I really feel that after we have a time of worship, remembering the Lord and telling Him how much we love Him, there is no need to say anything more. I think this whole matter of spiritual responsibility is solved.
So whether you listen or not, it does not matter anymore.
Will you please turn to 1 Corinthians, chapter 9? We will read verses 16 and 17.
For if I announce the glad tidings, I have nothing to boast of;
for a necessity is laid upon me;
for woe is me if I should not announce the glad tidings.
For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward;
but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with an administration.
Can you repeat it?
For if I announce the glad tidings, I have nothing to boast of;
for a necessity is laid upon me;
for woe is me if I should not announce the glad tidings.
For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward;
but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with an administration.
Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, once again we do commit Thy Word back into the hand of Thy Spirit, and pray that Thy Spirit will breathe again upon Thy Word and make Thy Word living and operative in each one of us. We commit this time into Thy hands and trust Thee to complete the work that Thou hast already begun. In the name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.
Yesterday morning we shared together on this matter: much has been given, and much shall be required. We mentioned that this matter of responsibility actually is based upon the life that God has given to us. Because He has given us such a life, therefore with that life comes responsibility.
Responsibility is a test of love. If we really love Him, love our Master, there will be no problem with responsibility. But if we do not love Him, if we only are afraid of Him, then responsibility becomes a real problem. So I hope that after our time together this morning, that problem is removed.
Now this morning we would like to go a little further. We would like to consider together this matter: “A necessity is laid upon me.”
We know that in 1 Corinthians 9 the apostle Paul is talking about the ministry that God has entrusted to him. He is called of God, appointed of God, to be a herald of the gospel, the glad tidings.
He tells us that even though this divine appointment is such an honor and privilege, yet he finds that there is nothing for him to boast of. Why is it so? It is because he said, “A necessity is laid upon me.”
He considered this matter of responsibility as a necessity. In other words, he has to do it. Whether he is willing or unwilling, whether he does it faithfully or unfaithfully, he has no choice. He has no escape. It is a necessity that is laid upon him.
It is not a luxury, but a necessity. It is not something that, if he is willing, he can take it up, and if he is not willing, he can just lay it down. He has to do it.
If he does not do it, there is woe to him. But if he does it willingly, voluntarily, there is a reward. He considered this matter of spiritual responsibility as a necessity. It is something that he must do because it is a trust.
God has entrusted him with an administration. This word administration is translated in different ways in the English Bible. Sometimes it is translated dispensation; sometimes it is translated economy; at other times, administration.
Whatever translation it may be, one thing is sure: when God has entrusted us with a responsibility, that has something to do with the economy of God. That has something to do with His administration. That has something to do with His plan, the goal and purpose for which He is working.
So, in other words, if we do not do our part faithfully, not only are we ourselves a failure, but we fail God. You find that this is a very serious matter.
Now, brothers and sisters, I wonder how many of us consider responsibility as a necessity. Probably we feel that grace is a necessity. We need grace, because without grace, what can we do?
We need grace every day. We need more grace. It is a necessity to us; we cannot live without it. But as for responsibility, we feel, well, it is a luxury, not a necessity. It is as if, if we want it, we can have it; if we do not want it, we just let it go.
In one sense, it is true. We can deal with this matter of responsibility just in that way. When responsibility is laid upon us, we can act irresponsibly. We will not take up that responsibility. We are not responsible for it. Or we can take it up and be really responsible.
That is true. But, dear brothers and sisters, on the other hand, I think there is something that we need to see. Even though responsibility seems to be something optional—you can take it or you can leave it—if you really see what responsibility is, you will find it is a necessity.
It is something for which you have no choice. If God has put a certain responsibility upon you, then, brothers and sisters, you are finished. If you do not take your responsibility faithfully, there is woe waiting for you. But if you take your responsibility faithfully, there will be reward for you.
So, brothers and sisters, you see here it is not something that you can choose—to be responsible or not to be responsible. Even if you choose not to be responsible, you are not free. God will hold you responsible for what He has put upon you. Responsibility is a matter of necessity.
If you are a mother, being a mother, there is responsibility laid upon you. Is responsibility an option or a necessity? Suppose one day you do not feel like cooking. Can you just leave cooking? Whether you like it or not, you have to do it. It is a necessity.
Now, brothers and sisters, that is the thing that I believe God wants us to see, because I find that God’s people are so irresponsible. We do not take it as a necessity. We do not see it as a necessity.
We look at responsibility as a very light, casual thing, not understanding that it is something very, very serious.
We mentioned at the very beginning that responsibility comes with life. So our time together is on spiritual responsibility. Spiritual responsibility means that the very nature of the responsibility we have is spiritual.
It is not something that man puts upon us. It is something that God puts upon us. God gives grace to us. As the Spirit of God distributes gifts to us, with that comes spiritual responsibility.
If you have received the life of Christ, then with that life comes responsibility—not something that man puts upon you, but something that God has laid upon you.
Christianity today has degenerated into an institution, a human institution. Because it has become a human institution, when it comes to a matter of responsibility, you find that it becomes a matter of position.
If you are given a position, then you have certain responsibility. If nobody gives you a position in the church, then you have no responsibility whatsoever.
Therefore, you find in a church the clergy and the laity. The clergy, because they take the position of the clergyman, are responsible for the church. And you, being the laity, can be lazy and do nothing because you have no position, and therefore you have no responsibility.
This is the curse of Christianity. You find that in Christianity responsibility becomes a matter of human institution.
Sometimes, where you want a person to stay with us, perhaps that person is gifted in a certain way. Suppose a person is gifted in music. In order that he may stay with us, we give him or her a position. After that position is given, then he stays put. He will not leave us anymore.
This is the way Christianity does today. We use position to get responsibility.
But, dear brothers and sisters, the church is a living organism. It is spiritual in nature. Because of that, you will find that in the church responsibility is spiritual. It is something that God has given—not by man, but by God—according to the gift and the grace that He has given to you.
It is true: we find in Scripture that there are elders, deacons, leaders, and deaconesses in the church, as if there are positions there. But, brothers and sisters, if you read the Word of God, you will find that even these positions do not come by way of human appointment.
These positions are the result of spiritual life in these brothers and sisters. They are divinely appointed. Whether they are elders or deacons, they are appointed by the Holy Spirit. It is because of the life in them, because of the manifestation of the grace of God in them, and the exercise of the gifts in them, that they have that position.
But remember: spiritual responsibility is not positional. It is life.
In Christianity today, it has become such an organization. Suppose you find someone who is an executive in a certain big firm. Of course, you would like to have that executive in your church. Therefore, you make him an elder.
If he knows how to manage a corporation, certainly he is able to manage a church. He is able to manage General Motors; now, to manage a small church should be no problem with him. So we put him in as an elder and give him some responsibility to manage the church.
And you know, very soon that person will turn the church into General Motors.
In the church, nothing is by human hands. Everything is from God. Responsibility is something that God has put upon us according to the life that He has given to us.
To those who have received much, much is required. To those who have received less, less is required. It is a matter of spirituality, not a matter of position.
Because of this, to whom are we responsible? If you are appointed by man, of course you are responsible to man. That is what you find in Christianity. But if you are appointed by God, then to God you are responsible.
Brothers and sisters, we need to see that we are not appointed by man. We are appointed by God, and therefore to Him alone we are responsible.
You remember, even in the early days, with the twelve disciples of our Lord Jesus, among them they were always fighting over this matter: who is the greatest?
They maneuvered against each other for position because they thought that if they got into a certain position, then they would have authority. Probably they were not thinking too much of responsibility, but more of authority. That is what position is.
You remember the story of how John and James got their mother to come and speak for them, because the word of a mother has weight. They knew what they were asking was not very beautiful, so they asked for a blank check: “Whatever we ask, give it to us, and then we will tell You what we want.”
Then our Lord asked, “What do you want? What do you really want? Speak out.”
She said, “In Your kingdom, my two sons—one on Your right, and one on Your left.” Position.
The Lord answered, “To sit on My right and left is not for Me to give. The Father knows whom to give. But can you drink the cup that I am drinking? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
Of course, the sons of Zebedee immediately said, “Yes, we can.” They did not even know what that cup was. They wanted the position so much.
The Lord said, “Yes, you have to drink the cup. You have to be baptized with the baptism. But to sit on the right hand is still not for Me to give.” In other words, brothers and sisters, it is a matter of life.
It is a matter of doing the Father’s will, and that decides what your position is in the body of Christ and what your responsibility will be.
The curse today is that we think of authority too much and too little of responsibility. In the church, you find people struggling and striving for authority. But, brothers and sisters, spiritual authority is spiritual responsibility.
Spiritual authority is not something where you sit high up, give commands, and everybody serves you. The Lord Jesus said that is the world. But among you, if you want to be the greatest, you have to be the least. If you want to be the head, you have to be the slave of all the brothers and sisters.
In other words, it is responsibility. Out of that responsibility comes authority.
Spiritual responsibility is a necessity, a necessity that God has laid upon us. To Him we are responsible. Furthermore, spiritual responsibility is a necessity to the house of God.
We all know that we who are the redeemed of the Lord are the house of God. Our Lord Jesus says, “Thou art Peter,” a stone, a living stone. “I will build My church upon this rock”—the massive rock, Christ Himself—“and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
The Lord is building His house with living stones, such as we are. The apostle Peter understood this very well. I am afraid Peter understood it, but the Roman Church does not understand it. They think that Peter is the rock and the church is built upon Peter. But Peter understood much better. He said, “No, I am just a little stone.”
In 1 Peter 2:5, he says Christ is that living stone. As we come to Christ, we all become living stones, chipped out of that rock. We all have His life. Before that, we were dead; we were but dust. But now, as we believe in the Lord Jesus, we all become living stones.
We have that life in us—eternal life—with stability and strength. We who are living stones are being built up together into a spiritual house for God to dwell in the Spirit. Now, brothers and sisters, that is what we are.
As living stones, to be built up together, we have a spiritual responsibility. We are not only responsible to God for the life, the grace, and the gift that God has given to each one of us, but we are also responsible to ourselves.
God has given so much to us. What has happened to us, and what will happen to us in the days to come—we are responsible for ourselves, for all that God has given us. Because much is given, much is required.
Furthermore, we are all responsible for the house. We are to be built up together as a spiritual house.
The first question after the fall of man that God asked was, “Adam, where art thou?” The second question God asked of man was, “Cain, where is thy brother?”
We are responsible for ourselves to God, and we are responsible for one another. Why are we responsible for one another? Because we are to be built up together as a spiritual house.
If we build with gold, silver, and precious stones, then we are building that house according to God. But if we build it with wood, hay, and stubble, we are destroying the spiritual house.
In 1 Corinthians 3, the apostle Paul says he is like a wise master builder. He has laid a foundation, which is Christ and nothing else. Now each one of you is responsible to build on it, and to see how you build. What do you put into it?
If you put into it gold, the nature of God; silver, the redemption of Christ; precious stones, the work of the Holy Spirit—then, brothers and sisters, you are building the spiritual house of God, and you will be rewarded for it.
But if you build into it wood—the nature of man, corruptible—hay, the work of man, and stubble, the glory of man; if you build into the spiritual house with your own man, with your natural man, with your natural energy, you are destroying that house of God.
You affect your brothers and sisters adversely. So you find that we are responsible for one another as the house of God.
Furthermore, Peter says we are a spiritual house, a holy priesthood. We are not only a spiritual house to be built up together, but we are a holy priesthood.
Every believer is a priest. In the New Testament, we do not have the title of a priest, but we have the function of a priest.
In the Old Testament, you find that among the Levites, the house of Aaron were called priests. They had the office, the title, and the work of the priesthood. But in the New Testament, you find that priesthood is universal, in the sense that every believer is a priest.
We do not have that title. Do not try to call one another “Priest So-and-so”; people may think that you are in that Roman system. We do not have the title, but we are priests nevertheless. And, brothers and sisters, as priests, we have responsibility.
After Moses erected the tabernacle, every piece of furniture was placed in order. Even though the tabernacle was made according to the pattern of the mountain, and everything was put in order according to God’s command, the whole tabernacle was silent. There were no activities whatsoever. Everything was right, but there was nothing going on.
Not until the priests came in and began to function in that house did every piece of furniture become living. There would be a lamb on the brazen altar, water in the brazen laver, washing, sacrificing, light on the candlestick, bread on the table, incense burning and going up, prayers and praises and singing.
You find that the whole house becomes living. Without that priesthood, even if you have that tabernacle, it is dead and silent.
So, brothers and sisters, we are not only responsible for the building of the house of God. You cannot be so independent. You cannot be all for yourself. We are responsible for one another for the building of the house of God.
Furthermore, in that house we are the holy priesthood. We are to function in that house. We are to offer our worship to God: praises, songs, prayers ascending to God, and intercession.
We are to wash one another’s feet, to care for one another. We are not only to minister unto God; we are also to minister unto the house of God—that is, to one another.
Every believer is a priest. In the book of Numbers, when they numbered the children of Israel, they numbered the children of Israel from thirty years old and upward for military service.
But when they numbered the Levites, they numbered them from one month old and upward. You may say, “One month old? What can a one-month-old do?” But for the priesthood, one has to begin very early.
The training begins after a child is born to the house of Aaron. Training begins from childhood—trained to be a priest. Even though he may not be in active, full service until he is thirty years old, perhaps a Levite would go to the temple or tabernacle at the age of twenty-five as an apprentice first, helping. By the age of thirty, he becomes a full-fledged one.
But even so, you find that training begins from the very beginning. When you think of Samuel, even when he was a boy, you find that he served in the house of God.
What could he do? He was given the responsibility of opening the door of the tabernacle. That may not be a big thing, but it is a big thing. Suppose Samuel slept until nine o’clock in the morning, and the sacrifice should begin when the sun comes up, but the door is still closed. What will happen? It is not a small thing.
Now, brothers and sisters, in the house of God, every believer is a priest. You may not be able at the very beginning to stand up and exhort your brothers and sisters, but at least you can open the door, put up the chairs, and clean a little bit.
If you are faithful in small things, that is where you start. Then God will begin to give you greater responsibility. Being a priesthood, everyone has a responsibility. As you grow up, your responsibility increases. But even when you are a child, there is responsibility.
I love to see when brothers and sisters come together to clean the place where we meet. When we see little girls and boys come in with their parents and help, that is what it should be.
Do not leave your children at home when you come to clean the place where we meet. Bring them together. From the very early years, let them have a sense that they belong to the house of God. They have a responsibility. They are priests, and they should function. Start when they are very young.
When we are worshiping the Lord together, sometimes you find that the young people and children are sitting there as spectators—and not only spectators, but distractors. We think it would be better if they were somewhere else, so that we can have a quiet and good meeting of worship.
But, brothers and sisters, this is the house of God. We should have these young people and children with us. They will cry. It is a beautiful sound to the Lord. It may disturb you, but I do not think it disturbs the Lord in any way.
If we find young children or young people praising the Lord with a few words, I think it pleases the Father so much—much more than those who are used to prayer and praise.
Brothers and sisters, start young. We are a priesthood. There is a responsibility with every one of us.
Let me go a little further. We are not only a spiritual house to be built up together. We are not only a holy priesthood, that we should function together. But we are the body of Christ. That is closer.
Think of the body of Christ. We are the body of Christ and members one of another. As members one of another, every member is not only responsible to the Head, but every member is responsible to the other members.
1 Corinthians 12 is a wonderful chapter. I think lots of people take 1 Corinthians 12 wrongly. By that I mean, they put the wrong emphasis.
When you talk about 1 Corinthians 12, people think it talks about spiritual gifts. Of course, 1 Corinthians 12 talks about spiritual gifts, because spiritual gifts are the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in the body of Christ, in each member, and He has to manifest Himself by these gifts.
That is very true. But actually, 1 Corinthians 12 is not on spiritual gifts. It is on the body of Christ. We, being many, are one body. Even though we are one body, yet there are many members. So also is the Christ.
In one Spirit we were baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. In other words, it is the body of Christ.
Now, brothers and sisters, we are the body of Christ and members one of another. Every member in the body is essential. Every member in the body has a responsibility. Every member in the body has a function, a work to do. It is for the building up of the body of Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 12, it says the ear cannot say to the eye, “I am not an eye; because of that, I do not belong to the body.” The eye is at the front; the ear is at the side. So the ear says, “Because I am not at the front, I am by the side; therefore, I do not belong to the body.”
The apostle Paul says, if it is all eyes, then you see too much, and you do not hear. If it is all hands, you grasp too much, and you do not serve as well.
God, in His wisdom, has put us in a body so beautifully—all diverse, all different. It is of God’s doing.
Then you find the head cannot tell the foot, “I am the head. You are the foot. You are useless. I do not need you.” Or the eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you. I can see all right.” You can see, but can you take it?
Every member of the body is necessary. Responsibility is a necessity. God has put you in the body of Christ. Whether you are the eye, the ear, the hand, or the foot, God has put you there.
He has given you life, and He has given you gift accordingly. You have a responsibility to fulfill. It is a necessity.
You cannot be passive and say, “I am by the side. I am below. I am not here.” Neither can you say, “Because I am high up and at the front, therefore I am everywhere; I am everything.”
In the body of Christ, there is no monopoly. You cannot monopolize everything. You are just a member, not the whole body of Christ.
You cannot be irresponsible and say, “Because I am just a little member, therefore it does not matter if I am not there.” It does matter. Every member has a spiritual responsibility, and God expects us to fulfill that responsibility.
Dear brothers and sisters, this matter of spiritual responsibility comes with life. If you do not want responsibility, do not have life. If you love life, love responsibility, because the more you are responsible, the more will be given to you. Unless you are responsible, more will be taken away from you.
It is a necessity. Oh, how we need to see that this matter of responsibility is not something put upon us by man. You do not need to wait until somebody puts you in a position and then you start to be responsible.
This is our flesh, really. If people do not put you in a responsible position, you feel you have no responsibility whatsoever. But when people put you in their position, then you find, “Well, I have to be responsible.”
Suppose people want you to lead a prayer meeting. Now you have to pray. If they do not ask you to lead a prayer meeting, you never pray. Search your heart and see whether this is true.
How often you find we need a position to be responsible. That is the fall of man. If we really see life, if we really see what life is, brothers and sisters, you do not need anyone to tell you to be responsible. You will be supernaturally, naturally responsible.
This matter of responsibility is very serious. Why? Because it decides your destiny.
In the parables that we shared together yesterday—the parable of the minas, the parable of the talents, and later on the parable of the good and faithful servant becoming a wicked servant—you find that these three parables, and many others in the Gospels, give us the same thought.
What God has given to us today is just a little. We are in a training period. Life today is a training period. That is the reason why our life is so short. Our real service is yet to come.
If we are responsible for the little that God has entrusted to us today, brothers and sisters, we will be rewarded with much more in the days to come. But if we are not responsible for the little that is given to us today, even that little will be taken away from us.
The one who earned ten minas will be given ten cities. Think of the difference between ten minas and ten cities. The one who earned five minas will be given five cities. There is no comparison.
But the one with one mina, because he wrapped it up in a napkin, even at the judgment seat of Christ that mina is taken away from him and given to the one who earned ten minas.
Of course, this parable does not speak of salvation. It speaks of responsibility. Even that mina given to you can be taken away. In other words, in the kingdom age, you cannot serve. There is no way to do the Lord’s business.
If you are faithful in the Lord’s business today, He will give you more business in the kingdom. But if you are not faithful, then at kingdom time you are barred from doing any business of the Lord. Think of that.
The one who earned five more talents and the one who earned two more talents, according to their ability, doubled it. You find that the rewards are the same: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and enter into the joy of the Lord.” That refers to the kingdom.
They will reign with Christ during that thousand years, and what glory that will be. All their sweat and tears are rewarded.
But the wicked servant who buried the talent—his talent will be taken away from him and given to the one who earned five more. In other words, God has no use for him. The Lord said, “You useless servant. You are no use to Me.”
Not only that, because he is wicked, you find he will be cast into outer darkness. That means outside of the kingdom of heaven, and there he will regret every day of his past.
Now, brothers and sisters, do not think that because you believe in the Lord Jesus as your Savior, therefore you are secure in every sense.
It is true: so far as heaven and eternity are concerned, there is security because Christ has died for you. You will not enter into judgment—the judgment of the great white throne, the judgment of eternal death or eternal life.
You have passed out of death into life because you have believed in the Lord Jesus. John 5:24.
But, brothers and sisters, that does not mean because Christ has been judged for you on the cross, therefore you will not be judged at the great white throne judgment. You are secure for eternal life. But that does not mean there is no more judgment for you.
Read the Word of God. You will find in the Word of God that judgment begins with the house of God. In other words, when Christ shall return—brothers and sisters, are you looking forward to His return? Do you miss Him? Do you want Him to come back soon?
If you know what is going to happen, I am not too sure you want Him back. When He shall return, it does not mean that we will all be getting together and we will be there having that marriage feast for eternity. No.
The Bible says when our Lord shall return, and when we shall all be gathered together before Him—where? At the judgment seat of Christ.
Romans 14:10: “Do not judge your brother. Do not look down upon your brother, because we all shall stand before the judgment seat of God.” Second Corinthians 5:10: “We shall all be manifested at the judgment seat of Christ, and we will be judged according to what we have done in our lives, whether it be good or whether it be bad.”
In other words, after we become children of God, after we enter into the house of God, being God’s children, there is responsibility.
Our God is the most responsible One. Therefore, His children, by the very life He has given us, by the very nature of God’s life, have responsibility.
Thank God that we are children of God. Thank God we have enjoyment. But, brothers and sisters, there is the other side: responsibility.
If we believe in the Lord Jesus, if we are saved, and yet we love the world, we are no different from the people of the world. We get drunk with the drunkard. We even beat our fellow servants, like that wicked servant.
Brothers and sisters, at the judgment seat of Christ, in Matthew 24 and Luke 12, you find how serious it is. When the Lord shall come back at an unexpected time, the Lord will cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with unbelievers.
People will say that he is unsaved. Not at all, because the parable does not speak of eternity. It speaks of the kingdom to come. In other words, during kingdom time he does not enjoy life.
You may enjoy your life today. He who gains his soul-life today will lose it when the Lord shall come. But if you are willing to lose your soul-life for Christ’s sake, you will gain it in eternity. There in the kingdom you will enjoy life—and quite a life it must be.
Dear brothers and sisters, it is a serious matter. We need to live daily in the light of the judgment seat of Christ.
If you really love the Lord, and that love is not just sentimental, then you would live daily in the light of the judgment seat of Christ, as if the judgment seat of Christ is now.
You want to please Him every hour, every day. If the Lord should come now, are you able to see Him unashamed?
The way you are responsible today determines what will come out of the judgment seat of Christ. It determines our destiny.
I hope these words will help to encourage us to take up our spiritual responsibility.
Well, people will ask, “All right, I would like to take up my spiritual responsibility, but I do not know what my responsibility is. Who will tell me what my responsibility is?”
We have already said that it is not something men put upon you. We would like to go to a certain brother or sister and say, “Now tell me what my responsibility is. If you tell me that, then I will do it.” Well, it becomes a matter of position again.
How do I know what my responsibility is? Again, you find spiritual responsibility is a matter of life. In other words, you find your responsibility through life.
The life that God has given to you, the grace that God has given to you, the gift that God has given to you—brothers and sisters, that life will tell you what your responsibility is.
After you are saved, after you have received the life of Christ in you, very soon—sometimes immediately—you find within you a kind of burden. Or you begin to see something that nobody seems to notice.
You do not need anybody to tell you what to do. Somehow, as you have your time with the Lord, as your life lives with the Lord and communes with the Lord, somehow you find the Lord begins to open your eyes to see there is some need there in the house of God that nobody notices.
Or, as you are in communion with the Lord, you find that a burden begins to come into your heart. You seem to be burdened for something. Brothers and sisters, very often it is life that is telling you the story.
Follow life. When you have that discernment—when you have that burden—try to discharge it in the way that God has enabled you.
When you begin to discharge that burden, when you begin to do that thing that nobody seems to notice, see whether the anointing of the Lord is with you. If you find that God really acknowledges you, and His blessing follows, and the ones you minister unto or the things you take care of bring such joy to the house of God, then you know this is the way He wants you to be responsible.
For instance, a child is born with all the organs. But when a child is first born, he has eyes and he has been given the gift of seeing, but he does not see.
It takes a few days. When life grows a little bit, then he begins to see. If he starts to see and sees more, he sees more. If you train your eyes, you can even see in the dark.
That is the way it is with spiritual responsibility. Brothers and sisters, it is very simple, very simple. Just follow life. As you follow life, you will find it works.
When a child grows up a little bit, in the beginning you find he does not know how to walk. He has legs, but he does not know how to use his legs. So he uses both hands and both legs. He crawls on all fours.
He does not know what is the responsibility of the hands. He thinks the hands are just to crawl. But gradually, perhaps by accident, he discovers that if he does not use all four, but just uses two legs to walk, he walks better. Then the legs find their function.
The same thing is true with the hands. The hands say, “All right, hands off, then. I do not need to crawl anymore. I do not need to help my legs anymore. I have my responsibility to do.”
Brothers and sisters, that is the way to discover how you function in the house of God, how to take your responsibility.
Thank God that we are in the house of God. Sometimes we may misinterpret. Sometimes we think that the anointing is on us when we are doing something, but actually people hear us so badly.
So you find that, thank God, we are members one of another. We need to have checks and balances. When you feel that the Lord is leading you in a certain way and you are not too sure about it, share with your brothers and sisters.
Let your brothers and sisters pray with you, correct you, sometimes encourage you, and sometimes discourage you. Do not be discouraged if you are discouraged, because that is helping you to find your place in the house of God.
Brothers and sisters, sometimes we are too proud. If I feel that I am a mouth, I am going to open my mouth and speak. But it still happens that God does not make me a mouth.
When I am speaking, you find people endure me. Perhaps the first time, the second time, people begin to move their feet, and the third time, some people walk out. You are not a mouth.
Brothers and sisters, these things help us. They help us to find our place. Do not be discouraged. That is the way we learn. Be humble.
If we are faithful to one another, very soon we will find our place in the house of God, and we will be able to take up the responsibility God has given to us.
Finally, how are we going to fulfill our spiritual responsibility? We have a responsibility. How are we going to fulfill it?
Number one: in order to fulfill our spiritual responsibility, every one of us must hold fast the Head.
It is the Head that really directs all the functioning, the working, and all the various responsibilities. In other words, it is essential—extremely important—that every brother and sister learns to hold fast to the Head.
Not because you have a responsibility and feel this is your responsibility should you just go ahead and do it, even without the order of the Head.
Every time you are functioning and fulfilling your responsibility, it has to be under the headship of Christ.
Spiritual responsibility is spiritual in nature. When you get out of touch with the Head, your responsibility will degenerate into a human thing, an earthly thing, not a spiritual thing.
Sooner or later, you will find that the only way you are able to fulfill that responsibility is to use your natural strength. You have to use strange fire to keep it burning.
You have to hold fast under the headship and authority of Christ. If everyone is under the headship of Christ, then we will minister one to another, and we will be united together.
The second thing is this: when you exercise your gifts, you have to exercise according to the proportion of faith.
In Romans 12:6-8, it says, if it is prophecy, prophesy according to the proportion of faith; if you are teaching, according to the proportion of faith; if you are serving, according to the proportion of faith.
In other words, everyone is given a measure. Do not do it beyond your measure. If you overdo it, the result is that you yourself will be hurt, and other people will be hurt.
We need to do it according to the proportion of faith. What God has given us, that He requires. What He has not given you, He does not require of you. So do not try to do something that He has not required of you, beyond your measure.
Even the apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians, said, “I am not doing it beyond my measure. God has measured me with a measure, and I am working in my measure.”
That measure can be enlarged; that is true. When you have fulfilled your measure, then it can be enlarged, but not before that.
So number two: we have to function according to the proportion of faith, within the measure that God has measured to each one.
Thirdly, to fulfill our spiritual responsibility, we have to be wise and faithful.
Wise in the sense of knowing the will of God. When you are fulfilling your spiritual responsibility, you need to know what the mind of the Lord is. What is His heart? What does He want you to do?
You remember in Matthew 7, many will come to the Lord and say, “Lord, Lord, in Your name I have preached the gospel. In Your name I have cast out demons. In Your name I have healed the sick.”
And the Lord said, “You workers of iniquity, I do not approve of you.” In other words, not all who say, “Lord, Lord,” do My Father’s will. It is only in doing the Father’s will that you will be approved.
So we need to be wise, to know the mind of God. Do not just go out and do something. Sometimes we think it is just activities. No, it is not activities. We need to know the mind of God.
Then, as we know the mind of God, be faithful. Be faithful. Do it to the utmost ability that He has given to you.
Brothers and sisters, when the Lord shall come back, He will be looking for faithfulness, because what is required of a steward is faithfulness. Solomon said, “A faithful man is hard to find.”
Sometimes we are clever, but we are not faithful. But God wants us to be faithful rather than clever. Brothers and sisters, that is the way we will fulfill our responsibility.
So, dear brothers and sisters, I hope that after this time together, at least each one of us will realize that we have responsibility—from the biggest one to the smallest one.
Number two: I hope we see that responsibility is a spiritual thing. It is not a human obligation.
Number three: it is according to life. Follow life, and you will find where your responsibility is. May the Lord help us. Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we do thank Thee for getting us together this time. Thou seest what grace, what life, what gift Thou hast given to us, and for this we are thankful.
But we thank Thee that Thou dost also show us that there is a responsibility to go with all. Make us responsible people, that we may fulfill our spiritual responsibility to Thee and to the house of God.
Lord, our prayer is: we cannot do it, but we are open. We want to respond to Thy ability, according to the grace Thou hast given to us.
Oh, that one day, when Thou shalt return, we long to hear Thee say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.