NOT CARING FOR THE REPROACH OF OPPOSERS
Please read Ezra, Nehemiah, Hosea, and Zechariah. Some people despised and reproached the rebuilding of Jerusalem, saying that what the returned ones were building was a small matter (Neh. 4:1-4). Is the building a small matter? Wait and see. The Lord does not care for spiritual giants; spiritual giants mean little to Him. The Lord will harvest all the wandering seekers. In the United States the crop is ripe, and the timing is right. This is the time for the Lord’s harvest. The Lord will bring in the wanderers like a flock. He will satisfy every hungry, seeking saint by means of the local churches.
Although I am working hard all the time, every night I have a good sleep. I am so happy that the Lord’s recovery is not a human doing. It is the Lord’s doing today on the earth, and it is absolutely new. The Lord’s care for His recovery can be illustrated by His care for the nation of Israel. Recently, after the Arab leaders conspired together in a conference, the Lord looked at Nasser, the Egyptian leader, and seemed to say, “You are ready to go,” and Nasser died. Even some secular newspapers said that the death of Nasser was a miracle. Since that time, there have been no great leaders among the Arab countries. Egypt gained military and economic skills from Russia, but recently Egypt cut off all its high officials who were in favor of Communism. Russia was puzzled over this, not knowing what to do. This also was the Lord’s doing. The unity of the Arab countries has been broken, and little Israel is happy. Praise the Lord, the Arab countries cannot do anything with the little nation of Israel. In a similar way, the recovery of the church life is something of the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
GAINING A BOAST FOR THE LORD AND A SHAME TO THE ENEMY
Through our experiences, many can testify that when we are for the building in our church service, we are so happy. Nothing makes us as happy as being built together with others. Even to know the Bible does not make us very happy, but when we are coordinated in the church service, we are in the third heaven. This is a confirmation from the Lord. It is the indication of where He is and the sign of what He is after. The Lord is after His building.
This building is a shame to the enemy. The little Satan is shaking; he is trembling at the building. He is afraid of nothing else. He is not afraid to see people saved, but he is afraid of the building up of the saints. There is no need to speak of eighty to a hundred being built up; if only thirty to fifty are built up in a locality, this will shake Satan. Of course, as we have seen, we need growth and transformation for the building. Nothing muddy or natural is qualified for the Lord’s work. Only the Lord Himself is qualified. All the materials for the building of the city of God must be gold, pearl, and precious stones. There must be nothing muddy or wooden. Therefore, we need transformation. Praise the Lord, we are under the process of the Lord’s transformation!
I have been in the Lord’s recovery for many years. I can tell you and the Lord can testify, I was very happy in the past because I saw the Lord’s recovery, but I have never been as happy as I am now in the United States. To be here in the United States is like a dream. We never dreamed that we would be here, but here we are. Before I came to this country, certain ones spoke poorly to me about American Christians. This disappointed me very much. But now that I am here, I am not disappointed. Day by day I am encouraged from many directions. What I have seen is absolutely different from what I heard. What I heard was black, but what I now see is white. This is marvelous, and it is the Lord’s doing. What is the Lord doing? He is doing the work of building. Preaching is for the building; the study of the Word is for the building; the inner life is for the building; the gifts are for the building; and the mission field is for the building. Everything in the Christian work must be for the building. This is the Lord’s doing. It is a shame to the enemy and a boast to the Lord.
(Enjoying the Riches of Christ for the Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ, Chapter 15, by Witness Lee)
