F
If we would enter, possess, and enjoy the all-inclusive Christ as the reality of the good land, we must do so by the presence of the Lord; the Lord promised Moses, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exo. 33:14); God’s presence is His way, the “map” that shows us, His people, the way we should take:
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In order for us to fully gain and possess Christ as the all-inclusive land for God’s building, we must hold on to the principle that God’s presence is the criterion for every matter; regardless of what we do, we must pay attention to whether or not we have God’s presence; if we have God’s presence, we have everything, but if we lose God’s presence, we lose everything—Matt. 1:23; 2 Tim. 4:22; Gal. 6:18; Psa. 27:4, 8; 51:11; 2 Cor. 2:10.
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The presence of the Lord, the smile of the Lord, is the governing principle; we must learn to be kept, to be ruled, to be governed, and to be guided not by His secondhand presence but by the direct, firsthand presence of the Lord.
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“In my youth I was taught various ways to overcome, to be victorious, to be holy, and to be spiritual. However, not any of these ways worked. Eventually, through more than sixty-eight years of experience, I have found out that nothing works but the Lord’s presence. His being with us is everything”—Life-study of Joshua, p. 48.
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The entire New Testament is an Emmanuel, and we are now a part of this great Emmanuel that will consummate in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth for eternity; the New Testament begins with a God-man, who is “God with us,” and ends with a great God-man, the New Jerusalem, which is “Jehovah Is There”—Matt. 1:23; 1 Cor. 6:17; Acts 9:4; 1 Tim. 3:15-16; Rev. 21:3, 22; Ezek. 48:35.
Morning Nourishment
Exo. 33:14 And He said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.Psa. 27:8 When You say, Seek My face, to You my heart says, Your face, O Jehovah, will I seek.
2 Tim. 4:22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
When Christ came, He was Emmanuel, which means God with us (Matt. 1:23). Christ is God with us. This is revealed not only in Matthew 1 but also in Matthew 28, where the Lord Jesus said, “Behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age” (v. 20). Actually, the entire New Testament is an Emmanuel, and we are now a part of this great Emmanuel that will consummate in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth for eternity. (Life-study of Isaiah, pp. 53-54)
Today’s Reading
If we would go on to possess [the all-inclusive Christ as the reality of the good land], we must do so by the presence of the Lord….You remember how the Lord promised Moses, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exo. 33:14). This means that He would bring the people into the possession of the land by His presence. So Moses said to the Lord, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here” (v. 15). Moses demanded that the Lord’s presence must go with them; otherwise, he would not go.This is quite a peculiar word: “My presence shall go.” It does not mean that He will go. He will go is one thing, and My presence shall go is another. Many times the Lord will go with you, but His presence will not. Many times the Lord will truly help you, but be assured, He is not happy with you. You will receive His help, but you will lose His presence. He will bring you to your destination, and He will bless you, but throughout the whole trip you will not sense His presence. I can tell you that many times I did not have the presence of the Lord, simply because He was not happy with me. He had to go with me, but He was not happy…. He went along, but He withheld His presence that I might know His displeasure.
Never think that as long as the Lord helps you, it is sufficient. No, no. Far from it. We must have the Lord’s presence. We must learn to pray, “Lord, if You will not give me Your presence, I will stay here with You. If Your presence does not go with me, I will not go. I will not be governed by Your help but by Your presence.” We must go even further to pray, “O Lord, I do not want Your help, but I do want Your presence. Lord, I must have Your presence. I can do without Your help, but I cannot do without Your presence.”
Although it may be with tears in our eyes, we must say day by day, “Lord, nothing but Your smiling presence will satisfy me. I do not want anything but the smile of Your glorious face. As long as I have this, I care not whether the heaven comes down or the earth falls apart. The whole world may rise against me, but as long as I have Your smile upon me, I can praise You, and everything is well.” The Lord said, “My presence shall go with you.” What a treasure! The presence, the smile, of the Lord is the governing principle. We must be fearful of receiving anything from the Lord yet losing His presence….The Lord Himself may very well give you something, and yet that very thing will rob you of His presence. He will help you, He will bless you, and yet that very help and blessing can keep you away from His presence. We must learn to be kept, to be ruled, to be governed, to be guided simply by the presence of the Lord. We must tell the Lord that we do not want anything but His direct presence. We do not want His presence secondhand. Many times, be assured, you have the secondhand presence of the Lord. It is not firsthand; it is not direct. Try to be governed by the direct, firsthand presence of the Lord. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” pp. 294-296)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” ch. 11