PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

We all know what it is to lose our temper. I am no exception. It is not a good thing to keep our temper within us. On the contrary, in a sense we feel better when we give vent to it. However, when I am about to lose my temper, the vision of the sheaf comes, and the Lord asks me, "Are you a sheaf rising up? If you are, then what about your temper?" As soon as the Lord speaks to me in this way and I respond to Him, my anger is gone. Even if I wanted to lose my temper, I would not be able to do so. It is possible for us all to live without anger and loss of temper. As you are about to lose your temper, the Lord may say, "Are you a sheaf? Are you one in the church, in the Lord's recovery?" As soon as you say that you are a sheaf, your anger will vanish.

Just as we all have anger, we also have lust. If you have no lust, then you must be a bench or a stone. Every human being has lust. The way to control our lust is to be subdued, controlled, and directed by the vision. Oh, we have a vision controlling us! The people perish when they do not have a vision. Because we have seen the vision, it is very difficult for us to indulge in lust.

The function of the vision is similar to that of brakes in a car. In times of danger, we step on the brakes. The vision of the heavenly star is a powerful brake for our spiritual car. We are not driving a car that is without controls. When we are driving properly in the right lane, there is no need to use the brakes. But when the car begins to go out of control, the brakes work immediately. Hallelujah for such a controlling vision! Many of us can testify that before we came into the church life, we were like a car without brakes. But after coming into the church life, we saw the controlling vision, and powerful brakes were installed in our car. Here in the church life we have the vision of the sheaf and the vision of the star.

III. LIVING THE KINGDOM LIFE

Joseph's life under the heavenly vision was the life of the kingdom of the heavens described in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. According to the constitution of the heavenly kingdom revealed in these chapters in Matthew, our anger must be subdued and our lust conquered (Matthew 5:21-32). If we claim to be the kingdom people, yet we cannot subdue our anger or conquer our lust, we are finished. Instead of being in the kingdom, we are on the seashore. We are those giving vent to our anger and indulging in lust. But all the kingdom people subdue their anger and conquer their lust. This is the kingdom life.

In the kingdom life today, kings are being trained. We, the kingdom people in the kingdom life, are being trained to be kings, to be Josephs, to be the reigning aspect of the mature life. For this, we must subdue our anger and conquer our lust. What a wonderful picture Joseph's life is of our experience today! Day by day, we are subduing our anger and conquering our lust. Instead of agreeing with our anger or cooperating with our lust, we reject our anger and condemn our lust, because we are the reigning aspect of the mature life. We have the constitution of Christ within us, and we are being prepared to reign as kings.

IV. ENJOYING THE LORD'S PRESENCE

A life such as Joseph's always has the presence of the Lord (39:2-5, 21-23). Wherever the presence of the Lord is, there is authority. If you have the presence of the Lord, the authority of the Lord will be with you. For example, in captivity Daniel had the Lord's presence; therefore, the Lord's authority was with him. Even a child in a family may have the Lord's presence and therefore be the genuine authority in that family. In the case of Joseph, Potiphar, an officer in Pharaoh's palace, was in control of things. Eventually, however, Potiphar was under Joseph's control because Joseph had the Lord's presence. Also consider Joseph's experience in prison. Although there was a ruler over the prison, eventually this ruler was not the actual ruler. Instead, Joseph, a prisoner who had the presence of God, became the ruler. Both in Potiphar's house and in the prison Joseph became king.

Wherever the constitution of Christ goes with the presence of God, there will be the reigning part. In the coming kingdom it will be this part that will be the co-kings with Christ in the kingdom of the heavens. Thus, the reigning aspect of the mature life is a life that always enjoys the presence of the Lord. The authority in this universe is the Lord Himself. Wherever His presence is, there is authority, the ruling power. As long as we have the Lord's presence, we have authority, even if we are in prison. Although we may be prisoners, we shall eventually become rulers. We shall rule wherever we are. This indicates that we are the reigning aspect of the mature life.

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