The Bible shows that the service God’s people render to Him on the earth is not an individual matter. In other words, we do not serve individually. The service of God’s people as spoken of in the Bible is altogether a matter of coordination. It is a corporate service, a service that requires the coordination of many people. Such a corporate service has its problems and involves many details. Although we must be coordinated in the service, each one of us has our own distinct personality. As a result, we will have problems. In facing these problems, we need to see that according to the Bible God’s people must pay attention to the principles related to three matters in their service. These matters provide us with some principles, but they do not cover every detail in the service.
Exodus 17 does not speak directly concerning serving God; however, in this chapter the goal of the children of Israel was to arrive at the foot of Mount Sinai so that they might begin to serve God. Hence, the basic matters that they encountered and the things that happened to them are very similar to what we face in serving the Lord today. Although they were surely heading toward the goal of serving God, and God had even said that they would serve Him (4:23), they were not inwardly clear concerning the goal. The children of Israel did not arrive at their destination immediately after leaving Egypt; rather, to leave Egypt was only the beginning. They still needed to advance further in order to serve God.
The first problem that the children of Israel encountered in their journey was that they became thirsty. A thirsty person cannot carry out any work, much less take a journey. Spiritually speaking, a thirsty person cannot serve God or walk in the way of God. If we would serve God, we need to quench our thirst. To quench our thirst we need living water. In our service today, thirst is a common condition. Such thirst is an indication of the lack of the Holy Spirit inwardly. The most basic need in our service is the Holy Spirit.
As we are practicing to have meetings in the districts, the number of districts will increase, there will be more service for the brothers, and the brothers will come to know one another more deeply and have more fellowship with one another. To carry out the practice of meeting in the districts, the basic requirement is the presence of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:46 we can see the basis for the practice of meeting from house to house. There were many meetings in the homes of the church in Jerusalem. Although there is a basis for meeting in this way, we should not have merely an outward practice without having the Holy Spirit within. Because the church in Jerusalem had the Holy Spirit inwardly, they could practice meeting from house to house outwardly. It would be dangerous and worrisome to have only an outward practice of meeting from house to house and not have the Holy Spirit inwardly.
If our inward being is thirsty, we will not be able to go on. If we are thirsty within when we begin meeting in the districts, our inner condition will affect the condition of the district meetings, and the district meetings will not last long. In order to have a proper condition in the meetings and to continue meeting steadfastly, we must pay attention to the matter of our thirst, that is, to the inward filling of the Holy Spirit. We must see that without the Holy Spirit, there is no service. We may have methods for carrying out the work, principles for conducting ourselves in life, and a system for handling the workers, but we may not be serving God. Even if we have the best system or method according to the Bible, without the Spirit it is religion. The best way to serve God is by the Spirit. All the principles and examples given to us in the Bible must be coordinated with the inward leading of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness” (John 4:24). Worshipping in spirit and truthfulness is related to every service in the church life, because the highest and fullest meaning of service is worship. We cannot serve merely by relying on a method of dividing into districts, the arrangement of the meetings in the districts, and the assignment of responsibilities in the districts. We must realize that worship is a matter in spirit.
In order to practice meeting in the districts, we truly need the Lord’s grace. The brothers and sisters love the Lord, are willing to receive the Lord’s commission, and have a heart to serve the Lord. Moreover, the saints are in fear and trembling, endeavoring to go on so that they may not hinder the Lord’s business. The saints’ heart and sense of responsibility are adequate, but the strength of the supply of grace is short. With regard to this, we need to see clearly that the sufficient power or supply does not come from us; rather, we need the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the grace that we have received in the past is not sufficient for us to continue to lead the saints in the service. The sufficiency we are speaking of is what the Bible calls “growth.” Our ability to grow depends on the Holy Spirit, not on what we are. The Holy Spirit is our Head, and the Holy Spirit is our growth.