THE SON-GLASSES

  A complete consecration is necessary in order to break THE OUTWARD MAN. However, we must recognise that this alone won't take care of all of our service-related issues. Consecration can happen in minutes and is simply an outward sign of our readiness to be in God's hands. Do not believe that God can complete His work in this brief period of time. We are only at the beginning of our spiritual journey, despite our willingness to give God our entire selves. It's like going through the gate. The Holy Spirit's  discipline is required after consecration; this is the road. To make us vessels suitable for the Master's use, consecration and the Holy Spirit's discipline are necessary. Without consecration, it is difficult for  the Holy Spirit to discipline us. Consecration, however, cannot take the place of His discipline. The Holy Spirit disciplines according to His own light, whereas our consecration can only be to the extent of our spiritual knowledge and awareness. ...

There is a frequent misperception that individuals accept the gospel because they have been either intellectually persuaded of its doctrinal accuracy or emotionally moved by its appeal. In reality, many who accept the gospel for either of these two reasons don't stick around for very long. Although both intellect and passion must be attained, they are not sufficient on their own. Thought and emotion can connect with one another, but salvation goes far further. The two must come into contact. Sinners don't yield and submit to God until the preacher's spirit bursts forth and glows. The appropriate attitude required for preaching the gospel In the book Seen and Heard, a miner who was highly used by God recounts his experiences sharing the gospel. While reading this novel, we had great emotion. Even though he was only a regular brother with no special talents or education, he gave himself completely to the Lord and was powerfully used by Him. He was a broken man; his spirit was...

God wants us to understand His word because it serves as the foundation for spiritual service. He is equally eager to make His message a burden in our hearts so that we can minister to the church through it. But we shall devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word, according to Acts 6:4. Ministry is the act of serving. Therefore, the ministry of the word entails using the Bible to serve others. What is our problem in ministry that we can't let the word out of us? There are times when one may feel incredibly burdened to share a message with the brothers. But even as he stands to say sentence after sentence, the weight inside of him is just as great. Even an hour later, there is still no sense of release, and eventually, he must depart with the same amount of weight on him as when he arrived. Why? It's because his outward man hasn't been shattered. The soul's abilities stop aiding the inner man and start acting as a hindrance. However, once the outer man has b...

  Let's move on to discuss how reading God's word, serving as His ministers, and sharing the gospel will be impacted by the shattering of the external man. READING THE BIBLE: It goes without saying that what we take away from the Bible depends on who we are. How frequently does man, in his arrogance, read the Bible with an unregenerate and bewildered mind? Nothing but his own mind is the fruit. He doesn't make contact with the Holy Spirit. If we want to encounter the Lord through His word, God must first break our preconceived notions. Although we may think highly of our intelligence, God finds it to be a severe hindrance. It will never take us inside of God's mind. There are at least two fundamental prerequisites for reading the Bible: first, our thoughts must align with the Bible's ideas, and second, our spirits must align with the Bible's spirits. When the author of God's word, whether Paul, Peter, or John, writes, you must imagine yourself in their shoe...

God has committed Himself to the church in our day. The church is where He works and exerts His power. Similar to how all of God's work was given to the Son in the Gospels, all of God's work today has been given to the church, and He will not act independently. God has used the church to accomplish his will ever since the Day of Pentecost. Consider the enormous duty the church has. God's commitment to the church is unconditional, just like His earlier commitment to one Man, Christ. But God's work or appearance may be limited by the church. God, Himself is Jesus of Nazareth. His entire being; from the inside out reveals God. His feelings are a reflection of God's feelings, and his thoughts show God's ideas. The Son can do nothing of Himself except what He sees the Father doing, and while He was on earth, He could declare, "Not that I should do My will, but the will of Him who has sent Me. The Son can do nothing of Himself except what He sees the Father doing...

Once we have gained spiritual sensitivity through many dealings, we realise that our spirit is free and capable of discerning the actual state of others. How do we put this into action? Sometimes, we must wait until he opens his mouth and speaks before we may contact his spirit. Few people ever get to the point where they can touch man's spirit without first listening to what he has to say. The Bible says, "For the mouth speaks from the richness of the heart" (Matthew 12:34). Whatever his true goal is, his spirit is shown by what he says. If he is haughty, a haughty spirit will emerge; if hypocritical, a hypocritical spirit will emerge; and if envious, a jealous spirit will emerge. You can feel his spirit as you listen to him speak. Pay attention not only to what he says but also to the state of his spirit. We truly know a person not by his words alone, but through his spirit. When the Lord Jesus was journeying toward Jerusalem, two of the disciples noticed that the Samar...

  Let us now analyze our role in understanding man. The disciplinary measures taken by the Holy Spirit with us are God-given lessons that break us one after the other. Many breakings in many aspects of our lives are required for us to reach a point of usefulness. When we say we can touch another through the spirit, we do not mean we can touch all individuals in the same way, nor do we claim we can detect another person's spiritual condition in its whole. It is simply that we can touch someone in the area where we have been chastised by the Holy Spirit and broken by the Lord. If we have not been broken by the Lord in a certain area, we might not be able to meet the needs of our brother. At that time, our spirit is insensitive and powerless. This is a spiritual fact that cannot be denied! Our spirit is liberated in proportion to the extent of our brokenness. The person who has absorbed the most discipline is the best suited to serve. The more broken one is, the more sensitive he beco...

  We should remember this while determining a person's condition: If you want to know the spiritual state of a person, you must ensure you are in tune with the spirit yourself, and then you can identify the person's most prominent feature. It will be so noticeable that he will be unable to conceal it. A proud individual will show their pride. Even a sad person's laughter is tinged with grief. Invariably, the nature of the individual will leave an indelible impact. The Bible contains numerous references describing various forms of spirits. Some people have a quick spirit; others have a hardened spirit, and still, others have a sorrowful spirit. One may have a haughty spirit, another a depressed spirit, and so forth. Where do these many spiritual states arise from? For example, where does the hardness come from, in a hard spirit? Where does haughtiness come from, in a proud spirit? Surely, our human spirit is not tainted in its natural state. Its sole purpose is to exhibit Go...

WE OPERATE  AS HIS INSTRUMENTS (Cont'd) We are the instruments, the thermometers. We must undergo rigorous training and strong discipline because what is undeveloped in us as leaders, will also be undeveloped in those we lead or minister to. Additionally, we cannot teach people lessons that we have not learnt before God. The more extensive we are in the school of the spirit and yield to God's dealings, the more effective we shall be in God's work. Similarly, the more we spare ourselves, our pride, our narrowness, our pleasure, the less our usefulness. We cannot expose these traits in others if we have buried them in ourselves. A proud individual cannot deal with another who has the same issue; a hypocrite cannot criticize another's hypocrisy. A person who has a carefree life cannot assist someone else who faces the same challenge. It is important to know that if this still exists in our character, we will not be able to criticise this specific sin in others; in fact, we...

WE ARE HIS INSTRUMENTALITY.  A doctor can use a variety of medical devices while diagnosing a patient. We are not like that. We don't have an x-ray machine, a thermometer, or any other similar tool to help us discern man's spiritual health. Then, how do we identify a brother's spiritual condition or ascertain the type of his problems?  It's fantastic that God created us to act as measuring "thermometers." He would give us the ability to identify what "ails" a person by first working in our lives. We need to prepare internally well in our role as the Lord's spiritual "doctors."  We must have an inward thorough preparation. We must be deeply aware of how much duty we have. Imagine there was no such thing as a thermometer. The physician would have to decide by simply touching the patient, he could tell if they were feverish. He would use his hand as the thermometer. How delicate and precise would his hand have to be! In spiritual work, thi...

HOW TO KNOW MAN "Cont'd"  Have you imagined that it is the dull who cannot discern, and only the clever who can? No, in this work the clever and the dull are equally excluded. You cannot use your (independent) mind or feeling to discern people. No matter how keen your mind, you cannot penetrate the depth of man and reveal his condition. After meeting a soul, each person must first discern what that individual's real need is before God. Often you cannot depend on what he says. Though he may correctly insist that he has a "headache," this may be only a symptom of a deeper condition whose roots are to be found elsewhere. Just because he feels warm does not necessarily mean he has a "high fever." He is likely to tell you many things which have no bearing on his case. A "sick person" seldom understands his real trouble; so he needs you to diagnose for him and offer the means of cure. You may want him to tell you his need, but he is prone to be...

  HOW TO KNOW MAN  TO KNOW MAN is vital to a worker. When someone comes to us, we must discern his spiritual condition, his nature, and the extent of his spiritual progress. We must determine whether he has said what is really in his heart and how much he has left unsaid. Further, we should perceive his characteristics, whether he is hard or humble, whether his humility is true or false. Our effectiveness in service is closely related to our discernment of man's spiritual condition. If God's Spirit enables us through our spirit to know the condition of the person before us, we can then impart the appropriate word. In the Gospels we find that whenever men came to our Lord, He always had the right word. This is a marvelous thing. The Lord did not talk to the Samaritan woman about new birth, nor did he tell Nicodemus of living water. The truth of the new birth was for Nicodemus, while the truth of the living water was for the Samaritan woman. How appropriate they were.  Thos...

ONE LAW WHICH IS UNAFFECTED BY PRAYER  There is an immutable law of God's working in us: His specific purpose is breaking us and releasing our spirit for free exercise. We must understand that none of our praying, pleading or promising will affect or change this purpose. It is according to His law of accomplishing a brokenness and release in us; all our praying will not alter this law. If you deliberately thrust your hand into the fire, will prayer keep you free from scorching and pain (barring a miracle), If you do not wish to be scorched by fire yet you deliberately thrust your hand into it anyway, then do not think that prayer will save you from the consequences; it will not. In like manner, let us see that God's dealing with us is deliberate, according to His law. In order to come forth, the inward man must pass through the outward. Until our outward man is shattered, the inward simply cannot come forth. Do not try to overturn this law and its effects by praying for blessin...

A PERSON BROKEN, NOT JUST TAUGHT    Do you not see what God is doing in this endless round of difficulties? If not, you should ask Him, "O God, open my eyes that I may see Thy hand." How often the eyes of an ass are sharper than those of a self-styled prophet.  Though the ass had already seen the Angel of the Lord, its master had not. The ass recognized the forbidding hand of God, but the self-styled prophet did not. We should be aware that brokenness is God's way in our lives. How sad that some still imagine that if they could only absorb more teaching, accumulate more preaching material, and assimilate more Bible exposition, they would be profitable to God. This is absolutely wrong. God's hand is upon you to break you, not according to your will, but His; not according to your thoughts, but His; not according to your decision, but His. Our difficulty is that as God withstands us, we blame others. We react like that prophet who, blind to God's hand, blamed the as...

THE SPIRIT'S USE OF A BROKEN OUTWARD MAN   In God dealing with man, His Spirit never by-passes man's spirit. Nor can our spirit by-pass the outer man. This is a most important principle to grasp. As the Holy Spirit does not pass over man's spirit in His working in man, no more does our spirit ignore the outward man and function directly. In order to touch other lives, our spirit must pass through the outward man. Hence, when the latter's strength is consumed by the many things in hand, God cannot do His work through us. There is no outlet for the human spirit nor for the Holy Spirit. The inward man cannot come forth because he is resisted and blocked by the outward man. That is why we have repeatedly suggested that this outward man must be broken.  The thing in hand is there before God begins to work. It does not belong to God, nor does it need His order, power, or decision to be carried out. It is not something under the hand of God but rather an independent action. Be...

  THE LIMITED STRENGTH OF THE OUTWARD MAN Our human strength is limited. If a brother can only carry fifty pounds, and you want him to take an additional ten, he simply cannot do it. He is a limited person, unable to do unlimited work. The fifty pounds he is already carrying is "the thing in hand". As the physical strength of our outermost man is limited, so it is with the strength of our outward man(soul).  Many, not realizing this principle, carelessly spend the strength of their outward man. If, for example, one lavished all his love upon his parents, he would have no strength left for loving his brothers, not to mention others. In thus exhausting his (soul) strength, there is nothing left to direct to others.  So it is with our mental strength. If one's attention is focused on a certain matter, and he exhausts all his time in thinking about it, he will have no strength to think of other matters. In His word, God has explained our problem: "The law of the Spirit o...

  RECOGNIZING "the Thing In Hand"  LET ME FIRST explain our topic. Suppose a father asks his son to do a certain thing. The son answers, "Right now I have something in my hand; as soon as I finish it I will do what you order." "The thing in hand" is the thing which the son is doing prior to his father's orders, and of course, it affects the response the instruction. Immediately we recognize that we all have those "things in our hands" which hinder us in our walk with God or our response to instruction from God. It might be anything, a good, important or seemingly necessary thing, which preoccupies us and diverts our attention. As long as the outward man remains unbroken, we shall most likely find our hands full of many things(activities). Our outward man has its own religious interests, perspectives, appetites, concerns and labors. So when the Spirit of God moves in our spirit, our outward man cannot answer God's call. Thus it is the ...

  THE DIVIDING OF THE THE OUTWARD AND THE INWARD MAN   When the outward man is broken, outside things will be kept outside, and the inward man will live before God continuously. The trouble with many is that their outward man and inward man are joined together, so what influences the outward influences the inward. Through the merciful working of God the outward man and inward man must be separated. Then what affects the outward will not be able to reach the inward. Though the outward man may be engaged in conversation, the inward man is fellowshipping with God. The outward may be burdened with listening to the clatter of dishes, yet the inward abides in God. One is able to carry on activities, to contact the world with the outer man, nevertheless the inner man remains unaffected because he still lives before God. Consider an example or two. A certain brother is working on the road. If his outer and inner man have been divided, the latter will not be disturbed by outside t...

RELAUNCH AND RETREATING (Cont'd)   Now let us consider an extreme case to illustrate this. Anger is the most. violent of human feelings. But the Bible does not forbid us to be angry, for some anger is not related to sin. "Be angry but sin not," the Bible says. Nonetheless, anger of any kind is so strong it borders on sin. We do not find "Love but do not sin" nor "Be meek but do not sin" in God's word, because love and meekness are far removed from sin. But anger is close to sin.  Perhaps a certain brother has committed a serious fault. He needs to be severely reprimanded. This is not an easy matter. Rather would we exercise our feelings of mercy than bring our feelings of anger into play, for the latter can fall into something else with the least carelessness. Thus it is not easy to be properly angry according to the will of God. However, one who knows the breaking of the outward man can deal severely with another brother without his own spirit bei...

LAUNCHING OUT AND RETREATING (Cont'd)   Our spirit is given to us by God to enable us to respond to Him. But the outward man is ever responding to things without, hence depriving us of the presence of God. We cannot destroy all the things without, but we can break down the outward man. We cannot put a stop to all the things without; these millions and billions of things in the world are utterly beyond our control. Whenever anything happens, our outward man will respond; thus we are not able to enjoy God's presence in peace. We conclude, therefore, that experiencing the presence of God is contingent upon the breaking of our outward man. If, through the mercy of God, our outward man has been broken, we may be characterized as follows: Yesterday we were full of curiosity, but today it is impossible to be curious. Formerly our emotions could be easily aroused, either stirring our love, the most delicate emotion, or provoking our temper, the crudest. But now no matter how many thi...

  LAUNCHING OUT AND RETREATING  Once the outward man is broken, man's spirit very naturally abides in the presence of God without ceasing. Two years after a certain brother trusted in the Lord, he read The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. After reading it, he felt grieved at his failure to abide unceasingly in the presence of God like Brother Lawrence. At that time he had hourly appointments to pray with someone. Why? Well, the Bible says, "Pray unceasingly," so they changed it to "Pray every hour." Every time they heard the clock strike the hour, they would pray. They exerted their utmost effort to retreat into God because they felt they could not maintain themselves in the continuous presence of God. It was as if they had slipped away while working and thus needed to retreat quickly back to God. Or they had projected themselves out while studying, and now they must withdraw swiftly to God. Otherwise they would find themselves away the whole...

  SOME PRACTICAL SITUATIONS  Let us review this through some practical problems! Take preaching, for instance. How often we can be earnestly preaching, giving a well prepared, sound message, but inwardly feel as cold as ice. We long to stir others, yet we ourselves are unmoved. There is a lack of harmony between the outward and the inward man. The outward man is dripping from the heat, but the inward man is shivering from the cold. We can tell others how great the love of the Lord is, yet we are personally untouched by it. We can tell others how tragic is the suffering of the cross, yet upon returning to our room we can be careless and act as if the cross never took place. What can we do about this? Our mind may labor, our emotions may be energized, yet all the time one has the feeling that the inward man is merely observing the proceedings. The outward and the inward man are not one.  Consider another situation. The inward man is devoured by zeal. The person wants to sho...