The Rock Weekly – July 2, 2025

 

“Altaring” Our Living

“You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offerings. The sacrifices (pleasing) to God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart…”   (Psalm 51:16-17a)

I would like to stay in the theme Tracy and I started two Sundays ago of “Removing Idols and Establishing an Altar”.  There is so much depth to this that we are just beginning to unpack.  I love the follow-up messages given last week by three of our amazing international guest speakers – Alan Colson, Osborn Ogonyo, and Craig Hurter. 🙂  If you missed either of these Sundays, I would encourage you to watch them.    https://www.therock.org/sermons/

So in the removing of idols (idolatry) from our lives and establishing an altar for the Lord, what do we do next?  Typically, a sacrifice is then established on the altar.  So what does that ‘sacrifice’ look like today? Under the old covenant, as required by God’s law, animal burnt offerings and sin offerings would have been placed on the altar, but because of Christ’s sacrifice of His life for ours, we no longer are under the old covenant law.  Everything has changed…old covenant into a new covenant by the blood of Jesus!

“First He (Christ) said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings, you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them (although the law required them to be made). Then He (Christ) said, ‘Here I am, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL (O God).’ He (Christ) set aside the first to establish the second.”  (Hebrews 10:8-9)

In the same way that the Father was pleased with Jesus as His Son to live His life as a sacrifice of obedience to the Father, (John 14:31), so now we have God’s will written on our hearts through the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 3:3 & Heb 10:16) so that the empowering grace of God enables us to live by the Spirit and walk in obedience to the Father’s will.  How amazing that God not only writes His plan, purpose, and will on our heart through the Spirit, but then gives us what we need to thrive in doing these “good works”…His will.  This is our sacrifice that is pleasing to God!!

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Cor 9:8)

But in order to live lives, empowered by the Spirit in God’s will, we must be and remain broken from our own will and desires! Just as the starting verses of this email stated…’a broken spirit and a broken and contrite (repentant) heart’.  This is our required posture – a deep humility…which is a breaking of our pride and arrogance to think we know best how to live our lives.  And we know from James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5 that ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble’. 

Lord Jesus, Thank you for the grace you give us by the Spirit to live from a humble and contrite heart, a pure heart that desires to do Your will.  May we ‘altar’ our living so that we LIVE ON THE ALTAR as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to you!  May our lives manifest the goodness of God as we humbly submit to your ways with a broken and contrite heart and spirit being led by your Spirit every day – not conforming to the ways of this world and of this age, but being transformed into the ways of the Lord and of the age to come!  Amen!

I love you all and look forward to our Family Sunday and a healthy breakfast together!  😊 

Happy (early) 4th of July!!
Pastor Mike and your Rock Staff

 

 

 

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