We continue our chapter-by-chapter summaries of the book, “The Orthodoxy of the Church” by Watchman Nee. You can read all posts in this series here.
The Lord has another turn! Out of a fallen situation, the Lord raises up Sardis. According to Nee, this is the Protestant churches, beginning with Luther all the way to today. The Bible was opened again and crucial truths such as justification by faith were uncovered. However, there is still a problem. The Lord says, “I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.” The Reformation may have been the first of many “revivals” in the history of the Protestant church, but revivals are not perfect, they cannot return back to the beginning. After each revival the church returns to a state that the Lord calls dead and must be revived again. Therefore, what we have received and heard, we must learn to keep it, and repent. If we do not wake up, the Lord will come like a thief and we will not know when He will come. Let us look onward for what the Lord truly desires to be satisfied with the church on earth!
Two Testimonies
Here are two testimonies from a brother and a sister in Christ who read this book and were particularly touched by this chapter
Brandon Xia
“So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent.”
Rev 3:3
I was touched by an exhortation that Brother Nee gives in this book:
The Lord has raised up spiritual revivals such as the Protestant Reformation, the Welsh Revival, at least three Great Awakenings, and many more. The tendency after these revivals is to try to preserve it in an organization. But the problem is that if we only try to hold onto what we have, not only is there no way to get more, but even what we do have will eventually be lost as well. Each of these revivals is like a supply of water, and the organization is like a cup that gets filled with the water; but we cannot lose sight of the source of that water! The Lord is a river of living water, and I am encouraged to continually seek the source. We appreciate and remember the grace and riches from ones that came before us, but as a new generation we must not think the cup that has been handed down to us is enough. I hope that we can be people that are always seeking the river that never runs dry, the Lord Himself!
Angela Cheng
“Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.”
Rev 3:3
Whatever situation the Lord has placed a Christian in, He desires that there could be believers who hear what the Spirit says to the churches and answer His call. To the church in Sardis, the Lord says “I will come as a thief, and you shall by no means know at what hour I will come upon you” (Revelation 3:3).
Nee says that the word ‘come’ means to come by descending, and the word ‘upon’ means I will descend by your side, not upon you, but apart from you. The Lord’s use of words here can be translated as: “I will come and pass by you, yet you will not know it.”
A thief comes when those in the house least expect him. Recently, I found myself picking up a book about the end times. I read about some of the many signs that Christians should watch for. However, what was impressed upon me was not the multitude of potential world events or environmental circumstances that could mark the end, but what our inward response as believers should be. As the day draws nearer, we should have hearts to watch and pray for our Lord, for we will by “no means know at what hour” He will come.
When a thief comes, he doesn’t steal cheap things. A thief steals the best and most valuable items in the house. Likewise, the Lord also will come for the best on this earth. As believers, we belong to the same house: one will be raptured, and one will be left behind. Would we desire to be valuable enough to the Lord that He would ‘steal’ us? Would we live everyday in view of His coming for those most precious to Him; would we not be among those left behind?
In this time of social isolation, disrupted plans and missing friends, would my reaction not be to hope that this time could be over soon? Rather, would I learn to take each day as one day closer to the Lord’s return? Would I even appreciate this time and be able to pray, “Lord, I was given this time to prepare for Your coming. Lord, I was given this time to watch and pray. Lord, I pray that how I spend my time today would allow me not to be left behind.”
