Zion is central on God’s heart because this is where Christ is installed King. God’s heart focuses on nothing but Christ – Matt. 17 tells us that Christ is God’s Beloved Son, the One in whom God’s heart is.
Zion is beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth (Psa. 48:1-2), the highest point in the city of Jerusalem, the place where the Holy of Holies is.
Within Jerusalem there’s a city – the city of Zion – the highest peak, where Christ Himself is, and this peak is our spirit! Whenever we praise the elevated Christ, we automatically become part of the elevated city, Zion!
Everything is for God to obtain Zion
We are saved for Zion, for the kingdom of God! The purpose of salvation, as revealed in the whole gospel of Matthew, is the kingdom of God. We are not just saved and restored but we are becoming people of the kingdom of God – we are being constituted with Christ Himself to become His enlargement, His house, His city, to be one with Him as His testimony on the earth!
Christ is the King, and He as the life-giving Spirit is working Himself into us as the kingdom, so that He may be enlarged, expanded, and expressed through His people for His city and for the earth!
The focus of the Lord’s recovery is to make us the elevated peak, the holy city of Zion, by constituting us with Christ for the testimony of Jesus. In Matt. 16 we have “the Christ”, “My church”, “the keys of the kingdom”, and “bind on the earth” – Christ builds up the church (the house of God) which is the city of God (the kingdom of God) to gain the whole earth!
For the Lord to gain Zion is a great matter – as we see this vision and we cooperate with Him to gain this elevated city, we become and live in this city, He has a way to genuinely take over this usurped earth!
His foundation is in the holy mountains
All the local churches on the earth are the holy mountains, and Christ is the unique foundation (1 Cor. 3:11). Christ is the living, organic, growing, spreading, and dispensing foundation – He makes us the same as He is! He is Holy and He makes us the holy mountains!
By experiencing this Christ and His dispensing, by enjoying Him, we become the holy mountains. The holy mountains here are the many churches that are constituted with Christ as the Holy One. God’s city is constituted with nothing but Christ!
Christ is the living foundation, and this foundation grows! Usually a foundation is static, a base, with the house on top of it; but in 1 Cor. 3 we see that we are God’s cultivated land and we are the plants – but God gives the growth!
Right after speaking about this, Paul continued with, Christ is the only foundation and we need to “bear fruit” with gold, silver, and precious stones! Christ is the living foundation, and the entire building comes out of this foundation – this foundation grows!
Holding the Head is building on the foundation
How do we build on Christ as the foundation? It is by allowing Christ to make His home in our being (Eph. 3:14-17) so that He becomes the materials to build the church. God desires that we all would experience Christ and allow Him to make His home in our heart.
Also, we need to hold Christ as the Head (Col. 2:19) – the foundation is the Head, and out of this foundation the living Body of Christ grows! The foundation is not under us but over us – Christ is the living, organic, moving, and dispensing foundation!
By holding Christ as the Head, we experience Him as the foundation! Oh, Lord Jesus, I love You! Lord, keep me one spirit with You every moment! – as we open to Him and enjoy Him in such a way, He is very busy to constitute us with Himself!
The highest principle in the church life is holding Christ as the Head by giving Him the preeminence. Lord, You are Number One! You are my first and best love! We hold Him as the Head and love Him as the foundation, and He makes us the church, the pillar and base of the truth, His duplication! Awesome!
Jehovah loves the gates of Zion
Psa. 87:2 says that Jehovah loves the gates of Zion more than the tents of Jacob. The gates signify fellowship – God is faithful, who called us into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Cor. 1:9).
We need to be “loaded with gates” – we are not for our own dwelling place but we are for the gates of Zion, God’s desire and His interest. He wants us to have a gate-life in the fellowship with the all-inclusive Christ and with all the saints in oneness!
1 Cor. 1:9 speaks of the fellowship with God, and v. 10 speaks of the fellowship with the saints, especially about seeking to have the oneness. Fellowship is related to oneness, and where there’s the gates of Zion, there’s oneness.
To have the gates of Zion in our living, to live in fellowship, means that we’re in fellowship vertically with the Lord as the Head of the Body and horizontally with the saints as the Body of the Head. Zion is a fellowship city, and the New Jerusalem is loaded with gates! If we don’t have the gates of Zion, we are under the attack of the gates of Hades (see Matt. 16).
Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God!
Because we are constituted with Christ to be the city of God, this will issue in the whole earth speaking good things about the city of God! The Lord needs not only the house for His rest and satisfaction but also the city for His dominion, a city full of Him as the living foundation and one with Him by being saturated with Him as the indwelling One, full of gates!
Heb. 12:22 says that you have come to Mt Zion – every time we come to the Triune God in our spirit, we come to Mount Zion, the universal gathering! Lord, I want to be in my spirit moment by moment!
The key to becoming an overcomer is to give the Lord the preeminence, the first and best love! Loving the Lord, eating the Lord, and being His testimony (see Rev. 2) go together – this is the key to being an overcomer! We are not the super-giants spiritually (Rev. 3:8), but we have little power and don’t deny His name! It is out of the mouths of babes and sucklings that God has established praise (Psa. 8). Will You be an overcomer? AMEN! Will YOU make this choice? AMEN! Lord, make me an overcomer!
[sharing inspired from message 3 in the 2011 winter training on, The Crystallization-Study of the Psalms (part 2), given by brother Dick Taylor. Title: God’s desire for Zion with Christ. There’s so much more in this message, but this is just a little bit of the enjoyment… (read also a portion via, God’s desire is for Zion with Christ)]
Lord, make us Overcomers..this is what we are here on the earth for..to turn this Age to the Kingdom Age.. and bring in the Kingdom Reign of our dear Lord Jesus Christ to this Earth…Amen dear Saints…
Oh Lord Jesus…
living an overcoming life is to live in resurrection life of Christ..hallelujah!!..emmanuel saints
When Christ is given the preeminence, the highest position in our life and living, in the church life, we can continually preserve the church life in its highest peak–the overcoming life, Zion!
I am not super in any way. But, praise the Lord He can make me an Overcomer by being saturated with Him. Eating and drinking Christ is the way. Lord Jesus gain many Overcomers, We long to be at your Wedding Feast.