There is a beautiful picture of what ministry is all about in Exodus 24. I’m sure that this passage jumped off the pages because the Holy Spirit wanted me to pass it along to others. Verse 12 reads: “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.’”
First of all, the Lord told Moses to come up to Him and be there with Him. There can be no effective ministry of any kind apart from getting alone with the Lord and spending time with Him. Moses was on that mount for 40 days and nights. The length of time really isn’t the issue, but the important thing is spending consistent, quality (focused) time with God.
The word “come” implies a getting away, getting alone. When Jesus invites us to come to Him, included in that invitation is the meaning of ‘come away alone with Me.’ As priests of the living God, we need that intimate, quiet time with our great High Priest. We need to sit before Him and hear His word.
You see, we cannot give away something that we don’t possess ourselves. Paul said that what he delivered to the Corinthians was what he had received from Jesus. The Lord wants to minister His word, grace, love, and strength to us so that we may in turn minister that to others. Fed sheep feed sheep. Peter learned this lesson well and passed it along.
Our priority personally is to grow in a heart knowledge of the Lord which is eternal life. If you love the Lord, you will love His Word because the Word and the Lord are one and the same. People do not need gimmicks or entertainment; they need God’s word, and that was why Moses went up to the mount. He went there to receive the word from God so that he could teach it to God’s people, as God commanded him to do. This is the only way faith comes and saints grow in purity7
I pray that each of us would have a heart like Ezra did! Simply and consistently teach the word. Lovingly teach the word just as God wrote it. There is always a revival when saints draw near to Jesus and give to others what they received from Him. Three things will take place in the sheep – they will be edified, exhorted and comforted, and God indeed will be glorified!
