Building A Miracle Altar

1 Corinthians 2:2–5 (NLT) For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

What was necessary for the Apostle Paul in the 1st Century is JUST as needed in the 21st Century

Ministry NOT in human wisdom but in the power of God.

The challenges we face today.

The challenge of reaching a pagan world — a pagan culture — with the Gospel.

REQUIRES us to RELY ONLY on the power of the Holy Spirit.

That’s where Tuesdays and Sunday nights come in.

These are services that are primarily dedicated to seeking God in prayer.

These are times when, like the OT saints we build an metaphorical altar.

Like …

Genesis 8:20 (NLT) Then Noah built an altar to the LORD…

Genesis 12:7 (NLT) Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

Exodus 17:15 (NLT) Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-nissi (which means “the LORD is my banner”).

Joshua 8:30 (NLT) Then Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal.

Judges 6:24 (NLT) And Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and named it Yahweh-Shalom (which means “the LORD is peace”)…

1 Chronicles 21:26 (NLT) David built an altar there to the LORD … And when David prayed, the LORD answered him …

And on and on.

We too need to set aside a time and a place to seek God.

I believe the same promise God gave to exiled Israel is true for us when we set aside an altar to pray to Him:

Jeremiah 29:12–13 (LSB) ‘… you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Lamentations 3:25–26 (NLT) The LORD is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. 26 So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD.

What a blessing to know He hears us!

Prayer Matters

Prayer matters because, as we considered a few weeks ago, there is a Throne Room that is in constant motion, responding to our prayers.

Romans 8:34 (TPT) … Jesus [is] the Anointed One! … He gave His life for us, and even more than that, He has conquered death and is now risen, exalted, and enthroned by God at His right hand. … [where] He is continually praying for our triumph!

TPT notes on this verse:

Not only does the Holy Spirit pray for us, so does Jesus Christ.

Two divine intercessors are praying for you each day.

Two-thirds of the Trinity are actively engaged in intercession for us.

This is typified by the incident of Moses interceding on the mountain for Israel’s victory with one hand held high by Aaron (the high priest, a type of Jesus, our High Priest) and [the other hand held high] by Hur (whose name means “light,” [Noble or Splendor] a metaphor for the Holy Spirit, who prays with divine illumination for our good). See Ex. 17:9–13; Heb. 7:25; 9:24.

Hebrews 7:25 (TPT) [Christ] is able to save fully from now throughout eternity, everyone who comes to God through Him, because He lives to pray continually for them.

To pray is to tap into the POWER of Jesus’ intercessions for us.

We do not pray into an empty sky;

we pray into an active throne room.

We pray into a throne room moved by our prayers.

Because Jesus is there interceding with us and for us.

As our Assistant General Superintendent, Rick DuBose says:

The prayers of earth … [rise] up to Jesus, and He … [amplifies] them before God. … The prayers of earth … [take] on new momentum as they [are] prayed in Jesus’ name.

Signs and Wonders

The early Church was relentless in preaching the Gospel, but not by words alone.

They did not depend on clever catchphrases or marketing slogans.

The Gospel was validated by signs and wonders, by the miraculous.

The Apostle Paul understood that.

That’s why he said in our text that he wanted to preach under the anointing.

He wanted to minister under the anointing.

The anointing is the validation of the message.

When Paul could not get to the sick, he blessed pieces of cloth, causing them to possess the power to heal (see Acts 19:11–12).

Peter’s preaching was affirmed by the miraculous power of even his shadow (see Acts 5:15).

The disciples did as Jesus had done.

They found the lame and the blind along the roads and pools and offered the power of the Spirit for their healing.

Even dramatic events like the death of Ananias and Sapphira made the truth that God’s power was alive and active obvious (see Acts 5:1–11).

His truth was on public display.

The miracles came not only as blessings to those in need, but also so that the message would be credible.

The world in which the early Church preached the Gospel was filled with philosophies and theological ideas contrary to God and His Word.

Every city had its teachers and religious authorities.

The Roman Empire had become a melting pot of ideas that were sourced from all over the known world.

It was not unlike our own day

in which truth is left for every individual to decide,

and every individual has access to countless truths from which they can choose.

When preachers preach, when any of us share the Gospel,

our hearers are forced to weigh its validity against all the other messages they are receiving from

the government (just believe the science!),

the education system,

social media,

news organizations,

and their friends and family.

It is a confusing and difficult time for people to be able to recognize truth.

Perhaps this challenge is made even more difficult by a world that considers the Gospel either offensive or foolish.

Our darkened hearts and minds are not predisposed to recognize what is true.

So it is that God often does miracles, not only to heal our physical blindness, but also to heal our spiritual blindness.

God does the miraculous to validate His truth that the world fights desperately to cover up.

It wasn’t just Jesus’ preaching that was validated by the miraculous.

The intervention of divine miracles is a consistent theme of God’s presence, from Genesis to Revelation.

Moses was given credibility by the miracles of God, as were Elijah, Elisha, Peter, Stephen, Paul, and countless more.

The signs and wonders they performed by the power of the Spirit forced the world to hear the prophetic words of their witness.

Like them, we still bear the heavenly mandate to proclaim the Good News of God’s salvation, and like their time, the powers and principalities of this world are working to silence and obscure that truth.

So, why should we expect God’s miracles to have ceased?

Wherever His truth is proclaimed, He is present to heal.

He is present to affirm our preaching through the power of miracles.

If His Gospel is for today, then His miraculous power is for today as well.

WE are what has changed.

It is our faith and expectations that have ceased—not His gifts.

We fear that we will look foolish.

We fear that we might be wrong.

We would rather appear wise and weak by the world’s standards than foolish and full of the Spirit’s power;

therefore, we hold back and depend on our cleverness and charisma.

We trust our enticing speech to lead people to Christ instead of the powerful hand of God.

We trust our words more than His Spirit.

We are trying to do with words what God wants to do through miracles.

When Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come to us in power, was He predicting clever and well-articulated sermons?

I think He had a lot more in mind.

I think He was predicting powerful preaching made more powerful by the confirmation of signs and wonders.

The bottom line is that God does miracles.

He always has.

He just needs a people and a place—an altar—where He can put them on display.

Pray for the Miraculous

So tonight, let’s build an altar, let’s pray and let’s believe God for the miraculous — in Jesus’ Name.

Some material: DuBose, R., & Clay, D. (2023). In Jesus’ Name: 5 Altars of Prayer That Move Heaven and Earth (pp. 118–119). Chosen.