Thou camest, not Thyself to please;
5. To faint, to grieve, to die for me! Thou camest, not Thyself to please; And, dear as earthly comforts be, Shall I not love Thee more than these?
(Hymns, #462) The first stanza of the above hymn consists of a series of questions. The writer is speaking to himself. He is fellowshipping with his own heart. This musing results in his awareness of his straying away to outward things. The word still in stanza 3 is very good. In stanza 1 there is a yearning for consecration; in stanza 3 the prayer is that the consecration would not change. Consecration is not a once-forall thing; it should be something continuous. The writer yearns for a continual consecration. The emphasis in this stanza is the word still. Stanza 4 is a reflection on the Lord's forsaking of "every pure delight." There are many delights which are not pure, but the delight that the Lord enjoyed was pure; no sin whatsoever was found in this delight. Immediately after this the word to is used four times. This is a very unusual hymn. In the first two lines of stanza 4, the Lord leaves something behind, while in the third and fourth line, He takes something up. Here we can feel that the Lord's Spirit has brought the writer to a new height. On the one side, there is the "pure delight." On the other side, there are the "toilsome day" and the "homeless night." Stanza 4 describes the Lord's work, but this description is still somewhat objective. Stanza 5 brings a subjective tone to the hymn: "for me!" He came for me! The word to appears here three times, and they are somewhat different from
the previous stanza. The Lord not only grieved and fainted for us, but died for us. The Lord's goal was to accomplish God's work of redemption for us; He did not come to please Himself. Although "earthly comforts" are hard to give up, the Lord's love enables us to overcome them. The hymn concludes with a question. This song describes a person who was once very prosperous and successful in the world, but who forsook everything for the Lord. We can sense the height that his spirit has soared. In 1924 I chose this hymn for the brothers and sisters to sing in the meeting. They sang well with spirit and with much feeling; their voices were loud. While they were singing, I was meditating on the song. It is sometimes difficult to meditate on some hymns if they are sung too loudly. Some hymns which are suitable for meditation cannot be sung loudly at all. Between 1923 and 1924, a
few of us young people were zealous for the Lord. One couple among us considered quitting their jobs to work full-time for the Lord. They felt unsure about their future. While they sat quietly this way, they began to sing this hymn. As they sang they made the decision to serve the Lord. This hymn has a grand feeling to it, yet it is not overbearing. Some people are carried away by the grand feeling of a song, yet they do not touch the tender spirit behind the song. When this couple sang this song, they touched the tender feeling behind it. If we feel that our future is unsure, we can try to sing this song and offer ourselves once more to God.
A SIGN BEFORE THE LORD'S SECOND COMING— ACCUMULATION OF WEALTH James 5 begins with the words come now. This is an exclamation that is rarely used in the New Testament. When the apostle James came to this point, he uttered a sigh. He even wrote down his sigh, because he considered what followed to be totally wrong. It was something that should not happen at all. He lamented, "You rich, weep, howling over your miseries." Weeping is soft crying, while howling is loud wailing. All the rich men cry in a loud or soft voice because "miseries...are coming upon you!" They were about to go through God's ordained sufferings. They should not rejoice but should sorrow. What has happened in recent days should not be surprising to Christians at all. Before the Lord's imminent coming, there will be clear signs. During this time, men will accumulate wealth in an unprecedented way. In other words, no other age will see as much wealth as the age immediately preceding the Lord's return. In the end time, the world will pay much attention to the accumulation of wealth. When men talked about wealth just a half century to a century ago, they meant something different from what is implied today. In every age there were rich men, but there has never been a time when there were so many rich men. In the past rich men were called millionaires. Now some people make U.S. $1,300 every second. In less than twenty minutes, they are millionaires. The rich of the past cannot be called rich when compared to the rich of this age. OVER-ACCUMULATION BEING THE GROUND OF GOD'S JUDGMENT Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:8 that we should be content with having food and covering. Today men not only have food and covering; they have many more things. They have much gold and silver in the bank. This is the reason James sighed that the garments of the rich have become moth-eaten, and their gold and
silver have rusted. This is more than a matter of just having food and covering. It is a matter of unused garments being eaten up by moths. In other words, it is not a matter of exhorting men to be content with their covering. They have too many garments, and they have no more use for them. Since these garments are useless, they are eaten up by moths. Today the world is accumulating wealth at a maddening pace. The number of garments some have accumulated could last for two thousand years. Many of them are just idly laying around. These ones also accumulate much gold and silver. This gold and silver have become so useless that they have become corrupted and rusted. James pointed out that when garments are moth-eaten and gold and silver have rusted, it is time for judgment. This is the ground for God's judgment on men. Please remember that all men will stand before the judgment seat of God. Some will defend their accumulation, but no matter what they say, God will point His finger at the holes in their garments and the rust on their gold and silver and ask, "Why did you accumulate so much when you had no need?" The rust of the gold and silver will not only be a testimony against them, but it will eat their flesh like fire. This probably refers to the burning of the lake of fire. This fire will scorch them and burn away their flesh; it will try them. As a man accumulates more, he will have more trouble, he will be more bound, and he will fall into more sin. Areas under Communist rule have learned the truth of James 5. Let me relate a story to you. A brother from the countryside had a set of redwood furniture. He was moved in his spirit to sell it but was unwilling to give it up. Later his village experienced a change, and he decided to give the furniture away, but nobody wanted it. He was so afraid of being purged by the Communists that eventually he ran away to Shanghai. The book of James was written nineteen hundred years ago. Yet it speaks of the worker-capitalist dispute. It says that problems arise because the rich are too rich, and the workers are exploited. It is unfortunate that the Marxists do not pay attention to the word of the Bible which precedes them by eighteen hundred years. The word withheld means to keep back the wages of the workers. Everyone who studies Marxism knows that this is the exploitation of workers, the so-called "surplus value" of the workers. Karl Marx lived in the last century. He wrote a book called Das Kapital in which he talked about the capitalists investing money in factories and hiring workers to manufacture goods. Does the profit belong to the capitalists or to the workers? I have no interest in discussing who is right and who is wrong. My interest lies in his claim of the usurpation of the
workers' surplus value. The profit is earned through the labor of the workers, yet the employer takes it into his own pocket. While a worker receives a dollar, he actually may be making two dollars, with one of the dollars being retained by the employer. James said that the wages retained by the employer cry out and reach "the ears of the Lord of hosts." Today the changes in China are under God's sovereign hand. It is hard to believe that one-fifth of the inhabitants of this earth are undergoing such a change without God's intervention. I believe God's judgment is in it.
GIVEN TO PLEASURE, NOURISHING ONESELF, AND GETTING READY FOR GOD'S JUDGMENT In verse 5 James rebuked the rich for accumulating material goods and gold and silver. Let me say a word of truth: There has never been a time when the world has had as many rich men as we have today. There has never been a time when so much surplus value was taken from workers. There is an abundance of rich men and wealth because many wages are being retained. This is not all. The luxury these rich men enjoy is unprecedented. In the Middle Ages a few noblemen enjoyed some privileges. In the last one or two dynasties in China, only one or two families were able to have the kind of luxury these rich men enjoy today. Throughout history, there has never been a time when there were as many rich men as today. There has never been a time when there were as many material goods and material enjoyment. Not only is there a multiplication of material enjoyment, but there is a multiplication of lustful indulgence. We only need to partially open our eyes to see what I mean. There is an abundance of rich men, riches, and exploited wages of workers. This is the characteristic of this age. Once a brother told me that a certain man always wears a platinum ring, and the ring is always new because he discards and replaces it when it becomes rusty. This is just like what the Bible speaks of in regard to the rusting of gold and silver. Once it rusts, the owner discards it. For such hedonists and seekers of pleasure, anything that becomes rusty is no longer an enjoyment to them. Some people have hoarded enough goods to last them two thousand years. No wonder many rich men seek longevity and everlasting life after reaching middle age. They know that they cannot enjoy all their wealth; they cannot use up all their riches even if they live another two thousand years. They seek longevity so that they can enjoy more.
The second part of verse 5 says, "You have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter." This means that men are like animals before going to the slaughter house—they are well fed and nourished. Once a sister brought three chickens from her village for a brother in Foochow. The brother felt that the chickens were not fat enough. He was reluctant to kill them, so he kept them for a few more days until they became fat. Then he killed them and ate them. This is James's meaning. Those who are accumulating riches and given to enjoyment are nourishing their hearts. Their unprecedented hedonism and license are a kind of fattening of themselves. When the fattening is complete, God will come in to judge them. He will slaughter them, and they will perish in that day. THE PROPER CHRISTIAN WAY— FORSAKING ALL FOR VOLUNTARY POVERTY A Christian should not set his hope on any change in the government. His hope lies in his own deliverance from the bondage of mammon. From the first chapter of James to the end of the fifth chapter, there is no justification for riches and wealth. James 2:5 speaks of the poor in the church being rich in faith, and chapter five speaks of the end of rich men. The current of the age lures men to become rich and to accumulate material goods, but James says that Christians should be long-suffering (5:7). This means they should not try to change their poverty. They should not follow the spirit of the age. The spirit of the age is to compete for riches. Christians, however, should not try to change or alter their poor condition. Only when the Lord comes back again, will all of the problems be solved. I hope that the brothers and sisters in Hong Kong will not be three or five years behind those in inland China in spiritual growth and life. Today the Holy Spirit is calling; He is calling you to forsake everything to follow the Lord. In the Communist regions, not only does the Lord move and the Holy Spirit call you to forsake everything, but the environment forces you to forsake everything. This world is like fire; you have to run away from it. This world is also like a flesheater; it will not allow you to fatten yourself. Today in Hong Kong, this is more than a matter of the Lord's calling. I hope that the brothers and sisters will seize the opportunity, answer the gracious calling of the Lord's Spirit, and serve Him together as one Body. When I returned to Shanghai from Foochow, many brothers and sisters came to me in tears and said, "Had I listened to your word, the brothers and sisters as well as the church would have had a chance to enjoy my consecration. I do not
feel sorry because I have lost my possessions. My greatest sorrow is seeing the things disappear without giving the brothers, the sisters, and the church a chance to enjoy them. The poor did not get them, and neither did the gospel." Letters from many places reported the same thing to me. If we do not seize the opportunity to answer the Spirit's call, one day we will find that our greatest sorrow is the Lord not gaining anything, the church not gaining anything, and the poor not gaining anything. James 5 is a sign of the end times. It depicts things that will happen before the Lord comes back. James told us to be prepared. We should be aware of these things. The entire New Testament, from Matthew to Revelation, tells us that the church should befriend the poor and stand against the rich. It says that the poor have faith, that the gospel is preached to them, and that God answers the prayer of the poor. Today, if we want to be Christians at all, we should not prepare ourselves to be rich, nor should we dream of becoming rich. Forsaking everything here in Hong Kong is different from forsaking everything under the Communist rule. We are anticipating James's words. Riches will burn a person like fire; they will consume his flesh. We cannot embrace our riches and be burned by them; we cannot allow them to eat up our flesh. On the one hand, this is a consecration. On the other hand, it is a kind of running away. We should get rid of our riches while they are still in our hand. We should offer them up for the brothers, the sisters, and the poor. I hope that we will all think the same thing. We should take the way of voluntary poverty. We should not be forced to become poor. Day by day we should be simple, choosing poverty with all of the children of God. Like Moses, we should not live in a palace while the rest of God's children are outside of it. If we take this way, the church will have a good testimony.
CHRISTIANS BEING A PECULIAR PEOPLE The brothers and sisters in Yi-Yang were thoroughly checked out by the Communists. They investigated them even to the bone and marrow. Their searching was in a sense sharper than the two-edged sword, but they were so surprised by our brothers and sisters. They forced others to share everything in common because they were afraid that no one would do it, but we practice this voluntarily. They said that the biblical practice of having everything in common was wrong, and they told the brothers and sisters in Yi-Yang that no one was allowed to practice this. They said that such a practice would make everyone
lazy. We practice having everything in common because we love the brothers, but they thought this was wrong because it would encourage laziness. However, even though we have everything in common, we are not lazy. This bewilders them. The world cannot do this, but we can. This is what it means to be a Christian. The world does not understand that Christians are a peculiar people, but this does not mean that we are promoting Christian socialism. We only do this as a practice. Christian conduct is not based on a set of Christian doctrines or creeds, but is according to the life we have received. Christian behavior has nothing to do with doctrines and teachings; it is related to life. The father did not embrace his prodigal son according to a set of rules. When the prodigal son returned, the father spontaneously stepped forward to kiss him. A Christian acts according to the life within him. For this reason, it is impossible for him to take the way of the world. A TESTIMONY In 1925 a British brother in the shipping business received a telegram saying that an eight-thousand-ton ocean liner would arrive in ten days. Another brother was visiting in his house at the time and was about to receive a check for two hundred pounds from him. The check was designated for the work of the gospel. After the visitor left, a telegram arrived and informed the shipping brother that the ship had sunk, along with all the cargo on board. He rang a bell and asked for men to recall the visiting brother. He told him that the ship was lost and that he had to write a new check. He took the old check and wrote another one for five thousand pounds, saying, "Hurry up and go. Spend this on the Lord." The visitor thought that this brother was out of his mind. Having lost his ship, he should have scaled down his giving. He should have changed the two hundred pounds to fifty pounds, but instead he changed the number, adding more zeros to the check. When he was asked to explain his action, he said, "The sinking of the ship is an urgent heavenly telegram from God. He does not want me to accumulate any wealth on earth! Since God does not want me to manage this money, I have to spend it on the Lord while it is still in my hand." The visiting brother took the check with tears and said, "I have never seen anyone do this before." DISCERNING THE SIGN OF THE LORD'S COMING AND ANSWERING THE CALL OF CONSECRATION I am saying this to you not for the purpose of fund-raising. I am saying this to let all the brothers and sisters throughout the whole world know that the day of the Lord is approaching! We have to spend whatever we have on the Lord, while the
money is still useful. In this passage, James does not tell us the result of the capitalist-worker dispute. That is not his point. He tells us that the Lord is coming! Let me shout again, "The Lord is coming soon!" Perhaps we cannot see other signs, but we can surely see this sign. We have to endure. While the sign is still here, we have to offer up the money we have in our hand. I truly hope that when the Lord comes back the second time, none of us will miss Him again. It is bad enough to miss Him once. It is bad enough to fail once. We must not miss Him the second time. We must not fail the second time.
CHAPTER NINETEEN APPOINTMENT OF ELDERS Date: February 14, 1950 Place: Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong From now on, we have to carry on the work in the church in Hong Kong in a steady way. Therefore, tonight we will officially ask a few brothers to serve as overseers. The condition of some brothers is not up to the point of such an appointment yet. I hope that all of us will humble ourselves. I hope that no one will be so proud as to think that he is qualified to be an elder. None of us should feel that we are trustworthy in ourselves, because none of us satisfy the conditions spoken of in the Epistle to Timothy. Perhaps the Lord has to oversee all of us directly. In Hong Kong we had some responsible brothers in the past, but there was not a clear distinction between the co-workers, the responsible brothers, and the elders. Some co-workers reside here, while others do not. I will take the opportunity while everyone is here tonight to make a clear arrangement. The elders are responsible for local affairs, while the co-workers are responsible for the work in the region. Tonight, no co-worker is from outside this region. If you are a co-worker working as an elder, you have to remember that while you are living in Hong Kong, you have to coordinate with the brothers and sisters in the church in Hong Kong to serve the Lord together. For the eldership we have four brothers: Brothers James Chen, K. H. Weigh, Chu Ze-yuen, and Hsu Jin-chin. Brother Cheng Him-yuen is very responsible in many things. He is burdened for many practical affairs, but I hope that he will have not only a feeling for practical affairs but a feeling for the brothers and sisters also. I hope that the young brothers and sisters will learn to submit to these few elderly ones.
THE MEANING OF THE WORD ELDER What is an elder? The word in Greek is presbuteros. Elder is an accurate translation, but many people do not have an accurate understanding of this word; at least they do not have an accurate understanding of the matter of eldership. An elder is not only a person who is older in age, but someone who is stronger. A young brother calls his older brother "big brother." This means that the two have the same life, but that one is older and stronger than the other. Many brothers and sisters have a wrong concept that the young saints are burning while the older ones are conservative. To them the church consists of two families, not one. Some people think that the young ones are zealous while the older ones are cautious. However, the elders are presbyters; they are the "big brothers," which means that they possess something more than the younger ones and are even stronger than the young ones. The young ones may say that they love the Lord, but the elders must love the Lord more. The young ones may say that they are zealous, but the elders must be more zealous. They must be more consecrated than the others. Their zeal is the same as the others' in nature, but it must be stronger in degree. Their consecration is the same as the others' in nature, but it must be stronger in degree. In the church the elders must live a testimony of sacrificing more and forsaking more than the young brothers and sisters. The elders are responsible for overseership. They should take the lead among the brothers and sisters, not put pressure on them from behind. Unless they can do this, they are not qualified to be elders. In the next five or ten years, there will be mass migrations to Hong Kong. If the elders do not have the proper leadership, Hong Kong will become useless. The church should have elders who are not only cautious but strong as well. Perhaps the elders are not as physically strong as the younger ones, but in consecration, love, and zeal, they cannot fall behind the younger ones. The Bible does not say anything about old Christians. If there is an old Christian, he must be old in the sense of ancient, like an old tree that flourishes by the stream. Such a one has to be more zealous than others. If anyone should be extreme, he should be the first one. The elders and the young people are two ends of the same sugarcane stick. The young people are the top end, while the elders are the bottom end. They are more juicy than the younger ones. Do not think that one is a sugarcane stick while the other is a barley stalk. No, both are the same in nature.
THE WORK OF THE ELDERS
The work of the elders is to oversee. This means to inspect and supervise things from a height. All the brothers and sisters are working, and these ones are observing. No one can escape their eyesight. They know as soon as someone moves. They know who is loving the world, who is naughty, and who is in sin. They know who is not honest and greedy for material things, but their job is not just to look, but to help those who err. As soon as a brother gets into trouble, the elders have to adjust him and render him help immediately. Moreover, in the church, every brother and sister should be serving. Every member should exercise his function. The elders should not replace others' work while they are exercising the overseership; they should only oversee them in their work. They must not be the only ones who are occupied but must make many other brothers and sisters busy. Good overseers must know how to initiate and must know how to bring all the brothers and sisters into the work. They have to remember that they are overseers; they are not replacement workers. They have to work with the brothers and sisters, not work for them. An elder must devote his time to his work. If a hundred brothers and sisters are working and one among them is an elder, he has to devote his time to oversee the rest. He has to ensure that they are indeed working and that no one is standing idle. He has to be like the master of the vineyard who stands at the gate to observe everything. He has to make sure that no one is lazy. He has to equip everyone to serve, whether in physical chores or in spiritual matters. Everyone needs to see that he cannot be idle. If everyone does this, the gospel will spread in a prevailing way. ALL THE ONE-TALENTED ONES HANDING THEMSELVES OVER TO SERVE THE LORD If we label one brother as useless and another sister as unsuitable, sooner or later all the brothers and sisters will become useless and only we will be useful. We have to perfect others to serve. We have to make the useless ones useful. The church is the Body of Christ, and all the brothers and sisters are members of this Body. We cannot call anyone useless. The Lord does give some fivetalented ones to the church, but we must remember that the church is not built upon five-talented gifts or two-talented gifts. The chief factor in the building up of the church is the one-talented ones. There are not too many five-talented ones in the church; perhaps, we can only find one in a few centuries. There are also very few two-talented ones. It would be hard for the church to be built up with fivetalented ones. In the past we paid too much attention to the fiveand two-
talented ones. As a result, all the onetalented ones were buried. The way of the church today is to have all the one-talented ones dig up their one talent. Today we are not afraid that the Lord would only give one-talented members to the church. We can ask Him to give us more of these members. As long as we all dig up our one talent, the church will have a way to go on. Today it is hard to find a five-talented one, but five of the least gifted ones will add up to five talents. The church is not short of men. The service of the church is manifested when all the onetalented ones are mobilized, when the whole Body rises up to preach and serve. Thank the Lord that His Word tells us clearly that no saved person has less than a talent. We all have at least one talent. Luke 19 says that we all have at least a mina. Matthew 25 says that we all have at least one talent. Everyone who serves the Lord has at least one talent of gift. No one has less than a mina; no one has less than one talent. We can only excuse ourselves by saying that we have not offered up our one talent. We cannot tell the Lord that we do not have one talent. Even the slave who was judged evil and slothful handed one talent back to the Lord, not half a talent. An elder does not replace the brothers and sisters with his greater gifts. His function lies in bringing out the one talent that lies within all the members. No matter how capable and gifted an elder is, his contribution can never match the functioning of the one-talented ones. It is wrong for two or three highly gifted elders to do the work of the whole church. The result would be much better if these two or three elders stepped aside and the whole church stepped in to do the work. The Lord has given every saved person at least one talent. If we say that we have received less than a talent, then we must not be saved. Since we have a talent, we should serve in the capacity of a one-talented member. This is the reason the elders must exercise overseership. They must not allow anyone to bury his one talent in the ground. When I come to Hong Kong again and see people burying their talent, I will not rebuke them; I will rebuke the elders. Whether or not a church can go on depends on whether all the one-talented ones are mobilized. I am shouting here: All the one-talented ones have to be mobilized! No power on earth can withstand the force of all the one-talented ones rising up together. No matter how "useless" a person seems to be, every person has to be used. We have to use everyone, unless we have the thought that some members in Christ's Body are lame. One characteristic of Brother Witness is that he can use a person, no matter how "useless" they think they are. If they do not know how to do certain things, he will
take them by the hand and teach them. Every smart and gifted person likes to do things by himself, but this requires him to pay a high price. If one is truly wise, he should stir up the onetalented ones to dig up their talent from the earth. He has to make everyone busy. The elders should be very sensitive in their spirit; they should be able to detect buried talents and should encourage them to be dug out. If the responsible brothers do not know whether a brother or sister has hidden his or her talent, they must bear the blame. May the Lord bless the church so that it would see what it really is. The church is built upon one-talented ones. We do not have to stir up fiveand two-talented ones; they rise up by themselves; they do not want to hide their talents. Only the one-talented ones have a danger of hiding their talents. In order for the church to be built up, the one-talented ones have to rise up. No matter how much we have and what kind of persons we are, we have to dig out our talent. When all the onetalented ones rise up, the church will be manifested. Once the church is manifested, the gates of Hades will not overcome it. The gospel will spread throughout the world. If we all pour out our lives, Satan will tremble.
THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS NEEDING TO SUBMIT TO THE ELDERS God builds His church upon His authority. He has appointed deputy authority in all human government and institutions. All the brothers and sisters in the church have to learn to submit to the authority of the elders. We obey the elders because they are the Lord's deputy authority in the church. The basic principle governing Christian conduct on this earth is submission. It is interesting that believers are exhorted to obey in all the Epistles, but these Epistles do not say anything about authority itself. Where there is a demand, there must be the object of demand. For example, without the Word of God, we cannot have faith. If we talk about faith all the time, but do not give others God's Word, no one can have faith. Similarly, if there is no authority, there can be no submission. God wants all the believers to practice submission in the church. This means that there must be an object of submission. The object of submission is the authority in the church. In the church the elders act as God's deputy authority. God wants us to learn submission. If a man truly knows authority, he will learn to submit. The young brothers and sisters should learn to have a proper response. I am not talking about a kind of deliberate performance. Rather, it is a spontaneous reaction that comes when a person is confronted by something. If we have a
proper response, the first thing that will come to our mind when we are confronted by a situation is, "Who should I check with in this situation?" Every time Brother Witness faces a situation, he asks, "Who should I check with concerning this matter? To whom should I submit?" Once we hand over ourselves, we enter into the coordination of the Body, and no member can be independent any longer. Every member is under the authority of the Head. Any member who does not submit to the authority of the Head is a lame member. CONCERNING THE AUTHORITY OF THE ELDERS I would say a word to the elders concerning their authority: We have to have the basic understanding that there is no authority within ourselves. The authority in the Body of Christ is Christ, the Head. It is the Holy Spirit who is operating in the Body. Therefore, only the Holy Spirit is the authority. The Holy Spirit is the authority of Christ in His Body. From where do the responsible brothers derive their authority? Do not think that as long as a person is an elder he has authority. We have to know and understand authority. Only those who understand authority have authority. If the elders do not understand authority, they are not qualified to be elders, and they are not fit to be an authority. We do not have any authority in ourselves. The only difference between us and the brothers and sisters is that we know the authority of the Holy Spirit a little more clearly, and we are able to communicate the thought of the Spirit to them. The elders do not have any authority in themselves. They are able to help the younger ones in the church because they recognize the authority of the Holy Spirit in Christ's Body, the church. The elders should never say, "I am the authority. I have the authority to make decisions for you." Rather, they should say that they recognize the Holy Spirit more. This is the reason they can open their mouth and speak, and this is the reason they can represent God's authority before the brothers and sisters. An elder becomes God's authority by knowing God. Let me relate a story to you. In Shanghai, Brother Du, Brother Chu-chen, and Brother Yu Cheng-hwa are elders. Brother Du is the most senior among them. As far as his human stature is concerned, he is as mature as Brother Witness. The social and political condition in Shanghai is such that the church has little to offer to out-of-town visitors in terms of hospitality. Once a brother from the church in Shanghai was led by the Spirit to open his house to a midnight visitor. Brother Du came and told me that the brother was wrong. It was right for him to provide hospitality, but it was wrong for him to do so without fellowshipping first with the elders. I told him that there was nothing wrong with it as long as it was done
under the leading of the Holy Spirit. Besides, how can a person seek fellowship from the elders in the middle of the night? We are helping the brothers and sisters know the authority of the Holy Spirit, not to submit to us as elders. It was right for this brother to obey the Holy Spirit. The elders are here not to build up their own authority, but to lead the brothers and sisters to know the authority of the Holy Spirit. All the brothers and sisters have to learn to submit to authority, but all the responsible brothers have to see that they do not have any authority in themselves. If the brothers and sisters make a mistake, we have to rebuke them, not because they have offended our authority, but because we know the authority of the Holy Spirit. We should rebuke them because they have offended the authority of the Holy Spirit. The young brothers and sisters should remember that in disobeying the responsible brothers, they are disobeying God. The responsible brothers should not try to build up their own authority; they should not consider that they have authority in themselves. The whole church must help the brothers and sisters submit to authority. They should know that they are rebelling against the authority of the Holy Spirit when they do not listen to the elders. This is the meaning of submitting to authority. We have spent a great deal of time to select the elders. We have had much consideration in this matter. In appointing the elders, we are not saying that these ones have any authority in themselves. We are merely saying that they know more of the authority of the Holy Spirit. This is the reason the church has to accept their decision. It does not mean that their decision is the authority. The elders should not set their heart on the matter of authority. Rather, they should set their heart on whether or not the one-talented gifts are being utilized. If the one-talented ones are not utilized, the church is dead. Of course, once the onetalented ones are called into use, their flesh will easily follow. These one-talented ones may serve happily in the church, but their service will bring in confusion if they do not submit to authority. Therefore, the church must not only recover the function of the onetalented ones, but it must recover the practice of submission. In this way, the church will have a way to go on, and the service will be proper. It is unprofitable to drag someone into the service without the proper discernment.
THE NEED FOR THE SPIRIT OF THE ELDERS TO BE OPEN
The elders' spirit must be open to the Lord all the time. Their spirit must be meek. In order for a person to be an elder, he must receive uninterrupted impressions from the Holy Spirit. It is useless for an elder to force others to obey his own judgments. This kind of judgment is no better than that of a young sister who has just been saved. Both are nothing more than sinners saved by grace. In making any judgment, an elder must be able to say that it is the Lord making such a judgment through him. This is the reason he has the capacity to touch a matter while others do not have the capacity. This is the reason he can claim that the authority of the Holy Spirit is upon him, not upon others. However, he must realize that this does not come from his private, individual authority. He does not assume authority in himself. He only carries out God's authority upon him. The validity of his authority lies in his fellowship and enlightenment. All the brothers and sisters have to learn to accept the result of the elders' fellowship with God and the enlightenment they have received from God. If they do not accept it, they are being rebellious. The elders must have an open spirit as well as an open heart. They must be pliable before the Lord. They have to be quick in listening to the brothers and sisters, and they have to discern God's speaking in their speaking. Suppose a brother or a sister is speaking. The elders have to learn to listen carefully. Their ears have to be quick, and they have to understand the very meaning of what the Spirit is trying to say. Someone may speak fifty sentences, but only one is a word from the Holy Spirit. They should identify this word. For example, when I was in Shanghai, I once spoke with Brother Luk. Another brother, a foreigner, was also present in the meeting. In the course of our conversation, we forgot about our foreign brother. After we finished our conversation, the brother said that he had understood a few of the words we spoke. From these few words, he was aware of the nature of our conversation. Actually, he only understood a few English phrases that were interspersed in our conversation. An elder should be like this foreign brother in his ability to pick up the "English." He should be able to catch the few words that God is saying in the brothers' and sisters' speaking. THE ELDERS MUST BE RICH The elders must be the richest persons in the whole church. They must be able to freely dispense themselves to others. They must also be able to receive a supply from every member. Only a rich person can give to others, and only they can receive the supply from the Body and learn from the brothers and sisters. The elders must be this kind of persons. They must be able to make others rich,