Chapter 7: Ministering in the Tearing Work of the Cross

Bible Reading:   

Matthew 16:21-25

John 12:24; 15:2

II Corinthians 4:7-10

When the epistles in the New Testament mention about matters of serving the Lord, the first main point speaks of our need to minister in the grace of the Lord. If we read the epistles again carefully, we will discover that the word “cross” appears all across the epistles. The second point, therefore, concerns our need to serve the Lord through the tearing work of the cross.

Every time we make mention of the cross, we easily connect our thoughts to the great redeeming love of the Saviour who shed His blood and gave up His life for us. This has always been our usual experience. However, there is a deeper aspect to the cross which involves the tearing down of man’s natural life so that Christ may be ushered in, thus allowing God’s will to be done. Therefore, the cross becomes a very important experience in a Christian’s spiritual life. First of all, we will look at the importance of the cross. Why must Christians experience the cross?

1. Man’s Soul-Life Centers on the “Self” and is in Enmity with Christ

   After the fall of man, the soul takes control of our lives. What the worldly people term as mind (soul) actually coordinates with our body. Because the center of man’s life is his “self”, therefore he is selfish, thinks highly of himself, is self-confident, self-righteous, self-loving, self-pitying, etc. In everything, he cannot get away from his self life. At the same time, this “self” life is in enmity with Christ. If the “self” life is not done away with, you and I will forever become obstacles to God and will, in no way, be able to serve the Lord. Regarding the “self” life, there are at least three manifestations.

   1. Man’s “Self” Loves to be King and Refuses to Let Christ be Enthroned

      Because God created all things, in His eternal plan, He had appointed His Son Jesus Christ to have supremacy in all things and to be the center of the universe. Hence, in God’s eternal plan, no one else can be enthroned. In the whole universe, there is only one throne allowed. Why can’t two thrones exist at the same time in the universe? Because the book of Revelation shows us that after God’s will is finally accomplished, only the Lamb of God will sit at the throne. From here, it clearly tells us that there will only be one throne in the universe. However, after the fall of man, the soul-life wants to occupy the throne and become king. If there are a thousand people, then there will be a thousand thrones. No wonder the universe has become too disorderly. For this reason, God’s method of saving is to use the cross as the solution to tear down man’s thrones. We will first take a look at the condition of man desiring to be prominent as king and thus, not allowing Christ to be enthroned.

      After man’s ancestors have fallen, they turned God’s order upside down. God’s arrangement was for the spirit to control the soul and the body. However, after man had fallen, his “self-life” which is the soul-life, acted out and assumed kingship, thinking how nice it would be if there is no God in the universe, so that he himself may be the king. This is the manifestation of the soul-life.

      When we read the Old Testament Bible, we discover many places where men became king; the most concrete example being the story of the Tower of Babel. During that time, men came together and discussed with one another, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves…” (Genesis 11:4) From this historical fact we see that man wants to be prominent, to take his seat on the throne, to be king, and to rule over everything. This was indeed a great rebellion in the universe.

      Let us take a look at the book of Esther where there was an Agagite named Haman. This man Haman represents the flesh. From Haman we see many sides to the manifestation of the flesh, one of the greatest was requiring men to bow their knees to him. When Haman was informed that all the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down to him except Mordecai who neither knelt down nor paid him honour, (Note: Mordecai was a Jew and apart from God, he will not bow down to any person or any image) Haman was so infuriated that he devised a scheme to kill Mordecai as well as all the Jews in the country. Through this, we clearly see that man’s “self-life” is the spirit of kingship. In order to uphold his “self” in the highest position, he becomes unscrupulous by using foul means. This kind of soul-life that wants to be enthroned is indeed terrifying.

      Although we have believed in the Lord and have been saved by grace, and all of us have entered into the new creation; nevertheless our self life, because of its desire to stand out, still needs to be dealt with by the cross. We can see this condition in the church of Laodicea from the book of Revelation. The word Laodicea means opinions of the common people, which implies democracy. If a church is filled with men’s opinions, viewpoints and suggestions, naturally it has no room to accommodate Christ. As a result, the Lord said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” (Revelation 3:20) When man gets enthroned, all that the Lord Jesus could do is to stand outside the door and knock. No wonder when the Lord Jesus was on earth, He did not evade the Pharisees, but directly reprimanded them for desiring the most important seats in the synagogues and the place of honour at banquets. This tells us that man’s “self-life” loves to occupy the throne.

   2. Men’s Opinions (Ways) Represents the “Self,” Resisting God’s Will

      In the universe, God has His eternal plan. Through the course of time, His will needs to be done on earth. However, because of man’s opinions, ways, and designations that stand in the way of God’s will, they have become obstacles to God, such that God’s will cannot be done.

      We must know that the greatest difficulty in any church ministry is man’s opinions. In the ministry of the church, the most terrible thing that could happen is when man’s opinions emerge. Any church which has the most in terms of man’s opinions will result in the Lord standing outside the door. How do we know that man’s opinions (methods) emerge from the “self” (soul) life? Matthew chapter 16 records that day when the Lord Jesus told His disciples that He was about to go to Jerusalem to suffer many things and that He will be killed and on the third day be raised to life, Peter immediately rebuked Him saying, “Never, Lord!” Hebrews 10:5, 7 records, “When Christ came into the world, He said, ‘God, sacrifices and offerings you did not desire…’ Then I said, ‘Here I am --- it is written about me in the scroll --- I have come to do Your will, O God.’” Here it clearly says that the Lord had been doing the Father’s will all His life. In order to do the will of God, He needed to go to Jerusalem. But Peter rebuked the Lord saying, “Never.” This sincerity expressed by Peter showed his immense consideration. However, the Lord immediately reprimanded him saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

      From here, we repeatedly see that man’s opinions are extremely terrifying. When man’s opinions come out, they stand in contrast to God’s will. When man’s methods come out, they hinder and resist God’s will. Hence, the Lord told the disciples who were following Him that, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself.” Meaning, he must put down his opinions and viewpoints, and deny himself. Because in ministering, man’s good intentions and superior opinions are but hindrances to God’s will.

   3. Man’s Strength Represents the “Self” and Resists God’s Great Power

      Galatians 5:17 says, “For the sinful nature (flesh) desires what is contrary to the Spirit.” God’s plan is carried out through His power (Holy Spirit) in the course of time. However, man, in the natural strength of his flesh, emerges in order to resist it. From here, we could see that the strength of the “self” resists God’s power.

      Let us look at Abraham, the forefather of faith, who was led by God to considerable spirituality. When God’s will was for Christ to be born out of Abraham’s descendants, He promised Abraham a son, Isaac. (Genesis 15:4) However, after a year had passed, even two, until the time he was old, Sarah remained barren. Later when Abraham could wait no longer, he listened to Sarah’s advice and begot Ishmael through her maidservant, Hagar. After this incident, God hid himself from Abraham, because in God’s will, Abraham’s descendants must be born of Sarah. During that time, God had intentionally made Sarah give birth only when she was old and past child-bearing age, in order to show that Isaac was begotten out of promise, and that he was a gift from God. However, Abraham could not wait and he begot Ishmael through Hagar. This is the display of man’s natural strength. As a result, the Arabs who were the descendants of Ishmael, have been in constant enmity with the Israelites up to the present time. The Israelites were subjected to constant harassments by the descendants of Ishmael. This actuality shows us that man’s strength always hinders the power of God.

      In short, man’s soul-life centers on the self and is in enmity with Christ. On one hand, man’s self wants to be king, while on the other hand, man’s will (method) hinders the will of God. Moreover, man’s strength resists God’s mighty power, thereby, intercepting God’s will on earth.

2. The Cross Tears Down the Throne, Methods, and Strength of the “Self”

   As to the difficulties that man had given God, God’s way of salvation is through the tearing work of the cross. Often when we break bread, sing praises, and pray, we only mention the aspects of the great redeeming love and the precious blood on the cross. Seldom in our praises and prayers do we praise the cross of Christ for its work in tearing down our throne, our methods, and our strength. Here it tells us that our knowledge with regards to the tearing work of the cross has lagged very far behind. I hope that through this message, we will be brought one step closer to knowing, as well as experiencing, the tearing work of the cross.

   The cross is a very broad topic. We have seen all too many books authored by Madame Penn Louis, Brother Sparks, Brother Watchmen Nee, etc. Today, we simply cannot use one session to finish discussing this topic. Hence, we will be mentioning only the most central point and how to put it to practical use. Now we shall take a concrete look at the tearing work of the cross.

   1. The Cross Puts an End to “Self” and Ushers in the Reign of Christ

      Just before His very last moment on the cross, Jesus cried, “It is finished.” These words tell us that the cross puts an end to all that is of man. It means that each of us has been crucified with Christ and our “self” has been done with on the cross. However, in terms of subjective experience, the cross has another practical side to it. In terms of objective reality, when Jesus was crucified, we were also crucified with Him. As long as we believe, know, and accept, then not only did the precious blood of Christ cleanse us from our sins; at the same time, the “self” is also crucified with Christ. From now on, we receive the effectiveness of the precious blood and we also experience the “putting to death” by the cross. From the perspective of the practicality of the cross, the Lord will arrange people, events, and things to come our way to cause us to suffer shame, pain, losses, and blows, etc. All these things are to deal with our “self” and to cause us to step down from our thrones. A person who comes under the pressure of another person for a long time will gradually realize that the cross has but one purpose, and that is to tear down the throne of the “self” and to put an end to the self-life, eventually ushering in the reign of Christ. Hence, Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)

      In the Old Testament, Jacob was a typical example of someone who had a lot of methods, someone who was full of schemes, selfish, and crafty. Years later, while in his uncle Laban’s house, he went through twenty years of toil and pain and was completely subjected to long periods of the tearing work of the cross. In the end, he was completely transformed. When he came to Peniel, an angel of the Lord came and touched the socket of his hip, which caused his hip to be wrenched until he became limp. Since then, his name was changed to Israel. “Israel” means prince, which also means to reign. Hallelujah! Through the tearing work of the cross, Jacob finally allowed Christ to be king.

   2. The Cross Puts an End to Men’s Ways and Allows God’s Will to be Done

      We have already shared about Peter. That day, when he gave consideration to man’s suggestions and ways, he refused to let Jesus go up to Jerusalem to suffer many things. After Jesus had rebuked Peter, He said to the disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) Here, it tells us that the Lord taught Peter what denying oneself is about. It is to deny one’s own opinions and ways. This is the significance of carrying the cross. “Carrying the cross” is doing away with man’s ways and putting an end to man’s self. Therefore, whenever man’s ways take center stage in his service to the Lord, subsequently creating conflict of opinions and viewpoints, he must first learn to put down his suggestions, viewpoints, and opinions. Only by denying ourselves and carrying the cross can God’s will be carried out through us.

      From the recordings in the Bible, we repeatedly see that every time Peter was to make an opinion or give a suggestion, the Lord immediately interrupted him. In the four Gospels, there were at least three times that the Lord Jesus wanted Peter to learn to refrain from voicing out any suggestions and opinions. It was not until the Lord Jesus had resurrected and ascended to heaven did He commission Peter.

      True enough, when the day of Pentecost came, Peter and the eleven apostles were all filled with the Holy Spirit. When Peter stood up to preach his message, he mentioned Christ who was crucified. (Acts 2:23-24) He esteemed the cross very highly. No wonder when the Lord was on earth, He personally taught Peter and all the disciples to carry the cross. Even after the Lord had ascended to heaven, He continued to teach them and to reveal to them the significance of the cross. Hence, the day before Peter went to the house of Cornelius to preach the gospel, the Lord made him see a vision. Something was lowered to earth --- it was a large sheet that contained all kinds of four-footed animals as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat.” At that point in time, Peter’s old concepts and viewpoints had remained, that was why he replied, “Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” Immediately a voice from heaven corrected him saying, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” (Acts 10:9-16) Time and again, Peter was corrected through the workings of the cross, and he had experienced the doing away of his own suggestions, methods, subjective opinions, and stubbornness. We are able to see that the cross tears down man’s throne and puts an end to man’s ways. Therefore, we must remember that any person, thing, event, setback, or unpleasant encounter that comes our way are all crosses being put to actual practice, and we should never take them lightly.

   3. The Cross Puts an End to Men’s Ability and Manifests God’s Power

      The fallen man not only delights in being enthroned and giving out opinions, he also relies on his own ability to do things. This natural ability poses a great difficulty in serving the Lord. Hence, I Corinthians 1:18 records, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” This clearly tells us that one great power of the cross is to save us and to put an end to our natural ability. Hence, in ministering, if we do not accept the cross, then there is no way we could serve the Lord.

      Zechariah chapter 4 records that when the prophet saw the vision of a solid gold lampstand with two olive trees by it, he asked the angel what they were. The angel answered, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” (Zechariah 4:3-6)

      The “gold lampstand” represents the church as well as each individual Christian. This lampstand was made of solid gold, meaning it had undergone refining. This refers to the purifying work of the cross; it purifies man from all impurities, and gets rid of his natural ability; thus, making him to be like pure gold. Next comes the hammering stage. This is another step further in accepting the deeper workings of the cross until the gold lampstand is revealed. In terms of experience, we must first accept the purifying work of the cross, next we must go through the deeper workings of the cross so as to put an end to our natural ability, and finally we need a supply of olive oil to shine forth our light. Olive oil represents the Holy Spirit of life.

      Here it also points out the way to serve, which is to accept the purifying, pressing, and dealing of the cross, so that we may be able to serve by the Spirit (power) of the Lord. Only then can we allow God’s power (Spirit) to be projected through us. Thank the Lord that although man’s ability hinders God’s work, but through the cross, the Lord tears down man’s ability so that the great power of God may be manifested.

3. Ministry that Does Not Go Through the Cross is Ministry of the Flesh and Will Not Be Approved by God

   When a person is saved by grace, although he had received in him a life of ministering, nevertheless he still needs to learn to accept the cross, otherwise when ten or twenty years have gone by, just because he did not accept the tearing work of the cross, he will not only pose a great difficulty to the church, at the same time, his ministry will not be approved by God. I hope that through this message the Lord will speak to me, as well as to anyone who cares to listen with all attentiveness. In many instances, whenever the message of the cross is preached in the pulpit, brothers and sisters in the audience tend to pinpoint their judgments on others. “Today, the words from the pulpit are exactly what this brother needs to hear; or, this definitely hits the mark on that sister’s problem; or, Lord, please open his (or her) ears so that the church may be spared from all the troubles he is causing.” Oh! Does one not know that those are precisely the words he himself needs to hear? We hope that the Lord’s mercy may come upon us so that we may humble ourselves and come to seek Him saying, “Lord, have mercy on me. May the words from the pulpit come upon me. In the past, I lacked a great deal of the workings of the cross, yet I hope that through this I may be able to take in your words and experience a spiritual turnaround.”

   How, then, do we know that a ministry that does not accept the cross is a ministry of the flesh? Let us take a look at the Corinthian church that had been fully equipped with eloquence, knowledge, and gifts. Whether in evangelizing, prophesying, performing miracles, or speaking in tongues – clearly the church abounded with every special kind of gifts. Unfortunately, though the gifts were present, the cross was not. Hence Paul said to them, “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly --- mere infants in Christ.” (I Corinthians 3:1) Meaning to say, their spiritual lives were that of infants and were quite immature; besides, their ministries were of the flesh. Therefore, if we do not accept the cross, we will become a church that is of the flesh, and we cannot perform any spiritual service. That was why Paul made a loud appeal to the Corinthian church by emphasizing, “I resolve to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” (I Corinthians 2:2) Furthermore, he mentioned about how terrible the service of the flesh is. I Corinthians 3:12-15 says, “If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”

   “Wood, hay or straw” signifies man’s natural life. It refers to that which is of the flesh. After the fall of man, Genesis 6:3 tells us, “Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal (fleshly)…’” Hence, anything that comes out of man is of the flesh, and is rejected by God. In terms of representation, whatever is of wood, hay or straw will be burned up, which means that ministry that does not go through the cross are activities of the natural man; they are of the flesh and will not be approved by God.

   Ministry that is of the natural life, just like man’s opinions and methods, are not founded on God’s will. Since they do not conform to God’s will, they are all but hindrances, obstacles, and destructions in God’s sight. Hence, the Lord Jesus gave us this warning in Matthew chapter 7, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-32) Here, it clearly tells us that giving your all in ministering, to the extent that one’s body is sweating all over, yet not going through the cross, are merely ministries of the flesh and of man’s nature. God says, “Away from me!” This tells us that God will never give His approval to this. May the Lord be gracious to us, that when we minister in the days to come, we will pay careful attention to the will of God (passing through the cross), so that the Lord will not be faced with any more hindrances.

4. Ministry that Goes Through the Cross is a Spiritual Service and is Approved by God

   Now we will present two kinds of ministries before you, one of which does not go through the cross while the other does. May each of us examine our hearts to determine which of the two our ministry belongs. Does my ministry undergo setbacks, attacks, and difficulties? Under circumstances like these, do I accept the cross repeatedly and continue serving? If somebody criticizes or passes judgment on me, or when opinions differ, do I remain obstinate, insisting on my own opinions and remaining passive, refusing to move forward, and outrightly rejecting the cross?

   How do we know that the ministry God desires are those that have gone through the cross, since this is the only spiritual service that He approves? For this, we would like to give some concrete examples to provide further explanations:

   1. A Living Sacrifice (Accepting the Cross) is What Pleases God

      When Romans 12 mentions about the entire church serving through the use of gifts, the first verse says, “I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” Here, it says that if we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, this is a spiritual act that is pleasing to God.

      What is a living sacrifice? In the Old Testament time, sheep and oxen were offered as sacrifices. This signifies that Christ offered Himself up as a sacrifice to God for His pleasure. In terms of spiritual experience, it implies putting our own selves in the position of the cross. On the other hand, when referring to the physical body, I, as an individual, am still a living being. That is why we call ourselves living sacrifices. This service is pleasing to God, and such service is considered a reasonable act.

      Furthermore, it says that we must exercise our gifts according to the level of our faith. If it is serving, let one serve with all his heart; if it is teaching, let one teach with all his heart; if it is encouraging…..and so on, one ministry after another. However, the first and foremost requirement is to be a living sacrifice. Being a living sacrifice must come first before the exercise of gifts. In other words, ministry that undergoes the dealing of the cross is the order prescribed by God.

      In terms of the Old Testament symbolism, after the judgment of the flood was over and the new heaven and new earth appeared, the first thing Noah did after he came out of the ark was to build an altar and offered sacrifices. The Bible especially records, “The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in His heart, ‘Never again will I curse the ground because of man…’” (Genesis 8:21) From the fact that Noah built an altar and offer sacrifices pleasing to God, we are reminded that we have to first undergo the cross before we can come out to minister. True enough, there is pain in accepting the cross; nevertheless, for every pain that we go through, God is pleased; for every loss that we suffer, God is pleased; for every decrease in our “self-life”, God is pleased. The song goes,

      Thou hast made Thyself more precious

      Than all else to me

      In the place of what Thou takest

      Thou dost give Thyself to me.

   2. In the Second Forty Years of His Life, Moses Experienced the Cross, While in the Third Forty Years, God Commended His Ministry as “Faithful”

      Moses was no exception. During the first forty years of his life in Egypt’s palace, he was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, whether military, politics, economics…...he proved himself to be exemplary in both literature and military skills. He felt that he can now lead and rule over God’s people. Little did he know that when he came out to serve the people, he was met with rejection, and was later forced to flee to the Desert of Midian for forty years.

      Thanks be to God, in the second forty years of his life in the desert, he continually accepted the cross. I believe if someone would ask Moses what he had learned and what he had done during the forty years of his life in the desert, he would certainly say, “I learned one lesson, and it is called the cross.” Oh, during his forty years in the desert, no one remembered him. Gone were his throne, his methods, and his strength… After forty years of dealings by the cross, God’s calling finally came to him. God called him saying, “Moses, Moses, I will send you to Egypt to lead my people out.” Moses said, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? I am slow of speech and tongue.” Forty years ago, he was powerful in speech and action. (Acts 7:22) Now, forty years later, he became slow of speech and tongue. This is the tearing work of the cross, in order to do away with man’s eloquence, knowledge, ability, methods, and strength, prompting Moses to acknowledge that he is naught.

      The cross takes man to the position of nothingness. What is real ministry training? Training is not something that turns you into someone capable of doing all things. How about preaching the gospel? I can do it. Visitation? I can also do it. I can even edify the saints. My Bible reading is full of light. I can preach with style..…all these are simply not. Training is about accepting the work of the cross; just like Moses, who was led by the Lord through the second stage of forty years of his life. He was completely struck down by the Lord, and was made to admit that he was nothing. After Moses went through the work of the cross, God led him through the third forty years, whereby he was sent to lead His people out of Egypt.

      Indeed, Moses went in obedience to the command of the Lord, and led the people to come out of Egypt. Through forty long years in the wilderness, the journey was indeed rough and difficult. How was Moses able to lead the two to three million Israelites? The Bible records the rebellion of the people for ten times. If Moses had not undergone the forty years of life in the Desert of Midian, he might either roll up his sleeves and beat these people up, or he might just walk out and leave them alone. Thank the Lord! Forty years of going through the cross had made Moses fall facedown before the Lord through each adversity. The outcome of such ministering prompted God to commend Moses in Hebrews 3:2 saying, “He was faithful in all God’s house.” May the Lord have mercy on us, so that we may learn to accept the tearing work of the cross each day and allow our ministry to be pleasing to Him.

   3. Aaron’s Budding Staff May Serve

      How, then, can we distinguish and prove that going through the cross is a spiritual service pleasing to the Lord; while not going through the cross is fleshly service and does not favour the Lord? Aaron’s budding staff is the most obvious example.

      When Moses served as leader, his brother Aaron also served with him. During that time, a group of leaders disagreed with them by refusing to accept God’s order of hierarchy among His people. In this regard, the church ought to take special precaution because God has His order of hierarchy in all the affairs of the church. However, a group of leaders who were unsubmissive in their hearts attacked Moses and Aaron saying, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?” All noises imply that they had been fighting for positions. This is often the condition of the present-day churches all around the world. When the days of serving the Lord get longer, then fighting for position, power, and glory may result.

      When that group of people refused to accept the leading of Moses and Aaron, God told Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Place them in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony.” Amazingly, the next day, when Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony, he saw that only Aaron’s staff had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced almonds, while the others were dry.

      By this, God revealed that Aaron’s staff had resurrected and possessed life. The fact that God had vindicated Aaron’s staff proves that Aaron alone may serve, while the remaining eleven staffs represent men’s natural life, which had withered and had become desolate. Nevertheless, only one of the staffs went through one night (the cross), and finally sprouted and blossomed (resurrected). Having God preserve the budded staff of Aaron in the Ark clearly tells us that going through the cross is a spiritual service favoured by God.

5. The Cross Produces a Life of Service and Makes Christ Increase

   Since we cannot serve God with our natural life, how then can a life of service be produced? Thank the Lord, John 12:24 says, “If a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it will produce many seeds.” The Lord Jesus spoke of Himself as a kernel of wheat. Saints are also kernels of wheat. However, if this kernel of wheat does not fall to the ground and die, it remains a single seed. Only when it falls to the ground and dies… which implies going through the cross… can it then produce many seeds, thus imparting life and allowing Christ to increase. Hence, in serving the Lord there is no other way apart from accepting the cross, because true service and true spiritual life are rendered only by way of the cross.

   In terms of experience, how do we allow this kernel of wheat to fall to the ground and, thereby, produce many seeds? Only through accepting the cross and dying to self will Christ be able to fill us. This is the law of life, as well as, God’s way of salvation. Therefore, we must cherish the cross, because the cross not only produces a life of service, at the same time, it allows Christ to increase.

   Early on, we read in John 15:2 which says, “… cuts off every branch… that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit…. prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” Symbolically speaking, each believer is a branch. Whenever we preach the gospel, lead people to salvation, share in meetings, give provisions to people, then we are branches that bear fruit. When branches begin to bear fruit, the Lord will do His work of pruning (the cross) in us, so that we may bear more fruit (produce a life of service and allow Christ to increase).

   Just like grape cultivation that is currently very popular in Taiwan. Not only does the volume of grape production increase each year, the quality of the grapes improves as well. Why is this so? It is because plant specialists continually pay attention to improving its breed and quality year by year. Through continuous corrections and pruning, these plants bear fruits in abundance. From here, we could see that if we do not accept the cross, then we cannot produce a life of ministry. If there is no cross, then there is no way one can minister.

   The Bible tells us that Joseph was a branch that bore many fruits. He went through long periods of experiencing the cross. At home, he was hated and envied upon by his brothers; later in Egypt, he suffered many injustices and adversities. He experienced the cross. In the end, he became the governor, providing food so that all the people in the land may live.

6. Learning to Serve in the Tearing Work of the Cross

   Every time we serve the Lord, we ought to examine our hearts. Have I been torn apart by the cross? One year may have gone by, and am I still unbroken and undisturbed? Two years have gone by, and am I still my old self? Or have I shown great changes? Today, it may be quite easy for us to serve in the Lord’s great love; indeed we need to serve in the great constraining love of the Lord, because love is the motivating power in serving Him. Nevertheless, it is equally important that we accept the pruning and tearing work of the cross so that Christ may increase in us. Therefore, we shall mention three more points to make us learn all the more diligently.

   1. Offer Our Bodies as Living Sacrifices, Fully Exercising Our Gifts

      Romans 12 mentions that when we serve, we must first offer our bodies as living sacrifices. Next, each must perform his respective function and exercise his gift. Therefore, every time we serve, always remember that we are a living sacrifice. Before a bull or a lamb becomes a burnt offering, it has to go through the process of killing, cutting into pieces, and then burning. Killing, cutting, and burning all signify the experiences of the cross. This is like encountering blows, pain, tearing up, losses, difficulty, shame, unfavourable circumstances, etc… yet we are still able to gladly accept them and remain enthusiastic in serving the Lord.

   2. Submit Under God’s Mighty Hand

      I Peter 5:6 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.” If God is gracious to you and me, He will certainly put us in the midst of difficult circumstances that will give us a hard time. During this time, we must rely on the Lord’s grace in order for us to submit ourselves under His mighty hand. Hence, whatever things that come to us are of God’s mighty hand because the Lord has established His throne and His kingdom rules over all. Any person, event, or thing that comes our way has passed through His mighty hand. Therefore, in the midst of adversities, we must not blame anything above or anyone below; instead, we must humble ourselves. This is what is meant by accepting the tearing work of the cross. The hymn says,

      Do you falter then, or, true to death,

      Just die on the cross in the way,

      Till the fulness of life from the Living One

      Is filling you day by day?

      The miracle that involved David killing the giant enemy Goliath is so well-known throughout the world. David did not only accomplish a great deed for the Israelites, his heroic courage has been highly admired and greatly respected by people all through the ages. However, with such a great character as David, we noticed that he too had learned the lessons of the cross in great depth. David was still a young lad when the prophet Samuel anointed him as king. Not only was he kept from reigning immediately as king, he was sent by God to the working field of the cross to enter into a much deeper experience of the cross.

      After David was anointed king, he was antagonized many times by King Saul’s pursuits and attacks; and he lived the life of a wanderer without any permanent place to stay. In this present time of the twentieth century, few people understand the sufferings of a wanderer. Thank the Lord! Yesterday the pumping station of the dams in Baguio City broke down and we were waterless. Brothers and sisters woke up early this morning to find no water coming out of their faucets. At noon, when they turned on the faucet again, there was still no water. Although we did not grumble out loud, yet we were beginning to feel irritated within. Why is there no water yet? We kept waiting until dusk, and still, not a drop came out. Although we did not speak out, but were we not grumbling within? The brothers and sisters from overseas were very polite. When I saw them I asked how they were doing. All of them replied, “We are fine. We are fine.” This is the acceptance of the cross. I hope it is not only in Baguio that we accept the cross, but that all through our lives we may accept the cross. David was assigned to a life of painful wandering. He knew deeply that this was the mighty hand of God. That was why when he wrote Psalm 39:9, he said, “I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for You are the One who has done this.” He neither complained about Saul’s unreasonable treatment against him nor did he resist Saul’s unreasonable intimidation toward him. He kept submitting himself under God’s mighty hand. No wonder he was enthroned as king. For us, although the lesson of the cross is so profound and extremely hard to learn, may the Lord be gracious to us so that we may altogether come to learn of it until we master it.

   3. Ministering by Grace Amidst Difficult Circumstances

      II Corinthians 4 mentions that we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. This “treasure” is Christ Himself. It is the Lord’s power of resurrection. He is the source of our provisions. Therefore, we can rely on this source of grace: though we are hard pressed on every side, we are not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. Meaning, in whatever difficulties we are in, we have already overcome. Because by the grace of the Lord, through every difficult circumstance, we may accept the tearing work of the cross and continue to serve Him. May the Lord lead us and make us minister in the tearing work of the cross, which is pleasing to Him.

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