Special Fellowship Concerning
the World Situation and the Lord’s Move
Message Two
God’s Sovereignty, the Divine History within the Human History,
and the World Situation and God’s Move to Spread His Recovery
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
And He made from one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, determining beforehand their appointed seasons and the boundaries of their dwelling—Acts 17:26.
What the cutting locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; / And what the swarming locust has left, the licking locust has eaten; / And what the licking locust has left, the consuming locust has eaten—Joel 1:4.
Hurry and come, / All you surrounding nations, / And be gathered. / There cause Your mighty ones to descend, O Jehovah!—3:11.
Word of Appetizer
Acts 17:26 says the rise and decline of all the nations of the earth and the boundaries of all the nations are determined by Him beforehand. How are the events of world history (the world situation) related to God’s move to spread His recovery?
The events of world history have been sovereignly arranged by God for Him to carry out His purpose. The Roman Empire was for the gospel; Germany was for the Reformation; Great Britain was for the spreading of the gospel and of the truth; and now the United States has become the center for the recovery, from which it can spread to all the continents.
Spiritual Burden
We need to see a vision of God’s sovereignty; In His sovereignty God has the authority to make the ones whom He has selected and called vessels of mercy to contain Him in order that His glory might be manifested.
We were born in the human history, but we have been reborn, regenerated, in the divine history; if we are living in the church, we are living in the divine history, for in the church life God’s history is our history, and thus we and God have one history, the divine history.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
It is crucial that we see a vision of God’s sovereignty and have a clear view and proper understanding of God’s sovereignty.
The Bible reveals the universal history according to God’s economy—the divine history within the human history.
The events of world history have been sovereignly arranged by God for Him to carry out His purpose.
The Experience of Life
In His sovereignty God has the authority to make the ones whom He has selected and called vessels of mercy to contain Him in order that His glory might be manifested.
God desires to work Himself in Christ into His chosen people, making Himself and them one organic entity.
Practice and Application
Like Jeremiah, we need to change our position and angle from ourselves to God and recognize God’s eternal being and His eternal and unchanging government.
If we are living in the church, we are living in the divine history, for in the church life God’s history is our history.
We need to be more aware of God’s sovereign arrangement of the world situation, more concerned about the crucial time in which we live, and more burdened for God’s move in the present world situation.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, for You have created all things, and because of Your will they were, and were created—Rev. 4:11.
You, O Jehovah, abide forever; / Your throne is from generation to generation—Lam. 5:19.
Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor?…In order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory—Rom. 9:21-23.
I. It is crucial that we see a vision of God’s sovereignty and have a clear view and proper understanding of God’s sovereignty
• Sovereignty refers to God’s absolute and unlimited right, authority, power, and position. As the sovereign One, God is above everything, behind everything, and in everything.
•We need to turn from ourselves to God and recognize God’s eternal being and His eternal and unchanging government.
•The book of Revelation is a book of God’s administration, unveiling the throne of God for the divine administration throughout the universe.
•Romans 9:19-23 refers to God’s sovereignty. In His sovereignty God has the authority to make the ones whom He has selected and called vessels of mercy to contain Him in order that His glory might be manifested.
Key Verses (2)
What the cutting locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; / And what the swarming locust has left, the licking locust has eaten; / And what the licking locust has left, the consuming locust has eaten—Joel 1:4.
…/ There cause Your mighty ones to descend, O Jehovah! —3:11.
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come!…—Rev. 22:17.
II. The Bible reveals the universal history according to God’s economy—the divine history within the human history
•In this universe there are two histories: the history of man (the human history, an outward shell) and the history of God, (the divine history; the kernel within the shell).
•In the Minor Prophets the human history is defined and signified by the four kinds of locusts in Joel1:4, and the divine history is with Christ and His mighty ones, the overcomers, in 3:11.
• The divine history, the history of God in man, was from Christ’s incarnation through His ascension to become the life-giving Spirit and then continues with His indwelling us through God’s organic salvation to make us the bride of Christ.
•We were born in the human history, but we have been reborn, regenerated, in the divine history. If we are living in the church, we are living in the divine history.
Key Verses (3)
And He made from one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, determining beforehand their appointed seasons and the boundaries of their dwelling—Acts 17:26.
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come—Matt. 24:14.
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you—6:33.
III. The events of world history have been sovereignly arranged by God for Him to carry out His purpose
• The world situation is under God’s sovereign arrangement; God determined the appointed seasons and boundaries. For God to carry out His purpose, He has arranged the world situation.
•All the major events in human history match God’s move on earth.
•The Roman Empire was for the gospel; Germany was for the Reformation; Great Britain was for the spreading of the gospel and of the truth; and now the United States has become the center for the recovery, from which it can spread to all the continents.
•We need to be more aware of God’s sovereign arrangement of the world situation, more concerned about the crucial time in which we live, and more burdened for God’s move in the present world situation.
