God’s beloved Son became a Man and came to the earth. He desired to declare the Father’s name to us. This is so that the love with which the Father loved Him could be in us. Who else could tell the parables in Luke 15 like the Lord did? Our heavenly Father was so joyful when we returned to Him! The father and son affection mentioned in the Bible is very deep. For example, Jacob was so eager to see Joseph’s face that he was willing to die for it. Our heavenly Father’s affection for us far exceeds any other affection on earth. Abba meets us with His lovingkindness every day; He helps us with His countenance. What He prepares for us is so wonderful: He gave us His beloved Son, and He prepared a body for His beloved Son so that He could be the sacrificial Lamb for us. Abba also prepares eternity for us. In our earthly journey, He prepares many feasts for us. Abba has given Himself and the Lord to us; the Lord was to lead many sons into glory.

One of God’s names is “God will provide.” This name is recorded in Genesis chapter 22, which says that Abraham and Issac walked together, and they went to the mountains of Moriah. As instructed by God, Abraham was to offer Issac as a sacrifice. When he was about to slay his son, God called him and stopped him. God had prepared a lamb to replace Issac, to be offered as a sacrifice. Through this, God illustrated to us that the heavenly Father had long prepared His beloved Son to be a sacrificial lamb for our sins. God loves us, and what He has prepared for us for this life and eternity are extremely abundant and precious; He even prepared Himself to be given for us. God not only prepared all things and the whole world for us, He prepared a body for the Lord so that He could accomplish the salvation. The Lord rose and ascended to heaven. He went to prepare a place for us, that is the New Jerusalem in heaven, our eternal dwelling place. He has prepared for us better things: blood that speaks a better word, a better covenant, a better country… All these are better, both in this generation and in eternity! He prepares feasts for us: when we were saved, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit threw a feast for us; They danced, made music and celebrated. He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. In the future, there will be the marriage supper of the Lamb… The Lord Himself is our most precious feast; He is the bread of life. Having prepared all, what He desires most is for us to enjoy Him, and He to enjoy us.

The Lord said He went to prepare a place for us. When He has prepared it, He would come again to take us to be with Him. This place is New Jerusalem. However, many Christians nowadays are not so clear whether the New Jerusalem in heaven is a real city. Being affected by Greek culture and beliefs, some think that physical substances are not spiritual. So, they take New Jerusalem as a non-physical symbolic expression. Satan also wants to make people unclear and unsure of the things in heaven, so that they would not desire them. This series of messages list out many Bible verses to assure us that New Jerusalem is indeed a real city, which is also full of spiritual meanings.

This message assures us that the spirits of believers who have passed away are now in the heavenly Jerusalem. The Old Testament does not mention that believers will go to paradise. Instead, both believers and non-believers would go to Sheol after they die. Luke 16 tells us that there are two parts in Hades, separated by a great chasm. When non-believers go to Hades, they suffer great agony. On the contrary, believers in Hades will not feel lonely, but would be joyful. The Bible says clearly that when the Lord died, He went to Hades. However, He did not stay there; He resurrected and ascended to heaven. It is so precious that during His crucifixion, the Lord said to the criminal next to Him, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” The Lord Himself went to Hades, and it was then called paradise. How joyous it must have been when the Lord met that criminal and the saints from the Old Testament time! Although the Bible does not explicitly say that when the Lord ascended to heaven, He also brought along the spirits of those believers in Hades to the heavenly Jerusalem, but the Bible says “When He ascended on high, He led a host of captives.” (Ephesians 4:8a) Those saints of the Old Testament time used to be captives of sin, and were once captured as we were. However, because of the Lord’s salvation, we have all become the Lord’s captives. Therefore, it makes sense to believe that when the Lord ascended on high, He also brought them up to heaven together with Him. Moreover, multiple Bible passages tell us that nowadays, when believers pass away, they will for sure go to the heavenly Jerusalem. When Paul mentioned his experience in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, he mentioned the third heaven, which is paradise. Revelation 2:7 talks about the fruit of the tree of life in the paradise of God; clearly this paradise refers to the heavenly Jerusalem. Paul also said that to be with Christ is far better. Now that Christ is ascended to heaven, preparing a dwelling place for us, we can be certain that when believers pass away, they must go to the heavenly Jerusalem. Hebrews chapter 12 says that we come before God, that is, to the heavenly Jerusalem, in which are many glorious people, things and matters, including the spirits of the righteous made perfect, who are the saints of the Old Testament. The word paradise means the king’s garden. The heavenly Jerusalem must be more magnificent than the Garden of Eden recorded in Genesis. It is designed and built by God. In New Jerusalem, it is beautiful everywhere, full of God’s presence. Everyone in this city will be full of love towards one another, living joyfully together till eternity . Episode 1 The heavenly Jerusalem is paradise (1) Episode 2 The heavenly Jerusalem is paradise (2) Episode 3 The spirits of the righteous made perfect

A priest is closest to God, and his duties are extremely honourable. Such honour cannot be obtained by oneself, but was given by God. The Father swore and did not change His mind, that the Lord was to be our high priest. Being a priest meant that the Lord must first become a man. He also offered Himself as a sin offering, aiming to bring us perfectly before God. Since we received the Lord, we’ve been given the blessing of the firstborn–to be a royal priest. In the Old Testament time, a king could not be a priest at the same time; so he could not offer any sacrifice. Many Bible passages mention priests, who would offer sacrifices, because God wanted man to be close to Him. When man sinned and strayed away from God, God had already prepared salvation for man. Before the law, there had been offerings of sacrifices. This illustrated that the Lord was to come to die for us, save us from the punishment of sins and reconcile us with God. The heads of the household such as Noah, Job, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, etc all built altars and offered sacrifices. Today, all believers have become royal priests. We who were once far from God are now closest to Him. We should live out the life of a priest: offer ourselves as living sacrifices to serve God. First and foremost, we should draw near to God and offer Him praises. In the Old Testament time, the priests should first eat of the sacrifices and the showbread; these illustrate that today we should enjoy the Lord Himself. As priests, we should also pass on knowledge, teaching others to know God, draw near to Him, experience Him and understand His will. Before the Lord comes back, may there be the most glorious groups of priests who deeply experience God. May these priests bring to the world the most precious–God Himself. Episode 1 The Father Made the Lord the High Priest Episode 2 Priesthood: One of the Blessings of the Firstborn Episode 3 The Precedents of Priests in the Bible (1) Episode 4 The Precedents of Priests in the Bible (2) Episode 5 Live out the Life of a Priest

The Lord desires us to come before Him and draw near to Him. God is the most joyful, therefore how joyful it must be in the heavenly Jerusalem! In the Book of Hebrews, God tells us again and again to come before Him without fear. The Lord Himself is the way: He died for us and solved the problems of our sins. He opened a new and living way for us to go boldly into the most holy place, so that we could live closely with Him. We must be clear about the purpose of our life, our direction and destination. The Lord is bringing us to the heavenly Jerusalem, our eternal sweet home, and our dwelling place. This city in heaven is the destination of our spirit. Its centre is Abba, the Son, the Holy Spirit and the church; there is nothing beyond this peak.

The Lord is the way, the truth and the life. It’s so precious that we can go to the Father through Him. Hebrews 12 mentions that today we have not come to Mount Sinai (symbolizing law), but to Mount Zion (symbolizing grace). We live in grace, and enjoy deeply drawing near to the Father and the Lord. In the book of Colossians, some brothers and sisters turned back to the law, so Paul reminded them to mind the things above. Hebrews 12 tells us what are above: the heavenly Jerusalem, the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, innumerable angels, Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, the sprinkled blood, the spirits of the righteous made perfect, etc. Each of these is very abundant, essential and immeasurable. They also express God’s love, welcome and acceptance to us, and they help us to draw near to God. Psalm 84 tells us that in those times, Israel appeared before God in Zion; they longed to draw near to God. As for us, we have received grace even more tremendously and wonderfully. So, we should come before God and draw close to Him all the more.

It is the church’s most tremendous blessing that we have become the “assembly of the firstborn”. God calls Israel His son and firstborn son. He raised them up to be the blessing of all nations. In the New Millennium and eternity, Israel will be chief among all nations. As for us, by the Lord’s salvation, we have become the children of God; being joint heir with Christ, we are to inherit all. The Lord is the firstborn, and we are the assembly of the firstborn. The glory that the Father gave to the Lord is also given to us. From the blessings that Jacob gave to his sons, we can see that besides the double portion of blessings, the firstborn also received blessings of kingship and priesthood. It’s so precious that the blessings that we receive are beyond “a double portion”. We have become the priests of the new covenant; we will reign with the Lord, and inherit all with Him in eternity. Today, we should live out our life as priests: to draw near to God, to enjoy the Lord as our source of life, and to bring people to believe in God and experience Him. We are to offer sacrifices of praise, and to guard our mouth with knowledge. Therefore, we should pursue the Lord diligently.

The church is extremely honourable and glorious; it is also the core of God’s plan. Hebrews 12:22-24 mentions “the assembly of the firstborn”. Indeed, the church is formed by the firstborn. As Abba’s dear children, throughout eternity, we have the most precious position, blessings, enjoyment and honour out of the entire universe. Israel pays high regard to their firstborn, because the firstborn receives special blessings and a double portion of the inheritance. God calls Israel His firstborn. Today, all of us are the heavenly Father’s firstborn, co-heirs with Christ. Thus, we are even more blessed. In the past, God used ten plagues to tackle the Egyptians, and at last their firstborn were killed. God commanded each household of the Israelites to kill a one-year-old male lamb that was without blemish, and put its blood on the two doorposts and the lintel of the house.​​ The angels would pass over those houses when they saw the blood, and their firstborn would escape death. So, those firstborn were protected and redeemed by the blood of the lambs. In the Millennium and the new earth, Israel will remain the head among all nations. It’s so precious that the Lord became the Lamb of God, shed His blood, and gave His life for the church. He redeemed us to be His forever, to be His darling and Abba’s true children. In eternity, we will be kings with the Lord and inherit all.

We should mind the things above, look upon the Lord in glory, and live to Him. It’s very precious that Hebrews 12:22-24 lets us understand about things in heaven in a concrete way. By the Lord’s salvation, today when we draw near to God, we are not coming to Mount Sinai (which represents the law), but we have come to Mount Zion (which represents grace). To obtain forgiveness of our sins is almost impossible! However, God’s grace is tremendous. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have paid the highest price, endured the greatest pain, and made us see God’s holiness and righteousness. God also manifested His great love. So, by the Lord’s precious blood, our sins are forgiven, and we are united with the Lord forever. God desires us to draw close to Him. Hebrews mentions multiple times “having come” before God, to the throne of grace, and lastly to Mount Zion, that is, the heavenly Jerusalem. When we pray and draw near to God, we have come to the heavenly Jerusalem, and we are living in grace. In heavenly Jerusalem, there are many joyful things: the festal gathering of innumerable angels, the assembly of the firstborn, God the judge of all, the spirits of the righteous made perfect, Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. All these express God Himself, and His heart towards us. The Lord indeed has opened His heart to us through this series of messages, causing us to understand His purpose better.

Faith is to “want” and to “rely on.” Only by faith can we enjoy God Himself. Nothing is more important than to abide in the Lord. When we abide in the Lord, we will surely experience that His word abides in us. The Lord is living in our hearts, and we live with Him; our spirits need continuous provision from Him. Therefore, we must be heart to heart with Him, rely on Him, and let Him be our life; and we must mind the things above. Also, we ought to know how our spirit works, including our will, mind, feelings and other aspects. Then, we will be able to overcome Satan’s disturbances, cooperate with the Holy Spirit, be attracted by the Lord and the truths, and live a life that is heart to heart with the Lord. Episode 1 We can only enjoy God by Faith Episode 2 His words abide in us Episode 3 Live with the Lord Episode 4 Seek the things that are above Episode 5 Understanding how our spirit works: will, mind and feelings Episode 6 Guard and uplift our mind Episode 7 Enjoy Christ who is our life Episode 8 Live according to the Holy Spirit, and He gives us life Episode 9 Understand how our spirit works and be heart to heart with the Lord continuously

We must understand how the infinite Lord looks at us today, because this truth is very important. David once asked, “What is man?” To answer that question, the Lord Himself became a man forever; He even died on the cross, arose from death, ascended to heaven, and inherited all. We are the most precious love gift from the Father to the Lord, to be His eternal love. We must be confirmed of such highest position of love in the Lord’s heart in order to be satisfied and restful. Therefore, He uses substantial evidence to prove His love so that we can be full of faith towards this love, and to enjoy it, embrace it, and live a life of union with Him. Some pieces of His evidence are: The Lord is a man forever He set the eternal covenant with us by His blood His forever riven scar of love The blue Southern Cross The bleeding heart flower The break-bread meeting The Lord’s prayer in John 17 The marriage supper of the Lamb in the future The Song of Solomon

To gain us to be His beloved darling, the Lord gladly became a Man, was crucified, and became the Lamb that was once slain. He is worthy to sit on the throne because He gave Himself for us, and He is gentle and humble. Isaiah chapter 42 says, “A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.” The Lord came to the earth for us and lived for us. He took the form of a slave, preached the truth, and deeply comforted us. Matthew chapter 11 says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest…for I am gentle and lowly in heart.” Those who are proud are not like the Lord, and they don’t have rest in their hearts. Only the Lord Himself knows how glorious He is; yet He became a baby, humble and submissive. He entered deeply into our needs, died for us, and now lives in our hearts forever. The Lamb is mentioned throughout the whole Book of Revelation; rightly should He be the centre of focus, because He gave Himself. Indeed, what He did shook the universe. The Gospel of John tells us that the Son of God became a Man, and it recorded the Lord’s personal encounters with different individuals; one by one, He drew near to each wounded spirit, like the bruised reed and faintly burning wick, with His gentle loving-kindness.

In the last supper, the Lord told us the blessedness and glory that His salvation would bring forth: the coming of the new covenant, and the fulfillment of God’s love dream. The Lord described what it would be like to live with Him, like the vine and its branches: we are to abide in Him always, because apart from Him, we can do nothing. We must live by faith in the Son of God. Therefore, we must know how to behold the Lord who is in glory, and how to exercise faith to rely on Him. Whenever we lose peace, we must quickly ask the Lord to save us. Moreover, we need to know that in order to keep the Lord’s commandments, we must first believe. Thus, we can live heart to heart with the Lord throughout the day.

The letter of Paul to Philemon is very beautiful and touching: Paul, an old man, appealed to Philemon for a servant named Onesimus. In the letter, Paul mentioned that Onesimus was his “very heart”, and whatever he owed Philemon, it was to be charged on Paul’s account. Likewise, the Lord is our high priest, asking for God’s grace for us. The debt that we owed was so huge, but the Lord bore it all for us. He even takes care for our whole life till eternity. The Father set the Lord as our high priest forever by an oath; the Lord was willing to come to accomplish His and Abba’s love dream. The garment of the high priest was very special; in particular, the precious stones on its breastplate symbolized that we are the Lord’s “very heart”. Being our Beloved, the Lord became the high priest so that He could completely solve all our problems.

John 17 records the Lord’s prayer to the Father, which disclosed the deepest desire of the Lord and the Father–that we could deeply enjoy the love with which Abba loved the Lord. Right at the beginning of His prayer, the Lord mentioned the fruit of the cross, which is eternal life. This is our greatest treasure, our personal firsthand experience of knowing Abba and the Lord. The Lord came to the earth to manifest Abba’s name, so that we could experience Abba and live in the boundless love with which Abba loved the Lord. He mentioned multiple times that it was the Father who sent Him; He treasured that Abba had sent Him to become a Man, to be born for us, and to die for us. All these that happened among the Trinity God are so astonishing! Abba chastised and forsook His beloved Son because of our sins, so that the church could appear. Today, the Lord praises the Father in the midst of the congregation. We should worship Abba, pay attention to being heart to heart with Him every day.

The Lord came to make known to us the Father. He is the way, the truth and the life; He came to bring us to the Father. He talked to the Samaritan woman that one must worship the Father in spirit and truth. The Lord truly desired that Abba’s love for Him would be in us, and this is also our great need. It is so precious that the Father now abides in us; we can truly live a life of being heart to heart with Him. In Genesis, from seeing Jacob’s relationship with his sons, we can tell that for certain our heavenly Father’s love for us must be even deeper. We are His dear children, our life is bound up with His. We need to know how to draw near to the Father, experience Him, and practice daily, so that we can enjoy His love and love Him more.

During the last supper, the Lord spoke about the eternal covenant of love that He set with us by His blood. Moreover, he set up the break-bread meeting for us to remember Him. The Lord values both the new covenant and the break-bread meeting so much; He especially revealed about that evening to Paul. Prior to His crucifixion, the Lord explained in depth the content of the new covenant during the last supper. We can clearly compare from what the Lord said in John chapters 13 to 17, to the four blessings of the new covenant.

In order to steadfastly live out the life of being heart to heart with the Lord, we must learn to use our inner eyes to behold Him, be aware of our spiritual condition, and to rely on Him to help our spirit to enjoy being connected with Him without any barriers. Besides having a good environment to draw near to God, we need to think of the Lord throughout the day, live out “abide in the Lord always”, “always be with the Lord”, and “still being with the Lord”. When we draw near to God, the most important is to be able to enjoy the Lord and not be disturbed. Therefore, when we are drawn by the Lord, we can stay quietly before Him and enjoy; if we say too much, it may become a hindrance to our fellowship with the Lord. In Psalms and the Song of Solomon, there were times of talking, but there were also times for quieting down. Many Bible passages mention using our inner eyes to behold the Lord. We should set the Lord always before us.

Our spirit can indeed worship God deeply. When we experience having love interflow with Him, we will realize His preciousness more. Our spirit will overflow and will never be empty. How should we worship God? We must do so with spirit and truth. The Bible mentions many times about the spiritual eyes. We must use our inner eyes to behold the Lord, His beauty and glory; and learn to behold that the Lord is in glory, everywhere, and living in our hearts at the same time. It’s important for us to be able to enjoy the Lord and be drawn by Him. For example, when we sing and worship, we should sing with our hearts. Also, through the truth in the hymn, we should enjoy the Lord’s beauty and glory, and His love towards us. It is very nourishing to just enjoy the plain truth in the hymn; there’s no need to forcefully think deeper of the content. Just respond to the Lord with the feelings in your heart, and when you do so, you are also enjoying Him. It’s most precious to be attracted by the Lord. The Song of Solomon mentions three times “That you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.” That means in worship, when we are attracted by the Lord, and when our spirit is enjoying the Lord’s embrace, we should not let anything disturb us, even ourselves. Stay longer and enjoy quietly. This will affect us tremendously. We will love the Lord more from enjoying Him and His love more.

After the Lord’s resurrection, He said, “Peace be with you” again and again. The Lord has left us peace, because He knows that without it, it would be difficult for us to have deep fellowship with Him or to obtain any joy or other blessings. On the contrary, when we enjoy peace, we would be able to enjoy the Lord Himself, being heart to heart with Him, and all of His abundance. The Lord wants us to have His peace in our hearts, and He tells us not to be troubled or afraid. We should be aware of our heart’s condition; a peaceful heart is being in harmony with the Lord. To obtain peace, we should practice more to behold the Lord, who is in glory and in our hearts at the same time, and realize that we are being heart to heart with Him. Whenever we feel troubled, ask the Lord to save us. Thus, our spirits can enjoy the Lord’s kisses and embrace with no hindrance, and we are affected by the Lord, going from glory to glory.

This world needs people who deeply experience God in their spirits. Nothing can replace this first-hand experience with God. When we read the Bible, it is important that the Lord works in our hearts, letting His words shine through and influencing our hearts. Therefore, we should know how to have fellowship with the Lord. Besides looking for a good environment to draw near to God, we also need to have a good inner environment, suitable for having fellowship with Him, because it is our spirits that are united to the spirit of the Infinite One. Having peace in our heart creates a good environment for our spirit to have fellowship with God and to listen to His words. We should also abide in the Lord, just as the Holy Spirit works in our hearts (as His Anointing has taught us). Whether we read the Bible or sing hymns, we are letting the Lord speak to our spirits, where our hearts can be influenced, attracted and know how to quiet ourselves before Him–our spirits are not blank, but we enjoy more deeply, and receive more from Him. Having fellowship with the Lord can truly help us to deepen our friendship with Him.

Our spirits are extremely important. God desires to do great work to bless the world, but first He must work in our hearts. Elijah, David, John the Baptist, Paul, and even the Lord Jesus, all had their experiences of being alone with God to draw near to Him. I hope that this year we can abide in the Lord always, be heart to heart with Him, touched by Him without hindrance, and take enjoyment in Him. Our spirits do have senses; we truly can feel God, have fellowship with Him, experience Him,and receive His love and words to us. We must listen to God’s words with a peaceful heart, otherwise they will not enter deeply into our hearts. The Bible mentions many times about the importance of having peace: peace is much related to gaining strength, being close to the Lord, being sanctified, etc. A peaceful heart is needed for God to do His work in us. Our spirits need God’s words. We need to give the Holy Spirit time and space to work in our hearts. We desire not only to know the truth and gain knowledge, but that the Lord will open our spiritual eyes, and let the truth shine in our hearts, to affect our hearts to experience the Lord Himself until we are sanctified. Our spirits are the most precious in the entire universe.

We are in the most blessed generation ever! By the Lord’s salvation, the Holy Spirit has come, and the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit forever dwell in our hearts. However, we must enjoy this union with Him. In John 15, the Lord used the vine and the branches to express the key: to abide in the Lord, and to abide in His love. This is the true experience of our spirit: our spirit connected to Him with no barriers. We let Him touch our spirit: He in us gives us strength and life; He opens our eyes, enlightens us, speaks to us, etc, causing us to be glory upon glory. How wonderful that we are united to the Lord of infinite life! We live with Him. Psalm 73 reads, “Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.” This is indeed the experience of being heart to heart with the Lord, being touched by Him and walking with Him. In fact, we are more blessed than the saints in the Old Testament time.

“And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32) Paul loved the brothers and sisters in Ephesus! However, he could not always stay with them. . He longed for them to understand God’s words and to be able to stand firm in the truth. The Lord has given us precious truths. We want to share these truths in an organized way by producing short messages with clear topics. This way, we hope the listener can absorb the truths more easily. We hope to help brothers and sisters to build their foundation so that we may all know God and His purpose more deeply. Both audio messages and notes are available for download. Brother Daniel Yu has shared with us the abundant enlightenment that he received from the Lord. We translated his messages with the aim to share them with non-Chinese brothers and sisters. This way we can learn and progress together, and receive the same blessings.