Forebearance: My Birthday Gift

Time and tide waits for none, so my aging too. Though I prefer to stay young I cannot go against time, and now I have come of age, and join the "forty club." Sometimes, I really hate to see myself aging, and I always feel young except for my age. I have no choice, but face the reality; I am a father of three children now with a double score years young on the longest day of the year, a solar solstice, the 21st of June. 

Since my twenty first birthday I never celebrated my physical birthday, nor do I want anybody to wish me as such, though I do treasure my spiritual birthday on which I was born anew at the age of nineteen. This time when I physically turned forty, I simply reconsecrated my life to the Lord again. On that day, the Lord gave me a special message: Forbearance. It also was the very virtue I needed at the moment as I am considering to deal with some serving ones and some saints whom the Lord has been gracing me to shepherd. The Lord's gift of His speaking is very timely. The message is here: 

FORBEARANCE

Philippians 4:5

Let your forbearance be known to all men. The Lord is near. 

What is Forbearance?

Forbearance is reasonableness, considerateness, and consideration in dealing with others, without being strict in claiming one’s legal rights; forbearance means that we are easily satisfied, even with less than our due. According to Christian experience, forbearance is all-inclusive, for it includes all Christian virtues.

What Comprises Forbearance?

Forbearance includes love, patience, kindness, humility, compassion, considerateness, and submissiveness, a willingness to yield; if we have such an all-inclusive virtue, we shall also have righteousness and holiness. Forbearance also includes self-control, moderation, gentleness, understanding, sympathy, wisdom, mercy, peacefulness, looking to the Lord, and even the virtue of admitting that the Lord is sovereign in all things.

The Virtues of a Forbearing Person

A forbearing person is one who always fits in, whose behavior is always suitable (cf. 2 Cor. 6:1a; 10:1; Phil. 1:19; Isa.11:2). If we are forbearing, we shall have the wisdom and the ability to supply others with what they need; we shall also have the full knowledge of what to say to them and when to say it (50:4-5; Col. 1:28). To be forbearing is to consider how others will be affected by what we do or say (2 Chron. 1:10).

Christ is Forbearance

As an all-inclusive virtue, forbearance is Christ Himself; since Christ is forbearance, for Paul to live was forbearance (Phil. 1:21a).

To Live Christ is to be Forbearing

To let our forbearance be known to all men is to let the Christ whom we live and magnify, whom we take as our pattern and pursue as our goal, be known to all men. Only the Lord Jesus lived a life full of forbearance, and only Christ can be our perfect forbearance today. To make known our forbearance is to live a life that expresses Christ as the totality of all human virtues. Immediately after speaking about forbearance, Paul says that the Lord is near.

The Lord is Near

With respect to space, the Lord is near us, ready to help; with regard to time, the Lord is at hand, coming soon (cf. Rom. 10:8-13). The Lord’s being near refers primarily to His presence with us (Matt.1:23).

Excerpt from The Crystallization-Study of Leviticus, Message 10, Outline II, 3.

A Brother's Special Fellowship

An elderly and matured brother who came to India four years ago had gone back to Taiwan last  week. The previous week he had fellowshipped with us some very precious points which are presented below according to my understanding. I was blessed to join the fellowship, because I took leave as I was not sure I could join the fellowship online as I was on the move. But the Lord sovereignly arranged a situation so that I could join and receive the precious fellowship. 

His fellowship(Br. Jk):

I was quite joyful to be in India, coordinating with all the brothers. I treasure the last four years in such a coordination, and all the experiences made quite an impact on me. I treasure more, all the saints in India, and that we can continue to move forward in one accord. I feel the key to the work in India is the one accord among the coworkers. If they can be so in one accord, it can bring the Lord's further blessing in India. Every week we need to treasure the Wednesday fellowship. Every week in this fellowship, we have three crucial items:

1. The Ministry Speaking

Through the speaking of the ministry, we can strengthen the burden from the ministry. The brothers may take the lead to enter into the ministry, and be constituted with the ministry. God's word is His move. His recent speaking is concerning the one new man - the goal of the Lord's recovery. The Lord's speaking is the Lord's up-to-date move. As coworkers, our main responsibility is to enter into His up-to-date speaking, so that we can bring the saints into the same one accord. 

2. Service Fellowship 

Service fellowship in each area speaks forth that our service is in the one Body. Although we are serving in different localities, we are all in the one flow. Through fellowship, we can pray and encourage one another, especially in the matter of the God Ordained Way; it is God's way to carry out His New Testament economy. Without this, the vision we have seen cannot be practically carried out. Not only we consider BNPB(Begetting, Nourishing, Perfecting, Building), but also PSRP(Pray-reading, Studying, Reciting, Prophesying). We enter into the truths so that the truths can be spread through us. Not only must we reach the peak of the high peak truth, but also the peak of propagation. These two are not separate things. These are the ways to spread the truths of the Lord's recovery to many other places. So, never separate the practice of the God Ordained Way from the high peak truth, because the intrinsic significance of the God Ordained Way is the high peak truth. Without the enjoyment of the Lord's up-to-date speaking, only practices are not what brother Lee wants. The enjoyment of the Lord's up-to-date speaking and the practice of the God-ordained way is the only way to carry out God's New Testament economy.

3. The Direction of Our Fellowship 

The direction of our fellowship is that we must raise up our next generation. This is why we have to fellowship on such item every week. There is a burden to raise up the next generation to enter into the Lord's speaking, live a God-man living, and to practice the God-ordained way. These are the three aspects of the new revival which will bring in the Lord's return. In our perfecting the next generation, we need to have a goal; to enter into the Lord's speaking, live a God-man living, and to practice the God-ordained way.

As coworkers, we need to be patterns in these three aspects: To be a pattern in labouring on the Lord's speaking, to be a pattern in labouring on the practice of the God-ordained way, and to be a pattern in perfecting the next generation.

Our Functions in Different Areas of Services

As we are serving in different areas, what must be our main function? We should learn to propagate, and also to perfect. We are not here to replace the functions of others. Wherever we are, there should be the continual increase of saints, districts, and testimonies in new cities. At the same time, we also need to learn to perfect others, especially, the younger ones. Wherever we are, we should emphasise these two matters:

1. Propagation

2. Perfecting the younger ones

Our Learning

Concerning our learning, we need to be persons with proper learning attitude, not being content with our situation now. The Lord's recovery is called the Lord's recovery because it is advancing. We should seek advancement in three matters:

1. Constitution of the Truth: Learn to preach and speak the high peak truth.

2. Growth in Our Divine Life: Pursue the growth in the divine life, especially, in the matter of coordination among the coworkers. All the spiritual experiences are finally for the building of God. In our coordination, our self, flesh, etc., will be dealt with.

3. Capacity of Our Service: We should all seek a definite breakthrough in our practice of the God-ordained way, and in our specific services. We all should be experts wherever we serve, whatever we serve. Experts are those who continually seek advancement and practice.

Be Humble to Learn

We all should be humble to learn from others, and from our elders and the more experienced ones, from our companions, and even from those who are younger than us. This depends on our attitude; the more we are humble and empty, the more we can receive. Even brother Lee at the age of ninety said that he was still learning. We should always be poor, empty, and unloaded in spirit.

Having a Definite Goal 

Wherever we are serving, we should open a new horizon. We should have a goal. A service without a goal will never advance. Brother Lee, in his service, has three beliefs:

1. Planning

2. Prayer, and 

3. God's blessings

So we all should set up a goal, a plan, and seek how to advance. Besides these, we also need to pray to seek His further blessing. For annual increase, we should have a goal; the increase rate for this year, number of baptisms, etc. Then our church life will be advancing

In the service of our entire country I feel there are two important aspects:

1. Perfect More Pillars: 

We should perfect more pillars. We should treasure the semi-annual trainings in India - the two times Serving Ones Training. This is an opportunity for more saints to be perfected, to enter into the Lord's present speaking, His present move, and that the saints can all be blended into one. We should encourage the saints and the serving ones to seize the opportunity to attend all these trainings. So we should also set up the goal for the attendance of Serving Ones Training. Through this, many can be perfected. 

The same goes for the semi-annual trainings for the full time serving ones. We hope that many more full timers and coworkers can be added and perfected. After the training for the full time serving ones, the training is not finished. We need to bring the burden to the responsible brothers' meeting, and then to every locality, we need to continue to fellowship these burdens, until it penetrates the entire Body. If we have different aspects of the perfecting trainings and goals in different localities, then it will be difficult to have the one testimony and one flow and one work.

So we must pay attention to the semi-annual Serving Ones Training and Full Time Serving Ones Training. This can produce the same burden to raise up the same testimony to bring the Lord's blessing.

Concerning the Chennai Land: 

All the brothers must be in one accord. This will be an important breakthrough in the work in this country. This is an important step to bring all the churches and saints into the one accord and one flow. Also, all the churches will experience a spiritual breakthrough: To offer up themselves and pour out what they have, so that the Lord can do a greater work. This can bring an unprecedented blessing from the Lord. We believe, after the construction of the blending center, the Lord will have a further blessing. More saints will be perfected and blended. Even the testimony of the Lord will be stronger; now we may have a 1, 000, but then we will have 10,000s. We must pray for this burden. May the Lord's latter glory far surpass the former glory.

Although I will return to Taiwan, I have the burden to come back to see you again. I will also bring more saints from Taiwan to blend with you all, and vice-versa. I hope to be such a spiritual bridge.

May we all advance in the one flow.

His message ended. Then we prayed for our brother JK, and the following week after this fellowship, in the Wednesday's fellowship, we prayed for him and for his service in the Body again as he returned back to Taiwan from India. 

Praise the Lord for such a brother as our pattern and from whom we can learn! May the Lord continue to bless his service in the Body, wherever he serves, whatever he serves.

Sweet Hours of Prayer

At least once in a week I have decided to spend time in fasting and prayer to enjoy a specific time with the Lord. The Lord has been gracing me to spend such specific time of interceding. While here in Taipei too, the Lord graced me to enjoy such sweet hours of prayer.

Each time when I went to pray, the first one hour was a time of interceding for all the dear and near ones, more of my family related prayer burdens. This time my heart was fully crying out to the Lord for my brother in law, that he would be recovered back to the church life, that he and his wife would love the Lord and the saints, and become useful vessels for the building up of the Body of Christ. This burden was also in line with our visit to his family in Tainan. 

When I finished releasing my family related burdens, the Lord led me to specifically pray for a sister who was attacked by the enemy with the facts of the past. She has been struggling to forgive another sister whom she was not in good terms with. The second hours was fully an intercessory prayer for her recovery from the wounds of the past, by taking Christ as her grace and her forgiveness and love. Besides texting her of Bible verses, I called her on Skype for fellowship. She opened up all her heart, pouring out all the bitterness she had within. I simply encouraged her to turn to the Lord for restitution with the said sister once and for all, and take Christ's love and forgiveness as her won. We then prayed together over the phone, though there were interruptions in between due to phone network problems. An hour was spent shepherding a saint in specific need at a crucial time when she, out of bitterness, decided to be frank and keep away from the church meeting to avoid pretending. A timely medicine was needed to apply in such serious situation, so I did. 

The other hour was on the usual burden the Lord has been burdening me to pray for, ranging from praying for the world leaders, Indian political leaders, famous personalities that impacts the societies including celebrity in the silver screen industry, sports personnel, and entrepreneurs. Theses burdens are also clubbed with the local burdens of families and new ones in my locality and in the North East. 

One new burden the Lord gave me to pray is for the salvation of a Muslim cleric who is an excellent preacher and a theologian in multi religious faith, mostly of Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. He is Dr. ZN. I am blessed to pray for his salvation. May the Lord Jesus Christ, the true and living God, be his Saviour subjectively one day. 

In all my prayer, the Lord taught me, I am not fighting a spiritual battle, for the battle was already won at the cross by the Lord Jesus Christ. My responsibility is simply to declare that Christ indeed is the Victor and Jesus is the Lord! 

Similar time of prayer I was able to enjoy the following week. Burdens after burdens were released in a span of three hours. This time, the Lord gave me new burden to pray for Bhutan and Tibet for the spread of the gospel truth and the high peak truths of the ministry of the age for the Lord's testimony all over these two religious lands of Buddhism. In the Lord’s timing, He will send me to preach the gospel and teach the truth.

Another matter the Lord confirmed with me in my prayer was to genuinely receive my elder sister's daughter as my own daughter, and my step mother and brother as my own mother and brother. He also confirmed to me of being a shepherd for those that I have been burdened to pray for and shepherd. The list includes the church in Gurugram, the church in Shillong, the Rongmeis who are yet to be evangelised, my family members for which I even created a WhatsApp "Our Family" group, and my official responsibility of the gospel book room in India. I am graced and blessed to receive such prayer burdens from the Lord. The grace of the Lord increases as the burdens increases. To pray all these prayer burden, three hours is a good time.

Praise the Lord for such sweet hours of prayer! And the grace of the Lord be upon me to continue to enjoy such sweet hours of prayer all the days of my life. 

Silence, the Best Answer

Sometimes, silence is the best answer. When there is no clarity nor enlightenment from the Lord concerning a matter that needs my intervention but I have no clear cut leading from the Lord, the best reply is, no reply at all. Simply be silent. Silence is the best answer. 

Recently, in my official service involving four serving ones at three different times and for different matters, tricky matters were brought to me. After they had done what all they could, they referred the matter to me to take the final call. These situations put me in a spot. I had nothing to reply back. I simply considered the matters before the Lord. And since I did not have any specific leading from the Lord, my best reply was not to reply at all, and just be silent. In fact till date, I have no answer and did not reply yet. Silence, is my answer.

Each of these servings ones have to do with their character in the way they carry out their official duties. Basically, it was a case of coordination. Since the coordination could not happen as each one expected, issues were raised. When the balls were passed to my court I realised that I need to tread it carefully. Any reaction from me must be something that shepherds and perfects them in their service. Only the Lord knows how to shepherd these ones. Since the Lord did not lead me specifically, I dared not react even though I have the official position and authority to do so. Such official authority I would exercise only when needed and in the Lord's peaceful leading. I am afraid to assume any authority even if I have the right to. I would rather turn all authority back to the Lord. 

Another matter passed to me in the church in my locality was to negotiate with our meeting hall owner of possible sharing of expenses as we plan to upgrade the hall by renovating it. In that case too, I did not have the peace to go ahead, so the case is still in silent mode. I was told that a brother presented the same case to the owner and his reaction was not positive nor peaceful. Even in this case, I still remain silent.

Sometimes, silence is the best answer.

USA North Korea Summit

I vividly remember the time when there was an intense verbal war of words between the president of the USA and the chairman of North Korea. The whole world was on its toes, watching worriedly the barbs trading between these two leaders. Some fearing and wondering what the world might turned up to be, a global mushrooming nuclear blasts and total shattering of the world peace? Some even dared to declare that World War Three has begun? I was no mute spectator. Nor was I silent reader of the world news. The Lord brought me to my knees to pray for the peace between these two countries, especially to pray for North Korea, that the country would be opened up for the gospel of the kingdom of God.

Since then, I have been praying for world leaders, of the likes of Trump, Kim, Abe, Putin, Xi, Modi, Moon, May, Merkel, etc. Especially, for Trump and Kim with North Korea as my main burden. I simply prayed, not knowing what would transpire. But as I followed the world news, things sounded worse and worse until the duo declared a threat of nuclear shower. But I ceased not praying.

One day, I read a good news about the meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea. Later, the possible meeting between Trump and Kim. And suddenly the cancellation of the same, and revival of the probable, perhaps, possible meeting again. And finally the confirmation that the duo would meet up for Peace Summit in Singapore on June 12. Since that confirmation, my prayer was all for this meeting. 

Then came 12 June 2018. That day as I woke up in Taipei, and when on my knees for my morning prayer, I could pray nothing else but for the successful meeting. My prayer was very intense, and fully focused on the summit between the two verbal warring leaders. Even after the morning prayer, throughout the day, I prayed for the meeting as I knew the meeting would have been going on according to the time schedule. Later, when I saw on news that the meeting went well, the peace summit signed, with the applause from all men alike world wide, I felt a deep relieve and gratitude to the Lord for this answered prayer. I believe this is very much in the Lord's heart for His move on the earth.

Diplomatically and formally, peace summit had been signed. Now what? I still continue to pray for the Lord's hand to move to execute whatever were agreed upon. Well, politically, I am not as interested in what would eventually transpire. But my main burden is for the country of North Korea. Many of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who are under persecution and threat of livelihood may now be released to enjoy their Christian life and church life. Much more, the country be gospelized, truthized, and churchized.

When a decade ago I visited South Korea, the brothers there informed a prayer burden for North Korea to be opened up; and that they had prepared 300 Gideon's army for the gospelization of their brothers in the North; and for the printing of a million Bible(RecVer) for distribution to the North, the seed of prayer burden was sown since then. Only this year, the burden blossomed into full fledge prayer burden. Now the Lord is answering the prayer of His many children for this nation. May God bless North Korea. 

Fellowship with a Brother

Twelve years ago, a brother from Taiwan noticed me being in a Serving Ones Training held at Pune in India when I was still single and began to serve the Lord full time. Few weeks later, that brother enquired about me from another brother serving the Lord in India. The message conveyed to me was that, he, on learning who I was and where I am from, considered a Taiwanese sister who was serving the Lord full time in India as a possible match for me. Meanwhile, I had been intensely praying for my marriage and even told the Lord that I would settle for nothing short of the Lord’s perfect will. When the time was ripe and when the proposal came to me, my simple and one word innate reply was, "Amen!" That's how I got married to my wife, and we have been experiencing and enjoying the Lord's abundant blessing in the Body since then. Sincerely, I owe a deep gratitude to this Taiwan brother through whom my marriage proposal came. He became an instrument in initiating the fulfillment of the Lord's perfect will for my marriage life. And I am glad that we, as a family, could meet him this time for fellowship.

When he first met me, I was at the back seat in a training, a single brother. Now this time, he met us as a family with three wonderful children face to face in his office, in a span of twelve years. Life grows and life multiplies. Praise the Lord!

Meeting this brother gave me a sense of an aura of the presence of God. He spoke no word of advise nor message to me. But just by being with him, the grace and the presence of the Lord was so rich and easily felt. No wonder, he has been very useful to the Lord for the Lord's testimony and move in Taiwan, in Asia, and in the Lord's move worldwide. What a grace to grace his presence! It made me feel as though I met the Lord as a member of His Body. I believe brother Witness Lee himself must have had this kind of maturity though I personally never met him physically. The ministry of the word through the ministry of the age is indeed the unique ministry. To be in this ministry in His recovery is itself the Lord's mercy and blessing. May the Lord preserve me to be faithful to His recovery all the days of my life. 

I thank and worship the Lord for such a mature brother as he is. I pray that I can also pursue the growth in life and follow the pattern set before me; to be a channel of blessing, even a dispensational instrument in the present age for God's move on the earth. The Lord in His recovery has reserved many remnants, pure and mature, for His move and for His testimony. What a blessing to be in His recovery indeed! Especially, meeting with a brother like this brother confirms the ministry of the age I am in. Praise the Lord! 

Family Reunion at Taipei

Four years have elapsed since we last visited our family at Taipei city. This time the Lord gave us the provision to be able to visit again. Our mom and dad, though they are aged, are still very active and healthy, serving us as their own children. We really enjoyed their love and care. Though our visit was supposed to be a vacation, we found ourselves even more busy, as usual. Especially for me, it was a good time together with my children. Besides the daily spiritual chore of morning revival, Bible study and prayer, and the different outdoor activities, I could spend time with my children in an intimate way; praying with them, and eating with them, going out with them, and giving them bath. My elder daughter and son told me to give them bath every night as this was the time I could give them bath. I was more than glad to do that though they are mature enough to take bath by themselves. 

Family life is so wonderful. Now that the Lord has been training us to take care of our family, and even as we are learning, deep within I feel my children are very blessed compared to my childhood. They enjoyed all the love and care, including outings and children recreation. Many things I wished as a child but still remained as a wish are now all a reality to my children. Blessed are they indeed. And in their blessing, we, the parent are blessed too. 

One thing we pray for every day is for a normal and proper God-man family life. That our children may grow in grace, in the reverential fear of God, and grow up loving the Lord and would even serve the Lord all the days of their lives. To me, this is the best way my children can live their lives on this earth.

Nevertheless, how they all will grow up to be, all depends on the Lord’s mercy. As parent, we have done our best and are trying to do our best, to nurture them and shepherd them, to be proper and useful vessel unto to the Lord. All depends on the Lord's blessing and His mercy.

Lord, have mercy on our family, and bless our family to be a family according to Your heart's desire. 

This family reunion is very enjoyable and we learned a lot experientially. May the Lord continue to grace us and bless us. And I declare as Joshua did in the Bible in Joshua 24:15b, "But as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah."