We also have to build ourselves up according to the seven points covered in the previous two messages. Specifically, we need to pray for the dealing with our disposition, character, and peculiar traits. A brother may be born as a slow person. That is his disposition, so he needs to allow the cross to be applied to his slowness. He should even condemn his slowness. Sometimes people take the excuse that because they were born a certain way, they cannot help themselves. But we should not take such an excuse. If a person is born slow, he must learn to take Christ to do things quickly.
Our peculiar traits also frustrate our usefulness. In the Far East many years ago, there was a co-worker among us who had an outstanding peculiar trait. Brother Nee told me regarding this brother that if you wanted him to go east, you had better ask him to go west. He was a person who would do the opposite of what he was asked to do. That was his peculiarity. Each one of us has at least ten percent peculiarity in our disposition. When a brother asks his wife to close the door, she might say, “Why not leave it open?” When he asks her to open the door, she would say, “Why not leave it closed?” This is her peculiarity. Of course, the husbands also have their peculiarity. Everyone has peculiarities, so we all need the experience of the cross. If our disposition, character, and peculiarity are not dealt with, our group meetings will not be vital.
I believe that the vital group meetings will be greatly used by the Lord. In the church many of us love the Lord, love the Lord’s recovery, and love the church, but not many are really useful because of the defects related to our disposition, character, and peculiar traits. All these defects annul us, making us useless. This vital group training and the practice of the vital groups will make us useful in saving sinners, in nourishing the new ones, and in feeding the saints. We need to endeavor to put all the things we have covered in this training into our practice in the vital groups.
In order to deal with our disposition, character, and peculiarity, we need to see a vision that we have been crucified on the cross (Gal. 2:20a). We should pray, “Lord, thank You that on the cross You have crucified my disposition, my character, and my peculiarity.” We need to see a vision of Christ’s crucifixion. By His mercy and grace we need to accept this vision and then proceed to live by the Spirit. In our daily life, the Spirit applies Christ’s death to all the negative things in our being.
We have to learn practically in our daily life to be dealt with very finely in our disposition, character, and peculiarity. Sometimes we might think certain brothers and sisters have made some improvement, but their improvement is questionable. The real improvement must be because of the particular dealing with our disposition, character, and peculiarity. If we do not have some definite and practical experiences in this, we cannot have the real improvement in life. Over ninety percent of our growth in life depends upon the dealing with our disposition, character, and peculiarity. Our daily lives are filled up with these three items.
Each of us has his particular disposition. One brother has his particular way to come to the meeting and to find a seat in the meeting. Even in coming to the meeting and finding a seat in the meeting, he does not obey the Spirit, but he obeys his peculiarity. If the usher would try to seat this brother in another place, this brother might be offended. We need to consider how often we obey the Spirit during the day. Mostly we act, move, and behave according to our disposition, character, and peculiarity.
Some brothers are very active people, so they like to move around in the meetings by helping to usher people to their seats and by caring for the distributing of the bread and wine at the Lord’s table. Other brothers are very inactive people. Once they are seated, they do not want to be moved by anything or anyone. If you ask the brother who is active to be an usher, he will be very happy. If you ask the inactive brother to usher, he will say that he does not like this. Both of these brothers are acting and serving according to their disposition and not according to the Spirit. This shows that we have to die to ourselves so that Christ may live in us.