Scripture Reading: Heb. 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 9:24; Phil. 3:13-14; 2 Tim. 4:7-8; Rom. 12:3; S. S. 1:4; Jer. 31:3

DAY 1 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 2 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 4　DAY 1　»

　　Heb. 12:1 …Let us also, having so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, put away every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us and run with endurance the race which is set before us.

　　Exo. 13:21 And Jehovah went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them on the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might go by day and by night.

　　The cloud is for leading people in following the Lord (Num. 9:15-22), and the Lord is in the cloud to be with the people (Exo. 13:21-22). The children of Israel followed the Lord by the pillar and enjoyed the Lord’s presence in the pillar of cloud. All the witnesses of faith, even the martyrs of faith, are a cloud. By this cloud of witnesses [Heb. 12:1] we follow the Lord and enjoy His presence. (Life-study of Hebrews, p. 550)

　　The saints of the old covenant were only witnesses of faith. None of them was the author, source, perfecter, or finisher of faith. In Hebrews 12:1 the witnesses of faith are considered as “a cloud of witnesses surrounding us.” The Lord was in the cloud to be with His people (Exo. 13:21-22). The children of Israel followed the Lord according to the move of the cloud. Where the cloud was, there the Lord was also. Furthermore, the cloud is for leading people in following the Lord. If you have a heart to seek out the Lord…, you may immediately have the sense that by the people of faith you can have the Lord’s presence and His leading. If you have the cloud, you will have the Lord. But if you miss the cloud, you will also miss the Lord. All the people of faith, the church people, are the cloud. The best way to seek the Lord’s presence is to come to the church. If anyone is seeking the Lord’s leading, he must follow the cloud, the church. The Lord is in the cloud, meaning that He is with the people of faith. Since we are the people of faith, we are today’s cloud, and people can follow the Lord by following us. Those who seek Him can find His presence with us. The Lord is where we are, and where we are is the direction in which the Lord is moving in these days. (Life-study of Hebrews, p. 551)

　　The “witnesses” mentioned in Hebrews 12:1… apparently… refer… to those who have great faith as mentioned in chapter 11. Actually, it does not refer to the people themselves but to the things they did… The witnesses of the things done by those people are like a great cloud surrounding us.

　　These many witnesses… witness to God’s “great salvation” (2:3-4)… [which] is not only the forgiveness of sins but obtaining the kingdom. The kingdom is the goal of our race. God gave us so many witnesses for the purpose of encouraging us to live a life of faith so that we can run the race and receive the glory of the kingdom. Although the great men of faith in chapter 11 did not have the kingdom directly as their object of faith, their faith was nevertheless their race… Apparently, they obtained what they believed in; some were raptured, some obtained the land, some were resurrected, and some were saved from perishing. But these things are not God’s ultimate promise to them. What they had obtained through faith was only their earnest [or pledge], proving that they would obtain the promised kingdom of God. “And these all, having obtained a good testimony through their faith, did not obtain the promise, because God has provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect” (11:39-40)… This [is] talking about… the kingdom… [and] God’s assurance to them that they would obtain the kingdom in the future.

　　“So great a cloud of witnesses” is the grace given by God through the faith of many people. God answered their prayers and worked miracles; He proved that their running of the race was well pleasing to Him and that they would possess the kingdom. Since we have all these witnesses, we should run the race of faith. (CWWN, vol. 17, pp. 230-231)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Hebrews, msg. 48; CWWN, vol. 17, pp. 229-240

«　WEEK 4　DAY 2　»

　　Heb. 12:1 …Let us also…put away every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us and run with endurance the race which is set before us.

　　1 Cor. 9:24 …Those who run on a racecourse all run… Run in this way, that you may lay hold.

　　2 Thes. 3:5 And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the endurance of Christ.

　　The Christian life is a race. Every saved Christian must run the race to win the prize (1 Cor. 9:24). This prize is not salvation in a common sense (Eph. 2:8; 1 Cor. 3:15), but a reward in a special sense (Heb. 10:35; 1 Cor. 3:14). The apostle Paul, who has run the race and won the prize, was nearly the only one who likened the Christian life to a race. In the book of Hebrews he charged the Hebrew believers to run the race, saying, “run with endurance the race which is set before us” (12:1). (Life-study of Hebrews, p. 559)

　　The race [is] not perfection or glorification, for that is the goal of the race. Neither is the race the inward working of the law of life, for that is the process of the race. The race is not even the losing of the soul, because that is the way to run the race; it is not the race itself… The Lord… in John 14:6 [said], “I am the way.” A race is a way, a course. Because Christ is the way, He is also the race. The race we are running is Christ. In the universe God has prepared the unique way which we must take… Before Christ was manifested, God used types to signify this matter of Christ as God’s way, the most striking of which was the tabernacle… [In] the tabernacle there is a way, starting from the altar; passing through the laver, the show-bread table, the lampstand, and the incense altar; and ushering us into the Ark, the place where the law of life is. The way in the tabernacle is a picture of Christ as our unique way. In Hebrews 6 Paul told us to flee [v. 18]. We must flee everything into the Holy of Holies where our Forerunner, Jesus Christ, has entered within the veil. This is what it means to run the race.

　　[In] Hebrews 12:1… encumbrance may also be rendered “weight,” “burden,” “impediment.” The runners in a race must strip off every unnecessary weight, every encumbering burden, that they might have no impediment to winning the race. Notice that here Paul says “us,” not “you,” including himself in this matter. “The sin which so easily entangles us” [v. 1]… refers mainly to the thing which entangles us from running the race, just as the willful sin mentioned in 10:26 would keep the Hebrew believers away from the new covenant way in God’s economy. Both the encumbering weight and the entangling sin would frustrate the Hebrew believers and restrain them from running the heavenly race in the new covenant way of following the Jesus who was rejected by Judaism… The sin mentioned in 12:1 is particular and unique, for Paul uses the definite article, saying, “the sin.” This unique, entangling sin was the willful sin of forsaking the assembling together with the saints, of giving up the new covenant way, and of going back to Judaism.

　　There is much opposition to this race. Thus, we must run it with endurance (12:1). This means that in order to run the race of Christ, we must suffer the opposition with endurance, never growing weary or fainting in our souls. (Life-study of Hebrews, pp. 559-560, 563-564)

　　The Lord directs our hearts [2 Thes. 3:5] by the leading of the Spirit, through whom the love of God has been poured out into our hearts (Rom. 8:14; 5:5). The love of God in 2 Thessalonians 3:5 is our love toward God that issues from the love of God (1 John 4:19) that has been poured out into our hearts. On the positive side, we need to enjoy the love of God so that we may love Him in order to live for Him. On the negative side, we need to participate in the endurance of Christ so that we may endure the sufferings as He did to stand against Satan, the enemy of God. (Life-study of 2 Thessalonians, p. 37)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Hebrews, msg. 50

«　WEEK 4　DAY 3　»

　　Heb. 12:2 Looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down on the right hand of the throne of God.

　　Eph. 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

　　In Hebrews 12:2… the Greek word translated “looking away unto” means to look with undivided attention by turning away from every other object. The runners in a race, such as the hundred yard dash, turn away from everything else and look at the goal with undivided attention. In this verse Paul seemed to be saying, “Hebrew brothers, do not stand there considering and looking around. You must turn away from everything other than Christ and look to Him with undivided attention. This is the way to run the race.” The Hebrew believers had to look away from all the things of their situation, away from their old religion and its persecution, and away from all earthly things that they might look unto Jesus who is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God in the heavens.

　　The wonderful Jesus, who is enthroned in heaven and “crowned with glory and honor” (2:9) is the greatest attraction in the universe, like an immense magnet drawing all His seekers unto Him. It is by being attracted by His charming beauty that we look away from all things other than Him. Without such a charming object, how could we look away from so many distracting things on this earth? (Life-study of Hebrews, pp. 564-566)

　　Only Jesus is the Author and Perfecter of faith. As we have seen, the saints of the old covenant were only the witnesses of faith, but Jesus is the Author and Perfecter of faith. The Greek word translated “Author” may also be rendered “Originator,” “Inaugurator,” “Leader,” “Pioneer,” “Forerunner.”… Jesus is the Author of faith; He is the Originator, the Inaugurator, the source, and the cause of faith. The Author is the Originator and the Inaugurator; then He is the source and the cause… He is also the Pioneer and Forerunner… [and] the Leader… If we put all these titles together, we have an adequate definition of Jesus as the Author of faith.

　　We need Jesus as the Author of faith because, according to our natural man, we do not have any believing ability… The faith we have through which we are saved is not of ourselves; “it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8). We have “been allotted faith equally precious” by God’s gift (2 Pet. 1:1). When we look unto Jesus, He, as “a life-giving Spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45), transfuses us with Himself, with His believing element. Then, spontaneously, the believing ability arises in our being, and we have the faith to believe in Him. It is not of ourselves, but of Him who imparts Himself into us as the believing element to believe for us. Hence, it is He Himself who is our faith. We live by Him as our faith, by His faith (Gal. 2:20), not by our own faith.

　　Jesus is the Author and the Originator of faith mainly in His life and in His path on earth. The Lord Jesus originated faith when He was here on earth. The life He lived was a life of faith, and the path He walked was a path of faith. In His life and path He originated faith. Hence, He is the Author of faith. Jesus, being the Pioneer and the Forerunner, has cut the way of faith. If you read the four Gospels again, you will see that His life was a cutting life, a life that cut the way of faith. Jesus is also the Leader, the Captain, of faith… Hence, He, as the Leader, can carry us through the pathway of faith in His footsteps. As we look unto Him as the Originator of faith in His life and in His path on earth, and as the Perfecter of faith in His glory and on His throne in heaven, He transfuses and even infuses us with the faith which He has originated and perfected. (Life-study of Hebrews, pp. 551-553)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Hebrews, msg. 49; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” ch. 9

«　WEEK 4　DAY 4　»

　　2 Pet. 1:1 Simon Peter,…to those who have been allotted faith equally precious as ours in the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

　　Gal. 2:20 I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

　　When we look unto Jesus, He transfuses us with Himself as the believing element and He becomes our faith… Faith, the substantiating ability, is like a sixth sense. We acquired this substantiating sense through the preaching of the gospel. Proper gospel preaching is not merely a matter of teaching; it must also be a matter of transfusion… Before I can preach the gospel to [sinners], I must first receive something of and from the Lord. Then, as I am preaching, what I have received of the Lord will enter, like electricity, into those who are listening… Although they may shake their heads, not consenting to my preaching, deep within they believe what I am saying… Because some element has been transfused into their being, they are able to believe in the Lord. (Life-study of Hebrews, p. 554)

　　Ministry does not depend upon our eloquence but upon our utterance… The proper ministry is altogether a matter of being fully transfused with God Himself. First, we are charged with the divine element, and then, in the ministry, we radiate that divine element into others in a charming way.

　　If we would have faith, we must look away unto Jesus, the source of faith. When we look away from all other things unto Him, He will radiate Himself into us, charging us with Himself. As a result, spontaneously we shall have faith. Faith does not originate with us; it originates with Him. Faith is Christ Himself believing for us in a very subjective way. He transfuses us with Himself, working Himself into us, until He, the very Person, becomes the believing element in our being. Thus, it is not we who believe; it is He who believes within us. In this way, He makes us a believing being. Apparently it is our believing; actually it is His believing. This is genuine faith.

　　Once Christ has originated this faith within us,… He will complete, finish, and perfect it. Do not think that you can be a giant of faith on your own… All the faith we have is just Christ Himself believing in us and for us. We live by His faith, by Him as our faith (Gal. 2:20). Christ’s believing element is charged into our being through the law of life. The more we allow the law of life to work in our being, the more we are able to believe. If we give the law of life the opportunity to work continuously in our mind, emotion, and will, its working will produce great faith in us. (Life-study of Hebrews, pp. 555-556)

　　Having faith is not the same as believing in certain things by making a definite decision with a strong will. The faith revealed in the Bible is not of ourselves; it is something holy and divine that has been allotted to us by God (2 Pet. 1:1). It is the result of a divine transfusion.

　　God’s Spirit goes along with God’s word, and in the Bible the Spirit and the word are never separated (John 6:63; Eph. 6:17). When the word of God comes to us, the Spirit comes with the word, and as the word speaks to us, the Spirit infuses us with what God is. The Spirit not only reveals to us the truths in the Word but also imparts God’s essence, His divine element, into us. When we read the Word, there is a spontaneous and unconscious infusion and transfusion not only of knowledge and revelation but also of the divine element into our being. As a result of this transfusion, something spontaneously rises up within us to become our believing ability, and we simply believe… This is faith. (CWWL, 1975-1976, vol. 3, p. 91)

　　Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 27, “The Normal Christian Faith,” ch. 13; CWWN, vol. 23, “The Song of Songs,” pp. 106-107; CWWL, 1975-1976, vol. 3, pp. 89-94

«　WEEK 4　DAY 5　»

　　Heb. 11:1 Now faith is the substantiation of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

　　Rom. 8:24-25 For we were saved in hope. But a hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly await it through endurance.

　　Although faith is realized within our being, it is difficult to define… Hebrews 11:1… [says that] faith is the substantiating of things hoped for; it is the assurance, confidence, confirmation, reality, essence, supporting ground of things hoped for, the foundation that supports the things hoped for… Faith is not a substance; it is a substantiating action. To have faith is not to have a substantial element; it is to have a substantiating ability. Although certain things cannot be seen, heard, or touched, we nevertheless have within us the ability to substantiate them. Each of our five senses has a substantiating ability. For instance, our nose substantiates fragrances… Faith is a specific and particular sense in addition to our five senses. It is the sense by which we substantiate the things unseen or hoped for. (Life-study of Hebrews, pp. 532-533)

　　The believer’s life is a life of things hoped for, a life of hope which goes together and abides with faith (1 Pet. 1:21; 1 Cor. 13:13; Rom. 4:18). The unbelievers, being without Christ, have no hope (Eph. 2:12; 1 Thes. 4:13). But we, the believers in Christ, are a people of hope. The calling which we received from God brings us hope (Eph. 1:18; 4:4). We are regenerated to “a living hope” (1 Pet. 1:3). Our Christ, who is in us, is “the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27; 1 Tim. 1:1), which will issue in the redemption, the transfiguration of our body in glory (Rom. 8:23-25). This is “the hope of salvation” (1 Thes. 5:8), a “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13), a “good hope” (2 Thes. 2:16), “the hope of eternal life” (Titus 1:2; 3:7), which is the “hope of the glory of God” (Rom. 5:2), “the hope of the gospel” (Col. 1:23), “the hope laid up for [us] in the heavens” (Col. 1:5). We should always keep “this hope” (1 John 3:3), and “boast” in it (Rom. 5:2). Our God is “the God of hope” (Rom. 15:13), and “through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4) all the time “in God” (1 Pet. 1:21) and “rejoice” in it (Rom. 12:12). This book of Hebrews charges us to “hold fast… the boast of hope firm to the end” (3:6), show “diligence unto the full assurance of… hope until the end” (6:11), and “lay hold of the hope set before us” (6:18). It also tells us that the new covenant brings in “a better hope, through which we draw near to God” (7:19). Our life should be a life of hope, which goes together and abides with faith (1 Pet. 1:21; 1 Cor. 13:13). We should follow Abraham who “beyond hope believed in hope” (Rom. 4:18). All the things which we are hoping for are substantiated by our faith. With faith, they all are real; without faith, they seem vain. We need to contact God for His infusion of faith that we may substantiate all the things which He has promised as our hope.

　　Hebrews 11:1 also says that faith is the “conviction of things not seen.” The Greek word rendered “conviction” may also be translated “evidence” or “proof.” The word conviction implies action. Thus, faith is not the substance, but the conviction, action, evidence, and proof of things not seen. All things hoped for are things not seen (Rom. 8:24-25). If anything is seen, we do not need to hope for it. As people of hope, we should not aim our life at “the things which are seen,” but at “the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18). Hence, “we walk by faith, not by appearance” (5:7). We are aiming at the Holy of Holies and the New Jerusalem, neither of which can be seen by us. Nevertheless, we have the full conviction of these unseen things. Faith assures us of the things not seen, convincing us of what we do not see. Therefore, it is the evidence, the proof, of things unseen. (Life-study of Hebrews, pp. 533-535)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Hebrews, msg. 47

«　WEEK 4　DAY 6　»

　　Heb. 12:2 Looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down on the right hand of the throne of God.

　　2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little inferior to the angels because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor…

　　Jesus is the Perfecter of faith mainly in His glory and on His throne in heaven. He is sitting on the throne in glory to complete the faith which He originated while He was on earth. Being the Finisher and the Completer of faith, He will finish and complete what He has originated and inaugurated. (Life-study of Hebrews, p. 553)

　　Not only are our lives changed by faith, but there is a very great power within this faith which motivates thousands to become missionaries and martyrs. This great power within is irrepressible and unlimited. It makes man willing to suffer for the Lord, ride through danger, and eventually be martyred. All these abilities come from faith. When we touch Christ, everything of Him will be transmitted into us. (CWWN, vol. 27, “The Normal Christian Faith,” pp. 158-159)

　　According to Hebrews 12:2, for the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame. The Lord Jesus knew that through His death He would be glorified in resurrection (Luke 24:25-26) and that His divine life would be released to produce many brothers for His expression (John 12:23-24; Rom. 8:29). For the joy set before Him, He despised the shame (Heb. 12:2) and volunteered to be delivered to the Satan-usurped leaders of the Jews and condemned by them to death. Therefore, God exalted Him to the heavens, seated Him at His right hand (Mark 16:19; Acts 2:33-35), gave Him the name which is above every name (Phil 2:9-10), made Him both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36), and crowned Him with glory and honor (Heb. 2:9). In His ascension Christ was seated on the throne of God’s government… in heaven [12:2].

　　In all his other Epistles Paul presents to us mainly the Christ who dwells in our spirit (Rom. 8:10; 2 Tim. 4:22) as the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45) to be our life and our everything. But in Hebrews he points us particularly to the Christ who has sat down in heaven and who is of so many aspects, that He may care for us in every way… In this book the heavenly Christ is contrasted to the earthly religion and all earthly things. To experience the indwelling Christ, we need to turn to our spirit and contact Him. To enjoy the heavenly Christ, we need to look away from all things on earth unto Him, who has sat down on the right hand of the throne of God. By His death and resurrection He accomplished everything that is needed by both God and man. Now in His ascension He is sitting in the heavens, in the person of the Son of God (Heb. 1:5) and the Son of Man (2:6), in the person of God (1:8) and man (2:6), as the appointed Heir of all things (1:2), the anointed One of God (v. 9), the Author of our salvation (2:10), the Sanctifier (v. 11), the constant Succor (v. 16), the instant Helper (4:16), the Apostle from God (3:1), the High Priest (2:17; 4:14; 7:26), the Minister of the true tabernacle (8:2) with a more excellent ministry (v. 6), the surety and the Mediator of a better covenant (7:22; 8:6; 12:24), the Executor of the new testament (9:16-17), the Forerunner (6:20), the Author and Perfecter of faith (12:2), and the great Shepherd of the sheep (13:20). If we look to Him as such a wonderful and all-inclusive One, He will minister heaven, life, and strength to us, transfusing and infusing us with all that He is, that we may be able to run the heavenly race and live the heavenly life on earth. In this way He will carry us through all the lifelong pathway and lead and bring us into glory (2:10). (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3832-3833)

　　Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 380