I truly worship the Lord that I have been in His work for more than fifty years. The first thirty years were among the Chinese, so I know very well the situation of the Chinese-speaking work. In America, according to my observation, the atmosphere in the Chinese society and its constituents has completely changed. This is not in the hands of you and me. There is no way we can change the situation. It is the Lord’s doing. Therefore, I said in the previous message that based on my observation, my understanding of history, and my fifty years of study of the world situation and the news, I came to a conclusion: Apparently the gospel has nothing to do with the world situation; actually according to history the world situation is all under the control of the Lord’s hand with a view for the spreading of the gospel.
Numerous events in history show us clearly that the world situation is in the Lord’s hands. He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, and the throne is His. On the throne He carries out the universal administration and rules over the entire universe. Daniel 2 says, “He deposes kings and causes kings to ascend” (v. 21). We can see in the Old Testament that whatever nation He raised up, that nation would rise; and whatever nation He caused to fall, that nation would fall. What is the purpose of God in governing the universe and ruling over the nations on the earth? We all have to answer that it is fully for the spreading of the gospel.
It was a great event in world history when Columbus sailed the seas and found a new continent. However, very few saw that it was God’s doing in order to prepare a place for the gospel to be brought in, on the one hand, and on the other hand, to serve as a refuge that could give protection to the believers who were being persecuted. For several centuries the believers under persecution, such as the Puritans, could not find a safe place to stay in Europe, so they escaped to the new continent. Today we are also refugees. Otherwise, who would be willing to leave their homeland to come to America? Therefore, America is truly a refuge. Thank and praise the Lord that among the six continents there is this piece of land, a land of abundance and freedom, that serves as a shelter to God’s children.
America today is not a nation of a single race. Rather, it is a nation made up of “refugees” of many races. The first group that came was the Puritans, who paved the way for the founding of a new nation. The rest of us who came later are the “enjoying refugees.” I am a fourth generation Christian. I went with my mother to the Baptist Church when I was little. I was in contact regularly with the Western missionaries, so I liked America from my heart. Nevertheless, I never thought about coming to America. Eventually, however, I came. I truly like America, but I nonetheless miss my homeland. I believe many of you are like this also.
We have to see that everything on this globe was created by God. We cannot change anything, but the world situation, being under God’s sovereign rule, can change. Our move on this earth is not up to us. Today you and I are here in America, but who dreamed about coming here? Nevertheless, we are here. One hundred years ago, to go from America to my homeland Chefoo took up to six months of sailing by boat. To make a round trip would take a year. Many Western missionaries became so sick at sea that they died immediately after landing. However, there were still many more who came in succession. Transportation is much more convenient today. To travel from Shanghai to the west coast of America takes only twelve hours; you can make the round trip in one day. Because of this, the frequency of travel among human communities has greatly increased, and the sphere of travel has also been broadened. Therefore, we have even less excuse for not going out for the gospel.
Even those who were already in America before World War I were not qualified for naturalization, but after the two world wars, the world situation altogether changed. The unequal treaties were revoked automatically, and colonies became independent one after another. As a result, many small countries were raised up. In the United Nations today, all countries both great and small are equal, each having one vote. Facing the international state of affairs, the United States has become lenient concerning the quota of applicants for permanent residence. After 1967 twenty thousand Chinese immigrated here annually. Then since 1982 forty thousand have been coming yearly. For this reason, the Chinese-speaking work has become a task of the greatest urgency at present.
Amazingly, among the saints in the Lord’s recovery, those from Taiwan comprise the greatest number, which is almost fifty thousand. Therefore, there are always some saints among the immigrants from Taiwan every year. This forces us to actively carry out the Chinese-speaking work. We work in conjunction with the Lord, and the Lord also works in conjunction with us. Irvine is a newly developed city in Orange County. We foresaw clearly that there should be a church there, so we sent twenty to thirty saints as forerunners. Praise the Lord, after the saints moved to Irvine, the Lord sent multitudes of Chinese there, including many engineers, doctors, and dentists, all of whom are targets for our gospel preaching.
We have to see that it is the Lord who arranges and controls the situation of the whole universe. Revelation, the last book of the Bible, shows us the situation of the churches and of the universe. In chapters four and five, we see that there is a throne in the heavens, and God is sitting upon it. Our Savior, the Lion-Lamb, stands before the throne and receives the scroll to execute God’s economy. His seven eyes are the seven Spirits as the executors carrying out His administration. Today the whole world is under the authority of our Redeemer. The unbelievers do not know this, but we know. He is King of kings and Lord of lords (17:14; 19:16). He is above all the kings, rulers, and all those who are in authority. He manages and arranges everything in the universe.
When people are settled, it is not easy to preach the gospel to them. When people move, their hearts turn and become open to the gospel. I saw this in Shanghai and in Chefoo as well. The natives, those who were born and raised there, had a hard time and were afraid to believe in the Lord. The believers were mostly people from out of town. Later, due to circumstances, three million people moved to Taiwan from mainland China all at once. I also went. Preaching the gospel was very easy at that time. A Chinese proverb says, “Move a tree and it will die; move a man and he will live.” This has been proven to be true many times in the past. This is why in America the Chinese community, including the Chinese students, are all very open to the gospel. This is because when these Chinese immigrate to a foreign land, they are uprooted, and their hearts begin to turn as well. They have no family relationships here and feel that they are in a strange land. Under these circumstances, when they meet some fellow Chinese who preach the gospel to them, they spontaneously receive it.
We have to understand that the Lord is not only our Redeemer but also the One who arranges the world situation for the spreading of His gospel. Today He has appointed us as His “ambassadors plenipotentiary” to give His gospel to others. The Lord said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and disciple all the nations” (Matt. 28:18-19). Do not think that preaching the gospel is a small matter. We have to see it as a big matter that needs to be carried out through the authority of the heavens and the earth. If there were no operation of the authority of the heavens and the earth, who would listen and believe when we preach the gospel?