God’s Economy in Faith
Message Eight
Walking in the Steps of That Faith of Our Father Abraham
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Gal. 3:7 Know then that they who are of faith, these are sons of Abraham.
Gen. 12:7-8 And Jehovah appeared to Abram and said, To your seed I will give this land. And there he built an altar to Jehovah who had appeared to him. And he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent; …and there he built an altar to Jehovah and called upon the name of Jehovah.
Word of Appetizer
If we would walk in the steps of Abraham’s faith, we must be those who live the life of the altar and the tent. What is living the life of the altar and the tent?
An altar is for worshipping God by offering all that we are and have to God for His purpose; building an altar means that our life is for God, that God is our life, and that the meaning of our life is God. Abraham’s dwelling in a tent testified that he did not belong to the world but lived the life of a sojourner on the earth, sojourning by faith, as in a foreign land. Erecting a tent is an expression, a declaration, that we do not belong to this world, that we belong to another country; our real country is a better country, a heavenly one, the heavenly New Jerusalem.
Spiritual Burden
Abraham’s living by faith is presently being repeated among us; the Christian life and the church life today are the harvest of the life and history of Abraham; the Christian life and the church life today are the harvest of the life and history of Abraham. If we would walk in the steps of Abraham’s faith, we must be those who live the life of the altar and the tent. God’s appearing and transfusing issue in our consecration, causing us to build an altar, live in a tent, and live totally for God.
To live by faith, as Abraham did, is to cooperate with Christ in His heavenly ministry, not only by living a life of the altar and the tent but also by fighting for the brother. The apostolic ministry in cooperation with Christ’s heavenly ministry fights for the brother by interceding for the saints according to God and His economy and by ministering the processed God into the saints for their overcoming supply and enjoyment.
CONCLUDING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
The Revelation of the Truth
Christ as the Triune God-man is the seed (descendant, or son) of Abraham; because the believers are in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) and Christ is in them (Col. 1:27), they are one with Christ and are of Christ as a part of Christ; thus, we who have believed into Christ are also Abraham’s seed.
Abraham’s faith did not originate with himself; rather, his believing in God was a reaction to the God of glory appearing to him and to the transfusing and infusing of God’s element into his being.
If we would walk in the steps of Abraham’s faith, we must be those who live the life of the altar and the tent.
To live by faith, as Abraham did, is to cooperate with Christ in His heavenly ministry, not only by living a life of the altar and the tent but also by fighting for the brother.
The Experience of Life
In the gospel we have received the greatest blessing, which is the Triune God—the Father, Son, and Spirit—as the processed, all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit dwelling in us in a most subjective way for our enjoyment; oh, what a blessing that we can enjoy such an all-inclusive One as our daily portion!
When we meet God Himself, we have the power to deny ourselves; the denying of the self ceases to be optional when we have met God; no man can see God and live.
Practice and Application
We need to come again and again to the Lord and beseech Him: “Appear to me again and again, and speak to me again and again”; we need to have a continuous seeing, an eternal seeing, of what the goal
of God is. God’s appearing and transfusing issue in our consecration, causing us to build an altar, live in a tent, and live totally for God.
We must be those who shepherd others according to God, that is, according to what God is in His attributes, such as love, light, holiness, and righteousness. To shepherd people, we must cherish them, which is to make them happy and to make them feel pleasant and comfortable; in shepherding people, we must also feed them with the all-inclusive Christ in His full ministry of three stages—incarnation, inclusion, and intensification.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 Christ as the Triune God-man is the seed of Abraham (Matt. 1:1; Gal. 3:16)
(Please illustrate that the divine economy and the divine dispensing are… shown in the promise of the seed of Abraham.)
T2 The blessing of Abraham refers to the promised Spirit, who is the reality of Christ (Gal. 3:14; 1 Cor. 15:45b)
(Please illustrate that the top blessing to us sinners is God Himself as the life-giving Spirit.)
Day 2
T1 Abraham was attracted to God and reacted to Him in believing (Acts 7:2; John 14:21)
(Please illustrate that Abraham’s reaction was his believing.)
T2 Faith is not our natural ability or virtue (Acts 7:2; John 14:21)
(Please illustrate that Faith is the result from God’s transfusing Himself into us and infusing His divine elements into our being.)
Day 3
T1 The altar is based on God’s appearance (Gen. 12:7; Job 42:5)
(Please illustrate with experiences that no one can offer himself to God unless he has first met God.)
T2 The altar has its issue in the tent (Gen. 12:8; Heb. 11:9-10)
(Please illustrate that Abraham’s dwelling in a tent testified that he did not belong to the world but lived the life of a sojourner on the earth.)
Day 4
T1 Recovery is a matter of returning to the altar and the tent (Gen. 12:8)
(Please illustrate that Abraham had forsaken the altar and the tent; he went down to Egypt. How did that recovery come about?)
T2 Abraham’s history is ours (Heb. 11:9-10)
(Please illustrate that we have nothing constant on this earth, we just like to have a tent with God’s presence.)
Day 5
T1 Abraham made a strong decision to fight for Lot (Gen. 14:14, 16, 18)
(Please illustrate that we must not only live a life of the altar and the tent, but also fight for the brother.)
T2 In fighting for his brother, Abraham risked his life (Gen. 14:14, 16, 18)
(Please illustrate that as far as Abraham was concerned, it was a shame for him to see that his brother had been captured.)
Day 6
T1 Christ is the Shepherd and Overseer of our soul (1 Pet. 2:25; 5:2)
(Please illustrate that what it means to shepherd God’s flock according to God.)
T2 Without shepherding, there is no way for us to minister life to others (John 21:15-17; Col. 1:28-29)
(Please illustrate that the real ministering of life is shepherding by visiting and contacting people.)
