LIFE-STUDY OF EZEKIEL
Read and pray: “Each went straight forward; wherever the Spirit was to go, they went; they did not turn as they went.” (Ezek. 1:12)
COORDINATION IN THE MINISTRY
If in a local church one brother has a ministry of preaching the gospel and another has a ministry of building up the saints, they must coordinate. Otherwise, they may cause a problem.
If there were only one ministry—the ministry of preaching the gospel for the building up of the saints—there would be little or no problem. However, if the brothers with different ministries do not know how to coordinate, they will compete and may even contend with one another.
The brother who is burdened for the gospel may strive for expansion and increase and may try to persuade others to join him. The brother who is burdened for the building up of the saints may criticize the one who is burdened for the gospel, saying that he brings in new ones but does not care for them.=
Then he may encourage others to help him care for the new ones. The result of this lack of coordination between these two brothers may be division, with some concerned only for the gospel and others concerned only for shepherding.
Since these brothers have different ministries, what should they do? They must learn to coordinate. This means that when the brother burdened for the gospel is functioning and moving forward, the brother burdened for shepherding must learn to walk backward.
Likewise, when the brother burdened for shepherding is functioning and moving forward, the brother burdened for preaching the gospel must walk backward. The other saints should follow these two, walking sideways—sometimes in the direction of the ministry of gospel preaching and at other times in the direction of the shepherding ministry.
COORDINATION IN THE MEETINGS
We should also practice this kind of coordination in the meetings. Some brothers like to shout, while others prefer to remain quiet. At times those who like to shout need to walk backward and learn to be quiet.
At other times, the quiet ones should walk backward and learn to praise the Lord with a loud voice. The problem is that neither those who like to shout nor those who prefer to be quiet are willing to walk backward. In the meetings we need to learn to walk forward, backward, and sideways. Such a practice will keep us from divisions in the meetings¹.
WALKING BACKWARD AND SIDEWAYS
In the church life we need to be able to walk forward, backward, and sideways. This will make us truly coordinated.
To walk backward is to say “Amen” to the other’s ministry, function, and burden. While a brother is moving forward according to his burden, you should say “Amen” and walk backward in coordination with him.
To walk sideways is also to say “Amen” to the other’s function. The problem today is that in the churches there are many turns and little walking backward or sideways. It is very difficult to help the brothers and sisters walk sideways. Few are willing to walk in this way.
In a local church a certain brother may be very active in taking care of a particular service. He does a good job in that matter, yet he is constantly looking for more capable ones to join him in that service.
He cares only for that service and is not concerned for the preaching of the gospel or for the building up of the saints. Because he cares only for his particular service, eventually he will cause a problem in that church.
From this we can see that it is easy to cause division but difficult to have a proper and real coordination. All we need is to maintain our position and go straight forward.
We also need to learn to walk backward and sideways, saying “Amen” to the other’s position, function, and ministry. This means that in the church life we all need to learn to have four kinds of walking: walking straight forward, walking backward, walking sideways to the right, and walking sideways to the left. If we do not learn to have these four kinds of walking, we will become a problem to our local church.
The more we grow, learn, function, and minister, the more problems we will cause, because we know only how to walk forward and how to make turns. We need to realize that there are no turns in proper coordination. There is no turning to the right or to the left. Instead, there are the four kinds of walking—walking forward, backward, sideways to the right, and sideways to the left.
FOLLOWING THE SPIRIT
If you are the only one walking forward, you must be very careful to walk according to the direction of the Spirit. Ezekiel 1:12 says, “Wherever the Spirit was to go, they went.” Following the Spirit is the responsibility of the one who walks forward; it is not the responsibility of those who walk backward or sideways. If the one walking forward does not take care to follow the Spirit’s leading, the coordination will be damaged.
For example, it is right for one brother to have a ministry of preaching the gospel and for another brother to have a shepherding ministry. But there must be the Spirit’s direction concerning the time to preach the gospel and the time to shepherd.
When it is time for the church to carry out the ministry of preaching the gospel, the brother with that ministry should take the lead under the Spirit’s guidance, and the whole church should follow and be one with him.
Those with different ministries or functions should coordinate by walking backward or sideways. At times a certain brother should take the lead to move in a particular direction. However, being naturally humble, he hesitates and does not take the lead boldly.
This causes the church to be held back and to have no direction for its advance. At other times, the one who should not be the leader takes the lead. This damages the church life. When it is time for you to take the lead, do so boldly. When it is time for others to take the lead, learn to walk backward or sideways. This will allow the church to advance properly.
THE RESULT OF COORDINATION
At this point we need to consider the result, the effect of the coordination of the four living creatures—the burning coals and the flaming torches. We all need to bear the likeness of the living creatures, the likeness of a man, and the likeness of burning coals and flaming torches.
BECOMING BURNING COALS
Ezekiel 1:13 says, “The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches; the fire was moving among the living creatures, and out of the fire went forth lightning.” Here we see that the result of the coordination of the living creatures is that they become burning coals.
There is a fire among them and within them. Because they are coordinated, God comes as fire, and each one of them becomes a burning coal. How can we know whether there is proper coordination in a local church? We know it by the presence of burning coals.
If there are no burning coals in a certain church, there is no coordination there. Wherever there is coordination, there will surely be burning coals. In coordination we burn one another. You burn me, and I burn you. However, if we are isolated from the saints and do not attend the meetings, we will not be coals.
Instead, we will be cold, black coals. The spiritual principle is that we burn one another. From experience I can testify that the more we coordinate together, the more we burn one another. The result, the outcome, of coordination is that we all become burning coals.
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¹ Another example would be the choice of hymns. Singing a hymn you do not appreciate as much is like “shifting into reverse” to be one with the brother who requested the hymn; thus the Lord can go on in the meeting.
🌿Enjoy more:
Hymn: Various Aspects of the Inner Life – “The Principle of Incarnation”
https://hinario.org/detail.php?tab=1&mainmp3=admin/Uploaded-mp3-Files/0740.voz_piano.mp3&id=819
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