A Word Of Love To The Co Workers Elders Lovers And Seekers Of The Lord

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, volume 5, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from August 19, 1996, until a few days before his death on June 9, 1997. During the entire period of 1994 until his death in 1997, Brother Lee ministered in Anaheim, California. The contents of this volume are divided into fifteen sections, as follows: 1. Four messages given on August 19 through September 16, 1996. These messages were previously published in a book entitled A Word of Love to the Co-workers, Elders, Lovers, and Seekers of the Lord and are included in this volume under the same title. 2. Eighteen messages given on August 21, 1996, through March 17, 1997. The first seventeen messages were previously published in a sixteen-chapter book entitled The Vital Groups and are included in this volume under the same title. Two of the messages were combined into one chapter. The final chapter of this section was added after the book was published. 3. Eleven messages given on August 21 through November 6, 1996. These messages are included in this volume under the title Fellowship before the Meetings of the Full-time Training in the Fall of 1996. Three of the messages were combined with other messages to form a section of eight chapters. 4. Six messages given on October 1 through 3, 1996. These messages were previously published in a book entitled How to Be a Co-worker and an Elder and How to Fulfill Their Obligations and are included in this volume under the same title. 5. Three messages given on October 2 and 3, 1996. These messages are included in this volume under the title Pre-meeting Fellowship on How to Be a Co-worker and an Elder and How to Fulfill Their Obligations. 6. A message given on November 11, 1996. This message is included in this volume under the title Paying the Price to Eat the Hidden Manna in Order to Gain the Triune God as Gold. 7. Six messages given on November 28 through December 1, 1996. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Issue of Christ Being Glorified by the Father with the Divine Glory and are included in this volume under the same title. 8. Four messages given on November 29 and 30, 1996. These messages are included in this volume under the title Pre-meeting Fellowship during the 1996 Thanksgiving Conference. 9. Six messages given on December 24 through 26, 1996. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Crystallization-study of the Humanity of Christ and are included in this volume under the same title. 10. Six messages given on December 28 through 30, 1996. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Crystallization-study of the Complete Salvation of God in Romans and are included in this volume under the same title. 11. Six messages given on February 14 through 17, 1997. These messages were Brother Lee's last public speaking. They were previously published in a book entitled The Experience of God's Organic Salvation Equaling Reigning in Christ's Life and are included in this volume under the same title. 12. A brief speaking to a group of co-workers on March 24, 1997. This speaking is included in this volume under the title A Dream Fulfilled. 13. A letter written to all the churches in the Lord's recovery on March 24, 1997. This letter is included in this volume under the title A Letter of Fellowship with Thanks. 14. A brief word of fellowship given on April 6, 1997. This brief word is included in this volume under the title The Highest Point: Doing the Work of the New Jerusalem. 15. The final prayers and speakings by Brother Lee from April 15 until a few days before his death on June 9, 1997. These are included in this volume under the title Final Prayers and Speakings by Brother Witness Lee.

This book is intended as an aid to believers in developing a daily time of morning revival with the Lord in His word. At the same time, it provides a limited review of the International Chinese-speaking Conference held in Anaheim, California, February 14-16, 2014. The subject of the conference was "The Intrinsic Significance of the Church." Through intimate contact with the Lord in His word, the believers can be constituted with life and truth and thereby equipped to prophesy in the meetings of the church unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

This issue of The Ministry of the Word contains the eight messages of the international training for elders and responsible ones hosted by Living Stream Ministry in Anaheim, California, on October 7-9, 2022. The general subject of this series of messages is “Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ.”

This issue of The Ministry contains the third and fourth messages given by Brother Lee to the co-workers in Southern California in September 1996. These messages comprise a timely, loving warning from our brother to beware of four destructive matters: ambition, pride, self-justification and exposing others’ failures and defects, and not conforming to the death of Christ. Trouble after trouble has come to the Lord’s recovery over the years simply because of these four matters. But if we will deal with these four matters, the Lord’s recovery will immediately have a revival. In addition to dealing with these four matters, we must also be right in following others. In actuality, our leading is not a person but the divine truth, the divine vision. Consequently, our following others must be according to the divine truth and the divine vision. The next three messages in this issue are the concluding messages of the Living Stream Ministry’s Summer Training of 1998 on the Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Message Ten emphasizes the crucial matter of the dividing of soul and spirit for the experience of the reality of the Sabbath rest. Message Eleven indicates strongly that in order for the believers to be brought on to maturity (Heb. 6:1), we must progress from the word of the beginning of Christ—the milk—to the word of righteousness—the solid food. Message Twelve, as a conclusion to the summer training, stresses the critical need of being transformed and of being matured. To be transformed is to be metabolically changed in our natural life, whereas to be matured is to be filled with the divine life that changes us. We need to go on, to be brought on, to maturity by forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, pursuing toward the fullest enjoyment and gaining of Christ for the uttermost enjoyment of Christ in the millennial kingdom. Ultimately, the Lord’s desire to bring us on to maturity must be matched by our willing cooperation with His gracious work. Lastly, we include a report concerning the International Elders’ Training in October 1998, held on the new campus for the ministry in Anaheim, California.

This two-volume publication, Lessons on the Eldership, is composed of outlines and excerpts compiled from the ministry of Witness Lee and Watchman Nee. They are intended to be used by mature workers for the training of the elders and responsible brothers among the churches in the hope that these brothers will be perfected to labor fruitfully in the carrying out of God’s economy for the fulfillment of His purpose through the churches.

This issue of The Ministry presents the last nine messages given during the 2005 spring term of the full-time training in Anaheim, California. The general subject of this series of messages is entitled "Noah, Daniel, and Job--Patterns of Living an Overcoming Life on the Line of Life to Fulfill the Economy of God." Noah, Daniel, and Job were selected to be the subject of this series of messages based upon two verses from Ezekiel 14. Verse 14 says, "Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in the midst of it, they would deliver only their own souls by their righteousness, declares the Lord Jehovah." Verse 20 is similar: "Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the midst of it, as I live, declares the Lord Jehovah, they could not deliver even a son or daughter; they would deliver only their own souls by their righteousness." It is clear that these three men are singled out for their righteousness. There are four aspects of righteousness, all of which are deeply and intrinsically woven into what is signified by the lives of these three persons. First, righteousness is to be right with all things, matters, and persons according to God's righteous requirement. Second, righteousness is the expression in our living of the Christ who dwells in us as the life-giving Spirit. Third, righteousness is a matter of being altogether right with the throne of God's administration. God's throne is established upon righteousness (Psa. 89:14). Fourth, righteousness is a matter of our being constituted with the righteousness of God, of our becoming crystal clear and transparent. We are becoming the righteousness of God in Christ. This righteousness in its four aspects is directly related to the Triune God Himself and, in particular, to the Triune God in the carrying out of His divine economy. Last of all, we include a report concerning the Lord's move in Romania.