THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CHURCH
AND THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
CHAPTER SEVEN:
THE BUILDING OF THE CHURCH
REQUIRES TOTAL CONSECRATION
WEEK 5 - SATURDAY
Bible Reading: Luke 9:57-62
Read and pray: "And Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes and the birds of the heaven nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." (Matt. 8:20)
WE ARE INCAPABLE OF TAKING CARE
OF GOD’S HOUSE AND OUR OWN (2)
In these days, the enemy not only works to create division among us, but also leads many to weaken their consecration and become compromising Christians. We cannot serve the Lord and belong to the world; we will not succeed in both.
If everyone who serves took good care of their career and family, they might become more successful in both areas. This can be compared to tending a garden by weeding and watering it daily. That garden will surely be beautiful.
If a person manages a hospital and works diligently every day, that hospital will surely be successful. This is similar to the matter of consecration. If we devote ourselves to caring for our careers, studies, and family, we should not expect the church to prosper. On the contrary, the church will become desolate and neglected. If we prioritize our professional careers and our families, and place the Lord and the church second, the church will not grow.
Meeting every day may cause us to suffer personal losses. However, we must ask ourselves the purpose of our existence: Are we here for our house or for God’s house?
A Western missionary in Manila testified that his eldest daughter and second son wanted to be preachers. He rejoiced because many of his children were preachers and because his family was made up of missionaries. If we live a comfortable and easy life and do not pay the price to follow the Lord, our children will want to follow us.
Preachers like this may travel around the world, may have servants, and do not suffer hardship. They may even be highly regarded by others. How many people can afford to live this kind of life? If they chose the path of a Nazirite, it would be very unlikely that their children would still want to be preachers.
Because those who work in China have chosen the path of consecration, none of their children have the desire to serve. If we want to do a work of consecration and take the narrow way in the Lord’s recovery, we should not expect a comfortable life ahead.
We cannot rely on the path taken by Western missionaries. If we do, we will carry out the work of institutional Christianity, not the work of building up the church. When we do the work of building up the church, our fame, reputation, family, energy, and natural man will suffer shipwreck. Our reputation and what we truly are will be shipwrecked.
Anyone who desires to serve the Lord while maintaining respectability in family, career, and studies has taken the wrong path. For us, there is no way to succeed in both. If we want the Lord to build and gain something, our consecration must be total. This is not just a matter of following our parents or husband because we feel the desire to preach. It is a matter of suffering shipwreck because of Jesus. He will cause all that is ours to be wrecked. This is real consecration.
However, this does not mean that we should not study, have a profession, or care for our family. We should not give everything up. We must do our best in our studies, in caring for our family, and in our work. Yet when there is a conflict between the two, we must ask ourselves which side should win. Should the Lord Jesus gain the victory, or should our own benefit?
We must also ask ourselves which side has the priority in our hearts. What is our main occupation? We must each give a definite answer before the Lord. Do we consider the Lord Jesus and His work first or second? If we want to do a work of institutional Christianity, we can put what is ours first, and what belongs to the Lord second. But if we want to build the church, we must give priority to the Lord.
Enjoy more: Hymn 219
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