The Lord’s recovery is to build up Zion; we need to open the door of our heart and let the Lord come in and make His home in us, and we need to pay the price to be made the same as Him today by praying to enter into the reality of a God-man living, the reality of the Body of Christ. Amen!
The Lord needs not only many local churches on earth; He needs to gain the reality of the Body of Christ, the corporate living of a group of God-men who live not by their life but by the divine life.
Such ones are in the vital groups; they are living and active one with our living and active God.
As we practice the church life and learn to be vitalized together with the saints where the Lord put us, we need to have the vision of the Body of Christ, realizing that the Lord wants to gain His overcomers to end this age and bring in the age of the kingdom.
The overcomers are Zion in Jerusalem; the vital groups are to produce the overcomers for the Lord to have a stepping stone for His return.
There are many kinds of overcomers as seen in the book of Revelation.
There are the overcomers in Rev. 2-3, each of them overcoming the particular situation of degradation in the church where they are.
And there are the overcomers who go through the great tribulation and overcome the worship of the beast and take its number on them.
Finally, there will be the overcomers are the end of the millennium age, when all the defeated believers in this age will have been perfected to be overcomers and thus become the New Jerusalem for eternity, ruling and reigning with Christ.
We need to be those who cooperate with the Lord’s inner work of transformation, growth in life, maturation and building today so that, in the next age we would reign and rule with Him.
If we look around us, the church has by all counts failed and become desolate; what we see today is Christendom, a great mixture of Christians and non-Christians, a great tree where all kinds of evil things are happening while there is some food also being dispensed.
Christianity as a whole cannot fulfil God’s purpose, just as the people of Israel in the Old Testament could not fulfil God’s purpose.
Therefore, God is looking to raise up a minority, a small remnant of people who are not “superman” or “superwoman” but rather, they are the weak ones who trust in the Lord and are one with Him for His purpose.
We want to be such ones, those who respond to the Lod’s call to rise up in this failed and degraded situation, and simply stand for God’s testimony.
They do not allow themselves to be carried away by the flood of dissoluteness or the waves upon waves of degradation; they don’t go along with the tide but stand one with the Lord for His testimony on the earth. May we be such ones.
May we receive the Lord’s mercy to be His overcomers today.
Being Fully Open for the Lord to Come In and Possess us as His Zion, His Overcomers
Psa. 24 asks the question, Who may ascend the mountain of Jehovah, and who may stand in His holy place? The answer to this question is Christ and His brothers.
The church is a mountain that is occupied by the Lord today as the stepping stone, the beachhead, for the Lord to come back.
The whole earth is the Lord’s, but it has been usurped by the enemy; however, on this usurped earth there’s a mountain for the Lord to have a stepping stone for His return to take the whole earth.
The Lord is eager to return to the earth, but He needs some to cooperate with Him so that He has a beachhead, a stepping stone on the earth.
Are we such ones? The mountain of Zion is fully open to the Lord, and the doors of the holy city are lifting up to let the King of glory come in (Psa. 24:7).
The overcomers are those who are fully open to the Lord for Him to come in and possess them as Zion, His overcomers, for Him to return.
We may think we are open to the Lord for Him to come in and return, but Rev. 3:20 indicates that even some of the local churches shut the Lord outside.
Yes, the Lord is with us in a general way, and we enjoy His speaking; we are on the local ground, we stand one with the Body, and we have the Lord’s blessing.
But what about the Lord’s presence? Is the Lord’s presence with us, or is He shut out?
May we be those who seek to enjoy the Lord’s presence and open to Him so that He may come in.
We must be so open to the Lord. The reason the Lord could not come in a full way is that the church is not fully cooperating with Him.
If the church, if the overcomers as Zion in Jerusalem, are not absolutely open to the Lord, how can we expect that the earth would be open to Him?
The Lord needs to gain a group of people who are fully open for the Lord to come in and possess them as His Zion, the overcomers.
May we open the doors of our heart to Him. May we allow the Lord as the King of glory to come in and possess us, saturate us, and fill us with Himself.
May we be those who open wide to Him.
Christ as the King of glory wants to come in, but we need to fully open the doors of our heart to Him and let Him come in, possess us, and have a way in our being.
The overcomers are those who are totally possessed by God; they are not only open to the Lord but their whole being – even every fibre and cell of their being, every organ and part of their being, is possessed by the Lord and fully open to Him.
When the Lord gains such a group of people, when He has the Zion in Jerusalem, He can return, for there’s a beachhead through which the Lord as the King of glory will return to possess the earth as His kingdom (Psa. 24:1, 3, 7-10; Dan. 2: 34-35; 7:13-14; Joel 3:11; Rev. 11:15; 19:13-14).
He is longing for the cry to be sounded out that the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.
But where is the beachhead where He can land, the stepping stone where He can step on as He returns?
The overcomers as a collective group are the beachhead, the landing point through which the Lord as the King of glory will return.
The overcomers are the landing strip for the Lord to come in.
For us to be such ones, we need to open the doors of our heart, lift up the gates in all the inner parts of our being, and let Him make His home in us, come into us, and possess us.
May we respond to the Lord’s call for overcomers and not lose heart as we see that the world situation is getting worse and the decline of the church is intensifying but simply fully open our heart to the Lord for Him as the King of glory to come in!
Lord Jesus, we open to You the doors of our heart: come in as the King of glory! Amen, Lord, come in! We open wide to You. Have a way to spread in all the inward parts of our being. Make Your home in our heart. Take possession of our inner being. Make us the beachhead for You to return. Come, Lord Jesus! We are here for You, not for ourselves. We give ourselves to You for Your purpose. Oh, King of glory, come in! Gain Zion in the churches today! Gain the overcomers that You desire for You to have a stepping stone for Your return! We set our eyes on You, dear Lord, and we want to be one spirit with You today! Keep us beholding you to be infused with You until we shine forth with You! Amen, Lord, come into our heart as the King of glory! May Your kingdom come and Your will be done!
The Lord’s Recovery is to Build up Zion; we reach the High Peak of being Overcomers by Praying
![Unceasingly pray. 1 Thes. 5:17 And when He took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which [bowls] are the prayers of the saints. Rev. 5:8](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Unceasingly-pray-683x1024.webp?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "Unceasingly pray. 1 Thes. 5:17 And when He took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which [bowls] are the prayers of the saints. Rev. 5:8")
How can we reach such a high peak in God’s eternal economy, the reality of the Body of Christ, to be the overcomers today?
It is not by trying more, by improving ourselves, or by promising to do this or that for the Lord.
Human effort is futile and natural zeal is useless in this matter.
We first need to see God’s need, His need for the overcomers today; we need to realize that He needs to gain the overcomers for Him to return.
When we see this, we will realize that there’s no other way to reach the high peak of God’s eternal economy except by praying.
Our becoming the overcomers as the reality of the Body of Christ to be the bride of Christ will close this age and will bring Christ as the King of glory back (Psa. 24:7-10).
When the Lord gains the overcomers as the reality of the Body of Christ, He can come back as the King of glory, and He can bring in His kingdom.
He desires to come back as the King of glory to take, possess, and rule over this earth with His overcomers in the kingdom age.
The way for us to cooperate with the Lord and reach the reality of the Body of Christ is by praying; in particular, we need to pray for overcomers.
We need to pray for the Lord to produce us as His overcomers and to gain many brothers and sisters to be His overcomers in this age.
We need to pray for a lot of things; we need to pray for the sinners to repent, for the seekers of Christ to know Him and grow in life, and for the saints to be built up together.
We also need to pray for the local churches and for the Lord’s move on the earth.
We need to pray steadfastly and unceasingly for the Lord to gain what He is after.
And in particular, we need to pray for the raising up of the overcomers as the reality of the Body of Christ to be the bride of Christ.
Only those who have the reality of the Body of Christ can be part of the bride of Christ that will close this age, the age of the church, and will bring Christ back as the King of glory to take, possess, and rule over this earth with His overcomers in the kingdom age. Amen.
The Lord’s recovery is for this, for Him to gain the overcomers. The Lord’s recovery is to build up Zion.
We see this in Paul’s writings, for he writes again and again concerning the inner experience of Christ for the building up of the church so that the reality of the Body of Christ may come in among the local churches.
This age is nearing its end, and the Lord is ready to return; however, where is the group of overcomers who welcome Him back, the beachhead for Him to land and take the earth?
May we be those who pray for the overcomers, that is, pray that the Lord would gain the overcomers that He needs, those who live in the reality of the Body of Christ to be the landing place for Him to return.
The Lord’s recovery is to build up Zion; we are in the Lord’s recovery not only to enjoy Christ more, to practice the proper church life, to blend with the saints, and to know the truth and be set free – we’re here for Zion!
We are here in the church life to enter into the reality of the Body of Christ. If we are men, we need to be Christians; if we are Christians, we need to be in the proper church life; if we’re in the proper church life, we need to be overcomers.
If we are in the church life in the Lord’s recovery, we should not be content until we are overcomers.
This was not an option for Paul: he wanted to gain Christ to the uttermost and attain the out-resurrection from the dead, the resurrection reserved for those who overcome.
May the Lord be gracious to us in this matter and may we cooperate to be produced as His overcomers by praying.
Lord Jesus, we want to reach the high peak of being God’s overcomers by praying. Amen, Lord, produce us as Your overcomers. We open to You and we allow You to work in us and around us so that we may be part of the group of overcomers who bring You back. Thank You for regenerating us to be Christians; thank You for bringing us into the church life. Oh Lord, we are not content until we are Your overcomers, the beachhead for You to return as the King of glory to take, possess, and rule over the whole earth! Amen, Lord Jesus, gain the group of overcomers You need for You to have a way to return and bring in Your sweet and wonderful kingdom! Grant us the grace to be part of the overcoming bride that brings You back and brings in the age of the kingdom!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Minoru Chen in the message, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “The Practical Points concerning Blending,” pp. 139-140, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of 1 and 2 Kings (2022 summer training), week 10, entitled, The Lord’s Recovery – to Build up Zion.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Who shall in His holy tabernacle dwell, / Who shall ascend to His most holy hill? / Those who seek for Him and purify their heart; / This generation now that seeks His face. / Oh, seek His face, ye children of the earth, / Open your heart, and let the King come in. / He will come in, and He shall live and reign; / He will come in, and He shall live and reign! (Hymns #1222 stanza 3)
– We’ll dwell with the King for His work / And work thru each day of the year. / Perhaps ere it passes, the King / In glory Himself shall appear. / Oh, then in some closer embrace, / Oh, then in some nobler employ / We’ll dwell with the King for His work / In endless, ineffable joy! (Hymns #904 stanza 5)
– Will you be an overcomer? / Never lukewarm be, / Ne’er content with what you’ve gotten, / More you need to see. / Will you be an overcomer? / Christ is calling still! / Will you now be loyal to Him, / His demand fulfill. (Hymns #894 stanzas 7-8)
About aGodMan
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Revelation 3:20… indicates that even some of the local churches shut the Lord Jesus outside. Do not imagine that as long as we are the local church, the Lord Jesus is among us. In a sense He is, but in another sense He may be shut out. Even today, while we are enjoying the Lord’s presence so much, we still must say, “Lift up your heads, O gates; / And be lifted up, O long enduring doors” [Psa. 24: 7]. We all must be so open to the Lord. If Christ could not come in to the church today in an adequate and fuller way, how could Christ come back to the earth? If the church, if Zion, is not absolutely open to Him, how can we expect the earth to be open to Him? So today we must respond and say, “Yes, open the doors; let us all open widely to Him. Come in, O come in, Lord! Before You come back to the earth, come in to the church, come in to fully possess this little mountain, the mountain of Zion.” Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1969, vol. 3, “Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms,” p. 46
If we, the church, are not absolutely open to the Lord, how can the earth be open to Him?
We need to open the doors of our heart and let the King of glory come in to rule and reign in us.
And there’s no other way to reach the high peak of being overcomers except by praying.
Brother the Lord waiting to come back to the earth but he needs a place to come back,
he is waiting to come back to zion the overcomers and today he is knocking waiting for us to open to him,
may we be those who open to the Lord who are wiling to pay the price to pray desperately to pursue the Lord, allow him to transform, saturate and mingle with us so that he may have beachhead to return to on the earth may we take the Lord to allow the Lord to come back
O Lord, O King of glory come in and build up Zion on earth today! Amen King of glory!
Dear brother, the word to the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3 is a warning to us in the local churches.
While we may be in the local churches and may have the Lord’s presence to a certain degree, He may also be shut out, seeking those who would hear His voice and be open to Him.
The Lord’s recovery is to build up Zion and for this we must pray to reach this high peak – the church as a mountain, a beachead for the King of glory to come and recover the usurped earth!
We must have the door to our heart open for Christ to enter.
This means to not just have our spirit open, but also our soul.
If we don’t open widely to Jesus, how can He come back?
We must allow Him to fully possess us.
Sooner or later, we have to be transformed, glorified & mingled with the Triune God.
We must realise that the Lord’s recovery is to build up the overcomers.
We should run by denying ourselves and absorbing God each day in order to receive the reward.
Wow, I was touched there is no other way to reach the high peak of God’s eternal economy, the reality of the Body of Christ except by praying!
This is an encouragement and a warning, encouraging because we can open to the Lord as wide as we can and He will build up Zion, a warning that because we are in Jerusalem, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the Lord is among us, in a sense He is but He may be shut out!
Aaaaammmmen wonderful.
There no other way of reaching the high peak of an overcomer except by praying. Are we desperate ?
Ameeen bro.
Rev. 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.
Amen Lord! Grant us to open to You individually and corporately in the church for the king of glory to come in!
Release the prayer we need to cooperate with You and be produced as Your overcomers to have Your full way to possess the earth!
Amen, May the Lord be gracious to us in this matter and may we cooperate to be produced as His overcomers by praying.