
notes of significant events in their lives. The purpose is
to keep up with prayers I have prayed and answers God has
given, but it also chronicles some sad details as well.
b. I prayed again yesterday for a young man who made a
profession of faith in this church in 2004, followed in
believer’s baptism, but this year, moved into an adulterous
affair with another woman!
c. I prayed again for man whose father was a great man of God.
He, himself, chose to live for the devil until God almost
killed him. He got saved, surrendered to preach, and then
surrendered to the mission field. He, his wife, and his
children came to this church where, with tears, he declared
that if he ever turned away from God again, he hoped God
would kill him. He raised his support, moved to foreign
soil and was not there a year until he left his family, his
work, and his calling for another woman!
d. I prayed again for a man who was saved, baptized, and started
to serve Jesus. He had been filled with bitterness toward
God most of his life, but, after his conversion, he
testified of the goodness and the blessings of God. But, in
time, another tragedy struck, bitterness filled his soul
again, and he went back to his old bitter nature. Eventually,
he went back to drinking and using drugs. Finally, his wife
left and his children abandoned him.
B. Our zeal is a sacrifice we should bind to the altar.
1. There are many terms which mean almost the same thing: love,
devotion, adore, commitment.
2. What we are speaking of when we use the term ZEAL is your degree
of commitment.
3. When we are first saved, God shows us His goodness, His mercy,
His love for us.
4. Spontaneously, in return, we bring ourselves to the altar.
5. We present ourselves that "living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto
God, which is our reasonable service." \\# Romans 12:2\\
6. But some did not bind that sacrifice to the altar. It got away!
7. They no longer love Jesus as they once did. They no longer serve
Jesus as they once did.
8. Their degree of love and commitment has fallen off because they
did not bind their sacrifice to the altar.
9. God has not changed.
a. He is as good as He has ever been.
b. He has never reneged on a single promise.
c. He has never diminished your portion of heaven,
of the Holy Ghost,
of eternal life,
of fellowship with Him.
10. Have we allowed our love, our commitment, our adore, our devotion
to diminish for Him?
11. Maybe you still love Him, but you have allowed other loves to move
up in your rankings?
a. Maybe you do love Jesus but your love for money is creeping up
in the ranks so that you would really rather have money more
than Jesus!
b. Maybe you do love Jesus but your love for hunting, fishing,
shopping, watching television, playing your Xbox, hanging
with your friends, dating, having time to yourself, or some
other love has bumped Jesus out of first place.
c. My definition of devotion is the distance between your first
and second loves.
d. How is your devotion, your zeal, for the Lord?
C. Our conviction is a sacrifice we should bind to the altar.
1. What is a conviction? A conviction is a life change based on what
God has shown you in the Bible.
2. Many who call themselves Christians mock the notion of
convictions, but I believe there is no greater sign of maturity
and growth in Christ than having Biblical convictions.
3. Anyone can say they believe the Bible, but when you believe what
the Bible says enough to make changes in your life, then you are
backing up your claims with proof.
4. When you read and determine that you…
a. WILL RISE EARLY EVERY DAY TO PRAY then you are demonstrating
that you believe what the Bible says.
Psalm 57:8…I myself will awake early.
9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the
nations.
b. WILL GIVE A TITHE TO THE LORD.
Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse….
c. WILL DRESS MODESTLY.
1 Timothy 2:9 In like manner also, that women adoren themselves in modest
apparel…
d. WILL ATTEND THE CHURCH FAITHFULLY.
Psalms 122:1 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the
LORD.
e. WILL CLEAN UP YOUR LANGUAGE.
Psalms 141:3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
f. WILL DRESS LIKE A MAN IF YOU ARE ONE AND DRESS LIKE A WOMAN
IF YOU ARE ONE.
Deuteronomy 22:5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man,
neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment:
g. WILL PURGE YOUR LIFE OF SINFUL ENTICEMENTS.
Romans 13:14 …make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.
h. WILL NOT LOOK AT THINGS YOU SHOULD NOT BE LOOKING AT.
Job 31:1 I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a
maid?
i. WILL NOT GIVE YOURSELF TO ANGER OR HURTFUL EMOTIONS.
Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil
speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
j. WILL DEDICATE YOUR ENTIRE LIFE TO JESUS’ SERVICE.
1Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in
our body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
5. Sadly, some have never grown in Christ enough to commit to ANY
convictions.
a. You have never brought a single sacrifice of your behavior to
your God.
b. Friend, you either don’t read the Bible or you don’t believe
it.
c. You are like the man James described.
James 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto
a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what
manner of man he was.
6. But just as sadly, some determined to live a right life for God,
to be obedient to the Bible,
to make some convictions,
and then just abandoned them!
7. They did not bind your sacrifice to the altar and it got away.
8. Hey, the Bible has not changed!
9. God is still worthy.
10. If it was ever right, it is still right.
If it was ever wrong, it is still wrong.
Where are you? Have you ever made some tangible sacrifice to God? Did you make
some and then let them get away? Today, let's bind our sacrifices to the altar.
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