Date: Afternoon, November 11, 1940Place: Unrecorded
Question: How can we know God's will?
Answer: Man can know God's will in three ways. First, some people have the Lord's mind, and they may know God's will directly. This knowledge comes directly from God. Second, a believer may not know God's will absolutely and completely, but through others God's will becomes more clearly and completely known to him. Third, God may have a will, yet He may not reveal it directly at all, instead relying fully on others to make it known. Of course, these must first know that God wants to use them to reveal His will. Take the case of Paul on the way to Damascus. It was Ananias who came and told him what he should do after he was saved (Acts 9:6).
Question: Was Paul right in going to Jerusalem?
Answer: The disciples at Tyre were clearly prompted by the Holy Spirit to discourage Paul from going to Jerusalem. If we say that it was right for Paul to go, this would mean that the Holy Spirit was wrong. If we say that it was wrong for him to go, can Paul's leading be wrong (Acts 20:22-24)? Moreover, Ananias received the word from the Lord: "This man is a chosen vessel to Me, to bear My name before both the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel" (9:15; 25:26; 26:1-2). Acts 21—28 is a record of Paul's visit to Jerusalem and the results of his visit. If Paul was wrong, these eight long chapters would have been the result of a wrong leading. But we cannot say that the disciples at Tyre were wrong either, because the Scripture clearly says that they acted under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (21:4), rather than the impulse of the flesh.
Who was right and who was wrong? The disciples were ahead of the Holy Spirit in speaking to Paul. This was their mistake. Even though their prophecy was factual and even though Paul would face danger when he went up to Jerusalem, there was another issue: Being a right person before the Lord and doing the right thing are two entirely different issues. If a man is wrong in the eyes of the Lord, it will be fruitless even if he does the right things. However, if a man is right before God, it is not that serious even if he does something wrong. (Do not misunderstand; this is not an encouragement for sinning.)
Abraham, Jacob, Noah, David, etc., all failed at one time or another. Abraham did many wrong things, whereas Lot was wrong only a little. But God considered Lot's little mistake very serious, and He was very severe toward him. Abraham, however, made many mistakes, but God did not deal with him as severely. God cares more for the right person than He does for the right things. Jacob was the right person, and although he did wrong things at times, God still loved him. Esau was the wrong person, and God was not pleased with him though he might have done many right things.
Being a right person before God and doing the right things are two entirely different issues. You can criticize Abraham or Jacob for making this or that mistake, but God still loved them. We look at what they did, but God looks at what they are. When the Lord came to the earth, a voice out of the heavens declared, "This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight" (Matt. 3:17). This was declared before He healed one sick person or delivered one sermon. It is a matter of the person rather than the works.
You may point out many mistakes that some people have made. What you say may be true, yet God loves them. Some people may do all the right things; you may not be able to find any fault in them. Yet God is not pleased with them. Some people can stand up and deliver a sermon and they can write books, but their standing up and their writings are all detestable acts in the eyes of God. I am not saying that our conduct is not important. I am merely saying that the person is more important that the conduct.
When I first became saved, I read the Old Testament and found many people for whom I had no respect at all. Their history was spotted with sins, yet God considered them good. It may not be hard for me to do better than Abraham or Jacob; in fact, I may quite surpass them. But it is difficult for me to match Abraham and Jacob in the way they understood God's love. Some people may surpass Abraham, David, or even Joseph in their conduct, but they lack one thing — they are not the right person in the eyes of God.
In the past I was quite free to criticize others. I was indeed a "first-class criticizer." I did not see one person whom I could not criticize. Even though I could criticize many people, I could not match them. I know of forty to fifty people whom the Lord loves. I doubt very much whether I can match them in the way they have pleased the Lord, even if I tried for my entire Christian life. These ones may make mistakes, but they — in their person — are right in the eyes of the Lord.
Once when I was abroad, I met two sisters and two brothers who spoke to me about Mr. Austin-Sparks' mistakes. I listened to them for almost a whole day. During that whole time, I felt that my ears were trash cans. Later, I said, "I am still looking for a more qualified person to criticize Brother Austin-Sparks." His person is right, and God has used him. What he has done is something else.
A brother once said to me, in reference to Brother Austin-Sparks, "Had he not done this and that, we would have invited him to speak at the Keswick Convention." I responded, "If Brother Austin-Sparks does not speak at the Keswick Convention, whose loss is it? It is the Convention's loss, not his loss. According to my knowledge of those who have spoken at Keswick, no one is qualified to criticize him."
In Shanghai some of our young people make many mistakes, yet these mistakes are forgivable. Other people are only half-wrong, yet one feels that they must be disciplined. In the first case, the person is right, while in the latter, the person is wrong. You may think that the elders in Shanghai are quite peculiar. Some people make mistakes, but these mistakes are accidental and excusable; the mistakes are not caused by a fundamental weakness in the person. Others make a mistake, not because they accidentally stumble, but because their persons are wrong; there is a problem with the persons themselves. A sinless Lot does not come close to a sinful and fallen Abraham. Although Abraham fell, he fell on top of Lot. Lot might have stood fast, but he stood under Abraham. If a man is not right in the eyes of God, his work and walk will never be pleasing to God.
When some people stand up to speak in the meeting, other brothers and sisters immediately groan within, saying, "Here he goes again." When still others stand up to speak, the brothers and sisters rejoice and praise, readily inclining their ears to hear them. However, the minute some people stand up, you know that they are the wrong persons.
It was not a big thing for Esau to take a bowl of red lintel soup. He was busy, thirsty, and tired when he returned from the field. But the New Testament tells us that Esau was a man who loved the world (Heb. 12:16). Some people may sin a hundred or a thousand times, yet their sins are outward, having nothing to do with their constitution. With others, sin is something in their constitution. Some people are sick, but they are like my mother who has thirteen different kinds of illnesses, none of which is fatal. Some people are infected with only one fatal sickness, and they die. Esau might have walked properly in his daily life, but he was in darkness; he did not have any revelation, nor did he have the voice of God. Jacob was the opposite. He might have been deceitful in his conduct and he might not have been as nice as Esau, yet he had the revelation, and God spoke to him. Some people are easily approved before God, while others are not. May the Lord be merciful to us and show us clearly whether we are right in His eyes.
Only that which issues from the depth will touch others' depth. Only the outflow of the indwelling Spirit will touch others. The Holy Spirit must operate not only in the speaker, but also in the listener. Only when the Spirit works simul- taneously in the speaker and the listener will God's word bring light and life. If a church is not living in the Spirit, it is not qualified to receive any deep messages, because it cannot tell the difference. The only thing that will give light and life to men is revelation from God. It is easy to conduct a revival meeting with some churches. With other churches, one must have some specific utterance from the Lord before he can speak anything with impact. Otherwise, all he can do is amuse others' ears and minds.
Brother Hsu asked: How can a wrong person receive deliverance from God?
Answer: It is useless to say anything to some people, either briefly or in detail. After they listen to you, they remain the same. This is like preaching to an unsaved person. No matter how well you explain salvation to him, he is still not saved. In order for us to experience deliverance, we first have to understand our sickness. We have to know of our problems. If we are dead, of course, we will know nothing about our problems. But as long as we are alive, we have to know our problems. The knowledge of our own problems is the first step toward deliverance. No one ever gives his own keys to others as a gift, because no two locks are the same. Even if we give someone our keys, they will not fit their lock. In order for us to solve others' problem, the first thing we have to do is to know what their problem is. The problem with many people is basically a mental one; their minds have never received the light of the truth. The way of deliverance lies in the cross.
The cross that I am talking about is not a cross in teaching or doctrine, but a cross that operates in our life in a real way. The cross works and operates through light, that is, the truth. This cross is not merely a historical fact or a doctrine, but a reality that operates through light. When the cross comes, it is light, and when it shines into the darkness within you, there is no escape; you will see and will receive the truth. The truth sets you free and delivers you. This is the cross. It is useless for you to know the doctrine of the cross merely in the mind; it will not produce any effect in your life. If you see the cross in revelation and are put on this cross, you will cease to live because the cross means nothing less than death. If you hear a message and afterwards you are still alive, it means that the message was merely a doctrine to you. The real cross is something drastic, something that forces you to have some dealings.
The cross manifests its power through the light. It is not a "thing" that suddenly comes to you; it is a light that shines on you. When you can no longer bear your natural life, the cross is operating. I must repeat this a hundred or even a thousand times: It is light that kills. The searing light of the cross will destroy you. It is not enough for you merely to know this fact from the Bible. You must realize the inner working of the cross through the Holy Spirit. Sin is a very obvious thing, yet many people still do not know what sin is. It is not a matter of how much Bible teaching you have, but of how much truth you realize. It is a matter of how much you have been enlightened and how much reality you have experienced. May the Lord shine on us constantly with the light of the cross. May everything that issues from the natural life be terminated and all natural energy and wisdom be removed so that we can become proper persons.
