An article on ministering to the Lord by Watchman Nee
 There
was a class of Levites who busily served in the Temple, and yet they
were not serving Him; they were merely serving the House. However,
service to the Lord and service to the House appear so much alike that
is often difficult to differentiate between the two. If an Israelite
came along to the Temple and wanted to worship God, those Levites would
come to his aid and help him offer his peace offering and his burnt
offering. They would help him drag the sacrifice to the altar, and they
would slay it. Surely that was a grand work to be engaged in,
reclaiming sinners and leading believers closer to the Lord! And God
took account of the service of those Levites who helped men bring their
peace offerings and their burnt offerings to the altar. Yet He said it
was not ministry to Himself.
What God Is After
Brothers
and sisters, there is a heavy burden on my heart that you might realize
what God is after. He wants ministers who will minister to Him.
“But
the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my
sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray form me, they shall
come near to me to minister unto me; and they shall stand before me to
offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the LORD God” (Ezekiel
44:15).
Much
so-called service for Him is simply following our natural inclinations.
We have such active dispositions that we cannot bear to stay at home,
so we run around for our own relief. We may appear to be serving
believers, but all the while we are serving our own flesh.
The
conditions basic to all ministry that can truly be called ministry to
the Lord are drawing near to Him and standing before Him. It is only as
we draw near to Him that we can minister to Him. Unless we really know
what it is to draw near to God, we cannot know what it is to serve Him.
It is impossible to stand afar off and still minister to Him. We cannot
serve Him from a distance. There is only one place where ministry to
Him is possible and that is in the Holy place. In the outer court you
approach the people; in the Holy Place you approach the Lord.
But
a spiritual person knows how to stand still. He can stand before God
till God makes His will known. He can stand and await orders. You who
are leaders need to particularly consider this. Can you be persuaded to
call a halt and not move for a little while? That is what is referred
to here: “stand and minister unto me.” Don’t you think that a servant
should await his master’s orders before seeking to serve him?
The Sin of Presumption
There
are only two types of sin before God. One is the sin of refusing to
obey when He issues orders. The other is the sin of going ahead when
the Lord has not issued orders. The one is rebellion; the other is
presumption. The one is not doing what the Lord has required; the other
is doing what the Lord has not required. Learning to stand before the
Lord deals with the sin of doing what the Lord has not commanded.
Let
me tell you that nothing so damages the Lord’s interests as a “good
thing.” “Good things” are the greatest hindrance to the accomplishment
of His will. That thing you contemplate doing may be very good, but are
you standing before the Lord awaiting His command regarding it? “They
shall stand before me” involves halting in His presence and refusing to
move till He issues His order. That is what ministry to the Lord means.
In the outer court it is human need that governs.
But
something is required of us as we stand before the Lord and minister to
Him. We are required to offer Him, “the fat and the blood.” The blood
answers the demands of His Holiness and righteousness; the fat meets
the requirements of his glory. The blood deals with the question of our
sin; the fat deals with the question of His satisfaction. The blood
removes all that belongs to the old creation; the fat brings in the new.
Ministry to the Lord is confined to a certain place:
“They
shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table to
minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge” (Ezekiel 44:16).
Ministry
that is “unto me” is in the inner sanctuary, in the hidden place, not
in the outer court, exposed to public view. People may think we are
doing nothing, but service to God in the Holy Place far transcends
service to the people in the outer court.
Ministry Without Sweat
The same passage tells us how they must be clothed who would minister to the Lord:
They
shall be clothed with lined garments; and no wool shall come upon them,
while they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. They
shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen
breeches upon their loins (Ezekiel 44:18).
Those who minister to the Lord may not wear wool. Why not? The reason is given: “They shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat” (verse 18 NKJV).
When
the blessing of God is withheld, fleshly effort becomes necessary, and
that causes sweat. All work that produces sweat is positively
prohibited to those who minister to the Lord. Yet today what an
expenditure of energy there is in work for Him! Few Christians can do
any work today without sweating over it. Their work involves planning
and scheming, exhorting and urging, and very much running around. It
cannot be done without a great deal of fleshly zeal.
Nowadays,
if there is no sweat, there is no work. Before work for God can be
undertaken, there is a great deal of rushing to and fro, making
numerous contacts, having consultations and discussions, and finally
getting the approval of various people before going ahead. As for
waiting quietly in the presence of God and seeking His instructions,
that is out of the question.
Yet
in spiritual work, the one factor to be taken into account is God . He
is the one person to make contact with. That is the preciousness of
spiritual work that is truly spiritual – it is related to the Lord
Himself. In relation to Him there is work to do, but it is work that
produces no sweat.
If
we have to advertise our ministry and use great effort to promote it,
then it is obvious that it does not spring from prayer in the presence
of God. If you really work in God’s presence, men will respond when you
come into their presence. You will not have to use endless means in
order to help them. Spiritual work is God’s work, and when God works,
man does not need to expend so much effort that he sweats over it.
Let
us in utter honesty examine ourselves before God today. Let us ask Him:
“Am I serving You, or am I merely serving the work? Is my ministry
truly unto you Lord, or is it only ministry to your House?” If you are
pouring with sweat all the time, it is safe to conclude that it is the
House you are serving, not the Lord. If all your busyness is related to
human need, you may know that you are serving men, not God. I am not
despising the work of slaying sacrifices at the altar. It is work for
God and someone has to do it – but God wants something beyond that.
The Sons of Zadok
God
cannot secure everyone for service to Himself, for many of His own are
reluctant to leave the thrill and excitement of the outer court. They
are bent on serving the people. But what about us? Oh that today we
might say to the Lord: “I am willing to forsake things, I am willing to
forsake the outer court and serve You in the inner sanctuary.”
When
God could find no way to bring all the Levites to the place of ministry
to Himself, He chose the sons of Zadok from among them for this special
service. Why did He select the sons of Zadok from among them for this
special service? Why did He select the sons of Zadok? Because when the
children of Israel went astray, they recognized that the outer court
had been irreparably corrupted, so they did not seek to preserve it.
Instead, they made it their business to preserve the sanctity of the
Holy Place.
Brothers
and sisters, can you bear to let the external structure go, or must you
persist in putting up a scaffolding to preserve it? It is the Holy
Place that God is out to preserve – a place utterly set apart for Him.
I beseech you before God to hear His call to forsake the outer court
and devote yourself to His service in the Holy place.
Commissioning men to the work
“As
they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said: Separate
me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them”
(Acts13:2).
We
see there that the Holy Spirit commissions men to the work as they are
ministering to the Lord. The work of God is God’s own work, and not
work that you can take up at your pleasure. Men cannot send men to work
for God. The authority to commission men is not in the hands of men,
but solely in the hands of the Spirit of God.
Serving
the Lord does not mean that we do not serve people, but it does mean
that all service to people has service to the Lord as its basis. It is
service Godward that urges us out manward.
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