Companions – Looking for Three Kinds of Companions

Higher Ground | Day 17

LOOKING FOR THREE KINDS OF COMPANIONS

Mark 10:30 But that he shall receive a hundred times as much now at this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, with persecutions, and in the coming age, eternal life.
1 Timothy 1:2 To Timothy, genuine child in faith: Grace, mercy, peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

We should look for three kinds of companions. The first kind should be those who are at our spiritual level. This kind of friend is for mutual help—we can help him, and he can help us. The second kind should be more experienced in the Lord; he can lead us. We need to listen to such a one and receive his help, be restricted by him, and even be subject to him. I believe that Paul was such a companion to Timothy and to Titus; Paul was like their father. For this reason Timothy and Titus had to learn submission, and they had to subject themselves to his authority (1 Tim. 1:1-2; Titus 1:4). We should also look for this kind of companion. The third kind of companion should be one who is younger and weaker. We should render him help and lead him like a big brother leading his younger siblings.

We should have these three kinds of companions. It is best for every believer to have two companions who are at the same level, a companion who is younger, and a companion who is older. The brothers should look for companions among the brothers, and the sisters should look for companions among the sisters. They should look for all three kinds of companions. (Knowing and Experiencing God as Life, ch. 2)

Companions – Benefits of Having Spiritual Companions

Higher Ground | Day 16

BENEFITS OF HAVING SPIRITUAL COMPANIONS

1 Thess. 3:7-8 – Because of this we were comforted because of you, brothers, in all our necessity and affliction, through your faith; 8 Because now we live if you stand firm in the Lord.

The best way to have spiritual growth and receive spiritual benefit is to find a few brothers and sisters to be our spiritual companions so that we can open to one another, seek one another, help one another, and solve one another’s problems in all spiritual things. On one hand, we should regularly seek the Lord on our own, and on the other hand, with a pure heart we should frequently have open fellowship with a few brothers and sisters. We would be blessed if we would fellowship concerning our weaknesses or problems, concerning matters that we cannot overcome, and concerning matters that cause us to fall. We often cannot overcome a certain sin alone, but if we are willing to fellowship about it, the sin will be overcome. This is quite marvelous.

Spiritual companions are such a great benefit because of the principle of the Body. God is our life, but He is not only in us individually; He is in us corporately. Therefore, whenever we fellowship, we will be helped by the other members, and they will be helped by us.

In order to kindle wood in a stove, there must be at least three pieces of firewood. It is very difficult to start a fire with only one piece of firewood, and if a fire is started, it will easily be quenched. This is an example of our condition before God. In order to pursue the Lord in a good way, we must find three to six brothers and sisters with whom we can come together regularly. We should be open and fellowship with one another without any reservation concerning our condition toward the Lord and our situation before Him. If we would practice this, our weaknesses will be swallowed up, our problems will be solved, the light in us will become brighter, our spirit will be strengthened and refreshed, and our love for the Lord will be more fervent. The benefits of having spiritual companions are too great. (Knowing and Experiencing God as Life, Chapter 12)

Higher Ground: Numbering Our Days

Ministry Reading for the 3rd Week

Paul the apostle says in Philippians 3:14…

I pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me upward.

We, too, are being called by our dear Christ Jesus to a higher experience of Him. May this final ministry reading urge every one of us upward and may this third week be full of our giving our heart and even our whole life to Him!

 Read: 8. “Numbering Our Days” (Chapter Forty-Five)

 

Companions – Examples of Companions in the Bible

Higher Ground | Day 15

EXAMPLES OF COMPANIONS IN THE BIBLE

Daniel 2:17-18 – Then Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 That they might request compassions from before the God of the heavens concerning this mystery so that Daniel and his companions would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

The word “companion” includes the elements of friendship, but it goes much further to include the thought of intimate association. One meaning of the Hebrew word for companion is associate. A companion is an associate. If you and someone else are associates, you have a common interest, a common enterprise, in a common career. I do not wish to imply that there was no common interest between Abraham and God. They did share a common interest, but it was not of the same degree as that between Moses and God. To the uttermost, God and Moses were partners in a great enterprise. They were both involved in the same “career.” Moses and the Lord were not only intimate friends; they were associates, partners, companions. (LS Exodus ch. 176)

The Bible contains many examples of companions. There are many spiritual companions in the Old Testament. Caleb and Joshua were companions who followed God together (Num. 32:12). David and Jonathan were also spiritual companions (1 Sam. 18:1). When Daniel was taken to Babylon, he had three friends who feared God and lived in His presence (Dan. 1:6). When Daniel encountered difficulties, they prayed together in one accord. Thus, their prayer was powerful and received the Lord’s specific answer.

The principle of companions also exists in the New Testament and is strengthened. When the Lord Jesus sent out His disciples, they went in groups of two (Luke 10:1). This is the principle of companions. In the book of Acts the disciples rarely moved or acted alone. When Peter went out, John was with him (3:1). When Paul went out, Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, and Luke were his companions (12:25; 17:10; 20:4; 2 Tim. 4:11). (Knowing and Experiencing God as Life, ch. 2)


Higher Ground: Inoculation

As we come to our dear Lord Jesus, again and again, we are learning to hear Him. In Luke 9:35 God commands us to do just that. Hear Him.

Please read these weighty verses from the gospel of Luke and then listen to the 12 minute inoculation podcast that follows.

Luke

6:22 Blessed are you when men hate you and when they separate you from them and reproach you and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.

Definition of REPROACH: address (someone) in such a way as to express disapproval or disappointment.

9:28 And about eight days after these words, He took with Him Peter and John and James, and went up into the mountain to pray.

9:29 And as He prayed, the appearance of His face became different, and His garment dazzling white.

9:30 And behold, two men were conversing with Him, who were Moses and Elijah,

9:31 Who appeared in glory and spoke of His departure, which He was about to complete in Jerusalem.

9:32 Now Peter and those with him had been overcome with sleep, but when they had fully woken up, they saw His glory and the two men who were standing with Him.

9:33 And as they were departing from Him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tents, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah — not knowing what he was saying.

9:34 And while he said these things, a cloud appeared and overshadowed them; and they became frightened as they entered into the cloud.

9:35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My Son, the Chosen One. Hear Him!

9:36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and reported to no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

Companions – Need for Spiritual Companions (2)

Higher Ground | Day 14

NEED FOR SPIRITUAL COMPANIONS (2)

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12 – Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor; 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls and does not have another to lift him up!…12 And while a man may prevail against the one, the two will withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

[This message was spoken to junior high students, and applies to us today.]

The young people must make the decision to pick up some others as companions. Daniel had his three friends. Under the Lord Jesus, in the New Testament none of the disciples were individuals. They were sent two by two; they all had companions. Peter and Andrew and James and John are referred to in the Gospels in pairs (Matt. 4:18, 21).

Young people need at least one companion. You must consider before the Lord whether you have a real companion in pursuing the Lord. Joshua could have said that Caleb was his companion, and Caleb could have said that Joshua was his companion. However, it is better to have three or four companions. Because of these perilous times, we need more companions. If we have four companions to support us from each direction, we will not fall, regardless of what storm may come. If one stands by himself, he will possibly be captured by the enemy. It is best for four or five young ones from junior high school to come together as companions. Let the young brothers be companions to one another, and let the young sisters be companions to one another.

We need companions not only because we are too weak to stand by ourselves but also because we are all so natural. According to our natural disposition, it is very hard for us to have companions. Our individualism is a pleasure to us. We enjoy our individualism so much. We may not care for a brother or a sister because they are not like us. We demand that others be like us. Wanting people to be like us is devilish. If we love the Lord, we should be able to go to any young brother or sister, not caring for what they are like. They may be slow or quick, dull or smart, like you or one hundred percent different from you. We should forget all the differences. We must have companions. If the young people would be grouped in this way, Satan will be put to shame. This is a great matter. (Fellowship with the Young People, Chapter 1)

Companions – Need for Spiritual Companions (1)

Higher Ground | Day 13

NEED FOR SPIRITUAL COMPANIONS (1)

Romans 12:5 – So we who are many are one Body in Christ, and individually members one of another
2 Timothy 2:22 – But flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Experiencing God as life is not only an individual matter; it is also a corporate matter. God wants to be life not only to an individual believer but also to all those who believe into His Son. As those who have been saved, we have God in us as life. If we experience Him as life merely by ourselves, our experience will be very limited. Our experience of God as life is mainly through the experiences of other believers.

Every saved person is a member of the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:5). A member of our physical body often can enjoy the benefits of our body only through the other members. Similarly, under normal conditions a believer does not enjoy God as life only by himself. An isolated brother who enjoys God as life will gradually realize that his enjoyment does not last long and that his experience is limited. In order to experience God as life, we should pay attention not only to our individual experiences but also to the experiences of other believers. This is the corporate aspect of experiencing God as life.

You must have such a life of fleeing and pursuing. However, when you endeavor to flee and pursue, you will find that you are not able to do so by yourself. The way to flee youthful lusts and pursue Christ is in the last part of 2 Timothy 2:22. This verse says, “Flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” You need “those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” By yourself you are inadequate. The key is to be “with those.” As a young person you may be very strong, but your strength means nothing. The enemy, Satan, is stronger than you are, but under God’s sovereign provision you have “those.” You must pursue “with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (Fellowship with the Young People, Chapter 1)

Life Practices – Praising

Higher Ground | Day 12

PRAISING

Psalm 22:3 – But You are holy, You who sit enthroned / Upon the praises of Israel.
Psalm 119:164 – Seven times a day I praise You for Your righteous ordinances
Heb. 13:15 – Through Him then let us offer up a sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, the fruit of lips confessing His name.

Praise is the highest work carried out by God’s children. We can say that the highest expression of a saint’s spiritual life is his praise to God. God’s throne is the highest point in the universe, yet He sits “enthroned upon the praises of Israel” (Psa. 22:3). God’s name and even God Himself are exalted through praise.

David said in a psalm that he prayed to God three times a day (Psa. 55:17). Yet in another psalm, he said that he praised God seven times a day (119:164). David was inspired by the Holy Spirit when he acknowledged the importance of praising. He prayed only three times a day, but he praised seven times a day….We should praise the Lord all our life. We should sing praises to our God. (Praising, pp. 1)

Many times praise works where prayer fails. This is a very basic principle. If you cannot pray, why not praise? The Lord has placed another item in your hands for your victory and for you to boast in victory. Whenever you run out of strength to pray and you find your spirit heavily oppressed, wounded, or sagging, praise Him. If you cannot pray, try to praise. We invariably think that we should pray when the burden is heavy and praise when the burden is over. But please bear in mind that there are times when the burden is so heavy that you cannot pray. That is the time for you to praise. We do not praise when there is no burden; we praise when the burden becomes too heavy. When you encounter unusual circumstances and problems and are bewildered and feel like collapsing, just remember one thing, “Why not praise?” Here is a golden opportunity. If you offer your praise at that moment, God’s Spirit will operate in you, open all the doors, and break all the chains. (The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 48, pp. 169, 227-228, 252)

Life Practices – Singing

Higher Ground | Day 11

SINGING

Eph. 5:18–19 – And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with your heart to the Lord.
Acts 16:25 – And about midnight Paul and Silas, while praying, sang hymns of praise to God; and the prisoners were listening to them.

We must learn to sing because the more we sing, the more we get out of our mind and forget about our circumstances. The more we sing, the more we are in the spirit and the more our spirit is open and released. This is not my thought or opinion; this is the thought of the Holy Spirit and the thought of the apostle Paul. In Ephesians 5:18–19, Paul says that we should be filled in spirit, speaking to one another by singing. If we speak to one another by singing a psalm, hymn, or spiritual song, our spirits will be exercised and the Spirit will come out. We should not try to sing in a musical way but in a spiritual way. We should even forget about the music, the meter, and the rhyme. I am not a musician or an expert singer; I cannot sing that well. However, whether I sing well or not, I must sing. We must learn how to praise the Lord by singing. We need to read, study, and be able to recite some hymns. This way we can sing on the street or in the car. This matter is revealed not only in the New Testament but also in the Old Testament. When the people of Israel came together to worship God in the Old Testament, they sang as they were on their way to Zion (Psa. 133:1–3). If we sing while we are coming to the meeting in the car, the meeting will be in the heavens. We must learn to exercise and open our spirit by singing. (The Exercise of Our Spirit for the Release of the Spirit, pp. 23, 39–40)

Life Practices – Exercising Our Spirit to Pray with The Word

Higher Ground | Day 10

EXERCISING OUR SPIRIT TO PRAY WITH THE WORD

John 6:63 – It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
Matt. 4:4 – But He answered and said, It is written, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God.”
Jer. 15:16 – Your words were found and I ate them, and Your word became to me the gladness and joy of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O Jehovah, God of hosts.

John 6:63 says, “The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” The word has to be spirit in order to be life to us. Therefore, we must know how to transfer the word we have understood into the Spirit. If we come to the Bible only by exercising our eyes and mind to understand it, the word is still only the word. The way to transfer the word into the Spirit is by exercising our spirit to pray.

The right way to receive the word is to take it as the breath of life from God (2 Tim. 3:16). This is the life food by which man lives, not by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4). This is food for the spirit, so we have to exercise our spirit to take it. To receive food for our physical body, we have to exercise our mouth, but to receive spiritual food for our spirit, we have to exercise our spirit. Whenever we come to the word, we need to realize that it is spiritual food. We must exercise our spirit to eat it, not merely to know it. We should forget about knowing and simply eat Christ. This word is the written word of the living Word. It is the expression, the revelation, of the living Word, who is Christ. He is our food, our bread of life, so whenever we come to the Bible, we come to food, not for the body but for the spirit, so we must use our spirit to take it. This is clear to us, but we have to practice to receive the word in this way, not merely to read the Bible for knowledge but to read it for feeding on it. (Enjoying Christ as the Word and the Spirit through Prayer, pp. 31-33)

Higher Ground: Speaking Genuinely from the Heart and Needing to Confess Our Sins

In this 21 minute podcast, brother Tom shares with us how to come to the Lord in a genuine way.  This podcast compliments our last morning revival concerning prayer. We recommend you listen to this heartfelt speaking by your self.

This podcast is from the 2015 National College Training. You can find many other wonderful podcasts at the AgeTurners website.

Life Practices – Prayer

Higher Ground | Day 9

PRAYER

John 4:24 – God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness.
Heb. 10:19 – Having therefore, brothers, boldness for entering the Holy of Holies in the blood of Jesus.

Prayer is for contacting God and having fellowship with Him. The emphasis here is not on asking God concerning different matters. Prayer is a means and a way of fellowship. Fellowship with God must be by prayer and through prayer. The real meaning of prayer is to contact God and absorb Him.

First, prayer that contacts God consists of words spoken genuinely from the heart. We must pray according to our inward feeling. We should not exercise our mind like a student taking an exam. Neither should we focus on the wording of prayer as if we are writing an essay. Such prayers are not very genuine; they are rather pretentious. When we come before God to pray, we should not be pretentious. We should speak what we feel within. When we are angry, we should voice our anger before God. When we are happy, we should voice our happiness before God. When we are sad, we should voice our sadness before God. When we are under pressure, we should speak of this pressure before God. When we sense that we are sinful, we should confess it before God. We should speak what we feel within, speaking genuine words from our heart.

When we come before God without being pretentious or memorizing the things we need to pray for and we simply place ourselves before Him and let the Holy Spirit shine in us, He causes us to sense and see certain sins or mistakes that we have committed. At that time, we should confess the sin according to this sense. We should confess only as much as we sense. We do not need to take care of what we have not sensed. While confessing, we need to receive the precious blood, rely on the blood, and apply the effectiveness of the blood. If we continue praying in this way, we can be assured that we will touch God’s presence and contact Him. (Lessons for New Believers, pp. 324-325, 328-329)

Higher Ground: Week 2 Ministry Reading – Early Rising

Did you enjoy our dear Lord Jesus in Week (1)? Spend time this week (2) to practice opening your heart to Him again every day. Nothing is more worthwhile than this!  Love Him and give every aspect of your life to Christ. 

The Week 2 Ministry Reading is EARLY RISING by Watchman Nee. Please read the whole chapter but give special attention to  Roman Numeral III. WHAT TO DO IN THE EARLY MORNING.

  • You can read it online for free at:
    www.ministrybooks.org
  • From the menu choose “Books A-Z”.
  • Then, under the letter “C”, scroll down to find:
  • Collected Works of Watchman Nee (Set 3) Vol. 48: Messages for Building Up New Believers (1)
  • Select it and then read chapter 11: Early Rising.

Life Practices – Calling on the name of the Lord

Higher Ground | Day 8

CALLING ON THE NAME OF THE LORD

Romans 10:12-13 – For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all and rich to all who call upon Him; 13 for “whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If we call on a person who is real, true, and living, he will come to us. Is Jesus real today? Is Jesus living? Surely He is. When we call, “O Lord Jesus,” He comes to us with all His riches….Romans 10 does not say that the Lord is rich unto all that believe on Him, worship Him, meditate on Him, or pray to Him. It says that the Lord is rich to all who call upon Him (v. 12). Whosoever calls upon His name shall be saved (Rom. 10:12–13)…Do not consider that being saved is such a simple thing. When we believed in the Lord Jesus, we were saved, but we also need to be saved throughout our Christian life. To be saved is not merely to be delivered from hell, to be rescued from God’s eternal judgment. That is too negative. To be saved is to get into the full enjoyment of all the riches of Christ. Christ is so rich. He is everything to us. We can enter into the enjoyment of all the riches of Christ by calling on His name—“O Lord Jesus.”

If we would open up our mouth, deep from our heart and with our spirit, to call “Lord Jesus,” He would get into us. This is the way to take Christ into us, the vessels. He is the content, and we are the containers. The way for us, the containers, to take Him in as the content is to exercise our mouth to call upon His name: “O Lord Jesus!” In this way all the bottles, the vessels will be filled up with Christ not only as their salvation but also as all that He is in His unsearchable riches. (The Living and Practical Way to Enjoy Christ, pp. 30–31, 33)