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Scripture Reading: Rom. 1:9; 7:6; Phil. 3:3
Our serving God is a matter of our relationship with God and of our contacting God. God is Spirit, and we must use the proper organ to serve Him. We hear with our ears, we see with our eyes, we eat with our mouth, we walk with our feet, we work with our hands, and we think with our mind. Our spirit is the proper organ that we should use to serve God. God created man with a particular organ, the human spirit. Zechariah 12:1 says, “Thus declares Jehovah, who stretches forth the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him.” In this verse God ranks the human spirit with the heavens and the earth. God stretched forth the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the spirit of man within him. For many years we did not see that this verse ranks the human spirit with the heavens and the earth. In addition to the heavens and the earth, God created many other things, but Zechariah mentions only the heavens, the earth, and the human spirit. It seems more logical to speak of the heavens, the earth, and man: “Who stretches forth the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth and forms man.” However, this verse emphatically speaks of the human spirit: “Forms the spirit of man within him.” Therefore, although the human spirit is a small organ, it is very crucial in the eyes of God. The greatest difference between human beings and animals is that human beings have a spirit. God did not create a spirit for any creature other than man.
When I first went to the United States, nearly no Christian knew about the human spirit. Among us, however, both the younger saints and the older saints know that the heavens are for the earth, the earth is for man, and man has a spirit for God. God is Spirit, and He needs man; hence, He created a spirit in man. If man did not have a spirit, he would have no way to contact God, who is Spirit. “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit” (John 4:24). God’s creation is for God. He created man for Himself, so He created man with a spirit.
Man has a body for his existence. Man also has a soul. The body needs clothing, food, shelter, and transportation; hence, the body needs the earth. The earth that God created is able to supply man with clothing, food, shelter, and transportation to meet the needs of man’s body. This is very significant. If the earth were slightly closer to the sun, its temperature would be too high for the animals and plants to survive. If the earth were slightly farther from the sun, all the living creatures would die because the temperature of the earth would be too low. The distance between the earth and the sun is perfect; hence, the temperature of the earth is suitable for life. In addition to the right temperature, there is the provision of air, sunshine, and water, which enables things to grow on the earth. Thus, the entire earth is for man.
When I went to Europe in 1958, scientists were researching how to land on the moon. Some British brothers asked whether human beings would be found on the moon. I told them, “I do not understand physics or astronomy, but I am certain that there are no human beings on the moon. If there were, the Bible would be indefensible.” With the later advances in technology, man eventually landed on the moon and confirmed that no air and no living creatures were there. According to the photographs taken on the moon, the moon is a barren place with no grass, no trees, and no living creatures. We thank the Lord that the earth is full of living creatures, and man is able to live on the earth. In order for grain to grow out of the ground, nutrients are needed in the soil; there is also the need for air, sunshine, and water, all of which come from heaven. This shows that the heavens are for the earth, the earth is for man, and man is for God. Man has a spirit so that he can contact God.
When we talk about serving God, we must also talk about the human spirit. Christianity has become a religion because it is degraded in the matter of the spirit. Religion is to serve God and to do things to please God without Christ. To preach the gospel without the spirit is religion. To study and interpret the Bible without the spirit are religion. Even to pray and sing hymns without the spirit are religion. The definition of religion is that man worships and serves God and does things to please God without the Spirit of God and without the human spirit. The Spirit of God is joined to our spirit as one spirit. Romans 7:6 says, “We serve in newness of spirit.” It is hard to tell whether spirit here refers to the Spirit of God or to the spirit of man. According to my personal understanding, spirit here refers to the Spirit of God and to the spirit of man. In other words, it is two spirits joined as one spirit. First Corinthians 6:17 says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” The word spirit in these two verses refers to the two spirits, the divine Spirit and the human spirit, joined as one spirit. Such a spirit is the organ for us to serve God.
In order to work in society, people focus on methods and tools. When we serve God in the church, however, we need to use our spirit. In order to teach in a college, a person must have a sound mind, knowledge, eloquence, and persuasive speech. However, although we need a clear mind and good articulation to speak for the Lord in the church, we mainly need to use our spirit. If we speak in the church without our spirit, we will be like a puppet. For whatever we do in the church, we must use our spirit. We must even use our spirit when we are cleaning the floor. If we would use our spirit in this way, we will be able to supply others with life when we fellowship with them. Even the ones who are ushering must use their spirit so that those who are ushered may touch life. If we do not use our spirit, we cannot supply life to others. In the church meetings there should not be an usher who does not use his spirit. Whether an usher smiles is not what matters. What matters is whether he uses his spirit. Those who serve as ushers must push out their spirit. The spirit is the genuineness of man. Hence, when we use our spirit, what is genuine within will be manifested.
In order for our spirit to come out when we serve as ushers, our spirit first needs to be filled. Our spirit cannot come out unless it is filled. A cup that is only half full of water will not overflow. Only when the cup is filled with water can it overflow. Suppose a brother gets angry at home and in the evening goes to serve as an usher. Although he may have a smile on his face, others will sense anger coming out of him, because he is filled with anger. Suppose the brother did not get angry at home, nor did he fellowship with the Lord. When he stands at the entrance of the meeting hall to usher the saints, neither anger nor joy will come out of him, nor will his spirit come out. This kind of ushering is empty. Hence, before serving as ushers, the saints must go to the Lord and pray, “Lord, I love You, and I need You. Lord, I come to You.” We need to pray for at least twenty minutes. Without prayer, our spirit will not come out.
Our human spirit has been mingled with the Spirit of God. Now the two are one spirit. Our human spirit is the vessel, and the Spirit of God is the content. Our spirit is to contain the Spirit. In order for our spirit to contain the Spirit, we must have prayer. Therefore, before the ushers serve, they must pray to be filled with the Spirit as oil. The same applies to cleaning. Without prayer, everyone who cleans will do his own thing, and no one will supply the Spirit. Such a service is empty. Before we serve in the church, we must pray until we are saturated and filled with the Spirit. Then our spirit will come out when we serve, and we will be able to supply life to one another. This is the secret to serving.
In Romans 1:9 and 10 Paul says, “God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers, beseeching.” This indicates that our service to God in our spirit cannot be separated from prayer and petitions. If we do not pray, our service will not be in the spirit. Therefore, we must pray.
Some brothers are concerned that although the younger saints are easily stirred up during conferences, their spirit cools down after a few days. The brothers are also concerned that the elderly saints are not easily moved and that their spirit is not always fresh. Prayer is the solution to these two problems. In order for our spirit to be burning and always fresh, we must pray and contact the Lord. Hence, the Bible says, “Unceasingly pray” (1 Thes. 5:17).
In the past we did not understand how to pray while we were doing other things, such as working or teaching. Now we know that to unceasingly pray means that we need to have a spirit of prayer so that we constantly contact the Lord. In order to achieve this, we first must have set times for prayer. If we do not have some set times during the day for prayer, it will be hard to maintain constant contact with the Lord. In the morning we need to spend some time to pray ourselves into the spirit of prayer. In the afternoon we again need to take some time to pray. In the evening we should again pray ourselves into the spirit of prayer. When we live in the spirit of prayer, we will spontaneously pray in the classroom and in the office. This is the meaning of unceasingly praying. Our experience shows that we need set times during the day for prayer. No matter how busy we may be, we must find time to pray in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening. Without praying, our spirit will not be fresh.
Every morning we should spend time to pray before the Lord, whether it is for ten minutes, fifteen minutes, or twenty minutes. We should not pray for any person, matter, or thing. We should simply contact the Lord and fellowship with Him. If we sense a sin, we should deal with it by confessing it and asking the Lord to cleanse us with His precious blood. We can also spend some time to read the Bible in order to receive the supply. No matter how busy we may be, we should try our best to keep this time for prayer. It is possible that a few mornings we may not have enough time to pray. However, if we consistently do not have enough time to pray in the morning, yet we continue coming punctually to the meetings, we will be in religion. The normal condition of a Christian is to pray for a few minutes every morning. Then later during the day we should always have other times of prayer. We should also find time to pray in the evening. We must pray daily. There is no other way to serve.
If we are persons of prayer, living in the spirit of prayer, we will spontaneously bring those under our care into a living of prayer. If the younger saints are not brought into the spirit of prayer to have a living of prayer, they will not be kept under God’s blessing. The only way to remain under the blessing is to be brought into the spirit of prayer and into a living of prayer. It is worthwhile to touch the spirit of prayer and have a living of prayer.
In the past we had the concept that the way to release our spirit was to praise the Lord and call on His name with a loud voice in the meetings. Although we cannot say that this is not the way to release our spirit, the emphasis of releasing and exercising our spirit is on contacting the Lord. Therefore, we need to exercise our spirit twenty-four hours a day. We should even exercise our spirit while we are resting. I can testify that I receive much light from my fellowship with the Lord in prayer while I am resting. This is how to exercise our spirit in our daily life. We should not have the mistaken concept that we can lose our temper and curse people when we are at home and still shout “Praise the Lord!” in the meeting. Such spiritual conduct is a show and a pretense. We need to exercise our spirit every day by speaking to people with our spirit and doing things from our spirit. We need to exercise until we can do everything from our spirit. This is the way for us to carry out our service. Hence, the Bible speaks of serving “in my spirit” (Rom. 1:9), serving “in newness of spirit” (7:6), and serving “by the Spirit of God” (Phil. 3:3). We must practice to exercise our spirit every day. Whether we are serving children or young people, praying, singing hymns, cleaning, or ushering, we must exercise our spirit, and in order to exercise our spirit, we must pray. Before we do anything, we first need to pray in order to be filled with the Spirit as oil.
The many problems that we encounter in the service of the church are insignificant. The real problem is our lack in exercising our spirit. When we exercise our spirit, our flesh is dealt with, and our temper dissipates. Suppose some sisters are easily offended. The best way for them to overcome their temper is to pray. Prayer is the way to stop our temper. We just need to be diligent to exercise our spirit and pray, “Lord, I am about to lose my temper. Lord, fill me. I praise You.” Then we will be filled in spirit, our anger will dissipate, and our problem will be resolved. Besides prayer, there is no other way to deal with the flesh, lusts, and temper. The work of the Spirit within us requires our cooperation by prayer. Prayer is the way to use, exercise, and strengthen our spirit. The more we pray, the stronger and fresher our spirit will be. Although it is hard to explain this mystery, we can understand and experience it by praying. We must pray and exercise our spirit so that we can serve God in spirit.
