Live in an Intimate Relationship with the Lord and Love His Appearing to Find Christ

In order for us to find Christ, we need the living guidance from the Lord and we need to be corrected by the Scriptures; for this, we need to live in an intimate relationship with the Lord, even be one with Him, and we will find Him, we will not be troubled when He returns, and we will be different after our touch with Him.

Lord Jesus, we want to find You and enjoy You! Keep us in an intimate fellowship with You today. Oh Lord, we turn our heart to You right now. We don’t want to do anything apart from You. Keep us loving You. Keep us opening to You. Keep us in Your word so that we may be adjusted and corrected by Your word. We love You, Lord, we open to You, and we want to touch You and be one with You! Amen!

We are so grateful to the Lord for His word, for His life in us, for His Spirit of reality guiding us, and for the ministry of the age opening up the word of God to lead us into a deeper experience and enjoyment of Christ.

Many times we read the Bible and we get facts, knowledge, and doctrines; we may think we have it, we understand, and we may leave with a lot of scriptural knowledge.

As the Bible says, knowledge puffs us up, and the letter of the Bible, when not taken in the way of life, can even kill us. Wow, the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life!

As we come to Matthew 2 to see the Lord Jesus, find the Lord Jesus, and be the loving seekers of Christ who are one with Him, we need to truly open to Him from deep within.

We need to have both the Scripture in our hand and the living guidance of the Lord in our spirit.

Knowing Christ and finding Christ is something living, not something of doctrines and knowledge. It is easy to see something of Christ, and then use our natural human concepts to try to find Christ and serve Christ.

This is what the magi did; they saw the living star, but then they went to Jerusalem to ask them where is the newborn king.

When we rely on our religious concepts, when we live according to our natural concepts, we cannot find the Lord, but rather, we even cause a lot of trouble. May we learn to exercise our spirit in all things.

May we learn to exercise our spirit to contact the Lord in spirit, and also come to God’s word with the exercise of our spirit.

It is in our spirit that we can see the divine revelation, even the living revelation, which leads us to Christ. It is in our spirit that we can see the living vision leading us to Christ.

It is in our spirit that we receive the living guidance for us to get to Christ, enjoy Christ, and be one with Christ.

Love the Lord and His Appearing, Expect to be Raptured, and Not be Troubled by His Coming

In Matthew 2:3 we are told that, when the magi arrived in Jerusalem and enquired concerning where the King of the Jews was to be born, both Herod the king and all Jerusalem were troubled. Wow! Instead of being happy that Christ is coming, for the Messiah was to come, they were troubled.

No doubt, King Herod thought that he will be dethroned, so he was troubled.

But why was the whole city troubled at the news that the king of the Jews was just born? They should have been ecstatic, but they were not.

We may think that, if we were there, we would rejoice that Christ is coming. But what about today: if the Lord were to come today, are we full of rejoicing? Do we eagerly expect the Lord’s coming? Do we love the Lord and His appearing? Do we do all things to hasten His coming?

Or are we distracted by so many worldly things? Some are distracted by football (soccer), and all they think about is soccer.

Others are distracted by golf, and they think that, if the Lord would come soon, He would ruin their golf game. May we be the Lord’s loving seekers today.

May we be those who love the Lord and love His appearing, even expect to be raptured, for we love Him and want to do all things to hasten His return!

When the people in Jerusalem heard the news that the Messiah was coming, they should have rejoiced; instead, they were troubled.

This is for no other reason than they were not genuinely seeking the Saviour (Prov. 4:23).

We believers in Christ should not be troubled by hearing about the Lord’s coming but rather, love Him and desire His appearing. If we who believe into the Lord are not affected by the Lord as love in our inward emotions, we are not worthy to be called a Christian (2 Tim. 4:8; Mark 12:30; 1 Cor. 2:9). Wow!

May we give ourselves to the Lord to just love Him. May we open to Him from deep within and turn our heart to Him to just love Him.

May we be the crazy lovers of the Lord. And when we meet with the saints, may we help one another to love the Lord Jesus.

When we enjoy Christ, the cross of Christ is applied to our being, all evil things in our being are repelled, and all worldly distractions and entertainment will fade away, for He is the most wonderful One.

May we give ourselves to love the Lord every day. Degradation comes in when we lose our first love for the Lord.

In the last days people will be lovers of money, lovers of the self, and lovers of pleasures; not just the unbelievers are like this but even many believers in Christ are like this.

Whether there are grievous days of decline in the church or whether there are glorious days of victory for Christ’s glory in the church depends on what kind of lovers we are.

What do we love today? Do we love the self? Do we love money? Do we love pleasures? Or do we love God? May we ask the Lord to make us lovers of God.

Every morning we need to tell the Lord, Lord Jesus, I love You! Especially these days at the end of this age, we need to be those who love the Lord.

A Christian who expects the Lord to come or who expects to be raptured should take the Lord’s coming as a warning and also as an incentive (2 Tim. 4:8; Titus 2:13; Rev. 2:28; 22:20; Matt. 24:40-44; 25:8-13).

The Lord wants to return quickly; Revelation 22:20 tells us that the Lord intends to come soon, and we pray, Come, Lord Jesus!

We call on His name, we pray-read His word, and we love the Lord. May we give ourselves to love the Lord and love His appearing.

May we come to Him in His word, pray over His word, and call on His name so that we may live in the light of His coming and take His coming as an incentive and a warning in our daily living.

Lord Jesus, we love You. We give ourselves to just love You. Oh Lord, we turn our heart to You. Cause our heart to be turned toward You. We want to seek You in a genuine and loving way. Save us from loving anything or anyone else above You. We want to be lovers of God today. Save us from being lovers of pleasures, lovers of money, or lovers of the self. Affect our inward emotions by Your love. May Your love in our heart grow and burn in us until all the dross of earthly love is burned away. Amen, Lord, we love You and we love Your appearing. We believe into You and we love You with our whole heart. We love You with our mind and soul and strength. Make us those who expect Your return with much love and eagerness. May we live in the light of Your coming today. May we be those who expect to be raptured, taking the Lord’s coming as a warning and an incentive for our daily life. Oh Lord Jesus, we love You and we seek after You! Amen, come, Lord Jesus!

Live in an Intimate Relationship with the Lord, One with Him, and be Corrected by the Scriptures as we Seek to Find Christ

After the magi were corrected by the Scriptures (Matt. 2:4-6), they went to Bethlehem (vv. 8-9) and the star appeared to them again, leading them to the place where Christ was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy (v. 10).

When we see Christ, when we see a fresh vision of Christ, we rejoice exceedingly, with great joy.

When the Lord appears to us and we see Him in a living way, it is beyond the realm of our natural concept of human realisation.

We can all testify that, as we simply are in the meetings of the church, the Lord shines on us through what the saints share of their enjoyment of Christ; we really see Christ in a living way in and through the saints.

In the case of the magi, they were corrected by the Scriptures, when they heard the prophecy in Micah 5:2, and they were restored to the right track; then, the star appeared to them again, for living vision always accompanies the Scriptures.

For us to find Christ, we need to live in an intimate relationship with the Lord, even one with Him, and we need to be corrected and adjusted by the Scriptures.

In the case of the magi, they went to religion to try to find Christ, and when they touched religion, the living star left them; however, as soon as they left religion, the living star appeared to them, and they rejoiced.

When we leave any religion, when we leave any religious concept and fold aside, we will see Christ as the living star.

Religion has the Bible today, but they don’t have the living star; we need to have not only the word of the Bible but even more, we need to live in an intimate relationship with the Lord and be one with Him.

The priests were those who taught people the law (Mal. 2:7), and the scribes were those who knew the Scriptures (Ezra 7:6).

However, even though both the priests and the scribes had knowledge concerning the birth of Christ (Matt. 2:5-6), they did not see the vision, nor did they have the heart to seek after Christ, as the magi did. Oh Lord Jesus!

We need to know the Scriptures, but we need to know them in a living way, not in the way of knowledge but in the way of life.

And we need to live in an intimate relationship with the Lord in all things. May we ask the Lord to give us a heart to seek after Him.

Naturally, our heart is not inclined to seek God, but we can ask the Lord to incline our heart toward Him.

Regardless how “scriptural” we are, if we lose the Lord’s presence, we are absolutely wrong (John 5:39-40; Isa. 45:15; Exo. 33:11, 14; cf. 2 Cor. 5:16).

The New Testament way to find and follow the Lord is to continually stay in His hidden presence.

This means that we need to live in an intimate relationship with the Lord in all things and concerning all things.

Our God is a God who hides Himself; we need to treasure His hidden presence. We need to stay continually in His hidden presence.

If His presence does not go with us, we cannot go; we treasure His presence to the uttermost. We want to be the Lord’s companions, those who live in an intimate relationship with the Lord.

Moses had God’s presence to a full extent, speaking to God face to face, as a man would speak to his companion.

Abraham also was the companion of God, the friend of God, to the extent that God opened His heart concerning the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to him so that he may intercede.

As believers in Christ, we need to realise that it is easy to accumulate scriptural knowledge, but if we want living guidance, we must live in an intimate relationship with the Lord; we must be one with Him (Matt. 2:10-14).

We must have a personal, private, affectionate, and spiritual relationship with the Lord. Our relationship with Him needs to be personal and intimate, not only in the meetings or when we remember.

We need to have a personal and affectionate relationship with the Lord. Amen!

When the magi saw Christ, they worshipped Him; then, they were warned by God in a dream that they should not return to Herod (who asked them to tell him where the newborn king was so that he could “worship” Him), so they departed into their own country “by another way” (v. 12).

This shows us that, once we have seen Christ, we will never take the same way, which is the way of religion apart from Christ.

His appearance touches us and changes the course of our life. When we see Christ, we will never be the same.

As we live in an intimate relationship with the Lord, we will take another way, never returning to any religious practices and observances but seeking the living person of Christ.

When we see Christ, we realise we came the wrong way; the Lord adjusts us, speaks to us, and leads us on His way, a way apart from any religion.

Lord Jesus, we love You and we want to live in an intimate relationship with You today. Amen, Lord, we come to You to seek You and to touch You. May we have the living guidance in our spirit and the shining word of God in our hands. Save us from merely having a lot of scriptural knowledge without the intimate relationship with the Lord! Oh Lord, we want to have living guidance from You, so we choose to have a personal, intimate, spiritual, and private relationship with You. Keep us coming to You in all things and concerning all things. We want to be one with You in all things. We treasure Your presence. We do not want to lose Your living presence. Oh Lord, may we find and follow Christ by continually staying in His hidden presence! Keep us in Your presence today in all things. Speak to us. Unveil us. Change our concepts. Infuse us with Yourself. Cause us to take Your way, away from any religion or religious practices. Amen, Lord, may we seek You and find You by the living guidance and by the correction of the Scriptures!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ed Marks on this topic, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1970, vol. 1, “New Testament Service,” chs. 5-6, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The All-inclusive Christ as Revealed in Matthew (2025 Thanksgiving Blending Conference), week 1, The Up-to-date, Instant, and Living Vision of the Heavenly Christ as the Living Star – day 3.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Jesus Lord, I’m captured by Thy beauty, / All my heart to Thee I open wide; / Now set free from all religious duty, / Only let me in Thyself abide. / As I’m gazing here upon Thy glory, / Fill my heart with radiancy divine; / Saturate me, Lord, I now implore Thee, / Mingle now Thy Spirit, Lord, with mine. (Hymns #1159 stanza 1)
  – In tenderness He deals with me, / While I stay with joy in His presence; / And He saturates and supplies my soul / With all His precious essence. / And He speaks to me and reveals to me / All His riches for me today; / And in every way I partake of Him, / My problems all passed away. (Hymns #554 stanza 3)
  – Burn, burn, O love, within my heart, / Burn fiercely night and day, / Till all the dross of earthly loves / Is burned, and burned away. / O light in darkness, joy in grief, / O heaven’s life on earth; / Jesus, my love, my treasure, who / Can tell what Thou art worth? (Hymns #208 stanzas 4-5)