Learning to Have the Intrinsic Being of the Minister (3)


	Learning to Have the Intrinsic Being of the Minister (3) Not that I have already obtained or am already perfected, but I pursue, if even I may lay hold of that for which I also have been laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not account of myself to have laid hold; but one thing I do: Forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, I pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me upward. Let us therefore, as many as are full-grown, have this mind; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, this also God will reveal to you - Philippians 3:12-15. Make room for us; we have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. I do not say this to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts for our dying together and our living together. Great is my boldness toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf; I am filled with comfort, I overflow with joy in all our affliction - 2 Corinthians 7:2-4. Being One with God's Economy as it was Revealed to Us In the recovery, we have received much truth, revelation, and vision. Our problem is not with any of these. Rather, our problem is that our living and practice do not match our vision. Our daily life and our church life do not match the revelation we have received. It is one thing to see the vision; it is another to live out the vision in the church life among the saints. To be one with God's economy is not a small thing. Not many realize that being one with God's economy means the loss of their personal future. A man with a clear view of God's economy cannot love the world or depend upon it anymore. He has nothing in the material world or the religious world. He doesn't even have a "future" in the Lord's recovery. He is one with God's economy, and he is controlled by the vision of God's economy. His footsteps are confined to God's economy. In China, Brother Nee delivered many wonderful messages. Everyone listened to them. Many co-workers, however, had their own plans. When they went home, they used his material to do their own work. Brother Lee was different. When Brother Nee spoke about the church life, Brother Lee put it into practice in Chefoo, and that brought in a great revival. This great revival came about because Brother Lee not only saw a vision, but he also exercised and labored to substantiate it. To Brother Lee, Brother Nee's revelation was not a theory but a vision. He labored according to that vision, and eventually he was able to bring about the substantiation of God's economy. I would like to speak honestly. In the recovery there are many who have seen the vision of God's economy, and yet are not able to be one with it. They may have many explanations, and their explanations may be quite reasonable, but following the Lord goes beyond reason. I hope our vision becomes the controlling element in our lives so that we may live according to the truth. May our vision also become our living, labor, and testimony so that we may live out the testimony of God's economy joyfully. In the early days, the vision that the Lord revealed through Brother Nee was simple - Christ and the church. Today our vision has gone much deeper. When Brother Lee saw Brother Nee's vision, he put himself into it. This has been his lifelong practice. Furthermore, he receives further revelation from the Lord and exercises according to what he himself has seen. He doesn't just give messages for others to follow. He practices his vision: he is a man who calls on the name of the Lord, a man who pray-reads, a man who enjoys the life dispensing as well as dispensing life, a man who loves the local churches and gives himself to them, and a man who sees the Body of Christ and diligently keeps the oneness of the Spirit. Brother Lee is a man just as we are. He experiences the same limitations that God measures to all mankind. However, he fears God and lives in the vision he has received from God. Many brothers consider that spiritual things are for us to put to use. They think gifts and eloquence are for us to use. To them, even spiritual terminology and the revelation of truth can become something for us to use. Such brothers don't understand that spiritual things should not be lightly handled, for if our vision does not produce in us what is being revealed, our state will become worse than what it was before. If what the Lord has revealed to us cannot become our reality, then we have become poorer rather than richer because of it. Why is it that many saints who faithfully loved the Lord in the recovery for so many years eventually became a problem in the church life? It is because they have not put themselves into what they have seen. Their life does not match their vision. Their vision is in one sphere and their living is in another. Since their living cannot match their vision, the work of the Spirit is hindered. If you are not one with what you see, your serving will become a problem to the church. Seeking and Following the Leading of the Lord Let us consider this. Who doesn't want to pursue? Who doesn't desire to follow the Lord's leading? We all want these things. But strangely, of those who listened to Brother Nee and received his help, not many sought and followed the Lord's leading. They all heard and received the Lord's word, but not many lived out what they heard. Thus his word bore little effect in them. The Lord's servants must possess an ability. They must be able to seek and follow the Lord's leading and to live in the reality of the Lord's leading. Therefore we must not only enter into spiritual things, but we must also struggle to be constituted with the spiritual reality. If this is our case, what the Lord's servant is unveiling will become ours. Brother Lee is very familiar with Brother Nee's riches. He really has entered into Brother Nee's ministry. He boasts in the fact that he has been constituted with Brother Nee's ministry. To his feeling, this is the substantiation of the Lord's sovereignty. He doesn't use the truth as an instrument, a theory, or a mere decoration. Constantly Receiving Higher Revelations Brother Lee is a servant of the Lord who seeks and follows the Lord's leading. Therefore he can constantly receive higher revelations. In 1956 I attended one of his trainings. He spoke about the knowledge of life, the experience of life, and the elders' management of the church. We were supplied and satisfied. But soon afterward he put that all aside and began to talk about enjoying the Lord though read-praying and pray-reading. He wrote the hymn, "Reading and praying, I eat and I drink, / Praying and reading-Lord, Thou art my fare" (Hymns #811). He also taught us that we must constantly burn incense and light the lamp, meaning that we should pray constantly and keep our spirit bright. He follows the leading of the Lord and presses on continually. When he began to talk about pray-reading, we all thought we understood it and could do it. Later on, when he continued to speak about the exercise of pray-reading, we began to realize that none of us had done it properly. Brother Lee himself is a pioneer all the time. He is this kind of person. He seeks and follows the Lord and is willing to experiment. After he came to the United States, he began to speak about the Spirit. At first he only used two verses: 1 Corinthians 15:45b, "The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit," and 2 Corinthians 3:17, "The Lord is the Spirit." But he has continued to push forward in his burden, and he keeps on seeking and receiving higher and deeper revelations. As a result, our understanding of the Spirit is now bright and clear. Compared to Brother Lee, our capacity is quite small. We are satisfied with a little light, revelation, or help. He is different. He always moves on. If you don't learn how he is moving on, it is useless to memorize his messages. You must learn from his going on, his enterprising spirit, and his continual seeking after higher revelation. How shall we go on? What things will the Lord reveal to us? I don't have the answer. But there is one thing I know: without such an enterprising spirit, our vision will become nothing but slogans. We cannot be stagnant regarding spiritual things. If we don't move on, we will fall back. The Lord has given us Brother Lee. We must appreciate him for his pioneering spirit. I have followed him since I was not yet twenty, and now I am in my sixties. In these 40 years, I have seen how he has constantly pressed on. I always tell the Lord, "Lord, I worship You for giving us such a leading brother for Your recovery." Brother Lee's vision is always advancing due to his enterprising spirit. About a year ago, I told him, "Brother Lee, your ministry is so rich. You should speak more." He answered, "Brother Chu, let me tell you…there is so much within me." Although he had found out about his illness by that time, he still had his physical strength. We prayed for him and asked the Lord to give him the necessary time to release the riches within him. Why is he so rich? It is because he is moving on all the time. He doesn't allow himself to be satisfied with his present understanding of the truth. Brothers, I hope you all will learn to have this kind of heart while you are young. You must tell the Lord, "Lord, I don't want to remain where I am. I intend to keep on going, keep on pursuing, and keep on seeking. I desire to have higher and deeper revelations." Helping the Churches Gain What the Lord has Revealed so that it Becomes the Reality of the Testimony Brother Lee also helps the churches to lay hold of his revelation so that it becomes the reality of the testimony. For this to happen, administration is required. Brother Lee not only has revelation and vision, but also serves and leads the churches so that the testimony can be realized. One day I asked him, "I heard Brother Nee was good at preaching but not at administrating. But you are good at administration." He turned to me immediately and said, "What are you talking about? Brother Nee was good at everything, but in Mainland China no one would listen to him." He became quite angry. I was naïve to ask him this question. In his understanding, the problem was not that Brother Nee didn't know how to administrate, but that the people would not follow. From today's vantage point, I can better see how great Brother Nee's ministry was. He gave us the revelations and the principles. His ministry was the ground for us to gain the revelation and for us to be equipped so that we could be built up. As for Brother Lee, when he saw something, it became his living and exercise. And now, with what he has received, he serves the churches. On the one hand, Brother Lee never controls the churches he serves. On the other hand, he takes the lead among the churches. Some of us may not want to control the church that we serve. As a result, everyone does what he wants, and there is no leading. On the other hand, some of us may want to take the lead in the church, and as a result, everyone comes under our control. Brother Lee does not control, but he does lead the churches. When he has a vision of what is best for the churches, he helps them get into the riches of the truth that the Lord has shown him. In this way the revelation he has received becomes the reality of the churches' testimony. Living in the Reality of the Testimony of God's Economy Brother Lee lives in the reality of the testimony of God's economy. He gives everything for God's economy, and he is willing to sacrifice for the sake of his vision. For instance, when he saw that the churches had become old, he was ready to pay any price to bring in the "new way." The new way was indeed a fight. There were so many troubling ones. Some took a wait-and-see approach. Some openly opposed it. Some were fervent, not only trying to apply the new way to themselves, but also trying to stir up everyone else to get into the "flow." If you didn't join them, it seemed that you weren't in the recovery. As a result, there was a lot of noise in the churches that caused a lot of damage. The churches stopped holding to Christ as their sovereign Head, and brothers began to play politics. I am very saddened about this situation. If Brother Lee could have stayed in Taipei for two or three years to carry out his burden without any interruption, I believe the Lord's recovery would be different today. However, the new way still benefits the churches, especially in Taiwan. The churches there had become rather old at that time. No one besides Brother Lee had the strength, the reputation, the truth, or the capacity of life to break through that oldness. He went there, gave himself to that situation, and turned it around. He set up the framework of the new way among the churches in Taiwan. He is a man who gives everything for the testimony of God's economy. In the late 1980s, many brothers began to have differing opinions. The most serious accusation against Brother Lee was that he was for his family and not for the Lord's recovery. One day I was at Brother Lee's home. All of a sudden he said, "Brother Chu, you know that I love the church more than anything else. I am willing to give everything for the church. I wouldn't do anything to damage her." This was a word from his heart, and I said, "Amen." Since we all are confined by the limitations that the Lord has measured to us, each of us has a different view about things. As a result, we all have different ways to handle things. The direction in which Brother Lee led us was absolutely correct. His consideration was for the church. He is a man who gives everything for the testimony of the Lord's recovery. His existence is for the testimony of the Lord's recovery. Because of his age, he can only spend about one and a half hours at a time to fellowship with the brothers. But once I went to see him and he talked with me for two hours. It was right after the training, and he was tired. The more we talked, however, the more his spirit rose up. He told me, "Brother Chu, do you know that you are the last one I will see this time?" I answered that I really loved him. He could have told me, "I am too tired. We will talk next time," but he knew I was always burdened, so he spent the time to fellowship with me. Brothers, we should learn from Brother Lee as we are learning to serve the Lord and to give ourselves to the church. Regardless of how tired we are, whether it is day or night shouldn't matter to us. As long as there is something that is of benefit to the Lord's Body, we should give ourselves for it. If we do not have this kind of heart, we cannot build up the Lord's church. Walking According to What Is Profitable for the Testimony of the Lord's Recovery A serving one should walk according to a view of whatever is beneficial to the testimony of the Lord's recovery. He has no friends. He is not for friendship. He is not even for what may profit his family. Brother Lee told us in a meeting, "I meant to go to Taiwan by myself in order to experiment to produce the new way, but you all followed me there. I should have stopped you at that time. I am sorry, and I apologize to you." I was distressed when he made this apology, considering that he had known how to support Brother Nee, but we didn't know how to support him. Our presence in Taiwan at that time had not been a help to him. According to my age and my years in the recovery, I should have known how to support him, but I was not able to do it. Consider how Brother Lee acted in such a situation. In his conscience, he respected the feelings of the brothers. He did not try to win them as friends or to use them for his profit. His walk is with the view of perfecting the brothers and benefiting the testimony of the Lord's recovery. Brothers, what is the principle of your daily walk? When this training is over, some of you will go back to work and some of you will return to your localities. You should be able to say, "My daily walk is for the benefit of the testimony of the Lord's recovery. I refuse to consider my own profit or personal gain. I only wish to consider what best benefits the Lord's testimony." This is not an easy lesson, but God desires this kind of person and can only use this kind of person. If you walk with the benefit of the testimony of the Lord's recovery in view, you are a person who can bless the Lord's recovery and the Lord's testimony.