«　WEEK 7　DAY 5　»

　　Isa. 13:1 The burden concerning Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.

　　Acts 6:4 But we will continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word.

　　When people come to a meeting, there may be the need to release the word. We must seek the Lord concerning what we speak and concerning the issue of our speaking…. If some are not yet saved, we should receive a burden to bear their souls by the Lord’s grace in order to sow the seed of salvation into them when we release the word…. If they are saved but do not love the Lord, our burden should be for them to love the Lord. If they love the Lord but are not willing to give themselves to the Lord and receive His dealing, our burden should be for them to willingly give themselves to the Lord and be dealt with by Him. This is the ministry of the word with a burden.

　　We cannot neglect this responsibility and think that God has not given us a burden….When someone in the church in Corinth committed the sin of fornication, Paul did not simply condemn the sin or stop praying for the one who sinned. He received a burden from God to bear a responsibility and commission for the church (1 Cor. 5:1-13). Paul did not preach doctrines in his Epistles; instead, he was burdened to fellowship concerning certain matters, so he was able to touch people’s feelings. (CWWL, 1957, vol. 2, “The Administration of the Church and the Ministry of the Word,” pp. 233-235)

　　When we minister the word of God, our concern should be whether we have God’s speaking, not the topic of our speaking. In order to have God’s speaking, the one who ministers the word must have a burden. People may have a negative reaction or be stirred up when they hear a message that is spoken with a burden, but they cannot deny that it is God’s speaking. This kind of message can help people and solve their problems. A message that sounds nice but is void of God’s speaking cannot touch people, turn them inwardly, or satisfy those who are hungry and thirsty, because they are not the words that God wants to speak even if they are from the Bible.

　　Therefore, speaking should not be easy or cheap. We cannot speak simply because we have prepared a message. One who ministers the word should bear people’s condition before God. He bears the responsibility of knowing their needs. He needs to sense their condition and know what God wants to speak.

　　The brothers need to understand that bearing the word of God is equal to bearing the souls of men…. If there is no change in [the saints listening to our speaking] after three months, we should not be at peace…. Are the brothers who speak sorrowful for the souls who have not changed in three months? A store owner who has no customers would be unable to continue working, considering everything to be fine. He would consider the situation and find a way to change the situation. How can those who minister the word continue as usual when there is no profit? We should not consider that it is sufficient merely to speak from the podium week after week.

　　When Brother Nee began his work in Foochow, he fasted and prayed every Saturday for the gospel meeting on the Lord’s Day. He considered before the Lord what to speak and how to speak. He considered what word the sinners needed to hear. Since he fasted and prayed with a heavy burden, his words were always very effective and were later published as messages. Many who are used by the Lord bear a burden in their ministry of the word. When Peace Wang was young, she had a successful revival work. She always knelt before the Lord and spent a long period of time weeping and grieving for sinners. Therefore, when she stood up to speak, her words were always living and operative. (CWWL, 1957, vol. 2, “The Administration of the Church and the Ministry of the Word,” pp. 235-236)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1957, vol. 2, “The Administration of the Church and the Ministry of the Word,” chs. 2-3