Our Commissions for Overseas Propagation

Scripture Reading: Eph. 4:11-12; 1 Tim. 4:6; Col. 4:2; Phil. 1:20-21; 1 Tim. 4:5; Eph. 2:15

  1. Closely following the ministry of the age: the particular recovery and work that God is doing in one age is the ministry of that age—Gen. 6:13, 14; Exo. 25:8, 9; 2 Sam. 7:1-16:
    1. In the Old Testament, Noah had the ministry of that age to build the ark, Moses had the ministry of that age to build the tabernacle, and David and Solomon had the ministry of that age to build the temple—Gen. 6:13, 14; Exo. 25:8, 9; 2 Sam. 7:1-16.
    2. Since we have the up-to-date and ultimate vision, we should closely follow after it. We are absolutely not following a man; rather, we are following a vision. We are following a vision that belongs to the present age.
    3. I would like to relate to you one fact. It is the Lord’s mercy that He has revealed to me the vision. I advise you not to follow me but to follow this vision which Brother Nee and all the servants of the Lord throughout the ages have left to us and which I have handed to you. This is indeed the vision that extends from the first scene of Adam to the last scene of the New Jerusalem. (Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 1: The Vision and Definite Steps for the Practice of the New Way, ch. 2)
  3. Being desperate in preaching the high gospel: the gospel is the entire divine revelation of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament— 1:3-4; Matt. 28:19:
    1. The main item of the service in the church is the work of preaching:
      1. This is not a kind of evangelizing work in Christianity; it is the testimony of the church, and all the members are the living witnesses.
      2. We have to believe in such a gospel, preach such a gospel, and live uniquely for such a gospel.
    2. “If we are not here for the preaching of the gospel and saving souls, then what are we here for? We cannot be the evil and slothful slaves; we must arise to do the work of reaping by actively preaching the gospel.”  (Rising Up to Preach the Gospel, ch. 2)
  • Continuing steadfastly in prayers with perseverance: “Persevere in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving”— 4:2; Eph. 6:18:
    1. We need to persevere in prayer because prayer involves a battle, a fight; two parties, God and Satan, are hostile to each other; the third party consists of God’s chosen and redeemed people; in order to fight on God’s side against Satan, we need to persevere in prayer—Col. 4:2; Eph. 6:18; Matt. 26:41; cf. Eph. 5:14; Rom. 13:11-14.
    2. Before we try to persevere in prayer, we should first make a vow to the Lord concerning our prayer life, “Lord, I mean business with You about this matter of prayer. I call heaven and earth to witness that from this time forth I will have a life of prayer. I will not be a prayerless person. Rather, I will be a praying person.”
    3. After we make such a deal with the Lord concerning our prayer, we should set aside definite times for prayer; during these times, prayer must be the top priority; our attitude should be that prayer is our most important business and that nothing should be allowed to interfere with it—Dan. 6:10.
  1. Living out a corporate God-man Living: the reality of the Body of Christ is the living of a God-man life by a group of God-redeemed people together with the God-man Christ— 1: 19-21:
    1. The Body of Christ is not merely a term but a reality; the reality of the Body of Christ is the union and mingling of God with man to live out a corporate God-man.
    2. For such a revelation which is so high, deep, and profound, the Lord needs a model; He needs a corporate people to be raised up by His grace through this high peak of the divine revelation to live a life according to this revelation.
    3. For this we need to pass through death and resurrection, dying daily and being resurrected daily; we also need to be in the Spirit and walk according to the Spirit daily.
  2. Blending in local lifestyle and managing local language—Eph. 2:15:
    1. The Americans and Europeans use a knife and fork, the Chinese use chop sticks, and the Indonesians use their fingers. Who can say which way is best? Because this is a very delicate matter, we need to take care of the feelings of others. If you visit Indonesia or Taiwan, you should follow the custom of the people there. Likewise those from Indonesia and Taiwan should do the same when they visit the West.
    2. If the Lord gives us a feeling to go to Africa, we should equip ourselves with the local language. Since English is the common language in Africa, we should be equipped with English.
    3. If the Lord wants to send us to Latin America, we must study Spanish. We should be equipped in the truth, in languages, and in general knowledge. We should also know the world situation. Then we will be able to go out and propagate.
  3. Being aggressive in service and diligent in learning—Phil.4:9:
    1. 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.
    2. You should be aggressive in learning everything related to serving the Lord; God creates, but man must study; to study means to learn—Neh. 2:3, footnote 1.
    3. We must learn to be aggressive in everything—Matt. 25:16-17.
  • Coordinating in one accord to raise up the golden lampstands—Acts 1:14; Rev. 1:11:
    1. The one accord refers to the harmony in our inner being, in our mind and will—Acts 1:14.
    2. The one accord is the master key to every blessing in the New Testament—Eph. 1:3; Psa. 133.
    3. Today the Lord needs the testimony of the lampstand; He needs the churches as the lampstands in every locality.
    4. For the Lord’s up-to-date move, all the churches need to be in one accord; we should all voice the same thing, trumpet the same thing, teach the same thing, and be the same in practice—Acts 2:42; 4:24, 32; 1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 11:16; 14:33b-34; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; 6:3.
  • Producing the testimony of one new man on the whole earth—Matt. 28:19; Col. 3:10-11:
    1. After the Lord rose from the dead, all authority in heaven and on earth was given to Him; therefore, He wants us to establish His kingdom by discipling all the nations.
    2. Our commission is to go and preach the gospel of the kingdom to every part of the inhabited earth and to cause every believer to become a disciple of the kingdom.
    3. The Lord wants to raise up the churches of His recovery in all the cities, towns, and localities on the earth and make them all into one new man; although we are many and come from many places, we all have one mouth and we all speak the same thing—Eph. 2:15; 4:22-24; Rom. 15:6; 1 Cor. 1:10.