In the Lord’s recovery we are fighting a battle. Primarily we must fight against the use of good things as substitutes for Christ. In his subtlety, the enemy, Satan, uses many things to attract people away from Christ. Some are distracted from Christ by teachings or by their concept of what is correct Bible doctrine. For this reason, some condemn the practice of calling on the name of the Lord. They claim that this is not according to Scripture. Some have accused us of inventing new ways of worship. Others have asked us why we cannot go along with the methods of worship that have been practiced by Christians for centuries. What is wrong with calling on the name of the Lord? It is not my intention to cause other Christians trouble. But the Lord has charged me to tell His people of the need to call on Him. This is not a new teaching. Such a practice is first spoken of in Genesis 4:26. This verse says, “Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.” This verse and dozens of other verses as well indicate that to call on the name of the Lord is certainly a scriptural teaching and practice. Verse after verse in both the Old Testament and in the New Testament encourages us to call on the name of the Lord.
Others are offended by pray-reading and criticize us for this practice. According to them, this is our invention. It is not my desire to argue with anyone about things such as this. However, I wish to point out that Ephesians 6:17 and 18 speak of taking the word of God by means of all prayer. Hence, if we are truly scriptural, we will take the Word not only by reading, studying, and searching, but also by praying. With verses such as Ephesians 6:17 and 18 before us, who can say that to pray-read the Word is not according to the Bible? How much we need to turn from the traditional understanding and come back to Christ Himself and to the pure Word of God! This is the Lord’s recovery.
As Christians who live by Christ, whenever we come together we should follow the indwelling Spirit to express Christ. There is no need to have a set way in the meetings. The Spirit knows how to express Christ. In each meeting we should simply open to Him and follow Him. It is not always necessary to open the meeting with a hymn. Perhaps someone will stand and offer living praises to God. We should not come to the meeting according to our concept, for it is too much under the influence of religious tradition. However, if we would express Christ in the meeting, we need to experience Him in our daily life. Some have very little of Christ with which to function and to minister because they have little experience of Him. Hence, they are “pew members.” In the meetings of the recovered church life, the saints who live by Christ need to express Christ in a living way. Only the Spirit knows the way to do this.
In some of the coming messages we shall consider the matter of speaking Christ to one another. Ephesians 5:18 and 19 exhort us to be filled in spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. We need to stand up to declare what Christ is to us and how we have experienced Him. In this way we shall speak Christ to one another, and Christ will be richly expressed in the meetings. Then in a very practical way the church will be filled unto all the fullness of God, with the overflow of all that God is. The church life will be not the expression of gifts, knowledge, or power, but the expression of the living Christ.