2022-5丨General Subject：Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ

General Subject：Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ

Message Eight Taking the God-ordained Pathway for the Church— the Way of Philadelphia—according to the Lord’s Up-to-date and Ultimate Recovery to Bring Us into a New Revival to Turn the Age

E. The overcomers in Philadelphia pay more attention to life than to work, caring more about quality than quantity (cf. 1 Cor. 3:12); they have “a little power” with the realization that what pleases the Lord is not their doing much for Him but their doing their best for Him with what they have (Rev. 3:8; Mark 14:8).

1 Cor. 3:12 But if anyone builds upon the foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, stubble,

Rev. 3:8 I know your works; behold, I have put before you an opened door which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name.

Mark 14:8 She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial.

F. The overcomers in Philadelphia do not deny the Lord's name; they have abandoned all names other than that of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they call upon the name of the Lord, who is rich to all who call upon Him (Rom. 10:9-10, 12-13); they openly confess that “Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:11), and they do not preach themselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and themselves as the believers' slaves for Jesus' sake (2 Cor. 4:5).

Rom. 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

Rom. 10:10 For with the heart there is believing unto righteousness, and with the mouth there is confession unto salvation.

Rom. 10:12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all and rich to all who call upon Him;

Rom. 10:13 For "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Phil. 2:11 And every tongue should openly confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

2 Cor. 4:5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake.

IV. The characteristic of the overcomers in Philadelphia is their brotherly love; love prevails among them so that they shepherd people according to God (1 Pet. 5:2) by cherishing them with the cheering presence of God and nour-ishing them with the healthy teaching of the economy of God (Eph. 4:11; 5:29; Acts 20:28):

1 Pet. 5:2 Shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion but willingly, according to God; not by seeking gain through base means but eagerly;

Eph. 4:11 And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers,

Eph. 5:29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ also the church,

Acts 20:28 Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among whom the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers to shepherd the church of God, which He obtained through His own blood.

A. The Lord's recovery with Philadelphia is a recovery in quality, a recovery of the original substance of the church, the inner substance of God, which is love (1 John 4:8); to stand on the genuine ground of oneness, the ground of the church, is to choose to love all the brothers (Rev. 3:7a; cf. 2:4, 7).

1 John 4:8 He who does not love has not known God, because God is love.

Rev. 3:7 And to the messenger of the church in Philadelphia write: These things says the Holy One, the true One, the One who has the key of David, the One who opens and no one will shut, and shuts and no one opens:

Rev. 2:4 But I have one thing against you, that you have left your first love.

Rev. 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.

B. The Lord's recovery is a recovery of loving the Lord Jesus; the overcomers in Philadelphia stand on the genuine ground of oneness and keep themselves in the love of God to love the Lord and love all the brothers—Jude 20-21; 2 Cor. 5:14; John 12:3; Luke 7:47; 1 John 3:14-16; cf. Psa. 133.

Jude 20 But you, beloved, building up yourselves upon your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

Jude 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

2 Cor. 5:14 For the love of Christ constrains us because we have judged this, that One died for all, therefore all died;

John 12:3 Then Mary took a pound of ointment, of very valuable pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.

Luke 7:47 For this reason I say to you, Her sins which are many are forgiven, because she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, he loves little.

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 3:16 In this we know love, that He laid down His life on our behalf, and we ought to lay down our lives on behalf of the brothers.

Psa. 133 A Song of Ascents. Of David

Psa. 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is / For brothers to dwell in unity!

Psa. 133:2 It is like the fine oil upon the head / That ran down upon the beard, / Upon Aaron's beard, / That ran down upon the hem of his garments;

Psa. 133:3 Like the dew of Hermon / That came down upon the mountains of Zion. / For there Jehovah commanded the blessing: / Life forever.

C. The overcomers in Philadelphia keep the Lord's word in His unique New Testament ministry (Rev. 3:8), which brings them into the genuine appreciation, love, and enjoyment of the precious person of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself as their life and everything (2 Cor. 11:2-3).

Rev. 3:8 I know your works; behold, I have put before you an opened door which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name.

2 Cor. 11:2 For I am jealous over you with a jealousy of God; for I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

2 Cor. 11:3 But I fear lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your thoughts would be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity toward Christ.

D. In order to minister life to others and maintain our victory for the building up of the church, we must have a revived living and a labor in shepherding that flow out from our love for the Lord and for the brothers—John 21:15-17.

John 21:15 Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs.

John 21:16 He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Shepherd My sheep.

John 21:17 He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? Peter was grieved that He said to him the third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep.

E. “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God, and everyone who loves has been begotten of God and knows God. He who does not love has not known God, because God is love”—1 John 4:7-8.

1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God, and everyone who loves has been begotten of God and knows God.

1 John 4:8 He who does not love has not known God, because God is love.

F. “We know and have believed the love which God has in us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God abides in him”—v. 16.

1 John 4:16 And we know and have believed the love which God has in us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God abides in him.

G. God first loved us in that He infused us with His love and generated within us the love with which we love Him and the brothers—vv. 19-21.

1 John 4:19 We love because He first loved us.

1 John 4:20 If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

1 John 4:21 And this commandment we have from Him, that he who loves God love his brother also.

H. Brother Lee's intention for the international elders' conference in April 1997:

1. Do not lord it over the flock of God that has been allotted to you; the churches are God's possession, allotted to the elders as their allotment, their portion, entrusted to them by God for their care—1 Pet. 5:2-3.

1 Pet. 5:2 Shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion but willingly, according to God; not by seeking gain through base means but eagerly;

1 Pet. 5:3 Nor as lording it over your allotments but by becoming patterns of the flock.

Matt. 20:26 It shall not be so among you; but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant,

Matt. 20:27 And whoever wants to be first among you shall be your slave;

Mark 10:42 And Jesus called them to Him and said to them, You know that those who are esteemed as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.

Mark 10:43 But it is not so among you; but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant,

Mark 10:44 And whoever wants to be first among you shall be the slave of all.

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.

3. The elders should shepherd one another and love one another to be a model of the Body life.

4. The elders should take care of the saints in everything and in every way for the dispensing of Christ into them.

5. The elders should contact and visit the saints and invite them to their homes for meals.

I. Brother Lee's final word to the elders in Anaheim: “The elders need to love one another, their wives need to love one another, and they need to love one another's children.”

V. In order to continue in the way of Philadelphia, we must be saved from the way of Laodicea, which is a degraded and distorted Philadelphia—Rev. 3:14-22:

Rev. 3:14 And to the messenger of the church in Laodicea write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the creation of God:

Rev. 3:15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.

Rev. 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am about to spew you out of My mouth.

Rev. 3:17 Because you say, I am wealthy and have become rich and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,

Rev. 3:18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire that you may be rich, and white garments that you may be clothed and that the shame of your nakedness may not be manifested, and eyesalve to anoint your eyes that you may see.

Rev. 3:19 As many as I love I rebuke and discipline; be zealous therefore and repent.

Rev. 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.

Rev. 3:21 He who overcomes, to him I will give to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne.

Rev. 3:22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

A. Laodicea still remembers its history but has lost its former life; we must always remember that all that matters is God's present presence—Exo. 33:14; 2 Cor. 2:10.

Exo. 33:14 And He said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.

2 Cor. 2:10 But whom you forgive anything, I also forgive; for also what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, it is for your sake in the person of Christ;

B. Laodicea means to know everything but in reality to be fervent about nothing; in name it has everything, but it cannot sacrifice its life for anything; it remembers its former glory but forgets its present condition before God; formerly, it was Philadelphia, but today it is Laodicea, full of lukewarmness and spiritual pride—Rev. 3:15-17.

Rev. 3:15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.

Rev. 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am about to spew you out of My mouth.

Rev. 3:17 Because you say, I am wealthy and have become rich and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,

C. If we want to continue in the way of Philadelphia, we need to humble ourselves before God and pay the price to gain more of the Triune God as gold, white garments, and eyesalve; then we can be one with the Lord as the leading Overcomer within us in order to sit with Him on His throne in the millennial kingdom—vv. 18, 21.

Rev. 3:21 He who overcomes, to him I will give to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne.

Morning Nourishment

Rev. 3:8 ...You have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name.

18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire that you may be rich, and white garments that you may be clothed and that the shame of your nakedness may not be manifested, and eyesalve to anoint your eyes that you may see.

While we estimate the church in Philadelphia very highly, the Lord says that she had “a little power.” What pleases the Lord is not that we are strong, but that we use our little power to do the best we can. Do not try to be strong... Simply spend what you have received from Him. Do not usurp the Lord’s grace... Even the least among us has received a certain amount of grace from Him. You must spend that grace, using it to do your best. If you do this, the Lord will appreciate you and say, “Good. You have a little power, yet you have kept My word with the power you have.”...The Lord is not happy with giants; He is happy with the little ones who have an amount of grace. Although that grace may be limited in its capacity, as long as we use it, spending it to do as much as we can to keep the Lord’s word, He will be pleased. (Life-study of Revelation, p. 186)

Once Philadelphia fails, it becomes Laodicea. Laodicea is a distorted Philadelphia. When brotherly love is gone, Philadelphia immediately turns into the opinions of many. This is the meaning of the word Laodicea.

As soon as Philadelphia becomes degraded, the “brothers” become the “many people,” and its “brotherly love” becomes “the opinions of the many.” Love has degenerated into opinion. Brotherly love is something living, but the opinion of many people is something dead. When brotherly love is lost, the Body relationship is lost. The fellowship of life is cut off as well, leaving only the opinion of men. The opinion of the Lord is lost, and the only things left are the vote of the majority, ballots, and the show of hands. Once Philadelphia falls, it becomes Laodicea.

If you want to continue in the way of Philadelphia, remember to humble yourselves before God...God’s blessing is with us, but we must be careful when we say this. As soon as we are not careful, we have the flavor of Laodicea: “We are wealthy and have become rich and have need of nothing.”

Please bear in mind that we have nothing that we have not received. Those around us may be full of death, but we do not need to be conscious of the fact that we are full of life. Those around us may be poor, but we do not need to be conscious of the fact that we are rich. Those who live before the Lord will not be conscious of their own riches. May the Lord be merciful to us that we may learn to live before Him. May we be rich and yet not know that we are rich. It was better for Moses not to know that his face was shining, even though it did shine! Once a person knows himself, he becomes Laodicea, and the result is lukewarmness. Laodicea means to know everything, but in reality to be fervent about nothing. In name it has everything, but it cannot sacrifice its life for anything. It remembers its former glory but forgets its present condition before God. Formerly, it was Philadelphia; today it is Laodicea. (CWWN, vol. 50, “Messages for Building Up New Believers (3),” pp. 783-786)

[Those in Laodicea] must have living faith; otherwise, God’s Word is useless to them. Their failure, their weakness, is due to the fact that their faith is gone. Peter says that gold proved by fire is faith on trial (1 Pet. 1:7)...You must have faith that mingles with the words you have heard. You must pass through all manner of trials so that the words which you have heard will be useful in a practical way. Thus, you must buy gold tried in the fire. You must learn to trust even while in tribulation; then you will really be rich. (CWWN, vol. 47, “The Orthodoxy of the Church,” pp. 86-87)

Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 50, “Messages for Building Up New Believers (3),” ch. 45