Altars Part 2

1 Corinthians 10:21 (ESV) You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.

Altars are a place of worship. Allegiance. Communion. Exchange.

Let's take a look at authority and dominion.

Authority, in this context, is: 1.) the power to enforce laws, exact obedience, command, determine, or judge. Authority also refers to the one that is invested with this power, especially a government or body of government officials. 2.) Power assigned to another; authorization.

Dominion is: 1.) Control or the exercise of control; sovereignty. 2.) A territory or sphere of influence or control; a realm. (American Heritage Dictionary)

• Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

• Genesis 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

• 1 Corinthians 6:3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!

• Genesis 2:19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.

• Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

• Luke 10:19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

Scripture Says:

• Man is made in God's Image. The only Creation made in His Image.

• In Eden, at the Creation of man; God Gave man dominion over the earth. To tend and keep it. This means stewardship: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care (Merriam Webster). We tend to think of this in terms of "conservation". But I want to highlight "management".

• God Engaged man to participate in the naming of Creation. God Created the creatures, and Gave authority to Adam to name those creatures. In Scripture, names often hold great significance, so this is no small matter. Adam being Invited to name the other creatures was God Inviting Adam to determine. God Himself Named Adam. Genesis 5:2 Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.

• Good stewardship involves bringing God's Kingdom onto this earth, by God's Will being done on this earth. Man should be using his God-Given authority and dominion for that.

• Saints have authority over demonic spirits, in Jesus's name. We must choose to exercise that authority.

In Genesis 3, the serpent deceives Adam and Eve by convincing them that "forbidden knowledge" would make them like God. "Forbidden knowledge" because God Told them not to eat from that tree; the only one He Forbade. "Forbidden knowledge" because it was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and humanity had not yet known evil. "Forbidden knowledge" because the agreement made when they ate the fruit represents a shift in alliance: humanity chose to align with the serpent to gain knowledge instead of continuing to rely on God alone. "Forbidden knowledge" because they desired to be gods themselves, gaining knowledge apart from submission to God. This is when Satan became the prince of this world.

• John 14:30 (Jesus Speaking) I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me...

In Eden, the serpent exploited the vulnerability of man's flesh (here it was mostly an appeal to pride). By deception, Satan hijacked man's dominion because we aligned our authority to satan instead of God. This same playbook is in use against us today.

So, when we habitually eat from the table of demons, we are building an altar of worship. Our actions are choices that tell our allegiance. Our actions tell who it is that we are listening to and obeying. Particularly when sin perpetuates to the point a stronghold has developed.

These are primarily altars of the heart, versus actual physically constructed altars. Occultists still do detestable acts to worship and commune with their gods. To gain knowledge, power, etc, through the aid of these spirits. But any person can choose to habitually eat from the table of demons through strongholds of sin.

Altars that are tended to over time; that are stoked, can have generational impact (more on this in a future post). I appeal to men, especially, here. As the spiritual head of your home, you are building the altars. If your wife is sinning, you are in a position to battle that altar in prayer with superior spiritual authority. Believing wives, if your husband is unbelieving and attempting to build an altar of sin in your home / family, you can add this Scripture to your prayers. But all saints are priests under our High Priest, Jesus.

• 1 Peter 2:5 ... you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Altars that are constructed in secret are no less damaging. As a matter of fact:

• Ecclesiastes 12:14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

• Hebrews 4:13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

• John 3:20-21 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

• Proverbs 28:13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

• 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Jesus is The Light. There is no darkness in Him. It is Satan and his kingdom of darkness that desires to keep sin in the dark, where it can fester and where saints feel isolated and are more vulnerable to deception.

Altars are first constructed in thought, before actions even occur. That's why it's so important to stay aware of the thoughts that we choose to agree with. I want to emphasize that again: that we choose to come into agreement with.

• Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

• 2 Corinthians 10:5-6 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

It is not a sin to have a fiery dart come into your mind. Our mistake is when we choose to take that thought on and agree with it. When I first really became aware of this and started doing it, it felt like a part-time job. It seemed impossible to be aware of every thought. But as I practiced this discernment, I was able to be alerted to the thoughts that were "red flags". Mostly I get a red flag if a thought is negative, per say. Refer to Philippians 4:8 as a starting point to assess. When I notice a red flag, I then think "Would God Say this to me?" If the answer is "no", then I reject it. I do not try to assess if it's me, the devil, or whatever. If it's not from God, it doesn't belong to me. And I say that. Out loud if possible. Here's an example:

1. I notice that I thought about something my husband did 5 years ago, that upset me.

2. Is God Saying this? No. Even if what my husband did was actually a sin, The Lord is not randomly bringing it up to me now, to agitate me again.

3. I say "Lord, that thought is not from You. Therefore it does not belong to me!" Early on I'd have to do that repeatedly, as the enemy would try to strike again and again to see if he could just wear me down so I'd give up. But I stood on these Scriptures: James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Ephesians 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Eventually, that lessened. Praise God.

4. If I realize I've been thinking about what my husband did 5 years ago for the last 30 minutes; then I repent and break my agreement. Like this: "Lord I repent for thinking about this for the past 30 minutes. I break my agreement with the spirit of unforgiveness. I already forgave my husband for that. This thought is not from You and it does not belong to me." Sometimes I will google a Scripture to declare along with it, a good one for this would be Ephesians 4:32: forgive each other just as in Christ God forgave you. So I'd add "Lord, Your Word Says...." Note: a different fiery-dart thought might require breaking agreement with the spirit of lust. Some with spirit of anger. Some with spirit of greed. Etc.

I personally do not think it's absolutely necessary to have a demon's name, I know that can become a rabbit hole for some people. I rebuke spirits by their function whenever I can. This also helps me in confession. Because in doing this, I am also acknowledging the part of my flesh that's being tempted. I do think it's important to rebuke the spirits tempting us, in order to recognize the entire process of temptation; as outlined in Genesis 3. I prefer repenting for my agreement instead of taking on the sin as part of my identity (that's my old man!). Instead of confessing "I am lustful, Lord, please Forgive me." ... I'll confess "I did xyz, and I repent for agreeing with the spirit of xyz. Thank You that You are Faithful to Forgive me. I receive Your Forgiveness and realign with You."

Realizing this process truly is a key to walking in the Freedom we actually have in Jesus. We gave our authority and dominion away based on deception. It's time we take it back and use it as God Intends. Exposing the works of the enemy aids in that.

I'm going to wrap this post up here. Part 3 will focus on tearing down altars that are already erected by sin strongholds.

Saints, think about the altars you are building. Are they altars of Blessing or curse? Are they altars of Life or death? What gods are you communing with at that altar?

In Jesus's name.

Christy Hale

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