In our speaking, it is easy for us to know the climax of our speaking because our mind easily can identify it, but it is not easy to know the climax of the spirit. The climax of the spirit is something that is unknown to our mind. This is the reason that it is not easy to tell the climax of the spirit.
While we are standing on the platform and speaking, how do we know how far God wants to go? How do we know what height the Lord wants to attain? How do we know which points the Lord wants to magnify? How can we know when the Lord wants to climax His speaking? In his speaking, a minister of the word has to pay attention to the difference between the climax of the word and the climax of the spirit. If our condition is right, we should clearly know the particular word that God has given to us whenever we open our mouth to speak for the Lord. We should also know the high peak in our speaking. This means that most words are ordinary words, but some words are especially high; they touch the climax of our speaking. We should know where this peak lies when we are speaking. While we are speaking, we should take care of the peak. The purpose of our speaking is to bring in the climax. But we should realize that the climax in the spirit may not coincide with the climax of the speaking. Sometimes the climax in the spirit does coincide with the climax in the speaking, but this is not always the case. This makes the matter rather complicated. It would be a simple job for the minister of the word if the climax of the word always coincided with the climax in the spirit. When we know what the peak of the speaking should be, we aim our words at that peak and climb up gradually until we reach that peak. When the peak of the speaking is the same as the peak in the spirit, the matter is very simple. All we have to do is aim our words at the peak. Our spirit will be released and the anointing will be released. The degree to which the spirit is released will be as powerful and strong as the word that is released. Not much difficulty will be encountered in such a release. But sometimes the climax of our speaking does not coincide with the climax in the spirit.
When God gives us a ministry, He gives us the word at the same time. But when we serve the church with this word, the strange and peculiar thing is that even though there is a high point to our speaking, the spirit does not like to release itself at the high point of the speaking. The climax of the speaking may be here, yet the climax in the spirit has not arrived. Sometimes, the climax in the spirit has arrived, but the climax of the speaking has not come. It is true that the spirit has to be released. But it is released with a focus that sometimes is the same and sometimes is different than the focus of the word. Sometimes as soon as we touch the heart of our speaking, the spirit is released in a strong, powerful, and explosive way. But this does not happen every time. Often the center and climax of the speaking have not arrived; only a few simple words are said, and they may be said indifferently. Yet the spirit is released. In other words, the spirit is released before the climax of the speaking is reached.
We have to tell the difference between the peak of the word and the peak in the spirit. We have to learn to direct our words with our mind so that when the spiritual climax is reached, we have one or two words that can serve as the leverage for the speaking of the ministry. As a rule, the climax of the ministry should be the climax of our speaking. But the strange thing is that when the word reaches the peak without the spirit, it is hard to push out one’s spirit at such times. It may not be an absolutely impossible task because the spirit will move a little when the word reaches the peak, but it is sometimes impossible to push out the spirit in a very strong way. Perhaps a few minutes or even ten to twenty minutes have to pass after the high point in the word, when the minister has returned to an ordinary utterance, before the spirit rises up and moves out in a strong way. In our preaching we should pay attention to these two things: the high point in the word and the high point in the release of the spirit. The two may coincide. But they can also happen at different times. They may occur at the same time, or one may occur first and the other follow.
What should we do when the high point of the word and the high point in the spirit are different? A minister of the word should remember that at such times the mind has certain duties to perform. In fulfilling the ministry of the word, one has to have a flexible mind; his mind must not be dull. While a minister of the word must have his mind focused on the word, his mind also must be available to the Holy Spirit. It must be so flexible that it can handle any unexpected event. It is not uncommon for a minister of the word to encounter unexpected things. God may speak something different at the last minute; He may want to add something, and the Holy Spirit may move in a different direction at the last minute. But suppose his mind is set like a piece of wrought iron on what he is going to say. When the spirit tries to lay hold of the word, the mind may not be pliable enough. If it is too rigid and dull, the speaking becomes restricted. He can reach a high point in his speaking, but the spirit does not reach the high point. As a consequence, the ministry becomes common and powerless. It is not easy to point out this phenomenon. Perhaps this will become clear to us in the future. Nevertheless, we have to remember that the mind of a minister of the word has to be devoted solely to the word on the one hand, but the mind always must be flexible and agile before the Lord on the other hand. When the Holy Spirit points to a different direction, the mind must turn with Him. In this way he will not miss the spiritual climax that God wants to achieve.
When we stand up to speak for the Lord, our mind must be pliable and open to the Lord. Only then will we know what God is trying to do. We must be prepared mentally to meet all unexpected circumstances. While we are speaking, we should test the Holy Spirit to find out whether our speaking is in the right direction. We should test our own spirit and test God’s Spirit as well. If we find that there is some amount of release of the spirit after a few words, we should exercise our mind to facilitate the release of the spirit. We may find that the spirit becomes more released when we speak a certain sentence. We should speak more along this line to release more of the spirit. While we are speaking, our mind should be keen to touch the high point in the spirit. Once our mind touches the high point, we should be ready to speak another sentence to release the spirit. A third and fourth sentence, which will release the spirit further, should follow. In other words, whenever the word comes to a point where the spirit is released, the mind should not turn in another direction, and the speaking should not move away. The mind and the word must move along the same line. The more one speaks, the more the anointing flows, and the more the spirit is released. The word will become stronger and stronger until it reaches the climax in the spirit.
Sometimes the climax in the spirit coincides with the climax in the word. But sometimes they do not fall in the same place. Sometimes the spiritual climax comes before the word has reached its climax. We can do nothing about this. But if the climax of the speaking has come and the climax of the spirit has not, we have to consider what needs to be done in order to release the spirit in a strong way. We have to exercise the utmost care at such a juncture. It is as if we were looking for a lost needle, probing in every direction as with a magnet. When the magnet comes close to the needle, the needle will be swooped up. A speaker has to test with his words. If the spirit does not move when he speaks one way, he has to change. If the spirit remains quiet after he tries another way, he has to change again. He has to watch when the spirit begins to move. An experienced person will know as soon as the spirit moves at his word. As soon as the right word is uttered, he has a registration within that he has said the right thing. It may be a very fine and delicate move, yet he knows. As he speaks with his mind, he is testing whether or not the Spirit likes his utterance. When the Spirit approves his speaking, he may have a very faint sense initially. But as he pursues along the same line, the spirit will be released more and more. At this juncture, his mind should direct his words along this line and strengthen his speaking. He must not turn in a different direction. He should move his speaking in the same direction. The more the word continues in this same direction, the more the spirit is released, and the more he will touch the spiritual climax of his speaking. We have to learn to test the Spirit with the word. We have to know what kind of word brings out the climax of the Spirit and what kind of word frustrates it. The more we touch the peak, the more the spirit will flow, and the more anointing there will be. The more our word hits the right spot, the more anointing we will have, and the more our word will bring us to the spiritual climax, the apex. When we sense the Lord’s Spirit and blessing, we can be assured that we have touched the heart of our speaking; this is the spiritual climax of our speaking. If our spirit is strong, we can sustain this climax for a long time. If our spirit is not that strong, we will have to turn after a while; otherwise, the climax will shrivel away. The length of time depends on how strong our spirit is. If the spirit is strong, the climax can be sustained for a longer time. If the spirit is not strong, the climax will fade away quickly. We cannot try to sustain it by force. This is entirely a matter of the spirit. When the spirit is gone and the word is left to itself, the speaker should terminate his speaking on this point.
For this reason, our mind must be in focus and be pliable before the Lord. It must be absolutely in focus, and it must also be absolutely pliable. It must be so focused that it is aware of nothing else. Yet, at the same time, it must be so gentle that it can accommodate any unexpected event. We should be on the alert that the mind does not become so rigid that we fail to touch the Lord’s present word and His climax. Our mind has to be exercised to catch up with God’s word and the Spirit’s move. If we do this, our word will catch up with the climax of the spirit when we function in the ministry of the word.