Week 7 The Practice of Service
LESSON SEVEN
MORNING REVIVAL
Hymn 1145
Scripture Reading:
Prov. 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, Which shines brighter and brighter until the full day.
THE CHRISTIAN REVIVAL OCCURING IN THE MORNING
The morning hour flies by quickly. One hour is over in no time. This is why the Word of the Lord says, “Redeeming the time” (Eph. 5:16). The period of time that needs to be redeemed the most is six to seven o’clock in the morning. During this hour, every minute is precious. We have to redeem this time. (The Organic Practice of the New Way, ch. 4)
To redeem the time is to seize every available opportunity. This is to be wise in our walk. We must redeem the time because the days are evil. In this evil age (Gal. 1:4, Gk.), every day is an evil day, full of pernicious things which destroy, injure, and spoil our time. Therefore, we must walk wisely that we may redeem the time, seizing every available opportunity. If we do not seize every opportunity, our time will be wasted. Many evil things will come in to distract us and frustrate us. We may be distracted by telephone calls, letters, or visitors. We may be enjoying the presence of the Lord and suddenly be attacked through a negative telephone call. Because the days are evil, we must be on the alert to take advantage of every opportunity. (Life-Study of Ephesians, msg. 51)
OUR LIFE FOLLOWING THE MOVING OF THE SUN
The Christian revival does not occur in the afternoon or at sunset. Rather it occurs in the morning. The Christian life is not a sunset. Rather it is a dawning of the sun. In fact, we ourselves are the sun. Judges 5:31 says, “Let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.” Proverbs 4:18 says, “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” A Christian’s life should be one that follows the moving of the sun. When the sun rises, we should rise with it. We keep rising until the perfect day, which is noon. The Christian life does not have afternoons. Whether we are among the worldly people, or in the church meetings, we should bring the shining light to others. For this reason, it does not matter how busy we are, we have to spend some time to exercise our spirit.
CALLING ON THE NAME OF THE LORD
AND PRAY-READING HIS WORD
Hence, our time in the morning is most precious. It is best for us to spend as little time as possible on other things and to spend this time instead on pray-reading. In order to save time, when I am dressing in the morning, I begin to call on the Lord and pray-read His word. If your wife is not awake yet, you should not shout and cry aloud. You can pray from within. While you are putting on your shirt, you can pray-read the verse you read yesterday: “In the beginning…God… created…the heavens…and the earth.” While you are washing up, you can also pray-read. You can do two things at one time. Perhaps at the beginning you do not feel comfortable doing it. But after a while, you will feel comfortable. If you would spend half an hour or even fifty minutes there praying and reading the Lord’s word, and finally mingling the praying with the reading, your spirit will be enlivened. With such a morning, your whole being will have a revival. (The Organic Practice of the New Way, ch. 4)
TWO ASPECTS OF MORNING REVIVAL
Personal Morning Revival
The Lord’s charge to Moses in verse 3 indicates that we all need a time to contact the Lord alone. We all need a private time to meet with the Lord. During this time alone with the Lord, we should not bring with us anyone or anything. When we go to the Lord early in the morning, we should go to Him alone. We need to leave even our husband or wife behind. Some brothers have the practice of taking their wives with them wherever they go. This practice is good. However, when it is time to meet with the Lord on the mountaintop, a brother should leave his wife at the foot of the mountain. When we meet with the Lord in this way, we need to forget everything and everyone. Forget your possessions, your education, your occupation, your future. Go to the Lord alone without anyone or anything. (Life-Study of Exodus, msg. 178)
However, I am concerned that many, especially the young people in corporate living situations, do not have a private time of prayer. They have only the corporate prayer. I admit that no private time of prayer can replace the corporate time. If you do not go to the Lord directly and privately by yourself, your dealing with the Lord will not be very practical or detailed. (Life Messages, Vol. 1 (#1-41), ch. 2)
Corporate Morning Revival
You could even save your time by arranging to have a ten minute morning watch with each of them. The telephone may be used for this purpose. One person can be scheduled at 6:15 a.m., the next person at 6:30, and the next person at 6:45. Within one hour, you could contact three persons in the morning. You could contact the same three persons every morning to pray-read with them, fellowship with them, and enjoy Christ with them in a very brief way. Within three months each person can be contacted at least eighty times. After three months of this kind of consistent contact, these ones can be gained for the Lord’s interest. (Elders’ Training, Book 11: The Eldership and the God-Ordained Way (3), ch. 9)
REVIVAL BRINGING IN TRANSFORMATION
This daily revival brings transformation with it. Romans 12:2 says, “Be transformed by the renewing of the mind.” Second Corinthians 3:18 says, “We all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.” This shows us that transformation comes from beholding the Lord. We are like mirrors beholding the Lord with an unveiled face. The more we behold Him, the more we reflect the glory of the Lord and the more we are transformed into the image of the Lord from one stage of glory to another. This transformation is from the Lord Spirit. There is not just a revival, but a transformation as well. Hence, to have a revival that is renewed daily is to have a transformation that is fresh daily. If we remain in this transformation our whole life, we will grow in the life of the Lord until we are matured. This kind of revival, renewal, and transformation is what we all need today. (A Timely Trumpeting and the Present Need, ch, 4)
References: The Organic Practice of the New Way, ch. 4; Life-Study of Ephesians, msg. 51; Life-Study of Exodus, msg. 178; Life Messages, Vol. 1 (#1-41), ch. 2; Elders’ Training, Book 11: The Eldership and the God-Ordained Way (3), ch. 9; A Timely Trumpeting and the Present Need, ch. 4.
