For us to be in the continuation of the book of Acts, we need to continue to live in the divine history by having an upper-room consecration, being willing to pay the price and be “married” to the heavenly vision of Christ and the church.
If we read the book of Acts we will realise that there’s a turning point, which is the one hundred twenty who were in the upper room and prayed in one accord for ten days; then, the heavens were opened, the Holy Spirit was poured out, and the church was produced.
What the Lord desires today is not only many disciples who obey His word but a group of people who are willing to pay the price and be in the upper room, praying in the one accord, and have the upper-room consecration for His move.
Such ones burn the bridges behind them, they are willing to risk everything, and they are “married” to the heavenly vision they have seen; therefore, the Lord has a full way through them – He can propagate Himself through them on earth.
In the book of Acts the disciples didn’t set up a seminary, and the Lord didn’t establish a theological school where He would teach others and appoint the apostles as theological professors to teach people about God.
Neither do we see in Acts anything related to “healing and deliverance” school or how to, or any teaching or encouraging to “speak in tongues” and “predict the future”.
These things may have happened in a normal way among the believers, and the Holy Spirit was leading the disciples, but what we mainly see is this group of people who were willing to leave everything and everyone behind and simply have the upper-room consecration.
This is the group of people that the Lord wants to gain today. Such ones can become the reproduction of Christ on earth, and they can propagate the resurrected, ascended, and all-inclusive Christ as the development of the kingdom of God, and they can set up churches as the testimony of God on earth.
The apostle Paul was not in the upper room with the one hundred twenty in Acts 1-2, but he had such an upper-room consecration, and he was greatly used by the Lord for His spreading on earth.
We need to realise that today so much of the truth was lost and misunderstood, and the Lord’s testimony is not clearly seen as being established on earth; we need to see the heavenly vision and have the upper-room consecration to the Lord for His move, so that He may have a way through us just as He did through the one hundred twenty in the beginning of the book of Acts.
Paying the Price to have the Upper-Room Consecration to follow the Heavenly Vision
If we would be those living in the continuation of the book of Acts today, in Acts chapter 29, we need to continually live in the divine history within the human history bu having an upper-room consecration (see Acts 1:13-14).
This is a particular kind of consecration to the Lord, and we need to have such a consecration for Him to have a way on earth. No matter how many times we consecrated ourselves to the Lord, we need to have a fresh consecration, a consecration that is up-to-date.
In Acts 1 we see that the one hundred twenty gathered together in the upper room and prayed for ten days in one accord; they not only prayed, but they consecrated themselves to the Lord, offering themselves to Him in a very real and practical way.
This is the upper-room consecration, which is different and further than their initial consecration.
When the Lord Jesus came to Peter by the seashore three and a half years earlier, Peter consecrated himself to the Lord by leaving his job and following Him (Matt. 4:18-20). However, Peter’s experience in the upper room was something else; now he not only was a regenerated person with the Spirit mingled with his spirit, but he had the upper room consecration.
On the seashore Peter gave up his job (he left his fishing nets) but in the upper room he gave much more – he gave up Judaism, their country, their neighbours and friends, and their relatives.
They were all willing to risk their lives, and they prayed in one accord for ten days, until the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them.
This is what the Lord is looking for today. The way of the Lord’s recovery is not cheap; it is an expensive and costly way, and there’s a costly consecration required.
What we are doing today is not joining a movement but we’re here for the Lord’s recovery, for Him to gain His propagation on earth and obtain His testimony.
The kind of consecration that we need today is an upper-room consecration, a consecration in which we pay the price to have our whole being “married” to the heavenly vision (see Acts 26:19; 1:8; 20:24).
We have seen the heavenly vision of Christ and the church, and now we need to have the upper-room consecration, giving ourselves to the Lord for the fulfillment of His purpose.
If we are willing to pay the price for the heavenly vision, we will “burn the bridges behind us” and we will have no way to go backward.
We are not here for a movement or for anything outward; we are not here for big meetings or a big following – we are here to take the way of the Lord’s recovery, for Him to recover what He has intended from the very beginning.
The way the recovery can be carried out and realised is by the experience of the upper-room consecration. Such a consecration was a turning point in the book of Acts, and it is also a turning point today. We need to tell the Lord with all our heart,
Lord Jesus, we are willing to pay the price to have the upper-room consecration so that we may follow the heavenly vision You have shown us. We are not here for any movement, Lord, and neither are we here for any human organisation or any outward thing. Oh Lord, gain the upper-room consecration from us. Gain a group of people who would see the heavenly vision of Christ and the church and pay the price to pray in one accord, having the upper-room consecration, for You to accomplish on earth what You desire to accomplish.
Being Part of the Small Number who will Change this Age by having the Upper-room Consecration
Whether we have seen the heavenly vision or not depends on whether we are willing to pay the price to buy the anointing Spirit as the eyesalve (see Rev. 3:18). The Lord counsels us to buy the Spirit, paying the price to gain more of the Spirit as the eyesalve, so that we may see the heavenly vision.
When we see the heavenly vision, we will not expect a big revival or a big movement, something big for the Lord. When we see the heavenly vision, we will not merely get together to hear good teachings or have miracles or speaking in tongues, with the manifestation of the Spirit.
When we see the heavenly vision, we will have the upper-room consecration, and we will be fully for the Lord’s recovery.
The Lord’s recovery is the issue of an upper-room consecration.
There are many believers on earth, and many of them earnestly seek the Lord; but who among them sees the heavenly vision of Christ and the church and is willing to be part of the small number who will change this age by having the upper-room consecration?
When the Lord Jesus was on earth, great crowds followed Him, and many were healed, saved, and cured; many of the crowds pressed against Him and received benefits from Him. But the Lord did not trust in them, and these crowds were not in the upper room.
The Lord’s move was with those who paid the price to be in the upper room, with those whose hearts were touched by Him and whose eyes were opened by Him to see the heavenly vision.
These gathered together in the upper room, leaving all other things behind, and they allowed the divine fire to burn them. Then, they went out and turned the world upside down; they burned others with the divine fire and changed the age.
What about us: are we those in the crowd needing a miracle or food from the Lord, or are we those who receive the Lord’s mercy to be in the upper room? Will we remain in the crowd with others pressing against the Lord and seeking miraculous things from Him, or do we come to the upper room with a small group to have the upper-room consecration?
We need to pray to receive the Lord’s mercy that we may be in the upper room. If we’re not willing to come here, then we may do many things in the Lord’s name and for Him, but we may not be one with Him in His up-to-date move.
May we give ourselves to the Lord, pray in a specific way, and be willing to be in the upper room for the recovery of the Lord’s testimony.
The divine stream is flowing – we simply need to subject ourselves to the current of the work of the Holy Spirit. It is a small number who will turn the world and change the age; if we would be in the upper room, we need to pray in a specific way and say,
Lord, we are willing to be in the upper room for the recovery of Your testimony. We do not want to merely be part of the crowds pressing against You to get food or a miracle from You. We give ourselves to You, Lord, and we take You as our burnt offering; we lay our hands on You as the absolute One, and we want to offer You the upper-room consecration that You desire. May the divine fire burn in us, and may we part of the group that will “burn others” with the divine fire. Amen, Lord, may we receive Your mercy to have the upper room consecration to be those who change this age!
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, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1965, vol. 3, “The Heavenly Vision,” ch. 6, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Propagating the Resurrected, Ascended, and All-inclusive Christ as the Development of the Kingdom of God (2018 fall ITERO), week 9, The Divine Commission according to the Heavenly Vision for the Continuation of the Book of Acts in the Unique Flow of the Divine Stream.
- Hymns on this topic:
# “With one accord” within an upper room / The faithful followers of Jesus met: / One was the hope of every waiting soul, / And on one object great each heart was set. (Hymns #258)
# See the vision of Christ and the church; / Count the cost; reckon all things as loss; / Pay the price. The prize to gain Christ, / Burn the bridges; leave the world behind; / On God’s economy your heart be set / To live a life of no regrets. (Song on, A Life of No Regrets)
# Sanctify me absolutely, / Take my life and have Your way. / Overcome in me, give me victory / Through Your life and end this age. / I need You, but You need me too, / To do what You want to do. / Rekindle all of my love for You, / To be a voluntarily consecrated one. (Song on, Consecrated One)
