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it again, John 12:26, “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me;
and where I am, there shall My servant also be; if anyone serves
Me, the Father will honor him.” I had it backwards. I thought,
“Where I am, there Jesus would be.” But that verse says,
“Wherever Jesus is, there will be my servant.” When God
began to show me that, it changed my life. This was a crossroad
in my life. It was critical.

At this point you learn that it’s not me telling Jesus what to do
but it’s learning to listen to Him, so that you can go where He
is. This is where many ministries come to an end. When
Christians learn this, sometimes they quit their church. Pastors
leave their pastorates. Missionaries come off the field. People
who are writing books no longer write the books. Artists who
were having concerts no longer have the concerts. For a long
time Jesus cooperated with them but there comes a time when
He turns it around and He says, “Now you start obeying Me.”

I had a hard time when I left the pastorate. People didn’t
understand. They thought I was backsliding. In my heart I
knew I was no longer going to drag Jesus from place to place.
I was going to wait until He talked to me. At age thirty Jesus
started His ministry. I had a great ministry but Jesus had none.
He hadn’t even started His ministry. He started His ministry
when I learned that principle. When I look back at my ministry,
I ask, “Where are the Christians? Who is following the Lord?”
There weren’t very many.

When I set my heart to seeking the Lord, He started His
ministry. That’s what brings me to France. It’s Jesus. It’s His
ministry! It’s not mine. I don’t tell Him what to do anymore.
I don’t try to drag Him from place to place. I wait on the Lord
so He can tell me where He is. That’s the first principle of
union. Union is Lordship. I am related to Him and I have no
expectations. Whatever He wants is fine.

Let me give a second principle. Union with Christ is not only
Lordship, it’s the flow of His life. There are two great pictures.