«　WEEK 14　DAY 3　»

　　Lev. 6:13 Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.

　　2 Chron. 7:1 And when Solomon had finished praying, the fire came down from heaven and devoured the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of Jehovah filled the house.

　　Acts 2:3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which were distributed; and it sat on each one of them.

　　Fire is a source of energy....In order for our service to be full of energy, our service must pass through the fire on the altar. This is not strange fire, which is of man and of the earth. Rather, this is holy fire. This fire is of God and of heaven. Our service must come out of the burning of God's fire. This fire should be the energy, the driving force, the impulse within us. Then our service will be out of God, not out of ourselves. (The Service for Building Up the House of God, p. 20)

　　God accepted the service of the Israelites based on the fire from the altar of burnt offering....After a period of desolation, David was raised up by God. David had a desire to serve God and to build a house for God. This desire was fulfilled through his son Solomon. After Solomon finished building the temple, he took the bronze altar, the altar of burnt offering, and put it in the temple. He also offered sacrifices and the burnt offering upon the altar (2 Chron. 7:1). At that time, the service to God was resumed.

　　Therefore, the service of the children of Israel in the temple was based on the fire from the altar of burnt offering. Every time they burned incense and served before God, they had to pass through the altar of burnt offering....The fire was kept burning on the altar continually until the destruction of the temple (Lev. 6:13).

　　When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, He was the tabernacle of God, the temple of God (John 1:14; 2:21). Any people who had the desire to serve God had to serve through the Lord Jesus....The Lord also set up an altar—the cross on

　　Golgotha—and offered Himself upon it as the burnt offering. Then one day fire came down. This fire was the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). The Lord Jesus Himself was willing to go to the cross and offer Himself to God. He also led Peter, John, James, and the rest of His lovers and followers to offer themselves to God, just as He did. Therefore, God accepted them as a satisfying fragrance of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 2:15). Before Pentecost a hundred and twenty lovers of Jesus gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem (Acts 1:13-15) and presented themselves to God. As a result, on the day of Pentecost the Spirit descended upon them as tongues of fire. This was the beginning of the New Testament service. The New Testament service began on the day of Pentecost with the fire that came down and began to burn.

　　The energy and the motivating power for the New Testament service began with fire from heaven. The fire that descended upon the Galilean fishermen became the energy and the motivating power within them. After the day of Pentecost they could speak for God, preach the gospel, save sinners, and establish churches. The disciples were not the source of the power for their work. The source of that power was heaven; the power came from the fire that descended from heaven.

　　At the time of Pentecost...the fire descended only on the hundred and twenty because they were on the altar of burnt offering. The fire of the Spirit descends only on the altar of burnt offering. This was not the fire of judgment, which will come in the future. This was the fire of salvation (Luke 12:49). This fire burns on those who love God, who offer themselves to God, who are willing to forsake everything for God, and who are willing to place themselves in His hands in order to be slain and broken. Their service to God is the issue of the burning. Whether in the Old Testament type or in the New Testament reality, man's service to God always comes out of the fire from the altar. (The Service for Building Up the House of God, pp. 21-22)

　　Further Reading: The Service for Building Up the House of God, ch. 2