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While I was in Houston for the Chinese-speaking conference, I got quite a burden for the Chinese population, especially the Christians. It seems there is very little light; the sky is cloudy, foggy, and smoggy. I have heard that there are between twenty-five and thirty thousand Chinese in the Houston area. Most of these have come within the last ten years. Even among such a small population, there are some twenty-five to thirty Christian groups. It seems anyone is free and has the right to set up a group. I heard of a division that happened because a small number in a group wanted to put more emphasis on preaching the gospel. When the others in the group were not in agreement, those concerned about the gospel left and formed their own group. It was so easy. It seems there is no one to trumpet the oneness of the Body of Christ.
I also have the impression from what I have heard that the activities of some of these Christian groups are mainly social. Probably a number of their attendants are not even saved. In such a place the church must be very strong and shining.
We must blow the trumpet that the Body of Christ is one and that in any locality the expression of this Body as the church must also be one. There is no excuse for Christians to be divided.
Brothers, we ourselves need to learn, and then we need to train the saints in the recovery, how to preach this. We must point out that Christians should not be divided. Any division—big or small, old or new—is wrong. Catholicism, denominations, and free groups are all divisions. We must condemn division. But it is unwise to make a point of saying, without an adequate explanation to people, that only we who are on the local church ground are the churches, and all who are not on this ground are not churches. We should avoid any talk that makes the sky cloudy by stirring up argument. We must learn to present the truth in a clear and prevailing way, leaving no loophole for the other side to argue or reject.
In presenting the truth, our understanding, expression, and wording must be strong. We should have long talks with outsiders about the oneness of the church. From Matthew 16:18 on to the book of Revelation we can point out that the church should be one. Upon this oneness we can challenge their divisions. Can they justify division? Why were they meeting with some others a short time ago and now there is a split? Why did they not stay with that group? The church in Houston could even write a tract along this line and have the saints distribute it. Mail it as well. What is the use of vain complaining about divisions? You brothers, especially those from Houston, should do something. The Chinese saints in the church should do something. Pray together and write a tract. You may even print some posters and put them up in places where it is allowed.
What I saw and heard during the Chinese-speaking conference surely confirms my concern; that is, the recovery of the Lord must be strong and shining in two things. One is that the recovery is a recovery of God’s genuine expression. The other is the excellency of Christ—His superiority, His glory, His riches, and His expression. These are not superficial truths.
Brothers, as the leading ones in the local churches, you all need to get into these truths, experience them, and be trained to preach them to others. But this presenting of the deeper truths must be common to all the saints. Not only the elders can do it; even the sisters can. We must endeavor to take care of this matter.
The New Testament shows that all the believers are luminaries in the world (Phil. 2:15) and that every local church is a lampstand (Rev. 1:20). Wherever we are, we should shine. Individually and collectively we should shine. The sky is dark because the light does not shine. No matter how small our number is, even if there are only ten, our locality should be enlightened.
Just to meet on the ground, to pray in the spirit, and to live in the spirit I feel is not adequate. We must also sound the trumpet and shine forth the light. In the early years of the Lord’s recovery in China, the trumpet was loud; the testimony was clear. There was an atmosphere of spirituality. We were opposed, but the opposers could not deny that we had a high standard of spirituality. Although our numbers were small, we brought such an atmosphere into the community.
We must live a life full of Christ. When we say that division is wrong, there should be weight to our words; the divisive ones should be able to see that we do have a measure of Christ. We are not speaking lightly, vainly. They know that we have given up the world and rejected ourselves and that we live Christ. We must be a living testimony; we should not be so quiet and so lacking in influence. We should be spiritually “contagious.” Paul, you know, was accused of being “a pest” (Acts 24:5). The Jews implied that wherever he went, pestilence followed. I feel that Houston has no “pests”! You brothers in Houston, especially the Chinese, should be strong pests. Go out to spread the truth. At the same time, you should live a testimony. This testimony is the testimony of Jesus; it is the embodiment of the Triune God; it is the lampstand.
What is God’s ordained way for Christians to have a meeting? It is one church, one city. The meeting that is set up must keep the oneness. To set up a meeting that does not keep the oneness is to increase division and confusion. What is confusion? Anything that is done contrary to God’s ordained way is confusion. The only thing that keeps us from confusion is the way ordained by God.
I feel that the churches in the recovery should accept a commission to sound the trumpet, declaring to those in darkness that division is not only unscriptural but altogether abominable. A division is an abomination in the eyes of God.
Some may argue, saying, “Why do you condemn us? We love the Lord, we preach the gospel, we study the Bible, and we try to serve the Lord.”
We can answer, “Why do you do so many things to please God, yet you do not care about being one?” You may mention John 17:21, “That they all may be one,” and Ephesians 4:1-3, where the first item in a walk worthy of God is to keep the oneness.
We need to study John 17:21-23 and Ephesians 4:1-6, and we need to train the saints. Perhaps in the prayer meeting we can take fifteen minutes to teach the saints how to sound the trumpet. At the Lord’s table we can take a half-hour to train the saints to speak on the oneness of the children of God. We ourselves need to learn to sound the trumpet, and we need to train all the saints to do so too. We should not be so quiet. We should be watchmen, alerting people, not letting them sleep so peacefully. There are many ways to do this, such as passing out tracts and making phone calls to those we know.
In addition, to support what we say, we need a life that is the testimony of Jesus. We should live a life that is of the highest standard. Then, even though our words are rejected outwardly, inwardly those who reject will respect us. They will recognize that our words carry weight, that we have a living testimony, that we are the lampstand. The church in a locality should be shining. It is this shining that will convince those who would otherwise reject.
Isaiah says, “You who remind Jehovah, / Do not be dumb; / And do not give Him quiet” (62:6-7). We are to bother the Lord, praying, calling on Him, asking Him to do something. Just as we give the Lord no peace, so we should give those in the divisions no peace. I surely would like it if, after one month’s time, the entire Chinese community is discussing among themselves the matter of the oneness and the matter of the lampstand. I felt sad when I was in Houston. The Chinese there seem to be living in a backward country. It is dark; the spirituality is low. They seem to have no idea about spirituality. The church should be shining, trumpeting, speaking out, so that those in the divisions have no peace.
If you ask about the Spanish-speaking and the English-speaking, I would say this should be true of them too. Brothers, we have the truth, we have the light, and we have the capital: the Spirit, the life, the church, and Christ. Why are we so silent?
We should live Christ before others, and every day we should preach the truth to them. We can tell them, “You need Christ; you need to be regenerated.” After a time they may be saved. If we just keep silent, the darkness will remain. If we rise up and sound the trumpet of the truth, the light will spread, and the darkness will be scattered.
