第一週 • 週四
晨興餧養
詩一一九140 你的話極其精煉，為你的僕人所愛。
西二19 …持定元首；本於祂，全身藉着節和筋，得了豐富的供應，並結合一起，就以神的增長而長大。
世界是最攙雜的，但神實際的話把我們聖別，我們就變得單純了；…一個越在神話語裏的人，就越單純；一個不在神話語而在世界裏的人，是複雜而不單純的。…然而，我們裏面若有神的話，這話帶着神的實際就在我們裏面作聖別的工作，把我們聖別出來，我們就屬於神，也就單純了。…祂實際的話聖別我們脫離攙雜的世界，使我們歸到神的單純裏（李常受文集一九九○年第二冊，八六頁）。
信息選讀
屬靈的長進就是在我們裏頭神的成分的加增。…如果你在屬靈的事情上有了長進的話，就是神在你裏頭的成分加多。…當初神造人的時候，就是要叫人作祂的器皿。…只要有一件東西，或是一件事情，或是一個人，把你這個人佔有了，你在神面前就落下去了。
到底有沒有甚麼東西在你裏頭佔去了神的地位，只要看你愛不愛神就知道了。這樣，我們就很容易找出甚麼叫作屬靈的長進，甚麼是屬靈長進的方法和途徑。在前面我們已經從積極方面說過，屬靈的長進就是神的成分的加增；現在我們再從消極方面來說，屬靈的長進，就是從你這個人身上，從你這個人裏頭，有東西被除掉。這個就叫作屬靈的長進。從你的裏頭有一個東西掉下去，從你的身上有一個東西掉下去，這就叫作屬靈的長進。在你裏頭那個占有神的地位的東西掉下去了，這就叫作屬靈的長進。
主耶穌對門徒說，『這樣，你們每個人，若不捨棄一切所有的，就不能作我的門徒。』〔路十四33〕有的人一下子捨棄了，不到兩年又回過頭來了。主耶穌說的捨棄，是要那住在你裏頭的靈帶你捨棄的。十字架的工作，是要聖靈執行在我們裏頭的。聖靈執行十字架的工作，我們纔會有所除掉。…只要我們有一點心向着神打開，聖靈就執行十字架的工作。主耶穌在十字架上已經除掉了一切。…減去多少，在乎你的心向着神有多少。我們巴不得從我們身上天天有東西掉下去，這就是天天死（倪柝聲文集第二輯第十七冊，一八三至一八六、一八八至一八九頁）。
〔所羅門〕不過是求智慧，神卻不光給他智慧，還給他一顆廣大的心，王上四章二十九節說，『神賜給所羅門智慧、極大的聰明和寬廣的心，如同海邊的沙那樣不可測量。』這個『不可測量』是中文加上去的。原文的意思是說，那個廣大的心如同海沙一樣。中國人是說心大如同海涵，如同海能彀包含。但是這裏的心如同海沙。海沙是包括海的。聖經說，神『用沙為界限，使海不得越過』（耶五22）。所以所羅門的心比海洋還大。
當神給所羅門智慧的時候，神就給他這樣一顆廣大的心。弟兄們要知道，一切有智慧的人，他們的心都是大的。所有心窄的人，都是最愚昧的人。你若是要作一個愚昧的人，讓我教你一個方法，你只要把心弄小了。同樣的原則，只要你把心放大了，你就是最智慧的人（李常受文集一九六○年第二冊，二二五至二二六頁）。
參讀：長老治會，第三篇。
WEEK 1 — DAY 4
Morning Nourishment
Psa. 119:140 Your word is very pure, and Your servant loves it.
Col. 2:19 …Holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God.
The world is very mixed. But God’s word of reality sanctifies us and makes us pure…The more a person is in the word of God, the purer he becomes. A man who is not in God’s word but is in the world is complicated and impure… However, if we have God’s word within, this word with God’s reality will do a sanctifying work within us to separate us unto God, thus making us pure… The word of reality sanctifies us and delivers us from the mixed-up world, turning us back to the purity in God. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “The Oneness and the One Accord according to the Lord’s Aspiration and the Body Life and Service according to His Pleasure,” pp. 71-72)
Todays Reading
Spiritual progress is the increase of the element of God in us…If we have made any progress in spiritual matters, then the element of God has increased in us. God’s goal is for man to become His vessel. As long as we are occupied by something other than God, and as long as we do not yield the proper place to God, we are fallen.
Whether or not something is occupying God’s place in you is judged by whether you love God. Therefore, it is very easy to find the meaning of spiritual progress and the ways and means to spiritual progress. We have mentioned the positive aspect of spiritual progress, which is the increase of the element of God in us. Now let us look at the negative aspect of spiritual progress. Spiritual progress on the negative side is the shedding of certain things from us, that is, from our inner being. As soon as something is shed from us, we have spiritual progress. When something that usurps God’s place is shed from us, we have spiritual progress.
The Lord said to the disciples, “Everyone of you who does not forsake all his own possessions cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:33). Some people forsake all things, only to pick them up again shortly. When the Lord Jesus spoke of forsaking all, He meant for it to be accomplished by the Spirit in us. Consequently, the work of the cross can only be executed by the Holy Spirit in us, and only then will things drop off…As long as our heart is open toward the Lord, the Spirit will execute the work of the cross in us. On the cross the Lord Jesus stripped away everything for us already. The extent of this decrease depends on the degree to which our heart is turned toward God. How we wish that something would be removed from us daily! This is dying daily. (CWWN, vol. 37, pp. 141-145)
Though [Solomon] asked only for wisdom, God gave him, in addition to wisdom, also a large heart. First Kings 4:29 says, “God gave Solomon wisdom and very much understanding and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore.” It says that largeness of heart is like the sand on the seashore. A Chinese proverb speaks of the heart being as large as the capacity of the sea, but here the heart is as large as the sand on the seashore. The seashore encloses the sea. The Scriptures say that God has “set the sand as a boundary for the sea” (Jer. 5:22). Therefore, Solomon’s heart was larger than the sea.
At the time when God gave Solomon wisdom, He also gave him a large heart. We have to know that all wise ones have large hearts, and everyone with a narrow heart is a foolish person. If you want to be a foolish person, let me teach you a way: simply make your heart small. In the same principle, if you enlarge your heart, you will become the wisest person. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 2, “The Elders’ Management of the Church,” p. 157)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1960, vol. 2, “The Elders’ Management of the Church,” ch. 3
