We have already seen that the administration of the Lord’s move on the earth began with the apostles and the apostles’ ministry. Out of that ministry the church is produced. On the side of the church, there is the service of the church; on the side of the ministry, there is the work of the ministry. In the work of the ministry there is the service of the Levites, as typified in the Old Testament. Without the help of the Levites and their service, it would have been difficult to carry out the priestly ministry in the Old Testament. Although, on the spiritual side, what the Levites did was not as weighty as what the priests did, yet on the practical side, both what the Levites did and what the priests did were necessary. You may compare the priesthood of the priests to the inward life, and the work of the Levites to the outward body. Without the body, it would be difficult for life to exist; without life, the body would be merely an empty shell. The life and the body need to match each other.
In the Lord’s recovery, we have seen the sketch and framework of this matter very clearly from the first day. The light which the Lord has given us is becoming brighter and brighter. After passing through more than sixty years, today you may say that it is completely clear. Not only have we seen the light from the Bible, but we have also checked with the history of Christianity and our own sixty years of experience, especially the Lord’s leading given to us in the last thirty years, along with the many admonitions and warnings we have received through our practice. Therefore, we have a very thorough understanding concerning this matter.
After World War II, due to the worldwide economic prosperity, the ease of transportation, and the improvement in communication media, we have been enjoying a greater convenience than before in transmitting information. Formerly, it took half a day to make an overseas phone call, but now through the international long distance telephone, in a short time we can have a thorough discussion of affairs among a number of overseas churches. In the past, when Brother Nee released messages, there were no microphones, nor any tape recordings. The messages were recorded in shorthand, which often was not perfect. Today, we have both audio-tape and video-tape recordings; all the messages can be conveniently preserved. In 1958, I began to visit the western world. Although for the most part I have worked in the United States, through the publications, audio tapes, and video tapes, the messages in the Lord’s recovery have been spread to the six continents of the earth. Many seeking ones in different countries have received supplies of these publications, audio tapes, and video tapes.
We compiled some statistics three years ago that showed there were altogether over six hundred churches in the Lord’s recovery throughout the whole earth. Recently, we estimated that the number of churches has increased to over nine hundred. Within this three-year period, most of the three hundred newly added churches were outside of the Far East. The raising up of the church in each place was mainly through the issuing of publications and the distribution of audio and video tapes, not through the co-workers’ going out to work. The video tapes, at present, are the most practical. In Mexico, we have eight or nine video stations. Through the release of the messages station by station, about twenty churches have been raised up. Although the Spanish-speaking saints also emphasize publications, unfortunately the Spanish translation work is still falling behind due to the limitation of time and manpower.
Recently I received a letter from Paraguay in South America requesting two hundred fifty sets of Life-studies at one time. Another letter came from a brother who was a preacher in the Republic of Ecuador in South America. This brother’s work was quite effective. He had already baptized over two thousand people and had established over twenty churches. He said that his sister had led him to see this way, and now he needed the truth materials to supply those under his leading. He presented this need to us and asked us to supply him. Even people from India have also requested our publications. It has been due to the supply of these publications and video tapes that the Lord’s recovery has been able to spread rapidly to the six continents.
Today, on the spiritual side, there is drought, desolation, and famine over the whole earth. This is the main reason that all the saints in every place over the whole globe are so thirsty for the publications and video tapes in the Lord’s recovery. In 1962 I spoke publicly in the United States, saying, “Since the end of World War II, whether in Europe or America, not many spiritual books have been published that have spiritual light and spiritual weight such that people can receive the supply in life and edification in the truth.” In the last century, especially in England, spiritual books were mushrooming like bamboo shoots after rain, being published in bundles. However, after World War II, it has no longer been the same.
Among us today there are a good number of brothers from the United States; they all have to admit that even in such a vast Christian country as the United States, people are suffering spiritual famine. The Lord’s recovery has been able to spread overseas mainly because of the truth. Besides the churches in the Far East, the raising up of over five hundred other churches has been for the most part due to the issuing of publications, audio tapes, and video tapes in the Lord’s recovery.