THE FORTH PART: THE PATHWAY OF THE LORD’S RECOVERY
God-Ordained Way
Message Seven
Living a Life of Consecration,
Morning Revival, and Shepherding
Scripture Reading: Psa. 110:3; 1 Pet. 1:8; 2:7; Lam. 3:22-23; John 21:15-17; Psa. 23:1-6; Matt. 26:6-13; Psa. 119:147; Acts 20:28
I. Psalm 110 and Psalm 23 reveal how crucial consecration, morning revival, and shepherding are for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose:
A. God’s eternal purpose is His eternal economy, His administrative plan, to distribute Himself into His chosen people to make them the same as He is in life and nature but not in the Godhead for His enlarged and expanded expression—Eph. 3:2, 8-11.
B. “Your people will offer themselves willingly / In the day of Your warfare, / In the splendor of their consecration. / Your young men will be to You / Like the dew from the womb of the dawn”— Psa. 110:3:
1. Although the church has become degraded, throughout the centuries there has been a line of those who have offered themselves willingly to the Lord in the splendor, the beauty, of their consecration; if we offer ourselves willingly to the Lord, we will be beautified with a divine, heavenly splendor—Matt. 26:6-13.
2. Christ also needs us to be the dew from the womb of the dawn for Him to be watered—Psa. 110:3:
a. If we do not rise up early in the morning, we will miss the opportunity to enter into the womb of the morning to be conceived as dew with which to water Christ—v. 3.
b. May we respond to the Lord by saying, “Lord Jesus, I want to be the dew conceived and produced by the womb of the dawn for You to be watered.”—v. 3.
C. Psalms 22-24 are a group of psalms revealing Christ from His crucifixion through His shepherding to His kingdom in the coming age—22:1-21; 23:1-6; 24:7-10:
1. Psalm 22 concerns Christ’s death, His resurrection, and His many brothers produced in His resurrection to form His church—vv. 1-21, 22.
2. Now that the church has been formed, we need to enter into the reality of Psalm 23, which concerns Christ as the Shepherd in His resurrection; this will bring in a new revival that will usher us into the kingdom age—vv. 1-6.
3. Psalm 24 concerns Christ as the coming King in God’s kingdom—vv.7-10.
II. For the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose, we must live a life of consecration by having a change in our concept of value—Matt. 23:16-26; 1 Sam. 16:7; Luke 16:15; 9:54-56; 1 Pet. 3:4:
A. The proper concept of value for the believers can be seen in their estimation and assessment of the following aspects of Christ and His full salvation—Psa. 118:22; 1 Cor. 1:18; Luke 18:26-30:
1. Their valuation of the Lord Jesus—Psa. 118:22; 1 Pet. 2:4, 7.
2. Their valuation of the word of the cross—1 Cor. 1:18.
3. Their valuation of God’s kingdom and righteousness in comparison to a man’s daily necessities—Matt. 6:32-33.
4. Their valuation of the Lord Jesus in comparison to their relatives—10:37-38; Luke 18:26-30.
5. Their valuation of a man’s soul in comparison to the whole world—Matt. 16:26; 4:8-11; Rev. 18:13; 1 Pet. 4:19.
6. Their valuation of their body in comparison to the seriousness and consequence of sin—Matt. 18:8-9.
7. Their valuation of hierarchical position in comparison to being slaves of the Lord and to one another—20:25-27.
8. Their valuation of Christ as the treasure of justice in comparison to earthly treasure—Job 22:23-28; Matt. 12:18-21; Isa. 42:1-4.
9. Their valuation of the enjoyment of sin in comparison to the unseen reward—Heb. 11:24-27.
10. Their valuation of the knowledge of Christ in comparison to all things—Phil. 3:7-8; 1 Pet. 1:8.
B. We need to ask the Lord to grant us the light to have a thorough change in our concept of value so that we will continually choose Christ and all that He is as our super-excelling portion—Mark 9:7-8; 2 Cor. 2:10; 4:7; 1 Pet. 1:8.
C. “If you bring out the precious from the worthless, / You will be as My mouth”—Jer. 15:19; cf. v. 16.
III. For the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose, we must live a life of morning revival—Lam. 3:22-23; Psa. 119:147:
A. Every morning we should allow the Lord Jesus, our Sun, to rise up in us so that we can be renewed—2 Cor. 4:16; Judg. 5:31; Prov. 4:18.
B. “The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it must not go out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall lay the burnt offering in order upon it and shall burn the fat of the peace offerings on it. Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out”—Lev. 6:12-13:
1. The priest’s burning wood on the altar every morning signifies the need of the serving one’s cooperation with God’s desire by adding more fuel to the holy fire to strengthen the burning for the receiving of the burnt offering as God’s food (cf. Rom. 12:11; 2 Tim. 1:6-7); the morning signifies a new start for the burning.
2. The burning of the burnt offering laid a foundation for the sweetness of the peace offering, which indicates that our offering ourselves to God as a continual burnt offering should be laid as a foundation for our sweet fellowship with God, signified by the burning of the fat of the peace offering—Lev. 6:12-13.
3. The burning of both the burnt offering and the peace offering signifies that both our absoluteness for God and our enjoyment of the Triune God should be a matter of burning—vv. 12-13.
C. To have a revival that is renewed daily is to have a transformation that is fresh daily; if we remain in this transformation our whole life, we will grow in the life of the Lord until we are matured—2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 12:2; Heb. 6:1a.
IV. For the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose, we must live a life of being shepherded and of shepherding others according to God—Acts 20:28; Psa. 23:1-6:
A. The Lord has incorporated the apostolic ministry with His heavenly ministry to take care of God’s flock, which is the church, issuing in the Body of Christ—John 21:15-17; Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2.
B. The ascended Christ as Jehovah is our Shepherd in five stages—Psa. 23:1:
1. The enjoyment in the green pastures and at the waters of rest—v. 2.
2. Revival and transformation on the paths of righteousness—v. 3.
3. The experience of the presence of the resurrected pneumatic Christ through the valley of the shadow of death—v. 4.
4. The deeper and higher enjoyment of the resurrected Christ on the battlefield—v. 5.
5. The lifelong enjoyment of the divine goodness and kindness in the house of Jehovah—v. 6.
Ministry Excerpts:
CHRIST’S PEOPLE OFFERING THEMSELVES WILLINGLY
IN THE DAYS OF HIS FORCES IN THE SPLENDOR OF THEIR CONSECRATION
“Your people will offer themselves willingly / In the days of Your forces / In the splendor of their consecration” (v. 3a). Literally, the Hebrew words translated “offer themselves willingly” mean “be freewill offerings.” Instead of the word “forces,” some translations render the Hebrew word as “army” or “war.” These different renderings all indicate that some kind of fighting is raging on. Today is still a time of fighting because Christ still does not have a footstool. Hence, this ministry is engaged in a constant struggle. We stand against and annul every kind of improper ground concerning the church, whether Catholic or Protestant, and this causes opposition and fighting.
In the Eyes of the Lord Our Willing Consecration,
Our Offering Ourselves to Him, Being a Kind of Splendor
In verse 3 we are told that in the day of His forces, or army, Christ’s people will offer themselves willingly “in the splendor of their consecration.” Do you realize that in the eyes of the Lord our willing consecration, our offering ourselves to Him, is a kind of splendor? Although the church has become degraded, throughout the centuries there has been a line of those who have offered themselves willingly to the Lord in the splendor, the beauty, of their consecration. Giving up everything on earth, thousands have offered themselves freely to Christ, and with this offering there was the splendor of consecration. John Nelson Darby was such a person. Darby lived to be eighty-four years of age and, because of his love for Christ, he never married. One day, in his old age, he was staying alone in a hotel and he said, “Lord Jesus, I still love You.” No doubt, Darby was a freewill offering to the Lord in the splendor of consecration.
Christ’s Young Men Being to Him Like the Dew from the Womb of the Morning
“Your young men will be to You / Like the dew from the womb of the morning” (v. 3b). This indicates that, on the one hand, Christ likes to see the splendor of our consecration; on the other hand, He desires the dew that comes from the womb of the morning. Christ enjoys seeing the splendor of those who offer themselves to Him as freewill offerings, but, even more important, He still needs some dew to water Him. Even Christ needs the watering. He needs us to be the dew that waters Him.
According to the poetry here, this dew comes from “the womb of the morning.” We need to enter into this womb to be conceived as the dew with which to water Christ. I believe that this involves the morning watch. If we do not rise up early in the morning, we will miss the opportunity to enter into the womb of the morning to be made dew for Christ’s watering. Instead of being watered, He will be dry and we also will be dry. I hope that we all, especially the young people, will see that here Christ likens Himself to a plant that needs the mild, soft, gentle dew. May we respond to Him by saying, “Lord Jesus, I want to be the dew conceived and produced by the womb of the morning for You to be watered”. (Life Study of Psalms, msg. 38)
A GENUINE BELIEVER HAVING A CHANGE IN HIS CONCEPT OF VALUE
Before a person believes in the Lord, his concept of value is perverted. But once a person is saved, his concept of value changes. He no longer cherishes what he once cherished, and he treasures what he once despised. This is a change in his concept of value. Anyone who has not witnessed such a change in concept is not a genuine Christian.
The Change in Concept of Value in a Believer
The Bible has much to say concerning a change in one’s concept of value. Such passages on this change can shed light to the new believers. These passages show us the proper concept of value for a Christian. Let us consider a few examples to prove our point.
The Valuation of the Lord Jesus
Psalm 118:22 says, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner.” This is a change in valuation. In the eyes of the builders, they rejected what they considered to be a useless stone. In the eyes of the Jewish leaders, Christ was something redundant, and they wanted to get rid of Him. Yet this rejected stone was chosen to be the cornerstone of the newly enacted salvation. A cornerstone must be flat on at least two or three sides. Actually it should be flat on all six sides. God treasured the cornerstone which was rejected by the Jewish builders and used it for the building of His salvation. How different are these two kinds of valuation! We have to bring new believers to such a change in valuation. We have to ask how they viewed Christ before and how they view Christ now. We have to show them that what was once worthless is now priceless. What was once untrustworthy is now trustworthy. Others have rejected Christ, but we treasure Him.
Concerning the Word of the Cross
First Corinthians 1:18 says, “For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” The cross is despised by those who are perishing; it is considered foolishness by them. Yet it is held precious by the saved ones and received by them as the power of God. This speaks of the great change in valuation of the cross, from the time before a person is saved to the time after he is saved. Before a person is saved, he considers the cross useless. After he is saved, he sees it as the power of God, something precious and valuable. Once a person believes in the Lord, his concept of value changes immediately. The salvation of the cross becomes something very precious.
The Contrast between God’s Kingdom and Righteousness
and a Man’s Daily Necessities
Matthew 6:32-33 says, “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Before a person believes in the Lord (this is especially true with poor people), the daily thoughts that plague him are for his daily necessities. Things pertaining to food and clothing are the greatest concerns of the human life. No unbeliever is an exception to this. But as soon as a person believes in the Lord, he turns to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. As believers, we have to realize that nothing in this life is more precious than the kingdom of God. Matthew 13:44 says that the kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure hidden in the field. When a man finds it, he hides it and in his joy sells all that he has to buy that field. This refers to the Lord’s discovering the treasure of the kingdom of the heavens and giving up Himself and all He has to buy the treasure. The Lord considers the kingdom of the heavens as something precious. Yet man does not treasure it. Only a believer with the Lord’s view knows the preciousness of the kingdom of the heavens.
Before a man believes in the Lord, he may not find it too hard to take care of his daily physical needs even though he may be poor. Since his life has nothing to do with the kingdom of God, he can lie or resort to other unrighteous means to meet the needs of his livelihood. After he believes in the Lord, he enters a new realm. If he still lies to secure his daily needs, he may find his job secured, but he will lose the kingdom of God and His righteousness. If he refuses to lie, he may gain God’s kingdom and righteousness at the expense of his job. Which way should he choose? An unbeliever has little scruples about lying because clothing and goods are the most important things to him. But a believer is different. He should first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Under such circumstances the workers should help the new believers in a definite way to make the right choice for that which is truly precious. We have to make it clear to them that food and clothing are for the body, but the body exists for the kingdom of God and His righteousness. As believers, we must first seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness.
Between the Lord and One’s Relatives
Matthew 10:37-38 says, “He who loves father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me; and he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” A father, mother, wife, and children are the most precious things to a man. They are the most important things a man has in this life. When these are not compared with the Lord, there is nothing wrong in loving them. But when a situation arises where we have to choose between the two, which one will we choose? A man always chooses what is more precious to him, but which of the two is more precious? We have to help the brothers and sisters know the real precious thing. We can ask new believers, “Whom will you choose?” If they are not clear about this, they will be lost when they face temptations in the future. The responsibility of providing proper guidance is on our shoulders. We have to tell the new believers, “If, for the Lord’s sake, you have to draw a separation line between yourself and your parents, wife, and children, will you choose Him? For His sake, that is, for the sake of the Lord who died for us, we should choose to be His disciples and follow Him.” Our own kin are precious, but they are no comparison to the Lord. Our Lord is more precious than any of our kin.
Between Man’s Soul and the World
Matthew 16:26 says, “For what shall a man be profited if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul-life?” Here a comparison is made between man’s soul and the whole world. Is the soul more precious or the world more precious? Many people see the preciousness of the world, but they do not see the preciousness of the soul. Today Satan is trying to buy man’s soul, but many people are giving away their soul for free. This is because they do not believe their soul is worth anything. The prodigal son in Luke 15 did not leave his father’s house because of the enticement of a grand feast; he succumbed to mere carob pods. How worthless is the soul in the eyes of an unbeliever! Yet the Lord says that the whole world put together cannot be exchanged for a soul. Satan offered a high price when he took the Lord to a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. In exchange for His worship, the Lord would have been given all these things by Satan. This is the only instance in the Bible where Satan offered a high price for man’s soul. Of course, he did not succeed. Suppose Satan did the same thing again and offered the whole world to any man who would worship him. What would anyone choose? This is altogether a matter of valuation. Should a man give up his soul to gain the world or should he give up the world to gain his soul? Today Satan is not offering to exchange the whole world for our soul. He does not think that our life is worth that much. He is enticing us with small benefits and small gains. Many children of God would lie for the sake of five catties of rice. They would forsake the Lord’s way for just a little gain. This is like Balaam who degraded himself for profit to curse God’s people. We have to show the new ones that honesty is worth more than gold, rice, or the whole world. In order to preserve the purity of our soul, we should be willing to forsake anything. We should teach the new ones properly at the very beginning of their Christian walk. We should help them to have a change in their concept of value. We should bring them to the proper pathway. This is very important, and the responsibility is on us.
Between the Body and Sin
Matthew 18:8-9 says, “If your hand or your foot stumbles you, cut it off and cast it from you; it is better for you to enter into life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. And if your eye stumbles you, pluck it out and cast it from you; it is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to have two eyes and be cast into the Gehenna of fire.” Here we see another contrast in valuation. A man can relinquish the love for the world, but he may not be able to relinquish the love for his body. Job 2:3 and 10 show how Job was able to maintain his integrity when he was first tempted by Satan. When Satan came to him the second time, he attacked Job’s body, and Job began to curse the day he was born. He failed. This shows us that a man loves his body very much. In Matthew 18 the Lord shows us a solution with regard to the body. If preserving the body means preserving sin, we have to realize that it is better to give up the body than to sin. This means it is more serious to stumble than to sacrifice the body. A believer must have a change in his concept of value. He must see the seriousness of stumbling. Before a person believes in the Lord, he can commit many sins and set his eyes on many filthy things. After he believes in the Lord, his hands and eyes must be restricted. He must be shown the grave consequence of sin from the first day. Cutting off the hand and plucking out the eyes are only illustrations. The real significance is that one should sever sin even if this means enduring as much pain as the severing of hands, feet, or eyes. A Christian has to realize the seriousness of sin. He should deal with sin as drastically as severing the parts of his body. This preserves his own sanctity and purity.
Concerning Position
Matthew 20:25-27 says, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you shall be your slave.” The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great exercise authority over them. This is something that is practiced among the unbelievers. Among believers, however, this practice should not be allowed. Whoever wants to become great should be a servant, and whoever wants to be first should be a slave. This is a change in valuation, a change in one’s view concerning position. Before a person believes in the Lord, he has high esteem for rulers, and he considers the great ones the heroes. But after he believes in the Lord, he has to consider a servant as a great one, and a slave as a preeminent one. He should despise the position of lords and masters. We should have a change in our concept of position. We should treasure servants and slaves. The concept of value which the Lord put in us is one which exalts and magnifies those who serve the most. The reason there are squabbles for recognition in the church is that worldly concepts have crept in. If everyone in the church regards servants and slaves as great and noble, many of the problems in the church will go away, and the church will be blessed. This does not mean that we want all the new believers to become servants and slaves, but it does mean that a man’s concept of value must change when he is saved. He must be willing to be a servant and a slave. He has to be shown clearly that only servants and slaves are great and prominent. The central theme of the Christian faith involves a change in valuation. If every new believer can experience this change in concept, the church will have a free way to go on.
Concerning the Value of Justice
Job 22:23-28 says, “If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up./If you put injustice far away from your tents,/And place your gold nuggets in the dust/And your gold of Ophir in the stones of the brooks,/Then the Almighty will be your gold nuggets/And precious silver to you./For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty,/And you will lift up your countenance to God./You will pray to Him, and He will hear you;/And you will repay your vows./You will also decree something, and it will be established for you;/And light will shine on your ways.” Everything from verse 24 on is based on verse 23. The gold nuggets, the gold of Ophir, and the precious silver are all related to the injustice spoken of in verse 23. A man places gold nuggets, the gold of Ophir, and precious silver in the dust and in the stones of the brooks for the sake of dealing with injustice and for the sake of delighting oneself in the Almighty. Here again we have a change in valuation. If we are tested at such a critical juncture, and we are asked to choose between gold nuggets, the gold of Ophir, the precious silver, and Jehovah, which one will we choose? Such a choice will separate those who are God’s from those who are not His. All those who belong to God will surely choose Jehovah as their delight. They will be able to lift up their countenance to God and will be blessed by God in three things. First, their prayers will be heard. Those who prefer gold nuggets, gold of Ophir, and precious silver will find that their prayers are not heard. Second, whatever they decree will be established for them because the Lord Jehovah will delight in their choice and decisions. Third, light will shine on their ways. Every step of their way will be filled with light. This is the result of a change in the concept of value with those who turn to God. Sooner or later we have to help a new believer get out of his old realm; we have to rescue him out of his own concepts. When a situation arises, we have to ask him, “What would you choose?” We have to help him to choose God’s justice and to reject the gold nuggets, the gold of Ophir, and the precious silver. The value of justice is more than any treasure.
Between the Enjoyment of Sin and the Unseen Reward
Hebrews 11:24-26 speaks of a change in concept of enjoyment and suffering. Moses saw the difference. He saw that all the enjoyment of Egypt was but enjoyment of sin. He considered it great riches to suffer together with the people of God. He was well qualified to have the enjoyment of sin because he was the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, the richest and most powerful person on earth. Yet he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, considering the reproach of the Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. He was very clear about this change in valuation. He was willing to suffer all reproaches and hardships because he saw the significance of that unseen, great reward.
Between the Knowledge of Christ and All Things
Philippians 3:7-8 says, “But what things were gains to me, these I have counted as loss on account of Christ. But moreover I also count all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse that I may gain Christ.” Here we see that Paul also had a change in his concept of value. What things were gains to him, these he counted as loss on account of Christ. Why was Paul able to reject the things that were gains to him? He was able to consider them as loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus. He reckoned the Christ whom God had anointed as Lord, as King, and as the most excellent One. For His sake he suffered the loss of all things and counted them as refuse. This is the kind of change in valuation that happens to a Christian.
Bringing Out the Precious from the Worthless to Be God’s Mouth
Finally, we want to conclude with the words of Jeremiah 15:19 which tell us that if we bring out the precious from the worthless, we will be as God’s mouth. If we cannot tell the proper value of things, God will reject us and cast us aside. He requires that we bring out the precious from the worthless so that we can be His mouth. We have to see the importance of such a change in concept of value. May the Lord grant us the light to have a thorough change in our concept of value so that we will know to choose the most excellent portion. (CWWN, vol. 60, “Miscellaneous Records of the Kuling Training (2),” msg. 23)
NEEDING A REVIVAL EVERY MORNING
We can discover one law from man’s physical life. The human body needs a revival every morning. After we rise up in the morning, our whole body needs a revival. We need to wash our face. After that, all our sluggish feeling is washed away. After we wash our face and our mouth, and cleanse our lungs through deep breathing, our whole being is renewed. This proves that every morning the human body needs a renewal. The morning hour flies by quickly. One hour is over in no time. This is why the Word of the Lord says, “Redeeming the time” (Eph. 5:16). The period of time that needs to be redeemed the most is six to seven o’clock in the morning. During this hour, every minute is precious. We have to redeem this time.
Calling on the Lord and Pray-reading His Word Every Morning
When you have thoroughly pray-read the Lord’s word in the morning, during the day this word will speak and work within you, and your spirit will spontaneously be strengthened. In the evening, you will be filled with the Lord’s word, and when you come into the meeting hall, you will spontaneously cry, “Hallelujah! In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” There will be no need for anyone to remind you. You will spontaneously stand up in the meeting to speak. The reason there is nothing to say in the meeting is that there is not enough pray-reading in our daily life. If a saint has pray-read enough, he will surely have a lot to speak when he comes to the meetings, because there is too much to speak about. The twenty-seven books of the New Testament alone provide us with enough to pray-read. If we would call on the Lord and pray-read His word every morning, our whole being will be filled with the Lord’s word spontaneously throughout the day.
Hence, our time in the morning is most precious. It is best for us to spend as little time as possible on other things and to spend this time instead on pray-reading. In order to save time, when I am dressing in the morning, I begin to call on the Lord and pray-read His word. If your wife is not awake yet, you should not shout and cry aloud. You can pray from within. While you are putting on your shirt, you can pray-read the verse you read yesterday: “In the beginning…God… created…the heavens…and the earth.” While you are washing up, you can also pray-read. You can do two things at one time. Perhaps at the beginning you do not feel comfortable doing it. But after a while, you will feel comfortable. If you would spend half an hour or even fifty minutes there praying and reading the Lord’s word, and finally mingling the praying with the reading, your spirit will be enlivened. With such a morning, your whole being will have a revival.
Spending Some Time to Exercise Our Spirit No Matter How Busy We Are
The Christian revival does not occur in the afternoon or at sunset. Rather it occurs in the morning. The Christian life is not a sunset. Rather it is a dawning of the sun. In fact, we ourselves are the sun. Judges 5:31 says, “Let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.” Proverbs 4:18 says, “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” A Christian’s life should be one that follows the moving of the sun. When the sun rises, we should rise with it. We keep rising until the perfect day, which is noon. The Christian life does not have afternoons. Whether we are among the worldly people, or in the church meetings, we should bring the shining light to others. For this reason, it does not matter how busy we are, we have to spend some time to exercise our spirit.
In today’s world, there is no one who is not busy. We have to use our time just as we use our money. There must first be a budget. We have to devote the first part of our time to the Lord. The first thing we do every morning when we rise up is to exercise our spirit, because today the Lord is in our spirit. For us to enjoy the Lord, to receive Him, to gain Him, and to experience Him is altogether a matter of the spirit. If our spirit is not functioning today, our relationship with the Lord is through. For this reason, every morning when we wake up, the first thing we must do is exercise our spirit. We have to call on the Lord. If circumstances permit, we have to take up the Bible and pray-read. If it is inconvenient to do so, we have to pull out some verses from our memory and pray-read with them. Whatever we do, we have to spend some time pray-reading. This way of exercise is like having a thorough bath from inside out in the Lord’s word. It is like taking a spiritual shower; we are washed from head to toe in the Lord’s word, and our whole being is fully refreshed.
Daily Renewal of All the Inward Parts
Paul said in Titus 3 that our salvation today is through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit (v. 5). The salvation here does not refer to salvation from hell. Rather, it is a daily salvation, being delivered daily from all kinds of difficulties, temptations, entanglements, and every weakness, frustration, and lust. We are those that need salvation daily. Every day we need to be saved by the Lord. This salvation is first through the washing of regeneration, and then through the renewing of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a divine person. He washes and renews us with the divine elements. When God comes into us and is mingled with our life, His life in us brings in washing. When we eat, drink, exercise, and bathe in God, our whole being is enlivened.
When the Holy Spirit washes us within, it brings in a renewing. This is the first lesson early in the morning for every Christian. I myself exercise this way. In the morning when I wake up, I do not speak to man first. Rather, I first speak to God. I would not open my mouth to any man before I open my mouth to God. I would say, “O Lord, I love You!” “Lord Jesus, I am coming to You!” Every morning, all I do are these two things: calling on the name of the Lord and pray-reading His word. These two things are the morning exercises for a Christian. If you would exercise yourself in these two things every morning, surely you will be revived. You will become the rising sun, with the shining, dawning light that shines brighter and brighter until the perfect day. Fifty years ago, I read the verse in Judges 5 that says that those who love the Lord are as the sun that goes forth in its might, and I told the Lord, “O God, I love You. May I be as the sun that goes forth in its might before You.” May this verse also become your aspiration and your daily prayer.
I have said all this to show you that we Christians are different from the people in the world. The worldly people at most meditate or contemplate in the morning. But what we are doing is not meditation. We are calling on the Lord and pray-reading His word. This fills us up with the Lord and refreshes us from within. At the same time, when we call on the Lord, the Holy Spirit comes, because today the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit. When we call on the Lord every morning, there is a deep realization within that the Lord Jesus has come. We have really found Him! In the end, our whole person will be changed. This is what is meant by a revival.
This revival is like our daily wash-ups; one does not do it once for all. There must be a daily washing. According to the law of nature, the sun rises once every twenty-four hours. When we move with the sun, we should also have a rising up once every twenty-four hours. Moreover, we have to be as bright as the sun shining in its might. If we are like this spiritually, every day we will surely live a renewed life. In the words of Paul, our inner man will be renewed day by day (2 Cor. 4:16). The inner man signifies our regenerated spirit within. This spirit, together with all the inward parts, is being renewed by the daily metabolism that comes about through the supply of the resurrection life. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 1, “The Organic Practice of the New Way,” msg. 4)
FEEDING HIS LAMBS AND SHEPHERDING HIS SHEEP
When the Lord stayed with His disciples after His resurrection and before His ascension, in one of His appearings, He commissioned Peter to feed His lambs and shepherd His sheep in His absence, while He is in the heavens (John 21:15-17). Shepherding implies feeding, but it includes much more than feeding. To shepherd is to take all-inclusive tender care of the flock.
Incorporating the Apostolic Ministry with Christ’s Heavenly Ministry
This is to incorporate the apostolic ministry with Christ’s heavenly ministry to take care of God’s flock, which is the church that issues in the Body of Christ.
The Words of the Apostle Paul concerning Shepherding
The following words of the apostle Paul confirm this.
In Acts 20:28 Paul told the elders of Ephesus, “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among whom the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers to shepherd the church of God, which He obtained [or, purchased] through His own blood.” Although Paul was on an urgent trip back to Jerusalem, while he was journeying, he sent word for the elders in Ephesus to come to him. Then he gave them a long word recorded in Acts 20.
Paul said that “fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock” (v. 29). The flock is the church.
Paul says in Hebrews 13:20, “God…brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, in the blood of an eternal covenant.” The eternal covenant is the covenant of the new testament to gain a flock, which is the church issuing in the Body and consummating the New Jerusalem. The eternal covenant of God is to consummate the New Jerusalem by the shepherding. God raised up our Lord from the dead to be the great Shepherd to consummate the New Jerusalem according to God’s eternal covenant.
Peter Being So Impressed with the Lord’s Commission
to Feed His Lambs and Shepherd His Sheep
Telling the Believers to Return to Christ
as the Shepherd and Overseer of Their Souls
Peter was so impressed with this commission of the Lord that in his first book he tells the believers that they were like sheep being led astray, but they have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer (Christ) of their souls (2:25). Christ’s shepherding of His flock includes His caring for their outward things and also their inner being, their souls. He takes care of the things concerning their souls by overseeing their souls. Christ indwells us to be our life and everything, but He is also overseeing, observing, the condition and situation of our inner being. He shepherds us by caring for the welfare of our inner being and by exercising His oversight over the condition of our soul, our real person.
Exhorting the Elders to Shepherd the Flock of God
Peter exhorts the elders to shepherd the flock of God among them so that when the Chief Shepherd is manifested, they, the faithful elders, will receive the unfading crown of glory (5:1-4). (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John,” msg. 13)
ENJOYING JEHOVAH AS OUR SHEPHERD
Psalm 23:1 says, “Jehovah is my Shepherd; I will let nothing.” As we pray-read this verse, we do not need to formulate anything in our mind. We only need to pray, “Jehovah is my Shepherd. Praise the Lord that He is my Shepherd. I have Jehovah as my shepherd. Therefore, I will lack nothing.” When we pray with this worse in such a way, it will become new and enjoyable to us. We can pray-read all of Psalm 23 in this way. Although Psalm 23 is a short psalm of six verses, it is full of enjoyment.
A Progressive Christian Life Under the Lord’s Shepherding
Although in one sense we may consider ourselves to be in the church, in the sense of Psalm 23:6, many of us are not in the church practically. We may not able to say, “I will dwell in the house of Jehovah for the length of my days.” On one hand, we need to realize that Christian life under the Lord’s shepherding is progressive. It begins from the green pastures and proceeds to our dwelling in the house of Jehovah for the length of our days. On the other hand, we need to see that according to our experience, the progression in Psalm 23:6 becomes a cycle. We enjoy the Lord as the pasture and the Spirit as the waters of rest, we follow Him on the paths of righteousness, we pass through the valley of the shadow of death, we feast on the Lord in the presence of our adversaries, and eventually we dwell in the house of Jehovah. However, when we are in the house, we enjoy Christ more as the pasture and the Spirit as the water, and then we begin the progression again in a deeper way. As we continue through this cycle, we enter more and more into the house of Jehovah.
Continuing in the Enjoyment of the Lord and Dwelling in His Body
for Our Enjoyment for the Length of Our Days
In 1932 I enter into the house of Jehovah, but from that time there has been a cycle in my experience of enjoying Christ more as the pastures and the waters of rest by entering more deeply into the church. In this sense, our experience of the Lord in His shepherding us into God’s house is a matter of degree. A believer who has been in this progressive cycle for many years will be able to say that he is in the house of Jehovah more today than he was five or ten years earlier. This is the principle in our experience of the Lord’s shepherding in Psalm 23. We need to continue in the enjoyment of the Lord so that we may enter more deeply into the church and dwell in the church for the length of our days. To dwell in the church is to abide in the Lord (John 15:4-5) and to abide in the law is to dwell in His Body. Thus, as we continue in the enjoyment of the Lord, we will dwell in His Body for our enjoyment for the length of our days. (CWWL, 1969, vol. 2: “Practicing the Church Life by Exercising the Spirit”, ch. 8)