Ministry Excerpt

LIVING UNDER THE LEADING BY THE SPIRIT

The Lord's leading is not for outward business or activity; it is absolutely for our living. We must live this way. If you pick up this kind of understanding, it will revolutionize your entire life. I don't mean that we shouldn't have any arrangement for our schooling, or any kind of plan for our job, or any kind of plan for our business. But the basic principle is this: all the time we should live under the leading by the Spirit. Our arrangements and our plans must be under the leading by the Spirit because we are persons who are altogether living under the leading by the Spirit. Our goal is not to be famous, and our goal is not to be wealthy. Our goal is just to live Christ for the church as God's eternal purpose. Because we need to live on this earth, we need to have a kind of living. We must have some kind of arrangement and plan for our education, for our children, for our job, and for our business. But we should not have this in a worldly way. We must have our plan and our arrangement and all the parts of our daily life under the leading by the Spirit.

LIVING BY FAITH

The New Testament teaches us that whether we have a job or a business, or whether we receive the highest education or not, we live by faith. It doesn't mean that since you have the best education, you would have a successful business and you would have the best future. Your future eventually is under the hand of the Lord.

I do encourage the young people to get the highest education. But just because you have the highest education does not mean that you will be a successful and prosperous person. A lot of things can happen. Who could have told us that in 1973 there would be an oil embargo which would affect the entire world economy? Who can be sure that he will always be healthy? Our future is altogether in the hands of our Father. We should not forget that we are really different from the unbelievers. We have a heavenly Father who takes care of us. I can testify that for over fifty-six years my heavenly Father has been taking care of me. Whatever I planned eventually became a failure, but still He was taking care of me.

A BASIC DECISION

As the Lord's children, we just have to love Him and to be one with Him. We have to live the Lord Jesus. Also we have to set our heart on the Lord's interest. We have to tell the Lord, “Lord on this entire earth I have no other interest. My unique interest and desire is You. I love You because You love me. I want to live You. I want to live under Your instant and momentary leading.” This is basic. Dear saints, if you don't make such a basic decision you can never have the Lord's leading. You must have such a basic decision. You must tell the Lord, “Lord, thank You, You have chosen me, You have predestinated me, You have called me, You have saved me, You have regenerated me, You have brought me to this day, and You have preserved me. Thank You, Lord, by Your mercy and grace I love You. Besides You I have no interests, no desire. I just want to live You, living under Your momentary leading.” Dear saints, this is more than basic! If you have not made such a basic decision, you don't need to talk about the leading. You are not in the position to have the Lord's leading. You must make such a decision.

DOING YOUR DUTY

After making such a decision then you must simply follow the Lord to do your duty. As a teenager you need to follow the Lord to study under the care of your parents. Spontaneously, the Lord will arrange a school for you, and the parents will do something for you. You just live under the leading of the Lord. Stage after stage the Lord will lead you to get your education. Gradually, in the same way the Lord will lead you to have a marriage. The Lord will lead you to get a job. The Lord will lead you to pick up some experiences in a trade or in a business. All of this is under the Lord's leading.

In your daily living, all these leadings should not be accidents; they should be part of your daily living. Yet, you are not trusting in what you have learned or in what you can do for your living. You put all your trust in the Lord Jesus. Our trust is in our Father's hand. You don't need to be bothered and sidetracked by your living. Today the matter of making a living is a big distraction that carries the Lord's children away from His leading. We must stick ourselves to the Lord's leading. We must take care of the Lord's leading first. Our trust is not in what we do for a living. Our trust is in the hand of our heavenly Father. Then the matter of leading would not be a bothering or a distraction to us. Then you would never choose a job which would give you better pay and yet take so much time away from your seeking after the Lord. You wouldn't care firstly for the better pay. You would care firstly for seeking after the Lord. You would live under the Lord's leading every day.

In such a living you do your duty, yet you do not trust in your duty for your living. That is your duty, but that is not your trust. Your trust is in your heavenly Father. This is the right way. Schooling, job, business, or marriage would not be a distraction to you. You just seek after the Lord and live under His leading. And you just do your duty. Your living, your safety, your future are altogether in His hand. This is the right way. If you live this way, you don't need to seek a certain leading at a certain time for a certain activity. Because you live under His momentary leading, you are clear how you should go all the time.

(Witness Lee, Perfecting Training, Chapter 52)

New Yorker

Ministry Excerpt - Psalms 87

PSALM 87—GOD’S HEART IS SET ON ZION

Now we come to the end of Book III, Psalms 85 to 89. In Psalm 85 the saints ask God for restoration, and in Psalm 86 for salvation; but in Psalm 87 we see that God’s heart is set on Zion, His city, with Christ within it. Zion here refers not only to the house, but to the house with the city. God does not care for restoration as we do; God does not desire salvation as we do. His desire, His heart, is set upon Zion with Christ within it. It is indeed significant that preceding Psalm 87 are Psalms 85 and 86. In Psalm 85 the Psalmist says, “Turn us, O God” (v. 4). According to the original language, this verse should read, “Restore us, O God.” Psalm 85 is a prayer for restoration. In Psalm 86 the Psalmist says, “O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee” (v. 2). Psalm 86 is a prayer for salvation. These are the desires of the saints, but God’s desire is not for these things. His desire is for Zion with His Christ.

"These are the desires of the saints, but God’s desire is not for these things. 

His desire is for Zion with His Christ"

Today we are the same as the Psalmists: we are continually desiring restoration and salvation. God would say to us: “Do not be like that. I am for Zion; I am for the church. If you allow me to have my church, no problem will exist regarding your restoration. If you allow me to have my church, nothing can withhold any kind of deliverance, any kind of salvation.” The church is the real restoration, the real salvation, the real deliverance.

"The gates are the places of coming in and going out:

 this is the communication, the fellowship, among God’s people"

In Psalm 87 we see how Zion is central in God’s heart. Let us look at this Psalm more closely. The first three verses are easy to understand, but the following three verses are more difficult. There are seven verses in this Psalm with two Selahs, one at the end of the first three verses, and the other at the end of the next three verses. “His foundation is in the holy mountains. The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah” (vv. 1-3). Christ is the unique foundation laid by God. No other foundation can any man lay. This Christ, this foundation of God, is in the holy mountains, the local churches. It is there that we have no other foundation but Christ. This is clear. “The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.” In the eyes of God the church is more lovable than anything else. The gates are the places of coming in and going out: this is the communication, the fellowship, among God’s people. 

"He loves the gates of Zion more than all other places."

The most lovely aspect of the local church is the fellowship. It is so good, so pleasant, for the brothers to be always coming and going in fellowship. How blessed to have brothers from one church visiting another, coming and going in sweet harmony and fellowship! This is lovable in the eyes of God. He loves the gates of Zion more than all other places. “Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.” How glorious is the local church!

- Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms, by Witness Lee

Spaghetti Sauce

Malcolm Gladwell writes those books you pick up and don't put down until you've read the whole thing. He's a fantastic writer and storyteller. He understands and communicates the paradigms of sociology in a way that really holds your attention (see, The Tipping Point, Blink, etc). I actually met Gladwell a couple of years ago. By that I mean, he signed my copy of The Tipping Point after speaking at a leadership conference. Anyway, here is Gladwell explaining spaghetti sauce.

map your moves

http://moritz.stefaner.eu/projects/map%20your%20moves/

Easy Listening (pt.2)

Easy Listening

Snippets

Selected excerpts from The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol.60, msg. 26. 


When we sin against God, His feeling is hurt. Yet our feeling is not that strong. When others sin against us, our feelings are hurt, and it is hard for us to let it go. Yet God is love, and love does not seek for its own gain. Although God is hurt, His forgiving grace is unlimited. Peter's question shows that he was seeking for his own gain. He suffered because he was hurt. The price he had to pay for forgiving others was himself, that is, the suffering of being hurt. This is the reason he asked the Lord, "How often shall others sin against me and I forgive them? Up to seven times?" Peter said this to show that he was quite magnanimous. Two or three times would have been enough to him, but he made it seven times. There was, however, something wrong with his basic premise. He thought God's grace is limited. The fact is that God's grace has no bounds; it is unlimited. It follows that the forgiveness which God's children practice should also be unlimited.


It was not a question of seven times, but of seventy times seven. God's love, grace, and forgiveness are unlimited. Humanly speaking, thirty-five times of forgiveness would stretch a person to his limit. Seventy times seven is something beyond the reach of human power. It is too heavy a burden. This shows us that the power to forgive is something beyond man. 



Actually, even if the debtor had sold all that he had, he still would not have been able to repay his debt. A sinner is judged in this world as well as in the eternal age to come. This is what it means to have all of one's possessions sold. In verse 26 the slave pleaded with the master on his knees, saying, "Be patient with me and I will repay you all." It is hard for man to know what grace is and what the gospel is. Man thinks that he may not be able to make it today, but that he will make it some day. He may not be able to fulfill the requirements today, but he will fulfill them some day. He thinks that his motive is good and that he does not have any intention of procrastinating on his repayment. Yet he does not know anything about grace. He pleads with the Lord, not for mercy but for time. He pleads for the Lord's patience but has no thought of His forgiveness.


His shortcoming is that he did not know enough of his sin and indebtedness. He said that he would repay, but the very thought of a repayment is wrong. He forgot that he owed ten thousand talents. He did not see the seriousness of his own sin. This is the reason he was not able to forgive those who owed him. He did not realize his pitiful situation. Therefore, he spoke of repayment. He would not be able to repay within his lifetime. In fact, he would not be able to repay in ten lifetimes. When a man is saved, his feeling for sin is not too acute. He is not clear why he is sinful, and he does not know the depths of his depravity.


What God does in man far exceeds man's requests and prayer. The slave only asked for patience, but the Lord was moved with compassion and forgave him all his debts. The Lord acts according to what He has. He answers our prayer according to what He has. The gospel is God granting salvation to man according to His own pleasure; it is God bestowing His abundant mercy and forgiveness upon the sinner. God acts according to His abounding measure, not according to the sinner's need. 


Peter's word exposed one problem—he did not realize that he had been forgiven. He did not have the feeling of being forgiven. This is the reason he could not forgive. If we are filled with the feeling of being forgiven, we will not say such things as "seven times." Peter's mind was on the number seven. This is the reason the Lord purposely spoke of ten thousand talents and one hundred denarii in verses 24 and 28. The difference between these two is a million times. The Lord seemed to be saying, "God's forgiveness cannot be measured by numbers. If you want numbers, you owe the Lord a million times more than what others owe you." A man who is good at accounting is one who is poor at reckoning grace. A man will not forgive because he does not have a sense of being forgiven; he does not have a feeling that he has been graced.

• "And every priest stands daily, ministering and offering often the same sacrifices, which can never remove sins." - Heb 10:22
• "Having made purification of sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." - Heb. 1:3
• "He has been manifested for the putting away of sin..." - Heb. 9:26
• "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" - Heb. 9:22
• "Precious blood" - 1 Pet. 1:19

Our Forerunner

Hebrews 6:18-20 says that the believers “have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us, which we have as an anchor of the soul, both secure and firm, and entering into that which is within the veil, where the Forerunner, Jesus, is entered for us, become forever a High Priest according to the order of Melchisedec.” The Lord Jesus has entered the heavens as the Holy of Holies within the veil, and with Him is the heavenly haven for our refuge, which we can now enter in our spirit (Heb. 10:19). The anchor signifies that we are on a stormy sea and that without the anchor of hope we may shipwreck (1 Tim. 1:19). The entering is the entering into the heavens, the Holy of Holies within the veil today, where the Lord Jesus entered. Our hope, as a secure and firm anchor, has entered there, and we also may now enter in spirit.

The Lord as the Forerunner took the lead to pass through the stormy sea and enter the heavenly haven to be the High Priest for us according to the order of Melchisedec, the order of the priesthood that is in both humanity and divinity. As the Forerunner He has cut the way into glory.

In order to enter into the Holy of Holies within the veil as our Forerunner, the Lord Jesus fled everything. He fled His mother and His brothers (Matt. 12:46-50), and He fled Judaism, so that He entered “into that which is within the veil,” that is, into the presence of God, where He is now the Forerunner and High Priest to minister to us that we may be brought into glory. He is the Forerunner in glory; He is also the Captain leading us into the very place where He is as the Forerunner.

(Witness Lee, Conclusion of the New Testament, The (Msgs. 021-033), Chapter 9)

The Need of Being Built

Have we been built?

This is the question that was posed by Witness Lee to a gathering of Christians several years ago. Do we realize the significance of building? Such a matter deserves  our attention even more today. This excerpt from The Testimony and Ground of the Church touches a fundamental but often overlooked aspect of our Christian life: the need for our being built together. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have. I can't post the entire chapter, but you can find the book here. More after the jump...