I would like to relate to you a story that happened many years ago in the church in Shanghai. A brother came to the leading brothers and asked us to transfer him so that he could serve in another hall. His reason was that in the hall he was in there was a brother whom he could not stand, and there was also a sister whom he could not bear. He said to me, “Brother Lee, I really have no way to serve with them, and I do not want to quarrel with them.” So he went on to ask us to assign him to another hall. We asked, “Then which hall do you think is the most suitable?” He said, “I think that such-and-such a hall would be the most suitable one, because the responsible brother in that hall is slow and the responsible sister is gentle. I am a slow person, so when others are fast, I cannot catch up. Therefore, I can get along only with those who are slow.” After listening to him, we had no choice but to transfer him according to his request. But in less than half a year he came to us again and said, “Brothers, I have no way to go on. Please transfer me to another place.” We asked him, “What is the reason?” He said, “Oh, that responsible brother is too slow; he is ten times slower than me. Therefore, I cannot take it. This time please transfer me to a hall that is neither too quick nor too slow.”

We can see that this brother did not learn the lesson. He thought that whenever there was a problem in the church service, a transfer to another place would solve the problem. Little did he know that actually the problem was not with others but with him. Therefore, we have to see that transferring to another place is not the solution. If we have a problem with the brothers and sisters in the church, the only solution is to be broken. We should never consider transferring, neither should we think about escaping. We have to trust in God’s arrangement. Since God has arranged for us to be in a certain place, we have to remain there in submission and learn to be broken there. Do not think, “I cannot be built up in this place, but if I go to another place, I will be able to be built up there.” There is no such thing. God’s sovereignty and God’s arrangement cannot be wrong. You cannot be a choosing person or a jumping person, jumping from the east to the west or from the north to the south. You must quiet yourself down and be a fixed person. Since God has arranged for your home, your job, and you yourself to be in this place, then you must wholeheartedly establish yourself here according to God’s arrangement. Since God’s intention is to build His church in all the localities, and He has arranged for you to be here, then you have to place yourself among the brothers and sisters and be built together with them. If you cannot be properly built with the brothers and sisters in a certain locality, there will be no way for you to be built up no matter where you go.

Regrettably, however, almost every one of us has a common sickness; that is, we prefer other localities to our own locality. Usually those who live in Taipei prefer to be in Tainan, but when they are in Tainan, they prefer Taichung. Even in our families, we often have this problem. In particular, the sisters have this weakness. I know that many sisters who are wives often tell their husbands how good other husbands are. Let us suppose that there is a sister like this named Sister Hwang. She would say to Brother Hwang, “Look at how good Brother Liu is. He is so considerate and helpful to his wife.” However, if you go and listen to Sister Liu, you will also hear her giving her husband a hard time, saying, “Look at how good Brother Hwang is. See how diligent he is at home and how much he cares for the children.” Almost all the wives think that others’ husbands are better than their own. The brothers also have the same problem; they easily notice the good points of others’ wives. It is for this reason that the Holy Spirit says in Ephesians, “Wives, be subject to your own husbands” (5:22).

Similarly, in the church we also feel that other localities are better than our locality. Those in Tainan think that Taipei is better, while those in Taipei think that Taichung is better. Almost everyone is like this. This is proof that neither our flesh nor our dispostion has been dealt with. If we have been broken and have been built up by God in a locality, we will be satisfied with God’s arrangement. When God puts you in Taipei, you will be built up in Taipei. When God puts you in Tainan, you will be joined in coordination with the brothers in Tainan.

Therefore, we need to see that God wants us to be built up in each locality. Locality is a restriction as well as a protection. At the same time, it is also a test to expose our real situation. Do we have a preference? Do we have a choice? Locality is a severe test. If we have truly been broken, we will have nothing to say wherever we may be, and we will be able to accept God’s arrangement. As a result, we will be able to be built up by God in the local churches.
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