Table of Contents
After man lost touch with heaven the only way to reconnect and transact with heaven was through an Altar.
According Exodus 20:24 “Build for me an altar made of earth, and offer your sacrifices to me—your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats, and your cattle. Build my altar wherever I cause my name to be remembered, and I will come to you and bless you. God required his people to build an ALTAR for HIM where he would bless them from. Remember God is holy and can only be worshipped in a holy altar.1 peter 1.14-16
Altar Is A Holy Place
An Altar is a holy place where you meet a holy God to transact with him be careful. So, before you think of an outward altar what about your body which is also an altar. How clean is it and holy for God to come in and be worshipped in it? According to 1 Corinthians 6:19“Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God”
What things need to be taken away from that altar which prevent God from coming in. I stand at the door and knock but you are occupied with…so you can’t hear me. Revelation 3:20.”Listen! I stand at the door and knock; if any hear my voice and open the door, I will come into their house and eat with them, and they will eat with me”.
Remember according to Isaiah 59:1-2.”Listen! The LORD’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore”. God’s ears are not deaf but its only your sins…………
So, start by cleaning your altar for a visitation by God. Even the Israelites did prepare themselves for 3 days before God showed up. They purified themselves for worship even the priest and washed their clothes, were not to have sex, Mark a boundary around the mountain that the people must not cross. Fail to obey this would lead to punishment to even the priest. Exodus 19:5,9-12,20,21,22.
We see in Exodus 20:18-19 Even then they weren’t ready so they told God not to come again but to start away and talk to Moses only.
God is willing to visit us but are we willing? According Exodus 20:20-21
5 Now, if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own people. The whole earth is mine, but you will be my chosen people 9The LORD said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will believe you from now on.” Moses told the LORD what the people had answered, 10and the LORD said to him, “Go to the people and tell them to spend today and tomorrow purifying themselves for worship. They must wash their clothes 11and be ready the day after tomorrow. On that day I will come down on Mount Sinai, where all the people can see me.
12 Mark a boundary around the mountain that the people must not cross, and tell them not to go up the mountain or even get near it. If any of you set foot on it, you are to be put to death; 13you must either be stoned or shot with arrows, without anyone touching you. 14Then Moses came down the mountain and told the people to get ready for worship. So they washed their clothes, 15and Moses told them, “Be ready by the day after tomorrow and don’t have sexual intercourse in the meantime.
”20The LORD came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. Moses went up 21and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people not to cross the boundary to come and look at me; if they do, many of them will die. 22Even the priests who come near me must purify themselves, or I will punish them.”to the Israelites they were not?
Remember according 2 Timothy 3:1-9,13,14
1You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. 3They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.
4They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. 5They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that. They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence ofa vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires.
7(Such women are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth.) 8These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith. 9But they won’t get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres.
13But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived. 14But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. most of us have a form of Godliness yet we denying his power by our action and our speech.
For people will love only themselves and their money. They will consider nothing sacred. have no self-control. love pleasure rather than God. These teachers oppose the truth. They have a counterfeit faith. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived. But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you.
So, don’t invite God when you know very well that you are not ready Just like the 5 foolish virgins who had no oil You can’t be living in sin and just expect to invite God and their won’t be consequences for mocking Him? Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows
According to 1 Samuel 5:1-12 Ask the philistines when they took the ark of the covenant while they were unclean? Sickness befell them
Also ask the philistines when they mixed the ark of the covenant with Dagon? Dagon fell face down before ark, So what have you mixed your altar with? A wrong relationship outside marriage? Idols? What is it that is preventing God from entering and being worshipped?
You can’t also introduce a strange fire in the altar and get away will God will destroy you. so what have you brought to the altar which is ungodly e.g. According to Leviticus 10:1-2 Nadab and Abihu brought strange fire to God’s altar and died. Remember God’s people perish for lack of knowledge Hosea 4:6. So don’t let your ignorance attract God’s wrath and be destroyed by his glory.
During OT priest who went to the Holy of Holies with sin died (Hebrews 9:7). So, they took blood to atone for their sins and the Israelites. According to Exodus 28:35 they wore bells to notify others outside if the died due to sin. So, do you think God has changed malachi 3.6 he is the same God who couldn’t be worshipped in an unholy way and leave to tell.
Even if you don’t die but you misbehave or talked in a certain ungodly way or doubted what you were told in the altar God could still punish you just like zechariah who doubted and was made dumb for a time. Luke 1:18-25
According to Genesis 3:8 God made the first altar at the Garden of Eden after Adam had sinned and lost God’s glory and that is where he used to meet Adam who was holy.
When Adam sinned, God introduce a sacrifice to cover their sins according to Genesis 3:21 so that God can’t see their sin but see the sacrifice. Yes, they repented but still the appropriate sacrifice was necessary.
Adam learned from God that you can’t give an unworthy sacrifice to a worthy God. Adam had clothed himself with leaves something which did not cost him anything.
The sacrifice you bring to God must cost you something to provoke heaven:
Abram offered his son (Genesis 22:2);Solomon offered 2 Chronicles 7:5 and Cornelius knew this Acts 10:31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Abel knew this so he brought an appropriate sacrifice to the altar and God accepted it but Cain brought the unworthy sacrifice to the altar and God rejected it. Yes, you might build an altar but for God to show up in that altar and bless you:
1.You must offer yourself as a living sacrifice in that altar I.e. Does you actions testify of God Romans 12:1
2 Check the value of what you offer e.g., David said I will not offer god what doesn’t cost me anything.2 Samuel 24:24
Remember according to 1 Kings 13:1-4 Many altars are dead and heaven marked them for their destruction and no one can stop it. e.g., new and old prophet time and altar was destroyed.
Don’t work under men’s pressure to build an altar when you and heaven are not ready just like king Saul built an altar though not a priest And God took away his kingship1 Samuel 13:8-14 So be patient with God and God will lift you.
Aaron also was pressured to build an altar due to the people’s lacked patience and God destroyed it and the people so always wait upon the lord Exodus 32:1-5
An altar build with the support of God is backed by heaven and it will always speak.
Today prayers most be offered continually in an altar.
Leviticus 6:12-13
The fire on the altar must be kept burning and never allowed to go out. Every morning the priest shall put firewood on it, arrange the burnt offering on it, and burn the fat of the fellowship offering. The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.
Pastor Nathaniel
