If we would have a proper Christian daily life, we need to walk according to the spirit. It is significant that the New Testament does not charge us to walk according to the Scriptures, but to walk according to the spirit (Rom. 8:4). In Galatians 5:16 Paul says, “Walk by the Spirit.” In verse 25 he goes on to say, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” We are to conduct ourselves not according to teaching or doctrine, but according to the Spirit. Today the Spirit is the very Christ who has come into our spirit and who is now mingled with our spirit. Our need is to live according to this mingled spirit. The more we live by walking according to the mingled spirit, the more we shall be filled in spirit unto all the fullness of God. Then we shall know how to call on the name of the Lord, how to speak to others, and how to sing and testify. If we develop these habits, our meetings will spontaneously be an exhibition of our daily walk. How different are such meetings from the formal religious services of today’s Christianity!
We must admit that we are still under the influence of traditional Christianity. We were born into this environment and raised under this influence. But in the Lord’s recovery we must cast off traditional Christianity, especially the traditions related to formal meetings. Our meetings should not have a formal beginning. Instead, they should begin spontaneously through our exercise of the spirit. However, I say again that this kind of meeting is the product of the exercise of our spirit to experience Christ in our daily life. If we do not exercise our spirit in our daily living, whatever we do in the meetings will be a performance, not the spontaneous exhibition of our daily Christian life. If we walk in spirit day by day, no one will be able to predict how the meetings will begin. We shall simply gather together to have a spontaneous exhibition of the riches of Christ for the building up of the church. Because of the influence of tradition and the natural concept, it is very easy for us to meet in a systematized way. The meetings may be formal and altogether devoid of the spontaneity of the Spirit. Oh, we need release! We need liberation! But this release and liberation cannot begin with a performance in the meetings; it must begin with the exercise of the spirit in our daily walk. In our daily living we should be a certain kind of person, one who contacts the Lord, calls on His name, speaks to others about Him, and who sings praises to the Lord. Then when we come to the church meetings, we should continue to be this kind of person. In this way our activity in the meetings will exhibit our exercise in our daily walk.
We do not realize how much we are still under the killing influence of religious tradition. Be assured, we are still too much under the tradition of Christianity. You may ask what we can do about it. The only thing for us to do is to exercise our spirit to have intimate contact with the Lord as a living Person day by day. We should not try to adjust ourselves or improve our behavior. Furthermore, we should not endeavor to be spiritual or holy. Forget about all these things and simply pay attention to the index of the Lord’s eyes. Instead of trying to be spiritual, we should simply live in the Lord’s presence. We need to make a declaration to Satan and to the whole universe: “I don’t know the meaning of holiness or spirituality. I only know that Christ is my life and my person. Today He is living within me, and I am living according to the index of His eyes. My only desire is to be one with Him. I do not care whether I love or hate, whether I am angry or calm. I care only to take Christ as my person and to be one with Him in everything.”
In our Christian dictionary there should be just one word—Christ. Christ is our humility, our patience, our everything. What sweetness there is in our daily life when we take Christ as everything! How marvelous to live according to the index of His eyes! Such a living is filled with calling, speaking, singing, and praising. If this is our daily experience, then in the meetings there will be no performing. On the contrary, we shall release our spirit spontaneously to exhibit Christ. If all the saints have such a daily living, the meetings will be genuine, rich, and uplifted, altogether different from anything we have experienced before.
Let us set aside our natural concept of what a meeting should be. The Lord has shown us clearly that a proper meeting is the exhibition of our daily living as Christians. In the meetings we should not focus our attention on singing, preaching, or teaching. Our focus must be the exhibition of our daily walk.
If we are clear about this, we shall realize that no one can teach us how to have a meeting. Teaching will lead only to a performance, never to an exhibition. Let us all look to the Lord for mercy and say, “Lord, we have been veiled by religion and distracted from Yourself. Lord, bring us back to Yourself, back from so many good, spiritual, and even scriptural things. Cause us to know Christ and Christ alone.”
I have the full assurance that the Lord intends to recover our intimate daily contact with Himself and our living by Him. In particular, I expect the Lord to gain the young people in this regard because they are less under the influence of tradition. Let us all rise up to repudiate traditional Christianity. If we repudiate the religious traditions and care only for the living Christ, we shall have a proper spirit, a spirit of power, love, and a sober mind. Then in the meetings we shall bubble over with the Spirit. The more we speak of the Lord, the more we shall have to say.
Oh, may we all be simple and return to Christ Himself! Let us forget the religious traditions and all formal practices. The Lord is calling us back to the Spirit. Our urgent need is to live and walk in the spirit and then to exhibit corporately our daily living in Christ.