If time allows, you know, but there are
so many questions.
We do want to reserve maybe five, ten
minutes toward the end of this session, just
to give young people some spiritual encouragement from
God's Word.
OK?
So, we'll give our time to our brother.
First of all, I feel in my heart
that actually this question and answer period should
be given to our three brothers who were
the main speakers.
Because I think it is only natural that
after you have heard from them that you
may have some questions you want to ask
of them.
So, to me, I feel it's a little
bit awkward that I should be answering questions
and questions not directly related to the theme
of this conference.
But, in obedience to my brothers, I feel
I have to do what they want me
to do.
So, I just ask your forbearance.
There are a number of questions given to
me.
And I will try my best.
And then probably I'll ask...
Where are they?
They're not trying to avoid.
Come on, Dana.
And probably I'll ask my brothers to help
me out.
Now, here is the first question.
Considering that many moves of the Spirit in
church history have dwindled after the second and
the third generations, how do we avoid falling
into the same situation?
How do we remain faithful to what the
Lord has indeed revealed to us?
How do we avoid becoming lukewarm like the
Neolithic Saints?
I'll read it again.
Considering that many moves of the Spirit in
church history have dwindled after the second and
third generations, how do we avoid falling into
the same situation?
How do we remain faithful to what the
Lord has indeed revealed to us?
How do we avoid becoming lukewarm like the
Neolithic Saints?
I think this is a very, very good
question.
It mentions the moves of the Spirit.
Now, we know that after the ascension of
our Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the third
person of the Gospels, came to this world.
And the Spirit of God moves on this
earth for one purpose.
He is here to complete the work that
our Lord Jesus has begun while on earth.
Our Lord Jesus finished the work of redemption
on earth.
And now the Holy Spirit came to fulfill,
to realize what the Lord has done and
make it real to His own people.
So we find throughout church history that the
Holy Spirit is moving all the time.
He never ceases to move.
But at different times we see a fresh,
a new start, as it were, of the
move of the Spirit.
And He is always moving towards one direction.
He always moves to complete that which our
Lord Jesus has begun.
To put it another way, the move of
the Holy Spirit is to complete the work
of God throughout the centuries.
In a very real sense, God has only
one work.
Now we think of this work, that work,
many works, but so far as God is
concerned, He has only one work.
You remember, one day after our Lord Jesus
multiplied the bread and the fishes and fed
five thousand, many people tried to follow Him.
They sought Him out.
And then the Lord said, Now do not
seek for the food that perishes, but seek
for the food that does not perish.
And then immediately the crowd began to say,
Well, what should we do that we do
the works of God?
And you notice, when they say, What should
we do that we do the works of
God?
The works there is plural number.
Many works.
There are many works that we think we
can do for God.
And yet it is strange.
You'll find the answer of the Lord is,
Believe on Him whom God has sent.
This is the work of God.
So you'll find that the answer of the
Lord is, There is only one work.
And that work is, you just believe.
You believe on the one whom God has
sent.
To put it in another way, unless we
believe and receive what the Lord has done
for us, we cannot do any work of
God.
So the Holy Spirit, He is here on
earth to work towards the completion of the
work of God.
And our brother mentioned in his message, What
is God's work?
Now God's work is to sum up all
things in Christ Jesus.
God's work is to complete a body for
the head, Christ Jesus.
That is God's work.
So we find that this is what the
Holy Spirit is doing on earth today.
And every move, every fresh move of the
Holy Spirit is always in that direction.
We thank God for the move of the
Holy Spirit.
You know, if you read the book of
Acts, you'll find that on the day of
Pentecost, that is the first move of the
Holy Spirit.
He came down, and the hundred and twenty
believers that were assembled in that upper room
for ten days, praying with one accord.
And the Holy Spirit came that day.
And in the one Spirit, these hundred twenty
believers were baptized into one body.
That is the beginning of the church history.
Our Lord, when He was on earth, He
prepared the material.
He said, I will build my church upon
this rock.
And the gates of Hades shall not prevail
against it.
He was preparing.
And then the Holy Spirit came on the
day of Pentecost.
And in one Spirit, the hundred and twenty
were baptized into one body.
They were no longer just one hundred twenty
individual believers.
They became a body of hundred twenty members.
And you know that is a tremendous difference.
Thank God, in that same Spirit, we have
all been baptized into one body.
We are no longer just individual believers.
We are, in a sense.
Our individuality never leaves us.
We remain as an individual to eternity.
And yet, that individualism is gone.
We are no longer independent of one another.
We become members of one body, related, interdependent
to one another.
And that is what we are today.
And this is the first move of the
Holy Spirit.
And then if you read the book of
Acts, you'll find He made a second move.
And the second move is in chapter 11.
When you find that the Holy Spirit make
a new move in Antioch.
Now, in Jerusalem, those people who were baptized
into one body, and on that same day,
three thousand were added, they were all Jews.
Whether Hellenistic Jews or Hebrew Jews, but they
were all Jews.
And maybe some proselytes.
But anyway, you'll find that the church in
Jerusalem was composed mainly of the Jews.
And in a sense, it was not able
to be freed completely from Judaism.
You remember in the beginning, the world looked
at those who followed the Lord Jesus as
a sect of Judaism.
They thought that in Judaism there were a
number of sects.
The Pharisees, the Sadducees, and they thought that
those believers of the Lord Jesus were another
sect.
Because they were all Jews.
So here you'll find the Holy Spirit make
a new move.
In Antioch.
Mostly Gentiles.
They came to the Lord.
They continued in the Lord.
They were disciplined.
They were taught in the Lord.
And then the world looked at them and
said, who are they?
They are.
They are not Jews.
They cannot be a sect of Judaism.
Then who are they?
And they said, well, they are Christians.
The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Christ, man, and woman.
In other words, they were Christ-centered.
They gathered around the name of Christ.
They loved Christ.
They talked about Christ.
They lived for Christ.
And they worshipped Christ.
Christians.
A new move of the Holy Spirit.
And then if you read the book of
Acts, you'll find he made a third move.
And the third move was he made Ephesus
a center of his work.
Paul remained in Ephesus for three years.
And all Asia, no, not Asia Continent, but
Asia Minor, a Roman province, all Asia heard
the Gospel.
And many came to the Lord.
And the Lord made a mighty move there.
A church was raised up there, composed of
both the Gentiles and the Jews.
And finally you'll find he made another move
in the book of Acts.
And it was in Rome.
In a very strange way, God sent Paul
to Rome as a prisoner.
But he was not only a prisoner of
Rome, he called himself a prisoner of Christ
Jesus.
He was there for two years.
In his rented apartment, even though he was
a prisoner, he got certain freedom.
He was always tied, locked with another soldier,
the imperial guard.
And two years he was there, given liberty
to receive anyone who wanted to hear the
glad tidings.
And the whole imperial guard heard the Gospel.
Why?
Because one after another was locked with him
together, chained with him.
They could not help but hear the Gospel.
So God, in a very strange way, you'll
find that there was another move of the
Holy Spirit in Rome.
And as a matter of fact, in those
days, Rome was considered as the center as
well as the end of the world.
Every road leads to Rome.
So you'll remember our Lord Jesus said, Go
and preach the Gospel.
From Jerusalem to Judea, through Samaria to the
end of the world.
So briefly in about 33 years, that is
the period of the book of Acts.
You know, our Lord Jesus was on Earth
33 years, and then the book of Acts
is about 33 years.
In that generation, well, we sometimes think of
a generation as 30, and sometimes as 40.
But anyway, you'll find that in that one
generation, the Holy Spirit made four moves, and
the Gospel spread to the end of the
Earth.
It was a glorious, wonderful beginning.
Well, if you read the epistles, you will
find that towards the end of the life
of Paul and Peter, we are now to
the 60s, and you'll find that in the
60s, there seemed to be a declination in
the churches.
You read Paul's letter to Timothy, especially the
second letter, and you'll find he mentioned that
we are living in a very perilous day.
And you will find people who are lovers
of self, lovers of pleasure, lovers of money,
and he was talking not to the world.
Now, it is no surprise if the people
of the world were lovers of pleasure, because
that's all they get.
Or lovers of self, because they are self
-centered.
And lovers of wealth.
But when Paul mentioned these things, he was
talking to believers.
Now, even in these last days, you will
find that even believers become lovers of self,
lovers of money, lovers of pleasure, instead of
lovers of God and lovers of good.
A general declension coming into the church.
And the same thing you'll find in 2
Peter.
He mentions that in these days, there were
people who were even denied the Lord who
bought them.
In the 60s, at the end of the
first generation, we may say, you begin to
see there is something.
First and second generation.
For instance, Paul, you remember Paul?
In his last journey to Jerusalem, he was
so anxious to reach Jerusalem that he called
the elders of the church in Ephesus to
meet him in Miletus, and then he told
them that for three years he was with
them and he preached to them publicly and
in private and with tears.
And he had not withheld anything that is
possible to them during those three years.
He shared with them the whole counsel of
God, but at the same time he told
them, he said, you will not see my
face anymore.
In other words, those elders in the church
in Ephesus never saw Paul anymore.
After Paul was released from Roman prison, he
visited Ephesus again, but you'll find in Ephesus
the old generation of the elders were all
gone.
And that's the reason why you'll find in
1 Timothy, he told Timothy to appoint elders
and the qualifications of the elders, new elders
are to be coming up.
But anyway, you'll find that when you come
to the 60s, it is, the first generation
is passing off, and the second generation is
coming in.
And during that period, you do find there
was some kind of declension there.
Now skip another generation, and you come to
the 90s, the end of the first century.
And this is when you read those writings
of the Apostle John, because Apostle John among
the twelve apostles, he was the last one
living.
He lived to about 100 years old.
And there you'll find in his writing, in
Revelations chapter 2 and 3, the letter to
the seven churches, you'll find there is real
falling down.
Even in Ephesus, they have lost their first
love.
And when you come to Laodicea, you'll find
that it is a lukewarm church, neither cold
nor hot.
And the Lord said, He will sprue them
out if they do not repent.
So, here you'll find the church seems to
be going down, when you come to the
end of the first century.
But thank God, if you read church history,
you'll find because of the general declension, the
Spirit of God arranges circumstances.
So in the second and third centuries, you'll
find persecutions.
Persecutions came to the church.
From the human standpoint, persecution was not a
very welcoming thing.
And yet, from the spiritual standpoint, you'll find
when God allowed persecution to the church, usually
persecution will revive the church.
Not only in the second and the third
century, even today.
Wherever you find persecution, the church prospers.
And I think one reason why we find
such lukewarmness in the church in this country,
probably because we don't have persecution.
Now, we are not trying to say that
we welcome persecution, because when it comes, it's
not easy.
But anyway, you'll find that the Spirit of
God is always moving, trying to recover, to
restore what God is really after.
A people who are Christ-centered.
A people who absorb Christ.
A people who express Christ.
A people who are like Christ.
Now that is God's purpose.
That Christ may be glorified in the church
throughout the generations.
So you'll find the Spirit of God is
always making move all the time.
So, first of all, I would like to
encourage brothers and sisters that in spite of
the fact, now this is a very keen
observation, actually, to observe that a move of
the Holy Spirit, usually in the first generation,
and then in the second generation it seems
to begin to fall and in the third
generation it's almost gone and it becomes just
a tradition, a dead thing.
Now it's a very keen observation.
It is, I would say, almost, sadly, almost
true.
But I have to say that this is
not the will of God.
The will of God is that we go
from glory to glory, from strength to strength,
from grace to grace.
Now that is God's purpose.
God's will is that we can go on,
on and on, until it is a glorious
church without spot or wrinkle or any of
such sort, to be presented to Christ as
His bride, His wife.
The will of God is that we all
be conformed to the image of God's Son,
Jesus Christ.
That is God's will.
It is never God's will that the first
generation should be fresh and living and the
second and the third generation becomes dead.
Now that is not God's will.
So do not think because it happens in
church history, therefore it's bound to be God's
will.
And then you expect it to happen every
time.
Now, that is not true.
We should stand with God against anything that
is falling away from the will of God.
It should be from glory to glory.
So, I think that is something we need
to remember.
But sadly, it is true.
Almost true.
Now there are exceptions.
For instance, the first generation of the children
of Israel.
They came out of Egypt, but never made
it into Canaan.
It was the second generation that made it
into Canaan.
So the second generation has hope.
So, it is not always the same way,
but when you study church history, sadly, it
seems to be like that.
So, what we want to do is to
find out why.
Why is it when the Spirit of God
makes a new move, you have a generation
living, vibrant, living testimony.
And yet, the second generation comes in, the
third generation comes in, and you find gradually
something is falling away.
Until finally, it becomes just a shell.
Now, why?
Why is it?
I think to know the reason why is
more important than to accept the observation of
what happened in church history.
When the Holy Spirit makes a new move,
some people begin to receive a new light.
Now, as a matter of fact, you'll find
that towards the end of the first century,
the revelation of God is completed.
So we have the completed revelation of God
in this book.
But sadly, you'll find when God reveals His
mind to His people, in the beginning it
is living faith.
But gradually, as it handed down from generation
to generation, it becomes a tradition.
For instance, we cannot go through 2,000
years of church history.
I'll keep you here for a long time.
You are not able to go home.
So, we are not going to do that.
Now, suppose we say, in the beginning of
the 16th century, that is what we call
the darkest of the Dark Age.
The Dark Age comes into this world.
That is, all the truth revealed in the
Bible were lost to the so-called Church.
The Church is full of superstition and tradition
and ritual and truth, living faith, were gone.
Now, people were not even allowed to read
the Bible and as a matter of fact,
at that time, people did not have the
Bible.
Only in a monastery, or only in some
other places, they had the Bible, and the
Bible was changed in a monastery.
So, people were living in superstition.
And here you'll find God make a move.
The Spirit make a new move through the
Reformers.
And Martin Luther is the representative of the
Reformers.
He was a monk.
He was a professor.
And then when he was convicted, you know,
he once, when he was traveling, a lightning
came and he was almost struck to death.
And also a friend of his suddenly died.
And these things began to stir him.
And so one day, he said goodbye to
the world, and he knocked the door of
a Augustine monastery and asked to be accepted
to be a monk in order to seek
for salvation.
And he knew nothing better than others.
And all they want to do is try
to afflict themselves and beat themselves and put
their bodies into afflictions, trying to save their
soul.
But he couldn't do that until the Lord
gave him a light.
The just shall live by faith.
Now, to us today, it is very simple.
We are saved by faith in the work
of our Lord Jesus.
Not by our own merits or our own
works.
But at that time, everybody was thinking that
you could only be saved by merits.
If you have enough merits, after you die,
you go to heaven.
Now, if you don't have enough merits, you
go to purgatory.
And some of the saints, they have more
merits to go to heaven, so if you
pray to these saints, they can share some
merits to you and get you out of
purgatory quicker.
And you can even buy indulgences.
You pay a certain amount of money and
then certain sins will be forgiven.
And you know the story during the Reformation
time.
A robber, he decided to rob the messenger
of the Pope because he collected lots of
money.
And he decided to rob him.
So he first bought an indulgence, and then
he robbed.
And when he was caught, he showed his
indulgence, so he was free.
So you find that's the situation of Christianity
during the beginning of the 16th century.
And no wonder, when light came to Martin
Luther, it was such a light.
Now, it was not new.
It is in the Bible, but it's newly
discovered.
It is a new move of the Holy
Spirit.
And what a price he paid.
Those Reformers, they pay a tremendous price for
the revelation that God has given to them.
So in other words, you find to them,
it is life.
It is life.
They are willing to lay down their lives
for the revelation given to them.
Now, that's the first generation.
They receive revelation from above.
Not something extra to the Bible, but what
is revealed in the Bible is revealed to
their heart in a living way.
And having seen this revelation, they are willing
to pay any price to see that this
revelation, this truth, will be worked out in
their lives.
But then, you find the first generation, when
they came into such light, they all paid
a price.
So it was very real to them.
It's their life.
But then the second generation came.
Or maybe it was the end of the
first generation.
Now, having such light, they begin to think,
how can we preserve this light?
And in order to preserve this light, they
try to organize.
You know, just like if you have a
new wine, and how are you going to
preserve the wine?
Well, you need a wine scheme to preserve
the wine.
So here you find, they begin to try
to organize something around that light, around that
revelation.
And then you find second generation coming into
that organization.
Some may still receive revelation.
Others, they just enter into the good of
what has been revealed.
They do not have a personal experience.
They only have the teaching.
They receive the teaching.
They enter into the organization.
And then, when you come to the third
generation, you find the wine is gone.
And all that is left is the steam.
Or we may say, it's a tradition.
So that's the reason why you find even
though God's purpose is from glory to glory,
and yet because of the weakness of man.
It is not the will of God.
It is the weakness of man.
Whenever something comes to the hands of man,
man always spoils it.
So, briefly, we find out the reason why.
The reason is, with the first generation, there
is revelation and a cost paid.
With the second generation, they enter into the
teaching and the organization without the need of
paying a cost.
So even though they keep the teaching, and
yet, it is in their mind, it is
not in their life.
And when you come to the third generation,
then you'll find sometimes even the teaching is
getting diluted, adulterated, and changed.
So it just became an empty tradition.
And thank God, when such things happen, you
find in church history, God makes another move.
Another recovery.
So, from 16th century to our present time,
you'll find God is always moving on.
Always moving on.
And moving on towards His purpose.
Now, how can we avoid falling into the
same situation?
Suppose God has given us some revelation of
His will.
And we are obedient to it.
Now, by the way, having a revelation from
the Lord, on the one hand, it is
a glorious thing.
On the other hand, it is very costly.
Now, you want God to reveal Himself to
you?
Do you really want Him to reveal Himself
to you?
Do you really want to know His will?
His purpose?
If you do, be ready to pay a
cost.
Truth is very costly.
A teaching, a doctrine, may not be costly,
but truth is costly.
And yet it is truth that sets us
free.
So, how can we avoid falling into, say,
the second generation, the third generation, and falling
away from what God has revealed to us?
Number one, we should never be contented just
with the teaching we have.
However precious is that teaching, we should not
be contented with just knowing what it is.
We need to seek the Lord for a
first-hand experience.
In other words, when you hear a teaching,
do nothing because you understand it.
Therefore, it is yours.
When you hear a teaching, go to the
Lord.
Of course, you go to the Bible to
see if the teaching is of God.
And then you go to the Lord and
ask the Lord to make that teaching a
living experience to you.
That it is not just something you have
heard, or even something you see.
But it becomes something that is living and
real in your life.
Now, if you have this kind of attitude,
you will avoid falling into the second or
the third generation.
Or put it another way, you are in
the first generation.
First-hand experience.
So that is something that is needed.
Now, how can we avoid looking like the
church in Laodicea?
Now, first of all, when you read Revelation
2 and 3, and if you read it
with a prophetic view, we will say that
the church in Laodicea, prophetically speaking, it speaks
of the last stage of church history, before
the coming of the Lord.
So far as Christianity is concerned, it is
like Laodicea.
You will find that it is lukewarm, neither
hot nor cold, and so forth.
But if you study church history prophetically, you
will find that Laodicea actually is a church
that is falling out of the church in
Philadelphia.
The church in Philadelphia is a church of
brotherly love.
A church that knows the truth, denies not
the name of the Lord.
A church that is approved by the Lord
Himself.
A church that is rich in truth, in
life.
But then you'll find when it falls, it
becomes Laodicea.
That's the reason why you'll find the church
in Laodicea says, I'm rich.
I have everything.
Because they have a rich heritage.
They receive a rich heritage from the first
generation.
And they boast of their riches.
They do not know that they are poor,
blind, naked.
They don't know that.
In other words, they have lots of good
teachings.
Lots of good traditions.
And they think that because they have these
things, so they have it.
But the Lord says, you don't have it.
You're poor.
You're blind.
You're naked.
You need to buy.
You need to pay a cost.
So remember, if you don't pay a cost,
what you have is not really yours.
You need to pay a cost.
Now, are you ready to pay that cost?
The Lord Jesus said, unless you deny yourself,
take up your cross and follow me, you
cannot be my disciple.
There's a cost there.
So with the Laodiceans, you'll find the reason
why they become lukewarm.
It is because they are proud of their
heritage without themselves paying a cost to have
it firsthand.
That's the problem.
So how can we avoid this?
First of all, we need to have a
holy discontentment.
Brothers and sisters, never be contented with what
God has already given to you.
Now, on the one hand, we need to
be contented.
Priority with contentment is great gain.
That is true.
But on the other hand, there needs to
be a holy discontentment.
Never be satisfied, contented with what you have
already had or heard, but always pressing on,
seeking for something more.
Why?
Because our Lord Jesus is inexhaustible.
He is infinite.
What we have is just a tiny little
bit.
And do you know that it takes eternity
for us to know Christ?
And that is why eternity is thrilling.
Some people say, well, what do you do
in eternity?
And as our brother Lance usually tries to
describe it in very graphic terms, he says,
you are there playing the golden harp and
just singing and that's it.
No.
Eternity is thrilling because we will be discovering
Christ in such a way much more effective
and double, triple, even more, the way to
know Christ.
And it takes eternity to know Him.
No end.
There is no end to it.
Now, wonderful, isn't it?
So, first of all, I think we need
to have a kind of holy discontentment.
Whenever you are contented, ah, you settle down
and say, now, that's it.
And as our brother mentioned, then if God
really is merciful to you, He will disturb
your nest.
You know, and let you try to fly
again.
So, that's the first thing.
And the second thing is to avoid such
situation is that the Lord will keep us
always humble before Him.
Pride always brings in fall.
So, if we are kept in humility before
the Lord.
I believe God is able to keep us.
You know, we cannot keep ourselves.
But God is able to keep us from
falling.
And how?
To whom?
To those who are humble.
Whenever we get proud, spiritually proud.
Proud of our spiritual conditions.
That's the beginning of fall.
So, if the Lord will keep us really
humble before Him, I believe He is able
to keep us always in the first generation
and never falls into the second or the
third generation.
I think this is something I would like
to share and I will ask my brothers
to add something more to it.
I ask my brothers to sit here because
I need their support.
And if they refuse to support me, I
will fall.
Well, I would just like to say in
a sort of larger overview of these things,
we do thank the Lord that the Holy
Spirit is so faithful.
The Holy Spirit is like a mother in
regards to the church.
And our God just does not give up
on His people.
When you look at the history of the
church, despite the declensions, you find very mercifully
out of the tragedy of the declension comes
a new reviving of a generation to stand
for the testimony again.
And so, even when the outward shell deteriorates
and declines, still by the Holy Spirit, out
of that shell comes a new generation who
captures again and yet adds something to what
has gone before.
And so, there's always a regeneration because the
Holy Spirit is faithful.
He just will not allow a generation to
go by with nothing.
And so, if you're looking at an individual
company of believers, let's just say, well, we
don't know what the future of that company
will be because pride can enter in.
Often, very practically, one of the great problems
with a company going on in a living
way is the leadership.
And the leadership, their vision dims or they
begin to grasp things.
And so, there's this decline.
But, you know, the Lord is not just
only concerned that that company of believers remain
together in that form, in that building, forever
and ever and ever.
And sometimes, although His Spirit has to leave
this particular building, He doesn't leave His people.
And out of the ruins of sometimes shameful
declension, still, there are some people who came
from that, who received something from that.
And they in a brand new way, and
yet in a continuity, if you understand what
I'm saying, stand up for the Lord in
the new generation.
So, I just share one little testimony.
And again, it's just indicative of what happens
many places.
Recently, in my recent past, I've been to
India a few times and been among brothers
and sisters who surely stood with the Lord
in a very costly way upon the ground
of the Lord Jesus.
And in simple fellowship, baking bread at great
cost and great persecution, not only from the
world, but from the denominations around.
But there has been quite a bit of
declension as the years have worn on.
A very difficult situation there.
And it's been great declension.
So that now the older generation is just
about passed away where the whole thing began.
The second generation is almost non-existent.
When you visit the assembly, those people in
their 40s and 50s, you almost don't see
them around.
And so, this move of God seems to
be in decline.
But, there is a third generation.
They're a little older than you are.
In their 20s, up to 30 years old.
And this generation really is grasping something of
the Lord in a new way.
They want the Lord.
They're willing to sacrifice to the Lord.
They're willing to pay a cost because this
generation is the first generation in the church,
in this way, who are educated.
They've been to college.
They have responsible jobs.
There's doctors and nurses and engineers and all
that.
But they're standing for the Lord where they
are.
And they're paying a price again.
And you sense the ferment.
And you realize the Holy Spirit just will
not let this matter fall into the ground
and die.
It does fall into the ground, but out
of it comes a new generation.
So, may that always be our testimony.
Even when we fail, the Holy Spirit is
up to something.
And He will bring something up out of
the ashes that will be more purified.
And it will continue on in the testimony.
So, let's just be thankful the Lord keeps
raising up reality.
Even if for some reason or another, there's
a decline.
And just remember this.
The Lord cares nothing for a building or
a fellowship name.
I go to a place, we call ourselves,
just so we have a name, Fellowship of
Christians in Huntington.
This name means nothing.
Nor the building that we meet in.
But the saints in the town of Huntington.
The Lord loves them.
And He wants a testimony there.
So, the building, the institution, the organization is
quite secondary.
What the Lord wants is people in this
first generation, humility, light, and walk.
I think Christian has something to say.
He's looking at his Bible.
I was reminded of the book of Esther.
You know the story of the book of
Esther?
How King Ahasuer promotes Haman, which typifies which
actually is a picture of our flesh.
And then, if you give your ring to
our flesh, and when our flesh is on
the throne, then you know what happens.
Sooner or later it will wipe out all
the people of Israel.
Such that the testimony, the real testimony of
God won't last.
So, we all know the story of the
teaching, or at least the lesson we can
learn from the book of Esther.
Because in this book, you know the right
man is out, and the wrong man is
within.
And Haman was on the throne, and Mordecai,
who represents the Holy Spirit, is at a
corner.
It's outside.
So, only when one day, Haman was on
the cross, in the gallanton, and when Mordecai
is on the throne, then everything just turned
according to the will of God.
So, the lesson from this book is very
important, because if you know anything about this
book, this book is among one of our
recovery books.
And it's very interesting.
If you study chronology well, you will discover
actually this book was, the story of this
book happened between the first generation of returning
to Jerusalem from Babylon, and the second generation,
just between that period.
So, if Haman had his own way, then
you know, when he really wiped out all
the people of Israel, that will include Ezra
and Nehemiah.
They really represent the second generation of the
Lord's recovery.
Because not only the rebels came back, they
also came back.
So, I think this is a very important
lesson for us to learn.
That is, if we want the testament of
God to be secure, or if somehow the
Lord can secure the second generation of the
Lord's testimony, like Ezra, like Nehemiah, then you
know that Haman ought to be a gallant,
and you should invite Mordecai to the throne,
and we should give our ring to the
Holy Spirit.
So, I think this is a very important
lesson from the Old Testament.
That's why Esther is one of five recovery
books in the Old Testament.
So, not only Ezra came back, not only
the rebels came back, Ezra and Nehemiah, they
all came back to Jerusalem.
Then they came back to the center of
the will of God.
So, I think this is very encouraging.
At least we can learn from one book
among 66 books in the Bible that how
the second generation of the Lord's testimony can
be secured.
I do want to thank my brothers for
help.
There are some other questions related, but I
think probably we have more or less covered
somewhat, and because of time, I think probably
we'll go to another topic for the time
being.
What's your take on the predestination-free will
argument?
Well, that's an argument that has been going
on for 20 centuries, and I do not
think we are able to solve that problem
this morning here.
I'm no theologian, and well, I think what
the Lord said, God reveals his will to
the babes, and keep it from the prudent.
So, probably, if we are babes, we may
be able to solve that problem.
If we take the attitude of being babes
in Christ Jesus, and just look to him,
and in a simple way, he may be
able to solve that argument.
But anyway, you know, in the church, these
two doctrines, the doctrines of predestination, and the
doctrine of free will, seem to stand in
opposite camps.
And, in Christianity, you'll find that people group
themselves around one or the other camp, and
fighting each other on this matter.
But, we have to acknowledge that both predestination
and free will are taught in the Bible.
Just use an illustration.
In Romans, chapter 9, you'll find predestination, election,
predestination, taught there.
And then, in Romans chapter 10, you'll find
free will is taught there.
Now, Paul is not that absent-minded, that
after he just wrote about predestination and election,
and he forgot all together and come into
writing on free will.
And even if Paul is absent-minded, the
Holy Spirit is never absent-minded.
And we believe that it is the Holy
Spirit that gives us these words.
So, if you read Romans chapter 9, it
is all predestination.
I think it is in such strong terms,
you know, it said, verse
11, that is about Jacob and Esau before
they were born.
The children indeed, being not yet born, or
haven't done anything good or worthless, that the
purpose of God, according to election, might abide,
not of works, but of Him that calls.
It was said to her, the greater shall
serve the less, according as it is written,
I have loved Jacob, and I have hated
Esau.
And then it follows, it says, now what
shall we say then?
Is there unrighteousness with God?
Far be the thought, for He says to
Moses, I will show mercy to whom?
I will show mercy, I will feel compassion
for whom?
I will feel compassion.
Verse 16, so then it is not of
Him that wills, nor of Him that runs,
but of God that shows mercy.
In other words, predestination is God's prerogative, God's
right.
Being God, He has the right to do
anything that He likes.
And, nobody can question Him.
Now, if you can question God, then you
become God.
So, in Romans chapter 9 it says, now,
if you go on to read it, you
will find in verse 19, Thou shalt say
to me then, why does he find fault,
yet for a fault?
For who resists his purpose?
Yea, but Thou, O man, who art Thou,
that answer again to God.
Shall the thing form, say to him that
has formed it?
Why has Thou made me thus?
Or has not the authority over the clay,
out of the same lump, to make one
vessel an honour, and another to dishonour?
In other words, that's God's right.
Being God, He can do anything He wants
to.
If He wants to show mercy, He can
show mercy.
If He wants to show compassion, He can
show compassion.
It is up to Him.
And, we are not supposed to question Him.
Now, that is election.
Divine election.
Even before the foundation of the world, we
were chosen by God in Christ Jesus.
That's Ephesians chapter 1.
And you'll find even before Esau and Jacob
were born, God had already said, He loved
Jacob and hated Esau.
So, it is not a matter of what
you do, it is a matter of the
one who calls.
That's divine election.
Now, predestination is connected with divine election.
And in Romans chapter 8, we find that
we are predestinated.
Chapter 8, verse 29.
Because whom he has foreknown, he has also
predestinated to be conformed to the inmate of
his son, so that he should be firstborn
among many brothers, many brethren.
Now, the problem today is, we misunderstand predestination.
When we talk about predestination, people immediately think,
well, you are predestined to be saved.
And he is predestined to be lost.
In other words, we connect predestination with initial
salvation.
Now, if God has predestined me to be
lost, then no matter how the gospel is
preached to me, I will be lost.
So, what's the sense of preaching the gospel
to such a person?
You don't need to preach the gospel anymore.
Now, if I'm predestined to be saved, then
even if I haven't heard the gospel, I
will be saved anyway.
So, what's the sense of preaching the gospel?
Now, when you come into that ultra-predestination,
now that will, you will come to that
kind of conclusion.
But actually, you find the Bible never teaches
such predestination.
Number one, predestination is God's prerogative, we already
said.
It is not your right.
It is God's right.
Therefore, do not intrude into God's authority.
Let Him do what He wants to do.
And learn to submit yourself to His authority.
Number two, predestination in the Bible is not
something so low, so mean.
Predestination is God's right.
And when God predestines, He has glory in
view.
Now, to us, not to go to hell,
but go to heaven, that is all.
That is all we want.
But to God, that is nothing.
He not only wants to save us from
hell, and get us to heaven, but He
wants us to get into glory.
Our Lord Jesus is to lead many sons
into glory.
So, you can understand, if a doctrine of
predestination is taught in the Bible, it has
to have a very noble, high, and glorious
purpose in it.
It cannot just be dealing with not going
to hell or going to heaven.
So, what is predestination?
Predestination is God has predestined that those whom
He has called, He will justify.
And whom He has justified, He will glorify.
Now, that's predestination.
Or to put it another way, if you
are called, then God will justify you.
Now, if God has justified you, will He
just stop at justification?
No.
He will continue to work in your life
until you are glorified.
Now, whom He has foreknown, He has predestined.
God's predestination is according to His foreknowledge.
See, God knows everything at the same time.
With Him there is no past, no future.
It's always now.
He is omniscient.
He knows everything now.
Now, our knowledge is so limited.
Our knowledge is limited to now.
We do not know the future.
We may learn something of the past, of
course, by reading or by hearing, but our
knowledge is limited.
But God's knowledge is unlimited and at the
same time He knows it all from the
beginning to the end.
That's God's knowledge.
And according to His foreknowledge He predestined.
So predestination of God is not an arbitrary
thing.
God has His reason for predestination.
And the reason is His foreknowledge.
He knows beforehand what will happen.
If, say, the gospel is preached to you,
what will happen?
Whether you will continually resist it or whether
you will believe it.
He knows beforehand.
And it is on the basis of such
knowledge He predestinated.
Now let me use an illustration.
Suppose you are a very alert person and
one day you are sitting by your window
and you saw a man walking back and
forth before your house.
And his eyes are peeping here and there
and looking very suspicious.
Now being very alert, now you feel, well,
probably this is a robber, a thief.
Probably he will try to get into my
house.
So you become very watchful.
And surely enough at night, that man came.
Now do you make him a robber or
a thief?
Because you foreknow that he may be a
thief.
You don't.
Not because of your foreknowledge.
You make him a thief.
Now if that is the case then you
are responsible for him being a thief.
But you are not responsible.
He is responsible.
He is a thief.
But because of your foreknowledge, you predestine him.
Now, this is the way that God predestined
us.
He does not predestine you that you are
to be lost or you are to be
saved.
By his foreknowledge, he predestined that when the
gospel is preached to you, equally, universally, freely,
some will receive and some will reject.
And based on that foreknowledge, he predestined.
Now that's number one.
Number two.
Whom he predestined, he called.
Whom he called, he justified.
Whom he justified, he glorified.
Now to me, I feel predestination is one
of the greatest doctrines, truth, in the word
of God.
It strengthens me.
It comforts me.
Why?
Because once God's hand is upon you, remember,
no matter how you are, he will see
to it that one day you will be
conformed to the image of his beloved son.
Now that's God's purpose for us.
Now, we need to thank God for that,
do we?
Thank God you are called.
Thank God you are justified.
Now, will God also glorify you?
When you look at yourself, you may find,
well, I have been justified maybe for five
years, ten years, twenty years, fifty years, or
more.
Well, there doesn't seem to be much glory
there.
Now, what is glory?
Christ.
Formed, manifested.
That's glory.
Whatever it is of ourselves is shameful.
You do not see much glory there.
But, remember, God does not give you up.
He is still working by his Spirit in
your life, and one day you will be
like Christ.
God can never fail.
You may fail, but he will never fail.
Now, isn't that the greatest assurance we have?
Thank God his eyes is upon you, his
hand is upon you, his heart is upon
you.
He will never give you up.
He will complete you in Christ Jesus.
One day we will all be completed in
Christ Jesus.
That is predestination.
Now, do you thank God for predestination?
That's a wonderful, wonderful truth of predestination.
Now, what is free will?
Free will is you are free to choose.
That's free will.
And in Romans chapter 10, you'll find Paul
mentions free will.
If you read, say, chapter 10, verse 8.
But what says it?
The word is near you in your mouth
and in your heart, that is the word
of faith which we preach, that if you
thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as
Lord and shalt believe in thy heart that
God has raised him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved.
For with the heart is belief to righteousness
and with the mouth confession made to salvation.
He said the word of salvation is near
you.
It is in your mouth and it is
in your heart.
Now, if you believe, if you confess with
your mouth that Jesus is Lord and if
you believe in your heart that God has
raised him from the dead, then you are
saved.
It is as if if you exercise your
free will, then it is yours.
Now, that's free will.
Free to choose.
Whether you will choose Christ or you will
reject him.
It's up to you.
Now, free will is man's responsibility.
So here you find two areas.
Predestination belongs to God.
It does not belong to you.
You don't have the full knowledge.
Therefore, you cannot predestine.
You cannot predestine that so and so, he
is predestined to be saved.
Or so and so is predestined to be
lost.
You cannot do that because you don't have
the full knowledge.
It belongs to God.
Now, don't try to play God.
You know, that's the reason why we have
to preach the gospel to everybody.
Because you do not know whether he is
predestined to be saved or to be lost,
or you know, he is to be chosen
or called and justified and glorified.
You don't know that.
So, let's stay within our boundary as human
beings.
God has given us a free will.
And we are to exercise our free will
to choose the right thing.
To choose Christ.
So, if you believe in your heart that
God has raised Jesus from the dead, why
do we have to believe that God has
raised Jesus from the dead?
Because if he is not raised from the
dead, how do we know his substitutionary work
on the cross is accepted by God?
We know when he died for us on
the cross, his redemptive work is accepted, because
God raised him from the dead, to prove
that the work is done and accepted by
God.
So, we have to believe that God has
raised Jesus from the dead in our heart.
And then with our mouth we confess him
as our Lord.
You are saved.
Free will.
So, I hope that we all exercise our
free will in the right way.
Now, these two things, from the human standpoint,
are in opposites.
If there is predestination, there is no free
will.
If there is free will, there is no
predestination.
But if we can see that they belong
to two different areas, then it solves our
problem.
Let God have predestination.
And we believe it.
And let us have free will.
And we exercise it.
And strangely you find that is the way
that God works.
He always works with two opposites.
Now, how does he work it out?
We don't know.
But that is the way he always works.
Now, to use an illustration.
Just an illustration.
When we look at the sky and see
all these planets, all these stars, moving in
such speed.
And they all keep in their orbits.
Why?
And we are told that because they are
maintained by two opposite laws.
Two opposite forces.
Central spherule and central pendulum, is it?
And these two forces, they are opposite forces.
And yet they hold all the stars in
their orbit.
That is the way God works.
And I think the best illustration for us,
I mean for us babes in Christ, concerning
predestination and free will is used by D
.L. Moody.
You know, Moody is not an educated person.
He was a shoemaker.
A shoe seller.
But very successful shoe seller.
And then the Lord called him out.
And become one of the greatest evangelists in
the world.
And he tried to explain these two things.
He said, when you come to the door
of salvation, you find it is written upon
the door, whosoever will, whosoever will, come and
drink freely of the water of life.
Whosoever will.
So when he said, when you come to
the door, and he said, whosoever will, then
you say, well, it includes me.
Now if it says, so and so will,
then it may be somebody else.
Or maybe there are some people who have
the same name, and you do not know
whether it refers to you, or to the
other person of the same name.
But then God said, whosoever will, so that
includes me.
I will.
I exercise my free will.
I will.
So I enter the door.
After you enter the door, you look back,
and you find on the back of the
door it says, Blessed are you who are
chosen.
Now you do not know whether you are
chosen or not, until you exercise your will
and enter into the door.
And after you enter into the door, you
look back and say, thank God, you don't
know that you were chosen even before the
foundation of the world.
Now isn't that comforting?
Isn't that assuring?
Does it give you great strength?
Knowing that you are even chosen even before
the foundation of the world.
That you may be holy and blameless before
God in love.
Now that is the grace of God.
So, probably the only way to solve the
argument is, we don't argue, but we be
based and accept whatever the scripture has said.
Now I have to look on my brothers
to help me out.
I was supporting Steve and I was praying
for him.
And I don't know what this is.
This whole thing of predestination versus free
will.
They call it Calvinism versus Arminianism, because Calvin
was a reformer and he was one of
those great reformers that received revelation that the
just shall live by faith.
The free gift of eternal life by grace.
So they call it Calvinism, which is predestination.
And Arminianism, free will, you have to make
a choice.
I have read a number of things on
this.
And I have read some of Calvin.
You know, the thing that blows my mind
is that this is a truth that I
believe the Lord would have us consider and
search the scriptures ourselves, so that we are
clear of our salvation.
And that God would show us this balance.
That this thing is a covenant.
It's a relationship.
It's two parties.
God's part and our part.
And we need clarity.
But just like any of these truths, we
can turn them into a diversion.
And in church history, this thing has really
become a diversion to where people fight over
it.
I mean, if you read some of these
debates, I mean, even some of the early
Plymouth Brethren got caught in the middle of
these frenzies, including John Nelson Darby, who was
a Calvinist of the first degree.
anyway, I think Stephen has answered this question
thoroughly.
You know, one thought that comes to my
mind as I'm standing here, and I pray
it helps, is the gospel of Jesus Christ
is really a three-fold gospel.
First of all, it's the gospel of grace.
And that's the good news for sinners.
That God saves sinners.
And that's the gospel of grace.
It's the gospel of Jesus Christ.
But it's also the gospel of the kingdom.
And that's the gospel for disciples.
And I think this is where there's been
a lot of confusion.
I had friends in Christian Missionary Alliance that,
dear, dear brothers and sisters, that would go
forward every Sunday and get saved all over
again.
Because they said, well, what do you do
with the scriptures in Hebrews?
What do you do with this thing about
losing your reward and judgment, standing before the
judgment seat of Christ?
And that unfaithful bondman that Dana talked about
last night.
You know, he lost their salvation.
But the gospel of Jesus Christ is, first
of all, the gospel of grace.
He came to save us from sin and
make us saints.
And we are made saints.
But secondly, it's to make us disciples.
And that's the whole purpose why we're here
this weekend, why we're learners.
Because we want to learn the kingdom, so
we're ready for the kingdom.
And that's discipline.
That's growing up.
That's maturity.
And that's the gospel of the kingdom.
It's the same gospel of Jesus Christ, but
the Lord preached the kingdom.
He wants disciples.
And that's judgment and reward.
It's not that you lose the gift of
eternal life.
But once you see this, that the gospel
of Jesus Christ is also the gospel of
the kingdom, it makes so much click in
the New Testament, from the gospels right through
to Revelation, that this is not losing your
salvation.
That unfaithful servant who's cast out, or that
person who comes to the banquet who's not
dressed right.
It's a case of not having learned the
lessons of discipleship in this life.
And I think it would help if we
were clear on that.
We saw that distinction.
It's the same gospel.
And not only that, it's also the gospel
of judgment in Revelation 14.
It's good news.
It's good news for sinners.
It's good news for disciples, that the Lord
wants to reward you.
That's why he's training you.
He wants you to be rewarded.
He wants to say, well done, good and
faithful servant.
But the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
is also the gospel of judgment.
He has to judge the earth.
He has to judge sin.
And that's good news, because the foundation of
his throne is righteousness and judgment.
And it's his throne before his throne can
be established on the earth.
There first must be judgment, and then righteousness.
And that's good news.
So, maybe it would help to just understand
that there's a distinction in the gospel of
these three aspects, so that you don't have
to deal with this thing of always going
to this extreme of free will, of, oh
no, I lost my salvation.
I've got to get it back.
But to really be secure in that and
go on, press on and be a disciple.
Since Brother Colin has borrowed something from physics
as illustration, so I tried to add one
more, probably will help you.
You know, light is a mystery.
According to John Newton, no, not John Newton,
Isaac Newton, this light consists of particles.
So for a long period of time, people
believed that light is just particles.
Then there's another Christian who is a very
smart scientist called Maxwell.
He believed that light is a wave.
So this has been proved by experiments.
Light is indeed a wave.
So there was an argument among scientists.
Now, what is light?
Some people, they admire Newton, they believe that
these are just particles.
And some people, they respect the experiment, they
believe that these are just waves.
So for some time in Europe, you know,
some teacher, high school teacher, they were torn
between the two, so they don't know what
to do.
So they finally decided Monday, Wednesday, Friday, they
teach that light are particles.
But then Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, they teach
that light are the waves.
So until today, in the 20th century, now
what is right?
Which one is correct?
Now both of them are correct.
So if you decide to accept both of
them, now you stand on the side of
truth.
So I think this is a very good
illustration, you see.
In the Bible, you see in chapter 9
of Romans, you have a doctrine of pre
-destination, or election, and then in chapter 10,
you have free will.
Now because this is all from the word
of God.
So what?
We have no choice.
Even you can explain why.
And fifth, these two, you cannot reconcile them.
Now you ask any modern physicist, they don't
know how to reconcile whether light is a
wave or a particle.
But they believe that both are true.
If you stick to one of them, you
are wrong.
So I think this probably will be helpful,
because I'm supposed to support my brother from
my own profession.
So I try to provide another illustration.
It may be helpful to you.
I just want to share this because I
think we only have very little time left.
And I think we should ask Brother Kong
to give us a word of exultation in
courage to the young people, new generation, how
we can go on, how you can go
on.
I think it would be very good if
you would just give us a word.
There are too many questions.
Now the other thing I want to ask
you, do you think we should invite Brother
Kong to come back next year as our
guest?
Yes.
Thank you.
Just give the young people a word of
exultation.
I still have something for my brother yet,
so he cannot escape yet.
I reserved this for him.
There is another question.
Let's go over very quickly and ask my
brother to answer it.
How can you be sure that you have
the calling to a certain field of work,
ministry in particular?
And this is my brother's turn.
Pray for me.
Just to help young people, just to reinforce
what our brothers share regarding predestination and free
will.
The Pope came to me that God is
not answerable to us, because he is God.
We as preachers, we are not answerable to
him.
So we have responsibility.
Now regarding this call, I believe in this
matter of serving the Lord, and this call
sometimes comes in a progressive way.
Initially, we are not clear as to what
area our ministry will be, or what would
it be like.
But down deep in our heart we know
that we are all called unto something.
Now that's the beginning.
Now we are all called.
But as we respond to that initial call,
then the Holy Spirit will do the rest.
He will do the equipping, he will be
a teacher, he will do the disciplining, and
he will also provide opportunity to exercise that
gift that he has called you to exercise.
It's all in the hands of the Holy
Spirit.
So brothers and sisters, don't dwell so much
on gifts, but dwell very much in your
life with the Lord, because he will direct
you the way you all deserve him.
That is the safest way.
Don't think about what you can do for
him.
Let him do first something in your life,
because ministry is not what we do.
True ministry is the person, the outflow of
the life of Lord Jesus through that vessel
that matters.
So I just feel for young people, we
all have the sense of call.
Thank God for that.
But let's try to learn obedience in small
things as we learn to obey, sensitive to
the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
As we mature, the Lord will show exactly
what he will have us to do.
So don't anticipate too soon what you should
do for the Lord.
That is in the hands of the Holy
Spirit, because once we surrender to the Lord,
once he is Lord, he is in charge.
And that's the best way.
What I call, we have to obey the
Lord.
My brother asked me to say a few
words to you brothers and sisters.
First of all, I want to thank the
Lord for being with you all.
I thank the Lord to see such a
group of young brothers and sisters who really
have a heart for the Lord.
I think what I would like to leave
with you, I will leave with you two
passages in the Scripture that mean a lot
to me.
As I look back through my life, these
are the two passages that comforts me, strengthens
me, encourages me.
So I just want to leave them with
you.
One is 1 Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians 5 verse 24.
He is faithful who calls you.
He will also perform it.
Now thank God He has called you all.
And He will also perform it.
In other words, what He calls you to
is the very thing that He will perform
it for you and in you.
You are called as we have been sharing
this time to be born men of righteousness.
To be born men of Jesus Christ.
We are called to be that.
And He will perform it.
Now sometimes I think whether we are able
to fulfill our calling.
Or sometimes we may fail in our calling.
But whatever it may be, one thing is
sure.
God is faithful.
We may be unfaithful but He is faithful.
And He will perform it.
So don't trust too much on yourself as
if you are able to be born men
of righteousness.
Now from now on you will be right.
Trust Him.
He is the one who is able to
keep you from falling, to present you faultless
with exaltation in glory before Him.
He is able to save you to the
utmost.
So just remember this verse.
It has been a real comfort to me.
Strengthening to me.
And there is another verse, a passage I
would like to leave with you.
And that is Philippians chapter 3.
Verse 12.
Not that I have already obtained or am
already perfected but I pursued.
If also I may get possession of it
seeing that also I have been taken possession
of by Christ Jesus.
In whatever stage of our Christian life may
be.
Some of you may have gone a little
bit further than the others.
Some may just begin.
But this kind of mind, of attitude must
always be with us.
As Paul says, not that I have already
obtained or am already perfected.
No.
But not because of that we gave up.
He said, I pursue.
So dear brothers and sisters, I hope you
will pursue.
Never stop pursuing.
Pursuing Christ.
That you may possess that which you are
being possessed.
Now, Christ has possessed you.
He has a purpose for you.
And it should be our desire that we
may possess whatever He has possessed us for.
In other words, that we may gain Him
fully.
So, dear brothers and sisters, I just want
to encourage you all.
You have been called.
And He will perfect you.
He is faithful.
But on your part, you need to pursue.
You need to pursue after that goal.
You want to have everything that Christ has
for you.
And I believe if you pursue in this
way, when He shall return, and you see
Him, you will not be put to shame.
So may the Lord bless every one of
you.
This is about the end of our conference.
And we just want to thank the Lord
for bringing you, young brothers and sisters, to
Cambridge for these few days of waiting before
the Lord, seeking the Lord.
And we hope, we trust the Lord will
richly bless each one of you.
I hope when you go back, you have
a fuller measure of Christ than when you
came.
That's our desire.
This conference exists for one purpose.
It's for the increase of Christ in His
people.
This conference exists for one purpose.
It's to bring people to God.
To know God.
To bring God to His people for God
to gain them for Himself.
So we're very thankful this year to have
Dana with us, Fr.
Christian, Fr.
Michael.
Particularly we are thankful for Fr.
Kong.
And let's pray the Lord will continue to
give our brother good health.
If the Lord is willing, let's pray the
Lord will give him a burden for this
new generation.
We believe he has much that we can
all learn from.
So we're very thankful.
The other thing we want to share is
as far as next year's conference, we are
not sure at the moment.
But we want you to go back and
pray much about it.
If you have a sensing from the Lord
that we should go ahead and have another
one.
And indeed the Lord is using this conference
for Himself, for His purpose.
Please get in touch with someone.
Young brother and sister in responsibility, get in
touch with them.
Write a note to them or call them.
And we can be before the Lord as
to when and where to plan for another
conference.
So I think we have some last minute
announcements.
Don't we, Steve?