Serving as a minister of the word is an altogether new thing to us; we have never done such a thing before in our life. We are like newborn babes who have never learned to speak. We have lived on this earth for many years and have been speaking for all these years. Yet we have never known this kind of speaking before. In order to speak this way, we have to start from the beginning. In learning to be a minister of the word, we should forget about our previous speaking and preaching experience. This kind of thought is a distraction. The ministry of the word is very new to us; it is different from any of our former training, understanding, and practices. No one can be careless in this matter. We cannot depend on past experiences. We cannot consider the ministry of the word to be the same as our ordinary speaking. As far as being a minister of the word is concerned, we are babies; we have to learn everything from the beginning. A baby has to learn every sound of the alphabet when he learns to speak. Today we are like babies; we have to learn everything from its very foundation. The flesh has characteristics in its speaking, and the spirit also has characteristics in its speaking. We cannot rely on any past experiences of speaking and preaching. If we try to bring in these elements, we will change the nature of the word. We have to be like a baby, learning everything afresh. Many terms and expressions have to be picked up. Many thoughts have to be acquired afresh. Even the way we behave ourselves has to be taught and learned in a fresh way. No one should bring in anything old. But neither is it a matter of introducing something novel. As a matter of fact, this kind of speaking is so new and unfamiliar to us that everything related to it has to be acquired afresh, bit by bit and piece by piece.
When God gives us a word, we can say that it is a hard task to release it on the one hand. But we also can say that it is a very easy task to release it on the other hand. This is like prayer. In one sense this is the easiest thing to do, because a new believer can pray the first day of his Christian life. In another sense one can spend his whole lifetime learning how to pray. The same is true of learning to be a minister of the word. On the one hand, it is a difficult skill to acquire. On the other hand, while one is learning to be a minister, God will show him that the whole endeavor is not that hard after all.
Let us now consider a few things we should pay attention to in our speaking.
In speaking as a minister of the word, we have to take care that our spirit is not hurt or injured. We should not speak for the sake of speaking. Our speaking must be accompanied by the release of the spirit. It is a total failure on the part of the ministry of the word to release the word without releasing the spirit. It is absolutely impossible for anyone to try to release his spirit without the word. One must have the spirit and the word at the same time. The word is released because the spirit is released in the process. It is the spirit that touches men and moves men. It is also the spirit that opens men’s eyes. At times the spirit is so prevailing that it even subdues men. The release of the word is actually a release of the spirit. If our spirit cannot be released, it is useless for the word to be released by itself. If there is any hindrance in us, we will have just the word without the spirit. Sometimes, even though we do not know what is wrong with us, our spirit is injured. Our spirit is extremely delicate; as such, it is very easily injured. The feeling of the spirit is very sensitive. It is so delicate that it goes beyond our normal sensitivity. We may not feel something, yet the spirit has felt it already. Once the spirit is injured, we are left with a word that is void of the spirit. In speaking we have to be very careful not to injure the spirit. Several things can cause injury to our spirit. Let us consider them one by one.
First, we may be touched by some sin or defilement before we speak. When we speak, the spirit does not follow because it is injured. It is difficult to say what kinds of sins or defilements will injure our spirit. We can only say that with many sins and defilements, a slight touch, contact, or contamination, can injure our spirit. We do not have to actually commit these sins. As soon as we open our mouth, we know that we cannot go on. Before a minister of the word opens his mouth, he has to pray for forgiveness and cleansing. He should confess all of his known sins and defilements before God, and he should seek cleansing and forgiveness for them. He should seek cleansing and forgiveness for the sins and defilements that he is not aware of as well. He has to exercise diligence to avoid these things. He should guard himself and exercise care to turn away from these things. The spirit’s feeling is more sensitive than a person’s other feelings. A man may not realize that he is contaminated by certain sins and defilements for three to five days. Yet his spirit has detected some warnings already. He may have the right words and the right thoughts; every inward and outward factor may be in place. Yet, despite his efforts to push out his spirit, his spirit seems to remain inert. He does not seem to be able to get his spirit moving. He has a difficult time trying to locate his spirit as he is trying to push it out. These signs indicate that the spirit has been defiled by sin and is debilitated.
Second, the spirit must be watchfully attended to before it can be released. As soon as our mind wanders, moves out of focus, or fails to catch up with our thoughts, our spirit is injured. Our mind has to attentively wait on the spirit before the spirit can direct the mind freely. When our mind wanders, our spirit becomes very heavy and bound. This is another cause of injury to the spirit. Some ministers of the word cannot use their spirit because their spirit is injured, and their spirit is injured because something is wrong with their mind. We have to learn to preserve our mind solely for the spirit’s use. Our mind has to attentively wait on the spirit, like a servant waiting on his master. The more experienced we are, the more conscious we are of this need.
Third, in order for the spirit to be strong and undamaged, we have to use the right words whenever we speak. We cannot use the wrong words, the wrong examples, or the wrong order of outline. Once we make a mistake in two or three of the crucial words in our speaking, our whole message is spoiled. These few words injure our spirit, and at the end of the whole message, our spirit remains bound. (Of course, there are times when the situation is less serious, and one or two wrong words do not lead to an injured spirit. At these times, we can still release our spirit.) Sometimes we also may give an illustration which is out of place as far as the spirit is concerned, and the spirit is injured again and bound. Or we may tell a story that is not according to the Spirit’s utterance. In such a case, again the spirit is injured and bound. A whole passage may not be according to the Spirit; that is, we have not touched the leading of the Spirit in speaking it. Again the spirit is injured and bound. We must remember that it is very easy for the spirit to be injured. If we do not pay attention to this matter but insist on speaking carelessly, we will find it impossible to push out our spirit. We may want to release our spirit, but we do not have the power to do so. This means that we have injured our spirit.
Fourth, our attitude can also injure our spirit. Many people come to the meeting with much self-consciousness. Self-consciousness is something that easily injures our spirit. While a person is speaking, he may be very conscious of himself. He may think that his audience is very demanding, and that a few are even quite threatening. While he is speaking, he has many feelings about himself. This is self-consciousness, and it bottles up the spirit so that it cannot be released freely. Once the soul reigns, self-consciousness rises, and the spirit loses control.
We must realize that there is a difference between spiritual fear and soulish consciousness. We need to have a spiritual fear, but we have no need of soulish self-consciousness. When we meet together in a certain place, we should be filled with fear, but we should not be filled with a soulish self-consciousness. We know that we cannot make it and that we have no strength in ourselves to do anything. When we come to the meeting, we come in fear and trembling. Such a fear turns our eyes to God, to look to Him, to trust Him, and to rest our faith on Him. Soulish self-consciousness is different; it looks at men. A spiritual fear turns our eyes to God, while a soulish self-consciousness turns our eyes to men. Once soulish self-consciousness arises, our spirit is injured and debilitated; we are unable to push out our spirit any longer.
An evangelist must be free from self-consciousness before he can preach the gospel. All gospel preachers throughout the ages have been men with no self-consciousness. The less self-conscious a preacher is, the more powerful his spirit is. As he stands to speak, he has no feeling for the heavens, the earth, or men. Though these things are all before his eyes, he speaks what is in him. He is oblivious to others’ approval or disapproval. This freedom from self-consciousness is the basic qualification of a preacher of the gospel. It lifts a person’s spirit up; when he preaches, men will turn. A minister of God’s word must learn to free himself from any self-consciousness before he can function effectively. If a man is sensitive about many things while speaking God’s word, if he is afraid of men or afraid that others will not listen to him, this fear will damage his spirit. When he stands up to speak, his spirit is not released. His spirit is not strong enough to meet the need. Those ministers of the word who fail to practice this wilt away easily. If a preacher of the gospel feels that his audience is older, more prestigious, or more educated or knowledgeable than he is, he will not be able to deliver his message well, no matter how hard he tries. The more he speaks, the less boldness he has. Once an evangelist reckons others to be great, he will reckon himself small. But if he magnifies the gospel, others will be subdued. A preacher of the gospel must be able to release his spirit. When we convey God’s word to others, any sense of inferiority lowers God’s word, and our spirit becomes weak and empty. Although words may come out, the spirit is not released.
In order for a servant of God to have the ministry of the word, he must not have any feeling of inferiority. A fear of men is not a mark of humility but a soulish sense of inferiority. This kind of inferiority is soulish. It is far from spiritual humility. Spiritual humility comes when we see ourselves under God’s shining and are humbled. Soulish inferiority, however, comes from introspection which, in turn, comes from self-examination and a fear of men. A man with an inferiority complex may be proud and arrogant at times. None of these expressions relate to true humility. Soulish self-consciousness is a kind of soulish inferiority complex. It damages the spirit and puts it out of function. Therefore, when we stand before men, we need to be in fear and trembling as well as bold and assured. We need both. If we are short of one aspect, our spirit will be injured, and once our spirit is injured, we are not able to serve as a minister of the word. Whenever we speak as a minister of the word, we have to learn to preserve our spirit from any injury. Once our spirit is injured, we can no longer use it.