What does it mean to stand? It means to wait for a command, to wait upon the Lord to speak His will. Countless numbers of works have been set up. I am not speaking of the work in factories and offices. Christians ought to be absolutely faithful to their earthly masters. We have to be very faithful in serving our earthly masters. But when it comes to spiritual work, we need to be more than just efficient. I speak in particular to all the co-workers. Brothers, is your work fully set? Is your work carried out efficiently? Can you not stand still and wait for awhile? Has much of your work been arranged and listed in order? Do you methodically work according to the list? Are you complete in everything? Brothers, can you wait for another three days? Can you stand still for a moment and not move around? This is to stand before the Lord. Everyone who does not know how to draw near to the Lord will surely not be able to minister to Him. Similarly, everyone who does not know how to stand before the Lord will surely not be able to minister to Him. It is impossible for them to minister to the Lord. Brothers, should not a servant wait for an order before he does anything?

Let me reiterate. Since this is a spiritual matter, I am not afraid of repetition. There are only two types of sin before God. One is rebellion against His command. If He gives an order and you refuse to do it, it is sin. But there is another type of sin, which is doing something without the Lord's command. One is the sin of rebellion, and the other is the sin of presumption. One ignores what the Lord has said; the other does what the Lord has not said. Standing before the Lord is the way to deal with the sin of doing what the Lord has not commanded. Brothers and sisters, how much of your spiritual work is done only after you are clear about God's will? How many really work as a result of the Lord's charge? Perhaps you work out of your zeal or because you consider it a good thing to do. Let me tell you that nothing damages God's will more than good things. Good things hinder God the most. We can easily recognize that as Christians we should not take part in evil, unclean, and lustful things and that these things are intolerable. Thus, it is unlikely for these things to be a hindrance to God's purpose. The things that hinder God's purpose are the good things, the things that are similar to His purpose. We may think that such a thing is not bad or that there is nothing better, and we may do it without asking if it is the Lord's will. Good things are God's greatest enemy. Indeed, every time we rebel against God, it is because we presume that something is good, and we go ahead and do it. As children of God, we all know that we cannot sin and that we should not do evil. But how often have we done something just because there was no conviction from the conscience or because the conscience thought it is all right to do?

No doubt, such a thing may be very good. But have we stood before the Lord? We need to stand before Him. Standing means to not walk or move; it means to remain in a place, to stand still and wait for the Lord's order. Brothers, this is the ministry to the Lord. The killing of cattle and sheep in the outer court is done whenever someone comes to offer a sacrifice. But in the Holy of Holies, there is utter solitude and no man in sight. In the Holy of Holies, no brother or sister has any authority over us, neither will a conference make decisions for us, nor does a committee have the authority to commission us. In the Holy of Holies, there is only one authority that will govern us, and that is the Lord. We will only do what the Lord directs us to do; otherwise, we will not do anything. Brothers, can we really stand before Him?

If we want to minister to the Lord in the Holy of Holies, we must spend time before the Lord and pray more. Otherwise, we will be inadequate. We need to pray to be ushered into God's presence and to draw near to Him. Hence, to pray is to stand before God; it is to seek His will before Him. Thank the Lord that although every believer does not do this, some are standing before the Lord and following Him in the journey ahead.

In order to stand before the Lord, it is necessary "to offer unto me the fat and the blood" (Ezek. 44:15). We know that God is holy and righteous in the Holy Place and that God is glorious in the Holy of Holies. God's glory fills the Holy of Holies; God's holiness and righteousness fill the Holy Place. The blood is for God's holiness and righteousness, while the fat is for His glory. The fat is for God to gain something, while the blood deals with God's holiness and righteousness. We all know that God is holy and righteous and that He absolutely cannot accept anyone sinful. Without the shedding of blood or the remission of sin, without man paying a price for his sin, God will never be satisfied. Therefore, there is the need for the blood. There is no way to approach God without it. In the Old Testament time, man was put aside and could not come forward to God. But we can come before God because we have the Lord's blood. Not only so, but we also have to offer the fat, which means to offer the richest and best. We know that the blood deals with sin. But the fat is for God's satisfaction. The fat is the richest and best part, and it satisfies God's heart. Thus, it is for God's glory.