Submitted by: Tim Washington (Bellevue, WA).
The church in Bellevue and the church in Renton met at the beginning of December to spend a half day reviewing the most recent ITERO messages. During our fellowship the point came up that in order for the Lord to spread in this country, there is the need of brothers to take the lead in these new churches. In fact, one of the limiting factors for spreading the churches across the country is having sufficient leadership in the churches. Relatively younger brothers will be needed in the coming days to take the lead in these new churches. One leading brother pointed out that there has been an attack on the young brothers in the churches, and pointed to the enemy’s strategy in Exodus 1 to kill all the young males. This brother also pointed out that if the enemy was successful, he would have wiped out the children of Israel in one generation and this in turn would have forced the Israelite women to marry Egyptian men. He referred to 1 John 2:14 regarding the strong young men.
There has been some good prayer since then regarding ‘strong young men’. In my heart is the prayer for many younger brothers who left the church life (and have been away for a long time) to come back. There is also a prayer in me that none of the trainee graduates would backslide, but rather would go on in a strong and healthy way. The Lord needs many strong young men in His move on the earth today, even for the migration in this country. After this fellowship, it was clearer to me that at least part of the burden related to ‘living to Him’, is to raise up and recover the strong young men in His recovery. May the Lord have a way through the prayer of the saints to do what is on His heart in the coming days.
I exhort you therefore, become imitators of me (I Cor. 4:16)
Be imitators of me, as I also am of Christ (I Cor. 11:1)
Be imitators together of me, brothers, and observe those who thus walk even as you have us as a pattern (Phil. 3:17)
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Spirit,
so that you became a pattern to all those who believe in Macedonia and in Achaia (I Thes. 1:6-7)
For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not disorderly among you.
Not because we do not have the right, but in order that we might give ourselves to you as a pattern that you might imitate us (2 Thes. 3:7, 9)
But because of this I was shown mercy, that in me, the foremost, Jesus Christ might display all His long-suffering for a pattern to those who are to believe on Him unto eternal life (I Tim. 1:16)
Let no one despise your youth, but be a pattern to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity (I Tim. 4:12)
Concerning all things presenting yourself as a pattern of good works: in your teaching showing incorruption, gravity (Titus 2:7)
Nor as lording it over your allotments but by becoming patterns of the flock (I Pet. 5:3)
What young men need are patterns to imitate. The older generation needs to be living patterns; otherwise, the young men would be a lost generation. Those who had Bro. Lee and those of his generation as pattern should be a pattern to the present young generation. Otherwise, the Lord’s Recovery will be transferred to another group who could stand on our shoulders and move on (if we can’t progress). The Lord’s Recovery was with the Wesleys in the 18th C., with the Plymouth Brethren in the 19th C., and with Brothers Nee and Lee in the 20th C. With whom will His Recovery be in the 21st C.? There is no guarantee that it will still be with us.
Where are the living patterns today? It’s good that we have the ministry books and materials to follow; but we need living patterns, the older generation who are experienced, still alive, and willing to teach/shepherd/be a pattern for young men to imitate at the local level. The younger generation needs to see how the application of what is read and what is heard is like when lived out.
This is how the young men becomes a lost generation. I speak as one…a church kid born into a local church life. One can only try to work out what is read or heard oneself and one would be lucky if one can find a companion to come along but this self-taught method wastes time and you learn by trial and error. However, this is still better than nothing or passivity [or downright apostasy]. I barely make it; many of my fellow church kids did not survived.
Nevertheless, one thing that now motivates me to spread and distribute the truths we have is that maybe, just maybe, another group who come across what we have seen so far could progress further with them if and when we fail. Just as Margaret Barber and others who brought the truths to China, to especially Bro. Nee and Bro. Lee, could spread and disseminate what were recovered thus far so that others could develop them further. Is this not the Body of Christ?
Amen to brother Tim’s prayer. Lord, raise up this generation to close this age.
Amen brother Tim!
I strongly agree with the fellowship that the Lord needs strong young men in His recovery today. May we be strong in our spirit to overcome the enemy. We need to be “nourished, strengthened, and sustained by the word of God, which is abiding and operating in us against the devil, the world, and the lust of the world.” (1 John 2:13 note 6) May we not let our personal time in the Bible get swallowed up by anything! One dear overseer/shepherd in Seattle always asked me about my time in the Word…I will never forget the impression I received from him about how crucial it is for us (especially as young men) to spend much time in the Word. For the sake of the Lord’s spreading in North America, may we all fight for our time to absorb Him in His Word. Brothers, be nourished, strengthened, and sustained! Then we can rise up and be strong young men who have overcome the evil one! Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world!
The patterns have been laid before us.
I was one who drifted for so long. It was not patterns that I lacked, but vision. Once I saw the church, everything changed.
We have it so easy. With just a mouse-click we can read the Lord’s Word, ministry books, and even find audio messages on so many subjects including “Becoming a Timothy for the Lord’s Recovery”. http://www.ageturners.com/Media
These times are easy. We are not persecuted for our faith. We do not have to travel for weeks to hear the Lord’s up-to-date speaking or purchase a Bible. Everything has been handed to us, yet we seek to find blame on others for our lack.
Our problem is our choosing. We can choose to use the resources to gain more of Christ or we can use them to lose our time on the earthly things.
The Lord, by His grace and mercy, provides us the environment in which to grow and mature. The earlier we see this the less we suffer, and more importantly, the sooner the Lord can begin using us for His purpose.
We need men who have been walking GOD for years. We need discernment!
Tim, thank you for opening your burden concerning the need for the proper leadership in the churches to be expanded in the coming days, especially for the establishing of new churches. In my locality we have just finished going through the messages from the recent ITERO on being a proper person in life to care for the church in God’s administration. We were so impressed with the need and importance of proper elders in God’s administration. God needs certain kind of PERSONS who can participate in His administration by caring for the church. In light of such a vision and with the sowing/farming in 30 cities across North America in these days, why not pray in definite way for the Lord to raise up 60 to 90 elders–brothers who are pure and proper in their person–in the coming year. If we want to establish 30 new churches, we need genuine elders in each place.
Let us pray.
Hi Brothers,
There are increasing comments everyday which are so encouraging. Maybe we can have forums here as well, targeted to specific concerns.
In Him,
MD