Wednesday, September 24, 2008

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Keep the Fire

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship" (Romans 12:1).

Under the old covenant, there were many sacrifices and ritual offerings that were part of the people's worship of God.  Some were waved, some were poured out, others were simply brought to the temple, and some were burnt on the altar.  They were all part of God's desire to bring people into a relationship with himself and were a foreshadowing of what God would do in the future.  They were designed to deal with the sin problem and lead people to a place of thankful dependence on him.  We no longer need to sacrifice in that way, because Jesus came and was the once and for all sacrifice to God for our sins (see Hebrews 10, especially verses 10-12).  At the same time, there is much that can be learned about our new way of relating to God through Jesus by looking at the old.

In Leviticus 6:8-13, we read about the instructions to the priests regarding the burnt offering.  This particular offering to God was a continual offering, not like some of the other offerings that were on one particular day for a special occasion.  The priest was to come each morning and add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it, and the offering was to remain on the fire throughout the day and throughout the night, "and the fire must be kept burning on the altar" (Leviticus 6:9).  "The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out" (Leviticus 6:12).  "The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out" (Leviticus 6:13).

When God repeats something in his word, it means that it is important.  When he repeats something three times in the space of a few short verses, we really need to pay attention!  There is no more continuous burnt offering on the altar of the temple, but we are called to be a continual living sacrifice.  We are to offer ourselves in a spiritual act of worship as a holy and pleasing offering to God.  Is it still important that the fire be kept burning in our lives and not go out?  Absolutely.  A life without the fire of God in it, a life without any passion, is a life that is most difficult to live.  It is no life at all.  God desires the fire to be kept burning continuously; it must not go out.  And he will provide everything that we need to make that happen.  I will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Matthew 3:11).  We need only to let him do it.

Let me highlight a couple of things.  The offering was to remain on the altar throughout the night and until morning (Leviticus 6:8) and then be rearranged and continue to stay there (Leviticus 6:12).  We come and offer ourselves to God.  We place ourselves and our all on the altar.  Stay there.  The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can climb down off of the altar.  Resist the temptation to leave when the fire gets hot.  Be a continual offering the way that God intends, not just one who offers themselves on special occasions.  A second thing is to add more wood, every morning (see Leviticus 6:12).  Rearrange the sacrifice each and every day so that it can be a holy and pleasing sacrifice.  Come to God and get something fresh so that the fire can burn the way that it is supposed to.  Do that every morning.  We are to do what we need to do to keep the fire burning.

Finally, resist the temptation to hang on to yesterday's fire.  Maybe we had a particularly good "fire" yesterday, or a week, or a month, or a year ago, or maybe we look back to the time of our conversion or some other "mountaintop" experience.  Yesterday's fire may have been good, but today it is just ashes.  And they need to be cleared away if today's fire is to burn the way that it should.  You can take and file them in a sacred place and it is even a good idea to do that (see Leviticus 6:10-11), but they will only choke today's fire if we try to hang on to them.  We need fresh fire each and every day.  Let go of yesterday's relationship with God and embrace your relationship with him for today.

God, I offer myself completely to you today.  I place myself on your altar and I will not leave.  Give me everything that I need.  Your Holy Spirit and fire.  Passion.  Yesterday is gone.  Today is all I have.  Tomorrow I leave with you.  Set me on fire for you!  My spiritual act of worship, holy and acceptable to you, a living sacrifice.  Thank you, Father.

"When God sets a man on fire,
people will show up to watch him burn"
— Anonymous
 

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