Incarnation Inclusion And Intensification

This issue of The Ministry contains a complete record of the nine messages given in Auckland, New Zealand during the International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones in October 2004. The general subject of these messages is the uniqueness of the Lord's recovery (see The Ministry, February 2004, and June 2004). The burden for these messages can be summarized in the following fellowship from Message One, from excerpts of Practical Talks to the Elders by Witness Lee: We don't know how long the coming days will be; only the Lord knows. But for as long as the Lord tarries, the recovery will be on this earth...With these future days and future new ones especially in mind, I feel there needs to be a basic vision or basic knowledge of the Lord's recovery. Just five years ago a distraction came in which confused some dear ones who were concerned for the Lord's recovery. Since such a thing could happen in the past right before our eyes, how can we have the assurance that such a thing will not be repeated in the future? Thus, while the Lord still grants me the days, I would like to do as much as I can to put things clearly into writing. Then the dear ones who are in and who will be brought into the Lord's recovery can have a clear view about what it is. (pp. 51-52) God is unique. His plan is unique. His work is unique. His way to carry out His work is unique. And the very instrument used for His way is the ministry. Thus this ministry is also unique. In the New Testament, there is the unique Christ, the unique way, and the unique focus to carry out the unique circumference, the church, by the unique ministry. (p. 57) In the Lord's recovery...we are doing one work, carrying out one ministry. We are serving one Lord, worshipping one God. We are in His unique plan, in His unique economy, in His unique work, in His unique way. We minister His unique focus. (p. 60) If we are not in the focus and if we do not experience what we preach to others, we face two perils. One, sooner or later there will be divisions. Two, if we don't practice the focal points, the saints have no way to practice them. The things we teach will eventually become doctrines in the Lord's recovery. There will be no reality. The recovery will be just empty. If we don't care for the Lord's recovery by paying heed to all these unique points, then we will care for the spreading of our work. To care for the spread of our work is dangerous. It will produce different works to build up different ministries. Then division will result...I am fearful and trembling of these two perils: the peril of different works being produced to cause division and the peril of emptiness. (pp. 62-63) May the Lord speak to us in these messages to show us the uniqueness of His recovery. May the Lord keep us secure in this vision, and may He keep His recovery from division and from emptiness. Last of all, in the sections regarding reports and announcements, we include a schedule of the upcoming conferences and trainings in Europe for 2005.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994–1997, volume 4, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from March 7 through December 21, 1996. 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 fourteen sections, as follows: 1. A message given on March 7, 1996. This message is included in this volume under the title The Difference between the Lord’s Recovery and the Denominations. 2. Twenty-five messages given on March 7 through December 8, 1996. These messages are included in this volume under the title Various Meetings in Anaheim. Five of the messages were brief and were combined with other messages. 3. Six messages given on April 9 through 11, 1996. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Divine and Mystical Realm and are included in this volume under the same title. 4. Five messages given on April 9 through 11, 1996. These messages are included in this volume under the title Pre-meeting Fellowship on the Divine and Mystical Realm. 5. Four messages given on April 28 through June 29, 1996. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Incarnation, Inclusion, and Intensification and are included in this volume under the same title. 6. Six messages given on May 24 through 27, 1996. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Secret of God’s Organic Salvation—“the Spirit Himself with Our Spirit” and are included in this volume under the same title. 7. Four messages given on May 25 through 27, 1996. These messages are included in this volume under the title Pre-meeting Fellowship on the Secret of God’s Organic Salvation—“the Spirit Himself with Our Spirit.” [x] 8. A message given on May 29, 1996. This message is included in this volume under the title The Divine Revelation in the New Testament and the Lord’s Recovery. 9. A message that was prerecorded and played on June 4, 1996, for the blending conference of the churches in Taiwan. This message is included in this volume under the title The Three Major Sections of the Divine Revelation in the New Testament. 10. Two messages given on June 6 and December 21, 1996. These messages are included in this volume under the title Miscellaneous FTTA Fellowships. 11. Fifteen messages given on July 4 through September 8, 1996. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John and are included in this volume under the same title. One of the messages was divided into two chapters. 12. Eight messages given on July 4 through 10, 1996. These messages are included in this volume under the title Pre-meeting Fellowship on the Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John. 13. A message given on July 29, 1996. This message is included in this volume under the title The Office Life of the Living Stream Ministry. 14. Two personal talks given on August 7 and 8, 1996. These talks were expanded into six chapters and are included in this volume under the title My Autobiography—an Oral Presentation to My Children Revealing My Experiences of the Processed and Consummated Triune God.

This issue of The Ministry of the Word contains a complete record of the twelve messages given during the July 2023 semiannual training, held in Anaheim, California. The Key Statements on the following page embody and summarize the crucial truths and main burdens covered in these twelve messages. The Reports and Announcements section contains "An Update concerning Europe," a "Summer 2023 Mass Distribution Update," and important information concerning upcoming conferences and trainings hosted by Living Stream Ministry plus a website link to information on similar events in Europe and Israel.

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 Training for Elders and Responsible Ones webcast from Anaheim, California, on April 16-18, 2021. The general subject of the training was “Vital Factors for the Recovery of the Church Life.” 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 a complete record of the six messages given during the Memorial Day weekend conference held on May 23-26, 2008, in Dallas, Texas. The general subject of the conference was entitled "Experiencing and Enjoying Christ to Abound in the Work of Christ according to His Full Ministry of Three Stages--Incarnation, Inclusion, and Intensification." The main burden of the conference can be summarized by the following four statements: 1) We need to experience and enjoy Christ to abound in the work of Christ according to His full ministry of three stages--incarnation, inclusion, and intensification. 2) The seven Spirits as the seven eyes of Christ, the Lamb, infuse all that the Lamb is into our being so that we may be transformed into His image for God's building. 3) Christ as the sevenfold intensified Spirit is working to produce the overcomers by bringing them out of the degradation of the church back to the enjoyment of Himself for the finalization of God's New Testament economy. 4) Under the burning of the seven Spirits as the seven lamps of fire, the churches as golden lampstands will consummate in the New Jerusalem as the universal, eternal golden lampstand. Last of all, we include a report concerning recent conferences in Armenia and Georgia.

In this issue of The Ministry we conclude our series of messages entitled “Vision in God’s Economy,” comprising Brother Lee’s fellowship with the elders and co-workers in Taipei in March 1986. The present vision and practice in the Lord’s recovery are the culmination of all the visions, which God has given to men in His holy Word. Our vision and practice today are according to God’s New Testament economy to build up the Body of Christ to consummate the New Jerusalem. This is the vision, which matches the age, and it is the basis of the one accord among us. Six other messages in this issue are taken from the International Conference of Co-workers and Elders in September 1997. The subject of this conference was “Vital Factors in the Lord’s Present Move.” These vital factors are related to the apostles’ teaching, the Body of Christ, and the elders’ shepherding of the church. Caring diligently for these factors ensures that in our living and laboring we are kept in the central lane of the divine revelation with one way for one goal—the goal of God’s eternal economy—which we carry out by shepherding in cooperation with Christ’s heavenly ministry. These messages were spoken by twelve brothers in a blending way, and they include excerpts from Brother Lee’s written ministry. In this issue we report on our endeavor to acquire an enlarged campus for the spread of the work of God’s New Testament ministry in the Lord’s recovery. We also provide fellowship concerning the Lord’s move on the earth through letters from Ghana, France, Poland, and Romania. Lastly, we provide a report concerning the translation of the written ministry into the Spanish language.

The three previous issues of The Ministry contained a series of messages entitled “Vision in God’s Economy,” comprising Brother Lee’s fellowship with the elders and co-workers in Taipei in March 1986. Following this enlightening and crucial word concerning the vision that matches the age, Brother Lee began to speak concerning the present practice in the Lord’s recovery. His speaking, which we include in this issue, was a continuation of his desperate fight, begun in October 1984, to overturn the old traditions among the churches and bring in a new way, the God-ordained way, to meet and to serve. In this message, our brother emphasizes the practice of the new way: to preach the gospel, build up the small groups, and teach the truth, while not forsaking the larger church meetings on the Lord’s Day morning. Six other messages in this issue are taken from the Thanksgiving Conference in November 1997. The general subject of this conference was “The Sevenfold Intensified Heavenly Ministry of Christ.” Christ’s work in the stage of His intensification is to intensify His organic salvation, to produce the overcomers to build up the Body of Christ, and to consummate the New Jerusalem. We must advance from a work in the stages of incarnation and inclusion to the work in the stage of intensification. The Lord’s speaking in this conference through His ministry was instant and intensified, showing us the way to become lovers of Christ, martyrs for Christ, and eaters of Christ for the ultimate consummation of God’s eternal economy, the New Jerusalem. The Lord is advancing in His move to propagate Himself in Eastern and Western Europe. In this issue we include a report on the Lord’s move there, providing some details of the work to distribute our publications, the Full-time Training in London, an international meeting of brothers, and upcoming international blending conferences in five European countries.