06 FEB 2015 | CAMPUS MEETING
Scripture Reading: 1 Thes. 2:7-8, 11; Matt. 4:19; John 21:15; S. S.
1:7-8
DEALING WITH THE LIGHT WE RECEIVE
FROM THE LORD
In the previous chapter we stressed the need to go to the Lord, deal with Him, and receive light from Him to be exposed. Many Christians hope that a light from heaven would shine on them as it did on Saul of Tarsus ( Acts 9:3). However, there has never been another Saul in history. We should not expect that one day the Lord will have mercy and shine His light on us in this way. The proper way to receive enlightenment is to deal with the light that we already have. We already have a certain amount of light, whether or not we are willing to obey it.
Our Need for Training to Deal with Matters Thoroughly
As proper persons, we rise up in the morning at the right time, make our bed, wash, dress, and have breakfast, and after breakfast we arrange our affairs. To behave in this way is not to be sloppy. Because of our fallen nature, however, almost every Christian is sloppy in his spiritual life. This is because no one exercises control over us. In our schooling, we have a teacher, professor, or at least a grading system to exercise control over us. Similarly, many who are sloppy in other things are not sloppy on their job because their desire not to lose their job controls them. In the spiritual life, however, no one exercises control over us in this way. The church cannot “fire” a brother for being sloppy. Therefore, we need the
training. The training is not merely the teaching of the Bible or of skills
for the church. The training is simply a spiritual discipline that builds us up to discipline ourselves. As seeking ones of the Lord, we must learn to discipline ourselves. Many housewives know how to keep their house clean. If they mean business as a housekeeper, they will not ignore a piece of waste paper when they see it but will throw it into the waste paper basket. Even a small piece of waste paper not picked up is a proof
that someone is a sloppy housekeeper. We need to discipline ourselves in
the Christian life in the same way. We should not tolerate having any matters that remain undealt with.
Dealing with the Light That We Already Have
Some may say that they do not know how to receive light from the Lord. In actuality, we already have the light. If we see a “piece of waste paper” in our being, this indicates that we have some light. However, we may
care for the light, and we may not want to be exposed. We may seemany things that need to be dealt with, but we may not care to deal with them. Rather, we may claim that we do not have the light and do not know what to do. We do know what to do, but if we do not deal with what we see, we will not receive further light. Light brings in more light (Psa. 36:9). This applies even to physical things. If a good housekeeper cleans her furniture thoroughly, her eyes will be exercised to see dust that others cannot see. On the other hand, if we never clean our furniture in a thorough way, we will lose the ability to see the dust. The difference is a matter not of light but of sight. We may all be under the same light, but our sight is different. Proper sight depends much upon the exercise of
our sight. Recently, I lost my sight, but this was remedied by surgery on my retina. After my surgery, due to the shortage of the exercise of my eyes, my vision remained poor. As I began to exercise my eyes more, my sight gradually increased. Strictly speaking, this improvement was due
not to healing but to exercise.
It is not true that we, as persons saved, regenerated, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, have no light, and it is also not true that we have no sight. We do have light and sight, but we may not exercise our sight to see, and we may not care for what we see. By the Lord’s mercy, we may need to go to the Lord one night and say, “Lord, I will not go to sleep or do anything else. I will simply remain in Your presence until everything is cleared up, and there is no further speaking from my conscience.” We do not necessarily need to say, “Lord, shine upon me.” The Lord is already shining. To pray for light may simply be an excuse. We should not excuse ourselves. Rather, we should say, “Lord, I am sloppy in this matter that You have shown me. O Lord, forgive me.” Following this, we can confess a second matter and ask for forgiveness and cleansing of that filthiness with the Lord’s precious blood (1 John 1:9). Then we can go on to further matters. The more we go on, the more light we will receive; the more sight we exercise, the more things we will see. We will remain very busy in our prayer. We may think there are too many things to deal with, but the Lord may say that there are more to come. Perhaps after fifteen minutes we will fall to the floor repenting and weeping. If we obey a small light, that light will bring in farther light, and if we obey the former light, it will bring in even greater light.
In His Perfecting Hands 