Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (4)
Message Twelve
Christ Coming with Reward and Punishment, a Lamp Shining in a Dark Place, and Christ Appearing Privately to His Overcomers as the Morning Star
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me to render to each one as his work is—Rev. 22:12.
And we have the prophetic word made more firm, to which you do well to give heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts—2 Pet. 1:19.
Word of Appetizer
How is the Lord Jesus as the bright morning star related to the church and the rapture?
When Christ comes again, to His people in general, He will be the rising sun (Mal. 4:2); but to those who watch and love Him, He will be the morning star, which is special. The bright morning star will appear only to the watchful ones.
Christ will appear as the bright morning star in the darkest time, just before the end of this age. Before the great tribulation, He will appear secretly as the morning star to His overcomers and rapture them.
Spiritual Burden
In the kingdom, the Lord will appear publicly to the people as the sun; but before the great tribulation, He will appear secretly to the overcomers as the morning star and rapture them.
And we have the prophetic word made more firm, to which you do well to give heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
“Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me to render to each one as his work is.”
“I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright morning star.”
The Experience of Life
The word of the prophets in the Scriptures is like a shining lamp for the believers, transfusing spiritual light, shining in their darkness, and guiding them into the bright day, even through the dark night, until the day of the Lord’s appearing, when the day dawns; before the appearing of the Lord as the sunlight, we need the light of His word to shine on our footsteps.
If we give heed to the word of the Bible as a lamp shining in a dark place, it will cause us to have Christ appear in our hearts before He actually appears as the morning star, shining in the darkness of the apostasy in which we find ourselves.
Practice and Application
How we serve the Lord and work for the Lord after we are saved is a great matter; we all must stand before the judgment seat and give an account to the Lord of our past life, conduct, and living.
The bright morning star will appear only to the watchful ones; the slothful believers will miss the sight of the morning star; the watchful ones will have the priority to taste the freshness of His long-separated and newly-returned presence.
“He who testifies these things says, Yes, I come quickly. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
We must be watchful and pray. We must also be prepared in our spirit and in our daily life. May the Lord cover us that we may be watchful, prayerful, and prepared persons.
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?)
