GROWTH

Scripture Reading: John 17:17

Tonight we will consider another matter before the Lord, but before doing this, we have to review what we have seen. We have seen that our experience has been a story of constant failures. We have seen also that the life that God has ordained is a life that is far higher than our current Christian experience. Third, we have seen that the overcoming life which God has given to us is Christ and that human ways, such as suppression, struggling, prayers, etc., are useless. Fourth, we have seen that there are five characteristics to the overcoming life, the most important of which is that this life is a matter of exchange and not change. Fifth, we have seen the conditions for experiencing this life. The two most basic conditions are (1) surrendering, which is to let go, and (2) believing. When God says that His grace is sufficient for us, it is sufficient for us. When God says that Christ is our life, He is our life. When God says that Christ is our holiness, He is our holiness. Sixth, we have seen what it means to let go. Seventh, we have seen that faith is the substantiation of what God has done. Eighth, we have seen that even though we have believed, our faith needs to be tested. Tonight, we will go on to consider another matter related to the overcoming life—the pathway to growth. After hearing the above points, you will surely ask, "After we have overcome, is our life on the highest plane, and is there no further progress from that point on?" I am going to speak tonight on what a person should do after he has overcome.
WHAT TO DO DAILY AFTER ONE HAS OVERCOME
Overcoming Besetting Sins

Many Christians have indeed overcome, and Christ is indeed their victory. But they do not know how to maintain this life, and they fail again very soon. The most immediate thing that a Christian should look forward to, expect, or hope for after his victory is God's deliverance from particular sins, that is, the sins which have bothered and hindered him continually. No Christian who has entered the overcoming experience should carry any particular sin with him. The Lord has saved us, and He is already our overcoming life. We can say, "Lord, I thank and praise You because Christ's victory has become my victory! Lord, I thank and praise You because Christ's holiness has become my holiness." It is Christ living for us. If a brother was previously bound by his temper, this temper should now go away. A brother might have been a doubting person, and his doubt may have troubled him much in the past. He might have been a talkative person, and his talkativeness may have been his frustration. A person might have been bound by any one of the eight kinds of sins mentioned before and been very bothered by it. Now he can expect God to drive these sins away. Once a person has overcome, he should say to God, "Lord, I look to You to put these sins behind me."

Many other problems related to sin have to be dealt with. For example, you might have offended others or offended the brothers. Now you have to apologize to them. Formerly, you did not have the strength to apologize; now you have the strength to do it. In the past, you might have been bound by something. Now Christ is living in you, and you are free. Hence, immediately after a brother or a sister enters the overcoming experience, he or she has to look to the Lord to remove his or her particular sin, that is, the recurring sin which has been entangling him or her all the time. If such a sin is allowed to remain, not only will others say that such a one has not yet overcome, but he also will begin to doubt his experience of victory. Before one receives the overcoming life, he has no strength to fight the battle. Now that he has received the overcoming life, he has the strength to fight. He has the faith and the power now, and he can fight the battle.

In Chefoo, a few Western sisters once came to ask me whether one still has to fight the battle after he has overcome. I answered, "The question is whether one fights to overcome or overcomes to fight. You can never fight to overcome, but it is right to overcome to fight. Therefore, the question is whether you go from battle to victory or from victory to battle." Many people struggle and strive to overcome, and the result is always failure. Victory can never be attained by our own striving. Victory comes from Christ and is absolutely something given by God. We have believed that the Lord is our holiness, perfection, and victory. Hence, everything else must now move out. Everything not planted by the Father will be plucked out.

I used an illustration once when I was talking to a brother. I asked: "Suppose you bought a piece of land and the seller made a contract with you. The contract specified the length and breadth of the land. When you went to claim the land, you found a few rascals trying to build a cottage on the land. What should you do? You should drive out the rascals based on the authority of your contract." This should be the same way with us in our battle over sin. We do not have to fight according to our own strength but according to the authority which God has given to us. It is true that the Bible tells us to fight, but it also tells us to fight with faith. It is true that the Bible says we should prevail over the enemy, but it also tells us that we should prevail over him by faith. It is true that the Bible says we should withstand the devil, but it also tells us to withstand him with the shield of faith.

Brothers and sisters, is our peculiar disposition something that comes from the life of Christ? Do our acute suspicion, excessive talkativeness, and tenacious sin come from the life of Christ? We know, of course, that they do not; these things are not from Christ. Since they are not from Christ, we can command them to go away. If we try to withstand them first and then overcome, we will surely be defeated. If we try to fight through to victory with our own strength, we will surely fail. But if we overcome first and then fight, and if we fight from the basis of victory, we will go from victory to victory. Therefore, the crucial issue is whether one fights to victory or fights from victory. Fighting from victory is saying, "Lord, I thank and praise You that You have overcome! Because You have overcome, I can drive all these sins from me." After a Christian has experienced the overcoming life, he should say, "Thank God. Since Christ is my life, these sins should not remain in me anymore. They should go away." Any besetting sin can be removed immediately. This is the real meaning of warfare. The sin that used to continually follow us can now be brushed away at one stroke. This is the meaning of victory.

Acknowledging That One Cannot Make It
and Accepting Christ as Everything

Second, our life should always be the same as it was on the first day we experienced the overcoming life. Every morning when we wake up, we should say to the Lord, "God, I am still weak and powerless before You. I have not changed; I am still the same. Nevertheless, I thank You because You are still my life, and You are still my holiness and my victory. I believe that You will live Your life out of me throughout the day. God, I thank You because everything is according to Your grace, and everything has already been accomplished by Your Son." There are, however, a few things that we should pay attention to.
TWO KINDS OF TEMPTATION
AND THE WAY TO DEAL WITH THEM

I told you before of the brother who rode home after the meeting on a bicycle and was knocked over on the street. Before he realized it, his temper came out. If there had been both the time and the opportunity for him to consider it, he might have had a chance to put his temper away. But the suddenness of the event did not allow him to think, and his temper burst out unexpectedly. Hence, there are two kinds of temptation that we face in our daily life. One kind does not give us a chance to deal with it; it comes suddenly. The other kind comes gradually; it comes in the way of gradual suggestions. One temptation does not give us time to think about it. The other temptation gives us time to think about it. We think gradual temptation is easy to overcome, while sudden temptation is hard to overcome. But brothers and sisters, after we have entered the experience of the overcoming life, we still have to say two prayers every morning when we rise up from our bed. If we neglect these two prayers, we will surely fail again.

The first prayer is to say to the Lord, "Deliver me from temptations. Do not let them come to me without me having a chance to think about them. Do not allow me to sin without having a chance to consider it." The Lord can deliver us from any temptation which we do not have a chance to think about. This is a very precious prayer, and it has saved many people.

Tonight I do not have the time to read the whole chapter of Romans 5. I can only mention it briefly. Romans 5:12-19 teaches us a few things. This passage tells us that our union with Christ is the same as our union with Adam. Just as we sinned through our union with Adam, we have righteousness through our union with Christ. Brothers and sisters, how many of us need to exercise our strength to lose our temper? There is no need to exercise our strength to lose our temper; our temper is aroused as soon as we are stirred up. We spontaneously lose our temper because we are joined to Adam. We sin without any determination on our part because we are joined to Adam; we do not have to exercise any strength to sin. But the life in Christ that God has promised is the same in principle as our union with Adam. We should tell the Lord, "Just as I was joined to Adam and I sinned without any forethought or determination, I am in Christ today. I can be patient without any forethought or determination on my part. I do not have to fight to become patient. Lord, there is no chance for me to think about the many things that will come upon me today. But I thank and praise You because my union with You is as strong as my union with Adam. When temptation comes to me today, You can express Your meekness, holiness, and victory through me even if the situation is too sudden for me to think about or withstand." If we take this stand before the Lord, we will overcome the first kind of temptation. Every day when we wake up, we should believe that God can deliver us from the temptations which we have no time to think about. Every morning we should believe in the life of Christ, and we will live out His victory spontaneously. Just as we lose our temper without thinking about it, we can dispel our temper without thinking about it as well. This all depends on our faith. As long as we have faith, all of God's facts will become our experience.

The second kind of temptation does not come suddenly; rather, it comes gradually. It lingers and repeatedly entices us. What should we do about this kind of temptation? We should not pay attention to it or fight it. Everything depends on the Lord Jesus. I am still the same as before; I am still weak, and I am still incapable of withstanding temptation. "Lord I cannot make it. Not only can I not make it, but I also will not try to make it. Lord, I cannot be patient, and I will not try to be patient. I could not make it in the past, and I cannot make it now. I thank and praise You that I cannot make it. Hallelujah! I cannot make it! Hallelujah! I have no way to deal with it!" At the same time we should lift up our heads, look to the Lord, and say to Him, "Lord, You can make it! You are not weak in me. You are strong in me. Lord, I thank and praise You because You are able! Hallelujah! You are able!" Brothers and sisters, if we take this stand, the temptations will go away. When we struggle and fight with temptations, it seems that they refuse to go away. But when we declare that we cannot make it and that God can make it, and when we boast in our weaknesses and glory in God's power, the temptations go away.

THE JUST LIVING BY FAITH

Some brothers have asked whether this means that we will no longer sin after we have experienced victory. My answer is that eventually we will realize everything in our practice. But in the mean time, there is still the possibility of sinning. According to the Bible, what kind of life should we live? The Bible shows us that the life of a Christian is a life of faith. "The righteous shall have life and live by faith." The righteous receive life by faith; this is the initial experience. The righteous also live by faith; this is the ongoing experience.

There are two worlds before us. One is the physical world, and the other is the spiritual world. When we exercise our physical organs, we are living in the physical world. But when we exercise our faith, we are living in the spiritual world. When we exercise our eyes to look at ourselves, we are still sinners; we are still unclean, proud, and no better than any other person in the world. But when we exercise faith to look at ourselves in Christ, we see that our temper and stubbornness are gone. Everything is gone. There are two worlds today, and every day we have to make a choice between them. Man has a mind, an emotion, and a will. Our will is free; therefore, we live in the world that we choose. If we live according to the senses of our physical organs in the physical world, we will substantiate the physical world. If we live by faith in the spiritual world, we will substantiate the spiritual world. In other words, when we exercise our senses, we live in Adam, but when we exercise our faith, we immediately live in Christ. We are always between these two things. When we live by our senses, we live in Adam, and when we live by faith, we live in Christ. When we live in Christ, everything in Christ will be our experience.

The Bible never teaches that sin can be eradicated. But once a believer has entered the overcoming life, according to the principle of God's work and according to His provision and His commandments, such a person should no longer sin. It is possible for us to express Christ every day, and it is possible for us to more than conquer every day. But the minute we live in our feelings and by our feelings, we will immediately fail. Brothers and sisters, we have to live by faith daily; only then can we substantiate everything in Christ.
BEING RECOVERED BY THE BLOOD
IMMEDIATELY AFTER FAILURE

What should we do if we fail accidentally? We should come immediately to God and put our sins under His blood. The very next moment, we can look to the Lord and say, "God, I thank and praise You because Your Son is still my life and my holiness. He will live out His overcoming life from within me." We can be recovered within a second. There is no need to wait for five minutes or an hour. God forgives and cleanses us, but we think that we should feel sorry for ourselves a little longer and suffer a little more punishment before we are thoroughly cleansed. This is just asking for trouble. We are living by our feelings and merely prolonging our ties to Adam for another hour or two.

Some may ask, "If a man still fails and needs the cleansing of the blood after he has entered the overcoming experience, is he not the same as those who never have the overcoming experience?" Brothers and sisters, there is a big difference. Before one overcomes, his life is a total failure. Occasionally he may overcome, but he fails habitually and repeatedly. However, after he has overcome, his life becomes a victorious life. If he fails, it is an occasional failure; on the whole, he overcomes continuously. There is a big difference between the two! Hallelujah! The difference is too great! Formerly, it was mostly failure and occasional victory. Now it is mostly victory and occasional failure. Before one overcomes, the failures are repetitious. Those who lose their temper always lose their temper. Those whose thoughts are unclean always have unclean thoughts. Those who are stubborn are always stubborn, those who are narrow-minded are always narrow-minded, and those who are jealous are always jealous. Every time one fails, he fails in the same things, and victory is rare. A person is habitually bound by his temper, pride, jealousy, or lying. After he goes through the overcoming experience, he will only fail occasionally, and when he fails, he will not commit the same sin over and over again. When he sins, it will be different than before.

Before a person overcomes, he will be at a loss as to what to do once he fails. He will not know how to recover his fellowship with God and how to receive God's light once again. He will feel that he is at the bottom of a long flight of stairs and will not know how to climb back up. After he has overcome, he may still fail occasionally, but within a few seconds, he will be recovered. He will immediately confess his sins and be cleansed. He can thank and praise the Lord at once, and Christ will live out His victory from within him once again. This is the great difference between overcoming and not overcoming.

THE PROPER DAILY RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST

I would like to bring to your attention 1 John 5:11-12, which says, "And this is the testimony, that God gave to us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life." Have you seen this? How is the overcoming life given to us? It is given to us in the Son. There is no way for us to receive the overcoming life except through the Son. He who has the Son of God has life, and he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. When God gives us His Son, He is not giving us just the prescription but the very Doctor Himself. God does not merely give us life; He is giving us this life in His Son. Having the overcoming life is not just a matter of receiving life; it is a matter of receiving the Son of God. Therefore, when our relationship with Christ is improper, problems develop. Once we doubt Christ's faithfulness and His promises, we will have problems within. God does not give us patience, meekness, or humility independently of Christ. He gives us patience, meekness, and humility in His Son. The minute we are not right with His Son, we lose our victory. This is why we need a proper relationship with Christ every day.

Every day we should say, "Lord, You are my Head, and I am Your member. Lord You are still my life, and You are still my holiness." If we turn our eyes to ourselves, we will find none of these things. But if our eyes are turned to Christ, we will have everything. This is faith. We cannot hold on to holiness, victory, patience, or humility apart from Christ. Once we have Christ, we have holiness, victory, patience, and humility. The Chinese have an expression: "As long as the green mountain remains, there is no fear of the shortage of firewood." God is not giving us "firewood"; He is giving us the "mountain." As long as the "mountain" is there, the "firewood" will be there. We believe that God's Son is living within us. The biggest reason for failure in many Christians is that they live by feelings and not by faith.

When we fail, it does not mean that everything we have experienced up to that point is void and invalid. It merely means that something has gone wrong in our believing. We should never think that a person needs to fail after he has overcome. Before we overcome we have to fail; God wants us to fail and fail miserably. But after we overcome, there is no need to fail! Even when we fail, such failures should only be occasional ones. When we are in Adam and we feel cold, callous, and unclean, it means that we are indeed cold, callous, and unclean. But when we are in Christ, we should tell ourselves that we have holiness and victory. Whatever we say we have, we will have.
GROWTH THROUGH SEEING THE TRUTH
AND RECEIVING GRACE

Finally, let us consider what growth means. We agree that we should still grow after we overcome. Some are too proud; they think that after they have overcome and are sanctified there is no need to go further. It may be true that we have overcome and have been sanctified, but we have to realize that entering into an experience is the same as passing through a gate. Without passing through a gate, we cannot walk on the way. We can only grow after we have overcome. We should realize that man has a free will; he is rational and he has feelings. When we overcome, we overcome only the sins that we know of; we cannot overcome the sins that we do not know. This is why there is the need of growth.

What is the one sin that you are aware of? Suppose you have a bad temper. If you have truly overcome in Christ, you will have the patience to overcome your temper, and you cannot grow any further as far as patience is concerned. Your patience is the ultimate patience because this patience is from Christ. This patience is the same patience that Christ had when He was living on earth during His thirty-three and a half years. If your patience is not a false patience and if this patience is the patience of Christ, you cannot be any more patient, because you have the patience of Christ.

We can only overcome the sins that we are aware of. There are, however, sins that we are not aware of, and these are not included in our experience of the victory of Christ. Consequently, we need John 17:17, which says, "Sanctify them in the truth." On the one hand, we have 1 Corinthians 1:30, which says, "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption." On the other hand, we have John 17:17 which says, "Sanctify them in the truth." Christ sanctifies us, and truth increases the measure of sanctification. Is there a brother that knows the whole Bible from the first day? No, we know it gradually. Truth tells us what is right and what is wrong. For example, two years ago, we might not have known that a certain thing is sin. Now we realize that it is sin. We might not have known two weeks ago that something is a sin, but today we realize that it is sin. Many things which we considered to be good and which we approved of before become sin to us later.

There is a difference between the past and the present because the more truth we know, the more sin we discover, and the more sin we discover, the more we need Christ to be our life. The greater the capacity we have, the more we need Christ. Daily we have to study God's Word carefully so that we will see what is sinful. The more we see our sins, the more we have to tell the Lord, "God, show me in these matters that Christ is my victory and my supply." Brothers and sisters, if we want to grow, the light of the truth is indispensable. The light of the truth will reveal our mistakes and show us our own vulnerability. Once the light of the truth exposes our condition, our capacity will be increased, and the more our capacity is increased, the more we can assimilate.

I like 2 Peter 3:18 very much. It says, "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." This is one of the few places in the Bible that speaks of growth. We grow in grace. What does growing in grace mean? No one grows into grace; we all grow in grace. We cannot grow into grace; we can only grow in grace.

What is grace? Grace is God doing something for us. For us to grow in grace means that we need God to do more things for us. Suppose God has done five things for me already. But there are still three things which God has to do for me. My need has increased; therefore, I need God to do more for me. Here lies the relationship between truth and grace: Truth exposes our need, while grace supplies our need. Truth shows us where our lack is, while grace fills up that lack. Hallelujah! God has not only truth but also grace! In the Old Testament, men failed repeatedly because they only had the truth; they did not have grace. They had the law, but they did not have the strength to keep the law. We thank and praise the Lord. "For the law was given through Moses; grace and reality came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). Thank the Lord that He has shown us the truth and supplied us with grace! Hallelujah!

I can say before God, "I am forever a beggar. I am forever a pauper. I have to come to You today, and I will come to You tomorrow and the day after." Thank God that I can ask of Him every day. I can ask of Him on Monday, and I can ask of Him on Tuesday. If we bother God this way and ask of Him in this way, He will say that we have grown in grace. The more we see our failures, the more we will ask of God. We will ask all the more for Him to take responsibility of our case. We will say, "Lord, I am still helpless. I still need You to bear my responsibility." Once we see that we have done something wrong, the first thing to do is say to God, "I confess my sins. (At such times, you must call sin by its proper name. You must call sin a sin.) God, I will not change myself anymore. I have learned one more lesson. I can never change, and I do not intend to change. God, I thank You because this is another chance to boast in my weakness! God, I thank You because You can make it! I thank You because You can remove my weakness." Brothers and sisters, every time we boast in our weakness, the power of Christ will tabernacle over us. Every time we say that we cannot make it, God will show us that He can make it. If we do this time after time, we will grow.

Tonight I will mention a few examples to show you the meaning of growth. There are many sins which we do not realize are sins. But once we know, we should say, "God, I have sinned! I need Christ to live out His life!" I can testify that once a man mistreated me and I said a few rash words to him. I knew that it was wrong to say rash words to others, but I argued that he was more wrong than I and that he had not apologized to me. I was only wrong a little. Should I have apologized to him instead? Yet God wanted me to do this. The person had offended me, but I had forgiven him and was no longer angry with him. Yet I still had to apologize. I thought I was doing quite good already, but I was still short of the standard of Matthew 5, which says that we have to love our enemies. If I could love that person, I would be able to love even a cat or a dog. I had written a letter acknowledging my rash words, but since I could not love him, I decided I would not send the letter. I decided that I would write another one when I could love him. I did not hate him, and I had forgiven him, but I could not love him. Only God could love him. God says that loving is the truth and not loving is sin. I wanted to overcome, and I wanted to fight with faith. I said to the Lord, "If You do not cause me to love him, I cannot love him." When I said that I could not love and that God is the only One who can love, I found myself loving him. On the one hand, the truth tells us that we should love. On the other hand, grace supplies us with the strength to love. Such dealings sometimes take a few seconds and sometimes take a few days.

Miss Fischbacher had a co-worker who always gave her a hard time. The co-worker would always come up with some ideas which made her suffer. If Miss Fischbacher said that there was such-and-such a thing, the co-worker would deny that there was such a thing. If Miss Fischbacher said that there was no such thing, the co-worker would argue that there was such a thing. It seemed as if she was always trying to show others that Miss Fischbacher was dishonest. Miss Fischbacher tried to endure this but could do nothing about her behavior. Every time Miss Fischbacher saw this person, she would either pat her shoulder or shake her hand as an outward sign of love. Outwardly everything seemed to be well, but inwardly it was not well. One day Miss Fischbacher read 1 Peter 1:22, which says, "Love one another from a pure heart fervently." She pondered and thought that it was impossible for her to love this person, much less to love her fervently. She told the Lord, "I cannot overcome in this matter. Lord, I have found that this is sin. You have said that we should love the brothers fervently, but I cannot do it. This certainly is sin." She asked God to remove this sin from her. She did not hate that person, and she had spent time with her, but it was difficult for her to love this person. Every time she saw this person, she tried her best to love her, but it never worked. One day she locked herself in her room and prayed to God, saying, "I should love her, but I cannot love her. This is a sin. I will not let You go today until I can love this person." She prayed for three hours. In the end, the Lord's love filled her up, and she felt that she could even die for this person. She not only loved her but also loved her fervently. Because she loved her fervently, she prayed for her the whole night. The next day after her routine work, she prayed for the person again. She not only had the experience of victory but also the experience of power. This is the meaning of the truth sanctifying us. This is the meaning of growing in grace. The truth enables us to see what sin is, and grace supplies us with the strength to overcome the sin. Once we find out what sin is, we will not let go until we overcome. This is the way we grow in grace day by day.

There were once three British sisters. One was engaged, while the other two had decided to remain single. All three were working for the Lord in inland China. The sister who was engaged was the most unhappy one. Although her fiancé wrote often to comfort her, she was continually depressed. One day while she was feeling lonely in her room, she wept. The other two sisters asked, "Why are you feeling lonely? You have a fiancé who always writes to you! It should be the two of us who feel lonely." After the two said this, they went back to their rooms and suddenly felt lonely as well. They thought about their work in the inland regions and their strange food and uncomfortable dwelling. How lonely this was! Indeed, sin is infectious. While they were feeling sorry for themselves, they recalled the Lord's Word, "And behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age" (Matt. 28:20). They also recalled Psalm 16:11 which says, "In Your presence is fullness of joy;/At Your right hand there are pleasures forever." They told the Lord, "Loneliness is a sin. You have said that You will be with us until the consummation of the age; therefore, we say that loneliness is a sin. You have said that in Your presence there is fullness of joy, and at Your right hand there are pleasures forever; therefore, we say that loneliness is a sin." They both knelt down and prayed, "Lord, we acknowledge that loneliness is a sin." From the time that they dealt with their loneliness in such a specific way, their loneliness never came back to them. Hallelujah! Loneliness never came back to them.

Brothers and sisters, we can discover new sins every day, and we can find new failures every day. Yet at the same time, there is the fresh supply of grace. "For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace" (John 1:16). We have received it once, and we are receiving it again and again.

A sister worked in India, and she had many anxieties. One day she read Philippians 4:6, which says, "In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." She saw that anxiety was a sin and that failing to give thanks was also a sin. Brothers and sisters, once we see a sin, we have to confess it before the Lord and also acknowledge that the Lord is living within us. This is the meaning of growth.

Our victory in Christ is absolute in nature; there is no room for improvement. However, the sphere of our overcoming is ever expanding. Each person receives a different degree of light from the Lord. The more light that a man receives, the more he advances, and the less light that a man receives, the less he advances. The more a person knows about sin, the more he receives the supply from God, and the less a person receives light from God, the less he receives the supply from God. Brothers and sisters, we have to know the relationship that truth and grace have with us. I hope that we would all say to God daily, "Lord, I cannot make it, and I do not intend to make it. Lord, I thank and praise You that I cannot make it." Every day we have to pray to God to give us light and grace. We may fail accidentally, but we can be recovered within a second. If we do this day by day, our growth will be beyond anyone's expectation because it will be the work of Christ alone. Hallelujah, this is full salvation! Hallelujah, He is leading us on! Hallelujah, Satan can do nothing about us! Hallelujah, Christ has overcome!

CONSECRATION

Scripture Reading: 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Rom. 6:13, 16; 12:1-2; 6:19, 22

Tonight is the last evening of our conference on "The Overcoming Life." There is one thing that we have to mention tonight. The previous messages would not take us very far if we only stopped at last night's message. However, we could not have addressed tonight's subject earlier, because it would not have been right to do so. However, tonight, we have to speak on the matter of consecration.

The first thing we have to do after we have experienced the overcoming life is to consecrate ourselves. Of course, this should be the first thing that a person does after he is saved. However, many people have never consecrated themselves even though they are saved. Therefore, after they have entered into the experience of the overcoming life, they have to consecrate themselves. There are some who consecrated themselves to the Lord after they were saved. However, they have risen and fallen throughout the years, and they are not as fresh as they once were. Therefore, they also need to consecrate themselves. I dare not say that consecration is the first step or first expression of our overcoming. I can say only that since the Lord died for us and lives for us, the first thing we should do after we overcome is consecrate ourselves.

Some have said that we should consecrate ourselves before we overcome and that we must consecrate before we can overcome. However, Romans 6:13 says, "Neither present your members as weapons of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as alive from the dead, and your members as weapons of righteousness to God." This shows us that consecration comes after experiencing the overcoming life. This is an obvious fact: A person cannot consecrate himself before he experiences death and resurrection. Only those who have died and resurrected can consecrate themselves. During the past few days, we have been speaking of our crucifixion with Christ and of His living within us. We are those who have died with Christ and who are living with Him. Hence, from Romans 6:13, we see that a Christian consecrates himself after he has experienced the overcoming life. If a person has not experienced the overcoming life, he cannot consecrate himself, and even if he did, God would not accept his consecration, because He does not want anything that is related to Adam or death.

If we have not experienced the overcoming life, our consecration is not reliable. Today we may consecrate ourselves and tomorrow we may forget about it. Today we may make a vow before the Lord, telling the Lord that we will do this and do that, but tomorrow we may forget all about it. There was a missionary who attended seven Keswick Conventions. She said that attending the Keswick Convention every year was like winding up the spring inside a watch. The watch would slow down, and she would wind it up again. Every year she went for a "winding up," and every year she found herself slowing down again. This is the way with many Christians. They make big promises before God, but when they go away, everything is forgotten. This is why I say that we cannot consecrate ourselves. We do not have the strength to consecrate ourselves.

If we have not experienced the overcoming life, God will not receive our consecration even if we do consecrate ourselves, because everything we have is from Adam and is dead. We say "thank you" to the unbelievers and refuse to accept their gifts. The same is true with God; He cannot accept our gifts. Only that which is from the Lord can be consecrated to the Lord. Anything that comes from ourselves cannot be consecrated to the Lord.

We must realize that the first thing we should do after experiencing the overcoming life is consecrate ourselves to the Lord. Now is the time to consecrate ourselves to the Lord. Now there is an opportunity to consecrate ourselves to the Lord. If we do not consecrate ourselves now, we will draw back, and we will fail again in a few days

THE BASIS AND MOTIVE OF CONSECRATION

Consecration is spoken of not only in Romans 6 but also in Romans 12. Why do we have to consecrate ourselves? Paul exhorted us through the compassions of God. What are God's compassions, and what are God's mercies? Romans 1 through 8 speaks of God's compassions and mercies. Doctrinally speaking, chapter twelve immediately follows chapter eight. God's compassions and mercies are covered in the first eight chapters. Formerly we were sinners, and God's Son came to shed His blood for our sins. Chapters three and four are on the blood; chapter five is on forgiveness, while chapters six through eight are on the cross. On the one hand, the blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins; through the blood we are forgiven. On the other hand, the cross is for the crucifixion of the old man; through the cross we are released. Thank the Lord that He was crucified on the cross to die in our place and He is now also living in our place. Based on these compassions and mercies, we are exhorted to consecrate ourselves to God.

Brothers and sisters, God created us with a purpose, and He also saved us with a purpose. God's intention is that we express the life of His Son and partake of the glory of His Son. In eternity past God had a purpose; He did not want just an only begotten Son, but many sons. Hence, Romans 8:29 says, "Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers." God predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son. Then He bought us and redeemed us so that He could gain us. He gains us in two ways. On God's side, He sent His Son to die for us and to redeem us. As far as our redemption is concerned, we are His slaves. Thank God that He has bought us! We are those who have been purchased by God. God said to Abraham, "And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed" (Gen. 17:12). Hallelujah! We have been begotten of God, and we have been bought by God.

We have been bought by God, and we belong to God. Yet He allows us to go free. As far as His sovereign right is concerned and as far as redemption is concerned, we belong to God, but He does not force us to do anything. If we want to serve mammon, He allows us to go, and if we want to serve the world, He does not stop us. If we want to serve our bellies, God does not stop us, and if we want to serve idols, He allows us to do so. God does not make any move; He waits until one day we say, "God, I am Your slave not only because You bought me, but also because I want to be Your slave willingly." Romans 6:16 speaks of a most precious principle of consecration. Please remember that we are not God's slaves merely because of the fact that He purchased us. "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, his slaves you are whom you obey?" On the one hand, we are His slaves because He has purchased us, but on the other hand, we are His slaves because we want to be such voluntarily. Brothers and sisters, as far as the law is concerned, we became His slaves the day that we were redeemed. But as far as our experience is concerned, we become His slaves only after we consecrate ourselves. As far as God's sovereign right is concerned, we became His slaves on the day we were redeemed. But as far as experience is concerned, we become His slaves the day we willingly tell the Lord, "I consecrate myself to You." "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, his slaves you are whom you obey?" (v. 16). Therefore, no one can be God's servant without being conscious of it. We have to consecrate ourselves before we can be His slaves. This consecration is a matter of our own voluntary choice. God does not force us, nor does Paul force us. He exhorted us and beseeched us. God will not force us at all. He wants us to willingly consecrate ourselves to Him.

Brothers and sisters, the overcoming life has much to do with salvation. When we were saved, we spontaneously had the desire to consecrate ourselves. The life we received compels us to consecrate ourselves. Every saved person has the feeling that he should live for the Lord, yet he does not have the strength to do so. Many things ensnare and frustrate him from living for the Lord. But thank God that He has given Christ to us so that we can consecrate ourselves to Him. When we were dead in sin, we could not consecrate ourselves to Him. If we continue to live in sin after we are saved, we still cannot consecrate ourselves to Him. But now that Christ has become our life and our holiness, we can willingly consecrate ourselves to God.

Mr. Panton once told about a black slave girl who was about to be auctioned. Two men were bidding for her, and the price was going up. Both of them were evil men, and the slave girl knew that she would suffer no matter whose hand she fell into. She wept and grieved. Suddenly another man showed up and joined the bidding. The first two men could not offer as much as the third one, and the girl was eventually bought by him. Immediately, he called in a blacksmith and broke her chains and declared that she was free, saying, "I did not buy you to be my slave. I bought you to free you." At that word, he walked away. The girl was bewildered. After two minutes she came to her senses, and she ran up to the man and said, "From this day forward until the day I die, I will be your slave." Brothers and sisters, this is the love of the Lord towards us. We are constrained by this love to tell Him, "From this day forward, I will be Your slave." Brothers and sisters, God has bought us, crucified us, and raised us up. Since we have tasted of His compassions and mercies, we should consecrate ourselves to Him.

Romans 6 tells us to consecrate ourselves, that is, our members to God, while Romans 12 tells us to consecrate our bodies to Him. These two consecrations include many things. During the past eleven days, we spoke about letting go and believing, and we pointed out that we will meet God's requirement and live out His life when we do these things. God's requirement is that we consecrate ourselves absolutely to Him. This requirement is an all-inclusive requirement. But we cannot do it by ourselves; we can only do it by the Christ who lives within us. Formerly we could not do it, but we can do it now because of Christ. We have received His mercies; therefore, we can consecrate ourselves.

When a Hebrew man bought a slave, the slave had to serve the master for six years. In the seventh year, the slave could go free. However, if he said that he loved his master and would not go out free, the master would bring him to the judges and the doorpost and bore his ear through with an awl. Then the slave would serve his master forever (Exo. 21:2-6). Brothers and sisters, God has saved us and bought us with the blood. He did not purchase us with corruptible gold but with the precious blood of His Son. Many Christians feel that they have to serve God for their conscience's sake. But when we see the Lord's preciousness, we will voluntarily and willingly consecrate ourselves to Him. When we tell the Lord that we are willing to be His slave, He will take us to the door and the doorpost, and He will bore our ear through with an awl. The doorpost is the place where the blood of the Passover lamb was applied. Today we are being led to bleed there as well; we are being led to the cross as well. We love the Lord and choose to be His slave forever. Because we know that He loves us, we are willing to serve Him forever. We have no choice but to declare, "Lord, You have loved me and saved me and released me! Lord, I love You and cannot help but serve You forever!"

THINGS TO CONSECRATE

People

The first thing we should consecrate are the people we love. If a man does not love the Lord more than his parents, wife, children, and friends, he is not worthy to be the Lord's disciple. If you have consecrated yourself to the Lord, there should be no one in this world that can occupy your heart and nothing that can capture your heart any longer. God saves you in order to gain you wholly. Many tears pull you back. Many human sentiments bid you to return to them. Many heartbreaks persuade you to turn back. You have to say, "Lord, all my relationships with men are on the altar. My relationship with the whole world is over."

When the wife of a brother was sick, and others asked him to pray for his wife, he said, "God has not told me to pray for her yet!" When another asked whether he would grieve if his wife died, he said, "She has died to me already." Another brother had a good friend, and God wanted him to drop this friend. He could only obey. He told the Lord, "If You want this, I am willing to give it up."

God has given Christ to us as our overcoming life so that we would not only know His will but also obey it. We must never think that the overcoming life only delivers us from sin on the negative side. The real overcoming life enables us to fellowship with God and to obey His will on the positive side. God gives us His overcoming life so that we can meet His goal, not so that He can meet our goal. No Christian can hold on to any person. Tonight if the people we love are not consecrated, we cannot satisfy God. The people have to go. We must say, "Whom do I have in heaven but You?/And besides You there is nothing I desire on earth" (Psa. 73:25). We must say, "I will serve the Lord my God with all my heart, all my mind, and all my soul."

I loved Miss M.E. Barber because she was a person who truly loved the Lord with all her heart, all her mind, and all her soul. After she died, I found the following note in her Bible next to the verse, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matt. 22:37): "Lord, I thank You that there is such a commandment." We often think that it is a grievous thing that God has so many commandments. But we should say, "Lord, I thank You that there is such a commandment."

Even if the Lord has given someone to you, He will not allow you to be attached to him or her. He will not allow you to be attached to your wife, your children, or your friends. Even the Isaac that God promised had to be put on the altar. Many Christians have failed because their hearts are captured by people.
Affairs

We have to consecrate not only people but also affairs. We often make up our mind to do many things and are determined to accomplish them. But we have not sought after God's will in these affairs. A brother was determined to make the top grade on his graduation examination and to rank at the top in his college class. All of his time and energy were spent on his studies. After he entered the overcoming experience, he committed this matter to God. From that time on, he was willing to follow God even if it meant coming in last on his examination.

Brothers and sisters, you may feel justified in putting all your time into your career, but if you do not have an intimate fellowship with the Lord, your career will not profit anything. You cherish some hope for your career and are not willing to let it go. You have some kind of expectation in your job which you are willing to fulfill by any means. If you act in this way, you have to consecrate yourself. You cannot allow one thing to entangle you. There are many brothers and sisters whose pursuit of education becomes their hope; they hope to excel above others. This is a hope mixed with pride. I am not saying that you should drop out of school, but I am saying that you should leave everything behind if the Lord calls you.

There was a brother who was an orphan, who grew up in a poor family. He drew beautiful calligraphy and was also very good at music. In the orphanage, while others were learning woodcraft and masonry, he was able to enter high school. He received awards every term. After he finished two years of college, the school decided to send him to St. John's College in Shanghai for two years and then to America on the condition that he come back after his study abroad to serve his school. Both his mother and uncle wrote letters to congratulate him. Two months before he was scheduled to leave, he was saved, and many of his former hopes were shattered. At the same time, he consecrated himself to the Lord. I asked him what he wanted to do. He said he had made up his mind to go and was ready to sign the agreement. He told me, "You have been my classmate for eight years. Have you not known of my aspirations all along?" When we were about to part, I said, "Today, we are still brothers. But I fear that when you come back from America, you will no longer be my brother." At that word he went to the Lord and prayed, "God, You know my aspirations. I know that You have called me, but I cannot drop my aspirations. However, if it is Your desire, I am willing to go to the villages to preach the gospel." After his prayer, he went to the principal and told him that he had decided not to sign the agreement and would no longer be going. The principal asked whether he was sick, and he answered, "The Lord has called me to preach the gospel for Him." Four days later, his uncle, cousins, and mother came. The mother said in tears, "Since your father died, I have struggled all these years with the hope that you would one day come out ahead of others to support me. Today you have a chance, yet you are throwing it away." The mother kept crying, while the uncle went on to say, "Before you entered this orphanage, I was the one who raised you. I also took care of your mother. Now you owe this to both of us. Your cousins do not even have the money to go to school, and yet you want to throw away this great opportunity." They also came to me and said, "Mr. Nee, you do not need to support your parents, but he will have to support us." Our brother was pressed on both sides. He asked the Lord what he should do. Then he realized that he owed men but little, but that he owed the Lord much more. He promised to support his mother and uncle, but he also told them that he could not satisfy their aspirations and had to obey the Lord.

Brothers and sisters, we all should consecrate our affairs to the Lord. I am not saying that all of us have to give ourselves to be preachers. I am saying that all of us have to consecrate everything to the Lord. What is consecration? What does it mean to offer ourselves up? It is to declare, "Lord, I will do Your will." Many people think that consecration is offering up oneself to be a preacher. No, we consecrate ourselves to do God's will. Many people realize through a genuine consecration that they should be faithful in their business and supply the need of God's work. As a result they give up their preaching work. Many others are motivated by the present needs and the needs in frontier lands to devote themselves to the preaching work. During the past few years, we have been short of co-workers. If God is to work among us, many brothers and sisters will give themselves to serve the Lord full-time in the near future. They will find that they must consecrate all of their affairs to the Lord.

Objects

We have to consecrate not only people and affairs but also all objects. There are people who have to consecrate their jewelry. Others may have houses or clothing they have to consecrate. Some may only have a very small thing to consecrate, but they cannot allow this small thing to become a hindrance to them. Some may be holding back a few gold rings or some pearl ornaments. There is nothing legal about this, but if we want to live a consecrated life, gold ornaments probably have to go, fashionable clothes have to go, and perhaps our money has to go. Many people have been squandering their money and are not pleasing the Lord. Many others have been saving their money and likewise are not pleasing the Lord. Squandering has no place in the eyes of the Lord, just as saving has no place in His eyes. We should not spend our money all at once; we should transfer it to the Lord's account. In the New Testament, nothing is said about tithing a tenth of what we have; the only thing that is spoken of is putting everything in the Lord's hand. The first day we take home our wages, we should tell the Lord, "God, all of this money is Yours. Give me back what I need for my household expenses." It is not a question of using a certain amount and then saving the rest for God. I dare not say that God will or will not take all you have at times. But I would say that if we have truly consecrated everything to God, what is consecrated belongs to God.

Many brothers and sisters have furnishings in their homes, clothes in their closets, or possessions in their hands that are unbecoming of God's children. Once the Lord touches these things, we have to consecrate them. We have a few elderly brothers and sisters with us today. You have to be careful how you write your will. Whatever you write will show the kind of Christian that you are. God has saved us. Since all of our money belongs to God, we should not put the money back into the world. If we plan for our children and allow them to take our money back to the world, we are not doing the right thing. God has separated us and our possessions from the world. We should not allow them to go back to the world. When the Israelites left Egypt, they did not leave one animal in Egypt. The same should be true with us. Of course, we cannot do this, but thank God that everything is possible with Him. Philippians 4:13 says, "I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me." This means that as soon as the Lord energizes us, we can do all things. It is impossible for us to offer up all things, but we can do it by the One who empowers us. Since Christ is our life, we can do it.

Many young brothers and sisters can consecrate what they have when they do not have that much. When they become richer, their offerings become less. If the Lord gains our heart, He should gain our wallet as well. If the heart closes up, it means that the wallet is closed up. If the wallet is not open, the heart can never be opened.
Ourselves

We should consecrate people, affairs, and objects, but the last thing we should consecrate is ourselves. We have to consecrate ourselves to God. We should say, "God, I consecrate myself to You to do Your will." Brothers and sisters, we do not know what lies ahead of us. But we know that God has a will for every one of us. It may not be blessings, and it may not be sufferings. But we have to consecrate ourselves to His will. We should be willing to accept His will, whether it comes with blessing or suffering. Many people are willing to be used by God; they are filled with the Spirit and live the overcoming life continuously because they have consecrated themselves to the Lord.

What kind of consecration is this? It is a consecration in which we present our bodies as a living sacrifice. The Bible never speaks of the consecration of the heart; it only speaks of the consecration of the body. No one who has consecrated himself can leave his body unconsecrated. We have consecrated our whole being to the Lord. Henceforth, our mouth is not our own. Our ears are not our own, and our eyes, hands, feet, and even bodies are not our own. From now on we are merely the Lord's managers. From now on our feet are the Lord's, and we cannot use them for ourselves any longer. When a young man died, his old father charged the pallbearers to be very careful, because that body had served as the Lord's temple for twenty years. However, we should not wait until we have died for our bodies to be consecrated to the Lord. Today the Holy Spirit is already living in us. First Corinthians 6:19 says, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" One hymn says, "Let my hands perform His bidding;/Let my feet run in His ways./...All for Jesus! All for Jesus!/Let my lips speak forth His praise" (Hymns, #444). This is the meaning of consecration. This is what it means to consecrate our body. No one should say that his body is his own. Every single day of our life is for the Lord, and our whole body is for the Lord; we are merely His managers.

Once in another country, someone was passing the offering plate on a Sunday morning. When the plate came to a thirteen-year-old girl, she repeatedly asked that the plate be lowered. When the plate was lowered to the ground, she stepped onto the plate. She had no money, and therefore, she decided to offer herself up.

Today we should not only consecrate people, affairs, and objects to the Lord but also consecrate ourselves to Him. Every Lord's Day when we put the money into the offering box, we should put ourselves into it as well. When we hold ourselves back, God does not want our money. God will not have "ours" unless He first has "us." God must have us first before He will have ours. There are many people who will consecrate themselves to the Lord, and the Lord will not necessarily ask them to be preachers. He may want some to be good businessmen. Every corner in this world needs light, and we cannot choose our own work. We should say to the Lord, "From now on I resolve to do Your will."

THE RESULT OF CONSECRATION

What is the result of consecration? The first result is described in Romans 6, and the second result is described in Romans 12. Many people do not know the difference between the two. Actually, there is a great difference. The consecration in Romans 6 is for one's own benefit; it is to bear the fruit of righteousness. The consecration in Romans 12 is for God's benefit; it is for the accomplishment of God's will. The result of consecration in Romans 6 is deliverance from sin to be a slave of God in order to bear fruit unto sanctification. This is what it means to live out the overcoming life day by day. The result of the consecration in Romans 12 is not just God's pleasure but the proving of God's good, well-pleasing, and perfect will.

Brothers and sisters, it is not enough just to let go, believe, and praise. There is one final matter: We have to put ourselves in the hand of the Lord before He can express His holiness through us. We did not have the strength to consecrate ourselves in the past. But after entering the overcoming experience, we can consecrate ourselves. Please remember that we were not able to put ourselves in God's hand in the past. Now it is no longer a question of being able or not being able; it is a question of being willing or not being willing to put ourselves in His hand. Formerly, it was a question of inability. Now it is a question of unwillingness.

There was a brother in Australia who had consecrated himself fully to the Lord. When he was on a train, a few friends decided to have a card game. Three people were present, and they were short one person, so they invited him to join in. He answered, "Sorry, friends. I do not have my hands with me. These hands are not mine but Another's. They are merely placed on my body. I dare not use them."

From now on our hands, feet, and mouths belong to the Lord. We dare not use them ourselves. Every time temptations come, we have to say that we do not have our hands with us. This is the consecration of Romans 6. When we consecrate ourselves this way, we will be sanctified and bear the fruit of sanctification. Hence, consecrating ourselves is the first thing we should do after the overcoming experience, and it is also the firstfruit of the overcoming experience.

The consecration in Romans 12 is something for God. It says that we should present our bodies a living sacrifice to God. It also says that such a consecration is holy and well pleasing to Him. Hence, we have to remember that the consecration in chapter twelve has the goal of serving God.

Chapter six is for personal sanctification, while chapter twelve is for the work. Chapter six speaks of consecration, and it also speaks of sanctification and the fruit of sanctification. Chapter twelve also speaks of holiness or being holy. What is sanctification, and what is holiness? Being sanctified or being holy means to be separated unto a certain person for his own use. Formerly we were affected by many objects, people, and affairs. Formerly, we were living for ourselves. Now we are living for God alone.

Once I was coming back home from Hsiao-feng Park. I was about to board a bus but the driver told me to get off. When I looked carefully, I found that it was not an ordinary bus, but a chartered bus. Every Christian should be a "chartered" person. Unfortunately, many Christians are "public" Christians. However, we are not public, but "chartered," fully reserved for God's will and separated. Romans 12 shows us that our jobs, husbands, children, money, and treasures are all for God alone; they are reserved for God's use. When we are for God alone, and when we present ourselves to God alone, we should believe that God has accepted us because this is what God is after. God's goal is not that we would be zealous for a little while. If a man does not consecrate himself to the Lord, He will not be satisfied. Unless a man consecrates himself fully to the Lord, God is not satisfied. God is not satisfied until man anoints the Lord with the ointment. He is not satisfied until we cast all the living that we have into the box (Luke 21:4). Everything has to be offered up to Him.

Brothers and sisters, thank God that we are raised from the dead. We have received mercy from God. This consecration is well pleasing to God, and it is reasonable. Every Christian should consecrate himself; it is wrong to assume that only special Christians should consecrate themselves. His blood has purchased us, and we are His. His love has constrained us, and we live for Him.

Please note the kind of consecration that is spoken of here. We are living stones. Although we consecrate ourselves, we remain living. We are living sacrifices. The sacrifices in the Old Testament were killed by the knife, but we are living sacrifices.

The result of the presenting is in Romans 12:2. "Do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect." This is our ultimate goal today. During the January conference of last year, we saw that God has an eternal purpose, which is accomplished through His Son. God created everything through Him for this purpose. Redemption is for this purpose, the defeat of Satan is for this purpose, and the salvation of sinners is for this purpose. We have to know God's eternal purpose before we can accomplish what God wants us to accomplish. We are not here merely for the salvation of sinners; we are here for the accomplishment of God's eternal purpose. Every kind of work must be linked up with God's eternal purpose.

If we do not consecrate ourselves, we will never realize that this will is good. Today many people are afraid of the very words, "God's purpose"; many people feel uneasy about these words. Christians are afraid of hearing about God's will. However, Paul said that after a man has presented his body, he will prove what is God's good, well-pleasing, and perfect will. We can sing about the goodness of God's will! We can say hallelujah because of the goodness of God's will! God's will is good and not malicious. His will is for our profit and without malice. We are too short-sighted. God's will is good. A brother once prayed a very good prayer: "When we asked for bread, we thought that You would give us a stone, and when we asked for fish, we thought that You would give us a serpent. When we asked for eggs, we thought that You would give us a scorpion. But when we asked for stones, You gave us bread!" We often do not understand God's love. We do not understand His will. We do not realize that His thoughts toward us are good and excellent. We may complain about many things when they come upon us, but after a couple of years, we have to praise Him for these things. Why should we not praise Him today instead?

God's will is not only good but also perfect. All of God's will toward those who love Him is profitable. If we know this, we will not reject His will. Presenting our bodies to Him is holy and well pleasing to Him. Moreover, we will find His will well-pleasing to us and find that His will is good and perfect.

Tonight is the last meeting, and I will ask you to do one final thing, that is, to say to the Lord, "God, I am wholly Yours. From now on, I will not live for myself."

Brothers and sisters, we have seen all of the conditions for overcoming, and they are behind us now. Consecration is the last item in the overcoming life; it is also the first thing that we should do after experiencing the overcoming life. Once we have consecrated ourselves, we should believe that God has accepted our consecration. Once we have consecrated ourselves, we will become a consecrated person. We may feel hot or we may feel cold, but as long as we have truly consecrated ourselves to God in our heart, everything will be all right. I say this in order to help us not live according to our feelings. In Chefoo a brother consecrated himself to the Lord, but he felt that something was wrong between him and the Lord. He thought he had to consecrate himself again. I told him that after a girl is married and finds that she is at odds with her husband one day, she does not remarry her husband again. Even if there is something wrong between the Lord and us, we can only consecrate ourselves once. From that point on, we belong to the Lord, and we can only be for His use.

TRUE LOVE

Sejak semula, keluarga dari si gadis tidak menyetujui hubungannya dengan sang pemuda.

Mereka mengajukan alasan mengenai latar belakang keluarga, bahwa jika si gadis memaksa terus bersama dengan sang pemuda, dia akan menderita seumur hidupnya…..

Karena tekanan dari keluarganya, si gadis jadi sering bertengkar dengan pacarnya. Gadis itu benar2 mencintainya, dan dia terus-menerus bertanya, “Seberapa besar kamu mencintaiku?”

Sang pemuda tdk begitu pandai berbicara, dia selalu membuat si gadis marah. Dan komentar-komentar dari orangtuanya membuatnya bertambah kesal.

Sang pemuda selalu menjadi sasaran pelampiasan kemarahannya. Dan sang pemuda selalu membiarkannya melampiaskan kemarahannya kepadanya (wanita)….

Setelah beberapa saat, sang pemuda lulus dari perguruan tinggi. Ia bermaksud meneruskan kuliahnya ke luar negeri, tapi sebelum dia pergi, dia melamar gadisnya,
“Saya tidak tahu bagaimana mengucapkan kata2 manis, tapi saya tahu bahwa saya mencintaimu. Jika kamu setuju, saya ingin menjagamu seumur hidupmu. Mengenai keluargamu, saya akan berusaha keras untuk meyakinkan mereka agar menyetujui hubungan kita. Maukah kamu menikah denganku?”
Si gadis setuju, dan keluarganya setelah melihat usaha dari sang pemuda, akhirnya merestui hubungan mereka. Sebelum pemuda itu berangkat, mereka bertunangan terlebih dahulu. Si gadis tetap tinggal di kampung halaman dan bekerja, sementara sang pemuda meneruskan kuliahnya di LN…..

Mereka melanjutkan hubungan mereka melalui surat dan telepon.
Kadang-kadang timbul kesulitan, tapi mereka tidak menyerah terhadap keadaan.

Suatu hari, dalam perjalanan ke tempat perhentian bis sepulang dari kerja, si gadis tertabrak mobil hingga tak sadarkan diri. Ketika siuman, dia melihat
kedua orangtuanya dan menyadari betapa beruntungnya dia dapat selamat.

Melihat air mata orangtuanya, dia berusaha untuk menghibur mereka.
Tetapi dia menemukan… bahwa dia tidak dapat berbicara sama sekali.
Dia bisu….. Menurut dokter kecelakaan tersebut > telah mencederai otaknya, dan itu menyebabkannya bisu seumur hidupnya. Mendengar orangtuanya membujuknya, tapi tidak dapat menjawab sepatah kata pun, gadis tersebut pingsan… Sepanjang hari hanya dapat menangis dan membisu…

Ketika akhirnya dia boleh pulang dari RS, dia mendapati rumahnya masih seperti sedia kala. Hanya jika telepon berdering, dia menjadi pilu.
Dering telepon telah menjadi mimpi terburuknya. Dia tidak dapat memberitakan kabar buruk tersebut kepada pacarnya dan menjadi bebannya.

Dia menulis sepucuk surat untuknya, memberitahukan bahwa dia tdk mau lagi menunggu nya. Hubungan antara mereka sudah putus, bahkan dia mengembalikan cincin pertunangan mereka. Mendapat surat dan telepon dari si pemuda, dia hanya bisa menitikkan air mata… Ayahnya tidak tahan melihat penderitaannya, dan memutuskan untuk pindah. Berharap bahwa dia dapat melupakan segalanya dan menjadi lebih bahagia…

Pindah ke tempat baru, si gadis mulai belajar bahasa isyarat. Dia berusaha melupakan sang pemuda… Suatu hari sahabatnya memberitahukan bahwa pemuda itu telah kembali dan mencarinya ke mana-mana. Dia meminta sahabatnya untuk tidak memberitahukan di mana dia berada dan menyuruh pemuda tsb. untuk melupakannya….
Lebih dari setahun, tidak terdengar lagi kabar pemuda itu sampai akhirnya sahabat si gadis menyampaikan bahwa sang pemuda akan menikah dan menyerahkan surat undangan. Dia membuka surat undangan itu dengan hati pedih, dan menemukan namanya tercantum dlm undangan. Sebelum dia sempat bertanya kepada sahabatnya, tiba-tiba sang pemuda muncul di hadapannya. Dengan bahasa isyarat yang kaku, ia menyampaikan bahwa….
Aku telah menghabiskan waktu lebih dari setahun untuk mempelajari bahasa isyarat, agar dapat memberitahukan kepadamu bahwa aku belum melupakan janji kita, berikan aku kesempatan, biarkan aku menjadi suaramu.
“I L O V E Y O U”

Melihat bahasa isyarat tersebut, dan cincin pertunangannya…. Si gadis akhirnya tersenyum bahagia.

Perlakukan setiap cinta seakan cinta terakhirmu…
dan baru kamu akan belajar cara memberi…..

Perlakukan setiap hari seakan hari terakhirmu…..
dan baru kamu akan belajar cara menghargai……

Jangan pernah menyerah.

Keindahan Persahabatan dan percintaan adalah bahwa kamu tahu kepada siapa kamu dapat
mempercayakan rahasiamu…

Jangan biarkan selisih paham merusak indahnya persahabatan/percintaan…

Ingatlah bahwa kasih yang paling indah dan sukses yang terbesar, mengandung banyak resiko…

Yakinlah pada dirimu ketika kamu berkata: “Aku mencintaimu…”

“When loving someone… never regret what u do… only regret what u didn’t do

Karena engkaupun tidak sempurna

Bertahun-tahun yang lalu, saya berdoa kepada Tuhan untuk memberikan Saya pasangan, “Engkau tidak memiliki pasangan karena engkau tidak memintanya”, Tuhan menjawab.

Tidak hanya saya meminta kepada Tuhan, saya menjelaskan kriteria pasangan yang saya inginkan. Saya menginginkan pasangan yang baik hati, lembut, mudah mengampuni, hangat, jujur, penuh dengan damai dan sukacita, murah hati, penuh pengertian,pintar, humoris, penuh perhatian. Saya bahkan memberikan kriteria pasangan tersebut secara fisik yang selama ini saya impikan.

Sejalan dengan berlalunya waktu, saya menambahkan daftar kriteria yang saya inginkan dalam pasangan saya. Suatu malam, dalam doa, Tuhan berkata dalam hati saya, “HambaKu, Aku tidak dapat memberikan apa yang engkau inginkan.”

Saya bertanya, “Mengapa Tuhan!?” dan Ia menjawab, “Karena Aku adalah Tuhan dan Aku adalah Adil. Aku adalah Kebenaran dan segala yang Aku lakukan adalah benar.”

Aku bertanya lagi, “Tuhan, aku tidak mengerti mengapa aku tidak dapat memperoleh apa yang aku pinta dariMu?”

Jawab Tuhan, “Aku akan menjelaskannya kepadaMu. Adalah suatu ketidak adilan dan ketidak benaran bagiKu untukmemenuhi keinginanmu karena Aku tidak dapat memberikan sesuatu yang bukan seperti engkau.

Tidaklah adil bagiKu untuk memberikan seseorang yang penuh dengan cinta dan kasih kepadamu jika terkadang engkau masih kasar, atau memberikan seseorang yang pemurah tetapi engkau masih kejam, atau seseorang yang mudah mengampuni; tetapi engkau sendiri masih suka menyimpan dendam, seseorang yang sensitif, namun engkau sendiri tidak…”

Kemudian Tuhan berkata kepada saya, “Adalah lebih baik jika Aku memberikan kepadamu seseorang yang Aku tahu dapat menumbuhkan segala kualitas yang engkau cari selama ini daripada membuat engkau membuang waktu mencari seseorang yang sudah mempunyai semuanya itu. Pasanganmu akan akan berasal dari tulangmu dan dagingmu, dan engkau akan melihat dirimu sendiri di dalam dirinya dan kalian berdua akan menjadi satu."

Pernikahan adalah seperti sekolah, suatu pendidikan jangka panjang. Pernikahan adalah tempat dimana engkau dan pasanganmu akan saling menyesuaikan diri dan tidak hanya bertujuan untuk menyenangkan hati satu sama lain, tetapi untuk menjadikan kalian manusia yang lebih baik, dan membuat suatu kerjasama yang solid.

"Aku tidak memberikan pasangan yang sempurna karena engkau pun tidak sempurna. Aku memberikanmu seseorang yang dapat tumbuh bersamamu. Untuk maksud tersebut, dia adalah orang yang sempurna untukmu..."


[Catatan: ini adalah kutipan tulisan dari seorang rekan yang menolong kita untuk memahami mengapa Tuhan memberikan (calon) pasangan hidup yang sepertinya tidak ideal...]

Yakinlah Anda Bisa...

Ingatlah ketika Anda masih kecil, dan mencoba belajar berjalan. saya yakin anda mengalami seperti ini:

Pertama Anda harus belajar untuk berdiri: sebuah proses yang melibatkan seluruh tubuh, jatuh lalu kembali berdiri. Anda kadang tertawa serta tersenyum, tapi dilain waktu anda menangis dan meringis karena sakit. Entah, seperti ada tekad dan keyakinan dalam diri Anda bahwa Anda akan berhasil, apa pun dan bagaimanapun. Anda punya motivasi dalam diri Anda

Setelah banyak berlatih akhirnya Anda mengerti bagaimana keseimbangan diri Anda, sebuah persyaratan untuk kejenjang berikutnya. Anda menikmatinya dan seolah-olah punya kekuatan baru, punya motivasi baru. Anda akan berdiri dimana Anda suka – di tempat Anda, di sofa, di pangkuan ibu Anda, Bapak anda, atau pun seseorang. Itu adalah waktu yang menggembirakan – Anda melakukannya! Anda dapat mengontrol diri Anda. Anda tersenyum dan tertawa lucu, puas akan keberhasilan Anda. Sekarang – langkah berikutnya – berjalan. Anda melihat orang lain melakukannya – ini keliatannya tidak terlalu sulit – hanya memindahkan kaki Anda saat Anda berdiri, kan?

Salah – ternyata lebih kompleks daripada yang Anda bayangkan. Anda berurusan dengan rasa frustasi. Tapi Anda terus mencoba, mencoba lagi dan mencoba lagi dan lagi sampai Anda tahu bagaimana berjalan. Anda selalu ingin kedua tangan anda diberi pegangan saat berjalan.

Jika orang melihat Anda berjalan, mereka akan bertepuk tangan, mereka tertawa, mereka akan memberi semangat, “Ya Tuhan, lihatlah apa yang dia lakukan”. “Oh anakku sudah bisa berdiri”. “pandainya anakku, pintarnya anakku” dan lain-lain. Dorongan ini memicu Anda; dorongan itu menambah rasa percaya diri Anda. Dorongan itu memotivasi Anda

Namun meski begitu, Andapun mencoba berjalan saat tak ada yang melihat Anda, saat tak ada yang bersorak-sorai? Setiap peluang ada, Anda berlatih untuk berjalan. Anda tidak bisa menunggu seseorang untuk memotivasi Anda untuk mengambil langkah-langkah berikutnya. Anda belajar bagaimana untuk memotivasi diri sendiri.

Jika kita bisa mengingat hal ini tentang diri kita di hari ini.

Ingat bahwa kita bisa melakukan apapun yang kita pikiran. Kita mampu mengatur jika kita mau dan bersedia melewati proses, seperti ketika kita belajar berdiri, seperti ketika kita belajar berjalan. Kita tidak perlu menunggu orang lain untuk memotivasi kita, kita perlu memotivasi diri kita sendiri.

Jika Anda sudah lupa bagaimana melakukan hal ini, atau merasa seperti beku, kaku dan gamang. Maka Anda membutuhkan motivasi, ambillah kembali perjalanan singkat dalam hidup Anda yang telah lewat – Lihatlah prestasi Anda, tidak peduli prestasi besar atau prestasi kecil – atau saat-saat dimana Anda bertemu dengan tantangan dan menemukan cara untuk berhasil. Ulanglah keberhasilan itu saat ini, saat anda menghadapi permasalahan yang sedang anda hadapi.

Fokus pada semua hal yang Anda pikir Anda tidak bisa lakukan, kemudian lakukanlah. Lihatlah buah hati anda. Mereka tidak pernah menyerah. Dan mereka yakin serta percaya terhadap anda, bahwa anda mampu dan bisa. Mereka percaya di dalam semua kehidupan Anda!

Sekarang Anda harus percaya pada diri Anda! Yakinkan pada hati Anda Bahwa Anda pasti bisa.

“Ingat, hari ini adalah hari terbaik dalam hidup Anda, milikilah masa depan yang indah, dengan membuat perubahan hari ini!