Fellowship from the Diamond Bar Quarterly Blending Meeting
March 5th, 2006
At the beginning of the recent quarterly blending meeting of the Church in Diamond Bar, the brother spoke concerning the burden of the church here for 2006 being the organic shepherding according to God. Beginning from last December, we began to see the matter of consecration and life practices to live a God-man living issuing in a life of shepherding to bring in a genuine revival. This burden was further released in the Chinese-speaking International Blending Conference in Taipei where the general subject was the Organic Shepherding of Christ for the Building Up of the Body of Christ. When we see the high peak of the divine revelation—God becoming man that man may become God in life and nature but not in the Godhead, live a God-man life based on this vision, we enter into a practice of shepherding according to God. When the recovery is brought into these 3 matters, there will be a new revival and the Lord will be able to come back.
Therefore, in the Lord¡¯s recovery today, there is an URGENT need of shepherding. An urgent need means that there is a matter that takes precedence, something needs to be carried out right away. The goal of the Lord¡¯s recovery is to recover the ministering of Christ by ALL the believers so that the church as the Body of Christ might be built up. This is carried out by the shepherding according to God. Shepherding according to God means to live God, to be one with God, and to be mingled with God. To shepherd according to God is to shepherd according to God¡¯s nature, desire, way, and glory, not according to our preferences, interest, purpose, and disposition. For this we need to be persons in resurrection. Christ is the good Shepherd, the great Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd and the Shepherd of our souls. We need to shepherd the flock of God according to the Father¡¯s loving and forgiving heart and according to the Son¡¯s seeking, finding, and shepherding spirit. Love is the most excellent way for us to be anything and to do anything for the building up of the Body of Christ.
Several brothers and sisters in turn shared their experiences regarding how they were helped to enter into a daily life practice of early rising, having morning revival, reading the Bible, coming to the meetings, material giving, etc. Through these practices, they were brought into a realization of the need to have a vital daily living, to read the Bible (not only to have it among their possessions or keep it on their shelves for display), and to have vital companions.
Furthermore, in this meeting, 6 trainees also gave their reports of their gospel trips during the training break. 3 of them shared their experiences and enjoyment on the domestic trips preaching the gospel on the campuses, going to home meetings, blending with the saints in the churches, distributing bible offers and bibles for Bibles for America in Illinois, Mississippi, and in the New England states. 2 other trainees shared their experiences on their trip to the British Isles which included Dublin and Belfast, Ireland and Cambridge, England. 1 trainee shared his experiences in Taipei and the Philippines. Overall, every trainee enjoyed the trips and had the sense that so many students and people are open and ready to hear and receive the gospel of the kingdom. We need to be those who go by 1) praying; 2) giving financial support; or 3) moving physically.
Finally, there was a report on a recent 2 week trip of the co-workers to 13 cities in China. The cities they visited were Beijing, Tianjin, Qindao, Yantai, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Guilin, Guangzhou, Zhu Hai, Macau, and Hong Kong. The main purpose of this visit was to see how the Lord is moving in China today and to visit the hometowns of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. Wherever the brothers and sisters visited, they witnessed an overwhelming sense of desperation among the saints in China to learn the truths, to preach the gospel by their living testimony at work, to practice the God-ordained way in the homes, and to prophesy their topmost enjoyment in the meetings. The reality of such a life of pursuing and loving the Lord to the uttermost can be seen on their simple faces expressing ¡°joy unspeakable and full of glory¡±. In the midst of their sufferings, afflictions, persecutions and imprisonments, Christ, the Beloved, was being magnified ¡°whether through life or through death¡±. And indeed, for them to live is Christ. In some respect, they are also experiencing what we are entering into today—living a life of pursuing the high peak of the divine revelation, the God-man living, and shepherding those around them(the believers and the sinners) according to God to usher in a new revival for the preparation of His Bride to end the age and usher in His eternal Kingdom for His satisfaction and heart¡¯s desire.