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Scripture Reading: Acts 7:22; Exo. 2:10; 4:24
We will now pay attention to the meaning of God's wisdom and man's wisdom. We will not only see how God judges and rejects man's wisdom in his living, but also how a man can please God in his work.
The first thing we should notice is that there are three crucial items in the flesh that oppose God. These three items of the flesh must first be dealt with in our work. If we have not dealt with these three items, we can never expect to do a good work for God. The first of these three is the wisdom of the flesh; the second is the power of the flesh; and the third is the boasting of the flesh. If these three things are not removed, one cannot do a proper work. The wisdom of the flesh, its power, and its boasting have the greatest negative influence on the work of God. I know very deeply that these three fleshly things corrupt the work of God. The natural order of these three things is: (1) wisdom, (2) power, and (3) glory. They are closely related to one another.
Moses was the first servant chosen by God. The first man whom God chose to serve Him was Moses. Although Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were before Moses, they were not God's servants. God only established a covenant with them. Just as Paul was God's first chosen servant in the New Testament, Moses was God's first chosen servant in the Old Testament. How did God deal with Moses? How did Moses gain God's favor? Before God could deal with the children of Israel, He had to first deal with Moses. Before He could deal with Pharaoh, He had to first deal with Moses. Before God could deal with the Egyptians, He had to first deal with Moses.
The author of the book Causes for Spiritual Power said that when man wants to do something, he first considers the way. But when God wants to do something, He first looks for a man. If God cannot find the man, He has no way. Today in the church there are all kinds of ways, plans, and organizations, but there is no man. What God wants is not the way, but the man. Today man's view and vision are greatly different from this. Man thinks that as long as the way is good, there will be satisfactory results. But as long as the person doing these works remains unchanged, good fruit will never be produced.
Today God is not short of greatly talented men; what He cannot find is some who can be used by Him. When Moses was only three months old, he was put into the water. Later he was pulled out of the water by Pharaoh's daughter, who adopted him as her son. His name was Moses, which means "drawn out of the water." Moses was the first one to be drawn out; later many of the people were also drawn out with him. First God dealt with Moses in the wilderness. Then Moses could lead the children of Israel out of Egypt into the wilderness, where they could be dealt with by God. If we have not experienced deliverance, we cannot expect others to be delivered. If we cannot see the vision, we cannot expect others to see God's way. If we do not walk on this way, no one else will want to walk on it. Today God expects us to be dealt with by Him first. If God cannot gain a few people from among us, we cannot expect to gain others in turn.
In the beginning God gained only a few people, but with these few He was able to spread the gospel over the entire Roman world within twenty to thirty years. Many local churches were established. By gaining one person, Paul, God was able to spread the gospel all over the Roman world and cause many to accept and believe the gospel. If we were like Paul, the gospel would already have covered every nation of this world. We do not need to employ various ways to propagate, advertise, solicit contributions, or attract people to believe in the Word. The only thing that is needed is that we be persons whom God can use. Can God use us? Is our work the result of God using us or our using our own ways?
Before God could deliver the children of Israel, He had to first gain Moses. If God had not gained Moses, He could not have delivered the children of Israel. Without man, God has no way. If the first man had not been drawn out, many other men could not have been drawn out. If the first man had not been dealt with in the wilderness, many others could not have been dealt with in the wilderness. If God had not delivered Moses, He could not have delivered the whole nation. Today it is the same. If God cannot use us, He has no way to work. If the Holy Spirit has not filled us, we cannot expect that He will use us to work in others to save them, and we will not have the strength to work either. If God does not gain us first, His power and life will have no way to flow out. God's fullness can only flow through you. If you want to be this kind of person, there are two things you must do: trust and obey.
God established a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He would deliver their seed. Then He saw that the children of Israel were afflicted by the Egyptians; He heard the voice of their crying. He intended to deliver them according to the covenant which had been established with them. But please remember, in order to save men, God first had to find a channel as a link between Him and the ones He wanted to save. God first had to gain this before He could do what He wanted to do. Moses was the channel used by God. He did not disappoint God. God was able to use him. Today many people disappoint God and make it impossible for God to use them. God is now searching to find the men He needs, the men whom He can use.
The condition for us to work for God is not to attend a seminary, have an orthodox faith, run zealously, or love men's souls. The condition is that we must be fully gained by God. God needs men and women who have been crucified and who will preach the cross of His Son.
In 1 Corinthians 1 and 2, Paul said that he knew only Christ and Him crucified. This was all that he knew. He knew nothing and preached nothing besides this. We should not mistakenly think that Paul emphasized preaching. What he emphasized was knowing. No matter where he was — at home or abroad, living by himself or interacting with others, persuading others to believe in the Word or preaching to a crowd — he always knew the cross. He lived his whole life under the cross. God does not need men who preach the cross; He needs men who know the cross.
Paul worked in Corinth. He said he did not know anything except Christ and Him crucified. How did he preach the cross? He said, "And I, when I came to you, brothers, came not according to excellence of speech or of wisdom, announcing to you the mystery of God. For I did not determine to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and this One crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling; and my speech and my proclamation were not in persuasive words of wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, in order that your faith would not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God" (1 Cor. 2:1-5). Please remember that unless a person works by the power of God, he is totally useless. Paul did not preach with excellence of speech nor with persuasive words of man's wisdom. He preached with the power of God. The attitude that he had toward himself was one of weakness, fear, and trembling. God must cause a person to abandon his own wisdom, cleverness, and talent before He can use him. Today God is looking for those who are not self-assured, self-confident, or self-employed. If God can find such people, He will use them. The extent to which a man rejects his self-confidence will be the extent to which God will use him. Many people think that as long as they have teachings that are orthodox in faith and have light that helps them understand the Bible, they are all right. But the Holy Spirit can only work through those who have placed themselves completely in God's hand. People of this kind are the channels through whom the Holy Spirit will flow out life and power.
Just as Moses first had to be dealt with by God, in the same way we must also first be dealt with by God. If God had not dealt with Moses, He could not have dealt with the children of Israel. If God had not dealt with Moses, He could not have dealt with Pharaoh and the Egyptians. If God does not first deal with us, He cannot deal with the evil spirits and the devil; neither can He deal with the people in the world. O brothers, has He really gained us? Only when God has gained us will He have a way to deal with the devil and the people in the world.
Second Corinthians 10:6 says, "And we are ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled." Paul could say only so much to the believers in Corinth. He knew very well that if those in Corinth were not dealt with first, he could not deal with others who rebelled against God. This is why he said that only when they had fully obeyed could he lay hold of the other people and deal with them. If the believers themselves had not yet been dealt with, Paul could have no way to deal with the others.
In Acts 7:22 we can see the education that Moses received. "And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in his words and works." Moses learned all the wisdom of the Egyptians in Pharaoh's palace. He was eloquent, competent, and powerful in his words and works. Although Moses had all the wisdom and talent of the Egyptians and was very capable and eloquent, these were not the conditions that God required in order for Him to use Moses. On the contrary, these were the reasons why God could not use him. Man pays attention to wisdom and power, but God pays attention to foolishness and weakness. First Corinthians speaks of Christ's wisdom and power, and at the same time it says that God has chosen the foolish and weak among men. The Greeks seek after wisdom, and the Jews require a sign, which is the manifestation of power; but God rejects man's wisdom and power. Where there is wisdom, there is also fleshly power. Man's wisdom and power can only accomplish man's work. If we employ man's wisdom and power in God's work, we will damage God's work. God can only use the Spirit's mighty power to accomplish His work. This mighty power of the Holy Spirit can only be expressed through the foolish and weak. If we are not led by God in reality to the point where we completely give up our wisdom and power and become foolish and weak before Him, He cannot use us.
We all know the story of Moses. He was eloquent, wise, competent, and knowledgeable. He thought that he could come forward to do something. He saw the enemy oppressing his brothers, and he slew the enemy with his fleshly power. The next day he saw two Israelites fighting, and he exhorted them to be at peace. He might have thought that this would be a very easy thing to do. Little did he realize that they would not receive him. Instead, they brought up the incident of his slaying an Egyptian the day before. As a result, Moses fled to the land of Midian.
What does this mean? Moses knew only his wisdom and power. He had not yet recognized his foolishness and weakness. God wanted him to realize that there were things that he could not do by himself. He wanted to help God save the people of Israel, but God did not need man to help Him. Anyone who tries to help Him with his fleshly wisdom and power will never please Him. There are many people that God will not use, not because they lack wisdom and power, but because they have too much wisdom and too much power. He cannot use them; He has to put them aside and cool them down. He cannot use them now; He has to wait until their strange fires are no longer burning.
Moses was a man who tried to help God with human wisdom and power. God put a halt to him and did not use him. The reason for this is that soulish and emotional wisdom can easily stir up fleshly power. These have no place at all in God's work. Moses stayed in the wilderness for forty years. He was not only tried by God but was also trained by Him. He began to realize that all that he possessed was vanity. Only after he had reached this point could he be useful. In the same way, God is now putting us in the wilderness to try us and to train us. He has put us aside, but we still do not understand His will. Repeatedly He has dealt with us, but we still do not submit to Him. Repeatedly He puts us in our place and strips us of a smooth environment in order that we will surrender under His mighty hand. He wants to see if we are willing to walk according to His will. Our own opinion has to be dealt with. This is a gate we must pass through. The Israelites' rejection of Moses was of God. Pharaoh's seeking to slay him was of God. His escape to the lonely wilderness was of God. He communicated with God during those many years in the wilderness under God's training, and in the end, he realized his own uselessness. After that he no longer wanted to use his own power to save the children of Israel. He no longer thought of himself as a great and competent man or as an extraordinary person in the spiritual realm. He knew that he could not do anything. This was where God wanted him to be.
Later at Mount Horeb, God sent Moses to save the people of Israel. If Moses had heard this word in the first forty years, he would have gone very gladly. There would not have been the need for God to send him; he would have volunteered to go himself. He only knew what he could do; he did not know what he could not do. Now Moses was different. He knew who he was. He also knew that his wisdom and power could not accomplish anything. Therefore, he said to the Lord, "Who am I,...that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (Exo. 3:11). He was now quite different from before. Before, he thought that no one other than him could do anything. Now, he said, "Who am I?" He was no longer self-confident or self-assured. He considered himself to be nothing. Brothers, God will lead us to this point. This is a spiritual withdrawal, a holy withdrawal, and a blessed withdrawal. If God has not caused us to realize from our heart that we are nothing, we still cannot be used by Him.
Moses said, "Who am I,...that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (Exo. 3:11). He considered himself so small and realized his own incompetence. If we have never considered ourselves in this way, we cannot do God's work. Moses now saw that this work was too great and that he was too small. He had learned the lesson and dared not exercise his fleshly wisdom and power anymore. He acknowledged his weakness, that he could do nothing. He did not even dare to evaluate himself. He could only ask God, "Who am I?" He left it to God to evaluate him. He had to be led by God to this point before God could use him.
Now God encouraged him. This is the resurrection that I mentioned yesterday. Moses' former courage, wisdom, and power had all died. Now all his courage, wisdom, and power were received from God's hand anew. This is resurrection. The forty years were like Aaron's rod which lay before Jehovah in the tabernacle overnight. Once the night is over, everything that has died is resurrected. In God's work everything must pass through death and resurrection before it can be used. When we see a young man with knowledge, courage, and competence, we say, "If this man were saved, he would be very useful in God's hand." But his knowledge, courage, and competence are things that are useless in God's hand. God does not need wisdom any more than He needs foolishness. The wise should bring their wisdom through death, and the foolish should also bring their foolishness through death. God can only use those things that are in the realm of resurrection. Every natural thing must pass through death before one can receive something new and resurrected from God. This is a great principle in the work. Without resurrection there can be no work. Moses had to go through forty years before he realized that all the wisdom and power that he previously had was useless. He had died, and now God wanted to bless him with the courage and wisdom that comes from resurrection.
In Exodus 3:12 God promised to be with Moses. In verse 13, Moses again asked, "When I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name? what shall I say unto them?" Moses dared not consider himself knowledgeable or able to tell anyone anything. He had been dealt with by God. He had no presumptions, no ideas, and he dared not act recklessly. This was why he inquired of Jehovah in this way. He had learned the lesson. "For I have not spoken from Myself; but the Father who sent Me, He Himself has given Me commandment, what to say and what to speak...The things therefore that I speak, even as the Father has said to Me, so I speak" (John 12:49-50). He now knew that even what he spoke had to be according to God's commandment. Many times our words are not restricted by God! This is especially true with eloquent people, who think that they are capable of speaking. But those who have been dealt with by God know how to be taught during their speaking; they will no longer be self-confident. Later God told Moses His name. But even though Moses had God's name, he still dared not go. He was afraid that the children of Israel would not believe his word (Exo. 4:1). Formerly he dared to go out by himself to slay the Egyptian. When he saw the Israelites striving together, he dared to exhort them boldly. Yet now when Jehovah commanded him to go, he was timid and afraid. His fleshly boldness was entirely gone. The kind of courage which came from himself was no longer there. He did not trust in himself anymore; he became humble. His humility was almost to the point of withdrawal. Genuine humility and the lack of self-confidence are the expression of spirituality. Now he had learned. He knew that he could not do anything by himself among the Israelites. Because of this, Jehovah encouraged him a third time, and gave him the miracles of turning the rod into a serpent, turning water into blood, and making his hand leprous. God did this in order to cause the people to believe Moses. But Moses asked the fourth time, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant; but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue" (4:10). These words were completely contrary to the words in Acts 7:22 which say that Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in words and works. Moses' excuse was that he could not speak and was not eloquent. Therefore, Jehovah caused Aaron to be his mouth. We have to realize that the Bible does not record later that Aaron came out to speak to the people for Moses. The Bible always records that Moses himself spoke to the people. Why? Because through many years, Moses had learned and realized that God would not use any fleshly eloquence, power, or wisdom. Unless the Spirit moves to give a person eloquence and wisdom, all of his power is useless in God's work. Spiritual power is absolutely necessary. Brothers, do we all know how to be dealt with by God to the extent that our fleshly eloquence is put aside? We would rather not use the cunning words, the clever expressions, and the clear illustrations to help others understand better the cross of the Lord and His victory. Have we been dealt with by the cross to the extent that we die to our own speaking? Our words will indeed expose how we actually are; they will show the kind of persons we are. God needs us to see that even if we have excellence of speech, it does not bear fruit and is not of the spirit. If we do not allow God to gain the victory in our speaking, God's work will suffer greater damage.
Moses had two kinds of excuses here. The first was that he was not eloquent and was slow of speech. The second was that even after he talked with God that day, he still could not speak. He had completely denied himself before God. He reckoned that nothing of himself could stand before God. He had already learned a deep lesson. In those forty years, he left behind everything that was natural and of the self.
Nevertheless, it is of no benefit to merely realize that we are incapable in ourselves. The most important thing is to know the power of God. This is resurrection. God wanted Moses to know that it was God who had made man's mouth. God encouraged him again, but Moses again refused. Exodus 4:13 says, "And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send." When God heard these words, He was angry with Moses. Why? While it is important to not have any self-confidence and self-trust (God treasures this attitude and leads us to this attitude), we will still not please God if we stop at this and refuse to trust in Him further. Many times we need to be careful not to go from one extreme to the other. If God has promised us the gift of speaking, and we still hesitate, we offend God. We have to watch out for a withdrawal that goes beyond humility and a timidity that goes beyond carefulness; we have to be careful or in the process of giving up our trust in ourselves, we will also give up our trust in God. God brings us through death in order that we may be resurrected. Death is not the goal; resurrection is the goal. It is useless to remain in death without being resurrected.
Moses not only wanted to hide himself, but he had become sluggish. He even thought that it was better for God not to send him. Brothers, it is good that we realize our own weakness. But if our weakness takes away our faith in God's strengthening, this knowledge of ourselves is harmful. Excessive consideration of our weakness is as likely to take us away from our trust in God as excessive consideration of our power. Many retreats and withdrawals are not signs of spiritual humility, but are timidity and laziness caused by our introspection. We must be strengthened by His power on the positive side to become strong.
Brothers, in spiritual work, the most important thing is to be sent by God in a very clear way. The Lord Jesus did not come to earth by Himself. The Bible says that He was sent. It was the Father who sent the Son. At present, God's work is being ruined by too many volunteers who have not been sent by God. God is not pleased with anyone who is not sent by Him and who works on his own. God does not like man acting recklessly on his own. Recklessness and rebellion belong to the same kind of sin. When a command is issued and we fail to carry it out, it is sin. When a command is not issued and we recklessly go ahead, that is also sin.
Moses did not ask for this assignment. He did not want to go, but God kept ordering him to go. One time I heard a Western missionary say that if we cannot cease working for God, God cannot use us to save sinners. If we can cease working for Him, He can use us to save others. (I am not saying that man can be saved without God preaching the gospel through other men.) But if a work is not of God's will, we should stop it. We should not save anyone rather than act recklessly. If we have not received God's command, we should remain quiet and motionless. Only such persons can be sent by God to gain others.
Today the church is suffering much damage not because of the outsiders' opposition or the unbelievers' damage, but because of the presumptuous actions of those who consider themselves orthodox in faith but who have acted without God's direction or command. As a result, what they have done has no spiritual reality or value at all. The work which God never sent us to do or commanded us to do is like the house built on the sand; it is just gilded with gold. This work will temporarily stand and shine. However, when it appears before the throne of judgment, it will vanish away. Only those works which are done as a result of closely following God's command will be of any use.
Later Moses stopped saying anything. But he had to demonstrate that he had completely given up that which was of the flesh and of the natural man and that he had delivered these completely to death before he could save the children of Israel. Therefore, we see that when Moses was on the way Jehovah sought to slay him (Exo. 4:24). Why? Because Moses did not have the mark of the covenant. Moses and his son had not received circumcision. They were just like the Gentiles. He was about to begin God's work, but he was still like the uncircumcised Gentiles. Therefore, God could not allow him to save the children of Israel. God sought to slay him just to let him see that God's work cannot be done by uncircumcised people. Then they were circumcised. After this was done, the Lord allowed Moses to begin to save the children of Israel. Later when the children of Israel arrived at the first station in Canaan, they also received circumcision. What does this mean? What is the meaning of circumcision? Please read Colossians 2:11. "In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ." This tells us clearly that circumcision means nothing other than the putting off of the flesh. What is the flesh? The flesh is nothing but the natural abilities we acquired at our birth. The Lord tells us, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). Everything we possess before regeneration is flesh. Everything we have after regeneration by the Holy Spirit is of the spirit. Natural eloquence, power, wisdom, intelligence, and good works are all of the flesh and of lust. What should we do? We should cut off all of our natural talents by the cross of Christ, whether they are eloquence, wisdom, or power; they must all be cut away. This is the circumcision spoken of in Colossians 2. The work of God can be done only by those who have been slain by God. There is no place for the flesh before God but death. Those who follow the flesh are the ones that God wants to slay. God's work requires that man die.
Brothers, have you died? Have you given up your natural power and wisdom? If you have not, you cannot do the work of God. Many people are working. Actually, they are not working because God is not working. With them, it is not the new creation that is working, it is only the old creation that is working. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is not working in their work. The work which we perform by the power of the Holy Spirit is a work that begins with the spirit and ends with the spirit; this work begins from our spirit and ends in others' spirits.
Paul was not willing to preach the word of the cross with excellence of speech and wisdom. Why? He was afraid that the word of the cross might be lost. Since the cross is a fact, preaching it according to our knowledge will only propagate the reasoning of the cross; it will not propagate the power and life of the cross. In this case, we have not preached the cross with the essence and living of the cross. Since we are not preaching according to the principle of the cross, we can only expect to see the propagation of the reasoning of the cross; we cannot expect to see the propagation of the power of the cross. Therefore, the cross must become a principle; it must deal with us first. Brothers, what is our qualification for preaching the cross? Are we doing this work because we know the doctrines of the Bible well and are capable of expounding the Bible? Is it because we have eloquence or because preaching is our profession? If this is your case, I feel sorry for you. Many leaders of the church become leaders not because they have spiritual experience or the power and life of the Holy Spirit, but because they are more clever than others. They become leaders of the church because they understand the doctrines more clearly or are more eloquent than others. Actually, there are many people listening to their preaching whose spiritual condition before God is better than theirs and whose experience is much deeper. They know the things of the spirit much more and in a deeper way than these ones do. In some places, I have often seen younger workers teaching older ones who do not have much education. Actually, the older ones' spiritual condition, experience, faith, and prayers are much better than the younger ones'. But because the younger ones have some knowledge and eloquence, they instead teach the older ones concerning spiritual matters.
We have to know whether or not God has dealt with our self. Have our natural power and wisdom been dealt with yet? Is God powerful in us? If we have not walked through this deeper journey, we are only telling others how to walk on this path according to our own ability; we ourselves do not really know how to walk on it yet. There are now too many cases of the blind leading the blind. These preachers can only preach knowledge; they cannot preach life and the Holy Spirit.
All these things are against the principle. A grain of wheat which has not died is still one grain. If our intelligence and wisdom have not died, God cannot use them. The things of the spirit are not a question of wisdom and intelligence nor a question of mental activity and comprehension; they are a question of experience and power in the spirit. If, after a believer is saved, he deeply experiences the reality of the spirit and gains it in a solid way, he does not need anybody to revive him anymore. Many people travel everywhere to conduct meetings according to their natural wisdom. Little do they realize that they themselves need God to conduct them to a revival. If God has not revived them, their work is in vain and others cannot gain anything from them; they are also in vanity. God must lead us to the end of the road. We must walk to the point where the road is destroyed and the bridge is broken. If all I have is this kind of preaching by the self, I would rather not preach. After we have worked this way for twenty or thirty years, what will the result be? What will happen at the judgment seat? God wants to lead us to the judgment seat first to see the light there. He wants us to realize ourselves that this is not right and that we should not continue this way any longer. May God cause us to see how wrong it is to work with knowledge and talents, so that we will reckon everything from old Adam as dead and will never use them again. This is like the time when we were saved, when we rejected everything from the old creation and fully received the new life from the Adam of the new creation. Brothers, what are we going to do with our way and our future? Do we want God's power and His will to control us, or do we want to control ourselves?
Some people are temporarily revived whenever they attend a revival meeting. When the revival meeting is over, their excitement is also over. What is the difference between this kind of revival and the injection of a stimulant? After the first shot, the second shot will need a higher dosage, or else it will not work. The first time there is the need for outward excitement and emotion before one can be revived. Then the second time there is the need for better eloquence, greater excitement, and more sensational persons. Otherwise, one cannot be revived anymore. This is useless.
May God gain something real for His name in these few days. If God does not gain anything and if God does not gain the glory, everything is vanity. May we be dealt with by God. May we give ourselves to God and not disappoint Him. May we all give to God what He deserves. May we put ourselves in God's hand in a specific way, and ask God to take us on. If God is already leading us, we should then exercise our wisdom and power no longer. We must do our best to cast these aside and come before Him anew to receive new power. We should check to see if we are walking on the way that God has arranged for us.
We only want God to gain the glory and His will to be done. We want God to gain something, rather than our gaining anything. We can ignore what others say about us. We should no longer exercise our own wisdom to direct our life and our work. Instead, we should only ask if we are doing God's will and if we have done His will. May we be free from all self will, and may we take only God's will as our will!
