It is regrettable to see elders serving together without having the consciousness that they have to be in coordination in order to be capable in everything. If we see that members of the same body do not have the same function, we will realize that the gifts of the elders are also different. Some must be the hand, others the foot, the eye, or the mouth. For example, you cannot expect every elder to have discernment; some elders need others to be their discernment. Some elders may be very discerning, yet they are not warm; they need others' warmth. Many times, those who are fervent in heart are blind in their eyes, and those who are sharp in their eyes are cold in their hearts. The clearer a person sees, the colder his heart becomes. The more fervently a person loves, the more foolish he becomes. This is why we must all coordinate together. Those with sharp eyes need others to be their heart, and those who are too fervent in heart need others to be their eyes.

For example, you may feel a certain brother is very lovable. You must not love him without consideration; instead, you should first bring the matter to the fellowship among the elders and allow the discerning ones to judge the matter. If you accept this coordination, you will have discernment. Likewise, if you have discernment, there is no need for you to exercise this discernment directly. If you do, you will probably become a knife or a gun to others; you are too sharp, and therefore you must be coordinated with someone else. You can be to others their discernment, and others can be to you your mouth. Perhaps a message needs to be given, but you cannot give the message because you do not have the gift of speaking. You have only the discernment; you cannot be the mouthpiece. You can then present your feeling to the elders in fellowship and accept the coordination of those elders who are the speaking ones. When they speak, you will feel that it is not they alone who are speaking, but the speaking of the elders in coordination. In this speaking, there is discernment, as well as warm love. Apparently, in this message, some of the elders release their words. Actually, the message is the result of the fellowship of the elders. In this fellowship, there is discernment and warmth, as well as spiritual light and experience. It is a message, but within it is the coordination that includes all kinds of gifts.

Brothers, I do hope that the elders in all the localities would manifest all the gifts this way. In order to do this, there must be the coordination. You cannot depend on yourself all the time, thinking that you have utterance, foresight, and love. I do not believe in this, and I hope you would not believe in this either. Perhaps you have only foresight, but you do not have love. Perhaps you have only love but are poor in your sight. Even if you possess both, your mouth may not be capable. Do not put too much trust in yourselves. The elders must fellowship together; they must put their love into the fellowship, their foresight into the fellowship, their light of life, and their experience into the fellowship. After this, one or two elders can be the utterance. Only then will this utterance include everything. I believe the brothers and sisters can see the riches, strength, and beauty of this coordination. Since the elders need to be capable in everything, they must be in coordination.