Last time, we had a completely new arrangement of the church in Taipei. On the one hand, on the administrative side, we arranged to have over forty elders to take the lead in the halls. On the other hand, regarding the spiritual work, there were five items plus one. The burden of the five items is to be shared by the full-time co-workers. There is one more item, the burden of which is to be shared by the brothers and sisters in each hall. The co-workers should take the lead to carry out the five items of spiritual work. The first is the campus gospel work, the second is the home meetings, the third is the home gospel, the fourth is the gospel to all levels of society, and the fifth is the children’s work. There is one more item, which is visitation and shepherding. This item is reserved for each meeting hall and should be done by all the brothers and sisters under the elders’ leadership. These are the six items of spiritual work. Simply speaking, if the church is to be built up and move forward, to grow spiritually, to know the truth, and to bear fruit in the gospel, there must be the elders’ leadership on the administrative side, and the six items of spiritual work on the spiritual side: the campus gospel work, the home meetings, the home gospel, the gospel to all levels of society, the children’s work, plus the visitation and shepherding in each hall.
Last time, I could only make a start because I had to return quickly to the United States. I really had the burden to go on further, so tonight we will pick up where we left off last time and move forward once again. Let us first talk about the matter of home meetings. Although having home meetings sounds easy, from the first day we began I knew that it would be harder to do well in this matter than in all other matters. It is surely difficult to climb up a mountain, but it is very easy to roll down. Even if you were dead you could roll downhill. Now, the question is, are we dead corpses or are we living people? If you are living, you should not roll, but you should climb. Do not ever think that the work in the United States is easy. To me that mountain is steeper than the mountain in Taiwan. It even became so difficult that we had to resort to a lawsuit, to “appeal to Caesar.” Praise the Lord, that mountain is about to be climbed over. Thus, the mountain in Taiwan is not so steep. Do not be discouraged by my words. My saying that this would be hard work is a word of guidance. Do not regard it as easy. The easiest among the six items is to go to the campus. There on the campus, you are not only running on a plain, you are even running down a slight slope. It is very easy to “drive your car” there. Once you start to drive, you will certainly reach the goal. Those who work on the campus should not say that they have achieved something. This kind of achievement can be done by anyone.
What is the difficulty with the home meetings? In order to have good home meetings, the concepts of all the brothers and sisters must be changed. To repent, to turn, was the word proclaimed by John the Baptist at the beginning of the New Testament. To repent is to have a turn in your mind, to change your concept.
The first sent one in the New Testament age was John the Baptist. His opening word was, “Repent” (Matt. 3:2). By this he was saying, “All your old Jewish concepts must be changed. You see that my father, Zechariah, is the leading priest, taking the lead to serve God by offering sacrifices, burning the incense, wearing the priestly robe, and eating the priestly food. Although I am his son, I wear camel’s hair and eat locusts and wild honey. I forsook the temple, and I would not offer sacrifices or burn incense. I am here to make you change your concept. Throw away the old things!” Jesus Christ brought in a new beginning.
Today we cannot deny that the church in Taipei, with thirty-six years of history, has also grown old. Not only Taipei, but the entire island of Taiwan and the entire Lord’s recovery have also become old. The Lord’s recovery began in 1922. The first church was established in Foochow, sixty-three years ago. But now we have become old. We fought and struggled most vigorously around 1930, because it was not an easy thing to have the Lord’s recovery in China. At that time a completely new recovery was brought in. Then the recovery went to Taiwan. But gradually, the situation among us has become one of oldness.
John came and cried, “Repent.” Following him, the Lord Jesus also said, “Repent” (Matt. 4:17). To repent means to change your concept. When the Lord sent out the seventy disciples they also preached that people should repent (Luke 10:9-11). On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended, Peter rose up and also spoke the same word. The Jews asked him, “What should we do?” Peter said, “Repent and be baptized, each one of you, upon the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38). To be baptized means to bury all your oldness. Bury all the Judaistic means to bury all your oldness. Bury all the Judaic doctrines, the old Jewish traditions, the law, and the Mosaic Old Testament. In this way the church was completely new from the very beginning.