THE PROPER AGGRESSIVENESS OF THE FULL-TIME SERVING ONES

Message Seven
The Proper Aggressiveness of the Full-time Serving Ones
 (Living by Faith, Languages, Aggressiveness)

Scripture Reading: Matt. 6:25-34; Phil. 4:9; Matt. 25:16, 17; Neh. 2:3-5, 20

I. We take the way of living by faith; you go this way of being full-time because you believe the One whom you serve is the living One; you do not trust any human being; we believe the Lord is living and He is real; let us live such a life which is termed the kingdom life—Matt. 6:25-34:

A. There is a great problem concerning full-timers which demands our attention—the matter of how to make a living by going full-time; the strangest thing concerning this is that from Paul’s time up to now this problem has never been solved:

1. Paul was the foremost apostle; he was highly regarded and respected by all the churches; such a one, however, was forced to make tents not only to feed himself but also to feed his co-workers—Acts 18:3; 20:34-35.

2. Why did he not exercise his wise mind to tell all the churches who were under his ministry to donate a certain portion of their proceeds to him? If he had done this, he might have been rich; he would not have needed to make tents.

3. Those of us who take the full-time way or who are going to take the full-time way have to see something here; Paul never made such a resolution.

B. You may wonder how you can live if you go full-time; my answer is this—just live; do not say anything to anyone about your need, just live; if you cannot live, go back to work—John 21:3.

C. The highest example of being full-time was the Lord Jesus; up to the age of thirty, He made a living by being a carpenter; in all those years He had a job, but then He came out at age thirty to serve God with His full time; nobody paid Him or hired Him—Matt. 13:55; cf. Matt. 8: 20.

D. We should not worry about our future; rather, we should believe that we are in His hands and that He will take care of us and sustain us in a practical way; if the support you receive from the church is scanty, do not complain but rather look to the Lord; if the support is plentiful, do not waste it all, but always save some for the Lord’s use—Phil. 4:11-12.

II. I encourage the young people to advance in their studies; they not only need to know the truth and life, but they also need to learn more languages, including Greek—Phil.4:9:  

A. Those who serve the Lord should be very particular about their writing and speech; those who are Chinese should at least be fluent and skilled in the Chinese language.

B. I also encourage the Chinese students to diligently study English; English has become the world language; since those who do not serve the Lord are learning English, we, as the Lord’s workers, have a greater need to know English; moreover, in the recovery we often speak the truth in English; thus, if you have not adequately learned English, your understanding of the truth will not be precise.

C. Learning Greek is for us to study the truth:

1. Learning Greek is not for us to contact new believers; it is for us to study the truth.

2. With the exception of a few verses, the New Testament is entirely in Greek; hence, it is important for us to learn Greek.

3. If we desire to know the truth, we must get to the source of the truth, that is, into the Greek language.

4. Being conversant in Greek does not mean that one speaks Greek, rather, the emphasis is on the ability to read Greek and to consult reference books.

III. You should not expect to accomplish something in a quick way or even to do something well in your first attempt; you should be aggressive in learning everything related to serving the Lord; God creates, but man must study; to study means to learn—Rev. 22:3; Neh. 2:3, footnote 1:

A. I encourage you to exercise your spirit and to exercise a strong will to be aggressive in your service to the Lord; you must be aggressive; otherwise, after serving full time for six months, you will be useless—2 Tim. 1:7 :

1. My greatest concern when a person begins to serve the Lord is that he may become useless; the denominations in Christianity have a system of examinations and promotions, but we do not have any examinations or promotions; therefore, it is easy for full-timers to neglect to improve themselves.

2. Even if you do not take the way of serving full time, you need to be aggressive and seek to advance in your job; otherwise, you will be eliminated; we should be even more aggressive in serving the Lord.

B. You should not rely on the diploma from your school; instead, you should study hard and be aggressive; you are still young and full of potential; your time is precious; you must redeem every minute by learning everything related to serving the Lord; in addition to Chinese, you should study at least two other languages: Greek and English; this will help you—Eph. 5:16.

C. You should also be aggressive to learn how to converse with others and how to speak for the Lord; I also learned how to contact others and to use proper mannerisms in greeting or shaking hands with others so that I could earn others’ respect—1 Tim. 4:12

1. You should not think that these matters are unrelated to serving the Lord; when we go out to contact people, our attitude, expression, speaking, and conduct have much to do with serving the Lord.

2. We should pray concerning the way we dress; we should consider even the style and the color of the clothes we wear; we must not love fashion; however, we should not dress like an old person—Rom.12:2.

3. You must learn all these things; you must pray and learn to be appropriate; even how we style our hair requires much learning—1 Tim. 2:9.

4. If we are proper in these aspects, we will give others the impression that we are a weighty person who does not act rashly or frivolously; thus, what we say will be taken into consideration by others.

IV. These points illustrate that we must learn to be aggressive in everything; the most important thing is to always appropriately present yourself before people; for this reason, when you return to your locality, you must be aggressive and make progress so that others will respect you—Matt. 25:16-17.

Ministry Excerpts:

The Living of Full-Time Workers

There is a great problem concerning full-timers which demands our attention—the matter of how to make a living by going full-time. The strangest thing concerning this is that from Paul’s time up to now this problem has never been solved. The New Testament does not give us any kind of resolution to this problem. Paul was the foremost apostle (1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 12:11). He did the top work and the result and the blessing he enjoyed from his work were all on the top. He was highly regarded and respected by all the churches. Such a one, however, was forced to make tents not only to feed himself but also to feed his co-workers. Surely Paul was much wiser than all of us. Why did he not exercise his wise mind to tell all the churches who were under his ministry to donate a certain portion of their proceeds to him? If he had done this, he might have been rich. He would not have needed to make tents. Those of us who take the full-time way or who are going to take the full-time way have to see something here. Paul never made such a resolution. You may wonder how you can live if you go full-time. My answer is this—just live. Do not say anything to anyone about your need; just live. If you cannot live, go back to work.

Just Living, If You Cannot Live, Go Back to Work

I was once assigned by Brother Nee, the leading one in the work, to move my family from Chefoo to a big city in north China, a port city close to the old capital of Peking. The cost of living there was very expensive. I moved there and no church gave me any support. The assigning work did not say anything about my supply. That was our practice. The work, the ministry, only assigned you work to do. They never cared for your need. That was our way.

The Lord Being Truly Marvelous! This Being One of My Experiences
Concerning Trusting In the Lord for My Living

I moved there firstly by myself, and when I looked at the situation in that big city, I realized that in order to travel and visit others I needed a bicycle. I had only a little over forty dollars in my pocket, which I kept to move my family which included my wife and three children. I needed a bicycle badly, so I prayed to the Lord. I still remember where I kneeled down to ask the Lord to meet my need. In that prayer I was so clear that the Lord was telling me from within to go to buy a bicycle although I only had a little over forty dollars, which was just enough to bring my wife and three children to be with me. Later, a certain brother went with me to visit another brother. After visiting that brother, we two brothers went to a food market. When we came out of the market, we saw a new bicycle standing there. I told the brother with me that this was the kind of bicycle I wanted to buy. Immediately, the owner came out, and I asked him where I could buy such a bicycle and how much it would cost. Then he told me the place and the price. We brothers went to that store and there was such a bicycle for sale there, already assembled. The salesman told me the price was thirty-two dollars, including tax and license. I paid him the thirty-two dollars and took the bike home.

After coming back home, I was happy that I had a bicycle which would be so useful to me in that big city. I went upstairs to the very place where I initially knelt down to pray and gave thanks to the Lord. While I was giving thanks to the Lord, He asked me to count how much money I had received since He told me to buy the bicycle up until the time I paid the thirty-two dollars for it. My prayer for the bicycle was on a Saturday when a certain brother came to see me. We had a long talk and when he left he told me he had a letter for me. Actually, it was not a letter but an envelope, within which was ten dollars. On the next day, the Lord’s day, I received a two-dollar gift from the offering box. The very next morning, Monday morning, I received some registered mail from another city. This mail contained a postal money order for twenty dollars. I and the other brother with me went to the post office that same day to cash that money order. It was on that Monday that we also saw the bicycle I purchased, and I had not counted the money I had received from the Lord as gifts. When I added the amounts of ten dollars, two dollars, and twenty dollars, and realized that the Lord had supplied me with thirty-two dollars, the exact amount of the bicycle, I wept before the Lord. How faithful He was! This is one example among the many ways the Lord took care of my practical needs. The Lord sovereignly arranged for me to see that bicycle and supplied me with the exact amount for it. The Lord is truly marvelous! This was one of my experiences concerning trusting in the Lord for my living.

We Only Having the Right to Tell the Lord Our Need

I was sick for two and a half years with tuberculosis during the time that the Japanese army invaded China. China was in a hard situation in that year of 1943. The war had been going on for over six years already and the economic situation of China was really poor. I was very sick and I needed a lot of good care. My wife and my children were in a hard time. She and the children began to eat the kind of food which at that time was only good for feeding the pigs. The poorest people in north China sometimes ate this kind of food. My family was also forced at times by being short of supply to eat that kind of pig food. And in north China we needed coal to burn in the stoves for cooking. My wife went to the seashore like the poor people to pick up things that were carried to the shore by the tide. The waves carried a lot of things which would be good for fuel. When my sister got to know that, she advised my wife not to do this since only the poor people did this. But this was what we suffered in order to serve the Lord with our full-time. We only have the right to tell the Lord our need, and we only have the right to tell our poverty.

I Never Telling Any Co-worker What I Needed

When I was sent to Taiwan from Shanghai, the church in Shanghai did not give me one dollar. Brother Nee personally gave me about three hundred dollars, and that was all the money I had when I went to Taiwan. When I went to Taiwan, I took my wife, eight children, and two maids. The older maid had served my family for three generations. She was a widow and it was hard for us to leave her. The second maid, a younger sister, served my family in Nanking for some years. She was a divorced young lady. When we were leaving Shanghai, she cried. We were the ones who brought her to the Lord. My wife and I decided that as long as we could go to Taiwan we should also bring her. We brought these two maids with us, not for help, but out of love. Therefore, we had twelve people living together in one place. The three hundred dollars I had was only good for us to live on for three months. This was all I had to go to Taiwan to begin the work there. I never told any co-worker what I needed. I never told any church what I needed. You all would suppose that I should have been the second one, next to Brother Nee, among the saints who was highly regarded in the recovery, yet this was my financial condition.

The Need for All the Churches with All the Saints to Be Faithful in Giving

On the one hand, this way should be carried out by the full-timers. But on the other hand, all the churches, with all the saints, should be faithful in giving. These are two sides. The churches with all the saints should be careful, should be diligent, and should be faithful in giving to take care of the need. Paul says that all the people working for the gospel have the right to live of the gospel (1 Cor. 9:14), but not according to the traditional way. We are here for the Lord’s recovery. Even though we do not practice having everything in common, we do practice our faithfulness for His unique purpose on this earth.

We should be glorious; we should be dignified. I would never beg. To beg is a shame. For over fifty-three years I never begged. Rather, I spent my money splendidly. When I gave, I gave splendidly. People wondered where I received the money; the Lord has always supplied me. I suffered poverty and my entire family suffered poverty to the uttermost because of His sake. Today we are happy about it. This is our way. On the other hand, we must remember that the saints and the churches should be faithful to the uttermost in giving to Him for His up-to-date move. (Elders’ Training, Book 05: Fellowship Concerning the Lord’s Up-to-Date Move, msg. 9)

Exerting Effort in Learning Languages and in Writing

Understanding the truths of the Bible requires the learning of languages. The original language of the New Testament is Greek, and the original language of the Old Testament is Hebrew. It would be good for you to exert some effort to learn these two languages. Moreover, although you are probably quite proficient in understanding and reading Chinese, your mother tongue, you most likely encounter difficulty when you are trying to express the truth. This shows two things—that you are deficient in the skill of writing and that your knowledge of the truth is still vague. Moreover, in the recovery we often speak the truth in English. Thus, if you have not adequately learned English, your understanding of the truth will not be precise. Therefore, I hope that you would have sufficient knowledge of languages and of writing. (Vessels Useful to the Lord, msg. 8)

Learning Both the Chinese and English Languages

Most of our young people in Taiwan are college graduates. They need to improve their Chinese so that they are able to express their ideas orally and in writing. Those who serve the Lord should be very particular about their writing and speech. Those who are Chinese should at least be fluent and skilled in the Chinese language. I also encourage the Chinese students to diligently study English. English has become the world language. Since those who do not serve the Lord are learning English, we, as the Lord’s workers, have a greater need to know English. If we know English, we will be able to go to any place in the world without hindrance. Do not think that it is superfluous to learn another language, especially English. Not only should we know how to speak Chinese, but we should also learn English; otherwise, we will not be able to travel in many places of the world. Even if we do not go abroad, we can use English to read reference books. Hence, I encourage you to learn English.

Learning Greek for Studying the Truth

Those who desire to serve the Lord full time, especially the brothers, should learn Greek. If asked what the qualifications of a full-time brother should be, I would say that it is best to have a college degree and be conversant in Chinese, English, and Greek. Being conversant in Greek does not mean that one speaks Greek. Rather, the emphasis is on the ability to read Greek and to consult reference books. Learning Greek is not for us to contact new believers; it is for us to study the truth. The Bible was written in two languages: Hebrew and Greek. With the exception of a few verses, the New Testament is entirely in Greek. Hence, it is important for us to learn Greek. A person who studies the truth but does not know Greek can be considered an amateur. If we desire to know the truth, we must get to the source of the truth, that is, into the Greek language. (The Vision, Living and Work of the Lord’s Serving Ones, msg. 14)

Being Aggressive in Learning Everything
Related to Serving the Lord

We must be aggressive. I hope that the young people who are serving full time will study Greek. There are even good videotapes available that teach Greek. In order to serve the Lord, you must be immersed in the Lord’s Word and spend time in it. Hence, you must learn some Greek. Some may wonder when they can find the time to learn Greek. You can find the time to learn Greek by spending less time for your meals, your sleep, talking on the phone, conversing, and reading the newspaper. Saving time in this way is what the Scriptures call “redeeming the time”. For example, it is important to know the world situation, but for this there is a need to read only the international section of the newspaper.

Learning Both the Greek and English Languages

 You should not rely on the diploma from your school; instead, you should study hard and be aggressive. You are still young and full of potential. Your time is precious; you must redeem every minute by learning everything related to serving the Lord. In addition to Chinese, you should study at least two other languages: Greek and English. This will help you.

You should also be aggressive to learn how to converse with others and how to speak for the Lord. You should learn how to have the proper attitude, expression, and gestures when you converse with others. I have studied all these matters. In 1927 I realized that I would spend my whole life preaching the Lord’s word. I did not study theology, nor did I study methods of preaching, but I came up with two ways to practice—I would preach to the ocean, and I would stand before a mirror and practice preaching. This practice helped me greatly. When it was time for me to stand up to give a message, everyone was surprised and asked where I had learned to speak. I also learned how to contact others and to use proper mannerisms in greeting or shaking hands with others so that I could earn others’ respect.

 

Our Attitude, Expression, Speaking, and Conduct
Having Much to Do with Serving the Lord

You should not think that these matters are unrelated to serving the Lord. When we go out to contact people, our attitude, expression, speaking, and conduct have much to do with serving the Lord. If we are proper in these aspects, we will give others the impression that we are a weighty person who does not act rashly or frivolously. Thus, what we say will be taken into consideration by others. Our work consists of nothing but speaking with others to help and to enlighten them. If the way we speak or conduct ourselves is not acceptable, no matter what we say, others will have a negative impression of us, and this will nullify everything. Therefore, I advise you to learn all these things.

We must learn all these things because we represent the Lord. Suppose you are a young sister who recently graduated from college. You will know how to conduct yourself and how to speak with gravity if you are properly aggressive. The saints in your small group will be impressed and think that you are special. If the Spirit leads you, you can pray a few simple and weighty sentences. After the meeting, you will not be frivolous; rather, your contact with others will be proper before leaving. This will leave the saints in your small group with the impression that you are a person who is worthy of respect. Even your reading of the Bible should be proper in a small group. If you conduct yourself in this way, the saints in your group will be gained by your proper reading. Thus, over time you will build up a certain amount of credibility among them.

These Points Illustrating That We Must Learn to
 Be Aggressive in Everything

You must learn all these things. You should not behave in a loose or crazy way, nor should you be old fashioned or too conservative. You must pray and learn to be appropriate. Even how we style our hair requires much learning. We must not forget that serving the Lord is contacting people, and an important part of contacting people is our appearance, because this affects the impression that others have of us. Hence, we must be aggressive to learn, even in the matter of cutting our hair.

These points illustrate that we must learn to be aggressive in everything. If the two hundred full-timers are aggressive to learn, even your hairstyle and clothing will show others your quality. All these things are related to your serving the Lord; hence, you must be aggressive, not casual, in everything. (The Proper Aggressiveness of the Lord’s Serving Ones, msg. 8)