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Date: Wednesday, February 8, 1950Place: Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong
It is a glory to the Lord to see young people being saved and coordinating in the church life for the gospel. The book of Numbers shows us that those who are over twenty years of age are qualified to fight, while those who are between thirty and fifty years old are qualified to serve and work within the tabernacle (1:3; 4:3). This shows us that the young people are particularly precious in God's eyes. Here I would like to mention several frequent causes of failure among young brothers and sisters. Then I will point out how they should serve before the Lord.
First, let us consider the frequent causes that lead to failure among young people. We can look at three areas: 1) travel, 2) marriage, and 3) occupation.
Travel includes moving, changing schools, and taking trips. After a young person is saved, he is generally under the protection of the church and his family. This is very good. His normal sphere of activity is around his school and home, but when he has to go away for an extended period of time, he should take care of all the pitfalls along the way. He has to clearly identify all the traps and must guard himself from falling into them. It is wonderful to stay at home. Day by day he can learn to contact God. He can find the right place to study the Bible and to pray. On a trip, however, he can easily take in loose thoughts if he is not careful. If he does not move around, nothing will happen, but once he moves around, he will find that his journey becomes an opportunity for him to indulge in sin. He will see many new things and new sights, meet many new people, and come in contact with many new customs and habits. This kind of travel subconsciously opens the door for relaxation to come in within him. He will dare to do many things which he would ordinarily not dare to do. He will dare to visit places which he would ordinarily not dare to visit. I want to mention this matter to the young people in particular because most old people like to remain and settle in their old places, while young people like changes. Very often, however, they get into trouble when changing places. During the past twenty or thirty years, I can remember many young brothers and sisters who fell because of changing places. Therefore, we must not be quick and loose in changing places. We have to ask the Lord to preserve us with His grace. We have to apply ourselves to good habits now so that we will be able to maintain these habits when the changes come.
Whatever we do, it is best to keep the principle of two by two. This is a good pattern that the Lord Jesus left for us (Mark 6:7; Luke 10:1). We should do everything in coordination, always with two people and perhaps with three or four. We need companions while we are going through changes. This will keep us in the Body. If we go to any place alone, we are going as an individual. But if two go together, we are not going as two individuals, but as the move of our local church. Do not underestimate any change or move. Many experiences in our human life are triggered by little changes in our environment.
This is true in the case of sisters choosing a school. It is very unsafe for anyone to choose a school that is not being attended by another saint. If you want to go to a new school, it is best to find one with at least two saints in it. Many young people fall into snares by acting independently. For your own protection and for the protection of others, find some companions whenever you make a move. In this matter, you have to remember before the Lord that consecrating yourself does not merely mean offering up material possessions, but being coordinated together, acting in the principle of the Body, and acting upon the ground of the church.
The second matter is marriage. Before speaking about this, let me relate some facts to you. Marriage is a very important matter. In looking back over the past thirty years, I realize that marriage has brought about greater changes to young people than travel. Before you are married, your parents treat you as a child; you do not have many responsibilities, and you do not have to take care of a family. Many Christians enter marriage without a proper concept and a readiness for responsibility. As a result, they fail in their Christian life.
Marriage and family are the beginning and source of God's blessing. At the same time, you have to remember that they are also the beginning and source of looseness. When a man is single, it is easy for him to serve the Lord zealously, but once he is married, he enters a new world. Changes begin to come, and he begins to relax. Marriage is a blessing from God; it is also the beginning of human happiness. At the same time, you have to remember that marriage is also the beginning of relaxation for many people. For this reason, you have to have the proper attitude before and after marriage. You should have only one aim for getting married — to serve together with your spouse, which is always better than serving alone. In looking for the right person to marry, the first condition is that you both have to like each other, and your dispositions should match. Each should be able to bear the other's weaknesses and shortcomings. You should not be distracted by other factors before you are married. Pay attention to whether or not you can coordinate together in spiritual service. Second, after you are married, you always experience a psychological change. This change is many times greater than the change that accompanies travel. Once you are married, there is a pit right next to your house; you have to prepare for days of danger. During the first two or three months, do your best to control your mind; do not allow it to become loose. After the first two or three months, the danger is less acute. You must always maintain your balance psychologically. You have to learn to control yourself in your psychology.
Third, never despise your spouse before the Lord. Many brothers and sisters discover after they are married that some characteristics of their spouse are intolerable; they despise these characteristics. At such times, you have to learn to worship God. Do not become agitated in your mind. Always remember that God has given you a "match," not a "sweetheart." You have to learn to serve in coordination with your spouse, and not nit-pick or rebuke.
The third frequent cause of failure among young people is their choice of occupation. When a young person begins a career, his first month's salary must be treated with great care. When the first month's salary falls into your hand, whatever its amount, you sense power rising within your mind. There is nothing in this world which cannot be bought with money. Some can even buy the human soul with money. Once you have money, there will be many things you want to buy. This is a great, psychological change and a temptation for dissipation. Therefore, I exhort you to learn to guard against the power of money. You should be conscious only of the power of the Christian life. Always remember that we live on this earth for the gospel, for coordination with other brothers and sisters, and for serving the Lord.
When these three things occur, many people become loose and dissipated. Actually, all three have to do with money and material possessions. In travel, one is always tempted to buy special things. After marriage, money is a means of pursuing a couple's happiness. When a man does not have a job, he is careful about the money he receives from his parents, but once he starts earning his own money, he begins to act according to his own preferences and forgets the vow he made before the Lord. Man always seeks to exchange material things for his own and others' happiness. He is always inclined to act according to what pleases his heart. As a result, the more he acquires, the less he is satisfied. His interest and concern will be sucked into the material things. Month after month, he will plan more purchases. With these three things, the first few months are the most dangerous period. If you do not handle these changes properly, you will fail miserably.
The elders and the older brothers in the church bear a great responsibility over these young brothers and sisters. You have to change their attitude toward money. Every time they reach a turning point, you have to remind them. The fathers and the co-workers in the church are the overseers. The work of the overseers is to exercise oversight. This means they have to perch on high to observe how others act. Before anything happens to a person, you have to see clearly, accurately, adequately, and far-sightedly. You have to anticipate the changes that will happen to a young person and intercede for him, exhort him, and teach him ahead of time.
The brothers and sisters who are in school should try their best to not attend Catholic schools. The Lord's intention is that we do not touch the Catholic Church at all. He has no intention that we change its religion. A Christian does not have this responsibility. In Revelation 2 and 18, the Lord does not charge His believers to call those in the Catholic Church to repentance. Instead, He charges the many sons of God to separate themselves from it and to not defile themselves with its sins. The church in Thyatira in Revelation 2 and the great Babylon in chapter eighteen signify the Catholic Church. It is clear that Christians have no responsibility to change Catholicism. Their responsibility is to depart from it. God hates to see His people worshipping idols. Idolatry is a great sin in the Bible. Every king in the books of Kings was judged according to whether or not he had gone in "the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and in his sin by which he caused Israel to sin" (1 Kings 16:26), which was idolatry. The first and second of the Ten Commandments deal with idols (Exo. 20:3-6). God hates Catholicism. No sin of idolatry is greater than that practiced in Catholicism. It has made idols out of the Lord Jesus and God. There is also Mary; it has made an idol of the mother of Jesus and has made her a god. Catholics are among some of the hardest people in this world to get saved. If any of you are studying in a Catholic school, please go home and discuss this with your parents. See if you can change schools before the next term. If you cannot do it this next term, try the next one. You must have the desire to cut off any relationship with Catholicism. Of course, if the present situation does not allow you to change schools, do your best to refrain from its worship. You have to find three or four companions and fellowship together often. Never try to argue with your teachers. All you need to do is turn away from them.
The Catholic Jesuits start schools everywhere. Their intention is to gain people through education. If you look into the situation, you will notice that they never stand on the street to preach the gospel. If you study in their schools, however, you will pick up the Catholic religion after three or five years. You may say that many nuns in the Catholic Church are quite good and quite compassionate. But please remember, they are not approved by God, no matter how good they are, as long as they do not forsake idolatry.
In selecting a school, you have to choose one that is being attended by at least one or two brothers and sisters. This does not mean that the Lord will not bless the preaching of a single brother or sister; he or she may bring many to salvation. In the majority of cases, a single brother is swallowed up by his surroundings. Ultimately, the church has to search for him after he becomes lost. It is rare for one brother to break through in one school, but it is common for one school to swallow up one brother. The young people must go to school in coordination. I believe many of you brothers will be elders and deacons in the future. Therefore, you have to exercise great care and deliberation in your actions. Do not study in a school by yourself.
Some of you have decided to stop at a high school education. These ones have to learn to work with their hands. In the future you have to find a job that gives you more freedom so that you can devote time to serve the Lord. Perhaps you can work under other brothers and sisters who are running a business. In any case, your time must be free. You must not be a slave to mammon. In this way you will not neglect the government's mandate on contribution to production since you will be working with your hands. At the same time, you can devote much time to serve the Lord as well as offering up your earnings for His use.
Some of you have too many possessions. You should learn to give some of them to the poor and be moderate in buying what you need. This does not necessarily mean that you have to be thrifty in everything. For example, if you need a coat, you can buy a good one. There are many material things which we cannot be without; we should just find those that satisfy our needs. If we buy impulsively, we will want more when we see a better one. In the beginning a simple matter like choosing the right coat can become a problem; when we walk into a department store and see thirty or fifty different colors of the same merchandise, we will want more. There are many styles, and our heart will want one of each. There is no limit to our lust for possessions.
In Shanghai I told some Communist members that Christians are saved in an inward way. We give up the world, but not because of outward coercion. We are not like the people in the world who become poor after their material goods are confiscated; we voluntarily free ourselves from the bondage of material things. Tomorrow night I hope you will prepare a list and bring the pocket money your parents have allotted to you. Find the minimum amount that you need to spend, then hand over the rest. I hope everyone will be faithful to do what they should.
There are twenty-seven to twenty-eight assemblies in northern Kiangsu. During the past eight months, none of the brothers and sisters there had the chance to even get a bowl of rice. The more fortunate ones ate bean cakes, while the less fortunate ones ate grass and tree bark. Since I know the situation in all the places, I feel grieved and even angry when I see some brothers and sisters caring only for themselves and having no thought of saving. Please forgive me for saying this. In Hong Kong bean cakes are sold to Taiwan for fertilizer, but in northern Kiangsu only the most well off can afford to eat bean cakes. I do not know how you can eat your rice in peace when you hear this. This situation is happening not only in northern Kiangsu. In one or two months, more than half of the brothers and sisters in the church in Nanking will have nothing to eat.
I pray that God will free us from all kinds of considerations over so many things. I pray that we will only hand ourselves over. We should let other brothers remember our own needs. Paul told the churches in Asia who had supplied the lack of other churches that these churches eventually would fill up their lack as well (2 Cor. 8:14). The brothers and sisters never imagined that they would face what they are facing today. In the same way, we never know what we will face tomorrow. I hope that we will remember them as brothers. I hope that we will hand ourselves over to fill up their lack. Before you handed yourselves over, I spoke with reservation. But now that you have handed yourselves over, I do not have any reservation; I am not afraid of suspicion.
Some of you may have the thought of helping these ones, but think that you have too little. Please do not calculate what you can do, because you are not the only one who has handed yourself over. When you hand yourself over, you are not doing it to please man, but to please the Lord.
Today God is taking the way of the church. Everything should be done in the principle of coordination. My heart rejoices to see that, under God's grace, we can coordinate together, not only in preaching the gospel but in offering up our money and time. We should not choose our field of study carelessly as we did before. Rather, we should choose subjects that are related to businesses that the saints have and concentrate on these professions. In the coming days, these professions will afford us an unfettered occupation to support ourselves. After three or five years, many brothers and sisters will be prepared to be sent to other places in China for the gospel. First, we should gospelize the strategic places, and then we should move out to the surrounding towns and villages. How different is this kind of preaching from the individual preaching of one or two persons that we experienced in the past!
Presently, there are over five hundred assemblies in China. We have close to seventy thousand brothers and sisters. If we pool our efforts together for the gospel enterprise, instead of working independently here and there, this will create a great impact! In the past our co-workers did not like to work in coordination. Now they have to learn the lesson of coordination. They should take the lead in this matter, but this work does not belong to the co-workers alone; everyone has a part in it. We should not think that we only have to offer a little money or material goods. This work is the responsibility of all of us. If the Lord is gracious to us, I hope that many brothers will rise up, including older ones, and forsake everything to serve in coordination in the church.
Presently, the highest interest the bank pays is forty-five percent. If we can have a fifty percent increase in our gospel, every brother and sister will bring in half a person in a month. This means that every two months we will bring in one person. In two months there will be one hundred forty thousand saints in China. In four months we will have two hundred eighty thousand saints. This means that in a few years' time, the gospel will spread throughout all the big cities in China. If our preaching is isolated, we will never meet the need of the gospel in today's world. The whole church has to rise up to preach in coordination. May the Lord ignite the flame in China, and may it grow and spread. May the church be as absolute as the early church in preaching the gospel. This fire will then spread to the West. We can procrastinate no longer. If we do not take this way, our independent gospel work will not get us very far in ten or twenty more years.
In 1928 there were four hundred thousand Protestant communicants. By 1948 the number only increased to four hundred eighty thousand. In 1928 there were eight hundred thousand Catholics. By 1948 the number increased to 2.3 million. What are we Protestants doing? Why has our number increased so slowly? This is truly our shame! Today the Chinese population grows at the rate of two persons every five seconds. The number that we bring in cannot even match the rate of birth in China. Protestantism has been in China for over one hundred twenty years. After a century and a half of preaching, our number is still only five hundred thousand. Of this number, many are nominal members. When we compare ourselves with the early church, we cannot help but be ashamed!
It is indeed foolish for God's children to not give themselves in a desperate way in this age. Please forgive me for saying a seemingly angry word. We all think that the present political climate makes it hard for the church to preach the gospel, but how do we know that this situation is not sovereignly arranged by God? How do we know that this is not for the purpose of turning the church to the Lord's will? What the Lord could not gain through His calling, perhaps He is gaining through the environment. If the Lord cannot move His children through love, He can turn them through chastening. The rebuking rod often will do what the voice of love cannot do. If we do not learn to coordinate together for the gospel in the present situation, God may allow the devil's hand to move further, and the situation of the church may worsen still.
Our consecration must be specific. The more specific our consecration is, the better it is. Consecration of the heart is an abstract thing. We can say that our heart is consecrated, but in actuality, our heart may still be with us. Our heart can only be truly on the altar when our entire body and our possessions are on the altar.
Romans 12 is the clearest, most absolute, accurate, and definite passage in the entire Bible on consecration, and it speaks of coordination at the end of the chapter. If a man is not willing to consecrate himself, how can he be coordinated with others? We should not think that we are consecrating when we offer up a little money and material goods. Consecration means offering up our entire person. Only this will bring us into coordination with the brothers and sisters. If we hold back anything for ourselves, we are merely practicing a kind of individualism. If we are so individualistic, how can we coordinate with others? In order to coordinate with others, we have to deny ourselves and live in peace with all men, if possible (v. 18). Many people, however, drop their countenance, become angry, or murmur over a little money. They argue and squabble until their faces turn red over what belongs to them. When we hand over everything, it is easy for us to coordinate with the brothers and sisters. Coordination is spontaneous.
When the church in Foochow handed itself over, its number multiplied manyfold. Chuenchow had been meeting with the same number (around ninety) for many years. A few months ago the leading brothers handed themselves over, and within a month the number increased by ninety-six. Now there are ninety-nine candidates who are preparing to be baptized. There are still four hundred others waiting to be interviewed.
Handing ourselves over will afford the brothers and sisters a way to get into the gospel business in one accord. Many people are willing to put their whole heart into a secular business but are very indifferent about the gospel. They work mindlessly and do not apply any seriousness to the work. We can only give our whole heart to the work when we have handed ourselves over.
I hope that one day we can break open Hong Kong with explosive power. We do not have to wait for a big co-worker to come to do the job. We have to hand ourselves and all we have over and coordinate together to preach the gospel in oneness. No one should be for himself. Everyone should offer up everything for the gospel. Let me shout this into our ears: We cannot crave one single thread in this world, while asking the other brothers and sisters to give up the world or to see the vanity of this world. We cannot love money ourselves, while telling them to love the Lord. If we do not hand ourselves over, we cannot demand others to sacrifice their life. Perhaps some will feel that this is a bit too extreme, but in this matter, it does not hurt to be extreme. We have been extreme in many things in our life. Should we be careful to stay within the bounds when it comes to our consecration to the Lord? If we have never been extreme once, we will never be able to lead others to do the same.
We must not hesitate in handing ourselves over. Once we procrastinate, our mind will come under the attack of Satan. Some may think that we are mad when we hand over our possessions. Actually, this is not madness; this is the gospel. The demand of the gospel is so great that it calls for our very life. In this world only two kinds of people are willing to give up their possessions. The first are the mad and insane. The second are those who sacrifice for love. We hand ourselves over because we love the Lord. We do not care about criticism. We only care for the Lord's commands. If we do not uphold this truth, we will end up suffering. Always remember the Lord's word that we have to make friends with the mammon of unrighteousness (Luke 16:9). Once we hand ourselves over, we will have a share when the church gains people through the gospel. We will be blessed. If we do not hand ourselves over, we will not have a share even if the church gains many people.
Today the Lord's timing is ripe. Whether or not we are actually doing the preaching, we will have a share in the Lord's work as long as we hand ourselves over. Thank the Lord. Once the gospel breaks out, we will see the Lord's blessing. Perhaps when that day comes we will no longer be here, but our offering will still be here. Today brothers everywhere are adding their share to the work. I hope that we all will join them. Once this flame is ignited, it will never go out. I hope that the flame in Hong Kong never goes out.
Handing over oneself is not just a responsibility of the co-workers. It is a responsibility that is on all of our shoulders. We have gathered too much for ourselves, yet our eyes are always on the purse of the co-workers. Criticism and gossip about this and that co-worker often come to my ears. I have to say a word for the co-workers. These workers are God's workers; they are not your workers. If you can be God's counselor, you can manage the co-workers' purses. If I say this word to the co-workers, it is not worth much, but it is good for you.
If all of us, young and old, will consecrate our all, the cheap way with us in the past will be gone once and for all. We have to make up our mind to have a share in the gospel of the church. We have to hand over our occupation, our time, and our money for the gospel. This is the only way to bring in the power. The Lord will not be satisfied until we preach the gospel this way. The only thing that will satisfy the Lord is for the entire Body to be consecrated. The only thing that will satisfy us is this very same thing.
Our handing over will satisfy the Lord, and it will satisfy us. Time is short. The Lord's coming is near, yet the responsibility of the gospel is still great. Many places in China still have not heard the gospel. If the church does not rise up together to preach the gospel, the Lord will delay His coming.
I hope that from this day forward we will drop all dissenting thoughts. Let us abandon all care for ourselves. We should have only one profession — preaching the gospel. We should have only one goal — letting all sinners hear the gospel. If we do this, it will not be difficult to gospelize Hong Kong and all of China.
The handing over that we are speaking about is more demanding than just offering up all of our possessions. Handing ourselves over means offering up our entire being, including our time and occupation, for the coordination. Our eyes are not set on our wealth. Our God is not a poor God. He is the God of everything. We expect the Body to rise up to preach the gospel; the church should rise up to preach the gospel. When the church rises up to preach the gospel, we will be perpetually short of meeting halls. One meeting hall will not be enough; even ten meeting halls will not be enough. Today we are seeing the light. It is not a matter of eight or ten being called to forsake everything to preach the gospel by themselves. All the brothers and sisters have to rise up to preach the gospel together. Today this fire has started. I hope none of us will run away from this fire.
Brother Weigh: Lord, some of us have come to Hong Kong as travelers. Some have come as refugees. We have become loose because we have been greatly influenced by the Babylonian environment around us here in Hong Kong. For all these years the church has not been absolute enough to rise up to preach the gospel together. Forgive us and grant us the grace. Lord, You have come to cast a fire upon the earth. You said this when there was a baptism awaiting You; Your spirit was pressed! You have gone through that baptism, and Your life has been released. The fire has been released, and it has been burning during the past centuries. Today in China this fire has started in Chefoo, Shanghai, Foochow, and Chuenchow. Now we ask that You start this fire in Hong Kong. Start it within all the brothers and sisters. May Your love and mercy continue their great work. Today, we have to catch up with You or else we will be cast aside. May Your great love and mercy enable us to catch up. Amen.
