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Scripture Reading: Psa. 5:3; Isa. 50:4
The matters we have covered during the past few weeks are related to young believers. (Please note that "young" refers to spiritual age not actual age.) We have covered what they should do so that they can be perfected and grow in God. Last week we spoke on confession and its necessity for our growth before God. Today we will speak on another matter which young Christians should pay attention to. Some people may take this matter lightly, but every experienced person knows the importance of this matter.
Rising up late in the morning is a great loss to a Christian. The Bible shows us that if we sleep too much, our spiritual life will suffer loss. Brothers and sisters, why does God give us days? They are like the pages of a book, which are blank on one side and black on the other side. Do you know why there is day and night? Do you know why day and night interpose each other? Why must there be a day between two nights? We believe that life is too long. If we tried to write down everything on one page, it would be black with ink. Life is too long; therefore, one page is not enough.
The life that God gives us contains page after page. Every page is blank on one side; it is a new and fresh beginning. Many times, night is a time of blessing. But it is also a time of curse. When we are tired, we can rest at night. We may fall, become weak, and dirty a page. But thank the Lord that there is a night in which to turn the page, so that we can start a new page. Do not think that rising up every morning is an insignificant thing. Every morning when we rise up, we turn a new page, and we have a new beginning. If we want to measure a Christian's growth, all we have to do is to ask when he rises up in the morning. Some say that they rise up very early, but actually they rise up at eight o'clock. Some may even rise up at eleven or twelve o'clock. But I have to give you my own testimony, and I must say a strong word to you in this matter. Please do not be offended by my frankness. A Christian who rises up late cannot make any progress at all. I am not saying this hastily. I know what I am saying. All those who have some experience know what I am saying. Which do you love more, your bed or the Lord? Brothers and sisters, do you not realize that our bed is the place of our failure? If we sleep too much, every page of our life will become pitch black. Let us consider this subject in the following sections.
Genesis 19:27 says, "And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord." Abraham was an early riser. He rose up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord. If you want God to speak to you, you have to go early in the morning to the place where Jehovah speaks with you.
Genesis 22:3 says, "And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him." The previous day God had spoken to him, and on this day he obeyed. The previous day God made a demand, and on this day, he consecrated himself to God. He did not go there to seek for blessing, but to obey God and consecrate himself to Him. Those who want to obey God must rise up early.
Genesis 28:18-19 says, "And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel." Jacob dreamed of a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. This ladder reaches from earth to heaven, and not from heaven to earth. It typifies the way man draws near to God in the coming kingdom. When Jacob woke from his dream, he rose up early in the morning, took the stone that he had put for his pillows, set it up for a pillar, poured oil upon the top of it, and called the name of the place Bethel. The name Bethel is made up of two parts; Beth means a house, while el means God. Bethel means the house of God. Those who desire to fellowship with God must rise up early.
Exodus 8:20 says, "And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me." Moses received the command from the Lord to rise up early to do something. Those who want to obey the Lord's command and those who want to testify for Jehovah must rise up early.
Exodus 24:4 says, "And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel." All those who desire to build altars and communicate with God have to rise up early.
Exodus 34:4 says, "And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone." In order to go up to Mount Sinai and receive the commandments from the Lord the second time, Moses had to rise up early.
Joshua 3:1 says, "Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they departed from Shittim and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel; and they stayed there overnight, before they crossed over." To lead God's people into Canaan, one must rise up early. Joshua had to lead the people over the Jordan into Canaan, and he had to rise up early. Those who rise up late are not qualified to be the leaders.
Joshua 6:12 says, "And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of Jehovah." This is a record of Joshua leading the Israelites to take the city of Jericho. All those who want to overcome their enemies must rise up early.
Joshua 8:10 says, "And Joshua rose early in the morning and mustered the people; and he and the elders of Israel went up before the people against Ai." This is the second time Joshua led an attack on Ai. In order to take the lead among God's people and recover them from their past failures, one must rise up early.
Judges 6:38 says, "When he rose up early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung dew from the fleece, a bowlful of water." When the Midianites were persecuting the Israelites, God chose Gideon to come to their rescue. But Gideon could not believe this. He used the fleece to prove God's calling. "Early the next morning" is early in the morning. Whoever wants to prove the faithfulness of God's promise must rise up early.
First Samuel 1:19 says, "And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah." This is a record of Elkanah's household. They went up to Shiloh to worship the Lord. Everyone who desires to worship the Lord or learn to serve Him must rise up early.
First Samuel 15:12 says, "And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning." This is a record of God's rejection of King Saul. Samuel rose up early to take care of God's business and the affairs of the nation of Israel.
First Samuel 17:20 says, "And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him." If a son has to rise up early to obey his earthly parents, how much more should we do the same in obeying our spiritual Father?
Second Kings 19:35 says, "And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses." In order to see God's deliverance, and the miracles He performs for us, we should rise up early.
Job 1:5 says, "And when the days of feasting ran their course, Job would send word and sanctify them; and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their heart. This Job did continually." Those who have children should rise up early in the morning to pray for them. This is the responsibility of the parents.
Not only were the men in the Old Testament early risers; the Lord Jesus was also an early riser.
Mark 1:35 says, "And rising very early in the morning, while it was still night, He went out and went away to a deserted place, and there He prayed." Our Lord rose up early. This was His habit. As far as His divinity is concerned, He did not need to pray. In Himself, there was not that much need for prayer. But for our sake, and to leave us a good pattern, He rose up early to pray.
John 8:2 says, "And early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him, and He sat down and taught them." Our Lord not only prayed in the morning, but taught in the morning. The morning is the good time to pray and to do God's work.
Luke 21:38 says, "And all the people would come early in the morning to Him in the temple to hear Him." Have we done this? Perhaps we are wrapped up in our sheets in the morning, and are unable to go early to the temple to listen to the Lord's teaching.
Mark 16:2 says, "And very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb as the sun rose." These women came early in the morning to seek after our Lord. Although others did not find Him, Mary found Him.
The Bible speaks of many people who rose up early. We have quoted enough cases already. Brothers and sisters, what time do you rise up from your bed? This is a very straightforward question. We have to learn to rise up early.
If we do not rise up early, what harm will it do to us? We are purchased by the Lord. Therefore, our body, energy, ability, wisdom, and everything belong to the Lord. Even our time is the Lord's. If we spend our time in bed, we offend the Lord. Many people will not waste their money but will waste their time. Why should we waste our time, which is more precious than money? Is not time more precious than money? Let us realize that our time is for the Lord. Would it not be better if we rose up early and used the time to pray for others, to testify, to draw near to the Lord in fellowship, and to study the Bible?
This is not all. Common medical knowledge tells us that it is not beneficial for the body to sleep too long. Not only is overeating harmful to the body; oversleeping is also harmful to the body. If we sleep too long, our mind will not be that sharp. This is not only a neglect of the body, but also a neglect of the Lord.
The morning is the gateway to the day. If the morning gate is not properly opened, we will have a bad start, and it will be difficult to continue the day properly. If the beginning is bad, it is difficult to have a good ending. If we cannot control ourselves and bridle our lust in the matter of rising up, how can we bridle our lusts in other matters? If we cannot master our dreary eyes in the morning, how can we master other things? If we break our promise to God of rising early in the morning, what other promise can we keep that we have made to God?
Everything natural has laws. When the body is tired, it needs to rest in order to be refreshed again. The same is true spiritually. When we rise up early in the morning, we receive a fresh supply in our spiritual life. Late rising is not only harmful to our body; it is a great loss to our spiritual life. If a guest comes to visit you in the morning, and you are not properly dressed and have not washed yourself, will you not be embarrassed to meet your guest in such a sleepy state? If we do not spend time before the Lord in the morning to be properly taught by Him, but rush to our work — office workers rushing to the office, students rushing to school, doctors rushing to the hospital, and shopkeepers rushing to the shops — we will not have any spiritual strength. If we are in this condition, we are not qualified to engage in the business of the day.
Many worldly people can rise up early. Vegetable hawkers can rise up at two or three in the morning. Should we, who have been taught of God, not rise up early also? Those who sell vegetables, fritters, bean curd, and newspapers rise up at midnight or at four or five o'clock in the morning. They only do this for a little money. Unfortunately, we are not willing to rise up early even though we have more important messages to receive from God. Both sleep and food are important, but sleep as well as food can become our god.
I am not just exhorting you to rise up early at four, five, or six o'clock in the morning. There is a purpose for early rising. The reason we rise up early is to meet the Lord. This is my intention in reading Psalm 5:3 and Isaiah 50:4.
A Western missionary said once that the first thing he does in the morning is to let God hear his voice. He has done this for over forty years without skipping a single day. Every morning, his first sound is uttered to God. We often speak many things to men before we get up from our bed. We often consider this and that matter on our bed, wasting much time before we rise up. We often spend only ten minutes to contact the Lord, and a half hour to wash up and dress ourselves. Are these other things more important than contacting the Lord? The Lord can do nothing with a man who does not wait on the Lord afresh every morning, even if he understands God's will and was once filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will not be power to him. This does not mean that the Lord cannot do anything in Himself, or that the Holy Spirit is powerless. But it means that such a person has not afforded the Lord and the Holy Spirit the opportunity. Our physical life needs to be maintained properly. In the same way, our spiritual life needs to be maintained properly. If we do not do this, the truths we receive will become merely theories to us, and will not be proven in us.
The missionary that I mentioned above said that he offers his first prayer in the morning this way: "Lord, let me rise up again, so that I can see the sun once more." Early rising is not the goal; it is for the purpose of attaining a goal. Let us communicate with God and draw near to Him before we see any person, talk to any person, or conduct any business.
Some say that early rising is for reading the Bible. Others say that it is for praying. I do not mean that we do not need to read the Bible or pray when we rise up early. I simply mean that the purpose of early rising is not for these matters, but for drawing near to God. Some have likened early rising in the Christian life to pumping gas into a car; once the tank is filled, the car can run for a few days. But the Christian life is not the life of a car, but the life of an electric tram. In order for a tram to run, the wire on the tram must be connected to the cable above the tram, or else the tram will stop and not move. The Christian life must be one that is joined to God moment by moment. Otherwise, it will stop like a tram that has been disconnected and will not move. Many people think that as long as they can have some extraordinary experience, it will carry them through for a few days. They do not realize that we have to trust in God and draw near to Him daily and moment by moment. We should rise up early every day and be revived again and again by drawing near to God through prayer and the reading of the Word.
Titus 3:5 speaks of two things: "the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit." The washing of regeneration happens only once, but the renewing of the Holy Spirit happens again and again. The washing of regeneration occurs at the time of our regeneration, but the renewing of the Holy Spirit is an anointing that enlightens us every day. Many people care about spiritual breakthroughs, but we need to touch the Lord in a continuous way more than we need breakthroughs. We should pay attention to the study of the Bible in our morning watch, but we should pay more attention to contacting the Lord. At such times, we should ask if there is any sin that has not been removed, if there is any problem that we need the Lord to solve. We should bring the things that we will face that day to Him, or any similar matters. During the day, we may have to work busily beside noisy machines in a factory, and we may not have the time to pray to God right there. Or we may be so busy during the day that we do not have the time to contact Him. But if we will spend the time in the morning to contact Him, the time in the morning will carry us through our day.
One brother said that he usually does well in the morning and not so well in the afternoon. If that is the case, can a person do well in the afternoon if he does not do well even in the morning? If he does not do well in the morning, he will surely do worse in the afternoon. But if he does well in the morning, he may have a chance of doing well in the afternoon. There is a difference between going to work after one has broken through in his prayer in the morning, and going to work without having broken through in prayer in the morning. All those who are experienced in this matter can testify to this, but this is not a matter of feeling. I am not telling you to try to feel the Lord or bring Him into your memory. Some have said, "It is true that I remember the Lord many times, but there are also times when I forget about the Lord. What should I do?" I can illustrate the point by considering our eyelids. Our eyelids alternately open and close many times during the day. Why do they do this? They do this in order to protect the eyes. If dust or sand is blown in our face, we do not have to say, "Eyelids, hurry up and close!" The eyelids will close automatically. Sometimes, someone inadvertently touches my eyes. I do not have to tell myself to protect my eyes; the eyelids spontaneously close. God said that He will protect those He loves like protecting the apple of His eye (Psa. 17:8). He will protect us. If we have a proper relationship with the Lord in the morning, we have put ourselves in a well protected position under God, and there is no need for any feeling on our part. As long as our intention is to put ourselves in a trusting and obeying position, and as long as we remove all that does not please God, He will protect us. If we do not do this, we will not grow.
In order to rise up early, one must go to bed early. If you cannot overcome the habit of going to bed late, you cannot rise up early. If you go to bed late and rise up early, your health will be affected; you will be tired all the day, like one floating in the clouds. Therefore, all those who desire to rise up early must overcome human affairs and attachments and go to bed early at all cost. One can set the time for going to bed at nine or ten o'clock at night. But the matter of rising up early should begin tomorrow. Do not wait until next week to begin. If you wait until next week, you will never begin.
Different people need different amounts of sleep. Some have said that on the average a person needs six hours of sleep. Others say that he needs eight hours. There can be much controversy concerning this matter. Recently an article in the newspaper said that those under twenty-eight years of age should sleep nine hours, but ordinarily the need is eight hours. If one goes to bed at ten, he can rise up at six. If one goes to bed at nine, he can rise up at five. I cannot make a decision for you; you have to decide for yourself before God. May we all learn to do this before God. Those who are psychologically weak or who cannot control their sleep are exceptions. As for the rest of us, we should find the number of hours of sleep that we need and start this practice tomorrow.
Suppose you decide to rise up at half past five tomorrow morning. When you wake up, however, it is already seven o'clock. Many young believers have probably experienced this. You may become disappointed. The best thing is to instruct your servant or someone else to wake you up in the morning. You may also spend a dollar or two to buy an alarm clock and put it beside your bed. You can also pray that the Lord would wake you up at the assigned hour. Mr. Müller said, "Every day I ask God to wake me up at a certain hour, and I always find myself waking up at that very hour." This is a word of experience.
Every morning when we wake up, we have to get out of our bed immediately. We should not wait five minutes before getting out of bed. If we do, we will not be able to get out. Proverbs 6:9-11 says, "How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth, and thy want as an armed man." Is this not the condition of many people? If we sleep a little and slumber a little, we will rise up the same time as we did before. The bed is not the place to contemplate; the place to contemplate is the study room. The bed is not the place to read books; the place to read is the reading room. The bed is not the place to plan our business; the place to plan our business is the office.
Proverbs 26:14 says, "As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed." No matter how much the door turns, it cannot move away from the hinges. The same is true with a slothful person on his bed. May the Lord be gracious to us so that we will not be slothful, turning around on the bed all the time yet never being able to get out. In the beginning when we start rising up early, our head may ache, our feet may be weak, and we may be drowsy all day and walk with unsteady steps. But after four or five days, all these will pass away. But we should not think that we are strong. After a few days, we will find that we cannot make it, and we will realize that we are very vulnerable in the matter of sleep. As men of God we often do not persevere in many things. We are weak and without perseverance. Some have asked why they cannot persevere. I would ask if they persevere in everything except the matter of early rising. I am afraid that some people do not persevere in anything. No wonder they cannot persevere in early rising. Some people cannot be persistent in anything. No wonder they cannot be persistent in the matter of rising up early. Many people cannot control themselves in many things. No wonder they cannot control themselves in the matter of rising up early. Being unfaithful and loose are simply manifestations of our flesh. The first day an athlete exercises, he may feel sore. The second day he exercises, he still may feel sore. But after a week, he will not feel sore anymore. The same is true with rising up early. As long as we develop this habit, we will not find it difficult anymore.
I remember the first year after I became a Christian. I went to see a missionary, who asked if I had read through the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation. I read by skipping from one book to another, and could therefore only answer no. She then asked if I had read through the New Testament. I said no. She then asked me what time I rose up in the morning, and I answered, "Six o'clock." She said, "You are nineteen years old now, and I am over fifty years old. For the past thirty years or more until now, I have been rising up at four o'clock every morning." I asked how she could do this. She said, "If you exercise yourself enough, your body will spontaneously behave a certain way." She went on to say, "If you rise up late, the manna will all melt away."
Mr. Müller also benefited greatly during his life by rising up early. Once he traveled to another place and lived in a brother's home. He rose at six o'clock, but the other brother rose earlier than he did. He wondered and asked why the other brother would rise so early. The brother answered, "The book of Leviticus says that one cannot offer the dung of the sacrifices on the altar. I cannot offer my dung-hour to God." From that day, Mr. Müller prayed to have the strength to do the same. He agreed that if a young Christian does not rise early in the morning, he cannot grow.
Recently, I read from a book some words written by Mr. Andrew Murray. He said that he once read that a person must first receive the Lord; second, he must be filled with the Holy Spirit; and third, he must rise up early every morning. When he first read this, he thought the three points were unrelated. But later he realized that they were not unrelated at all. If a person is to have a sustained experience of the first and second points, he must rise up early. Otherwise, he will not enjoy what he has obtained through the first and second points.
Brothers and sisters, I will stop here. Now is the time for you to test if you can control yourselves. How great is your faith? How great is your consecration? And how great is your self-denial? If you pray for the Lord's blessing, beginning tomorrow, you will see that the Lord will readily help you. In the morning, you should spend at least half an hour to touch the Lord. You can spend as much as an hour or even two to three hours. If you do this, you may not have a whirlwind of joy every day, but you will surely experience a peaceful sky every day.
