Obtaining the Present Christ with His Presence Corporately (1)

Obtaining the Presence of the Present Christ Corporately:

A. The Clear Promise of the Lord's Presence on Two Specific Matters in the Word

There are two clear situations in which the Lord promises that He will give us His presence. The first is as we disciple the nations by preaching the gospel (Matt. 28:19-20). The section is as we gather into the Lord's name (Matt. 18:20).

1. We Easily Exempt Ourselves from Preaching the Gospel

In the church life, we must preach the gospel, whether we desire to or not. We are charged by the Lord to do so. If you are shy, you must preach the gospel. If people don't respond, you must preach the gospel. If you are young, you must preach the gospel. If you are old, you must preach the gospel. No one is exempted. As long as you are following Christ, His command is to go and disciple the nations. He gives unto us this mission.

2. We Easily Exempt Ourselves from Meeting with the Saints

"As long as you are following Christ, His command is to go and disciple the nations."

The Lord also promised to be with us as we meet in His name. What is it that frustrates the healthy meeting life of a church? It is the unconscious development of a status of seniority in our practice of the church life. Just as we exempt ourselves so easily from preaching the gospel, we also find reason to exempt ourselves from upholding the responsibility of the gatherings of the church. As those who have been faithful in the church life through the years, we assume that we have accumulated certain privileges which enable us to be excused from having to be on time to meetings, to function with freshness in the meetings, or even from attending the meetings.

What does the Bible say? The Bible says that, whether you are a junior brother or senior brother, you must make the meetings. As long as you are a brother, you mustn't forsake the assembling of yourselves together. It doesn't matter if you have been in the church life twenty years and have attended a thousand prayer meetings or whether you have been in the church life two weeks and have attended two prayer meetings; you are obligated to gather with the other believers to be the Lord's testimony. You can never say you have fulfilled your obligation to meet. For every meeting you miss, you miss the Lord's presence, and you miss knowing the present Christ.

B. The Blessing of Going to People

1. It is an exercise according to God's desire and not according to our need.

The preaching of the gospel is primarily for God; it is not primarily for us. We preach the gospel not because we like it, but because God likes it. We meet not merely because we enjoy the practice of meeting, but because God's testimony requires it.

2. It is an operation based on the Lord and not based on our condition.

Furthermore, to preach the gospel is based on the Lord's operation and not upon our condition. When the gospel needs to be preached, for instance, you may feel depressed and unqualified. You may have had a big argument with your wife just prior to your scheduled time to go out to preach the gospel. You still must go, and you must be bold, for the preaching of the gospel is not based upon your condition, but upon God's operation.

3. As we go we have the present Christ with His presence.

As we go, you will have the present Christ with His presence. It doesn't matter whether you feel it or not; the Lord is with you. Many things you don't feel, but they are there.

"The Bible says that, whether you are a junior brother or senior brother, you must make the meetings."

4. It is a secret for us to enjoy the present Christ with His authority and power as His presence.

The preaching of the gospel is a big secret for us to enjoy the present Christ with the authority and power of His presence. As we are in the exercise of the gospel, the power and authority of Christ are with us. This, however, has absolutely nothing to do with your feeling.

The Bible also tells us that another might reap what you have sown. If you preach the gospel, others may actually get that person saved, but the words you spoke also operated to bring that person to receive the gospel.

5. Avoiding the preaching of the gospel becomes the source of our weaknesses and indifference.

If you avoid preaching the gospel, you will not only become weak; you will also become indifferent. To become indifferent is worse than being weak. Weakness means that you feel something. Indifference means that you don't care. If you are weak, you can still repent. After you have avoided gospel preaching long enough, you will even lose the feeling that you should preach the gospel.

6. To go with the brothers for the disciplining should become our habit and a part of our daily life.

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