太十六24 ……耶稣对门徒说，若有人要跟从我，就当否认己，背起他的十字架，并跟从我。

　　帖前二4　 但神怎样验中了我们，把福音托付我们，我们就照样讲，不是要讨人喜欢，乃是要讨那察验我们心的神喜欢。

　　在召会的事奉中，我们必须弃绝与生俱来或学习而得的天然力量和才干。我们任何天然的力量和才干，对于在生命里的召会事奉是一无助益的。……今天我们行事为人，或为主服事，也可能凭着自己、照着我们天然的力量和才干，而不照着神的意愿。因着我们有力量和才干，我们就觉得不需要祷告，不需要等候主，不需要寻求主的旨意，或寻求主的引导。这正是发生在摩西身上的事。他为了保护他的希伯来同胞而杀了一个埃及人，乃是凭自己行事，而没有照着神的意愿（出二11~12）。今天基督教里有一种可悲的光景，就是为主作工的人大多是凭着自己，靠着他们天然的力量和才干。他们的祷告……只是要主在他们所作的事上赐下祝福。他们很少为主的意愿祷告，因为他们信靠自己天然的力量和才干（李文集一九七九年第二册，一七九至一八一页）。

　　Matt. 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.

　　1 Thes. 2:4 But even as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men but God, who proves our hearts.

　　In the church service we must reject our natural strength and ability, which are acquired by us either through birth or through learning. Any of our natural strength and ability is unprofitable to the church service in life. Today it is possible that we may act and do some service for the Lord on our own according to our natural strength and ability but not according to God’s will. Because we have the strength and the ability, we feel that we do not need to pray, to wait on the Lord, to seek the Lord’s will, or to look for the Lord’s leading. This was exactly what happened to Moses. When he slew an Egyptian to protect his fellow Hebrew, he did this on his own and not according to the Lord’s will (Exo. 2:11-12). The sad situation in today’s Christianity is that people work for the Lord mostly on their own by their natural strength and ability... They may pray only for the Lord to bestow His blessing upon what they do. They do not pray that much for the Lord’s will, because they trust in their natural strength and ability. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “Basic Lessons on Service,” pp. 140-141)

　　我们凭天然的力量和才干作工，目标乃是寻求自己的荣耀，动机乃是满足自己的愿望。我们若看见这个异象，就会杀死我们自私和不纯净的动机。……我们该单单因着主的带领，而不是为着达到自己的目标而行事。……我们的目标必须是主的目标。

　　为着我们自己荣耀而有的愿望和目标，与我们天然的力量和才干是一。……天然的力量和才干需要受十字架的对付。……胜过我们天然的力量和才干，乃是一个重大、主观的功课，比对付罪更为主观。在某种意义上，我们天然的力量和才干等于我们的己，我们天然的构成。我们天然的力量和才干乃是己的具体表现。这就是为什么在否认己……之后，我们需要〔学习〕弃绝天然的力量和才干，以及借十字架对付天然的力量和才干。……天然的力量和才干若经过十字架的对付，就会非常有用。它们经过十字架的对付之后，就是在复活里。

　　彼得对他天然的力量和才干很有自信，他甚至认为自己能同主下监，同主受死（路二二33）。……〔然而，〕彼得受到试验；他三次否认主，甚至在一位使女面前否认主（约十八15~18、25~27）。……彼得彻彻底底被打倒，结果全然失败（太二六69~75）。他的确有心爱主，但是他对自己的力量，天然的力量过于自信。他对主的爱是宝贵的，但他天然的力量必须被否认并受对付。主容许彼得三次当面否认祂，让彼得彻底失败，好使他天然的力量和自信可以受到对付。……经过失败，彼得学会凭着在主里的信心，谦卑地服事弟兄们（路二二32，彼前五5~6）。彼得真的被破碎，并从天然的才干转到复活里的事物。

　　我们……都必须学这一个功课：弃绝天然的力量和才干。我们天然的力量和才干必须受对付并摆在十字架上，然后它们就会在复活里并充满神圣的元素。这样，凡我们在召会事奉中所作的，就都是将神圣的元素供应给人（李文集一九七九年第二册，一八一至一八二、一八五至一八六页）。

　　参读：事奉的基本功课，第十六、二十课；生命的经历与长大，第二十一至二十五篇。

　　When we work in our natural strength and ability, the goal is to seek our own glory, and the motive is to satisfy our own desire. If we see this vision, it will kill our self-seeking and impure motive... We should do things simply because the Lord leads us to do them. We should not do them because we have something to achieve for our goal... The goal must be the Lord’s.

　　Our own desire and our own goal for our glory are one with our natural strength and natural ability. The natural strength and ability need to be dealt with by the cross... To overcome our natural strength and ability is a great, subjective lesson; it is more subjective than dealing with sin. In a certain sense, our natural strength and ability equal our self, our natural constitution. Our natural strength and natural ability are the embodiment of our self. This is why after the denial of the self we need a lesson on rejecting the natural strength and ability and dealing with them by the cross. The natural strength and ability are useful if they are dealt with by the cross. After being dealt with by the cross, they are in resurrection.

　　Peter was self-confident in his natural strength and ability even to the point of thinking that he would follow the Lord both to prison and to death (Luke 22:33). Peter was tested, and he denied the Lord three times, even before a little maid (John 18:15-18, 25-27). Peter was absolutely defeated and became a complete failure (Matt. 26:69-75). He did have a heart to love the Lord, but he was too confident in his own strength, his natural strength. His love for the Lord was precious, but his natural strength had to be denied and dealt with. The Lord allowed Peter to fail utterly in denying the Lord to His face three times, so that his natural strength and self-confidence could be dealt with. Through his failure Peter learned to serve the brothers by faith in the Lord and with humility (Luke 22:32; 1 Pet. 5:5-6). Peter was really broken and was turned from the natural ability to something in resurrection.

　　We all must learn to reject the natural strength and ability. Our natural strength and ability must be dealt with and put on the cross. Then they will be in resurrection and full of the divine element, and whatever we do in the church service will be a ministry of the divine element to others. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “Basic Lessons on Service,” pp. 141-142, 144-145)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “Basic Lessons on Service,” lsns. 16, 20; CWWL, 1989, vol. 3, “The Experience and Growth in Life,” chs. 21-25