Migration to Spread the Gospel

Today’s Key Verses for Pray-reading

Acts 8:1

And Saul approved of his killing. And there occurred in that day a great persecution against the church which was in Jerusalem; and all were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Acts 8:4

Those therefore who were scattered went throughout the land announcing the word as the gospel.

Daniel 11:32b

But the people who know their God will show strength and take action.

2 Timothy 2:21

If therefore anyone cleanses himself from these, he will be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, useful to the master, prepared unto every good work.

Today’s Prayer

Lord Jesus, show us the basic principle for preaching the gospel in the Bible. The first mention of migration for the gospel establishes migration as a basic principle for preaching it. It was not the apostles who went out, but ordinary believers who migrated. Nor did they wait until the gospel had spread throughout their own region.

Lord Jesus, the recent events in Europe, Russia, and the Middle East cause us to reconsider Your move on earth. Lord, show us the vision in Your recovery and let us sense the urgency of Your move amid the world situation. May we hear the seven Spirits calling throughout the earth. Oh, we want to rise up and answer this call.

Lord Jesus, rekindle our consecration and our absoluteness toward You again and again. Brothers and sisters, we need to rise up and follow the Lord’s present move. We need to adjust ourselves to His way so that we may be useful to Him. Oh, none of us should say, “I am not strong or mature enough to go.” The church in Jerusalem was also young when persecution scattered the believers. This is a principle established by the Lord. The spread through migration gives those of us who have one talent a place and an opportunity to function, mature, and overcome.

Oh, Lord Jesus, preserve our large, medium, and small-scale migrations from becoming formally organized. May they simply be actions of members of the Body under the Head’s leading, moving forward in the current of this age.

Lord, cause us to hear Brother Lee’s fellowship: brothers who migrate to spread the gospel should not bring old practices to a new place. Our meetings and service must change completely from the old, traditional, unscriptural way to a new way that is according to the Bible. We need to change the way we preach, meet, help others, and have home and small-group meetings, so that these things match the God-ordained way.

Lord Jesus, before Antichrist rises up, Your recovery must have a bright testimony in Europe, and the vital groups must prevail there. Oh, recover Europe and revive Europe!

Ministry Fellowship

The pattern at the beginning of the spread of the gospel, including the truth

Not through the apostles, but through the disciples who migrated

Now we want to see the pattern at the beginning of the spread of the gospel, including the truth (Acts 8:1, 4). According to Acts 8, the gospel was spread not through the apostles but through the disciples who migrated. There were thousands of believers in the church in Jerusalem, but because of persecution they were scattered to spread the gospel. The believers were scattered, but the apostles remained. The practice in Christianity today is the opposite: the clergy go out, while the laypeople remain. But according to the pattern at the beginning of the spread of the gospel in Acts 8, the apostles stayed in Jerusalem, while the other disciples migrated.

They did not wait until the gospel had spread throughout the Holy Land

Under the Lord’s sovereignty, the disciples did not wait for the gospel to spread throughout the Holy Land before they were scattered to other places. Some parts of the Holy Land had not yet heard the gospel, but the Lord still burdened the disciples to take it elsewhere. Acts 8 also tells us that Philip went to Samaria and eventually preached the gospel to an Ethiopian eunuch, spreading the divine truth.

The first mention of migration for the gospel establishes a basic principle for spreading the gospel and the divine truth

The believers’ scattering from Jerusalem to other places is the first mention of migration for the spread of the gospel. We should therefore regard it as a basic principle for spreading the gospel, including the divine truth. Whether or not the divine truth has spread throughout the whole United States, we still need to go to Europe. We should also believe that our going to Europe will stir up something positive in the United States.

See the vision in the Lord’s recovery and answer His call

We need to see the vision in the Lord’s recovery and answer the call He gives us (cf. Isa. 6:1, 8).

Our consecration and absoluteness toward the Lord need to be rekindled

Our consecration and absoluteness toward the Lord need to be rekindled. We should say, “Lord, I still love You. I want to love You more.”

Rise up to follow the Lord’s present move and adjust ourselves to His way so that we may be useful to Him

We should rise up to follow the Lord’s present move and adjust ourselves to His way so that we may be useful to Him (Dan. 11:32; 2 Tim. 2:21). Daniel 11:32 says, “But the people who know their God will show strength and take action.” To take action means to do something honorable and valuable, something that accomplishes a purpose. Especially in these days, in the Lord’s recovery, we need people who show strength and take action. To be useful to the Lord, we need to be sanctified and adjusted in many ways and in many matters, so that we may be vessels unto honor at this special time. (The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord’s Move, ch. 3)

Fellowship concerning the world situation and God’s move today

Now I would like to say something about the world situation and God’s move today. Ephesians 3:20 says that the Lord “is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power which operates in us.” God does not only do what we ask for the church; He also does what we think concerning the church. He is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think for the church, according to the power operating in us. Recent events in Europe, Russia, and the Middle East have caused us to reconsider the Lord’s move on earth. Letters from the saints in Russia have encouraged us as well. It seems that all of Russia is open to the Lord’s ministry. Some saints there even hope that we will send people to live among them and help them.

All these factors cause us to reconsider the Lord’s move in Europe. The Lord’s recovery first spread to Europe in 1971. We should not lose Europe, but neither should we act hastily according to our natural thoughts. We need much prayer and consideration. The Lord’s recovery must spread. Three factors govern the whole world today: the leadership of the United States, the influence of Europe, and the influence of Asia. The Lord brought His recovery to the United States because it is a leading nation in the world. Through the use of English and the leadership of the United States, the Lord’s recovery spread rapidly during the past quarter century. But the world situation has changed, and the Lord’s move may follow this changed pattern.

We need to take some practical steps. From now on, our full-time training should include French, German, and Russian. We also encourage the saints to offer themselves for the Lord’s purpose and spread His recovery to the European countries, especially East Germany and Russia. We should not go individually; we should go in teams of at least four, including a couple around thirty years old or older as the core of each team. A team can go to a large European city with a university. We should begin the work of the Lord’s recovery mainly on the campuses. We hope to rent a house for hospitality on weekends and for meetings. If anyone is prepared to go as part of such a team, they may go at once. We may first need to strengthen the ministry in the United Kingdom, because it will be very important for all of Europe in the future.

What the saints should do in Europe depends on the leading they receive from the Lord. Some may serve the Lord full time, while others may find jobs. There will soon be more business between the United States and Germany, and thus more job opportunities. Some may go to study. But everyone should have one purpose: to spread the Lord’s recovery.

In our full-time training, there should be a class to prepare those who will go to Europe. Then some can form teams and go. We should not practice old things there; we should go for a new beginning. There should be no formal organization in this matter; it should be the saints’ action according to the Lord’s leading. I believe the churches will rise up to share in this, especially by providing financial support. We need not worry about money. The saints should go by faith, and the Lord will take care of practical matters. It does not cost much to support a brother for the Lord’s recovery in Russia. If some go to Russia, the churches can support them easily. Some co-workers should also be encouraged to go to Europe. We should send not only some “soldiers” but also co-workers to bear the burden of the Lord’s move.

Some need to tell the Lord that they are willing to go to Europe for His recovery. Perhaps we will send teams soon, but we must not be careless about this. We need adequate consideration and the Lord’s leading. We should not say that we cannot go because we are not strong enough. The church in Jerusalem was young, yet the saints there were scattered for the Lord’s move. In the United States there are many useful brothers who have received much from the Lord. They need a place to use and develop their gifts. Nearly two hundred American saints were trained in Taipei, Irvine, and Anaheim, but when they returned to their localities, they could not use their gifts. This does not mean that the churches oppose the new way. The churches welcome the new way today, but they have not provided many opportunities for the saints to use their gifts. Therefore, we need to spread through migration. Some who would not be very useful if they stayed in the United States may become useful if they go to Europe. Those who are burdened should contact the leading brothers and fellowship with them. (Elders’ Training, Book 11: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (3), ch. 7)

In addition to teaching the divine truth, our meetings and service must change completely from the old, traditional, unscriptural way to a new way that is according to the Bible. History shows that people benefit when they replace the old with the new. Transportation changed from mule carts to airplanes, making travel easier and more efficient. Chinese people who left the mainland to live overseas learned to let go of the old and accept new things; this was a reason for their success. We also must change completely and take the Lord’s new way. Time will pass people by, so we must change.

As the world situation changes, we too are changing from the old way to the new way, the God-ordained way. We cannot change the truth, but we must change the way we practice the truth. We all need to change our “philosophy.” We need to change the way we preach, meet, help others, and have home and small-group meetings, so that these things match the God-ordained way. Much of what we do today still follows an old “philosophy.” We need to change our philosophy and no longer put any trust in our old way.

The leading brothers should not be confident that they know how to manage the church. We need to consider how much fruit we have borne in our locality. Fruit is the expression and manifestation of life. We may have been in one place for many years but borne little fruit and seen little increase. Would we run a business that way? Fruit is strong evidence of where we really are. We need to change and not trust in our old way. (The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord’s Move, ch. 3)