We can Experience and Enjoy Christ as the Great Light until we Shine like the Sun

As believers in Christ, we can experience and enjoy Christ as the great light shining in the darkness until we shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of our Father! Amen!

Christ is the great light shining on those sitting in darkness and rising on those sitting in the region and shadow of death; we need to experience and enjoy Christ as the great light shining in us and on us so that we may go on with Him and have our path be like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until the full day. Amen!

This week in our morning revival we come to a new book inspired from the 2024 Summer Training (2024 July Semiannual Training) on the topic of, Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (1).

Many of these points are inspired from the 436 messages on this topic in the Conclusion of the New Testament messages by brother Lee.

These take us through the whole New Testament to enjoy and dig out some spiritual and divine nuggets and gems from every book, from Matthew through Revelation.

In the first volume or the first set, we come to the wonderful nuggets and gems from Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts.

We need to exercise our spirit and turn our hearts to the Lord to have a sober mind so that we not only understand who Christ is but even more experience, enjoy and express Christ in our daily living according to the divine revelation in God’s word.

The central thought of God’s eternal economy, the heart of the divine revelation, is related to our experience and enjoyment of Christ for the corporate expression of Christ as the organic Body of Christ consummating in the New Jerusalem as the ultimate corporate expression of Christ.

These three matters: experiencing Christ, enjoying Christ, and expressing Christ, are intrinsically related and intrinsically one.

In Phil. 2:2 Paul says that we should think the one thing; this one thing is the subjective experience of Christ as our enjoyment, which leads us to expressing Christ.

Day by day we need to focus on this one thing: the subjective experience of Christ for our enjoyment so that He may be expressed through us not only individually but even more, corporately.

On one hand, we need to experience Christ; this is mainly in our spirit.

On the other hand, we need to enjoy Christ; this is mainly in our soul. In Paul’s writings, we see how he encouraged us to rejoice in the Lord and again rejoice in Him.

Also, we see how Paul wanted to know Christ subjectively, be conformed to His death and know the power of His resurrection.

On the one hand, Paul wanted to enjoy Christ and be filled with joy in the Lord; though he was in prison, he was rejoicing with all the saints.

On the other hand, Paul experienced Christ, having not just a shallow experience of the Lord as his patience but even more, being conformed to the death of Christ and allowing His death to operate in him so that the saints may enjoy life.

All this led to Paul magnifying Christ, whether through life or through death, so that Christ may be enlarged, and made visible in a magnified way, to those around him. Hallelujah!

May this mind be in us today, and may this kind of thinking guide us in our daily living, so that we may seek the subjective experience of Christ for our enjoyment for us to express Christ in all the things we do and be His corporate expression in the church life. Amen!

Experience and Enjoy Christ as the Great Light Shining on those Sitting in Darkness

In Matt. 4:16 we see that the people sitting in darkness have seen a great light, and to those sitting in the region and shadow of death, to them light has risen.

We may experience and enjoy Christ as the great light rising to those sitting in the region and shadow of death and shining over the people sitting in darkness.

Christ came as the light of life; He is the light of the world, and if we follow Him, we shall by no means walk in darkness but shall have the light of life (John 8:12).

When the Lord Jesus came and began His ministry, He did not make an outward display of His majesty, divinity, or glory; rather, He walked on the seashore as a common person.

And when He contacted people by the Sea of Galilee, He shined upon them like a great light shining in the darkness.

When Christ comes to us, He shines on us; He is the great light shining on those sitting in darkness.

We all were sitting in the region and shadow of death, walking and living in darkness; this shadow of death and darkness is of Satan.

To us, the Lord came as a great light; He came not only as light but as a great light!

When we called on the Lord’s name and received Him into us, the divine light came into our being.

We were touched by Him, we saw His wonderful Person, and we simply believed into Him; simultaneously, a great light shone in us, and we received the divine light.

This shining of Christ as a great light within us is a strong confirmation that we have been born of God to be His children. Amen!

Christ is the great light shining on those sitting in darkness and rising on those sitting in the region and shadow of death (Matt. 4:16; John 1:4-5; 12:36; Eph. 5:8; Col. 1:12-13; 2 Cor. 4:6-7; Acts 26:18).

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men; this light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not and cannot overcome it.

Now we have the divine light, and while we have it, we need to believe into the light so that we may become sons of light.

Our Father is Light; we are sons of light. God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

We as believers in Christ experience and enjoy Christ as the great light shining on us, and we are children of the light.

We now walk as children of light, and Christ is our portion together with all the saints in the light.

Praise the Lord, we are the light of the world.

What is light? Light is nothing but the presence of God; where God is, there is light, but when God is not there, darkness remains.

God said, Out of darkness, light shall shine! He shines in our hearts.

He illuminates the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ so that we may see God’s shining and partake of His riches in the light.

We all can testify that the Lord comes to us again and again as a great light to shine on us. Many times, however, it seems that we wander away from the Lord.

Like Peter and Andrew, we were called by God, Christ came to even change our name and make us children of God, materials for God’s building.

However, in our experience we many times drift away from God, just as Peter and Andrew, who were called at the Jordan River, drifted and cast their nets at the Sea of Galilee.

But thank the Lord, He keeps coming to us where we are to shine on us; He comes as the great light shining on those in darkness.

He came to Peter and Andrew as they were casting their nets, and the great light shined on them.

We may have a good time with the Lord in the morning or we may really enjoy His riches with the saints in the light in the meetings of the church, but then we go to work or we take care of so many things and we find ourselves drifting away from the Lord, even being in darkness.

In many such situations, the Lord comes to us as the great light to shine on us.

He exposes the darkness, He shines the light of life in us, and He brings us back to Himself for us to enjoy Him in the light.

He even reminds us how He saved us and how good He was to us, how rich He is to us in the light with all the saints.

How much we need the Lord’s shining as the great light again and again!

Lord Jesus, thank You for coming as the great light shining upon those sitting in darkness. Hallelujah, Christ is the great light shining on us to deliver us from any darkness and bring us into the enjoyment of all His riches with the saints in the light! Amen, Lord, we open to You. We want to be under Your shining. Come to us again and again, wherever we are, to shine on us. Save us from remaining in darkness. We treasure Your shining. May the God who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, shine in our hearts to illuminate the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Jesus Christ. Amen, Lord Jesus, we believe in the light and we want to walk in the light as children of light. Praise the Lord, we are the light of the world, for we are children of our heavenly Father, who is light! Keep us in the light. Shine on us. Dispel all the darkness. Bring us fully in the light. We want to follow You as the great light shining in the darkness so that we may have the light of life!

Being under God’s Shining until our Path Shines Brighter and we Shine like the Sun in the Kingdom of our Father

As believers in Christ, it is our privilege and responsibility to experience and enjoy Christ as the great light shining in the darkness until we become light in the Lord and until we will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of our Father. Hallelujah!

Luke 1:78-79 says that the Lord is the rising sun visiting us from on high to shine upon us, those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

This is not just an initial experience we have at the time of our salvation; this is something we experience and enjoy daily.

Because of the merciful compassions of our God, Christ came as the great light to shine on us and bring us into His kingdom of light.

Day by day we need to enjoy God’s shining in us and on us so that we may be brought on with Him in the light.

It is Jehovah’s lovingkindness that we are not consumed; His mercies and compassions are new each morning (Lam. 3:22-23).

May we enjoy His mercies and compassions every morning and allow Him to shine on us with the light of life.

When the Lord shines on us, when we are those who fear His name and have His shining, He is the Sun of righteousness with healing in His wings, and we will go forth and leap about like well-fed calves (Mal. 4:2; Psa. 84:11; 86:11).

He shines on us as the great light, and there’s healing in His shining; He heals us, and we leap about and go forth.

When all the darkness in our being is dispelled, we are healed and all unrighteousness in our being is annulled.

Psalm 22 is “according to the hind of the dawn” (see the title).

When we enjoy the Lord’s shining day by day, when we have Christ as the great light shining on those sitting in darkness, we will be inwardly leaping for joy, jumping, being living and active, and we will be spiritually fresh. Hallelujah!

Those who love God will be like the sun when it rises in its might (Judg. 5:31b; Isa. 60:1, 5).

Amen, we want to be those who love God so that Christ as the great light may shine on us and even make us the same as He is, like the sun rising in its might!

The more we love the Lord, the more we open to Him, and the more we experience and enjoy Christ as the great light shining on those sitting in darkness.

Any darkness is dispelled. Any dark part in our being is shined on.

And the Lord make us light in the Lord, even the same as He is in His shining. Praise the Lord!

May we be the righteous one whose path is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until the full day (Prov. 4:18; Phil. 2:15-16).

May our path not be darker and darker as we close our being to the Lord as the great light shining in the darkness.

Rather, may we daily open all the chambers of our being to the Lord as the great light so that our path would be like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until the full day!

May we not be dimmer and dimmer but brighter and brighter.

May we be revived daily by having a fresh, new beginning with the Lord every morning.

When we experience and enjoy Christ as the great light, we will shine as luminaries in the darkness, holding forth the word of life.

We apply the word of life, we present the word of life, and we offer the word of life to the world by living out Christ. Hallelujah!

Matt. 13:43 further says that the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Wow.

We not only enjoy God’s shining today but we will become the same as He is – we will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of our Father!

God is light; light is the nature of God’s expression.

We are becoming the same as God not only in life and nature but also in His expression, to shine Him forth, even to shine forth with God as light.

Lord Jesus, thank You for the merciful compassions of our God. We come to You morning by morning to enjoy Your fresh compassions and Your shining. May we have Your fresh visitation every morning from on high to guide our feet in the way of peace. Amen, Lord Jesus, arise in us as the Sun of righteousness with healing in Your wings! Dispel all our darkness. Remove any dark part. Heal us. Cause us to go forth and leap about like well-fed calves! We come to You in the morning to enjoy Your shining. Arise in our heart as the great light shining in the darkness. We just love You, Lord Jesus! You are like the sun to us when it rises in its might. We love to be under Your shining. May our path be like the light of dawn which shines brighter and brighter until the full day. Amen, Lord, shine in us and shine through us. May we be the righteous ones who shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of our Father! Praise the Lord, we’re becoming the same as God in life, nature, and expression to shine Him forth!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ed Marks in the message for this week, and portions from, The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 267, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (2024 July Semiannual Training), week 1, Christ as the Great Light, the One Who Has Authority, the Physician, the Bridegroom, the Unfulled Cloth, and the New Wine.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – A Great Light, a portion from, The Kingdom, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee.
  – God as Light Shines Brighter than the Sun and Moon, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – A Christian’s Attitude toward Reforming Society, via, Shepherding Words.
  – What is the central line of the Bible? More via, Living to Him.
  – Experiencing God as light, article by Ed Marks in, Affirmation and Critique.
  – Enjoying Christ as the Light of Life, the Baptizer and the Son of Man, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – Msg 03 – The Vision, Experience, and Enjoyment of the Glorious and Excellent Christ as the Supreme Preciousness of God for the Genuine Church-Life, via, Heavenly Foods Youtube channel (video message by brother E. M.)
  – Turning to the spirit to enjoy Christ as light, a portion from, Christ our Portion, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin; / The light of the world is Jesus; / Like sunshine at noonday His glory shone in, / The light of the world is Jesus. / Come to the light, ’tis shining for thee; / Sweetly the light has dawned upon me; / Once I was blind, but now I can see; / The light of the world is Jesus. (Hymns #1018 stanza 1 and chorus)
  – O Jesus Christ, grow Thou in me, / And all things else recede; / My heart be daily nearer Thee, / From sin be daily freed. / Each day let Thy supporting might / My weakness still embrace; / My darkness vanish in Thy light, / Thy life my death efface. (Hymns #395 stanza 1 and chorus)
  – Thou art the Sun of righteousness / With healing in Thy wings; / The shining of Thy glorious face / To us Thy riches brings. / The tender mercy of our God / Caused Thee on us to dawn, / To those in darkness giving light / That shades of death be gone. (Hymns #200 stanzas 1-2)