I have spoken this much because I hope that you all can see how much the Lord has done in the world situation for the spread of the gospel. Without the Lord’s work in the world situation, none of us would have come to America. Nearly none of us had a predetermination to come. Formerly, when I was in mainland China and saw hundreds of churches being raised up, I thought that was truly wonderful. I never even thought about coming to America. Eventually, because the Lord stirred up the environment, we all have come one by one, and more and more are still coming. For this reason we must rise up to face this situation and to cooperate with the Lord’s work.
When we began the work in Taiwan, I spoke about a certain principle, and it was printed in The Ministry of the Word in 1952. By observing the history of the world, studying the biographies of the saints throughout the ages, and recalling my personal experiences, I saw that wherever the gospel goes, there the Lord’s blessing is. Again, take Taiwan as an example. I truly believe that the reason Taiwan is so prosperous today and has become a “miracle” in the world is that the churches with the gospel are there, and therefore the Lord’s blessing is also there. However, due to the Lord’s blessing people have become rooted again, so the Lord has to stir up the environment once more to uproot them so that all things would work together for the spread of the gospel.
Today the Lord has truly commissioned us with the gospel. Facing this fact, we need to have a response. We need to have people, especially young people, who receive this burden and are led by the Lord to serve full-time. Do not worry that you cannot make a living as a full-timer. Apparently no one takes care of your living, but in actuality the Lord will take care of you. I was saved on a certain afternoon in April 1925. At that time, while I was on my way home, I consecrated myself to the Lord. I determined to give up the world and become a poor preacher going from village to village to preach the gospel for the Lord. If there was no food, I would eat roots from the ground; if there was no water, I would drink water from the mountain. I was prepared to forsake everything and to suffer for the Lord. Those who were my classmates at that time eventually all became successful, but today they have nothing that can compare to what I have. I am living longer than they have, and the money that has passed through my hands is no less than theirs. I did not have to eat roots from the ground, and I did not have to drink water from the mountain. Furthermore, I did not have to walk from village to village; rather, I travel from country to country. This is something that I had never imagined.
Therefore, you young people need not worry. You will not starve serving full-time. You will always have a way to live. Looking back at my own experiences, I cannot explain what happened. To this day the Lord has been leading me. I passed through all kinds of situations and environmental changes, yet I always ended up better than I was before. This is the Lord’s doing. Acts chapters twenty-seven and twenty-eight tell us the story of Paul’s being delivered as a prisoner on a ship sailing to Rome. Eventually he became the one reigning on the ship. Even the navigator listened to him, and the centurion who put him in chains also listened to him. Whatever he said counted. Even though he was in chains, at the end, he still had the upper hand. This shows us that whoever is for the Lord’s gospel will be blessed. Whoever gives himself for the gospel will have the upper hand. Likewise, whoever opposes and tramples the gospel will not have a good ending. History proves this. Therefore, if we live in the world merely to make some money to feed our stomachs, we are not wise.
Dear saints, we are blessed to be here giving our all for the sake of the gospel. We have to do our best to meet the need of the present situation. When we first arrived in Taiwan, compelled by the situation, we truly gave everything we had. At that time our only thought was that if we die, so be it. We did not care for anything except earnestly preaching the gospel. Whatever number of people there were in Taipei, we would print that many gospel tracts. We asked the brothers and sisters to pass out the tracts within a definite time to every house on the two streets adjacent to the street where they lived. Furthermore, we went to the big streets, small lanes, intersections, and main traffic stations to put up gospel posters with statements such as “Christ Jesus came to the world to save sinners” and “God loves the world.” We also had gospel marches on regular days as well as on the Lord’s Days. Because the saints were willing to give themselves to the Lord, they were blessed by the Lord even in material things.
As those who are separated by the Lord for Himself, believers cannot love the world. If they love the world, they will suffer. If they do not love the world, they will be blessed. For the gospel’s sake, Paul became an ambassador in a chain. While he was held as a prisoner on a ship, the Lord sent an angel to him, who said, “You must stand before Caesar....God has granted you all those who are sailing with you” (Acts 27:24). Thus, Paul became the one who reigned over them. Therefore, Paul was able boldly to say to them, “And now I advise you to cheer up, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship....For I believe God that it shall be so, even in the way in which it has been spoken to me” (vv. 22-25). In the end, everything happened according to what Paul had said.
We need to be those who are wise to cooperate with the Lord. If you seek your own success or your own gain, you will not gain what you want. But if you give up the world and give yourself wholly for the Lord and His gospel, the world will be for you. Paul clearly told us that “all things are yours” and “you are Christ’s” (1 Cor. 3:21, 23). We believers should clearly see this.
I hope you understand that you did not come to America for your own enjoyment. Rather, you were sent by the Lord to preach the gospel to thousands and thousands of Chinese here in America. You all have to receive this burden. You need to contact them, invite them to your homes, and preach the gospel to them. If all of you would work for the Lord’s gospel in one accord, the Lord will give all things and all men to His church, and He will add to us day by day those who are saved.