What is this law? Many saints among us have studied electricity. According to the laws of electricity two wires are required to transmit electricity; the supply wire and the return wire. Only when these two wires are connected can there be the transmission of electricity. If there is a supply wire but no return wire or a return wire but no supply wire, electricity cannot be transmitted. You may ask, "Why is there such a law?" I do not know. Even electricians may not be able to give you an adequate explanation. Nonetheless, they have discovered this fact that there must be return and supply wires for electricity to be transmitted. The things on earth are a reflection of the things in the heavens. The Spirit of God cannot be transmitted to the earth because a "return wire" is lacking; men on the earth who will cooperate with Him. Although God has no problems in the heavens, He has a problem on earth because He has not been able to gain a group of people on earth to cooperate with Him.

In Matthew the Lord taught us to pray, "Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth" (6:10). This indicates that there is no problem with God's will being done in heaven, but there is a problem concerning God's will being done on earth. God's will encounters a big problem in man, yet hardly anyone realizes it. Therefore, very few pray, "O God! Please send me." In a certain age and place there may be only one who is willing to answer God's call. Yet as long as this one is willing to care for God, to work with God, to cooperate with God, and to bow his knees in prayer, this person will be an outlet for heaven. All the heavenly blessings, power, grace, and even God Himself will be transmitted to the earth through that person. Then the world will be able to receive God's grace, obtain God's blessing, and know God Himself through him.

Is this matter difficult or troublesome? To God this matter is not difficult or troublesome at all. The difficulties and troubles all lie with us. Our heart, our understanding, our answering, our receiving, and our prayer are all insufficient. Therefore, in words we can understand, God tells us that if we do not work together with Him, if we do not pray, and if we do not remind Him, He will rest. Do you understand the meaning of this? This means that He has a work to do, but He may not be able to do it. Whether or not He can do it depends on our willingness to pray and to remind Him. If we pray to Him and remind Him, He will work, but if we do not pray to Him or remind Him, He will not work.

Today the Lord has truly been merciful to us in granting us such a peaceful environment and people who are so hungry and thirsty for salvation. Yet those who have been saved are very few in number, the gospel has not been widely spread, and many places still do not have churches. Is it possible that the Lord is not willing to save people? Is it possible that He is not pleased to save them? If we know God and care for His heart's intention, we will realize that God has been ready for a long time and has been waiting for man to answer His call. The "supply wire" is already there, but there is no "return wire" yet; therefore, there is no electricity or light in this place. What is this "return wire"? It is you and I. We have delayed many of God's works and have failed to save many souls in time. If we would care for God more and pray more, more souls would be saved.

Today the salvation of God seems to be powerless, and the gospel does not seem to be the power of God because very few are being saved. Is this the fault or problem of heaven or of earth? Is the problem on God's side or on our side? If we really know God, we will see that all the problems and hindrances are in you and me. If we do not care for God, look to God, work together with God, pray to God, or remind God, He will be unable to do anything. Why is this? This is because God can never do anything against His principle. If He cannot find a man and if there is no one who will work with Him, He will have no way to do His work on earth. Although He desires to work and is able to work, He has no ground to begin His work. Why? It is because there is no one cooperating with Him.

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거저 준다는 것은 무슨 뜻입니까? "내가 저희에게 영생을 주노니"(요 10:28). 영생은 하나님이 우리에게 주신 것입니다. 한번은 어느 친구 집에 물건을 사러 갔습니다. 그는 나와 잘 아는 사이여서 돈을 받지 않고 거저 주겠다고 말했습니다. 나는 어떻게 할 바를 모르고 계속 돈을 지불하겠다고 말했습니다. 그는 어쨌든 거저 주는 것이니 집에 가지고 가라고 말했습니다. 

이와같이 하나님은 영생을 우리에게 주셨습니다. 하나님은 "내가 너희에게 영생을 줄 것이지만 한 동안 지난 후에 너희의 행실이 좋으면 주고 좋지 않으면 주지 않을 것이다."라고 말씀하지 않으셨습니다. 나는 그리스도인에게 좋은 행실이 필요치 않다고 말하는 것이 아닙니다. 우리는 제멋대로 생활하는 것을 미워합니다. 그러나 이것은 구원과 관계 있는 것이 아닙니다. 할렐루야! 구원은 우리에게 거저 주신 것이지 돈으로 산 것이 아닙니다. 그러나 우리는 좋은 행실을 경시하지 말아야 합니다. 좋은 행실은 왕국과 보상과 면류관과 책망과 관계가 있습니다. 만일 은혜라면 그것은 장래의 문제를 포함하지 않습니다.

"죄의 삯은 사망이요 하나님의 은사는 그리스도 예수 우리 주 안에 있는 영생이니라" (롬 6:23). 은사란 무엇입니까? 은사는 곧 선물입니다. 나는 선물을 당신 집으로 보내면서 영수증을 써 달라고 말할 수 없습니다. 선물이라면 절대로 당신에게 거저 주는 것입니다. 이것은 변개될 수 없습니다. 

그러므로 은혜는 당신의 과거의 죄과와 무관하고 현재의 공적과도 무관하며 장래의 책임과도 무관합니다. 만일 당신의 책임과 관계된다면 그것은 은혜가 아니라 외상입니다. 하나님께 감사드립니다. 영생은 외상이 아닌 거저 주시는 것입니다. 하나님께 감사드립니다. 영생은 하나님의 아들 그리스도 예수 안에 있는 은사입니다. 

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The Bible tells us that God is working all the time. Jerusalem was the center of God's work in the Old Testament. God intended to work to the extent that Jerusalem would be a praise in the earth (Isa. 62:6-7). However, God did not begin doing this right away. What did He do? He first appointed watchmen, men who watched in prayer upon the walls of Jerusalem. These watchmen who were appointed by God reminded Him day and night, giving Him no rest and taking no rest for themselves. Does this seem strange? There is no problem in the heavens, but there is a problem on earth. God's will is secure in the heavens but not on earth. The "electricity" cannot be transmitted to the earth, and thus, God cannot do anything. We cannot see God's work and blessing on man that much because of the problem on man's side.

Please listen to this call: "Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?" (6:8). God has an intention in the heavens to save men, but who cares for this intention? Throughout the ages God has constantly been asking, "Who will go for Us?" He wanted to save the children of Israel, but who was willing to work together with Him? He wants to give grace to man, but who cares for His heart? There is no problem on God's side, but there is a big problem on man's side. What is the problem? The problem is that our prayers are not right, having originated from the erroneous concept that we must wait for God to work, when in fact God is waiting for us to work with Him. For a long time God has wanted to work. He wants to save thousands of sinners and has been ready to save them for a long time, but He has not found anyone to work together with Him. Thus, He is still sighing, "Who will go for Us?" This sighing indicates how great a problem this is. This great problem is that in this universe God is prepared to give men grace, to save men, and to work in every corner of the whole earth. However, there is no one on earth who is willing to cooperate with Him.

God's work requires man's prayer. Without man's prayer, God cannot do anything even if He wants to. This is a big principle in God's work. If God cannot find people to work with Him and to pray, He will not be able to do anything, even though He is the almighty God and is willing to do it. Why is this so? The reason is that He does not work alone; instead, He desires that man work together with Him. This is the law of His work. If He cannot find such ones, He will not be able to work.

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