Ⅳ
If we would be in the continuation of the book of Acts, we need to continue to live in the divine history by having an upper-room consecration (1:13-14):
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At the seashore Peter gave up his job to follow the Lord Jesus, but in the upper room he gave up much more (Matt. 4:18-20; Acts 1:13-14):
１
He stood with the heavenly vision to give up the religion of his forefathers.
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He gave up his country, his relationship with his neighbors and friends, and his relatives, and he was willing to risk his life.
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The kind of consecration that we need today is an upper-room consecration, a consecration in which we pay the price to have our whole being "married" to the heavenly vision (26:19; 1:8; 20:24).
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If we pay the price for the heavenly vision, we will "burn the bridges behind us" and will have no way to go backward.
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Whether we have seen the heavenly vision or not depends on whether we are willing to pay the price to buy the anointing Spirit as the eyesalve (Rev. 3:18).
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To take the way of the Lord's recovery is not cheap; this way is expensive and requires a costly consecration.
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We are not here for a movement but for the Lord's recovery, and the recovery can be carried out only by the specific and extraordinary consecration in the upper room.
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The one hundred twenty in the upper room all became a burnt offering; they were burning for the Lord in spirit, and they burned others with the divine fire of the divine life (Luke 12:49-50; Acts 2:3-4; Rom. 12:11).
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When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, great crowds followed Him, but they did not afford Him anything for His move; His move was with those in the upper room, with those whose eyes had been opened and whose hearts had been touched (Acts 17:6b).
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It is a small number who will turn the world and change the age; if we would be in the upper room, we need to pray in a specific way and say, "Lord, I am willing to be in the upper room for the recovery of Your testimony."
Morning Nourishment
Acts 1:13-14 And when they entered, they went up to the upper room where they were residing....These all continued steadfastly with one accord in prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.Acts 1 speaks of the upper room in Jerusalem. In this upper room a group of about a hundred and twenty prayed for ten days in one accord. They not only prayed, but they also consecrated themselves to the Lord, offering themselves to Him in a very real and practical way.
Three and a half years earlier, the Lord Jesus came to Peter by the seashore, and Peter offered himself to Him. Peter left his job and began to follow the Lord (Matt. 4:18-20). We may say that Peter consecrated himself to the Lord. However, Peter's experience in the upper room was something else. Here Peter had a new kind of consecration, not an ordinary consecration but something specific. At the seashore Peter gave up his job, indicated by his leaving his fishing nets, but in the upper room he gave up much more....In order to be in the upper room...[Peter and the others] gave up Judaism, their country, their neighbors and friends, and their relatives, and they were willing to risk their lives. (CWWL, 1965, vol. 3, "The Heavenly Vision," pp. 209-210)
Today's Reading
To take the way of the Lord's recovery is not cheap. This way is expensive; it requires a costly consecration....We are here not for a movement but for the Lord's recovery. How can the recovery be realized? The recovery can be realized, carried out, only by the experience of the consecration in the upper room. This is not an ordinary consecration; it is a special consecration, a specific consecration, an extraordinary consecration. This consecration is a turning point.What happened to those one hundred and twenty who were in the upper room in Acts 1? They all became a burnt offering....We also need to be burned, and then we will burn others.
What are we expecting today? Do we expect a revival or a movement? Do we expect a new kind of Christian activity? What are we doing here? Have we come together to hear something that we cannot hear elsewhere? We may be here for this reason, but this is not enough. We must be here for the Lord's recovery, which is the issue of an upper-room consecration.
When the Lord Jesus was on earth, great crowds followed Him. Multitudes were saved and healed, and multitudes received the favor of God. Eventually, however, there were only about one hundred and twenty in the upper room. The crowds, the multitudes, did not afford the Lord Jesus anything for His move. The Lord's move was with those in the upper room, with those whose eyes had been opened and whose hearts had been touched. This small number came into the upper room to be burned, and then they turned the whole world upside down. The principle is the same today. It is a small number who will turn the world upside down and change the age.
Do you intend to be in the crowd or in the upper room? Will you remain one of the multitude, or by the Lord's mercy will you come into the upper room? I do not know who you are. Only the Lord knows who will be in the upper room.
I would urge you to pray to receive the Lord's mercy so that you might be in the upper room. If you are not willing to come here, then what you have read in these chapters will have nothing to do with you. Then you will be like those in the crowds, those the Lord did not count on. If you would be in the upper room, you need to pray in a specific way and say, "Lord, I am willing to be in the upper room for the recovery of Your testimony." (CWWL, 1965, vol. 3, "The Heavenly Vision," pp. 212-214)
What we must do today is just go along with the stream, just subject ourselves to the current of the work of the Holy Spirit. In this matter I have no personal liberty. It is not according to my thoughts but according to His flowing [cf. Hymns, #907]. (CWWL, 1963, vol. 1, "The Divine Stream," p. 180)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1965, vol. 3, "The Heavenly Vision," ch. 6