Motivation of Spiritual Ministry — Stephen Kaung

The Judgment Seat of Christ and the Purpose of Ministry

We will please turn to Second Corinthians, Chapter 5. We'll begin with verse 9. Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, verse 9. Therefore also we are zealous, whether present or absent, to be agreeable to Him.

For we must all be manifested before the judgment seat of the Christ, that each may receive the things done in the body, according to those he has done, whether it be good or evil. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.

But having manifested to God, and I hope also that we have been manifested in your consciences. For we do not again command ourselves to you, but we are giving to your occasion of boast in our behalf, that ye may have such with those boasting in the countenance and not in heart.

For whether we are beside ourselves, it is to God, or are sober, it is for you. For the love of the Christ constrains us, having judged this, that one died for all, and all have died, and he died for all, that they who live should no longer live to themselves, but to him who died for them, and so has been raised.

Maybe we will just read this much. May we look to the Lord in prayer. Our Father, we do praise and thank Thee that we may come together to read Thy Word. Now we just ask that Thou wilt breathe upon Thy Word, and make Thy Word living and operative in our lives.

We do desire that Thy Word shall have its full result in our lives, that Thou mayst have all the praise and glory. In the name of our Lord Jesus, Amen. We have been fellowshipping together on this matter of spiritual ministry.

Imparting Christ Through Spiritual Ministry

We mentioned that the nature of spiritual ministry is to write the letter of Christ. In other words, is to impart Christ. Then we also mentioned about this matter of the secret of spiritual ministry. And the secret is in brokenness.

There is treasure in the earthen vessel. Treasure is being broken. Then the radiancy of the treasure within is manifested. And it is for this reason that you find Paul says, What is bearing in the body?

The dying of Jesus. That the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal bodies and also in other people. In this process of being broken, the outward man is continually consumed, but the inward man is renewed day by day.

Here you find the Apostle Paul touches upon this matter of suffering. Suffering is a mystery. But here you find Paul says, if we suffer for Christ's sake, if we suffer for the sake of the ministry, it is very productive.

Suffering must suffer for the sake of Christ and for the sake of his ministry. Suffering is momentary and light in comparison with the eternal weight of glory that shall be manifested, unseen to appreciate.

If we only see what is visible, we will never appreciate suffering because all we can see is the consuming of the outward man. But if we are able to see the unseen, that is we are able to see our inward man is being renewed day by day, then we know that suffering actually works for us, not against us.

The light and momentary affliction works for us, the eternal weight of glory. But of course as we suffer, we groan in this body. We long that one day we may be enclosed of this earthly tabernacle and be closed with that eternal house out of heaven.

Present Suffering and Preparation for Eternal Service

That is to say, when we are still in this body, we groan under sufferings. We long that we may be delivered out of this mortal body and be closed with that immortal body, resurrection. As long as we are in this body, physically, we are absent from the Lord.

But if we are absent from this body, then we will be present with the Lord. And that is the reason why you will find on the one hand there is always that longing that we may be closed with the eternal house out of heaven, and we will be with Him forever.

And yet, on the other hand, it is in this body that we are able to be trained. We are able to be trained to minister and to serve. It is in this body that we are prepared for our eternal ministry. In eternity to come.

Now if we are careless about our time in this body and learn to minister and to serve, then we miss the opportunity of preparation. So, brothers and sisters, let us remember that even though in this body we groan and we long to be delivered, and yet it is in this body that we learn to minister and to serve as a preparation for eternity.

In eternity we shall all minister unto God. We shall all serve, but the preparation is made today. So let us not miss our opportunity. Now this morning we would like to continue on with spiritual ministry.

The Terror of the Lord as a Motivation for Ministry

The motivation of spiritual ministry. What motivates us to minister? To minister to God. To minister to the body of Christ. And in this chapter you will find Paul mentions two things. Number one, the terror of the Lord.

And number two, the love of Christ. Spiritual ministry is motivated by these two things. The terror of the Lord and the love of Christ. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade man, but have been manifested to God.

In other words, as we minister, minister as unto the Lord. It is not just an outward appearance. Something that is real as before God himself. Why? Because we know that one day we shall all appear at the judgment seat of Christ.

Now probably for some we may have to say a little bit more. You know, we who have believed in the Lord Jesus, whose names are written in the book of life. We who have been saved. We who have received forgiveness and eternal life.

We will not appear before the great white throne to be judged as to whether we shall live or we shall die eternally. In other words, we who have believed in the Lord Jesus, we will not be before the great white throne that one day will set up to judge all the dead.

Why because we who believe in the Lord Jesus have passed out of judgment, out of death into life. Christ has been judged for us. And we shall not be judged at that judicial judgment of the great white throne of God.

But that doesn't mean that we who have believed in the Lord Jesus, we who are God's children, we who are in the family of God, that we shall not be judged at all. Now I hope brothers and sisters you can see this.

The Family Judgment at the Bema Seat

On the one hand, we who believe in the Lord Jesus, judgment has passed over us. Christ is our Passover. We shall not be judged at the great white throne to decide whether we will live or die eternally.

That is already taken care of by the cross of our Lord Jesus. But we who are now in the family of God, we who are now God's children, as well as God's servants, there will still be judgment for us. But this is not the judicial judgment of the great white throne.

It is the family judgment of the judgment seat of Christ. The great difference here is judicial, eternal death or eternal life. But in Greek it is bima. Seat is bima. Now what is a seat of bima? In the orient they have large families, like a clan.

And you know the family ties are very, very close. All the members of the family are responsible for the name of that family. Therefore from time to time, the head of the family will gather all the members of the family in the great room for a family meeting.

And in the great room there will be a lifted floor on one side. And that lifted floor is called bima, seat. And this is the seat where the head of the family will sit. And all the members of the family will be called before him.

None but the members of the family can attend. If you are not a member of the family, you are not able to attend that family conference. Only those members of the family will attend that conference. And at that time, if any member of the family has done something that brings glory to the family, he will be rewarded.

And if any member of the family has done something to disgrace the name of the family, he will be reprimanded and even punished, disciplined. But remember, it is just a family judgment. It is not a judgment of life or death.

It is a judgment of reward or loss. Therefore, you'll find, brothers and sisters, not only our lives after we become children of God must be judged, our works, our service, our ministries must also be judged at the judgment seat of Christ.

One day, all of us shall appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and there we will be judged according to the way we live and according to the way we serve. If we build with gold, silver and precious stones, we shall be rewarded.

If we build with wood, stubble and hay, it shall be burned. We shall suffer loss. But there they saved our lives. How do we live? Both our end, our works, how do we serve? They shall all be examined, scrutinized, judged by our Lord Jesus at the judgment seat, that each may receive the things done in the body according to those he has done, whether it be good or evil.

Serving With Fear, Trembling, and Simplicity

Now because of this, brothers and sisters, in view of the judgment seat of Christ, there is the terror of the Lord. Fear and trembling may be pleasing. It may not be just an eye service, trying to please man, but we may serve with fear and trembling and with simplicity as unto the Lord.

In other words, as we minister with whatever God has given to us, to one another, we are not doing it as just an eye service. We are not doing it with ulterior motives. We are doing it as unto the Lord and for Him to see.

This is the meaning of the terror. It is not the fear of underbondage, under the Old Covenant. You know, under the Old Covenant, people are in constant fear. Why? Because if they do not keep the commandments, then they are cursed.

Therefore, they fear and tremble under bondage. There is the terror of the Lord, which belongs to the New Covenant and not the Old Covenant. In other words, we are in fear and trembling, but not as slaves under compulsory service.

We are in fear and trembling because we love Him. We want to please Him. We are in fear and trembling, lest in any way we may displease Him. So, our service is a service of love. It is just like in Deuteronomy, Chapter 15, you will find, if a man is poor, a Hebrew man is poor, a woman, and he sold himself to another Hebrew, he shall serve him to be for six years.

And during the six years, he was under compulsory service, because he was bought with a price. But if during the six years, a relationship began to build up between the master and the slave, and at the end of six years, that he could go out free, and not only go out free, but his master has to give him things.

But he came to the master and said, I love the master. I love your family. I do not want to go out free. I want to serve you for life. And this man will be taken, or woman, will be taken to the door post, and will have the ear pierced.

And after his ear is pierced, he becomes a slave of love for life. And the service from here on is different. It is no longer as a slave in bondage, but it is a slave in love. It is no longer compulsory service, it is love.

The Will of God From the Heart

Brothers and sisters, we who are children of God, we are also God's born slaves. In simplicity, that we may not displease Him. On the contrary, we may please Him. You know, according to flesh, with fear and trembling, in simplicity of your heart as to the Christ.

Not with eye service as man pleasers, but as born men of Christ. The will of God from the soul, serving with good will as to the Lord, and not to man. Knowing that whatever good each shall do, this he shall receive of the Lord, whether born or free.

We are love slaves of Christ. Therefore we shall serve Him with fear and trembling, in simplicity of heart. There is no ulterior motive. We just love Him, and therefore we want to serve Him. And how do we serve?

Not with eye service as man pleasers. Not for man to see, but to serve as from our heart. And what is our service? To do the will of God from the soul. Do the will of God from the soul, that is to say, from our heart.

We do the will of God willingly and heartily, serving with good will, cheerfully, to the Lord. And if we serve in this manner, we shall receive our reward. And this is the terror of the Lord. So brothers and sisters, as we minister to one another unto the Lord, we shall always have the light of the judgment seat of Christ in view.

As if today, the light of that judgment seat is already shone upon us. To manifest whether it is pleasing to God, or whether it is not. We shall always have that light before us. I remember George Whitefield said, when he preached the gospel, you know George Whitefield was a great evangelist, he said every time he preached the gospel, he preached with eternity in view.

In other words, he was not doing it just for that moment. He was doing it with eternity in view. What will eternity judge? What will eternity tell? He is not just for immediate result, success, but he preached with eternity in mind.

What will eternity tell? Will these souls be in eternity, in light manner, as we minister Christ to one another? Brothers and sisters, we shall always have the judgment seat of Christ in view. What if today, your ministry is examined by the light of the judgment seat of Christ?

Will it be burn up, or will it be manifested and rewarded? So this should be one motivation of spiritual service. Whether you are ministering the word of God, whether you are sharing Christ with other people, whether you are praying for souls, whether you are helping people with their problems, or whether you are just doing some physical work, arranging chairs, tables, or whether you are cooking, or in the kitchen, or you are taking care of your children, or your family, or whether you are working in the office.

Brothers and sisters, when we are doing all these things, we are ministering unto the Lord, as unto the Lord. And when we are doing these things, have the light of the judgment seat of Christ before you.

Peace with the judgment seat of Christ before you. And if you have that before you, the terror of the Lord is there. Why? Because you are zealous. The word zealous there, in the original means you are ambitious.

Holy Ambition to Please God

You know sometimes people say, can we Christian have ambition? People say, well, after a person becomes a Christian, then he is no good, because he does not have any ambition anymore. You know, people in this world are ambitious.

They want to get higher and higher, more and more. But we Christians, after we believe in the Lord Jesus, we are so satisfied with the Lord, that people say, well, you have no ambition anymore, you are finished.

Oh, brothers and sisters, no. Christians are the most ambitious people in the whole world. Why? Because our ambition is much higher than the ambition that anybody else can have in this world. What they are ambitious for?

Maybe they want to be the President of the United States. Or they maybe want to be the world ruler. They want the whole world. That is their ambition. And you may not get it. But the ambition of a Christian is that we may please God.

By life or by death. That we may please Him. Brothers and sisters, is there a higher ambition than this one? Because if we are ambitious to please Him, you know, it is for eternity, not for time. And He will never pass away, because we are ambitious.

That we may please Him. Therefore, the terror of the Lord is with us. Lest, lest we do something that is not up to His light. So this is the first thing. And the second thing is, we are motivated in our spiritual ministry by the love of Christ.

The Love of Christ as the Second Motivation

No, the terror of the Lord and the love of Christ are not contradictory. They are complementary. If you love a person so much, on the one hand, perfect love casts out fear. The fear there is fear to be punished.

If you love a person so much, there is a holy fear in you. And the holy fear is, you are afraid, lest you displease Him. So you find the terror of the Lord and the love of Christ are complementary. They are not contradictory.

In spiritual ministry, it is not motivated by duty alone. If we are only motivated by duty, we become professionals. In spiritual ministry, we must be motivated by love. By love. Don't be a professional.

Be an amateur, all your life. We must be motivated by love. The love of Christ constrains us. Therefore, love is the foundation. You remember, in John chapter 21, when our Lord Jesus was going to commit to Peter a ministry.

He was going to tell Peter that he was of his flock. He shepherded his sheep and feed. The Lord was going to commit a ministry to Peter, that he might serve God's flock. Whether they are lambs, little sheep, need to be fed.

Or they are grown up sheep to be shepherded. Or they may be sick sheep that need to be fed too. But you find that the Lord was going to commit to Peter the care of his flock. And when the Lord was going to commit to Peter this ministry, all that the Lord asked him was one thing.

Do you love me? The Lord did not ask how capable you are. The Lord just asked, do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me more than these things? Do you love me? Love is the motivation of ministry.

If you love the Lord, you will love his flock. If you love the Lord, you will love his church. If you love the Lord, you will serve the body of Christ. Now it is true, our love probably is just an emotion.

Because our love is just an emotion, it changes. It is easily exhausted. Peter, do you love me? And the word that the Lord used is agape. Do you love me with the love of God? With that pure, selfless, absolute love of God?

Do you love me with that kind of love? Peter had learned his lesson. He knew how undependable was his own love, which was just an emotion. It fluctuated. It was exhausted. So he said, Lord, you know. You know.

You know I am attached. I cannot say I love you with that absolute love. But, oh, if only your love would draw me, I am attached to you. I am willing to follow you. And the Lord said, feed. Do you love me more than these things?

The fire? The fish? The loaf? The companions? Do you love me more than these things? And Peter dare not say that he loved the Lord with that absolute love. He said, Lord, you know. If your love would draw me, I am attached to you.

I am willing. And the Lord said, shepherd. And the third time, the Lord said, do you love me? The Lord did not use that word agape. The Lord used Peter's word, feel. Are you attached to me? Really attached to me?

And Peter was grieved in his heart because he could not rise above himself. He could only say, Lord, you know. You know I am attached to you. Brothers and sisters, we do not have that love. The love of God is too emotional, too changeable, too easily exhausted.

Oh, if only we realize that we don't. But he has. He will shed his love abroad in our heart by his Spirit. The love of Christ. Use his love to draw us. And as his love constrains us, then brothers and sisters, we know that we cannot live for ourselves.

We must live for him. How many of us are still living for ourselves? We are constrained by the love of Christ. He died for all, that all may die. And he lives, that we may live for him and not for ourselves anymore.

And this includes our ministry. If we really live for him, then we live for his people. If we really love him, then we love the body of Christ. So brothers and sisters, our ministry has to be motivated by the love of Christ.

Love Expressed Through Humble Service

It is because of Christ's love in us that we minister. If we put it in a negative sense, oftentimes we fail to minister. We feel we refuse to minister. There is love, there will be ministry. You remember on the last day, before our Lord was betrayed, there he met with his disciples in that upper room for the Passover feast.

And there was no one to wash one another's feet. Because this was such a lowly service. It was a service of a slave girl. And therefore you'll find none of the disciples felt that they could do it. It would be below their dignity to do it.

And nobody would do it. And our Lord Jesus, he loved his own to the uttermost. And because he loved his own to the uttermost, even though he knew he was their Lord, and yet he took off his clothes, girded himself with a towel, poured the water in the basin, and he washed his disciples.

And the Lord said, as I have done to you, do to one another. Love one another as I have loved you. Brothers and sisters, oftentimes we refuse to minister to one another. It is because there is no love there.

If there is love, we are willing to go to the very end. We are willing to minister in the lowest fashion. Love is willing to take the lowest place. If it will help our brothers and sisters to be refreshed in the Lord.

Love is the motivation. Love is not only the motivation, but love is also the way to serve. If we want to minister to one another, we must minister in love. You know, 1 Corinthians chapter 12 shows us that in the body of Christ, there are many members.

And to each member, gift or gifts are being given. That these members may minister to one another for the building up of the body of Christ. Then in 1 Corinthians chapter 14, you find the body in function.

When the brethren gather together, some may have a song, some may have an interpretation of tongues, some may have this and some may have that. In other words, as the body gathers together, then everyone will bring in what God has given to each.

There will be that pouring forth, that functioning together of all the gifts and grace that God has given to the body. This is body ministry. But in order that this body ministry may be edifying, may really be building up, in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, you'll find that chapter on love.

There is that more excellent way. In other words, God has given each gift or gifts. God has given each grace, that is life. And if you have life, if you have gift, there is a ministry for you to minister to the body of Christ.

But as you minister, remember, the way to minister is love. If there is no love, when you minister, it is like clanging cymbals, the body of Christ. Now look at the Corinthian church. They have all these gifts, and they are so anxious to manifest their gifts, and the result was, it was just chaotic.

Chaotic. Why? They are building themselves. They are not building the body of Christ. There is no love there. But if there is love, if we minister in love, brothers and sisters, there is reality there.

Then you'll find Christ is being imparted, and the body of Christ will be built up. Even when sometimes you have to give a word of warning, or even you have to share a word of blame, of reproach. If it is in love, there is power, there is authority.

Bringing the Judgment Seat and Love Together in Ministry

So brothers and sisters, as we think of the motivations of spiritual ministry, we have to remember these two things. The terror of the Lord, and the love. If we always have the judgment seat of Christ before us, trembling in us, lest we serve in our natural strength, with our human wisdom, or for our own glory, lest we just do it as eye service, to please man.

Brothers and sisters, if we have the terror of the Lord waiting us, it will keep us from doing something that is just superficial. That our ministry may be real as unto God. And yet at the same time, it shall always be motivated by love.

Never just by duty, by love. Love of Christ constrains us, therefore we love the brethren, and we love to serve them, even to wash one another's feet. But as we wash, remember, wash it with love. So I remember one sister once said, when you wash your brothers and sisters' feet, do not wash them in icy water, or in boiling water.

You know, if you do not love them, you give them icy water, boiling water. You do more damage than help. If you love them, you will wash them with such love that they will be built up. And these are the motivations of spiritual ministry.

So may the Lord help us. Our Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee because Thou has put us in the body of Christ. Not just as a member, but Thou has called us to fulfill the body ministry. That we may build up one another in love.

That the body of Christ may be matured and hasten to return of the bridegroom. Oh, our Father, we do ask Thee that we may be people who are not just passive, but we may have that ambition. We pray, O Lord, that as we learn to minister to one another, that we may always be under the light of the judgment seat of Christ.

And we may always be motivated, constrained by the love of Christ. Oh, deliver us from just eye service. Deliver us from just out of duty. We want our whole life and our whole ministry be acceptable in the name of our Lord Jesus.

Amen.