Hi there,
I have found a remarkable book by Watchman Nee called “A Table in the Wilderness.” Daily meditations from the ministry of Watchman Nee.
It is packed with absolute gems of revelation from the Word. These short teachings of Watchman Nee are, to say the least, eye opening… no mind blowing. He has such a deep grasp of the Word of God and above all, a real testimony of living by an indwelling Lord.
Furthermore, he had real understanding of what the church, the body of Christ, was meant to be and how it should function… under the lordship of Jesus alone. As each believer accepts that he only has life by the Son and surrenders all to his indwelling Lord; that believer is then joined to Christ’s body, the church. The Holy Spirit baptizes you into the body in exactly the place that you need to be, and there you are to function, continually seeking to honour the Head of the body viz. Christ. In fact you need to honour the whole body, for truly the whole body is Christ as the parts cannot be separated from the head.
Watchman Nee was born in
He was a prolific writer and authored many books. The Last words he wrote were on a small piece of paper found under his pillow in his cell, and they were…
"Christ is the Son of God who died for the redemption of sinners and resurrected after three days. This is the greatest truth in the universe. I die because of my belief in Christ. Watchman Nee."
I publish below one of the daily meditations from the book, “A Table in the Wilderness”.
------------------------------------------------
“I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him who sent me.” John 6:38.
God’s will for me must not be made subject to my own temperament. When we know a man’s make-up it is often all too easy to guess what “guidance” he will get, because his natural proclivities intrude so subtly upon the leading of God. Too much so called guidance among us is little more than personal bias. A timid brother is “guided” to take a back seat. A forward brother is “guided” to take a front seat. Each claims to be led of the Lord. Is he? Or is his temperament ruling him?
The pure will of God demands of me that what I am temperamentally shall be set aside. I should be so Spirit-filled that the man beside me cannot foresee, on grounds of my temperament alone, how God will lead me. Oh let me beware of slanting the will of God in the direction of my own natural leanings!
Even the Lord Jesus, whose own will was surely faultless, nevertheless set it aside in favour of the Father’s who sent Him. If He should do that, how much more must I!
------------------------------------------------
This is something so vital in the church today that every professing Christian ought to take seriously the matter of total surrender to the Father! Without this, the church can be little more than a puppet in the hands of the enemy.
If the carnal nature of man is ruling his life then the Holy Spirit is not, and if the Holy Spirit is not leading a man’s life then he is under the control of the enemy. Remember that Satan disguises himself as angel of light and deceives many.
The apostle Paul urges us to be continually filled with the Spirit in order that we will not satisfy the desires of our carnal nature.
The Lord Jesus said that He sent us the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth and to speak the very words of God to us. Should we settle for listening to the words of mere man when we can hear the voice of our Father? Jesus said my sheep know my voice and they follow me.
Take time to seek the Father’s will, surrendering all. Seek Him with a pure motive, and that should be simply to know Him better; not for any personal gain like status, position or recognition by man. Least of all for material things. Your Heavenly Father knows what you have need of, but He tells us to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and then these things shall be added.
If you are not sure how to do this and you have a real desire to enter into this personal, intimate relationship with your Heavenly Father, then contact me at the address below and I will gladly assist you.
With much love,
Jack Viljoen.
