Tested by Fire

]SPOKEN]

Every believer's ministry gets tested. Not by men. By fire.

SCRIPTURE 1 Corinthians 3:11-15

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if any man builds upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble... the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide... he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire."

The foundation, it's Jesus Christ,

Laid by grace that Paul made known.

Nobody lays another stone,

Only what the Son has shown.

Gold and silver, precious stone,

Wood and hay and stubble alone.

This isn't a checklist, it's a works test,

Built for you, or built for the best?

Fire, don't ask if the steps were right,

It asks what fueled you through the night.

Was it for your glory, or was it His?

That's the question the fire is.

Here's a tension worth naming. If we're all in His body, why is there a cost if my works don't remain? These works are outside of salvation. Not what got you in. They're your response to what He already did in you.

SCRIPTURE Philippians 2:12-13

"Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do."

Now, the mystery's out in the open wide,

Reconciling every side.

Not just for the ones who already believe,

Every nation's free to receive.

Watch what the fire does to what remains.

Wood and hay and stubble, self-will and gain.

Fire consumes, nothing left to show,

Living for yourself, that's the way it goes.

Gold and silver - when they are refined,

Comes out brighter on the other side.

SCRIPTURE Job 23:10

"When He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

Precious stones don't burn. They just reflect His glory.

SPOKEN

Remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Thrown into a furnace so hot.

INSTRUMENTAL HIT

Nebuchadnezzar looked in and counted four,

Said the fourth looked like the Son, not seen before.

They went in bound, but they came out free.

Not a hair was singed, no smell of smoke to see.

Only what held them captive was what fire broke,

Only what's eternal can stand the test,

Everything temporal gets put to rest.

Same fire that judges what we've built today,

Burns off the temporary, the eternal stays.

That's the good news underneath it all. Loss of reward is never loss of salvation. He himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. The man doesn't burn. The wood does. Your standing in Christ was settled the day you believed, sealed, untouchable, done.

So when the fire comes for everyone to face,

The shine on the gold is proof of grace,

Not the metal congratulating its own name,

But the Refiner's likeness set aflame.

Building for Him, not for the show.

Running the race to win as i go.

The prize is waiting past the blazing test

So live for Christ. Forget all the rest.