not seeking our own glory but God’s glory by spending time privately with Him

One of the most outstanding things concerning the Lord Jesus in His life and ministry on the earth is that He did not seek His own glory but the glory of the Father who sent Him (see John 7:18; 5:41; 12:43).

After performing a great miracle like the feeding of the five thousand people with only five loaves and two fish, the Lord Jesus did not “linger in His success” neither did He try to emphasize some things about this success – He went up to the mountain privately to pray to the Father (Matt. 14:23; Luke 6:12). He sought the glory from the Father and He did everything one with the Father.

We need to learn from Him and deny ourselves, our purpose, and our ambition, seeking only God’s will and God’s glory.

Not seeking our own glory but God’s glory

People today in the world are ambitious to do things and to become someone, and many times in the church life and in the Lord’s work saints are ambitious for a certain position or they are seeking their own glory. Ambition is something in everyone of us, and seeking our own glory is natural, spontaneously coming out of our natural being.

We are sick of the same disease, the same sin, and even in rendering service to the Lord in the church life, there may be ambition in us…. We need to learn the secret of dealing with our self and with our intentions, so that we would not seek our own glory but the glory which comes from God.

He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of Him who sent Him, this One is true, and unrighteousness is not in Him (John 7:18). We need to see the pattern of the Lord Jesus – He didn’t seek His own glory but He sought the Father’s glory.

In our being our self, our own purpose, and our ambition are like three worms, big worms, which destroy us and annul our usefulness in the Lord’s hands. If we want to be useful to the Lord always for the building up of the church, we need to deny our self, we need to reject our own purpose, and we need to give up our ambition to do something great or become someone (see Matt. 16:24).

We should not have our own purpose; instead, we should have only the Lord’s will. We all have to learn of these three things: no self, no purpose, and no ambition. We should only know to labor, to work for Him, by denying our self, rejecting our purpose, and giving up our ambition. Self, purpose, and ambition are like three snakes or scorpions in us. We must learn to hate them. (The God-Man Living, by brother Lee).

Spending time privately with the Lord in prayer

And after He sent the crowds away, He went up to the mountain privately to pray. And when night fell, He was there alone (Matt. 14:23).

The Lord Jesus had just performed a miracle by feeding the 5000 people with five loaves and two fish, but He did not remain in the issue of the miracle but chose to rather go away and spend time privately with the Father in prayer.

If we would have had such a success, we may have lingered there and spend time to enjoy it; we need to learn from the Lord to go away to be with the Lord privately. What stops us from seeking glory and what annuls our ambition is seeking to spend time privately with the Lord in secret.

The Lord Jesus didn’t want people to know where He went to spend time with the Father – He went away privately. We shouldn’t let the others know that we are having a time with the Lord, but rather go and just spend time with the Lord secretly, privately.

We may even have to leave other people and activities so that we would be privately with the Lord. The Lord needed to pray privately to His Father who was in the heavens so that He might be one with the Father. He wanted to have the Father one with Him in all He did on the earth to establish the kingdom of the heavens.

How we need to spend private time with the Lord in prayer, just us and Him, to be one with Him!

The work is of the Lord and unto the Lord

The work of the Lord is initiated by Him and it is unto Him. The initiation of God’s work is not our intention to do something for Him but it is God’s will. The advance of God’s work is God’s power. It has nothing to do with us. The result of God’s work is God’s glory, His expression, and not our glory.

The Lord chooses the ones who are weak, foolish, and despised by the world so that He may do His work. He does this so that no flesh may boast before God (1 Cor. 1:29) but that God may get His glory. God may give us everything He has including His beloved Son, but He would not share His glory with us.

We need to seek God’s glory and enter into His glory. The work is of the Lord and it is unto the Lord, for His glory.

Lord Jesus, continue to shine on us and expose us of what is in us. Oh, Lord, draw us to spend more time privately with You that we may be one with You in all that we do. Save us, Lord, from having our own purpose and seeking our own glory while working for You. Lord, we just open to You that You may operate in us to remove our ambition and personal interest. Lord, we want You to get all the glory. Praise the Lord!

References and Further Reading

• Sharing inspired from brother Witness Lee’s speaking in, The God-man Living (pages 126-127), and from, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee (vol. 42, ch. 45), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Taking the Lead as Elders and Responsible Ones, week 5.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Take time to behold Him, gaze oft on His face, / Receiving His Person, and grace upon grace.
  # Take time to behold Him, / The world rushes on; / Spend much time in secret / With Jesus alone.
  # Go, labor on; spend, and be spent; / Thy joy to do the Father’s will.