In the training I found out that a really high standard of living is required, and sometimes it seemed that I cannot do it… but especially in this environment of impossibility the Lord’s grace was applied! After experiencing such a supply of the Lord to reach such a high standard, the Lord started to be closer to me day by day. Oh it is really true that life grows by regulation! If there would not be these wonderful and necessary regulations for a proper humanity, there would not be as much profit as it is now! [continue reading this sharing online]
the Lord Jesus regards our dependence on Him and not what we can do for Him in our self
The word of the Lord Jesus in Matt. 7:21-23 is very sobering and exposing – many people do works of power in His name, cast out demons in His name, prophesied in His name, but the Lord does not recognize them or know them… We can do a lot of good and great things for the Lord – even miraculous things, with the help of the power of God – but if we do things independently of the Lord, He does not approve or recognize it. How much we need the Lord to shine on us and expose our self in all its good or bad intentions and doings, so that we may deny our self and exercise our spirit to be one with the Lord! [continue reading online]
a trainee’s testimony – loving the Lord and building up a romantic relationship with Him
I’m in love with Him, I always loved Him. Yet coming to the training made me doubt my love towards Him. Was my love temporary? Or was it an impulsive decision? Many times, I told myself, this was the greatest mistake that I made in my whole life – to be in the full time training…. A Christian life is a life of believing in the things unseen. We have never seen the Lord – yet we love Him (1 Pet 1:8). In every circumstance, I learned to go to the Lord, confess, repent, weep, and see that I am nothing but Christ is everything. It’s heart-aching, to come to Him and say, Lord, take it away if it’s something that replaces You. I want Thy increase and my decrease. [continue reading online]
exercising the key of denying the self to shut the gates of Hades and build the church
We need the Lord to shine on us and show us a vision of the self. From the very beginning in the garden of Eden we see that the self is the soul declaring its independence from God. When we are no longer dependent on God but “take matters into our own hands”, we are in the self. The self is the greatest problem to the building up of the Body, and the self is opposing the Body. The principle of the Body is depending on the Lord and depending on the brothers and the sisters… To be independent of the brothers and sisters equals being independent of Christ, but when we are dependent, the self is gone, and instead of the self, we have the Lord’s presence and are full of peace. [continue reading online]
a trainee’s testimony – knowing the Lord and His heart, trusting Him and loving Him afresh!
This what I treasure the most after this two years of the training is that I could know the Lord, know His heart toward us, and began to TRUST the Lord (Isa. 41:10) and LOVE HIM afresh (Rev. 2:4). I felt not only restored and shepherded by the Lord, but I could also see more of what is ON HIS HEART. Now I can also say the words of one of the hymns, “God has dream… – Now it is my dream, my vision and life to be”. The Lord longs for a building – He longs that we will be built up in Him [continue reading online]
using the keys of the kingdom to lock the subjective gates of Hades and build up the church
Matt. 16:21-26 shows us not only the subjective gates of Hades coming in to frustrate the building up of the church but also the keys of the kingdom of the heavens which lock these doors and release the building up! We need to use the keys of denying our self, losing our soul life, and taking up our cross! Denying the self mainly relates to our mind, since the self is expressed through the mind with its opinions. Taking up the cross is related to taking up the will of God and not our own will. Losing our soul life is related to the enjoyment of the soul, the pleasure – we need to seek God’s pleasure and His enjoyment!
a trainee’s testimony – we need to develop deep roots in the Lord by spending time with Him
As Christians we are like little plants – we don’t have much power, but if we have deep roots in Christ we will be unshakable, immovable. Sometimes our roots are in something else than Him. As a result, we are easily shaken, and with any small situation we are blown off. Our roots may be in our campus work. It might be somewhat successful, with some promising contacts, but as soon as they begin missing the meetings or making excuses to have appointments we will collapse and be blown off. We may be enjoying the Lord, but as soon as we suffer some persecution from those with whom we study or work we are rapidly blown away. We need to be rooted in Him, but how? [continue reading online]