The Lord’s desire today is to obtain the Zion in Jerusalem, the overcomers in the churches, those who are ripened earlier for His satisfaction, those who will bring Him back.
The Lord said He will return soon, but it has been over 2000 years since He ascended to the Father – why has He not returned yet? We have delayed the Lord by not cooperating with Him to be produced as His overcomers!
We need to be the overcomers who carry out the economy of God to have a Body for His full expression and to destroy His enemy. Lord, make us Your overcomers today, those who hasten His return!
The beauty and the highlight in the church
Just as Zion is desired by God as the elevation, the high peak, and the beauty of Jerusalem, so the overcomers are desired by God to be the beauty and the elevation in the churches.
It is wonderful to have the local churches, something pure for the Lord, as Jerusalem is the city for God to live and be expressed.
But today we need to see and even be the beauty, the highlight, the high peak, the body of overcomers in the church where the Lord has placed us. We shouldn’t remain the same as years go by and we shouldn’t be complacent – we need to stand up, aspire to be the overcomers, and ripen early for the Lord!
Reaching the peak of the vital groups
It is good to be in Jerusalem, but it is better to be in Zion, the high peak, for God’s desire! It is here that God desires to dwell and it is here that He blesses. In Rev. 14:1 we see that the 144.000 overcomers are not just in Jerusalem but they are on the peak of Zion.
In the local churches today we need to be the overcomers, the vital groups, those living in the reality of the Body of Christ. We shouldn’t be satisfied only with a good, sweet, and rich church life, but we should seek to have the realization, the practicality, the actuality, the reality, and the building up of the Body of Christ!
The truth is that, either in this age or in the next, we will be produced as the overcomers. If we are part of the many believers who are not perfected and matured today in the church ages, we will be perfected and matured in the kingdom age by God’s disciplinary dealing.
All the believers in Christ will have to be matured and perfected to become the New Jerusalem, God’s masterpieces, God’s final expression in the universe. If today we don’t cooperate with the Lord to overcome and to allow Him to produce us as His overcomers, the vital groups, we will surely be perfected, matured, and ripened in the 1000 years kingdom age.
“Today in the church age, the God-men who are perfected and matured are Zion, the overcomers, the vital groups within the churches.” (Witness Lee, The practical points concerning blending)
Conquering the satanic chaos
Today Satan has created “the satanic chaos”, a destructive chaos in which we are born and in which we live. But God has a constructive divine economy that He is carrying out in this satanic chaos, and He wants us to conquer the satanic chaos with Him!
In ourselves and by our own strength we cannot do this – even though we may desire to – but the Lord as the all-sufficient grace is with our spirit (1 Cor. 15:10; Gal. 6:18; 2 Tim. 4:22).
“We can conquer all the satanic chaos and carry out the unique divine economy by Him as our all-sufficient grace” (Witness Lee, The satanic chaos in the old creation and the divine economy for the new creation).
We need to have our view uplifted from our needs, our situation, and our desire, to see that God has a heart’s desire – He wants Zion! God desires to have His overcomers, those who are ripened earlier in this age for His satisfaction.
We need to be concerned about this and to care deeply about the building up of the Body of Christ. For this we need the Lord’s mercy that we may open to Him in love and allow Him to touch in us anything that is incompatible with His heart’s desire, so that our heart would match His heart in an absolute way.
He must have a way in us to produce us as His overcomers, the vital groups, the reality of the Body!
Lord Jesus, have a way in us! Make Your heart’s desire be our heart’s desire. Lord, cause us to deeply care and to be genuinely concerned for what is on Your heart. Do gain us as the overcomers today, those who are living in the reality of the Body of Christ. May the highways of Zion be in our heart, and may our heart be a duplication of Your heart in every possible way. We want to hasten Your return, Lord!
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from the sharing from brother Ron Kangas in this message and, The Satanic Chaos in the Old Creation and the Divine Economy for the New Creation (chs. 1-2), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on the Crystallization-Study of Psalms (2), week 21.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Will you be an overcomer? / Christ is calling now! / Will you then be such a follower, / Though you know not how?
# In this godless age / Lord, You need some Samuels / Burdened with a vision clear of Your economy / Where’s Your ark today? / And the ones who’d care for You, / E’en to put themselves aside to gain Your heart’s desire?
# And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, / And by the word of their testimony / And they loved not their soul lives unto death. / Therefore rejoice, rejoice, rejoice!
# Zion is God’s habitation. / Sing praises in Zion, / The city of our King.
Amen! Zion are the overcomers! the firstfruits!!!!
Let's go up to the mountain,
Bring wood and build the house!
We'll never say, "Another day!"
It's time! We'll come and build!