Learning To Receive The Visions And Revelations Of The Ministry


	Learning To Receive The Visions And Revelations Of The Ministry Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision - Acts 26:19. Suffer evil with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus - 2 Timothy 2:3. Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my gospel, in which I suffer evil unto bonds as a criminal; but the word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the chosen ones, that they themselves also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory - 2 Timothy 2:8-10. It is necessary to learn to be someone who can be one with the ministry. To be one with the ministry is not as simple as you may think. First, you have to see the necessity of it. If you don't see how weighty this is, you may think it is easy to be one with the ministry. Then, you must enter into the present burden of the ministry to the extent that your words become the words of the ministry, your burden becomes that of the ministry, the church you lead becomes a church desiring the ministry, and the saints you serve become one with the ministry. Receiving Visions and Revelations If we wish to be one with the ministry, the first thing we must learn is to receive the visions and revelations it contains. Being Willing to Pay a Price If you wish to gain the visions and revelations available through the ministry, you must be willing to pay a price, for they do not come cheaply. Therefore, you must be willing to pay a price to apprehend these visions and revelations. We should not treat Brother Lee's riches in a light manner. We should not take them as something merely for our preaching. Brother Lee's books are not simply materials for messages. The Lord will not use a person who uses Brother Lee's messages in this way. While such a person may be eloquent and exercise his spirit and be successful in the short term, he will not grow healthily in the long term. When you are learning to be one with the ministry, the first thing you must do is to pay a price to gain the visions and revelations it contains. Once Brother Lee told me that he was with Brother Nee in China, and both were in poor health. Brother Nee, rocking in his chair, said to Brother Lee, "Witness, do you think the Lord will take us so soon?" They had been talking about the great need among the churches and how the truth needed yet to spread. Brother Nee seemed to be saying, "The Lord is happy we have received so much. He has to keep us on the earth. Though Satan attacks, the Lord must preserve us. He needs a group of people who have seen this vision." Watchman Nee once said, "We are not those who are without a blueprint. All our labor is according to this blueprint." After Brother Lee came to the United States, about every ten years he led us in a major turn. Every time of change was a major step forward. Brother Lee said, "The visions and revelations we have seen are deeper and deeper. At the same time, they are also higher and higher." Therefore his leading of the churches has gone deeper and higher. In 1972 while in Taiwan he spoke on the one Spirit and the testimony of the one church. Besides this he shared nothing else, and his ministering had a great impact. Up until that time, the matter of knowing the Spirit was primarily a matter of sensation to us rather than a matter of life. Although we talked about the Spirit of life, in experience we had the "Spirit of sensation." At that time our understanding was merely that when we touched the Spirit we would have joy, peace, strength, and satisfaction. This understanding revealed that we were still in an elementary stage of understanding the Spirit. Today Brother Lee's ministry has become much deeper and richer. Even the term "the Spirit" has come to mean much more to us. In all these years, he has never allowed himself to slow down. Now that he is in his later years, he still strives forward; his pace has not slackened. He continues to pursue the deeper and higher revelations and to bring us into an ever higher vision. The vision today continues to become clearer and higher. As a result, the revelation brought in through the vision is richer and more practical. Brothers, I have never seen anyone in my life like Brother Lee. He never relaxes. The Lord cannot but use him because of his characteristic exercise of pursuing. Every time we hear him, we touch life. Whenever he opens his mouth, there is anointing and supply. One day I told him, "Brother Lee, your revelations are so rich. You should continue speaking, for the more you speak, the better. You should not just speak once a week to the trainees. You should gather us around and keep on speaking until you pour out all that you have. Especially you should speak more about 'God became man so that man might become God.' There is still so much within you." He answered, "Brother Titus, within me…within me…." I understood his feeling. The revelations within him were so many and so rich. However, he still keeps pursuing and experiencing something further. Not Looking for Unusual or Unique Things You have been spending time to learn the facts of the Bible and to outline the truth you find there. Why is it you tire of such exercise? It is because you have an unrealistic expectation of what you will find. Many desire to find fascinating things with which to impress others. Reading the Bible, however, is a matter of spirit and a matter of revelation and vision. You will not gain the riches merely by your labor or study apart from the operation of the Spirit. If you are filled with inspirations as you read the Bible, you will never grow tired of reading it. If, however, you underline all the words in Colossians 1:1 and study them exhaustively, such as "Paul," "apostle," "Timothy," "saints in Colosse," "the will of God," and so on, you certainly will feel tired, for you are not seeking the visions and revelations of the ministry, but rather your own unique explanations. Constantly Pursuing Brother Lee is very special because of the revelations and visions he has acquired through his faithful and continual pursuing. Brothers, we have to keep on pursuing. Pursuing won't make us feel tired; instead it will help us go on from strength to strength. The more we pursue, the more enjoyment we experience. The more we pursue, the more revelation we accumulate. Brother Lee is our pattern. We have to pursue if we desire to gain the visions and revelations conveyed in the ministry. Having The Consecration Of The Ministry And Living For The Church A Strong Determination Some have said that Brother Lee is "unbeatable." I think what they mean by this is that Brother Lee has never wavered in his consecration. No matter how difficult the pathway, no matter what kind of suffering he has encountered, no matter how misunderstood he has been, he has remained absolutely consecrated to the Lord and has continually lived absolutely for the church. Loving the Church One day Brother Lee told me, "In my whole life I have loved the church above all else. I am willing to sacrifice everything for the church. I would never allow the church to suffer any loss." There are times when Brother Lee seems to have little affection for others, for when he judges something, he only cares about whether or not it is profitable to the church, not what people may feel or say. When this is the case it is because he has the church in view. He does not hesitate to put things right even though someone might lose face because of it. He does his best to shepherd and protect the Lord's church. Brothers, we have to learn to tell the Lord as we follow Him, "Lord, we look to You for Your mercy that we might consecrate ourselves to live only for the church." We must aspire to love the church absolutely from the very beginning of our Christian life. We have to ask the Lord to give us the ability to love the church in this way. If you truly love the church and the Lord's recovery, you will not find it easy to criticize the saints. You will not feel that the weaknesses or the shortcomings of the saints are something for you to talk about. You should not say anything or do anything to harm anyone in the church. To love the church may seem to be something in theory, but loving the saints is very practical. To love the saints is to love the church, and to protect the saints is to protect the church. Not Gossiping You should learn not to gossip. If someone tells you that someone is right, someone is wrong, or someone is not in the flow, ask that person, "Who told you this?" If that person cannot tell you, then you should tell that person not to say anything further about the matter. You should even rebuke such a person. They should not talk about other saints in such a way. Even though you may not be a co-worker or an elder, you should still rebuke such talk. It is shameful to speak in such a way as to destroy another brother or sister. This kind of gossip can only be destructive. You must stand firmly against all gossip. If you hear a rumor, you should do your best to find out who began it, not to fight with that person, but to pray and fellowship with that person in order to help that person repent. Perhaps you should read the book of James with him about how we need to bridle our tongue. The tongue is like a flame of fire from hell! We should never repeat any gossip, because gossip comes from hell. Brother Lee is very careful in his speaking. Sometimes he speaks about a brother, but he doesn't do so to expose him, but rather to help the situation. He may have to say something to protect the church, but it is for the sake of the testimony, not to attack the brother. We have to learn from Brother Lee. The Lord has been able to use him because of his consecration and because of his devotion to the Lord's church. We must also develop this kind of devotedness and consecration if we desire to be one with the ministry.