Our Joy Being Directly Connected To God
When wrong people appoint themselves leaders of any church Christ suffers. When men or women without the mindset of God or being gifted with the insight of Spiritual God-Christ (the body of Christ, CHURCH) suffers. It's is the same when carnal Christians lead and order the affairs of the local or community church.
Yesterday, I made us aware that it's not everything one perceives spiritual or could be good in the carnal sense which helps the church. This includes making tenets or rules for a particular group or church. The Body of Christ is organic and it's the arrangements by God for God and through Jesus Christ. To be consumed into God, ie. everything works to be one with and in God.
Wrong teaching always brings the wrong perception and understanding Christians ought to have. We often confuse all ministers to witness Christ to teachers imparting and impacting Jesus Christ to the Church. Not all are called to be Apostles, Evangelists, Teachers , Prophets, and Leaders, these are given to some by God, whilst witnessing and testifying are not, they form the experience of the saints or ministers. Proper teaching brings us to understand that we are forever connected to God and through Jesus Christ we will be consumed into God, leaving no carnality as we mature from the moment we are born of the Spirit of God.
Isa 49:4 But I said, I have laboured in vain; I have used up my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely the justice
due to me is with Jehovah, And my recompense with my God. (5) And now says Jehovah, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel would be gathered to Him; and I will be glorified in the sight of
Jehovah, and My God will be My strength.
Isaiah is one of the prophets who prophesied a great deal
concerning Christ. In Isaiah 49:5 we see the work of the Lord on earth. Verse 4 tells us whether the Lord's work on earth was successful. What was God's purpose in sending the Lord Jesus to the earth? It was for the purpose of turning the house of Jacob back to God, to gather them to Him. But what was the result? Did he succeed?
According to man's view, our
Lord failed completely. The house of Jacob did not turn to
Him, and the Israelites rejected Him, denied Him, and
crucified Him on the cross. Even one of His disciples
betrayed Him. This is why verse 4 says, "But I said, I have
laboured in vain; I have used up my strength for nothing and
vanity."
Brothers and sisters, in these circumstances--being
despised by men on earth, with no result in the work, and
seemingly having accomplished nothing for God's will--we surely would have wept in sorrow. Even if we had not wept, we surely would have been sad, and even if we had not been sad, at the very least, we would have become passive. Here's the truth.
But our Lord was different. Although He did not gain what He hoped for and missed what He yearned for, His justice was
with Jehovah. Although He had laboured much and there did not seem to be any result in the work, His justice was with
Jehovah. In other words, whether or not He was treated justly was something up to Jehovah.
"My recompense [is] with my
God." Although He could not obtain anything from the house of Jacob or from the Israelites, He would receive His reward
from the Lord. Therefore, He was satisfied; He did not
complain, weep, or grieve. This is the Lord's attitude.
Brothers and sisters, this shows us one thing--we cannot be directly related to our work; we can only be directly related
to God. We cannot be directly connected to affairs or people;
we can only be directly connected to God. Whenever we are directly related to work, affairs, and people, we will feel
hurt, weep, and suffer as soon as we encounter difficulties
and adversities.
But if we are directly related to God, we will rejoice when we are rejected. Even when difficulties arise and everything seems to have failed, we will be able to rejoice. If we are directly related to God, no success or
failure will touch us. We will only care for one thing--
whether or not the justice due to us is with the Lord and
whether our recompense is with Him.
If our justice is with the Lord, our recompense will be with Him also. If we're blessed with such understanding and thought, there will be no in fight or bickering over some one have stolen your flocks (for they don't belong to you in the first place). One who works with God and is connected to God is not consumed with the number of people one calls to God ( that's also false or fallacy no one comes to God without God without God knowing them).
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible
and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, General Messages,
Vol. 37, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, pp.201-202.
Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA.
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