Our service must be fully according to the Spirit, not according to the letter (2 Cor. 3:6). This requires our utmost attention when we serve the Lord.
Serving according to the Spirit, not according to the letter, means to constantly live before the Lord in spirit. In whatever we do in our service, whether dusting the chairs or cleaning the windows, we must follow the Spirit and live before the Lord. We should not do it in a mechanical way, merely coming to the meeting hall every Lord’s Day to clean chairs. We should touch the Spirit within even concerning the time we should go to clean. If we practice this, we will have many good experiences. For example, a brother may have the habit of cleaning chairs at seven thirty every Lord’s Day morning but may sense in his spirit one day to go at seven o’clock. When he arrives at the meeting hall, he may see a brother who has been saved for one week and fellowship with him. Such fellowship will be a great help to the newly saved brother. Hence, this service is not merely the cleaning of chairs but a service according to the Spirit in the New Testament which issues from following the Spirit.
Although our service is in the church and in the Body, it is neither aimless nor individualistic. We should not serve according to dead letters and regulations, being bound by many rules and arrangements. Our service should be in the Spirit and should be living. However, this does not mean that as long as we are in the Spirit, we can violate the principles in the church. These two aspects are not contradictory. A genuine church will not add bondage to people. A local church that binds people and prevents them from having a living service according to the Spirit should be adjusted.
Seemingly, serving in the church and in the Body is a matter of regulation and is incompatible with and contrary to serving in the Spirit. When we actually serve, however, we will realize that there is nothing incompatible or contrary in this service. The more we serve by the Spirit, the more we are in the Body and the more we are in the church. On the contrary, if we do not care for the sense of the Spirit but serve merely by the letter, thinking that we are in the church and in the Body, we will become a most opinionated person and will be unable to get along with others. Therefore, we must learn to live in the Spirit and serve by the Spirit. The more we serve in this way, the more we are on the ground of the church and in the coordination of the Body. This is what the Lord desires. These three items work together without any conflict or contradiction.
Serving in the church, in the Body, according to the Spirit, and not according to the letter is the practice of service. If we pay attention to these three matters in our service, the practice of our service will be perfect. On the one hand, we have the status of a priest. We are persons who serve God, having a serving life and a heart to serve. On the other hand, in our practice we serve in the church, in the Body, and according to the sense in the Spirit and by the Spirit. These conditions make our service lovely and glorious.
Our service to God is not a performance but a living. Actors may have a life that is totally different from when they are performing. They may act humble on the stage but be proud in their living. They may act nice and kind on the stage but be ferocious in their living. Therefore, living and acting can be two entirely different matters. This should not apply to us who serve God. Our living should be consistent with our service. Our service should be our living, and our living should be our service. On the one hand, serving God should be our occupation; on the other hand, serving God should be our living. For example, one who serves God does not preach the gospel only when the church preaches the gospel; he preaches the gospel in his daily life. He is not affected even if the church is not preaching the gospel, because he preaches the gospel to everyone he meets.
Therefore, in principle, there are not some Christians who are devoted to serving God and others who are not. There is no such distinction. The normal condition of a believer should be that he serves God every day. A brother who is a teacher should serve God when he is teaching, and a brother who is a doctor should serve God when he is attending his patients. The entire living of a normal Christian should be devoted to the service of God. Therefore, we should never say that only full-timers serve God. There is no such thing. All the brothers, whether they are teachers, doctors, laborers, servants, or rickshaw men, should devote themselves to serve God.
Hence, no one should consider preaching as an occupation by which one can earn a living. We do not earn our living by serving God; rather, we are living to serve God. If God takes care of our living, we do not need to set aside the time, strength, and energy to earn a living, but if God does not give us this kind of provision, we should set aside the time, strength, and energy to work in order to support our living according to His leading. However, even this kind of work is a part of our service. Therefore, among us there is no distinction between those who, so to speak, serve God with their full time and those who do not. We must all serve God with our time. Serving God is our living as well as our main occupation. Occupations for earning a living, such as being a teacher or a doctor, are only side jobs. Even sisters who do housework, being wives and mothers, should serve God and testify for Him.
When people say, “Brother Lee, you are serving God,” I always reply, “If only I am serving God, then whom do you serve?” Dear brothers and sisters, we should not have a fallen and religious concept that some people should serve God but others do not need to serve God. We should all be devoted to the service of the Lord. Serving the Lord is our living and our main occupation.
The goals of our service are preaching the gospel to save sinners, ministering Christ, and building up the church. Whether we are cleaning the meeting hall, ushering, offering material riches, visiting gospel friends, or visiting the saints, the goals of these services are preaching the gospel to save sinners, ministering Christ, and building up the church. In serving the Lord, we should not seek our own gain or have any personal expectations. We should simply learn to preach the gospel so that sinners can be saved, and minister Christ to others so that the Body of Christ, which is the church of God, can be built up. We should respect and treasure everything that is profitable for these goals, and we should despise and reject anything that is contrary to them.
Our goals in serving the Lord consist of only these three points. We hope that the gospel of the Lord will be spread and that precious souls will be saved, that the glorious Christ will be ministered to people and become their riches, and that the church of God will be built up in every place. We do not have any other goals apart from these, and we are willing to give our all and pour out our all. If we can attain these goals, we will be joyful and glorious.
What can we give ourselves to other than preaching the gospel to save sinners, ministering the glorious Christ for others’ enjoyment, and building up the Body of Christ? What is more worthy than this? These are the goals of our service. The whole world cannot be given in exchange for these goals, and the glory and riches of the world cannot be compared to them. The Lord Jesus said that it is not profitable for a man to gain the whole world but forfeit his soul-life (Mark 8:36). The world is not worth the value of one soul, yet the goal of our service is to save thousands of souls. Our service is much more glorious and worthwhile. Furthermore, we can also minister the glorious Christ to others and build up His mystical Body. This is glorious as well. This is worthy of our service. It is worthy of our paying the price. May we all bow down and say to the Lord, “Lord, allow us to serve. We kneel before You and implore You to let us serve, because this is a glorious and valuable matter, which will last for eternity!”