Now I would like to say something about our present condition. On the day of Pentecost when the Spirit of God descended and when the church was first begun on the earth, the condition of the church was truly glorious, like the condition of the temple at its beginning after the people of Israel had built it. Not long afterward, however, this glorious church was damaged by the enemy and became desolate, like what happened in the tragedy of the captivity of the Israelites in the Old Testament. Since then, those who belong to God, who love God with a pure heart, and who sympathize with God’s desire have been sighing, saying, “Alas, the days of glory have passed! The glorious church has been torn down!” They have been expectantly waiting to see the glorious church rebuilt.
If we read church history, we will see that the goal of God’s work on the earth is to recover His church. Apparently, He is recovering portions of the truth and light or portions of grace and glory. Actually, however, if you look at the whole picture, you will see that His ultimate goal is to recover His glorious church. If you have been paying attention to the matter of the church, particularly during the last thirty to forty years, you have seen that what God has been doing among His children is recovering in a strong way the matter of the church, not only in its spiritual aspect but also in its practical aspect. If you collected the worthy spiritual writings put out during the past forty years—whether biographies of individuals, histories of the church, or records of the establishment of churches in various localities—and if you studied them comprehensively, then you would have to praise the Lord. You would have to acknowledge that during this period of time God has done a sufficient work of preparation for the recovery of the building of His glorious church.
Not only is God continually doing this kind of work, but countless saints are also frequently supplicating, praying, waiting, and sighing in the presence of God, hoping to soon see with their own eyes the manifestation of a real, solid, built up, and glorious church. Furthermore, some who are ministers of God’s word and who speak for God and serve as His mouthpiece have touched the feeling in God’s heart through their habitual living before God and their intimate fellowship with Him. Thus, they express such feelings in the messages that they release to God’s children. During the past thirty years, whenever the leading co-workers among us stood up to speak for God, the Holy Spirit gave us the feeling and inclination to not stay away from the matter of the church. Many times we who serve as God’s mouthpiece come together before the Lord to seek His intention. We ask, “What does the Lord want to do in this age? What way is He taking? What kinds of words and messages does He want to release through us?” At these times we always have the same feeling, which is that God wants to recover the building of the church.
No doubt, we should preach the gospel and release the truth. We should also lead the believers to love the Lord, be zealous for Him, draw near to Him, and fellowship with Him. Furthermore, we must show the believers that the Lord is our life and that He mingles Himself with us so that we may be transformed, become full-grown, and arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. However, within us is a heavier and deeper feeling. We feel that we do not have much to say unless we speak about the concrete manifestation of the church on the earth and the building of the church. When we release messages on other matters, we sense that there is no echo within and that our speaking misses the mark and is not powerful. If we do not go in the direction of the church, we will feel that we have not carried out the ministry that God has committed to us. Moreover, our work will never reach God’s goal or satisfy God’s heart’s desire.
Around 1930, there were only a few of us who were serving the Lord, and almost every one of us fell into various kinds of trials. We each had our own difficulties, and almost every one had some kind of sickness. Stomach trouble and tuberculosis were very common among us, and I myself was no exception. Some also had high blood pressure and heart disease. The situation then was truly difficult. In spite of this, we still preached the word, wrote articles, and conversed with others every day. We often said to one another, “We may not have too many days to live on the earth!” The older brother among us was only in his thirties. I clearly remember that one day he was sitting on a rocking chair, and while he was rocking, he said, “Brothers, whether we have lung trouble, stomach trouble, high blood pressure, or heart disease, the ‘stop’ is in the hand of the Lord. You know that I have stomach trouble and also heart disease. Frequently when I am preaching, I have to press my abdomen against the pulpit in front of me, due to my stomachache. Sometimes at the end of my speaking, the color of my face turns green, because my heart is beating too fast. The first thing I do after I end my preaching is to lie down on a bed to rest. I often tell myself that perhaps this time would be my ‘stop,’ once I lie down. Every time after I finish preaching, I am definitely prepared to ‘stop’ anytime. My funeral arrangements are always ready. But up to now, brothers, I have not stopped. Therefore, whether I stop or not, my stopping is in the hand of the Lord.” We then asked him, “Does this mean that we who serve the Lord will always live a little longer regardless of the condition of our health?” He said, “It is not so. Many of those who speak for God have died young.” We then asked, “What then does this mean?” He said, “Brothers, in the past many Bible expositors have expressed their thoughts in writing, saying that the signs that have been manifested in the present age all indicate that the Lord Jesus is coming back soon. Most people agree that in principle the Lord is coming back soon. However, I cannot believe that the Lord Jesus would come back right now.”
When we heard this, we were puzzled. How did he jump from the topic of stomach trouble and heart disease to the topic of the Lord’s return? None of us understood what he meant. After he saw our expressions, he went on and said, “Brothers, according to the Bible expositors, the Lord Jesus is returning soon. Furthermore, according to our health, it seems that we are not going to live much longer. However, I continue to sense within me that the glorious church of God has still not been built, and the burden in our spirit has still not been released. We have been speaking for God for more than ten years, but I have discovered that the more we speak, the heavier and greater the burden is within. I absolutely believe that this is a very serious matter, indicating that we still need to remain on the earth for quite a long time in order to release the burden within us. What is this burden? This burden is to tell God’s children that in the last days of this age, God definitely will recover His church!”
He also said, “Brothers, please observe the present, real situation of Christianity in the East and in the West. Everywhere there are Christians who are zealous in preaching the gospel. There are many missions that send missionaries to the frontier to spread the gospel. Some are sent to South Africa and others to the interior of China. Remember, however, that although they have preached the gospel so much and have saved so many souls, God has not yet obtained a glorious church! Furthermore, ever since the Brethren were raised up a hundred years ago, many have spoken specifically about the secrets of being spiritual, beginning with consecration, and many of God’s children have consecrated themselves to God. Brother Andrew Murray spoke about fellowship with the Lord as well as the indwelling Christ and the indwelling Spirit. After that, Mrs. Penn-Lewis spoke about dying with the Lord, and after her, someone else received special knowledge concerning resurrection. They all conveyed these spiritual matters to God’s children, but where can we see the church?”
Then he went on to say, “Today there are a good number of authoritative scholars who know the Bible and can interpret the truth. Bible colleges for the training of Bible students and special books on Bible exposition have proliferated and are innumerable. However, I would like to ask where the church is. Today there are quite a few magazines and books published in Christianity, but how many articles in these publications specifically speak of God’s desire to build a glorious church on the earth in a weighty and accurate way?”
After analyzing the situation, he told us, “Brothers, I do not know how you feel, but I am continually bearing a burden within, and the burden is growing heavier and heavier. My burden is to release messages on the building of the church to God’s children. I hope to continually show God’s children that God’s eternal desire is to obtain a builded church in His Son. The reason God wants us to preach the gospel and save sinners is that we may gain material for the building of the church. The reason God wants us to love the Lord, consecrate ourselves to Him, pursue spirituality, and grow unto maturity is that we may be transformed to be fit for the Lord’s use to build His church. I believe that you also have the same feeling within you, because today we are serving in coordination and in the same flow.”
After I heard those words that day, immediately there was a response within me. I told the elder brother in a definite way, “I also have the same feeling within me!” At that time we clearly felt and deeply believed that no matter how much opposition we would encounter, no matter what the situation would be, no matter what our condition and that of the world would be, the Lord would still keep us on the earth. He would still keep us on the earth because we still needed to carry out the ministry that had been committed to us by God and to accomplish the glorious work of God. We wanted to see the glorious church of God recovered and rebuilt on the earth in the last days. When we read the book of Ezra together, we especially noticed the matter of how the Israelites recovered the temple. We all understood that this picture tells us that after God’s church passes through a period of desolation, there will surely be a fullness of the times. When that time comes, God’s church will be rebuilt.
I hope that you would not misunderstand. We absolutely do not intend to speak only about the church and neglect other spiritual matters. We will still actively preach the gospel and thoroughly present the truth, and we will also lead many to pursue spirituality. However, we feel that within us is a heavier burden. Whenever we have the opportunity to thoroughly speak on matters concerning the church—such as the content of the church, the riches of the church, the measure of the stature of the church, the way of the church, the ground of the church, the expression of the church, and the building of the church—our spirit leaps and feels satisfied, the burden within us is discharged, and our whole being feels light. This is an amazing thing!
I would like to seriously tell you that we few brothers who were there at that time are still on the earth today. Some of us are still releasing messages concerning the church, while some have been put into prison for the sake of the church and are still praying continually. This is a living testimony! This is just like the situation in the ancient times when the people of Israel were in captivity, yet people such as Daniel who were in the land of captivity still prayed facing Jerusalem. Although the brothers in prison have physically lost their freedom and cannot say much or do much, they are praying day and night. I believe that they are praying for God to recover the building of the church!
In this conference we have specifically spoken concerning the building of the church. We feel that the Holy Spirit has given this word a strong confirmation and that the spirit of the saints has had a strong response. I absolutely believe that in these eight or nine days many have seen what the center of God’s glorious vision is, what the meaning of human life is, and what God’s eternal purpose and the goal of the living and service of God’s children are. Furthermore, many saints have been praying and looking to the Lord behind the scenes. Therefore, I would like to ask you what our response should be and what action we should take. We need consecration! Consecration should be our response to God’s building and the action that we take for God’s building. We should commit ourselves into God’s hand without any reservation. I would ask you to make a firm and determined indication of your response before God! May God accept and bless!