The third problem that life encounters in us is rebellion. Christ operates and moves in us in order to make us clear about His will and requirements for us and about His leading and dealing with us. However, if we do not obey but go against the feeling within, not accepting His leading or paying the price, this unwillingness and opposition are rebellion. In this case, we may have our freedom and choice, but we will not have the way of life.
Many times, we think that we are obeying the Lord, but actually we are rebelling against the Lord. For example, we may want to preach the gospel, but the Lord’s operation in us is to pray. Since we do not like to stay at home and pray, but instead prefer to speak to gospel friends and fellowship with the brothers and sisters, we may simply act according to our desires. This is to act in rebellion. Nevertheless, we may think that we are following God by visiting people for the gospel and fellowshipping with the saints.
We may truly have an inward feeling that Christ wants us to pray and quiet ourselves in fellowship with Him, to draw near to Him, and to muse upon His Word. But instead we may visit with a brother, a sister, or even a gospel friend because we do not like to stay at home and fellowship with the Lord. We do not have the thought that our preaching of the gospel without prayer is rebellion. Actually, we are fully in rebellion. If we visit people in this way, they will certainly not be able to sense God’s presence with us, because we have disobeyed the living Christ in us. At such a time we should realize that our outward work of preaching of the gospel is merely a religious activity.
Visiting gospel friends and fellowshipping with the brothers and sisters are very pleasant things to do. However, we may be very active and zealous in doing those things but still may imprison the living Christ within us by ignoring Him. Thus, we are actually disobeying the living Christ in us. He wants us to do things in a certain way, but we refuse to follow His way. Our unwillingness to do things according to His will is clearly rebellion. Many of us commit this sin every day. The sin that we commit the most frequently and most severely is not an outward and visible sin; rather, it is the sin of disobeying the sense of Christ in us. Christ is living in us, and He is constantly giving us an inward sense of life. We should obey Him, but we often disobey Him. We often do not do what He wants us to do, and we often do what He does not want us to do. We often rebel against Him. Rebellion continually creates obstacles for His life in us.
The fourth problem that life encounters in us is our natural capability. Our natural being, disposition, and self are all problems that prevent God’s life from coming out of us. However, the problem of our natural capability and ability is even more serious, and it is a strong obstacle that prevents God’s life from flowing out of us. Many brothers and sisters truly love the Lord, are zealous for the Lord, and are very godly. Nevertheless, their greatest problem is the strength and greatness of their capabilities and abilities. Consequently, Christ has no ground or way in them.
We all know that some people have a problem with sin, others have a problem with the world, and still others have a problem with their disposition. However, it is not easy for us to be aware of the problem of our natural capability. For example, a group of brothers and sisters, who are very strong in their natural capability and ability, may truly love and pursue the Lord. But when a person touches them, he only senses their capability and ability because they have never been broken in their capability and ability. When he contacts them, he can only say that they seek and pursue the Lord but that their natural capability has not been broken. This is because the Lord is unable to get through in them when He encounters their capability.
There are many brothers and sisters like this among us. They are capable and talented, but they do not consider these things as sin or filthiness. They even think that these are good and useful things to the church. They think that they need such capabilities and talent in order to serve God. They do not despise their natural capabilities; instead, they treasure them. If these capabilities remain unbroken in them, they will become a problem to Christ’s life.
May the Lord have mercy on us so that we would be enlightened to see how many obstacles there are in us and how much these obstacles restrict God’s life. Actually, the obstacles in us are not limited only to these things. Nevertheless, there is one solution to all these obstacles in us—we must pass through the cross and let the cross break us. If we want Christ’s life to be unhindered in us, we must experience the breaking of the cross and allow these obstacles to be dealt with and removed. This will allow Christ’s life to be lived out from us.