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Our service to God can be divided into service that is according to revelation or service that is natural. Service according to revelation involves meeting God, being shined upon by God, receiving revelation from God, and being burdened in spirit by God. This kind of service is not initiated by us but by God; it is not out of ourselves but out of God. We must meet God and contact God in order to have service that comes from God as the source.
Natural service is different. Natural service is according to our own ideas, views, traditions, or regulations. It also comes from copying or imitating others, and it is often initiated to simply meet the need of a certain situation. Such service comes out of ourselves or out of others but not out of God. This kind of service does not require us to meet God or contact God; it is service that we can do apart from God.
Before Saul received revelation, he thought that he was serving God (Acts 7:58; 8:1). Before he was saved, he was trained at the feet of Gamaliel, according to the strictness of the Judaic law, and he was zealous for God (22:3). In his zealousness he persecuted Christians and thought that he was serving God (vv. 4-5). The Lord Jesus spoke of this kind of service when He said to His disciples, “An hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God” (John 16:2). Saul killed Christians and thought that he was serving God. He did not know that he was resisting the Lord, opposing the Lord, and kicking against the goads (Acts 26:14). Instead, he thought that he was being zealous in his service to God. He had zeal but no light. His service was not according to revelation but according to the law, a service according to the Old Testament and Judaic traditions. He was zealous in his service, but he had no revelation. Until light from heaven flashed around him on his way to Damascus (9:3), he was unaware of his condition, but after the flashing of the light, he knew that he had been zealously but blindly serving God (vv. 8-9, 17-18).
After the flashing of the light, his service as Paul was wholly according to revelation. In Galatians 1:11-12 Paul says that the gospel he announced was “not according to man” but that he had “received it through a revelation by Jesus Christ.” In 2:1-2 Paul also says that he went up to Jerusalem “according to revelation.” After the shining from heaven on the way to Damascus, Paul’s service was different. Previously, his service had been according to tradition; it was copied and learned. Hence, it was natural. After his experience, his service was the result of meeting God and receiving God’s shining. His service was according to revelation.
Everyone who serves the Lord must be clear that the only service that counts before God is service according to revelation. All our service should be according to revelation. Certainly service involving big matters must be according to revelation, but even the seemingly small service of visiting brothers and sisters should be according to revelation. Furthermore, what we say to the brothers and sisters should be according to revelation; it should not be routine or natural. We need revelation concerning what to say, and we need revelation concerning how we should speak. We should not copy or imitate the way others speak, but instead we should speak according to revelation. The only service that is of value is service that is done according to revelation.
The most important matter in a person’s serving of the Lord is revelation. Every act of our service should come out of revelation. We should not have outward acts of service to the Lord without inward revelation from the Lord. Our inward revelation must govern our outward acts. If we act according to an outward situation without any inward revelation, our service will only be natural.
Service according to revelation requires light. For example, visiting the brothers and sisters must be the result of fellowship with the Lord, in which the Lord burdens us and gives us a sense that a certain brother or sister needs to be visited. When we spend time with the Lord, and He burdens us in regard to a brother or sister, this sense will govern our actions.
Not only should our visitation be according to revelation, but all our service should be according to revelation. Preaching the gospel should be according to revelation. We should not join the gospel work of the church simply because we hear an announcement from the brothers. We should join the gospel work because we have contacted the Lord and received an inward burden. When we draw near to the Lord and fellowship with Him, we may be touched that just as the Lord has revived us and treasures us, He has this same regard for others. If we have such an inward sense, this revelation will govern our preaching of the gospel. Such service is according to revelation.
Service according to revelation results from drawing near to the Lord and having fellowship with Him. It comes from being touched by Him in our inward feelings and sensing His desire related to a certain matter. When we carry out this desire, our service comes out of the Lord’s shining and revelation.
Natural service does not depend upon fellowship with the Lord, and it can be carried out without any inward sense or burden. For example, some responsible brothers may make arrangements to visit the brothers and sisters, and we may visit them because we do not want to feel bad. This, however, is an indication that we do not have a burden from the Lord. Our visitation, thus, will be related only to outward arrangements and outward needs, not to an inward burden. In other words, our service does not come out of contacting God but from the influence of an outward situation. This kind of service is natural.
Sometimes when we hear that a brother or sister has grown cold and is no longer meeting with the church, we consider visiting them out of a sense of duty. Even though this sense of duty is better than merely accepting the arrangement of others, such a service is still natural. It is not according to revelation; rather, it is based on outward situations, not inner revelation. Similarly, we may hear that a certain brother is sick, and we visit him only because we have some sympathy for him. Such a seemingly good intention is still natural; it is not based on revelation. Whatever has not passed through God or does not come from our contacting of God is merely natural service, no matter how good or necessary it may seem to be; it is not service according to revelation.
When we act without contacting God or letting God touch us, that is, when we act according to outward needs, a sense of duty, or good intentions, the result may seemingly be good, but it will, in fact, be quite different in nature from what comes out of contacting God. One result involves inward shining, whereas the other does not. One result is according to revelation, whereas the other is natural. One result comes out of contacting God, whereas the other comes out of environmental influences.
Abraham’s service to God was according to revelation. He left Ur of the Chaldeans and journeyed from Haran to Canaan. There he pitched his tent and built an altar to serve God. His actions were the result of the God of glory appearing to him. He met God and received revelation from God (Gen. 12:1-8; 13:1-4, 14-18; Acts 7:2-3). All his actions came out of God’s appearing and revelation. All his actions were governed by God’s appearing and revelation.
Lot, however, did not have God’s appearing or God’s revelation. All his actions were governed by Abraham’s moves, not God’s revelation. When Abraham went out of Ur, Lot went with him (Gen. 11:31). When Abraham went out of Haran, Lot again went with him (12:4). When Abraham went to Canaan, Lot went with him to Canaan as well (v. 5). Lot never met God; he only followed a man.
Many brothers and sisters serve God as Lot did. They have not contacted God or received revelation from Him; they have been influenced merely by men, and they are following men and imitating men. When others serve, they serve. When others preach the gospel, they preach the gospel. Such service has little spiritual value, and it will not last long or stand when tested.
Abraham’s service came out of meeting God and receiving revelation from God; hence, his service was able to stand. Even though he went down to Egypt in a moment of weakness, his service was still recovered before God (v. 9—13:4). Lot, however, did not meet God or receive revelation from God; his service was based on his being influenced by another and his following after another. Therefore, it could not stand the test and did not endure. Once Lot entered Sodom, he could not recover his service to God.
Our service must come from meeting the Lord, seeing light, and receiving revelation. We should not do something simply because others are doing it. If we meet the Lord and receive revelation, we will be unable to not do as the Lord desires. Consider the matter of visitation. We should not regard the arrangement of the church merely as a routine and visit the saints accordingly. We still need revelation in order to know how to carry out the matter of visitation and to know what to say when we see the brothers and sisters. In this way our visitation will not only be according to the arrangement of the church but also according to an inward burden and revelation. Apparently, it is the arrangement of the church, but actually, it is related to the burden that comes from revelation. Sometimes, the church may not even have an arrangement, but we still have a burden that comes from revelation. Only this kind of service has spiritual value, and only it will be able to stand the test and endure. We must pay attention to this very important matter; otherwise, our service will be empty and short-lived.
Some may ask, “How can we receive revelation?” On the one hand, we need God’s mercy, but on the other hand, we also must bear the responsibility to seek the Lord’s shining and revelation. We must remove everything in us that covers the light and hinders us from receiving revelation. We must condemn our natural zeal, reject our natural service, and turn our heart to the Lord. Then we will receive light and revelation.
In order for a person to have revelation, he must meet God, contact God, and touch God. God is light (1 John 1:5), and in the universe, only God is the source of light. All light and revelation come from Him. When we meet God, we will see light and receive revelation. Revelation is man meeting God; it is God shining His light into man and causing man to see.
In order for us to meet God, we must turn our whole heart to the Lord, wanting nothing more and nothing less than His will. Second Corinthians 3:16 says that whenever our heart turns to the Lord, the veil that covers us is taken away. Matthew 5:8 says that the pure in heart will see God. Hence, absolute consecration and thorough dealings are necessary. Whatever is not purely for God, is not out of God, does not come from meeting God, or is not done through contacting God must be dealt with and rejected. We must desire nothing apart from God, have no veil covering us before God, and have no barrier between us and God. Then we can see God face to face, be shined upon, and receive revelation from Him. When we turn to Him, draw near to Him, and fellowship with Him, it will be easy for Him to anoint His heart’s desire into us and give us a sense and a burden. This sense and burden become our revelation.
Natural service can be done according to prior knowledge and past experiences without contacting the Lord. Service according to revelation comes from the immediacy of our fellowship with the Lord in His presence. Once we lose our fellowship with the Lord in His presence, the shining of light and the receiving of revelation are lost as well. Service according to revelation requires that we abide in the Lord, fellowship with the Lord, and seek, look at, and depend on the Lord. Everyone who desires to serve according to revelation must live in the Lord’s presence, abide in the Lord, and contact the Lord.
