Winter 1992

Our Devotion to The Lord
Diane Dew
Pinecrest Graduate

"And the Lord said unto Moses,
COME UP TO ME into the mount,
and BE THERE:
and I will give thee ...
that thou mayest teach them."
Exodus 24:12

Whatever our place of service within the Body of Christ, our first responsibility is always to our own relationship with the Lord. For unless we know Him in a living and vital relationship, we will never be able to minister His life to others, in the power of an effective outreach.

"Come up to Me into the mount." This "mount" of which the Scripture speaks is representative of a higher realm in God. It speaks of a place of revelation in the spirit; of a meeting with God. It is also a place of receiving; "and I WILL GIVE THEE."

For what purpose, and to what end? "That thou mayest teach them." Out of his own relationship and meeting with God, Moses would receive the Word of the Lord and then minister to the people of God. First, however, he had to have the experience of a personal meeting with his Creator.

"And MOSES WENT UP UNTO GOD, and the Lord called
unto him out of the mountain ... And the Lord said
unto Moses, GO UNTO THE PEOPLE ... and Moses brought
forth the people out of the camp TO MEET WITH GOD
... AND GOD SPAKE," (Exodus 19:20, 21).

Moses could not "go down" unto the people with the word of the Lord until he had first "come up" and met with God. To presume to do so would have been to go empty-handed, for he was a mere man, and the need was great. However, the man Moses was changed as he stood in the Presence of God; "His face shone". When he returned, the words that he spoke were the very words o God.

The truly spiritual person does not stay within his prayer closet beyond the time he should be there; HE LIVES IN A STATE OF PRAYER! "And the Lord said unto Moses, GO UNTO THE PEOPLE." Moses did not remain on the mountain, wonderful as this experience must have been. There was a purpose in his coming down from the presence of the Lord. He did not keep the revelation to himself, or cling to the experience. Anyone who really knows and loves the Lord will have within him a burden for the lost; for those in need. For, as we spend time with the Lord, ministering unto Him, He will share with us the burdens of His heart, and they will become our concern as well.

"And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom
He would: and they came unto Him. And He ordained twelve,
THAT THEY SHOULD BE WITH HIM, and that He might send them
forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses,
and to cast out devils" Mark 3:13-15.

Before Jesus could "send them forth," they had to "be with Him." So it is with us: we must learn of His ways, seek His Face. Many seek ministry apart from the Lord. A true spiritual ministry is to have its origin in God, finding in Him its life and very sustenance. It is to seek its fulfillment only in His purposes. This is a matter of neither education, nor of personal desire. It is only when we are in union with Him, in tune with His Spirit, that all strivings cease and the work of God begins. God's ways far transcend our own faulty efforts and vain attempts to achieve by human means that which can only be Divinely inspired and achieved.

"Now there were in the Church that was at Antioch
certain prophets and teachers ... AS THEY MINISTERED
TO THE LORD, and fasted, THE HOLY GHOST SAID,
SEPARATE ME Barnabas and Saul FOR THE WORK WHEREUNTO
I HAVE CALLED THEM. And when they had fasted and
prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them
away" Acts 13:1-3.

While we are ministering to the Lord, He is preparing our hearts so He will be able to send us forth to minister to others. Many seek ministry, but the Scriptures exhort us to SEEK GOD. Ministry will follow as a result of our relationship to the Lord. Ministry, as an end in itself, can seem empty and unfulfilling. Only to the extent that we have SOUGHT HIM will we be prepared, and be found having resident within us the answer that will meet the needs of others.

Referring to the "end times," the prophet Daniel declared; "But the people that DO KNOW THEIR GOD shall BE STRONG and DO EXPLOITS. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many" Daniel 11:32b-33a. A more literal rendering of this portion of Scripture would read:

"The people that (1) KNOW their God
shall
(2) BE STRENGTHENED,
and
(3) FUNCTION."

Those who have come up into the mount and met with God, those who have been changed within, and have found Him to be their only Strength, these shall minister His life to others. Their faith shall not be thwarted by the tactics of the evil one, for their strength is in God.

"THEY made me keeper of the vineyards, but mine own vineyard
have I not kept" Song of Songs 1:6c.

It is possible to be so active and outwardly involved in "the work of the Lord" that one neglects his devotional and inner spiritual life altogether. Anyone attempting, in their own strength, to minister the life of God to a dying world without the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit will find that it is, at best, extremely frustrating and unfulfilling.

There is a danger that "the ministry" can become a mere profession or occupation. A recent survey taken in this country revealed that only ten-
percent of the pastors and ministers of the Gospel have a regular time set aside daily for prayer and reading of the Word. No wonder the Church is in such a spiritually depredated condition! Unless we become accustomed to relying upon the strength of God as our very Source of life; when we have spent all our own strength, we will be found empty and ourselves in need.

"And the Apostles gathered themselves together
unto Jesus, and told Him all things, both what
they had done, and what they had taught. And He
said unto them, COME YE YOURSELVES APART into a
desert place, and rest a while: for there were
many coming and going, and THEY HAD NO LEISURE
SO MUCH AS TO EAT. And they departed into a
desert place by ship privately" Mark 6:30-32.

God is not so much concerned with our "doing" (works) as He is with our "becoming." There are many calls to "come" in the Scripture: "Come unto Me all ye that are weary;" "Come and let us go unto the mountain of the Lord;" "Come, let us worship;" and more. There are not nearly as many commands to "Go."

It is true that we are called to "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel." But, how can we preach unless we are sent? And how can we be sent, unless we first "come up into the mount" and receive the Word of the Lord? II Samuel18:19-30 gives the account of a young man's attempt to run without a message. We cannot give what we do not have.

"COME ... and I WILL MAKE YOU TO BECOME fishers of men" Mark 1:17. "Ye shall BE witnesses unto Me," Acts 1:8. The emphasis, as we can see, is not on our doing; nor is it on witnessing or ministry. The emphasis is on what we are BECOMING. This is the result of our "coming aside" into that quiet place and meeting with Him. There, He can change us and prepare us for the task that lies ahead; to more adequately meet the needs of those around us, if we will but yield ourselves to the working of His Spirit within.

"I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and
lifted up, ... Then said I, Woe is me! for I am
undone ... for MINE EYES HAVE SEEN THE KING, the Lord
of Hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me,
having a live coal in his hand, ... And he laid it
upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy
lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin
purged ... Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying,
Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?"

"Then said I, HERE AM I; SEND ME. And he said, go, and tell this people" Isaiah 6:1-9.