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This chapter is a continuation of the previous chapter concerning what we observed during our trip abroad. In these days God wants to recover one church in one city as His practical testimony on the earth. Such a recovery will meet the inward, spiritual needs of the believers in every place. It is also what the Lord earnestly desires.
We have not seen this light as clearly as we do today. Even when I was in Shanghai, my view was not this clear. We were not enlightened concerning the building up of the church until 1953. Over the past five years my view of the building has become clearer, my burden heavier, and my understanding richer.
These are not the first messages being released on the building. We emphasized the building up of the church in past trainings and conferences. I spent three years, from 1955 to 1957, to speak concerning the building in Manila. By the Lord’s leading, I have gained a deep impression during this trip that there is a need to build up the local churches in order to have a house for the satisfaction and rest of both God and man.
God should have a house because He has so many children. How can a person have many children but not have a house? Today God has many children, but He does not have a house on earth. We should not be proud, but if we stopped the meetings in Taipei, we would not have a home.
I am not speaking of the importance of this work merely because this is our work. If this is the work of man, it can be destroyed. Where should a child of God meet if he goes to Kaohsiung? Where can he find a home? A casual believer who is indifferent to God’s desire or a believer who lives in the world is not interested in a home. However, a believer who has a heart for the Lord and lives in His presence will be homeless in Kaohsiung. Wherever we go, God does not have a house, even though He has so many children. If we are objective and sober and consider this matter from God’s point of view, we will realize that God has many children in many places, but He does not have a home.
I have never had a burden as heavy as this during my thirty years of serving the Lord. Neither have I had a burden as definite as this. This is the need in every place. Most of the places that we visited were large cities. We were in more than twenty countries and visited thirty large cities and over twenty smaller cities. We did not rest; we tried our best to observe the situation.
We initially planned to go to Berlin, but we were told that Berlin no longer occupies an important position since it is not the capital of Germany. We therefore changed our itinerary and went to Zurich, Switzerland. We tried to visit large cities. Eventually, we gained the same impression wherever we went: every place has a need for the house for God. The three largest cities in the world—New York, London, and Tokyo—have thousands of Christians, but they do not have a house, a dwelling place, for God. Wherever we went, we saw that the children of God have this need.
This realization strengthens me. I sense that God will recover His building among His children. At the same time, we have to see that God has raised up many believers to work for Him, but not many can meet the need of His building. In America Billy Graham preaches a genuine and living gospel. I attended a crusade that he held in San Francisco, and I can testify that the gospel he preaches is genuine. He has a genuine burden for the gospel. He was truly raised up by God to preach the gospel in America.
Brother T. Austin-Sparks is a believer who lives before God. His exercise to live before the Lord is genuine. I can testify that Brother Austin-Sparks does not seek anything outside of the Lord. He is genuinely learning to live in the presence of God. Even though our way and the light we have received differ, I can testify concerning his living before God. May the Lord cover me to say that apart from the work of these two brothers, according to my observation, the activities in Christianity are either insignificant or are conducted to gain a following. It is difficult to find a person with a pure heart.
This situation shows the widespread desolation on the earth today. Surely the Lord is great. He can still use believers who seek their own gain for His purpose. God can even use Catholicism. Therefore, people everywhere are still being genuinely saved. However, these believers have a need, and no one is meeting this need.
Brother Austin-Sparks saw that the children of God are hungry, and he wants Honor Oak to be a place that supplies food. He wants to be like Joseph, and he wants Honor Oak to be a place that gives people food, just as Egypt did in the years of famine. This is his intention. However, during my trip I saw that the children of God do not need only food. God’s children need a house. It is not enough to supply them merely with food. There is also the need to give them a place to rest. The children of God are at a stage where it is not sufficient merely to be fed. They need a house, a place of rest.
The function of a house includes supplying food. The most important matter in a home is to eat. But not every place that gives food is a home. Restaurants are places where people can eat, but they are not homes. The most practical need of believers today is to have a home. Hence, the difference between what Brother Austin-Sparks sees and what we see is this matter of the house of God. He says that it is sufficient to supply spiritual food. We say that there is still the need for God’s house. I was at Honor Oak for only a few days, but I felt this need. Brother Austin-Sparks gives the saints food, but they are still homeless. Nearly everyone at Honor Oak longs for a home, a place of rest. What I observed strengthens this feeling within me and assures me that this is exactly what God wants to do in these days.
Therefore, I am burdened to show the saints that those who serve the Lord should not focus only on spiritual matters. If we focus only on being spiritual, eventually we will not be spiritual. It is not a matter of whether we are spiritual. The issue is whether we let God open our eyes to see a vision and whether we receive a burden. If we focus on our spirituality and learning instead of receiving a vision, burden, and revelation from God, we will eventually fall. God’s revelation, vision, and burden are great. They can uphold us and make us stand. Then even if we stumble, we will not fall down.
The apostle Paul said that he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision (Acts 26:19). This vision followed him and continually upheld him. If we are caught in the trap of being spiritual, we will have a tragic end and become useless to God. Such spirituality is manufactured and does not necessarily have its source in God. We do not learn to be spiritual. We can read The Spiritual Man ten thousand times but not become spiritual.
A person who pursues God and enjoys God will be spiritual. Only God can make a person spiritual. Hence, if we are in God, in His hand, plan, and move, we do not need to pursue spirituality. We will be spiritual. We cannot make ourselves spiritual; only God can make us spiritual. I have been considering what being spiritual means. My understanding of spirituality is different from what it was in the past. What we thought was spirituality is not spirituality. Genuine spirituality depends on our learning to receive God’s burden.
Hudson Taylor received a burden that was different from his spiritual learning. If he had been zealous for the gospel, like Billy Graham or John Sung, it would not be strange that he received a burden to evangelize China. However, Hudson Taylor was not such a person. He learned to live in the presence of God and to fellowship with the Lord. He then received a burden that differed from what he had learned. He was neither trapped nor limited by his learning.
I usually do not expect a result in whatever I do, nor do I care for the result. I know only to labor. I also do not hold many opinions. This characteristic was recognized by the senior co-workers. I do not wish to speak about myself, but I want to fellowship with you. Whenever there was a crucial matter to be decided, the senior co-workers would first fellowship with others before they fellowshipped with me. When it was time to carry something out, they fellowshipped with me to ask me to carry it out. They would first fellowship with others to hear their opinions, then they fellowshipped with me to ask me to carry it out. They did this because I did not have many opinions. This is one thing I can boast of. I am a person who knows only to work; I do not give opinions or care for results.
May the Lord cover me to testify that I do not covet anything. From the day I began to serve full time, I have not coveted anything. I know only to immerse myself in the work, and I do not care who is credited with the result of my labor. Therefore, I find it difficult to make a plan and instruct others how to carry it out. It is not that I do not wish to take the lead but that I do not have many opinions or care for results. I know only to work. When the Lord led me to northern China, I knew only to work hard and let go of any results. I did not care about any gain or loss. When the Lord led me to Shanghai, for about three years I knew only to immerse myself in the work and nothing else. I was still working the day before I boarded an airplane to come to Taiwan. I did not know what would be the result of my labor, because the result was not in my hands.
I say this so that no one will depend on me to push them or to make plans and arrangements for them. On the one hand, there are still things that I need to learn, but on the other hand, for the past seven or eight years I have tried my best to help the brothers in Taiwan serve the Lord. I did not express any opinions. I knew only to work and help others to work. I never had the thought of controlling anyone or lording it over anyone. I do not care for this. I know only to take care of my responsibility. This has always been my practice.
Brother Austin-Sparks once testified concerning me and said that Brother Lee does not know anything but to work. This comment may be too much, but it is true that I know only to work. In my relationship with the saints I try my best to assist, encourage, and admonish without assuming a position. Therefore, I hope that we can learn to be before the Lord and coordinate for the building, instead of waiting for someone to motivate us.
We also need to see that coordination for the building is the secret to being blessed. I thank the Lord for His mercy that I have not had problems with any workers in the service. This is especially true in regard to coordination with the senior co-workers. I learned that the good points, faults, strengths, and weaknesses of the saints are not my business. I do not work with the saints because of their strengths or weaknesses. I work with them for the Lord’s interest, testimony, and glory. As long as the Lord’s interest, testimony, and glory are not hindered or damaged, I will coordinate with the saints by complementing what they can do. I will not step on them. We have to learn to work in this way and not oppose or step on others. Everyone’s work has its place and its value. We should learn to work with others by adding our portion to theirs. The co-workers should learn to serve in this way before the Lord.
The brothers have expressed a desire to lead the church into the practical building and to send workers to propagate overseas. I wish to fellowship some practical steps concerning this.
I am burdened to spend several weeks to help the churches in Taiwan. During this time we may focus on perfecting the saints responsible for the district meetings. In the larger localities we need to perfect the saints and focus on the practice of building. During a recent elders’ meeting some elders suggested that we use this time to have a life-study of the books of the Prophets in the Old Testament. Even though I want to study these books, I feel we should focus on the practice of building.
I have considered the building up of the church, and I hope to learn something during this time. In particular, I want to learn how to administrate a large local church. Before I went overseas, I said to the brothers that I wanted to see how the Brethren administrate the church. While we were overseas, we contacted the Brethren several times but did not receive much help from them. The closed Brethren continue to be closed, and the open Brethren are so open that they want their young people to study in seminaries. Brother T. Austin-Sparks was also discouraged by the present condition of the Brethren. Even some brothers in America said that they visited the Brethren, and their meetings are desolate. Therefore, since we clearly see the building, we have to spend time to find a practical way to have the building.
From the fellowship in the last two meetings and from fellowship with some of the saints, I have the assurance that some brothers and sisters have a burden to go overseas for the propagation and that we need to strengthen the testimony here. The testimony here is not to make a display of ourselves but to have a place with a strong testimony so that we can render help to others. Then saints from different places abroad can come and stay for some time to obtain practical help. We can also call a large meeting for saints from different places to come and participate, and we can have a time of training. I believe that this will render much help.
The service the Lord is leading us into is not something that we can put in writing and send out in printed form for other believers to read and understand. Printed messages cannot meet this need. There are many skills for us to learn in our service, even if we do not feel that this is our need. It is difficult to understand something that is described only in printed material. In order to receive the proper knowledge, it is best to see a practical demonstration. In secular terms, we need to send people out as “technical personnel,” who can live in a place for two to three years to help the local church there and then move to another place. The “technical personnel” go out to instruct people. The church here also needs to serve as a “factory” where believers can come to learn and to do an “internship.” In principle, this should be our future situation. We should send saints out, and saints can come here to learn.
I do not know where we should go or how many believers should be in the city we go to. These matters depend on the burden that the brothers receive from the Lord. We should not expect anyone to push us if we do not have a burden. Do not expect me to motivate you to carry out a work for which you have no feeling. We need to see a vision and receive a burden. Then we should devote ourselves wholeheartedly to our burden. If we do this, we can receive help and be motivated. We must respond before someone can help us. Where we should go depends on the burden that we receive from the Lord.
It may be of the Lord that many places overseas are waiting for help from Taiwan. Japan and different places in Southeast Asia are expecting helpers to come from Taiwan. The door is wide open. If the brothers have the burden to learn some lessons and to receive a burden to labor in these places, we will receive the Lord’s blessing. As long as we go and labor, God’s blessing will be upon us. Of course, wherever we go to labor will not be as convenient as here. This is our home where everything is convenient. If we go abroad, we will need to learn many things. We will need to learn the lesson of faith to take risks, to meet different needs, and to deal with different problems. In all of this we should trust that the Lord’s grace is sufficient and that His blessing will overflow.
We should also consider how to give practical help to the saints who visit us from overseas. We should not try to do something too large. I have been reluctant to have a training on how to practically carry out the building, because of the practical arrangements that need to be made. We do not want the training to be formal and lack flexibility. Furthermore, because the procedure for entry into Taiwan is complicated, a large number of people cannot come at the same time. If we are willing to conduct a large training and the entry procedure into Taiwan is relaxed, we might be able to have a training in the fall of next year. More saints will be able to come at that time.
I believe that the Lord is leading us to have some saints go out and is leading others to come here to learn. In this way the Lord will have a practical way to propagate among us.
