In this sermon, the speaker discusses the importance of being broken in order to release Christ's life within us. He explains that this process is achieved through the enlightenment and discipline of the Holy Spirit. The speaker then introduces the concept of "life within the veil" or living in the presence of God. He references a book called "The Practice of the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence, who was known for his simple and humble lifestyle. The sermon also highlights the significance of the veil in the temple, which separated the holiest of all from the holy place. However, when Jesus was crucified, the veil was torn in two, symbolizing that now anyone can live in the presence of God.

Will you please turn to the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 6. We will read from verse 17 through verse 20. Hebrews chapter 6, verse 17. Hebrews chapter 6, verse 17. Wherein God, willing to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, intervened by an oath. That by two unchangeable things, in which it was impossible that God should lie, we might have a strong encouragement, who had fled for refuge, to lay hold on the hope set before us. That by two unchangeable things, in which it was impossible that God should lie, we might have a strong encouragement, who had fled for refuge, to lay hold on the hope set before us. Which we have as anchor of the soul, both secure and firm, and entering into that within the veil. Which we have as anchor of the soul, both secure and firm, and entering into that within the veil. Where Jesus is entered as full runner for us, become forever a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. 作先峰的耶穌,即照著麥基喜德的等次,成了永遠的大祭司,就為我們進入漫內。 In the same book Hebrews chapter 10. 同樣在希伯來書第十章,我們從十九節讀到二十五節。 Hebrews chapter 10, we will read from verse 19 through verse 25. 第十章我們從十九節讀到二十五節。 Having therefore, brethren, boldness for entering into the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus. 弟兄們,我們既因耶穌的血,得以坦然進入至聖所。 The new and living way which He has dedicated for us through the veil that is His flesh. 是藉著祂給我們開了一條又新又活的路,從曼子經過,這曼子就是祂的身體。 And having a great priest over the house of God. 又有一位大祭司治理神的家。 並我們心中天良的虧欠已經灑去,身體用清水洗淨了。 就當存著誠心和充足的信心來到神面前。 也要堅守我們所承認的指望,不自搖動,因為那應許我們的是信實的。 也要彼此相顧,激發愛心,勉勵行善。 也要堅守我們所承認的指望,不自搖動,因為那應許我們的是信實的。 你們不可停止聚會,好像那些停止慣了的人, 倒要彼此勸勉,既知道那日子臨近,就更當如此。 讓我們一同禱告。 親愛的主,當我們一同聚集在祢的跟前, 我們把這一段時間交在祢的手中, 我們願意聖靈能夠使用這段時間, 把祢的心啟示給我們, 把我們帶進祢的旨意裡面, 這樣祢好得著榮耀。 我們奉主耶穌基督的名禱告。 親愛的弟兄姊妹們, 我們在健身房這樣操練。 健身房這比學校要多一點。 你上學的時候你就聽老師教課。 但是當你去到健身房, 你就要鍛鍊。 聖經告訴我們, 祂要叫我們要操練自己進前。 神的旨意是叫我們能夠像祂。 祂要叫我們都被磨成祂愛子的形象。 這樣我們能夠成為祂的心腹, 成為祂一生的伴侶。 這是神的旨意。 這是神向著祂所呼召的人的旨意。 祂所呼召的人, 祂就稱他們為義。 祂稱他們為義的人, 祂就叫他們得榮耀。 Our Lord Jesus has made every provision for us, that we may be conformed to His image. But He also requires that we should exercise godliness. 祂也要求我們操練進前。 就像我們已經講到的, 那一個操練需要我們很殷勤地把自己擺上。 我們需要操練我們的靈。 By exercising our spirit, the Holy Spirit is able to do His work. Exercise is something that we must do constantly. Daily. Patiently. 很有耐心地去做。 在操練自己, 是要叫自己能夠更延伸。 我們的靈需要被擴充。 當這樣被擴充的時候, 當然我們會覺得有一些的疼痛。 但這個疼痛是成長的痛。 這是很值得的。 當你去到健身房, 你看到有各種各樣的運動的方式。 它是為著不同的問題。 這是全輩的一種操練。 你不會就在那裡鍛鍊你的右手、右膀臂, 而不鍛鍊你的左手。 這樣你就長得不正常。 這需要有個平衡。 我們需要把我們身體上每一個肢體都來鍛鍊。 這樣我們能夠平衡地成長。 同樣的,屬靈的操練也是這樣。 你不是只是操練一個方面, 把其他的都忘了。 這一個操練需要很平衡的全輩的。 同時,你也發現這個屬靈的操練, 是一個團體的操練。 你不是去到那個健身房, 就是你一個單獨的個人去。 在這個基督的健身房, 你會發現有其他兄弟姊妹在你身邊。 在這個單獨的健身房裡面, 你會發現有其他的弟兄姊妹跟你在一起。 所以這一個操練, 這一個鍛鍊是團體的鍛鍊。 因為神的旨意是叫我們一同被建造。 過去三次我們提到了一點點 這些操練的不同的方面。 這些都很基礎性, 但也是原則性的一些的操練。 當然還有其他的操練, 我們需要去鍛鍊的。 但這一次我們只提到四個方面。 奉獻, 這一個是需要操練的。 你不但要有一個奉獻的起頭, 你還要有繼續不斷的奉獻。 你需要有每天的奉獻。 你還要繼續的活一個奉獻的生活。 我們還有第二個操練, 那就是魂與靈的分開。 但這個我們就需要接受一些的教導。 聖靈就是我們的教導。 He knows how to apply the living word of God in our lives. After he has applied the living word upon us, we begin to realize the difference between the soul and the spirit. 什麼是魂,什麼是靈。 這個魂與靈乃是魂的生命跟靈的生命。 因為魂與靈它們都是器官, 它們有它們的功用, 但它們是中性的。 那是根據什麼住在魂裡面, 是什麼住在靈裡面。 是什麼的生命在那裡掌管。 The one who is in charge in our soul is the self. And this self is a fallen self. The Bible says, in me, that is in my flesh, there is no good. But it needs the Holy Spirit to reveal it. Because ordinarily, we realize that in me, in my flesh, there is much bad, but some good. It is not all together bad. Formerly, it was bad in sinning. Now, we want to use the good of it to serve God. We do not really know ourselves. It takes the Holy Spirit using the living Word of God to divide the soul and the spirit. Until we come to the point to see that in me, that is in my flesh, there is no good. But who can deliver me from this body of death? I cannot deliver myself, no matter how I analyze myself. I am not able to really see through. No matter how I try, I cannot succeed. I find that my spirit is imprisoned in my soul. As the reformer MacLachlan said, young MacLachlan is too... old Adam is too strong for young MacLachlan. Old Adam. My young MacLachlan is no match to old Adam. The outward man must be broken so that the inward man may be released. The self-life must be broken so Christ's life may be released by the working of two principles. The enlightenment of the Holy Spirit and the discipline of the Holy Spirit. By these two principles, the outward man will be broken and the inward man may be released. But this is also a daily exercise. Now these things we have briefly covered. And this afternoon, we would like to go into the fourth exercise. We call it life within the veil. Or to say, living in the presence of God. Or to say, living in the presence of God. I wonder if you have read this famous book. Brother Lawrence has a book called It has been translated into Chinese. It is a very popular book among believers. I wonder if you have read it. If you haven't done it, do it. Brother Lawrence was born in 1611. And he died in 1691. He was a Carmelite monk. He was a very simple person. Very humble. He had no special gift to boast of. At one time he was in the military. And then later on, he was in a monastery. Whether in military or monastery, he was a cook. But he practiced the presence of God. In the midst of the noise of the kitchen. He had the presence of God just as much as in the hour of prayer. He was a person who knew the presence of God. When Watchman Lee was young, a young Christian, he read a book. And after he read the book, he decided that he must practice the presence of God. But when he was trying to do that, he found it very difficult. He found that it was so easy to lose the sense of the presence of God. He tried to remember the presence of God. But he easily forgot. And he had tried to recall, as it were himself, back to the presence of God. He found it most difficult. Now, I wonder, what is your experience? I believe that every believer wants to have the presence of God. We want to live constantly before God. We covet that continuous, unyielding presence of God. We want uninterrupted communion with God. This is our search, our quest. Who does not want to live in the presence of God? Who wants to be out of communion with God? This is the desire of all believers. But we found it very difficult. When you remember, you seem to have the presence of God. But very quickly, very easily, you forgot. And you lose His presence. Brothers and sisters, how can we live a life in the presence of God? I think this is something that every one of us really desires. So, this afternoon, we would like to go to the Word of God. And to see how can we live a life in the presence of God. Now, in order to do that, we have to go back to the Word of God. To the Old Testament. You know, after God had delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt, He brought them to Himself. If you read Exodus chapter 19, you'll find that God brought the children of Israel to Mount Sinai. He brought them as on an eagle's wing. And there He gave them the Ten Commandments. The reason why He gave the Ten Commandments to them because He wanted these people to be His own people. He wanted to dwell among His people. So, He commanded them to build Him a tabernacle. And we know, the reason why He asked them to build Him a tabernacle is that He may dwell among them. Or, to put it another way, He wants His people to live in His presence. Or, to put it another way, He wants His people to live in His presence. When you read the story of the tabernacle, you find the tabernacle is in three parts. You have the outer court. You have the holy place. And you have the holiest of all. Now, the outer court. In the outer court, you have the altar. In other words, if anyone wants to draw near to God, we as sinners, we couldn't draw near to God because God is righteous. And we are sinful. No one can see God but be smitten to death. Therefore, God prepared the brazen altar. And people who desire to approach God, they must approach with sacrifice. And through the sacrifice, they will be accepted by God. Their sins had to be atoned. God's righteousness had to be satisfied. Now, of course, we know the brazen altar represents the cross of our Lord Jesus. And our Lord Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. It is by the shedding of His blood that our sins are remitted. And today, we are closed with Christ as our righteousness. And by that, we are justified before the righteous God. And then you have the second part. And the second part is called the Holy Place. And there you find there are three things there. You have the golden lampstand. You have the golden table of bread. And the golden altar of incense. But to enter into the Holy Place, only the priest could enter in. This is a little bit closer to the Holiest of All. But only the priest could enter in. And whenever the priest wants to serve in the Holy Place, and of course also serve at the golden altar, brazen altar, he has to wash his hands and feet in that brazen labor. Because in contact with the world, he got defiled. Not only sinful, but defiled, no one can serve God. So they have to wash their hands and their feet. And then they can enter into the Holy Place to light the golden lampstand. And to put the showbread on the table of showbread. And to burn incense at the golden altar of incense. In other words, as priests, they are able to serve God. Now brothers and sisters, we are not only believers. All believers are priests. The universal priesthood of believer is the teaching of the New Testament. In other words, we are not only saved by grace. We are called to serve God. Every believer is to serve God. We serve him in his house. We serve him in the church. And we serve together as a priesthood. But between the Holy Place and the holiest of all, there was a veil. It separated the Holy Place, the holiest of all, from the Holy Place. Only in the holiest of all we find there was the Ark and the Mercy Seat. The glory of God sits upon the Mercy Seat. But even the priest could not enter into the holiest of all. The high priest once a year with blood and incense could enter behind the veil and make atonement before the Mercy Seat. In other words, God wants to dwell among his people. He wants his people to live in his presence. But because of our condition, we are not able to have such high honor and privilege. According to Hebrews 9, verse 8, such arrangements show that the Holy Spirit shows that the way to the holiest of holies has not yet been made manifest. In the Old Testament time, the way to the holiest of all has not been opened yet. There was the veil that separated it. But if you read Exodus chapter 26, and you find how this veil was made, we find in verse 31, and thou shalt make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet and twine vices of artistic work shall it be made with cherubim. And thou shalt attach it in four pillars of acacia wood, overlayed with gold. Their hooks of gold, they shall be on four bases of silver. And thou shalt bring the veil under the cleps, and bring in thither inside the veil the ark of the testimony. And the curtain shall make a division to you between the holy place and the holiest of all. And thou shalt put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the holiest of all. So here you'll find this veil separated the holiest of all from the holy place. It was a division. But brothers and sisters, as long as the veil was there, you'll find no one can really live in the presence of God. Because no one is holy enough. But then you remember, in Matthew chapter twenty-six, in Matthew chapter twenty-seven, we read verse fifty and fifty-one. And Jesus, having again cried with a loud voice, gave up the ghost, and lo, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom. Here you'll find that when our Lord Jesus was crucified, He was hanging on the cross, crucified, for six hours. From nine o'clock to three o'clock. And during the first three hours, you'll remember He said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Even though He was surrounded by His enemies, even though man and devil they all tried to attack Him, but the Father was with Him. And He was able to say, forgive them, for they know not what they do. He could say to that repentant thief, today you shall be with me in paradise. But at twelve o'clock, suddenly the sun got darkened. And there was earthquake. And our Lord Jesus cried out, my God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? He did not say, my Father. He said, my God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Because there He became the sin bearer. The one who knew no sin was made sin for us. And when the Father looked at Him, He saw sin there. And as God, the righteous God, He crushed Him. There our Lord Jesus was our substitute. He was forsaken even by His Father. That is the most painful suffering of the cross. But thank God, at three o'clock He shouted, it is finished. The work of redemption has done. Then He bowed His head and committed His spirit. While He was doing that, He was crucified outside of the city of Jerusalem. But at the same moment, that thick, heavy veil in the temple was red from top to bottom. In other words, the holiest of all was open. So dear brothers and sisters, here you find this veil in the Scripture represents the flesh of our Lord Jesus. So that's the reason why in Hebrews chapter 10, in verse 20, maybe we read from verse 19, having therefore, brethren, boldness for entering into the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus, the new and living way which He has dedicated for us through the veil that is His flesh. So this flesh, this veil, speaks of the flesh of our Lord Jesus. The word became flesh. Tabernacle among men. Full of grace and truth. So when our Lord Jesus was in the flesh, He was that veil. Why? Because He was the only one who is able to see the face of the Father. You know the veil has two sides. On one side, it faces the holiness of all. On the other side, it faces the holy place. So the flesh of our Lord Jesus is that veil. It is a beautiful veil. It is with blue, with red, with purple, with linen and with cherubim embroidered on it. And that speaks of the life of our Lord Jesus. When He was in the flesh, His life was so beautiful. His life was so heavenly. He was the one who knows no sin. He was the obedient one. He was the man that God has in His mind. Throughout His life, He and the Father had intimate fellowship. He and the Father are one. He saw the Father every moment. He was obedient to the Father in all things. The Father said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight. So so far as our Lord Jesus, when He was on earth, was concerned, He saw His Father all the time. He can say, If you see me, you see the Father. I and the Father are one. Brothers and sisters, this is the life of our Lord Jesus. But at the same time, on the other side of the veil, He is the only one who could see the Father. But at the same time, we were outside that veil. So you remember in the Gospel of John it is said, When the Holy Spirit shall come, He shall convict the world of sin of righteousness. Hence judgment. For sin because the world does not believe in Him. You know, the greatest sin is rejecting Christ Jesus. God gave His beloved Son to the world, but the world rejected Him. That is the greatest sin man can ever commit for righteousness. The Lord said, Because I go to my Father. He was the only one who could return to God, to the Father. His righteousness is our condemnation. His righteousness shows how unrighteous we are. And that separates us from God. But brothers and sisters, that veil was red. It was red from top to bottom. Not by man. But by God. Because our Lord Jesus died on the cross. So God red that veil. A new and living way has been dedicated to us. In other words, the way for the presence of God is now open. It is a new way. Because it never happened before. It is a living way. Because it is full of life. And this way is dedicated to us. Now what is dedicated? It means that He has opened the way for us to walk in it. He has opened it and go through it. And now He says, Come and follow Me. Deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow Me. This is the new and living way. And this is the way to the holiest of all. This is a way to live a life in the presence of God. And He is also our High Priest. In other words, He will supply the strength, the power for us to go through. He knows that we cannot deny ourselves. But He will enable us to deny ourselves. He knows that we cannot bear the cross. But He will enable us to bear the cross. This is why consecration is the foundation of all spiritual exercise. Because if we are consecrated, we cannot. But He can. And He is willing to save us to the uttermost. He will lead many brothers into glory. Brothers and sisters, this is the secret to live in the presence of God. Therefore, you'll find in 2 Corinthians 3, verse 18, He says, but we all looking on the glory of the Lord with unveiled face are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory even as by the Lord the Spirit. You remember Moses when he was on the mountain for the second forty days. When he came down, his face shone because he lived in the presence of God. We all have a veil upon us. Our veil is our flesh. So with the breaking of the outward man, then we can look at the face of our Lord with unveiled face. And the Holy Spirit will transform us from glory to glory even as the Lord the Spirit. So dear brothers and sisters, how can we live in the presence of God? You know, in Christianity there is a group of people we call them mystic. Now as a matter of fact, every believer is a mystic. Because a mystic is someone who search for God. Now Brother Lawrence was one of the mystics. And among Chinese I think many people heard about Madame Guillaume. Many wanted to be like Madame Guillaume. Now the mystics, they want, they seek after God. But unfortunately, when you study the mystics, you will find several things that was not scriptural. Their heart to be united with God is so strong. They are willing to pay any cost for it. Now that is something commendable. But unfortunately, their way is a problem. The problem is their way. Number one, with the mystic, it is always man seeking after God instead of God seeking after man. It is trying to get to heaven from earth instead of heaven comes down. So the starting point is a problem. And because of this, their method is ill-treating their body. They try to put their body under. Because they believe that the body is evil. So you remember all those things that they do. Even Martin Luther he was a professor. But then he was convicted of his sin. He was afraid to die. So he left his professorship. And he knocked the door of an Augustine monastery. He tried to save his soul. He beat himself. He fasted. He nearly died. But he got no peace. Until afterwards the Lord showed him that just shall live by faith. But that's the way of the mystics. They would sleep on a bed full of nails. And they would even close themselves with it. They think this is the way to holiness. They do not see the difference between soul and spirit. So their experience is very mixed. Now it is very true. God looks upon their heart. And in a certain time it is as if God said now put away all these things. They enter into their mystic union. But then here is another problem. Their union with God is deification. They want to be so united with God they become God. This is unscriptural. We are united with God in Christ Jesus. We never enter into dearship. We are always man. Praise God for that. So you find this way of the presence of God is most difficult. And it is mainly by human effort. But thank God. He has opened the way for every one of us. If we are consecrated the Holy Spirit will bring us into the presence of God. That we may live within the veil. This has become our right. This has become our privilege. Every believer can live in the presence of God. Just cast ourselves upon Christ. He will do it. He has done it all. It is not by our memory. Memory is in the soul. In our spirit. We open ourselves to all the finished work of Christ. And by His grace and empowering we are able to walk the new and living way. And we can live in the presence of God. So let us approach with fullness of faith. Let us approach with hope unwavering. And let us approach with love and courage. It is not as complicated as we think. It is very simple. I wonder if you have heard of this man called Oscar Smith. He wrote a book on my utmost for his highest. It is a very famous book. It has been translated into Chinese. Now this man, he was born in 1874. And he died in 1917. He passed through several years of what we call the darkness of the soul. But then one day he entered into freedom. And he entered in on that verse. Luke chapter 11 verse 13. Luke 11 13. If therefore ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much rather shall the Father who is of heaven give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him. He was seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And finally, the Holy Spirit enlightened this verse to him. So he took it by faith. With childlike faith. And his life was changed. He seemed to live in the very presence of God. With very childlike faith. Nothing ever bothers him. Now if you read his biography, you will find how he encountered impossible situations. But he never worried. He believed that God would provide. And God would open up the way. So people feel that here is a man who lives in the presence of God. He said, holiness is not our attainment. It is the gift of God. He said, with those so-called pietists, actually they use their introspection to worship God instead of God's work. He said, all you need to do is to give up your right to the Lord. You have to come to God as a spiritual pauper. Not beg for anything. But to give your right up to him. He will do everything for you. Just remember Romans 12, 1 and 2. That's it. Brothers and sisters, it's simple. Spiritual things are very simple. Simply give up yourself and let him do it. And that's it. Thank God for that. Dear Lord, we want to praise and thank thee because thou has prepared all. Thou has done it all. How foolish we are that we try to do it for you. Teach us how to let go ourselves and let thee do it. Teach us how to live by faith and not by sight. May thy Holy Spirit continue to instruct us in the spiritual gymnasium. That we may be transformed and conformed to the image of the beloved Son. May glory be unto God. In the name of our Lord Jesus, we ask it. Amen.