• Bro. Zilong Lin •
Chapter 5: Three Meaningful Meetings I Attended as a New Believer
Romans 10:15 And how shall they proclaim Him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the news of good things!”
After being saved, I was still studying in Fuzhou, and attended three very meaningful meetings.
The first time is my classmate Tseng taking me to Tianan hall at Mt Tsangqian for Dr. John Song’s revival meeting. At that time there was a lot of believers and the mood was very hot. Dr. Song spoke as he stood on the podium, one person translated for him. Because he speaks Mandarin with his heavy Xinhua accent, very hard to understand. His topic and hymns, is like “sin goes out, living water comes in”, the content is not very exciting, but at the end, his spirit came out strongly, and many people were touched to go to the front to confess their sins and repent. About Brother John Song, everyone had heard. He’s studied in the USA for a doctorate, but due to very zealously for the Lord, and preaching to everyone he met, got thought of as crazy and thus was temporarily detained in an insane asylum for a while. After returning to China, he did not do anything else, just especially zealous preached the gospel for the Lord, saved may souls, and became a famous missionary of China. In the Kuling trainings, Brother Nee also mentioned that Dr. Song is the first one that God has greatly used for gospel in China. At that time, I was fortunately enough to attend one of his revival meetings, hear him preach once, this is one thing worth remembering after I was saved.
The second thing is when Brother Watchman Nee once held a three-day-long preaching meeting by renting Buqianding Savior Chapel in Fuzhou, that my father also especially came from Fuxing to listen, and he told me to come join as well. But I only went to one session due to classes. I remember that Brother Nee seemed to be talking about the lessons from Luke chapter 5 verse 1 to 11. His speaking is different from Brother John Song. Brother Song speaking is one that excites the spirit, with the focus on exciting the saint’s spirit to confess their sins and repent in front of the Lord. Brother Nee’s speaking focuses on revealing the truth within the bible, let people understand spiritual principles. This time, Brother Nee’s preaching also required someone else to verbally translate what he says into Fuzhou dialect. There are so many that came to listen, the whole chapel was packed with people. At that time, I was a new believer, did not understand most of the truths he spoke of. But this is my first time encountering Brother Nee, to truly understand him and receive his perfecting comes in 1948 and later.
The third instance is attending the meeting in the meeting hall on Shierjianpai, Mt. Tsangqian. In 1922, after Brother Nee and Brother Zai Wang such a group was risen up by the Lord, they preached the gospel in Fuzhou and gained some, rented a place and started to meet. This place is Shierjianpai in Mt. Tsangqian. That place can be considered to be the first meeting hall of the Lord’s Recovery in China. In 192, Brother Nee left Fuzhou, Brother Zai Wang often go out for preaching, this meeting hall has been consistently managed by Brother Lianjun Wang. This meeting, I was listening to Brother Lianjun Wang speak. My father also made his way from Fuxing to join as well. Brother Luosan Chen was standing outside the meeting hall serving, left me a deep impression. Brother Lianjun Wang was speaking of Matthew chapter 4, the story of Jesus being tempted by the devil three times in the wilderness. At that time, the meeting has over a hundred people, the meeting hall is very quiet, the spiritual atmosphere is great. Not long after that, the church in Fuzhou’s meeting was moved to a meeting hall behind a ball court, one that is much bigger. As for this building in Shierjianpai, become a memorable historical site of the Lord’s Recovery.
These three meetings that I’ve attended in Fuzhou as a new believer, the first two times is listening to John Song, Watchman Nee speak respectively. Both of them were servants that had been greatly used by the Lord, in the history of the church in China, they both played an important position. The third time is in Shierjianpai meeting hall, that’s the first ever meeting hall of the Lord’s Recovery in Mainland China. Thus, these three meetings were all worth remembering.