ROBERT@kontu.utu.fi (Robert W. Johnson) (09/23/90)
A Simple Way to Touch the Lord PART II "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23-24). To every Christian this true worship is intended to be constant and life-giving. The true worship in these verses is not participating in and keeping certain rules, forms, rituals and regulations, but rather calling upon the Lord from deep within, contacting and fellowshipping with Jesus Christ, the Truth, the Reality. The desire of the Father for us is that we might enjoy and participate in this true worship of touching and fellowshipping with His Son all day, every day. Whether on the job, in the classroom, driving a car, talking to a friend or in meetings with other Christians, His desire is that we contact and fellowship with our Lord. Again we have to praise and thank the Lord that He has not only told us that we must call upon Him, worshipping Him in spirit and reality, but He has also given us a very practical and simple way to touch Him in this true worship. The Bible gives us clear examples to show that we can touch and experience the Lord in worship by simply calling upon His name. In Matthew 8:2 we read, "And, behold, there came a leper and WORSHIPPED him SAYING, LORD, ..." Then in Matthew 15:25 we read, "Then came she and WORSHIPPED him, SAYING, LORD, ..." These verses help us to see that we can participate in the true worship at any place, at any time, and in any situation. Whatever our immediate circumstance may be, we can worship Him simply by praying, "O Lord, O Lord." Many Christians are discovering that simply to breathe His name, "O Lord," when they are tempted or distressed or just "out of it" brings them into a real touch and fellowship with the Lord and into full deliverance from self, sin, the world, etc. When we cry in this way to the Lord from deep within, we have a deep inner sense of Christ and His life flowing and moving within us. In the Psalms we find that as the Psalmists prayed to the Lord they cried "O Lord," over 180 times. On one occasion a psalmist said "I CRIED with my whole heart, hear me, O LORD" (Psalms 119:145). On another occasion one said, "Then CALLED I upon the name of the Lord; O LORD" (Psalms 116:4). Truely it is not a light thing to call upon the Lord; yet it is so simple and practical, for in this way we can daily, moment by moment touch and experience Christ as our inward satisfaction and joy. The Bible gives another example of true worship in Revelation 19:4, "And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne saying, Amen; Alleluia." II Corinthians 1:20 says, (R.S.V.) "For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him. That is why we utter the Amen through Him, to the glory of God." And in Revelation 3:14 we find that "Amen" is another name given to Christ. When we cry AMEN from deep within, we sense that we have touched Christ just as when we called, "O Lord, O Lord," because as His name is Lord, so also is His name Amen. Then in I Chronicles 16:36 we see that our calling "Amen" is a real praise to the Lord. "Blessed be the Lord God of Isreal forever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the Lord." For us to cry "Amen" from deep within is to call on the Lord and to touch Him. Hallelujah means "praise ye the Lord," i.e., "praise ye Jehovah," and over and over again the Psalmist used hallelujah in his worship and praise to God. The last five Psalms begin and end with this heavenly word of worship. We also find this word offered in worship to God in Revelation 19:1, 3, 4, 6. Today it is still the same; we can worship and fellowship with our Lord in the same simple way. All day just cry, "O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah," from deep within. In summary, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to this earth, lived as a human, was crucified for our sins, was buried, rose again, and became the life-giving Spirit. When we believed on Him, he as the Spirit came into our spirit, the deepest part of our being, to be our life and everything to us. Today, He as the Spirit is like the air to us--so fresh and so available. When we cry "O Lord," or "Amen," or "Hallelujah," we take Him into us as the life-giving breath, supplying us with all the riches of Himself. Today we need to breathe these four words as our prayer and praise to God. From deep within just breathe, "O Lord," "Amen," "Hallelujah," and you will taste the sweetness and reality of Christ Himself. You will begin to realize more and more that His life is truely a saving life. Today many Christians have found that they can know Him, that they can be brought into the power of His resurrection, that they can experience His spontaneous salvation, and that they can walk in oneness with Him by calling moment by moment, "O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!" From "A Simple Way to Touch the Lord" by Witness Lee. As a personal testimony I must say that I have found that by calling "O Lord Jesus" outloud or just under my breath that this indeed is the most heavenly pray, praise and worship that one can offer to the Lord. Paul, before his conversion, was after the Christians, the ones that "called on the Lord at every time and in every place." By calling from deep within I touch the living God, entering my spirit (Greek pneuma, conscience, fellowship, and intuition) and leaving my mind (Greek psyche, mind, emotions, and will) and my circumstances, offering praise and prayer to God in one offering. O Lord Jesus, O Lord Jesus, O Lord Jesus. Make this your prayer and praise all day long, and enter into your spirit. I have found this a way to warm up to other prayer also, because by just calling on His name you get the cleansing blood applied at the same time. You too can enter into your spirit and touch the Lord. Just try it, for "No man can say that Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit," "Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit," "walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh," "to be strengthended with might by His Spirit in the inner man," "I pray God that your whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Believe me, I call on the Lord quite often, I need salvation from self, sin, and the world, and I need that filling sensation that one gets when calling on the Lord. Join the early Christians and become one of those "that calls on the Lord out of a pure heart." Robert W. Johnson ROBERT at FIRIEN (Bitnet) The opinions expressed herein are my own and not necessarily that of my employer.