«　WEEK 14　DAY 4　»

　　Luke 12:49 I have come to cast fire on the earth, and how I wish that it were already kindled!

　　1 Cor. 3:12-13 But if anyone builds upon the foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, stubble, the work of each will become manifest; for the day will declare it, because it is revealed by fire, and the fire itself will prove each one's work, of what sort it is.

　　The fire from the altar [is] the genuine motivating power of service. The only thing that God does concerning man's service is to send His fire to burn within man. To serve God and to work for Him mean that man is joined to God and is mingled with God....The service comes out of God; it does not originate in man. The service is God moving through man.

　　God has erected an altar, and those who are willing, those who love Him, may come forward willingly to be dealt with, broken, and placed on the altar. Such a person can say, "Lord, here I am. My only desire is to satisfy Your need." If we would offer ourselves sincerely in this way, fire will descend from heaven and burn us. This burning will become the energy that moves us. The issue of this burning will be our service. God wants His fire to burn in us. (The Service for Building Up the House of God, pp. 22-23)

　　In Luke 12:49 the Lord Jesus said, "I have come to cast fire on the earth." The Lord Jesus came to the earth not only to save us but to cause fire to burn on us.

　　If the Lord had not placed Himself in the Father's hand, the fire could not have been cast to the earth. This fire is the Spirit. When the Lord Jesus went to the cross and suffered death, He was gained by God, and God poured out the Spirit as fire from heaven. This fire descended on the hundred and twenty disciples and burned in them. All the service in the New Testament age comes out of that burning.

　　The fire on the altar [burns] and [produces] a powerful service....The altar of burnt offering is the cross of the Lord Jesus, and the fire is the Spirit. The Spirit has descended and is burning through the cross as the altar of burnt offering. Any person who is willing to touch the cross, that is, to receive the cross by applying the death of Christ, will be gained by God. Then the fire on the altar of burnt offering, that is, the Spirit, will burn in him until it produces a service. All genuine service comes out of such a burning.

　　The basis of genuine service is knowing the cross and placing ourselves on the cross in order to be gained by God and to allow the divine fire to burn within us. This produces service.

　　The saints who pray and apply the death of the cross will receive grace from God, and His holy fire will burn within them. Such saints do not care for themselves or set their mind on themselves but care only to satisfy God's desire.

　　Those who experience the altar of burnt offering build with gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Cor. 3:12). Gold refers to the divine life and nature. Silver refers to Christ's redemption and to the principle of the cross. Precious stones refer to God's image. The work of believers who experience the altar of burnt offering is full of the element of God, has the power of the cross, and expresses God.

　　Only work that is produced through burning is of gold, silver, and precious stones. The work that is not produced through burning is of wood, grass, and stubble.

　　The day will come when the work of each will be tested by fire (1 Cor. 3:13). If our work is the issue of fire, our work will stand the test of fire....If our work is according to the natural man, by the flesh, and earthy, it is of wood, grass, and stubble. When the work of each is manifested by fire, such a work will not endure the test but will be consumed, and we will suffer loss (v. 15). (The Service for Building Up the House of God, pp. 23-25, 27-28)

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