Ministry

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>For The Believers In The Body Of Christ</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="For The Believers In The Body Of Christ"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>Ministry</B>   |   <A HREF="id354.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ministers of the Word"><U>Ministers of the Word</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id355.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Revelation and Light"><U>Revelation and Light</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="02ad2c00dkelyh.gif"> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spiritual Food"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899330000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Spiritual Food</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Psalms, Hymns Spiritual Songs"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899330000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id147.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gospel Outreach"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899330000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Gospel Outreach</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id159.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Us"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899330000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">"About Us"</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id186.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899330000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Contact Us</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id187.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Related Links"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899330000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Related Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id639.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="JESUS IS LORD!"><U><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011899330000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">JESUS IS LORD!</B></U></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  </div> <div>  </div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Ministry</I></div> <div> <B>The phrase </B><B>ministry of the word</B><B> can be translated as “service of the word.”  The work of serving men with God's word is know as the ministry of the word, and the persons who are involved in this service are called ministers of the word.  (p. 3)</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Bible shows us that the most important work of God on earth is the speaking out of His word.  If we remove His word from His work, there is practically nothing left of His work.  (p. 3)</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>We must be clear before the Lord that God's work is conveyed through His word and His word is released through man.  He needs ministers of the word, and He needs men to convey His word.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Throughout the Old and New Testaments, we find three kinds of people.  Simply put, three kinds of ministers of the word are involved in spreading God's word.  In the Old Testament God's word was released through the prophets, that is, through the ministry of the prophets.  When the Lord Jesus was on earth, God's word became flesh, and there was the ministry of the Lord Jesus.  In the remainder of the New Testament, God's word was released through the apostles, that is, through the ministry of the apostles. (p. 4)</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The announcing of God's word and the ministry of this word to men follow specific principles, and God's servants should learn these principles well.</B></div> <div> <B>3</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>…in principle, man's voice was merely a carrier [of God's word] during the Old Testament age.  But when the Lord Jesus came, the word no longer came upon a man, with the word remaining the word and the man remaining man.  God's word put on human flesh; the word became a man.  The word had human feelings, thoughts, and opinions, yet it remained God's word.</B></div> <div> <B>6</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>In the person of the Lord Jesus, God's word was no longer something objective; it became something subjective.  In such a word we find human feelings, thoughts, and opinions.  Yet the word remains God's word.  Here we discover a great scriptural principle:  It is possible for God's word to not be influenced by man's feeling.</B></div> <div> <B>7</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>But in the Lord Jesus, God's word became flesh.  A man became God's word.  When this man spoke, God was speaking.  He did not need any revelation, because He was God's word.  He did not need God's word to come to Him externally before He spoke the divine word, because His very speaking was God's speaking.  He did not need more of God's word because He Himself was God's word.  When He spoke, God spoke.  When He felt something, the feeling was the feeling of God's word.  His opinion was God's opinion.  In this man, God's word was not affected or limited by human factors.  When this man opened His mouth, the pure word of God came out.  Although He was a man, God's word did not suffer any loss in passing through Him.  In fact, God's word as fully expressed through Him.  This was the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.</B></div> <div> <B>9</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The difference between the New Testament ministry of the word and the Lord's ministry of the word is this:  In the case of the Lord Jesus, who was God's word becoming flesh, first there was God's word and then there was flesh to match this word.  All of the feelings, thoughts, and consciousness of this man were in harmony with God's word.  In the case of the New Testament ministry of the word, however, first there is the flesh.  We all have the flesh.  In order for this flesh to become a minister of the word, it has to be transformed to match the requirement of God's word.</B></div> <div> <B>10</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Lord Jesus is the  word becoming the flesh, while the New Testament ministers are those who express the word in a flesh that has been dealt with by God.</B></div> <div> <B>11</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>In the New testament ministry God entrusts His word to man, and He uses man's very own elements to express His word.  He does not make man a tape recorder, recording His speaking verbatim and then playing it back objectively.  God does not want to do this.  The Lord Jesus has come, and the Holy Spirit has carried out His work in man.  The goal of His work is to keep the human elements and yet at the same time not damage the divine speaking.  This is the foundation of the New Testament ministry.</B></div> <div> <B>12</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>By the restriction, regulation, and operation of the Holy Spirit, everything of man can be used by God, and God can release His word through man.  It is truly God's word, yet at the same time it is full of human elements.  A New Testament minister of God's word must be possessed by God to such an extent.</B></div> <div> <B>13</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>[Today God] does not want His word to remain His word alone; He wants His word to be spoken through man's mouth in a way that is seen as man's word.  What God wants is a word that is truly divine yet at the same time human.  In reading the New Testament, can we find one word that was not written down by man?  The outstanding characteristic of the New Testament, from the first page to the last, is that it is a record of man's speaking.  It is absolutely human; nothing can be more human than its speaking.  At the same time, however, it is absolutely divine; it is one hundred percent God's word.</B></div> <div> <B>14</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>…as ministers of the word, we should realize that God's word is expressed through our flesh; He needs our flesh.  This is why our flesh needs to be dealt with by God.  Daily we have to have transactions with God; we need to experience His dealings.  If we are short in any way, God's word will be damaged as soon as it passes through us and mingles with our own words.</B></div> <div> <B>17</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>If God's word does not contain human characteristics, it would be the same as thunder to us; we would not know what it meant.  Clearly, God could never speak to us in this way.</B></div> <div> <B>20</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>One characteristic of God's word is that it is full of human elements.  God's word is not released through thin air; it is released through man. God reveals His word through man and events related to man.  This makes His word simple, understandable, and comprehensible.  Whenever God speaks, He speaks so that man can understand.</B></div> <div> <B>22</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>We have to remember that the incarnation of the Lord Jesus unveils the basic principle of the ministry of God's word.  If we want to understand the ministry of God's word, we have to understand the Lord Jesus' incarnation.  What is the ministry of the word?  It is the word becoming flesh.</B></div> <div> <B>23</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Since God's word is full of human elements, He also includes man in the transmission of His word.  Since God's word is full of human elements, God cannot use a tape recorder, thunder, lightening, or angels to communicate His word.  Human elements must be involved in the communication of His word.</B></div> <div> <B>24</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>God's word has to pass through our spirit and even our mind, feelings, and understanding and then be converted into our own words before it can be released.  This is what it means to be a minister of the word.</B></div> <div> <B>25</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>God does not want us to transmit His word like a machine.  He wants us to receive the word and then dwell on it, feel it, be bothered by it, rejoice over it, and chew on it before sending it out.</B></div> <div> <B>25</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The ministry of the word is God's word coming into us and then flowing out from our innermost being to quench other's thirst.  This indirect route constitutes the ministry of the word.  It is not a matter of how many verses we can recite or how many messages we can deliver. It is a matter of the living water making an indirect turn and flowing out of our innermost being.  The need for a turning within our innermost being and a subsequent flowing out from within our inner being tells us that a price is involved.</B></div> <div> <B>25</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>God's word must first come to us, pass through us, fill us, and even bother us, grind us, rub us, and deal with us.  We must first suffer these trials and pay this price before we can be brought to the clear realization of God's word. In this way God's word is added to us little by little.  It is assembled in us and woven into us stitch by stitch like a quilt. Then when the word comes out of us, it will involve the release of the spirit, not just the repetition of words.</B></div> <div> <B>26</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>We must remember that God's word is present only where there are ministers of the word.  Without ministers of the word, we cannot have God's word.  God must secure ministers before He can release His word; without ministers, there cannot be the word.</B></div> <div> <B>28</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The church is desolate, poor, and in ruin because human elements have not come up to the standard of God's word.  If God can find a person who has been dealt with by Him, who is broken, and who is prostrate on his face, God's word will flow through him.  We are looking all the time for God's word, but He is all the time looking for men whom He can use.</B></div> <div> <B>29</B></div> <bR> <div> <B> We should not presume that, after hearing a certain number of messages, we can release the same word.  No!  If a person is not proper, his message will not be proper.  Man can hinder God's word.  The Holy Spirit is not released through the word alone.  When God's word comes to us, we must be free from all hindrances.  We must be broken, and we must bear the mark of the cross.  Our spirit must be a smitten spirit.  God can only use such persons, and the Holy Spirit will only flow through such persons.</B></div> <div> <B>30</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>God's word has to penetrate our whole being - our feelings, our understanding, our heart, and our spirit.  It has to flow in and out of us; it has to be identified with us, and then it must be released from us as a result of grinding, crushing, and pressing.  If our emotion is misaligned, if our mind is impaired, or if our understanding, heart, and spirit are even slightly off, we will damage God's word.  </B></div> <div> <B>30</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Paul said, “I have finished the course” (2 Tim.  4:7).  The word course in Greek refers to a journey.  Paul's course was based on an itinerary; it was marked in advance.  God assigns a definite course for everyone.  This course is marked and calculated in advance.  It is marked not only as to its direction but also as to its distance.  Paul obtained mercy from God and was able to run on his assigned course.</B></div> <div> <B>31</B></div> <div> <B>2 Tim.  4:7</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>God gives us our distinctive characters, our temperaments, our inclinations, and our virtues.  God prepares all these things.  No one goes through any experience by accident.  Every experience is part of God's sovereign arrangement.  No person inherits a character trait by accident; everything is under God's sovereign hand. He made provision long ago for our natural abilities and experiences, and He prepared us for our future commission.</B></div> <div> <B>32</B></div> <div> <B>Gal. 1:15,16</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>We do not know how much of what we have in us is permitted to stay and how much is hated by God and in need of being broken.  As soon as we function in our ministry, whoever has been taught by God will have an inner registration of a pure or defiled service.  This is not a simple pathway to take.</B></div> <div> <B>34</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>A man must learn submission; he has to tell the Lord, “I have many problems within me.  I do not know how to deal with them all.  I ask for your shinning, for the killing of your light.  Deal with me according to your light.  Deal with me to such an extent that my human elements will not become a hindrance to Your work but a means to express your work.”</B></div> <div> <B>34</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Holy Spirit not only puts the divine word in our mouth but also beats such a word into our being until we are conformed to God's defined shape.  This is not a matter of whether or not we have God's word in our mouth but a matter of whether we have been beaten to the point where God can entrust His word to us.</B></div> <div> <B>38</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The measure of discipline and restriction one receives from the Lord determines the degree of purity of God's word that is released through him.  The degree of brokenness before the Lord determines the degree of purity of one's speaking.  </B></div> <div> <B>39</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id354.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ministers of the Word"><U><B>continue with "Ministers of the Word"</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id99.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Quotes from Church History"><U><B>MORE QUOTES FROM OUR HERITAGE</B></U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>