The way for us today to become vitalized is to answer the Lord’s call to be an overcomer, for an overcomer is a vital person, a praying person.
Also, as today’s overcomers, we need to be men who understand the times so that we may know what to do; we need to grasp the opportunity to pray and be the Lord’s overcomers, the vital ones, the praying ones, for Him to have a way to change the age.
May the Lord teach us to number our days, so that we may gain a heart of wisdom; in God’s eyes a day is not 24h as it is with us, but when we are involved in something that is important to Him, time is more worthy.
This is why we need to redeem the time, that is, redeem the opportunities to serve the Lord according to His will, so that we may be His overcomers of today.
As we approach the end of this age, there is a unique opportunity to cooperate with God for the turn of the age, that is, for the age to be changed from the age of the church to the age of the kingdom.
On one hand we need to grasp the opportunities which the Lord arranges for us time and time again, and on the other hand, we should not be discouraged when we see how much of our time is wasted, for we have the Lord’s promise in Joel 2:25.
The Lord promises that the years that the locust has eaten will be restored to us; if we waste our days, ten years may be equal to one day, but if we redeem the time, one day may be equal to ten years! Wow!
We simply need to cooperate with the Lord today, that is, we need to redeem the time today by spending more and more of our time in doing the Lord’s will.
The days that we serve the Lord, the days we set aside time to minister Christ, these days count in God’s eyes.
Answering the Lord’s Call to be an Overcomer by being Vitalized to be a Praying Person
The Lord’s call today is for overcomers; we answer the Lord’s call by being vitalized, for an overcomer is a vital person, a praying person (Psa. 119:88, 159; Dan. 11:32).
A vital person, a person who is living and active, is a praying person.
Our intention in forming the new groups, the vital groups, is to have groups of overcomers; this is the reason the groups are called “vital groups”.
We are in the church life to be produced as the Lord’s overcomers, those who are desperate to conquer the deadness of Sardis (Rev. 3:1), the lukewarmness of Laodicea (vv. 15-16), and the barrenness which can come in, as dealt with by the Lord in John 15 (see vv. 1-8, 16).
Our being grouped in the church life is not merely to be better gospel preachers or better shepherds; rather, we are being grouped in vital groups is to be overcomers.
If we are to be vitalized, we need to have close, intimate, and thorough fellowship with the Lord and with the seeking saints; we need to contact the Lord and ask Him to vitalize us and make us His overcomers.
Also, we need to ask the Lord to lead us to some companions with whom we can labor, just as Daniel had three companions (Dan. 1:6).
Daniel and his three companions are an “Old Testament vital group”; they were four overcomers, a dispensational instrument, living and vital – what a testimony they had!
As we live our Christian life in the church life today, we need to be the Lord’s overcomers, those who are being vitalized to be the overcomers of today, the reality of Zion in Jerusalem.
The Lord is calling us, we are in the age of the church and we need to respond to His call to be His overcomers (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26-28; 3:5, 12, 20-21; 21:7).
However, we need to realize that it is one thing for us to be in the church life and it is another thing to be an overcomer in the church life (Rev. 14:1-5).
Christ today is calling us to overcome; may we rise up from any sleep or stupor, may we rise up from any physical, psychological, or spiritual sleep, and Christ will shine on us!
He is trying to tell us that we shouldn’t be satisfied with just living in the church life or having a routine Christian life, but we should answer the Lord’s call and be the overcoming ones, those being vitalized today!
May we live as the Lord’s overcomers today; may we answer the Lord’s call today, live as an overcomer, and be the Lord’s overcomers in this age.
The Lord seems to be giving us a wake-up call these days; He is tapping us on our shoulder and telling us to rise up and be His overcomers, those being vitalized with Him!
May we make a resolution to be the Lord’s overcomers, the vitalized ones; may we be those who overcome anything that is replacing Christ or that is against Christ (Judges 5:15-16; 1 John 2:18-20, 27).
We have to make a resolution; we need to be determined to be the overcomers, the ones who are being vitalized.
May we answer the Lord’s call and overcome anything that is replacing Christ or that is against Christ so that we may be His overcomers in this age!
Lord Jesus, grant us the grace to be those who answer Your call to be an overcomer in this age today! May we be the vital persons, those who are living and active, those who pray! Amen, Lord, produce us to be the overcoming ones, those who are being vitalized and who are desperate to overcome any deadness, any lukewarmnes, and any barrenness! We come to You, Lord, to have close, intimate, and thorough fellowship with You and with the seeking saints, and we want to have companions to pursue You with and to labor with as a vital group! Amen, Lord, gain the vital groups You need to turn the age, to obtain the dispensational instrument to end this age and bring in the age of the kingdom!
Being those who Understand the Times and Knowing what we should Do in this Age today – Praying the Age-Turning Prayer!
In 1 Chron. 12:32 we see that the children of Issachar were men who understood the times that they might know what Israel should do; as today’s overcomers, we should be such ones today.
In 1 Chronicles this section refers to where David was enumerating all of his mighty men; this was in a chapter or even more.
And among the children of Issachar there were two hundred who were heads among them; these were men who know the times, and they would know what Israel should do.
These days, we need to come near into God’s presence, bring the words we hear especially concerning His call for the overcomers, and ask Him to make us those who know the times, to know the season we’re in, and to know what we should do.
The Lord said to Jeremiah that even the stork and the swallow knows what time it is, when the migration comes, but His people, they don’t know the times, they don’t know the ordinances of Jehovah.
They are asleep and dull in their senses, and they don’t even care for what’s going on of what the Lord is doing today.
The truth is that people on earth are suffering calamities and the churches are in hardship; this is not the age of God’s heart’s desire but rather, this is the age in which God has certain procedures to satisfy and fulfill His heart’s desire.
God today is using His procedures to bring in the age of His heart’s desire. He uses the human and worldly environment, He uses even this health crisis with the COVID19, He uses the wars, the famines, the plagues, and all kinds of things to bring in the age of His heart’s desire.
For us to turn the age of procedures to the age of God’s heart’s desire, we must pray the age-turning prayer, just as Daniel did.
It is all a mystery today, but if we open to the Lord and hear His call for overcomers, we will be those being vitalized with the Lord and praying one with Him an age-turning prayer to change this age.
The earth suffers calamities because the people living on earth don’t want God to do His will, and they don’t care for God’s affairs; therefore, if we are to pray to end the time of calamities, we must answer God’s demands and care for God and His needs.
As believers in Christ, we want the calamities to end; we want the crisis, the pandemic, to end. But the way to do this is to answer first God’s demand and care for God’s needs.
We shouldn’t think, When will the lock-down end, when will this be over and we will go back to normal?
Rather, we should know the times, answer God’s call, and allow the Lord to press us through this present situation into our spirit, compelling us to pray, spend much time in His presence, and pray the age-turning prayer!
There may be an economic crisis coming at the heels of this health crisis, and calamity may follow calamity; this all should press us into our mingled spirit that we may understand the times and truly consecrate ourselves to answer God’s demands on behalf of the church!
Christendom as a whole has failed God; God’s eyes today are not on the church to fulfill His desire – His eyes are on the overcomers, and He wants to gain an age-turning dispensational instrument today.
Beginning from the decline of the church, the degradation of the church, God’s eyes have been on the overcomers, those who care for God’s desire and pray one with God for His need to be met on earth.
The Lord is looking for a few, a remnant, a minority of His overcomers; these are not “super people” or “the best Christians” – they are not more perfect in themselves than others, but they are determined to see something of what is in God’s heart and be joined to it!
May we be those who see what’s on God’s heart, be joined to His desire in His word, and be absolute for God, being joined to His word, and pray the age-turning prayer!
May we be the man-child that is to be born as a collective unit throughout the ages!
The woman – as seen in Rev. 12 – is weak; Satan, the great red dragon, is not trying to devour the woman but the man-child, for when the man-child is born and is caught to the throne, that will begin his end!
When the man-child is raptured, the devil will be cast down with his evil angels to the earth, and the kingdom of God will come. Then the kingdom of this earth will be the kingdom of Christ.
There will be a dispensational change on this earth, even in this universe; the kingdom will be here, and that will be the age of Christ’s heart’s desire.
Today we’re still in the age of the procedures, so we should be one with the Lord to build up the Body, prepare the bride, and be the overcomers the Lord needs today, those being vitalized in this age!
Actually the whole universe, the whole creation is groaning for the revelation of the sons of God, that they may be delivered from the bondage of slavery.
Where are the mature sons of God, the new creation, the new man, the bride of Christ?
May we answer the Lord’s call for the turning of this age; may we live one with God, caring for God’s heart’s desire so that the age of God’s heart’s desire will be here! Amen!
Lord Jesus, make us those who understand the times we live in so that we may know what to do and how to cooperate with You to end this age and bring in the age of Your heart’s desire, the age of the kingdom. We want to answer Your call for overcomers, and may we have a strong resolution to be the Lord’s overcomers today, the dispensational instrument used by Him to end this age. We give ourselves to You, Lord, to grow in life unto maturity, build up the church as the Body of Christ, prepare the bride of Christ, and become the corporate warrior who prays the age-turning prayer in cooperation with God’s work in this age. Amen, Lord Jesus, gain Your overcomers. Gain Your dispensational instrument!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Minoru Chen for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1993, vol. 2, “The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups,” pp. 283, 272, 27, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, A Timely Word Concerning the World Situation and the Lord’s Recovery (2020 Memorial Day Conference), week 5, Answering God’s Call to Be His Dispensational Instruments, His Overcomers to Turn the Age.
- Hymns on this topic:
– 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)
– Would you choose to be a living overcomer, / Be a person not ashamed to be a Jesus lover, / One who eats the tree of life, / And drinks the living water? / Would you choose to be a living overcomer, / To leave the world and consecrate / To be today’s age-turner? / I give myself to You for Your return. (Song on, Choose to Be an Overcomer)
– I dare not be defeated, / When Jesus leads me on / To press through hellish regions / To share with Him His Throne; / Come, Lord, and give Thy soldier / The power to wield the sword, / Make me an overcomer / Through Thine inerrant Word. (Hymns #877)
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