Week 16 The Practice of Service
LESSON SIXTEEN
THE WAY TO BE PERFECTED AS A PILLAR
Hymn 840
Scripture Reading:
1 Kings 7:21 And he erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. When he erected the right pillar, he called its name Jachin; and when he erected the left pillar, he called its name Boaz.
Rev. 3:21 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
OUR NEED TO BE IN TODAY’S BETHEL
If we mean business with the Lord to become pillars, then we must discover where Bethel is today. Otherwise, we shall be seeking the right thing in the wrong place. If we remain in the Catholic Church, the denominations, the charismatic movement, or the free groups, it will be impossible for us to be perfected as pillars. Do not think that such a statement indicates we are being narrow-minded or shortsighted. We must be in today’s Bethel, the church. There is no other place for us to be made pillars in God’s building. The pillars perfected in other places are not pillars for Bethel, God’s building, but for other things. Through the past centuries, some spiritual giants have been perfected to be pillars for the denominations, for the mission fields, or for certain movements. However, through my years of observation, I have not seen any pillars perfected for the Lord’s building outside the local churches. We must be clear that the pillars about which we are speaking are the genuine pillars for God’s building. If we want to be such a pillar, then we must ask where God’s building, today’s Bethel, is. We should not take this matter lightly.
THE SECRET TO BEING PERFECTED TO BE A PILLAR
Let me now tell you the secret to being solidly perfected to be a strong pillar for the Lord’s move. Certain brothers have been perfected because they have had no concepts of their own. Recently, one brother declared strongly that he only knows to follow the ministry of Brother Lee and to absorb everything of this ministry. There have been others among us who were quite opinionated. They often said, “Brother Lee says such-and-such. Is this right? Is the church right? Just a week ago, I learned about a mistake made by the church.” None of these opinionated ones has yet been perfected. But those who have been perfected to be pillars are not like this. Even when they see certain mistakes, they forget about them, having no time to waste discussing them. They only desire to soak in all the positive things.
FEASTING ON THE POSITIVE THINGS
According to God’s principle in His creation, in order for anything to grow there is the need for a negative side. Take the example of a chicken. We all appreciate chicken eggs, breasts, and legs, but we certainly do not care for chicken dung, feathers, and bones. Nevertheless, without dung, feathers, and bones, a chicken cannot grow. In order for a chicken to be a chicken, it must have these things. But it is not our portion to eat them. We should enjoy the eggs, the breasts, and the legs, and forget the dung, the feathers, and the bones. If we concentrate on the positive aspects of the chicken, we shall receive much nourishment.
I admit that the church in Los Angeles has made certain mistakes, and I confess that I have made mistakes. The elders can testify of this. Everybody makes mistakes. No one can deny this. I have had to make mistakes in order to grow. These mistakes are my “dung.” If you eat this, you are foolish. I also admit that I have “feathers.” The church in Los Angeles also has had a certain amount of “feathers” and “bones.” However, without these “feathers,” “bones,” and “dung,” neither the church in Los Angeles nor my ministry would be able to exist. Do you intend to gather up the “feathers” and say, “Look! This is the church in Los Angeles. Look! This is what Brother Lee has done. See all these awful ‘feathers.'” If you do this, you will not damage the church in Los Angeles or my ministry, but you will surely damage yourself. To do this is not wise. These who have been perfected to be pillars, who surely are not less intelligent than you, are wise. Their eyes are much clearer than yours. But they refuse to devote their attention to the negative things. They would say, “Although Brother Lee has some ‘dung,’ he has a great many eggs. I don’t care for the ‘dung’ issuing out of his ministry—I want to eat all the ‘eggs,’ ‘breasts,’ and ‘legs.’ I have no time to hear about ‘feathers’ and ‘bones.'” Let us follow the example of such brothers to forget the negative things and to feast upon the “eggs,” “breasts,” and “legs.” This is my burden in this message.
Are you in Anaheim as a spy, investigating whether or not Witness Lee has any “dung”? I cannot live without “dung.” To be sure, both “feathers” and “bones” can be found here in Anaheim. The elders have made many “bones.” But I would stand, even dance, upon all the “bones” they have made; I would not be so foolish as to eat them.
Three or four of us knew Brother Nee very intimately. He fully opened himself to us, and we knew his imperfections. But we realized that these imperfections were the “dung” that enabled him to exist. Unlike others, we would not cling to his “feathers,” nor to the “bones” of the “chicken” in Shanghai. If we had done this, we would have sacrificed ourselves. I never suffered such self-inflicted damage. Rather, I enjoyed the fresh, nourishing “eggs,” “breasts,” and “legs” of Brother Nee’s ministry. When a great turmoil was aroused against his ministry, I was not ashamed to say that I was an absolute follower of Brother Nee. I did not care what others said about his mistakes. I only knew how grateful I was to him for the perfection he had rendered to me. I knew the nourishment I had received from him. Even when we are in the New Jerusalem, I shall be able to say that the Lord used Brother Nee to perfect me. Apart from his ministry, I would never be the person I am today.
How foolish it would be for anyone in the church to devote his time to finding “dung” or stuffing his pockets with “feathers,” saying, “This is a ‘feather’ from that ‘chicken’ Witness Lee, and these are the ‘bones’ of the church in Anaheim. Don’t you know that the church in Anaheim has made mistakes?” If this is your intention, you are wasting your time. You are in the wrong place. Neither Witness Lee nor the church in Anaheim would pay you for exposing them. But do not think that we are afraid of being exposed. Whatever Witness Lee is, he is what he is. Whether the church is genuine or not, the church is what the church is. Neither the church in Anaheim nor my ministry is afraid of exposure. On the contrary, we appreciate it. But what will you gain by exposing us?
FINDING THE FLOW AND GETTING INTO IT
The Lord is still working and moving to accomplish something on earth. In order for Him to fulfill His purpose there must be a flow. Among the many activities taking place in Christian circles, there must be the flow of the Lord’s move. Surely you believe that the Lord is still living, moving, and working on earth. According to the principle, there must be one flow of the Lord on earth. The Bible reveals that there has always been just one flow. There was one flow with Abel, Noah, and Abraham, and at the end of the Old Testament there was still only one flow. It is the same in the New Testament. Because the Lord is still living, moving, and working on earth, there must also be just one flow on earth today.
Since there is only one flow on earth, we should do everything necessary to find out where the flow is. It is certainly worthwhile to travel and study in order to find it. I am not a stupid person who follows things blindly. Before I leaped into the flow, I searched and researched thoroughly. I had given up my job, my family, and everything I had. I did not want to waste my sacrifice. Hence, I took time to study the matter. Eventually, I was convinced that this is the flow, and for more than forty-five years I have not had a doubt about it.
After we have seen that there is one flow and we have discovered where the flow is, we must get into it, forgetting our past learnings, concepts, understandings, and viewpoints. As far as the flow is concerned, all this means nothing. For many, it is rather late to say that they know nothing. They should have said this at the very beginning. From the very day I told Brother Nee that I would move to Shanghai, work with them, and learn of the brothers, I abandoned everything and followed that unique ministry. I shall never regret that decision. Hallelujah for that choice! No one can measure the nourishment and perfection I received as the result of turning this way. Certain brothers among us have been the same. They have no time to care for “dung,” “feathers,” or “bones.” They only have time to absorb all that is in this flow. This is the proper way to be perfected as useful pillars for the Lord’s move. (Life-Study of Genesis, msg. 88)
References: Life Study of Genesis, msg. 88.
