Scripture Reading: Psa. 48:2, 11-12; 20:2; 50:2; 53:6a; 87:2; Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26-28; 3:5, 12, 20-21

DAY 1 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 2 & DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 10　DAY 1　»

　　Psa. 48:2 Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion,... the city of the great King.

　　50:2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.

　　125:1 Those who trust in Jehovah are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.

　　Zion was the city of King David (2 Sam. 5:7), the center of the city of Jerusalem, where the temple as God’s dwelling place on earth was built (Psa. 9:11; 74:2; 76:2b; 135:21; Isa. 8:18)... As the highlight and beauty of the holy city Jerusalem (Psa. 48:2; 50:2), Zion typifies the overcomers as the high peak, the center, the uplifting, the strengthening, the enriching, the beauty, and the reality of the church (48:2, 11-12; 20:2; 53:6a; 87:2). The overcomers as Zion are the reality of the Body of Christ and consummate the building up of the Body in the local churches to bring in the consummated holy city, New Jerusalem, the Holy of Holies as God’s dwelling place, in eternity (Rev. 21:1-3, 16, 22). (Psa. 48:2, footnote 1)

　　Jerusalem is built on the top of a mountain... In Jerusalem there is a peak, that is, Mount Zion, on which the temple was built. About one thousand years before the building of the temple, God asked Abraham to offer his son Isaac on Mount Moriah, which is another name for Mount Zion (Gen. 22:2; 2 Chron. 3:1). The good situation in the recovery today is just like Jerusalem. However, there is no Zion. In the New Testament the overcomers are likened to Zion. In Revelation 14:1 the one hundred forty-four thousand overcomers are not just in Jerusalem; they are on the peak of Zion. The overcomers, the vital groups, are today’s Zion. My burden today is to help you reach the peak of the vital groups, that is, the overcomers’ Zion. Although we may have a good church life, among us there is almost no realization, no practicality, no actuality, and no reality of the Body life. This is the need in the recovery today.

　　When Brother Nee was raised up by the Lord, he saw the light that the local churches are needed for the Lord to take the procedure to go on to reach His goal in His economy. So he stressed the local churches very much... We have stressed the local churches again and again.

　　The one church is expressed in the local churches because of physical reasons. We believers are scattered on this earth, so we cannot be in one location. We have to be in many locations, so in a sense, we have to be separated by localities. But we cannot forget that the churches are the Body of Christ. Ephesians 4 says that there is one Body (v. 4). Paul says that though we are many, we are still one bread and one Body (1 Cor. 10:17).

　　Eventually, the book of Revelation does have a consummation. In this consummation all the seven lampstands disappear. In the first chapter we see the seven lampstands. But in the last two chapters we see only one city. Eventually, the local churches will be over. Only the Body will remain and remain forever, and this Body of Christ is the unique tabernacle as God’s dwelling place on this earth, the unique bride of the Lamb (21:2-3). We all have to see this.

　　Therefore, we must pay much more attention to the Body of Christ than to the local churches. This does not mean that I annul the teaching of the local churches. We still need it. As a person, we have a physical frame. That is our body. But a body by itself is a carcass. A physical body needs an inner life. Today the church is the same. On the one hand, it does have a frame, a body, but this frame is not the nature, the essence, or the element of the church. Ephesians 4 tells us the church is the Body, and within this church is the Spirit, the Lord, and the Father (vv. 4-6). The Father is the source, the Lord is the element, and the Spirit is the essence of the Body. These four entities are built together. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “The Practical Points concerning Blending,” pp. 110, 116-118)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups,” An Introductory Word, ch. 1

«　WEEK 10　DAY 2　»

　　1 Kings 8:1 ...Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes...in Jerusalem in order to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah from the city of David, which is Zion.

　　Rev. 14:1 And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.

　　Within Jerusalem, there was Mount Zion. One typifies the whole body of the church, while the other typifies the overcomers of the church... The stronghold of Jerusalem is Zion. Whenever there is something that has to do with God’s heart desire, Zion is mentioned... There is a New Jerusalem, but there never will be a new Zion, because Zion can never become old... The characteristics, the life, the blessing, and the establishment of Jerusalem come from Zion. In 1 Kings 8:1, the elders were in Jerusalem, and the Ark of the Covenant was in Zion. Psalm 51:18 says that God did good to Zion and built the walls of Jerusalem. Psalm 102:21 says that the name of the Lord was in Zion and that His praise was in Jerusalem. Psalm 128:5 says that the Lord blessed out of Zion and that the good was seen in Jerusalem. Psalm 135:21 says that the Lord dwelt at Jerusalem but that the Lord was to be blessed out of Zion. In Isaiah 41:27 the word was first announced to Zion and then preached to Jerusalem. Joel 3:17 says that when God dwelt in Zion, Jerusalem would be holy. (CWWN, vol. 11, p. 762)

　　Today God is looking for the one hundred and forty-four thousand amidst the defeated church, who will stand on Mount Zion (Rev. 14). God always uses a small number of believers to pass on the flow of life to the church and to revive the church. As the Lord has done once before, so these overcomers have to pour out their blood before life can flow out to others. On behalf of the church, the overcomers take the stand of victory and also suffer tribulation and despising. Thus, the overcomers of God need to give up what they consider as right. They have to pay the price and allow the cross to cut off all the old creation and deal with the gates of Hades (Matt. 16:18).

　　Are you willing to endure heartache to gain the heart of God? Are you willing to let yourself be defeated so that the Lord can be the Victor? When your obedience is fulfilled, God will deal with all disobedience (2 Cor. 10:6). (CWWN, vol. 11, pp. 762-763)

　　The reality of the Body of Christ is the aggregate, the totality, of such a living by a group of God-men. This kind of a living, which is the reality of the Body of Christ, will close this age, the age of the church, and will bring Christ back to take, possess, and rule over this earth with these God-men in the kingdom age. They were perfected, completed, and consummated in the church age. So in the next age, the kingdom age, they will reign with Christ for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4-6).

　　Today in the church age, the God-men who were perfected and matured are Zion, the overcomers, the vital groups within the churches. But in the new heaven and new earth there will be no more Zion, only Jerusalem, because all the unqualified saints will have been qualified to be Zion. In other words, the entire New Jerusalem will become Zion... Zion is the very spot where God is, that is, the Holy of Holies. In Revelation 21 there is a sign signifying that the New Jerusalem will be the Holy of Holies. Its dimensions are the dimensions of a cube, twelve thousand stadia long, twelve thousand stadia wide, and twelve thousand stadia high (v. 16). That is the Holy of Holies, because the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament in both the tabernacle and the temple was a cube, equal in length, breadth, and height (Exo. 26:2-8; 1 Kings 6:20). (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “The Practical Points concerning Blending,” pp. 138-139)

　　Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 11, pp. 760-766; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “The Practical Points concerning Blending,” ch. 5

«　WEEK 10　DAY 3　»

　　Psa. 24:7 Lift up your heads, O gates; and be lifted up, O long enduring doors; and the King of glory will come in.

　　Rev. 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.

　　Psalm 24:3 asks, “Who may ascend the mountain of Jehovah, / And who may stand in His holy place?” The answer is, Christ and His brothers. The church is a mountain that is occupied by the Lord today as the very steppingstone, the beachhead, for the Lord to come back. The earth is the Lord’s, but today the earth is usurped; yet in this usurped earth there is a spot, a mountain, that is the steppingstone for the Lord to return to take the whole earth.

　　As the mountain of Zion, we must have our doors open that Christ may come in [cf. v. 7]... At the occasion of David’s returning the Ark to Zion,... David wrote Psalm 24. Zion was there, and the gates and doors were there... The Ark was the type of Christ. The Ark coming in typified Christ coming in. (CWWL, 1969, vol. 3, “Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms,” pp. 45-46)

　　Revelation 3:20... indicates that even some of the local churches shut the Lord Jesus outside. Do not imagine that as long as we are the local church, the Lord Jesus is among us. In a sense He is, but in another sense He may be shut out. Even today, while we are enjoying the Lord’s presence so much, we still must say, “Lift up your heads, O gates; / And be lifted up, O long enduring doors” [Psa. 24:7]. We all must be so open to the Lord. If Christ could not come in to the church today in an adequate and fuller way, how could Christ come back to the earth? If the church, if Zion, is not absolutely open to Him, how can we expect the earth to be open to Him? So today we must respond and say, “Yes, open the doors; let us all open widely to Him. Come in, O come in, Lord! Before You come back to the earth, come in to the church, come in to fully possess this little mountain, the mountain of Zion.” (CWWL, 1969, vol. 3, “Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms,” p. 46)

　　We all have to endeavor to reach this high peak. If you think it is too hard to reach this high peak and that the price to pay is too high, be prepared. In the next age the price will be higher. Sooner or later, you have to be made God, either in the church age or in the coming kingdom age... The New Jerusalem is the God-men who have been transformed, glorified, and mingled with the processed and consummated Triune God. The holy city will be a mingling to be God’s increase and expression for eternity. We will enjoy and participate in this divine mingling for eternity.

　　We surely need to be desperate to pray at any cost and to pay the cost just as the apostle Paul did. There is no other way to reach this high peak except by praying. It is more than evident that Jerusalem is here as a big realm of Christians, but where is Zion, the overcomers? In the book of Revelation what the Lord wants and what the Lord will build up is Zion, the overcomers. The overcomers are the very Zion, where God is. This is the intrinsic reality of the spiritual revelation in the holy Word of God. We have to realize what the Lord’s recovery is. The Lord’s recovery is to build up Zion. Paul’s writings unveil this to the uttermost.

　　Paul said that all run in the race, but only one receives the prize. Then he said that we should run in such a way to receive the reward (1 Cor. 9:24). At the end of Paul’s life he said that he had fought the good fight, finished the course, and kept the faith. He testified that there was a crown of righteousness prepared for him (2 Tim. 4:7-8). I hope that when we end this life, we could say that we have done the same thing. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “The Practical Points concerning Blending,” pp. 139-140)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1969, vol. 3, “Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms,” ch. 5

«　WEEK 10　DAY 4　»

　　Eph. 4:23 And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind.

　　5:26-27 That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word, that He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.

　　The book of Ephesians reveals that the church is the Body of Christ (1:22-23), the kingdom of God, the household of God (2:19), and the temple, the dwelling place of God (2:21-22). It reveals further that the church is the new man [2:15; 4:24]... As the Body of Christ, the church needs Christ as its life; whereas as the new man, the church needs Christ as its person. This new corporate person should live a life as Jesus lived on earth, that is, a life of truth, expressing God and causing God to be realized as the reality by man.

　　In the book of Ephesians there is great emphasis on the mingled spirit, the human spirit mingled with the divine Spirit. Ephesians 1:17 says, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him.”... The spirit in this verse is our regenerated spirit indwelt by the Spirit of God. It is the human spirit mingled with the Holy Spirit. Such a spirit is given to us by God so that we may have wisdom and revelation to know Him and His economy. The spirit in 4:23 is the regenerated spirit of the believers mingled with the indwelling Spirit of God. Such a mingled spirit spreads into our mind and thus becomes the spirit of our mind. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 402-403, 574-575)

　　In the past, Christ gave Himself up for the church; in the present, He is sanctifying the church; and in the future, He will present the church to Himself as His counterpart for His satisfaction. Therefore, loving is for sanctifying, and sanctifying is for presenting. In Ephesians 5:26 Paul says that Christ sanctifies the church by cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word. According to the divine concept, water here refers to the flowing life of God typified by flowing water (Exo. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4; John 7:38-39; Rev. 21:6; 22:1, 17)... The redeeming blood of Christ... washes away our sins (1 John 1:7; Rev. 7:14), whereas the water of life washes away the blemishes of the natural life of our old man, such as “spot or wrinkle or any such things” (Eph. 5:27),... in order that the church may be holy and without blemish. It is such a glorious church that Christ will present to Himself at His coming back... Eventually, the church presented to Christ will be a God-expressing one. Such a church will also be holy and without blemish. To be holy is to be saturated and transformed with Christ, and to be without blemish is to be spotless and without wrinkle, with nothing of the natural life of our old man.

　　We need to experience the killing power of God’s word. As we pray-read, we are nourished on the one hand, but certain elements are killed on the other hand. Perhaps you are troubled by doubts, hatred, jealousy, pride, or selfishness... The more we take in the word with its killing power, the more our pride and all the negative elements within us are put to death. By pray-reading, the inward adversary is slain... by the word we have taken into us. The battlefield for the spiritual warfare...is within us; in particular it is in our mind... The way to slay [the adversary in our mind] is to pray-read the word. As we pray-read God’s word, the elements of the adversary within our mind will be killed one by one. In this way we shall gain the victory... When the negative things in us are killed through pray-reading, the Lord is victorious. Because He is victorious, we are victorious also. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 454-455, 457, 460, 820-821)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 47, 54-55, 59, 69, 94-95, 97

«　WEEK 10　DAY 5　»

　　Psa. 84:5-7 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. Passing through the valley of Baca, they make it a spring; indeed the early rain covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength; each appears before God in Zion.

　　Psalm 84, concerning the psalmist’s love for the house of God with Christ, follows the psalms on the stripping of God’s seekers and the desolation of God’s house, beginning with Psalm 73. In the recovery and restoration (Psa. 80) the loveliness and sweetness of God’s house are intensified. (Psa. 84:1, footnote 1)

　　On the one hand, those on the highways to Zion are strengthened in God (Psa. 84:5); on the other hand, they are opposed by Satan, who causes them to suffer persecution. The trouble and persecution caused by Satan can make the highway a valley of weeping. This special term indicates that the psalmist had been disciplined by God and had been stripped by Him. (Psa. 84:6, footnote 1) When we pass through the valley of Baca, [meaning “weeping”], God makes this valley a spring (cf. Col. 1:24; Heb. 10:34). This spring is the Spirit (John 4:14; 7:38-39)... While we are weeping, we are being filled with the Spirit, and the Spirit becomes our spring. (Psa. 84:6, footnote 2) Those who come into the church life by passing through the valley of weeping find that this weeping eventually becomes a great blessing to them. This blessing is the Spirit (Gal. 3:14). The tears they shed are their own, but these tears issue in a spring, which becomes the early rain, the Spirit as the blessing. (Psa. 84:6, footnote 3)

　　The blessings of our dwelling in the house of God are our enjoyment of the incarnated and consummated Triune God as our sun to supply us with life (John 1:4; 8:12), as our shield to protect us from God’s enemy (Eph. 6:11-17), as grace for our enjoyment (John 1:14, 17), and as glory for the manifestation of God in splendor (Rev. 21:11, 23). (Psa. 84:11, footnote 1)

　　Psalm 87 first refers to Zion’s foundation, which is called “His [God’s] foundation” (v. 1). This divine foundation, typifying Christ as God’s unique foundation for the building up of His house, the church (1 Cor. 3:11), is built in the “holy mountains,” which typify the local churches. Jerusalem was built on these holy mountains, and among these mountains the highest peak is the one on which Zion was built, which typifies the church.

　　The gates [of Zion in Psalm 87:2] are for coming in and going out, signifying fellowship. The fact that the New Jerusalem will have twelve gates indicates that God’s holy city will be full of fellowship... Zion has many gates for fellowship.

　　Psalm 87 unveils Christ with all the saints to be God’s house for God’s city and for God to gain the whole earth. Verses 5 and 6 say, “Of Zion it will be said, / This one and that one were born in her, / And the Most High Himself will establish her. / Jehovah will count / When He records the peoples: / This One was born there.” The word about “this one” and “that one” being born in Zion indicates that Zion is full of saints. Verse 6 tells us that “this One”—Christ, the unique One—was born there. Christ Himself and all the saints were born in Zion. Moses, Joshua, David, Elijah, Peter, Paul, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Zinzendorf, Darby, Watchman Nee, and so many others were born in Zion. Eventually, even the unique One, Christ, who is the totality of all the saints as the One who is all the saints and in all the saints (Col. 3:11), was born there. This is God’s counting, God’s record, regarding Zion. Not all the saints born in Zion are famous ones. Rather, among the singers and the dancers (Psa. 87:7), there are many unknown ones. We today may be the unknown ones, but we can sing and praise the Lord, saying of Zion, the city of God, “All my springs are in you.” (Life-study of the Psalms, pp. 391-393)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of the Psalms, msgs. 11, 32-34; CWWL, 1969, vol. 3, “Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms,” chs. 14-15

«　WEEK 10　DAY 6　»

　　Psa. 132:14-16 This is My resting place forever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless its provision; I will satisfy its poor with bread. And its priests I will clothe with salvation, and its faithful ones will shout with a ringing shout.

　　134:3 May Jehovah, who made heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.

　　[In Psalm 132:15-18] Jehovah [speaks about Zion] by saying that He will abundantly bless Zion’s provision and satisfy its poor with bread, that He will clothe its priests with salvation, that its faithful ones will shout with a ringing shout, that there He will cause the horn of David to shoot forth, that He has prepared a lamp for His Anointed One, and that He will clothe with shame the enemies of His Anointed One but that on Him His crown will shine. (Life-study of the Psalms, p. 483)

　　In Psalm 132 we have seven items related to the overcomer—resting, dwelling, food, clothing, the victorious horn, the enlightening lamp, and the shining crown. These items are at the top of the church life... However, when God is homeless, we also are homeless. When He does not have satisfaction, we also do not have satisfaction. But when God is resting and dwelling in Zion, we have plenty of food. Furthermore, we have the proper clothing, a horn, a lamp, and a crown... This is the situation of the overcomers in Zion, the highest peak of God’s mountain.

　　Psalm 133 is the praise of the saint in his going up to Zion concerning Jehovah’s commanded blessing for brothers to dwell in unity. Before we can have Psalm 133, we must reach Psalm 132... When Zion is built up and when God is resting there and dwelling in Jerusalem, then we have a place where we can gather and where we can dwell together in unity. If this is our situation in the meetings of the church, we will enjoy God’s commanded blessing.

　　 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is / For brothers to dwell in unity!” (133:1). I believe that “how good” refers to the oil in verse 2 and that “how pleasant” refers to the dew in verse 3. “It is like the fine oil upon the head / That ran down upon the beard, / Upon Aaron’s beard, / That ran down upon the hem of his garments” (v. 2). For the oil to run down from the head to the hem of the garments signifies that both the Head and the Body, both Christ and the church, are under the anointing of God’s fine oil. Verse 3a goes on to say that it is also like “the dew of Hermon / That came down upon the mountains of Zion.”... This dew signifies the fresh and refreshing grace of God... [that] waters us. “For there Jehovah commanded the blessing: / Life forever” (v. 3b)... As we dwell together in the church life, we enjoy God’s eternal life commanded by Him as a blessing to us. This is the living of the church.

　　In Psalm 132 we have the church life, and in Psalm 133 we have the church living. The church living is the highest living—a living with brothers dwelling in unity. Such a living causes God to come in to bless us with fine oil and fresh dew.

　　As the last of the Songs of Ascents, Psalm 134 is the praise of the saint in his going up to Zion... This psalm indicates that the highest people, those who are in Zion, can bless everyone and teach everyone... [In verse 3] we see that the blessing comes from Zion, that is, from the highest people. If you read the history of the church, you will see that in every age and century God’s blessing has come to the church because of the overcomers. Whenever there are some overcomers, there will be God’s blessing. God always blesses His people from Zion, from the highest peak, from the ones who have attained to the top, to the position of the overcomers. From this position God blesses all His people. (Life-study of the Psalms, pp. 483-486)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of the Psalms, msgs. 41-42; CWWL, 1969, vol. 3, “Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms,” chs. 20-21