Page 113 - Evidence of Things Unseen

Pouring Water on the Altar

hen the Lord instructed us to place both feet in the water, and then He confirmed His
Winstruction with the story of Rees Howells standing in the queue to purchase tickets,
I felt like the Lord would probably take us down to the wire before manifesting His
provision for us. Rees Howells had two people in the line before him when God placed the
provision in his hands. I suspected that we might get down to a couple days before it was
time to move before He showed us where we were to move.
On April 23 we had a week left until our lease expired, and still no idea where we were
to go. I had a growing feeling that we would be moving south toward the community of
Montezuma, Georgia where the people currently resided. We were told repeatedly, however,
that rental property in the area was very scarce. Being a rural community that had not
grown appreciably in many years, the housing market was very slow. My wife had asked me
whether we should ask the members of the church to help us locate a place to rent. I prayed
about this, and I felt that the Lord did not wish for us to do this.
As I contemplated the Lord’s working in bringing us into fellowship with this body of
believers, I understood that He desired for us to encourage them in their faith before God.
I knew that the people He was looking to raise up were to be a people marked by a peculiar
confidence in God’s ability to protect and deliver them. Our moving to the community was
to be an example of God’s ability to provide for His children when they look to Him alone
to accomplish His purposes, for the battle belongs to the Lord.
As I was considering this, I heard the Spirit tell me to pour water on the altar. I was
reminded of Elijah pouring water on the altar when he was in the contest with the prophets
of Baal and Ashtoreth. I looked up the Scripture and read the following.

I Kings 18:33-35
Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he
said, "Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the
wood." And he said, "Do it a second time," and they did it a second time. And he said,
"Do it a third time," and they did it a third time. The water flowed around the altar
and he also filled the trench with water.

Elijah had such a confidence in God that he knew that he could not make the test too
difficult for Him. Pouring water on the altar was merely a mark of Elijah’s great confidence
in God’s ability to accomplish what He said He would do. When God finds a saint with great
confidence in Him, He will at times allow them to pour water on the altar, which brings
greater glory to the Father. Never before had I been given such an opportunity. I had
followed the Lord in faith numerous times before, but I did not have the peace and
confidence necessary to go beyond the demands of what God required in order to pour
water on the altar.
As the Spirit spoke to me about pouring water on the altar, I understood that in our
case, pouring water on the altar equated to telling our friends at church to not go hunt for
a place for us to live. The Lord wanted to demonstrate to them that He could bring the
provision to us Himself. On April 23rd we attended a Wednesday night meeting of the
church and a brother asked about our situation. I told him that we were to be out of our
house on the 30th, and at the moment we were not sure where we were to move, but we