THE CALLING PEOPLE
When Saul was saved by the Lord on the way to Damascus, the Lord told him to go into the city and then he would be told what he must do (Acts 9:6). Then the Lord came to a disciple named Ananias and asked him to go to Saul (vv. 10-12). Ananias told the Lord that he knew that this man had authority from the chief priests to bind everyone who called on the Lord’s name (v. 14). Ananias did not say that Saul had authority to bind all the Lord’s disciples but all those who call on the Lord’s name. This shows that in the early days calling upon the Lord’s name was a sign of the Lord’s followers (1 Cor. 1:2). This calling must have been audible, so that others could hear; thus it became a sign.
We are the calling people. We are not the silent believers of Christ. Day by day we call on the name of the Lord Jesus. This is our mark, our sign. In the days when Saul was trying to bind all who called on the name of the Lord, it was hard for the believers to hide themselves, because it was their habit to call. Everyone knew that they were a calling people, and this calling became a sign.
When I was staying in one locality for a conference, I stayed in the home of a brother who had two little boys. The older was about three years of age. As we were going to the meeting, I asked him where we were going. He said, "We are going to `O Lord.’" Even such a little one had the impression that the saints are the "O Lord" people. Whenever they come together, they come together to "O Lord." Acts 2 tells us that God has poured out of His Spirit upon us. What we need to do now is to call upon the name of the Lord. This is the way to take the Spirit.
CONTACTING THE WORD BY CALLING
ON THE NAME OF THE LORD
Romans 10 tells us that this is also the way to contact the Word. It says that we do not need to ascend to the heavens to bring Christ down or to descend to the abyss to bring Christ up from the dead. This is because the word, the living word, is near us, in our mouth and in our heart, just like the air, the breath, that can be taken into our being (vv. 6-8). The air, the breath, is always in our mouth. The living word is like the air which is in our mouth. Now we just need to exercise our mouth to confess, "Lord Jesus" (v. 9). The way to take in the Spirit is to call on the Lord, and the way to take in the Word is to call on the Lord.
(The Fulfillment of God's Purpose by the Growth of Christ in Us, Chapter 4, by Witness Lee)
