GOD'S ALTAR
What is the purpose of the altar?
The place dedicated for God's presence and for cutting covenant with God.
The primary focus of the altar is God Himself, not asking for things. God is glorified in praises, thanksgiving and Holy Spirit led decrees.
At the altar we call upon and receive the presence of God in lives, our homes, communities and nations.
The presence of God softens the heart of people near and far; It breaks the strong yokes, heals, and revives God’s righteousness in the land.
How do I set up an altar?
I set up an altar by declaration with my voice.
For Example: “Lord Jesus, I establish the altar of your presence in my home and over my life”.
5 Elements of the Altar:
God:
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
God is the owner of the altar.
God Himself gives the terms of the covenant;
Gives acceptance what is offered on the altar.
The fullness of God’s power, presence, & grace.
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God:
The creator and possessor of the heavens and the earth. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The altar is God's idea and we call upon His Name at the altar and declare His attributes.
God is absolute, other things are not. We shouldn't regard the changeable things as absolute and the absolute One as changeable. We often want God to adjust to our ways instead of us adjusting to His standard but this can't work. -
Genesis 14:19 - He blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth."
Judges 6:26 - Then build a proper kind of[c] altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second[d] bull as a burnt offering.”
John 14:14 - "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."
Philippians 2:9-11 - "Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." -
What are the terms of the covenant?
Love the Lord your God and receive the good news of the gospel.
What is the good news of the Gospel?
The birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The gospel calls us to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, submit to God, resist the devil, and stay faithful to God according to His word, in worship, praise, thanksgiving, and prayer.
The Word:
The word of God is Spirit and gives life.
It reveals the counsel of God Almighty & His righteousness, and how God has called His people to relate to Him.
God has exalted His Word even higher than His Name.
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Word:
The words spoken in agreement with God's truth are the building blocks of God's power, in other words, when the word of God is spoken at the altar, it creates, heals.
The word of God is Spirit and gives life. (John 6:63) It reveals the counsel of God Almighty, the standard of His righteousness, & how God has called His people to relate to Him.
According to scripture, God and His word are inseparable, God is His word. furthermore, the word of God is alive and has active power in itself to do the will of God. The word of God can't not do His will. -
John 1:1 - "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Psalm 138:2 - "I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name."
John 6:63 - "It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life."
Isaiah 55:11 - "so is my word that goes out of my mouth; it will not return to me void, but it will accomplish that which I please, and it will prosper in the thing I sent it to do."
Luke 6:45 - “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.”
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Out of the Heart
Walking in faith calls for us to be people that belief God's word to be true and leave no room for doubting.
The priest has to know the word of God and align themselves with it. God's word isn't just black on white, it is spirit, alive, and intelligent.
We were created through God's word, so it knows us even better than we know ourselves. The word of God knows everything about our makeup and needs. The word knows when we're rightly aligned or not in synch with the spirit of the word, revealing the underlying motives within us.
The decrees made at the altar are not just lip service with a hard heart. The heart has to be submitted or offered in worship to God for His use.
The Blood:
The shed blood of Jesus Christ atoned for all sins by the death and burial of Jesus Christ who was perfect and without sin.
The blood also represents the Lord’s victory over sin and death through resurrection and His everlasting Glory at the right hand of God the Father.
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Blood:
The shed blood of Jesus Christ atoned for all sins by the death and burial of Jesus Christ who was perfect and without sin.
The blood broke the power of the curse over mankind which was upon us because of the debt of sin.
Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the offer of everlasting life is given to whoever will confess Him as Lord and Savior. -
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The Fire:
The devouring fire of God that burns all wickedness and purifying and leaving only what is of God Himself.
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The fire of God is powerful and swift and the enemy has no way of stopping it. Unrighteousness cannot stand in the presence of the Holy God.
Everything that the enemy established in our lives for his evil purposes gets destroyed in the fire of God's presence. This is an active process that starts taking place when we allow ourselves to get into the presence of the Lord.
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Hebrews 12:29 - "for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Deuteronomy 4:24 - "For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God."
Zechariah 2:5 - "For I,’ says the Lord, ‘will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’ ”
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As we're being led further and deeper into the fellowship of God's fire and the corruptible is burning away, there can be an odd sense of lose because the old standard of living is dying off but there is also the sense of excitement because we can see that God is actually changing us and we're not stuck.
We don't have to fear God's fire because it is a good thing for us. It purifies us and removes corruption of the enemy that we can't remove ourselves. This corruption is the part of the enemy's system intended to separate us from God and to keep us cursed. The corruption that came by way of the curse is removed so that healing and restoration can start taking place.
The Priest:
The priest is established by God, under the high priesthood of Jesus Christ, to service the altar for God’s presence in praise, thanksgiving, worship, repentance, agreement & intercession.
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The priest chosen by God is submitted under the High Priesthood of Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 4:14)
The priest is the man or woman established by God to service and upkeep the altar, to formally perform the rites of covenant agreements, such as declarations, and to stand in the gap offering repentance & intercession for the people, community, or nation.(Hebrews 5:1)
The priest calls upon the presence of God to come in and operate in the midst of the people. (Genesis 12:8) The Priest offers repentance, praise & thanksgiving to invite the presence of God. The priest may, for example, offer repentance for the sins of the land or community. He petitions for forgiveness & deliverance through the covenant of the shed blood of Jesus, and asks for God to restore His presence and establish His righteousness in the land.
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Hebrews 4:14-16
14 Having then a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let’s hold tightly to our confession. 15 For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. 16 Let’s therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace for help in time of need.
Hebrews 5:1-4
For every high priest, being taken from among men, is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 The high priest can deal gently with those who are ignorant and going astray, because he himself is also surrounded with weakness. 3 Because of this, he must offer sacrifices for sins for the people, as well as for himself. 4 Nobody takes this honor on himself, but he is called by God, just like Aaron was.
Genesis 12:6-8
Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and 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.
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The Offering:
The offering must adhere to God's prescription of an acceptable or righteous offering. If the offering offends God's standard, He may not accept it.
God can accept the offering & manifest his presence as He pleases.
