Throughout scripture we see that the fire at the altar represented the presence of God. God started that fire (Leviticus 9:24). Today when we accept Jesus Christ, that fire at the altar begins to burn deep within our spirit. It represents the power and presence of God within us. God can calm down and consume our sacrifice, or we can offer Him a sacrifice as Abraham did with his son. Our sacrifice comes from the conviction of the altar within us. The altar is no longer physically seen by the world but becomes a part of us when we say yes to Jesus. We are no longer under the law of the Old Testament; the law is written in our hearts and the Holy Spirit is inside of us.
and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. Leviticus 9:24 NKJV
I believe this relationship–the altar–becomes a part of us when we fully surrender. We have direct access to the Father at all times. My interpretation of the altar at church is an outward expression of an inside job. When we take ownership of our inheritance in the kingdom of God, the Holy Spirit within us begins to go to work. The altar becomes a way to show others an expression that they too have the same opportunity to go directly to the Father for repentance, revival, guidance, mercy, grace and healing–whatever lies on the heart of the individual. The altar is alive and waiting for each one of us to be consumed. Fire falls in the heart of the believer and is released into the atmosphere when we say yes and begin to live out our destinies in obedience.
When we accept Jesus and the fire of God, the Holy Spirit settles in us and gets deeper as we seek Him first. When we choose to seek Him first, it becomes more of Him, less of us. All things that are not of the Father should not be of us, and we have the discernment to distinguish and extinguish these distractions out of our mind where the enemy tries to play. Our altar fire will never go out when we choose to accept what has been given to us and walk accordingly in submission to the Spirit, not the flesh. Only then will our altar flame prosper to glorify God.
When our flame within us is ignited, we start receiving many blessings from the Father. Spiritual gifts are given, to show who God is. We can’t get stuck in the gifts because if we do, we are missing the whole point of sonship. The gifts are given to show an outward expression of the Father to the lost. We are tasked as part of our destinies to help gather the harvest for the kingdom. We essentially become the vessel that the Holy Spirit works through to invite the ones in front of us into a relationship with the Father. We demonstrate sonship by rising above the earthly ways and grafting into our spiritual Father in heaven as sons and daughters, igniting the altar within us to move us forward in receiving upgrades from our King.
These rewards are for the kingdom. They are tools for our belt for our use on earth to shake off the ways of the enemy and to bring life to the lost. Ignite your altar fire today and choose to walk the ways of the spiritual realm by magnifying heaven on earth. We are vessels to be used for His glory. Come Holy Spirit!