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

VI. There must be an enigmatic freshness, power, nourishment, and supply within us that will drive others to seek after God by our presence; others should desire to seek after God, and their spiritual energy should be revived as a result of meeting us and speaking to us—cf. Acts 20:20, 31:

Acts 20:20 How I did not withhold any of those things that are profitable by not declaring them to you and by not teaching you publicly and from house to house,

Acts 20:31 Therefore watch, remembering that for three years, night and day, I did not cease admonishing each one with tears.

A. We need the renewing of the Holy Spirit day by day so that we can always be fresh and invigorated—Titus 3:5; 2 Cor. 4:16-18.

Titus 3:5 Not out of works in righteousness which we did but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,

2 Cor. 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart; but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

2 Cor. 4:17 For our momentary lightness of affliction works out for us, more and more surpassingly, an eternal weight of glory,

2 Cor. 4:18 Because we do not regard the things which are seen but the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

B. Foot-washing means recovering our former feelings, bringing us back to the freshness and newness of life (Rom. 6:4), and giving us fresh strength (Psa. 27:1, 4) to recover how we previously treasured the Lord as our first love by giving Him the first place in all things (Rev. 2:4-5; Col. 1:18b).

Rom. 6:4 We have been buried therefore with Him through baptism into His death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life.

Psa. 27:1 Jehovah is my light and my salvation; / Whom shall I fear? / Jehovah is the strength of my life; / Whom shall I dread?

Psa. 27:4 One thing I have asked from Jehovah; / That do I seek: / To dwell in the house of Jehovah / All the days of my life, / To behold the beauty of Jehovah, / And to inquire in His temple.

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

Rev. 2:5 Remember therefore where you have fallen from and repent and do the first works; but if not, I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place, unless you repent.

Col. 1:18 And He is the Head of the Body, the church; He is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, that He Himself might have the first place in all things;

C. We cannot wash others' feet unless we enjoy the Lord as our overcoming life and obtain the Spirit's help to live out such a life; the Spirit within us is our Comforter, the One who takes care of our case, our cause, and our affairs—John 14:26; Phil. 1:19-21a.

John 14:26 But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and remind you of all the things which I have said to you.

Phil. 1:19 For I know that for me this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

Phil. 1:20 According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I will be put to shame, but with all boldness, as always, even now Christ will be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death.

Phil. 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

D. Every one of us needs our feet washed, and every one of us needs to be prepared to wash others' feet; among all the services that Christians minister to one another, nothing is more crucial or precious than foot-washing—“If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them”—John 13:17.

John 13:17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Morning Nourishment

2 Cor. 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart; but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

I have a word specifically for the co-workers... [God] has put us in the world so that our presence would create a hunger and thirst for righteousness in sinners, believers, and the world... There must be an enigmatic freshness, power, nourishment, and supply within us that will drive others to seek after God by our presence. Others should have a desire to seek after God as a result of meeting us and speaking to us... If our reading of the Bible, prayer, service, and gospel preaching do not produce such a powerful hunger within man, our work has failed. (CWWN, vol. 42, p. 238)

Many who knew Miss Barber can testify that she was very different from others. Whenever someone went to her and sat in front of her, spontaneously he would realize how much he was off. He would realize that he did not have what she had and would aspire for what she had. Fifteen years ago (1921) when I first became a Christian, I was very proud. I thought highly of myself because I was able to read one or two chapters of the Bible a day with some understanding. (Very few people are proud outwardly; most people are proud inwardly.) I went to her to tell her about this. After I prayed a few words with her, I saw my pride before she even opened her mouth to rebuke me. I knew that I did not have what she had. This is foot-washing. My feet were washed by her presence. I met God. Prior to that I was living outside of God, and I was old and dark. But once I came to her, I was refreshed and enlightened...We often have the same sensation—we feel that we are washed after talking to certain brothers. Our spiritual energy is revived; we can touch and feel God once more. This is foot-washing.

A few days ago, I felt that my feet were defiled. At first I thought that I had sinned, and I proceeded to deal with my sins. But God was still very far from me. I felt that there was a separation between myself and God... Later, I saw a sister who had been saved for only two or three months. She told me of her salvation experience and told me how she was persecuted by her family. She hoped that I would give her some help. When I heard this, I said, “Thank the Lord. When I came, my feet were defiled. But when I leave, my feet will be clean because your testimony has washed away the oldness in my experiences.” The book of Titus mentions the renewing of the Spirit (3:5). This is a very precious expression. We need the renewing of the Spirit so that we can always be spiritually fresh and invigorated.

We have to aspire to wash others’ feet. However, we cannot wash others’ feet unless we have the overcoming life and the Spirit’s help to live out such a life...We have to be fresh all the time before we can wash others’ feet.

The Lord said, “You also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14)...Those who were spiritually fresh but who have lost their freshness need the washing. Every one of us needs our feet washed, and every one of us needs to be prepared to wash others’ feet. The Lord said, “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” Among all the services that Christians minister to one another, nothing is more crucial or more precious than foot-washing. “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (v. 17). I love what Brother Yu has said many times: “The Bible today is more precious than the Bible yesterday.” May we have fresh spiritual experiences every day. Romans 15:32 says, “I may refresh myself and rest with you.” This is the result of foot-washing. (CWWN, vol. 42, pp. 238-240)