The real revival is to be raised up. We do not need to resurrect in the future to discover that we need to go and buy the oil. We need to be raised up today, every day paying the price to buy the Spirit. This is real revival, and I do believe that by being such persons, we will be fruitful. Many of us have to admit that we are barren. I hate to see the barrenness. We can give many excuses for this, such as our having been defamed and criticized. But how much have we been doing in these past few years in the matter of contacting others and speaking the Lord Jesus?
The many missionaries over the past two centuries would have never gone out if they would have made excuses. The dear missionaries who went to China could have said, “The Chinese are closed and are too conservative. Even if they would open up their doors, they would not listen to anyone from the West. If I go, I will waste my time.” There are always excuses against the ministry going out. But thank the Lord, these missionaries went, and they went in all kinds of hardships. According to my observation, the Presbyterian missionaries who went to China one hundred years ago were some of the best. Even though they did not know as much truth as we do, have as much light as we have, or have as much growth in life as we have, they had a heart for Jesus, to preach Him to the poor ones. They made a big success and even I am here ministering today due to their labor. They did everything to open the door for the preaching of the Lord Jesus. When we grew up, we were under their mission work and I studied at schools established by the missions. They brought the Bible to China, translated it into Chinese, and passed it on to us. Furthermore, they preached the Lord Jesus. At least they could say “Jesus loves you” in Chinese. Sometimes children would mock them or throw stones at them. Some were really caught by them although they nearly could only say “Jesus loves you” to others.
Saints, we have no excuse. We do not need to go that far to China. We are in our Jerusalem, which is our neighborhood. We have to go. At least we can go once a week or once every two weeks to a certain neighbor. You could go to visit the same neighbor twenty-six times within one year. I do not believe nothing will happen if we visit our neighbors in this way. Something will happen. If we all get one this year, all the churches will double.
The increase of some of the churches in the past few years is too low. Is this not a shame? This is due to our not buying the oil daily. If we would buy the oil daily, this will issue in something that cancels or annuls our barrenness. We will surely be fruitful. Just to encourage the brothers to go out to distribute the books is a temporary thing.
My burden is to fellowship with you that you may rise up to live a life of always buying an extra portion of the oil by not wasting your time in doing anything. If you do something and you feel it is a waste of time, you had better stop doing it. Use that time to contact the Lord, to pray. This is to watch unto prayer. To be watchful is not to let your time go, not to waste your time, but to take every time as a chance to buy the oil. To buy the oil is the best way to redeem our time for the days are short. We all must rise up!
I believe I have given you enough deeper truths already. I feel burdened to fellowship with you in this way. All of us need to live such a life of buying the oil daily, even hourly. We need to buy the oil in the way we dress, shop, talk, and live. In everything we must be serious and consider the solemn parable given by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 25:1-13. Whether or not we will be raptured early to enter into the wedding feast depends upon our daily buying of the Spirit from this moment. This is a lifelong matter, not an overnight matter. To get the proper and adequate education is not an overnight matter. A person needs to begin his study from kindergarten and pass through many grades until he finishes college. Take this fellowship as something serious and solemn. This is not just advice, but my serious fellowship with all of you in love. I do hope that we all would rise up to live such a life. I do not like merely to stir up or move people because that does not work. The one thing that the Lord needs and that we need is to rise up to pay the price to buy the oil all the time in all the matters in our daily life.