Morning Nourishment - The Lamb Whom the Overcoming Firstfruits Follow
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Day 6
Verses: Rev. 12:11 And they overcame him because…they loved not their soul-life even unto death. Matt. 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. Because of Adam's fall, Satan has joined himself to man's soul-life, man's self (Matt. 16:23-24). Hence, to overcome him we must not love our soul-life but rather hate it and deny it (Luke 14:26; 9:23). The overcoming believers who constitute the man-child do not love their soul-life even unto death. Those who do not love their soul-life are willing to be martyred. We must hate our self. As long as we love our soul-life, we are dust, good to be food for Satan. But if we do not love our soul-life, our self, there will be no dust, and Satan will be killed. When our soul-life is killed, Satan is killed also. This is the way for us, as the stronger part of the woman, to overcome Satan. (Life-study of Revelation, pp. 411-412)
The best way for Satan to deal with us is to cause us to act in our own strength—He wants us to exercise our own natural ability and fileshly energy in our work for God. Natural ability is the ability which we originally had and which has never been dealt with by the cross. It accompanies our character. The natural ability of one person may be his cleverness—The natural ability of another may be his eloquence. He can speak well independent of any special power from the Holy Spirit. Man, however, cannot serve God with the natural ability that has never been dealt with by the cross—Oh, we all must be brought by God to the place where we are trembling and fearful lest we do anything without the Lord. We must become such persons—not merely speaking such things, but actually being such persons.
Then we will become useful in the hand of God. We must learn to experience the cross. The purpose of the cross is to deal with us, so that we will not dare to move by our selves. It is useless merely to talk about the message of the cross or to listen to the message of the cross. God needs those who have gone through the cross and have been dealt with by the cross. It is not enough that our message is correct. We have to ask, "How about ourselves What kind of persons are we" The apostle Paul said, "For I did not determine to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and this One crucifiied. 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" (1 Cor. 2:2-4).
The first part of these verses refers to Paul's message, and the last part refers to Paul's person. We often think that when a person like Paul gets up to speak, he must feel rich and full of his own resources. But Paul's message was the cross, and he himself was in weakness, fear, and much trembling—If we have been dealt with by the cross, we will not have any self-confiidence, and we will not dare to boast. The subjective work of the cross in us is to take away the things which do not originate with God. The cross leaves only the things which are of God— Some brothers have said that in the past they had many ways to help people be saved, but after they began to experience the dealing of the cross, the cross has dealt with their various ways, and it seems as if they are not able to do anything.
This proves that what they did previously came out from themselves, because whatever is of God cannot be slain by the cross—That which passes through the cross and rises up again is of God; anything which is not able to rise is of man. The Lord Jesus is of God, for after He passed through the cross, He was able to rise again. We should not love anything of the soulish life or of the life of the filesh, but let it all go into death—Our attitude is that we will not live by ourselves in any way; we will not value our own ability or have any self-confiidence. We must live as men full of fear and trembling. We must realize what feeble creatures we are. (CWWN, vol. 34, "The Glorious Church," pp. 91-93)
Day 1
Verses: Rev. 14:1 And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. 4 These are they who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins…who follow the Lamb wherever He may go. These were purchased N Revelation 14:1-4 reveals Christ as the Lamb whom the overcoming firstfruits follow. In the Old Testament typology the sheaf of the firstfruits of the good land was brought into the temple and offered to God directly for His enjoyment. In the New Testament reality, the one hundred forty-four thousand overcomers will be the firstfruits in God's new creation offered to Him directly in the heavenly Holy of Holies for His satisfaction. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 4301)
These early overcomers will be the first-ripe ones in God's fiield—This means that the overcomers will be raptured to the heavens before the harvest, just as the firstfruits of the good land were reaped and brought into the temple of God before the harvest (Lev. 23:10-11)—The events recorded in Revelation 14:6-13, all of which will take place during the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21), indicate clearly and prove strongly that the first overcomers, the firstfruits in Revelation 14:1-5, will be raptured before the great tribulation, and that the harvest in verses 14 through 16, composed of the majority of the believers, will be raptured at the end of the great tribulation.
These one hundred forty-four thousand firstfruits will not be taken to the air; rather, they will be taken to the heavens, even to the heavenly Mount Zion—The firstfruits are a small part of the harvest which ripens first. This signifies that as God's chosen people are growing on earth, a small number among them will become the firstfruits, the overcomers. The firstfruits in Revelation 14 are before the throne of God; they are no longer on this earth. This means that they have been raptured. They are on Mount Zion in the heavens, before the throne of God. They are standing not in the air but upon the throne, upon Mount Zion. This refers to Mount Zion in the heavens where God dwells. Thus, the firstfruits go not to the air—but directly to the Father's home in the third heaven.
Revelation 14:1 indicates that the one hundred forty-four thousand have the name of the Lamb and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. They are in contrast to those who worship the beast and have the name of the beast written on their foreheads (13:16-17)—This signifies that the overcomers are one with the Lamb and with the Father and that they belong to the Lamb and to the Father. It also signifies that the overcomers have become the same as the Lamb and the Father. This corresponds with Revelation 3:12, which says that the Lord Jesus will write His new name upon the overcomer. This indicates that eventually the overcomers become Christ. Likewise, the overcomers' bearing the name of Christ, the Lamb, and His Father implies the union and mingling of the redeeming Triune God and His redeemed people.
This is exceedingly profound. The firstfruits are the faithful followers of the Lamb 14:4—The overcomers' following the Lamb wherever He may go indicates that they constantly enjoy and experience Him. They follow Jesus and are not defiiled by the earthly things. Because they were always with the Lamb, having followed the Lamb wherever He went, they are seen—standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion v. 1. Because they are already in the Lord's presence, the rapture will not come as a surprise to them. They are living in the heavens today, and they will be standing with the Lamb in the heavens on Mount Zion in the future. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4301-4305)
Day 2
Verses: Heb. 6:1 Therefore leaving the word of the beginning of Christ, let us be brought on to maturity… Eph. 4:13 Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full L M L stature of the fullness of Christ. In Revelation 12 the rapture of the man-child, who fiights against God's enemy, is for a function before God. God needs the man-child to be raptured to the heavens to fiight the battle with His enemy so that the enemy might be defeated and cast down to the earth for the fulfillment of God's purpose. In the same principle, the firstfruits in chapter 14 do not merely enjoy the rapture but satisfy God's need. God and the Lamb need enjoyment. God is hungry and thirsty. He desires some first-fruits to taste for His satisfaction. On the one hand, the man-child fulfiills God's purpose by defeating His enemy, and on the other hand, the firstfruits are for God's satisfaction. As the firstfruits offered to God in the temple for His satisfaction, the living overcomers enjoy the rapture in order to take care of God's need. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 4308)
We should pay attention to our maturity so that we may be the firstfruits to satisfy the heart of God—If we are still immature, how can we be the firstfruits and be raptured In order to be the firstfruits, we must love the Lord Jesus—We should spend our time in loving the Lord, saying, "Lord, I enjoy looking at You and talking to You. Lord, I want to satisfy You, to be one with You, and to stay in Your presence." We should learn to spend time loving the Lord Jesus in an intimate way—It is not adequate merely to be sinless; neither is it suffiicient simply to be good or right.
We must be in love with the Lord. We all need to fall in love with the Lord Jesus, telling Him, "O Lord Jesus, I love You, and You know that I love You. Because I love You, Lord, there are certain things that I will not do."
This is the way to be a living overcomer. Although the Lord certainly needs the man-child to fiight against His enemy, even more He needs the firstfruits, His lovers, to be His satisfaction. We should be firstfruits, those who ripen earlier for the Lord's satisfaction. We need to say, "Lord, for the sake of Your satisfaction, I want to ripen early— Lord, as long as I can satisfy You, it makes no difference to me whether I am on earth or in heaven."
This is the attitude of the living overcomers. Because it does not matter to the firstfruits where they are, we are not told that they are caught up; instead, we are simply told that the one hundred forty-four thousand firstfruits are standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion— This surely is not the Zion on earth but the Zion in the heavens—Those who are raptured as the firstfruits will have no feeling of surprise. Rather, they will say, "Lord Jesus, I have been with You continuously for years. Lord, it makes no difference whether I am on earth or in the third heaven. I have no special feeling about being here because I have been in Your presence for years.
I have lived in this atmosphere for a long time."—If we truly love the Lord and live in intimate fellowship with Him, the rapture will not come as a surprise; it will be an ordinary experience. The firstfruits are the saints who are saturated with the Lord Jesus. They are the ones who have been fully occupied with Christ and taken over by Christ until they are matured. Our heart should ache for many of the Lord's children who seem to be ignorant, careless, and dull concerning the need to be matured—We need to consider how mature we are—We need to take this word seriously and bring this matter to the Lord.
We all need to pray, "Lord, have mercy upon me that I would be a part of the firstfruits and that I would be an overcomer." We need to see God's purpose and intention, and we need to see our responsibility to cooperate with Him. We should enjoy Christ, participate in Him, and take Him in until we are matured. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4308-4310, 4312)
Day 3
Verses: Gen. 5:22-24). (Life-study of Genesis, 2nd ed., pp. 349-350)
Do you expect to be raptured If you do, you need to walk with God. We should not only call upon the name of the Lord but should also walk with God. The calling must be followed by the walking. To walk with God is not to override God, not to be presumptuous, not to do things according to our own concept and desire, nor is it to do anything without God. To walk with God is to take Him as our center and everything, to do things according to His revelation and leading, and to do everything with Him.
It is not only to live for God and to do things for God but to live and to do things according to God and with God. Enoch walked with God in such a way, living and doing things according to God and with God, not according to his own desire or concept or according to the current of the age in which he lived. Please tell me, is God walking with you, or are you walking with God Was God walking with Enoch, or was Enoch walking with God The Bible does not say that God walked with Enoch; it says that Enoch walked with God. In order to walk with God, we must be with Him.
We must be one with Him in our thinking, loving, and choosing—It is not easy for one person to walk with another. Suppose, while I am walking with you, I have a different concept from you and say, "Brother, I love you, and I want to walk with you, but don't go that way. Turn this way. I don't want to go that way." If I say this, I am not walking with you; I am arguing with you. However, this is exactly what so many lovers of Jesus do. They say, "Lord, I love You and I like to follow You. I want to go with You." However, when the actual time comes, many do not walk with Him but argue with Him. For you to walk with the Lord implies a great deal: the denial of yourself, the denial of your thinking and your loving, the denial of everything that is of you. It implies that you have given yourself to Him, that you will give in to Him and let Him take the lead—Walking with Him will kill you.
My wife suffers whenever she walks with me. Nevertheless, if you are going to walk with me, you have to deny yourself. On the other hand, if I am going to walk with you, I must forget myself, condemn myself, and renounce myself that I may be one with you. If I am unwilling to do this, I cannot walk with you or with anyone else. Enoch walked upward with God. Do not think that Enoch's being taken away by God happened suddenly. Do not think that one moment he was on earth and that the next he was in heaven. Enoch did not walk up and down with God; neither did he walk in a zigzag pattern. He continually walked upward until he touched heaven. At the age of three hundred sixty-fiive, as he was nearly touching heaven, God said to him, "Dear child, I am here. Come with Me." And Enoch was taken away. (Life-study of Genesis, 2nd ed., pp. 350- 352, 351-352)
Day 4
Verses: Heb. 11:6b). This is very simple. God requires you only to believe that He is. The verb to be is actually the divine title of our Triune God—Moses asked God what His name was. God answered that His name is I Am Who I Am (Exo. 3:13- 14). Our God's name is the verb to be. He is I Am Who I Am. He is the only One. In the whole universe—only One is. He is, because He is real. All other things created by Him are not real. This is why Solomon, the wise king, said that all things are vanity (Eccl. 1:2)—The sun, the moon, the living creatures, the heavens, and the earth are all vanities. Only One is. This is, the verb to be, implies existing. He is the One who was existing, who is existing, and who is to be existing. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, "Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans," pp. 276-277)
Jesus is the great I Am. He told us, "I am—the life" (John 14:6a). "I am the resurrection" (11:25). "I am the door" (10:7, 9). "I am the good Shepherd" (v. 11). "I am the bread of life" (6:35). He is the real food—He is the breath (20:22), the living water (4:10, 14), and the tree of life (15:1; 14:6a; Rev. 2:7).
He is God (John 1:1; 20:28-29; Rom. 9:5), the Father (Isa. 9:6; John 14:9-10), the Son (Mark 1:1; John 20:31), and the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17; 1 Cor. 15:45b).
He is everything to us. Our life is a false one—We are today, but eventually, we will not be tomorrow. So in the whole universe we are nothing. If a husband realized that only God is and he is not, then he would not love his wife by himself and in himself. The brothers need to ask themselves, "Is it me or Christ who is the husband to my wife"—If her husband is Christ, she has the only Husband, the unique Husband. Only Christ is the Husband. No husbands are real husbands. They are all vanity. Do you come forward to God If you say yes, then you have to believe that God is, implying that you are nothing.
You are fiinished. It would be good to speak a word like this at a wedding. The person marrying a couple could say to them, "Are you the dear bride, and are you the dear bridegroom" The bridegroom should say, "No. I am not. But Christ is." The bride should say, "I am not the bride—I am not pretty. Christ is the beautiful One. I am not the bride, but He is." This is a believer. When you say what Paul said, "It's no longer I, but Christ," you believe that God is. To believe that God is—implies that you realize that you are not, but He is. You are not means that you do not exist. This is what the Bible means when it says to deny yourself—A believer who is about to be married should say, "Lord, I am going to marry this man. Lord, You know I am nothing. I cannot be the proper wife. I am nothing, Lord."—This is the blessing of denying yourself in everything.
To deny yourself equals to believe that God is, and to believe that God is equals to deny yourself. This is because you believe that only He is. In the whole universe He is, and all of us are nothing. I should not be anything. I should not exist. Only He should be everything. Only He should exist. So Paul says, "I have been crucifiied. It is no longer I, but Christ." I would like—to refer to what Darby said: "O the joy of having nothing and being nothing, seeing nothing but a living Christ in glory, and being careful for nothing but His interests down here." This is faith. We care for nothing but His interest. We should always say, "Not I, not me, not my, not mine; but He, Him, His. He is the first and the last and everything in between." (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, "Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans," pp. 277-280)
Day 5
Verses: Matthew 24:45 refers to the believers ( Eph. 2:19), who constitute the church ( 1 Tim. 3:15). To give them food is to minister the word of God and Christ as the life supply to the believers in the church. We all must learn how to minister the life supply to the household of the Lord at the proper time. In Matthew 24:46-47—to be blessed is to be rewarded with the authority to rule in the manifestation of the kingdom. In the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, the Lord will set the faithful slave over all His possessions. This will be a reward to him. (Life-study of Matthew, p. 705)
In Matthew 24:45-51—the Lord charged us, commissioned us, to minister something to His household, that is, to the believers in the church—At the proper time we have to minister food, the life supply, to the Lord's people. Do not say that others have a gift of teaching to teach you the Word of God and minister spiritual food to you but that you do not have such a gift—All of the Lord's servants received the gift for their commission. Whoever serves food knows the proper time.
If you are serving food every day, you have to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner—In like manner, whenever we meet together, this is one of the proper times, the appointed times, for you to minister the proper food to the Lord's folks—If I did not labor adequately in the Word and came to speak to you, I would just be ministering to you "a cup of coffee and some doughnuts." To cook a nourishing, good breakfast requires your diligence. According to the context of this parable, the faithful one is the diligent one. Faithful here equals diligent, and slothful equals lazy.
We must be diligent in seeking the Word so that we could prepare to serve good food when we come to the meeting. The eating time is the proper time, and the meeting time is the proper time. We have the proper time on the Lord's Day morning, on the Lord's Day evening, Tuesday evening, and Friday evening. The meeting times are the proper times when we all have to minister some portion of the life supply to our folks, to our fellow believers. To care for them is simply to feed them, to minister food to them. To the sinners the proper food that we minister is the gospel of Christ. The nurses in the hospitals know that they must serve the patients with different meals. Different food is ministered to different patients to meet their specifiic needs. It is the same with us.
The entire earth is a hospital, full of sickness and full of all kinds of sick people. The church in a good sense is also a hospital, full of sick people. Therefore, we have to minister different words to them at the proper time—The believers, the churches, and even the more all the sinners are around you. It is your duty, your obligation, to minister food to them. If they are sinners, you have to minister the gospel of grace to them as the food they need. If they are believers sick of something, then you need to minister some word from the Bible that suits their condition, either to nourish them, to heal them, to strengthen them, or to wake them up—When you enter into your offiice, you must realize that this is one of the proper times to minister the proper food of the gospel to the unbelieving ones.
In several verses the writer of Psalm 119 tells us that he mused upon God's word (vv. 15, 23, 48, 78, 99, 148). To muse on the word is to taste it through careful considering. Thus, musing is a kind of enjoyment. I can testify that most of the enlightenment I receive comes by musing on the Word early in the morning. As I muse on the Word, I think about it with much consideration in a detailed way. (Life-study of the Psalms, 2nd ed., p. 461)