(1Kings 18:30 ) 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, “Israel shall be your name”;
32 with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed.
33 Next he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.”
34 Then he said, “Do it a second time”; and they did it a second time. Again he said, “Do it a third time”; and they did it a third time,
35 so that the water ran all around the altar, and filled the trench also with water.
36 At the time of the offering of the oblation, the prophet Elijah came near and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your bidding.
37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench.
(Pray)
If we read the story in the book of Kings, we will learn a battle is happening at the altar…(someone say a battle)
WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT THE BIBLE TEACHES THERE IS A SPIRITUAL BATTLE HAPPENING THAT WE CAN NOT SEE WITH THE NAKED EYE…
-IT’S A BATTLE OF SPIRITS, ANGELS AND PRINCIPALITIES…(EPHESIANS 6:12)
The battle that was happening in this story was…
-FALSE PROPHETS CALLING UPON A FALSE GOD… YET NOTHING HAPPENED AND THE PROPHET ELIJAH CALLLING UPON GOD… (my friend if nothing is happening in our life’s @ <our altar > WE may not HAVE THE ALTAR TO THE right God..)
Our altar must be built to JESUS, not our jobs, not our brand, not ties to the world…
BUT ELIJAH REBUILDS THE ALTAR…CALLS UPON GOD ALMIGHT…YAHWEH…
AND FIRE FALLS!!! GOD SHOWS UP!!!
AT A PROPER ALTAR, WITH PROPER WORSHIP!!!
THE SCRIPTURE READS THAT THE ALTAR HAD TO BE BUILT PROPERLY…
Not only do we build altars but my prayer is my life is an altar unto God…
GOD MAKE ME AN ALTAR, LET MY LIFE BURN, LET MY LIFE SHINE, LET MY LIFE BRING YOU GLORY, GOD SHOW UP, WHEN I CALL IN JESUS NAME!!! LET ME BE YOUR REPRESENTATION AND MOUTH PIECE TO THE WORLD…
The bible states that the altar had a trench built around it for seed….
LISTEN CHURCH…BEFORE WE COULD GO UP…WE MUST GO DOWN… WE MUST DIG!!! WE MUST HAVE SEED IN THE GROUND….
WHEN I SAY GO DOWN IT’S A POSTURE OF KNEELING, A POSTURE OF MY FACE ON THE FLOOR, A MENTALITY OF DIGGING…
For many years I was the trench digger at work… THAT WAS MY TITLE LABORER/DIGGER…
BEFORE, I WAS IN THE MACHINE. BEFORE I WAS DRIVING THE BIG TRACTORS, BEFORE I WAS WALKING AROUND WITH A NOTE BOOK..
BEFORE I WAS SHOWING UP TO JOB SITES…BIDDING ON JOBS…
I WAS IN THE TRENCH WITH A SHOVEL….
MANY TIMES, WE WANT THE PLATFORM, MANY TIMES WE WANT ELEVATION, MANY TIMES WE WANT TO BE THE CEO BUT COULD WE LABOR AND BUILD A TRENCH FOR JESUS….
We have big dreams for Whittier, I believe we will see more families reached, more families restored, prodigals come home, bodies healed, hundred and even thousands of people come to salvation through our preaching, mens & womens homes, and outreach…
But the big dreams do not come without work….
James 2:26 “..so faith without works is also dead”.
Intro: It’s important that the church today does not get away from what makes the church a church.
We are not a club, we are not a group of cliques.
But we are the temple of the Holy God!!! A TABERNACLE FOR GOD, All churches must have 3 elements that make the church a church, an altar, worship, and sacrifices.
The danger is we become another entertainment center…A HOUSE OF MEN,
A HOUSE OF MEN HAS A STAGE, A HOUSE OF GOD HAS AN ALTAR…
A STAGE IS TO PERFROM (ACTOR)
AN ALTAR IS FOR SACRIFICES (PRIESTS)
How do we get out of an acting mechanics , we do this through proper training…
SOME OF US ARE GOOD ACTORS, MYSELF INCLUDED. THERE’S A FAITHFUL SAYING THAT MANY PEOPLE USE FAKE IT TO YOU MAKE IT…
AND I’LL USE MYSELF AS AN EXAMPLE…I COULD ACT REAL GOOD…
WALK INTO A ROOM OF POLITICIANS, RICH, FAMOUS, PRESTIGIOUS…
SHAKE HANDS, TELL THEM ABOUT MY BOOK ON AMAZON, TELL THEM MY TESTIMONY, TELL THEM OF THE BUSINESSES I’M BUILDING AND HAVE BUILT, TELL THEM ABOUT ALL THE PLACES I’VE BEEN PREACHING, ….AND THEY’LL LOVE ME….
But do you know who I can’t act in front of…? GOD!!! IT DOESN’T MATTER TO GOD IF MY CLOTHES ARE DESIGNER, IT DOESN’T MATTER TO GOD WHAT TYPE OF CAR I DRIVE, IT DOESN’T MATTER TO GOD HOW I LOOK ON THE OUTSIDE…!!!
HE LOOKS AT THE HEART!!!
1 Samuel 16:7 “..For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
God doesn’t want actors, He wants priests….
-Unlike the Catholic religion/tradition. THE APOSTLE TAUGHT THAT WE ARE PRIESTS OF OUR OWN HOME…
YES THE LEADER OF THE CHURCH HAS A RESPONSIBILITY AND A STANDARD TO HOLD. THAT WE SHOULD HONOR AND RESPECT BUT YOU TOO!!! ARE A PRIEST!!!
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
NOT ONLY ARE WE FUNCTIONING AS PRIESTS, I BELIEVE WE ARE COMMANDED TO FUNCTION AS PROPHETS…
ACTS 2:17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy…
We share God’s word… We hear from heaven… we study this word
I want us to learn some theology today… God is omnipresent meaning He is everywhere at once…
But one theologian stated, although God is everywhere it is also true He is more other places THAN OTHERS
GOD IS AT THE ALTAR…
It’s important that we honor the house of God.
HAGGAI 1:4 “Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins?
We honor the house of God AND we also honor the altar… THE ALTAR IS NOT ONLY FOR THE SINNER GIVING THEIR LIVE BACK TO GOD BUT IT’S THE PLACE WHERE ALL THE SAINTS MEET WITH GOD
MIZBEAH IN THE HEBREW…
ALTAR: A PLACE OF SACRIFICE
OR A SIMPLE DEFINITION A PLACE WHERE GOD SHOWS UP
THE PLACE TO MEET GOD!!!
I NEED THE ALTAR… IT’S WHERE I POUR MY HEART OUT TO MY FATHER
THE ONE WHO WILL NEVER LEAVE ME NOR FORSAKE ME…
IT’S WHERE I AM REFUELED…WHERE GOD FIRE FALLS UPON MY LIFE AND GIVES ME STRENGTH FOR THE WEEK…
AS MONTHS PASS, AS YEARS PASS, SOMETIMES OUR FIRE FOR GOD WILL TEND TO GET DIM OR LOW, IT’S AT THE ALTAR WHERE I AM RECHARGED…BETTER THAN A RED BULL, BETTER THAN SHOTS OF EXPRESSO, BETTER THAN ANY UPPER, GOD REJUVINATES MY SOUL FOR ANOTHER DAY
SOMEONE CATCH THIS….
BECAUSE WE COULD WALK AROUND DEFEATED… OUR MARRIAGE GETTING ATTACKED… OUR CHILDREN GETTING ATTACKED… I FEEL LIKE QUITTING….
DO YOU KNOW WHY??? BECAUSE YOU HAVEN’T BEEN TO THE ALTAR… BECAUSE YOU WON’T LET HIM RECHARGE YOU!!! LET GOD DO IT… NOT YOUR RELIGIOUS MECHANICS… NOT YOUR WILL POWER, GODS POWER, GODS POWER, GODS POWER
A TRUE CHURCH HAS 1 ALTARS
A TRUE CHURCH HAS 2 WORSHIP
The devil likes churches where people gather but we do not worship. That we gather but we do not sacrifice, we gather but we do not come to the altar…
WORSHIP
HWH IN THE HEBREW: TO LAY DOWN, TO STOOP DOWNN
The altars have been broken down in the modern churche IF WE WANT TO GROW THE CHURCH WE PUT LED WALLS, WE HIRE HANDSOME PASTORS COME ON NOW…
BUT GOD SAYS NO BUILD AN ALTAR GIVE ME WORSHIP & I WILL DRAW ALL MEN UNTO ME!!!…
JOHN 12:32 (And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”)
I REMEMBER MANY YEARS AGO… A CHURCH MEMBER CAME TO ME AND SAID I SHOW UP AFTER THE WORSHIP MUSIC, THE WORSHIP LEADER THERE’S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT HIM THAT I CAN NOT STAND… I ALWAYS GIVE HIM SONG SUGGESTIONS AND HE DOESN’T DO THEM…..
Yes we have our friends and our family here at the church but our primary reason to come to church is to give God his rightful worship can someone say amen…
Lastly 3 A true church has sacrifice…
A true church has altars
A true church has worship
A true church has sacrifice
The bible dictionary
HEBREW WORD MISBACC…. (THE SACRIFICING PLACE)
Something of value, often an animal, food, or other items, offered up to God as an act of worship, devotion
