The Lord’s Presence

Today’s Key Verses for Pray-reading

Matthew 18:20

For where two or three are gathered into My name, there I am in their midst.

Matthew 28:19–20

Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age.

Acts 13:2–4a

As they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. They therefore, having been sent out by the Holy Spirit…

Revelation 12:11

They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they loved not their soul-life even unto death.

Revelation 14:1, 4b

And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. … These are they who follow the Lamb wherever He may go. They were purchased from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.

Today’s Prayer

Lord Jesus, may we have Your presence not only in revelation but also in the living of Your life, and in the building up of the Body, the central goal of Your economy. May we have the presence that brings joy to God’s heart: every member functioning according to his or her measure, all serving together to accomplish the building in Ephesians 4. O Lord, this is the presence we want—not merely a presence of mercy or blessing. Lead us onward to the presence on Mount Zion! Amen!

Today someone may ask, “Where is Your presence?” You shepherd Your flock among the lilies; when we shepherd together, Your presence is there. Where are You? You are in the fields and villages; when we go forward with You to spread and stay together, Your presence is there. Lord, You walk on the God-ordained way. As we walk in Your way, we have Your multiplied presence. As we go with the seven Spirits sent throughout the earth, we have Your sevenfold intensified presence to accomplish Your economy!

Amen—may there be a rushing throughout the earth! Being stirred in our heart is good, but not enough; we need to act. Action is good, but we must go further: our action must become a vital living and a vital spreading, an army in two camps that gains new ground, bears fruit in abundance, and is faithful unto death, so that the reality of the Body may fill the earth. Lord, strengthen us in every way. Make us earnest in prayer, in pray-reading and looking to You, in shepherding, and in spreading. In the coming ten years, may the vital groups prevail throughout the earth and the building of the Body reach Zion.

Ministry Fellowship

To have the Lord’s presence, we must walk with Him on the way He has ordained

For more than ten years, the Lord has been showing us that those who take their own way and do their own work go downhill day by day, losing more and more of the Lord’s power and blessing. Service in the church, however, goes upward day by day, with more of the Lord’s presence and confirmation. The Lord is taking the church way on earth and doing the church work. When people take their own way and do their own work, they lose the Lord’s presence and blessing. What brings blessing to people is the Lord’s presence; His greatest presence is His greatest blessing. To receive His blessing, we must have His presence, and to have His presence, we must walk on the way He has ordained and walk with Him.

If the Lord takes one way and someone takes another, how can they meet Him or have His presence? It is difficult to take one’s own way while hoping for the Lord’s presence and blessing. Although someone may desire them, he may be unwilling to walk on the way the Lord has ordained. The way the Lord is taking today is the church way. May we look to the Lord for mercy, learn to follow and serve Him in the church, and bring the brothers and sisters into the service of the church.

(The Way of the Church, Introduction)

Do not go downhill; our eyes need to be opened to join the Lord’s proper move

Luke 24:13–35 records the appearance of the Man-Savior to two disciples. They were talking about all the things that had happened. Deeply disappointed and discouraged, they left Jerusalem and went to Emmaus instead of remaining in Jerusalem. If we go downhill, we may take the Lord with us as we go. In Luke 24, the two disciples took the Lord with them from Jerusalem to Emmaus. He came to them also to open their eyes. They learned much along the way; they left Jerusalem disappointed, but returned greatly encouraged.

(Life-study of Luke, Message 54)

The apostles and their co-workers labored diligently and enjoyed the special presence in the Lord’s strategic move

Paul and his co-workers concluded that God had called them to announce the gospel to the Macedonians, so they intended to go to Macedonia. This was a major step in the Lord’s move, spreading His kingdom to another continent, Europe. This explains why the Holy Spirit forbade them and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them, and why a vision came in the night. To carry out the special leading in this strategic move of the Lord, the apostles and their co-workers had to labor diligently. They did so at once.

(Life-study of Acts, Message 45)

Today the question is how to preserve the Lord’s presence

We should not come to the Lord merely to ask what method to use for a certain task. Simply doing certain things according to what the Lord said can become religion! The question today is not merely whether we keep the Lord’s word, but whether we preserve His presence. Years ago I tried to learn the Lord’s way, but eventually I realized that the main matter is not knowing His way; it is gaining His presence.

Today’s need is not to learn a method, but to remain in His presence

New Testament service means remaining in the Lord’s presence; it is not a matter of learning a method. There is no method—only His presence. It is not a matter of the letter, but of the Spirit. The word of the Bible by itself can be a dead method, but when the Lord Himself is our person, that is the living way. A method belongs to the letter, but gaining the Lord’s presence is of the Spirit. Today’s need is to remain continually in His presence. In New Testament service, everything must issue from the Spirit.

(The Ministry of the New Testament, Message 2)

Enjoy the overcoming presence in Zion

Jerusalem here is a large sphere that includes all Christians. But where is Zion, the overcomers? In the book of Revelation, what the Lord desires to gain and build is Zion—the overcomers. The overcomers are Zion, the place where God is. This is the intrinsic reality of the spiritual revelation in the holy Word. We must realize what the Lord’s recovery is: it is to build up Zion. We all need to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in the work of spreading the gospel, multiplying and increasing, and establishing models.

(The Practical Church Life, ch. 5; The Direction for the Spreading of the Lord’s Recovery, ch. 5)

If our shepherding is merely outward, people may fall away tomorrow

Brothers and sisters, this is grace and the characteristic of God’s working within us under the New Testament. If we truly know this, we will not be anxious for ourselves or worry about others. If our shepherding consists only of outward exhortation, methods, or attractions, it will not accomplish much. A person may seem to be lifted up today and fall away tomorrow.

(The Experience of Life, vol. 1, ch. 7)

Vital groups live the corporate God-man living, which naturally issues in begetting, nourishing, perfecting, and building

Vital groups should be groups of people who live this kind of life. By living such a God-man life, we will save people, edify them, establish local churches, and eventually build up the Body of Christ.

(Living a Life according to the High Peak of the Divine Revelation, ch. 5)

Every day, have the Lord’s presence on the God-ordained way of begetting, nourishing, perfecting, and prophesying

If they live this way and become such persons, they will be occupied every day with these four matters: begetting, nourishing, perfecting, and prophesying. Second Timothy 4:2a says, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season.” To do this is to live a life for Christ and the church.

(The Practice of the Church Life according to the God-ordained Way)

Wherever the Lamb goes, they follow Him; His presence matures them in their living and walk

Revelation 14 does not say that the firstfruits are raptured because these overcomers are always following the Lamb. Wherever the Lamb goes, they follow, and thus they are always with Him. This is why Revelation 14 shows them standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion. Since they have already been living in the Lord’s presence, being raptured is no surprise to them. They live in the heavens today, and in the future they will stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion in the heavens.

(The Teaching of the Apostles, ch. 8)