Search
Scripture Reading: Num. 4:3; 26:2; Neh. 4:15-23; 1 Tim. 1:18; 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7; Eph. 6:13-14a
During the past one and a half years we have been speaking concerning the building up of the small groups, the home meetings, the teaching of Truth Lessons, and the preaching of the gospel. In short, we have spoken about begetting, nourishing, and teaching. I am concerned that we have become indifferent to these matters because of the frequency of our speaking on them. We also may now consider our work to be very common and ordinary. Therefore, I received a burden from the Lord to remind all of us that our work is a spiritual warfare.
In the Old Testament, as far as God’s economy is concerned, God’s work was to build up the temple and the city. The entire Old Testament has the temple and the city as its center. God’s work in the Old Testament age was carried out through different offices or ministries. There was the ministry of the priests, the ministry of the kings, and the ministry of the prophets. Although these three offices or ministries were different, their goal and center were the same — to build up God’s temple and His kingdom, in other words, to build up God’s house and His city. At the same time the Old Testament clearly shows that the work of God’s enemy was also focused on this line. He tried to frustrate, damage, and destroy God’s building. This line can be clearly seen in the Old Testament.
The first time the church, which is the house of God, is spoken of in the New Testament is in Matthew 16:18. The Lord Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” This clearly shows that as soon as the church is mentioned, the gates of Hades, that is, the power of darkness, are also mentioned. This shows that in the New Testament, the work in God’s economy to build up the church is a warfare.
The problem with Christianity is that it is merely a religion. The people in Christianity see almost nothing concerning God’s building. Therefore, they know nearly nothing about spiritual warfare. Thus, they cannot discern the enemy’s tactics. They know that there is a devil, but at the most they only know that the devil tempts men to do evil things and causes them to turn away from God, to stumble, to sin, and to bring shame to God’s name. They never touch the crucial facts, nor do they realize that Satan, the devil, with all his wiles and tactics, his temptations and corruptions, has only one goal in mind — to fight against God’s building in order to frustrate, withstand, damage, and destroy it.
Today in the Lord’s recovery, we should clearly see that we are not merely doing a work of recovery — recovering the truth, the gospel, the experience of Christ as life, and building up the church. We must see that all this recovery work is related to God’s building. God’s building is at the center of His economy. His goal is to gain a house and a city, which are the church and the kingdom. Such a building work is altogether related to the enemy’s final destiny. This, of course, stirs up his attack.
Before I saw the light concerning the Lord’s recovery, I heard many sermons, but I never heard any messages on spiritual warfare. John Bunyan was one of the most famous spiritual preachers among the Baptists in England in the seventeenth century. He wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress and The Holy War. Sixty years ago, when I was still a young man, I read The Holy War. It speaks of man’s warfare with Satan. The purpose of the book is to teach people how to oppose Satan when he attacks and how by faith they can withstand his temptations. However, this book does not speak of God’s economy and His building. It says nothing of opposing and countering the power of darkness in the midst of building up God’s kingdom.
One day, God led me to see the light concerning His recovery. At that time I was reading some English books as well as some books that had been translated by Brother Nee. Through these books I came to realize that, throughout the centuries, those who love the Lord with a pure heart and who know something about God’s eternal purpose in their spirit experience a kind of spiritual warfare. They realize from the depth of their being that every step of God’s recovery involves His enemy, and every step requires warfare. Yet very few have seen that there is the need of spiritual warfare in order to realize the divine building. Today we need to see that there is the need to engage ourselves in spiritual warfare for the building up of God’s kingdom.
During the past few days, because of a slight illness, I was forced to set aside my work temporarily and rest. During this time I reconsidered many things, especially the things we have seen and experienced in the past. I felt that I should pick up the burden to remind us of this matter. Perhaps we do not feel any attack and do not sense any warfare. However, we should realize that even this feeling is a result of Satan’s intrusion. He has injected lethargy into us so that we will become numb to all feelings.
Nehemiah 4:23 says, “Neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each had his weapon at his right hand.” I used to think that since the Bible is the canon of our faith, it should speak about divine and lofty matters. Why would the Bible record such a small thing as “each had his weapon at his right hand”? This word sounds too simple and shallow; it does not sound like the Scriptures. Yet we need to see that even this short word conveys much light of the truth. This short word shows the need for warfare. Nehemiah 4:23b in the American Standard Version says, “Every one went with his weapon to the water.” Even when they were going for water, the builders did not leave their weapons behind. This shows that there is warfare even in the smallest matters of our daily life.
The building in the Old Testament was the tabernacle and the temple as the house of God. After the Israelites left Egypt and arrived at Mount Sinai, Moses saw the vision of the building of God’s tabernacle. Following this, the people began their journey in the wilderness with Canaan as their goal. They did not travel to Canaan without a testimony and a goal. These two or three million people did not wander in the wilderness aimlessly, arriving in Canaan by chance. Rather, their journey in the wilderness was orderly and disciplined, and it was always centered around God’s tabernacle. From the book of Numbers we can see that when they set up their camp, the first thing they did was set up the tabernacle. After the tabernacle was established as the center, all the tribes settled around it according to a prescribed order. When they set out on their journey, they put the tabernacle on their shoulders and followed the Ark.
The first four chapters of Numbers show that when God ordered the children of Israel to be numbered, He considered every numbered person as a soldier. Those who were numbered were conscripts in the army. The first group to be numbered were those twenty years of age and upward. They were all drafted into the service. The Levites, however, were not numbered. Since they were required to draw near to the tabernacle to serve the priests and to minister to the tabernacle, they needed to possess a higher level of life and more maturity in life. Therefore, only those who were between thirty and fifty years old were numbered and drafted into the service of the tabernacle.
Numbers 4:3 says, “From thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, all who enter into the service to perform the skilled work in the Tent of Meeting.” The word service here should be translated as “warfare.” Verse 2 of chapter 26 says, “Take the sum of the whole assembly of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ households, all who are able to go forth for military service in Israel.” The phrase go forth for military service is based on the same Hebrew word for service in 4:3. It refers to those who are able to serve in the army.
The first four chapters of Numbers show these matters because in God’s eyes, in order to maintain His central testimony, all the arrangements and services around the tabernacle are related to warfare. To be a priest is to be in the army. To be a Levite is to be in the army. Even to be an ordinary citizen is to be in the army. Hence, the move of the entire people of Israel in the wilderness was a military move. It was not the wandering of a nomadic tribe. These were not nomadic people. They were an organized and disciplined army. This is the reason that they were called “the armies of Jehovah” in the Old Testament. On the way to the good land, they first defeated the Amalekites in a fierce battle. After leaving Mount Sinai, the people then fought battle after battle. While they were traveling, they were also fighting. This went on until they passed the Jordan River, completed the first war at Jericho, and marched into Canaan.
From that time on, the Israelites never ceased to fight. Their history is a history of warfare. The book of Joshua records all the wars that went on in the conquest of Canaan. The book of Judges is also about warfare. Without warfare, how could they possess the promised land of God? Without the good land, how could God’s temple be built, His city established, and His kingdom set up on earth? This is the reason that the children of Israel waged war unceasingly from the time of Joshua. This went on until the time of David. David was a warrior. He was a warrior-king. He fought battles in the north and in the south, subduing all the enemies within the land and establishing peace. He left behind a land of peace for his son Solomon. At the same time he prepared materials for the building of the temple, materials that he captured through his many battles. Hence, David’s warfare not only secured a foundation for the temple; it also secured all kinds of materials for its building as well. He left all these to his son Solomon. As soon as Solomon ascended to the throne, he ruled in peace. At that time the nation was rich, and the people lived in abundance. He ordered the work of building the temple to begin immediately, and in due time the temple was finished.
However, Satan was not willing to be idle and allow the temple to be built. He stirred up the Egyptians to attack Jerusalem; the Assyrians and eventually the Babylonians were stirred up to destroy Jerusalem. These people captured and destroyed Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and took the holy people away as captives. At that time God’s house was gone, His kingdom was gone, and His people were taken into captivity for seventy years.
At the completion of the seventy years of captivity, God brought His people back once again. He brought them back for the purpose of rebuilding the temple and the city. During the first building of the temple, there did not seem to be much warfare, but during the rebuilding of the temple, Nehemiah 4:15-23 shows that the entire process was a warfare. Verse 16 says, “From that day half of my servants labored in the work, and half of them held the spears and the shields and the bows and the armor; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.” Half of the Israelites were working, and half of them were fighting. In addition verse 17 says, “Those who built the wall and those who carried burdens took the loads with one hand doing the work and with the other holding a weapon.” Verse 21 says, “So we labored in the work; and half of them held spears from the start of dawn until the stars came out.” The second half of verse 23 says, “Every one went with his weapon to the water” (ASV). Without warfare and without a spirit of fighting, there is no building. This matter is clearly revealed in the Old Testament.
The recovery of the building in the Old Testament was fully accomplished by and through warfare. In the New Testament the Lord Jesus said that the gates of Hades, which belong to Satan, would never prevail against the built-up church (Matt. 16:18). The apostle Paul speaks specifically about the church in the book of Ephesians. He speaks about the church as the Body of Christ, the fullness of Christ, the counterpart of Christ, the new man, God’s house, and God’s kingdom. Last, he speaks about the church as the warrior, fighting on behalf of God’s economy. Paul himself was a warrior. Before his martyrdom he declared, “I have fought the good fight” (2 Tim. 4:7). This is the proper position and responsibility of the church.
Satan always comes behind God to damage His church. He causes the church to become fallen and degraded. Even when the apostle Paul was on earth, the church had become desolate. Paul saw the churches that he had built up with his own hands being damaged by Satan and brought into desolation. When he wrote the books of Philippians, Colossians, and 1 and 2 Timothy, he was very clear about the situation. He even said, “All who are in Asia turned away from me” (2 Tim. 1:15). The church became so desolate that it had even deserted Paul. Yet Paul was not discouraged. He exhorted Timothy to “war the good warfare” (1 Tim. 1:18), which was to fight against the different teachings of the dissenting ones and to accomplish God’s economy according to his ministry concerning the gospel of grace and eternal life (v. 4), so that God, who is worthy of all praises, might be glorified (vv. 11-17).
At that time the greatest problem was the different teachings of the dissenting ones. This problem brought in great damage to the church. Paul told Timothy to remain in Ephesus to “charge certain ones not to teach different things...rather than God’s economy” (vv. 3-4). For Timothy to do this was for him to war the good warfare. To war the good warfare is not to swing with our fists or kick with our feet. It is, on the negative side, to defeat and destroy the winds of different teachings, and on the positive side, to carry out God’s economy. Paul clearly points out that it is insufficient merely to not teach different things; we must also speak God’s economy. Today we are faced with the same warfare. Hence, to war the good warfare, to withstand the downward drift of the church, and to carry out God’s economy is to preach the gospel of grace and eternal life according to the apostles’ ministry.
In 6:12 Paul says, “Fight the good fight of the faith; lay hold on the eternal life, to which you were called.” To fight the good fight is to lay hold on the eternal life. This life is the divine life, God’s uncreated life, and the eternal life. The words eternal life are related more to the divine nature than to time. In our Christian life, and especially in our Christian work, we need to lay hold on God’s eternal life and not trust in our human life in order to fight the good fight of the faith. Hence, the two books of Timothy and the book of Titus repeatedly emphasize the eternal life (1 Tim. 1:16; 6:19; 2 Tim. 1:1, 10; Titus 1:2; 3:7). This life is a necessary and basic prerequisite in order to accomplish God’s economy concerning the church as depicted in 1 Timothy, to withstand the declining trend of the church as depicted in 2 Timothy, and to maintain good order in the church as depicted in Titus.
Our work today is to build up the home meetings, teach the truth, and spread the gospel. In other words, it is to beget, nourish, and teach. These are things that are absolutely contrary to what Christianity is doing. It is a move against the tide. We are conscious that we are fighting a battle. We need to struggle to swim upstream. We must fight against the current. Consequently, we encounter difficulty at every stage. We all know that it is easy to flow downstream. There is no need to exert any strength; we can easily glide along, but to swim upstream requires a continual struggle. To press forward requires fighting.
Concerning these three matters, the burden within me is too heavy for words. I am already an old man, yet I still need to bear such a heavy burden. The only way I can explain it is that this is something that the Lord wants. Today the church has been corrupted by Christianity to such an extent that it has fully become a religion and an organization. In such an organization two things are produced — a clergy-laity system and hierarchy. Through the practice of the clergy-laity system, hierarchy is built up. The Catholic Church takes the pope as its head, and the different Protestant groups take their founders as their heads. Under the pope and these founders there is a distinct class of people who are different from others. People are separated into different categories and classes. This completely obliterates the life relationship among God’s children and annuls their organic function.
Through Brother Nee we saw the light sixty years ago that the most important matter in the Lord’s recovery is that we be free from any organized religion. During the past sixty years we have paid much attention to this matter. Still, we admit that we have never rid ourselves fully of its influence even though we emphasize this so much. This is a battle. We have never been completely freed from the bondage of this organized religion because of the entanglement of the power of darkness and our sluggish disposition. Those without the spiritual insight do not see anything concerning the power of darkness. Everyone today says that religion is a good thing. Furthermore, Satan has even mixed some wicked things with our knowledge of the Bible through his cunning tactics.
The whole of Christianity is an organization of religion. It can be compared to the big tree described by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 13. It has taken root, settled on the earth, and become a huge organization. All Christians have been organized together and absorbed into it. The Lord has raised us up to stand against this great organization. We have been fighting this battle for more than sixty years, but to a certain extent, even our own brothers and sisters are not clear. Even our co-workers have become confused, considering that we are the same as Christianity. We consider ourselves the same as Christianity. Look at our situation today. How are we different from Christianity? Where are the distinctions? Some brothers and sisters even say, “Are not some Christians more zealous than we are? They are also preaching the gospel.” As time goes by, black and white seem to be the same, fresh water and salt water become indistinguishable, and the pure and the polluted are mixed together. The reason such a situation has developed is that we have not fully rid ourselves of the clergy-laity system. The presence of the concept of a hierarchy results in this kind of an organization.
I hope that we will understand the fellowship in this chapter in a proper way. I hope that by the grace of the Lord we will take this clear word. We need to admit that two years ago in 1984 the clergy-laity system was very strong among us, even here in Taiwan. We did not have the form, but we had the fact. In order to deal with this matter, we saw from the Lord that we needed to deal with this from its roots. We must remove this practice from among us completely; otherwise, we will have no way to go on. This was why I have spoken so strongly against the big meetings and emphasized the small group meetings. I made it clear from the beginning that eventually the small group meetings should be brought into the homes. Once the meetings move to the homes and the church life is established in the homes, the clergy-laity system will have no more ground. Once the clergy-laity system loses its ground, the system of hierarchy will be uprooted and removed.
I am not speaking empty teachings. I am speaking facts based on our history. Hence, what we now need the most is for the elders, the co-workers, and the full-timers to become absolutely clear that it is not a small thing for us to set up home meetings. We are transplanting our “produce” from the realm of religion to the homes of the saints. Once they are transplanted to the homes, there will be no further opportunity for the clergy-laity system to surface. If every home has a meeting, every person is speaking, and no one wants to be the head, how can the clergy-laity system remain? However, if we cannot achieve these three ends, the clergy-laity system will remain, and the religious organization will continue.
We must be clear that the changing of the system, the spreading, and the increase are not the basic issue. A local church may have three thousand people, thirty thousand, or even three million people; however, what is the foundation upon which the churches in the Lord’s recovery are based? Are they based on big meetings, which have the clergy-laity system as their foundation and factor? Or are they based on the home meetings, in which everyone functions? The big meetings can never be free from the clergy-laity system. Once there is a big meeting, its very foundation supports the clergy-laity system. However, if the basic ingredient of the church is the home meeting, and if the element, essence, and inward reality of the church are in the homes, how can the clergy-laity system possibly exist? The clergy-laity system is the very root of the big meetings, and the big meetings are the “tree” for the clergy-laity system. The home meetings, however, remove the clergy-laity system as the root. This is the best way to eradicate the tree.
Let me repeat. I have no intention of offending anyone. Please do not take offense with me. I feel that our co-workers have been working for many years but have only produced big meetings. I believe that the co-workers do not have the intention or motive to build up a clergy-laity system, but we may not realize that our practice can be unrelated to our intentions or motivations. It is related to the principle under which we operate. If we operate under a certain principle, we will produce certain kinds of results. For example, we may have no intention of planting garlic, but once we plant a garlic seed, what will we reap other than garlic? We may say that we are not planting garlic, but we are deceived; what we are planting is garlic. Moreover, when we do things a certain way, what results is an organization. The result will manifest itself spontaneously, development by development.
I hope that your eyes will be enlightened in the same way that the Lord has enlightened my eyes by His mercy. We should not have any more regard for the big meetings. We should not think about them any longer. In the past the big meetings may have helped us and edified us, but we should not long for them anymore. Some people are saved and are even edified, built up, and helped in the Catholic Church; others experience the same thing in the denominations. However, we should not hold on to such experiences. Many of us, including myself, were in such places. Later by the Lord’s mercy we all left them, but regrettably, we now find ourselves building up what we left behind. For this reason we need to be delivered from our own work. We should not hold on to anything. The Lord has shown us a clear vision. We need to build up the church in the saints’ homes. We must all take this view and have this concept.
This is not an easy task for us. This is a big problem for us. We should check: After practicing the small groups and the home meetings for a year and a half, what kind of meeting do we appreciate? Do we still appreciate the big meetings, the kind of meetings where one man speaks and all listen? The meeting for the teaching of the truth is not a big meeting. In each class there are only about fifty people. The conferences are also not the big meetings, because these conference meetings are called for a special purpose. The joint Lord’s table meetings are also not the big meetings; they are initiated when there are special needs. Such meetings are actually quite sweet. The big meetings that we are talking about here are the regular church meetings where one speaks and everyone listens. In these meetings the saints cannot function. But even today we still appreciate this kind of meeting.
My point is that in order to arrive at the matter we spoke of earlier, that is, in order to arrive at the goal of the home meetings and teaching of truth lessons, we should be on the alert constantly and fight every step of the way. While some may say, “Brother Lee, we do not see any brother opposing you,” we must be careful. The attack of the enemy is subtle. Today we are promoting the home meetings. Although the brothers and sisters do not oppose our promotion of the home meetings, neither do they respond enthusiastically. What is the source of this lukewarmness? Who put this in us? It is put in us by Satan. While Nehemiah was building the wall, others apparently were not opposing him, yet they were actually pouring cold water on his work (Neh. 4:1-3). When they heard that the wall was finished, they sent men to meet with Nehemiah. Outwardly, it was to help him, but actually it was to kill him (6:1-10). In order to arrive at our goal, every step of the way we need to fight.
In some halls or churches, as soon as the co-workers or elders speak of the home meetings, everyone responds favorably. Some even open up their homes immediately. This means that Satan’s attacks are weak and ineffective in these places. In some other places, however, when the brothers say, “This is the Lord’s up-to-date leading,” nothing happens. Even after a month no one is meeting in the homes. This means that the legions of Satan’s army are actively at work in these places. What should we do when faced with such a situation? Some who have not had any experience in spiritual warfare say, “We have done our best to encourage the saints, but no one is willing to open his home. This way must not work.” This is the deadly attack of Satan; he turns us into a weapon in his hand and uses our mouth to launch his attacks. Consequently, we become discouraged and disappointed. Sometimes we hear reports that the home meetings are few in number and poor in attendance, and we think that everything is hopeless. What is this? This is altogether the work of agents from Satan.
If we are clear about these things, we will realize that for the past few months, Satan has been sending many little soldiers and messengers to us. Even though no leading one has ever said, “We do not agree with Brother Lee’s proposal. We are absolutely against it,” the enemy knows which tactics to use. He knows that he cannot fight the battle in this way, because it would only bring failure. Instead, he engages in a hidden war. Sometimes he avoids a “hot” war, and sometimes he even avoids a “cold” war; he simply brings in a war of confusion. He encourages inactivity, a sort of lethargy, making everyone feel that the small groups are difficult to carry out and that there is no need for action. All these thoughts are from Satan.
I hope that we will all rise up and ignore these voices, fighting in one accord through prayer for the brothers and sisters. Do not interrogate them, saying, “Why are you not opening up your home?” Instead, pray for them in one accord. In all the halls and churches, the co-workers, elders, and full-timers must come together often. We should pray and even fast before the Lord together with the more seeking ones. We must counter the enemy step by step and push him back inch by inch. No opportunity must be given to him.
Satan knows that with the strong foundation in the Lord’s recovery and the cumulative riches that we have inherited throughout the years, he can never succeed with a frontal attack. This is the reason he is adopting cold-war tactics. He does not send a direct blast of wind or engage in direct confrontation. Rather, he blows a little draft here and there, causing some to say, “Thank the Lord, our home is open, but regrettably no one comes.” This kind of remark gives others a sour impression and discourages them from opening up their homes. On the surface such remarks appear quite innocuous. Actually, they dampen the spirit. A car tire is usually not punctured by an iron rod but by a small nail. Once the tire is punctured, the air leaks out slowly, and soon the car comes to a standstill. Frequently this is Satan’s strategy. He sends a small messenger to wear us out and cool us down.
For the past one and a half years, I was not personally involved in the church’s practice, but I was observing from the side. The Lord covers me for what I am saying. I feel that even the elders do not have the awareness that we have fallen victim to Satan’s tactics. We have not prayed in watchfulness. After my trip here last October, I returned to the United States to take care of many matters that were facing me there. In the midst of my busy schedule I wrote a serious letter to the elders here, reminding them in a sober way to pray and fast. However, when I returned, I found out that in the elders’ meeting only the young brothers pray. Not many older brothers pray. This proves that there is not an atmosphere of prayer or a spirit of prayer among us. I am not discouraged by this. If I become discouraged, I have also fallen victim to Satan’s tactic. However, the fact that the elders do not have a watchful and prayerful spirit means that they have come under the spell of the messengers from Satan.
The practice of the new way should be a great move of God. The church is on the verge of this new practice. When we come together, we should have much prayer; we should fight to pray. It is not right if I am the only one speaking every time we come together. In every gathering, everyone should pray and praise. Then the Lord will grant us some suitable words. Sometimes there is even no need for any words. This is the move of the Spirit. Currently, we do not sense much of the move of the Spirit, because we have not rendered Him adequate cooperation. He does not want to stand still; He wants to move, but He cannot move. We have stopped Him because we have not prayed.
Of course, I sympathize very much with the elders. Only five or six of the elders are serving full time; the rest have jobs. Today in Taiwan the economy is very fast paced. Those who are working must struggle, or they will not be able to earn a living. I fully understand this, and I am full of sympathy. Still, our eyes must be opened. We need to see that no matter how busy we are, we must set aside some time to pray. Especially when the elders gather together, this time must be treasured and used for prayer. We should not merely pray eight or ten minutes and then move on to discuss business affairs. This will never work. When the elders come together, there should only be prayer. We should pray and pray until the Holy Spirit moves. The discussion of business affairs is secondary. In fact, every such matter, no matter how crucial it is, is secondary. The primary need is prayer. If the spirit is dormant and a spirit of prayer is lacking, the Holy Spirit will remain still. This is the most subtle contingency that the enemy has in his camp against the Lord’s move. For this reason we must all be watchful in our prayer.
At the present time in Taiwan, my goal, on the one hand, is to study how to advance in the new move with the co-workers and elders. On the other hand, I have a great burden to work on the Recovery Version of the New Testament in Chinese. It has been difficult to have a proper version of the Bible for our meetings. The existing translations require much editing work. Since the publication of the Recovery Version in English, the Chinese saints, especially those overseas, have unanimously demanded a Recovery Version in Chinese. The saints in Taiwan are also very eager to have such a version. A few years ago I was hoping that some Chinese-speaking saints would pick up the burden to take care of this responsibility. I was even ready to spend the money to hire someone to take care of this work. However, after considering this for a few years and looking around, I realized that it was impossible to hire anyone to do this job. Such a one would need much spiritual education and should know theology as well as spiritual terminology and expressions, such as the Triune God, the person of Christ, God’s dispensing, God’s economy, the essential Spirit, the economical Spirit, and others. At the same time it was impossible to recruit some useful ones from the Lord’s recovery and put them to use immediately. Even if we selected a few young ones and started training them, they would still need to pass through a period of training and perfecting. Consequently, I became clear that I had to sacrifice the work in the West and devote a year’s time in Taiwan for this task. Based on our experience in the last few decades, I know I must enter into this work thoroughly in order to establish a good foundation.
For me to engage in this work is also a kind of warfare. It has been two months since I started this work. I have used every ounce of my energy on this. I can say that I have exhausted the strength in my spirit, soul, and body. Every day I work eight to ten hours. Although I am more than eighty years old, I still feel that I need to give myself in this way. May the Lord cover me with His blood. After two months we were finally able to lay a foundation. The serving ones now have some realization of what it means to translate the Bible, how they should use the reference books, and how to consult other material or versions. In the past they had the means, but they did not know how to use them. However, at the present time I have personally taken the lead to work through everything with them. While I worked, I also asked questions and directed them. In two months we finished the Gospel of Matthew, and then we moved on to the Gospel of Mark. Now the foundation is laid, but I am exhausted.
While I was working on the Recovery Version, I was also working on Truth Lessons and taking care of the English publications. For example, the messages for the international elders’ conference have all been polished and are ready for me to read and review. After working hard in this way, I was suddenly overcome two weeks ago by a general feeling of fatigue. Since then, I have been resting. Thank the Lord that He has given me a healthy body. If I did not have such a body, the result would have been unimaginable. I rested for four days, and by the fifth day I was able to resume meeting.
My point is that the enemy is attacking. When I was walking down to the basement of the meeting hall to join a truth class, I missed the last step of the stairs. Thankfully, the Lord protected me; my hand was still on the rail, but my body sustained a shock. At that time I did not feel anything, and I continued with the meeting. Since that time, however, I feel that my two feet have been weak and wobbly. I thought that it was caused by my fatigue and that with a little rest I would recover. The doctors suspected something was wrong with my heart and suggested an examination. The result of the examination was good, and the doctors declared that everything was normal. Still, I felt that my two feet could not bear my weight. The doctors suggested that I exercise more; they thought that I was tired from the desk work and that I needed exercise. But the more I exercised, the worse I felt. I could not explain this.
Last Friday I felt that I had to come and speak about the burden of prayer. Thank the Lord! Through this I realized that there is a spiritual battle here. On the one hand, the prayer last Friday sustained me, and on the other hand, it triggered something. The next day while I was in bed, I suddenly recalled a similar experience I had previously had with a backache. It was similar to this experience. I became clear that this was Satan’s attack. He was doing a hidden work. I stopped all my work and lay quietly on my bed.
I give this little illustration to show that we need to pray. Do not think that Satan will work only a little. He sends these frustrations to us one after another. After my backache was somewhat healed, two days later I caught a cold and had a fever as well as diarrhea. The co-workers prayed for me on Monday morning for two hours, and then the full-timers prayed for me for one hour. The prayers were very effectual. In the past when I had a cold, I would struggle with it for at least a week, but this time I recovered in a day.
Do not think that all these things are accidental. We need to realize that we are in the midst of a spiritual battle. Yesterday I walked around my study for half an hour, and then I sat down to work on the manuscripts. The more I worked, the more alert and energetic I became. Now as I am speaking, the more I speak, the more strength I have. This shows that I am not sick. This is altogether Satan’s attack in darkness. Of course, he does have some ground to attack; two months of work has drained all my energy. This gave Satan an opening to attack me. But thank the Lord for His protection! I was not hurt in any way.
The brothers and sisters must realize that our work here is a fighting service. The elders in particular must receive the burden to build up the church in the homes. This is our undisputed goal. We need to make this successful. I hope that one day there will no longer be any big meetings among us, but we would have only home meetings. We can have more than three hundred thousand saints here in the church in Taipei without having a big meeting. Instead, everyone will meet in the homes. Yearly we can have a few special corporate gatherings, but we must never forget that the basis of the church is built upon individual families. This requires a long-term warfare. The co-workers in particular must see this and must endeavor in this way. We must build up the home meetings, teach the truth well, and give up the big meetings. If we do this, the clergy-laity system will be gone, and all the saints will know, speak, preach, and teach the truth. If we do this, we will no longer need a preacher among us; every saint will become a preacher.
A society is not propagated through teaching but through the begetting of offspring. Offspring are produced from the family, and they are also raised in the family. Through begetting, nourishing, and teaching, the offspring then produce their own families. In this way society continues generation after generation. Sixty years ago I was a single man. Later, I married and had a family with eight children. Now these eight children have begotten more than twenty grandchildren in the third generation. This is the proper multiplication. It is the proper way for a society to propagate as a whole. The same is true with the church. It is through multiplication in the family that the church continues to prosper and spread generation after generation.
However, it is not easy to do such a work. Christianity is with us, and it affects us constantly. This “custom of the nations” is constantly frustrating us. This is what happened to Nehemiah when he rebuilt the city; Sanballat constantly opposed him (Neh. 2:19; 4:1-8; 6:1-9). This requires all of us to rise up to see this light and to struggle to fight. I do not mean to say that all of us must quit our jobs to serve as elders. I am saying that we must have an attitude of fighting. Even if we hold a job, we need to be for the Lord. If we do this, the Lord will bless us and our career. We are the Lord’s recovery. If the Lord does not bless us, whom will He bless? If any man loves the Lord, this one is known by Him (1 Cor. 8:3). Those among us who have been loving the Lord and serving Him for decades have surely witnessed our families being blessed by the Lord. Today if we fight for His building, will He not bless us even more?
It is a great blessing for our families to be gained by the Lord and for our offspring to serve the Lord. We do not need to quit our jobs. God ordained that man labor to sustain his livelihood. Because this is God’s ordained rule for man to exist after the fall, we need to keep our jobs. The young people especially should do their best to study well. After they graduate from school, they should take up a proper job. However, we should not fall into the trap of mammon once we take up a career. We should not try to become rich or to raise our standard of living. When we take a job, we must pray that the Lord will guard our heart for Him. Our time must be consecrated to the Lord. If we do this, the Lord will have a way in us. When Jacob was about to go down to Egypt, he first offered a sacrifice in Beer-sheba and consecrated himself to the Lord. God told him not to be afraid when he went down to Egypt, because He would make him a great nation (Gen. 46:1-4). We must have an aspiration and a burden from the Lord that even if we hold a job, we are still a full-timer. We are a money-making full-timer; we give all that we earn to the Lord for His use. The purpose of doing this is not only to save a few more souls and edify some saints but to build up the Lord’s church in the homes. Today in Taiwan we have forty to fifty thousand brothers and sisters. If we can build up the church in every saint’s home, we will replace the work of many preachers, and we will effectively teach the truth to the saints.
Of course, for the spreading of the gospel, the teaching of the truth, the ministering of life, and the building up of the church, we still need some full-time serving ones. For this reason the support for the full-timers is very crucial. I would rather sacrifice the big meeting hall in Linkou than neglect the need of the full-timers. Whether or not we can build the big meeting hall is a secondary matter. The primary goal is to raise up two thousand five hundred full-timers. I have heard that some halls or churches feel that the burden for the support of the full-timers is too heavy, and they are considering “down-sizing,” or “laying off,” some of the full-timers. I beg you before the Lord not to do this. This should never happen. We must have a strong resolution within ourselves that even if we must sell everything, we need to increase the number of full-timers. Even if we must sell our hall, we need to continue our effort to produce more full-timers. I feel that even if we must sell the land in Linkou, and even if we must borrow a few million dollars from other places, we need to do it to continue supporting the full-timers. We must reach the goal of having two thousand five hundred full-timers.
I also hope that we can increase the support of the full-timers. The budget for them is too small. They have given up their future, given up their positions, and consecrated everything to the Lord and the church. The church should take care of their needs. We should not be afraid of giving them too much. We are not afraid to do too much in other things. Why are we afraid to be too much when it comes to supporting the full-timers? This is an attack from Satan. It delays the work of the Lord’s building. We must not be afraid of doing too much. We should only be afraid that we have not done enough. If the full-timers squander the support that the church gives them, and if they spend their money on unnecessary things, it proves that they are not qualified to be full-timers, and they should not serve full time. When the full-timers hear this word, they should bow down to worship the Lord, and they should also serve with fear and trembling.
Let me give my own testimony. The Lord used me to spread His work from Southeast Asia to the West. In twenty-three years, more than a hundred churches have been raised up in South America, North America, Europe, Africa, and Australasia. I admit that the Lord has used me to some extent, and the brothers and sisters have respected me and have supplied me abundantly. Still, other than expenses related to daily necessities, I have offered up all the money I have received year after year. During my twenty-three years in the United States, I have purchased only one small automobile, which was a second-hand car for which I paid eight hundred dollars. Eventually, I gave it away to a poorer brother, and I lived without a car of my own. What I am saying is that if the young people receive more supply from the Lord, they should learn to give. If we keep everything to ourselves, we are not qualified to be a full-timer. We must learn to take care of others.
As I have said before, years ago in Southeast Asia one brother received the burden to care for all the needs of the work in Taiwan. His offering not only made possible the purchase of the many pieces of property in Taiwan for building meeting halls, it also supported the livelihood of the full-timers. Beginning in 1950 there was a need to supply more than one hundred seventy people. Although not all their needs were covered, they were supplied enough to not experience total deprivation. Up until 1963 I was still supporting part of their needs from America. The churches gradually picked up the support, and by 1967 I was completely relieved of this burden. During this time, while I was in the United States, I experienced extreme hardship myself, yet the Lord did not fail to provide a bountiful supply.
Brothers, let me say a fair word. Those who receive the supply should realize that the money they are spending is the hard-earned money of the saints, who offer out of their love for the Lord. Such a love is priceless. The receiving ones should not take it lightly or spend the money loosely. At the same time, when they have an excess, they should take care of the needs of other saints. The church should be liberal in its support of the full-timers, but it should be careful in its own spending. On their part the full-timers should be faithful in the way they handle money, and they should also take care of others.
By this summer at least a hundred full-timers will be produced in Taipei, but in order to gospelize Taiwan, we need to have two thousand five hundred by 1988. We need at least a thousand of them now. This is not an easy target to reach. I hope that we will be clear that the building of the big meeting hall in Linkou is not our primary goal. Our unique goal is the work of gospelizing Taiwan. For the need of the gospel in its various aspects, we need to work with what we have. If our finances permit us, we will buy gospel vans. If they do not permit us, we will use public transportation, but we cannot give up the work of gospelization. We do not want a big meeting hall without the power of the gospel or the practical spreading of the gospel.
Some may criticize me for always changing my way. In reality, as long as we want to improve, we need to change. The reason Taiwan is so prosperous today is that it does not limit itself to one method. It improves from one method to the next. This keeps us from failure. In the Lord’s recovery I have worked from Chefoo to Shanghai to Taiwan, and from Southeast Asia to the West. I have had smooth sailing, and my morale is as strong as ever. The reason for this is that I vowed to succeed in all my endeavors. Of course, I have had failures, but I was not discouraged and did not lose heart. Instead, I considered the failures to be the predecessors to success. Failure or success lies not in the attainment of the goal but in the heart. The revolution of Mr. Sun Yat-sen experienced many failures, but in the end it was a success. It was a success because his goal was clear and his aim was single. I am clear that the new way of the Lord’s recovery will become a success because our goal is right and our motive is pure.
We all admit that Mr. Sun Yat-sen rescued the Chinese nation. History has justified his achievements. In principle, this can be compared to the Lord’s recovery today; its justification is undisputed. Six thousand years of human history have culminated in the consummate truth of the Bible, and this truth is what we are working out in the Lord’s recovery. This is the reason we have the boldness and assurance to point out the mistakes of Christianity in the United States. Because of the slander of the evil ones, we were engaged in a legal battle. Thank the Lord that the truth eventually prevailed. One theologian even wrote a book to defend our position. This is because our goal is clear, our truth is accurate, and our motive is pure.
This litigation cost more than five million dollars. No one thought that we would have the courage to carry it out, but my mind was set. I would fight this battle even if it meant selling the hall in Anaheim. In the end we did not sell our hall in Anaheim. Instead, we built the Irving meeting hall in the midst of the litigation. Do not think that I was fighting that battle alone. I did this in the Body and with all of you. Today we need to see that we are in the Body. We are co-workers together, and we have the same future. If today in Taipei we can reach the high ground of the new way, we will have secured a great victory for the Lord’s recovery. We will build up the church in the believers’ homes and accomplish God’s eternal economy. Just as you encouraged me during the litigation process, I want to encourage you today, and I want to be encouraged through your encouragement.
