Ｉ
Everyone who is called of God must realize that he is a thornbush with a fire burning within him and that this fire is God Himself (Exo. 3:2-6):
１
We need to learn one lesson: to work for God without using the natural life, with its energy, strength, and ability, as the fuel but by letting God burn within us.
２
We need to be burning in spirit, serving the Lord as a slave with the fire of His life, not with strange fire, which brings in spiritual death (Rom. 12:11; Lev. 10:1-2).
Ⅳ
The fire on the altar of burnt offering should be kept burning continually; it must not go out, and it shall not go out (6:12-13):
Ａ
Day by day and on many occasions, we need to offer ourselves in Christ to God as a continual burnt offering to be burned by Him so that we may burn others (cf. Rom. 12:1-2; Num. 28:2-4, 9-11, 16-19, 26-27; 29:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 39-40).
Ｂ
The Spirit causes our spirit to be burning and our gifts to be flaming; hence, we should not quench Him (1 Thes. 5:19; Rom. 12:11; 2 Tim. 1:6):
１
We must allow the Lord to burn us and to keep us burning continually by fanning our God-given spirit into flame (vv. 6-7).
２
We must enjoy God as the fire of love to love Him and others with His love (2 Cor. 5:14; S.S. 8:6-7; 2 Tim. 1:7).
３
We must have a time with the Lord every morning to have a new beginning and be revived by Him (Lev. 6:12; Prov. 4:18; Lam. 3:22-24; Psa. 119:147-148).
４
We must call upon the Lord, stirring ourselves up to lay hold of Him (Rom. 10:12; 2 Tim. 2:22; Isa. 64:7a).
５
We must pray-read God's Word, striking the Spirit of the Scripture with our spirit to catch the divine fire (Jer. 23:29; Eph. 6:17-18; 2 Tim. 3:16).
６
We must be filled with the sevenfold intensified Spirit as the seven lamps of fire and the seven flaming eyes of Christ by opening ourselves to the Lord unreservedly in order to be enlightened by Him, burned by Him, and infused with Him (Rev. 4:5; 5:6; 1:14; Prov. 20:27; Mal. 3:2).
７
We must always rejoice, pray unceasingly, and give thanks in everything (1 Thes. 5:16-18).
８
We must speak for the Lord to impart Him into others, enjoying Him as our burning power for purging and motivating in God's economical move (Acts 2:3-4; 6:4).
９
We must coordinate with one another in and among the churches to enjoy God as our sanctifying fire for His one move (Ezek. 1:4, 13; Rev. 1:20; Zech. 2:5).
10
The burning of the sevenfold intensified Spirit as the seven lamps of fire motivates us to rise up and take action for the carrying out of God's economy (Dan. 11:32b).
Morning Nourishment
Rom. 12:11 Do not be slothful in zeal, but be burning in spirit, serving the Lord.2 Tim. 1:6-7 For which cause I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God....For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power and of love and of sobermindedness.
1 Thes. 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit.
The Spirit causes our spirit to be burning (Rom. 12:11) and our gifts to be flaming (2 Tim. 1:6). Hence, we should not quench Him. (1 Thes. 5:19, footnote 1)
The redemption accomplished through Christ's blood made us not only a kingdom to God but also priests to God (1 Pet. 2:5). The kingdom is for God's dominion, whereas priests are for the expression of God's image. This is the kingly, royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9), which is for the fulfillment of God's original purpose in creating man (Gen. 1:26-28). This kingly priesthood is being exercised in today's church life (Rev. 5:10). It will be practiced intensively in the millennial kingdom (20:6) and will be ultimately consummated in the New Jerusalem (22:3, 5). (Rev. 1:6, footnote 2)
Today's Reading
God in His economy intended that all His people be priests serving Him directly. In Exodus 19:6, God ordained the children of Israel to be a kingdom of priests....However, because they worshipped the golden calf (Exo. 32:1-6), they lost the priesthood, and only the tribe of Levi, because of its faithfulness to God, was chosen to replace the whole nation of Israel as priests to God (32:25-29; Deut. 33:8-10). Hence, there was a mediatorial class between God and the children of Israel....In the New Testament, God has returned to His original intention according to His economy, in that He has made all believers in Christ priests (Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9). But at the end of the initial church, even in the first century, the Nicolaitans intervened as the mediatorial class to spoil God's economy....In the proper church life there should be neither clergy nor laity; all believers should be priests of God. (Rev. 2:6, footnote 1)The release of the glory of Christ's divinity was to cast fire on the earth. In Luke 12:49 He said, "I have come to cast fire on the earth, and how I wish that it were already kindled!" This fire is the impulse of the spiritual life, an impulse that comes from the Lord's released divine life. To cast fire on the earth is to burn the people of the earth. When Christ was baptized with the baptism of His death on the cross, the glory of His divinity was released. From the time of His resurrection a fire has been burning on earth. This fire started from Jerusalem, and then it spread through Judea and Samaria to the uttermost part of the earth. Today this fire is burning all over the earth—in America, in Russia, in Romania, in Poland, in Brazil, in Africa, in Australia, and in New Zealand. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 5, "The Issue of Christ Being Glorified by the Father with the Divine Glory," p. 321)
There are three kinds of burning. The first kind is the burning at the altar, which is for salvation and acceptance. It is precious and glorious. The issue of this burning is that we become a sweet fragrance to God, and we have the appearance of precious stones. The second kind of burning is for the believers who are not willing to be dealt with or to be broken. One day their work will be proved by fire. They will suffer loss, but they themselves will be saved, yet so as through fire. These two kinds of burning are for believers. The third kind of burning is for those who reject the Lord and His salvation. These people will be cast into the lake of fire forever. Everyone will be burned; no one can escape.
We should place ourselves on the altar of the cross, not pitying or loving ourselves, but rather hating and dealing with the self by putting everything we have on the altar in order to be gained by God. Then fire will descend on the altar to burn us. The issue of this burning will be a service. (The Service for Building Up the House of God, pp. 29-30)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, "The Spirit with Our Spirit," ch. 8; CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, "The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move," ch. 2