«　WEEK 9　DAY 2　»

　　Exo. 3:18 And they will listen to your voice. And you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him, Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God.

　　Luke 12:37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Truly I tell you that he will gird himself and will have them recline at table, and he will come to them and serve them.

　　At present, among God's children there seems to be a common phenomenon that only a certain group of people are serving. However, God's word says that everyone who belongs to God is a servant of God. When the Israelites were in Egypt serving as slaves, they did not have any freedom. God delivered them out of Egypt and through the Red Sea for the purpose that they would serve Him in the wilderness (Exo. 3:18). The number of people under the blood was the number of people who left Egypt. The number of saved ones was the number of serving ones. When the Israelites left Egypt, they brought all the gold and silver with them (Exo. 12:35-36). Hence, as many as there were who were redeemed, that many served God in material offerings, and that many followed the tabernacle. It was not just a minority who served. Both in the Old Testament and in the New as well, there was not a distinction between the serving ones and the non-serving ones. Only degraded Christianity makes a distinction between the serving ones and the non-serving ones.

　　God's word tells us that we are those who have received God's mercy. But what should we do now? Christianity thinks that a man is first saved through the Lord's blood and by His grace, and then goes on further to forsake the world. As he advances further, he drops everything to serve God. This is degraded Christianity. According to God's word, as soon as a man is saved, and as soon as he steps into the entrance, the Lord tells him to take up the cross (Matt. 16:24). Either a man does not become a disciple, or he has to be one in an absolute way. The Lord sets the price clearly right from the beginning for every saved one. The first day they come, they see the tomb. The first day they come, they are asked to forsake the world. We cannot lower down the gospel, and make the gospel no more the gospel. The Lord never lowers the price to attract customers. The gospel is the least expensive thing there is. Yet at the same time, it is the most costly thing there is. If we are to be saved, we have to be saved in a clear-cut way. Only those who have paid a high price can feel the joy.

　　When we read 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12, we see that service belongs to the whole Body; it is not a service of three or five special people. For this reason, we asked all the brothers and sisters to hand themselves over. What the Lord wants is absolute service. We hope that every brother and sister can get through in this matter. The Lord wants such an absolute service. Not only the co-workers need coordination in their work; every brother and sister needs to be coordinated also.

　　“If anyone serves Me [the Lord Jesus]…the Father [God] will honor him” (John 12:26). For our service to the Lord, we shall be honored by the Father. What a reward this is!

　　Luke 12:37 says that when the Lord comes back, the slaves who have been watchful to serve the Lord will be blessed to sit at the feast and will enjoy the Lord's serving. This is also a great reward from the Lord to those who serve Him.

　　“Well done, good and faithful slave…I will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matt. 25:21, 23). This verse says that the good and faithful slave who serves the Lord will be set over many things and enter into the manifestation of the coming kingdom and into the joy of the Lord. Surely this is a great reward, which we should appreciate and long for.