Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (4)
Message Ten
Christ—the Establisher of the Kingdom and the Word of God—King of Kings and Lord of Lords
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture reading:
Rev. 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and of those who had not worshipped the beast nor his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
I. Christ is the Establisher of the kingdom—Rev. 20:1-6: (Monday)
A. After fighting His enemies, Christ will establish the kingdom of God on the earth, the millennial kingdom, and reign with His overcoming believers for a thousand years—Rev. 20:2.
B. The first item mentioned in Revelation 20, a chapter concerning the millennium, is the binding of Satan—Rev. 20:1-3.
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C. Revelation 20:4-6 reveals that Christ as the Establisher of the kingdom will reign with the overcoming saints—Rev. 20:4-6. (Tuesday)
D. “They will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years”; the overcomers will be priests to contact God and co-kings with Christ to reign over the nations in the millennium—Rev. 20:6b; 2:26-27; 12:5.
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II. In Revelation 19:11-16 and 19-21 Christ is revealed as the Word of God—King of kings and Lord of lords—Rev. 19:11-16, 19-21: (Wednesday)
A. After His wedding feast Christ will come as a fighting General with His bride, the overcoming believers, who are His army, to fight Antichrist—Rev. 19:7, 11.
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B. “Behold, a white horse, and He who sits on it called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war“; Christ will come back to fight against Satan’s power of unrighteousness, which today operates in the world as the mystery of lawlessness and which will issue in Antichrist, the man of lawlessness—Rev. 19:11; 2 Thes. 2:3, 7-8. (Thursday)
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C. “His name is called the Word of God”—Rev. 19:13b. (Friday)
D. In Revelation 19, as the Word of God, Christ speaks for God by executing God’s judgment upon the rebellious people—Rev. 19:11-16.
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III. After Christ takes possession of the earth, He will reign over the earth as the King in the kingdom, ruling over the nations with His overcoming believers—Rev. 20:4, 6; 2:26-27: (Saturday)
A. As the coming King, He will be the Head and the center in the upcoming kingdom of God in the millennium—Isa. 32:1; Jer. 23:5; Zech. 14:9, 17.
B. Christ has redeemed the earth and all its peoples to be the sphere and components of the kingdom, He has sold all to buy the kingdom—Col. 1:20; Matt. 13:44.
C. In His upcoming reign God’s authority and glory will be fully manifested, and the whole earth with its peoples will be brought into righteousness, peace, joy, and the full blessing of God’s creation—Matt. 6:13; Isa. 32:1, 16-18; 35:1-2, 5-7.
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them…. This is the first resurrection…. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years—Rev. 20:4-6.
And He is clothed with a garment dipped in blood; and His name is called the Word of God—Rev. 19:13.
Word of Appetizer
What does Revelation 20:4-6 reveal to us? What is the kingdom of God that Christ will establish on earth after He fights with all His enemies?
Revelation 20:4-6 reveals that Christ is the Kingdom-establisher who will reign with the overcoming saints; the overcomers are qualified to reign with Christ by having the humanity of Jesus wrought into them.
After Christ fights with all His enemies, He will establish God’s kingdom, the Millennium, on earth and will reign with His overcoming believers for a thousand years.
Spiritual Burden
After possessing the whole earth, Christ will reign in the kingdom to rule over the whole earth and to govern the nations with His overcoming believers; He is the coming King who will be the Head and center in the coming kingdom of God in the millennium; in His coming reign, God’s authority and glory will be fully manifested, and the entire earth with the people on it will be brought into righteousness, peace, joy, and the full blessing of God’s creation.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Christ is the Kingdom-establisher.
In Revelation 19:11-16 and 19-21, Christ is revealed as the Word of God—the King of kings and Lord of lords.
After possessing the whole earth, Christ will reign in the kingdom to rule over the whole earth and to govern the nations with His overcoming believers.
The Experience of Life
The overcomers are qualified to reign with Christ by having the humanity of Jesus wrought into them; Christ, the unique and proper man, dwells in our spirit as the Spirit of Jesus. He is the One with all the proper human virtues as our humanity within us; when we have His humanity, we will shame Satan and become the kingdom of God.
The overcomers who reign with Christ in the millennium will enjoy the excellent resurrection; “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection”; this must be the highest blessing—to inherit the kingdom manifested on earth and even to reign in it.
Practice and Application
They will be priests to bring needy people to God and to supply God to people; they will be kings to bring the ruling God to people and to shepherd people on behalf of God; this is the reward given to them.
To know God, we need to read, study, behold, muse on, and gaze at Christ as the Word of God.
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?)
