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Scripture Reading: Eph. 4:1-16; 2:11-22; 1 Tim. 3:15-16
Prayer: Lord, we thank You for being with us and blessing us in the past five meetings. We need Your presence and blessing even more in this final meeting. Lord, lead us in this meeting to have fellowship with one another and cause us to open ourselves to You and also to one another without any shadow, covering, or hiding, and even more, without any pretense or hypocrisy. O Lord, give us a pure heart and an open spirit. May You be set free, released, from within us. Enable us to have fellowship with one another, show concern for one another, and bear one another’s burden in You as the all-penetrating Spirit.
Lord, remember Your recovery on the earth. We truly thank You that now Your recovery has reached the six major continents. Lord, there is the spreading in so many places, especially in Russia, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, even in Germany, and even more in the United Kingdom. For this we worship You. We also look to You for Your supply to meet our needs. We can never forget that we are not, but You are; we have nothing, but You have everything. O Lord, may You exercise Your might, especially in the last days, and grant us an unprecedented revival everywhere that You may be able to close this age and usher in Your kingdom age. All this requires us to cooperate with You by praying to You to touch Your throne and by presenting ourselves more to You. May You bring in more young people to receive the training that we may meet the great need in spreading to different places. Lord, remember us. Amen.
In this chapter I would like to fellowship with you concerning the Lord’s move in His recovery. In 1984 I went back to Taiwan. Although I did not know what the real reason was, I had a clear burden within me that I had to go back. In Taipei I was led by the Lord to bring up the matter concerning the new way. By 1984 the Lord’s recovery had been on the earth for sixty-two years; except for the first ten years, I directly participated in His recovery. Although I did not attend the meetings in those ten years, I had fellowship through correspondence. In 1933 when I left my job and went to Shanghai, I was immediately asked by Brother Nee to stay there as his long-term guest. That visit lasted nearly five months. At that time he did not have that much work to do, so he could afford me a great amount of time. I grasped that rare opportunity to frequently go to him for instruction. He spoke to me concerning the Lord’s recovery, item by item, from the beginning; he even told me the two-thousand-year history of the Lord’s church on the earth in its entirety. From then on, I have remained in the Lord’s recovery.
By 1984 I had been in the Lord’s recovery for fifty-two years. At that time, however, I felt very heavy concerning the situation of the Lord’s recovery both in the United States and in the Far East, especially in Taipei. The general condition both in the United States and in the Far East had more or less entered into dormancy; it was as if everyone was asleep. That was something incomprehensible to me. At that time I did not know what to do. Therefore, I told the brothers and sisters in America that I needed to take off from my work and leave the United States possibly for one or two years. But this did not mean that I would not come back. I said that I would still come back several times every year. I would come back for the winter and summer trainings and other important conferences; I would come back three or four times every year. I considered that the foundation in the United States had been laid and that the work here was on the right track; hence, the brothers would know how to go on. I could not tell them what I was going to do in Taiwan, but I assured them that whatever was carried out there would be made known to the United States through my fellowship. After such a word of explanation, I went back to Taiwan.
In Taipei, on the one hand, I began to study the new way and hold trainings for it; on the other hand, I began to do the work of the Chinese translation of the Recovery Version of the New Testament. From 1984 to 1985, concerning the Chinese Recovery Version, I found out that I had to be involved personally because no one knew what was within me and no one knew the Bible so deeply or intrinsically. Therefore, I considered that if we would publish the Chinese Version, I had no choice but to labor painstakingly on it. Hence, I labored in Taipei for several years and did not return to the United States until 1989. In Taipei I worked day and night; at night I often worked until eleven o’clock and sometimes even twelve o’clock. In the translation of the text of the Recovery Version, I considered every sentence and decided on every word; I also finalized all the footnotes. The work of the Recovery Version in Chinese was completed in 1989. Then I felt that I had spent enough time in Taiwan and had to return to the United States.
As soon as I mentioned the new way in Taipei, it stirred up an opposition. The opposition actually began in 1984 but was not manifested until 1987. From 1984 several people began to spread the rumor that Brother Lee’s ministry was off and that they would not follow any longer. It seems that those few brothers volunteered themselves to be the heroes in the Lord’s recovery with the intention to restore the Lord’s recovery. Hence, they began to contact others to join them in overthrowing Brother Lee’s ministry. They maintained the attitude that they were the heroes to oppose Brother Lee and restore the Lord’s recovery. Therefore, it was not an accidental rebellion or a temporary dissension; rather, there was a long period of fermentation and an overall plan.
In the beginning when I faced that situation, I remained quiet before the Lord, because I was very clear within. I have been walking on this way with Brother Nee, and in these scores of years Brother Nee had laid the foundation. From 1922 to 1952 the Lord’s recovery in mainland China was under the leadership of Brother Nee. Later, when the move of the Lord’s recovery was restricted on the mainland, I was brought overseas by the Lord. Spontaneously, the leadership came upon my shoulders. Everything that I did was absolutely in the same steps with Brother Nee, not only in the light of the truth but also in the aspect of life. I never departed from whatever Brother Nee did. Gradually, the Lord showed us something deeper and higher. In 1987 when that kind of situation was exposed, I did not say anything because within me I was very clear that no one could change the Lord’s recovery, which is built upon truth as well as life.
I was very clear concerning what Brother Nee spoke; I also knew very well what I spoke. In 1951 I began to release a publication in Chinese entitled The Ministry of the Word. From that time until 1987 I released a great number of messages. At least three thousand messages were given in America and printed into books. When those people began to oppose me, I checked with myself concerning whether I had erred in the truth. Eventually, however, I could not find any mistake in my leadership of the Lord’s recovery. The opposers alleged, first, that since 1984 I had changed and departed from the way led by Brother Nee, and second, that I exercised control. Concerning the second point, they strongly condemned me and said some very ugly things about me, such as Brother Lee being a king and a pope. When I heard all these things, I did not say anything. I realized that every step concerning the foundation laid by this recovery on the earth and the building in these sixty to seventy years was accurate; no one can touch or change anything.
It has been seven years since the turmoil of 1987. I believe that in these seven years the Lord has clearly vindicated His recovery. This was evidenced in the recent conference in Hong Kong, which was altogether the Lord’s own doing. The highest attendance in the conference was over 880, including 263 who were from abroad. That conference in Hong Kong was altogether the Lord’s vindication; it was something carried out by the Lord Himself. Who could have nearly nine hundred people attending the meetings within such a period of time under such a difficult situation? This was the Lord’s vindication.
In 1989, after I finished the work on the Chinese Recovery Version of the New Testament, I came back to the United States. Since then, I have been very clear that I must reserve all my being, all my energy, and all my time for the United States. However, the work in the United States cannot depend solely on the training in the United States; it needs to be matched by the training in Taiwan. Therefore, when I left Taiwan, I did not move the entire training to the United States. I told the brothers that the training is of two sides: one is the English-speaking side to be carried out in the United States, and the other is the Chinese-speaking side to be carried out in Taiwan. Thank the Lord, the brothers in Taiwan accepted the arrangement very well, and the Lord has blessed this. In the last five years the training in Taiwan has been very successful.
After my return to the United States in 1989, I began to hold the training in the United States. Just after two years, in the spring of 1991, there was a speaking within me, saying, “Now is the time to go to Russia. Russia has a population of four hundred million and is now fully opened after seventy years under the control of the Communist Party. It is such a vast land, so why not go there?” Hence, at the end of March in that year, after the war in the Persian Gulf was ended, I immediately fellowshipped with the co-workers in the United States that we should go to Russia. They all agreed. Therefore, after the Memorial Day weekend conference in the same year, we formally decided to go to Russia. At that time the training here had been going on for more than two years. This meant that some had received two years of training and therefore could be used. But some restrictions were imposed on the ones who were to be sent, and one of the restrictions was that they must be Caucasian Americans. In October we sent out eighty or ninety to Russia. The Lord has truly confirmed this move — our full-timers were welcomed wherever they went, and the spreading was very successful; up to the present time, we have distributed six million copies of books free of charge, which have reached many cities in Russia.
We have to know that in the past centuries the international affairs on this earth were mainly directed by the Europeans and Americans. Since 47 B.C., about two thousand years ago, when Julius Caesar brought the Roman Empire to the Holy Land, the prevailing situation of the world has been in the hands of the Europeans. After the discovery of the new continent, the United States was gradually raised up. During World War I, the strength of the United States rose above the European nations. Hence, World War I was settled by the strength of the United States, and it was even more so with World War II. In speaking these things I hope to make you aware that the world situation has very much to do with the Lord’s recovery. The Lord’s recovery will spread to the whole earth through Europe and the United States.
Brother Nee once told me that Europe and America were the two places in the world with the highest and most prevailing culture, yet in these two places Christianity has been divided again and again; first the Roman Catholic Church came out, then the Greek Orthodox Church, and then the Protestant churches. The division went on continually until the Lord’s church became completely deformed. Since the Lord had no way to go on in Europe and America, He went to China in 1920 in the beginning of the twentieth century. Brother Nee said that at that time China served as virgin soil to the Lord’s recovery. The Lord went to China because He had no way to move in Europe and America. At that time China became the nursery in the Lord’s recovery. However, China was unable to spread the Lord’s recovery to the whole world for various reasons, one of which was the language problem. Brother Nee knew early on that the Lord’s recovery had to come to the West, especially to the English-speaking world.
The Lord raised up a small recovery on the virgin soil of China, but the general situation of the world kept changing. After the drastic change of the situation in China, I went to Taiwan, and Brother Nee was put in prison. It was under Brother Nee’s sending that I went to Taiwan. When I first arrived in Taiwan, I was fully disappointed. I asked myself, “What am I doing here?” And yet the Lord was able to accomplish something in an environment with seemingly no prospect of work. The speediest spreading of the Lord’s recovery occurred in those years in Taiwan. At the beginning there were at the most three hundred fifty to five hundred people, and in less than five years the number reached fifty thousand. Then after a little over ten years, some brothers in Taiwan rose up in rebellion. That rebellion took away from me the sweet feeling I had toward the work in Taiwan. Hence, I had the direction within me to come to the United States. I first passed through the United States in 1958 while I was on my way mainly to the United Kingdom and Denmark in response to some invitations. After another two years, in 1960, I revisited the United States; that visit left a deeper impression on me. In 1961 I made the third visit and stayed for one year without doing any work in particular. Then by the end of 1962, I became clear that the Lord definitely wanted me to be in the United States to formally start the work. Thus, the literature of the Lord’s recovery was quickly brought into the English language. Within a short span of thirty years, the Lord’s recovery has spread throughout the six major continents with over twelve hundred churches.
Today the spreading of the Lord’s recovery has reached such an extent that it is simply indescribable. If three thousand co-workers could be found, as long as they can speak English (they do not need to learn to speak Russian immediately), they could immediately go to Russia and spread to three thousand cities there. This is the present situation in Russia, which is incredible.
The Lord’s recovery is spreading not only in Russia but also in the continent of Europe. Recently, we received letters from the saints in Poland telling us about the raising up of the testimony there. They are the churches newly raised up, with a history of one to two years. The contents of their letters are the main items in the Lord’s recovery today, and the vocabulary is of the new way, without any of the old things from the past. They are the new people brought forth by the new way. We need people to go there immediately to help them establish the churches in Poland. Furthermore, some in Romania have come into the Lord’s recovery; some have been gained also in Albania. In addition, the spreading has reached other places in Europe. According to this situation, the Lord’s spreading in Europe is very promising.
In the region of Central America and the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, Belize, etc., and South America, the door is open everywhere, and there is the need for people to go. There are about twenty churches in that region. Concerning New Zealand, the work there has a deep relationship with the churches in Taiwan. The first church in New Zealand started in 1971, and it has been there over twenty years now. Today the church in Auckland, New Zealand, has more than three hundred people; most of them are Chinese who migrated from Taiwan. There are also needs everywhere in Africa. In South Africa, North Africa, East Africa, and West Africa, the saints are on their own. There are not many saints in South Africa; there are more saints in Nigeria and in Ghana, West Africa, and in Kenya, East Africa. All these places need people to go there and help. Hence, the Lord’s recovery is continually spreading throughout the six major continents on the whole earth, and the need everywhere is tremendous.
What does the Lord’s recovery need today? Please remember that the Lord’s recovery needs a large number of people. In order to produce a large number of people, we must bring in young students; hence, the campus work is a must. We have to bring in a large number of college students and then give them training. The present training needs to be strengthened. The training facilities in Anaheim can accommodate a maximum of one hundred fifty people. We need to improve our facilities to accommodate more people for the training.
On the one hand, we need to train people, and on the other hand, we need to spread out, especially to Europe. Those who go to Russia and Europe will still consist mainly of Caucasians, particularly Americans. However, the twenty who went from Taiwan to Russia have also been very much welcomed. Now we have over one hundred co-workers in Russia, three-fourths of whom are Americans; one-fourth are Chinese, and some are co-workers who have been raised up locally in these two to three years. I believe from now on the ratio should be that if there are three hundred going from the United States, one hundred should be going from Taiwan. Such a coordination will be more effective than having only Americans going there. Now many cities in Russia are ready and are just waiting for people to go there. At the beginning of next year, those in the two big cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg, will go out in teams for the spreading. Each team will consist of one Russian (raised up in these few years and able to take the lead), one American, and one Chinese.
I am fellowshipping these things with you so that you brothers can realize that the training in Taiwan needs strengthening. You must pick up the talented ones, those who are college graduates and good in English, and bring them in to be properly trained. After two years of training, they can go forth. Likewise, the training in the United States accepts only those who have graduated from college. It is not as easy to gain people in the United States as it is in Taiwan. However, the United States is bigger than Taiwan. Today in the United States there are over two hundred churches scattered in different places; the work at the universities has also spread. Hence, the number of people attending the full-time training has increased steadily. Once they finish their training, some can go to Russia, and some can go to Poland and other places.
On the personal side now, due to my age, I cannot do too much and much less go to visit faraway places. The life-study trainings will probably be completed by the summer or winter of next year. This winter we will cover 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther and thereby conclude the historical books. Next year we will cover Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs, thereby concluding the life-study trainings on the entire Bible. After that, in every winter and summer training, the Lord willing, we will specifically cover the crystallization of the main points. What you have been hearing these days is mostly the crystallized speaking. This means that I will re-study the main points in the New Testament. This is my burden. Of course, at the same time, I will still be here helping the full-time training and also leading the church. All these things require your intercession.
What you need to do now is go back and help the saints in the exercise of the spirit. We need to show the brothers and sisters that without life and spirit, there is no reality of the church, there is no reality of the Body of Christ, and there is no reality of the house of God. Both the Body of Christ and the house of God hinge on life and spirit. You have to repeatedly read and pray-read Ephesians 4:1-16; 2:11-22; and 1 Timothy 3:15-16. These three portions of the Word are on the house, the household of God, and also on the Body of Christ. If you get into the depths of these portions, you will realize that both the house of God and the Body of Christ hinge on life and spirit. Life and spirit are the reality, the substance, of the Body of Christ. The same is true with the house of God. Without life and spirit, the house of God is finished; it is vanity and insubstantial. First Timothy 3:15 says that the house of God is the pillar and base of God’s truth. This God is the living God, and the church is the house of the living God. This house is the great mystery of godliness, of God manifested in the flesh. This is the church.
A local church must be in a condition that is full of life and spirit, a condition of living out the living God. This is because the house of God is the living God becoming flesh and being manifested in the flesh. In the four Gospels, God was manifested in the flesh in Jesus as a single individual. But in 1 Timothy 3, God’s manifestation in the flesh is in the entire church corporately. Every local church should be a manifestation of God in the flesh. Hence, it is not enough just to have zeal and service. Our zeal and service must originate from spirit and life.
How do we know that our service is of spirit and life? This requires us to live the crucified life to be conformed to Christ’s death and thereby manifest the power of Christ’s resurrection from us. Furthermore, we need to let others see that we are those who live by the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Therefore, our living shows whether our service is of spirit and life. We must live in the shadow of the cross daily. I am not, but the Lord is — not I, but Christ. He is everything, and everything is of Him. Both in our daily living and in our activities in the meetings, we need to be living and full of the Spirit. I feel that up to this day we still have not fully lived out the vision that we have seen of the Lord. All of us should be so living that before we come to any meeting, we begin to meet from our home by getting our spirit ready and by releasing our spirit. Once we get to the door of the meeting hall, we are singing; we sing while climbing up the stairs, we sing while going to our seat, and we sing even after sitting down.
In the meetings there is the need for the elders to take the lead, but all they need to say is that today we want to first read Ephesians 4. This is good enough; there is no need to say more. You do not need to tell the saints how to read the Scriptures, how one section should read one verse and another section read the next verse. After the brothers and sisters hear that the reading is in Ephesians 4, a young sister may pray before the reading begins, saying, “Lord, we really thank You for another wonderful meeting. We are here to read Your holy Word; in Your holy Word there is life and light. We pray that You would release Your life and light again.” A young brother may add something, saying, “O Lord, Your word is Yourself. Therefore, when we read Your Word today, we are reading You.” Then someone may stand up to read Ephesians 4:1, and after he finishes the reading, others may begin to pray-read. Our meetings should be living to such an extent. All that is required is for the elders to make a simple announcement, and the rest should come out in a living way.
However, most of our meetings in the churches have not been freed from the dead and depressed condition of Christianity. It is not easy to overthrow such a condition. This has to start with us. First, we need to be living, and then we need to stir up others and make them living. We need to do this until all the churches are so living. We need to take the cross and live by the power of the resurrection of Christ through the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Last, the churches also need the blending. Today due to the progress in telecommunications and means of transportation, the geographic distances have been greatly reduced. Prior to World War II, it was not easy for people to travel from the United States to Hong Kong. Because of the different modes of transportation and difficulties of travel, people could not arrive and be gathered together at the same time. If so, how could there be the blending? However, there are so many airplanes flying throughout the whole world; they are speedy and punctual. Today all kinds of inventions and instruments have caused the people in the entire world to be blended. The blending of the Body of Christ is possible through all the modern means of transportation. Hence, all the churches should live in life and in the spirit and be blended with one another for the manifestation of the reality of the Body of Christ.
How marvelous that the Lord raised up His recovery in China and then brought His recovery to the different places of the world through the changes in the world situation and the various scientific inventions! What the Lord has done is truly wonderful. We all need to catch up with the Lord’s move and cooperate with Him for the fulfillment of His heart’s desire in eternity.
