THE FIRE OF MINISTRY

And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out. The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out (Leviticus 6:12-13, KJV) Beloved of God, ministry is a work of fire. The fire is set by God and must not go out. One responsibility of the priest in the Old Testament concerning the law of the burnt offering was to add wood to the fire to prevent it from going out. In ministry, God ignites the power within us but what we do with the power will determine whether or not it will be maintained. It is God who begins the fires and not man. If man begins the fire, it becomes a strange fire. That strange fire can kill you. Scriptures declares in Leviticus 10:1-2; And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. Fire ignited by God however must be stirred with wood. The stirring speaks of the ‘closet life’ of the believer. Your closet life is so important. Without a closet life, your ministry will surely die off. Once the fire is burning in your ministry the people will gather. If the people are not gathering, you must check the source of the fire and what wood is being added. God is not in the business of producing fire so that you will be seen. God ignites the fire because there is an offering for him. God has so much an interest in your ministry more than you so for yourself. He is ready to give all the fires in heaven for your offering so he can pull men to him. It is not about you, it is about God. That is why it is unnecessary to start a strange fire. The seed of ministry is in the hands of God and the tree and forest of ministry is your responsibility. Walk in this reality! Shalom!