Brothers and sisters, if you attended WCCC last year, I think we still clearly remember the conference concerning the recovery of the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Several brothers fellowshipped with us clearly concerning this subject. From that conference, we came to understand that the testimony of Jesus Christ is the greatest entrustment God has given to His church.
All the churches on the earth should be the testimony of Jesus Christ. The church should testify of Him.
Throughout church history, many of God’s children came to realize this testimony. They were like their Lord: willing to pay a high cost for that testimony. They were willing to suffer for it, even to the point of martyrdom.
In Revelation, we read of the souls of those who were martyred because of the testimony of Jesus. Today, on earth, the testimony of Jesus is still the object of the enemy’s attack. Wherever God’s children gather together for this testimony, the enemy’s attack will be there also.
Therefore, we know how important the testimony of Jesus is. An elder brother reminded us clearly that the testimony of Jesus Christ is Jesus Christ Himself. The testimony we have is not for ourselves; it is for Christ.
The church has no testimony of its own. The church testifies only of the Lord. The church is the vessel to testify of Jesus.
Our brother also mentioned that this testimony is God’s eternal purpose, from eternity past to eternity future. This is God’s most important purpose.
Throughout the generations, God has revealed His purpose to many saints. When they receive revelation and come to know the testimony of Jesus, they take this testimony as the goal of their lives.
Of course, throughout church history, many have failed concerning the testimony. But God has never given up. Through the generations, He has continued His work of recovery.
As we come to the end time, the testimony of Jesus is God’s greatest recovery work in His church. The Lord released His purpose and His heart among us last year. I feel that we should take one step further in this direction.
The theme of this conference tells us about the way of recovering the testimony. Now that we know what the testimony of Jesus Christ is, do we have a path by which we can reach that goal?
We look to the mercy of the Lord. May He clearly manifest His path among us throughout this conference.
Four brothers will share on this topic. The responsibility I have received is to speak concerning running the course. I have three messages, and I would like to fellowship on this subject from three aspects:
Tonight, we will fellowship on the first aspect: the goal and the path.
The first passage is 2 Timothy 4:7:
I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the course,
I have kept the faith.
The second passage is Acts 20:17-24:
And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to him the elders of the church.
And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, after what manner I was with you all the time,
serving the Lord with all lowliness of mind, and with tears, and with trials which befell me by the plots of the Jews;
how I shrank not from declaring unto you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly, and from house to house,
testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
save that the Holy Spirit testifieth unto me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.
But I hold not my life of any account as dear unto myself, so that I may accomplish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
We also read John 14:4-6:
And whither I go, ye know the way.
Thomas saith unto Him, Lord, we know not whither Thou goest; how know we the way?
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by Me.
Finally, Psalm 84:5:
Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee;
In whose heart are the highways to Zion.
When Paul was returning to Jerusalem on his third missionary journey, he came to Miletus and gathered the elders of Ephesus there. He had a discourse with them, and I feel that this discourse is full of perfection. Yet there is one especially important statement concerning the relationship between his ministry and his goal.
In Acts 20:24, Paul says:
But I hold not my life of any account as dear unto myself, so that I may accomplish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
This verse expresses one thing: there is an inseparable relationship between the course and the ministry. To finish the course is equivalent to accomplishing the ministry that Paul received from the Lord.
When Paul met the Lord on the road to Damascus, God gave him a very important entrustment. Acts 22 tells us that God chose him so that he might know His will, see the Righteous One, and hear His voice. Later, the Lord told him that he must testify of these things.
Brothers and sisters, Paul received a very important entrustment. But the accomplishment of that commission had a very close relationship with the course he had to run.
In the original Greek, the word translated course can also mean a race or a career. Paul understood one thing: in order to accomplish the entrustment he received from the Lord, he had to finish his course. He had to testify of the gospel of the grace of God.
We know that, for Paul, the gospel speaks of the Lord Jesus. From the apostle Paul, we can learn that when a person finishes his course, he can finish the entrustment he has received. That entrustment is the goal Paul had to reach while on earth.
For every Christian, when we believe in the Lord, there is also a course for us to run. If we are to accomplish the entrustment we have received from the Lord and testify for Him, each one of us must finish our course.
When Paul received this revelation, that commission became more important to him than his own life. This reminds us that the testimony of Jesus, the Lord’s entrustment to us, and the course we need to finish must be regarded as the most important matters in our lives.
The goal and the course are inseparable. Throughout the entire Bible, God has clearly revealed His heart concerning this matter.
Before creation, according to His perfect wisdom, God set an unchangeable purpose. When He set this purpose, He also set the way by which that purpose would be reached.
In the Old Testament, Psalm 84:5 is a representative verse. There is a way called the highway to Zion. We know that Zion represents God’s eternal purpose, and we can see that there is a way by which that purpose may be reached.
In the New Testament, this meaning is demonstrated even more clearly. God’s purpose is Christ, and the way to God’s purpose is also Christ.
As we read Ephesians and Colossians, we see that God has set a glorious purpose in this universe. In John 14, the Lord Jesus says that He is the way.
God’s purpose and God’s way have been set according to His perfect wisdom, and they cannot be changed. Man cannot set a purpose for God, and man cannot set a way for God’s purpose.
If today we do not walk in the way of the Lord, we can never reach the purpose God has set before us.
God’s purpose is Christ; God’s purpose is the testimony of Christ. This testimony is the goal for us to pursue on earth. Since this purpose must be fulfilled by God, we must run in the way He has established.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we must understand the purpose of God, and we must know the way to reach that purpose. In our Christian experience and in our service, the way is a very important matter.
The Lord highly values His purpose, and He also values the way by which that purpose is reached. When Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life,” all three matters were important. Yet we should also pay attention to their order.
The first thing the Lord mentioned was the way. He said that no one can come to the Father except through Him. This shows us the importance of the way.
Hebrews 10:19-20 tells us that, through the breaking of His body, our Lord inaugurated a new and living way for us, so that we may enter the holy place with boldness.
The way, the truth, and the life are all important, but their sequence is important also. We must have the correct way; then the truth can be clearly conveyed. The truth produces the fruit of life, and the manifestation of life brings forth the true testimony.
Put another way, if the way is not correct, the truth cannot be clearly delivered. If what is delivered is not truth, it produces no fruit of life. If there is no fruit of life, there is no testimony.
This way is also called the way of life. The testimony of Jesus is not merely a doctrine or a saying. Rather, it is the reality of the life of Jesus being lived out within us.
According to God’s Word, the first matter to which we must pay attention is the way. We must walk in the way established by the Lord. Only in this way will truth become meaningful to us. When we enter into the reality of truth, life will be manifested, and the testimony of Jesus will be expressed through that life.
Of course, according to the Word of God, this way is small and narrow. The Lord Jesus clearly says in Matthew 7 that the way to destruction is broad, but the gate is narrow and the way is confined that leads unto life.
There is no way besides Him. When we preach the gospel, we tell people, just as Peter did, that there is no salvation in any other. No philosophy, doctrine, or other thing can save us, because God’s salvation is only in one way.
I believe all Christians can agree with this. We have no question concerning salvation: if a person does not take this way, he will not be saved.
But concerning the reaching of God’s purpose, the same principle has been established by God. If we are not walking in the way God has set for that purpose, we cannot reach God’s purpose.
In the Old Testament, there is a record concerning a mistake made by Abraham, the father of faith. God recorded this event as a warning for us.
God promised Abraham that he would have a son. Yet the time was prolonged. Abraham became old, almost one hundred years old, and Sarah also passed the age of childbearing. According to human circumstances, the situation seemed hopeless.
Looking back, we can see that this was a test from God. We all have weaknesses. When we come into hopeless conditions, we often try to find a way out. We try to find a way to help ourselves.
In Genesis 21, God spoke a clear word to Abraham:
In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Isaac was the promised one. Yet in Genesis 16, when this elderly couple faced such a difficult situation, Abraham listened to Sarah and took Hagar. As a result, Ishmael was born.
Ishmael was a human substitute, something artificial. This was not according to God’s purpose. God could not accept it. God can accept only what He has set in His purpose.
This familiar story contains a deep warning and a deeper meaning. If we are not in the way of the Lord, we can never reach the purpose of God.
Perhaps we are in very trying and severe conditions. Yet, no matter what, we must believe God’s promise. We must never seek our own way out because of difficulties or harsh circumstances. If we do this, we depart from the way of God.
We need to know our God. He will never allow man to use anything else to replace His own decision.
Throughout church history, from the first generation onward, there have been people who truly knew God and insisted on walking in His way. They suffered much, but they would never give up. These are the witnesses of Jesus.
If we walk in the wrong way, if we are not in God’s way, we can never reach God’s purpose. If we do not insist on keeping the way God has given us, then our speaking concerning the testimony of Jesus will become merely a doctrine.
This is true not only for our individual lives. Church history gives us many examples in which the way of the church deviated. When the church entered a wrong way, the testimony of Jesus was lost.
If we look at first-century history, the testimony was very strong in the beginning. Yet before the end of the first century, there was already great deviation. The testimony of some churches became weaker and weaker.
When the apostle John wrote Revelation, we can see that among the seven churches in Asia Minor, many had fallen into a very weak condition. God highly values the testimony of Jesus. Therefore, today we must run in the right way.
How can we run in the right way? Through the experience of Paul, we can see some important principles that we must keep before the Lord.
The first important principle is that we must define our way according to the purpose. This means that we must have a clear understanding of God’s purpose.
We must use God’s purpose as the goal of our pursuit, and we must use this goal to determine our course.
We have mentioned several times that the purpose of God is the testimony of Jesus. This is the most important entrustment God has given to His church.
God built up the church on earth for one purpose: the testimony of Jesus. The church cannot be used for any other purpose. God built the church for this one purpose.
Therefore, as we live the church life, we must take the path that can reach this goal as our path. Whether the path we are running is right or not must be measured by the goal.
We should never run in a way that cannot reach the goal. One thing Paul feared was that he might run in vain. A person may use much strength, put forth much effort, and exercise much intelligence; but if that way cannot reach God’s purpose, even a lifetime of running will be in vain.
First of all, we must be clear concerning God’s purpose. Then we will have a clear goal, and we must use that goal to determine our course.
As we read the Bible, we agree that God’s way is only one, and this way is our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet we see that the ways among Christians can be very confusing.
Someone has said that, when we come to the New Jerusalem in Revelation, there is only one way. Thank the Lord that, although we may become lost on earth, once we enter heaven we will never be lost again, because in the New Jerusalem there is only one way.
For God, His way is only one. Yet among God’s children we see much confusion. In the Bible, there are two terms used concerning the way. One is the way, and the other is a course or a path. There is a difference between these two terms.
It is true that there is only one way to reach God’s purpose. Yet within this one way, God allows us to run different paths.
The objective truth is only one, but there can be many subjective experiences. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6:
Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are diversities of ministrations, and the same Lord.
And there are diversities of workings, but the same God, who worketh all things in all.
There is only one Holy Spirit, but there are many spiritual gifts. There is only one Lord, but there are many ministries. There is only one God, but there are many functions.
Indeed, there is only one way for God, and that way is Christ. Yet there may be many different paths within this way.
Let me use an example from the Old Testament. God commanded His people to go to Jerusalem three times a year to meet Him. Jerusalem was the common goal for the people of Israel.
The twelve tribes of Israel were scattered throughout Canaan in every direction. Therefore, every year, when they attended the feasts, they came to Jerusalem from many different directions. Their goal was Jerusalem, but they might have taken different paths.
They could enter the city through different gates. The goal was set by God, but their individual paths might be different.
Throughout church history, and even today, we often use our personal or group experiences to judge others. Many people think, “I am walking in the right way, and my group is walking in the right way. Everyone must come through our group in order to walk in the right way.”
But God’s way is only one because it refers to our Lord. Yet we may have different paths. Therefore, we must ask: What is the right path?
If we are running in a way that can reach the goal, then that is the right way. We cannot make the extreme claim that all our ways are correct, nor can we claim that only we and our way are right.
Every person and every group needs to pray before the Lord: “As we are walking this way, can we reach God’s purpose? Are we taking the testimony of Jesus as our goal?”
May the Lord give us clear revelation from His Word, because our lifespan is very short. May the Lord keep us from running in the wrong way. This concerns not only the testimony of Jesus but also whether we can receive grace from the Lord.
The Bible gives us important reminders concerning God’s way and the path He wants us to run. There are characteristics of this path to which we must pay attention. If we ignore them, we may run in the wrong way.
Psalm 23:3 tells us that this is the path of righteousness:
He restoreth my soul:
He guideth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Proverbs 4 also speaks of the path of the righteous. This reminds us that, if we are running in the right way, we cannot continue in unrighteousness.
If we have sin and have not dealt with our sin, we cannot run in this way. We cannot carry our sins while running in this way.
God has given us grace so that we may deal with our sins. We need the Lord to cleanse us with His blood. We need to deal with the matters that offend God or man, because this is the path of righteousness for the righteous.
Proverbs says that the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. If you are running in the right way, there is a characteristic: it becomes brighter and brighter.
If you are running and becoming darker and darker, that means you are in the wrong way. May the Lord enlighten us.
We cannot run in this way with sin. In 2 Peter 2:15, we read:
Forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing.
The expression “the right way” in the original means the straight way. God’s way is a straight way. God’s purpose is a straight line; He has never changed His purpose.
There is a line in the hymn we just sang: “The way to God has to be straight.” This is the determination of one who fully walks in the way of the Lord.
Only the flesh likes crooked ways. Balaam was a prophet, yet he did not walk in the straight way. There was greed within him. He desired the wages of unrighteousness, and therefore he deviated.
The Bible speaks of “the way of Balaam.” This is a warning to us. Whenever we live in the natural, corrupt flesh, we are in crooked ways.
In this generation, to walk in the straight path is difficult. We will encounter many difficulties. There may be opposition from the world, opposition from the enemy, and even opposition from the present system around us.
We need to pay the cost to walk in the straight way. Yet we must walk in it, because God’s way is a straight way.
This is a very important test for us. When Jesus Christ came into the world, John the Baptist came as His forerunner. John 1:23 tells us the purpose of John the Baptist’s coming:
I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Make straight the way of the Lord.
The one thing John did was to make straight the path of the Lord. If we are testifying for our Lord but are walking in crooked ways, we cannot testify for Him.
If we want to make the way straight, both in ourselves and in the church, we need the spirit of Elijah, just as John the Baptist had.
Today, crooked ways are everywhere. Often, when we desire to make the Lord’s way straight, the difficulties seem so great that we simply give up.
We have seen many dear brothers and sisters who, when they were young, had a very strong desire. But as many years passed, they did not make the path of the church straight. Instead, the path was made crooked by the way of the world. This is a very sad condition.
The right way of God must be a straight way.
Psalm 84:5 speaks of the way to Zion as a highway. From the world’s viewpoint, this is a narrow way. Yet for those who are saved by grace, there is unlimited abundance. Indeed, it is a highway to Zion.
This way has been prepared for all people. All who have been saved by grace may run in this way. As long as you have the desire, you can meet God in this way.
The way of Christ is unlimited for us, and our experience of the Lord is also unlimited. No one can exhaust the abundance in this way.
No person can experience all the riches contained in this way. Throughout church history, there have been many brothers and sisters who were rich in Christ, yet each received the abundance according to his measure.
No one can say, “I have received all the abundance in Christ.” Even Paul, who was so rich in Christ, said that he forgot the things which were behind and pressed on toward what lay ahead.
We should thank the Lord. We do not need to envy others. We need to finish the course assigned to us by God. The Lord has not asked us to experience everything, but He has placed us on this highway.
Paul was running in this way. David, Moses, John, and many saints throughout the generations were running in this way. You and I are also running in this way.
May the Lord give us a clear vision within, so that we may have a fresh longing. Jeremiah 6 speaks concerning the ancient paths.
These ancient paths refer to God’s original purpose before creation. The revelation we have received today is, in fact, God’s original purpose.
The ancient paths remind us that we must walk and run in God’s original purpose. How can we run in God’s original purpose? We must be governed by God’s purpose. This also means that we must be governed by the vision.
As we run in God’s way, there should be a vision within us. We are attracted by God’s glorious purpose, and all matters should be governed by this glory.
Jeremiah encouraged the saints in a time of great chaos. When the Israelites were in captivity, they were in great confusion and the path was not clear. Many of God’s people did not know which way to take.
God used the prophet to encourage them:
Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way; and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.
This is an important reminder for us today. If we are not clear concerning our path, we should not simply run. The first thing we must do is stop. Then we must see, ask, and seek fellowship concerning God’s original purpose.
When we are willing to live before God according to His purpose, we will find rest for our souls.
For this generation, God has entrusted the testimony of Jesus to those who have been saved by grace. If we are to reach God’s goal, we must place great emphasis upon the way.
May we seek before the Lord clearly in these days. May we consider before Him whether our way is moving toward God’s goal. God’s way and God’s goal have been established, and they cannot be changed.
We need to return to the way God wants us to run in. Only in this way can we finish the entrustment the Lord has given us, and only in this way can the testimony of Jesus become a reality in us.
The first matter we need to consider is whether we are in the right way. This is a great test for the saints and for the church today.
May the Lord have mercy on us. Since His return is so near, may we return to the right way of God and make the way straight, so that we may be in a proper condition to receive His return.
Lord, we thank You with all our hearts. You have chosen us according to Your glory, and You have allowed us to live according to Your glorious purpose.
Lord, we pray that You would enlighten us with the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that we may come to know the purpose for which we have received Your grace.
Lord, You are not only willing to bless us; You have also given us a glorious entrustment. You have entrusted Your testimony to us. Whether it can be manifested among us has much to do with the way we are running.
Lord, shine Your light upon us according to Your Word. Direct our steps into the right path, so that we may finish the course.
Lord, we truly need Your grace. Do not allow our days to be spent in vain. We believe that, as You have gathered us together, it is not in vain.
Open our ears so that we may hear Your voice. Enlighten the eyes of our hearts so that we may see Your glory. Speak to our hearts in these days.
Lord, we are here. Shine upon us with Your light so that we may truly know what You desire. Give us a desire before You that You may accomplish what is in Your heart.
Please hear our prayer. In Jesus’ most precious name we pray. Amen.