Outwardly the church may seem poor and afflicted, but inwardly the church life is a life of feasting in and with the presence of the Lord, full of saints who serve the Lord, testify of His resurrection life, and love Him.
The story in John 12 is a type of the church life, for the Lord forsakes anything of religion – which rejects Him, opposes Him, and seeks to kill Him – and finds His rest, satisfaction, and joy with His loving seekers in the genuine church life.
In Bethany there was a home where the Lord could stay, rest, feast, and be satisfied with His disciples and His loving seekers.
He has come to be our life and meet all our needs for the building of His house, the church, and as He heals us, imparts life into us, raises us from the dead, feeds us, quenches our thirst, and shepherds us, we rise up and stay with Him, open our home to Him and to His seekers, and feast with Him.
The issue of life – the divine life experienced by us – is the church life as a house of feasting. Our Christian life and experience is a life of feasting with the Lord and with the saints.
The Lord loves to be with us, His seekers, and He loves to feast with us. He doesn’t want His people merely to serve Him or worship Him; He wants to come as life through His word to be our life so that we might live because of Him.
He forgives our sins, imparts life into us, heals our sick condition, and even raises us from the dead, and as a result, we open our home to Him, and the place where we live becomes the meeting place of the church.
Being grateful to the Lord and loving Him, we spread a feast for Him in our home, invite Him and His followers, and we feast together with the Lord. Our church life should be a life of feasting and enjoyment with the Lord and in the Lord with the saints.
Outwardly the church may look not so good, and there may be some sufferings and affliction, but inwardly the church life is a life of feasting, and we all serve the Lord in many practical things in the church life, we testify of His resurrection life, and we give all our love to Him, pouring all we have on Him.
This is the genuine church life, and in such a church life the Lord Himself wants to be, stay, have rest, and be satisfied. And such a church life is absolutely different from religion and from the religious concept, for religion with its doctrines, forms, rituals, and regulations does not have the presence of Christ and is the enemy of life.
Outwardly the Church may be Afflicted, but Inwardly the Church Life is a Life of Feasting
The meaning of Bethany is a house of affliction; outwardly, the church seems to be afflicted and poor, but inwardly the church life is a life of feasting.
Outwardly, the church may be poor and afflicted; inwardly, however, everything in the church is precious, sweet, and dear because we are rich with the enjoyment of the Lord’s presence. We are with the Lord, and the Lord is with us (cf. 1:23; Ezek. 48:35b).
The Lord’s presence with us in the church life is everything to us. No matter how many situations of sickness, trials, affliction, hunger, thirst, or even death we go through, as long as we have the Lord’s presence with us, we have a life of feasting, for He as life is everything to us and in us.
The church may not be outwardly rich in material things but the church life is rich with the enjoyment of the Lord’s presence. As long as we have the Lord’s presence, we are satisfied, we are full of joy, and we have a life of feasting on the Lord with the saints.
We must be a people in such a position and with such a condition that the Lord can come and be with us and feast with us.
In His presence we have fulness of joy (Psa. 16:11), and when we have His presence among us in the church life, we are full of joy, and He is also full of joy and satisfaction. He enjoys us and we enjoy Him.
But without the Lord’s presence, without having the Lord’s instant, living, and practical presence, the church life is empty (Psa. 27:4). The Lord’s presence is the criterion for everything in our Christian life and service.
What matters to us is not anything outward such as good services, good food, good meetings, or anything like that; what matters to us is to have the Lord’s presence with us, in us, and among us in the church life.
We need to ask the Lord to cause us to dwell in His house all the days of our life, for it is here that we can enquire of Him, behold His beauty, and be infused with His loveliness, His delightfulness, and His pleasantness.
It is in the church that we and the Lord have rest, enjoyment and satisfaction, for here there’s always a feast prepared for the Lord and His people. Our church life is a life of feasting with the Lord.
The church life is a place where the Lord can enjoy Himself with His people, and where we as His people can enjoy being with Him. The church life is a place where the Lord and us, His people, can come together to feast with one another and enjoy one another.
On one hand we love to come and eat together physically in the church life, and on the other, in our coming together to eat we actually open to the Lord, enjoy Him, testify Him, and serve Him, and our church life is a life of feasting together with Him and with all the saints.
Lord Jesus, may our church life be a life of feasting with You and with all the saints in Your presence. We treasure Your presence in the church life, and we love to behold Your beauty, enquire in Your presence, and be infused with You as we feast with You and with the saints in the church life. Oh Lord, we love to be here with You in the church life enjoying You and enjoying one another in Your presence. May we be rich with the enjoyment of the Lord’s presence in the church life today!
In the Church Life we Serve the Lord and Testify of His Resurrection Life
In principle, as seen in John 12:2-23, a living church has more sisters than brothers; this is normal, this is scriptural, and this should not bother us.
Furthermore, there are different functions in the church life – serving the Lord, testifying of His resurrection life, and loving the Lord.
Martha was serving the Lord and His disciples in many practical things, and she was drawn about with very much serving, so much so that she even asked the Lord to tell her sister Mary – who was sitting at His feet listening to His words – to give her a hand with the preparations.
Throughout the centuries and even today Martha has been treated unfairly; in the church life there are always some sisters who just serve the Lord – they are capable, full of activities, and they take care of many practical things in the church life.
The church life is a life of feasting with the Lord, and there are many practical things to be taken care of: the chairs need to be set up, saints need to get a ride to the meeting, older saints need care, there’s much need for visitation, there’s a lot of cooking to be done, the table needs to be set up, there’s a lot of dishes to be washed, there’s a lot of cleaning to be done, etc.
It is very good to have some saints in the church life who serve in practical things, taking care of the business affairs of the church and managing the practical things. We should not look down on those who serve in practical things, for their function is very much needed.
If we all would be like Mary, sitting at the Lord’s feet, there’s no food on the table! We must have some Martha’s in the church life who are diligent, capable, active, living, and practical, so that the church life as a life of feasting with the saints would be a pleasant and enjoyable one.
The second function in the service of the church is represented by Lazarus; he didn’t do much outwardly, but he testified of the Lord’s resurrection life. He was raised by the Lord from the dead, and many came to see him and believed into the Lord.
Martha’s service was good, but it didn’t attract people; it was Lazarus’ testimony that attracted them. We need to not only serve in practical matters in the church, but have a certain kind of life that is a testimony of the resurrection life.
We shouldn’t just labor in the church life but rest in the Lord, experience His resurrection life, and testify of His resurrection life lived out in us.
Such a testimony gives people the feeling of resurrection power, the manifestation of resurrection life, and he enjoyment of the Lord as life. Our living and being in the church life should be a strong testimony that the Lord can make dead person so living, and His life can enable us to feast with Him.
Lord Jesus, we love to be here in the church life feasting with You and with all the saints. We want to serve You and be filled with Your life, testifying of Your resurrection life which we have experienced. Oh Lord, may we not shy away from taking care of practical affairs and being diligent, active, living, and practical in the Lord. Lord, make us those who experience You and Your resurrection life so that our very being and living would be a testimony of Your resurrection life with its power, bringing people into the enjoyment of the Lord as life!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ed Marks for this week, and portions from, Life-study of John, msg. 25 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Genuine Church Life (2017 Thanksgiving Conference), week 3, The Issue of Life — the Church Life as a House of Feasting for God’s Building.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Jesus, our wonderful Shepherd / Brought us right out of the fold / Into His pasture so plenteous, / Into His riches untold. / Glorious church life, / Feasting from such a rich store! / Here where we’re dwelling in oneness / God commands life evermore. (Hymns #1221)
# We love the church life, eating, / drinking, breathing Jesus. / We love the church life, taking / in God’s Word. / We love to hear those “O Lord, / Amen, Hallelujahs!” / We love the church life, feasting / with the Lord. (Song on feasting in the church life)
# The life we live in spirit / The meetings here display / As we present our offering / And God to man convey. / The atmosphere of feasting / A testimony bears— / God has received His portion / And with us all He shares. (Song on the meal offering church life)
About aGodMan
Inwardly, the church life is a life of feasting in and with the presence of the Lord (12:2). The Lord came to that house and His presence was there. In the church life, the first thing we need is the Lord’s presence. We must be a people in such a position and with such a condition that the Lord can come and be with us. His presence means very much to the church life. The church life is a life that absolutely depends upon the Lord’s presence. Without the Lord’s presence, the church life is empty. (Life-study of John, p. 302, by Witness Lee)
Amen, yes without the Lord’s presence, the church life is empty. Halellujah, we need you Lord Jesus.
Praise the Lord ! Amen
“But I say to you that many will come from the east and the west and will recline at table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens,” (Matthew 8:11) “The last verse is 7:21, which says, “Not every one who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in the heavens.” This verse reveals that in order to enter into the kingdom of the heavens, we must do the will of the Father. Therefore, it is righteousness and the doing of the Father’s will that will usher us into the manifestation of the kingdom. Righteousness refers mainly to our living, and doing the will of the Father refers mainly to our work. Both our living and our work must be according to the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens. If our living is according to this constitution, it will be righteous. And if our work is according to the constitution, it will be the doing of the will of God.” (Life-Study of Matthew, Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, California, USA, ch. 25, section 1, here: https://www.ministrybooks.org)
Oh how glorious— mutual enjoyment! A sweet foretaste of the Bridegroom with His Bride!
Amen! It’s just doing nothing but only to enjoy our Lord Jesus with the saints… Hallelujah we’ll feast on Him, praise the Lord!
The Lord’s presence is the criterion of all our Christian life and service…
Hallelujah!!!