The First Supper

Last Lord’s day we went to a going away dinner for my friend, Joseph Newman. When the waiter brought us bread to eat Joseph looked at me and asked for some wine. What he was really asking for was something to nourish him spiritually. I shared with him about the first supper.

Many people are familiar with the last supper. This is recorded in Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22.  The day before Jesus went to be crucified, He broke bread with His disciples and drank wine. He said it symbolized His body being broken and His blood being poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Then He says, “Do this in remembrance of Me.”

Every week, this is what we do on the Lord’s day. We eat unleavened bread and drink wine. This has been a very special time for me to remember the Lord and all He’s done. He’s given Himself for us. What a supply of joy and peace when we give ourselves back to Him!

Last Lord’s day, a brother uplifted my view of the Lord’s supper. He shared about the first supper. The first mention of bread and wine being served is in Genesis chapter 14. Abraham was in a fierce battle in an attempt to free his nephew Lot from captivity. The problem was that he had to fight against 4 kings to get him back. These kings had cities full of  soldiers compared to Abraham’s 318 men. So how did they pull out the win?

While Abraham and his men were fighting, there was someone interceding for them. This was Melchizedek, a type of Christ as the kingly priest. How else could Abraham have defeated so many armies? What a victory!

Not only did Melchizedek pray for Abraham, he came out to meet him and brought out bread and wine to supply him. This was also to celebrate God’s victory!

Christ’s death on the cross is a victory! Jesus Christ conquered satan! We were all slaves but Christ has set us free! This is why we come together to be supplied and to praise Him for His victory. This is what will bring Jesus out to meet us.

I was having a not so victorious day this week then I get a call from my friend Gustavo. He is shouting Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Again, I didn’t feel victorious but that doesn’t matter. The victory is won! Praise the Lord for that! I joined in the praise. At the end of our talk, Gustavo encouraged me to preach the Lord’s victory. So here it is. I would like to encourage you to preach Jesus Christ’s victory too

The Garden Of Your Heart

This is a guest post by Yiuman Szeto.

In 1 Corinthians 3, the Apostle Paul pointed out that the church, the believers, is actually God’s cultivated land and God’s building. Cultivated land denotes a field that has been worked on for raising crops. If the church is God’s cultivated land, what is God growing in the church?

According to the divine revelation, what is being grown in the believers is simply Christ Himself (Col. 1:27-28). This marvelous Person is the embodiment of the Triune God (Col. 2:9). The Trinity is alluded in the same chapter as “gold, silver, and precious stones,” symbols for each of the Trinity, in the order of the Father, Son, and Spirit, in their virtues and attributes, as the yieldings of God’s cultivation. This means that God is causing Himself to grow in the Church.

In consideration on the matter of the believers being God’s cultivated land, I am beginning to realize humanity’s potential as a vast fertile land in growing possibilities and futures. Inside each person’s heart is a cradle of ideas and dreams that are growing and coming to fruition (just ask Mister Rogers). Even the modernity of this age and the advancement of today’s technologies have had their beginnings in the hearts of men. Our society is forged from the dreams of those who dare to dream and ideas of those who create. Everything begins in man’s heart.

The Gardener of our Hearts

Every cultivated land has an owner, and every garden has a gardener. In this sense, who is the gardener of our hearts? The first few answers popped into my head are: teachers, parents, mentors, friends, and self. Going back to 1 Corinthians 3, Paul pointed out that the believers are a garden that belongs to God. Though it is the apostles that sow and water, the gardener of the believers is actually God himself. The fact that the ownership of our hearts, the soil, belongs to God is full of conviction.

While as an unbeliever, I would have the right to grow whatever ideas I wanted and wished. Now as a believer, I am beginning to realize that I need to hand over my “land” to God. Thus, I would pray in this way: “Lord, make Your home in my heart today.” Through this prayer, I hope that God would have a free reign in growing whatever He desires in me.

The Guardian of our Hearts

A human heart does not expand without limits. Therefore, we only have a limited amount of space for God to grow within us. In our experiences, it is easy for something else to come in to occupy our hearts and stunts God’s own growth and development within us. This is why we need to guard our hearts. The secret of guarding our hearts is in Philippians 4:6-7:

In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; And the peace of God, which surpasses every man’s understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

The Fruits of our Hearts

Let me progress further on another point: As believers, God is growing in us as a living person. This is intrinsically different from all other ideas and dreams, because they are non-living entities.

Unbelievers may look at Christians and not see things this way. They may think that the differences between us and them is that our ideas and dreams are just Christian in theme. Yet, it is our knowledge and experiences that tell us what we have is not doctrines, concepts, ideas, and dreams. Rather, we have Christ, a living person, who lives inside of us, grows within us, stands with us, supplies us, straightens us, perfects us, and enlivens us to live Him.

The relationship between us and the Christ who is within us is a co-dependent relationship. There is an definite of mutuality there. As a person, Christ processes His own set of considerations, concerns, and determinations. This Person listens to us, speaks to us, and directs us. These are qualities ideas and dreams do not process, because they are not real living persons, but just simply our own creative imaginative thoughts (our understanding of the doctrine, our own theology, can also fall into this category, especially when, instead of supporting, it frustrates the growth of this living One).

Furthermore, when Christ grows in us, we become one with Him and our living becomes a corporate living with Him. This was the Apostle Paul’s experience revealed in Galatians 2:20:

I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

In light of the second metaphor of the church being God’s building, as Christ is growing in us, He is also changing us in a fundamental way. This is transformation (2 Cor. 3:18). The issues of transformation are the “gold, silver, and precious stones,” which are also the building materials for God’s building. In other words, the Christ that grows in us is the building materials of God’s building.

What a contrast: While the unbelievers are growing in themselves ideas and dreams that are contributing to the world in this age, God is growing in the believers an eternal building that will last for eternity! What a marvelous revelation!

Inspirations: 1 Corinthians 3, Practical Points Concerning Blending Chapters 4 & 5.

Photo Credit: David and Nicole’s Vegetable Garden

A Faithful Witness

The following is a guest post by Yiuman Szeto.

The word “witness” in Greek can also be translated “martyr.” In this thought, the weighty conception behind the word is pronounced. Imagine an experience to be so convincing that it even defies the desire to live, and enables one to forfeit life itself. To the witness, it is not merely a real and provoking event that took place, but an experience so potent that changed the fibers of his being. To such a person, to deny this change is to deny his very existence.

I am reminded of Stephen, who was the first martyr recorded in the book of Acts, and along with this definition of “witness” in consideration, I recalled this one verse:

Acts 6:15 – his face was like the face of an angel.

This verse means that Stephen’s expression was heavenly, indicated by its reference to an angel, a heavenly creature. For a person to be heavenly means that he is experiencing resurrection (1 Cor. 15:47). We know that Christ himself is resurrection (John 11:25). This is why in the entire account of Stephen’s martyrdom, there is a sense that Christ was being extolled in Stephen. Being fully immersed in the Lord’s inward and tender affections, Stephen’s weighty and powerful words were filled with divine sentiments. Even with his last breath, he guilelessly asked forgiveness on behalf of those who was in the act of murdering him, just as the Lord had done on the cross.

We do not know how Stephen came to be as he was and how he obtained such an admirable testimony. Yet, we must not think that this change was instantaneous. The Bible never revealed anything more of Stephen besides his appointment as a deacon. His history being unwritten may be the very intention of our hidden God, who treasures our secret accounts with him and keeps it a secret (Col. 3:3; Rev. 2:17). It may also be true that there was not anything outward to disclose. Nevertheless, it is implicitly concludable that Stephen’s martyrdom, the finality of his testimony of the resurrected Christ, is simply the maturity of the faith which was instilled into him through all the years of countless hidden experiences of the Lord Spirit in his “day by day” pursuit in the renewal process of his inner man (2 Cor. 3:18, 4:16). This is the undeniable experience of divine change.

In relation to Stephen’s hidden history, I have in mind a rare flower known as the Ghost Orchid (Epipogium aphyllum), a near extinct plant that burrows underground and surfaces only to blossom. The orchid’s most unique characteristic is its required symbiotic relationship with particular fungi for survival (the plant lacks the ability to photosynthesize). To me, Stephen’s hidden years with the Lord are similar to the plant’s time underground and its symbiotic relationship. Furthermore, just as it is out of such a relationship that the plant can blossom into such an exquisite flower, Stephen’s years of absorbing the Lord as his source of nutritious supply eventually produced into him such a powerful and impacting testimony.

At the end of the course, Stephen, a man on the earth, became a reproduction of the heavenly Christ. Stephen spoke in truth and was full of the Holy Spirit; while his accusers lied, slandered him of blasphemy, and tried him according to their hypocritical law keeping. As they picked up their stones to terminate his life according to the law of ordinance, Stephen interceded for them according to the law of life. Everything this man said and did was a replication of the Lord Jesus. There was nothing natural nor Judaic about Stephen, but rather, the only sense we get from the record was that he was heavenly. Toward such a precious person, Jesus stood with concern over him in his last tumultuous moment as an encouragement for him to finish in triumph. The Lord had produced a faithful witness who completed his course.

Inspiration: Life-Study of Acts Message 21, Crystallization-Study of Acts Message 1

 

9 Basic Principles of Morning Revival

So you went to another awesome conference and came away with your spirit burning! After spring break, does it seem like you’re starting to cool down? Here are 9 points we talked about at the conference to help you. Practicing this was what caught your spirit on fire to begin with.

One metaphor that came to mind related to morning revival is that of a chimney. When you open the flue of a chimney, you are opening the flame or embers to air from outside. A lot of air whoooshes in and the fire immediately ignites! Sometimes you can’t even tell there is anything hot at all in there. But there was, it was just covered by ash. A good way to catch fire is to open our mouth! Especially in the morning, take some deep breaths and call on the name of Jesus! You’ll find that those embers from the conference are still in there, they’re just covered by a little dust

1. The unique center of morning revival is Christ

And He is the Head of the Body, the church; He is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, that He Himself might have the first place in all things; – Colossians 1:18

2. The highest purpose of morning revival is to satisfy Christ

Your people will offer themselves willingly In the day of Your warfare, In the splendor of their consecration. Your young men will be to You Like the dew from the womb of the dawn. – Psalm 110:3

3. The most outstanding characteristic of morning revival is love

Kiss the Son Lest He be angry and you perish from the way; For His anger may suddenly be kindled. Blessed are all those who take refuge in Him. – Psalm 2:12

4. The most critical experience in morning revival is life

Incline your ear and come to Me; Hear, so that your soul may live; – Isaiah 55:3a

5. The most critical exercise in morning revival is our spirit

For which cause I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power and of love and of sobermindedness. – 2 Timothy 1:6-7

6. The necessary ingredient of morning revival is opening

Our mouth is opened to you, Corinthians; our heart is enlarged. – 2 Corinthians 6:11

7. The long term key to our practice is simplicity

But I fear lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your thoughts would be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity toward Christ. – 2 Corinthians 11:3

8. The ultimate goal of morning revival is a living

For I know that for me this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I will be put to shame, but with all boldness, as always, even now Christ will be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. – Philippians 1:19-21

9. The enabling factor or morning revival is grace

And He has said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather boast in my weaknesses that the power of Christ might tabernacle over me. – 2 Corinthians 12:9

 

An Excellent spirit

Daniel had an excellent spirit! This phrase is mentioned twice in the book of Daniel, by the Babylonians no less! Even some of them, when they were being honest, had to admit that there was something excellent about Daniel. It wasn’t his mind they were referring to either. They didn’t say “this is Daniel with a tremendous mind!” They could tell there was something more to Daniel than just an awesome intellect; it was “an excellent spirit!”

Because an excellent spirit and knowledge and insight, and the interpretation of dreams, the declaring of riddles, and the resolving of problems were found in this Daniel… – Daniel 5:12

Then this Daniel distinguished himself among the chief ministers and satraps because in him there was an excellent spirit , and the king considered setting him over the whole kingdom. – Daniel 6:3

Daniel’s primary concern was not for his body or even his soul but for his spirit. He joined himself in spirit to The Spirit which was in the word of God (1 Corinthians 6:17). As God revealed His heart to Daniel, Daniel immediately joined himself to God’s heart’s desire through prayer.  When our heart is joined to God’s heart, God can pour Himself into us (Romans 5:5).

This is what it means “to have an excess”. This reminded me of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25. 5 had an excess of oil (The Spirit) in their lamps (spirit) and vessels (soul). This means they had an excess of the Spirit in their spirit that then overflowed into their soul. They got to go into the wedding feast with Christ. The other 5 did not.

“An excellent spirit” also means an exercised spirit. We all know the best exercises and workouts are with partners. They remind us, push us and motivate us. It’s the same with spiritual exercise. Surely Daniel had “an excellent spirit” because he had companions that helped him exercise his spirit.

Would you like an excess of God flowing out of your spirit, through your soul, and into others? Would you like some companions to help you exercise your spirit? Would you like to go into the wedding feast to meet The Bridegroom in that day?

Check out:

www.Biblesforamerica.org 

www.eachonehas.com/find-us

Related Blogs:

http://truthandexperience.wordpress.com/2013/01/06/daniel-and-his-three-companions/

http://drod55.wordpress.com/2013/02/03/a-thief-in-the-night/

The Divine Romantics

The following is a guest post by Yiuman Szeto.

A while back ago, I had the opportunity to read Isaiah Berlin’s The Roots of Romanticism and there I found a quote from Johann Georg Hamann that went like this:

…but if you really wish to enter into contact with human beings, if you really wish to understand what they think, what they feel and what they are, then you must understand every gesture, every nuance, you must watch their eyes, you must observe the movement of their lips, you must hear their words, you must understand their handwriting, and then you come to direct acquaintance with the actual sources of life.

I am most impressed with Hamann’s passion in linguistics. For Hamann, it was not merely a study of human languages by “some anatomical…means,” in other words, an objective, logical study of a means of communication. Of course, there is that aspect, but there is something more with Hamann: an earnest desire to really get underneath the words that are used, to reach the feelings that drive the language.

This passion and desire to know people in such an intimate way should also be replicated in our fellowship with the Lord. That is, to “wish” and “really wish” in our contacts with Christ that we can understand what He thinks, what He feels, and who He is (the emphasis is on Christ). Yet these wishes must be motivated by a burning passion, a love that “many waters cannot quench” (Songs 8:7). With such affections, beauties can be uncovered in the words, and meanings can be found in the nuances expressed on His face. If we are to love, why shouldn’t we love in such a way?

The Apostle Paul said this once, “to illuminate the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).

Here lies the beauty of incarnation: The fact that the face of a man, Jesus, reflects the content of God’s heart and desires, and that the living of a man on the earth carries out God’s very intention. In such a man, God’s personality, His thoughts, His emotions, and His will are expressed with a man’s face, are embodied in human words, and portrayed by His walk. God has become knowable to man by a man. Without Him man cannot know and would remain ignorant on the earth, and God would remain distanced in unapproachable light. Yet, when God is known, one thing is certain, He is very approachable and human.

The same verse conveys another point, “the face of Jesus Christ” is now “in our hearts.” This means that the privilege to “understand every gesture” and “every nuance” belongs not merely to those who lived in the time of Jesus, but also to those who have received Him into their very being. Now we, His believers, can watch His eyes, observe the movement of His lips, hear His words, and understand Him, because this very wonderful Person is in us.

It is in this manner that the Apostle Paul lived out this life and in his own words, “in the person of Christ” (2 Cor. 2:10). The word “person” is translated from a very rich word in Greek. It denotes the person’s countenance and look, “the face so far forth as it is the organ of sight, and (by it various movements and changes) the index of the inward thoughts and feelings” (Strong Concordance).

Finally, it is through these mysterious encounters with our Savior that we come “to direct acquaintance with the actual sources of [Christ’s] life.” It is true that when we become acquainted with a person we would also come to know the sources of that person’s life. We understand the simplicities and complexities behind the person’s psyche (basically, we know what makes them tick). Furthermore, different ranges of emotions toward the person will begin to foster in us through these interactions.

As we come to know Christ and the life of this person we are also being brought into the source of Christ’s life, God Himself. The life of Christ is not merely a human life, but it is the divine, eternal, uncreated life of God. Our experiences of the depths of Christ’s personality will also transport us into all the various aspects of the magnetic and alleviating God and His mesmeric and soothing attributes. It is such a marvelous blessing to be deep in the midst of Christ and to dive into His extraordinary love, to be lost in His boundless forbearance, to stand on His unparalleled faithfulness, to be sheltered by His absolute humility, to breathe in His utmost purity, to climb across His supreme righteousness and holiness, and to bathe in His brightness and uprightness*.

Ephesians 3:8 To me, less than the least of all saints, was this grace given to announce to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel

Here’s to you all, the divine romantics.

*The virtues listed here are from the book, The Glorious Vision and the Way of the Cross, by Witness Lee

A Thief In The Night

The Lord is coming as a thief in the night. This is a very important aspect of Christ’s coming. It is so important it is mentioned 5 times in the New Testament by Peter, Paul, John and Jesus Christ Himself (Matt. 24:43, 1 Thes. 5:2, 2 Pet. 3:10, Rev. 3:3, 16:15).

The charge here is to watch and be ready (Matt. 24:44). The question is, how do we make ourselves ready (Rev. 19:7)? We first need to ask why Christ would compare Himself to a thief.

In John 10:10 Jesus contrasted Himself to a thief coming to steal, kill and destroy and said that He came to give us life. Jesus isn’t contradicting Himself by later calling Himself a thief. He’s giving us an awesome picture into what it means to give us life.

This “life” is Christ Himself growing and maturing in us. It is so precious to us, even more precious than our own life. By denying our life, He is able to give us more of His life. This is part of being watchful and it also makes us precious in His sight. See Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye and Gemesis for more on becoming a precious stone

We now need to ask, “what is precious in the Lord’s sight?” One person we can learn from is Daniel. He is very precious to the Lord. He is called a man of preciousness (Dan. 10:11,19). He’s even called preciousness itself (Dan. 9:23). What made Daniel precious? There are three characteristics about him we can learn from.

Number 1, he had companions his whole life long. They stood against the tide of that age and stood out from among the rest from their youth. They refused to eat the king’s choice food and worship the king’s idols.

Number 2, he read the Bible which at that time was the prophet Jeremiah. Particularly, the prophecy about Israel being released from captivity in Babylon and returning to Jerusalem after 70 years. He was alive and well during this part of history and even made history
by his prayer which brings us to…

Number 3, he prayed, every day, at least three times a day. What did he pray for? He prayed what he read. He prayed Jeremiah’s prophecy into being. What we learn from this is that God needs man to pray. This is how God moves. Similarly, we have Christ’s prophecy that He will return. He isn’t lying, He will return, He’s just waiting for us to pray, and read, and pray and read some more with more companions.

Why not start right now? Pray “Lord Jesus, I am tired of living for myself and my own interest! Lord, I give myself to You for Your interest! Open Your word to me! Show me what You’re interested in! Remind me to read! Remind me to pray! Teach me to pray Your word back to You like Daniel did! Give me companions like Daniel! Make me a man of preciousness like Daniel! Lord Jesus make me precious enough to steal!”

Related Articles

• 
  http://www.equip.org/christian-research-journal/the-christian-ethic-at-the-heart-of-the-hobbit/