Now that we have seen something concerning God’s administration in chapter two, I want to have more fellowship concerning our going on.
Another thing I want to make clear is our burden to have trainings to train the saints. Brother Nee conducted regular trainings for the saints in mainland China. I came out of mainland China to Taiwan in 1949. We started a formal training there for four months in 1953. From that year on, I set aside a few months nearly every year for the training of the saints.
We practice this matter of training to follow what the apostle Paul did, to follow in his footsteps. Acts 19:9-10 says, “But when some were hardened and disobeyed, speaking evil of the way before the multitude, he withdrew from them and separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. And this took place for two years, so that all those dwelling in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.” At that time Paul was in Ephesus, and there was already a church there. However, he did some work beside the church but related to and for the church. He did his preaching and teaching in a school, the school of Tyrannus. Tyrannus might have been a teacher, and Paul might have rented his school and used it as a meeting hall to preach and teach the word of the Lord. Paul’s work was not within the church but was something beside the church yet still for the churches. Paul felt that there was a need to have such a work to preach to and teach many people. He carried out this work in the school of Tyrannus for two years and the result was that all those dwelling in Asia heard the word of the Lord.
Acts 28:30-31 says, “And he remained two whole years in his own rented dwelling, and welcomed all those coming in to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, unhindered.” This tells us clearly that Paul rented a place to teach in Rome, and at that time there was a church in Rome. He did a work in his own rented dwelling to proclaim the kingdom of God and to teach the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. No doubt, his proclaiming, his teaching, and his preaching went out to reach a good number of people.
We had our trainings mainly based upon Paul’s example in the two passages we quoted above in Acts. We have a burden to train some seeking saints and some young saints with the word of the Lord. We have seen much blessing upon this work of training. I began to have formal trainings in the United States in 1974. Through these semi-annual trainings, I put out all the Life-studies on the entire New Testament. From 1974 to the present time, approximately three hundred churches, mostly in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central America, and South America, were raised up through the Life-study publications. One brother who was sent by the Lord to Brazil used the one hundred and twenty messages of the Life-study of Genesis to raise up close to one hundred churches there. Hundreds of churches were raised up and continually fed with these publications. If you ask me to stop the training work, and stop the publications, I cannot do it. I must obey my Lord who sent me, who charged me, and who gave me this commission to help His recovery, who gave me this burden of the ministry of His word to release His word. At my age I could go to be with the Lord at any time. Therefore, I am very concerned before the Lord as to how I should use my time. I feel that the first place I should use my time is in doing everything I can to finish the Life-study of the Old Testament. Please bear the burden to pray about this.
When the Lord sent me to the United States, I endeavored to help the church in Los Angeles, but my primary burden was to release the truth to propagate and gain the increase for the church. In 1970 many saints migrated to spread the church life, and in 1974 I moved to Anaheim. At that juncture I was clear that I should put out the Lord’s word. Brother Nee had many direct talks with me about this matter of teaching the Lord’s word. He inherited a great amount of truth from all the teachings in the past centuries. I received much help from him because he told me many things. Brother Nee had so much of the truth deposited in him that never was put into print. Piles and piles of his manuscripts were destroyed by the Communists when they took over mainland China. I would say that less than one-third of what Brother Nee spoke was put into print. With so little of what Brother Nee saw and spoke in print, how could the church be built up? This is why by 1974 I was burdened to have the formal training in order to put out the proper understanding of the New Testament according to the top expositions of the top teachers throughout the past nineteen centuries. I still have the same burden to put out the Life-study of the Old Testament. I have even received many letters from the saints encouraging and charging me to do this. This is my burden. I must finish my responsibility before the Lord to make the Lord’s revelation in the holy Word as clear as I can to all of us. I must continue to present what the Lord has shown us from the beginning of the Lord’s recovery in mainland China through Brother Nee until the present time.
I am also burdened to train some young saints, not with the expectation that they all will become life-long full-timers to serve the Lord. But we do have an expectation that many of the young college graduates among us will spend either one or two years of time to learn something of the Lord, that is, to learn the Word and to learn the lessons in life. After such a training, they may decide to go back to continue their schooling, or they may go back to get a job. Of course, by having such a training, some will be tested out and approved to be life-long, full-time servants of the Lord. Without this kind of training, how could we have these persons tested out? We feel that the trainings are the best way to get these persons tested out. I also have a burden to see the completion of the evangelization of the island of Taiwan. I believe that can be accomplished in about two years through 1990.
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