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Rebuilding the Prayer Altar of the Lord (2)

Asia Pacific Prayer Conference
with Pr Julius Suubi and Pr Peter Tsukahira
22-06-2017

Pr Peter Tsukahira

Acts 3 recounts some miracles that occurred after visible appearance of Jesus after His resurrection (Acts 1:3), the miraculous ascension of Christ into heaven (Acts 1:9), and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the apostles (Acts 2:1-3), accompanied by “a sound like the blowing of a violent wind from heaven,” “tongues of fire,” and “speak[ing] in other tongues.”

Peter healed a man who was lame from birth at the Eastern Gate (the temple gate called Beautiful). A crowd gathered and Peter began to preach to them. He had in mind the prophecy in Malachi.

Malachi 4:5-6
5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah to herald the coming of the Messiah.

We expect another spirit and power of the spirit of Elijah before the return of the Lord.

We are now in the days of restoring all of Abraham’s children back to the Father.

God is turning the hearts of every nation back to the Father. Restore again the spirit and power of Elijah that prays the power of faith so that the fire of the Lord would be restored to turn the hearts of the nations back to the Lord. 

Let me recount the story of Elijah and his confrontation with the false prophets in his day (1 Kings 18).

Elijah appeared in a time when Israel has fallen into idolatry and corruption. God’s people, the Israelites, were divided into two kingdoms at that time. King Ahab, the seventh king of the northern ten tribes of Israel, was in the line of bad kings.

[Editor’s Note: Ahab’s wife, Queen Jezebel, worshipped a false god named Baal. Ahab built a temple and altars to Baal. The Israelites followed their king, and worshipped Baal also. This was very evil in God’s sight.]

God’s judgement was on the nation because of that. God was displeased at the behavior of His nation. There had been no rain.

[Editor’s Note: God sent Elijah to tell King Ahab that there would not be any rain, and not even one drop of dew, until Elijah called for it. After many weeks, the plants began to wither and die. After many months, the drought dried up the streams and rivers. The lack of food and water caused animals to die, and soon people would also die. The drought lasted over three years, but God took care of Elijah’s needs every single day.]

No rain in the third year meant that the people would begin to die. It was a period of economic downturn and economic crisis because there was no rain for three years.

God told Elijah that “Because of My mercy and My love for my people, I will again send rain to my people.”

The heads of government were blaming the nation’s problem on the word of God.

But Elijah was unintimidated. He was not disrespectful. He was telling the truth.

Through Elijah, God told King Ahab that he had led the nation into idolatry and the people had turned away from the word of God.

It was decided that there would be a confrontation.

The king gathered the people from all over Israel to meet Elijah on Mount Carmel.

Ahab and his government represented governmental authority. The king brought along the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah. There were also leaders from all over the country from the north to the south. Elijah faced all of them on the mountain.  

Elijah first turned to the leaders of the people and asked them to make up their minds on who is their God. He told them that the nation belongs to them. “You are the people of God.” And the people were completely silent.

Then Elijah proposed two altars and two sacrifices and two sets of prayers. He 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.”

The people said this was a good idea. The people of Israel then and the people of Israel now and maybe the people of Malaysia are entertainment oriented people. The winner gets to live and the loser dies. For that, they were all willing to stay.

Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Maybe you should go first. Choose your sacrifice. Put your word on the altar but do not light the fire.” They called on the name of Baal from morning until noon but nothing happened.

At noon, Elijah mocked them. “If your god is really a god, maybe he is just busy or he’s gone on a trip or he’s sleeping or he’s turned aside somewhere.” To turn aside somewhere means to use the toilet. Elijah insulted them.

And the prophets of Baal began to cut themselves with swords and spears and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice.

The people began to lose interest.

This is a very good description of false religion. False religion is the worst enemy to revival. For those who desire or cry out for revival, false religion is worse than corruption in government, worse than carnality, and worse than entertainment in popular culture.

For those who serve God, false religion is the worst enemy because it is the closest enemy.

Not everyone who does something in the name of God is moving in obedience to the power of the Holy Spirit. We must minister in the fear of the Lord.

If we were to fall victim to entertainment oriented religion and we cannot tell the difference between what is truth and what is false, how can we expect the Holy Spirit to bring revival?

Pray that God gives us a spirit of discernment and a spirit of truth.

For those of us who serve, have the spirit and power of Elijah to stand for the Living God and walk in the presence of God.

Bring God a sacrifice.

Never come to the house of God with nothing in your hand. You want something from God? Bring something to God. Bring a gift to God. This proves that God is Asian. [joke]

Bring something that represents your life.

Bring something that is sweet smelling to God. Does it mean that God enjoys a good barbeque? Whatever precious things that you brought to God that day would not be going back with you. It is a precious, non-returnable gift. Be it a disease, a broken family, an injustice, or a life that had been gone.

When the smoke arises to heaven, that’s when the grace of God would meet you and wipe it off the record.

This happens at the altar.

The answer is what’s meaningful, not so much the process.

That’s why Elijah mocked the false prophets. He did it for the sake of the people who were watching. It was God’s purpose to turn the hearts of the people away from them. Elijah knew God would answer them. It wasn’t about his own ministry or the gift. It was about the hearts of the people.

Elijah turned to the people and said, “Come here to me.” It reminds of Jesus’ own words: “Come unto me.”

The people came to him and he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down. He restored, repaired and healed the altar of the Living God because it had been neglected and torn down.

He took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, and said, “Your name shall be Israel.” Elijah saw all the people as one nation.

It was important to him to repair and restore the meaning of the giving of gifts to God.

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.” (1 Kings 18:36 NIV)

“Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.” (1 Kings 18:36 KJV)

His prayer was only 58 to 62 words. And this man had already given his life.

Church, revival is coming. The wave of the spirit is coming to Malaysia. Rebuild the altar. Restore meaningful sacrifice. It is the place where we meet the Lord.

After Elijah said the prayer, the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice. The people fell and cried out, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

This was a national turning.

When Elijah prayed that prayer, where did the fire fall and when? It fell right there and then. It fell on the altar to consume the sacrifice.

Elijah knew when the fire would fall and he knew where it would fall.

That’s why it is important to restore the altar.

Step up to the place and pray a prayer of faith.

Start with a personal altar. Bring God a precious gift from your life. Offer Him ourselves (time, money, family, business). Then the fire will fall. All you need is a personal flame.

If you get you family together and do the same thing, you get a family size fire.

In church, you get a church size fire.

Start a national fire for the Lord.

Jesus, the Living God, offers the spirit and power of Elijah to prepare the way for us to receive.

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