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[1 Kings 13:1-10 KJV] “And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Beth-el: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. [2] And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord , and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord ; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee. [3] And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. [4] And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Beth-el, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. [5] The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord . [6] And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the Lord , and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. [7] And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. [8] And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: [9] For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord , saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. [10] So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el”.
I believe with all of my heart that we have come in to this year to serve the Lord with passion and wholeheartedly. I trust that we came to this year to;
Believe on the messengers of God, Worship in Spirit and in truth, Come before the Lord with singing to all appointed meetings, Go into the nations and preach the gospel, and Reachout to others.
I believe that we have agreed as one to work hard to advance the kingdom. I believe that this year must turn out good. I believe that the Lord shall help us do it.
But if we can serve the Lord with passion and wholeheartedly, then we must demolish all evil altars.
An altar is a place of sacrifice. This is a place where covenants are strengthened and fortified for discharge.
The text we read teach us how to demolish evil altars;
1. Speak against all evil altars by the Word of the Lord:
Speak the Word against the altar. Don’t endorse evil, use the Word on your tongue against every budding evil. If you see people around you doing evil and making evil sacrifices, don’t keep quiet, speak the truth against it. People may not like you but you will be setting the stage for revival.
2. Trust the Lord to defend you as you obey Him:
Don’t fear what man will do against you. Rather, pray for those who suffer the judgment of God, if they repent. Vengeance is the Lord’s. The Lord will be there to defend His Word. No man can harm you. The Lord will be your defense.
Be open to all possibilities. Trust the Lord with the safety of your soul and life. The king attempted to smite the man of God, but God quickly came his defense. So just obey God and do what you have been asked to do. I commission you by the grace of God on my life to demolish every evil altar.
3. Have no fellowship with unbelievers:
You cannot break down by prayer, what you are building up by your action. Neither can you build by prayer what you are demolishing with your attitudes. You can only deal with evil altars when you denounce the unfruitful works of darkness. God told the young prophet not to have fellowship with anybody in Bethel, but he did not listen. Please take note that ‘anybody’ means ‘anybody’.
4. Beware of old prophets:
Beware of old prophets, beware of deception. Hold fast to your conviction, don’t compromise for any mortal man. There are people who would not mind destroying you even when they know what you are doing is good and know that you are of God. There was an old prophet in Bethel who deceived the young minister from Judah. He led him to disobey God and after he was killed by a lion, he brought back his bones, buried him and requested that when he dies, they should bury him by the young prophet’s bones.
May you have wisdom and convictions that are strong! You cannot demolish evil altars except you are a person of strong convictions. Most evil altars define the way of life of people. Your attempt to change the status quo will be faced with opposition; very stiff opposition. Be strong. (See 1 Kings 13:11-32)
We speak against every evil altar! We command them to split and spill ashes now! May the Judgement of God be against every evil altar and every priest who serves on them. There are people who want to destroy you for no reason, may the Lord deliver you! Be blessed.
I love you;
Noah Simpe Bediako
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