A lamp to my feet for my close following

The Word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path (Psalm 119:105).

Somehow the trains to my home were cancelled, and I happened to stay in the office late. I decided to take a train to the next station and walk back. However, the whole journey was dark, and some weird people were hanging around. I was really scared.

Finally, when I was close to home, I noticed my neighbour placed some lamps close to the height of my feet. I suddenly realised that we actually are all people who walk in the dark age and are often scared. That's why we need a lamp to our feet. It doesn't allow us to see things at a distance, but as we follow closely and carefully, we'll still be safe in the end.

Thank You, Lord, for bringing me home safely :)

Check with Him always

It's not guaranteed that I'll reach the destination if I don't pay attention along the journey.

Apart from the cancellation and delays, there are several possible situations. It can be two trains to different directions waiting on the same platform. After getting on the right train, I have to make sure that I'm in the right coach because it can divide and lead me to somewhere else. Even if I do everything right, I still need to pay attention to the announcement and take actions accordingly. It might require me to check which possible trains/routes I can take in order to reach the destination.

Similar to the spiritual experience. Sometimes I thought the leading was clear enough and stop asking Him, and things can change completely. I'm learning not to be confident and place things before Him always.

Things can still vary.

Longing for a deeper union with You

My Saviour,

I reckoned the reason that I had no rest is because of my analysing of a thing that bothers me.

I turned my eyes from the Lord and focused on myself. There is where the trouble comes. I realised that I was so busy in my soul wondering and analysing instead of coming to Him for such a rest.

I love Him, I love my Saviour.
I seek for the deeper union with Him.
I then had a sense that I should utterly give up myself. Giving up all the strength from my own self, and render and rest in Him completely. This is my recognition that He is my Lord, and He provides whatever I may need.

This morning, I come to the books written by Madame Guyon. These are "Sweet Smelling Myrrh" and "A short and easy method of prayer". These books helped me seek for a deeper union with the Lord within instead of the outward work alone- I've been actively outwardly, or, been busy in my soul.

These methods of prayers are so intuitive and simple. This echoes my deep longing to pray like this but somehow my soul tells me that I should pray in a certain way in order to please the Lord. Oh Lord, what a mistake. We can learn all the methods to approach You, but what You want the most is to mingle Yourself with us. Oh Lord, how much I have been grieving Your heart.

Gain my heart fully today so I can seek such a union with You. You can thus be satisfied.

His promise for two things

Recently I've been asking for two main things concerning my future direction. And the reason why I needed to ask Him about these two matters during this particular time is that first, I was struggling and hurt by a certain matter. Without His Rhema Word I cannot go on properly with boldness. And second, these two years will be the best time for me to prepare for these two things. I need to make sure that what I am doing now is with His blessing and He has to grant me the energy to do it.

Previously I just prayed about these two matters but not really asked about the Rhema Words from Him. This time I asked, and I've got these verses from Him in my Bible reading time.

Luke 10:1-4
Now after these things, the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to come. Ans He said to them, The harvest is great, but the workers few; therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest that He would thrust out workers into His harvest. Go; behold, I send you as lambs in the midst of wolves. Do not carry a purse, nor a bag, nor sandals; and greet no one on the way. 

"After these things" was recorded by Luke chapter 9. At the end of chapter 9, there were several verses talking about "following the Lord". The Lord spoke to people involved in different situations, He literally called them out of whatever they concerned. He called them to follow Him. And then chapter 10 follows to demonstrate how the Lord sent these disciplines out for His work.

I was originally a bit concerned about whether I should be the person who initiates the Lord's "sending" me to a place that I'm burdened for. However, I shouldn't fall into introspection. What I need to do the most is to pray, to beseech the Lord when I see the need.

In the Cambridge dictionary, to beseech is to ask for something in a way that shows you need it very much.

I've already seen the need, and I have some feeling about this place. What I need is to ask the Lord that I need to join this work very much. I need it because He needs it even more. This is part of His fulfilment of His Word. This corresponds to a ministry portion I've read recently in Samuel life-study. Hannah's prayer might be seemingly human but her prayer matches the need of the Lord. Who needs this prayer the most? God or Hannah? Of course, it is God. Without Hannah's prayer, God has no channel on the earth that He can work. God's needing of Hannah's prayer is even bigger than Hannah's need to have a son. Additionally, because of Hannah's prayer is one with the Lord's will, that's why it is answered by God.

We need to be the ones who mingle ourselves to be one with the Lord's will. Then our desire will be His desire and His desire is ours.

Also, the Lord doesn't send people one by one. Praise the Lord, He's gonna send me with a companion. 




 

The dump spirit has been cast out

Luke 11:14  "And once He was casting out a demon, and it was dumb. And when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke, and the crowds marveled".

Speaking for God and speaking forth God is really a spiritual matter. There was a period of time that I found myself not being able to prophesy on the Lord's day meetings as well as speaking God in the small gatherings. I was not so sure what was going on with me. I did have the enjoyment of God during the week and I served the saints by reading or praying together during the weekdays as well. But somehow, I just couldn't speak Him.

I knew that during that time, I was bothered by a certain matter, and I noticed a saint was bothered by that matter as well. So both of us would not be able to speak for the Lord during that time. Now I know what was going on during that time. Both of us were possessed by the dumb spirit. And now, by the Lord's great mercy, we are able to overcome that matter. And now we can speak Him.

Praise the Lord. Do not let us be possessed by the dumb spirit anymore. You have set us free!

The widow, the wife, and the virgin

Towards the world, we are widows not having anything to depend upon and eagerly awaiting to meet where our Beloved is. To the enjoyment of the riches of Christ, we are His wife having someone to rely upon. All He is and has are ours and we are His. Concerning the Lord's coming, we are virgins preserving ourselves as a garden enclosed for His satisfaction alone. Lord, my Beloved, come back today.

Inspired by reading:
Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 1) Vol. 18: Notes on Scriptural Messages (2) -
The Widow, the Wife, and the Virgin (Issue No. 41)

Proactively (properly aggressive) to dispense Christ to others

Recently I'm really surprised by the aspect of 'dispensing Christ' and realise that I have to be a person who dispenses Christ as well.

(1) Semi-annual training (summer)- Leviticus (2) - message one- the consecration of the priests
Point II, J- 4.

As priests, on the one hand, we enjoy the sin-bearing life so that we can bear the inequalities of people; but on the other hand, the life within us is also a sin-dealing life. Therefore, we have to proactively dispense Christ to others so that others can receive Christ as the sin-dealing life.

I realise that I can be quite passive in terms of dispensing Christ. I might have spent time contacting people but ended up just having conversations and checking how they are doing. These are all good but still, I didn't dispense the sin-dealing life to others. Another occasion, I might just pray for certain people so their heart can be softened. However, I still didn't dispense Christ to them.

point b. is very sweet and applicable.
"A person who sins usually has his heart hardened (Heb. 3:13); if we are going to minister Christ to him, we have to trust in the Lord that we may have the grace with the Spirit to soften and warm up his hardened heart".

In other words, if I just pray that the heart of men can be softened but didn't take action to actually dispense Christ to them, I'm not trusting in the Lord that I have the grace with the Spirit within me.

I'll also bring in another portion that I enjoy in the life study concerning this matter.

(2) Leviticus life-study message 44 - The leprosy in a house.
Very last two paragraphs.

"We need to realize that the church is the best place on earth. What, then, shall we do about the problems in the church? We should pray to be renewed in the experiences of Christ. We should not pray too much for others or about the situation. Instead, we should pray for ourselves that we might be able to bring something new of Christ into the church life. This is the way for a diseased church to be healed. Sometimes a church will be healed through the new experiences of the new ones.

The more we experience Christ in a new way, the more the church will be healed. A diseased church cannot be healed by discussion, argument, and debate. The more we engage in these things, the more trouble there will be. We need to pray for ourselves and for the church that through the new experiences of Christ we as members and the church as a whole may have a new start and enter into a new age. This is the only way for a diseased church to be healed".

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So prayers are needed. But we still need to proactively dispense this very Christ we've enjoyed into the church life! Praise the Lord! 

安息

主說，『我的軛是容易的，我的擔子是輕省的。』每一個在主裡有經歷的人，都要說阿們。我們自己所揀選的道路是何等的不平呢！我們隨己意所作的事情是何等的麻煩呢！結局是何其傷心呢！進行是何其困難呢！我們如果肯負主的軛，學祂的樣子，我們要看見，真的，祂所給我們的事情，祂對我們的要求，和祂為我們所安排的環境都是容易的、輕省的。祂所叫我們經過的，沒有一次是我們所擔當不了的。祂知道如何分配祂擔子，祂知道我們的力量。我們可以安心。祂不會叫我們作我們所不能的！祂所分派的是每一個弟兄姊妹所能擔的、能負的。一隻三個月的牛怎樣不會叫它負鐵軛，主也不會叫一個人在他的環境裡所遭遇的是他所不能忍受的。如果有了什麼臨到我們的身上，就是表明神已經看好，我們是會，是有能力可以經得起這些事情的。神不會錯，所以，我們不可埋怨，我們應當安靜的、謙卑的、溫柔的、喜樂的接受祂所給我們一切的軛和擔子；雖然有許多是我們所不喜歡的！(節自屬靈人第一輯, 兩個安息　講經記錄(卷一)第十五期)

The repenting spirit during the first weekend's video training (summer)

Booked a later ticket back to Brighton so I had a morning to review what I enjoyed in the video training during the weekend.

#hymn 280 is probably a recap of my spirit during the weekend (http://www.witness-lee-hymns.org/hymns/H0280.html)

Lord, may Thy blood now cleanse me,

Wash all my sins away,
That with Thy Holy Spirit
Thou may anoint, I pray.
My service, I confess, Lord,
Is failure-full and weak;
The filling of Thy Spirit
To live for Thee I seek.

How cold my heart has been, Lord,
How slow obeying Thee;
So fill me with Thy Spirit,
I’ll ne’er rebellious be.

Oh, may Thy Cross within me
Deepen its work and burn
In me enlarge Thy measure,
And me to ashes turn.
Oh, may Thy Spirit fill me
Each day more than before,
And may Thy living water
On me and thru me pour.

Oh, from myself deliver,
From all its misery;
I’d henceforth be forever
Completely filled with Thee.

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Lord, I'm really thankful that You gave us the book of Leviticus. 

A book that trains Your people to live for Your purpose and fulfil Your purpose. 

Make me maintain a kind of living that can fulfil Your purpose as well. 

Deal with my fallen nature so I can be preserved solely for You. 

Gain me, and gain the fellow saints, so that we can be a priesthood that delights You and realise Your will on the heavenlies to the earth. 

This is my prayer, my yearning, and my plea, Lord. 

the reality and being rich in experience

From collected works of Watchman Nee, The set 2 vol 36, central messages

"We believe that the Lord does not let go of anyone who commits himself into His hands. We believe that every trial is for enlarging and enriching us. Once a man passes through a trial, he becomes that much richer. Every time a man faces a distress, he knows God that much more. In this way, he becomes gradually qualified to supply God's children in the church".


Lord, thank You that whoever commits himself/herself into Your hands, You are enlarging and enriching us. We can thus be turned into supply for the church. Praise You!

Bring us into the full spiritual reality!

We experience Christ for the church by having a proper heart and a strong spirit so that Christ can make home in our heart to know Him!

Recently, the Lord exposed me that my heart is busy paying too much attention and considering too many things. And because our heart is a loving organ, I realised that I've been sharing my love on too many other things other than Christ. I had a real repentance. Therefore, my enjoyment in the previous weeks was that I needed to have an open heart that loves the Lord so that whatever befalls, I can still be for the Lord and not be led astray.

However, this week I realised that simply having an open heart and loving the Lord is good but not enough. We also need a strong spirit to advance our experience of Christ for the church.

Eph 3:16 That He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man,

Eph 3:17 Thay Christ may make His home in your heart through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 

When we have a strong spirit, we are strengthed into our inner man so that Christ may make His home in our heart through faith. Christ can only make His home in a strengthened, supplied, and fully possessed heart through faith, and by this, we can be rooted and grounded in love. Such faith and love are necessary for our experiencing Christ. In verse 17 ft 4, Faith enables to apprehend Christ, and love enables us to enjoy Him. Both faith and love are not ours but His. However, Christ making home in our heart to apprehend and enjoy Christ.

Eph 3:18 May be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are

This not only proves that Christ makes His home in our heart allows us to apprehend and enjoy Christ, but such apprehension and enjoyment of Christ also leads us toward a particular purpose- A genuine and prevailing recovery of God's people!

The Lord's recovery depends upon our renewed, purified heart and our renewed, strengthened spirit is thoroughly saturated with the Spirit, God will have a way, and the recovery will be prevailing. (2018 ITEROS HWMR- Week 4 The Heart and Spirit of a leading One- Outline point VIII)

Being holy in touching the things of God

In touching the things of God, we shall not be loose and must be careful. Lord, save us!


Leviticus 10:1-1

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in them and laid incense on it, and they presented strange fire before Jehovah, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from before Jehovah and consumed them, and they died before Jehovah.


"We should be burning for the Lord and hot; however, our hotness should not be natural but spiritual. We progress from being natural to being spiritual by taking the way of the cross. Whatever we are in the natural life should be crossed out. The natural man has already been crucified with Christ...


We all need to learn not to touch the holy things of God with the natural life. Not only should the things be right, but the way should also be right. It is not adequate simply to do the right thing. We must do the right thing in the right way. To offer strange fire to God is to do the right thing in the wrong way, and this brings in the judgment of death.


...we must mean business with God. In coming to Him and in touching His service and work, we must be serious...we must take care of God’s concern and not our own concern. Behaving in such a situation as though we have suffered no loss shows that we are under the headship of Christ." (Excerpts from Leviticus life-study message 33).