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MESSAGE OF THE MONTH

 Topic: Restore the Altar

Subject: Chosen      

 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.  2 Chronicles 7:14 

Let us examine very closely this passage of scripture, dissect it if you will, search the height, depth and width of it, to get a greater spiritual understanding of what is being said here to and for us.  

 First, we must review the entire chapter to see what it was that excited the Lord God into making this statement.  The bible says, now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house.  Most importantly, we understand that God made this statement to Solomon, after the feast of the dedication of the altar and the house, Solomon had built unto the God, [2 Chronicles 7:1].   

Now, God appeared to Solomon in the night, and gave him a peculiar answer to his prayer.  We had the substance of it before in [1 Kings 9:2-9].  God promised to own this house for a house of sacrifice to Israel and a house of prayer for all people, He said, “My name shall be there for ever, that is, “There will I make myself known, and there will I be called upon.”.  He promised to answer the prayers of his people that should at any time be made in that place.  But, God expects that his people who are called by his name, if they have dishonored his name by their sins (evil ways, wrong doings, or wickedness), the scripture says, [Isaiah 5:20] Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.  That His people should honor His name by accepting the punishment of their iniquity, that national repentance, prayer, and reformation, are required.   

They must humble themselves under his hand, must pray for the removal of the judgment, must seek the face and favor of God; and yet all this will not do unless they turn from their wicked ways, and return to the God.  National mercy is then promised, that God will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, which brought the judgment upon them, and then heal their land. 

***Pardoning mercy makes ways for healing mercy, Ps. 103:3; Mt. 9:2 

Secondly, we must understand that [2 Chronicles 7:14] was and is a divine covenant (promise) that God had made with Solomon and His people, not only for them of that present day, but for all who are called by His name.  he Bible says, but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, [John 1:12].    

Dearly beloved, the Lord wants us to know today, that the counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations, [Psalms 33:11]. But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken.  What God has promised can never be annulled (cancelled out), if He spoke it, He will do it, if He said it, He will bring it to pass, [Psalms 33:11NLT].   

Listen, The Lord told Solomon, at times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or I might command locusts to devour your crops, or I might send plagues among you.   

When we look at America and even the world today, we see chaos, uncertainty, and mass fear.  There is a dark storm coming upon the world.  The last Pastor  David Wilkerson says this, when the full fury of the storm breaks, and uncertainty falls over humankind like a cloud, multitudes of Christians won’t be able to handle it.  Overcome with fear, they will lose their song of victory.  Who are these believers who won’t be prepared to endure the storm?  They are those who haven’t cultivated a life of prayer with the Lord and are not grounded in his Word.  

The Bible says, and Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves, [Matthew 21:12-13].   

In America today, because of the sins of the people, God’s national judgments is being pour out as this dark cloud passes over us.  America is downright scared, and this fear has even creep into the church.  America is trampling underfoot all that is moral, holy and godly.  Broken families, resulting in lives being shattered by devoice, and they tell me that the church folks are leading the way.  America is drowning in “unsolvable” societal problems:  the drug plague, homelessness, chaos in school, rampant crime, over-crowed jails, health-care crisis, AIDS epidemic, murders are spilling blood on our streets and in our schools.  Today, 30 million babies have been murdered by abortionists.  Do you think God is going to wink at that?  No, he is a just God. And he will make America weep because of all the blood spilled.    

The scripture says, for all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean, [Isaiah 28:8].  All of creation is revolting against man, vomiting up, Blazers, droughts, earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, and tornados.  

What is the Answer?   

The bible says, the people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, [Matthew 4:16-17].   

He said, if my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling themselves, praying, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives, I’ll be there ready for you: I’ll listen from heaven, forgive their sins, and restore their land to health.  Hallelujah!  

Saints of God, we must never grudge the time that we spend in the worship of God and communion with him, nor think it long, or grow weary of it.  Our desire should be to have that upper room experience, whether in our homes, or church, we should pray with expectations each time we assemble ourselves together in prayer.  Jesus said, and all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive, [Matthew 21:22].  Amen!

In closing: 

The Bible says, for ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty, [1 Corinthians 1:26-29].  That no flesh should glory in his presence.  He that covereth his sins shall not prosper:  but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy, [Proverbs 28:13].  

Finally, the Bible says, and he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.  For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard, [Acts 22:14 – 15],

 Restore the Altar!

 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SPRING 2014

Topic:         RESTORE THE ALTAR

Subject:     Bow down in the presence of our Eternal
                     King, Jesus our Lord!

 Restore means- to return something to its proper owner or place.               

Greetings,

I salute you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the name above every name.  After receiving so many positive responses and recommendation for the series “Restore the Altar”, I believe the Lord has laid it on my heart to run the series again.  For those of you who will be reading it for the very first time,  I trust and pray that it will minister to you also.  To all who have read it before, I believe the Lord has an additional blessing in store for you.   

RESTORE THE ALTAR

A short time ago, while I was praying and meditating on the goodness of the Lord, He spoke to me and said, “Restore the Altar.” My people have become proud and arrogant in their attitude, and reverence (respect and appreciation) of me. Immediately, I began to search the scriptures for information on restoring the altar, and reverencing almighty God. 

TheWord of God lets us know that from the beginning, man was created to be a companion of God. But, the fall of man (Adam) separated him from God.  Sin entered the hearts of man, and death by sin, so death (spiritual separation from God), passed on to all mankind. 

When men began to multiply on the face of the earth, the Scripture said, now the LORD observed the extent of the people’s wickedness, and he saw that all their thoughts were consistently and totally evil. And the LORD said, “I will completely wipe out this human race that I have created”. Yes, and I will destroy all the animals and birds, too.

I am sorry I ever made them, [Genesis 6:5, 7NLT].   But Noah found favor with the LORD.  God told Noah that the earth was filled of violence through the people; he told him he was going to destroy all flesh, from the earth by a flood.  But, God made an agreement (promise) with Noah,
and instructed Him to build an Ark.  When the flood came, Noah, his family and every creature,  which was in the Ark, was saved.

After the earth dried, the scripture says that Noah built an “altar”, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And it touch the heart of God, and the LORD was pleased with the sacrifice and said to himself, and to Noah, “I am giving you a sign a evidence of my eternal promise with you and all living creatures. 

I have placed my rainbow in the clouds as a sign, to solemnly promise never to send another flood to kill all living creatures and destroy the earth.”

Several thousand years later, the earth once again is filled with violence, man’s heart has become very wicked, and he has no reverence for God, nor his Son, Jesus the Christ.  Just turning on the television set, it is possible to see the complete moral destruction of the values that once ruled American families.  Moral values that form foundations in the family are continually dissolving, new aged philosophies, and the teachings of humanism
are acceptable curriculums in schools.  In-other-words, you can teach anything, all but Jesus and His saving Grace.  Over the course of history man have worked hard at separating himself from God.  In America, taking  prayer out of the schools, and even in many churches, by the taking away of the “altar”, men continually drift further and further away from God.

RESTORE THE ALTAR

In the last days, God is calling for Leaders who are filled with biblical wisdom and spiritual discernment to lead the church into new frontiers of the Spirit, so restitution and restoration would come on the church.   

The Scripture says, Come; let us sing to the LORD! Let us give a joyous shout to the rock of our salvation!  Let us come before him with thanksgiving. Let us sing him psalms of praise.  For the LORD is a great God, the great King above all gods.  He owns the depths of the earth, and even the mightiest mountains are his.  The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too. Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker, for he is our God, [Psalms 95:1-7a NLT].

Let us look for a moment at the story of King Solomon; at the time of the dedication of the temple he had just finished building unto the Lord.  The Bible says, and it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from before the “altar” of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven, [1 Kings 8:54].  Solomon was said to be one of the wisest men ever to live and he knew the power of prayer, of bowing and reverencing God on his knees with hands spread toward heaven. 

Someone said that the power of God does not travel in words, but in relationship.  In-other-words, you must get to know him.  That means kneeling down at the altar, or in your secret closet, and humbling yourself before the mighty hand of God in reverence and serious prayer.

The word of God, give us clear instruction on how to approach him, Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land,  [2 Chronicles 7:14].

Brother Morris Cerullo said, a weak and spiritually debased Church has deemphasized the closet of prayer and a good, old carpet imprint on the forehead from hours spent on our faces before God.  But you will not hear from God if you don’t spend time with Him.  In prayer, we must go beyond the actions, and to the root causes.

Prayer is the key, it is very important for the development of a relationship with the Lord, and for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ.  The Bible says, and it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples, [Luke 11:1].

I would like to ask a question; when was the last time you revered the Lord your king? Bowed in honor and respect to Him?  Fell to the altar on your face in reverence and awe of Jesus Christ the king of kings? If the truth be told, we have little or no concept of honoring the Lord in our world today, in our homes, and even in our churches. Most of us have a hard time  even showing respect to someone we know and supposedly love, much less bowing down to God!

How many in our society kneel to pray? Or even pray at all? How many honor and reverence Almighty God?  Or even acknowledge that there is a God?

Isn’t it past for us, those of us who profess to believe, to “bow down before Him”-literally, physically, bow down on our knees to the King of Kings.  As Romans 14:11 declares, “‘as surely as I live,’ says the Lord,  ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'” Revering God begins first with each individual, with you and me. It is the responsibility of each one of us to honor God on a personal level. Imagine the effect on others when they see us bowing before Jehovah God. Aren’t we willing to humble ourselves before God like so many great servants of God in scripture!  Can’t we get on our knees or lie prostrate on the ground in reverence to God?

The scripture says, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Are we willing to allow these evil forces to reign because we fail to revere and honor God?

God alone has the power to overcome the powers of this dark world. He alone is King over the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. We can invoke His redemptive power for our family, neighbors, nation and world, or we can stand by and watch them decline in wickedness and self-destruction.

The choice is ours… but only if we’re willing to get humbly on our knees and bow down before the King in prayer.  Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done, [Philippians 4:6 NLT]. 

RESTORE
THE ALTAR

Pastor Odis C. Stowers,
MOH, Hampton, VA 

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