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Scripture Reading: John 10:10b; 3:29-30; 12:24-26; 15:4-5; 17:21
The writings of the apostle John are classified into three groups. The first is his Gospel, the second is his Epistles, and the last is the book of Revelation. It is very interesting that in the arrangement of the order of the New Testament books, all the writings of John are put at the end of each category. This is not because these books were the last books written; in this case they would all be at the end of the New Testament. Under the sovereignty of the Lord, the arrangement of the New Testament books is not chronological. Rather, John’s Gospel is at the end of the Gospels, and his Epistles are at the end of the Epistles. Even after Jude there are the seven epistles in the book of Revelation, which is at the end of the entire New Testament. The reason for this is very meaningful. We can see the real sovereignty of the Lord concerning the Bible.
John’s ministry is not the ministry for starting but the ministry for completing. His ministry is not the fishing ministry that brings people in; it is the mending ministry to keep people in the testimony by mending the work of the Lord. If we take this point of view and study all the books of this apostle in this way, we will have new light.
At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord Jesus says, “Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (28:19). In Mark the Lord Jesus says almost the same thing: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all the creation” (16:15), and in Luke there is a similar word (24:47-49). The endings of these first three Gospels tell us the same thing—that we have to go, preach the gospel to all the nations and to all the creation, and disciple the Gentiles. When we come to the last Gospel, however, we do not have this kind of word or commandment. The Lord’s commission in the Gospel of John is not in this way. In John we have the way to preach the gospel in and by life, the way to preach the gospel by the mending ministry.
The history of the church, our own experiences, and the present situation of Christianity all prove that if we do not have the way mentioned and revealed in this Gospel, if we have only the way revealed in the first three Gospels, the preaching of the gospel will not have a prevailing result. The result of the preaching of the gospel is kept by the way of life revealed in the Gospel of John. If we do not know the way to preach the gospel revealed in this book, and we only know the way mentioned in the first three books, the result of our preaching will leak away, because there will be nothing to mend and keep the result.
It is very easy for Christians to realize the way of preaching the gospel that is mentioned in the first three Gospels. This is because even though that way is not, strictly speaking, out of the human concept, it is similar to the human concept. The way to preach the gospel by life and in life, however, as revealed in the Gospel of John, requires heavenly revelation and spiritual insight. Otherwise, we cannot see it; it will seem that in this Gospel the Lord never says anything about the preaching of His gospel. The Lord does speak of the gospel, but He speaks in the way of life, not in the way that the natural concept can apprehend.
We still need the way revealed in the first three Gospels. We have to go, and we have to preach. However, if we do not have the way of life, whatever we reap with one hand, we will lose with the other hand. We may compare this to bringing water out of a well and putting it into a leaking basin. We need something to keep and contain what we have.
Consider the history of the church and the present situation of Christianity. Many people have been brought to the Lord through campaigns and crusades, but where are they now? We cannot account for them, because Christianity today mostly uses the way spoken of in the first three Gospels and neglects the way in the Gospel of John. It uses the fishing way while neglecting the mending way. Some people were brought to the Lord through me thirty-five years ago, but at that time I did not know this mending way. Now I do not know where many of them are. They truly came to the Lord, but eventually they leaked away. Only a few, who have been truly helped by the mending ministry, the ministry of life, are still in the church life.
While we do acknowledge the first way of preaching, we have to pay our full attention to the second way, the way of life, the way of Christ increased through us. For the long run, the best and proper way for the church and the members of the church to preach the gospel is the way of life. We all have to learn this way, and we have to pay attention to this way.
It is easy for us to apprehend the first way because it is very close to our natural concept. However, to apprehend the second way to preach the gospel, the way of life, we need revelation. We need spiritual insight to see that the way to preach the gospel is to impart Christ to others. This is for Christ to be increased through us and into others. Therefore, there is the absolute need of life. We must have this life. If we do not have this life, we cannot impart Christ to others. Even in the physical life, we cannot expect a person who is childish, weak, or ill to impart life to others. There is the need of the real growth in life; then life can be imparted to others. In order to preach the gospel in the way of life, we have to grow. If a branch of a tree has no growth and is poor in life, how can it bear fruit? If we are going to bear fruit for the increase of Christ through us, we must have life abundantly. The Lord Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly” (John 10:10b). To have life is good for ourselves, but if we are going to impart life to others, we must have life abundantly. Therefore, we need to grow.
If we are truly growing and have growth, we need to practice at least four things. First, we must care for the unbelievers. Regardless of how spiritual we are and what kind of spiritual attainment we have made, even if we are as experienced as the apostle Paul, we still need to care for people by preaching the gospel. Brother Watchman Nee gathered one hundred forty-seven names within one and a half years. He constantly prayed for these names. We all have to practice this. We have to go to the Lord to consider all the people surrounding us—relatives, neighbors, friends, schoolmates, colleagues, and others, not only the people whom we know locally but also those we know who are far away. If someone is far off, we still need to bear the burden for him. We should fellowship with the Lord. Then He will lead us to take care of certain ones. This is something for the long run. We must not expect to bring people to the Lord too quickly. Rather, we have to pray for them daily. This requires a real fellowship with the Lord.
In order to pray, we ourselves have to be dealt with. If we have a separation from the Lord, we will be hindered. We will not be able to pray with a pure conscience, and we will not have the boldness, the assurance, and the faith that our prayer can be answered. Therefore, we need to be dealt with. If we mean business with the Lord to care for others, we will constantly be dealt with by the Lord. This will help us to grow. The more we are willing to be dealt with by the Lord, the more we will grow, and the more we grow, the more we will have the abundant life to share with others.
We must practice to pray. We do not want to give the impression that we are legalistic or formal, but in some places the saints, especially the young ones, made the decision to pray for at least five people. I do not want to make a regulation of this, but we practiced this way when we were young. When I was younger, I always carried some tracts in my pocket. At that time I walked for thirty minutes to the office where I worked. As I was walking, I would always pass the tracts out to every kind of person I met, and if there was the time, I would talk to a few people.
When the Lord first began the work in my hometown, I was by myself. One evening a friend of mine came to talk with me about a certain matter. Before that time, we had both been members of the Chinese Independent Church, where, being about ten years older than I, he was one of the elders. Because that was in July, the hot time of the year, I suggested that we go to the beach to have a time of fellowship. As we sat on the sand, he asked me about various matters, such as baptism and the Lord’s table. After two or three hours, I suggested we go back home. Instead, he wanted to remain, and he asked me to baptize him. That was the beginning of the work there. I baptized him even though I was simply a layman, a young person, not a pastor, preacher, elder, or deacon. We two were in the heavens. He said to me, “Mr. Lee, from tonight I will drop the Chinese Independent Church. Let us two pray together and read the Bible.” I agreed to this.
On the third day afterward, I asked one of my office colleagues concerning that person. He wanted to know why I was asking, so I said, “I will tell you a secret. The day before yesterday, I baptized him in the sea.” Right away he said, “Mr. Lee, this afternoon after work you have to baptize me.” This man had been saved through me. I told him to wait a little, because there was another man who was saved who might also want to be baptized. A few minutes later that other person came, and we checked with him. He said, “I am willing. Let us do it.” So on that day another two were baptized. Then we were four. That was a Thursday, and by the next Lord’s Day, we had eleven people. We were like the early disciples, just eleven brothers meeting together to have the Lord’s table. After that, the Lord sent more people to us.
The principle here is that the Lord will send people to us if we have a real testimony in life. We all have to learn the lesson to care for others. We have to pray for certain names and make this kind of preaching a part of our life. We are living here for this. This is not merely our work or activity; this is a part of our life. I can testify that it is altogether true that if we pray for others, sooner or later they will be saved. It takes time. Learn to bear this burden.
In the past twenty-five years, I saw a good number of spiritual persons. However, they went to an extreme. The more they became spiritual, the more they neglected this kind of preaching. That is one hundred percent wrong. We need the balance of preaching with spirituality. The more we become spiritual, the more we have to bear the burden of preaching. This is the first thing we have to practice.
Second, along with our prayer and preaching, we must have a testimony in life. Without a testimony in life, our preaching and prayer will not be prevailing. A person once preached the gospel to his colleagues for more than ten years. Day by day he did the preaching but without result. This is because he had no testimony in life. On the one hand, he passed out tracts and preached the gospel, but on the other hand, he argued with people and easily lost his temper. That spoiled and hindered his preaching. There is the need of a testimony in life. We have to fall into the earth to die for Jesus’ sake, and we must be resurrected. Then we will have a testimony in our daily life.
I can never forget a certain brother who studied engineering in this country. After graduation he went back to China, and by the time I met him, he was the head of a department in our college. I was surprised that such a highly educated and high-ranking person could be saved. He told me his story, which was very inspiring. For several years a certain brother worked under him in the government. This brother held a very low position. In China, especially in the early years, people in high positions looked down on those in positions like this. They considered them unequal to themselves and did not like even to talk to them. However that brother, a lowly, small employee in that department, tried his best to contact the head of the department and tell him about the Lord Jesus. The head considered that since he had studied in America, he knew all about Christianity, and he did not need it. It seemed that the lowly brother could do nothing, but every morning he came early to the office and put a tract on the desk of the department head. When that man came in, he saw it. This happened every day without exception for several years.
That man was not happy with the brother, but he could not fire him. After about three to five years, the man spoke with his wife, who had also studied in America. He said, “Let us go to that poor fellow’s home and see what they are and what they are doing.” That he suddenly had such a thought must have been the Lord’s answer to prayer. The couple went to visit the brother. They went into his home and stayed for a certain time. The testimony was there. They noticed their family life and were impressed. After they returned home, they talked with each other. The man said, “We two are highly educated. You studied home economics, but how poor our home is. Those people are from a lower class. They have not been educated as we have been, but what a wonderful family life they have!” This was the brother’s testimony.
That couple again contacted the poor brother and his wife and asked them how they had such a beautiful family life. The brother’s answer was simply that they had Jesus. At this point the Holy Spirit convinced them. This highly educated couple in the highest position knelt down, prayed, and accepted the Lord, and they were saved. Not long after that, I was invited to their town, and I stayed in their home. They truly loved the Lord. They were saved through preaching in the way of life. That was not only the preaching of the gospel; that was the imparting of life, the imparting of Christ. This is the increase of Christ.
I was also invited to the first brother’s home. He gave me the testimony with tears of how much he suffered just for that one couple. He was despised, looked down upon, and treated poorly because that man was in the higher position. The department head was not happy with this poor brother, so he did many things to persecute him, and the little brother suffered all the time. Still, whenever he saw that high official, he always smiled at him humbly. Regardless of how he was treated, he was happy within and put a tract on his desk over a period of several years, even though all the tracts, without exception, went into the wastebasket. I have heard many such stories as this one.
The first Presbyterian missionaries who went to China had a real love toward those poor Gentiles, and they had a testimony. That love and testimony convinced the people, and through that, the door for the gospel was opened. Otherwise, it would have been too hard to open the door among the poor, conservative Chinese. One story is the most inspiring. At that time, no doors for the gospel were open. The missionaries could not do anything. The people made a corporate decision that no one in the whole village would open his door to any of the foreign missionaries. Whenever a foreign missionary came to the village, a gong was beaten to warn of his coming. Then all the people closed their doors. Not one person in the whole village would come out of his home until the gong was sounded again because the missionary was gone.
One dear brother, who was a missionary, studied the situation and began to pray. The people would close their entrances and wait for a long time. The brother would stand beside a door, and when someone would open it to see if the foreigner had gone, the brother would put a stick into the door. He would push the door until he was half through it, and then regardless of what the people inside did, he would push all the way through. In China in the early days, almost every home had a grinding room with a millstone to grind the wheat and corn. That was a hard task since there was no power in those homes. If someone was rich, he would use a horse or mule to do the work, but if he was poor, he would do the grinding by himself.
The missionary studied this situation. After coming through a door, he would right away run to the mill to do the grinding work for the people. The whole family would pay no attention to that poor fellow. They said, “If he is willing to do the hard work for us, let him do it.” The brother would continue to grind without stopping for several hours, almost for the whole day. That touched the heart of the people in the family, especially the older generation. The grandfather would come and give him a cup of water and say, “Drink it.” The missionary would thank him and drink it. Then he would keep on grinding. That truly touched them. It was because of this that the older generation was opened to the brother. They would say, “Please sit down and have a rest. How old are you? From where did you come?” It was through this that the doors were opened one by one.
There are other such stories that are truly inspiring. I would impress you that there is no easy way to bear fruit. If a grain of wheat is to bear fruit, it has to fall into the earth, die, and be resurrected. Then the life will come out. Almost everyone, especially in this country, knows something about Christianity. We cannot win people in a light way or easy way. Rather, we have to pay the price. We have to win people at a certain cost. We have to pay a price for our relatives, neighbors, colleagues, and classmates. We must pray for them and testify the Lord Jesus to them, giving them a real testimony in life.
There is the need of a testimony in life. This kind of testimony cannot be built up in one or two days. It requires a certain period of time. As students in school, we have to build up a testimony day by day. Then after a few weeks or months the way will be prepared to bring people to the Lord. This is the most prevailing way. In this way, not only will people be brought to the Lord, but they will also be kept. I say again, this is not merely the preaching of the gospel but also the imparting of life to others. We have to practice this. In order to be balanced, we must have a life of preaching.
The third thing we must practice is to be built up. We must be able to show the whole universe, especially those for whom we are concerned, that we are living members of the Body of Christ. To do this, we should invite the brothers and sisters who are built together with us to help us deal with the unbelievers. If we are not built up together, it is hard to invite brothers to share the preaching with us. Even if we do invite someone, there will be no impact and vitality. If, however, we are built together in love, people will be able to sense it. When we invite the brothers and sisters to help us deal with the unbelievers, they will sense that there is something among us. They will sense the love and that there is something wonderful among us. This is very convincing to people. This kind of building up and oneness paves the way for the Holy Spirit to work something into the unbelievers. If we do not have the oneness, however, even if we all come together, there will be no impact. Satan will laugh at us, and the Holy Spirit will be choked. There will be no way for the Holy Spirit to work something of Christ into people. There is the need of the oneness, the building up.
When we are built up together, it is effective to invite unbelievers to come to our meeting. The meeting of built-up Christians is very prevailing. However, if we are not built up together and we are loose in coming together, there will be no impact. In the early 1940s in my hometown, people were very impressed by our meetings. In their common talk they would say to each other that anyone who went to those meetings would be convinced. There was an impact there.
In the same way, many people who have come to our meetings here were also very impressed. They can forget the message, but they cannot forget the meeting and the atmosphere in the meeting. There is the oneness and the living impact. Suppose, on the other hand, that we are not built up with one another. When we come to the meeting, we come unhappy and disappointed with the brothers. Then when one brother chooses a hymn, someone else just shakes his head, and we sing it in a poor way. In this case, there is no impact. However, suppose that we are built together as one in love. Whenever we come together, we love one another. All the brothers and sisters are happy to see one another, and we feel that it is wonderful to be together. In this case, the Spirit will be released. Whatever hymn anyone calls, we simply sing it right away in the spirit, in love, and in oneness. That kind of meeting will be very convincing.
One brother who came to our meetings went back and told people, “Oh, you do not know what kind of meeting that was! When you come into the meeting, their singing, the oneness, and the anointing are wonderful. The anointing within me kept telling me that this is the answer.” He was impressed in this way not by hearing a message but simply by attending the meeting. Then he asked as many people as he could to come to our conference here. He wanted them to come just to hear our singing. Some who came to our first meeting for the preaching of the gospel went back to their city and reported that heaven came down in that meeting. I have heard many things like this.
We must learn to love the Lord, fellowship with Him, live by Him, and walk in Him, and we must learn how to exercise our spirit to contact the Lord and release Him from our spirit. We must also pray for the sinners, preach the gospel to them, have the testimony of life, come together in love, and be truly built up. Then whenever we come together, there will be the impact. This is the proper and only way to testify the Lord. Other things may be a help, but they are not the main, proper way. The proper way is this kind of life, including the church life.
The unbelievers who are brought into the church life through this way of life will be kept in life. The life will constantly mend and keep them. This life will become the keeping power. The most prevailing way to preach the gospel is the way of life and the way of the Body life. We must not neglect the practical way we come together, but we cannot pretend. If we do not love one another and do not have a daily life in Christ through the Spirit, we may pretend that we have something when we come together. However, the Holy Spirit will never testify to this, and the evil one will laugh at us, regardless of what way we meet. There must be a life as our backing. We must have this life in our daily walk, and we must be truly built up and love one another. Then whenever we come together, we will have the reality, the backing. We will have the atmosphere, the singing in the spirit, the release of the Spirit, and the proper prayer. This will convince people. This is the “warm climate” to warm people up. It is not a matter of teaching, doctrine, or preaching. Many times people are not infused by the teachings, but it is always easy for people to be influenced and convinced by a certain kind of feeling and atmosphere. If we have such a meeting in oneness and in life, full of love and the release of the spirit, this kind of meeting will impress people.
In our hometown an unbeliever was saved in a wedding meeting. This woman did not know the brothers or sisters. She simply was standing on the street and noticed that a meeting was going on. She was a complete Gentile and had never heard the gospel. She came in to sit and watch the wedding. Actually, that was not merely a wedding; it was a Christian meeting full of the Holy Spirit. The singing and the love were inspiring. On that day she said to herself, “I have to find out what kind of people these are. What are they doing here?” In this way, this woman, a widow, was easily saved. In that meeting there was no gospel preaching; it was just a wedding meeting. Even through such a wedding meeting, however, this woman was saved simply by the atmosphere, which was sweet, full of love, and inspiring.
Even if people cannot understand in their mentality, still their heart and spirit can sense that there is something sweet and convincing here. We need to have such a meeting. This depends on our oneness and our being built up. In this oneness and building up there is love, humility, kindness, meekness, and all good things. It is through this oneness that the Holy Spirit is released and the enemy is subdued. Then people are convinced. It is so easy. Moreover, people who are brought into the church life in this way will always be kept by this mending and keeping life.
The fourth thing we must practice is always to contact people by exercising the spirit. It is too easy to preach by arguing. We should forget about this kind of preaching and forget about arguing. Before one elderly brother among us was saved, he asked Brother Watchman Nee many questions, but Brother Nee did not answer. Brother Nee simply exercised his spirit to ask him one question: “Did you commit sin?” Do not deal with people’s mentality but with their conscience, their spirit. We can only touch people’s spirit by exercising our spirit. If we exercise our mind, we can only touch people’s mind. Therefore, we need to live and have our daily walk by exercising our spirit. Then we will know how to exercise our spirit. We will be accustomed to it, and whenever we contact people, we will not pay much attention to talking, preaching, or arguing. We will pay attention to dealing with their spirit. If we learn how to exercise in this way, we will pave the way for the Holy Spirit to do many things.
All the foregoing matters are not mere teachings. I do not want to have more teachings. Rather, we need to know, experience, and practice many things. If we would practice the above four matters, we will learn much, not by being taught but by practicing. We must care for others and pray for them, bear the burden, have a life as a real testimony, be built up with others, and learn to exercise the spirit. Then we will be very productive. In a gradual way, monthly and yearly, people will be brought to the Lord. This preaching is not merely a preaching. It is the real increase of Christ. We will see the branches of the vine become fruitful, and the church life will be built up. This is what we need. We must consider this kind of preaching as a part of our human life. We look to the Lord for His strengthening and His help in this regard.
