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Over the years, “Living in the spirit! Standing on the ground!” has become a rallying cry among us. When Brother T. Austin-Sparks came to Taiwan in 1957, he caused a problem related to the ground of the church. Since then, however, the matter of the ground has become firmer and clearer among us. Nevertheless, we must not forget to instruct the young people, who have come into the Lord’s recovery since then, concerning the ground of the church.
The young people who have moved from the Far East to the United States in recent years have not been clear concerning the ground. There are some from Taiwan who have little realization of the importance of the ground. This shows that the brothers in Taiwan have been short in leading the saints. The responsible brothers in each hall should know who is migrating or studying abroad and fellowship with them before they go. According to my observation, however, the brothers in Taiwan seem to have done nothing. It seems as if no effort has been made to care for the brothers and sisters who have gone abroad. This reveals a shortage in our service. When saints go to the United States, they encounter Christian groups who are focused on gaining Chinese immigrants. These groups say, “We are Chinese, we speak Chinese, and we have the Chinese culture. Come and meet with us.” The brothers in Hong Kong and Taiwan should tell the saints who are going to the United States about such groups.
The brothers and sisters in the Far East must care for the saints who are moving from the Far East to the United States. We must care for each one who goes to the United States, whether it is to reside or to study there. They need some understanding of the truth and also some realization concerning the efforts of such Chinese groups. I hope that the brothers in the Far East will understand and take this matter seriously. Our handling of this matter has been loose, and many people have been drawn away. Despite this history, however, we seem unconcerned. This is wrong. We should not neglect anyone who is moving from the Far East to the United States; instead, we should be cautious and give heed to this matter.
I cannot spend extra time to care for the brothers and sisters from the Far East in America because the environment does not allow for it. If I spend even a little time or strength to care for the brothers and sisters from the Far East, the Lord’s leading among the American brothers and sisters will be affected. According to the burden that I have received from the Lord personally, I must spend a hundred percent of my time, energy, and strength to lead the American brothers and sisters.
In the history of Christianity in America, no preacher from China has ever succeeded in spreading the Lord’s work in America. Preachers from China could only do a so-called Chinese work in Chinatowns. History also tells us, however, that a Chinese work in Chinatown has no future, because the older generation of Chinese does not understand English, whereas the next generation of Chinese understands the English language better than the Chinese language. Then, as they become Americanized, they leave Chinatown. As a result, a work in Chinatown cannot produce a succeeding generation. Such a work is gone after one generation, but Chinese preachers work in Chinatown because they have no way to work among the Americans. Nevertheless, as more and more students from the Far East begin to study in the United States, these preachers see an opportunity to work among the Chinese.
Currently, there are at least one to two hundred Chinese students in every state university; some even have three to five hundred. A percentage of these students is saved, and they meet with the denominations or free groups. When they arrive in America, they are unfamiliar with the place and the people, and they are different from Americans in their customs, social relationships, living, and habits. Consequently, they seek out their fellow countrymen, and as Christians, they seek out fellow Christians.
Among the Chinese, there are Christians who are sincere in their zealousness and willingness to establish Christian groups to preach to these Chinese immigrants. This is the basis of the Christian work among the Chinese in the United States. Some young Chinese preachers have gone to the United States to meet this need. Their work in America is actually a work among Chinese students. However, this work has no future because students are very mobile, and they move after they graduate. Thus, it is impossible to establish a foundational work in any locality. Americans do not intentionally shun the Chinese, but if a meeting is thirty percent Chinese, Americans may come to one meeting, but they will not return, because they think that it is only a Chinese meeting. This is a great problem.
In spite of the fact that there are many Chinese coming to America, I was not sent to the United States to take care of the Chinese. If the Lord wanted me to work with the Chinese, He did not need to send me to America. The work with the Chinese should be done in Taiwan and Hong Kong. If I had gone to the United States to do a Chinese work, it would have been against the principle of the Bible. We must never seek to establish “Chinese churches” in the United States.
How can a Chinese preacher work among Americans? The United States is a Christian nation, and if the Americans know what we know, how can we gain them? When we contact the Americans, however, we are able to present things that they have never seen or heard. We are able to speak of the vision of the age that has been entrusted to us as the Lord’s special testimony. This draws the Americans and opens up the door for our work among them. We need to devote our time to taking care of this open door. If we spend all our time with the Chinese, our work among the Americans will be affected, and our work in America will not be fruitful.
We are the only group of Chinese preachers in history who have been able to fruitfully work for the Lord among Americans. Now there is a testimony of the Lord’s recovery in many of the major cities in the United States, from the East Coast to the West Coast and from the north to the south. Currently, there are over thirty local churches in America. Consequently, I do not have a burden from the Lord or the strength to train and lead the brothers and sisters from the Far East.
A brother recently said to me, “It may have been necessary in the past to not work with the Chinese in the United States but now may be the time.” I disagreed with this word because I cannot start a work among the Chinese in America. If I do this, our work among the Americans will rapidly decline. By God’s mercy and grace, we have been able to work and focus entirely upon Americans. This is a strategic development. The Lord led us to the United States, and this strategy has been effective. The results that we are seeing today are the issue of this strategy. It would be wrong for us to sacrifice thousands of Americans to care for the Chinese who are coming to America, because the Lord has not sent us to the United States to do a work among the Chinese.
We should not think that we need to care only for the spirit but not for the ground. There are two sides to every matter, including the church. With the church, the ground speaks of the outward testimony, whereas the spirit speaks of the inner content. Although we cannot neglect the inner content by caring only for the ground, neither should we disregard the ground and care only for the spirit. We must care for both aspects.
In order to see the importance of the ground, I would like to give a testimony. In 1957 Brother T. Austin-Sparks came to Taiwan a second time. During this time there was a great contention because a brother among us raised a question concerning the ground of the church. In 1938 Brother Nee went to England and stayed with Brother Sparks for a period of time. After Brother Nee returned in 1939, he told me that the principles of spiritual life that we had seen would resonate only with Brother Sparks and the group who was with him. He also said, however, that they were unwilling to accept many of the matters that the Lord had shown us concerning the practice of the church.
When Brother T. Austin-Sparks came to Taiwan in 1957, I knew that he was not open to the matter of the ground of the church. However, we still invited him to come in the hope that we could receive some spiritual help based on his spiritual portion. We had no desire to contend with him over the matter of the ground. Nevertheless, he said to me, “When I saw something the first time I came, I was determined not to say anything at that time.” This showed that he had an intention to say something the second time that he came. Then, when a brother raised a question concerning the ground with him, there was a contention.
As soon as the contention began, I realized that he had no thought of establishing local churches. Instead, he desired to establish ministry centers in various places on the earth. He once told me that he was willing to move to Taiwan, indicating his desire to establish a ministry center in Taipei. In addition, he also wanted to establish ministry centers in Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Singapore. He felt that he could help people by flying to and ministering in places such as New York, Taiwan, and Hong Kong at various times of the year. All those who were helped by his ministry could then spread his ministry among various denominations. Then those who were gained from the denominations would gather together with him during his next visit. This was his strategy.
This strategy, however, cannot work. First, those who were helped by him would be scattered in various denominations doing an underground work. They would not meet regularly together, and they would be dependent upon the limited supply rendered during his conference in their city. This alone would doom the work to failure. Second, the denominations would have a negative feeling toward Brother T. Austin-Sparks, and they would refuse to let some do an underground work in their midst. Various denominations even stated that those who were already doing an underground work would have to leave because they were not like-minded with those in the denomination. Hence, it was not possible for this strategy to ever work.
Brother Sparks’s second visit to Taiwan caused a great contention, and it was clear that he did not care for the matter of the ground of the church. When I accompanied him to Hong Kong during his second visit, he invited me several times to come to England, but I did not accept. In 1958 I still had some hope that the brothers among us who had been affected by Brother Sparks would turn. Therefore, I felt that I should go to England, to the place of his ministry, and see the situation of his work. Before I even went, however, those who had been affected by Brother Sparks had already determined to oppose me if my response, upon returning from England, was not positive.
When I came to T. Austin-Sparks’s place, I openly told him that I did not come to England with an intention of doing any work but to have a good fellowship with him concerning the Lord’s interest on the earth today and the Lord’s work. He then took me from London to Scotland for a week. We did not have meetings while I was there; we only fellowshipped over this matter. We talked every day, twice a day. We were polite in our fellowship, with both being somewhat advanced in age. He had his British diplomacy, and I had my Chinese etiquette, but when we sat down to talk, we had substantial fellowship.
One morning as we were sitting outside and before I began to speak, he said, “Brother Lee, when I departed from Taipei to Hong Kong in April 1957, the flow within me stopped as soon as my plane took off, and it has not been restored even to this day.” He was sincere, and he spoke clearly concerning his actual inner condition. Then he said, “I rose up very early this morning to cry out to the Lord in His presence, asking Him why He has not restored the flow. After I prayed, I felt that I needed a little change.” I was disappointed because he spoke only of a need for a change by moving to another place. I responded, saying, “Brother, I also feel that you need a change, but you do not need a change in place.” When he heard this, being an intelligent person, he knew what I was going to say next, which was that he needed a change in his concept related to the ground of the church. He was unable to receive what I said, however, no matter how I tried.
We talked over the course of a week. The last time we talked, he took me to a large house with a quiet room upstairs. This time I began to speak first, and I asked, “Brother, when you go out to work, do you hope that people would be helped by your ministry?” When he said, “Yes,” I asked, “After they receive your help, where should they go?” When he did not reply, I asked, “If they cannot go someplace, how can they meet together?” He still did not reply. Then I asked, “Brother, can the light and the vision that we have seen concerning the Body of Christ be practiced in the denominations?” He replied, “Certainly not.” Then I asked, “If it cannot be practiced in the denominations, where can it be practiced?” He had no answer. Since I was shortly about to leave, I was quite burdened that he would face the consequences of his thinking.
Then he said, “Brother, please do not think that I do not care for the church. I care for the church, but the church must be one hundred percent out of the Spirit; it must be a work done by the Spirit in order for it to be absolutely of the Spirit.” This was a serious matter to him, so I responded, “Brother, you have been in our midst twice. You have visited Taiwan from north to south, and you have seen over fifty churches among us. Is it possible that all these churches are of the flesh, having nothing of the Spirit?” He could not reply, because he had testified in Taiwan that he had never seen believers as good as the ones in Taiwan in his entire life of ministry and preaching. When he returned to the West, he even showed people pictures and spoke highly of the situation in Taiwan. At this point, he knew that there was no way I could change, and I knew that he would not repent. At the end of our talk, we both were clear concerning the position of the other, and we stopped discussing the matter.
In 1964 a group of people in Manila, together with dissenters in Taiwan, invited Brother T. Austin-Sparks to the Far East. He went to the Philippines for four weeks and then planned to come to Taipei. A group in Singapore, who coordinated with the group in Manila, also invited him to speak in Singapore. The dissenters thought that when he came to Taiwan, they would have a great victory, and the church would be finished. They also believed that this would happen when he went to Singapore.
Concerning this situation, the responsible brothers in Taiwan could only cry out to the Lord and pray. Then a telegram came from London for Brother Sparks, saying that his only son, a healthy man about forty years old, had passed away suddenly. He immediately returned, and the potential for turmoil was quickly diffused in Taiwan.
I do not like to speak about such tragic matters, but Brother T. Austin-Sparks told me himself that the flow within him stopped when he left Hong Kong in 1957. According to my personal observation, his high ministry began to decline at this point, and it declined rapidly. I even told the brothers that I was very worried for him, because in his opposition to the ground of the church, he was touching the government of God. If the ground of the church was something only of our doing, it would not matter how much he opposed it. However, if the ground of the church is according to the Lord’s recovery in this age, it is a tremendous matter. Brother Austin-Sparks did not err morally or in his deeds, but he opposed God governmentally. This is a severe and serious thing. We can see in the decade following the turmoil in Taiwan that there has been no blessing upon the opposers or their work. Instead, there have been repeated divisions among themselves.
It is the Lord’s mercy that we are standing on the ground today, but we should not think that standing on the ground alone is sufficient to be the Lord’s living testimony. We must still have content, which is related to the spirit. If we lack the spirit, there will be disputes even if we are standing on the ground. If we have truly seen the ground and have learned the lessons associated with it, the ground will prevent us from being divided when there are disputes. The ground is the means for the Lord’s preservation, but if we continue to dispute because of a lack of the spirit, the Lord will have no way to truly go on.
Thus, we need to practice living in the spirit with the Lord. The leading ones should help the brothers and sisters live in the spirit with the Lord. If the co-workers and elders are not one and in the spirit, our testimony before the Lord is finished. For example, one elder may advocate a practice related to prayer, another to silent prayer only, and still another to a practice related to being broken. All these ideas may be good, but if a local church receives three different opinions from three different elders, there will be no leading in one accord. I am worried that in some places the condition of the church is even lower due to the assertion of natural authority in the flesh. These kinds of situations cause us to lose our testimony before the Lord. Even if we stand on the ground, Satan will mock us, saying, “What are you doing on the ground? You are acting in the flesh. You are on the ground of oneness, but you still love the world. Moreover, you also covet men’s appreciation, and you hope to gain their support.” God knows these things, Satan knows these things, and we know these things. How can we bring the brothers and sisters into living in the spirit with the Lord under such conditions? It is impossible.
If such conditions are not uprooted from our midst, I am not optimistic about the way ahead of us. The ground is right and even precious, but the content of our testimony on the ground is a serious matter. We must go before the Lord and humble ourselves and say, “Lord, cleanse me; cause me to repent for all these things.” Now we can understand why Paul spoke of fleeing for refuge in Hebrews 6:18. We need to flee indeed; we need to flee from our prejudices, our feelings, our earthly element, our uncleanness, and even our spiritual cultivation and accomplishments. If we do not flee such things, it will not be possible for us to be one with the brothers. Being in such a position is dangerous.
By birth, each of us has his own personality and disposition. How is it possible for us to be one? We must flee within the veil into our spirit. We can be one only in the spirit. When we are in the spirit, there is no insistence on our part for anything related to our natural inclinations. In fact, we do not even have any natural inclinations.
I hope that every brother will go before the Lord and let the Lord thoroughly shine upon him. We may be standing on the ground of oneness, but do we want something else, something other than the spirit? If we bring in other things, we will cause damage. May the Lord have mercy on us so that we may flee from these things into our spirit to live within the veil. Once we are within the veil, the life that we live will be the life of the Body of Christ. In every locality we should not only lead the church outwardly but also have a living testimony of the Body in spirit. The Body of Christ is in the spirit, and if the brothers are in spirit, the reality of the Body of Christ will be manifested. We must be in spirit and follow our spirit in our leading of the church. If we do this, God, who is the living Spirit, will confirm and bless our work with His presence among us.
Without this, there can only be different opinions and different proposals on how to lead the church because one brother will feel to do one thing, and another brother will feel to do something different. If we take this way, we will destroy ourselves. Even if we are able to show some self-restraint outwardly, Satan will know that we are not in the spirit and thus not one inwardly. This will surely cause us to lose the Lord’s presence and blessing. May the Lord have mercy on us. We need a thorough turn to the spirit so that we all may be one. Then we will be victorious in one spirit. This is what the Lord wants today. May the Lord have mercy on us.
