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Witness Lee’s life and ministry greatly glorify the Lord. He never
published his testimony in its entirety, but he did share portions of it
throughout his ministry. Witness Lee also recorded some of his personal
experiences of the Lord in the biography he wrote, Watchman Nee, A Seer
of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age. Five representative
passages of his testimony are included below:
- Saved and
Seeking
- Turned
from Knowledge to Life
- Called to
Serve
- Entering
the Work
- Sent Out
from China
My mother’s maternal grandfather was a Southern Baptist, who in turn
brought my mother into Christianity. She studied in the American Southern
Baptist mission school and as a teen-ager was baptized into the Southern
Baptist Church about 1885. I was born in 1905. She brought me in contact
with her Baptist Church in Chefoo. I studied in the Southern Baptist
Chinese elementary school and in the English mission college operated by
the American Presbyterians in Chefoo. Though I attended the Southern
Baptist Church services and Sunday school in my youth, I was not saved and
was never baptized by them. Eventually, for about five years, I ceased
attending any Christian services.
After my second sister
experienced salvation, she prayed for me and introduced me to a very fine
Chinese pastor of the Chinese Independent Church. This pastor paid me a
number of visits, encouraging me to attend his Sunday morning services.
After a long delay on my part, on the second day of the Chinese New Year
in 1925, I decided early in the morning to attend the services of that
Chinese Independent Church. After about two and a half months, they
baptized me into their membership by sprinkling. But it was not until a
short time later that I was actually saved and turned to the Lord through
the preaching of Sister Peace Wang in April of the same year. At that time
I was exceedingly ambitious as a young man for my education and my future.
But after I was saved under Sister Peace Wang’s preaching that afternoon,
while I was walking home, I stopped and prayed to God, according to Sister
Wang’s message, somewhat as follows: "God, I don't like being usurped by
Satan as Pharaoh, through the world as Egypt; I would like to serve You
and preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus through the villages at any cost
for my whole life."
From that day I loved the Bible. The word of
the Bible became sweeter than honey, as mentioned in Psalm 19:10 and in
Psalm 119:103. The Word nourished me, changed my life, and caused me to
love the Lord and follow Him. I collected as many books on the Bible as
possible.
Soon I was led to attend the Brethren Assembly (the
Benjamin Newton branch) in our town. The way they expounded the Bible and
taught biblical truths attracted me very much. From the year I was saved,
I continuously attended their meetings for seven years. I learned much
from them, especially in the matters of biblical types, prophecies, and
parables. Their teachings helped me to give up worldliness in its outward
aspect and kept me from drifting away from the Lord’s pathway. However, I
did not receive much help from them in the matters of life, the Spirit,
and the church. I received a great deal of knowledge from their teachings
but very little life.
While I was seeking to know the Bible in a
thorough way, there appeared in my hometown a Christian periodical
entitled The Morning Star. I obtained and read all available issues
of that paper. As I read, I frequently noticed articles under the by-line
of Watchman Nee. It was obvious that those articles were the most
outstanding ones on biblical truths. They were the best in the whole
paper. The more I read them, the more I enjoyed reading them. From the way
this writer addressed his readers, I imagined he was an aged Christian
teacher, perhaps over sixty years of age. Actually, he was a young man
only two years older than I. Then an issue of the paper was published with
a notice saying that Watchman Nee would publish his own paper, to be
entitled The Christian. Immediately, I subscribed to this magazine.
From 1925 through 1927 1 received all twenty-four copies. When one issue
would come, I would devour the whole thing in the same day if possible.
Besides reading The Christian, I purchased all the books he
published on the spiritual life. From these I received the greatest help
in the matter of life. I greatly appreciated and highly treasured this
magazine and these books.
At the same time, I was led to read
Watchman Nee’s article in The Lamp unto My Feet, a periodical
published by the Newton Brethren in Chefoo. This article also deeply
impressed me.
During these days I began to correspond with
Watchman, and this initiated our first contact. I wrote, asking him
questions about the Bible, all of which he answered. In one letter I asked
him for advice concerning the best book on understanding the Bible. He
answered that to his knowledge, the book which could be of most help in
knowing the Bible was John Nelson Darby’s Synopsis of the Books of the
Bible. He added that unless I read it four or five times I would not
be able to understand it well. Eight years later, while I was staying as
his guest in Shanghai, he gave me this set of books as a gift.
Brother Du and I then went to our former denomination and proposed that
they invite Watchman Nee to come speak to them. Although we had left that
denomination, we left them with a very good impression of us. They
accepted our proposal and invited Watchman to come speak. When Du
Chung-Chin was returning to Shanghai, I asked him to extend my invitation
to Watchman to come visit our town, which he did. At the same time the
Southern Baptist Seminary in Hwang-hsien, a city close to Chefoo, also
invited Watchman to speak there. So in the summer of 1932, he came to
speak at these two places. I, with others, went to meet the steamship on
which he was arriving, and when the two of us saw each other, immediately
we knew one another. We had corresponded with each other for some time,
and there was a mutual recognition. He put himself into my hands and spoke
with me of the things that were on his heart. He spoke to a large crowd
for approximately one week in the auditorium of the Chinese Independent
Church. I received much help from his messages, and following that
conference I also accompanied him to the Southern Baptist Seminary in
Hwang-hsien.
In those years the Pentecostal movement was very
strong in north China, and the seminary where Watchman spoke had come
under the influence of this movement. In those meetings I saw for the
first time the strange practices of the Pentecostals. Some were jumping,
some were laughing, and some were shouting. There were many strange
sights. After the presiding pastor, with some effort, calmed down the
meeting, Watchman gave his message. He gave an inspiring word on the
gospel of God’s love from Luke 15.
Following the first meeting,
Watchman and I walked home together. On the way I said, "What kind of way
is this to have meetings—shouting, jumping, and rolling?" He replied that
in the New Testament there are no ordinances telling us how we should
meet. His word shocked me and made me wonder whether he was agreeable with
those strange practices of the Pentecostal movement. Eventually, I
discovered that he did not agree with that kind of practice, but neither
would he insist on any outward form.
I was staying in the seminary
dormitory. One afternoon while a Pentecostal meeting was being held in
which Brother Nee was not speaking, I stayed in my room to have some time
with the Lord. I read Isaiah 44:22 and deeply sensed as I read, "Return
unto Me, for I have redeemed you," that the Lord was calling me to serve
Him. I deeply felt that the Lord gave me verse 21 as a promise: "You are
My servant; you will not be forgotten by Me." Also verse 23 seemed to be a
clear word to me concerning the goal of His calling: "Jehovah has been
glorified in Israel." The Lord’s presence was very real to me there, and I
was thoroughly anointed, refreshed with His Spirit, and filled with joy
and encouragement.
Following the meetings at the seminary, Watchman
returned to Chefoo and stayed in my home for two or three days. We had
some excellent fellowship concerning the Lord’s interest.While staying in
my home, he asked me to introduce him to Mr. Burnet, the founder of the
Newton Brethren Assembly in my hometown. Mr. Burnet was an aged man and an
excellent Bible teacher who had learned at the feet of the Brethren
teacher Benjamin Newton. At the time the three of us came together, I
realized that Mr. Burnet did not appreciate Watchman’s testimony for the
Lord. Mr. Burnet stressed the accuracy of biblical knowledge, while
Watchman emphasized the necessity of life.
My time with Watchman
during those days deeply impressed me with the sweetness, loveliness,
attractiveness, and newness of the Lord. Those days provided a new start
for me in following the Lord and caused me to have a basic turn from
knowledge to life. Because of those days with Watchman Nee, I began to
have fellowship with the Lord in a more intimate way. The Lord became more
precious to me. That experience was even greater than my experience of
salvation. Those days with Watchman affected my pathway in the Lord
throughout all the following fifty-nine years, since 1932. For eternity I
can never forget those days! What a mercy and grace it was to
me.
The day before he left, Watchman charged me to do nothing after
his departure; otherwise, others would think I was following him. I
replied, "How could I do anything? In this town no one is standing with
me."
But on the day of his departure, something happened. In the
evening a brother who was a member of the board of the denomination I had
left came to ask Watchman if he would help another believer in distress.
When I told him that Watchman was gone, we agreed to have a time of
fellowship together. It was summer, so we went down to the beach. After a
lengthy time of fellowship, about ten o'clock that night, this brother
turned to me and said, "You must baptize me tonight in the sea." After
much hesitation, I did it. Through this event a meeting started in my
home. I wrote to Watchman explaining what had taken place. He came in
April of the following year to confirm and strengthen us in the Lord’s
recovery and was a guest in my home for about ten days. He ministered to
us in our meeting hall in the evenings and spoke to the denominational
Christians in the Chinese Independent Church auditorium in the mornings.
His messages greatly edified all the attendants and helped the building up
of the church there in the Lord’s recovery.
At this time I related
how the Lord had called me to serve Him when I was with him in Hwang-hsien
the year before. To this he made no comment.
Just as I desired to spend my life preaching the gospel on the day I
was saved, so after I graduated from college, the Lord reminded me of this
same thing. But I took the excuse that I had to help my younger brother
finish his college education. After he graduated from college, I was again
reminded by the Lord that I should give up my occupation and spend my full
time preaching the gospel. At that time I knew my destiny was to give my
life to serve the Lord. However, I did not have a faith bold enough to
perform it.
After the church in my home town was raised up, I still
kept my occupation and at the same time cared for the meetings. By 1933,
just one year after the church began, the work was booming. There was a
great demand upon my time. During the three weeks between August 1 and
August 21, I struggled much with the Lord. I deeply sensed that He was
calling me to give up my occupation and serve Him by faith, but I dared
not take definite action because of the lack of faith.
Among all
the brothers in the church at that time, only my younger brother and I
made what would be considered good money in our occupations. For this
reason most of the needs of the church were taken care of secretly by the
two of us. Therefore, when the call of the Lord came to give up my
occupation, I considered all the needs. Not only would the amount being
offered to the church be lessened if I gave up my employment, but others
would have to care for me. So I was struggling with this
matter.
After three weeks of struggling with the Lord, I simply
could not go on; so in the evening of August 21, following the prayer
meeting, I explained my situation to the two leading ones and asked them
to pray for me. After eleven o'clock that night, I went to the Lord and
knelt before Him in my reading room. The Lord immediately rebuked me: "You
have an evil heart of unbelief in falling away from the living God!" (Heb.
3:12). I said in my heart, "I have a wife and three children to take care
of." The Lord responded, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need all
these things...and all these things will be added to you" (Matt. 6:32-33).
At that time I became clear that I had to spend my full time serving the
Lord. The only factor which caused me to hesitate was lack of faith. I
deeply sensed that the Lord was there. His presence was so real that I
could not deny it. But up to this point I could not pray. Then He warned
me, "If you will take My word, take it; otherwise, I am through with you."
Immediately following that word, I felt that the Lord departed. I could
pray no more; I could not even say Amen. Tears filled my eyes. Finally I
said, "All right, this is it." There was no other way. The next morning
both of the two leading ones came to me and told me that after praying
they felt it was of the Lord that I should leave my occupation and give my
full time to serving the Lord.
The next day I went to resign my
job. After resigning, I went to the post office and found a letter
awaiting me from Chang-chun, the capital of Manchuria under Japanese
occupation. Opening it, I found to my surprise the first invitation I ever
received in my entire life calling me to go to another place to speak for
the Lord. It was immediately after my resignation that I received this
letter. It seemed to be a definite confirmation of the Lord regarding my
resignation, and I was much strengthened and encouraged. I accepted the
invitation and went. Through my visit an assembly was raised up there. The
preacher, the elders, the deacons, and others of the Presbyterian
denomination, close to twenty, all turned to the Lord’s recovery and were
baptized by me in the river in one day.
I spent seventeen days in
that place. While I was there, a letter arrived from the general manager
of the company in which I had been employed, telling me that they would
not let me go but would promote me and increase my salary. The time was
late September. I began to consider; it was the policy of our company to
give the employees a bonus at the end of the year. I was tempted by the
thought that if I would work for only a little more than three months I
could still get that bonus and then quit.
Upon returning to my
hometown, a letter was awaiting me from Watchman Nee. I looked at the
envelope, noticing it was mailed from Shanghai. I opened it and read it.
It was dated August 17, exactly in the midst of the time I had been
struggling with the Lord. The letter said, "Brother Witness, as for your
future, I feel that you should serve the Lord with your full time. How do
you feel? May the Lord lead you." It is impossible to tell what strong
confirmation I received by receiving that short note from him. That little
note simply annulled the letter from my general manager. I was leaping in
my heart. I said to myself, "This matter is settled. Even if someone would
offer me the whole world, I would not take it. Tomorrow I will go to the
office and tell the general manager that I reject his good offer." The
next day I did exactly that. Then I felt that I must go to Shanghai to see
Watchman Nee and discover why he wrote me that note at that particular
time, August 17.
In Shanghai Watchman related to me the following
story. He told me that while he was returning to China from Europe his
ship was sailing on the Mediterranean Sea. One day while in his cabin,
burdened and praying for the Lord’s work in China, he felt he should write
me a note telling me that I should spend my full time serving the Lord.
When he told me that, I was fully convinced that he was a person wholly
with the Lord. Otherwise, how could I be thousands of miles away
struggling with the Lord and he be on the Mediterranean Sea receiving a
burden to write me concerning this matter at the very instant God was
dealing with me? I was persuaded that he was a man of God. He did not need
to ask me to work with him; I had already made the decision. I had to
follow him and work with him. This incident I have just related became the
basic factor in our working together for the Lord.
While in Shanghai in October 1933, Watchman received me as his guest. I
stayed with him for about four months, and during that time he did a
number of things to perfect me. Concerning some of these things, I was
clear what he was doing, and concerning others I was not clear at the
time. I spent much time with him. We were together for many hours, and I
always gave him the opportunity to speak. I would not speak, for I
realized that the more I spoke, the more foolish I was. I gave all the
time to him. He never talked with me about vain things but always took the
opportunity to speak with me mainly about four matters.
First, he
helped me know the Lord as life. Before I stayed with him, I loved the
Lord and had already obtained a great deal of doctrinal knowledge of the
Bible. But I was not clear concerning life. It was not until I spent time
with him that my eyes were opened to see the matter of life.
One
afternoon as we sat together, neither of us said a word. I was seated on a
sofa and he in a rocking chair. While he was rocking, he began to ask me,
"Brother Witness, what is patience?" I was puzzled. The question was too
simple. Surely we all know what patience is. But since this question came
from his mouth, it had to be of considerable import. I dared not answer.
While he was rocking, he continued, "What is patience?" I did not
understand what his intention with me was at that time. He had a burden,
but I did not comprehend it. Eventually I said, "Well, patience to me is a
sort of endurance. When people ill-treat you and persecute you, yet you
endure the suffering, that is patience." He shook his head and said, "No!"
Then I said, "Please tell me, what is patience?" He answered, "Patience is
Christ." I could not understand it. It sounded like a foreign language to
me. I asked, "Brother, what do you mean by saying that patience is Christ?
Would you explain it to me?" He only continued rocking. He offered not a
word of explanation. "Patience is Christ," he repeated. I was not only
puzzled but deeply bothered. We remained in that state for a long time. I
would not raise any other question, and he would say nothing else. I was
very eager to know what he meant, but after a long period with no
explanation forthcoming, I was fully disappointed. It was late in the
afternoon, and eventually I said, "Brother Nee, the time is gone; I must
return to have my dinner." He replied, "All right."
When I returned
to the guest house, I was really troubled. I went to my room and prayed,
"Lord, what does it mean that patience is Christ?" The Lord spoke to me in
those days, and my eyes were opened. I saw that Christ Himself is my
patience. Real patience is not a kind of behavior, but just Christ lived
out from me. I saw it! It was in this way that Watchman helped me so
greatly in the matter of life.
Second, during these times of
fellowship Watchman also related to me the history of the Lord’s move with
him from the year he was saved up to that day. I was not fully in the
church, nor was I in the work in those first ten years of the Lord’s
recovery; so he used hour after hour to convey the things to me concerning
the Lord’s move in those years, not in a brief way but in full detail. At
the time I did not understand his reason for relating those things to me,
but later I knew. He purposed to perfect me and build me up. He was laying
a good foundation.
Third, he instructed me in matters concerning
church history from the first century to the present. He recounted all the
main things which occurred concerning the church, and the way he did it
was deeply significant. He did it from the aspect of the Lord’s recovery
and with the goal of the Lord’s recovery in view.
Fourth, he also
helped me grasp the living way to know the Bible. I had been helped by the
Brethren to know the Bible in the way of letters, but he helped me know
the Bible in the way of life. In all our conversations together, I
received much help from him in these four matters. A good foundation was
laid for my work, even up until the present time, in the matters of life,
the church, and the work.
One afternoon while I was studying, he
came to my room and threw two sets of used books on my bed. He said, "Here
are some books for you," and immediately left. One group of books was John
Nelson Darby’s five-volume Synopsis of the Books of the Bible, and
the other group was a four-volume set of Henry Alford’s New Testament
for English Readers. I realized that his purpose in giving me these
two sets of books was to perfect me in knowing the Word of God.
In
addition, he also put me into a position where I could participate in the
work and minister in the local church in Shanghai. This afforded me an
excellent opportunity to learn how to serve the Lord. Before putting me
into such a situation, however, he tested me. His way of testing was
secret. In the beginning I did not know what he was doing; I did not
realize that I was being tested. In the previous years while we were
corresponding, he did not really know me. But when we stayed together for
a longer period of time, he was observing and secretly putting me to the
test. First, immediately after arriving in Shanghai, I was asked to speak
in the general Sunday morning meeting. This caught me by surprise, but I
gave a rather long message on the pathway to glory from Matthew
13:53—17:8.
At that time the church in Shanghai met in two halls.
The main hall was hall one while hall two was somewhat secondary. Not long
after I arrived in Shanghai, the brothers arranged for me to hold a
conference in hall two. I believe that this was according to Watchman’s
instructions in order to test me a little. I spoke every night and was
exposed to all. I was on the test for about a week. Watchman was not
there, but whatever I said found its way to him. I must have passed the
test for I was later charged to speak regularly in the first
hall.
One day Watchman brought me a bundle of letters from various
places. Various persons had written him asking questions about the church,
church practice, life, and about the interpretation of the Bible. He said,
"Witness, I am too busy. I do not have time to devote to all these things.
Would you reply to these letters and answer all their questions for me?" I
never imagined that this could be a test, but it was. I said to him,
"There are probably some questions to which I will not know the answer."
He replied, "That does not matter; if you have questions, just ask me." By
the Lord’s mercy I answered all of the letters. The longest answer I wrote
was on sects and the structure of the church. Watchman appreciated it very
much and published it in the fourth and fifth issues of Collection of
Newsletters. Watchman’s third overcomer conference was held in
Shanghai in January 1934. Many co-workers and saints attended the
conference from different places throughout the country. It started on a
Monday. Nearly all the outsiders arrived on the Lord’s Day before the
conference began. On the morning of the Lord’s Day, while we were all
waiting for Watchman to come and speak, a short note was delivered to me
from him asking me to speak in that meeting. Both I and the attendants
were all surprised that he did not show up in that meeting. But I spoke in
the meeting according to his request and acquired some new
experience.
During that ten-day conference, I received much help
from his messages. They were indeed marvelous, marking a real turn in both
my Christian life and in my church life. My eyes were opened to see Christ
in His preeminence in all things according to God’s eternal plan. I took
brief notes on all his messages, which he eventually published in the
March and April issues of The Present Testimony in 1934.
One
day before the conference, we were having fellowship together. At that
time he asked me how I daily studied the Bible. I replied that I was in
Acts and Colossians. Immediately he said that these two books were a very
good match. At first I did not understand what he meant, but eventually I
was helped to see that Acts reveals to us how Christ ascended to the
heavens and was made both Lord and Christ (2:36), whereas Colossians
reveals that Christ should have the preeminence in all things and should
be all and in all in God’s economy (1:18; 3:11). There was never another
person in my entire Christian life who helped me know the Scriptures in
such a profound and living way, especially regarding the revelation of
Christ with the church.
On one occasion the first hall in Shanghai
arranged to hold a gospel meeting, but no one knew who the speaker would
be. Many thought that Watchman would speak. I was feeling quite relaxed
and prepared to hear a message from him. I hoped also to learn more
concerning how to preach the gospel. About an hour before the meeting,
there was a knock at my door, and a note was passed on to me. It said,
"Brother Witness, you give the message on the gospel tonight." It shocked
me! What should I do? At any rate, I had to speak.
That night I
spoke from John 16 concerning the Spirit convicting the world of sin, of
righteousness, and of judgment. I pressed the people with the matter of
sin because we were born of Adam, of righteousness because we can believe
in Christ, and of judgment because we follow Satan. I told the people that
here are three persons—Adam, Christ, and Satan. We were all born sinners
in Adam, but now God has offered us the opportunity to get into Christ to
be justified by taking Him as our righteousness. By believing in Christ we
are transferred out of Adam into Christ. However, if we do not believe in
Christ, we will remain sinful in Adam, and one day we will be together
with Satan sharing God’s judgment upon him. As I delivered this message, I
could not see Watchman in the meeting. I did not know where he was, and no
one told me where he was. But after a period of time had elapsed, one day
as we were walking down the street, he suddenly turned to me and said,
"Brother Witness, not many in this country can give a message from John 16
on the three points of sin, righteousness, and judgment and on Adam,
Christ, and Satan as you did. I encourage you to go on." When I heard
this, I said to myself, "How did he know this?"
Eventually, I
discovered that while I was speaking he was standing behind the door
listening to my word. He heard everything. By that time I was aware that
he was continually testing me.
In 1934, after I had been in
Shanghai for about four months, Watchman came to see me one day. He said,
"Brother Witness, we the co-workers here all feel that you should move
your family to Shanghai and work together with us. Bring this matter to
the Lord, and see how He will lead you." I brought the matter to the Lord,
and at this time my eyes were opened to see a very significant matter. I
saw from the book of Acts that there was only one flow, one current on the
earth; it began from the throne of grace and came down to Jerusalem. From
Jerusalem it took its course through Samaria, traveling to the north to
Antioch; then from Antioch it turned westward to Asia Minor and to Europe.
I saw that in the entire book of Acts there was only one current of the
Lord’s work on this earth and that there was no record of the work of
anyone who was not in the current. When Barnabas separated from Paul and
began another current, the account of his work in Acts terminated (Acts
15:36-41). The later co-workers, such as Timothy and Apollos, after being
raised up by the Lord for His work, all were merged into one flow of the
Lord’s move, though they did not need to go to Jerusalem for this purpose
(Acts 16:1-3; 18:24-28). The Lord revealed to me that the flow of His work
in China must be one. Since it had begun from Shanghai, I should not go to
the north and keep another flow. If the Lord was going to do something in
the north, I must first enter into the flow in Shanghai; then eventually
the flow in Shanghai would travel to the north. Although a work was
already started in the north, I became crystal clear concerning the one
flow. With this vision in view, I returned to the north following
Watchman’s conference, stayed for awhile, and then returned to Shanghai to
stay and work with him. Hence, there was one flow and one current of the
Lord’s work in China.
In November 1948, Brother Nee called an urgent conference of all the
co-workers in Shanghai to pray, fellowship, and seek clear guidance
concerning whether we should stay or leave China. At that time I was in
Hangchow holding a migration conference with the church there. On the last
day of the conference, I received a cable from Brother Nee asking me to
return immediately to Shanghai. Upon arriving in Shanghai, I found him
eagerly waiting to hold the meetings. In the opening meeting he did not
first have fellowship with us; rather, he simply announced that since
everyone knew the political situation, Brother Lee must leave the country.
He said, "Regardless of whether he likes it or not, he must be asked to go
abroad." It was a serious time. Hardly anyone said a word. There was
prayer, and Watchman closed with these words: "Let us bring this matter to
the Lord and see how the Lord will lead us." That was the
decision.
Because of the change in the political situation in
northern China, Brother Nee fellowshipped with me that Chang Wu-cheng, Sen
Feng-lu, and Liu Hsiao-liang in Tsingtao should migrate with their
families to Taiwan for the spread of the Lord’s recovery. The two of us
sent these brothers a cable to that effect.
Following the
co-workers’ conference, Watchman still charged me to stay in Shanghai to
oversee the building of the new meeting hall. In February of the following
year, in the opening of the second co-workers’ conference, concerning the
matter of staying or leaving, Watchman repeated his announcement of the
previous conference to the effect that I must leave the country. This
time, after some prayer, he announced to all the rest that his feeling was
that he and they must stay and prepare themselves to sacrifice everything
for the Lord’s work.
Following the meeting, while dinner was being
prepared, Watchman and I took a walk. I asked, "Brother, why have you
decided that I must leave the country, while you and all the rest stay and
sacrifice everything for the Lord’s work? Does this mean that you think I
am not worthy?" He explained, "Brother, you must realize that although in
this desperate situation we trust in the Lord, it is possible that the
enemy will one day wipe us out. If this happens, you will be out of China,
and we will still have something left. So you must go." I told him, "If
this is the case, I will take your word and go." Then he asked whether I
would go to Hong Kong or Taiwan. I answered, "I have no idea; I haven't
given it a thought. Whatever you say, I will do." That was all.
At
this time Watchman and I wrote a letter to Brothers Chao Ching-hwai, Chang
Wu-cheng, Sen Feng-lu, Liu Hsiao-liang, and Chang Yu-lan in Taipei,
appointing them as elders of the church there for its full
establishment.
After this I remained on in Shanghai, attempting to
finish the building of the new hall, and Watchman went to Foochow to carry
out his second training.
Two months later, I received a cable from
Watchman at his training center, saying that I must turn over all
responsibilities in Shanghai to the local leading ones and come to him
immediately. This I did. After I arrived in Foochow and stayed in his
training center for a short time, the situation required me to go to
Taiwan. This took place in May 1949.
Following his second training,
Watchman assigned three of his trainees, one brother and two sisters, to
come to Taiwan to help me in the Lord’s work. The brother came to Taiwan
and, after investigating the situation there, dropped Brother Nee’s
assignment. The two sisters, however, came and worked in Taiwan according
to Brother Nee’s intention. Watchman wrote me a long letter of
recommendation regarding them, especially concerning the change in their
disposition.
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