However, even if all the co-workers labored in the schools, only a few students would get saved. But if the saints who are students can preach the gospel in this way, many other students will be saved. The saints in school will be like thousands of foot soldiers. This is our burden. We have no desire to give many messages. We want to train and produce useful “foot soldiers” who will be in every city in Taiwan. Then whenever the gospel is preached, a person will be saved, and afterward, a whole family will be gained. If we gain a classmate, he will preach the gospel to his parents, and in this way family after family will be saved. This is our burden. It is the responsibility of the young people to spread the gospel all over Taiwan.

Many of the young people love the Lord and have consecrated themselves to Him. Some of them are willing to serve the Lord full time. This is more glorious than going abroad to study. The most glorious thing for our young people, especially for the Taiwanese brothers and sisters, is to receive a burden from the Lord to spread the gospel to every corner of Taiwan. Leading a thousand people to [209] salvation is more glorious than making millions of American dollars. We need to see the Lord’s way and receive a burden.

I do not intend to stir up the young people to be preachers. My desire is for them to graduate from college and then give themselves to preach the gospel throughout this island. They do not need to give up their jobs in order to preach the gospel. Before I began to serve the Lord full time, I gave messages seven days a week even though I had a job. I was working and serving the Lord at the same time. Hence, preaching the gospel does not depend on our serving full time. Preaching the gospel depends on our taking Christ as our person. If the Lord leads us to serve full time, we should serve full time. If He does not lead us to serve full time, we should not serve full time. Either situation should not be a problem. We must make a resolution and tell the Lord that we were born in Taiwan, we grew up in Taiwan, and we live for the people of Taiwan; we give ourselves for their souls to be saved. The Taiwanese need us. Therefore, we should place ourselves in the Lord’s hand. Do not wait until you graduate. Whether you are in college, high school, or junior high school, you should give yourself to the Lord while you are still a student. The students around you are your targets; whenever you gain one person, you gain a whole family. This is the Lord’s present desire.

TAKING CHRIST AS OUR PERSON

Many of the saints are willing to serve the Lord full time but are not so clear. Sometimes the more we pray, the more confused we become. Should you serve full time, or should you first go abroad to study, or should you serve full time after you graduate? There is no need to pray concerning these questions. We need only to take Christ as our person and love Him. We do not have to consider our future; we should simply take Christ as our person and let Him live in us. If we continue with our education, we should let the Lord lead us to study while we testify for Him. We do not care for old Christianity. Neither do we care for serving full time or not serving full time. Forget about these things. We all need to take Christ as our person and let Him live in us. Then we will live to Him even in our studying. We will live to Him in whatever we do.

Paul is a good example. Before he served full time, he was a tentmaker (Acts 18:3). Later, when it was needed, he made tents, and when it was not needed, he did not make tents. We are here to preach [210] the gospel until people are saved. We should not worry about whether we serve full time or go abroad to study. We should not focus on these things; instead, we should simply take Christ as our person and begin preaching the gospel. The Lord is a living person. He will lead us concerning our future.

I guarantee you that you will not need to worry about your livelihood. I cannot say that the Lord Jesus will take care of your meals, but He will bear you. He is the Lord of heaven and earth; hence, no one who lives for Him will die of starvation. We should learn to experience the Lord Jesus as our person in big things and small things. In matters related to our livelihood we should learn to experience Him as our person. In daily matters such as sleeping and eating, we must experience Him as our person. We should not worry about our livelihood.

I had a very good job before I served full time. My salary was more than a hundred silver yuan a month. That was considered a very good salary. However, the Lord led me to leave my job. When I left my job, I had nothing. At that time the practice in China was for extended family to live together. Hence, all the money in our family was controlled by my mother. My mother-in-law, who was a Christian, was concerned about our financial situation. She did not agree for me to leave my job. She said to me, “You have a good job. You can work during the day and lead the meeting in the evening. On the Lord’s Day you do not have to work. Why do you want to quit your job? What are you going to eat and drink?” In spite of her advice, I listened to the Lord and dropped my job.

More than forty years have passed, and the Lord Jesus has never allowed my family to starve. Therefore, do not make plans for your future. Your future is in the Lord’s hand. Your future is the Lord’s future, and His future is bright. Do not worry. Going abroad to study is not the way, nor is serving full time the way. We need to take the Lord Jesus as our person and live with Him. We should practice living together with the Lord, living the church life, putting on the new man, and preaching the gospel to our classmates and colleagues.

There are about two to three thousand young saints in the churches in Taiwan. We must receive the burden to take Christ as our person in a genuine way and practice what we have fellowshipped in this chapter. I believe that by the summer of next year, we will gain at least ten thousand young students all over Taiwan. This [211] should be easy to do. We must not miss this opportunity. The best time to serve the Lord is today, not in the future. A co-worker told me that there are saints who want to serve the Lord full time in the future instead of now. Do not say that you will serve the Lord in the future; rather, say that you will serve the Lord today and that you will serve in coordination with the church. Those who work in schools should serve with the students. We should all work with the students. This is my burden. After speaking this burden to the saints in Taipei, I will go down to Taichung and speak the same thing. After Taichung I will speak to the saints in Tainan, and after Tainan I will speak the same thing in Kaohsiung. I will speak to the young people in every locality until they are willing to serve in the schools. I was a student. I know that the best place to do anything is in the schools and that we will be successful if we labor in the schools. We all need to go to the schools. It does not matter whether or not we are trained; the Lord will bear the responsibility. Our need is to cooperate with Him.