The church must have not only zeal for the gospel, but also the power of the gospel. Of course, this requires that the elders pay attention to the filling of the Holy Spirit. They must have dealings and consecrations before the Lord, and they must accept by faith the Lord's death and resurrection, together with the Holy Spirit that comes through His ascension. The elders cannot relax in this matter. They must lead the brothers and sisters to seek after the filling of the Holy Spirit all the time. On the one hand, we very much disagree with the so-called Pentecostal movement that has existed in the church during the last one hundred or so years. Yet on the other hand, there is the definite need to help the brothers and sisters, under normal circumstances, to receive the power of the Holy Spirit before God. This is also a matter within the elders' management.
Let me repeat again, brothers, that the management of the church is just like the management of a home. If a housewife neglects the house throughout the month, but eats, sleeps, and plays day after day, the house will still survive. But if she wants to manage the house well, there will be no end to her work, from morning to evening, and from the first day until the last day. Consider only one item: the cleaning. There are so many things to clean, to mop, and to wash. The same is true with the church. If you want to manage it well, there are too many things to do.
Those who manage a church must never take things easy, as if there were nothing to do. They must never have a feeling like this: "We have the preaching meeting on Sunday morning, the breaking of bread meeting in the evening, the prayer meeting on Tuesday evening, the Bible study on Thursday evening, and the fellowship meeting on Saturday evening. Thank and praise the Lord. We have so many meetings in a week already. This is good enough. Our brothers and sisters do not have serious sicknesses or any deaths. There are not too many who are out of work. Thank and praise the Lord. We have only thirty or more brothers and sisters. Most of them come to the meetings, and none of them is having too much trouble. We are very, very good." Let me tell you this: you can rest in peace, but the Lord cannot rest in peace. You have been meeting in that place for two or three years already, yet there are still only thirty or more brothers and sisters. There has been no increase in number for over a year. How can that be? As an elder, you have to rise up to stir up the fire of the gospel. You cannot rest in peace. You have to go to bed a little later and get up a little earlier. You have to pray, to call on the Lord to give the church the zeal of the gospel, and to have every brother and sister burning within. If you can stir up the fire, many works will follow.