PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

As the incense ascends through the burning at the golden altar of incense, the execution of God's administration is taking place. This execution is God's answer to the prayers offered at the incense altar.

Can you explain why you are in the Lord's recovery? Not many were urged to come this way by friends or relatives. On the contrary, some of them may have held you back and told you not to attend the meetings of the church. But even though others may have tried to hold you back, you have come this way because of the incense altar. Therefore, if we are asked what caused us to come into the Lord's recovery or who sent us here, we should answer that we were motivated and sent by the incense altar.

Some of those who oppose the Lord's recovery made a decision some years ago to do whatever they can to destroy the recovery. But I am not afraid of what opposing ones determine to do. On the contrary, I regard the opposition as a confirmation that we are in the Lord's way. Do you know why opposition comes? It comes because we are motivated by the prayer at the incense altar. In fact, the more opposition there is, the more divine motivation we have. The opposers are busy, but the Intercessor and also the intercessors are more busy. Eventually, the prayer from our White House will prevail. It is a serious matter for anyone to deal lightly with the heavenly White House, the center of God's administration.

I believe that if we consider John 17 in the light of what we have covered in this message, our appreciation of this chapter will be greatly increased. The intercession in chapter seventeen of John implies the effectiveness of the altar of burnt offering, the riches of the showbread table, the brightness of the lampstand, and in particular the Holy of Holies with the ark of testimony. John 17 truly is the incense altar in the tabernacle, the place from which the activities at all the other places in the tabernacle are motivated. It is the incense altar that causes people to come to the altar of burnt offering, to the laver, to the showbread table, to the lampstand, and to the ark in the Holy of Holies. The prayer of the Lord Jesus recorded in John 17 is a marvelous picture of this incense altar.

Witness Lee, Life-study of Exodus, Message 147, pp. 1594-1599

APPLICATION

1. What is the origin, position, and function of the incense altar?

2. What is the basis for declaring that, regarding the administration of God's economy in the book of Revelation, "the executing center actually is not the throne; the executing center is the incense altar in Revelation 8?

3. In what way can you adjust your schedule in order that you can spend more time to enter into the tabernacle and there intercede at the incense altar?