Vessels
Praise the Lord – last Sunday, 4th November, marked the first service of our granddaughter church Yilan 611! Yilan 611, headed by Ps. Wang Xianzhong and his wife, is the first branch church of “Taipei 611.” This is a new milestone in the journey of “planting Trees of Life everywhere in 52 years.”
Meanwhile, at the 8.30am service at the Mercy Seat, 69 cell leaders were ordained – that’s a record high! In the growth and development of a church, the discipleship role of a cell leader is extremely crucial. In particular, we as the mother church must have a strong and healthy foundation in Hong Kong, so as to support the vision of “planti ng Trees of Life everywhere.” We are in great anticipation to see the total number of cell leaders reach 1,000 at the next Cell Leader Or dination Ceremony!
Another foundational pillar of our church is family. What great timing – this Sunday (11/11), the Family Department shall hold a “Renewal of Marriage Vows” ceremony, with 19 married couples already registered. It is extremely important to build up marriage and family, as they are the foundation of our church, and they are the foundation of society.
The Church is to influence the whole of society, starting with family – from a broken family arise many issues. The leaves of the Tree of Life are for the healing of the nations, and the Church is the Tree of Life: therefore, the Church is to rebuild family and to rebuild marriage.
Therefore, we highly regard family ministry and marriage ministry; we aim to fill every family with the love of Christ. The “Renewal of Marriage Vows” ceremony, which has been held many times across many years now, is to encourage married couples to renew their covenant with one another, to consolidate their marriage so that the life of the family will be strengthened and made manifest.
As the story of “Planting the Trees of Life in 52 Years” turns to a new page, God the Father is touching hearts, stirring more of our people to rise up to become Cell Leaders, stirring up marriages to desire strengthening, and stirring up our Branch Churches to plant their own branches! Presently, we are building up the lives and marriages of the “Tree of Life seedlings:” couples who shall be commissioned to plant Branch Churches, and to build Trees of Life in due course.
This week, a pastor delegation came to us for an in-depth visit. In the first exchange session, I asked them what is the forte of 611? I received responses such as: the Holy Spirit, core values, family ministry, team, discipleship training, MG12 structure, etc. These are all good observations in reality, but I must tell you, the most prominent forte of 611 is “GOD”.
The vision of 611 includes not only healing and deliverance, bu t moreover being the Tree of Life.”…… They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” (Isaiah 61:3) In the original text, “Oaks of Righteousness” means Trees of Life. Thankfully, God reveals His glory through the Church. That’s why I say “the most prominent forte of 611 is GOD”. In other words, everything comes from God. We are merely vessels, willing to be offered up for God’s Work. When the vessels are ready, they will be able to exercise their spiritual gifts, and edify the Church (For details about “vessels”, please refer to our publication “God’s Ready Pen”).
Dear brothers and sisters, as long as you follow the Lord closely, you will become a Tree of Life and a world-transforming vessel. Let us walk with the Lord and partake in His Glory. • [2018.11.11]