Will you please turn to the book of Revelation, chapter 1, verse 9?
I John, your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patience which are in Jesus, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
Heavenly Father, we want to thank Thee for bringing us here. We do realize that we are in Thy presence, because it is Thy precious promise to us: “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Truly, Lord, we are gathered unto Thy name, and we are assured that Thy presence is here with us. There is nothing more precious to us, Lord, than Thy very presence.
We pray, Lord, as we are in Thy presence, that the light of Thy countenance may shine upon us. Thou art the only One who knows us. We are open to Thyself.
We pray, Lord, that Thou wouldst search us and examine us, that Thou wouldst give us an open heart, that we may behold the glory of the Lord, and that we may be transformed from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit.
We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
We do want to thank the Lord for bringing us together. I always think that every opportunity of gathering before the Lord is a special grace.
We do not know when our Lord will return. We can only say that it is very, very near. We thank Him for giving us this opportunity, that He may be able to prepare us for Himself.
The prayer of our heart is simply this: when He shall come, we shall see Him without shame. This is our prayer. This is the reason why we are gathered here this morning.
I believe everybody here knows what our theme is: the way of recovering the testimony of Jesus.
You have three things before you:
I wonder how many of you here are familiar with the term the testimony of Jesus. Maybe you have heard it until you are tired of it. Or maybe you have never heard of such a term. But one thing is sure: from the Word of God, we find that the testimony of Jesus is the eternal purpose of God.
This term, and similar words, are used at least eight times in the book of Revelation. I will not try to mention them all; I will leave it with you to find them out.
This book is none other than the testimony of Jesus, because in Revelation 19:10 it says:
The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
The book of Revelation is a book of prophecy. And what is the spirit of prophecy? I think we are all curious about prophecy, but do we know the spirit of prophecy?
When you read the book of Revelation as a whole, are you interested merely in the coming events? Are you trying to figure out all these prophecies until you become absorbed in prophecy itself?
The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. If you do not see Jesus, but only see coming events, you will miss the whole point.
As a matter of fact, the whole Bible is the testimony of Jesus. The Lord Jesus said:
Ye search the scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal life;
and these are they which bear witness of Me;
and ye will not come to Me, that ye may have life.
So the testimony of Jesus is the whole Bible. If we do not know what the testimony of Jesus is, we have never really known the Word of God.
What is the testimony of Jesus? If the whole Bible is about the testimony of Jesus, then we would be here until the coming of the Lord. It is impossible for us to put it all into simplicity.
But to me, I think the testimony of Jesus can be summed up in just two verses: Revelation 1:17-18. Will you please turn to it?
And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as one dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the Living One; and I became dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
In Revelation 1, John received a vision of the risen Lord. This is a vision that is meant for every one of us. We need to have a fresh vision of our Lord Jesus.
We know Him as our Saviour, but we need to know Him in His deity. This is the vision of our Lord Jesus, and the interpretation of this vision is simply this: Who is the Person in that vision?
He is the First and the Last, and the Living One. This speaks of His eternity. This speaks of His deity. He is the First, and He is the Last; and He is the Living One. He is the eternal One, and He is life itself.
This is what our Lord Jesus was in eternity. But thank God, He says, “I became dead.” How can the Living One become dead? The only explanation is His love.
Because God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. God the Son became man. The One who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God.
Praise and thank Him for what He has done for us. We would not be here if He had not come into this world. We would not be here if He had not become dead. His death is our salvation, and we cannot help but praise and thank Him all the time.
Then He said, “Behold, I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of death and of Hades.” This speaks of His resurrection and ascension. God has made Him both Lord and Christ. He is the victorious One.
This is the vision that the apostle John saw on the island of Patmos, and this is the same thing that God wants every one of us to see.
Do we see our Lord Jesus as the First? He is the First in our life. He is the Originator of everything in our life.
Do we see Him as the Last? Not in the sense that He is the last one, but in the sense that He is the end, the purpose, and the aim of everything to us.
Do we see Him as the Living One—Christ living in us, the hope of glory? Do we realize how He went through Calvary’s cross and opened for us a new and living way? He beckons us to walk in it.
Do we see that He is the risen One? He is on the throne, and He beckons us, “Come up.” One day we may reign with Him.
Do we see Him as all and in all? Is there any rival in our hearts? Can we truly testify:
Whom have I in heaven but Thee?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides Thee.
This is the testimony of Jesus.
Dear brothers and sisters, the testimony of Jesus is entrusted to the church. It is entrusted to every one of us, and we are supposed to bear that testimony.
We do praise and thank God. When you read the history of the early church—Acts 2 and Acts 4—you see that they had the testimony of Jesus.
Those who believed continued steadfastly in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in prayers, and in the breaking of bread. The teaching of the apostles is none other than the teaching of Christ. They did not have their own teaching; they taught what Christ had taught them.
They did not have their own fellowship. You remember Paul rebuking the Corinthian believers when they said, “I am of Paul,” “I am of Apollos,” “I am of Cephas,” and “I am of Christ.” Paul asked, “Is Christ divided?”
It is the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, into which we have all been called.
In the early church, they were all one. They assembled together, praised the Lord together, broke bread together, and rejoiced in the Lord together. Great power came forth from them, and God added to them day after day.
The same thing is found in Acts 4. They were completely delivered from self-possessiveness. They loved one another just as Christ had loved them. What a testimony they gave of the Lord Jesus.
When the world looked at them, they were amazed. They could not understand how it could be, because they lived a life totally different from every nation of the world. Jesus was everything in their lives.
Finally, in Acts 11, the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. That was the only way they could correctly identify them. Who were they? They were so different that you could not put them under any country or any nation. They were Christ-men.
See how they bore the testimony of Jesus. Within thirty-seven years, the gospel had been preached to the end of the earth, for at that time Rome was the center and the end of the earth. What power was manifested! What glory was given to God!
The early church kept the testimony of Jesus. But, brothers and sisters, the enemy of God hated the testimony of Jesus. He tried every means to destroy it.
When you come to the end of the first century and read Revelation 2 and 3, you find the seven churches in Asia. Consider the church in Ephesus.
Everyone who has ever read the Bible knows that the church in Ephesus was a glorious church. Paul spent three years in Ephesus and showed them the whole counsel of God. They loved the Lord so much that, when Paul was in prison, he was able to share with them the eternal purpose of God because of their undying love.
But when we come to Revelation 2, toward the end of the first century, another thirty-seven years had passed. What did our Lord Jesus find there?
He found that in the church everything went on as usual. They had the knowledge and the teaching. They had the work and the labor. But the inner fire was gone.
The Lord Jesus said, “Thou hast left thy first love.” Unless you repent, your lampstand will be removed.
Brothers and sisters, you find that the testimony of Jesus began to be lost in the church.
Then, if you read church history, you find that from the fourth century until the beginning of the sixteenth century, the church was welcomed by the world—but the world conquered the church.
The church entered into a dark age. Even the most basic truth of the gospel was lost. They did not know justification by faith. They tried to be justified by accumulating merit. All kinds of false teachings and doctrines were rampant.
You could not see where the church began and where the world became. The church had lost the testimony of Jesus.
Thank God, men may fail, but God never fails. Even during all those decaying centuries, in every century you find a minority—some people who wanted to return to the Lord. Because of that, they suffered from the official church.
If you want to read about the recovery of the testimony of Jesus, then we would say that it began in earnest from the sixteenth century.
In the sixteenth century there was the Reformation. People like Martin Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and others restored to us justification by faith.
Today, justification by faith seems to be known by everyone. But at that time it was so new, so wonderful. There was also an open Bible, because at that time the Bible was chained. Ordinary people were not allowed to read the Bible.
But now there is an open Bible. Since that time, we find that God began to recover truth after truth. But this is not what we want to speak about at this time.
What the brothers assigned me to share with you, dear brothers and sisters, is from Revelation 1:9:
I John, your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patience which are in Jesus, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
Here we find the apostle John. He was exiled to the island of Patmos. He was exiled for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus.
To put it another way, because John had the testimony of Jesus, he was exiled. But we can put it in still another way: How did he keep the testimony of Jesus?
He kept the testimony of Jesus by going through tribulation, kingdom, and endurance in Jesus.
How can we recover the testimony of Jesus? Where is the way? The way is in tribulation, kingdom, and endurance.
The apostle John went through tribulation, and the reason why he went through it was because of the testimony of Jesus. He was exiled to Patmos because of the kingdom.
It was because of a kingdom that is not of this world. If the kingdom were of this world, he would not have been exiled. Because he was faithful to a kingdom that is not of the world, he was exiled.
It was also because of his endurance—his patience toward the Lord—that he was put on that island.
Brothers and sisters, we may learn something from this. How can the testimony of Jesus be restored in us—restored to such an extent that the world will see it, and that the world will have to do something about it?
There are three matters here. Actually, they are one way with three angles: tribulation, kingdom, and endurance. In order to restore the testimony of Jesus today, we need to know what tribulation is, what kingdom is, and what endurance is.
This morning we would like to focus our attention on tribulation.
When you go back to church history, the seven churches in Asia can be prophetically applied to the whole of church history. At that time there were seven actual churches in Asia Minor, but they can also be prophetically applied to the whole history of the church.
We usually say that the church in the first century began with such glory. They kept the testimony of Jesus until the world recognized that they were Christ-men.
But unfortunately, gradually, the church that was noted for love lost its first love. Why did they lose the testimony of Jesus?
Perhaps by the second and third generation, people had inherited the teaching and followed the form of the first generation, but they had not seen the Lord for themselves.
The first-generation Christians saw the Lord, and the vision of the Lord so captured them that they paid a price. They stood for the testimony of Jesus and suffered for it. During that first generation, everything was new, fresh, living, and vibrant.
Then came the second generation. They received all the teaching of the first generation and followed all the forms of the first generation.
But unfortunately, because they had never paid a price, they never had a fresh revelation from the Lord. What they received was tradition. They were faithful to the tradition, but it became a formality. There was no real fire within them.
When you come to the third generation, all that is left is tradition. When you come to this kind of situation, you find the inner spring has gone cold.
As a matter of reality, there is no second- or third-generation Christian. Every Christian is supposed to be of the first generation. Every Christian is supposed to have a vision. Every Christian is supposed to have the testimony of Jesus, and every Christian is supposed to pay a price for it.
When that is missing, you find that what is left is form and tradition. When God looks at that situation, what will He do to recover the testimony? He uses tribulation.
When the church entered into the second and third centuries, as typified by the church in Smyrna, God allowed the Roman Empire to persecute the Christians ten times. There were great persecutions against the Christians.
But thank God, it was through the tribulation and through the persecution that the church was revived. That is what you find in the church in Smyrna.
We do not like tribulation. Naturally speaking, we like prosperity. Do you think God wants to punish us? Is it not in God’s heart that He wants to bless?
When He first created man, what did He do? He said that man should have dominion over the fowls of the air, the living creatures on earth, and the fishes in the sea. God blessed the man whom He created. Blessing is the heart of God.
But unfortunately, Adam and Eve rebelled against God. They fell into the temptation of the evil one, and because of sin they became disqualified for blessing.
If God should bless a sinful person with riches, wealth, fame, and everything else, is it a blessing or a curse?
You remember how God dealt with the children of Israel. He delivered them out of Egypt and brought them into a land flowing with milk and honey. What happened to that people?
Before Moses died, he was ordered to write a song. God wanted him to have a song because people may forget teachings, but a song is easy to remember.
In Deuteronomy 32:15, we read:
But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked:
Thou art waxed fat, thou art grown thick, thou art become sleek;
then he forsook God who made him,
and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
They were an upright people because they were delivered by the Lord, and the Lord blessed them. But under God’s blessing, they grew fat and began to kick. They gave up God who made them and lightly esteemed the Rock of their salvation.
So, dear brothers and sisters, sinful people do not deserve God’s blessing. The more they are blessed, the more wicked they may become. May I even suggest that God cannot bless them in that way?
Unfortunately, among God’s people today, the prosperity gospel is welcomed by the world. If you believe in the Lord, they say, you do not need to drive a Chevrolet; you can drive something much better.
Brothers and sisters, it is not because God does not want to bless us. It is because of the human situation. The way God really blesses us is through tribulation.
I want you to change your whole concept about tribulation, because tribulation today has a new meaning.
If you return to Matthew 24, the Lord began to speak about tribulation. There will be wars and rumours of wars. Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There shall be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places.
You find all these things beginning to happen in this world. As we draw nearer to the end of the age, these things will accumulate and increase. That is what we are seeing today. These are tribulations.
But read Matthew 24:8:
But all these things are the beginning of travail.
These are the beginning of birth pains. Brothers and sisters, today our Lord gives us a new concept of tribulation. Why are all these tribulations on this earth?
To unbelievers and to the world, they are judgment. But to us Christians, they are the beginning of birth pains.
It is true that they are pain, but these pains are positive, not negative. These sufferings and pains do not bring us to death; these pains bring us to birth.
God uses tribulations to bring forth what is in His heart. He will use these tribulations to bring us into His purpose. This is the way of tribulation.
Before our Lord went to the cross, He had a discourse with His disciples, recorded in John 14 through John 16. He told them not to be grieved, and He gave them promises.
But He ended His discourse in John 16:33:
These things have I spoken unto you, that in Me ye may have peace.
In the world ye have tribulation:
but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Our Lord Jesus said, “In the world ye have tribulation.” Why is it so? Because you do not belong to the world.
If you belong to the world, the world will not persecute you. But it is because you do not belong to the world that you have tribulation in the world.
May I put it this way? If you do not have tribulation in the world, are you really of Christ?
Look at our Lord Jesus. He came into this world, but He was not of the world. He was heavenly and spiritual. He carried heaven with Him.
He was in the world, but He was not conformed to the world. Because of this, He was rejected, persecuted, and crucified. Do you think that we who are His will have better treatment?
If the world should treat you well, it shows that you have lost the testimony of Jesus. We do not court tribulation, but tribulation is a must in our lives.
What is tribulation? Tribulation is whatever troubles you. It may trouble you physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually.
If we follow the Lord, we will find that the world is against us. The world is trying to lead us away from Christ.
There is not only a world outside of us; we also have a world within us. It is the fallen life. It is the natural life. It is our flesh. It is our self. And this is an ally of the enemy.
Temptation comes and stirs up the flesh within us. When the flesh comes out, it becomes a problem. That is the reason why our Lord said:
If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
If you love your soul-life, you will lose it. If you lose your soul-life for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, you will win it unto eternity.
If we are faithful to the Lord and want to keep the testimony of Jesus, anything that is an enemy to the testimony is our enemy.
When you are following the Lord, the outside world will be against you, but even the flesh will rebel within you. Unless the cross works in our flesh, we will not be able to keep the testimony.
Every time temptation comes, it is a battle of faith. Will we be faithful to the Lord, or will we gratify ourselves?
When we are willing to take up the cross and follow the Lord, that will be tribulation. That will be suffering. Our soul will suffer.
Think of our Lord Jesus. When He was in the garden of Gethsemane, not only did His physical body suffer; His soul suffered. He said, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” He was oppressed in His spirit.
Yet He said, “Not My will, but Thine, be done.” This is the way to recover the testimony of Jesus.
Are you willing to pay the price? Are we willing to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes?
Tribulation is the chastening of your loving Father. No chastening is pleasant at the moment, but it will produce righteousness.
So, dear brothers and sisters, do not be surprised by it. Do not faint under it. Do not try to escape from it. If it is the Lord’s will, as you follow Him, you have to go through all these tribulations.
Take it as the chastening of the Father. He wants to make us sons, and not just children.
Dear brothers and sisters, I can see no better way of restoring the testimony of Jesus than tribulation.
You do not need to court it. The Holy Spirit will arrange it. He knows how much you can endure. He has measured everything in your life.
So, dear brothers and sisters, we find that, after all, tribulation is not that bad.
In 1900, there was the Boxer Uprising in China. Many missionaries and many Chinese Christians gave their lives. It was a great tribulation.
But as you read the history of Christianity in China, you find that there was a great revival in China afterward.
Then, in the 1920s, there was another period of great spiritual awakening. Before that time, many people hardly knew whether they were saved or not. They said, “You believe, and then when you die, it will be decided whether you can enter heaven or not.”
But during that period, there was such revival everywhere. The gospel was prospering, and the government was favourable to it. Outwardly, it was very prosperous.
But unfortunately, because Christianity became something welcomed by the world, all kinds of divisions arose.
I cannot go into details. I went through all these things. I can only tell you what I knew. God did raise up a marvellous work in China.
It was a work without organization. Not only among the brothers and sisters was there no outward organization; even among those who worked together, we had no organization.
It was all from waiting on the Lord. Just like our body, it is not outwardly organized; it is inwardly organized. There is no better organization than that which is from within.
Outside organization is human; inward organization is from the Lord. The work spread all over China. It became great.
I am sorry to say that gradually we had organization. Not only were the churches organized; the workers were organized.
Then the whole political situation changed. Under the new regime, I saw the same Chinese Christians persecuted. Many died.
Generally, those who were Christians—whether Catholic or Protestant, whatever denomination they belonged to—helped one another. God used persecution to purify.
The gospel spread, and many, many came to the Lord. But when China was opened again, everything that we had before seemed to return. It is the sorrow of my heart.
Why can we not love one another, be one in Christ Jesus, and not be divided?
Tribulation purifies. Prosperity divides.
Many young people in China desire riches from the world. It is a deep problem. God knows. We have to bow before Him and say, “Lord, Thy will be done.”
Throughout the generations and the centuries, God has His people who are willing to pay a price and who show themselves faithful to the testimony of Jesus.
One day, the testimony of Jesus will overthrow the god of this world, and then the Head will come.
Brothers and sisters, we are living in this exciting moment. It can be either way. May we keep the testimony of Jesus.
Dear Lord, we look to Your mercy. In spite of ourselves, do not let us go. Take us in Your hand, and mould and fashion us according to Your will.
If it pleases Thee, make us a complete work of overcoming. May Thy testimony overcome the world and the god of this world.