Eph 3:7
Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given
unto me by the effectual working of his power.
Gal 3:5 He
therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you,
doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
All of this is by
faith.
When Watchman Nee
speaks of 'Rapture' he isn't speaking of what some people consider 'THE
Rapture'. The made up nonsense about God only taking a few of his children and
leaving the rest behind until yet another rapture is all lies. Taking a parable
of Jesus and running rampant with it creating the doctrine of men and teaching
it as God's truth, has seduced many into the broad path that will lead to
death. The rapture idea of Watchman Nee
has merit. Read the excerpt again and by God's grace we will study it further
tomorrow and probably the next few days after that. This truly is the 'meat' of
God's word and not milk.
All in the name of
Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior now and forever. Amen!
EXCERPT-
A Spirit of Rapture
One other facet of
the normal spirit needs to be discussed besides those features mentioned
already. This one we would term the spirit of rapture. Christians ought to have
a spirit which is perpetually in an out-of-this-world and ascending-into-heaven
state. Such a spirit as this is deeper than one of ascension, for those who
possess the former not only live on earth as though in heaven but also are
truly led of the Lord to wait for His return and their own rapture. When a
believer’s spirit is united to the Lord’s and they become one spirit, he
commences to live in the world as a sojourner, experiencing the life of a
heavenly citizen.
Following that, the
Holy Spirit will call him to take one further step and will give him the spirit
of rapture.
Formerly his impetus
was “Go forward!”—now it becomes “Ascend up!” Everything about him rises
heavenward. The spirit of rapture is that spirit which has tasted the powers of
the age to come (Heb. 6.5).
Heb 6:4 For it
is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the
heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5 And
have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come
Not all who accept the truth of the Second
Coming possess this spirit of rapture. Men may believe in the Lord’s return,
preach His Second Coming, and pray for His return and yet not have this spirit.
Even mature ones do not necessarily possess it. The spirit of rapture is the
gift of God.
It is sometimes
dispensed by God as He pleases and sometimes granted by Him in response to
prayers of faith. When possessed of this spirit the believer’s inner being
seems always to be in a state of rapture. He believes not only in the return of
the Lord but also in his being transported.
Rapture is more than
an article of faith; it is to him a fact. Just as Simeon, through the
revelation of the Holy Spirit, trusted that he would not taste death before he
had seen the Lord’s Christ (Luke 2. 26), so believers should have the assurance
in their spirit that they will be transported to the Lord before they die. Such
faith is the faith of an Enoch. Now we are not being stubbornly superstitious
here; but if we live in the time of rapture, how can we be lacking in such
faith? Such belief will help us to understand more of what God is doing in this
age as well as obtain heavenly power for our work.
In other words, if
the spirit of a Christian is in a state of rapture he will be more heavenly and
will not think his way to heaven must necessarily traverse the valley of death.
How frequently God’s child, when engaged in spiritual labor, entertains many
expectations and plans. He is full of the Holy Spirit, wisdom and power; he
believes God will greatly use him; and he looks forward with anticipation that
before long his labor shall produce much fruit.
However, in the very
midst of prosperity the hand of the Lord suddenly sweeps down upon him,
suggesting to him that he must conclude all his undertaking and be ready to
take another course. This comes as a genuine surprise to man. He naturally asks
why it must be so. Is not my power for working? Is not the profound knowledge I
have for helping people? Need everything be closed in and cold?
Nonetheless, under
guidance of this kind the believer learns that the purpose of God for him is an
alteration in his course. Previously everything was going forward; henceforth
it is to ascend. It does not signify there is no more work; what it does mean
is that that work can be concluded at any time. God continually has employed
such circumstances as persecution, opposition, plunder, etc., to cause saints
to comprehend that He wishes them to have the spirit of rapture rather than to
make progress in the work on earth.
The Lord desires to
change the course of His children, many of whom do not realize there is this
far better spirit of rapture. This spirit has its definite effect on life.
Before one secures it his experience is bound to be changing constantly; after
he receives the witness and assurance of rapture in his spirit, however, his
life and labor will be sustained on a level worthy of this kind of spirit, thus
preparing him for the Lord’s return. Such preparation includes more than
outward correction: it is making the spirit, the soul, and the body of the
believer wholly ready to meet the Lord.
Hence we should pray
and petition the Holy Spirit to show us how to obtain this spirit of rapture
and how to retain it. We should believe and then be willing to eliminate all
obstacles to the realization of such a spirit. And once we have appropriated it
we should habitually check our life and work against it. In case we lose this
spirit we should determine at once how it was lost and how it can be restored.
Such a spirit once obtained can be easily forfeited. This may be due chiefly to
our ignorance (at this stage of life) of how to preserve such a heavenly
position through special prayer and effort. We must therefore ask the Holy
Spirit to teach us the way to retain this spirit. Such prayer usually leads us
to seek “the things that are above” (Col. 3.2), and this is one of the
requisites for preservation. Since he now stands at the door of heaven and can
be transported at any moment, the Christian should choose to wear the heavenly
white garment and perform heavenly work. Such a hope separates him from earthly
matters while joining him to the heavenly.
The fact that God
wishes a believer to look for rapture does not suggest that he should be
concerned only with his rapture and forget the remainder of the work God has
appointed him. What God actually designs to convey to him is that he should not
permit God given labor to hinder his rapture. In both his walk and work,
heavenly attraction should always be greater than earthly gravitation.
The child of God
should learn to live for the Lord’s service, but even more so for the Lord’s
receiving him.
May our spirit be uplifted daily, looking for
the return of the Lord. May the things of this world so lose their power over
us that we do not in the slightest wish to be “worldly”; nay, we even delight
in not remaining “in the world.”
May our spirit daily
ascend, asking to be with the Lord earlier. May we so seek the things above
that not even the best work on earth can distract our hearts. May we henceforth
pray in spirit and with understanding, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22.20) '
The Spiritual Man-
By Watchman Nee