Week Thirty-Seven—Week Forty-Eight

Week Thirty-Seven

Praying with Spiritual Companions

Praying with Spiritual Companions (I)

Prayer:

Lord, I come to you again, thank You for this new day! Keep my living today so that I can enjoy Yourself with brothers and sisters, amen!

2 Tim. 2:22 But flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Young People Needing Companions

The way to flee youthful lusts and pursue Christ is in 2 Timothy 2:22. This verse says, “But flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” You need “those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” By yourself you are inadequate. The key is to be “with those.”

Whether You Having a Real Companion

Young people need at least one companion. You must consider before the Lord whether you have a real companion in pursuing the Lord. Joshua could have said that Caleb was his companion, and Caleb could have said that Joshua was his companion. However, it is better to have three or four companions. Because of these perilous times, we need more companions. If we have four companions to support us from each direction, we will not fall, regardless of what storm may come.

Our Need to Come Together to Call On the Lord and to Exercise Our Spirit

We need to come together not merely for teachings or study but to call on the Lord out of a pure heart. To pray by calling on the Lord is the real exercise of the spirit. In order to pray with every kind of prayer, intercession, petition, and thanksgiving on behalf of all men, to pray in every place lifting up holy hands, and to pray without wrath in our emotion or reasoning in our mind, we need to exercise our spirit.

(Fellowship with the Young People, ch. 1; The Exercise of Our Spirit, ch. 3)

Praying with Spiritual Companions (II)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for waking me up. Lord Jesus, keep my living today, make me Your testimony on earth through living a regular life! Amen!

1 Thes. 2:20 For you are our glory and joy.

Bearing Fruit to Express the Divine Life Being a Matter of Joy

In John 15:11 the Lord said, “These things I have spoken to you that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full”. To be branches of the divine vine and to bear fruit to express the divine life is a matter of joy—a joyful life. Many saints have had the experience of being in ecstasy when they have baptized one into the Triune God.

When the Lord comes and you stand before Him, who will stand with you and for you? What will you say? Suppose you have never brought anyone to the Lord. This means that you have never borne any fruit. You may say: “Lord, look at Your talent. Your talent is in my pocket. I didn’t lose it. I’ve been keeping it.” For us to say this to the Lord when He comes will be a shame to us, not a glory or a joy.

Living a Regular Life for Fruit-Bearing

Many Americans need to work only eight hours a day, leaving at least two to three hours in the evening free for them to do other things. Many are also free two days each weekend. Seeing how much free time we have, could we not separate just two or three hours during two of these days each week? Many of us can do this. If we live a regular life and budget our time, we can easily separate two periods of two or three hours each for fruit-bearing.

(The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 6)

Praying with Spiritual Companions (III)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You! Keep my fellowship with my spiritual companions today, make us enter into the rich enjoyment of You together and experience You as our food. Amen!

Eph. 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

Four Things That a Christian Possesses—in Addition to Christ, the Bible, and the Church, a Christian Must Have Christians

In addition to Christ, the Bible, and the church, a Christian must have Christians other than himself. This means that a Christian should have at least one or two other brothers or sisters to be his spiritual companions. As Christians, we should not be independent; rather, we should always have six or seven spiritual companions.

Spiritual Companions Being of Necessity

It is of necessity that a Christian has some fellow Christians as his spiritual companions, just as Moses had Joshua, David had Jonathan, and Daniel had his three companions. In the New Testament, Peter had James, and Paul had Timothy; they all had companions in the Lord. Every Christian should have some spiritual companions in the church. Then he will become a strong, rejoicing, and proper Christian.

Our Need to Look to the Lord for Some Companions

First, you have to fellowship with your companion through desperate prayers for the Lord’s blessing. We have shared previously that we need to look to the Lord for some companions. If you do not have a companion, pray desperately from tomorrow to get one. Without a companion, there is no way for you to start the vital group. Then you need to fellowship with your companion through desperate prayers.

(The Pursuit of a Christian, msg. 2; The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups, msg. 3)

Praying with Spiritual Companions (IV)

Prayer:

O Lord, thank You for making me pray before You in the morning. Gain the prayer time between my companion and me so that we can come to You together and fellowship with You! Amen!

Dan. 2:17-18 Then Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, that they might request compassions from before the God of the heavens concerning this mystery…

Daniel Having Three Companions

We need to have close, intimate, and thorough fellowship with the Lord and with the seeking saints. To fellowship only with the Lord is inadequate. We must also be in fellowship with the saints. We need to get companions with whom we can labor. According to the example in the Bible, Daniel had three companions.

We Needing Companions Because We Are All So Natural

We need companions not only because we are weak to stand by ourselves, but also because we are all so natural. According to our natural disposition, it is very hard for us to have companions. Our individualism is a pleasure to us. We enjoy our individualism so much.

The Need for Companions to Always Come Together to Fellowship and Pray

By myself I would not dare to do many things, but when I have four companions, I would dare to do anything. The five companions should always call on the name of the Lord together (2 Tim. 2:22). They should always come together to fellowship, pray-read, pray, and take care of new ones. One brother’s new ones should be another brother’s new ones also. In this way one group of five saints will have fifteen new ones under their care. All these new ones will be saved.

(The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups, msg. 1; Fellowship with the Young People, ch, 1)

Praying with Spiritual Companions (V)

Prayer:

Lord, keep my living today and make me walk on the paths of the righteousness that I may be enlightened in your presence, shining brighter and brighter with great splendor! Amen

Prov. 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, / Which shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

Being Revived Every Morning to Be Renewed Day by Day

If we are to be the overcomers, the sun, we must also rise up every morning to be revived by the Lord. Proverbs 4:18 says, “But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (ASV). We should follow the sun to be revived and to have a new start every morning. Our path is like the dawning light that shines more and more until the full day. I like Paul’s expression in 2 Corinthians 4:16—“day by day.” The Christian life does not only have one day. We are being renewed day by day.

Having a Transformation That Is Fresh Daily

To have a revival that is renewed daily is to have a transformation that is fresh daily; if we remain in this transformation our whole life, we will grow in the life of the Lord until we are matured. This kind of revival, renewal, and transformation is what we all need today.

Pray-reading Together to Enjoy the Lord

You could even save your time by arranging to have a ten minute morning watch with each of them. The telephone may be used for this purpose. One person can be scheduled at 6:15 a.m., the next person at 6:30, and the next person at 6:45. Within one hour, you could contact three persons in the morning. You could contact the same three persons every morning to pray-read with them, fellowship with them, and enjoy Christ with them in a very brief way.

(Being Renewed Day by Day, ch. 1; A Timely Trumpeting and the Present Need, msg. 4; Elders’ Training, Book 11: The Eldership and the God-Ordained Way (3), ch. 9)

Praying with Spiritual Companions (VI)

Prayer:

O Lord! Thank You for entering into me now. Lord, enter into me more, and fill me more that I can enjoy Yourself!

Eph. 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in spirit.

The More Room You Give the Holy Spirit, the More He Fills You

How much the Spirit can fill you within depends on how much room you give Him. The more room you give Him, the more He fills you. Similarly, the amount of air that fills a bottle depends on how much space there is in the bottle. If half of the bottle is filled with soil, air can fill only half of the bottle. The more the soil is removed from the bottle, however, the more the air will fill it. In the same way, the more you remove the defilement of sin and the filthiness that is within you, the more the Holy Spirit will be able to fill you. As you empty out, the Spirit will fill you. When you have completely emptied yourself of all filthiness, then you will also be completely filled with the Spirit.

Digging Well by Prayer

This digging is accomplished only by prayer. We have to spend more and more time with the Lord and pray according to His inner leading. According to that leading, we must confess and dig away all the dirt within us.

Having a Thorough Prayer and Confession

You also have to find some time in your busy schedule to kneel down before the Lord by yourself and to thoroughly pray and confess. This is most precious. At the beginning of this time, you may tell the Lord, “O Lord, forgive me. Although You have forgiven me of all my sins, I have never had a thorough confession and a thorough dealing. Today I would like to confess all of my sins thoroughly before You. Please shine on me!”

(Vessels Useful to the Lord, msg. 7; The Economy of God, msg. 10)

Week Thirty-Eight

Making a List of the New Ones and Praying for Them

Making a List of the New Ones and Praying for Them (I)

Prayer:

O Lord, thank You that You are love. Fill me with Your love so that I can make petitions, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings on behalf of others! Lord, thank You!

1 Tim. 2:1 I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men.

The Lord Being Hungry for Sinners

The Lord is hungry for sinners. In John 4 He told His disciples: “I have food to eat of which you have no knowledge” (John 4:32). The Lord’s food was to gain the sinners. When He gained that immoral woman, she became His food. That satisfied His hunger. We all must realize that the Lord is hungry and is waiting to be satisfied.

If No One Prays for All Men, Then They Cannot Be Saved

When you pray for the salvation of your relatives and friends, if your prayer is proper, you ought to believe that in the universe God has the intention to save that particular relative or friend of yours. This intention of God could never be expressed or completed by God Himself. This is a law. God desires that all men be saved; this is His intention. But if no one prays for all men, then they cannot be saved. Therefore, unless you pray for your relative or friend and thus express God’s desire, His intention cannot be done, and your relative or friend cannot be saved.

Our Need to Be Those Who Pray at All Times to Have a Successful Contact with Sinners

To have a successful contact with sinners, we must be those who pray at all times (1 Thes. 5:17; Luke 18:1). While we are working, we must be praying for one or two of those with whom we work. We should pray: “Lord, remember these ones that I am burdened for. You desire all men to be saved. Remember them and visit them with Your salvation.” We must be persons who pray day and night without ceasing. God’s desire for man’s salvation requires our prayer for it to be carried out.

(Lessons on Prayer, msg. 2; The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 5)

Making a List of the New Ones and Praying for Them (II)

Prayer:

O Lord, thank You for Your death and resurrection for us, today You also intercede for us! Lord Jesus, make me an intercessor for others as well! Amen!

Rom. 8:34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ Jesus who died and, rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

Christ Interceding for Us

Where is Christ? Because He is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17), He is omnipresent. He is both in heaven and on earth, both at the right hand of God and in our spirit. According to verse 26 the Spirit intercedes within us, and according to verse 34 Christ intercedes for us at the right hand of God. Do we have two intercessors—one within us and the other at the right hand of God? No, these two are one. This is similar to electricity. We have electricity in our homes as well as in the power plant; nevertheless there is just one electricity. Likewise, Christ intercedes for us both at the right hand of God and from within our spirit.

Responding to Christ’s Heavenly Ministry

We need to be those who respond to Christ’s heavenly ministry. For centuries, Christ has tried without adequate success to get a people to respond to His ministry in the heavens. By His mercy and grace, there is on earth today a group of people in the Lord’s recovery responding to Christ’s heavenly ministry. Let us be those who tell the Lord that we are one with Him in this ministry. Day and night, we need to respond to the Christ who is above all.

Caring for the Things Above in Our Prayer

If in our prayer we are willing to forget insignificant matters and care for the things above, we shall become conscious of the traffic between us and Christ in heaven. We shall sense a current flowing back and forth between Him and us. By means of this kind of prayer, the divine riches are transfused into us. This enables us to be one with others and to be right with everyone. This also issues in the renewing of the new man.

(Life-study of Romans, msg. 21; Life-study of Colossians, msg. 61)

Making a List of the New Ones and Praying for Them (III)

Prayer:

O Lord! Thank You for making brothers and sisters pray for one another. In this new day, make my mouth open more times to make prayers and petitions on behalf of the people around me. Amen!

Rom. 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers.

Our Prayer Being Crucial for the Carrying Out of God’s Desire for Man’s Salvation

Although God has such a desire, a heart, to save people, He can fulfill His desire only through the principle of incarnation. This means that He cannot save people directly; He must do it through us. Not even the angels have been appointed by God with such a commission for the carrying out of God’s desire. This commission has been entrusted only to man. For the carrying out of this commission, we need to pray.

Making a List for Prayer

I want to remind you to make a list of all your acquaintances. You may think that you do not know that many people, but when you make a list, you may find out that you have over a hundred people whom you know. You should pray over these names, seeking the Lord’s leading as to whom you should contact. Sometimes when you contact someone, you may feel that he is the wrong person. But according to my experience, no contacts are wrong. Do not say that you caught a fish which is the wrong fish. No fish is wrong, as long as it was hooked by you. The only thing that is wrong is for you not to contact people.

(Life-study of 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon, msg. 3; The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups, msg. 7)

Making a List of the New Ones and Praying for Them (IV)

Prayer:

Lord, gain my heart! Make me not only be able to pray and petition for others, but also to petition with joy and enter into the prayer with all my heart. Amen!

Phil. 1:4 Always in my every petition on behalf of you all, making my petition with joy.

Preaching the Gospel Being a Great Privilege and a Great Joy

When a sinner is saved, the angels rejoice, praise, and sing in the heavens. In the Gospel of Luke it is mentioned twice that the angels rejoiced. In Luke 2 when the Lord Jesus was born, there was a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and saying, “Glory in the highest places to God, and on earth peace among men of His good pleasure” (vv. 13-14). Then in chapter 15, when a sinner repents, the angels rejoice (vv. 7, 10).

Considering Our Relatives, Neighbors, Friends, Schoolmates, and Colleagues

It is helpful to consider before the Lord all the names of our relatives, neighbors, friends, schoolmates, and colleagues, and all the persons with whom we are familiar, and it is better to write these names down.

Following the Lord’s Leading to Have Specific Prayers

If we have too many relatives and friends, we need to have specific prayers. In their initial zeal some brothers and sisters write down a hundred names and make a determination to pray for them every day. In the end, they do not pray for anyone. Hence, we do not need to focus on too many people at the same time. The best way is to focus on three to five, always looking to the Lord for them in a thorough way. The effect of this constant looking to the Lord will gradually be manifested.

(Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 5: Concerning Various Aspects of Church Service, msg. 12; Basic Principles for the Service in the Church Life, ch. 5; Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church, msg. 12)

Making a List of the New Ones and Praying for Them (V)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for putting the brothers and sisters around me! Lord, make us fellowship with one another, and experience Your bountiful supply together. Amen!

Phil. 1:19 For I know that for me this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Prayer Issuing in the Bountiful Supply

If we merely read the Word without prayer, we may not get anything more than objective knowledge. But by praying with the Word we touch the Spirit. As a result, we enjoy the bountiful supply of the Spirit, the riches of Christ, and the fullness of the Godhead.

The Real Burden of Prayer Being Not a Composition

Brother Nee said we should not pray anything that is not real prayer. Many prayers that we pray actually are not prayers. They are repetitions of statements according to our tradition. The real burden of prayer is not a composition. When the blind man prayed to the Lord, he did not pray a composed prayer. When the Lord Jesus asked him what he wanted, the blind man said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight!” (Luke 18:41). This is real prayer out of a real burden. He was burdened to contact Jesus so that he could see, and the Lord answered his prayer.

Praying for the Lord’s Recovery

When I pray and cry, “O Lord, the recovery,” this is out of some burden. Once we begin to pray for the recovery, we realize that we cannot finish our prayer. There are many places and persons for which we have to pray. We need to be vital, and to be vital is to have the real burden for prayer. There is the need of the real prayer among us. What the vital groups should have a burden to pray is this: “Lord, the church needs the proper increase.”

(Life-study of Philippians, msg. 38; Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, msg. 23)

Making a List of the New Ones and Praying for Them (VI)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for giving me a heart of joy and patience. Make this joy and patience operate in my heart to meet my need all day long. Lord, thank You!

Rom. 12:12 Rejoice in hope; endure in tribulation; persevere in prayer.

Our Need to Labor

We should have some gospel candidates in our consideration and prayers. We should have the assurance that by the end of the year, we will have one or two as remaining fruit. But this all depends upon how we spend these coming months. The season for fruit is not today but in the months to come. We have to labor. To have a human birth after conception takes nine months. To have the fruit on a vine takes about one year. These are the laws in nature according to God’s creation.

Our Need to Pray Desperately and Not Be Discouraged or Disappointed

We need to pray desperately, “Lord, we ask You, when the season comes, to give each one of us two people who are remaining fruit. Otherwise, we cannot go on.” We should pray and pray until the Lord answers our prayer. We should not be discouraged or disappointed, but have the full assurance that He will fulfill His word. This is because He told us that He has chosen us and set us to go forth to bear fruit and that our fruit should remain.

Our Need to Persevere in Prayer

In order to fight on God’s side against Satan, we need to persevere in prayer. This perseverance is needed because the course of the whole world is away from God. To pray is to go against the current, the trend, in the fallen universe.

(Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, msg. 23; Life-study of Colossians, msg. 65)

Week Thirty-Nine

Making Friends for the Preaching of the Gospel

Making Friends for the Preaching of the Gospel (I)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You that You are the Friend of sinners. Thank You for becoming my Friend before You saved me. Lord, cause me to love You more today! Amen.

Matt. 11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking; and they say, Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Yet wisdom is justified by her works.

The Lord Jesus Being the Friend of Sinners

Christ is not only the Savior, but also the Friend of sinners, the One who sympathized with their problems and sensed their griefs. He came to bring salvation to sinners and cause them to rejoice in it. Hence, He had the joy of eating and drinking with them.

The Lord Going through Our Experiences Together with Us

Thank and praise the Lord. The Lord Jesus is not only the sinners’ Savior, but also the sinners’ Friend! Here we see a little of the riches of His glory. Sometimes we may encounter difficulties. Sometimes we may be lonely. Many people may give us a bad face; many voices may cause us sorrow. Everything around us may seem gray. But we have to know that when the billows roll over us, the Lord is not just our Savior; He is also our Friend! He feels the suffering that we feel. He sympathizes with us and goes through our experiences together with us.

Going to Visit Sinners on Definite Days

After being revived through our prayer, we must go to visit sinners on definite days to redeem our time. We must set aside a certain day and time each week and only use it for our priesthood of the gospel. We should not say that we have no time. As long as we have time to do other things, we surely have time to visit sinners.

(Life-study of Luke, msg. 16; CWWN, vol. 18: Notes on Scriptural Messages (2), msg. 7; The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 3)

Making Friends for the Preaching of the Gospel (II)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You that You are my rest and enjoyment. Cause me to cast my burden upon You instead of labor and enter into You to enjoy You as rest!

Matt. 11:28 Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest.

Whosoever Will May Come to the Lord to Have Rest

The calling today says, “Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Redemption has been accomplished, and the Lord has borne our sins. Whosoever will may come to the Lord to have rest. No sinner can obtain rest by himself. If you come before the Lord, you will have rest.

The Principle in the Bible—Going to Preach the Gospel

The Bible reveals that we must go forth. The Lord Jesus preached the gospel by coming down from heaven. From His point of view, He came to us. When He preached the gospel in His earthly ministry, He went from Galilee to the land of Judea and from the land of Judea to Galilee. He visited the home of Zaccheus, and He waited for the woman in Samaria. He went with the gospel. Later, the Lord sent out seventy disciples and charged them to go from house to house to look for the sons of peace. This is the principle in the Bible: go to preach the gospel.

From “Coming” to “Going”

We should no longer live according to the old manner of life, which is to invite people to come and listen to the gospel. Instead, we should go out every week to visit people. Furthermore, we should not invite new ones to come to the church meetings and listen to messages; rather, we should deliver the meetings to their homes.

(CWWN, vol. 17: Notes on Scriptural Messages (1), msg. 11; The Proper Way for Believers to Meet and to Serve, msg. 5)

Making Friends for the Preaching of the Gospel (III)

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, praise You that You are the altogether beautiful and lovely Lord. If You attract, who cannot follow You? Draw me, we will run after you! Amen!

S.S. 1:4a Draw me; we will run after you.

The Lord Being like a Great Magnet Attracting People to Him

The Lord Jesus was like a great magnet attracting people to Him. At the seashore of the Sea of Galilee, seeing Peter, Andrew, James, and John, He spoke only a brief word: “Come after Me.” And they immediately quit their fishing, cast off their nets, and left their boats and their fathers to follow Him (Matt. 4:18-22). Many of us have also been attracted by Him and therefore follow Him willingly.

The Need for Us to Learn to Be Attractive Persons

To Christ we should be the precious stones, but for the ones we visit, we should be a “magnet” to attract them. We should be attractive not only in our speaking but even in the way we look at people. We should be soft and warm to them.

Making a List of All Your Relatives and Going to Visit Them

You should make a list of all your relatives and go to visit each one. You do not need to knock on strangers’ doors. A stranger may slam the door in your face. Those are “cold doors.” You better go first to the “warm doors.” Your close relatives would never slam the door. You have the right to visit them. There are so many “warm doors,” so many close relatives, for us to visit with the gospel.

(The Four Crucial Elements of the Bible—Christ, the Spirit, Life, and the Church, ch. 4; The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msgs. 31, 7)

Making Friends for the Preaching of the Gospel (IV)

Prayer:

Lord, cause me to experience more of Your presence that wherever I am going, I can go with You to be Your witness in every locality! Amen

Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

The Lord’s Witnesses Being His Propagation

In Acts 1:8 the Lord said to the disciples, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The Lord’s witnesses are His propagation. Every believer of Christ is a witness of Christ, and every witness is Christ’s propagation, just as every grain of wheat is the propagation of the original grain.

God Desiring Man to Fill the Earth

From the day that God created man, He had no plans for us to stay in one place permanently. Since God “made from one every nation of men” (Acts 17:26) and told man to be “fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Gen. 1:28), men must move in order to fill the earth. Fill in Hebrew means “occupy to the full.” God views the earth as being empty unless man occupies and fills up its space.

The Need for Us to Visit Our Neighbors

The second group of people we have to visit is our neighbors. We all have neighbors, and we may have lived by our neighbors for many years. We are Christians who love the Lord and are in His recovery. We are seeking Christ and desire to live Christ, abide in Christ, enjoy Christ, and experience Christ; yet after so many years, our next-door neighbor may still not be saved. Is this a proper situation?

(Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church, msg. 1; The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msgs. 31, 7)

Making Friends for the Preaching of the Gospel (V)

Prayer:

Lord, increase my faith to You today, and through the faith, You deliver my unsaved family members and friends. Lord Jesus, may You do great things in my home!

Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household.

The Family as the Unit of the Salvation

Suppose the apostle told the jailer, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved.” If this was the case, we would have to wait a few days after a person was saved, teach him something, and hope that he would understand. Then he might gradually testify to his family, and his family might eventually believe and be saved. If this had been the case, how long would it have taken for the jailer’s household to be saved? The apostle did not preach the gospel this way. He did not deal with individuals one by one; instead, he addressed the whole household. He said, “You and your household” shall be saved. You need to see this: The salvation of a household is no different and certainly no more difficult than the salvation of one person. You should never forfeit the privilege of saving the whole household. If you bring the whole household along, the whole household will be saved.

Visiting People and Establishing Intimate Relationships with Them

We gain people by gaining an intimacy with them, by showing an intimate concern for them. If we merely teach them to help their understanding, they will not follow us. But if we visit them and become intimate with them in a proper way, we will gain them for the Lord.

The Need for Us to Visit Our Friends, Colleagues, and Schoolmates

We must also visit our friends, colleagues, and schoolmates. Everyone has a friend, a colleague, or a schoolmate. If you are teaching school, all the teachers and staff are your colleagues. If you are a student, you have many classmates. First, we should try to build up a good feeling between ourselves and our colleagues or schoolmates. Then we can talk to them about Christ and make an appointment to visit them.

(Messages for Building Up New Believers, vol. 2, ch. 20; Elders’ Training, Book 11: The Eldership and the God-Ordained Way (3), msg. 9; The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msgs. 31, 7)

Making Friends for the Preaching of the Gospel (VI)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for having mercy on me that I can be a steward in God’s house. Lord, cause me to first enjoy you more today and enjoy Your riches with others!

1 Cor. 9:17 If I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a stewardship.

If We Preach the Gospel, We Will Receive a Reward

Paul was not cursing himself when he said, “Woe to me.” Rather, he was saying that if we lose the race of our Christian life, we will not receive a reward. The condition of woe does not refer to being cursed; it refers to not receiving a reward. If we preach the gospel, we will receive a reward; if we do not preach the gospel, we will not receive a reward. The Lord knows whenever a sinner repents.

The First One to Visit People Being the Lord Jesus

We must visit them. The first one to visit people for the preaching of the gospel was the Lord Jesus. He came all the way from the heavens, and He even changed His form to become a man in order to visit sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). He went from city to city and from village to village to visit people (Luke 8:1). He sent the twelve to visit people (Matt. 10:5). Later He sent seventy to visit people (Luke 10:1). The Lord’s word in John 15:16 is His sending of us.

Making Friends by Means of the Mammon of Unrighteousness

If we make friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, when it fails we shall be received into eternal tabernacles. The word “fails” indicates that when the satanic world is over, mammon will be of no use in the kingdom of God. The eternal tabernacles are the eternal habitations into which the prudent believers will be received by those who share the benefit of their prudence. This will be in the coming kingdom age (Luke 14:13-14; Matt. 10:42).

(Guidelines for the Propagation of the Lord’s Recovery, msg. 5; The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 11; Life-study of Luke, msg. 36)

Week Forty

Bearing Witness for the Lord

Bearing Witness for the Lord (I)

Prayer:

Lord, praise the power of Your resurrection, Lord Jesus, cause us to experience the power of Your resurrection! Amen!

Acts 2:32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we all are witnesses.

We All Being Able to Be Witnesses of the Lord

A witness is one who sees and then testifies. To different degrees, we all have seen the Lord and His grace and mercy. If we have not seen anything, we would not be in the church; if we have not seen anything, we would not come to the church meetings. Since we have seen the Lord, we can be His witnesses.

Genuine Testimonies Exceedingly Touching People

We can testify of the Lord by speaking one sentence or one message; in the eyes of the Lord there is no difference. Whether we speak well or speak poorly, we can still testify. In fact, unbelievers do not pay much attention to how we speak; they want to hear our testimony. When gospel friends come to us, they may not have a strong impression of a gospel message, but they will never forget the testimonies they hear because these testimonies are full of subjective experience.

Every Brother and Sister Being Able to Give a Testimony

Every brother and sister can give a testimony. Although our testimony may not have a spectacular aspect to it, such as the salvation experience of a notorious criminal or of a person with a long and serious illness, it is still a genuine experience that we can speak of to our gospel friends. We should never underrate our experience; it may be a treasure to an unbeliever.

(Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 4: The Increase and Spread of the Church, msg. 12)

Bearing Witness for the Lord (II)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for making me joyful! Open my mouth much more today so that I may have the opportunity to proclaim and testify of such kind of joy! Cause me to be Your witness! Amen

Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

The Need for New believers to Witness to Others from the Very Beginning

No tree will sprout without further growth. Likewise, no one can have God’s life without begetting more life. Those who never witness to sinners are probably in need of others witnessing to them. Those who have no desire or interest in leading others to repentance unto the Lord are probably in need of repentance themselves. Those who are silent for the Lord in front of others probably need to listen again to the voice of God’s gospel. No one can be so advanced that he no longer needs to save others. No one can advance to the degree that he no longer needs to witness to others. New believers need to learn to witness to others from the very beginning. This is something we have to do for the rest of our lives.

The Day of Leading People to Salvation Being the Happiest Day

The two happiest days in every believer’s life are the day he believes in the Lord and the day when, for the first time, he leads another person to Christ. The first one, of course, is a particularly happy day. However, the joy of leading another person to the Lord for the first time may be greater than the joy experienced on the day of his own salvation.

Our Need to Open Our Mouths to Testify

Every Christian has an obligation to be a witness and to introduce the Lord to others. The Lord has saved a great sinner such as me. If He is not the Christ, who else can He be? If He is not the Son of God, who else can He be? I have no choice but to open my mouth. I have to open my mouth to testify.

(Messages for Building Up New Believers, vol. 2, msg. 18)

Bearing Witness for the Lord (III)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for causing me to have satisfaction. Lord, increase my enjoying of You that I may proclaim You, the God Who gives satisfaction to others. Lord, may You become my unique satisfaction! Amen

John 4:28 Then the woman left her waterpot and went away into the city, and said to the people,

4:29 Come, see a man who told me all that I have done. Is this not the Christ?

The Samaritan Woman Becoming a Witness Because of Satisfaction

Do you know why people are thirsting after so many things other than Christ? Simply because they are not satisfied with Christ. If they were satisfied with Christ, all of the other things would be forgotten. The well and the waterpot meant so much to the Samaritan woman, but after she recognized Christ, she spontaneously gave up those cherished things and went to the people, testifying that Christ was now her satisfying life.

The Need to Have the Prevailing Faith Whenever We Talk to a Sinner

We must have the faith that while we are talking with people, the Lord is working in a prevailing way. The Samaritan woman was turned in an instant. In the past, beyond our belief, we have seen many people turn in such a way. The Lord’s way to turn people is in the Spirit, in the way of life, not in the way of education. Education takes time. It takes time to teach people. However, when the Lord regenerates people, He makes them a new creation and calls things not being as being. We must have this prevailing faith whenever we talk to a sinner.

The Need for Us to Be Serious and Desperate

We have to realize that we have been charged by our Master, and then we must be serious and desperate to go forth, to bear fruit, and to keep our fruit. This depends upon the Lord’s appointment in John 15:16. This appointment indicates that He has prepared an environment to accommodate our every need so that we can bear remaining fruit.

(List-study of John, msg. 12; The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 5)

Bearing Witness for the Lord (IV)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You that You are our jubilee. Praise You that You have given release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send away in release those who are oppressed! Lord, gain this day that I can also proclaim You!

Isa. 61:1-2a The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon Me, / Because Jehovah has anointed Me / To bring good news to the afflicted; / He has sent Me to bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted, / To proclaim liberty to the captives, / And the opening of the eyes to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of Jehovah.

The Year of Jubilee Making Us Return to Our Possession

We all had lost the possession allotted to us by God. But in our salvation, the New Testament jubilee, we returned to our possession. Furthermore, we have returned to our family, to the divine family. We had sold ourselves as slaves and thus lost the right to be with our family. But the year of jubilee came, and we were released to return both to our possession and to our family. Now we are rich, and we are free in our divine family.

The Lord Jesus as Our Real Jubilee

If we want to be truly free and able to enjoy God as our possession, we must receive the Lord Jesus as the real jubilee in us. If we have Him, our possession is recovered and our freedom is returned to us. The Lord Jesus has released us that we may have God as our possession and be delivered from the bondage of sin and Satan so that we may have real freedom.

Enjoying the Lord as Our Jubilee

When we enjoy the Lord fully, He becomes our jubilee; that is, He becomes our inheritance and liberty. Not only so, the Lord also becomes our living. In such a living, we love Him to the uttermost and let Him be the Lord. Then He becomes the primary factor and center in us to lead us and govern us. In this way, when we pass through things, we will not be tormented, enslaved, or dominated by them. Instead, we will be free.

(Life-study of Leviticus, msg. 56; The Jubilee, msgs. 1, 4)

Bearing Witness for the Lord (V)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You that You are the speaking God. Lord, speak more within me today to teach me concerning the way I should go so that I may live under Your Presence and direction. Amen!

John 14:10 …The words that I say to you I do not speak from Myself, but the Father who abides in Me does His works.

Lord Jesus Did Not Speak His Own Word

In carrying out God’s New Testament ministry, the Lord Jesus told us that He never did anything out of Himself (John 5:19), He did not do His own work (John 4:34; 17:4), He did not speak His own word (John 14:10, 24), He did everything not by His own will (John 5:30), and He did not seek His own glory (John 7:18).

Speaking Christ and Speaking by the Spirit

When we speak to people, our heart should be always looking to the Lord. We should not speak anything but Christ, and we should speak only by the Spirit. These are the governing principles. If we keep these two principles, the Spirit will lead us to speak the right words.

Exercising to Speak Christ by the Spirit

While we are speaking, we should practice looking unto Him to receive the leading of the Spirit. We can all practice in this way. The other way to practice is to go to your close relatives and speak Christ to them by the Spirit under the Lord’s leading. By this kind of practice, we will learn a lot.

(Elders’ Training, Book 01, msg. 3; The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 5)

Bearing Witness for the Lord (VI)

Prayer:

Lord, inspire within me that I may become a laboring priest of the gospel of God. Lord, cause me to be willing to testify of Your preciousness before man through my enjoying of You! Amen

Rom. 15:16 That I might be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, a laboring priest of the gospel of God, in order that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, having been sanctified in the Holy Spirit.

We Being Energizing Priests of the Gospel of God

In Romans 15:16 he said that he was a minister of Christ Jesus, an energizing priest of the gospel of God. He was an energizing priest to offer the nations to God as acceptable sacrifices. Because Paul saw and realized this, he took this as his daily duty.

The Need for Us to Seek People and to Pray for Them

As soon as a person believes in the Lord, he should make a resolution before the Lord to lead men to the Lord. Everyone should have a record of how many souls he will save in a year. He may resolve to save ten or twenty a year. He should then begin to pray for them.

The Need for Us to Try Our Best to Testify to the People

We must uphold the torchlight of the gospel and must light everyone around us. Let every Christian go forth to light others. The testimony of the gospel needs to go out from us until the Lord’s return. We should not be lit ourselves without lighting others. We should light more and more candles. So many souls before our eyes are in need of salvation. We must try our best to testify to them and lead them to Christ.

(The Advance of the Lord’s Recovery Today, ch. 10; Messages for Building Up New Believers, vol. 2, msg. 18)

Week Forty-One

Preaching the Gospel by Using “The Mystery of Human Life”

Preaching the Gospel by Using “The Mystery of Human Life” (I)

Prayer:

Lord, cause me to love You more and to be more willing to speak things concerning You to those around me, and make me an evangelist to proclaim the kingdom of God with all boldness!

Acts 28:31 Proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, unhindered.

The Preaching of the Gospel Making Ourselves and the Church Revived

We have to go to gain the people for the Lord. Once we go to preach the gospel, we will be revived, and we will see the church in our locality revived. The Devil is the one opposing the preaching of the gospel. If he can stop us from preaching the good news for another five years, the issue will be death.

The Need for Us to Consecrate Ourselves for the Gospel

To prepare ourselves to preach the gospel, we first must consecrate ourselves, give ourselves, to the Lord. We must tell the Lord: “Lord, I was saved by You. I belong to You. You redeemed me. You purchased me. You bought me. I am Your property. I am Your asset. I belong to You, so now I give You Your full rights. I am here.”

The Need for Us to Learn to Use “The Mystery of Human Life”

We may want to use some Bible verses, but still we need training in order to be able to talk with someone. We may prefer to use The Mystery of Human Life. It is not simple to use this booklet. We have to get ourselves into it until we can nearly recite every paragraph and every section. We can practice at home with the members of our family. Thirty-eight thousand were brought to the Lord through the use of The Mystery of Human Life.

(The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 4)

Preaching the Gospel by Using “The Mystery of Human Life” (II)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for creating me in Your image, according to Your likeness. Lord, remind me moment by moment that I possess Your image and Your likeness! Amen

Gen. 1:26 And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.

Man Having God’s Image as a Vessel to Contain God

God’s creation of man is different from His creation of all other things. He created man in His own image. A glove is created according to the likeness of a hand with the purpose of containing the hand. Likewise, man was created in the image of God with the purpose of containing God. We are vessels of God. God wants to be our content. As bottles are made to contain water, we are made to contain God. It is no wonder that knowledge, wealth, pleasure, and accomplishment can never satisfy you, for you were created to contain God!

Man Having Three Parts—the Spirit, the Soul, and the Body

Man is God’s vessel. The Bible divides this vessel into three parts—the spirit, the soul, and the body. The body is simply the physical body, belonging to the physiological level, contacting the things of the material realm, and is the most superficial part. The soul is the mental faculty, belonging to the psychological level, contacting the things of the mental realm, and is a deeper part. The spirit is the deepest part of man, belonging to the spiritual level, and contacts the things of God. For problems of the body one may see a doctor. For problems of the mind one may visit a psychiatrist. Yet only God can solve the problems of the spirit.

God’s Economy Being that God Wants to Enter into Man’s Spirit to Become His Content

God wants to enter into man’s spirit, to become his content and his satisfaction. This is the purpose of human existence! You are not merely created to contain food in your stomach, or to contain knowledge in your mind, but you are created to contain God in your spirit.

(The Mystery of Human Life, The First Key)

Preaching the Gospel by Using “The Mystery of Human Life” (III)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for making me see that I am a sinner, much more I praise You that You are the way that I, a sinner saved by grace can come forward to God through You! Amen

Rom. 7:18 For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but to work out the good is not.

The Two Natures of Man—the Good Nature and the Evil Nature

Since man was made in the image of God, he possesses a good nature that matches God’s nature, with virtues such as truthfulness, goodness, loveliness, wisdom, kindness, and valor. However, there is also an evil nature in man which wars against his good nature. The Chinese metaphysicists refer to this war as a battle between reason and lust. Throughout history, both in the East and West, those who understand human nature acknowledge the existence of this evil nature which the Bible calls sin.

Sin Being in Man and Causing Man to Fall

Because sin is in man, he is unable to carry out his good intentions. No one likes to be greedy, jealous, or murderous. No one likes to be boastful, arrogant, or deceitful. No one likes to be irritable, licentious, or lustful. No one likes to murmur, complain, or curse. Nevertheless, man cannot escape his evil nature. This is a portrait of man. Sin entered into man and caused him to fall. Sin caused man’s spirit to be deadened. Sin caused man’s mind to rebel. Sin caused man’s body to sin.

The fallen man is like a damaged and untunable radio which cannot receive and play music, but rather meaningless noise. He is also like: A cup that has fallen into the gutter still having its original fine form but now covered with mud.

Man Cannot Save Himself

Throughout history, man has tried every possible way to escape sin, but he has found that: Good works cannot save him from sin. Education cannot save him from sin. Ethics cannot save him from sin. Chanting cannot save him from sin. Religion cannot save him from sin. This picture of man simply depicts the battle between his good nature and his evil nature.

(The Mystery of Human Life, The Second Key)

Preaching the Gospel by Using “The Mystery of Human Life” (IV)

Prayer:

Lord, praise You that You are the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! Thank You that Your precious blood cleanses me that my sins are taken away that I can be as white as snow to stand before God! Amen

John 1:29b …the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Christ Being Both God and Man

Christ is the Savior sent from God to the world to solve the problems of human life. He is the embodiment of the Triune God. He is also God incarnated. Therefore, He is both the complete God and the perfect man. He is more than a good man! He is more than a great man! He is more than a moral man! He is more than a holy man! He is the God-man!

Christ’s Death Having Taken Away the Sin of Those Who Believe into Him and Imparting His Devine Life

This God-man was nailed to the cross to accomplish the work of redemption. He died with three statuses: As the Lamb of God, He died to take away man’s sin. As the brass serpent that had been lifted up, He died to crush the old serpent, Satan, and to deal with the serpent’s poison within man—his sinful nature. As a grain of wheat, He died to release the divine life. Now His death has taken away the sin which man has but should not have! His death imparts into man the life which he needs but does not have!

(The Mystery of Human Life, The Third Key)

Preaching the Gospel by Using “The Mystery of Human Life” (V)

Prayer:

Lord, I praise God’s great plan! Thank You for Your present work to make me son of God! O Lord, How I praise You!

Rom. 8:29 Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers.

God Becoming Flesh and the Lord Becoming the Spirit

God became flesh, born as a man called Jesus. The Lord became the Spirit called the life-giving Spirit by His resurrection from the dead. Since this Spirit is the life-giving Spirit, He dispenses God with His life into His believers. Hence, the Bible says: “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” (1 John 5:12)

God Making Man Enter into the Kingdom of God through Regeneration

In his first birth, man obtains a physical life. When man receives God’s life through Christ, he experiences a second birth, which the Bible calls regeneration. “God…has regenerated us…through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from among the dead.”(1 Peter 1:3) Jesus said, “Unless a man is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”(John 3:3) A pig cannot participate in the sheep’s kingdom and live a sheep’s life by education, improvement, or regulation; it must possess the life of a sheep. Similarly, man cannot participate in God’s kingdom and live a divine life by education, improvement, or regulation; he must receive the life of God!

Receiving God’s Dispensing to Be Saturated with God and Thus to Be Transformed

A Christian is one who receives God’s dispensing. God first dispenses Himself into our spirit and then spreads from our spirit into our soul. Finally, He fills and saturates our spirit, soul, and body with Himself. The Bible calls this final stage glorification. Through this, we can be transformed and conformed to the image of Christ.

This is the purpose of human life! This is the meaning of being a Christian! This is what God has planned for you!

(The Mystery of Human Life, The Fourth Key)

Preaching the Gospel by Using “The Mystery of Human Life” (VI)

Prayer:

Lord, gain my time today that I can walk in wisdom, not only in studying, but also in working. Lord, I give my time to You today that I may redeem the time! Amen

Col. 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are without, redeeming the time.

Our Need to Exercise Carefulness to Preach the Gospel

You have to show people your carefulness. When you are not loose and careless, this will add weight to your speaking. Otherwise, the other party may consider that your speaking is a light word with no gravity, no weight.

Asking Someone to Pray with Us at the Right Time

One more critical thing for us to learn is the right time to ask someone to pray with us. This can be compared to cooking food. You have to know what time to stop cooking. Otherwise, what you cook can be spoiled by being either raw or overdone. All good cooks know when to stop their cooking.

Our Need to Always Pray for Our Contacts

Furthermore, you should always pray for your contacts. Do not say that you do not have the time. Even if you are really busy, you can still pray while you are walking out the door, “Lord, help me today to meet the proper person.” As you are driving to work you can continue to pray. This is the real prayer, not the routine prayer.

(The Training and the Practice of the Vital Groups, msg. 7)

Week Four-Two

Consecrating for the Gospel

Consecrating for the Gospel (I)

Prayer:

Lord, praise You that You have cast the fire of gospel. May this fire keep burning within me that I may have the burden to testify concerning You and preach the gospel!

Luke 12:49 I have come to cast fire on the earth, and how I wish that it were already kindled!

This Fire as the Fire of Gospel Depending on the Amount of Our Consecration

The Lord casts this fire on earth. This fire is also the gospel. It enables us to serve, to withstand persecution, and even to sacrifice our lives. On the personal side, fire depends absolutely on our consecration. The amount of consecration we offer on the altar determines the intensity of the fire. If consecration is lacking, the fire will not come. Therefore, we cannot hold back anything in our consecration.

May the Fire of God’s Gospel Continue to Burn in Us

Our foolishness lies in the misconception that we are behind the early church only in the power of the gospel; actually, our consecration comes far behind the early disciples as well. May the fire of God’s gospel continue to burn in us. May it ignite you and me first. May the church not become a hindrance to the world’s salvation, but a channel through which the Lord is dispensed to the world.

Our Consecration Cannot Stop

On the one hand, we should increase our gospel preaching. On the other hand, we should increase our consecration. Our consecration cannot stop. Once we stop our consecration, the spirit of the gospel will stop. In order to recover the gospel, we have to recover consecration. Both things have to be absolute in us.

(CWWN, vol. 61: Matured Leadings in the Lord’s Recovery (1); ch. 3)

Consecrating for the Gospel (II)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for Your mercy that I can come forward to You to serve You! Lord, cause my service not to be in my zeal, but to be by taking You as my motivating power!

Lev. 9:24 Then fire came forth from before Jehovah and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they gave a ringing shout and fell on their faces.

All the Service in the Old Testament before God Based on the Fire from the Altar of Burnt Offering

The Old Testament shows that our service to God must be based on the fire from the altar of burnt offering. When the children of Israel followed the tabernacle in their journey through the wilderness, their service before God began with the burning of the fire on the altar of burnt offering. The fire on the altar of burnt offering descended from God (9:24).

The Energy and the Motivating Power for the New Testament Service Beginning with Fire from Heaven

The energy and the motivating power for the New Testament service did not originate in man, that is, in the Galilean fishermen. The energy and the motivating power for the New Testament service began with fire from heaven. The fire that descended upon the Galilean fishermen became the energy and the motivating power within them. After the day of Pentecost they could speak for God, preach the gospel, save sinners, and establish churches.

The Need for Us to Have Consistent Consecration

Fire comes from God and is communicated to us through consecration; we do not light the fire ourselves. This is the fire on the altar. Once the sacrifice is on the altar, the fire comes. Consecration is not a one-time act, but a continual act. In the beginning we do not know what we should consecrate. Gradually, we receive more light, and we consecrate more, and our consecration becomes more absolute. The stronger our consecration is, the greater is the fire on the altar.

(The Service for Building Up the House of God, msg. 2; CWWN, vol. 61, msg. 2)

Consecrating for the Gospel (III)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You, the rich God, for the sake of saving me, the sinner, became poor. Much more I praise You that You make me rich because of Your poverty!

Mark 10:29-30 Jesus said, Truly I say to you, There is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now at this time…

The Lord Jesus as the Content of Gospel

The Lord Jesus did not say “for My sake” only, but “for My sake and for the gospel’s sake.” Without the Lord’s life, the gospel is empty. The gospel is the proclamation of the victorious and resurrected life of the Lord Jesus. If a man believes in the gospel, that is, if he believes in the risen Christ, he has life in him.

The Lord Himself Forsaking Everything

In the parable of the treasure and the pearl in Matthew 13, the Lord Jesus told the disciples that He was the One who sold everything to buy the treasure (the kingdom) and the pearl (the church) (vv. 44-46). The apostle Paul also said that the Lord Jesus was rich but was made poor for our sake so that we could become rich through His poverty (2 Cor. 8:9). This is the Lord’s life. This is the gospel which He has given us. Today, when we preach the gospel, we have to be like the Lord who forsook everything in order that others would share the blessing of the gospel.

The Need for Us to Forsake Everything by the Lord’s Life

We cannot give ourselves to the gospel unless we give ourselves to the Lord. In order to be for the Lord and for His gospel, however, we have to forsake everything. This is impossible with men. After receiving the resurrection life of the Lord through faith, however, we can and will do it happily.

(CWWN, vol. 61: Matured Leadings in the Lord’s Recovery (1), msg. 6)

Consecrating for the Gospel (IV)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for loving me! I am willing to give myself to You! Make my consecration to You acceptable and blessed by You to please You!

Lev. 26:8a And five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand.

If We Would Be One in the Spirit, We Will Have the Impact

Even though the brothers among us are few, if we would be one in the spirit and built together as one, we eventually will have the impact. However, if there are divisions among us, if we have opinions and quarrel with one another, the impact of the gospel preaching will be gone.

Consecration Producing the One Accord, Which Will Bring in the Impact

The principle of the gospel is for five to chase a hundred and for a hundred to chase ten thousand (Lev. 26:8). The one accord will bring in the impact of the gospel. Actually, only those who are truly consecrated can be in one accord. Consecration is to pour out one’s very heart. Where our treasure is, there our heart is as well (Matt. 6:21). If a man pours himself out, will he still insist on any opinion of his own? Those who are truly consecrated will be in one accord, and their gospel will spontaneously be powerful.

The Consecration That God Desires Being Us, the Person

God wants us, the person, not our things. Consecration is not mainly offering our possessions to God, but offering ourselves and our heart to God. This kind of consecration is acceptable and blessed by God.

(Basic Principles for the Service in the Church Life, ch. 5; CWWN, vol. 61: Matured Leadings in the Lord’s Recovery (1), msg. 6)

Consecrating for the Gospel (V)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for Your love toward me! Lord, use Your love to continue to constrain me that I may go nowhere but remain in Your love to enjoy Yourself!

2 Cor. 5:14 For the love of Christ constrains us because we have judged this, that One died for all, therefore all died.

The Love of Christ Constraining Us to Devote Ourselves to God

With the love of Christ constraining us, the only way is to go ahead. There is no turn and no exit. We surely have to love the Lord, but 2 Corinthians 5:14 means that we have been caught by His love. The love of Christ constrains us to live a life to Him (v. 15). We need to devote ourselves to God in His constraining love.

The Need to Have the Consecration of Handing Oneself Over Completely

Why must a child of God hand himself over completely and forsake everything? This is because this is the only way to be a proper Christian. Many people do not have many problems in other areas, but they have a problem with their consecration. Today many Christians have hundreds and thousands of problems. Actually, the root of their problems is only one thing—a lack of consecration. If a Christian does not have a problem with his consecration before the Lord, he will not have a problem with anything else.

The Need to Have a Practical Consecration

In order to take the Christian confession as our primary profession, we need a practical consecration. Consecration cannot be words in our mouth only; we must take some practical steps.

(The Present Advance of the Lord’s Recovery, ch. 2; CWWN, vol. 61: Matured Leadings in the Lord’s Recovery (1), msgs. 8, 6)

Consecrating for the Gospel (VI)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You that You are the Lord who spend on behalf of me. Lord, grant me a heart of spending on behalf of You and a heart of spending on behalf of brothers and sisters. Lord, I love You!

2 Cor. 12:15 But I, I will most gladly spend and be utterly spent on behalf of your souls. If I love you more abundantly, am I loved less?

Paul as a Pattern to Give Everything for Gospel

Brothers and sisters, think of Paul’s attitude: He most gladly spent and was utterly spent on their behalf. In preaching the gospel, it is not enough for us just to be spent. We have to spend; we have to give everything we have. It is always wrong to receive money in exchange for our preaching of the gospel. Rather, we have to be prepared to willingly spend our money for the gospel. If our money does not go into our preaching, something is wrong. If our money does go into our preaching, we are doing the right thing and are putting our money into a worthy cause.

Giving Oneself to the Gospel Being a Blessed Thing

The most blessed and happy thing is to give oneself to the gospel. Only when our money is with God will we be joyful. Many people may have too many material riches with them. This is why they are not happy. If they would lose some of what they have, their joy would increase. This is a great matter. The matter is not whether one’s occupation is high or low. The matter concerns what we are here for. Some work in their jobs, while others take care of their families at home. But everyone has to give his all for the gospel.

The Need for Us to Spend and Be Utterly Spent

We have to be like our brother Paul. We should not be a burden to anyone. On the contrary, we should be utterly spent for the gospel’s sake. Because the gospel is true, it is right for us to spend and be utterly spent. Our gospel must be one which carries our money along with it. This is the proper way to go.

(The Character of the Lord’s Worker, ch. 9; CWWN, vol. 57: The Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry, msg. 12)

Week Forty-Three

Being Filled with the Holy Spirit

Being Filled with the Holy Spirit (I)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for breathing into me. Lord, fill me more with Your Holy Spirit, and make me full of strength and joy in my living today!

John 20:22 And when He had said this, He breathed into them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit as the Breath Breathed Out by the Lord

According to Ezekiel 37 the wind brings in the breath (vv. 9b-10, 14a). In John 20:22 the Spirit as the breath was breathed as life into the disciples for their life. After His resurrection, the Lord came back to the disciples to breathe into them. John 20:22 says, “He breathed into them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.” His breath is the Spirit.

Our Need to Be Filled with Christ

The human spirit is more important than the human body. This is why Ephesians 5:18 says, “Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in spirit.” To be drunk with wine is to be filled in the body. Here it says that we should not be filled with wine in our body but that we should be filled in spirit. We need to be filled with Christ unto all the fullness of God (1:23; 3:19).

Receiving the Filling of the Holy Spirit through Repentance and Confession

This shows us that as long as we fulfill the principle of repenting, confessing our sins, and thoroughly dealing with our sins, we will definitely receive the Holy Spirit. Just as we initially received the Holy Spirit and were saved through repentance and confession, today we also receive the filling of the Holy Spirit through repentance and confession.

(The Spirit, msg. 3; Vessels Useful to the Lord, msg. 7)

Being Filled with the Holy Spirit (II)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for You, the wind of the Holy Spirit blowing me. Lord, thank You for having regenerated me through this wind that I can enter into the full enjoyment of You!

John 3:8 The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.

The Spirit Being Symbolized by the Wind

In the New Testament, the Spirit is also symbolized by the wind. John 3:8 says, “The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” The Greek word pneuma is the word for wind and for spirit. Whether it means the wind or the spirit depends upon the context. The context here says that it blows and the sound of it can be heard. This indicates that it is the wind. The Spirit as the blowing wind brings God into us for our regeneration.

The Spirit Coming to Us as the Breeze

The Spirit may have come to us as a gentle breeze. Our confession may have been very gentle. We could have simply prayed in this way: “Jesus, I love You. I am a sinner. I believe in You, and I take You. Thank You, Lord Jesus.” Many of us were regenerated in a gentle way. Others have been regenerated in a strong and even wild way.

Practicing to Be Filled with the Spirit by Calling On the Lord and Speaking the Lord All the Day Long

When we get up in the morning, the best thing for us to do is not to think about other things, but only to think about the Lord Jesus. It is easy to talk about this, but it is not simple to practice. This is because we all have many things filling our hearts. In spite of this, we still need to practice…I hope that you will start practicing in this way from today on. You should begin with calling on the Lord before getting out of bed, and then during the day, either call on the Lord or speak the Lord.

(The Spirit, msg. 3; Vessels Useful to the Lord, msg. 7; Words of Training for the New Way, vol. 1, msg. 9)

Being Filled with the Holy Spirit (III)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You that You are the flowing God! PraiseYou that You are flowing in my spirit all the time today. Lord, flow out from within me, and flow into others for quenching their thirst!

John 7:38 He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.

The Holy Spirit Being Also Signified by the Living Water

These rivers of living water are the many flows of the different aspects of life (cf. Rom. 15:30; 1 Thes. 1:6; 2 Thes. 2:13; Gal. 5:22-23) of the one unique river of water of life (Rev. 22:1), which is God’s Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2). One river is the river of peace, and other rivers are joy, comfort, righteousness, life, holiness, love, patience, and humility. These rivers of living water flow out from the depths of our being. This is the Spirit as living water.

The Holy Spirit Being Also Typified by the Spiritual Drink

First Corinthians 10:4 says, “All drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ.” The spiritual drink here refers to the living water which flowed out of the cleft rock (Exo. 17:6) and that typifies the Spirit as our all-inclusive drink (John 7:37-39; 1 Cor. 12:13).

The Obeying of the Holy Spirit Making Us Be Filled with the Holy Spirit

In Acts 5 Peter said, “The Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him” (v. 32). This shows that the Holy Spirit is for us to obey. Obedience is the way and the requirement for us to enjoy the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:4 says, “Do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.” This is the way to be filled with the Holy Spirit and the requirement for maintaining a life of being filled with the Holy Spirit.

(Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 81, 82; Vessels Useful to the Lord, msg. 10)

Being Filled with the Holy Spirit (IV)

Prayer:

Lord, praise You! With You there is the living water of life! Lord! Today make me come to you and drink the living water! Satisfy all my need!

John 4:14 But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water gushing up into eternal life.

Our Need to Know How to Drink of the Living Water

What would I do if, after a message on drinking the living water, someone were to ask me how to drink? Suppose someone approached you and said, “I believe that Christ is the living water, and I am thirsty for Him. Please tell me how to drink of this living water.” How would you answer such a question?

Baptism Making Us Be Positioned to Drink

For example, there is a drinking fountain in our meeting hall. But in order to drink of this fountain, our mouth must be in the proper position. Likewise, to drink of the living water, we must first be positioned to drink. Baptism gives us this position. Thank the Lord that we all are positioned to drink.

Our Need to Be Thirsty for Enjoying the Holy Spirit as the Living Water

Many of us can testify that during the day we are conscious of the thirst within us. This thirst causes us to pray and to contact the Lord. In a simple way, we may say, “Lord Jesus, I am thirsty for You, and I want to contact You.” If we sense that our thirst is not adequate, we may need to pray, “Lord, increase the thirst within me.” We all need such a thirst for the Lord.

(Life-Study of Exodus, msg. 44)

Being Filled with the Holy Spirit (V)

Prayer:

Lord, praise You that You are the source of the living water! Grant me the living water of life so that I will never be thirsty. Lord, make me be able to come to You to drink today!

John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.

Drinking of Christ as the Living Water Being the Proper Way to Worship God

According to John 4, to worship God in our spirit is to drink of Him. Do not regard God as an object of worship which you then worship in spirit. In such a case the organ (the spirit) is right, but the way is still wrong. To prostrate ourselves before God is not the proper way to worship Him; to drink Him as the living water is.

The Way of Drinking the Living Water—Coming to the Lord

If we tell the Lord that we want to come to Him all day long, He surely will answer our prayer. Tell the Lord, “Lord, I don’t want to stop coming to You. I want to come to You twenty-four hours a day, even when I am asleep.” No matter what we are doing, we may come to the Lord by calling on Him. Whenever we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, we come to Him.

The Way of Drinking the Living Water—Asking the Lord

To drink the living water we need to ask the Lord for this water. In John 4:10 the Lord said to the Samaritan woman, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

(Life-study of Exodus, msg. 44)

Being Filled with the Holy Spirit (VI)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for causing me and brothers and sisters to drink one Spirit, that is, the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit! Lord, thank You for dispensing Your divine life to me! Amen!

1 Cor. 12:13 For also in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit.

Calling On the Name of the Lord Being the Actually Drinking of the Holy Spirit

Although we have been positioned to drink and we may be thirsty and although we may come to the Lord and ask of Him, we do not actually drink until we call on the name of the Lord (Acts 2:21). In 1 Corinthians 12 we find the secret of drinking. Verse 13 says that we all have been made to drink of one Spirit, and verse 3 tells us that no one can say Lord Jesus except in the Holy Spirit. To drink the Spirit is to call “Lord Jesus.” Whenever we call on the name of the Lord in this way, we spontaneously drink the living water.

In 1 Corinthians 12 we see that the water is the Spirit, for verse 13 speaks of drinking of the one Spirit. The way to drink of the Spirit is to call on the name of the Lord. If we are thirsty and call “Lord Jesus,” we immediately drink of the Spirit. Our calling is our drinking. According to 1 Corinthians 12:3, when we call “Lord Jesus,” we are in the Spirit.

Our Drinking of the Living Water through Receiving and Taking by Believing

As we call on the name of the Lord, we spontaneously receive the living water and take it freely. If we call on the Lord, we shall have living faith. The more we call, the more we shall believe, and the more we believe, the more we shall receive and take the living water.

(Life-study of Exodus, msg. 44)

Week Forty-Four

The Secret to the Success of Door-Knocking-Visiting People

The Secret to the Success of Door-Knocking-Visiting People (I)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for having not given me a spirit of cowardice. Lord, make me experience You as strength more! You are love! You are my sobermindedness! Amen!

2 Tim. 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power and of love and of sobermindedness.

God Having Not Given Us a Spirit of Cowardice

Paul said that “God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power and of love and of a sober mind” (v. 7). Power refers to our will, love refers to our emotion, and a sober mind refers to our mind. Our spirit is not frail; but we must exercise it more regularly. When we live in our spirit, our morality will be uplifted. The spirit makes a man sober and orderly.

Our Need to Be Filled with Christ

Today, when we serve God, work for Him, and preach the gospel, not only does our body have to move, but our soul has to match this move by thinking with the mind, choosing with the will, and loving with the emotion. These are the different parts of our soul. In short, to serve God, to work for Him, and to preach the gospel are all matters in the spirit.

Praying, Confessing Our Sins, Dealing with Our Sins, and Being Filled with the Holy Spirit

Every time before we go out, we must have adequate and thorough prayer until we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Once we turn to our spirit and pray to the Lord, our inner being will be enlightened. We will sense many things that are improper, as though we have come to a mirror and seen our real situation. At that time, we have to confess our sins, the more the better. This will cause us to deal with our sins.

(Messages in Preparation for the Spread of the Gospel, msg. 3; Rising Up to Preach the Gospel, msg. 5)

The Secret to the Success of Door-Knocking-Visiting People (II)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for the brothers and sisters You have arranged around me. Lord, grant us with one accord, and pour down Your blessing through this one accord! Amen!

Eccl. 4:12 And while a man may prevail against the one, the two will withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Going in the Principle of Coordination

Whatever we do, it is best to keep the principle of two by two. This is a good pattern that the Lord Jesus left for us (Mark 6:7; Luke 10:1). We should do everything in coordination, always with two people and perhaps with three or four. We need companions while we are going through changes. This will keep us in the Body. If we go to any place alone, we are going as an individual. But if two go together, we are not going as two individuals, but as the move of our local church.

The Need for Everything to Be Done in the Principle of Coordination

Today God is taking the way of the church. Everything should be done in the principle of coordination. My heart rejoices to see that, under God’s grace, we can coordinate together, not only in preaching the gospel but in offering up our money and time.

Having the Proper Coordination

When we go to contact the sinners, we should not go by ourselves but as a team. According to our study, it is best to have a team of three with two brothers and one sister or one brother and two sisters. Because we are going to baptize people, there should be a brother to do the baptizing. Furthermore, the ideal team would have an old one, a young one, and a middle-aged one. To have these three different age levels is very useful.

(CWWN, vol. 61: Matured Leadings in the Lord’s Recovery (1), msg. 14; The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 5)

The Secret to the Success of Door-Knocking-Visiting People (III)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You that You are the Spirit now, and even speak to me within me! Lord, lead me and enable me to live in life and peace today! Amen

Acts 8:29-30a And the Spirit said to Philip, Approach and join this chariot. And when Philip ran up…

The Church’s Commission Being to Preach the Gospel

The church’s greatest commission is to preach the gospel to the nations. We should give our all to go everywhere spreading the gospel of God under the leading and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Preaching the Gospel according to the Feelings in the Spirit

Suppose you feel that you should preach the gospel to a certain person. The Holy Spirit has prompted you and directed you. He has given you this feeling in your spirit. If you act according to His leading, you will have joy and peace. Walking in the Holy Spirit means following the inward move of the Holy Spirit. A horse does not need to consider what it should do. It only needs to follow the instructions of the rider on its back. It only needs to learn a few feelings. It can act boldly according to these feelings. Once we know the various feelings of the Holy Spirit in our spirit, we can walk according to the Spirit.

Following the Leading of the Spirit

We must learn not to speak in a common way. By following the leading of the Spirit, we can answer people properly. Then our speaking will not offend them, but it will stir up some interest within them.

(Three Aspects of the Church: Book 2, The Course of the Church, msg. 19, CWWN, vol. 62: Matured Leadings in the Lord’s Recovery (2), msg. 35; The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 5)

The Secret to the Success of Door-Knocking-Visiting People (IV)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for sending us. Lord, gain our time of working and living, and make us prudent as serpents and guileless as doves because of You as our wisdom.

Matt. 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be therefore prudent as serpents and guileless as doves.

Going Door-to-Door Being to Visit People and Lead Them to the Lord

The focus in our practice of the new way is to go door-to-door in order to visit people and lead them to the Lord. Going door-to-door is to visit people and lead them to salvation. The Lord Jesus lived on the earth for thirty-three and a half years, of which the last three and a half years were the period of His ministry. During this time He preached the word to many, and after He was resurrected from the dead, His parting word to His disciples was, “Go therefore and disciple all the nations” (Matt. 28:19).

Knocking on Doors Surely Can Find Sons of Peace

The disciples were sheep in the midst of wolves, but there were sons of peace among the wolves. When we go to knock on doors, people may slam the door in rejection or speak evilly of us. But one of the houses we visit will be the home of sons of peace, and we may gain three persons there. This may seem unbelievable, but it is our experience.

The Need to Take Control of the Situation

After we go into someone’s home, we should not be shy or fearful. We do not need to be afraid. If they will not ask us to sit down, maybe one on the team would say: “Let us sit down. We would like to read this little booklet with you, The Mystery of Human Life.” When we get into their home, we should not leave the situation under their control. We must learn to take control of the situation in a pleasant way. Then it will be easy for us to speak.

(The Proper Way for Believers to Meet and to Serve, msg. 4; The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 5)

The Secret to the Success of Door-Knocking-Visiting People (V)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for this refreshing morning! Lord, make me go forth to visit people for You and speak Your riches and Yourself to all! Amen!

Acts 16:13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.

The Apostles as Patterns of Visiting People

In Acts the apostles had the same practice. Paul did not practice what most preachers do today. He did not go to a locality and build a place for holding church meetings and then invite people to come and listen to his sermons. In Philippi he went to a place of prayer outside the gate by the river in order to visit the seekers of God who had gathered to pray (16:13).

Door-Knocking Surely Can Encounter All Kinds of Situations

The saints have also encountered negative situations, such as being rejected, reviled, and spurned and having the door slammed in their face. However, the Lord did not say that He sent the disciples out in the midst of gentlemen; He sends us into the midst of wolves (Luke 10:3). Hence, we should not be bothered, because the Lord has warned us beforehand.

Exercising Persistence, Patience, and Faith

If we baptize a number and still do not bring one into the church life, we must exercise the Lord’s persistence, patience, and faith. We should say: “If I cannot gain one this year, I will gain one next year. If I do not gain one next year, then I will gain one the following year.” Eventually, we will gain someone for the Lord’s testimony.

(The Proper Way for Believers to Meet and to Serve, msg. 4; The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 3)

The Secret to the Success of Door-Knocking-Visiting People (VI)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You that You have once used all kinds of circumstances to compel me to come forward to you, even drew me with Your love so that I didn’t leave any longer. Lord, gain me more!

Luke 14:23 And the master said to the slave, Go out into the roads and hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.

The Lord Charging Us to Compel People

According to the original Greek, to compel people means to force people. The Lord said, “Go out into the roads and hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.” Our burden is to teach you how to compel others. The Lord Jesus spoke of our need to compel others.

Preaching the Gospel in the Way of Compelling Surely Can Bring Man to Salvation

It is indeed not easy to go out and reap the harvest; however, those who preach the gospel in this stage will receive a reward. It is not easy to lead a person to salvation, because the world is attracting people and daily occupying them. We must use all of our strength to compel others. In addition, we should never think that we will quickly lead people to salvation. If we can all practice to preach the gospel in the way of compelling, each one of us will bring at least one person to salvation every year.

Preaching the Gospel in the Way of Compelling

Whomever we come across, we need to compel. We need to think of ways to compel our cousins, classmates, and colleagues until they believe in the Lord. Do not think that this is a small matter; this is the principle of preaching the gospel.

(Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 5: Concerning Various Aspects of Church Service, msg. 10)

Week Forty-Five

Follow-up Revisiting and Shepherding

Follow-up Revisiting and Shepherding (I)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You that You love me, You know I love You too! Lord, make me more faithful to You, and feed Your lambs in the fellowship with You!

John 21:15 Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs.

We Being Charged by the Lord to Feed His Lambs

Do you believe that the word of the Lord, “Feed My lambs,” is spoken only to Peter but not to you? I do not believe so. Peter stood there before the Lord representing all of us. Whatever the Lord spoke to him is the same to us. Therefore, we must learn and endeavor to get into the practice of feeding the lambs. Regardless of who we are, as long as we are a believer, we are charged by the Lord to feed His lambs.

Our Need to Care for the New Ones through Feeding Them

This [the feeding, the nourishing, of the new ones] is much harder than gaining the sinners. To bring forth a child is hard but not as hard as raising a child. Day and night the mother and father would sacrifice everything for that child. However, among the Christians, very few would do this work. Sometimes we brought someone to the Lord, but after two months they died prematurely because they received no care. The New Testament is full of this matter of feeding.

Our Need to Feed Regularly

You cannot feed the lambs occasionally. You have to do it regularly, just like nourishing a little baby. You have to do it, not only daily, but many times a day and at certain times. Then the babe will be nourished; otherwise, it may die.

(The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 1)

Follow-up Revisiting and Shepherding (II)

Prayer:

Lord, give me a heart of loving others, enable me to love the lambs whom I shepherd with Your love, to exhort and console them, and to shepherd each other. Amen!

1 Thes. 2:11 Just as you know how we were to each one of you, as a father to his own children, exhorting you and consoling you and testifying.

The Apostle Paul Considering Himself as a Nursing Mother and an Exhorting Father

This passage shows what the apostle Paul was in the Lord’s service. He did not consider himself to be a great man. He considered himself as a small nursing mother and an exhorting, consoling father. His heart was the heart of a mother and of a father (2 Cor. 12:14-15). The heart of a mother is altogether for the care of her children, and the heart of a father is for their upbringing.

Our Need to Take the Apostle as an Example

Paul nourished the Thessalonians as a mother and exhorted them as a father. The apostle was not a businessman or a school master. He was a nourishing mother and an exhorting father. He had an interest in people. If we do not have an interest in people, we are finished with the church service; we are not qualified to serve. We should not say that only the apostle Paul could be like this. What the apostle did is an example for all the believers.

Our Need to Have the Heart of Nourishing Others and the Heart of Exhorting Others

Even the brothers must nourish others as a mother, and the sisters should exhort others as a father. This does not depend on our being male or a female; it depends on the kind of heart we have. A sister can have the heart of a father, and a brother can have the heart of a mother.

(The Normal Way of Fruit-bearing and Shepherding for the Building Up of the Church, ch. 2)

Follow-up Revisiting and Shepherding (III)

Prayer:

Lord, fill me with Your elements, enable me to be gentle in the midst of people, and to have a sweet fellowship with brothers and sisters to pursue Yourself together.

1 Thes. 2:7 But we were gentle in your midst, as a nursing mother would cherish her own children.

A New One Needing to Be Nourished When He Is Born

The most important work of a nurse is to nourish the baby. Paul cared for the saints like a nursing mother would care for her own baby. Peter said to the saints in 1 Peter 2:2 that believers should “as newborn babes, long for the guileless milk of the word, that by it you may grow unto salvation.” When a new one is born he needs to be nourished. Only then will he grow.

Our Need to Spend Time on the New Ones We Gained

Sometimes in one night we may get three baptized in one home—a husband, his wife, and their son. After baptizing them, we should stay with them for a long time and then go back to them the next day. We should not go to knock on more doors because these three babies are enough for us to care for. We should go back to them frequently to feed them and to care for them. Mothers know that their feeding of their little ones must be regular, constant, and continuous. We should go back to visit these new ones again and again until we realize that they are settled in the Christian faith.

Our Need to Go Back to the Newly Baptized Ones as Soon as Possible

We should go back to them either the next day or at the least after two days. We have to go back to feed the new ones and to take care of them. Our practice of these matters will be our personal perfection. We have to go back to them again and again to nourish and cherish them. We also have to bring them to the group meetings and to the larger meetings of the church.

(The New Testament Priests of the Gospel, msg. 8; The Advance of the Lord’s Recovery Today, chs. 10, 5)

Follow-up Revisiting and Shepherding (IV)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You that You are the Lord who love me to the utmost. Thank You more that You are the goodness and lovingkindness which follow me all the time that I can dwell in the Your temple and enjoy Your fatness.

Psa. 23:6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me / All the days of my life, / And I will dwell in the house of Jehovah / For the length of my days.

The Lifelong Enjoyment of the Divine Goodness and Lovingkindness

The fifth stage of Christ’s shepherding is the lifelong enjoyment of the divine goodness and lovingkindness in the house of Jehovah. Under the organic shepherding of the pneumatic Christ, goodness and lovingkindness follow us “all the days of [our] life,” referring to the present age.

Having Home Meetings with the Baptized Ones Right after Their Baptism

After bringing someone to the Lord and baptizing him into the Triune God, we should begin to have home meetings with him right away. We should not delay in having the home meetings.

Bringing New Ones to the Church Meetings

If you baptize one and only go to his home for a few weeks, it becomes more difficult to bring him to the meetings of the church. It may create a habit in him of just loving and preferring to have home meetings. If you go out today and one gets baptized, you should suggest to him that tomorrow you will bring him to a meeting of the church. You must do everything you can to help him get to a church meeting. The best way is to give him a ride. This is the proper care of the newly baptized ones.

(Psa. 23:6, footnote 1, Recovery Version; The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 4)

Follow-up Revisiting and Shepherding (V)

Prayer:

Lord, give me a spirit of being willing to sacrifice for others, cause me to run after You with others through spending for others and even spending myself. Amen!

2 Cor. 12:15 But I, I will most gladly spend and be utterly spent on behalf of your souls.

Paul Being Willing to Sacrifice Himself for the Believers

“Spend” means to spend what he has, referring to his possessions. To be utterly spent means to spend what he is, referring to his being. Paul was willing to sacrifice himself—his soul, his life, his entire being—for the believers. He was also willing to give all his money and material possessions.

Our Need to Be Positive and Not Be Too Quick

Although we should not be too quick, we must be very positive. Very often, positive persons are quick ones, and slow persons are passive, even sloppy and uncaring. If a brother says, “Let us go to visit someone,” a passive one may say, “We should not be so quick. Let us wait for another two weeks.” However, if mothers care for their little ones in this passive way, their children will not survive. We should not be too quick, but we must be positive and on time.

Our Need to Learn How to Listen to Others

We must learn how to listen to others in order to realize their true need and real situation. This requires us to stop our own thought, concept, feeling, and speaking while we are shepherding them. We should be open to others and allow their situation to speak to us.

(Life-study of 2 Corinthians, msg. 56; The Normal Way of Fruit-bearing and Shepherding for the Building Up of the Church, ch. 8)

Follow-up Revisiting and Shepherding (VI)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You that You are love. Lord, thank You more for revealing to me that love is prevailing. Lord, make me not only shepherd people but also love people sincerely.

Col. 3:14 And over all these things put on love, which is the uniting bond of perfectness.

Love, Interest, Burden, and Prayer Issuing in Prevailing Shepherding

No shepherding can be prevailing if we do not have a love for people, an interest in them, a burden for them, and adequate prayer. Love, interest, burden, and prayer are the essential, basic elements of proper shepherding.

Love, Interest, Burden, and Prayer Making the Church Grow

We need to be patient, know how to deal with people, and know what to say and what not to say. We should know how to be positive yet not too quick, not for our sake but for the ones who are under our care. Our basic need, however, is love, interest, burden, and prayer. If we would practice all these things, the church will grow in a proper way and be built up under the hands of all the saints, not only the elders or those with a special ministry. Everyone in the service groups in the church life must build up the church.

Our Need to Love the People

We need to love the new ones as the Lord loves them, be interested in them, and take care of them. Then we must have a burden for them and adequate prayer.

(The Normal Way of Fruit-bearing and Shepherding for the Building Up of the Church, ch. 9)

Week Forty-Six

Continuing Steadfastly in Practicing

Continuing Steadfastly in Practicing (I)

Prayer:

Lord, I know I am a weak person. Lord, strengthen me within me that I may experience You as my perseverance to unceasingly pray. Amen

Col. 4:2 Persevere in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving,

This Being the Lord’s Intention among Us

This is also the life that we should live, the work that we should do, and the way that we should take as God’s New Testament priests of the gospel. For this reason I am convinced that among us the Lord will first recover the New Testament priesthood of the gospel. Second, He will recover the organic essence of the Body of Christ so that every member is living, full of the Spirit, and full of life. Third, He will recover Ephesians 4 so that all the gifted ones may perfect the saints to do the work of the ministry, and fourth, He will recover 1 Corinthians 14 so that all the saints may arrive at a state in which they all speak for the Lord as prophets.

We Believing That the Lord Will Work This Out

I believe that the Lord will work this out for the accomplishment of His purpose. On the human side, we may have looseness and shortcomings which merely delay the Lord’s time. Furthermore, to the Lord a thousand years are like one day. However, He will eventually accomplish what He is after; He will work it out sooner or later.

Our Need to Maintain a Heart of Endurance

We all should have much faith and maintain a heart of endurance, being hopeful in the Lord and hopeful concerning His new way. In the last days of this age the Lord will fully recover these four things among us—the New Testament priesthood of the gospel, the organic function of the believers, the perfecting in Ephesians 4, and the prophesying in 1 Corinthians 14.

(The Church Life in the Lord’s Recovery Today, ch. 4)

Continuing Steadfastly in Practicing (II)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for attracting me and much more attracting all the people. Lord, cause me to serve You with all diligence that I may run after You with all the people together! Amen!

2 Peter 1:5 And for this very reason also, adding all diligence, supply bountifully in your faith virtue; and in virtue, knowledge.

Our Need of All Diligence to Cooperate with God’s Move

Besides, along with, the precious and exceedingly great promises given to us by God, we should bring in all diligence to cooperate with the enabling of the dynamic divine nature for the carrying out of God’s promises.

Our Need to Endeavor to Go On with the Lord

We must endeavor to go on with the Lord. The Lord knows our problems and our circumstances. He can be our supply and strength and day after day bring us to the right way.

Our Need to Consider One Another and to Pray for One Another

We also should consider one another and pray for one another, without criticizing, despising, or opposing, but only loving, exhorting, and supporting one another. We all should endeavor together to do our best. May every saint enter into the God-ordained way, may everyone be a priest of the gospel, may everyone preach the gospel to save sinners, may everyone nourish others, may everyone perfect others, and may everyone prophesy and help others to prophesy for releasing the riches of Christ that all may be supplied and the church may be built up.

(The Church Life in the Lord’s Recovery Today, msg. 4)

Continuing Steadfastly in Practicing (III)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for entering into me as my faith, love and hope. Lord, fill me with Yourself! Cause me to enter into higher experience of You!

1 Thes. 1:3 Remembering unceasingly your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father.

Work of Faith and Labor of Love and Endurance of Hope

Here faith indicates the nature and strength of the work; love, the motivation for and characteristic of labor; and hope, the source of endurance. These depict the structure of the genuine Christian life, a life constructed with faith, love, and hope (see note 131 in 1 Cor. 13)

The Persistence, Patience, and Faith Issuing in a Great Blessing

To stop going to visit people with the gospel means we do not have the persistence, patience, or faith needed to be a New Testament priest of the gospel. In one year, we may only be able to bring one into the church life out of many baptized ones. That may seem too poor, but if every member in a church brings one new one into the church life in a year, the church is doubled.

Our Need to Exercise the Lord’s Persistence, Patience, and Faith

If we baptize a number and still do not bring one into the church life, we must exercise the Lord’s persistence, patience, and faith. We should say: “If I cannot gain one this year, I will gain one next year. If I do not gain one next year, then I will gain one the following year.” Eventually, we will gain someone for the Lord’s testimony.

(1 Thes. 1:3, footnote 1, Recovery Version; The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 3)

Continuing Steadfastly in Practicing (IV)

Prayer:

Lord, grant me an alert heart that I may be always alert! Cause me to be ready to proclaim You to others in whatever environment! Amen

2 Tim. 4:2 Proclaim the word; be ready in season and out of season; convict, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and teaching.

To “Be Ready” Means Being Urgent, Attentive, and on the Alert

We should not say that it is winter and that we need to wait for spring to sow the seed. Rather, we are peculiar farmers; to us every day is for sowing the seed and for reaping the harvest. “In season” is when we have the opportunity, and “out of season” is when we do not have an opportunity. Whether or not we have the opportunity, we need to be ready. To “be ready” means being urgent, attentive, and on the alert.

Being Ready at Any Time to Preach the Gospel

We need to be “instant” preachers, ready without need of further preparation. We should be ready at any time and in any place. We are ready at the supermarket, the bus station, the office, and the classroom. We must not say that we are not ready or that there are no opportunities. Every occasion—spring, summer, fall, and winter—is the time for us to be ready. This is not the religious way of preaching. This is the proper Christian living.

Being Ready to Preach the Gospel to Every Person at Every Time and in Every Place

Every place is the right place, every time is the right time, and every person is the right person. We must be instant, ready, urgent, and attentive in season and out of season.

(The Normal Way of Fruit-bearing and Shepherding for the Building Up of the Church, ch. 6)

Continuing Steadfastly in Practicing (V)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for Your encouragement. You charge us to exercise long-suffering, and much more promise us to receive the early and later rain. Lord, strengthen my heart! Amen!

1 Cor. 13:4 Love suffers long. Love is kind; it is not jealous. Love does not brag and is not puffed up;

Love Suffering Long

This description actually shows us a fine humanity. Verse 4 says, ‘Love suffers long, and is kind; love is not jealous; love does not brag, is not puffed up.’ In our weak humanity, we have only limited patience, but love suffers long.

We Being Awaiting the Lord’s Coming with Longsuffering, He Being Also Awaiting with Patience Our Maturity in Life

While we are awaiting the Lord’s coming with longsuffering, He, as the real Farmer (Matt. 13:3), is also awaiting with patience our maturity in life as the firstfruit and harvest of His field (Rev. 14:4, 14-15). Our maturity in life can cut short the period of our longsuffering and His patience.

Our Need of Longsuffering and Patience in Preaching the Gospel by Door-Knocking

When we go out door-knocking, we often encounter many unpleasant faces, and it is a common thing for people to slam their doors in our face. Sometimes we may knock on hundreds of doors without getting anyone saved and baptized. Hence, when we go out door-knocking, we need patience and a meek spirit. Even when people belittle us, we should smile at them. This is the spirit we should have when preaching the gospel. The method in the old way was to invite people to the meeting hall, but the spirit of the new way is to deliver the gospel to people’s homes. This way has a compelling flavor and is also very scriptural.

(Life-study of Leviticus, msg. 16; Life-study of James, msg. 11; Being Up-to-date for the Rebuilding of the Temple, msg. 10)

Continuing Steadfastly in Practicing (VI)

Prayer:

Lord, grant me a heart of long-suffering, much more cause me to see that You will work out for me an eternal weight of glory that I may continue steadfastly in cooperating with Your move! Amen

2 Cor. 4:17 For our momentary lightness of affliction works out for us, more and more surpassingly, an eternal weight of glory,

The Eternal Weight of Glory Far Surpassing the Present Lightness of the Affliction

Paul made a comparison, comparing the “present lightness of the affliction” with the “far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” He was saying that the eternal weight of glory far surpasses the present lightness of the affliction. Here we see three comparisons: affliction with glory, lightness with weight, and present with eternal. Whatever sufferings we pass through are the lightness. This present lightness of affliction cannot compare with the eternal weight of glory.

Our Need to Cooperate with His Giving Although God Has Given

God has given, but we must cooperate with His giving. Second Corinthians 9:10 says, “Now He who bountifully supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and cause the fruits of righteousness to increase.” God gives the seed and the fruit, and in between the seed and the fruit is much development. The development between the seed and the fruit is our responsibility.

Our Need of Diligence to Cooperate with God

God gives the seed, but He would not sow the seed or till the ground. To sow the seed and till the ground is our part. Thus, Peter charges us to develop something out of the seed that we already have. On His part God has given us many exceedingly great things. Now we must do our part by adding all diligence.

(Life-study of Hebrews, msg. 10; The Crucial Revelation of Life in the Scriptures, ch. 16)

Week Forty-Seven

Feeding the Newborn Babes

Feeding the Newborn Babes (I)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for giving me the burden to shepherd others. Lord, cause me to be willing to seek You with others. Lord, keep me in the Body life! Amen!

1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, long for the guileless milk of the word in order that by it you may grow unto salvation.

The New Ones Being Not Suitable to Eat Solid Food and Being Only Able to Drink Milk

In Hebrews 5:12-14 Paul mentioned two kinds of food: milk and solid food. We should not attempt to nourish a child with solid food. Hence, we need someone to labor in order to write some suitable materials for the group meetings that will nourish the new ones with milk.

The Need to Give the New Ones the Proper Portions

We have both Life Lessons and Truth Lessons. Although these lessons are very well written, I feel that they are not so suitable, because they may be too much for the new ones to digest. Even The Holy Word for Morning Revival may not be suitable for the new ones in the group meetings. It is not good to feed people too much food; we need to give them the proper portions.

Feeding the New Ones with Baby Food

In speaking with the new believers, you should never forget that they are babes and that they must be fed with baby food. When they raise a question concerning Christmas, you should use the subject of Christmas to feed them. You should not try to adjust them harshly, since this would not be treating them as babes. The nursing mothers not only feed their little ones, but they also cherish them by playing with them. To play with them is to cherish them. This cherishing makes them happy.

(Fellowship Concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups, msg. 4; The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 22)

Feeding the Newborn Babes (II)

Prayer:

Lord, praise You that You are our shepherd. Lord, keep me in green pastures and beside waters of rest that I may eat, drink and enjoy Yourself! Lord, I love You!

Psa. 23:1-2 Jehovah is my Shepherd; I will lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures; / He leads me beside waters of rest.

Christ Being Our Shepherd

Christ is our Shepherd and we are His flock. The church in the Bible is called a flock. In John 10 the Lord said that He was the good Shepherd who would collect the sheep from Israel and from the Gentiles to form them into one flock (vv. 14-16), which is the church (1 Pet. 5:2; Acts 20:28).

Christ Being Our Bread, Our Green Pasture

Christ Himself is our pasture, our nourishment. He is the feeding place for all the sheep. In John 6 Christ said that He is the bread of life (v. 35) to nourish us (v. 57). The “bread” for the sheep is the green pasture, so the green pasture is Christ. Christ can be our green pasture through His incarnation, death, and resurrection.

Our Need to Help the New Ones to Read the Lord’ Word and to Pray

When we go to take care of the new ones, we must not only feed them with Christ but also help them to drink of the Spirit. We must help them to call on the name of the Lord and to pray. This is to help them to drink the Spirit by exercising their spirit.

(Life-study of Psalms, msg. 11)

Feeding the Newborn Babes (III)

Prayer:

Lord, keep my heart and cause me to be the one who blesses and waters that I may experience You as my prosperity and enjoy You as my watering! Amen

Prov. 11:25 The blessing soul will prosper, And he who waters will also be watered himself.

Being Cared for by Caring for Others

According to the divine economy of the Bible, if we desire to receive, we need to give. If we water others, we ourselves will be watered, and if we desire to grow in life, we need to help others to grow (Prov. 11:25). When we help others to grow in life, we ourselves will have the growth. The way to receive is to give, and the more we give, the more we receive

Our Willingness to Spend Definitely Having an Increase

If we have a spirit to spend whatever we have and to be spent, to sacrifice whatever we are, we will have a great increase each year.

Praying, Preaching the Word, Opening Our Homes, and Coordinating to Serve the Young People

In preaching the gospel we do not need any gimmicks. We should simply pray, preach the word, and open our homes. It is difficult for the young people both to go to the campuses and to prepare their homes to receive others. We need the youngest ones to go to the campuses, the oldest ones to pray, and the middle-aged ones to prepare their homes. Day and night the homes need to be ready.

(The Normal Way of Fruit-bearing and Shepherding for the Building Up of the Church, msg. 3; The Spirit and the Body, ch. 11)

Feeding the Newborn Babes (IV)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for causing me to be a slave to serve You. Lord, be my wisdom that I can give others food at the proper time to enjoy the riches of God’s house together through my caring for others’ need.

Matt. 24:45 Who then is the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his household to give them food at the proper time?

Our Need to Be the One Giving Food at the Proper Time

Matthew 24:45 says that the faithful and prudent slave distributes food to God’s children at the proper time. The meaning of distributing food to God’s children at the proper time is profound. It does not mean merely to distribute food according to the seasons but to distribute different kinds of food according to the varying needs. This is something that requires time and research.

The Improper Nourishing Will Spoil the Taste of the New Ones

Suppose we meet a new one, and without any regard for his condition we begin to share with him about the seventy weeks in Daniel. It is true that we are speaking God’s word, but that kind of “distributing of food” does not nourish him. Instead, it kills him. God’s word is life, but if we do not use it in a proper way, it becomes a killing factor to others. It can spoil a person’s appetite; the taste to come to the meeting will be spoiled because what he has heard has not benefited him.

The Need to Come Together to Fellowship Concerning the New Ones We Have Contacted

Every week your should come together to fellowship concerning all these new ones. By this you can know their situations and consider which of them may not be that promising and which of them may need some urgent care. Based upon your fellowship, you can decide which member or members should visit which new ones that week. You all must work together in this way.

(Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 1: The Vision and Definite Steps for the Practice of the New Way, msg. 11; The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 21)

Feeding the Newborn Babes (V)

Prayer:

Lord, be my wisdom and much more cause me to have a heart of caring for others! Make my words and behavior not stumble others but run after You together!

2 Cor. 6:3 We give no occasion of stumbling in anything that the ministry may not be faulted.

Caring for the Feelings of the New Ones

Therefore, learn to hold home meetings always with the realization that you are dealing with babes. This will safeguard you, and this will open the way for you to render the proper help to them. Do not forget that the new ones were deeply fallen sinners, so it is not so easy for us to rescue them out of their fallen situation and condition in a quick way. Some are not so complicated, but many cases are really complicated.

Treating the New Ones as Babes

Learn to talk to people, treating them as babes all the time. If you keep this one principle and learn this one secret, you will be safeguarded from offending and stumbling people. Otherwise, many times you will unconsciously stumble the new ones. After your visit, they would say, “Forget about it. I want nothing to do with Christianity. I cannot take this religion.” They may not say this to your face, but after you leave, they will say it. Learn to talk to new ones as to babes.

(The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 19)

Feeding the Newborn Babes (VI)

Prayer:

Lord, cause to be the one, who is always ready, not only speak concerning You before others, much more share concerning You among brothers and sisters to bring others into Your riches!

2 Tim. 4:2 Proclaim the word; be ready in season and out of season; convict, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and teaching.

Preparing for the Home Meetings

Before visiting the new ones in the home meetings, some time should be given for preparation. In that time of preparation, there should be some fellowship among the members of the visiting team concerning the goal of the home meeting. You should not go to the home meetings without a definite purpose. Of course, you should not make your purpose a legality, without any flexibility. However, regardless of how flexible you are, you must have a purpose with a goal.

The Need for Our Spirit to Be Living in the Meeting

Whatever we do in all kinds of meetings must be living, stirring, and something the Spirit can use to inspire and unveil something to people concerning the mystery of God. We should do nothing merely as a religious activity.

Our Need to Always Have a Definite Purpose When We Go to Work in the Home Meetings

When we go to work in the home meetings, we should always have a definite purpose. The main purpose of the home meetings is to nourish the new believers, but each mother who nourishes her new baby does so with a definite goal. The kind of nourishment a mother uses depends upon the situation of the baby. To nourish the new believers without any purpose is to run the risk of damaging their spiritual health in the long run.

(The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 20)

Week Forty-Eight

Bearing Remaining Fruit

Bearing Remaining Fruit (I)

Prayer:

O Lord, thank You for dispensing Your divine life to me, I hope today this life can overflow and flow out into others from within me to supply one another!

John 15:16b …and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain…

How Long the Fruit Remains Depending on How Much Life We Impart Into It

There are four ways of referring to the fruit: bearing fruit (v. 2), much fruit (v. 8), more fruit (v. 2), and remaining fruit (v. 16). How long the fruit remains depends on how much life we impart into it. It all depends upon the amount of life we impart into the new converts. This determines how long they will remain. Often in bringing people to the Lord we impart into them only a small amount of life. Therefore, they scarcely remain. It is difficult for them to remain for a longer time.

Our Need to Labor Diligently

In order to bear remaining fruit, we need to labor diligently and pray desperately and unceasingly. We should exercise ourselves to always have two or three persons under our care so that one of these could be remaining fruit at the end of a year.

There Being No Need for Us to Be Anxious When We Labor

As we labor on these people, we should not be anxious or be in a hurry concerning their progress. Instead, as we labor on them, we should enjoy Christ as our inexhaustible patience.

(Life-study of John, msgs. 35; 1993 Blending Conference Messages concerning the Lord’s Recovery and Our Present Need, msg. 7)

Bearing Remaining Fruit (II)

Prayer:

Lord, thank You that I can meet You, thank You for calling me friend. Keep me living in an intimate fellowship with You for the whole day. Lord, I love You!

John 15:15b-16a …but I have called you friends, for all the things which I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and I set you.

The Branches Being in an Intimate Relationship with the Vine

The branches are in an intimate relationship with the vine (vv. 13-15). The branches are not the Lord’s slaves; they are His friends. Because they are the Lord’s friends, the branches can know the Father’s desire that He be expressed in a corporate Body.

Loving One Another for Fruit-bearing as the Common Goal

This is to love one another in the Lord’s life, the divine life, in the Lord’s love, and in His commission of fruit-bearing. Life is the source, love is the condition, and fruit-bearing is the goal. If we all live by the Lord’s life as the source, in the Lord’s love as the condition, and for fruit-bearing as the goal, we surely will love one another.

Loving One Another in the Christ’s Love

We must love one another in the divine life, with the divine love, and for the purpose of bearing much fruit that the Father may be glorified.

(John 15:17, footnote 1, Recovery version; Life-study of John, msg. 35)

Bearing Remaining Fruit (III)

Prayer:

O Lord, transform me more today that I may be gentle in the midst of saints and the unbelieving to express Your humanity. Amen!

1 Thes. 2:7 But we were gentle in your midst, as a nursing mother would cherish her own children.

Nourishing and Cherishing the New Ones That They May Remain

In 1 Thessalonians 2:7 Paul says, “We were gentle in your midst, as a nurse would cherish her own children.” Whenever a mother comes to cherish or nourish her little babe, she is always very gentle. In this verse Paul did not use the word “nourish,” but he used the word “cherish.” Cherishing includes nourishing, but it indicates more tender care than mere nourishing. When a mother cherishes her babe, generally, she will also nourish it.

Our Need to Take Care of the Young Believers as a Nursing Mother

After we baptize someone, we must immediately consider ourselves as gentle, nursing mothers. Even Paul, the great apostle, became a nursing mother; he was so gentle with the young believers. After we bring people to the Lord and baptize them into the Triune God, we must take care of them.

The Need for the Believer Who Preaches the Gospel to Care for the New Ones Also

We baptized so many that we could not care for all of them adequately. It seems that we had only begetting ones, without anyone to feed these newborn babes. Through this we learned that every believer who preaches the gospel must also care for the new ones as a mother raising up her own children. To have home meetings is the way to fulfill this responsibility.

(The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msgs. 16, 21)

Bearing Remaining Fruit (IV)

Prayer:

O Lord, thank You for the commission You have granted to me, cause me to be more willing to go to brothers and sisters to shepherd one another to enjoy You together! Amen!

John 21:15 Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs.

After Producing the Lambs, We Still Have to Feed the Lambs That They Might Remain

In John 21:15 the Lord charges us to feed His lambs. This is to do something for the fruit that we have borne that they might remain. If we love the Lord, we must feed His lambs, the little ones, the small ones, the young sheep. The fruit in chapter fifteen becomes the lambs in chapter twenty-one. To bear fruit is to multiply or produce the lambs. But after producing the lambs, we still have to bear the responsibility to feed the lambs.

The Need to Cherish the Lambs First Before Feeding Them

You must feed babes something with a good flavor, something sweet to make them happy. If the food you offer them is sweet to the taste, they will eat. The first thing you have to learn is how to make people feel pleasant. Do not forget that nourishing must go along with cherishing. You have to cherish them first.

The Need to Make the New Ones Comfortable and Happy during Feeding Them

Merely to feed a babe with milk is not adequate; it must also be kept clean, warm, and comfortable. All of its environment must be arranged so that it will be safe and able to grow properly. We must take this way in raising up the newborn believers.

(The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msgs. 13, 21)

Bearing Remaining Fruit (V)

Prayer:

O Lord, thank You for waking me up! Gain various meeting today that the saints may not be disturbed by other affairs to come together to enjoy You! Amen!

Acts 20:20 How I did not withhold any of those things that are profitable by not declaring them to you and by not teaching you publicly and from house to house,

The Book of Acts Revealing As Soon As the New Ones Were Saved, They Came into Home Meetings

On the day of Pentecost, three thousand were saved (Acts 2:41). I believe that on the same day they began to have home meetings (Acts 2:46). This was not something that was practiced in the Old Testament. This was something totally new, something of the New Testament. On the day the church came into existence, the one hundred twenty plus these three thousand believers began to meet in the homes so that the fruit would remain. It would be very difficult for three thousand newborn believers to remain healthy without being cared for in home meetings.

The Home Meeting Being for the Newly Saved Believers to Remain

The home meeting is for raising up the newborn believers, not only as your children but also as God’s growing children. This is the unique shortage among us and also among all of Christianity. Wherever there is a group of Christians, and among them there is the proper care for the new ones, that church will become quite large. However, this work cannot be carried out on a large scale by the church as a whole; it must be done through the individual families.

Raising Up the New Ones as Your Children

Every team is a family. If you are a team of three members, you must become a family raising up the new ones as your children, yet considering them as God’s children. You are simply nursing mothers doing the work of raising up these children for God.

(The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 21)

Bearing Remaining Fruit (VI)

Prayer:

O Lord, bless our living today that I may live a living of bearing the fruit to please You and to glorify God the Father as well! Amen!

John 15:8 In this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so you will become My disciples.

Our Fruit-bearing Glorifying the Father

We may like the matter of abiding in the vine, abiding in Christ, which is found in John 15. We may desire to be those enjoying the unsearchable riches of the vine. However, John 15:8-11 does not stress abiding only; it also stresses fruit-bearing. If we bear fruit, the Father will be glorified. The Father will not be glorified just by our abiding. He will be glorified only if we are bearing fruit.

Father’s Being Glorified through Us Can Be Compared to the Blossoming of a Carnation Flower

An illustration of such a release can be seen in the carnation flower. If the carnation does not bloom, then its glory, its beauty, remains hidden. When the carnation does bloom, the inner life of the carnation has been released. This is the glorification of the carnation.

Abiding in the Love of the Son for Bearing Fruit

Just as the Father charged the Son to express the Father, the Son charges us to express the Son. He charges us to abide in His love, not just to abide in Him. It is not adequate simply to abide in Him. We must abide in His love.

(The Exercise and Practice of the God-Ordained Way, msg. 6)