Luke 1:53 The hungry He has filled with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. Psa 107:9 For He satisfies the thirsty soul, And the famished soul He fills with good.
What is the necessary condition for experiencing the Lord's riches? In other words, what is the necessary condition for receiving God's blessing or the working of the Holy Spirit? This is something we must see; it is a condition which we must fulfill. If we do not meet this condition, we cannot expect to receive anything from the Lord. This necessary condition is being empty before God. If we want to be filled with the Lord's riches continually, we have to be emptied continually. The emptying experience is an ever-deepening experience. Therefore, we can never say that we are completely empty or that we cannot be emptied any further. Brothers and sisters, we need to be emptied day after day, month after month, and year after year. We may be empty now, but after some time we will need a further emptying work. We should not think that once we are emptied, we will be empty forever. We also should not think that once we are filled, we will be filled forever. We should have an ever-deepening knowledge of ourselves, and we should have an ever-deepening knowledge of the riches of the Lord. Luke 1:53 shows us that God's grace is reserved for one type of person--a hungry one. If a person comes to the meeting only for the purpose of observing and listening, he will not see anything or hear anything. If all that a person wants is some Bible knowledge, his real spiritual problems will not be solved. Only those with a pressing inward need and those who are determined to meet God will receive His blessing. We must realize that spiritual progress is based on our hunger. Matthew 5:6 says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Those who hunger and thirst will be filled; they are the ones who are blessed.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, General Messages, Vol. 37, in The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, pp. 131-132. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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