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In Philippians 1:5 Paul speaks of “fellowship unto the furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now,” and in verse 12 he says, “I want you to know, brothers, that the things concerning me have turned out rather to the advancement of the gospel.” The “furtherance of the gospel” in verse 5 is the “advancement of the gospel” in verse 12. Advancement can also be translated as “furtherance” or “promotion,” that is, the active advancement of the gospel. Then in verses 19 through 21 Paul says, “I know that for me this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I will be put to shame, but with all boldness, as always, even now Christ will be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death. For to me, to live is Christ.”
Philippians 1 mainly refers to two matters: the furtherance of the gospel, or the active advancement of the gospel (vv. 3-18), and living and magnifying Christ (vv. 19-26). These two matters are interrelated. To live Christ and to magnify Christ require the furtherance and the active advancement of the gospel. Without the furtherance of the gospel and without the active advancement of the gospel, living Christ and magnifying Christ are merely theoretical and impractical.
In the Lord’s recovery the way of the work and the leading of the churches must match God’s revelation in the New Testament. We should not deviate from the pattern of God’s revelation, falling into the degraded condition of Christianity. Hence, we need to see His revelation in order to change our concepts. We can receive a new vision and change our concepts only by seeing revelation from God.
In recent years the number of people in the churches in Taiwan has not grown, the establishment of churches has not increased, and the raising up of elders and co-workers has been very slow. Hence, there is a need for a new beginning. In the past we had considerable assets. Figuratively speaking, we had factories, large bank deposits, and a huge market; our market extended even as far as Southeast Asia. However, there has been no growth in our “business volume” and no increase in our “production,” and our business has diminished year after year. Consequently, when I was seeking before the Lord, I realized that I needed to return to Taiwan to re-energize the situation.
When I was sent to Taiwan in 1949, I came empty-handed. Soon, however, two Chinese brothers from the Philippines offered the piece of land where hall one of the church in Taipei is currently situated. Then we built a small meeting hall that could accommodate approximately three hundred people. This was the only meeting hall on the island of Taiwan in those days, and the number of people meeting was only four to five hundred. These were the only “assets” that we had when we started the work in Taiwan.
After twenty years our “assets” have increased significantly. According to my observation, the development in Taiwan is thriving in every aspect, and the outlook is good. The Lord’s work here can serve as a model. Considering the global situation, Taiwan’s stability is a testimony of the Lord’s operation. Nevertheless, it has become very clear that we need a new beginning; we need to be re-energized. The Lord’s recovery here needs to propagate and increase. This is the burden in my spirit.
It has been more than twenty years since I went to the United States. During this period I have been to Central America, South America, and Europe, but most of the time I remained in the United States. Although I did not travel abroad frequently, more than three hundred churches have been raised up outside of Asia through our English publications. Despite this spreading, our propagation and increase are still not adequate, because there is not one local church in these Western countries that has more than one thousand people; at most, there are some churches with four to five hundred.
Even though we have spread to the six major continents, our multiplication is far from ideal. Thus, the Lord’s recovery at this stage needs to propagate and spread. Christ is unlimited, and His propagation and increase should also be unlimited. Nevertheless, due to our limitation, His propagation and increase have been limited. The problem is not with Him but with us. For this we do need a new beginning to afford Him the way to propagate and increase.
The co-workers and elders are clear about the Lord’s way and the ground of the church. During the turmoil they were stable, firm, and unshaken. When the turmoil came, I did nothing in order to see whether this work was of my doing or the Lord’s. Before I went abroad in 1959, I released some messages on the Gospel of John. In chapter 2 the Lord said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (v. 19). I said to those who were dissenting that if the work in Taiwan was initiated by the Lord, it would be built up in resurrection even if they destroyed it. I also said that if it was not initiated by the Lord, it should be destroyed. Therefore, I stood aside to watch. If our work was initiated by the Lord, they could not destroy it, but if it could be destroyed, it meant that the work was not initiated by the Lord. Therefore, there was no need for me to fight. The ultimate result was very encouraging because the co-workers were unaffected, and they stood firm and continued to advance. If such a turmoil had occurred in another Christian group, the group would have been in a dire situation.
The only thing that is saddening is that everyone has been at a standstill with no increase or spread. By standstill I mean that we are reluctant to make changes, to make even a slight adjustment. We have discussed this problem and have emphasized that our practice must change. To follow the old way of only holding conferences or big gospel meetings does not work.
We must receive a burden to afford the Lord’s recovery a new beginning. After the political change in mainland China, the Lord’s recovery came to Taiwan. From here it extended to Southeast Asia, then to East Asia, to the West, and afterward to the four large continents outside of Asia. Hence, Taiwan is the source, the seedbed, the nursery, for the spread of the Lord’s recovery. After we advance in Taiwan, we must advance in the United States. We cannot remain in the old practice. This is the atomic age. New weapons, new war strategies, and new war tactics have emerged. We must change our strategy and use new “weapons.” Then we will see a turn in the Lord’s recovery.
There are more than six hundred churches in the Lord’s recovery on the earth. If our work continues to follow the old way, we will become another work in Christianity, and we will be unable to achieve the Lord’s desire for His recovery. Therefore, we must make a turn, and it must begin from Taipei. If the church in Taipei does not turn, the other churches will not be able to turn. As long as Taipei turns, other churches will follow. We have reached the point where we have no choice but to turn. If we do not turn, we will become “obsolete.” We must dedicate and devote ourselves wholeheartedly to this at all cost.
When I was raised up by the Lord in northern China, I would have been welcomed by others if I had remained there doing a work of expounding the Bible rather than entering into the Lord’s recovery. However, when I met Brother Watchman Nee, I realized that the Lord’s way, the Lord’s light, and the Lord’s life were with him. Regardless of how much knowledge of life I had or how well I could preach, I knew that I should follow him. Even though my preaching and expounding of the Bible could render help to people, such a general work could not usher people into the Lord’s way. Hence, I let go of all that I had. From the time that I went to Shanghai to see Brother Nee, I abandoned everything, including my knowledge of the Bible and my work, handing myself over completely. After that, I no longer delivered my own messages but only what Brother Nee spoke. Fifty years ago my memory was quite remarkable. I could recite whatever Brother Nee spoke without reading any notes. During the seventeen years from 1932 to 1949, I delivered only Brother Nee’s messages, and I did only Brother Nee’s work.
When the Japanese army occupied Chefoo, the denominations in Chefoo were coerced into establishing a federation of Chinese Christian churches that was directed by the Japanese Intelligence Agency. Naturally, we could have no part of it. Subsequently, I was imprisoned. After I was released from prison, a man from the federation came to me and said, “You need to come to our place to give a message.” I went with an elderly brother to see the pastor, and I told him that I could not accept their proposal to preach in their place. He said, “At the very least, come to offer a prayer.” I said, “I am sorry, but I cannot even pray.” He immediately became grave and said, “You should be careful. Aren’t you afraid of being jailed? If you will not even come to pray, I am afraid that the military police will send you to prison again.” During the conversation he asked, “Do you also follow Watchman Nee? Are all your messages Watchman Nee’s messages?” I said, “Precisely. You consider it shameful to follow Watchman Nee, but I consider it an honor, and it is a glory to me.” Even though I followed Brother Nee, I did not follow blindly; I am not a thoughtless person. To this day I have no regrets for taking this way.
After moving to Shanghai in 1934 to work with Brother Nee, I was given the job of editing The Christian. I was also given the responsibility to deliver messages in the church in Shanghai. At that time Brother Nee had some co-workers who had been working with him for eight to ten years. I was his junior and could not understand why he highly regarded me. Later, I realized that others accepted Brother Nee only halfway, which made things difficult for him. Nevertheless, he knew who was absolute. During the twenty years when Brother Nee was in prison, he led a young man who was imprisoned with him to salvation. When this young man was about to be released, Brother Nee told him, “When you get out, find a brother named Witness Lee and tell him that my faith did not change.”
I am saying this to show that I had no intention to take the lead but that the Lord put me in a situation where I had no choice but to take the lead. Brother Nee had a large group of co-workers, but as soon as he was put in prison, many from this group of co-workers were nowhere to be found. There were a few who were faithful until their death in prison, and this encouraged us very much, but apart from those few, others either renounced their faith or could not be found. The Lord’s recovery then fell on me and continued to spread to the six major continents. The key is not in following Watchman Nee or Witness Lee; rather, it is in taking the proper way of the Lord’s recovery. Each one of us must have an accurate view.
My burden is that we would change our concept and drop our old practices. The truth cannot be dropped, and our way cannot be dropped, but our practices can be dropped. We need to return to the starting point in the Bible by having meetings from house to house. However, I am concerned that many of us do not appreciate the meetings from house to house. On the contrary, in our thoughts and feelings we may be more inclined toward having someone come and preach on the Lord’s Day morning. As long as such a person is here, we would feel fine. Hence, we need to renew our learning before the Lord. In the book of Acts there were definitely big meetings and meetings from house to house. We still need to study how to conduct the meetings from house to house. Even though we have somewhat practiced this before, it was never done thoroughly.
The meetings from house to house should include every kind of function. First, the gospel should be preached. The most effective way of preaching the gospel is in the homes. Second, the meeting should support and retain people. Without home meetings, it is difficult to support and retain people through only the big meetings. Third, the saints in the home meetings should function to visit, shepherd, and recover those who have not been meeting for a while. The easiest way to restore dormant saints is through the homes. Fourth, the meetings should teach the truth. Acts 5:42 says, “From house to house, they did not cease teaching.” There should be the preaching of the gospel and the teaching of the truth in the homes. The spread of the truth definitely depends on the home meetings.
Fifth, the meetings should build up the church. Although it is easy to preach the gospel, to retain, visit, shepherd, and restore people, and even to teach the truth in the home meetings, we still need to study how to enrich, strengthen, and uplift the home meetings. As soon as the home meetings are uplifted and strengthened, God’s goal can be achieved because the brothers and sisters will be coordinated and built up together, issuing in the building. If this condition is achieved, all the co-workers and elders could be “raptured” from Taiwan because the churches would be as solid as a rock. Sadly, this is not our condition today. Instead, if the co-workers and elders were removed, I am afraid that the churches would have no way to go on. Hence, we truly need to establish and strengthen the home meetings and the small group meetings to enable the saints to meet from house to house on their own.
From experience, we should never appoint a leading one in a small group meeting or a home meeting. There is much harm in appointing leading ones. Without any leading one, however, there may be a concern that a meeting will become disorderly and people will not be retained. Thus, we must find a way. This is not the responsibility of just the co-workers; even more, it is the responsibility of the elders in each hall.
In brief, the change in our system is mainly a change from depending on the big meetings to depending much more on the small meetings. This is similar to an airplane having two wings and flying with both wings rather than just one. When the co-workers begin to work, they must use both wings. The elders in the localities must also depend on both wings to fly. In terms of gift, the elders may not be able to work on the big meetings, so the small group meetings should be the elders’ responsibility. The elders should actively work out the small group meetings, but the big meetings are on the shoulders of the co-workers. In this way the church will have excellent prospects.
