Date: December 21, 1936, eveningPlace: Foochow
We have seen that there are simple conditions for a person to have the Lord live in him, that is, to experience the overcoming life. All he has to do is resign, quit, yield, let go, and let Christ take over. When a man does this, he will overcome. We have been meeting here for nine evenings. Now I will ask a question. Have you let go? If you have not let go, you have to say to the Lord, "I cannot make it, and I do not intend to try to make it. I let go. I commit everything to You so that You can overcome for me." Some may feel that it is very difficult to let go, and some may not even know what letting go means. You have to realize that unless you truly let go, you cannot fully overcome. Therefore, tonight we need to consider once again how we can let go and commit everything to Him.
When I was in Chefoo, a sister came to me and said that she could not let go because she did not know how to let go. I asked her if she had ever taken a cab to her friend's house. She said she had. I then asked if she had ever arrived at her friend's house and as she reached into her pocket to pay the driver, her friend came out and tried to pay the fare, with each trying to pay and each trying to push money into the other one's hand. She said she had. I said, "Suppose your friend paid the twenty-cent fare for you, and the driver took the money and left. Since you did not want your friend to spend her money, you would attempt to put twenty cents into her hand before you left. As you were leaving, she would try to put the money back into your hand. After pushing the money back and forth a few times, you could place the money on the ground and tell her that you were leaving. In your heart, however, you would wonder if your friend had taken the money. You would also wonder what would happen if she did not pick it up and some passersby picked it up instead. Therefore, you would glance back quickly to see if she had picked up the money. If you saw that she had not picked it up, you would take a few more steps and look back again. If you did this, I can tell you that your friend would never take the money as long as you continued to look back. But if you left the money in the middle of the street and did not look back, walking straight ahead instead, your friend would surely come over and pick it up." After I told her this illustration, she became clear and began to experience the overcoming life.
Last night I spoke of a sister who loved snack food. A few days after I talked with her, she invited some guests to her house for a meal. During the meal, she wept again. She felt that she was still defeated and had not yet overcome. She still had not let go. Chinese has an idiomatic expression: "To let go and die." Once a man lets go, God can do His work. Man always tries to do something and to come up with some methods, but God considers us to be hopeless. He only asks us to let go. As long as we still want to do something, God will allow us to go on by ourselves. But when we can say, "Lord, I thank You that I cannot make it, but I believe that You can make it," our faith will bring in the Lord's work. On the one hand, many people commit themselves to God, but on the other hand, they cannot be at peace. They constantly look back, fearing that God will not take up their consecration. This is not genuine trust. God wants to be responsible for everything. But if we want to take control, He will not take control. If we do not take control, He will surely take control. After we have committed everything to God, we should no longer take control or worry about anything. We have to say to God, "I have committed everything to You. From now on, I do not care if I am good or bad." Once we commit ourselves to God in this way, He will take over and be responsible for everything. If we let go, God will take over.
However, after many people know that they should let go, they still fail because they have not believed. After a person has let go, he must continue to believe. Letting go is just the negative side of the matter. On the positive side, we must believe. We have to believe that we have overcome. Putting it more accurately, we have to believe that the Lord is living in us, that we have uninterrupted fellowship with the Lord, that we have a sustained prayer life, that we are obedient to God, and that we have the power to overcome sin.
Letting go and believing are definite steps that we must take. Every Christian should know the day that he let go and the day that he believed. These days should be as definite as the day of his salvation. Our letting go and believing must be definite, but after we have let go and believed in a definite way, we need to continue to let go and believe. Letting go and believing are things that we do continuously day by day; they are not things we do once for all. Some people say, "This is hard. How can I remember to do this? After I hear a message, I may be able to remember. But when I am busy, when I am studying, or when I am visiting the sick, I may forget. What should I do?" We have a brother who manages a factory that has more than a few dozen female workers. He said that he often has been driven almost to insanity by the noise of the machines. He did not know how one could be in Christ all the time. I asked, "When you have forgotten that you are in Christ, are you still in Christ in reality?" He thought for a while and answered, "Yes, I am still in Christ." Thank the Lord that this is not a matter of us remembering, but a matter of the Lord remembering. We can forget about the Lord, but the Lord will never forget us. We have to realize that there is no problem with us at all, because we are in Christ already. We can rest in the Lord, because He is responsible for everything.
A brother once asked, "If I let go today, but cannot let go tomorrow, what will happen to me?" I said, "You can go to the Lord and say, `Lord, I cannot let go, and I will not try to let go. Thank You that You can make me let go!' If you find that you cannot believe, you can say to the Lord, `I cannot believe, and I will not try to believe. Thank You that You can believe for me.'" There is not a single weakness in us that is so severe that it can frustrate God. We only need to come to the Lord just as we are. From now on there is nothing that is impossible with us. Hallelujah! After we pass the gate of victory, day by day we will find the Lord overcoming the sins that we could not otherwise overcome.
Another brother once asked, "Does this mean that if I let go and believe today, that I will never sin again?" No. You can still sin. But there is a big difference between letting go and believing, and not letting go and not believing. Before one can experience the overcoming life, failure is the rule while victory is the exception. But after one passes the gate of victory, victory is the rule while failure is the exception. Victory is the normal experience, while failure is the abnormal experience. The old sins are gone and his tone has changed; everything is different. He is no longer bound by the sins that once beset him. There is a big difference between his present state and his former condition when he had not yet experienced the overcoming life.
Those who are living the overcoming life may still encounter temptations. When temptations come, how should we deal with them? There are two kinds of temptation that Christians encounter in their daily life. The first kind of temptation comes slowly; it gives a person time to think about it. The second kind of temptation comes suddenly; it does not give a person time to think about it. These two temptations vary in the duration of time, and the way to deal with them is different. Let us consider the way to deal with these two kinds of temptation.
The way to deal with the first kind of temptation is similar to the way one gets through the gate of victory. When this kind of temptation comes, he should not "stick out his head"; rather, he should hide behind the Lord. He should not resist or fight the temptation. He only needs to tell God directly, "I know I like to lose my temper. I will not try to be patient. Lord, I thank You and praise You because You can be my patience. I cannot overcome this temptation myself. Just as Your blood saved me, Your flesh, that is, Your life, will also save me." If he stands firm in this position, the temptation will go away. If he struggles with the temptation and tries to resist, it will never leave him. But when he says, "I cannot make it, but God can make it," and when he boasts in his weakness and in God's strength, the temptation will go away immediately.
In order to deal with the second kind of temptation, we must first realize that sudden sins, temptations, and snares are like fiery darts that come upon us; they shoot us when we least expect it. The way to deal with these sudden, fiery darts is to lift up our faith as a shield. Many people use faith like "pliers." When fiery darts hit them, they try to pull them out with "faith-pliers." But this is futile. What is a shield? A shield is something that is between the enemy's darts and us. Every morning we have to pray with faith and ask God to deliver us from temptations so that we will not encounter unexpected temptations. Moreover, during the whole day, we have to believe that Christ will live His life out of us. We have to believe that just as we sinned without effort or resolutions when we were in Adam and joined to him, we can live out the patience of Christ and express His holiness without effort or resolutions now that we are in Christ and are joined to Him. Every morning when we wake up, we have to believe that God will deliver us from temptations that we do not even have a chance to think about. We also have to believe that Christ's life will manifest His victory through us without any conscious effort on our part.
If a man says that he cannot guarantee that he will not fail today, he will surely fail. If he says, "I believe that I will surely overcome today," he will still fail. But suppose he says, "Lord, I thank You because You have said that Your grace is sufficient for me. Lord, I am weak and will always be weak. I do not have any strength, and I cannot overcome sin. But You have said that Your grace is sufficient for me. I commit myself to You. I believe in You, and I believe that Your grace is sufficient." He has the Lord's Word. When he believes in the Lord's Word and stands on His Word, he will overcome. We must have the shield of faith with us all the time. The Lord's prayer to the Father in Matthew 6 is a very good prayer. He prayed that the Father would not bring us into temptation (v. 13). We also have to pray like the Lord, saying, "Lord, do not bring me into the sudden temptations." If we do this, we will see the Lord's deliverance.
Sometimes you encounter not only temptations, but also trials. Suppose a sister's husband persecutes her and does not allow her to come to the meetings. The way to deal with such a trial is by faith. If faith is genuine, an intense fire will only prove its golden nature; the fire will not turn it into bronze. All genuine faith is long-lived. Whenever you encounter any trial, do not be discouraged and do not retreat. On the contrary, stand on God's Word and believe that God will manifest His victory through you.
When I was in Chefoo, Brother Witness Lee's wife came to see me once and said, "I have passed the gate of victory. But my victory is very short; it only lasts for a week. After a few days, I am defeated again. What is happening to me?" I gave her an illustration. I said, "Suppose your child is playing outside your house and a rickshaw driver comes and says to him, `Your mother bought you from the herbal shop.' Your child will come home and ask, `Was I born of you, or was I bought by you?' You will say, `You were born of me. Do not believe the word of a stranger.' Your child may go out and meet the same man again, who says, `You are silly. Your mother has deceived you. You were bought and not born of your mother. I was there when she bought you.' The rickshaw driver may repeat again and again that your son was not born of you. He may even present two or three witnesses to your child. Will your child believe your words, which do not have any proof, or the stranger's lies, which are apparently backed up by proof? If your son has faith in your word, he will be very bold. He will ignore the lies of the strangers, and he will even laugh at them in his heart and say, `You are liars. You are just trying to deceive me. The more you speak to me, the more I do not believe.' In the same way, we believe in God's Word and do not need any proof. Whatever God's Word says, that is it. My feelings are lies, and my experiences are lies. I only believe that God's Word is true. If we can believe firmly in God's Word, we can even say, `I wish more trials can come. Let them come. See whether or not I am nervous about them!'"
Once another brother named Lee testified that he lives a life of sitting at the bow of the boat. He can look down upon all the temptations and scorn all the trials, because the Lord is sleeping at the stern of the boat. Those who have faith will have such a confidence. Yet this will not guarantee that we will never fail. It is still possible for us to fail. Once we fail, we have to confess our sins immediately and repent to Him, asking for the cleansing of His blood. Then we have to return to the proper path and live the overcoming life once again. When we do this, the way of victory will shine brighter and brighter.
Question: Is victory something progressive, or is it something that we experience once for all?
Answer: It is right to say that it is progressive, but it is not wrong to say that it is complete once for all. In terms of God living in us and overcoming sins for us, we can say that victory is complete once for all. However, there is a difference in degree. There is a difference in the amount God fills a person. For example, a cup, a bowl, and a bucket can all be filled, but the measures are different. Every believer can only overcome the sins that he knows about; he cannot overcome sins that he does not know about. For example, last year you might not have known that a certain matter was a sin. Obviously, you could not have overcome it then. When God enlightens you this year, you will know that it is sin, and you can overcome it. The light you receive is progressive. Therefore, the victory you experience is also progressive. The victory that a newly saved person experiences is the same kind of victory that is experienced by one who has been a Christian for forty to fifty years. But the latter has experienced victory in greater frequency and degree. Hence, in order to live the overcoming life, we must learn daily to know sin and the things that do not glorify God. If we do this, we will advance day by day.
I have a friend who is a missionary with the China Inland Mission. She was familiar with the overcoming life. She had a colleague who always gave her a hard time, spreading many unfounded rumors about her in England. All the co-workers disliked this one, but my friend endured her and outwardly maintained a cordial relationship with her. One day my friend read 1 Peter 1:22, which says, "Love one another from a pure heart fervently." God shed His light on her and showed her that not only is hatred a sin, but the failure to love one's brother is also a sin. She prayed and said, "Lord, make me love her. There is nothing lovable about her. She is not lovable at all. In fact, she is horrible. Lord, I can forgive her, but I cannot love her. I cannot love her fervently. I confess that this is a sin." For two to three days, her attention was on this new sin. One day she prayed and fasted the whole day, but still she could not love the sister. She prayed earnestly for another day and night. The next evening the Lord granted her the victory. She felt that she not only loved this sister fervently, but that she could even pray for her. Thank the Lord, after another week the co-worker who gave her a hard time also overcame and received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. After we pass the gate of victory, there may still be warfare, but the warfare we experience after passing the gate of victory is a warfare of faith. In the world one fights to win, but the Lord's way is to win first and then fight.
There were three Western sisters who were working in Shansi. Two of them decided to remain single, and the third was engaged. Her fiancé was in England. One day the sister who was engaged was praying in her room and felt very lonely. She began to weep and feel sorry for herself. When the second sister passed the room and saw her crying, she went to the third one and said, "If anyone should be crying, we should be the ones. She has a fiancé who writes to her all the time. Why does she have to cry?" Eventually the two were affected and began crying out of loneliness as well. A few days later the Lord reminded one of them of the word in Matthew 28:20: "I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age." The other sister read Psalm 16:11, which says, "You will make known to Me the path of life;/In Your presence is fullness of joy;/At Your right hand there are pleasures forever." They realized that even the feeling of loneliness was a new sin, and they prayed, "Lord, forgive us. You are with us all the time. Yet we feel lonely. This is a sin." After this they overcame. From that time forward, they never wept for their loneliness.
One sister had five children. She was a very good sister, but she worried for her children all the time. At first she even thought that it was right to worry; she did not see that worrying is a sin. Therefore, she did not overcome. One day the Lord enlightened her, and she realized that worrying is a sin. Subsequently, she overcame. If you have the Lord living in you, the more sin you know, the more you will overcome.
I was once ill-treated by a certain person, and I said a few rash words to him. The Lord pointed out this matter to me and told me to deal with it. I thought that he had wronged me. I did not hate him anymore and I had forgiven him. Yet the Lord wanted me to confess my sins to him. I felt that I could not do this, but whenever the Lord speaks, He will not give up. Whenever the Lord lays His hand upon something, He will never take it back. I read the Bible and prayed. One day I read the phrase "love your enemies." I had written a letter apologizing to him, but when I realized that I could not love him, I did not send it out. I prayed to the Lord, "If You do not give me a love for this man, I cannot love him by myself." When I honestly confessed that I could not make it, and that God was the only One who could, I was able to love him from my heart. I had been trying to deal with the matter for two months, but it was settled that day. I sent him the letter of apology the next day.
A sister who was very neat, tidy, and kept her house in good order did not care very much about her closets. Two months ago she testified that the Lord spoke to her, "You have to clean your closets; otherwise, you cannot glorify Me." She began to clean her closets. When I heard this, I was quite touched, and the Lord immediately spoke to me, "You have not made your bed. How can this glorify Me?" I began to make my bed. Before that time I had never made my bed. That was the first time I began to make my bed. Two months have passed now, and I have been making my bed ever since. Thank and praise the Lord.
The victory in Christ is complete in its nature, and there is no way to improve on it. However, the extent and degree of victory are constantly growing and increasing. The more light we receive, the more growth we experience. The less light we receive, the less growth we experience. The more we know our sins, the more supply we receive from God; the less we know our sins, the less supply we receive from God. If every day we acknowledge before the Lord that we cannot make it, that we will not try to make it, and that only God can make it, and if every day we believe that God lives in us to be our victory, we will advance continually. Hallelujah! On the one hand, our victory is complete, because this victory is accomplished in Christ. On the other hand, our victory is progressive, because as the light we receive increases, the measure of our victory will also increase.
