05/11/2022
MY DAILY TREASURE DEVOTIONAL
BY PROFESSOR (DR) PAUL DAMUDI OYAKHAMOH
Friday 4th November, 2022
THE GOD OF ELIJAH, 2022
THEME: THE GOD OF THE ALTAR
(Acts 17:23 “For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an Altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore you ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you” Acts 17:23).
The God of the Altar is the Altar God. There is no altar without a god. To the Christian believer, the Altar God is the eternal God.
The one who spoke the words as regards the opening or leading scripture is Apostle Paul while he was yet addressing the men of Athens, debunking all of their philosophies and superstitious believe which was a contradiction to the Gospel he ministered to them, which was no way to live, Paul saw it that even in their devotions, they had claimed not to know the objects of their worship as they had made out boldly, inscriptions on the altar which suggested an unknown God.
Paul was amazed at their level of spiritual insensibility. And by him addressing the situation that way, he could not be accused of preaching a foreign God to them. It was also an acknowledgment they made not to have heard of, or known any god.
Be that as it may, the truth is that every altar has a god. There is no altar that exist without a god. The reason is because there is a deity and the deity is always the object of worship which is a god.
To the Christians, the god of the believers’ altar, is the eternal God, the God of the heavens and of the earth. He that was not created that created everything.
From the very beginning of existence, the issue of the altar has been an issue of paramount interest to the priests and God’s prophets as well, ranging from the time of the personal priesthood, to the Leviticus (professional) priesthood till now.
For instance, when God called Abraham out of his father’s house, unto the land that He promised him (Genesis 12:1), he did not lose the sense of who he was, he was God’s friend because he had great faith in God.
In this journey to the promise land, bible says everywhere he gets to, he builds an altar unto the Lord for His worship, praise, and offer of sacrifices.
“And the Lord appeared unto Abraham, and said unto your seed I give this land: and there built he Altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. 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 built an Altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord” (Genesis 12:8-9).
Here, the “Altar” and the “tent” give us the two great features of Abraham’s character. He was a worshipper of God, a man of the Altar, and because he was a stranger in the world, he was a man of the “tent.”
“Unto the place of the Altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord........ then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an Altar unto the Lord (Genesis 13:4,18).
There was a deity Abram cherished so much that he was building the Altars in His name. Not only so, that he built the Altars on His name, He could and would call the name of the Lord upon the Altars.
Abram was in transit, a sojourner, because of his backsliding, Abram had built an Altar and went back to the mountain top where his tent has been at the the beginning, and there, doubtless with tears and shame, he called by sacrifice the name of the Lord. His backsliding were forgiven, his soul was restored, and he resumed his true life as a pilgrim and a worshipper with his tent and altar, neither of these he had in Egypt.
Beloved, until the believer comes back to the Cross, of which the Altar is a type, true restoration cannot be found, battles cannot be worn, miracles and signs and wonders cannot come in their numerous numbers. Abraham building an Altar or Altars unto the Lord, means that his faith was re-established in Christ and what Christ will do to redeem humanity by dying on the Cross.
Yes, Abraham was out of his father’s house, he was out of comfort, yet did not abandon God. He was faithful unto God, that he did not lose his sectre. Like Daniel refused to lose his relationship with God, so was Abraham who refused to allow the discomfort of leaving his father’s house to lose his relationship with God.
Praise, worship, communion, offering of sacrifices, and God promise, are all bound up in God’s call to Abraham. As he journeyed to an undefined and unknown promised land, wherever he intermittently pitched a tent, he builds an altar. Abraham was known to be a man of the Altar (Genesis 12:7; 13:8). Wherever he had a tent, God had an Altar. They were not just Altars, but such that were sanctified by prayers by calling the name of the Lord.
But why was Abraham a man of the Altar? Because;
(i) he didn’t want to forsake God.
(ii) he loved God.
(iii) he had faith in God.
(iv) he didn’t want to associate himself with idolators in their worship offered to their gods.
Are you a seed of Abraham? Are Abraham’s blessings yours? Do you want to be like Abraham where by God can call you His friend? If yes! Then, your Altar of service, worship, praise, communion, sacrifices, and prayer must always be alive to the eternal God. Your spiritual altar must be baptized and revived daily for your promotion and lifting.
But what is an Altar? An Altar is a place of “spiritual slaughtering.” A place where the people of God Do battle with the kingdom of darkness; and the greatest Altar or slaughtering place is the Cross. A place Jesus fought and offered the greatest sacrifice with His blood and life. There, He won the greatest battle for us all.
If you must continue to win in the battle of life, you will need to persistently look unto the Cross. Because thereon, was Christ won your battles and reconciled you to the father.
An altar could also be defined as a place of seeking the face of God on matters of life. God ought to be approached with gifts as well as exalting words.
In that altar, who is the god? And if it is the eternal God, what are you bringing unto Him upon that prayer Altar to seek Him?
In the earliest times, the people had to sacrificed unto God through His Altar (Ezra 4:2). Isaac recognized the same intimate relationship between sacrifice and prayer (Genesis 26:25). The heathen religions, had such combination of prayers and sacrifices. It was the reason why the Philippines captured Samson, they accompanied their praise with worship to Dagon, their altar god (Judges 16:22).
Job combined sacrifices and intercessory prayer to seek God (Job 42:8). Like Job, was Samuel (1 Samuel 7:6,9).
But now that we are in the time of Grace wherefore our access to God is being made possible by Christ, having made Himself our Altar and offering thereon (Hebrew 10:19; 13:10), we can approach Him (God) with our focus on the Cross.
As you go to God at the Altar of slaughtering, please know it that it is a dialogue thing and not monologue. As you seek Him, listen to Him because He speaks to you too. In the earliest times, God appeared been the one talking to men. But this day, men do more of the talking and hardly hear God speaks.
In earliest times, when God speaks, the saints only needed to hearken to His command and fulfilled them. They believe in His promises (Genesis 12:1-3; 28:14-18). To prove this, was Abraham’s silence even when God commanded that he sacrifice his son (Isaac) unto Him (Genesis 22:2). Abraham could have lamented, cursed God as many would do today.
The reason why many don’t hear what God is saying in reply to their prayer requests, demands, and petitions, is because they have not developed the act of listening to God’s voice speaking to their hearts through His word. You reading now, you need grace to be able to cultivate the listening side of your prayer life.
Nevertheless, all God’s people are prayer people who must not allow their prayer altars go down.
As it is not possible to find a living man without breath, so it is not possible to find a Christian without prayer. As breath is important to a living man, so is prayer important to a Christian.
Prayer offered to the right altar god will provoke result. The contest on Mount Carmel, between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, shows that Baalim was a wrong god and consequently failed to answer his prophets. Their petitions were unanswered (1 Kings 18:25-29). But yet, the God of Elijah, our eternal God heard the words of His prophet, Elijah, and responded to prove Himself the right God and living God that is to be worshipped and served (1 Kings 18:30-40).
In this season and third edition of the God of Elijah, it is my prayer that your prayer altar will not go down but shall forever be on fire. It shall be only for the living God of Elijah who answers by fire and proves Himself the only true God that desires your praise, worship, and sacrifice offerings for your triumph in Jesus’s Name.
A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD.
(1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” 1 Peter 2:9).
Greetings to you all, people of God to whom are called into the marvelous light of God, into a royal priesthood specially for a special people who possess the Holiness of God and to whom the grace belongeth. Glory to His Highest. Hallelujah!
Beloved, that you are a chosen generation, means a new race made up of all who have accepted Christ. That you are not only lucky to be part of this chosen generation, but that you are a Royal Priesthood as well. Two things are here: first, is the royalty, kingdom royalty, a throne; and second, is the sacredness of a sanctuary, a temple of a priestly altar. Thus, a kingdom royalty and priesthood is what God has chosen you to function in with His light.
Christ is the King and the High Priest; due to the fact that we are in Him, we are as well Kings and Priests (Revelation 1:6).
The Holy Nation is a multitude of people with the same nature. The new race of believers who bear and carry the nature of God in them, that nature of Holiness, is what God called you to be a part of. You see, it is a rear privilege you have. A reason, why you should appreciate and acknowledge God with praises all time.
Not only so, God has described these set of believers as a peculiar people. Meaning that, each Saint is God’s unique possession including you. A unique possession, just as if that Saint was the only human being in existence. That’s how you should see yourself and not any other way.
Nevertheless, Christ saved us by what He did at the Cross, making Him the only one worthy of our praises and worships. An accolade that must not be given to another.
These attributes is what God says about you that you may know who you are. Be thankful and rejoice in your redeeming image and glorify the Lord who all by Himself has made your life beautiful.
PRAYER
Holy Father, thank you for chosen me and making me part of your royal priesthood. I sincerely appreciate this rear opportunity you have given me. Help me to truly live this life to the fullest of my benefits in Jesus’s name.
