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 -->

Scripture Reading: John 12:24-25; 15:1-2, 5 Romans 6:3-5 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 INTRODUCTION God's purpose in creating man was that Christ might dwell within him and that He might fill him up to his fullness and ultimately be manifested in all His fullness. From this we can see how lofty, honorable, and glorious you and I have been created to be. Do not underestimate yourself, thinking that our 70 or 80 years on earth will be nothing more than labor and sorrow, and that we will die and go to heaven. We must know that God's original purpose in creating man was that all men would display the glory of His Son, Jesus Christ. However, because mankind is fallen and in need of Jesus Christ's salvation, when a person believes in Jesus, God does not use artificial efforts, nor does He rely on man's wisdom and methods to achieve the process of manifesting Christ's glory. Rather, He gradually and progressively grows in us through Christ's life until Christ's glory is manifested in living form. Therefore, if we do not pay attention to or neglect the experience of spiritual life, then God's plan will not be realized and completed in you and me. In other words, if we do not enter into the path of inner life and grow in God's life to maturity, so that Christ's glory and deity can be manifested, then God's eternal plan will not be accomplished. Therefore, after a person is saved by grace and has Christ as his life, from that day onward, he must always be attentive to walking on the path of the inner life, so that Christ's life will gradually grow in us until it reaches maturity, and finally Christ will be filled and manifested. In the course of time, we are to allow the life of Christ to grow in us until the Lord returns and the body is transformed. In this way the whole person is filled with the glory of Christ from the inside out. Because God uses His own life as the driving force for multiplication and growth in us to accomplish His will. Therefore, the Lord Jesus instructed His disciples, "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). This means that the way of life is set before you, and you must enter into it, step by step, and go deeper and deeper. Regarding the experience of entering into the inner path of life, we have already talked about seven points. When we are born again by grace and saved, we receive the life of God (Jesus Christ), and He enters into you and me. Naturally, from the depths of the inner path, we pray to God, and in this way we unite our hearts and minds with Him, and our spiritual life is sustained and grows. Therefore, the prayers of the saints are inward prayers. Bible study is no exception. Honestly, although we read the Bible with our physical eyes and minds, inside we are in a constant relationship with the Lord, that is, we allow the Word of the Bible to enter into our souls, so that not only is our spiritual life fed by the Bible (the Word of God), but also we are able to enjoy the fattening of our souls and grow. At the same time, the life we receive is also a life of ministry. Therefore, a normal saint by grace will ask for ministry as soon as he or she is saved, but the ministry must be an internal one. Further, a saint's life and behavior must be sensitive to the inner sense of life, or else life cannot be developed. Whether it is the sense of conscience or the sense of life, one must be sensitive to it. At the same time, the saint's behavior is guided by the inner guidance, by the peace and the voice of the Holy Spirit. It is true that people in society must have common sense to judge right and wrong, but saints are guided by the peace within and the voice of the Holy Spirit. However, when we pay attention to our inner experience and grow in our spiritual life, we will find that there is a difficulty, that is, we, as the outer man (the life of the soul), have been destroying and blocking the growth of the inner life. According to 2 Corinthians 4:16, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day." This means that through the destructive work of the cross, the Lord destroys our outer man, but on the other hand, the Spirit of regeneration wears this soul on the inside, growing and renewing it all the time. So that the life of Christ will continue to flow out of the inner man, even to the point of overflowing. If we are attentive to the demolition of the cross, our minds, emotions, and wills will naturally be subdued. Because since the fall of man, the life of the soul has become independent and refuses to surrender to God, and because the life of the soul is centered on one's own interests, and because the life of the soul protects itself and refuses to allow God to work, God arranges to mobilize all people, things, objects, and environments to tear us down, so that our minds, emotions, and wills are stricken, thwarted, and shattered and have to surrender to the Lord. The inner man (Christ as life) can grow. The Inner Man Enters Into Abundant Life The fact that the cross destroys the whole outer man is the negative side, but the positive purpose is to bring the inner man into the abundant life. By “outer man” we mean those who have the born-again spirit as their master and the soul as their servant, that is, Christ is in you and me, or the Holy Spirit of God and the life of God are in our souls, so how can the inner man enter into the abundant life? It is still through the cross. I. The meaning of the cross is to rise from the dead First of all, we must realize and understand the meaning of the cross. For a fallen person, God's way of salvation is through the cross. The meaning of the cross includes death and resurrection. When we talk about the destruction of the cross, we are referring to the "death” side, but there is another side, the "resurrection". This message focuses on the resurrection side. Romans 6 is one of the clearest chapters in the Bible that explains the meaning of the cross. Verses 3 and 4 say, "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 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." All brothers and sisters here have been baptized. When we enter the baptismal font, the church baptizes us in the name of Jesus Christ, and then we come up from the water, the main experience means to die, be buried, and be resurrected together with the Lord, which also indicates that the experience of the cross is the resurrection from the dead. In terms of the experience, when we are baptized, it is a testimony that I have trusted Jesus as my personal Savior, and it is also a sign that from now on, I am one who is united with Christ and belongs to Him. It is an objective fact that Jesus was crucified more than 1900 years ago and we are all crucified in Him. This is an objective fact. But when do we take this fact and apply it to us? It is when we believe in Jesus, when we begin to be united with Him in our spirit, and when we are witnessed to by baptism. Now we are truly united with Christ. I went down into the water to die with Christ, and I came up out of the water, and it was Christ who clothed me and raised me up with the Lord. That is why Romans 6:4-5 specifically says, "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. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection." The Greek word for "united” is a union of vitality, as when one branch is cut down and another is put up. As Romans 11:17 says, the Jews were God's chosen people, united with the Lord, but because of their unbelief and rejection of Jesus, they were like the branches of an olive tree that were cut off, so that we Gentiles, like wild olive branches, could be grafted in among them, and with them become a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree. In recent years, Taiwan produces a kind of fruit called apple mango, which has an apple and a mango flavor, and is both fragrant and sweet. It is said that this kind of fruit is made by cutting down the branches of the mango tree and attaching them to the apple tree, and then it is cultivated and improved through grafting. Our union with Christ by baptism is a union of vitality. Thus we can grow in his resurrection.  A. Christ's death ends the old creation and destroys the outer man In Romans 6:4-5, it is said that we are buried with Him by baptism into death. This means that to be united with Christ is to be immersed in His death, which puts an end to our natural old creation. Experientially, when we are baptized and united with Christ, we are like branches attached to a tree, it is a living union, therefore Christ's death is living. In other words, Christ's death is dynamic, it has an energizing function. Therefore, Christ's death has the function of killing and will put an end to our natural, physical, and old creation. Therefore, when we are united in Christ's death, our outer man is always being torn down. As John the Baptist said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30) B.  Christ's resurrection brings in the new creation, enlarging the inner man Therefore, the Apostle Paul further said, "For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection." This shows that our union with Christ by baptism is a vital union, and naturally we grow, live and move in His resurrection. Experientially speaking, when we are united with Christ in the resurrection, His life passes through you and me in the inner man. Naturally, the life within will continue to multiply and flourish. From this we can see that the reason for the vital union is that when God, through the arrangement of circumstances (the demolition of the cross), demolished our outer man all the way through, that is, Christ's death put an end to our old creation. On the other hand, when we are united in Christ's resurrection, the life of His new creation runs in us and brings in the new creation to those inside of us, so that the new man inside of us keeps growing and expanding. As in the past, when the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea, that is, when they separated themselves from the Egyptian world and returned to God, and went through forty years of life in the wilderness, that is, referring to the work of the cross, and at the end of their journey to the border of Canaan, they had to cross the Jordan River, how did they cross the Jordan River at that time? It is written in Joshua 3: 14-17, "So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan." Twelve Stones at the Bottom of the River - Deeper Death Destroys Those Outside Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Tell each tribe to choose one man to come, and each man to carry a stone and place it in the middle of the river where the priests are standing." The "twelve stones" are indicative of the twelve tribes of Israel, i.e. all Christians. The "placing of the stones in the Jordan" signifies that all Christians died and were buried with Christ (Joshua 4:8-9). The Jordan was a symbol of the deeper death of the cross. The Twelve Stones of Gilead - Entering into the Fullness of Life in the New Creation But it did not end there. When the people came up from the Jordan, they had to take twelve stones from the Jordan and set them up in Gilgal in the land of Canaan (Joshua 4:19-20). "Canaan" prefigures the fullness of Christ. The "twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan” refers to the resurrection of all Israel through death. These twelve stones had to be set up in Gilgal in the land of Canaan, signifying on the one hand a departure from the old creation, and on the other hand an entrance into the fullness of Christ's life in the resurrection. From this we can see that the experience of the cross, on the one hand, destroys the outer man and, on the other, brings the inner man into the fullness of life. The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:10, "always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body." This "dying of the Lord Jesus" is a verb that refers to a living action that is taking place, i.e. Jesus' death by crucifixion, and this "death" has the function of killing, which is happening to you and me. So every shock, frustration, hardship, pain, and damage that comes to us is the death of Jesus. In other words, in our daily life, when we encounter difficulties in our family, some of them are the wife's flirtatiousness and spiciness, some of them are the husband's rudeness and tyranny, some of them are the children's tyrannical and rebelliousness, some of them are the parents' insistence and stubbornness, and some of them are the unsuccessful ministry, all of them are the cross. All these pressures are the death of the cross. What is the result? I thank God that life is developing in me because the cross kills, ends the old creation, and destroys the outer man on the one hand, and on the other hand, it unites the inner man with the resurrection of Christ, so that the life of Christ increases and the new creation grows and reaches fullness. May the Lord be gracious to us, so that we may truly see in our spirit that every time the suffering of the cross comes, it destroys the outer man, so that the inner man may enter into the abundant life. Because God's way of salvation is to live from death to life, we are nailed to Him by faith in the cross, and we can live out His life from you and me. II. The Inner Man wins through the power of the resurrection In fact, your victory over sin, the world, difficulties, hardship, etc., is not a result of your own natural instincts, but of Jesus Christ in you and me, the so-called "power of the resurrection", which is also known as the power of the infinite life. There used to be a mango tree in the backyard of the assembly hall, and because of the power of the roots of the tree, it cracked the concrete floor. In the same way, Christ is in you and me, and He is the power of infinite life, enabling us to overcome the temptations of sin, the lures of the world, and difficult circumstances.  A. The power of a treasure in a vessel is great. That is why the apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed." The word "treasure" refers to Christ. The “vessel” refers to us as human beings who are as fragile as a vessel. The"treasure in the vessel" is the life of Christ when we are born again. "To show that this great power is of God and not of us" means that this life of Christ is a resurrection from the dead, i.e. the power of the resurrection. In terms of experience, we as human beings are sometimes unable to sleep when we are belittled or despised by others, or we are overwhelmed when something difficult or frustrating comes our way. It is as if a vessel is shattered by a single blow. But when you and I are born again and saved, this treasure (Jesus Christ), because He was raised from the dead, this life is the power of the resurrection, so that you and I may be surrounded by enemies, but not be trapped; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; knocked down, but not destroyed. In the church, there are some young brothers and sisters who were born in a Gentile nonbelieving family, and were persecuted because their parents did not understand and refused to allow them to meet and serve, but they still love the Lord, and meet, serve, and pursue the Lord's cause, and this is all because of the power of the resurrection of life. Some brothers and sisters who are parents have suffered repeated setbacks in their careers, and even lost the people, things, and objects that they love, and thus their hearts were devastated and they seemed to be in a state of grief. Miraculously, after a short time, not only did they come to the meetings, but they even shouted out thanks, praises, and testimonies during the meetings, and they were strong and moving forward. The power of the resurrection is the life of victory The power of the resurrection is the life of victory, that is, the very person of Christ Jesus. The power of the resurrection not only enables us to overcome sin, the world, and difficulties, but also enables us to overcome the flesh and death. In the old days, it was a Japanese custom to fly a carp flag during one festival each year. Carp is one of the longest-lived fish in the aquatic world. While ordinary fish die instantly when they leave the water, the carp will always swim to the water source in the streams. If it reaches a place where there is no water, it leaps away. Carp are said to be the most energetic of all aquatic species. The Japanese symbolize men by the courageous nature of the carp, which swims against the water, indicating that they have a personality that is capable of overcoming circumstances and difficulties. A normal Christian must also be able to break free from the bondage of sin, overcome the temptations of the world's vanities, and triumph over the evil desires of the flesh, and be a witness for Jesus Christ, for the life we have gained by being born again is the power to resurrect life without end. III. Inner man enters into abundant life through the resurrection We have mentioned time and again that those on the inside have the born-again spirit as their master and the soul as their servant, and that Christ dwells in the spirit. While those on the outside are being torn down, those on the inside are being renewed day by day and are entering into abundant life through the power of the resurrection.  A. One grain of wheat falls to the ground and produces many grains Jesus said to His disciples in a parable in John 12: 24-25, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." And behold, this very small grain of wheat in my hand, if it were laid on the table, would be but a grain. This grain of wheat is like Jesus Christ. All the fullness of God in form and body was in Jesus. When He was crucified, He was like a grain of wheat that fell to the ground and was covered up by the earth, and first the outer shell rotted and decayed (i.e., the dismantling of the cross). Since this grain of wheat is the seed of life, we thought it was buried in the ground and died, but after a period of time, it sprouted, and indomitably broke through the hard ground and sprouted (i.e. the power of the resurrection); when the new sprout stood tall and strong, it grew into ears of wheat (i.e. Christ's increase, the growth of life); and finally it bore much fruit (i.e. the abundance of life); the parable illustrates that people enter into the abundant life through the power of the resurrection. When Jesus finished this parable, He went on to say, "He who loves his life loses it, but he who hates his life will keep it for eternal life." This means that it is through the loss of soul life that the Lord will release His eternal life in the resurrection and bring us to eternal life. If we are willing to lose our souls, we can enjoy eternal life in the resurrection to its fullness. In this case, in terms of experience, the original life was Jesus Christ, or the first grain of wheat was Jesus Christ. After He fell into the ground and died (i.e., when He was crucified), He gave birth to you, me, and Him, so that you, I, and He came from the first grain of Jesus, and it is the life of Christ that produces us. In the same way, all saints have Jesus Christ in them, and then Jesus led you, me and Him to the ground, that is, to the hardship, torture, pain and destruction of the cross. When we lose our souls in this way, our minds, emotions, and wills are repeatedly battered and torn down, like the husk of wheat cracking and rotting. Wonderfully, while the outer man is being torn down, the inner man is being resurrected and brought into the fullness of life, i.e., producing many grains. The Apostle Paul was no exception. He was also a grain of wheat, and this grain of wheat went through many hardships, suffered whippings, imprisonment, insults, curses, and sufferings, and fell to the ground like wheat, but in the end his life was resurrected and he produced many grains. When he wrote letters to the churches, they were helped everywhere. When he went out to preach the gospel, people were saved by grace and visited the saints, and many were supplied, so that churches were established throughout Asia. B. The vine branches bear more fruit In the second parable in John 15:1-2, the Lord Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit." Then verse 5 says, "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." It says here that Jesus is the vine, and the disciples (the saints) are the branches, and as long as the branches are attached to the vine, they will naturally bear fruit; and then the Lord said, "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit." It is no wonder that many saints do not love the Lord and do not serve Him, but are safe and sound. On the other hand, those who love the Lord, pursue and serve much are in trouble; undoubtedly, because you do not love the Lord in a sloppy way, and you do not pursue and serve, it is as if the branch is no longer on the vine. Of course, in terms of status, when we believe in Jesus, God places us in Christ and unites us with Him, but in terms of subjective experience, anyone who does not draw near to the Lord and pray and read the Bible is like a branch that has left the vine. Naturally this branch cannot bear fruit, and the one who repairs it has to set it aside. On the other hand, as long as you pray, read the Bible, pursue, and serve, you are like a branch attached to the vine. Though it doesn't bear much fruit, it can be seen to have a little bit of Jesus, and a little bit of His life is touched. At this point, the Father who is cultivating and pruning begins to prune you and me and sees the hardened part of our flesh, which has too much talk, or is selfish. If this branch is too thick, or if this branch has thorns, cut it off. When the branch is cleaned up, that is, when the cross cuts away the old creation, the new branch bears more fruit, that is, the resurrected life enters into a state of abundance. From this we can see that while the cross destroys the outer man, the inner man enters into the fullness of life in the resurrection. Therefore, if the saint accepts the cross (death and resurrection), the ministry will have a supply of life. In the Old Testament, Jacob, when he blessed the prophecy of his twelve sons, said of Joseph, "Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall." (Gen. 49:22) These prophecies were fulfilled in Joseph. The history of Joseph's life shows that he accepted the work of the cross from an early age. His brothers were jealous of him, so they sold him to a foreign land in Egypt, where he suffered a lot of hardship and degradation, and was alone and in a difficult situation. Later on, he went through an even deeper crucifixion, that is, he was wrongfully and falsely imprisoned by the mother of the Lord, and due to the successive adversities, grievances, and sufferings that came to him, he had the old creation in his body cut off, and was finally promoted by Pharaoh to be the prime minister of all the land of Egypt, that is, he became the king in his life. Life was abundant, and in the end, he not only preserved the life of his family, but also supplied his family and all the land of Egypt, and through him his life was preserved. If the Lord is gracious and merciful to us, and if we too have been worked by the cross, we will likewise become conduits of life, canals of blessing, full of grace and life, supplying the hungry and thirsty and the needs of the church. C. Carrying in the body the dying of Jesus that the life of Jesus be manifested Finally, let us look at 2 Corinthians 4:10-12, where the apostle Paul says, "always carrying about in the body the dying (killing in original text) of the Lord Jesus” , which means that the subjective experience of the cross is to allow the killing function of the cross to work in us, and to allow the "killing" of the cross to be carried out in you and me at all times. What is meant by the killing of the cross in us is that we gladly accept all the blows, setbacks, and painful and disgusting encounters that cause us pain, so that the outer man will be demolished, so that the life of Jesus will be manifested in the body, i.e., the inner man will enter into the fullness of life in the resurrection. In other words, the life of the resurrected Christ is thus made abundant and manifest. And then verse 12 goes on to say, "So then death is working in us, but life in you." Here "death is working in us" refers to the demolition of the cross, i.e. after a person has been worked on by the cross, "life working in you" refers to the fullness of the resurrected life, which is shed on the other person. For example, there is an outpouring of life in his words and actions, whether in prayer or in fellowship, so that the other person receives spiritual provision, or so that the other person's spirituality is revitalized and renewed to run the race ahead. The size of our church today is due to the grace of the Lord, the blessing and the work of the Holy Spirit, and to God be all the glory. On the other hand, according to the law of life, we should not overlook one thing, which is that there is a group of people who are walking on the path of life inside, who accept the cross secretly, pray for brothers and sisters in secret, and serve with great diligence, helping to supply brothers and sisters to walk on the path of life, and thus there is a flow of life going out. Especially in meetings, when we pray or fellowship with the Lord, we release life. Though the words or content of the fellowship are simple, there is life being given out. Especially during the summer and winter special meetings, the life of all the saints is released, so that those brothers and sisters who are weak and lukewarm, or who are not alive and dying, will be revived as soon as they come into contact with life. This is because we have accepted the cross, so that the resurrection life grows in us until it becomes abundant, and becomes the content of the whole church. On the other hand, if no one in the church is willing to accept the cross, then no one will be able to show their life, and the words of testimony and fellowship will be just words; prayers will become consuming and burdensome, and the brothers and sisters attending the meetings will not be supplied, and people will not be attracted to them. Gradually, the meetings will become traditions, formalities, and burdensome, and they will only have an appearance without any spiritual life and content, and thus the church will be in a state of decadence and deadness. From this, we can see that the future of the church depends on walking on the path of life on the inside, and the most important thing is that those on the outside will be torn down, and those on the inside will enter into the abundant life. Brothers and sisters, in the eternal New Jerusalem, there is the throne of the Lamb. The word "Lamb" refers to the sacrifice of Christ, the experience of the cross. Jesus Christ went through the cross to reach the throne. So living water flows down from the throne of the Lamb. This stream of living water, His resurrection life, flowed throughout the city as a testimony of life. If you and I will release the life of Christ from the whole church today, our gathering will be the holy city, the New Jerusalem. For the holy city, the New Jerusalem, is full of abundant life, manifesting all the virtues of Christ, which is the testimony that God wants to appear in the world. <-- Back to "The Pathway of Inner Being" Next Chapter -->

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:4, 11 John 8:28 Hebrews 8:11 Psalm 103:7 Ephesians 1:17 Galatians 1:16, 2:20 Introduction   In God's eternal plan, He established Christ as the center of the universe and filled it with Jesus Christ. In the course of time, He created man in the first place to dwell in man and then to be fully manifested in man. Therefore, everyone who has been born again by grace has received Christ as his life, but in order for the full manifestation of the glory of Jesus Christ to take place, the experience must be driven by life; not by reasoned teaching, nor by manual practice, but by the living out of life, as wheat falls into the ground and dies, but grows up and bears many grains. Therefore, the path we are on is called the path of the inner life, which begins with being born again and saved, and then slowly grows and matures until it is filled with the fullness of the full stature of Christ, and ultimately reveals the fullness of Jesus Christ.   When we begin to enter into this inward path of life, all our experiences are inwardly related to God; in other words, our relationship with the Lord begins in the Spirit and continues to experience God in the Spirit. Therefore, when a Christian has begun to live after the Holy Spirit and in the light of God, and has had the experience of the cross, and the outer man has been torn down, and the inner life has been growing, there is one more spiritual experience that we must pay attention to, and that is the inner understanding.   Hosea 6:3 reads, "Let us seek to know the Lord, and let us strive to know him" . The pursuit mentioned here is not the outward knowledge of God, because the outward knowledge is the knowledge of the outside, it is just the understanding of the mind, and it will soon pass away, so we have to long for and pursue the knowledge of God from the inside. From this we can see that our relationship with the Lord is based on the inner knowledge. What kind of God is this great God we believe in? What kind of relationship we have with Him depends on knowing Him from the inside.   I. Knowing the Works of God Let's read Psalm 103:7, "He made His statutes known to Moses, that Israel might know His works." Here it is stated that God taught His people Israel to know His works. We can see from the history of the Exodus of the Israelites that the first relationship between the Israelites and the Lord was to have a relationship with the Lord in terms of "works", that is to say, to know who the Lord really is. Before the Exodus, the Lord called Moses and sent him to Pharaoh to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. And Moses answered the Lord, and said unto him, I went unto the children of Israel, and said unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you. And if they ask me, saying, What is his name, what shall I say unto them? And the Lord said unto Moses, I am he that liveth for ever: thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, He that liveth for ever hath sent me unto you. (Exodus 3:10-14) The Lord further instructed Moses to take the shepherd's staff in his hand, for I, the Lord, will bring the people of Israel into direct knowledge of the works of God.   A.  God wants His people to know what He is doing   How do we know that there is a God in the universe? How do we know that God is all-powerful? Undoubtedly, it is when God shows His works that we begin to know Him.   Therefore, when Moses negotiated with Pharaoh to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, Pharaoh's heart was hardened and refused to do so. Therefore, the Lord sent a series of great plagues on the land of Egypt, which the Israelites had never seen before, and through these ten plagues that came on the land of Egypt, the Israelites came to know the Lord who had led them out of Egypt as the true and living God.   Especially when the tenth plague killed the firstborn, the Israelites came to their senses. The whole congregation further realized that the Lord was not only true and living, but also a great and almighty God, and they followed Moses out of Egypt without fear. At that time the Bible specifically says, "With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of slavery in Egypt." (Exodus 13:14)   Unexpectedly, when the whole congregation of Israel reached the Red Sea, the Egyptian army came from behind, trying to take the Israelites back to the land of Egypt. When the Red Sea was in front of them and the Egyptian army was behind them, the Lord ordered Moses to stretch out his staff to the Red Sea, and immediately the waters separated and the sea became dry land. Moses then led the whole congregation of the Israelites to go down to the sea and walk through the dry land in a calm manner, and when they reached the other side of the Red Sea, the Lord told Moses to stretch out his staff to the sea, and the sea would be restored to its original state. The whole army of Pharaoh that followed the Israelites down to the sea, not even one of them was left. At that time, the Bible specifically said, "When the Lord thus saved the Israelites from the hand of the Egyptians ...... the Israelites feared the Lord ...... when they saw the great things that the Lord had done to the Egyptians" (Ex. 14:30-31). So the whole congregation rejoiced and sang and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone has done marvelous things, and His glorious name forever and ever Amen, Amen .......   B. Knowledge of God's works is in the Spirit, not outward reason But crossing the Red Sea in peace was not the goal, so Moses followed God's command and led the whole congregation onward. They set out from the Red Sea and began to travel the wilderness road. The wilderness was endless, with no signposts to point the way, so the future was really far away and there was no way to follow it; at the same time, the wilderness road was also drought-ridden, hot, and rugged. How could these two to three million members of the congregation, including women, children, the elderly and the young, as well as tens of thousands of herds of animals, survive and walk forward?   Thank God! Biblical history shows us that along the way, God has not ceased to show His marvelous and great works. In the daytime, the Lord led them in the pillar of cloud, and in the nighttime, He illuminated them in the pillar of fire. Thus the Lord did not leave them day after day, year after year, until they had finished the way of the wilderness. When the food they had brought out of Egypt was exhausted, the Lord sent down manna from heaven for forty years, until they entered the land of Canaan. Later, when they were tired and weary from traveling and had no water to drink, God asked Moses to strike the sounding rock with his staff, so that water would flow out of the rock and become a living fountain, supplying them with ...... water all the way. However, the Israelites' knowledge of God's works was not a spiritual knowledge, but an external rational knowledge. Therefore, Hebrews 3:9 reads, "For forty years your fathers tried me and searched me and watched my works. Their minds were often perplexed, and they did not recognize My works. Therefore the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Tell them, 'Your carcasses shall fall in the wilderness, and whosoever of you shall be numbered, and shall murmur against me from twenty years old and upward, he shall not enter into the land which I have sworn that I will make you to dwell in,  but  only  Caleb,  the  son  of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun, shall enter into it.'" (Num. 14:28-30).   C. Born-again Spirit Recognizes the Works of God   From this historical fact, we can see that the adults of that generation, because of their confusion and not recognizing the works of God, were rebelliou s and perished in the wilderness. But there were only two of them, Caleb and Joshua, who "had another mind and another spirit, which followed me alone, and I led him into the land whither he went" (Num. 14:24; 32:12; Deut. 1:36). The word "another mind" in the original language is "another spirit," which refers to the Holy Spirit. Spiritual means to know the works of God in the revelation of the Holy Spirit. In terms of experience, when we are saved by grace and born again, we naturally realize that Jesus is God, He is the Savior, and His works are marvelous and great. This is a very important experience and one that must always be lived out.   When Joshua succeeded Moses and led the people of that generation into Canaan, the Bible says, "When Joshua sent the people of Israel, they went to their own land and occupied it. And all the people served the Lord while Joshua lived and while Joshua died, while the elders remained, who had seen the great things which the Lord had done for Israel" (Judges 2:6-7).   But after the death of Joshua, all the people of that generation also returned to their fathers, and afterward, another generation arose, because they "did not know the LORD, nor the things which the Lord had done for the children of Israel. And the children of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baal, and forsook the LORD, who had led them out of Egypt" (Judges 2:10-12).   It is a common phenomenon in churches today that the first generation of believers in Jesus is very godly, but the second generation becomes lukewarm, and the third generation leaves the Lord Jesus. The biggest reason for this is that they do not have a direct relationship with the Lord, they do not have a real experience of Jesus, so they only have an outside knowledge of Him. I don't realize that in order for a Christian to be strong in faith and follow the Lord to the end, it is necessary to know the Lord inwardly, to have revelation inwardly, and to know God's works in order to follow the Lord until the end of the road.   A young sister from Taiwan who came to Manila for a music evangelism program was going to come to us and present a guzheng program. This sister serves the Lord with her music, and she is a third-generation Christian, and her father and grandfather both feared the Lord and served Him. How is it that the third generation can still live godly lives for the Lord? It is because she personally saw God's work in her grandfather. Shortly after his surgery for stomach cancer, her grandfather found gallbladder cancer, and soon after he recovered from the surgery, he had cancer in his intestines, and then he had a bunch of them cut out by surgery, and he is still healthy and living for the Lord, and he is dedicated to serving Him. He has published a testimonial in which he said that he has experienced the Lord's miracles for 20 to 30 years, and that he serves the Lord with joy and thanksgiving every day, and that his son has seen God's works in his father, and his grandson has seen God's works in his grandfather, and so the three generations have always been in awe of the Lord and have served the Lord. Therefore, Christians must experience God's living leadership through the born-again spirit to know God's works, and because of this knowledge, they can follow the Lord all the days of their lives.       II. Knowing the Laws of God  As a Christian's spiritual life grows, he not only recognizes that God is true, living, and faithful, but he also recognizes God's laws. For our God is a God of laws, and He acts according to them. Therefore, in order to serve God, we must know God's laws. This is one of the main points of our training for the youth every Saturday night. If you don't know God's rules, you will sin against God, and if you don't follow God's way of doing things, your service will be futile and ineffective. Therefore, Psalm 103:7 tells us, "He (God) made Moses aware of His rules" . This shows that in order to serve the Lord, one must know God's rules.   A.  God told Moses to know God's laws On that day, when the Korahites and the 250 leaders of the Israelites came together to attack Moses and Aaron, the Lord split the earth and made them fall alive into the Hades. The day after this tragedy, when the whole congregation of Israel was complaining against Moses, a cloud suddenly appeared and the glory of the Lord appeared. Then the Lord commanded Moses, saying, depart from this congregation, that I may destroy them in the twinkling of an eye. And immediately the plague was upon the people, and it is written, "And they fell down, both of them, to the ground. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take thy censer, and put fire upon the altar thereof, and add incense thereto, and bring it quickly unto the congregation, to make atonement for them ...... And Aaron brought it according to the word of Moses ...... Not knowing that the pestilence had broken out among the people, he added the incense, and made atonement for the people. And he stood in the midst of the living and the dead, and the pestilence ceased." (Num. 16:44-48)   This shows that Moses knew God's law, and knew that where there is atonement, there is forgiveness. No matter how great the sin, God's forgiveness would come when there is atonement. On the other hand, it also says that God made Moses came to know His laws and ruled the people. Moses worked with God because of his knowledge of God's laws. B.  Born-again Spirit recognizes God's Laws   Paul was one of God's most used apostles. When he wrote his letters to the churches in different places, he often ended by asking the saints there to pray for him. Did a man so highly used by God need the saints to pray for him? Oh! Paul knew God's law, and he knew that he needed prayer behind him to go out and work for the Lord, to preach the gospel, to build up the churches, and to strengthen the saints, and so at the end of his letters he asked the saints to pray for him, because God has a law of doing things by prayer. Recently I was reading Watchman Nee's testimony about how he learned to lead people to the Lord. He testified that since he was saved, he had a heart of love for the souls of sinners in him, so he was constantly preaching the gospel and testifying to his classmates at school, and this went on for about a year, but no one was saved. Later, he met a westerner, Miss Gooes, who asked him how many people he had saved, and he replied, "I preached the gospel to my classmates, but they didn't like to listen to it and wouldn't believe it. She asked Brother Nee how he had saved some people. He replied, "I preached the gospel to my classmates, but they didn't like to listen and wouldn't believe. He replied, "I just drag people to listen to me regardless of whether they listen or not." Rabbi Lau then instructed him that this is not the way to serve God. You should speak to God before you speak to people. You should pray to God first, write down the names of your classmates, ask God which one He wants you to pray for, pray for them daily by name, and then when God arranges for an opportunity, witness to them. Brother Nee followed the rules of God's work as instructed by Rabbi Liu, praying behind his back day after day and testifying whenever he had the opportunity. Sure enough, after a few months, of the 60 to 70 people in his notebook, all but one were saved. Because he fulfilled the law of God's work that the will of God passes through prayer, and he knew that God works through prayer. Of course, there are many other laws in the Bible, so we will just mention one.   III. Knowing God Himself   Hebrews 8:10-11 reads, "And the Lord said, after those days, this is my covenant with the house of Israel: I will put my law in their hearts, and write it on their minds; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not every man teach his neighbor, and his brother, saying, Thou shalt know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them."   A.  Everyone from the least to the greatest will know God The book of Hebrews tells us explicitly that in the New Testament era, the Lord has put the law of life (eternal life) in us. This is a characteristic of the New Testament, so that those who have been born again from the least to the greatest can know our Lord directly. There is no need to be taught by others, for teaching is external, but only the knowledge by the revelation of the Holy Spirit is internal. It is true that the Lord often opens us to the knowledge of Christ through the words of the pulpit, such as evangelistic meetings that open our eyes to Jesus as Savior, and message meetings that reveal Christ to us, so that we may develop a relationship with Him, or know Him better, so that we can keep moving forward to walk in His ways. However, the knowledge of the Lord Himself can only be realized through the revelation of the Holy Spirit in the individual.   B. Realize that all the fullness of God is in Christ Colossians 2:9 reads, "For in Christ dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and spiritually.” This plainly tells us that if we know Christ, we know God. For example, one day when Jesus was living with His disciples on earth, He revealed to them, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father.” “Philip said unto him, ‘Lord show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied. And Jesus said unto him, Philip, I have been with you a long time, and yet knowest thou not me? If anyone has seen me, he has seen the Father; how can you say, "Show us the Father?’” (John 14:9) It means that all the fullness of God, whether it is God's life, love, faithfulness, justice, holiness, glory, power, wisdom, etc. ...... are all in Christ Jesus, so when we know Christ, we also recognize God.   C.  Revelation of the Born Again Spirit to Know Christ Therefore, the apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:17, "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, that you may know Him truly." It says here that we know the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Therefore, after we are born again, we have to pray, and this prayer enables us to receive the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation, so that we can "truly" know Him, that is to say, we can know Him from inside, and only the knowledge of the revelation is everlasting and unshakable.   On the day of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, that is, on the first day of the seventh month, early in the morning, when it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb of Jesus, and saw the stone removed from the tomb, and the disciples also saw it, and they returned to their own homes, because they saw that Jesus was no longer there. But Mary did not leave, she insisted on standing outside the tomb and weeping. Her longing heart to see the Lord, her heart to find the Lord, was seen by Jesus, so the Lord could not help but appear to her. When Jesus appeared to her, he asked her, "Woman, why are you weeping? At first, Mary thought it was the gardener. Yes, from the outside, the Lord was a gardener, but she had not yet seen it from the inside, she had not yet realized that Jesus had been resurrected. So she said unto Jesus, Sir, if thou hast removed him, tell me: and Jesus said unto her, Mary. And the Scripture said, "And Mary turned to him." (John 20:16) This turning around meant that she was enlightened by the Holy Spirit in her heart, and she immediately said to Jesus in Hebrew, "Rabboni" (John 20:16), which means that she knew the Lord Jesus in her heart.     IV. Knowing Christ   We know Christ inwardly, sometimes through the Bible, through prayer, through circumstances, or through our daily experiences. There are three things that we need to provide in order to know Christ:   A.  Revelation of Christ from within   A Christian's knowledge of Christ begins with the revelation of Christ. In Galatians 1:16, Paul said, "God...was pleased to reveal His Son in my heart," it is an indication of the Christian's first relationship with the Lord. This means that the first time a Christian has a relationship with the Lord is through the revelation of Christ. In fact, before Paul said this, he first traced back his past experiences and said that because he only knew Jesus as a Jew from the outside, many people followed Him and seemed to be confused by Him, thinking that the name Nazarene should be attacked, so he did his best to persecute the believers in Jesus, and brutalized and persecuted the church.   On that day, however, as he was leaving Jerusalem by order of the high priest with some attendants to arrest Christians in Damascus, while he was walking, a great light suddenly shone from heaven on all sides, and as soon as it had struck him, he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And Paul came to his senses at the question, and said to the Lord, "Who art thou, O Lord?" And the Lord said to him, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting." This statement, this revelation of a heavenly vision, was deeply rooted in Paul's heart, and this manifestation enabled Paul to know Christ from the inside.   Therefore Paul said, "God was pleased to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles" (Gal. 1:16). That is, if God had not been pleased to reveal His Son to me, I should have died and perished. So after he received the revelation, his whole outlook on life changed, and he made it his life's goal to pursue Christ. He went into the city to promote Jesus as the Son of God and to prove that Jesus is the Christ. From our experience, when we participate in an evangelistic meeting or small group evangelism, through the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit, we can see in our spirit and realize that Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. It is natural to pray and accept Jesus, which is called receiving the revelation of the Son of God in our hearts. Unfortunately, most Christians stop at knowing Jesus as their Savior for the rest of their lives. Unbeknownst to them, this realization is only the beginning of the process. We must continue to seek to know this rich and infinite Christ.   B.  Christ is our life Therefore, after receiving the revelation of the Holy Spirit, a Christian must further realize that Christ is our life. In Galatians 1:16, Paul speaks of "being enlightened by the Son of God", that is, he refers to the indwelling of Christ, and then in chapter 2:20 he further says, "I have been crucified with Christ, and now it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." This shows that he had come to a better knowledge of the Lord. He not only knew that Christ was the Son of God, but he had further received the revelation of Christ as the life of the world. He saw that "I have been crucified with Christ, and I, the sinner, am dead; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. It is now Christ who is my life.   Colossians 3:4 reads, "Christ is our life." And then verse 11 says, "Christ is all in all" . This means that the knowledge of Christ is always progressing and expanding. As the revelation of the Holy Spirit increases and expands to the end, we will see that Christ is all in all.   For example, when you are sick, you pray to the Lord, and you are healed, you not only know Jesus Christ as Savior, but you know Him as the Great Physician. Or if you are tired and weak before the meeting, but wonderfully, after you barely attend the meeting, your physical and mental weakness disappears, then you further realize that Christ is the power. ...... The more you experience, the more you know Him, and the more the revelation is enlarged.   C. The Gospel of John reveals that Christ is our life, our everything The Gospel of John has many meanings, but we will look at it from the point of view of "Christ as our life:   Christ dwells in the Spirit as life   In the contact between Jesus and individuals, see chapter 3, Nicodemus came to Jesus that night and Jesus talked to him about being born again. Jesus told him that unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus did not understand, so Jesus took great pains to tell him that unless a man is born of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. This means that only after being born again can one have the experience of indwelling life. At the same time, only those who have been born again can be enlightened to see the Kingdom of God and understand the things of the Kingdom of God. In other words, Christ has to live in the spirit as our life.   Christ is the Water of Life   Chapter 4 tells us that on that day at about noon, Jesus passed through Samaria and came to Jacob's well in Sychar and waited for the Samaritan woman to come and draw water. When she came, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink." She answered him, "You are a Jew, I'm a Samaritan woman, why do you ask me for a drink?" Then Jesus answered her, saying, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." He further said to her, "Whoever drinks of the water 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. At that time, the woman saw that Jesus' speech was full of sense, and that he must be a man of great knowledge. So she said to Jesus, "Sir, please give me this water." Jesus answered her, "Go and tell your husband to come here too." The woman said to Jesus, "I don't have a husband." Jesus said, "It is good for you to say you don't have a husband, because you have five husbands." The woman realized that Jesus was not just a learned man, but He was not just a man, He was a prophet. Jesus further explained to her that God is a Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. The woman then said, "I know that the Messiah (Christ) is coming, and when He comes, He will tell us all things." Jesus said, "I, who speaks to you, am He." Now when the Samaritan woman had received a revelation, and had met Christ, she left her pitcher of water, and went out into the city, and said unto the multitude, Behold, there is a man that speaketh unto me all things whatsoever I have always done: is this the Christ? So the people went out of the city to Jesus, and many of them believed in Him.   This historical fact shows us that Christ is the water of our life. Water is for quenching one's thirst, and it is a sign of fulfillment. Therefore, when Christians believe and accept Jesus and receive the water of life, they will be satisfied.   Christ is the Bread of Life   Chapter 6 records that Jesus said to the crowd following Him, "Our [Israelite] fathers fed on manna in the wilderness. But the bread from heaven was not given to you by Moses, but the true bread from heaven has been given to you by my Father". And they said, "Lord! Give us this bread always." Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." This means that Christ is our satiety.   To be "satisfied" is to stop our desires from chasing after the things of this world. But the "bread of life" makes us full, it makes our spirit strong and active to cope with difficult circumstances. Through this experience, every morning when we get up and approach the Lord in prayer, we receive the provision of Jesus Christ from God's Word (the Bible), just as the people of Israel ate the manna in the old days, and were strengthened to walk the roads of the wilderness. Christ is the Light of Life   In each chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus repeatedly shows us in different capacities that He is to be experienced as our life. In chapter 8, Christ is spoken of as the light of life. First "the water of life," then "the bread of life," and then "Jesus said to them, "I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). The Christian experience is the story of life. Christ is our life so that we may have the light of His life. "If a person is not in the light, he does not know his own difficulties and does not recognize his own faults, so he will always condemn others and look down on them. Sometimes when brothers and sisters are weak, fail, or leave the Lord, if we are not in the light, we will either judge or condemn them. If we are not in the light, we will either judge or condemn them, not realizing that if you and I were not kept by the Lord, we would be even more pitiful than they are. It is only when the light comes that we realize that although we have not left the Lord outside, we have abandoned our initial love for Him, and slowly draw nearer to Him, and see that the time we spend reading and praying is too short, and that our ministry is too sloppy and perfunctory. ...... Instead, we confess our sins in the light, and receive adjustments, and then we are led to walk in the way of the Lord.   Christ is everything in life   In John 8:28, Jesus concluded, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, you will know that 'I am'”. The "I AM" means that Christ is able to meet all our needs. As far as experience is concerned, you say, "Lord, I am weak" but the Lord says, "I am the strength", you are sorrowful and in pain, but the Lord is your joy and comfort; you are doubtful in your heart, but the Lord is faithful; you are quick-tempered, but the Lord is your gentleness and patience; you are foolish, but the Lord is your wisdom. Watchman Nee was sitting with a coworker one afternoon, and suddenly he asked the co-worker, "Brother, what is patience? This brother was puzzled because the question was too simple. We all know what patience is, but since the question came from Brother Nee, there must be something to it, so the co-worker did not dare to answer. Brother Nee then asked what patience was, and the co-worker answered: "To me, patience is a kind of endurance. People treat you bitterly, they persecute you, but you endure.” Brother Nee shook his head and said, "No," and the co-worker said, "It is not”. The co-worker then said, "Then please tell me what patience is." Brother Nee replied, "Patience is Christ." The coworker then asked, "Brother, what do you mean by patience is Christ? Could you please explain?" Brother Nee did not explain a word, but repeated over and over again that patience is Christ. So the two of them stayed in that state of mind for a long time, and they did not ask or say anything else until evening. When the co-worker returned to his place, he was still confused and went to his room to pray, "Lord, patience is Christ, what does this mean?” Thank God, one day suddenly his inner eyes were opened and he saw that Christ Himself is my patience. True patience is not an act, but Christ living out of me. (This  testimony  is  quoted  from "Prophecies of Divine Revelation for the Present Age," p.330)   Thank God! God has made Christ the answer to all our questions, Christ is our life and everything. I hope that the Lord will be gracious to us so that we will seek to know Christ as our life and everything in our lives! <-- Back to "The Pathway of Inner Being" Next Chapter -->

Scripture Reading: Revelation 3:14-22, Colossians 3:15, Romans 8:1-2 Thank God! As soon as we were saved by grace, God set us on the path of life. Admittedly, when we look at the ecumenical Christian community today, we can see that all the saints are at peace and love one another. But more importantly, we must go back to the Bible to see what is pleasing to God and what is the path that the church should take. Undeniably, God has entrusted people with different tasks, some of which are to evangelize and save souls; some are to perform miracles, heal the sick and cast out demons; some are to open hospitals, schools, or various charitable organizations; some are to establish churches and expand on a large scale outside, and some are to focus on preaching the truths of Scripture, and so on. All of these organizations, which receive different trusts from God, are part of the Kingdom of God. But what is the main and central path that runs through the entire Bible? Abraham is the ancestor of the Israelites and the main Old Testament character. At the beginning of the New Testament, Matthew records the genealogy of Jesus Christ from Abraham. This shows that the Lord Jesus Christ was born from this line. Abraham lived in the land of Canaan all his life, and he looked to the city of foundations, which was built by God's handiwork (Heb. 11:10). It is also the New Jerusalem, the holy city that came down from heaven as recorded in the last book of the New Testament, the Book of Revelation. Therefore, from the conclusion of the whole work of God, it is clear that God's focus and attention is within the holy city of the New Jerusalem, and what is this holy city like? The Bible describes it! The city is glorious and resplendent: "having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal..... the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light." (Rev. 21:11, 22-23). Then chapter 22:1 says, "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of it's street..." This road with rivers of life-giving water in it is the way of life. This shows that the way the saints (the church) should walk is the way of life. However, few people have seen this path, and even fewer have entered into it. We hope that the Lord will use this message to open the eyes of our spirit to see that the Lord has placed you and me on the path of life in the spirit, not the outside path, but the inside path. Management from the inside We have looked at nine experiences of how to enter into the way of the inner life, and in the morning we will look at the tenth experience, "The Inner Management" . When a Christian goes deeper into the path of the inner life, there is a kind of light that allows Christ to manage this person, the so-called spiritual man, on the inside. I. Christ Reigns in the Heart to Govern A spiritual person is not just a person who loves the Lord passionately, serves the Lord faithfully, or has an elegant demeanor that is admired. In fact, the so-called spiritual man is to let Christ live in our hearts and manage our minds, emotions, and wills; and in our lives, work, and ministry, we are governed from the inside in our dealings, judgments, and rules. In other words, Christ is on the throne in our hearts. This is also the picture of a person who is at the peak of spiritual maturity.  A. In the Laodicean Church, the Lord has Lost His Position It is written in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 that the Lord wrote through the Apostle John to the seven churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (representing the churches of the people). As each letter ends with the same sentence, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." , it is clear that these letters were written to the churches of the people. It is clear that these letters are addressed to all the churches, and to all the churches of the earth throughout the ages. At the same time, the different characteristics of these seven churches illustrate the seven processes of church history. They represent the churches from the time of the apostles to the present day, which is nearly 2,000 years ago. One of the last churches is called Laodicea, which refers to the near return of the Lord Jesus and the end of the church. We are now in the age of the church of Laodicea. What was the church of Laodicea like? Where is Christ in the last days of the church? Revelation 3:20 says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." Oh! The head of the church is rejected at the door, which means that the Lord has lost his place in the church. In other words, the Lord Jesus Christ is no longer in charge of the Church. From the personal experience of the saints, Jesus is no longer in charge of the people. The Church is a gathering of saints. Do you, me, him, all of us, let Christ rule? If so, it is the Church of Philadelphia. Philadelphia was a pre-Laodicean church, that is, there was a great revival in about the 17th century when a group of Christians were raised up by the Lord, and not only did they realize that they loved one another, but they stayed in the Word of the Lord, and they allowed Christ to have the first rule in all things. Unfortunately, it has continued to the present day, and the church has deteriorated into Laodicea because of its deviation, and we would like to be reminded of this by the Lord. With regard to the Revelation's reference to the Laodicean church and the loss of Christ's position, we would like to briefly point out three scenarios: The heart has not fully surrendered to the Lord - Neither cold nor hot Look at verse 15 of chapter 3: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot" . "Neither cold nor hot" means half and half, i.e. lukewarm water. Spiritually, it means half love for the Lord and half love for the world. Do you say you don't love the Lord? Whenever there is a church meeting, you always attend it, and you even give a little bit of money, but do you really love the Lord? When things come to a head, you are surrounded by worldly matters and become timid to serve the Lord. Anyone who is not absolutely devoted to the Lord is lukewarm. Why is he lukewarm? Because the heart is not fully turned to the Lord. Admittedly, life on earth requires that one must work for a living, except for a few who are called by the Lord to serve Him full-time in prayer and preaching. This does not mean that to serve the Lord full-time is to serve Him, or that to serve Him professionally is to love the world. In fact, every saint should live for the Lord full time, just in different positions. For example, when sisters take care of their children for the Lord, or when brothers do business for the Lord, as long as their hearts are directed to the Lord, it is right. However, it is a pity that the hearts of many saints do not fully turn to the Lord, but are occupied by the world. 1 John 2:15 tells us, "If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” . Before the Lord Jesus left this world, he said to his disciples, "For you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world." (John 15:19) Then He turned to God the Father and prayed, "I have given them your word. And the world hated them, because they were not of the world, just as I am not of the world" (Jn 17:14). It is clear that Christians are despised by the world because we are not of the world, and therein lies the key to the strength of the witness of some Christians and the weakness of the witness of others. Let's say a young man and woman are in love, and they must talk about everything. If the man loves the woman passionately, and the woman loves several other men in addition to her boyfriend, can she love him exclusively? Naturally, this is impossible, because her heart is divided among her other boyfriends, and this man is only a fraction of her heart. Similarly, many Christians also have other loves outside of the Lord Jesus, especially young brothers and sisters, who love to swim in the mountains, play in the water, play ball games, watch TV, and read novels. As their hearts are not fully devoted to the Lord, it is no wonder that their response to the Lord's love is like that of the Laodicean Church, neither cold nor hot, and their hearts are not devoted to the Lord. Please ask yourself, is your heart cold or hot? A Christian who is on fire in his spirit is used by the Lord in his ministry because in the depths of his spirit there is always a fire burning. As the prophet Jeremiah said, "Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name. But His word was in my heart like a burning fires shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not." (Jeremiah 20:9) May the Lord be gracious and give light! Spiritual things replace Christ The attitude of the Laodicean church toward the Lord was lukewarm and self-assured, saying, "I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing." . (Rev. 3:18) The Church's Work Blessing Replaces Christ - I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no lack of anything. Since the Laodicean Church had been blessed by the Lord, it had many works of great magnitude and performance. Therefore, she was proud to say, "I am rich, I become wealthy, and I have need of nothing." Unknown to them, they are replacing Christ with the blessing of the church's work. In this regard, I always remind myself and my co-workers that when we are blessed by the Lord in our ministry, we must not let the work of the church replace Christ. For example, there is a brother who has a desire to love the Lord, so he participates in the ministry of building clubhouses. Since he has taken on this responsibility, he tries his best to plan on how to decorate the clubhouse so that it will be magnificent, instead of paying attention to how to make the people who come to the meetings feel that they have the Lord's presence, or pay attention to God's glory; in other words, his attention is not on the Lord, but on things other than the Lord. A famous and authoritative theology professor once visited the world-famous St. Peter's Catholic Church in the Vatican in Rome. On that day the Pope himself took him around the whole Catholic Church. During the conversation, the Pope said to the professor of theology in a boastful tone: "What we didn't have in the apostolic age, we have now. Today, it is no longer like the apostolic age when the Church still lacked ...... Look at the amount of money spent on this chapel, the materials, the equipment, the furnishings. The professor of theology, upon hearing this, immediately replied to the Pope, "Yes, we now have all the wealth that we did not have in the time of the Apostles, but what the Apostles had, we do not have today”. The apostles said at that time, "I have not silver or gold, but what I have, I give to you, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, to raise up the lame and to walk,  a power which we have lost." Oh! Brothers and sisters, from this we can see that if the eyes of our heart are not opened by the Lord, we will also focus on the outside of the church, the things that can be seen as vanity, rather than the reality of the spiritual life that cannot be seen on the inside. Spiritual Gifts Instead of Christ - Buy gold refined in fire and be rich! Thus the Lord said to the church in Laodicea, "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in fire, that you may be rich." (Rev. 3:18). "Gold refined by fire" is pure gold that has been forged in a fiery furnace, denoting high value and purity; spiritually, it means faith (1 Pet. 1:7) on the one hand, and abundant life on the other. Because the way to the inner life is through the valley of tears, everyone who passes through the valley of tears will shed tears, but the result of all the pain and suffering will be an abundant spiritual life. Today's churches need those who walk the path of the inner life to have deep spiritual experiences and abundant supply of life, so that the churches can be enriched. But if we are not careful, we can replace Christ with spiritual gifts. As in the case of the Corinthian church, God gave them the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:4-7) for the purpose of furthering their lives. Unfortunately, they emphasized the use of the gifts more than the growth of life (Christ). As a result, the Corinthian church, though full of eloquence and knowledge, was not inferior in any of the gifts (1 Cor. 1:5, 7), but Paul said they were babies in Christ (1 Cor. 3:1), which means that they took the place of Christ with their gifts. Therefore, they do not grow in life and become spiritual babies. Replacing Christ with spiritual knowledge - Buying eye salve so that you can see The Laodicean church is not only replacing Christ with gifts, but further replacing Christ with spiritual knowledge. Knowledge is arrogance; pride is blindness, because knowledge (reason) instead of Christ means there is no sight of Christ, i.e. no revelation. No wonder the Lord said to the church in Laodicea, "and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see." (Rev. 3:18) A brother repeatedly said to me, "Brother Jeng, it is rare that you come to Taiwan preach more when you have the opportunity, because the brothers and sisters there are very eager." I answered him, "I know, but some sermons need a period of time to be digested, because if they are not digested into experiences, we may fall into the trap of replacing the foundation with spiritual knowledge." Don't think that the sermon becomes ours after hearing it. No, it takes time to experience it personally, for if knowledge only increases, but not actual experience, it will remain at the beginning of Christ's doctrine (Heb. 6:1) and will not grow, just as the church in Laodicea did. Christ Loses His Place in the Church - I knock at the door. The Laodicean church is neither hot nor cold, and replaces Christ with the blessings of works, spiritual gifts, and spiritual knowledge. Naturally, Christ has lost His place in the church altogether. What we see in the church is man's "self" on the throne, man taking the lead, and the impression is that man's opinions, claims, and voices fill the church, while the voice of the Lord is not heard, and there is no supply of life. No wonder the Lord said, "Behold, I knock at the door! I am knocking at the door", indicating that Christ is already outside the church, outside the believer's heart, and that it is man's "self" that is on the throne in the church, not Christ.   B. Christ Reigns in the Heart Regarding the point that Christ reigns in the heart, we are quoting the Lord's warning to the Laodicean church as a lesson to us so that we will not repeat the same mistake. Spiritual Humility - If anyone hears my voice abd opens the door "If anyone hears my voice and opens the door" signifies that it is not easy to hear the voice of the Lord. In the morning we preach the message here, and all the saints are also listening to the sermon, but some of them hear the voice of the Holy Spirit (the word of the Lord), and some of them even get nothing from the meeting from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. On the path of spiritual life, "hearing the voice of the Lord" is absolutely indispensable. When we come to a meeting, we must be touched, grabbed, or touched by at least one word of the Lord in the message, or a certain passage of the word, so that you can be helped or supplied. That's why we often hear brothers and sisters praying to the Lord, "Lord! Use the words of your servants to pierce the hearts of men. We can see that hearing the voice of the Lord has the effect of piercing your heart. I wish that every time we come to the Lord, we would have the grace to recognize with an open heart that we have nothing and that we need the word of the Lord to illuminate me, correct me, remind me, and heal me. Isaiah 57:15 says, "For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.'” This means that whoever has a contrite heart and a humble spirit, the Lord dwells in it. May we all pray to the Lord to empty our hearts so that we may hear His voice. For the Lord has promised that whoever is humble, He will enter into him and dwell with him. In this way we can maintain the presence of the Lord between us and Him. There is a world-famous picture of the twelve disciples observing the Lord's Supper with the Lord. It is said that this picture was made centuries ago by a famous artist, who spent his heart, soul, strength, and years to paint every figure and every object in the picture in a meticulous and precise manner. The cup for dinner alone took several weeks of work, and it took him at least a few years to complete this masterpiece. When he had finished the painting, he invited a number of people to view it, and they all praised it for its beauty! They all praised the painting for its beauty, especially the dinner cup. However, the artist was disappointed and saddened because the centerpiece of his painting was Jesus, but the audience's attention was diverted from Jesus to the cup. So he erased the cup and painted an ordinary cup with an ordinary hand. As a result, no one would pay special attention to the cup, but rather to the central figure, Jesus.  Let Christ Come in - I will come in to him "I will come in to him" indicates that the Lord is going to come in to us. Spiritually, it means to let Christ come in and live in us. If you and I have truly received the Lord Jesus into our hearts, we should not substitute anything else for Christ. Let me give you a simple example: If there is a brother or sister among us who has bought a diamond ring worth 10 million dollars and put it in his pocket, he will be very fidgety when he comes to the meeting, he will feel it to see if it is still in his pocket, and then he will feel it again, and he will be unable to listen to the sermon, or even listen to the Lord's word because the 10 million dollar diamond ring is in his pocket. It's a pity that you can't listen to the Lord's word because of the 10 million dollar diamond ring in your pocket! The psalm says, O Jesus, Lord, with me abide; I rest in Thee, whate’er betide. There is another hmn that tells us the same thing: Dear Lord Jesus, precious Jesus, Thou hast won each love from me; Who like Thee—so fair and comely? Who like Thee—so sweet and lovely? Matchless One, unrivaled beauty, None can e’er compete with Thee! Christ makes His home and is enthroned in the heart - Dine with him and he with Me. Further the Lord promises, "I will dine with him," meaning that Christ has come unto us in order to dwell in us, to make us His dwelling-place, His home, to show that He will make His home in you and in me. And He says, "I will dine with him," and He will ascend the throne in you and in me. Oh! May the Lord be gracious and merciful to us, and open the eyes of our hearts so that we may truly see that Jesus Christ in you and in me is better than silver and gold; better than riches and wealth; better than a vast expanse of land; better than kings ruling over the nations; better than the world's glory and fame; better than the world's wealth and riches; better than the world's glory. Best of beauty, best of sweet, best of all . ...and the heart is drawn not only to love Him, but to cherish Him, as the psalmist prays to the Lord, "Lord, I love You dearly! I love Thee dearly, and would that I were Thine forever, and that Thou wouldst dwell in my soul, and never be parted. Who have I in heaven? I have no one to love on earth, but I wish to pour out my heart to the Lord!". I believe that in this invisible way, I enter into a seat where the Lord sits with me and I with Him, where the Lord is on the throne of my heart, ruling me and ordering me, and from now on it is not I but the Lord, but the Lord is the Lord. Ephesians 3:17 reads, " That Christ may dwell (make home) in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love." We are told that Christ not only sits on a throne in heaven, but also makes his home in our hearts through our faith. He will make our hearts His home, and He will reign freely in our hearts. There was a young man who testified that he not only participated in the ministry training, but also served in the meetings. As we talked about "according to Christ" during the summer, the title "Mount Zion" was mentioned in the message, which refers to Christ's ascension to the throne. Therefore, in order to experience the ascension of Christ to the throne, one must get off the throne. This brother was very helpful. I didn't realize that the Lord was really gracious to him. After the special meeting, he went down to the mountains and loved and served the Lord with a greater fervor in his spirit than before. Soon after, one night at home, he remembered that a young brother had not come to the meeting for a long time, so he called him, and found out that he had a problem and was in a sympathetic situation. So they got into a conversation on the phone, and because of the pain in his heart, the other party complained to him, but his father came over and urged him not to use the phone for too long, but the other party was in the middle of his speech, and his father impatiently shouted at him to hang up the phone right away, but the other party was still talking, and his father got angry, and he had no choice but to hang up the line, and his father, because of his unceasing fury, kept on scolding him, and he couldn't help but to reply back said, I'm not a man and a woman to talk about love, I did not think that his father was so angry that he slapped him in the face, he was already a university student, and at that time there were other younger brothers and relatives on the scene, he was humiliated and furious, although he did not dare to return the favor, but inwardly angry from here on out on his father's grudge, and so a week after a week, a month passed, he and his father do not talk to each other, and it seems to be a deeper and deeper separation, because he thought his father was too much, too unsympathetic. He thought his father was too much and too unreasonable. I have a clear conscience towards people, but by a marvelous work of the Holy Spirit, he happened to be assigned to speak at a youth meeting about the meaning of Mount Zion, which is to put Christ on the throne. He struggled for a long time because he knew that in order for Christ to be on the throne, a man had to get off the throne, and because he did not want to be a man who only preached but did not experience. He wanted to push back and not fellowship with his leaders, but the words he heard at the special meeting hit him hard, one by one, that a bowed down man allows everything to be led by the Lord, submits to what He has ordained, and that every circumstance has been permitted by the throne of Christ. He struggled, but thanked the Lord! Eventually he submitted and the Lord's grace won him over, and the Lord's grace was enough to give him the courage to go to his father and confess his sins to him, saying, "Father, you beat me that day, and I was very sorry in my heart, and I hated you, but the Lord wanted me to confess my sins to you, and miraculously, not only was his heart released after he confessed his sin, but they were reconciled as father and son, and they became friends. I was very touched by this testimony. May the Lord be gracious to us, so that we can study seriously and experience the throne of Christ, so that the Lord can rule over you and me. All who strive for the body are men on the throne; may the Lord give us light through this.   II. The Peace of Christ Rules When Christ rules over you and me, there is one proof, namely, peace. For Colossians 3:15 tells us, "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts." This means that we, as human beings, are governed by the peace of Christ. A. The Peace of Christ Reigns in Your Hearts On the night of the resurrection after the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, because the Jews were going to further persecute the disciples after the crucifixion of Jesus, the disciples were afraid and shut their doors tight. While the disciples were in fear and trembling and losing peace of mind, Jesus came to them and appeared to them, saying, "Peace be with you" (John 20:19). Not only that, but when Jesus appeared to them again eight days later, He said, "Peace be with you" (John 20:26).  It is clear that when Jesus came in, peace came in with him. Therefore, a person who really lets Christ rule is one who lets peace reign in our hearts. "Letting peace rule" means letting peace rule our life, work and ministry. Therefore, when a saint realizes that he has lost peace, he must quickly return to the Lord to receive illumination, because we are no longer under the Lord's control. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, after feeding 5,000 people with bread, He urged His disciples to get into the boat first; and when He had told them to disperse, He went up on the mountain alone to pray. The boat was in the middle of the sea, and the wind was rough, and the waves were shaking it. During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus was walking on the sea, going to the disciples. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified and cried out in fear because they thought He was a ghost. Jesus said to them quickly, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” As soon as He got into the boat, the wind ceased and the waves were calmed (Matthew 14:22-33). This history shows again and again that when Jesus comes, he brings peace. Experientially speaking, when saints have been in a state of internal dissension, or when they have been in a state of anger, or when they have been in a state of advocacy, or when they have been struggling with "I" and "I", it is a sign that either peace is reigning, or that Jesus has lost his position, because as soon as he came, the wind and the waves were calmed. B. Christ's name is called the Prince of Peace, He brings peace Isaiah 9:6 reads of our Lord, "His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” This means that Jesus' name is the "Prince of Peace", and when He reigns, there is peace. Therefore, if the Lord is the Lord, it is certain that there will be peace like a river in our hearts. We can draw a foreshadowing from the Old Testament that during the reign of Solomon, there would be peace in the land, and the Israelites would live and work in peace and contentment. The word "Solomon" means "King of Peace" in reference to Christ. When Christ reigns, peace reigns, and as a result, our whole person, family, and church enjoys spiritual peace and rest. C. Stop the activities of the flesh and Let Christ reign to have peace The reason why a Christian cannot enjoy the peace of Christ and experience Christ's reign in his heart is that he is too active in the flesh, and he acts according to the dictates of his own mind and emotions, and lives according to his own preferences. Once he loses peace in his heart, he is prone to live in the activities of the flesh, and to live a life of struggling and suffering. Therefore, Psalm 46:10 tells us, "Be still, and know that I am God." This means that God is the Almighty God, and the power of His throne rules over all things, so we must stop all the activities of the flesh, stop struggling, and surrender completely to God. If we allow our own life to rule, we will end up being filled with fleshly activities and lose our peace. If we do not let ourselves be the master, then we can stop the activities of the flesh and let Christ be the master, so that the peace of Christ can be the master over us.  D. Not to Struggle by Effort, But to Enjoy Peace by Total Surrender Sooner or later, in the pursuit of the inner life, young people will find that there are more failures than victories in their experiences, and that is not the case, for many times they are passionate, talk too much, and are arrogant. It seems that there are a lot of spiritual difficulties, and so they want to practice self-mortification, learn to be more gentle, to talk less, and to be humble, that is, when they aspire to pursue victory, they will enter into the stage of struggling. When you set your mind on the pursuit of victory, you enter the stage of hard struggle. Some people stop at this stage for a long time, until one day the Lord's mercy comes and they see that He is God, and they must stop everything and let Christ be their life, so that they can live as Christ and no longer be me, and they do not have to work hard or aspire to anything, and naturally stop themselves. This is what Isaiah 30:15 tells us: "In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength." In the New Testament, Hebrews 4:10 says, "For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” III. The Law of the Spirit of Life When Christ rules over you and me, as Romans 8:1-2 says, "Now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who[a] 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." This is a statement that God, by the law of the Spirit of life, saves man from the law of sin and death, and gives him victory. A. The Power of Sin is the Law of Man We know that one of the reasons for the failure of a Christian is the fallen life in man, the power of sin and the power of death, which is a "law" that calls man to sin (Rom. 7:23). In other words, the reason why man sins is because sin has a power to make him sin, and the reason why man dies is because death has a power to make him die. It is said through experience that there is a law of sin and a law of death in man. This law is a natural power that operates in man. In the case of the law of sin, man is called to do what he dislikes; in the case of the law of death, man is called to weakness. For example, if someone wants to serve the Lord in his heart, but has no power to do so, the law of death will always lead the saint into weakness and death. Therefore, we must not allow this weakness (the predecessor of death) to overcome us, i.e., when we want to serve, we must not say, "I am weak and have no power to serve", or else we are giving the devil room. For the power of death is a law unto weakness and death (Rom. 7:13). This law of death causes us to lose our spiritual functions, so that we cannot pray, read the Bible, or serve, and even our spirit remains weak and sinks. B. The Law of the Spirit of Life Frees Me from the Law of Sin and Death It is true that everyone is under the law of sin and death, but when Jesus Christ is in us, we are released from the law of sin and death. How are we released? The Holy Spirit puts the life of God in you and me the day we believe in Jesus and are born again. In other words, our born-again spirit means that the Holy Spirit puts God's life in us, and this Holy Spirit carries life. The Bible calls this the "Spirit of life". Since it is the Spirit of life, it means that there is life in it, and all life has a law. It's true that a flower, if you leave it there and don't care about it, it will naturally grow. It is also like a grain of wheat that falls into the ground, and after a certain period of time, marvelously germinates, grows, and grows ears. Because this is the law of life, it is true in Taiwan, and it is also true in the United States, and it is true in Japan, and it is true no matter where you are, because there is a law of growth in life. The life of God also has its law, and this law is holy, strong, and victorious. God's law of salvation is law over law, that is, the law of the Spirit of life over the law of sin and death, so that the saint does not have to strive or struggle. Just believe and accept Jesus as Savior, and this law of the Spirit of life overcomes the law of sin and death. This means that the law of the Spirit of life governs us internally. For example, no matter how I put this handkerchief in my hand, if I let go of it, it will surely fall to the ground, and I don't have to help it to fall, because the center of the earth has gravity, and this law governs it. So how do you stop the handkerchief from falling to the ground? As long as there is an upward law (power) to hold it, it will not fall. I went to San Diego USA for three weeks. One day I saw dozens of colorful balloons flying high in the sky, and a brother told me that it was not far from where I lived, and that for only fifty dollars you could take a ride in a balloon for an hour and see the whole city of San Diego. The balloon goes up into the air and you go up with it. In the same way, we are called to sin by the law of sin, and the law of death is like gravity pulling you and me into death, but the balloon is like the law of life lifting us up into the air. Therefore, the Christian does not have to struggle to win, but the victorious life of Christ is in us, and this victorious life, the law of the Spirit of life, gives us victory over the law of sin and death. We can see that there is an inner management, which is administered by the law of the Spirit of life. In terms of experience, how to let Christ rule over us from morning to night, there is nothing else, that is, to be close to the Lord, to live in intimate fellowship with the Lord, and will naturally overcome, and Christ is invisible in you and me, to be a life of victory for us, so that we can enter into a life of deliverance and transcendence. But when you and I do not live in the Holy Spirit, we are disconnected from the law of life, and immediately overcome by the law of sin and death. So when do saints allow Christ to rule, that is, the law of life to rule over this person? The Psalmist says, Abiding, we are strengthened with each breath; In fellowship, His life will swallow death. Abiding, we sin's power need not fear; In fellowship, the self will disappear. Pray that the Lord will be gracious to us, so that not only will our hearts yearn to enter into the path of life within, but that the Lord will lead us into the experience of letting the Lord rule over the whole person! <-- Back to "The Pathway of Inner Being" Next Chapter -->

Scripture Reading: Galatians 5:17, 24 Proverbs 17:3 Jeremiah 48:11 Philippians 1:20-21 When a Christian enters the path of the inner life and is led deeper by the Lord, there is an end result that is characterized by inner purity. This spiritual experience can only be achieved after years of pursuing, letting God work, and learning day and night, but it is the most pleasing thing before God. I remember once I ate a ponkan, the flavor of which seemed so sweet I had never tasted it before, so I couldn't help but ask a store where it was purchased. This small example shows us that there are many varieties of fruits, but it is not the size and color of the outside that counts, it is the taste inside that counts, whether it is tart or sweet; likewise, one day when we have finished our journey in this world and have entered into glory, and have become the firstfruits of God's creation (James 1:18), and are letting God enjoy us, He will be most satisfied with the purity that is in us. This message is to show us that the ultimate goal of our inner life is the purity of our inner being. Now we will briefly look at the process of how the saints achieve inner purity by walking this inner path.   I. After man's fall, his natural life became self life In the beginning, after the Lord God had created the heavens and the earth in six days, He created man and woman in His own image. At that time, the natural life did not have a sinful nature in it. Therefore, it was the human spirit that governed the soul, and the soul governed the body. So the Lord God set up a garden in Eden in the east, and put the man who had been created there, to repair and to guard the garden. In this way, day by day, the relationship between man and God was established in intimate fellowship. Because the spirit governs the soul over the body, the spirits of God and man are in communion. However, because the devil lured the patriarchs through the serpent and ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the toxin of Satan entered into man. As a result, the order of things in man was reversed, and the "spirit" of man's communion with God was put aside, and the soul rose up to dominate the body. In other words, the mind, emotions, and will of man dominated the body. This is how it has evolved until today, when all human beings are "I", "I", "I". This "I" is the soul. In Chinese, the soul is said to be combined with the spirit, but in the Bible, the spirit and the soul are separate. When the spirit is set aside and the soul is in charge, man acts according to his mind, emotions, and will. The whole person is disconnected from God, and the spirit becomes chaos and darkness. Since God's dealings with man are through the Spirit, we can only know God. Now the "Spirit" has lost its position, so man's life is dominated by the soul over the body, and he has become a man of the flesh. Therefore, Genesis 6:3 reads, "And the Lord said, 'My Spirit shall not abide with man forever, for he is indeed flesh.'" In this way, the human spirit loses its function and the soul comes out to dominate the body, which is called "flesh" in the Bible. This fleshly life is called the life of self. 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.'" This means that a person's physical life is also called "self" life. However, when a person believes in Jesus, his spirit comes to life, and the spirit has to do its best to be the Lord, but the soul in the person also wants to be the Lord, so the spirit and the soul are at war with each other. Therefore, Galatians 5:17 says, "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." Speaking of experience, today's TV programs in Taiwan are very exciting, especially the serial dramas. For example, if you are sitting in front of the TV and you are watching TV, the Holy Spirit reminds you that you have little time to read the Bible lately, and the flesh says, "Now is the right time to watch the program," and you choose to watch the TV, this is a picture of the flesh and the Holy Spirit fighting against each other so that you can't do what you want to do. I am not saying that we should never watch television. As a citizen, we should be concerned about the current situation in the country and abroad, and we can watch world news reports and weather reports, but the question is where is our heart? There is one thing that we must not overlook lightly, and we must pay attention to, and that is the conflict between the flesh and the Holy Spirit. This flesh is also called "self". The life of the soul is also the life of "self". No wonder the Lord Jesus, when He was on earth, said to those who followed Him, "If anyone wants to follow Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me". This is because the life of the "self", i.e. the "soul", is an enemy of God.   II. The life of "self" is centered on one's own interests. We are all members of Adam's fallen race, and since the fall of our fathers, the "self" life has always been centered on self-interest. But God's eternal plan is to establish Christ as the center of the universe. He is not only the center of all mankind, but also the center of salvation. But our "self" life is centered on our own interests. Therefore, God's work is to transfer man's interests to Christ, so that Christ can be the center. There are at least three major manifestations of man's "self" being centered on his own interests: Gaining honor There is no man who does not want to be honored. Of course, a country needs a president to govern, and a place needs a mayor to manage the provinces, counties, and cities. Therefore, once the election day arrives, in order to win the precious votes from the voters, some candidates even kneel down and beg the public to do so, but in fact, there is no lack of candidates who are really working for the rights of the country and the people, but there are only a few of them, why? Why? It is because being an important official in the country is worth a hundred times more, and it is a great honor to be a dignified person! We can see that one of the manifestations of the "self" life is to gain honor, to seek fame, to strive for respectability, and to be vain. This is the same thing even after believing in Jesus. Isn't it? Christians should be intent on pleasing the Lord and satisfying His heart in their ministry. Unfortunately, as we go from one ministry to the next, over time, it has become a matter of serving the Lord in the ministry of the Lord. It has evolved into grabbing credit and competing for glory in the ministry, which is a manifestation of "self". Grasping for Authority Another manifestation of "self" is grasping for power. That is to say, to strive for position and power. This is hidden in the "self" of man. It is no wonder that when people get along with each other, there will be disputes, gangs, and selfishness ...... resulting in you fighting for power and me seizing profits, causing the whole world society to be in turmoil and insecurity. The church is no exception. Today, some brothers and sisters in the church, in order to get elected as elders and deacons, secretly use every means to canvass for votes by caging or cozying up to the community to elect board members, council members, and chairpersons, which is really unique. On the surface, they serve as elders and deacons, and are faithful to the Lord with great diligence and hard work, but their hidden "selves" are secretly competing for status and grasping for power. May the Lord be gracious and merciful and give us light! However, do not listen to the Word wrongly and think that Christians are all mediocre and incompetent. We hope that some Christians will take up political positions or important positions in society, or even the presidency of a Christian who fears the Lord, which is much better than the position of an unbeliever.  Striving for Profit Striving for profit means selfishness. Who is not selfish? Even Christians who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lord are no exception. Whenever they want to serve, they always consider what is at stake and weigh the gains and losses first, and they do not really say from the bottom of their hearts, "O Lord! I am willing to lay it all down if it is not Your will; but rather, Lord, I am willing to lay it all down if it is not Your will or mine! I will submit to Your will if it is in accordance with my wishes, but if it is against my interests, I will think twice about it. In this way, considering one's own interests and weighing one's own honor, disgrace, and dignity as a prerequisite is a manifestation of striving for interests. We can see that a Christian who serves with spiritual fervor and performs well in the church is no different from an unbeliever if he does not follow the path of the inner life, and if his "own" life is not directed. It is not difficult to see how terribly the "self" life is hidden in people. III. The "self" life in ministry violates God's sovereignty Not only that, but the "self" life often violates God's sovereignty in ministry. Christ is the head of the Church, as Hebrews 3:6 tells us, "Christ as a Son over HIs own house." Therefore, every saint should unconditionally surrender to the Lord, and let Him rule and lead us. Violating God by means of "one's own" life However, when it comes to ministry, one's "own" life will sneak in and invade one's life. Therefore, people have to use their knowledge and intelligence to fulfill God's will, instead of looking up to the Lord and relying on Him. Unbeknownst to them, in the universe, when God's will passes through the earth, man's knowledge, intelligence, and methods are obstacles and interruptions to God's will. Thank the Lord! Because of the Lord's mercy, the Church of God has laid a foundation on the spiritual path in the past few years. Therefore, every time before a ministry is promoted, we always spend a considerable amount of time bowing down before the Lord, praying, seeking, and recognizing that there is nothing that man can do. Violating God with the power of one's own life Anyone who prays little must be a person who is full of his own abilities and methods, and when he comes to the promotion of ministry, he relies on his own abilities and power to fulfill God's will. Therefore, the apostle Paul said in Galatians 3:1-3, "O ignorant Galatians! The crucifixion of Jesus Christ has been painted before your eyes, and who has bewitched you? ...... For if you were initiated by the Holy Spirit, how much more are you being made perfect by the flesh? Are you so ignorant? It is clear that there is a vision of "self" that seeks to fulfill the will of God through the flesh. Like the saints in the Galatian church, they did believe in Jesus by the Holy Spirit, and it was the Holy Spirit that moved them to confess their sins, repent, believe in the Lord, and be saved by grace. But soon they went back to their old ways and kept the law. Relying on the Holy Spirit instead of talent and power to accomplish things In ministry, if we do not rely on the Holy Spirit, but apply what we have learned in society to church ministry, that is to say, we violate God with the power of our own life. That is why we have been reminded here again and again that we should always emphasize prayer, showing that we should not rely on human talents, power, or methods, so as not to infringe on God's sovereignty. Speaking from experience, whether in life, work, or ministry, when you encounter difficulties, do you first seek the Lord? Or do you look to man for help to cope? May the Lord be gracious to us and remind us that By doing so, we are reminded that the life of "self" is an infringement of God's sovereignty and does not allow God to lead us directly.   IV. God puts an end to "self" through the cross Since "self" has been infringing on God's sovereignty, and this "self" is centered on self-interest, how does God save and solve the problem of "self"? He put an end to man's "self" through the cross. Romans 6:6 reads, "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." It means that when the Lord Jesus was crucified, He cried out, "It is finished". It means that the cross has put an end to all that we are as human beings. In other words, when Jesus was crucified, we were all crucified and finished together in the cross of Christ. As a matter of objective fact, Jesus Christ not only bore all the sins of all mankind on the cross, but also we, our "selves", were crucified with Him. "Self" was also crucified with Him, and in this way "self" was finished. Just as this book in my hand is Jesus Christ, you, I, and he are this piece of paper, and when this piece of paper is in the book, it is as if you, I, and he are in Christ. When this book is thrown into the water, this piece of paper is thrown into the water with the book, which means that Jesus Christ was crucified, and we are crucified with Him, and when the Lord Jesus died, we all died. This is also the metaphor of God ending man's "self" through the cross. But in terms of experience, we, on the human side, must accept the work of God's hand, just as Jesus was crucified, and all our sins were taken on by Him. But in terms of experience, you and I must believe in order to receive this blessing. On the contrary, if you refuse and do not believe, you will still go to hell. It is not the case that after Jesus' crucifixion and completion of salvation, all people will go to heaven. The subjective experience is whether or not you believe in Christ's salvation. Let's say I am sued for a $5 million debt, and a brother who loves the Lord goes to court on my behalf and pays off the $5 million, then the judge summons me and declares, "Someone has paid off your debt for you, now please sign the certificate, and if I don't sign, it means that I don't accept. It is true that someone has paid off a five million dollar debt for me, but if I refuse, I still have to keep on paying the five million dollar debt. Galatians 5:24 says, "And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." This means that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ has ended our "self" life, but I still have to believe and accept this objective fact. However, I still have to believe and accept this objective fact, and then subjectively, I have to accept Christ's work of curing "self", i.e. the purification of the cross.   V. God removes the impurities of self life through the purification of the cross Jeremiah 48:11 tells us, "Moab has been at ease from his youth; He has settled on his dregs, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into captivity. Therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent has not changed." The historical source of "Moab" is the descendants of Abraham's nephew, Lot, who had committed incest with his daughter (Gen. 19:36-37), which is an indication of the physical body. How can we solve the problem of our natural "self" which, like Moab, is adulterated with the flesh? The prophets of old spoke of Moab as the dregs of wine that needed to be cleansed, which means that our "self" is adulterated and must be cleansed. In ancient times, wine was made by hand. Grapes were picked and pressed in a winepress to crush the grapes, and after the juice flowed out, the grapes were placed in bottles and then poured from one vessel into another. So pouring and pouring, each time to pour, there will be some residue left in the bottom of the vessel. And so they clarified and filtered it until the dregs were pure wine, and then they sealed the bottle. The prophet's analogy of Moab being carnal and not having gone through the purification process of the cross is like the impurities of unclarified wine. From this, we can see that the "self" in us must be purified by God's cross and the impurities of our "self" must be removed. Therefore, if God is merciful and gracious to us, in order to make our lives pure, sooner or later He will do the work of refining and purifying in you and me. There are three main experiences of God's purifying work. Refining Faith to Purity How does God purify the dross of our lives? First of all, He purifies our faith so that we can become pure. Temporary grieved in the midst of various trials In 1 Peter 1:6-7, we read, "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ," It says here that we are in the midst of trials and tribulations today, just as the apostle Peter was in his old age, when the saints of the church suffered many hardships. As we understand this truth and see the history of the saints of old, we should learn to endure all kinds of trials, whether it is the attack of the evil one, the pressure of the family, the rejection of the colleagues, the misunderstanding of the believers, the financial loss, and so on, God always makes us feel as if the trouble comes one after another in different ways, and the sufferings come in a swarm, so that we may be sorrowful for a while. A brother was introduced by an unbeliever to buy a piece of land at a comparable price, but later the price of the land increased many times, causing the agent to change his mind, so that he had to appeal to the court. After the court's judgment, the brother had already won the case and was able to obtain the land rights, but the litigation was delayed again and again, and the brother was saddened, and seemed to be in the midst of a lot of trials and tribulations. Thank the Lord! The couple was blessed by the Lord's grace in this matter, and had not complained against the Lord for several years, and firmly believed that the Lord had a good will in it. After fellowshipping with the brothers, we experienced the Lord's words, "Though now for a little while, you have been grieved by various trials while, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire". They are convinced that the Lord will make a way for them. Faith being tested is more precious than gold that is tested by fire and still perishes There are many kinds of gold, including 20% gold, 50% gold, 90% gold, and some people want to buy pure gold. Ordinary metals are half gold and half copper, but gold must be refined by fire before it becomes pure gold. The faith of a saint is more precious than gold that has been refined by fire. In order for saints to have true faith and pure faith, God allows all kinds of adversities and difficulties to come to us, so that we can be like the saints of old, who did not panic and rely on people, things, and objects other than the Lord in the midst of unsatisfactory and frustrating circumstances, but instead, in the midst of severe trials, relied on the Lord to be strong in our hearts, and were able to be patient until we came out of the trials, and experienced the sweetness and the bitterness of the trials. The brother we mentioned just now, the litigation case of the land he purchased has been delayed for several years, and is still pending today. After fellowship with the brothers in the church, he received the help of God's word again, and saw in his spirit that Christians are just travelers in the world, and that what we hope for is a spiritual, heavenly and heavenly foundation, which is imperishable, incorruptible, and cannot decay, and which will last forever. We hope in the precious Jesus Christ, who is spiritual, spiritual and heavenly, imperishable, undefiled, incorruptible, and enduring forever. In this respect the brother is like the apostle Paul who said, "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ" (Phil. 3:7-8) Therefore, instead of being anxious, he was filled with joy and went on with his ministry. Having experienced firsthand that faith, when tested, is more precious than gold that can be broken. In the old days, the two to three million people of Israel traveled out of Egypt through the Red Sea, through the wilderness, and finally into Canaan. This journey lasted forty years, and geographically speaking, it would have taken only eleven days to travel from Egypt, through Mount Sinai and Galilee to the border of Canaan (Deut. 1:2). However, because of their unbelief (faith not being tested), they failed again and again, so the Lord caused them to delay in the wilderness, circling around and around, for 38 years, and it took them a total of 40 years from the time of their exodus from Egypt to the time of their entry into Canaan. The word "forty" in the Bible refers to the number of trials. During the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites had been wearing out and refining their impure fleshly "self". Their wavering faith was refined and strengthened through trial after trial. Therefore, Caleb and Joshua led those under twenty years of age to enter the land of Canaan. This historical fact shows us that God wants pure faith, so He must purify the impure part. Let's look at Abraham, the progenitor of faith, and see from his life history how God purified his faith to achieve purity. He was first led out of Ur of the Chaldees by the Lord, and the Lord appeared to him, and promised him, "Then He brought him outside and said, 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.' And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness." (Gen. 15:5-6). However, as year after year passed by, Sarah was still not pregnant. She was so anxious and impatient that she suggested to Abraham that she should lie with her daughter Hagar and give birth to Ishmael. After this, God was greatly displeased, and hid it from Abraham. Not only that, but because of the consequences of the birth of man's fleshly "self," to this day the descendants of Ishmael, that is, the Arabians, have always been at enmity with the Israelites, and the Israelites (the descendants of Isaac) have always suffered from the descendants of Ishmael. From this historical fact, we can see that Abraham thought that by having a son with Hagar, he could fulfill the will of God. Instead, the descendants of Ishmael have been enemies of Israel for all eternity. Meanwhile, after the birth of Ishmael, the Lord did not appear to Abraham for 13 years. In the past, God often communicated with Abraham, and Abraham was called God's friend. However, since he slept with his daughter Hagar, and used the "self" method to fulfill God's will, there were thirteen years in the Bible, and there was no more record of Abraham's deeds. In other words, these thirteen years were wasted and wasted. Although the Bible does not record this explicitly, one can imagine that Abraham must have felt great spiritual remorse during these thirteen years. When he was ninety-nine years old, and Sarah had ceased to bear children, God appeared to him and said, "Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac." (Gen. 17:19) And it came to pass, when Abraham was a hundred years old, that the Lord showed favor to Sarah according to his word; and Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son, and called his name Ishmael, in the day which God had told her. This event enabled Abraham to experience for himself that God is an almighty God, who is able to change nothing into something, and to raise the dead. After Abraham's faith was tested, his "own" ways were gone, his "own" power was gone, and he relied on the Lord alone in pure faith. Further, God put Abraham in a deeper and more extreme test, i.e. when Isaac grew up, the Lord called Abraham and asked him to say, "Take now your son, your only son, Isaac whom you love,...and offer him there as a burnt offering" (Gen. 22:2) Thank God! Abraham's faith was tested again and again, and it became mature and pure. He firmly believed that he was old and Sarah's fertility had been cut off, but the Lord is almighty, and He is able to raise the dead and turn nothing into something. Now he was convinced that the Lord would raise Isaac from the dead after he had offered him to the Lord. Hebrews 11:19 specifically says, "(Abraham) concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead," So he did not hesitate, but went forward, as God had commanded him, and brought Isaac, his only beloved, to the altar on Mount Moriah, where God had directed him to go, and when he had the sword in his hand to kill Isaac, the angel of the LORD called out, and stopped Abraham, saying, "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.” (Gen. 22:12) From the spiritual journey of Abraham's life, we see again and again that God had been testing his faith. First, God called him to leave his native land, tribe and father's house, and to go to the place that God showed him, and then he obeyed the command by faith until the final trial. Refine love to attain purity Not only must our faith be tested to be pure, but also our love must be tested to be pure. How many Christians today love the Lord because of the benefits they receive from Him, just like a merchant who buys and sells? If the Lord hears my prayers, then I praise Him, if He blesses my business, then I worship and thank Him, if He promotes me to a higher position, then I love Him more and serve Him more. On the other hand, when the Lord's trial comes, and I can't make any money, I don't get promoted, and my circumstances are not favorable, then I will praise Hallelujah and stop loving and serving the Lord. This shows how impure people's love for the Lord is! Therefore, God often comes to the saints through trials in order to test whether our love for the Lord is true and pure. There was a young sister who loved the Lord and was very happy to be introduced to the Lord for marriage, so she was more serious and active in prayer, fellowship, and visiting in the meetings than before. Suddenly, the man felt that he was not compatible and distanced himself from her, and her whole spiritual life collapsed. Not only did she not hear any prayers in the meetings, but she lost her energy for fellowship and visiting, and she had no burden to serve, and she even grumbled against the Lord. I am not saying that we are stronger than our sister, but the facts show us how adulterated and impure the love of Christians for the Lord is. However, there are some very good sisters who have been introduced to each other and have reached a point where they are in love with each other and are ready to talk about marriage, but then the man leaves without saying goodbye for some unknown reason, which is a blow to the sister, but this sister even submits to it. She deeply felt that the Lord is reliable, that He has loved me and sacrificed His life for me, and that I should live for Him, and that she should continue to love the Lord and serve Him. Because she recognized that she did not love the Lord for the sake of her marriage partner, her heart of love for the Lord became purer than ever after she had been tested and deprived of love. As 1 Peter 1:8 says, "Though you have not seen him, yet you love him. And now, though you do not see him, yet because you believe in him you have great joy that is inexpressible and full of glory. This time I went to a church on the west coast of the United States to release the message of the Lord's love. For two or three moments during the message, I couldn't help but weep. I couldn't hold back my tears, and the audience was also moved to tears. After the message, I returned. After two weeks of this, on this Sunday, it was not only pouring rain but also hail in the area. But I was glad to receive a call from a brother who thought who would be willing to come to the meeting on Sunday morning in the pouring rain and hail? Thank the Lord! He didn't realize that the message of the Lord's love had really gone out that Sunday, and not only did the number of people not decrease, but a few more came in. He thought it would be good if half of the regular attendees could come today. But he didn't realize that there were a few more. Oh! What can separate us from the love of Christ? Is it a storm? Is it hail? It is clear that our pure love for the Lord is born of trials and tribulations. No wonder! Madame Guyon once said, roughly meaning: Even if the Lord were to cast me into hell, I would still love Him and praise and worship my God. This is pure love. In the course of following the Lord, the Lord will allow us to face the hardships of the fire, and I hope that we can accept them by the Lord's grace, knowing that all these things are the refining of our love for the Lord, so that it will become pure. Refining the impurities of the motive of the heart The "motive of the heart" is in the deepest part of the human being. If there is an intention or hope other than the Lord's, it is not really for the Lord alone, and the Lord purifies and removes it through difficult trials. Proverbs 17:3: "The pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the hearts." Silver is a precious, it must be refined into pure silver in a pot. Gold is more precious than silver, so it needs to be refined into pure gold in a furnace that is several times hotter. The heart of man is most deceitful and adulterated, so the Lord Himself refines the hearts. David was born a shepherd and eventually ascended to the throne as king of Israel. He had gone through many long periods of trial and tribulation in his life history. He also felt that he had become quite spiritual. He once wrote a psalm, "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully." (Psalm 24:3-4) It is implied that David was a man with a clean heart and clean hands who could climb the mountain of the Lord. Unexpectedly, while he was on the throne and in the height of his popularity, he stayed in Jerusalem while his men were away at war, rising at sunset and walking leisurely on the flat roof, when Satan caused his eyes to rest on Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, who was bathing; and he summoned her to the palace to sleep with him. Soon after the crime, Bathsheba sent word that she was pregnant. Upon learning of this, David tried to shirk his responsibility and quickly ordered Uriah to be recalled from the battlefield. But Uriah, thinking that her comrades were still sleeping on the battlefield, stayed at the entrance of the palace for the night instead of going home. Knowing that this plan would not work, David ordered Uriah to return to the line of battle and sent a letter to Joab, the commander-in-chief, imploring him to send Uriah to the front line to die in battle. The Lord then sent the prophet Nathan to condemn David. David immediately went before God in sincere sorrow and repentance. He wrote his confession into Psalm 51. He sincerely repented of his sins and begged God, "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. ......I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me....... Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow....... Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me......A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise." Thank the Lord! He is the God of forgiveness, and after He forgave David, He disciplined him in love, thereby purifying David's heart and motives into purity.   VI. Purity of the inner life The last point is the light that God desires for believers who walk in the way of the inner life, that is, the purity of the inner life. Christ as Lord rules over the spirit, soul, and body Because Christ is Lord in us, naturally Christ is Lord over our spirit, soul, and body. In this way Christ lives in us and is the life of the whole man, which is naturally what Philippians 1:20, 21 says: "so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Christ fills the whole being, revealing His holiness and glory Further, Christ fills our whole being, that is, our spirit, through our soul, including our mind, emotions, and will. At that time, the mind of Jesus Christ is our mind, and the liking of the Lord Jesus is our liking. As the psalm says, O let me think how Thou didst leave Untasted every pure delight we also put aside pure delights, and do not seek our own pleasure, but make Christ's rules our own. To be filled with Christ in this way is to be completely united with the Lord, not only in Christ's resurrection, but also in Christ's victory, and to live out Christ's life and character, and to exude Christ's pure life. As the psalm says, Live Thyself, Lord Jesus, through me, For my very life art Thou; <--  Back to "The Pathway of Inner Being" Next Chapter -->

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:30, Galatians 2:20, 4:19, Ephesians 3:17, 4:13, Philippians 1:20 Our series of messages have been in the context of fellowship with the "Pathway of Inner Being". The pathway of the inner life is the hidden experience of spiritual life. The ultimate goal is to achieve complete union with Christ. For a normal Christian, from the day of salvation by grace, begins to enter into a relationship with Christ. Naturally and invisibly, he or she enters into the threshold of union with Christ, and thus enters into the path of inner life throughout his or her life. Then their spiritual life not only grows continuously, but also becomes more and more united with God, and the more united they become, the deeper they become, until they are completely united with Christ, that is, they reach the fullness of Christ, the fullness of the whole man. At that time, Christ and I will never be separated from each other. Just as a drop of water is lost in the sea, so also does the apostle say in Philippians 1:20-21: "...so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ," This indicates a state of complete union with Christ. However, there are two things that we must pay special attention to and not overlook in this journey of inner life. The first is to know Christ. The second is union with Christ. For the more we know Christ, not only do we enter into union with Him, but we also have access to all His riches. This is what it mean in Colossians 2:9-10 we are told, "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power." The process of union with Christ, from initial to full union, can be summarized in three stages: Stage One In Christ Christ in me Stage Two Abiding in Christ Christ abiding in me Stage Three Christ grows and is formed in me Christ is manifested in me In Christ We have just read 1 Corinthians 1:30, which says, "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus" . This means that all human beings in the world, throughout the ages, handed down from generation to generation, are all in Adam. Let's say my last name is Jeng, and my son's last name is also Jeng. As soon as he came out of his mother's womb, he was in a family with the surname of "Jeng", and he was in the lineage of the "Jeng" family. Since the beginning of mankind's history until today, we have been in Adam's lineage. Until the day we believed in Jesus and accepted Christ as our Savior, God put us in Christ or moved us to Christ. It is not to run into Christ, for no man can run into Christ by himself, but when we call on the name of Jesus Christ, God moves us from Adam into Christ. In Romans 11:19-20, when the Apostle Paul talked about this experience, he quoted the analogy of a tree receiving a branch, that is, God receives us as a branch into Christ. He said that we (the Gentiles) were originally branches of the wild olive tree, and the Jews (God's elect) were branches of the olive tree, but because they rejected the Son of God and did not accept Christ as their Savior, they were rejected by God. They were rejected by God because they rejected the Son of God and did not accept Christ as their Savior, just as the branches of the olive tree were cut off. Now you and I, Gentile Christians, the wild olive tree branches, are taken up and we are united with Christ. Like the vine and its branches, we are united to Christ. Christ in me Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus," . This signifies that when we believe in the Lord Jesus, God not only puts us in Christ, but He also looks at us as if we have never sinned, meaning that He justifies us and pleases us. In other words, God not only forgives our sins, but also brings Christ into us, which is called Christ in me. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?" This means that we have asked for the name of Jesus Christ, and God has recognized us as belonging to Christ forever, and will not forsake us, but will justify and accept us (Romans 5:18). From this we can see that when we believe in Jesus, Christ comes into us through the Holy Spirit. Obviously, Christ is in you and in me, one side of me is in Christ and the other side is Christ in me, and this experience happens at the same time. The riches of our Lord Jesus Christ are limitless, like an endless ocean. You and I are like a small bottle. When we believe in Jesus Christ, on the one hand, God puts this small bottle in the big ocean; on the other hand, the sea water pours into the bottle until it is full of water, and both of these things happen at the same time.  3. Abiding in Christ We have said that "In Christ" is a spiritual fact, referring to the divine status that we have attained by believing in the Lord Jesus, the fact that God has done it for us so that we can be united with Christ. Now we move on to the experience of "Abiding in Christ". John 15:5 is a key to the treasury of the Bible, which, once opened, reveals the riches of God's glory. The Lord Jesus Himself said, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him..." This speaks of entering into the experience of union with Christ. But in fact, we often run away from Christ again, so we have to keep practicing and enter into a continuous abiding in Christ and union with Him. For example, in today's society there are some young people who have been caught by the government and put in a reformatory because they have often committed crimes. As a matter of fact, this young man is incarcerated in a reformatory and no longer lives at home. However, if his name is Huang, even though he has run away from his family and is incarcerated in a reformatory and no longer lives at home, his family name does not change because of this!   Similarly, after you and I believe in Jesus and are saved, God moves us to Christ and we become Christians. So wherever we go, we are Christians. We are Christians no matter where we go. We are Christians if our behavior is good, but we are still Christians even if our behavior is bad, and we are Christians even if we win or lose. For example, the young man surnamed Huang, who is supposed to live in the Huang family, is still a son of the Huang family, even though he has run away from home to do evil. But even though he is a son of the Huang family, he cannot live in the Huang family and enjoy all the riches of the Huang family. The day we believe in Jesus, we come to Christ, live in Christ, experience the sweetness of fellowship when we pray and draw near to the Lord, sometimes enjoy the richness of the Lord's words in reading the Bible, or enjoy the Lord's grace with all the saints in the church, bask in the depth of the Lord's love, and live the highest Christian life. However, some Christians, unable to withstand the temptations of the world, go out to socialize with their friends, and gradually stop praying, then stop reading the Bible, and stop meeting; although they are called Christians, they have in fact gone out of Christ. Therefore, the third experience of the Christian must be built up to maintain "abiding in Christ". This is because abiding in Christ is like a branch connected to the vine, allowing the life, sap, and nourishment of the vine to be passed on to the branches, which then thrive and bear much fruit. Therefore, a person who abides in Christ must receive the abundant life of the Lord and be able to provide for the life of the Lord, exuding His riches and manifesting His glory. The Old Testament records that Moses went up the mountain for forty days and forty nights to draw near to the Lord, just as the Christians of the New Testament era have the experience of abiding in Christ. On that occasion when Moses went up to the mountain to draw near to the Lord, the Bible specifically says, "When Moses came down from Mount Sinai....did not know his ski n shone while he talked with Him" (Exodus 34:29). Likewise, the Christian who enters into intimate fellowship with the Lord, without realizing it, will shine with the glory of the Lord. Oh! There is no one so close to us as the Lord, for Christ is in us. As the psalm says, Within the Veil: be this, belov’d, thy portion, Within the secret of thy Lord to dwell; Beholding Him, until thy face His glory, Thy life His love, thy lips His praise shall tell Back in my youth, I used to draw near to the Lord with a group of companions who pursued the Lord with a pure heart. At first, when I was learning to draw near to the Lord, twenty minutes seemed to be enough, but the closer I got to the Lord and the more I was brought into fellowship with Him, the time was increased to half an hour or even an hour. Oh! The closer I get to the Lord, the sweeter I feel; the closer I get to the Lord, the more I am attracted by His glory. The closer I get to the Lord, the more my heart longs for Him, and I wish to be immersed in Him, to be one with Him forever. Christ abides in me If we abide in Christ, Christ abides in us. The experience of "abiding in Christ is not the same as Christ abiding in us. We have already mentioned the experience of abiding in Christ, but now we will look at the process of Christ's abiding in us. Christ living in me "Christ lives in me" refers to the fact that Christ governs me in me, that is, as Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." It means that I, the sinner, have been crucified with Christ, and I am no longer the master; it is no longer I, the sinner, who live, but Christ who lives in me. It is Christ who is the master, who leads me, who dominates me, who governs me. When a Christian is in this experience, he can be considered to have grown considerably, for it is Christ who is the life in him. Christ is our life Colossians 3:4 says, "Christ is our life" . But are we really letting Christ be our life in our experience? A person who lets Christ be his life is one who lets Christ take the lead. For the nature of Christ's life is of a divine nature, and the characteristics of God's nature are experienced naturally, not artificially created or cultivated through hard work, but by accepting the characteristics of His own life. It is the acceptance of the characteristics of His own life. It is like a pig on a farm, an animal whose odor is smelled before you can see it. The characteristic of a pig's life is that it likes to roll around in the sludge and manure. On the other hand, if you put a sheep in a pigpen, it will immediately struggle and will not be able to rest; for sheep are clean animals, and the characteristic of their life is that they like to be clean. In the same way, Christians, because Christ is our life, are called to live a life of holiness. Christ is our wisdom Further, 1 Corinthians 1:30 reads, "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption." It is stated that we can be in Christ today because we believe that God put us in Christ when we were born again and saved; at the same time, Christ came into us and became our life. When we experience Christ as our life, one of the main elements is to experience Christ as our wisdom. This means experiencing Christ as our method and guide in life, work, and ministry. One Thursday night in the witnessing meeting, a young sister shared that over the past few years, she had not dared to accept being assigned to speak on topics about the truth, she only dared to share her testimonies. Because whenever she was assigned to share, she would be in a state of fear and panic, and even though she tried to prepare for fellowship in a different ways, she still had no clue and was unable to get the hang of the situation. This year, however, she decided to go to Taipei for the summer conference, and a co-worker arranged for her to do some sharing. At first, she repeatedly refused, but the sister encouraged her to practice so that she could make progress, and she finally reluctantly agreed. So she prepared very seriously on Monday, and during her visitation, she repeatedly asked several sisters for advice, hoping to get help from them. However, she was still in a state of panic and her mind was so worried that she didn't know how to interweave her testimonies. Until Friday she decided to give up, but her co-worker said, "If you give up now and arrange for someone else, that person won't have enough time to prepare. So she had to accept it, and she went to the Lord to pray and look up. Thank God, that night, the Holy Spirit suddenly gave her words and many points to share, and she was suddenly anointed and assured in her spirit. The following Saturday, the sisters were concerned and asked her if she was ready. She said she was not ready, but that the Lord's word had come. Sure enough, on Sunday, she stood up boldly, and when she opened her mouth, she experienced a river of living water flowing out of her belly. On the other hand, she was spiritually released and anointed in a way that she had never been before. She truly experienced Christ as our wisdom. Christ is or righteousness We have just read 1 Corinthians 1:30 which says that it is God's work that we are in Christ. On the other hand, "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became.... righteousness...." This means that God has made Christ to live in us, to be our righteousness, and He will guide us to act in righteousness and enable us to live out our righteousness. For example, in the United States, a country with a high level of culture and education, almost all citizens obey the laws of the land, especially traffic discipline. Whenever a vehicle arrives at an intersection, although there is no police or traffic light to direct the driver, the driver will automatically stop at the intersection, and then give way to each other and wait for the first person to go through before driving through the intersection. Thank God! Christ dwells in us, He is the Righteous One who naturally calls us to act or live out righteousness. There is a testimony that talks about a military dormitory. There was a devout Christian who, every day before going to bed, would kneel down before the Lord and pray. The soldiers in his room used to deliberately make fun of him, making him cry. One night when a storm was raging, his fellow soldiers came back from duty, soaked to the skin and their boots were covered with mud. When they saw this Christian kneeling in front of his bed and praying, they deliberately put their boots, which were covered with mud, next to his head. They saw the Christian kneeling in front of his bed, so they deliberately put their boots, covered with mud, next to his head. The Christian ignored them and continued to pray, so they were bored and went to bed. Miraculously, the next morning, when the soldiers in the same room got up, they found that their boots were not only free of mud, but also polished and neatly placed in front of their beds, and their hearts were moved with guilt, and they repented and returned to the Lord. This is an example of Christ's indwelling righteousness. Christ is our Sanctification The life of Christ in us is characterized by the holiness of God. That is why 1 Corinthians 1:30 says, "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us .... sanctification..." The qualities of Christ's life in us make us naturally holy. In other words, the secret of holiness is not that we try to be holy, but that He is holy. When we allow Christ to live in us, we live a holy life, free from sin and unholiness. Another Thursday night fellowship. A young adult testified that he had recently taken up a higher position in a new company. Many of his organization's subordinates are unbelievers. Although they have received higher education, they often speak in obscene and delusional language, especially after work, when they open their gossip boxes, they talk about men and women, and always bring in obscene and dirty language. At first, it was very hard for him to hear this, but since he had just been appointed to a new company, he smiled and catered to the colleagues in order to please them, so every time he went back home, he was in great pain inside, and his conscience often scolded him, "You are a Christian, why do you mix with people who do not believe in Jesus? Thanks to God's mercy, the brother quickly avoided his coworkers when they chatted and gossiped, and maintained a life of holiness, which is the experience of Christ's holiness in us. Christ is our Redeemer I Corinthians 1:30 not only speaks of Christ as our wisdom, righteousness, and sanctification, but finally it speaks of Christ as our redemption, which means that Christ is the life in us, and that He will fill our souls, and through our souls, we will attain to the experience of the body. Of course, this will not happen until Christ returns and our bodies are transformed to resemble His glorious body. This means that our bodies will be resurrected and transformed to reveal Christ and be raptured in the Glory.  Christ makes His home in us Regarding the experience of Christ's dwelling in us, Ephesians 3:17 reads, "That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." This means that Christ lives and reigns in us and governs us freely. The phrase "Christ has made His home in us" means that Christ has made our hearts and minds His dwelling place, or His home. It means that He wants to be the Lord, not as a guest, but as a host. A host is one who has the right of ownership, the right to control, and use of all things in the home. A guest is a visitor who has no right to use and move the furniture around as he pleases. This shows that Christ treats us as His own home, which means that He manages and uses us as He pleases. Therefore, when we give Christ full sovereignty over us, we allow Him to live in our hearts and minds and to freely rule over us and use us. In this way we experience Christ living in us. Christ grows and is formed in me The spiritual experience is getting deeper and deeper because Christ is not just going to live in us; He is going to grow and be formed in us. How Christ grows and is formed in us, there are two important experiences to be mentioned: Through the cross, Christ is formed (structured) within Galatians 4:19 reads, "My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you." It is stated that the step for Christ to be formed and grow up in us is through "labor in birth". "Labor in birth" describe the experience of a woman in labor. When a woman goes into labor, she suffers severe pains that increase until the baby is born. No wonder some young women who have just conceived their first child and are nervous when approaching the time of labor, they are anxious, and worried about whether or not the labor will be difficult, and so they go around asking questions about the labor process. The apostle's use of "labor in birth" to describe the painful experience of the cross is really appropriate. When we are born again and saved, the life of Christ comes into us, and this life will gradually grow and take shape in you and me, and will expand to our whole being, including every part of our mind, emotion, and will. When a hen lays an egg, it is an egg on the outside, but there is the life of a chick inside. If the egg has to be incubated, and the life of the chicken will grow until the chick is fully formed, and then the chick will break out of the shell. In terms of experience, when Christians are born again and saved, God puts Christ (life) in us. God then arranges all kinds of people, events and things to interact with each other, causing our souls to be tormented, even beaten and broken, so that the life of Christ can gradually grow and be formed in us. If we are merciful to the Lord and go through the experience of accepting the cross again and again, then the life of Christ will continue to grow and take shape in us. In ancient times, most of the cloth was woven on a loom. First, the thread was put on the loom, and then it was woven vertically, horizontally, and vertically to form a large piece of cloth. If it was not woven vertically and horizontally, it would not be able to become a large piece of cloth, and these are two different directions.   Once I asked a ticket vendor at the Taipei bus station if a certain bus number was passing by, and he seemed like he didn't hear, so I asked him again, and he answered me in a displeased tone, saying, "You have eyes to see for yourself! I thank the Lord that I walked away in peace and silence in Christ. If I had not had Christ in me, I would have blamed this man for being so uneducated, and for being so unreasonable when he was asked with courtesy. Oh! If we are attentive in our lives, we must find that there are many encounters, crosses of different sizes, to be experienced every day. If we receive it once, the life of Christ will be organized once, and if we receive it again and again, it will be like the weaving of a loom, which will soon become a large piece of cloth, and Christ will be formed in us. Psalm 45:13 says, "The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace; her clothing is woven with gold." Here, the embroidered garments are used to depict the fact that the more we accept the cross, the more Christ is formed in us. Naturally, this kind of Christian has allowed Christ to grow and be formed in him. Seriously, there are a few keys to spiritual experience that must be firmly grasped. The first is to abide in Christ— and continually remain in Him. Because when the cross comes, the natural man will not be able to accept it, and the human flesh will not be able to submit to it, so how can one accept it? By the power and grace of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, if one does not abide in Christ, when the cross comes, he will either refuse or run away. Therefore, we must practice and build up a life of abiding in Christ. The second step is the secret of fruitfulness mentioned in John 15:5. Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit." But before this statement, there is a statement that you need to pay attention to: " Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. " (John 15:2) A person who abides in Christ is a fruitful branch. The "pruning" refers to the ensuing cross. When the vinedresser sees a bunch of grapes growing, he prunes the fruit-bearing branches so that new branches will spring up and bear new fruit. Experientially speaking, there are parts of us that are carnal, hard, and old, and the gardener (Jesus Christ) came and pruned me of my talkativeness, you of your hardness and strength, and him of his loitering and idleness. In short, the Lord raises up the circumstances, the difficulties, and the blows that come. For the cross is the means by which Christ is formed in us. No wonder the Apostle Paul tells us, "We must go through many difficulties to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). How much of the image of Christ we have in us is based on how much we accept the cross. But how much we accept the cross is based on whether or not we continue to "abide in Christ". May the Lord be gracious to us in the remaining years of our lives, and may we treasure the experience of abiding in Christ. As the psalm says, Enter the veil and go without the camp, Taste heaven’s sweetness, thus the earth forsake; If by the Holiest I am satisfied, How can I of earth’s vanities partake? Recognize the Son of God and grow to manhood in it A Christian's experience of union with Christ begins with seeing the Son of God, i.e., knowing Christ, the Son of God, inwardly. This knowledge is not a reasoned concept, or a head knowledge. It is a spiritual seeing and knowing. That is why Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:17, "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him" This means that the inner spirit receives the revelation of the Holy Spirit and sees that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and immediately we enter into union with Christ, which is the initial experience. The Apostle Paul said in Galatians 1:16, "It pleased God...to reveal His Son in me ......." This means that when we are born again, we receive the revelation of the Son of God in our spirit. At this time, Christ is born as a baby in you and me, and then the Holy Spirit leads us to gradually have a wider and deeper understanding of the Son of God. The more we know Christ, the more we gain His fullness, and naturally, the more our spiritual life grows. As our knowledge of the Son of God grows, our experience of Christ grows, and naturally the life of Christ is not only fully organized in us, but we also reach full maturity in the life of Christ. So Ephesians 4:13 tells us, "Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." The meaning is that when the knowledge of the Son of God is perfected, the spiritual life experience reaches its highest peak, that is, the life of Christ pervades all the parts of the person, including the mind, emotions and will in the soul and spirit, all of which are filled with the life of Christ. Christ is manifested in me The last point is that when spiritual life reaches its peak, not only does the stature of Christ grow and take shape in you, but the life (nature) of Christ is also manifested in us. This is what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 1:20, "Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death." Human life consists of two words, "life and death". "Life" started after we leave the womb of our mother, we live in the human society. "Death is the end of life. When we finish our journey in life, the impression (image) that we leave behind is whether or not it is Christ. If so, it shows that the spiritual life of the Christian has reached a spiritual peak, and that the person has been closely and deeply united with Christ. It is indeed difficult to explain "union with Christ". Thank the Lord! Brother Nee once told the story of a blacksmith who was making iron. He put a piece of black iron into a hot furnace and burned it until it turned red, then he took it out, and his apprentice rolled a piece of paper on the iron to start the fire, and the fire started to burn, and Brother Nee was very amazed that the iron actually produced fire. Later, he realized that this piece of iron was different from ordinary iron; it had been burned in a furnace, and now it was both iron and fire. In other words, the fire was in the iron and the iron was in the fire, and it had the weight of iron and the shape of fire. God's ultimate work is for us to be united with Christ as iron is with fire, so that not only is everything in iron, but also everything that is fire is in iron. May the Lord bless His own words, so that we may see that the ultimate spiritual peak of the Christian life experience is to be filled with Christ and to manifest Christ in complete union with Him. Therefore, we are encouraged to be kept by the Lord in the remaining years of our lives, and to continue to move forward on this path of life until we enter into a complete union with Christ, where God and man will never be separated again. --- E N D --- <-- Back to "The Pathway of Inner Being"

鄭兄長三十年於菲、台、美事奉中 如農夫舉鋤揮汗，忍辱含辛 不遺餘力地栽種、灌溉、施肥、修剪 終於在這屬靈園地 看到含苞開花結實 今年2020 鄭兄長安息主懷屆十八年了，他在世時為提供有心追求主的兄姊們在小組裏，得以深入扎根的屬靈追求，曾將他主日講台釋放信息中摘取七篇，略加整修，彙集編印，出版兩輯『拾取麥穗』。這十年來由於主屢次藉兄姊們的索求，於是今再摘取七篇，彙編出版第三至九輯。願主祝福主僕從神所領受豐碩的經歷、靈感與亮光；深信必使我們在屬靈生命與經歷上，受益匪淺。阿們！ 惜乎！鄭兄長已於2002年10月22日安息主懷, 內容未克經他過目修正，難免有遺漏之憾！敬希諸屬靈前輩與讀者們見諒是幸 。 拾取麥穗（一） 拾取麥穗（六） 拾取麥穗（二） 拾取麥穗（七） 拾取麥穗（三） 拾取麥穗（八） 拾取麥穗（四） 拾取麥穗（九） 拾取麥穗（五）