2. Abraham's Altars
Genesis 12:7-9 7 Then the Lord appeared to
Abram and said, "To your descendants I will
give this land." And there he built an altar to
the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 And he
moved from there to the mountain east of
Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on
the west and Ai on the east; there he built an
altar to the Lord and called on the name of the
Lord. 9 So Abram journeyed, going on still
toward the South.
3. Abraham's Altars
Genesis 13:3-4 3 And he went on his journey
from the South as far as Bethel, to the place
where his tent had been at the beginning,
between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the
altar which he had made there at first. And
there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
4. Abraham's Altars
Genesis 13:14-16 14 And the Lord said to
Abram, after Lot had separated from him: "Lift
your eyes now and look from the place where
you are--northward, southward, eastward, and
westward; 15 for all the land which you see I
give to you and your descendants forever. 16
And I will make your descendants as the dust
of the earth; so that if a man could number the
dust of the earth, then your descendants also
could be numbered.
5. Abraham's Altars
Genesis 13:17-18 17 Arise, walk in the land
through its length and its width, for I give it to
you." 18 Then Abram moved his tent, and went
and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre,
which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to
the Lord.
6. Abraham's Altars
Abraham is known for the tents he lived
in and his altars
Tents = pilgrim, vagabond, wanderer,
traveler
Altars = worship God
Our worship should identify us.
The altars of Abraham should teach us
about the nature and importance of
worship.
7. Our Worship is Internal
Worship must begin in the heart
There are externals – sing, pray, give
But they must be generated from the
inside – the heart
Notice these 3 passages from the Old
Testament
8. Our Worship is Internal
Hosea 8:13-14 13 For the sacrifices of My
offerings they sacrifice flesh and eat it,
But the Lord does not accept them. Now
He will remember their iniquity and
punish their sins. They shall return to
Egypt. 14 "For Israel has forgotten his
Maker, And has built temples; Judah also
has multiplied fortified cities; But I will
send fire upon his cities, And it shall
devour his palaces."
9. Our Worship is Internal
Amos 5:20-22 21 20 Is not the day of the
Lord darkness, and not light? Is it not
very dark, with no brightness in it? 21 "I
hate, I despise your feast days, And I do
not savor your sacred assemblies. 22
Though you offer Me burnt offerings and
your grain offerings, I will not accept
them, Nor will I regard your fattened
peace offerings.
10. Our Worship is Internal
Malachi 1:12-13 12 "But you profane it, In
that you say, 'The table of the Lord is
defiled; And its fruit, its food, is
contemptible.' 13 You also say, 'Oh, what
a weariness!' And you sneer at it," Says
the Lord of hosts. "And you bring the
stolen, the lame, and the sick; Thus you
bring an offering! Should I accept this
from your hand?" Says the Lord.
11. Our Worship is Intentional
We can not worship God accidently
Worship requires our intent
Worship can not be a secondary activity
We can not praise, honor God, worship Him
and fail to do so with our heart and mind in
proper focus.
12. Our Worship is Intentional
Genesis 22:4-6 4 Then on the third day
Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar
off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men,
"Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will
go yonder and worship, and we will come
back to you." 6 So Abraham took the wood of
the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son;
and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife,
and the two of them went together.
13. Our Worship is Intermittent
All of life is NOT worship.
Worship begins.
Worship ends.
Genesis 22:5 And Abraham said to his young
men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I
will go yonder and worship, and we will come
back to you."
14. Our Worship is Intermittent
Acts 8:27-28 27 So he arose and went. And
behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great
authority under Candace the queen of the
Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury,
and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28
was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he
was reading Isaiah the prophet.
15. Our Worship is Intermittent
Matthew 26:30 And when they had sung a
hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Acts 20:7 Now on the first day of the week,
when the disciples came together to break
bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day,
spoke to them and continued his message
until midnight.
16. Our Worship is Independent
Our worship does not depend on:
The whims, likes, preferences of man
What others think or say
17. Our Worship is Independent
Our worship does not depend on:
The whims, likes, preferences of man
What others think or say
What “everyone” is doing
How some seek to change worship into
entertainment
18. Our Worship is Independent
Our worship does not depend on:
The whims, likes, preferences of man
What others think or say
What “everyone” is doing
How some seek to change worship into
entertainment
The only one we seek to please in
our worship is God.