Learning to Have the Intrinsic Being of the Minister (2)


	Learning to Have the Intrinsic Being of the Minister (2) I did not withhold any of those things that are profitable by not declaring them to you and by not teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance unto God and faith in our Lord Jesus. And now, behold, I am going bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what will meet me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in city after city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I consider my life of no account as if precious to myself, in order that I may finish my course and the ministry which I have received from the Lord Jesus to solemnly testify of the gospel of the grace of God - Acts 20:20-24. And now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified. I have coveted no one's silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands have ministered to my needs and to those who are with me. In all things I have shown you by example that toiling in this way we ought to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive - Acts 20:32-35. A Person Who Cooperates With All God's Leading The beauty of a Christian is manifested in his cooperation with God's leading. It is beautiful when he moves with God, walks with God, is quick when God is quick, and stops when God stops. It is a beauty to be one with God. What then is unsightly in a Christian's life? It is any or all unwillingness to cooperate with God's desire and leading. Most Christians today, however, do not know God's desire, so they do not even have the opportunity to partake of the beauty of being a Christian. A hymn by Anna Laetitia Waring says in its second verse, "I ask Thee for a thoughtful love, / Through constant watching wise, / To meet the glad with joyful smiles, / And to wipe the weeping eyes; / And a heart at leisure from itself, / To soothe and sympathize." In the third verse it continues, "I would not have the restless will / That hurries to and fro, / Seeking for some great thing to do / Or secret thing to know" (Chinese Hymns #305). This hymn reveals the restfulness of the person who is constantly one with God. What kind of person is able to cooperate with God? Great-hearted and Fine A person who can be one with God must be great-hearted and fine. Such a person must be great-hearted to the extent that he is tolerant. Rather than interfering, God tolerates many things. Since God tolerates much, a person who is one with Him is also able to tolerate much. Such a person is great-hearted because God is great-hearted. God even allows Satan to carry out his mischief so that His wisdom can be manifested. His greatness is such that He is capable of tolerating an enemy who seeks to attack and destroy Him. The person who is one with God also possesses fineness. He is a person able to detect and follow the intricate and detailed work of the Holy Spirit. He can be fine because God is fine. Such a fine God would never do anything in the way of mass-production. His choosing of the Israelites was through His work with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. One by one He led them and worked with them. Eventually through Moses He did gain two million Israelites. Consider, for example, Abraham as one chosen by God. It was shameful when he sold his wife. But God still called him the father of all who believe. It seems improper that the aged Moses married a Gentile wife, but the Bible doesn't report that God disapproved of him. It seems that God didn't see those things. He is so great-hearted that He can tolerate many things that we cannot. God is also so fine that He notices a myriad of things that we don't see. Just from this alone, we should realize that it is not easy to be one with God. Not Imposing Our Experience Upon Others Not many among us have this kind of understanding. I am afraid that as we follow the ministry and advance in our own way, we use our way as a standard by which we judge others. If we think we are one with the ministry, we cannot tolerate others being one with the ministry in a manner that is different from our own. If we love the Lord, we cannot tolerate others expressing that love in another way. If we have consecrated ourselves to the Lord, we cannot tolerate others consecrating themselves in some other fashion. It is relatively easy to struggle and to strive according to our own religious sentiment, and to seek to establish our own way of righteousness in the hope that we may become the standard for others. However, as I have observed the Lord's servant, I have found that many things that bother me do not bother him, and for many things for which I have no feeling, he has a lot of feeling and knows how to take action. This is because he is in fellowship with the Lord. He does what the Lord does and he follows the Lord's leading. I cannot say that he is perfect, for no one is perfect. However, we can see that he does what the Lord does, he tolerates what the Lord tolerates, and he follows the Lord's leading. His existence is not for his spirituality and not for his own advancement. He possesses a fellowship with the Lord. He is one with God's doing, God's desire, God's vision, God's moving, and God's leading. Having No Self-pity or Complaint I never see the Lord's servant blame anyone or anything. Instead, he always says, "This is the Lord," or, "He is the Lord." I do not know that I have ever seen him express any self-pity. Even while shedding tears, he still praises the Lord while he is weeping. A self-pitying person lives in himself. One who blames others does not know God's sovereignty. In these years of following Brother Lee, sometimes I have heard him say a word of regret, but I have never seen him fall into self-pity or cast any blame on others. Sisters are more prone to fall into self-pity, although brothers experience it as well. Unbelievers like to say, "Why me?" We also like to say, "O Lord, why me?" even though we have the Lord. All the sisters who live in a sisters' house have different personalities. One may say, "Poor me! I have to live in a place like this." Another may complain, "O Lord, why have You put me with this person?" Yet another may grumble, "Why is this sister so rude, always waking me up in the middle of the night?" A self-pitying person lives in the self. He considers himself supremely important and always puts himself first. His feelings are easily hurt, and he often feels sorry for himself. One who is not self-pitying is one who denies the self. One who refuses to place the blame on others is one who knows the Lord and His sovereignty. How can you become this kind of person? For example, when someone wakes you up or snores so loudly that you cannot sleep, you must practice being one with God's arrangement. You need to learn to tell the Lord, "Oh, praise the Lord! I need a brother like this. Hallelujah! You provided this good brother just for my growth. All Your arrangement is for my growth." Spirituality does not come about merely from prayer and Bible-reading. Praying and reading the Bible are helpful, but by themselves they cannot make you spiritual. However, if you can understand that God has arranged the best situation for you, you will not pity yourself or complain. On the contrary, you will be one with God in everything, accept His arrangement, and cooperate with Him. If you practice in this way, your spiritual growth will be rapid. You will have Christ and experience Christ in all situations. Laying Hold of Christ in Every Environment You will face all kinds of environments and situations in your life. You will have joyful moments as well as difficult ones. Regardless of whether your situation is joyful or difficult, you must lay hold of Christ. Laying Hold of Christ as the Head and as Life There are two principles revealed in the Bible that are crucial for our laying hold of Christ. First, Christ is our Head. We must hold Him as the Head (Col. 2:19). Second, Christ is our life. We must lay hold on the eternal life (1 Tim. 6:12). To lay hold of Christ is to live in His sovereignty and in His life supply. Many brothers realize that married life is not easy. They may even wonder, "Why did I marry a wife like this?" Every brother has a dream when he is single. He imagines a neat and tidy home awaiting him when he comes home from work, where his wife welcomes him with tea, slippers, and the newspaper. After getting married, however, he realizes that the reality of the situation is quite different from what he imagined. If this is your situation, do you take it from the Lord, or do you blame your wife? It is not easy to say, "It is from the Lord." You must take Christ as your Head and as your life supply. Living in the Lord's Sovereignty and Life Supply To hold Christ as the Head means to submit to His sovereignty. To lay hold on Christ as life means to live in His supply. We must learn to lay hold of Christ in every environment. We must learn to hold Him as the Head and as our life supply. If we don't learn this lesson, but rather blame our spouse in so many little things, we will not be able to react properly when we face something serious in the church life. Some brothers are stubborn. It is useless to talk or fellowship with them. Such a brother thinks he is always right. He is unable to receive from others. If a church is frustrated by such a brother, that church will not be able to go forward. It may be years before that church witnesses any increase or growth in life. Sometimes I am angry and want nothing more to do with such a brother, but the Lord tells me, "Although he is stubborn, I can still get through in him and save him. Can you be one with Me and try to love him?" To be with this kind of brother, you must learn to treat others as the Lord treats them, tolerate them as the Lord tolerates them, and love them as the Lord loves them. You must be one with the Lord. You must understand why it is that the Lord puts such saints in a church, causing the whole congregation to be hindered. At such a time, can you still lay hold of Christ by holding Him as your Head and as your life supply? Growing in life is not an easy matter. Laying Hold on the Testimony of Christ You should lay hold on Christ in every environment, and you should lay hold on the testimony of Christ. I can testify that no matter what the environment, Brother Lee always seeks the profit of the Lord's testimony. He would never do anything that is harmful to the Lord's testimony. I remember clearly an instance in the 1960s when there was disagreement among some brothers in Taiwan. They were all speakers in conferences and trainings. They accepted one brother's help and liked him very much. Furthermore, because of him, these brothers even began to oppose Brother Lee. It was right for them to be fond of that brother, for he was a servant of the Lord. But they shouldn't have taken sides with someone in order to oppose Brother Lee, for that is against the principle of God's economy. Their slogan was, "We are for Christ." They always talked about following Christ and being responsible to Christ. Brothers, the person who says, "I am responsible to Christ alone," is not necessarily healthy. If we are responsible to the Lord, we do not need to shout about it. This is like shouting, "I am my father's son." It is unnecessary to proclaim this. Only an illegitimate son would make a point of saying, "I am my father's son." Therefore, if someone declares, "I am only responsible to Christ," we can tell that he is not so healthy spiritually. It was appropriate for those brothers to get help from a spiritual brother. The churches should receive help from the Lord's servants. But it was wrong for those brothers to make issues among the churches. It was Brother Lee who established those churches. It was he who raised those brothers up. It was his leading and perfecting that helped them grow in life, become equipped in truth, and operate among the churches. If I were Brother Lee, I would have dealt with the situation according to the authority granted to me from the Lord. I would not have fought or battled with them directly. I would simply have told them, "Since you have a vision, I will send you to a place where you can carry out your burden." That would seem to have been a tactful way to deal with that situation. If Brother Lee had used certain tactics, the problem would have been easily solved. But Brother Lee didn't take such action. I asked him why, and he answered, "I am not a politician." In other words, he doesn't play politics. Brother Lee refused to employ any scheme to deal with the brothers who caused that turmoil in Taiwan. He cares for nothing other than laying hold on the testimony of Christ. Afterwards, Brother Lee came to America. When he first came to Cleveland, I had just arrived in America myself. I still remember how he prayed with tears, "Lord, I put myself on the altar again." He was white-haired, in his fifties. I knew what he was feeling: such a large and wonderful work in Taiwan had been torn apart. Because of his fear of God, our brother didn't touch the situation. He laid hold on the testimony of Christ and waited for the Lord's vindication. He chose to leave Taiwan and to begin the work in America. Turning Every Situation into the Highest Blessing Brother Lee is a man who cooperates with God. He could have dealt with many situations with administrative tact. However, he is one with God for the Lord's testimony. If God isn't doing something, he won't do it either. If God is not moving, he won't move either. It is not that he does not care for the situation. He only acts when he is clear about the Lord's leading. According to the Lord's leading, instead of vindicating himself, he sought the Lord and came to this country. He testified that he still cared about Taiwan and very much would have desired to go back there. However, there was a meeting in Sacramento, and the Spirit was clearly with them. He realized that the Lord wanted him to stay in the United States. As a result of his staying, the Lord had the opportunity to open up many things to him. He was given a higher and deeper understanding regarding the Spirit, the Triune God, and the economy of God. Furthermore, not only were the spiritual things and the truth opened up to him, but also the door of the work in America opened. When he came to Akron, he told us that he would like to spend some time there to help the churches. At that time I asked him, "Brother Lee, is our work too slow?" He said, "No, not at all. It is going very fast." His concept about the work is different from ours. There are many young brothers who would like to become the apostle to the entire earth. All they talk about is how to conquer the world. But for years I have been following Brother Lee, and I have never heard him voice this kind of concept. Brother Lee knows the spiritual principle: not he, but the Lord, is the One who does the work. He just cooperates with the Lord's doing. He moves with the Spirit's move. No one could imagine that in the early seventies the Lord's recovery would be so prevailing. This was because Brother Lee laid hold on Christ as the Head and as life. He also laid hold on the Lord's testimony in every situation. He was for the profit of the Lord's testimony in all situations and eventually turned them into the highest blessing. The Lord brought about a particular environment in order to bring His servant to the West. Through the testimony in America, the truth and the Lord's recovery could spread and impact the entire earth. In the beginning Brother Lee seemed to encounter a lot of difficult situations, but eventually these situations turned to bring about the highest blessings. During this process, he patiently waited for the Lord's leading and meekly cooperated with the Lord. He is a man who is indeed one with the Lord's leading. I hope you all can remember that you must lay hold of Christ and His testimony in all situations, so that they may become the highest blessings. This is a spiritual principle. If you follow it, you will be greatly blessed. Neither affliction nor hardship is a fearful thing. Even when there seems to be no way out, you should not be afraid. What is fearful is the possibility that you might depart from Christ and from His testimony. Brothers, no matter what environment you are in, do not depart from Christ and do not depart from His testimony. Adversity and affliction can become your bread and water (Isa. 30:20). They will be your food to make you strong. They will become your blessing and the blessing of the church. Breaking Through All Hardships and Triumphing Over Them To Gain the Wisdom of God In these years Brother Lee has passed through hardship after hardship, but he has always had the ability to break through. This is his wisdom before God. In other words, he doesn't rely on his talent and he doesn't look for ways to solve the problems. Instead, he is sober before the Lord to gain the wisdom of God. Breaking Through the Hardships In the 1960s in Taiwan, there was a storm that caused great damage among the churches there. In the 1970s there was another storm in the United States. We lost many gifted saints in that storm. The storm that followed, concerning the "new way" in the 1980s, was even more severe. The reactions of many of Brother Lee's co-workers affected the testimony of the Lord worldwide. One day Brother Lee told me that, during the storm in the 1980s, he was not able to go to the Lord's table for nearly two years. Tears came to my eyes when I heard this. He lived next to the meeting hall, but could not go to the Lord's table. He had raised up those churches and those spiritual children, but eventually they turned their backs on him. If you were Brother Lee, how would you feel? However, whenever I saw him, he still joyfully prayed and fellowshipped with the brothers. He was not disappointed, discouraged, or frustrated. He was still very burdened for those who were against him. It is quite beyond our understanding. Once Brother Lee told me concerning someone, "I feel this brother has a little maturity," and he smiled with satisfaction. You could tell how much he loved this brother. Later on, the brother began to cause trouble. I had a chance to talk to Brother Lee about him. Brother Lee was more worried about the brother than about his own physical condition. He was so joyful when he heard that the brother had softened a little. He was not satisfied simply to be doing a good work. He was concerned about this brother and hoped that by God's mercy he would not leave the recovery. Working with His Own Hands Many brothers don't know how really to labor. Although they are good brothers and seem to know a lot and are able to talk a lot, their labor doesn't seem to produce anything for the Lord. The brothers who caused the storm in Taiwan were quite manifested when they were in their thirties. At that time, not only Brother Lee commended them, but the churches also held them in high esteem. In reality, however, nothing spiritual was really produced by them. I would have liked to tell anyone who aligned himself against Brother Lee, "Brother, there is no reason for you to be proud. Have you helped anyone to love the Lord? Did you establish any church? Did you raise up any group to stand for the Lord? No. All you have done is travel around and preach. People respect you because you sat by Brother Lee. You have not produced anything for the Lord." Brothers, real serving is to work "with your hands." You must learn to build up a church. It is good to give a conference, but you shouldn't enjoy the atmosphere that comes from giving a good message. Don't cheat yourself. That is no different than putting on a show at a theater. Learn to be lowly. Learn to be with the brothers, to serve them, and to raise them up. Learn to help them touch life and touch their spirit. You should help them read the Bible, pray, and preach the gospel. Don't think these things are small. Real spirituality comes about from labor such as this. Through all these years I have never departed from this kind of exercise with the brothers. I treasure the times we have pursued and grown together. I remember how I have labored to perfect the saints and to build up the churches. I value the times I went somewhere new and labored with the Lord to raise up a church. You must learn to experience the Lord and to labor in this way. You should not focus on simply giving messages, for that is not adequate. Triumphing over Hardship Towards the end of the 1960s, the situation in Taiwan was difficult, but the Lord's servant made a breakthrough in the United States. There was another time of hardship towards the end of the 1970s, and he broke through again. Towards the end of the 1980s, there was another turmoil following the introduction of the new way. The Lord's servant wasn't defeated. On the contrary, he climbed another mountain. He gained higher revelation and richer truth. This is a real servant of the Lord. We must learn the way in which he cooperates with the Lord. When hardship comes, he breaks through and triumphs over it. When hardship comes, he eats, sleeps, and ministers just as before, and yet he becomes richer, his revelation becomes more profound, the truth he ministers is richer, and he has a greater supply to minister to the saints. This is the characteristic of the Lord's servant: storm after storm, he never gives in and never compromises. I have never seen him consider compromise. Nevertheless, many times he has tried to regain brothers, but without much success. In his eighties, he even flew several hours to visit a brother in the hope that he would be restored. However, he never compromises. He doesn't play politics. He doesn't change his stand. He stands firm according to what the Lord has shown him and how the Lord has led him. He stands for the Lord's testimony. He never gives in; he never compromises. When a hardship comes, he struggles to find a way to break through and triumph over it. He has broken through all the hardships instead of allowing himself to be limited by them. Whether in Mainland China, Taiwan, or America, no matter how severe the turmoil has been, he has broken through and triumphed. He is a man living Christ, and no situation is too difficult for him. When Paul was in great difficulty he said, "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in the Christ and manifests the savor of the knowledge of Him through us in every place" (2 Cor. 2:14). In the most difficult situation, he became the fragrance of Christ unto death or life - to those who were perishing it was unto death, and to those who were being saved it was unto life (vv. 15-16). To touch the New Testament minister is not merely a matter of listening to his messages or receiving his riches and his perfecting. No! You are touching life or death. Those whose work brings only peace and who only make others happy are not the Lord's servants. I hope you are able to learn this while you are still young. When the New Testament ministers serve Christ, to some it is unto life and to others it is unto death. Some will follow and others will fall behind. Some will experience enjoyment and others will experience a challenge. Brother Lee is a servant like this. He is able to break through and triumph over hardships. Through the Hardships Gaining Deeper Experience, Higher Understanding, and Further Blessing During the days Brother Nee served, the Lord's recovery experienced many turmoils. When he was excommunicated from the church in Shanghai, he went to Chongqing and got a job. He did not, however, partake of the Lord's table there. Only a few brothers met with him once a week, and he shared with them on the Song of Songs. After World War II, he went back to Fuzhou. His ministry hadn't been recovered, and he couldn't go to the meetings there, either. However, he bought many houses on a scenic mountain for future trainings. Later on, the brothers in Shanghai invited Brother Lee to help them. When Brother Lee was in Shanghai, he asked Brother Nee to minister to them. Brother Nee was reluctant. He would only speak to a few at a time. Brother Lee was wise. He grasped this opportunity and asked Brother Nee, "How about the others who would also like to come?" Brother Nee agreed to let them sit behind a separating screen and listen. As Brother Nee spoke, everyone was moved including those behind the screen. Brother Nee wept, and everyone else did also. They asked Brother Nee to return and train them. When people rejected Brother Nee, the Lord used Brother Lee to recover his ministry. When Brother Lee experienced storms in the United States, we also tried our best to stand with him. I spent a lot of time traveling from place to place to visit and exhort saints. The church in Cleveland and the churches in the Great Lakes area were completely open to Brother Lee, so that he could minister freely in the hope that the storm wouldn't spread. As a result, Brother Lee was able to lead us to experience a higher, deeper, and richer ministry. I have a lot of feeling when I come to this point. The Lord needs our cooperation. God is advancing all the time. Those who are one with Him will have deeper experience, higher understanding of the truth, and more blessing in the Lord's testimony as they pass through all the difficulties. If we desire to be one with the ministry, we must learn to have the intrinsic being of the Lord's minister. We need the Lord's mercy so that we can cooperate with God's leading. Conclusion I hope you all can learn to have the intrinsic being of the Lord's minister. Take Brother Lee as your pattern and learn to cooperate with the Lord's leading. Deny yourself. Do not allow any self-pity. You must know the Lord and His sovereignty. Do not blame things on any person or thing. Lay hold on Christ and His testimony in all situations so that they can become the source of higher blessings. When hardship comes, learn to break through and triumph over it. Through all the difficulties, you will discover a deeper experience of Christ, a higher understanding of the truth, and further blessing for the Lord's testimony. Brother Lee is our pattern, but we don't exalt him. As a human being he is not perfect. Only the Lord Jesus is perfect. We learn from Brother Lee, but we do not take him as our founder, as though we were just another denomination within Christianity. His ministry exists so that we can partake of the New Testament ministry, that is, the ministry of the Lord Jesus, for the building up of the Body of Christ. I testify thus about Brother Lee for our understanding of how the Holy Spirit dealt with him and shaped him, so that we may approve and learn of him. If the Lord has mercy, He may raise up others who will be able to bear what the Lord committed to Brother Lee. I ask the Lord to cover this fellowship with His precious blood. I hope that you would be able to appreciate Brother Lee's ministry with a proper and healthy understanding.