Being the Overcomers made Ready for the Lord’s Return by Living by the Linking Faith

The linking faith is the divine requirement for the overcomers to meet Christ in His triumphant return; when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?

May we be those who receive God’s mercy to remain faithful, even to have faith, so that He may rapture us and we would receive the end of our faith – the salvation of our souls.

In order for us to be men full of faith, we need to see that faith comes out of hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ.

We need to come to the word of God in a living way to receive and enjoy the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity through His living word.

When we hear the gospel, when the word of God is spoken to us, there’s a spontaneous reaction in our being: we believe.

Faith rises in us when we hear the word of the gospel, the word of faith. This faith is nothing else but Christ infusing Himself into us to be our believing ability.

All believers in Christ have been allotted equally precious faith; in quality, our faith is precious and is equal to the faith of all the saints, for it is the faith which is Christ Himself.

However, though we have been allotted equally precious faith, the measure of faith which God apportioned to us depends on our cooperation with Him.

The more we grow in life, the more we advance in the Lord, and the more we contact the Triune God as the source of faith to be infused with Himself as our faith, the more our measure of faith increases.

We need to be sober-minded and having a proper attitude related to our measure of faith.

We should not think that we have a greater measure of faith than some of the leading brothers, or that our measure of faith is greater than that of the apostle Paul.

If we are sober-minded, God will apportion more faith to us, but if we are not, our measure of faith may even decrease.

This faith that we have is the indicator of our life in the enjoyment of the Divine Trinity. The more we enjoy the Lord, the more we live by faith.

The more we enjoy the Triune God, the more our faith will increase, and this faith will be a clear indicator of our enjoyment of Christ.

Faith is not for us to accomplish great things or do great works for the Lord; faith is for us to live by faith so that we may express Christ, live Christ, and minister Christ.

Our linking faith connects us with God and, in this organic union with Him, we need to live our daily life so that we may be intimately joined to Him and live a normal Christian life to express Christ.

In all that we are, in all that we do, and in all that we speak, what others should see in us is that Christ is everything to us and we are nothing. It is not us who should stand out; it is Christ who should be expressed through us, and we should be just a transparent vessel to make Him visible.

The Linking Faith is the Divine Requirement for the Overcomers to Meet Christ in His Return

In Luke 18:8 the Lord Jesus asks the question, When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? What does He mean here by finding faith?

Aren’t there millions of Christians on earth – how come there will be no faith, or there will be a lack of faith?

This faith that He was talking about is the linking faith, which is the divine requirement for the overcomers to meet Christ in His triumphant return.

May the Lord be merciful to us – to me and to you – that, when He comes back, He can find us as those who have faith, the believing ones.

May He be merciful to us to find us at His return as those who always trust in the Lord and not in ourselves, and having no assurance in ourselves but relying on Him for everything (2 Cor. 1:8-9; John 15:5; Phil. 3:3; Song of Songs 8:5).

By His mercy, may we be brought into a situation in which we learn not to trust in ourselves for anything but believe that God is our everything.

We need to have and live by this linking faith, which is the divine requirement for the overcomers to meet Christ in His return.

Our full assurance is in Him, not in us; we have the linking faith, and by faith, we are linked to Him, and by faith, we depend on Him and rely on Him.

The divine requirement for the believers in Christ who overcome to meet Christ in His triumphant return is faith – the linking faith.

This means that today we’re in the process of being prepared to be the overcomers.

We are not here to do great works or have great faith to have great gospel campaigns or give great teachings to show people how capable we are by faith.

No, we are here depending on the Lord Jesus, calling on His name, and relying on Him.

Day by day we care only for Christ, we rely only on Christ, and our trust is not in ourselves but in the Lord, the One who lives in us.

May we be the hidden overcomers, those who live by the linking faith to overcome and meet Christ in His triumphant return.

We’re not here for big miracles, big works for God, or big careers; we are here to be the overcoming ones who, when the Lord returns, He will find them living by the linking faith (Rom. 11:3-4; Psa. 83:3).

We are here loving the Lord, loving the unseen One, and treasuring the One whom we have not seen but in whom we exult with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

May we be the believers who live an overcoming and exulting life by the linking faith so that we may be found by Christ at His return as the treasures ready to receive the salvation of our soul as the end, the result of our faith (1 Pet. 1:8-9).

We have already received salvation, for God’s life saved us initially and is constantly saving us day by day; we are daily being saved in His life (Rom. 5:10, 17).

However, we need much more salvation, even the end of our faith – the salvation of our souls.

We are now in the progressing stage of our salvation, the stage of transformation; in this stage, we learn to live by the linking faith so that our soul may be transformed and conformed to the image of Christ.

If we daily live by the linking faith in this progressing stage of our salvation, we will be transformed, and we will be rewarded by the Lord at His return – He will make us kings with Christ in the millennial kingdom! Amen!

Today we are making ourselves ready to be His bride (Matt. 25:10; Rev. 19:7-9); we are being prepared as the Lord’s overcomers by living by the linking faith in our daily life.

For us to make ourselves ready is to become an overcomer, one who is always linked by the living faith with the Triune God.

Our concept of being an overcomer needs to be adjusted by the Lord; we may think that an overcomer is one who appears to be strong and able to do many things for God.

According to the Bible, overcomers are hidden, and they consider themselves unable and even dead; but they believe in God!

They believe in God, and through all the trials and tribulations, they have faith.

They live in the progressive stage of faith, and they are continually linked by this living faith with the Triune God.

May we receive the Lord’s mercy and grace to be His overcomers today who live by the linking faith so that we may meet Him in His triumphant return!

Lord Jesus, have mercy on us that we may be Your overcomers today, those who live by the linking faith and who are qualified to meet You in Your triumphant return! Oh Lord, we are nothing, but You are everything! We do not trust in ourselves or in what we can do; we trust in You and in what You are doing in us and for us. Be merciful to us that, when You come back, You can find us as the believing ones who always trust in You! Amen, Lord, we’re not here for big miracles, works, or careers; we are here to live by the linking faith in our daily life to be Your overcomers. May we be Your hidden overcomers whom You come to rapture when You return! Make us the treasures that are worthy to be raptured by You at Your return. Dear Lord, we love You and we depend on You!

Making ourselves Ready for the Lord’s Return to be His Overcomers who are Rewarded by Him as those who Have Life and Live by Faith

Thank the Lord for His faithful speaking in His word concerning the age we live in and the work we need to do today.

What God wants is not that we do mighty works of power by faith or that we perform miracles by the hand of God in faith.

What He desires is to gain the overcomers, those who live by the linking faith and have faith when He returns.

May we be those who cooperate with the Lord today to make ourselves ready to be His overcomers.

May we remain in the organic union with the Lord and be always linked by the living faith with the Triune God.

When we wake up in the morning, we need to contact the Lord and pray, calling on His name and remaining in Him.

There is a living faith that links us with Him so that we live Christ, walk with Christ, and live with Christ, even live Christ.

By this living faith in us, the linking faith, we are one with God, and He is one with us.

If the Lord returns and finds us living by the linking faith, He will reward us with the co-kingship and the top enjoyment of the divine life with Him in the millennium (Rev. 20:4, 6).

If we live by the linking faith and minister Christ as food to those in the household of God when the Lord returns, He will say to His overcomers, “Well done, good and faithful slave..enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:21, 23).

May we be such ones. May we be those who rejoice in having nothing, seeing nothing, being nothing, but a living Christ in glory, and being careful for nothing but His interest down here (as J. N. Darby once said).

Amen, may we realize that we are already linked to the Triune God by faith, the linking faith, to participate in all that the all-inclusive Christ is, has, and has attained to for the building up of the Body of Christ.

As we partake of what Christ is by the linking faith, we are produced as organic members of the Body of Christ to constitute and build up His organic Body, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem as the enlargement and expression of the Triune God! Amen!

God will obtain the New Jerusalem, the eternal enlargement and expression of the Triune God in His unlimited glory in the mysterious mingling of divinity with humanity for eternity (Rev. 21:2 – 22:5). Amen!

May we be one with God to such an extent that He dispenses what He is into us, He mingles Himself with us, and He imparts all the riches of His being into us to mingle Himself with us.

The result of such a mingling is that we will spontaneously live in a proper way; we will live Christ and express Him.

Our living today must be by faith, as Rom. 1:17 says.

We need to not only have life (which we do, for we received the divine life by faith in Jesus Christ) but also live by faith, live by the linking faith.

May the Lord make us those who are patterns of living by the linking faith in our daily living.

May we receive His divine dispensing every day and allow Him to work Himself into our being a little more every day so that we may become part of the enlargement and expression of the eternal Triune God in His unlimited glory in the mingling of God and man! Amen!

May we be the righteous ones who live by faith today, those who rejoice in having nothing, being nothing, and seeing nothing but a living Christ in glory, and being careful for nothing but His interests down here on earth!

Lord Jesus, we praise You that from morning to evening we are linked to You! Hallelujah, we are linked by faith with the Triune God to receive, enjoy, digest, and assimilate all the riches of what God is! Praise the Lord, there is a living faith that links us with the Triune God so that we may live Christ, walk with Christ, and live with Christ. We are one with You, Lord, and You are one with us. Keep us walking by the linking faith today so that we may express God in humanity. Keep us in the organic union with You in all that we do and say today. Grant us the mercy and grace to be those who are the overcomers, those who will be rewarded by Christ with the co-kingship and the top enjoyment of the divine life with Him in the millennium! Amen, Lord Jesus, may You become everything to us and may we decrease while You increase!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans,” chs. 10-11, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, God’s Economy in Faith (2022 spring ITERO), week 6, entitled, The Linking Faith – the Faith of the Overcomers.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – O the joy of having nothing and being nothing, seeing nothing / But a living Christ in glory, / And being careful for nothing but His interests down here. / Whom have I in heaven but Thee? / And there is none upon the earth that I desire beside Thee. / O the joy of having nothing and being nothing, seeing nothing / But a living Christ in glory, / And being careful for nothing but His interests down here. (Song on, O the joy of having nothing)
  – Will you be an overcomer? / Trust the living Lord! / Keep your “garments” from the deadness, / Win the life-reward. / Will you be an overcomer? / Never lukewarm be, / Ne’er content with what you’ve gotten, / More you need to see. (Hymns #894)
  – In our daily life and all we are and do and think and say, / How we need a deeper mingling just to gain the Lord each day; / Lord, we give ourselves completely just to take the mingled way. / Yes, mingling is the way. / From the fruit of daily living, New Jerusalem we’ll see, / It’s the ultimate in mingling—it’s divine humanity. / And what joy that we can share it all, and share it corporately. / Yes, mingling is the way. (Hymns #1199)