Crystallization-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther
Message Twelve
A God Who Hides Himself—the Hidden God
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Isa. 45:15 Surely You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.
Luke 18:7-8 And will not God by all means carry out the avenging of His chosen ones, who cry to Him day and night, though He is long-suffering over them? I tell you that He will carry out their avenging quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?
Word of Appetizer
Where do the Old Testament and the New Testament tell us that God as a God who hides Himself?
Isa. 45:15 Surely You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.
The book of Esther supplies a vivid record of how the hiding God of Israel secretly took care of His oppressed elect in their dispersion and openly saved His persecuted elect in their captivity.
The significance of the parable in Luke 18:1-8 is profound, and we need to know God as He is revealed, as the hidden God.
Spiritual Burden
We need to realize that the omnipotent God whom we are serving is still hiding Himself, especially when He is helping us. The God who hides Himself is operating within us silently yet mightily. Our responsibility is to cooperate with Him by responding to the inner sense deep within us.
While our opponent is persecuting us, it seems that our God is not righteous, for He allows His children to be unrighteously persecuted; we ought to pray persistently for this avenging and should not lose heart.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
“Surely You are a God who hides Himself, / O God of Israel, the Savior”.
The book of Esther supplies a vivid record of how the hiding God of Israel secretly took care of His oppressed elect in their dispersion and openly saved His persecuted elect in their captivity.
The significance of the parable in Luke 18:1-8 is profound, and we need to know God as He is revealed, as the hidden God.
The Experience of Life
The omnipotent God whom we are serving is still hiding Himself, especially when He is helping us; actually, in a hidden way He is doing many things for us, as He is strengthening us with power through His Spirit into the inner man so that Christ may make His home in our hearts.
The God who hides Himself is operating within us silently yet mightily; whenever we sense God living and acting within us, we should say Amen, for there, in the depths of our being, secretly and ceaselessly the God who hides Himself is working.
Practice and Application
The widow kept coming to the unrighteous judge and asking him to avenge her of her opponent; we ought to pray persistently for this avenging and should not lose heart; although He appears to be unrighteous, we still must appeal to Him, pray persistently, and bother Him again and again, for He will carry out quickly the avenging of His chosen ones, who “cry to Him day and night”. We need to bother the Lord by praying persistently. We need to say to Him, “Lord, praying is up to me, not up to You. You never told me that I should not pray. On the contrary, You charged me to pray. Therefore, Lord, I am praying now for Your vindication.”
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 God reveals Himself to us through many different titles (Isa. 45:15)
(Isaiah said, “Surely You are a God who hides Himself ” . what is the reason? )
T2 God is a God who hides Himself (Isa. 45:15; John 1:18)
(Please illustrate from the Old Testament to the New Testament, God was hidden from man.)
Day 2
T1 Our God never makes a display (Matt. 6:1, 3-4)
(Please illustrate that God exists in the universe, yet He manifests Himself for a moment, only to conceal Himself once again. )
T2 God’s character is that He likes to keep Himself hidden (Isa. 53:2a; Matt. 6:1)
(Please illustrate God likes to hide; we like to display.)
Day 3
T1 God is living and real, but He is hiding (Esth. 4:14, 16)
(Please illustrate that while the people of Israel were in dispersion and captivity, God was taking care of them in a hidden way.)
T2 Today our God whom we are serving is still hiding Himself, especially when He is helping us(Esth. 4:3; Isa. 45:15)
(Please illustrate what is the crucial point of Esther.)
Day 4
T1 The believers in Christ have an opponent; this opponent is Satan the devil (Luke 18:1, 3)
(Please illustrate that God’s avenging of our enemy will be at the Savior’s coming back.)
T2 Today’s evil generation can distract us from the enjoyment of Christ (Luke 17:27-28)
(Please illustrate that the Triune God is for man’s enjoyment. Nevertheless, the fallen human race has no concept of this whatever.)
Day 5
T1 We learn to be a bothering widow (Luke 18:7-8)
(Please illustrate why God allows His children to be unrighteously persecuted according to Luke 18:1-8?)
T2 Temporarily our God seems to be an unrighteous judge (Luke 18:6-8)
(Please illustrate that although God appears to be unrighteous, we still must appeal to Him, pray persistently, and bother Him again and again.)
Day 6
T1 The faith of the widow is the subjective faith, not the objective faith (Luke 18:8)
(Please illustrate that in Luke 18:8 literally, the Greek words rendered “faith” mean “the faith.” This denotes the persistent faith for our persistent prayer.)
T2 The linking faith is the divine requirement for the overcomers to meet Christ in His triumphant return (Luke 18:8)
(Please illustrate that the linking faith qualifies the overcomers; it is the divine requirement.)
