第五週 • 週四

 w05d04-ch

晨興餧養

結四七12  在河這邊與那邊的岸上必生長各類的樹木，其果可作食物；葉子不枯乾，果子不斷絕；每月必結新果子，因為供應樹木的水是從聖所流出來的。樹上的果子必作食物，葉子乃為治病。

藉着從神殿中流出的河，死海的鹽水要得着醫治。這意思是說，死亡要被生命吞滅。當地方召會中生命的流豐富且深廣時，許多死亡就要被生命吞滅。然而，一個召會中若沒有水流，那個召會就要成為『死海』，滿了鹽。

雖然死海和乾地能活過來，死也能被生命吞滅，但窪濕之處卻不得治好（結四七11）。窪濕之處既不是幹地，也不是流水之處。窪濕之處乃是半泥半水，既不濕也不乾。窪濕之處表徵一種充滿妥協的光景。這意思是說，無論那裏有妥協的光景，那裏就是窪濕之處。我們絕不該與任何『窪濕之處』有牽連（以西結書生命讀經，三八○至三八一頁）。

信息選讀

主耶穌責備老底嘉的召會像溫水，不冷不熱。…祂也說，他們若仍然不冷不熱，祂就要從口中把他們吐出去（啟三15~16）。像溫水就是在一種妥協的光景中，在窪濕之處。

我們對召會的立場必須是絕對的。…你若站在召會的立場上，你就必須絕對地站住。你應當或冷或熱，而不該像溫水。像溫水就是在窪濕之處。…一個人可能在召會生活中，卻不是絕對的。這樣的人乃是窪濕之處。

甚至主也無法治好窪濕之處。窪濕之處是中立地帶，半路涼亭，妥協之處。有些聖徒既不在巴比倫，也不在耶路撒冷，乃在巴比倫和耶路撒冷中間地帶。這意思是說，他們是在窪濕之處，甚至他們就是窪濕之處。…我們必須絕對的在流中，或站在乾地上。我們若在窪濕之處，或在『泥濘』的光景中，主對我們就無能為力。…為着召會生活，我們必須絕對。

召會也該是各從其類的地方。創世記一章十一至十二節說，地長出青草、樹木、菜蔬，各從其類。蘋果樹不能長出蘋果桃。…男人就是男人，女人就是女人；沒有一個人是不男不女的。你若在宗派裏，就在那裏從你那一類。…照樣，在一個地方若有一班聖徒是那地方的召會，他們就必須從召會這一類。…你若在主的恢復中，就要絕對在主的恢復中，不要在半路涼亭。要完全從巴比倫回到耶路撒冷。你若停在半途，就會成為窪濕之處，不會有任何水流，甚至沒有細流。你所有的水只彀使你成為『泥濘』。你會成為窪濕之處，而窪濕之處不得治好。我在主恢復的年日中，從未看見窪濕之處得治好的。

主耶穌在啟示錄二十二章十一節說，『行不義的，叫他仍舊行不義；污穢的，叫他仍舊行污穢；義的，叫他仍舊行義；聖別的，叫他仍舊聖別。』這裏我們看見，主耶穌渴望並要求絕對。我們必須學習絕對。因着絕對，我們就會在流中，這流不是涓涓細流，乃是可洑的河。這樣，河水所到之處，百物都必生活（以西結書生命讀經，三八一至三八三頁）。

參讀：聖經中關於生命的重要啟示，第六章。

WEEK 5—DAY 4

Morning Nourishment

Ezek. 47:12 And on the banks on both sides of the river will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail; but they will bring forth new fruit every month, because the water for them flows out of the sanctuary. And their fruit shall be for food, and their leaves for healing.

By the flowing of the river out of the house, the salt water of the Dead Sea will be healed. This means that death will be swallowed up by life. When there is a rich and deep flow of life in a local church, much death will be swallowed up by life. However, if there is no flow in a particular church, that church will become a “dead sea” full of salt.

Although the Dead Sea and the dry places can be made alive and deadness can be swallowed up by life, the marshes cannot be healed (Ezek. 47:11). A marsh is a place that is neither dry nor flowing with water. Consisting partly of mud and partly of water, a marsh is neither wet nor dry. A marsh signifies a situation that is full of compromise. This means that wherever there is a compromising situation, there is a marsh. We should never become involved with any situation that is a “marsh.” (Life-study of Ezekiel, p. 310)

Today’s Reading

The Lord Jesus rebuked the church in Laodicea for being lukewarm and neither hot nor cold…He also said that if they remained lukewarm, He would spew them out of His mouth (Rev. 3:15-16). To be lukewarm is to be in a compromising situation, to be in a marsh.

Our stand concerning the church must be absolute…If you stand on the ground of the church, you must stand absolutely. You should be either cold or hot, but you should not be lukewarm. To be lukewarm is to be in a marsh…It is possible for one to be in the church life without being absolute. Such a person is a marsh.

Not even the Lord can heal a marsh. A marsh is a neutral place, a halfway place, a place of compromise. Certain saints are neither in Babylon nor in Jerusalem but in a halfway place between Babylon and Jerusalem. This means that they are in a marsh and even that they are a marsh. We need either to be absolutely in the flow or stay on dry ground. If we remain in a marshy or “muddy” situation, the Lord cannot do anything with us…For the church life we need to be absolute.

The church should also be a place after its kind. Genesis 1:11-12 says that the grass, the trees, and the herbs brought forth each after its own kind. An apple tree cannot bring forth an apple-peach…A man must be a man and a woman must be a woman; no one can be a man-woman. If you are in a denomination, be there after your kind…Likewise, if a group of saints in a certain locality are the church in that locality, they must be the church after its kind. If you are in the Lord’s recovery, be in the recovery absolutely, not halfway. Come back all the way from Babylon to Jerusalem. If you stop halfway, you will become a marsh, and you will not have any flow, not even a trickle. Rather, you will have just enough water to make you “muddy.” You will be a marsh, and a marsh cannot be healed. Throughout all my years in the Lord’s recovery, I have never seen a marsh that was healed.

In Revelation 22:11 the Lord Jesus said, “Let him who does unrighteousness do unrighteousness still; and let him who is filthy be filthy still; and let him who is righteous do righteousness still; and let him who is holy be holy still.” Here we see that the Lord Jesus desires and requires absoluteness. We must learn to be absolute. By being absolute we will be in the flow, and the flow will not be a trickle but a river to swim in. Then everything shall live where the river comes. (Life-study of Ezekiel, pp. 310-312)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1969, vol. 2, “The Crucial Revelation of Life in the Scriptures,” ch. 6