Have God’s Speaking, Bear others before God, and Minister the Word with a Burden

For us to be good ministers of Christ Jesus, we need to have a burden and minister the word with a burden from the Lord; we need to know and bear people’s condition before God, have God’s shining, know what God wants to speak, and speak with a burden from the Lord. Amen!

It is one thing for us to know the Bible and be clear concerning God’s eternal economy, but it is something else for us to speak the word that the Lord wants us to speak.

For us to be a prophet of the Lord, one who speaks for God and speaks Christ forth, we first must receive the divine revelation.

Then, this revelation has to become our burden, and finally, this burden is complemented by the word of the Lord in order to release the burden.

We see this everywhere both in the Old and in the New Testament.

When the Lord spoke through the prophets in the Old Testament, He gave them revelations, and He spoke through them a specific word, according to the need.

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

Isaiah didn’t just receive the word from the Lord and then spoke to others; he saw the burden of Jehovah concerning Babylon.

When he saw that burden, he could not stop speaking, and he had the inner words to understand the burden and the outward utterance to convey it.

A good minister of Christ Jesus is one who is nourished with the words of the faith and of the good teaching which he closely follows, and he lays the good teaching before the saints to nourish them and supply them for their growth in life.

A good minister of Christ sacrifices himself and puts himself aside, not lowering the truth to his condition or situation but upholding the truth and keeping the absoluteness of the truth.

He allows the truth to uplift him and does now lower the standard of the truth to match his condition or the people’s situation.

A good minister of Christ is a good steward of the varied grace of God; he speaks oracles of God for His glorification, and he doesn’t express himself but seeks to express God.

May we be good ministers of Christ who continually exercise their spirit to reject the self and preach Christ, exalt Christ, and consider ourselves as slaves to serve the believers.

A good minister of Christ serves in the principle of the tree of life; he is not merely imparting teachings into others but rather, he ministers life to them, leading others to enjoy Christ as the tree of life.

A good minister of Christ helps the saints to think the one thing, which is the subjective enjoyment and experience of Christ to gain Him.

A good minister of Christ loves the Lord, loves His word, and has a rich deposit of the rich and nourishing word of God under his tongue, ready to speak an encouraging word according to the need.

Today we want to see another characteristic of the good ministers of Christ: speaking with a burden from the Lord, and ministering the word with a burden from God.

Having God’s Speaking to Speak with a Burden to Release God’s Revelation to Man

The revelations that the prophets in the Old Testament received were the burdens that they received (Isa. 1:1; 2:1; 13:1; 15:1; Zech. 12:1; Mal. 1:1).

If there is no burden, there is no ministry of the word, no prophesying, for the building up of the church (Acts 6:4; 1 Cor. 14:4).

When we speak to others, we don’t just say lots of words that show them how much we know and what we think they should hear.

First, we need to receive the Lord’s revelation, His light.

Then, we need to be renewed in our mind by being in the Lord’s word so that we may receive the understanding of the Lord’s light.

When God shines again, we will then be clear about the content of the revelation, and we can speak it.

We need to be clear in our mind concerning the Lord’s revelation before we can tell others about it.

Still, we need to pray and exercise our spirit, seeking the Lord for the proper inner words to understand and convey the revelation He has given us.

If we don’t have the appropriate words, we may be able to speak for a long time but never convey the burden from the Lord.

What is a burden? A burden is first the light that we receive in the spirit, the thoughts that capture the light, and finally, the inner words that supplement the light and the thoughts.

And the last step of the burden is to release the inner word to others.

When we do this, we are a prophet, speaking for God and speaking Christ forth.

We need to have God’s speaking so that we may speak with a burden to release God’s revelation to man.

A burden is not just an inspiration; it is much more than that, for it involves the receiving of God’s light, the understanding of this revelation, and the inner words to complement it and convey it.

There is a great problem among the believers today when we do things without a burden.

We may go to the home meeting and have no burden, and we may not exercise our spirit nor share something of what the Lord has shown us.

We wait for others, and others are waiting for us. Oh, Lord!

In order for us to serve others and shepherd the saints, we need to have a burden from the Lord.

For us to speak for God and care for the saints, we need to have a fresh revelation from the Lord and the inner words from the Lord to convey the burden from Him.

We may be in a small group meeting with the saints, and we may have a burden from the Lord concerning a particular matter for a particular saint; we need to pray about it, be clear before the Lord, and be one with the Lord to release the divine revelation.

It is sad, however, when you see some saints who are serving the Lord full-time who do this as a job, without any burden; they do many activities, but the burden is missing. Oh, Lord!

It is sad to see and hear those who speak a message without a burden, just going through the topic or the outline, but without a burden from the Lord.

May the Lord touch us and speak to us.

May we open to the Lord concerning ourselves and those around us.

He put us among certain people at work and in a particular family at home; He has a burden for each and every one of those around us.

We need to come to the Lord and seek His face concerning our workmates, our friends, and our neighbours so that we may have the Lord’s burden for them.

When it comes to the saints, similarly, we need to not just meet in the small groups and in the home meetings and church meetings but even more, meet with a burden from the Lord.

If there are some unsaved persons coming to the meeting, we need to be burdened for their salvation.

Whatever we say and do should be with a burden that they are saved.

If there are saints who are not yet baptized and still struggle with the world, being usurped by the enemy because of the lack of consecration, we need to pray for them and receive the Lord’s burden how to speak to them and help them to be baptized.

Our burden is to release God’s revelation to man, and God’s revelation is released through the words of revelation that God gives us (1 Cor. 2:11-16).

When we minister the word of God, we need to be concerned not about whether or not we give a good message or if the topic is right but whether we have God’s speaking or not (Mal. 2:7; S. S. 8:13-14; Eph. 5:26-27).

We need to have God’s speaking and speak with a burden from the Lord to convey the Lord’s divine revelation to man.

Lord Jesus, we open to You. We come to Your word not only to enjoy You but also to receive Your shining, Your light. Shine on us, Lord. We want to be renewed in our minds so that our thoughts can capture and understand the divine revelation. Grant us to be clear in our mind to understand and receive Your shining and have the divine revelation. Amen, Lord, grant us to have Your burden concerning those around us so that we may know what to speak and what not to speak. May we be those who not only speak Christian teachings and doctrines but even more, release God’s revelation to man. Give us the words of revelation so that we may speak what You speak. Oh Lord, what about our workmates and classmates: what is Your burden for them? Lord, what about the saints in our small group meeting, what is Your burden for each one of them? We open to You; shine on us and grant us Your divine revelation, even the words You want us to speak to others to meet the need!

Bear others’ Condition before God and Minister the Word with a Burden from the Lord

A good minister of Christ is a burdened person; he receives vision and revelation from the Lord, which produces a burden within him.

He bears others’ condition before God and, when he speaks, he ministers the word with a burden from the Lord.

On one hand, our burden is to release God’s revelation to man; on the other hand, we need to bear others’ condition before God.

Those who minister the word of God minister the word must bear people’s condition before God, sense their condition, and know what God wants to speak (Exo. 28:29-30).

Our main concern is not to have a good topic to speak about but to have a burden from the Lord so that we may minister the word with a burden from Him.

To have God’s speaking, we need to come to Him and have His shining, and we need to be before the Lord concerning the condition of the ones we speak of.

Just as the high priest went into God’s presence wearing the priestly robe with the breastplate and the Urim and the Thummim to have God’s speaking concerning His people, so we need to be before the Lord concerning our friends, our workmates, our classmates, our relatives, our neighbours, and the saints in the church life.

We need to bear their names before God, pray for them, and receive the Lord’s shining concerning their situation and condition.

Our speaking to others should not be easy or cheap; we should not speak merely because we have prepared something to speak, but speak with a burden from the Lord.

May we bear others’ condition before God, even bear the responsibility to know their needs, and sense their condition before God so that we may know what He wants to speak to them.

If we don’t have a burden, our activity and work will be dead and ineffective; it may be a good piece of Christian work, with nothing wrong or evil about it, but it doesn’t have a living and flourishing taste and aspect.

We may receive the Lord’s burden concerning some gospel candidates, and we bear them before the Lord; we bear their condition before God and, at the right time, we minister the word with a burden from the Lord.

We not only preach the gospel to them: we speak to them with a burden for their salvation.

Sometimes people may not like what we speak or may reject our speaking, but as long as we minister the word with a burden from the Lord, they cannot deny that they heard the Lord’s speaking.

When we see a vision of God’s economy, the dispensing of the Divine Trinity, the oneness of the Body of Christ, and the importance of all serving, we will be full of burden.

We realize that many saints around us are in a lukewarm condition, and we are before the Lord in prayer to receive a burden for them, how to stir up their love for the Lord, how to nourish them with God’s word for their growth in life, and how to perfect them to serve in the Body.

We need to check with the Lord concerning these matters.

Do we contact the new ones only to bring them to read the Bible together, or do we have a burden for their growth in life and function in the Body?

Do we serve the young people merely because we love to be with the young ones and we want to keep them in the church life, or do we have a burden that they grow in life, serve the Lord, and consecrate themselves to Him?

Do we serve with the students because we have been doing this for many years, and we know how to contact them and what to do, or do we have a burden from the Lord to bring them into their organic function in the Body and to consecrate their future to Him to be His overcomers?

When we’re in the Lord’s Table meeting, are we there to just enjoy the Lord with the saints, or are we burdened to have strong prayer with rich praises, offering the peace offering before God and worshipping the Father in spirit and with Christ as our truthfulness?

When some saints are late to the meeting in a consistent way, are we burdened to pray for the saints, or do we look at them and have a judging attitude in our being? Oh, Lord Jesus!

May we live and serve in the Body with a burden from the Lord.

May the Lord save us from just “cruising along” in the church life without any burden.

Everyone who serves the Lord, that is, every believer in Christ, needs to receive a burden and serve Him with a burden.

The greatest problem in the ministry of the word is not having a burden from the Lord; without a burden, all our activity will be dead and ineffective, but when we have a burden, we will be living and flourishing.

When we have a burden from the Lord and minister the word with a burden, the self is dealt with and decreases, for 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.

If we serve according to obligation instead of serving with a burden, such a service will cause us to lose the Lord’s presence (Mal. 3:14; Deut. 4:25).

Whenever our service becomes a matter of fulfilling an obligation, our service has already degraded. Oh, Lord Jesus!

May we come to the Lord again and again concerning our service to Him and our serving the saints and ask Him,

Lord Jesus, save us from serving You and serving the saints without a burden. We open to You, dear Lord, to receive Your burden concerning the saints You put us with. We want to bear the saints’ condition before God, sense their condition, and know what You want to speak to them. Shine on us, Lord, and grant us Your divine revelation and Your words to speak to others. We want to minister the word with a burden from the Lord, having much prayer and careful consideration before You. Oh Lord, what about the saints You put us with? We open to You concerning our situation and concerning the saints’ need. Shine on us. Reveal to us the burden that You have for the new ones under our care. May our shepherding of the new ones and the young ones be full of burden so that we may convey God’s revelation to man. May Your burden for the saints, for the new ones, and for the unbelievers around us become our burden. May we bear their situation and condition before You and minister the word with a burden from the Lord!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers in the message for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1957, vol. 2, “The Administration of the Church and the Ministry of the Word,” ch. 2, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Living and Serving According to God’s Economy Concerning the Church (2023 fall ITERO), week 6, entitled, A Good Minister of Christ.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – To the lost world minister Christ, / Who is your life and your all, / Imparting Christ to all you meet, / All fallen ones, great or small. / To the lost world minister Christ, / By daily walk making Him known; / Imparting Christ by whom you live, / Share with all men what you own. (Hymns #922 stanza 4 and chorus)
  – Down in the human heart, / Crushed by the tempter, / Feelings lie buried that grace can restore; / Touched by a loving heart, / Wakened by kindness, / Chords that are broken will vibrate once more. / Rescue the perishing, / Duty demands it; / Strength for thy labor the Lord will provide; / Back to the narrow way, / Patiently win them; / Tell the poor wand’rer a Savior has died. (Hymns #921 stanzas 3-4)
  – Lord, lay some soul upon my heart, / And love that soul through me; / And may I bravely do my part / To win that soul for Thee. / Some soul for Thee, some soul for Thee, / This is my earnest plea; / Help me each day, on life’s highway, / To win some soul for Thee. (Hymns #932 stanza 1 and chorus)