Let's Pray: Lord, in our being there is the capacity to always make mistakes. We trust in You to deliver us that we may learn how to reject, how to deny, ourselves. Hymn:499 Oh, what a life! Oh, what a peace! The Christ who's all within me lives. With Him I have been crucified; This glorious fact to me He gives. Now it's no longer I that live, But Christ the Lord within me lives. (Repeat the last two lines of each stanza) Today's Verses and Footnotes: Mark 11:1-26 Key Verses: Mark 8:34 And He called the crowd to Him with His disciples and said to them, If anyone wants to follow after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. Mark 8:35 For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it; but whoever will lose his soul-life for My sake and the gospel's shall save it. Life Supply: Taking up the cross is not a matter of suffering. Instead, it is a matter of applying to our life what Christ has done on the cross to terminate us. Therefore, to take up the cross is to apply this termination to ourselves. Day by day we need to apply such a termination. If we do this, we shall realize not that we are suffering, but that we are terminated, finished, put to an end. Suppose a brother says, "I thank God that, in His sovereignty, He has given me a wife who causes me to suffer and bear the cross. My wife is a cross given to me by God, and now I must bear this cross." This is a serious misunderstanding of what it means to bear the cross. A married brother does not need to learn how to suffer. Rather, he needs to realize that, as a husband, he has already been terminated in Christ and that now he should live as a terminated husband, simply enjoying Christ's termination. Then he may say to his wife, "Dear, I am not trying to be a good husband, to be a kind and gentle husband. I am here as a terminated husband. The more I am willing to experience Christ's termination, the better I shall be as a husband, for then Christ will live in me. As He lives in me, He will be your husband through me." To come after the Lord is to partake of Him, enjoy Him, experience Him, and let Him become our very being. In order to come after the Lord in this way, we need to deny ourselves. We need to apply to ourselves the termination Christ has accomplished on the cross. This means that to bear our cross is to apply Christ's termination to ourselves. When we do this, we become a crossed-out person, not a suffering person. Then we can testify, "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." To us, bearing the cross is to remain under the killing of the death of Christ for the terminating of our self, our natural life, and our old man. In so doing we deny our self that we may follow the Lord. (Life-Study of Mark, pp.222-223 ) Questions: 1. What is the meaning of "bearing the cross"? (See Matt. 10:38 note 1) 2. Why do we need to deny the self? (See Matt. 10:39 note 1) 3. How can we have the prayer of faith? (See Mark 11:24; James 1:6-8, 8 note 1) 　 請我們先禱告 主，在我們的所是里，有一個一直犯錯的性能。我們信靠你能拯救我們，使我們學習如何拒絕我們的己，如何否認我們的己！ 　 詩歌:378♫ 何等生命！何等平安！ 基督活在我的裡面！ 我已與祂同釘十架， 榮耀事實、奇妙救法！ 現在活着不再是我， 乃是基督在我活着！ 　 現在活着不再是我， 乃是基督在我活着！ 　 今日經節及註解： 可十一1～26 重點經節： 可8:34 　 可8:35 於是耶穌叫群眾同他的門徒來，對他們說，若有人要跟從我，就當否認己，背起他的十字架，並跟從我。 因為凡要救自己魂生命的，必喪失魂生命﹔凡為我和福音喪失自己魂生命的，必救了魂生命 。 　 生命供應 背起十字架並不是受苦，而是把基督在十字架上為了結我們所作的，應用在我們的生活中。因此，背起十字架，就是把這種了結應用到我們身上；我們天天都需要應用這種了結。我們若這樣作，就能領會我們不是受苦，乃是被了結、結束、終結。 假使一個弟兄說，"我感謝神，因着祂主宰的權柄，祂賜給我一個妻子，使我受苦，並背十字架。我的妻子是神賜給我的十字架，我現今應當背十字架。"這是對背十字架嚴重的誤解。 已婚的弟兄不必學習怎樣受苦，反而應該看見，他這個丈夫已經在基督里被了結了。現今，他活着應該是一個被了結的丈夫，簡簡單單的享受基督的了結。然後他會對妻子說，"親愛的，我並不想作個好丈夫，仁慈溫柔的丈夫；我要作個被了結的丈夫。我越願意經歷基督的了結，就越能作個好丈夫，因為這樣，基督就會在我裡面活着。祂在我裡面活着，就會經過我來作你的丈夫。" 跟從主就是有分於祂，享受祂，經歷祂，並讓祂成為我們的所是。我們要這樣跟從主，就當否認己。我們需要將基督在十字架上所完成的了結，應用在我們身上。這意思是說，背起自己的十字架就是將基督的了結應用在我們身上。我們這樣作的時候，就成為一個被除掉的人，而不是一個受苦的人。這樣，我們就能見證，"我已經與基督同釘十字架；現在活着的，不再是我，乃是基督在我裡面活着。" 對我們來說，背十字架乃是留在基督之死的殺死里，以了結我們的己、天然生命和舊人。我們這樣作就是否認己，使我們能跟從主。（馬可福音生命讀經，第二五二至二五四頁。） 　 問答: 1、 背起十字架的意義為何？（參讀 太十38注1。） 2、 我們為什麼需要否認己？（參讀 太十39注1。） 3、 我們如何有信心的禱告？（參讀 可十一24，雅一6～８，8注1） 　 明天:房角的頭塊石頭 No Longer I but Christ