THE FOURTH PART: THE PATHWAY OF THE LORD’S RECOVERY
The God-ordained Way
Message Six—The Burning of the Fire of Life
and the Watering of the Water of Life to
Bring In a Vital and Revived Living
Scripture Reading: Gen. 1:26-27; 2:7, 9; Rev. 22:1-2; John 7:38-39; Prov. 4:18; 2 Tim. 2:22
I. The unique purpose of God in the universe is to make man exactly the same as He is; this is the unique subject of the Bible; according to this unique subject, the Bible has a consistent line, which is the line of life—Gen. 1:26-27; John 12:24; Rev. 22:1-2: (Spiritual Reality, msg. 17)
A. The unique purpose of God’s being in us is to work in us to the extent that we would be the same as He is in life, nature, image, and radiance—Gen. 1:26. (Spiritual Reality, msg. 17)
B. The consistent line in the Bible is life; apart from life, there is no other way for God to accomplish this goal of making man the same as He is; only through the way of life can God’s life be wrought into man to operate, transform, and cause a metabolic reaction in man, so that man may be transformed and become the same as God—2 Cor. 3:18: (Spiritual Reality, msg. 17)
1. After God created man, He put man in front of the tree of life; this indicates that God wanted man to be the same as He by means of this life; once the tree of life enters into man, it becomes a river of living water that waters and transforms man and eventually brings forth the gold, pearl and precious stones; this is the story in Genesis 2. (Spiritual Reality, msg. 17)
2. Then in chapter three, before the tree of life could enter into Adam, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil came into him; in this way, the river of water of life disappeared, and what emerged was the sword of fire (3:24); originally, in front of the tree of life was a river of living water, but due to Adam’s fall, something of Satan entered into man, and the river of water of life became a flame. (Spiritual Reality, msg. 17)
C. Ever since that time, this river sometimes appears as a flame and sometimes as water; its condition varies greatly; hence, from the throne of God proceeds a river that is sometimes the water of life that gives life and sometimes a flame that burns and kills—John 7:38-39; Rev. 22:1; 21:6b; Gen. 3:24; Dan. 7:9-10; Luck 12:49:50: (Spiritual Reality, msg. 17)
1. This river is sometimes fire and sometimes water; the water and the fire are one; they are the Spirit of God; this life is water, this life is fire, and this life is also the Holy Spirit. (Spiritual Reality, msg. 17)
2. The fire in Luke 12 is the Lord’s life; John said that the Lord’s life is water, and Luke said that the Lord’s life is fire; they are one life, but sometimes this life is water and other times it is fire. (Spiritual Reality, msg. 17)
3. In the first two chapters of Genesis, before Satan came into the scene, this river was a river of water; then at the end of Revelation, in chapters twenty-one and twenty-two, after Satan is terminated, this river is also a river of water; where Satan is, this life is fire, and where Satan is not, this life is water. (Spiritual Reality, msg. 17)
II. We need experiencing the watering of the water of life and the burning of the fire of life—John 7:38-39; Rev. 22:1; 21:6b; Gen. 3:24; Dan. 7:9-10; Luck 12:49:50: (Spiritual Reality, msg. 17)
A. Water refers to God’s life watering us and transforming us inwardly, and fire refers to God’s life burning, purging, and eliminating everything of Satan in us; these are the two aspects of the function of God’s life in us—Heb. 6:8. (Spiritual Reality, msg. 17)
B. The water of life enters into us and flows God’s nature and content into us; this water supplies us and waters us, flowing God’s riches and content into us—John 7:38-39; Rev. 22:1. (Spiritual Reality, msg. 17)
C. On the other hand, when this flow of life enters into us, it has another function—the function of fire; the fire burns away the world, sin, and the flesh in us, which are of Satan—Mal. 4:1; 2 Thes. 1:6; Heb. 6:8. (Spiritual Reality, msg. 17)
D. When our inner being is pure, and we reject evil and do not mind the flesh, the water flows through us to water and supply us in order that we would be fresh, bright, strong, at peace, and satisfied; however, when the things of Satan—the world, sins, and the flesh—hang on us, the life in us is like fire burning in us. (Spiritual Reality, msg. 17)
E. The burning lamps of fire becoming the flowing rivers of water; at the beginning of Revelation are the seven burning lamps of fire, but at the end of Revelation the lamps of fire are no more; instead, there is a flowing river of water—Rev. 4:5: (The Ultimate Significance of the Golden Lampstand, msg. 6)
1. When we first came into the church, we sensed that there was light here, and we sensed the shining of the light; however, after being in the church for a period of time, we sense that the shining light becomes a burning fire; if we continue to remain in the church and allow this light to shine on us and this fire to burn us, after such constant shining and burning, the fire turns into the water of life flowing in us. (The Ultimate Significance of the Golden Lampstand, msg. 6)
2 It is only when we enter into these subjective experiences that we have first the seven shining lamps, then the seven lamps of fire, and then the lamps of fire becoming a river. There is a river of water of life flowing in us for us to be watered, saturated, and supplied and for us to supply others. (The Ultimate Significance of the Golden Lampstand, msg. 6)
III. We should all have a new beginning before God every morning, a beginning that is different from the past; today is a new revival, and every morning we need to have a revived living—Psa. 119:147-148: (Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 2: Leading the Saints to Practice the New Way Ordained by the Lord, msg. 2)
A. Day by day we need a fresh consecration and a direct touch with the Lord by which we speak to Him and He speaks to us; every morning we should allow the Lord Jesus, our Sun, to rise up in us so that we can be renewed—Lev. 6:12-13; Mal. 4:2; Psa. 119:147-148; Prov. 4:18. (2006 ICSC, msg. 5)
B. We must rise up in the morning to contact the Lord through His Word; in addition, whether we are young or old, we must make a schedule that is according to our environment, family, job, and other factors in our lives; the schedule should include when to go to bed and when to wake up; this will give us a regulated living—Prov. 4:18. (Three Crucial Matters for the Increase and Building Up of the Church, msg. 16)
C. Before getting out of bed, we should call on the Lord; following this, we should read a short portion of the Lord’s Word; we should read at least two verses from the Bible, pray-reading the verses, reading by praying—Prov. 4:18; Eph. 6:17-18. (Three Crucial Matters for the Increase and Building Up of the Church, msg. 15)
IV. We need to flee youthful lusts and pursue Christ in the Body and for the Body with God-given companions, “with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart”—2 Tim. 2:22; Eccl. 4:9-12: (2012 WT, msg. 2)
A. You could contact three persons in the morning; you could contact the same three persons every morning to pray-read with them, fellowship with them, and enjoy Christ with them in a very brief way—Lam. 3:22-23; Psa. 119:117. (Elders’ Training, Book 11: The Eldership and the God-Ordained Way (3), ch. 9)
B. Within three months each person can be contacted at least eighty times; after three months of this kind of consistent contact, these ones can be gained for the Lord’s interest—Eph. 3:18; 2 Tim. 2:22. (Elders’ Training, Book 11: The Eldership and the God-Ordained Way (3), ch. 9)
V. “Today in the church we should have this kind of testimony and this kind of living. Among us we should have not only the lamps shining and the fire burning but also the living water flowing. When fire is needed, there is fire, and when water is needed, there is water, but fire is not the goal; it is the procedure. Water is the goal. The ultimate goal of the church is that people are brought into the flow of the living water.” (The Ultimate Significance of the Golden Lampstand, msg. 6)