This digest is based on the fifteenth message given by Brother Titus Chu in this series. If you have not seen it already, you may watch it on the Youtube Channel. This message is a continuation from message 14, and covers the 3rd and 4th pages of the message 14 outline. We recommend watching the whole Message 15 video
Before getting into the material, listen and sing along with this hymn, Take Time to Behold Him
- Take time to behold Him, Speak oft with Thy Lord,
Abide in Him always, And feed on His Word.
Wait thou in His presence, Submissive and meek,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek. - Take time to behold Him, The world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret With Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus Like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends, in thy conduct, His likeness shall see. - Take time to behold Him, Let Him be thy guide;
And run not before Him Whatever betide;
In joy or in sorrow Still follow thy Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, Still trust in His Word. - Take time to behold Him, Be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each temper Beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit To fountains of love,
Thou then shalt be fitted His mercy to prove.
Above lyrics drawn from https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/nt/643
Below are different verses that are covered in the message, along with message excerpts, responses, and different material from the website that correspond to each verse or set of verses.
Transformation by the Renewing of the Mind
“And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.” (Rom. 12:2)
Through the renewing of the mind, our thoughts, considerations, and plans can be transformed! Transformed from being self-centered on what we like, what we think is best, and what we want to do, we begin to consider what God likes, what God would like to do, and what is in God’s will.
In this spiritual transformation, we experience one stage of glory to another stage of glory! What one brother is doing or not doing may bother us, or what one sister says or doesn’t say; all these things may bother us. However, we should realize that these things could be from our old man, from our old opinion. When our mind is renewed we are very open to the Lord. We don’t insist on, “I want this car, that house, or this career,” but we are able to come to the Lord and say, “Lord, what would you like me to do?” We are able to come to God in this purity and simplicity, and to say, like the Lord Jesus, “Not my will but Yours be done.”
– From Day 1 of the Daily Bible Verses & Devotional
Beholding and Reflecting
“But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:18)
“Hey! Lord, I just look like this. Please see me. I just look like this. I’m just this simple. I’m just this improper. I’m just this much in my fallen state. I’m just this much in my weakness and limitations. I’m just like this in all kinds of frustrations. But Lord I come to You, oh Lord I come. Lord, I come just as I am. Lord, I confess who I am. I want You to know who I am. I want to tell You this is what I am. I want to let You know how limited I am, or how joyful, how sad I am. I want to let you know everything.” When I present my real situation to the Lord with an unveiled face, the Bible says it’s just like there’s a mirror. Who’s on the other side of the mirror? It’s not you, it’s Christ. You come to see your own face; Christ was on the other side of the mirror. So you look at the mirror, you see Christ. The more you see Christ, the more you reflect Christ. The more you see Christ, the more you are conformed to Christ. How marvelous is this?
– From the Message Transcript, pp. 2-3
Flowing Out to Others
Now, you have some transformation. So you have to learn to be with others. When you are with others, remember: you labor, teach him, warn him, nurture him, encourage him, rebuke him, so that he can be full-grown in Christ. That will give you real transformation. Nothing gives you more growth than the brothers and sisters in the church life you labor with. You labor with them, they give you growth. Eventually, this will produce a corporate operation. This is marvelous.
– From the Message Transcript, pp. 3-4
“Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part [portion], causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.” (Eph 4:16)
As we are transformed, we are able to labor, to be a joint and rich supply to the church, the Body of Christ.
The Lord desires to have joints in the church life. You need good joints. But joints never can operate properly unless there is the operation of each one of the parts and each one’s portion. Who are you? You can say I’m a joint. Maybe I’m not, but I’m a portion. Look at my arm, I don’t have a marvelous arm. When you look at a muscle man, you can see strong muscles. So when the joint works, it becomes very powerful. When you stretch out the fist, it’s not the joint that stretches out the fist, but it’s the muscle that produces the strength of the stretching. When the joint says I want to do something, the parts, the portions have to say, we want to as well. We rich parts make the joints very valuable.
– From the Message Transcript, p. 4
The sharing in this message opened my eyes to how beautifully the body needs to work together. The joints, the ministries, supply all the parts, but the strength of the body comes from the strength of all the parts, not the joints! I wrote this quote down: “No matter how strong is the joint, without the parts being strong, there will never be a prevailing church life. The part is where the strength is.” No matter how strong brother Titus is, and no matter how much he supplies us, the church in Cleveland will never be strong without all of us parts being strong and working together. What an encouragement to value our “part” and to be strong!
– Brother Mark from Cleveland
Building with Gold, Silver, and Precious Stones
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. (1 Cor 3:11-15)
Paul was a wise master builder who laid a foundation, which is Jesus Christ. We must take heed how to build upon it
– From the Message Outline
Gold is God Himself. Gold is the nature of God…Silver is the redemption of Christ. We have God Himself. We have the redemptive work of Christ. Brothers and sisters, this is marvelous—not only am I saved, but I also have salvation. This salvation work within me changes my whole person. I am a person of Christ. I am saved from my disposition, from my temperament, from my talents, from my intellect, from my self-centered life—I am saved from all these. I have become a “man of silver,” so one with Christ and willing to give up everything for the Lord’s interests—for God’s interests. Finally, precious stones are the work of the Spirit. I allow God to work on me and to do everything to me so that I can be one with God. So we have Father, Son and Spirit. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit produce these three things: gold, silver, and precious stones. We must build with these. Without God there is no building. Without the salvation of Christ there is no building. Without the transformative work of the Spirit there is no building. Brothers, we can be a builded material by having God, having Christ, and having the work of Spirit.
– From the Message Transcript, p. 5
May this sister’s prayer also be our prayer:
Lord, transform me. I want to behold and reflect Christ. Help me to build Your church with gold, silver, and precious stones!
– Sister Coyee from Cleveland
