Learning To Have The Spirit Of The Ministry (1)- CHAPTER SIX


	Learning To Have The Spirit Of The Ministry (1) Therefore having this ministry as we have been shown mercy, we do not lose heart; but we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every conscience of men before God - 2 Corinthians 4:1-2. But turning, He rebuked them and said, You do not know of what kind of spirit you are. The Son of Man has not come to destroy men's lives but to save them. And they went into another village - Luke 9:55-56. Knowing The Spirit And The Heart To be one with the ministry, we have to learn to have the spirit of the ministry, and in order to have the spirit of the ministry, we must understand the spirit and the heart. Our Spirit Related to Our Conscience We are tripartite beings possessing a spirit, a soul, and a body. Outwardly we have a fallen body, which has been crucified with Christ. Within our soul are the mind, emotion, and will. And within our spirit are intuition, fellowship, and conscience. Our spirit is related to our heart. When we talk about our spirit, we should realize that the conscience is a part of our spirit. The conscience is also the leading aspect of the heart. The condition of our conscience determines the operation of our soul. If I am a rough person, the problem is my conscience. If I am fallen in sin today, the problem likewise has to do with my conscience. If I am unable to follow the Lord, the problem again has to do with my conscience. Our ability to follow the Lord depends upon how healthy our conscience is. Our Spirit Depending upon Our Conscience Many assume that their spirit changes according to their condition. In other words, to their thought, their spirit is variable. However, our spirit does not depend upon our being strong or weak; our spirit depends upon our conscience. This can be illustrated by using the analogy of the human body. Someone with a healthy constitution becomes weak when he lacks food and rest. After eating and resting, such a person's health is readily restored. When we grow old, however, we cannot recover our strength so easily simply by eating and drinking, because our basic constitution is no longer robust. The conscience of a Christian is like the overall condition of the human body. Without a good conscience, we will not be able to follow the Lord, regardless of how gifted or talented we are. Although the functions of intuition and fellowship are important, our spirit is strong and joyful only when we live in unclouded union with the Lord. Therefore how buoyant and healthy our spirit is depends upon the condition of our conscience before God. Most in the Lord's recovery are influenced by sensation when considering their spirit. When we see someone who is joyful, we may think he has a strong spirit. When we sing a hymn or pray and touch the Lord, our spirit does indeed become buoyant and strengthened. It is good to feed our spirit, for our spirit becomes dull if we do not. Praying, fellowshipping with the Lord, singing hymns, going to meetings, fellowshipping with the saints, and consecrating ourselves - all these exercises will cause our spirit to be strengthened. However, this understanding of the spirit is still something rather outward; it does not accurately indicate what kind of spirit, or conscience, we have. Paying Attention to the Essence of Your Spirit How is your spirit? Your spirit is determined by your soul life, which is in turn determined by your conscience. You may find this surprising. How is it that the spirit is related to the soul life? If you have a strong, healthy spirit, this indicates that you have a sensitive and proper conscience. Your conscience is the determining factor of your soul life. If you think of something inappropriate, your conscience will say no. If your will determines to do something inappropriate, your conscience again will say no. If you love something wrongly, your conscience will say no. If you allow your conscience to lead you in such matters, you are someone who has a good and strong spirit. This is not according to our concept. Many think that the person with a strong spirit is the one who can shout, speak, and easily be released. Such a thing is a sign of healthiness, but in itself it does not reveal what kind of spirit that person has. The kind of spirit we have depends upon what kind of heart we have. We cannot have a good spirit if we do not have a good heart. When some who were not among Jesus' disciples were casting out demons in Jesus' name, John became jealous. He told the Lord, "Master, we saw one casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us." But the Lord answered, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against you is for you" (Luke 9:49-50). The Lord seemed to be saying, "Why are you jealous of someone casting out demons? You should be happy that people are using My name, regardless of whether or not they follow after us. Why rebuke them?" What does it mean to say, "They do not follow us"? John's thought seemed to be that if someone was not following the twelve disciples, he could not be a follower of Jesus. Some people, however, were able to cast out demons in the Lord's name, even though they were not following the Lord with His disciples. John, therefore, wanted to forbid them. We should be careful. When we say, "There is only one recovery," we have to take care of our conscience. There is indeed only one recovery, but we cannot reject others who follow the Lord simply because they are not in the Lord's recovery. The Lord did not reject those who were casting out demons in His name outside of the inner circle of His followers. Shouldn't we therefore receive those today who follow the Lord in their own way? Another story follows this one in Luke. Jesus and His disciples went into a village of the Samaritans and were not received by them. James and John said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" But the Lord rebuked them and said, "You do not know of what kind of spirit you are" (Luke 9:52-55). The word "spirit" in verse 55 is translated "heart" in the Chinese Union Version. Instead of "of what kind of spirit," we may say "of what kind of conscience." The kind of spirit we are of is indicated by how our soul is led by our conscience, not our experience of fellowship or intuition. The Lord seemed to be saying, "You do not know of what kind of spirit you are. You don't realize that your heart has problems. If people refuse Me, you should preach to them again. If they still refuse Me, you should continue preaching. You should not seek for fire to come down from heaven to consume them. Don't you realize that I have come to save sinners?" When you follow the Lord, you must pay attention to your spirit. You should ask yourselves of what kind of spirit you are. You shouldn't just check whether or not your spirit is strong or joyful or rich. You must pay attention to the essence of your spirit. Is your spirit normal? Is it healthy? Is it adequate? For the most part, we only pay attention to sensations in our spirit. For example, last evening we really enjoyed a hymn in the Lord's presence. That was something of sensation. We might be joyful after such a meeting and sing hallelujah all the way home. However, that does not indicate whether or not our spirit itself is proper. Someone who is sick with the plague has pink cheeks, therefore pink cheeks do not necessarily indicate good health. Experiencing joy in our spirit does not necessarily mean that our spirit is normal and healthy. What kind of spirit we have is not a matter of our enjoyment in spirit, but rather a matter of the condition of our spirit. Is our spirit healthy? Is it normal? Is it adequate? Is it one with God? If you desire to be one with the ministry, you must learn this lesson. The brothers ahead of you have followed the Lord for so many years, and they follow the Lord according to the essence of their spirit, not according to sensation. Brother Lee has been following the Lord closely for many years. Of what kind of spirit is he? I do not mean whether or not his spirit is strong or rich. What I am talking about is the essence of his spirit. You should take heed to how his spirit operates to regulate his soul. Your spirit speaks to your heart and your heart speaks who you are. Your spirit is closely related to your heart, and your heart represents you. Therefore, what kind of spirit you have determines what kind of person you are. Your spirit is the leading part of your heart. Therefore your life is determined by your spirit. Not A Subduing Spirit Since your life is determined by your spirit, you should take care that your spirit would not become a subduing or domineering spirit. When you are young and love the Lord and desire to serve Him, quite often the first thing you consider is how you might conquer others. I have asked you all to prophesy every Lord's Day. My fear is that you will prepare a very good message and do your best to show the saints how much you have gained from this labor. The thought of putting on such a display is in the spirit of subduing others. When you follow the Lord, you must learn to avoid having a domineering spirit. This is difficult, however, for there is something within you that always seeks to compete and compare yourselves with others. In the early days in Taiwan we all exercised with the view of the four stages of spiritual growth (as Brother Lee shared in the book The Experience of Life). Whenever we came together, we tried to see who had reached what stage in order to find our place. According to that word, the stages of growth were clearly defined. The first was characterized by the termination of the past. The second was characterized by consecration. The third was determined by dealing with sins. Then in the fourth stage, there was the dealing with the world and the self. We all paid attention to these four stages. First, we terminated the past and burned everything that did not belong to the Lord. Then we gave ourselves to the Lord. After this, we dealt with the world. We did not allow anything to occupy our hearts except the Lord. After this, we began to deal with the self and the conscience. We often evaluated ourselves in light of these four stages. We would ask ourselves, "Am I in the third stage yet, or still in the second?" We also compared ourselves to others in this way. Then we decided which brothers we should listen to, and which ones should listen to us. If I had learned four lessons of life, and another brother had only learned two of them, then he should listen to me. If another had learned five of the lessons, however, then I should submit to him. There was no building up in life. When we came together, we mainly compared ourselves with one another and competed to see who would conquer whom. Then in 1958 and 1959 Brother Lee began to speak about the building up. He told us that we had to be built up as a spiritual house. There was, however, a leading brother who was very much against Brother Lee. This one said, "What is the building up? A building without a license must be torn down. Nothing can be built up." Brother Lee told me this. These brothers reacted in such a way because their spirit was a spirit of competing. We would all like to be able to conquer others. This is certainly true of the world. Every professor desires to be the recognized expert in his field. They enjoy lifting themselves up against others. This can be true in spiritual things as well. I do not say this lightly. If we gain some spiritual capital, we might use it to subdue others and put them in their place. If we truly desire to serve the Lord, we must never do this. Not An Accommadating Spirit Of Compromise The spirit of the ministry is also not a spirit that compromises. What is an accommodating spirit? It is the spirit that says, "I will accommodate you, even if it means I must change my stand." We should never compromise our stand. In following the Lord, our spirit should neither be a subduing spirit, nor a spirit of compromise. To conquer others is something of the self. To accommodate others by compromising is also something of the self. If I conquer you, I make myself higher than you. If I patronize you, I also make myself seem superior, for I appear magnanimous. The spirit of conquering is something against God, and a patronizing spirit is also something against God. The spirit of the ministry is neither a spirit that conquers, nor a spirit that patronizes. When we serve the Lord today, we should not allow any loss to the Lord to occur, nor compromise what is of the Lord's testimony. We should not allow any loss of what the Lord has committed to us. Not Accommodating Others Regarding the Truth Some might say, "Must you insist that Jesus is the only way? All religions help people to be good. Thus, they are all the same." You cannot accommodate such a person or thought nor agree with such a thing. If someone says, "You are not the only ones who have the truth," you should not say, "Perhaps not." This is accommodation. How do you answer when someone asks you, "Why is it that you are the church and we are not?" If you say, "You are the church, too," that is accommodation. But if you say, "Only we are the church," then that is subjugation. How should you then answer? You may say, "The Lord only has one church, which is the Body of Christ, and this one Body includes you and me. The church must have the testimony of the oneness within a city." This answer neither subdues nor compromises; it simply presents the truth. Not Accommodating Others Regarding Spirituality Sometimes a brother speaks something improper and we simply let it go. Brother Lee, however, does not play politics at such times. He knows how to be with people and yet does not compromise on those matters in which the truth must be upheld. When Brother Lee first arrived in this country, it was difficult to gain Americans. I still remember how in tears he prayed, "Lord, I consecrate myself on the altar again. Lord, may You begin Your work in the United States." There was an American who was very gifted and who had contact with many Christian groups. Through him there seemed to be a possibility of reaching many seeking believers. When Brother Lee came to Cleveland, this brother came with us to the airport and greeted Brother Lee. Everyone was happy, until this brother made an inappropriate comment. Immediately Brother Lee's countenance changed and he asked, "What do you mean by that?" He did not care about whether or not he might offend this "key" brother. Brother Lee's attitude is, "I am a servant of the Lord. I do not seek to subdue others, nor do I accommodate them. I allow my conscience to lead my soul." In other words, Brother Lee's spirit leads his soul, and thus he is able to serve the Lord with a proper spirit and a proper soul. This seems to be an easy lesson, but it will take perhaps twenty years to learn it if we grow well, and perhaps forty years to learn it if we do not. Some never will. We have to learn neither to accommodate nor to conquer others. We shouldn't be offensive - we can even be "easy going" - but we should not allow others to do whatever they please. We should not allow principles to be sacrificed in the name of profit. A Spirit Benefiting The Lord's Recovery The spirit of the ministry is a spirit that seeks the benefit of the Lord's recovery. In other words, within my spirit and my heart, I should have only one desire: that the Lord's recovery would be profited. Since many of you are young, I doubt whether you understand my word. For instance, if you speak something in a meeting and everyone appreciates it, you are happy and even a little carried away by it. This reveals that you are not yet a person who lives for the Lord's recovery. We must have such a spirit that has the Lord's interests in view. We should be those who are willing to pay any price for the Lord's recovery. Our only consideration should be what is profitable for the church. We should not have any personal benefit or gain in view. This is indeed a hard matter for many. Suffering for the Benefit of the Lord's Recovery I have to continue to exercise in this regard. I must be careful that I am only taking the Lord's interests into consideration and that I only have the benefit of the Lord's recovery in view. Am I still one who sacrifices everything for the Lord's recovery? Satan does not care that much if you want to be recognized or to serve the Lord on your own terms. Once you determine to be only for the recovery, however, Satan will become jealous and raise up many people and situations to frustrate you. Brother Lee has suffered attack after attack throughout the years. What he has suffered has been due to his service for the advance of the Lord's recovery. Regardless of how he has been led of the Lord, he has never been swayed by a fear of the consequences. Many times he could surely foresee what would happen, but he still was faithful to go forward. He only cares for the benefit of the Lord's recovery. Many have risen up to oppose and attack him, but he has never wavered. Everything he has done has been done so that the Lord's recovery might proceed. Being Willing to Pay Any Price for the Lord's Recovery I remember two stories Brother Lee told me personally. One time a brother was getting involved with a Christian group and the church in his locality was being influenced by this group's emphasis upon the so-called spiritual gifts. The situation was growing serious. Brother Lee felt he should go and fellowship with this brother. To my feeling he should have asked the brother to come see him. Brother Lee, however, flew out to visit this person. Brother Lee always pays the price to do whatever is necessary for the benefit of the recovery. Another brother, who was present in the Chefoo revival, was damaged through the influence of some who were opposing Brother Lee, and he began to raise the same issues himself. When Brother Lee came back from Taiwan, he flew to see this brother, even though he was already in his eighties. This brother, however, refused to see Brother Lee. On the one hand, Brother Lee realizes that when he takes the lead for the benefit of the churches, he will be opposed and attacked. He is willing to bear this for the sake of our going on in the Lord. On the other hand, he still cares for the feeling and reactions of the saints, as indicated by his willingness to visit these brothers. A Personal Testimony Once there was a rumor about me, that I had sent brothers to Southern California and that I myself had gone to Taiwan to begin a revolution. The fact of the matter was that these brothers were invited to Southern California without my knowledge. However, word of the accusation reached Brother Lee's ears, and he was disturbed about the apparent situation and spoke about it in the co-workers' meeting. I was unaware of the situation, but when I returned from Taiwan I felt something was not right. Someone then told me that Brother Lee had spoken some strong words concerning me. This was quite serious. Immediately I flew back to Taiwan to see him. I realized that the burden he bore after realizing his mistake was greater than the burden I bore from what he said. His feeling was much heavier than mine. When I arrived, I called on him. He was very sick at the time. When I saw him he said, "Brother Chu, I am very glad you have come. I feared that perhaps in your disappointment you had left the Lord's recovery." I assured him that I loved him and the recovery, and that I would not leave the recovery even though someone would try to beat me to death. This eased his concern. Later, after his health improved, he asked me to be present as he spoke something to all the co-workers in order to clear up any misunderstanding that might have arisen. I tell you this to impress you that Brother Lee is faithful to carry out what he sees he must do for the sake of the Lord's recovery, regardless of the consequences. Doing Everything for the Benefit of the Lord's Recovery You must have a spirit willing to do whatever is required for the benefit of the Lord's recovery. You should not care about the price you have to pay for the blessing of the church. If you have this kind of spirit, you will never be disappointed or lose heart no matter how people might talk about you. People may say that you are ambitious, "dead," or evil. You will not care what they say if you are one who is willing to do all for the benefit of the Lord's recovery. We must, however, be wise. We need not shout that we are for the Lord's recovery. Neither do we need to prosecute a case against anyone. We should learn not to make issues in the church life, or we will become a source of problems. Whatever we speak must be for the benefit of the recovery. This is the way to build up the church. The church is filled with many kinds of people, just like any large society. Among us there are many different needs and perceptions. We should not expect that everyone will appreciate us or receive us. Some will agree with us, and some won't. Some will be very positive in their support, while others will be merely tolerant. When we speak for the Lord, we should not care for others' reactions. We should only consider, "Is our speaking according to the word of God? Is our leading according to the Spirit and the truth? Is our operation beneficial to the Lord's recovery?" If the answers are yes, then we must be willing to pay a price and fulfill our ministry. A "wise" person would never follow the Lord while being aware of what might happen. Such "smart" ones know that if they get into certain situations, it will mean trouble. They realize that if they say a certain thing, there will be repercussions. The one who follows the Lord cannot be so wise; he must follow the Lord foolishly. He must have the spirit that only cares for the profit of the Lord's recovery. What I say, what I do, what I prophesy - all must be for the benefit of the Lord's recovery. We need the Lord's mercy to grant us wisdom, and we must tell the Lord, "Lord, I consecrate myself to You, and I am willing to pay any price that Your recovery might be blessed."