It is one thing to have life; it is another thing to be living. Experience tells us that many who have life do not appear to be living. You cannot say that such a person is not saved, but he is dead. At least, he is asleep; he is not yet awake.
To have life is the same as what Christianity calls being saved, and to be living is equivalent to what Christianity calls being revived. Some are saved, but they are not revived yet. They know definitely that they have sinned, and they have definitely believed in the Lord Jesus as their Savior who has died for them on the cross. They definitely believe in the blood of the Lord Jesus and know that the Lord has forgiven them. They have relinquished their gross and immoral sins, and they are coming regularly to attend church meetings. However, they do not like to read the Bible, and they do not open their mouths to pray. They have no big sins, but neither have they cut themselves off from the small sins. They do not know anything about the world and have no concept about giving it up. They still live in their human relationships and worldly connections. They are saved, but they have never been revived.
On the other hand, we see some who are not only saved, but are revived. They love the Lord, desire after Him, study the Bible, and pray. They do not commit gross sins. When they commit a small sin, such as saying something wrong, they deal with it before the Lord. They have given up the world, and they are living a life for the Lord. They have come alive. They are living. Once you touch them, you can tell that they are awakened people. To be revived is to wake up. They always pray for others' souls with tears. After two months, such a one brings one person to salvation. In another three months, he brings another two to be saved. He is living.
Elders, please excuse me for saying these things. You have to realize that this is hard work for you. The elders should never say that there is nothing to do. There are so many brothers here. How many of them are living? Those who are not living are the ones you have to work with. You have to enliven them. This is the administration of the elders. All those who are not living need you to work with them.
Sometimes the elders may decide that their meeting place is not large enough and that they will buy a piece of land and build their own meeting hall on it. Everyone may think that this is too difficult, but I will tell the brothers and sisters that this is quite easy. The difficult part is to make the brothers and sisters who have life but who are not living to become quite living. You do not realize how much labor and endeavoring is needed there.