2022 LORD’S MOVE TO ASIA (LMA) CO-WORKERS’ MEETING
Message One
The Vision of Overseas Propagation
Scripture Reading: Acts 11:5; 26:19; Eph. 1:23; 4:11-12; 1 Cor. 14:1; Rom. 15:16; 12:5; Rev. 1:20
I. Serving the Lord requires a glorious vision, the vision controls the gospel outreach—Acts 26:19; Eph. 4:11-12:
A. The vision is a kind of special seeing; our outreach is not a kind of work; rather, it is a going out in ecstasy; if we are not ecstatic, the gospel outreach will not be effective; hence, if we are to give ourselves to the move of the gospel outreach, we must first see the glorious vision—Acts 26:19; 2:17; 11:5.
B. The Lord has shown us four great visions—Eph. 1:23; 4:11-12; 1 Cor. 14:1:
1. First, the church is the Body of Christ, which is an organism that issued from the processed Triune God; it comes into being neither accidentally, nor by His creation—Eph. 1:23; 5:23; Col. 1:18, 24.
2. Second, the emphasis in the service of all the gifts is not on the works, but on their perfecting of the saints to do the works; we must perfect the saints to be able to do whatever we are able to do—Eph. 4:11-12; 1 Cor. 12:4.
3. Third, there is the need to help everyone to grow so that all can prophesy for the Lord; today the Lord does not speak through one or two persons in the church; rather He speaks through everyone; only when every member prophesies will the church be built—14:1, 31.
4. Fourth, gospel preaching must be done by everyone personally through visiting others in their homes; it should not be done by calling big gospel campaigns; if there are only gospel campaigns, believers will be degraded to serve only as Levites, and only a few will then be able to serve as the exclusive priests of the gospel; the spiritual function of all the believers as priests of the gospel will be killed—Rom. 15:16; 1:16; 1 Cor. 9:23.
II. All the co-workers should go before the Lord to receive His commission and leading to go overseas to propagate—Eph. 4:11-12; Acts 26:19; Rom. 12:5:
A. The service the Lord is leading us into is not something that we can put in writing and send out in printed form for other believers to read and understand; there are many skills for us to learn in our service; in principle, we should send saints out, and saints can come here to learn—Eph. 4:11-12; Rom. 1:1; 1 Tim. 4:12.
B. I do not know where we should go or how many believers should be in the city we go to; these matters depend on the burden that the brothers receive from the Lord; we need to see a vision and receive a burden—Acts 11:5; 26:19; 13:2; Neh. 1:3-4.
C. Before the Lord we need to bear the burden; everyone should receive a burden from the Lord, whether it involves being sent to a certain place or remaining in a certain place; the Body is one, and we must take the way of recovery on this earth; we have one life, one Body, one way, one testimony, and one recovery—Rom. 12:5; Eph. 2:15.
III. We need to be properly aggressive and seriously learning—Phil. 4:9, 12:
A. The Lord has entrusted us with His truth in this age; we must bear the responsibility to spread the Lord’s truth to every part of the world and raise up the Lord’s testimony in every place; I encourage the young people to advance in their studies; they not only need to know the truth and life, but they also need to learn more languages, including Greek; we need to be aggressive in learning everything related to serving the lord—Matt. 24:14; 3 John 1:8.
B. If the full-timers are aggressive to learn, even your hairstyle and clothing will show others your quality; all these things are related to your serving the Lord; hence, you must be aggressive, not casual, in everything—Matt. 25:16-17.
IV. We need to prosperously carry out the gospel in one accord—Acts 1:14; Rev. 1:11:
A. The one accord refers to the harmony in our inner being, in our mind and will; in Matthew 18:19 the Lord said, “If two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter for which they ask, it will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens”; we need this harmony as our one accord.
B. The one accord is the “master key to all the rooms,” the master key to every blessing in the New Testament; if you really want to practice the proper way to preach the gospel, you need the one accord; without this key, no door can be opened—Eph. 1:3; Psa. 133.
C. Today the Lord needs the testimony of the lampstand; He needs the churches as the lampstands in every locality; the hope of such a testimony rests on you who are the young generation; I hope that your eyes will be opened to see that in the Bible what the Lord desires to have ultimately is the lampstand with Christ, full of the Spirit, with the shining of the lamps and the gold, bearing the testimony for the Lord—Rev. 1:12, 20.
D. All of us need to be one with the Lord in the life-pulse of His new move; for the Lord’s new move, all of the churches need to be in one accord; we should all voice the same thing, trumpet the same thing, and teach the same thing; we need to be one in teaching—1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 16:1; Acts 2:42.
V. One new man appears in all the earth—Matt. 28:19; Col. 3:10-11:
A. After the Lord rose from the dead, all authority in heaven and on earth was given to Him; therefore, He wants us to establish His kingdom by discipling all the nations; our commission is to go and preach the gospel of the kingdom to every part of the inhabited earth and to cause every believer to become a disciple of the kingdom—Matt. 28:19; Luke 16:16; 24:47.
B. The Lord wants to raise up the churches of His recovery in all the cities, towns, and localities on the earth and make them all into one new man; when that happens, even though we all are many, when we speak, it will be with one mouth because we will all speak the same thing; I believe that before the Lord returns this will be fulfilled—Eph. 2:15; 4:24.
VI. I hope that the elders would pray before the Lord and receive a burden and that the co-workers would bring this matter before the Lord; I hope that every co-worker would no longer serve in the old ways—Matt. 9:17; Eph. 4:11-12.
Ministry Excerpts:
SERVING THE LORD REQUIRING A GLORIOUS VISION,
THE VISION CONTROLLING THE GOSPEL OUTREACH
We have to see the glorious vision. Everyone who serves the Lord must have a glorious vision. It is not the seeing that is glorious; rather, it is the object which we see that is glorious. This in turn makes the seeing itself glorious. This is what we mean by a glorious vision.
The Vision Being a Kind of Special Seeing
The word vision means something extraordinary, unusual, uncommon, and strange. It also means a scene or a scenery. It is a kind of special seeing. One sees because a scenery is there. A few hundred of you are sitting here. This is a very beautiful scenery. If I had a camera, I would capture this on my film. Hence, a vision is a special kind of seeing.
This morning, I hope that every one who is going to participate in the gospel outreach is a man of vision. It must not be that some others are persuading you to join the gospel outreach. Persuasion will work for only three days. I am afraid that after three days, it will become useless. It has to be something that touches you within, which is the God of glory unveiling Himself to you and enlightening you, who will give you unspeakable strength for you to go on in serving the Lord step by step.
Our Going Out for the Work Being Different If We See the Vision
We also must deeply realize that our outreach is not a kind of work. Rather, it is a going out in ecstasy. If we are not ecstatic, the gospel outreach will not be effective. If we see the vision, our going out for the work will be different. When Isaiah was called by God to speak for Him, he did not go forth to give predictions. Rather, he spoke words of rebuke to others.
Now we know why Peter and John were so powerful when they preached the gospel and worked for the Lord. The reason is that they had all seen a vision. This vision was their calling. The majesty that they saw became the message that they preached. Hence, if we are to give ourselves to the move of the gospel outreach, we must first see the glorious vision. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 1, “The Glorious Vision and the Way of the Cross,” ch. 1)
The Lord Showing Us Four Great Visions
Since last summer, the Lord has shown us four great visions in succession. First, the church is the Body of Christ, which is an organism that issued from the processed Triune God. It comes into being neither accidentally, nor by His creation. Second, the emphasis in the service of all the gifts is not on the works, but on their perfecting of the saints to do the works. We must perfect the saints to be able to do whatever we are able to do. Third, there is the need to help everyone to grow so that all can prophesy for the Lord. Today the Lord does not speak through one or two persons in the church. Rather He speaks through everyone. Only when every member prophesies will the church be built. Fourth, gospel preaching must be done by everyone personally through visiting others in their homes. It should not be done by calling big gospel campaigns. If there are only gospel campaigns, believers will be degraded to serve only as Levites, and only a few will then be able to serve as the exclusive priests of the gospel. The spiritual function of all the believers as priests of the gospel will be killed. These four visions are what I want to fellowship and communicate to all of you elders and co-workers at this time. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 2, “The New Testament Priests of the Gospel,” ch. 10)
RECEIVING THE LORD’S COMMISSION AND LEADING
TO GO OVERSEAS TO PROPAGATE
There are several urgent needs that require fellowship. In addition to the urgent need in the work among the students and the children, there is a pressing need for propagation overseas. All the co-workers should go before the Lord to receive His commission and leading to go to places in Taiwan to do a pioneering work or to go overseas to propagate. (CWWL, 1968, vol. 2, “Turning to the Age of the Spirit,” ch. 8)
Sending Saints Out, and Saints Coming Here to Learn
The service the Lord is leading us into is not something that we can put in writing and send out in printed form for other believers to read and understand. Printed messages cannot meet this need. There are many skills for us to learn in our service, even if we do not feel that this is our need. It is difficult to understand something that is described only in printed material. In order to receive the proper knowledge, it is best to see a practical demonstration. In secular terms, we need to send people out as “technical personnel,” who can live in a place for two to three years to help the local church there and then move to another place. The “technical personnel” go out to instruct people. The church here also needs to serve as a “factory” where believers can come to learn and to do an “internship.” In principle, this should be our future situation. We should send saints out, and saints can come here to learn.
Where We Should Go or How Many Believers Should Be
in the City We Go to Depending on the Burden
That the Brothers Receive from the Lord
I do not know where we should go or how many believers should be in the city we go to. These matters depend on the burden that the brothers receive from the Lord. We should not expect anyone to push us if we do not have a burden. Do not expect me to motivate you to carry out a work for which you have no feeling. We need to see a vision and receive a burden. Then we should devote ourselves wholeheartedly to our burden.…Where we should go depends on the burden that we receive from the Lord. (CWWL, 1958, vol. 1, “The Perfecting of the Saints and the Building Up of the House of God”, msg. 10)
Having One Life, One Body, One Way,
One Testimony, and One Recovery
The Lord has gathered co-workers from thirteen to fourteen countries together here; this is truly His doing. Before the Lord we need to bear the burden. Everyone should receive a burden from the Lord, whether it involves being sent to a certain place or remaining in a certain place. The Body is one, and we must take the way of recovery on this earth. When the brothers in Southeast Asia win a victory, the brothers in America win; and when the brothers in America win a victory, the brothers in the East also win. There is one circulation in the Body. We have one life, one Body, one way, one testimony, and one recovery. I hope that we receive this burden in the spirit. This is not an individual matter, nor a matter of my work or your work. It is a matter of the Lord’s recovery on the earth. (CWWL, 1968, vol. 2, “Turning to the Age of the Spirit,” ch. 8)
BEING PROPERLY AGGRESSIVE AND SERIOUSLY LEARNING
Many Christians confess, and even those in Christianity in America cannot deny, that the Lord has entrusted us with His truth in this age. This is an irrefutable fact. We must bear the responsibility to spread the Lord’s truth from Taiwan to every part of the world and raise up the Lord’s testimony in every place.
Hence, I encourage the young people to advance in their studies. They not only need to know the truth and life, but they also need to learn more languages, including Greek. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 2, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 1: The Vision and Definite Steps for the Practice of the New Way,” ch. 12)
These points illustrate that we must learn to be aggressive in everything. If the two hundred full-timers are aggressive to learn, even your hairstyle and clothing will show others your quality. All these things are related to your serving the Lord; hence, you must be aggressive, not casual, in everything. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 2, “The Proper Aggressiveness of the Lord’s Serving Ones,” ch. 8)
THE ONE ACCORD BEING THE MASTER KEY
TO EVERY BLESSING IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
We must realize that the practices in the Lord’s recovery are not matters for others to copy. You must have the life. To do anything you need the life. You have to see what the landmark was of the one hundred twenty in the book of Acts. The landmark that divides the Gospels and the Acts was not the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The landmark was the one accord of the one hundred twenty. If you want to experience the baptism in the Spirit, you must have the one accord. If all the members of a local church have the one accord, the baptism in the Spirit will be there. If you really want to practice the proper way to preach the gospel, you need the one accord. Without this key, no door can be opened. The one accord is the “master key to all the rooms,” the master key to every blessing in the New Testament. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 7: One Accord for the Lord’s Move,” ch. 1)
Today the Lord needs the testimony of the lampstand; He needs the churches as the lampstands in every locality. It does not matter whether our number is big or small; what matters are the brightness of the lamps and the shining of the gold. The hope of such a testimony rests on you who are the young generation. We thank the Lord that from 1948 to this day His testimony has been in Taipei for twenty-nine years. Many of you who are the working young people are the crystallization of this testimony of twenty-nine years. If you do not rise up, this testimony will not have much future or prospect. Therefore, today I hope that your eyes will be opened to see that in the Bible what the Lord desires to have ultimately is the lampstand with Christ, full of the Spirit, with the shining of the lamps and the gold, bearing the testimony for the Lord. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 3, “The Ultimate Significance of the Golden Lampstand,” ch. 2)
THE LORD RAISING UP THE CHURCHES OF HIS RECOVERY
AND MAKING THEM ALL INTO ONE NEW MAN
I absolutely believe that this conference and training are symbolic. In the past we had international conferences, but in none were all the continents represented. At this time, however, all the continents are represented; this is of the Lord. This is a symbol that henceforth the Lord wants to raise up the churches of His recovery in all the cities, towns, and localities on the earth and make them all into one new man. Please consider: Can you believe this or not? It does not matter whether or not you can believe; the Lord’s word is faithful. This is not my invention nor my creation nor my imagination; this is what the Lord has said in His Word. He has slain the enmity on the cross, creating the two in Himself into one new man. I believe that before the Lord returns this will be fulfilled. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 3, “One Body, One Spirit, and One New Man,” ch. 7)
HAVING A CLEAR FEELING AND LEADING BEFORE THE LORD
TO NO LONGER SERVE IN THE OLD WAYS
I hope that the elders would pray before the Lord and receive a burden and that the co-workers would bring this matter before the Lord. Although there is arrangement in the work, there is no organization. Therefore, I hope that every co-worker would have a clear feeling and leading before the Lord to no longer serve in the old ways. If we continue to serve according to the old ways, there will not be much profit even if our spirit is strengthened through pray-reading. New wine cannot be put into old wineskins (Matt. 9:17). New wine needs new wineskins. We should bring this matter before the Lord. (CWWL, 1968, vol. 2, “Turning to the Age of the Spirit,” ch. 7)