The way we are taking today is absolutely different from our way in the past. Today the workers should not do the work, but the workers should cause others to do the work. Is this clear? If the workers are always working by themselves, this matter can never be done well. I say again that if you go out to work and only you yourselves are working, you have failed. Paul not only worked by himself; he was also a master builder. You need to learn to work, and you also need to learn to be a master builder who leads other brothers and sisters to work. This is the way we should work with the unbelievers as well as with the new believers.
There are enough things to keep you busy just with the new believers alone. You have to learn before God how to lead many brothers one by one to give make-up lessons to these new believers. These brothers should go one by one to the homes of the new believers and examine how well they are practicing the lessons. They should check carefully one by one whether or not the lesson was practiced that week. The brothers should exhort the new believers to read the Bible every day and should check to see if they have read it the day they visit them. It is not a matter of whether or not the message was spoken; it is a matter of whether or not, having heard the word, the new believers have practiced it. The brothers must suggest that they use a prayer notebook. They then need to go and check how their prayer has been and whether or not they have written names in their notebook. One brother may have written down five names and another may have written down five thousand names. What should the brothers do? Is the one with five names right or is the one with five thousand names right? The brothers should advise them that they should not write down five thousand names; that is too many. You have to arrange things one by one and show them how things are arranged.
In caring for problems there is no need for too many brothers to be involved. The work of preaching the gospel, caring for the gospel, and caring for the new believers requires the mobilization of almost everyone. Caring for problems, however, should not be carried out in this way. There are brothers and sisters who have a spiritual measure before the Lord which is weightier than that of others, and it should be quite weighty. There need not be too many of this kind of brothers. Not more than four or five of these brothers are necessary to address a particular need. If a brother has encountered hardship, these brothers then need to help him. If there are some who have joyous occasions, these brothers should rejoice with them, help them, and pray with them. If there are some who are sorrowful over a death, these brothers should be sorrowful together with them, helping them and praying together with them. There may be some who have difficulties and conflicts in their family; these brothers need to resolve the problems for them, pray for them, and comfort them. Problem matters such as these or matters such as helping the poor can all be given to the brothers and sisters responsible for taking care of problems.
In the church, when brothers encounter problems, or if some special situations arise, you need to allow these brothers and sisters to make some arrangements concerning these problems among the saints. Whenever brothers and sisters hear that something has happened among some of the brothers and sisters, they need to immediately notify these brothers and sisters and allow them to find a way to meet the need. Send money to those in poverty; feed those who are hungry; clothe those who have nothing to wear; comfort those with difficulties; visit those who are in prison; pray for those who are sick; solve the problems of those who have family difficulties.
I want the brothers and sisters to know about a foolish thought. I do not know when this thought began. Some people indeed have the thought that in the church life we should not encounter problems. But please remember that problems have existed from the time of the apostolic church. Since the time of the apostolic church, the church has always been a church of problems, not a church without problems. You should never consider that a situation in which there are many problems implies an inadequate condition of the church. Please remember that not many days after the day of Pentecost, the problem of Ananias and Sapphira occurred in the church, and not many days after that, the problem of the Grecian widows happened. Later, Stephen was martyred, and Peter was thrown into prison. These kinds of things continued to happen. The history of the church since the beginning is one that is full of problems. Only a worldly church will have few problems; the genuine church always has many problems. I do not know the source of this foolish thought. There is not one church that is always serene, without any difficulties or failures. There has always been blessing on the one hand and difficulties on the other hand.
At the time of the apostles, the church had the most difficulties. Look at the seven churches in Revelation. The five that were damaged had little persecution. One church, the church in Smyrna, was not rebuked by the Lord, but Smyrna was a church that suffered martyrdom. One church, the church in Philadelphia, was praised by God. The Lord said to that church, “You have kept the word of My endurance” (3:10). There were many things that required the church there to endure. To keep the Lord’s word is not to keep the Lord’s word of tranquillity, but the Lord’s word of endurance. There were many things the church had to pass through. You should never think that if the church is peaceful and tranquil, going on steadily, then this is the unique proof of the Lord’s blessing. The church may have many problems, but that does not mean that the Lord is not blessing. Therefore, the brothers responsible for caring for problems have to make arrangements to handle all the difficulties in the church.