Announcements for 6/7– 6/13 ,2020

  1.       Morning Revival:
  •  This week we will pursue morning revival on “Crystallization-study of Deuteronomy”, week 7 days1-3;
  1.       Prayer Meeting:
  •  Prayer meetings will be held by Zoom;
  1.        Home Meeting:
  •  Home meeting will be held by Zoom.
  1.         Corporate Gospel Outreach: 
  • On Saturday morning, the gospel outreach prayer will begin at 10am by Zoom ID 3872069109
  1.         Next Lord’s Day Meeting:     
  •  Lord’s  day meeting will be held by Zoom . 
  1.     The Entire Church’s Goal to Next Labor Day: 

Based on each district’s goal, the saints in Church in Alhambra will labor on Christ as the Good Land in 2020, to gain 94 remaining fruits in this year. Our average Lord’s Day attendance number will increase to 180. We will practice home trainings to reproduce 23 more new serving ones. We will increase 5 home meetings and 1 new district and raise up a new church in Temple City!

  1.       Pray for GTCA(Gospelize, Truthize, and Churchize America)

300 qualified saints (an average of 30 saints per city) to commit to migrating to the 10 US cities/churches. These brothers and sisters can range in age from young adults to seniors and may be university students, single saints, or married couples.30 full-time campus workers to form five campus teams, each with a player-coach (an average of six full-timers per team).

  1. Prayer during the month of June

We strongly encourage all the saints to take the thirty suggested prayer burdens on unceasinglypray.org and pray over them again during the month of June. May the Lord strengthen His recovery and make us His house of prayer. Let us praise our merciful and faithful High Priest who is higher than the heavens and who brings us into oneness with Him in His heavenly ministry of intercession.

  1. 2020 Semiannual Training (06/29-07/04):

June 2020 Semiannual Training will not be held corporately as a live training in Anaheim, CA. Instead, the training will be the video training only.

Registration for the video training is available now. Please provide your name, phone number, email address and the training donations to the district responsible one before June 8. The video training donations is $100.00 USD per trainee. May the Lord bless us with His word!

So far we have 56 saints who registered for the summer training, among whom 10 are from zone 4. Let’s encourage one another to join this global training to hear the Spirit’s speaking to the Body.

10. WSGV Gospel Meeting on June 19th

There will be a WSGV gospel meeting on June 19th from 7:30-8:30pm. Zoom ID: 976 5545 9864, Password: 110442. See flyer below:

Br. Andrew Yu: An Open Letter(2020/5/29)

Dear brothers and sisters,

“The time of the Lord’s return is at hand. For this reason we are reevaluating many matters in the light of the judgment seat.”

The above quote is from “An Open Letter” in Issue No. 1 of The Present Testimony by Brother Watchman Nee published in January of 1928. Today, ninety-two years later, we are even closer to the time of the Lord’s return. Today, seeing all the things happening around us, we feel even more deeply that the time of the Lord’s return is closer than any of the previous ages. The instability of the world situation, the global spread of the pandemic, the panic in people’s hearts, the uncontrollable environment, and the economic crisis all indicate that this age is nearing a fundamental turning point. At this solemn moment, it should be a time for us to have a reevaluation. To reevaluate means that what was formerly the standard can no longer be the standard for today; what’s considered acceptable living can no longer be our living today; the former goals in our lives can no longer be our goals today; our former mode of valuation can no longer be the mode of valuation today; and our former ways can no longer be our ways today. Everything needs to be reevaluated in the light of the judgment seat. This means that everything needs to be reevaluated according to the Lord’s return and the consummation of the age. Our former church life, former services, and former ways of living all need to be reconsidered and reevaluated.

First we need to reevaluate our living. The Lord said, “Do not be anxious for tomorrow,” but “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matt. 6:33, 34). Do we trust in God in everything to live the life of the tent on the earth, having a living that is uprooted from the earth and storing up our treasures in heaven? Or are we still anxious for tomorrow? The young people are anxious for their employment after graduation, as well as their marriage and family. The middle-aged people are anxious for their career and their business performance for the next quarter or next year. The elderly people are anxious for their health, savings, and relationship with their children and grandchildren. We need to reevaluate. The apostles called people to be delivered from sins and turn to the Lord, but the Lord called people to bedelivered from mammon to follow Him (Matt. 6:24). Many preach the gospel of prosperity, but the Lord preached the gospel of poverty. The age is coming to an end, and one of the signs of the Lord’s coming is that people are storing up treasures (James 5:3). The ten virgins are “going out of the world” to meet the bridegroom (Matt. 25:1, note 5). The harvest needs to be “dried of all the earthly water” (Rev. 14:15, note 2) to be ripe for reaping. Brother Lee, in his diary right before the great revival in Chefoo, wrote on December 23 of 1942: “We should not be concerned with what we willeat, what we will drink, or what we will be clothed with; this is what the worldly people seek. We should care only for God’s kingdom and His righteousness. The worldly people lack clothing and food because they care only for their own living and not for God’s kingdom and His righteousness” (CWWL Vol. 2, p. 28). A day earlier, he wrote: “How desolate is the situation on earth today! Even more desolate is the condition within man! How many hearts and souls havesuffered to the extreme? How many souls are perishing every day? The church has lost her function…The church is like this because her consecration in the past was not thorough” (p. 27). On December 26, he wrote: “The reason we are quiet, have no aspiration to spread the Lord’s kingdom, have no power and courage to spread the Lord’s gospel, have no living faith, and are timid is all because we have not had a thorough consecration, have not stopped living for ourselves, and have not lived entirely for the Lord!…If we live entirely for the Lord like Peter on the day of Pentecost, we will also be able to say as Peter said, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene rise up and walk’ (Acts 3:6b). But to say this, we must also be able to say, ‘Silver and gold I do not possess’ (v. 6)!” (p. 29)

We need to reevaluate: does our living today have dispensational value? Do we, our person, have a dispensational significance before the Lord?

In order to have this kind of living, we need to be filled with the Spirit inwardly and outwardly every day (see The Way to Practice the Lord’s Present Move, ch. 2). If a balloon is not filled with air, it cannot ascend. Why do we need to have much and thorough prayer? It is for us to be filled both inwardly and outwardly. Why do we need to confess our sins and repent? It is because they are the requirements for us to be filled with the Spirit. Without a living that is daily filled with the Spirit both inwardly and outwardly, we cannot have a living that has dispensational value. Inorder for the virgins to meet the bridegroom, the requirement is that their vessels be filled with oil (Matt. 25:4). In order for us to redeem the time, we must be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:16, 18).

During these days, the more difficult the outward environment is, the stronger we feel inwardly that now is the time for God’s children to be uprooted from the world and to live the life of the tent. The benefit of migration is to cut off our old background and to learn to simply look to God to live a life of faith. The spreading of the kingdom is inextricably linked to being cut off from the world. The persecution in Acts 8 suddenly uprooted all the disciples and scattered them everywhere, which put the Lord’s command in chapter 1 into action. In order for the gospel of the kingdom to be preached to the whole inhabited earth, there is the need for some to live the kingdom life. For the Lord’s return to become real, man must “go out of the world” as the virgins did in Matthew 25. One hundred fifty years ago the gospel of grace was preached to China. One reason for that was that some in that age saw that the Lord might return in that generation and that the gospel needed to be preached to the whole world in that generation. Today, the gospel of the kingdom needs to be preached to the whole inhabited earth because the time of the Lord’s return is even closer. At this juncture, should we not reevaluate how we should spend our remaining days on the earth? Should we not cut off the old ties at this time to practically live the life of the tent, live for the gospel, and move for the Lord?

At this moment, we also need to reevaluate our church life. Whether the Lord is satisfied with our church life is one thing, we should first ask ourselves whether we are satisfied with our current church life. True, we have very good truths, and we also have a church life that we have been comfortable with for many years. However, what we need to reevaluate is whether or not this kind of church life can satisfy the Lord’s need, whether it can usher in the Lord’s return. In the church where we are, has the number of saints grown? Are the saints vital?

In 1992 and 1993, Brother Lee was deeply dissatisfied with the church life at that time, so he released the messages on the vital groups, hoping to produce the overcomers outside of the infrastructure of the church life at that time, who would be delivered from the three great enemies of death, lukewarmness, and barrenness. Unfortunately, although the messages were released, the practice has yet to be seen. In the past twenty-three years, although the church life in each locality has gone on steadily, they are still mainly composed of meetings and mainly carried out by way of asking people to come to the meetings, and what is treasured among us is still the great number of attendance. Please consider: in the light of the Lord’s return, shouldn’t this kind of church life be reevaluated?

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the brothers and sisters have been limited physically. All physical meetings have stopped, and the saints can only communicate mostly over the internet in smaller settings. But in this process, many found out that brothers and sisters actually prefer this new mode of church life. Over the internet, everyone prays for one another, has mutual fellowship, and cares for the new ones. Everyone is able to function, and everyone practices begetting, nourishing, perfecting, and building in an organic way. This is actually the vital groups that Brother Lee talked about, which is for everyone to function and for everyone to serve as a priest. In this way, many new ones have been saved, and many who have not been meeting have been reconnected. In many localities, the number of people has increased, and many members of the Body have been enlivened. It turns out that this is the way for the Body of Christ to be built up. Of course, we are not saying that we should not resume the physical meetings after the pandemic. However, in light of this new situation brought in by the pandemic, isn’t it worthwhile for us to reevaluate our church life? Shouldn’t we turn more from “meeting” to “people,” from “coming” to “going,” and from “big” to “small”?

In the light of the Lord’s return, we should also reevaluate our service. The ultimate goal of our service is to perfect people. The work of the ministry is to perfect the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ. Today our work is not to raise up a work but to raise up people. The effectiveness of our work today is not measured by how much work is done but how many people have been raised up. Strictly speaking, our work today is not to do the work but to distribute the work. Today the question is not how much we ourselves have done buthow much others have done. The parable of the slaves in Matthew 25 reminds us that the question is not how much we have maintained but how much we have reproduced. The five- talented one perfected another five-talents, and the two-talented one perfected another two-talents. Thus, they received the Lord’s approval. But the one-talented one did not perfect anyone, and he was cast into the darkness. The Lord is coming to settle an account with each one of us.

Today in the light of the Lord’s return, we all need to reevaluate our service and see whether our service, in the light of the judgment seat, will be approved or not. The good and faithful slaves were not those who merely maintain their portions but those who reproduced themselves. The evil and slothful slave was not one who abandoned his service but one who did not reproduce himself. Whether in the church or in the vital groups, our duty is to perfect others unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ. We need to use all wisdom to perfect others. We need to use all those whom people regard as useless. We need to dig out all the one-talented ones from the earth, so that their talents are no longer buried in the world. The growth in life is gradual, but the trading of one’s talent is immediate (Matt. 25:16). In the light of the Lord’s return, we need to evaluate our service to see whether it is up to the Lord’s standard.

Lastly, in the light of the Lord’s return, we need to reevaluate our work. There are two basic questions: whether our work is of a maintenance nature or of a pioneering nature, and whether our work is static or dynamic. The pattern of the brothers who went before us is that they were always moving and progressing. At the outset of the Sino-Japanese War, Brother Nee founded the magazine called The Open Door. He reminded the co-workers that they should not merely try to cope with the environment; instead, they should preach the gospel everywhere to spread the Lord’s testimony. The co-workers should not stay in one place but should travel everywhere. Actually, the testimonies today in many places throughout Southeast Asia were all started at that time.

The Lord’s testimony has been on the island of Taiwan for over seventy years. From the beginning Brother Lee’s hope was that Taiwan would be a starting point wherethe Lord’s testimony would spread to the whole world. Today in this special time, should we not reevaluate the direction of our work? Actually, just in Taiwan alone, there are still quite a few cities and towns that do not have a church andrequire propagation there. The needs outside Taiwan are even greater. Now is not the time for us to stick to our own place. Now is the time for us to spread the gospel of the kingdom with a view of the whole earth. Should we allow ourselves to be stuck in one place till the Lord comes? If Abraham had not left his own land and his own country, God’s move on earth could not have begun. What the Bible gave us is not the biographies of the apostles but the acts of the apostles. Recently after the three rounds of 24-hour prayer and the 30-day global prayer, a brother in China saw lightning and heard voices of thunders in his prayer and immediately consecrated himself and migrated with his factory to a place in Southeast Asia where there is not yet a church. Is this a precursor of the Lord’s move?

May the Lord cause us to see the opportunity afforded to us today to cooperate with His move. At a time when the whole world is facing an unprecedented challenge, may we reevaluate our living, meetings, service, and work in the light of the Lord’s return.

Andrew Yu

May 29, 2020

Instructions for Online Zoom Gospel Meeting

Precautions for online Zoom gospel meeting (for reference only, it can be flexibly adjusted and supplemented according to your local church conditions)

Before the meeting:

  1. Encourage saints to list all the names and pray for them
  1. Invitation card (do not include too many words, just highlight the theme of the gospel meeting), attach the call-in phone and meeting ID.
  1. Arrange the saints to share in the meeting: who is the host, who to lead to sing, who to witness, who to collect information, and who to conclude:

-It is necessary to test the smoothness of the network for the ones who will be sharing on Zoom in advance. And if the voice/sound is loud enough?

-The saints (especially the ones who are giving testimonies and messages) need to practice  to speak on Zoom, because some people will not be used to it, and time will also be limited.

-Pay attention to your appearance, clothing, background, lighting.

  1. Arrange the technical operator(s):

-Share your screen (hymns, verses, outlines, reading materials, video, etc.)

Use share-screen bottom to share, remember to check “share computer sound” if you want to play video. It is not recommended to use Chat to share the link, the link will become text format instead of hyperlink, you need to copy and paste to the browser. (Currently, the function of directly sharing files in Chat seems have not been enabled)

-Mute/unmute operator(s):

If you unmute all, do not allow participants to unmute themselves. This is very important, otherwise someone will unmute themselves, it will interrupt the meeting.

-Spotlight/cancel Spotlight

This person needs to spotlight the host and the sharing saints, so that everyone can see. This is the service of “switching the camera”.

-Grouping operator(s):

Grouping is very difficult. Especially when there are so many people, some gospel friends leave without grouping. If you want to group them, it is best to group them for 5-10 minutes, let them introduce each other. Some people can stay in the main room to watch when grouping. Some people can be added or not. If you want to divide them into groups, consider how to divide in advance. Each group must have serving ones. It is best to divide at the beginning or end of the meeting. Many people will leave if the grouping happens in the middle of the meeting.

5.To clearly write down each process of the meeting, what each link does, and what to broadcast. The host needs to rehearse 1-2 times from beginning to end with the shared saints and technical operators.

6.Encourage the saints to turn on the video. If the gospel friends do not see us, they will not turn on their video either. The saints who technical operators should also be dressed appropriately and also turn on the video.

7.The core serving ones must have a WeChat group to respond and make any adjustment for the meeting in time.

8.Zoom setting:

You can modify the account after logging in on the webpage, please update to the latest version.

Personal-> Setting-> Meeting

-allow co-host: Assign co-host is required for technical operation person.

-only host / co-host can share screen. turn off annotation

-mute upon entry

-Auto saving chats

-allow Break out rooms (if you want to grouping them)

-Allow participants to rename themselves

Personal-> Setting-> Recording

-only host / co-host can record meeting.

-Don’t turn on “Recording disclaimer” otherwise everyone who enters Zoom will receive a reminder of the meeting recording.

During the meeting:

  1. Play photos of the church life in advance (it’s a video: PPT with music), which makes gospel friends feel friendly, comfortable, and familiar.
  2. The host(s) should have a loud voice, preferably two hosts. Saints and gospel friends everywhere are welcomed to wave their hands. Encourage everyone to turn on the video. If you want to group them, you can consider doing it at the beginning or end of the meeting. Group them and use 5 minutes to introduce each other (virtual handshake).
  3. Sing hymns:

-You can sing along with the hymn video recorded in advance.

-Or there may be a dedicated saint (1 or more) to lead the sing, they just sing, other people mute to sing on their own.

-Or a few families (the best one has 2-3 people), prepare in advance and practice singing well.

-You can also try to sing openly (not all unmute, who wants to sing and raise their hands, unmute, spotlight) to stimulate the atmosphere.

-Choose short, easy-to-sing hymns to lift up the spirit, encourage everyone to sing, and clap your hands.

-If you feel the testimony, the speaking is weak, you can use short hymns to stir up the atmosphere and spirit.

-You can let everyone declare “Hallelujah” at the end of the hymn, you can unmute all for a few seconds, let everyone’s voice come out, there will be impact.

  1. Testimonies must have been prepared well beforehand; try to speak on Zoom, voices should come out, proper expressions, do not exceed the time limit.
  2. Brothers who give the message: release your spirit, and let your voice come out, not too fast, and be proficient in the content. You can take everyone to call for the name of the Lord and read the verses. Host or co-host can say amen to support in a timely manner.
  3. The switch of Spotlight should be proficient, mute/unmute should be fast.
  4. During the meeting, the saints who are responsible for the recording can turn the page to record all the participants, and then record the statistics. Especially when calling to raise your hand.
  1. Someone who ushers in Chat and promptly responded to the host with feedback.
  1. It’s best to end within an hour, gospel friends cannot stay too long.
  1. Call: Raise your hand to express your willingness to accept the Lord. Encourage a few more times. Also encourage them to reply in the Chat to be willing to believe in the Lord and to be baptized. When you lead everyone to pray, please close your eyes, “I pray, everybody please follow me.” The host can echo to pray for everyone, because all are unmuted. The brothers who are calling out can then pray. After praying, you can ask the gospel friends who prayed to reply “I am saved.” You can also encourage everyone to join the Bible reading group at this time.
  1. Leave some time after the report, let the saints who are willing to stay sing hymns, take turns to sing, it would be very happy!

 

After the meeting:

 

  1. Statistics: total number of attendees, the number of attendees changing over time. Number of saints (local and other localities), number of gospel friends (local, other localities), number of the ones who are willing to believe (local, other localities).

 

  1. The response from the gospel friends, and follow up.

 

  1. Review every segment of the meeting.

 

Br. Andrew Yu’s Fellowship on Praying for the Ending of the Global Pandemic(2020/2/28)

Come! Let’s Pray for the Ending of this Global Epidemic on the Lord’s Day of March 1!

 

1 Tim. 2:1-2: “I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men; On behalf of kings and all who are in high position, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all godliness and gravity.

Isa. 62:6-7: “Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, / I have appointed watchmen; / All day and all night / They will never keep silent. / You who remind Jehovah, / Do not be dumb; And do not give Him quiet / Until He establishes / And until He makes Jerusalem / A praise in the earth.

Since last week, the virus situation in mainland China has been gradually put under control, but there has been a sudden outbreak worldwide. The day before yesterday, South Korea’s daily number of newly confirmed cases exceeded China’s number for the first time, reaching a total of 2022 confirmed cases. Italy now has 655 confirmed cases, Japan has 214, and Iran has 270, with 26 deaths. San Francisco and Orange County in the US have declared a state of emergency.

God’s eyes are upon the whole earth. The Lord listens to prayer. The prayer offered by the world for China has been effective. We need to cooperate with Him, to fulfill our ministry of prayer, not keeping silent all day and all night. As those who remind Jehovah, we should not be dumb.

Brothers and sisters, rise up! We need to be the watchmen on the wall. On March 1, let us join one time slot during the 24-hour watchman’s prayer to respond to His heavenly intercession in our spirit, co-working with Him and paving the way for His move. Let us pray to the Lord of heaven and earth, the most high God, for

  • The ending of this global epidemic, the stabilizing of people’s heart, the restoring of the normal way of life, the Lord’s blessing upon the whole earth, and the whole earth’s turning to the Lord!
  • The Lord to particularly remember China, South Korea, Italy, Japan, and Iran. When the pale horse of pestilence runs rampantly, the white horse of gospel should run even faster, conquering and to conquer!

The more the saints on the whole earth intercede for one another and pray in one accord, the more we will experience the one new man; and the more we pray, the sooner the one new man will appear on the whole earth!

Excerpts of Br. Andrew Yu’s Fellowship on Kingdom Prayer (2020/3/29)

The coronavirus situation is getting worse in the past few days, especially in the US. Such is also the case with the European countries such as Italy and Spain. We have been praying for China in the past few weeks. Now we need to pray for the US and the world.

I.              We should pray for each individual country, as each country faces different challenges. Our prayers should especially go to US in the next two to three weeks so that the pandemic can be contained. Therefore let’s pray:

A.             For the containing of the spreading of the virus:

Our Lord is the Lord of all. We should pray that Satan be bound.

B.             For the opening of people’s heart:

We should pray for the opening of the hearts toward the Lord and His gospel. The heart condition of the people in this country has been stubborn and full of pride. Now it seems that what they used to rely on are no longer dependable. The problem now lies not only in the spreading of the physical virus, but the psychological virus of “fear” and “anxiety”. Only gospel is now the good news! 

C.             For the spreading of the gospel:

We should pray for the gospel to be preached widely. In the past we came up with the 30 words to help the saints preach the gospel. Now we can turn these words, such as anxiety, fear, into twitter or blogs, so that more people can hear the word of God. We should also gather fresh testimonies of salvation.

D.             For the rulers and authorities to have the wisdom:

We should pray for the rulers and authorities of each country to have wisdom in dealing with this crisis. 

II.            We should pray with focus. Our prayers should focus on the coming of the kingdom. This kingdom does not refer to the earthly kingdoms, but the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (Rev. 11:15). We should pray for the age, and for the East and the West. The Scriptures instruct us to pray in this way, and so does the Ministry of the age. 

During the Welsh Revival, more than fifty thousand people were saved. Behind everyone saved, there was at least one prayer group praying. Evan Roberts certainly knew how to pray the most. He disappeared for a while. Later people asked him what he was doing. He said, “I am praying kingdom prayer.”[1] In the first Overcomers’ conference in 1928, Br. Nee said that we need to preach the gospel from the perspective of the kingdom. In The Prayer of the Age, Br. Lee said that “we need to learn something concerning prevailing prayer.” We need to pray the prayers of the overcomes, so that our prayers can match God’s desire for Christ to return. Therefore our prayers should be focused:

A.             Praying steadfastly

The disciples prayed steadfastly for 50 days in Acts 1. Daniel prayed for 21 days. The Morovian revival began from watchmen prayer. They prayed around the clock and then started to send missionaries to many countries, including China. In China, the Chefoo revival came in through the 100-day prayer of the saints and then the saints began their migration to the northwest region of China. We should be like the widow in Luke 18 who caused trouble to the unrighteous judge. God will carry out the avenging of His chosen ones who cry to Him day and night (Luke 18:5, 7).

B.             The Four Key Points of Prayer

1.              The Gospel of the Kingdom to be preached to all nations (Matt. 24:14)

Based on the ministry, it is clear that we should pray for the gospel of the kingdom to be preached to all the inhabited earth before the end can come.

2.              The Fullness of the Gentiles (Rom. 11:25)

All Israel will be saved after the fullness of the gentiles (Rom. 11:25-26). Our prayer is like putting cards on a balance.  After the first one or two cards, the other side may not move; perhaps, only after you have added the last card will the weight be offset[2].

3.              The producing of the Overcomers (Rev. 12:5) 

Rev. 12 mentions the battle between the woman and the great red dragon, symbolizing the spiritual warfare between the church and Satan. The fiercest moment is when the man-child was born. Then the dragon began to make war with the rest of the woman’s seed and brought chaos to the earth. Therefore we need to pray for the producing of the overcomers.

4.              The preparation of the bride (Rev. 19:7; Matt. 16:18)

The wedding feast won’t begin until the bride makes herself ready. In the history of Israel, God prepared prophets for the Israelites not only before their captivity, but also during and after their captivity. Likewise, not only before the Great Tribulation, but also during and after, God needs prayers to accomplish His economy. 

Therefore, let’s encourage one another to join the 24-hour watchful prayers on March 31st. Not only that, we should respond to the call of 21-day prayer to pray for God’s move on the entire earth, from April 1 and go to unceasinglypray.org.


[1] The Prayer Ministry of the Church, Watchman Nee. Message 2.

[2] CWWN, Set 1, Vol. 10, The Present Testimony (3), Chapter 13.

Br. Andrew Yu’s Fellowship (2020.3): Grasping the Opportunity to Pray

Seizing the Opportunity

We hope to have the third round of 24-hour global watchman’s prayer on March 31

Recently the epidemic is spreading on the whole earth. We believe the Lord listened to our prayer, so the epidemic has receded in China. However, at the present time, we need to continue the watchman’s prayer. “You who remind Jehovah, / Do not be dumb; / And do not give Him quiet.” (Isa. 62:6-7)

Jumping up and kneeling down to pray upon seeing the sign.

Luke 21 speaks of the signs of the Lord’s coming. One of the signs is the return of Jerusalem to the Jews (v. 24); other signs include pestilence (v. 11) and anguish of nations on the earth (v. 25). The first sign has been fulfilled, and the latter two arebeing fulfilled. At this time, the believers should not just watch the situation passively; rather, we should “stand erect and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (v. 28). At this juncture, the Lord’s commandment is: “Be watchful at every time, beseeching that you would prevail to escape all these things which are about to happen and stand before the Son of Man” (v. 36). In 1967 when Jerusalem was returned to the Jews, Brother Lee’s first response was to jump out of his hospital bed and grab the hand of a young brother nearby to kneel down and pray. Now facing the unprecedented global crisis, should we not have the same response?

These days are not only the days of pestilence but also the days for seizing the opportunities.

What days are these days? These days are not only the days of pestilence and the days of anguish, but also the evil days and “ill, diseased”1 days (Eph. 5:16). During these days we not only should not be foolish, but even more should seize theopportunities. Ephesians 5:16 says, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Brother Watchman Nee said:

“There are several Greek words for the word time, as it is translated in the two verses we just read. In both these passages, the Greek word is not chronos, but kairos. This word does not merely refer to time. There are many passages which use this Greek word in conjunction with other words, and in those instances it is translated opportunity…These words from the Bible show us the Lord’s thought about opportunity. The Lord considers opportunity to be something very important…I do not know how much you understand the word opportunity. I always wonder how manyopportunities I have missed. In many matters, on the negative side, we do not know how many opportunities we have missed. Many things which we can do are all too easily missed by us. Many people which we can save are all too easily neglected by us…When we face the Lord in the future, we will truly have much regret to face! We are confused and unclear about everything, and we do not know how many opportunities we have missed!

If we do not know what the Lord is doing today or what is going to happen today, we are missing the opportunity.

One who is learning to serve should not do the same thing today as he did yesterday. If he is the same today as yesterday, he has squandered his opportunities. If we do not know what the Lord is doing today or what is going to happen today, we are missing the opportunity.

If we can seize every opportunity God gives us, the increase of the work will be according to God’s expectation.

1 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G4190&t=NKJV

We do not know what great things the Lord wants to do. Among the 470 million people in China, there are only a few hundred thousand Christians. We do not know how many opportunities we have already lost! I believe that God hasgiven more opportunities than we can imagine. If we can seize every opportunity God gives us, the increase of the work will be according to God’s expectation.

Those whom God can use never miss the opportunities He has provided.

Why does the Bible translate time as opportunity? Because “opportunity” is something that is found in time. Every daythe Lord gives us opportunities… Those whom God can use never miss the opportunities He has provided… As we finish one matter, another will come our way. When the second matter is finished, the third, and then the fourth willcome. Things happen continually, and we do not know how great any one of them will be. This is like throwing a stoneinto the water; the circles keep expanding until the ripples touch the shore. If we are faithful to follow up every event, we will not miss any opportunity, and we will reap colossal benefit. But if we miss any opportunity, the rippling maystop at any point, and our reluctance may result in no further widening of the circles.

If we do not miss the opportunities, the Lord will make tremendous gains.

I beg you to discover every opportunity God has given you every day. We hope we can discover the opportunities today instead of being reminded of them in the future…Redeeming the time means seeing what the Lord has arranged for us. If we do not miss the opportunities, the Lord will make tremendous gains, and the work will make immense progress.

We must not be dull to any direction from the Head; we have to be desperate for this and grasp whatever opportunity we have.

In order to not miss the opportunities, we need…spiritual sensitivity. If we are spiritually sensitive, we will sense the opportunity. We cannot allow opportunities to go away. We must not be dull to any direction from the Head. We must not let the Head have a sense that we are numb to His leading. We have to be desperate for this. We should grasp whatever opportunity we have.

I do not know how many opportunities are missed because of our digging a hole to bury our gold.

It is a terrible mistake and a great loss to the church to bury the one talented ones in the ground, thinking that they are useless and unqualified for the service, not giving them the opportunity to produce. We must put out the capital before we will have the chance to earn money. If we bury the one talented ones in the ground, we take away the opportunity for such spiritual gifts to be employed and we stop their function. We will never be able to grasp the opportunity. This is called digging a hole to bury our gold. This is foolishness. I do not know how many opportunities are missed because of this.

The Lord could do a work ten times greater than is now among us.

My feeling is that the Lord could do a work ten times greater than is now among us…But today we cannot do it…Brothers, we must wake up. We do not know how great the opportunity ahead of us will be. It is possible for us toincrease according to God’s desire. We must bring God’s children into His ordained way. Day by day we must take the opportunity to go on and to do the work before us.

I think the responsible brothers need to be fully conscious of the need to seize all opportunities. We should be filled with an awareness of all God-given opportunities. Every time we make a decision, we must be accurate. Whenever we make a decision, we should not just look at the present. Instead we should check whether our decision matches the opportunity given us by God.

Time is constant, but opportunities are not.

Before the coming of that day, I pray we will all learn to put ourselves into the Lord’s hands…Opportunities come and go as the days pass; they are not constant. Time is constant, but opportunities are not. Opportunities appear in time. Timeis continuous, but opportunities come and go. Therefore, we must grasp the opportunities. We must sense the opportunities whenever they come and make the most of them.

God has blessed Brother Witness’s work; his strong point is that he does not allow any opportunity to slip by.

Today the problem is not that the Lord does not give us opportunities, but that we miss the opportunities. Every one of us must rise up. The responsible brothers of the church must rise up. We do not want to let the opportunities from God go by. We have seen how God has blessed Brother Witness’s work. His strong point is that he does not allow any opportunity to slip by. It is hard to find him missing an opportunity. Once the opportunity arises, he takes advantage ofit. If we let the opportunity go, we will limit God’s work.

If we can identify the opportunities, we can identify God’s will; those who know God will never act in a habitual way.

More than half of God’s will is found in His opportunity. One day when we stand before God, we will see that most of God’s will lies in the opportunities He has given us. If we can identify the opportunities, we can identify God’s will. This is a very serious matter. Daniel 11:32 says, “The people who know their God will…take action.” This means thatthe people of God will open up new horizons. The more we know God’s will, the more we will seize the opportunities.Anyone who hesitates is living in a habitual way. Those who know God will never act in a habitual way.

Once God moves, we should move.

The brothers should be strong to take action. Once God moves, we should move. We should not give up any opportunity.

When an opportunity comes, we find money coming as well; souls are saved, and the work advances. If we just affordthese opportunities a little opening, they rush in. The problem, however, is that opportunities do not wait for us. When God opens the way for us to do something, we must do it. Once time moves on, the opportunity is gone. If we wait until tomorrow to do something, we will miss the opportunity. It may be useful to talk to a brother today. However, if we wait until tomorrow, it may no longer be useful because the opportunity is gone. We must have spiritual insight, and we must have spiritual senses. We must ask God to preserve each opportunity He has given us.

Recently, I experienced a great change in my feeling.

Recently, I experienced a great change in my feeling. I believe the Lord wants our senses to be sharpened. If we make any mistakes now, we will lose the God-given opportunities, and once these opportunities are gone, we may have to wait a few decades before they will come again…I believe we should find a way to reach out to the groups that love theLord and are amicable to us…We should establish fellowship with them and bring them to the church…I think the Lord will want us to fellowship with such a spiritual group…All the brothers must be mobilized to go out and reach these ones. We did not do this in the past; we must do it now. We must pray much. Everyone must consider before the Lord to see if these feelings will grow within us. On the one hand, we must emphasize the gospel. On the other hand, wemust pay attention to the spiritual groups…This is the opportunity of opportunities. We do not want to miss it; we want to take advantage of it.

I hope that from now on, we will be able to gain a few more steps along the way.

I hope that from now on, no opportunity will escape our feelings and our eyes. If we take the way of opportunities, perhaps we will be able to gain a few more steps along the way.” (Watchman Nee, July 19, 1950, Shanghai)

Esther was reminded that her existence was “for such a time as this” (Esth. 4:14).

The word of Daniel 11:32 was spoken at a time when antichrist was rampaging. And it was during that time, Daniel said, “The people who know their God will show strength and take action” (11:32). The time of Esther was a time when the lives of God’s people were threatened. She was reminded that her existence was “for such a time as this” (Esth. 4:14). In the face of a trial unpresented in human historymay God remind His children to “stand erect” (Luke 21:28), “redeeming the time” (Eph. 5:16), “show strength and take action” (Dan. 11:32), and rise up to pray!

May God’s kingdom come and God’s will be done on earth as in heaven.

The prayer the Lord taught us is: “Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth” (Matt. 6:10). “Prayer does not change what God has ordained. Prayer never changes anything. Prayer only accomplishes what God hasordained. On the contrary, the lack of prayer and the absence of prayer changes things. When God’s people do not work togetherwith God, He will allow many of the things ordained by Him to be delayed and not be fulfilled” (CWWN, Vol. 8: The Present Testimony (1) Issue No. 1).

Our prayer cannot stop; hopefully those who have practiced watchman’s prayers (i.e., set-time prayers) can continue steadfastly.

Our prayer should not be less than three times and thus suffer defeat (2 King 13:18-19). The Lord wants us to always pray and not lose heart as the widow did (Luke 18:1), because this is what He wants to find when He comes (v. 8). Our prayer cannot stop. Hopefully those who have practiced watchman’s prayers can continue steadfastly.

We hope to have the third round of 24-hour global watchman’s prayer on March 31.

“The petition of a  righteous man avails much in its working2” (James 5:16).  We hope to have      the third round of 24-hour global watchman’s prayer on March 31 to release more positive energy, which will be manifested not only in the ones prayed for but also in the praying ones. We should not only pray for one country but also for all the countries, and not only pray for the Lord to save lives but even more for all the nations to turn to Christ to end this age and bring the Lord back. Amen.

2 “Working” in the original language is energeo, which is the root of the English word energy. So this verse can also be translated as: “The petition of a righteous man avails much in its energy.”