The Secret of the Christian Life Having been a minister since the 1970's I have had the opportunity to help many people grow in knowledge of the Bible, and acquire a great understanding of the Bible. This study is one of which I took from the Book of Matthew Chapter 28:20. I will try to bring you to understand what it is trying to tell us in this day and age.
Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
- Matthew 28:20
I am aware of the many struggles, difficulties, and failures of which many Christians complain, and I know that many are trying to make a new effort to begin a holy life.
I know that their hearts are continually afraid they might fail again, because they experience so many difficulties and temptations, because of the natural weakness of their characters.
My heart longs to be able to tell them the secret of the Christian life in words simple that a little child could understand them. But even so, I ask myself, "Can I venture to hope that I will be able to describe the glorious heavenly Lord Jesus to these believers so they can see Him in His glory?
Can I open their eyes to See that there is a divine, mighty Christ who does actually come into people's hearts, who faithfully promises, 'If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him' (John 14:23) and, 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee"' (Heb. 13:5)? No, my words are not adequate for that.
However, my Lord Jesus can use me, as a simple servant, to encourage and help struggling Christians. I can say, "I urge you to come into the presence of Jesus and to wait on Him and He will reveal Himself to you." I pray God may use His precious Word to encourage you in this.
The secret of the Christian's strength joy is simply the presence of the Lord When Christ was on earth, He was physically present with His disciples. They walked about together all day, and at night they met together and often ate together and stayed at the same house. They were continually together. The presence of Jesus was the training school of disciples. They were united to Him by that wonderful communion of love for three long years; in their fellowship with Christ, they learned to know Him, and He instructed and corrected them and prepared them for what they were to receive at a later time. After His resurrection, just before He ascended to heaven, He said to them, "Lo, I am with you alway [all the days], even unto the end of the world."
What a promise! Christ was with Peter in the boat, and Christ sat with John at the Last Supper, yet I can have Christ with me in just as real a way. In fact, I can have Him in a more complete way, for, before Christ's resurrection, they knew Him as a human being, an individ¬ual who was separate from them, but I may know Christ as the One who is glorified in the power of the throne of God-the omnipotent Christ, the Omnipresent Christ.
Yes, what a promise! You may be asking, “How is this possible?" My answer is, "It is possible because Christ is God and because Christ, after having been made a human being, went up into the throne and life of God. And now, that blessed Christ Jesus, with His loving, pierced heart; that blessed Christ Jesus, who lived on earth; that same Christ who was glorified into the glory of God, can be in me and can be with me every day.
You may be saying, "Is having the constant presence of the Lord Jesus really possible for someone in business or for someone who has the responsibility of a large and demanding household Or for a poor man who is occupied with his problems? Is it possible? Can I always be thinking of Jesus?" Thank God, you do not need to be constantly thinking of Him. You may be the manager of a bank, and your whole attention may be required to carry out the business that you have to do. However, while you have to think of your business, Jesus will think of you, and He will come in and will take charge of you.
When a three-month-old baby sleeps in his mother's arms, he lies there helplessly. He hardly knows his mother; he does not think of her, but the mother thinks of the child. And this is the blessed mystery of love: Jesus, the God-man, waits to come to me in the greatness of His love, and when He gets possession of my heart, He embraces me in those divine arms and tells me, "My child, I, the Faithful One, I, the Mighty One, will remain with you. I will watch over you and keep you every day." He tells me that He will come into my heart so that I can be a happy Christian, a holy Christian, a useful Christian. You say, "Oh, if only I could believe that, if only I could believe that it is possible to have Christ constantly taking and keeping charge of me every hour and every moment!"
Yet, this is exactly my message to you. When Jesus said to His disciples, "Lo, I am with you alway," He meant it in the fullness of the divine omnipresence, in the fullness of the divine love, and He longs to reveal Himself to you and to me as we have never seen Him before.
And now, just think for a moment what a blessed life it must be to have the continual presence of Jesus. Is that not the secret of peace and happiness? Many people are saying, "If I could just arrive at the point at which every day and all day I believed that Jesus was watching over me and continually keeping me. What peace I would have in the thought, 'I have no care if He cares for me, and I have no fear if He provides for me."'
Your heart says that this is too good to be true, and that it is too glorious to be possible for you. Still, you acknowledge that it must be a very blessed way to live. Fearful one, mistaken one, anxious one, I bring you God's promise; it is for me and for you. Jesus will do it. As God, He is able, and Jesus is willing and longing as the Crucified One to keep you in perfect peace. This is a wonderful fact, and it is the secret of unspeakable joy.
This is also the secret of holiness. Instead of indwelling sin, there is an indwelling Christ who conquers it. Instead of indwelling sin, there is the indwelling life and light and love of the blessed Son of God. He is the secret of holiness. Christ "is made unto us.. .sanctification" (1 Cor. 1:30).
Always remember that it is Christ Himself who is our holiness. The experience of having Christ come into you, take charge of your whole being, rule all things - your nature and your thoughts and your will and your emotions - will make you holy. Christians talk about holiness, but do you know what holiness is? You have as much of holiness as you have of Christ, for it is written, Both he that sancti¬fieth and they who are sanctified are all of one.” (Heb. 2:11). Christ sanctifies us by bringing God's life into us.
We read in Judges, "The spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon" (6:34); that is, Gideon was clothed with the Spirit. But in the New Testa¬ment there is an equally wonderful text in which we read, "Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 13:14). We are to clothe ourselves with Christ Jesus. What does this mean? It does not only mean that we are given a righteousness outside of ourselves, but that we are to clothe ourselves with the living character of the living Christ, with the living love of the living Christ.
Put on the Lord Jesus
This is a tremendous calling. I cannot put on Christ unless I believe and understand that I have to put Him on like a garment that covers my whole being. I have to put on a living Christ who has said, "Lo, I am with you alway." Just pull the folds of that robe of light closer around you, the robe with which Christ wants to dress you. Just acknowledge that Christ is with you, on you, in you. Be clothed with Christ completely!
Examine one characteristic of His after another, and hear God's word, "Let this mind be in you' which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5). This passage of Scripture tells you that He was obedient to the point of death. When you respond and put on this Jesus, then you have received and put on Christ the Obedient One, Christ whose whole life was obedience. He becomes your life, and His obedience rests upon you until you learn to whisper, as Jesus did, "My Father.. thy will be done" (Matt. 26:42) and, "Lo~ I come to do thy will, 0 God" (Heb. 10:9).
This, too, is the secret of power for witness and work. Why is it so difficult to be obedient, and why do we sin so often? People sing, "Oh, to be wholly Yours," and they sing it from their hearts. Then why are they disobedient again? Where does the disobedience come from? They are disobedient because they are trying to obey a distant Christ, and therefore His commands do not come to them with power.
What does God's Word tell us about all this? When God wanted to send any man to do His will, He met with him and talked with him and encouraged him, time after time. God appeared to Abraham seven or eight times, and gave him one command after another. In this way, Abraham learned to obey Him perfectly. God appeared to Joshua and to Gideon, and they obeyed. Why are we not obedient? It is because we have so little of this close communion with Jesus.
However, if we knew the blessed, heavenly secret of having the presence of Christ with us every day, every hour, every minute, what a joy it would be to obey! We could not live with the conscious thought, "My Lord Jesus is with me and around me," and not obey Him. Are you beginning to long for this and to say, "I must have the ever abiding presence of Jesus"?
There are some Christians who try not to be disobedient, who serve God very faithfully on Sundays and during the week, who pray for grace and blessing, but who complain that they have very little blessing and power. Why? They are not allowing the living Jesus to fill their hearts completely.
I sometimes think of this as an extremely solemn truth. There is a great diversity of gifts among ministers and others who teach and preach. However, I am sure of this: a person's gifts are not the measure of his real power. God can see what neither you nor I can see, though sometimes people can sense it to some degree. Yet, to the extent that a person has-not as a feeling or a desire or a thought, but in reality-the very Spirit and presence of Jesus upon him, an unseen silent influence comes out from him. That secret influence is the holy presence of Jesus.
I hope that what I have written to this point has shown you what a desirable thing it is to have the continual presence of Jesus, and what a blessed thing it is to live for. Let me now give you an answer to a question that arises in many people's hearts: "Tell me how I can obtain this blessed, constant presence of Jesus, and how I can always keep it. I think that if I were to have this, I would have everything. The Lord Jesus has come very near to me. I have tried to turn away from everything that can hinder my relationship with my Lord, and He has been very close to me. But how can I know that He will always be with me?"
Continual Belief
My reply to this is, if you were to ask the Lord, "Oh, my blessed Lord Christ, what must
I do? How can I enjoy Your never failing presence?" His first response would be, "Only believe. I have said it often, and you have only partly understood it, but I will say it again. My child, only believe."
We believe by faith. We sometimes speak of faith as trust, and it is a very helpful thing to tell people that faith is trust. However, when people say, as they sometimes do, that faith is nothing but trust, that is not the case. Faith is a much broader word than trust. It is by faith that I learn to know the invisible God, and it is by faith that I see Him. Faith is my spiritual eyesight for what is unseen and heavenly.
You often try hard to trust God, and you fail. Why? It is because you have not first taken time to see God. How can you trust God fully until you have met Him and until you have come to know Him? You ask, "Where should I begin?" Begin with believing, with presenting yourself before God in an attitude of silent worship and asking Him to let a sense of His greatness and His presence come upon you. You must ask Him to let your heart be covered over with His holy presence. You must seek to know in your heart the presence of an almighty and all-loving God, an unspeakably loving God. Take time to worship Him as the omnipotent God, to feel that the very power that created the world, the very power that raised Jesus from the dead, is working in your heart at this moment.
We do not often experience this because we do not believe. We must take time to be¬lieve. Jesus is saying to you, "My child, shut your eyes to the world, and shut out of your heart all your thoughts about religion, and begin to believe in God Himself." That is the true meaning of the first part of the Apostles' Creed, "I believe in God."
By believing, I open my heart to receive this glorious God, and I bow and worship. Then, as I believe in who He is, I look up and see the Lamb on the throne, and I believe that the almighty power of God is in Jesus for the very purpose of revealing His presence to my heart.
Why are there Two on the throne? Is it not enough for God the Father to be there? The Lamb of God is on the throne for our benefit. The Lamb upon the throne is Christ Himself; He has the power, as God, to take possession of us.
Do not think that this will never be a reality for you, or do not think of it as something that is within your reach only for the present moment. Cultivate the habit of faith. Say, "Jesus, I believe in Your glory; I believe in Your omnipotence; I believe in Your power working within me; I believe in Your living, loving presence with me, revealing itself in divine power."
Do not be occupied with feelings or experiences. You Will find it far simpler and easier just to trust and to say, "I am sure He is taking care of me completely." Put yourself aside for the time being. Do not think or speak about yourself, but think about who Jesus is.
And then remember that you are always to believe. I sometimes feel that I cannot find the words to explain that God wants His people to believe from morning until night. Every breath ought to be spent just believing. Yes, it is indeed true; the Lord Jesus loves for us to be continually believing from morning until evening, and you must begin to make that the chief thing in life. In the morning, when you wake up, go out to your day with a strong faith in His presence; and in the watches of the night, let this thought be present with you, "My Savior, Jesus, is around me and near me." At any point of the day or night, you can look to Jesus and say, "I want to trust You always."
You know what trust is. It is so sweet to trust. But now, can you trust Jesus, this Presence, this keeping Presence? He lives for you in heaven. You are marked with His blood, and He loves you. Can you say, "My King is with me every day"? trust Jesus to fulfill His own promises.
Continual Obedience
There is a second answer that I think Christ would give if you were to come to Him in faith and say, "Is there anything more, my blessed Master?" I think I can hear His answer: "My child, always obey."
Do not fail to understand the lesson contained in this. You must distinctly and definitely receive the words obey and obedience, and learn to say for yourself, "Now I have to obey, and by the grace of God I am going to obey in everything."
What a wonderful thing it would be to have this thought in our hearts: "Jesus, I love to obey You." Personal communion with the Savior will be followed by the joy of personal service and allegiance. Are you ready to obey in all humility and weakness and reverence? Can you say, "Yes, Lord Jesus, I will obey"? If so, give yourself up to Him completely. Then your thinking will be, "I am not going to speak one word if I think that Jesus would not like to hear it. I am not going to have an opinion of my own, but my whole life is going to be covered with the purity of Christ's obedience to the Father and His self sacrificing love for me. I want Christ to have my whole life, my whole heart, my whole character. I want to be like Christ and to obey." Give your self up to this loving obedience.
Close Daily Fellowship with Christ
Thirdly, if you were to say, "My Master, Blessed Savior, tell me everything. I will believe, and I will continue to obey. Is there anything more that I need in order to secure the enjoyment of Your continual presence?" I believe this would be His answer: "My child, you need close fellowship with Me every day."
The fault of many who try to obey and try to believe is that they do it in their own strength. They do not know that if the Lord Jesus is to reign in their hearts, they must have close dally communion with Him. You cannot do all that He desires, but Jesus will do it for you. There are many Christians who fail at this point, and for this reason they do not understand what it is to have fellowship with Jesus.
Let me try to impress upon you that God has given you a loving, living Savior, but how can He bless you if you do not meet with Him? The joy of friendship is found in fellowship, and Jesus asks for this fellowship every day so that He may have time to influence you, to tell you of Himself; to teach you, to breathe His Spirit into you, and to give you new life and joy and strength.
And remember, fellowship with Jesus does not mean just spending half an hour or an hour reading your Bible and praying. A person may study his Bible or his Bible commentary carefully, he may look up all the parallel passages in the chapter, and he may be able to tell you all about it, and yet he may never have met Jesus at all during the time that he spent studying. You may be praying for five or ten minutes a day, and yet you may never have met Jesus.
And so, we must remember that, although the Bible is very precious and reading it is very blessed and necessary, Bible reading and prayer, in themselves, are not fellowship with Jesus. What we need is to meet with Jesus every morning and to say, "Lord, here is a new day again, and I am just as weak in my self as I ever was. Please come this morning and feed me with Yourself and speak to my soul." My friend, it is not your faith that will keep you standing, but it is a living Jesus with whom you meet every day in fellowship and worship and love. Wait in His presence, no matter how cold and faithless you feel. Wait before Him, and say, "Lord, helpless as I am, I believe and rest in the blessed assurance that what You have promised, You will do for me."
Work for Jesus
If you were to ask the Master once again, "Lord Jesus, is that all?" His answer would be, "No, my child. There is one thing more."
"And what is that? You have told me to believe and to obey and to stay close to You. What additional thing would You like?"
“Work for Me, my child. Remember, I have redeemed you for My service. I have redeemed you so that I may have a witness to go out into the world and tell others about Me."
Friend, do not hide your spiritual treasure, and do not think that if Jesus is with you, you can hide it. One of two things will happen - either you must give up all of your treasure, or it will have to be revealed.
If Jesus Christ is in a person's heart, He will be revealed in the person's life. The reason for this is not only that it is our duty to witness about Him (it is our duty, yet it is much more than that), but if you do not tell others about Christ, it is just an indication that you have not given yourself up completely to Jesus: your character, your reputation, your all. It means you are holding back from Him. You must confess Jesus in the world, in your home, and, in fact, everywhere. You know the Lord's com¬mand, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). He has also said, "I am with you,,, meaning, "If anyone works for Me, I will be with him." This is true of the minister, the missionary, and every believer who works for Jesus. The presence of Jesus is intimately connected with work for Him.
You may be saying, "I never thought of that before. I work for Him on Sunday, but during the week I am not working for Him." You cannot have the presence of Jesus and let this continue to be the case. I do not believe that you can have the presence of Jesus all week and yet do nothing for Him. Therefore, my advice is, work for Him who is worthy, and His blessing and His presence will be found in the work. It is a blessed privilege to work for Christ in this perishing world. Oh, why is it that our hearts often feel so cold and closed up, and that so many of us say, "I do not feel called to Christ's work"? Be willing to yield yourself for the Lord's service, and He will reveal Himself to you.
Christ Is Completely for Us
Christ comes with His extraordinary promise, and He says to all believers: "'Lo, I am with you alway.' This is My promise. This is what I can do in My power. This is what I faithfully pledge to do. Will you receive it? I give Myself to you."
To each person who comes to Him, Christ says, "I give Myself to you, to be absolutely and wholly yours every hour of every day, to be with you and in you every moment, to bless you and sustain you, and to give you the continual knowledge of My presence. I will be wholly, wholly, wholly, yours."
We Are to Be Completely for Christ
In addition, the other side of it is that He wants us to be wholly His. Are you ready right now to take this as your motto: "Wholly for God"? Let us fall down at His feet in true humility and heartfelt worship. 0 God, breathe Your presence into our hearts so that You may shine forth from our lives.
Are you going to receive Him and cherish Him in your heart, to give Him glory and let Him have His way? Say, "I will seek You with my whole heart. I am wholly Yours." Yield yourself entirely to Him so that He has complete possession of you. He will take you and keep you in His possession. Jesus delights in the worship of His beloved. Our whole lives can become one continuous act of worship and work, filled with love and joy, if we will only remember and value what Jesus has said: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
Amen
Rev Curtis Kittrell
