Search
Scripture Reading: 2 Tim. 2:20-21
In this chapter we will again consider the character of one who serves the Lord. In 2 Timothy 2:20-21 the apostle indicates that to be a servant of the Lord, one must be “useful to the master.” Literally, this means making one’s service to the Lord both bountiful and practical. It is not a matter merely of being used or not used, but of how practical and how ample is the service. In other words, we should be those who serve practically and bountifully. This is what it means to be useful to the Master.
I would like to repeat: the Lord never uses what we have. This is the significance of the fire burning upon the bush without consuming the bush. The fire burned upon the bush but did not use the elements of the bush as fuel. Do not assume that your cleverness, wisdom, talent, and virtues can be the material for God to use. There is no such thing. Nothing of ours can contribute to our usefulness to the Lord. The Lord wants us to serve Him but not to minister what we have. Rather, He wants us to minister what He has. Ministering to others what we have in ourselves is most offensive to the Lord. As Paul indicates in 2 Corinthians 4, this is to preach ourselves, to minister ourselves, not the Lord, and it is condemned by Him.
In 2 Corinthians 3:5-6 Paul says that we are made sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, not of ourselves but of God. Then in chapter 4 he shows us not only that he was not made sufficient of himself but also that he did not preach himself; he preached Christ Jesus as Lord. Paul did not preach himself to others, nor did he minister himself to others. Paul preached and ministered Christ.
It was the same with Moses. Moses did not rely on his own ways to deal with Pharaoh; rather, it was God’s authority manifested through Moses that dealt with Pharaoh. Pharaoh did not confront Moses’ ability, talent, or wisdom, but he encountered in Moses something other than Moses, that is, the fire burning upon the bush.
The same principle applies to all those who served the Lord in both the Old and New Testaments. None of the prophets in the Old Testament, whether Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, or any other, could bring his own cleverness, wisdom, or ability into the Lord’s work. In other words, what those prophets preached was not their own ability, wisdom, or cleverness, but Jehovah, who came upon them, and the words of Jehovah. It is more so in the New Testament. Peter, James, John, and Paul could not add anything of themselves to the Lord’s service. What they ministered to the saints and the churches was altogether Christ Himself. This point must be made very clear.
The cross works on us to deal exactly with this matter; it breaks us and kills us in order to deal with this very issue. It deals with our own wisdom and overthrows our capable person. Why? Because if our cleverness, wisdom, and ability are not subdued by the Lord, what we do will definitely be of ourselves, not of the Lord. For example, if God had used Moses at age forty to save Israel, his service would have been full of his own ability, cleverness, wisdom, and knowledge. Therefore, God allowed him to run up against a wall. That was the cross breaking his talent, ability, wisdom, and cleverness. He was a prince in the palace and a captain in the army. Yet he was dealt with and became a wanderer and a shepherd in the wilderness. God used all these experiences to break him.
We must see that when we serve in the church and participate in the Lord’s work, we absolutely cannot minister what we have in ourselves. Whenever we mix what we have into the Lord’s service, the cross will come to us. This is very difficult, because God wants us for His work, but He does not want what we have.
Let us look at the other side of this matter. Although the Lord does not want what we have, He wants us to be useful to Him. After much consideration before the Lord, I believe that the matter of being “useful to the master” has much to do with a man’s character. Our talent and ability must not be mixed into the service of the Lord. However, our character can determine whether we are suitable for the Lord’s use. The character of some people is useful to the Lord, but that of others is not. Even though those who serve the Lord must not bring in what they have, their character must be suitable for the Lord’s use. For this reason I have been repeating that to be useful to the Master, we must build up a character that is useful to Him. Brothers and sisters, we bear a tremendous responsibility in this matter.
What kind of person is useful to the Lord? There are at least four aspects. First, he must love and desire the Lord. Do not even talk about being used by the Lord if you do not love and desire Him. We do not need to cover this basic matter here. Second, he must have a vision of the Lord and an encounter with Him. He needs to have a revelation that God’s eternal purpose is to work Christ into us and to express Christ through us. This is a great point. I have met many saints who love the Lord but have not seen this Christ of God. They have seen only Jesus their Savior, not the Christ of God. These may be zealous and full of love, yet in their service they do not minister the Lord to others, because they have not seen this Christ and have not received this revelation. In order to be useful in the Lord’s hand, one must see the revelation concerning Christ. Third, his self, his person, must have been dealt with by the cross. He must realize that whatever he has and whatever comes out of him cannot be brought into the Lord’s service. His natural being must have been terminated on the cross. Only those who have seen their flesh and their natural man realize how precious the cross is. Only when you have seen that you are fleshly and nothing but a thornbush, a leper, and a natural man will you treasure the experience of the cross. This can be called the revelation of the natural man or the revelation of the cross. After you have a heart to love the Lord, you must have at least two revelations, one concerning Christ and the other concerning the self, which also concerns the cross. You cannot lack any of these three aspects.
However, these three aspects are not sufficient. With these you can do something valuable but nothing extensive. You will surely dispense Christ and minister Christ, though perhaps only once a year, or to one person in six months.
Suppose there is a brother who sincerely loves the Lord and is not occupied with the world. He has been enlightened, he has seen the Christ of God, and he sees that the purpose of God in this universe is Christ, and that it is to work Christ into men and then to work Christ out from within men. He truly has the revelation of Christ. He also sees that what hinders Christ the most is his self, his flesh, and his natural life, and seeing this, he has fallen down. He has the knowledge of his natural life, which is the revelation of the cross. When you meet this one, you always sense that the Lord is so sweet, so lovely, and so great. However, you see some peculiarity in this brother. For example, if you ask him if he could find time to assist certain brothers who need help, he will answer, “Fine, fine.” But when he goes home, he will soon forget about it. Such a thing actually happened. This brother really loves the Lord, receives mercy, and sees himself and the way of the cross; however, there is something lacking in him that renders him useless to the Master.
Later, the same one may become an elder. A brother may come to him saying, “A certain sister has a serious problem related to marriage. She was engaged to someone, but now she is engaged to someone else. What do you think we should do?” He may say, “Well, let us look to the Lord.” Then another brother may come, saying, “A certain brother’s family is having a difficult time; he lost his job. What should we do?” To this he may reply, “Well, let us pray. If the Lord does not do anything, what can we do?” Do not think that such brothers do not exist. I am afraid to handle business with such brothers and sisters. When I do, I inevitably become frustrated. What is the problem with them? Are they short of love toward the Lord, or do they lack the knowledge of Christ? Or is it that they do not sufficiently know the cross? It is none of these; the problem is entirely with their character.
In all these years we have been studying the matter of service. Through our continuous probing and research, we have reached the conclusion that all the above four aspects are indispensable. Surprisingly, however, the fourth aspect, the aspect of character, is often easily rejected or neglected. Many assume that as long as they love the Lord, see Christ, and know the way of the cross, they have reached the peak. However, the fact remains that the first three aspects are inadequate. A cook must take four steps to prepare a meal: first, he must go shopping at the market; second, he has to remove many things, such as leaves of bamboo shoots, fish scales, and vegetable roots; third, he needs to cook the food; and fourth, he must prepare the chairs, plates, chopsticks, and spoons. Why is this fourth step necessary? Is the cook serving chopsticks and the table as food? Certainly not. However, without chopsticks, spoons, plates, and a table, the dinner cannot be properly served. These eating utensils illustrate the character of us who serve the Lord. Without them the food will stay in the cookware. One could still eat it but would not enjoy it. No one would eat the chopsticks and spoons along with the food; that would be terrible. We serve people a meal so that they may eat the food and not the utensils. Similarly, we do not minister our character to others, but we bear Christ to them by our character.
For example, a certain brother may be absent-minded and forgetful. Can his forgetful character replace the Christ whom he knows inwardly? Not at all. But his character greatly affects his service. He must make up this lack if he wants to be suitable for the Lord’s use. He must learn to remember things. He should carry a pocket notebook to record things that need to be done. This is just a small example.
Let us now consider the character of those who served the Lord in both the Old and New Testaments. It would actually be very worthwhile for you to study the character of persons from Abraham in the Old Testament to John in the New Testament. We can select only a few of those individuals for our discussion here.
Moses’ character was nearly perfect, as we see in the Old Testament. First, he received the knowledge of God from his parents when he was young. This is a factor that contributed to the development of his character. Second, God prepared an environment, bringing him to the Egyptian palace to learn the culture of that age. This also was a factor in the cultivation of his character. Third, God sent him to the wilderness for forty years for character training. Once a prince in the Egyptian palace, he now shepherded a flock, learning patience and humility and spontaneously acquiring a lowly character. For forty years, in the freezing cold and the scorching heat, he took care of his sheep. The ordeals and suffering that he went through were all for the development of his character, to make him humble, accommodating, enduring, patient, and sensitive.
Furthermore, a shepherd must have a sense of responsibility and a caring heart; he must be fine and thorough. A shepherd must lead his flock according to the sheep’s need to drink, to graze, to rest, and to move. Later, because of his forty years of training in the wilderness, Moses was able to lead the Israelites for forty years. He learned his lessons for forty years, so he was able to lead for forty years. This shows us that the extent to which God could use him depended on how much his character had been developed before the Lord. There is no doubt that the God who filled Moses was unlimited; however, Moses’ ability to testify and minister the God who filled him was based upon the character he had developed during his shepherding years.
It is clear that later, when Moses became God’s greatest servant, his character was very strong and capable, as well as fine, thorough, and sympathetic. The law of Moses is very high and very detailed. When he spoke of offerings, he even gave instructions for handling dung. He discussed very thoroughly the way to deal with the problems a woman might face before she is engaged, after she is engaged but before she is married, and after she is married. When you read Moses’ Pentateuch again, notice that his character was strong and transparent; at the same time it was also fine, thorough, and accommodating. This is the reason that the fire of Jehovah could burn and be manifested upon him.
In Deuteronomy he recounted events from the time the Israelites received the law until his dying days. How detailed was his memory! His compassion toward the Israelites was many times deeper than a mother’s. With such a character it was no wonder that God’s fire could burn upon him. Did all this pertain to Moses’ spiritual life? Those who do not know God may say so; actually, it was a matter of his character. Since God was manifested through him, God must have been the life, but Moses needed such a character to uphold God’s manifestation.
I mention this repeatedly because through the ages those who serve the Lord have neglected the matter of character. Rising early in the morning is not an aspect of the spiritual life; neither is remembering what people entrusted to you. These are matters of character. The spiritual life is the Christ constituted in you, the Christ seen by you, the Christ known by you, the Christ with whom you are filled. The point here is that as Christ has been seen by you and is being ministered to others through you, what kind of character should you have in order to be useful?
Now we come to Paul in the New Testament. Do you not sense that you touch a special character in Paul’s fourteen Epistles? Do you not sense here a man who is tender, helpful, accommodating, and frank? He was full of Christ, and the fire of Christ was burning within him and upon him. However, what people sensed was a diligent character, a mind to work, a readiness to speak frankly, a care for others, and a willingness to accommodate others. These points of character constitute the person of Paul. At times he could be extremely severe. Once he asked, “Should I come to you with a rod or in love and a spirit of meekness?” (1 Cor. 4:21). At other times he was full of gentleness. He also asked, “Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is stumbled, and I myself do not burn?” (2 Cor. 11:29). What a responsible and conscientious person he was!
Now let us come back to consider ourselves. I have mentioned that laziness is a major shortcoming in our character. Especially with regard to the young brothers and sisters, if you do not build up a diligent character, your work will have no future. At most you can be only a pretty flower for people to admire; you can hardly be a vessel to supply God’s children. Even though you may know the cross, Christ, and the natural man, if you are not diligent enough, it will be difficult for you to minister Christ to others. Christ will be nullified by your laziness. If you do not believe my word now, you will twenty years from now. You do not know how many things you will spoil because of a lack of diligence in your character.
Many people are willing to take on grand tasks but not small ones. This also is a shortcoming in character. If you desire to do only the big things and not the trivial, you are through. Whoever is useful in the hands of the Lord must be utterly broad on one hand, and extremely fine on the other. Such was Moses’ law. You should do minor jobs well, and you should also be able to carry out major assignments. Your character needs to be dealt with on this point. If you take pleasure only in preaching the all-inclusive Christ and His all-inclusive death on the cross, yet you are not willing to engage in trivial duties in your daily life, there is a shortage in your character.
Then, there are those people who are careless in everything; this characteristic makes them unsuitable for God’s use. You should be accommodating to others, but you should not tolerate sloppiness. If you gave a poor message last night, you cannot excuse yourself and let it go carelessly. You should condemn yourself, realizing that it was not acceptable. This may be called a progressive attitude. Some people do not have this item in their character and are thus of no use to the Lord.
Some people are irresponsible. Moreover, their irresponsibility is spontaneous and not intentional. If you ask one of them to be an elder, he may agree, albeit with a shallow sense of responsibility. He would not put upon his shoulders the people, things, or matters of the church. It seems that whatever matter you entrust to him becomes lost or disappears. He takes care only of those things that he happens to come across. This is because he lacks a sense of responsibility. The unconscientious person who serves the Lord cannot expect to be able to render help to others. We should not only love and care for people but also learn and practice before the Lord to be conscientious. Once certain matters of the church are entrusted to us, our heart should be in them. We should carry on our heart those whom we prayed for. Learn to have a sense of responsibility.
There is no need to illustrate further. If you check with yourself, you will see that there are still many areas of your character that are unfit for the Lord. As one who lacks the many qualities that are useful to the Lord, you must spend sufficient time to exercise to build up your character. Only then will you be useful to Him.
Never think that it is easier to oversee the church, to preach the gospel, or to save people’s souls than to do worldly business. This is absolutely not true. When I was first saved, although I had not yet received the Lord’s calling, by His grace I already enjoyed Bible reading, going to meetings, and, at times, gospel preaching. I met a classmate who had lost his job because of his temperament and personality. He came to see me and said, “You are associated with a certain denomination; now that I have lost my job, would you please recommend me to them as a preacher?” When I heard this, I was speechless. Today the common assumption is that it is easier to preach the gospel and serve the church than to do anything else; it seems that there is no need for a proper character and that such work can be done in a heedless way. I was told that anyone who has been a preacher for three years is not able to do anything else. We should feel shameful about these things.
We must realize that for serving the Lord, preaching the gospel, overseeing the church, and saving souls, a proper human character is the topmost requirement. To do these things, more than any other kind of work, requires diligence, earnestness, endurance, boldness, self-sacrifice, self-denial, thoughtfulness, considerateness, and progressiveness with daily improvement. If these qualities are not in your character, it makes little difference whether you are available for the Lord’s service or not.
Therefore, in order to serve the Lord, to preach the gospel, and to establish churches, you must build up a character that is useful to the Lord. In your daily life you need to attend to and diligently learn everything related to character, whether it is great or small. You should not place your clothes or books sloppily; all your belongings must be put in their proper place. This will help you to build up an exact character so that you will not do things in an unclear and careless way. You need to practice to be exact, never speaking carelessly or inaccurately, even remembering precisely the words of the Bible and their references. You need to cultivate your sense of responsibility and to work it into your character. Then, when you administrate the church, you will do nothing carelessly, since a certain conscientiousness will already be in you. May the Lord have mercy upon us that we may realize what kind of character is useful to Him.
