Before the altar (Part 26)

Does God answer all the prayers and requests that I bring to Him at the altar? Most assuredly, as long as I do so in accordance with His will. ( I John 5:14,15) But I must pray knowing that because I come to Him in His will that I will receive His blessings, and I must be willing to accept that “No” is as much a blessing as is “Yes” when I pray. God, and only God knows, what is best for me. He hears my cries, especially when I am afflicted. (Job 34:28). The Psalmist in Psalms 3:4, Psalms 4:1 and Psalms 6:8,9 tells me that God hears me and listens to me in all things. That means whatever I bring to His altar, no matter if it sounds trivial, God hears me. God hears me in pain and suffering and when there would be those that would hurt me. (Psalms 21:2-4, Psalms 22:4,5,24, Psalms 30:2,3). God hears all my supplications, even if I am not directly talking to Him. He knows what is on my heart, whether I am joyful or whether I am in sorrow. And what a blessed LORD for being so receptive and such a listening God! (Psalms 28:6) It is what makes God real and wonderful and tangible to me.

Before the altar part 25

What of my worship? How do I come before the LORD? Do I come hurriedly, as though God and the worship of Him are an afterthought? Am I peaceful about my life or anxious to get the day going? Do I cherish the moments God and I are together? Do I come with pure intentions? And how do I purify myself before coming to Him? Ancient Jews ceremoniously washed prior to entering the gates to worship Him. The whole purpose of the sacrifice was to purify oneself before God, but it was the attitude that was most important to God, not the sacrifice itself. (See Isaiah1) If I bring God myself in an attitude that is anything but humble it is dross, much as the Jews were to bring God the purest sacrifice with humility. (2 Chronicles 7:13-15) How do I do this? By remembering that God has no ulterior motives for me and will give me what I need, therefore I should have no ulterior motives either and I must die to my selfishness. After all, in Christ, the old man is dead. I must continually be aware that I am a new creation and that the old man is gone. (2 Cor 5:17) My worship should be a fragrance, as in Romans 12:1-2.  The solemnity of worship that I am to maintain is exemplified in I Chronicles 25:1-8. God is treated with solemnity and respect. The way others were treated indicated how God was treated. If I treat someone who I can see with respect, it will make it easier for me to treat someone who I cannot see with respect. I John 5:20 tells me the converse of that is also true, if I treat someone that I can see badly, then I will treat God, who I cannot see, badly. If I don’t treat those who are worshiping with me with respect and solemnity and care, how can I treat God with respect? Wasn’t that the purpose of sending Christ, to show the world how to live in peace and love? In 2 Chronicles 20:19-28, respect is even involved with singing and instrumentation. That is respect and solemnity must be carried out in every aspect of our worship. And Nehemiah 12:24-31 speaks of respect of God as being an attitude of obedience and giving Him the best we can, and we need never be ashamed or afraid of His gospel and the spread of it as said in Romans 1:16-17.

Being at the altar part 23

Does God answer all the prayers and requests that I bring to Him at the altar? Most assuredly, as long as I do so in accordance with His will. ( I John 5:14,15) But I must pray knowing that because I come to Him in His will that I will receive His blessings, and I must be willing to accept that “No” is as much a blessing as is “Yes” when I pray. God, and only God knows, what is best for me. He hears my cries, especially when I am afflicted. (Job 34:28). The Psalmist in Psalms 3:4, Psalms 4:1 and Psalms 6:8,9 tells me that God hears me and listens to me in all things. That means whatever I bring to His altar, no matter if it sounds trivial, God hears me. God hears me in pain and suffering and when there would be those that would hurt me. (Psalms 21:2-4, Psalms 22:4,5,24, Psalms 30:2,3). God hears all my supplications, even if I am not directly talking to Him. He knows what is on my heart, whether I am joyful or whether I am in sorrow. And what a blessed LORD for being so receptive and such a listening God! (Psalms 28:6) It is what makes God real and wonderful and tangible to me.

Before the altar part 23

What of my worship? How do I come before the LORD? Do I come hurriedly, as though God and the worship of Him are an afterthought? Am I peaceful about my life or anxious to get the day going? Do I cherish the moments God and I are together? Do I come with pure intentions? And how do I purify myself before coming to Him? Ancient Jews ceremoniously washed prior to entering the gates to worship Him. The whole purpose of the sacrifice was to purify oneself before God, but it was the attitude that was most important to God, not the sacrifice itself. (Is 1:11-17) If I bring God myself in an attitude that is anything but humble it is dross, much as the Jews were to bring God the purest sacrifice with humility. (2 Chronicles 7:13-15) How do I do this? By remembering that God has no ulterior motives for me and will give me what I need, therefore I should have no ulterior motives either and I must die to my selfishness. After all, in Christ, the old man is dead. I must continually be aware that I am a new creation and that the old man is gone. (2 Cor 5:17) My worship should be a fragrance, as in Romans 12:1-2.  The solemnity of worship that I am to maintain is exemplified in I Chronicles 25:1-8. God is treated with solemnity and respect. The way others were treated indicated how God was treated. If I treat someone who I can see with respect, it will make it easier for me to treat someone who I cannot see with respect. I John 5:20 tells me the converse of that is also true, if I treat someone that I can see badly, then I will treat God, who I cannot see, badly. If I don’t treat those who are worshiping with me with respect and solemnity and care, how can I treat God with respect? Wasn’t that the purpose of sending Christ, to show the world how to live in peace and love? In 2 Chronicles 20:19-28, respect is even involved with singing and instrumentation. That is respect and solemnity must be carried out in every aspect of our worship. And Nehemiah 12:24-31 speaks of respect of God as being an attitude of obedience and giving Him the best we can, and we need never be ashamed or afraid of His gospel and the spread of it as said in Romans 1:16-17.

Before the altar part 22

 

There are 6 standards that I bring to the altar in my worship of God as part of His bride in my commitment to be His and wear His clothes. These are given in Deuteronomy 19:6-21: 1) To live according to His commands; 2) To love God; 3) To walk as the Lord did (this will be paraphrased in the New Testament “to walk as Jesus did”; 4) Not to lie; 5) Not to hate; 6) To be peaceful, that is, as Hebrews 4 explains, to enter into His Sabbath Rest.