![]() Dear Friend, How are you? In January 2019 when I read the books of the four gospels in the New Testament and listened to David Pawson’s teaching, David said in his teaching on the book of Mark that Mark was mentioned frequently but always as Number Two. The Kingdom of God has a great need of Number Two, as there are plenty of Number One around; but we need faithful Number Two who carries the bags of others. He said Mark was a personal assistant of Barnabas, Paul and later Peter. Soon enough, I also heard a Korean pastor speak about Mark online and say many people want to be Paul and Peter, but not so many people want to become Mark. Later, when I listened to Derek Prince’s teaching, “Women in the Church”, I thought of his first wife, Lydia who went to the Lord, and I also thought of Smith Wigglesworth, a British evangelist. To my recollection, Smith’s wife was a preacher before she got married to him. Smith was a plumber and was not able to read English. After he was baptized in the Holy Spirit, his wife asked him to start to preach instead of her. If my memory serves me right, she taught him how to read. His speech in his early time was not accurate in grammar and so forth, but with the power of the Holy Spirit, he healed the sick, cast out demons and did many miracles including raising the dead. Derek Prince wrote that Lydia, his first wife was twenty-five years older than him and she was a strong woman of faith. In the beginning of their marriage, he was worried as to whether he could be the head of the family, as she had been a strong and outspoken believer many years. Derek met Jesus in person in his twenties before marriage. Yet, she served Derek to become the head of the family as well as the head of the ministry. Now the names of Derek Prince and Smith Wigglesworth are well known, but I don’t think the names of their wives are known as much. I believe they were the faithful Number Two that the Kingdom of God needs. In April 2019, one week before Easter, my church in Seoul observed Passion Week and my pastor encouraged the Church to meditate on Jesus’ sacrifice for us. But I didn’t really think of Jesus especially for the Passion Week, nor intended to observe the Week. I think that we are free from keeping certain regulations including observing the Passion Week and so on. Then, I read the book, “Entering the Presence of God” by Derek Prince again, around Easter. When I first read it in the previous year, I found his explanation illuminated the Tabernacle in the Old Testament to me. Whenever I read the description of the Tabernacle in the Old Testament, I felt it’s a bit boring with too many details. But when he explained it consists of the outer court, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies and they symbolize Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God the Father, respectively, I felt I finally got a grip on it. Then, in my second reading of the book and his sermon on “Jesus is the Way”, the frequently used words “Jesus is the Way” suddenly made more sense to me. He is the only Way to God the Father. But I realized I had been ignoring Jesus and the Holy Spirit recently, to focus on the Holy of Holies, the Throne where God the Father is and where I could meet God the Father. My focus has been on seeing Him face to face in the Holy of Holies, ignoring Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It was just illuminated, and I wept and repented until my bed got wet with my tears. In my heart, I took Jesus and the Holy Spirit as Number Two and ignored them, thinking of the Father only, as Number One, so that I took the Passion Week lightly in my heart. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the same as God the Father, but humbly took the place of Number Two. I wouldn’t forget His precious blood to become the Way to God the Father, taking the lowly seat. And I believe Mark and the wives of His faithful servants understood the everlasting Truth. Dear Friend, Are you willing to serve the Lord behind the scenes or are you only interested in standing in front of the pulpit in church? I’m not saying serving the Lord in worship teams or as preachers is wrong. But I’m saying that we must understand what our Father wants us to be and what our hearts should be. I pray that you and I are conformed to Jesus, willing to take the lowly seat and to serve in Jesus’ name. Have a bliss! Yunee Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Comments are closed.
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