FROM THE BOOKSHELF:
THE MINISTRY THAT PROSPERS
“As the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall proper in the things whereto I send it”, Isa 1: 10,11.
What are the characteristics of this ministry that is divinely prosperous both in itself and in its effects? It is a present ministry, for it “cometh down”. It is not a ministry which has come down and the gain of which still abides: nor is it a ministry still in perspective and which will meet future requirements. It is a present ministry, sufficient for present need, ministering the One it comes from, who is equal to all the exigencies of the moment. It is a ministry coming from Him who is as surely the same to-day as He was yesterday and must be for ever.
Consequently it is a heavenly ministry, it “cometh down from heaven”. It ministers a heavenly Christ to a heavenly people here that a heavenly testimony may be maintained on earth for God. It does not attempt to patch up the old garment, nor to fill the old bottles (see Matt. 9: 16,17). It is not from man nor according to man, nor does it please men (see Gal. 1). It is an entirely new vesture. It clothes the saints with the true Joseph’s coat of many colours – the moral qualities of Him who is “holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and become higher than the heavens”.
Consequently it is characterised by divine charity and purity, which need a corresponding state of soul to apprehend and appreciate it. It is likened to the rain which cometh down, and the snow from heaven. What is clearer than the raindrop or purer than the snowflake? How gently they fall! The rain and the snow descend in particles. “Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little”. That is the way of divine ministry. “My doctrine shall drop as the rain”, yet the drops must blend and effect much. “The storehouses of the snow” (Job 38: 22 New Trans), are at the disposal of God’s ministers, and they can never be exhausted. This is the ministry that prospers, “giving seed to the sower”, because it is productive of its own kind; and “bread to the eater” – strengthening and satisfying.
“So shall my word be”, says the ever blessed God, “that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall do that which I please, and it shall accomplish (or make to prosper) that for which I send it” (New Trans). It is fraught with divine prosperity, pleasure and purpose. These things identify it!
Lord, continue such a ministry to Thy dear people. Amen
S.J.B.Carter
Words of Grace and Comfort
Vol. II 1926 p. 25,26