Resulting Revival in Chefoo: 1942-1944

A revival came to Chefoo in 1942 through practicing that blueprint. Because of that revival Witness Lee suffered persecution and was imprisoned for one month in May 1943. After he was released from prison, he was severely ill of tuberculosis of the lungs. It was through that persecution, imprisonment, and sickness that he was forced to leave his hometown in 1944. He went to Tsingtao, resting and recuperating there for about two years. After Japan surrendered in August of 1945, Witness Lee was invited to visit the church in Nanking in June of the next year, where he met Ruth Lee again after an absence from each other of over six years. From Nanking he proceeded to Shanghai to meet the invitation of the church there, staying there for about three weeks. He held a conference with the restored church in Shanghai on the tree of life and had much contact with Peace Wang and Yu Cheng-hwa, the eye specialist. In the same summer Watchman Nee returned from Chungking to Shanghai and located there for his pharmaceutical business. He had still not resumed his ministry, but Witness Lee had opportunity to visit and fellowship with him during this time.

Following my stay in Shanghai, Witness Lee returned to Tsingtao. In the fall his wife and children were able to join him there from Chefoo. Based on the invitation and encouragement of the leading brothers in Nanking and Shanghai, he moved with his family to work in their district in October of 1946.

Resuming Fellowship with Watchman Nee: 1946

By being in Shanghai again, Witness Lee had much opportunity to see Brother Nee after a separation of more than six years. While Witness Lee was in the north, Watchman Nee had been in the western interior. They had no correspondence during the war years, and Witness Lee was somewhat concerned whether his practice in Chefoo had been right or not. Also, at this time Peace Wang and Witness Lee were concerned for the recovery of Watchman Nee’s ministry. For this reason they they both took every opportunity to have fellowship with him. Many times they had fellowship concerning life, the Spirit, the work, the churches, and the Lord’s move in the recovery. In all these matters he helped them very much. In their fellowship Witness Lee related to him all the things he had practiced during their years of separation. His response was to encourage Witness Lee to carry out the same things in the other churches. They presented to him the urgent need to resume his ministry because of the restoration of the church in Shanghai and the wide doors opened in new fields. Witness Lee asked him to resume his ministry, but he told him that because of certain rebellious brothers, his ministering spirit would not allow him to minister to the church in Shanghai. Witness Lee realized from this that in order to recover his ministry, there was the crucial need of a revival among them.

Watchman Nee Stresses the Breaking of the Outer Man

Watchman Nee was fully open to both Peace Wang and Witness Lee and gave them instructions concerning the Lord’s work. In his fellowship with them, he stressed again and again the need to have the outer man broken that their spirit with the Holy Spirit might be released in their public ministry and personal contact with others. This was a great help to Witness Lee.

Revival in Shanghai

He stressed again and again the need to have the outer man broken that their spirit with the Holy Spirit might be released in their public ministry and personal contact with others

After staying in Shanghai for a short time, a revival began to come in among the saints, and the number of attendants in the meetings greatly increased. Many who were distracted by the storm in 1942, which caused the church in Shanghai to be closed, were recovered. The news spread rapidly to all the churches throughout the country. The churches in the provinces of Fukien and Kwangtung urgently invited Peace Wang and Witness Lee to visit them. Co-workers and leading ones from throughout the country were coming to Shanghai for fellowship. The decision was made that in April of 1948 a conference would be held for all the seeking ones throughout the country who could come and fellowship concerning the Lord’s recovery.

At the end of December 1947, Sister Peace Wang, Sister Rachel Lee, and Witness Lee first visited the church in Hong Kong and then proceeded from there to visit the churches in Canton, Swatow, Amoy, and Foochow, Watchman Nee’s hometown. During their three-week stay with the church in Foochow, a revival came in.

Before returning to the south, Witness Lee composed and compiled The Chinese Gospel Hymnal. While they were staying in Foochow, Watchman Nee inspected the manuscript and polished some of the gospel songs, especially the one entitled You Need Jesus.

Recovery of Watchman Nee’s Ministry: 1948

Following the conference in Foochow, they stayed with Watchman Nee another two weeks to fellowship with him that the recovery of his ministry must be sped up. When the other co-workers and leading ones heard about this fellowship, they also would not leave, but asked them to obtain permission from Watchman Nee that they might also participate in the fellowship. At first he would not give his permission, but on further entreaty, he agreed for them to be present on the condition that they would sit a distance away from him in another section of his spacious living room. Only Peace Wang, Rachel Lee, and Witness Lee sat together with him for fellowship. Witness Lee opened the fellowship by asking him why all the churches in the provinces of Fukien and Kwangtung were filled with confusion. Immediately he responded by releasing a message on the line of Jerusalem. The word poured out of him for over an hour. They sat there astonished. To their surprise a sister sitting among those far away burst out, “Why should we not do it right now according to Brother Nee’s message?” Brother Nee responded, “If you wish to do it, you must all hand yourself over to the work (the ministry). Sign a note indicating your consecration, and pass it on to Brother Lee.” This they all did.

When the leading brothers of the church in Foochow heard about this, they came that evening and handed over both themselves and the church to the work. This stirred up all the saints in town, and Watchman Nee decided to call a meeting of the whole church. He asked Witness Lee to speak at that meeting, but Witness Lee told him strongly that if he would not go and speak, he would not even attend the meeting. He therefore took up the burden and spoke at that meeting. All of them realized that this was the beginning of the recovery of Watchman Nee’s ministry. Hundreds of them rejoiced over this. These events transpired in March 1948.

Witness Lee then told him that over forty co-workers and seeking ones would be attending a conference in Shanghai in April, which had already been scheduled. Witness Lee asked him if he would take care of this conference, and he agreed.

Watchman Nee requested that they sing the spiritual prose on the life of the grapevine. His desire after so many years of suffering was to express his spiritual sentiment through the singing of that prose

In one of the conference meetings in Shanghai, Watchman Nee requested that they sing the spiritual prose on the life of the grapevine. His desire after so many years of suffering was to express his spiritual sentiment through the singing of that prose. Witness Lee then put it into meter, and they sang it in the meeting.

That conference broadened the revival that had already been brought into Shanghai. Also through that conference Watchman Nee’s ministry was fully recovered. At that time he decided to have a six-month training in the training center on Kuling Mountain. Peace Wang, Ruth Lee, and Witness Lee were assigned to stay in Shanghai to care for the church and the supply of the training. By 1948 the number of attendants in the church in Shanghai had greatly increased. It was, therefore, necessary to build a larger meeting hall, and a piece of land was purchased for that purpose on Nan-Yang Road. The cost was two hundred ten gold bars, equivalent to one hundred five thousand dollars in U.S. currency, to be paid in three equal installments. At that time the church has on hand only half of the initial installment.

One day Watchman Nee asked Witness Lee to come to his home. After Witness Lee arrived he handed him thirty-seven gold bars, the equivalent of eighteen thousand five hundred dollars, which was more than sufficient to pay the other half of the initial installment. He told Witness Lee that he had purposely kept that amount of gold aside to be applied on a meeting hall site for the church in Shanghai.

Preparing to Spread to Taiwan

Also at this time Watchman Nee realized that the Lord’s recovery would spread to Taiwan, and he was burdened to buy some land in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, for this purpose. A brother who was a businessman in Taipei promised to take care of this matter for him, and Watchman Nee sent that brother some money for this purpose. When that brother attended the conference in Shanghai, Sister Peace Wang and Witness Lee were deeply impressed that he might not be faithful in money matters. On a certain day when Watchman Nee invited Witness Lee to help him send a further amount of money to that brother, Peace Wang and Witness Lee took the opportunity to express their feeling to him concerning that brother. He replied that the Lord knew that Judas was stealing from the purse, but He still allowed him to care for the money. Witness Lee responded, “I cannot understand this point.” But Watchman Nee gave no explanation.

Continuously Being Trained by Watchman Nee

Later, when Witness Lee was sent to Taiwan, Watchman Nee instructed him to visit that brother, and gave Witness Lee full authority to settle the account with him. Witness Lee took one of the Taipei elders with him and asked the brother about the account. He presented a bundle of interest bills to them showing that Brother Nee still owed him a good amount of interest. Witness Lee sent the report of this conversation back to Watchman Nee in writing, but he received no further instruction from him regarding this matter.

One day while fellowshipping about the Lord’s work, Watchman Nee asked Witness Lee why he had gone to a certain place. His answer was that he wanted to help the church there solve its problems. Watchman Nee said that that was playing politics. He continued by saying that to do anything with a purpose, regardless how good, spiritual, or scriptural it might be, is to play politics. Only to follow the Lord’s leading is not politics. As long as you are unable to say that your going there is following the Lord’s leading, you are playing politics. In this same year, 1948, because of the heavy responsibility of the church in Shanghai, Watchman Nee appointed Witness Lee as an elder there to help the situation.