LESSON THREE – MORNING REVIVAL

Prov. 4:18 — The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,  Which shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

THE CHRISTIAN REVIVAL OCCURRING IN THE MORNING

The morning hour f lies by quickly. One hour is over in no time. This is why the Word of the Lord says, “Redeeming the time” (Eph. 5:16). The period of time that needs to be redeemed the most is six to seven o’clock in the morning. During this hour, every minute is precious. We have to redeem this time. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 1, “The Organic Practice of the New Way,” pp. 517-518)

REDEEMING THE TIME

To redeem the time is to seize every available opportunity. This is to be wise in our walk.…We must redeem the time because the days are evil. In this evil age (Gal.1:4, Gk.), every day is an evil day, full of pernicious things which destroy, injure, and spoil our time. Therefore, we must walk wisely that we may redeem the time, seizing every available opportunity. If we do not seize every opportunity, our time will be wasted. Many evil things will come in to distract us and frustrate us. We may be distracted by telephone calls, letters, or visitors. We may be enjoying the presence of the Lord and suddenly be attacked through a negative telephone call. Because the days are evil, we must be on the alert to take advantage of every opportunity. (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 433)

CALLING ON THE NAME OF THE LORD AND PRAY-READING HIS WORD

Hence, our time in the morning is most precious. It is best for us to spend as little time as possible on other things and to spend this time instead on pray-reading. In order to save time, when I am dressing in the morning, I begin to call on the Lord and pray-read His Word. If your wife is not awake yet, you should not shout and cry aloud. You can pray from within. While you are putting on your shirt, you can pray-read the verse you read yesterday: “In the beginning…God…created…the heavens…and the earth.” While you are washing up, you can also pray-read. You can do two things at one time. Perhaps at the beginning you do not feel comfortable doing it. But after a while, you will feel comfortable. If you would spend half an hour or even fifty minutes there praying and reading the Lord’s Word, and finally mingling the praying with the reading, your spirit will be enlivened. With such a morning, your whole being will have a revival. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 1, “The Organic Practice of the New Way,” pp. 520-521)

LIVING ACCORDING TO THE MOVING OF THE SUN

The Christian revival does not occur in the afternoon or at sunset. Rather, it occurs in the morning. The Christian life is not a sunset. Rather, it is a dawning of the sun. In fact, we ourselves are the sun. Judges 5:31 says, “May those who love Him be like the sun / When it rises in its might.” Proverbs 4:18 says, “The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, / Which shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” A Christian’s life should be one that follows the moving of the sun. When the sun rises, we should rise with it. We keep rising until the full day, which is noon. The Christian life does not have afternoons. Whether we are among the worldly people or in the church meetings, we should bring the shining light to others. For this reason it does not matter how busy we are; we have to spend some time to exercise our spirit.

TWO ASPECTS OF MORNING REVIVAL

Personal Morning Revival

The Lord’s charge to Moses in Exodus 34:3 indicates that we all need a time to contact the Lord alone. We all need a private time to meet with the Lord. During this time alone with the Lord, we should not bring with us anyone or anything. When we go to the Lord early in the morning, we should go to Him alone. We need to leave even our husband or wife behind. Some brothers have the practice of taking their wives with them wherever they go. This practice is good. However, when it is time to meet with the Lord on the mountaintop, a brother should leave his wife at the foot of the mountain. When we meet with the Lord in this way, we need to forget everything and everyone. Forget your possessions, your education, your occupation, your future. Go to the Lord alone without anyone or anything. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 1888-1889) Many, especially the young people in corporate living situations,  do not have a private time of prayer. They have only the corporate prayer. I admit that no private time of prayer can replace the corporate time.…If you do not go to the Lord directly and privately by yourself, your dealing with the Lord will not be very practical or detailed. (CWWL, 1978, vol. 2, “Life Messages, Volume 1,” p. 175)

Corporate Morning Revival

The telephone may be used [by us to have morning revival with our contacts  for ten minutes]. One person can be scheduled at 6:15 A.M., the next person at 6:30, and the next person at 6:45. Within one hour you could contact three persons in the morning. You could contact the same three persons every morning to pray-read with them, fellowship with them, and enjoy Christ with them in a very brief way. Within three months each person can be contacted at least eighty times. After three months of this kind of consistent contact, these ones can be gained for the Lord’s interest. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 11: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (3),” p. 206)

REVIVAL BRINGING IN TRANSFORMATION

This daily revival brings transformation with it. Romans 12:2 says, “Be transformed by the renewing of the mind.” Second Corinthians 3:18 says, “We all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.” This shows us that transformation comes from beholding the Lord. We are like mirrors beholding the Lord with an unveiled face. The more we behold Him, the more we reflect the glory of the Lord, and we are transformed into the image of the Lord from one stage of glory to another. This transformation is from the Lord Spirit. There is not just a revival but a transformation as well. Hence, to have a revival that is  renewed daily  is  to have a transformation that is fresh daily. If we remain in this transformation our whole life, we will grow in the life of the Lord until we are matured. This kind of revival, renewal, and transformation is what we all need today. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 4, “A Timely Trumpeting and the Present Need,” p. 41

References: CWWL, 1989, vol. 1, “The Organic Practice of the New Way,” ch. 4; Life-study of  Ephesians,  msg. 51; Life- study of Exodus, msg. 178; CWWL, 1978, vol.  2,  “Life  Messages,  Volume  1,”  ch. 2; CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 11: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (3),” ch. 9;  CWWL,  1988, vol. 4, “A Timely Trumpeting and the Present Need,” ch. 4

I COME TO HIS PRESENCE AFRESH

Experience of Christ— Fellowship with Him – 554

• I come to His presence afresh
  Ere the night has passed into morning;
  And His face I see as it shine on me-
  The Lord within is dawning.
  And He speak to me and reveals to me
  All His riches for me today;
  And with sweet delight I partake of Him,
  My hunger has passed away.

• As Spirit He speaks thru the Word
  Till my heart in echo is singing,
  And the fount of life with His grace and pow’r
  Within my soul is springing.
  And He speaks to me and reveals to me
  All His riches for me today;
  And I drink of Him for my every need,
  My thirsting has passed away.

• In tenderness He deals with me,
  While I stay with joy in His presence;
  And He saturates and supplies my soul
  With all His precious essence.
  And He speaks to me and reveals to me
  All His riches for me today;
  And in every way I partake of Him,
  My problems all passed away.