Please turn to the Song of Solomon, Chapter 1, Verses 7 and 8.
Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth,
Where thou feedest thy flock,
Where thou makest it to rest at noon:
For why should I be as one that is veiled
Beside the flocks of thy companions?If thou know not, O thou fairest among women,
Go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock,
And feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents.
Please turn also to 1 Corinthians, Chapter 10, Verse 11.
Now these things happened unto them by way of example;
and they were written for our admonition,
upon whom the ends of the ages are come.
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee for gathering us together in Thy presence. In Thy presence is fullness of joy. We praise and thank Thee for gathering us in this way.
We thank Thee that Thou art always mindful of us. Thou dost want to prepare us as Thy bride for Thy imminent return. Thou dost want us to face Thee with joy.
We thank Thee for Thy long-suffering with us. We thank Thee for Thy love, for Thou lovest us unto the uttermost.
Lord, we come this day to put ourselves in Thy presence. We pray that Thou wilt examine our hearts, to see if there is any evil way within us, and lead us to walk in the way everlasting.
We pray that Thou wilt open our understanding and give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation, that we may truly know Thee. To know Thee is eternal life.
We expect Thy Holy Spirit to move in our midst and show us Christ Jesus, that it may be all of Christ and none of ourselves.
We praise and thank Thee that Thy mercy, love, and grace are always there. O Lord, may we avail ourselves of what Thou hast provided for us, that Thy glory and honor may be unto Thee forever and ever. Amen.
Brothers and sisters, we do thank the Lord for giving us this opportunity to be together. I always feel, when we have such an opportunity, that it is the mercy of God.
God wants to prepare us for His imminent return, so that we may see Him face to face with joy. That is the reason why He always provides opportunities for us: that we may be well prepared to see Him.
Are you longing to see Him? I hope He will come now. What do you want?
This time, we want to talk about the way of the church—the footsteps of the flock of our Lord Jesus.
When you open the Song of Solomon, you find a virgin. Once she was rebellious, but the Lord kissed her. She was subdued by the Lord, and the Lord created within her heart a desire for Him.
She wanted to have a closer walk with God. She longed to know the Lord more and more. She felt the drawing of the Lord’s love. She had tasted some of the sweetness of the Lord, and she longed to have a closer walk with Him.
But unfortunately, her brothers did not understand her, so they put her to much work. Under such circumstances, she was not close enough to the Lord. So she cried out, “Lord, where do You feed Your flock at noon? Where do You make Your flock rest? Why should I be beside the flocks of Thy companions?”
“I want to know where You are. I want to see Your face.”
The Lord answered, “If you do not know where I am, then follow the footsteps of My flock.”
Brothers and sisters, do we have such a longing? Are we satisfied merely to be saved and go to heaven? Do you think that our Lord’s heart will be satisfied with that alone?
Do we have the heart of that virgin? The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 11 that he had espoused us as chaste virgins to Christ. He was afraid that we might be enticed and lose the simplicity that is in Christ.
As we look at Christianity today—not to mention those who use the name of Christ and yet have the spirit of enterprise—thank God there are those who have been faithful: people such as Wesley, Moody, and others who really loved the Lord.
But unfortunately, we find that people began to follow these servants of God. They followed Luther and became the Lutheran Church. Others followed John Wesley and became the Methodist Church.
You find many flocks belonging to the companions of our Lord. But this virgin was so pure toward the Lord that she did not want to be within the flock of the Lord’s companions, because she felt she was as one veiled. She did not have that direct, close walk with the Lord Himself.
Nothing else would satisfy her heart but the Lord Himself.
The Lord knows those who have such a heart for Him. Even though He is now seated at the right hand of God, throughout the centuries He has still left the footsteps of His flock on earth.
Search church history. Unfortunately, much church history is official church history. But in recent times, we find more and more discoveries.
We discover that, from the very beginning until now, there have been people who wanted nothing but the Lord Himself. There are the footsteps of our Lord’s own flock.
It is our humble desire not only to find those footsteps, but to walk in them. It is for this reason that we feel the need of such a time together.
Brothers and sisters, if you come to hear some good sermons, you will be disappointed. I have been preaching for more than seventy years, but now I do not know how to preach. The only thing I know is to talk. I want to talk to you.
I hope that you can understand my heart. I hope that you know what is really in my heart. Dear brothers and sisters, this is why we would like to have this time together.
My brethren asked me to talk about our past. At first, I told them, “If you only want me to talk about our past, I am not coming,” because this is not my burden.
My burden is this: Are we today on the right footsteps? If the past can help us, then we will consider it. So this morning I am going to talk about our past.
I think I am the oldest one who has been connected with the way in which we are walking, so I will try to share with you our past. If you feel there is something strange in our past, I will tell you why we are strange.
This gathering in New York began long ago. I do not know exactly when it started, because that was before I came to this country. I think it was sometime in the 1940s, or even before.
There was a pastor of a large church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I only know his name was Mr. Ling. At that time, he also had a radio ministry.
But somehow the Lord began to reveal Himself to him. He began to feel that the way of the church, as he understood it, was not God’s plan. So he resigned as a pastor.
At that time, two elderly sisters suggested to him, “Why not go to England to visit Mr. T. Austin-Sparks?”
So he went and spent some time there. So far as I know, when he returned, he said, “I learned nothing new there. What the Lord had shown me was confirmed.”
When he came back, he came to New York City. He lived on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and in order to support himself, he became a mechanic. A small meeting began in his house.
There was also a brother named Dr. Thornton Stearns—not the son, but the father. Dr. Stearns was a graduate of Johns Hopkins, and then he went to China as a missionary.
He was connected with the Presbyterian Church and was the head of the orthopedic department of Cheeloo University. He and his wife loved the Lord very much, and the Lord used him to bring many medical students to the Lord.
Then he began to see something concerning the church. He resigned and came to Shanghai to join with us.
The China-Japan war broke out. After Pearl Harbor, all the so-called foreigners in Shanghai were put into confinement. Dr. Stearns became sick and was sent to the hospital, so he and his family were among the first to be repatriated to the United States.
When he came back, he lived in Orange, New Jersey. I suppose it was through Brother Sparks that he knew about Mr. Ling. When he returned, he joined with Mr. Ling.
Later, Brother Ling became sick. Dr. Stearns took him into his own home and nursed him until he passed away. During that time, some other brothers and families joined them.
They began to meet in Manhattan. Fulton Street was famous in Christian circles because, during the Depression, there had been a Fulton Street noontime prayer meeting.
Every noontime, businessmen would come together and pray. It was a great movement.
The brethren moved to Fulton Street and used the place where the Fulton Street prayer meeting had been held, because it was not used at night or on Sundays.
When we heard about that in China, after the war was over, some brothers and sisters and their families moved to the United States. We introduced them to that meeting on Fulton Street.
I came in 1952. When I came to New York, I joined myself with these brothers and sisters. I knew Mrs. Ling and the two elderly sisters who had been there at the very beginning.
We had a small meeting there—perhaps thirty or forty people. Brother Sparks used to visit us once a year.
That house belonged to some financial organization, and they took back their house. So the brethren found another place. We moved two or three times, and finally we settled at the China Institute.
In 1957, I received my permanent residency. I was thinking of going back to the Far East, so I decided to move to San Francisco.
The brothers in responsibility asked Brother Sparks, “Whom would you suggest to come and help us?” He suggested his son-in-law, Richard Ackroyd, and they consented.
But after Brother Sparks returned to England, they wrote a letter to him saying that they did not want Richard, and I was leaving. Finally, before long, the whole meeting was disbanded. They could not even pay the rent.
However, one brother who lived in Jamaica, Queens, and Brother Ackroyd began another meeting in his home there.
While I was in San Francisco, Witness Lee came from Taiwan. He was invited to visit Brother Sparks, and he insisted that I accompany him to interpret for him.
So I accompanied him all the way from San Francisco to New York and then to England. When I passed through New York, I felt within myself the need of coming back to New York.
When our visit to England was finished, I returned to New York and worked together with Brother Ackroyd for a few years. Finally, we moved from the brother’s home to the American Legion Hall.
We met in the American Legion Hall in Jamaica for quite a few years. Even though the Lord began to add to us, it was not the right place.
Every Saturday night they had bingo there, and there was a large bingo sign in front of the building. When we invited people to come, they would see the sign and say, “That is not the place.”
The bingo people did not really want us to be there, because they wanted to prepare the place for Sunday night. They wanted us to move out, but they could not do it because of public opinion.
After we had met there for some years, one Chinese leader said there was no hope because the Chinese were there and the Americans were not. So he left for Louisville.
Strangely, after he left, a group of Puerto Ricans joined us, and our number began to grow. Because of the inconvenience of the American Legion Hall, we finally decided to move out.
We bought land and began to build a meeting hall in Jamaica, Queens.
We used English as the main language because we felt that, since we were in this country, we should use the language of the country.
But because some Chinese and Puerto Rican brethren did not know English well, we had two booths: one to translate into Chinese and the other to translate into Spanish.
By the grace of God, the number continued to increase. Brother Sparks used to visit us once a year, and Brother Lee, who was in Los Angeles, also visited from time to time.
We began to buy a guest house. As a matter of fact, I was thinking of buying another house to help the elderly.
While we were meeting together, we invited Brother Sparks to visit us every year because we had worked together for many years before.
I knew him in 1933, when he first came and joined with Watchman Nee. I was in college then, and he helped me a great deal.
After I joined with the brethren in 1935, we went together in China. Afterwards, we worked together: I was in the Philippines and he was in Taiwan. After I came to this country, he also came.
We had worked together for many years. Unfortunately, there was some misunderstanding, but the main point was that we began to have different ideas about the church.
When he came to New York, he told me, “You have to call yourselves the church in New York.”
I said, “We cannot do that, because we are only about two hundred people, and there are so many of God’s people in New York. How can we claim that we are the church in New York? That would excommunicate all the other believers.”
We have to testify for the local church, but we cannot claim ourselves to be the local church.
He differed with me. He said, “If you do not claim yourselves as the church in New York, there is no church in New York.”
So he tried to take over. I knew what he was doing, but we still invited him to come.
I remember the last time we invited him. I told the brothers who were with me, “If we send a letter to invite him, we cannot limit him as to what he can speak and what he cannot speak. We want to respect him as a servant of the Lord.”
Even though I knew what he would be speaking, if we invited him, we invited him wholeheartedly.
So we sent a letter to him. So far as I know, he showed the letter to the brothers and sisters in Los Angeles and asked whether he should come. Someone said, “If they invite you, then you go.”
He not only came himself, but he brought a number of people with him. I knew that he intended to take over, but thank God, at that time the brothers were really one with me.
When he came with a group of people, they started a meeting. We allowed them to do that until it was time for us to meet. The brothers there were still in agreement with me.
By the way, I had a long talk with him. I told him, “There are rumors around. If I have something against you, tell me what it is. If you have something against me, tell me also. We should not have anything between us.”
He told me two things. I do not want to tell you the details, but they were real misunderstandings. So I explained them to him.
Finally, he said, “All right, there is nothing between you and me.” But on the point of the church, we could not agree. So that was the way we departed.
In 1972, I moved to Washington, D.C. During that period, he tried to work upon the brothers in New York, and finally he took over the meeting in Jamaica.
When this happened, I was in Washington, D.C. A few brothers and sisters felt uneasy about it, so they left and began to come together for prayer.
I did not help them very much because I did not visit them. I wanted to avoid any conflict. To me, a building is nothing. I tried to avoid any conflict and would not go anywhere that he was.
As a matter of fact, he took over several places, but that was all right.
After a long while, I began to visit these few brothers and sisters in Queens. By the grace of God, finally we are situated right here.
So this is our past history. It is not something that happened recently; it has a long, long history.
Now, brothers and sisters, why do we want to talk about past history? You remember the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 10.
He talked about the past history of Israel: how God led them out of Egypt, how they passed through the Red Sea, how they traveled in the wilderness, and how they rebelled against God.
Why did he mention all these things? He tells us that these past things are types. They are for us who live in these last days.
What is meant by admonition? On the one hand, admonition is encouragement. On the other hand, admonition is warning.
We are to be admonished—that is, encouraged—by what has happened in our past. But on the other hand, it is for our warning, that we may not fall into the same error.
So, dear brothers and sisters, I have given you a brief past history. I hope that we do not look at past history and simply let it be gone. Let us learn from our past history.
To follow the Lord is not an easy matter. Our Lord Jesus says:
If any man would come after me,
let him deny himself,
and take up his cross,
and follow me.
Unless you deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him, you are not worthy to be His disciple.
For His love toward us, the Lord Jesus emptied Himself. He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. That belonged to Him, but for love He emptied Himself.
Not only that, but He took the form of a servant. When God created man, on the one hand, it was a wonderful creation. God never created anything like the way He created man—not even the angels.
He created us according to His own image and after His own likeness. Man is such a glorious creation. What did He have in mind? He wanted us to be His vessel and instrument.
He wants us to contain Him, and He wants us to express Him. But unfortunately, we have fallen. That is the reason why He calls us to deny ourselves and to take up our cross daily, and to follow Him.
Brothers and sisters, have you heard that call? Do we really follow the footsteps of the flock of our Lord?
The Lord said, “I am the good shepherd.” The good shepherd lays down His life for His flock. He calls them, they know His voice, and they follow Him. He leads them out into the pasture.
This is what the Lord is doing. Are we really following Him?
When the Lord looks upon us today, how will He feel? Will He feel happy, or will He feel sorry?
Do we only think of ourselves? “What has happened to me? What will happen to me?” Have you ever thought what will happen to Him?
He has waited for thousands of years.
Brothers and sisters, we hope that when we gather, we come with seriousness of heart. We dare not play church anymore.
The Lord said, “I will build My church upon this rock.” The Lord has said that He will do it. But who will be with Him?
So, dear brothers and sisters, we lay these things before you, hoping that you will consider them seriously.
Lord, we do want to thank Thee for all Thy past mercy and grace. We have nothing to boast of. All we can do is acknowledge our weakness, and boast of Thy mercy, grace, and patience.
We ask that we may really want to see Thee, know Thy heart, and satisfy Thy heart. Have mercy upon us.
Deliver us from any self-satisfaction, that we may really humble ourselves before Thee and allow Thee to work out a full salvation in us.
O Lord, do not stop until Thy heart is satisfied.
May we pray and seek the Lord more concerning the words that we have heard.