Dear
friends in Christ,
In late
summer of the year 2000, we were contacted by brother
Herald E. Hsu, and he told us that on January 30, 1964,
brother and sister Sparks had come to Manila, at the
request of the brethren, to share the Word of the Lord.
Some of these brothers and sisters in Manila had served
the Lord in China with Watchman Nee, and because of their
stand in the Lord, they had endured much persecution when
China became a communist nation. Then they came to Manila
through the ways of the Lord, which is always the
way of the Cross.
The
meetings began the evening of January 30, and they had
forty-two meetings together which lasted through the
evening of March 12. These brothers and sisters in Christ
met together, except for a few days, both in the evenings
and the mornings. Brother Hsu told us that these messages
were taped, and that they had also translated them into
English, and that brother Sparks had also edited a few of
them. These manuscripts had been carefully preserved, we
believe by the Lord, for almost 40 years - for such a
time as this. And through God's Grace this brother
offered these priceless manuscripts to us.
So we
prayerfully began to read and edit these messages; and as
we did, we began to realize that the Lord was speaking
not only to those who had gathered in Manila, but He was
speaking an eternal word to the whole body of Christ. The
great theme of those meetings was taken from the Lord's
Own High Priestly prayer: "That they may all be
one, even as We are One." Let us quote from a
letter that brother Sparks wrote, a letter which is just
as timely today as when it was written: "The great
enemy does not give up his determination to interrupt
fellowship and to spoil the work of the Lord by bringing
division among His people. Everywhere this evil work is
being pressed with increasing intensity. The enemy is set
upon destroying anything that will result in the Lord
Jesus coming into His full place. We must stand and
withstand and do all in our power to keep this ground
from him. It is costly, and it demands that we let go all
that is only personal, and that we stand for the glory of
our Lord's name and His interests alone." Brother
Sparks also wrote this, which shows that he knew the cost
of this stand: "I am sure that you will never make
me or my ministry a ground of division. There is no need
to fight for me; the Lord is on the Throne, and He can
order things to His Own Will - while we pray and trust
Him."
We have done as little editing as
possible, and we have left these messages in the order
they were spoken day by evening, evening by day. We have
done this because we believe that the Holy Spirit spoke
through His servant in those forty-two meetings.
Therefore, these messages will have eternal results
against the archenemy of God, and his evil hosts, as the
body of Christ makes this a reality in their lives
through the work of the Cross. The brother who sent us
these messages wrote this: "A long time ago, I hoped
that someone who appreciated brother Spark's ministry
would be able to edit and print these messages, in order
to serve the whole body of Christ. These transcripts are
priceless treasures, only eternity can count their value!
Thanks to the Lord." So it is our prayer that these
messages will serve the body of Christ, and most
important of all, may they give the Lord His full place.
From your brothers and sisters at Emmanuel