Ryan Johnson: Don't Let the Fire Go Out - A Call to Burn Again

 

There's a call going out in this hour, a holy urging, straight from the heart of God. The apostle Paul writes in Romans 12:1, "Present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice" (NASB). Why? Because God is still looking for fire on the altar.

The New Altar

In the Old Testament, sacrifices were placed on the altar by the worshiper, but it was the fire from Heaven that made the offering acceptable.

Today, under the New Covenant, we are that offering. We are the temple, the priest, and the sacrifice. And the altar? It's no longer made of stone or bronze; it's our hearts.

Scripture reminds us, "Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit... you are not your own... therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NKJV).

"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9 NKJV)

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." (Romans 12:1 NKJV)

God's Desire: A Continuous Fire

God's desire has always been the same: a continuous fire.

In Leviticus 6:12–13, He commanded that the fire on the altar should never go out. That fire was originally started by Him: "Fire came out from the LORD and consumed the burnt offering" (Leviticus 9:24 NRSV).

No strange fire would ever be accepted. It had to be holy. It had to be from Him.

Just as in the days of Moses and Elijah, just like the fire at Pentecost, God still sends fire, but it falls only where there is sacrifice. Fire never falls on the altar, because the altar is built. Fire falls on the altar because a sacrifice is placed upon it.

What Is God's Fire?

God's fire refines, purifies, empowers, and fills. It gives boldness. It breaks chains. It sanctifies. It consumes. And most of all, it draws us into deeper communion with Him. (Photo via Pexels)

The Greatest Threat to the Fire

Yet the greatest threat to this fire today isn't the devil, it's our own hearts. As Jeremiah wrote, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV).

We can grieve the Holy Spirit. We can quench the fire:

"Do not quench the Spirit." (1 Thessalonians 5:19 NKJV)

"Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God." (Ephesians 4:30 NKJV)

How Do We Keep the Fire Burning?

How do we keep the fire burning? By daily choosing to be a living and holy sacrifice. Not through performance, but through surrender: a life laid down, a heart purified, a body yielded, a soul aflame.

Come Back to the Altar

God is calling you back to the altar, back to His fire, back to His holiness, back to His presence, back to the cross, and back to your first love.

Just like the prophet Elijah repaired the broken altar before calling down fire (1 Kings 18), it's time to repair the altar in your heart. Lay down your pride, your plans, and your past, and present yourself to God.

Lord, make me a house of prayer. May the fire on my altar never burn out.

Will you say yes?

Come back to Him. Come back to burn. Come back to be consumed by His love and power. Come back to the altar.

Let's burn for His name again.

 

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Ryan Johnson
Ryan Johnson Ministries
Email: info@ryanjohnson.us
Website: www.ryanjohnson.us 

Ryan Johnson is dedicated in helping equip the Body of Christ to awaken the nations with a prophetic call of a rising Ekklesia. He is a son of God, husband, and father of four. Ryan has devoted his life to the righteousness of Christ, with the demonstration of the Father's heart in regions, individuals, and the Church across the world. Ryan is the author of Illegitimacy: The Battle Over Your Identity, How to Contend for Your Miracle, and Racism: The Church and The Nation. He has had many articles released through Charisma Magazine, Charisma News, The Elijah List, and Spirit Fuel. He has also appeared as a guest on The Shaun Tabatt Show, Elijah Streams, Engaging the Supernatural, and Sid Roth's It's Supernatural. Ryan is the host of The Blacksmith Chronicles Podcast, an Instructor at Summit School of Revival, and travels throughout the United States and the Nations as a full-time itinerant minister.

 

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