To Live with the Present Christ

This conference came out of the burden that we all could know Christ in the way He desires to be known: as the present Christ in His move and economy. For this, we need to know how to come to Him as He is. Therefore, we are burdened to fellowship with you about this matter of coming to the presence of the present Christ by means of calling, singing, Bible reading, prayer, and gathering with others. In the following messages we will discuss in detail how to practically enjoy the Lord in all these ways. In this message we need firstly to see why it is that we need to come to such a Christ.

The Distinguishing Characteristic of the Lord's Recovery is the Present Christ.

Among seeking Christians today, there are three basic groups. One group can be called "the mystics." These are they who seek after the Lord's presence. They give themselves to learn the lessons of the cross and the inner life. They love the Lord's presence. Madame Guyon is an example of someone of this category. Another group could be called "students of the Bible." This group desires to understand all the facts, teachings, types, and prophecies of the Bible. They love the Word. The Plymouth Brethren would well represent this line. Such believers are typically interested in talking about teachings of the Bible. The third group of believers we call the "Lord's recovery." What distinguishes the Lord's recovery from other Christian groups? The present Christ. The recovery struggles to progress just as Christ is progressing step by step towards His goal.

To Be One with the Present Christ, We Must Be One with His Apostles.

The term "present Christ" implies that God is a God of economy. This God of economy is operating, advancing, through his servants to carry out His ministry. All the time we must be one with the New Testament ministry which is being ministered by Christ through His servants. In other words, we must continually be one with His apostles.

Seventy years ago, when the recovery began in China, the basic matters recovered were to depart from denominationalism and to have the Lord's table on the ground of oneness. Since then the Lord has been moving onward. In 1953, when I was saved, we did not have the term "build the church." Then around 1957 Brother Lee shared that the church needed to be built up! Some of the older saints were bothered by this word, but Brother Lee gave message after message until we were clear. Later Brother Lee shared that we must not just take the Bible as knowledge, but also as spiritual food. Again, some had difficulty with this, but Brother Lee continued to help us until we could enter into this way of experiencing Christ. Step by step, Brother Lee has been struggling forward, and we struggle to enter into what he is realizing of the present Christ.

Perhaps you have wished that Brother Lee would just allow us to be comfortable in the church life, but Brother Lee has never allowed us to remain where we are. He is always fighting to bring us into what the Lord is presently seeking to do. Sometimes this is hard for us to take because of our soul-life or because of our concepts. The secret is not to react. Instead of reacting, pray for Brother Lee as he is seeking to break through. Continue to listen to what he is sharing. The more he shares, the more you will become clear. Just be careful not to cut yourself off from the Lord's servant, for if you do, you will not be able to go on with the present Christ.

To Be One with The Present Christ, You Must Have His Presence.

At the same time, we must realize that we can only have the present Christ if we know how to have His presence. You must be one who is in the Lord's presence if you desire to know the present Christ, otherwise your Christian life will just be in doctrine and slogans. You may have the Bible and all the ministry publications, and you may have enjoyed Christ in the past, but if you are not presently enjoying what He is and has, you only possess terms devoid of reality.

A. To Have the Lord's Presence is to Be One with Christ in All He Is, All He Has Accomplished, and All He Desires.

The Lord's presence is not a sensation. Many of those of the "mystic" school seek the sensation of the Lord's presence and comfort. Those who seek the present Christ, however, should realize that to have the Lord's presence is to have all that He is, all that He has accomplished, and all that He desires. When we live in the presence of this Christ, we are enjoying all that He is: He is God and He is man. In His presence we enjoy Him as life, light, truth, and righteousness, as well as all the divine attributes manifested in Him with His human virtues. We also enjoy what He has accomplished: He has lived a human life; He has died an all-inclusive death; He has done so much through His resurrection and ascension; and He is enthroned far above all. I not only enjoy the forgiveness of sin, I also enjoy being enthroned with Him. Furthermore, in the presence of such a One, we participate in accomplishing what His heart desires. He is after something. We also experience being one with Him in this.

Once you have the Lord's presence, you become a different person. This is because who He is becomes yours, what He has done becomes yours, and what He desires becomes yours. Too often we are content with a sensation of the Lord's presence. This, however, is not sufficient. We should not live for feelings, not even for the best feelings. The Lord's presence should lead us into what He is, what He has accomplished, and what He desires.

B. To Live with The Present Christ is to Have the Normality of the Christian Life

To live with the present Christ is to have Christ as the normality of your Christian life. It is normal, as a Christian, to always have something fresh of Christ. In our experience, our Christ should always be getting better and better. A Christian should never be content to live in "the good old days." Such Christians give the impression that the Christ they had when they were young was better than the Christ they could enjoy today.

Too often we are like many who study the Bible for the Bible's sake, caring for doctrines and spiritual terms, but not the present Christ. If we are in such a condition, we have lost the normality of the Christian life. Without the present Christ, our Christian life is devoid of the freshness of what Christ is, has, and is working towards.

C. To Live with the Present Christ is to Have the Practice of Having the Present Christ as the Foundation for All Our Spiritual Living, Growth, and Reality of All Spiritual Things

This exercise of laying hold of the present Christ should be the foundation for all our spiritual life, growth, and whatever is spiritual in our life. In other words, the practices of reading the Bible every day, of prayer, of prophesying, of serving in the Body - all these become merely empty practices if they are not done in the presence of the present Christ. Even all your spiritual growth becomes old the moment you stop enjoying such a Christ. Without the Present Christ, All Spiritual Things Become "Things To Do" In the church life there are many things that we do which are related to our spiritual life.

Without the Lord's presence, however, they are just that - "things that we do."

We come to meetings, we sing, we prophesy, we say "amen," we have morning watch, we read the Bible, we read Life-studies, we take the Lord's table. There are so many things that we do as part of the church life! All of them should be done with the present Christ. If you do not know the present Christ, you need to come into His presence. By seeking His presence, you can be brought to who He really is in His person, His accomplishment, and His desire. Such a Christ should be the underlying foundation for everything spiritual in our life.

D. To Live With the Present Christ You Must Be Desperate in His Presence to Have the Person of the Present Christ, which Requires:

1. A pure heart to see God alone in all conditions, situations, happenings, and environments.

To live with the present Christ, you must be desperate to have this One by seeking His presence, which means firstly that you need a pure heart. The pure in heart are those who see God (Matt. 5:8). This means that you become one who is able to see God in all situations regardless of your condition. If you are prevailing, you see God; if you are oppressed, you see God. If you are in abundance, you see God; if you are in want, you still see God. If you are newly married, you see God in how you were put together. If you are an old couple, you still see God in how you were put together. Only this kind of person can have the present Christ.

Some say, "I am so unlucky, for unfortunate things have happened in my life." Americans in particular are prone to this kind of reaction to unpleasant or sorrowful events in their lives. You must realize that everyone is going to experience grief in their lives; no one is exempt. What matters is whether you are able to appreciate God in that situation. Do not murmur or complain. Do not say, "Why me?" Neither say, "I made the wrong decision." You must exercise to be pure to see Christ in all the events of your life.

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

We also must realize that, as long as we are away from the presence of the present Christ, our Christian life does not count as anything before the Lord. Our going to the prayer meeting is "voided" before the Lord. Our spiritual "exercise" in the church life is valueless to God. Therefore we must seek to have the presence of the present Christ.

3. & 4. A life of laboring in spiritual things to obtain the present Christ in His presence and spending periods of time daily to come to the Lord's presence.

We need a life of laboring in spiritual things to obtain the present Christ in His presence. You also need to spend periods of time daily to come to His presence. In the past we were more exercised to come to the Lord by calling on His name in any place and at any time. That practice gradually faded out among us. This degradation occurred because we did not schedule specific times during the day to which we adhered. I don't trust the freedom of "any time, any place." I trust a determined time. You can touch the Lord at any time and in any place, but you should start with a set time every morning. During such a time you should call on the Lord, read the Bible, and pray to abide in the Lord's presence.

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

Finally, to have the presence of the present Christ we should be with the saints in spiritual things, whether in meetings or in private fellowship. All these things are needed if we are to know such a Christ. May the Lord bring us into the practical exercise that ushers us into the presence of a Christ who is so present, rich, and full of purpose.