a history of the lords recovery - message 1 - michigan

7/28/2019 A History of the Lords Recovery - Message 1 - Michigan

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CONFERENCE IN POWELL, OHIO

May 13, 2007

Message One

A History of the Lords Recovery(1)

I. The producing of the church:

A. Purposed by God in eternity pastEph. 3:9-11.

B. Revealed in timeMatt. 16:18; Eph. 3:3-6.

C. Produced in the resurrection of Christ1 Pet. 1:3.

D. Formed on the day of PentecostActs 2:1-4.

II. The spreading of the church:

A. To SamariaActs 8:1-25.

B. To EthiopiaActs 8:26-39.

C. To AntiochActs 11:19-26.

D. To Asia MinorActs 1314.E. To EuropeActs 16:618:22.

III. The desolation of the church:

A. Divisions1 Cor. 1:11-12; 3:3-4.

B. False apostles, fierce wolves, and perverted men2 Cor. 11:13; Rev. 2:2; Acts 20:29-30.

C. Heretical doctrines and forsaking the teaching of the apostles2 John 9; 1 John

4:3; 2:22; 1 Cor. 15:12; 2 Tim. 1:15.

D. Idolatry and spiritual fornicationRev. 2:20.

E. Hindrances from the Jewish religion, Greek culture, and Roman politics.

IV. The transmutation of the organization and administration of the church:

A. Unified organization and hierarchy.B. Errors in truth concerning baptism and salvation.

C. A mediatorial classRev 2:15.

D. The union of the church and politics.

E. The formation of the Roman Catholic Church.

F. The Greek Church.

G. The Protestant churchesRev. 3:1-6.

V. The recovery of the church (16th

19th

century):

A. The Reformation led by Martin Luther (1483-1546).

B. Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531).

C. Kaspar von Schwenckfeld (1489-1561).

D. William Farel (1489-1565).

E. John Calvin (1509-1564).

F. The Anabaptists.

G. William Tyndale (1494-1536).

H. The Puritans.

I. George Fox (1624-1691).

J. John Bunyan (1628-1688).

May 12, 2007

CONFERENCE IN FARMINGTON HILLS, MICHIGAN


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K. The Mystics:

1. Madame Guyon (1648-1717).

2. Father Fenelon (1651-1715).

3. Brother Lawrence (1605-1691).

4. William Law (1686-1761).

L. The Moravian brothersCount Zinzendorf (1700-1760).

M. John Wesley (1703-1791).N. Charles Wesley (1707-1771).

O. George Whitefield (1714-1770).

P. The British Brethren:

1. A. N. Groves (1795-1853).

2. J. N. Darby (1800-1882).

3. J. G. Bellett (1795-1864).

4. George Mller (1805-1898).

5. C. H. Mackintosh (1820-1896).

6. William Kelly (1821-1906).

7. G. H. Pember (1837-1910).

8. Andrew Miller (1810-1883).Q. Robert Govett (1813-1901).

R. D. M. Panton (1870-1955).

S. The evangelical Christians:

1. Charles Finney (1792-1875).

2. Hudson Taylor (1832-1905).

3. C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892).

4. D. L. Moody (1837-1899).

5. A. B. Simpson (1843-1919).

T. The pentecostal Christians.

U. The inner life movement:

1. Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911).2. Andrew Murray (1828-1917).

3. Jessie Penn-Lewis (1861-1927).

4. Evan Roberts (1878-1951).

5. T. Austin-Sparks (1888-1971).

VI. The present recovery of the Lord (20th

century):

A. The history of the Lords move in China:

1. A seed prepared by GodMargaret E. Barber (1866-1930).

2. Watchman Nee (1903-1972)The Bible is our only standard. We are not afraid

to preach the pure word of the Bible, even if men oppose; but if it is not the

word of the Bible, we could never agree even if everyone approved of it. The

Christian, Issue 1, 1925.

3. A chronicle of Brother Watchman Nee (see Attachment 1).

4. A short introduction in memory of Brother Watchman Nee (see Attachment 2).

B. The history of the Lords move in China, Taiwan, and the United States through

Brother Witness Lee (see Attachment 3).


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Attachment 1

A Chronicle of Brother Watchman Nee

1903 Born in Fukien, China.

1920 Saved in April and called to serve the Lord at the same time.

1921 Saw the truth concerning baptism and was baptized simultaneously with his mother in

Yangchi Village of Mawei by Margaret Barber.1922 Saw the truth concerning bread-breaking, started to break bread with Leland Wang and his

wife in Foochow; began to preach the truth concerning salvation; also saw the problem of

denominations, left the denomination where he used to belong, and began to establish local

churches.

1923 Started the publication ofThe Present Testimony; later the magazine was discontinued

(publication was resumed in 1928).

1924 Traveled to Hangchow to preach the gospel in May; invited with his mother to visit Sitiawan,

Malaysia, in November.

1925 Started the publication ofThe Christian, a total of twenty-four issues having been put out by

1927; revisited Malaysia and established the first church in Southeast Asia.

1926 Set up meetings in Amoy, Tung-an, and nearby places as a beginning of the work in south

Fukien; invited by Ruth Lee and Cheng Chi-kwei to visit Nanking and helped the latter in

translating Scofields Bible Correspondence Course; invited by Brother Weigh Kwang-hsi to

preach the gospel in the University of Nanking as a start of the work in Nanking; decided to

write The Spiritual Man in November.

1927 The church in Shanghai was raised up under his ministry and the Shanghai Gospel Book

Room was formally established.

1928 Led the first overcomer conference in Shanghai, the subject being The Eternal Purpose of

God and the Victory of Christ; The Spiritual Man was published in the summer.

1929 Began to publishNotes on Scriptural Messages in April, a total of forty-four issues have been

published up to 1933; publishedHymns of the Little Flock at the end of the year.

1931 Led the second overcomer conference it Shanghai in October, the subject being The New

Covenant and The Wisdom of God.

1932 Visited Chefoo in June, facilitating the raising up of the church there.

1933 Visited Europe, going to London via France to visit the Brethren assemblies and also met

with T. Austin-Sparks, D.M. Panton, and George Cutting; also visited Vancouver and New

York, and spoke to believers in the Brethren assembly in New York; published Collection of

Newsletters towards the end of the year.

1934 Led the third overcomer conference on Christ being the Centrality and Universality of God

and The Overcomers of God in January; led the fourth overcomer conference in Hangchow

on How to be an Overcomer and Spiritual Warfare in October.

1936 Constructed a training center in Chenru, Shanghai.1937 Released messages later published in English as The Normal Christian Church Life in the

Shanghai co-workers' meeting; visited Manila in July; visited Singapore, and Sitiawan and

Penang in Malaysia in September; The Open Door was published; spoke again on The

Normal Christian Church Life in Hangkow.

1938 Attended the Keswick Convention with Brother Austin-Sparks and was asked to offer a

prayer at the beginning of a meeting in July.

1939 Attended the Keswick Convention again; rented a place in Yu-hwa Village, Shanghai, for a

training after his return to China.


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1942 Forced to suspend his ministry for a period of six years owing to the storm related to his

involvement in a pharmaceutical company in Shanghai.

1948 His ministry was resumed and this brought in a revival in the church in Shanghai; the first

training in Kuling was conducted in June.

1949 The second training in Kuling was conducted.

1950 Visited the churches in Hong Kong, Amoy, and Foochow.

1952 Imprisoned for the Lord.

1972 Taken by the Lord in confinement at the age of seventy.

(Excerpt fromA Presentation of the Lords Recovery, Taiwan Gospel Bookroom, pp. 43-44)


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Attachment 2

A SHORT INTRODUCTION

IN MEMORY OF

BROTHER WATCHMAN NEE

(Excerpt from The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Vol. 1, pp. xxvii-xxxvi)

According to the revelation of the Bible and the confirmation in history, in every age God has

had His special work on earth among His created people, and for the accomplishment of this special

work, He has raised up special men, chosen and perfected by Him to meet this special need. During

this century, as the gospel of God went to the East along with Western culture, hundreds and thou-

sands of Western missionaries responded to God's commission and went to China, a land of ancient

culture, and gave everything they had for the gospel of God. Not a few among them excelled in

achievements, spiritually as well as literarily, yet not many were able to proclaim the economy of

God and the mystery of Christ clearly and fully. Against this background, at the turn of this century,

while China was being transformed from a nation under imperialistic control to a democratic nation,

from among the young generation infused with Western culture and literature, God suddenly raised

up one person by the name of Nee Shu-tsu (called Watchman Nee after his conversion) to fulfill Hismission of the age. After Brother Nee was saved, he was cared for and nurtured by the Lord Himself

and became, even in his youth, exceptional and outstanding in biblical exposition and spiritual

teaching. These teachings were warmly welcomed by the lovers and seekers of the Lord in China and

produced a heartfelt response and following among many young believers. Yet at the same time, they

startled many Chinese and Western leaders in Chinese Christianity and stirred up some antagonism

and opposition.

Brother Nee diligently studied the Bible and received help from the important biblical exposi-

tional writings of the past two thousand years. He was acquainted with the letter of the scriptural

doctrines, but much more, he was familiar with the principles, the spiritual significances, the very

life within the scriptural truths, and the spirit of the Bible. For this reason, his exposition and

preaching, whether verbal or written, all conveyed the divine visions and spiritual revelations whichhe received from the Bible and were full of truth, light, life, and spirit. They were living and vibrant

and full of power from God, so that his audiences as well as his readers were easily touched by what

he preached and expounded and easily received grace and responded to such words.

Of all that Brother Nee preached and expounded during his lifetime, we can summarize the

main points into twelve items:

I. CONCERNING GODII. CONCERNING THE ETERNAL PLAN (ECONOMY) OF GOD

III. CONCERNING THE INCARNATION OF GODIV. CONCERNING CHRISTV. CONCERNING THE DEATH OF CHRIST

VI. CONCERNING THE RESURRECTION OF CHRISTVII. CONCERNING THE ETERNAL LIFE

VIII. CONCERNING THE SPIRITIX. CONCERNING CHRIST'S REDEMPTION AND GOD'S SALVATIONX. CONCERNING THE BELIEVERS

XI. CONCERNING THE CHURCHXII. CONCERNING THE NEW JERUSALEM

(Contents of the above twelve sections have been omitted from this excerpt)


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The things which Brother Nee preached and spoke from the whole Bible are broad, deep, and

far-reaching. But the above twelve items are their center, their course, and their goal. During the

first thirty years of my Christian life, I read through all of Brother Nees writings. During the subse-

quent thirty or more years, I have reviewed and re-read them in the course of my Christian work,

referencing and using his writings. The riches of the benefit I have received and the abundance of

grace I have inherited can only be expressed thoroughly by the master work of the new creation of

the Triune God in endless eternity. I sincerely hope that all the readers will receive grace from theLord to take Brother Nees writings as the center, the course, and the goalthe center of their faith,

the course of their race, and the goal of their pursuitthat we may all bask together in such abun-

dant grace. Although Brother Nee sleeps, may his word continue, and although the watchman is no

longer with us, may his voice be heard, until the morning star arises and the night shadows are

dispersed. I hereby respectfully offer this brief introduction in unfading memory to the writer,

Brother Watchman Nee.

Respectfully, a beneficiary,

Witness Lee, Anaheim, California, U.S.A. July 24, 1991


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Attachment 3

A Chronicle of Brother Witness Lee

1905 Born in Shantung, China.

1925 Saved.

1932 Contacted Brother Nee, and consequently the church in Chefoo was raised up.

1933 Gave up his occupation to serve the Lord full-time in August; went to Shanghai to work with

Brother Nee in October.

1934 Commissioned by Brother Nee to be the editor ofThe Christian at its resumption.

1937 Stayed in Chefoo to minister in the church there from November onward; also cared for the

church in Tsingtao at the same time.

1943 There was a great revival in the church in Chefoo which brought in migrations for propaga-

tion in January; imprisoned by the Japanese army for a month in May; contracted tuberculo-

sis after his release and had to put aside his work to rest.

1946 Recovered from sickness, and ministered mainly in Nanking and Shanghai, and bringing in a

revival .

1947 Went to Hong Kong at the end of the year.

1948 Visited Canton, Swatow, Amoy, and Kulangsu, bringing the flow of revival to the south.

1949 Sent to Taiwan, and started the work in Taiwan officially on August 1.

1950 Invited by Brother Nee to Hong Kong to lead the church in Hong Kong in service; went to

Manila to shepherd and strengthen the church there; from then on until 1961, spent three to

four months each year to work in Manila.

1951 Started to train full-time serving ones in Taiwan.

1953 Conducted a formal training lasting for four to five months.

1958 Visited Japan to strengthen the Lord's testimony there.

1962 Started the work in America, bringing the Lord's recovery to the English-speaking world.

1964 Visited Sao Paulo, Brazil.

1970 After the conference in Los Angeles, over four hundred saints were sent to migrate to ten

major cities of America .

1971 Visited the churches in Australia and New Zealand.1974 Moved to Anaheim; started the semiannual summer and winter trainings of the life-studies

and the writing of the footnotes in the Recovery Version.

1975 Conducted a conference in Korea.

1976 The completion of the meeting hall in Anaheim.

1982 The completion of the meeting hall in Irving.

1983 Visited Europe.

1984 Returned to Taipei in the fall to seek the Lords new way, and started the full-time training

afterward.

1987 Completed the New Testament Recovery Version (in Chinese).

1989 Returned to Anaheim permanently; concentrated on conducting the full-time training, lead-

ing the churches to advance in the practice of the new way, and holding conferences at regu-

lar intervals while continuing with the summer and winter trainings.

1991 Led the spread of the Lord's recovery to Russia.

1994 Released the high peak truth of God becoming man that man may become God.

1995 Completed the life-studies of the whole Bible and continued to release the crystallization-

studies.

1997 Rested in Anaheim, California.

(Excerpt fromA Presentation of the Lords Recovery, Taiwan Gospel Bookroom, pp. 49-50)

a history of the lords recovery - message 1 - michigan

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