THE FOURTH PART: THE PATHWAY OF THE LORD’S RECOVERY

The Course of the Church
Message Eight—The Advance of the Lord’s Recovery in the United States

Scripture Reading: Deut. 8:7-9; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:18

I. At the end of 1961, the Lord brought me to the United States; near the end of 1962 I received the inner registration from the Lord that He wanted me to bear some responsibility for His recovery in the United States; hence, we began the work in the United States at the end of 1962.

II. The work in the United States began in the Spirit; therefore, after a short period of time there were obvious results related to exercising the spirit:

A. What we were unable to do in Taiwan in 1960 and 1961, we achieved in the United States; in the United States we emphasized the Spirit more than the truth; hence, there was the supply of life that brought in the blessing.

B. When I came to the United States, my burden was with three main items—Deut. 8:7-9; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:18:

1. The first item was the all-inclusive Christ; the first conference of the Lord’s recovery in the United States was on the all-inclusive Christ, based upon three verses from Deuteronomy—Deut. 8:7-9.

2. Eventually, I told people that this all-inclusive Christ is today the life-giving Spirit—1 Cor. 15:45b.

3. The second item with which I had a heavy burden to tell God’s elect was the truth concerning the human spirit; the third item was transformation—2 Cor. 3:18.

C. I spoke on the all-inclusive Christ during the last seven days of 1962; the next day, January 1 of 1963, I was brought by a brother to Whittier to share with a group of seeking ones there; my burden was to share the truth and experience of transformation.

D. I had this kind of experience during the Erie conference in 1969; in one meeting I stood up to speak, but was not clear concerning the content of the message; I stood by faith, exercising my spirit:

1. Immediately, the matter of the seven Spirits in the book of Revelation came forth; everyone who heard that message can testify that it was new, fresh, powerful, and living; that was the first day the seven-fold, intensified Spirit came forth.

2. After that, I returned to Los Angeles to hold the 1969 summer conference on that very subject; in the Lord’s recovery in this country that summer was crucial and witnessed a major turn.

E. In 1970 we spontaneously began to migrate; that year there was an international conference in Los Angeles with an attendance of twelve hundred; at that time there were about fifteen hundred people in the Lord’s recovery in the United States; after the migrations began, we increased to over six thousand in two years, that is, by the end of 1972.

F. While we strengthened the migration in 1973 and focused on the propagation of the work, we unconsciously neglected and lost the Spirit; hence, the migrations became a form; most of what we did in our first ten years in the United States was in the Spirit, but what we did in the four years after 1972 became a form:

1. We had less Spirit and more “picture”; because we cared for the propagation of the work, we did not hold to the ground in the Spirit; we wanted to find good places and campuses to propagate the work by gaining people for the Lord.

2. This, however, opened a door to Satan and let some ambitious ones in sheep’s clothing sneak in; although we knew their true condition, we tolerated them for four years because we had unconsciously turned from the Spirit to the propagation of the work; we cared too much for the propagation.

G. In the beginning of 1978, less than three months after returning to the United States from a conference in Taipei, I discovered that someone was rebelling; initially, I discussed the matter only with my wife and said nothing to others, not even to the co-workers or the elders; the two of us prayed earnestly because the rebellious one had deceived everyone:

1. During our prayer I realized my mistake of not standing firm in the Spirit and not holding firm to life; by turning to the work and to propagation, I had opened a back door for the enemy; I therefore resolved to do nothing but pray.

2. Because some in sheep’s clothing had sneaked in while we were neglecting the Spirit and life, we could not use human efforts to cause them to leave; rather, we had to stand in life; therefore, I began to live in the spirit and in life.

H. In March, during a conference in Anaheim, I spoke concerning three keys in Matthew 16; from that point, the Lord began to take His recovery back from the hand of those who were plotting a rebellion:

1. I received an invitation to hold a conference on the East Coast during the spring, and I went as planned; I did not know that some rebellious ones were there when I accepted the invitation; by the time I went, the situation was clear; however, while I was there, I gave messages only on life; I did not care for the outward things; I only cared for the matters of life.

2. After I returned to Anaheim, there was a conference in the summer that was followed by a training on Ephesians; that training was a great help; the messages on life restored the sense and the sentiment of the saints, turning us from work and propagation back to the Spirit and life; the saints were also clear that certain ones were taking the lead to rebel.

3. Because I had emphasized the Spirit, not outward matters, with the saints, they also exercised to live in the spirit; this is how the rebellious ones were set aside.

4. On August 6 of that year the rebellious ones disrupted the bread-breaking meeting in the church in Anaheim.

5. The next morning three responsible brothers came to see me concerning a rebellious one and said, “Brother Lee, we can no longer tolerate him. He cannot remain in the eldership. We want to have an open talk with him”; because they were firm, I said, “Brothers, since you have come to fellowship with me, allow me to say something. I feel that it is best for us not to do anything at present. You are the elders; I am not, so perhaps my feeling does not match yours. But according to my observation, we should not do anything. We should rather let him be.”

6. The brothers eventually agreed and also felt it was best not to do anything; shortly afterward this rebellious one withdrew.

I. Then in 1980 a Chinese-speaking meeting was begun in Anaheim; in 1983 I began to feel led of the Lord that we should not miss the chance to work on these Chinese students on their campuses and also on the Chinese community:

1. Beginning in 1983, we felt that we could not go on any further without paying adequate attention to this part of the work; otherwise, we would suffer much; within the past year, we have had two Chinese-speaking conferences with about eleven hundred attendants for the first conference and twelve hundred to thirteen hundred attendants for the second conference.

2. Within one year’s time, from 1983 to 1984, twenty-nine Chinese-speaking meetings have been raised up in the local churches; the number of people in these Chinese-speaking meetings is also increasing; a number of the churches can testify how the Lord has blessed this and how this has become a help to the church in their locality.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

After October 1961 I went from Taipei to Manila and then to the United States. I remained in the United States for about a year. In October 1962 the brothers in Taipei wrote to me and asked me to return to Taipei for a conference. However, I was clear within that I should accept the burden to remain in the United States and not return to Taipei. So I cabled the brothers and told them that I could not return to Taipei. Hence, we began the work in the United States at the end of 1962.

The work in the United States began in the Spirit. Therefore, after a short period of time there were obvious results related to exercising the spirit. What we were unable to do in Taiwan in 1960 and 1961, we achieved in the United States. In the United States we emphasized the Spirit more than the truth. Hence, there was the supply of life that brought in the blessing. In 1970 we spontaneously began to migrate. That year there was an international conference in Los Angeles with an attendance of twelve hundred. At that time there were about fifteen hundred people in the Lord’s recovery in the United States. After the migrations began, we increased to over six thousand in two years, that is, by the end of 1972.

GIVING THE ENEMY THE GROUND
BY NEGLECTING THE SPIRIT

While we strengthened the migration in 1973 and focused on the propagation of the work, we unconsciously neglected and lost the Spirit. Hence, the migrations became a form. Most of what we did in our first ten years in the United States was in the Spirit, but what we did in the four years after 1972 became a form. We had less Spirit and more “picture.” Because we cared for the propagation of the work, we did not hold to the ground in the Spirit; we wanted to find good places and campuses to propagate the work by gaining people for the Lord. This, however, opened a door to Satan and let some ambitious ones in sheep’s clothing sneak in. Although we knew their true condition, we tolerated them for four years because we had unconsciously turned from the Spirit to the propagation of the work; we cared too much for the propagation.

In the beginning of 1978, less than three months after returning to the United States from a conference in Taipei, I discovered that someone was rebelling. Initially, I discussed the matter only with my wife and said nothing to others, not even to the co-workers or the elders. The two of us prayed earnestly because the rebellious one had deceived everyone. During our prayer I realized my mistake of not standing firm in the Spirit and not holding firm to life. By turning to the work and to propagation, I had opened a back door for the enemy. I therefore resolved to do nothing but pray. Because some in sheep’s clothing had sneaked in while we were neglecting the Spirit and life, we could not use human efforts to cause them to leave; rather, we had to stand in life. Therefore, I began to live in the spirit and in life.

In March, during a conference in Anaheim, I spoke concerning three keys in Matthew 16. From that point, the Lord began to take His recovery back from the hand of those who were plotting a rebellion. I received an invitation to hold a conference on the East Coast during the spring, and I went as planned. I did not know that some rebellious ones were there when I accepted the invitation. By the time I went, the situation was clear. However, while I was there, I gave messages only on life. I did not care for the outward things; I only cared for the matters of life.

BEING RESTORED TO THE SPIRIT AND LIFE

After I returned to Anaheim, there was a conference in the summer that was followed by a training on Ephesians. That training was a great help. The messages on life restored the sense and the sentiment of the saints, turning us from work and propagation back to the Spirit and life. The saints were also clear that certain ones were taking the lead to rebel. Because I had emphasized the Spirit, not outward matters, with the saints, they also exercised to live in the spirit. This is how the rebellious ones were set aside.

After the training on Ephesians, the saints lost interest in the rebellious ones. When the rebellious ones saw that they could do nothing, they no longer wanted to stay.

On August 6 of that year the rebellious ones disrupted the bread-breaking meeting in the church in Anaheim. The next morning three responsible brothers came to see me concerning a rebellious one and said, “Brother Lee, we can no longer tolerate him. He cannot remain in the eldership. We want to have an open talk with him.” Because they were firm, I said, “Brothers, since you have come to fellowship with me, allow me to say something. I feel that it is best for us not to do anything at present. You are the elders; I am not, so perhaps my feeling does not match yours. But according to my observation, we should not do anything. We should rather let him be.” The brothers eventually agreed and also felt it was best not to do anything. Shortly afterward this rebellious one withdrew.

The messages given during the training on Ephesians had such an effect because they were on life. The work of the rebellious ones on the East Coast also reached its peak, and the saints were waiting to hear what I would say. But I did not care about outward matters; I only gave messages on life and focused on the Spirit. As a result, the saints were helped and strengthened. Those messages opened our eyes and made us clear. As a result, the rebellious ones were set aside and could do nothing. (Praying Unceasingly and Living in the Spirit, msg. 2)

THE IMMIGRATION FACTOR

Since 1983 we have felt led of the Lord to take care of the Chinese-speaking work in the United States and in Canada. When I first came to the United States, I had a clear feeling that I should not spend much time with the Chinese-speaking work in order to concentrate the work for the recovery among the English-speaking saints. We all have seen that this work was very much under the Lord’s blessing. In 1967, though, the United States immigration law was renewed, giving a quota of twenty thousand immigrants to the Chinese people yearly. This means that from 1967 until today, twenty thousand Chinese people have come to the United States every year. By 1982, approximately three hundred thousand Chinese people had come to the United States. Beginning in 1982, the United States government added another twenty thousand to the quota of Chinese immigrants. This was mainly due to the United States’ relationship with Red China. Therefore, from 1982 forty thousand Chinese immigrants have been coming to the United States every year.

Some of these Chinese immigrants are students who are studying to attain a high degree. Many of these immigrants already have their master’s degree or their Ph.D. and they all have a high rank in their jobs. Other immigrants include the direct relatives of these college graduates such as parents, wives, brothers, or sisters. Still other immigrants are rich people who could afford to make some investment in the United States. I have considered that this situation is an answer of the Lord to the prayers of so many dear saints, including those good missionaries who went to China. Their prayers for the great race of China are now being answered. China was closed to the gospel for many, many years. So much prayer has been offered to the Lord by His faithful saints that today on this earth, the Chinese are easy to bring to the Lord. This is especially true in the educational circles—the universities, including the graduate schools. This is true not only in one country, but everywhere on this earth. Even the rich Chinese people are easy to bring to the Lord.

I have been observing the situation among the Chinese-speaking people since I came to the United States. Immediately after the new immigration law was put into force in 1967, I noticed something among the Chinese-speaking citizens or residents in this country. However, I still did not have a clear view that I would be spending some time to take care of this part of the work. Then in 1980 a Chinese-speaking meeting was begun in Anaheim. In 1983 I began to feel led of the Lord that we should not miss the chance to work on these Chinese students on their campuses and also on the Chinese community.

OUR COOPERATION IN THE WORK

Throughout the years, we have not done much work among the Chinese-speaking people. Due to this, we have lost a number of them. Among these Chinese immigrants over the years, a good number were saints who were among us in Taiwan and in Hong Kong. When they came to this country, they got scattered. Because we did not do much to take care of them, they were lost. All the young ones among them, who were studying in the schools, became very prevailing factors among the scattered Chinese Christian groups. We must realize that nearly everywhere in the United States on the campuses there are Chinese students and Chinese Christian fellowships which are in the Chinese language. Wherever there are a number of Chinese on a certain campus, there is a Chinese Christian fellowship. In these fellowships many of the speaking ones and leading ones are products of the churches in Taiwan and of the church in Hong Kong. This means they went out from us. A few of these are dissenting, but most of them are still for the Lord’s recovery.

This situation led us to reconsider our attitude. Beginning in 1983, we felt that we could not go on any further without paying adequate attention to this part of the work. Otherwise, we would suffer much. Within the past year, we have had two Chinese-speaking conferences with about eleven hundred attendants for the first conference and twelve hundred to thirteen hundred attendants for the second conference. Within one year’s time, from 1983 to 1984, twenty-nine Chinese-speaking meetings have been raised up in the local churches. The number of people in these Chinese-speaking meetings is also increasing. A number of the churches can testify how the Lord has blessed this and how this has become a help to the church in their locality.

I feel that our cooperation with the Lord in this work is very crucial. Of course, this is not a direct work with the English-speaking people. However, I believe that since most of the young generation of these Chinese immigrants are graduates with master’s degrees and Ph.D. degrees, when they get saved, gained by the Lord, and trained with the New Testament economy, the truth of the recovery will be channeled through them to the English-speaking people. The present situation among us is that the Chinese-speaking people, the community at large and the students, are very open to the gospel. Also, a number of Chinese Christian fellowships use our materials and have our books. We have to follow the Lord’s sovereign arrangement. This situation is something sovereign of the Lord. This does not mean, however, that we are going to establish Chinese churches. This means that we are establishing the local churches with all races.

THE LORD’S SOVEREIGNTY

The Lord is really sovereign in the world situation. Due to the political change in mainland China, a number of Chinese fled to Taiwan and we were among them. The Lord did a marvelous work on that island. Within ten years the Lord gained about fifty thousand. The reason why we could have over one thousand Chinese-speaking saints in a conference is because of this source of Taiwan. The fact that the number of Chinese immigrants to the United States has been increased from twenty-thousand to forty-thousand is another factor for the Lord’s move. This is all sovereign of the Lord. Many Chinese come yearly to the United States and among these are many of the dear saints. The Lord has sovereignly prepared these ones for coming to the United States. I believe that one by one they all will become a strengthening to the Lord’s recovery in the United States. Again, this is something really sovereign of the Lord. (Elders’ Training, Book 04: Other Crucial Matters Concerning the Practice of the Lord’s Recovery, ch. 10)