LESSONS ON THE GOD-ORDAINED WAY
Lesson Thirty
The Attitude in the Practice of the God-ordained Way
Scripture Reading:
Eph. 5:26-27 That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word, That He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.
1 Tim. 4:6 If you lay these things before the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, being nourished with the words of the faith and of the good teaching which you have closely followed.
Acts 1:14 These all continued steadfastly with one accord in prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
Acts 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Col. 1:28-29 Whom we announce, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man full-grown in Christ; For which also I labor, struggling according to His operation which operates in me in power.
2 Tim. 4:7-8a I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course; I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness…
I. In the practice of the God-ordained Way, we must realize that—Eph. 5:26-27:
A. The Lord must work out His recovery—Eph.5:26-27.
B. The words of the Lord must be fulfilled and the God-ordained Way must succeed.
C. We need to pray watchfully—Matt. 26:41.
D. We must not depend on ourselves but depend on the resurrected Lord—John 20:20, note 1.
II. In the practice of the God-ordained Way, we must—1 Tim. 4:26, Act 1:14, 22:42:
A. Be in one accord—Rom. 15:5-6.
B. Continue steadfastly in practice—Acts 2:46, 6:4:
1. Continue steadfastly with regularity.
2. Continue in a normal and proper schedule.
3. Be normal and regular.
C. Follow closely the complete vision of the present age—1 Tim. 4:6.
D. Be utterly spent—Rom. 16:4; Acts 15:26.
III. In the practice of the God-ordained Way, we must live out the virtues of —Col. 1:28-29:
A. Laboring diligently—Rom. 12:11.
B. Struggling earnestly—Col. 1:29.
C. Being serious and absolute—Matt. 10:37, note 1; Rom. 16:4, note 2.
D. Practicing faithfully—1 Tim. 1:12; Matt. 24:45.
E. Exercising endurance and endeavoring to do our best—James 5:7; 2 Thes. 3:5b; 2 Tim. 4:7-8a.
IV. In the practice of the God-ordained Way, we must apply —2 Tim. 4:7-8a:
A. The Lord’s present recovery gradually and actively—Acts 20:18:
1. Progressing gradually and not in a hurry.
2. Practicing actively.
B. To have regular prayer that is particular and definite.
C. To take one step at a time:
1. By diving into it.
2. By finding out and learning the secrets.
3. By not caring for problems, hardships, and frustrations—2 Cor. 12:10; 1 Cor. 7:26, note 2.
4. With faithfulness, endeavoring, patience, endurance, and much prayer—Col. 1:28-29; 1 Cor. 15:58.
D. To receive the training in humility and to study in one accord—Acts 2:46.
Excerpts from the ministry:
IN THE PRACTICE OF THE GOD-ORDAINED WAY,
WE MUST REALIZE THAT––
The Lord Must Work Out His Recovery
This is the conclusion of what we have received in the last four or five years after reconsidering our ways before the Lord according to the Bible, by studying church history, and by comparing the statistics of numerous denominations. This is also the life that we should live, the work that we should do, and the way that we should take as God’s New Testament priests of the gospel. For this reason I am convinced that among us the Lord will first recover the New Testament priesthood of the gospel. Second, He will recover the organic essence of the Body of Christ so that every member is living, full of the Spirit, and full of life. Third, He will recover Ephesians 4 so that all the gifted ones may perfect the saints to do the work of the ministry, and fourth, He will recover 1 Corinthians 14 so that all the saints may arrive at a state in which they all speak for the Lord as prophets. I believe that the Lord will work this out for the accomplishment of His purpose. On the human side, we may have looseness and shortcomings which merely delay the Lord’s time. Furthermore, to the Lord a thousand years are like one day. However, He will eventually accomplish what He is after; He will work it out sooner or later. (The Church Life in the Lord’s Recovery Today, pp. 45-46)
The Words of the Lord Must Be Fulfilled and the God-ordained Way Must Succeed
I say all this to you so that you will know that the decision we made three year ago to change the system was not a light matter. I have had over fifty years of experience in working for the Lord. I traveled through many places during twenty years in mainland China. After I went to Taiwan, I traveled back and forth for a period of ten years between Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Then I went to the United States where for twenty-six years, I saw, heard, observed, and studied from coast to coast and from the north to the south. Therefore, I have great assurance concerning the matter of changing the system. We have to push out from our midst this high mountain of attending church services. Then we can be delivered, and the Lord will have a way.
Some have said that the change of system which I have been speaking about for the last three years is scriptural in every respect, but they do not believe that the change of system can succeed. Brothers, can the Lord’s word not be fulfilled? Because it has not been fulfilled in the last two thousand years, does this mean that it will never be fulfilled? I believe that the heavens and earth will pass away, but every iota and every tittle of the word spoken by the Lord will be fulfilled. Sooner or later the Lord will have to clear the path and fulfill His own word. May every one of us by faith declare that this way will be successful! If it is not yet successful today, tomorrow it will be successful, if it is not successful with us, it will be successful with others. (Words of Training for the New Way, Vol. 2, pp. 22-23)
We Need to Pray Watchfully
[We need] to pray watchfully, labor diligently, and struggle earnestly to carry out every step of the duties of God’s New Testament priests of the gospel (Matt. 26:41; Rom. 12:11; Col. 1:29; 1 Cor. 15:58). For the church life in the Lord’s recovery today, we must watch and pray. It is only by this that we can be moved by the Holy Spirit and manifest our organic functions. Furthermore, we need to labor diligently, being serious and thorough, not being slack or slothful, but struggling earnestly according to the power which Christ operates in us. …To await the Lord’s coming by living and working in the light of His judgment seat (Phil. 3:20; 1 Cor. 5:10). In the Lord’s recovery we need to be those awaiting the Lord’s coming. We are the heavenly citizens, not people belonging to this earth. Our commonwealth exists in the heavens, from where the Lord will come to receive us. We are waiting for His coming, and when He comes, we will receive either His reward or His punishment before His judgment seat. Therefore, today we should live and work in the light of His judgment seat, awaiting His coming. (The Church Life in the Lord’s Recovery Today, p. 56)
We Must Not Depend on Ourselves but Depend on the Resurrected Lord
If we truly desire to take the biblical way, we must pay the price to live a revived and renewed life. We should not depend on ourselves, but should depend on the resurrected Lord and His power, His authority, and His speaking. Every week we should consecrate two evenings for the Lord. We should do this not only for a year or two, but until we see the Lord face to face. This is not an easy matter. It requires much prayer on our part so that we will deny ourselves and will not trust in ourselves. Only by this can we persevere and put such a thing into practice. (The Organic Practice of the New Way, p. 68)
IN THE PRACTICE OF THE GOD-ORDAINED WAY, WE MUST
Be in One Accord
The preaching of the gospel is the first step in the spreading. Following this we have to have home meetings and the nourishing of the new believers. We also have to build up the small groups and teach the truth. Finally we have to have the practical manifestation of the Body life. These four things must become the “family tradition” among the churches in the Lord’s recovery. In order to develop this “tradition,” we must have the same view and the one accord. This is why I have presented to you the matter of the ultimate and completed vision.
If we have different emphases and different ways of doing things, our energy will be dissipated, and our faith will be weakened. We will lose the one accord, and our morale will be gone. However, if we are in one accord and we preach the gospel desperately, we will become hotter and hotter; our mutual burning will heighten our determination. Even the new ones will be brought into the proper function. We will have an invincible morale, and we will march over all obstacles. Wherever we go, we will more than conquer. This is what we must have today. (The Ministry Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 28-29)
Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint, because there is no one accord. It is true that many people love the Lord and serve God, but everyone has his opinion and his own vision. As a result, there is no way to have the one accord. This is why Christianity has become so weak. God’s people are divided and split apart. There are divisions everywhere. Although everyone says that he loves the Lord, there is no clear vision, and men are “carried about by every wind.” …In other words, our vision should be one that matches the age. It should also be one that includes everything that has gone before us. It should include the godliness of the Jews, the zeal of the evangelicals, and the genuine service. Only then will we be able to practice an all-inclusive church life, the church life Paul revealed to us (Rom. 14). We are not divided into sects, and we do not impose any special practice on anyone. We only live an all-inclusive church life. If we do this, we will have the genuine one accord.
Today we can be in one accord because we have only one vision and one view. We are all in this up-to-date, all-inheriting vision. We have only one viewpoint. We speak the same thing with one heart, one mouth, one voice, and one tone, serving the Lord together. The result is a power that will become our strong morale and our impact. This is our strength. Once the Lord’s recovery possesses this power, there will be the glory of increase and multiplication. Today our situation is not yet to that point; it is not yet at the peak. Although we do not have many major contentions, we do have some small complaints and criticisms. These things lower our morale. (The Ministry Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 22-24)
Continue Steadfastly in Practice
To practice the home meetings, we should aim for the long run and be steadfast. We should do it for fifty-two weeks year round. The time for that meeting should not be affected as much as possible because of any special meeting, training or any big gathering. If there were one thousand homes in the church in Taipei that would practice this way, the result and profit in the long run would be inestimable. I hope that all the elders will focus on this. (The Vision and Specific Steps for the Practice of the New Way (Chinese), p. 156)
In order for the gospel teams to carry out a successful work, they must go out in a regular and consistent way. All school teachers know that students must attend school regularly. If the school term is four and a half months long, the students must go to their classes daily and weekly. Occasionally within one school semester students may need to ask for a leave of absence or remain home due to sickness. That is common and excusable. However, if the attendance of a class often ranges from a high of sixty to a low of thirty, it will be difficult for any proper lessons to be taught to that class. If our gospel team attendance is not regular, we may have results, but those results will not be satisfactory.
According to my own experience, only one place where I labored had satisfactory results—Chefoo, my hometown. I also worked for a while in the nearby town of Tsingtao and had a great part in the work in that church. After spending time in Shanghai for quite a long time, I went to Taiwan. From 1950 on, I labored in Manila in the Philippines every year for at least three or four months. Then I came to the United States. In conclusion, I realized that the situation was the same everywhere. Generally speaking, although the teachings we gave were not so adequate, the saints were very responsive. They accepted the teachings and did something to put them into practice. However, the results were not satisfactory. This was due to the fact that our kind of service was not carried out in a regular way. Every class that achieves satisfactory results must be regularly attended. A class of forty-five today and thirty-five tomorrow could not be successful. (Talks Concerning the Church Services, pp. 51-52)
Continue Steadfastly with Regularity
All of us know that students at school must learn to study in a regular way. No student can successfully finish his schooling by studying one night until midnight and not studying at all for the next few days. He needs to receive the proper instruction. Therefore, he must faithfully do his homework for two hours each day. By studying a few hours a day in a regular way, he will surely be a top student.
Those who go out to visit people should go in a regular way, according to their vow to the Lord. We should make this a kind of habit. As the descendants of Adam, we are all the same. One day our wife may make us very happy. Due to this we are more than excited to go out. We pray and become filled with the Spirit and go out rejoicing. Another day we decide to go out visiting, but a few minutes before we go, our wife does something to make us unhappy. So we decide not to go. Whether we are happy or unhappy, up or down, we must endeavor to keep our vow to the Lord. No appointment, friends, telephone calls, or even the weather should stop us from going out. If we are not consistent in our going out, our labor will never be successful. We must have an attitude that we will not be disappointed. If we do not gain anyone this week, then we will go out next week just the same. A carpenter who does his carpentry work in a regular way will soon produce a coffee table or a chair. However, with many of the dear saints, their good reports and testimonies are like pieces of wood piled up, but where in the furniture? (Talks Concerning the Church Services, pp. 66-67)
Continue in a Normal and Proper Schedule
Strictly speaking, we do not need everyone to serve the Lord with their full time. According to the natural law in God’s creation, we cannot work continuously for twenty-four hours a day. Throughout the course of development in history, human beings have come to the conclusion that the most suitable way for our human life is to have eight hours for work, eight hours for sleep, and eight hours for eating, resting, taking a walk, exercising, or engaging in other activities, which consist mostly of recreation and amusements. Without recreation or amusements it is difficult for human beings to feel pleasant, but most recreation and amusements lead people to commit sins and do evil. As Christians and as those who love the Lord, we also need to have a part of our time in our living for recreation and amusement. Our recreation, our amusement, is our church life. What a joy it is to come to the meetings to have mutual fellowship with the brothers and sisters, singing, praying, and testifying! When there is no meeting, we can go to preach the gospel to lead people to salvation, or we can visit the new ones to nourish them in their homes, bring them to the small group meetings to perfect them, and bring them to the Lord’s Day meeting, teaching them how to prophesy in the meeting. This is our most noble “amusement.”
I believe that according to God’s arrangement, every brother and sister can afford at least two nights every week either to visit people for gospel preaching, to nourish the new believers, to bring them to the small group meetings, or to help them to learn to prophesy. If we can do this every week, we will have a normal Christian life. If we live in this way, we can bring at least two people to the Lord every year and equip them to be perfected. It is best to not be overly zealous; otherwise, our work cannot be thorough. If we preach the gospel and bring two or three to salvation, we can nourish and lead them week after week. If we lose one of them, we should go to bring another one or two more to be saved and then nourish and lead them. In this way, from the beginning to the end of the year, we will always have two or three under our nourishing and perfecting. We should calmly consider these matters. What I have fellowshipped can be carried out both by those who have an occupation and by those who have a family. Furthermore, this can be done in an unhurried manner, since it does not require us to go out to do this every day, but only two nights in a week. We must do this regularly, ordinarily, and according to a specified time; we should neither be overly zealous nor indifferent. This is to live the normal Christian life, which is the church life in the Lord’s recovery today. (The Church Life in the Lord’s Recovery Today, pp. 53-54)
Be Normal and Regular
To have a normal spiritual life you must firstly tell the Lord, ”Lord, I am willing to live this way. I am willing to preach the gospel.” According to the system of the present age, no one works seven days a week. In the U.S. people go to work only five days a week. If you are willing to preach the gospel, you have to consecrate yourself to the Lord and set aside a time for door-knocking once a week. You don’t have to do much but do it for the long run. Furthermore, when you go out, you have to have a thorough dealing before the Lord. Strictly speaking, you should not wait to do this matter until you are going out. You should have fellowship with the Lord every day and be dealt with by Him. When you want to go out, you need more thorough dealing. Lack of proper dealing, prayer, and filling of the Holy Spirit will lead you to fail to open the heart of man, even if you have them open the door of their house. Proper dealing leads to open doors and open hearts. Moreover, when you speak, the Spirit will be with you. (The Proper Way for the Believers to Meet and Serve (Chinese), p. 81)
Follow Closely the Complete Vision of the Present Age
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. It is grossly wrong to say that we are following a certain person. We are following a vision that belongs to the present age. It is God’s consummate vision. (The Ministry Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 2, p. 19)
Be Utterly Spent
During 1976 and 1977, I saw from the Lord that He withheld His blessing. Even though the numbers of the churches were increasing, starting from 1977, we saw that particularly in Anaheim there was hardly any increase. While everybody seemed very busy, even when we had baptisms almost every day, there was no increase even after three years had passed. Eventually the number went down. When I came back in 1984, the number of the church in Anaheim was much smaller than ten years ago.
It is the same with the work in Taiwan. Take Taipei for example; the saints there seem very busy. Sometimes there were dozens of baptisms; at other times there were a few hundred. However those who got baptized were lost. This is like doing business. The business seems to be going wonderfully well, but the total assets at the year-end close are reduced from 35 million to 34 million dollars. And after one year, the total assets are reduced to 33 million dollars. We all see the result. Thus I was facing a dead end, not knowing how to go on with the Lord’s work. Even then it did not dawn on me that fifty years ago Brother Nee said that the podium message on Lord’s Day should be nullified. It is actually a kind of waste to maintain the Lord’s Day message. After much consideration I realized that we needed to resolve this situation. I had to go to Taipei. This is because Taipei is the base of the propagating work of the Lord’s recovery overseas. If we cannot resolve the situation there, we have no way to go on.
This time I came back with a strong determination. My wife kept reminding me that I needed to remember my age is over 80. When I heard this, I looked to the Lord inwardly and said, ”Lord, You heard all this. You know how much longer I can live. If you desire me to live even longer than ten years, that is possible. As long as I live, I am willing to be utterly spent to do what I am supposed to do.” (Catching up With the Age and Rebuilding the Holy Temple (Chinese), pp. 85-86)
IN THE PRACTICE OF GOD-ORDAINED WAY,
WE MUST LIVE OUT THE VIRTUES OF––
Laboring Diligently
In these two meetings you will not receive many great doctrines. What we need now is to labor, to be diligent, to strive, and to struggle. In 1984 I came back to carry out the new way. Taiwan can be considered the first place that responded to this. Although we were a little slow in the beginning, later we picked up this way. After the three years of 1985, 1986, and 1987, the big meeting on Sunday morning was still practiced in Taipei. It was in October 1987, after we had the gospel festival in Taipei, that we said goodbye to the meeting in which one man speaks. This is very good. Yet not long after that, everyone became relaxed again.
In the process of our studying, I have found out that the God-ordained Way in the Bible is that man must labor. This is like a farmer farming in his field. If he does not labor even for one day, the effect will be evident. A saying among the northern Chinese is, “The grains are dropping!” This means that when the grains are ripe, one must hurry and harvest them in the field, even if he has important engagements at home. Once the time is past, the grains will all fall to the ground. Hence, the farmers not only need to labor, but they must also labor on time if they expect to see a good harvest.
I discovered that in the Old Testament, not much is mentioned concerning laboring and diligence. Only Proverbs speaks about these things a little. It says that the sluggard sleeps and slumbers, and his poverty comes quickly (6:9-11). It also says that the sluggard will not plow because of the cold; therefore, he will beg during the harvest and have nothing (20:4). The New Testament says more concerning this matter. For example, the book of Romans is a book on Christian living and the church life. There it says that we should not be slothful in zeal, but burning in spirit, serving the Lord as a slave (12:11). (The Vision of the Divine Dispensing and Guidelines for the Practice of the New Way, pp. 50-51)
Struggling Earnestly
In Colossians 1:28 Paul said, “Whom we announce, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man full-grown in Christ.” We must announce Christ to the sinners. Then we must present them as matured believers to Christ. We sow the seed and take care of the seed until it grows unto maturity. Paul continued by saying, “For which also I labor, struggling according to His operation which operates in me in power” (v. 29). In this verse the word “struggling” means to fight, to wrestle. It is a word used in the sense of the Olympic games in which the participants had to struggle in competition. Paul used this word to describe our labor in the gospel. We in the Lord’s recovery should be laborers and strugglers. Anything that needs labor or struggling will not go very fast or grow very fast.
Before we go out to visit people with the gospel, we should rise up early in the morning to have a time with the Lord. Then we should pray desperately, “Lord, I desire to go out to spread Your salvation with the dispensing of Yourself as life to these people in need of You. Lord, I cry out to You and I touch Your throne. Lord, I call on You. Lord, I remind You that You have given the commandment to me. Go with me.” After such prayer, we should go and labor. Then whether or not we are able to reap someone is in the hands of the Lord. If we labor in this way, we will surely gain some new ones for the Lord’s interests. Our rate of increase should be left to the Lord. The Lord desires us to be faithful by laboring and struggling, without expecting that much. We do not need to baptize the whole world because the whole world has not been chosen by God. We should just bear the burden to faithfully labor and struggle for the gospel.
Perhaps those of us who have tried to practice visiting people with the gospel have been disappointed because we wanted quick results. But we need to labor consistently for forty-five weeks out of the year. If we would be consistent and patient to go out once or twice a week for at least three hours each time, we will gain two as remaining fruit within a year. We do not need to expect that much. We should just labor. Expectation is something in the air; laboring and struggling is real. (Messages to the Trainees in Fall 1990, pp. 97-98)
Being Serious, Absolute, and Faithful in Practice
We are people who are of the Lord. Unless the Lord that we believe is not real and not worthy for us to believe, we have to be serious, absolute, and faithful to Him. Out of the seven days in a week, less the Lord’s day that we sanctify to the Lord, we should at least consecrate one evening to the Lord. The practice of the new way is not to ask the saints to offer one day but one evening from 7 to 11pm to the Lord. Furthermore, this is proof of our service to the Lord. It is for our families, friends, neighbors, classmates, and colleagues to know that we have one specific night, from seven to eleven, each week that is for the group meeting, preaching the gospel, or reading the Bible. That time could be free for meals, snacks, or desert. People are welcome to come and go freely. This practice will definitely lead to a big door of grace that the gospel can go out widely and cause the saints to be genuinely edified and perfected. (The Vision and Specific Steps for the Practice of the New Way (Chinese), p. 154)
Exercising Endurance and Endeavoring to Do Our Best
We all should have much faith and maintain a heart of endurance, being hopeful in the Lord and hopeful concerning His new way. In the last days of this age the Lord will fully recover these four things among us—the New Testament priesthood of the gospel, the organic function of the believers, the perfecting in Ephesians 4, and the prophesying in 1 Corinthians 14. We need to be positive but not anxious. We all have our old background and old upbringing which are not easy to discard and replace with something new. Therefore, we should not be too hasty to have a success but should rather proceed slowly with a right heart and endurance. At the same time, those who have already entered into the new way should not despise those who have not yet entered, and neither should those who have not yet entered oppose those who have entered. We all should love one another, bear one another, and wait for one another. Do not forget that whichever way we are in, we are all those who believe in the Lord, who love Him, and who are for Him. However, it makes a difference which way we take. If we take the right way, the results will be great; if we take the wrong way, the results will be small, and this will be a frustration to the Lord. Therefore, as much as we can, we should turn to the proper way.
We must endeavor to go on with the Lord. The Lord knows our problems and our circumstances. He can be our supply and strength and day after day bring us to the right way. We also should consider one another and pray for one another, without criticizing, despising, or opposing, but only loving, exhorting, and supporting one another. We all should endeavor together to do our best. (The Church Life in the Lord’s Recovery Today, pp. 46-47)
IN THE PRACTICE OF THE GOD-ORDAINED WAY, WE MUST APPLY
The Lord’s Present Recovery Gradually and Actively
You also must take good care of the present situation you are in. You may be in a local church that is not so high, so living, or so encouraging. Hardly anyone may like to visit people by knocking on their doors, and some may even oppose it. What should you do in such a situation? You may have been sick with the same disease, so you should be able to sympathize with all the sick ones. You should be patient with them. You need to visit these dear ones to pray with them, to have fellowship with them, to warm up their cold heart, and to stir up their down spirit. You may have to do this for an entire year to get a few to rise up to realize the burden you are bearing. I believe the proverb that says: “Where there is a will, there is a way.”
We need to practice the Lord’s present recovery, His new way, but we should not be too hasty or rough. We need to be patient with the saints and we should not categorize them. We should love everyone with the same love and avoid creating any kind of division. We need to be with the saints the way Paul was in Ephesus. He told the brothers there, “You yourselves know…how I was with you all the time” (Acts 20:18). He was with the saints day by day for three years. Many of us may have to work for a living, but we still should have the evenings and weekends to give to the Lord. We can use our leisure time for the Lord’s interests.
The unbelievers spend much time for their pleasure, amusement, and recreation. Actually, the best amusement is the church life. A brother among us told the story of his grandfather who was a baker. He worked in a bakery from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m., but nearly every day the first thing he did when he came home from work was to go and visit people for the Lord. No matter how we labor, it is much better than being idle. How wonderful it is to be in the Lord’s recovery, and now by His mercy we have a way to practice the church life by the preaching of the gospel, home meetings, small group meetings, and church meetings. This way is full of labor but also full of joy. If we take this way, we will enjoy the Lord’s presence, and we, our family, and our church will be greatly blessed.
According to our present situation, I feel that the wisest thing is for us to go on in a positive way. We must bring the saints into the full realization of the new way gradually by the Lord’s leading. We should not lead the church into this in a hasty way. I want to point out again that the new way is composed of the following steps: 1) preaching the gospel for begetting; 2) having home meetings for nourishing; 3) having group meetings for teaching; and 4) having church meetings for building. (The Way to Practice the Lord’s Present Recovery, pp. 44-45)
Progressing Gradually and Not in a Hurry
We have seen that after the door-knocking, visiting people, and establishing home meetings, we need to guide them into the Truth Lessons and they will be brought into the church life. Firstly we need to have a clear goal. In carrying out the goal, we should not be impatient but be progressive and gradual. Take every step solidly. Take driving for example. Your destination is LA. There are many routes to take in order to get there. It depends on your situation. You have to decide on the one that is most safe and least troublesome according to the weather and time.
We also need to learn from one another and have much fellowship. The same practice is not necessarily applied to every locality. The church in Anaheim does not meet in the meeting hall now for its Lord’s Day meeting. This may be right and workable. But the decision of this practice came after much consideration, research, and exercise for more than half a year. We in each locality all need to learn and consider each respective situation. (Rising Up to Preach the Gospel (Chinese), pp. 134-135)
Practicing Actively
We have to believe that the eternal and incorruptible life is within all the brothers and sisters. As long as we work aggressively enough, they will come alive. I believe that we can all testify to this.
Many times some co-workers asked me, “Brother Lee, what is the secret of your work?” I can tell you that the secret to my work is that I do not know what difficulty is. I only know to give myself to work. I do not care for the result; I only care to labor diligently. You can say that my secret is simply to work. I do not care about the circumstances; I only care to work. For the past sixty years you can see the result of such work. As long as we work, there will be the result. (The Ministry Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 14-15)
To Have Regular Prayer That Is Particular and Definite
We must all pick up a definite burden to be the New Testament priests of the gospel to take the Lord’s new way. When we begin to practice the Lord’s new way, we should not carry it out in a general way. Rather, we must consider that this is a particular matter. In the same way, when we attend school, we enroll in a particular field of study. We cannot study a particular field according to our knowledge, our way, our likes or dislikes, or our habit. Rather, we pursue a course of study according to the school’s regulations and instruction. If so, we will receive the benefit. We may consider the practice of the new way as our enrollment into a new school. We must forget about all the old ways in the church life and not take anything for granted. If we do mean business with the Lord to take the God-ordained new way, we should practice it regularly and consistently. We need to not do too much or too little, but we must have a schedule; we must have a particular schedule. It would be very helpful if we would make a definite decision and pray, “Lord, for Your new way I offer to You three hours of my time per week, either in the afternoon or evening. “To some extent we all should have done this already.
It is not necessary for the older saints among us, particularly the older sisters, to go out too much. They can stay at home to pray for the teams. The sisters should pray, “Lord, I give You three hours every week. I cannot go out that often, but I do have a burden to pray for the new way.” Not only so, the sisters should pray for a particular team. In this way they become co-laborers. While the team labors in going out, the sisters stay at home and labor in prayer. Every week the sisters should keep their vow before the Lord to separate at least two or three hours for the purpose of praying. We must pray particularly, definitely, and regularly. (Talks Concerning the Church Services, pp. 65-66)
To Take One Step at a Time
The way to bring the God-ordained Way on its track is to begin by practicing one step only. We are not able to take more than one step at a time. We cannot take the four steps all at once. This is impossible. Thus, we should limit ourselves to just one step. (The Practice of the Church Life according to the God-ordained Way, p. 128)
Diving into It
The way to practice one step of the God-ordained Way is to dive into it. (The Practice of the Church Life according to the God-ordained Way, p. 128)
Finding Out and Learning the Secrets
In practicing any step of the God-ordained Way, we need to find out and learn the secrets. Two people may drive the same car, but each has his own secrets concerning his driving. Everyone who drives a car has his own secrets in handling the car. The secrets can be found only by more practice. Some people enjoy driving; to them, driving is like a hobby. Thus, if they encounter difficulties in their driving, they are not bothered or troubled. Nothing related to their driving is a problem to them, because they have learned the secrets of driving. In the practicing of the steps of the God-ordained Way, we need to find out and learn the secrets. (The Practice of the Church Life according to the God-ordained Way, pp. 128-129)
Not Caring for Problems, Hardships, and Frustrations
In our practicing and learning of the God-ordained Way, we should not care for problems, hardships, and frustrations. If we would begin to practice one step of the God-ordained Way, after a short time we may encounter a number of problems. However, if we care for these problems, we are finished. In doing anything we should not care for problems. If there is a will, there is a way. If this is our attitude, we will succeed. The more we care for problems, the more problems we will have. However, if nothing is a problem, a hardship, or a frustration to us, we will get through; we will have a way. We need to learn to believe this. This means that we are trusting the Lord. (The Practice of the Church Life according to the God-ordained Way, p. 129)
With Faithfulness, Endeavoring, Patience, Endurance, and Much Prayer
In practicing the definite steps of the God-ordained Way, we must do so with faithfulness, endeavoring, patience, endurance, and much prayer (Col. 1:28-29; 1 Cor. 15:58). Then we will reach our goal. (The Practice of the Church Life according to the God-ordained Way, p. 129)
To Receive the Training in Humility and to Study in One Accord
Finally, I have to point out one more matter. Since I returned to change the system in 1984, I have repeatedly declared that because we have not walked in this new way that much, what we are doing here is on a trial basis. We need a lot of study, with the training center of the full-timers as our laboratory. Whatever we have done is not final. Therefore people should not criticize what our training does, because it is not the final stage, and it is not yet the time for judgment. A wise person will definitely not do such a thing. I can tell you that this experiment is not for me, but for the Lord’s recovery on the earth today. This experiment is not for one local church, but for all the churches on the whole earth. It is not merely for this generation, but also for the generations to come. Therefore, let those who are in one accord with us and who are humble walk this way, labor diligently, and study every aspect together with us.
I have more or less discharged my burden at this point. I hope that none of those who have received training here will consider himself perfected. You should know that you are merely a student doing research in a laboratory and that the final results of our research have not yet been obtained. Hence, you should not boast of what you have learned here. When you return to your respective places, you have to be humble and show that what you know is limited. One thing I know for certain––all of Christianity has failed, and even we ourselves are not that victorious. Our gospel preaching is not prevailing; the meetings are not carried out properly; and the building up of the church has not been adequate. We must bow our heads and admit these three severe shortcomings. We look to the Lord for His mercy that for the sake of His Body He would grant us a way to overcome these failures. Let us be humble and empty ourselves to receive the Lord’s leading. (Words of Training for the New Way, Vol. 2, pp. 46-47)
References: The Church Life in the Lord’s Recovery Today, chs. 4-5; Words of Training for the New Way, Vol. 2, chs. 14, 16; The Organic Practice of the New Way, ch. 5; The Vision and Specific Steps for the Practice of the New Way (Chinese), chs. 2-3, 6, 8; Talks Concerning the Church Services, chs. 8, 10; The Proper Way for the Believers to Meet and Serve (Chinese), ch. 4; Catching up With the Age and Rebuilding the Holy Temple (Chinese), ch. 8; The Vision of the Divine Dispensing and Guidelines for the Practice of the New Way, ch. 5; Messages to the Trainees in Fall 1990, ch. 14; The Way to Practice the Lord’s Present Recovery, ch. 3; Rising Up to Preach the Gospel (Chinese), ch. 7; The Practice of the Church Life according to the God-ordained Way, ch. 11. The Ministry Magazine, Volume 1, No. 2; The Ministry Magazine, Volume 1, No. 3; The Ministry Magazine, Volume, 3, No. 1.
