When the Lord was on the earth for three and a half years, He was with the disciples visibly. When the Lord Jesus came, Peter followed Him. When He ate, Peter ate also. When He walked in and out, Peter could follow behind Him. There was no need for any training in order for the disciples to become accustomed to the Lord’s visible presence. Later the Lord left the disciples; He died, was buried, and rose from the dead. In resurrection He came back to the midst of the disciples. At that time His presence became an invisible presence. Because of this He needed to train His disciples to experience this invisible presence.
On the day of the Lord’s resurrection the disciples were assembled in a house. It was evening, and the doors and windows were closed. Suddenly the Lord appeared in their midst and said, “Peace be to you” (John 20:19). Eventually, after spending some time with them, He disappeared. Actually, He did not leave the disciples; He only withdrew His visible presence. The difference was merely one of being visible or invisible. The Lord appeared unnoticeably, and He withdrew His visible presence unnoticeably.
On the road to Emmaus the Lord walked with the two disciples, listening to them as they discussed the Lord’s death and resurrection (Luke 24:13-35). The two disciples did not know that it was the Lord. When they came to a village, the Lord was about to journey on, but they asked Him to tarry, and the Lord stayed with them. When they sat down to eat, the Lord took the bread and broke it. At that moment they recognized that it was the Lord. Suddenly the Lord disappeared. When they did not know that it was the Lord, the Lord followed them and walked with them for a long journey; but when they recognized that it was the Lord, He disappeared from them.
After the Lord’s resurrection He also appeared to Peter (1 Cor. 15:5). However, when the Lord withdrew His visible presence from Peter, he became impatient and said to the other disciples, “I am going fishing,” and they followed him (John 21:3). That night they caught nothing. I believe that the Lord Jesus commanded all the fish that night to stay away from them, so that not a single fish came to their net. They did not realize that the Lord Jesus was with them in their fishing. At dawn the Lord asked them if they had anything to eat. They answered, “No.” The Lord told them to cast the net on the right side of the boat. They obeyed and caught an abundance of fish. It was then that they realized that it was the Lord. In dealing with the disciples after His resurrection, the Lord seemed to appear suddenly and disappear suddenly. Actually, it was not a matter of being present or not being present; it was a matter of being visible or invisible.
Today we enjoy the presence of the Lord not in a visible or physical way, but in an invisible and unseen way. This is rather difficult for us. I have been practicing this matter for sixty years. Gradually, through much practice I have become accustomed to this. Now I have learned the secret. The Lord’s presence is real. You have the Lord’s presence, and I also have the Lord’s presence. Every one of us has the Lord’s presence. But though the Lord’s presence is practical to me, it may be very abstract to you. In the morning I only need to spend at most ten or twelve minutes, and immediately I can enjoy the Lord’s presence. I can touch the Lord’s word as well as the Lord Himself, and I can enter into fellowship with the Lord. I hope that you will practice fellowshipping with the Lord in this way. In this way the words of the Lord will automatically be digested by you. If you would learn to do this, my next advice to you is that you need to practice speaking these words.
I believe that you all love the Lord, but I must say that even in loving ourselves we are sometimes lazy. This is especially true of the young people. If their parents are not with them, their eating and sleeping habits will be very loose. Only those who are not slothful can cook and eat on time. Although I have never visited your homes, I know that some of you never make your beds. You would not care even if half of your pillow had slipped out of the pillow case, or if one of your socks was under the bed and the other under your pillow. When the time comes you just fall on your bed and sleep, and when you wake up you do not care to tidy up anything. You say that you love yourself, but your life is so loose that you are actually wasting yourself.
All of you love the Lord, but your laziness is a big problem. You say that you love the Lord, but during the day do you spend a few minutes to fellowship with the Lord and to talk to the Lord? Do you put the Word of the Lord before you and let the Lord speak to you? This kind of practice requires a great deal of effort. I am afraid not too many brothers and sisters spend a portion of time each day to be with the Lord and to fellowship with Him in His Word.
Romans 12:11 says, “Not slothful in zeal, burning in spirit, serving the Lord as a slave.” Our first service is to fellowship with the Lord. When you fellowship with the Lord, your fellowship will become your prayer. In this way, the Lord’s word will automatically be constituted into you, and spontaneously you will have the burden to speak for the Lord. Furthermore, you will have something to say, and whatever you say will be full of content.