Page 28 - The Christian Life and the Church Life_Government of God

The Christian Life under the Government of God 27

In 1961, even before I was baptized, there was a great rebellion in the
church in Manila. I do not know if anybody here still remembers that time,
but I remember it very well, because that rebellion actually separated our
family. Part of our family rebelled and another part remained in the recovery.
During those times, I still remember how my mother repeatedly said, “In
everything that we do, we must be under the judgment seat of our Lord Jesus
Christ, because one day we have to face Him as the Judge.” He governs us by
judging us, and it will be much better for us if He were to judge us today. If
we submit ourselves to His judgmental discipline today, we can become the
overcomers who will receive Him back.

Maybe I can share a little bit before I get into the outline. At that time,
I had one relative who was older than my dad, and he was the one who
brought my dad to the Lord. He was also the one who brought my dad into
the recovery. He was also the one who brought Brother Lee into this country
in the first place. But one day, he was affected and he rebelled against Brother
Lee and the recovery. At that time, my family was in turmoil and we did
not know what to do. There were so many accusations and insults that were
hurled against my father and mother, and we suffered quite a bit. But my
mother kept reminding us that we need to live under the judgment seat of
our Lord Jesus Christ. I praise the Lord very much that our family stood firm
with the recovery. I am not saying all of this to make you fearful. Rather, what
happened to our family really helped me in my Christian life. Shortly after
that rebellion, something happened to this relative of ours and to his family.
His wife got sick and died of cancer. Her cancer was not hidden in her body
but it was a growth out of her throat. On the same day that we brought her
to the cemetery for burial, her husband, the rebellious one, felt something
wrong with his abdomen. When we heard about this, we brought him to the
hospital. He never left that hospital. Within thirty days, he also went to be
with the Lord. When he was still in the hospital, he asked my mother for some
fellowship. He told my mother, “Please pray for me, please pray for me. I
realize that I have sinned against God. I should never have rebelled against
Brother Lee. So please pray.” And he said, “If the Lord would be willing to
heal me, I will bring my whole family back into the Lord’s recovery.” I was
hopeful that with such a prayer, maybe the Lord would heal him, but the
Lord did not. His whole family was in shock. Some of their children were
still very young and could not take this. They lost both parents within thirty