Learning to Have the Equipping of the Ministry (1)


	Learning to Have the Equipping of the Ministry (1) But you, continue in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing from which ones you have learned them and that from a babe you have known the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work - 2 Timothy 3:14-17. Create in me a clean heart, O God; renew a right spirit within me - Psalm 51:10. And He said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" - Matthew 22:37. For the love of money is a root of all evils, because of which some, aspiring after money, have been led away from the faith and pierced themselves through with many pains. But you, O man of God, flee these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, meekness - 1 Timothy 6:10-11. I know also how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to hunger, both to abound and to lack - Philippians 4:12. Rich Utternace Requiring Rich Equipping Besides having the spirit of the ministry, you must also have the equipping of the ministry. Even when your spirit is rich and full of feeling, full of burden, and full of commitment from the Lord, you must still have adequate equipping if you desire to minister the riches you possess. Even if you have revelation upon revelation and vision upon vision, if you lack the proper equipping you will not be able to adequately minister the riches you possess. Sometimes you sense you have touched something valuable and precious, but if you are not adequately equipped, you will be unable to minister those things to others. The Equipping of the Lord's Servant for Ministry Brother Lee is able to serve as he does not just because of his commitment, the work of the Holy Spirit upon him, his revelation and vision, his maturity, his rich experience of Christ, and because he is continually fighting the spiritual warfare for the advance of all the saints and the churches. He is able to serve as he does because he possesses the proper equipping. If he did not have such equipping, he would not be able to lead us as he does, even with his high revelations. Thank the Lord! We realize that Brother Lee has been given much on our behalf, but does not owe us anything. On the contrary, we all feel we owe so much to him. Why is it we can say Brother Lee owes no one anything, in spite of all that has been committed to him? It is because his person has no problem. There is no problem with his spirit or his equipping. He is rich in the truth. He is rich in spiritual experience. He is fully equipped. Because he is so richly equipped, Brother Lee is not frustrated from speaking the truth, taking the lead among the churches, or supplying the riches of the Lord to His children. I have listened to Brother Lee's sharing for many years, and have never experienced dryness as he spoke, nor have I ever seen him lacking the Lord's riches. Brother Lee is so rich because he is equipped with the truth, equipped with the experience of life, and equipped in service. Because he is so well-equipped, he does not experience limitation in his exercise of supplying Christ to us. Once in a conference of leading ones Brother Lee began his speaking by saying, "I feel that my ministry will soon be over." I felt grieved, because Brother Lee really felt he would soon pass away. At that time an American brother actually said, "Well, if Brother Lee said it is over, it is over," although the Chinese saints did not dare to say this. I wanted to say, "Brother Lee, it will not be over. We are your continuation." I would have liked to have been able to say this, but I did not have the confidence to say it, for I had to consider within myself whether or not I had the equipping Brother Lee had. Brother Lee knows the Bible by heart. Can I say the same? My constitution cannot compare to his. He is rich in revelation. By the Lord's mercy and with Brother Lee's help, I have received revelation and touched the central vision, but not as richly as he has. He is so richly equipped in the truth; in comparison to him I feel what I possess is but a fragment. He has often shown us his Bible. It is filled with notes. Once, when with the young people, he opened his Bible and showed them how full of notes it was. He encouraged us to likewise become familiar with the Bible, as he is so familiar with it. One time in Cleveland a brother not yet in the recovery asked him about a certain verse. I did not even know where it was located. It seemed that brother was purposely testing Brother Lee. But Brother Lee simply opened his Bible and told the brother, "This is the verse you are talking about." We cannot compare ourselves with him when it comes to Bible knowledge. He is so rich in his knowledge of the Bible and in his understanding of the truth. For this reason I was sad when he said that his ministry may soon be over, for there is no one else like him. Someone spread a rumor that I wanted to be Brother Lee II. This rumor has caused me to experience a lot of suffering. Whoever said this does not know me well. I know who I am. Brothers, in the recovery today, who can be Brother Lee's continuation? Some of us are familiar with the Bible, but do not possess the revelation it contains. Some of us know the Bible and possess revelation, and yet lack adequate experience. Some of us have experience, but are not familiar with the Bible itself. It is difficult to find a person who is both equipped in the truth and rich in experience. There are few of whom we might testify that they are really that rich. We should learn to equip ourselves as Brother Lee has. We may not match him in equipping, for, after all, he is the Lord's chosen servant to this generation. But at least we must practice in the manner he has exercised himself. He reads the Bible morning to evening; he immerses himself in it. He has been filling his Bible with notes for years. (One brother said that as Brother Lee worked with him on a book, he paid much attention to the notes he had written within his Bible. Now that he is in his eighties, he still writes notes in his Bible.) We should learn from him and practice the same. I tell you this with the hope that you might develop the desire to carry forward the Lord's testimony. Once Brother Lee asked me, "When Brother Nee was gone, I was here. When I leave, who do we have?" I took this as a rebuke, and was ashamed. He did not say this lightly. Serving the Lord is not just a matter of reading the Bible. Those who wish to serve the Lord must have revelation, equipping in truth, and experience in life. You should have high revelations when you read the Bible, but you cannot have high revelations if you do not have rich experiences of life, and you cannot have rich experience in life if you are not equipped with the truth in the word. If we as a group do not seek to equip ourselves as Brother Lee has, it is nonsense to say, "The future of the Lord's recovery is bright with promise." We should not cheat ourselves. If we are not familiar with the Bible, if we do not have spiritual insight, and if we do not have spiritual experience, it is useless to proclaim that we are for the Lord's recovery. The church cannot be built up merely by means of our strong desire and strong spirit. Is it possible for the church to be built up when the saints who love the Lord condemn others as not being in the flow or not being one with the ministry? It is impossible. The healthiness of the Lord's recovery depends upon our equipping. We must imitate the Lord's servant in this matter. The Equipping of the Mind, Emotion, and Will To have the equipping of the ministry, we must be equipped in our mind, emotion, and will. Our equipping is not outward, but inward. Equipping refers to our person, to what kind of mind, emotion, and will we have. Our mind, emotion, and will decide how much we will gain. Some read the Bible and gain much. Others read much and gain little. The difference is how a person is equipped in his mind, emotion, and will. You must know how to equip your mind, emotion, and will so that you might have a good foundation for spiritual things. The Love of Money, Fame, and Power Consuming the Heart of Man In this world we can identify three kinds of people: those who seek money, those who seek fame, and those who seek power. Those who love money occupy their minds with how to make money, use their emotion to love money, and exercise their will to determine to get money. Money thus occupies their entire person. Though they may love the Lord, they are not able to grow properly. The Lord is unable to equip them in their mind, for their mind is totally occupied with money. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt. 6:21). If your mind is set on money, then your heart is set on money, and your person also. Thus, your whole person is consumed with money. The mind, emotion, and will of those who seek fame are occupied in like manner with becoming famous. Their thoughts, feelings, and decisions are all focused on one goal-achieving fame. For example, a professor may be consumed with considering how to get his essay published, and in which journal, and so on. In the Lord's recovery we have a similar difficulty. If you meet a brother who does not know who you are, you may feel very disappointed. You may think in your heart, "Why does this brother not even know my name?" This proves you love fame. The man who loves power is occupied with how to gain influence over others. In whatever group he is, he considers how to gain preeminence. This can also be true for someone within a local church. The Love of Work Causing the Heart to Fall Away One problem co-workers encounter is the love of work. Thus, when they become involved in the work, they can easily lose the reality of spiritual things. In His word to the seven churches in Revelation, the Lord said the church in Ephesus labored and endured and tested those who call themselves apostles, but left their first love. Thus the Lord had no way among them. The church in Laodicea talked, preached, and spoke about the Lord, but the Lord was not among them. He stood at the door and knocked, but because of the problem with their heart, they did not respond. It is not a small matter to have a heart that is equipped, for we only have one heart. Therefore if it is occupied with one thing, it is hard for something else to gain ground in it. Thirty years ago, the recovery was still somewhat new in America. At that time the saints were absolute. As time passed, the young people got married and had children, and their minds naturally became occupied with their children. Because of increased financial burdens, many began to consider how to gain promotions or raises. Their mind became focused on finances. Therefore, I often tell others that it is good to be a full-timer, for one who is full-time is less likely to think about such things. However, there is a temptation that confronts full-timers, and that is "the work," or how to work for the Lord. When "the work" gets into your heart and usurps the Lord's place, your mind is no longer proper. Your delight, as the Bible says, should be in the word of the Lord, and in His law you should meditate day and night. Instead, many co-workers meditate day and night upon the work. Because of this they are unable to properly carry the work. Therefore, co-workers often feel frustrated, for their heart is focused upon the work, the issue of the work, and the manifestation related to the work. Therefore their heart is no longer right, and their relationship with the Lord is deficient. Instead of considering His word, or what is in His heart for others, their consideration is fixed upon how the work should be developed. There are two temptations which exist for co-workers. One is fornication, which is very defiling. The other has to do with the work, which in appearance seems to be something of God. Most would have a strong feeling about fornication, but few will sense the danger of the work. Instead, workers feel fulfilled when they are occupied with the work. When you become overly occupied with working for the Lord in this way, however, your heart becomes useless to Him, for you are no longer touching what is spiritual. I do not mean that fornication is not serious; it is of course an extremely serious sin against God. What I am saying is that anything that replaces Christ, even though it be something of God, will destroy your heart's ability to stand before God. We must be careful as we work for the Lord, since those with us will become just as we are. The hearts of the brothers and sisters with us may end up far from God. If this is the case, they cannot become equipped in what is truly useful to God, and the Lord simply will not be able to use them. Taking Time to Equip the Heart It takes time to equip the heart. No one was born with a perfect heart, nor did anyone have a perfect heart when he first came to Christ. The Lord might lead a newly saved person to consecrate himself, but this is likely only something of emotion. His mind and will still need equipping. For example, a brother with some amount of equipping may think he is the second John Bunyan, and so he is ready to write a sequel to Pilgrim's Progress. Such a brother will not be able to serve the Lord or speak for Him, for his heart will not be equipped for such a thing. It is not an easy matter to deal with your heart. Regardless of where you are or what your environment is, you must fight for your heart, that it may be properly equipped. The Mind Following the Emotion No one has a heart that is free from what is wild. No one has a heart that is not for self. We all have a "wild heart." Our heart is for ourselves. Everyone considers what will be of gain. You all are considering what you will do after this time of labor. Surely not all of you will serve full-time. There should be all kinds of people among us, for this is the Body of Christ. Although you may not decide to serve full-time, you still need to equip your mind, for your ability to follow the Lord depends on this. Your mind must match your emotions if you are to have a proper will. When the Lord touches you, your emotion will not be the problem. However, it is crucial that your mind match your emotion. Don't waste your mind. Your mind does not have an unlimited capacity. If you waste your mind on what is not of the Lord, your mind will not be able to be suitably equipped. Instead, all kinds of ideas will enter into your mind and cause it to become wild. Equipping the Mind We must learn to equip our mind. If today we think about how to make money, and tomorrow we think about how to purchase a house, and the day after that we think about how we should raise our children, then in our limited mind there will only be a small part left for Christ. Such a heart will fall away, and become unusable as far as the Lord is concerned. Some people ask me, "Titus, why do you always urge people to serve full-time?" This is easy to answer. When someone serves full-time, at least his mind is on the Lord. If you are a professor, your mind is on your publishing. You have to consider how to bring in funding. Although it is not something sinful, your mental capacity will be used up on such things. A Protected Mind and Emotion Bringing In a Healthy Will You must tell the Lord, "Lord, You must work on my emotions constantly. I am willing to be equipped in my emotions. I do not want to waste my love on anything other than You. I desire to love You alone." If this is the case, you will have a pure emotion. Furthermore, your mind should match your emotion. You should have no desire for anything in the world. If the Lord grants you something, you should praise Him. If He does not, you should still praise Him. You should know how to be abased and how to abound; in everything you should learn the secret of how to be filled and how to hunger, of how to abound and how to lack (Phil. 4:12). In other words, you have to learn the secret. Your mind should not be occupied with being short of something, or having abundance. You should set your mind on the things that are above, where Christ is. Then your mind will be protected, and you can have a healthy will. Cultivating an Absolute Will You have to cultivate a will that is absolute for the Lord, to the extent that nothing else can turn you aside. For example, a brother may consecrate himself to the Lord and desire to join the ten-month labor. However, after being offered a job with a good salary, he takes it. That indicates that his will is not adequately equipped. He does not know how to give himself for Christ and the church. He should have followed the Lord's leading, but his will lacked equipping. You might ask, "Are those in the labor the ones who could not find a job?" Of course not. They are simply willing to give themselves absolutely to the Lord. It is not that they come to the labor because they cannot find a job. Brothers, we all love the Lord in our emotion. The problem is that many are wild in their minds, and not equipped in their wills. This is the typical situation. Suppose a brother is laid off from his job, and after a thorough consideration he decides to serve the Lord full-time. After making this decision, he receives a number of phone calls offering him jobs. If he feels these phone calls are a confirmation that the Lord wants him to serve Him, this indicates that he has a proper will. Your ability to serve the Lord depends upon whether or not your will is equipped. The Equipping of the Emotion, Mind, and Will You may think that equipping is simply a matter of reading the Bible. In fact, it is your heart that has to be equipped first. Without a proper heart, it is useless to talk about equipping. First of all, you have to equip your emotion. You must be continually touching the Lord. The more you love the Lord, the better. Second, you must allow the Lord to equip your mind and your will. If you allow the life-giving Spirit to constantly give you life, you will have a healthy mind and a strong will. Remember, the world seeks to match who you are. Therefore you must equip your heart. That is, you must equip your emotion, mind, and will. You must build your emotion, mind, and will into a "wall." In other words, you must exercise your heart to the extent that you love nothing other than the Lord and His church, think of nothing but Christ and His economy, and choose nothing other than what benefits the Lord and the saints. Then, by God's mercy, your heart is truly equipped. The Pattern of the Lord's Servant When the world comes to us, we must be conscious of its operation. Everything in the world operates to tempt us. The temptations we encounter are no different than those the people in the world encounter. It is easy for young people to say, "I, like Brother Lee, am willing to eat tree roots and drink water from the mountain." This is not an easy thing to say, however, when we have a family with children. We should learn from the pattern presented to us by the Lord's servant. We must cultivate and equip our heart continually, just as he does. I have followed Brother Lee for many years, and I can testify that he is careful about his heart. He does not waste his mind on things other than Christ, the church, or God's economy. His emotion is not occupied by any worry. His will is like a wall blocking out anything foreign that might frustrate him from pursuing the Lord. His whole being and his whole heart care for nothing but Christ, the church, God's economy, and the Lord's recovery. Even any concern he has for his health is for the Lord's sake. Brother Lee once testified, "I am for the Lord. I dare not expose myself to any temptation." One day he went somewhere with Brother Austin-Sparks. Brother Austin-Sparks wanted to go through an old suspension bridge, but Brother Lee wouldn't go with him, saying, "I do not want to put myself in any kind of danger, for I desire to be preserved for the Lord." We can see from this example that Brother Lee looked to the Lord's mercy continually and constantly maintained his equipping. We all are human. Many of us have families and children. We all have our worries. However, we should not allow anything to keep us from following after Christ. We should equip and cultivate ourselves while we are young by equipping our emotion, mind, and will to the extent that they become a wall separating us unto Christ, God's economy, and God's purpose to the exclusion of all else. A Word Regarding the Sisters I would like to say something to the sisters. The young sisters love the Lord, but their love is primarily something of the emotion. I am afraid that after you marry, most of you will lose your heart for the Lord. Although you should treasure your marriage, your love for the Lord should not grow less because of it. Many sisters were absolute and consecrated before they got married, but afterwards something was lost, although they remain good sisters and still function in the church life. Madame Guyon was married, yet she maintained a strong love for the Lord. Nothing hindered her from living for the Lord or maintaining her relationship with Him. She knew how to protect her heart. In the church life, there are more young sisters than young brothers, but eventually it is the brothers who become more manifested. The reason for this has to do with this issue of equipping. When sisters get married and have children, it is natural for them to care for their children. It is not normal for a sister to have a heart only for the Lord and yet have no heart for her children. We must take good care of our children. At the same time, however, we need to continue to give ourselves to the Lord. I have known some sisters with children who have remained healthy before the Lord. These sisters have remained healthy because they have continued to equip themselves. They have determined not to allow their love for the Lord to weaken, or their mind to be overly taken up, or any problem to come up in their will between themselves and the Lord. Thus they have guarded their emotion, their mind, and their will. Treasuring Our Mind, Emotion, and Will There was a time when some young people reported to Brother Lee that I was considering going into some business. (I was considering it, for I felt it might relieve Brother Lee of some burden.) After hearing of this, Brother Lee called me and said, "Titus, in these years the Lord seems to be telling me not to have anything to do with business. As you know, Brother Nee was not successful in his attempt, and neither was I when I tried something. The Lord told me to give it up, and that He would provide everything for the work and for my needs. I now give you the same advice." There is nothing wrong with having a business, but a business will occupy your mind, emotion, and will. Brother Lee's advice is that we should treasure our mind, emotion, and will. This is why I encourage brothers to serve the Lord full-time. Our mind, emotion, and will are limited. We should invest our entire heart into the Lord's recovery and with the brothers and sisters. We must equip ourselves with this kind of heart. Some sisters are particular about what cosmetics they use, saying one brand is better for Asian women than another. If you really believe that, your mind, emotion, and will are lost. Others are picky about clothing, and must wear only brand name clothes. They are consumed with fashion and shopping. Some shop all afternoon and then will not go to the meeting in the evening, for they are too tired. They wear the clothes they buy only a few times, yet they are worn out by the clothes. What a waste! Some people are particular about what food they buy. They will not buy anything except the choicest meat. If the Lord provides, you can eat whatever you want, but why waste your mind on this? It is not a sin to eat well, but you should not waste your mind, emotion, and will on such things. You should be simple and live a simple life for the Lord. We should equip ourselves and treasure our mind, emotion and will, building them into a strong wall that nothing can penetrate. When we have such a heart, we are able to pursue the Lord with our entire being. May the Lord have mercy.