Back To The Altar

I often tell people that I'm an old-fashioned preacher in a new-fashioned body. I believe that at times for the sake of "relevance" we can lose our Pentecostal heritage, feeling that people may be scared off by us praying for them. Truth is, that is often what drew people in - sensing the power of God working in them as we prayed.

I began a series this weekend called "Back to the Altar". The altar is always a place of giving something up. This week I dealt with our sin. God wants us to have a fresh revelation of who He is - awesome, holy, powerful, just. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. From that revelation, God desires restoration - that has been His heart since the sin of Adam and Eve. I never thought about it before, but God said that in the day that they eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they would die. But they didn't - in God's mercy, He killed an animal and allowed them to live - and told of His redemption plan. Obviously they eventually died, but God could have taken their lives right then and there. But His heart is always restoration. And following the restoration He wants regeneration - a metamorphosis - if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creature. Why would a butterfly ever want to be a caterpillar again?

Our time at our altar spent with God will be directly proportionate to our success in ministry - for without Him, we can do nothing.