I was saved twelve years ago, but the Lord brought me to the local church four years ago. Right from the beginning, I found the practice in the local church different from the church I had been attending. A major difference was that there were no priests, instead, you found everybody sharing about Christ, praying etc. I wanted to go back to the church I used to attend. But when I prayed I felt that the Lord within me wanted me to stay and enjoy Him. So I stayed. The Lord then brought me through a process of giving up my old concepts, and ways that were not according to the Bible. The Lord truly helped me to empty myself and enjoy Him in a deeper way.
The local churches are rich in the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. The Recovery Version of the Bible with the footnotes, the Life-study messages from Genesis to Revelation and other ministry materials, clearly and thoroughly expound the truth of God according to the pure Word. Diving into these rich materials has helped me to enjoy Christ in His different aspects such as: the tabernacle, seven different offerings, the Great Shepherd, the High Priest, the Seven-fold Intensified Spirit, etc. Before I came to the local church I only had a superficial knowledge of the truth of God.
Also, in the local church each time a book of the Bible is studied, it is studied in relation to the whole Bible and the center is “Christ.” This way I get a full picture of Christ and His goal which is the Body of Christ and ultimately the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2, 10). Before, I had only a few pieces of a puzzle, but today I get the full picture of Christ and His eternal plane which is to dispense Himself in Christ into man so that man would be a corporate expression of Christ (Ephesians 1:9-10). Due to such a continuous rich speaking it is very easy to be constituted with the Word of God, so that my capacity is being gradually uplifted to match God’s heart desire.
Another aspect which I enjoy in the local church is the practice of the Body of Christ. Here I see the believers of all the local churches fellowshipping together to be one with one another. I am learning to live by God’s life within me. This is by the conforming to the death of Christ so that it is not I who live but “Christ.” (Philippines 3:10; Galatians 2:20) In the local churches I am enjoying Christ as my everything, I am truly happy to be with all these believers as we pursue Christ with a pure heart (2 Timothy 2:22).
Louise Liang
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