"Practicing to Live with the Present Christ"
Messages Given By Titus Chu In a Conference of the Churches From Around the Great Lakes
in Chicago April 1-3, 1994

I. To Live with the Present Christ is:

A. To live with the Lord's presence with all that He is, has accomplished, and desires.

B. To have the present Christ as the normality of the Christian life.

C. To practice having the present Christ as the foundation of all our spiritual living, growth, and the reality of all the spiritual things.

D. To be desperate in His presence to have the person of the present Christ which needs:

1. a pure heart to see God alone in all conditions, situations, happenings, and environment.

2. a desire to live in His presence by knowing while we are away from the present Christ in His presence our Christian living is void and not countable.

3. a life of laboring in spiritual things to obtain the present Christ in His presence.

4. to spend periods of time daily to come to the Lord's presence.

5. to be with the saints together in spiritual things either in meetings or in private.

II. The Necessary Exercises to Obtain the Presence of the Present Christ Privately

A. To be able to enliven our spirit, strengthen our spirit, even be filled in spirit by:

1. calling

2. sighing

3. groaning

B. To touch the person of Christ and to be in the light concerning our condition and experience, and to be attracted, strengthened, and encouraged through the singing of hymns.

1. A good hymn is written with several or all of the following items:

a. inspirations

b. experiences

c. expressions with good narration and utterance

d. revelations

e. truth

2. Enjoying the hymns by touching these elements will bring us into a fresh, deep, and profound presence of the Lord.

C. To come to the word daily for life by spending time in:

1. pray-reading - for the strengthening in the spirit.

2. read-praying - for the inspiration of Christ, ourselves, and the spiritual things.

3. Memorizing portions of the word - for equipping, utterance, strengthening, and for future spiritual understanding.

4. Studying the Bible - for storage of divine riches and for life.

D. To abide in the Lord's presence by speaking to the Lord in whatever our condition and environment.

1. praying into the Lord's presence with the most common, genuine oral language and with no formality

a. practicing to speak out whatever is in your heart at any time and in any place

b. not shouting, not releasing, but a simple utterance with a most genuine attitude

c. not afraid of the language being to plain or even offensive

d. not considering our unworthiness, trusting that He is our Savior

e. speaking by making ourselves known to the Lord Savior

f. speaking until we are in His presence

g. speaking to the point that we have the assurance that ourselves, our needs, our condition, our frustrations, or even our joyfulness, our satisfaction, and our encouragement are all make know to Him

h. speaking as Hannah, that even the elders may think that we are drunk (1 Sam. 1:12-13)

2. petitioning according to the Lord's presence

a. for whatever the Lord may have put into our heart, things spiritual or non-spiritual, things great or small, things important or miscellaneous

b. for your local church, the increase, your church elders with the serving ones, and your companions

c. for the New Testament ministry exercised in this age and for the brother and his fellow-workers who bear such a ministry

d. for God's economy

III. To Obtain the Present Christ in His Presence Corporately

A. The clear promise of the Lord's presence on two specific matters in the word:

1. GO and disciple all the nations...I am with you (Matt. 28:19-20).

2. Where two or three are gathered into My name...I am in their midst (Matt. 18:20).

B. The blessing of going to people

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

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

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

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

5. Avoiding going becomes the source or our weaknesses and indifference.

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

C. To be in the meetings to obtain the Lord's presence

1. It is good to bring the present Christ to the meetings.

2. It is even better to come to the meetings with weaknesses and limitations to obtain the present Christ.

3. To operate properly for the testimony of Christ through different kinds of meetings:

a. gatherings for prayers - to execute the divine operation together with the heavenly Christ through our prayer and fellowship in His presence

b. gathering in neighborhood groups - for the sweet household enjoyment and mutual care, carrying the sweet fellowship in practical and spiritual matters related to each individual, learning spiritual things together such as pursuing the truth, singing hymns, the ability to prophesy, going through different spiritual experiences of Christ in His presence, even learning practical things together relating to our working, cooking, household chores, and raising up of our children. Even these practical things should be fellowshipped in His presence and with a view to obtain His presence

c. gatherings for the Lord's testimony

(1) when the whole church comes together

(2) to remember the Lord and worship the Father through hymns, thanksgivings, praises, testimonies, and even short fellowships related to experiences and truth

(3) ministering by those who have ministry, according to their portion

(4) all prophesying one by one according to our portion and through our daily labor, experiences, and inspirations with proper utterance

d. Whether it is gospel preaching as the outflow of life or prophesying through the meetings, these exercises will grant us not only the present Christ with His presence but also a higher level of satisfaction and enjoyment of His presence with its fullness.