Whether the brothers and sisters listen to you or not, depends on where you are and on what you are. Are you under a clear sky? If you are under a clear sky, there is no need for you to argue, and there is no need for you to claim anything or even say anything. The clear sky and the throne above the sky will vindicate.
All the local churches need this revelation of the throne above the clear sky. In the church life we do not have any organization or any kind of hierarchy. We do not have a mission board or any other board; we have no headquarters and no organization of any kind. We have only a clear sky with a throne above the sky.
I can testify that I am afraid only of one thing—that I would lose the presence of my Lord. Many times when I have been alone in my own room, I have declared to the whole universe and to myself that the only thing I fear is losing the Lord’s presence. As long as I have the presence of the Lord, I am afraid of nothing. I care only for His presence, not for anything else. In other words, I care only for the clear sky with the throne above it. I have the full assurance that as I am speaking these words, the throne is with me. Praise the Lord that this is sufficient! We all need to learn this.
We are so little, and we are unworthy, yet the Lord has visited us. I must confess that, in the past, sometimes I told the Lord that I did not like doing this job, and I asked Him why He has taken hold of me. At such times the Lord gave me a serious warning about speaking in this way. Then I said, “Lord, forgive me. Do whatever You like. I am willing to lose everything, but I do not want to lose the clear sky and the throne.” Under the Lord’s covering, I testify that I really mean this.
In your local church you should not care for anything except having a clear sky with the throne above it. As long as we have the clear sky and the throne, opposition and criticism mean nothing. The only thing we need to care for is the clear sky with the throne above it.
Ezekiel 1:26 speaks of “the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone.” Here we see that the throne has the appearance of a sapphire stone. Exodus 24:10 is helpful in understanding the significance of the sapphire stone in Ezekiel 1. This verse says, “They saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.” A sapphire stone signifies a kind of heavenly condition which exists when God is present in a particular situation. According to Exodus 24:10 when Moses, Aaron, and the chief men of Israel saw God, they saw under His feet the appearance of a sapphire stone. This gave the people an insight into the appearance of the Lord’s presence. A sapphire stone is blue in color, and blue is a heavenly color indicating the situation and condition of God’s presence. This verse also says that at that time the heavens were exceedingly clear. God was present in that kind of situation and atmosphere. Therefore, the sapphire stone signifies the situation or the condition of the heavens with God’s presence in it. The throne being in the likeness of a sapphire stone shows the presence of God in a heavenly situation.
Whenever we have the throne of God in a clear heaven, the situation will be heavenly. There will not be anything earthly or anything gloomy or impure. Rather, everything will be heavenly, clear, clean, and absolutely transparent. This portrays the kind of situation we should have in the presence of God. Whenever we have a clear sky with God’s throne in it, we are in a heavenly situation having the appearance of a sapphire stone.
I would ask you to look once again at the picture in Ezekiel 1. The Lord is upon the throne above the firmament in the heavens, and the living creatures are walking or standing on earth. Through them the Lord in the heavens becomes one with the earth, and in this way the heavens are connected to the earth. This means that the heavens have been brought down to the earth and that the heavens are now moving on earth through, by, and with the living creatures. This needs to be the situation among the local churches today, the situation among the overcomers, and the situation and condition of our daily Christian life.