The theme for this conference is, “You are My witnesses.” The burden I have received is to fellowship concerning the matter of being conformed to His death.
Brothers and sisters, let us read some of God’s Word together. Please turn to Philippians 3. We will read verses 10 and 11.
That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Now turn back to Philippians 2. We will read from verse 5 through verse 8.
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Let us also read Romans 6:5-7.
For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
for he who has died is freed from sin.
Romans 6:23 says:
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 7:4 says:
Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
Romans 7:18 says:
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
Now let us turn to 2 Corinthians 4 and read verses 7 through 12.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;
we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
So death works in us, but life in you.
Hebrews 2:9 says:
But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
Hebrews 5:7-8 says:
In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.
Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.
Finally, Acts 2:23-24:
This Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
In the book of Philippians, we can see this very clearly: being conformed to His death, or being conformed to the likeness of His death, was a strong desire in the apostle Paul.
This should also be the most important experience as we know Christ. We want to gain Him more, enjoy Him more, and manifest Him more. Being conformed to His death is a most important experience. In other words, it is a necessary experience if we are to testify of Christ.
In the original language, “being conformed” means being conformed into His likeness. It is like making a mold: based on that mold, you can produce what has the same form. This is what it means to be conformed.
Concerning the work of the Lord on the cross, the salvation that He accomplished through the shedding of His blood is something no one else can share in. As Isaiah 63:3 says, He trod the winepress alone. No one could be part of it. That work was accomplished by our Lord alone.
But thank God, although no one could participate in accomplishing His death on the cross, we can participate in it experientially. We can experience it.
From Paul’s letters, we can see three important aspects. In Philippians, Paul expresses the desire to be conformed to Christ’s death. In Romans, he explains the meaning of Christ’s death as an accomplished fact. In 2 Corinthians, he speaks of the effect of Christ’s death in experience.
In the first century, God entrusted to Paul the explanation of the meaning of the cross. He was the apostle who explained most clearly and most completely the significance of the cross. He had a deep understanding concerning the death of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.
The death of Christ on the cross is indeed a great mystery. Its meaning is deep, and its effect covers all things. Brothers and sisters, we truly need to thank the Lord.
The death of Christ has a very special meaning because our Lord is the Lord of life. There is no death in Him; He would never die. Yet because He loves us, as Hebrews tells us, He tasted death for every one of us.
This is something we cannot fully comprehend. It was a great price for the Lord. No wonder Hebrews 5 tells us that, in the days of His flesh, He offered prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience through the things which He suffered.
Brothers and sisters, our Lord tasted death, and it was a great price to pay. We should always appreciate our Lord for His death, because He loves us so very much. This was something God would never want to do, yet for your sake and my sake He did it. He suffered such great pain.
Because He tasted death for us, He accomplished a special death—the death of Christ. That death has become a sharp weapon. It is a sharp weapon that can destroy everything opposed to God.
Because of the death of the Lord, how much grace and blessing have been brought to us! We probably cannot fully comprehend all its meaning from the Bible, because its meaning is so rich.
For fallen sinners, this death can defeat all the power of the enemy and deal with all the difficulties arising from the flesh. Its power is so great that it is beyond our comprehension.
We must remember that the great God has called us, weak and unworthy as we are, to be His testimony. From the beginning of our salvation, we are full of difficulties. Without His death, we cannot be His testimony.
If His death could not resolve the difficulties in our lives or nullify the works of the enemy, how could we be a testimony of the Lord? Our weaknesses and failures can only bring disgrace to Him.
But thank the Lord: He has never forsaken us, and He will never repent of His purpose. He has the power to change us, and that power is His death. Because of this, we have hope to testify of the Lord.
There are many important meanings concerning His death. At this time, however, we would like to focus on how His death can resolve our difficulties.
At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, the truth of the cross was recovered through the Brethren movement. The brothers and sisters at that time came to understand something of the power of His death—a power beyond our understanding.
Today we have a little more scientific knowledge. We know that, in the present world, one of the greatest powers is nuclear power. Yet nuclear power can only put people to death. The power of the death of the Lord, however, can make people alive.
The Lord of life tasted death for us. He accomplished this sharp weapon. Therefore, Paul explains this matter in the book of Romans.
Romans is a very important book. We thank the Lord for giving Paul such wisdom to write such a concise and important book. Without it, we would not have such an understanding concerning our Lord being crucified.
The first part of Romans speaks of how Christians receive God’s grace individually. From Romans 12 onward, Paul speaks of the Body of Christ. The central point for resolving all the issues is the cross.
Therefore, we would like to focus on the first seven chapters. I believe many brothers and sisters have come to understand this clearly.
In the first five chapters of Romans, the blood of the Lord deals with our sins. Before Romans 6, the term sins is generally in the plural form. From Romans 6 onward, however, the death of the Lord deals with our sin nature, and sin is in the singular form.
Many Christians live in the condition described before Romans 6. We know that the blood of the Lord can cleanse all our sins. When we commit a sin, we come before the Lord and ask Him to cleanse us with His blood.
Yet we often do not have much understanding or experience concerning the death of the Lord as presented from Romans 6 onward. Actually, many difficulties, either personally or in the church, are related to the matters addressed from Romans 6 onward.
Death is generally regarded as a dreadful thing. Naturally speaking, everyone fears death. But some Christians, having come to understand the future resurrection, are no longer afraid of physical death.
For unbelieving people, natural death is a dreadful thing; it is eternal destruction. But for Christians, physical death is the end of time and the beginning of eternity. Therefore, we are not afraid of the death of the flesh.
Yet there is another death, spiritual death, which has been brought in by the enemy. This spiritual death brings destruction and perishing.
Thank the Lord: on the cross, the Lord accomplished another death. Paul says in Romans 6 that this death brings an even greater effect.
Romans 6:6 says:
Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with.
The term “old man” is singular in Greek. It speaks of fallen and corrupt humanity. Only the cross of the Lord can resolve this terrible nature.
For us who have been saved by grace, if we have some experience, we come to understand what a terrible thing our fallen nature is. Thank the Lord: through the work of the cross, this corrupt nature has been crucified.
On the cross, the Lord established something that will never change. It is a fact: all of us who are corrupt were crucified with Him on the cross. We died with Him.
Therefore, we need to understand Romans 6:6. It is a very important assurance for our spiritual experience, and it is also the key to resolving many difficulties.
From Romans 6 and 7, we can see what issues the death of the cross has resolved for us. These are root issues. If the root can be dealt with, then all the outward manifestations can be more easily dealt with.
If these issues cannot be resolved, it is impossible to have a normal life before God. We cannot live to God, not to mention testify of Christ.
Paul clearly tells us what root issues the death of Christ has resolved. From these root issues, difficulties can branch out into every area of our lives.
In general, Romans 6 and 7 reveal four root issues that have been resolved by the death of Jesus:
All these are roots of difficulties. Only the death of the Lord can resolve them.
The first issue is the sin nature. We know that the sin nature is the root of all difficulties. When sin is present, all beautiful things can be destroyed.
We can see this clearly in the life of a newly saved Christian. At first, everything may seem wonderful. But if the matter of the sin nature is neglected, after a period of time it becomes evident, and the wonderful condition can quickly be destroyed.
This is also true of the church. In church history, we see that churches may begin in a wonderful condition, but after some time the sin nature appears, and the good condition is damaged. This is something very dreadful.
Paul tells us that, because we were crucified with the Lord, the body of sin has been done away with. The sin nature is still present, and the old man is still there, but the one who was enslaved to committing sins has been crucified with Christ. Therefore, we no longer need to be slaves to sin.
This is a fact that we can apply to our lives. If we have seen that we have been crucified with Christ, then we no longer need to commit sins. We no longer present ourselves to unrighteousness as instruments, and we no longer allow sin to reign over us.
Paul tells us that our body of sin has been done away with. This is a wonderful thing, and it can become a true experience for Christians. I believe many brothers and sisters have some understanding of this truth. This is simply a reminder.
The second point is that Christ has dealt with the issue of death. Romans tells us that the wages of sin is death. We all know this very well.
In our lives, whenever we commit a sin or make a mistake, the result is death. Even if it is not physical death, it is spiritual death, and spiritual death is also very dreadful.
When someone encounters such death, there are evident signs. A person may turn from being active to becoming passive, from being positive to becoming negative, from being hopeful to becoming despairing, and from being zealous to becoming indifferent.
This is the result of spiritual death. Such death brings all things to an end. Where death is, normal conditions are brought to a conclusion, and wonderful things are destroyed.
This is also true in our service. When a person enters into such death, encouragement and exhortation can become ineffective. I believe we have seen such things in our practical service.
But thank the Lord: only the death of the Lord can heal such a condition. Our Lord has rendered powerless the one who holds the power of death. He can turn a curse into a blessing.
How many times have we experienced such death and then seen how the Lord uses His death to conclude the death brought in by the enemy? Sometimes the issue is not only resolved for one person; the corporate condition is changed as well.
The third point is that Christ’s death resolves the issue of the law. The law is the demand of God’s righteousness. It is good, but there is a difficulty: as men, we cannot fulfill it.
When we cannot fulfill the law, we have a sense of guilt. In Romans 7, Paul tells us that, in the death of Christ, we can die to the law. The Lord has dealt with the issue of being bound by the law.
When we consider the people of Israel in the Old Testament, we can understand this matter more clearly. God gave them the law, and the law was supposed to set them free. Yet the law became their greatest bondage.
By the time the Lord Jesus came, Judaism was very much bound by the law. From the law came many traditions, forms, and methods. These became a great bondage in the conscience of the people of God.
As we gather here, we may come from many different backgrounds. We may have our own habits, traditions, and forms. Yet as we gather to sing and worship the Lord, there may be no issue at all.
But if you begin asking questions about where people meet or how they practice, many issues may arise. You can see many differences because of differing traditions and forms, and because of the many kinds of bondage that come with them.
But in the Lord, Ephesians 2 tells us that He accomplished peace through His body. He has removed the bondage of all these forms. This is a fact brought in through the Lord’s death.
The fourth issue is the flesh. As we mention this point, we should have a deep feeling concerning it, because even today we still carry this flesh while living in this world.
Paul tells us of the sign of the flesh: “The willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.” The issue of the flesh is difficult to deal with in our personal spiritual life and also in our service.
In the flesh, we can see two different kinds of expression. On the passive side, there is the tendency to indulge oneself in comfort and enjoyment. On the active and positive side, one may desire to work hard for the Lord in the strength of the flesh.
The flesh of man is a very troublesome thing. Brother Darby once said that the flesh of man is the factory of the enemy. Where is the enemy’s factory? It is in our flesh.
We need to be reminded that the flesh can easily be controlled by the enemy. Paul sighed deeply concerning his own flesh and called it “this body of death.” It is painful.
As we follow the Lord, we find much difficulty in this area because it is very hard for us to overcome. But thank the Lord: He has accomplished salvation for this.
Therefore, Romans 8 tells us that by the Holy Spirit we can put to death the deeds of the body. The Holy Spirit works to put to death the deeds of our flesh.
The book of Romans explains the meaning of the death of Christ. It is the most useful and effective weapon for resolving all these issues. No wonder Paul had such a strong feeling concerning the Lord’s death and such a strong desire to be conformed to the likeness of His death.
In Romans 6, Paul says that when we are baptized into the name of the Lord, we are united in the likeness of His death, and also in the likeness of His resurrection.
The terms Paul uses are very important. He speaks of “the likeness of His death.” After we have been baptized, we are united in this likeness.
Some brothers in church history have explained that the word translated “united” has two sides. On the one hand, it means identification; on the other hand, it has the thought of being planted together.
When we are baptized into the Lord, we are planted into His death. A planting is living; it can grow. A seed can grow into the shape of a tree.
Therefore Paul says that he wants to be conformed to Christ’s death and united into the likeness of His death. Why does he use the term likeness?
In this world, people may make moral efforts or engage in religious practices. These can produce an outward likeness. But the likeness of Christ’s death is different from every other kind of likeness.
The Lord’s death is not merely moral effort. Sometimes we do not make this distinction. We may consider good moral expressions to be spiritual, but they are not necessarily the same thing.
I would like to use an illustration. I do not remember which book I read it in, but it concerned Mrs. White, the founder of the Seventh-day Adventist movement. We are told that she was a person with very high moral standards.
On one occasion, someone scolded her and disputed with her, yet she kept a smile on her face. Her friend said, “You have put a great deal of moral effort into yourself.” Because she was a good friend, she told her the truth: “You can see a smile on my face, but there is a volcano erupting in my heart.”
Brothers and sisters, this is not the death of the Lord. If it is truly the death of the Lord, there will be rest from the inside out. Therefore, this is not merely moral effort.
The Lord’s death is not merely a religious practice either. People from all kinds of religions may seem to have good conduct, good behavior, and good morals. When they face difficulties, misunderstandings, and resistance, they may show a certain capacity to endure. But this is only another kind of outward likeness.
Paul tells us that the death of the Lord has a particular likeness. We hope that, in our church life, we can discern the difference. The likeness that originates from the death of the Lord is altogether different.
Before the Lord, I have tried to find a way to describe the likeness of His death. We may know something of it, but perhaps not completely. Let us return to Philippians 2.
Thank the Lord that our brother has already given us a good explanation of this chapter, because it speaks of the mind of Christ. He also used the word attitude, and I like that very much. It conveys something of the state or disposition of Christ.
This is the mind of Christ, and as we read through the passage, we discover that it is the mind of the cross. In this mind are expressed the wonderful virtues of our Lord Jesus.
Yet we can see that we cannot attain to any of these virtues if there is no death of Christ. The mind of Christ includes the death of Christ.
I would like to use Philippians 2 to explain the likeness of His death. The death of Christ is a great mystery, but it is not abstract. It is something that can be put into practice.
Every point in Philippians 2 can be put into practice. When our Lord came into this world, He already had this mind, and therefore He could express these wonderful virtues. This should also become our experience in life.
There are seven points here. I would like to use the analogy of seven steps. We need to pay attention to this: these seven steps do not lead upward; they lead downward.
Our natural man wants to go upward, but the mind of Christ takes the downward way. Our Lord has set the example. Our responsibility is to take a step downward, and God will be responsible to exalt us. That is completely safe.
In this world, many people make every effort to go upward. Yet the higher they go, the harder they may fall. It is safer to take the downward way. Let us pray that the Lord will give us this mind of Christ.
The first point is that He did not grasp. Though He had that position, He did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped. In the original language, it means that He did not seize or cling to it.
Our elderly brother mentioned this in the morning. The mind of the enemy, the devil, is to grasp. But the mind of the Son of God is not to grasp and not to insist.
In the service of the church, we should not grasp or insist naturally. This is not easy for the natural man. We cannot do it without the death of Christ. Yet this is the origin of many difficulties.
The second point is that He emptied Himself. This is a great expression of our Lord.
When He came into this world to serve, He first came to the Jordan to be baptized. This was an expression of His denying Himself. He gave Himself wholly to God. He emptied everything that was from Himself.
It is very difficult for us to empty ourselves. Without the death of Christ, it is impossible for us to do it. But Paul knew the preciousness of Christ, and for the sake of Christ he was willing to suffer the loss of all things.
Many times we say in our prayers, “For Your sake, Lord, I am willing to suffer the loss of all things.” But when we open our eyes, we begin to grasp. We have not consecrated ourselves completely.
It is easy to say these words, but it is not easy to do them. It can only be done when we see that we have been crucified with Christ. Our Lord, when He came into this world, forsook all things and had only one heart for the will of God.
The third point is that He took the form of a bond-servant. To take this form was an act of willingness.
Why did our Lord Jesus need to become a bond-servant? No one forced Him, because a bond-servant is one who serves. Our Lord willingly humbled Himself.
If today we can understand this meaning and are willing to humble ourselves, that is something very precious. But this is not an act we can accomplish in ourselves.
When we are humbled, we often have much grief. When we are exalted, we may become proud. But when our Lord was humbled, there was no grief in Him; and when He was exalted, there was no pride in Him.
Only when we understand the death of Christ and are willing to be wholly for the will of God can we willingly take the form of a bond-servant.
Paul called himself a bond-servant of the Lord throughout his life. He wanted to be conformed to the likeness of the death of Christ.
The fourth point is that He was made in the likeness of men. The word men here is plural.
On the one hand, when our Lord was made a man, He desired to draw Himself close to men in order to save all men. On the other hand, becoming in the likeness of men meant that He became very ordinary.
When the Lord came into this world, He was willing to be an ordinary person. Many times we enjoy the ordinary humanity of our Lord, yet we ourselves do not want to be ordinary.
In this world, we strive and compete with one another to become extraordinary. Some may consecrate themselves to the Lord and no longer compete in the world, yet still desire to become somebody in the church.
Today, one can become famous throughout the whole world very quickly. We are not willing to be ordinary, yet our Lord was willing to be an ordinary person.
In church life, if we are considered ordinary, we may feel cold or neglected. If we are exalted a little, we may feel rather good. We need to have the mind of Christ.
We thank our Lord. He is the Son of God, full of glory, yet when the Word became flesh, He became Jesus of Nazareth.
This was one important reason He was rejected by the Jews. When He came to Jerusalem and people said, “This is the Messiah,” the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees looked at Him and could not accept Him. He had no outward majesty, no prestigious degree, and no recognized worldly standing.
If He had held a PhD and come from a prestigious school, perhaps it would have been easier for them to accept Him. They said, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Our Lord was so very ordinary.
This should touch our hearts. Many things in the church on earth have become degraded because we want to exalt men and their achievements. Nobody wants to be ordinary.
But when our Lord came into this world, He was willing to be an ordinary person. Only in this way was He able to serve all men.
The fifth point is that He humbled Himself. In the original language, it means that He made Himself small.
In the Bible, the lamb is an image chosen by the Lord. A lamb is a small creature, yet the Lord is willing to take this image for Himself because it declares that He is willing to make Himself small.
In the book of Revelation, when the word Lamb is used, there is an emphasis on smallness. The Lord has been raised from the dead and exalted. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, yet He still uses the image of a little Lamb.
When the Lord came into this world, He made Himself small. He was despised and shamed. If He had appeared as the King of Israel, who could have shamed Him? Yet He was willing to humble Himself.
May the Holy Spirit put this image within us. The reason we think about our own importance and are unwilling to be ignored is that we have not seen the Lord’s image.
Only when we are willing to make ourselves small can we truly become followers of the Lamb. But without the mind of the death of Christ, how can we attain to this?
Thank the Lord: before He came into this world, He already had this mind of the death of the cross.
The sixth point is that He became obedient. His obedience was not forced. It was not that He had no other option. He was obedient willingly.
In our spiritual experience, being obedient is a difficult lesson to learn. If obedience does not pass through the death of the Lord, it is impossible for us to obey.
Brothers and sisters, we need to learn obedience because obedience brings glory to God. Satan has planted the character of rebellion in humanity, and therefore every one of us is rebellious.
But today, if we want to testify of the Lord, we need to learn to be obedient. Only in the death of the Lord can we become obedient.
The final point is His death on the cross. The greatest expression of the cross is that only death on the cross has the true likeness of the Lord’s death.
In Philippians 2, these precious words show us this likeness—the likeness of the Lord’s death. Therefore, we need to put this in our inward mind. We need to meditate upon it.
If we have the mind of Christ in our minds, then in our service we can testify of our Lord as He testified, and we can become His witnesses.
Paul did much work, preached many messages, and wrote many letters. Yet in the depth of his heart, his greatest desire was to be conformed to the likeness of Christ’s death.
He did not care so much about gifts and power. He cared about this one thing: if he could be conformed to the likeness of Christ’s death, then he could truly testify of the Lord, truly know Christ, and truly experience Christ more.
Today, being conformed to the likeness of His death is our experience, though there may be differences in degree. Nevertheless, let Paul be a good example to us.
When we come to 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks of the wonderful effect of this death. He says that we have this treasure in earthen vessels.
Most brothers and sisters understand that the treasure is our Lord Himself. But do not forget this: the Lord is in us, and His death is also in us. This can produce great effects and resolve many difficulties.
Paul says:
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.
He continues:
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not despairing;
persecuted, but not forsaken;
struck down, but not destroyed.
What power can sustain us in such an environment and also propel us forward? It is because we have this treasure in earthen vessels.
The power to resolve all these issues is from the death of Christ. Only when we experience the death of Christ can these difficulties be resolved and cease to become hindrances to us.
Paul also tells us that only the death of Christ can bring in the effect of life. We all hope that our ministry will be filled with life, that our service will be living, and that it will supply life to others.
As we serve the Lord, we cannot serve in such a way that others become living while we ourselves are dead. Nor is it normal for us to appear living while those around us are dead.
Today, in these earthen vessels, there is a great treasure: the death of Christ. If we can be conformed to the likeness of His death, then those who serve will first show the likeness of life.
If we are not living enough, it indicates that we have not died in the right way. Death is very important here. This death is not the product of our own moral effort.
Many times, when we encounter difficulties in service, we say, “What should we do? We just need to be patient.” Then we grind our teeth and try to endure.
For a period of time, I was like that. I thought, “I am a servant of God. I had better not show my sad face to others.” So whenever I went to meetings, I put on a smiling face.
People would say, “You are doing very well.” But there was much bitterness and grief inside. Often I returned to the Lord in prayer and condemned myself: “I am such a hypocrite. I am truly a Pharisee.”
I put on one kind of face, but that was not my true inward condition. When we preach the gospel, we may tell people that if they believe in the Lord, there will be contentment and joy within them. Yet when we return home, we may feel empty ourselves.
We can turn ourselves into hypocrites because we have not come to understand the death of Christ.
Therefore, we need to know how to die in the right way, and that will produce the effect of life. If we die in the wrong way, it will not produce the effect of life. This is very real.
A person who serves the Lord must first experience the death of Christ in order for the effect of life to be brought into him. This life will not only be manifested in him; because he has experienced the Lord’s death, that life can also be manifested in others.
We often encourage brothers who are serving: whenever there is a difficulty or conflict between brothers, whoever dies first wins.
You do not win by being loud or by being strong. This is very true. If we are willing to die to ourselves, life will be manifested in others.
Brothers and sisters, this is not merely a teaching. It is something practical. Paul had a deep understanding concerning the matter of testifying of Christ. The death of Christ is a necessary experience.
We also need to be conformed to the likeness of His death. I believe this is why Paul expressed such a strong desire in the book of Philippians.
Paul lived under this principle all his life. He testified of the glory of Christ in his life and in his service. He is a good example.
I hope this truth can be recovered among the people of God, that we may serve our Lord according to this principle and bear a wonderful testimony of Him.
Lord, we thank You with all our hearts. Because You love us, You tasted death.
You have also accomplished a special death, resolving all our difficulties. We bow before You because of Your suffering, for You have loved us so very much.
Today You have given Your life and Your death to be made real in our lives, so that we may experience this death and be conformed to the likeness of Your death.
So that on this earth we may also be Your witnesses. Lord, we confess that the difficulties in our personal lives and also in the church are because we have neglected this truth.
In this matter, we are not like Paul. We do not have this strong desire to pursue after You and to know You. Lord, we pray that in this conference You would have mercy on us.
Through Your Holy Spirit, do Your work among us. Constrain us by Your own love so that we may follow in Your footsteps.
Lord, change all our conditions so that we may truly bear a wonderful testimony of Yourself.
Lord, we are indeed Your testimony. Make us Your testimony. We believe that You can do it. We give You glory.
Hear our prayers, in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.