In this chapter we will fellowship concerning the way that the Lord’s work should go forward in Taiwan. In order for us to have a thorough understanding of the work, we must have an overall view of the progression of church history, and we must understand the general situation of Christianity today.
Around the year A.D. 90 the apostle John wrote the last book in the Bible, Revelation. This not only completed the entire New Testament; it also completed the divine revelation concerning the Lord. However, the books of the New Testament had not been collected together, nor had they been formally recognized. At the time of the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325, only twenty books of the New Testament were recognized; the remaining seven books, including the two important books of Hebrews and Revelation, had not yet been recognized. Without these two books the New Testament would not be complete. Hebrews is one of the writings in Paul’s ministry, and Revelation is one of the writings in John’s ministry. With regard to the revelation in the New Testament, Paul’s ministry is the most important, and John’s ministry is the second most important. However, at the time of the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325, the New Testament contained only twenty books. These books were the basis for the creeds.
To this day Roman Catholicism and Protestantism take the creeds as the basis of their confession of the faith. Almost every denomination still recites one of the creeds and the Lord’s prayer every Lord’s Day morning. According to their practice, the basis of their confession of the faith is the creed, not the Bible.
Over the past one hundred fifty years, three large Christian groups formally announced that they did not care for the creeds; they cared only for the Bible. The first group that criticized the creeds was the Brethren. The Brethren said that they did not want any substitutes; they wanted only God’s divine revelation, which is the entire sixty-six books of the Bible. The next group, which is the largest Christian group in America and even the largest denomination in the world, was the Southern Baptist Church. The Southern Baptists often say, “No creed but the Bible.” The third group to criticize the creeds was the Church of Christ. The teachings of this group are similar to those of the Brethren. The believers call themselves the Church of Christ, and they sometimes put up signs that say, No Creed but the Bible. Besides these three groups, we also have no creed but the Bible; thus, we can say that we are the fourth group. We were raised up in China. Since our beginning, we have repeatedly asserted that we do not care for the creeds, because they are unreliable and incomplete.
The portion of the Bible that the Council of Nicaea used to formulate the creed in A.D. 325 contained only twenty books. The seven books that were missing were Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, and Revelation. Of the nine books from Hebrews to Revelation, only 1 John and 1 Peter were formally recognized at the time of the Council of Nicaea.
The main purpose of the Council of Nicaea was to decide on the doctrine of the Trinity. However, the council did not use the book of Revelation, which contains important matters concerning the revelation of the Trinity. Revelation 1:4 speaks of the “seven Spirits.” These seven Spirits are the Spirit in the Trinity. The creed, however, does not refer to the seven Spirits; the creed speaks of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but it says nothing concerning the seven Spirits. Seven books—Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, and Revelation—were not recognized as the canon until A.D. 397 at the Council of Carthage. The entire New Testament was formally recognized only at that time. Hence, we have strong ground to say that the Council of Nicaea was not based on the entire Bible, and we neither accept nor follow the Nicene Creed as a complete statement of our faith.
Since there were still arguments concerning the doctrine of the Trinity, after the Council of Carthage there was a constant succession of councils. After public recognition of the papal system in the Roman Catholic Church, there was no longer a need for church councils; instead, the pope made the decisions. The Catholic Church believes that Peter was the successor of Christ and that he was the Bishop of Rome; therefore, they recognize him as the first pope. The pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and his words represent the Catholic Church. Hence, the Catholic Church teaches that all believers must obey the word of the church. The Catholic Church does not base its teachings on what the Bible says, on what God says, or on what the Lord says; its teachings are based on what the church says. What the church says means “what the pope says.” Beginning in the sixth century until today, all disputes in the Catholic Church are decided by the pope.
Most Christians today take the sixty-six books of the Bible as the basis of their faith. Some Christians, however, base their faith on the creeds. Other Christians say that their faith is based on the creeds plus the decisions of the church councils, referring to the Council of Nicaea and the other councils that were called to discuss the basic matters of the faith.
In addition to the creeds, some groups do not accept all the books of the Bible, and others accept more. Some Christian groups say that they believe the four Gospels, but they do not accept the Epistles of Paul. In the Catholic Church some books have been added to the Bible; they are in addition to the sixty-six books of the canon. These apocryphal books are fictitious. The Roman Catholic Church is not the only entity that prints Bibles with these fictitious books; the Bible Society also prints these books. There are even some preachers who quote the apocryphal books in their messages.
We recognize the sixty-six books of the Bible, which includes the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. We do not accept the apocryphal books that were added by the Catholic Church, nor do we base our faith on the creeds, because they are incomplete and were written without seven books of the Bible. Our faith is based on the entire Bible.
Since A.D. 570, after the papal system was established, Roman Catholics have followed the orders of the pope. In the sixteenth century Martin Luther rose up to make reforms. The first point that he advocated was that believers did not need to obey the pope in all things. Martin Luther had no intention of coming out of the Catholic Church; he merely wanted to resolve the matter of absolute obedience to the pope. He never intended to leave the church; his only thought was to introduce changes. He had no intention of overthrowing the pope. He advocated obedience to the Bible, not the pope.
Luther’s view incited a number of disputes and even started a war. In those days there were numerous small German states, and some of the heads of these states were dissatisfied with the pope’s oppression and wanted an excuse to escape from papal interference. Therefore, they united to protect Luther. It was with this action that breaking away from the Catholic Church began. As a result, a group of people came out of the Catholic Church, but they fell into the hands of the state churches that were established in Germany and a number of other countries in northern Europe, such as Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Even today people in Germany pay a church tax, which the government gives to the state church for its use.
The state church in Germany, as well as most other state churches, is Lutheran. In Chinese we call these churches “The Justification-by-faith Church” because Luther was the first person to advocate justification by faith. However, the state church of England is not Lutheran. The state church of England is the Anglican Church; it is also called the Episcopal Church. Episcopal means “of the bishops.” Hence, the Episcopal Church of England is a system of bishops. However, the word bishop means “overseer.” The Episcopal Church inherited the practice of a system of bishops from the Roman Catholic Church.
The practice of a system of bishops, which is a product of the clergy-laity system, is unscriptural. The Bible clearly says that those who oversee are elders; thus, elders are overseers. In Acts 20:28 Paul spoke with the elders in Ephesus and said to them, “The Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers to shepherd the church of God.” This proves that elders are overseers.
After the apostles there was a group of Bible teachers who are referred to as the church fathers. The term church fathers is not appropriate, because the Lord Jesus clearly said, “Do not call anyone on earth your father, for One is your Father, He who is in the heavens” (Matt. 23:9). Ignatius, who was a Bible teacher in the second century and is considered one of the church fathers, made a great mistake when he spoke of the elders and the overseers. Ignatius taught that an elder governs one locality, but an overseer, a bishop, governs a region. Thus, an overseer is considered higher than an elder. This teaching produced a religious hierarchy.
Eighteen centuries have passed since then. During this time a religious hierarchy, or the clergy system, was developed. In the Roman Catholic Church, the priests are on the lowest level. A priest can rise to become a bishop, a bishop can become an archbishop, and an archbishop can become a cardinal. The cardinals serve as the pope’s cabinet. The Catholic Church has more than one hundred cardinals around the world. When the pope dies, the cardinals vote and elect the next pope from among themselves. The system of the pope, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests is a religious hierarchy. Of all the religious groups in the world today, the organization of the Roman Catholic Church is the strongest and the strictest.
When Luther left the Roman Catholic Church, he was leaving religious hierarchy, but he fell into the organization of the state churches. The head of every state church is the king of that country. For example, if you are a member of the Anglican Church, you are a subject of the Queen of England. Every member of the Anglican Church is subordinate to the Queen of England because the Queen of England is the head of the Anglican Church. Thus, every native-born Englishman has two statuses: he is a citizen of England and a member of the Anglican Church. This is the organization of the state churches.
After the formation of the state churches, in approximately 1500, some private churches were raised up in the regions of central Europe and Germany, based on practices such as the presbytery and baptism. These believers were severely persecuted because they rejected the Catholic Church and the state churches. At that time central Europe was under the control of the Catholic Church, and northern Europe was under the influence of the state churches. The Puritans were also raised up and were forced to wander from place to place because of the persecution they faced.
Between 1720 and 1730 in a place called Saxony, in today’s Germany, there was a brother by the name of Zinzendorf, who was a count and who had a large estate. He also loved the Lord; his beliefs were pure, and most of his practices were according to the Bible. Groups of persecuted believers gradually found their way to his property, and they began meeting together. The largest group came from Moravia by way of Bohemia. Hence, the believers who met with Zinzendorf were called the Moravian Brethren. The believers with Zinzendorf returned to much of the truths in the Bible, and they met according to the Bible. Hence, they were very good in all aspects.
John Wesley was raised up at about the same time as Zinzendorf. Wesley preached the gospel throughout England and was a famous revivalist.
After another one hundred years, in about 1820, the British Brethren were raised up. Their knowledge of the truth surpassed Zinzendorf’s, and they received clear light regarding the general practices of the church. We are standing on their shoulders with regard to the deep and profound revelations of the truth. However, because they paid too much attention to doctrines and fell into dead letters, they divided into many different sects. The Brethren assembly has been divided into more than one thousand different sects. Through these divisions they lost the Lord’s testimony and His presence.
In 1920 the Lord raised us up in China. We did not do something on our own in order to have a unique style. Instead, we studied church history and compared everything with the Bible. In 1922 Brother Nee began the first meeting in Foochow, which is in southern China. That was more than sixty years ago. The meetings in northern China began in Chefoo in 1932. The responsibility for the meetings in northern China fell mainly on me. I have been in the Lord’s recovery from 1932 until today, 1984. That is a total of fifty-two years.
Since 1827 when the Lord raised up the British Brethren, the light of the truth has been pouring out. There were several famous Bible teachers among the Brethren. The most famous Bible teacher was J. N. Darby. The Brethren published many books that have helped countless Christians over the past one hundred years. Spurgeon once praised a teacher from the Brethren named William Kelly and said that Kelly’s mind was as great as the ocean. C. H. Mackintosh wrote Notes on the Pentateuch. D. L. Moody once pointed to his personal collection of books and said, “You can burn all the books on these shelves except for the Bible and Mackintosh’s Notes on the Pentateuch.” This proves that the truth that the Brethren received had a great influence on others.
During the last half century, Christianity in America has been influenced mainly by the Scofield Reference Bible. The top American theological seminaries, such as Dallas Theological Seminary and Moody Bible Institute, base their teachings on the Scofield Reference Bible. More than ninety percent of the notes in the Scofield Reference Bible are based on the Brethren teachings. Even though these theological seminaries did not take the way of the Brethren, they fully accepted the teachings of the Brethren.
In 1920 the Lord raised us up in China; that was after the first war in Europe, which ended in 1918. At that time many spiritual books were put out in Europe. Not only were the Brethren publishing spiritual books; other believers were also putting out books. The books of Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis were quite influential. There were also books by C. H. Spurgeon. Most of his books were published in England and were highly valued. In America books by A. B. Simpson were published. We have included many of his hymns in our hymnal. A. B. Simpson founded the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Simpson was spiritual, and his messages that contain the basic revelation concerning Christ as our life are well known.
It has been thirty-nine years since the end of the Second World War in 1945. Based on my knowledge and observation, it is hard to find a weighty spiritual book that was published during this period. Some people might say that I am too much and that Christianity puts out many books and magazines. However, not one of these publications is spiritually weighty in scriptural exposition, in the light of the truth, or in the supply of life.
Hong Kong is the center of Christian publications in Chinese, and for the past several years no publications of spiritual weight have been put out from there. The number of weighty spiritual publications that were put out between 1820 and 1930 cannot be counted. However, very few spiritual publications of weight have been put out over the past thirty-nine years. Many publications have been put out, but not one of them has spiritual weight and value.
For the more than twenty years that I have been living in America, I have been observing the books put out in Christianity; some of the brothers have been helping me. It is difficult to find a book or a message that contains the light of truth or the supply of life. However, a group of scholars have done an excellent work over the past ten years and have put out several lexicons for the Greek New Testament. These books have helped us tremendously.
I began to use the Greek New Testament in the winter of 1932, and I have continued using it for the past fifty-two years. Even though I do not understand Greek literature, I can be considered an expert on the usage of Greek words. All the Greek lexicons published in the past cannot compare to the quality of the Greek lexicons that were published during the past ten years in America. However, with respect to light, truth, life, and scriptural exposition, the situation in America is just as poor as everywhere else. Christian publishers in America have no way other than to reprint old books. This is the situation in all of Christianity today. This is the progression of the history of Christianity from after the apostles until the present.
Today in every sector and profession in the world there is much progress. This is especially true in technology where there are rapid changes; for example, the computer is becoming more widespread. However, for the past thirty or more years there has been no real progress in Christianity.
In the Lord’s recovery, however, the Lord has been pouring forth light. Recently, a very influential Christian publication printed an article that said that the best way to read the Bible is to pray-read it. This terminology was invented by us. A book was recently published in Chinese that said that the best way to study the Bible was the “life-study” method. The Life-study is our publication.
In 1932 Brother Nee began to put out publications that influenced almost all the seeking Christians in China. The publications especially influenced the young people who had a strong desire for knowledge and whose hearts were stirred up to study the truth. I can testify that Brother Nee’s messages were influential because the light in them was clear, and they were full of the life supply. As a young believer, over a period of time I bought many books in order to study the truth, but I later threw them away one by one. In 1962 I went to America, and the next year my family came bringing several boxes of my books. As I organized the books, I looked them over and threw away five big boxes of books. I kept only the books that had been helpful to me, and those were the ones by Brother Nee.
In 1949 I was led by the Lord to move from mainland China to Taiwan. For a period of almost two months, I stared at the ceiling and sighed because I was disappointed with the outward environment. Then one day the Lord caused me to see that even though the outward environment was disappointing, there were three to five hundred brothers and sisters who had moved to Taiwan from the mainland. So I decided to take a train trip from the north of the island to the south in order to visit all the saints and the local churches. After the trip I felt that there was work to be done. On August 1, 1949, we held our first conference in the meeting hall of the church in Taipei. That was the beginning of the work in Taiwan. By the end of the year, the number of saints in Taipei increased from thirty to nine hundred.
Due to a need to print hymnals for the saints, we established the Gospel Book Room, and I began writing in my home. We first put out a gospel hymnal and then Hymns, volume 2. Following this we published Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures.
More than one year later, I went to work in the Philippines for a few months. When I returned in 1951, I felt the need to put out a periodical, so we began to publish The Ministry of the Word. We have put out this periodical for a total of thirty-three years. It is hard to find any publication in Christianity that was published for twenty consecutive years, but by the Lord’s mercy, we have been publishing The Ministry of the Word from 1951 until today, 1984. For the first seven or eight years I wrote articles and did the editing. Later, another brother joined me in the work. When I went abroad, the editorial responsibility fell onto his shoulders. In the beginning I helped him polish some articles, but in a short time he was able to handle all the work. All the brothers in Southeast Asia know that most of the churches rely on The Ministry of the Word for their spiritual supply, especially for the supply of light.
I went to America in 1961. In 1963 I realized that there was a need, so I began to put out a periodical in English called The Stream. I also established the Stream Publishers to print books in English. By the second half of 1963 we felt the need to have a hymnal in English. Therefore, I labored with the brothers in America to select about eight hundred of the best Christian hymns that had been written throughout the centuries. We also added over two hundred of our own hymns, and we translated approximately thirty hymns from our hymnal in Chinese. The hymnal we compiled had one thousand eighty hymns.
The American brothers who helped me were good in English, and they understood music and the proper use of words. They made sure that the songs I wrote in English had proper rhyme and that they fit the meter. Because the hymns from Christianity are short in the truth concerning Christ, the Spirit, life, and the church, most of the two hundred fifty hymns written by me were on these topics. Thus, we can say that our hymnal in English was a great help in laying a foundation for the Lord’s recovery in America.
This hymnal is highly regarded by Christians in America. Some Christians say that in the two hundred years of American history they do not know of a collection like it. A person who spends several years to study this hymnal will attain a certain level of theological knowledge even if he does not study theology. Even the table of contents, with the different kinds of hymns and their categories, shows that the theological knowledge contained in the hymnal is quite rich.
When I returned to Taiwan in 1967, I felt that the Chinese hymnal needed to be revised, so some Chinese-speaking brothers helped me to arrange the hymns according to the hymnal in English. Hence, the numbers of the hymns in Chinese correspond with those in English, but the Chinese hymnal does not have all the songs that are in the English. We put out the hymnal in English not merely for ourselves. We did it to show the Christians in America that we understand the truth, that our theology is comprehensive and balanced, and that we have included the best hymns from various groups. However, when we published the hymnal in Chinese, we felt that there was not the same need, so we simply collected more than six hundred hymns. Now the hymnal in Chinese contains more than seven hundred eighty hymns.
We began the literature work in America in 1963. More than ten years later, in 1974, we felt that if we wanted the work in America to continue spreading, Los Angeles was not an appropriate place for us, and we began to look for a place to move to. We eventually moved to Anaheim. At that time Anaheim was a newly developing city in Orange County with a population that was mostly Caucasian, and there were only three to five thousand Chinese people. During these past ten years, the number of Chinese immigrants in Orange County has increased. There are now close to thirty thousand Chinese people living in Orange County.
We found a piece of land in Anaheim that was two and a half acres; an acre equals 43,560 square feet, so we had a total of 108,900 square feet. We did not spend much money to acquire the land. We built a two-story meeting hall on the property with an area of more than 26,000 square feet on both levels. We saved about 1.3 million dollars in contractors’ fees, because brothers from many different localities came and offered their time to build the hall. Moreover, many young people gave up six months of their schooling to help. We built the hall in the first half of 1976, and approximately seventy to eighty brothers offered their time in this way. The local brothers and sisters came in the evenings to help us build. Hence, we were able to build the hall in about six months. This is how the Lord gave us a large meeting hall.
After we moved to Anaheim, we began to hold two trainings every year, one in the summer and one in the winter, to expound the New Testament. We also began a new translation of the New Testament, which included footnotes. Every summer and winter I spoke thirty messages during each training. This winter it will be exactly eleven years since we began the trainings, and we will have held twenty-two trainings. The last book will be the book of Acts. By the end of December we will also have finished the translation and footnotes for the twenty-seven books of the Recovery Version of the New Testament. Due to this work, I could not spend much time visiting the churches to care for them. For every six months, I spent three and a half months translating the Recovery Version and writing footnotes. I had two helpers: one to write down what I dictated and the other to help me read the reference books. These three and a half months were also spent in preparation for the semiannual trainings. I would spend an average of four to five hours a day writing. This schedule was the Lord’s grace, because such a work is very strenuous. We have done this for eleven years in order to finish the study of the New Testament.
The Recovery Version of the New Testament is not merely a new translation of the New Testament; it also includes rich footnotes. The Life-studies, which are based on the text, footnotes, and cross references of the Recovery Version, were released as messages. During every training I released thirty messages, but when we edited them for publication, we added more content so that there are forty to fifty messages for every book. At present, the Life-study of the New Testament lacks only the book of Acts. We first printed the fourteen Epistles of Paul in nine volumes, and by the spring of next year, the rest of the New Testament Life-studies will be printed in eight more volumes. Thus, the Life-study of the entire New Testament will comprise a total of seventeen volumes.
Beginning next summer, I have a burden to speak on “The Conclusion of the New Testament.” We may spend two or three trainings on the conclusion of the New Testament. This will complete the Life-study of the New Testament. I truly believe that this will be a foundational supply to the saints with a heart to pursue the truth, especially to the young people in every locality who love the Lord and are willing to pursue the truth.
Even though Christianity has not published any spiritual books of weight for the past thirty-nine years, the Lord has released many riches among us. We received many riches when Brother Nee was alive, but the light we received in the Life-study messages has become even brighter. For example, the light of the truth in Mackintosh’s Notes on the Pentateuch cannot compare to the light in the Life-studies of Genesis and of Exodus.
More than forty brothers and sisters serve full time in the Living Stream Ministry in America and in the Taiwan Gospel Book Room to supply printed materials, videotapes, and audiotapes to the saints. In addition, about forty volunteers serve in America on a regular basis. Our publication work requires many people to carry it out. This work is a great strengthening for the spreading of the Lord’s riches.
The meeting hall in Anaheim is more than twenty-six thousand square feet, and most of the first floor is used by the ministry office. In the ministry office in Irving, Texas, most of the first floor is used by the printing section. All our publications are printed in Irving and distributed to the churches in America. One large truck of books goes out every month to the East Coast. This is entirely the Lord’s mercy. His light keeps shining on us. For the last two or three years this light has been focused on God’s New Testament economy — the Triune God dispensing Himself into us to produce the Body of Christ. This is a high revelation. Even large denominations in Christianity lack knowledge concerning the Body of Christ. However, the Lord has brought us to such a high level.
Since 1961, when I went to America to start the work there, I have returned to Taiwan almost every year, but the situation of the church here is not satisfactory. However, this time when I saw the saints sharing in the conference and heard their responses to the messages, I was surprised. Even the young saints can speak concerning the essential Spirit and the economical Spirit. It seems as though we are children in a scholarly family who can speak the truth. This shows that there is progress in the church in Taipei. The response of the saints has improved, and they are able to express what they receive. The spirits of the brothers and sisters are strong in the meetings. This atmosphere can conquer and subdue people. It is not possible to pretend to have such a spirit. All the brothers and sisters on the island of Taiwan have improved.
In recent years every aspect of society in Taiwan, including education, the economy, and transportation, has made tremendous progress. This has created a golden opportunity for the Lord’s recovery; the church is doing well, and there are many useful saints. Some people may say that since the economy in Taiwan is booming and the standard of living has improved, people may not want the Lord. It was not like this thirty-five years ago when we arrived from mainland China, and everything was unsettled. It was easy then for people to receive the gospel. However, there are many factors in the environment in Taiwan today that are better for the advance of the Lord’s recovery.
More than thirty years ago I fellowshipped with the brothers and sisters concerning service. I told them that we need to be faithful, and as an example I used my experience of realizing the need in the Lord’s work during my trip from the north to the south of Taiwan. More than thirty years have passed, and that word has been fulfilled. The time of the Lord’s recovery in Taiwan is ripe. It will be a pity if we do not seize this opportunity, because we will lose a great chance. The ten years ahead of us will be a crucial time.
After the Lord’s recovery began in Taiwan in 1949, our numbers increased one hundredfold during the next six or seven years. We began with less than five hundred saints, but by 1956 or 1957 we increased to fifty thousand. When we began the meetings in 1949, the brothers and sisters did not understand much concerning the truth, but today many saints are acquainted with the truth.
Some brothers told me that there are two thousand young working saints in the church in Taipei alone. While I was very happy when I heard this, I felt that we should have several thousand more; we should at least have double this number. Nevertheless, we must consider before the Lord how we can use these two thousand young working saints. Should they be here only enjoying the Lord, like Peter, James, and John, who wanted to set up three tents on the mountain because they thought it was good for them to be there (cf. Matt. 17:1-8)? We should not forget that there are demon-possessed people at the foot of the mountain (vv. 9, 14-21). It may be good for us to be here; we are comfortable sitting in meetings with air conditioning, but are we willing to go “down from the mountain” to meet the needs of people in the world?
All the churches in Taiwan should move together as one corporate entity. Then the island of Taiwan will receive a great blessing. For the past thirty years the Lord has been blessing Taiwan for Himself. Many people abroad have said that in thirty short years Taiwan has been converted from an agricultural society to a modern industrial society. If we are faithful, God will multiply His blessing upon this place.
When Western missionaries came to China to preach the gospel, the Chinese were not widely educated, and they could not understand the truth. They could not understand what was justification or what was regeneration; this forced the Western missionaries to establish schools and bring in Western education. But today everyone in Taiwan understands the truth. If we go out to preach the gospel and say, “You need to be justified, and after you are justified, you need to receive the Spirit,” they will understand us. The Lord has given Taiwan the top blessing of having a superior education system that has produced many people with graduate degrees. In the area of transportation, we can now go from Kaohsiung to Taipei in four or five hours. People live and work in a safe environment and in a stable society. Furthermore, the government has granted the people many freedoms. This is a huge benefit to our preaching the gospel. It is time for us to “come down from the mountain” because the people in the world need our care.
If the church in Taipei can produce five hundred full-timers, within three years at least thirty thousand people can be brought into the church. From 1949 I led the brothers and sisters to preach the gospel. Even though I was abroad for three or four months a year, in just six or seven years our numbers increased from five hundred to fifty thousand. The five hundred saints were both young and elderly. The church in Taipei now has more than two thousand young people who are up to the standard in every aspect. Why should we not gain thirty thousand people if we preach the gospel for three years? You may say that we need full-timers and that we need to train them. If you produce five hundred full-timers, I will come and train them.
May we consider the way two thousand years of church history has ended in today’s situation and then look at what the Lord is doing among us, that is, at how much light He has given us, and His blessing of us and our environment. The world today seems to be smaller in size than a village was in the old days. In those days transportation was inconvenient, and the modes of communication were not well developed. We did not even have the telephone. Today we can make international phone calls to any place around the world. This is a tremendous opportunity. How can we not seize it? We have a history of more than thirty years here in Taipei, during which the Lord has blessed us with a solid foundation, brothers and sisters in every level of society, and an environment in which it is easy to preach the gospel. We must seek the Lord’s leading.
