Watchman Nees teaching & Application

Hi ALl

I wanted to share what God has been doing in my life in regards to my study and transformation.

It seems that as i finish one chapter in in study of watchman Nees "The release of the Spirit" God then brings the practical along.

On friday night i revieved a call from a friend who was in trouble at work. In the conversation she was angry and bitter. As i listened to her, i focused on her Tone and could see clearly she was very hurt. I stated to her we should catch up and look at what can be done. I was able to have about 5 hours with the lord to discuss the matter. The Lord showed me how he tried to warn her not to speak angry about her boss on a few occassions and to to take it to the lord. The holy spirit gave me the scripture "remove the plank from your own eye"

We sat down and had dinner and i gently advised her that there was too parts to this issue.

1. When her boss was bullying her, she needed to come to Lord with her hurt. but instead she got angry and started moking her boss. I advised that her heart was wrong and she needs to come to the Lord first. Which she agreed to.

2. The possibility of being fired from her work is very high, i advised that in order for God to show mercy on you, it is important to reach out to God. so we drafted out a letter under the direction of the holy spirit basically just asking for more time to write a reply. (more time to bring it to the Lord)

At the end of the night I said to her The Lord loves you and you are his. You have walked away from him but he hasnt walked away from you. As i said this she started crying, due to how the Lord has broken me over the last year, the tears fell from my eyes as I felt her sorrow. We prayed and that was that.

The next day she asked for more time as she is going on holidays and she reported that they kindly gave more time.

What was amazing about this was the clarity in which the Lord spoke to me and the power of his words when i spoke them into her life. My spirit had touched her spirit. I can see why i went through what i went through over the last year and am nearly ready to be used by the Lord more and more.

Watchman Nee has taught me a side to Christianity that I have not seen but I feel more complete in my purpose and understanding of how to allow God to reach people through me

Can you describe the teaching you learned from Watchman Nee?

Hi Jeremy

The breaking of the outward man (flesh nature) for the release of the inward man (spirit nature) that is born again and of new nature. The breaking is of the nature pride and selflove.

These natures in me, were hidden and although the Lord many times had tried to put light on it, I did not see! it wasnt until i lost everything and no longer could rely on my own skill or knowledge that in my complete brokeness of calling out to the Lord and saying "I can not do this" then Jesus started to bless me and pick me up from my muck. it is through this process that I saw the very meaning of the cross and why i must carry it each day.

When I see people it is not the flesh that i look at but the spirit and intent behind the flesh. This is where God looks.

In order for us to see clearly we must "take out the plank of our own eye" That plank is our worldly knowledge, our own emotions, thoughts and opinions. Our spirit who delights in God and is renewed day by day, needs to use the soul but as an instrument that God can use. I liken it to this - If there is an unbroken horse that chooses its own destination, the rider can not use the Horse as it becomes an obsticale towards the work needed but when it is broken in and it obeys his command, The horse then becomes vital instrument that the rider can use for work. Making his work quicker and they become a team towards the important tasks at hand.

I think this has been an experience for myself as well. Before I was utterly trusting in my theology and what I knew in my head to minister to people. After being shattered for years and full of failure, I came across Watchman Nee’s Release of the Spirit as well and I began to experience what it means to speak from the leading of the inner spirit. I’ve had times where God used my spirit to give someone some form of word of knowledge, either through prayer or just talking to them. And they would start weeping. The Body corporately needs to be broken so that His Spirit can be fully expressed. May God bless you and continually break you as you simultaneously experience the Resurrected Life.

Amen.

Hi Michael

Thank you, it encourages me to see how God has used these men in the past to teach us now.

The Lord is taking me through the breaking of my thoughts, understandings and opinions as they are standing in the way of what the spirit of God wants me to do. more I come closer to the Lord the more i see that needs to become broken. Although I readily run to the cross for the breaking, i do know the cost and ask for Gods strength to renew me day by day so that i may serve his people with clarity of Spirit.

Thank you brothers for sharing:

Quote from "The Release of the Spirit”

The Alabaster Box Must Be Broken

The Bible tells of the pure spikenard. God purposely used this term "pure" in His Word to show that it is truly spiritual. But if the alabaster box is not broken, the pure spikenard will not flow forth. Strange to say, many are still treasuring the alabaster box, thinking that its value exceeds that of the ointment. Many think that their outward man is more precious than their inward man. This becomes the problem in the Church. One will treasure his cleverness, thinking he is quite important; another will treasure his own emotions, esteeming himself as an important person; others highly regard themselves, feeling they are better than others, their eloquence surpasses that of others, their quickness of action and exactness of judgment are superior, and so forth. However, we are not antique collectors; we are not vase admirers; we are those who desire to smell only the fragrance of the ointment. Without the breaking of the outward, the inward will not come forth. Thus individually we have no flowing out, but even the Church does not have living way. why then should we hold ourselves as so precious, if our outward contains instead of releases the fragrance?

The Holy Spirit has not ceased working. One event after another, one thing after another, comes to us. Each disciplinary working of the Holy Spirit has but one purpose: to break our outward man so that our inward man may come through. Yet here is our difficulty: we fret over trifles, we murmur at small losses. The Lord is preparing a way to use us, yet scarcely has His hand touched us when we feel unhappy, even to the extent of quarreling with God and becoming negative in our attitude. Since being saved, we have been touched many times in various ways by the Lord, all with the purpose of breaking our outward man. Whether we are conscious of it or not, the aim of the Lord is to destroy this outward man.

So the Treasure is in the earthen vessel, but if the earthen vessel is not broken, who can see the Treasure within? What is the final objective of the Lord's working in our lives? It is to break this earthen vessel, to break our alabaster box, to crack open our shell. the Lord longs to find a way to bless the world through those who belong to Him. Brokenness is the way of blessing, the way of fragrance, the way of fruitfulness, but it is also a path sprinkled with blood. Yes, there is blood from many wounds. When we offer ourselves to the Lord to be at His service, we cannot afford to be lenient, to spare ourselves. We must allow the Lord utterly to crack our outward man, so that He may find a way for His out working.

Each of us must find out for himself what is the mind of the Lord in his Life. It is a most lamentable fact that many do not know what is the mind or intention of the Lord for their lives. How much they need for the Lord to open their eyes, to see that everything which comes into their lives can be meaningful. The Lord has not wasted even one thing. To understand the Lord's purpose, is to see very clearly that He is aiming at a single objective: the destroying or breaking of the outward man.

However, too many, even before the Lord raises a hand, are already upset. Oh, we must realize that all the experiences, troubles and trials which the Lord sends are for our highest good. We cannot expect the Lord to give better things, for these are His best. Should one approach the Lord and pray, saying, "Oh, Lord, please let me choose the best"? I believe the Lord would tell him, "What I have given you is the best; your daily trials are for your greatest profit." So the motive behind all the orderings of God is to destroy our outward man. Once this occurs and the spirit can come forth, we begin to be able to exercise our spirit.

Thankyou for your comment and post

This is a great part of the book and makes the whole process make sense and with purpose. :)

Hi All

Im on the last chapter of this book and it has opened my spiritual eyes soo much. even though it is a small book, i had to go through every chapter personally and spent many nights weeping before God as I allowed my pride and attitudes to break. Many of these trials came from people around me, friends and family.

I no longer know the person I was and now I fear God in a way I have never done before, especially in dependence and holy reverence. I am at the point that every breath that i breath has been supplied by Gods Grace and Mercy over my life.

I no longer take Sin for granted and have felt the sting of its wages with such ferosity at times i felt that my only escape was death.

All things trully work together for Gods good and what a sight to behold our fathers hand over our life in every area. especially even when i had resisted his working thinking it was from the enemy.

I praise you Father as your Mercy endures forever, I exalt your name for your wisdom and rightiousness has no end. although I am not worthy of being your bond servant it is your love and mercy that lights up my Inner Man and draws me near to you.

Quote from "The Release of the Spirit”

Man’s imitation is never God’s work, and it is always from man’s effort. All who seek the Lord must learn to cooperate with the Spirit within, not just to conform outwardly by the energies of the soul. We must allow God to finish His work within us before we can expect the fruit of His work to be manifested without. Whatever is manufactured outwardly by our own effort is not real and is doomed to frustration and defeat. One who has unwittingly possessed a counterfeit characteristic defrauds others as well as himself. As counterfeit behavior develops, the person deceives himself into believing that such performance is his real self. It is often perplexing to convince him of his illusion and aberration, for he cannot distinguish the true from the false. Therefore, we must never try to imitate outward virtues. It is far better for us to be spontaneous and unaffected. This opens the way for God to work in us. Let us be simple and not imitate anything, having confidence in the Lord Himself to manifest His virtues through us.