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A serving one of the Lord must learn to do a definite work, a specific work. In other words, a serving one of the Lord cannot do an ordinary work. If a work is ordinary, it becomes something of little consequence. The works of many so-called serving ones of the Lord are of little consequence. Although a serving one may be able to do some work, such as speaking concerning God, the Lord, sin, and the cross, it is difficult to find a focus in his work. His work is like a long-winded writing that obscures the crucial points because of its lack of focus. As serving ones of the Lord, we must learn to be delivered from such works.
Our work must be specific and definite. Those of us who are learning to serve the Lord must never regard this point lightly; rather, we must deal with the Lord concerning this matter, pursue it, and always be learning. We should not do an ordinary work, a common work before the Lord, but always focus on the goal of our work and do a specific work. Learning this lesson requires that we be broken before the Lord.
The natural man has a natural disposition, and every natural disposition has particular traits. Although the natural man always bears these natural traits, we cannot bring our natural disposition into the Lord’s work. Our work should be specific, but this specific work cannot come out of our natural disposition. If our natural disposition has not been broken, we will not be able to learn the lesson of being specific before God or be able to see what the Lord specifically wants us to do. Rejecting our natural views and natural disposition is a basic requirement for doing a specific work with a specific goal.
A brother has particular views and opinions before he is saved. After he is saved, he will continue to live according to his views and opinions if he does not experience the breaking of his natural disposition. Hence, it will be impossible for him to receive the Lord’s commission to do a specific work. Since his natural views and opinions are part of his subjective constitution, he will not have God’s view, receive God’s commission, or be able to do a specific work for God. A specific work is possible only when one allows his opinions to be broken.
In order to do a specific work in serving the Lord, we must receive a vision and a commission from the Lord. However, in order to receive a vision and a commission from the Lord, our natural views and natural opinions must be broken. If we serve the Lord without being broken, there will be no response in the spirit of God’s people and no speaking, confirmation, or echo of the Holy Spirit within God’s people. As a result, there will be no benefit and little consequence in our work.
For example, a brother may have a desire to help orphans before he is saved. Such a thought is not bad; in fact, it is good in man’s eyes. After his salvation, when he reads Psalm 68:5, which says that God is “a Father to the orphans and a Judge for the widows,” he assumes that he has received a revelation. Since this word corresponds with his natural concept, it is easy for him to say to himself, “Now that I am a child of God, I should be considerate of God’s heart by helping and caring for orphans.” He may even stand up in a meeting and say, “We should care for the orphans, because God is a Father to the orphans.” If no one responds the first week, he may speak a week later, saying, “We should care about orphans, not just for our own children.” He may continue to speak about the need to care for orphans, but if there is no response from the saints, he will eventually say to himself, “Since I cannot get through here, I will try somewhere else.” But even if he goes elsewhere, he will continue to “hit a wall.” Eventually, he will regard others as being selfish and become frustrated and indifferent toward them because of his opinions. Thus, the natural opinions of this brother will hinder him from seeing God’s light, from seeing a vision. Natural opinions always come out of our natural disposition. As serving ones of the Lord, we must set aside our opinions in order to take part in His work.
We also must know the steps related to God’s work; God does not want man to work according to his own opinions but according to a central view of His work. In the foregoing example, the work of the brother who wanted to run an orphanage was not according to the central view of God’s work, as revealed in the Scriptures. The Bible speaks of God and of man, of God’s desire for man and of man’s fall, of God’s accomplishment of redemption and of man’s being led by the Holy Spirit to repent, believe, and receive the Lord in order to have the Lord’s life and to live in the Lord for His church and kingdom. These are the central points. While I dare not call a brother’s thought of running an orphanage wrong, the quality of its content cannot be considered to be high. The content of quality in the Bible points to God, man, sin, redemption, Christ, life, the Holy Spirit, the church, and the kingdom. To serve the Lord, we must pay attention to this content.
When we consider these major points and then listen to the testimonies of the brothers and sisters, it is clear that many testimonies fall short of these points. For example, a brother may testify about praying to the Lord for the return of his misplaced fountain pen and of the pen being found by a janitor and returned to him the next day. Many testimonies of the brothers and sisters are like this; they are not according to the central view, and it is sad to hear them.
The testimonies of others, who have been following the Lord for a long time, also seem to focus on gains and losses in spiritual matters. Their words are not worldly, but they have a concern only for their own spiritual gains and losses. Such persons remain in their “smallness” even with all the spiritual lessons they have learned. They are unable to see that they have imprisoned the Lord within them.
If a person sees the central items, such as the cross of Christ and Christ being life in man, he does not have time for trivial matters. However, those who have not seen God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness pray every day for things related to food and clothing (Matt. 6:25-33) and testify of God’s slightest blessing like excited children who have received some candy.
The Lord’s serving ones must see the central items. We need to set aside our own views and opinions, enter into God’s presence, and see the central items in His Word. We should search out the central items and avoid the trivial items.
Please do not misunderstand me; I am not opposed to God’s leading in the little things of our human life. However, we need to see that we have been raised up by the Lord for His work to present to man the things related to God, man, sin, redemption, Christ, life, the Holy Spirit, the church, and the coming kingdom. The major items span from eternity to eternity. God’s plan in eternity demonstrates His wisdom and expresses His Son, Christ. This explains every other matter, such as God’s creation. God created man and redeemed man for His expression. Christ’s redemption on the cross and the life of Christ entering into man are for His expression. The church, which brings in the eternal kingdom, is also for His expression. All those who consecrate themselves to serve the Lord must see these central items.
Once we see these central items, we must prepare ourselves before the Lord to receive a specific commission, to see what God wants us to focus on specifically. Perhaps God will commission someone to specifically speak on sin; if so, he needs to speak of it in a serious manner. Sin is not a minor point, so some need to receive a specific commission to speak on it. Sometimes the brothers in a certain place cannot convey this truth with a proper emphasis even though they know this truth. When a brother who is commissioned to speak on this matter goes to this locality, the matter will become living to the saints, and his speaking will even impact the preaching of the gospel and the edification of the saints. After he serves for three or four months, all the brothers and sisters will see the matter of sin clearly.
I feel that the gospel preaching of the brothers is too ordinary and not specific. They have a set pattern of preaching. It is always along the line of believing in Jesus to be saved, receiving the forgiveness of sins, escaping eternal perdition, and having eternal life. Sometimes they go further and speak of believers having the Lord Jesus in them. This is not specific enough. They should devote one or two hours to develop specific items, such as sin or God’s love.
When D. L. Moody was preaching the gospel in England, a young man, Harry Moorehouse, spoke to Moody and asked if he could preach with Moody in America. Moody could not refuse him, but he would not tell him his sailing date. Nevertheless, Moorehouse followed Moody to America. When Moorehouse arrived, he sent a letter to Moody in the hope that he would be given an opportunity to preach. When Moody had to go out of town, he decided to let Moorehouse preach. The first day he preached on John 3:16, and everyone was quite touched. The second day he preached on John 3:16 again, and all were moved even more. When Moody returned, he asked his wife, “What did the young man preach?” She said, “Something different from what you preach.” Moody asked, “Was it heresy?” and she said, “You will know when you hear him.” When Moody listened, his tears flowed because he saw the matter of God’s love. Before that day he had preached only on God’s righteousness and judgment, but he did not know God’s love until he heard Moorehouse’s preaching. Later, when Moody’s meeting place burned down in a fire and a new one was built, Moorehouse came to preach. When he got to the podium, he said, “The old place of meeting has been burned, but the old topic cannot be burned. It is still John 3:16.” Moorehouse knew God’s love and God’s specific commission.
As serving ones of the Lord, we should give our all to the Lord and be dealt with to such an extent that we do a specific work. There should be something in us that is God-commissioned and specific. Ordinary works are dispensable, and those who do ordinary works likewise are dispensable. The issue of an ordinary work is always limited. We must work to such an extent that we become indispensable. We should not say this out of pride but because it is a fact. If Moorehouse had not gone to Chicago, God’s love would not have been known to such an extent. Without Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis’s being raised up, the depths of the cross would not have been known to such an extent. In the New Testament John’s writings have a focus, and Paul’s Epistles have a focus. Paul’s fourteen Epistles have a specific focus. We must learn to do a specific work.
We also need to be strict persons. Those who do an ordinary work are not strict persons; only rigorous persons can do a specific work. I feel that many of us are not strict enough. From our way of living and working, I can tell that we are not strict. If we learn to be strict and genuine, we will focus on the central items. It is not enough to speak on prayer in one place, persuading and moving many, and then speak on prayer in another place. We need to be willing to ask the Lord, “Do You want me to speak this?” This is being strict. It is easy to speak the same thing everywhere and not be strict. The Lord’s serving ones must be strict. Loose persons cannot do a specific work.
We must learn to live in the light of the truth that we have seen. What we see and live in is our specific work. We do not need to make a special effort to be specific; the truth that we see will become our specific work. If we see the cross, we will live in the cross, and the message of the cross will be our center. If we see the matter of abiding in the Lord, we will have fellowship with the Lord, and it will become our specific work.
This touches the matter of ministry. Our ministry is something that God has constituted into us. If we have seen the matter of breaking and have even accepted the breaking in our experience, this matter will be constituted into us to become the content of our ministry and the center of our work. Then, wherever we go, we will be able to speak about it because we have lived in, passed through, and experienced the truth that we have seen. Thus, our living and our experience will become the center of our work.
Even though our work may be specific and according to the central view, it cannot be narrow. For example, a brother may focus on the matter of being broken, but he cannot speak on this to everyone indiscriminately; this is to be narrow. We must see that there is a line in the work. For example, we may have learned the lesson of being broken over the years, but if we are sent to Hualien, the saints may not have progressed even to the point of dealing with sins, consecrating themselves, or fellowshipping with the Lord. Consequently, we cannot say, “I have learned the matter of being broken; this is my specific work, the focus of my work, the goal of my work, and hence, I will speak on the matter of being broken.” If the brothers and sisters do not have any understanding concerning being broken, we cannot speak of this matter first. We must first bring them to deal with their sins, to consecrate themselves, and to fellowship with the Lord. When these matters have been worked into them, we can bring them to the matter of being broken by the cross.
Consider the construction of a house. After the foundation of the house has been laid, pillars need to be erected to support the roof. At the site there may be roof tiles and piles of stone and wood. When a person who has a specific job of installing doors and windows arrives at the work site, he cannot install them if the pillars have not yet been erected. He can only install doors and windows once the pillars have been erected. Even if some workers cut the wood and others make neat piles of stone, the house will not be built. A building work involves more than cut wood and stones. All these items must be built together into a house in order for doors and windows to be installed. This illustrates the difference between knowing how to work and not knowing how to work.
Likewise, it is not possible for sisters to make a shirt if one sister sews a few stitches in one place and another sews a few stitches in another place. A knowledgeable sister, however, will know what needs to be done and even the order in which it should be done. We must see the way of the work and the stages of the work; the work has stages.
We must have a blueprint for the work in order to serve the Lord. When we compare the church in which we serve with the blueprint, we will see the building material that is present and the building material that is lacking. I hope that all the brothers and sisters who are consecrated to serve the Lord will pursue this point seriously. Otherwise, we will only do a dispensable work that yields dispensable results.
The first time I went to Manila, a well-known pastor would come to talk with me. Later, someone advised me, saying, “Brother Lee, it would be good if you go to see that pastor and repay his visit,” but I refused. I did not feel that I had received help from him, and I did not feel that I could help him. This was not a matter of pride but of having no burden to merely be involved in the reciprocation of outward civility. The reciprocation of civility may be associated with good manners, but it is akin to touching leprosy in a garment (Lev. 13:47). I also felt that the Lord’s burden in leading me to Manila had a specific goal according to a clear blueprint, which did not involve the mere reciprocation of outward civility. The Lord’s requirement was that I be busy with His work every day. How could I spare the time for the mere reciprocation of civility?
Later, others asked, “Brother Lee, if the denominations invited you to speak, would you go?” I replied, “Whether I should go or not go is not the issue. I was not sent to do such things. If I were an idle person, I would speak wherever people wanted me to speak, but I must work according to the Lord’s commission. At work we have specific responsibilities. If someone came to you and said, ‘My toilet needs to be cleaned. Would you come to my house and clean it?’ you would certainly reply, ‘In my work I need to do many things. I do not have extra time.’ Hence, it is not a matter of going or not going. The Lord’s commission to me keeps me busy from morning to evening. How can I do other things?” I do not criticize others for doing these things, but this is not my commission, my burden. God has sent me, and I am clear concerning what He wants me to do. Since we are consecrated to serving the Lord, we must be delivered from doing a dispensable work; otherwise, our time will be wasted.
Question: The great apostles have a blueprint; do small apostles have a blueprint as well?
Answer: Some people believe that great apostles have a blueprint, but small apostles do not. We cannot find such a thought in the Bible. The most we can say is that some apostles, such as Paul, received a blueprint directly from God, but other apostles, such as Timothy, received the same blueprint from Paul. Although Timothy was such an apostle, he did not work blindly. Paul told Timothy what kind of persons could be elders and what kind of persons could be deacons; this was a blueprint that Paul gave to Timothy. Timothy then perfected people in their function as elders and deacons; he did not work randomly.
In response to the situation in China thirty to forty years ago, a saying became common: “Serving ones do not receive wages from people.” Once this word was sounded out, many saw an opportunity to become freelance preachers, but they did dispensable works. It was easy for them to read magazines and books and preach a little here and a little there. If you asked them, “What do you do from the beginning of the year to the end of the year?” they would say, “I am a preacher.” If you asked, “Where do you bring your saved ones?” they would say, “That’s God’s business, not my business.” The apostle Paul, however, was not so indifferent. He said, “As a wise master builder I have laid a foundation” (1 Cor. 3:10). He knew how to build. He said also, “I therefore run in this way, not as though without a clear aim; I box in this way, not as though beating the air” (9:26).
We need to cast aside any “freelance” work and even trample it under our feet. We should not take such a way or do such a work. The Lord has opened our eyes to see the vision, the blueprint, and we need to do what God wants us to do according to the blueprint. We should work according to the blueprint, watchfully and with fear and trembling, so that God can fulfill His purpose in us.
Question: If a brother seems to have a blueprint yet cannot get through in his work because of his flesh, is there a problem with his blueprint or his experience?
Answer: Knowing the blueprint is not a simple matter. It is quite a problem if the blueprint is incorrect; hence, it is best for brothers and sisters not to establish a blueprint on their own but with other co-workers. Even if the blueprint is correct, however, the method to carry it out may not be correct. We must be willing to study the situation. Finally, if we bring in the flesh, we will not accomplish anything no matter what we do. We are finished if we work by the flesh because the Holy Spirit has no relationship with the flesh. We all must learn to reject the flesh once we touch the Lord’s work; dealing with the flesh is a prerequisite to all work.
