Drawing Nearer to Christ.

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There was a clear burden today. It is that Christ wants us to draw closer to Himself. He impressed us with the thought that the problems and frustrations a Christian experiences are for the purpose of pressing him or her further into Christ.

(4/9/2006) The scriptural background for the preaching this Sunday morning was John 14:2-23, with a touch of Revelation, Chapter Fourteen.

The passage in John says this: "that where I am, there you may be also." What a tremendous invitation this is! The Lord’s statement has nothing to do with Heaven as a place. It is referring to closeness to Himself. It is the call of the Lamb to the firstfruits of His bride.

Revelation, Chapter 14, speaks of those who "follow the Lamb wherever He goes."

The call today is for those who will cleave to the Lamb with all their might. There is nothing they will not surrender to the Lord if He calls for it, including their own life.

The Lord is offering to give up His privacy and independence for eternity. Those who become His counterpart, who follow Him wherever He goes, also must give up their privacy and independence for eternity. This fact may cause some to draw back. To not answer the Lord’s call in this hour would be an error of such magnitude as to be indescribable.

The offer is to whosoever will. But some will refuse, unbelievable as it may sound, preferring to remain an animal rather than a new Divinely wrought creation married to God.

The Father’s House is the Lord Jesus Christ. In this great house, of which the Lord Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone, there are many rooms in which the Father and the Son can find rest.

You know, the Lord Jesus two thousand years ago could have taken control of the government of the whole earth. He possesses that authority and power, given to Him by the Father. This would have saved us two thousand years of insanity and agony.

But it is His desire to have a body, a body through which He and the Father can express themselves.

This is what the Lord meant by saying, "If it were not so I would have told you." If He were to remain as the only dwelling place of God, He would have said so at that time. But He went to the cross, and then into the heavens with His own blood to remove the defilement that occurred when Satan and his followers rebelled.

By means of the atonement Christ has prepared a place for us in Himself and the Father.

Christ said He would come again and receive us to Himself. This is happening today. We are not speaking of His return in the clouds of glory but of His coming to the individual disciple who is keeping His commandments and those of His Apostles.

The following passage is related to John 14:2,3:

He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him. Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us, and not to the world?" Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him." (John 14:21-23—NASB)

The above three verses speak of a coming of the Lord to His disciples before He comes to the world. It is in this context that Jesus said in John 14, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

It no doubt is true that there have been pioneers, scouts out ahead of the rest of us who, in days gone by, have experienced the personal coming of the Lord. Today the wagon train, so to speak, is coming up to this new location in God.

Now we must be clear about this. The coming of the Lord in this personal sense is the fulfillment of the final three feasts of the Lord, the three feasts that come after Pentecost.

The twentieth century was the Pentecostal century. Today God is moving forward. The demands on the disciple are much greater than was true for the initial salvation experience or the Pentecostal experience. Now the Lamb is looking for those who will give all to Him that He may give all to them.

If we are to become the eternal dwelling place of the Father and the Son, we must follow the Holy Spirit as He deals with the love of the world, the lusts of the flesh, and the self-will that abide in us. All three areas of sin must be dealt with vigorously and thoroughly until we are living in victory each day. The Holy Spirit will do this for us if we will ask Him to and obey His leading.

In addition to being cleansed from all the filthiness of the flesh and spirit, Christ must be formed in us to a greater extent than has been true. Christ is formed in us as we turn away from sin and choose to do His will. Then we are fed with His body and blood in the spirit realm.

I remember when an old Pentecostal preacher, Elmer E. Fullerton, in 1948, told us Bible students that there was more of God after Pentecost. This was a thrilling thought to me. I hope it is to you.

The Bible types show clearly that there are three great works of grace, not just two.

There is initial salvation through the blood of the cross.

There is the baptism with the Holy Spirit and life lived in the Spirit.

There is the coming of the Father and the Son to find Their place of rest in us for eternity.

And so the Lord is telling us this morning to press closer into Himself. The greatest opportunity every to be offered to man is here now. If we do not make up our mind to go all the way with the Lord, we will miss the day of our visitation.

I think it not likely that ever again will such an opportunity be presented to people.

We continued in the same vein at the Sunday evening service, pointing out that the firstfruits to God and the Lamb, set forth in the fourteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation, are being prepared today. Who would be so foolish as to trade the passing allurements of the present world for the opportunity to be forever with the Lamb!

You can hear the morning sermon at morning. http://www.wor.org/audio/audio.htm

You can hear the evening sermon at evening. http://www.wor.org/audio/audio.htm

After Wednesday, click on the bottom link of the middle column. The right column includes the links to Stan Josephsen and Edward Reiter.

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