Building An Altar Unto The Lord (Part I)

From ages past and till this dispensation of grace, individuals and groups who had connection with God, and are still having it, have raised/built a consistent holy altar unto Him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord (Genesis 12:8, King James Version).

Colossal successes which were achieved and those that are still being achieved by these people are traceable to the altar raised or built unto the Lord. You can have no relationship with God without an altar to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord  (Gen.13:4).

• Every visitation from God always initiates the building of an altar unto the  Lord, (Gen. 12:1-3, 8).
• An altar must not lack God’s Fire- How? (Lev 6:13).
• There must be a regular worshipping and praying (John 4: 23, Luke 18:1).
• You can carry an altar to wherever you go. It is a spiritual thing – (1 Tim 2:8).

What is an altar?
An altar is the most important place in a particular religious/spiritual setting. It is a holy or a sacred place set aside by an individual or a group of people (Gen. 12:7). The altar is built so that God could be connected to us each time an individual or group of people come before it (2 Kings 19:14-15, 18:22, 2 Sam. 24: 18-21, 25).

Types of altar

1. Personal altar -- (Gen. 28:12-19).
2. Corporate altar — (1 Kings 18:20-38)

Who should and can build an altar to God

1. An individual -- (Gen 8:20, 28:16-19).
2. A minister of God -- (1 Sam. 15:11).
3. A leader of a group -- (Matt. 17:1).
4. A family -- (Joshua 24:15).
5. A group -- (Luke 24:49, Acts 13:1).
6. A nation -- (2 Sam 24:17-21).

Characteristics of an altar built to God

1. A meeting point between divinity and humanity – (Gen 13:4).
2. A place of exchange -- (Gen. 35:10).
3. A place of worship -- (2 King 18:22).
4.  A place of refuge, victory, blessings, revelation, guidance, interventions, power -- (Is 40:28-31, Dan. 9:21-23, Gen 35:11).
5. It is likened to a fortress, fountain, mountain -- (Obadiah 17, Ps 91:1).
6. It is a place where lives and situations are altered for good -- (Gen. 35:10).
7. It is a place we offer our gifts to God -- (Matt. 5:23-24; Gen 8:20c).

Conclusion
The relationship with God and an altar are in inseparable. You can’t take one and leave the other.