Week 50: December 15th, 2019

Topic: Do not desecrate the Altar of God - Part 4

Bible Reading: Genesis 8: 20-22

We shall continue with our discussions by mentioning the acceptable conducts at the altar of God.

Conducts at the altar

Inasmuch as Jesus Christ did not abolish the altar, but He only made the veil which was concealing the altar to tear in order for us to have unrestricted access to the presence of God, so any conduct that is neither in conformity with the commandments of the Lord nor obey the law of righteousness is not acceptable at the altar of God. Whatever that is against the doctrines and the tenets of Christianity is improper at the altar; which means no sin or unrighteousness will be tolerated at the altar of God.

Altar: The residence of angels: We need to be aware that all the living churches that neither stray from the righteous path, nor deny the truth have angel/angels assigned to them by God, to serve as communication channel between such churches and their husband (Jesus Christ). Every church that did not betray the covenant of God or deny the existence of the Holy Spirit have angel/angels that were designated by the Lord to be in charge of the activities of the church and report back to God. The Book of Revelation demonstrated this fact by saying “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands’” Revelation 2:1. Jesus Christ our Lord sent messages to the angels in charge of the seven churches, and this fact was contained in the Book of Revelation, chapters two and three. Have you ever been sent to the angel/angels of your church or any other church? Do you think you are worthy to be sent with messages to the churches? You need to beware so that you will not provoke the angel/angels in charge of your church.

The angels are the heavenly messengers of God just like the priests/prophets who are earthly messengers; according to the statement of the angel who restrained John from bowing down and worshipping him, which says; “Then he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God’” Revelation 22:9. It is clear from the passage that angels are the heavenly messengers and they are the ones serving at the altar that is before the heavenly throne of God; according to the scripture which says “Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne” Revelation 8:3. It is evident that the altar is the residence of the angels in any church.

Humble yourself at the altar: You must display humility and repentance at the altar of the Lord; since you cannot deceive God because He knows the content of your heart. So, you cannot receive anything from God even if you are shedding ‘crocodile tears’. Unless your expression of sorrow is sincere, your sacrifice will not be acceptable to God. Hence, let humility and repentance, be your watchword.

Whenever you are at the altar, let your heart be broken down with sorrow for your sins and exhibit regret for everything that you have done wrong. You must humble yourself and be thoroughly penitent at the altar for your sacrifice to be acceptable to the Lord. As it is written “The sacrifice of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise” Psalm 51:17. If you want your sacrifice to be acceptable to the Lord, then humble yourself at His altar. If you desire a favorable answer to your prayers and a quick response to your supplication, you must not misuse the altar, but show remorse for your iniquities.

Any time that you come before the altar of God with a pure heart and a clear conscience, the angel (s) will ascend with your prayers to heaven for a favorable and quick response. The event which occurred to Manoah and his wife corroborated this fact by saying; “It happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground” Judges 13:20. If your spiritual eyes are opened, you will see the angels ascending to heaven with requests of the believers and descending with the response of God. Do you think your requests will merit the ascension of the angel (s) to heaven? If not, it is time to change in order to receive endless goodness from Your heavenly Father.

Glory will manifest only if the altar is holy: Prayer requests can only be answered, if and only if, the altar is kept holy, and the person that is offering the prayer also have a pure heart, and clear conscience. Invariably, for the prayer of the congregation to be answered by the Lord and for Him to reveal His glory, the altar must be properly arranged and sanctified. The choir must sanctify themselves and praise the Lord with all their strength in manner that will motivate the hosts of heaven to descend into their midst and reveal the awesome power of God among the congregation. The event which occurred during the dedication of the temple by King Solomon is a typical example. The Bible stated that “And it came to pass when the priests came out of the Most Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without keeping to their divisions) and the Levites who were singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priest sounding with trumpets—indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord saying: ‘For He is good, for His mercy endures forever,’ that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God” 2 Chronicles 5:11-14. We need to realize that it is not how expensive your musical instruments or how melodious your songs are, that will prompt the Lord to reveal His glory in your midst, but it will be based on how organized and holy the altar of your church. So, if you want God to reveal His glory and power in your midst, keep the altar holy, inform the parishioners to sanctify themselves and be in one accord.

Clean yourself and dress conservatively: The commandment of God to Moses was that, Himself, Aaron and his sons must wash their hands, and feet with water. However, this commandment is for all the priests who minister at the altar. It is their duty to take their bath/shower and clear their conscience whenever they are coming to the altar. According to the scripture which says “And Moses, Aaron, and his sons would wash their hand and their feet with water from it. Whenever they went into tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, as the Lord had commanded Moses” Exodus 40:31-32. Do you always clean yourself before going to the altar? Or you are among those who are daring/defying God by going to the altar with a dirty/defiled body.

Always adorn yourself moderately and conservatively when you are going to the altar. Anoint yourself and do not wear garment that can expose or reveal your body, else you will be guilty and may die. As it is written “For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make sashes for them. And you shall make hats for them, for glory and beauty. So you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him. You shall anoint them, consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to Me as priests. And you shall make for them linen trousers to cover their nakedness; they shall reach from the waist to the thighs. They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they come into the tabernacles of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place, that they do not incur iniquity and die. It shall be a statute forever to him and his descendants after him”  Exodus 28:40-43. It is a perpetual law, do not wear any revealing garment whenever you approach the altar to perform your priestly duties, else you may die. For this reason, wash your hands in innocence before your start performing your duties at the altar of God. It is important that you wash your hands from sins to show that you are innocent, then, you can approach the altar of the Lord to worship Him according to the Bible passage which says “I will wash my hands in innocence; so I will go about Your altar, O Lord” Psalm 26:6. It is inevitable for you to abstain from wrongdoing, and wash your hands to declare your innocence before you approach the altar of God, else you will be guilty.

Do not bring abominable things to the altar: The Bible stated that the payoff of sin is death. The only thing that you can earn from sins is death; according to the scripture which says; “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 6:23. Hence, do not bring abominable things to the altar, or as sacrifice on the altar of God; else you may lose your life. Learn from the experience of the children of Aaron who brought desecrated fire before the Lord, and died instantly, because of their disobedience and sin. As it is written “Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. And Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the Lord spoke, saying: “By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.”’ So Aaron held his peace.” Leviticus 10:1-3. Have you ever presented any strange thing before the Lord? Are you among those who are bringing and offering unholy things at the altar of the Lord? Do not know that God demand respect and obedience from His priests? Have you forgotten that God always display His holiness through those who come near Him? So, all the priests who are serving God must demonstrate respect for His holiness.

We must be aware that it is not how large or expensive your sacrifice is, that will make it to be acceptable to the Lord. You may be the highest donor of any church activity/service and your donation may not be acceptable to God, because of the source of your fund. God is disgusted with blood-stained money; He does not condone money realized from embezzlement of the funds of your nation/community. It is detestable to bring wages of exploitation, oppression and fraud into the presence of God. Whatever money that you earn from fraud, or drug (narcotics) transaction, or rituals, or stealing, must not be brought as offering, or donation, or to redeem a vow in the presence of God, because they are abhorrence to Him. The Bible warned by saying “You shall not bring the wages of harlot or the price of a dog to the house of the Lord your God for any vowed offering, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God” Deuteronomy 23:18. Are you among those who are bringing money realized from fornication or adultery as offering? Do you think you can bribe God with dishonest funds, so that He will overlook your atrocities? Time has come for you to know that whatever that you earn honestly is the sacrifice that is acceptable at the altar of God. For this reason, learn from the experience of King Manasseh who repented and repaired the altar of God; according to the Bible passages which says “… He also repaired the altar of the Lord, sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel” 2 Chronicles 33:10-16. Repent of your past mistakes before it is too late, and stop desecrating the altar of God by bringing contrary things and dirty money into the presence of God.