Once I was bound by sin’s galling fetters

We can see that from the time of the Apostles, through the time of the Council of Nicaea, and continuing until the twentieth century, there have been Bible scholars in every generation. We thank the Lord that most of the light that they saw has been put into writing. Sixty or more years ago we were raised up by the Lord. The first leading one among us was Brother Watchman Nee. He set a very good pattern by having no bias. He knew the proper way to read, and even the more he knew how to select books. From 1923 to 1925, when he was just over twenty years old, he collected many prominent Christian writings and Christian masterpieces, about three thousand books. This collection included books of the church fathers, books about church history, books of Bible scholars, and biographies of famous Christians with many of their good messages. He read nearly all of them. Later, I came into the Lord's recovery and became his co-worker. I thank the Lord that from the beginning Brother Nee had a high regard for me. He often sat down and discussed with me the books he had read. My memory was able to retain all that he spoke to me. He brought out many good points from the Catholic church, from the Greek Orthodox church, and from many of the Protestant denominations. He even brought out the good points from the Pentecostal movement. Some of our hymns are from the Pentecostal movement. Hymn #551, "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! I have passed the riven veil," is one of them. Hymn #310, "Glorious Freedom! Wonderful Freedom!" is another. These are masterpieces of the Pentecostal movement.

Letting the Living Bird Go into the Open Field Leviticus 14:7 says, "Then he shall let the living bird go into the open field." After the sprinkling of the blood of the slain bird on the leper, the living bird was let go into an open field to fly away. This signifies that Christ, who came from heaven, ascended again into heaven after passing through death and resurrection. The leper who was to be cleansed was joined to this living bird, signifying that Christ causes us not only to pass through death and resurrection but also to ascend with Him into heaven. He ascended into heaven, and we also ascended into heaven. To ascend into heaven is to be freed from any restriction and bondage. It is only at this point that we are truly released. How transcendent this is! What a glorious freedom! This corresponds to Hymns, #310, which says, "Glorious freedom, wonderful freedom,"

Freedom from envy, hatred and strife;
Freedom from vain and worldly ambitions,
Freedom from all that saddened my life.
Freedom from pride and all sinful follies,
Freedom from love and glitter of gold;
Freedom from evil temper and anger,
Glorious freedom, rapture untold.
Freedom from fear with all of its torments,
Freedom from care with all of its pain;
Freedom in Christ my blessed Redeemer,
He who has rent my fetters in twain.
(Hymns, #310)

Our meetings, such as the Lord's Day meetings, fellowship meetings, and gospel meetings, may differ in nature, but the principle is the same for all of them. They are all for us to glorify the Lord, release our spirit, and have mutual fellowship. When the brothers and sisters testify in the meetings, they should not speak for too long. For each one to take two or three minutes is sufficient. In the meetings on the Lord's Day, it is not necessary to set up a formal podium and preach a complete message. Some may simply give testimonies, and others may offer some sharing. Within a certain period of time, such as two or three months, we can also have the ministry of the word in a systematic way. In the fellowship meeting we must not create an atmosphere in which one man speaks while everyone else listens. Likewise, in the gospel meetings some brothers and sisters can exercise their spirit to pray, while others can give testimonies of how they were saved. These testimonies will cause people to have a change of mind. If a brother testifies how he has been set free from gambling, we can also match his speaking with a pertinent chorus, such as, "Glorious freedom, wonderful freedom, I No more in chains of sin I repine!/ Jesus the glorious Emancipator,/ Now and forever He shall be mine" (Hymns, #310). The above points are not a matter of methods. The most important thing is the spirit, because without the spirit no method will work. In the church life everything depends on the spirit.

We need to see this truth clearly. Other than Jesus Christ, no one in heaven or on earth can accomplish such a complete salvation. On the negative side, He is the Lamb who redeems us and takes away our sinful deeds; on the positive side, He is also the dove who imparts God's life into us and solves the problem of our sinful nature. If we continually draw near to God, look to Him, pray to Him, and live according to His life in us, we will enjoy the full salvation of the Lamb and the dove. Then we will be able to declare, "Glorious freedom, wonderful freedom, / No more in chains of sin I repine! / Jesus the glorious Emancipator, / Now and forever He shall be mine, (Hymns, #310, chorus).

The Lord Jesus died on the cross for you, bearing your sins. Furthermore, He became the Spirit to enter into You to be your life and live in you. Your life is weak, and your nature is corrupt. Without the Lord entering into you, You may be able to act in a good way for a short time, but You will not be able to do this continually. You may be able to endure for three minutes, but You cannot endure for three days, because your life is corrupt. Hence, You truly need the Lord Jesus to solve your problem of sin and death.

Your problem of sin is solved by the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross; your problem of death is solved by the Lord Jesus entering into You to be your life and to live in you. He died for You to deal with your problem of sin, and He can live in You to solve your problem of death. As a sinner, You need the Lord Jesus to die for you, and as a weak and dead person, You need the Lord Jesus to live in you. His death deals with your sin, and His life deals with your death. He is such a Savior; He died for you, and He wants to live in you. He is a wonderful Savior. He not only died on the cross to deal with your sins; He also desires to enter into You to live in you. This will release You from death to be a person who is strong, full of life and power, and able to please God. Hymns, #310 speaks of this reality, saying, "Glorious freedom, wonderful freedom, / No more in chains of sin I repine! / Jesus the glorious Emancipator, / Now and forever He shall be mine."

Eighth, the content of the meetings must be living. The greatest lack among us is that when we read messages, we are very rigid and not at all living. When we read, at any time we should add prayer and the singing of hymns. We can also give testimonies, share our feelings, or fellowship some light at any time. We should not read on and on until people begin to nod off. If we use the way of fellowship, then we will be free and living. For example, when we read about being released, we can sing the hymn "Glorious freedom, wonderful freedom!" (Hymns, #310). In this way, the home meetings will be living and enlivening. Everyone will have such a good taste that they will look forward to the next meeting.