BUILDING THE CHURCH AS A SHAME TO SATAN
Concerning the building, we must not care for what people say. We must not care for human faces, the “faces of clay.” What people say means nothing. Today others may give us a good report, but tomorrow they may give us an evil report. We praise the Lord for the good reports and for the evil reports. Whatever people say, let them say it. They are only “faces of clay.”
Today the Lord’s interest is to have a building. We should read the Bible again, particularly the Epistles in the New Testament. It is so clear that before the Lord’s second coming, He must gain His building on this earth. If the Lord cannot accomplish this, this will be a great shame to Him. Satan will use this to challenge the Lord. He will say, “Jesus, look. For over two thousand years You have been trying to build up something, but You never did it. All the time I frustrated and damaged the building.” Do you think that the Lord Jesus will tolerate this? In 1948 the Lord re-formed the nation of Israel. A large number of Arab countries surrounded this little nation and tried to make a conspiracy against her, but they could not win. Now the Lord Jesus can say, “Little Satan, are you ready? I have been tolerating you for twenty centuries. Have you seen what I did with Israel? Now is My time. Now I am going to gain My building on the earth.”
I am so happy for the church in Los Angeles. The city of Los Angeles is famous throughout the world mainly for Hollywood. As the movie capital, it is the corruption-growing factor of the whole world. It is the darkest city on the earth, but the Lord Jesus can say, “Satan, have you seen? I have built up a church in the movie capital, even in your capital.” I am not speaking these things in a light way. Be assured; wait and see. Here and there in the leading cities of the United States and of other countries the Lord Jesus will build up something. He will challenge Satan and say, “Satan, even in your territory I am building up something.” For many centuries even Christians, the Lord’s people, have said that it is impossible to have a proper church life in a visible way, that the church must be invisible. Now, however, the Lord Jesus will tell Satan, “I will build up something very practical and visible. It is absolutely possible. I will make some of My people one. I will shut up their opinions. I will tear down their doctrinal concepts about the church, and I will build up something of Myself by My life. What can you say, Satan? Are you ready?” The Lord will do this.
THE HOUSE OF GOD BEING GOD’S SATISFACTION
When many of us came into the church life, we became “crazy.” Many of us can testify that we had been touring and sightseeing many places. None ever satisfied us until the day we came to the church, because immediately when we came in, the dispensing of Christ within us told us that we were home. About forty years ago, I was satisfied in this way. I was born and raised in formal Christianity. Later, I was with the Brethren for seven and a half years, and I received edification and the knowledge of fundamental Christianity. One day, however, I came into the church. I can never forget that; I was very excited. I have heard the young people in Los Angeles expressing this satisfaction with the following song:
We have the local churches, local churches down in our heart,
Down in our heart, down in our heart.
We have the local churches, local churches down in our heart,
Down in our heart to stay.
And we’re so happy, so very happy;
We have the local churches in our heart.
And we’re so happy, so very happy;
We have the local churches in our heart.
The reason we were satisfied when we found the church is that God was satisfied. When the naughty young Jacob ran away from home and was on the way to his uncle’s house, he was a wanderer. However, Jacob never considered that God was also a wandering God. At that time Jacob had no home, but neither did God have a home. Therefore, a dream came to Jacob (Gen. 28:10-19). God seemed to be saying to him, “Jacob, this is My house. This is not only your dream; this is My dream. I have been dreaming, and I am still dreaming of a house on this earth.”
Nothing is so precious as the house of God on this earth. When Ezekiel saw the house of God, the Lord said to him, “Son of Man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet” (43:7). Because we Christians were wrongly taught, we often dream of going to heaven. However, God is the opposite; He is always dreaming of coming to the earth. He is earth-sick. Eventually, the Lord will come, but before His coming back He must build up something. His building may not be on a large scale, but here and there in all the leading cities, on a smaller scale the Body will be fully built. The Body will be not piled up or simply gathered together, but built together. Then the Lord Jesus will say, “Satan, have you seen? What can you say? In this city I have built up something.”
(Enjoying the Riches of Christ for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ, Chapter 15, by Witness Lee)
