Topic: Repair the Altar
Text: 1 Kings 18:17-46
Key verse: Then Elijah called to the people, “Come over here!” They all crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down.
The Altar is the gateway of worship between man and God, it is the place where sacrifices are offered to the Lord and the place where God visits his people.
In the book of Exodus God gave the children of Israel a pattern in which the Altar should be built, but before this time people used their discretion to set up a place and dedicate it as an altar to the Lord.
Abraham built several altars to God, Isaac also did the same. Jacob learned to build altars too from his father and in a dream God gave him a picture of what happens at an altar. Please patiently read Genesis 28:10 -22 as we identify these activities.
Jacob slept at a location using a stone for a pillow and dreamt in the night. Angels ascended and descended over the place and a stairway leading to the heavens. Listen to Jacob\’s conclusions: Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” 17 But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”
The Altar is the gateway to heaven, once you dedicate a place to God, and you honor that place, God\’s presence continues to remain in that place. Conversely, if an altar is raised to evil spirits in a location, their presence remains there until the Altar is destroyed completely. That is why God asked Gideon to pull down the evil altar his father had built to Baal before he used him as a Judge in Israel.
God spoke to Jacob from the top of the altar and made promises to him that were generational. All these were tied to the physical location where Jacob slept. Now you know that there’s something about a location! When you choose a wrong location for residence, place of business, or ministry, you need to erect an altar to the Lord thereafter destroying all other negative or occult altars.
You must expect to receive a word from the Lord at the altar. Habakkuk 2: 1-3.
Jacob made vows to God at the altar that he fulfilled at a later date. Do you have an altar where you meet with God? What happens at your altar? Do you know the power of covenants and vows? As we seek the face of God, Looking up next month, set your expectations right.
The people of Israel in our text today had neglected the Altar of the Lord, it had broken down, and they had turned to idolatry. Elijah could not get heaven’s attention until the Altar was repaired and God confirmed his presence with fire. Is there fire on your altar today?
The acceptance of the sacrifice was not the end of the matter, Elijah cut off the agents of Baal and he separated himself to intercession before the rain came. A physical turnaround will manifest in your life after you get God\’s attention and you stand in the Courts of heaven to make a case.
Your comfort and pleasure is not the motive that will get God’s favorable response, it will be the outcome when God visits, but your goal for engaging in spiritual warfare must be for the glory of God and the advancement of his Kingdom
God will accept your sacrifice when it aligns with the requirement of acceptable worship. Romans 12:1-2. There is a price to pay to bring the fire down, are you ready, God is ready!
Roses&Thorns
