Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (4)
Message One
The Faithful Witness of God for the Testimony of Jesus
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture reading:
Rev. 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood.
I. Christ is the faithful Witness of God, the testimony and expression of God; His expressing God is His witnessing—Rev. 1:5; 3:14: (Monday)
A. Christ is the Witness of God, the testimony and expression of God; the church is the testimony and expression of Christ; as such, the church is the reproduction of the testimony and expression of God in Christ—1:5.
B. Revelation presents to us the revealed Christ and the testifying church, which is the testimony of Jesus; Christ is the testimony of God, and the church is the testimony of Jesus, the enlarged Christ as the corporate expression of the Triune God—John 1:18; 5:31-37; 8:14; Rev. 1:2, 5, 9; 19:10; cf. Gen. 1:26.
II. The testimony of Jesus is the seven golden lampstands—golden (divine) in nature, shining in darkness, and identical with one another—Rev. 1:1-2, 9-12:
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A. The golden lampstand symbolizes the Triune God; the Father as the substance is embodied in the Son, the Son as the embodiment is expressed through the Spirit, the Spirit is fully realized and expressed as the churches, and the churches are the testimony of Jesus—Exo. 25:31-40; Zech. 4:2-10; Rev. 1:10-12. (Tuesday)
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B. To experience the golden lampstands as the testimony of Jesus, the corporate expression of Jesus (Acts 9:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:12), we must be filled with the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7) by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus continually (1 Cor. 12:3, 13; Rom. 10:12-13; Lam. 3:55-56) to bear the brands of Jesus (Gal. 6:17) as brothers and fellow partakers in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance in Jesus (Rev. 1:9-10). (Wednesday)
C. The beating of the gold to form a stand signifies the believers’ participation in Christ’s sufferings; everything that goes on in our environment is for the producing of the beaten lampstand—Exo. 25:31; Col. 1:24.
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D. Enlightening rests with the mercy of God; whenever God comes and bestows His mercy, the light of His countenance is our light, His appearing is our vision, and His presence is our gain—Rom. 9:15; Acts 9:3-4; Isa. 50:10-11; Num. 6:25-26. (Thursday)
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III. The testimony of Jesus is the great multitude serving God in the temple, the whole Body of God’s redeemed, who have been raptured to the heavens to enjoy God’s care and the Lamb’s shepherding with all the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies and in Christ that can be enjoyed today—Rev. 7:9-17; Eph. 1:3; Gal. 3:14; Gen. 12:2: (Friday)
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A. The Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd us and guide us to springs of waters of life—Rev. 7:17a. (Saturday)
B. He will wipe away every tear from our eyes—7:17b.
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood—Rev. 1:5.
The mystery of the seven stars…and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches—v. 20.
Word of Appetizer
Who is God’s faithful witness? What is the testimony of Jesus?
Christ is God’s faithful witness, God’s testimony and expression; He expresses God, and that is His testimony. Revelation presents to us the revealed Christ and the witnessing church, which is the testimony of Jesus.
The testimony of Jesus is the seven golden lampstands—golden in nature (divine), shining in the darkness, and identical to one another. The testimony of Jesus is the great multitude serving God in the temple, that is, all of God’s redeemed people who have been raptured into the heavens to enjoy God’s care and the Lamb’s shepherding, receiving all the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies and in Christ, which we can enjoy today.
Spiritual Burden
Christ as Jehovah and as a man is the King who supplies, cares for, and covers God’s people; Christ is the King who rules and a man who is like a hiding place from the wind and a covering from the storm, like rivers of water in a dry place, and like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
The testimony of Jesus is the great multitude serving God in the temple, that is, all of God’s redeemed people who have been raptured into the heavens to enjoy God’s care and the Lamb’s shepherding, receiving all the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies and in Christ, which we can enjoy today.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Christ is God’s faithful witness, God’s testimony and expression; He expresses God, and that is His testimony.
The testimony of Jesus is the seven golden lampstands—golden in nature (divine), shining in the darkness, and identical to one another.
The testimony of Jesus is the great multitude serving God in the temple, that is, all of God’s redeemed people who have been raptured into the heavens to enjoy God’s care and the Lamb’s shepherding, receiving all the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies and in Christ, which we can enjoy today.
The Experience of Life
To experience the golden lampstand as the testimony of Jesus, which is the corporate expression of Jesus, we must be those who are filled with the Spirit of Jesus by continually calling on the name of the Lord Jesus and who bear the brands of Jesus on our bodies; everything that happens in our circumstances is for the producing of the beaten lampstand.
Our service today in time is a preparation for our service in eternity; God’s unique goal in time is to dispense Himself into us day by day; only when God comes in and God goes out of us do we have a service.
Practice and Application
To be enlightened, we must:
Receive the Lord’s light, setting our heart to simply love and seek the Lord.
Open ourselves to the Lord, turn our heart to the Lord, and present ourselves before the Lord without any reservation or holding back; those who are closed to the Lord specialize in condemning and criticizing others.
Stop ourselves; to stop ourselves is to stop our views, concepts, feelings, impressions, opinions, etc.
Not contradict the light brought by the Holy Spirit who speaks within us, nor contradict the ministers of the Holy Spirit who speak outside of us.
Continually live in the light.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 Living the life of Christ is calm, tranquil, peaceful, and quiet (Phil. 4:5-6).
(Please illustrate that the first aspect of the expression of living the life of Christ is forbearance.)
T2 Living Christ means forbearance but without anxiety (Phil. 4:5-6).
(Please illustrate that forbearance is the totality of a proper Christian life.)
Day 2
T1 The Greek word for forbearance means not only being content with less than what we are due but also having sweet reasonableness (Phil. 4:5-6).
(Please illustrate that forbearance is all-inclusive because it contains all Christian virtues.)
T2 Forbearance is the Christ we actually experience (Phil. 1:21, 4:5).
(Please illustrate that all our failures and frustrations in the Christian life are due to our lack of forbearance.)
Day 3
T1 A forbearing person is one who always fits in, whose behavior is always suitable (Phil. 1:19-20).
(Please illustrate that forbearance also includes peace, meekness, and tenderness.)
T2 The human life of the Lord Jesus was full of forbearance (Phil. 1:19-20).
(Please illustrate that using the example of how the Lord Jesus spoke to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus illustrates that the Lord’s life is the best explanation of forbearance.)
Day 4
T1 Prayer is general, having worship and fellowship as its essence; petition is special, being for particular needs. (Phil. 4:6-7).
(Please illustrate that when we pray and make petitions, both should be accompanied by thanks to the Lord.)
T2 Believing that our environment is appointed by God (Phil. 4:6-7).
(Please illustrate that if we want to live a life free of anxiety, we must realize that all our experiences, whether good or bad, are appointed by God.)
Day 5
T1 Six aspects that regulate the life of living Christ (Phil. 4:8-9).
(Please illustrate that out of many Christian virtues, what six did Paul select as the regulating aspects?)
T2 All human virtues are created by God (Phil. 4:8-9).
(Please illustrate that our human virtues are created vessels to contain divine virtues, just as a glove is made in the image of a hand to contain a hand.)
Day 6
T1 When we teach people how to do things, we mainly teach them the secret (Phil. 4:11-13).
(Please illustrate that Paul not only learned the secret; he had been initiated and learned certain basic principles.)
T2 The basic principles of church life are entirely different from the basic principles of the world (Phil. 4:11-13).
(Please illustrate that what are the basic principles of the church—the Body of Christ?)
