Bible Reading:  Numbers 13:1~2; 14:29~30; 16:1~3, 31~32, 41~42, 48~49; 17:6~8     Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt and through the great and awesome wilderness. They experienced a total of twenty-four stations before finally arriving at the beautiful Promised Land of Canaan. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 particularly tells us that their failure serves as a warning and instruction for us, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. These twenty-four stations represent twenty-four experiences of Christians. When these twenty-four experiences are presented before us, the goal is to let us examine and test to see on which station our experience lies. I strongly believe that some, who thought that they had believed in Jesus before, have been reading the Bible and praying, will discover that they actually are still at Rameses and have not even started on their journey. Others, who thought that they follow the Holy Spirit, and also serve and love the Lord according to the Bible, will find out today that they are still going round and round the wilderness, wasting their lives. Thus, we will use the messages in these eight meetings to list out the major spiritual experiences in the life of Christians. This will allow those among us who are still in Rameses of Egypt, or Christians who are circling in the wilderness to be awakened, make a new start, face and march fearlessly onward to the destination, the land of Canaan.  We will now speak about the experience of Kadesh. XVI.  Not allowed to enter Canaan (Num 13:1~14:38)—Establishing Christ’s spirit of faith  [Kadesh] After the congregation of Israel left Egypt, it would only take them eleven days to go from Horeb (Mt. Sinai) to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road. (Deuteronomy 1:2). However, because of their repeated failures in Kadesh, the Lord did not allow them to enter Canaan. Consequently, the adults of that generation spent almost thirty-eight years wandering in the wilderness in vain. With the exception of those who were twenty years of age and below, the rest of the people died in the wilderness. The Scriptures particularly recorded that incidence of failure to instruct us, upon whom the ends of the ages have come (I Corinthians 10:1~11) (Hebrews 3:17~19). Of all the men in that generation who came up from Egypt, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive to lead the succeeding generation into Canaan. I deeply desire that this message would remind us spiritually so that we will not become Christians who fall in the wilderness. The whole assembly did not believe in the promise of God We have already mentioned that the people of Israel came to Kadesh.  Kadesh is located at the border of Canaan; hence, it would be very easy to enter Canaan from there.  So when they arrived at the border of Canaan, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel, from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them." And according to the command of the Lord, Moses chose a man from every tribe as a representative.  Thereupon, Moses said to them, "Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; whether the land is [d]rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land."  The twelve spies went as they were instructed. After forty days, they returned from spying out the land. They went to Moses and to Aaron, and to the whole assembly of the children of Israel; and brought back word to them, and to the whole assembly; and showed them the fruit of the land.  And they told Moses, and said, "We went to the land where you sent us. It truly [g]flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large…”  And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it." But the men that went up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than us. The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants; and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."  Upon hearing the evil report, the whole assembly lost their faith and lifted up their voice and cried.  And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “Let us select a leader, and return to Egypt.” Then Moses and Aaron fell upon their faces before the whole congregation of the assembly of the children of Israel. Joshua and Caleb bravely stepped out and rent their garments. They spoke to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, saying, "The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.." But the whole assembly did not believe in God’s promise and they stoned the two with stones. God did not allow them to enter Canaan The glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the children of Israel.  And the Lord said to Moses, "How long will these people reject[d] Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them? … all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice... they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it."  (Numbers 14:23) In the past, the Lord had been lenient toward the people of Israel and forgave them several times.  But why is it that this time He said with certainty that they would not be allowed to enter Canaan? It is because they had committed the sin of unbelief. True, doing evil is definitely a sin, but the greatest sin in God’s sight is unbelief. This is just like a person who, despite doing good works, is still a candidate for hell because he does not believe in God. In other words, even if you are the chief of all sinners, you are still qualified to enter heaven because of faith. Because of God’s mercy which prepared for us so rich a salvation, we do not need to strive. All is but grace. The just shall enter the gate by faith.  By faith, the just enter straight into the fullness of Christ. It is from faith to faith, starting with faith and ending with faith. The night before the children of Israel left Egypt, they slew the lamb at Rameses by faith.  By faith, they took some of the blood and put it on the doorposts and the lintel of the houses; they observed the Feast of Passover by faith. Likewise, they crossed the Red Sea by faith.  If they did not hold fast to their faith at that time, they certainly would have thought, “When we reach the midst of the sea and the sea water rolls back, will we not be buried there?” However, since they had the faith that came from the experience of their first-born being spared from death at Passover, they held fast to that faith and boldly crossed the Red Sea.   It was a pity that when they reached Kadesh, the border of Canaan, and with just a short distance from Canaan, they lost their faith.  Because of their unbelief, the Lord could not work anymore. God purges the spirit of unbelief From this historical fact, we can see that salvation is received through faith.  The work of God is accomplished through man’s faith. The greatest thing that we can do for the Lord in our whole life is just to believe. No wonder when Lord Jesus was here on earth, the multitude asked Him, “What should we do that we may work the works of God?”   “Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”  (John 6:28)  Therefore, God has a very serious work, that is, to purge all the unbelief of man. There is unbelief in the nature that we inherited from Adam. There is no faith in our nature.  It is the enlightening and moving of the Holy Spirit that causes our hearts to turn to Christ, to know that He is the Savior, and to comprehend that Jesus is the Son of God.  At that moment, the revelation of God’s Son enters you and me. When Christ comes in, faith also enters.  This is also what made the apostle Paul say, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."  (Galatians 2:20)  This means that in our whole life, it is the faith of the Lord Jesus that makes us keep on walking the path of the wilderness.  As the hymn goes: I know not how this saving faith to me He did impart; or how believing in His word wrought peace within my heart. If we talk about ourselves, we have no faith at all from head to foot.  That is why in the path of following the Lord, our faith is shaky and unstable.  Hence, God does the refining work in you and me (the people of Israel) in order to eliminate the unbelief in our nature. God’s first step was:  "Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land, those very men who brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the Lord. But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land."  (Numbers 14:36~38) Furthermore, all that were numbered, from twenty years old and upwards, their carcasses would fall in the wilderness.  Thirdly, the rest of them would wander in the wilderness for forty years.  ‘Forty’ signifies undergoing trial.  God uses these three things to purge the spirit of unbelief in the Israelites, and eliminate their evil heart of unbelief.  On the other hand, God established the faith of Christ in their midst at Kadesh once again.  He established Christ’s spirit of faith. Caleb upheld his faith and entered Canaan Starting from Hazeroth, God’s work was concentrated on building up the inner spirit of man in order that the chosen people He redeemed could enter spiritual abundance.  But to enter a deeper spiritual experience, one must profoundly deal with the problem of the spirit When we mention about establishing the spirit of faith, we will cite Caleb as an example.  Because the Bible particularly recorded that "My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it."  (Numbers 14:24)  Caleb had ‘different spirit’ in him; that is, the spirit of faith. He was different from the rest. This spirit is also the Holy Spirit and comes from Christ. There was faith in this spirit that made him consistently and persistently follow the Lord to the end. This "followed the Lord fully" is faith. Experience-wise, the day when we came under grace and were born again, we were smeared with the blood of the Lamb and we ate the flesh of the lamb. This signifies that we have the life of God’s Son within us; it is also then that we obtained faith.  Therefore, Hebrews 3:14 tells us, "For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end." Establishing Christ’s spirit of faith Caleb symbolizes God’s work in us.  Today, God continues to work in you and me in order that we may also have a different spirit.  Brothers and sisters, Satan has a sinister work among the disciples, and it is the most malicious trap, that is, making Christians lose their faith.  Never take faith as a very simple matter.  Remember what Jesus told Peter? "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."  (Luke 22:31~32) True enough, not long after this incident, Peter denied Jesus thrice before the maidens.  Peter failed tremendously, and he completely lost his faith.  Later, after he repented with sorrow, his faith was again totally restored.  When he wrote the epistles in his old age, Peter said, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world."  (1 Peter 5:8~9) This means that we must have a steadfast faith, so as to complete our walk in the spiritual path. I deeply hope that our faith is anchored in Christ.  Let Christ establish the spirit of faith in us. The ten spies, together with the people of Israel, hadpersonally witnessed the many evident miracles of God in the wilderness.  Why is it that their faith was lost so soon?  Was it not because they looked at the difficulties and dangers in Canaan? The moment our eyes are not fixed upon the beauty, goodness, and expanse of Canaan, faith will be gone.  Consequently, Hebrews 12:2 says, "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.."   This means that we must fix our eyes on the Lord in following the Lord’s way.  Then, not only will our faith be strengthened and established, it will also grow. XVII.  The destruction of the tribe of Korah  (Num 16:1~40) — Establishing Christ’s spirit of submission [Kadesh] Not long after God punished the ten spies who brought bad news and destroyed them with plague, the incident of the tribe of Korah followed.  When the assembly heard that the Lord would not allow them to enter Canaan, Numbers 16:1~3 state, "Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown. They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, 'You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?'" The tribe of Korah rebelled Korah was no ordinary man.  His life was particularly described in detail in the Bible.  He took the lead in assembling the people. Those who followed him include the Reubenites Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and On, the son of Peleth.  He also led two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, men of renown. Together, they assembled against Moses and Aaron.  With a domineering tone, they told Moses and Aaron, “All the congregation is holy, every one of them…Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” Apparently, they are pointing out that we are all Levites. The violent and intimidating manner of their conspiracy indicated that they rejected the leadership of Moses and Aaron.  This is the rebellious spirit. When the rebellious spirit sprouted among Israel, it was a serious matter.  Before, the people grumbled against Moses because of lack of water. It was due to difficulty of subsistence. The Lord could understand and forgive this. But now they wanted to overthrow the authority established by God. This is rebellion. They banded together to smite the leaders appointed by God. This indicated a struggle for power.  The power struggle ruined the order in God’s house. This incident was a rebellion and God definitely would not allow it. The rebellious spirit is a distinctive characteristic of Satan The origin of the devil was the beautiful archangel, Lucifer.  He led many followers and originally occupied a noble position. One day, he wanted to exalt his throne and be equal with the Most High.  He wanted to overthrow the sole glorious position of the Son of God and be the head himself. He said in his heart, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God." This implied that he wanted to be equal with the Most High. This was the first rebellion in the universe.  When God saw this, He immediately judged, punished, and changed the archangel into satan. Those that followed the archangel in rebellion all became devils.  From this, we can see how serious God’s judgment is towards rebellion. Similarly, the history of mankind is that of rebellion.  The devil could not take it when it saw man’s forefather Adam obey God.  So he hid behind the serpent to tempt Eve, and enticed her by telling her, “If you eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, your eyes will be opened, and you will be as God, knowing good and evil.”  By this, he caused our forefather to doubt God’s love and made them think that God did not want them to have wisdom like Him.  Hence, they transgressed against God’s commandment and ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Adam’s desire to gain wisdom showed that he wanted to be independent from God.  This is rebellion.  Therefore, Romans 5:19 says, "For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners..."  Since God definitely would not allow the existence of a rebellious spirit, He drove them out of the Garden of Eden immediately. God purges the rebellious spirit  God will not allow the rebellious spirit to exist, so He must purge the rebellious spirit.  When Korah, Dathan, and Abiram banded together to rebel against Moses and Aaron, the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, "Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Depart now from the tents of these wicked men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins."  And they got away from round the tents of Koran, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little children. And Moses said, "By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will. If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are visited by the common fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord."  And it came to pass when he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them. The earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that belonged to Korah, and all their property; …and the earth covered them and they perished from among the congregation. (Numbers 16:20~33)  This incident points out that God judges a rebellious spirit. This is said to be the most severe judgment of God in the history of mankind.  God can tolerate murder or arson, but He cannot condone rebellion because it is a serious offense. Since the sin of rebellion aims to overthrow the power of God’s throne and destroy His administration; therefore, God must judge severely.  It is also written in the Bible, "And a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense."  (Numbers 16:35) Thus, all the rebellious spirits were purged. From this, we can see that God does not allow even a tiny bit of rebellious spirit to remain in the church. Caleb and Joshua had the spirit of submission On the other hand, the Lord also wanted to establish Christ’s spirit of submission among God’s people. The spirit of submission must fill the church. Christ’s spirit of submission has to be in every saint.  During that generation, only Caleb and Joshua were totally submissive.  Together with the ten spies and the whole congregation, they passed through the Feast of the Passover, crossed the Red Sea, and traversed the wilderness.  They had the same encounters as the congregation for forty years; yet, the two continuously trusted and obeyed. The Scripture specifically records that the Lord told Moses and Aaron that "Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in." (Numbers 14:30)  This means that only the two could enter the beautiful land of Canaan.  Spiritually, it means that the reason why they could attain Christ’s fullness was because of the spirit of submission. Establishing Christ’s spirit of submission In the church today, God likewise wants to establish Christ’s spirit of submission in our midst.  When the Lord Jesus came from heaven to earth (Word became flesh), He was always obedient to God the Father.  For thirty-three and a half years, not once did He argue with God the Father.  From His birth in a manger, He stood in His position as a man. He kept on emptying Himself, humbling Himself, and becoming obedient even unto His death on the cross.  Philippians 2:5 tells us, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”   This means that Christ is the example and model of obedience.  When Christ wants to fill us, He must first refine us and abolish every rebellious spirit. Then He can establish the spirit of submission in you and me.  The lesson of submission is very deep.  Hence, the experience on the way to Kadesh grows deeper and deeper.  Although submission is truly hard to learn, yet it is God’s appointment. It is His leading.  Our responsibility is to learn; God’s responsibility is to establish. Once there was a young man who went for a job interview in a company. The owner of the company saw that this young man was greatly talented and was honest and kind.  So he hired him on the spot and told him to report for work the following day. The next day, the young man reported to work on time. The boss gave him a job and that was to move a pile of bricks from the back of the company building to the front.  He followed orders and transferred the bricks from morning until sunset and left only after the work was done. The next day, he reported for work. The boss told him to transfer the bricks from the front of the company building to the back. He again obeyed the boss. From morning until dusk, he transferred the bricks and then left his working place. The boss was very pleased. The third day was no different.  For a week, he was moving the bricks back and forth. He obeyed his boss’s desire, without asking for any reason. This young man was an intellectual and it was but reasonable for him to ask for the purpose in moving the bricks. However, he never did. Obedience does not ask for a reason. After a week, the owner of the company promoted him and assigned him to be the manager of a major decision-making department in sales. He represented his boss in deciding the sales price. The boss promoted him to a position of power and responsibility.  This is a true story. Today, the Lord also wants us to keep learning the lesson of obedience. Therefore, Peter told us that we must humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. (1 Peter 5:6), knowing that every incident that happens to you and me has the permission of God the Father. May the Lord be gracious to us.May God establish Christ’s spirit of submission in you and me so that we would become a submissive church. David was a great king of Israel.  Before he was enthroned, he learned the lesson of obedience over a long period of time. In his youth, he was anointed king by the prophet Samuel, but he did not immediately become king. From the time of his anointing, he was constantly persecuted and pursued by Saul.  Many times, Saul repaid his kindness with wickedness for no reason at all. Yet, David never grumbled against the Lord’s anointed. Because David was humble and obeyed, God exalted him to be the great king of Israel, for God had already established Christ’s spirit of submission in him. XVIII.  Plague befell the assembly  (Num 16:41~50)—Establishing Christ’s spirit of gentleness [Kadesh] Right after the tragedy where the band of Korah went down alive into pit, the whole assembly of the children of Israel murmured on the morrow against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” Now it happened, when the confregation had gathered together against Moses and Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of meeting, and suddenly, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. (Numbers 16:41~42) The congregation stubborn and angered This historical fact makes us see that when the congregation of Israel saw the destruction of the band of Koran, they did not take it as a warning. On the contrary, they were hardened and angered.  A hardened spirit makes a person disobey. God purges the stubborn spirit And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” Because the wrath has gone out from the Lord and the plague has begun in the assembly. The Bible especially recorded, "Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the Korah incident."  (Numbers 16:49) From the death of fourteen thousand seven hundred stubborn people in the plague, it is not difficult for us to comprehend that God judges a hardened spirit. When we follow the Lord, a hardened spirit will hinder us from entering into Christ’s abundance. Therefore, obstinate people will suffer much loss; stubborn Christians will not grow. Stubbornness means rejecting the cross.  Hence, God must sternly judge the stubborn spirit in man. In the past, the whole assembly of Israel brought in the plague and died because their hearts were hardened. This clearly shows that God purges the hardened spirit. Establishing Christ’s spirit of gentleness At that time, when the tribe of Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On, together with the two hundred and fifty leaders of the children of Israel, gathered to contend against Moses and Aaron, the Scripture says, “When Moses heard it, he fell on his face.”  (Numbers 16:4)  Through this, we can see that Moses had already established Christ’s spirit of gentleness before God. Moses’ spirit was gentle First it was when Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, the Bible says, "Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth." (Numbers 12:3) Later, it was when the people of Israel saw the band of Korah consumed, but were still hardened and murmured against Moses and Aaron. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Get you up from the midst of this assembly, and I will consume them in a moment.”  The Bible again records,  "And they fell on their faces. So Moses said to Aaron, 'Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them'...Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded,....and already the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped."  (Numbers 16:44~48) This historical fact plainly shows us that after leading a shepherd life for forty years in Midian, the stubborn Moses who had once been educated in all the learning of the Egyptians was not only purged of his hardened spirit.  At the same time, he was also trained by God. Christ’s spirit of gentleness was established in him. As a result, not only was the presence of the Spirit of God explicitly with him, Christ’s spirit of gentleness was also established within him. He possessed such humility and lived in peace with others. He gently accepted the unreasonable maltreatment of others. He would rather die that other people might be saved. The Lord Jesus is the Spirit of gentleness Once, when the Lord Jesus was on earth, He brought the disciples up the mountain. His disciples came to Him.  And opening His mouth He began to teach them, saying, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."  (Matthew 5:5) This means that only a meek spirit can make our life grow and inherit Christ’s fullness. One time, the Lord’s servant Brother Spark went to Taiwan.  The fellow-workers gathered together and asked him, “We want our spiritual lives to grow. What is the secret to attaining the abundant life?” He smiled in reply, “You have to ask the Lord to grant you a meek spirit.” Oh! These were the words from the experience of a spiritual person.  Only the meek people can inherit the land of Canaan. Matthew was one of the twelve apostles called and appointed by the Lord Jesus.  He followed the Lord for three and a half years and was deeply drawn to the ‘meekness’ of Christ.  So, in Matthew 11:29, he did not forget the words spoken by Jesus that day when He was with them, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart..."  These words were not recorded in the other gospel books. What then is the meaning of ‘meekness’?  ‘Meekness’ means gentle and soft in spirit. When unreasonably treated or grieved by others, there is no resistance in the spirit but rather silent endurance. The Apostle Peter is no exception. When writing the epistle in his old age, he particularly recorded the Lord Jesus’ meek state on the cross, saying, "Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;"  (1 Peter 2:22~23) XIX.  The budded rod  (Numbers 17:1~11) — Knowing the body of Christ [Kadesh] It is written in Numbers chapter 17: And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the children of Israel, and get from them a rod from each father’s house, all their leaders according to their fathers’ houses—twelve rods. Write each man’s name on his rod. And you shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi. For there shall be one rod for the head of each father’s house. Then you shall place them in the tabernacle of meeting before the Testimony, where I meet with you. And it shall be that the rod of the man whom I choose will blossom; thus I will rid Myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, which they make against you.” (verses 1~5) Therod of Aaron budded Moses then followed what the Lord said. He took one rod for each prince according to their fathers’ houses, a total of twelve rods, and the rod of Aaron was among them.  He laid the rods before the Lord in the tent of the testimony. The following day, Moses went into the tent of the testimony and "behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds."  (Numbers 17:8)  And the Lord said to Moses, "Bring Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die." Only the rod of Aaron budded and brought forth buds, bloomed blossoms, and ripened almonds.  In other words, the rest of the staves withered and became lifeless. In the north, whenever it snows in winter, the trees wither and decay until the snow melts in springtime. Then the trees will put forth buds and leaves and bear fruits.  The rod of Aaron budded, bloomed, and bore almonds after one night. This refers to the authority of a resurrected life. ‘Budded’ denotes the resurrected life and ‘rod’ symbolizes authority.  Therefore, the budding of Aaron’s rod refers to the authority of a resurrected life. There is the authority of life in the church Experience-wise, starting from Rameses, a Christian experiences the pillars of fire and cloud, manna, and living water from the rock. He also passes through the refining work of God in many aspects. His spirit had been trained to be upright.  He believed, was obedient, and had become meek… After all these multi-faceted spiritual learning, his spiritual life is already rather rich and experienced. At this time, their authority of life can be seen explicitly in the church. Christians whose spiritual lives are advanced, matured, and experienced show forth the authority of life and are naturally revered. In the family, parents rear and educate the children. During their childhood, the children oftentimes either quarrel or fight when they are together. Gradually, they grow up and rarely quarrel anymore. In fact, when the younger brother or sister is insulted or oppressed by others, the elder one will automatically step forward to protect the younger one, thus they begin to care for each other. After age twenty, they would naturally have mutual respect for one another and would treat each other courteously.  When the whole family gathers for a meal, the children will sit in order and address the elder ones—eldest brother, eldest sister, second brother, second sister—with respect. The older they grow, the more explicit the order becomes. ‘The budded rod of Aaron’ demonstrates that God’s children must obey the order established by God.  The order in God’s house is manifested from the authority of life. Since authority is based on life, the life of Christ in us, therefore he who has a greater portion of Christ’s life within is spiritually more mature and naturally possesses more spiritual authority.  Knowing the body of Christ There is also order in God’s house.  As a person walks the path of wilderness, the more he loves and pursues the Lord, and the more he is dealt with, the more his life will grow into fullness.  Naturally, he will be a spiritual elder. It is just like the appearance of Aaron’s rod which is a manifestation of the authority of life in the church.  It is at this time that we come to know what is called the body of Christ and what is called the house of God. When the saints walk in the pathway of life, they journey from Rameses, pass the Red Sea, and walk through the wilderness. They walk a fairly long way, station after station.  After the in-depth work of the cross, their lives grow, mature, and gradually show forth the authority of life. Then, the order of life is established in the church, and the body of Christ is lived out. Each member of the body, in his own post, works together with the others. There is the order of the authority of life, and the body of Christ is manifested. Before, there was no relation whatsoever between God’s house and me. When I heard that the church is the body of Christ, I seem to comprehend, but in reality, I do not. However, when the authority of life exists in the church—who are the parents, who are the elder brothers and sisters, who are the younger brothers and sisters would naturally be manifested in an orderly manner. The church is the body of Christ, not an organization in the society. When the lives of the saints grow, spiritual order will naturally be manifested.  There is no need for strife. When the rod of Aaron budded, it was clear that the authority of life was in him.  The other tribes could not compare with him.  In the church, who the elder is will naturally be manifested.  When the body of Christ appears, we will find out that I am but one small finger of the body; he is the shoulder; you are the foot; and another one is the mouth. However, such manifestation will not be seen when the saints in the church are still immature. We are walking the pathway of spiritual life, establishing the body of Christ, and building the house of God. Our goal is to reach the fullness of Christ. Any church that does not have Christ’s fullness as its goal is but a religious group organized according to man’s will.  May the Lord be gracious and merciful unto us. May He grant us the spirit of wisdom and revelation that we may truly see what is the magnificent plan of God.  Christ is the centrality and universality of God’s great plan, so that the church would be filled with Christ, spiritual lives would grow, and the body of Christ would be manifested. <-- Back to "The Spiritual Journey Next Chapter -->

Bible Reading: Numbers 10:33~11:3~6, 31~34; 12:1~15; 2 Corinthians 4:10~12; 1 Corinthians 2:12; Luke 9:51~56     We have already mentioned that the people of Israel started out from Rameses, passed through Pi-hahiroth, crossed the Red Sea, and proceeded to Marah, Elim, and the wilderness of Sin. Then they reached Rephidim and were blocked by the Amalekites. This illustrates that when we move toward Christ’s abundance, the flesh, as symbolized by the Amalekites, will come out to hinder us. However, Moses and Joshua led us, signifying that Christ had become our victorious life. Thus, we can overcome the Amalekites until we come to Mount Sinai. This explains that in the matter of service, the Lord will certainly lead us into experiencing Christ as our victorious life. From here, we start to learn how to serve the Lord.  Upon reaching Mount Sinai, first it was the handing down of the Ten Commandments, depicting that the flesh is powerless and we must depend on Christ to serve.  Spiritually, this means that only Christ is the power for service.  Following that, the Lord told Moses to make the tent of meeting according to the pattern shown on the mountain. This tells us that Christ is the means of service.  In other words, the revealed Christ is the vision in service. XIII.  Fire consumed all the complaints (Numbers 10:33~11:3)—The trial and refining of the cross of Christ [Taberah] The people of Israel journeyed from Mount Sinai to Taberah, and further into Kibroth-hattaavah, gradually journeying to Hazeroth. These three places depict three spiritual experiences. What happened in ‘Taberah’?  The people encountered difficulties along the way and grumbled. Thus the Lord consumed them with fire. Spiritually, this refers to the trial and refining of the cross. True enough, we now have Christ as our life, yet there are still much complexities and carnality inside you and me. How can we enter the fullness of Christ in this desolate state? It is through the trial and refining of the cross that deals with the corrupt flesh and lets Christ increase in us, until the whole church is filled with Christ and ultimately reach His fullness. The fullness of Christ refers to His boundless riches. When all the Christians throughout the ages and in all places have cumulatively experienced the fullness of Christ, it is also the time when the church attains maturity, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. In other words, the fullness of Christ does not only refer to the individual life reaching the measure of the fullness of Christ. It also refers to the church as a whole (all the saints). When the church becomes a full-grown man and attains to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, then this is called the fullness of Christ. The eternal and great plan of God is the centrality and universality of Christ. His magnificent plan is not a piece of work but a Man. This Man is the extended Christ.  His head is in heaven but His body is on earth. This is a mysterious Man. This mysterious Man refers to all the saints united into one body with Christ. This is being filled with Christ. Everything is Christ, and Christ is the head.  Therefore, to achieve this eternal plan of God, the process of ‘entering into the fullness of Christ’ requires a person to have quite an abundant spiritual experience. The three days’ journey was difficult Numbers 10:33 says, "So they departed from the mountain of the Lord on a journey of three days; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them for the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them."  This implied that they had met difficulties along the way. ‘Three’ is the number for God, meaning that God measures out or allows difficulties to come upon Christians. Psalm 103:19 says, "The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all."  This means that no matter when and where, whatever adversity we encounter in our surroundings, it is out of God’s arrangement. The people grumbled with evil words Next, Numbers 11:1 states, "Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord"  In the wilderness, it was only either desert or thorns everywhere.  From one place to another, there was no site of comfort. From one moment to the next, there was no instance of rest. Furthermore, the adversity was greater than the previous one. Therefore, the people started to fret and uttered evil words in complaint. They did not realize that this matter seriously offended God and hurt His heart. Experience-wise, this incident also shows that adversity exposes the ugliness of man’s nature and the corruptness of his flesh.  This is because the corruptness of man’s flesh is hidden, isn’t it so?  We always feel that we are better than others.  When we see a certain brother weak and failing, or a certain sister backsliding, we condemn them and even despise or abhor them.  Who would have thought that the flesh hidden in you and me is far more corrupt than that in them?  Maybe their corruptness is five points on the scale but ours is ten points.  Nevertheless, it is not very easy to know our own nature.  That is why God has to arrange the circumstances to expose the truly abominable and shameful side of our flesh.  He also reveals the corruptness of our flesh through all the difficulties. The consuming fire called ‘Taberah’ — The trial and refining of the cross When the evil words of the people of Israel reached the ears of the Lord, the Scripture immediately records: "The Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp."  (Numbers 11:1)  Here, the flesh is exposed so that we may see that the flesh is extremely corrupt and detestable.  The flesh of man does not know how to obey God; it only knows how to resist and oppose God. So, the murmuring of the people of Israel reached the ears of the Lord, and He allowed fire to burn among the Israelites.  Then the people cried to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire abated.  It is specifically recorded in the Bible, "So he called the name of the place Taberah, because the fire of the Lord had burned among them."  (Numbers 11:3) Literally, ‘Taberah’ means burning. Spiritually, it refers to the trial and refining of the cross. ‘Murmuring’ is not only a product of the corrupt flesh; at the same time, it is also an indication that man will not accept God’s arrangement of his circumstances.  The fire burned and consumed all the complaints. This signifies that God is displeased when man does not accept His leading and His arrangement. Therefore, God uses the trial and refining of the cross (suffering that is like burning in the fire) to purify man’s corrupt flesh. The three-fold meaning of the cross We will look further into the meaning of the trial and refining of the cross.  Thus, we will discuss the three-fold meaning of the cross in order to understand why we must accept the trial and refining of the cross. Objective fact (Romans 6:6) — Dying with Christ When the Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross in Golgotha, He not only bored the sin of the entire human race, He also crucified our old man with Him on the cross.  This is the great salvation of the cross of Christ, and it is a fact which had already been accomplished.  Therefore, Romans 6:6 tells us, "knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." Nearly ten years ago, there was a baptismal service in the church in Manila. That day, sixty-nine people were baptized. On Tuesday, I attended the prayer meeting and an elderly sister praised in a loud voice, saying “Oh Lord!  I praise and thank you… that there were seventy people who were baptized this time…” I was very surprised when I heard that.  It had been announced on the pulpit that there were sixty-nine people.  Well, maybe the sister was elderly and heard it wrong.  After the meeting, I told her, “The number of people baptized last Sunday was sixty-nine and not seventy.”  She immediately replied, “I know.  My daughter-in-law was baptized, and she has a baby in her womb.” Oh, brothers and sisters! From this small illustration and testimony, it is not hard for us to see that when the Lord Jesus was crucified, we were also crucified with Him, just like the fact that the baby was baptized together with his mother while in her womb. Subjective experience (Romans 8:13) — Putting the flesh to death by the Holy Spirit Undoubtedly, we have been crucified with Christ. But experience-wise, we still have to apply the fact of dying together in our experience. Therefore, the Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:13, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." This means that in practice, we still have to put our flesh to death by the Holy Spirit.  In other words, we need the subjective experience of the cross.  How then shall we experience dying together with Christ? Thank the Lord!  It is through abiding in Christ.  Because we are in Christ, there is no more condemnation.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and of death. (Romans 8:1-2)  Verse 13 continues to tell us that by the Spirit, we must put to death the deeds of the body.  This points to the fact that when we abide in Christ, the Holy Spirit will naturally put to death the evil deeds of the flesh. The circumstantial arrangement (II Corinthians 4:10~12) — Trial and refining Since the time we live “in Christ” is far less than when we live “out of Christ”; hence our old man does not decrease, and we often live out the evil deeds of the flesh.  We are still selfish, self-confident, self-righteous…, and our spiritual life grows very slowly.  As a result, God arranges the circumstances to get rid of our flesh, and uses these circumstances to refine us. This is a step further in our experience, and is just like the experience of the children of Israel in the old days from Mount Sinai to Taberah. The Lord arranges people, events, and things in order to refine us. Sometimes as thousands of us gather for the meeting, we experience electrical interruption; this is the arrangement of the Lord. At other times, we have enough electricity and that is also God’s arrangement. Sometimes the water supply is not enough; at other times, it could be plentiful. These are all of the Lord’s arrangements.  These days, we are encountering water shortage; this is also the arrangement of the Lord. During unfortunate situations, we must wait patiently, for the Lord arranges everything.  If we have a spirit that is willing to learn, we will discover that from morning till night, numerous big and small encounters are all arranged by the Lord. And all these are but for the purpose of testing and refining us, and to eradicate our flesh. The trying and refining work of the cross Proverbs 17:3 says, "The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the hearts.."  People in ancient times used the refining pot for smelting ores.  After complete removal of impurities, silver comes out. However, smelting gold requires even a stronger fire; that is, out of the furnace comes gold.  What is more precious is that God uses different situations, and various adversities and hardships to refine man’s heart, in order to purge his flesh and self. Tearing down by God’s loving hand When God tries and refines a person, the first step is to extend His loving hand to tear him down. Once, when the Lord Jesus was on earth, He went out of the temple, and as He was about to leave, His disciples came near and pointed out the buildings of the temple to Him. And Jesus answered them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  (Matthew 24:1~2)  There is an underlying spiritual meaning here. It indicates that God’s hand is going to tear down our old man for the purpose of building up the body of Christ.  In other words, the Lord is stretching out His loving hand to tear down our old nature and then build the new one.  ‘Tearing down’ refers to the trial and refining of the cross. Experience-wise, what can be done if a person is very opinionated?   The Lord will arrange for him a wife with a much stronger character compared to his. That way, whenever he gives a certain opinion, his wife will oppose and go against him. Therefore, as the husband and wife live together for many years, and go about their daily living, they rub and refine each other. Unknowingly, the flesh and old nature are torn down. In Manila there are about twenty-one single co-workers living together in the youth coworker’s dormitory.  Every Saturday, there are about three hundred people serving the Lord together.  As we live and serve together, the Lord does the work of tearing down.  Amidst the process of tearing down, if we forget that it is the Lord who is behind all these, stretching out His loving hand to tear us down, then there will be grudge and dissatisfaction.  We may even think that it would be best that Brother X would encounter some accident and not be able to come, or that Sister Y would get sick and be hospitalized.  We are unaware that all these are out of God’s loving hand, in order to destroy our old nature. The Old Testament mentioned about a man named Job. He was perfect and upright, one who feared God and abstained from evil. The Lord delighted in him, and everything he did prospered. His outward nature, with many good and beautiful virtues, and his kind deeds and works of charity far surpassed ordinary people. However, these things inadvertently increased the self-righteousness in him. How then could he be built up? Because of the mercy of God, the Lord stretched out His loving hand to tear him down.  Outwardly, it looked like an attack of Satan; however, everything that happened had the Lord’s permission.  During the early stages of his tribulation, Job was still able to withstand even if his wife ridiculed him, saying, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” At that time, he still could revere God and replied to his wife, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" In all these, Job did not sin with his lips.  However, when he was under the trial and refining of the cross, the natural form of his corrupt flesh gradually revealed itself.  His three friends made an appointment to come together. Initially, they came to condole with him and to comfort him. In the end, they ended up reprimanding him. The self-righteousness of Job was uncovered completely in the more than thirty chapters of his fluent, endless, and non-stop contention with his friends. Thank God! After Job went through suffering, the trial and refining of the cross, not only was his hidden flesh exposed; at the same time, his self-confidence and self-righteousness were also torn down. Therefore, his words stopped and his whole being surrendered.  At that moment, the Lord spoke to Job through a whirlwind. Job met the Lord, saying, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."  Oh! This man Job was completely destroyed by God. Consequently, the Bible continued to record that the Lord turned the captivity of Job; "Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before."  (Job 42:10)  This means that after Job passed through the trial and refining of the cross, not only was his old nature destroyed and the new one established, his spiritual life also entered into the fullness of Christ. The flesh decreases and Christ increases It is written in John 3:26 that the disciples of John came and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, he is baptizing, and all is coming to Him.” John replied, “You yourself bears me witness that I said I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him…”  Following that, he said, “He must increase, I must decrease.”  (John 3:30) This means that my attitude as a witness of Christ during my lifetime is that Christ would continuously increase while I continuously decrease. The Lord prospers and I decline.  How then can I decrease and let Christ increase? There is no other way except through the trial and refining of the cross. Every time I have to stand on the pulpit to be God’s channel, I have to repeatedly come before the Lord, praying and asking Him to put ‘me’ in the lowest and smallest position. I have to empty myself again and again and admit that I have nothing, because the flesh of man can not accomplish the will of God. Thus, aside from this, the Lord must stretch out His loving hand and do a long term work of tearing down. Through trial and refining, a man will slowly humble down. Self-confidence and self-righteousness will gradually collapse and fall down. As everyone knows, the natural disposition of Jacob was selfish and crafty.  That is why the difficulties that he suffered were exceptionally many. This is nothing else but God molding him to become a person with abundant spiritual life through the trial and refining of the cross. In his youth, Jacob enjoyed special love and favor from his mother.  Because of his selfishness, he cheated his brother Esau of his birthright with the lentil soup. Then with his craftiness he deceived his father Isaac. He pretended to be the firstborn Esau and acquired his father’s blessing. However, God, by way of Esau’s grudge, left Jacob with no alternative but to leave his warm family and the love of his compassionate mother. He fled to the ruthless house of his uncle and encountered wage stripping because of his uncle’s greediness.  He shepherded for twenty grueling years, experiencing the scorching sun during the day and the chilly frost during the night. With labor and hardship, he suffered the ordeals of the vicissitudes of life. No wonder when Jacob later on in life recalled his life before Pharaoh in Egypt, he sighed, "...few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage."  (Genesis 47:9)  But the Jacob that had undergone the trial and refining of the cross, had become the Israel that reigned on behalf of God and brought blessing to Pharaoh. XIV. Smote the greedy (Numbers 11:4~6, 31~34) — Christ is everything (world) [Kibroth-hattaavah] When the people of Israel journeyed onward from Taberah, they soon reached the place called Kibroth-hattaavah. The Israelites desired the pleasures of Egypt It is written in Numbers 11:4~5, "Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic." Here it tells us that a mixed multitude was among the congregation and they went up with the children of Israel when the latter left Egypt (Exodus 12:37~38). These people had greedy desires, which means that they were a group of people who were not pure in heart. They have an ulterior purpose and intention. Isn’t that so? These "mixed multitudes" and impurities exist in our natural flesh. They symbolize the complexities of the flesh. Many times we say we want to offer to the Lord but our offering is so impure and mixed with other intentions. Some people would say, “I want to offer but You must repay me and bless me with several times more.” Then after some time, when they feel that the Lord did not seem to give the expected reward, they would stop offering. They would even stop serving the Lord. If we look into the reason why, we see that it is because they loved the world and yearned for Egypt. The matters of offering and serving are enough to make us see how complex and impure we are within. Even if their physical bodies were traversing the wilderness, their hearts lusted with the memory of Egypt where there was meat, fish, cucumbers, leeks, onions, and garlic. They had completely forgotten the hard labor in Egypt where they had to burn bricks to build the city, bear heavy load, and suffer as slaves. Today, many Christians follow the Lord halfway, and then the spirit of the world enters. Some had even offered themselves before and gave up everything, expressing that they would live for the Lord for the rest of their lives.  They rejected sin, loved the Lord, followed after Him, and ate the manna. However, the spirit of the world (the pleasures of Egypt) entered again. Detested the manna When their hearts longed for Egypt and lusted for the pleasures of Egypt, they said, "but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!"  (Numbers 11:6)  This clearly states that when the congregation longed for the pleasures of Egypt, they considered manna bland and tasteless. Moreover, this explains that the moment the spirit of the world enters, the suffering in Egypt is forgotten, together with the taste of salvation. Their attitude towards the manna "there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes" indicated that they detested the manna. They did not know that the original purpose of the Lord in giving the manna to them was that: as long as they had manna, it would be enable them to walk through the wilderness.  ‘Manna’ symbolizes Christ. The assembly detesting the manna meant they abhorred Christ.  Oh!  No wonder 1 John 2:15 tells us, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." God smote with a great plague It is recorded in Numbers 11:31~34, "Now a wind went out from the Lord, and it brought quail from the sea and left them fluttering near the camp...And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail...But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was aroused against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague. So he called the name of that place Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving." The spiritual meaning of this historical fact: "The Lord brought quails from the sea" refers to God giving the people of Israel the chance to come in contact with worldly pleasures. "The people gathered the quails" means that they then pursued worldly pleasures.  "They were struck before the meat was chewed" pertains to God judging the worldly spirit.  From here, we can see that any time we have the worldly spirit, we will be hindered from entering into Canaan. Therefore, the Lord has to drive out the worldly spirit.  In the past, the Lord smote the Israelites who ate the quails.  Today, the Lord will likewise judge those Christians who are filled with the spirit of the world. Being refined from the spirit of the world How then does the Lord refine us from the spirit of the world?  Experience-wise, the Lord shines upon us and refines us from the spirit of the world through fellowship among the saints or through the messages. If we are given grace, we will accept the light from the Lord and get rid of the world. Otherwise, the Lord will refine us through the environment, people, circumstances, and things, until we turn back to Him and submit in prayer, saying, “Lord, Egypt is not my world. Only Christ is my world, and manna is my satisfaction and delight.” Just like what the hymn says: Refining Fire, go through my heart, illuminate my soul; Scatter Thy life through every part, and sanctify the whole… Christ is all (the world) — There is nothing apart  from manna The experience of Kibroth-hattaavah is that of Christians with more spiritual depth, because they have entered into the realm of Christ being their world. The world has been driven out from me, and it doesn’t belong to me from now on. I can live on this land, manage the business and earn money, stay in a mansion with gardens, ride in private vehicles; yet my heart is neither filled nor dominated by the world, nor is it touched and tempted by the world. In other words, the world can no longer have a place in my heart again. There was once a rich lady who was born into a non-Christian family. Later, she heard the gospel and was saved by grace. From that time, her heart was drawn to the glory and beauty of Christ. Her parents persuaded her not to believe in the Lord; however, she held fast to her faith. Later, her parents bought her a car of the latest model and put a lot of valuable items in the trunk. They told her, “Daughter, if you give up your faith, all these will be yours. But if you insist on having Jesus, then none of these will belong to you anymore. Now, here is the key. Make your choice at once!” Effortlessly, this young sister replied to her parents, “I’d rather have Jesus.”  Oh!  This is an actual example of having Christ as the world. XV. Miriam contracted leprosy (Num 12:1-15)—Establishing the upright spirit of Christ [Hazeroth] Thus, the people journeyed from Kibroth-hattaavah to Hazeroth, and they were at Hazeroth. Miriam’s spirit was not right "Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. So they said, 'Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?' And the Lord heard it...Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, 'Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!' So the three came out. Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. Then He said,...'Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face...Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?' So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, and He departed. And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow." (Numbers 12:1~10) It was not right for Moses to marry a Cushite, but when Miriam stepped out to say, “Has Jehovah indeed spoken only to Moses?  Has He not spoken also to us?” The Lord said that those words were slanderous. Miriam implied that Moses wanted to exalt himself above them. Her intention was not right. She did not want to subject herself to Moses, and she condemned Moses.  In other words, Miriam looked down on Moses and would not subject herself to him.  She was arrogant; she condemned Moses. Her spirit was not right. The Lord heard this and came out to defend Moses, saying, “He is faithful in all My house.” This means that with regards to matters concerning God’s house, Moses is responsible to God. This was not Miriam’s business, and she did not have to intervene. Miriam became leprous After God had spoken, His anger was kindled against Aaron and Miriam and He went away.  This turning of His back is something to be greatly feared. It is written in the Bible that the cloud departed from off the tent and Miriam immediately beheld that she was leprous. "The anger of the Lord was aroused against them". Spiritually, it means that God wants man’s spirit to be upright. "Contracting leprosy" speaks of God coming out to purify Miriam’s wrong spirit. Brothers and sisters, when the Lord leads us to walk this pathway of life, He not only demands that our outward sins be stripped completely and the world be strictly rejected, He also demands that our inner spirit be dealt with so that it would become pure and upright. God wants to purify and refine our crooked spirit Through different situations, the Lord tries and smelts away the impurities within us, the wickedness and filthiness of the corrupt flesh.  Furthermore, He deals with our spirit from many aspects. ‘Spirit’ refers to man’s intentions and motives; it is in the deepest part of you and me.  The spiritual depth of a person depends on what is  stored in the deepest part of his being.  God wants to touch the depths of our being to see if it is pure and upright. Miriam’s spirit was not right. As the church progresses in the Lord’s pathway, we may see problems with the church or the leaders. We must know that the Lord allows these situations to happen in order to teach us, so that we may learn to be upright and not crooked in our spirits. We must maintain the uprightness of our spirits. Do not condemn, judge, or criticize the elders. Any intention or motive that contains condemnation, judgment, and criticism is a manifestation of a crooked spirit. Even if the brother or sister is wrong, we still must not judge. Romans 14:4 tells us, "Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand." Speaking till this point makes us truly see how faulty our spirits are! How we need the Lord’s mercy, that He may fine-tune our spirits and work in you and me. Miriam contracted leprosy and was contaminated with the filthiest of diseases; therefore, she had to be shut outside the camp. God caused the skin and flesh of her whole body to decay and she became leprous. She was beyond recognition and her appearance was extremely horrible.  This was to make her see how many more times unclean she was than Moses. Moses was corrupt. I, Miriam, was far more corrupt than Moses, and there was no place for me in this world. God taught her, that she may deal with her crooked spirit, and would no longer dare judge, speak against, or slander their leader Moses lightly. If the Lord is merciful and gracious to us, He will continuously accomplish a deeper work of refining in us as we progress in His pathway. This is done so that our crooked spirit may be dealt with, that we will not dare judge, speak against, or backbite others as we please. Rather, we can always be like Paul, feeling that I am a sinner and the foremost of all sinners. Establishing the upright spirit of Christ When the Lord Jesus was training His disciples for three and a half years, He also wanted them to establish an upright spirit. And it came about, when the days were approaching for His ascension, that Jesus resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem, and He sent messengers on ahead of Him. And they went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make arrangements for Him. The people of the village did not receive Him, because He was journeying with His face toward Jerusalem. When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them just as Elijah did?”  But He turned and rebuked them and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.”  This means that the spirit of the disciples was not upright and was full of condemnation.  Following that, Jesus told them, "For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them."  (Luke 9:51~56) This means that the Lord corrected the crooked spirit of the disciples and established an upright spirit. There was another time when the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery and set her in the midst. Then they said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses,  in the Law commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” Jesus did not answer but stooped down, and with His finger, wrote on the ground. When they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground. When they heard these words, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman.  Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they?  Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “ Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” (John 8:3~11)  From this, we can see that the spirit of the Lord Jesus was upright.  An upright spirit does not condemn. If God takes us to Hazeroth, it is to establish our  upright spirit. In the ministry, we often condemn others. For example, we condemn a certain sister for praying too long in the meeting, saying that with her praying, others won’t have the chance to pray. Also, we criticize a certain brother for having such a soft voice like a mosquito despite his big stature, thinking that it is best for him not to pray publicly. Some of us going on visitation condemn our partners for being too wishy-washy in sharing… Summing up, it is condemning others and commending oneself; but bear in mind that what God wants is for us to establish an upright spirit. David, the great king of Israel in the Old Testament, committed a sin with Uriah’s wife, and used a devious plot to kill Uriah because his spirit was not upright. The Lord immediately struck David. David repented before the Lord in sackcloth and ashes. When he repented with a broken and a contrite heart, he wrote Psalm 51:10, saying, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” May the Lord be gracious to us that in our service, we may often come before the Lord to be illumined. Oh Lord, search my spirit and try my heart. See if there be any grievous way in me. Lead me in the way everlasting and establish in me an upright spirit…Amen. <-- Back to "The Spiritual Journey Next Chapter -->

Biblle Reading: Exodus 17:8-16; 19:6-8,16; 20:3-5; 25:8-9 Galatians 5:16-24; 2:20 Romans 8:2 1 Corinthians 1:24 X. Defeating the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8–16) — Christ is the Victorious Life [Rephidim] Exodus 17:8–16 records the Israelites’ victory over the Amalekites. The central spiritual meaning of this passage is that Christ is the victorious life. The Israelites’ conquest over the Amalekites mirrors the spiritual journey of every believer—one that, sooner or later, reveals a season marked by constant failure and persistent weakness. One moment we love the Lord, and the next we’re drawn to the world. We are fervent for a time, and then grow cold again. In our excitement we serve diligently, but in discouragement we disappear. When things go well, we rejoice exuberantly; in disappointment, we grow despondent. These highs and lows, this unpredictability, are all too familiar. Sometimes we truly desire to be humble and gentle, yet discover pride and arrogance rising within. We long to live a victorious life, but find ourselves failing miserably, unable to carry it out. So how can a Christian live in victory? The answer is this: Christ Himself is the victorious life. The Amalekites fought with the Israelites At that time, the Israelites came to Rephidim. Indeed, they had already had many experiences: the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire—symbolizing a group of Christians following the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures (God’s Word). They had also partaken of the manna from heaven—that is, drawing near to the Lord each morning and receiving His Word as the bread of life. They drank the living water from the rock—being filled with the Holy Spirit. These experiences were truly remarkable. Yet, even after all these precious encounters, we still find ourselves repeatedly defeated, often weak. Though our hearts may burn with passion during a special conference, not long after, our old selves reappear. Year after year, we fail to live a victorious life. The root reason is that we have not yet received revelation to truly see that Christ is our victorious life. The Amalekites That day, the Israelites—young and old—journeyed together and arrived at Rephidim, where they encountered the fierce enemy, the Amalekites. Thus began the battle between the Amalekites and the Israelites. This conflict portrays the Christian experience of futile struggles and repeated failures. The Amalekites symbolizes the flesh The Amalekites symbolize the flesh, as they are descendants of Esau. Isaac had two sons: Esau and Jacob. There is a biblical principle where the first represents what belongs to Adam—that is, the flesh; and the second represents what belongs to Christ—that is, the spirit. As 1 Corinthians 15:46–47 states: "However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is from heaven.” This shows that Esau's descendants—the Amalekites—represent the flesh. The flesh is fallen man (the corrupt nature) The name “Amalek” means “warlike.” This suggests that there is no goodness within the flesh. Romans 7:18 says: "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find." Isn’t that true? In our experience, we want to be humble and gentle, but fail to live it out. We dislike pride and selfishness, yet repeatedly fall into them. Paul continues in verse 24: "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" This reveals the painful struggle of living in the flesh. God condemns the flesh Exodus 17:14 records: "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.'" This means God has condemned and judged the flesh. So when we live in selfishness, arrogance, and pride, we must not take it lightly—for God has judged it. Jealousy, strife, anger, factionalism, slander, lies, arrogance, chaos, sin, impurity, fornication, and lustful deeds… all these are expressions of the flesh exemplified by the Amalekites—and all are under God's judgment and condemnation. Israelites What, then, does “Israelites” represent? The Israelites and the Amalekites were sworn enemies, locked in continual battle. The Israelites symbolize the born-again spirit When we believe in Jesus and are born again, the Holy Spirit renews and quickens our spirit—it comes alive. The Spirit then dwells in our spirit with eternal life. This reborn spirit is represented by the Israelites, since Israel is the descendant of Jacob. Esau was the firstborn and Jacob the second. In the Bible, the first typically represents what is of Adam; and the second, what is of Christ—meaning our reborn spirit is heavenly and spiritual. The born-again spirit is the redeemed new man Although our entire fallen being is fleshly, once we believe in Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit and eternal life, we are born again. The spirit within us—the born again spirit—is also called the Spirit of life (Romans 8:2) and the Spirit of Christ (1 Peter 1:11). This renewed part of us is symbolized by the Israelites. In other words, the born-again spirit is the redeemed new man. Christ dwells in the born-again spirit This born-again spirit—the Spirit of life—is also the Spirit of Christ, and Christ dwells within it. Experience-wise, after we are born again, friends may invite us to indulge the desires of the flesh, or companions lure us to love the worldly pleasures, we may feel an incomprehensible inner power that forbids us from following after them. That forbidding power is the born-agian spirit symbolized by the Israelites—it is the indwelling power of Christ within. Amalekites fougth with Israelites — Living in Defeat Under the Flesh The day the Amalekites fought the Israelites is a depiction of the internal struggle within us, where two opposing forces are at work. One part of us is of the flesh—represented by the Amalekites; the other is our reborn spirit. This reveals that man is living in constant tension and conflict. For instance, after being born again, a young believer might experience subtle thoughts before attending a meeting—perhaps a nudge to sit and watch TV for a while. Or when they decided to love the Lord, another thought emerges convincing them that they are still young to devout themselves to the Lord, and it is never too late to wait until their old age. This inner force that urges us to turn away from loving God and depart from Him is called the Amalekite. In contrast, there is another force within you and me—called the Israelites—which refers to the born-again spirit, together with the Holy Spirit. Each Lord’s Day, He reminds us: today is Lord's Day, go to church to worship; love the Lord while still young; seize the opportunity to serve Him, for time is short. These two opposing powers continue to contend within us, and in our experiences, we find that sometimes the Israelites triumph, and other times the Amalekites prevail. When we are prideful, indulge the flesh, and love the world—it is the Amalekites winning. When we are humble, gentle, and love and serve the Lord—it is the Israelites overcoming. This condition is vividly described in Galatians 5:17: “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” Joshua Defeats the Amalekites At that time, Moses appointed Joshua as commander and told him to select skilled and strong men to go out and engage the Amalekites in battle. Joshua obeyed Moses’ instructions and went to fight the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8–10). Moses Held up his hands on the hill — The ascended Christ gain authority Meanwhile, Moses stood on the mountaintop holding the staff of God. Exodus 17:10–11 records: “Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.” This means that though the battle took place in the valley, the key to victory was determined on top of the hill. The spiritual meaning of this image reveals the secret of victory: Christ is the victorious life. “Moses went up the top of the hill” symbolizes Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and was exalted at God’s right hand. In other words, Moses represents Christ who has ascended to the highest heaven. “Holding the staff” represents His authority—power in heaven and on earth. In our experience, when we have fellowship and union with the ascended Christ, and live daily in communion with Him, the power of the flesh within us loses its grip. As one hymn beautifully puts it: Abiding, this will Satan's strength disarm; In fellowship, the world will lose its charm. Abiding, we sin's power need not fear; In fellowship, the self will disappear. Joshua’s Victory Over the Amalekites in the Valley — The Indwelling Christ (Holy Spirit) Overcomes the Flesh Moses held up his hands for a considerable time, but when he could no longer do so, Aaron and Hur supported him—one on each side. His hands remained steady until sunset. The Scripture records: "Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword." (Exodus 17:13). This shows that victory wasn’t achieved by Moses simply lifting his hands; Joshua also had to fight courageously in the valley. In other words, Joshua needed Moses, and Moses needed Joshua. Literally speaking, the name “Joshua” is the Hebrew equivalent of the name “Jesus.” Therefore, Joshua represents Christ. Spiritually, “Joshua in the valley, dwelling among the Israelites” symbolizes the indwelling Christ—the Holy Spirit residing in the saints. Moses and Joshua thus depict two aspects of one Person: Moses on top of the hill represents the ascended and enthroned Christ; Joshua in the valley represents the indwelling Christ (the Holy Spirit) within you and me. Just as we each have two natures within—an Israelite (spirit) and an Amalekite (flesh)—who can conquer the Amalekite? It is not the Israelite, but Commander Joshua who defeats Amalek and slays its king. Likewise, the flesh within us is not overcome by our own efforts, but by the indwelling Christ. Only Christ as the victorious life empowers us to break the power of the flesh. May the Lord have mercy on us and enlighten us. Through the historical account of Joshua defeating the Amalekites, may we perceive in our spirit the deeper truth: it is not “I” who overcome the flesh, nor can I restrain it by myself, but Christ (Joshua) who dwells within and triumphs over the flesh (the Amalekite). Only Christ as our victorious life can overcome our corrupted flesh. In other words, you and I must see that Christ is our victorious life, and whenever Christ becomes our life, victory is assured. Christ Is the Victorious Life Indeed, we have the Lord Jesus within us. But in our daily experience—who truly wins, Christ or the flesh? Oh, how we often find that from morning till night, we are entangled in idle talk, overflowing with fleshly reactions, or lost in restless and selfish thoughts galloping like wild horses. Therefore, we must explore further how Joshua defeated the Amalekites, in order to understand how Christ becomes our victorious life. Abide in Christ — Moses holding up his hands on the hill Just as the Israelites could not resist the Amalekites, likewise, we cannot overcome our corrupt flesh. The path to victory does not lie in human's resolution, effort, or even in all-night prayers or day-long fasts—we can only gain victory with Christ as our life. In spiritual experience, Christ becomes our life when the enthroned Christ governs us with His authority—this is represented by Moses lifting his hands on the hill. Whenever Christ in heaven exercises His authority over us, it’s like Moses raising his hands. On the contrary, when human pride surfaces—our fleshly ideas, strategies, intelligence, talents, and opinions dominate—we hinder Christ's rule. That moment mirrors Moses lowering his hands. When Christ has the full authority over us, naturally Christ reigns in us as out Lord and squeeze out the flesh in us. Therefore, we should step off the throne and let Christ ascend. There cannot be two thrones in the universe: when we sit on the throne, Christ is hidden; when we relinquish our throne, His reign emerges. That is when Joshua steps forward to defeat Amalek—when our flesh collapses. In this way, we change masters. There is a parable about Christ as Our Lord. Once, there was a devout, illiterate Christian couple living in the countryside. Every Sunday, the husband faithfully attended worship. One week, he returned feeling gloomy. His wife was puzzled, as he usually came home smiling. When she asked, he said, “Today at church, I saw that all the brothers and sisters were wearing red.” To comfort him, the wife promised, “I’ll sew you a red outfit to wear next Sunday.” He went joyfully the following week, but came home again disheartened. “Everyone’s red clothing had embroidered words,” he said, “but mine didn’t.” “No problem,” said his wife. “I’ll embroider something for you.” But being illiterate, she didn’t know what to stitch. Just then, she noticed across the street a shop that had recently reopened under new ownership. A sign outside read “Grand Reopening.” It signified a fresh start, a new boss. So she stitched those four characters onto his garment. That Sunday, he wore it proudly to worship. The chapel belonged to the Salvation Army, whose members wore uniforms with inscriptions. He returned home ecstatic. “Everyone clapped and praised me,” he said. “They said the words on my outfit were amazing!” This parable illustrates the secret to victory: the old self is finished, a new master has taken over. Now, Jesus Christ dwells within us and replaces our old nature, we become living testimonies that our master had changed. With Christ as our Lord and Master naturally leads to victory. This is a spiritual truth that requires the revelation of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord be gracious to us In practice, how do we let Christ truly reign in us from morning till night? There is no secret apart from this: “Abide in Christ.”  When we draw near to the Lord in the morning—through prayer and reading Scripture—Christ invisibly dwells within us. As a result, Christ becomes our victorious life, enabling us to overcome in school, work, family, and relationships. However, the moment we step out from abiding in Christ, it’s as if Moses begin to lower his hands—and the Amalekite within rises. That means we are back in the flesh. Consequently, the manifestations of the flesh—temper, pride, jealousy.....come rushing in. Therefore, the key spiritual practice is to consistently build a lifestyle of drawing near to the Lord each morning: praying, reading His Word, fellowshipping with Him, abiding in Christ. In my youth, I was short-tempered and impatient. After experiencing revival and being captured by the Lord, I began to sincerely pray about changing my temperament, letting go of pride, and becoming a living testimony. I made many resolutions, but each one ended in failure. I once wrote down the words humility, patience, gentleness, quietness  on paper and placed it under glass on my desk—hoping that daily reminders would reform me. Yet I remained weak and defeated. Eventually I grew discouraged, because “to will is present with me, but how to perform it I do not find.” (Romans 7:18) At that point, I lost motivation to preach the gospel, feeling as if I were deceiving people. I preached that believing in Christ would bring life transformation, yet I myself continued failing just as before. After a period of time, through the Lord’s mercy, I discovered a path of life, and discovered that the secret to victory is letting Christ be our life. The method is simple: abide in Christ and remain in fellowship with Him, and victory will flow naturally. So I began spending an hour or more each morning, drawing near to the Lord. Miraculously, I stopped losing my temper. Later, I spent another hour in the afternoon reading Andrew Murray’s The Secret of Communion,  practicing communion with Christ. After six months, I felt as if a spiritual cable had connected me to heaven. Whether cycling, riding the bus, walking, preaching, or visiting—I was constantly in communion with the Lord. Before I realized it, I had entered into abiding in Christ. Brothers and sisters, my temper dropped significantly. But let me clarify: we are still in the flesh, and pride or anger may still occasionally arise. Yet it is not the same as before. In the past, my temper would build and simmer for half a day. Now, whenever I feel it rise, it is quickly restrained. It subsides quickly, because the indwelling Christ reins it in and squeeze it away. Even now, I still sometimes falter. Until we meet the Lord, failures may continue. But after crossing the threshold of victory, victory outweighs defeat. Those who have not yet entered into the experience of Christ as the victorious life still find defeat more frequent than triumph. Crucified with Christ — Yet to live… is Christ (Galatians 2:20) The apostle Paul says in Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." This verse reveals clearly that when the Lord Jesus was crucified, He bore all of humanity upon Himself—our flesh was nailed to the cross with Him. Because Christ died in our place, we are spared from death. And now, the life we live is Christ living in us. Christ lives for us, so we no longer have to live by our own strength. As Paul also declares in Philippians 1:21: “For to me, to live is Christ,”  and in Colossians 3:4: “Christ, who is our life.” This is the secret to victorious living. May the Lord open the eyes of our hearts to recognize and know that Christ truly is our victorious life. XI. Handing Down of the Law  (Exo 19:1~8, 16~17) — Christ is the Power for Service   [Mount Sinai] The people of Israel departed from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, where they encamped at the foot of the mountain.  Not long after, God gave the Ten Commandments, statutes, and ordinances from Mount Sinai to the people of Israel. God wanted them to become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation to serve Him. Experience-wise, once a Christian has passed through the gateway of victory, God will lead him to serve Him.  However, in service there is one issue that needs to be resolved, that is, to come to Mount Sinai where the Lord handed down the Ten Commandments.  Without revelation in this matter, we would think that God wants us to walk according to the law.  We would not know that the original intention of giving the law is to point out that Christ is our strength in service. God wants man to serve Him We just read what was recorded in Exodus chapter 19.   "And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, 'Thus you shal...tell the children of Israel:...Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.'"  (Exodus 19:3~6)  This means that God redeemed us for one particular purpose, that is, for us to serve Him. The nature of man (strength) is the obstacle (difficulty) in service Verse 4 states, "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I [a]bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself."  The Lord indicated that He brought the Israelites out of Egypt like an eagle bearing young eagles on its back. The baby eagle on its mother’s wing does not need to exert any effort while flying in the air. This depicts that the Israelites came out of Egypt completely by God’s grace. However, the people of Israel thought that they themselves were capable. Hence, shortly afterwards, verse 8 records, "Then all the people answered together and said, 'All that the Lord has spoken we will do.'"  This shows us that they believed that they could serve God by their own natural strength. God judges the natural of man (strength) and reveals the uselessness of the natural strength All the people of Israel said, “ All that the Lord has spoken we will do !”   Just when they thought that they could serve God with their natural strength and ability, the Bible says, “And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain, … so that all the people who were in the camp trembled."  This means that the Lord had changed His countenance towards them.  ‘Thunders, lightning…’ shows that God abhors the natural strength of man. Furthermore, the Lord handed down the law.  ‘Handing down the law’ is to tell the people of Israel that God will judge the natural strength (ability) of man.  At the same time, it is to reveal that the natural strength of man is powerless.  This is a profound experience.  Therefore, after the Lord had spoken to Moses at Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the Ten Commandments in two tablets of stones which He personally inscribed.  This is the so called handing down of the Ten Commandments or the handing down of the law. Moses went up the mountain for forty days and forty nights. When the people saw that he delayed to come down from the mountain, they gathered before Aaron and asked him to make them a god who will go before them. Aaron also thought that Moses was not coming down from the mountain after forty days and forty nights.  So he said to the people, “Break off the golden rings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”  Then all the people brought them to Aaron. And he took them out of their hand, and fashioned it with a chisel and made of it a molded calf for the people to worship. Moses stayed on the mountain for forty days.  God wrote the Ten Commandments on the tables of stone (the first four commandments pertain to our relation with God and the last six pertain to our relation with others) and gave them to Moses. At the same time, when the people at the foot of the mountain saw that Moses had not come down, they started to worship the gold calf. They transgressed the first three commandments and greatly offended God.  Moses turned back and came down from the mountain. He saw the people’s behavior were unbridled: worshipping the golden calf, eating, drinking, and feasting.  He was extremely angry, and he cast the two tablets of stone out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. This historical fact is an illustration that the flesh of man cannot keep the law; rather, it breaks the law. The example of the cutting off (extermination) of the natural strength In order to have genuine spiritual service, we must let God lead us and cut off our natural strength. Moses grew up in the palace of Egypt. He was instructed in all the wisdom of Egypt, and he excelled in both civil and military matters. In his first forty years, he was conceited, and had a very high opinion of himself. He thought that he could save his fellowmen by means of his wisdom, bravery, and ability. Just when he thought of serving God and leading the people through his natural strength, unexpectedly his killing of the Egyptian was seen by the Israelites. Moreover, he was rejected by his own countrymen. He realized that by natural means, he was powerless to lead the people, thus he fled to the land of Midian and became a shepherd for forty years. Christ is the power in service These forty years of difficult life in the wilderness had rubbed off Moses’ natural strength.  Acts 7:22 tells us of his first forty years, "And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds."  He went to the wilderness of Midian and passed his second forty years as a shepherd.  After that, his natural power was knocked down and wiped out. Consequently, when the Lord called him and wanted to use him to bring forth His people out of Egypt, Moses said to the Lord, “I am not eloquent…”  (Exodus 4:10) Obviously, his natural power had been cut off.  And now, God could use him.  It was God in Moses, and Christ became the power for his service.  God instructed him to hold the staff in his hand and perform ten great miracles before Pharaoh.  Later, in the third forty years, he depended on God’s power to lead the people through the wilderness up to the border of Canaan. 1 Corinthians 1:24 says, “but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”   This clearly shows us that Christ is the power in service. Take a look at the surroundings of our assembly hall and the lights on the ceiling.  Inside these fluorescent lamps are tungsten wires.  It allows the source of electricity to pass through, producing a dazzling bright light. You and I are but tungsten wires, but when Christ’s exceedingly great power passes through us, it manifests surpassing power.  But the process requires the doing away of our natural abilities before the power of Christ can pass through us enabling us to serve Him. Christ is our law of life Christ in us not only becomes our power for service, His life in us also becomes our law of life.  We do not keep the external law, for it is but an expression of God’s very nature, and it just serves to expose the powerlessness of man’s flesh.  Today, Christ’s life in us becomes our law of life. We could feel this life teaching us how to live, work, and serve.  Simultaneously, this life brings forth power, enabling us to live out the law of life. This power of life enables us to live out the law of life and follow God’s will.  The historical fact of God handing down the law makes us see that Christ is the power in our service. XII. The Making of the Sanctuary (Exo 25:8~9)—Christ is the wisdom (vision) in service    [Mount Sinai] Furthermore, it is written in Exodus 25:8-9, “And let them make Me a sanctuary,[ that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.”  Here, it clearly states that the Lord instructed Moses to make for Him a sanctuary according to the pattern He showed him on the mountain.  The spiritual meaning is that Christ is our wisdom (method/way) in service. On Mount Sinai, on one hand, the Lord handed down the law to do away with man’s natural strength in order that man may know that Christ is the power in service.  On the other hand, He also showed the pattern of the sanctuary, that is, He pointed out the way in service.  The pattern revealed on the mountain must be followed in the building of the sanctuary.  This means that man’s way must be cut off and we must acknowledge that Christ is the wisdom (way) in service. Man’s self (methods) (ideas and opinions) is the obstacle (difficulty) in service In service, not only is man’s natural ability and strength a hindrance to God, but also his wisdom and ways.  From the time he left his mother’s womb, his natural inborn wisdom plus the wisdom he gained through society and its education are all beneficial to him. These are also the prerequisites for God to use him in the future.  However, we cannot serve the Lord by this natural wisdom.  Just as man’s natural strength has to be knocked down by God, man’s natural wisdom and ways also have to be emptied by God. Emptying is to prevent us from randomly giving out our suggestions and easily voicing out our opinions to take the lead.  We must not misunderstand this point.   Emptying our wisdom does not mean that we do not have to study or pursue a degree.  How can one who is ignorant live and survive in today’s society?  Young people should study diligently. Especially those who would want to serve the Lord, all the more they need education and wisdom.  However, natural knowledge and wisdom must be emptied, meaning it should pass through death and resurrect.  ‘To die and rise again’ refers to emptying one’s wisdom and being filled with Christ.  It is serving the Lord with Christ as wisdom.  It is only in this way that we can comprehend spiritual things and serve the Lord. God’s judgement of man’s ways also exposes its futility As mentioned earlier, Moses went up the mountain for forty days and nights.  Aaron heeded the pleas of the people and in man’s ways moulded a molten calf of gold that was later on destroyed.  Through this historical fact, we evidently see that God abhors man serving Him through his own ways.  At the same time, He strictly executes judgement on human means, exposing its uselessness. Now, we are going to take a step further and consider the death of Nadab and Abihu as a cautionary advice and warning in our service.  Nadab and Abihu were the two sons of Aaron.  At that time, they were engaged in the holy work and served as priests.  Both of them had seen the Lord caused fire to come down from heaven, burning up completely the burnt offering and its fats. They had been blessed with so much grace, yet they did not honour the Lord in His greatness, holiness, and magnificence. By human means they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord. The Lord immediately consumed them with fire.  Therefore, in the matter of service, not only does God consider man’s ways useless, He would also never allow man to serve Him by human means.  He will strictly administer judgment on man’s ways. An Illustration of Doing Away with Self (Human means) May we clearly see that man’s opinions and methods are hindrances to the ministry in the church. According to Biblical records, among the twelve disciples of the Lord Jesus, Peter was the most opinionated.  He was full of ideas.  Consequently, when he had a fervent desire to serve the Lord, the Lord dealt with his opinions and ways. That day, Jesus brought Peter, James, and John up the mountaintop by themselves. And He was transfigured before them and lo, Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with Jesus.  When Peter saw it, he immediately said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good we should be here.  If You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You one for Moses and one for Elijah.”  While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well please. Hear Him!”  And the disciples hearing it fell upon their faces, and were greatly terrified.  Thereafter, lifting up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus alone. (Matthew 17:1~8) This historical fact shows us that when Peter’s (man’s) opinion and way came out, the cloud and voice from heaven immediately interrupted it.  Peter came to himself and heard, “This is My beloved Son, hear Him.”  It clearly shows that the glorious Christ you behold is the very method to service.  You just have to listen to Him and do according to His will and not according to the opinion and ways of you Peter. According to the pattern shown on the mountain — according to Christ — the Revealed Christ  — the Vision of Christ When Moses was on the mountain for forty days and nights, God not only gave him the Ten Commandments (tablets of law), but God also showed him ‘the pattern on the mount’ and instructed him in the making of the sanctuary.  It is written in Exodus 25:40, “And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.” The "pattern on the mount" refers to the revealed Christ (vision of Christ).   Moreover, the pattern on the mount is also the means for ministering in the church.  When it comes to ministry in the church, man’s ideas, methods, and suggestions must never be allowed to interfere.  Without the revelation of Christ, we cannot participate in the ministry.  Not only should the making of the sanctuary be according to the pattern on the mount because it was the Lord’s personal instructions to Moses, the construction of the holy temple should also be according to the blueprint, for it was the Lord Himself who revealed it to David.  For this reason, today our way of ministry in the New Testament era is based on the revealed Christ and not the historical Christ. May the Lord be gracious to us that in our remaining days, we may receive more of the revelation of Christ, know more of the Father’s will, and see more of the things within the veil, that we may enter into a service with revelation. Christ is the wisdom (means) in service It is very difficult to bring forth workers, elders, and deacons in the church these days.  This is because you and I cannot serve if we have not personally touched the revealed Christ. If we are willing to serve the Lord out of a pure heart, He will surely take note of it and gradually lead us to enter into revelation.  Thus, we may truly serve according to the revealed Christ in us. Thank God!  Christ is the wisdom and means in our service; therefore, while He was on earth, the Lord Jesus publicly declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life…”  (John 14:6) What is the way?  Way refers to means and wisdom.  Only Christ is the wisdom and the means. 1 Corinthians 1:24 tells us, "but to those who are called....Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." During the Thursday night Bible study meeting, a young brother testified: Before, I knew and experienced Jesus to be my Savior.  He bore my sins on the cross. Then, the Lord gradually led me.  When I was sick on my bed and prayed, the next day I am well. Hence, I experienced and know that the Lord is my physician. Not long after, I prayed for my needs, and this time the Lord aptly provided for me.  I came to know Christ as my Shepherd. However, when the pulpit preached on Christ as wisdom, I could hardly comprehend it. Thank the Lord for His mercy. I was working in a big company and my salary was quite high. One day, my boss assigned me a job. However, the job assigned to me this time was to prepare a report and it was difficult on my part. Day after day, I prayed to the Lord. Amazingly, one day, the Lord gave me some inspiration, and I began to jot it down on a piece of paper. The next day, I submitted the report to the manager.  Unexpectedly, the manager was very pleased after reading it.  At that time, I truly had a firsthand experience of what is meant by Christ as my wisdom.  Christ became my wisdom. It was not I who had the intelligence nor was I instructed by someone else. May the Lord be gracious to us that through ‘defeating the Amalekites’, we may experience Christ as our victorious life. In the ‘handling down of the law’, may we experience Christ as our strength in service. And in the ‘building of the sanctuary’ may we experience Christ as our wisdom. We must personally enter into and experience each and every point. I deeply hope that the Lord will bless His words so that we may receive revelation through the message.  Amen. <-- Back to "The Spiritual Journey Next Chapter -->

Bible Reading: Exodus 15:23, 27; 16:1-4, 13-15, 31 Numbers 11:7-9; 17:17 John 6:35, 51 Ephesians 5:18 VII. Spring Water and Palm Trees (Exo 15:27)—Christ is our Satisfaction and Rest [Elim] After crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites set out on their journey, moving forward from one place to another. At Marah, they encountered bitter waters—but when a tree was cast into the waters, the waters turned sweet. This mirrors how, in our walk with the Lord, we may face hardships, yet when we reflect upon the cross of Christ, our hearts are instantly filled with sweetness. They then continued onward: "Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters." (Exodus 15:27). The "springs" (wells of water) provide cool, thirst-quenching satisfaction. The "palm trees" offer shade and rest. When the people of Israel arrived at Elim, they found both springs and palm trees. Spiritually, this signifies that Christ is the saints’ true satisfaction and rest. Therefore, the progress of our spiritual journey is reflected in whether we take Christ as our source of fulfillment and rest—or whether we seek satisfaction through worldly pursuits like cars, luxury homes, and entertainment. This illustrates how gracious and merciful God is to us. On the negative side, He allows us to experience the emptiness and unrest of the world, showing that it cannot truly satisfy. On the positive side, He leads us to a deeper experience where Christ alone becomes our satisfaction and rest. Elim after Marah “Marah” means bitter. In God’s leading of the Israelites, the Lord first brought them to Marah, and afterward to Elim. This signifies that Christians first experience hardship (suffering) before entering into joy (glory) (Luke 24:26). So when we go through trials and pain, we must remember that Elim lies ahead waiting for us. Once the trial of suffering passes, satisfaction and joy follow. Hebrews 12:2 says: "For the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Indeed, Jesus endured unimaginable pain and disgrace when crucified. The cross, at that time, was the most cruel punishment reserved for criminals. Yet Christ bore this suffering because He saw the joy that awaited Him—He knew the cross was a temporary affliction, after which came glory and rejoicing. Furthermore, God does not intend for His people to dwell endlessly in Marah’s suffering. His heart is to quickly deliver us into Elim. When the Israelites arrived at the springs and palms of Elim, they completely forgot the bitterness of Marah. I thank the Lord for His mercy and protection, allowing me to serve from my youth up to now—for over forty years. During this time, I’ve witnessed many brothers and sisters who once endured poverty, illness, hunger, and the agony of being without medical help. Yet now, they have entered into the blessed season of Elim. This shows us: when we find ourselves in Marah’s bitter trials, we must not be discouraged or remain stagnant. If you linger there, you’ll remain in prolonged suffering. Today, many Christians fail to see the Elim that lies ahead, and so they cease moving forward—some fall into discouragement, drift away from the Lord, and ultimately turn back to Egypt. Brothers and sisters, to halt at Marah is one of life’s greatest losses. Because if, in your suffering, you turn back, Egypt and the Pharaoh (the world, the devil) is waiting to enslave you again. Know this: returning to Egypt will leave you in lifelong regret—how deeply lamentable that would be! Twelve Springs of Water At Elim, there were twelve springs of water. "Springs" refers to quenching of thirst and deep satisfaction. In John chapter 4, we read that Jesus came to Sychar in Samaria and spoke with a woman who had come to draw water. During their conversation, Jesus said: "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  (John 4:13–14) These words pierced straight into her heart—while also revealing that Christ Himself is the true source, able to meet every need of the human soul. In response, the woman said to Jesus, “Sir, give me this water that I may not thirst and come here to draw.” Elim had twelve springs of water. In the Bible, “twelve” represents eternal and fullness. The “twelve springs” signify that Christ is our eternal satisfaction (John 4:13–14). All the brothers and sisters gathered for this special meeting have come with one shared longing: to personally experience that the Lord alone is our true and everlasting fulfillment. On another level, the twelve springs were meant for the twelve tribes of Israel—each tribe had its own spring. This illustrates how these twelve springs were God's provision for the unique needs of each tribe. Spiritually speaking, the twelve springs signify that Jesus abundantly supplies for the needs of all believers. No matter how countless the number of Christians around the world may be, everyone who comes to the Lord will receive timely and sufficient provision. Isn’t this true? Christian from ancient times until now collectively represent the twelve tribes of Israel as a type and foreshadow. The Seventy Palm Trees The "seventy palm trees" provided shade for the Israelite to rest beneath. "Trees" symbolize the victorious cross of Christ—a place of refuge and rest for the saints. When you come before the cross with the burdens pressing upon your soul, those burdens fall away, and your spirit finds rest in Christ. Oh, the victorious cross is rest indeed. Blessed are those who take refuge in Him! Psalm 90:10 says, "The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years..."  Thus, the seventy trees also signify provision for the span of our lives. In other words, from the moment we are born again until the day we see the Lord face to face, we may daily draw near to Him and enjoy the rest found in Christ. During World War II, a young British businessman was drafted into service and sent to the East to fight against the Japanese army. At the time, the Japanese forces were fierce and dominant, and in the course of battle, the young man was taken captive and imprisoned in a Japanese concentration camp, where he suffered severe abuse. Though raised in a Christian home with godly parents, he had not truly taken his faith seriously. Like many children today from Christian families, he followed the rituals handed down but lacked a genuine relationship with the Lord. He had attended Sunday School as a child and church services as he grew—but had never truly repented or accepted Christ. After entering the business world, he drifted further from God. Thankfully, on the eve of enlistment, his mother told him, “From now on, you must rely on the Lord from your heart.” While imprisoned, he felt the emptiness and agony in his heart. He was an ambitious businessman before, now a captive, starved, mistreated, and in despair, he found himself longing for death. At his lowest point, he remembered his mother's words that he must call on the Lord in tribulations. So from the depths of his heart, he cried out to God—and suddenly, his spirit encountered the Lord. He was truly born again and saved. That very night, his life was utterly transformed. The salvation of the Lord filled him entirely. He personally experienced the peace of forgiveness and the joy of heaven. He discovered that the true meaning of life is found in Jesus Christ. He deeply tasted that Christ is his satisfaction and rest. Brothers and sisters, have you reached your Elim? VIII. Manna (Exodus 16:12-15, 31; Numbers 11:4-9)—Christ is the Bread of Life [Wilderness of Sin] About a month and a half after the Israelites left Egypt, they came to the Wilderness of Sin. By then, the food they had brought from Egypt had been completely consumed. Hunger and Complaints in the Wilderness of Sin In the Wilderness of Sin, the Israelites grew hungry and began to grumble intensely against Moses, saying, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in Egypt! There we sat by pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted. But you have brought us out into this wilderness to starve this whole assembly to death.” Because of their hunger, they lacked the strength to go forward and erupted in complaints. This is much like what many Christians experience today. As they journey along the Lord’s path, they reach a point where spiritual nourishment seems lacking—leaving their spirits famished and their service drained of strength. From this state of spiritual hunger, murmuring often arises. God Sends Manna as Food — Christ is the Bread of Life At that time, the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day... On the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily." This symbolizes that Christ is our Bread of Life. As we continue on the spiritual journey, the Lord not only desires us to know Him as our satisfaction and rest—He further leads us to personally experience the life-giving sustenance from heaven. John 6:35 records: "Jesus said, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst'" From that time onward, the Israelites ate manna daily in the wilderness for forty years. Whenever they were lazy and failed to gather it, they went hungry and were too weak to continue walking. Similarly, today we walk on this path of life toward the beautiful land of Canaan—to enter into the fullness of Christ. How can we reach our destination along the Lord’s way? We must eat manna daily—meaning we must receive Christ as our bread of life every day. Sadly, many Christians today do not partake of manna daily. Though we have received grace and salvation and begun walking the path of life, we have yet to realize that Christ Himself is our daily nourishment. If you go one day without eating manna, you will not be able to continue on the path in the wilderness. Only by eating the manna—experiencing Christ as the bread of life—can our spiritual lives grow strong. Brothers and sisters, we all rely on Christ as our bread of life to grow in our spiritual lives. A Christian who does not eat this Bread of Life will remain weak and stagnant, unable to grow. Therefore, may the Lord have mercy and grace upon us, that we would all become disciples who gather and eat manna every single day. Receiving Christ as the Bread of Life Through Bible Reading and Prayer (John 6:51, 63) In the wilderness, the Israelites could not survive without manna; likewise, today, if we do not receive Christ as the Bread of Life, our spiritual lives cannot be sustained. No wonder when Jesus spoke to the crowd about manna, He clearly declared: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."  (John 6:51) He continued in verse 63: "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life." In spiritual experience, eating manna means receiving spiritual nourishment through daily prayer and reading of the Word of God. A day without prayer and reading Bible as spiritual food, you’ll be unable to walk in the Lord’s path that day. Just as the Israelites gathered manna daily, we too must seek nourishment each day through prayer and reading the Bible. I still remember during my student years, the Lord stirred up a group of twenty to thirty young Christians in our school. We were boarders, and during the coldest winter months in northern Taiwan—December, January, and February—we encouraged one another to rise before 6 am. The biting cold made it difficult to leave the warmth of our beds, but drawn by the love of the Lord, whoever got up first would rouse the others. For those who wouldn’t budge, we’d pull off their blankets so they had no choice but to get up! We’d then gather on the campus lawn for morning devotions, to collect our manna—our spiritual sustenance. Thank the Lord! It was in those days that I established my early morning devotional life. By His mercy and protection, I’ve maintained this rhythm for over forty years. Every day, I receive manna from heaven through prayer and reading God’s Word. Except from illness, there hasn’t been a day I’ve eaten breakfast before gathering manna. I’d rather skip breakfast than miss my spiritual food. Even when flying to the U.S., with unclear day or night in the cabin, I would always pray and read the Word before accepting a meal. May the Lord graciously help us all to build a daily habit of receiving spiritual nourishment through prayer and the Bible. A young brother from Taiwan came to the Philippines to pursue a master’s degree and was received into our fellowship. I asked if he kept morning watch, and he said he had already established the habit in Taiwan. After meeting a co-worker in our midst, they began to consistently keep morning devotions together at the meeting hall. Dear young brothers and sisters, our special conference has set a rule to observe morning watch at 6:30 a.m., for the purpose of cultivating and training you in the experience of gathering manna in the wilderness. We earnestly hope that after descending the mountain when the conference ends, each one of you will continue the habit relying on the Lord—no manna, no breakfast. You must seriously establish a daily spiritual life of partaking manna. Press on daily until we see the Lord face-to-face. Just as the Israelites ate manna every day until they entered Canaan, we likewise must partake of the bread of life daily, so that we may enter into the fullness of Christ. Characteristics of Manna — Knowing Christ, the Bread of Life So then, are we truly able to gather manna daily? In other words, do our daily prayers and Bible reading yield spiritual nourishment? And through this, do we come to know Christ, the bread of life? Let us briefly outline the characteristics of manna to explore the experience of gathering it: Descending from Heaven — Heavenly (connects to heaven) This manna came down "from heaven" (Exodus 16:4), signifying that Christ, the bread of life, is heavenly—not earthly. In practical experience, we must quiet ourselves, draw near to the Lord through prayer, and then carefully, slowly, read the Bible word by word, sentence by sentence. At points where our heart is moved, we pause and pray. Through this, we naturally encounter the Lord. Remarkably, we sense a condition within—an inner clarity that connects us to heaven, recognizing that Christ is the heavenly Lord, for He came down from heaven (John 6:63). Our spirit is united with the heavenly Christ, as if heaven and earth are connected. On earth, as in heaven—we intimately experience that with His presence, is heaven itself. Morning — Freshness Manna descended from heaven, the Bible specifically records: "In the morning, the dew lay all around the camp. And when the layer of dew lifted… was a small round substance" (Exodus 16:13–14). Manna came down in the morning. "Morning" signifies freshness and vitality. Experience-wise, when dawn breaks and you rise to draw near to the Lord—praying, reading the Word—you sense freshness and liveliness in your spirit. This indicates that you’ve gathered manna and come to know Christ, the bread of life—who is ever fresh. Small — Humble Furthermore, the Bible describes the manna's appearance as “small” round substance (Exodus 16:14). The meaning is this: whenever you receive life nourishment from the Scriptures, you naturally become humble, as the shape of manna is tiny. Just as our Lord Jesus, when He became flesh and lived on earth, He was humble and lowly, so whoever encounters Jesus—the One prefigured by manna—will willingly choose humility and walk the path of Jesus of Nazareth. Knowing Christ, the bread of life, is a humble Lord. Coriander Seed — Strong "And the house of Israel called its name Manna; and it was like white coriander seed..."  (Exodus 16:31) Coriander seed has life within—it contains a living grain, representing strong and full of energy. In terms of spiritual experience, before morning devotion, we may feel lazy or weak within. But remarkably, after drawing near to the Lord through prayer and Bible reading, that inner weakness disappears and is replaced with spiritual strength. This too is an experience of gathering manna—knowing Christ, the bread of life, as the strong and empowering Lord. White — Purity "…it was like white coriander seed."  (Exodus 16:31) This implies that when we draw near to the Lord and read His Word at morning watch, we are cleansed by God's Word. Our being becomes pure, sanctified in spirit. Thus, we come to know Christ, the bread of life, as the Lord who lived a life of purity. Made with Honey — Sweetness "…and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey."  (Exodus 16:31) “Made with honey” reveals sweetness. This means that when we pray and read the Bible—gathering manna—we taste the sweetness of the Lord. We are attached to Him and unwilling to leave. We come to Christ, the bread of life, as the tender and sweet Lord. Wafers — Satisfaction Manna ... was like “wafers” (Exodus 16:31), indicating that when we receive it, it is as though we’re fed and satisfied. Isn’t that true? Often, before approaching the Lord, our spirit feels empty, hungry, and confused. But once we come to Him in Scripture, our spirit becomes satisfied and full of joy. We come to know that Christ is indeed the bread of life. Pearl — Radiance "The manna… its color like the color of bdellium (Chinese version-Pearl.)  (Numbers 11:7) Pearls and precious stones shine and reflect light. Spiritually, this means that when we encounter the Lord in prayer and Scripture, His Word shines upon us. We are enlightened, and our spirit becomes clear and bright. At the same time, we come to know Christ as the radiant Lord. Fresh Oil — Fragrance “ "…its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil.”  (Numbers 11:8) Fresh oil represents fragrance. In spiritual experience, when we draw near to the Lord through His Word and gather manna, we taste His sweetness. Our hearts are filled with grace, our spirits revived, and we become saturated in the Lord Himself. Naturally, we then emit the fragrance of Christ. As the poetic line says: “Enter the inner veil, let the Lord’s sweetness perfume you, so that when you step out, His fragrance flows from you." Thus, we know Christ as the fragrant Lord. “What is it?” — Fresh Spiritual Understanding The Israelites obeyed the command of the Lord, and indeed, in the morning, they found the ground around the camp covered with small round things like white frost. The Bible records: "when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, 'What is it?' For they did not know what it was."  (Exodus 16:13–15) Each day as they gathered this small round substance, they would ask, “What is it?” Spiritually, this signifies the pursuit of knowing Christ. Every time we gather manna—encounter the Lord—we ask anew: “Who is Christ?” In other words, in our praying and Bible reading, there should be moments of fresh and vivid revelation of Christ. From within our spirit, we perceive Him as the unfathomable Lord of immeasurable richness. Therefore, as we daily read the Word and pray, we should receive fresh understanding, new insight, and renewed experiences of Christ. May the Lord inspire and keep us through this, that each day we gather manna with fresh awareness, fresh vision, fresh experiences—and new glimpses of Him and of heaven. Amen. IX. The Rock of Living Water (Exodus 17:1–7) — Christ as the Water of Life [Rephidim] Next, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s command. They journeyed from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Rephidim. The Israelites were Thirsty Unexpectedly, there was no water at Rephidim. The people, weary from the journey and parched, quarreled with Moses: “Give us water, that we may drink!” They even accused him, “Why is it you have brought us out of Egypt to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” Their complaint reveals the spiritual hunger and thirst of God’s people. Moses Strikes the Rock, and Living Water Flows Moses cried out to God, “What shall I do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” The Lord instructed him to take the rod he used to strike the river, gather the elders of Israel, and go to the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will flow from it for the people to drink. Moses obeyed. He struck the rock with his rod, and water gushed out for the congregation and their livestock to drink. Moses represents God’s Law, the rod signifies divine authority, and the rock typifies Christ. When Moses struck the rock, he foreshadowed the Law’s authority executing judgment on Christ—Christ’s crucifixion on our behalf, bearing our sins and being crushed for our transgressions. When Jesus was crucified, blood and water flowed out. In typology, after His death, resurrection, and ascension, Christ poured out the Holy Spirit—the fullness of Holy Spirit flowed out from Christ. The Holy Spirit is also called Spirit of Christ (1 Peter 1:11). The water springing from the rock becomes a living fountain; all who thirst come and drink from this flowing fountain. Just like when the Holy Spirit poured down at Pentecost, all the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit. Filled with the Holy Spirit — Freedom and Release Now we will briefly and concretely describe the basic experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Freedom of the Spirit “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Corinthians 3:17). This means that before a Christian is filled with the Spirit, he often senses his spirit is bound, unreleased, and not free. Yet when the Holy Spirit comes upon us and fills our entire being, we immediately experience full freedom in our spirit. The Release of the Spirit "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:1–2). We thank the Lord for His mercy in making our church a Spirit-filled church. We fervently hope that no one here remains unfilled by the Spirit. We pray that the Lord would grant us grace so that from within ours spirit we may see that Jesus not only crucified but risen and ascended, already having poured out the Holy Spirit. Just as Moses struck the rock with his rod—splitting it so that water flowed continually—so now all who come may freely drink. The Spirit has come; if our hearts are open, we can all be filled with the Spirit, experiencing true freedom and release. Receiving the Fullness of the Holy Spirit How to be filled with the Holy Spirit is not complicated; in fact, it is exceedingly simple. We will mention two key points: Seeing Christ Glorified John 7:37–39 says, “ On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." This reveals that all who believe in Christ are meant to receive the Holy Spirit. At that time, the Spirit had not yet been poured down, for Jesus had not yet ascended and been glorified. But now—Jesus has risen, ascended, and been glorified! When He was raised from the dead and exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. (Acts 2:33). On the day of Pentecost, the disciples were gathered together in one place, and suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the house where they were sitting. Tongues like flames appeared and rested on each of them—and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. From that day until the Lord returns, this is the age of the Spirit. Whoever desire may come and receive the fullness of the Spirit, experiencing freedom and release in the spirit. First, we must recognize that Jesus has already ascended, been exalted, and glorified. The moment Jesus is glorified, the Spirit is poured out—and anyone who believes can receive Him at any time. In personal experience, receiving the fullness of the Spirit is just as simple as receiving salvation. Just as we opened our mouth to pray and invited the Lord Jesus into our hearts to be saved, so it is with the Spirit—when we open ourselves to Him, the Holy Spirit comes in and fills us completely. Praise Praise is the expression of faith. Faith is invisible to the naked eye, but when we praise, our hearts open, and faith is instantly released. When the Holy Spirit touches our faith, we are filled with the Spirit. At last year’s special conference, we used praise to help brothers and sisters receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Later, a middle-aged brother testified how he received the Spirit. He shared that when the message from the pulpit urged everyone to receive the Holy Spirit, the first step was to believe—and even better, to raise one’s hands and open one’s mouth in praise. He thought to himself, “I’m already a father, and while my daughters can shout ‘Hallelujah’ freely when filled with the Spirit, it would be rather undignified for me to do the same.” Yet his heart was sincerely longing. So he raised his hands in praise and shouted “Hallelujah!” in one accord. As he continued to praise the Lord, something wondrous happened—instantly, the Holy Spirit came upon him mightily. He was filled, thoroughly drenched in the Spirit, and personally experienced freedom and release in the Holy Spirit. The joy was truly beyond words! <-- Back to "The Spiritual Journey Next Chapter -->

Bible Reading: Luke 7:50 John 20:19-21; 14:26, 1 John 2:27-28 Introduction The Bible clearly says that God had set up two roads to take in this world; one is the road to life, and the other is the road to destruction.  Whoever believes and accepts Christ chooses to walk on the road to life, and whoever does not believe and rejects Christ takes the road to perdition. Naturally, after a person believes and is baptized, he starts to have a church life, but slowly he realizes that not all Christians are walking on the road to life; some took the road of religious people, some choose to stick to the law, and only a few are really taking the way of life. We have already mentioned that all those who enter the inner path of life are following the leading from within. In other words, whoever walks on the path of life, proves that the life of God is in him, and his senses are very keen. Therefore, when his actions and behavior contradict or are out of touch with the feeling of the life inside, he will immediately feel uneasy, inappropriate, and painful within. As a result, they have to follow the feelings of their inner life in everything, which makes their spiritual life grow and increase until it reaches maturity.   Inner Guidance We will continue to talk about the sixth key point of the path to the inner life which is the Inner Guidance . In the Old Testament, God commanded Moses to build the Tabernacle from the outer court, then the Holy Place, and then the Holy of Holies. The altars and the laver were located in the Outer Courts. Meaning, Christians in the outer court depend on the light of day outside for their activities. Just like when we were saved by grace, we get involved in various ministries of the church such as evangelizing, witnessing, and drawing people to the Lord, which is being symbolized by the offering at the altar. Secondly, there is the laver, which prefigures the work of the Holy Spirit. But the works of men are often according to the ways of the world, but they are only natural concepts. For daylight refers to natural concepts. But once you enter the Tabernacle, you are free from natural concepts. The whole activity is governed by the light of the lampstand in the tabernacle. It is at this point that one begins to enter the Inner path of life. Instead of relying on daylight (the natural concept), we rely on the light of the lampstand (the sense of the inner life), and let the light of life dominate, which is also called the inner guidance. Then we entered the Holy of Holies, the place of the LORD's presence and the place where the Lord meets with people face to face. This experience shows that one has entered a spiritual peak, allowing God to manage the whole person inside. From this, we can see that the experience of entering the inner path of life, its life, work, ministry, and behavior are all based on the guidance from within. The experience of inner guidance can be divided into two parts, the peace of the Spirit and the teaching of the Holy Spirit. I. Peace in the Spirit When a person believes in Jesus, by the work of the Holy Spirit, the dead are made alive, and God dwells in us through the Holy Spirit. There is an experience called peace in the Spirit. From this experience, I often ask my friends during baptismal talks and sermons, “What is your experience of believing in Jesus?” Some of them answered, “After I believed in Jesus, I had a great peace of mind, a peace that I had never had before.” Oh, that's right! The peace that I never had before is now available to me. This peace is not found in the world but is from heaven, and it is the peace of salvation, which is called the peace of the Spirit.   A. Peace in the Spirit is entering into the path of life. Before believing in Jesus, when you did something wrong and sinned, you could still have a good feeling inside because your spirit was not yet made alive. However, when we believe in the Gospel and accept the Lord Jesus, our spirit becomes alive. At the same time, the whole spirit regains sensitivity. What we enjoy at this time is the peace of forgiveness of sins. This peace says that you have entered the way of life. God is the God of peace Romans 16:20 reads, “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” This indicates that our Lord is a God of peace. His nature is peace, and naturally, the feeling of His life in you and me is also peace. At the same time, Galatians 5:22 further tells us, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, ……” , Therefore, the more the Holy Spirit has a position in us, and the more we follow the Holy Spirit in us, the more the feeling of peace grows and thickens. Life and peace are connected Romans 8:6, “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” It means that life and peace are connected. Where there is life, there is peace. If we follow the Holy Spirit, will we enter into life and enjoy peace at the same time? Therefore, if Christians can always maintain the deep peace (quietness) of the spirit, it means that they are on the path of life. It is just like keeping the morning watch to get closer to the Lord, firstly, we wash ourselves with the precious blood and ask the Lord to forgive us for all our transgressions, and then we enter into sweet fellowship with the Lord face to face. In this way, not only do we read the scriptures, pray, and taste the Lord's sweetness, but also feel the Lord's presence abundantly, and at the same time, we will experience the peace in our spirit, just like clarifying the surface of the lake without any ripples, peaceful, quiet, and bright, and we will enter into life in a way that is invisible. B. Peace is realized in the light Peace in the Spirit includes a wide range of spiritual experiences. We will only mention a few key points. One important point is that peace is realized in the light. Cleansed by the blood in the light According to 1 John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” This means that in order for a person to experience the power of the blood, he must walk in the light. Because a person who lives in darkness cannot see his own corruption and filthiness, he cannot access (experience) the effects of the precious blood. On the other hand, a person who lives in the light will immediately recognize the slightest blemish in the darkness, and will naturally seek the blood of Jesus for cleansing, and as a result, enjoy forgiveness of sins and peace of mind. The blood brings peace After Jesus was crucified, the disciples closed the door for fear of the Jews, but Jesus had risen from the dead, and His resurrected body was no longer limited by time and space. He suddenly came to the disciples and said to them, “Peace be with you.” The disciples were amazed, so Jesus showed them His hands and His rib side, indicating that I have poured out My blood for you, which is for the forgiveness of sins, that you may experience the power of the blood. No wonder then that the Bible specifically says, "Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, 'Peace to you!'" (John 20:20-21) This exact record makes it obvious to us that it is not our good deeds that bring us peace, but the blood of Christ that brings peace. Luke 7 tells us that Jesus was invited by a Pharisee to a meal at his house. Then a sinful woman in the city, knowing that Jesus was sitting there, took an alabaster flask of fragrant oil and stood behind Him, weeping at His feet. She began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil, to show that she was grateful for the Lord's great kindness and love in forgiving her sins. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to themselves, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who it is who touches Him.” Then Jesus turned to the woman and said to her in a soothing tone, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then He said to her, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” (Luke 7:50) This phrase, “Go in peace,” on the one hand says that her sins are forgiven; on the other hand, it says that she should live and conduct herself in peace from now on. She had been known in the city as a sinful woman, living a life of sin in darkness. Now she took the power of the blood and walked in the way of peace, to prove that she was walking in the light. For if a person begins to notice the feeling of peace in her soul, it shows that she is a person living in the light. C. Peace Confirmed in the Presence of the Lord Not only that, but peace is confirmed in the presence of the Lord. When the Lord Jesus rose from the dead and appeared again to His disciples, His first words were, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He put His hands and showed them His nail scars and His rib side, and the disciples recognized that it was the Lord, and they rejoiced. After this, “Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be unto you!'” (Jn 20:21) The peace that Jesus speaks of here the second time is the peace that comes from the presence of the Lord. The first peace is the peace that comes to us through the power of the blood. The second peace is the peace of mind that comes from the presence of the Lord. If we maintain this peace in our hearts and minds, it means that we are walking with the Lord and are with Him. Therefore, we treasure the presence of the Lord with us. It is only when the Lord is with us that we can maintain peace in our hearts and minds. When the Lord leaves, peace is lost. Therefore, brothers and sisters should not regard “peace” as a trivial matter, because behind this matter are many spiritual experiences. Do you have peace in the depths of your heart? One time when the Lord's servant Moody was preaching the gospel, he talked about the fact that the world has sinned, and after the world has sinned, there is one thing, that is, there is no peace. After the meeting was adjourned, a young man came to Moody because he was not convinced in his heart, and said, “Mr. Moody, you say that the world has no peace in its heart, but I have peace.” The tone of his voice was like a refutation of Moody's sermon. But Moody took him by the hand in peace, and said to him, “'There is no peace', Says my God, 'or the wicked.'” (Isa 57:21) After saying goodbye, the young man returned home, and when he went to bed at night, this word, marvelously, kept lingering in the young man's ears, and no matter how he pushed it, he could not shake it off, and he could not sleep the whole night, tossing and turning. At dawn, this young man could not get out of bed and knelt down to repent and confess his sins, and was instantly saved by grace and enjoyed peace of mind. This example shows that sin not only causes God's presence to depart, but also causes the loss of peace, and at the same time, it also shows that peace of mind is confirmed in the Lord's presence. D. Peace is confirmed in God's protection The Philippines has been in a state of law and there is unrest these past few years, and people are living in fear and panic, and in need of God's protection. In fact, to have a good law and to have peace and order there is a need for God's protection as well, because natural and man-made disasters are unpredictable. However, if a person is under God's protection, there is a light of peace of mind. John 16:33 records that Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation…...” This means that if we live in the Lord, we will have peace, but if we depart from the Lord, we will encounter suffering wherever we go, even in the safest place. Philippians 4:6-7 reads, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” The original meaning is that peace is like a guard protecting us. It means that God protects us more than we expect, not only our bodies, but even our minds and hearts are under His protection. So we must live in peace. As long as we remain in peace spiritually, we are in God's protection. Because God defends us on all sides, we will fear no evil. David said in Psalm 23:4, " Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me......” Therefore, if we treasure the Lord's presence and protection, we must maintain peace of mind, for peace of mind is the evidence that we are under God's protection.  E. Peace Proves to be in God's Will Maintaining peace of mind also proves that we are doing the will of God. Rest in the will of God Romans 15:32 records that Paul told the brothers and sisters in the church of Rome, "that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you.” This means that I (Paul) wanted to come to you (the Roman church) before, but I cannot go now because there is a barrier, but the time of God has not yet come. But when the time of God comes, the Lord will lead me to go with joy, and to rest with you. For there is not only joy, but also peace (rest) when a man walks in the will of God. Isaiah 48:18 says, "Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” This means that when you and I obey God's commands and do God's will, our peace of mind will be like a river that flows steadily and continuously. The peace of life comes from being attentive to the Holy Spirit. God's will is often expressed through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, saints should learn to be attentive to the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Romans 8:6 says, "...... to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” When the Holy Spirit leads you and you obey Him in your heart, not only do you enjoy life and peace in your spirit, but it also confirms that we are doing the will of God. Experientially speaking, when we always think of the Holy Spirit, we enjoy peace when we act and behave according to the guidance from within. This peace is not something we ask for, but it is something that God gives to us when we are saved by grace. If we follow the guidance from within, this peace will continue to be in us. II. The Teaching of the Holy Spirit The second aspect of the inner guidance refers to the teaching of the Holy Spirit. We will briefly mention ten points about this experience: A. The feeling of conscience in us, which convicts us of unrighteousness and unholiness The feeling of conscience is the negative side. Anything that offends God, or is unrighteous or not in accord with the body of the saints, is condemned from within, and makes us feel uncomfortable and uneasy from within. If we always obey our conscience, not only will our conscience become more and more sensitive, but it will also enable you to show a transcendent character in everything you do, and to live a life of testimony.  B. The feeling of the inner life, the expression of divine feeling The feeling of the inner life is the positive side. This feeling of life is the expression of God's character. When we act in accordance with the feeling of life, we show good deeds such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, temperance, etc. At the same time, the more we obey the feeling of life within, the more we show God's character. At the same time, the more we obey the feeling of life within, the more sensitive our senses become. Moreover, the law of the life in the spirit invisibly replaces the law outside, so that we can live out the nature of God, not only conforming to the requirements of the law outside, but also exceeding the standard of the law. C. The teaching of the Holy Spirit guides the will of God The teaching of the Holy Spirit is to inform us of God's will, so that God's will can be carried out from heaven through us on earth. In other words, God's will is guided by the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must pay attention to the teachings of the Holy Spirit so that God's will can be freely carried out on earth through the church. D. The promise to send the Comforter (Holy Spirit) before Jesus ascended to heaven Before the Lord Jesus left this world, there was a farewell discourse recorded in John 14, 15 and 16. In these words, Jesus promised, "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth……” (John 14:16-17) This Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. E. The Holy Spirit came to teach the disciples all things Then in verse 26, it says, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things…” This means that Jesus spent three and a half years on earth training His disciples, living with them day and night. Whenever the disciples encountered problems, they would ask Jesus and He would answer them immediately, but they were still limited by space and time. If Jesus had been in Samaria, the disciples in Jerusalem would not have been able to be with the Lord. But now the Comforter not only dwells in the hearts of the disciples and unites with them, but at the same time, all who belong to Him experience His presence wherever they go. Even more precious is the presence of the Holy Spirit in the disciples, who will instruct them in all things. F. The Pentecostal disciples obeyed the Holy Spirit after being filled with Him So when the day of Pentecost came, the disciples were gathered together, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a great wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting, and tongues like flames of fire appeared, and fell upon each of them. The Bible specifically records that these 120 disciples "were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:4). This means that the Comforter is the Holy Spirit of truth, who descended on the disciples, and when they received the Holy Spirit, they immediately followed the guidance, the teaching, and the instruction of the Holy Spirit. In other words, the disciples after Pentecost were different. Their actions were dictated by the Holy Spirit. Let's look at the Apostle Peter, after he was filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, he was governed by the Holy Spirit, he spoke according to the instructions of the Holy Spirit, and when he quoted from the psalmist's message according to the Holy Spirit's instruction, the result was that the congregation felt cut to the heart when they heard it, "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” (Acts 2:41) Philip, the evangelist, was no exception. On that day an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go to the south, along the road from Jerusalem to Gaza” and he immediately obeyed the direction of the Holy Spirit, and on his way he met a powerful eunuch from Ethiopia, who had just returned from worship in Jerusalem, and was sitting in his chariot reading the book of the prophet Isaiah. The Holy Spirit said to Philip, "Go near the chariot.” Immediately he obeyed the teaching of the Holy Spirit, and ran to the eunuch, and heard him reading from the book of Isaiah. Then he said to the eunuch, "Do you understand what you are reading?” And the eunuch answered and said unto him, "How can I, unless someone guides me?” And when he had said this, he invited Philip to come into the chariot, and to sit with him. And the scripture which he was reading was, "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth……” Philip preached to him about Jesus on the basis of this scripture, and led him to believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As they went on their way, they passed a place where there was water, and the eunuch was moved, and said to Philip, Behold, there is water here; what is there to prevent me from being baptized?” He commanded the chariot to stand still, and they went down into the water together, and Philip baptized the eunuch. (Acts 8:26-38) From there the gospel spread to Africa. Let us turn to the Apostle Peter. While he was in Joppa, about noon, he went up on the roof of his house to pray, and when he fell into a trance, he saw heaven open, and a certain thing descending, as it were a great sheet bound at the four corners, and it was let down to the earth. In it were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and insects, and birds of prey; and a voice said unto him, “Arise, Peter, and slay and eat.” And while Peter thought about the vision, the Holy Spirit said unto him, “Three men are seeking you. Arise, go down, and walk with them; and be not dismayed; for I have sent them.” Peter's original ministry was in Jerusalem, and his burden was toward the Jews. But now the Holy Spirit taught him to rise up and go to the house of Cornelius, the centurion of the Gentiles, which was beyond his previous thinking and conception. Because when Jesus was training His disciples, He commanded them to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and now God was using a vision to adjust Peter's mindset to go to the Gentile places to preach the gospel. Thank you, Lord! Peter's mind was immediately changed and he obeyed the Holy Spirit's teaching and went to the house of Cornelius. As he was in the middle of preaching the gospel at Cornelius' house, the Bible records, "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.” (Acts 10:44) This shows us again that the Pentecostal disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and acted in obedience to His teaching. Paul was no exception. Paul was originally a persecutor of Christians, but when the Lord appeared to him on his way to Damascus, his whole outlook was changed. Later, in the church at Antioch, there were several prophets and teachers who were serving the Lord, and while they were fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”  (Acts 13:2). So Paul and Barnabas were sent out by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel and build up churches everywhere. Brothers and sisters, from the above examples, we can see that since the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, their footsteps were obedient to the teachings of the Holy Spirit. G. The Spirit of God guides the sons of God Brothers and sisters, if you have not been attentive to the Holy Spirit in the past, you should pay attention to the fact that you are guided by the Spirit within, not by the natural concepts of the outside world, if you want to walk in the way of life. Romans 8:14 says, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” We always pray, “Abba Father, I thank You that we are Your sons and daughters.” But today the Lord wants to ask you if you have been guided by the Holy Spirit. One of the characteristics of the children of God is that they are guided by the Spirit of God. H. The lesson of restoring the anointing to the desolate church Soon after the apostles passed away, the children of God became less and less guided by the Spirit of God, and the church began to become desolate. At that time, the Apostle John the Elder put pen to paper and wrote the Epistle of John. In the first book of John, he begins by restoring the “original way of life”, and then in the second chapter, he clearly restores the “anointed teaching”, that is, obedience to the voice of the Holy Spirit. He says, “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” (1John 2:27) May the Lord be gracious to us, and let us listen carefully to the teachings of the Holy Spirit, and become a person who obeys the teachings of the anointing. I.  Ways of the Holy Spirit's Teaching Due to the limitation of space, we will briefly mention three ways of teaching by the Holy Spirit: Prohibition Whenever a saint's behavior, life, work, or ministry is not in accordance with God's will, the Holy Spirit will come forth and forbid it. When the Holy Spirit forbids you and me, there is an agonizing, uneasy, and unsettling feeling in us that stops will stop us from continuing our actions. Paul and his co-workers once preached in Asia and the Holy Spirit forbade him (Acts 16:6). Preaching is a ministry of evangelism, edification, and commitment. But when the Holy Spirit forbade him, he stopped. Then they wanted to go to Bithynia, but the Bible says, "but the Spirit did not permit them.” (Acts 16:7). Until they went to Troas, a vision appeared to Paul during the night. And one of the Macedonians stood and besought him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When Paul saw the vision, he immediately wanted to go to Macedonia, because God had called them to preach the gospel to the people there. This history tells us that the Holy Spirit guides the saints in a way that forbids us if we are not aligned with God's will. One year, when Mr. Luk Wan-tao, a Malaysian businessman, came to Taiwan, he set up a banquet of 100 tables at the Yuanshan Hotel in Taipei, inviting dignitaries, businessmen and VIPs to share in the banquet. That day Mr. Lu boarded the plane in Taichung to come to Taipei, and our brother Pan was on the same plane with him, but miraculously, when Brother Pan boarded the plane, he was so disturbed by the Holy Spirit's prohibition that he was in such agony that he could not bear it, so he obeyed the Holy Spirit's prohibition and disembarked from the plane. The plane took off on time. Unexpectedly, the plane crashed halfway through the flight and no one survived. When it was time for the banquet to begin at the Yuanshan Hotel in Taipei, hundreds and thousands of guests gathered, but strangely, there was no sign of their host. Later, news came that Mr. Luk's plane had crashed, and the guests were saddened to know that the host who had invited them would never come, so they all left. It was a very sad and unhappy banquet that night. If our brother Pan had not obeyed the Holy Spirit's prohibitions, he would have gone to ashes that day! Therefore, Christians must be very careful to obey the prohibitions of the Holy Spirit in their daily lives. Moving (Urging) Mark 1:12 reads, "Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19 says, "Do not quench the Spirit.” “Moving or Prompting” is another way in which the Holy Spirit actively guides the saints. For example, among us, at the beginning or end of a meeting, many young people are eager to pray first. This is simply because they are moved by the Holy Spirit in their souls. In the church, we must be careful to follow the Holy Spirit's moving. Some brothers and sisters have been blessed for a long time, but they have never opened their mouths for praise in the Breaking of Bread. They do not know the Holy Spirit’s prompting, and eventually they become spiritually numb. Prayer meetings and Bible study meetings are no exception. Even in life, work, and ministry, we must be careful to obey the Holy Spirit's movements. In a Thursday night Bible fellowship meeting, a young man witnessed that after he had read the Bible in the morning, the Holy Spirit moved him to call a certain brother, and he asked the Lord, “Lord, what do you want me to say to my brother on the phone?” The Holy Spirit said, "You have to give him the verse that moved you in the morning, ‘He who endures to the end will be saved.’” So he obeyed, and called the brother, telling him that the Lord had moved him to call after the morning watch and to tell him that he should pray a lot, and that he who endures to the end will be saved. Then he hung up the phone. Soon after, a call came in from a friend who was a businessman, calling the brother to discuss business with him, and in the middle of the conversation, the other party suddenly became angry and cursed him in a foul language. When the brother heard that the other party was being unreasonable and rude, he was also angered in his heart, and when he was about to say something in response, he suddenly remembered that our brother had told him in the morning to pray a lot, and that he who endures to the end will surely be saved. He held his tongue for a while, and miraculously felt calm in his spirit. Instead, he answered the other person gently and ended the conversation. A little later the phone rang again, and it was the same friend who had just called, not only in an apologetic tone, but also saying to him, “I am sorry that I was so ill-tempered when I spoke to you this morning, but please forgive me, and I would really like to do business with you if you would be so kind to me.” Thank you, Lord! From this testimony, we can see that this young man was moved by the Holy Spirit to call the brother, and spoke to the brother in obedience to the Holy Spirit's teaching, and actually helped the brother, and came through the experience together. May the Lord be gracious to us, so that in the future, no matter in our life, work, or ministry, we can seriously obey the teachings of the Holy Spirit, and walk with the Lord day by day and hour by hour. Signifying To “signify” is to put the idea in your mind, which is also written in the Bible: “The Holy Spirit said......” For example, in Acts 8, "The Holy Spirit said to Philip” this statement meant that the Holy Spirit will show you what to do. When you go out to visit, or do something, or buy something, and you seek the Lord, and the Lord will show you His will step by step, so that you and I will have a clear sign from our hearts, and if we follow this leading, it is called being guided from within. One Thursday night, before a certain brother went out to visit, he had a feeling that he should visit three brothers today, and for the convenience of driving along the route of the visitation, and especially to save time, he should first look at A, then B, and lastly C. But marvelously, when he was about to follow the route as planned, the Holy Spirit said, “First visit B, then A, and lastly C.” Though it was not a smooth route, the brother, who was always obedient to the Holy Spirit, took the trouble to follow His instructions and followed His instructions. Although the way was not smooth, my brother, who was always obedient to the Holy Spirit's guidance, followed the Holy Spirit's instructions and was guided without any trouble. Sure enough, when he arrived at the first house, his good friend came home soon after and was very happy to see him and have good fellowship with him. Then he went to the second house, and the other said, “You have come at the right time, and I will go out later.” Finally, when he came to the third house, the brother was coming back from the outside. If the brother had followed the original route, he would have made an empty trip that night. J. Obedience to the teaching of the Holy Spirit, the One who lives and guides. Since the teaching of the Holy Spirit is the voice or feeling of the Spirit, it is naturally the story of the Spirit. The Spirit is in the deepest part of the human being, so to speak, that is to say, the inner guidance, which is not subject to external domination, nor influenced by the natural human concepts but is completely in accordance with the inner feelings or voices of the inner man and is a guide to the outer man. Therefore, one who obeys the teaching of the Holy Spirit is one who lives in the inner guidance. Those who have this experience are those who walk the path of inner life. Elder sister Hou is a person who has had the deepest experience in the Lord. Anyone who had much contact with her would find that when they were in fellowship with her, when they asked her questions, or when they asked her for advice, she would not answer them immediately, and she would not hastily say what she meant. She was quiet, waiting, that is, asking inside to see how she felt inside, or rather, waiting for the teaching of the Holy Spirit inside. It is not very often that we meet a person like her, who lived her daily life guided that way. <-- Back to "The Pathway of Inner Being" Next Chapter -->

Bible Reading: Exodus 13:20-22, 14:21-28, 15:22-25 We have already seen how the Israelites, while in Rameses in Egypt, obeyed the Lord’s instructions given through Moses regarding three appointed festivals: Passover  – experiencing Christ as our eternal life. Feast of Unleavened Bread  – experiencing Christ as our holy life. Consecration of the Firstborn to God  – experiencing Christ as our Lord. Only after observing these did they officially begin their journey out of Egypt, setting forth on the wilderness path. IV. Pillar of Cloud and Pillar of Fire (Exo 13:20–22) — Christ’s Guidance — Led by the Holy Spirit and the Bible [Succoth] When the Israelites departed from Rameses in Egypt and began their journey into the wilderness, they faced an endless, desolate expanse with no roads to follow and no signs to guide them. With two to three million men, women, and children—how could they find their way? Thank God! Exodus 13:20–22 records: "So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people." This passage tells us that during the day, the Lord dwelled within the pillar of cloud to guide the people. The cloud shaded them from the scorching sun, providing comfort and protection. At night, the Lord caused the cloud to glow like fire, illuminating their path when darkness covered the land. From Succoth onward, the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire led the people through the wilderness for forty years until they reached the Promised Land of Canaan. This historical reality illustrates how God guides the life of every believer—through the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire—until we enter into the fullness of Christ. Since the moment we were born again and saved, the Lord has been our guide, leading us step by step toward glory. If anyone among the Israelites refused to follow the guidance of the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, he would be left behind and lost in the wilderness. For forty years, they relied on this divine guidance—until they finally entered the land of promise. Thank God! Since the day we were born again, the Lord Jesus has dwelt in you and me. He also leads us into His fullness with the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. In terms of typologies, the "pillar of cloud" represnts the Holy Spirit , while the "pillar of fire" represents the Bible (the word of God) . It is only by relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word throughout our lives that we can enter into the fullness of Christ. Now let us look at how God used the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire to lead the Israelites along the Lord’s path.. The Pillar of Cloud（Exodus 13:21-22） The first step was to guide them with a pillar of clouds. The "pillar of cloud" typifies the Holy Spirit. After the Lord Jesus was crucified and completed his redemption, God raised Him from the dead by His mighty power on the third day. Forty days later, God received Him into heaven, and following His ascension, He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within the disciples on the day of Pentecost. This Spirit remains with us forever, just as in the days of old when the Israelites were guided with a pillar of cloud during the daytime. "Daytime" refers to when we can physically see with our eye. Spiritually speaking, it is when our spirits are transparent, bright, and clear. It is at these times that we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit leading us to understand, and we live our lives according to this voice. This aligns with the Lord Jesus' promise to His disciples before His departure, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things" (John 14:26) It implies that today, the Holy Spirit who dwells in us will teach us in all things. In fact, the elderly apostle John tells us in 1 John 2:27: "But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him." In former times, when the Israelites saw the pillar of cloud move during the day, all of them—men, women, young and old alike—would immediately set out and journey through the wilderness. In the same way, today the Holy Spirit dwells within every believer who received the grace and are saved. Whether new believers or those who have believed for years, each one should live, work, and serve according to the voice, guidance, and teaching of the Holy Spirit throughout their life. Regarding the experience of the Holy Spirit’s leading, we will briefly mention three basic dynamics. Prohibiting (Not permitting) One of the works of the Holy Spirit is prohibiting—or not permitting. When our living, work, or ministry is not from the Lord, the Holy Spirit will prohibit us. Acts 16:6–7 records: "Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them." This passage speaks of how the Holy Spirit forbade Paul from preaching the gospel in Asia, and later, when he intended to go to Bithynia, the Spirit of Jesus again did not permit him. From this, we can see that when our actions are not from the Lord, the Holy Spirit will prohibit us—causing a sense of unrest, inappropriateness, or discomfort in our spirit. It's like the frequent power outages in the Philippines, when the electricity is suddenly cut off. Or like the great earthquake in San Francisco when the entire city's power supply was instantly cut—lights went out, and even cable cars couldn’t operate. This “power-off” feeling is like the Spirit of Jesus prohibiting and blocking us from within. A young brother once testified one Thursday. One morning, he planned to go to the Jefferson Library in Makati. However, just before he stepped out, he felt deeply unsettled and uneasy inside—as though the Holy Spirit was forbidding him from going. So he stopped and asked the Lord, “Lord, if You do not want me to go to Makati, I am willing to obey.” Then he headed to the church instead. Upon arrival, he saw the brothers busy repairing electrical devices and went to help. The next morning when he casually opened the newspaper, he read that a bomb had exploded at the Jefferson Library the previous day. Only then did he understand why the Holy Spirit had prohibited him from going there. Hallelujah! Moving (Prompting) 1 Thessalonians 5:19 tells us: "Do not quench the Spirit."  This means that when we do things or interact with others—especially in our service to the Lord—we must pay attention to the Spirit’s prompting. It’s as though there is an urging within our spirit. One day, a brother was sitting in the outdoor corridor behind the deacon’s office at the ground floor of the church, resting on a marble bench. Suddenly, he felt the Spirit’s prompting, urging him to leave. He obeyed and left the area. Moments later, a large section of debris from the stone wall above came crashing down right onto the very bench where he had just been seated. Oh! He gave thanks and praise to the Lord, while marveling at the Spirit’s prompting—so wondrous, so sweet. That evening, he testified that had he not obeyed the Spirit’s prompting, he might have died of the accident. This shows how important it is in a believer’s experience to follow the pillar of cloud and obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord graciously help us to remain attentive and obedient to the Spirit’s urging, so that we may walk peacefully under His divine leading. Instructing 1 John 2:27 says, “The anointing teaches you concerning all things.”  This means that the small voice of the Holy Spirit will express or indicates a thought to us inwardly. Years ago, while I was serving in Taipei, I took the opportunity to publish some of my writings. Before returning to Manila, I packed several bundles of the newly printed books to bring back. But the Holy Spirit instructed me: “Just bring two bundles.” So I obeyed. The following day, upon arriving at Manila airport and passing through customs, the inspection officers opened the packages and said, “These are new books, so you need to pay a duty—96 pesos.” I had printed and brought books very year, and had never been taxed before, so I hadn’t brought much cash with me. I gathered all the money I had in my pockets—and astonishingly, the total was exactly 96 pesos, not a cent more or less. This small example clearly shows how precise the Holy Spirit’s instruction can be. The Pillar of Fire (Exodus 13:21–22) When the sun had set, night fell, and darkness covered the land—at the moment when the Israelites in the wilderness could no longer discern the path—God caused the pillar of cloud to shine forth, becoming a pillar of fire to guide their way. The "pillar of fire" typifies the Bible (God’s Word). Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."  A “lamp and light” serve as instruments that illuminate and guide. There are times when our spirit is clouded, our perception dull—just like walking in the night. Or perhaps our spiritual condition is not clear, even confused or darkened. It is in such moments that God uses the pillar of fire—His Word—to guide us in our way. Explicit Teachings of the Bible One aspect of how God’s Word (the Bible) guides believers is through its explicit teachings. Scripture teaches that we should gather together on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7), for this is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:23–24). When we gather according to the Lord’s Word, we are following the pillar of fire. Therefore, anyone who does not attend the Lord’s Day gatherings is not following the pillar of fire, nor walking according to the Bible’s guidance—and naturally, cannot truly enter into the fullness of Christ. There was a God-loving Christian named Eric, a world-renowned sprinter in the 100-meter race. One of his competitions happened to be scheduled on a Sunday. Out of reverence for the Lord and his conviction to keep the Lord’s Day holy, he resolutely decided to forgo the race. Many supporters felt sorry for him, but he replied, “I do not envy the gold medal—I want the Lord Jesus.” Remarkably, his teammate was unable to participate in the 400-meter race later that week—on a Thursday—and Eric was chosen to represent instead. Not only did he win first place, but he also broke the world record. This brief testimony powerfully shows that one who truly follows the pillar of fire and lives for the Lord will never be shortchanged. The Lord repays abundantly. The Light, Principles, and Illumination of the Bible Another aspect of the Bible (God’s Word) guiding the saints is following its light, principles, and illumination. There was a young brother among us who, after being revived by the Lord, saw other young brothers and sisters praying aloud and praising the Lord during the bread-breaking meeting, and his heart was filled with longing. However, due to his introverted nature and timidity, he hadn’t dared to speak out boldly. Thank the Lord! One day during his morning watch, he read Romans 8:26: "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." As he read this verse, the words seemed to shine before him. He realized that the Spirit not only moves us but can actually pray through us. So, on the Lord’s Day, he submitted to the teaching of the Scriptures. When the Spirit moved him during the meeting, he boldly opened his mouth to pray—and as he prayed, it was as if rivers of living water flowed from deep within him. As the Israelites followed the pillars of cloud and fire step by step, they advanced station by station. Now they had arrived at the place called Pi-hahiroth. V. Crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21-28)—The Death of Christ [Pi Hahiroth] They journeyed onward until they reached the vast and unfathomable shores of the Red Sea. At that time, there were no bridges—how could they possibly cross safely? The Bible records that the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the children of Israel to move forward. Lift up your rod, stretch your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry land through the midst of the sea." Sure enough, Moses followed God’s command and stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. The Israelites boldly entered the sea and walked through on dry land. The water stood like walls on either side of them. In the morning, the Lord looked down upon the Egyptian army through the pillar of cloud and fire, throwing them into confusion… Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” Moses stretched out his hand, and at daybreak, the sea returned to its full depth. The waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them, not one survived. (Exodus 14:14–26) Crossing the Red Sea Represents Baptism From a typological perspective, the crossing of the Red Sea represents baptism. This is because the apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:1–2: "Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea." (Moses being a type of Christ). Baptism Into the Death of Christ “Passing through the sea” signifies being baptized in the sea and being joined to Moses. Romans 6:3–4 says, "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" This means that when the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross, we were crucified with Him. Therefore, our baptism bears witness that we are united with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. The Result of Crossing the Red Sea: Deliverance from Egypt and Pharaoh (the World) Pharaoh, who ruled over the entire land of Egypt, typifies satan's dominion over the whole world. When the Israelites crossed the sea, Pharaoh’s entire army pursued them closely. But when Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, the waters returned, and Pharaoh’s entire army was drowned in the Red Sea. Thus, crossing the Red Sea signifies coming out of Egypt. The Red Sea became a barrier between Israel and Egypt, so the result of crossing it was deliverance from Pharaoh and Egypt. In terms of spiritual experience, whenever we are baptized, we are delivered from the devil and the world. Baptism is not merely a ritual—it is a spiritual reality of separation from the world. Galatians 6:14 tells us: "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Christ has accomplished redemption, the price has been paid, and I have been bought back. The cross has separated me from the world; the secular realm no longer has a share in me. Hallelujah! As the hymn says: Glorious freedom, wonderful freedom, No more in chains of sin I repine! Jesus the glorious Emancipator, Now and forever He shall be mine. There was a brother engaged in business. After receiving the gospel and being born again, he was baptized not long afterward. Upon coming out of the baptismal pool, he testified: “When I rose from the water, my whole outlook on life changed. Before, my eyes were fixed on the earth—now, my gaze has turned to heaven. My view of the world has also been transformed.” This is what it means to be baptized into the death of Christ—the world has been buried beneath the waters, and I have come out from it. VI. Bitter Water Turned Sweet (Exo 15:22-25)—Christ's Loving kindness and Grace [Marah] Because the Lord performed great wonders against the Egyptians, the Israelites walked fearlessly on dry ground and crossed the Red Sea. When they had passed through the Red Sea, the whole congregation rejoiced, singing and praising God. Miriam, Moses’ sister, led the women in playing tambourines and dancing in celebration, lifting up songs of praise to the Lord. Yet crossing the Red Sea was not the final goal—entering Canaan was. Therefore, Moses, in obedience to God’s command, led the entire congregation of Israel forward on their journey.  Three Days Without Water in the Wilderness of Shur Moses led the Israelites away from the shores of the Red Sea and into the wilderness of Shur. For three days they journeyed in the desert without finding any water to drink. It was an extremely difficult and distressing experience. Israelite Complaints on Bitter Waters at Marah Eventually, they arrived at Marah. The road was rugged and hard to travel. When they finally found water, they were overjoyed—but upon tasting it, they discovered the water was bitter and undrinkable. So the entire congregation began to complain to Moses. Brothers and sisters, the Israelites were already weary from journeying through the dry wilderness of Shur for three days without water. Their thirst was unbearable. In Scripture, the number “three” carries significance—it symbolizes the Triune God. Thus, the “three days without water” points to a divinely arranged trial. Isn’t it often the case that, after baptism and setting our hearts to follow the Lord, we encounter testing? Some, in their zeal to love and serve the Lord, are met not with ease but with difficulties. Prayers seem unanswered; the more they cry out, the more afflictions arise. Just like how the Israelites suffered thirst for three days, only to find bitter water, it becomes “bitterness upon bitterness.” Just like parents are already burdened when a child falls ill and then business suffers loss. He tries to seek comfort at church, only to be misunderstood. The environment is already harsh, still there are difficulties. This is the experience of bitter water at Marah. Water Made Sweet by Casting Tree into It—Knowing the Love of the Lord When the people raised their voices in complaint against Moses, the Bible records: "So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet." (Exodus 15:24–25) This reveals that in seasons of hardship, setbacks, and ongoing trials, the only true solution is to come before the Lord. Though circumstances may remain unchanged, a heart that recognizes the Lord’s love and grace undergoes transformation. Finding Sweetness in Pondering on the Cross of Christ " And the LORD showed him a tree.” The word “showed” implies a divine revelation. That tree was not just any tree, it was one that God specially reveal—God reveals to us the cross of Christ. The Lord Jesus bore our sins on the cross (1 Peter 2:24); through the punishment He endured, we received peace; by His stripes, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). Oh! Suffering becomes sweet. The water itself didn’t change, but its taste did. Our circumstances may remain, but our lives, perspectives, and attitudes transform and become sweet. The Apostle Paul said to the Galatians in Galatians 3:1: "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?" This is the revealed cross. Whenever we face difficult and unfavorable situations, and we recall the crucified Christ—even though our suffering remains—the thought of Jesus on the cross instantly brings sweetness to our hearts. Isn’t it so? When we consider how the Lord Jesus willingly endured the agony of the cross out of love for us, our suffering feels a millin times lighter in comparison. We woud be grateful and offer our worship to the Lord, in that moment, bitterness turns into sweetness. As the poem says: The thorns in my path are not sharper Than composed His crown for me; The cup that I drink not more bitter Than He drank in Gethsemane. In my youth, I lived in northern Taiwan. At that time, a classmate and I were deeply captured by the love of the Lord, and we wholly dedicated our lives to live for Him. Each day, we would travel together by train from Keelung to Taipei for school. During winter, it often rained, and the weather was bitterly cold. But thanks to the Lord’s mercy and the drawing power of His great love, we continued attending church gatherings every Tuesday and Thursday in Taipei. After the meetings, we would take a bus to the train station and ride the last train back to Keelung, arriving around 11:30 pm. As we got off the train, it was often amidst stormy winds and pelting rain, with piercing cold all around us. We walked home together, our pants soaked through by the time we reached home. One night, I asked him, “Brother, don’t you find this bitter and hard?” He replied, “Thank the Lord! Every time I think of how our beloved Lord suffered on the cross for me, this little hardship I bear for Him feels like nothing.” Yes, our clothes drenched, the cold wind biting, but in our spirit, we felt a deep sweetness. That’s what it means for bitter water to turn sweet. We personally experience how deep the Lord's grace and how great His love is! Hope that whenever we face difficulties and trials, let us bow beneath the cross of the Savior and ponder: Why should Jesus bear such agony? Here the pure Lamb of God gave His own life, that I might from my sins be set free. Lord, for me, Thou hast all yours forsaken, How can I shun Thy great love once more? I believe, I receive Thee, Lord Jesus, And to Thee yield my life and my all. That, indeed, is placing the tree of the cross into our bitter water—so that it might be made sweet. After a church gathering, a young sister returned home and was severely beaten by her unbelieving mother. Yet, the very next afternoon, she quietly slipped away again to join the pursuit group at the church hall. The other sisters saw bruises—red and purple—on her arm and went to comfort her, asking whether it hurt. She replied, “When my mother struck me, the image of the Lord Jesus being scourged for me on the cross remarkably appeared before my eyes. I didn’t feel pain. Instead, I came to know more deeply how immense His love truly is!” Water Made Sweet by Casting Tree into It—Knowing the Grace of the Lord The act of casting the tree into the waters to make them sweet also reveals the grace of Christ. When the Lord Jesus was crucified, blood and water flowed from His side. The “water” signifies life. In painful and difficult circumstances, it is His life that sustains us. Sometimes trials last for a month, sometimes half a year, and still persist. Yet when we fix our eyes on Christ’s cross, something wondrous happens—His life and grace abundantly flow into us. Once His life arrives, it empowers us to overcome every hardship. This is grace. The Apostle Paul spoke of a thorn in his flesh. For this, he pleaded with the Lord three times. Though he lived wholly for the Lord, this thorn remained, causing him great distress. The Bible does not elaborate further, but scholars believe it may have been an eye disease. Paul asked the Lord three times to remove it, but the Lord said to him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” ( 2 Corinthians 12:9) Indeed, though Paul suffered the pain of the thorn, the Lord’s grace surpassed and overshadowed that suffering. Brothers and sisters, the place called Marah is meant to lead us into an experience of how rich the Lord’s grace truly is. No wonder Paul declared, "For when I am weak, then I am strong."  (2 Corinthians 12:10) Charles Spurgeon was a servant greatly used by the Lord. When he spoke of the Lord’s grace, he once said: “I, Spurgeon, am but a small cup; the grace of the Lord is like an endless ocean—how could my little cup ever exhaust His vast grace?” Oh! We are merely tiny cups—how could we ever scoop dry an ocean of grace? The Lord’s grace is infinite, and our lifetime’s capacity could never deplete it. Dear brothers and sisters, in our life's journey, if the Lord is gracious to us, He will sooner or later lead us to Marah. That means we will face painful experiences on this earth. But fear not: the Lord’s grace is sufficient for us. Throughout history, countless people have suffered persecution for the Lord, some even martyred. It was not because they were more noble or stronger than others, but because the Lord’s grace came upon them, enabling them to overcome every form of suffering. How deeply we hope that when we arrive at Marah, we will remember the cross of Christ. For it is the cross that turns bitter waters sweet, filling us with boundless love and endless grace. <-- Back to "The Spiritual Journey Next Chapter -->

Scripture Reading: Exodus 12:17-20, 13:6-7 2 Corinthiians 7:1 Exodus 13:1-2 Romans 12:1 We can now clearly see that God’s purpose and goal in leading His people is for them to enter into the fullness of Christ. In typology, this journey moves from leaving Egypt, through the wilderness, and ultimately into Canaan—the good and spacious land. Before the Israelites could depart from Egypt, they first had to observe the Passover. The Passover marks the spiritual starting point of discipleship. Its significance lies in receiving the eternal life of Christ. Now, we turn to the second stage in the Exodus experience: observing the Feast of Unleavened Bread. II. Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:15-20} —Christ is the Holy Life [Rameses] The Lord spoke to Moses that the Israelites must observe the Feast of the Unleavened Bread on the same day. Exodus 12:17 says, "So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day..." This clearly shows that the experience of the Passover is to be followed by the experience of the Unleavened Bread. In the Bible, “ leaven ” is a symbol of sin. “Unleavened” signifies the removal of sin (sinless). Therefore, the second experience after a person is reborn is to live a sin-free life. And the reason we are able to live without sin is because the life we received through rebirth is a holy life. The Feast of Unleavened Bread Last Seven Days Exodus 12:18 says: "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses..." On the same day that the Israelites observed the Passover, they also kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. Spiritually, this signifies the cleansing of sin and living a sin-free life. The Feast lasts seven days, with unleavened bread eaten daily. In the Bible, “seven” represents completeness—seven days in a week, a full cycle of time. These seven days symbolize a complete span of days, illustrating that from the moment of rebirth all the way to life’s end—the day when we meet the Lord, we are called to live a daily life free from sin.  The Importance of Cleansing Sin Why must Christians cleanse sin and live a sin-free life? Based on biblical truths, we will briefly highlight three key points: Sin Causes God to Withdraw When a person is born again, he receives the life of Christ within and are united with God. God communes with us, and we are reconciled with Him. However, whenever sin enters, we are immediately separated from God. Isaiah 59:2 says: "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." This is why Christians must be extremely careful. Encountering sin is like encountering a tiger or a venomous snake—it separates us from God. When Jesus was crucified, His first words were: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"   (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). Our God is a glorious, holy, and righteous God—He does not compromise with sin nor tolerate it. Thus, when the Lord Jesus bore the sins of all humanity on the cross, He was forsaken by the Father—His most painful moment. Though He was the beloved Son of the Father and dwelled with Him, once He bore the sin of all mankind on the cross, He was separated from God. No wonder John the Baptist, upon encountering the Lord, spontaneously exclaimed: "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29) Sin Holds People Captive Matthew 5:26 records Jesus’ words: "You will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny."  This means that sin has the power to imprison and restrain a person—wherever one goes, sin follows. This reveals the terrifying nature of sin. Proverbs 28:13 says: "He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy." This speaks of fallen humanity’s nature: after committing sin, people fear exposure and strive to hide it. Yet, our holy and righteous God, whose eyes search the entire earth, sees the depths of the human heart and does not overlook sin. Therefore, if a Christian is overcome by transgression, they must confess to God and renounce the sin—then God, in His mercy, will forgive. Otherwise, spiritual decline may follow. Sin Leads to Spiritual Death Romans 6:23 states: "For the wages of sin is death."  This clearly affirms that sin results in death. Indeed, many Christians have applied the blood of the Lamb, eaten of the Lamb’s flesh, and partaken of the unleavened bread and bitter herbs. In fellowship, they stood and shared testimonies full of freshness and vitality. They eagerly participated in visitations and service. Yet, within a year or so, they seem to vanish. When visited, some excuse themselves, saying schoolwork is too demanding or work is too busy, offering all kinds of reasons to withdraw. But after some time, it becomes clear: these are not the true reasons. In fact, they secretly fell into sin. Sin not only separates them from God but also makes them fearful of drawing near to Him. Gradually, they avoid gatherings and stop serving, leading to spiritual death. This reveals one thing unmistakably: once sin enters, it must be thoroughly cleansed and dealt with, or it will bring about devastating consequences. No Leaven Shall be Seen within Your Border "For seven days… no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters."  (Exodus 13:7) This means that not only must there be no sin in oneself, even in one’s surrounding environment. In other words, everything visible inside and outside the house must be free from sin. All sinful objects and actions must be removed. 2 Corinthians 7:1 tells us: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” This means that once a person is born again, he should no longer sin or defile himself with uncleanness. He is called to live a holy life. So how is sin practically cleansed? Not to Investigate the Past, Just Cleanse the Present Before being saved, many Christians engaged in improper behavior—having been raised in sin and living in a sinful world. After believing in Jesus and receiving the light of the Holy Spirit, they realize they’ve committed many sins, some hidden since childhood, middle school, university, and beyond. Now, we must be fully assured that when we received the Lord Jesus, His precious blood washed away all our sins and defilements. We need to be very clear: all past sins, big and small, have already been forgiven by the Lord. We do not need to dig into the past. Instead, we must be watchful from now on. If we sin, we must immediately come before the Lord and thoroughly deal with it. But what if we sin again? We still come before the Lord by faith, trusting in the eternal power of His blood, and earnestly ask for forgiveness, praying to be cleansed by His blood. Actually, when we believed in the Lord Jesus, our lifetime of sins—past, present, and even future (yet to be committed)—has already been forgiven. Yet in spiritual experience, when we sin again, it separates us from God. It’s like a child who fights at school and, upon returning home, feels too guilty to draw near to their parents. The parents may not even know what happened, but the child’s conscience condemns him, making him avoid speaking or approaching. In truth, if the parents knew, they would forgive—but the child still must confess. Likewise, when Christians sin, they need only to humble themselves before God, confess, and ask to be cleansed by the blood. The Practice of Removing Sin Now let us elaborate more concretely the experience of practicing the removal of sin: Confession When a normal Christian commits a sin and comes before the Lord to confess, if the sin involves others, he must first confess to God and also to the person offended. The same applies if there is estrangement between them. One of the Lord’s greatly used servants, Meyer, although praised as a spiritual man, was still human, and his Adamic nature remained vulnerable. One Sunday, before stepping up to preach, he saw a colleague do something foolish, and he angrily rebuked him. Afterwards, he felt deep sorrow within. Returning to his room to prepare his heart before the pulpit, the Holy Spirit prompted him to confess to the colleague. He immediately rang the bell to summon him. The colleague came in fear, expecting another reprimand. Fellow workers stood nearby as Meyer, with sincerity and humility, said, “What you did earlier was indeed foolish, but I should not have lost my temper and rebuked you. Please forgive me.” At that time, the hierarchical distinction between British ministers and workers was very clear. Meyer was a well-known minister, yet he humbly and courageously confessed to his colleague. In his written testimony, he described how, after that confession, his spirit lifted again to the blue sky. Confession should not be substituted with alternatives. A Christian couple quarreled one morning. The husband felt distressed at work and wondered how to reconcile with his wife. He remembered her fondness for strawberries and bought some on his way home. His wife, knowing his temperament well, accepted the gesture. Though the gift soothed her anger, but it was merely an alternative form of apology. He should have first confessed for rebuking her harshly—whether he bought strawberries or not. Confession followed by a gift would have been even better. Removing What Is Evil, Unclean, or Unholy Idols, injustice, and impure things must be completely eliminated. As 1 John 5:17 says, "All unrighteousness is sin." Therefore, one must search the house for borrowed books, or items of unknown origin, to return them to their rightful owner. Stolen goods must be repaid. Unclean and unholy items—such as gambling devices, drinking ware, celebrity photos, or obscene images—must all be cleared away thoroughly. III. Consecration to God (Exodus 13:1–2) — Christ is Lord [Rameses] Exodus 13:1–2 records: "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Consecrate[a] to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.'“ This verse presents a challenge to us: can we truly walk the path in the wilderness? Will we spend our entire lives walking in the Lord’s way? After being saved, whether we can progress swiftly on this journeyor not, the key lies in whether we have consecrated ourselves to God as holy. From the New Testament perspective, this consecration refers to offering ourselves to God—meaning we allow Christ to be the Lord. At the time, the Israelites observed the Passover. In terms of experience, this signified encountering Christ as eternal life. Their observance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread represented experiencing Christ as a holy life. Now, God was taking them a step further to experience Christ as Lord. The Meaning of Consecration What is consecration? From the New Testament perspective, it means living for the Lord. Put simply, it is living for Jesus. As the lyrics of the song we just sang go: "All belongs to Christ"—that is, surrendering sovereignty to the Lord. When we give the Lord full sovereignty, we live for Jesus. This is a sacred, solemn, and profoundly important spiritual experience. If we do not consecrate ourselves to the Lord, we cannot move forward. At last year's special conference, our central message focused on the altar—a call for us to consecrate ourselves and let Jesus be Lord. Many of us responded and consecrated ourselves then, but soon reclaimed what we had surrendered. Let us understand clearly: we must firmly consecrate ourselves to the Lord, allowing Jesus to truly be our Master. In ancient slave societies, when a master bought a slave, from that day onward, the slave was no longer free and had to live under the master's authority. Likewise, “letting Christ be Lord” means that from the moment we consecrate ourselves, Christ becomes our Master, governing our lives—not that we consecrate and then continue to be our own lord, living for ourselves. May the Lord's great love conquer us, that we may receive grace before Him and learn—like the slaves of old—to no longer live casually or in freedom, but to seek His will in all things, great or small. As the hymn says: Be Thou supreme, O Jesus Christ, My soul exults in Thee; To be Thy slave, to do Thy will, Is my felicity The Importance of Consecration So why must we consecrate ourselves to the Lord? Consecration enables us to complete the Lord’s path Whether we can follow the Lord to the very end depends on whether you and I consecrate our lives to live for Him. James 1:8 says, "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." Being double-minded means desiring the Lord while still living for oneself. Without a clear goal, we easily veer off course—leading to desertion or failure halfway. How regrettable! Consecration brings light and revelation To follow the Lord faithfully till the end, we need to continually encounter His manifestation—through personal devotion, Scripture, or church meetings. Without consecration, there is no illumination or revelation. In Matthew 6:22–23, Jesus says: "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" Here, it says that the eye is the lamp of the body, if the eye is good (original text: pure), the whole body will be full of light. This purity is focus on Christ alone, desiring Christ alone—that is consecration: allowing Him to lead as Lord. The result is light and revelation. Luke 24 records, after Lord Jesus was crucified, there were two disciples desperately leaving Jerusalem for Emmaus. The risen Lord drew near to them and walked with them, "But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him." Their departure symbolized a decline in spiritual life, disengagement from service and fellowship. They couldn't even recognize Jesus when He drew near. Until they were near the village they are going, the Bible records, "He (Jesus) indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, 'Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.' And He went in to stay with them. Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him..." (Luke 24:28-31) It indicates clearly that when they let Jesus be the Lord and He break the bread, their eyes were opened and they recorgnize Him. Only when Christ is given lordship through our consecration do our spiritual eyes open to receive revelation. On the contrary, if we reclaim back our consecration, or we do not offer ourselves, but instead be our own lord, we will not receive the Lord's manifestation in our prayers, Bible readings and fellowships, because revelation stops. Consecration builds faith to experience full salvation Faith is an essential factor to enter Christ’s fullness. We enter the fullness of Christ through faith, and enjoy the full salvation through fatih. But to sustain and grow in faith, we must consecrate ourselves. Let's look at some examples from the Old Testament. Consider Abraham: after receiving God’s call, he left Ur of Chaldea and move to Canaan, he lived a life of tents and altars. Then God tested him. God required that Abraham's faith should reach the peak, therefore God said to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, to land of Moriah, and offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountain I tell you.” Without hesitation, Abraham obeyed. He brought a servant and Isaac and went to Moriah. In faith, he built an altar, laid Isaac on the altar to offer as burnt offering. As he lifted the knife, the angel called out, "Abraham, Abraham...Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." Then he saw a ram caught in the thicket—offered it instead—and named the place Jehovah-Jireh  (The Lord will provide). Because he consecrated Isaac, Abraham’s faith reached its peak. If Abraham didn't offer up Isaac, he would not have experienced God’s provision. Likewise, we too must consecrate in order to encounter Jehovah-Jireh, then our faith will grow and the fullness of His salvation. Consecration leads to knowing God’s will Romans 12:1–2 says: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." The sequence is clear: consecration precedes understanding God's will. All who consecrate themselves are oriented toward pleasing God and obeying His will. God would naturally be pleased to reveal His will to them. Take Abraham again—each time the Lord appeared to him, Abraham built an altar (symbolizing consecration). This became a gateway for ongoing manifestation from the Lord, guidling him to walk the way before him. So if we continually consecrate, the Lord will consistently reveal His will to us.  The Firstborn Is Purchased by God, Redeemed by His Mighty Hand, and Ought to Be Consecrated At that time, all the firstborn in Egypt were to be slain. Only the firstborn of Israelite’s households were spared—because of the substitution of the lamb. The “firstborn” symbolizes all Christians who have been redeemed. The “lamb” symbolizes Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! Through the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus completed on the cross, we have been redeemed and are no longer destined for destruction. God's Sovereignty Therefore, the Lord instructed Moses: "Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine."  (Exodus 13:2) This means the firstborn, having been redeemed, must be set apart for God. Isn’t this true? We were once under the curse and judgment of the Law—but God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place, that we might escape that judgment. Since He redeemed us, it is rightful that we offer ourselves to Him. Like this watch I on my wrist: because I paid for it, I have the right to own and use it. If the watch could speak and told me I couldn’t use it, that would be unjust—because I paid a price for it. 1 Corinthians 6:20 reminds us: "For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body." We were purchased with the high price of Christ’s precious blood. It’s only right that He has full ownership of our lives—and that we offer ourselves wholly to Him. The Love of Christ Compels Us Moreover, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, willingly went to the cross to redeem us—paying a great price out of love. Paul writes in Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." When we truly grasp the greatness of His love, our natural response is to lay ourselves before Him with gratitude:“ Lord, how deeply You love me—Your great love has stirred me. I gladly and respectfully offer You all that I am and I have.” Oh! Brothers and sisters, who can remain unmoved before such compelling love? When Christ’s love pours down like mighty waters, we can no longer live for ourselves, but for Him who died and rose again for us. Take Peter, who followed Jesus for three and a half years. Before Jesus’ crucifixion, He foretold Peter would deny Him three times. And indeed, on the night of Jesus’ betrayal, Peter followed behind, a servant girl said, "You also were with Jesus of Galilee." Peter denied before them all and said, "I do not know what you are saying." Peter went outside of the gateway and another girl said, "This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth." Peter denied again with an oath, “I do not know the Man!” And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly. Imagine how heartbroken and disappointed the Lord must have been—not only because of Peter’s denial, but also because the other disciples scattered in despair. Yet, Jesus’ love for His disciples never changed. After His resurrection, He remained on earth for forty days to seek them out and strengthen them. Oh? what unrelenting love! Love that will not let me go! Remember the scene by the Sea of Tiberias? Peter led seven disciples back to fishing. That night, they caught nothing. At dawn, Jesus stood on the shore, yet they did not recognize Him. Instead of rebuking them, Jesus gently asked: “Children, do you have any food?”  They answered, “No.” Though the disciples had forgotten the Lord and turned back to worldly comforts, He did not reprimand them. Rather, He tenderly awakened their hearts with a miracle: “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.”  They did—and the catch was overwhelming. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter: “It is the Lord!” Peter, upon hearing this, jumped into the sea to meet Him. On shore, they found bread and fish prepared over coals of fire, and they were filled by the meal Jesus provided. In that moment, they deeply realized the Lord’s unwavering love and care. Could they turn away from Him again? Then Jesus asked Peter: “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these? ” Peter answered: " Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” Jesus asked this three times—not to condemn, but to restore. Now the Lord asks each of us: " Do you love Me more than your nets?" The nets represent our livelihood and security; the fish our enjoyment. Is our love for Jesus deeper than for these? Peter answered: “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord is asking us now. Do we love Him more than worldly pleasures? May our response be like Peter’s: “Yes, Lord; I love You. I willingly and joyfully consecrate my entire life to You.” How to Consecrate Ourselves Brothers and sisters, how should we offer ourselves to the Lord? We come before Him and declare: “Lord! I offer You my spirit, soul, and body, and all that I am, possess, and am capable of—fully and completely consecrated unto You.” We must also clearly remember the specific year, month, day, hour, and place where we made our consecration to the Lord. That marks the true beginning of living out a consecrated life. The Lord’s servant, Meyer, once described his own experience with consecration. When he sought to offer himself, satan spoke to him: “If you offer a part… the Lord will demand more. The more thoroughly you give yourself, the more the Lord will ask of you. One day, you’ll be left with nothing.” These thoughts made him fearful of consecration. But thank the Lord—just as Meyer was pondering on this, the Lord said to him: "Don’t earthly parents love their children? If your daughter were to say to you, ‘I now entrust myself to you—guide my life,’ would her father say to the mother, ‘Since our daughter has entrusted herself to us, let’s feed her what she dislikes, dress her in clothes she hates, and pair her with someone she can’t stand’? Of course not. Parents would thoughtfully discuss: ‘Our daughter has given herself to us—let’s buy what she enjoys eating, give her what she loves wearing...’” Oh! If earthly parents know how to love their children and bring them joy, how much more the Lord—who shed His blood and gave His all for us—would never treat us harshly. That moment, Meyer was deeply enlightened. He knelt down humbly and offered everything he had to the Lord. A hymn says: Take my life , and let it be Consecrated, Lord, to Thee; Take my moments and my days, Let them flow in ceaseless praise. Take my will, and make it Thine; It shall be no longer mine. Take my heart; it is Thine own; It shall be Thy royal throne. Take my love; my Lord, I pour At Thy feet its treasure-store; Take myself, and I will be Ever, only, all for Thee. <-- Back to "The Spiritual Journey Next Chapter -->

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:1-6 Exodus 3:7-8, 12:6-11, 13:14 Introduction The purpose of this message is to help all Christians who are truly saved to determine the direction and goal of their lives—so that they may enter into the fullness of Christ. It also aims to guide newly baptized Christians onto the path of life. Some may have been baptized for two, three, or even five to eight years and still haven’t stepped onto the path of life—they may just become a Christian who attends church services. We sincerely hope the Lord blesses this message so that every truly saved and baptized Christian can clearly see and walk this spiritual path of life. Furthermore, by laying out this path clearly, we also hope to stir more seasoned brothers and sisters to not become complacent, but to press on and let their spiritual life continue maturing. Some think that loving the Lord and serving in the church after salvation is enough—yet their spiritual growth is stagnant. Even those who are eager to walk the Lord’s path may find themselves stuck at a certain level, unable to break through into the abundant life. May the Lord have mercy on us and grant that each Christian continually presses forward until they reach the fullness of Christ. So how do we enter into the fullness of Christ? The Bible clearly reveals this through the Israelites' journey from Egypt to Canaan. Their journey represents the spiritual path of a believer and the route to God's eternal purpose and will.  I. The Journey into Egypt First of all, let's look into the background of the Israelites' journey into Egypt. From Adam to Abraham After God created the first humans, He placed them in the Garden of Eden. Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God's command, He expelled them—this was God's first divine judgment on man. Adam and Eve had children outside Garden of Eden, and their descendants multiply. After a period of time, until Noah's generation, the Bible records: "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually....He was grieved in His heart...said, 'I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air...'”  (Gen. 6:5–7) So, God judged that generation with a flood—this was His second judgment on mankind. Only righteous Noah and his family—eight in all—were saved. His descendants continued, but soon the sons of Ham attempted to build a tower in the land of Shinar (Babel). They said: "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered." (Gen. 11:4)Their motive wasn’t to glorify God, but to elevate themselves, provoking God’s anger. He then confused their language and scattered them across the earth—this became the third judgment. From Abraham to Israelites Going to Egypt Following the big flood and tower of Babel, God chose and called one man from among the nations—Abraham. Because of his obedience, God promised to make him a great nation, and Abraham became the forefather of God’s people—chosen to bear witness on earth. God’s entire purpose was now rooted in Abraham and his descendants. Obeying God’s call, Abraham left Ur of Chaldea and went to God's promise land—Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey—symbolizing the richness of Christ. His son Isaac and grandson Jacob also lived there. Later, during a severe famine, Jacob and his family—the twelve tribes, seventy people in all—left Canaan and moved to Egypt, where Joseph was already a high official. They settled in Goshen, prospered and became mighty. However, after Joseph died, a new Pharaoh arose who didn’t know Joseph and became jealous of the Israelites’ strength. So he oppressed them through forced labor and harsh treatment, in order to stop the growth of Israelites' population and to avoid their growing further stronger. "Egypt" represents the world. "Pharaoh" symbolizes satan. Ih the spiritual world that our fleshly eyes cannot see, the devil reigns and controls this world. This is what was said in 1 John 5:19, "The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one." God sent Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, and into the land of Canaan. The Israelites represent believers, saints, or disciples.Their deliverance and journey to Canaan symbolizes God bringing His people into the fullness and glory of Christ. II. The Condition of Egypt—Man's need for Salvation When Moses confronted Pharaoh, asking for the Israelites to be freed, Exodus 5:1–2  recounts: "Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'Let My people go, that they may [a]hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.'”And Pharaoh said, 'Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.'” Not Knowing God Pharaoh’s response demonstrates that the world under satan’s control neither knows nor honors God—it outright rejects Him. This is why Christians should reject world. The world stands in opposition to God. Don’t we see this clearly today? When we share the gospel, we’re often met with inexplicable rejection. Many believers from non-Christian families long for their loved ones to accept Jesus, only to face hardened hearts and strong resistance. Desire for Fleshly Pleasures Exodus 16 and Numbers 11 record that the Israelites continually reminisced about Egypt’s meat pots and flavorful foods—cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. These foods stimulates appetite. Spiritually, these symbolize indulgence in the flesh. Ask yourself—how many young people today are drawn to the pleasure-driven lifestyle the world offers? No doubt, the world is really filled with too many fleshly enjoyment, which are like cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, garlic,.... The Pleasure of Sin Hebrews 11:25 says of Moses: "…choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the [a]passing pleasures of sin." As the son of Pharaoh's daughter, Moses could have inherited the throne. He enjoyed lavish royal comforts in the Egyptian palace, along with freedom for lusts of the flesh. He can enjoy the pleasures of sin. Yet he chose to suffer with God's people instead of temporary sinful delight. Oppressive Labor and Heavy Burdens At that time, the Israelites were loaded with burdensome labor building the city for Pharoah. They spent the days under the hot sun mixing clay, making bricks, or working the fields, they were harshly treated. This depicts not only Israel's physical hardship but also the exhausting toil of human existence. In today’s world, people run themselves ragged, mentally and physically, chasing after livelihood, using their strength and mind to plan and calculate day and night. These are all burden and labor. Slaves to Satan Just as Pharaoh oppressed the Israelites, the devil enslaves the souls of mankind today. Before accepting Jesus, we all lived under satan’s rule, bound by sin and compelled to do what we ought not to. Loss of Life Pharaoh eventually ordered all Israelite baby boys to be thrown into the river—a plan to extinguish future generations. This chilling act symbolizes satan’s plan to drive people to continual toil and despair, to walk towards spiritual death. Under these six conditions, Israel needed divine deliverance, just as mankind today urgently needs God’s salvation. III. God's Salvation So, just how vast is God’s salvation? Oh! It is immeasurably wide, broad, and deep—because the Christ of infinite abundance is God's salvation itself. Once we are saved, God places us in Christ, allowing us to enjoy this abundant redemption. Dear brothers and sisters, how can we experience and enjoy this fullness? From a spiritual standpoint, the Israelites’ journey from Egypt into Canaan illustrates the abundant salvation in Christ. When the Israelites left Egypt, they had to clearly set their direction and goal—which was the land of Canaan. Entering Canaan was their final destination. Likewise, God's ultimate purpose in creating and redeeming mankind is to bring them into the richness of Christ. God has ordained that Christ must fill all things. Therefore, we must be filled by Christ, reflecting His glory throughout the universe, with Christ seated in the highest and most exalted place. This grand process is illustrated in the stages of Israelites's journey—from Egypt to Canaan. The Israelites originally lived in the land of Egypt. Because of the Lord's mercy, He sent Moses to lead them out of Egypt. Moses is a type of Jesus Christ, who leads you and me out of Egypt—that is, the world. They had been dwelling in Rameses, a representative region in Egypt. The Lord commanded Moses to lead the people to depart from Rameses. They journeyed through Succoth, through Edom, to Pi-Hahiroth, then crossed the Red Sea. They arrived at Marah, at Elim, and reached the Wilderness of Sin. Afterwards they came to Rephidim, and then to Mount Sinai—traveling station by station, one stop after another. We will elaborate the spiritual experiences that Christians encounter one by one using these stations that Israelites traveled, until they ultimately cross the Jordan River and enter the land of Canaan. In the end, all the people entered the beautiful land of Canaan, showing that God's plan had been fulfilled. Concerning the spiritual condition of Christians today, we can categorize it into three types.The first catogory consists of Christians who remain in Egypt . Though they may have believed in Jesus for thirty or even fifty years, they have never truly departed from Egypt—they remain spiritually stuck. The Apostle’s words in 1 Corinthians 10 serve as a warning to this kind of believer in the end times. If you are a Christian who has dwelt in Egypt for decades, we hope that through this message the Holy Spirit will guide you out of Egypt. The second catogory are the Christians who walk in circles in the wilderness , ultimately dying there. Most Christians make it as far as Mount Sinai, only to end their journey there. May the Holy Spirit stir your heart and urge you to continue moving forward into a victorious life. The third category consists of Christians who enter Canaan, like Caleb and Joshua. They led the next generation into the land of Canaan. At this point, each of us must reflect and ask ourselves, "Since I believed in Jesus, how far have I journeyed on this spiritual path? What station am I at? " May the Lord open our inner eyes and draw us forward. Now, we will go deeply into each stop of the Journey. I. The Feast of Passover — Christ as Everlasting Life (Exodus 12:1-11) [Rameses] Every one of us must experience the spiritual reality of the Passover. If you haven’t yet fully gone through this experience, it’s time to seek the Lord and complete it. And if you’ve only partially undergone this experience, ask the Lord to let you go through it entirely. The Passover represents the experience of Christ becoming our eternal life. When we believe in Jesus, we receive Christ as our everlasting life. Jesus Christ Himself is our salvation. By believing and receiving Him, He dwells within us. This section outlines eight key spiritual experiences. Some believers may only experience the first two or three. Others may reach five or six. But may the Lord bless us so we can deeply and personally experience each one. God's Mighty Hand Exodus 13:14 states: "By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." The first Passover experience is the mighty hand of God. Striking Pharaoh and Egypt — God Removes Barriers to Faith When Moses repeatedly appealed to Pharaoh to let the people go worship the Lord in the wilderness, Pharaoh stubbornly refused. So God sent the Ten Plagues upon Egypt—manifestations of His mighty hand. These miracles could only be accomplished by God’s power. Despite the devastation, Pharaoh hardened his heart until the tenth plague, when God struck down every firstborn in Egypt. All firstborn from Pharaoh’s household to the slave’s child, even the livestock were dead. Only then were the Israelites finally released. This tells of the background of our redemption. It is not because we are good and qualified to believe in Jesus, nor is it our talents which enable us to receive the eternal life. It is purely because God's work. He removed the barriers that kept us from believing. Just as Pharaoh had to be broken by God's judgment before Israel could leave. The Bible reords: "By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." Some people only turn to Jesus after hitting rock bottom—through hardship, illness, or brokenness. That’s when God's mighty hand intervenes. Parting the Red Sea (a Miracle) Even after the Israelites experienced the Passover, they were still in Egypt’s territory—still under Pharaoh’s reach. Similarly, Christians who have not been baptized are still under the world’s influence and power. Baptism is like crossing the Red Sea—a symbol of being dead, burried, and risen with Christ. God instructed Moses to camp near the sea, prompting Pharaoh to think they lost their way and were trapped. He pursued them with his army. When He almost caught them, the Israelites looked and saw the Red Sea in front while Pharoah's army is at the back, they felt hopeless. At the critical moment, God told Moses to stretch out his hand. Moses stretched out his hand and the Lord sent a mighty east wind drying the Red Sea in one night. The waters parted, creating dry ground with walls of water on either side. The Israelites walked through safely. Pharaoh’s army followed, God command Moses to stretch his hand again, and the water returned to it's full depth, all Pharoah's horses, chariots and horsemen were drowned. This historical fact reveals that with God's mighty hand, He use different situation, even miracles to lead us to believe and be baptized, fully separate us from the world and satan’s power; So that we may move forward to the fullness of Christ. One day, when we stand in glory, we will sing the song of salvation, praising the Almighty God: "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?" (Rev 15:3-4) The Blood of the Lamb Let us go into the details of the Passover of Israelites in Egypt. In Exodus 12:21, "Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin....For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the [a]lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you." (Exodus 12:21-23) In typology, "Slaughtering the lamb" represents Jesus’ death on the cross. "Hyssop dipped in blood and applied to the doorposts" symbolizes our faith in the blood of Christ. "The angel passing over homes with blood" shows that the firstborn are spared judgment because the lamb has taken their place. The “firstborn” represents us—those deserving death under God's judgment. But because the lamb was slain and took the place of the firstborn. So too, Christ died in our place, satisfying God's righteous requirement and sparing us from God's condemnation. In terms of experience, today we have received Jesus into our hearts. Now the question is: Have you received the cleansing of Jesus Christ (lamb)? When we sincerely accept and trust the precious blood of Jesus, our sins are forgiven. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus took the bread, blessed and broke it and gave to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, saying, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.”  (Matthew 26:28) The writer of Hebrews adds: “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.”  (Hebrews 9:22) Just as the angel “passed over” when he saw the blood, God passes over our sin when we accept the cleansing by the blood of Christ, sins are forgiven and we are filled with the peace of salvation and the joy of redemption. When I was young, after a gospel meeting, many people came to the front to accept Jesus. There was a middle-aged man, smelling of alcohol with visible pain etched on his face, obviously burdened with deep sorrow. He looked like someone whose well-educated. He asked me, “I’ve committed grave sins—can I be forgiven?” Immediately, I showed him 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." So if you believe and open your mouth, kneel down, confess to the Lord Jesus Christ and ask for forgiveness, no matter how serious your sins are, He will forgive all your sins. Praise the Lord! Hearing this, he knelt down, tears flowing freely as he confessed before the Lord. He had committed unspeakable wrongs, which left him broken inside and drowning in guilt. But once he received Christ’s forgiveness, his sorrow turned to joy. His face radiated peace. He has experienced the blood of the lamb on the doorpost. Brothers and sisters, have you experience thorough confession before the Lord? Have you the feeling on guilt in your heart? Come and confess before the Lord anytime. Just like how the hymn goes: There is Power, Power! Wondrous working Power! In the Blood of the Lamb. There is Power! Power! Wonder working Power! In the precious blood of the Lamb The Flesh of the Lamb After the lamb was slaughtered and its blood applied to the doorframe, something more was required. Exodus 12:8 declares: "Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire..." Eating Roasted — Believe in Christ who died in ourpPlace Spiritually, this means that Jesus Christ was judged by God on the cross for our sins, burned with fire by God. To eat roasted lamb is to believe in the Jesus who was crucified on our behalf. Eating the flesh raw would symbolize believing only in Jesus' teachings. We should understand that believing in Jesus' principle of love or moral doctrines alone cannot be saved. True salvation requires believing that Jesus is the Son of God, crucified for our sins—burned by the fire of God's wrath and judged by God. As a hymn says: For He bore my sins, justice killed Him, He was punished, but it was in my stead! He died on the cross, but it was in my stead, He died to bear my sins. Receiving Strength — Christ as Eternal Life "Eating the flesh of the lamb" not only represents Jesus Christ crucified to redeem me. At the same time, it implies He became our life. John 6:53 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you." Meaning that whoever receives the flesh and blood of the Lord has eternal life (Christ Himself living within us). Brothers and sisters, has Christ entered into you and become your life? If Christ is your eternal life, an evidence is being filled with inner strength of salvation. that lets us walk the path of salvation. For if one eats the flesh of the lamb, he will have the strength. Once I went to Taiwan during winter, a brother treated me to hot pot lamb, after eating, I felt amazingly warm and have to remove my coat. Similarly, when we accept Jesus Christ as our life, we receive the strength of salvation and full of joy! A brother was being asked how he was converted to a Christian. He said he saw a certain senior brother in the church, this brother smiled often and greeted people warmly at church entrances. He himself was a seller of idol merchandise, lived in sorrow and emptiness. After believing in Jesus and being saved, he departed from idols and turned to the true God, his whole countenance changed. His heart is full of peace and joy. After we believe in Jesus, we receive Christ as our eternal life, and we have the strength to walk the path of the Lord. Unleavened Bread During the night of Passover, the Israelites not only ate the roasted lamb meat—they also had to eat unleavened bread (Exodus 12:8). Just as we eat rice or bread along with our meals. The Taste of a Sinless Life This bread had to be unleavened—without yeast. In Scripture, yeast (leaven) symbolizes sin. So unleavened bread represents the sinless. When a person receives Jesus and is truly saved, there is a new experience called eating “unleavened bread.” It means you begin to develop a taste of sinless life. The life of Christ within you begins to repel sin. For example: A young child once begged his mother for candy. She didn’t have any, so she gave him a small spoonful of sugar from the kitchen. He loved it. Later, when he found a jar of white powder, he thought it was sugar and tried to eat it—only to immediately spit it out. It was salt. No one needed to correct him—his taste instinctively rejected it. Because human life has an instinct to distinguish different tastes of sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and salty. Likewise, the sinless life of Christ within a believer develops a spiritual “taste”—a discernment. You begin to feel unsettled when confronted with sin. A normal Christian will feel torment in their spirit when they were overcome by temptation. The Power of a Sinless Life 1 John 3:9 says: "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God." This shows us that the life of Christ within a believer not only has the taste of a sinless life, but also has the power to live a sinless life. Some new believers misunderstand salvation—thinking they can sin freely and just apply the cleansing of blood afterward. While Christ’s blood does have eternal cleansing power, salvation also includes the unleavened bread—the sinless life of Christ within. When we have Jesus life in us, there is a taste of sinless life that dislike sin, at the same time it empowers us to overcome sins. A young brother was revived by the Lord in the special conference in Baguio a year ago. Though he had been a Christian for years, he struggled with a gambling addiction—betting two or three times a week. He even invited friends to gamble in his house. Praise the Lord! At the special conference, he encountered Christ afresh—he ate the unleavened bread. From that moment, he broke completely with gambling. Once when I returned to Taiwan, a youung brother came to me and asked if I know him. I couldn't recognize. He said he's the son of so-and-so, then I remembered. His father was my good friend, and I had baptized him. He was addicted to alcohol. His life was a wreck—no one could convince him to stop drinking. But after receiving Jesus and ate unleavened bread, he received the power of sinless life, he quit alcohol permanently. He even led his entire family to faith and began serving the Lord faithfully. Bitter Herbs The Israelites were not only required to eat the roasted lamb and unleavened bread, but also to eat bitter herbs. Sorrow and Repentance Over One's Past Bitter herbs is too bitter to swallow. It's spiritually means that after one received the Lord Jesus, he will experience the painful remorse for his former corrupt and sinful life. One summer, I was invited to preach in Singapore. After the message, a brother asked, “Would you like to try some bitter tea?” Curious, I accepted a small cup. But as soon as I took a sip, I immediately spit it out—the bitter taste was unbearable. At that moment, I grasped a small glimpse of what it meant for the Israelites to eat bitter herbs during Passover. When the Apostle Paul met the Lord on the road to Damascus, he asked, “Who are You, Lord?” The Lord replied, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” He then realized that Jesus is the Son of God. The Bible records,"And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank." (Acts 9:9) This illustrates how he grieved deeply over his past rebellion and sin. Grieve for Sin A Christian who truly observed the Passover will feel sorrowful and remorseful for his ignorance to resist and offend the Lord in the past. On the other hand, he will grieve if he fall into sin. A young sister testified in a fellowship in Thursday afternoon. She had just graduated from high school in the Philippines. Before graduation, the school hosted a dance party in a luxury hotel. She spent over a thousand pesos on a gown. That night, she felt the Holy Spirit nudging her: "You shouldn’t go—you belong to the Lord.” But since the party venue is in a big luxury hotel in Manila. And she has paid the fee. So she thought she would just go and would not dance. As the music began, couples flooded the dance floor. Sitting there in the midst of it all, she was overwhelmed with inner torment. Even after returning home, she felt deeply troubled—convicted that she had displeased the Lord. She broke down in tears, repenting before God asking forgiveness for giving in to temptation. She is a Christian who ate bitter herbs, one who grieved and felt pain after being stained with sin. Another young brother worked as a senior staff member in a company. Whenever foreign clients visited, he had to accompany them to dinner. Sometimes clients asked him to accompany them to places with inappropirate entertainment. He couldn’t refuse due to his job. But he felt deeply tormented inside. Eventhough he dare not engage in sinful activites, just stepping foot in that place made his spirit feel like it was pierced with needles. His spirit could only be relieved after he returned home and confessed his sin before God. Belt on the Waist That night, they ate the flesh of the lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Their waist also had to be girdled with a belt (Exodus 12:11) Humility To gird the waist refers to humility (1 Peter 5:5). For wearing a belt on the waist is to take on the posture of a servant. In our experience, when we believe in Jesus, eternal life enters us, and we become children of God, serving the true and living God. Therefore, to serve the Lord Jesus, we must take the position of a servant and humbly minister to our Master. Vigilance Girding the waist also signifies vigilance. After a person is saved by grace, they must ask themselves whether they have truly "girded their waist." Today, many Christians have left Egypt but haven’t fastened the belt around their waist. In the past, the Israelites could not walk the wilderness path without girding their waist. To gird the waist is to demonstrate diligence and to serve the Lord from the posture of a servant. Yet today, many Christians may have partaken of the lamb, but they have not girded themselves. For instance, though Sunday worship begins promptly at nine, some arrive leisurely and late—this shows a lack of girding. Those who do not gird themselves are unfit to walk the Lord’s path. Dear brothers and sisters, if your waist is not girded, you have no spiritual future. You cannot walk the path of the Lord, let alone speak of entering Canaan. One of the Lord’s greatly used servants was D.L. Moody, an evangelist. He once said that he had never seen a lazy person truly saved. Lazy people even find kneeling to pray troublesome. A few casual words before a meal suffice, and the idea of reading the Bible isn’t even considered. With such an attitude, how can one leave Egypt? Proverbs 26:15 says, "The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl; It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth." I once knew a brother who was formerly quite careless in character. Later, he heard the gospel and accepted Jesus as his Savior. God’s abundant salvation came upon him. Not only did he apply the blood of the lamb, but he also ate the flesh of the lamb, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. From then on, he girded his waist with a belt. Every Sunday before 8:00 a.m., he would come to the meeting place to clean—even in Taiwan 40 years ago, when modern sanitation wasn’t available—he served diligently and faithfully, carefully cleaning the toilets. Sandals on Feet "...with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet” (Exodus 12:11). At that time, all Israelites who were to leave Egypt had to wear sandals, for one cannot walk the wilderness road barefoot. Separation from the World With “sandals on feet”, one is separated from the earth. In its spiritual sense, it refers to being cut off from the world. Anyone who wishes to leave Egypt must be separate from the world. Those who are not separated from the world cannot leave Egypt. Not wearing sandals means remaining in Egypt forever. Sadly, today many Christians are spiritually barefoot—may the Holy Spirit enlighten us! Walking the Way of Peace (Spreading the Gospel of Peace) Brothers and sisters, when you return home from school or work, do you keep your shoes on or take them off? Of course, you take them off to rest. But when you head out in the morning, you put your shoes on. Therefore, wearing shoes also means being ready to walk. Ephesians 6:15 tells us: "And with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace." This means we should preach the message of reconciliation with Christ. The best ways to stay separated from the world is to preach the gospel. Before I experienced spiritual revival, I had three close friends. We were always together and enjoyed each other’s company. Even afterwards, they still liked being around me. But if I didn’t separate from them, I couldn’t walk the Lord’s path—they loved the world and recreation. Yet I firmly resolved to follow the Lord. What could I do? So I shared the gospel with them and earnestly encouraged them to believe in Jesus. They refused and began to distance themselves from me. That’s how our separation began. We remained friends, but our paths diverged. Today, many brothers and sisters become entangled in relationships with non-Christians and end up unable to walk the Lord’s path—because they don't have sandals on the feet. May the Lord have mercy. Staff in Hand "Staff in hand" (Exodus 12:11). The Israelites were to leave Egypt by journeying on a path. They were not only to gird themselves and put on their sandals, but also to take up a staff. Walking the Lord’s Path by His Strength What is the use of a staff? It is a tool to support us when we lack strength. In foreign countries, elderly people are often seen carrying a staff, showing that it helps sustain our strength. From experience, after we are saved, the Lord becomes our strength and our help, enabling us to walk His path. As Psalm 84:5 says: "Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage." When someone holding a staff lays it down, it means they are about to rest or to sleep. The moment he picks up the staff, it signals he is ready to walk. Yet many forget to keep their staff in hand. Therefore, holding the staff also signifies a life filled with strength. Through prayer, we receive the Lord’s power to walk His way. A Life Empowered Holding a staff also implies living with strength. Anyone who has lost the vitality of life and fallen into despair, if he holds a staff (praying continually), he will receive strength and become a person full of hope. There was a brother who was a learned teacher. Tragically, he lost his sight and sank into despair, even contemplating ending his life. But thanks to the Lord’s mercy, during a church evangelistic meeting, another brother brought him to hear the gospel. There he encountered the Lord in that gospel meeting, he immediately experienced the Passover—eating the flesh of the lamb, along with the unleavened bread and bitter herbs. He girded his loins, wore his sandals, and took up his staff to begin walking the Lord’s path. Three or four years later, on Sundays when I went out to minister, he would often take my place at the pulpit. Once a man in despair, through prayer he received strength from the Lord and became a hopeful person, deeply aware that life is full of meaning. May the Lord use this message to shine the light of the Holy Spirit, guiding us into the eight key aspects of the Passover and leading us to experience its full significance. <-- Back to "The Spiritual Journey Next Chapter -->

Scripture Reading: Matthew 7:13-14 Romans 2:28-29 Psalm 16:11; 139:24:24 Acts 2:28 Introduction The main purpose of our fellowship these days on how to enter the veil (the Holy of Holies) is that we can all be graced by the Lord to enter the way of life from within. Although there are many Christians who believed in Jesus and had quickly entered the path of life, yet, there are more Christians who have been believers for year but have not yet entered in. Matthew 7 records that when the Lord Jesus went up a mountain to teach his disciples, He spoke words of life to them, and at the end of which He specifically said, " Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it ." (Matthew 7:13-14). Meaning, these words are not to be words only but they must be put into practice and become our life experience. Thus, the very words of life, now becomes part of our daily living. This is walking in the Pathway of Life. The pathway of life is actually the pathway of spiritual growth. The Lord Jesus Himself said in John 10:10, " I have come that they may have life and that they may have it abundantly. " So every Christian is to hold fast to this precious promise until he has attained to the fullness of life. When we continuously live like this for a lifetime, we do not only live an abundant life, but we can attain spiritually maturity. In Fact, we all are Christians who pray, read our Bibles, and even participate in various church ministry activities, yet we can still be in a condition that we have not entered or experienced being in the pathway of life. For the pathway of life is known and experienced only in the spirit in man. Hence we call it the " Inner Path ". May the Lord use this message to remind our brothers and sisters to "press in" entering the pathway of life, the lnner Path. Those who want to enter the pathway of life, then, must first understand and pay attention to the experience we have inside, that is in the spirit of man. (Romans 2:28-29). Part 1- The Inner prayer " Prayer " is the most basic part of the spiritual life of a normal Christian. At the same time, it is a necessary element to enter the pathway of life. But there is a difference between the inner prayer and the outward prayer. In other words, is your prayer just an outside prayer? Or one that is an inner prayer? Experience-wise, in addition to getting up every morning to keep vigil and draw closer to the Lord, we also have prayers of thanksgiving before three meals and another evening prayer before going to bed, a total of five times; Some have the grace to attend prayer meetings in church. But it's not how many times we pray but the quality of the prayers we say? Is it just an outward prayer? Or an inner prayer from the heart? Regarding the Inner Prayer, we will briefly mention the following two points as reference.    A. Prayer before God Although we have a life of prayer, but oftentimes, we do not pray before God. In Matthew 6:5-6, Jesus mentioned prayer and said, " And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your inner room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. " This shows how often Christian prayer has become habitual, ritualized, external prayer, and not a prayer before God. 1. Go into the inner chamber — a secret life with God "Go into the inner room" means indoors. The living room is a place to receive friends and guests. But the inner room (bedroom) is not a place that ordinary people or strangers can enter and exit casually. The inner room is a secret place. If you enter someone's house, going in and out without the permission of the owner, or spying on the master's room, it will be too unorthodox and uncultured. So the Lord Jesus said, "When you pray, go into your inner room." Spiritually, it means that there is a secret spiritual life between you and God, because the living room is the place where ordinary friends and guests are received publicly, and the "inner room" is the place where close friends can enter to engage in secret conversations, which means that we should establish intimacy with the Lord and maintain a secret prayer life. 2. Close the Door — The world, mind, and emotions are shut outside, and we come back in the spirit   The Lord Jesus further said, "Close the door", because if the door of the inner room (bedroom) is left open, then as soon as one enters the living room, it can immediately give access to the inner room. Therefore, the door of the inner room must be closed to be exclusive from the outside world. Spiritually, it refers to shutting out the world, our thoughts, and emotions that is not of the Lord. As a matter of experience, when we often kneel down to pray, all kinds of people and things come to our minds at the same time, so that we cannot concentrate on praying. Therefore, a person who enters the pathway of life must practice kneeling down in prayer, returning to the spirit drawing near to the Lord and focuses his thoughts and emotions in front of God. This is also known as the prayer of closing the door. 3. Pray to the Father who sees us in secret— by faith, not by sight or feeling He went on to say: "Pray to your Father who sees you in secret." "Secretly" indicates a place that people do not know and cannot see, and it is natural to refer to something that is not placed in front of people. Therefore, when a Christian prays he must be face to face with God, which is also called a prayer before God. On the other hand, it also refers to a prayer that came out from faith, not from what you are seeing or feeling. 4. The Father is watching in secret — praying in spirit and truth Inner prayer and outer prayer are two completely different paradigms, what is external prayer? All prayers that pay attention to religious rituals, and ceremonial practices are called outside prayers. For example, every morning when you get up and pray a few words, a simple thank you before every meal, and then at night before bed with a tired mentality, dozing off while praying, this happens day after day, month after month, year after year, this is called outside prayer. But the inner prayer is, to come to the Lord and pray with the heart and in truth, that is, with the spirit and the truth. John 4:24 says, " God is spirit. And those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in Truth . " This is praying to the Father who sees in secret. Although no one saw it, the Father is watching. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, " For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him . " This means that when we pray, we must look unto the Lord and wait with sincerity. Many times God permits His children to face hardship in order to lead them to enter inner prayer.  Usually when Christians are in good health, their prayers are just so-so, and once they are sick and admitted to the hospital, they pray seriously. Some are not concerned about prayer when their businesses are prosperous and when their families are safe and sound, but only become urgent and serious to the Lord when their business encounters setbacks or the family is in trouble. Isn't it? In recent years, there has been widespread kidnappings, unrest and panic in Manila, and believers have become serious about prayer. Thus, one of the reasons God allows us to encounter hardship, persecution, and calamity,  is for Christians to shift from prayer on the outside to prayer on the inside.    B. Pray in the Holy Spirit Inner prayer on one hand refers to the outpouring of one's heart before God, bowing down before God’s throne of grace, and communicating face-to-face with God; On the other hand, it refers to prayer and supplication in the Holy Spirit. Jude 20 says, " Pray in the Holy Spirit. " So how do you pray in the Holy Spirit? When we believe in Jesus and are born again, the Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit, so we return to the spirit when we pray, this is the prayer in the Holy Spirit. 1. Do not pray by thought Since you are to pray in the Holy Spirit, do not pray out of your thoughts. In other words, the source of prayer is spiritual, not what our thoughts dictate, and any prayer that originates from the mind is not a prayer in the Holy Spirit. Many Christians pray with thoughts, articles, and beautiful words, in order to be heard, which are all wrong prayers. 2. Pray by inspiration Praying in the Holy Spirit starts from the spirit, and it is the Holy Spirit that leads our prayers, so it is prayer by inspiration. A sister testified that when she first came to fellowship among us from another congregation, she saw that brothers and sisters were very good at praying, often gripping and moving. So she did not dare to raise her voice in prayer publicly. Because the group she used to join has the habit of writing down their prayers on paper, as if writing a composition. Therefore, when praying, the words are beautiful and pleasant. Later, when she came to serve and pray among us, she first prepared her prayer at home, she first described God well saying; The Father is Almighty, loving, great, glorified, unique, the greatest God of the universe....Then she came to the meeting prepared like this. Unexpectedly, when she opened her mouth in the service to pray, saying "Lord Jesus...."She had forgotten all the prayers, and she cried miserably in her heart, but she had already opened her mouth to pray, how could she stop?  It was too late to take the paper out and read it, so she had to pray without thinking, it seemed to be a random prayer, in fact, it wasn't a "chaotic" prayer, but a prayer that did not follow the prepared article, she just prayed out according to the inspiration at the time, and after praying, she said, "I sweated profusely, and I didn't know what I have prayed about, and whether the brothers and sisters responded with 'Amen', I didn't know". Thank the Lord! From then on, she moved from outside prayer to inner prayer.  She understood that inner prayers are not words put together by the mind, but are based on the feelings of the Spirit, expressed through the enlightenment received. 3. Pray according to the feelings of the spirit (spiritual sense) Praying in the Holy Spirit is praying according to the feeling of the spirit. Romans 8:26 says, " The Holy Spirit helps in our weakness. " For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. " But the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered . " Here is a principle of prayer, that when we don't know how to pray, the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray. To use a simple analogy, a four- or fiveyear-old child starts to go to kindergarten. Some kindergartens only teach children to sing and play and abide by the rules, some kindergartens with a better standard begin to teach children to write A, B, C, D, These four- or five-year-olds don't know how to write at all, and they don't know what to do? It is the teacher who holds the child's hand to write his first letters and it doesn't matter if the writing is crooked at first, but slowly it will be smooth. In the same way, we do not know how to pray, but the Holy Spirit himself leads us and teaches us how to pray, He naturally and slowly builds up in us a prayerful life.  It can be seen that the "pathway of life" is a matter of the "spirit" inside us, and to shift from the outside to the inside, is to pray in face-to-face fellowship with God in "spirit" and "truth". We must have a basic understanding and establish this kind of prayer life. Otherwise, one cannot enter the path of life. Since the path of life begins with the regenerated spirit, all spiritual experiences are sensed through the Holy Spirit. So how does a Christian grow spiritually? It is not how long he has been serving or how many church activities he is involved in, but rather, if he enters the inner prayer. Ask yourself how much of the time we spend on our knees in prayer is actually Inner prayer. Because the path of life is not a matter of the explanation of doctrine, but about whether we have changed as a person. At best, knowledge of doctrine is nothing more than giving you some conceptual spiritual knowledge. But if a Christian enters the path of life, his life will keep changing. As a result of constant change, the Christian lives out the image of Christ more and more, and naturally, the Christian characteristics increase with it. Just as when a child grows up, his appearance and posture are a little like his parents, and slowly as he grows up to about twenty to thirty years old, his behavior becomes more like his parents, and at the age of fifty, sixty or seventy he is almost similar to his parents. May the Lord be gracious to us and bring us all into the path of life, as a hymn says: "From glory to glory He's changing me, changing me, changing me, His likeness and image too perfect in me, the love of God shown to the world. For He's changing, changing me, From earthly things into heavenly, His likeness and image too perfect in me, the love of God shown to the world.” Part 2- The Inner Bible Reading    There are many ways to read the Bible. When Brother Nee trained his colleagues in Guling, he provided 28 Bible-reading methods. I remember when I graduated from college, I got these twenty-eight ways to read the Bible and I loved it very much. Since this book had not yet been published in Taiwan at that time, it was the senior coworkers who provided the information for this book, and at that time we not only copied the book but also put it into practice and studied it.    However, for most of the believers in the congregation, they have to get ready for work every morning after their morning devotions, students catch up for their classes, women take care of household chores, and they don't have rest until sunset, students still have to do schoolwork, and sisters who are housewives have to supervise their children's homework, and they don't seem to have enough time to read the Bible. But thank the Lord! He gave us a method of reading the Bible, which can be applied to every believer, called the inner Bible reading, which is the reading method that our church practices every Thursday night. During the Thursday night Bible study meetings, we can very well use references and commentaries, that is, to provide people according to the truth of the Bible, but instead, we are using the inner reading method so that all saints (including new believers or young people) have the opportunity to participate in the fellowship.   True enough! The twenty-eight ways of Bible reading the Lord provided us through His faithful servants are helpful to us, but it is the inner kind of reading the Bible that is applicable to all believers. So have we entered the inner reading? We can provide two ways to illustrate this A. Reading that nurtures life John 6:63 records that Jesus said to His disciples, " The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. " 1. The words in the Bible are spirit and life Among Jesus' many teachings to his disciples, he specifically declared to them, " T he words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life . " This sentence may feel strange to those who have not been born again, they may wonder how can the Bible written in black letters on white paper becomes spirit and life. If the Lord says that what I say to you is truth, law, or God's will, they may easily understand it. But the Lord Jesus said to his disciples, "The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life." This statement was clearly spoken of the Lord stressing that when we read His Word, we should learn the lifesustaining way of reading.  This means that the Bible that Jesus gave us is for us to receive through the Holy Spirit. In other words, when the Holy Spirit unravels God's Word, we can comprehend, or say that the Holy Spirit has set God's Word in us. When we accept this, our spiritual lives are nourished and mature. 2. Receive the touch of the Bible through the spirit Matthew 4 records that Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit and tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and nights, and then he became hungry. The tempter came and said to Jesus, If you are the Son of God, you may command these stones to become bread. But Jesus replied, " It is written that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. " This makes it obvious that our physical life still needs physical food to sustain us, how much more do our spiritual life need to be nourished with the Word of God in order to grow? That’s why we have to practice Inner Bible reading. When reading the Bible, we should use the spirit to receive the touching of the Bible, that is, to read the Bible in spirit, and turn that part that touches us into prayer. As a rule of thumb, when we read the Bible early in the morning, we must read in order, starting with the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament or the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. If we use an hour, we must first spend some time singing and praying, to draw near to the Lord and calm our hearts, so that we can concentrate our thoughts on reading the Bible. Because we read with our hearts through our minds. On the other hand, we have to pray with humility, asking the Lord to send light in our Spirit to unravel His Word to us, so that word by word, sentence by sentence, and wonderfully, the Holy Spirit will unravel according to our needs. For example, when you are in pain, the Holy Spirit opens the Scriptures of comfort to you. When you are discouraged, the Holy Spirit opens words of encouragement to you. When faith is shaken, the Holy Spirit opens God's promises to you....... In short, the Holy Spirit will surely move and touch our spirits with His words, and this is how God speaks to us, and then you have to absorb the words you feel and turn them into prayer. 3. Accepting the words of the Bible by faith as life   What should you do if you read the Bible in the morning and have no feelings?(Exceptions for spiritual abnormalities).  If you have a desiring heart to pursue the Lord, then you will have to digest it in prayer by faith according to what the Bible says literally. That is, the Lord Jesus said, the words I speak…is spirit…and life, and the words of the Bible are brought to life in prayer. For Jeremiah 15:16 tells us, " When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty . " So naturally, we will experience spiritual fullness after the morning devotion and reading the Bible, as we receive the Lord's Word.    B. Reading that cleanses defilements and  wrinkles Ephesians 5:26: ".. to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God's word. " Although each person have a different personality, it is the same inside, and there are many defilements, wrinkles, and carnality present. For example, some Christians are accustomed to criticizing and judging people, but do not condemn and judge themselves, from the beginning to the end of the year they only see the faults of others and find fault with others, and how can they be saved from such spiritual difficulties? Thank the Lord! Ephesians chapter 5 verse 26 shows us the way that the Holy Spirit washes us with the words of Scripture and causes our difficulties to fall. 1. The words of the Bible are inspired by the Holy Spirit Psalm 119:130. " The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. " This means that when we read the Bible, the Holy Spirit will shine His Word on us so that we may be illuminated in the light. Let our ignorant, blinded hearts be opened, and we may see our own wretchedness, debasement, and corruption....... As the Psalmist says, " In your light we will see Light. " 2. Wash in the light of the words of the Bible Therefore, we must go further, not stopping only in receiving the light from reading the words written in the Bible, but to receive the light and then confess and be washed of sin. Thank the Lord! We read the Bible at the Fellowship on Thursday nights and often get help and nourishment from there. Brothers and sisters often testify, that while reading the Bible in the morning, and they come across a certain chapter and a certain verse, all of a sudden there is a sentence that would standout and seemed to illumine their hearts, the word would point to their weaknesses or their faulty ways, and they would go to the Lord to confess and repent of their sins, receive washing, and thus change their lives, this is  so-called experiencing the Lord using the Holy Spirit (water) to wash me (the Church) through the Bible (Word) and become holy. Do we often have this experience when reading the Bible? Otherwise, our Bible reading is still outside and have not entered the inner reading. We must realize that if you do not enter the Inner Bible reading, you will never be able to walk the path of Life, because inner prayer must be accompanied by the inner Bible reading in order to walk the Inner path. Otherwise, we are just Christians who only know the truth, and who only preach the truth. For life to be constantly renewing and changing, it is only by following the path of inner life that Christ can continue to increase in our lives until we become conformed to the image of the Lord and live out His glory. Part 3: The Inner Ministry It is natural for a normal born again Christian, after being baptized, to have a desire to serve the Lord and thus joins the ministry in the church. But there is a distinction between external ministry and inner ministry. And see Romans 2:28-29, " For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. " Two kinds of ministry are pointed out here, one is the ministry outside following laws and rituals and the other is the ministry of the inner relationship between our spirit and the Lord.    A. What is done inwardly       When the Lord Jesus was on earth, he told the Pharisees, quoting the prophet Isaiah, " These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is in vain, their teachings are merely human rules. " (Matthew 15:8-9  ). This is a sign that many Christians today love the world in their hearts, and could worship and serve the Lord from the outside: "Lord! I thank you, I admire you, I love you!" This kind of prayer, in which the lips are close to God, but the heart is far from Him, appears to be prayerful, but it is not a prayer from the depths of the heart. This kind of ministry is not only displeasing to God, but is also condemned by God. Because what is done inside counts, what is done outside doesn’t count. So the Bible specifically records the contrast between the ministries of the two sisters of Bethany. On that day, the Lord Jesus entered Bethany's village and came to Bethany's house, where there are three siblings. The eldest sister is Martha, the second sister is Mary, and the younger brother is Lazarus. The Lord Jesus came to their home, and they all received Jesus with joy and served Him. Spiritually it means getting up to serve the Lord. At that time, Martha hurried to prepare this and that, while her sister Mary sat at Jesus' feet and listened. Martha was so busy and came to the Lord Jesus to protest on her sister and said, "Lord, my sister left me to serve alone, don't you care, please command her to help me." Jesus replied, "Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42) It is true that Martha loved the Lord and was zealous and sincere in making the Lord enjoy, and the Lord Jesus know it, but Jesus did not approve of her, because she was ministering in vain, and she kept using her brain and enthusiasm in preparing things, no wonder she complained because of the stress she's going through in her heart. But Mary sat at Jesus' feet and listened, satisfying Jesus' heart. After hearing Jesus' sermon, Mary understood Jesus' hint that he was going to be crucified, so she quickly bought a bottle of the most expensive perfume with the thirty talents of silver she had always saved. For only those who are intimate with the Lord can know the Lord's mind and produce ministry that comes out of the spirit. This kind of ministry is called Inner ministry. Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to the village of Bethany, where a feast was prepared for Jesus, while Jesus was sitting at the table, Mary took the most precious oil, broke the alabaster jar, and poured the anointing oil on Jesus' head. Some of the disciples were very displeased in their hearts and said, " Why this waste? For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor. " Then Jesus said, " Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her. ” It can be seen that the "Inner service " is acceptable to God and commemorated by God. Because the service in it is in one accord with God's heart, it pleases God and satisfies him. Martha's ministry was not entirely wrong, and after being corrected and adjusted by Jesus, she moved from the outside to the inside. So the Bible specifically records: "Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany.... There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table wit h Him, Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus ...." (John 12:1-3). Thank the Lord! The family in Bethany eventually shifted from outside ministry to the Inner ministry. "Martha serves" showed that she did things according to what Jesus needed. In other words, waiting for Jesus' command, waiting for Jesus' lead. In the past, the ministry of Martha was an external ministry, but now it is brought into the inner ministry; Even Lazarus was among those who sat with Jesus. It shows that his service is an Inner ministry, for he is a testimony of resurrection. The ministries of these three people were all inner ministry, satisfying Jesus. No wonder Jesus went to the temple in Jerusalem during the day before His crucifixion and returned to Bethany in the evening to rest (Matthew 21:17, Mark 11:11). For the ministry of this family is the ministry on the inside. At that time, there must be many women who loved the Lord and many disciples who followed the Lord, but the four Gospels specifically and repeatedly recorded that Jesus often goes to Bethany (Matthew 21:17, 26:6; Mark 11, 11 to 12; 14: 3; Luke 19 29, 24: 50; John 1:28, 11: 1,18, 12:1). Thus, the service inside is what the Lord wants and what the Lord approves.    B. Serve according to the newness of the Spirit Romans 7:6-7 says, "But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, 'You shall not covet.'" What is service in the oldness of written code? That is, the ministry that inherited habits, boxed in the words of the Bible, boxed to the typical biblical example, a kind of service that is dead in appearance. So what is a ministry in the new way of the spirit? That is, to serve according to the feelings or sensations of the spirit. From experience, for example, when we attend the Lord’s Table in the morning, you may be outside, or you may be inside. For the convenience of brothers and sisters attending the meeting, there is a fixed time for the meeting. Thank the Lord! The Holy Spirit leads us to a good praise and worship. But the point is, whether you came to serve from inside or from outside. Some are moved to raise their hands to praise when singing hymns. Some even are moved to tears when singing, some worship and are moved to dance, clap, and raise their voices, but some are just imitating others; Some of you clap and raise your hands only when you are encouraged by the brothers who is leading the hymn. This may be a test to see whether your way of remembering the Lord is an old ritual service. Or is it a spiritually inspired ministry? Further, there are many different ministries in addition to the regular church meetings, such as intercession for the church in your home, or private visitation and pursuit groups. Before visiting, did you go to the Lord with a few brothers and sisters to empty oneself in prayer, seeking the Lord to show you clearly who to visit before going out? Or just go out with a few companions, walking and talking, without asking the Lord.   When we walk this path of inner life, not only do we return to the spirit in prayer and Bible reading, but we also have to go back to the spirit in our ministry, to serve the Lord by the prompting and leading of the Holy Spirit. As in the hymn: "Walking in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, Walking with the Lord day by day; Going step by step, in the light of His word, Company and strength all the way. Walking, yes I'm walking in the Spirit of my Lord! Living, yes, I'm living now by faith in His word; So He keeps me still, strong to do His will; Walking in His comfort day by day“ <-- Back to "The Pathway of Inner Being" Next Chapter -->

Scripture Reading: Romans 2:15-16 Acts 24:16 2 Timothy 1:3 John 1:4, 8:18   "Entering into the way of the inner life" is the journey and an experience that every Christian must enter into. There are Christians who have been saved for decades but have not yet entered the way of the inner life. But there are those who entered the way of the inner path as soon as they are saved by grace. As a result, their spiritual lives not only continue to grow, but also reach maturity. Therefore, all Christians who do not walk in the way of the inner path are in spiritual poverty once they reach the end of their life's journey, their spiritual lives do not grow tall. It is because the glory in eternity is determined by the measure of one's spiritual life in this world. Though some people are very poor in material things, yet their faith and spiritual life may be rich and abundant. Therefore, when the Lord Jesus instructed his disciples on the mountain, he declared in a very clear and decisive tone, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. "(Matthew 7:13-14) Thus, it is a MUST for every disciple of Jesus to enter and walk in the path of life. Inner Senses are Sharp We have already said that the moment a Christian believes in Jesus, he or she  should  learn and practice inner prayer, inner Bible study, and inner ministry. Now we are going to go further and talk about experiencing the " inner feeling ". In addition to learning to pray inwardly, read the Bible inwardly, and serve inwardly, there is another basic factor that governs the growth of our spiritual life, which is called "inner feeling". Some Christians who have been saved do not see much change in their lives, and even lose their testimonies because they have neglected to pay attention to their inner senses, resulting in numbness, dimness, and darkness in their minds. ...... On the contrary, some Christians who have believed in Jesus have experienced a great change in their inner lives, and they have continued to grow and show the character of God's life because of their inner senses. The Inner Senses are sharp. If we don't know what the inner sense means, it shows that we are still far from the path of life. Therefore, in order to help the saints to be sensitive to the inner senses, to be grounded in the truth, and to learn correctly from experience, we would like to make two major points:  A.   Feeling of Conscience The "conscience" represents what we feel inside. God created man in a structure that is divided into spirit, soul and body, in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 it says, "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." This clearly tells us that our spirit, soul and body must be kept by the Lord until the day of His return. There is nothing in the Bible that explicitly mentions the word "conscience", but it is a reality experience-wise. In other words, we have mentioned that a person can pray inwardly because there is a part within the heart of man that engages in a spirit-led fellowship, it is the ability to communicate with God and  to call God Abba Father and to call Jesus Lord. But when it comes to the way we behave, there is another function called the function of conscience.   1.  Conscience is the spiritual determinant of right and wrong Just now we read Romans 2:15-16, " who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them on the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel. " Since the people of Israel had an external law to teach them how to conduct themselves, what about the Gentiles who did not have the law? Romans 2 tells us that God has engraved the function of the law in the heart of man, which is called the conscience. When this function of the law is manifested in our hearts, it is the "heart of right and wrong" that bears witness. Experience-wise, an unbeliever has a conscience, but its function is weak. This is because when a person sins and turns away from God, his spirit becomes dull, withered, numb, and dim, and the function of his conscience diminishes accordingly. It is only when the Holy Spirit enters a person after he has been blessed and believes in the Lord Jesus that the spirit is revived and resurrected. Not only did the spirit begin to pray to God in heaven, but it also became sensitive to right and wrong. So the normal Christian For example, there is a painful feeling of conviction for bearing false witness. On one occasion, a mother went through her daughter's things secretly and found that she had a lot of money. When the daughter came home from school, the mother asked her why she had so much money in her purse. The daughter lied and said that a certain classmate had entrusted it with her. Later, the mother called the classmate to inquire about the money, but in fact, the daughter was tempted to steal money from her mother because of her love for vanity, and she did not dare to admit that she had deceived her mother, which aroused her mother's suspicion, and she had to call a certain classmate (who was a Christian). The daughter called the student before her mother called and said, "Later, if my mother asks you if you have any money in my  account, you have to say yes for me". However, when the student received the phone call, she was in great pain. If she told the truth, her mother, who is a sister in Christ, would have pursued and punished the daughter, and her conscience would have been convicted if she had lied. So she prayed to the Lord and asked Him not to call her mother to ask her about this. I cite this example only to illustrate that there are two kinds of Christians, one who have a sharp sense of conscience after they have been converted to the Lord, and the other who steals money and commits crimes even after they have been converted to the Lord, thus erasing the sense of conscience. Over time, this believer's conscience becomes as dysfunctional as it was before he became an unbeliever. This shows that the human conscience does have the instinct to determine "right and wrong". 2.   Conscience executes judgment on behalf of God "Conscience" has another function, which is to judge on behalf of God. It enables us to recognize right and wrong in our spirit, so when we disobey God or make mistakes, our conscience will condemn us and make us feel uneasy, insecure, and unsettled. On the other hand, when we act in righteousness and have done good deeds, we feel peace, comfort, and well-being inside. From this, we can clearly see that the conscience is the representative of God placed within a man to restrain and manage people, so that they will not go astray and get caught in the net. A long time ago, the newspapers carried a story about a murderer who was arrested. In fact, he was not being chased by the police and arrested at a distance, but he went to the police station to give himself up. The police asked him why he turned himself in. He said that since the day he killed the man, he had been in great pain of conviction and fear in his heart. This shows that God still rules and judges people through the feeling of conscience for those who have not believed in Jesus.  3.   Conscience as an outlet for the life of the Holy Spirit Conscience is very important and we should pay attention to it because it is the outlet of the Holy Spirit and the life of God. It is written in Ezekiel 36:26, “ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ” This mean that our old heart was hardened before we were converted by grace, but when we received the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit works on us to soften this hardened heart, i.e., the old heart becomes a new heart, and a new Spirit is further placed in us. Since mankind has sinned, the spirit has been asleep and darkened, and now it is awakened to become a new spirit, and the Holy Spirit dwells in this new spirit. When the Holy Spirit dwells in you and me, God through the Holy Spirit also puts eternal life in our spirit. So when a person is saved by grace. Not only does the Holy Spirit dwell in us, but we also receive eternal life.This eternal life operates in you and me through the conscience. In other words, the Holy Spirit and the life of God come to the soul through the conscience. Speaking from experience, if there are things that our conscience reproves and convicts, and we ignore them, this will  make our conscience numb and dull, we are then blocking the way of the Holy Spirit and life. Therefore, if Christians do not pay attention to the painful feelings of conviction in their hearts, they are killing the feelings in their conscience, and as a result, their spiritual life will not grow, and there will be no spiritual future for them. Therefore, we have to submit to our inner senses, so that the life of God can move freely and gradually live out the image of Christ. No wonder the Apostle Paul said, “ I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men. ” (Acts 24:16) That is, God hath not condemned me, neither hath any man condemned me: neither have I acted unjustly toward God, nor toward any man. As far as experience is concerned, I have ceased to do anything that my conscience does not approve of or reproach me for. In this way, I can maintain peace of mind and a clear conscience.  4.   Conscience is the window of the Spirit Conscience is a part of the function of the human spirit, and it is the window of the spirit as far as the part of the spirit is concerned. In the case of this hall, there is light coming in from the outside through the windows of the hall. If we close all the surrounding windows with curtains, not only will there be no air circulation in the hall, but the light will also be blocked from coming in, and the hall will be plunged into darkness. In the same way, whether the light of the Holy Spirit can reach the whole person through the conscience depends on whether the conscience is clean or not. As housewives know, the windows of a house are the most prone to filth, especially the kitchen windows, which are often blackened with grease, dust, and fumes. A clean conscience is like a clean window. No wonder the Apostle Paul affirmed in 2 Timothy 1:3, “ I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day ”. Do we pay attention to whether our conscience is clean or not when we serve God? How should we maintain a clean conscience? It must be kept free from any uneasiness or feeling of impropriety! If your conscience condemns you and condemns you repeatedly, you cannot serve God. Hebrews 9:14 tells us, “ How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? ” Have your dead works led you to serve the living God? We are told here that it is the blood of Christ that cleanses our conscience and makes it clean. If we want to keep our conscience free from unrest and impropriety, it must be clean and bright, so that we can serve God. 5.   Obedience to conscience If the conscience is kept clean, then the sharper the senses of conscience will be. In other words, a Christian must always obey the feelings of conscience. If there is a deficiency, a feeling of reproach, or an inability to get through, the conscience must be followed. With this constant obedience, the conscience will be clean, and the light of the Holy Spirit will pass through our whole being, brightening our whole body, and revealing the nature of the Lord and the life of the Lord. In Fujian Province, a brother who was the head of the authorities once testified that he had founded and operated a club which was used by some high-ranking officials as a venue for sports and entertainment, and these officials often pooled together some money to purchase club equipment. Later, due to the mobilization of the army, these high-ranking officials were transferred to other places, thus leaving behind a lot of money and club paraphernalia. This brother of the Secretary did not know where they had been transferred to. As a matter of fact, he was qualified to handle the money, but because he had just heard the gospel and had been saved by grace, his life had changed dramatically, and his conscience had regained its sharpness, he did not dare to use the money without authorization. Later on, he took the time to carefully inquire about the addresses of the transferred officials and returned them one by one. Thank you, Lord! Some of our young people have been so blessed that when they heard the topic of "The Path of Life" in the Saturday ministry class, they immediately put it into practice, just to give you an example: A young man was revitalized and came to love the Lord after attending a summer conference this year. He attended his first Saturday ministry training meeting, and that night I just spoke about the Christian spiritual life growth program, and one of the topics was to have a clean conscience. When he got home, he immediately searched through his things at home and found that a pen he had borrowed from a classmate had not yet been returned. Suddenly, he asked his sister (note: she was also attending the youth ministry training), “Sister, do you have a clean conscience?” The sister was dumbfounded by her brother's question because she saw how he was so won over by the Lord after his first time in the ministry training, and she felt ashamed because he listened to the Lord's word for the first time, but she didn't. Perhaps her brother thought she could not hear him and asked again, “Sister, is your conscience clean?” She couldn't help but answer frankly, “I don't think so.” The next morning, she woke up and was ready to eat breakfast and go to school when her brother said, “Don't we need to have a clean conscience?” She realized that she had not made her bed, so she quickly made it up. Then her brother said, “Sister, my conscience reminded me last night that I borrowed a pen from a classmate and have not returned it for two weeks.” Immediately her conscience was also awakened to the fact that she borrowed a book from a classmate for two years and has not yet returned it, and her brother borrowed a pen from someone for only two weeks and was upset that it was not returned, so she was ashamed in her heart, and walked back to her room to get the book. Then she went to school and said to her classmate, “I'm sorry, I borrowed a book from you for two years before I returned it”, and the Lord reminded her through her classmates, “You also borrowed a cassette tape from me for almost a year.” On the one hand, she was ashamed, but on the other hand, she thanked the Lord for His great love that He refused to let her go, and through this topic of “The Path of Life”, He awakened the feeling of conscience in her, so that she could deal with impurity, injustice, and unholy things.   B.   Sensitive to the senses of life The "sense of conscience" is the negative side. When we make a mistake or suffer, our conscience will condemn us and make us feel bad. The "sense of life" is the positive side, which enables us to live out the image of the Son of God or the Father. 1.  The life of God dwells in man as light John 1:1 reads, “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God .” This means that in eternity there was the Word (also called The Word), who is God, and all things were created by The Word of God. God said that there should be light, and there was light, and God said that there should be heaven, and there was heaven. God created all things by the Word. And then verse 4 goes on to say, “ In Him was life, and that life was the light of men .” This means that there is life in God's word, and this life is the light in man. From our experience, when we believe in the Lord Jesus and are saved by grace, we receive the word of the Lord in evangelism. When the word of the Lord comes in, the life of God also comes into you and me, and this life is the light of man, so when we are born again and are saved, the word of God also shines in you and me.  2.   The light of life is the sense of life This “light” is the light of life, which shines in a person and it can be felt, this is the so-called sense of life. In other words, when the light of life shines in a person, it creates a feeling called “the sense of life”. In the Gospel of John 8:12, Jesus said to the people, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” Therefore, when a Christian believes in Jesus, he receives the light of life. This light is not the light of the sun, nor the light of the electric lamp, but the light of life. In other words, when you believe in the Lord Jesus, you will have eternal life, which is called the light of life. When this light of life glows in the human soul, it produces a sense or a feeling. 3.   The sense of life expresses the nature of God We all know that in human life there is a human nature. Likewise, in God's life, there is also the nature of God. God's nature is expressed through the sense of life. Our God is a merciful, loving, just and holy God. When we believe in the Lord Jesus, we receive the life of God, and in this life there is the character of God. So how does God's loving, holy, and righteous nature come out? It is expressed through the feeling or sense of God's life. Let's say a child likes to eat sugar. When the mother goes out, the child goes into the kitchen and sees white fine salt and eats it, thinking it is sugar, and he immediately spits it out. This is the sense of life, and he spits it out because it is not to his liking. This shows that temperament is expressed in the sense of life. A businessman testified that before he was saved, he used to go dancing almost every night. Later, after hearing the gospel and believing in Jesus, he still went to the dance hall, but a marvelous thing happened: when he got off the dance floor, his feet felt hard and stiff, and he could not help himself. In the past, when the music was playing, he would immediately go along with the music and dance wildly. Why could he not move tonight? It turned out that there was a sense of life inside that grabbed him, not only preventing him from dancing with delight, but also causing him to lose his joy inside. Afterwards, he came to me and asked, “Brother Jeng, I am sorry to ask you, I like dancing, but after I was converted to the Lord, why did I not have any joy in my heart, and why did I feel heavy in my feet when I went to the dance floor, does the Bible forbid believers to dance?” I answered him, “The Bible does not say that dancing is forbidden, but the life in you does not allow it, because the life of God in us is holy, and this sort of dancing is a way to obey the evil desires of the heart, so the holy life cannot pass through, and you do not have joy dancing, which is also known as the ‘feeling of life’. Dancing carnally is against God's holy nature.” Therefore, Christians should pay close attention to the feeling of life, and the more you obey the feeling of life, the more naturally God's nature will be expressed through the feeling of life.  4. Life grows and matures when you obey the feeling of life Not only that, but if we are obedient to the feelings of life, our spiritual life grows and grows to maturity. This is because obedience to the feeling of life is a factor that promotes the growth of life. On the other hand, the sense of life increases with the growth of life, and to the extent that our life grows, the sense of life also grows. It is as if a child is born soon after, and his life demands to grow, and he must eat. So he is born and behaves according to the feeling of life or Intuition. When he is hungry, he cries for milk, and his mother feeds him milk to satisfy his life demands. When he has reached the point where he has satisfied his need for milk, his mouth closes and he stops eating, and this is obedience to the feeling of life. If you give him milk when he doesn't want to eat or when he is not asking for it, he will get full and vomit. Therefore, a wise mother knows how to obey the demands of her child's life, so that the child's life will grow. Gradually the child grows up and needs to jump, so the life inside urges him to jump, and the child jumps according to the feeling of life. If you stop him and don't allow him to jump, he will feel pain and suffering. In the same way, the life of God has multiple functions in you and me. Therefore, it is manifested in many ways. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, not only should you pay close attention to the senses of life, but you should also always obey the senses of life, so that your life can grow to be rich and mature. 5.  The more one obeys the sense of life, the more one's senses are sharpened, and the more one enters the Inner Path of life The life of God is felt in man, and the more one obeys this feeling of life, the more one grows in life. Such a Christian is one who walks on the path of life within. If a person's spiritual life does not grow after he has believed in the Lord, it means that he has not yet touched the path of life, or is not walking on the path of life. Only when life continues to grow can we be sure that he is walking on the path of life. However, the Christian whose life continues to grow is the one who obeys the sense of life. On the other hand, when we obey the sense of life, the sharper this sense of life becomes. The person who has such a keen sense of life is the one who walks on the path of the inner life. On the other hand, if a Christian, after his conversion, does not obey the sense of the inner life, but ignores it, and even goes against the sense of the inner life, then the inner life is not aligned to the sense of the inner life. As a result, the feeling of the inner life becomes duller and duller and even becomes numb. This is the key to whether or not our spiritual life grows and penetrates deeper into the root of our being. Is your sense of life sharp or dull? If you have a keen sense of inner life, it means that your life is growing and maturing. On the other hand, a person with a dull inner sense of life indicates that life is not growing. This is because the path of life is the inner path, not the outer path. All spiritual beings throughout the ages, in ancient times and in modern times, have been touching the path of the inner life. If you and I have not touched the inner path of life, we have wasted our lives.  6. Following the feelings of life result in peace and joy Following the sense of life, which is in accordance with the divine nature, peace and joy abound as the result. A young sister witnessed that after her Saturday morning watch, she wanted to go home to rest after joining because she had a cold and cough for the past week and had trouble sleeping every night, but just as she entered the house, her mother asked her to go to Divisoria market to buy salt and sugar. She thought to herself that the market must be muddy because of the heavy rain last night. Although she was very reluctant, she was marvelously compelled by the feeling of life within her to go. Because God's life is a life of obedience, that is the life of Jesus Christ. So when one is willing to obey, he  or she is also obeying the feeling of life. When the sister took the first step of obedience, she felt that her tiredness disappeared, and the more she left the house, the more joyful she became as she walked along the road. Later, she met another companion and realized that the church (youth meeting) needed plastic bags for bread in the afternoon. So she helped her companion to buy some. The journey was like a tidal wave of joy. The market was supposed to be dirty and noisy, but as she obeyed the feeling of life inside, she was filled with unspeakable peace and joy, and she came back to the market with unceasing joy. When you obey God's sense of life, the more you obey Him, the more you are in harmony with God's nature, and the more you fulfill the requirements of life, the more you have peace and joy. On the contrary, if you don't obey the sense of life, you violate God's nature, and the result is pain and anxiety. One Thursday night, a young sister testified that she had just taken her semestral exams in college, and before the exams she got the test questionnaire from her classmates, and she was very happy. She was very happy because she only had to read the questions to get a good grade. But marvelously, when she got the test questionaire and was about to read it, the feeling of life in her heart demanded that she could not do it, because it was stolen by her classmates in an unrighteous way. Since God's life is a life of righteousness, when a life of righteousness encounters injustice, it reproves and condemns, causing her great spiritual pain. My sister testified that when she had to look at the test questionnaire, she was in such agony that she had to tear it up  and throw it away, and only then did she regain peace in her heart. 7. Live out the nature of God and manifest God's glory in obedience to the sense of life The last point is that if we obey our sense of life, we can eventually live out the nature of God and manifest the glory of the Lord. Matthew 5, 6, and 7 recorded Lord Jesus' teaching on the Mount began with an empty heart, which is the inside story, followed by a clean heart, hunger and thirst for righteousness, gentleness, and compassion, which are not only the inside story, but also the experience of the inner life. When the disciples' hearts were ready,  Jesus went on to talk about someone hitting you on the right side of your face, and turning your left side of your face to be hit by him. If someone wants to take your inner garment, let him take your outer garment as well. If someone forces you to walk one mile, you walk two miles with him..... Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. These are the experiences of a superior spiritual life. It is not stealing, nor killing that is a sin, just being greedy is a sin already. It is not killing that is a sin, but hating is a sin already. The meaning is that when the Father's life grows up in you, you live out the Father's nature and manifest the Father's image. A missionary once went to the Congo in Africa to preach the gospel. Africa is a backward and impoverished region, and although he preached the gospel there for several years, he was unable to convince the people there to believe in the Lord. One day he was talking about how Jesus loved sinners when He was on earth, and one of the sayings that the natives heard was, “ Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. ” (Mattew 5:42). So the natives of the township came and demanded everything in his house, and then they came to his house in groups and carried away all the food and furniture. When the missionary's wife returned home in the evening, she was very frightened and found that everything in the house seemed to have been looted. A marvelous thing happened at the same time. After the natives had taken away all of the missionary's furniture and possessions, they remembered the missionary's marvelous example. So they all said with one voice, “This man is not like those merchants, he doesn't ask us for anything, but give us all they have; he must be a god, and we mustn't treat him as we please.” The next day, the natives brought back all the things they had taken, and returned them, and said with all sincerity that they would believe in the Lord Jesus with them. Soon there were thousands of repentant souls in the townships of the Congo, and the largest church in the Congo was established. Oh! This missionary, he lived out the life of God, he obeyed the feeling of the life of God, and gave to those who asked. Because God's life is to give out, not to take in, it is God's nature to keep on giving and sacrificing. That night when everything in the missionary's home was removed by the natives, the couple had no complaints in their hearts. It was God's life through their obedience to the sense of life that they were able to concretely live out the life of the Father in heaven. It is no wonder that all the people in the township sincerely repented and turned to the Lord. <-- Back to "The Pathway of Inner Being" Next Chapter -->

Scripture Reading: Psalm 63; 42:1-2, 1Joh1:1-3, 7, 1John 4:16   We have already looked at inner prayer, inner Bible study, inner ministry, and inner feeling. We will now move on to the fifth aspect, which is the  inner fellowship. We can divide the discussion into two: First, fellowship towards the Lord , and second, fellowship towards the saints . I. Inner Fellowship with the Lord In order to enter into the inner path, in the life and ministry of a saint, communion with the Lord is a basic spiritual experience that must be maintained. Inner Fellowship with the Lord means living in constant communion with Him. This spiritual experience is the foundation of all experiences on the Inner path, and its importance is most significant. All spiritual people throughout the ages have laid a good, solid, and unshakable foundation in this matter. Therefore, this experience must be seriously practiced and practically built up, or else the lessons we will continue to learn will be nothing more than superficial, shallow, and short-lived experiences and realizations. We should see that living in constant communion with the Lord is a must and the doorway to enter in this path is our spiritual hunger and thirst. A.  Spiritual Hunger and Thirst Spiritual hunger is something that every saint must learn to maintain throughout his or her life. No matter how much a person loves, pursues, follows, and serves the Lord, he cannot say that, “I have reached the spiritual peak, I am full, I am satisfied, and I no longer need to hunger and thirst in the spirit.” We have to know that spiritual hunger and thirst is a divine dissatisfaction created by God, so that we can keep on loving the Lord, getting close to Him, and living in fellowship with Him all the days of our lives. Earnestly Seeking and Longing We have just read Psalms 63 and 42, and we would like to use these two parts of the Bible as our key verses. Because the book of Psalms can be called the Scripture within the Scripture, it is also a book of experiences that describe the saint's deep communion with the Lord, and it says that one of the basic attitudes that the saint must have toward the Lord is that of a longing heart for God. The psalmist appeals to God saying: “Early will I seek You, My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You” (Psalms 63:1) These words come from the depths of the human heart. Whether it is seeking, longing, or yearning they are all stories of the Spirit, not from the human mind, emotions, or will, but from the depths of the Spirit. We must realize that the greatest obstacle to communion with the Lord is the human mind. It is true that the mind must cooperate in practicing fellowship with the Lord. But once we begin to enter into fellowship with the Lord, we find that the mind is the greatest disturbance, isn't it? Many times when we are trying to fellowship with the Lord, some people's minds go to the business world, some would think about traveling abroad, and others even get carried away with their thoughts, drifting between heaven and earth. Therefore, in order to help brothers and sisters focus their thoughts on God, it is best to learn to meditate on God's word when we begin to practice entering into the presence of the Lord. In this way, we allow God's Word to direct our thoughts to God, because God's Word can restrain our minds from wandering and running like wild horses. Of course, in order to enter into inner communion with the Lord, the first and most basic condition is to love the Lord with hunger and thirst in our spirit. Whether or not we keep in touch or keep in fellowship with a certain person depends upon how much we love him. If he is the love of your heart, the more you talk to him, the more passionate he becomes, and it won't be easy to let go of each other. A parent once requested me saying, “Brother Jeng, can you talk sense to my children, because when they talk on the phone, they won't stop, and the business is interrupted.” But I'm not going to be able to do that. Bec if you like the other person you are talking to the conversation will not only be very exciting, but the more you talk, the more interesting it becomes, and the more you talk, the more you can't stop. In the same way, the saints are able to have a deep communion with the Lord because they love the Lord in their hearts, and therefore once they enter into communion with the Lord, they will not be able to let go of Him. On the other hand, if you hate the person you are talking to, when he or she calls, you can't wait to hang up and not talk to him or her. Therefore, we would like to remind the saints that the prerequisite for practicing fellowship with the Lord is to ask whether you love the Lord in your heart. Just like a person who loves money, he is bound to think about money all the time, and he loves money in his heart, and once he starts to do the math, he will be obsessed with money. From this we can see that only when you love the Lord in your heart can you talk about how to enter into fellowship with Him. If not, your heart for the Lord is not as the psalmist says, “In a dry and thirsty land, where there is no water, I long for Thee,”  (Psalms 63:1) and “As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.” (Psalms 42:1) We can imagine that a thirsty deer must run around looking for grass, for wherever there is green grass to satisfy it's hunger, there must be a slow stream to quench its thirst. On the contrary, if our attitude in communion with the Lord is carefree or if we say that it doesn't matter whether we have fellowship or not, this is enough to show that the Lord is not whom you love and pursue in your heart. Spiritually speaking, if you and I love the Lord in our hearts, we would have woken up at the crack of dawn and knelt down without delay to pray and draw near to the Lord. Back in my youth, we had a generation of young people who were drawn to the Lord, and we quickly established a life of approaching the Lord every morning. Back then I realized the emptiness of this world and it was like a leaky pool, and I felt that even though the world was big, it could not satisfy our small hearts. God's creation of mankind is spirit, soul, and body. The "spirit" is the organ of fellowship and worship with God, and it is natural for the spirit to develop a love for the Lord, especially when one had already tasted all the material pleasures and entertainment of this world, and felt the emptiness within, it's like catching shadows or catching the wind. And because I have tasted the goodness of heavenly grace, I deeply realized that the Lord is far beyond all that I can enjoy and desire, He is the fairest of ten thousand, far better than the lily; He is the sweetest of them all, far better than the honey dripping from the beehive; He is all that feeds my hungry soul, and only the Lord can make my heart happy and contented. Therefore, whether it was in hot summer with suffocating air pressure, or in  freezing winter with cold winds, we will still get up and put on our thick clothes, and walk out of the dormitory with our shoes and socks in a hurry, to keep the morning watch and get closer to the Lord. I remember that whenever I woke up with my clothes on, I was so cold that I was shivering all over, the breath coming out of my mouth was like smoke, and my teeth were grating and fighting, but the attraction of the Lord and the Lord's fiery love inside were far better than the cold frosty winter mornings outside, and the spirit of the soul was eagerly seeking the Lord like a deer eagerly seeking a brook of water. If you are not yet thirsty for the Lord, you must humbly come before Him and look up to Him, and plead with Him, “Lord! Make me eager to enjoy Thy presence, and my heart adores Thee.” I am sure that the Lord will hear and fulfill His work in you. Babies Love Milk 1 Peter 2:2 tells us, “ As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” It is a natural phenomenon for a normal baby to cry for milk when the time comes and to stop crying until the mother feeds her, and when the mother has fed the baby, she immediately smiles and laughs with her innocent little face. In the same way, saints practicing communion with the Lord must love the Lord in their spirit, and at the same time, they must have the spirit of a baby, longing for the pure spiritual milk of the Word of God (the Bible). In other words, you and I must receive the Word of God as newborn babies do, treating every word of the Bible as precious, and using the Word of God as our main food, so that our hearts and souls can be satiated by the Word of God. Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness In the sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Mat. 5:6) This shows that if we are hungry and thirsty for fellowship with the Lord, He will be happy to come near to us, live with us, and be with us abundantly, so that our thirsty hearts will be nourished and satisfied. We can see that in order to have fellowship with the Lord, we must be hungry and thirsty, and this hunger and thirst is created by God in you and me. Therefore, Luke's Gospel tells us that God feeds the hungry and sends the rich back empty-handed. This means that whoever does not have a hunger and thirst in his soul will not be able to have a deep communion with the Lord and receive God's abundant provision. In the four Gospels, it is written that when Jesus was on earth, he saw that the people of that generation did not want to pursue the Lord seriously, and did not care about the spiritual and divine things, which have eternal value. He warned that the Queen of the South would rise up before the judgment seat and condemn this generation, because the Queen of the South, upon hearing of Solomon's wisdom, paid the price to travel thousands of miles, loaded with many treasures to visit Solomon in order to hear his words of wisdom. Today, the ascended Christ is far greater than King Solomon, He has transcendent wisdom, and is no longer limited by time and space. We can pursue Him, draw near to Him, and be with Him anytime, anywhere. The Lord Jesus is greater, richer, and more glorious than King Solomon. Isn't it worth the price of a lifetime to be close to Him? For many years, when we went to Baguio, the young people would gather at the assembly hall at 4:00 a.m. to get on the bus, but now some of them can't even get up at 6:00 a.m. This is enough to show that their hearts are not in love with the Lord anymore. Thirst One of the Lord's servants described his love for the Lord in a spiritual way as “ holy discontentment ”. A Christian must have a holy discontentment with the Lord. By the word “holy” I mean that no person, no thing, no object in the world can satisfy me except the Lord. This sense of divine dissatisfaction is something that saints must hold on to for the rest of their lives. When the sense of divine dissatisfaction in the spirit is lost, it means that our spiritual growth has stopped, and naturally, our spiritual experience has also stopped. Even though we still have external ministries, visits, pursuits, and gatherings, these are only outward activities, but we are distant from the Lord on the inside. Therefore, we no longer long for the Lord on the inside, and our fellowship with the Lord has been interrupted, so it is no wonder that ministry has become a heavy burden. From this we can see that in the spiritual life of a saint, there must always be a kind of light, that says, “Lord, I cannot live without You! I cannot live without Thee; how can I live without Thy presence?” On the contrary, if we can do without the Lord and watch exciting TV programs, or,  read the Bible and commune with the Lord, but do not care whether or not we have the Lord's presence, not even concerned at all how His presence is in our lives, then it means that you do not have a spiritual future at all! If you are a normal Christian, you should know that as long as the Lord has that special place within our hearts, you and I will not be able to survive in this spiritual journey. The Old Testament book of Song of Songs tells us that the woman was in love with a good man, and she praised him for his love, which was better than wine, and then he took her into his inner chamber, where she had sweet communion with him. Then the man suddenly hid himself, and the woman became anxious, and said, “ By night on my bed I sought the one I love; I sought him, but I did not find him. 'I will rise now,' I said,... I will seek the one I love.' I sought him, but I did not find him.” And then the woman disclosed the voice of her heart in great sorrow, saying, "O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, ..tell him I am lovesick!“ cThis shows that between a normal saint and his Lord, there must be a kind of light, a constant passionate, hungry love for the Lord, as the hymn says, I have a longing in my heart for Jesus, I have a longing in my heart for Him; Although I know His presence lingers near me, I have a longing just to see His face. Longing, longing for Jesus, I have a longing in my heart for Him; Just to be near Him, to feel His presence, I have a longing in my heart for Him.   B. Fellowship with the Lord in life When a person is saved and has been born again, he or she begins to have a relationship with the Lord. But in terms of status, we are already united with the Lord, i.e., we abide in Christ and Christ abides in me. Christ is the Eternal Life The Old Testament book of Song of Songs describes the relationship between a man and his wife as a foreshadowing of the saint's experience with the Lord, and it is also like the fellowship between Christ and the church. The New Testament book of John records the experience of the saint's fellowship with the Lord and  this book begins by entering the way of life, the way in which the apostles developed their relationship with the Lord. The Apostle John tells us, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life – the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us” (1 John 1:1-2). They were talking about Christ, whom the apostles experienced firsthand , He is the eternal life. In other words,  Christ is our life, He is the Way of Life. Jesus is referred to in many ways in the Bible, but the book of 1 John speaks of Jesus in terms of "Life". When our Lord Jesus was on earth, He also introduced Himself saying, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). This shows that the saint's fellowship with the Lord must be according to the new life within us.  When the Apostle John spoke of his relationship with the Lord, he emphasized that he had seen, heard, and touched Him (which is the Way of Life), indicating that his relationship with the Lord was a personal experience. Then verse 4 says, “And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.” Before he says this, he says in verse 3, “that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” This shows that the Apostle John was living in personal fellowship with the Lord. On what basis did he fellowship with the Lord? His personal fellowship is according to the  eternal life within him, the very thing that they have seen with their own eyes, heard with their own ears, and touched with their own hands, which are all expressed in their life stories and life experiences. From this, we can see clearly how saints can also establish an intimate relationship with the Lord in life, who is Christ himself, and  Christ is the eternal life. Born again with Christ's indwelling and eternal life Experience-wise, when we heard the gospel, believed and accepted Jesus as our Savior, our lives have changed, having received Jesus as our life is the experience of being born again. From the day we were born again, we have been given eternal life (everlasting life) in addition to the life that was given to us by Adam, the first man. At the same time, the Holy Spirit is in us too, Christ is in us through the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” (1 John 5:1) Then verses 11-12 goes on to say, “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:1) These verses of the Bible repeatedly say that we have life when we have Christ Jesus. Bec Life is in Christ. Christ is The Life. Also in John 14 and 16, the Lord Jesus Himself said to His disciples in a serious tone that He will be going away but would come again, and that He would ask the Father to give them another Counselor, that He might be with men forever. This means that Christ will dwell in us through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, from the Biblical record, from a multi-faceted perspective, we are a group of people who have eternal life, the Holy Spirit, the indwelling Christ, and the life of God. In other words, from the time we are born again and saved, we have a relationship with the Lord in our lives. This life requires fellowship However, there is one characteristic (or function) of God's eternal life, it requires fellowship. Everything that has life has a function in life. For example, the life fuction of a dog is to guard the door, the life function of a cat is to catch mice, the life function of an ox is to plow the ground, and the life function of a horse is to pull a cart. The function of the eternal life of the Son of God, which we have received, is to have fellowship with God. So naturally, this life in us cannot survive without the presence of the Lord. A few years ago, I heard a little girl at the departure gate of the Manila airport crying at the top of her lungs. It turned out that her parents had left her behind for the time being, because they wanted to go abroad, but the little girl was unable to cope with being separated from her parents for a moment, and even though she was being cared for by her relatives and friends, she can not be comforted. From this we can see that the characteristic of a child's life is fellowship and dependence on  another, and when she leaves her parents, she is afraid, frightened, restless, sad and weeps incessantly. This is the natural law of life. The life of the Son of God requires fellowship with God. Therefore, when a normal Christian is born again and saved, he naturally likes to pray, and although he does not know how to express himself in words, he will wonderfully pray to the Lord at all times and in all places. This is the function of God's life, which enables Christians to have a personal intimate fellowship with the Lord through prayer.  At the same time, the characteristic of this life is that it requires communication, which makes it impossible for us to be independent, and it is unbearable to see a child alone. I remember in my childhood, my brother who was several years older than me, often went out with his companions, leaving me alone at home, but amazingly, without being taught, by natural instinct, I went to the neighbor's house to look for playmates to be my companions. Because the characteristic of God's life has the function of fellowship, making it impossible for us not to draw near to the Lord, to fellowship with Him, and to fellowship with the saints. Fellowship with the Lord is not a forced or difficult task, but a living manifestation of the characteristic of this life we received. No wonder, when I look back on my own experience, especially during my youth, my heart's love for the Lord was not driven by external laws, rules, or requirements, but by the natural inclination of the life within me. If young brothers and sisters here, are spiritually numb and your life functions are exhausted, you must go to the Lord, humbly pray, and ask the Lord, “Revive my spirit, so that the spirit of life in me will be revived, and from the bottom of my heart I really long for You, love You, and earnestly desire to have fellowship with You”, in order to restore and build up a life of fellowship with the Lord. Communicate with the Father and the Son in this life 1John 1:3 tells us, “that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” It is as if the fluorescent light in a room suddenly went out, because the switch was faulty and cut off from the power supply. To repair it, a copper wire must be used, whereas a rubber band, or a woolen thread, which is also a wire, will not conduct electricity, but a steel wire must be used. In the same way, saints communicate with the Father and the Son by the same life. Communicate with the Lord not by thought It is obvious that saints commune with the Lord by this life, and naturally they do not commune with the Lord by their mental, emotional, or will power, but by the eternal life that is within them. When we commune with the Lord by the life of the Spirit, though we may think of the Lord with our thoughts, or adore Him through our affections, or seek to gain Him through our will, the source is always the Spirit (new life) of the Lord in us. This life is connected to Christ the Head This eternal life that we have been given is from Christ, the Head of the heavenly throne, and this life is connected to Christ the Head. Therefore, when we fellowship with the Lord through this life, we are also having fellowship and being united with Christ in heaven. Just like when a spider spits out its silk and makes a web, it soon gives birth to a baby spider, and when the baby spider grows up, the big spider starts to release its baby spiders. When we see with our naked eyes the little spiders wriggling their little legs and crawling out, those who do not know will be anxious for them, thinking, will they lose their way and starve to death? The truth is that the mother spider releases her spiderlings because the spiderlings are attached to her silk threads. No matter where the spider crawls to, the silk threads are always pulling and linking the spider to the mother spider. We can't see it clearly at first sight, but when we look closely, the threads are clear. The saint's relationship with the Lord is marvelously like that of a spider. When we are born again by grace and are saved, God's lifeline connects us to Christ, the Head. Abiding in Christ In John 15:5, the Lord Himself said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” Here the Lord uses the analogy of the vine and the branches to illustrate the relationship between the saints and Himself. The vine and the branches are interconnected. The branch is attached to the vine, which means that the saint is living in fellowship with the Lord. “ He who abides in me, and I in him, this man bears much fruit.” This means that saints live in fellowship with the Lord, that is, they abide in Christ, and He abides in us. In this way we can enjoy the fruits of His abundant life. And then He says, “Without Me you can do nothing.” This is a further indication of the need for saints to remain in fellowship with the Lord and to abide in Him. Because the lives of the saints and Christ are closely knit to each other, they have a very close relationship.  We can also say that Christ is an invisible vine, invisible to the naked eye, whose roots are in the heavenly throne, but whose branches spread to every corner of the world. Therefore, it is natural for saints to have communion with the Lord in their lives, and to maintain it all the time, not just by praying, but by connecting their spirit with the Lord in prayer, and by a lifeline. In terms of experience, we must first go back to the spirit, because the life of God is in the spirit. So to go back to the spirit is to fellowship with the Lord in one's life. I pray that all of you, by the grace of the Lord, will seriously practice how to fellowship with the Lord in your life in the remaining years. And through fellowship with the Lord, you can live in the Lord at all times. It is like how a branch is connected to the vine. May we also abide in Him, enjoy His riches, and know that all that He is can shine through me, and may we be like new branches on the vine, shining forth the life of the Lord, manifesting His glory, and bearing fruit that never ends. Amen. C. Communion with the Lord in the light In the beginning of the book of 1 John, verses 1 to 3 talk about the need for us to fellowship with the Lord in our lives. Verse 7 says, “ If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. It says here that saints are to fellowship with the Lord in the light. The Triune God is Light “God is light” (1 John 1:5). In John 8:12 Jesus said to the people, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” This confirms that saints must be in the light in order to have fellowship with the Lord. It is evident that God is light, and Christ is light, and the Holy Spirit is light, for "the Holy Spirit has come to convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" . (John 16:8) From this we can see that God the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are all light, and if we do not live in the light, we will not be able to establish a fellowship with the Lord. Darkness, which is of the devil, has no communion with light. Is it not so? If a saint sins against the Lord and falls short, he will not dare to approach the Lord or even come to a meeting for fear of seeing the light. Because darkness is afraid of light, one of the reasons why saints do not like to approach the Lord is that they are afraid of seeing the light. Because darkness does not accept light, it is natural that they do not dare to approach the Lord (John. 1:5). Since darkness and light are enemies, when God redeemed us, He not only delivered us from the power of darkness, but also moved us into the kingdom of light, His beloved Son (Col. 1:13), as a light. Therefore, when God redeemed us, He not only delivered us from the power of darkness, but also moved us into the kingdom of light (Col. 1:13) as sons of light, so that saints must live in the light every day in order to remain in communion with Him. But when the spiritual condition falls into darkness, it is cut off from the light, and fellowship with the Lord also stops instantly. Therefore, fellowship with the Lord must be in the light, for God is light, and darkness belongs to the devil. We have Fellowship with the Lord in the light But sin cuts off one's fellowship with God. (Isa. 59:1) Therefore, if a person is in the light, he will certainly see his own failure and corruption. He will naturally confess his sins to the Lord and ask for cleansing by the blood of Christ, for there is no sin that the blood of Christ cannot cleanse. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The word “all” includes all sins, no matter how big or small, as long as they are confessed and ask forgiveness, He will forgive and cleanse them and restore our relationship with Him, if the saint keeps on living in the light. The light of God is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until the noonday sun.  Experience-wise, when we are in the light of the Lord, the gross sins are revealed first, such as sins of vile and lowly behavior, lying and condemning, deceitfulness, and impiety, for which we seek forgiveness because of a guilty conscience. Further, there are the small sins, which are the thoughts and motives of the heart, hidden in the depths of man's being, such as pride, selfishness, self-righteousness, self-love, hardness, and falsehood. Therefore, for a saint who lives in the light, the first thing that happens is that the sins on the surface fall away, and when the fellowship with the Lord goes deeper and deeper, whatever is not in accordance with God's nature on the deeper part of the heart and mind, the grace and light will reveal it, and then he confesses his sins and asks for forgiveness from the Lord, and he is washed by the blood of the precious One. In this way, one's relationship and fellowship with the Lord becomes deeper and deeper. In this way, one not only enjoys the presence of the Lord, but also draws from the richness of the Lord.   D. Fellowship with the Lord in Love 1 John tells us that saints should fellowship with the Lord, first in life, second in light, and then in love. God is love 1John 4:16 says, “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” Therefore, saints should learn to come to God and receive the love of God, that is, to abide in love. This love calls us to respond, to rise up and love the God who loves us. Love is responsive and can flow back, because life is alive, and naturally love is alive. The form of love is living. When God's love comes to us, it naturally flows back in us to the God who loves us, which is the exchange of divine love. Christ is the manifestation of love Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Here we see clearly that the love of God was manifested through Christ on the cross. This shows that Christ is the manifestation of love, and therefore saints must be in love in order to have fellowship with the Lord. Therefore, John 15:5 records that the Lord said to His disciples, “He that abideth in Me, in him I also will abide.” Then verse 9 says, “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” This means that to abide in the Lord is to abide in love, and to experience the love of the Lord naturally. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love In order to fellowship with the Lord in love, the saint must not only know that God is love and that Christ is the manifestation of love, but He must also realize that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love. Romans 5:5 says, “The Holy Spirit, who has been given to us, has poured out the love of God in our hearts.” Let us see that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love. To live in love is to live in the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Galatians 5:22 concludes, “The fruit of the Spirit is love......” If this is the love of the Triune God, then we must abide in love, that is, in God, and at the same time in Christ. For Jesus Himself tells us, “I have loved you as the Father has loved me, so abide in My love.” On the other hand, if one abides in love, one naturally abides in the Holy Spirit. II. The Inner Communion with the Saints The second aspect of inner communion is communion with the saints. Fellowship with the Lord, and fellowship with the saints Concerning the inner communion with the saints, it is based on 1 John 1:3, “that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”   As the apostles passed away one after another, the apostle John the Elder saw that the church had begun to deteriorate, so he wrote the First Epistle of John to salvage the church and to meet the urgent needs of the church at that time. Therefore, when he wrote the first chapter of 1 John, he stated right at the beginning that the way of life must first be restored, that is, Christ must be restored as the life, and the fellowship of the saints must be restored further. It means that the original way of life, which we have seen, heard, touched, and now testify to, refers to the experience of Christ as life. You have fellowship with us because we first had fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus. From this it can be seen that the saint must not neglect the inner fellowship, of which there are two major experiences, namely, fellowship with the Lord and fellowship with the saints. Fellowship with Christ as Life Looking at Christians in the world today, one would think that the meeting of saints is fellowship. However, they do not realize that there are two kinds of fellowship: external and internal. What is external fellowship? It is when saints meet each other, they shake hands and greet each other. Indeed, greeting one another is the basic way of human contact. Therefore, when saints visit each other, they ask how they are doing or if they haven't seen you for a long time to show that they miss and care for each other. If we ask “Brother, have you been praying or reading the Bible lately?” right at the doorway, you may sound like a police officer and make the other person feel unhappy. Therefore, there must be outside fellowship, but not just outside fellowship, there must be inner fellowship.   What is inner fellowship? It means that what you have heard, what you have seen, and what you have personally touched of the Lord Jesus is the content of your fellowship. In other words, it means to fellowship with Christ as you have experienced Him in your life. When we visit the saints, we should first greet them from the outside, “Brother, how are you? I haven't seen you for several weeks. Are you busy with your homework? How's your career? Is your family safe?” But after the greeting fellowship, we must immediately move to the inner fellowship. “Oh, brother, I came to see you today! because I have a lot of joy in me, or a lot of grace from the Lord, and I can't help but share it with you.” He will answer, “What joy? Can you tell me about it?” Then you can share with the other person how your prayers have been heard by the Lord, or how you have been healed, or how you have been enlightened through your Bible study, or how you have received grace in the meetings, and then let the other person share with you as well. In this way, we have experienced: "And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.” (1 John 1:4) Deep Calls unto the Deep Psalm 42:7 describes the fellowship of the saints as “deep calls unto deep”, meaning that the human spirit is in the deepest place, like a gulf. When saints fellowship, there is a depth in you and a depth in me, and when they fellowship, they respond, i.e., the spirit connects with the spirit.  On that day, when Mary had become pregnant, she arose and went to the hill country in haste to Elizabeth, the mother of John, of whom the Bible tells us that as soon as she entered the house of Zacharias, she greeted Elizabeth, and as soon as Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the child she was carrying leaped in her womb and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:40-41) This is the fellowship of the deep, because Mary brought Jesus with her, and when the babe from the deep touched Jesus, he jumped up, which is the illustration of deep calling to deep. Therefore, whenever saints get together and fellowship with each other, they must respond to each other spiritually and be filled with joy. This is the principle of inner fellowship in the spiritual life. This reminds us to pay attention to the inner fellowship in the fellowship of saints. Saints love one another on the outside and on the inside, but the precious and valuable thing is to go back to the inner fellowship. I remember when I was a student, I grew up in a Christian family, went to Sunday school when I was young, and became a worshiper when I grew up. I thank the Lord for that! When the witness of the church was growing in Taiwan, some brothers and sisters from China who loved the Lord started to meet in various places. One day I was greeted by a classmate who took me to a meeting place. Because of my classmate's sincere greeting, I went in and joined the meeting. It happened to be the Sunday Breaking of Bread meeting, and the number of people in the meeting was about 50, and I saw that the way of breaking bread was different from our church. They broke the bread first, and the bread was one piece, and then they passed it around, and everyone broke a small piece, and then they drank from the cup! It was then that I realized that they drank a cup together, and when the cup was passed around, each person drank a little bit of it. I didn't dare to drink the cup that day because I was not accustomed to it and I didn't dare to do so. Soon after the gathering was over, the student who brought me introduced me to all of them, saying, “This is Brother Jeng,” and the brothers came forward to shake my hand and say, “Brother.” Oh! That "brother" was so kind, and that handshake was so warm, it was like an electric shock that touched me to my very core. That handshake was both external and internal, and there was also a difference between the internal and external aspects of that call "brother". Forty years have passed since then, but the scene is still vivid in my mind and I will never forget it. Life-giving fellowship in Christ Romans 12:5 says, “We, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” It means that we are not divided in Christ, you and I are just a small member of the body. How do we fellowship among so many members? It is by the life of Christ. In terms of experience, when we are saved by grace, we receive the life of Christ, the Son of God, and one function of this life is to fellowship with one another. Therefore, when Christians meet each other in the park, or on the bus, or on the way, although they do not know each other, wonderfully, when they see each other holding Bibles in their hands, they will naturally smile at each other, nod their heads, and say hello to each other. However, saints should go further and experience the fellowship of the body, for the body of Christ has fellowship by the life of Christ, that is, the fellowship within. Therefore, the Lord Jesus told His disciples the parable, “I am the vine, you are the branches." And the branches are not to be broken off from each other, but are to be linked to each other and to climb up the vine. May the Lord be gracious and keep us not only to enter into fellowship with Him, but also to be led by Him into fellowship with one another as saints. As the hymn writer says, Blest be the tie that binds Our hearts in Christian love; The fellowship of kindred minds Is like to that above. <-- Back to "The Pathway of Inner Being" Next Chapter -->

Scripture Reading: Mt. 16:24-25; 2 Cor. 4:7-10, 16 Rm. 8:28-29; 1 Pet. 5:6 Introduction All of our messages have been about entering the "Pathway of the Inner Life” . We hope that those who have not yet entered this path will do so. Otherwise, the loss we will suffer in eternity will be too great to be counted, irreparable, and regrettable. Especially for those brothers and sisters who are willing to pay the price, it is even more regrettable. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He said, "I have come that they (sheep or people) may have life, and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) This means that believing in the Lord Jesus is not only to give people eternal life, but also to bring us to the fullness of life. Therefore, whoever does not enter the path of life here, his or her spiritual life will not be abundant at all. We have mentioned above that the way to enter into the inner life is, firstly, to have inner prayers . Saints pray every day from the first day of the year to the last day of the year, but are these prayers from the outside or from the inside? Because only the prayer inside can touch life. Secondly, it is the inner reading of the Bible . If not for the inner reading of the Bible, the Christian would still be outside the path of life. We must realize that believing in Jesus for eternal life is one thing, and walking the inner path of life is another thing. Many people believe in Jesus, and then stay there for the rest of their lives, waiting to go to heaven, not realizing that after they have received eternal life, they still have to enter into the inner path of life, so as to achieve the fullness of their spiritual life. A person who enters the way of life must be a person who reads the Bible from the inside. Third, it is internal ministry . Admittedly, in Christianity today, we can see that many brothers and sisters are serving the Lord with great fervor, but are they serving on the inside or on the outside? It is important to realize that only the inner service is the service of life, while the outer service is just a religious activity. Fourth, it is the feeling on the inside . This is a more in-depth experience because the inner life has a sense, and if this sense is sharp, then the Spirit (life) inside can lead the way. In other words, the life of the living God is already inside you and me, reviving our spirit. Therefore, the feeling of the conscience part of our spirit has also been sharpened. And because the sense of God's life is sharp and tender, we are able to distinguish between what is offensive to the Lord and what is pleasing to the Lord. Fifth, it is the inner fellowship . When God created man, he divided him into three parts: spirit, soul, and body. The greatest reason why God gave man the Spirit is that God's leading and work in the saints is based on the spirit, so all spiritual experiences must be in the spirit. Therefore, the spirit of the saint must be connected to the Spirit of God, meaning that he or she is in communion with the Lord on the inside. Only those who live in communion with the Lord on the inside can keep moving forward on the path in the inside. In other words, only those who have fellowship with the Lord inwardly can have spiritual establishment on this foundation. Sixth, it is internal guidance . The Lord is the Great Shepherd of the sheep, and the saints are His flock. How does this Great Shepherd guide the sheep in heaven? We thank God for the life of His Son, who is guiding us from within today. Therefore, the word "guide" refers to the inner movement, not the outer routine. In the days of the Old Testament Law, the Lord guided His people by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. In the days of the New Testament, the law of God's life is within us, and so the word of God (the Bible), and the voice of the Holy Spirit, are also within the story. God's life, God's nature is peace, and He uses peace and the voice of the Holy Spirit (the teaching of the anointing) to guide the saints in the way of life. The Outer Man is Destroyed Now we come to the seventh experience, which is the tearing down of the outer man. This is a message that is not often preached in churches for fear that the newly saved saints will be deterred by a lack of understanding. Thank you, Lord! We have been laying our spiritual foundation for several years, and we are convinced that we should be able to grasp it now that we have a good foundation. The outer man is being torn down, the so-called way of the cross. The cross is a big topic, so for the sake of space, we can only look at it briefly and condensed from a living perspective: I. The Outer Man is the Soul of Man The human constitution can be divided into three parts: spirit, soul, and body. In the beginning, God's original intention in the creation of man was that man should receive His life, and that this life should be brought to its fullness. A. Human beings are composed of spirit, soul and body Since God created man, he is composed of three parts: the spirit, the soul, and the body. The spirit is located in the deepest part of the human being. It has the function of fellowship to worship and interact with God; it has the function of conscience to determine right and wrong for God; and it has the function of intuition to understand the things of God. Therefore, when a person is saved by grace and regeneration, the spirit comes to life. The outside of the spirit is the soul, which is commonly called the "spirit". The Chinese mix the spirit with the soul, but in fact the spirit is separate from the soul. The "soul" also consists of three parts, namely, the mind, the emotions, and the will. 1. Mind Everyone has a mind. It is the mind, the intellect, which can also be called consciousness, opinion, or intelligence, knowledge. To be able to understand or think, to be able to understand things. This is the part of the mind. Emotions Everyone has emotions, that is, emotions and feelings. When a person is stimulated and attracted by the outside world, he or she will have seven emotions and six desires. Seven emotions: joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, evil and desire. Desire is the desire of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind as six desires. These are all part of the emotions. 3. Will Everyone has a will, and the organ that determines human behavior is called the will. When a person is planning or making a decision to do something, the function of making a decision is called the will. Some people make decisions and put them into practice; others are indecisive and hesitant. The "body" is the visible body, including the limbs and the five senses.  B. The Bible says that the born-again spirit is the inner man In the beginning, when man was created, the spirit governed the soul and the soul governed the body. However, after the first man and woman fell into sin, the spirit lost its function because it was cut off from God, and the soul rose to take the place of the spirit and dominate the body. But it is not that the spirit is gone, it just lost its function. It was not until one day when you and I believed that Jesus was born again that the spirit was restored to its original order. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, our spirit is revived and renewed, and the Holy Spirit puts the life of God in our spirit, which is called the spirit of rebirth. In this way, God uses this born-again spirit to dominate the soul and direct all the activities of the body. If we walk in the path of the inner life, God will further enable us to realize what is the inner man and what is the outer man? What is the outer man? Ephesians 3:16 tells us, "......to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man." The Spirit of regeneration is explicitly called the inner man. C. Outer man is the soul of the man What does it mean to be on the outside? 2 Corinthians 4:16 reads, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day." The word "outward man" means the outer man, meaning the outer man was destroyed. The “inward man” refers to the inner man, “but the inward man is renewed day by day,” meaning it is renewed day by day. From this, we can see that this verse clearly identifies the Christians as one who is on the outside and one who is on the inside. The other is the inner man. The outer man The outer man is the one who has the human body as his servant and the human soul as his master. Just as we have to use our mind, emotions, and will to dominate our physical life every day. The inner man The inward man refers to the born-again spirit, with the soul renewed by the Holy Spirit as its servant and the born-again spirit as its master. In other words, it is Christ as the life that governs our minds, emotions, and wills to act and behave as human beings. II. The Outer Man Hinders the Growth of Spiritual Life Next, we need to take a closer look at the outer man which is blocking the growth of the spiritual life. A. The mind does not think of heavenly things Colossians 3:1 reads, "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God." This shows that the key to the Christian's spiritual life to continue to grow is to think about heavenly things. For there is Christ sitting at the right hand of God. Therefore, our minds must be connected to Jesus Christ. But this is not the case. Most Christians have an earthly mind and think about earthly things. When you get up in the morning and go to bed at night, do you think more about heavenly things? Or do you think more of earthly things? Oh! Almost all of them are earthly, and are thinking hard about how to work hard to operate, get money, power, reputation, status, learning ...... to improve the enjoyment of life, in order to satisfy the desires of the flesh. I don't realize that thinking about earthly things is the biggest obstacle to the growth of spiritual life. Some may say that if we keep thinking about heavenly things, then we will become ignorant and accomplish nothing. Brothers and sisters, this is not the case. As students, you should still study hard, and as businessmen, you should still work hard, but you should think about Christ in your spirit. When Jesus was on earth, he told the parable of the sower. The sower sowed the seed of life in four kinds of fields, namely, by the roadside, in the shallow and stony ground, in the thorn bushes, and in the good soil, to illustrate that there is a seed of Christ's life growing in every man's heart. In one of the thorn fields, when the seed was sown and wanted to grow, the thorns sprang up and choked it. Later the disciples asked Jesus why he used parables to teach them. Jesus further explained the parable to them. When talking about the seed that fell among the thorns, the Bible specifically says, "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful." (Matthew 13:22) This explains that if the mind is not thinking about heavenly things, but about earthly things, it will hinder the growth of the spiritual life. B. Emotional dislike of God There are 150 psalms in the Bible, divided into five books; the first book is from 1 to 41, the second book is from 42 to 72, the third book is from 73 to 89, the fourth book is from 90 to 106, and the fifth book is from 107 to 150. And the first book is about basic spiritual experiences. Starting from the second book, we enter into the experience of spiritual growth. Look at the first Psalm of the second book of Psalms, Psalm 42:1, where the psalmist says, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God." And then in verse 2, he says, "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” Whether it is “longing” for God or “yearning” for God, it is a story of emotion. Therefore, in order to grow in spiritual life, we must love God emotionally. On the other hand, in 2 Timothy 3, the believers in the last days are described as "lovers of money"(v.2), "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" (v.4). "Love" is an emotional inclination. The believer's emotions are inclined to money and pleasure, and because he does not love God, his heart is bewitched by the money of the world, and is seized by pleasure, and so he drifts farther and farther away from God, and in the end he even forsakes God altogether. Isn't it true that many Christians today would rather attend their friends' weddings on Sunday than attend the Sunday meeting to break bread and worship? There are some who, after the Sunday message, refuse to stay for the branch meetings, but are invited to the feasts or appointments of their friends and relatives. What is the difference between this kind of running for the sake of the world? From this we can see how the lack of love for God hinders the growth of the spiritual life. C. The will does not surrender to God's will Not only that, but the will of man, if not surrendered to God's will, is also a hindrance to the growth of the spiritual life. Therefore, Jesus taught his disciples to pray, "Therefore pray, saying, 'Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.'" This means that we should honor God's will, i.e., let God's will be done in you and me (the church). However, the facts tell us that there are many things that we know are God's will, but we refuse to surrender to God's will and obey man's will. Thank the Lord, in recent years, there have been many marriages among young people in the church, but there are many marriages which have never been finalized. One of the biggest reasons for this is that they do not want to marry the person of God's will, and they know that if they marry this person, they will surely be able to continue to love the Lord, serve the Lord, and walk in the Lord's way. However, they chose the object of their flesh, the worldly one and thus they fell after marriage. Because the “soul” -- the outer man always blocks the growth of God's life and refuses to let God's will pass on earth as it is in heaven. III. The Cross Deals with the Soul of Man How does God grow this group of people to spiritual maturity? Thank God! He uses the cross of Christ to deal with the souls of men.  A. Jesus called His disciples to carry the cross No wonder, the Lord Jesus laid down strict requirements for those who wanted to follow Him and be His disciples. Matthew 16:24 reads, "Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.'" You and I are all disciples of the Lord, and we are willing to follow Him for the rest of our lives. However, the Lord has put this condition here, that whoever wants to follow me should deny himself and take up his cross and follow Him. Unfortunately, to this day, many disciples stopped at this point, and some even turned back. On that day, after the Lord Jesus changed the loaves and fishes to satisfy the 5,000 people, they crowded around Him. But when Jesus further mentioned the cross a little, the Bible specifically says, "Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can understand it?’" "From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more." (John 6:60, 66) Then Jesus turned to the twelve and asked them, “Do you also want to go away?” Simon Peter answered without hesitation, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." (John 6:68) This means that Peter saw in his spirit that the Lord is the way to eternal life, and although this way requires self-sacrifice, he was willing to follow the Lord all his life, so that his life would grow until it reaches its fullness. B. Rejecting the cross to save souls will lead to loss of souls Jesus then went further to say specifically that when the cross is to be used against the soul life of man, if man refuses to accept the cross, he is rejecting the cross. "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. " The word "save his own life" means to save his soul. And he who would save his own soul "shall lose it". It means that one cannot be filled with the life of Christ without embracing the cross and sacrificing oneself to the cross. In terms of experience: If one saves his soul, protects it according to his mind with his emotions and will, seriously, his mind, emotions, and will are preserved intact. Spiritually, however, the soul is lost, for the soul prevents the life of God from passing through, and the work of the Holy Spirit from entering, and inevitably the whole soul is not filled with the life of Christ. C. Accepting the cross as a means of losing one's soul, but gaining one's soul Look at the second half of Matthew 16:25, which says, "Whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it." Here it is clearly stated that if one loses his soul for the Lord, “he shall find it”, that is to say, his soul will be filled with the life of Christ. Speaking of experience, that is to say, for the Lord, my mind, emotions, and will are given to the Lord, dedicated to the Lord, and accepted by the Lord's work. To be so devoted to the Lord and to let His will pass is called losing one's soul. In the end, the soul is completed by the life of Christ, that is, the soul is saved. Therefore, there is a choice here. If you keep your soul and refuse to accept the cross, your spiritual life will not grow; on the contrary, if you accept the cross and lose your soul, your soul will be filled with Christ. To be saved in spirit is to believe in the Lord, but to be saved in soul is to accept the cross. In this way, our minds, emotions, and wills will be filled with Christ, and we will eventually live out the model of Christ. May we be blessed to see the preciousness of the cross and pray to the Lord as the psalmist did, Lord, I take up my cross; I would follow Thee. Fleeting fame, honor, wealth— Dropping willingly. Scolded, mocked, ridiculed, I no heed would pay; Sufferings, pressures too— Walk Thy narrow way. Trust Thy grace, heed Thy word, Faithful to the end IV. The Cross Breaks Down The Outer Man How then is the cross to be practiced concretely in you and me as human beings?  A. The fact of the cross and the fact of death First of all, we must see that we were crucified with the Lord Jesus when He was crucified. This is the fact of the death of the cross, and that's what Paul said in Romans 6:6, “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” B. The experience of the crucifixion How does the death of the cross work in you and me in terms of subjective experience? It is when we live in fellowship with the Lord that the Holy Spirit miraculously heals our flesh by the death of the cross, so that the death of the cross of Christ is activated in us. As Romans 8:13 says, "For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."   C. The cross destroys those outside 2 Corinthians 4:7-16 goes further and specifies that the cross has an important work of destroying us on the outside. In this account, the Apostle Paul mentions the four destructive works of the cross. Hard pressed on every side, perplexed .persecuted . struck down - the breaking down of the cross (2 Cor. 4:7-10, 16) The phrase "hard pressed on every side" refers to the adversity of being surrounded by difficulties and adversity; the phrase "perplexed" refers to the pressure of the environment, which causes suffering in the heart. For example, financial pressures, marital setbacks, family difficulties, etc., make it difficult for us to bear and cope with them. "Persecuted" means misunderstood, attacked, insulted, hurt, slandered, etc. "Struck down" means suffering great blows and unspeakable hardships that bring you to the point where there seems to be no way out and no hope at all. These are the crosses that are tearing us down on the outside. Always carrying Jesus' death (environmental suffering) - The breaking of the cross (2 Cor. 4:10) That is, when we are subjected to many difficult and painful circumstances, Paul says that these encounters in us are called "always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus". In other words, these pains and difficulties are the actual cross that the Holy Spirit carries out in us through difficult and painful circumstances with the killing function of the cross of Christ, in order to get rid of the external flesh. Destruction of the Outer Body - The outer man is destroyed by the cross (2 Cor. 4:16) May we all be blessed and see that one thing here is that when the work of destruction is done on us from the outside, God will bring about undesirable and difficult encounters, such as being misunderstood, belittled, humiliated, or even suffering loss of reputation, or loss of property or business, so that we will be destroyed. You will be physically and mentally wounded..... to tear down the outer man. The apostle Paul uses another word for these things in 2 Corinthians 4:16, namely, the perishing of the “outward man”, i.e., the destruction of the outward man by the cross. The inward man is being renewed day by day - the inner man is being renewed (2 Cor. 4:16) Thank you, Lord! While the cross of Christ destroys those on the outside, we on the inside are renewed daily, one day after another, so that our spiritual life grows until it reaches full maturity. Jacob of the Old Testament was a selfish, self-interested, and deceitful man. After he cheated his brother Esau out of the title of firstborn, God's hand took him to his maternal uncle Laban's house for twenty years to make him through the work of the cross. For the love of Rachel, he served Laban for seven years, but God allowed him to be deceived through Laban who gave him his daughter Leah as his wife. Because of his deep love for Rachel, he worked for Laban's family for another seven years, which was fourteen years, torturing Jacob's old mind, emotions, and will. During his twenty years of shepherding in Laban's family, he was deceived by Laban to change the price of his labor ten times, and this long twenty summers and winters caused Jacob to suffer repeated blows to the outside world. As a result, after the long period of demolition by the work of the cross, he finally became Israel. The original word "Israel" means the Prince of God in a spiritual sense, i.e., it means that the image of the Son of God was manifested in him, because when the outer man was torn down, the fullness of life was manifested. Look at Paul in the New Testament. Before he met the Lord, he was taught according to the strict law under Gamaliel, a famous teacher of his time, who was not only learned and eloquent, but also had a moral standard that exceeded that of ordinary people, which was admirable and admirable, and he was proud of himself. He was so zealous for the heritage of his fathers that he spared no effort to persecute those who believed in Jesus. On that very day, when he was traveling to Damascus with the high priest's papers, intending to arrest Christians, a great light suddenly shone from heaven on all sides, and as soon as the light shone on Paul, he immediately fell to the ground, and this encounter with the Lord caused a 180-degree change in Paul's whole being, and the hand of God was always on him from that time onward. Let’s look at the history of his life’s ministry, 2 Corinthians 11 describes in great detail how the cross of Christ was a destructive work in him. The sufferings that were upon him were truly vicissitudes of life, through weariness, pain, hunger, thirst, cold, nakedness, beatings, imprisonment, stoning, shipwrecks, perils on land and sea, and perils among false brethren ...... (II Cor. 11:23-28). After Paul had suffered a lot of pain and suffering, Paul's outer man was torn down, but his spiritual life reached full maturity and he became a spiritual man. Acts 13 tells us that a young man named Mark, who loved the Lord with a passion in his spirit and had a desire to serve Him, followed Paul and Barnabas to learn the ministry. But Mark was afraid of suffering, "Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John (Mark), departing from them, returned to Jerusalem." (Acts 13:13) Therefore, when Paul returned to Antioch from his work in Pamphylia and was about to go out to work again, Barnabas intended to take John, who was called Mark, with him. However, Paul decided not to take Mark with him because he thought that Mark had suffered a little bit in Pamphylia before he left, and Barnabas insisted that he had to take him with him. Thank the Lord! Later, after Paul had tasted the manifold work of the cross of God, and after the outer man had been torn down, he became a spiritual man, and an apostle of great spiritual depth. Therefore, when he was informed that Mark had been trained and led under Peter for many years, he accepted Mark as his co-worker (Col. 4:10-11), (2 Tim. 4:11), which shows that Paul's outer man was torn down, and his inner man was completely renewed. Furthermore, while Paul was in prison in Rome, there was a fugitive slave named Onesimus who had stolen money from his master, Philemon, and fled to Rome where he met Paul, who then preached the gospel to him and led Onesimus to believe in the Lord and be saved. So Paul sent him back to his master, and at the same time he wrote a letter to Philemon. Paul had been led and trained by Philemon, but when Paul wrote to Philemon, it was in the tone of a sincere plea, begging Philemon to forgive the runaway slave and to accept him as a brother in the Lord. At the end, Paul made a special plea for Onesimus, "If he owes you anything, put it on my account." By Paul's intercession for Onesimus, the letter reveals Christ's humility, gentleness, and love; the man in him is completely renewed! V. Accepting the Dismantling of the Cross To "accept the destruction of the cross" means not to reject the cross. If we reject the cross, our spiritual life will stop growing. May the Lord be gracious to us, so that we may accept the cross gladly, so that our lives may grow quickly and abundantly. In terms of practical experience, how do we accept the cross without rejecting it? Here we would like to offer three points:  A. Seeing (knowing) that each blow is a demolition of the cross ordained by the Lord First of all, we must see from the inside that each blow is the demolition of the cross arranged by the Lord. In our social life, we will inevitably be misunderstood, slandered, belittled, and rejected. If we do not have mercy and see that this is the Lord's hand, or else how could this have happened to me, we will complain, get angry, retaliate, harbor hatred, defend ourselves, and doubt. May the Lord be gracious to us, so that whenever we encounter any suffering, whether it be in the family, in society, in school, in business, or in the organization, we can see that all the things that are hard for you to bear are the demolition of the cross that the Lord has arranged.  B. The Difficulty of All Kingly Realms Romans 8:28-29 reads, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." What comfort and encouragement these two verses give us. “We know all things” means that we see, believe, recognize, and know in us that all things have come to us. “All things work together” for us by God's deliberate permission and transcendent arrangement. Whether it be joy, or sorrow, or good times, or hard times, it is always “for the good of them that love God,” which means that if we gladly accept all the difficulties of our circumstances, we will be greatly benefited. Finally, “being conformed to the image of His Son” means manifesting the glorious image of the Son of God. Take today's film as an example: when the photo negative is placed in the camera, and then the bright and beautiful, just people pleasant scenery photographed on, the photo studio will have to take out the negative, placed in a darkroom, soaked in medicated water, and wait until the beautiful scenery is clearly presented before taking it up. Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord Jesus has been revealed in you and me, and at the same time His glorious image has been in us. Now the Lord is placing us in a dark room and drenching us with medicine, symbolizing the coming of difficult circumstances and painful encounters. If we are blessed with grace and accept it gladly, we are confident that Christ's glory and beauty will be revealed in you and me after a certain period of time. However, we are afraid that when the photos are being processed, there will be light coming in from the dark room, which will spoil the image. May the Lord be gracious to us that when we are placed in the darkroom and immersed in the sink, we do not secretly peek out the window, because if only a ray of light comes in, the picture will be exposed. It means that the work of the cross cannot be accomplished in us. May we all pray as psalmist prayed: Lord, Thou shalt not give way, sooner or later I am going to obey, let me change my mind, Lord, come and obey. Amen.  C. Submission to God's Mighty Hand Peter, in his later years, was well aware of the law of God's work, and reminded us that "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (1 Pet 5:5) The main factor in a person's rejection of the work of the cross is the pride of the flesh. However, there are unchanging laws in God's work, one of which is to resist the proud and give grace to the humble. The humble man stands before God and always sees that he is nothing and humbles himself. Peter says, "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time," (I Pet. 5:6) To submit to the power of God means to accept the breaking down of the cross of God in us. In short, the outer man must be torn down so that the inner man can grow up. Therefore, we must have an attitude of unconditional acceptance of God's work of demolition, that is, the demolition of the cross, that is, to "humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God". That is to say, we must humble ourselves and accept all the circumstances, hardships, and detestable people, things, and objects that God arranges, so that even though the outward man is being destroyed every day, the inward man is being renewed day by day, and so that God's work can be accomplished in us. <-- Back to "The Pathway of Inner Being" Next Chapter -->