As mentioned in our introduction post, each week we want to provide a sample of the riches and the fellowship from brother Titus Chu, as well as from the saints who have been enjoying these messages throughout the week in small groups. We hope this digest is able to bring you and those you share it with into the riches that we have enjoyed with one another.
Note: For the best viewing experience, after clicking “Present” below, you can expand the Prezi slideshow to full screen by clicking the diagonal arrows in the lower right-hand corner.
This digest is based on the eleventh message given by Brother Titus Chu. If you have not seen it already, you may watch it on the Youtube Channel. You may also want to read the outline and relevant Bible verses for this message.
Being Made Alive
You need to realize, all of a healthy Christian life is lived in the principle of vitality. Are you a healthy Christian? It is not how much you know. It is not how much you pursue or receive and understand. It’s all about how vital you are. Whatever you heard, whatever you learned, whatever you pursued, whatever you gained, whatever you experienced, if it doesn’t bear the sign of vitality, that means, you may be in religion. Vitality is crucial.
So, how does vision operate? A vision comes, and in that vision, there are a lot of riches. These riches are no longer objective; they become very subjective. It’s not something to talk about. It’s something to enjoy. It’s something to partake. To let that very thing which God has given to you to encourage you, vitalize you, and cause you to be a person who is being made alive.
Even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ
Ephesians 2:5
By being made alive, we understand what is transgression, we understand what is sin, we understand what is unhealthy, and we also understand how precious it is to be one with Christ. We were made alive with Christ–we are in the heavenlies. We have to be very thankful: the precious part with Christians is not how much they know, it’s how much of what they know vitalizes them.
Hymn
Read through the hymn before singing along with the video. Consider how simple God’s intent and pleasure is. He desires Christ to be wrought in you and for Christ to be your all in all.
Do I Have a Vision?
Do you know you have a vision? Let me ask you: Are you living, or are you dead? The truths which are with you, are they living or dead? The life which is in you, is that life living or dead (or common)? How do you know you’re a person with vision? You can say, “I can’t say much, but I know that I’m alive.” Just think about it: “I got my first vision. In that vision, I saw two things: I saw that Jesus is my Savior, and I also saw me–a sinner. A Savior and a sinner. The sinner needs a Savior! That’s why I prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, save me. Save me.’” At the time, you have no idea what the blood means, you have no idea what the cross means, you even have no idea how rich this salvation is, but for some reason, the day you say, “Jesus, I’m a sinner. Forgive me of my sins and save me,” you are very joyful. You are very vital. You begin to sing hymns. You begin to talk with the Lord a lot. Do you know why? Because at that moment, in a very limited scope, you saw a vision: Jesus is my Savior. I’m a sinner. I don’t have to go to hell–the Lord saved me.
Being Made Alive (II)
5 Key Things Made Alive
1. The knowledge of the Christ was made alive
Christ becomes different. I don’t just tell people, “I’m a believer in Jesus, I’m going to go to the heavens.” To believe in Jesus is a precious thing, but do you enjoy it? If you enjoy it, it becomes so valuable: Christ was made alive.
2. The understanding of “self” was made alive
Do you know our problem? Easily we think we are marvelous, or we think we are nothing. Easily we think, “oh Lord Jesus aren’t you so happy I love you?” Or we think “Lord Jesus how can I love you?” When you were really made alive, both positive and negative become very clear to you. “Who am I? I’m a sinner. I’m not a simple sinner–I’m a chief sinner. I’m a person against Christ. My being is a rebellious being. But, Lord, thank you. What a salvation! What a redemption! You redeemed me from the condemnation of the law, even from Your own righteous judgment. You brought me to salvation and gave me eternal life. I’m a person with Christ. No, more than that, I was made alive. I see my value.”
Brother, you should be made alive to yourself. Negatively, you say “Oh I am so terrible,” but positively you say, “I am so valuable.” All the negative things, the Lord cleansed them, washed them, and took them away. All the positive things, the Lord wants them to develop, to juvenate and to rejuvenate, to grow and eventually be to the satisfaction of the Lord.
3. The teachings of the Lord were made alive
[The] Lord says, “Only lay up for yourself treasure in heavens,” so you have nothing to do with the world. You know your pursuing, your gaining, you have to ask, “Do they match the heavens? I have a car today, does it match the heavens?” If it doesn’t what does that mean? I focus on the car, I only want to gain the car, I pay a price for the car, I work overtime for the car, I even ignore my family to gain this car. This doesn’t match heavenly things. So eventually I seek after treasure in heavens.
4. The declarations of the Lord were made alive
“He who is born of the Spirit is spirit.” What a declaration! Dear brother, dear sister, you should be born of the Spirit. If you’re born of the Spirit, you know what makes you unique and valuable? He who is born of the Spirit is spirit. What a declaration.
I have a revelation, I have a vision, I see the Spirit! I realize without the Spirit nothing works! He who is born of the Spirit is spirit. Now in the vision I realize I must pay attention to my spirit. I have a spirit, I treasure it. I have a spirit, I nourish it. I have a spirit, I strengthen it. I have a spirit, I exercise it. I have a spirit, I feed my spirit so my spirit can be the real substance of my being. What kind of person are you? Spirit!
5. All the things the Lord had done in His wisdom and power were made alive
All of a sudden, Peter realized, “I’m not just a simple Peter. Who am I? You know who I am? I’m a leper. I’m, secondly a paralyzed. Third, fever. Fourth one, I have a flow of blood. Fifthly, I’m blind. Six, I’m what, dumb! That’s why my whole Christian life is terrible!” But you see a vision. “Oh You take care of all this, hallelujah, You do take care of this!” So eventually, he said praise the Lord. Such a poor man to be called as an apostle.
Peter’s Visions Became a Picture
Peter stood up, he saw a vision. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You see three elements in this statement. You are the Christ, the Son, the living God, all unique. There’s only one living God, the one living God only has one Son, and this only one Son is the Christ, the anointed one, to carry out God’s economy. When Peter received this revelation, in the very moment, all that he saw, all that he heard, all that he experienced, became not merely teaching, after teaching, story after story, but a complete revelation as a picture made alive to him.
When the picture comes, everything seems to be very clear, so at that moment, what he saw, what he experienced, what he heard, all of a sudden, became a picture with a complete revelation made alive to him. Oh, now it’s clear. I see Christ. What a Savior. I see Christ, what a poor man I am. Yet what a commitment I’m given. I see Christ, you understand? What kind of life I can live out. I see Christ, how can I walk with Him. I see Christ, how He exposes me in so many angles, yet in every part, He’s my healer. I say Lord, I am so happy, I have a vision. That’s why Peter here boldly declared that “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Coloring Page
Click the link below to make Peter’s interaction with Jesus alive!
http://www.supercoloring.com/pages/peters-confession-of-christ?colore=online
What is Our Response?
The first realization that we had when we went through this message was that it was beyond us. The subjective experience that Titus talked about made us realize how much further we have to go as a Christian. This message was humbling in a lot of ways, because what was mentioned caused us to realize that we don’t have a true understanding of how terrible we are. The Lord may have dealt with some of the terrible aspects of our beings, but we still have a ways to go. We also believe that we may not experience the reality of our true value in the Lord. We know the truth that, “the most crucial element, the most crucial substance, the most crucial thing that lives in you is Spirit!” Every Christian has something that is of such high value to the Lord, but do we truly see it? God’s Spirit has the highest value. He is worth giving our lives to, and we should nurture, follow, know, and enjoy Him within us. We believe that if we had a true realization of how terrible we are, we would realize how much we truly need to lean on Him. As we lean on Him, we are enveloped in His love and have the realization that we have value in Him. Only then can we truly be people that God can entrust His kingdom to.
– One small group’s response in the comments
I’m so touched by the matter of “being made alive.” Being a healthy Christian is not about how much I know or understand, but about how vital I am. Oh Lord, make me alive! Make the things I know alive!
– Brother Mark
May we tell the Lord, “Lord I want to be like Peter. I want to have that picture. I want to have that vitality. I don’t want to just have doctrines and truths, things I learned and things I know. I want them to come alive, to energize me, to become life to me, so I can boldly declare, I’m following the resurrected Christ! He is everything to me.”
