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On the one hand, I am disappointed with the condition of Christianity that I saw during my visit abroad, but on the other hand, I have more faith in the way of the church that we are taking. I cannot fellowship concerning all my inner feelings, but I will share something as an introduction.
Even though the condition in the Far East is not ideal, the condition in the West is worse. We did not fellowship with all of God’s children in the West, but in the past we contacted Christianity in the West through their publications. We also studied their history. We did not fellowship with them often, but we became familiar with them through their writings. Hence, even though we did not contact every Christian group, we feel that we have a clear understanding of the situation in the West.
Before this trip it did not occur to me that the situation in the West could be so poor. Before we left England, a brother asked me about my impression of Christians in America and Europe. I responded that I was disappointed. I said that because the believers who preached the gospel in the Far East came from Christian countries in the West, I had not thought that the condition in the West could be so poor.
I will not give all the reasons for my disappointment, because an inaccurate repetition of this fellowship can cause misunderstandings. However, I am not the only one who has this realization. The brothers whom I spoke with in the West did not say that the condition in the West is good. These brothers were not being humble, nor were they being polite. They were sincere and honest in what they said. The believers with whom I fellowshipped spoke of the poor condition in the West.
Nearly all the saints here asked me about the spiritual things I saw in the West. I did not touch many spiritual things during my trip. In the one place where I should have seen something spiritual, I saw a lack of harmony. There was no spiritual atmosphere. Most of the believers there, who fellowshipped with me, acknowledged that there was a lack of harmony. There was almost nothing spiritual.
I received some help from this trip, because it is always profitable for a person to visit other places. However, the help that I received was not on the positive side. Instead, I was greatly disappointed. I also saw that believers have an exaggerated opinion of us. The believers whom I visited received me as someone who could help them, not as someone who could receive help from them. Hence, most of the believers fellowshipped their difficulties with me, just as a patient speaks to a doctor. They did not speak of any positive situations with me.
I traveled from the Far East to the West and back to the Far East, and the brothers in every place that I visited fellowshipped about their problems. It may be that the believers came to us with their problems because they regard us too highly and think that we can help them solve their problems.
As I visited the different places, observed the local situations, and contacted the saints, I gained an understanding of the actual condition in each place. My observation of the condition also strengthened my faith in this way. My faith is strengthened to take the way of the recovery. The more places I visited, the more I understood that their problems and difficulties are because they do not take this way.
Even though the needs and problems in every place differ, the answer to these needs and problems is found in this way. If the believers could know, see, and receive this way, spontaneously their needs would be met, and their problems would be solved. Therefore, what I observed strengthened my faith in this way.
It is difficult to find an example in church history of the way that we are taking. It is also difficult to find a person who has taken this way. According to our consideration, we discovered this way. We did not invent it; we discovered it. Hence, as we take this way, on the one hand, we feel that it is according to God’s leading, but on the other hand, we sometimes feel that we may be too much, since there is no precedent in church history.
On the one hand, we feel that this way is of God and is according to His leading; on the other hand, since there is no precedent in church history, we feel that we may be peculiar. However, what we saw in the different places gives us a strong confirmation that this way is truly according to God’s leading. The different needs and problems are the issue of a lack of vision and revelation concerning this way.
Before I went on this trip, I did not expect that the urgent need in every place is the building up of the house of God. Based on this need, the messages that I gave in Hong Kong were concerning the building of God. The main point in my fellowship was that the saints must build up the house of God in every locality.
The saints can testify that they see the building up of the local church as the house of God, and they fellowship concerning this. Many messages have been given concerning this. However, after visiting so many places, my feeling concerning the building up of the house of God is even stronger.
Our first stop was in Japan. After we arrived, I realized that Japan is a large and modern country that has a large population and many Christians; however, God’s house is not there.
The three largest cities in the world have about the same population. Tokyo, New York, and London each have between eight and ten million people. If we include the suburbs, metropolitan Tokyo, New York, and London have even larger populations. Even though I have visited these cities before, I had not been very interested in Tokyo. But this time when we were in Tokyo, I was amazed because from morning to night the streets are filled with cars and people. Even though Japan has a large population and two to three thousand missionaries, God does not have a house there.
While I was there, this feeling was constantly in me. Japan has so many people and so many Christians, but God does not have a house. Many of the Lord’s seekers also feel that they do not have a home. The believers who meet in other groups and the saints in our meetings asked where they should go. They feel homeless.
There are Christian groups that were established by local Japanese believers, and there are mission groups that were established two hundred years ago by Western missionaries. Moreover, there are two to three thousand Western missionaries who labor diligently in Japan. However, the first thing that the seeking believers asked me was where they should go. Sometimes I inquired why they asked this question, and they replied that they do not receive much supply and help where they meet. In other words, there is no pasture with food to eat. They do not have a home that can give them food.
No matter what our children do or where they go to play, at a certain time they say that it is time to go home and eat. There is a place where they can rest and enjoy food when they are hungry and need to eat. However, many saints cannot say that they have a place where they can eat when they are hungry or can rest when they are tired. Their needs are not met.
After Japan we went to America. Wherever we went, from the West Coast to the East Coast, I tried to understand the situation of the Christian groups. We stayed in New York City for quite a while and thought that if we could understand the situation in New York, we would understand the situation in the whole country. New York City is representative of America, but other places are not representative of America. From my observation I saw that the large country of America, which has thousands of Christians, does not have a house for God’s children.
When we were in San Francisco, I attended the crusade of a famous evangelist. The crusade truly had the Lord’s presence, and many people were saved. Someone said that more people were saved when this evangelist was in New York. However, after their salvation the newly saved ones are like newborn babies who do not have a place to grow up. In other words, there is no home to feed and care for the newborn babies.
When we were in New York, we did not announce our meetings, but believers, especially the Chinese believers, wanted to attend our meetings. After they listened to the messages, they cried out that they do not have a home. There are several Christian groups among the Chinese believers, but they all said that they do not have food. They do not have a place to rest; they do not have a home.
In summary, the impression we received from our visit is that the children of God do not have a home. This is the situation in America and in Canada. We did not contact many people in Canada, but we made a special visit to a well-known group founded by Oswald J. Smith. While we were there, he was holding a revival meeting in another place. The group is called the Peoples Church. Over the past fifty years this Christian group has supported the largest percentage of missionaries. It is a well-known fact that they are still supporting more than two hundred missionaries. They meet in a small chapel, but they are zealous in their support of missionaries. When we were there, a group of sisters was meeting and praying.
The information we received concerning Canada is that Canada is desolate and without any large gatherings. In America there are evangelists who attract large crowds of people to hear the gospel. In Canada, however, there does not seem to be any activity. This indicates a desolate situation.
After our time in America we went to England. I will skip the details and relate only one incident. The day before we left England, we had our last time of fellowship with the saints at Honor Oak. During this meeting everyone could ask questions, and I answered them. The first two questions were general, but the third question was concerning the local churches. In response I spoke concerning the establishing and the ground of the local churches. Then a brother asked whether it is necessary to pay a price in order to establish a local church. I said that there is the need to pay a price and to fight.
I was standing in front of several hundred believers, and I said that God’s children want to rise up to serve God and take the way of the Lord, but where is a place in the West that is practicing this pattern according to God’s heart? Brother T. Austin-Sparks and all the elders were sitting beside me.
I continued to say that the entire West is covered with fog and does not have a way out. If a child of God wants to rise up to take the way of the Lord, who can show him the right way? I asked the brothers and sisters whether they see this matter and added that we need to pay a price and to rise up to be the fighting pioneers who open up the way.
I then gave an illustration, using a trip to Scotland that I made with Brother Austin-Sparks, in which he drove. It took us only a few hours to drive five hundred miles, because someone had opened the way and paved it with tar. This highway made it easy for us to reach our destination. Where is such a highway in the West? God’s children rise up and want to take this way, but there is no way; there is only fog. Where is this highway? Is there a meeting in the West that can serve as a standard, a model, or a pattern? Where is the highway that God’s children can walk on? In this situation we need to pay a price, and we also need to fight and open up a way for God’s children.
I am giving the details of this fellowship so that we can know the situation in the West. My time at Honor Oak can be compared to a doctor’s office hours. Everyone who came to me asked what he should do and where he should go after Honor Oak. Their questions strengthened my impression that there is no home for the believers in the West. Both God and man do not have a home. If the believers had a home, they would not ask what they should do and where they should go.
After England we went to Denmark. Of all the places we visited, Denmark had the most positive situation. Many believers in Denmark also asked questions, but their questions were positive. Their questions were not in a negative context. Since the believers had a positive attitude, the situation in Denmark was straightforward. As long as my suggestions were good and proper, they accepted them. What I said was short and simple, and they put everything to practice. We did not expect them to meet in their homes, but in a letter I received from them recently, they said they are now meeting in more than twenty homes.
My overall impression is that there is a need in every place to build up God’s house so that the wandering believers can have a home. If there is another opportunity for me to speak with the children of God, I will say that the greatest need on earth today is to build up God’s house.
There is still a great need for the gospel, but if we study the situation, we will see that the gospel is not the primary need. The primary need today is a home for the believers. In other words, the gospel is to beget children, and a home is to raise children. The need today is not to give birth to children but to raise them up. Since there are many children who do not have a home, why should we focus on giving birth to more children? The ones who give birth to children are also homeless. The pitiful situation is that it is difficult to find a home on the earth today.
This description is not too much. The Lord, whom we serve and who indwells us, will confirm this word. If you ask me what Japan needs the most, I would say that the need is God’s house. If you ask me what America needs the most, I would say even more strongly that the need is to establish God’s house in every place. If you ask me what England needs the most, without a doubt I would say that England needs God’s house. Every place needs God’s house.
At the end of the conference in Denmark, as everyone was leaving, a sister from Sweden came to me in tears and said that she will never forget the help she received from the conference. She also said that she looked to the Lord’s mercy to live what was presented. Most of the saints asked what they should do when they went back and where they should meet, but this sister said that she would never forget the help she received and that she desired to live in God’s life so that God’s house can be built up.
It is not that there are shepherds with no sheep but that there are many sheep with no shepherds; there are many homeless believers. Hence, there was a feeling at the end of the conference that the saints were reluctant to leave. They wanted to know where they should go after the conference. Therefore, what every place needs the most is the satisfaction of having a home.
After this visit I feel that the situation of Christians in the West is disappointing, that their questions and their situation confirm that the way we know and are taking is the right way, and that the urgent need in every place is God’s house. In light of this situation, I ask whether we should limit what God has entrusted, measured, to us to the island of Taiwan? Or will God enlarge our borders because of our growth in Him? We need to spread, but how should we spread? What are the borders for our spread? Should we be limited to the Far East, or should we spread also to the West?
In terms of needs, every place has needs. The brothers in Tokyo have repeatedly asked for some co-workers. They requested that I present their need to the brothers here and ask that some co-workers be sent to them. The brothers from Bangkok sent me a letter in which they asked us to send more than two co-workers to them. When I was there, they said that if I cannot go there, I have to send some co-workers. There is also a need in America. The saints there requested that we send several brothers to them.
The question that we must ask is whether we should spread abroad. Should we limit ourselves to the Far East, or should we go to the West? This is what I want to fellowship with the saints. I am also willing to hear your feeling concerning this matter. We need to spend time in the Lord’s presence to see how we feel about this matter.
I also have a feeling about the overall situation in Taiwan and the situation of the co-workers. The Lord in His mercy has used the brothers and sisters in every place to do His work. However, several factors limit our usefulness in the Lord’s hand. One factor is that our spiritual view is narrow.
There are two aspects to our narrowness. We are limited by what we have learned, and we are limited by what we are doing. The help we can render others is only according to what we have learned. We cannot go beyond this. We are also limited by what we do. This also narrows our view. We are useful, but we are limited in our work by these two points. We do not have a feeling for the Body.
Our work must not be limited by what we have learned or by what we are doing. Our work is to build up the Body of Christ, which has a local aspect and a universal aspect. We are not merely helping individual believers to be spiritual or helping a group of believers to grow in life. Rather, our work is for the churches in the localities. At the same time, we are building up the Lord’s universal Body. May the Lord grant us another opportunity to fellowship further concerning this point. In the Lord’s work we should not be limited by what we can do or by what we have learned. We must have the view and the measure of the local and universal aspects of the Body of Christ.
For example, Hudson Taylor was not a gospel preacher. He was a person who learned to abide in the Lord because of what he saw in John 15. However, he received a burden to evangelize the whole of China. While China was still under the Ching Dynasty, Hudson Taylor said that he would use the Lord’s gospel to evangelize imperial China. His burden testified that his work was not limited by what he had learned. The burden that he received was beyond what he had learned and experienced. This is the reason that he was blessed by God.
Every believer who is limited by what he has learned is under the influence of the mystics, who were not productive in relation to the work. The evangelicals were raised up to make up the lack of the mystics. The Lord must enlarge us. We should not be ambitious to be great; we must remain humble. We must also allow the Lord to enlarge us. This will affect whether our work will spread.
Some co-workers are useful but restricted by what they have learned and by what they are doing because they are not broken. The work in some places is restricted, or even suffers loss, because we are not broken. Another factor that restricts the work is our lack of coordination. We do not coordinate because we are not broken. Hence, there is a lack of harmony.
Another factor that restricts the work is that we still have a problem with our skills. In some places there is not enough perfecting of the saints. We even replace the saints in their service. This is also a factor that restricts the Lord’s work.
In summary, there are several factors that restrict the Lord’s work. We are limited by what we have learned and are doing, we are not broken, we lack coordination and harmony, and we replace the saints instead of perfecting them because we lack skills.
The Lord has still used us, and our work has some results, but these factors limit the Lord. If the Lord was not limited, the work would be stronger, and it would have reached more places.
On the one hand, we need to spread abroad, but on the other hand, we still have some weaknesses. We do not have a strong model because of our weaknesses. It may be of the Lord that believers regard us too highly. On this trip I felt that the Lord opened a door that no one can shut. The Lord has opened the door and done the work; hence, we should not be proud.
Whether in the Far East or in the West, the Lord values our meetings and people regard them. This is the reason that believers came to us and asked for instructions and help. It is true that believers regard us too highly. They consider the meetings in Taiwan or a brother who says that he is from Taiwan to be wonderful. Wherever we went, we said that the situation in Taiwan is not so good and that there are many saints who are dormant and many saints who are still childish. Even though we said this, wherever we went, the believers waited for us to speak, they asked us for help, and they expected us to lead the meetings. They regarded us too highly. We are not that high; we have many weak points.
This fellowship is for us to consider which way the Lord is leading us. Should we strengthen the work and establish a model, or should we spread abroad? May the Lord enlighten every one of us.
