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.
This digest is based on the second message given by Brother Titus Chu for the Visions and Revelations series. 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.
Reflections
When we first believed into the Lord Jesus, an amazing thing happened: He entered our heart; His Spirit mingled with our spirit (Gal. 4:6, 1Cor. 6:17). This experience is vastly different from that which was given to the men who lived in the Old Testament times. In this message, brother Titus shares the many differences between the Old Testament’s Age of Law and the New Testament’s Age of Grace.
The age of Law concludes the Old Testament. In other words, God says, “If I can ask anything of man, then this is the most I can ask. I give man the Law, and I give the things which are related to the Law. So, they have the tabernacle, they have the priesthood, they have the sacrifices, and they have the festivals. Their life should be marvelous IF—and there has to be IF—they obey this Law. IF they do My Law, they will live according to Law.”
– Message Transcript, p. 2
Living according to the Law is no easy task. It is something which seems so far from us. King David was the most prevailing king and a man after God’s own heart, yet even he could not satisfy God in his living. The desire to satisfy God was present, but under the Law the living could not be realized. A new covenant—a new age—was needed.
In the Old Testament He’s outside; In the New Testament He’s inside.
In this dispensation you have everything inside to uphold you, to carry you, to live with you, to support you, to bear you so that you are able to be a person really after God’s heart and not just in intention like David, but rather in living, like Paul. What a marvelous situation!
– Message Transcript, pp. 2-3
Christ Liveth in Me!
As you sing the following song, let this awesome fact become wonderful in your heart: Christ lives in you. God is not far away from you, nor is He outward and apart from you. He is the indwelling Lord. Consider memorizing and learning the song’s chorus together with your spouse or child!
- Once far from God and dead in sin
No light my heart could see
But in God’s word the light I found
Now Christ liveth in me
Christ liveth in me
Christ liveth in me
Oh, what a salvation this
That Christ liveth in me - As rays of light from yonder sun
The flowers of earth set free
So life and light and love come forth
From Christ living in me - As lives the flower within the seed
As in the cone the tree
So, praise the Christ of truth and grace
His Spirit dwelleth in me - With longing all my heart is filled
That like Him I may be
As on the wondrous thought I dwell
That Christ liveth in me
The last verse of this song directs us towards a result: not only does Christ live in me, but I may become like Him. This is not a matter of our doing, but it is the result of Christ’s life transforming us from within.
Transformation
You can strive for improvement, but improvement will only bring you more things that need to be improved. For example, I used to be very ill tempered. Then I got saved—praise the Lord for that. I was saved from my temper. Do you know what happened next? I needed another improvement—an improvement of my ability for overcoming my temper. But, it was still my doing! So when I didn’t lose my temper, I would tell God, “God, look at how holy I am!” But God would say, “No, no, no. That’s still you. That is your improvement. Your improvement is from an outward wickedness (your ill-temper) to an inward weakness (your pride).” At such improvement, the Lord says, “No” because the New Testament is “The New Man’s transformation.” God says, “I will just change you. How will I change you? Sometimes you may not even know it.” Christians can say, “I love the Lord. I take in His supply. I don’t know what’s happening, but after a period of time, people see me, and they tell me, ‘Hey, you are so different!’ But I didn’t even know I became different!” What is that? That is a change of life. A change in life then issues in a change of living, which issues in a change of being. Then I’m different.
– Message Transcript, pp. 5-6
Application
Based on Titus’ message, some brothers shared the following application. In it, they pose several striking questions to us. We should allow the Lord God to speak to us through these challenging questions.
Brothers and sisters, most of us know what things to do to pursue the Lord. We spend time with the Lord, we talk to Him, we read His Word, we fellowship with other believers. The question for us is, do we have a desire to do these things, or is it just a duty? In the Old Covenant, man had a duty to do a lot of things to please God. Today, in order to please God, we need to have a desire to be with Him. It’s not about what we do, but why we’re doing it. Am I reading the Bible because I think I have to, or because I want to? Am I showing up on Sunday morning to keep up appearances, or am I there because there’s nowhere else I’d rather be? The Lord always has a desire to be with us, and we need to have a desire to be with him. The more we live by the Spirit, the more desire we will have. Brothers and sisters, in order to please God and better follow His commandments we need to be focused on our spirit and God’s Spirit living inside us. As long as we do this, everything else will take care of itself.
– Message Application
What lies in wait for a Christian who lives such a life as outlined in this application? Brother Titus testifies…
Parting Prayer
Lord, save me to just enjoy Your rich supply! Save me to just enjoy a hymn a little! Save me just to talk with You in my daily life! Save me to forget about my imperfections, my need for blessings, and my feeling I need improvements! Turn me from the OT age of living. Bring me into the NT age of enjoying Your rich supply! Bring me into a normal living in Your presence, a living of Christ! I want to care for Your needs! I want to care for others! I want to satisfy Your heart! I want You to be expressed here on earth!
– A prayer from Brother Bob of Willoughby, OH
