The Lord Jesus was not forced by others or by God to take up the cross – He willingly took up His cross (Matt. 26:39). It should be the same with us – we need to willingly take up the cross. Some people say that their cross is their spouse, their family, their workmates, etc. – and these ones “make them suffer and bear the cross”. They are like suffering criminals forced to bear the cross – but the Lord meant us to be happy cross-bearers! We are not criminals executed by others and thus bearing the cross; we are those who willingly take up the will of God and follow the Lord! [read more online]
learning to exercise the key of willingly taking up the cross – being happy cross-bearers
Filed Under: contacting God, Enjoying Christ, experiencing Christ, expounding the truth, O Lord Jesus!, the Body of Christ, the Christian Life, the church life, the Lord's recovery Tagged With: brothers and sisters, close intimate fellowship, God's will for us, God's will is the church, God's will is the cross, happy cross bearers, no natural preference, not suffering criminals, spend time with the Lord, taking up our cross, the four great pillars, the Lord's recovery, willingly bearing the cross, willingly take the cross
the Lord Jesus regards our dependence on Him and not what we can do for Him in our self
The word of the Lord Jesus in Matt. 7:21-23 is very sobering and exposing – many people do works of power in His name, cast out demons in His name, prophesied in His name, but the Lord does not recognize them or know them… We can do a lot of good and great things for the Lord – even miraculous things, with the help of the power of God – but if we do things independently of the Lord, He does not approve or recognize it. How much we need the Lord to shine on us and expose our self in all its good or bad intentions and doings, so that we may deny our self and exercise our spirit to be one with the Lord! [continue reading online]
Filed Under: Enjoying Christ, experiencing Christ, expounding the truth, God's economy, His heart's desire, O Lord Jesus!, the Body of Christ, the Christian Life, the church life, the Lord's recovery Tagged With: a vision of the Body, a vision of the self, depending on the Body, depending on the Lord, genuine peace, man-made peace, real dependence on God, the four great pillars, the independent self, the Lord's recovery, the organic union, the self opposes the Body, the soul declaring independence, we need to deny the self
exercising the key of denying the self to shut the gates of Hades and build the church
We need the Lord to shine on us and show us a vision of the self. From the very beginning in the garden of Eden we see that the self is the soul declaring its independence from God. When we are no longer dependent on God but “take matters into our own hands”, we are in the self. The self is the greatest problem to the building up of the Body, and the self is opposing the Body. The principle of the Body is depending on the Lord and depending on the brothers and the sisters… To be independent of the brothers and sisters equals being independent of Christ, but when we are dependent, the self is gone, and instead of the self, we have the Lord’s presence and are full of peace. [continue reading online]
Filed Under: Christ lives in me, Enjoying Christ, experiencing Christ, expounding the truth, God's economy, our birthright, the Body of Christ, the Christian Life, the church life, the Lord's recovery Tagged With: build up the church, denying the self, depending on the Lord, depending on the saints, exercise our spirit, it is serious to be offended, learn to deny ourselves, shut the gates of Hades, the four great pillars, the keys of the kingdom, the kingdom of the Son of His love, the Lord's recovery, the self is the embodiment of Satan, the soul declaring independence
using the keys of the kingdom to lock the subjective gates of Hades and build up the church
Matt. 16:21-26 shows us not only the subjective gates of Hades coming in to frustrate the building up of the church but also the keys of the kingdom of the heavens which lock these doors and release the building up! We need to use the keys of denying our self, losing our soul life, and taking up our cross! Denying the self mainly relates to our mind, since the self is expressed through the mind with its opinions. Taking up the cross is related to taking up the will of God and not our own will. Losing our soul life is related to the enjoyment of the soul, the pleasure – we need to seek God’s pleasure and His enjoyment!
Filed Under: Christ lives in me, Enjoying Christ, experiencing Christ, expounding the truth, God's economy, our birthright, the Body of Christ, the Christian Life, the church life, the Lord's recovery Tagged With: build up the church, denying our self, exercise our spirit, frustrate the building, get behind Me Satan!, lock the gates of Hades, losing our soul life, taking up our cross, the four great pillars, the keys of the kingdom, the Lord's recovery, the self is one with Satan, the subjective gates of Hades, turn to our spirit
the way to build up the church as the kingdom of God is death and resurrection
What is the way to build up the church? As revealed by the Lord in Matt. 16:16-18 and then in 21-26, the way the church is built up in a practical way is through death and resurrection. The Lord Jesus builds up the church through His death and resurrection – if He would have not died on the cross for us and if He would have not resurrected, there would be no church. It is the same with us today – if we do not die to ourselves and if we don’t live the resurrection life in the church life, we do not build up the church. [continue reading this article online]
Filed Under: Christ lives in me, Enjoying Christ, expounding the truth, God's economy, His heart's desire, O Lord Jesus!, our birthright, the Body of Christ, the church life, the Lord's recovery Tagged With: build up God's kingdom, build up the church, death and resurrection, denying our self, die to ourselves, live the resurrection life, lock the gates of Hades, losing our soul life, open the windows of heaven, taking up our cross, the four great pillars, the kingdom of God, the Lord wants to return, the Lord's recovery
having a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom by growing in the divine life
The Bible clearly says that if we are faithful to grow unto maturity and live the kingdom life today we will receive a reward from the Lord at His coming, but if we do not grow and develop now, we will receive a dispensational punishment. Let us look at the reward and run forward with endurance – let us live in the reality of the kingdom today by allowing the divine life to rule and reign in us! If today we live in our spirit, in the reality of the kingdom life, we will be rewarded by the Lord at His coming with a rich entrance into the manifestation of His kingdom! It is then that we will inherit the kingdom of God, who will be our reward. [continue reading this portion online]
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The Flow of Life with the Ministry of Life out of and for the Magnificent House of God (2)
The ministry of life involves feeding, which is a supply for living. Paul told the Corinthians “I gave you milk to drink” (v. 3:2). Had they been mature enough to receive it, he would have given them solid food. This ministry is nourishment, not knowledge. We are ministers “not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor. 3:6). The Spirit nourishes. This nourishment comes from healthy words (1 Tim. 6:3) which are according to godliness, a life lived one with Christ to express God (1 Tim. 3:16). [continue reading online, a review of message 5 in the recent ITERO]
Filed Under: Christ became the Spirit, Enjoying Christ, expounding the truth, feeding on the Lord, God's economy, O Lord Jesus!, serving the saints, the Body of Christ, the Christian Life, the church life, the high peak, the Lord's recovery, the Word of God Tagged With: a proper builder, builders, feeding others with Christ, gold silver precious stones, imparting life, ITERO 2011, planting and watering, sowers planters waterers, the flow of life, the flow of life increases, the four great pillars, the Lord's recovery, the magnificent house of God, the ministry of life
![In My Father's house are many abodes; if [it were] not [so,] I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:2](https://i0.wp.com/agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/In-My-Fathers-house-are-many-abodes-if-it-were-not-so-I-would-have-told-you.jpg?fit=178%2C100&ssl=1)
