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Scripture Reading: Rev. 4:6, 8; Ezek. 1:9, 12, 15, 17-21
Whenever the Bible speaks of the four living creatures, it is to show the kind of condition we should have before God in our service. In this chapter we will fellowship concerning the condition we should have in our service based on two items seen in Revelation 4 and Ezekiel 1, that is, the eyes of the four living creatures and the moving wheels.
Eyes are for seeing. Revelation 4:6-8 speaks of “four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind...around and within.” This means that the four living creatures are transparent on all sides and that they are able to see within, without, and all around. Ezekiel 1:15b and 18b-19a say, “I saw a wheel upon the earth beside the living creatures...And the rims of the four of them were full of eyes all around. And whenever the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them.” These verses show that the eyes of the four living creatures are upon the moving wheels, indicating that the four living creatures move by the wheels. Revelation shows that the four living creatures are full of eyes around and within, but Ezekiel says specifically that the rims of the wheels are full of eyes. Hence, the rims are the key to the move of the four living creatures. Their move is entirely dependent upon the turning of the rims. The turning rims being full of eyes mean that seeing and moving are altogether related. It is not possible for us to move without seeing.
The existence of the four living creatures, as recorded in the Bible, is a fact, and it is crucial that we see what the four living creatures symbolize spiritually and that we receive an impression of the four living creatures. The picture of the four living creatures is similar to an impressionistic painting; it illustrates the kind of service that God desires. When we read about these four living creatures, we need to see God’s intention. He desires that those who serve Him have eyes and that their eyes and their move be joined together.
The rims are on the outer part of the wheel and are full of eyes; therefore, when the wheels turn, the eyes also turn. This means that a person who serves God must first have eyes and then rims. In other words, he must be able to see, and then he can move. In the book of Ezekiel the wheels refer specifically to the move of the four living creatures. The wheels indicate the swiftness of their move (10:13). The greatest characteristic of these four living creatures is that their move is specific, swift, and agile (1:14).
The four living creatures go straight forward in four directions; they do not turn as they go (vv. 12, 17). Their move is straight and not crooked, yet they move in every direction. Even though they move straight forward, their move is not in only one direction but in four directions. In other words, if they move toward the east, they can still move toward the west, the north, or the south. Even though they do not turn, they are able to move in all four directions. This is a very particular matter.
These few points indicate how our service to God should be. The first point is concerning the eyes. A person who serves God cannot live in a foolish, confused, and blind way; instead, he should be bright, alert, and sharp. The Epistles written by the apostle Paul demonstrate that he was bright, alert, and sharp. He was like the four living creatures, full of eyes around and within. As such, he could see the condition of the church in Antioch, the church in Corinth, the church in Ephesus, and the church in Colossae. He was able to see the threat to the church from teachings mixed with Greek philosophy (Col. 2:8); he was also able to see the danger of the believers being distracted from God’s economy by the preaching of the Judaizers (Gal. 1:6-9). Moreover, he was able to foresee problems related to the errors of some believers’ individual actions and the things that the leading ones needed to guard against before they actually occurred.
In Paul’s Epistles we do not see a person who adhered to routines and was inflexible; rather, we see a person who adapted quickly to changing circumstances. For instance, the Epistle to the Colossians is different from the Epistle to the Ephesians. The letter he wrote to the church in Ephesus fit their situation, and the letter he wrote to the church in Colossae fit their situation. He did not adhere to routines. Since the church is the Body of Christ, we cannot take care of it by adhering to routines; otherwise, we will be like a blind person trying to lead others. In Paul’s letters he spoke to Timothy in one way, to Titus in another way, and to Philemon in yet another way. The books of Romans, Hebrews, and Galatians are not all the same. These examples indicate that Paul was a person full of eyes. He was clear in matters concerning the saints and the church. It did not matter whether a situation was corporate or individual. He was full of insight into the matter. This is what it means for the four living creatures to be full of eyes around and within. In our service we must have eyes, and we must be alert. We must be wise, and we must understand people’s actual situations.
According to my observation, those of us who serve full time do not have the condition of the four living creatures. We may be able to see, but we can see only one aspect or one point. We cannot see all the aspects and all the points. We are not like the four living creatures, who are full of eyes and can see all sides. Such seeing is lacking in our service. Although it is good to abide by rules, we should not adhere to routines in our service.
Every serving one should learn to understand the timing and situations related to different matters. Many serving ones still do things step by step, sticking to old routines while being faithful in their service. This may be good, but it is not sufficient. We need to be full of eyes. We need to know the saints in the place we are serving, and we need to know their condition. We need to have a deep understanding of their actual situation. We should not rigidly hold on to the old things and old ways.
From practical experience, businessmen know that even though they made money yesterday by doing business in a certain way, they may lose money today by continuing in the same way. Farmers have the same experience. A farmer may have slept peacefully yesterday, but he may not be able to do so today. In northern China when the wheat is first ripening, there is no time to sleep. If the farmer delays the harvest by one day, much of the wheat will fall to the ground and be lost. Opportunity must be grasped. Some farmers may think that they can wait a few days once the wheat has ripened; however, if they wait, much wheat will be lost. In order to seize an opportunity, we need to recognize the opportunity. We cannot simply continue to do the same thing every day. Neither can we do something one way in the springtime and do it the same way in the fall. It is good to follow proper routines, but we must also recognize opportunity. If we do something one way this year, we may not do it the same way next year. If we stick to a routine, we may suffer loss.
Consider what would happen if all the serving ones in the church in Taipei adhered to a routine. Surely the church’s condition would be dead. The church in Taipei has been established over a long period of time, and all the services have been arranged; hence, the most crucial need is to strengthen the spiritual side. First, the church needs the living word. Second, the church needs to be built in a living way. Third, the individual saints need to be built up spiritually. We cannot take care of these three needs in a routine way, because there is nothing routine in regard to these needs.
We need to see that spiritual supply and spiritual building up are what the saints lack the most. I have been to several meetings in different districts. Every meeting I went to gave me a feeling of famine. The dishes on the dinner table were nothing but leftovers, without many nutrients. I am afraid that the church is suffering from hunger. If a person is hungry, he will easily become sick. Please remember that life always swallows up death. Whenever life is gone, death will surface, and the most serious death comes from human opinions and human views. Whenever there is a lack of God’s word, God’s opinion and God’s view will be torn down. None of the meetings I attended were able to satisfy people with the word; instead, all the meetings gave people a sense of hunger. The brothers and sisters who came to those meetings must have felt hungry, because they came to the meeting but were not supplied.
It is pitiful if we, as full-time serving ones, can sit in that kind of meeting and still be at peace, have no burden, adhere to routines, and think that we have fulfilled our duty. Such an attitude indicates that we are serving blindly; that is, we cannot see the need, our eyes are not bright, and we do not know how to seize the opportunity. Presently, we are not lacking in serving ones, but even though we have so many serving ones, the supply is obviously short.
As full-time serving ones, we have more time, and we have received more perfecting in life and truth than most saints. If we cannot supply the ministry of the word, how can we expect other brothers and sisters to rise up and function? We can never shirk the responsibility of ministering the word. This responsibility is ours. However, among all the full-time serving ones in Taipei, not many have received the burden to minister the word to the saints. Most of the serving ones are doing their jobs in a regular way and feel that it is good enough to be faithful to what they do. In the eyes of the saints, however, this is absolutely not enough.
When I sit among the full-time serving ones in a meeting, I often feel sorrowful, not because they have done something offensive but because they have not given the saints food. Nevertheless, the full-time serving ones sit there and are peaceful, meeting after meeting. Inevitably, a question arises within me concerning whether their inward being is bright and sharp. If the apostle Paul were to observe such a situation, he would have said something. None of us should go to prayer meetings, bread-breaking meetings, and fellowship meetings and watch the time and the meeting go by tastelessly yet inwardly have no feeling. This is an indication that we have no eyes. If we were full of eyes, we would feel that this situation cannot continue.
We must receive the burden to pray to the Lord and be dealt with by Him. If we are in a certain district meeting, we should take responsibility for the meeting in that district. Nobody else can carry the load. If we do not bear it, who will? We need to bring in food and water to give the saints the nutrients that they need. This has to do with our inward feeling and our eyes. We cannot sit around indifferently and be at peace. After all, we have eyes and can see. Even though it is painful to be a person with eyes, feelings, and a keen sense, we cannot be without these items in our service. We should not be able to tolerate seeing the saints come to the meeting but not receive a supply. We cannot say, “I have done all that I am supposed to do. The elders arranged for me to serve in a certain matter, and I am serving accordingly. They assigned me a message, and I gave it. It is not my business how the saints receive it.” We cannot have such a transcendent attitude, considering that this is only God’s business, not our own. We must learn to be sharp and not live a life of ease.
According to the statistics of the last several weeks, there were approximately sixty saints coming to each of the district meetings. If over the next few weeks, the numbers begin to gradually drop, this will indicate that the saints are not receiving the supply. After four or five meetings many may stop coming altogether. We should not be insensitive to such a situation. If we are insensitive, we are like a piece of brick or wood without any light. We need to sharpen our senses in the meetings. We should not sit in comfort. All of us need to pray and to endeavor to deal with the problem of our spiritual famine. Such a problem is not the business of only a small number of elders or co-workers; it is the business of all of us. The most dangerous thing facing the church at the present time is a lack of food. The saints are suffering from hunger, from famine. They are poor and weak. We cannot imagine the kind of problems such a situation will generate. This is a serious problem.
The serving ones cannot be persons without eyes and feelings. Even if we must set aside our other responsibilities and deal only with the present famine, it is necessary to do this. According to my observation of the present famine, we still have sufficient health to protect us, but I am concerned that we may become weak to the extent that all kinds of sicknesses will surface. We need to see that the great need in the church is to nourish the saints.
Whenever the saints come to a meeting, they are coming to a feast in order to eat and receive a supply. As serving ones, we should consider what we are offering on the table and whether the food is sufficiently nutritious. We need to consider whether or not there is sufficient food and drink in the meeting. We must have feelings in regard to this matter. We cannot allow the meetings to continue in the present manner. We should not think that this is the elders’ or other people’s business. We should have the feeling that it is our responsibility if the saints are suffering from hunger.
The serving ones should prepare food for the saints and supply them with food. At present this is the greatest need. We need to learn how to supply food and how to seize the opportunity to use our time to prepare the food. If we do not know how to seize this opportunity, even if we had more time, we would not be able to meet the need of this famine. Our situation now is one of famine. In regard to the building up of the saints, the ministry of the word, visitation, and spiritual supply, we are in the midst of a famine. We are short in all these aspects.
If we look at the statistics of attendance, we will see that our service is questionable. This is because there is not an adequate supply for the saints. We have adhered to routines and affected the saints negatively. The church in Taipei has fallen into such a serious famine that we should focus on this one thing. We need to see that there is a spiritual famine here. We should supply the saints with the ministry of the word. This is a most urgent need. It cannot wait and must be done aggressively. In every meeting we need to supply the saints with the ministry of the word.
Before a table meeting on the Lord’s Day, those responsible for the districts as well as the full-time serving ones must pray to the Lord Jesus, saying, “Lord, we cannot let the saints go home hungry.” If we have the feeling that we cannot let the saints go home hungry, this means that our eyes are sharp, that we are “full of eyes around and within.” We must have feelings regarding the things that we see. If our eyes are sharp, our sharp eyes will control us in our move. We must have a sharp feeling and then move by following the eyes that are upon the rims of the wheels.
There are two basic principles for our move: one is that our move must have a direction, and the other is that our move must be multidirectional. The four living creatures go straightforward in four directions without turning (Ezek. 1:17). They are not without a definite direction; rather, they go straight ahead, yet they are able to move in every direction. This means that when we move, we must have a goal, a direction, without preference and without turning according to our will. However, we should not move in more than one direction. We cannot say, “I only care about one matter; I do not care about any other matter.” Likewise, we cannot say, “I am taking care of visitation, so I cannot give a message or preach the gospel.” If this is the case, we are not like the four living creatures. We are “one-directional”; that is, if we can go east, we cannot go west.
Every serving one should learn to have an aim, a direction, and to be multidirectional. Even though our particular direction may be to preach the gospel, we may discover that when we are speaking in a meeting the attendants need edification, not the gospel. When this occurs, we should change the meeting to take care of the matter of edification. This is what it means to have an aim but to also be multidirectional. It may be that we are responsible for giving messages, but we should also be able to visit people. Perhaps we work with young people and students; nevertheless, we should also be able to speak with older saints and render help to them. Our focus may be to work with young people, but we should also be able to work in other areas. We must be able to cover multiple directions and be flexible in our work. We should be able to give a message as well as visit someone. We should be able to preach the gospel as well as edify others. If we are persons who pay attention to the inner life, we should also be able to encourage others to preach the gospel. This is what it means to be multidirectional instead of “one-directional.”
According to their disposition, some brothers do not like to talk. If such brothers desire to serve the Lord, they need to allow themselves to be broken in this matter. Other brothers like to talk when they meet people; however, this too is natural and fleshly. We should follow the sense of the spirit to either keep quiet or speak. Often, however, we are quiet because we are afraid that we will not supply others or we feel that we cannot speak well, not because in our spirit we feel to be quiet. Hence, in order to train ourselves to be able to supply others, we cannot have an indifferent attitude. We should let the responsibility that we bear press us, just as Paul was pressed: “Who is stumbled, and I myself do not burn?” (2 Cor. 11:29). Many brothers and sisters are coming to the meetings. If we do not supply them, who will? We must do our best to make up the lack. God will open up our stuttering mouth and give us the gift of speaking, and the Spirit will grant us grace.
If we do not turn on the faucet, the water company cannot supply us with water. Similarly, we are often unable to supply others, because we are accustomed to not opening our mouth, we adhere to our routines, and we are set in our ways. Wherever the Spirit goes, the wheels follow. We should not make a rule that we will not open our mouth in the meetings. Although we should have a direction for our service and should not turn at will, we must also be multidirectional. The requirement of being multidirectional is a difficult lesson for us to learn. Actually, to adhere to a routine is to be presumptuous. After our presumptuousness has been broken, we will receive a great deal of perfecting. If there is a need to give a gospel message, even if we have never learned to give a gospel message, we have no choice but to give a gospel message. If we pick up certain matters, we will learn. In the same way, if we always give gospel messages, yet there is a need for edification, will we be willing to meet the need? If we are not willing, who will do it? Surely this is our responsibility, and we must learn to pick it up.
We must realize that seeing controls our move and that this move has a direction and is also multidirectional. The book of Ezekiel shows that the Spirit determines the direction of the move of the four living creatures. All four sides of the living creatures have wheels, but the movement of the wheels is not decided by the wheels themselves. The movement of the wheels is determined by the Spirit (1:20). For this reason we need to learn to do everything. We should learn how to preach the gospel, how to edify others, and how to visit people; however, the Spirit determines the direction in which we move. Each of us should have a wheel for giving messages and a wheel for visiting people in their homes. All these wheels must be moving. Then these wheels will turn in whatever direction the Holy Spirit moves. The wheels are on four sides, but the direction is determined by the Spirit.
If the Spirit wants us to speak, we should not say, “My wheel for speaking never turns.” If we do this, we will frustrate the Holy Spirit. If the Spirit says, “Go and speak a message,” we should not say, “I am used to contacting people. I am not good at giving messages.” From Paul’s Epistles we can see that he labored in many directions. Even within one letter he covered numerous matters. In the beginning of Ephesians 4 he spoke of keeping the oneness of the Spirit (v. 3), but toward the end of the chapter, he spoke of many details in regard to how believers should walk. The Spirit worked with him, and in him we can see many examples of moving in multiple directions and having eyes all around. Every brother and sister should have eyes all around and be able to move in four directions so that wherever the Spirit moves, we can follow. We should have wheels, and our feelings should be sharp. If our service is like this, the church will be living, and there will be rich food with which we can supply others.
In our service we need to learn to be keen in our perception, and we also need to have wheels on all four sides, not wheels that move in only one direction. We must have the wheel of gospel preaching, the wheel of edification, the wheel of visitation, the wheel of speaking, the wheel of not speaking, the wheel of listening, and the wheel of prayer. We must have wheels for all directions. Although the Holy Spirit may not mobilize the wheel on one side, it should always be ready.
Finally, all those serving in the ministry of the word must prepare living material that can meet people’s needs. For instance, if we are giving a message on a Lord’s Day, we must seek the Lord concerning the condition of the people to whom we will be speaking. We must find the supply that they need. If we seek the Lord in this way, the material that we prepare will be living. I do not encourage the brothers to read too many reference books. These books are precious, but they are not worth much, because they are not living. If a child is thirsty and asks for a glass of water, it is useless to put a pearl in front of him. We need to supply people according to their need. We need to spend time in the presence of the Lord in order to know the condition of the saints and to obtain words that will deal with their condition. Such words will be living; hence, we do not need to search reference materials in order to find content for a message. To do so is to have no eyes and no wheels. It is not only dead; it is also useless.
If we see a need, we should not feel at peace; rather, we must pick up the responsibility for the meetings in our district. We should not simply show up for the meeting on time and call a hymn occasionally. That is not to bear responsibility. We must seek what message to give in the meeting and what burden to pray for in the prayer meeting. We also need to seek how to help the saints with respect to their family situations, their physical health, and the problems related to their career. According to my observation of the church life, although there may be some visitation, no one is taking care of the work. Messages are given in the meetings, but no one is really meeting the need. Likewise, although there are responsible ones in the church, no one is taking care of the real need of the church. If a saint is sick, loses his job, or has marital problems, we should seek to shepherd him and help him. However, we are short of people taking care of these matters. Not only do we not know how to do it, no one is doing it. How can we still feel at peace?
Our condition can be compared to someone who has a business but has no feeling after losing money for six months. The whole church is suffering, but some of us have no feeling. Some think that since they have been assigned to be the responsible one in a certain district, if no one speaks in the meeting, they should, and if no one gives a report, they should. Even their visitation is out of obligation. When they see someone in distress, they feel obligated to help. That is all. They do not spend time in the Lord’s presence seeking concerning people’s situations, neither do they have a genuine concern for them. To serve out of the ordinary love that people have for one another, in the same manner as those in Protestantism or Catholicism, is not sufficient.
If a couple is going through a trial, we should have eyes and a sense regarding their situation. We should then activate the wheel of prayer to pray for them, seeking the Lord as to what to do. When we pray for them, the Holy Spirit will come in and lead us. Then when we visit them, we will be able to render practical help to them. Not only will they touch our love in the Lord, but they will also receive supply from our inner being and be built up. The Holy Spirit within them will bear witness to this building.
Some of the brothers in the various districts are in their thirties and have recently become married. These ones have a heart for the Lord, yet no one has visited them. They have not found the supply in the church to meet their need. We need some to have a feeling regarding this situation and create a “wheel,” seeking the Lord as to how to serve these brothers who were recently married. We do not need to ask the elders; rather, we must first have eyes. Then when the Holy Spirit moves, we will follow Him immediately and render solid help to these ones. As a result of receiving such help over a period of three to five months, these ones will never forget the leading that was rendered to them.
We must be alert, having many eyes, and we must have multidirectional wheels, waiting for the command of the Spirit. Such service is living. The church today needs such service. If we are this kind of a worker, no place can limit us. It will not matter whether we are in a large church or in a small district. Wherever we are, we will be able to supply the saints. Moreover, it will not matter whether the Holy Spirit leads us to speak to a big group or a small group. Today our service depends on whether or not our eyes are bright. In all these things we should learn, and we should practice. Our wheels should turn whenever the Spirit leads us.
