Another Three

 It appears I'm still in the sharing mode, as my last two writings have been the sharing of things I've got written down in my prayer journal. Today, I'd like to share some thoughts on three things spoken by Watchman Nee.

The first is, "We cannot just rub shoulders with the Lord." Rub shoulders is likely a lesser known expression these days, but its meaning is that of passing someone in a crowd, touching them lightly, but not really touching them at all. I think the clearest example of this in Scripture is Jesus' ministry to the woman with the menstrual cycle that was perpetual and rendered unclean by Jewish law. Jesus was in the midst of a crowd that was all around Him, but it was this woman, desperate for healing and wholeness who received what it was she sought. She wanted to do more than just touch Him. She wanted to lay hold of Him, and for Him to lay hold of her. The rest of the crowd was rubbing shoulders. She wanted His intimacy. How like the crowd are we, and how unlike the woman can we be? Each week, we attend "worship services," but we do little more than rub shoulders with Him. So few of us ever really lay hold of Him, and fewer still are laid hold of by Him. If the church is to truly experience an awakening, it must begin with a people, a person, who will not be stopped from laying hold of the King.

Nee's second statement is, "A true King is King under all circumstances. He rules everywhere." Jesus said, "All authority under heaven has been given to Me." I think the church needs a fresh revelation of the sovereignty of Almighty God and of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is the Lord who sits upon the throne. Not the devil and not the seeming unending types of circumstances and situations he seeks to work through. The Lord reigns in all places, most especially those places in which we find ourselves today. There is nothing that can change that truth. The whispers from the darkness cannot alter what the Lord has said about Himself. As Jesus commanded the storm on the sea of Galilee, so He commands every storm and happening in our lives. Paul, and all those who were on that Roman galley suffered shipwreck in that terrible storm outlined in the Book of Acts, so we can suffer such events in our lives. We live in a fallen world, and as Christ told us, we will have troubles. However, in the midst of the shipwreck, God saw to it that not one life was lost in the storm. They all made it to shore. God's will and purpose for us will be realized if we will trust in His power, His promise, and His presence. We will suffer loss and hardship, but He will get us to shore. He will get us home.

Nee's last statement is, "Darkness cannot be driven out of the world, but light can swallow it up." As Scripture tells us, Jesus is the Light of the world, and as Paul writes, "in Him is no darkness at all." He is pure Light, and the deepest darkness cannot stand against Him. In this world, darkness will sometimes, oftentimes, overtake us. Yet it is in these times we discover the power of His Light. Darkness and death go hand in hand, but Paul writes that, "death is swallowed up in victory." His victory on the cross and in His resurrection. Paul said that our last and greatest enemy is death, and that enemy has been vanquished. Light has swallowed up the darkness. Christ has conquered death and darkness in all of their forms. The Light has come, and wherever the Light comes, darkness, and all the death that accompanies it, must go. That truth was sealed at the cross.

Laying hold of the King, trusting in His rule, looking to and walking in His Light. May this be our way of life. Your way and my way of life. Without them, there really is no life.

Blessings,

Pastor O