What it Means to Walk in the Presence of Christ

A number of people I've communicated with through the years have misunderstood what it means to walk in the presence of the Lord. I thought I'd take a moment and help give some understanding and insight into this so we can know better what it is this means.

First of all, let's talk about the presence of the Lord from a couple different areas. You have the general presence of the Lord, which fills the universe, and which the created universe can't hold; even the heavens of heavens. That talks about a general presence where God is everywhere because nothing created can hold Him.

Second, there's the much more important specific presence of God, which dwells within those who have received Christ as their Lord and Savior. That presence dwells within us with a very stated purpose: filling us with Christ. But it isn't a general filling, where God is there because of his endless, eternal makeup, rather He's there so His life can inhabit us in a complete way.

Taking up residence within our spirit, God then begins to work His presence within us through the cross so that He doesn't simply inhabit us, but changes us into His very image.

Eventually, His eternal purpose of filling everything with Himself will be fulfilled, as His people embrace union with Him and change from glory to glory through the many trials and struggles of life.

So while the presence of Christ within us definitely is a tremendous blessing and closeness, at the same time His dwelling within us is so He can have pre-eminence and the two will become one. Essentially that's what it means for the church to exist, to be a visible testimony of the invisible Lord.

For that to happen we must open our hearts to Him in faith so He can rule the kingdom of our hearts.

All of us who truly believe have the life of Christ within us, but very few are willing to walk the difficult path that will destroy our self life in order for the life of Christ to be manifest. The work of the cross is the tool used by God to bring this about, but most aren't able or willing to embrace that effective, destructive tool in order that the perfume of Christ can be released from these human vessels.

This is why God continually calls a people to walk in this way, as there aren't many able to walk this walk individually. It's also his ultimate will and purpose that a people exist that show forth who Christ is; not simply an individual.

While we all need to embrace this way as individuals, it's to be expressed and displayed in a corporate people. In the end, that's the reason God created and the purpose for being called out of all the nations to Christ. That's what the church is, a people called out of this world into a higher life and world, which, corporately, is to be brought from a higher realm to this one.

It all happens in the hearts of a people sincere and serious about walking in union with Christ.

One of Many Lessons from Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life - 7

The recent death of Alexander Solzhenitsyn on August 3, made a lot of people who lived through the times when he wrote his powerful books that changed an empire - reflective.

There's one thing I want to mention, because it has to do with our recent theme of Jesus as the tree of life.

I want to focus on what he talked about in reference to good and evil some time ago. Here's what one writer says about it:

"For Solzhenitsyn, right and wrong, good and evil, undoubtedly do exist. However, as he first expressed it in a poem written in his head in the camps nearly 60 years ago, the dividing line between good and evil passes not between warring parties, ideologies, armies, but runs through the heart of each individual and flickers ceaselessly to and fro."

This is an extraordinary understanding of the source of what becomes outward actions and deeds: it comes from the heart.

Eating of the tree of life was meant to take in the life of Christ interally, and willingly allow Him to live out that live in creation. That's the very purpose of creation, that it would bear the testimony of the invisible Christ. It's still the ultimate end of the eternal purpose of God. This is the purpose of the church, to be a letter written from God within, that then expresses itself outwardly.

Solzhenitsyn understood that everything was connected to the heart, and if that changed, the rest would follow.

That's why the scriptures teach that Christ has written His laws in our hearts. He is the king and ruler, and His kingdom is an inner one. Once we learn to eat of the tree of life, the outer starts to take care of itself as the living Christ expands who he is within us. Eventually the two will become one, as heaven and earth become a visible testimony to who Christ is.

This is why we are to embrace the kingdom coming and the will of God being done on earth as it is in heaven, because the two are one in Christ. Now He is looking for people who are willing to endure the cross so that can become a reality. The ultimate work of the cross is to eliminate who we are so He can live fully within us.

The secret is we retain our soul while He becomes everything. He never forces us, but woos us to Himself within. That puts the responsibility upon us to keep our hearts open and pliable to Him while we go through the myriad tough times those embracing the cross will always go through.

It all has to do with internalizing and eating of the tree of life.

By the way, if you want to understand a portion of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Solzhenitsyn expresses the fruit of it accurately, it "runs through the heart of each individual and flickers ceaselessly to and fro."

The tree of life on the other hand, does the opposite.

Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life Series

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

a

Don't Despise the Day of Small Things

Small Things

Zechariah 4:9,10 NIV
 
Then the word of the Lord came to me: The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.
Who despises the day of small things?  
 
We who see the great eternal purpose of God are sometimes overwhelmed by the current condition of the church of Jesus Christ. We share in the burden of the Holy Spirit to show forth Jesus Christ in His church.  

Because we share this great desire we can at times become to a great extent discouraged by what seems the indifference of God Himself concerning these things. As a result we increase our own natural efforts to attempt to bring about the purpose of God in this earth. This has never worked and it never will.  

What is tremendously enlightening about the scriptures above is that a couple of verses before this we are given that oft quoted insight that things will be done not by power or might but by the Spirit of the Lord.  

It gives us real understanding in how God does things within the context that we are dealing with. The context is the temple of God or the church being started and finished. Like we’ve talked about before; a revelation of Christ being the Alpha and Omega.  It is amazing to me the simplicity of what is being talked about here. At this point we have a type of Christ in Zerubbabel laying the foundation of the temple. Of course that means that He laid Himself as the foundation.
 
Now what is enlightening to me is that this is sandwiched between the scriptures concerning that this will be done by the Spirit along with the admonition that we are not to despise the day of small things.
 
Here I want to talk about not despising the day of small things.  

We as Christians, out of a misguided zeal, always want to do “big” things for the Lord. Consequently, we make the big plan, recruit, raise some money, and then want results within a week or two.  While there is nothing wrong with wanting to do the will of God, there is something wrong with the thought that it is going to happen immediately in response to some emotional appeals.  

We are always looking for the next “big” thing rather than to gradually, faithfully grow together into the image of God that is in Christ Jesus.  God is building His temple. Yet He wants things to be done His way. If it is not done His way, He has no qualms about leaving man-created works and contracting things down to a few to start again.  

That’s why it was such a sin when David wanted to count Israel. He wanted to boast about how big things had gotten. He wanted to boast in the natural aspects of things rather than in God. He paid a horrible price for His mistake.  Jesus never attempted to do things to impress men. In the end before He died He had just a small handful of men that were left from His 3 ½ years of ministry. Yet on the cross He without hesitation declared that “it was finished.” He had fulfilled the purpose of God that He had come to the earth to perform.  I want to relate to you here a story about Sam Walton, the man who made Wal-Mart.  

He tells us in his autobiography (Sam Walton – Made in America ) that he never had any big vision of creating some great behemoth that the stores have become. Rather he said that all he ever wanted to do was to take care of the little things daily. When he and the other employees did these things, the results took care of themselves.  

I always wanted to be the best retailer in the world not necessarily the biggest… Here’s the point: the bigger Wal-Mart gets, the more essential it is that we think small. Because that’s how we have become a huge corporation – by not acting like one. Above all, we are small-town merchants, and I can’t tell you how important it is for us to remember – when we puff up our chests and brag about all those huge sales and profits – that they were all made one day at a time, one store at a time, mostly by the hard work, good attitude, and teamwork of all those hourly associates and their store managers, as well as by all those folks in the distribution centers. If we ever get carried away with how important we are because we’re a great big $50 billion chain – instead of one store in Blytheville , Arkansas , or McComb , Mississippi , or Oak Ridge , Tennessee – then you probably can close the book on us.  

Sam Walton, in his chosen field, did not despise the day of small things. As a matter of fact he insisted that the company would be run in no other way.
 
This is why the Lord started things in one city and than move from city to city as a strategy when the church began, eventually unto the uttermost parts of the earth.  
The ways of God are that we are to consistently, continuously, gradually extend the eternal purpose of God, not only throughout the earth but throughout the age. Yes the earth is the whole field of our service, but overall that is a meaningless entity from man’s point of view. Why? We are made of flesh and blood.  We have these earthen vessels that we dwell in. That means that we must think locally, even though we recognize that Jesus wants to fill the whole earth with Himself.

Jesus recognized the limitations of dwelling in His earthly body. That is why He tells us about His desire to get past the baptism that He was to be baptized with so that the era of the Spirit could begin.  

Why is this so important? When you think in terms of the whole earth it is so easy to do nothing. It is so easy to flee responsibility. The great majority of Christians without a doubt are to live and act locally. This is the secret of not despising small things.  

Yes we are part of something much bigger than ourselves individually and corporately. Yes we are part of something much bigger than the neighborhoods we live in. It’s like when you hear someone in the world that is boasted about being a citizen of the world. What is usually meant is that they are a citizen of nothing; committed to nowhere and nobody.  The bride of Christ as she is revealed coming down out of heaven is great to behold. That is something big. That is the fulfilment of the eternal purpose of God being manifest in the earth. It encompasses all generations and all believers that will ever live.  

Think about the context of what happened here though. This is talked about at the end of a letter that John has written to who? Yes, a number of local churches.  
In the day to day outworking of our faith we do need to see the great fulfilment of God’s eternal purpose. That is truly something that is huge. This is shown forth by the measurements that are taken of its size.  

One of the reasons this is revealed to us is that our steady faithfulness to God in the daily “little” things, is eventually rewarded with the satisfaction of God’s heart.  We must grow into faithfulness in the little things, whether it is in our daily vocations, marriages, child-raising, business dealings, fellowship with one another; amidst the myriad of things that we encounter in the environment that we may find ourselves in.  

So not only are we not to despise the days of small things, rather we are to embrace them as a way of life.

Whatever You Do, Do it from the Heart Unto the Lord

One of the things that has helped me more than anything else in everyday life is to do whatever I do from the heart unto the Lord. It changes everything when you learn to practice this.

Whatever our circumstances are, if we will include that in our ways when we do things, it has a way of changing whatever it is we're doing without more effort.

But even the benefits it can have for others pales in comparison to the reality that we have been created from, for and to Him. To do this can become as simple as breathing. Eventually you really don't think about it, you simply live from Him, and from out of your heart give back to Him whatever it is he's given you.

Many times this includes things in relationship to people. It can make a tremendous difference when we relate to others and serve them in any way that is the same way that we would relate or serve the Lord.

There is nothing we can strive or work for here, we just open our hearts and give them to Him, and then from His heart give it back to whoever we are able to at the time.

It's a life-changing experience that we can all partake of as we walk in Him together; not only those we touch, but ourselves as well.

Jesus Has a Great Open Heart

The Lord's heart is wide open to those who want the key to it. We don't have to be afraid to respond to his love at any time.

All we have to do is enter into that love by faith, for faith works by His love.

His heart isn't wooden or stone or hard, it's a heart kind toward His people, His bride.

One of His desires is to have us respond back to His open heart with the very love He shares with us. We need to learn to encourage one another not to harden our hearts toward our Father, for He's not hardened toward us.

Even that we have to ask Him to do in us, as we can do nothing without Him. It's a beautiful dependency that he's created for us to have on Him, if we'd only believe His arms are open wide to us, no matter where were at. We only need to believe they are.

Let's not allow the cares of this world and the endless problems associated with it cause us to look away from Jesus and close our hearts to Him, or one another.

He told us when He was on the earth that we would suffer through problem here, but to be happy and cheerful, because He had overcome the world. And the one that has overcome the world lives within us. We can rest with open hearts to Him, while the storms rage around and upon us, for He is able to hold us up, no matter what has happened or what we feel.

Jesus is a faithful friend and lover, and He will never forsake us.