By Tom Shanklin

Now is the time to fan the flames of revival … and to let it spread.

Revival is like CPR for your spirit. The word means to bring back to life, or we could simply say “new life.” When you have the life of God in you, you have revival. I know for me, the Lord has told me that I carry a spirit of revival. That means there is new life in me … and if I let it out … it will spread. The same is true for you. 

Often when we think about revival, we think of some faraway place. We think of something that happened in Wales or Brownsville or Toronto or Azuza Street. We think of something that happened with Charles Finney’s ministry or Smith Wigglesworth. But I want to encourage you today. Revival starts with you. Your life is the ignition point of world revival!

We have a wood stove in our house, so fire (at least in the winter) is an ever-present reality in our lives. When the temperatures begin to drop in the fall, we get together some paper, kindling, and wood and we start a fire. Then we keep fueling the fire until the house is toasty. It’s great! Each morning when we get up the fire has burned down, leaving a pile of ashes with a bed of coals underneath. So we clean out the ashes, refuel the fire, open the stove up to the air and let ‘er roar. That’s how we keep warm. It’s just what you do when you have a wood stove. 

Sometimes if we are gone for a while, the fire has burned down, and there are just a few embers in the bottom of the stove. So again, we clean out the ashes, and we put some kindling on the embers. Then we begin to blow into the stove until a flame erupts. In the same way, you need to keep the fire burning in your Christian life. You can’t let the fire go out, or you will soon become lukewarm and complacent about the things of God.

When you are on fire, you are in love with God, and you love people. You care about the lost, and you’re excited about Jesus’ plan for His Church. You are alive! 

In the Old Testament, God commanded the priests to have a continual fire upon the altar. (See Leviticus 6:8-13) Each day the priest was to put his holy garments on and remove the ashes from the altar. Then he was to take the ashes to a clean place. The priest was then to put wood on the altar and rekindle the fire daily. The fire was then used for the burnt offering and the peace offering. 

Now, the Old Testament is a shadow of the New Testament, so we know that there is a message for us today. Our God is a consuming fire, and He burns within us as New Testament Christians. We, too, are priests unto our God. Not just some of us, but all Christians are part of a royal priesthood.

The ashes represent the residue of yesterday’s fire. He said that they were to take them to a clean place, not throw them out with the trash. The ashes are not evil, in fact they are holy.  They have just outlived their usefulness. But many times Christians are trying to live on the ashes of past fires. If you are Pentecostal, you cannot live on the ashes of Azuza Street; you have to have fresh fire. If you are Methodist, you cannot live on John Wesley’s ashes. The ashes of the old fires only hinder today’s combustion. They must be remembered and respected, but then be removed to make way for fresh fire.  

Then we need fuel for the fire. The fuel is the Gospel. The air that makes it burn is the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we need to blow on the fire by seeking God and welcoming the Holy Spirit to re-ignite the flames. The fire is still there, but it’s burnt down to dying embers and needs attention. That’s where some of you are today. Your fire needs attention! Get back into the Word of God! Remind yourself of what Jesus has done, and let a fresh breeze of the Holy Spirit sweep over you to ignite a fresh fire! Get the ashes out of the way add some fuel, blow on the fire and let ‘er roar!

Then there was the sacrifice. Jesus is that lamb that died once for all for us. He does not need to be slain again. But there is one more sacrifice required, as the Scripture says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1, KJV. 

You are to present yourself to God that His fire may burn up your flesh life, and all that remains of the Adamic nature. Yes, you are a new creature in Christ. Your spirit is alive unto God, but your body still wants to do the wrong things, and your mind wants to think the wrong thoughts. Present your body to God! It is your reasonable service, and be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Worship the Lord in Spirit and truth and let the winds of the Spirit come and re-ignite your fire. Get up every day. Put on your Holy garments which have been given to you by God. Remember who you are. Put on Christ. Open up God’s Word and see what He has to say to you today! When you allow God’s revival fires to burn in your life, you become a torchbearer for Jesus and you spread the fire of God wherever you go.  

Don’t wait for revival! Revival is within you! Put on the Gospel fuel, fan the flames, and let ‘er roar!