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Peace to the brothers in the Lord, Messrs. Watchman and Kuang Hsiung:
All the brothers and sisters in the meeting in Kung Ho City, Taishan have been blessed by God with peace. We moved our meeting to No. 26 Kung Ho City more than a month ago. Since moving, we have been blessed by God very much with opportunities to preach the gospel. But we still hope for more prayers.
There are about thirty sisters in the meeting, but there are only three brothers. One of them is Brother Ts'ai Chih Yun. He was baptized into the Lord two months ago. He is a doctor. His clinic is near the Church of Christ in China. He has had a good relationship with the preachers in the denominations, but he never would believe in the Lord. He received the book Bible Studies for Beginners (by Brother Nee) and after studying the Bible with this book, he got saved. He also knew that the Lord hated denominations. So he was not tempted by profits, nor was he afraid of taunts. He boldly became one who only belongs to Christ and entered into the name of our Lord Christ, worshipping God the Father in sincerity and in spirit. Now he speaks the gospel zealously and really testifies that the Holy Spirit is with him.
After I left the Baptist Church on June 29 of last year, thank the Lord, His grace has been sufficient for me. Because I have had blisters on the bottoms of my feet (people in Kwangchow call them Hong Kong feet), I could not go out on the street before December 25 of last year. Even though I am wearing shoes and socks to go out and preach to people, my blisters still have not gotten better! I hope the brothers and sisters in all the localities will pray for me.
After leaving the denomination, I had many questions I wanted to ask, but fortunately the sisters here gave me many of Brother Nee's books to read, so I received much light. Now I have written my questions (they are published in the answering letter). Please answer them for me. (If you two brothers are busy, please ask another brother to answer them.) May God the Father bless your spirits and bodies with strength and health!
Your little brother in the Lord,T'ang Yen MinMay 15, 1934
To the brother in the Lord, Yen Min:
I have read your letter. Brother Chang is in Tsinan now, and Brother Nee asked me to answer this for him. I will answer your three questions as follows:
Question: "There is a sister who fasts on the Lord's Day and does not eat pork on Fridays. Although we cannot argue with her about her doubts, can we exhort her?"
Answer: If this sister fasts on the Lord's Day because she has a burden in her spirit, do not exhort her to stop. You can exhort her to stop fasting if she does not have a burden and you can exhort her to stop abstaining from pork on Fridays, but you do not need to forbid her.
Question: "Some people believe that they are saved but that if they sin in the future, they still might perish eternally. Are these people weak in the faith, or are they completely unsaved?"
Answer: If these people have already believed and received the Lord Jesus as their Savior, they are already saved. They think that they could perish if they sin after being saved because they probably do not know the Bible well enough. We cannot say that they are not saved.
According to the Bible, once a person believes, he is eternally saved and cannot perish. The Lord Jesus said, "Him who comes to Me I shall by no means cast out" (John 6:37). He also said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life" (v. 47). Once we believe, we are not only saved, but we also gain "eternal life." "Eternal life" is the life that lives to eternity. It is the life of God. It can never perish. So the Lord said again, "I give to them eternal life, and they shall by no means perish forever" (10:28).
The verses used by some as the basis for perdition after salvation should not be interpreted in their way. Most of these verses refer to entering the kingdom, not to salvation and the receiving of eternal life. (Entering the kingdom and receiving eternal life are two different matters.)
Question: Is it all right for a brother who has already taken the table on the Lord's Day to go to another place in the evening and break bread with them there?
Answer: If the "other place" is a denomination, he is eating at the table of a denomination. According to the Bible he should not do that. (Please read Collection of Newsletters, Issue No. 5, for the answer concerning the Lord's table.) We had best exhort this kind of brother through the light of the Bible not to go to the denominations to eat the supper. But we cannot refuse him just because he has gone to the denominational supper also. I respectfully greet you.
Your brother in the Lord,Witness LeeMay 22, 1934
Peace in the Lord to Mr. Nee:
Three months have passed quickly since I left you in Shanghai. Thank and praise our Father God for leading us through many trials. I returned to Ch'ang-ch'un with Brother Chang Shun Tien, but I left him after a month. I returned to Chu Chia Cheng Tze, in Pai Li Siang Tsen, northeast of Ch'ang-ch'un. (It is eight miles from the Central Eastern Railroad Halaha Small Station. Communication is very convenient.) I have had a hospital in Chu Chia Cheng Tze for ten years. Because of political instability, I was forced to move to Ch'ang-ch'un for two years. There is a Friendship Church of Ch'ang-ch'un (Presbyterian), and there are two brothers who are very good. They are clear that they must obey the Lord. Soon we will have the table meeting. Later, we will ask Brother Chiang and Sister Chang to come, or perhaps some other brothers from Ch'ang-ch'un will be able to come visit. I can also go to Ch'ang-ch'un once a month. Furthermore, there are many brothers in the three localities of Feng T'ien, Ch'ang-ch'un, and Kirin who are praying earnestly and asking the Lord to send you to Manchuria soon. They desperately hope you can come this summer. We can only ask the Lord for His time, that you could come north soon. May you be full of the power of the Holy Spirit in the Lord to be a victorious testimony for the Lord. Amen.
Your little brother in the Lord,An Ching T'ienMay 22, 1934
Greetings to Mr. Nee and the brothers and sisters
in the fellowship:
We thank God; He does things marvelously! Now we will tell of His doings so all the brothers and sisters will give praise and thanks.
More than a month before Miss Miao Yun Chun came to Ling Tzu, we prayed to the Lord for a sister to come here to work. Thank God, He answered our petition. On April 7, Miss Miao came from Nan Su Chou to Ling Tzu. Truly, we want to say in one accord, "I love Jehovah because He hears/My voice, my supplications,/Because He inclines His ear to me; /Therefore I will call upon Him all my days" (Psa. 116:1-2).
Miss Miao had originally decided to leave Nan Su Chou on the sixth and arrive in Ling Tzu on the seventh. But she had no peace in her spirit, so she left on the fifth and went to Tsinan on the sixth to stay for a night. To her surprise, the train from Nan Su Chou to Tsinan was cancelled on the sixth! Because she had left early, we did not miss her when we met her at the Hsing Tien Railway Station on the Tsingtao-tsinan Line. This is very marvelous! We must sing, "He does not make mistakes, because He is God! He does not make mistakes; He gladly gives grace!"
On the ninth and tenth, Miss Miao rested. On the eleventh, she went to Ts'ui Chia Chuang to meet with all the sisters. There was also an adulterous woman there who did not eat or drink and had no joy. Her hair was unkempt, and her face looked like a demon. She was a sinner about to hang herself! But after talking to Miss Miao alone and praying with her, she became clear in her heart and wanted the Lord: "So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad." This sister has also been baptized and comes to the table meeting. Oh, this matter truly is His work manifested in her! We all thank Him in one accord! Praise Him!
On the twelfth, Sister Miao went to Nan Kuan. On the thirteenth, she went to the Wu's house and the Yuan's house in Hsi Kuan and to the Yuan's house and the Han's house in Hsi Men.
Beginning on the fourteenth, there were eight days of gospel meetings on Kuai Huo Lin Street. The first two days, there was a little pressure from the power of darkness, but then each day was better than the previous one. Thank the Lord that we were never hindered by bad weather. This lasted until the meetings were over. Furthermore, the sisters from far away did not give up because of the sufferings of traveling back and forth every day. The sisters who live near found time in their busy schedules to come hear the gospel twice a day.
The fifteenth was the Lord's Day, and the local brothers took charge of the meeting. On the twenty-second, we preached as usual, but the building was too small. We could not accommodate those who came to hear the gospel so we had to set up a tent in the garden. Now we have set up mattresses temporarily, because the weather is hot. With regard to building in the near future, if the Lord allows, we will build three buildings during the fall. Please pray for this.
On the twenty-third, a brother named Wang Shu came from thirty miles away to ask to be baptized. On this day, three brothers were baptized. Truly, "Can anyone forbid the water so that these would not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit even as we?" Thank the Father God and the Lord Jesus Christ; after this was finished, it rained! In the afternoon, we broke bread and dispersed joyfully.
Beginning on the twenty-seventh, there were eight days of Bible study meetings in the house of Mr. Yuan Ling Shu at Nan Men, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Although Satan did his best to attack the Lord's messenger by making her body weak and her throat sore, she overcame by relying on the Lord! "Blessed be the name of the Lord!"
On May 5, there was another baptism. Twelve sisters and seven brothers were baptized together. There were also a Brother Chao and a Sister Yuan who wanted to be baptized but could not do so because their parents forbade them! There is a river three miles east of the city called the Tzu River. We found a place for baptism where the water was deep and clear. It was near the boundary between the two towns of Chao Wang Chuang and Tai Fu Kuan. We set up four tents on the sandy beach at the side of the river for the brothers and sisters to change. There were three groups of both male and female observers on the west side of the river, with about thirty people in each group. We stirred up quite a bit of commotion among the inhabitants of the villages! There was even an unbelieving couple in Chao Wang Chuang who were willing to carry a yoke with food and water to welcome us! We did not accept their invitation because we did not have enough time. One brother and one sister from Wang Chuang Sze, about twenty miles east of the city, were also baptized. They came and returned on the same day. We really thank God for His provision and for all the brothers' and sisters' obedience.
On the eighth and ninth, the brothers and sisters talked with Miss Miao individually. There were so many that Miss Miao did not have any time to rest and became too tired. May God remember her labor and record it in her account!
On the tenth, Miss Miao took the train safely to Tsinan with a few sisters. Recently, one sister (from Wu Tai, twenty miles west of the city) and three brothers (one from Hsi Kuan, two from Nieh Hsien Chuang, ten miles south of the city) have left the denominations. There are about thirty people from nearby who break bread with us.
Our labor this time witnessed the enemy's intensive attack, and there were many loopholes. But God was gracious. He caused the unbelievers to come into His name, the believers to obey His commands, the stumbled ones to rise, the broken-hearted to be comforted, and the daughters and mothers-in-law who were distant to be brought into peace. We must thank God again. He said to Moses, "I will have mercy upon whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion." Has not this word come true among us? We also thank all the brothers and sisters for their prayers that accomplished God's will. "To Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen" (Rev. 1:6). Peace in the Lord.
Your brothers in the Lord,Chu Lo Yuan, Yu Tao Shen, Yuan Chin Chou,Yuan Hsi Ling, Yuan Hsi Chen, Yuan Hsi T'ingWe also greet all the brothers and sisters with peace in the Lord.
Question: There is a newly saved woman here who has received the eternal life, but she has two husbands. One lives away from home and works for others (because they are poor); the other is not a real husband but always lives in her house and receives his livelihood from her. Can this type of person be baptized?
Answer: She must leave the relationship with her improper husband and produce fruits of repentance to prove that she is a person who has really repented, believed, and been regenerated. Then we can baptize her and receive her into the table meeting.
Witness Lee
Greetings to the dear brothers in the Lord,
Brothers Nee and Chang:
I was in the second ten-day conference and the Bible study meeting that followed. After the end of the meetings, I returned to northern Kiangsu and have not been able to write and fellowship with you until now. I have only communicated indirectly with you through two previous letters that were written by other brothers. But I have not been purposely hiding anything; I was just immature and did not know how to love the brothers with the love of the Lord. I did not know the importance of asking the brothers to pray for me. I was living in the clouds and fog. Thank the Lord for giving me light recently. I know that He is my Head and each of us brothers and sisters are His members making up His one Body, so we should act together and should not hide ourselves. Two years ago, I wanted to write several times to greet you, but the enemy always stopped me with a lying voice that said, "If you write your letter wrong, people will laugh at you." I did not realize you are my elder brother and I am your younger brother, so it does not matter if I write something wrong. Thank the Lord for taking away the veil of my shame so that I can do my best to write about the meeting and the condition of the environment here.
The place where we meet on the Lord's Day is a sister's house. There are about thirty people in the meeting. Most of them were brought by the Lord out of the China Inland Mission. There are five brothers and eleven sisters who break bread on the Lord's Day. There are others who have not been baptized. Some have only been saved recently. Aside from the meetings on the Lord's Day, there is a meeting for prayer and reading the Bible on Thursday. Brothers Hsu Li Sheng and Yin Ko Ch'u come and meet together with us in that meeting. There are about seven or eight people who attend that meeting. The rest of the brothers and sisters do not come because it is not convenient to travel on the wild country roads at night. They sing hymns and pray in their homes. But we cannot meet during the day because most make their living by farming. Aside from the meeting on Thursday, we brothers sing, pray, and read the Bible individually at home on the other evenings. We all read strictly from the Bible because some brothers and sisters do not know many words. Thank the Lord, on the afternoon of the Lord's Day we remember and worship, and then there is some opportunity to stand up and speak so that we all can receive the help. This spring, on February 14, which is the time the farmers rest, the brothers and sisters here were blessed by the Lord to have six days of meetings which we then continued with three days of gospel meetings. Thank the Lord, He saved another two sisters in our meeting.
About one year after I believed in the Lord, my wife went to sleep in the Lord. First Corinthians 7:29-31 often works in me. Two months after being baptized, my son returned home sick from Huai An County Central Teachers' School and also went to sleep in the Lord. First Thessalonians 4:13 has comforted me much. Before my son went away, I knelt before the Lord and cried, not because my son was going to die, but because the brothers and sisters in the meetings of two localities, Chang Chia Yao and Yin Han Chuang, were all in an immature condition and did not have any knowledge of the Bible. I was afraid that my experience would affect them, stumbling them and disappointing them, so I cried. Thank the Lord, His power is great! Thank the Lord, His way of salvation is marvelous! The believing ones did not stumble and become disappointed. On the contrary, they even became stronger and bolder. The unbelieving ones saw that he slept without any of the bitterness of death, and they went home and believed the Lord. In these two years, the Lord has saved more than twenty people in Chang Chia Yao. I lived there for five years. The first three years I both taught school and worked for the Lord. The last two years, I quit my teaching job and used all my time to work for the Lord. Last year, the Lord wanted me to return to my home town (Yin Han Chuang). I was blessed by the Lord to build three huts on the foundations of the old home. Because my flesh brothers and I have not separated financially yet, I temporarily teach a few students in these buildings together with a brother in the Lord, Han Ch'ao. Therefore, our meetings are still held in the sister's home. This sister is Ruth Han. Her husband is a member of the China Inland Mission and is also saved. He was not clear about the truth, so he was called by some neighbors to join the army. There has been no news from him since he left. After this sister received the truth, she was persecuted much. Outside the home, the enemies threatened her, and in her home, she was rejected by her husband's family and sometimes tempted by her mother's family. The enemy, Satan, surrounded her with thousands of traps. Thank the Almighty Lord, each time He led her out of danger. Unfortunately, she is too young. We can only commit her to the Lord's hands. Her flesh has been gradually wearing away, so she is often sick. Last winter and this spring, she was extremely ill, and to man's eyes it looked as if she could not live anymore. Thank our Lord, He blessed her and she was able to get up. Now she and Su Hua (my daughter) have gone to Yi Lin together to learn the lessons of the Lord from Sister Chin. Brothers and sisters, please do not forget to pray. I greet the brothers and sisters in the meeting at Wen-teh Lane with this! I also greet all the brothers and sisters in the fellowship!
Your little brother,Han Shang ChenApril 13
Brothers in the Lord! May grace and peace be
with you always:
After the conference in Shanghai was over, I returned home safely! Thank God! Now there are twelve brothers in the meeting in Sun Chia Ch'iao who break bread every Lord's Day. They are Sun Tze Kang, Chi Ju Chun, Chi Tao Hua, Ou Li Hsun, Hsu Tung Lin, Chen Chin Lan, Ko Hsueh Meng, Chou Hui Yuan, etc. The sisters are Mrs. Nee, Mrs. Sun, Mrs. Yen, Mrs. Wang, etc. They all used to be members of the China Inland Mission. Later, they understood the sin of denominations, so they left. There are between twenty and thirty who desire to hear the truth. Thank God, He has led us to receive a little light. About six miles south of Sun Chia Ch'iao, there is a place called Ch'a Miao Chi. It has a Seventh-day Adventist Church. About six miles to the west, there is another Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ma Yu Chi. About three miles north in Chi Tang, there is another Seventh-day Adventist Church. They bother us very much. We are only responsible to pray and to commit it to the Lord. In Ch'ien Chi there is a Seventh-day Adventist Church that wants to change and establish the Lord's table, but they are not sure yet. We have put it into the Lord's hands now. I hope that the brothers will pray and petition for this in the Lord. I thank the Lord for leading me to stand in the position of death now. Furthermore, I sent another letter asking the responsible one at the China Inland Mission to take my name off their records. I am no longer a member of the China Inland Mission. My wife used to persecute me a lot, but now she also has obeyed, thank God. I thank the brothers and sisters who are praying for us.
Your brother in the Lord,Chi Ju Chuan
Greetings to Brother Nee who constantly is loved
by the Lord:
I received the Lord's call of salvation ten years ago. I was originally in the China Inland Mission at Lien Shui, and I was baptized in the winter of 1924. At that time, although I was a Christian in name, I really belonged to the flesh. I had not left the life of old Adam, and I went along loosely for nine years, shaming the Lord with my living. Oh, now as I think about it, I really am sorry for offending the Lord!
Fortunately, I received the great love of the Lord, who cannot bear to see His children in constant darkness. In the tenth month of the past Chinese year, He sent His messenger, Brother Jih-chien Chiu, to Lien Shui, Sun Chia Ch'iao to remind us. He held the proof of the Bible for everything he said. Afterwards, I checked it in many ways and found that Romans 6:1-11 tells us clearly that baptism is to enter into the Lord's death and burial. Now we live through the Holy Spirit and are resurrected together with the Lord. After being enlightened a little in that meeting, I boldly and decisively left the denomination. Every Lord's Day, I go to the meeting in Sun Chia Ch'iao to break bread and remember the Lord in order to prove that I am a Christian who has died, been buried, and resurrected together with Him. The body and blood which the Lord gave up was for us believers. We should be very different from the worldly people. Since that time, my heart has felt peaceful. Recently, I have been led by the Lord to leave my work at the local elementary school and to go to teach at Chin Chia Pien Elementary School in Kao Tze Tsen at Chen Chiang. Before I left home, I thought that this was a place of traffic and, therefore, must be a place with a meeting in the Lord's name, so I would not be lonely. Who would have guessed that the Lord's purpose was outside the realm of human thought? He surprisingly brought me to this land of the shadow of death. Although there are more than one hundred households in Chin Chia Pien, they all live by Buddha. There is not one who believes in the Lord. Although there is a church in Kao Tze Tsen, it is also a denomination. Their activities are all according to their man-made rules, so I do not have any opportunity to remember the Lord. Every Lord's Day my heart feels heavy toward the Lord. I do not know if the Lord wants His light to shine in this dark place and slowly bring sinners to believe, or if He is purifying my defects and taking away my impurities. I do not understand. I can only pray day and night, asking Him to lead me out of loneliness and desolation according to His will. School is over now, and I do not have anything to do; therefore, I am writing this disorganized letter with the purpose of telling you, Brother Nee, and the brothers and sisters in Shanghai how I was led by the Lord and how I want to completely enter into Him. I hope for the Lord's sake that you can pray unceasingly for me that I could leave this lonely and desolate condition. Please pray also for my parents and my wife so that the Lord's Spirit will work in their hearts and that they would escape the evil one at home and would glorify the Lord in everything. I greet Brother Nee and all the brothers and sisters in the Lord with peace!
Your little brother in the Lord,Ko Hsueh Meng April 15, 1934
To my brother in the Lord, Watchman Nee:
We were both saved by the blood of the Lord Jesus so we could escape that great perdition. We are supported by the Lord's holy hand daily in order that we can walk the way of the cross in this world.
But I am most lonely and desolate because there is no brother to contact me in this place where messengers of Satan daily worship Buddha. I only see my class of twenty elementary students all day. Sometimes I testify of the Lord to them, but they always debate with me and refuse to accept Him. I do not know when the Spirit of the Lord will work in their hearts to save them from darkness.
Every Lord's Day, I have no place to go to break bread and remember the Lord. Although there is a chapel in Kao Tze Tsen, they are Methodist and must listen to the commandments of man. I feel sorry for them, and I worry that my own life cannot grow.
For the sake of the Lord's love, please announce to the brothers and sisters to pray for this useless little child of God, that he could overcome the world through the Lord's death and glorify the Lord in everything. I will not say anything else now. Until next time.
Your little brother in the Lord,Ko Hsueh MengMay 13
Mailing Address: Chin Chia Pien Elementary School, c/o Nanking-Shanghai Railway, Kao Tze Tsen, Wang Wan Shun Store.
(This is a letter from Mr. Liu Heng Teh of Tai Ho County to a missionary of a certain denomination, asking to leave the denomination.)
Greetings to Missionary Yu Ying:
Several months have passed since we parted. I have been thinking much of you. I hope that the truth may become clearer to you and that your path is in harmony with high morality. I have been shown by the Father God something of the principles of the Bible; that is, once a person believes in the Lord Jesus, he must learn to obey the Father God. The Bible says, "Awake, sleeper...understand what the will of the Lord is" (Eph. 5:14, 17). We should have a heart to obey. We should imitate Christ. We should leave all man-made policies, and we should leave all divisive names of denominations. I have also examined the New Testament, and there is no name there for this or that church. There is no name like China Inland Mission, Presbyterian Church, Independent Church, Baptist Church, Assembly of God, Methodist Church, or any other denominational name. I think that since God chose His children, our names are already inscribed in the book of life. Therefore, I ask you in love to remove my name and my position from the books of your denomination. I also hope that you will obey God. I bless you with peace.
A Christian,Liu Heng TehFebruary 20, 1934
To my brothers in the Lord,
Tsai Ch'ing and Yueh Chiao:
I received your letter and the books you sent. Be assured.
We recently settled into the meeting hall and our living place (upstairs). We have all the things we need for the household, cooking, and washing clothes. Thank God, He has brought us through well in this first stop. Although there were a few small difficulties in the process of moving, they only helped us become mature that we might praise Him in weariness and suffering.
Since God has now given us this opportunity to rest physically, and since the day has cleared after the rain, we feel in spirit that we see more freshly the beauty of His love. Just as a man suffers endurance for the Lord, he also reaps enjoyment in the Lord. This is what I have learned most recently.
Since Brother Hung came to Ningpo, he has been living with me. There is a bed prepared for him. Sometimes he goes to his house, but he always comes back here at night. This way I will not be too lonely. He has also helped with much of the heavy work. I really thank God for His fineness — He has prepared everything for me.
I do not go to visit the sisters here often. Since coming to Ningpo, I have seen Miss Chang Yu Hua twice and Miss Chen Mei Fang several times. Aside from these visits, I have not gone out. The times I mentioned were to ask about things or to do business. I see that these sisters are very good. They absolutely obey the truth, not like many sisters who like it both ways.
Since a certain sister has come to Ningpo, the other sisters seem to think it strange that she does not cover her head. This sister also told them clearly why she does not cover her head. I think that it will not be too difficult to answer this question. What is important is still our heart and our attitude.
With regard to our meetings, there is only a sisters' meeting on Hsiao Wen Street at the Wang's house. We are still waiting for God's time to start the table meeting. God will only be responsible for what He begins, and He will bear the responsibility to the end.
Now that we have rented this building, people on the outside know about us. In the past week, there have already been two married women (perhaps one is unmarried) and one man who are all "free preachers" that came here to ask me a few questions. I talked with them first about the matters of life. The next day one of the married women brought someone. She wanted to know about the matter of the church. May the God who came here first continue to do His own work. May He also stop human hindrances. Since coming to Ningpo, I am only afraid of one thing, that is, that man will ruin what God has started, because we humans are so foolish, weak, and corrupted.
I hope you brothers bear the responsibility to pray for the work here and for me.
Brother Witness Lee is in Shanghai. Please greet him in the Lord. I hope his stomach is not bothered by the food.
I especially thank Brother Huang for the letter he wrote to me. I greet all the brothers and sisters in the Lord with peace.
Your brother,Hsu Ta WeiMay 22, 1934
(With regard to the matter of whether or not sisters should cover their heads, we hope that an enlightened brother can give an open answer in this publication. As long as our heart in any aspect is not set on our own way but is ready to obey the teachings of the Bible, this will not be a difficult problem to resolve — Editor.)
Greetings to the brothers who labor and walk together with us in each locality:
After the Third Overcomer Conference this past January, the co-workers from the various localities had a meeting in Shanghai. In that meeting most of the co-workers expressed the hope that a written testimony could be issued solely for the preaching of the gospel.
Recently, several co-workers in Shanghai also increasingly felt the burden to publish such a written testimony. We have, therefore, decided to publish a paper entitled The Glad Tidings beginning in July of this year. This publication will be solely for the preaching of the gospel to sinners.
The contents of this paper will include three columns: messages, stories, and testimonies. The messages will be simple gospel messages, the stories will be salvation stories of believers from the past, and the testimonies will be salvation testimonies of today's believers.
This publication will be published by the Shanghai Gospel Book Room. We hope that the co-workers in all the localities will bear the responsibility for the articles. We also hope that every time there are baptisms in the meetings of each locality, the co-workers or responsible brothers and sisters will pay attention to testimonies that can help people and will ask the brother or sister to write out his or her testimony of salvation. They can be published in the testimony column of The Glad Tidings. In this way, many who read the publication can also receive help from the testimonies.
This publication will be free. It would also be good if the brothers and sisters were willing to help with the costs of printing according to the ability the Lord gives them. If the Lord allows, we hope to put out the first issue next month. The following explains how to contribute articles and order the paper:
Contributing Articles:
Your brothers,Watchman Nee, T'ang Shou Ling, Witness LeeShanghai, June 5, 1934
Brother Chung Chieh:
In regard to your first kind of spiritual condition, it is not good, nor is it bad. This kind of condition is completely transitory in nature. But I dare not say whether you will get through it. It depends on whether or not you are hungry and whether or not you are faithful. The condition you described is the condition of the first transitional step in passing through the separation of the soul from the spirit. Being inwardly calm and outwardly confused is not a bad condition, but being outwardly calm is an even better condition. Meditation and planning are completely vain when you rely on yourself. But when you rely on God, they are not completely useless. When you have learned to completely rely on God, you can both pray and meditate. You can pray and plan things at the same time. Since your mind is still in rebellion, you feel that using your mind is vain. When your mind has completely obeyed, your conscience will not condemn you for using it, and it will not consider using your mind as relying on yourself. In the book The Spiritual Man I said the soulish life should be rejected, but the organ of the soul can be used. However, in this transitional stage, you have this kind of condition. When you have passed through this gate, your mind will be obedient to God and not rebel against what God says. You can use it when you pray and not be controlled by it. Presently, you can ignore the other feelings.
You should pray thoroughly before God. You should pray with faith and learn to rely on Him, to only look to Him. By faith, you should acknowledge Him as the only One who can help you. You should learn to unload yourself before Him. Then the Holy Spirit will give you power. You only have to do your part; He will do His part. Brother, please remember, you cannot know or feel the strengthening of the Holy Spirit! You can only pray and trust. He will work without your being aware of it.
The question of whether the most intimate aspect of the self can completely be removed depends on what you mean by the question. If you mean that you will not feel that you have yourself again, it is impossible. As long as we are on this earth, we will feel the existence of the self. Furthermore, the more the Holy Spirit operates in us, the more we will be aware of the existence of the self. We are living souls. The soul gives us our self-consciousness and makes us feel that we are ourselves. Therefore, as long as we are men, we have self-consciousness.
Watchman Nee
According to a letter from a brother in Foochow, during the last week of April, Brother Chung Chun Keng was led by the Lord to go to Chiaochow where he faithfully announced the truth. Everyone received God's grace. They wept. They hated themselves and confessed to one another. There was a great revival. Although it rained, the work of the Holy Spirit could not be hindered. The condition of the meetings was very good. The revivals, salvations, and contributions were beyond man's thinking.
On May 20 the meetings began in Chu Chia Cheng Tze, Ch'ang-ch'un.
(1) Whoever has any news of the work, the difficulties encountered, the results seen, things to pray for, or other news, please send them as often as possible.
(2) All news should in principle be detailed, true, clear, and edifying. It does not matter whether it is short, long, in common language, or in classical Chinese.
(3) If someone sends you a personal letter that mentions news of a local church, please send it to us so that the brothers in all the localities can know the condition of the Lord's work.
(4) If there is an announcement about meetings or the work, we are willing to print it.
(5) The responsible brothers in each locality should take care not to give this publication to those who do not meet with us. It is best that we do not give this publication to any brothers who do not walk together with us.
(6) Please send all news to: Editor, Collection of Newsletters, P. O. Box 323, Shanghai.
ShanghaiJune 8, 1934
