O Lord, as we are before Thee, we
do pray that Thou wilt turn our eyes
towards Thyself, that we may have our gaze
fixed upon Thee, Thou who art the Risen,
the Ascended One, Thou who sit at the
right hand of the Father, who is above
all things and is waiting for His enemies
to be His footstool.
Lord, we do pray that we may see
Thee, that we may be delivered from ourselves,
from earth, that we may be caught up.
into that heavenly realm, and there, not only
see Thee, but reign with Thee.
O, we do pray that through Thy Church,
Thou mayst be able to manifest Thy all
various wisdom, in the present time, to the
principalities and authorities, that Thou mayst be able
to reveal Thy unsearchable riches, even to the
unseen world, through Thy Church.
So we do come to Thee and ask
Thee that by Thy Spirit, Thou will reveal
again Thyself to us.
We pray that we may forget ourselves by
being absorbed into Thyself.
We ask Thee that as Thou dost reveal
Thyself to us through Thy Spirit, that truly
we may be absorbed, lost in Thee.
O, we do pray that we may see
no one but Jesus only.
We do desire that in this whole universe,
the Lord Jesus may be the only one
seen, and seen by all.
We do look to Thee, in the name
of our Lord Jesus.
Dear brothers and sisters, we have been
occupied just with one thing, and that is
the unsearchable riches of Christ.
O, let us put it in a better
way.
We are occupied with one person, and that
is our Lord Jesus.
We mentioned last night the unsearchable riches of
the mystery of the cross.
Paul, on the way to Damascus, was given
a heavenly vision.
And in that heavenly vision, he saw not
only the risen Lord Himself, but
in that vision, he saw also the body.
We mentioned last night that it was a
vision of the one new man.
With Christ Himself as the glorious head, and
with the church as His body.
The fullness of Him who fills all and
in all.
Dear brothers and sisters, if we try to
know Christ in the flesh, we will see
a very different Christ.
We will have a very wrong concept of
Christ.
We have to see Christ in the Spirit.
And if we see Christ in the Spirit,
then we see Him as He is.
In the same manner, if we try to
see the church with our natural eyes, with
our natural mind, in the flesh, it does
not look very beautiful to us.
Rather, it is very ugly.
But, if by the grace of God, we
are delivered from that fleshly look, and are
able to see the church in the Spirit,
we shall find that it is the most
beautiful thing that you can see in this
universe.
Last night, I feel that I have left
off something, which I would like to mention
very briefly now, and then we will go
on.
Because our emphasis is rather on the practical
lifestyle.
Now brothers and sisters, when Paul was shown
that heavenly vision, when he discovered that this
One is Jesus, the Risen One, He who
is above all, the Lord in glory, what
is the effect upon the life of Paul?
If you really see something, that something is
bound to have a lasting effect in your
life.
If you proclaim that you have seen something,
and yet it does not affect your life,
it does not change your life.
As our brothers say, revolutionize your life.
Then we wonder, if you have really seen.
Now dear brothers and sisters, this man saw,
who was called Paul afterwards, he saw the
Lord.
He saw the Lord of glory, and immediately
the effect was felt in him.
You remember, the first question he asked was,
who are thou Lord?
I do not know you, who are you?
And after he was told, who that One
was, you remember the second question was, Lord,
what do you want me to do?
In other words, you find there is a
drastic change, that came into this life.
Dear brothers and sisters, maybe you will feel
well, it is a change, but to Paul.
It was a tremendous change.
What kind of person was Paul?
Paul was Paul.
He was a person, who was used to
give orders.
He was not accustomed to listen and to
receive orders.
He was a born leader.
He must be at the top.
He must lead.
He was that kind of person.
And for that kind of person, to turn
around and ask, what do you want me
to do?
I am at thy order.
I am at thy disposal.
I am waiting before thee.
Dear brothers and sisters, it is a tremendous
change, in seeing the Lord of glory.
The effect upon his life is, he
cannot be head anymore.
He lost his head.
Brothers and sisters, immediately you will find that
from that day onward, the Lord of glory
becomes the headship of the Lord.
He is a reality in the life of
the Lord.
He is no longer one who gives commands.
Instead, he is always one who is of
the receiving side.
Dear brothers and sisters, if the Lord should
give us a vision of himself.
If the Lord should reveal himself to us
as the glorious head.
He is head over all things.
Then brothers and sisters, can you be head
anymore?
You are beheaded.
This is the practical effect of seeing the
head.
Brothers and sisters, our God is a jealous
God.
He never commits two heads, or more than
one head.
He has established his son as the head
over all things.
No matter how big your head is, there
is no chance.
Dear brothers and sisters, that will revolutionize your
whole life.
He said, Lord, what do you want me
to do?
What do you want me to do?
I am here at thy disposal.
You just say a word, and there I
go.
I am willing to turn around and go
back to Jerusalem, if you want me to.
Just give order, and I will obey.
And do you know, Paul got another surprise.
Did the Lord tell him what to do?
Yes or no?
Not much yes, but more no.
He was expecting the Lord to tell him
what he should do.
Now he had come to a point to
see that the Lord is greater than he.
Now he had come to a place where
he yielded his head, and made the Lord
his head.
And he was all ready to obey the
Lord.
But somehow, the Lord did not tell him
what to do.
The Lord said, all right, go to Damascus,
into that city.
And what I want you to do, I
will tell you.
Dear brothers and sisters, do you have such
experience?
You know the Lord, but you are your
own head.
You always do things in your own way.
You always go your own way.
But one day, you get such a revelation
of the Lord, that you willingly yield yourself
to the Lord and say, now Lord, from
now on, you are my head.
Give orders.
You will expect that the Lord will be
so pleased by your yieldedness.
And he is in such a hurry, in
case that you will retreat.
The Lord will immediately tell you, now son,
do this, do that.
And even tell you your whole life, from
the beginning to the end.
But if the Lord does not tell you,
and instead of that, the Lord says, you
just wait.
What should be told to you, will be
told to you.
You just wait.
Does that disappoint you?
He is not too much of a Lord.
He does not know how to be a
head.
He may lose his opportunity.
A real head is not in a hurry.
And brothers and sisters, the strangest thing is
here.
Even after he got to the city of
Damascus, and waited there, praying and fasting for
three days and three nights, all he got
was a little unknown man came to him.
The great Paul, well known in the circle
of Judaism.
Capitulated himself to the Lord of Glory.
Now that is the right thing to do.
Because after all, he is the Lord.
But here you find the Lord sent a
little man.
Ananias.
Known in that city, but certainly unknown in
Jerusalem.
And Jerusalem is the capital.
The center.
And the Lord sent this man to Paul,
to tell Paul what the Lord has chosen
him to do.
Dear brothers and sisters, it is very hard
to swallow this.
For Paul to let Christ to be his
head is comparatively easy.
But instead of directly giving command to him,
the Lord sent a small member to tell
this large member what he ought to do.
Isn't that humiliating?
A great apostle?
To receive instruction from the Lord, through the
hands of a little member?
Dear brothers and sisters, that is the practical
application of the vision of the body.
Dear brothers and sisters, if you say the
Lord has shown you the church, the body
of Christ, what does it mean?
What is the effect upon your life?
Many brothers and sisters, good brothers and sisters,
maintain a very strong position, saying that I
obey no one but the Lord.
There is no one above me but the
head, the Lord himself.
If the Lord should tell me this, I
obey, even jumping into the ocean.
But that's all.
I receive direct order from the Lord.
I am dependent only upon the Lord, and
no one else.
I am responsible directly to the Lord, and
the Lord is responsible directly to me.
Well, you may see something of the head,
not too much.
But brothers and sisters, do you see the
body?
The fullness of him who feels all and
in all?
To see the head results in losing your
head.
To see the body results in losing your
individualism.
Dear brothers and sisters, are you related to
the other members of the body of Christ?
Are you the body to the head?
Or are you just one member of the
body?
In 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 12 it
is said that there are many members but
one.
Though the members are many, yet one body,
so also is the Christ.
Oh brothers and sisters, do not forget that
Christ, the person, is your head.
But you are only a member of that
big.
You are not the body.
You are only a member.
You are related to the other members of
the body of Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters, are you related?
That is the effect of seeing the church.
That is the test of seeing the church.
The reason why the Lord did not tell
Paul directly and immediately his will and yet
told him to another member is because of
this.
If the Lord should tell him on that
very spot where he fell, if the Lord
should tell him all that the Lord wanted
him to do, do you know what will
be the result?
He will be an independent, self-sufficient, unrelated.
He will make himself the body.
He will never be able to be entrusted
with the mystery of the Christ.
From the very beginning of his life he
had to learn this lesson, relatedness.
Relatedness unto fullness.
He was not able to know the will
of God until Ananias laid his hands upon
him and told him.
Dear brothers and sisters, relatedness is untruthfulness.
Do we know that?
If we really want to anchor into the
unsearchable riches of the Christ, brothers and sisters,
you cannot be here.
Many say, I cannot live without the Lord.
Praise God.
If you have come to a point where
you cannot live without the Lord, that's a
very good position.
But dear brothers and sisters, have you ever
cried out, I cannot live without you.
I cannot live without other members of the
body of Christ.
I need them and they need me too.
Oh, brothers and sisters, there you will experience
the unsearchable.
I just feel that I have to mention
this in a brief way.
Otherwise, it doesn't seem to be too practical.
Now let's come to what by the grace
of God we would like to fellowship tonight.
Will you please turn to the letter to
the Ephesians.
Chapter 3 Letter to the Ephesians Chapter 3
Verses 7 and 8 Ephesians
Chapter 3 Verses 7 and 8 I am
become minister according to the gift of the
grace of God given to me according to
the working of His power to me less
than the least of all things has this
grace been given to announce among the nations
the glad tidings of the unsearchable riches of
the Christ.
Chapter 4 We'll read from verse 7 to
verse 16 But to each of us has
been given grace according to the measure of
the gift of the Christ wherefore he says
having ascended up on high he has led
captivity captive and has given gifts to men
but that he ascended what is it but
that he also descended into the lower parts
of the earth he that descended is the
same who has also ascended up above all
the heavens that he might feel all things
and he has given some apostles and some
prophets and some evangelists and some shepherds and
teachers for the perfecting of the saints with
a view to the work of the ministry
with a view to the edifying of the
body of Christ until we all arise as
the unity of the faith and of the
knowledge of the Son of God as a
full grown man as a measure of the
statue of the fullness of the Christ in
order that we may be no longer babes
tossed and carried about by every wing of
that teaching which is in the leg of
man in unprincipled cunning with a view to
systematize error but holding the truth in love
we may grow up to him in all
things who is the head the Christ from
whom the whole body fitted together and connected
by every joint of supply according to the
working in its measure of each one part
works for itself the increase of the body
to itself building up in love 2nd Corinthians
chapter 3 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 we'll read
from verse 2 through verse 6 Ye are
our letter written in our hearts known and
read of all men being manifested to the
Christ epistle ministered by us written not with
ink but the spirit of the living God
not on stone tables but on fleshy tables
of the heart and such confidence have we
through the Christ towards God not that we
are competent of ourselves to think anything as
of ourselves but our competency is of God
who has also made us competent as ministers
of the new covenant not of letter but
of spirit who the letter kills but the
spirit quickly dear
brothers and sisters our brother mentioned this
afternoon that we should not
remain in that low level of asking everything
for ourselves in other words we should not
be self centered we should not be selfish
even in spiritual things in seeking spiritual blessings
we should from the very beginning of our
life with the Lord dedicate ourselves to Him
to serve Him to minister unto Him to
serve the purpose of God in our generation
this was true of Pope and this must
be true of every one of us of
course we are familiar with that motto save
we are saved to serve God is
it not that God through Moses announced to
Pharaoh let my people go that they may
serve why are we saved why are we
set free that we may serve God in
Romans chapter 6 it is said having been
free from the bondage of sin we have
become bondmen to God bearing fruit unto holiness
we are saved to serve and many
take this to heart and go out now
dear brothers and sisters the question is how
do we serve by what do we minister
now of course you have to forgive me
because when I use that word ministry I
do not mean what is commonly known today
that limited restricted things of ministry the ministry
that is to say you enter into the
ministry you enter into a kind of special
thing now I do not mean that because
the word is not used in that way
in the word of God rather we are
using that word ministry in its broadest sense
it includes every one of us we are
saved to serve to minister unto the Lord
but how is there any relationship between our
ministry and the unsearchable riches of Christ can
we minister without the unsearchable riches of Christ
if we can what are we ministering dear
brothers and sisters ministry spiritual ministry is nothing
but the expression of that unsearchable riches of
Christ we read in Ephesians chapter
4 it is said wherefore he says having
ascended up on high he has left captivity
captive and has given gifts to men now
this speaks of the ascension of our Lord
Jesus what is the meaning of the death
and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus it
has been mentioned again and again that through
the death and the resurrection of our Lord
Jesus a people is gathered a
body is formed a church is born but
after our Lord Jesus has risen from the
dead he remained here for forty days but
after forty days the evangelist recalls that
this same one the one who was crucified
buried risen from the dead this very one
ascended up and is now seated at the
right dear brothers and sisters what has
happened in his ascension what is the meaning
of his ascension to us here you find
the apostle Paul quotes from Psalm he quotes
from Psalm 68 verse 18 in
that verse it is said thou hast ascended
on high thou hast let captivity captive thou
hast received gifts in man and even the
rebellious for the dwelling thereof Lord dear
brothers and sisters our Lord Jesus ascended on
high as the victor of Calvary our Lord
Jesus ascended to heaven as the all victorious
triumphant one and while he ascended he let
his captive in his train has let captivity
who are these captives you know according to
the Roman times when a general or a
consul had conquered a country and got many
captives then when he came back from that
battle there will be a parade a triumphant
parade and there in his train will be
those captives those who are captured and they
will be sold or they will be used
as slaves in the Colosseum he let his
captive in his train dear brothers and sisters
when our Lord Jesus ascends to heaven he
has let captivity captive who are these captives
of his thank God you we
are captured by the Lord we are freed
from our former captivity he has conquered the
strong man and has set us free but
he has captured us he has great love
towards us he has great mercy and grace
towards us he has captured us he has
made us in the Roman days
when the general got captives how would he
treat either he will put them to death
or he will sell them for some profit
he will use them as his slaves and
ill treated them because they were his captives
but dear brothers and sisters the Lord Jesus
let his captivity captive how does he treat
us he has turned the rebellious into
the most willing he has turned
these rebels, enemies who fight against him, fought
against him into those ministers, servants ministers who
minister the unserved the
psalmist tell us he has led captivity captive
thou has received gifts in man even the
rebels these men become gifts to
him they are the gifts that the father
has given brothers and sisters we are gifts
to Christ given to the son by the
father isn't that marvelous isn't that mercy more
than that when Paul quotes that verse he
doesn't seem to make the right quotation he
becomes a little bit forgetful because if you
read Ephesians chapter 4 you find that it
is different it is different from Psalm 68
18 he has led captivity captive and has
given gifts to man he received gifts in
man that's in Psalm but in Ephesians he
has given gifts to man brothers and sisters
what does it mean it means that he
receives us as gifts of the father to
him and if it is a gift given
to him by the father he will treasure
it but as soon as he receives these
gifts he gives gifts he gives us gifts
for what purpose that we may minister unto
him he equips us he enables us to
minister unto him in Ephesians
chapter 4 it says he that descended is
the same who has also ascended up above
all the heavens that he might fill all
things and he has given some apostles and
some prophets and some evangelists and some shepherds
and teachers well you say some apostles some
prophets some evangelists some shepherds and teachers some
only some how about the rest does
he only give gifts to the apostles to
the prophets to the teachers to the evangelists
are those apostles, teachers prophets, evangelists the gifts
to the church and the rest have no
place no share dear brothers and sisters it
seems to be the common concept of the
Christian world even though sometimes we say we
are saved to serve yet those who are
supposed to serve are just the sum there
is a special class they are the apostles
the prophets the evangelists the shepherds and teachers
isn't that God gave them to the church
to serve the church yes sure they are
to serve how about the rest the rest
are to be served isn't that the picture
of Christianity today oh how we have come
short of the glory of God in this
thing yet God has called some apostles some
prophets some evangelists some shepherds and teachers with
a view of ministry what is their ministry
what is their service they are not to
monopolize the ministry they are to stimulate to
help to open the way to strengthen every
member of the body that each member may
become a living functioning member of the body
every member has a ministry and in ministering
one to another the body grows unto that
full one
servant of the Lord the spiritual ministry of
all the saints may seem to be a
strange thing to us today but it is
the very life of the apostles dear
brothers and sisters through the death and resurrection
of our Lord Jesus the church of God
is there but he does not leave his
church alone bond but not careful no parents
will do the church is born through the
death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus after
she is born the blessed Lord provides for
her how is the church to be matured
how is the body to be full grown
how can that manhood be reached how can
we arrive at the full measure of the
state through the special ministry of a few
they may labor themselves to death but
they will not they have their part in
helping all the members of the body to
realize that you are a member of the
living body of Christ and as a member
you are given a gift no one can
say I'm the foot and not the head
therefore I do not belong to the body
count me out if I'm here nobody will
notice me if I am absent nobody will
ask for me I'm just a little one
I do not count what can I offer
what ministry can I offer dear brothers and
sisters such humility is not of God do
not say that you are the I high
above above therefore you do not need a
dear brothers and sisters we need
one every member is fit together
in the body by God by His sovereignty
and every member is given a gift for
ministry what is the ministry it is the
ministry of the building up of the body
that is ministry let us return did
Paul serve God before he was converted he
did while he was persecuting the churches he
thought he was serving God he was the
fulfillment of that prophecy of our Lord Jesus
the Lord told his disciples the day will
come when people will kill you and think
they are serving God and that's Paul he
thought he was doing God a great service
but actually a disservice while he was serving
God in that way he was serving God
with his own wisdom with his own strength
there was no need for him to be
related no need for him to know the
unsearchable riches of Christ he could well do
that without Christ but dear brothers and sisters
his true ministry began after he was met
by the mercy the grace of the Lord
transformed him makes him a vassal of honor
a minister to the ministry his
ministry is closely knit with the unsearchable riches
his ministry is a spiritual ministry he himself
tells us that he is not made a
minister of the old covenant but he is
made a minister of the new covenant now
dear brothers and sisters who are these ministers
of the old covenant what is the old
covenant the old covenant is the law who
are these ministers of the law the Levites
if you are born in that tribe if
you are trained to read then after certain
training and after a period of apprenticeship you
naturally enter into the ministry of the old
covenant you begin to function in the temple
everything is mapped out for you there is
a program fully prepared you just fit into
that schedule, that's all you need to do
your own life with the Lord doesn't matter
so long as you can read so long
as you can remember that you do not
do a wrong action at a wrong time
but after you receive a training the law
is engravened on stones, the letters the pen
letters if you can read them you can
memorize them if you are trained under some
senior priests as how to interpret these laws
and you are told and you practice how
to offer this and after that and all
these many brothers and sisters you are a
priest you are a minister of the old
covenant a minister of condemnation a minister
of death for the letter dear
brothers and sisters even though we are not
under the old covenant but how many today
are ministering death and condemnation how
are we qualified to minister because
my father is a minister therefore I have
the best environment naturally, gradually I am being
channeled into the ministry it so happened my
father was a minister how do we minister
today or if you want to minister you
have to go to certain training if you
want to minister, all right here is a
program if you follow closely the tradition you
are all right just add into that
some of your dynamic personality dear
brothers and sisters but we are called not
to be ministers of the old covenant we
are called to be ministers of the new
covenant what is that?
the new covenant we are called to be
ministers of righteousness ministers of life how are
you going to do that?
when Paul was called God said you are
to go to those people to the nations
to open their eyes to deliver them out
of darkness into light that their sins may
be remitted and they may inherit with all
the saints in the light brothers and sisters,
how can you do that?
how can you open people's eyes?
how can you impart life to others?
Paul said who is competent?
I am not competent my competency is of
God oh brothers and sisters what is true
true ministry true ministry is the ministry it
is ministering Christ this is not something that
is appointed by man that can be appointed
by man this is not something that is
taught by man it has to come by
revelation in the measure of the son revealed
in your spirit it is the measure of
your ministry to the children brothers and sisters
it is the unsearchable riches of Christ that
is first known to us and as our
brother said brought into us become a part
of us become our very life and
by the power of the spirit this life
is communicated pour out into the body brothers
and sisters that is building up the body
of Christ that is the only ministry
that the Lord oh dear brothers and sisters
look at Paul because of his understanding of
the unsearchable riches of Christ what a ministry
he had and because of that unsearchable riches
of Christ of that ministry entrusted to him
with fear and trembling he ministered unto the
Lord maybe you will say well I am
not Paul I am not an apostle I
am not a prophet I am not an
evangelist I am not a shepherd and teacher
certainly God does not require that of me
dear brothers and sisters even though some may
have greater ministry other may have smaller part
but the nature is the same we
are all called to minister unto by
ministering Christ each one of us
is given no one can take your place
if you are not functioning the body lacks
in that particular ministration brothers and sisters it
is a great responsibility a great privilege but
a great responsibility now you may say well
I want to minister unto the body but
I do not know what my gift is
very often young brothers and sisters will come
and say well brother tell me what is
my gift will you tell me what is
my place in the body whether I am
a hand or I am a foot or
I am a ear or I am a
mouth or I am an eye well what
am I I do not know what am
I I do not know what my gift
is how can I minister how can I
function I don't know oh brothers and sisters
it seems as if this question is very
reasonable and many are asking that question I
cannot I dare not tell you what member
of the body of Christ I cannot I
will not tell you what gift you have
God puts you in the body according to
his will the spirit of God gives you
gift according to his will I do not
know but one thing I know if you
are rightly related if you
are rightly related to your brothers and sisters
if you grow in spiritual life if the
measure of Christ is growing in you out
of that that growth brings that spiritual nature
you do not need to be conscious if
my hand is always asking the question now
what am I what is my ministry to
the body now what should I do now
if my hand is doing that it is
paralyzed you all know the story of the
centipede with a hundred feet do I pronounce
it right with a hundred feet you all
know that story do you oh a centipede
with a hundred feet and of course he
walks very fast but one day he stops
and thinks now which of my feet starts
first and you know as he is thinking
of that and trying to figure out which
foot step moves first he was he is
transfixed to the ground he never moves until
finally he gives up and says well that's
hopeless and off he goes brothers and sisters
if we try to figure out now what
member am I of the body now what
is my gift you are paralyzed forget yourself
fix your eyes upon the risen and ascended
oh brothers and sisters if you are joined
to the ascended lord without knowing it you
are ministering Christ in your particular capacity to
the body nothing official nothing formal but it
is Christ being ministered into the body and
dear brothers and sisters the result is the
body grows is built up in love and
when the body is built up dear brothers
and sisters you find that it is Christ
ministering is ministering Christ and that is the
only ministry that builds up so may the
lord be gracious to us that we may
be delivered from that old notion of ministry
the ministry belongs but let us see that
the spiritual ministry of all the members of
the body is needed for the completion of
that body may we be faithful oh
lord we praise thee that thou has ascended
upon high and has led captivity captive oh
thou has turn us the rebellious into the
obedient thou has turn us thine enemies into
thine bonds thou has not require us to
equip ourselves to serve thee but as a
good master thou has equip us with thy
gift we pray that we may be faithful
that we may grow in our spiritual life
that we may know more of thy riches
in order that we may serve thee better
and be better servants of thine oh have
mercy upon all of us in the precious
name of our lord Jesus