THE PRACTICE HANDBOOK FOR THE DISTRICT SERVING ONES
SERIES FOUR
SERVICES FOR SAINTS OF ALL AGES
Message Four
Young Working Saints Service
Acts 18:3 And because he was of the same trade, he remained with them and worked; for they were tentmakers by trade.
Rom. 15:16 That I might be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, a laboring priest of the gospel of God, in order that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, having been sanctified in the Holy Spirit.
SERVING THE LORD BEING OUR REAL PROFESSION
We need to realize that as members of Christ’s Body and priests in God’s house, we exist for the Lord’s service. This is true regard- less of whether we serve full time or not. Before the Lord our primary responsibility is not to make a living, to engage in business, or to pursue our education but to serve the Lord. Of course, the young saints must study, and as a rule the older ones must work in order to make a living. Yet as priests of God and members of Christ, we must realize that we have been called, even “drafted,” into the Lord’s service. We do not need to wait for the Lord to call us to serve Him. The Lord has already called and enlisted us into His service. If we are seeking the Lord’s leading regarding the proper way to serve in the church life, we must realize that we are priests in the service of God and members for the building up of Christ’s Body. Regard- less of whether we study or work, our real profession is not to be a student or a businessman; our “profession” is to be serving priests in God’s house and functioning members in Christ’s Body.
As human beings, we must serve something. The question therefore is not whether we serve but what we serve. If we do not serve God, we will serve something else. Practically, we will serve either the Lord or the world, either God or mammon (Matt. 6:24). In 1948 many young brothers and sisters were studying at a large university in Shanghai. Although they studied diligently, they were fully given to the gospel. They did not study for the sake of studying; they studied for the sake of the gospel. As a result of these saints’ faithfulness in preaching the gospel, hundreds of students and professors were saved. We are living on the earth for nothing except the testimony of Jesus and the work of the Lord. Everything else is optional. Serving the Lord is the main thing; it is our real profession.
NOT TRUSTING IN JOB BUT TRUSTING IN THE LORD
Whether we serve full time or we keep our job, we need to exercise faith and trust in the Lord. Those who work for a living should trust in the Lord just as much as those who serve full time. The working saints should not trust in their job, their education, their learning, or their ability; to do so is to take the way of the worldly people. We need to trust in the Lord, saying, “Lord, if You lead me to make my living by taking a job, I will still trust in You, not in my job.” Paul was an apostle; however, this did not keep him from having to work for his livelihood and that of his co-workers (Acts 18:1-3; 20:34-35; 1 Cor. 4:12; 1 Thes. 2:9; 2 Thes. 3:8). Yet even as he worked, he did not trust in his working; rather, he trusted in the Lord (1 Tim. 6:17).
If we truly trust in the Lord, the question of serving full time or working will not be a great matter to us. If we are clear that the Lord has commissioned us with a burden, we must care for His commission more than we care for our livelihood. If we care for our living and neglect the Lord’s commission, we are not faithful to the Lord. If we are faithful to the Lord’s com- mission, we will exercise our faith. This faith is not something of ourselves. To exercise faith is to exercise our spirit and our heart to trust in the Lord (2 Cor. 4:13; Prov. 3:5).
As far as the Lord’s work is concerned, the New Testament speaks very little about money. The way of the world, however, is to make money a priority. If we do this, we are fallen. We must forget about the practice of the world and cease giving so much consideration to money. Many Christians allow the matter of money to lead them in their consideration of full-time service. Worse yet, many engage in fundraising in order to support their service. To fundraise is a shame to the Lord and to His serving ones. It is better to be a beggar on the street than to attempt to raise money for the Lord’s work. Many people who supposedly live by faith actually trust in their own activities. If they would cease their self-advertising and their fundraising letters, we would see how much “faith” they really have. Their faith is not the genuine faith. No one serving the Lord can send out letters to solicit people’s financial support. We need to drop any intention of advertising ourselves and our work in order to attract the saints’ donations. It is better for us to take a job and work for a living than to raise money for the Lord’s work. The Lord’s work does not need money as much as it needs people who are willing to die to their soul-life, to be poor, and to suffer. We must abandon the way of degraded Christianity, which is the way of the world, and exercise faith to trust in the Lord. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 3, “The Oneness of the Body and the Service in the Church Life,” ch. 10)
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING BEING
TO OBTAIN THE LIFE SUPPLY
When I was seeking before the Lord on your behalf, I felt that if the working brothers and sisters are to be adequately and properly participating in the church life, they need to receive the life supply continuously. What you need is not so much to do something, to learn something, or to bear some burdens. What you need is mainly to receive the life supply. If there is not the adequate supply to our physical life, it will be difficult for us to walk, not to mention to bear burdens. It is the same with our spiritual life. The most important thing is to obtain the life supply.
I know that many working brothers and sisters, after finding a job, experience pressure from their boss, competition from their co-workers, plus the jealousy of the aggressive ones. It is indeed not a simple situation. Not only so, after marriage they will have a wife, and not long afterward they will have children. It is indeed troublesome. Although there is enjoyment in these things, they are not without troubles. What shall we do? This is just like Hymns, #841, which says,
Thou art all my life, Lord,
In me Thou dost live;
With Thee all God’s fulness
Thou to me dost give.
By Thy holy nature
I am sanctified,
By Thy resurrection,
Vict’ry is supplied.
The last stanza says,
I would cease completely
From my efforts vain,
Let Thy life transform me,
Full release to gain.
This is just like what the Bible shows us. The divine power of God has granted to us all things related to life and godliness. The sufficient life supply will meet all our needs. Therefore, we do not have to worry; we need only to draw on God’s supply by faith.
Second Peter 1 opens by saying that we have been allotted equally precious faith from God. Through this faith all the things related to life and godliness will become reality to us, and we will be led into this reality. The divine nature will also become the element of our Christian living and experience. Then holiness and perfection are not hard matters to us; even overcoming and being spiritual are very easy. This is like my sitting inside a 747 jumbo jet flying from Taipei to Los Angeles. I will get there after flying for fourteen hours. Actually, it is not I who am flying; I am merely enjoying. Similarly, what delivered Noah and his eight family members from the destruction by the flood was not Noah himself but the ark. The ark delivered them from the judgment of the flood, yet they themselves were inside enjoying God’s preparation.
Today our Christian life is also like this. Everything in Christ is an enjoyment. If we are not in Christ, our being a working one is a heavy burden. Marriage and rearing up children are all burdens. What a suffering it is! Therefore, we should not forget that the beginning of 2 Peter 1 tells us that the divine power of God has already granted to us all things related to life and godliness. God within us is our life, and He is also supplying us day by day.
IN THE WAY OF USING OUR TIME,
WE SHOULD ALSO HAVE SOME ARRANGEMENT
Therefore, in the way we use our time, we should also have some arrangement. You work five and a half days a week. Each day, besides working, eating, and resting, there are at least two hours that can be used, plus half a day on Saturday and a whole day on the Lord’s Day. These times can be used for serving the Lord, for preaching the gospel by visiting people, for caring for the saints, or for attending home meetings, group meetings, or district meetings. Even if there are some who, because of family burdens, need to work two jobs, I absolutely believe that regardless of how busy they are during the week, they can set apart at least half a day to attend a meeting. This is altogether dependent on our feeling and our viewpoint toward things.
God’s creation follows a set of laws. If a person knows only to work, without adequate rest, then it will not be too long before he cannot make it anymore. Man also needs to have entertainment. According to my human experience, the best and the highest entertainment is to live the church life. The church life not only gives people joy and satisfaction but also uplifts the standard of morality of human beings. Although many worldly entertainments do afford pleasure, yet they may cause us to suffer loss, or even to be defiled by downgrading our morality. Only the church life causes us to be blessed. It is beneficial to our body, soul, and spirit. If in our whole life we do not practice the church life, love the Lord, and serve the Lord, then not only is there a great effect on ourselves, our family, and our children, but the loss we will suffer is beyond estimation. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 2, “Messages Given to the Working Saints,” msg. 3)
OFFERING UP YOUR FINANCE
In budgeting your finances, you should offer up what you have in excess according to the prosperity that the Lord has provided you (Acts 11:29; 1 Cor. 16:2). The word prosper in the original language means to advance well or to progress smoothly. It means to be successful and profitable in our business, career, or whatever else. To be prosperous is a gift from God that results in abundance and affluence. Take Taiwan as an example. It has turned from a place of perilous and poor conditions forty years ago to one with peaceful and rich conditions today. The foreigners have considered this to be a miracle. This is the Lord’s work and His provision. Hence, this prosperity is from the Lord. We have to send out our riches and care for the poor according to the prosperity that the Lord has granted us. In budgeting our finances, we should increase our giving according to the prosperity provided by the Lord. For example, this year you may budget to give a tenth of what you have. Next year you may have to adjust to twelve percent. By increasing this way, you will be blessed.
When I was young, I read a word by Benjamin Franklin. He said that it is easy to make money but that it is hard to spend money. At that time I could not understand this. Later, I became clear. He was absolutely right. It is difficult to use the money that we earn in the right way. The money that you earn should first be used to honor the Lord. You should say to the Lord, “Lord, You have given me this. I am offering a tenth of this to you.” As long as you have the heart, surely you can save one-tenth. You should save this money first, either for the preaching of the gospel or to give to the poor. Only then will your money not be wasted. Only then will it be of value. But if you use your money on wasteful, luxurious, or lustful things, you will corrupt the society. Hence, the way of the Lord is a way of blessing. It is a blessing to you, to those that come into contact with you, and to society. If we want to follow the Lord, our financial planning for the Lord should be adjusted upward yearly. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 2, “Messages Given to the Working Saints,” msg. 8)
MEETING THE NEED OF THE LORD
IN THE NEW WAY TODAY
Recently, I heard a saying that the working saints are the backbone of the church. I feel that this description is most appropriate. The working saints are the backbone of the church. When a man has trouble with his backbone, his whole body is in trouble. The older folks are especially careful to protect their backbones. The backbone is a very important part of a man’s body. In the same way the working saints are very important in the new way in the Lord’s recovery.
In order to meet the Lord’s present need, we must first recall our past experiences and vision. I believe that all of you have had some experiences and some vision in the past. Now we have to recall them. Second, we have to respond to the Lord’s attraction and calling. The fact that you are here today proves that the Lord has attracted you from within. In this attraction there is a calling that calls us to meet the need of the Lord in the new way today. Third, we have to renew our past commitment and consecration. In the past many of us have had a heart for the Lord and have consecrated ourselves to the Lord. Now we need to have these renewed. Fourth, we need to set aside some time and specifically budget our lives. We have to set down some guidelines for our lives. In our daily lives we should set aside some time for the service of the Lord. Fifth, we have to meet the different needs of the saints. There are the following four needs:
(1) We must visit people to preach the gospel and to gain new ones. The practice of knocking on doors to visit people for the preaching of the gospel is absolutely correct. It should not be stopped. The only problem is that in the past few years we have knocked on too many doors and have saved too many people. We need a time of digestion.
(2) We must regularly and consistently help the new ones in the home meetings. To help the new ones to have home meetings is a work that needs to be done regularly. We should visit them at least once a week.
(3) We must diligently learn to help the small group meetings. All who have worked in the communities know that it is not easy to conduct a home meeting or a small group meeting. Especially the young saints, whose experience in the human life is not rich, find it hard to help others when family and marriage problems are involved. We have to learn all these things. For this purpose the church also should give training of all kinds.
(4) We must pursue seriously functioning and prophesying in the district meetings. This also requires a lot of learning. Now that we have the New Testament Recovery Version, it should help us somewhat in prophesying. For example, in the Recovery Version there is a footnote on John 3:16 for the word world. One day I came across this footnote and was very much impressed by it. This footnote describes man from his fall, with the poison of the serpent injected into him, until the New Jerusalem, where he becomes God’s eternal expression. You should first study such a footnote at home and digest it a little. Then practice speaking it. In this way you will be able to function and to prophesy when you come to the meetings. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 2, “Messages Given to the Working Saints,” msg. 6)
May we all rise up to cooperate with the Lord to receive the burden to push this matter so that we may do this continuously. If there is a place with one hundred people meeting together, and forty or fifty of them are willing to practice this—going to gain people by preaching the gospel, perfecting the new believers, leading the group meetings, and attending the district meetings—then assuming that one person can bring in two new ones per year, there will be a one hundred percent increase rate. Even if they can bring only half of that, they will still get a fifty percent increase; this is for sure. As long as everyone is willing to do this, this is a highway to us. This matter all depends on the brothers and sisters living this kind of miraculous yet normal living every day—going out, coming in, going to work, doing business, and staying at home at proper times, doing everything according to schedule in a regulated way, being revived every morning, and living an overcoming life every day. In this way not only can we ourselves be preserved, but also it will be beneficial to others. We ourselves can have such an enjoyable church life, our Lord will get the glory, and everyone can be blessed. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 2, “Messages Given to the Working Saints,” msg. 4)
LETTING YOUNG WORKING SAINTS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY
TO DEVELOP AND FUNCTION PROPERLY
Acts 8 shows that the church in Jerusalem encountered a great persecution. Except for the apostles, tens of thousands of disciples were scattered (v. 1). All the scattered ones preached the gospel in every place. When too many saints are crowded together, there is often conflict. If we all go out to propagate, there would not be any time for fighting, because there would be too much to do. In the twenty-five years since 1960, we should have gospelized and “churchized” all of Taiwan, but we have not done this. Instead, we only rubbed against each other because we were all crowded together.
We have over one thousand young working saints, but we have not used these saints, because we are all gathered in one place; we should quickly disperse them so that they have the opportunity to develop and function properly. Some may say that our impact will be lost if a big church becomes a smaller church. This depends entirely on our concept. If everyone is functioning, even a small church will be strong. We must ask the Lord to show us that we need to let every saint function. If our practice in the past twenty-five years had been one of “scattering,” the gospel would have spread to every village, and there would have been a church in every village many years ago. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 2, “The Propagation of the Gospel and the Administration of the Church,” msg. 1)
CALLING YOUNG WORKING SAINTS
TO BE PERFECTED
It is now more convenient to preach the gospel in Taiwan. Thirty years ago the average level of education in Taiwan was not high, neither was there economic stability, and transportation and communication were not well developed. Today Taiwan is densely populated, and people are concentrated in small areas. Moreover, people have a high level of education, there are economic resources, transportation is convenient, and public security is good. We can say that it is an opportune time to preach the gospel in Taiwan. Therefore, I hope that two hundred of the two thousand young working saints in Taipei will receive a burden to be perfected. We have the essential Spirit within us, and we have the economical Spirit upon us; we have the Spirit within and without for our move. Now we must produce two hundred young working saints who are willing to be trained and be perfected.
If we had continued our initial practice, we would now have over thirty thousand saints actively meeting with us. This is a projection based not on idealism but on statistics. If we say Amen to this word and if we want the church in Taipei to have thirty thousand saints, we need to recover the seventeen thousand saints who do not meet regularly. The elders must give this thorough consideration. I am speaking these words with an intimate spirit, because we are one family. This fellowship concerns the members of our family. We should consider this matter and change; otherwise, we will waste our family inheritance. This is not an individual matter; it is a corporate matter.
Young Working Saints Needing to Join the Army
As we consider the situation in Taiwan, we are forced to confess that we still have a serious lack. There is a Chinese saying: “What we truly care about inwardly will be manifested outwardly.” I have a heavy burden that I can no longer keep inside myself. On one hand, it is good that we enjoy the Lord, but on the other hand, we must go out to fight. We need to recruit brothers and sisters to join an army that will go out and fight for the Lord. The working saints from the ages of twenty-five to forty-five should be in the army; the older saints as well as the younger ones can also be in the army. We should not consider ourselves to be too old to join the army.
In order to achieve this goal we must take the lead to voluntarily join the army. Let us forget our age; regardless of our age, we can still join the army. We must be so absorbed in going out to find our brothers and sisters that we would not even care for sleep or meals. If our brothers and sisters do not return, we should never have peace in our hearts. We must not think that we are using too much human effort or that we are compelling people too much. We must recover our lost brothers and sisters back to God’s house. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 3: The Future of the Lord’s Recovery and the Building Up of the Organic Service,” msg. 4)
Those Who Have a Heart to Serve Full Time Needing to Trained
If the working saints are willing to be full-timers, we need to give them some training. Some working saints are actually very capable. Their capability, however, can cause problems if they are not careful in the things of the Lord. This is because they consider themselves to be “experts,” so they want to act and do a work by themselves. This is definitely not an easy matter in the service, and training is definitely needed.
The work in the cities needs to be developed by everyone together. Once it is developed, there will be a way. The gospel must be preached in colleges, in high schools, and in elementary schools. Presently, much can be done in the college work. The majority of the saints are new in terms of gospel preaching, but now that some working saints are willing to be full-timers, we need to consider how to train them immediately. They can work either on the college campuses or in the community. The way that we are leading the saints to take includes serving with colleges, high schools, children, and so forth. People are much needed for all these services. If there are brothers and sisters who are willing to be full-timers, we need to train them based on their experience.
The elders who have a heart to serve full time should be trained to strengthen the halls. The working saints who have a heart to serve full time should be trained to strengthen the college work, the small groups, or the community gospel. The community gospel is well worth advancing. It accounts for a great number of people, most of whom are concentrated in big cities. Hence, the gospel in the communities must be spread widely. In order to supplement this, the halls need to be strengthened, and smaller halls can be established. All these matters require people to come out to do the work, and the strength of the full-timers is needed in particular. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 2, “The Propagation of the Gospel and the Administration of the Church,” msg. 13)
THE GREAT RESPONSIBILITY OF YOUNG WORKING SAINTS:
BEARING THE SAME TESTIMONY—
ONE BODY AND ONE SPIRIT
In conclusion, I am very happy to see many young working people in the Taipei district, and I would tell you that your responsibility is great. In addition, almost all the ones from Southeast Asia who have come to attend this conference and training are young people. This is a good sign, and I would like to say also to you that your responsibility is great. Since the gospel has been preached all over the earth today, it is hard to find a city that is without the gospel. There are thousands, tens of thousands, even millions of Christians on the earth, yet there is no Body. There are tens of thousands of Christians on the island of Taiwan, but with the exception of the small expression in the Lord’s recovery, you cannot see the Body among any group of Christians. You can talk to them about the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit, and they will understand you, but if you talk to them about “the Spirit,” they will not understand. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we must pray for the day to come when our eyes will be opened and we will know what the Spirit is and what the Body is. We must bear a testimony on the earth and in the universe that there is only one Body. One Body and one Spirit—we must bear this testimony. We should not testify only in a big city such as Taipei, but we should also go to testify this in the towns and small cities with a population of ten thousand or twenty thousand. One Body and one Spirit—how glorious this is!
I hope that one day on the island of Taiwan, there will be a lampstand in each of the three hundred sixty large and small cities and towns. Perhaps some localities will have only twenty, thirty, or fifty brothers and sisters, but every town and every city will have a golden lampstand bearing the same testimony—one Body and one Spirit. That will be splendid! That could be the day of the Lord’s coming.
I believe that today this testimony is on your shoulders, and you must bear this testimony as you return to your localities. You need to testify to this. You should not merely preach the gospel to get people saved; neither should you merely bring people to know life and understand the Bible. Rather, all of you must testify that there is one Body and one Spirit. We all live by this Spirit, and we all are the one Body. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 3, “One Body, One Spirit, and One New Man,” msg. 1)
Discussion:
1. How to care for the working saints (while accommodating for their schedule)?
2. How to perfect the working saints to function in the church service?
3. How to encourage them to attend the young working saints’ conference?
