Enjoying the Word of God!

Today as we were fellowshipping, a brother asked us to share on our recent enjoyment of the word of God. We might have had a lot of experiences on witnessing patterns, testimonies, observations, and others, but what is the subjective enjoyment of the word of God? In fact, the only thing that builds up the Body of Christ is the word of God.

Acts  20:32 And now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified.

If not for the word of God, our service to the Lord will just be an outward service, doing the formal mundane work for the sake of carrying out our duty without any impact on the lives of the saints for building up of the Body of Christ.

The Lord has been merciful to me and a couple of other brothers with whom I had been coordinating for the ministry literature journey to the hills of Nagaland. I shared my recent experiences and enjoyment of the word of God to all the brothers in the fellowship. As I shared I also enjoyed the Lord’s anointing so much and there was indeed a rich flow of life.

As we began the ministry literature journey on 13^th June 2023, the Lord’s prophetic word for this trip is:

Haggai 1:8 Go up to the mountain and bring wood and build the house, and I will take pleasure in it and will be glorified, says Jehovah. 

We were very clear that we were going up to the mountain, the hills of Nagaland, to distribute the riches of the ministry so that we can also collect the materials for God’s building, the remnants of the Lord whom the Lord has sovereignly prepared for Himself and for His testimony.

On the first day, as we started our journey, our morning enjoyment was from 2 Pet. 1:19.

And we have the prophetic word made more firm, to which you do well to give heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 2 Pet. 1:19

The prophetic word was the commission to go up to the mountain and bring wood for the building up of the house of God. Since then, every day, we had the word of God to lead and direct every step that we took. 

Psa. 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

As such serving ones in the distribution of the ministry of the word, I was very enlightened by the commission the Lord gave to me, “To be a the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his  household to give them food at the proper time.” What I have been doing is not an outward work of “selling, promotion, or marketing” the ministry literature. Perhaps, they may be. businesswise. But as for me, yes, deep within me, I am very clear and convicted that the Lord has commissioned me to accomplish this heavenly task of giving food at the proper time to all His children. These children could be the Christian leaders, pastors, theologians, missionaries, elders, deacons, Executive Secretaries, and Chairmen of all kinds of Christian associations and mission boards. The ministry of the word is spiritual food for all the children of God. The Lord has commissioned me with this task of giving food. And I must be faithful and also be prudent in executing this heavenly commission.

Matthew 24:45-47 Who then is the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his  household to give them food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Truly I say to you that he will set him over all his possessions.

To be such one who gives food, I must be fed and filled with the spiritual food myself first. For this, I must labor on the word of God. I must enjoy the very word that I have been ministering and distributing. In fact, the Lord further revealed that I am indeed a son of oil together with my fellow coworkers in the vineyard.

Zech. 4:12, 14 …What are the two olive branches that are by the side of the two golden spouts, which empty the gold from themselves? ...And he said, These are the two sons of oil, who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

We labor in the vineyard owned by the Lord of the whole earth! So we do so with full freedom and authority. In the New Testament terms, we are ministers of the new covenant, ministers of the Spirit who give life.

2 Cor. 3:6 [God] made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, ministers not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

In all our  journeys, the Lord had marvelously and miraculously prepared angels to lead us practically.

Rev. 22:16 I Jesus have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright morning star.

Step by step, wherever we went, the Lord had His angels prepared to lead and guide us. From district to district amidst the jungle hilly roads, from town to town, from village to village, and even from house to house, the Lord had led us using His angels, people who suddenly appeared to lead us and then disappeared after they led us. We simply worship the Lord and His ways of leading us in a very intimate way.

Psalms 103:7 He made His ways known to Moses; His acts, to the children of Israel.

The word of God can be shared in two aspects. One is out of necessity. As serving ones of the Lord we have to minister the word. But if without the enjoyment of the word of God, all that is ministered will be out of necessity. Nonetheless, the Lord may still anoint and use the word to accomplish His purpose, But the better would be the second aspect. That is, sharing the word of God out of the fullness of the word and  overflowing richly living water. This is the normal and proper way of sharing the word of God.

John 4:14 But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.

John 7:38 He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.

Only by this kind of flowing out the living water, can we genuinely build up the church as such a minister of the word will cause the growth of the saints. So we can echo the apostle Paul in saying:

Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in full knowledge and all discernment.

This is my testimony of enjoying the written word becoming the living word, and the living word becoming the applied word; the enjoyment of the logos becoming rhema! All these are for the ministering of life to people for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

Lord, grace me to enjoy Your word day by day all the days of my life for the building up of your Body!