Crystallization-Study of Deuteronomy
Message Four
The Goodness of the Land—Its Minerals
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Deut. 8:9 …A land whose stones are iron, and from whose mountains you can mine copper.
33:25 Your doorbolts shall be iron and copper; and as your days are, so shall your strength be.
S. S. 4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;…look from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon,…from the leopards’ mountains.
Word of Appetizer
Deut. 8:9 A land whose stones are iron, and from whose mountains you can mine copper; what are these minerals for?
These…are for the building, for the kingdom, for the battle, and for the security. Whenever we enjoy Christ to a certain extent, there is always an issue—the building and the battle. These two always go together. If you would have the building of God, you must prepare to fight. For the building of God we need the materials, and for the fighting of the battle we need the weapons. All of these depend on the stones, the mountains, the iron, and the copper.
Spiritual Burden
We all need to see that in the Lord’s recovery today we are on a battlefield. We should be today’s Joshua and Caleb, fighting against Satan’s aerial forces so that we can gain more of Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ, setting up and spreading the kingdom of God so that Christ can come back to inherit the earth. It is not adequate for us simply to be spiritual and holy. We need to learn of Joshua and Caleb to represent God’s interest in this age to fight down the enemies that Christ can be gained by people and that Christ can be increased by His pursuers.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
The stones, the iron, the mountains, and the copper are for the building and for the battle.
We need to experience Christ as a land whose stones are iron.
We need to experience Christ as a land from whose mountains we can mine copper.
If we would experience Christ as stone, iron, and copper, we must have some degree of spiritual maturity; wherever there is a matured life in Christians, the building of God’s house will take place, and the battles of spiritual warfare will be fought.
The Experience of Life
We are undergoing the process of transformation so that Christ, the living stone, may be constituted into us to make us living stones for God’s house.
If we walk in the resurrection life of Christ, we will have the right to claim His authority; if we are able to exercise the authority of Christ, we will have safety and security.
Practice and Application
If we would possess Christ as the good land, we still need to fight the spiritual warfare by faith in the Lord and in the principle of the Body; we cannot enjoy Christ as the good land without the Body; we must be one with the Body to fight for the land, to possess the land, and to share our portion of the land.
In order to possess the good land, we need to deal with the flesh, enjoy the Lord’s table, enjoy the all-inclusive Christ as the produce of the good land, and see a vision of Christ as our Captain.
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
Deut. 8:9 …A land whose stones are iron, and from whose mountains you can mine copper.
Neh. 4:17 Those who built the wall and those who carried burdens took the loads with one hand doing the work and with the other holding a weapon.
Deut. 33:25 Your doorbolts shall be iron and copper; and as your days are, so shall your strength be.
Matt. 28:18 …Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
I. The stones, the iron, the mountains, and the copper are for the building and for the battle
II. We need to experience Christ as a land whose stones are iron
- The building and the battle always go together; if we would have the building, we must be prepared to fight.
- For the building we need the materials, and for the battle we need the weapons; these depend upon the stones, the iron, the mountains, and the copper.
- Christ is a stone for God’s building; this means that Christ is the material for God’s building and that God’s building is entirely of Christ.
- The Bible begins with a clay-man, continues with a stone-man, and consummates in a stone-city. This is God’s economy; Christ as a stone for God’s building is the One in whom we are saved; He is the Stone-Savior—solid, strong, and reliable.
- Iron signifies the authority of Christ; spiritual authority is always in resurrection; therefore, in order to have authority we must be in the resurrection life of Christ; if we are able to exercise the authority of Christ, we will have safety and security.
Key Verses (2)
S. S. 4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;…look from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon,…from the leopards’ mountains.
Dan. 10:5-6 …There was a certain man, clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with the fine gold of Uphaz. His body also was like beryl, His face like the appearance of lightning, His eyes like torches of fire, His arms and His feet like the gleam of polished bronze…
Rev. 1:15 And His feet were like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace…
III. We need to experience Christ as a land from whose mountains we can mine copper
- In the Bible mountains signify resurrection and ascension; in the ascended Christ we may engage in spiritual warfare, for in Christ’s ascension there are the peaks of reality (Amana), victory (Senir), and the destruction of the enemy (Hermon).
- Bronze and copper are words used interchangeably for the same materials in the Old Testament.
- Copper (bronze) signifies the judgment of Christ; Christ’s gleam in His work and move is signified by His arms and His feet being like the gleam of polished bronze; the feet of Christ are like shining bronze, signifying that His perfect and bright walk qualifies Him to exercise divine judgment; to apply Christ as the copper (bronze) is to realize that He is the perfect One, the shining One, the One who has been tested and proved.
Key Verses (3)
Josh. 1:3 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads I have given to you, as I promised Moses.
6 Be strong and take courage, for you will cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give to them.
Josh. 5:13-14 …There was a man standing opposite him, and His sword was drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, Are You for us or for our adversaries? And He said, Neither, but as the Captain of Jehovah’s army have I now come. Then Joshua fell to the ground upon his face and worshipped. And he said to Him, What does my Lord speak to His servant?
IV. If we would experience Christ as stone, iron, and copper, we must have some degree of spiritual maturity; wherever there is a matured life in Christians, the building of God’s house will take place, and the battles of spiritual warfare will be fought
- Even though God had given Israel the good land, Israel still needed to take the land; there was the cooperation of God’s people in rising up to fulfill God’s commission to possess the land.
- If we would possess Christ as the good land, we still need to fight the spiritual warfare by faith in the Lord and in the principle of the Body.
- In order to possess the good land, we need to deal with the flesh, enjoy the Lord’s table, enjoy the all-inclusive Christ as the produce of the good land, and see a vision of Christ as our Captain.
- The victory of Israel over Jericho was won not by their fighting but by their blowing the trumpets and exalting Christ by bearing the Ark, through their faith in God’s word of instruction.
- We cannot enjoy Christ as the good land without the Body; we must be one with the Body to fight for the land, to possess the land, and to share our portion of the land.
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1 The building and the battle always go together (Deut. 8:7, 9; Neh. 4:17; Matt. 16:18)
(Please illustrate that the stones, the iron, the mountains, and the copper are for the building and for the battle.)
T2 In the Bible stone is a major item (Gen. 28:18; Zech. 3:9; 1 Pet. 2:4-5)
(Please illustrate the revelation concerning stone in the Old Testament and the New Testament.)
D2
T1 Iron signifies the authority of Christ (Rev. 12:5; Rom. 6:4-5)
(Please illustrate that iron is one of the rich produce of the good land. what is its spiritual significance? )
T2 We exercise the authority of Christ, we will have safety and security (Deut. 33:25)
(Please illustrate that the most safe and the most secure are those believers who know something regarding the exercise of Christ’s authority.)
D3
T1 In the Bible mountains signify resurrection and ascension (Matt. 28:16)
(Please illustrate that what is its spiritual significance of the mountain in the Bible.)
T2 In ascension the enemy is destroyed (S. S. 4:8)
(Please illustrate what does mountain have to do with our fighting the spiritual warfare.)
D4
T1 Copper (bronze) signifies the judgment of Christ (Deut. 8:9d; Rev. 1:15a)
(Please illustrate what is the spiritual significance of copper in our fighting the spiritual warfare.)
T2 Christ is our covering; the enemy can do nothing with Him (John 14:30; Eph. 6:13)
(Please illustrate how shall we apply Christ as our covering.)
D5
T1 Although God had given Israel the good land, Israel still needed to take the land (Josh. 1:3; Deut. 1:30)
(Please illustrate that we are not the ones fighting, for God goes with us and fights for us.)
T2 By being occupied and filled with the word, Joshuahe would have prosperity and success in taking the good land (Josh. 1:6-9)
(Please illustrate that how Joshua led the children of Israel to enter the promised land and to possess it, and enjoy it.)
D6
T1 Preparations after the children of Israel crossed the river Jordan before the attack (Josh. 6:2-5)
(After the children of Israel crossed the river Jordan, what other four things did they need to prepare for before they attacked?)
T2 In the spiritual warfare the first thing we should do is exalt Christ (Josh. 6:2-5)
(Please illustrate that what is the vital factors for the victory over Jericho in Israel’s first battle after crossing the Jordan.)
