Principles of Service

The Lord has been teaching me some precious lessons since I came to serve Him. And I have been sharing some precious principles in service whenever I meet with the Lord's serving ones. Some of these principles are:

1. The Presence of God: The first and formost matter I take care of is "the presence of God." In fact, priest, by definition is, serving ones of the Lord by being in the presence of God. There can be no service to God without being in the presence of God. In the Old Testament, the priest could serve only by being in the temple premise. There was no other place where they could serve. In the New Testament too, without being in the presence of God, we cannot serve God.
2. Prayer and Prayer Life: By being in the presence of God, one is in fellowship with God in prayer. Such a living should be a normal lifestyle of the serving ones. A genuine service always issues from God as the source, with the power of the Holy Spirit as the means, and the glory of God as the goal. For such, prayer and prayer life of the serving ones is a must.
3. The Word of God and the Pursuit of the Truths: In serving, the only thing to serve with is the Lord's speaking, the word of God. Without the word of God, there is nothing one can serve God with. Lest, it will be a mere social work. Therefore, the inevitability of the pursuit and constitution of the word of God.
4. Coordination in the Body: In the Bible, serving as priest is always in the priesthood, the corporate body of priests. No genuine and complete service of God can be accomplished by individuals. There have to be coordination among all. Mutuality and interdependence are needed for serving the Lord. Many servants of God have failed this test, and their service has become divided ministries leading to confusion and division in the Body of Christ. The present state of Christianity is the culprit, and the victim, and the issue of individualistic service.
5. Building up the Body of Christ as the Goal of Every Service: Every service of the Lord has a goal, the building up of the Body of Christ. Any service that does not build up the Body of Christ is not a service of the Lord at all. At best it could be individualistic ministry, and at worst, a social work. The goal of every Christian work must be the building up of the Body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:10-12
He who descended, He is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things. And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers, For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

These are no mere teachings of my own, but I have learned them from the word of God through the ministry literature, and tested them in subjective experiences. Therefore, in all of my services, I look to the Lord for His precious leading in prayer, by being in and exercising to be in His presence, cross-checking and confirming with the word of God, with and in fellowship with the Body of Christ, also with fellow coordinating members, and with a view of the building up of the Body of Christ. The ongoing and all the ministry literature journey that I have undertaken so far were and are in line with the principles of service as learned and documented above.

Lord, grace me serve as You so desires.