Genuine salvation is not only for us to gain a little peace, some blessings, or some benefits; it is not even merely for us to reach a certain condition in the future. None of these things are the highest meaning of salvation. The highest meaning of salvation is that we become God’s counterpart, being of the same mind as He, moving with Him, and becoming His co-workers, even to the extent that we become Him and He becomes us, that is, that He enters into us and we live in Him. In this way He and we, we and He, become one. He is still God, but He has gained man; we are still human, but we have gained God. We live before Him and in Him, and at the same time He has found a way, a channel, and a bridge in us for Him to be lived out through us.
I hope that we can see that each one of us is God’s channel, God’s bridge, God’s way. If you and I do not sympathize with God and rise up to answer God’s call to follow Him, God will have no way to move. If within us God encounters a wall and cannot move on, we instantly become God’s hindrance and limitation. However, if each of us is gained by Him, responding to Him from within as His counterpart, being of the same mind as He, moving with Him, being His co-workers, and being one with Him, then through us He can do what He desires to do and gain what He desires to gain. If this is truly the case, the church in Manila will be shaken, miracles will happen, grace will be poured out, and blessing upon blessing will flow out.
As long as there is someone who is willing to be God’s channel, a channel that is connected to the heavens, God will be able to obtain a way that is connected to the heavens. Conversely, if we are all closed toward God, ignoring God, not answering God, and putting God aside, God will have no way to advance. If we listen to messages, attend meetings, pray to the Lord, and read the Word, yet we put God aside, ignore His voice, reject His demands, and cast His word behind us, God will have no way to gain a channel. If we remain in ourselves and have no relationship with God, if we belong to Him in name but not in reality and live apart from Him, we will become a hindrance and a limitation to God. Among us God will have no way to pass through. Although we are God’s children, He will not be able to find a channel among us.
To this day the principle is the same. The Lord said, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” Yes, who is willing to rise up and answer the Lord’s call, placing himself in the Lord’s hands thoroughly and completely, without conditions, without reservations, and without choices, desiring only the Lord Himself and rejecting the world, position, and everything that is natural and worldly? If there are some, and even if there is only one, God will have a bridge, a channel, a way.
We look to the Lord to give us this grace that He may walk among us and that we may be shown mercy, so that whomever He goes to, that one will give Him a free way, and whomever He gives a demand to, that one will bow his head and say, “Lord, here am I; send me. Lord, regardless of what You want me to do, and regardless of what You want to do in me, I am willing. Lord, pass through me and gain my entire being. I have no conditions, no choices, no views of my own, and no future of my own; all I have is in You. Lord, You are my choice, my view, and my future. I desire only what You desire; I choose only what You choose; I would do only what You would do. Lord, my being here is Your being here; You are in me and I am in You; You and I are one.” This is the way to be blessed. It is a great grace and a great blessing to us. Only in this way can genuine grace and blessing be manifested. May the Lord have mercy on us to prepare our hearts that we may receive Him in such a way.
We must pray before the Lord for ourselves and for the other brothers and sisters. May the Lord gain a smooth way in us and among us in which no one will reject His grace, no one will deny Him a free way, and no one will hold Him back. Each one of us should bow down and tell the Lord, “O Lord, since it must be so, I am here. Gain me. I want You to be able to get through. Lord, concerning my life and my future, I would put the self aside. Please come in. Lord, it is You, not I. From now on, my all is in Your hands; my all is in You. I am willing to give You a way, and I know that I am Your way, Your channel. Lord, without me, You have no way and no channel. For this reason, I am willing to answer Your demand.” This should be our prayer deep within.
In the Bible those who served God usually not only prayed but also fasted, and it was during these times that the Lord appeared to them. We too need to fast and pray, but it must be spontaneous, not forced. It must be according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Whoever has the feeling to do so can fast together. You can pray either with several others or by yourself. At the same time, I hope that the elders and co-workers will bear a greater burden in this matter. Because this concerns the Lord’s gospel work in all Southeast Asia, we must be more watchful.
We look to the Lord that His Spirit will move among us in many ways, giving us a burden and the words to pray. May we all receive the burden to pray, opening our spirit to the Lord so that the Holy Spirit can find a channel. Hence, no matter who we are, if there is the inspiration, we can pray in a released way. However, our prayer must have a focus. We must ask the Lord to gain man, to revive the church in Manila, and to revive everyone here. This should be the focus of our prayer. We must ask the Lord for a genuine and thorough revival.
When we pray together, our voices must be raised, but we should not pray too long. It is sufficient to release the feeling within. At the same time, we must give the Holy Spirit absolute freedom and remove all the hindrances so that our spirit can be uplifted.