Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (1)
Message One
Christ as the Great Light, the One Who Has Authority, the Physician,
the Bridegroom, the Unfulled Cloth, and the New Wine
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Matt. 9:11-13 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, Why does your Teacher eat with the tax collectors and sinners? Now when He heard this, He said, Those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are ill. But go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice,” for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.
Word of Appetizer
Christ is the unfulled cloth and our new garment; what is the unfulled cloth and the new garment? Christ is our new wine to be put into fresh wineskins; what is the new wine and the fresh wineskin?
The unfulled cloth signifies Christ from His incarnation to His crucifixion, as a piece of new cloth, untreated, unfinished; whereas the new garment in Luke 5:36 signifies Christ as a new robe, after He was “treated” in His crucifixion.
The new wine signifies Christ as the new, cheering life with cheering strength that strengthens us, energizes us, and makes us very happy; The fresh wineskins signify the church life in the local churches as the container of the new wine, which is Christ Himself as the exciting life.
Spiritual Burden
Christ came to minister as a Physician to heal, recover, enliven, and save us that we might be reconstituted to be His new and heavenly citizens, with whom He could establish His heavenly kingdom on this corrupted earth.
Among the church people the new garment, the new wine, and the new wineskin have all been recovered; we have Christ in a corporate way as our church life, and the church, the wineskin, is God’s ultimate goal.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Christ is the great Light shining on those sitting in darkness and rising on those sitting in the region and shadow of death.
The centurion saw that the Lord was One who had authority, because the Lord was a man under authority.
In calling people to follow Him for the kingdom, the Lord Jesus as the King of the heavenly kingdom ministered as a Physician.
Christ is our Bridegroom.
Christ is the unfulled cloth and our new garment.
Christ is our new wine to be put into fresh wineskins.
The Experience of Life
When we have a clear sky, like awesome crystal (a good and pure conscience), with nothing between us and the Lord, we are filled with the heavenly situation, atmosphere, and condition of the Lord’s ruling presence to reign in life by grace reigning in us.
As we experience the crucified Christ and live a crucified life, the resurrected Christ becomes our healing power, and the Lord becomes our Healer.
Practice and Application
We need to lay hold of Him not only as our Physician, that our life might be recovered, but also as our Bridegroom, that we may have the enjoyment of living in His presence.
The church is filled with Christ and constituted with Christ. Those who enjoy the church life are the church people. Among the church people, the new garment, new wine, and new wineskin have all been recovered. We have Christ in a corporate way as our church life.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 Christ as light shines in us (Matt. 4:16, John 8:12)
(Please illustrate that this light is actually Christ Himself as the Light of life.)
T2 Peter and Andrew were fishing when this great light shone on them (Matt. 4:16, John 8:12)
(Please illustrate that our experience is the same as Peter and Andrew’s.)
Day 2
T1 The authority of the Lord Jesus is mainly exercised in His words (Matt. 8:8-10)
(Please illustrate that how we can see that the centurion of the Gentiles understood that the Lord’s words carry the authority to heal.)
T2 The Lord taught with authority in the synagogue (Mark 1:22-23, 2:13)
(Please illustrate that every word coming out of the Savior’s mouth, who is the servant, is a word that shines.)
Day 3
T1 Those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are ill (Matt. 9:12)
(Please illustrate that the judgment of the judge is according to righteousness, and the healing of the doctor is according to mercy and grace.)
T2 There is none righteous, not even one (Rom. 3:11-13, Luke 18:9)
(Please illustrate that all the “righteous,” like the Pharisees, are self-righteous.)
Day 4
T1 Christ as the Bridegroom who had come to take the bride (Matt. 9:15, 25:1)
(Please illustrate that the kingly Savior first healed His followers and then made them the sons of the bridechamber; eventually, He will make them His bride.)
T2 The whole New Testament records the Trinity working together to gain a bride for the Son (John 3:29, 2 Cor. 11:2)
(Please illustrate that the living and walk of His followers should be regulated and directed only by Himself and His presence, not by any doctrine.)
Day 5
T1 Christ first was the unfulled cloth for making a new garment (Matt. 9:16, Luke 5:36)
(Please illustrate that how both the unfulled cloth and the new garment represent Christ, but what is the difference.)
T2 The old garment signifies man’s good behavior, good deeds, and religious practices produced by man’s old, natural life (Matt. 9:16, Luke 5:36)
(Please illustrate that why the Pharisees’ fasting was a kind of patching up old clothes.)
Day 6
T1 The new wine is Christ’s cheering life (Matt. 9:17, 1 Cor. 12:12)
(Please illustrate that the divine life is likened to wine that has cheering strength.)
T2 The corporate Christ is the fresh wineskin, the outward container that holds the new wine (Matt. 9:17, 1 Cor. 12:12)
(Please illustrate that the individual Christ is the new wine, the inward exciting life; and the corporate Christ is the new wineskin, the outward container that holds the new wine.)
