Allow us to observe on the outset that there’s little obvious distinction between ministry to the Home of the Lord and ministry to the Lord Himself. Lots of you might be doing all your utmost to assist your brethren, and you might be labouring to save lots of sinners and administer the affairs of the church. However let me ask you: Have you ever been in search of to fulfill the necessity round you, or have you ever been in search of to serve the Lord? Is it your fellow males you might have in view, or is it Him?
Allow us to be fairly frank. Work for the Lord undoubtedly has its points of interest for the flesh. You could be thrilled when crowds collect to listen to you preach, and when numbers of souls are saved. If it’s important to keep at residence, occupied from morning to nighttime with mundane issues, you then assume: How meaningless life is! How grand it might be if I might exit and serve the Lord! If solely I have been free to go round ministering! However that isn’t spirituality. That’s merely a matter of pure choice. Oh, if solely we might see that a lot of the work finished for God is just not actually ministry in any respect! He, Himself, has informed us chat there was a category of Levites who busily served within the Temple, and but they weren’t serving Him; they have been merely serving the Home. Nonetheless, service to the Lord and repair to the Home seem a lot alike that it’s typically troublesome to distinguish between the 2.
If an Israelite got here alongside to the Temple and needed to worship God, these Levites would come to his help and assist him supply his peace providing and his burnt providing. They’d assist him drag the sacrifice to the altar, and they’d slay it. Certainly that was a grand work to be engaged in, reclaiming sinners and main believers nearer to the Lord! And God took account of the service of these Levites who helped males carry their peace choices and their burnt choices to the altar. But He stated it was not ministry to Himself.
Brothers and sisters, there’s a heavy burden on my coronary heart that you simply would possibly realise what God is after. He needs ministers who will minister to Him. “They shall come close to to me to minister unto me; they usually shall stand earlier than me to supply unto me the fats and the blood. They shall minister unto me” (Ezekiel 44:15).
The factor I concern most is that lots of you’ll exit and win sinners to the Lord and construct up believers, with out ministering to the Lord Himself. A lot so-called service for Him is just following our pure inclinations. We have now such lively tendencies that we can’t bear to remain at residence, so we run round for our personal aid. We could seem like serving sinners, or serving believers, however all of the whereas we’re serving our personal flesh.
I’ve a pricey pal who’s now with the Lord. Someday, after we had a time of prayer collectively, we learn this passage in Ezekiel (44:9-26, 28, 31 ). She was very a lot older than I, and he or she addressed me like this: “My younger brother, it was twenty years in the past that I first studied this passage of Scripture.”
“How did you react to it?” I requested.
She replied: “As quickly as I had completed studying it, I closed my Bible, and kneeling down earlier than the Lord, I prayed: `Lord, make me to be one who shall minister to You, to not the Temple.”‘ Can we additionally pray that prayer?
However what do we actually imply after we speak of serving God or serving the Temple? Here’s what the Phrase says:
However the monks, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that saved the cost of my sanctuary when the youngsters of Israel went astray from me, they shall come close to to me to minister unto me; they usually shall stand earlier than me to supply unto me the fats and the blood, saith the LORD God (Ezekiel 44:15).
The situations fundamental to all ministry that may really be referred to as ministry to the Lord are drawing close to to Him and standing earlier than Him. However how exhausting we frequently discover it to pull ourselves into His presence! We shrink from the solitude, and even after we do detach ourselves bodily, our ideas nonetheless maintain wandering outdoors. Many people can take pleasure in working amongst folks, however how many people can draw close to to (God within the Holy of Holies? But it is just as we draw close to to Him that we will minister to Him.
To come back into the presence of God and kneel earlier than Him for an hour calls for all of the energy we possess. We have now to be violent to carry that floor. However everybody who serves the Lord is aware of the preciousness of such instances, the sweetness of waking at midnight and spending an hour in prayer, or waking very early within the morning and getting up for an hour of prayer earlier than the ultimate sleep of the evening.
Until we actually know what it’s to attract close to to God, we can’t know what it’s to serve Him. It’s unimaginable to face afar off and nonetheless minister to Him. We can’t serve Him from a distance. There is just one place the place ministry to Him is feasible and that’s within the Holy Place. Within the outer court docket you method the folks; within the Holy Place you method the Lord.
The passage we ‘ have quoted emphasises not solely our want to attract close to to God; it additionally speaks of standing earlier than Him to minister. At the moment we at all times need to be transferring on; we can’t stand nonetheless. There are, so many issues claiming our consideration that we’re perpetually on the go. We can’t cease for a second.
However a religious particular person is aware of how you can stand nonetheless. He can stand earlier than God until God makes His will recognized. He can stand and await orders. You who’re leaders have to notably take into account this. Are you able to be persuaded to name a halt and never transfer for a short while? That’s what is referred to right here: “stand and minister unto me.” Don’t you assume {that a} servant ought to await his grasp’s orders earlier than in search of to serve him? The Sin of presumption.
There are solely two kinds of sin earlier than God. One is the sin of refusing to obey when He points orders. The opposite is the sin of going forward when the Lord has not issued orders. The one is rebel; the opposite is presumption. The one is just not doing what the Lord has required; the opposite is doing what the Lord has not required. Studying to face earlier than the Lord offers with the sin of doing what the Lord has not commanded. Brothers and sisters, how a lot of the work you might have finished has been primarily based on the clear command of the Lord? How a lot have you ever finished due to His direct directions? And the way a lot have you ever finished merely on the bottom that the factor you probably did was factor to do? Let me inform you that nothing so damages the Lord’s pursuits as a “good factor.” “Good issues” are the best hindrance to the accomplishment of His will. The second we’re confronted with something depraved or unclean, we instantly recognise it as one thing a Christian should keep away from, and for that cause, issues that are positively evil are almost not such a menace to the Lord’s objective pretty much as good issues.
You assume: This factor wouldn’t be unsuitable, or That factor is the perfect that could possibly be finished so that you go forward and take motion with out stopping to inquire if it’s the will of God. We who’re His youngsters all know that we ought to not do something evil, however we expect that if solely our conscience doesn’t forbid a factor, or if a factor commends itself to us as positively good, that’s cause sufficient to go forward and do it.
‘That factor you ponder doing could also be superb, however are you standing earlier than the Lord awaiting His command relating to it? “They shall stand earlier than me” includes halting in His presence and refusing to maneuver until He points His orders. That’s what ministry to the Lord means.
To be continued…
