Crstyallization of Joshua, Judges and Ruth - 12

Message Title: Taking the Way of Life in the Lord's Recovery

to take the of life is to take the way of the processed and consummated Triune God being dispensed into our being continuously. in order to take the way, we need to be active, to take action, by exercising our spirit and turning to the Lord continuously. 

I. the three books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth present a clear picture of the two aspects of God's move in His economical Spirit, the Spirit of power, and His move in His essential Spirit, the Spirit of life

with Joshua, Caleb, and all the judges we see the move of God in power, illustrated by Samson as one who moved in the Spirit of power. but in contrast the book of Ruth is a book of life; the purpose of this book is to reveal the things of life to the uttermost, using Ruth, and Boaz as examples. 

it is crucial for us to see that only life can bring forth Christ. 

II. according to the divine and eternal nature of the life of God, God's life is the unique life; only the life of God can be counted as life.

life is the processed and consummated Triune God dispensed into us and living in us. 

God's purpose in the creation of man in His image and according to His likeness was that man would receive Him as life so that man might become a man of life, a God-man, expressing God in His attributes.

III. we need to know the significance of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and turn absolutely from this tree to the tree of life

in the book of Judges, we can see the verse saying that there was no king among the people of Israel, and everyone was doing what is right in his own eyes. this is to live according to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. we need to turn absolutely from this tree, to the tree of life. we need to not just know, but also to turn. to what tree shall we go? we need to turn absolutely to the tree of life. 

the tree of life signifies the Triune God in Christ to dispense Himself into His chosen peiple as life in the form of good. the tree of life is Christ, the Person living and dwelling in us. 

anything that is not God Himself, including good things and even scriptural and religious things, can be utilized by Satan, the subtle one, to bring death into the church. 

in John chapters 4, 8, 9, and 11 are four cases that illustrate the principle of life versus good and evil. we all need the Lord to train us not to care for good and evil, but to care for life. the best way to discern a matter is to discern according to life and death. 

IV. Christ is our life

Colossians 3: 4 When Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory. 

for Christ to be our life means that He is subjective to us to the uttermost. 

the truth that Christ is our life is a strong indication that we are to take Him as life and live Him in our daily life. Christ must be our life in a practical and experiential way; day by day we need to be save in His life. 

V. there are two possible ways of our life and work before God - the way that leads to life and the way that leads to destruction

Matthew 7:13 Enter in through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it.

Matthew 7:14 Because narrow is the gate and constricted is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it.

in order to take the way that leads to life, we need to enter into through the narrow gate and then walk on the constricted way. first, we need to enter in through the narrow gate and then walk on the constricted way, a way that is life long and leads to life. our walking on the constricted way is life long, which means that there is no vacation on us, that we have to keep walking on this way continuously day by day, moment by moment. but we need to see that the reward for walking faithfully on the constricted way is that we will become the Bride of the Lamb, that we will enter into the kingdom of the heavens to enjoy reigning with the Lord in the millenial kingdom for thousand years. such a reward should motivate us to keep walking in our daily life now. 

the way of the Lord's recovery is the way of life that leads to a living reward in life in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the coming age. 

VI. we need to live by the sense of life - the feeling, the consciousness, of the divine life within us

Romans 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace. 

the source of the sense of life is the divine life, the law of life, the Holy Spirit, Christ abiding in us, and God operating in us. we all need to learn this, leanr to live the sense of life, and we leanr this not by our own feeling, but through the lessons of the cross. 

the sense of life guides us, governs us, controls us, and directs us, causing us to know whether we are living in the divine life, or in the natural life, and whether we are living in the flesh or in the spirit.

VII. we need to be victorious over the attack of death upon the church and build up the Body of Christ in the resurrection life of Christ 

Matthew 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes into Me, even if he should die, shall live; 

we need to learn to take the way of life for every gathering of the church and to be victorious over the attack of death any time we come together with the saints. by the resurrection life of Christ in our spirit, we can be victorious over the attack of death upon the church. even we sisters are able to learn to conquer the death by the resurrection life. 

when we are living by the divine life within us, we are living a life in resurrection for the building up of the Body of Christ. 

VIII. "we know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. " -  1 John 3:14a

1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. He who does not love abides in death.

1 John 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

1 John 2:9 He who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. 

as children of God, we have the teaching in the gosples that we should love our enemies. this makes us a testimony in this wicked world. we do not hate our brothers, or anyone. therefore, we should not behave like unsaved murders in hating our brothers, which is in the princple of murderers. instead of hating our brothers, we should come to the Lord, open our being to the Lord, and open this matter to the Lord. 

to pass out of death into life is to pass out of the source, the essence, the element, and the sphere of death into the source, the essence, the element, and the sphere of life; this took place at the time of our regeneration.