Kisstheson - Words from my Heart

[kisstheson]

Dear ones,

My only burden for this blog is to simply share with everyone those things that have really touched me, including special words I have read or heard and special experiences I have experienced.

As of the present moment, I am finding a great deal of encouragement in the ministries of two precious brothers whom I greatly admire - Oswald Chambers (1874-1917), and Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945). To my rational mind, both died too young. Both could have really given our brother Witness Lee a run for his money in the latter part of the twentieth century! Our dear heavenly Father, however, knows best, and He does all things well. He knows why He took them home early.

Here is a very touching excerpt from dear brother Bonhoeffer's book Life Together, in a section entitled "Intercession":

"A Christian fellowship lives and exists by the intercession of its members for one another, or it collapses. I can no longer condemn or hate a brother for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble he causes me. His face, that hitherto may have been strange and intolerable to me, is transformed in intercession into the countenance of a brother for whom Christ died, the face of a forgiven sinner. This is the happy discovery for the Christian who begins to pray for others . . .

How does this happen? Intercession means no more than to bring our brother into the presence of God, to see him under the Cross of Jesus as a poor human being and sinner in need of grace. Then everything in him that repels us falls away; we see him in all his destitution and need. His need and his sin become so heavy and oppressive that we feel them as our own, and we can do nothing else but pray: 'Lord, do Thou, Thou alone, deal with him according to Thy severity and Thy goodness.' To make intercession means to grant our brother the same right that we have received, namely, to stand before Chirst and share in His mercy."

[cityonahill]

great quote! thanks KTS...it is a great reminder to pick up one another as we are running this race together...

[kisstheson]

Hello dear ones, beloved of God,

My dear sister/wife and I are still processing all that we heard and experienced during the Conference in Raleigh, NC, this past weekend. This was a very significant event for us, as it completed the “third leg” of our seeking journey which began when we were called to leave the LC back in January of 2007. Allow me to briefly explain.

The “first leg” of our seeking journey actually took place while we were still in the LC. We were hearing things and experiencing things that our consciences told us were not of the Lord, yet we ignored these inner stirrings from the Lord for many years. Eventually, we came to realize that the voice of the One who was troubling us was the very voice of our Beloved, our Good Shepherd. The problem was, how could we ever leave the LC? We had heard the dire warnings regarding the terrible fate which overtakes all those who leave. Very much confused, we put this matter before the Lord. We told Him that we needed to hear from some who had left the LC and were going on with the Lord in a very positive way. We do not know of any such cases, but we asked the Lord to bring some examples to our attention. At this point in time we were very troubled and I would even say very discouraged, as we came to firmly believe that something was terribly wrong with us that was not wrong with any of the other saints. Perhaps an incurable “leprosy” had already come upon us, from which the Lord would not cure us. Perhaps a terrible, slow, lingering death was to be our fate, since we had harbored secret doubts in our hearts concerning “God’s best”. Perhaps we had already been pruned off the vine and cast into the fire. Surely we were guilty and surely such a fate is what we deserved. I know it sounds rather dramatic, but it is hard to capture the constant fear, the utter sense of despair, and the feeling of being completely forsaken by the Lord which we lived with for so long.

That is where “the other discussion forum” was such a life-saver to us. Once we came across that discussion forum (quite by accident actually, at least according to the outward appearances), we found that which we never thought we would find – the actual testimonies of many dear ones who had left the LC and who still loved the Lord and were still walking with the Lord. This discovery was greatly used by our dear Lord to strengthen us for our journey out of the LC.

The “second leg” of our seeking journey involved the following questions: We now knew that some had left the LC and were walking in an intimate, loving, relationship with Jesus Christ, but what about ministry? Wasn’t the LC the only place where “rich ministry” could be found? Weren’t these dear ones outside the LC starving because they were trying to survive on “husks”? Again, we put this matter before the Lord, and again He came through in a way which exceeded all our expectations! The dear ones on “the other forum” began to mention and post links to other ministries. We followed up on each and every mention, and before we knew it, we had more “rich ministry” to partake of then we could handle in ten lifetimes: TAS, Ian Thomas, Titus Chu and the dear brothers in the GLA, Stephen Kaung and the dear brothers serving with him, Basilea Schlink, Bakht Singh, Jane Anderson, Neil Anderson, F.F. Bruce, Richard Rohr – just to name some who are/were contemporary with Witness Lee. Along with these, we rediscovered many gems from the past – Andrew Murray, Johann Arndt, Jacob Boehme, F.B. Meyer, Hannah Whitall-Smith, A.W. Pink, C.A. Coates, C.H. Mackintosh, Oswald Chambers, Dietrich Bonhoeffer – to name a few. Wow! We were definitely not surviving on “husks”! By partaking of the spirit of all these other dear ministers of Christ, we were able to place WL in a much more balanced historical context compared to the view we held of WL in the LC. We were able to appreciate that WL was only one of many ministers of Christ whom our dear Lord had given to His Body to equip the members so that the Body may build itself up in love.

The “third leg” of our seeking journey was very much completed this past weekend in Raleigh. We knew of many dear ones who had left the LC and were going on with the Lord, and we knew for a fact that there was much “rich ministry” outside the LC. But what about all those dear assemblies which had left the LC in a corporate way? What had happened to all of them? Could Christ’s beautiful Bride, the vision of whom had so captured us all those years ago, still be seen in these assemblies? Was it really possible that these assemblies were full of functioning members under the headship of Christ? Were these places where our Lord was still “walking in the midst of the golden lampstands”? Were these places where Jesus was again walking the earth in humbleness, meekness, love and compassion?

We admit it. We went to Raleigh on a “spy mission”. We certainly honor the leadings which all of us have followed since leaving the LC. Personally, we have been very blessed in a sweet “home church”. But the idea of “checking out” one of the assemblies which had left the LC would not leave us alone. For some unknown reason, the Lord was really bothering us regarding this matter. Could it be true that some had actually taken the best of what the LC offered, leaving behind what was not profitable, and continued to meet together, seeking the Lord for new and fresh leading? We had to find out! To our amazement, we found out during our time in Raleigh that such a thing had indeed taken place in many localities! The spirit of receiving one another in Christ and spontaneous oneness in Christ was clearly visible. Genuine brotherly love was shown to everyone. All of the speaking and testifying was so refreshing and so full of words of grace and encouragement. Honor was shown to all members, not just to the leading ones. Needless to say, we were very touched and I have to testify that the Lord did a deep inward recalibration work in us. What will be the end result of all this, we do not know at the present time. We are convinced that He will continue to supply us with our daily portions of grace so that we will be able to trust Him one day at a time.

[aron]

Originally Posted by kisstheson

We admit it. We went to Raleigh on a “spy mission”. We certainly honor the leadings which all of us have followed since leaving the LC. Personally, we have been very blessed in a sweet “home church”. But the idea of “checking out” one of the assemblies which had left the LC would not leave us alone. For some unknown reason, the Lord was really bothering us regarding this matter.

Interesting; God's call is to the 'curious' ones. "And Moses turned aside to see..." (Exod. 3:4). " 'Master, where are You staying?' 'Come and see' " (John 1:38,39).

At one point I myself heard of the 'saints' in the 'local churches', and I turned aside to see. This prompted a lengthy, for me anyway, sojourn there. But eventually I was curious to see what was happening with the rest of the christian flock so I continued my journey.

Now, the 'stay-put' folks might say I was enticed by the serpent, as Eve was, to look away toward forbidden fruit. They might think that 'curiosity' is a sin, and prelude to the falling away. In one sense, they are right. My curiosity about what I am doing here on this planet has been satisfied. Jesus Christ is the answer. There is none other for me. Jesus satisfies me completely. He is the Chosen One from God. There is no other, and as a christian, by definition, I must say there can be no other for me.

But where my Master may lead, while I yet remain on the earth, remains a mystery, and I must continue to exercise myself to hear His voice. I believe the flock has a mysterious and hidden journey, and over time it has become harder to submit myself to those with an "edifice complex", who strive to build museums to the faith. I cannot judge another's servant, but at the same time it seems more profitable to me to hear the still, small inner voice, and continue the journey.

Peace and blessings to you as you continue forward.

[kisstheson]

Amen, dear brother aron. Amen and amen.

Yes, our dear and precious Lord Jesus Christ is the One who satisfies us completely. Yes, He is the only One for me as well.

How wonderful it is to gather with other redeemed ones and simply focus on Him! Just Him - sweet, beautiful, lovely Him! O Jesus, You alone have captured our hearts. O Jesus, Shining One, cause us to lose sight of all but You. O Jesus, draw us and keep us so close and so intimate with You. O Jesus, do continue to speak to us of the deepest longings in Your heart. O Jesus, how we long for that day when all of us will be just like You!

Lord Jesus, how we love You! We love You, we love You, we love You!

[aron]

Originally Posted by kisstheson

Yes, our dear and precious Lord Jesus Christ is the One who satisfies us completely. Yes, He is the only One for me as well.

As I said earlier, as christians, by definition, we are those for whom the search has ended. Jesus is our Answer from God, unequivocal and irreplaceable. My analogy is when I fell in love, and shortly thereafter one of my friends came up and told me "aron, I've got a girl for you. She's this and that, and such and so forth, etc", and I simply replied "No, thanks". Maybe this one was all that was being described, and more. But I was already taken. I was off the market. I simply wasn't interested in looking away, not for an instant. It was an emotional decision, to love. And by definition it precluded other courses of action previously open to me. Well, Jesus was like this for many of us. We came down from the mountain, "having beheld His glory and majesty (cf 2 Pet 1:16-18)", and we simply could not think of any other reality than with This One in the most prominent place; this Name is now above every name both on earth and in heaven, both now and forevermore amen. Game over, as they say. Peter and John both say this. "We beheld His glory(John 1:14)". Clearly, for us believers, as Jesus said on the cross, "It is finished." He has gained the victory over sin and death and we happily join his victory parade.

But where this "victory parade" may lead us while we yet are in this earthly tabernacle is still a mystery. There is actually no earthly headquarters issuing directives on "God's latest move". No, it's a little voice within, one day at a time, that we follow. Of course, we have the Bible, and we have the fellowship, but ultimately it is a mysterious voice that calls us so unexpectedly.

Secondly, I have come to realize that the "Christ and the church" rubric of the LC's is in error. No, for the christian it is Christ alone. We are the church, and yes, Christ loves the church, but our job as the church is to love Christ alone. Yes, we love our fellows as well, clearly, but to love "the church" is the province of the bridegroom; only His love is vast enough for the job. Our job is to love God and our neighbor. Let God take the "universal church" on. If we presume to do so we overstep our bounds: we fail miserably at best (being weak and partly blind), and at worst(if we are the "strong" type) we create an organizational monstrosity that we call "the church", and we are as pleased with ourselves as little Jack Horner in his corner with his christmas pie. We are, as djohnson points out, merely "little children playing church in our sandbox". The inevitable fights and name-calling and "turf wars" I think bear out this conclusion.

So -- love God and love the person next to you and let God worry about the "feeling in the Body", and "God's latest move", and so forth (of course, kts, you may know and live all this better than I; I just felt like appropriating your thread for a moment). Peace & grace to all.