"That They May Be One, Even As We Are One" - by TAS

[kisstheson]

Before I begin to consider the actual contents of the 42 messages contained in "That They May All Be One, Even As We Are One", I should mention one thing that is very striking about these two volumes - like me, you can read all 42 messages and still not know who is the audience to which TAS was speaking. All you know is that they are dear brothers and sisters in Christ in Manila, the Philippines.

I guess I am too naive for my own good, but it took three external sources - Rex Beck's biography of TAS, Herald Hsu's testimony, and the video posted by "the Church in Manila" on youtube.com - for the light to dawn that TAS was speaking to those dear ones who were "on the other side of the fault line" of the terrible split that took place in the LC in Manila back in 1961. The details of any division amongst God's people are always distasteful, so let this summary suffice: The LC in Manila had willingly and enthusiastically "handed over" their church to WL and in such an unscriptural situation things went from bad to worse. When the smoke cleared, two of WN's co-workers, WL and Simon Meek, had divided from one another and the LC in Manila was split into two irreconcilable parties. It was a very tense situation. Ugly stuff.

Two of the leading brothers, Simon Meek and Wu Ren-Jie, invited Herald Hsu to come to Manila and almost immediately dear brother Herald asked the other brothers to send a letter of invitation to TAS. Waiting on the Lord for a clear sense that the time was right, TAS waited almost two full years before arriving in Manila in late January of 1964. The amazing thing is that, given his own history with WL, TAS could have easily seized upon this major disaster in the LC and really attacked WL, but he did not. From Message 1 to Message 42, all the speaking is focused on Christ, our experience of Christ, our growth in Christ, and the Father's delight in Christ. Completely absent are any mean-spiritedness, animosity, or self-vindication by TAS. Lee and the terrible split are never made an issue. Instead, Christ alone is the focus, Christ alone is exalted and Christ is given His rightful place, which is Head over all and All in all. Now that I know the black background and I am reading through these messages for the second time, I have to appreciate not only the words TAS spoke, but even more, the words TAS did NOT speak!!

[djohnson(XLCmember)]

What was the problem between Simon Meek and Lee?

[YP0534]

Originally Posted by kisstheson

The amazing thing is that, given his own history with WL, TAS could have easily seized upon this major disaster in the LC and really attacked WL, but he did not. From Message 1 to Message 42, all the speaking is focused on Christ, our experience of Christ, our growth in Christ, and the Father's delight in Christ. Completely absent are any mean-spiritedness, animosity, or self-vindication by TAS. Lee and the terrible split are never made an issue. Instead, Christ alone is the focus, Christ alone is exalted and Christ is given His rightful place, which is Head over all and All in all. Now that I know the black background and I am reading through these messages for the second time, I have to appreciate not only the words TAS spoke, but even more, the words TAS did NOT speak!!

And this, which you uplift, would obviously be dismissed as being too much on the "spiritual" side and not nearly enough on the "practical" side.

"Practical" apparently being a synonym for "divisive"...

[kisstheson]

Originally Posted by YP0534

And this, which you uplift, would obviously be dismissed as being too much on the "spiritual" side and not nearly enough on the "practical" side.

"Practical" apparently being a synonym for "divisive"...

I hear what you are saying, dear brother YP0534. Without overly exalting TAS, his "spiritual" approach is ultimately the most "practical" because it removes human hands and human efforts from the work of God and allows God Himself to come into the situation. ("Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain." (Psalm 127:1))

"Turning the other cheek" is obviously the Scriptual solution, but it strikes me very deeply as being the best course of action since it first of all deals with our natural desire to retaliate, and secondly it allows the Spirit of God the freedom to come into the situation and do whatever He wants to do.

When our dear brothers at LSM try so hard to be "practical" with their lawsuits, quarantines, and "attack pack" booklets, they operate in the realm of "the arm of the flesh" and all their vaunted human effort ends up being devoid of the Spirit and being, just like you said, divisive. May God be merciful to them and bring them back to the bearing of the cross.

May God have mercy on us all.

[aron]

Originally Posted by kisstheson

The amazing thing is that, given his own history with WL, TAS could have easily seized upon this major disaster in the LC and really attacked WL, but he did not.

Good words for all of us. As posters we are ostensibly "opposers", but I for one have not the intention to "attack", or oppose. I merely want to continue following Jesus. At one point I became clear that being lockstep with Lee et al was deviating from the flow out of the throne, so I began to seek the flow apart from Central Headquaters directives in Anaheim. But I don't want to react to LSM. I want to follow God.

My impression of kts' post is that TAS didn't react, but acted. The first is Satan, the second is God. Big difference. Thanks kisstheson for pointing this out. It is an encouragement to me! Peace, and blessings to your house.

[kisstheson]

Originally Posted by aron

Good words for all of us. As posters we are ostensibly "opposers", but I for one have not the intention to "attack", or oppose. I merely want to continue following Jesus. At one point I became clear that being lockstep with Lee et al was deviating from the flow out of the throne, so I began to seek the flow apart from Central Headquaters directives in Anaheim. But I don't want to react to LSM. I want to follow God.

My impression of kts' post is that TAS didn't react, but acted. The first is Satan, the second is God. Big difference. Thanks kisstheson for pointing this out. It is an encouragement to me! Peace, and blessings to your house.

Amen, dear brother Aron. I too have no intention to react to LSM - I want to follow God!

That seems to be a common theme in all our testimonies here. One day, we all realized that the speaking from the throne and the speaking from Central Headquarters in Anaheim were at odds. For a time, I think we all tried to stifle and suppress the Lord's speaking in our conscience; but, praise Him!, one day He won and despite the outward hardships, He gave us the grace to follow Him outside of the LC/LSM "camp". How He longs to bring us all back to the true freedom and simplicity that is in Christ!

You said it much better then I could, dear brother. Without overly exalting TAS, in these 42 messages spoken in Manila TAS was truly "acting" for God by speaking Christ, and he was most definitely not "reacting" to Lee. There surely is a big difference between the two! If TAS had merely been "reacting to Lee", his speaking would not have the sweet anointing that is obviously there.

[kisstheson]

OK, dear ones. I have really enjoyed this “preliminary” fellowship. Now, I would like to begin to dig into the actual messages in TAS’s two-volume set That They May All Be One, Even As We Are One, starting, of course, with message one.

TAS begins by saying these messages will not be teachings based upon his study of certain subjects; rather, they will be speakings based upon deep experiences “in the school of the Lord”. He wanted the audience to face up to some very practical issues in their walks with the Lord. He knew their rich background, and his desire was to build upon all the teachings they had heard about the purpose of God and bring them into an experiential knowledge of the ways of God. Not just a knowing of the works of God, but a real learning of the ways of God. There was one thing TAS had deeply, experientally, learned over the years and which he desired to impart to these dear ones in Manila – the ways of God are not the ways of the natural man.

An excerpt from Message One:

“God has a way, not only an end; and it is very important to know the ways of God as well as the end of God. If there is one thing that we have learned more than another thing in God’s school, it is this. God’s ways are very different from our ways . . . You just cannot say, ‘I know the Lord wants such and such a thing done, and therefore, I am going to do it’ . . . I think the Lord wants us to learn something of His ways in these days together – to learn the spiritual laws which govern the purpose of God.”

[kisstheson]

Here is something else that really touched me from Message One of “That They May All Be One, Even As We Are One”: The brothers in Manila began to send invitations to TAS to come to Manila starting very early in 1962 (the terrible church split in Manila took place in 1961). As TAS earnestly sought the Lord regarding if, and when, he should travel to Manila, for a long time the leading from the Lord was: “No. Not Yet.” TAS had asked the Lord to speak to him through His Word regarding Manila. Finally, one day, as TAS was reading Isaiah chapter 52, he had a real "rhema" experience of Isaiah 52:12b, and he knew this was the Lord’s direct word to him regarding Manila: “For the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” Brother TAS knew this meant that the Lord was already in Manila, brooding over the situation there, and that the Lord would fully take care of all the practical matters in London while TAS was gone.

(Here is something encouraging for the sisters: The Lord gave TAS’s wife a "rhema" word as well, just for her encouragement regarding Manila.)

I am touched by this matter for at least two reasons. First of all, this is one example among many which shows that the presence of the Lord did not completely leave TAS from 1957 onwards. TAS certainly does not boast, but he mentions little experiences like this between him and the Lord many times during these messages. There was definitely a sweet, intimate, fellowship between him and Christ that lasted right up until his death in 1971. Having the presence of the Lord, both individually and corporately, is a major point in these messages. When one considers all this, along with the obvious anointing that is on these messages, the traditional LC mythology falls flat. The traditional LC account maintains that TAS permanently lost both the presence of the Lord and the anointing for his ministry when he “refused the way of the Spirit” by disagreeing with WL over the doctrine of locality. TAS’s own words prove otherwise. His walk with the Lord and his ministry both deepened during the course of the 1960’s and into the early 1970’s.

Secondly, the fact that TAS waited two years to come to Manila, even though the group in Manila was obviously in an extremely tough situation, is to me a really precious lesson, especially for all the dear ones in the GLA today. TAS himself said that if he had come immediately when he was first invited “something very important might have been lost for two years.” While a co-worker of TAS, C. R. Golsworthy (and his wife) came and offered some help, I believe that the “something very important” that the Lord did not want TAS to interfere with was the precious opportunity for these dear suffering brothers and sisters in Manila to find Christ in a real way for themselves. No more second-hand Christ from the “minister of the age”. No more second-hand Christ from headquarters. These ones were given the rare privilege of finding Christ and knowing Christ by faith, and faith alone. Yes, just faith. “Naked” faith. No human crutches. No man-made substitutes. This can sound scary until we remember that by faith the Lord is always with us while we walk through the valley of the shadow of darkness. In my heart I believe that the GLA is in such a privileged position today. May the Lord continue to be so gracious to those in the GLA as they learn once again to follow the Lamb for themselves. You dear ones in the GLA are His beloved sheep and He has promised that you can hear His voice and that the voice of another you will not follow. Don’t be too quick to look to any man to “rescue” you from this unique opportunity to regain your simplicity in Christ!

When the time was right, TAS’s speaking became an incredibly rich source of blessing for these dear ones. As Herald Hsu states in his testimony: “TAS held two special conferences and delivered 42 messages, leading us and the whole body of Christ into spiritual and heavenly realms.” Praise the Lord that TAS did not spoil this rich blessing by coming to Manila too soon!

[kisstheson]

A quick intermission before I begin to consider Message Two of “That They May All Be One, Even As We Are One” by TAS:

I just noticed the "Acknowledgments" section of dear brother Rex Beck's book Shaped by Vision - A Biography of T. Austin Sparks. There are some names there which should be familiar to all of us here. Peter Debelak's father, Chuck Debelak, is acknowledged for "helpful conversations and emails". Our own dear brother Norm is acknowledged for "editorial emendations".

[kisstheson]

Well, TAS didn’t waste any time getting to the real heart of his burden for the brothers and sister in Manila! Message Two of “That They May All Be One, Even As We Are One” is entitled “That They May Be In Us” and the subject of this message is very profound - living in God. As is the case with virtually all of TAS’s ministry, this message is best taken is small chunks, stopping often to meditate and reflect on the written words in the Lord’s presence.

TAS is desperately burdened that his hearers would learn what it means to live in God in their daily experience.

To make this matter of living in God more practical, TAS states (pp. 20, 21-22):

“Jesus says, 'Abide in Me, as I abide in the Father.' You abide in Me, by that He means you get everything from Me, as I get everything from the Father . . . I have tried to lay the most important law of spiritual life. I just beseech you, seek to have your life in God, not in things, not in people, not in places, not in circumstances, not in arguments, not in human intelligence, but in God. God's thoughts are different from ours. 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding' (Proverbs 3:5). We have been brought by resurrection into a return INTO God.”