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Scripture Reading: Luke 16:9-11; 1 Tim. 6:17-19; 3 John 5-8; Phil. 1:5-6; 4:15-19
In this chapter we will consider more concerning the full-timers who would still remain in their job, profession, or business to make money. Those full-timers remain there to make a gain of the world’s gold. When the Israelites left Egypt, they plundered it of its gold (Exo. 11:2-3; 12:35-36). The material gold mine is in Egypt. We need some full-timers to remain there to dig the gold mine to get the gold. The other full-timers will drop their job, profession, or business for the preaching and teaching of the gospel truth, but they will need something to live on. We would not like to see that they would be forced to make tents as Paul was in Acts 18:1-3. That would be a shame to us. If I were there at Paul’s time, I would have gone through all the churches to tell them that it was a shame that they would not have fellowship with the apostle Paul unto the gospel (Phil. 1:5). It was a shame to force him and his co-workers to go back to “Egypt” to get some gold. We must stress to the saints that we are all full-timers in different functions. Some have the function to preach the gospel, teach the truth, and minister life to all the seekers. However, these dear ones could not have any time to make a living. They need others to support them. Therefore, a great number of us full-timers should remain in our jobs, professions, or businesses to make money.
It is a great thing to have fellowship unto the gospel. Unto the gospel means for the furtherance of the gospel. All the full-timers who remain in their jobs and businesses need to have this kind of fellowship, a fellowship for the furtherance of the Lord’s move through those who do not remain in businesses and jobs but who are occupied all day with preaching and teaching for the spreading of the Lord’s kingdom.
It is not sufficient to use the Seventh-day Adventists as an example, reminding the saints how they practice ten percent tithing. This is too poor. The tithing of ten percent to the Lord is altogether an Old Testament thing, belonging to the law. There was no grace, life, or life power in that. We must be different. We are in the age of grace, which provides us with much supply of life. The dynamic salvation was accepted by Zaccheus in Luke 19:1-10. Immediately after being saved, that sinner gave up so much of his worldly possessions. That was not a tithing of ten percent; that was the very issue of the dynamic salvation. Likewise, on the day of Pentecost all those small members had everything in common (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-35). This was not one tenth of their possessions but one hundred percent. They put everything at the feet of the apostles, that is, at the Lord’s disposal. That was wonderful. We are in the Lord’s recovery; even this matter has to be recovered.
We have “passed beyond all earthly bribe.” All the riches could never bribe us. We would not accept any kind of bribe. This is rotten. Any government that receives a bribe is a rotten, ruined government. We would not be ruined; therefore, we have to pass far, far beyond all earthly bribes to God’s complete purpose.
In Luke 16:1-13 the Lord Jesus taught us how to be wise like the unrighteous steward. The Israelites required gold of the Egyptians. Apparently, that was not righteous, but in a sense that was very righteous. The Egyptians had robbed Israel for over two hundred years. The Israelites had no chance to plunder the Egyptians in turn. Now, God’s sovereignty subdued Pharaoh, and Pharaoh could do nothing to God’s people. God gave His people the chance to plunder them, the more the better, as much as they could. This was altogether righteous because He is a righteous God. Now we are making a gain of the world. Do you think that this is not righteous? This is very righteous because the world has been robbing God our Father for quite a long time. From where did they get their riches? It was from God. Therefore, God sends us back to make a gain of them. Of course, we do not rob them, but we make a gain of the world’s riches by our labor, laboring day and night to be very successful. If the people of the world can establish a factory that earns ten million dollars, we had better go today to earn fifty million dollars.
Go back to tell the saints to make a gain of the world in the righteous way, to make more money — the more the better. However, try your best when you get riches, not to retain one penny. If you would not retain even a penny, you must say to the devil, “I mean business with my Lord. I use only a little part for me and for my family to live on in the proper way.” I do not like to see the saints living in a poor way. Neither do I like to see the saints living in a luxurious way. I like to see that the saints have proper homes and that they put their children in schools, helping them to get the highest degree, if possible, a Ph.D. On occasion I have given money to some of the saints to support their children’s education. I like to see as well that all the saints have proper cars, but not too expensive, that they may have a good living. We must save every penny that we can. But we save not for our savings account but to have something for His spending.
Train the saints who love the Lord so much. It is regrettable that in the past they did not receive the adequate education or instruction in this matter. The more they spend for the Lord, the more they have the blessing spoken of in Philippians 4:19. Give this verse to all the dear ones who love the Lord and are full time to make money and to give. This verse is a great blessing. Quite often when I receive a gift from a dear saint, I quote this verse as a conclusion to my letter of acknowledgment: “My God will fill your every need according to His riches, in glory, in Christ Jesus.” Because you are taking care of God’s need, God would give you a great blessing in filling your every need according to His riches. I have seen in the past that those who did care for God’s need all received a bountiful blessing. The saints’ giving will not be in vain. The more they give, the more they will see the Lord’s riches. Due to the good government, the good administration, in Taiwan the people there have become rich. We have to give the credit to our sovereign God. Now all the saints there in Taiwan can share the riches. We have to pray that God would keep blessing the United States for His purpose. The Lord’s recovery needs much blessing that comes from God’s sovereignty through the government. The recovery needs the United States as its center.
Train the saints in your locality. Do not merely enjoy the physical gains that you have received under God’s sovereignty. This may offend the Lord. In this case the Lord will take back His blessing. Train the saints to realize that if we are faithful to Him, He will bless us. If we spend every ounce of our gold for His purpose, He will return to us not only by ounces but by pounds. This is to carry out the fellowship unto the gospel, the fellowship for the furtherance of the gospel.
The Lord Jesus taught us that while we are still in the stewardship, we should be wise to use the unrighteous mammon to make friends for the furtherance and spread of the gospel. Not only will you get back what you have given, but when the time comes when we will all enter into the eternal tabernacles, many will be there to welcome you (Luke 16:9). You will have a great surprise, for you may never have realized that many have been brought to the Lord through your giving of the unrighteous mammon. If you keep this money in your hand, it is all unrighteous. However, if you give it to the Lord, it all becomes useful, and you will make good friends of many. This is to fellowship unto the gospel.
First Timothy 6:17 says, “Charge those who are rich in the present age not to be high-minded, nor to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches but on God, who affords us all things richly for our enjoyment.” If you trust in Him, you will receive more riches and also lay away a good foundation for your future (v. 19). You must partake of the furtherance of God’s move on this earth. There is a great need of the truth. Many people are starving for the truth, and many are under darkness. The light of the truth is among us. Who is going out to spread it? We need some full-timers who will drop their jobs, professions, and businesses to go out. However, they still need a living. Therefore, we must have some faithful full-timers to do business, to make gold, to make money to support these ones who go out for the spreading of the kingdom, of God’s economy. Furthermore, when they go out, they take nothing from the Gentiles, the heathen (3 John 5-8). You must help them to go on. They are the travelers for the spreading of the kingdom. They need your support for their travel and for their living. I hope that in your training you may have some time to read and speak all these verses to the saints that their eyes may be opened to have a view, according to God’s New Testament economy, of the world situation, their business, and their making of money. Then they will realize that they must not waste one cent but save every penny for the giving to further the kingdom in God’s economy. This is to fellowship unto the gospel.
Philippians 4:15-16 says, “You yourselves also know, Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I went out from Macedonia, no church had fellowship with me in the account of giving and receiving except you only; for even in Thessalonica you sent both once and again to my need.” What kind of sweet feeling the apostle expressed here! He says that this was “a sweet-smelling savor, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God” (v. 18). Paul did not seek a gift from them (v. 17), but what they gave became a sweet-smelling savor for Paul to put on the altar for them. It was not merely something to support him, but it became something increasing to their account. There is an account in the heavenly bank, in which we may have credit or debit. It is a low practice to give merely ten percent. God is not a beggar; do not treat Him as one. You should honor Him as the very bountiful Giver who affords you all the riches. All your riches come from Him. It was and still is up to Him whether you will be rich or not. It is not according to your plan of what you should do and have. You must simply labor day and night. He then will follow your labor to bless you, not for your enterprise but for the spreading of His kingdom.
If you keep money for your children, you will corrupt them and cause them to be corrupted by the money. I do not mean that we should not take care of our children. We should simply take care of them within a limit and no more. Every parent should do something for his or her children, just as our Father does to us. If we would do nothing for our children, we are not representing our heavenly Father. He takes care of us, but within a proper limit. We should follow our Father to take care of our children according to a limit. Whether the Lord would give me billions of dollars or hundreds of dollars, I would simply take care of my children within a God-ordained limit. All the balance or remainder has to go to my heavenly account for God’s kingdom. All the saints need this kind of training.
I have been considering quite much the practical way to carry out this burden. I considered the practice of the China Inland Mission, which was founded by Hudson Taylor. He was a real man of God, but just according to the portion he had in his time. We must remember that the Lord is moving on. However, it is worthwhile for us to go back to compare the various practices. Twenty-eight years ago I visited the People’s Church in Toronto, established by Mr. Oswald Smith. Apparently, I was trying to have a sightseeing tour of the country, but my real heart was to see this famous church. They were famous in sending out missionaries. If they had twenty members, they would send one out for missionary work. I looked at their furniture and the church building. Everything was old, but very clean and well maintained. There had been no fresh painting for years. They saved nearly every cent for sending one out of twenty members as a missionary. It was a great burden for them to carry, but they did it. That impressed me very much; I could never forget that.
In October of 1984, when I was considering the fact that there was nearly no increase or spreading among us, I went back to Taiwan. The church called a large gathering in a basketball stadium, which was filled with about twelve thousand people. The messages that I gave were concerning the increase and spread of Christ and the church. My burden was for this. For years we did not have much increase or spread. We nearly remained the same. This caused me to reconsider our way. I considered our way and the ways of others, and I came to a conclusion. In any church, out of twenty there must be one who drops his business or profession to take the full-time way to preach and to teach. The nineteen others should do their best regularly, even weekly, to put aside a certain amount of their monthly income for the supporting of such a one. For nineteen to support one would be, humanly speaking, very easy. Each one simply saves five percent of their income. This would be sufficient to support the one who drops his job. This ninety-five percent is the equivalent of a full-time job for the one who drops his job. This will not burden the church. It will be easy. There is a proverb that says, “If all the people will lift, it is easy to lift up anything.” When the meeting hall in Anaheim was built, the brothers, climbing up the stairway, carried a steel beam weighing close to one ton from the yard and put it upon two steel posts. We were not able to use a crane. Simply with so many hands it was easy to lift that heavy beam.
Charge the dear saints that besides their regular giving to the Lord through the church, they should give an additional five percent of their income every month. Do not do it once a year. It is better to separate the amount for each month into four equal portions and put one portion every Lord’s Day into the offering box.
Whether or not in your locality there are these job-dropping full-timers, you should still practice this. In your place there may not be such, yet in other places there may be. In one hall in Taipei full of college students, a number will go full time. But in that hall there are nearly no businessmen, no brothers who have a better job. Yet in another hall there are many rich men making much money. Very few are college graduates, and none of them would think to drop their job. They should practice to save five percent of their income to take care of those in the other halls, in other churches, and even in other countries. If we are in one accord on the whole earth, the church must practice this, encouraging and charging all the saints each month to designate five percent of their income specifically for supporting the job-dropping full-timers throughout the whole earth. Go back to charge the church in your locality to practice this five percent giving for the furtherance of the gospel, the fellowship unto the gospel.
Do not say that you do not have any job-dropping full-timers. All the churches on the earth have to do this. Leave to the Lord how much will be accomplished, but you must practice the five percent giving. Train everyone among us to practice the putting aside of an extra five percent, putting it aside uniquely for the fellowship unto the gospel. I believe that the Lord will bless this. This is for His spreading. How much He desires to spread through us! But for this spreading today, there is the need of financial support. We do not need to have a fundraising movement. We do not need to send someone to convince all the churches to contribute money. We simply need a regular, weekly practice of giving in this way, designated for the fellowship unto the gospel.
Any gifts should be designated with these words: Fellowship unto the Gospel. Every church should have such a separate Fellowship unto the Gospel account. This way is easy, unique, and universal. The saints could give one-fourth of five percent of their monthly income each week. However, if there is no urgent need, they may practice giving monthly.
This has to be practiced for the long run. We mean business. We are now taking a new way to carry out the five points that were very much stressed by Brother Nee in his ministry — the home gatherings, the functioning of all the members, the knowledge and spread of the truth, the growth in life, and the preaching of the gospel in every way. The key point of this way is that every believer is a full-timer. Some drop their job to preach and teach, while some remain on their job to make money. We must encourage some to drop their job. We must also encourage some to make money and separate five percent monthly, purposely for the account of the fellowship unto the gospel.
The full-timers will not be considered or discerned by a center. We have no center. We avoid leadership and any centrality of practice. Let every church examine, discern, and make a decision as to whether one is right and proper to drop his job and go full time. You must be careful about this. Some are like those spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15, idle, working at nothing, but busybodies, eating others’ food. We do not accept this kind of job-dropping full-timers. We like to see that the young ones in school are good students, all the time making high scores and having characters so straight and right. There must be no sign of any kind of slothfulness or idleness. They must be discerned, even sifted.
The door is not open in a loose way for the job-dropping full-timers. Some lazy ones may consider this as the opportunity to sit, drink coffee, and talk about spiritual things. They would consider that in the United States they have ten thousand supporters and that they do not need to labor or worry about anything. Although no one would say this, deep in their beings it might be so. We have no center. All the job-dropping full-timers will be discerned, judged, decided upon and sifted by their own respective churches. Therefore, all the elders have to learn something. You have to do the job and make the recommendation. The work will not accept anyone to drop their job to go full time without the elders’ recommendation.
If your account for the fellowship unto the gospel would be adequate to support them, that would be wonderful. If it is not, try to fellowship with other churches. Those churches who have a surplus in this account should fellowship with other churches, letting them know that they have a surplus to take care of the job-dropping full-timers in other churches. Do not say that because a certain full-timer is not working for the church in your locality, you would not care for his support. This is wrong. Whether or not he is the one determined, discerned, examined, judged, sifted, and eventually recommended by you, you must take care of his support. Whether he will be working in your locality or will go abroad to Thailand, you must support him. I hope that someday many from Taiwan will go to Thailand. I do not have the time to pour out what is on my heart. I hope that Taiwan will be taken for the Lord. Then all the saints from Taiwan can go to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and even to India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the Arabian countries. This is all on my heart. Do not be narrow. We are taking a new way to carry out the Lord’s recovery.
I advise you all and even I beg you all to practice this. If at the present time you do not have that many job-dropping full-timers, then keep a savings account for the fellowship unto the gospel in the future. Perhaps one day a good number will go out from the United States to the Philippines. If fifty would go to the Philippines under my instruction, they could conquer the entire country for Christ and the church.
We are short of personnel, and we are short of financial support. Therefore, we must encourage the lovers of the Lord Jesus in our locality to drop their jobs to go full time. They do not need to worry. The Lord’s recovery is here, and so many faithful lovers of the Lord Jesus would give their money. Now we do have a practical practice. Each one would put aside five percent for this purpose. The number-one thing is to encourage all the lovers of the Lord to drop their jobs if possible. Second, we must encourage all the money-making full-timers doing business to spend every penny for the Lord’s spread. If we do these two things, and if we all would take the same way in one accord by prayer, the Spirit, and the Word, the Lord will have a great success through us.
Third John 8 says, “We therefore ought to support such ones that we may become fellow workers in the truth.” The ones spoken of here are the travelers for the preaching of the gospel and the teaching of the truth (vv. 5-7). Everyone who is a money-making full-timer may be a fellow worker in the truth. Although it seems that they do not do anything for the preaching of the gospel and the teaching, they still could be fellow workers by giving every penny to support these preachers and teachers who go out.
