Home - T.G.B.T.G. Missions - Power Of God Center
Messages: You Must Die To Live - He Takes It Personal - Ark Was Lifted Up- Complete Message List
BACK
TO THE ALTAR OF GOD!
Lets go in our bibles to the
book of Gen.12:7 & 8 (And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and
said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there
builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. ver.8 And he
removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and
pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east:
and
there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.)
Now lets take a look at Gen.13:3 & 4 also. (And he went on
his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where
his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; ver.4
Unto
the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and
there Abram called on the name of the LORD.)
He Builded An Altar Unto The Lord
Now the very first thing I want to
deal with in this message is this; Who did the Word of God say he
built that altar to? UNTO THE LORD! The only True and Living God.
You see, it’s not enough just
to have altars in your life, but it’s WHO YOU HAVE BUILT
THOSE ALTARS TO THAT MATTERS! It’s who you have been sacrificing to
on those altars that matter. There were a lot of altars being
built and scarified upon during Abraham's time. All of the other
nations and people of the earth at that time had their god’s
unto whom they built altars and scarified unto. But God’s
word let’s us know that; ALL OTHER SO CALLED GOD’S ARE
NOTHING BUT DUMB IDOLS! 1Cor. 12:2 (Ye
know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols,
even as ye were led.)
The difference in the Altars that
Abraham built, compared to all the other altars that were being
built unto DUMB
IDOLS was this;
Abraham built his UNTO THE LORD!
Hab 2:18-20 (What profiteth the
graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten
image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth
therein, to make dumb idols? ver.19 Woe unto him that saith to
the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold,
it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at
all in the midst of it. ver.20 But the LORD is in his holy temple:
let all the earth keep silence before him.) Ps 115:4 (Their idols
are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. ver.5 They have
mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: ver.6
They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they
smell not: ver.7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have
they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
ver.8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one
that trusteth in them.)
But what of our God, whom we
worship and offer up OURSELVES A LIVING SACRIFICE unto? Dut.7:9&10 (Know therefore that
the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth
covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his
commandments to a thousand generations; ver.10 And repayeth them
that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be
slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.) Ps.100:3
(Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and
not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.)
In this Last Day also there is no
shortage of altars being built unto many DUMB IDOL god’s; dumb god’s of self, dumb
god’s of pleasures, dumb god’s of dead religion and
denominationalism, dumb god’s of entertainment and
entertainers, dumb god’s of materialism, and the list goes
on.
The Apostle Paul made it clear
by the Holy Ghost in 1 Cor.10:19-22 who it is that is really
behind these Dumb Idols, (What say I then? that the idol is any
thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any
thing? ver.20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles
sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would
not that ye should have fellowship with devils. ver.21 Ye cannot
drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be
partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. ver.22
Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?) So
to worship, serve, and sacrifice unto anything else but the True
and Living God, is to do it unto Devils. Shout Amen Somebody.
Dear friend of mine, when you SERVE YOUR
FLESH, and try to
serve and worship God after the Flesh; THE DEVIL
COLLECTS IT AS WORSHIP UNTO HIMSELF! And we know that as God’s people
we are not to Serve and Worship any other god, ONLY THE LORD
GOD ALMIGHTY!
Just as Abraham, we must build
our Altars unto the Lord. Regardless of how many others in this
Last Day who are building theirs unto god’s who are no god’s;
We are God’s people, and it is UNTO HIM ALONE that we will
build our Altars unto!
Neglecting The Altar
We find that it is at the Altar
where the REQUIRED
SACRIFICES were being
offered up unto the Lord, that Abraham would INQUIRE OF
THE LORD direction
for his life. God would meet with him there giving unto him the
direction he needed, also reminding him of the Promises and
Covenant He was going to make good unto him.
But we find that there was a time
even in Abraham’s life where he Neglected to Inquire of the
Lord, at The Altar of God. Look with me in your bibles at Gen. 12:10
(And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into
Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.)
Why did Abram go down into Egypt? Because there was a famine in
the land; NOT
BECAUSE HE INQUIRED OF THE LORD AT THE ALTAR OF GOD.
He went down to Egypt because of
the condition of circumstances around him. You see, God had
already told him, TO SOJOURN in the land of Promise. That is where God promised to Bless, Keep,
and Provide for him at. NOT SOJOURNING IN EGYPT! Take at look at the rest of that chapter,
and you’ll see what Abram put his wife Sara, and himself
through all because he made his decision to go down to Egypt
based on the Circumstances around him; and not because he had
sought God at His Holy Altar.
Not only that, but look who he’s
bringing out of Egypt with him; HAGAR! And from his Fleshly relationship with HAGAR, is produced an ISHMAEL! And Ishmael the son of the Bondwoman and
his seed, are always going to be trouble to Isaac the Son of
Promise, and his seed.
I believe that much of the Trouble
in the lives of many of God’s people, is a result of MAKING DECISIONS
ABOUT THINGS CONCERNING THEIR LIVES, WITHOUT SEEKING THE FACE OF
GOD AT HIS ALTAR!
That move your about ready to make,
DID
YOU TRULY SEEK GOD ABOUT IT? Or are you making it because you are being
influenced by others to make it, and it seems to be okay? That
job your about to take, DID YOU TRULY SEEK GOD ABOUT TAKING IT? Or are you taking it because it’s
going to pay more, and it’s supposed to have better benefits?
That man or woman your about to marry, DID YOU TRULY SEEK
GOD ABOUT MARRYING HIM OR HER? Or are you marrying them because he’s so
handsome and seems to be Mr. Right, and she’s so pretty, and
seems to be Miss Right? You better SEEK GOD AT HIS ALTAR, or you may find out to late, that he’s
MR.
WRONG and she’s MISS WRONG!
Lot Never Built Any Altars To God
There are some folk who never want
to do any praying themselves, they want others to BUILD ALL THE
ALTARS! You
never read where Lot ever built any Altars Unto The Lord. He was
content just to let Abraham build all the Altars. And his lack of
having an Altar "Built Unto The Lord" in his life, was
the result of him making a Very, Very, Very, Very Bad decision
for him and his family.
When Abraham let Lot chose first
what land he wanted; Lot because he had no Altars unto the Lord
built in his life, made his decision based on what it looked like
to him. All the plains of Sodom and Gomorrah appeared unto Lot to
be the right choice to make. They WERE green; NOTICE I SAID WERE GREEN! They were lush, and they had all the
appearance of being the right place to chose. WRONG! He should have BUILT AN ALTAR UNTO THE LORD, AND
INQUIRED OF THE LORD!
If Lot would have made it a point
in his life to Seek God about the choices he made, he would have
never chose the plains of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The choice he made, which he
thought was the right choice; PROVED TO BE THE WRONG ONE!
Look at what God has to say about choosing our
own way and our own things; Isa.1:29&30 (For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have
desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have
chosen. ver.30 For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and
as a garden that hath no water.)
Lot chose Sodom and Gomorrah, but
he didn’t know "BECAUSE HE DIDN’T PRAY" that Sodom and Gomorrah, and all the LUSH GREEN PLAINS are soon to face the judgment of God for
all their abominations and perverse sinful ways. God is going to
send FIRE
& BRIMSTONE upon
it, and destroy it with a great destruction. Lot should have
BUILT AND ALTAR UNTO THE LORD, and INQUIRED OF THE LORD!
There are those who would say;
Yeah, but God brought Lot out before He destroyed Sodom and
Gomorrah. Yes Lot and two of his daughters made it out; but what
about his WIFE, and the other daughters and their
husbands? And I know the bible doesn’t say ether way; but
maybe he had some GRANDCHILDREN also in Sodom. Dear friend of mine: NONE OF THEM MADE
IT OUT!
So we see that, the choices we
make are going to have an influence upon others lives also. There's
no doubt that Lot’s wife, his daughters, and his son in laws
are in Sodom BECAUSE
LOT CHOSE TO GO THERE!
Peter said in John 21:3 (Simon
Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also
go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship
immediately; and that night they caught nothing.) Someone may say;
I didn’t ask them to come with me. Nether did Peter; but I
know HE’S
GLAD FOR THE COMPANY!
The fact of the matter is this: THEIR GOING BACK TO FISHING,
BECAUSE PETER’S GOING BACK TO FISHING!
And for those reading who truly
may not understand this, and say; What's wrong with going fishing?
The answer is, there's nothing sinful about going fishing in of
itself. I like to take my children fishing as God permits at
times. But there's more to it then Peter and them just going
fishing. When Jesus called Peter and some of the other disciples,
he called them from their occupation of fishing, and said unto
them, FELLOW
ME and I will make
you to become fishers of Men. So for Peter and them to go back to
fishing, really meant they were no longer FOLLOWING JESUS.
Have you built an Altar unto the
Lord so that you can Inquire of the Lord CONCERNING THAT
CHOICE IN YOUR LIFE THAT YOU ARE ABOUT READY TO MAKE? If not, for your sake and the sake of your
family and friends YOU NEED TO.
Back To The Altar Of God
Lets look at Gen.13:3 & 4
once again, (And he went on his journeys from the south even to
Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning,
between Bethel and Hai; ver.4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first:
and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.)
The very First place Abraham
wants to get to when he comes out of Egypt, is BACK TO THE
PLACE OF THE ALTAR! The Altar which he had built unto the Lord at
the first.
Notice where he had built that
Altar unto the Lord. Between Bethel "THE HOUSE OF GOD" and Hai "PLACE OF RUIN." Praise God, an Altar built unto the
Lord in our lives WILL KEEP US IN "THE HOUSE OF GOD!" And I’m not just talking about a
church building ether. But the Lack of an Altar in our lives
built unto the Lord, WILL BRING US TO RUIN!
We find many times in the Word
of God where the Altar of God needed to be rebuilt. Neglect is
one of the greatest causes of ruin!
Elijah is found REPAIRING THE
ALTAR OF GOD which
had been Neglected, and was broken down. And once the Altar is
Repaired and the Sacrifice laid upon it, and all things are in
order like God wants them; God sends down the Fire, and PROVES THAT HE
IS GOD!
Zerubbabel, Jeshua and all the
people of God are found in Ezra 3:2 BUILDING THE ALTAR OF GOD! And take a look at what ver.6 says; (From
the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt
offerings unto the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the
Lord was not yet laid.) No use you trying to build a TEMPLE, until you’ve FIRST BUILT AN
ALTAR UNTO THE LORD! You see, in order to BUILD THE
TEMPLE RIGHT, you
must FIRST
HAVE BUILT AN ALTAR UNTO THE LORD!
Our nation has no shortage on
"CHURCH BUILDINGS", the SHORTAGE IS ON THOSE WHO FILL
THESE CHURCH BUILDINGS EARNESTLY SEEKING THE FACE OF GOD AT HIS
ALTAR! Let us
take a "GOOD LOOK" again at what God exhorts his people
to do in 2 Chr.7:14, if WE ARE TO HAVE HIS FAVOR AND BLESSINGS! "If my people, which are called by
my name, shall
humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; THEN will I hear from heaven,
and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land".
IN Y2K,
RETURN BACK TO THE ALTAR OF GOD WITHOUT DELAY!
Messages: You Must Die To Live - He Takes It Personal - Ark Was Lifted Up- Complete Message List
Home - T.G.B.T.G. Missions - Power Of God Center
