Outline
Ⅲ
We must minister the word with a burden from the Lord:
A
An open spirit to God is the condition for receiving burdens from God; we must learn to receive burdens and release burdens through prayer in our intimate fellowship with the Lord—Luke 1:53; Psa. 27:4; Isa. 59:16; Col. 4:2:
１
Prayer and work are inseparable; without prayer there is no work—Jer. 33:2-3; Isa. 62:6-7; Acts 6:4.
２
If God gives us a prayer burden, He wants it to be uttered; burdens are released only through utterance—Mark 7:29; Heb. 5:7.
３
If we cannot pray aloud in our homes, let us find a place where we can utter our burden as the Lord did; we should pray audibly even if it means praying in a low voice; God wants our burdens to be articulated—Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12; Psa. 4:1; 5:1-3; 77:1; 102:1; 116:1; 142:1; S. S. 2:14.
B
The revelations that the prophets received were the burdens that they received; without burden, there is no ministry of the word, no prophesying, for the building up of the church—Isa. 1:1; 2:1; 13:1; 15:1; Zech. 12:1; Mal. 1:1; Acts 6:4; 1 Cor. 14:4b:
１
Our burden is to release God’s revelation to man, and God’s revelation is released through the words of revelation that God gives to us—2:11-16.
２
When we minister the word of God, our concern must 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—Mal. 2:7.
３
Those who minister the word must bear people’s condition before God, sense their condition, and know what God wants to speak—Exo. 28:29-30.
C
The greatest problem in the administration of the church and in the ministry of the word is not having a burden from the Lord:
１
Without a burden, all our activity will be dead and ineffective; with a burden, we will be living and flourishing.
２
Having a burden deals with us the most; if there is a burden, the self decreases and is dealt with, because there are things that our burden will not allow us to do, and there are areas that will require our being dealt with before we can release our burden.
３
If we serve according to obligation instead of serving with a burden, such service will cause us to lose the Lord’s presence—cf. Mal. 3:14; Deut. 4:25.
４
Whenever our service becomes a matter of fulfilling an obligation, our service has already degraded.
Morning Nourishment
Isa. 13:1 The burden concerning Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.Zech. 12:1 The burden of the word of Jehovah concerning Israel. Thus declares Jehovah, who stretches forth the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him.
We must receive revelation and light from God. Yet revelation and light alone do not constitute the ministry of the word. One must be renewed in his mind and understanding…Yet even if our mind is clear, we still may not be a minister of the word because we still do not have the proper words…If we do not have the appropriate words, we may speak for hours on the platform without conveying what we know. This is why we have to have words from God.
A burden is the light we receive in the spirit, the thoughts that capture the light, and finally the inner words that supplement the light and thoughts. The last step of the burden is the release of the inner word. The combination of these three things makes up the burden of the prophets. Burden is light plus thoughts plus the inner words. Our burden is to release God’s revelation to man, and God’s revelation is released through the words of revelation that we have received. (CWWN, vol. 53, “The Ministry of God’s Word,” pp. 195, 197)
Today’s Reading
The greatest problem in…the ministry of the word is not having a burden or, we can say, not receiving a burden or not paying attention to a burden… Those who minister the word may…do so without a burden. The discharge of our burden when we minister the word does not depend on how well we speak…It is not a matter of how well we speak, the logistics of our presentation, or whether the saints are touched; rather, it is a matter of what will be produced in the saints. 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.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…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…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.
Without a burden, all our activity will be dead and ineffective; with a burden, we will be living and flourishing. Such an outcome is not related to our method but to our person. If there is a burden, our self decreases and is dealt with. It will not increase, because there are things that our burden will not allow us to do, and there are areas that will require our being dealt with before we can release our burden. Hence, having a burden deals with us the most.
It seems as if the brothers in the churches serve according to obligation as employees in a company. They do not seem to have much burden. Such service is dangerous and will cause us to lose the Lord’s presence…Everyone who serves the Lord must receive a burden and have a burden. (CWWL, 1957, vol. 2, “The Administration of the Church and the Ministry of the Word,” pp. 233, 235, 238-239)
Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 42, ch. 31; CWWN, vol. 53, “The Ministry of God’s Word,” ch. 12