THE ELIZAH CHURCH IS AN ALTAR BUILDING CHURCH
INTRO: This is part of a series using the life of Elijah as a picture of the last day Church. It is also a stand alone sermon.
1 Kings 18:16-40 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?” “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing. Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.” Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention. Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.” “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench. At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!” Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
As we follow Elijah's life we could concentrate and be focused on the miracles that he performed but we would miss the point. The Last Day Church needs to be a supernatural wonder working Church but the real question should be, "How do we arrive there"? There are no shortcuts, Elijah's life was, as we have seen, one of prayer, meditating on God's word and faith to believe that God can do what He says He can do! As we approach this part of Elijah's life we will see it is about spiritual truths. It is about, altars, confrontation and faith.
The altar was on Mount Carmel, which literally means a garden or a fruitful place. The altar was broken but it did exist which leads us to believe at some point Israel worshipped God at this place where they offered up sacrifices. Remember there had been three years of drought, Carmel was anything but fruitful, and the altar was anything but functioning. Israel had forgotten God and were enamoured by the "gods of their day". I look at this, and I look around the Church of today, there seems to be some sort of success, but where are the signs, the wonders that can be verified that bring awe and reverence to God? I don't see them though I long to, and what about our worship of God? yes we sing and praise Him, we gather corporately, but we seem to be "Sunday" people. We are not obsessed with God and we should be because that is what altars are all about! So we today just as they were then live a fruitless existence with broken personal altars
THE ALTAR
Altars involve our whole being. An altar is a place of sacrifice or death, which is symbolic of worship or the giving up of everything for the pursuit of the Lord. In Old Testament days, when the Israelites were ready to worship God, they had to build an altar and offer a sacrifice and God inevitably responded provided his conditions were met, and in this case by fire. Today WE are the Altar. Our bodies, souls and spirits. According to the scripture, yielding all that we have and are, is equal to spiritual worship.
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship. (“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy [devoted, consecrated] and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable [rational, intelligent] service and spiritual worship” Amp)
In today’s spiritual Israel (i.e. the Church of Jesus Christ), our HEARTS are symbolic of the ALTAR. Our affections must continually be guarded so that nothing takes the place of God. Therefore, the “sacrifice” that must constantly be laid on the “altar” of our hearts must be a giving away of ourselves to God which is what worship is really about. Jesus said the first and most important commandment is this: “And you shall love the Lord Your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life) and out of and with all your mind (your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment” Mark 12:30 What then is true worship? It's living for God, and pursuing Him passionately daily.
Altars have always played a very significant role in the lives of God’s chosen people. It is important to notice that we have to build the altar, before the Lord sends down the fire. That is our responsibility and we ought to do that willingly. It is a way of saying to the Lord that “I trust you implicitly, I believe you with all of my heart and soul, I will wait until my change comes.” It is interesting to note that all the men God used in the Old Testament built an altar or altars at some point in their walk with God. Why was that so important? I believe it was symbolic of the surrendering of their entire lives to the call God had for them. That was a shadow or a type of what was to come in the New Testament where Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice. “Sacrifice and offering You do not desire, nor have You delight in them; You have given me the capacity to hear and obey [Your law, a more valuable service than] burnt offerings and sin offerings [which] You do not require. Then said I, Behold, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of me; I delight to do Your will, O my Gods; yes, Your law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:6-8, Hebrews 10:5-9
BUILDING MATERIAL OF ALTARS
Matthew 16:15-18 “But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.…"I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
Simon = hearing
Jonah = Spirit
It all starts with a true revelation of who Christ is. He is the foundation of our lives. Jesus was stating in this scripture that the rock that God would build His Church upon was the revelation of who Jesus is. Peter heard from the Spirit, this is always the foundation of our lives and of the Last Day Church!
Amos 8:11-12 The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land-- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. People will stagger from sea to sea and roam from north to east, seeking the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.…
Today we can find the logos or Bible in most places, through the internet, we have access to God's Word. But Amos prophesies to us of a famine or drought of hearing the word of God. Notice it says hearing. It won't be an ordinary famine or drought. Instead, there will be a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.
You see we can have the word, but never get the revelation or understanding of it, Peter had a personal revelation of Jesus, it wasn't what others said about Jesus or who they presumed Jesus was and what He did. Peter knew, only when the Church begins to have a personal revelation of God will we begin to become what Jesus said about us. An overcoming Church which the gates of Hell cannot overpower. Elijah would take on the Prophets of Baal, he would take on "the gates of hell" and he would prevail.
Elijah knew his God! He had the foundation set in his heart but the corporate altar was still broken so he was about to rebuild it. to build altars in the Old Testament you used uncut stones. That is pure material! Our altars personally and corporately must be pure. Elijah knew he must rebuild this altar with twelve stones, symbolic of the twelve sons of Jacob, who later became known as Israel, representing the foundation of the Nation of Israel. In other words, he built the right foundation by repenting on behalf of all the 12 tribes of Israel before calling on the Name of the Lord. Yes this is the Last Day Church standing in the gap like Elijah interceding on behalf of others.
The number twelve is significant not only in it's representing Israel but in its symbolism. Twelve is the number of governmental perfection, the product of three, denoting the divine, multiplied by four, representing the revelation of God or creative works. Notice Revelation 21-22 where the twelve gates of the Holy City of God is mentioned. Twelve comes up again when Elijah in our original text says, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.” “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. Three times four again equalling twelve. The water that was poured on the stones was probably salt water as fresh water would have been in short supply because of the three years without rain. Carmel was situated near the Mediterranean Sea. Salt is an embalming substance, healing wounds, sterilising or purifying sores. It symbolises incorruptibility, and covenant endurance.
Leviticus 2:13 `And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt.'[NKJV]
The expression "covenant of salt," (Leviticus 2:13; Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5) denotes an indissoluble alliance between friends.
Elijah rebuilds the altar with twelve stones, then places the wood as fuel for the sacrifice of a bull that had been prepared, wets the wood with salt water, making it impossible for anyone to say that when fire came from heaven it was not a supernatural sign from a covenant God!
The bull offering is explained in Exodus 29:36 Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it. It was an atonement sacrifice for sin.
So let us try to summarise what we have been speaking of in the rebuilding of the altar. It was simply an atonement to God for the sin of Israel who had stopped worshipping Him, putting Him first, consecrated with salt that reminded God of His covenant with His people. It would take divine intervention, the sending of fire, for it to be accepted. Elijah knew if he followed biblical principles that God would be pleased and accept the sacrifice being offered up for Israel.
IT TAKES FAITH
Elijah knew God would answer, he was convinced that God was who He said He was and would honour His Covenant. He had FAITH! Faith comes by hearing. Hear the Bible - read it every day. Let God turn what was meant for evil into good for your life. It will be faith that produces works. The works will be because of the love you have for Jesus.
ALTARS ARE GATEWAYS TO THE SUPERNATURAL
Altars represent places where earth welcomes and opens to the Lord and the eternal realm of the Kingdom of God flows into the earth. The gate (portal) established opens for the reality of the atmosphere of the Heaven to impact the atmosphere of the earth.
The measure of influence increases according to the consecration of those who submit to the rule of the One who is worshipped. This is also true in the dimension of demonically established altars where false gods and tyrannical demonic principalities are established. This explains why a place of occult or pagan worship is strong. The atmosphere is hardened and resistant to the gospel of the Kingdom. Who is worshipped at the altars of a territory sets the atmosphere.
The battle in every territory is over worship. The battle is over what kind of altar will be established . . . the altar of the Lord or altars to the enemy and to his minions. The gods of our times are many and varied. While many people in the world today would identify with one of the major world religions such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, or Judaism, under each of these major religions the question of “Who is God?” can often be interpreted by what a person loves. Who is God? It is an ancient question and it is a modern question. The showdown on Mount Carmel speaks to the past and to us in the present. As we study this text we must keep in mind the warning in 1 Corinthians 4:4 “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
This is true in the hearts of individuals, families, communities, people groups and nations.
Altars establish gates of rulership. The conflict of Elijah and prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, it was a conflict over who will rule, over revealing who was truly the Lord.
The altar was built, then the Lord answered with fire from Heaven demonstrating that the Lord God, He is God (1 Kings 18).
CONCLUSION
When a believer visits the place of altar and sacrifice upon it, the God of the altar will surely show up. Prophet Elijah called his God upon Mount Carmel and the God of Israel showed upon the erected altar. Fire came down from Heaven and consumed the seed and the altar itself. God today is calling Christians from all walks of life to gather as living stones fit together by His design to offer sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Christ (1 Peter2 vs 4-5). He is looking for places built for His glory to become gates of His Kingdom rule to flow through in the earth.
Altars to the Lord are to be established as places prepared for the fire of His glory and power. Altars of the Lord are to open the portals of Heaven and as we worship and minister unto the Lord, the gates open wider and the influence of the atmosphere of the Kingdom of Heaven increase and the awakening that has been released in the earth grows stronger.
May we erect altars of the Lord and prepare to receive fresh fire from the Lord and may the portal of the Lord be opened to bring greater measures of Christ’s Kingdom on earth even as it is in Heaven.
AND THAT IS THE SUPREME DESIRE OF GOD. THAT WHEN WE COME TOGETHER, WE MEET WITH HIM. WHEN WE SUBSTITUTE OUR OWN OFFERINGS OF WORSHIP WE EXILE OURSELVES TO A LIFE THAT IS INCOMPLETE!
