Thus saith the Lord: No stranger, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into My sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.
But the Levites that went far from Me, when Israel went astray, that went astray from Me after their idols, they shall even bear their iniquity.
Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house, and doing the service of the house: they shall slay the burnt-offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.
Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and became a stumbling-block of iniquity unto the house of Israel; therefore have I lifted up My hand against them, saith the Lord, that they shall bear their iniquity.
And they shall not come near unto Me, to execute the office of priest unto Me, nor to come near to any of My holy things, unto the things that are most holy; but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.
Yet I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.
For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office:
So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another.
And having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith;
Or ministry, let us give ourselves to our ministry; or he that teacheth, to his teaching;
Or he that exhorteth, to his exhorting: he that giveth, let him do it with liberality; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.
Let us look to the Lord together.
Dear Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee that we may again come into Thy presence through Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We do thank Thee that we can approach Thy throne of grace, and there we can hear Thee speaking to us.
So, our Father, we just pray that at this moment Thou wilt quiet our hearts. We pray that we may really be standing before Thee, waiting to hear what Thou hast to say to us.
Our Father, our desire is that we may do Thy will, that we may satisfy Thy heart—not for ourselves, but, Lord, for Thee. So we just commit this time into Thy hands and pray that Thou wilt not only give us understanding, but Thou wilt also give us revelation. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
We mentioned before that every redeemed child of the Lord is called into spiritual ministry. It is not the ministry that is given to a few—the ministry of the Word, as we find in Acts, where the apostles gave themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word.
It is not the ministry that, in Christianity, we commonly call “the ministry,” as though some people alone are called into it. But the ministry that we are sharing together is a spiritual ministry, and that spiritual ministry is a calling to all the redeemed. We are all called to serve.
In this ministry, we mentioned that there are really two areas, two aspects. One is ministering to the Lord, and the other is ministering to the house.
Or, to put it another way, one is what the Scripture calls priestly ministry, because priestly ministry is mainly unto the Lord Himself. Then there is Levitical ministry, which is predominantly unto the people of God—that is, the house of God.
As a matter of fact, these two ministries are distinct, but they cannot be separate. These two ministries must work together in order that God and His house may be served.
Yesterday morning, we began with the ministry unto the Lord. We find that ministry unto the Lord is the foundation of Levitical ministry. That is to say, unless we minister to the Lord first, we are not able to minister to the house of God.
Unfortunately, many people think that they can minister to the house of God without ministering unto the Lord. That is the reason why we find that, even though many activities and many works are being done, the people of God are not helped and built as they should be, because ministry unto the Lord is lacking.
So first of all, brothers and sisters, we must learn to minister unto the Lord.
We mentioned yesterday morning that to minister to the Lord is to approach Him, to draw near to Him, and to live in His presence. It is to stand before Him, to wait upon Him until His order is given, and then to do whatever is ordered.
It is to enter into the sanctuary. You know, brothers and sisters, people like to stay in the outer court. Why? Because in the outer court there are lots of people. You have the crowds. In the outer court there are many noises, activities, and movements going on.
In the outer court there are many works to be done. But when you enter into the sanctuary, into the holy place, you find that you are alone. You find that it is all quietness. You find that there is nothing visible in the eyes of the world.
You know, brothers and sisters, how we desire that whatever we do will be seen by others, because there we get a certain kind of recognition and encouragement. We like to be visible, and in the service of God we want to be seen by others. That is why we like to stay in the outer court.
But when you enter into the sanctuary, you will not be seen by anybody. You will be there alone, quiet. It is all quiet, and you will be there before the Lord.
Now, brothers and sisters, our flesh cannot stand it. We do not like it. That is the reason why, to us naturally speaking, ministering unto the Lord is impossible unless our flesh is dealt with. And it has to be dealt with if you want to enter into the sanctuary.
There, standing before Him, you may draw near to Him, present the fat and the blood, approach the table, and keep the charge of the Lord. So, brothers and sisters, we need to minister unto the Lord.
Now, when we minister unto the Lord, there are certain conditions that must be fulfilled.
Number one, you find that all who minister to the Lord have to be clothed with linen garments from the head to the feet. They have the linen tire upon their head, the linen garments, and the linen breeches. Everything has to be in linen, and no wool should be upon their body.
The reason given is that when you minister unto the Lord, there can be no sweating. No sweating is allowed.
Now, brothers and sisters, in the outer court there is lots of sweating. You have to drag a sheep, or you have to drag a bullock. When you draw the bullock to the altar, tie it to the horns of the altar, and slaughter it, my, that is sweating.
So you find that in the outer court there is lots of sweating. But when you enter into the sanctuary, when you come to minister unto the Lord Himself, no sweating is allowed.
What is sweat? It comes out from the body. Brothers and sisters, it is our natural strength. Anything that comes from our natural strength is sweating.
How much of God’s work today is a work of sweating? You have to plan and plot. You have to sell, advertise, convince, attract, and negotiate. You have to do all kinds of things in order to make a work work. Now, that is working.
But when you come to minister unto the Lord, no natural strength is allowed. Nothing that comes out of ourselves is allowed.
If you put a woollen garment upon you, surely you will sweat. As a matter of fact, if you enter into the holy place, there is no window there. It is all closed, and the air there is probably a little warm. You will sweat if you wear a woollen garment.
So everything has to be in linen. Linen in the Scripture always speaks of the life of our Lord Jesus. His whole life upon this earth is like a linen garment. His righteousness is bright and shining.
We need to be clothed completely with Christ. As we minister unto the Lord, we minister unto the Lord out of Christ, not out of ourselves. There is the reason why everything has to be in linen.
Then you find the second condition. When you minister unto the Lord, you cannot shave your head, nor can you allow your hair to grow long; but you must trim your hair.
When you shave your head, of course, it is a sign of rebellion. When you let your hair grow long, it is a sign of carelessness. When you come to minister unto the Lord, you cannot go to extremes. You cannot be either rebellious or passively careless. You have to be disciplined. You have to be in order.
Furthermore, thirdly, you find that when they minister unto the Lord, they cannot drink wine. You have to be sober. You cannot be influenced by the world. You cannot bring anything of the world into ministry unto the Lord.
You cannot touch any dead body, because that will make you defiled and unclean. A dead body in the Scripture always speaks of our flesh. It defiles. Nothing of the flesh—not even a touch of it.
You cannot marry any divorced person. You can only marry a maiden or the widow of a priest. That means you have to be kept pure before the Lord.
So there are a number of conditions as we come to minister unto the Lord. We mentioned before that ministry unto the Lord is an awesome thing: to come into His presence and to behold His glory.
Unless we are clean, unless we are pure, unless we are clothed with Christ, unless we are disciplined, brothers and sisters, how can we stand there? How can we minister unto Him?
But thank God, as we minister unto Him, He is our reward. He says, “I am your inheritance. I am your possession.”
You know, brothers and sisters, we are people who always go to extremes. You either swing to this side or you swing to the other side.
Formerly, we were all ministering unto the house. Probably that is all we knew. We knew very little of ministry unto the Lord. We thought ministry unto the house was everything.
But after you hear that we need to minister unto the Lord, and that ministry unto the house is given to all who are redeemed while ministry unto the Lord is given only to those who are faithful, then we all want to minister unto the Lord and do nothing in ministry to the house anymore.
Why? Because we say, “Well, that is inferior. Why should we be engaged with such lesser things? We are now completely engaged in that great thing, ministering unto the Lord,” and we do nothing.
But this is not the case with the sons of Zadok. The Bible says that, as they minister unto the Lord, they shall teach God’s people to discern between the holy and the profane, and to distinguish between the clean and the unclean.
Now, brothers and sisters, this is ministry unto the house. This is ministry unto the people of God, because teaching is ministry unto the people.
So, in other words, you find that after you have ministered unto the Lord, then you are able to minister unto the people. This is what you find in Acts 13. These five prophets and teachers ministered unto the Lord, and the command came: “The Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”
Barnabas and Saul were separated, and they began to do a tremendous work. So it does not mean that ministering unto the Lord means that you do nothing afterwards.
Unfortunately, you do find in Christianity people who are devoted exclusively to what they suppose is ministry unto the Lord and do nothing else. Whether they are really ministering unto the Lord or not, I do not know.
That is not the will of God. We need to minister unto the Lord first, and then out of that we are able to teach people what is holy and what is profane.
Brothers and sisters, our problem today is that we do not know what is holy and what is profane. We think something is holy, and yet it is profane. We do not have spiritual understanding or spiritual discernment.
As our brother already mentioned, soulish things and spiritual things, when you look at their outward form and appearance, look very much alike. The sources are different, but the appearance seems to be the same.
To most people, we are not able to distinguish the spirit and the soul. It is only those people who stand in the presence of God, who live in His presence, and who minister unto the Lord, who know what is holy.
They know what is holy because they know the Holy One. They know what is profane because they know what is contrary and opposite to Him. They are the people who are able to teach others what is holy, what is profane, what is clean, and what is unclean.
The problem is more than simply what is sin and what is righteousness. It is what is holy and what is common.
You know, brothers and sisters, we think that as long as something is not sin, it must be all right. We live by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If it is good, if we think it is good, if everybody says it is good, and if you feel good about it, then it must be good and clean.
If it is evil, everybody says it is evil, then it must be evil. If you do not do anything evil but only do that which is good, you think that, because you have the knowledge of good and evil, that is the way you can live before God.
A Christian does not live only by the knowledge of good and evil. A Christian lives by the tree of life. That is to say, life will tell you what is holy and what is common, what is of God and what is of man.
Where does this knowledge come from? From the tree of life, from ministry unto the Lord. Then you are able to teach people about it, so that people may not only be delivered from what is unclean, but may really be delivered from what is profane and become a holy people before God.
Not only that, but you find that after they minister unto the Lord, then they are able to judge God’s people. When there is a controversy, they can judge God’s people according to the judgment of God.
Brothers and sisters, do you know that we are to judge angels? Well, is that too much for us? Not at all. Why? Because we have the judgment of God.
If we learn the judgment of God, where do we learn it? We learn it from Him by ministering unto Him, because we know Him. With that knowledge of God, we are able to judge God’s people.
Not in the sense of criticizing God’s people. There is a great difference between judging in the wrong sense and judging in the right sense.
In the Scripture, He says, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” Some people are very clever, because they do not want to be judged, so they try not to judge anybody.
But, brothers and sisters, what is meant there is this: do not judge people with a critical spirit. As one brother said, “I always look at people with a microscope.” Now try to look at people with a telescope.
Do not try to judge people in the wrong sense. But as you live in the presence of God, you will find that spiritual discernment will be given to you. That spiritual discernment is for the sake of helping people, not for the sake of destroying people.
If you live in the presence of God, you cannot help but see what is of God and what is not of God, what is holy and what is profane, what is clean and what is unclean.
Just as the Scripture says, the spiritual man discerneth all things, and he himself is discerned of no man. In other words, he sees through things with the eyes of God.
That is our Lord Jesus. You do not need to tell Him anything. He knows. He sees through you. If you live in His presence and minister unto Him, that discernment will be given to you.
It is given to you that you may serve God’s people. Remember, spiritual discernment is for service, not for disservice. You can judge God’s people, and only when you can judge God’s people are you able to help them. If you do not know what is wrong, how can you help anybody?
Those who live before God are able to judge with the judgment of God. How we need such judgment. We live in a world where everything is gray, in a world where there is not clear understanding of God’s judgment.
Brothers and sisters, if we have to wait until we appear before the judgment seat of Christ, it is too late.
Oh, that God will give us people who have spiritual judgment to minister unto God’s people, that they may be delivered from what they do not know, from anything that is unholy and unclean, from anything that is not of God.
Then, when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, we will not be put to shame. Oh, how we need such people who have the ability to minister to us in this way.
So, brothers and sisters, how important it is, how necessary it is, how urgent it is, that by the grace of God we may be determined that we want to minister unto the Lord.
Our dear brother Watchman, when he was young, was once studying the Scripture with an elderly sister. Of course, we know her name was Margaret E. Barber.
When they studied the Scripture, they came to Ezekiel 44. When they read it, our brother asked Miss Barber, who was much older, “When you came to this portion of the Scripture, what did you do?”
You know, brothers and sisters, sometimes we read the Scripture and we do nothing, and it is lost.
This elderly sister said, “Twenty years ago, I came to this Scripture. I immediately fell down on my knees and prayed, ‘Oh Lord, do not allow me to minister to the house. I want to minister unto You.’” And God answered her prayer.
When she came to China the second time, she stayed in a village outside of the city. People began to criticize her, saying that she was doing nothing and wasting her time.
But there she was ministering unto the Lord. Out of that ministry came a great revival among the students in Foochow. Brother Watchman and many other servants of God were the result of that, and it influenced the whole of China.
Brothers and sisters, ministry unto the Lord, from the world’s standpoint, is a waste of time. People say, “You are doing nothing.” But they do not know that out of that ministry, ministry unto the house of God will be effective.
Now this morning, we would like to share together on this matter of ministering unto the house.
When you read Ezekiel 44, you find that God is trying to show us a contrast between ministering unto Him and ministering unto the house. That is the reason why it is put in such a light.
When you read it, it is as if ministry unto the house is an inferior ministry, and it is; it is given to an inferior people. Ministry unto the Lord is a superior ministry, and it is; it is given to a superior people.
But that does not mean that all God wants is for us to minister unto Him and forget about ministering unto the house. That is not God’s heart, because the house of God is very much in His heart.
It is true that we must first minister unto Him. But if we do minister unto Him, then we will also minister unto the house of God. So do not go to extremes.
Do not think that because you begin to realize that you need to minister unto the Lord, therefore you should cease ministering unto the house of God. We need to do both.
In Old Testament times, these were done by two different groups of people. The family of Aaron, as priests, ministered unto the Lord. The tribe of Levi ministered unto the house of God.
But in New Testament times, God has joined these two ministries into one. We are not only priests; we are also Levites. So we have to minister to the Lord, and we also must minister to the house of God. We have to do both.
One without the other is incomplete. If we try to minister to the house without ministering unto the Lord, our ministry to the house will not be effective. There is no quality, no life, no value, and no spiritual weight in it.
But on the other hand, if you have ministry unto the Lord without ministry unto the house, even that is insufficient.
If in the temple only the priests ministered unto the Lord, and there were no Levites helping them or helping the people, what could they do? They would not be able to fulfill their function.
When people came in crowds bringing all these sacrifices, and there were only a few priests, how could they manage? Who would help them?
If they had to bring the wood themselves, draw the water themselves, help the people slaughter their animals themselves, and take care of all the furnishings in the house themselves, it would be like what the apostles did in the very early days.
You remember that in the very early days, the apostles did everything. They ministered the Word of God, they prayed, they served tables—they did everything.
But when they were doing all these things by themselves, they discovered that neither ministry was adequately served. Finally, they realized that they could not do everything.
You remember how they asked the people to choose seven men full of the Holy Spirit and of good report to serve tables. So, brothers and sisters, one without the other is incomplete.
You have to see these two ministries working together. In New Testament times, all of us have to work both as priests and as Levites. Every one of us has to be engaged both in ministry unto the Lord and in ministry unto the house of God.
So do not look down upon ministry unto the house. I do not want to see that after we return, the house is forsaken. Rather, let us serve in the house of God in a more excellent way.
First of all, what is the house of God?
We know that in the very heart of God, He has a desire to dwell among men. He is looking for a dwelling place. He is looking for a home.
That is the reason why, in the first place, He created man: that He might have communion with man.
But unfortunately, after man was created, even though the work of creation was perfect, the purpose of the work of creation was not accomplished. Man was driven out of the Garden of Eden, and God did not find His dwelling place in man.
Then you find that He delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt. Why did He deliver them out of Egypt? He brought them unto Himself.
At Mount Sinai, He revealed His heart to His people. He said, “I want to dwell among you. Make Me a tabernacle.” So you find that the house is God’s dwelling place. God dwells among His people.
Of course, in our days we know that our Lord Jesus said, “I will build My church.” Why? Because He wants to build that home, that eternal home, for God and man.
He wants to prepare for God a dwelling place, and also for us. So we are the house of God today. We who are the redeemed of the Lord, we are the house of God.
Do you think that God will not take care of His house? Do you think that God will not see to it that His house is taken care of? Certainly not.
The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness. The tent wandered with them. God wandered with them for forty years. They entered into the promised land, and it was not until hundreds of years later that David had a heart to build God a temple.
Solomon built, and the glory of God descended and filled the temple. But unfortunately, because the condition of God’s people was so contrary to the meaning of the house of God, God allowed that temple to be destroyed.
God is always seeking reality. Whenever things are unreal, God says, “Let it go.” Men say, “Keep it.”
Thank God, after seventy years of captivity, a remnant responded to the call of God. They forsook everything and traveled back to Jerusalem. With their means and energy, they rebuilt the temple.
But even though the temple was rebuilt, you find that the temple services were very much lacking. That is the reason why Ezra, when he came back, purposed to beautify the house of God.
The house of God was rebuilt, but the services were very much lacking. God was not served as He should be. The people of God were not taught as they should be.
Ezra, being the scribe who knew the Word of God, came back to strengthen and beautify the service in the house of God, and to teach the people the law of God.
Nehemiah came back, and you find that even in Nehemiah’s time, after the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt, he had to go back. He was absent from Jerusalem—we do not know for how long, but not too long.
When he came back, he found that the Levites had all fled to their own fields. Why? Because their support was not given.
You find that even the remnant who returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the house of God began to be occupied with their own interests. They forsook the house of God, and because of that the Levites had to go back to their own fields and plant their own fields to make a living.
The house of God was deserted. So Nehemiah called the people together and said, “How dare you forsake the house of God?”
Brothers and sisters, in a sense, I feel very deeply in my heart that this is where we are.
Thank God, everywhere in the world you find a remnant coming back. You find people whose heart is for the testimony of Jesus. You find people coming together around the Lord Himself, and nobody else. You find two or three gathered together unto the name of the Lord. Thank God for that.
But as you look into the services, as you look into the house of God, how poor, how insufficient. It does not look like the house of God. It is worse than our own house—not in the physical sense, but in the spiritual sense.
Brothers and sisters, the house of God needs to be served. Oh, that the Levites will all return.
May we not be occupied completely with making a living. God knows we have to make a living, but do we really need that much to make a living? Where is our heart? Do we give ourselves to God and to God’s house?
In Old Testament times, the Levites were separated to be given to Aaron and the priests, to minister to them. They were given to the people of God to minister unto the people. They were given to the house of God to serve in all the services of the house.
Why? Because these Levites were those who were separated as substitutes for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.
You remember when the angel of destruction passed through Egypt and entered into every house to slay the firstborn. All the firstborn of the children of Israel were spared because of the blood on the door.
But why were they spared? Were they spared that they might live for themselves? Immediately, God said, “All the firstborn belong to Me.” They were spared that they might belong to the Lord.
So every firstborn was supposed to be separated to do the service of God. But God used the tribe of Levi to substitute for the firstborn.
When a Levite was born, he was numbered from a month old. When he was thirty, he entered into the house to serve. He served until he was fifty, and then he retired from active service, though he was still to keep the charge of the house of God.
Now, brothers and sisters, are we not the firstborn? The church is the church of the firstborn. Are we not all being spared with the purpose that we may be separated for God’s service?
Are we not all Levites? Is it not our responsibility to serve in the house of God?
Can we just allow a few priests, or perhaps a few Levites, to do all the work in the house of God? That is what you find today, and no wonder the house of God is not built.
Oh, that all God’s people, every redeemed child of God, will rise up, enter into the house, and serve, because this is the will of God.
In the house of God, there are many services to be done.
Levitical ministry is not an independent ministry, because all the Levites served under the direction of the priests.
Now, brothers and sisters, our problem today is: where are the priests? Where are those who minister unto the Lord? Because we do not have those who minister unto the Lord and know the will of God, the Levites are doing their jobs as they see fit. It becomes an independent ministry.
Many people do not serve. But those who serve—how do they serve? They serve according to what they think is good.
Levitical ministry is a dependent ministry. Even keeping the doors, washing the dishes, and slaughtering the sacrifices—every service is under the direction and supervision of the priests.
What does that mean? The spiritual principle is this: unless you minister unto the Lord, how can you minister unto the house? Because it is a dependent ministry.
Lots of people are running here and there, doing this and doing that, without the order of God and without knowing the mind and will of God. They are doing it on their own, depending on their own ability and using their worldly experience, bringing it into the church.
Because you are an executive in a big corporation, therefore you can be an elder in the church. Do you know how to govern? Yes, you govern the church as a corporation.
Because you are talented in certain areas, the teaching is, “Formerly, use your talent to serve the world. Now, use your talent to serve God.”
Do you know the mind of God? Do you know what God wants you to do? Do you know that your natural talents have to go to death, and unless they are resurrected, they will not be accepted by God?
Dear brothers and sisters, Levitical service is a dependent ministry, not an independent ministry.
We find lots of independent works and activities going on. Sometimes you wonder: Is it the will of God? Is it done in the power of the Holy Spirit?
To cut it short, we come to Ezekiel 44. What are the works of the Levites? Do not look down upon the works of the Levites. Even though it is a lesser ministry, yet it is a necessary ministry.
You find in Ezekiel 44 that they are to do several things.
Number one, they are to keep the gates of the house. They are doorkeepers.
Now, do not look down upon the doorkeepers, because it is a very important function.
You remember, the law said that no stranger, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into God’s sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.
What was the failure in the beginning with the house of God? They allowed strangers to enter into God’s house. They allowed people who were uncircumcised to come in.
The strangers were not only Gentiles, but even Israelites, because though they might be circumcised in the body, they were not circumcised in their heart.
When you allow these people to come into the house of God, you know what happens. They destroy the house of God. They corrupt the house of God. That is one reason why the temple was destroyed.
Here, in the recovery of the house of God, this matter of guarding the gates of the house is a very important function. The Levites are to be stationed at the gates to see that no stranger and no one who is uncircumcised can enter into the house of God.
What is circumcision? What is the circumcision of the heart? It means that the natural man has to be cut off.
Brothers and sisters, when we enter into the house of God, when we come to the church of God, you cannot bring anything of the natural man. You cannot bring your old self. It has to be circumcised.
Only that which is of the new creation, only that which is of Christ, belongs to the house of God. Whatever is not is strange to God’s house.
Because of our carelessness, you find that throughout history we have allowed strangers to enter into the house of God and take over. The whole nature of the church is corrupted.
God says, “No more.” That is the responsibility of the Levites.
Brothers and sisters, it is the responsibility of every brother and sister, not just the elders. Sometimes we think, “Well, the elders should keep the table. They should guard the table.”
Therefore they guard it very carefully. They try to screen, examine, and use a microscope. Unless you agree with every point of their interpretation of the Scripture, you are not allowed to partake of the table.
No, no. It is the responsibility of all the brothers and sisters.
We are to see, first of all, that we do not bring what is strange in us into the house of God. We need to judge ourselves severely.
We are too kind to ourselves, too gracious to ourselves. We let our flesh enter the house of God. Not only do we let it enter, but we let it control.
May the cross of our Lord Jesus work deeply in each one of us. We need to see that nothing strange, no stranger, ever comes into the house of God.
Now, I do not mean that if a person is not saved, we do not allow him to come to the meeting. Of course, they are welcome, that they may see the presence of the Lord, bow down, and be converted.
But what I mean is this: What is the house of God? The house of God is none other than Christ in each one of us, and nothing else.
So this is a real responsibility in Levitical service.
Number two, here you find in Ezekiel 44 that they are to do the services of the house. The services of the house, of course, are many, but one is especially mentioned: to help people slaughter the sacrifices.
Perhaps there is a very feeble person, feeble in body but strong in spirit, and he or she wants to offer a bullock unto the Lord. But he or she does not have the strength to slay the bullock. He needs help. Who will help? The Levites.
They will come to help bind the animal, and they will help slaughter the animal, helping them in offering unto the Lord. Without such assistance, they may have the heart to offer, but they are not able to offer.
Now, that is the work of the Levites. Outwardly, Levitical ministry is ministry unto the people, but actually they are helping the people unto the Lord. So it is spiritual.
Do not look down upon all these so-called manual works.
Do not think that when you are ushering people, setting chairs, putting out hymnbooks, visiting brothers and sisters when they are sick, extending hospitality, exhorting, encouraging, and comforting them, that in all these works it is just physical work. Not at all.
There is a spiritual element in it. If you help them to come nearer to the Lord, if you help them to know more of the Lord, if you help them to satisfy the Lord’s heart more, that is the work of the Levites.
A little assistance, if it helps people to offer, is a spiritual ministry.
Thirdly, they are to keep the charge of the sanctuary of the house of God. There is a difference between keeping My charge, as the Lord says—which is given to the priests, the sons of Zadok—and keeping the charge of the sanctuary, the house of God, which is given to the Levites.
What is keeping the charge of the sanctuary? It is to see that the house of God is kept as it should be.
In the house of God, the very nature of the house of God is unity: one body, many members, but one body.
Therefore, what is keeping the charge of the sanctuary? It is that we diligently keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace. That is the responsibility of every brother and sister, every Levite.
What is the charge of the sanctuary? Holiness is the law of the house. We must see that the house of God is kept holy: nothing common, no mixture, nothing of the world, nothing of ourselves or of the flesh. It is holy unto the Lord.
What is keeping the charge of the sanctuary? Love. Love is the atmosphere of the house of God. The house of God is not a court; it is a home.
Unfortunately, we often turn the house of God into a court, and we are all such tremendous lawyers. We are not qualified to be judges, but we are quite qualified to be lawyers.
But remember, to keep the charge of the sanctuary is to see that love brings all God’s people together. Let us love one another as He has loved us.
Do you think it is a small thing to fulfill the functions of ministry unto the house? Can you despise it? Not at all. It is very important.
Do you know what? As you minister to the house of God, unknowingly, you are ministering unto the Lord.
Our Lord Jesus said, “When I was in prison, ye visited Me. When I was naked, ye clothed Me. When I was hungry, ye fed Me. When I was sick, ye took care of Me.”
The sheep said, “Lord, when were You sick that we visited You? When were You hungry that we fed You? We do not remember that we have done anything to You.”
But the Lord said, “If ye did it unto one of these My brethren, even these least, ye did it unto Me.”
Brothers and sisters, even though you are doing this Levitical ministry, if you do it in the right spirit, you are ministering unto the Lord.
I love what Paul says in Ephesians and Colossians concerning bondservants. You have to remember that in Roman times these were slaves, with no rights of their own—forced labor.
Yet when they became Christians, what was the Word of God to them? “Serve your masters as unto the Lord,” because you are not actually serving earthly masters; you are serving the Lord Jesus.
If we can serve in the house of God in the right spirit, brothers and sisters, we are ministering unto the Lord.
Of course, when you go to the New Testament, as we find in Romans, ministry unto the house mainly has two sections.
One is what we would call teaching, exhorting, and prophesying—the ministry of the Word. The other is serving, hospitality, leading, governing, and showing mercy—the ministry of deeds.
So whether it is the ministry of words or the ministry of deeds, let us do them according to the proportion of faith given to us. Let us be occupied with them.
We cannot do everything, but each one of us is given a gift or gifts. With whatever spiritual gift or gifts God has given to us, let us use them to build the body of Christ.
As 1 Peter 4 says, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. Even when you are ministering unto the house of God, God is glorified through Jesus Christ. It is a spiritual ministry.
So I do pray, brothers and sisters, that we maintain a right balance. We give the first priority to ministry unto the Lord, but out of that ministry unto the Lord, let us minister unto the house of God.
In ministering to the house of God, we are ministering unto the Lord. May the Lord have mercy upon us.
From now on, may we all be occupied with this spiritual ministry.
Shall we pray?
Our God and our Father, we do not know what to say. Thou hast saved us and redeemed us by the precious blood of Thy beloved Son. Thou hast called us into a spiritual ministry.
Who are we? We are unworthy, inadequate. We can never do it. But we praise and thank Thee that Thou who hast called us art faithful, and Thou wilt perfect it.
So this morning, we just come humbly before Thee, handing ourselves over to Thee, telling Thee that we do have the desire to minister unto Thee and to minister unto the house of God.
Lord, we pray that Thou wilt look upon our hearts, accept us, and direct us by Thy Spirit. Teach us, discipline us, educate us, lead us, that we may be a people who really minister unto Thee and give Thee satisfaction and joy.
May we be a people who minister unto Thy house, that Thy house may be built, that Thy glory may descend and fill it. Oh, Lord, we worship Thee. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.