Live in the Presence of the Lord being Directed by the Heavenly Vision to Reign

Like Joseph, we need to live directed by the heavenly vision and allow this vision to direct and control our life so that we live a kingdom life on earth to subdue our anger, conquer our lust, and enjoy the presence of the Lord with His authority, the reigning aspect of the mature life. Amen!

The history of Jacob is intertwined with the history of Joseph because Joseph represents an aspect of Jacob’s life; when Jacob became mature, the reigning aspect of his life was represented by Joseph.

Jacob reigned through Joseph, to the extent that Jacob even blessed the Pharaoh, for in the sight of God, Jacob was greater than the Pharaoh.

We are now in the process of being transformed, and one day we will be fully matured, that is, not only inwardly changed by the divine life but even more, filled with the divine life that changes us to overflow with this life.

To be mature in life is to be filled with the divine life that changes us; the last stage of transformation is maturity.

Actually, our maturity is our being conformed and glorified by God, for we have reached the stage in which we can express God with His image and represent Him with His dominion, having the reigning aspect of the mature life.

May we daily grow in life unto maturity today and may we allow the divine life to grow in us and fill us until we overflow with life.

The end result of being mature is that, like Jacob, we will bless everyone.

Blessing is the overflow of life. When life fills us to such an extent that it overflows from us, we bless all those around us. Amen!

Joseph was a master of dreams; not by his own choice but by God’s choosing, Joseph had two dreams at the beginning of his life, and these dreams governed him and directed him in his daily living.

Even though his brothers hated him because of these dreams and because their father preferred Joseph, Joseph remained in the presence of the Lord and was governed by the dreams he had.

He saw that he and his family, the people of God, are like sheaves of wheat full of life and like the heavenly bodies that shine, full of light.

This is how God sees us and this is how He sees the church.

The saints are full of life and full of light. There is no blemish in the church or in the saints, in the eyes of God.

We need to see the church the way God sees it and appreciate the church the way God does.

Even though there may be offenses and problems among the saints and in the church, we need to view the church and the saints the way God views them, as being full of life and light, shining and overflowing with life.

Being Directed by the Heavenly Vision to be Kingdom People who Subdue our Anger and Conquer our Lust

If we read the story of Joseph in Genesis we will be amazed to see this young man who, though God clearly chose him and set a bright future before him, passed through so many terrible things, yet his attitude was always a positive one.

Joseph’s dreams controlled his life and directed his behaviour; he behaved in an excellent way because he was directed by the vision that he saw in his dreams.

We need to see the heavenly vision of Christ and the church and realize that the church is excellent and the saints are full of life and light, and this heavenly vision needs to direct our daily living.

Joseph’s brothers vented their anger (Gen. 37:18-31) and indulged in their lust (38:15-18), but Joseph subdued his anger and conquered his lust (39:7-23), behaving as a sheaf full of life and conducting himself like a heavenly star shining in the darkness.

If we see the heavenly vision of God’s eternal economy with Christ as the centrality and universality of God’s economy and with the built-up church as the issue of our enjoyment of Christ, we will be governed and directed by the heavenly vision in our daily living.

Though we may be young men who have lusts and anger, we can subdue our anger and conquer our lust by living under the heavenly vision.

We can live a life without murmurings and reasonings, doing all things in peace, so that we may be blameless and guileless in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation, among whom we shine as luminaries.

May we be those who shine forth as luminaries by holding forth the word of life, presenting the word of life, applying the word of life, and offering the word of life to others by living out Christ.

If we see the heavenly vision of God’s eternal economy, we will live a life being directed by the heavenly vision to be kingdom people who subdue our anger and conquer our lust.

Joseph lived such a life; he behaved as a sheaf standing up and full of life, and he conducted himself like a heavenly star shining in the darkness.

We all have anger, and we all have lust; this is part of living in the flesh on the earth.

Every human being has anger rising up in them and they have lust.

Unless we are controlled and directed by the heavenly vision, we cannot but give in to our anger and lust.

But when we see the vision, it will be difficult for us to indulge in lust or allow our anger to take control over us.

We are kingdom people, heavenly people who live a heavenly life on earth, being directed by the heavenly vision.

Our living should be like the one described in Matt. 5, 6, and 7, where we see that we subdue our anger and conquer our lust (Matt. 5:21-32).

If we claim to be kingdom people but we can’t subdue our anger nor can we conquer our lust, we’re finished; we are defeated Christians.

May we be saved from giving vent to our anger and indulging in lust by living the kingdom life, a life under the direction of the heavenly vision.

As we learn to live the kingdom life today, we are trained to be kings.

We are trained by the Lord to be like Joseph, to have the reigning aspect of the mature life, ruling and reigning over our temper, our anger, and our lust.

Instead of agreeing with our anger or cooperating with our lust, we reject our anger and condemn our lust, for we have seen the vision of God’s eternal economy and we are living the kingdom life to reign as kings in the divine life.

As believers in Christ, we have the constitution of Christ within us, and we’re being prepared to reign as kings.

May we cooperate with the Lord’s preparation and training for us to have the reigning aspect of the mature life and reign as kings over anything that rises up against God.

Lord Jesus, grant us to see and live under the direction of the heavenly vision of God’s eternal economy. Amen, Lord, may a clear, controlling vision of God’s economy direct our heart and govern our daily living. Save us from being defeated by our temper, giving in to our lusts, and being taken over by our anger. We want to have the reigning aspect of the mature life today. Train us to be kings in life, reigning with You over every negative thing. Amen, Lord, we want to be the kingdom people who subdue their anger and conquer their lust. Train us up today to be the priests and kings that You desire to have in Your economy. Raise us up to be kings who rule and reign over anything negative for the Lord to gain His kingdom today. May the constitution of Christ within us grow and reign in us so that we may be prepared to reign as kings. Amen, Lord Jesus, we want to have our daily living being directed by the heavenly vision of God’s eternal economy!

Live in the Presence of the Lord to have His Authority and Reign over All Things

One particular wonderful matter we see related to Joseph was that, wherever he was and whatever he was doing, he had the presence of the Lord. He lived in the Lord’s presence and His blessing was with him.

He spent a lot of time as a slave or in prison, but he still had the Lord’s presence.

A life such as Joseph’s always has the presence of the Lord (Gen. 39:2-5, 21-23).

If we live by being directed by the heavenly vision of God’s economy and remain in the Lord’s presence, we will have the reigning aspect of the mature life and we will reign in life over all things.

The reigning aspect of the mature life is a life that always enjoys the presence of the Lord (Acts 7:9); wherever the Lord’s presence is, there is authority, the ruling power.

The presence of the Lord is the smile of the Lord; we do not want to miss the Lord’s smile in this age and His reward in the next age.

When we have the Lord’s presence, and His smile, we have His blessing, and we have His authority to reign over all things.

Joseph was hated by his brothers to the extent that they even wanted to kill him, and he was sold into slavery by them; however, he was directed by the heavenly vision, so he lived one with the Lord and had the Lord’s presence.

We cannot live such a life in ourselves; if we were to go through a similar experience as Joseph’s, in which our own family hates us and wants to kill us, we may not have the same reaction as he did.

It’s impossible for us to be a Christian; only Christ as the all-inclusive, life-giving, sevenfold intensified Spirit living in us can be a Christian and can be an overcomer.

Joseph was the perfect type of Christ in the Old Testament, and the reining aspect of his mature life is a pattern to us.

Joseph was sold into slavery, but wherever he went, even in the house of Potiphar, the Lord was with him.

The Lord blessed him with His presence to such an extent that Potiphar put him over his whole household, and God blessed Potiphar because of Joseph.

We have the Lord with us, He is Emmanuel (Matt. 1:23), and the Lord is with our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22); whenever we gather together in His name, there He is in our midst (Matt. 18:20).

We believers in Christ have the presence of the Lord with us, for we are directed by the heavenly vision of God’s economy; His presence is our blessing and His presence is everything to us.

Wherever we are, at work or at home, the Lord blesses others because of us, for His presence is with us.

May we remain in the presence of the Lord and enjoy Him, living under the heavenly vision of God’s economy, so that both we and those around us may enjoy God’s blessing.

In Potiphar’s house, we see that Joseph was wrongly accused by his master’s wife and ended up in prison for a long time; however, even in prison, the Lord was with him.

Joseph did not despair nor was he discouraged; he simply remained in the Lord’s presence, being directed by the heavenly vision.

Paul was also in prison, and he said he was a prisoner of Christ Jesus; the Lord was his prison, for he was a prisoner in the Lord.

Wherever we are, we have the Lord’s presence and His blessing.

Whether we are in a good situation or in a “jail”, the Lord is with us.

We simply need to remain in the Lord’s presence.

In the jail, the Lord was with Joseph and blessed him to such an extent that the jailer set him over all the things in prison, trusting him with everything.

In the presence of the Lord, Joseph was prospered by Him; while Joseph was undergoing ill-treatment, he enjoyed the Lord’s prosperity that came to him under the Lord’s sovereignty.

Our prosperity is the Lord’s smile, His blessing.

Wherever we are, we enjoy the Lord and receive His blessing, which is Himself.

And when we have the Lord’s presence, we have His authority to rule over all things.

We do not rule over people in this age; we rule over what we are, especially over our temper, our anger and our lust.

Because we have the Lord’s presence, we conquer our anger and subdue our lust.

Though outwardly we may seem to be like prisoners in a dungeon, inwardly we rule, for the Lord’s presence is with us.

Lord Jesus, we want to remain in Your presence today. May Your presence be with us. Keep us under the direction of the heavenly vision of God’s economy in our daily life, and keep us in Your presence. Amen, Lord, where Your presence is, there is authority! Be with us today. Be with us in all things. No matter what the situation is outwardly and what the circumstances we’re in, we simply want to be in Your presence. We do not want to miss Your smile in this age and Your reward in the next age. We love You, Lord Jesus, and we want to remain in Your presence, enjoying all that You are. Your presence is our blessing, and Your presence brings in Your authority. Train us to be kings ruling and reigning with You over our temper, our lust, and our anger. May there be the ruling aspect of the mature life in us so that we may reign in life with the Lord over all the negative things!

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, Life-study of Genesis, msg. 111, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Enjoyment of Christ and our Growth in Life unto Maturity (2023 Thanksgiving Blending Conference), week 5, entitled, The Reigning Aspect of the Mature Life Seen in the Life of Joseph.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – 2 Timothy 2:22: Flee Lusts and Pursue Christ, via, Bibles for America blog.
  – The economy of God in the Scriptures, article in, Affirmation and Critique.
  – Being Overcomers with a Vision, Not Idealists with a Dream, via, Shepherding Words.
  – Living the kingdom life, a portion from, Life-Study of Genesis, Chapter 111, by Witness Lee.
  – The Recovery of the Eternal Economy of God, outline via, New Zealand Training Centre website.
  – Our need for the vision, a portion from, The Heavenly Vision, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee.
  – Have You Seen the Heavenly Vision of Christ and the Church? More via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – See with a Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – New song on, Reigning in Life, via, Hymnal.net.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – God’s children, we’re born to be kings with His Son, / And we need to be trained that we may overcome / And to know how to rule in His kingdom as kings, / That His kingship thru us be expressed o’er all things. / Today we must learn to submit to His throne, / How to have a strict life and His government own; / His authority then we’ll be able to share, / O’er the nations to rule with God’s Son as the heir. (Hymns #947 stanzas 2-3)
  – Lord Jesus, I long in Thy presence to live, / From morning to evening my one world Thou art; / O let not my heart be contented or rest / When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part. (Hymns #389 stanza 1)
  – For my words I take His wisdom, / For my works His Spirit’s power; / For my ways His ceaseless presence / Guards and guides me every hour. / Of my heart, He is the portion, / Of my joy the boundless spring; / Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, / Glorious Lord, and coming King. / I’m abiding in the Lord / And confiding in His word; / I am hiding in the bosom of His love. / Yes, abiding in the Lord / And confiding in His word, / I am hiding in the bosom of His love. (Hymns #564 stanza 4 and chorus)