GENERAL SUBJECT:
CRUCIAL PRINCIPLES FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CHURCH
Message Fifteen
The Attitude in Practicing the God-Ordained Way
Scripture Reading: Heb. 10:20; 11:1; Acts 2:42, 46
I. The God-ordained way is a way of death and resurrection—Matt. 27:51; Heb. 10:20:
A. When the flesh of Christ was crucified on the cross, a new and living way was open for us; this way is now prepared in the new creation and is ready for us to walk on— Matt. 27:51.
B. This way requires that we deny ourselves; by this, we would not be in ourselves, the natural realm, the old creation, or the flesh, but would be fully in the new creation and in life; this is the new way.
II. We must have faith in practicing the God-ordained way—Heb. 11:1; Eph. 5:26-27:
A. The Lord will work out His recovery—vv. 26-27.
B. The Lord will fulfill His word, and the new way will be successful.
C. “And when those who carried the Ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who carried the Ark dipped into the edge of the water (now the Jordan overflowed all its banks throughout all the days of the harvest), the waters that flowed down from upstream stood and rose up…And the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan…”—Josh. 3:15-17:
1. What a marvelous picture of the move of the Triune God embodied in Christ! As the priests stood in the middle of the Jordan, there was no need for them to be afraid, for the ark was with them; they simply had to look at the ark and be at peace.
2. The principle is the same with us today; we do not need to be troubled by anything that may befall us; the Triune God is with us, and He and we are living together and working together.
D. We must have faith; as long as we are willing to give ourselves to this endeavor, we will succeed.
III. We must be in one accord in practicing the God-ordained way—Rom. 15:5-6:
A. One accord refers to the harmony in our inner being, in our mind and will—Acts 1:14.
B. The victory of Israel over Jericho was not by their fighting but by their blowing the trumpets and exalting Christ by bearing the ark, through their faith in God’s word of instruction—Josh. 6:1-16:
1. The silence of the people signifies being one with the Lord to carry out the matter in the Lord’s way without the expression of any thought, opinion, or feeling—v. 10.
2. Israel marched around the city with the Ark, a type of Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God, on the shoulders of the priests; the spiritual significance of this scene is that it is a picture of the corporate God-man—God and man, man and God, walking together as one person.
C. In order to practice the one accord, we should “be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion”—1 Cor. 1:10:
1. The problem in the church life that keeps us from realizing the one accord is our opinion—Matt. 16:22-25; Phil. 2:2; 4:2.
2. In the Lord’s work, in the church life, and in the spiritual life, the greatest damaging factor is our opinion—1 Cor. 1:10-13a.
3. Our usefulness before the Lord depends greatly on the matter of opinion—7:25, 40.
4. The Corinthian believers needed to be mended in order to be perfectly joined together so that they might be in harmony, having the same mind and the same opinion to speak the same thing—Christ and His cross—1:10, 17-19, 22-24; 2:2.
D. To carry out any step of the God-ordained way, there is a need for coordination with one accord:
1. The preaching of the gospel, nourishing of the new believers, teaching the truth, and the practical manifestation of the Body life—these four things must become the “family tradition” among the churches in the Lord’s recovery; in order to develop this “tradition,” we must have the same view and the one accord.
2. I hope that we could all be in one accord for the Lord’s present move; we must be one with the church where we are according to what the church there feels it must practice presently; we must go on gradually and positively with the Lord until we fully enter into the reality of His ordained way.
IV. We must be steadfast in practicing the God-ordained way—Acts 2:46; 6:4:
A. To persevere is to continue persistently, steadfastly, and earnestly.
B. Jehovah instructed Joshua that the men of war were to go around the city once a day for six days. On the seventh day all the men of war were to circle the city seven times, and all the priests were to blow the trumpets; and the people heard the trumpet sound, all the people were to shout with a great shout, the wall of the city would fall down flat—Josh. 6:3-16, 20.
C. As long as we persist steadfastly, we will surely see the result; this is the principle of spiritual blessing.
D. Practicing the God-ordained way persistently:
1. The new way is nothing other than to continue steadfastly in these three matters: to visit people by door-knocking, to raise up or establish meetings in the homes of new ones, and to teach the truth.
2. Taking time to practice PSRP steadfastly.
3. We should not try to be that quick, looking for quick results; the fast way does not work well; the slow way works successfully if we persevere; if we want to see our church increased, we must practice this.
V. “We must endeavor to go on with the Lord. He can be our supply and strength and day after day bring us to the right way. We also should consider one another, pray for one another, exhort one another, and support one another. We all should endeavor together to do our best.” (The Church Life in the Lord’s Recovery Today, ch. 4)
