This scene took place as Paul was on his way back from his third missionary journey. After saying farewell to the elders of the church in Ephesus at Miletus, he was preparing to go up to Jerusalem. Then a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. He said to Paul, “Let me have your belt,” and taking it, he bound his own hands and feet and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” Perhaps while praying, he had seen something in a vision. In any case, he had received some kind of extraordinary impression or experience, and that was why he came and spoke to Paul in this way.

When those traveling with Paul heard this, they urged him, “Do not go up to Jerusalem.” Some might even have gone a step further and interpreted it as, “The Holy Spirit said not to go.” But the Holy Spirit had not told Paul not to go. He had only revealed what would happen to him there.

The immediate response of the people who heard of this experience was, “Do not go up.” But how did they arrive at that conclusion? “You will be persecuted in Jerusalem. You will be bound and handed over to the Gentiles.” Perhaps something was even said about his eventually going as far as Rome. After hearing what would happen, the conclusion they drew was, “Then you should not go.” This means that something had taken place between the information they received and the conclusion they reached. The connection may seem obvious, but in fact the two are entirely different. The statement, “If you go there, you will be bound and handed over to the Gentiles,” and the advice, “Therefore, do not go,” can easily become one and the same thing in a person’s mind.

But they are not the same. If Paul had actually decided not to go because of what he had heard, many people would probably have assumed that the two were identical. Paul, however, did not see it that way at all. He had no intention of turning back. Yet the others thought, “Of course he should not go.” Why did they think that way? They had received the same information, but the vessel into which they received it was different. The vessel was completely different.

What those people saw was simply the situation itself: if Paul went, he would be arrested. And that was an extremely painful situation. They did not know what would happen afterward, and he might even die. Naturally, they would have been afraid for him, distressed, and filled with pity. But anyone who looked at Paul with pity had no faith. The same is true of anyone who looks at Semuon with pity today. No one has the right to pity him. No one is in a position to do so. Who are we to pity whom?

When Jesus was carrying the cross, people wept for Him as well. How strange that was. From Jesus’ point of view, it must have felt insulting and made no sense at all. “For whose sake do you think I am doing this? You are the ones I pity, and that is why I am going through this. Yet you are weeping because you pity Me?” They were shedding tears that completely missed the point. Of course, when seen through human eyes, the sight of Jesus carrying the cross was heartbreaking. It was painful to watch, and anyone would have wanted to do something for Him.

Whether a person is fleshly or spiritual is revealed even in situations like this. We have already received the Holy Spirit and come to know the truth, so we must become spiritual people. How did Paul respond when he heard them? “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Why weep over someone who had been serving from the beginning with this very determination? Just as the people’s response made no sense to Jesus, it must have made no sense to Paul either.

From a human point of view, perhaps Paul should have comforted them. He could have reassured them and said, “All right, I will not go.” But that was not what mattered. From another angle, it might even have looked as though the Holy Spirit had clearly warned Paul, yet Paul was ignoring the warning and refusing to listen. But “Do not go” was the people’s interpretation. The Holy Spirit had revealed what would happen, but there was something higher than that. God’s intention stood above it. So whatever the Holy Spirit had shown him, Paul acted according to the higher purpose that stood above that particular revelation.

Jesus came to this earth, preached the gospel, was persecuted, and died. He also told His disciples to go and do the same, commanding them to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. From that perspective, this was actually a good opportunity. Paul saw it as an opportunity. If he were arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Gentiles, it could become an opportunity for him to go all the way to Rome. He might even be brought to trial before those in the highest positions, even before the Roman emperor. If that happened, he would have the opportunity to proclaim the gospel to them as well. That is why this could be seen as a good opportunity.

Human thinking, however, says, “Do not go.” If someone is arrested, people feel sorry for him and try to get him released somehow, even if it means paying money. But Paul did not respond that way. He allowed himself to be arrested according to the will of God.

This requires a certain firmness and clear-headedness. We need that firmness toward ourselves, and at times we must ask the same of others. That is why verse 14 says, “So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, ‘The will of the Lord be done.’” The will of the Lord stands above everything else.

Many people have experiences like the one we have been discussing and then say, “The Holy Spirit told me not to go!” or “The Holy Spirit told me not to do it!” But the will of the Lord comes first.

When we speak of “the will of the Lord,” we are not talking about some impression that arises in our own hearts. We already know the Will of God, so we should not be speaking in some other direction. From now on, when we hear the words “the will of the Lord,” what should come to mind is the Will of God—not simply whatever came to mind while we were praying. The whole picture of the Will of God has already been laid out before us.

In that sense, we are like commanders at headquarters. The Commander-in-Chief has already shown us His strategy. If that is so, then we need to rise to the level of that strategy and act accordingly.

Even in war, there are different levels of responsibility. Some are on the battlefield firing their weapons. Others stand a little farther back and direct the fighting. Still others are far removed from the front lines, sitting at central command and looking at the larger picture, moving the pieces according to the overall strategy. At times, those on the front may cry out, “Send air support!” Yet headquarters may answer, “Not now.” Even if they are shouting, “We are about to die! Hurry! Send it within three minutes!” headquarters must look at the entire situation and say firmly, “Hold your position. We cannot send it within three minutes.”

But what would happen if the commander-in-chief were sitting in headquarters crying, “What are we going to do? What are we going to do?” and panicking along with everyone else? Or suppose he became overwhelmed with emotion because his own son happened to be there. He might say, “My son is there! I have to save him!” and redirect aircraft that were supposed to be sent somewhere else. That one decision could jeopardize the entire war. The commander-in-chief must therefore look at the whole picture and move according to that picture, rather than allowing each painful situation faced by an individual to determine the course of action.

In fact, as we carry out this work, we often face conflicts like this. In a sense, they are ethical dilemmas. We have faced many of them. I, in particular, have experienced this many times, and situations like these still keep coming to us.

I mentioned that persecution has been occurring frequently in China these days. We hear reports almost every day. Truly, almost every day. “They came in and turned everything upside down.” “They took things away.” Reports like these came in on Saturday, on the Lord’s Day, and again today.

In the past, how would we have responded to situations like this? We would have immediately gone into a great commotion here. We would publicize what had happened, send out urgent prayer requests, and above all, collect money. The purpose was to get people released as quickly as possible whenever they were detained.

According to what we understood at the time, even if someone was taken into custody, they were supposed to be released within three days. They were to be let go within that period, and keeping them longer than that was regarded as unlawful. Even so, there were cases in which people were detained beyond that period. Not long ago, one person was held for twenty days before being released. But in any case, the expectation was that eventually they would come out.

In earlier times, however, there were cases in which people might not come out at all. There used to be detention facilities—what were called reeducation centers—where people could be confined without first receiving a judicial trial. That system was later abolished after being widely condemned by the international community as inhumane and contrary to the rule of law. These facilities were operated by the police, and people who had never gone through a court trial could be held there for years. No one knew what kind of treatment they might receive there, and many people died while being held in such places.

That system was eventually abolished under international criticism, but the old practices did not disappear overnight, and people were still sometimes held for twenty days or so. Even so, the understanding was that if someone was detained, eventually that person would be released.

But people could not wait. They would become alarmed, and then money would be collected here. That money would be used to bribe the police in order to get the person released sooner. For example, someone who might otherwise have been released after a week would be brought out after three days. In reality, that was often the extent of what was being accomplished. This happened quite frequently. Emergency messages would be circulated, and notices would also be sent out to worship centers. Most of this was handled in that way.

But what happened as a result of responding that way? Whenever something happened, it became the responsibility of the mother church. If someone was arrested, the mother church was expected to provide money. That gradually became a habit. And the habit did not develop only among the churches; it developed among the police as well. They began to think, “Whenever we arrest people from these Berea churches, money comes in.” Naturally, that gave them a reason to keep arresting them.

Strangely enough, that particular group kept getting caught. They did not even use the name Berea, and they deliberately avoided sending letters because they said they were trying to be careful. They would make a great fuss, saying, “Do not do anything dangerous!” Yet somehow they were the ones who kept getting caught. It happened again and again. Meanwhile, other Berea churches openly used the name Berea and yet remained unharmed and were never caught, while this group continued to have problems.

This was something I personally went through. Eventually, a false rumor was even spread that the reason they kept getting caught was because Ki-Taek Lee had reported them to the police. That caused me a great deal of pain.

In any case, what became of the people who had been treated that way? They eventually had nothing to do with us anymore. They had come to use Sungrak Church merely as a source of help and economic benefit. Their thinking had become self-centered. Because things had continually been provided for them, they came to think that just as the world existed for them, Sungrak Church also existed for them. Eventually, they even became bold enough to say, “Do not get involved in the Berea Movement in China. We will take care of it ourselves.”

All of this was the result of the way they had been taught from the beginning—a way of teaching that was bound to produce such an outcome. Whose responsibility was that? It was the responsibility of the parents. When a child refuses to listen, the responsibility lies with the parents, not simply with the child. I saw where this was heading and warned about it beforehand. But people kept coming in between us, asking why I hated them and stirring up division, and things eventually came to this point.

But it was never because I hated them. We dealt with other places in exactly the same way. The more than one hundred churches that exist today grew through the same kind of process. We treat them all according to the same principle.

When someone is arrested by the police, we receive word about it. Then what should we do? In my heart, I want to do anything I can for them. I want to run to them immediately. But we act according to principle.

What did Paul say? He said that he was ready even to die. So in the same way, we speak to them according to that principle. We say, We say, “Pray earnestly while you are in prison, and evangelize the people who are there. While you are being detained, the believers will actually become more alert in prayer, and the church will be revived. And who knows? You may even evangelize the police there. So keep praying and wait faithfully. And if you should die there…”

People are sometimes beaten there, so someone could die in an accident. We would say, “If you die, that is a good thing. If you shed your blood and die there, the church in that region will grow.” The church grows by feeding on blood. Just as a plant grows when it is given water, the church grows when it is given blood. The reason the church in Korea has grown as it has is that blood was given. So I told them, “If you shed your blood, the church will grow that much more. So shed your blood.”

Now, what happens if someone is offended by hearing this? Those who take offense may fall away at that point. Even when the truth is presented sincerely through the Word, some may still be unable to receive it. Then they simply turn away.

I have never tried to hold on to such a person by saying, “No, no, I said it wrong…” There are people who continue to follow even after hearing something like this. Those people remain, and those are the ones who prove genuine. Most people might fall away at that point.

Some might think, “What is this? We were arrested, and this is how they treat us? Is he saying this only because it is not happening to him?” But in fact, we rarely encountered reactions like that. People who had been steadily nurtured by the Word did not respond that way.

They might have had reasons to doubt me, but what I had consistently done over the years kept them from doing so. They had seen the same attitude and the same pattern in me for many years. They also knew very well that I myself had made the same kinds of choices. So they did not take my words as an excuse to avoid helping them. They understood that I was speaking clearly according to the Will of God.

There are people who follow the Word in this way, and there are people who do not. What happens as time goes by? Strangely enough, those who follow the Word tend to see good results, while those who do not often end up with very poor results. I mentioned that these days, in China, churches are being ordered to close and some church buildings are even being demolished. But before that happened, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement often told churches, “If you just stop using the name Berea, you can continue,” or, “If you join the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, you can continue.” As a result, some churches did join. When churches asked me what they should do, I told them, “Joining the Three-Self Patriotic Movement means saying, ‘We will obey what you say absolutely.’ That goes against our faith. We have only one Master, so how can we serve two masters? We cannot. If we are to keep our faith, do not place yourselves under it.” Most churches listened and did not join, but some did. What happened to those churches? When the government later began demolishing churches and leaving only one place of worship in an area while removing the others, the churches that had previously been legalized were among the first to be shut down. They were already known and registered, so they were dealt with first. What does that show? They had already compromised their faithfulness before God, yet in the end they were not protected by the Chinese government either. They were left with neither one nor the other. How unfortunate that is.

I once saw a movie in which a man betrayed someone, handed him over to the opposing side, and then joined that side himself. But after the other side killed the man who had been betrayed, they also killed the betrayer, saying, “We cannot trust a man who betrays others.” How pitiful was that man? He ended up forgotten by both sides, becoming someone whose life had meant nothing to either. Should we not at least become people who are clearly remembered by one side? Either be remembered by the nation, or be remembered in heaven. We should belong clearly to one or the other.

To make decisions like this well, we have to rise above human sympathy, emotion, and personal affection. At times we must also rise above feelings of guilt and even personal relationships. Of course, dilemmas like these cannot always be cut through as cleanly as slicing something with a knife. Even so, we must fundamentally understand that we are at headquarters. It may be true that we are not yet fully carrying out that role. But that is what we are aiming for. Because we are at headquarters, we cannot lead the whole battle to victory if all we do is grieve over one or two people who fall in the fighting. That is why a certain degree of firmness and clear-headedness is necessary. Of course, this is not something easy to say. Nor does it mean that I simply turn away whenever someone comes to me with a need. We put the Will of God first and respond to each situation according to that principle. But at the most basic level, we still need that kind of clear-headed firmness.

A fresh letter has just arrived from a church in China. It came about twenty minutes ago from Pastor Zhao Xinyong in Shanghai. Let me read it to you.

“Happy birthday to the Senior Overseer. Thank you for nurturing us with the Word. Through you, the Berea Movement began, and because of that we came to know the truth and the Will of God. Throughout your life, you have kept and practiced the truth through the way you have lived, and you are still working together with Jesus Christ. Because we have received this Word, we are experiencing the great power of the Holy Spirit being manifested among us. Although you have suffered much persecution because of this Word, you have remained unchanged. Through this, we have come to know clearly that truth and persecution go together. Since we too have grown through the Word you taught us, we also want to face whatever comes while bearing the name “Berea.” Ever since this church was established, we have continued to hold on to the name “Berea,” and we are very proud of it.

“Yesterday, officials from the religious affairs department and the public security authorities raided our worship service. They stopped the service and took away one box of Berea books and another box of materials.”

What a shame to lose them. But there was nothing we could do about it. It does not affect our ministry at all.

“They also took me, my wife, and several fellow workers to the police station for questioning. After about half a day, they released us. We did not deny the name Berea as the name of our church. They told us, “Go and worship at a place of worship recognized by the state,” and, “Go to the religious affairs department and apply for approval.”

“Then an official connected with religious affairs quietly asked me, “Why do you use the name Berea? If you would just stop using the name Berea, things would be much easier for you. Why do you insist on using it?”

“But from the very beginning, we established this church with the determination to share in the glory of “Let Us Return to the Word” and to suffer persecution together with it. We thank the Lord Jesus. We thank Him for giving us a share in the blessing of the “Let Us Return to the Word” Movement. Because the Lord Jesus Christ is with us, we are not afraid. We are willing to suffer whatever may come. Our desire is that even more souls in the Shanghai area may hear this precious Word. We thank the Senior Overseer and the mother church for continuing to nurture us with the Word. Although our church is still small, the path we are walking is the path of Jesus Christ, the path walked by the saints throughout the ages, and the path you have walked. So we too will walk that path. We pray that you and your wife will remain in good health, and please accept our birthday gift. Please also give our greetings to Overseer Sung-Hyun Kim, Pastor Ki-Taek Lee, and the fellow workers.”

I am thankful that people like these remain and continue to stand firm to the end. I am not afraid. No matter what persecution comes, I am not worried, because they are holding on to what must be held on to. Everything else may be taken away, but no one can take away the faith that holds fast to the truth. They may even take our lives, but they cannot take this away. So in reality, there is nothing for us to lose. There is such great peace in that. The problem comes when we insist on holding on to things that can be taken away, such as buildings and possessions.

There was another letter that came in just an hour ago saying, “They took away all the furnishings.” It came from a church in another region where Pastor Zhao’s sister-in-law serves. They said that everything had been taken away and that they had been told, “Do not gather here anymore,” and they asked what they should do. But does that mean they can no longer gather? They are still called to obey the command of Jesus Christ. They can continue to gather in the name of Jesus. If they cannot meet in that place, then they can meet somewhere else. If there is no suitable place, they can gather in a park. If even that is not possible, then they can gather on the street. If they can sit there like that, why should we be so anxious about where they gather? Is it because it is cold? Then worship in the cold. How beautiful that would be, and how much more earnestly we might seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Look at the Guri worship center. How long have they already been worshiping in the rain with umbrellas over their heads? That is how we can continue. What can anyone truly take away from us? If they arrest us, then we will be arrested. What is there to fear? We can begin evangelizing from the very place to which they take us. We must not allow our sympathy to drive us into constantly trying to rescue people or solve every difficulty for them. We have to remain faithful to the principle.

When God’s will, that is, the Will of God, stands above everything else, we are not shaken by what someone says he heard or by what someone says he saw. The direction we are to go is already clear. We are not people who are constantly feeling our way forward because we do not know which way to go. The path before us is clear, and so no matter what anyone says, we continue along that path. Because this is how we have counseled people, there are those who have remained with us for years without becoming wounded or offended, and they are still holding firmly to their faith.

As you meet more and more people in the future, each person will come with problems of his own. When you listen carefully to each person’s circumstances, many of them will be deeply painful. But we cannot take responsibility for every individual problem in every person’s life. Our role is to help them become able to face and deal with those situations themselves. Of course, when something unavoidable is placed before me through God’s guidance, I do not deliberately refuse it or try to escape from it. But in most cases, our purpose is not to take over responsibility for every detail of another person’s circumstances. Our purpose is to help that person grow to the point where he can stand and deal with those matters himself.

A pastor may tell us that he longs for revival and ask us to come. He may think that if we hold one revival meeting, his church will suddenly grow. But that is not the way we should work. Even if it takes much longer, we should help that pastor himself grow. It may take four years or so. But when that growth finally comes, it is real growth. It is growth that endures. That is the kind of growth we should labor for. Let us ask for wisdom to discern how to handle these matters well within the larger principles that govern our work. We are people who stand at headquarters. Let us pray that God will give us wisdom for the ministry.