the local churches as the golden lampstands bear the testimony of Jesus on the earth

This week in the morning revival we are going through, The Focus of the Lord’s Recovery and the title of the first message / the title for this week is, The Need to See the Focus of the Lord’s Recovery.

It is relatively easy to be in the sphere of the Lord’s recovery, to be in the meetings in the local church, yet not see what the focus of the Lord’s Recovery is. Only the Spirit of reality can create in us a genuine sense of need – if we do not sense a need, we cannot advance very far.

We need to see what the focus of the Lord’s recovery is!

Not having an empty church life

If we do not see what the Lord’s recovery is intrinsically, we may be in the Lord’s recovery outwardly and in the local church meetings weekly, but we may have an empty church life. Unless we see the intrinsic significance of the Lord’s recovery we have a vain life, at best a Brethren-type of meeting…

The focus of the Lord’s Recovery is the corporate expression of the Triune God – in the church life, Christ is shining and God is fully expressed through all the saints! O, Lord, show us intrinsically what the focus of the Lord’s recovery is!

The testimony of Jesus

The focus of the Lord’s recovery is the corporate expression of the Triune God, and the local churches are the local expression of the universal corporate expression of the Triune God in the universe!

The local churches are the golden lampstands in Rev. 1:2, shining in the darkness by bearing the testimony of Jesus. The testimony of Jesus is not only Jesus expressed in the local church but it is so much more! Here’s a definition of the testimony of Jesus from, The conclusion of the New Testament (by brother Witness Lee),

“The testimony of Jesus” (Rev. 1:2, 9; 20:4) is an all-inclusive expression. The testimony of Jesus is the testimony of the Son coming with the Father by the Spirit to live on earth, to die on the cross to clear up the universe, to release the divine life, and to resurrect from the dead to become the life-giving Spirit, who then comes as the Son with the Father compounded with divinity, humanity, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection, including all the divine attributes and the human virtues….This testimony has a symbol—the golden lampstand. The golden lampstand is the testimony of Jesus.

One in existence, many in expression

The church is only one in existence – there is only one God, one Christ, one Spirit, and one church. But for the expression of the one unique universal church there is the need for many expressions – the local churches, the lampstands, shining out God.

Substantially, the church and the churches are one – one golden nature, the Triune God. In expression, the one church is expressed in many local churches as the golden lampstands with the lamps shining in the darkness to express the Triune God! The Father is embodied in the Son, the Son is expressed through the Spirit, and the Spirit is fully realized and reproduced as the churches as the testimony of Jesus!

The shining fulfills God’s purpose

This is how God’s purpose is being fulfilled – through the shining of the many lampstands everywhere on the earth! The lampstand itself simply holds forth the lamp, which is the Triune God embodied in Christ and expressed as the Spirit, shining out to express the Triune God in local church after local church.

As the expression shines, the shining fulfills God’s eternal purpose! Hallelujah, the local churches are the reproduction of the embodiment and expression of the Triune God to corporately express God!

[sharing inspired from the message released by brother Ron K. in the 2011 Thanksgiving Conference, and quotes from, The Genuine Ground of Oneness (by brother Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Focus of the Lord’s Recovery (you can get the book online via lsm). Similar sharing: needing to see the focus of the Lord’s Recovery (via livingtohim) and, Overflow on The Focus of the Lord’s Recovery (via, holdingtotruth). Picture source: the golden lampstand]

Lord Jesus, grant us to see what the focus of the Lord’s recovery is! Lord, save us from leaving an empty and vain church life, a life with no focus or vision! O, Lord, the corporate expression of the Triune God – the testimony of Jesus! Gain the local churches to be the local expression of the universal shining and expression of the Triune God! Fulfill Your purpose by shining in Christ as the Spirit through all the local churches on the earth!