READ: Exodus 27:1-8
“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:26
The altar of sacrifice was the first item to see in the compound of God’s residence. Without making a sacrifice on the altar, there was no way to proceed further and deeper into the presence of God.
There is no way to serve God without sacrifice. Everyone who came close to God paid the price and made a sacrifice. If you want to experience the presence of God, you must pay the price and make the sacrifice God requires of you. All through the scripture, the presence of God was manifested where people made sacrifices.
There are people who preach the same thing as others. But you never sense the presence of God in a certain way. The reason is simple – there is no sacrifice behind the preaching. There is no altar of sacrifice hidden from view. The man of God has not been to the altar of sacrifice. Yes, he is a preacher but there is no presence. Yes, he preached a sermon but there was no presence. I dare you to watch Christian television and listen to Christian preachers. You will notice that many good ideas and theories are expounded but not all have the presence of God in their ministries. We need the altar of sacrifice. We need to pay the price. We need to give up our own ambitions and lay them on the altar. We need to give up certain friendships and lay them on the altar. If need be, we need to sacrifice our fathers, mothers, brethren, sisters, wives, children and even our own lives also.
Please take note of the fact that all who ever served God and enjoyed His presence, had to serve Him with a sacrifice.