the mysterious mingling of God with man is the oneness of the Body of Christ

April 24, 2012 by · 3 Comments

the mysterious mingling of God with man is the oneness of the Body of ChristIn Ephesians 4:3-6 we see that we as believers in Christ already have the oneness – we just need to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace! Oneness is in our spirit and oneness actually is the mingling of the divine Spirit with our human spirit, the mingling of the processed and consummated Triune God with the tripartite man. There are seven aspects of this oneness: one Body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father. Mysteriously, the Triune God is being mingled with the Body of Christ and this mingling is the oneness of the believers. The more we enjoy the Lord in our mingled spirit, the more we are one!

the mysterious mingling is the oneness

First of all, we all know that in ourselves and by ourselves, no matter how good our intention is, we cannot be one. We need another element that will make us one! In 1 Cor. 12:13 we see that the Body of Christ came into existence through the baptism of the Spirit and we are one by drinking the Spirit continually!

We have been baptized in the Spirit and we were given to drink ONE Spirit – this makes us one! As we drink of the Spirit in which we were baptized, we not only exist and live in Christ but we also have our inward being mingled with the Spirit. Whatever we drink is being mingled with us and even becomes us. We drink the Spirit – we are mingled with the Spirit, and we are one organically!

being anointed with and supplied by the Spirit

As we see in Psalm 133, oneness is the precious ointment upon Christ as the Head (spreading and coming down upon the whole Body) and the refreshing dew that descends upon the mountains of Zion. We need to remain in this oneness – remain in the Body, remain in the church life where the oneness is! In the church life on the ground of oneness the Triune God is mingling Himself with His chosen people and this mingling is the oneness.

As we remain in this oneness, the all-inclusive compounded Spirit “paints us” day by day, adding the element of God in us (the anointing), and God is our life-supply for our refreshing enjoyment daily (the refreshing dew). Just keep the oneness!

just submit to the Head and live in the Body

How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in oneness! The dwelling in unity is corporate with no barrier and no separation – here in the corporate living of the saints we cast aside any division, any jealousy, any gossip, any hatred, and any sinful thing. In this condition we receive the anointing that is poured upon the Head, Christ, and comes down upon the whole Body of Christ.

All we have to do is to hold Christ as the Head and live in the Body. Oneness is here, in the Body, so just hold the Head and live in the Body by meeting with the saints and being built up together in the church life!

For us to receive the anointing and the Lord’s present leading, we need to be in the right place. We need to be under Christ as the Head, giving Him the preeminence in us and holding to Him as the Head, and we need to live in the Body of Christ, being built up in Christ and with one another!

Our fellowship with the other believers is based on Christ Himself – because we have Christ as the life in the Body and the Head of the Body, we can fellowship with the brothers and the sisters in oneness! The ground of our oneness is just God in Christ as the flowing Spirit – if I am in God and you are in God, we can fellowship and we can be one!

our oneness is God Himself

What can make us one? No matter how good we think we are, when we come together with other people sometimes it’s like two hedgehogs coming together to get out of the cold – we have spikes, we hurt one another, there are offenses, wounds… But as long as we come together and take Christ as the Head, enjoy Him, and focus only on Him, standing on the ground of oneness in God, we are being painted and filled with the Triune God!

We may think someone hurt us or offended us, and we are RIGHT while he is WRONG – but as long as we open and stay here, all the ingredients of the processed and consummated Triune God found in the compound Spirit are being applied to us!

What causes us to be one has NOTHING to do with me and you – our oneness is God Himself being mingled with us. We agree not because of our disposition but because of continually receiving God’s dispensing into us. We do not have a doctrinal or mental oneness but a oneness that is in the divine dispensing!

In the church life on the ground of the oneness the thorns and spikes are being blended away as we enjoy the Spirit together, and we become Zion together! All we have to do is to give Christ the preeminence (hold Him as the Head and submit to Him) and live in the Body (stay in the church life and enjoy Christ with the saints). Hallelujah!

Lord, thank You for the oneness of the Spirit which is ours. We want to be diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace. You are our Head, Lord, and we submit ourselves to You. We give You the preeminence in us – have the first place in all things. Lord, keep us in the Body, living in the Body and for the Body. We love the church life where we eat, drink, and breathe Jesus with all the saints!

References and Further Reading

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the saints’ living together in oneness in the church life is blessed by God

April 23, 2012 by · 3 Comments

the saints' living together in oneness in the church life is blessed by GodThis week we are enjoying the wonderful Psalm 133 concerning the Lord’s commanded blessing on the brothers dwelling in oneness. Our church life is not an individual life but a corporate life, a collective life, and our experience of the church life has at least four aspects: it is a corporate experience, an ascending experience, a loving experience, and a singing experience.

In the church life we are always going up – we ascend, we are advancing, we have the highways to Zion in our heart! Here we have a desire and a love for Zion just like God has, and we pray and yearn for Zion. The church life is a love affair of God’s habitation. Also, in the church life we SING – here we are always singing, enjoying the Lord! Praise the Lord for the church life!

the practical church life, the church living

The church is not only something spiritual but the church life is also something practical – here you can SEE how GOOD it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! How good? – we don’t know how good, it is inestimable and incalculable. How pleasant it is!

“The believers’ dwelling together in oneness is likened to the inestimable goodness of the precious ointment on the head of Aaron and to the incalculable pleasantness of the dew of Hermon on the mountains of Zion” (Psa. 133:1, note 2). The saints living together in the church life is practical, sweet, pleasant, and good! The Lord today is recovering this – the saints living together in oneness!

Many of the studies in the modern world today show that “modern man” loves being single and living alone, to develop himself, be more effective, have better time management, eat and sleep better, etc. But there is a blessing when we have corporate living – in the Lord’s recovery the Lord is recovering the living together of the saints in brothers’ houses, sisters’ houses, families, etc.

The church life is real and practical – from house to house, where the saints live together. We may think we are spiritual and we even “develop our spirituality” as we live by ourselves, but our living together in oneness is a demonstration and a manifestation of the blessing from God!

the church is a person and a place

According to Psalm 133 we see that the church is a person – Aaron, the high priest, a type of Christ – and a place – Zion. On the one hand the church is Christ – the church is the Body of Christ where Christ is the Head and we are His Body. On the church as the corporate Christ there the compound oitnment is being poured.

The church is also a place – it is Zion, God’s habitation, the place of His rest. Upon the mountains of Zion we have the dew – refreshing, watering, and saturating! Both of these are not moving quickly – the dew descends in a gradual way, and the ointment spreads upon the beard and then goes to the skirts of the garments. The genuine oneness spreads as the ointment and descends gradually as the dew upon the saints living together.

As a Person, Christ is the real High Priest ministering to God and to man – He served God, accomplished His purpose, and fulfilled God’s heart’s desire. But here in Psalm 133 Christ is with His Body – the corporate Christ, the Head with the Body. The church today is the corporate Christ, a universal corporate person, composed of Christ as the Head and all the believers as His Body.

When the saints live together in oneness, when the practical church life is recovered in a certain locality, God commands the blessing – life forever! It is not something WE can manufacture or conjure up – the blessing comes when the saints live together in unity!

the blessing is on the oneness

The church life is a community of grace; you don’t even notice it, but grace is here! It is not a matter of the manifestation of power, gifts, eloquence, but it is life forevermore! In the church life we enjoy life forevermore. Here we are one in the person of Christ and we are one in the place as the ground of oneness. Our oneness is based no nothing else but on Christ and on the principle that it is not a matter of HOW we practice but that we are all holding the same ground: Oneness!

In the church life we are here for the Person of Christ and for the Oneness! The Lord Jesus prayed for this oneness in John 17, He accomplished it on the cross, in Eph. 2 we see that He became our peace, and now Christ is oneness in the Spirit! We just need to keep the oneness, and the Lord commands the blessing upon the living in oneness!

Lord, unveil us to see what the church life and the church living really is. We don’t want to be conformed to this age by living alone to perfect our self – gain the corporate living. Bless the living of the saints together. Bless the families, the couples, and the corporate living. May our living together be in oneness under Your blessing. How we love the inestimable goodness and the incalculable pleasantness!

References and Further Reading

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treasuring being in the house of God: here we’re enjoying all the blessings of God

March 3, 2012 by · 7 Comments

treasuring being in the house of God: here we're enjoying all the blessings of GodPsalm 84 is a wonderful chapter showing us how much the psalmist appreciated and enjoyed the house of God. First, we see the loveliness of the house of God (v. 1), then the longing of the psalmist to enter into the house of God (v. 2), the highways to the house of God (v. 5), and finally the blessings of dwelling in the house of God that we may enjoy God as the sun, the shield, the grace, and the glory (v. 10-12). In the house of God we enjoy God as our sun to supply us with light and life, as our shield to protect us from God’s enemy, as our grace for our full enjoyment, and as glory for the manifestation of God!

a day in Your courts is better than a thousand

From our experience we can testify that one single day in the house of God is better than a thousand anywhere else. We may be away from God and we may think “we have the time of our life”, but when we come into the house of God and we aspire to have the highways to Zion in our heart, taking the way of the church internally, we will realize how good it is to be here! We would rather “stand at the threshold of the house of God than dwell in the tents of the wicked” (Psa. 84:10). It is much better to be at the door, on the threshold, of the house of God, than to be in the house / tent of the wicked.

Of course, we don’t want to remain “on the threshold” – we want to enter into God’s house, find our refuge at the bronze altar and our home a the golden altar, and experience Christ as the processed and consummated Triune God. Here, in the house of God, we go on from strength to strength – even though when we come into God’s house we may be weak and weary, in God’s house we go on from strength to strength. The more we go on in the church life, the more strength we will gain (see Prov. 4:18 and 2 Cor. 3:18). If our service is intrinsically according to God’s will in the church life, each day in the church life is worth many days in God’s eyes (Joel 2:25).

the blessings we enjoy in the house of God

In this particular psalm there are four blessings we enjoy in the house of God: the sun, the shield, the grace, and the glory. In God’s house Christ is our shield – He is the anointed One, He protects us from any attack from the enemy. Hallelujah, greater is He who is in us than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4)! In this One, in Christ, Satan had no way, no hope, no ground – nothing (John 14:30)! He defeated Satan, and He is now in us as the Victorious One, guarding our hearts and imparting the peace of God into us. Christ is the real David (of which the psalm literally speaks here).

In the house of God we also enjoy Christ as the light of life – in v. 11 we have the sun, which is the sourse of light, giving life. In Him was life, and the life was the light of the world (John 1:4). For us to grow in our spiritual life, we need sunlight – we need to turn to Christ as our source of light and life. This Christ is also our grace – full of grace and reality, and of His fullness we have received, grace upon grace. Grace is simply God enjoyed by us – God in Christ to be enjoyed by us to be our everything! In the house of God we enjoy God as our grace, and grace is even visible here among the saints!

As we enjoy the loveliness of the house of God, as we long to enter into the house of God and take the highways to the house of God by internally experiencing Christ as the reality of all the furnishings in the tabernacle, as we enjoy Christ as our sun, our shield, and as grace, we are brought into the glory of God. Here, in God’s house, we enjoy God expressed, God manifested, God being shown in all His glory and splendor. Praise the Lord, we are brought into glory as the many sons of God, being conformed to the image of the Firstborn Son of God! In the church life we have the glory of God, God expressed!

saved from our natural concepts in God’s house

The concluding verses in Psalm 84 shows us that in the house of God we may still hold to some old concepts, thinking that God “does not withhold anything good from those who walk uprightly”, or “blessed is the man who trusts in You”. These all “sound good”, and are pleasing to our natural man – but what God desires is that we would dwell in His house and would enjoy Him. Here, in God’s house, we are being continually washed, cleansed, purified, and saved even from our concepts of being a righteous man before God. All we have to to is to be in the house of God – and He will take care of the rest!

That’s why we shouldn’t judge or try to correct others when they express a concept, an opinion, or a doctrine they dearly hold onto. All we have to do is to enjoy God in the church life – here we have the cross of Christ and here we enjoy Christ Himself in all that He is. We all need to take the highway to come to the church and just dwell here! God in Christ is the anointed One as our sun, our shield, our grace, and our glory. As we enjoy God in Christ in the church life, we are being brought into glory – we enter into God to be God’s expression on the earth!

Lord Jesus, keep us in the church life. Keep us in the house of God, enjoying You in Your house. Praise You for all that You are to us in the house of God. You are our shield, protecting us from the enemy! Lord, You are our sun, bringing in light and life for our growth. Lord, You are so enjoyable as grace to us in the church life. Thank You, Lord, You are bringing us into Your glory as we remain in the house of God, dwelling here…

References and Further Reading

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turning our tears of weeping into springs of blessings by setting our eyes on Zion

March 2, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

turning our tears of weeping into springs of blessings by setting our eyes on ZionHow wonderful it is to be on this journey into God, of coming into the house of God, to be one with God and even to become God in life and nature but not in the Godhead! In Psalm 84:4-5 we see that we need to be those who have the highways of Zion in their heart; right after this, there’s “the valley of Baca”, the valley of weeping, which we make it in a spring! As we have the intention to and come into the church life, opposition and persecution happens, which causes us to weep. These tears become a spring, the early rain, bringing in the Spirit as the blessing! How wonderful and how precious this is!

passing through the valley of Baca, they make it a spring

Psa. 84:6-7 says, “Passing through the valley of Baca, They make it a spring; Indeed the early rain covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength; Each appears before God in Zion.” On the one hand we are strengthened into our inner man by God to have the intention to come into the church life, and we make a strong decision to take the way of the church internally and not only externally. On the other hand, we are opposed by Satan, who causes us to suffer persecution. Maybe someone in your family, some of your friends, or someone at work gives you a hard time, even persecuting you, for being a believer or coming into the church life. This persecution and trouble causes our “highway to Zion” to become “a valley of weeping”, where we shed tears.

The trouble and persecution that are caused by Satan can make the highways a valley of weeping. But as we pass through this valley of Bacca, God makes it a valley of spring (see Col. 1:24 and Heb. 10:34), which is the spring of the Spirit (John 4:14; 7:38-39). Actually, the more we weep on the highways to Zion, the more we receive the Spirit; while we are weeping, we are being continually filled with the Spirit, and the Spirit becomes our spring. Our tears caused by the persecution and suffering become a spring, and this spring becomes the early rain that covers the valley of tears with blessings!

the way of the church is not cheap or superficial

The truth is that you can be a Christian today and not many people may know that; you can be a believer and not many would notice that. But once you come into the church life, into the house of God, the tabernacle of God, taking the way of the church internally (and not only externally), persecution arises! When we take a strong decision to take the way of the church life internally and experience the processed and consummated Triune God, these highways to Zion may become many times the valley of Baca, with many tears because of the persecution and the sufferings.

The highways to Zion is not superficial or cheap; the way of the church life demands a price that we need to pay. It is not external, superficial, or cheap. If we wouldn’t care for Christ and the church that much, we wouldn’t suffer; but as we care for the church life, we will partake of the sufferings needed for the building up of the Body of Christ. We will have sufferings related to the church, related to God’s economy, some misunderstandings from your family because you stand for the church, etc – and you may shed tears…. But the Lord turns those tears to be the Spirit! You will be all the more filled with the Spirit and released in your spirit that you may flow!

how does the valley of weeping become a place of springs?

How does the valley of weeping become a place of springs? Is God “magically and miraculously” making it this way, without our cooperation, our working together with Him? In Psa. 84:6-7 it says that “THEY will make it” – it depends on us, it is up to us. If we turn away from the church life when the sufferings and persecutions come, we will still be in the valley of Baca, and we will shed tears. But if we are faithful to the Lord at any cost, if we even tell Him, “Lord, I want to be here in the church life at any cost – I want to go on with You!” – we will make the valley of tears into a spring!

It all depends on our attitude – when everything is fine in the church, when all the saints are so good and exercised, we may love the church life. But when situations arise, when the brothers and the sisters may not seem so lovable and pleasant to you, when there may be some problems or persecutions – what will you do then? Will you quit? Will you leave the church life? Will you go away and go back to “the church of your choice”? We need to be careful – it is our responsibility, as with many other things in life, that we would make the valley of weeping into springs of water where the Spirit may flow!

If we pity ourselves, if we blame ourselves, or if we seek other’s sympathizing with our being in the valley of weeping, we will remain here in the valley. But if we lift our eyes unto Zion and do not give up, do not quit, do not look at people but set our eyes on Zion, our tears become a spring! WE will turn them into a spring! This kind of experiences of persecution, sufferings, misunderstandings, matched with our setting our eyes on Zion – though filled with tears – become a deeper experience of Christ in the church life. From us there will be rivers of living water flowing to water others and supply the saints!

Lord, keep us coming to You in all our problems, all the persecutions, and all sufferings! Keep us going on with You, Lord, on the highways to Zion! We want to go on, go forward, toward Zion. Strengthen us to pay the price of our self, our natural man, and even our own feelings and desires, that we may gain the Spirit as the early rain! Oh, Lord, save us from pitying ourselves or blaming others – we want to Set Our Eyes on Zion!

References and Further Reading

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everything is clear when we exercise our spirit and we come to the church meetings

February 23, 2012 by · 4 Comments

everything is clear when we exercise our spirit and we come to the church meetings [picture: sun shining through the trees]The place where we can see God’s way, God’s purpose, and God’s economy is the sanctuary of God – Psa. 77:13 says, “O God, Your way is in the sanctuary; who is so great a god as God?” God’s sanctuary today is our mingled spirit and the church. We shouldn’t neglect our spirit and the church meetings; rather, we should exercise our spirit and be in the meetings of the church so that we may see God’s purpose, God’s way, and God’s economy! Hallelujah for this twofold sanctuary – a private sanctuary (our spirit) and a public sanctuary (the church).

exercising our spirit and living in the church

We can testify that many times we may have been puzzled by certain situations or problems in our life, and we did not manage to figure things out on our own. But when we exercised our spirit and came to the meetings of the church, God’s way became clear to us. The best advice we can give others is not “practical advice for their life” or “counselling for their situation” but encouraging them to exercise their spirit and to attend the meetings of the church.

Big questions like, Whom should I marry? Where should I move? What job should I have? and small questions like, What should I wear today? How should I comb my hair? What should my attitude be towards this person? What about my shopping? What about my spending money or saving money? – all these questions are answered by our entering into the sanctuary to see God’s way and His purpose! On the one hand we need to be proper human beings and take care of our daily needs, but on the other hand we should first exercise our spirit and be in the meetings of the church and there we see all things clearly.

the light of the Holy Place

In the Holy Place in the tabernacle there was no natural light – there was only the light of the lampstand, the light of the Holy Place. In the natural light (the light of the sun and the moon) we can see the natural and outward things, but in the light of the Holy Place we can see God’s economy and His administration. In God’s presence, in His shining, in His light, we don’t need any natural light or man-made light. In the church life we do not need any natural light – in the church life as the Holy Place in the tabernacle we have the lampstand shining with God as the light!

The church is the Holy Place, and the church is also the lampstand – the Spirit as the oil fills the church and there’s light shining here. When it comes to God’s economy, God’s plan, God’s ways, we don’t need the natural light – we need to enter into the sanctuary of God and we will understand (see Psa. 73:16-17). We need to practice using the light of the Holy Place. Don’t try to figure out things, and don’t try to solve the situation – no mater how complicated it is. The more you think about it, the more puzzled you are. Just come into the sanctuary of God – come under the light of the lampstand, in the mingled spirit and in the church!

in the Holy Place we understand

Once we come into the Holy Place – once we exercise our spirit and we come to the church meetings – we understand! What was puzzling and even impossible to solve before now it is crystal clear. Why? We may think we know what’s going on since we develop our own perception on life, things, problems, people, situations, etc. But our own view of the world and our own way of doing things are just wrong – we need to see things the way God sees them! We need to see the world, the things, the people, the situations, the problems, etc. from God’s point of view!

In the sanctuary of God – in the Holy Place – we have God’s throne and the presence of God. When we come before God, when we touch the throne, we immediately see! There are seven lamps burning before the throne, and we are exposed, enlightened, judged, supplied, infused, and transfused! We don’t just “see what’s really going on”, and we don’t just “have the solution” – we are infused with God and His heart’s desire, and we know God’s purpose! When we exercise our spirit and come to the church meetings, we are clear concerning God’s intention and His economy, and we know which way should we take in our journey!

Lord Jesus, praise You for the light in Your sanctuary! Save us from struggling and striving to sort out things and figure out the puzzling situations. We want to learn the secret of firstly coming into the Holy Place where You are. Lord, may we treasure Your presence and the shining in Your presence. In Your sanctuary all things are made clear. Lord, we reject any man-made light and any natural light – we want to see light in Your light! Make all things clear!

References and Further Reading

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the meal offering church life with no leaven and no honey is for God’s satisfaction

February 18, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

the meal offering church life with no leaven and no honey is for God's satisfaction [in the picture: unleavened bread]The meal offering in Leviticus 2:1-13 is a type of Christ (as the real meal offering) and the church (as the reproduction of Christ to be the corporate meal offering). After seeing all the aspects of the meal offering, their fulfillment in Christ, and their application in our experience, we just love the Lord for such a wonderful type in the Old Testament! The last two elements of the meal offering are “no leaven and no honey” – God expressedly forbids the people of Israel to allow any leaven or honey in the meal offering.

no leaven and no honey in the meal offering

What is leaven? Based on the usage of this word by the Lord Jesus in the Gospels leaven signifies sin and other negative things (like: the leaven of the Pharisees, the leaven of the Sadducees, and the leaven of Herod, see Matt. 16:6; Luke 12:1; Mark. 8:15). What is honey? Honey signifies the natural human life in its good and even sweet aspect. People aren’t always bad – there’s a good aspect, a good part, in each one of us. This natural goodness is honey, and is not to be added to the meal offering.

Honey is sweet – why is it not allowed to be in the meal offering? According to its nature, after a period of time honey can ferment and the result is leaven. So whether we are good or bad, sweet or bitter, right or wrong, nice or not nice, the result is the same. This is why God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good (honey) and evil (leaven). Even such a sweet and nice thing as the natural human love can ferment and, in the case of divorce, can become something bitter like leaven.

The negative things are leaven, and the good aspects of our natural life are honey – but they eventually ferment and become leaven also. We need to learn to reject our natural man, our natural preferences, and even the good aspects of our natural man, when it comes to serving the Lord. As priests, we cannot allow leaven (anything sinful) or honey (anything natural, even good aspects) to defile us. We need to be salted, living in the resurrection life under the cross, so that any good or bad aspects of our natural man would be annulled.

the reproduction of Christ as the meal offering

With the Lord Jesus there was no leaven (no sinful or negative thing) and no honey (no natural affection, attachment, or preference). Rather, He lived a life of the highest and finest humanity (fine flour) oiled with the Holy Spirit (mingled with oil), having the fragrance of resurrection (frankincense), and living under the cross every day (being salted). This One is our daily food and our supply, our sustenance, and by eating of Him we become His corporate reproduction! We also live a life of the highest humanity mingled with the Spirit, with the fragrance of resurrection, and being daily under the cross. Also, as we eat this One, we will reject any sinful thing or any good aspect of our natural man.

one bread and one cup – the church life

At the Lord’s Table we openly display and testify of the fact that the church life is a corporate meal offering (signified by the one bread, see 1 Cor. 10:17) and we all partake of the cup of blessing. This partaking of the bread and the cup in a collective way is a sign of the church life – it is a testimony that the church life is the reproduction and duplication of Christ as the meal offering. We are men with the highest humanity being oiled with the Spirit, living daily under the cross with the resurrection of Christ as the frankincense, and with no leaven or honey! We testify of this whenever we partake of the bread and the cup.

for God’s satisfaction and for our supply

The top portion of the meal offering is for God’s enjoyment and satisfaction, and the remainder is for us to enjoy as our food in our service to God as priests. This means that God needs the meal offering as His food, and we need the meal offering as our continual serving supply. God desires to have a meal offering in each locality – the meal offering church life satisfies God and feeds us. On the one hand, Christ is our daily supply, but on the other hand, the church life as the corporate meal offering is our supply and sustenance. Aren’t you fed and supplied when you meet with the saints and enjoy Christ, this wonderful One as the meal offering? Praise the Lord for such a church life – the meal offering church life.

Lord, gain such a corporate meal offering church life. Keep us coming to You, Lord, and dealing with any aspect of our natural life. We want to be priests serving You and bringing You food for Your satisfaction. Keep us eating Your humanity until it is being lived out in us as the highest humanity mingled with the Holy Spirit. Lord, more living in the resurrection life. More salt in our living. Oh, Lord, gain a meal offering church life in every locality on the earth!

References and Further Reading

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Question on Facebook: what do you love the most in the home meetings of the church?

January 22, 2012 by · 3 Comments

Question on Facebook: what do you love the most in the home meetings of the church?Everyone is on Facebook today – and this website can be a very evil, ensnaring, time consuming, lust inciting, dark, dark place. But you can be for the Lord on Facebook and declare God’s Word, share your enjoyment, post some verses, or even ask questions which help others touch the Lord. Since these days many of our friends are on Facebook, and I am honored to have as Facebook Friends lots of brothers & sisters in the Lord, lovers of Christ, and pursuers of the Lord out of a pure heart – one day I asked them this question,

what do you LOVE the most in the home meetings?
What aspect of the home meeting you really enjoy? 

And here are some of the answers I got from my dear friends / co-partakers of the grace on facebook (these are only SOME of the answers people left for this question):

  • Amen! :-) First prayer to be able to enjoy each pursuance and understanding and above all be especially appreciate the owners purpose home visitation. Because the presence of God is overflowing with each other, and the atmosphere of the meeting is very high and the enjoyment will not lose anything of years to come, in our memory. I love you Lord Jesus Christ :-)
  • Shepherding one another & pursuing corporately :)
  • ‎”Christ in me, Christ in you, Christ in us! O what the wonderful story. Christ in me, Christ in you, Christ in us. The hope of Glory!” (chorus #498) I love Christ in one another through mutuality at my home meeting!
  • We eat dinner then we eat CHRIST!! Amen!!!!!! He’s so available to us.
  • Food!!!! In both senses of the word – physical food and then Christ as our food!
  • I love the food, the fellowship with the saints, specific prayers, singing hymns & the sharing!!! I miss all of that…
  • I love the Presence of God, the mutual shepherding, the love of the saints….
  • As a student living in the dorms and away from home, I get very very cherished with a plate of good food every week… and then to be able to be shepherded by all the saints, like a family…
  • I enjoy the fellowship we have while eating, and then afterwards. Thus, before and after the ‘meeting’… since it seems to be more free-flowing.
  • The open hearts of the saints visited and also the family atmosphere…

The Homes are God’s Way!

You know, the homes are the God-ordained way for us to be – both humanly and spiritually – born, cared for, cherished, nourished, loved, shepherded, raised up, perfected, blended, trained, and even matured. We need the homes – not just the “home meetings”, but the homes of the saints. We shouldn’t abandon our gathering together as some do (see Heb 10:25) – we need to have a home which is “our own assembly together”. Don’t leave the assembly together but gather with your folks!

Where can we open to the Lord and to the saints to receive shepherding? It is in the homes. Where can we be perfected in the truth and in our speaking? It is in the homes. Where can we open about our day, our situation, our problems, our friends, our family, our relatives, our future, our decisions? It is in a home environment, where we are around the table, we enjoy the nice home-made food, and we can normally, casually, and warmly talk about these matters.

a change in concept: Being in the Homes!

How much we need to have our concept changed from “going to church” or “being in the meetings” to “being in the homes“! The children, the young people, the students, the young adults, the working ones, the parents, the adults, the older ones, the grandparents, the more mature ones – we all of all ages need to be in the homes! Day by day, continuing steadfastly, from house to house, partaking of the bread with exultation and simplicity of heart… (Acts 2:42).

In the homes God can carry out His purpose by perfecting us, building us up, dispensing Himself into us, blending us together, and building up the Body of Christ through the functioning of each member in its measure! The Body is built up in a very normal, sweet, and non-formal way by saints eating together and exercising the spirit to enjoy the Lord together! In this way we can become vital, living, active, and fruit-bearing! The fruit is in the homes – and it is so fresh!

[By the way, the responses were from saints who live in Mexico, Philippines, Canada, London UK, Coventry UK, Mauritius, and South Africa. Become a Fan on Facebook of this blog via, aGodMan.com - enjoying the Lord! I am looking for ways of redeeming our time on Facebook, asking the questions related to our seeking the Lord, and gaining Christ more even in such an evil realm as Facebook! O, Lord, may we redeem our time online! Similar sharing: Facebook question, What Would be Your Prayer to the Lord for the New Year?]
Filed Under: Christ lives in me, Enjoying Christ, experiencing Christ, feeding on the Lord, His heart's desire, love the Lord, the Body of Christ, the Christian Life, the church life, the Lord's recovery, yp sharing · Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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