If a country, a nation, is going to be strong, it must produce and support an army. Not everyone goes to the battle, but some younger, strong, bolder, and daring ones have to be in the army. The rest of us should do everything to support our army. The full-timers may receive their support from the church or from individual saints, but they should take nothing from the Gentiles (3 John 7). Do not be bothered that some full-timers might receive more than others. Remember that there is the principle of equality (2 Cor. 8:14). If we do not keep the principle of equality, the Lord will keep it for us. We do not need to be bothered, though, because we have the living God in us. We have the principle of equality working in us.
When we receive more, we should give more. If you receive more, do not spend that much. My wife and I always practice to save something for the Lord’s interest. When we give our money to the Lord for His move, it goes to our bank in heaven (Matt. 6:20). It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). An older brother in Taiwan who was over ninety years old had saved seventy-five thousand dollars. When he heard the news about our plan to build a training center at Lin-Ko, he decided to give this entire amount for that purpose. I thank the Lord that there are many stories like this in the Lord’s recovery. Do not only think about your need; think about the Lord’s need.
When we were building the meeting hall in Anaheim, California, I spent day after day in its design. The entire hall, basically speaking, was designed by me. Although I am a layman in civil engineering, I spent much time to design the stairways. About eighty young people dedicated half a year to help build this hall. When the building work was nearing completion, they told me they wanted to build a house for me. At that time, I was living in an apartment. While they were busy working on that house, I was still busy working on the meeting hall. One late night, I went back to see the house. When I saw many sisters there painting the walls, I was moved nearly to tears. That was quite inspiring. I did not care for my need but for the Lord’s house. But He sent so many dear saints to build a house for me and take care of my need. They finished that house within eight weeks so my family could be moved in before the training.
One pair of doors in my house is uneven; one door is about one-eighth inch longer than the other, but I do not want to adjust it. I love those two doors because they were built by my dear brothers. In my bedroom the sliding doors of the closet do not fit the corner of the frame, but I will not let anyone adjust it. I want to keep that as a souvenir of all the divine love the Lord has exercised over me. When we were being moved in, I was still busy on the stairways in the Anaheim meeting hall. My testimony is this—if you work for the Lord, He will take care of you. When you receive more, do not keep it for yourself. When you receive more, give to the Lord.
I also like to see my co-workers live well. If they live poorly, I am unhappy. Do not expect others to take care of your co-workers. You have to help them. Furthermore, all the co-workers need to give at least ten percent of their income to the Lord. I can testify that the more I give to the Lord, the more He gives. The Lord’s loving care is within us, and this working principle of equality is within us.
We all should do our best to save money to spend on the Lord’s interest. Everyone should offer five percent of his income for the full-timers’ support and the church should put this into a separate account. I do not mean that any of us should live poorly but that we should not live excessively. Do not live a life that exceeds the proper necessity. You know how much you should save and how much to be restricted in your spending. The Lord will lead you. We should always have the thought of saving something for our Lord. If you can maintain a good living by nine hundred dollars, do not maintain it by one thousand dollars. Save the extra one hundred dollars for the Lord’s sake. I do not mean that you should not have any savings. You must keep something for your children’s education. The Lord does not want us to be foolish people. We have to keep a proper budget and we should do well in our job to take care of our wife and children properly. We still should have some surplus to offer to the Lord. We are living in the United States, a very rich country. The Lord will bless us if we give to Him faithfully. If we would all practice giving in this way, many things could be done for the Lord, and He will have a free way to go on.
All the elders need to fellowship with all the saints about these things and even promote them. Promote the infilling and the outward filling of the Holy Spirit with the saints. Promote the preaching of the gospel and the teaching of the truth in your locality. Promote the producing and the supporting of the full-timers. Do this every week. We are here for the Lord’s propagation and increase.
In one message I said, “In Canada you brothers have to go back to make noise. Don’t let those people sleep so peacefully. Give them an alarm clock. Don’t let them sleep. Wake them up. Wake them up. The Lord’s recovery has been in Canada for over twenty years. How many are there? Just a small number.” Some of the brothers from Canada went back and made a big poster of this statement and put it in their meeting hall. What I said to the Canadian brothers I say also to you. Elders, make some noise in your locality. Do not let those people sleep so peacefully. They have been sleeping too well. Give them an alarm clock. Wake them up! Elders, wake yourselves up first and then wake up others. The churches in the Lord’s recovery have been sleeping peacefully for quite a long time. Do not sleep anymore but wake up! Go to preach. Go to teach. Wake up! Rise up! Go! The Lord needs the propagation and the increase. Go to teach and to preach any time and anywhere. We need an army. We need bolder ones, stronger ones, who dare to die, to be full-timers to form an army.
The elders have many things to do. To produce full-timers is not an easy task or a light matter. It needs a lot of work. The elders need to fellowship with all those who intend to go full-time to find out whether or not they are qualified. Is their education adequate? Is their character proper? Some dear saints who love the Lord have a poor character. They always do things loosely and always treat people carelessly. They may think that Mark has twenty-eight chapters and that Matthew has sixteen chapters. When they are asked to turn to a particular book of the Bible, they may not know where it is located. They also may not possess the adequate spiritual vocabulary and utterance to preach the gospel and to teach the truths.
The elders have been with the saints for years and should know everyone. We depend upon the elders to exercise their discernment to make a decision as to whether someone in their locality is qualified to go full-time. It depends upon that person’s education, spiritual qualification, gifts, and character. Is he a person who can endure trials and suffer poverty? Paul said that he knew how to be abased and how to abound (Phil. 4:12). By His mercy, I have learned how to be poor. I was poor for a long time, having gone through a long tunnel and a long night of poverty. Now I have learned how to abound. By His mercy, I have distributed much money in recent years. A full-timer should be a person who can endure suffering, suffer poverty, and withstand riches. Anyone that cannot stand the test of riches is not qualified to be a full-timer. If money comes to you and God becomes second to your money, you are not qualified to serve the Lord full-time.
I was happy to see that so many responded to the call for full-timers, but everyone must realize that there will be a proper sifting. Not everyone who desires to be a full-timer should be a full-timer. The producing of full-timers also involves moving in the Body as the one new man by fellowshipping locally and universally. One who becomes a full-timer will not pass a formal exam, but a spontaneous test through all the churches as to whether or not he is qualified. An army cannot be formed with loose people. A person must be trained and disciplined and his character must be built up; otherwise, he cannot be a soldier in the army. The people in the air force must be precise and accurate; otherwise, they will damage their aircraft.
This does not mean the elders should pour cold water on the ones who want to be full-time. They need to stir up many to be full-time and promote the matter of being full-time. Then the elders need to have the proper fellowship to find out who is qualified. Some may be what 2 Thessalonians calls “busybodies” (3:11). These ones should be encouraged to do a good and steady job for five years. Then they may be qualified to go full-time. The elders in each locality have to do this because they should know the saints. They need to ask the ones who want to go full-time how much they read their Bible daily and how much of the Recovery Version text and notes they have read. Based on the elders’ discernment, some of the saints should be told that the time is not right for them to go full-time.
You should not be disappointed if the brothers in your locality do not feel that you should be full-time. It may be that one of the elders is very strict and that he would hardly give his approval to anyone. Do not be disappointed. David was very much rejected and put down by Saul, but he was the real one God had anointed. When the time was right, David was raised up by God Himself. If you are the right person, you will be a full-timer even if the elders say no to you. This is the Lord’s recovery and no one can manipulate or control anything. If you are the right person to be a full-timer and you cannot get through in your locality, you will get through in the Body. The Body will vindicate you. If the elders in your locality say no to you, just say, “Amen. Praise the Lord!” Remain happy to serve the Lord in your locality. If your speaking in the meetings edifies, builds up, and saves people, even the angels will testify that you are the right one.
The elders should do their best to promote the matter of being full-time and if possible to raise up some to be full-time. Then the elders need to train these saints in life and in truth. They can render the help concerning how to read the Word, how to pray-read the Word, how to enjoy the Lord and contact the Lord, how to pray, and how to live a life by faith. The elders need to do something initially. Then the leading co-workers surely will regard what the elders say. The crucial key and the hinge of the practice of the Lord’s present move is the elders. How the elders will fulfill their duty will determine how the churches practice the Lord’s present move.