Holy Fire

In Elijah's day the holy fire had disappeared from the altars of Jehovah; and false fire was burning on the altars of Baal. The glory had departed, and no man could rekindle the sacred flame. When Nadab and Abihu "offered strange fire before the Lord," they died, for there can be no substitute for the true fire of God.

In our day, the greatest lack in the life of the individual Christian and of the church is the fire of God, the manifested presence and mighty working of the Holy Spirit. There is little about us that cannot be explained on the level of the natural. Our lives are not fire-touched. There is no holy conflagration in our churches to which people are irresistibly drawn as a moth to a flame.

It is the absence of the fire of God which accounts for the insignificant impact the church is making on a lost world. It never had better organisation, a more scholarly ministry, greater resources of men and means, more skillful techniques. And yet never did it make a smaller contribution to solving the problems of a distraught world. Our prayer should be, "Lord, send the fire." What else can meet the need of the hour?

The fire fell when Elijah obeyed God without hesitation.

The falling of the fire and the coming of the rain were a direct result of Elijah's obedience to facing Ahab, the personification of moral and spiritual evil. We will seek in vain the falling of the fire of God if there is some reserved area in our lives concerning which we refuse to obey God. If He is pressing on us the necessity of some act of obedience, restitution, apology or witness, we refuse to obey at our own cost. He cannot move in blessing until there has been obedience.

The fire fell after the ruined altar had been repaired.

The fire of God falls when there is spiritual unity among God's people. If there is some altar in our lives which has fallen into disrepair, the fire will not fall until it is reerected. What does the altar preeminently typify? Did Christ not offer Himself on the altar of the cross? Only when the cross in its full significance is restored to its central place will the fire of the Lord fall.

The fire fell when the whole offering was placed on the altar.

It is not one great initial dedication only, but continuing acts of surrender. God will not be satisfied with a partial surrender. Ananias and Sapphira presented part to God, pretending it to be all, but at what tragic cost to themselves.

Abraham was called upon by God to surrender to God the worst thing in his life and the best thing in his life. He had to surrender Ishmael, son of his carnal unbelief, and send him away from his paternal tent into the wilderness. He had to place on the altar Isaac, son of his sublime faith, and lift the sacrificial knife. Then the fire of the Lord fell on Abraham and there came the divine response, "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." The last piece of the sacrifice had been placed on the altar.

We cannot deceive God. He knows when the altar is full and His response will not tarry. When Elijah placed the last piece of the sacrifice on the altar, there was the flash of flame.

- J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Maturity