The Church in Spokane
TestimoniesPursuing Christ in the Word and in the Church LifeI would like to share the testimony of my enjoyment of Christ in the local church. I was brought up by godly parents who were missionaries. By the Lord’s mercy I was saved as a young boy. As I grew up I started seeking after the Lord. In 1976, when I was a senior in high school, I moved with my family to Huntington Beach, California and came into contact with believers meeting there as the church in Huntington Beach. Since 1977 I have been meeting with the local churches, first in Huntington Beach, then in Costa Mesa, and since 1980 in Spokane, Washington. Throughout my upbringing I always had a profound reverence for the Bible, considering it to be the infallible word of God. This view of the Bible has only been strengthened in my time in the local church. I love the Word of God, treasuring it more than my necessary food. I am nourished and strengthened by the Word. The Word of God is my unique and sole authority. I just care for what is in the Bible. I try to let everything of my tradition and background go and just cleave to the Word of God. The Word of God I enjoy is not one of dead letters. Paul said that the letter kills but the Spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6). It is indeed a tragedy if I come to the Bible and yet miss the One of Whom the scriptures speak. This happened to the Jews in the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry. They searched the scriptures but were unwilling to come to Christ that they might have life (John 5:39-40). The scriptures point to Christ and it is ultimately Christ that I seek after. Like Mary in Luke 10 I choose the good part which shall not be taken away from me. To know Christ, to pursue after Him, to be conformed to Him, and to be transformed into His image is my heart-felt desire and what I am entering into. In this context I would like to say a word concerning the ministry of brother Witness Lee. Through this brother, the Lord has had a way to unveil the depths of His Word to me. Witness Lee’s speaking and writing have proven to be a consistent interpretation and faithful unfolding of divine revelation contained in the Holy Word. His ministry emphasizes the crucial contents of the Divine Word, focusing on life, light, truth, Christ, the spirit, the church and ultimately on the revelation concerning the divine economy of God. Witness Lee’s ministry, drawn from his deep experiences of Christ and released so livingly from his spirit, has caused a response over and over in my spirit. Throughout the years, as line after line of the scriptures has been expounded by him, the response in my spirit to the light and revelation has been overwhelming. His ministry has caused me to seek the Lord in His Word until the day dawns and the morning star arises in my heart (2 Peter 1:19). Finally, I would like to say that in the local church I have been ushered into the experience of Christ in a corporate way. In my years in the local church I have been surrounded by fellow believers who all share the aspiration of pursuing after Christ and being built up together in the divine life. We are one body in Christ and individually members one of another (Romans 12:5). We are pursuing not just in an individual way but with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart (2 Timothy 2:22). Song of Songs 1:4 says “Draw me, we will run after thee.” As the Lord draws us, we need others to seek after the Lord with us. How I love the local church with all of the brothers and sisters pursuing after the Lord together! J.C. |