Now we come to the fourth section, the audience. Speaking involves not only the minister but the audience, that is, those who listen to the word. Whether or not the ministry of the word is strong depends also on the audience. The minister of the word has much to do with the speaking, but the audience has something to do with it also. While the minister of the word bears more than half of the responsibility, the audience bears at least some of the responsibility also. Whether or not the word can be released depends largely on the ministers, but the audience has its responsibility also. The audience can become a hindrance to the release of God’s word, and it can also become a strengthening to God’s word. A few examples in the Bible show us how an audience should behave. We hope to learn something from these passages.
First let us consider Matthew 13. The Lord Jesus spoke in parables because God could not reveal Himself to the “wise and intelligent” (Matt. 11:25). The wise and intelligent cannot expect to see God’s revelation. For the same reason, they cannot expect to receive supply from the word. A wise and intelligent man cannot receive direct revelation from God, and he cannot receive revelation from the ministers of the word. Whenever the ministry finds wise and intelligent ones among its audience, God’s word is immediately frustrated. It can be so frustrated that it is completely blocked, or it can be frustrated to the extent that it is released only in a mild or weak way. The more a man considers himself to be wise, the harder it is for him to receive light from God. The more a man trusts in himself, the more God’s word is closed to him. We should remember that, according to the Old Testament, God sometimes seals up His prophecy to men (Dan. 12:9). This shows us that the word can be opened up, and it can also be sealed up after it is released. We are not here to explain the meaning of sealing up or the number of years the word was sealed up. We are pointing out a spiritual principle. A man can hear God’s speaking and yet find the word sealed up to him. A man can touch God’s word and yet find this word sealed up. Daniel shows us the fact of the sealing, while the Lord Jesus shows us the reason for the sealing—being wise and intelligent. The Lord shows us how the word was hidden. God wants to hide things from the wise and intelligent so that they cannot get through. Once a man becomes wise and intelligent, the Holy Spirit, in accordance with God’s counsel, hides the word from him.
The Bible gives us a basic principle: After man ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the way to the tree of life was blocked. From that time forward, the tree of life was sealed up by the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every way (Gen. 3:24). Once man acquired the knowledge of good and evil, he could no longer touch life. This separation is related not only to man’s own inability but also to God’s prohibition. This is the meaning of sealing. It has nothing to do with man’s ability. Even if man were able, God would seal it up anyway. This is a serious matter. Whenever man pays attention to knowledge, life flees from him. Whenever man boasts of his own wisdom and intelligence and takes pride and glory in himself, he has to remember that the revelation of God’s word is hidden from him. He will not see anything; what he sees will only be clouded forms. This is God’s sealing. The Lord said, “I extol You, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants” (Matt. 11:25). God does this purposely.
In the ministry of God’s word, we must pay attention to the condition of the audience. When we speak to new believers, we may not have to exercise our spirit that much; there may not be that much need for light and words. But in preaching the gospel, we find that we have to exercise much spirit and use many words. Sometimes we have to touch the higher revelations of God, things that are spiritually higher and more real. At these times, we find that we need more words, more light, and more spirit. Suppose a man thinks that he is wise and intelligent. God will hide Himself from such a man. He will not give him any direct revelation. When such a person is present, even the minister of the word cannot function properly. If the need for the release of the spirit is not too demanding, the frustration may not be that serious. But if the demand for the release of the spirit is great, the frustration is also great. If there is a big demand for the release of the spirit, such a person will become a great frustration to the ministry of the word. God’s high revelations are blocked because God has hidden these things from such men.
In previous discussions we have seen the responsibility of the ministers. We must also see that, in addition to the qualifications of the ministers, there is the condition of the audience. If a man is in a condition that blocks God’s blessing, his presence will bring the speaking down. It does not matter how strong the minister is; his speaking will be brought down. Even if the minister is very powerful before God, and even if he wants to impart revelation to others, his ministry of the word will be void of revelation in the presence of such wise and intelligent ones. At best it will contain little revelation. We are not altogether clear how the audience affects the speaking, but it is a fact that the audience does affect the speaking. Some people are never subdued by God. The intelligent ones are never subdued. In the presence of such ones, the speaking rarely can be high.
In learning to be a minister of the word, we have to remember that sometimes the problem is with us; the word is withheld in us. But there are times when the problem is not with us. We have dealt with all the hindrances, but the revelation, the spirit, and the word are still not released. During these times, the problem may be with the audience. When a man first learns to be a minister of the word, he does not have much revelation and light, and any hindrance probably is not related to the audience. But when a man has considerable experience in speaking, and he is called upon to release some strong and potent revelations, a mere brush with one or two unworthy or proud persons is enough to block off his delicate feelings; his words will not be released, no matter how hard he tries. The feeling of the spirit is very tender. One characteristic of the word is that it must be directed toward men. The word has to go out, the spirit has to go out, and the Holy Spirit has to go out. But when there is a person who thinks highly of himself or who is a critical bystander, the speaker cannot release the word in a pure way even if he has the word. Sometimes we have to lead a brother into God’s light to know himself. At other times we have to lead another brother to the Lord to acknowledge the glory of the Holy of Holies. We should remember that in God’s light there is pure revelation. There is no doctrine or teaching; there is pure revelation, nothing but revelation. This is a time of pure shining and pure breaking. If three or five brothers are just spectators trying to find out what is going on, having closed spirits, and feeling no need to touch or receive God’s word or to prostrate themselves before Him, the word will be frustrated. It will be so frustrated that it will be bound completely. The more spiritual the things we try to impart to others are, the easier it is for our speaking to be affected by men. The less spiritual the things we have to give to others are, the less likely our speaking will be affected. The one thing that threatens the ministry of the word is an air of being wise and intelligent. The Lord will never bless the wise and intelligent. It is most foolish to think of oneself as wise and intelligent.
The Lord said in the last part of Matthew 11:25, “[You] have revealed them to infants.” The gentler the audience is, the stronger the word will be released. The more humble the audience is, the easier it is for the word to bring someone to his knees. The more willing the audience is to receive the word, and the more obedience we find, the more light will shine through the listeners and open them to revelation. The harder it is for a person to receive help, the harder it is to help him. The easier it is for a person to receive help, the easier it is to help him. This is a basic spiritual principle. It is difficult for many people to receive help. They have resistance to the word, to the thoughts presented, and to the Scripture. As a consequence, it is hard for them to receive God’s light. It is hard to penetrate all their criticism to reach their inner being. When the word suffers so much criticism, it is screened out and blocked. The more childlike a person is, the more he is ready to receive help from the Lord. The gentler he is, the less prejudice he has before God. The more he opens his heart to the Lord, the more his spirit is open to the Lord as well. God gives such ones a powerful supply of the ministry of the word. He gives them great revelations. God resists the stubborn. This is the reason we have to be seeking, humble, simple, and gentle. This is the meaning of being an infant. The more we become like an infant, the more grace we receive from God. The more arrogant and stubborn we are, the less grace we receive from Him, because God destroys the wisdom of the wise and sets aside the understanding of those who understand. The Lord has to bring us to the point of acknowledging the futility of our wisdom and understanding. If God leads us on for another three or five years and grants us mercy, we will look back and realize how much our own wisdom actually killed us. There will be times when we would have received grace, yet our own wisdom stopped us. Many people have not realized how their own wisdom has harmed them. When the Lord grants them mercy, they will see how much harm their wisdom has done to them.