How bright is the fire on your altar? Every believing Christian is expected to be on fire for Christ. The level of the fire in your life determines your level of relationship with God and where the enemy places you on the hierarchy of authority and dominion. This article explains the need for fire and how to keep it on your altar.
“And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it, and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out” – Leviticus 6:12-13 (NKJV)
God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29) and wants us to be on fire for Jesus. A Christian on fire is a ready vessel in the Lord’s hand, a true ambassador of Christ, and a terror in the camp of the enemy. The Almighty hates lukewarmness, He would rather have you cold (Revelations 3:15-16) so that He can help you to become hot. It pays to be on fire for Jesus.
Where is the present-day altar?
In the days of the Old Testament, an altar is any structure on which offerings or sacrifices are burnt, situated in the temples. It is a place of worship unto the Lord. Since the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, animals are no more being sacrificed on altars. However, at salvation, you become the temple of God, with the Holy Spirit dwelling in you (1 Corinthians 3:16-17), as such the present-day altar is built in your heart.
The fire must not go out
In Leviticus 6:12-13, God instructed that the fire must never be allowed to go off on the altar. You being the priest (Revelations 5:10) must ensure that you burn wood on it and that the fire is always burning on it. It is your responsibility to put on and maintain the fire on the altar. God says that it must never go out.
Why must the fire never go out?
Physical fire is known to give light and warmth; it is used to burn things and to keep beasts away. So also in the spiritual realm, the fire on the altar of your heart gives you light and warmth, enables you to burn off things that shouldn’t be in you, and keeps the evil beasts away from you.
1. Light
When you are on fire for Jesus, you are full of revelations of God’s word which lightens you and your path (Psalm 119:105). This ensures that you don’t stumble in life, but enjoy divine direction and guidance.
2. Warmth
The fire on the altar of your heart gives you warmth. It envelops you with God’s presence and love. Obedience to God draws the Godhead to come and dwell within you (John 14:23). In God’s presence, there is fullness of joy and pleasure which is forevermore (Psalm 16:11). God being love Himself (1 John 4:8), will fill you up with His love when He comes and dwells within you. When you are full of the Lord, you will be on top.
3. Consuming force
The fire of God in you consumes everything that is not of God in you. The Holy Spirit who dwells in you (the temple of God), will burn every chaff in your life with the fire that cannot be put out (Matthew 3:12). This includes all manner of sicknesses and diseases.
4. Protection from the evil beast
When your altar is burning with fierce fire, no evil beast will come near you to afflict or kill you. Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10), however, this mission is not carried out in the life of a Christian burning fiercely with the fire of the Holy Ghost. The agents of darkness won’t dare because they know that they will be burnt.
Sign of fire on the altar
How do you know if the fire on the altar of your heart is still burning? Many people put on the fire but fail to maintain it, and so allow it to go out. When this occurs, the evil beasts don’t waste time in attacking to ensure that the fire is never put on again and to eliminate the harm the Christian would do to them should he or she be on fire again. This is a warning to you that you must keep the fire burning on the altar. It must never go out.
Romans 12:11-13 describes a believing Christian whose fire never goes out. He or she is not lagging in diligence, and is fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. He or she rejoices in hope, is patient during tribulation, steadfast in prayer, and is good at meeting the needs of others and giving hospitality.
How to keep the fire burning
It is important to take the responsibility of maintaining the fire on the altar of your heart. How much effort you put into it determines how bright and fierce the fire will be.
1. Word Study
The wood on the altar (Leviticus 6:12) represents the word of God. You are expected to keep putting wood into the fire so that it will keep burning. How much of God’s word inside of you determines how bright and fierce your fire will be. You are to study the word of the Lord to show yourself approved of Him, to be a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, but rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
2. Ceaseless prayers
You are to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). This keeps the fire burning. A wise man said that a man of prayer is a man full of power. This truth, the enemy knows and will do anything to keep you from praying. Paul in Ephesians 6:18, while listing the whole armor of God, included praying always with all kinds of prayer. It is wisdom to pray without ceasing to ensure that you are always covered from the evil beasts.
3. Praying in the Spirit
When you are baptized with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues (Acts 2:1-39), your prayer life is empowered. When you pray in tongues, you are praying in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps you to pray when you pray in tongues. You don’t know what you should pray for as you ought, and so the Spirit makes intercession for you, according to the will of the Lord, as you pray.
4. Exercising your faith
Exercising your faith in God’s word by acting on what He said (Mark 11:22-23) also keeps the fire burning on the altar. When you exercise your faith and you see the result, it provokes you to exercise your faith more. This ensures that you enjoy your inheritance in Christ (Acts 20:32). As such, the enemy will not be able to steal from you again and he will be forced to restore all that he had stolen from you. You will not only know your rights but you will be exercising it.
5. Walking in love
Walking in love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:8-13). When the enemy has nothing against you, he would have no basis to accuse you before God (Revelations 12:10). Walking in love is a powerful way to keep the fire burning on the altar; for where there is love there is no fear, and that means no torments (1 John 4:18).
In conclusion, it is possible to keep your fire burning always if you take the responsibility to do the things mentioned above. The level to which you engage in them determines the brightness and fierceness of the fire on the altar of your heart. I charge you today to keep the fire burning always. It must never go out!
Ngozi Nwoke is a teacher, speaker, counselor, and author of “Peace Money Can’t Buy” and “The Man Jesus: What You Need to Know About Christ”. She has a passion for teaching people how to enjoy peace, God’s love, and Christian living for a more fulfilling life. Want a more fulfilling life? Subscribe for free email updates today. http://stepswithgod.com.
