Finding Joy In The Local Church, Jim Lee

I received the Lord Jesus Christ into me as my Savior when I was 12. I hardly knew what had happened, but I recall the joy that welled up within me immediately following that experience. However, due to the many distractions and curiosities life had to offer to a young teenager, my spiritual enjoyment, however passionate initially, dwindled not too long thereafter.

When I started college, I began to seek after the deeper meaning of human life. A part of me was longing to regain the simplicity and the delight I experienced when I was freshly saved at 12 years old. I recall one night mustering all the energy within me to pray to the God I had once believed, “O Lord, Give me the joy I once found in you.”

Not long after, I met some Christians from the local church in San Francisco. With them was an aroma of unfeigned happiness and purpose. I was invited to come to a meeting at a home every Friday night, where we had a delightful dinner, some singing and some Bible study afterwards. With them, I learned to experience Christ in a practical way. They taught me many deeper truths in the Bible related to God's purpose.

After meeting with them for some time, I realized that I had once again found my home. The Lord used the brothers and sisters in the local church to answer my prayer. I prayed to find my joy in the Lord, and I did find it--I found my joy in the Lord, in the local church.

The Rich Bible Expository Ministry of Witness Lee

When I received the Lord Jesus at the age of twelve I started reading the Bible. There were certain sections that were easily understandable, such as Genesis, Exodus, and the four Gospels; and there were others that were more difficult, such as Leviticus, Romans, and the Corinthians; and there were many others that were just impossible such as Ezekiel, Ephesians, and Revelation. The Bible appeared to me, as probably to many others, a disjointed collection of unrelated books, with no cohesive message, no one central thought, and no unifying theme.

All my bewilderment ended once I was introduced to the ministry of Witness Lee. Everything I have read of what Witness Lee has written concerning the Bible continues to be a source of enlightenment, supply, and spiritual nourishment. Unlike many other ministries, that of Witness Lee is not on prosperity, healing, self-improvement, spiritual gifts, or any other kind of “me-centered” theology. Witness Lee, through his rich spiritual understanding and experience, lifts one out of the morass of self-centered seeking and unveils the manifest counsel of God. Witness Lee's ministry of Biblical interpretation is profound yet accessible, comprehensive yet emphatic, doctrinal yet relevant, broad yet detailed, very experiential, and very enjoyable. Witness Lee unveils Christ as the central focus of God's plan for man in the Bible. This plan is the arrangement God has made to impart Himself to man, to make man one with Himself, so that man can be built up and constituted to be the Body of Christ as His corporate expression on the earth today.

Today, the Bible has become a lot more understandable to me, thanks to Witness Lee's ministry.