When God gives us a revelation in our spirit, we have the shining. However, the shining does not stop with God’s revelation in our spirit. We have to retain the light with our thoughts. Yet our natural thoughts are not suitable for this task. We cannot turn our thoughts immediately into words. What then should we do? We have to ask God for further shining, not for a shining in our spirit which communicates its meaning to us, but for a shining that conveys words which translate the meaning of the light into words. Here we see two revelations, one in the spirit and one in the word. The revelation in the word is a sentence or two that God gives to us. When we pray to God, we receive a clear light, and we are able to retain and hold on to this light; light is translated into thoughts in us. Yet when we try to speak to others about this revelation, we cannot do it. We understand this revelation ourselves, but we cannot communicate it to others. We can understand it a little, but we do not have the words to make it known to others. At this point we should begin to pray to God for a word. We should pray watchfully and comprehensively, opening our heart to Him and dropping all prejudice. Our spirit has to be open to Him as well. As we do this, we will begin to see something before God; He will give us a word or two that aptly expresses the sense within. Just these few words become a revelation. The words of this revelation hold God’s light in place.
Light is translated into cognizance and thoughts, and then the thoughts are translated into words. It is right to say this, and I believe that there is no question about this. Light becomes thoughts, and thoughts are then released through us as words. Light comes to us and is retained by the thoughts. Today these thoughts are expressed through us with words. This is absolutely right. It is not very accurate to say that the relationship between revelation and thoughts is limited merely to a relationship between revelation in the word and thoughts. We receive words from God in the second revelation, but the words of revelation which we receive from God the second time are for the purpose of capturing the light which we see in the first place. We can say that there are two capturings in us. First, thoughts capture God’s light, and second, the words which we receive from God also capture His light. Just as we capture the light we receive in our spirit with our thoughts, we capture light through the words which God gives to us today. In this way, the revelation we receive through the words becomes one with the revelation we have received in our spirit. What we see in our spirit goes away in an instant; but the content of this vision is not measured by time. It does not mean that if a revelation lasts for a second that the speaking will also last for just a second. What we see in our spirit in an instant can involve many things. This is the reason our mind must be strong and rich in order to capture the light. The more we put our mind to use, the more light we will capture from God. The words we receive from God follow the same principle. In contrast to the vast amount that is revealed to us in an instant in our spirit, God’s word comes to us only in one or two sentences. When God gives us a sentence or two to capture the light, these sentences contain not merely words but the whole revelation behind them.
In ordinary speech, one only needs to speak eight words if there are eight words to say, or ten words if there are ten words to say. If a speech needs to last for ten minutes, it can be finished in ten minutes. The speaking of this world can be counted by words, minutes, and seconds. But this is not revelation. A word of revelation may consist only of one or two sentences, yet this word of revelation is as impregnated with riches as God’s revelation is. A revelation encompasses a great amount of riches; the instantaneous shining contains many riches. God may give us one sentence only, but that one sentence is packed with God’s rich utterance and overflowing revelation. If we can receive a great amount of riches in an instant of revelation, we can also receive a great amount of riches in a single sentence. If God can pack His riches within a moment of revelation, He can pack His riches within one sentence. What one sees in an instant may require a few months to explain. In the same way, what one receives in one sentence may require a few months to paraphrase. Here we have to differentiate between the inner words and the outer words. The inner words are not long, yet they contain many riches. The riches they contain are as rich as the riches one sees in a split second. We are not given long speeches to deliver to others. What we receive may only be one or two sentences. Yet these sentences contain many spiritual things. These one or two sentences carry one outstanding characteristic—they are words that release life.
What is a word that releases life? When God grants us revelation, He grants us life. He dispenses life to us through His revelation. This revelation becomes a burden to a worker or a minister. When this burden is discharged, life is released. If this burden is not discharged, life is not released. The heavier the burden is, the more powerful its release will be when it is discharged. If the burden cannot be discharged, it remains in us, and it will become heavier and heavier as time goes on. Suppose we have a large bag full of water that is very heavy in our hands. If we puncture the bag, the water will be discharged, and our hands will not feel the weight after a while. The release of the word works in this same way. If we have a burden within us, we should also have suitable words within us. One sentence will be enough; our burden will be discharged like water being discharged from the bag. But if we do not have this one word, we will feel like a water-tight bag. What then is a word of revelation? A word of revelation is a word that releases life. Previously, life was locked up, but through the discharge of our burden, it is released to others. We must have suitable words to release the pressure within. If we do not have such a word, we cannot release life.
Every time we have a burden, no matter how heavy it is, we will receive a word related to it if we wait long enough before God. Sometimes we may have to pray for days before we have a word to match the burden. In capturing the light, our mind may understand what is involved, but we may not have the words to express our understanding. There are times, however, when we receive the words at the same time that our mind captures the light. As the weight of the burden is felt, the words come instantaneously. We cannot dictate when the words will come. Sometimes God gives us the words immediately upon seeing something. Sometimes we have to wait, and the words come only after the burden has become heavier and heavier. No matter when the words come, they are always suited for the occasion. These words become our light. It seems as if the entire revelation that we have received can be summed up in one word. The one or two words that we have received are as rich in content as the entire revelation we received earlier. These words are like the cork of a bottle; when the cork is removed, the content bursts out. God has to give us one or two words. We call these words the inner words. These words come from God, and they are given to capture the revelation and to hold the revelation together. It is God’s intention for the revelation that we received from Him to be contained in these one or two words. When we release these words, the revelation is released. Once we utter these words of revelation from God, His light is released.
We should be clear about this before the Lord: Without light, there is no ministry of the word. Without the mind retaining the light and transforming it into thoughts, there is no ministry of the word. But even after the light is retained and translated into thoughts, there is still the need of the word, the word of revelation. This word is what Paul referred to as “words taught by the Spirit” (1 Cor. 2:13). The Spirit has to give us a word. He must not only give us revelation, but He must also give us the revelation in words. Such words of revelation may be only one or two sentences, but they are concise and to the point. As soon as these one or two sentences are uttered, life ushers forth. We may say many things, but if we do not utter these one or two sentences, life will not flow. As soon as these sentences are uttered, however, life flows out.
God’s life is released through revelation and nothing else. Take, for example, the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. As far as the fact is concerned, the Lord has died for everyone in the whole world already. But has everyone received His life? As far as the fact is concerned, He has died for every person in this world, but not everyone has received this life. This is because not everyone has received the revelation. Even if a person can recite the truth of the Lord’s death, it will not do him any good if he has not received the revelation. Others, who have received the revelation, can utter thanksgiving and praise from their inner being. Seeing brings life. The Holy Spirit enlivens man through His word. As soon as we see such a word, we are enlivened.
Today God is supplying the church through the word. His intention is to dispense Christ and the life of Christ to the church. But it seems that this life can only be released through the burden we bear. When a burden comes to us, there must be a corresponding word to release the life in the word. Some words do not release life even when they are spoken for two hours. Other words release life immediately. Some words can be spoken repeatedly without carrying any life in them. Other words usher in life as soon as they are uttered. A minister of the word must have the word. Without the word, he will not accomplish anything. Every time a person receives a revelation, he has to receive one or two words as well. When such words are released, life flows. These puncturing and life-gushing words release life as soon as they are uttered. Before they are uttered, no life is released. But as soon as a person speaks these words, others touch life. Without such words, one cannot touch life no matter how hard he tries.
Revelation and light come first. This is the starting point. We must receive revelation and light from God. Yet revelation and light alone do not constitute the ministry of the word. One must be renewed in his mind and understanding. When God shines again, he will then be clear about the content of the revelation. We cannot convey a hazy and foggy revelation. At a minimum the revelation has to be clear in our mind before we can tell others about it. If we are not clear ourselves, we cannot speak of it to others. If the revelation we have received is not clear to us, we cannot release it. Even when we have received revelation, we cannot release it unless our mind is first clear about it. What we say may not be wrong, but we will not have the ministry of the word, and the Lord will not be released through us. After we receive light, our mind must first be clear. If our mind is muddled, the light we see will not remain. Consequently, we need a renewed mind. The old mind cannot be used; it has to be broken. If our mind is not clear, we cannot be a minister of God’s word. Yet even if our mind is clear, we still may not be a minister of the word because we still do not have the proper words. Others can only hear our words; they cannot hear our mind. If we do not have the appropriate words, we may speak for hours on the platform without conveying what we know. This is why we have to have words from God. Words come to some people as soon as their mind captures the light. With others, it may take a few days or even a few months. Whether the words come sooner or later, there must be a clear word. We must receive a clear word from the Lord before we can speak. Without such a word we cannot speak. There is not a need for many words; all we need is one or two sentences. Once we receive these one, two, three, or five sentences from the Lord, we can release all the revelation we have received. Unless we have perfect assurance within ourselves, we cannot stand up to speak. If we have not received any light, our ministry will go nowhere. Without light, there is no ministry of the word. But after we have received light and then have thoughts concerning it, we still need some life-releasing words. We are not talking about clever or wise words but life-releasing words. As soon as these words pierce into others, life gushes forth. As soon as these words are released, life is released. Life has to be released. Sometimes, one or two phrases are enough to release life. We have to pay attention before the Lord concerning these words. We call these words of revelation. Without such words of revelation, we cannot speak God’s word.
We should remember that when God gives us a burden, He also gives us a word to discharge the burden. Both are from God. He gives us light within, and He also gives us thoughts within. When both light and thoughts are present, we have a burden. This burden will make us uneasy; we will be pressed and constrained. Yet the God who gives us the burden will also give us the words to discharge the burden. It is God who gives us the burden, and it is God who enables us to discharge the burden. He will give us the words that will discharge life. One or two phrases are enough to release this life. We should not walk away with a burden on our shoulder. We have to find a way to release this life. Unless we can do this, we do not know how to work for God. When we go to the brothers and sisters, we should not go with an empty water bottle in our hand; we should be prepared to give them water. We must find the way to discharge the water before we open our mouth to speak. I often see a brother speaking at length without releasing what he wants to release. He tries very hard to release it, but he cannot discharge anything. If we have learned some lessons from the Lord, we will notice that this brother is going around in circles. He may reach a certain point where the water is about to flow, yet he circles around again and the water is still held back. When he reaches a certain point, he only needs to speak a certain word and the burden will be released. Yet he lacks that inner word. He has not learned to acquire the crucial words before he begins to minister the word. It is no wonder that the longer he speaks, the more he misses the point.
We must wait before God for the proper word. It is best to have the proper word as soon as our mind captures the light. If we do not receive the word when we capture the light, we should pray for such a word. One day we will find that our own eloquence is useless. The strange thing is that before a man learns to be a minister of God’s word, he may think that he has eloquence. But man’s natural eloquence can speak of many things except the things of God. Human eloquence is useless in relating the things of God. Life can never be released through human eloquence. Words of life can only be found through revelation. No matter how eloquent we are, we will never succeed in releasing life.
We have to admit that Paul was a good speaker. Yet in Ephesians 6:19 he said, “And for me, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known in boldness the mystery of the gospel.” In the original language utterance is “word.” Paul asked the Ephesians to pray for him that he might receive the word to make known the mystery of the gospel. Fleshly eloquence is useless in spiritual things. There must be God-given words. Ministry of the word is something inward, not outward. If we do not have the inward word, we have nothing worth speaking. The trouble with many people is that they keep on speaking, even though they are unable to release what they have within them. We should not search for these words when we are standing on the platform; we should have these words within us ahead of time. We must first find these words before God before we can speak them to others. A minister of God’s word must learn to know the inner word. He must learn to first touch the revelation and then release the words. May the Lord make us those who are rich in words. We must not only have a burden; the burden must be supplemented with words so that it can be discharged. The only thing that can discharge our burden is the phrases that we have within us. These phrases are actually a part of the burden.
What then is a burden? First, a burden is the light we receive in the spirit, the thoughts that capture the light, and finally the inner words that supplement the light and thoughts. The last step of the burden is the release of the inner word. The combination of these three things makes up the burden of the prophets. Burden is light plus thoughts plus the inner words. Our burden is to release God’s revelation to man, and God’s revelation is released through the words of revelation that we have received. May God show us the relationship between burden and the inner words.