In this issue we will continue four lines of ministry. The first line--The History of the Lord's Recovery--contains chapters 2 through 5 of Fellowship concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1991–1992. These chapters contain fellowship concerning the practice of the group meetings in the God-ordained way, the practice of the vital groups with much consideration, prayer, and labor, and practical fellowship concerning the group meetings. The second line--Words for New Believers--continues with chapters 15 through 18 of Basic Principles of the Experience of Life, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1963. The chapters in this section speak of dealing with the Spirit, the anointing, and transformation. The third line--Maturing in Life--contains chapters 1 through 4 of The Way to Practice the Lord's Present Move, which are in volume 5 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1985. These chapters speak of the need of the present world, the divine truths in the Lord's recovery, and the blessing on the Lord's recovery, and of going by rising up by being filled with the consummated Spirit essentially and economically. They further speak of the Word and the Spirit for the meetings and of our need to be experienced in the Word and filled with the Spirit for the increase and the meetings. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--continues with chapters 3 through 6 of The History of God in His Union with Man, which are in volume 4 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1991–1992. These chapters focus on God's history in time through His restoration of the judged universe and creation of man, through His saving of man from his fall, through His working on His saints from Abel to Noah and His judging of the world from Cain to Babel, and through His working on His elect from Abraham to Joseph.

The purpose of this monthly digest is to help to encourage and assist in the daily reading of the ministry in the Lord’s recovery. Its two specific goals are: (1) to help the saints to enter into the riches of The Collected Works of Witness Lee and (2) to provide ministry content for the churches in their corporate weekly pursuit. The Collected Works of Witness Lee comprises one hundred thirty-nine volumes arranged chronologically by year. In this digest we will focus primarily on specific topics from many of these volumes and introduce selected readings on these topics to saints who do not have access to the printed volumes. It is our desire to help the saints get into the riches contained in The Collected Works of Witness Lee topic by topic. This publication will help the saints and churches develop a taste and deepen the desire for reading the ministry in a consistent way. It is intended to supplement and not replace the Recovery Version of the Bible, the Life-study messages, The Holy Word for Morning Revival, and The Ministry of the Word magazine. Each issue of Ministry Digest will be divided into four sections with four messages in each section. The first issue begins the following four sections: 1. The History of the Lord’s Recovery 2. Words for New Believers 3. Maturing in Life 4. The High Peak of the Divine Revelation

In this issue of The Ministry, we continue the series of messages concerning the God-ordained way as the present practice in God’s economy. In this message, Brother Lee provides some of the details concerning the practice of the home meetings and small group meetings. In laboring to care for the home meetings, we must learn to minister God’s word at every opportune time, giving “injections” to fight the adverse environments and to supply nutrition in order for the saints to grow. When we labor diligently with perseverance to speak the Lord’s word and care for the meetings in the homes, His Spirit will follow our labor and our words with His work, and there will surely be positive results. The next three messages are a continuation of messages given in the full-time training in Anaheim in the fall of 1997 concerning the grafted life. Message Four presents how God created man in such a way that he would be similar to Him in life so that based upon this similarity he could become intrinsically one with Him. Message Five stresses the fact that God’s judicial redemption is the glorious procedure by which and through which we were grafted into Christ through believing into Him. Message Six gives a further word concerning the matter of God’s judicial redemption for our experience of God’s organic salvation in the grafted life. In the following section we include a portion of the memorial meeting for our beloved Brother Howard Higashi, who was unexpectedly taken away to be with the Lord on November 27, 1998. A message is also included which was given by Brother Howard in the full-time training in Anaheim concerning the gospel, in which he shares his own testimony of receiving the Lord. Our dear Brother Howard was a faithful worker, a steadfast pursuer, and a fervent lover of Christ from the beginning of his salvation in the Lord’s recovery thirty years ago until his going to be with the Lord. He is one of the Lord’s overcomers in this present age. Last of all, we include reports concerning the Lord’s move in Europe and in the southern Philippines.