Date: December 20, 1936, eveningPlace: FoochowScripture Reading: Luke 18:18-27; 19:1-10
Last night we saw what the overcoming life is. The overcoming life is just Christ; it is Christ living in us. Victory is not receiving some help to become like the Lord Jesus. Victory is the Lord living within man and living for man. Victory is not receiving some kind of power to be humble or to be free from anxiety; it is having the Lord within us becoming our humility and freeing us from anxiety.
But why have so many Christians not obtained all of God's provisions? Actually, they received the power of Christ's blood, His cross, and His flesh at the time they believed. Yet in their experience they may not have entered into the full realization of these things. This is like a person who has bought two packages of goods and opened only one of them, leaving the other one wrapped up for three or five years. It is a pity that this is what God's salvation is like to many people. Tonight I have borrowed two passages of the Bible. Although these two passages do not deal directly with our subject, I will quote them to show how a person can experience the overcoming life.
Luke 18:26 asks, "Then who can be saved?" Yet Luke 19:9 says, "Today salvation has come to this house." In chapter eighteen there is a rich young man who was a ruler. He came and asked the Lord what he should do to inherit eternal life. The Lord told him to keep the commandments, to not commit adultery, murder, and theft, to not bear false witness, and to honor his parents. The young man said, "All these things I have kept from my youth" (v. 21). When the Lord heard this, He said, "Still you lack one thing: all that you have, sell and distribute to the poor" (v. 22). When the young ruler heard this, he left in sorrow. Then the Lord said, "How difficult it is for those who have riches to go into the kingdom of God. For it is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God" (vv. 24-25). When the disciples heard this, they asked, "Then who can be saved?" (v. 26). The Lord answered, "The things that are impossible with men are possible with God" (v. 27).
The rich man in chapter nineteen and the rich man in chapter eighteen are quite different. The rich man in chapter nineteen was a tax collector, whereas the rich man in chapter eighteen was a young man who had inherited his wealth from others. Ordinarily an old man like the one in chapter nineteen should have been more stingy, whereas a young man like the one in chapter eighteen should have been more generous, because a young man is not as experienced in the human life as an old man and is not as conscious of the power of money. But Zaccheus did in chapter nineteen what the young man in chapter eighteen could not do. Why is this? Humanly speaking, a young man is relatively generous in the way he spends money and is not as thrifty as an old man. But this young man was different. He could not let go of his money. Actually, not only was the young man unable to let go of his money, even the aged Zaccheus would not have been able to let go of his money if he had been left to himself. But Zaccheus had experienced the Lord's working. Hence, 19:9 says, "Today salvation has come to this house." This means that it was God who made Zaccheus overcome his money. God's salvation came to him. Following this the Lord said, "Because he also is a son of Abraham." The phrase "a son of Abraham" denotes faith. Zaccheus became what he was by faith, not by his own works.
The Lord Jesus told the young man to sell everything and distribute the money to the poor. But the young man could not do it. The Lord did not ask the aged Zaccheus to give away any of his money, yet he gave away a great sum all at once. Why was there such a difference? The difference lies in the phrase "the things that are impossible with men are possible with God." The young man was the best illustration of the first part of that verse — "impossible with men," and Zaccheus was the best illustration of the second part of the verse — "possible with God." Hence, the first secret to victory lies in the first part of 18:27 — "impossible with men." You have to realize and learn that it is impossible with men.
The Lord's intention was not for the young man to sell all he possessed to be saved. His intention was to show him the meaning of "impossible with men." The young man was very good. He kept all Ten Commandments, and he thought that he was quite good. Because of this the Lord purposely showed him that he still lacked one thing. Many people have overcome many of the sins that they indulged in before their conversion. Yet there are still one or two sins which linger on that they cannot overcome. The Lord allows one or two things to remain in order to teach them that they cannot make it. This is like a hurdle race where all the contestants fail to get over one or two hurdles. The champion may fail to get over one, and the runner-up, the third, and the last may fail to get over more than one hurdle. God knows that you cannot make it, but you do not know that you cannot make it. If you keep all Ten Commandments, the Lord will show you that there is an eleventh commandment which you cannot keep.
With every one of us there are always one or two sins that we cannot overcome. These sins are our private sins. When I was in Shanghai, I once went out to buy something and met a brother on the way. I nodded at him. After I crossed over to another street, I met him again, and I nodded at him again. When I came to the front of the shop, he was there again, and I nodded at him once more. When I came out of the shop, he was still there, and we nodded again. Within the space of an hour, I nodded at the brother over ten times. This is our experience with some sins — we encounter them again and again. Today we encounter a certain sin, tomorrow we encounter the same sin, and the third day we encounter the same sin yet again. These sins are familiar to us; we frequently commit them. Our list of sins is never extensive. Our sins are very specific. Those who are stubborn are always entangled by stubbornness. Those who worry are always entangled by worries. Those who are proud are always entangled by pride. Those who are anxious are always entangled by anxiety. Those who are prejudiced are always entangled by prejudice. Those who are rash are always entangled by rashness. Every person has "one thing." At a minimum he has "one thing." God wants to show us through such things that man cannot make it.
Last year in Chefoo a doctor's wife was seeking after the overcoming experience. Most of the people there had passed the gate of victory, and she was the only one who had not passed through. For a whole month she prayed every day. Many of her sins were dealt with in the first three weeks. But there was one sin that she could not overcome. One afternoon everyone went to the restaurant for lunch, and the wife was playing the piano. After a while she stopped and began to weep. I asked her, "What is the matter?" She said, "I cannot make it. There is one thing which I can do nothing about. During the past few weeks, I have been dealing with my sins every day. I have overcome many sins. But I cannot overcome my habit of eating snack food. I am a Presbyterian missionary, but I dare not tell anyone else of my sin." While she was speaking, she was weeping. As I sat and watched her weep, I was rejoicing and smiling. She asked, "Why are you smiling?" After some time I said to her, "I am so happy today. Now do you realize that you cannot make it? Over twenty days have passed, but thank God that you have finally come to the point where you realize that you cannot make it. You have to realize that the Lord allows this vestige of sin, this insurmountable barrier to remain in order to test the genuineness of your victory. The Lord just wants to show you that you cannot make it. Once you see that you cannot make it, God will have a way." The whole principle of God's work is to show you that you cannot make it, and that God alone can make it.
There was a sister who was a mother and a wonderful person. Her only trouble was that she worried about her children day and night. For a while she did not realize that her worrying was a sin. One day she saw it and could not let this matter go. Prior to that time she did not know herself well enough. But on that day she began to have a deeper knowledge of herself, and she felt that she could not go on in that way. Many people only know the doctrine of victory; they do not have the real experience of victory. One of the reasons for this is that they do not know themselves well enough.
We know that Christ is our victory, but in order to experience Christ as our victory, we have to fulfill one condition — we must first see that we cannot make it. If we constantly say in our hearts that we can make it, Christ will not be able to live for us; He will not be able to overcome for us, and He will not make it for us. Victory is for those who have utterly failed. But here is a problem: It is one thing to say that we cannot make it, and it is another thing to say that we no longer try to make it. When were the lepers in Leviticus 13 and 14 cleansed? They were declared clean by the priests when their leprosy had spread from the head to the feet. The Lord raises only the dead; He does not raise those who are half alive and half dead. We have to see that apart from the Lord we can do nothing. The conditions for victory are: (1) seeing that we cannot make it and (2) not trying to make it. Being unable to make it and giving up on trying to make it are two entirely different things. Some people know very well that they cannot make it, yet they still try to make it. For example, something may weigh a hundred catties [a Chinese measure of weight], and you can only lift fifty catties. You know that you cannot lift the hundred catties, but you try to do it anyway. This is foolish. God knows that we are totally corrupted and that there is no other way to deal with us except crucifixion. But the problem with man is that he still tries to make it. As a result, he resorts to all kinds of methods and struggles in many ways. A person who struggles in this way will never be saved. Not trying to make it means that we not only acknowledge that we cannot make it, but also that we will not exercise any effort in trying to make it. We know that the Lord Jesus is living in us, and that He is accomplishing that which is impossible for us. His power is not for making up the lack in our work, and His life is not for making up the lack in our life. He is living within us by replacing us. Whenever we exercise our own strength, we will not experience Him living within us. Therefore, we must not only see that we cannot make it, but we must give up trying to make it.
Second Corinthians 13:5 says, "Do you not realize about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are disapproved?" Those who come to the Lord are not disapproved and have the Lord living within them. The Lord is within you, yet your old man is also within you. The two exist within you at the same time. Both Christ and your old man reside within you. This poses a problem. What should you do? One of the occupants has to move out. God's way of salvation is to move the old man out. He has crucified the old man and put Christ within you instead. This is victory.
Last year I met a Western sister in Chefoo who had three children. The children always caused her to lose her temper. She came to me and said, "I cannot be patient. What should I do?" I said, "If you cannot be patient, do not try to be patient. You have to say to the Lord, `I cannot be patient. From now on, I will not try to be patient. Lord, You be my patience for me. I will not try to be patient anymore.'" If you learn to let go this way and not try to make it by yourself, but instead trust in the Lord's power, you will experience victory all the time. This way of victory is glorious.
Overcoming means to stop acting, to stop managing, to ignore, and to cease our own activities. It is forgetting about ourselves and committing everything to God. We have to say to the Lord, "I commit everything to You. From now on, I do not care if I am good or bad." Once we commit ourselves to the Lord in this way, He will take over. Once we let go, God will take over. Suppose I give you a cup. When I let go and you pick it up, the transfer is completed. But if I serve you a cup of tea, but do not let go of the cup, you cannot pick it up. The same is true with God. He wants us to let go before He will pick up. However, we expect God to pick up before we let go. But God is waiting for us to let go before He will pick up. God never does anything to supplement man's work; He will never help anyone. He wants to gain all the glory. This is why He has to do all the work. If we try to do anything by ourselves, God will not do anything. We have to let go completely before God will begin His work.
When a temptation comes, we can say to the Lord, "Here is a temptation. I cannot withstand it, and I will not try to withstand it. Lord, You must withstand it for me." If we let go in this way and allow the Lord to do it for us, He will become our victory. Every day that we live, we live by grace. I have seen many people, perhaps one or two thousand, who have been delivered from sin and are walking on the path of holiness.
A brother in Tientsin by the name of Lee once asked, "How do I let go?" I said, "Brother, what is your job?" He said, "I am the manager of the purchasing department of a fabric store." I said, "Suppose your boss Mr. Lin told you that the board of directors of the company had decided to let you go, and that you should start handing over your responsibility to others. What would you do?" He said, "I would have no choice but to start my resignation process." I said, "If a salesman came in to sell fabric to you, would you go to your abacus? Would you still have to find out how much you have in inventory, and how much you need to buy?" He said, "No. I would tell him that I am not working here anymore, that I have resigned, and that he should talk to the new manager." This is the meaning of letting go. We have been discharged by God; there is no need for us to do anything anymore. We only need to let go and let God do everything. When Satan comes, he does not tempt us first to sin. He just wants us to act on our own. As long as we move, he will have a way. Our victory lies in our refusal to move or expose our head. We do not have to try to fight back at all. The more we oppose, the quicker we will fail. All we need to do is to commit ourselves to the Lord's hand and forget about doing or managing anything. This is victory, and this is letting go.
One brother said that he wrestled with sin daily. Another young brother told him that he should never wrestle with sin. The first brother asked, "If I fail when I fight and withstand, will I not fail even more if I do not fight or withstand?" The young brother said, "No! I would just say to God, `I cannot make it. You have to make it for me. I commit myself to You.'" This is the secret to victory. Once you let go, the Lord will pick you up. Victory does not depend on how much you have done, but on how much God has done.
Once a brother was going down a dry well. He tied a rope to the edge of the well and lowered himself down by the rope. As he was lowering himself down, he suddenly found that he had come to the end of the rope. He did not know how much lower he had to go before he would come to the bottom of the well so he decided to climb back to the surface. But as he tried to climb up, he realized that he had exhausted all his strength. Since he could not go up or down, he cried for help. But it was a deserted place and the well was deep. He shouted until he was exhausted, but still no one came to his rescue. Eventually, he could not hold on any longer. Since he was a Christian, he thought that he should pray. So he prayed, "God, please help me to fall into eternity." Then he let go of the rope and fell from the air to the earth. However, he only fell two or three inches! He regretted that he had held onto the rope for so long and that he had not let go of the rope sooner. Brothers and sisters, overcoming means letting go! Let go! Do not be afraid; you will not fall into eternity. Rather, you will fall onto the eternal Rock. If you let go and do not take control, you will overcome. Victory is something that Christ accomplishes; it is not something that you accomplish. All you have to do is let go and give up. Christ will take over and everything will be accomplished. The overcoming life is for those who have completely let go.
When I was in Chefoo, a brother who was a doctor by the name of Shi came to listen to my preaching. He had a long history of smoking cigarettes. He had been saved for four years, and he had married a Christian sister. His wife had been to a seminary and was a very upright person. Brother Shi had tried to quit smoking for four years. Every year he would make seven or eight attempts, but the longest he was able to stop smoking was only four days. When a cigarette was not in his hand, it was in his mind. He could do nothing about this, and he would eventually smoke again. He often smoked secretly at the hospital. When others came, he would snuff out the cigarette and put some breath freshener in his mouth to hide his smoking from others. He told me that his smoking had caused him much suffering. He had tried all kinds of ways to quit but had not been successful. He came and asked me what he should do.
When I heard his story, I was happy within, because I knew that another person was about to go through the gate of victory. I said, "Brother Shi, you are a doctor. If a healthy person comes to the hospital and asks to be admitted, would you admit him?" He said, "No. If he is not sick, the hospital cannot admit him. The hospital only admits those who are sick." When I heard this, I was even happier, because here was another visitor for the Lord's clinic, and this was one more opportunity for the Lord to demonstrate Himself. I said to him, "Do you realize that the Lord Jesus only takes terminal cases? You say that you cannot quit smoking. Is this not a terminal case?" He said, "Indeed it is. I have tried to quit for three or four years but have not been successful. This is a terminal illness as far as I am concerned." I then said, "Okay, now is the time for you to see what the Lord Jesus can do. What should you do? You only need to say to the Lord, `I cannot quit smoking. I cannot make it. I will not try to quit anymore. Lord Jesus, I commit myself to You. Lord, You can do it; please save me.'"
Then I showed him Paul's word in 2 Corinthians 12:9, which says, "And He has said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather boast in my weaknesses that the power of Christ might tabernacle over me." I said, "It is wonderful that you cannot quit smoking. Paul boasted in his weaknesses. What are you going to do with your weakness? Are you going to cry about it? No. You have to say to the Lord, `I am weak. I have completely failed in my efforts to quit smoking. I cannot quit. I will always smoke, but Lord, You are in me. I will not try to quit anymore. You must quit for me.'" He prayed in this way, and after he prayed, he went home. The second day he came to me and told me what he said to his wife. He had said, "For four years you have been bugging me and arguing with me. Yet I continued to smoke. But yesterday I went to God, and in five minutes it left me." I asked him, "Will you smoke again?" He said, "Of course I will! I will always smoke. Tsai-lin Shi will always smoke; he will smoke even five years or ten years from now. It is the Lord Jesus who stops me from smoking." He had truly overcome.
When I was in Chefoo, a sister came to me. I asked her, "Do you believe that you can overcome all the time?" She said, "I believe that I need some time to answer your question." Her words indicated that she was defeated already. Victory is not something that is proven over time. Victory is believing that the Lord lives in us and that He lives for us no matter what may happen. Victory depends on our letting go and our believing. If we are not victorious, it is either because we have failed to let go, or because we have failed to believe. If we have not failed in these two things, we will surely overcome.
The secret to victory lies in: (1) realizing that we cannot make it, (2) completely letting go, (3) seeing that the Lord can make it, and (4) having a living faith every day, believing that the Lord is living for us. When we rise up from our bed in the morning and are happy, we should believe that the Lord is living for us. When we rise up from our bed in the morning and are not happy, we should still believe that the Lord is living within us. If we do this, we will always live an overcoming and glorious life. Please remember that we have to commit ourselves to the Lord and put ourselves in His hand. We must believe that He has received us and will live out His overcoming life for us. We should not try to see if this works; rather, we should trust in Him fully and believe in Him absolutely. The Lord will work only when we trust in Him fully. We have to believe from our heart that the Lord will live for us at all times. If we do not fail in letting go and in believing, we will surely overcome.
