Let us begin with a word of prayer before we read the Word of the Lord.
We are so grateful, Lord, that we can be here. We thank You, Lord, for Your presence. We thank You for Your promise, Lord, and our prayer is that Your Holy Spirit would, in some way, be in charge of this time and reveal the Lord Jesus to us in the Word of God.
Would You lead us, Lord, as You have promised, by Your Holy Spirit into all truth? We need to hear from You, Lord. Would You speak to us? We pray for enabling for speaking, for translation, for translating. We pray for enabling for hearing for all of us. We ask it for Your glory, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
I want to read some verses from Revelation. If you would turn to Revelation 1, starting from verse 9.
“I John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”
Before we continue to read through the chapter, I would like to highlight those last two phrases in the verse: the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus. By the Lord’s grace, we want to come back to those.
Verse 10:
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like the sound of a trumpet, saying, ‘Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.’
“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw One like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash.
“His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.
“In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.
“When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
“‘Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.’”
If you would continue into Revelation 2, we just want to read a few verses from that chapter.
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:”
Verse 4:
“But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.”
Verse 7:
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.”
And in the middle of the book, Revelation 12, just one verse—verse 17. You will remember that this is in the context of that vision of a woman in labor, about to give birth, and the dragon enraged, attempting to devour the man-child as He was about to be born. But the man-child was rescued, delivered, and caught up to the throne of God.
“So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.”
A similar phrase to the one I just pointed out. But instead of “the Word of God,” you have an alternative expression pointing to the same reality, with a specific emphasis: the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus.
Finally, Revelation 21—just three verses. I will remind you that this is the final vision of the book: the vision of the New Jerusalem, which is the bride of the Lamb.
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, ‘Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’”
Verse 23:
“And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.”
So, brothers and sisters, I am very grateful that we can be here at this time. I think our brother was opening yesterday, and he mentioned the privilege of being here. I could not agree more. Actually, my sense is that it is such a mercy that we can still gather together in the late hour in which we live. So, I am so grateful for the privilege of being together before the Lord at this time.
As you know, we have been occupied in this conference with the matter of recovery and possessing. I was asked to consider the matter from a practical point of view, so I decided to go to the book of Revelation.
I know—it is counterintuitive, is it not? And yet, well, the book is one of prophecy, right? It is all things that are going to happen, which is how it opens. We did not read that part. Yet, as interesting as those things may sound—what is going to happen and the prophecy that is there—I really believe that there is something related to recovery in this book. Actually, it should be very obvious.
So we are going to start by posing two questions which, as we go, we will try by the Lord’s enabling to address.
I believe that, surprisingly, the answer to both—well, at least to the second one—the answer is yes. I believe there is something very, very practical in this matter of recovery. In a way, I believe that it is the burden, the spiritual message, that the book of Revelation is conveying to us.
Our brother Kenny mentioned a few sessions back that the phrase “the testimony of Jesus” appears no less than six times in the book of Revelation. It is quite an emphasis. It is not a long book; it is twenty-two chapters, and all of them are very short. So six times, sprinkled throughout the book, you find that expression: the testimony of Jesus.
You find, amazingly—virtually every time, I believe—a companion phrase: the Word of God, with some variations. I just read one of the variations for you: those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus. In another passage, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” There is something in that prophecy which, in some way, points back to the Word of God as well. In the other four instances, the Word of God is explicitly mentioned in connection with the testimony of Jesus.
So, in a way, it seems—and I am saying this without any proof at the moment—that at the very core of the message of this book, we find the matter of the testimony of Jesus being recovered, and the Word of God being an indispensable key in the matter. That key should give us something very practical, an actionable item almost, if you will—something that can help us in a practical way as we pursue being aligned with the Lord in what He is doing, even in this matter of recovery.
That is a lot to say without proof. I am just stating it up front. What is in my heart is that throughout the session, as the Lord enables, that can be seen. I just stated it as an axiom, but I trust that it can be seen in the Word of God.
I trust that you are going to be good Bereans and check. That is fine with me. Is it indeed like this? When Paul was preaching the Word to the Bereans, they were going there and saying, “Let us see if this is really so.” Of course, it was not with a spirit of suspicion. But if that applies to the apostle Paul, I am completely fine if you are all good Bereans and are trying to check: Is this really so? Is this book about the recovery of the testimony of Jesus? Is this a central theme throughout the book? Is the Word of God indeed this indispensable key if this is ever going to happen?
Our brother also mentioned how the Bible begins. In the opening statement of our handbook, it says something like, “The Bible, from beginning to end, is a story of recovery.” The Bible begins: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Something happens—whatever you make of Genesis 1:2—there is darkness, chaos, and emptiness. Then the Lord steps in, in verse 3, to recover. The rest of Genesis 1 is an account of God’s recovery.
And, of course, Revelation ends with a new heaven and a new earth. The symmetry is impossible to miss. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth; then in Revelation 21 and 22, John sees a new heaven and a new earth. God has recovered everything perfectly at the end. Revelation ends that way.
So, of course, the answer to the first question—does Revelation have anything to say about recovery?—should be pretty obvious. But there is something more than simply being the end of the whole Bible and having symmetry with the beginning. When you zoom in on Revelation itself, the book is about recovery from beginning to end.
The book begins, as we read, with that wondrous vision. The apostle John hears a voice behind him. He turns around, and first he sees seven golden lampstands; then, in the midst of those seven golden lampstands, he sees One like a son of man. That is how the book begins: seven golden lampstands, and One in their midst like the Son of Man.
We are told quite explicitly that the seven golden lampstands are the seven churches. Seven, being the number of completion in the Bible, seems somehow to represent the whole church—not just seven geographical churches in Asia Minor, though that was the case, but the whole church through the ages.
If a lampstand exists to give light—and that is the case—then these seven lampstands are not quite fulfilling their purpose. Back then, lampstands were not antiques or pieces of furniture in the corner of your living room. Their function was to give light.
Now, perhaps you see some light there. Yes, the Lord has words of commendation for those seven churches, for sure. But there is so much smoke going on, and so much heat going on. Actually, the light is almost becoming dim. If you read those seven letters to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3, you see how dim that light is becoming.
You see a church that has abandoned her first love—Ephesus. You see a church in such mixture with the world—Pergamum. The Lord says, “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is,” yet there is mixture. Things of the world, of which Satan is the prince, are being allowed and tolerated. The One with the sharp two-edged sword must separate those things.
You read of Jezebel, a false prophetess, being tolerated and bringing in all sorts of idolatries and immoralities. You see appearance without reality: “You have a name that you are alive, and yet you are dead”—Sardis. You see a lukewarm attitude toward the Lord: apathy and complacency. “I am rich; I am fine; I have everything I need.” That is Laodicea.
I am always amazed at how often our own estimation can differ so diametrically from the estimation of the Lord. “I am rich. I am fine. I have everything.” Yet the Lord says, “You are miserable, and you do not know it. You are poor. You are wretched.”
Brothers and sisters, do I need to labor on the point? The lampstands are not really fulfilling their purpose. If they are there to give light, it is getting really hard to see it. The lampstands we see in Revelation 2 and 3 are in need of recovery. Something went off track. They need to be restored, and the Lord Jesus has to say, time after time after time, “Repent, repent, repent.”
It is only to two churches that He does not have to say that. Do you see something that needs to be recovered? That is how Revelation itself begins: with something needing recovery.
But then you come to the last vision—the wondrous description of the New Jerusalem, the bride. This is when the recovery work of the ages has been completed and perfected for eternity, beyond even the possibility of things going wrong.
I remember reading a comment from Brother Sparks. He said that one of the great blessings of the New Jerusalem is that when you get there, you are beyond the possibility of going wrong. Sin has been destroyed. Death, the great consequence, has been overcome. It is not that you are there and wondering whether things may take a turn for the worse again. It is beyond that possibility for eternity. Recovery completed.
Listen to Revelation 21:23:
“And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.”
There is no mention of a lampstand in the New Jerusalem. But when you read this, it means that the whole city has become a giant lampstand for all eternity, and Christ, the Lamb, is the lamp who is going to be expressed without hindrance, without anything that detracts, in fullness. That is the glory of the New Jerusalem.
Do you see that the lampstands are restored at the end? Do you see the recovery inside the book of Revelation? Oh, what a hope we have, brothers and sisters. The One who made the promise is faithful. That is where we stand. He began the work; He is going to complete it.
The vision of the New Jerusalem is not merely, “I have a dream.” It is not simply a wish that things might be some way. The Lord, the eternal One who is above time and outside time, takes John into that same realm outside of time and allows him to see the end: “See what I have accomplished.” The Lord recovers everything: new heavens, new earth, the lampstands, the New Jerusalem, the bride—for eternity restored.
Now, I have been talking about lampstands, but I want to turn to the expression upon which we said we would concentrate: the testimony of Jesus and the Word of God.
I believe it is important to notice that the phrase “the testimony of Jesus” is closely related to the lampstand. In a way, you could say that the testimony of Jesus is the spiritual reality represented by the lampstand. One is the reality—the testimony of Jesus—and the other is the symbol that represents that reality.
So, when you think of the lampstand or the testimony of Jesus, we are talking about one and the same thing: one in picture, the other as a reality.
If the last book of the Bible, if the Holy Spirit closes Scripture with this book, and He is emphasizing this matter of the testimony of Jesus being recovered through the symbol of the lampstands, then we have something of the uttermost importance in this matter of the recovery of the testimony of Jesus.
If history is a long story of recovery, from the very beginning of time to the very end, then when you come to Revelation, you come to the last stage of that recovery—the last phase before the coming of the Lord. How important this matter of the testimony of Jesus being recovered must be.
What exactly is the testimony of Jesus? Grammatically, there are two ways to understand the phrase. It can mean the testimony of which Jesus is the subject, or it can mean the testimony that Jesus Himself gives.
The first is certainly true. Think of the Mount of Transfiguration or of His baptism: the Father opens the heavens, and His voice is heard, “This is My beloved Son.” There is a testimony of which Jesus is the subject. The Father Himself testifies of the Son.
But I want to go to the other side: the testimony that Jesus Himself gives. I usually believe that when a phrase can carry both meanings in Scripture, it is not an accident. Most likely both things are true, and both aspects are for our instruction. Yet my burden today is especially on the testimony that Jesus Himself bore and is still bearing.
The book of Revelation itself points to both aspects. Revelation 5 gives a testimony concerning Jesus. “Who is worthy to take the scroll?” Who is worthy to determine the destiny of this universe that belongs to God? Only One was found worthy, and the Father gives that scroll to the Son. There is a testimony of the Father concerning the Son.
But that is not my subject today. Consider Revelation 1:5:
“Jesus Christ, the faithful witness.”
Every time you see the word witness in your English translation, it is the same word as testimony. Jesus is the faithful Witness; He is the One who faithfully testifies.
Then, at the end of the book, the last thing recorded in Scripture that the Lord Jesus says is Revelation 22:20:
“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
That is how our Bible closes: Jesus as the One who testifies. During His days in the flesh, He was doing that at every turn, everywhere. Even now, as the risen Lord, He is still the faithful Witness, the One who testifies.
A testimony is someone who sets forth the evidence of something. A witness in a court presents evidence, but it must be evidence from firsthand experience. It is not enough to say, “I heard about it from my neighbor.” But if you saw something, if you had firsthand experience, you can present evidence concerning the matter.
The testimony of Jesus has to do with that. At its core, it is setting forth evidence. How did the Lord Jesus set forth that evidence? He set forth the evidence of divine reality.
Think of our Lord in His days here on earth. Everywhere people met the Lord Jesus, they were immediately in touch with God. Even His enemies encountered that evidence. They might accept or reject it, but the evidence was there—undeniable.
Think of the parable of the wicked vine-growers. They say, “This is the heir.” They knew it. “Let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” They knew that He was the Son of the owner. Even enemies could not escape the evidence that Jesus set forth.
Many accepted that evidence, were transformed, and were saved. Some rejected it. But whatever the case, Jesus was the One who set forth the evidence of divine reality.
There is a picture from the Old Testament that can help us visualize this matter. In John 1:14, speaking of the Lord Jesus, we read:
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.”
The word in the original is, “The Word tabernacled among us.” Immediately, that points us to the tabernacle in the Old Testament. God told Moses, “I want to dwell among the people, so build Me a tabernacle where I can dwell.” They built that tabernacle exactly according to the specifications, according to the pattern.
When the tabernacle was finally ready, at the end of Exodus—Exodus 40—the glory of God, the presence of God, came upon the tabernacle and filled it. That glory and presence were visible. The tabernacle was the place where one could see the presence of God.
The Word became flesh. He tabernacled among us. Wherever He went, the glory and the presence of God could be touched. He set forth the evidence of who God is—undeniable, unescapable, and so clear.
In the case of the tabernacle, there was the Shekinah glory, a visible cloud. In the case of the Lord Jesus, you do not see something external. You do not see a halo or a cloud above Him. But there is a spiritual reality. That presence is brought in a spiritual and moral way, in a way that is undeniable.
“And we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
That is a glory expressed in terms of grace and truth. Anyone who was in touch with the Lord Jesus touched that. That is the testimony of Jesus.
If you see the Lord or hear the Lord, you are in touch with divine love, with the Father’s righteousness, with the Father’s holiness, with everything that the Father is. He testifies of the Father. He testifies of Himself, which is, in a way, to testify of the Father.
There is no other way for us ever to know God. How would you and I comprehend the transcendent, infinite God? He is beyond us. It is impossible. But when God became flesh, you could touch Him. You could see what He is like. The Father is completely and fully revealed in the Person of the Beloved.
The Lord Jesus could say, “I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the way, the truth, and the life. I am the resurrection and the life.” He testifies of Himself, and in that way we know the Father.
He testifies of what true humanity is supposed to be: the Son of Man. The Lord Jesus is true humanity—humanity as God intended. He testified of that.
Jesus was the very embodiment of what He testified. That is an essential idea of testimony in the Bible. A witness becomes the embodiment of what he or she testifies. It is not simply knowledge that you possess and pass on to someone else. A testimony is something that has become embodied in the person who testifies.
Consider the Lord Jesus. In John 14, speaking to Philip and the disciples, He says:
“He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”
He testifies of the Father, but He can say, “I am so one with Him that to see Me is to see the Father.” Hebrews 1 says that He is the exact representation of God’s being. He is the perfect expression of the Father.
The testimony of Jesus is not simply the testimony He bore personally. There is a continuation of that testimony in the church. That is the lampstand. The lampstand exists to express—not itself, but Christ.
If the Lord Jesus says, “He who sees Me sees the Father,” the church should be able to say, “If you see me, you see Christ. You see Jesus.” The church is the continuation of the testimony of Jesus.
This is why Revelation speaks of those who hold the testimony of Jesus. In Revelation 12:17, the dragon makes war against those who “keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.” The word means that they have the testimony of Jesus.
A lampstand holds the lamp. That is what the church is supposed to be: something that holds Christ. And guess who is seen? Christ—not the lampstand.
Think of it in this way: your body holds your head. Your body is a vehicle for the thoughts, intentions, and plans of your head to express themselves. Your body holds your head, just as the lampstand holds the lamp, and just as the body of Christ is meant to hold the testimony of Jesus in order to express the Lord Jesus.
This begins on the day of Pentecost. You could say that the testimony of Jesus is transferred, in a way, from Christ personally to Christ corporately—though that is not exactly the right language, because He is still the faithful Witness. But now Christ corporately also gives the testimony of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit came down. The church was born. What the Lord Jesus was in His person—the portable presence of God that set forth the evidence of God’s presence, glory, and reality—the church became that spiritual house, that spiritual temple. The Holy Spirit came down just as in the tabernacle of old and filled the house.
Read the book of Acts. What evidence of Christ is set forth! He is evident at every turn through the church. They hold the testimony of Jesus.
But if a witness is supposed to be the embodiment of that which he or she testifies, that is missing in the church when you read Revelation 2 and 3, is it not? Can you honestly say that you see an embodiment of Christ there?
The Lord presents Himself to each church using features from the glorious vision in Revelation 1. It is almost as if the Lord Jesus is expecting to find that feature of Himself expressed in that church. But is that the case? The lampstand is in need of recovery. The embodiment of what a witness is supposed to be is not quite there.
I suspect that this matter of the recovery of the testimony of Jesus is front and center. I would say it is the spiritual message of the book of Revelation. It is a book of prophecy, yes. It shows us the things that must take place soon. But there is a spiritual message there: the recovery of the testimony of Jesus.
Sometimes we think in terms of geopolitics—who is going to conquer, whether the world will become Christian, or something like that. But I think the point is a little different when I read Revelation.
The conflict is frightening. A lot of people read Revelation and are absolutely terrified. At the sound of one trumpet, one-third of humanity dies. I do not think we are there yet, brothers and sisters. Yet the book begins by speaking of things that must take place soon. It is terrifying, is it not? We cannot put rosy glasses on this.
Let us face it: there is terrible conflict in Revelation—very intense, scary at times. But the matter is not ultimately about geopolitics. At the end of the day, this conflict rages around the testimony of Jesus.
In Revelation 12, there is a woman in labor. Something is coming to completion. Within her, there is a small part, a remnant, being formed. When that remnant, that man-child, is fully formed and born, something happens that changes the equation of power. The man-child goes up, and immediately the dragon and his angels are cast down.
The man-child is corporate. They have overcome because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony. There is a testimony there that is real.
Why is the recovery of the testimony of Jesus so crucial, so important, and so contested? All the rage of the enemy is directed against that testimony. It is because the testimony of Jesus ushers in the kingdom.
When that testimony is recovered, even in a remnant—even in a small part of the whole church—the kingdom comes. The remnant is always a pioneer: someone who stands with the Lord when the majority is falling apart. Through that little remnant, the kingdom comes.
Do you think the enemy does not know that? Are we surprised that the conflict is sometimes unimaginably intense? Thank the Lord: the enemy will not prevail with all his rage. The Lord said that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against His church, and the Lamb has overcome. He took the scroll. We rest on that.
Yet He wants that victory to be expressed through a lampstand, through a testimony on this earth: the testimony of Jesus.
I want to use the final minutes we have to consider the companion phrase to the testimony of Jesus: the Word of God. This brings us to the practical aspect that has been in my heart all along.
In what way does the Word of God relate to the testimony of Jesus? Why are they always paired together? I think we have a key there.
The references include Revelation 1:2, Revelation 1:9, Revelation 6:9, Revelation 12:17, and Revelation 19:10. In all of them, the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus are paired.
Consider the type of the Lord Jesus as the tabernacle for a second. The tabernacle in the Old Testament is called the tabernacle of the testimony. That is very significant. If He tabernacled among us, He was that testimony. He set forth the evidence of the reality of God wherever He went.
The ark is also called the ark of the testimony. In the innermost part of the tabernacle, the Holy of Holies, at the center, you have the ark of the testimony. The ark points in typology to Christ Himself. It is where the presence of God is enthroned, where His glory rests, and where the blood is sprinkled upon the mercy seat.
But I want to go inside the ark. What do you find inside the ark of the testimony? A third thing called “testimony”: the tablets of the testimony.
The tabernacle of testimony, the ark of testimony, and inside the ark of testimony, the tablets of testimony. What are those tablets? The Ten Commandments—the unbroken tablets. The first tablets were broken at the foot of the mountain, but the Lord gave Moses another set, and Moses placed them inside the ark.
How do you explain the Lord Jesus being the testimony of the Father? If He is the ark, what is in the innermost part of His being? The Word of God.
The Word of God and the testimony of Jesus. In a way, the Word of God, when received, digested, and absorbed into your being, makes you the very testimony. I am not talking about mere mental knowledge of the Word of God—not simply memorizing a bunch of verses. It is the Word of God assimilated to you. It is when the Word becomes flesh and blood, if you will.
That explains our Lord Jesus in His perfect humanity: the tablets inside the ark, the Word of God written upon His heart. He could say:
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
What is His testimony right there? “I live by the Word of God. That is My lifeline.”
Again, I am not talking about simply mental knowledge, even though that is necessary. I do not want you to go to an extreme and say, “I am going to relax in my corner, and the Lord will send me an angel to reveal the Word to me.” That is not how it works, brothers and sisters.
As we read the Word of God, as we depend on the Holy Spirit, and as we have a right heart before the Lord, He will reveal it to us. But the Word of God is there. The tablets of the testimony—that is how it worked in the Lord Jesus.
I want to take you quickly to Isaiah 50:4. Messiah is speaking in this verse, and I think you have a key here in this matter of the Word of God in relation to the testimony of Jesus.
“The Lord God has given Me the tongue of disciples, that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.”
This is Messiah Himself speaking. This is His testimony. Do you know that our Lord Jesus went through a training program, through a discipline? Before you tell me, “No, are you sure? He is the eternal Son of God. He did not need that,” remember that in His humanity, He had to learn obedience through the things which He suffered.
Hebrews says more than that: now He is leading many sons to glory. In other words, the same learning He had, He is leading us in the same path. We are learning.
Here you have one vital aspect of what He learned: our Lord Jesus went through that discipline of the morning-by-morning appointment with God to listen. What did He listen to? His Word.
My dear brothers and sisters, let me ask you: are you going through that discipline? The morning-by-morning appointment with God in His Word? Are you allowing that Word to speak to you? Are you having your ears opened to hear?
If you ask, “How am I going to hear?” there is no question about it: it is the Word of God that we are going to hear. That is what is going to speak to us.
The Word of God, as it is listened to, received, submitted to, digested, and absorbed—it is a whole process, like digestion—will constitute you into that testimony. It makes you into that testimony.
Of course, in a way, you are that by birth. It is your birthright. But it is like an athlete. A child may be born with the potential to become the greatest athlete ever. The right DNA is there. But if that person does not grow with the right diet and the right discipline, the potential can be frustrated and never fulfill itself.
As believers, when it comes to this matter of testimony, it is the same principle. If you are born of God, the right DNA is there. You are born of the Spirit. The life of Christ is in you. But now we need to go through that diet, that discipline, of hearing from the Lord morning by morning.
This may seem very simple, and it is. But that is really the practical aspect that is my burden. Everything else, as important as it is, has been trying to set the stage.
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
Personally, I can hardly think of something more practical than those morning-by-morning appointments—starting your day in the presence of God, learning how to seek and hear His Word, nourishing yourself from Christ, and feeding on Him morning by morning. That is what is going to constitute the testimony.
I can hardly think of something more practical, more important, or more contested than that. You know how contested it is. You know the age in which we live. Is there not a temptation to wake up and say, “Oh, let us see what is going on”? That is it—we are off track. Do you see how easy it is?
“He awakens My ear morning by morning.”
That is our Lord Jesus. That is how it worked in His life. You have His life in you by His grace. That is our training program.
I am going to close with a pair of verses from the sister epistles, Ephesians and Colossians. It is amazing how much they mirror each other, and how, in that mirroring, with sometimes small variations, there is a world of meaning for us.
We live in days when it is the age of distraction. That can derail the testimony of Jesus. It seems very basic, and it is, but I can hardly think of something more foundational in our spiritual experience.
Remember: no Word of God, no testimony of Jesus. There is a reason why they are paired. There is a reason why Christ Himself, the testimony par excellence, has those tablets in His heart, in the innermost recesses of His being.
Listen to Ephesians 5:15–18:
“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.”
How do you walk wisely rather than unwisely? How do you use your time? Are you sanctifying the first hours of your day to be with your Lord, allowing the Word of God to nourish you so that the testimony can be established and constituted in you? Making the most of the time, because the days are evil.
There is something typological in the matter of wine in the Old Testament. Often it speaks of the joy of this world. Paul is not saying that you are not supposed to experience any joy in this world. But he is saying that you should not be drunk with it. There is a vast difference between the two.
I like this translation: “In that is dissipation.” What a word. The Lord may give you so much grace. He can speak His Word to you, and we all have the capacity to dissipate that—to let it leak away—by getting drunk with things. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Now go to the sister epistle, Colossians 3:16:
“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.”
Paul continues by speaking of teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts. That is parallel to Ephesians 5:19 and onward.
But observe the variation. In Ephesians: “Be filled with the Spirit.” In Colossians: “Let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you.” The two go hand in hand, brothers and sisters. You cannot separate one from the other.
That is how the Holy Spirit is going to speak to you. Is that not the message in the seven letters? “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” How do you think the Holy Spirit is going to say something? It is going to be based on the Word of God.
Of course, there is such a thing as a still, small voice. Thank the Lord for that. But the Lord, the Holy Spirit, will never lead you in a way that contradicts His Word. Quite often, He speaks something to you, and then a word of the Lord reminds you.
Hebrews 3 is a perfect example. “As the Holy Spirit says,” and then the writer quotes Psalm 95. That is how the Holy Spirit speaks to us, brothers and sisters. It is His sword: the Word of God.
The Word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
May the Lord be gracious to us.
Lord, we pray indeed that Your Spirit may give us the revelation that we need: the understanding and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. In this matter that we believe is so critical in Your Word—the testimony of Jesus being recovered—oh Lord, open our eyes.
Help us to give ourselves to You so that, in Your faithfulness, You can do that work in us: to restore it, that Your Word may have that place in our lives where You can form us into that testimony. We pray it in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.