Because it is somewhat difficult to understand these matters and practice them, let me try to explain further what I mean. I do not mean that you should do anything in a legal way. The Lord is living and present, and we love Him. He is present with us, and we are present with Him. Is the Lord not living and present? And are you not also living and present? Therefore, both you and the Lord are living and present to each other. There should be some spontaneous communication between you and the Lord. As you and the Lord enjoy such a relationship, you will realize that you are still sinful, and you will offer the sin offering.
Living in the Lord’s presence will make us conscious of the fact that we are sinful, even that we are sin itself. If we do not have this feeling when in the Lord’s presence, there must be something wrong. Of course, there cannot be anything wrong with the Lord. Whatever is wrong must be on our side. But if the situation is proper, probably the first thing we shall do is to say something like this: “O Lord, I am still in the old creation, still in myself, my old nature, and in the flesh. Lord, I confess that I am sinful. Thank You, Lord, that You died for me on the cross as my sin offering. Lord, now in Your presence, I lay my hand on You and apply You as my present sin offering.” This is to take Christ as the sin offering in a spontaneous manner, not in the way of legality.
A spontaneous prayer in which we apply Christ as our sin offering is a true praise to the Lord. When we pray like this, we render Him the best appreciation. This kind of prayer is different from common prayer according to religious tradition or habit. The following is an example of a rather common prayer, a prayer that may be offered according to habit: “Lord, I am sinful. I thank You for Your precious blood that I can now apply to me.” This kind of prayer certainly is good, but the expression indicates that, at least to some extent, the one who prays in this way is still under the influence of tradition. However, if we apply Christ as the sin offering in the way illustrated above, that will be a sign that we are not under tradition but that we are under the Lord’s enlightenment.
When we and the Lord, as living persons, are together in fellowship, something will operate within us and cause us to realize that the Lord is new and that we are old. Then we may say, “O Lord, You are so holy and new, but I am old. I live in the old creation, and I am still in my flesh and in my old nature. I am sinful—I am even sin. Even though I have been saved and regenerated, I am still sin.” This is a realization that comes spontaneously when we have genuine, intimate contact with the Lord. It is not a common, traditional prayer offered in a legal way. On the contrary, it is an intimate way of speaking to the Lord. Then, we may go on to say, “Lord, I thank You that You were made sin for me. When You died on the cross, You condemned sin. Lord, I thank You for condemning my flesh.” This kind of prayer is not according to tradition; it is a loving, intimate word spoken to the Lord under His enlightenment. This kind of expression is according to the sentiment deep within us.
Often in our actual practice, our way of speaking to the Lord is very different from the way we speak to the members of our family. Instead of speaking to Him in an intimate way, we may be formal and even speak as if we were performing. It is not at all pleasant to come to the Lord in such a way. Why not contact the Lord in the same kind of living, spontaneous, and intimate way you contact those who are close to you? When you see your husband or wife, you do not speak in a formal manner. On the contrary, you speak in a loving, spontaneous way. We should also talk to the Lord Jesus this way.
Have you noticed that in the Gospels the disciples did not pray to the Lord Jesus in a way that was religious, formal, or traditional? Rather, the disciples prayed by talking to the Lord intimately and lovingly. We should learn from this example to cease from our old way of praying and live a life according to what is pictured in Exodus 29.
I have learned from experience how good it is to be intimate with the Lord and one with Him. Sometimes we should not first speak to Him. We should let the Lord speak first. When He speaks, we should not immediately speak in return. This means that we and the Lord should be like friends who take time to listen to each other. Suppose a friend visits you and begins to speak to you about certain things. If you interrupt him and begin to speak about other matters, that would indicate that you do not care for what he is saying. That is not the way for intimate friends to converse together. The proper way is that your friend talks to you, and you listen. Then, after a period of time, he will give you an opportunity to speak, and he will listen. It certainly would not be proper for him to do all the talking and then, when he is finished, to say goodbye and leave. He should give you the opportunity to speak to him. This should also be true of our relationship with the Lord.
Early in the morning, when you are with the Lord, He may begin to speak to you. As He speaks, He enlightens, for His speaking is our enlightening. Sometimes He may encourage you. At other times, He may rebuke you or even scold you. But no matter what He says, you must listen to Him. Then He will give you time to speak. I am rather certain that whatever you say will be in the realm of the sin offering. You may answer Him by saying, “Lord, I am sin, but You are my sin offering. You were made sin for me, and You died on the cross to condemn sin. How I thank You that Your precious blood is the blood shed by You as my sin offering. O Lord, how I treasure this blood!” Talking to the Lord in this way will cause you to love Him very much. You will sense that you have never loved Him as much as you love Him now. Furthermore, you will give Him the highest appreciation. All this will cause you to live a daily life of enjoying the Lord. In particular, you will enjoy Him as the fine flour feeding you and supplying life to you. Also, spontaneously you will walk in spirit, act in spirit, and speak in spirit. In this way you will enjoy Christ as the olive oil. Then you will become willing to sacrifice yourself for the Lord and for others. This is to have a life in which we pour out Christ as wine. In this way you will have a bull, two lambs, and an amount of flour, oil, and wine.